USA > Indiana > The soldier of Indiana in the war for the union, Vol. II > Part 13
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The subdivisions of both right and left wing were three, cach including three brigades. The centre consisted of five subdivisions, but as one, Mitchell's, was required to garrison Nashville, another, Reynolds', and two brigades from a third, Fry's, were detained near Gallatin and along the Louisville and Nashville road, but two divisions, Negley's and Rous- scau's, with Walker's brigade of Fry's, were on the march.
Cavalry skirmishers spread far and wide in advance. The main cavalry force guarded the flanks. One company of the Second Indiana in Minty's brigade, was in the left wing accompanying Palmer's division. Klein's battallion was in the right wing in Johnson's division.
Thomas moved a little west of south, on the Franklin road, depending on cross-roads for getting to his position in the centre, when that should be required. He was beyond
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the reach of the enemy's skirmishers, and encountered no opposition. McCook directed his march straight south toward Nolensville, and met the enemy at the start. Dur- ing the day his advance sharply engaged a body of hostile skirmishers, pushing them first to a defile in a range of rocky hills, and, when strengthened by a six gun battery, they attempted to make a decided stand, driving them out with the loss of a gun.
Crittenden on the Murfreesboro road also met with warm opposition. Late in the afternoon Hazen's brigade moved into the woods, toward the enemy's left flank. The fore- most regiments, Sixth Kentucky and Ninth Indiana, were surprised by a volley fired into their ranks. By a strange oversight the Ninth had empty guns, but, not losing their self-possession, the men loaded, advanced as skirmishers, and drove the enemy rapidly. The Ninth lost but one killed and two wounded.
The weather was not cold, but the rain impeded the march and delayed the wagon train. At night, the troops, who were as wet as if they had waded a river, slept without tents and with but few blankets, and stood on the picket line without fires. The next day while the army crawled along, there was constant fighting on its outskirts. Crittenden was stationary until noon. Meantime the pickets of the Fortieth Indiana, which had been engaged during the night in his front, continued skirmishing, losing one wounded.
Hascall's brigade with Estep's battery, cleared the enemy out of the houses and hills of Lavergne, flung into Stewart's creek a fire kindled on one end of the bridge, and captured a Confederate camp on the south bank of the stream, with twenty-five Rebel skirmishers. The Fifty-Eighth lost five men wounded in the affair.
Hazen's brigade, with a detachment of Michigan cavalry as advanced guard, went eastward to save a bridge over the same stream, on the Jefferson road, pushing against opposing cavalry, which fell back, but with provoking unwillingness.
Lieutenant Colonel Suman, of the Ninth, proposed to the Michigan horsemen to make a charge. Accordingly, and with loud cheers, they dashed directly down the road, Suman
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in the lead. As high fences were on each side, the chase was unbroken a quarter of a mile, when a forest on right and left allowed the flying force ground to form. The pursuers stopped and opened fire, while Suman galloped back to hasten the march of the infantry. He had gone but a short distance when a small body of hostile troopers filed across the road in his front, and summoned him to surrender. Two cavalrymen, who accompanied him, threw up their hands, and surrendered without a word; but he fired his revolver, emptying two saddles, cut through the line, reached his regi- ment, and led it, accompanied by artillery, to the point of action. The enemy did not stay to meet the reinforcement, and the bridge was saved.
A fog, which enveloped the army in its whole length and breadth, hung deepest and longest over McCook's front, greatly favoring hostile sharpshooters, as they tenaciously held or reluctantly relinquished their positions. Klein's bat- talion lost two killed and several wounded.
In the middle of the forenoon, Kirk, who had the infantry advance, concentrated his brigade, directing Edgarton's bat- tery upon the rebel artillery, and when that proved insuffi- cient, opening Simonson's guns. The enemy was dislodged, but on account of the fog he was allowed to retire unpursued, and to remain unmolested in another position several hours.
At twelve McCook was forced to halt by the appearance of the enemy in line of battle. Again he brought his batter- ies into play, and following up the fire by throwing forward the Sixth and Twenty-Ninth Indiana, and the Thirty-Fourth Illinois, he pushed through the village, and to Wilson's creek. Kirk crossed the stream a half mile below the road, the bridge having been burned, but he was compelled to halt by the early and extreme darkness of a rainy night.
During the day two men were wounded in the Twenty Ninth Indiana.
Rousseau and Negley, after a wretched march toward the centre of the line, reached, the former Nolensville, the latter the Murfreesboro road, on the right of Crittenden.
The third day, Sunday, the army rested, except that Rous- 10
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seau joined Negley, and Willich reconnoitred several miles in McCook's front.
Monday, the 29th, the march and the attendant skirmish- ing were resumed at an early hour, and were continued throughout the day, the one hot and vindictive, the other slow and cautious. Camp after camp of the enemy, with fires still burning, showed that the armies were in close and closer proximity. The Thirty-Sixth Indiana, in Crittenden's front line, waded Stewart's Creek waist deep. The Fifteenthi and Fifty-Seventh also waded the stream and kept the enemy from returning, while the bridge, which had been partially destroyed, was repaired. Wood's division reached Stone river. Harker's brigade, our Fifty-Seventh and Seventy-Third in advance, crossed the river, driving back in disorder, and with sharp firing, a force on guard at the ford. The Seventy- Third lost one man. The brigade, however, was recalled when it was discovered, contrary to the previous report of scouts, that Breckenridge's entire division was at hand, and was but little in advance of the main Confederate army.
The left wing and Negley's division of the centre, en- camped on the west side of the river, not seven hundred yards from the enemy's intrenchments. The right wing biv- ouacked at Wilkerson's cross-roads, reaching the point with great effort long after dark. Many of the troops were still without blankets; few fires were allowed; it was again rain- ing, and the night was cold, dark and dreary.
The axes of the pioneer brigade resounded through the woods long before dawn of Tuesday. The troops break- fasted early. The right and centre opened out, prepara- tory to taking position in line with the left and parallel to the course of Stone river, west of Murfreesboro. The first step provoked opposition, and ground was gained only foot by foot and at bloody cost. The Fourth battery fought a Rebel battery and drove it under cover. Pressing on, Bush became engaged in a second duel, and after two hours, and with thic loss of four men killed and three men wounded, captured the guns of the second battery. He pushed through a wood and took up a good position on open ground.
The Thirty-Seventh Indiana lay under the fire of skirm-
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LINE OF BATTLE FORMED.
ishers and sharpshooters from early morning until after mid- night, protecting a battery. The regiment lost one killed and two wounded. The Eighty-First in a brisk skirmish lost Lieutenant Wilde, a good soldier, who was mortally wounded. The Eighty-Second, Colonel Hunter, with its brigade, at an early hour of Tuesday morning started back to Lavergne, where Wheeler, having gained Rosecrans' rear with three thousand cavalry, had burned MeCook's wagon train. The brigade was in time to save the mules. Making no attempt at pursuit, it returned to the front, whenee the Eighty-Second was immediately ordered to move again toward Nashville, to meet and guard a train of supplies.
During the night of the thirtieth Baldwin's brigade sup- ported a cavalry reconnoissance, marching four miles to the right of our lines, approaching but carefully avoiding an en- tanglement with the enemy, and returning to its position without an encounter.
Before midnight the army was formed in line of battle. Its front was toward the east, except that Willich's brigade, on the right of the right wing, bent back southward. It was more than three miles long, one extremity resting on high wooded ground south of the Franklin turnpike, the other on the bank of the river. The right and centre lay on broken ground, which was comparatively open in front, but which in the rear was mainly a wilderness of gnarled and serubby cedars.
Me Cook's divisions from right to left were Johnson, Davis and Sheridan. Negley alone formed Thomas' front, Rous- seau, who came up quite late in the afternoon, resting in Negley's rear on the Murfreesboro pike. Palmer was on Crittenden's right in line with Negley. One brigade of Wood's division, Wagner's, was in line with Palmer. His two remaining brigades, with Van Cleve's, were on the rear and left, extending down to the river.
The right wing was extremely thin, stretched indeed to the utmost, while the left was compact. The line might suggest a club, or perhaps a lasso, the left and centre being the coil, which by a skillful cast encompasses the unwary victim.
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McCook was ordered to engage the enemy at daylight of the thirty-first, and hold him three hours at every hazard, while Crittenden, supported by Thomas, should ford the river, sweep up toward Murfreesboro, take possession of town and railroad, move west on the Franklin road, and get- ting in the rear of Bragg, cut off his retreat.
Bragg was no unwary victim. His plan was laid, his po- sition was taken, and his movements were made with the most judicious consideration. His army was on high ground, about a mile west and north-west of Murfreesboro, and inter- sected the river, his centre and left being west, and his right wing east of the stream, with the course of which its line corresponded. The ground on which the centre and left stood descended abruptly in the rear to the river, which was fordable nearly everywhere, and sloped gently in the front to a narrow valley clothed with oak and cedar. Breckenridge was in command of the right, Polk of the centre, and Hardce of the left. Wheeler's cavalry, which had returned from its raid round Rosecrans' rear, covered the left flank. Cavalry also protected the right.
Bragg's intention, exactly in accordance with Rosecrans' desire, was to throw Hardee upon McCook at the earliest possible hour of the thirty-first, but he meant by the very weight of his assaulting column to break the wide-stretched right wing into fragments, then swiftly with both Hardee and Polk to crush Thomas, and gaining the Murfreesboro turn- pike, to cut Rosecrans off from Nashville.
The plans of the two commanders were thus in one respect the same, each aiming to reach the rear of his antagonist, and sever it from its base. The condition of numbers was in Bragg's favor, as he could not have had less than fifty thousand men, and probably had sixty-two thousand. Rose- crans reckons it at the latter figure, while he had on the field but forty-three thousand. In other respects the hostile armies were so well matched that if the decree had been announced that numbers were not to be taken in account in the decision of the battle, it would have been impossible to divine the result.
There were twenty-six regiments and five batteries of Indi-
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ana troops in the gallant Union array, beside a battalion of cavalry on either extremity. They stood from right to left, in front and in reserve, in the following order: The Thirty- Ninth, Lieutenant Colonel Jones, and Thirty-Second, Colo- nel Von Trebra, in Willich's brigade; the Thirtieth, Colonel Dodge, and Twenty-Ninth, Lieutenant Colonel Dunn, in Kirk's brigade; the Sixth, Lieutenant Colonel Tripp, and Simonson's battery, in Baldwin's brigade, which had the rear of Johnson's division; the Twenty-Second, Colonel Gooding, in Post's brigade; Eighty-First, Lieutenant Colonel Timber- lake, in Woodruff's brigade, which was in Davis' reserve; Bush's battery in Sill's brigade; Thirty-Seventh, Colonel Hull, in Miller's brigade; Thirty. Eighth, Lieutenant Colonel Griffin, in Scribner's brigade; Eighty-Eighth, Colonel Hum- phrey, and Forty-Second, Lieutenant Colonel Shanklin, in John Beatty's brigade; Thirty-First, Colonel Osborn, in Cruft's brigade; Ninth, Colonel William H. Blake, in Ha- zen's brigade; Thirty-Sixth, Major Kinley, in Grose's brigade, Palmer's reserve; Fifty-Eighth, Colonel Buell, and Estep's battery, in Haseall's brigade; Fifty-First, Colonel Streight, and Seventy-Third, Colonel Hathaway, in Harker's brigade; Fortieth, Colonel John Blake, Fifteenth, Colonel Wood, Fifty-Seventh, Colonel Hines, and Cox's battery, in Wag- ner's brigade; Eighty-Sixth, Colonel Hamilton, and Forty- Fourth, Colonel Williams, in Fyffe's brigade; Thirty-Fifth, Colonel Mullen, in Price's brigade; Seventy-Ninth, Colonel Knefler, and Swallow's battery, in Sam. Beatty's brigade.
The last day of the year 1862 opened slowly upon the hostile armies which lined the banks of Stone river. The dim gray sky was like a face blurred with weeping.
The flowing stream and the intervening valley, with grove and brake, house and field, lay silent, while the clouds of night tardily dispersed, and the damps of dawn rolled up- ward. Van Cleve moved to the brink of the lower ford. Wood set out on his march to the upper ford. McCook's line awaited the onset of the enemy, or the order to move out and coax him from his intrenchments. Detachments of the Thirty-Second, Thirty-Ninth, Thirtieth, Twenty-Ninth and Twenty-Second Indiana, and the Seventy-Seventh
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Pennsylvania, formed a heavy skirmish linc. Company B of the Thirty-Ninth patroled the woods six hundred yards in advance. Klein's battalion prepared to move toward the rear. Suddenly the left wing of the Confederate army came sweeping down and up toward McCook, without drums, without artillery, which followed less swiftly, and regardless of the sharp picket-fire. It tore away the skirm- ish line like cobwebs, captured an advanced and unresisting battery, and dashed heavily upon the main line of battle. Its weight was sufficient to break the line, and it broke it, although there was a manful struggle to stand fast.
The advance companies of the Thirty-Ninth fled toward the right, and rallied behind a rail fence, where Lieutenant Neal and half the little command fell. The remnant rallied again in a cedar thicket to save a gun. Kirk withdrew from Willich's brigade the five reserve companies of the Thirty-Ninth, and added them to his own command, which, as he was severely wounded, shortly after devolved upon Colonel Dodge. It could not be rallied, except in fragments. Colonel Dunn, seeing the Thirtieth take a stand upon an elevation in a corn field, moved toward its rear with the Twenty-Ninth. Other troops collected round the nucleus, and a line consisting of the Seventy-Ninth Illinois, Thirtieth Indiana, now under Lieutenant Colonel Hurd, and a part of the Thirty-Fourth Illinois, extended to Baldwin's brigade, which, though heavily attacked, had not yet faltered. The new line stood until the ground was torn, the stubble was ablaze, one of the Illinois Colonels had fallen, Colonel Dunn was captured, the horses attached to two of Simonson's guns were killed, and the guns were lost. Retreat was re- sumed in confusion and disorder. It was directed toward the Nashville turnpike. Colonel Baldwin yielded his posi- tion only after he had made every effort to rally his brigade. The Sixth held its ground to the last moment. Three times its colors fell and rose. Three times the color-bearer was wounded. Nearly all the guard were killed or wounded.
Willich's scattered brigade deprived of its commander, it knew not how, without orders, and ignorant of the ground, succeeded in moving in the same direction. It took advan-
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THE RIGHT WING BROKEN.
tage of every thicket and fence to obtain or preserve some approach to order. Colonel Jones, with the pickets, which had barely escaped capture at the first onset, and annihila- tion at the first stand, caught sight of the banner of the Thirty-Ninth, and following it, joined the companies which had reinforced Kirk, but in the flight had been swept far to the right. With Colonel Gibson, who had part of a regi- ment, he repulsed every attack, and as he neared the turn- pike united with squads of cavalry and teamsters for the protection of an ammunition train. The colors of the Thirty-Ninth fell and rose, fell and rose again, and at last dropped to rise no more, except as a trophy in the enemy's hands.
The Thirty-Second, with one gun, was harassed by cav- alry, but it drew up in square, and with presented bayonets repulsed cach attack. Klein's battallion was also engaged with cavalry, and after the first encounter conducted itself with gallantry.
While the right of the right wing was thus struggling and straggling to the rear, its centre and left were shaken and driven. It was about seven o'clock when the Twenty-Ninth broke away from the five companies of the Twenty-Second which were in the battle line. Davis' division stood long enough to give McCook some faint hope of holding the remainder of his wing. But brigade after brigade broke and scattered. Once Woodruff's brigade, in which was our Eighty-First under its first fire, swung back upon the enemy and regained its first position, though to hold it but a moment. William Abbott, the color-sergeant, clung to the colors after he had received several wounds, and dropped them only when his hand fell nerveless from a mortal hurt. Lieutenant-Colonel Tanner was shot, and unable to drag himself from the ground, lay there hours defenceless under fire, and in the midst of hoofs and wheels.
Sheridan was drawn into the whirl not many minutes after Davis. Twice he changed front under a withering fire. Four times he repulsed assaults. He was almost surrounded before he retired. Bush, who had driven the enemy from Davis' retreating lines, guarded and followed Sheridan's rear,
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losing one caisson, after every horse had been shot, and spending all his ammunition. In a dense wood his two rear guns were forced to halt by retreating infantry. The artil- lerymen remained faithful, until one gun was stuck fast in the trees, nearly all the horses were killed and the enemy was within forty yards.
McCook's command was now gone-Johnson's division crumbled to atoms, Davis' broken to pieces, Sheridan's beaten off the field. More than two miles to the right, a torn and bloody line, over which even the enemy's rear had passed, was all that marked the morning's battle front. Before ten in the forenoon there was but one little foothold for hope on the whole field-that small portion of the front which had as yet been unassailed. Could that breast the nearing tempest until a new line was formed out of the still disengaged troops in the extreme left and reserve, and the fugitives in the rear, the tide might yet be turned. It had been impossi- ble to reinforce Johnson and Davis, so sudden had been their overthrow; and Rousseau had failed in an attempt to move through the cedars in the rear and right of Sheridan, his artillery having been utterly obstructed, and his right brig- ade attacked at disadvantage and forced, in the dark woods, into a desperate fight. But Rosecrans gave his orders to Negley and Palmer to hold their line at every cost, while at every cost he worked to brace it up. One reported to him that General Sill was dead. Another repeated that McCook was slain. Gareschè, his beloved friend, fell at his side, his head torn from his body. "Brave men must die in battle!" said the General. He recalled Van Cleve from the further side of the river, whither that General had reluctantly led his division shortly after daybreak, while the ominous roar and rattle were three miles off.
Van Cleve turned with alacrity. He left Price to guard the ford, and having already sent off Fyffe to protect his train, then threatened in the rear, he advanced on the double- quick with Beatty's brigade over more than a mile of field and wood. General Wood, who had followed Van Cleve to the river, followed him now, and also on the run, toward the right. As they neared the turnpike they were forced to
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move slowly, and at intervals were compelled to stop by wild masses of fugitives. The disorder which obstructed their march was miles in extent, and terrific in aspect. IIorses and mules, furious with terror, were driven, and beaten, and cursed by furious teamsters; cavalry, infantry, artillery, provision-wagons and ammunition-wagons were inextricably entangled; pursued and pursuers were pressed close and intermingled; stars and stripes and stars and bars fluttered and flaunted almost within touch; shells shrieked overhead, and cut a murderous course through the mass; troops struggling backward shamelessly faced troops strug- gling onward, and when indignantly questioned, loudly gave the name and number of their regiment.
The innocent inhabitants of the forest partook of the affright and disorder. From cedar-thickets flocks of little birds wavered and circled above the field. Wild turkeys, rabbits and raccoons fled for shelter to the very fore-front of danger, rubbing against the legs and attracting the attention of the troops. More than one soldier, true to the manly instinct which cannot refuse protection to appealing help- lessness, held nestling in his coat when he left the field, some little quivering creature.
Meantime there was no pause in the swift battle. Polk and Hardee moved on in double lines, artillery firing over the heads of infantry, attacked Negley's right in front and flank, forced it back, and uncovered Miller's right. Ordered to hold his position to the last extremity, Miller had begun to rearrange his lines. He continued his movement, and at the same time directed such a volley of artillery upon the enemy as checked his approach, though without diminishing his fire. Resting the Eighteenth Pennsylvania on a battery on the right, the Twenty-First Ohio on a battery on the left, and giving the centre to the Thirty-Seventh Indiana and Seventy-Fourth Ohio, with a battery, he bent his line like a bow. He struggled hard and long with varying success. The Pennsylvania regiment, under a misunderstanding, fell back when Stanley retreated, but promptly resumed its posi- tion under Miller's direction. Colonel Hull withdrew the Thirty-Seventh from the front to get ammunition, but the
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THE SOLDIER OF INDIANA.
teamsters had fled, and he hastened back to his post with such cartridges as he could gather from the fallen.
Captain Shook describes further the part taken by the Thir- ty-Seventh: " Our regiment was ordered to advance over the rise on our right, since the change of position become our front, and if possible gain the woods, a few rods distant, through which the Rebels were advancing. Our cannon were pouring the grape into their line. Our men advanced gallantly, and bravely held the position several minutes. The enemy's first line wavered and fell back, but advanced again imme- diately. We were moved back five yards, and ordered to lie down and still keep up our fire, while artillery fired over us. The ground was strewed with dead and wounded Reb- els, and we were again ordered forward. After a hard strug- gle we gained our former position. We poured the contents of our rifles into the enemy's ranks, which were just beyond a thin wood. In a short time we were overpowered by numbers, and the sixty rounds of ammunition, which every man had at the beginning, being almost gone, we were moved back to our first position on the edge of the woods. We here lost three guns, seventeen horses being killed. This sharp contest lasted about one hour. I had forty-eight men in the fight on this part of the battle field. Ere we fell back to our first position, twenty had fallen, killed or wounded. We remained at the edge of the woods but a few moments, as artillery opened upon us terribly, and the regiment which had relieved us was pressed back."
The ground on his front and flank was smoking with the enemy's fire, and a bullet had cut through the side of Miller's neck, when he retired. He left five guns on the field, the horses having been killed, but he marched without disorder, without haste, carrying many of his wounded, and loading and firing from the cartridge boxes of the fallen. Encoun- tering a strong body of the enemy on the line of retreat, he drove it off, and cleared his road.
Palmer's division-Cruft's, Hazen's and Grose's brigades- now bore the brunt. It was attacked before Negley retired, and at disadvantage, while changing its position, the enemy sweeping up, still in double lines, with artillery firing over
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