USA > Ohio > History of the Seventeenth regiment, First brigade, Third division, Fourteenth corps, Army of the Cumberland, war of the rebellion, 1861-1865 > Part 17
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At Murfreesborough, Tennessee, camp, William C. Williams, Company B, went to the doctor for toothache, the doctor gave him some blue mass pills, which made Cal very mad. At the same camp Bill Sain got a mess pan full of sauerkraut from his brother Samuel M. Sain, who was sutter of the 38th Regiment, O. V. I., and ate so much of it, that he was sick in the night, and
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threw it up; and there was sauerkraut all over Company B's quarters next morning.
At Triune, Tennessee, Major Butterfield made the line officers drill with guns. I never saw such an awkward lot of recruits; how the Major would slap them with his sword, to get them in line.
. At Tuscumbia. Alabama, some of our boys went into the big spring to swim, but jumped out quickly, as the water was ice cold.
On the road to Huntsville, Alabama, James H. Bogle, Company B, ate twelve large roasting ears at one meal, which made him sick.
While camped at the Tennessee River, one of Company F boys swam across it, got two canteens full of spring water on the other side, put them around his neck, and swam back to us; the river must have been nearly a mile wide at this point.
Lieutenant Aaron P. Ashbrook and First Sergeant Jacob M. Ruffner, Company B, slept together, and the Lieutenant told me, that "Kate" never went to sleep without first kissing him good night. Ruffner, although gentle and childlike, was the bravest man I ever saw.
While in camp at Louisville, Kentucky, in 1862, many of our Northern friends visited us. One of them asked Henry Myers. Company K, to show him a body louse. Hen. found one on his blouse, put it on his hand for his friend to look at; when it started to crawl off. Hen. put it in his bosom.
We got some apple jack at Crab Orchard, Kentucky, in 1862 and Charles B. Shrieves and Henry W. Young, Company B, wanted to fight, Captain Stinchcomb stopped the company, had them form a ring, and told the two boys to fight it out; but they would not, so when we got to camp he made them carry a rail for punishment. It was here, that Samuel Funk, Isaac Grove, Wil- liam R. Sain, Company B. and I went into a cave, to explore it; we crawled in, perhaps one hundred yards all right, but in coming out, Sain was behind and . got fast in a hole. I said. "Bill, I saw bear and wolf tracks back in the cave be -.: hind you." Bill said "Shut up you fool, you know I am fast; if I was out of here I would thump you." Such twisting, grunting and growling as he did, was amusing, but he finally got ont all right.
The night before we pitched our tents, just west of the brick depot, at Chat- tanooga, Tennessee we all had a pile of boards to fix our tents with, and had to sleep on them to prevent their being stolen. About 10 p. m., Henry Canode, Company K, came to me and told me to get up, that there was a wagon train coming in, and we would get something to eat; I got up and we started in the direction of the river. When we had gone perhaps one hundred and fifty yards from the regiment, we met the wagons and Hen. climbed into one and handed . me the largest piece of side meat I ever saw; he also got a piece and we start- ed for camp. I had to drag my piece, as it was too big to carry. When I got to camp with it, I had my bunk-mates, John Hunsaker and George H. God- den, Company B, get up and help pile our boards on the meat. Then I went back and got a box of crackers and put it by the side of our bed. I told John and George that some one would steal them there, and sure enough they were gone when we awoke the next morning. I divided the meat among the boys, hence none was found when the search was made for it. The next day we put up our tents, and dug cellars under them. Our mess had one just large enough to hold a cracker box. and one night when there was a train unloading, Hunsaker got a box of crackers and brought it to us. We soon had it hid in the cellar and our bed made on top. There were eighty boxes of crackers. eighteen barrels of sugar, twenty sacks coffee, and four or five boxes of desiccated potatoes, stolen that night. The potatoes were buried out on the "color line" and when it rained, the potatoes absorbed the water and swelled up, raising the earth. We used to go out and dance on the mounds, thus raised; but it was no use, they came up anyhow. Of all the stuff stolen that night, only one half bag of coffee was found, and I think that
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was in Company C.
While camped on Mission Ridge, Tennessee, George H. Godden had sore eyes, and could not find his shoes in the morning at roll call; for quite a while George played that game.
At Ringgold, Georgia. Henry H. Berry and William F. Peyton, Company B died with the varioloid; Urs Emch, also had it.
At the battle of Resaca. Georgia, after we charged down that hill to the creek; just back and to the right of me, lay poor Sullivan F. Stevens. Com- pany E with his leg torn off by a piece of a shell. begging the boys to shoot him and end his misery; he bled to death. Back of him lay John Leisy, Company B, wounded in the head, also in the leg, which was afterward amputated. George H. Godden, Company B, had his shoe knocked off. He told me when his shoe, flew off he thought it was his foot, but he did not have courage to look and see whether it was gone or not.
June 18th. 1864 before the rebels got to Kenesaw Mountain it rained hard Samuel M. Spitler and John A. Mesnard, Company B. took a couple of rails and shovels, crawled to the top of the rise, in our front, and made a gopher hole, by lying down flat, while they worked; of course they were all covered with mud. About 4 p. m .. Thomas Clangy's knapsack was struck by a bullet; it turned him around and I don't think he ever got over the fright.
While in the ditch in front of Kenesaw Mountain, William R. Sain built a fire in the ditch to make coffee. The rebel sharp-shooters saw the smoke and shot at it; the ball passing just over Bill's shoulder. He kicked the fire out, when Isaac Grove hollowed out. "Give Bill Sain some coffee." This is where "Old Leather Breeches," shelled the Mountain, while the ladies from Atlanta were on the top; they had come out to see us shelled. One day while here, William C. Williams was peeping out from under the dog tents we had stretched over the trenches to protect us from the hot sun. While he was looking I hit him in the rear with a stone, at the same time making the sound of a whizzing musket ball, with my mouth. Cal threw his hand on the part hit, fell back in the ditch and grew very pale; he thought he was wounded.
We found the skeleton of a rebel militiaman, hung with a hickory withe. near the Chattahoochee River. His discharge was found in his pocket.
At the battle of Jonesborough. Georgia, the 14th O. V. V. I. fell back out of the woods, after charging on the enemy. When they saw that our brigade were supporting the charging column, and heard the cheers sent up. they stopped, rallied on their colorbearer, charged on the Rebels again, and took their works.
I found a nice pair of shoes, one day while foraging. The tops were leather, with wooden soles. I thought them a prize,so I threw away a tolerably good pair and walked to camp. The next day I was so stiff that I could not walk. Then I hunted up an old pair of army shoes. The boys tormented me enough about those wooden soled shoes.
One day while foraging in Georgia we found some hogs. I shot and killed a large one. A Company I boy shot one, but did not kill it. The hog took after him, and they chased each other around a big tree for some time, the Company I boy hollowing all the time for me to shoot the hog; but it was too much fun for me. The boy kept hollowing "Sick. get out." but after a while the hog got weak from loss of blood and stopped. and the boy loaded his gun and killed it. Ile then came to me. mad, and said I was a fool for not helping him.
William R. Sain, John Shaffner, Urs Emch, Company B. and I had been de- tailed to forage. We did not find anything until in the afternoon, when we found a lot of meat buried, which we dug up and took with us. We also found some bee hives which we robbed of honey. Sain being somewhat hungry for honey, did not notice the bee that went into his mouth with a nice lump, un- til the bee had made its presence known by stinging him on the root of his tongue. William was sure it was a Rebel bee.
After we had crossed the Savannah. River into South Carolina, Tom Osborn,
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Frederick Leisy, Company B, and I started out one morning ahead of the army. About 2 p. m. we asked some darkies how far the army was behind us. They said "De Lord, chile de army am twenty-five miles from here." The troops had gone in an opposite direction, from what we thought they would. It had been rain- ng nearly all day, so we drew the loads out of our guns, wiped them dry, reloaded, and got ready for any emergency. All agreed that if we were attacked, we would die together. We marched until 2 a. m. lay down and slept until daylight, then started again on our march. We finally overtook our regiment, but were gone two days and three nights, and the boys thought we had been captured.
At Goldsborough, North Carolina, Frank Andrews, Company K, the color bearer had Miles N. Woodward, Company H, John E. Hollopeter Company C, and myself, detailed as color guards.
George H. Godden, Company B, relates the Following.
In 1861, while we lay at Crab Orchard, Kentucky, in an old ware house, or hotel, the boys found two or three barrels of molasses and one of cherry bounce, in the cellar. Some made several trips for themselves and friends, to the cellar for wine and molasses, and as they had to crawl through a window in the cellar to get it, more or less molasses was spilled on the window sill, which daubed the boys up considerably. The owner of the wine and molasses, complained to General Schoepf, commander of our brigade. While he was investigating the matter, he saw Calvin Messerly, Company K, besmeared from head to foot. The German officer said to him. "Where you got dot molasses? Look me in the eye. You bees a tief; you bees a tief at home," then giving him a slap on the side of the head, had him put in the guard house. He then gave orders for all Captains to have their companies fall in line, and report to him all who took molasses or wine. Captain Stinchcomb, Company B, in a loud voice, commanded his com- pany to fall in. The boys did not know what was up, but obeyed, some of us having molasses on our whiskers and clothes. The Captain, nearly laughing said, "Company B. it has been reported to me that some boys in our regiment have been stealing cherry bounce and molasses out of the cellar below us, and it is my duty to see if any of my boys have." He then commanded, "All you boys who stole any of that molasses or wine step two paces to the front." Not one stepped out. Then smiling he said, "That's right, I'm glad none of my boys stole any. Go to your quarters."
At Somerset, Kentucky, one dark night, while John Van Arce, Company B, was on picket, and everything still as death, the boys heard him command, "Halt who comes there" (no reply') "Halt who comes there," (no answer,) John then said, "I'll halt you but once more." At that instant a cow bawled, and John saw his mistake. He laughed heartily, as did also the balance of the boys, who where roused by John's loud command for the cow to halt, and were ready for the supposed advancing rebels. Captain Stincheomb ran up to John and said "You ought to know better, the enemy are just over the hill there."
While at Corinth, Mississippi, we drew molasses and were sitting around eating crackers and molasses out of our tin pans and cups. William C. Holli- day, Company B, had drawn his share and also that of his brother, Jacob, who was on duty at the time. While sitting by a log, with the molasses in a pan on the ground. along came Peter G. Shoemaker, Company B. and stepped over the log, directly into the pan of molasses, which caused Holliday to remark, with a doleful look at Shoemaker, "Now poor Jacob won't have any."
Wesley P. Davis, Company B, received a letter from home, the reading of which made him look very sad and gloomy, and the boys who noticed him, thought he
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had received tidings of the death of a near relative. One of the boys approached him gently, and asked him if any of his relatives had died. He said "no, but Jen has lost her colt." Wes. never heard the last of "Jen has lost her colt," while he was in the army.
After the battle of Mission Ridge, Tennessee, being shoeless, I went over the battle field, looking for a shoe that would fit me, after walking around a good deal, where many rebels had fallen, I saw a shoe that looked pretty good, which I thought was small enough for me, and stooped to pick it up, I did not take it however, for I discovered there was a foot already in it, the "reb." having been buried, all except his foot. I concluded I did not need a shoe very badly af- ter all, so left it on the buried "reb."
Wilson S. Stutor, Company B, went out foraging for food, one wet day, and going into a house to get a corn pone baked, and to dry off, he set his gun down, just inside the door. While standing in front of the fire, in the big old fashioned fire place, drying his clothes and waiting for the pone to bake, in came two soldiers, dressed in blue. who got between Wils. and his gun and demanded his surrender, Wils. thinking them rebels in disguise, said "I guess I'll have to." The supposed "rebs." then said "Fork over that watch," which was done. They then said, "We want all you have." Wils. told them, they had all. After keeping him in painful suspense a while, they burst out laughing, re- turned the watch, and told Wils. they belonged to the Twentieth corps. Wils. always kept his gun within reach, after that experience.
Woodson W. Brock. Company K, Writes.
I think it was the night after we passed through Louisville, Georgia, that some of Company K had been out foraging, bringing in several canteens full of apple jack, from which some of the boys got gloriously drunk. Colonel Showers found that his horse's tail had been shaved that night and offered $500 for the guilty party, as he valued the horse very highly, having picked it up in the country. I think it was a grey stallion. No one knew who did it. but the ap- plejack indicated that the guilty boys were in Company K; and after that, while marching, some one would ask "Who shaved the Colonel's horse's tail?" The answer was always, "Company K."
February 26th, 1865, while marching through South Carolina, twenty-eight of our regiment, viz. Captain Levi Cornwell. Company A, Lieutenant Joseph W. James, Company K, First Sergeant, James E. Larimer, Company A, Corporals Joseph Weiland, Company D, Josiah F. Reames, Company E. and Jacob Schopp Company F, Privates. Frederick Myers, Company A, Joshua Kimble, Company D, William II. Montgomery, Wilson Talbott, Company K, and myself, with seven- teen others whose names I have forgotten, started on a foraging expedition. We crossed the Catawba River on a pontoon bridge, ahead of our infantry. on the Lancaster, South Carolina, road; our cavalry were ahead of us. We camp- ed at a large frame house on left side of road, where our cavalry had camped. We got a nice lot of hams, shoulders, beans, etc. February 27th, 1865, one member from each company was detailed to take the forage back to the Regi- ment. I was sent back with the others. I found an old blind, worn-out horse, that the cavalry had left, and loaded him with meat. I got a young darkie to carry a sack of beans, and we started. Old blindy was slow, and the other boys got far ahead of me. It had been raining, the roads were very muddy, and while going up a steep hill, close by a deep ditch, old blindy made a miss stepand tumbled into the ditch on top of the meat with his feet sticking up. After considerable work and anxiety, old blindy was gotten on his feet and the muddy meat loaded again. In due time we came up to the rest of the boys, who were camp-
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ed on a hill near the river. We waited here for our Regiment and in the afternoon the others of our foraging party jomed us, with about fifty Negroes, big, little. old, young, all sizes and kinds, loaded with rations. Later, our Regiment came up and were made glad by the results of our exploit. At night we camped at the forks of roads, one leading to Lancaster, South Carolina, the other east of that point. February 28th, 1865. Captain Cori. well, with the same men he had on the 26th, started on the Lancaster, South Carolina, road, went to the place where we ob- tained the meat, etc, that date; there we got an old colored man to pilot us across the country to an island in the Catawba River, where we thought the "John- nies" might have some cattle and forage hid; but in this we were mistaken. We stopped for the night at a large frame house. There were two young ladies there who had come from Georgia, to get away from Sherman's Bummers. We put pickets out for the night, and when it was time for the second relief, I went to the negro cabins to find the boys. There I saw a comic sight. A young black fellow was pounding on an old tin pan. and the boys where dancing with some old fat wenches, and having a royal good time. When the boys tired of this fun we went to another cabin and had some taffy, but it was not very good. Wenext went to the old Master's mansion, where we were entertained by the two young ladies referred to, until quite a late hour. They played on the piano, sang rebel songs for us, and smiled their sweetest for the benefit of our jolly Captain Corn- well and Lieutenant James. They found us to be quite different from what they thought Sherman's Bummers were. Sergeant Larimer killed the dogs, after making them howl at a desperate rate. Early on the morning of March 1st. 1865, we started, intending to stop at Lancaster at night, and wait there until our troops overtook us. We arrived there about 1 p. m. tired and hungry with a fine lot of forage. We had a horse and a mule loaded with twenty-five chick- ens, eggs, corn meal and other nice things. Each one of us was loaded with meat or beans. A citizen living near Lancaster told us there were rebels in town, but we did not believe it, when we got to the first house in the town, Capt. Cornwell asked the woman of the house, if there were any rebels in town, she said "no." Looking in her house, I saw "Johnnies" sitting around unarmed, but did not realize who they were, until we had gone a few rods past, when we heard the rebel yell, and two Brigades of rebel Cavalry, were after us. We formed line and gave them the contents of our guns, but they were too many for us, four or five thousand against twenty-eight, so we fell back into some under- brush, down across a creek and into the woods, knowing that if we kept the road, we would all be captured. The three boys, who had the horse and mule referred to, were captured. Frederick Myers Company A, and Corporal Schopp Company F, were missing and mourned for, by us as dead; but to my relief, I met Schopp at Lancaster, Ohio, at the close of the war, with an empty sleeve, and he showed us where they had shot him five times ; but being of a plueky nature he did not die. We waited in the woods until quite late in the night and finally came to a cabin. We ventured to make ourselves known to an old negro
. man, who piloted us out to Jim Massey's plantation, on the main road, seven miles from Lancaster. After parching some corn and eating enough of it to quiet our hunger, we lay down and slept about three hours, when the Cap- tain called us. A negro woman had cooked us a nice pot of beans, and for breakfast, our entire bill of fare was beans. We started before it was light, March 2nd, 1865, expecting to meet our troops soon, but to our grief we learned that they had taken the other road, when we left them, and thus had two days start of us. Our only hope now, was to reach our army before the rebel cavalry could catch us, so we did not lose much time. We came to where an old negro had baked a corn pone, and though we pitied the poor old man, we loved his pone and found it a present help in time of need. About 1 p. m. we came to a cabin where some negroes had just got a pot of lye hominy in good shape, we found a gourd, filled it with hominy, which we ate as we marched. Just as it began to grow dark we reached the camp of the First Division of our corps. We were too
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tired to go further, so when we were a safe distance inside our picket line, we lay down and slept. We had marched forty-five miles that day, and had only been inside our picket line about an hour, when the rebel cavalry came up, but find- ing more than our foragers, they left. March 3rd, 1865, we overtook our regiment, and when they saw ns. they raised the Yankee yell of joy. for they had heard our skirmish at Lancaster, and supposed we had been all captured or killed.
Thomas C. Bope, Company A, tells his Experience.
During the "March to the Sea," I captured a sack of corn meal, which made our mess happy for a few days, and when it was nearly gone, I took the sack, with what remained. and went foraging. I found a sack of nice wheat flour, in a barn, some distance off the road on which our troops were marching. I filled the sack with it, mixing it with the meal, then carried it about twelve miles, to where the troops camped that night. We thought we would have a feast of slap jacks for supper. so some of our mess mixed up a batch of batter, and tried to fry some in a skillet; but in trying to turn it, they found it so brittle that it broke all to pieces. After making several attempts, with no better results, an ex- amination proved the nice white flour, to be plaster of paris, so the corn meal was lost, and I was often joked about the nice white flour.
. John Guseman, Company A, tells of getting some fresh meat.
My mess were out of meat, and asked me to get some. I went to a house some distance from camp, and entered. An old negro woman asked me what I want- ed there, I said, "something to cat," and started to go into a closed room, when she said, "Hold on massa, there's small pox in thar," I said, "All right old gal, I'll see;" and walking in. I found a dressed hog, which I put on my back, and took to camp as fast as I could go. The hog was fully appreciated by my mess- mates and myself.
Henry Blaire, Company A, tells the following.
The Eighty-Second Regiment Indiana V. I. and our regiment went into camp near each other one day, and Colonel Hunter commanding the Eighty- Second, told his men in a loud voice, to look out for their knapsacks, or the Seventeenth Ohio would steal them. Andrew Livingston, Company A, heard the caution, and watching his opportunity, took a big knapsack, belonging to an Eighty-Second Indiana man, while its owner was temporarily absent. When the owner returned and found it missing, he made a great fuss about it. Some of his comrades told him where they thought he could find it, so he came to our Company. and inquired about it. Andy Livingston was sitting on it at the time, but told him, that he (Andy), had seen a man from the Thirty-First O. V. I. (which was also camped near by,) carrying a knapsack from the Eighty- Second camp. The mad Eighty-Second man went to the Thirty-First camp looked all around, then returned to our company, and was making much ado about the missing knapsack. when Andy went to him and said, "Look here. when you lose your knapsack. or anything else, the best way is to say nothing about it, but steal another one;" and the irate man returned to his camp minus his well filled knapsack.
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In front of Kenesaw Mountain the rebel sharp-shooters shot a hole through the crown of Richard Crutcher's tall Sibley hat, which stuck up above our breast- works, and the ball came near the top of Dick's head. Henry Leichtner of our company said, "Dick if your hat had been any lower, you would have been killed."
Some rebel women talking among themselves, in hearing of our boys, thought to guy the boys in blue. One said, "I wonder where they get all the indigo to color their clothes. "I told them that the northern sheep grew blue wool, in two shades, dark and light, so we did not need any indigo."
Charles H. Thornton, Company A, says :
"I was nearly drowned in the Cumberland River, but was saved by James Gannon, Company A, and a boy of the Fourth Kentucky Infantry.
I captured two barrels of mess pork while on the "March to the Sea," and was therefore called "salt horse" after that.
Lucius Keplar, Company D, says:
That he and William Foncanon, Company D, captured two rebels and recap- tured two Union soldiers with them, near the Chattahoochee River, Georgia, and Colonel Ward promoted them to Corporals for the deed. He also says, "I was captured while on the "March to the Sea," but escaped and went back to Chat- tanooga, Tennessee, after traveling about three hundred miles via by-roads.
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