USA > Indiana > The soldier of Indiana in the war for the union, Vol. II > Part 16
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69
On the twenty-third of February, at cight o'clock in the morning, a Lieutenant of the Thirty-Seventh Indiana was marched by the guard to the front of his regiment, which had been formed on the color line. He was halted and com- pelled to stand while he was stripped of his shoulder straps and an order was read dishonorably dismissing him from the service of the United States for abandoning his company in the midst of action.
General Rosecrans endeavored to form a Roll of Honor of men conspicuous for manly and soldierly virtues. For that purpose he issued an order that two privates and one non-commissioned officer should be chosen from each com- pany in the army, one commissioned officer from each regi- ment, and one field officer from each brigade. The order was disapproved by the Department. The General accord- ingly relinquished a distinct organization, but he was unwill- ing that the men who had been placed upon the Roll of Honor should remain undistinguished in the common throng, and he directed them to wear a red ribbon in their button
179
TROOPS BROUGHT UP FROM THE REAR.
hole. They were indifferent, however, to the distinction, or at least to the device. The American soldier sometimes depreciates empty and useless honors. The power which thrills his soul and nerves his arm is not Glory, but Duty.
The army was reinforced chiefly from the troops whichi had been guarding Kentucky. General Reynolds with the greater part of his division arrived early in January. The Nineteenth battery, after a heavy march, reached Stone river the day after the last engagement. With the One Hundred and First regiment, which followed, it was put in Hall's brigade, of Reynolds' division. The Eighteenth bat- tery, which reached the front nearly at the same time, and the Seventeenth and Seventy-Second regiments, were put in Wilder's brigade, which ineluded, also, the Seventy-Sixth Indiana and the Ninety-Eighth and One Hundred and Twenty-Third Illinois.
Colonel Coburn's brigade, including the Thirty-Third and Eighty-Fifth, arrived in February, and was thrown forward to Brentwood. The Sixty-Eighth and Eighty-Fourtli and Fourth cavalry were brought up from the rear during the course of the spring, and the Eighty-Fourth was advanced to Franklin.
On the nineteenth of January the army was divided into three corps,-the Fourteenth, Twentieth and Twenty-First, commanded by Thomas, McCook and Crittenden.
The heavy rains of winter greatly restrained the action of the army, and enforced the monotony of prolonged camp life.
The soldier's pen, in letters home and in his diary, portrays his manner of living, and, at the same time, unconsciously betrays the noble patience of his character.
Extracts from letters of Darwin Thomas:
"I wish I could see the faintest prospect of peace. Every time I see the word peace I look at it as the prettiest word I have ever seen. When will it come? If the war continues long I don't expect to see the time, for such fighting as is donc now will soon kill 'every man. I don't know where the enemy has gone. I hope a good way off.
" Murfreesboro has been quite a place for business, and has had, I should think, about two thousand inhabitants, but
180
THE SOLDIER OF INDIANA.
there is no business done now, and nearly all the houses seem empty. As we came through I saw only about a half a dozen women; one of these was in a great rage on account of having to do her own washing, since we had coaxed her negroes away. She was a nice looking woman, but consid- erably ruffled as she rubbed away at the wash-board, growl- ing about the 'blue coats.'"
" We are intrenching vigorously in our front, and forward- ing with some speed the fortifications inside of our lines. It would surprise you to see the works that are begun, the strongest kind of earthworks, and inside of these are block- houses, made of the largest sized trees, also, magazines and water tanks. If we are allowed time to finish them we can certainly withstand the attack of the whole Confederacy. You must remember, too, that away out in front of all these works is that same army which gave the Rebels such a pounding not long ago in the open field, and made them run from their own ground.
"I am sorry you are uneasy about me. When you think of the hardships I am liable to, you must remember that I am stout both in heart and body; and of the danger, that it is inevitable. Let your first hope be that I may do my duty, and then, if you choose, that I may be spared to see you again. Soldiering is not so hard as it is often represented to the people at home. A person gets used to it, and if he has good health, can get along very well since it must be en- dured. I have not been disappointed in the work, nor am I in the prospect of the duration of the war. No dark hour discourages me, for I think it may be the hour just before the dawn. I believe the only way of settling the cause is by war, and with an army in the South, and a worse gang of traitors in the North, to fight, there is no telling what will come to pass. I should like above all things to be at home, but I should not be contented there while it is the duty of every man to be in the army. Every one can see that the country must be saved, that it would be a disgrace to the human race for us to fail in this war. If we do fail it will be because there are more traitors than patriots in the coun- try, which can scarcely be true."
181
RIGHTEOUS WRATH.
"In answer to your inquiries. First, the Sabbaths are spent just as other days are. Second, I have but very little to eat, no fruit nor vegetables. It would be a good thing if the people at home would send to the army canned fruit, butter and so forth, marked, Sanitary Stores. The sick often die, I am sure, just for want of something that they can eat. They get low-spirited when they think of home, and go right down. You may believe all you hear about sick soldiers."
"The rain is checked up for a day or two, and the weather is pleasant and spring like. The grass is growing, the birds are singing, the soldiers have nice, new clothes, which they very much needed after the wear and tear of a week's fight- ing, and lying down flat in the mud, either to hide from the enemy, or at night to sleep. It always rains half the time at least during so long a battle, and you can imagine how much damage is done to the clothes of men who must be out night and day. The paymaster is here, too, and by the time we are all paid the army will be in 'never a better con- dition.' Our pickets are kept strong. Picketing, foraging, and working on the fortifications are regular employments. No regiment gets more than one or two days' rest in a week."
"Our cavalry are doing fine business, scouting through the country in every direction, pitching into the enemy just as he did into us at Nashville."
"You ask how much pay I get. I have never inquired. I am not particular what I get, so that it pays my expenses. A man in the army, exposed to death all the time, don't care much for expenses unless he has some one at home to support."
"How are the sympathizers in Indiana by this time? I should not be surprised if they should get discouraged in their attempts ere long; for stopping the war is not going to be so popular as they hoped. The men in this army arc going to make it a regular business to hang all who did not support them while fighting to save their homes from inva- sion, and while guarding them in the enjoyment of peace; and all who have written letters to soldiers trying to render them discontented and insubordinate, are to be hanged by the heels. A letter was received by one of our boys not long
182
THE SOLDIER OF INDIANA.
ago, stating that the object of the war was changed; that the change of sentiment in the North was surprising; that not another recruit could be raised in Warren county, either vol- unteer or drafted, and many things against the Administra- tion that are calculated to poison the minds of those who are as weak as the writer is traitorous. The man who wrote the letter shed tears last spring, and said that the time had come for every man to do something. But as soon as the country is saved from a draft, and his sons are in no danger, he does everything he can against the operations of the army. If such conduct is persisted in to any considerable extent, the object of the war will be changed, and the seat of war, too.
"Put aside the idea of closing the war in a few months or a few years. Let the time be nothing, and the object everything. The Government will be very fortunate if it succeeds in putting down the rebellion in any length of time, or at any cost, other than an overrunning of the Northern States by hostile armies, and the desolation of the homes of good people as the homes of Rebels are here. Even at this cost the Government will be sustained, for there are now enough men who see that to allow the States to be divided is to lose their country-to fight till all learn. Preparations for war should be as active as when the war began. I hope none among Republicans will become weak-kneed, and thus consent to prolong the war."
"Sunday in this country is hard to distinguish from other days. Many soldiers let it pass by unnoticed, but I have not been so long in the army but that I feel a little decenter, and fancy, as I did when a boy, that the sun shines a little brighter than during the week. General Rosecrans always observes the Sabbath when it is possible. On our march from Nashville we rested on that day, and after the battle, on Sunday morning, before he knew that the enemy had gone, he determined not to renew the contest till Monday."
" The weather is quite cold, and I am glad that I have a house to live in. When we leave here I shall have myself to break in again. Before I got to Nashville I felt as if I could march all over creation in a few days if my boots were good." 1
183
"WHERE IS MY MOTHER?"
" It would do me no good to see some one from home, and afford the one who should come but little pleasure. I notice quite a number of ladies here visiting their husbands. Colo- nel Hawkins' wife spent four weeks with him just before the battle, and started home when he started for the field. IIe was almost the first man killed in our brigade. He was Colonel of the Thirteenth Ohio, and is one of the men I am going to talk about when I get home. Colonel Fyffe sent me to him the night before the battle to tell him to be ready to march straight into Murfreesboro early in the morning. He replied: "Some of us may get there." It was in the first of the battle that I saw his horse leaving the field with- out a rider."
" Mother, it pleases me very much on opening a letter, to see your hand-writing. If you could see what I have seen, you would not think it necessary to ask your son for a prom- inent place in his heart. Every soldier thinks of his mother first. The dying soldier never forgets to mention her. In the first part of the battle, we rode past a young man of the Rebel army, who was lying alone on the field. His face was covered with blood from a wound in his head. He was calling for his mother. "Where is my mother? I must see my mother." We set him up, gave him a drink, and passed on. I presume his troubles were soon ended."
"Dear mother: How rich I feel every time I write the word mother! After giving up everything as I have done, and counting everything lost, I don't believe I could live if I were not cheered by the thought that I still have a mother. I can look ahead and face the enemy, but I can't look back to the home of my childhood without emotion."
I am very anxious about the success of our arms, but am satisfied to leave the matter to those who have the control of our affairs, and I will try to be 'patient of cold, of hunger and of watching,' till peace shall come."
"May 17. Well, we have been sorely defeated again in Virginia. I wish they would stop fighting there, sacrificing men for nothing. That army had better lie still a year or two yet, until the Administration can comprehend the mag- nitude of the work and provide the necessary means to per-
184
THE SOLDIER OF INDIANA.
form it. I expect it will be necessary to allow the enemy to invade the free States yet in order to arouse the country to a sense of its danger. No man ought to be contented at home now; but the people have gone to sleep again through- out the North, or they are quietly wondering if this war will ever come to an end, while their friends are suffering and dying far from home."
"We have all been cheered up within the past few days by good news from home, brought to us by T. Buchanan Read, of Cincinnati. He addressed our brigade yesterday. He commenced by saying: "Soldiers of the Army of the Cumberland, I come to you the bearer of good news. I come in the name of the people of Ohio and Indiana, to tell you that you are not forgotten," &c. Then he read the reso- lutions adopted at the mass meetings held in Cincinnati and Indianapolis, also a letter which Governor Morton had writ- ten to him on hearing that he was about to start to the army, asking him to say for him to the soldiers, that they should have the support of Indiana, whatever the conse- quences might be. You ought to hear the shouts of the soldiers from all States whenever Governor Morton is men- tioned. The name of Rosecrans can scarcely raise a louder shout. Mr. Read gave us every assurance that we should be defended in the rear while fighting the enemy in front. Our army is daily becoming more efficient on account of discipline and better regulations. But everything depends on the loyalty of the people, for bravery and discipline will not shield the army from bullets nor from sickness, and the ranks must be recruited."
It was cruel that our self-sacrificing soldiers should be offended and afflicted by disloyalty in the North. Their let- ters invariably show the keenest feeling in regard to the subject.
In the previous November Henry Williams wrote to his father: "It is galling in the worst degree to think of the result of the elections. As Ed. Edsall, of the Thirtieth, re- marked to me the other day: 'The treason sympathizers have conquered,' and further: 'Old Abe will have to end the war speedily, or the next Congress will do it for him, and
185
"SAIL ON, O UNION, STRONG AND GREAT "
in a way of its own.' If the soldiers could come home sud- denly, some men would tremble in their shoes. Soldiers can wish for nothing better than to feast over the political death of high traitors at home. With many it should be a social as well as political expulsion."
Again, six months later: "I could not rest quietly at home until the Rebellion is entirely crushed, or on the straight road to destruction; much less could I live where half the people are virtually traitors. The army is the nat- ural receptacle for the outraged patriotism of young men.
" Many a Rebel has suffered from the ire engendered by the treachery of Northern Copperheads. Since opposition to the war has assumed a definite shape, there is no doubt that our soldiers fight with more determination than ever before."
Palmer Dunn, who was captured at Stone river, but re- leased on parole, and was allowed to return to his home on account of his wound, wrote on the twenty-second of Feb- ruary to his brother:
" It is Washington's birth day. Well do I remember how it was celebrated two years ago at Miami University. And to-day all the students who took a prominent part in that celebration are in the Union army to help sustain the senti- ments they there uttered. Truly did Professor Sering tell us that we were then living in 'stormy times.' The storm has abated none during the two years. It has increased in vio- lence. The waves are larger and the wind is blowing a per- fect galc. Our good old ship, now crippled, seems drifting at the mercy of the wind. But there are brave hearts and stout arms on board, straining every nerve and muscle to control the vessel, and with God's help the good ship will safely reach the port with all on board.
"I sometimes feel discouraged when I find so many of our young men apparently so little interested in the war, seeming to have no idea of the greatness of the cause for which we are contending.
" I am in hopes that the conscription act will be passed by Congress this session. I wish to see every possible effort put forth by our Government to bring the war to an honor- able and speedy termination. There must be but one way,
186
THE SOLDIER OF INDIANA.
that is to conquer the South, and make it return to its allegi- ance. Let our States assure their soldiers that their hearts and prayers are with them. Let them vote men and money. Let each and all put their shoulders to the wheel, thus prov- ing to the Government their undivided loyalty and carnest- ness. Then, and not till then, will the Union be restored."
Extracts from the diary of Captain Shook, of the Thirty- Seventh:
"January 11. Our chaplain preached the funeral sermon of twenty-six of the men of our regiment who were killed in the action before Murfreesboro. His text was: 'The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.'"
"January 14. I visited the battle ground. Dead horses were everywhere. The trees were torn and twisted by can- non balls. Bushes and limbs were shot to pieces. Graves of men were thick over the whole field. But a few days ago those who now lic slumbering here, were full of life, health and hope. In a few moments they were cut down, their earthly career ended, their places in our ranks left blank, and their hearth stones at home left desolate. With no mon- ument to tell the passer by, many brave and noble boys rest here, far away from home. This was a sad and dreadful contest for our little regiment. The regiment did its whole duty. Although the first fight, the men fought like heroes of a hundred battles."
"Twenty-second. Our regiment had to furnish one hun- dred and sixty men for picket. It took about all we could raise. Our men are much under the weather.
"Twenty-fifth. I visited the burying ground and the grave of Arthur McCuen. Poor Arthur! He was wounded in the thigh, the bone badly fractured. He bore his sufferings with- out grumbling. He had fought bravely. There was no bet- ter, braver, nor more upright soldier.
" Twenty-eighth. Ground covered with snow, air piercing. We have to furnish pickets again to-day. It takes all the privates to fill the detail. We received to-day the Despatch of the twenty-second, containing the traitorous resolutions of Ed. Ferris, offered in the Indiana Legislature. If the North is to be divided in sentiment and action, we may as well
187
THE THIRTY-SEVENTH ON PICKET.
give up the old ship at once. It makes the blood boil in a soldier's veins to think that he has left his home, and under- gone the privations and dangers of a seventeen months' cam- paign, to have all he has done counteracted by those who should be his friends.
" February 8. The news from the North is rather discour- aging. So much dissension and discord. It is a deplorable thing.
" Ninth. All the privates again put on picket. The boys are much chagrined.
" Tenth. All able for duty went foraging. It appears that we are doing our full share of duty. It is very hard on the men.
" Twenty-fifth. I cannot see why more men are not sick, considering the amount of duty they have to perform, and the weather. At least every third day, for over two months, they have been completely drenched with rain, and have been on duty, at an average, every alternate day, and they have improved upon it. A man can do almost anything."
Henry Campbell, a boy in years, and almost child-like in appearance, yet as manly in endurance and action as the stoutest of his comrades in Lilly's battery, describes the rainy weather of Murfreesboro:
"The weather here is very changeable, raining almost every other day. It will be clear one day, and the next morn- ing it will look as if we were going to have another clear day, when, about nine o'clock, it will begin to get dark, and about ten it will commence raining. It commences just as easy as it can; first one or two drops, then stop, then a little harder till it gets to raining steadily, which it continues to do all day long."
The following letters are from members of the Seventieth, which remained at Gallatin until June, when it advanced to Lavergne:
" I must tell you about my visit to Mitchellsville, and hunt for the Captain's trunk. As soon as I heard it was there I proposed, as the surest and quickest way of getting it, to go for it myself. Getting a pass, I went to the depot. The morning train had just gone, but there was a train with sol-
188
THE SOLDIER OF INDIANA.
diers waiting for an engine to go up to Munfordsville. The engine came just as the tavern bell near by rang for dinner, so I jumped on the train, wood cars, and was off without dinner. We passed the tunnel, a dark, dismal, dangerous thing, and switched off the track about a mile further on. The soldiers, Thirteenth Kentucky, got off, ran about, cracked hickory nuts, and seemed to enjoy themselves hugely. We were waiting for the passenger train from the North, but three and four o'clock came, and no train! At five I began to be uneasy. What under heavens was best to be done! It was getting colder, and to sleep with the Kentucky boys was out of the question. I had overheard them say they had but few rations, and a soldier never has a spare blanket. The best thing I could do was to start full speed for Mitch- ellsville, a long twelve miles! Passing the pickets I showed my pass two or three times, and hurried on, thinking what I might have done, and what was best to do. I might have waited, and had a comfortable night's rest in camp, but my pass was dated, and a short time to go on, too. I might have started when the train first stopped, had I known it! The farther I went the faster I went. I grew more uneasy every step, remembering the trains had been fired into lately, notwithstanding guards were all along the road, and remem- bering Pa's only advice, 'Never wander off alone.' So I resolved to try the first house I came to, but every house I passed looked deserted; one with fine cedar trees was all dark and torn to pieces inside. At last I came in sight of a large white house, some hundred yards off the road, which seemed occupied. I went to the gate; there was a bright light inside, and rather loud talking. I went to the door. A rather old looking man, hearing my story, asked me in by the fire, saying, "Come in, I can't turn you out in the cold!" I sat down before the fire, and a tremendous one it was, too- some ten feet long, and all ablaze. The old man sat down in one corner, by the bed, rocking a cradle, a young woman in the other corner, picking away at cotton, and a young darkey, black as night, stood in the kitchen door, with a straw hat on big enough to sleep under, staring at me from head to foot. The conversation, of course, was on politics for an
189
HOSPITALITY.
hour or so, I sympathizing with their situation. Nearly everything had been taken by one army or the other.
" The old man, when he heard I was from Indiana, said he loved Indiana boys. They used to come to him to get things, but always paid for them, and never took things that he wanted himself. If he could leave this place he would not stop until he reached the Indiana shore. They didn't like Lincoln's freeing the negroes, but I explained that as well as I could, and they thought I was right. They hadn't heard any news for so long that they seemed very glad to licar what little I knew. 'I tell you, stranger,' the woman said, 'if this war don't end soon our children will go about beggin'. I wish to God there could be an understandin' on both sides among the common soldiers, and every one, to a man, lay down his arms, and live in peace at home, and let these here fellers what's got the war up, and what don't jest keer how long it lasts, jest so they make money, fight as long as they please.' I told her that would be fine, indeed, and I wished the same.
" Here politics dropped. The next question was, 'Are you a single man?' I had to think what he meant, then said I was; that I was yet quite a young man, only eighteen. "The girls all pester me,' the woman remarked, 'for marrying an old man, but I tell 'em if I'd married a young man I'd a been a widder long ago.'
. "She then went up stairs, and came back saying the bed was ready. The black boy took the light, and we went up. A small feather bed was lying on the floor, with quilts, white sheets, and everything quite civilized. The boy looked at me as if I were some superhuman being. When I com- menced winding my watch he said, 'I don't see how ye tells de time ob a night when's dark. How does ye tell de time den?'
" The wind blew cold through the cracks, but you'd better believe I had a good ten hours sleep. I hadn't been well for weeks, but it seemed to cure me. The next morning I ate a hearty breakfast of corn bread, pork, and a glass of butter- milk, the first bite I had tasted since the morning before. I gave the old man a greenback, thanked him for his kindness,
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.