USA > Missouri > Recollections of the 26th Missouri Infantry, in the war for the union > Part 10
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While recovering from his wounds he was permitted to go north, and one circumstance after another led him to pay a visit to every member of his family. This privilege seemed to fill him with a new happiness, and although not usually demonstrative, yet he could not sufficiently express his pleas- ure in seeing all his friends again. To use his own words, "they all seemed invested with a new interest to him." Perhaps the shadow of this earthly farewell was hovering over him.
On returning to his command he stopped at St. Louis, and, as if guided by an overruling hand, he made a short visit to Castle Rock. Of his visit to St. Louis he says: "I
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rejoice to be here once more, and greatly rejoice in the more plentiful number of Union people than when I left it. Iam surprised at the change of feeling towards me, as my old friends very generally seem delighted to greet me. It was reported here that I was killed, and one of my good friends was on the point of sending to Corinth for me, when it was ascertained that my brother had already gone."
In speaking of this visit, a friend says: "Colonel Boomer seemed quite astonished at the enthusiasm with which he was everywhere greeted in going up and down the · road from Jefferson City to St. Louis, and at the former place. As for the people of Castle Rock, their joy was un- bounded when they heard he was going to pay them a visit. He was expected there the day before he went, and all his friends were gathered to meet him. As the next day went by without his appearing, they began to fear they should be disappointed; but when, late in the evening, it was an- nounced that their dear Colonel was crossing the river, men, women, and children rushed to the landing, and with one burst of joy gave him a welcome."
This visit to Missouri gave him great support and com- fort, and on reaching his command, the IIth November, he says his life seemed full of blessings; and, added to the joy of visiting old friends and sharing their confidence, his reg- iment received him in such a manner that he could not speak for some time.
"Colonel Boomer was advised by many of his military friends to seize upon so favorable an opportunity to secure his promotion. The following letter will show the nature of his feelings upon this subject :-
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MEMOIR OF GEN. G. B. BOOMER.
OXFORD, MISSOURI, December S.
"DEAR SISTER :- Your kind letters are received; and let me thank you again for the interest you take in me, for it is rare, and I trust you believe that I bear no ungrateful heart toward you in return.
. "I want to explain to you why I have taken no active measures to obtain promotion. I don't believe in it, and could not do it. Advancement is only valuable as it serves one's purpose. I have certain views of what is high and lofty in life, with which the means of advancement in these days do not always consort. I will not, in other words. do certain things to be promoted.
"My position is an honorable one, and one which gives me, in my own locality, all the reputation I deserve; for there is a true estimate of a man's qualities in the field; and if I am promoted it must be in such a way that I shall be proud of it, for it is not so distinguished an honor that great sacrifices should be made to attain it.
"I am fond of reflecting upon what I think have been right actions in my past career, that is, self sacrificing and meritorious. I desire to enlarge this resource continually ; and it is not to be done by advanced position, unless all things are equal.
"Some things have occurred recently which afford me more satisfaction than any promotion the powers at Wash- ington could give me without them. Shortly after I arrived here it was intimated that I was to be placed in command of a brigade, and when it was known that our division was to be reinforced with new regiments and reorganized, all the old regiments of the division, except two, applied to be as- signed to my brigade.
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"It would be egotistical for me to tell you of all the love and confidence that have been shown nie in this affair, by men of all ranks: suffice it to say, I feel really affected by it, and would not exchange it for forty brigadierships. Gen- eral Grant has treated me with the utmost consideration. I had no right to expect it.
"I have been placed in command of General Schuyler Hamilton's old division at New Madrid, with the exception of the Fifty-ninth Indiana. It is composed of some of the very best regiments in the army; and I hope now to be of more use in subduing our foes than I have been heretofore."
This promotion in the army was followed by recom- mendations from Generals Grant, Rosecrans, Hamilton. Quimby, and others in the field, asserting that Col. Boomer was an officer who had been tried, and deserved at the hands of his country the same promotion at Washington that had been given him unasked in the field. These recommendations were seconded by the governor and senators of Missouri; but at that time some favorite at Washington received the meed that was his due.
The following extracts from letters will show that Col- onel B. felt deeply solicitous for our cause on return to the field :- .
"January 8, 1863.
"DEAR S --:- We are now on the Memphis and Charleston Railroad, fourteen miles from the city, guarding it. Our division guarded a train of five hundred wagons to Memphis and return-the most disagreeable service we have had."
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January 19.
"We are going to Vicksburg as soon as we can get boats, probably ten days yet. I am not over cheerful in regard to matters in general."
Early in February he paid his last visit to St. Louis.
"CAMP NEAR MEMPHIS, February 22.
"MY DEAR SISTER :- On my arrival here yesterday I found some late letters from you, and some old ones missing heretofore, covering a long interval, and bringing with them quite a retrospect. It seems. then, that I have at times writ- ten in blue lines. 'Well, that cannot be helped, for there are at times enough vexations to wear out the fortitude of the most patient of men. It is not at the necessary trials or ob- stacles to be overcome, but to see undone what might be done, and done what should not be done."
"GRAND LAKE LANDING, March 7.
"DEAR SISTER :- We are one and a half miles north of - Louisiana line, and twenty north of Lake Providence. It was intended to work through these lakes into Bayou Mas- con, from thence into Red River, and through the latter into the Mississippi above Port Hudson. This plan is now aban- doned, and we are going up the river to what is called the Yazoo Pass, on the Mississippi side. We expect to go through that pass into Moon Lake, thence into the Cold Wa- ter and Tallahatchie Rivers and through these into Yazoo River, to a point above Vicksburg, which we propose to at- tack in the rear. There are five divisions going this route. "I went yesterday down to Lake Providence to see General McPherson. It is one of the most lovely spots in
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the world. The lake runs west from the river, and is about three-fourths of a mile wide. The water is clear, and skirted around the edge of the shore with luxuriant trees, hung with moss, so thick in places that it looks like a veil. The banks are about twelve feet high. The road runs along on the edge of it, which is lined with elegant residences, the plantations running back to the swamps. These plantations, deserted by their owners, are now occupied by our troops ; while the generals in command find commodious quarters in the fine houses.
"I wish you could see this wealth of beauty; it is my first realization of the splendors of the Oriental. The beau- tiful foliage and luxuriant flowers and shrubs, profuse in fra- grance, the brilliant birds, gorgeous in coloring. combined with the freshness of a sunny spring day, are enough to take one away from the fact of a despoiling war into fairy land.
"Well, there is always some sweet intermixed with the bitter. Military matters do not look so beautifully. I am not entirely pleased with the present plan, and asked Gen- eral McPherson to go yesterday and see General Grant about it. Whether he can effect any change remains to be seen.
"General Grant is opposite Vicksburg, with half the army; the other half will be with us. I think they ought to be together. Whatever is done the force should never be divided.
"I am well, and, though a good deal disquieted at times, I have made up my mind to see what I can do for my coun- try. I will not entertain the idea of deserting what I have undertaken, but try to make the best of things as they are.
"I am so much obliged to you for your letters, and in- deed I will write you more frequently than I have done; and
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if you will keep my letters I shall be glad. It might be a pleasure to me sometime in the future to look them over and see what I thought and felt during this struggle, though they are poor affairs."
"HELENA, ARKANSAS, March 14.
"I am left here in charge of the Second and Third Bri- gades of this division, to procure transportation and embark them down the Yazoo Pass. General Quimby left this morn- ing with the First Brigade."
"FLAG . SHIP STEAMER W. W. CRAWFORD, "AT LANDING, FIVE MILES BELOW HELENA, ARKANSAS, March 22. 1863.
"I have been waiting here a number of days for trans- ports to take my command into Yazoo River. I have now obtained them, and we are embarked ready to leave to-mor- row morning. We shall undoubtedly have a rough time of it working through a narrow, crooked bayou, overhung with trees, but we will work through nevertheless. The enemy will be likely to fight us too after we land, I think, as it will be their policy to do so before we get the rest of our forces in; but they will have a hard time at that, as we have good troops, consisting of eight regiments and three batteries.
"This expedition will prove a failure. I fear. My opin- ion has been expressed to General Grant and General McPherson in advance. I shall try my best, however, which is all the satisfaction from it that I look forward to. I am well and in good spirits."
"HEAD-QUARTERS STEAMER CRAWFORD, "AT HELENA, April 11, 1863.
"DEAR SISTER :- I waited for the aid of this bright morning to write you a cheerful letter.
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"You remember that in Nursery Rhymes the King of France and Duke of York, with twice ten thousand men did great things. We have done the same, under much greater difficulties, with half that number of men. We have dem- onstrated what can, and, more, what cannot be done. Well. to come to the facts in the case, we have chased the so-called Southern Confederacy up and down all its small creeks, and I judge, from the effect our movements have produced on ourselves, that we have wrought very much confusion in the minds of our enemies.
"I do not feel like making any review of my expedition even for your benefit, for I am in too good humor. Still, you shall have some knowledge of it, even from me.
"I will content myself now with saying, that, after a trip which nearly worried the life out of me, we arrived at Fort Greenwood. We remained there two days and a half, which time I occupied in reconnoitring. and talking to the enemy's pickets-the same enemy we met at Corinth and Iuka, and who knew us at once. and were glad to see us. At the expiration of this time, under peremptory orders. we retired in good order. which, under the circumstances, was quite surprising to me, as the enemy saluted us with a few shells at parting and killed a few men by guerilla firing from the banks. We arrived here last night, and are going to Lake Providence to-day. Where our future destination is, I don't know.
"On the trip down, while one morning in the pilot- house of the Belle Creole, a limb burst suddenly through. and cut my right eyelid badly.
"You would be amused to see our boats-nothing but a photograph could describe them.
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"My boat had to lie still about half the time, waiting for the others; and one day I gathered some beautiful flow- ers. I send you an apple blossom, which was most delicious when fresh, though there are few traces of its fragrance now.
"MILLIKIN'S BEND, April 20, 1863.
" DEAR S -:- We are twenty miles above Vicks- burg by water; arrived here the 15th ;
"My brigade has a fine camp inside the levee along the river. General Grant's headquarters are just on the right of my line.
"Colonel P-is here, working nobly at a new canal, which will be a success for the object intended; viz. to supply our army below Vicksburg with provisions, etc. One corps d'armee ( McClernand's) is already at Carthage.
"Eight gunboats and two steamboats ran the blockade Thursday night. It was the most magnificent sight I ever saw. Over five hundred shots were fired at them, which set fire to one of the steamers loaded with cotton. The rebels lighted a bonfire to illuminate the river; and between this and the flashes of the guns, the reports, and the explosion of the shells, together with the interest felt in the safety of the boats and crews, all conspired to create quite an ex- citement.
"Our prospects are brightening. The troops are con- centrated, and can soon be used, I think."
" CAMP ON BIG BLACK RIVER, MISSISSIPPI, MAY 6.
"At last through the 'many and various" we are two days in bivouac as above.
"I am in excellent spirits. Major Brown is in here,
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and I am abusing him and having a real 'feast of reason' and 'flow of soul:' indeed. it is hard to bring myself down to write, being in a ripe condition to use my tongue instead of my pen; and while I know you are glad of it, yet I believe too you would like to have me make the sacrifice to write.
"I left Millikin's Bend the 25th April, and arrived here on the evening of May 3, having marched, by the route I took, about one hundred and twenty miles, a portion of the distance over horrible roads. I crossed my command over the Mississippi River in the interim, and laid by one day for other troops to pass, and moved the last day in the face of the enemy.
"Since General Grant commenced to move his columns he has displayed great tact and skill, together with immense energy and nerve. The passage of this army over the Miss- issippi River and up to this point is one of the most masterly movements known in the history of any warfare, and it is a success.
"We shall soon commence the second movement, when you will probably hear of a tremendous battle, and I trust a victory.
"You have no idea, my dear sister, of the beauty and wealth of this country. In Louisiana many of the planta- tions along the bayous and rivers are magnificent in the ex- treme, especially the grounds, covered with every variety of vegetation, all of the most luxuriant growth."
"BIVOUAC FIVE MILES EAST OF UTICA, ON
"RAYMOND ROAD, MISSISSIPPI, May 11, 1893.
"DEAR SISTER :- I am up very early this morning under orders to move but am waiting for the columns to get off.
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It is about five o'clock a. m. I have had my breakfast; the air is damp, chilly and smoky. The dust, or something" else, with a slight cold, have caused a soreness in my right lung and throat, so that I am feeling poorly.
"One thing which aids this condition is the news in the Southern papers announcing another reverse to our arms in Virginia. I hope it may not be true, but the probabilities seem to be that it is. If so, there seems little hope of ac- complishing anything there for a long time; and, besides, it will have a bad effect upon us here. We have enough before us at best, although the General is doing nobly, and has troops of great valor to bring him through.
" You will know by this time that I am not feeling well, and as I cannot send you a letter now, being in the South- ern Confederacy, so called, I will await to-day's march."
Sunday Evening, 17.
"Since I wrote the above I have seen and felt more than I can express to you.
"Our active operations began that day. We marched twelve miles and fought a battle before Raymond. The forces engaged on either side were comparatively small- one and a half division of ours, and about the same of the enemy.
"The night after the battle we bivouacked in Ray- mond. I led the advance toward Jackson; skirmished for eleven miles under dreadful heat and dust. The enemy did not engage his main force, I lost none; some were slightly wounded.
"The next morning ( it rained all day) we met the en- emy, under General Joe Johnson, eight miles in front of
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town. Our division joined in double line of battle, drove them from their position, captured their artillery, pushed them over their works and through the town, which we oc- cupied at four o'clock p. m.
" The morning following we turned again for Vicks- burg, made a march of sixteen miles, and yesterday, after marching five miles, met the enemy's whole army in splen- did fashion, moved out to fight the battle of Vicksburg. We had but four divisions at hand to meet them with, and one of those could scarcely be said to have a part in the battle (Brigadier-General Osterhaus's). The other three were Hovey's. of McClernand's corps, General Logan's, and ours of McPherson's. General Grant and General Mc- Pherson were both on the field. General Logan's division and Sanborn's brigade were the right, General Hovey the left. I was ordered first left, then right, and finally, as the enemy massed all his force on General Hovey and com- menced to rout him, I was ordered back again to the left, on the double quick, to support him. I did it manfully. though his force was completely routed by the time I got on the ground, and there was terrible danger of panic among my men for a moment. As his scattered forces passed by, I swung my lines into position under a terrible fire and drove them back. They reinforced again and came up, at the same time endeavoring to flank me on the left. I swung my left back again, and held them until I received two reg- iments from Holmes's brigade, which enabled me to drive them from the field.
"I captured what was left of a Georgia regiment and an Arkansas battalion. While we were doing this, Gen- eral McPherson had forced their right, and they fled in ut-
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ter consternation. The result was the capture of two thous- and prisoners and sixteen pieces of artillery. The loss was about equal on both sides.
"The great struggle was on the left. General Hovey fought well; his men drove the enemy a long distance; but they were all worn out, their ammunition gone, and the en- emy poured their whole force against him.
"The victory was great and decisive, but, oh ! at how dear a cost to me ! Five hundred and fifty-one of my brave men were killed or wounded ! I cannot bear to think of it- the way they fought and fell.
"Major Brown, of my own regiment, is among the killed. He was as noble and gallant as he was pure and true, and his spirit will never die. He handled the regiment he commanded during that hot fight as though it were pas- time, and his praise is on every tongue.
"Captain Welker was also killed, and we buried him with Lieutenant-Colonel Horney, of the Tenth Missouri, and my dear friend Brown, this morning, side by side, in rude coffins, with a description of the locality, that will identify their graves if the rude mementoes we placed at their heads are lost.
"We are now at the crossing of the Big Black River, near the railroad crossing. A part of the enemy had not crossed when our forces reached here. General A. J. Smith's Division, of McClernand's Corps, charged on them, and they surrendered before our line reached them-about three thousand in all.
"The enemy are totally demoralized, and a large force of them scattered in every direction. To-morrow we shall
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know what of Vicksburg. The indications are very favor- able for us in every quarter of this campaign.
"I thank God that my life has been thus far spared, and trust it may be until the end. I have not been scratched. My horse yesterday was shot in the leg, but he kept the field with me. I think much credit is awarded me for my conduct. and I feel that I have done my duty.
"Our noble soldiers have borne every hardship, trial and fatigue, hunger, thirst, heat, and death, without a mur- mur."
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DEATH AND BURIAL.
The last letter in the preceding chapter was received long after the hand that penned it lay cold in death.
The movements of our Western Army, from its hour of triumph at Champion Hills (to which allusion is made in that letter) to the disastrous assault of the 22d of May upon the enemy's almost impregnable defenses at Vicksburg, must be familiar to the mind of every reader.
On the morning of that day, General Grant issued an order that the whole line should make the assault at ten o'clock, a command that was promptly obeyed by Gener- als Sherman and McPherson; but this was not the case with General McClernand, who called for reinforcements before taking the field. In answer to General McClernand's re- quest, the Seventh Division of General McPherson's corps was assigned him as a reinforcement; but instead of its be- ing kept as a reserve it was ordered to the front.
. It is maintained by many of Boomer's friends that from the moment this decision was known he looked apprehen- sively upon the result to himself, and said to one of them, standing near, that he should never see St Louis again.
He was prostrated by the laborious campaign, fatigued by the fighting of the morning, disappointed at the result. and filled with a sense of injustice that the worn troops
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should be sent to the front while McClernand's fresh sol- diers were kept in reserve. All these would naturally com- bine to fill his mind with depression, which might have been the only ground for belief that some foreshadowing of his fate rested upon him.
Before making that fatal charge he gave directions that in case he fell his body should be sent to his sister in Cleve- land, Ohio; and remembering, with a tenderness peculiar to his nature, that dear home in Missouri, desiring in his last moments to recognize the tie that bound him to it, he also ordered that the field officers of his own regiment should bear his body from the battle ground.
He then, with alacrity and cheerfulness, marched with his brigade to the scene of contest.
General Carr, in a private letter, says :-
"Boomer was perfectly cool and collected. He exam- ined the position carefully, formed his men into two lines, took his place, and said, 'Boys, I shall be with you right between the lines,' and, giving the usual commands, marched · them forward over the brow of and down the first hill or ridge.
"As soon as the men appeared over the brow of the ridge, the enemy's fire opened, and was terribly hot, but did not have much effect, as they fired high, and the men imme- diately commenced to descend the steep slope.
"At the bottom of this slope there was a ravine . full of fallen trees and brush, very difficult to get over. After the men had scrambled across this, Boomer went on to the next ridge, and was making his arrangements for continuing his march, when he received his death wound.
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"His last words were, .Boys, don't charge those works.' He had discovered that it was too much for them to do." .
This heroic officer was killed instantly by a bullet from the sharp-shooters, which pierced his head.
Whether he had any presentiment of his death or not, he had looked it in the face, and was prepared to meet it calmly as a condition of his loyalty, as a proof that he loved his country well.
There is a martyr's spirit in our war as true and grand as that which the poet comprehended, when, in describing the dying gladiator in the Roman arena, he painted him as one "whose manly brow consents to death, but conquers agony," a martyr's spirit more touching and sublime than any which "men or angels have ever gazed upon since they saw the drooping victim of Calvary's middle cross."
On learning the valuable service which this true hearted patriot had accomplished for his country at Champion Hills, Governor Gamble again requested that the President should confer upon him the rank which had long been justly his due.
The following answer was received to this petition :-
"Gov. H. B. GAMBLE :- In answer to your request, the President directs me to say that the government will tes- tify its sense of the gallant conduct of Colonel Boomer by his appointment as Brigadier-General.
"EDWIN M. STANTON, "Secretary of War."
In accordance with the wishes of this officer, the attempt was made to send his body north; but the facilities for em-
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balming bodies were so imperfect in the army, and transpor- tation was so difficult, that it was deemed advisable to bury him at Young's Point, until such time as his friends could furnish a safe passport.
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