USA > Ohio > The story of the Sherman brigade. The camp, the march, the bivouac, the battle; and how "the boys" lived and died during four years of active field service > Part 11
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1862.]
OFF FOR SAVANNAH.
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would yield under no circumstances or conditions. The guards over fences and hen-houses gradually disappeared, and, indeed, they became at length wholly useless, as there was scarcely any- thing left to guard.
I do not deem it necessary to ask the pardon of the reader for this somewhat lengthy digression. The subject is one which per- sonally interested every soldier, and it was during this march that we took our first lessons in the school from which graduated ere long so many finished scholars. Probably the highest state of development was attained by the "bummers" of Sherman's army during the march to the sea. But it may truthfully be said that few of those famous raiders could excel the daily exploits of some of the Sixty-fourth and Sixty-fifth Ohio foragers.
CHAPTER XI.
THE MARCH TO SAVANNAH.
ON THE ROAD FOR A LONG PULL-A FRESH CROP OF ACHES AND BLIS- TERS-GENERAL GARFIELD TAKES COMMAND OF THE BRIGADE- A SUNDAY OF EXCITEMENT-THE "CANNON'S OPENING ROAR" AT SHILOH-WE STRIP FOR A SWIFT MARCH-A FEARFUL NIGHT- STUMBLING ON THROUGH A TERRIFIC THUNDER-STORM-HALF DROWNED, WE WELCOME THE DAWN.
A T FOUR o'clock on the morning of March 29th, the drums and bugles sounded through the camp of the Sixth di- vision. The soldiers responded with alacrity and all were astir betimes. Hundreds of fires gleamed in tlie early dawn. Breakfast was hastily prepared and eaten, Every- (9)
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[April,
SAMUEL C. BROWN, MAJOR, SIXTY-FIFTH. Killed at Chickamauga, Sept. 20, 1863.
1862.]
THE SIXTH DIVISION.
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body was in good spirits at the prospect of something new, in the near future, in the way of experience and adventure. Wagons were loaded, blankets rolled, and knapsacks put in readiness to be "slung." But there was much delay in getting the column in motion. Ours was the rear brigade that day, and it was nine o'clock before the "Fall in!" was heard. But at last we pulled out and bade farewell to Nashville. As we left camp that morn- ing, if some prophet had told us that five months later we would be scampering through Nashville with our heels toward the south, and that we would scarcely stop to breathe till we reached Louis- ville, we would have thought him a fit subject for a straight- jacket. But that is what we did !
We crossed to the Franklin pike and turned our faces toward the Tennessee river, marching at a brisk gait. The division, with its long trains, stretched out upon the pike for a distance of four miles. Besides the Twentieth brigade, Colonel Harker com- manding, the division consisted of the Fifteenth brigade, Colonel Milo S. Hascall commanding-Seventeenth and Fifty-eighth Indiana, Twenty-sixth Ohio, Third Kentucky, and Estep's Eighth Indiana battery; and the Twenty-first brigade, Colonel George D. Wagner commanding-Fifteenth, Fortieth, and Fifty-seventh Indiana, Twenty-fourth Kentucky, and Cox's Tenth Indiana bat- tery. At the head of the column rode the Third Ohio cavalry, Colonel Zahm. The division numbered about eight thousand men.
Our first day's march was short-only eight miles, but we were glad enough to go into camp about the middle of the after- noon. The day was very warm, and the air was heavy with clouds of limestone dust which was at times almost suffocating. Being in the rear we had the full benefit of the smudge made by the two brigades ahead of us. The dust settled thickly upon our perspiring faces, and it was scarcely possible for anyone to recog- nize his most intimate friend. If he had had a mirror to look into he would not have known himself, and could easily have believed it to be somebody else. The streams of perspiration plowed fan- tastic furrows through the deposits of dust, giving us more the appearance of Sioux Indians, tattooed and painted for the war- path, than of civilized beings. Few marches as short as that,
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A HARD SUNDAY MARCH.
[March,
during all our four years of campaigning, gave us greater dis- comfort than the first day's tramp toward Shiloh. We camped by a beautiful stream of water, in which thousands of men were soon splashing with great enjoyment.
The next day-Sunday-General Wood thought he would see what kind of stuff his division was made of. He put us through nearly twenty miles. Now this would not be a prodi- gious undertaking for a man without the encumbrances of a sol- dier, but with the load of forty or fifty pounds apiece which we carried in those early days of our military experience, it was too much for us. The rests were brief and infrequent. Long before we reached camp hundreds were obliged to fall out of the ranks. Both sides of the road were lined with exhausted men, whose aching limbs and blistered feet refused to perform their functions. All who could do so climbed into the ambulances and upon the wagons, but not a tenth of the sufferers were thus fortunate.
We passed through Franklin, and some eight miles beyond that place, where our camping ground had been selected. Not more than a third of the men were with their colors when the march was over, The Sixty-fifth had less than a hundred in line, and some of the companies not more than half a dozen each. After sacking arms the men flung off their accouterments and threw themselves upon the ground, chafed and sore, scarcely able to move a limb. For hours the stragglers came hobbling into camp. Many of them did not arrive till far into the night. Few were able to do much toward getting up the tents, preparing sup- per and making arrangements for the night. Some did not pitch their tents at all, preferring to sleep in the open air rather than endure the labor of putting the camp in order. There was much fervent profanity when the usual details were made for guard duty that night.
We passed the fine plantation of General Gideon J. Pillow, a celebrated Confederate officer, who a few weeks before had slipped out of Fort Donelson to avoid being made prisoner. The planta- tion was in charge of his brother. There was a fine spring back of the house and some of our soldiers visited it to fill their can- teens, Pillow ordered them away, but they did not get a move on
1862.]
133
QUARTERMASTER FARRAR STRIKES A SNAG.
themselves with as much alacrity as he wished and, like the old man in the spelling-book fable who had failed to dislodge the youngsters from his apple tree by the use of words and grass, be- gan to "try what virtue there was in stones." While he was heaving rocks at the boys Quartermaster William M. Farrar and Lieutenant Asa MI. Trimble, of the Sixty-fifth, rode up to slake their thirst. Farrar took in the situation and was so much in- censed-for the soldiers were committing no depredations beyond taking water from the spring-that he arrested Pillow and com- pelled him to tramp along with the column the rest of the day. The old fellow did not at all enjoy the marching, the heat and the dust. After reaching camp, Farrar reported the facts to Colo- nel Harker, who sent Pillow to General Wood. The latter passed him along to General Buell, who released him and ordered Quar- termaster Farrar under arrest, much to the latter's disgust. Whell, a few days later, General Garfield took command of our brigade, and the guns of Shiloh were booming in our ears, Farrar offered his services as a volunteer aide on Garfield's staff. The offer was accepted and he was released from arrest. He continued to serve on staff duty until his resignation in 1863. Lieutenant Trimble succeeded him as regimental quartermaster and dis- charged the duties of that position nost acceptably for nearly three years.
The rattle of drums at reveille next morning fell upon un- willing ears. With dismal groanings we obeyed the summons, and as we stirred about to "limber up" every joint in our bodies seemed to be out of gear. We began to wonder how many years we could stand that sort of thing. We were still but novices, and had yet to learn the wonderful power of human endurance. The orderlies had all the business they could attend to in getting the boys up in time for roll call. After breakfast many took still another inventory of their possessions and lightened their loads by throwing overboard articles which up to this time they had con- sidered indespensable. Not a few cast away even their overcoats and surplus clothing, determined to trust to luck to supply themselves when they should be in need. After a moderate march of twelve miles we went into camp not far from Columbia.
April Ist we marched through this pretty but very rebellious
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[April,
A NEW BRIGADE COMMANDER.
town. The people looked upon us with sour faces, while our bands tickled their ears with "Star Spangled Banner," "Hail Columbia," "Red, White and Blue" and "John Brown's Body." By way of diversion one of the bands played "Dixie," whereat some of the butternut-clad people swung their hats and cheered as loudly as they dared. We bivouacked a short distance beyond Columbia, some repairs being necessary to the temporary bridge which had been thrown over Duck river by the advance of Buell's army.
So day after day we plodded on, and night after night we bivouacked, each mile bringing us nearer to our first experience of the bloody horrors of war. Two days after leaving Co- lumbia we bade farewell to the hard, smooth pike which we had traveled since break- ing camp at Nashville. Our route took us over rough and muddy country roads, that were particularly obnoxious to the mule- drivers. One day our course for ten miles lay along the summit of a range of low hills. Descending by a very JOSEPH H. WILLSEY, CAPTAIN, SIXTY-FIFTH. rocky, precipitous road nu- merous accidents, more or less serious, befell the wagons. Several were overturned, and reached camp at a late hour, with their cargoes in a sadly de- moralized condition.
On the morning of April 4th a new officer appeared at the head of the Twentieth Brigade-General James A. Garfield. He was then thirty years of age. Entering the service as lieutenant- colonel of the Forty-second Ohio, he soon became its colonel. For his brilliantly successful campaign against the rebel forces under
135
1862.]
AN EVENTFUL SUNDAY.
Humphrey Marshall, in eastern Kentucky, he had been promoted to brigadier-general. His subsequent services gave abundant evidence that the star was most worthily bestowed. Having, by order, reported to General Buell for duty, he was assigned to the command of our brigade. The distinction he attained, in both military and civil life, made it an honor to have served under so gallant an officer. Colonel Harker-whose ability to command a brigade was not doubted, and was afterwards so gloriously shown -was a little disturbed at being superseded when just entering upon an active campaign with an excellent prospect of a battle, but he was too good a soldier to give utterance to his feelings. He returned to the Sixty-fifth, in command of which he contin- ued until again placed at the head of the brigade, a few months later, General Garfield having been called to other duty. Gar- field was an ideal officer. Brave, chivalrous, and soldierly, of commanding appearance, his very presence was, as he, himself, once said of Phil. Sheridan, "an inspiration." No general was ever more considerate of the comfort and well-being of his soldiers. Within a fortnight from the day he assumed command he pos- sessed the confidence and esteem of every officer and soldier in the brigade.
At four o'clock on the morning of Sunday, April 6th, the reveille aroused the soldiers of Wood's division to a day of un- wonted excitement. For more than a week we had been march- ing daily and all were more or less stiffened and crippled. It was hard work-the hardest we had ever done in our lives. Could we that morning have foreseen the hardships and privations of the next three days our hearts would have sunk in utter despair. Garfield's brigade was to lead that day and there was no time to think of aching limbs. Scarcely had the sound of fife and drum and bugle died away till the soldiers were astir around the gleam- ing fires, and the air was filled with the hum of busy preparation for the day's march. In an hour breakfast was over, tents were struck and wagons loaded. Soon after daylight the column was in motion. We were at this time about thirty-five miles from Savannah. We jogged along at an easy pace for two or three hours, when our ears were startled by the distinct reverberations of distant artillery. There could be no mistaking the ominous sound.
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WE STRIP FOR A SWIFT MARCH.
[April,
Involuntarily every man straightened up and quickened his steps. We knew that the expected battle had begun.
Soon after noon a courier, riding in mad haste, his horse white with foam, dashed up and delivered dispatches to General Wood. Then, procuring a fresh horse, he galloped on to meet General Thomas, whose division was ten miles behind. It was not diffl- cult to imagine the purport of the message General Wood had re- ceived. A halt was instantly ordered. Every man knew in a moment that there was business ahead. We were quickly di- rected to strip down to light marching order. Knapsacks, over- coats and even blankets were heaped by the roadside and left in charge of a guard of two men detailed from each company, to be loaded upon the wagons. Cartridge-boxes were examined and filled to the full complement of forty rounds. Each man was ordered to carry twenty additional rounds in his pocket. Haversacks were hastily crammed with three days rations, and canteens were filled from a stream near by. It was a scene of wild turmoil and commotion. Half an hour was sufficient to accomplish all this. Then the "fall in" was sounded, the command "Forward ! Quick time-March !" was given, and away we sped, followed only by the artillery, ammunition train, hospital wagons and ambulances.
All that Sunday afternoon we pushed on at a rapid pace with only brief halts for rest. The sound of cannonading contin- ued, louder and clearer as we approached the scene of conflict. We talked bravely to each other, and tried to feel that way, as we moved along with hurrying feet. Faces wore a serious look, and the accustomed jest was rarely lieard. There seemed at last to be a prospect that we would see what we had so long been look- ing for-a fight. We appeared to be chiefly distressed by the fear that it would be over before we could get there-at least, each man seemed anxious to impress his comrades with the idea that this was what ailed him. I doubt if the world has ever seen more heroic battalions than were ours-at that distance from the field.
Toward evening another courier was met who delivered or- ders from General Buell for the division to press on during the night, and spare no effort to reach the field at the earliest possible moment. We were told that a great battle had been raging since
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1862.]
137
ORDERED TO PUSH ON THROUGH THE NIGHT.
early morning, that the issue was doubtful, and Grant's army was in the greatest need of reinforcements. Every man was in- spired with the supreme duty of the hour. Disencumbered of our heaviest burdens we marched with comparative ease, and, stimulated by the excitement, had little thought of weariness.
About sundown we halted half an hour at a small stream called Indian creek, to refresh ourselves for the night march. Fires were lighted and each man prepared a liberal allowance of strong coffee, to fortify him- self for what might be be- fore him. As the twilight gathered we again fell in and moved rapidly on through the fast deepening shadows. Our route lay through a wild and desolate stretch of country-one of those regions so frequently met in the south, best de- scribed by the favorite ex- pression "God-forsaken", the word being used witli- out irreverence. The very rough road, full of ruts and stones and stumps, led up and down, over and around clay hills, covered by a . stunted growth of trees, HARRISON LAWRENCE, CAPTAIN, SIXTY-FOURTH. with here and there a piece of lowland heavily tim- bered. The darkness came on apace. The weather grew colder, and ere long. black clouds overspread the sky, entirely veiling the dim light of the stars that had twinkled feebly through the trees, barely enabling us to see our way. There was no moon, and if there had been it could not have pierced the dense masses of clouds that hung over us. But on and on we groped our way, through darkness so absolute that no one could see his nearest comrade.
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IN STORM, MIRE AND DARKNESS.
[April,
It was, perhaps, ten o'clock when our ears were saluted with the rumbling of thunder, betokening the storm that was at hand. After half an hour of preliminary skirmishing the elements burst upon us. It seemed as if they were trying to outdo the artillery of man that all the previous day had thundered upon the bloody field of Shiloh. Peal on peal shook the very earth. Flashes of lightning, blinding in their intensity, followed each other in quick succession, and the rain fell in torrents. Only once in years is such a storm experienced. The reservoirs of the skies seemed to have been filled to the brim, to be emptied upon us as we stumbled along during that fearful night ; for through it all we kept on as best we could, toward the goal. The rain fell for three hours without a moment's cessation. The road was flooded. There were holes into which men sank to their knees in water and mud. The flashes of lightning disclosed to view for an in- stant a mass of struggling men, drenched and drenched again, floundering in the mire and falling over rocks and stumps which impeded the way. Such a scene cannot be adequately described, nor, indeed, scarcely imagined. Those who passed through that awful experience are not likely ever to forget it.
Before midnight the movement of artillery and vehicles of every kind was abandoned as wholly impracticable. The cannon wheels sank deep into the soft earthi and were hopelessly bemired. At first, attempts were made to help them along by putting a score of men to tug at the wheels, but without avail. Many of the horses, terrified by the thunder and lightning, became unmanage- able. It was at length ordered that the infantry should move on, leaving the artillery and wagons to follow by daylight. All the officers were compelled to dismount and trudge along with the boys, for riding was no less difficult than dangerous. Horses stumbled and fell, and in their demoralization could scarcely be controlled. Some of them broke away in their fright, dashed off in the darkness, and were never heard of more.
Two hours after midnight there came a lull, when the storm had spent its force. The rain resolved itself into a dismal drizzle, that continued till morning. Still on we pushed, splashing through the mud in the dense darkness, now not even relieved by the lightning. It was a long, a very long night. For hours we
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A HALT FOR COFFEE AT DAYLIGHT.
[862.]
watched eagerly for the daylight, which it seemed would never come. But at last the faint gray of dawn began to streak through the dripping and gloomy woods. Surely it never looked upon a more sloppy and disconsolate procession of mortals than the eight thousand men of Wood's division who all night had been slowly and painfully toiling on through that Tennessee wilderness. For twenty-four hours we had not thought of sleep. Our clothes, wet through and through, were besmeared with clay. As nearly as I can recall our state of mind that wretched morning-and my rec- ollection is sufficiently vivid-we were considerably in doubt whether the Union was worth saving or not.
We had eaten nothing during the night, save an occasional nibble at a half soaked cracker or a bit of raw bacon. As soon as it was fairly light we halted for an hour's rest and refreshment. It was not easy to find anything that would burn, but by pulling down fences and a deserted shanty we succeeded in getting some fires started. Through some oversight no guards had been placed over them. The morning air was raw and chilly, and the shiver- ing men, blue and benumbed, hovered around the fires with their little kettles for making coffee. The warmth soon began to exert its mellowing influence, and draughts of steaming coffee aided greatly in diffusing good cheer among the exhausted men that fringed the road on either side for a mile. As our spirits, which had been at a very low ebb, began to rise we even indulged in a few feeble jokes at each other's expense, upon our dilapidated ap- pearance.
Of some incidents of this march Adjutant Chauncey Wood- ruff, of the Sixty-fourthi, writes: "On the eighth day the halt was ordered two hours before dark, and directions were given to 'clean up'-to have the arms, which had been generally neglected for a week, put in order for inspection the next morning. Sun- day demanded a clean showing of guns. When the order was read, grumbling was general; and it did seem like an unneces- sary burden, in view of the exhausted condition of the men. It occurred to me, temporarily in command of Company E, to offer some plausible excuse. I recited the fact that they had the best arm in the service ; that they had hitherto received the commenda- tion of all inspecting officers for good care of their fighting im-
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ADJUTANT WOODRUFF TELLS SOME STORIES.
[April,
plements; that a soldier in battle with a useless gun would but in- vite death and defeat. I said that we were approaching the ene- my, and they would need them very shortly. For this I was laughed at, for the scare was 'too thin.' I presume that not a man in Buell's army thought the enemy in force was within sixty miles of us.
"Very soon after daylight next morning, my apparently visionary observations took on a new feature, when all were startled by the sound of artillery, telling of the battle that was in progress. What a change in a brief space of time! No laugh- ing, no swearing, no complaining now of gun cleaning! The solemnity of this day was not on account of its being the Sab- bath. Men were canvassing in their own minds the fate of friends or relatives they knew to be in the engagement; or it may be the prospect of themselves soon taking part in the work of carnage.
"Passing along the ranks of my command, when the artillery discharges must have averaged more than a hundred a minute, I overheard one of the men ask another :
" 'How do you suppose the lieutenant knew last night there was going to be a fight so soon ?'
"His comrade replied : 'He didn't ; it was all put on !'
"A third answered, 'I don't believe it ; these officers know a heap more than they tell us.'
"Probably a dozen times during the day I was appealed to for more prophecy, but knowing that my own inspiration came from oracles as unreliable as their own, I could only tell them to wait for the morrow.
"The scenes along the route did not add to our cheerfulness. The inhabitants for miles on each side of the road had turned out en masse to see the long column pass. The battle then raging was as unexpected to them as to us. They had sons, brothers, husbands and fathers in the Confederate ranks. Anxiety, fear and sorrow were depicted on their faces. Many of the women were crying bitterly. Most of them were too much affected to express themselves in words. Groups were collected at every house. At one point where we halted, I observed a large number of old, gray-haired men and women. I inquired what brought so
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THE BATTLE RENEWED.
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many of this class together, and was told they came there to hold a prayer-meeting, but that they had to give it up, as everybody's thoughts were on the battle. One old patriarch could only say, 'God give the victory to the right!' That prayer was answered the next day; though I doubt if it was in accord with his hopes and wishes.
"I was considerably amused on passing a cross-road where quite a crowd was assembled, late in the afternoon. A tall, lank, sorrel-haired southern specimen was continually exhorting the passing soldiers to hurry up or they would be too late to share in the glorious victory which he knew was floating on every breeze. His reasoning was conclusive. His manner of speech indicated that he was a local auctioneer. He said Grant had with him three hundred thousand troops, by actual count. He, himself, had seen the boats that took them up front Fort Donelson. Now he had for two days seen Buell's men passing, and not a soul less than two hundred thousand of them were ahead of us. No effort was made to verify his figures."
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CHAPTER XII.
ON THE FIELD OF SHILOH.
THE BATTLE RENEWED-UP AND AWAY TO SAVANNAH-A SCENE OF WILD EXCITEMENT-GHASTLY PICTURE OF WAR-UP THE RIVER BY STEAMBOAT-A HURRIED DEBARKATION-DOUBLE QUICK TO THE FRONT-WE ONLY SEE THE ENEMY'S HEELS-ANOTHER AWFUL NIGHT-SCENES AND INCIDENTS ON THE BATTLEFIELD).
0 UR HALT was brief. While yet engaged in drinking our coffee there came to our ears through the murky air "The terrible grumble and rumble and roar, Telling the battle was on once more."
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