USA > Ohio > In the 50th Ohio serving Uncle Sam : memoirs of one who wore the blue > Part 9
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"William Dean was wounded yesterday while on picket; the doctor says he will get well. Corson and Dean are both from Co. "K".
"Our regimental loss so far is six killed, and fifteen wounded. The rebs have a strong position here, but Sherman will soon flank them out of it, as he has done several times already.
"I am very thankful that my life has been spared thus far. I put my trust in God, and feel confident that he will bring me safely through. I know that I have your prayers, and that en- courages and strengthens me. I am in good health and spirits. Will write whenever I have the opportunity. Want you to do the same. Direct to Co. K, O. V. I., 2 Division, 3 Brigade, 23 Corps, Kingston, Georgia. I close now with my best wishes for you all."
This place that we were in the line here was a dangerous one for the picket line; it was in the woods, and the underbrush was very thick.
I was on post here one day, and we all stood behind trees, and fired at the smoke of each other's guns; the tree that fell to my lot was not large enough to hide my body entirely, and I suppose some "Johnnic" caught sight of the blue behind it, for the way the bullets rained about that tree soon convinced me that if I ever expected to see Cincinnati again, I would have to hunt a larger tree at once.
The tree was about twelve inches through. I was lying flat on the ground with my head behind it. I would lie on my back and load, and turn on my breast, watch for a puff of smoke, and then fire at it, but they got my range down too fine for me.
One of their bullets brushed the leaves within three inches of my right limb, the full length of it. So I began to look for a safer position. A little to my left and rear, I espied a large stump, of which I soon took possession, but did not feel a great deal safer there, for some poor fellow had got his death there, or been badly wounded, as there was a large pool of blood be- hind it; however, I stuck to the stump until I was relieved.
It would have been safer back of the Ohio River most any- where than it was in that woods, so we all thought at that par- ticular time.
We moved from here the evening after Comrade Pouder was killed, so we did not recover his body; it lay in a very exposed position. We learned that the troops that relieved us recovered
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the body that night, and buried it, but I am not able to say positive whether this was true or not.
"June 5th, 1864.
"On the 2nd of June, our brigade drove the rebs back on the left flank three miles. The 50th was in the reserve that day. The 14th Kentucky of our brigade was in front ; they met with a small loss. The 14th Kentucky is a splendid regiment. Colonel Gallop commands it; they were mustered into the service, I understand, in 1861.
"We keep driving and flanking the enemy every day; they have strong positions, but when we get around their flank, and begin to threaten their rear, they get up and hustle for another position. I don't mean to say that all our forces have been as lucky as we, for there has been heavy fighting a mile or so to our left and right, but we were not in the muss.
"Where we are down here, we can be in hearing of a big battle, and still not be in it ourselves. At the same time, we are just as liable to be in the thickest of it as any other regiment.
"Yesterday, our Division was all on the front line, but we have just been relieved; sent to the rear for a day or two's rest ; we have been on the front line nine days and nights. We slept on our arms in the trenches; the crack of the musket on the skir- mish line was continuous. Guess we will enjoy a little rest."
"June 30th, 1864.
"There has been some very hard fighting down here, but no general engagement as yet. Sherman so far, has flanked the enemy out of their strong positions. Nothing makes the Johnnies pull up stakes and travel as quick as to threaten their rear, or as we term it, "Fire end-ways at them".
"A Southern lady told Colonel Elsner the other day that we did not fight fair. Said she, 'Yu all come up in our front, four lines deep, and fire a few shots to draw we'ens' attention, and then send Scofield with his company around, and fire end-ways at we'ens'. She seemed to think that was very unfair.
"I suppose you think I ought to be able to tell you just how the army is situated here. Well, if I was a general, perhaps I could, as it would be my business then to know all about it, and my duty would call me from one end of the line of battle to the other, but being a high private in the rear rank, my duty is to stay close to my company, not knowing what moment we may be called into action.
"So you see I have no chance of knowing what is taking place on the other part of the line, and I can't see no distance, for our place is, generally speaking, in the woods and bushes.
"A battle may take place on our right or left, and all the knowledge we would have of it, would be the thunder of the guns, and the rattle of the musketry.
"So you can now understand that in this wilderness, a soldier
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can see nothing only what transpires in his immediate vicinity. The Fiftieth Regiment is now in the front line, and has been for about ten days. We are lying behind a good line of rifle pits, and about three hundred yards in front is the Confederate line of works, while between, are the two lines of skirmishers, who keep up almost a continuous musket fire on each other, and I write this with the minnie balls whizzing over my head. It becomes very monotonous at times.
"The 14th Kentucky is doing the picket duty in our brigade front at present. Last night, there was no firing done by the pickets; the Yanks and Johnnies got to talking together. Our boys asked them what regiment they belonged to; they answered back, the 37th Georgia. Our boys invited them over, and this morning early, five of them came over, and gave themselves up; they seemed pleased to get out of the scrape. Hardly a day passes but some of them come over, and surrender to our boys.
"It is reported the rebs made a charge on our works last night two miles to our left, but were repulsed with a loss of three hundred; whether true or not, I can't say positive. The rebs had church out in our front last night. We could hear them preaching, singing and praying."
"July 2nd, 1864
"The night I wrote the first part of this letter, we moved to the rear about one mile. Yesterday we moved to the extreme right of our line; found the rebs in small force, and pushed them back about three miles. They threw a few vicious shells at us, but hurt no one in our regiment; the weather is extremely hot ; there were fifteen or sixteen cases of sunstroke in our division yesterday.
"I still keep in very good health. The mail is ready to go out, so 1 close with my best wishes to one and all."
A good deal of rain fell during the first part of this cam- paign, and the weather was very hot and sultry, so that when we were advancing or marching to a new position, we suffered from the heat of the sun, and when it rained, it made it very disagreeable for us.
The position of the 23 Corps was mostly on the flank. In taking a new position, if we found the enemy, we would push them back until we got our line where we wanted it, and then we would build breastworks.
I remember one day we pushed the enemy off of a high hill, and formed our lines, captured some of their pickets. We took our position at the edge of a woods with a cleared field in front of us, and at the other side of the field, we could see the breast- works of the rebs as soon as we formed our lines; they began to shell us from three directions.
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We lay down in the woods, and there was a detail made from each company to build works in our front. The workers had men to watch; whenever they would see a puff of smoke, the watchers would cry out, "Lie down". When the shell would pass over or burst, they would all jump up and go to work again. They kept this up for perhaps an hour or longer, and then they ceased firing. We had no batteries in position to answer them.
When the firing ceased, General Haschall of our division rode along the lines, and talked to us boys like a father. We all expected the rebs to charge us, and that's what the General thought, and that's what he was talking to us about, telling us what he wanted us to do in case they did.
But much to our surprise everything remained quiet after the shelling was over. We worked nearly all night, and built good solid works, and as they could rake our works end-ways with one of their guns, each company built works to protect their right flank. It was a nasty place to stay while the shelling was going on, as there were 14 or 15 men killed and wounded in the Fiftieth.
In this little fracas, Company "K" had one man wounded in the hand ; he lost three fingers of his right hand; his thumb and forefinger was all that remained. His name was Vincent Brislear. He was an Italian, and lived in Cincinnati. He soon received an honorable discharge, and came home.
I had often thought had the rebels known the damage they were inflicting on us, they would have kept up their shelling. Several men were hurt by falling limbs that were cut off by the shells over our heads, where we lay in line in the woods.
But we stuck to the position we had gained, so stubbornly, I suppose, they thought they were doing us no harm, and were only wasting their shells, so they ceased to pitch them at us.
One hot morning in June, we were rushed forward in almost double quick time, and went into line of battle on the right flank of General Hooker's line. I took a severe pain in my head on the road; I suppose I got too hot, as I never had any trouble with my head before.
When we reached our position, I went to our regimental doctor, and wanted him to give me something to relieve me, but he said, "My boy, I have nothing to do you any good whatever ; you best go back there where the band boys are, and lie down in the shade and rest.' I took his advice, and went
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back and lay down, while the boys on the line went to work, and threw up a line of breastworks.
After resting awhile, I concluded I would go up where the Company was. I had just got up to the Company when Hades broke loose out in our front. We were in the woods as usual. The 14th Kentucky of our brigade was out in front, and for a few minutes there was as lively music as I ever heard.
There was a section of artillery just behind me, and the officer in charge stood behind me watching the effect of their shells. He had his hand resting on my back, or rather he was rubbing my back, while he gave orders to his men about timing their shells.
As soon as the 14th Kentucky fell back into the main line, we raised up, and let the Johnnies have it hot and heavy ; they got pretty close to our works, but we made it too hot for them ; they went back as fast as they came, and those cannon in our rear almost raised me clear off the ground at every discharge.
There was a ravine run parallel with Hooker's line a short distance in his front; a brigade or two of the Johnnies got into that ravine and stopped, afraid to go forward, and afraid to go back. Hooker sent an aid to the artillery in our rear with orders to fire down that ravine, and as their position was such they could rake it from end to end, you may imagine the havoc they made; when they cut loose down that hollow, the poor Johnnies were compelled to get out then, and as they ran, Hooker's men let into them with their muskets, and so the racket came to an end.
Some of the prisoners told us they had their scouts out that morning, and as they saw the right of Hooker's line in the air, that is, unprotected, they massed their forces with the intention of going around his flank, and getting in his rear, but they were a little slow in getting there.
When they did come, they ran up against the business end of the 23 Corps, who had got in there, and were fixed for them. This was called the Battle of the Culp Farm; it was reported at the time that there were twenty-one hundred stands of muskets picked up off the field that day.
It was said also that the 14th Kentucky Confederate ran up against the 14th Kentucky Union out there in the woods. Be that as it may, the music was by the full band out there for a few minutes.
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Useless for me to say, I forgot all about my headache. It was all knocked out of me for awhile, but it came back on me that night with threefold power, and no sleep did I get., I had to get up and walk about until nearly morning before I got any relief.
Hooker made some complaints in regard to this engagement, and General Sherman scolded him for it; this soured Hooker, and he soon resigned his position, and left our department.
Fighting Joe was all right, when there was any fighting to be done, but maybe he had some other fads that Sherman had no use for.
I call to mind that on one occasion the Third Brigade had been resting in the rear for a day or two out of the sounds of the muskets, and it had been quite a relief to us, but now came an order for us to go out and hunt for the rebels, as they were supposed not to be far off.
Company "K" was deployed in front as skirmishers, the balance of the regiment being in rear as supports. We moved along slowly, eyeing every stump, bush or tree for the usual puff of smoke from some hidden foe's musket, but all remained quiet until we struck a cornfield on a hill-side. The corn was about knee high, and we had advanced about half way up the hill towards a public road, when the familiar crack of a carbine came to our ears, and a puff of smoke arose from the corner of a piece of woods on our left, and lazily drifted away.
Two or three of our boys fired at the smoke, but saw nothing. We advanced up to the road, and found a high rail fence on each side of the road, and looking over across an old deadening in close musket range, we saw the enemy's skirmish pits, and they were there ready for business, as the balls that struck those fences bore ample testimony.
We had been sent out to hunt rebels, but as the balls began to whistle around us, and strike those fences, I began to feel as though I had not lost any that I was particular about locating just then.
However, as other skirmishers came up and joined us on the right, we raised a yell, and over those fences we went. and started down through that old deadning.
That Yankee yell was too much for the Johnnies in those skirmish pits; they deserted them at once; their officer, as I suppose, was mounted on a yellow horse, and the way he made
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"Old Yaller" paw gravel was funny to see; he stood not on the order of going, but went at once.
But while we were having all this fun, the rebs were not idle. As soon as they saw us jump those fences, they opened on us with a jackass battery from their main line half mile away.
Oh! How they did shell us while we were coming down through that deadening. In the hollow, just before we reached the Johnnies' pits, was an old fence row, with a lot of old logs lying in the corners.
A comrade by the name of Reynolds and I were together, and as we were both large men, we were a good target for the shells. As Reynolds and I dropped behind a log in a fence cor- ner, a shell dropped in the corner on the other side, and burst, throwing dirt all over us. It was a splendid shot, and if the fence had not been there, I guess it would have got us both.
We lay there for a few minutes, and then the officer that has charge of us ordered us into the woods on our left. How the Johnnies did yell when they saw us break cover for that woods. They turned their battery on the woods, and while they did us no harm, the racket they made was certainly demoralizing.
There was an old church building in the woods, and some of the officers and men were in there, looking around when a shell came through the building. It is needless to say those men and officers soon sought safer quarters.
With all the shelling, only one man, Corporal David Noble of Co. "K", one of the color guard, was hit on the calf of his leg with a piece of shell, but only disabled him for a few days.
As we had been sent out to find the rebs, and we had located them, our duty for the occasion was performed, and we were ordered to return to camp. As we retraced our steps toward camp, those pesky Johnnies followed us up with that jackass battery, and kept pitching shells at us.
When we got back near camp, we were halted and ordered back out again, but our Lieutenant gave me a gun that he had got somewhere on the raid, and ordered me to take it into camp, and turn it oer to the ordinance officer, so I did not get to go back with the boys that afternoon.
There were more troops went out with our brigade on the second trip, and together they cleaned that nest of Johnnies out.
These little noisy skirmishes were of almost daily occurrence on the flanks of the army during this campaign, and while there
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was a certain amount of danger attached to them at all times, yet we managed to extract a good deal of sport out of them sometimes.
They afforded us very good exercise for our bodies, and kept our sowbelly and hardtack well settled, besides Uncle Sam ex- pected us to be doing something to earn our sixteen dollars per month, and I sincerely believe that I voice the minds of all who were engaged in that campaign, when I say we earned every dollar of it.
CHAPTER XIV.
Atlanta Campaign (Continued) Stealing a March on the Enemy.
"South of Chattahoochee River, Georgia, July 19th, 1864.
"Dear Parents :-
"Will try to scribble you a few lines today to let you know where I am, and how I am getting along.
"Well, you will see by the heading of this letter that we have crossed the Chattahoochee River, and are now camped within fourteen miles of Atlanta.
"I am not positive, but I think the 23 Corps has the honor of being the first Union troops to cross the river ; however, that does not matter. We are on this side; of that I am sure. We crossed at the mouth of Soap Creek on a pontoon bridge; there were a few rebs here guarding this crossing with a twelve pound How- itzer, and were harvesting some wheat near the crossing.
"Our men laid the pontoons in Soap Creek so quietly that the rebs knew nothing about it till they pushed them out of the creek, and across the river, and were popping away at them. The rebs fired their twelve pounder three times, and then our boys captured it. This is what I heard; I did not see it. I give it to you for what it is worth. As usual with us, we are in the woods and bushes, and can't see what's going on only in our own company and brigade.
"Our forces are feeding the wheat to the horses and mules. I would think it made rich feed.
"We have been resting for a few days, but look for a for- ward movement soon. I suppose the rebs will try hard to hold Atlanta, but they will have to watch General Sherman pretty close, as he seems to be pretty good on flank movements.
"Sherman tried to cut their army in two at Kenasaw Moun-
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tains, but failed, but when he tried the flank movement, that was successful.
"The rebs have built miles and miles of strong works all the way down from Dalton, but we have succeeded in flanking them so far; don't know how about it from now on, but I hope for the best.
"I must tell you I have been in some pretty close places since I got down in Georgia. Sometimes I was very uncertain wheth- er I would get out with a whole skin or not, but so far, I have not received a scratch. I cannot say what. the future has in store for me, but I trust the Lord will preserve my life in the future from whatever dangers I may be exposed to, as I have faith he has in the past.
"My faith is strong that I will return to my Old Kentucky Home, sound in body and mind, but God's will not mine be done.
"Lieutenant Pine came up to us yesterday from Knoxville. He is well and ready to take part in the campaign before us. Will write you again in a few days. This leaves me in good health and spirits. May it hasten to those who wait for tidings from their soldier son."
I am sorry that I did not keep a journal of this Atlanta cam- paign that I might have followed it, step by step in regular order ; then what I might have written would have proven more inter- esting to the general reader, or even had I written years ago, while the events were fresh in my memory, it would have been better; but to undertake to relate events from memory that happened forty years ago is no easy task.
A great many things that I saw and heard at that time that would have made interesting reading are gone from my memory. I can only remember those things which made deep and lasting impressions on my mind at the time.
I recall to mind one rainy day that the Third Brigade was adancivng through a woods, driving the rebel skirmishers ahead of us, the leaden messengers sung around our heads pretty vicious, and we were rushing matters pretty lively, I came to a leaning tree across my path; it was too high from the ground to jump over, and it required a man to stoop pretty low to pass under it, but I was in too much of a hurry to go around it, so I stooped to go under it, and my knapsack caught, and held me.
My first thought was to let my knapsack go, and I began to unbuckle it, when a second thought struck me pretty hard and that was if I lived till night, I would want a dry blanket to wrap up in; so 1 loosened it from the tree, buckled it on tight, and hastened ahead to regain my place in line. We pushed the rebs
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back quite a distance that day, and finally came within a few hundred yards of a fort on their main line, and put up breast- works.
By that time it was dark, and I wrapped up in that dry blanket, lay down in the trench, and slept as sweetly as though I had been home on a feather bed, and oh! how thankful I was that I had refrained from throwing away my knapsack.
I was never tempted to do the like again. The next day the rebels evacuated the works in our front, and we took possession.
Our lines here were in the woods as usual; but in the rear of the rebel fort was some cleared land, and a public road ran near the fort back into the country.
Our brigade advanced out this road a short distance and then returned to the fort, and we all lay down to rest. After every- thing became quiet, I heard a horseman approach the pickets, and heard the pickets challenge him; he told them he was a courier, bringing dispatches to General that had had com- mand of the forces in the fort; now the pickets could have cap- tured him very easy had they kept cool and not got excited, but instead of trying to make a prisoner of him, they began to fire at him.
With that he wheeled his horse, and went out that road on the jump as far as I could hear him; it was a pity the boys let him get away, not only for their own sakes, but his dispatches might have been very important to us. Of course, he did not know the Yankees had the fort. He supposed the Confederates still had possession.
It would have proven quite a feather in the boys' caps had they captured him, but they let their nervousness get away with them ; they came very near shooting one of their own number ; they put a musket ball through his blouse tail. That was a close call.
One night shortly after we came to the front, and the boys were lying in the trenches, trying to get a little sleep, the pickets out in front got to firing pretty rapidly. Finally the firing got so fast and furious that it roused the men in the trenches, and some of them before they got fairly awake, jumped up and began firing also, thinking no doubt from the excitement, that the rebs were right on them.
Vincent Brislear, of Co. "K", the Italian, was one of them that fired, and turning round, he says, "Boys, I gave them one pop;
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if you all do that well, we will soon have them repulsed". This was fun for the balance of the boys.
Poor Polly Kootchee, as the boys nicknamed him, they plagued him about that pop as long as he remained with us.
There were quite a number of shots fired from the trenches in the excitement, and our boys on picket said the skirmish line was a pretty hot place for a while. Rebs popping away on one side and Yanks on the other.
For a short time, they said they did not know which side of the trees was safest. I was on duty at brigade headquarters that night, and missed the fun. My duty was to awaken the General in case of an alarm, and I of course, performed that duty, but the alarm gradually died away. It was a case of high strung nerves on both sides.
Speaking of nervousness, reminds me of Captain , who on one occasion had charge of the skirmishers in front of our regiment, during one of our flanking movements.
The skirmishers had advanced to the top of a ridge, and halted behind trees. A short distance in their front were a lot of build- ings, around which the rebs were posted, and they and our skir- mishers were slinging lead at each other in a way that showed that both were in earnest, and meant business.
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