USA > Ohio > The history of Fuller's Ohio brigade, 1861-1865; its great march, with roster, portraits, battle maps and biographies > Part 6
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72
The Union troops had now advanced and occupied the third parallel earthworks which presented a front about twelve miles in length, the build- ing and defense of which entailed physical dangers and difficulties. The soldiers showed signs of being greatly fatigued by their hard labor. They also showed a change of deportment, their bearing being more like true soldiers. General Halleck complimented the Brigade upon its splendid service and ordered that "Lexington," "Springfield," "New Madrid," "Isl- and Ten" be inscrilbed upon its regimental banners.
May 9th, heavy firing occured at Farmington, where the enemy at- tacked our grand guard. General Pope's entire army moved out in line. The Ohio Brigade was in ranks all day and was skirmishing part of the time. On May 10th, the Brigade took possession of the hill at Farmington, from which Union troops had fallen back on the day previous.
During part of the siege, it was the practice in reserve companies to have roll call at one o'clock in the morning and to have it repeated every hour until daylight. Then came inspection of arms which was instituted to keep the men well in hand, allowing no one to sleep while on duty, or when in close proximity to the enemy, and keeping always on the alert for sudden attack. Many times before daylight, simultaneous discharges of thousands of muskets was heard in attempts to drive in the picket lines.
On the 24th, the enemy's firing on our pickets became exceedingly an- noying. With five companies of the Eleventh Missouri, five companies of the Thirty-ninth Ohio, the enemy was charged and scattered. Dee's Michi- gan Battery with its Parrot guns threw shells into Corinth.
On the 28th, an attempt was made to force the enemy back with artil- lery and musket fire. The Thirty-ninth Ohio advanced a distance of five hundred vards. It gave a quietus to the picket firing in front. Nothing more was heard from the rebels except a few shots from a battery pro- tected by earthworks on high ground.
The fortified camp of the Union Army was made more impregnable each day, and additional forces were arriving. During this siege of twenty- eight days, the men always slept with their clothing and accoutrements on,
73
CAPTURE OF CORINTH.
their muskets by their sides, and with eighty rounds of cartridges on their persons, From the top of a high pole, a sentinel could see operations in Corinth.
On May 28th, Brigaider-General Rosecrans assumed command of Stanley's and Paine's Divisions. Notwithstanding the enemy's fire the work of intrenching was carried on constantly.
On the 29th, the Ohio Brigade moved out and took position, Stanley's Division being in advance at a salient point investing Corinth. The skirm- ishers dug and occupied rifle pits and their fire drove the enemy back under protecton of their batteries. Shot and shell flew over the ranks of men and were imbedded in the trees, cutting and tearing the limbs. Many lives were lost and there were many narrow escapes from death. During the night the shrill whistle of the locomotive, the rumbling of the trains and cheering by the enemy's troops were heard and it was thought they were being rein- forced, but on the contrary, they were evacuating, as was disclosed to the Union Army on the morning of the 30th, when sounds of exploding maga- zines and ammunition trains were heard.
The Union troops immediately occupied the town and the Thirty-ninth Ohio had the honor of first hoisting the United States flag over the Court House.
Report of General John Pope.
CORINTH, MISSISSIPPI, MAY 30, 1862. 8:40 A. M. Major-General Halleck:
My advance (the Thirty-ninth Ohio and the Forty-second Illinois) entered the town of Corinth and planted the United States flag on the Court House at 6:40 this morning. They were the first troops in the place. I am throwing my artillery and cavalry in pursuit. The enemy retreated by the Mobile Road.
JOHN POPE, Major-General, Commanding.
The enemy abandoned and destroyed most of his supplies and left his heavy artillery. Thus ended the siege and capture of Corinth.
Corinth had been strongly fortified by slave labor with solid earth- works, built high with rifle pits in front. Large trees had been felled, mak- ing it difficult of approach by hostile forces. On the 30th, a march was made to Tuscumbia Creek.
74
FULLER'S OHIO BRIGADE
May 31st, having received tents and army supplies that had been left in the rear, a march of twenty-five miles was made in pursuit of the enemy through Danville, Rienza, and Boonville. In many of the places on the Mobile and Ohio Railroad were found quantities of muskets twisted and broken, and cars of cotton still burning.
The weather was extremely hot, the marching rapid. Many soldiers were sunstruck. The water obtained in the swamps for drinking was very bad and made the inen sick. Whole platoons of men fell out of ranks ex- hausted. The artillery and ammunition wagons were given the middle of the road, while the troops marched along each side.
June 11th, the Brigade returned from the pursuit by a circuitous route and went into camp at Clear Creek, Tishomingo County, five miles south of Corinthi. It was a beautiful location on rolling lands partially timbered and near large springs of pure water which gushed from the ground in such quantity that a large creek was formed.
June 6th, the Union gunboats destroyed the enemy's fleet at Memphis. The same day two regiments of the Army of the Mississippi left by Pope with the fleet, entered the city. The Mississippi River was now open to Vicksburg and the objects which had been proposed in the spring campaign were accomplished. The labor of camp and road making, the marches through heat and dust, the privations, short rations, bad clothing, bare feet, were all borne by the men with patience and cheerfulness.
Our shady camp was made enjoyable by cutting the brush away, trim- ming the trees up and policing the place. Tents and garrison equipage were brought up and a military camp was put in perfect order. Yet during the months of July and August, much sickness prevailed among the men. The principal disease was dysentery, caused by the absence of fruit and vegetables from the soldiers' rations. At the same time there were some deaths caused by homesickness.
General Grant says in his memoirs, "The most anxious period of the war to me, was during the time that the Army of the Tennessee was guard- ing the territory acquired by the fall of Corinth and Memphis and before I was sufficiently re-enforced to take the offensive. The enemy's Cavalry was constantly operating upon our lines of supplies, back to Columbus, and other points, making it necessary to guard all territory in our rear."
CHAPTER XII.
THE REORGANIZATION OF THE COMMANDS-TIIE CAMPAIGN AND BATTLES OF IUKA AND CORINTII-FORCES ENGAGED-REPORTS OF BATTLES- RETREAT OF TIIE ENEMY.
In June, 1862, President Lincoln issued "order number three" which relieved McClellan from command of other armies except the Army of the Potomac. General Pope was called to command the Army of Northern Virginia, and General Halleck to command all the Union armies with head- quarters at Washington Conprat IT S Grint resumed command of the Department of West Tennessee. General Rosecrans was left in command of four divisions, Stanley's. Hamilton's, Davies', and Mckean's, District of Corinth, Department of the Tennessee. Fuller's Ohio Brigade was desig- nated the first in General Stanley's Second Division. General Buell was sent with his Army via Huntsville to Chattanooga.
On June 20th, the Twenty-seventh and Thirty-ninth Regiments of Fuller's Ohio Brigade exchanged their old, altered, flintlock, Springfield rifle muskets for the new Whitney rifles with sabers or sword bayonets, which were excellent arms. They also received new clothing and accoutre- ments.
The forces at Corinth built earthworks with high parapets, ditches ten feet in width and barracks for permanent accommodation of troops, who were to remain in this land of "balmy breezes and beautiful skies." Corinth was full of sutlers and merchants who sold their goods at very high prices to soldiers and native inhabitants. Butter was $1.60 a pound and a quart can of peaches $1.50. The Brigade was drilled almost constantly and the discipline was quite severe under the close supervision of General Stanley and General Fuller.
The position at Corinth was important and naturally strong. It stood on a long low ridge in the forks of two streams which ran parallel to each other near their junction. It was protected on the front and both sides by swampy valleys, traversed by streams and obstructed by dense thickets. Both armies recognized its great strategic importance, being the key to all West Tennessee, North Alabama, and Mississippi, the junction command- ing all the railroads, from Mempliis to Charleston and from Louisville to Mobile, and in a measure controlling the commerce of the Mississippi to New Orleans. Therefore the Confederates made strenuous efforts to repossess it. Fuller's Ohio Brigade was ordered to move on the 17th, but
75
76
FULLER'S OHIO BRIGADE
it was not until the 20th of August that the campaign commenced which ended in the battles of Iuka and Corinth. At three o'clock on the morning of that day, the bugle sounded the reveille and the Brigade was aroused. The troops partook of their breakfast of bacon, hard bread ("hard tack") and coffee, the tents were struck, the debris of camp was set on fire, and the army lines swung out on a ridge road which was followed all day. The country over which they marched was hilly with deep valleys covered with a thick growth of heavy timber. Late in the evening, the Brigade went into bivouac and night came on clear and bright.
On the 21st, march was continued twenty-five miles to Iuka, situated on the Memphis and Charleston Railroad. The Thirty-ninth Ohio Regi- ment was divided. Four companies went to Iuka, two to East Port and four were distributed along the railiad. The Forty-third and Sixty-third Ohio Regiments continued on to Bear Creek. A good camp was made on a hill at Iuka, near the sulphur springs, by the rest of the Brigade, and with the assistance of two hundred slaves from the Cherokee and Russel valleys. they immediately fortified their position.
Rumors were spread thick and fast among the troops in regard to the movements of the United Confederate Army. commanded by Price and Van Dorn, which numbered forty thousand.
On September 7th, the army posts along the railroad were called in. Troops that had been called up at midnight to unload cars containing com- missary stores, were drawn in.
On September 12th, at three o'clock in the morning, the troops of Fui- ler's Brigade struck tents and vacated their comfortable camp at Iuka, and the Army marched by way of Jacinto, a distance of twenty-five miles on roads leading near to Corinth. Preparations were made for a great contest of arms, no wagons were unloaded, and every thing was kept in readiness to start at a moment's notice. All baggage was reduced, and five days' rations were kept on hand. During this time the troops slept on the ground without blankets, so that when the reveille sounded, on September 18th, at two o'clock in the morning, they were ready and sprang to their feet and to arms. After a march of twenty-three miles, they arrived near Jacinto and bivouaced. On the 16th of September. General Rosecrans directed Colonel Gilbert to move the Thirty-ninth Ohio from Jacinto to a place two miles south of Burnsville and to cut off the enemy.
On the 19th, advance was continued. During the day the troops were halted, and by order of General Rosecrans a dispatch was read at the head of every regiment as follows: "General Lee of the Confederate Army is killed! Longstreet is taken prisoner. Both commands are captured and destroyed." This information represented the result of the battle of Antie-
77
BATTLE OF IUKA.
tam, Maryland, and although it afterward proved to be incorrect, it caused at the time much excitement and aroused patriotic emotions among the men.
The condition of affairs in the Union Army was not very good, at this time. Lee had advanced with the rebel army into Maryland. The Union General Buell had marched his army in retreat to Louisville, Kentucky ; and Van Dorn had united with other rebel forces under Price, Villepague, and Moore, and were south of the Hatchie River to overwhelm the smaller forces of Union troops under Rosecrans. Van Dorn concluded first to occupy Iuka, which place the Union troops had just vacated and were now advancing to recapture.
BATTLE OF IUKA.
Rosecrans' forces after marching twenty-two miles on the Jacinto Road, had arrived about two hours before sundown within one mile of Iuka. Hamilton's Division was forming near Barnett Station, and Stanley's Division was ordered into action. The men in the Brigade had loaded and were just placing caps on their rifles, when a most terrific fire of musketry was opened and the enemy engaged two of Hamilton's Brigades. A charge of the rebels upon the Eleventh Ohio and Eighth Wisconsin Batteries fol- lowed and with loud cheers the Ohio Brigade rushed forward into action.
The Twenty-seventh, Thirty-ninth, Forty-third and Sixty-third Ohio Regiments were moved to the left and lay under fire of the enemy. The fight then became an infantry duel and there never was a hotter nor more destructive engagement while it lasted. Finally a lull came in the fighting, and when the heavy cloud of smoke lifted, long lines of rebel troops could easily be distinguished. As it grew darker and flashes of musketry fire became brighter, a rebel regiment in the darkness rushed toward a Union regiment and asked who they were. On answering them, both forces com- menced firing upon each other at close range. The Eleventh Ohio Battery, after losing half its men, was captured and then retaken. . Its loss in men within two hours was greater in killed and wounded, than in any other battery in battle during the war.
Our troops lay in line of battle upon their arms during the night, and at daybreak, marched across the battle field in hot pursuit of the fast-re- treating rebel army, who, defeated and routed, left its dead upon the battle field. They were found lying in almost every position. One was lying prone upon the ground, his eyes wide open, his gun resting on a log, in the act of firing. A number had guns clutched in their hands in the act of loading, their rammers half drawn. One in dying had grasped a small tree with his teeth, others died while kneeling and taking aim. The rebels left the houses filled with dead and wounded.
78
BATTLE OF IUKA, MISS., Sept. 19th, 1862. 11th Ohio Battery in the Foreground. Ohio Brigade Coming Up Double Quick. This Battery lost more men in two hours than any Battery in any Battle of the War.
79
FULLER'S OHIO BRIGADE.
In the early evening, before the firing had fully subsided, a temporary hospital with operating tables was established close to the lines of Fuller's Ohio Brigade. There in the open field, the writer saw for a few moments, something of the terrible havoc of war. The surgeons were at work with only candles for light. Their facilities were crude. The tables were cov- ered with pools of blood, the ground was strewn with amputated arms, hands and legs. Many of the men shrieked with pain when lifted to the operating table.
During the battle, General Grant with Ord's forces was at Burnsville, six miles distant ready to attack. He waited for the sound of Rosecrans' guns, but owing to the direction of the wind, and the wooded country which intervened, no notice of the conflict was given, and opportunity of captur- ing the enemys' forces was lost.
Rosecrans had forwarded a dispatch to Grant that the shorter road on which Stanley's Division should advance had been obstructed by the enemy and he would be obliged to take an indirect route. General Grant assumed from his dispatch, that Stanley could not get up in time for an attack that afternoon, and ordered General Ord to wait until the next morn- ing. But Stanley's Division had moved with its accustomed rapidity and was up to the front in time to engage in the battle. The enemy's plan to invade Tennessee at this time was a failure.
UNION FORCES AT IUKA.
The Union Forces at Iuka were as follows :
The Army of the Mississippi, commanded by General Rosecrans ; Sec- ond Division, commanded by David S. Stanley. First Brigade four Ohio Regiments of Infantry, commanded by Brigadier General John W. Fuller, viz. :-
Twenty-seventh, Major Z. S. Spaulding ; Thirty-ninth, Colonel Alfred W. Gilbert ;
Forty-third, Colonel J. L. Kirby Smith ; Sixty-third, Colonel John W. Sprague.
M, First Missouri Artillery, Captain Powell, one section of the Eighth Wisconsin Battery, Lieutenant McLain.
F, Second United States Artillery, Captain Thomas B. Maurice.
Second Brigade, Colonel Joseph A. Mower.
Twenty-sixth and Forty-seventh Illinois, Eleventh Missouri, Eighth Wis- consin, Spoor's Second Iowa Battery, Dee's Third Michigan Battery.
Third Division, Brigadier-General C. S. Hamilton, Fifth Missouri Cavalry Escort.
First Brigade, Colonel Sanburn, Forty-eighth Indiana, Fifth and Sixteenth Iowa.
Fourth Minnesota, Twenty-sixth Missouri, Eleventh Ohio Battery.
80
FULLER'S OHIO BRIGADE
Second Brigade, Tenth and Seventeenth Iowa, Tenth and Twenty-fourth Missouri, Eightieth Ohio, Twelfth Wisconsin Battery.
Cavalry, Second Iowa, B and E of the Seventh Kansas, Third Michigan, one company of Jenkins' Illinois Cavalry.
Total forces were nine thousand, one-half of which was in action.
The Divisions under Ord at Burnsville, were those of Davies, Ross and Mc- Arthur.
The Union loss at Iuka was six hundred and thirteen.
Then Confederate Forces at Iuka were as follows :-
Army of the West under Van Dorn and Price.
First Division, commanded by Henry Little, consisting of the First, Second and Third Missouri Infantry. Second Missouri Battery: Hebert's Fourteenth, Seventeenth Arkansas, Third Louisiana, Seventh, Thirty- sixth, Thirty-seventh, Fortieth. and Forty-third Mississippi, First and Third Texas and Thirty-seventh Alabama.
Cavalry, Armstong's Second Arkansas, Second Missouri, First Mississippi. Total, fourteen thousand in action.
Confederate loss, five hundred and thirty-five.
General Stanley's Report of the Battle of Iuka.
CAMP NEAR JACINTO, MISSISSIPPI, SEPT. 24, 1862.
The Second Division under my command, consisting of the First Bri- gade, Colonel Fuller commanding ; and Second Brigade, Colonel Mower commanding, left our camp on Clear Creek, on the 18th instant, with three days' cooked rations and one hundred rounds of ammunition to each man. and marched the same day by way of Patrick's on the Burnsville Road, when we turned and marched to within one mile of Jacinto. * * The Twenty-seventh, Thirty-ninth, Forty-third. Sixty-third Ohio, and the Eighth Wisconsin, held in reserve. afterwards moved forward and posted close to the enemy on the right hand road. *
Colonel John WV. Fuller's Report of the Battle of Iuka.
HEADQUARTERS OF THE FIRST BRIGADE, SECOND DIVISION, ARMY OF THE MISSISSIPPI.
Major :-
SEPTEMBER 23RD. 1862.
In obedience to orders, I have the honor to report that my command joined the rear of the column during the march upon Iuka, Mississippi. on the 19th instant, moving in the following order: The Thirty-ninth Ohio Infantry, Colonel Gilbert : Light Company F, Second United States Artil- lery, Captain Maurice; Twenty-seventh Ohio Infantry, Major Spaulding : Sixty-third Ohio Infantry. Colonel Sprague; Battery M. First Missouri. Light Artillery. Captain Powell: Section of Battery Eight of Wisconsin. Lieutenant Mcclellan ; and the Forty-third Ohio Infantry, Colonel Smith.
81
FULLER'S OFFICIAL REPORT.
Within about three miles of Iuka, we were halted in the road and the Batteries were moved to the right of the road near the edge of the woods and on the hill which overlooked the open field, directly south of the scene of action. At sunset, I received orders to advance immediately to the front. As soon as the order "double quick" was given, the infantry ran forward, swinging their hats and cheering lustily, but darkness brought a cessation of the firing. Soon after dawn it was reported that the enemy had left the field of battle and taken position nearer the town. My command took the advance, and after passing the field, four regiments formed in line of battle (the Twenty-seventh, Thirty-ninth, and Forty-third of my Brigade and the Forty-seventh Illinois, Colonel Mower's Brigade) and moved forward upon the town. During the deployment, Captain Powell's Battery was brought forward and threw a few shots at a body of the enemy which appeared near the Fulton Road. As we neared the town, a flag of truce came out, borne by a citizen, who said that the citizens desired the surrender of the town, and the soldiers (enemy) were all in the ditch dug by the Federal Army. We then moved forward into the town and found that the enemy had evacuated the place, leaving by the Fulton Road. My command went forward in pursuit, till we reached Cripple Deer Creek. The statements of several prisoners confirmed by a reconnaissance, made by Captain Saw- yer of the Seventh Kansas (two companies) proved that the enemy was several miles in advance and rapidly retreating but in the exhausted con- dition of our men and the total absence of subsistence, it was deemed im- practicable to continue the pursuit farther. We rested near Cripple Deer Creek for the night and commenced our return toward Jacinto about eight o'clock on the morning of the 21st. Six casualities occured in the Thirty- ninth and two in the Sixty-third Ohio Regiments.
JOHN W. FULLER,
Colonel of the Twenty-seventh Ohio, Commanding.
THE PURSUIT OF THE ENEMY.
Having passed the battle field on the morning of September 20th, pur- suit was continued a distance of seven miles with many stops, camping at Cripple Deer in a corn and sweet potato field. On the 21st, a march of thirty-five miles was made, the troops going into bivouac late at night. Orders were passed that no one should speak louder than a whisper, on account of the close proximity of the enemy. On the 22nd. a march of eight miles was made to Jacinto, where the men camped on the banks of a creek. They bathed and refreshed themselves and later, an inspection of arms took place.
On the night of the 22nd, the Thirty-ninth and Sixty-third Ohio Regi- ments made a reconnaissance. On the 29th the Brigade marched to the rebel sand bag breast works, through Rienza on the Mobile and Ohio Railroad. At ten o'clock the same night, under command of Major Z. S. Spaulding. the Twenty-seventh and Forty-third Ohio with one section of the Eighth
82
FULLER'S OHIO BRIGADE
Wisconsin Battery marched southwest on a reconnaissance, eight miles to- ward the Hatchie River, and Ripley where the rebel army was encamped. Major Spaulding reported to General Rosecrans that he had captured three prisoners of Breckenridge's command and from them the information had been received that Villepague and Rust had brought fifteen hundred men up to Pocohontas. The enemy's whole force numbered forty thousand men.
For thirteen days, the Brigade marched on an inner circle by way of Jacinto and Rienza, toward Corinth in order to watch the rebel army. On the 1st of October a march of thirteen miles was made as far as Pocohontas and Kossuth, to cover the Hatchie River Crossing. This was a region of few settlements, poor log cabins, rolling oak ridges and sluggish streams, that dried up during the summer. The troops suffered terribly from thirst. the roads were dusty, the sun shone down very hot, and it was sincty four degrees in the shade.
At noon the soldiers halted, hurriedly cooked their rations of bacon on the ends of sticks and their coffee in their tin cups, then falling into line, they continued the march toward Corinth, a total distance of thirty-seven miles without camping. This march was through a country almost desti- tute of water. The men rested at the Tuscumbia Creek. On October 3rd. they marched to the breast works, southwest of Corinth, after having skirm- ished all day through heavy timber and thick underbrush, to support and strengthen different parts of the army. At nightfall, with colors flying and bands playing, the men, covered with dust, their faces bronzed by exposure and long service under the rays of the sun, moved in columns of companies, right in front, through the streets and joined the lines at Corinth. General Rosecrans and his staff sat on their horses by the Kossuth Road, waiting to welcome them. The soldiers of Hamilton's, Davies' and McKean's Divis- ions gather'd in platoons, cheering and shouting for the "Buckeye Boys." The Ohio boys called back, "We are distressed for want of water."
The position first assigned was north of the Tishomingo House, and the junction of the two railroads, to support Davies' Division. It was here that we saw the Eighth Wisconsin Regiment with their live eagle carried on a standard. Finally the Brigade was moved to the left and was assigned to a position facing the Chawalla Road, the key to the position at Battery Robinett. Battery Robinett was a little three gun redan, an earthwork with a ditch in front, five feet deep. commanded by Lieutenants Robinett and Cullen, and manned by Company C, First United States Infantry. It was now late at night and the men were almost famished for water.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.