USA > Ohio > Sandusky County > History of Sandusky County, Ohio : with portraits and biographies of prominent citizens and pioneers > Part 41
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In obedience to these orders I again moved my command to the rear until I arrived on the ground where my regiment had bivouacked the night previ- ous. My men, overcome by fatigue, having marched some twelve miles from the battlefield, without rest, I ordered a halt intending to remain until I should receive orders from some of my superiors in com- mand. About half an hour afterward Colonel War- ren's brigade of cavalry came up and the command- ing officer ordered to move my command to Ripley. I enquired by what authority he gave me such or- ders. He replied, "By order of General Sturgis." Again I moved my command to the rear, and caine up with General Sturgis and Colonel McMillen at a bridge crossing a creek about six miles south of Rip- ley. Colonel McMillen ordered me to continue the retreat to Ripley, which 1 did, arriving there at 5 o'clock the following morning .- having, in twenty- three hours, marched a distance of thirty-eight miles, and engaged the enemy two hours. At a little before 7 o'clock Colonel McMillen sent an aid (Lieuten- ant Livings), ordering me as the senior officer of the brigade then present, to immediately move the brig- ade on the Salem road following the cavalry, with in- structions to have the armed men organized so as to be available at a moment's warning. Only three reg- iments were in motion before Colonel D. C. Thomas, Ninety-third Indiana infantry, came up and assumed command. After marching about two miles Cap- tain Fernald, of Colonel McMillen's staff, ordered me to keep well closed up on the cavalry, which was the last order I received that day from any of my superior officers.
About eight miles from Ripley the enemy fired into the centre of the regiment from the left hand side of the road, which caused a slight delay of the left companies, thereby forming quite a gap between the fourth and fifth companies. The cavalry in ad- vance began to march at such a rapid pace that it became utterly impossible for infantry to keep closed up with them-but the organization of my regiment was still kept up, keeping as close to the cavalry in
front as possible. After marching about two miles further, the Fourth Missouri cavalry, which was act- ing as rear guard to the whole command, suddenly made a rush to the front, riding through the ranks of my regiment, causing the men to scatter in all direc- tions to avoid being ridden over; at the same time the enemy made an attack on the rear. My men, being wholly out of ammunition, and seeing that it was absolutely necessary to rid themselves of all in- cumbrances in order to avoid being captured, broke their guns and destroyed their accoutrements by cut- ting them in pieces. They then pressed rapidly for ward, with the intention of keeping up with the cav- alry and saving themselves if possible ; but the ma- jority of them being overcome by the excessive heat of the day and the long and rapid march, were com- pelled to leave the road and seek safety in the woods. However, one hundred and forty-three of my command kept pace with the cavalry, and ar- rived at Colliersville about 8 o'clock the following morning, having marched a distance of nearly ninety miles in forty-eight hours. After resting part of the day at Colliersville, these men became so stiffened as to require assistance to enable them to walk, -- some of them, too foot-sore to stand upon their feet, crawled upon their hands and knees to the cars.
When I left Ripley in the morning my command had three hundred and twenty guns, and averaged about eight rounds of ammunition to the man. Eleven officers and two hundred and thirty-five enlisted men have not yet returned to Memphis. They are most of them undoubtedly prisoners of war in the hands of the enemy. Of the officers and men under my command, I have just reasons for feeling proud. Not an officer or man did I see who failed to do his whole duty, and none of them surely are responsible for any part of the disaster.
C. G. EATON,
Lieutenant Colonel Commanding Seventy-second regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry.
On the 19th of June, 1864, Captain J. Mack Lemmon sent the following letter, which was published in the Fremont Jour- nal of the following week :
MEMPHIS, TENN., June 19, 1864.
EDITOR JOURNAL: Enclosed I send you a com- plete list of nanies of missing officers and men of the Seventy-second Ohio Veteran Volunteer Infantry, in the retreat from Guntown, June ro and II, 1864. It is hoped-though hardly possible -- that some may yet . come in. Prisoners who made their escape from the rebels report that our men were well treated when they fell into rebel hands. The loss of the expedi- tion will amount to very nearly two thousand killed, wounded, and missing; besides, we have lost one hundred and eighty wagons, sixteen pieces of artil-
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HISTORY OF SANDUSKY COUNTY.
lery, about thirty ambulances, and two thousand animals. Major General A. J. Smith has been placed in command of the active forces here, and we may now look for better results.
Respectfully, J. MACK LEMMON,
Captain Seventy-second Ohio Infantry.
The following is a list of the officers and men of the Seventy-second Ohio, who were missing :
COMMISSIONED OFFICERS.
Captain Andrew Nupher, commanding Compa- ny D.
Captain Leroy Moore, commanding Company F. Captain Charles L. Dirlam, commanding Compa- ny K.
First Lieutenant John B. Gillmore, Company F. First. Lieutenant Lorenzo Dick, commanding Company H.
Second Lieutenant Edward McMahon, Compa- ny F.
Second Lieutenant Zelotus Perrin, Company K. Second Lieutenant Jay Winters, Company B.
Second Lieutenant Morris Rees, Company D.
Second Lieutenant David Van Doren, Company G. Second Lieutenant Josiah Fairbanks, Company I.
NON-COMMISSIONED STAFF.
Hospital Steward G. A. Gessner.
Principal Musician James Drinkwater.
COMPANY A.
NON-COMMISSIONED OFFICERS.
Sergeant S. K. Dwight.
Sergeant H. N. Lay,
Sergeant J. N. Wadams.
Sergeant W. Woolverton.
Sergeant C. N. Davis. Corporal W. G. Miller. Corporal A. L. Bush. Corporal A. Bradbury. Corporal Charles Boyd. Corporal S. Chadwick.
Musician William Fega.
PRIVATES.
A. Almond, T. Babcock, F. Babcock, G. Burkett, Andrew German, Jacob Helsel, Augustus Harris, Z. Hutchinson, William Hinton, Jesse Hemp, Frank Lay, A. Murry, L. McCarty, N. B. Mason, Henry Miller, Valentine Ott, Morris Pilgrim, Noble Perrin, Almon Rodgers, E. Rorebach, William Ross, A. Simmerson, W. Sturtivant, L. Wentworth, Eli Whitaker, John Whitaker.
COMPANY B.
NON-COMMISSIONED OFFICERS.
Sergeant W. Millious. Sergeant W. F. McEntyre.
Sergeant John Collins. Corporal Christ Bower. Corporal G. W. Camp.
PRIVATES.
J. F. Adams, D. Bruner, C. H. Bennett, H. Bischoff, M. Cowell, John Dardis, F. M. Engler, A. T. Fisher, T. H. Fisher, J. F. Faust, Peter Gurst, F. Hollager, Thomas Hearly, P. Mulrain, B. E. McIntyre, S. P. Obermier, H. Overmyer, A. Polley, Sol Stage, H. B. Whitaker, M. Rubels.
COMPANY C.
NON-COMMISSIONED OFFICERS.
Corporal A. Brackley.
Corporal Jacob Huffman.
Corporal Jeremiah Heath.
Corporal Hiram Edgar.
Corporal J. P. Heritage.
PRIVATES.
J. C. Beery, John L. Cook, Emanuel Smith, John Whitcome, Daniel Shoe, Ed Chapman, J. Hutchin- son, Lewis Edgar, W. C. Tearn, David Henline, John P. King, R. Kelvington, M. Lattig, S. Over- myer, Fred Smith, Henry Martin, H. E. Hassen- plug, Owen Hudnell, Jacob Bunket, George Lowe.
COMPANY D. NON-COMMISSIONED OFFICERS.
Sergeant John Carbaugh.
Sergeant Perry Chance.
Sergeant William Duke.
Corporal George Albert.
Corporal Solomon Cook.
Corporal Franklin Grove.
Corporal Elijah Neible.
Musician J. Sherwood.
PRIVATES.
Henry Basor, Joseph Beam, Orson Bower, M. Cuthbertson, H. Ewing, James Findley, George Grove, James Hales, Jacob Ludwig, J. McDaniel, Charles Piper, John Purcell, John Reese, Conrag Sheller, Fred Visher, John Walter.
COMPANY E. NON-COMMISSIONED OFFICERS.
Sergeant L. A. Jackson.
Sergeant J. P. Elderkin.
Sergeant Jacob Snyder.
Sergeant D. J. Hagarty. Sergeant Jacob Baker.
Corporal Fred Stattler.
Corporal William Furry.
Corporal M. S. Haines.
Corporal R. W. Medkirk.
Corporal George Eslibe.
PRIVATES.
B. C. Beach, J. Gullenbeck, C. J. McGurnsey, Henry Innus, Martin Lochner, Henry Potter, M.
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HISTORY OF SANDUSKY COUNTY.
Stateler, A. Shoemaker, William Stewart, A. J. Zink.
COMPANY F.
NON-COMMISSIONED OFFICERS.
Sergeant E. B. Moore. Sergeant T. N. Russell. Corporal I. A. Entsminger. Corporal A. Brunthaver.
PRIVATES.
Andrew Barto, A. R. Ballard, Chris Beck, William Craft, Ira Crane, H. W. Chamberlain, J. S. Duer- ler, J. M. Gillmore, George Hawk, Louis Hawk, John Johnson, Thomas Jackson, William H. Kirk, Hiram Neff, James Nesbit, Sardis Patterson, Chaun Reynolds, William Repp, Orrin Russell, Henry Shook, Jerry Scanlon, Martin Staner, William Scrim- eger, T. Whittington.
COMPANY G.
NON-COMMISSIONED OFFICERS.
Sergeant Joseph L. Turner. Corporal John Warner. Corporal Charles Kramb. Musician C. Engle.
PRIVATES.
S. Blackman, W. S. Crain, P. Eslewooder, W. H. French, E. Frankenburg, Charles Harley, A. Mulchey, Philip Moses, John Mowery, W. H. Mc- Enally, William Seitt, ,Platt Soper, C. Thompson, DeWitt C. Vance.
COMPANY H.
NON-COMMISSIONED OFFICERS.
Sergeant Charles Hobert. Sergeant J. S. Welch. Corporal Christ Molter. Corporal G. Everhardt. Corporal Fred Bimmick. Musician J. H. Rose.
PRIVATES.
Morris Aubrey, C. Benedict, Jacob Fessler, Wil- liam Frank, Fred Frank, Chris Gardner, Martin Kil- lian, Theobald Kirsch, Louis Muth, John Michael, Michael Nice, Joseph Orth, Andrew Spaeth, Henry Stoll, Marcus Wolf, Fred Wermer, Michael Weaver.
COMPANY I.
NON-COMMISSIONED OFFICERS.
Sergeant Chaun Walters.
Sergeant Lewis Monroe.
PRIVATES.
Dan Brienman, Charles Caldwell, William Eckert, Thomas Flinn, D. A. Goodrich, H. K. Hurlbut, A. Hoilman, P. C. Miller, Perry Walters, Michael Walters.
COMPANY K.
NON-COMMISSIONED OFFICERS.
Sergeant H. B. Turrill.
Sergeant J. W. Prickett.
Sergeant W. Baumgartner. Sergeant L. Albershardt.
Sergeant Michael Burns.
Sergeant George W. Cox.
Sergeant Thomas Cavanaugh. Sergeant William Chrisman. Sergeant Pat Donoughe.
Sergeant Patrick Handley.
PRIVATES.
A. E. Inlocs, Philip King, Henry McCabe, John Ollendick, Elijah Purdy, Joseph Service, J. A. Woer- ner, R. Webster, E. Williamson.
Enlisted men missing . 237
Officers missing II
Total. 248
These communications present a sad view of the terrible consequence of a mili- tary blunder in the officer-Sturgis-in command of the expedition. The indig- nation of the returned men was such that General Sturgis found it prudent to keep out of sight and out of reach of their fury. And, although more than seventeen years have elapsed since this terrible scene was enacted, such is the indignation of the surviving men of the Seventy-second, that any insurance policy on General Sturgis' life would be collectable soon after any of them should find him in the county.
Soon after the sad affair General Buck- land heard that Sturgis had tried to screen himself from accountability by reporting that the men would not fight. General Buckland lost no time in writing a letter to General Sherman, indignantly denying the truth of any such charge as to the men of the Seventy-second, or of the brig- ade he had commanded, asserting boldly that he had often witnessed their patient endurance of the hardships of the ser- vice; had often led them in battle, and knew that truer, braver, or better soldiers never went into action ; and that if properly
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HISTORY OF SANDUSKY COUNTY.
commanded no men would do better any- where than the men of the Seventy- second.
In an interview with the writer in Sep- tember, 1881, Archibald Purcell, who was color-bearer for the Seventy-second in the "Guntown fight, related the following inci- dent:
He said that the Seventy-second regi- ment was the last to cross the bridge over Tishomingo Creek on the retreat. They arrived in a body and in order at Ripley about 3 o'clock in the morning of the 12th of June. Colonel Watterhouse's Board of Trade Battery, of Chicago, lost their battery about half a mile from Ripley, the guns being stuck in the mud and aban- doned.
Purcell had brought away the flag and staff safely as far as Ripley, but when the men left there, after daylight, he found that he, with the flag in view, was a con- spicuous target for the shots of the pursu- ing rebels. Concealing himself as well as he could he took the flag off the staff and wrapped it around his body, under his shirt, so that it could not be seen. "I thought," said he, "if I got killed the flag might be undiscovered, or buried with me, and that if I escaped I would save it for the regiment, and prevent the rebels from getting it." He escaped, and after entering the depot at Memphis General Buckland asked him, with a sad counte- nance, what had become of the flag. Not seeing it in Purcell's possession, he seemed to fear it was lost. Purcell finally told him it was safe, and pulling open his shirt he drew it forth, when the General's countenance brightened as he took it, and the men and women in the depot cheered and shouted as they realized the fact that the sacred emblem had been safely brought away.
Having thus given the sad results of the disaster at Guntown, we resume the
subsequent history of the Seventy-second, which happily was not destined to any more such reverses, but soon entered on a brighter career, in which the conduct of the regiment proved that the assertion of General Buckland was true, and the base insinuation of Sturgis was false.
After a little rest, the Seventy-second regiment was assigned to the First bri- gade, under command of General McMil- len, and became a part of General Mow- er's division of the Sixteenth Army Corps.
On the 22d of June it was ordered on an expedition, moving in the direction of Tupelo, Mississippi.
On the IIth of July the rebels were found near Pontotoc. The corps made a feint against the enemy and then moved rapidly eastward toward the Mobile & Ohio Railroad at Tupelo. In this move- ment McMillen's brigade, only nine hun- dred strong, was in the rear of the infantry column, and just in advance of the wagon train. When about two miles west of Tupelo, Bell's brigade of N. B. Forrest's command, which was in ambush, attacked the column. This attack fell mainly upon the Seventy-second. They at once charged the enemy. The remainder of the bri- gade was brought into action, and within twenty minutes the rebels were driven from the field utterly routed. On the re- turn march McMillen's brigade again marched in the rear of the infantry col- umn, and just as it was about to bivouac for the night at Tishomingo Creek, Bell's rebel brigade fell upon the cavalry rear and drove it into camp. McMillen's bri- gade formed rapidly and advanced. A volley checked the enemy, and a charge drove the rebels from the field.
It was in this charge that the brave, gallant, and much loved Major Eugene Allen Rawson, of Fremont, Ohio, lost his life while bravely leading his men in a charge upon the enemy.
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HISTORY OF SANDUSKY COUNTY.
HISTORY OF THE SEVENTY-SECOND RESUMED.
Although the charge at Tishomingo Creek was fatal to the brave Major Raw- son, the rebels were driven from the field. Color-bearer Archibald Purcell says that some rebels, when they made the attack, were imprudent enough t shout, "Give them Guntown." This so exasperated our boys that in the charge and pursuit there was a spirit of vengeance and retalia- tion manifested which, under other cir- cumstances, would have been unbecom- ing a cool soldier, but the provocation was great, and the men felt keenly, even to madness, the taunting mention of Gun- town, and he could pardon them for the cruelties they committed. After the charge in which Major Rawson fell, and after the rebels were driven frora the field, the ex- pedition returned to Memphis without again encountering the enen.y The Sev- enty-second had, however, lost nineteen men and two officers wounded, one offi- cer, Major Rawson, and four men, mor- tally.
The regiment next moved, about the 27th of July, 1864, from Memphis in the direction of Oxford, Mississippi, but the Third division of the corps was ordered to Atlanta, and the troops returned to Memphis. Mower's division was ordered to Arkansas on the Ist of September to resist General Price. The regiment embarked on the 2d on a steamer for Duvall's Bluff, but did not reach its destination until Price had passed north, and therefore failed to intercept him. From Duvall's Bluff the division moved northward. The march lasted eighteen days, and in that time the troops travelled three hundred and fifty miles, forded four rivers, and reached the Mississippi River at Cape Girardeau, Missouri. During this march the weather was hot and the troops on half rations. At Cape Girardeau the
troops took transports for St. Louis, and from there moved to Jefferson City, from which point the division moved against Price. The troops made extraordinary marches, from early morning until late ar. night, making from thirty to forty-five miles each day. But Price's division ws ; well mounted, and it proved vain to al- tempt to overtake him. The pursuit, however, continued to Little Santa Fe on the Kansas line, where the infantry turned back to St. Louis. The weather during this march became intensely cold, and the men had only the clothing which was on their backs and a rubber blanke No wood was to be found, and snow feil twelve inches deep. After enduring man hardships the Seventy-second reached S. Louis on the 16th of November, 186. The division. was next ordered up th Cumberland, and on the 30th of Nover ber it joined the forces under General Thomas, at Nashville, and was posted on the right of the line there. The com mand of the division now devolved on General J. A. McArthur, General Mower having been ordered to General Sherman. On the 7th of December the Seventy- second was on a reconnoissance, and was warmly engaged and lost eleven men killed and wounded. During the first day of the battle of Nashville, the regi- ment participated in a charge, in which three hundred and fifty prisoners and six pieces of artillery were captured from the enemy. This, among many other brave acts, proved that the men of the Seventy- second would fight when properly com- manded, General good-for-nothing Sturgis to the contrary notwithstanding. At night the Seventy-second was sent to Nashville with prisoners, but it returned in time to take part in the fight of the 16th of Novem- ber, 1864, and engaged in the charge on Walnut Hills. In this battle McMillen's brigade, numbering less than twelve hun-
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HISTORY OF SANDUSKY COUNTY.
dred men, captured two thousand prison- ers and thirteen pieces of artillery, while its total loss was only one hundred and sixty men. Here the Seventy-second proved again it would fight when properly commanded, as General Buckland assert- ed, and that the assertion of the miserable sham of the regular army, Sturgis, that ยท they would not fight, was a base falsehood.
The division then moved to Eastport, Mississippi, and went into camp, where supplies were very scarce, and there the brave men of the Seventy-second, as well as the other soldiers of the division, sub- sisted for days on parched corn and water
In February, 1865, the regiment moved with the division to New Orleans, and there camped. February 28, it embarked on the ocean steamer Empire City, and on the 3d of March landed at Fort Gaines, on Dauphin Island. On the 19th it crossed the east side of Mobile Bay, and moved up Fish River and landed about thirty miles east of Spanish Fort. Here a short time was allowed for bringing up supplies, and on the 27th Spanish Fort was invested. The siege lasted until the 8th of April, when the rebels evacuated the fort. In these operations the Seventy- second lost one man killed and three wounded. On the 9th of April it marched for Montgomery, Alabama, and after a toilsome march of thirteen days reached its destination. On the 10th of May the division moved toward Selma, and arrived there on the 14th. On the following day McMillen's brigade was ordered to Me- ridian, Mississippi. Here the regiment re- mained on garrison duty until June, when it was placed along the line of the railroad west of Meridian. About this time orders were received to muster out all men in the regiment whose term of service would ex- pire before October 1, 1865. Under this order forty-one men were discharged. In September the Seventy-second moved to
Corinth, but was soon ordered to Vicks- burg, where it was mustered out on the IIth of September, 1865. It then at once embarked for Ohio, and was paid off at Camp Chase.
AN ERROR CORRECTED.
The hasty correspondents who sent to the press an account of the battle of Shiloh were inaccurate, and did injustice to the Seventy-second regiment. This corres- pondence was hastily compiled, and thus the errors were incorporated into some early histories of that battle. These errors were a source not only of injustice to the brave men of the regiment, but caused much mortification to all the officers and privates. No one, perhaps, felt so keenly the mortificaction of the mistake as Gen- eral Buckland himself, who always after- ward labored to correct the error. Fi- nally a most fitting opportunity to set the history right occurred.
At a meeting of the Army of the Ten- nessee, at Cincinnati, on the 6th of April, 1881, a paper was read on the battle of Shiloh by General Sherman. The state- ments in this paper were such as to call from General Buckland a full and true statement of his part, and of the part of the Seventy-second regiment in that battle. General Buckland's statement was pub- lished in the Toledo Blade of June 9, 1881, and copied into many other papers in different parts of the United States. The principal error which appeared in the correspondence first published giving an account of the battle, was in stating that the troops under General Buckland's com- mand were surprised. General Buckland's communication refutes this statement suc- cessfully. It has been submitted to Gen- eral Sherman and many others, and has been adopted by the Society of the Army of the Tennessee as the true statement, and printed by it as the correct history of the battle of Shiloh. Therefore, as a mat-
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HISTORY OF SANDUSKY COUNTY.
ter of justice to General Buckland and the men under his command, and especially the brave men of the Seventy-second regi- ment, we give his statement in full in this history.
THE BATTLE OF SHILOH .*
At the Reunion of the Society of the Army of the Tennessee in Cincinnati, April 6, 1881, General Sherman read a paper on the battle of Shiloh, and submitted a map (made by himself) of the battle- field and the location of the Union troops on Sunday morning, and at the close of the fighting at night. This map he sent to my seat, and requested my opinion as to its correctness. From a cursory ex- amination I expressed the opinion that it was sub- stantially correct. At the same time I said that the commencement of the battle of Shiloh had been grossly misrepresented, and the truth about it had never been properly understood by the public; that the first accounts published in the Northern papers from their correspondents, particularly the account of "Agate," (Whitelaw Reid) correspondent of the Cincinnati Gazette, stated that officers and men of my brigade, among others, were surprised in their tents, etc., and these accounts had been adopted by historians, whereas there was not one word of truth in such statement. I then made a brief state- ment of the events which occurred within my own knowledge in front of Sherman's division during the three days preceding the battle, and the circum- stances of the commencement of the battle on Sun- day morning, and the position of my brigade at the close of the fighting at night. My remarks were very imperfectly reported in the papers, and have been criticized by the Gazette's correspondent, "H. V. B." I had not read Agate's account for several years. Upon examination of it as published in The Re- cord of the Rebellion, by Frank Morse, I find that he does not say that my brigade was surprised in their tents, but as this account of " Agate " has been quoted for history, I will give here the following ex- tract:
" About dawn Prentiss's pickets were driven in; a very little later Hilderbrand's (in Sherman's division) were; and the enemy were in the camps almost as soon as were the pickets themselves.
"Here began scenes which, let us hope, will have no parallel in our remaining annals of war. Some, particularly among our officers, were not out of bed; others were dressing, others washing, others cook- ing, a few eating their breakfasts. Many guns were unloaded, accoutrements lying pell-mell, ammunition was ill-supplied-in short, the camps were virtually surprised, disgracefully, it might be added, unless some one can hereafter give some yet undiscovered
reason to the contrary-and were taken at almost every possible disadvantage.
" The first wild cries from the pickets rushing in, and the few scattering shots that preceded their ar- rival, aroused the regiments to a sense of their peril. An instant afterward shells were hurtling through the tents, while before there was time for thought of pre- paration, there came rushing through the wood, with lines of battle sweeping the whole front of the di- vision camp, and bearing down on either flank, the fine, dashing, compact columns of the enemy.
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