USA > New Hampshire > A history of the Eleventh New Hampshire Regiment, Volunteer Infantry in the rebellion war, 1861-1865, pt 1 > Part 17
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place, in his mind, altogether too attractive, and he asked to be relieved. Permission was given him to retire, and an old sergeant was assigned to the place. who located himself where he could see all that was transpiring. and where he could also get in a shot when necessary.
Orders had been given us, when we came to McMil- lan's, that in case the enemy appeared in our front we should at once notify General Ferrero, whose head-quar- ters had just been changed from near the ford, and were now located a mile or two in our rear. There were no mounted men in our vicinity, and one of our men had to be sent on foot to give a report of our situation. Corporal F. M. Richards was the man detailed for this duty. He had come off picket early in the forenoon, and proceeded to do a little washing, which was com- pleted and nearly dried, when, without any delay, he donned his damp clothing, and. slinging on his harness. started. He found the place without much trouble, and made his report, when a staff officer was at once dis- patched to look the situation over. He was accompanied by several others, including two or three orderlies, and the first person they came in contact with was the old sergeant at his post on the ridge, who, in answer to the staff officer's questions. pointed out the location of the rebel troops. As all firing had now ceased, and no troops opposed to us were in sight, the officer seemed to doubt the report, or that there was any force at the place indicated. Finally, the sergeant told him if he would ride to a certain point out on the ridge he would prob- ably see or hear from them. He put spurs to his horse. and, followed by the others. galloped off. and when they had covered about half the distance across the ridge. received a smart volley from the other side, the bullets falling a little short, but causing a hasty retreat. The
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lieutenant was obliged to give it up on his return, and said he guessed there were some of them out there. He thought best that a mounted man should be left to carry any reports that might be necessary, and left one of his orderlies for that purpose, who, having tied his horse well in the rear, remained with the sergeant. The spot selected by the sergeant for defence and observa- tion was at the edge of the timber. behind an immense oak tree, large enough to shelter two men if neighborly. By the side of this tree, and close to it, a sapling pine had grown up eight or nine feet high. This was cut off at a proper height, and made an excellent rest for a long range shot, and, though it afforded no protection, helped to hide them from view. Our men were using their ammunition on points where the enemy seemed the most numerous, or where they exposed themselves,-they returning our fire, but without loss to us.
Thus the little battle continued at intervals until nearly three o'clock, when an officer, clad in a dark blue U. S. A. overcoat that perhaps had been worn by one of our own men. was observed by these two com- rades to leave the rebel lines, and with long and rapid strides find a good shelter in a little ravine considerably nearer our men. He seemed intent on discerning the location and number of his opponents. The little hollow he occupied covered him from view about to his waist. The chance was too good to be lost, and a few shots were sent him. At each discharge he would drop out of sight, rising as soon as the bullets had passed. It seemed as though they must have gone very near him, and a job was put up for his benefit. Both were to carefully load their pieces. and take good aim,-the sergeant with half an extra charge of powder behind the Minie ball. the sight elevated for five hundred yards, and his trusty rifle at a rest over the little pine ; the cav-
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alry man', with his carbine at arm's-length, was to com- pel him to retire or get hurt. When all was ready, and he was intently watching to gain the desired information, the sergeant gave the order. "Aim : Fire !" The car- bine sent its message : the officer dropped as usual, and, when time for him to rise, the sergeant blazed away. He was seen to rise and gain nearly an erect position after the cavalryman had discharged his carbine, but he evidently caught the bullet from the other rifle, as he went down at once, and did not rise again. Two of his comrades immediately left their lines and ran to his relief : after a short stop they ran back, leaving the officer where he fell. There was at once a sharp fire opened on the big oak, and the sergeant and his com- rade were obliged to stick close to their cover until the storm was over. It seemed to be a cruel thing-this hurting a man in this way-but it was really only retal- iatory, and the old sergeant felt justified in what he had done, as he had been a target for their sharpshooters all through the siege of Knoxville, and at times when he had not been allowed to return a shot.
Soon after this, the Confederates changed the position of some of their forces by extending their left along a ridge of land running nearly parallel with the river, and it looked as though they meant to clean up that little reserve force by getting on to their right flank. All their movements could be seen, but they failed to dis- cover the tree that sheltered the two "Yanks," whose position had become so warm that for a time they with- held their fire and remained in their retreat. A little later they joined their comrades in firing at will at any of the opposing pickets who exposed themselves. We held our position, getting in what work we could, until after four o'clock, when Company F, which had fought for and held McMillan's ford against a much
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larger force than its own, was relieved by the Second Michigan (with another regiment to support them), and was ordered to join its own regiment. This it was ready to do, and finally found the remainder of the Eleventh in line near Strawberry Plains, with arms stacked, ready to take any place when called upon.
It was then about sunset. Soon after dark we were ordered to fall in. and were marched nearer to the bridge which spanned the river at Strawberry Plains. It had been partially destroyed by our forces during the day, in order to prevent Longstreet from following us at once in force. The pickets were exchanging occasional shots, and seemed determined to annoy each other as much as possible. The troops that had been in our front, or out in the vicinity of Dandridge, consisting of the Fourth and the Twenty-third army corps. had evidently fallen back in some disorder, and the enemy had pressed them so hard that because of the enfeebled condition of the horses they had been obliged to abandon two pieces of artillery. These were now near the river bank, and covered by the enemy's fire. Our commander, not wishing to leave them, called upon the Second Brigade to save them if possible. There was no hesitation. Drag ropes were secured, the men slung their muskets, our own regiment took one piece, and two smaller regiments the other, so we soon had them out of all danger. I think it was nearly midnight. and this fragment of the old Ninth Corps, which was to have the honor of taking the left of the line and covering a retreat before an army much superior to its own in point of numbers, also had the presumption to try and save, by dragging for miles, the two guns.
Soon we were on the march, but made little progress, as the wagon-trains and artillery that preceded us had left the roads in a fearful condition. The deep ruts which they had made in the soft mud. nearly axle deep,
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were now freezing stiff. but we toiled on, pulling with the ropes, lifting on the wheels, up hill and down, with only an occasional halt for rest, until nearly daylight, when we came to a ravine with quite steep banks, the bottom being the bed of a river of considerable size. Horses had been secured, and left. here, I think, to relieve us of the burden of the two pieces of artillery, and we also found that the troops in advance had been compelled to abandon a portion of their train, containing among other goods a small lot of overcoats and shoes, which were to be destroyed. The same general who asked his men to save the abandoned guns now ordered these cases opened, and the contents divided among those who were most in need of them. I was not quite coatless, but my old over- coat was capeless, and when a new one was given me by a friend on special duty, I was quite ready to take it, though when I put it on it was very evident that it was not made expressly for me, but for some fellow about twice my size.
We had halted here but a short time when we were ordered forward, as our rear guard had come up; and, more than this, we wanted to get within supporting distance of our advance. They had three or four hours' start of us, but were hindered by having a small train of wagons and artillery along with them, while we were without anything to impede our progress.
We continued our march as fast as our weary limbs could carry us until some time after sunrise, when we filed into a field and halted for breakfast, which we soon had in course of preparation. We were not allowed time to complete the cooking of our slim allowance, however, but were again ordered forward, as the enemy's cavalry was close upon us. Gathering up and donning our little possessions, we formed our lines and threw out skirmishers and flankers.
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The First Brigade, marching to our rear and taking a position on another ridge, formed another line and constituted our support. From this time until quite late - in the afternoon we were falling back. skirmishing with the advancing enemy, alternating positions with the First Brigade, passing defiles, removing any small obstructions, or levelling fences that we came in contact with, and then we came to a halt. Our corps being very small in num- bers, say, 2.500 men bearing arms, the troops were very easily handled, and were well manœuvred, the different brigades retiring and forming new lines without confu- sion. At 5 o'clock we were within three miles of Knox- ville, where a good line of defence was chosen. At one time, after taking a new position in the rear of the First Brigade and while we were waiting for them to return, Sergeant McAllister, who was standing near and was evi- dently partaking of a lunch, called upon me. to join him and take something. which I proceeded at once to do. Coming to him as he stood, one hand grasping his can- teen and the other in his haversack, he said that I was perfectly welcome to a part of his lunch; and he drew forth a handful of meal. Ile remarked. as he passed it, that it was very healthful. and that where he lived meal and water was the best diet for fattening beef, pork. or poul- try that could be obtained. I appreciated his kindness as well as his joke. but, being provided with some of the same, did not partake at thattime. Our company gener- ally looked like the hardest lot of tramps to be found in the corps. Our last thirty-six hours' duty had been almost incessant, and few if any of us had cared for our toilets. Smoke-begrimed lines on our faces showed how the perspiration had started while wrestling with the two abandoned guns during the night, and our trousers, frayed around the bottom, the once beautiful blue changed to a dirty yellow by mud and frequent close contact with
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our open fires, would have made us excellent subjects for an artist of a comic paper : he would not have been obliged to study long to obtain a perfect caricature ; and I know that my own personal appearance, with my new overcoat many sizes too large, was comical and ridicu- lous in the extreme.
My own regiment, the largest in the division and per- haps in the corps, numbering about 225 men, lost but two men on the retreat. "What the loss of the corps was I am not able to state. The enemy made no further demonstration, but soon retired ; and we lighted our camp-fires and enjoyed the season of rest which we all needed, especially my own company, as it had been on continual duty since the morning of the 18th. We re- mained on this line until the 25th, when we marched through Knoxville to Lyons's mill, about five miles to the south-west, and went into camp for a week, with only light picket duty to perform.
On the Ist day of February, late in the afternoon, we marched to Knoxville again, crossed the river, and, after advancing a mile or two, went into bivouac in the woods, rain and snow falling fast. After a most uncom- fortable night we returned to our old camp at Lyons's mill, and a large amount of fault-finding was indulged in, our boys being heartily tired of this kind of rebellion crushing. That very day, after a brief rest, Company F was detailed for picket at Johnson's ford, about four miles farther down the river. After posting pickets we arranged our little camp a few rods from the river's bank, in the woods; but with all our labor the place was cold, dreary, and comfortless. Mr. Johnson, the proprietor of the lands about the ford, called upon us frequently during our stay, and appeared to be a loyal man of the same class that we had frequently fallen in with. He had been relieved of everything that the " rebs "
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could use, and seemed to be as needy as any of his neighbors.
We were on duty at this place a week, and on the afternoon of the Sth were relieved by Company D of our regiment. During this time we had not seen any of the enemy. On the 4th, Lieutenant S. and myself had been compelled to give up and remain in our quarters, suffering from a severe attack of intermittent fever ; and when Company D arrived to take our place, we were not able to return to our regiment. Mr. Johnson kindly offered the hospitalities of his humble home, which we were glad to accept. The house, built of logs or timber, comprised two rooms, separated by a large chimney. One room was the spacious kitchen, one corner of which was taken up by the usual hand-loom and spinning-wheel, the other room being used as a sitting- and sleeping- room. On our arrival at the house, Mrs. Johnson and daughter, assisted by a lady visitor, began to make us as comfortable as possible by preparing hot gruel, and steeping a tea from a mountain herb which they were in the habit of using for similar attacks. The effect of these warm potations, which were liberally furnished, was soon felt, and we began to recover from the effects of this day's raging fever. After the family had par- taken of their supper, the ladies retired to the other part of the house. leaving us to enjoy the comfortable fire. which we did until quite late, listening to and greatly enjoying the stories and incidents related by our host. When the time for retiring came, Mr. Johnson announced that our bed was ready for us at any time. Feeling the need of sleep we did not wait for a second bidding, but followed to the room opposite, which contained three beds, two of them already occupied. A good fire was burn- ing in the ample fireplace, and in front of it was a low bed, that had been rolled out and assigned to our use.
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This manner of living, or, at least, sleeping, was some- thing quite novel to us ; but, as we had been so kindly received and they had so freely divided their accommo- dations, we had no desire to refuse the little couch. I have known many times, before and since, when a good night's rest was a great reviver, but it seemed to me that never in my life did a night's rest do me so much good as this, for when I awoke in the morning I was very much improved.
As that was not the day for a regular shake, we pre- pared to start for our regiment. A good breakfast was furnished us, and. thanking our kind entertainers and wishing them many blessings, we started for camp, arriving there a few hours later, nearly broken up. I did not leave my quarters to do any duty until the . 15th, when we packed up and started again for Knox- ville, in a severe rain-storm. After going about three miles we camped, remaining until the 20th, when we passed through Knoxville, going into camp on the Clinton road a short distance from the city. There we stopped until the 24th, when we marched again to Strawberry Plains, accompanied by our new depart- ment commander, General Schofield, and other generals and staff officers, who managed to tire us out, as the roads were in a very heavy condition and we were not so well able to endure the fatigue as their well fed and well groomed horses. Halting until the 27th, we crossed the river in flat or pontoon boats, reaching Mossy creek on the 2Sth. Late in the afternoon, while the front of our column was filing into a field where we were to camp for the night, our portion of the line had halted for a short time in the road in front of a farm-house, and near us, watching the passing troops, was the pro- prietor, with whom we entered into conversation. He was a Unionist, very dignified, and social in manner
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and speech. We also soon espied a small flock of geese in the enclosure, that had either by some good manage- ment or streak of fortune escaped the various foraging parties that had passed that way. An offer to purchase a portion of the flock was at first refused on the ground that there were only enough left to raise another flock from, for the use of the owner's family ; and he did not consent to part with any until he was convinced that with so many hungry soldiers in camp near by he would be liable to lose them all eventually, and have nothing to show for them. Captain Woodward. by paying a very liberal price, bought two for our little mess, and engaged one of the men to dress and prepare them for our next day's rations. We anticipated a feast such as we had not enjoyed for months, though our facilities for stuffing and roasting the web-footed birds were of the poorest kind. To get over this part of our trouble it was decided to cut them up and partially cook by boil- ing, after which we could broil or fry, as circumstances would allow. When I retired for the night everything was lovely and the geese were hanging high in a camp kettle. faithfully guarded to prevent any " coffee-coolers' who should come in later from snatching them for their own use.
Early the next morning all were astir preparing to take the road again. Our new rations were divided, each of us having a very generous quantity, a portion of which was carefully placed in our haversacks, ready for future use, saving out only enough for breakfast. I was feel- ing rather " tony " and high-priced myself. and decided that a nice piece of parboiled goose, broiled, would give my stomach a perfect surprise. Running my ramrod through a nice piece of the breast, and holding it over a bright bed of coals, I carefully watched and turned it until it was a beautiful brown, and I was sure it was done
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just right, and good enough for a musketeer, anyway. The rest of our breakfast consisted of a little poor bread and a cup of weak coffee, and we were ready to taste the tempting morsel. My teeth were in good condition, and I could tear off the end of a cartridge without any trouble, and as quickly as any one else ; but they were not equal to this, which was really a test case, for I failed in mak- ing any impression on what I thought was to be a great luxury. I said nothing, but watched the others, and noticed that they were meeting with no better success, and we had found our match at last. The captain was sure they were brought here by the earliest settlers of the country, and the rest of us concluded that some of their ancestors, not very far removed, had some centuries ago, by their cackling, saved the Eternal City. The piece I had hinged my expectations on for that morning I carefully placed in my haversack, to try other experi- ments on later.
Colonel Harriman had been recommissioned as colonel of the Eleventh Regiment, and joined us here, having marched from Kentucky in command of a large detach- ment of recruits. about four hundred of whom were assigned to our regiment. Of this number only a little more than thirty per cent. joined us, the remainder, which had cost the towns and state many thousands of dollars, having deserted en route ; and many even of those who came and joined the regiment in Tennessee left us soon after. or before the corps arrived at Annap- olis. These were a disgrace to the state, an insult to the tried veterans who survived, and to the fallen dead whose vacant places they were to fill. Among those who did remain were many who later made excellent soldiers and proved their worthiness on many fields of battle, and before our term of service expired were num- bered among the killed and wounded.
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On the 29th we came to Morristown, about forty-two miles from Knoxville, the rain falling fast. March Ist being equally stormy we halted in the woods a little east of Morristown, making ourselves as comfortable as pos- sible. At night we received orders to be ready to march again the next morning at four o'clock. We were ready at the time designated, the storm having passed by and the air now being crisp and cold. We returned through Morristown at an early hour, and arrived again at Mossy creek at three o'clock in the afternoon. We remained here about four days, everything appearing to be quiet in our vicinity until the 5th. when the enemy and some of our cavalry had a smart skirmish near our picket lines, but we were not called upon to participate. On the 7th we made a reconnoissance in force, going eighteen miles towards the Nolachucky river, and not finding any enemy, after changing camp once or twice, marched fourteen miles on the 12th to Shoddyville, where we remained two days. We reached Morristown again on the morn- ing of the 14th, our pickets having had, in the meantime, a brush with a small force of rebel cavalry, who were forced to retire. the loss to our regiment being one man. We had been over a portion of this section so many times that we were well posted concerning roads and streams, but had not learned the names of quite all the people, a very large majority of whom we had found to be truly loyal and very liberal, even in their reduced circum- stances.
On the 16th we were ordered to be ready to march the next morning, at six o'clock, for Knoxville, and we hailed the order with great pleasure, for there was what we thought a well founded rumor that we were at once to be removed from the Department of the Ohio. We arrived at Knoxville on the 21st, and made immediate preparations for leaving for Annapolis, Md., at which
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place we were ordered to report. A paymaster had also arrived, and those who had been without any money for a long time were anticipating much in having some to use, in the event of our being transferred to some other department. But in this matter of getting our pay we were doomed to disappointment. It is said that the offi- cer who was to command during the transfer objected to the rank and file being paid off. fearing that these brave men, who for months had faced the bullets of a strong and determined enemy, suffered from hunger and cold until nearly famished, who had exhibited a heroic spirit in the face of all these dangers and hardships, would be guilty of some excess while on the march if they were allowed the money long since due them. What little extra baggage we had, with our sick and disabled, was sent east via Chattanooga and Nashville by railroad, while the remainder of the troops, only a small remnant of the old Ninth Army Corps, on the morning of the 22d, started on another long and weary march, financially bankrupt, but covered with rags and glory.
Very little transportation was allowed us-a few wag- ons and a few pack mules-the men taking five days' rations in their haversacks. The wagons went with us two days, or until our arrival at Jacksboro', on the 23d. when the trains were sent back, and men and mules were loaded with five days' rations and a small amount of camp equipage. Thus we started on the march over the mountains. and as we toiled under our weary bur- dens we were quite willing to say good-bye to the valley of the Holston. which had been to our troops the Valley Forge of the War for the Union. We followed some of the worst roads imaginable. they being at times little more than a trail across the mountain wilds. Through storms of rain. hail, and snow we came to Chetwoods on the 25th, and to Sloane's valley, near Point Isabel, on the
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following day. We were at Point Isabel on the morning of the 27th, where a halt was made. There our corps commander realized the effects of causing the pay of the troops to be withheld. A number of sutlers had come to that place expecting to reap a harvest from our men. who were supposed to have their pockets lined with money. Their goods were temptingly displayed for sale, but there was no cash. and hence such a raid as I have never else- where witnessed was made. From point to point, by scores and hundreds. the men ran, paving no heed what- ever to orders or appeals from their officers, until at last, having done no small amount of damage. they were finally called into line and moved on again, and after eleven days arrived near Camp Nelson, having covered nearly or quite one hundred and seventy-five miles under the most unfavorable circumstances.
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