USA > Ohio > Historical sketch of the 56th Ohio volunteer infantry during the great Civil War from 1861 to 1866 > Part 2
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regiment .. No doubt, this was the hardest tramp these comrades had ever taken. I am credibly informed that this episode was published and illustrated in Harper's Weekly a short time after.
May 18, 1862, we were ordered in towards Corinth. We moved up a few miles to a poor little place called Monterey. Here we remained until May 22. There was heavy firing in the direction of Corinth, and on the 22d we moved up and joined McClernand's division, on the extreme right of our line. We were busy building fortifications, and on outpost and in picket duties. The water here was the worst we experienced in all our service. Our forces gradually closed up on the north and east side of Corinth. General Halleck, in his grand startegy, seemed content with a long distance contest. This continued until May 30, 1862, when the enemy, at bis leisure, evacuated Corinth. On May 31 the regiment was paid up to April 1.
June 2, 1862, our division was ordered to go to Memphis, Tennessee, which was distant one hundred and ten miles through the enemy's country. June 3 we passed through Purdy, and found the fortifications there as Carpenter, our scout, had reported. On the 4th our route was through a beautiful region. At night we camped in the woods. We marched over pine ridges on the 5th and encamped within six miles of Bolivar. We passed through that place on the 6th, and encamped just beyond in sight of the town. We were delayed on account of wagon trains crossing the Hatchie river. On the 7th a number of the boys obtained passes and visited the town.
June S was Sunday, and the ringing church bells took our minds back to our northern homes. On the 9th a train of cars came down from Jackson, Tennessee. We started early on the 10th. Our route was through a fine section of country, and, after a march of 27 miles, we camped within seven miles of Somerville. On the 11th our brigade led the advance. Water was very scarce, and the roads clouds of dust. We passed through Somerville and camped within 25 miles of Memphis, Tennessee. On the 12th we started early. Our kuapsacks were hauled, which helped us greatly. That night we camped at Union Depot, not far from Mem- phis. June 15 one of our men was captured near the picket line.
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On the morning of June 17 we were roused up at midnight, and started for Memphis at 3 a. m. We reached there at 10 a. m., and encamped in the Fair Ground. This camp for the next few days was fairly thronged with peddlars of eatables and notions of all kinds. On June 22 the regiment was sent out on the Mem- phis and Charleston railroad about 25 miles to rebuild a railroad bridge. On going out by the train, at a place near a large planta- tion, the train stopped awhile. An elderly woman and two young ladies came down to the gate near our car to see the "Yankee" boys. We had several good singers, and they entertained them with some patriotic songs. This made them angry, and they fairly screamed themselves hoarse for Jeff Davis, Beuaregard, etc. A happy thought came to one of the boys, and he jumped off the car shouting: "Come on, boys; let us kiss these girls." The women went at once, and we saw some fast running, to the great amuse- ment of all.
We encamped near the bridge on the plantation of Mr. Davis. He was of Wesh birth, but had located there some years prior to the war. Work on the bridge began at once. On the next day the boys of our mess brought in two of the old planter's bee-hives and a lot of new potatoes, so we fared sumptuously for the next few days. June 25, as Colonel Kinney and a part of Company B were coming out to the regiment they were captured by the enemy under General Forrest, and the train destroyed. Colonel Kinney escaped from them in a few days thereafter. The enemy had moved quite a force of cavalry in the region between us and Mem- phis. Our communications were cut off, and the Fifty-sixth Ohio was ordered to return to Memphis at once. June 26, at 9 a. m., we started. The enemy's mounted troops followed us closely and appeared on every side, which made our progress slow. At 10 p. m. we halted in some timber for a little rest, but soon moved on again. Shortly after day the enemy seemed to swarm from every side, and it looked very serious for the regiment. At one point they appeared about to charge us. The officers cautioned the men to be cool and wait for orders. In Company C, at this time, we were forced to witness a pitiable or contemptible sight. When Captain Williams was talking to the company, the enemy
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hovering on every side in plain sight, a young fellow named Wm. S. Hill brought his musket to an order arms, and broke down and cried like a baby. The Captain took him by the collar, and put him out of the ranks at once. Tommy Morris, our drummer boy, spoke up, saying, "Captain, give me his musket, and let him take my drum." This the Captain did at once. We never saw Hill after this. We supposed he staid with the regiment until we reached Memphis and then deserted. The rebels were afraid of our long range muskets, and the bold front we presented to every side under the skillful handling of Lieutenant Colonel W. H. Raynor.
This short expedition was very hard on the regiment, it being so hot and dusty, with the loss of sleep, many were entirely exhausted when we reached our camp in the city, at 10 a. m., June 27, 1862. On June 30 the regiment was ordered to Fort Pickering, just below the city, and the streets of the city were thronged with people to see us as we marched through. Our new camp at the Fort was covered with weeds and brush as high as our heads, and we were mustered for pay. July 1, 1862, the regiment was ordered into the city to perform guard duty at General Grant's headquarters. Here we had a fine camping ground. We con- tinued at this duty until July 22. On the 20th the regiment marched through the city for display mostly. On July 23 we were ordered to Helena, Ark., by boat. Tents were struck early, and there we lay around all day waiting for a boat. A laughable affair took place in Company C. Comrades will all know that nothing was so tiresome as that kind of waiting. A middle-aged comrade, worn out in waiting, went to a saloon near camp and got stupidly drunk, returning to the company, he lay down where his tent stood, totally oblivious of time and place. Seeing his condition, one of the boys remarked that he was dead, and that he ought to have some kind of a funeral service, so one of our comrades with a talent in that kind of work, and in possession of a good strong voice, took charge. They sang appropriate hymns, and then he proceeded to deliver a eulogy on the departed. The effort could not have been excelled by the ministers whom he imitated. The audience was large and deeply impressed, and th whole matter was
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ludicrous in the extreme, and our drunken comrade was rather sore over the episode when he came to himself again.
We remained in our camp all night, and on July 24 we got off early. . As the regiment marched down the levee to the boat a funny incident took place. Two members of the regiment who had deserted some time previous, ran right into the regiment and were taken in charge. They were on their way to take passage on a boat up north. One was disguised as a chaplain and the other as a suttler, but our meeting caused a material change in their route.
LIEUT. COLONEL SAMPSON E. VARNER See page 141
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CHAPTER IV.
HELENA AND EXPEDITION THEREFROM.
We embarked on the steamboat Golden Era and reached Helena July 24, 1862, at 5 p. m., landing below the town on Gen- eral Hindman's plantation. Our camp was on the river bank, and we had a regular bedlam nearly all night. A lot of the officers and men had secured some liquor, and they made the night hideous with their drunken revelry. Where we camped was just inside the levee, and we had plenty of water, as the Mississippi river flowed by our front door. There was not a tree near, and that sandy plain was about as hot a place as could be found in the land on those July and August days. The regiment, suffered very much from fevers, congestive chills and bowel trouble, about fifty of our men dying from said diseases contracted at this place, sit- uated in the swamps of the Mississippi valley. July 31 a large fleet passed for points down the river. On August 5 the Fifty- sixth Ohio was transferred to the Second Brigade of the Second Division, commanded by General Carr.
August 25, 1862, Comrade Daniel Phillips of Company C was buried with the honors of war by the company, on a pretty knoll, near the residence of the Confederate General Hindman, who owned a beautiful place here. Comrade Phillips was a firstclass soldier and a fine young man, and we deplored his death greatly. His brother, Lewis Phillips, was discharged here December 6, 1862, from disease contracted in this miasmatic region, as this place in the swamps of the lower Mississippi valley was a radical change from the hills of Ohio.
Our regiment, while here, were for a short time in a brigade with the Fourth Iowa Infantry, and the Thirteenth Illinois Infan- try. These regiments were constantly on the lookout to get ahead of each other. One day a member of the Thirteenth Illinois died,
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and his comrades went upon a hill nearby and dug a grave to bury their man. The Fourth Iowa also had a man to die, and a lot of them started to dig his grave, but when they saw the Thirteenth Illinois at work digging the grave for their man they returned and waited for them to leave the grave, and then took their man and buried him in the grave the Thirteenth Illinois had prepared.
While here the regiment, or portions of it, were on various · expeditions by land and water. On August 28 a detachment, of which Company C was a part, started on a scout down the river. We embarked on the steamboat White Cloud, and started at 6 a. m. That night we anchored near Carson's Landing, Mississippi, there being a rebel camp a half mile back from the landing. The gunboat with us shelled their camp as we went out, and on our arrival we charged them, and they fled at their best speed. Cor- poral Henry Kugleman, of Company C, took the only prisoner. He was hidden upstairs in a house. We secured quite a lot of stores, etc., here. On the same day, the 29th of August, we had another skirmish at Gladdis Landing. We passed Napoleon, Ark., and anchored a few miles below. On the 30th we reached Eunice, Ark., where we secured a fine wharfboat, and took it in tow and started back for Helena. On the 31st we were fired on by the rebels, of which there were a large number. We opened out on them and they skedaddled; and we reached Helena on September 2 at midnight. This was a hard and dangerous expe- dition.
On September 5, 1862, a detachment of the regiment, which again included Company C, was ordered on another expedition down the river. We went on the boat Key West, No. 2. The first night out we anchored below Oldtown. On the 6th we reached Napolien, and found that the wharfboat there that we came for was of no account. We then started back. Our boat ran all night, and we reached Helena early on the 7th, after a very tiresome trip.
From September 11th to the 13th a large number of rebel pris- oners passed down to be exchanged; also on the 17th more of them passed. On October 6 the Seventy-sixth Ohio Infantry, of our brigade, left up the river. On the 7th the regiment was paid for
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two months, and was sent about four miles on outside picket duty, and the writer, with a proper guard, was stationed at the house of Dr. Turner nearby as safeguards, and on that night our fare was far superior to the rest of our comrades. We returned to Helena on the eve of the Sth, and found that our camp had been moved to a new place back of town on the hills. On October 17 a small detachment of the Fifty-sixth was over in Mississippi on picket duty, and two men of Company F were slightly wounded.
On the 18th Colonel Raynor returned from sick leave, and on the Twentieth the writer had to report at the sick call for the first time in a service of one year. One of the worst things about this place and Memphis was the ease with which liquor could be procured by those who desired it, and as a consequence we witnessed some shameful scenes. Some of the officers, and more the shame to them, were worse than the men, but at this late day it will answer no good purpose to report the shameful things witnessed; for then, as now, liquor makes a fool of him who uses it to excess. On the 29th a squad of us on picket duty over in Mississippi secured a lot of fresh meat, and our mess fared finely for a few days. For the next few days the regiment was busy in getting out timber to build cabins in which to winter. Novem- ber 15, 1862, the regiment was ordered on a scout down the river. We went aboard the steamboat Tecumseh and lay at the wharf all night. On the 16th we started early. Our boat ran on a sand- bar in the evening and lay there all night. On the morning of the 17th the Decatur pulled our boat off the sandbar, and we ran down to the mouth of White river and tied up for the night. On the 18th we ran to Montgomery's Landing, and the cavalry we had aboard disembarked, and we proceeded up White river a short distance and tied up. The river was so low our boat could not turn around, and she had to back out, and proceeded to Mont- gomery's Landing, took on our cavalry and tied up over night. November 20 our boat ran up stream a short distance and an- chored on the Mississippi side. On the 21st we started again, ran all day and after night, which was bright with moonlight. After we had all retired to the soft side of the deck we heard
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a shout, "Stop the boat; a snag ahead!" It aroused all of us at once, and we could plainly see a great snag, the body of a large tree, sticking up twenty feet or more in the air; but the pilot paid no attention to the warning, but ran the boat right into it. The end of the snag came up through the cabin deck within a foot of my bunk on the floor of the cabin deck. A lot of the boys made a hunt for that pilot. and had they caught him he would have had a short shift, as all felt he tried to sink the boat and drown us. Our boat anchored near here, and we reached Helena at noon. The dangers we encountered on these expeditions were not given a thought at that time.
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On November 27, 1862, our division went on an expedition down the Coldwater river in Mississippi. The Fifty-sixth Ohio left camp at break of day, and went aboard the steamboat Ne- braska, which ran down the river a short distance and landed us at Delta, Mississippi. This little town had been destroyed by our gunboats. We camped here over night, and on the 28th we started early. The mud was almost impassible. After a march of 22 miles we encamped. On the 29th we were off early, and reached the mouth of the Coldwater river at 4 p. m. The enemy had retired from this position on the approach of our cavalry. The 30th was Sunday, and we lay in camp all day, and the rain fell in torrents, which did not help the traveling in that low, swampy country. On Dec. 1, 1862, at 4:30 p. m., we were ordered to March at once, as our cavalry was hotly engaged some six or eight miles to the front. We crossed the Coldwater on a pontoon bridge, and in quick time moved to the scene of conflict. It was dark when we started, and in pitch darkness we groped our way through mud and water for over six miles. It was so dark that you could not hear well; one of those niglits when you have to walk by faith, and not by sight. The enemy again retreated out of reach, and we returned, spending the whole night on that desperate trip.
On December 3 our regiment was sent up the Coldwater about five miles to guard a ferry. Here a small party of us went out for forage. We found a place unvisited by our troops, and we soon
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had a good supply. We loaded a cart and drove a little flock of sheep along, and were making an effort to catch all of their chickens. A young lady came out and kindly asked that we leave them a few of the chickens at least. She was so pleasant about it that the boys were called off, and we returned to camp with a good supply. A few days after, Company C was out after forage. At one place some of the boys took about all a poor woman had, in spite of her entreaties. I tried to stop them, but they would not listen, and, feeling it was so outrageous,, I reported it to Cap- tain Williams, and he promptly made them restore the goods to the poor woman, and she, in her joy, could not thank us enough for the favor extended. These men were not bad or heartless, but had a sort of feeling or indifference for people in the enemy's land.
On December 5 we all started for Helena again by slow marches. We reached the river on the 7th, and boarded the steam- boat Empress, which took us to Helena, and we had a good reason to rejoice at the end of this expedition. On December 16, 1862, a riot broke out in our camp. A lot of men being crazed by liquor at about 11 p. m. overpowered the camp guards, and treated Cap- tain Chenowith shamefully. The Captain was one of the finest men in the regiment, and he would have been fully justified in shooting some of those rioters. These men for a short time ran things with a high hand. Colonel Kinney, about midnight, sent a written order to Captain Williams to take Company C, also to Captain Cook of Company K, and put a stop to these lawless acts, and to arrest the participants. Company C ran right into the main crowd of them. Captain Williams was armed with a heavy wooden poker. There was no argument. "Fall in!" was the com- mand, and if any hesitation was shown or resistance offered, the Captain's poker and the butt ends of our muskets settled matters at once, and inside of twenty minutes all that had not secreted themselves were safely in the guard house; and once more quiet reigned in camp. The next morning, December 17, 1862, as I went out of my cabin I saw Coloney Kinney pass at a rapid walk in the direction of Company D quarters. I stood and watched to see
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where he was going, and what was up. He halted before a cabin door and knocked. . Some one opened the door, and after talking a moment, the Colonel drew his revolver and fired into the cabin. That shot killed Sergeant Frank Wallace of Company D. Some one had reported that Sergeant Wallace was a leader in the riot of the previous night. For a little while it seemed there might be serious trouble in the regiment over this sad matter; but through the kindly influence of Colonel Raynor, Dr. King and the company officers, as well as the cooler headed men, any serious outbreak was prevented, as they felt that it was more of an acci- dent than anything else. But there was a general feeling of sad- ness over this unfortunate affair, and it was a sorrowful funeral up on the hills back of Helena that evening at dusk, as we laid in the bivouac of the dead the remains of a gallant comrade, who gave up his life, but not on the battle field. There was a trial of this affair by a military court, the Colonel was exonerated, and some time thereafter he resigned and left the service. Then W. H. Raynor was promoted to Colonel, S. E. Varner to Lieutenant Colonel and Captain C. F. Reiniger to Major. On December 18 the regiment was disgraced on dress parade by a Second Lieu- tenant and Acting Adjutant being so drunk that he could not per- form his duties, and was placed under arrest by Colonel Raynor. He was a sample of some of the men who were promoted in the early part of our service, because they were from a certain locality or had "a pull" with those in authority over such matters. These men were totally incompetent for any position of honor or trust. But this was materially changed later on in our service, and men stood on their merits, regardless of locality.
January 6, 1863, the regiment was ordered outside of our picket line on the north side of town. We started after midnight to try and capture a force of rebels who had, on the morning pre- vious captured a picket post on our line. They belonged to a reg- iment of new troops and had been in service only a short time, and had not been properly instructed as to the enemy's tricks. The night was cold, and lying in the woods quietly for about five hours was very unpleasant. But the enemy did not show up, as
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الدواء
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they were on the lookout for a trap of some kind. January 10, with our division, we were ordered on an expedition up White river in Arkansas. The Fifty-sixth Ohio went on the steamboat Rose Hambleton at noon, and the boat crossed to the Mississippi side and lay there until dark of the 11th, when we left with the fleet down the river. We ran all night and tied up about daylight near White river. On the 12th we ran up White river as far as Pararie's Landing, where we romaincd over night. On the 13th we ran up the river all day. There was not a house to be seen, it being all swamps.
On the 14th the weather turned real cold, and our state rooms on the Rose Hambleton were the soft side of the deck and very uncomfortable. We passed St. Charles, but found no enemy. Our regiment had two men as sutlers, and while good men in general, they would not expose themselves or their goods where there was the remotest prospect of danger. But they had just reached the regiment with a big stock as we started on this expedition, and they were in a manner compelled to go along. On this night the boys of the regiment made a raid on their stock and cleaned out their whole outfit. After this bad treatment they never staid with us any more.
On January 15 we started late and ran as far as Clarendon, and laid up over night, and on the 16th we reached Duvall's Bluff, but the enemy continued to fall back and kept out of reach. Here, as we tied up our boat on the bank, was a drove of hogs. Colonel Raynor jumped ashore and called to us that we ought to save that pork. Comrade William Crabtree and I singled out a good sized shoat and soon had secured the porker. We only fired one shot, but many others from the various boats had landed, and there was a good deal of shooting around there. General Hovey, our · division commander, sent out his body guard to arrest all who were out shooting pigs, etc. They gobbled us up, and took us hog and all before General Hovey. He was busy talking to some people. There we stood with a gun in one hand, and holding the pig's hind leg with the other, when a kindhearted staff officer, seeing our funny condition, came over to us and told us to light
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out for our regiment. We fairly flew, and the pig went with us; and we had some nice, fresh meat for a day or two. This was the only time that I was under arrest, and Comrade Crabtree was mortally wounded just four months to a day later.
`On this trip we explored the country in every direction, but the enemy failed to make a stand. We started on our return on the 19th. On the 21st we tied up at an island, having broken our wheel. We arrived at Helena on the 22d, and found our cabins had been torn down in our absence, but we soon built a new cabin, · as timber was plenty.
February 11, 1863, we were ordered to march with two days' rations. We went aboard the steamboat Moderator, and lay at the wharf all night. On the next day we ran down into the Yazoo Pass and on into Moon Lake. We landed where the Coldwater river ran out of this lake, and encamped in some old plantation buildings, on the Monroe plantation. In this region there was a good deal of cotton, and considerable effort was made to secure it. On February 15 a select number of Company C went on a scout to locate some of it. We went out some distance to a large plan- tation. Captain Williams was in command, and while he was talking to a white man in charge we investigated and found they had lots of good things to eat, and we were anticipating quite a feast. . But one of the boys saw at a distance through the trees a body of cavalry approaching. From their clothes and the dis- tance we could not tell whether they were of the enemy or our own forces. When they saw us they halted and got ready for action. We fell back in the direction of our camp through a large cotton field. In the center of this field was a large cotton gin, which we aimed to reach; but they came down upon us fast and furious. We halted and formed into a hollow square twice as they were about to charge us. One of their scouts got up close enough to see us plainly, and he shouted that they were Union troops of the Sixth Missouri cavalry. They greatly admired our action in forming into square and waiting to be charged, with the odds so largely against us. Moon Lake, where we were, was a
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