USA > Ohio > In the 50th Ohio serving Uncle Sam : memoirs of one who wore the blue > Part 10
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Our regiment had halted just under the bridge back of the skirmishers in good supporting distance and laid down. Captain got terribly excited, and kept calling to Colonel Elsner to bring the regiment up and support him. Colonel Els- ner seeing the Captain was nervous, says, "Captain, you are all right, keep cool. I know my business; we are supporting you ; it's not our place up there where you are just yet". About this time, one of the Captain's men received a flesh wound across his back, and I don't think I ever heard a man yell louder than he did. This set the Captain's nerves all on edge, and he exclaimed, "There Colonel, one of my men's got his whole back shot off, just because you did not support me". I don't think there was a man in the regiment that understood the matter but took a good laugh over it ; even Colonel Elsner's face wore a broad grin. .
It was just after this laughable incident that a major of some Kentucky Regiment that had command of the entire detail of skirmishers on this part of the line, came up, and in a ringing voice, ordered the skirmishers forward, and forward they went
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with a will, and drove the rebs from those buildings, and some distance beyond them.
Then the supports moved up onto the ridge, and as usual put up a line of breastworks. Had we moved up there when that nervous Captain wanted us to, no doubt there would have been several of us killed, as we would have been good targets for those rebs behind the buildings.
The skirmishers could, of course, protect themselves behind trees and stumps, but a line of men in two ranks would have had no protection, so I am glad that we had an officer that did under- stand his business at that time.
Colonel Elsner was a brave and careful officer. He studied the lay of the ground over which we had to move the regiment, . when it was possible that he might protect the lives of his boys, as he called us, and I feel he was right, and deserved credit for it.
General Sherman and General Johnson were well matched. They watched each other's movements as close as two men play- ing chess, and while Johnson was gradually compelled to move backwards, he did it so carefully that he rarely gave Sherman any chance to take advantage of his movements.
Sherman made a mistake when he tried to cut through John- son's lines at Kenasaw Mountains, at least it proved to be a failure; the movement was all right had it proven a success. Sherman's idea was to cut Johnson's army into; had he suc- ceeded in doing so, it would have been a crushing blow to John- son, but the fortifications on and around Kenasaw were too strong for an assault of that kind.
Sherman lost many brave men there, whose lives might have been saved had he done at first what he was compelled to do later,-resume his flanking movements.
Our position the day of the assault was on the right flank of the army, but we could hear the thunder of the guns.
"In the trenches in front of Atlanta, Ga. July 25th, 1864.
"My Dear Parents :-
"There have been lively times down here since I wrote you my letter of the 19th.
"Since the rebel army fell back across the Chattahoochee River, General Johnson, their commander has been relieved and General Hood has taken command. He seems to be a fighter from away back, though a somewhat reckless one.
"After our corps left our camps at the river, we marched to Decatur, a small town five miles from Atlanta in the direction
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of Stone Mountain. It took us nearly three days as we had to fight the rebel cavalry all the way. They tried hard to keep us back, but failed to do so. At the same time, the 15th Corps was still farther to our left, and tore up the railroad from Stone Mountain to Decatur.
"The 16th and 17th Corps came up in our rear, and we moved to the right, and took position in the center, the 4th, 14th and 20th Corps being on our right. -
"We found the enemy entrenched in our front, but on the morning of the 22nd, we found the trenches empty, and at day- light, we moved up and invested their main line in front of At- lanta.
"In the meantime the new commander of the enemy had not been idle. During the night of the 21st and the morning of the 22nd, he had massed his forces on the left and rear of the 15th, 16th and 17th Corps, and about the middle of the day jumped on them with both feet.
'"For once the boys in grey had managed to surprise the boys in blue, but only for a short time ; our boys soon got straightened out, and a terrible battle was fought ; part of it in the open fields and woods, and part behind breastworks. Our men in the works would repulse a charge in front, and then jump over the works and face the rear, and repulse a charge from that direction.
"The battle lasted till night shut down, leaving the boys in blue masters of the field; the loss on both sides was heavy. On our side, we suffered the loss of the gallant McPherson, a brave and noble officer. He will be sadly missed by the brave boys he commanded, who all loved him.
"Thomas Sherin of Company "K" was struck in the breast with a shell or solid shot that day, and killed. The same shot struck Henry C. Hall of Company "K", and cut off one of his legs below the knee.
"Labon Winchester, a North Carolinian, who enlisted in Com- pany "K", while we were at Knoxville, Tennessee, was also wounded while on the skirmish line. It is doubtful if Hall and he get well. So you see they will pick on Company 'K' once in awhile.
"There was heavy cannonading last night, and this morning on our right. Guess Old Fighting Joe is having a game of ball with the Johnnies.
"We are in position about one mile from the City of Atlanta. Between us and the city the rebs have a strong line of fortifica- tions. I think Uncle Billy will have to do some more flanking before we get Atlanta.
"Our batteries amuse themselves by pitching shells into town at intervals. I don't think I want to be a resident of the town at present. I fear it is not very healthy.
"Killpatrick and Stoneman are raiding around, trying to cut the rebels' haversack strings. I wish them success.
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"Now I have written you quite a lengthy letter for me, so will close for this time. I am still in fine health, and wish you all the same blessing."
On the morning of the 22nd of July; we found the rebel works in our front empty, the enemy having moved out of them in the night. We at once moved forward, and took position in front of the Howard house.
We formed our line at the edge of the timber that surrounded the Howard house. If I remember rightly, it was pasture land in our front, gradually sloping down to a ravine, and then gently ascending upward till it reached the top of a ridge, on which the rebels had built a strong line of fortifications just outside of the city of Atlanta.
The distance from our line to the rebel line was perhaps four or five hundred yards, but this is only guess work; it might not have been near that, for I know we could see the works very plainly.
We had not been there long till we began to hear firing away to our left and front. It kept rolling nearer an nearer, increasing in volume till the very earth shook with the thunder of artillery and the rattle of musketry, and it kept moving around our left flank until it seemed to be almost in our rear.
Us fellows in the center, not knowing the condition to our left, began to feel pretty shaky, for we did not know how to account for that firing in our rear, unless the rebels were driving our men back.
But after awhile, the firing began to work more on a line with us, and then we felt better. I could have seen part of the battle- field by going about a hundred yards to our left, but dared not leave my place on the line, for we did not know what minute we would be called into action, but everything remained quiet in our front.
General Sherman's headquarters were at the Howard House, just in our rear during the battle, and it was there they took the body of the brave McPherson after he was killed.
Thus we missed another big battle, not by being on the flank this time, but by being in the center. There had been a battle a few days before this, if I am not mistaken, that we missed then, if I remember rightly.
There was another battle July 28th on our right ; that we missed also ; it appeared to be our luck to be left out, but I don't call to mind now that I heard the boys make any complaints about it.
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Shortly after we had taken our position that morning near the Howard House, a detail was called for from Company "K" to help throw up an earthwork for a battery somewhere on our left, I think.
The men detailed were Henry C. Hall and Peter Albeats. Comrade Thomas Sherin of Company "K" spoke up, and said, "Pete, give me a chew of tobacco, and I will go in your place.". "All right," said Peter, and he cut Tom a piece of tobacco, and gave it to him. Hall and Sherin then went over to the battery, and began work. They had not been at work long until a solid shot or shell from a rebel battery struck Sherin in the breast, and killed him. The same shot cut off one of Hall's legs, so I may say that comrade Thomas Sherin was killed for a chew of tobacco.
General Hood, knowing and understanding the reasons why his goverment at Richmond had taken the command of the army away from Johnston, and given it to him, thought he must do something to show that the change was for the better; hence after he took command until after July 28th, he made some quick moves, and did some sharp, stubborn fighting, but finding he was only wasting his army and losing ground, he withdrew behind his entrench- ments, and renewed the same old game that Johnson had played, watching for a good opportunity to jump us.
General Sherman in the meantime began to reach out with his army towards the Macon railroad, running south from the city of Atlanta, well knowing that if he could get possession of that road in Hood's rear, that Hood would be compelled to give up Atlanta, as that road was the Confederate cornbread line.
So General Scofield, commander of the 23rd Corps, commenced to move his troops toward the right flank once more.
We had daily skirmishes with the Johnnies, and got into some pretty close places, where they made it hot for us, but we estab -. lished our lines and held them.
CHAPTER XV.
Atlanta Campaign (Continued) Death of Colonel Elsner.
"On the Firing Line, near the Macon R. R., "Southwest of Atlanta, Ga., August 10. 1864.
"My Dear Parents, Brothers and Sisters :
"I am thankful I have another opportunity afforded me of
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writing to you all, and to acknowledge the receipt of your kind letter of August 1st.
"I was rejoiced to learn you were all well. Glad to tell you also I am enjoying that same blessing, but I must tell you that during the past week we have been in some tough places.
"Our corps has kept swinging around on the right flank until we are not far from the Macon railroad. We skirmished with us that it required about all the nerve we had to stay with them, but so far we hold all the ground we have taken.
"On August 3rd we took a very commanding position from them, and although they gave us an unmerciful shelling, we had taken aholt, and like bulldogs we held on, and fortified the position to suit ourselves.
"August 8th the Fiftieth were all on the skirmish line, and pushed the rebs back about two miles, Colonel Elsner gallantly leading the regiment, but in the last charge we made, where the Colonel wanted to drive the enemy from some buildings, we had just started with a yell, when the brave Colonel fell, shot in the head by a minie ball.
"He died instantly, but we went on, and drove the enemy from those buildings, and away beyond them.
"The command of the regiment now fell on Major Galespie. I don't think there was hardly a man in the regiment but what shed tears when they learned that Colonel Elsner was killed, for we all loved him, but that kind voice is hushed in death; we will never hear it pleading with us again to be good boys, as we have in the past. Lieutenant Reed of Company 'I' went to Cincinnati yesterday with his remains. . May they rest in peace.
"Joseph Carson of Company 'K' was wounded in the hand this morning by a minie ball, while we were eating breakfast in the trenches. I was seated in front of him at the time, and my head was near catching the same ball; his wound is slight; he will be all right in a few days. This is the third time he has been wounded since entering the service. At Perryville, Ky., a musket ball entered his breast and came out his back. He is both unlucky and lucky.
"Our rifle pits where we are now are not over two hundred yards from the rebel rifle pits. We are so close we have to change the pickets after night; our brigade has just finished the thirty- third line of breastworks since we came to the front.
"I am getting tired of this unceasing pop, pop, popping of the pickets, and boom, boom, boom of the artillery, and the crash of the bursting shells. It's the same thing over every day. When and how will it end? is a question we often ask ourselves. Ah, well! all good and bad things must end some time. We are sure we are in the right, and we know the right will conquer in the end, and the end must come sooner or later.
"The day that Colonel Elsner was killed, the 8th day of August, I was 21 years of age. It was rather a sad birthday for me-but such is life.
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"The order has just been given for Company 'K' to get ready for the picket line tonight, so I will finish this tomorrow if my life is spared, so I bid you good-night."
"August 11th, 1864.
"I am glad to have it to say this morning that Company 'K' all got back off the skirmish line safe and sound. Everything seems to be quiet along the lines this morning.
"It is whispered among the knowing ones that General Sherman is going to try a grand flanking movement, and that troops are already passing our rear towards our right flank. If that be true, look out for startling news from this point before many days.
"We draw pretty good rations now, and have plenty to eat. It is well that we do, for our work is so hard we could not keep up otherwise.
"I have just learned that Lieutenant Reed will not go any farther than Marietta, Ga., with the Colonel's body, but that · Elsner's brother will meet him there and take the body to Cin- cinnati.
"The mail is going out, so I will close for this time. Will write again in a few days. My love and best wishes to all."
"Near Macon R. R., Southwest of Atlanta, Ga,. "August 22nd, 1864.
"Dear Parents :
"Well, we are still in the same position on the line that we were when I wrote you last.
"The Confederate General Hardee's troops are in our front ; his pickets and our brigade pickets have compromised, and will not fire on each other without warning; they are not much over one hundred yards apart. Their butternut clothes are so much the color of dead leaves, it is hard to detect them. Since the com- promise, it has been very quiet in our front. Each party gets out front of their pits, and talk to each other a little.
"The rebel officers will not allow their men to hold very long chats with our boys. A rebel Sergeant came over, and gave him- self up last night. He reports their lines much weakened in places, as they have had to stretch them out so long to keep us from cutting their railroad.
"He says if we get possession of the road once, their army would have to leave here in double-quick, as that would shut off their supplies.
"I understand the enemies' cavalry have cut our road between here and Dalton, but it will not amount to much, as they can't hold it long enough to do us any harm.
"Killpatrick, on our side, has been trying to cut the. Macon road, but so far it has not amounted to anything.
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"The firing of the pickets was very annoying when we first took positions on this part of the line; the balls would come whistling over our heads pretty vicious; sometimes they would hit the tree-tops, and then glance down among us.
"The other day Lieutenant Pine was sitting in his tent, doing some writing, when a ball struck a tree over him, glanced down and thumped him on the head. It did him no harm, as it was just about spent when it struck him, and only drew a few drops of blood.
"The same day, I think it was, a ball came over the works, passed through three or four tents and struck Comrade Shepard on the breast. We all thought the way he yelled the ball had gone through him. We ran to him, and he was holding his hand on his breast, and still kept yelling. We got him to take his hand down and the flattened bullet dropped to the ground. It had not even penetrated his clothes.
"When he found out he was still alive, he began to curse the rebels, both loud and deep, and I can assure you he called them anything but gentlemen. I never heard a man curse harder." Why, Company 'K' quarters were blue with smoke and smelled of brimstone for an hour afterward.
"Shepard is from North Carolina, and enlisted in Company 'K' while we were at Knoxville. He has a black and blue lump on his breast the size of a hen's egg, where the ball struck him.
"We got the first mail this morning that we have received for seven days, but no letters came for me. I trust I will be more lucky next time.
"Well, according to the books, I have been in the service two years today. I have one more year to serve, and then if God spares my life, I will come home. A year will soon pass away.
"There is some movement going on in our rear, and the wise ones say Sherman has a trump card up his sleeve that he intends playing before long. I am satisfied myself that there is trouble brewing for some one, so you can listen for something to drop with a dull thud in this part of Georgia before long.
"I close for this time with love and good wishes for you all."
The 8th of August was a sad day for the Fiftieth boys. A regiment was called for to drive the rebels from our front. A Ken- tucky regiment from our brigade had fallen into line and started, when Acting Brigadier General Strickland called them back, and said he wanted his regiment, the Fiftieth Ohio to go out. As I was not feeling well, Lieutenant Pine told me to remain in camp, and I did so. What took place that afternoon, I am not able to relate, only as the boys told me.
They had driven the rebs back quite a distance, and as the shades of night began to settle down over the scene, the rebs had made a stand around some farm buildings.
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Colonel Elsner told the boys he wished to drive them from those buildings, and then they would stop.
As I understand, he had just given the order forward, when he received the fatal shot. The boys drove the rebs from those buildings, and followed them into the woods beyond.
In the meantime, darkness had settled down, and our boys and the rebs got mixed together. The rebel officers were giving our officers commands what to do in order to bag the Yankees, think- ing they were talking to their own officers. As luck would have it, our officers saw and understood the situation, and gave the or- der on the quiet for the Fiftieth to move by the left flank, and escape the trap.
A few minutes more, and they would likely have all been taken prisoners. They were lucky to escape.
The Fiftieth Ohio were a sad looking lot of boys next morning. In losing Colonel Elsner, we all felt we had lost a kind friend, and a brave and trustful officer.
His remains were sent home to Ohio, and laid to rest in beauti- ful Spring Grove. It is sad to think that one before whom per- haps a brilliant future was unfolding should have his life snuffed out in a moment, but his was only one among thousands that met this fate during this cruel war.
His death added one more to that mighty host who freely gave their lives for the honor of that old flag they loved so well, and thank God, they did not die in vain, for today that flag is honored by all the civilized nations of the world.
This place on the line southwest of Atlanta that we now held, we were placed in very quietly one evening after dark, and ordered to put up breastworks, but to be careful and not make any noise, as we were very near the rebel lines.
I was ordered to station myself a few paces in front of the Com- pany to give warning in case of danger. The boys worked very quietly and by daylight had a very good trench dug. Only one shot was fired in our front during the night, and that was fired while I was on guard. I suppose some Johnnie got suspicious that something was doing over in our direction, but no one replied to his shot and his bullet did not find a Yankee but it passed not far from where I stood.
When daylight came, the rebs were surprised to see the blue- coats so near them behind a good line of rifle pits.
Our line was in the edge of the timber, a small field in our
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front sloping down to a ravine and on the next rise in the edge of the timber were the rebel rifle pits; the two lines were not over two hundred yards apart, and now each party made it hot for the other for a few days.
This proved to be the last line of works we were to occupy near Atlanta, while the rebels held the city.
The 23rd Corps were the last troops to withdraw from this line when Sherman swung his army onto the Macon railroad. Com- pany "K" was on the picket line the last day we were there, but everything was quiet, as we had compromised with the Johnnies in our front.
We were taking it easy, sitting outside our pits sunning our- selves ; the 4th Corps had withdrawn from our left, and their works were empty, and some sharp-eyed Johnnie in nosing around, found this out, and advanced and got into one of the empty pits. Glancing over our way and seeing us all sitting outside our pits like birds, he could not resist the temptation of trying a shot at us. Lucky for us, his aim was bad, but presto ! change ! in one minute's time not a Yank could be seen, the way we disappeared in our holds would have put a colony of prairie dogs to shame.
It is likely some of us returned him a compliment at the time, but I have no remembrance of it. We quietly withdrew from the line that night, and followed the balance of the army towards the Macon railroad.
I recall to mind that Company "K" was on the skirmish line one day while we held this position, and we had orders to keep up a hot fire on the rebs' position all day to draw their attention to us, while some movement took place on another part of the line.
Well, we certainly obeyed orders to the letter. The pickets would commence away on our right to fire one at a time, until it would run the length of the brigade. Then we would all yell, and the right would commence and fire by squads until it would reach our left. And thus we kept it up all day.
It was rare sport for us, and I suppose the rebs wondered what it all meant. Well, they were put wise a few days later.
"25 miles South of Atlanta, Ga., "Near Lovejoy Station, September 4th, 1864.
"Dear Parents, Brothers and Sisters :
"I believe I wrote you not long ago that General Sherman had a trump card up his sleeve. Well, he has played it, and it proved to be the joker, and won for us all the city of Atlanta.
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"General Sherman placed the 20th Corps at the crossing of the Chattahoochee River and then swung the balance of the army on to the Macon R. R.
"The movement completely surprised General Hood. He knew there was a movement going on, but he seemed to think that Sher- man was falling back. He telegraphed to Richmond that the Yankees were in full retreat towards the bogs of Dalton, and he and his officers were having a ball in Atlanta the night of Septem- ber 1st, when a courier hastily approached and informed him that Sherman had possession of his cornbread line. Sherman had a part of the rebel army on the railroad, driving them ahead of him. The 23rd Corps, as usual, was guarding the left flank of the army, and missed the hard fighting. But the Army of the Tennessee had some pretty stiff fighting to do, but all the same they drove the enemy before them till night coming on put a stop to the fighting.
"In the meantime Hood evacuated Atlanta, burning up several carloads of fixed ammunition, and blowing up quite a number of magazines.
"We could hear the noise of the bursting shells, and it sounded like a big battle going on. Hood, with the troops left in Atlanta, took a road that led around farther to our left, and went around us and succeeded in forming a junction with the remnant of his army in our front, and thus we have them all before us once more.
"As soon as the 20th Corps at the river learned that Hood had left Atlanta they moved up and took possession. I believe that we will fall back to Atlanta now and rest, as we only came out here with twelve days' rations to do us twenty, so I judge we will fall back nearer our base of supplies.
"I hope we will go back to Atlanta, as I have a curiosity to see the place that we besieged so long.
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