USA > Ohio > Four years in the saddle. History of the First Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Cavalry. War of the Rebellion, 1861-1865 > Part 20
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
It is a matter of vital importance and must be attempted with great vigor. The importance of it will justify the loss of a quarter of your command. Be prepared with axes, hatchets, and bars to tear up sections of track and make bonfires. When the rails are red hot they must be twisted. Burning will do for the bridges and culverts, but not for ordinary track. Let the work be well done.
August 18. No changes on the part of the enemy discov- ered to-day. Two P. M. received the following dispatch from General Thomas, dated August 18, as follows:
For the purpose of aiding General Kilpatrick in his opera- tions on the Macon railroad as much as possible, I desire Vou to concentrate on your left flank as large a force as you can, without weakening your lines too much (by daylight to-morrow morning, nineteenth), and make a strong demonstration and attract the enemy toward you as much as possible, and endeavor to hold him opposite you during the day. It is hoped that Gon- eral Kilpatrick will be able to reach the Macon road at Jones-
.
-204-
boro between 12 M. and 2 P. M. to-morrow, the nineteenth, and if he can have from that time until 10 P. M. to work unin- terruptedly, he ought to be able to destroy so much of the road as to make it impossible to operate it for at least ten days, by which time it is supposed Hood will be starved out. Similar instructions have been given to General Garrard, who will oper- ate on the enemy's flank, still farther to your left. It is also desirable for you to make a similar demonstration on the morn- ing of the twentieth, to enable General Kilpatrick to withdraw.
August 20. Ferguson's brigade of cavalry, which was on their right, left at daylight yesterday morning in pursuit of Kil- patrick. One P. M. received from General Garrard, command- ing cavalry division, two papers taken from two scouts captured by some of his troops near Decatur. These papers were orders from Hood's chief of scouts, ordering them to be sure and find out where our left flank rests, where the flank joins the main line, and what troops are on our left flank, and to be sure and send in this information and let it be reliable.
August 22. Nothing unusual or of importance occurred dur- ing the day. We are closely watching the movements of the enemy and for the effects of General Kilpatrick's raid. Very little artillery firing to-day. Usual picket firing. Two or three men wounded. Five P. M., General Kilpatrick returned from his raid. He destroyed four miles of the Atlanta and Macon Railroad completely, and ten miles at intervals. He had hard · fighting; found the enemy's infantry and cavalry on the ground. He was opposed by one division of infantry and one brigade, and three brigades of cavalry.
(Received 11 P. M., 23.)
Near Atlanta, Ga., August 22, 1864, 10 P. M. Major-General H. W. Halleck, Washington, D. C .:
General Kilpatrick is back. He had pretty hard fighting with a division of infantry and three brigades of cavalry. He broke the cavalry into disorder and captured a battery, which he destroyed, except one gun, which he brought in in addition to all of his own. He also brought in three captured flags and sev- enty prisoners. He had possession of a large part of Ross' bri- gade, but could not encumber himself with them. He destroyed three miles of the road about Jonesboro, and broke it to pieces for about ten miles more, enough to disable the road for ten days. General Kilpatrick destroyed two locomotives and trains.
-
W. T. SHERMAN, Major-General.
Extract from report of General Garrard:
Jonesboro, Ga., September 4, 1864.
From the commencement to the end of the campaign, this
.
-205-
division has been in the front and has, during the whole time, had intrusted to it duties of the highest trust and responsibility. It gives me much pleasure to report that every order it has received has been fully and well executed, and that no accident whatever has occurred, nor has any capture been made on the flank or in the rear where the division has been assigned to duty.
The division, though reduced in numbers by the length and severity of the campaign, is still, as an organization, in effective condition. This, in connection with the good service it has ren- dered, speaks in highest terms of the soldierly qualities of both my officers and men. All of whom, throughout the campaign, have manifested an earnest and zealous spirit in the performance of duty and have always, with the greatest cheerfulness, under- taken any task assigned them. In general terms I cannot say too much in their praise.
K. GARRARD, Brigadier-General, Commanding Division. (Volume 38, Part 5, Page 801.)
Special Field Orders No. 64:
Headquarters Military Division of the Mississippi, In the Field, near Lovejoy's, Sept. 4, 1864.
The army having accomplished its undertaking in the com- plete reduction and occupation of Atlanta, will occupy the place and the country near it until a new campaign is planned in con- cert with the other grand armies of the United States.
General Kilpatrick's cavalry will cover the left rear of the Army of the Tennessee, and that of General Garrard the right rear of the Army of the Ohio until they reach the positions assigned in this order, when the cavalry commands will move to the points designated, viz .: Sandtown and Roswell.
The General-in-Chief will give notice when the movement will begin, and after reaching Atlanta will establish headquar- ters in Atlanta and afford the army an opportunity to have a full month's rest, with every chance to organize, receive pay, replenish clothing and prepare for a fine winter's campaign.
By order of Major-General W. T. Sherman:
L. M. DAYTON, Aide-de-Camp.
Extract from report of General Geo. H. Thomas:
Headquarters Department of the Cumberland, Atlanta, Ga., September13, 1864.
Colonel: On the eighteenth of August Brigadier-General J. Kilpatrick, commanding Third Cavalry Division, was directed to attack and destroy both railroads, and for this purpose he was re-enforced by two brigades taken from Garrard's cavalry
.
-206-
division stationed on the left of the army. With this force, numbering in all about four thousand men and two batteries of artillery, General Kilpatrick moved out from Sandtown on the evening of the eighteenth. He met the enemy's cavalry pick- ets when only a short distance out from Sandtown on the Chat- tahoochee, and skirmished with them to Jonesboro on the Macon railroad, driving them through that place. For six hours the command was engaged, destroying the track, etc., until near mid- night of the nineteenth, when part of his command was attacked one mile below the town and driven in, but subsequently the enemy was repulsed.
Toward daylight of the twentieth he moved in the direction , of McDonough, and thence across country back to the railroad near Lovejoy's Station, reaching that point at about 11 A. M. on the twentieth. There he met a brigade of infantry and, although repulsed at first, finally checked the advantage being gained by the enemy and drove him back with heavy loss. While thus engaged fighting infantry, a heavy force of cavalry with artillery came up in his rear, and he found he was completely enveloped. Determining at once to break the enemy's line and extricate his command from its delicate position, he decided to ride over the enemy's cavalry and retire on McDonough. The movement was successfully made and resulted in a complete rout of Jackson's cavalry division, numbering four thousand men, leaving in our hands four guns, three battle-flags and all his wagons. Some prisoners were taken and the enemy's loss in killed and wounded is known to be large. Reforming his command, Kilpatrick fought the enemy's infantry for an hour longer, when, finding his men running out of ammunition, he retired in the direction of Latimer's and Decatur without further molestation, reaching the latter place on the afternoon of the twenty-second.
In the Field, near Marietta, October 5, 1864.
General Elliott:
Dear General: I have been up on Kenesaw all day, watch- ing the attack. Since it ceased, we have a signal O. K. Corse wounded. Our infantry can now present a strong front, and if fight we must, so be it. I want to establish communication with Alatoona and have ordered Garrard up.
Yours,
W. T. SHERMAN.
Headquarters Second Cavalry Division, New Hope Church, October 7, 1864, 4:45 P. M. Brigadier-General Elliott, Chief of Cavalry, Department of the Cumberland:
I have the honor to report that I drove Armstrong from New Hope Church and followed him to the creek near Dallas,
1
-
-207-
where I found him in line across the creek and drew several shots from his artillery. I also explored the Powder Springs, the Lost Mountain road and the Burnt Hickory road.
K. GARRARD.
Near New Hope Church, October 7, 1864, 11:30 A. M. General Elliott, Chief of Cavalry:
General: I am near New Hope Church, skirmishing with the rear. Armstrong camped where I am now, and French's division at the church. I do not know yet which way they marched, but rumor says toward Dallas. Very conflicting stories are told by citizens and I can determine nothing. I captured the wagon General Sherman wished me to, and in it was a Brig- adier-General and a Colonel.
Very respectfully yours,
K. GARRARD.
Headquarters Second Cavalry Division, October 12, 1864, 6:30 P. M.
General Elliott, commanding Cavalry, Department of the Cum- berland:
General: I have driven the rebel cavalry between four and five miles beyond the river. They now have a strong position covering the Cedar Bluff and the Texas Valley roads. I am in camp about a mile and a quarter from the river, covering all roads leading to the bridge.
K. GARRARD.
Headquarters Army of the Ohio, Five and one-half miles from Rome, October 13, 1864. Major-General Sherman:
Garrard is pushing on finely, my division infantry in close support. He has driven Armstrong's cavalry the last two miles. Captured two pieces of artillery and a number of prisoners.
J. D. COX, Brigadier-General, Commanding.
Headquarters Second Cavalry Division, On Little River, Ga., October 20, 1864.
General Elliott, Chief of Cavalry:
1
General: I forced a crossing of Little River about 5 P. M. by crossing a mile and a half above and flanking the force at the ford. I have advanced to the cross-roads and can positively state that the infantry on this road turned toward the Coosa River on the Iron-works road. The cavalry this evening fell back toward Blue Pond. Last night Hood's headquarters were at Simm's on the Gadsden road, at the falls of Yellow Creek. Little River is fordable, but quite wide. I was skirmishing and driv- ing the enemy until dark.
K. GARRARD.
-
1
١٠١٠ ٠٠ ٠٠
-208-
Extract from report of Brigadier-General Marcus J. Wright, C. S. Army, commanding brigade:
Headquarters Post, Atlanta, Ga., May 7, 1864.
I regret to report that the cavalry of the enemy, commanded by Colonel Long, which crossed near the mouth of the Chicka- mauga, succeeded in capturing my brigade train, which was en route from Charleston to Cchickamauga. Major Elcan, As- sistant Quartermaster, and several of the men with him escaped capture. This proved a severe loss to my officers and men, whose personal baggage was in the train as well as a heavy loss to the Government.
MARCUS J. WRIGHT, Brigadier-General, Commanding. Colonel John B. Sale, Military Secretary.
1
1
-
-
1.
4
1
Maj. Gen. James H. Wilson.
The Nashville Campaign and Wilson Raid Through Alabama and Georgia.
General Wilson, having been appointed Chief of Cavalry, Army of the Cumberland, issued the following special order:
Headquarters Cavalry Corps, Military Division of the Mississippi,
Rome, Ga., October 29, 1864.
I. Brigadier-General Garrard will immediately organize his division into two brigades, and after furnishing what horses General Kilpatrick requires, mount the Second Brigade of the new organization. As soon as this duty is accomplished, he will proceed to Nashville with the division, taking all horses unfit for field service, and gathering all dismounted men found along its route. Upon his arrival at Nashville, General Garrard will turn over the men and command of his division to Brigadier- General Eli Long.
II. Brigadier-General Eli Long will relieve, at Nashville, Tenn., Brigadier-General K. Garrard from the command of the Second Division, Cavalry Corps, Military Division of the Missis- sippi. Upon assuming command, General Long will remain in Nashville for the purpose of collecting, remounting and equip- ping the dismounted men of his division there.
By command of Brevet Major-General Wilson:
E. B. BEAUMONT,
Captain and Acting Assistant Adjutant-General.
We turned in all of our serviceable horses to General Kil- patrick at Rome, Ga., on the thirty-first of October, and all the equipments were packed up and turned over to the Quarter- master, Lieutenant Curry. On the evening of November 1 we left Rome for Chattanooga, via Calhoun, with the unserviceable horses and wagon train. Our transportation had been so cut down that a large amount of Quartermaster stores had been abandoned, and among other equipments were two hundred and fifty cavalry saddles and horse equipments complete. By order.
-210-
of the brigade commander the Quartermaster had these saddles piled up and several hundred rails were piled up on them, and an attempt was made to burn saddles and all other stores that could not be transported, but as we moved at once, no doubt the fire was extinguished by the citizens and the saddles saved. If there is any one thing for which a cavalryman has a supreme disgust over every other thing, it is marching on foot; and as the command was nearly all dismounted, our. movement was slow, and we did not reach Chattanooga until the sixth. Here we turned in all of our horses and mules excepting a few regi- mental teams, and they were driven through to Nashville. We lay in camp at Chattanooga until the twelfth of November and then took the train for Nashville, where we remained one night, and then went on to Louisville, Ky., where we arrived on the tenth and went into camp out on the Preston Pike near Captain Knapp's Garden, long to be remembered by every trooper of the division on account of the many convivial evenings spent in this noted Hostelry with the ever smiling and courteous host. From the time the brigade left Columbia, Tenn., May 22, until we arrived at Louisville, the command had been on the move, marching, scouting, raiding and fighting, with scarcely a day of rest from the most arduous campaigning, and had been under fire no doubt fifty times and had marched many hundreds of miles. The men were sadly in need of clothing, as they looked seedy indeed compared with the dapper soldiers on duty at Louisville. General Long assumed command, and the work of drawing clothing, horses, mules, wagons and equipments was commenced at once, and the division was soon equipped and thoroughly reorganized. The government was not able to fur- nish a sufficient number of horses as rapidly as they were needed to mount the command, and as the battle of Nashville was pend- ing, General Wilson ordered General Long to press in all the serviceable horses in Louisville to mount his command. One morning the citizens of Louisville awakened from their slumbers to find every street and pike leading out of the city picketed by mounted cavalrymen, and the work of pressing in horses commenced and was kept up several days and until the battle of Nashville commenced. There was great consternation among the citizens and every effort was made to secrete.their valuable horses. Some were found in cellars and in kitchens, anl some in parlors, but they were all brought forth, as the Quartermas- ters were unrelenting and claimed it "was a military necessity," and that settled it. The day the battle of Nashville commenced we were engaged in pressing horses, and as shown by my diary as Quartermaster, the writer drew one hundred and forty-six horses for the First Ohio. Many valuable horses were secured, and the owners were given receipts by the Quartermasters, and no doubt the owners received pay in full. While the regiment
.
-
-211-
was encamped at Louisville there were a number of changes among the officers, as the following named officers were mus- tered out by reason of expiration of term of service: Lieutenant- Colonel Pattin, Major Frankenberger, Lieutenant Ferguson, Lieutenant Lieb, Captain O'Harra, Captain Pickering, Lieuten- ant Overly, Lieutenant Brison, Lieutenant Roush, Captain Rea, Lieutenant Carr, and Lieutenant High.
Among the officers who left the regiment at this time, as above noted, will be recognized the names of some of the best officers of the regiment, who had been "tried in the fire and were not found wanting," and had been at the front for more than three years. Some of these officers would have resigned on the Atlanta campaign had we not been in the face of the enemy, but on no account would they have left the regiment when we were at the front. The reasons for a number of these officers making request to be mustered out was on account of the troubles growing out of the court martial of the brave and gallant Captain William H. Scott, who fell at Lovejoy, August 20, 1864. All of the facts connected with the persecution of this brave soldier are well known to the old officers of the regiment, and as the chief actors have all answered the last "roll call," we will draw the mantle of charity over their acts. A number of officers were also promoted before we left Louisville, among whom were: Lieutenant J. W. Langhlin to Adjutant Quartermaster Sergeant, David H. Hart to Quartermaster, Hugh H. Siverd, to Captain, James W. Kirkendall to Captain, W. L. Curry to Captain, J. M. Sullenberger to Lieutenant, W. G. Lawder to Captain, Thaddeus Scott to Lieutenant, Jonathan Carr to Captain, R. K. Reese to Lieutenant.
Lieutenant Curry was thrown from his horse at Louisville and severely injured December 21, 1864, and was mustered out at Nashville, Tenn., December 30, on account of his injuries.
The division remained at Louisville until December 28 and at that date took up the march for Nashville well mounted, well equipped and anxious to take the field again after a few weeks' rest. Arriving at Nashville, January 8, 1865, joined the cavalry corps commanded by General J. H. Wilson. The division left Nashville on the thirteenth, marching through Franklin, Colum- bia and to Gravelly Springs, Ala., January 25. In February the cavalry corps was reorganized, and the First was transferred from the Second Brigade, Second Division, and brigaded with the Seventh O. V. C. (Colonel Garrard) and Fifth Iowa (Colonel Young), forming the Second Brigade, Fourth Division, which was placed under the command of Brigadier-General A. J. Alex- ander. The division remained at Gravelly Springs until the nineteentlr of March, drilling and preparing for the great cav- alry raid on which they were soon to start. On the nineteenth
.
1
-212-
they crossed the Tennessee and rendezvoused with the balance of the corps at Chickasaw Landing.
CAVALRY CORPS, FOURTH DIVISION. ` April 30, 1865.
Artillery.
Brevet Major-General Emory Upton. Illinois Light, Chicago Board of Trade Battery . ...
Captain George I. Robinson
First Brigade.
Brevet Brigadier-General Edward F. Winslow. Third Iowa. . Colonel John W. Noble
Fourth Iowa. Lieutenant-Colonel John H. Peters Tenth Missouri
Lieutenant-Colonel Frederick W. Benteen
Second Brigade.
Brevet Brigadier-General Andrew J. Alexander. Fifth Iowa. . Colonel J. Morris Young
First Ohio. Colonel Beroth B. Eggleston
Seventh Ohio Colonel Israel Garrard
THE WILSON RAID THROUGH NORTHERN ALABAMA AND GEORGIA.
March and April, 1865.
By Captain J. A. O. Yeoman, Company A.
The splendid victory achieved by Thomas at Nashville, fol- lowed by a vigorous pursuit of Wilson's cavalry, left Hood's army as it crossed the Tennessee but a semblance of that mag- nificent body that marched around Sherman's flank, struck Ala- toona, delivered deadly battle at Franklin, and planted their war-worn colors on the heights around Nashville. As an army it never appeared again; but as broken regiments and divisions drifted toward the east and joined Johnson in a futile attempt to delay the victorious march of Sherman. There still lay in the Southwest several stragetic points which had never been threatened by a Union army; there still lay fertile vallies that had received no scars from the war. Selma, Ala., and Columbus, Ga., were among the most strongly fortified towns of the South, and here were vast arsenals that furnished the rebel forces still in the field not only much needed munitions of war, but field and siege ordnance as well. It was the policy of the adminis- tration to destroy these, so that there should be no place to rally
.
-213-
the broken and defeated regiment that might escape from Grant and Sherman. To this task was assigned Brevet Major-General James H. Wilson, a young man of twenty-seven, an active officer on Grant's staff for two or three years, and unknown as a cavalry officer until he took command of Kilpatrick's division in the spring of '64. He was defeated at Reams Station and came near losing his division; but it has always been believed that it was because of failure of support there promised him by General Grant, and this belief was favored by the fact that after this defeat he was promoted and sent west and named to the com- mand of the cavalry corps of the Western Department. He arrived in time to remount the dismounted troops that had drifted back from Sherman's army, and with marvelous energy gathered together the odds and ends that were there and welded them into the magnificent cavalry command that turned the flank of Hood's army at Nashville and inflicted the first day's defeat upon this brave but ill-starred General, and then precip- itated that defeat into a rout. He was sent to Eastport Landing and Gravelly Springs, Ala., to mass and prepare for the cam- paign the most magnificent cavalry corps that had ever served under any command since the white plume of Murat carried Napoleon's star to victory on many a fateful field of Europe.
The First Ohio had been remounted at Louisville, armed with Spencers, and save the loss of some of its veteran soldiers and some of its idolized subalterns, had a higher morale, and was in better trim for quick, decisive battle than ever before in its history. It marched overland from Louisville to Gravelly Springs in the latter part of December and early January and went into cantonments there, where it drilled as faithfully as if it were a new regiment just taking the field. It was assigned to the brigade of Brevet Brigadier-General A. J. Alexander, with the Seventh Ohio and Fifth Iowa. General Alexander was a regular army officer, a cousin of General Frank Blair, the Adju- tant-General of his corps, and the former Adjutant-General of the cavalry corps of the Army of the Potomac under Pleasanton. He was a brave, skillful, efficient and thorough-going officer. These regiments comprised the Second Brigade of the Fourth Division Cavalry Corps, Military Division of the Mississippi. The other brigade consisted of the Third and Fourth Iowa and Tenth Missouri, under the command of Brigadier-General Ed- ward F. Winslow. The division was commanded by General Emery Upton, without doubt the bravest, most untiring, and the greatest natural cavalry soldier the writer ever served under. He was but twenty-seven years of age, a Brevet Major-General, and had received many a brevet on many a hard-fought field of the Army of the Potomac. He was only a boy, just out of West Point, when the war broke out, a Lieutenant of artillery, and became Colonel of the One Hundred and Twenty-first New
·
-214-
York, then made a brigade commander. He commanded his brigade at the Bloody Angle in the Wilderness, where Hancock just failed of destroying Lee's army. His brigade lay under the works that they could not carry and fired over four hundred rounds, exchanging their guns with those in the rear in keeping down the rebels from the works. This was where a tree as thick as a man's thigh was cut off by musketry alone. Upton himself was wounded more than once; and of all the splendid soldiers of that magnificent Army of the Potomac there was none to surpass him. He was equally with Wilson the leading spirit and the martial figure of this campaign. It was his division that first crossed the Black Warrior, deemed unfordable. It was his division that first struck Forest's command at Monte- vallo, drove it back through the pine woods on Randolph, and the next day turned his left at Plantersville and assured the capture of Selma. The First Ohio in its last campaign was fortunate indeed in having such division and brigade Generals.
1
-
The Wilson's raid itself stands pre-eminent in the history of mounted raids. No like number of men, infantry or cavalry, ever captured as many guns and cannon, stormed as many forti- fied towns, and effected as great results in a campaign of thirty days. The reason that it has not received more consideration is because it was made during the latter part of the war, when Lee was surrendering to Grant at Appomattox, and Sherman was striking Johnson unto death in the Carolinas. It was cut off from all communication and outside of its own command nobody knew of the mighty deeds that were being performed by it until the war was over, and then it was lost in the great events that begun with Appomattox and ended with the assassi- nation of Lincoln.
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.