USA > Ohio > Historical sketch of the 56th Ohio volunteer infantry during the great Civil War from 1861 to 1866 > Part 3
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small body of water near the Mississippi river, the levee was cut and the river at high flood ran into the lake, and it was deep enough for our largest boats. Where we were camped was where the Yazoo Pass left the lake. The water from this pass ran into the Coldwater river, and it emptied into the Tallehatchie river, and it into the Yazoo river, which entered the Mississippi above Vicksburg a few miles. A large expedition of our forces, with many gunboats, went down by way of this pass in an endeavor to find a route to the rear of Vicksburg. But on the Tallehatchie the enemy had constructed a strong fort in a dense swamp that could not be reached from our side. On March 21, 1863, Company C was sent to guard the steamboat Curlew, loaded with ammunition, down this waterway. We found the pass very crooked, and we bumped against trees every few yards. On the 22d we passed the steamboat Luella, sunk. On the 23d we met the Hamilton Belle going up stream; nothing but woods to be seen, hardly any houses in sight. On the 25th we passed where the regiment camped last fall, and on the 26th we passed several boats and arrived at our headquarters at noon on the 27th. And after dark the boat we were on took on a lot of cotton and ran down to within a mile of Fort Pemberton, and landed the cotton for our forces to build fortifications with. The night was as dark as pitch and the rain fell in torrents, and dreadful thunder and lightning added to the tumult. The only thing out of the ordinary while here was seeing Colonel Pyle of a Missouri regiment separate two of his men, who were engaged in a fight. The Colonel was 6 feet four or 5, a large and very strong man. He walked up to the fighters, took each of them by the back of the neck, pulled them apart, and then bumped their heads together several times, and then flung them to either side. The Colonel was a minister, and did not believe in that sort of fighting. He was afterwards promoted to Brigadier General, and some of us had the pleasure of hearing him preach in New Orleans, at Christ Church, on Sunday, Octo- ber 2, 1864. ,
On April 1, 1863, we started back up the pass, and reached the regiment on the 3d. Our gunboats and steamboats that went
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down this pass were badly dismantled in this crooked and narrow stream, and after every effort our forces were compelled to aban- don the enterprise.
. April 7, 1863, the regiment was ordered back to Helena, where we remained until April 12. While we were stationed in and about Helena our Chaplain, Rev. J. E. Thomas, was detached and placed in charge of a large number of freedmen, who had congregated about Helena, and he continued in this work until his final discharge, on November 5, 1864. In his supervision of .these contrabands he was enabled to do a great amount of good for these poor freedmen, who were cast out helpless from slavery to depend upon their own resources. He put them at the work of raising cotton, corn and vegetables for their own use, and for the benefit of the government, and he was highly commended by General Buford, the department commander, for the excellency of his work, as the cotton they raised and sold brought the govern- ment a large amount of money.
On July 4, 1863, the rebel Generals, Holmes, Price and Mear- maduke, with a force of 7,646 men, made an attack on Helena. General Prentiss was in command of our forces of 4,000 men, and had as a strong ally the Gunboat Tyler. The enemy, as usual, lacked nothing in bravery. Holmes reported his loss in this battle at 173 killed, 687 wounded and 776 missing. Our loss was less than 250 all told.
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LIEUT. C. GILLILAN, CO. A See page 137
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CHAPTER V.
MILLIKEN'S BEND, GRAND GULF, PORT GIBSON AND FOURTEEN MILE CREEK.
On April 12, 1863, we were ordered to join General Grant's army at Milliken's Bend, Louisiana, which was a few miles above Vicksburg. We embarked on the steamboat Alone, and left on the 13th to join the forces then gathering to make the last success- ful effort to capture Vicksburg, which had become the Gibraltar of the Western Continent. By this time the Fifty-sixth Ohio had been assigned to the Second Brigade of the Twelfth Division, Thirteenth Army Corps.
And, as we have since learned, at St. Louis and other points on the Western rivers, there were rich and influential men engaged in running steamboats on the Mississippi and other rivers, which while doing business for the government, were giving substantial aid and assisting the rebel cause by carrying recruits, contraband mail, and drugs and goods of all kind, and in every way aiding and encouraging the rebellion.
We had not been on this boat long before we found that the officers and crew of the Alone had little, if any, respect, for a Union soldier; and, on April 14, the blackguard barkeeper of this boat grossly insulted Willis Walker, a member of Company C. This comrade was a noted forager, and had the nack of getting what he went for. He promised the barkeeper that he would even up with him before we left the boat. Out on the cabin deck of the boat they had two large boxes, securely locked. One of them contained the table supplies for the boat, and the other the bar- keeper's extra stock. After midnight we were roused up and told to come below at once. On going down to the lower deck, we found that Comrade Walker and his partners had the entire con- tents of the two boxes laid out for a banquet, which we disposed
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of quietly and hurriedly. What we failed to consume was con- signed to the river, as it was not safe to leave a crumb in sight, though some of the boys could not part with the liquor they had, but kept it well hidden. The loss was discovered at daylight, complaint was made, but our officers failed to find who was guilty.
On the 15th of April we landed at Milliken's Bend, Louisiana. Here the raid was reported to our headquarters, and our Brigade · Commander, General Slack, was ordered to investigate the matter. The regiment was formed in line near the levee. In the rear of our line was a body of backwater from the river. As General Slack passed down the line the men who had any liquor left in their canteens would throw them into the backwater behind them, the straps of the canteens floating. Captain of Company - waded in and fished them out about as fast as they fell, and, stringing them on his shoulder, he reached the left of the regiment at the same time as the General did, and while they blessed the rebels and all their friends, they took a bumper to the success of the Union cause, to the great applause of a multitude of comrades of other regiments, who were giving this free show their close atten- tion. This episode gave us a reputation, which later on came near depriving us of our colors. Some foragers of other regiments, when caught in unlawful acts, such as burning houses, etc., gave the Fifty-sixth Ohio credit with their membership; but upon inves- tigation, and being confronted with our officers, we were cleared of the charge. Our stay at Milliken's Bend was short, leaving there April 16. We went into camp at Richmond, Louisiana, the same evening. We moved forward early on the 17th, and passed through some beautiful country. On the 18th and 19th we con- tinued our marching, and on the 20th reached Bayou Pirre and encamped. Our pioneers were building a pontoon bridge, and we lay in camp here drilling considerably and holding dress parades. April 28 we moved on amid torrents of rain, the roads being nearly impassible, and camped two miles from the Mississippi river. This was a regular swamp, not a dry place in sight. The pioneers of our division built here about 2,000 feet of bridging, so we could cross the bottomless places. On April 29 we marched to the river.
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at Perkins' plantation. At this place there were several steam- boats and barges at the landing. Here we left our kanpsachs. Each comrade was loaded down with one hundred rounds of cart- ridges, and then marched aboard a coal barge. Our whole brigade was on one small steamboat and coal barge. We barely had standing room. The boat ran down to Hard Time's Landing, in sight of Grand Gulf, two miles down the river. Grand Gulf was naturally and artificially very strong. Soon after our arrival seven of our gunboats moved down, and a daring and continuous bom- bardment of the fortifications was kept up for five and a half hours, the flagship Benton leading the fleet. They circled slowly in front, each sending a broadside into the rebel works. General Grant and some of his staff were on a steam tug near our boat, closely watching the work of the gunboats. The enemy sent a few shells in their direction, to keep them at a proper distance. Then the tug retired out of range. This contest gave a fine display of the never failing courage of our brave sailor comrades. It seemed at times as though their boats would steam up to the wharf .. It was apparent to those who witnessed this contest that gunboats, though manned by the bravest men, were not equal to land bat- teries served by men of valor and skill. Several of the gunboats were damaged, and all of them withdrawn. The failure to silence the rebel batteries relieved us from the dreadful task of landing to storm their rifle pits. This was one of our lucky escapes.
Late in the afternoon we disembarked and marched across a point on a high levee, which brought us out on the river below Grand Gulf. Here we saw a live alligator basking on a log in the swamp. Our regiment led this advance, and as soon as we struck solid ground we filed off and went into camp. Who can ever forget that grand sight, as regiment after regiment passed to camp below. All of the Thirteenth and a part of the Seventeenth Corps passed. The snakes had pre-empted our camp ground, and our rest was not good, as they were disposed to dispute our right to be there. The gunboats, transports and barges ran past the Grand Gulf batteries about midnight under a heavy fire.
On April 30 we boarded a gunboat, which ran down and landed
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us at Bruinsburg, Mississippi, six miles below. Here we were served with two days' rations that were to last five days, or until we could get more. At 5 o'clock p. in. we started on the road to Port Gibson, Mississippi, some 12 miles inland. One of the never- to-be-forgotten sights as we climbed the hills, a mile or more back from the river, was the display of pickled pork that had been issued to us and was carried on our bayonets. At 8 p. m. we halted to make coffee and rest a little, but started on soon, there being a constant skirmish in advance. We were on the road all night, and this was the third night for us without much, if any sleep. The most of us took short naps as we marched along. At day. break we halted in the valley of a small stream for breakfast. Some of the more active or hungry ones had finished their meal, but many had not made a start, when the enemy's artillery boomed on the hill just ahead. "Fall in!" was the order, and up the hill we moved at a double-quick, halting in a deep cut in the road near the top of the hill.
In a few moments we were ordered to a position on the right of the road in an open field. In our front some 600 years was a piece of timber, in which there was a heavy contest going on,. and a number of the wounded who could do so were falling back to our position. At the left of the road in the yard of a house was one of our batteries pouring shot and shell into the rebel battery in their front. In a few moments we were ordered for- ward. We moved right obliquely, which brought us to the road. 'As we came to the fence the rebel battery knocked it over our heads. Some of our men were hurt by the flying rails.
We crossed the road and moved down into a cane-brake at the left of the road, between our battery and that of the enemy. We made our way through the cane-brake, and formed at a fence on a slight ridge. In a few moments General Hovey and his staff rode down in the road to our right. He asked for the command- ing officer of the regiment, Colonel Raynor responding. He was ordered to support the Thirty-fourth Indiana Infantry in a charge on the rebel battery in front. The Thirty-fourth Indiana was in the timber on the right of the road, and the Fifty-sixth Ohio to
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the left of the road in a corn field. The Thirty-fourth advanced, but their progress was slow. The Fifty-sixth made a rush to secure a good position on the hillside, and were in advance of the Thirty-fourth. We were in close range and the enemy poured their shot and shell into our midst. I was hit by a grapeshot on the foot, bruising it considerably. As soon as our men fell into line we charged forward. The enemy stood their ground until we were in a few feet of them, when they broke to the rear, and we followed fast after them over the brow of the hill. A rebel officer was about to mount his horse when Captain Williams took Com- rade Will Morris' musket and gave him the contents. The enemy was doing their best to escape, but we wanted them dead or alive. In a short time we captured 222 men of the Twenty-third Alabama Infantry and the Virginia Artillery Company, also the flag of one or the other of these organizations. The flag was captured by Cor- poral David Evans of Company C.
The regiment soon after formed line on a hillside in front, when General Grant and some of his staff rode up. The General shook hands with Colonel Raynor, and thanked the regiment for their gallant conduct, saying that he was proud of the men from his native state. After a short rest, we advanced to the right across a valley and up a high hill, where we lay in line for some time. The enemy now made an effort to cut us off from our forces. As they had a largely superior force, we fell back into the valley, where we found good shelter in the bed of a small stream that crossed the valley. But the rebels moved down as we did, and we had it hot and furious for some time. As we entered the run Sergeant Henry C. Dare of Company C was shot in the knee, by which he lost his leg; Corporal Thomas L. Evans lost an eye by a buckshot, and I was shot through my trousers at the knee, and also on my hip. A rebel officer on a white horse was shot, and his horse trotted into our line, and our Quartermaster kept him for a long time.
Our ammunition being exhausted, we were relieved by the Twenty-second Kentucky Infantry. They came in on the double- quick, their young color bearer 15 or 20 feet in advance. They
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presented a fine sight. On retiring we were still under fire. The firing kept up until nearly dark, when the enemy retired to a hill, where they had a large cannon that annoyed us greatly, but our gunners were unable to dislodge it. About sunset an officer rode up to one of our batteries, had a gun loaded, sighted it, and with his glass watched the shot, remarking, "That gun will not trouble us any longer." This ended the battle of Port Gibson, the enemy falling back out of reach.
In this action the Fifty-sixth Ohio had six men killed and thirty wounded and missing. Port Gibson was no great battle, but of sufficient magnitude to test the quality of the men, and we all had good reason to rejoice over the gallant action of the regiment.
On May 2, early, we entered Port Gibson, a real pretty town. The enemy the night before had retired across Bayou Pierre, burn- ing the bridge across that stream.
There has been considerable dispute in the National Tribune by members of Benton's Brigade, of Carr's Division, about the capture of this battery, they claiming that none of our division was near the battery until they had captured it and gone on to further conquests. All of the Fifty-sixth Ohio, who were there, . know that there is no truth in their claim; and we may well inquire if they took the battery, "Why did they leave the enemy in pos- session of their guns with their infantry supports?" The business was to capture guns and prisoners when we could. That was what we were there for. The prisoners and colors taken by the Fifty- sixth Ohio, are all the evidence we need to dispose of their claim .. A regiment came up in our rear and fired a volley into us and the rebels we had captured, and it was a common report in the regiment that in that volley they killed Corporal James H. Evans of Company E, one of the best soldiers in the regiment. The total loss of our army in this battle was 130 killed and 718 wounded . and missing.
The Thirteenth Corps remained at Port Gibson during May 2, and assisted in the construction of a bridge across the south
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branch of Bayou Pierre. May 4, 1863, our division advanced some ten miles north and near the Big Black river, and camped on a bleak hill. Our rations were out, and there was nothing in reach to forage, except the native black beans, which were quite a luxury. But in our extremity two of our mess secured a bee-hive full of honey and bees, and then we had beans, honey and stings; more of the last than we wanted.
On May 6 we moved up to Rocky Springs. This was a much finer camp; and on the 7th we had a grand review of the corps by General Grant. May 12 our division moved early, in the advance, being the only troops near the Big Black river. We came up on the south side of Fourteen Mile creek. The Fifty-sixth Ohio was on the right of our line, and near a road where there was a bridge across the creek. The rebels held the opposite side of the stream, with their sharpshooters so posted as to control the bridge. Com- pany A was ordered to cross the creek above the bridge and drive the rebels away. They soon forced them back to the top of the ridge in our front. Company F was also sent to support Company A, and, soon after, the rest of the Fifty-sixth crossed by the bridge, and the entire division followed. We drove them steadily to within two miles of Edward's Depot, confronting Pemberton's main army. The Fifty-sixth Ohio was given the post of honor, and all of that night we lay on our arms in battle line in a cornfield. The roll of rebel drums in front gave notice of the enemy's presence.
At daylight of the 13th we drove the rebels about half a mile, and then, on quick time, we moved to the southeast until we struck the Raymond road, which we followed all day. The rain fell in pitiless fury. We had streams to wade, and, thoroughly soaked, lay out in the woods all night. On the 14th we passed through Raymond. Here we saw a large number who were wounded in the battle of the 12th, when the Seventeenth Corps routed the enemy.
May 15th we were off early, and reached Clinton, within ten miles of Jackson, Mississippi, at noon. From here our division made a square turn to the west, on the road to Vicksburg. This
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road ran near the railroad, and at night we camped near Bolten Station. This ground was the enemy's outpost. They were driven off, and we took possession of their camp fires. The detail for picket duty was heavy, and as night came on there settled down upon the camp that indefinable feeling that can not be described, but can never be forgotten, and many of our comrades stood their last watch on the picket line that night; and the sharp report of musketry here and there caused our rest in camp to be rather broken.
CAPTAIN JOHN YOCHEM See page 142
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CHAPTER VI.
CHAMPION'S HILL.
At the commencement of the year 1863 the burden of the war was most sensibly felt throughout the loyal states. It was hard to convince all that the acts of the administration at Washington had always been dictated by the wisest policy. The generals in command, so far, had not proved to be sure leaders to an easy or any other kind of victory, but some had shown themselves alto- gether incompetent. Others had secured victories by the lavish shedding of blood, and on at least one field a mean and petty jealousy had robbed the country of the precious lives of our brave soldiers.
Swinton, in his excellent book, "The Decisive Battles of the War,“ in referring to our comrades of the Army of the Tennessee in this battle, uses the following language, on page 480, which goes to show the importance of this battle in the mind of this elegant writer: "And when the doomed Confederate armies, compassed in fatal toils, looked southerly for an outlet of escape, there came rolling across the plains of the Carolinas, beating nearer and nearer, the drums of Champion Hill and Shiloh."
This battle to which we were now approaching sealed the doom of Vicksburg, and it was not only the most complete, but the clearest-cut victory since the war began, and was the culmin- ation of a series of splendid victories that held fully 100,000 men from reinforcing General Lee's army, and thereby making sure the defeat of Gettysburg. And, as has been well said, the high tide of the rebellion was met at Champion's Hill, down in the Missis- sippi valley, and not up in Maryland or Pennsylvania, and in that stupendous conflict was turned in favor of the preservation of the Union. That it was preserved, and we are today a united
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country, that we have so much prosperity, peace and freedom, is due alone to the endurance, gallantry, patriotism and valor of the rank and file of the invincible Union soldiers of the North.
At this time the Twelfth Division of the Thirteenth Army . Corps, commanded by General Alvin P. Hovey, was composed of the following troops: The Eleventh, Twenty-fourth, Thirty-fourth, Forty-sixth and Forty-seventh Indiana Infantry, the Twenty-ninth Wisconsin Infantry, Twenty-fourth and Twenty-eighth Iowa Infan- try, and the Fifty-sixth Ohio Infantry; also the Second and Six- teenth Ohio Light Artillery, and the First Missouri Light Artil- lery, Battery A.
The Seventeenth Corps, Logan's division leading, on the even- ing of the 15th, were in our immediate rear; Osterhau's and Carr's divisions were some three or four miles south, while A. J. Smith's and Blair's divisions were still further to the southwest. These four divisions were north of Raymond, and on two roads that led to Edward's Depot. One of these roads entered the Vicksburg and Jackson road, on the west side of Champion's Hill; the other, further west, entered the same road at Edward's Depot. These four divisions were ordered by General Grant to advance on to the enemy's position, but for some unaccountable reason they failed to do so, or to take any part in the battle.
General Pemberton, having failed to cross Baker's creek to the south, countermarched his army and crossed it near Edward's Depot by a bridge on the main road. His intention was to turn south again, attack our rear and cut us off from our supposed base of supplies at Grand Gulf. But, on the evening of the 15th of May, he received the repeated order of General Johnston to join his army at Clinton, Mississippi, so that with united forces they could give us battle. But at that time, and unknown to both, we had occupied Clinton and passed on beyond; and General Pem- berton was ignorant of the fact that General Johnston had been defeated and was retreating north to Canton, Mississippi. Then, when too late, and totally ignorant of the true situation, Pem- berton concluded to obey General Johnston's order, and with this
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object in. view he started, early on the morning of May 16, 1863, east ou the road to Jackson, Mississippi. But General Grant, just as early, moved our army west on the same road, which soon resulted in the meeting of the hostile forces. General Pemberton, whether purposely or not, had selected an extra strong position for a defensive battle, on the rugged hill known as. Champion's Hill. On its eastern slopes were ravines and gullies, over which grew large trees and underbrush that were almost impenetrable; thus rendering it very difficult to move troops in anything like complete formation, but made it an ideal place for defense. The hill proper is one of the highest in that region, and commanded a iine view of the country to the east, over which our division was advancing.
Champion's house was to the left of the road and quite a distance east of the hill. On the morning of May 16, 1863, Hovey's division moved forward at 6 a. m. Our men were in good spirits, the bloody reception so near being mercifully veiled from sight. We were not long in passing over the short distance from our camp to where the enemy was awaiting our approach. The morning was bright and warm. At one plantation we had a hot time in passing some bee-hives that had been disturbed by our advance. On the slope of Champion's Hill, Hovey's division formed into battle line, and moving forward crossed the field and halted near the timber. There was skirmishing at the edge of the woods all along the line.
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