USA > Ohio > Itinerary of the Seventh Ohio volunteer infantry, 1861-1864, with roster, portraits and biographies > Part 10
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The following is self-explanatory :
"Resolved, by the Congress of the Confederate States of America, That the thanks of Congress are due, and they are hereby tendered, to Maj .- Gen. T. J. Jackson and the officers and men under his command for their gallant and meritorious service in the successful engagement with a greatly superior force of the enemy, near Kernstown, Frederick County, Virginia, on the 23d day of March, 1862."-Published in General Orders No. 37 by Gen. Joseph E. Johnston, Commanding Department of Northern Virginia.
Such is history.
The following is an account, as nearly as possible in his own words, of the first battle of Winchester, as it was seen and participated in by Corpl. Selden A. Day, of Co. C. It is also a record of the capture of Lieutenant Junkin, brother- in-law and staff officer of Stonewall Jackson. For this achievement, coupled with Corporal Day's gallantry at Cedar Mountain and Port Republic ( where he was wounded in both legs), he was recommended for promotion and ap- pointed by President Lincoln to be second lieutenant of artillery in the Regular Army. He did credit and honor to the selection, was wounded a number of times, but remained
*See Casualty List, p. 632.
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continuously on duty through the civil and Spanish wars. He was retired after nearly 42 years' active service as lieu- tenant-colonel, afterward being raised by law to the rank of colonel.
"THE BATTLE OF WINCHESTER, MARCH 22, 23, 1862.
"Shields's division had been left by Banks at Winchester, Va., to hold the place. Stonewall Jackson, learning that Banks had gone east, came down the valley from Strasburg and made the attack on Shields, south of the town of Win- chester, so that the battle is spoken of by Virginians and known in Southern history as the battle of Kernstown, while by the Northern soldiers and writers it is always spoken of as the first battle of Winchester, which fact has caused some historical confusion.
"This was the only fight in which Stonewall Jackson was ever worsted. He was killed accidentally by his own men, the following year, during his brilliant operations at Chan- cellorsville.
"On March 22, our regiment, the Seventh Ohio Infantry, moved out of camp with the brigade into position to cover the town. There was some cavalry skirmishing and an ar- tillery duello going on at the time, which ceased at sun- down, and we bivouacked in position on the field that night, which I remember was very cold, from which we suffered greatly, the ground being frozen under us.
"Sunday morning, the 23d, the fighting was renewed with frequent lulls and ominous silences which plainly indi- cated maneuvering-perhaps on both sides-for advantage in position. The artillery firing was resumed along a road near a church to the left of where our brigade waited in position. After a time we moved over to the left to support a battery there engaged. This duty was the most trying of all that day's hard work.
"As we stood in line behind the hill on which the battery was posted, frequent shots would come over and cut through our ranks. Colonel Tyler of the Seventh Ohio, command- ing the brigade, sat on his horse waiting for developments
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and further orders. He was calm, cool, and patient. I noticed, however, that he was pale, and that he too was feel- ing the strain of inaction under the trying circumstances. After a while an aide rode up to him from the left and front and evidently delivered an order. The Colonel, when the staff-officer had ridden away, turned to his command, and in a low but far-reaching voice said, 'Boys, put on your bayonets ;' adding, 'you will need them.'
"The answer to this command must have been gratifying to the leader who gave it, as mingled with the clatter of fix- ing bayonets a shout of exultation went up from every man in the ranks. The terrible strain of inaction and waiting under fire was over. Column was quickly formed to the right and we marched over in that direction, where double column on the center was afterward formed facing the front, and the advance taken up.
"The invisible guns in front of us were still firing to our left at the batteries we had been supporting. Steadily and in silence the brigade moved forward in double column for some distance as if upon the drill-ground. Then coming into a patch of woods, and commencing the descent of a gentle slope, we saw the smoke of the guns through the trees in front of us, on an elevation beyond a stone wall, over which the fire of musketry began to flash. Instantly the artillery was also turned upon us and we got the order, clear and distinct, from our commander, 'Charge bayonets !' A rush forward down the slope amongst the trees followed. As the musketry from the wall in front and the canister and shells from the elevation beyond began to tell in our ranks, they were soon broken up and the advance ceased. All be- gan firing without orders, and after that very few orders could be heard at all. C and F of the Seventh Ohio being the right and left center companies, formed the first or leading division of the regiment and brigade, and I, being a corporal in Company C. was of course in the front rank.
"When the advance ceased I found myself near the bot- tom of the hill, but could still see the top of the stone wall ahead of us, on the slope of the opposite elevation, above
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which were bobbing heads and flashing rifles. More Con- federates were running up to it through the grove Leyond. Conspicuous amongst tliese was an officer on a white horse gallantly directing the movements. Some of us singled him out as a target and he was soon brought down.
"Men were falling all around me, and glancing backward I saw that the slope of the hill was barely sufficient to en- able the men in the rear to fire safely over the heads of those of us in the front. A sergeant of Company H fell near me, shot through the neck, and I was quite sure it was done from the rear. After my second or third shot at the row of heads above the wall in front of us, as I threw up my rifle to reload, the bayonet went spinning away over my head, shot off near the shank. I replaced it quickly, taking the one from the musket of the sergeant who lay gasping at my feet, and replacing the stub of my own in its scabbard as far as it would go. I thought, even then, what a nice souvenir it would be when the war was over. It dropped out, however, later, and was lost.
"Standing on the slope of the hill down which we had come and firing as fast as I could, having loaded my mus- ket, I was holding it at the balance, in my left hand, while feeling for a cap in the little wool-lined cap-box on my belt (we were using the old Harper's Ferry muzzleloaders at that time), and something struck me on the left arm near the shoulder. My gun dropped from the paralyzed hand and I saw that the overcoat was torn and blackened. As I grasped the injured arm with my available hand, Sterry, of Company C, who was standing beside me and firing away. said with a smile, as if it were a good joke, 'You have got it, haven't you?' 'Yes,' I said. and finding that the place was scarcely bleeding, only bruised, added, 'but not very bad.' This souvenir. however, was destined to stay with me.
"Just then an order came to 'deploy,' and though I be- longed in the center with my company had there remained any ranks or formation, in which case I should have stood fast, something was shouted about 'the left' and I picked up
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my gun from the ground and ran in that direction. At a short distance a few of us climbed over a fence into an open field, but as no more came over I went back to the hollow in the woods, from the bottom of which I could see nothing of the enemy. The air above our heads in the hollow seemed full of projectiles going in opposite directions. I crept cautiously up the hill until I could see well over the brow, and at one place the slope of the hill beyond, over which more of the enemy were hurrying to the front to re- inforce those at the wall and be themselves sheltered as well.
"I fired quickly into the advancing men and fell forward on to the slope for shelter while I reloaded. This maneuver I repeated several times, advancing a little before each shot, until I was near the wall, a little below the brow of the hill. At the last advance-on hands and knees-I noticed a short distance farther on and close to the wall, fifteen or twenty feet from it perhaps, a low ledge of rock jutting from the ground, ten or twelve inches above the surface. It had a shallow gully washed out along the side diagonally. next to me, which I thought would afford some shelter from the enemy could I reach it. A brier-bush grew near one end of the rock, which would also serve to screen me from the sight of those behind the wall. Accordingly, I crept carefully forward and got into this natural rifle-pit. Though the height of the rock and the depth of the depres- sion were scarcely sufficient to shelter my body when lying flat, the friendly brier-bush screened me from view from the front, and here, with comparative safety, I emptied my cartridge-box, enfilading the line behind the wall down the hill to the right of my position. While doing this my greatest danger seemed to be from the rear, as the jutting rock only afforded some little shelter from the front, while the depression gave almost none from the opposite direction. Bullets from the rear tore up thic ground all around me.
"While firing down the line, turning on my back to re- load each time. I noticed that a fine-looking young fellow
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whom I did not know, from some other company, had crawled up as near to me as he could get, within arm's length, but not so well sheltered as I. He was firing away as fast as he could. I looked at him as he was loading his gun and preparing for another shot, when he said to me, 'Isn't it fun?' I did not reply, and when I looked at him next he was dead.
"Having emptied my cartridge-box and put the last load in my gun, I crawled feet foremost into the depression where Colonel Tyler and some of the other officers were try- ing to form a line to renew the charge. Here I replenished my cartridges from the boxes of the dead lying about, but before falling in, as I was ordered to do, I ran up the hill until I could see over the brow as before, and then noticed that the enemy down to the right were breaking away from their position.
Previously, while lying on the hill, I had witnessed two distinct charges on that part of the field, our men endeavor- ing to carry the wall. They were now making a third at- tempt. A few had gotten over, others were running up cheering, and the enemy were leaving, dodging behind wood- piles, that part of the field having been mostly cleared of its trees, and getting away as best they could, firing as they ran. Seeing this, instead of lying down after firing or go- ing back to the ranks, as I should perhaps have done, I waved my cap to those behind and shouted, 'We have got them started! Come on, come on !' and those of us nearest made a rush for the wall.
"As soon as I was over the wall I fired at some men a few yards to the right, who were still hugging it for shelter. While reloading, immediately after, Dixon and Worcester, of Company C, came up and we all hastily shook hands, swearing that we would 'stick together' as we started on following up the retreating enemy. who singly and in squads were firing at us while dodging behind the wood- piles or running to a fence at the bottom of another wooded hill, some two or three hundred yards away, on which the battery was posted.
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"While crossing the open field, Major Casement of the Seventh Olio rode up from the right along the line. He had crossed the wall down there, and, outstripping the nim- blest of his men on his beautiful little sorrel mare, he dashed up in front of us, and full of fire and enthusiasm, waving his sword, he shouted, 'Who will go with me into that bat- tery?' 'We will!' was the reply. 'Come on, then, said the Major, as he urged his horse off to the front and left, taking the battery in flank as he entered the grove and rode up the hill.
"He was not wounded in that fight, that I remember, but as he spoke to us I noticed the wadding of the cape he wore was sticking out of several bullet holes.
"Following the Major as fast as we could toward the flank of the battery, when I reached the fence at the edge of the grove toward which some of the enemy had retreated, I discovered that Dixon and Worcester were not with me, nor did I see them again until the fight was over. It seems that in the rush across the open field Worcester was shot, his leg being shattered, and Dixon hearing him cry out had stopped to help him.
"When I got up to the battery in the grove I found the Major there taking a survey of the dead and dying men and horses, the crippled guns and overturned caissons. His command to us as we came up was, 'Keep them going! Follow them up!' or something to that effect, which we en- deavored to obey.
"Our few scattered men, after passing through the cap- tured battery, dodged along through the grove, firing at such of the retreating enemy as we could see running from tree to tree and firing back as they went.
"In this way my attention was engaged when I suddenly came upon a party of three or four of the enemy in a fence corner at the edge of the grove. They were quite near me and on my left. I fired quickly into the party and dodged behind a tree for shelter and to reload. I felt quite confi- dent that my shot was effective, especially as all but one jumped over the fence and disappeared, running along the
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other side. The other was lying upon the ground. Having reloaded, with cocked musket, I cautiously approached the prostrate form, and when I stood over him I saw that he was an officer and was dying. He gasped for breath, and in his delirium muttered, 'Don't, don't.' Strange as it may seem, I did not feel at that moment in the least like a mur- derer looking upon his victim. But as I knelt down to un- buckle his belt I discovered evidence that the wounded man had been perhaps carried to this spot, and with feelings of the intensest horror it dawned upon me that I had fired into a party carrying away a wounded comrade. I was completely overcome for the time, and the tears ran down my face.
"The battle was now nearly over, dusk was coming on. There was still some little firing over to the right where the cavalry were following a few fleeing men along a road near a house. I climbed over the fence into an open field and looked about me, my enthusiasm much diminished. Some of our men were near the fence and others in the wood be- yond and on my right.
"To the left a column of troops was crossing the field, marching rapidly. I took them to be our left, advancing. As the twilight deepened the musketry off to the right to- gether with the carbines of the cavalry began to show more of fire than smoke, in that respect differing from the ap- pearance of firing in good daylight, especially in the times before the invention of smokeless powder.
"As I approached the column, now some two or three hundred yards away, I noticed a troop of horsemen, fifteen or twenty perhaps, marching alongside of the infantry, and between us. My object in approaching what I supposed to be our own troops was to inquire as to the whereabouts of my regiment. They turned out, however, to be the enemy's right wing, falling back in good order, and the horsemen Jackson and his staff with their couriers. As I drew nearer, one of the horsemen rode out in front of me, crossing the field toward the right, where some little firing was still go- ing on. He seemed to be an officer being followed by an
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orderly. As he got nearly in front of me I shouted, 'Hold on! Hold on, please,' and added, 'I want to speak to you.' He stopped, and I walked on toward him. When I got quite close, as he sat on his horse, waiting to hear what I had to say, I discovered to my great fright that he was a Confederate, and it flashed on me at once that all those on my left must be the same and that I was a prisoner, unless. indeed, I could get him away, or away from him, to the woods behind, without undue commotion. So instinctively and quickly stepping to the left of the horse's head. I placed the muzzle of my cocked musket close to his breast and said (in a frightened voice, I have no doubt), 'Get down, or I'll shoot!' A more astonished man one can hardly imagine. At this moment a couple of our men were coming up to see what was going on. knowing no more than I had that we were virtually in the enemy's lines.
"The officer looked hastily and somewhat nervously, per- haps, first to one side and then on the other, and as he hesi- tated I repeated. 'Get down! Surrender, or I'll pull!' See- ing that I doubtless meant business and that I had the drop on him, he got down beside his horse .* Turning toward us he said, 'I want you all to understand I did not come up here to surrender. I thought you were some of our men.' 'Won't surrender. eh?' said one of our men. 'Shoot him!' 'Stick him,' said the other. 'Damn him, let me stick him.' said the first, and tried to elbow me aside to make room.
"At this I said, as 1 faced the men, my back to the pris- oner :
" 'Look here, this man is my prisoner, and the one who shoots or sticks him has got first to shoot or stick me.'
" 'He says he won't surrender,' said one of the men.
"'But he has,' said I; and turning to the prisoner I Asked, 'Haven't you surrendered ?'
*It is undoubtedly true that the old, dirty, faded and torn overcoat worn by Corporal Day helped greatly to deceive Lieutenant Junkin. Even in the daytime it was no longer blue, and in the twilight it must have looked like a perfectly orthodox Confederate garment-holes and all.
£
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" 'Yes,' said he; and straightening himself up, folding his arms on his breast, turning very pale, he said in a dry, hard voice, 'But let them shoot and be damned!'
"It occurred to me at the time that if ever a man pro- nounced his own death sentence, this one thought he was doing it then.
"'Well, that's plucky.' said one.
" 'He's all right,' admitted the other, and they turned their attention to the orderly, who all this time had been sitting his horse a few yards away without the least sus- picion that anything was wrong.
" 'Come away from here,' said I and we went up into the woods, followed by a couple of men with the orderly. Noticing the crossed silver arrows on the cap of the orderly, I asked him what he belonged to. 'Ashby's cavalry,' was the jaunty reply, with a wag of his head and a laugh, as if it were all a huge joke. Whatever became of him, or who he was, I never knew.
"As we walked along I asked the prisoner his name and regiment. I understood him to say he was Lieutenant Dun- ken of General Jackson's staff.
When we had got into the woods it was nearly dark, and many men had come through. all in disorder. The man with me, who seemed to be one of the Indianians, said, 'Oh, there is our doctor.' I said. 'Doctor, we have got a prisoner here. What shall we do with him?'
"'Go to hell with him! I have got men dying all over this field,' was the reply.
"This was anything but encouraging, but we went along with our prisoner up the hill. Seeing an officer on horse- back giving orders to some men, my companion said to me. 'That's our Colonel.' We approached him, and I said :
'Colonel, we have a prisoner here and don't know what to do with him. He is a staff officer,' I added.
"""Indeed!' said he. 'What is his name?'
" Lieutenant Dunken,' said I, 'of Jackson's staff.'
"'Junkin,' the prisoner corrected. and then spelled it out for me in a disgusted, emphatic manner, 'J-u-n-ki-n.'
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"'Well, take him up the hill,' said the Colonel, and turned to shout some orders to the men who were coming around.
"We went along up the hill until we reached the top near the captured battery, I think, and while standing there wondering what next to do and feeling that we had an ele- phant on our hands, Dixon came up and said, 'Oh, Day, I have been looking for you! Come with me to bring in Worcester ; he is wounded. His leg is broken and we must carry him.'
"I told him what I was doing, but that I would go with him, and turning the prisoner over to my companion I went with Dixon to where Worcester was lying on the field.
"He was later carried to the straw stack where some of the wounded were cared for. But our loved comrade lost much blood and died in the hospital at Winchester a few days later.
"The night was spent by both sides in caring for their wounded, and sometimes we met thus peacefully on the field.
"In the morning Jackson had disappeared from our front."
CHAPTER XVII.
FROM KERNSTOWN AND NEW MARKET TO FREDERICKSBURG AND BACK TO FRONT ROYAL.
On March 16, 1862, General Banks was directed by Gen- eral Mcclellan to leave General Shields in the Shenandoah Valley, while he, with his First Division, commanded by Gen. A. S. Williams, crossed the Shenandoah River at Castleman's Ferry and the Blue Ridge Mountains through Snicker's Gap. to the vicinity of Centerville, where he would be more directly in position to protect Washington, while General Mcclellan moved his army to the Peninsula to enter upon his campaign for the capture of Richmond.
In compliance with this order the last of General Wil- liams's division left Winchester on the 22d, General Banks himself leaving the next day for Washington, but had not passed Harper's Ferry when he learned of the battle at Kernstown, and not only ordered General Williams to re- turn but did so himself, reaching Winchester in time to as- sume command of the entire force, and conduct the pursuit of the enemy on the 24th, to Cedar Creek, where he halted for the night. Early on the next morning General Banks crossed Cedar Creek upon another temporary bridge and pursued Stonewall Jackson's defeated and sorely disap- pointed little army some miles beyond Strasburg, then bivouacked until the baggage-train arrived, when camps were established until April ist, and then another advance was made to and beyond Woodstock, the enemy falling back and destroying bridges wherever practicable, in order to delay pursuit and worry the pursuers.
Colonel Ashby was the moving spirit on the other side. and while he conducted the backward movement with great skill and energy his force was not sufficient to make it ef- fective.
On the 4th camp was again established at and beyond
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Edenburg, where General Shields came up on the 12th, rid- ing in an ordinary top buggy, with his arm in a sling, and was most cordially and enthusiastically greeted and wel- comed by his command, much to his evident gratification and satisfaction.
While infantry skirmishing and artillery duelling was the order of the day, few casualties occurred until the 16th, when an entire company of Ashiby's cavalry, including all the officers except the captain, was trapped at Columbia Furnace, about 7 miles from Mount Jackson. The next day the command advanced to New Market, the enemy retreating after having destroyed railroad and other property in large quantities at Mount Jackson.
Inasmuch as General Jackson, by reason of lack of force. had made no determined resistance to the advance of the Union forces from the battlefield of Kernstown to New Market, the authorities at Washington concluded that Gen- eral Shields's division could be spared to strengthen the command of General McDowell at Fredericksburg, there- fore as early as April 26 Secretary of War Stanton notified General Banks that it was possible that events might make it necessary to transfer General Shields to the Department of the Rappahannock, and that he was advised to act ac- cordingly, while on May I he was informed that Shields was to be ordered away, and instructed him to fall back to Strasburg. On this date the following order was issued :
"WAR DEPARTMENT, May 1, 1862.
"Maj .- Gen. McDOWELL: The President has directed the transfer of General Shields, with his division, to your de- partment. You will transmit an order to General Shields, addressed to Woodstock, to move to such point within your department as you may designate, the President preferring Catlett's Station, having in view the instruction hitherto received by you with respect to this capital, communicating a copy of your order in the case to this Department.
"EDWIN M. STANTON, "Secretary of War."
10
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In compliance with this order from the Secretary of War, General McDowell addressed General Shields as follows :
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