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 14
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"'I think,' said Jim, 'she ought to have throwed you out, too.'
" 'Waal, all she said was, "William, I hope the time will come when you will be glad to eat such bread as that. " Taking from his haversack a sec- tion of the hardest kind of hardtack, he exclaimed in a solemn tone, as he held it out :
"'Jim, that mother's prayer has been an- swered!' "
JOHN KANEL, CAPTAIN, SIXTY-FIFTH.
Here is another that Woodruff tells, on himself: "While the regiment was enjoying a temporary rest behind its first construct- ed breastworks, a few miles from Corinth, our attention was at- tracted by rapid artillery firing some distance to the left, which continued only for a short time. This noisy spurt occasioned considerable anxiety to ascertain what occasioned it. Being a lit- tle ambitious to develop the mystery upon my own responsibility, I undertook a pilgrimage for a inile along the line of breastworks.
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168
LIEUTENANT WOODRUFF UNDER GUARD.
[April
Coming to a battery that showed evidence of having been recent- ly used, I halted and interviewed a sergeant, the only per- son in sight: I asked him if his guns had done the firing we had heard. He replied that they had fired a few shots: I inquired of him what they were shooting at. He answered by asking me what in sheol I supposed they were shooting at! I told him ar- tillery was sometimes used against the enemy, sometimes for practice, and probably sometimes without any definite object. His lip curled up, and without making any reply he left, but shortly returned in company with a corporal who carried his bay- onet on the end of his musket, and who was kind enough to in- form me that the officer at headquarters would like to see me.
"The headquarters were about twenty rods to the rear around a small fire, where the officer, a lieutenant-colonel of a Kentucky regiment, and a half dozen others, were trying to adjust the tem- perature of their extremities to their comfort. My prospect of reporting discoveries that day to the Sixty-fourth was not inspir- ing. I tried, however, to maintain a cheerful attitude by inquir- ing of the colonel if I could do anything for him. He asked me if I had a pass; as I had none, I told him where I belonged, and that it was curiosity only that prompted me to that visit. He ap- peared to discredit my statements and tried to entangle me by cross questions, such as : 'Whose division is your regiment in ?' 'Wood's.' 'Whose division is on your right?' 'Sherman's,' 'Who raised your regiment?' 'John Sherman.' Thinking he had cor- nered me, he exultingly inquired if I undertook to say that Gene- ral Sherman didn't command his own regiment. I replied that there was not a private in our regiment who did not know that John Sherman was not General Sherman. Seeing his own mis- take, he tried to be a little more personal, by asking what business I had so far from my own quarters. Looking at the sergeant who had caused my arrest, I replied that I had sometimes been taken for a fool, but never before for a spy ; that I had been seek- ing information to impart to my friends, and I would be glad to include him with the rest. He said I need not be at the trouble of coming so far to do it, and told me that I was at liberty to re- port my observations to my own regiment at once. Thanking him for his courtesy, I told him that the next time that battery
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1862.]
169
MORE OF THE ADJUTANT'S STORIES.
made so much noise I hoped they would have something to show for it."
The adjutant, who is full of reminiscences, also relates this incident: "General Garfield one evening ordered a detail of a lieutenant and ten men of the Sixty-fourth, to report to his head- quarters at sunrise the next morning, for instruction relative to some duty on the picket line. The detail was there on time and found the general in bed, sleeping soundly, and his servant out getting breakfast. While waiting, some of the boys discovered a healthy female 'possum in a ravine a few yards away and one of them brought it in front of the general's quarters. She had a full litter of young, clinging to her like links in a chain. The cap- tor held up the entire family as our commander emerged from his tent. The general began giving his instructions, when his eyes caught sight of this novel equipment. Apparently with the deepest interest, he stood for ten minutes in his night clothes, dis- cussing the Divine wisdom in the adaptation of animal life to its condition, stating that the kangaroo and opossum were the only species of animals having a safe or pouch provided to store for a season their helpless offspring. Being reminded that we were awaiting orders, he apologized for his unmilitary talk and appear- ance, and closed the interview by telling us in a few words what to do."
One more incident of the field of Shiloa is also from Wood- ruff's pen. It illustrates one of the sad features of war-the un- known dead: "Some days after the battle a part of the Sixty- fourth was on the picket-line, where a victim of that memorable engagement had been left to die under a hastily constructed booth of bushes. Decomposition was far advanced, and we were com- pelled to remove or bury the body to protect ourselves, as the weather was hot, and the ground in that locality was saturated with water. Sending back to camp we got two shovels and dug a grave as deep as the water which rushed in from all sides would permit, and covered the remains from sight. The body was dressed in the regulation butternut, except the under clothes, which were of the finest cashmere. The boots were of the most stylish pattern, fit for a dancing party. The pockets were empty, having been turned out, and the only clue to the man's name or
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170
CONTINUING THE SIEGE.
[April,
history was the letters "J. B." cut on his gun-stock and cartridge- box. "We called him "James Buchanan," and hunting up a board from a crackerbox, cut the initials on it and set it up for a head stone. Evidently he came from a family of refinement and luxury. He was quite small in stature and young in years, and probably had relatives who were deeply anxious then, and may be yet, to know how and when he died and where lies his dust."
CHAPTER XV.
THE SIEGE CONTINUED.
DRILLING 'NEATH A BLAZING SUN-CAPTURING UNSEEN BATTERIES- PRODIGIOUS FEATS OF VALOR-CAPTAIN ORLOW SMITH'S WIG- PAID OFF AGAIN-"THE ACCEPTED TIME" FOR THE SUTLERS- ADVANCING THE LINES-SOME EXCITING DAYS-OUR FIRST WOUND- ED-LAST NIGHT IN THE TRENCHES.
T HE Union army was generally well supplied with food, clothing, and everything needful. No effort was spared to bring it up to the highest point of efficiency. Frequent and careful inspection by company, regimental and bri- gade officers required the men to keep their arms, clothing and accouterments in good condition. Toward the end of April, when the sun began to beat down his merciless rays, daily drills were prescribed for all the troops, when not engaged in picket or other duty. Each day there was company and battalion drill, with an occasional brigade drill thrown in as something majestic. Colonel Harker seemed to be deeply impressed with the be-
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1862.]
WE CAPTURE BATTERIES BY DOZENS.
171
lief that in the economy of Providence the members of the Six- ty-fifth were created for the especial purpose of capturing forts and batteries situated on the summits of hills. Believing that a glorious future was before us in this particular line of warfare, he felt that all we needed was a little practice. Fortunately there were two or three hills in a piece of open woods near our camp which made all the conditions perfect. Usually choosing the hot- test days for these exploits, he would march the regiment out, divide it by wings, give the command, " Take a bat- tery!" and then, with a look of joyful pride in his flashing eye, watch the re- sult. Dashing off at double quick, with a wild shout of enthusiasm, we would charge madly through the brush and up the hill, the wings meeting at the top, covered with glory and per- spiration. We never failed to get the battery. Every- body displayed the greatest bravery, rushing forward with prodigious yells, whol- ly indifferent to the grape and canister that those im- aginary guns were sup- JOHN BODY, CAPTAIN, SIXTY-FIFTH. posed to be pouring into us by bucketfuls. Then Colo- nel Harker would tell us how well we had done it, and we would sit down on the scene of our valor to rest and pant and wipe our streaming faces. Day after day we charged these invis- ible batteries ; now and then, for a change, sweeping over an im. perceptible line of rifle-pits, routing the enemy with awful slaugh- ter, while the officers brandished on high their reeking swords and waded around throughi seas of imaginary gore. Like the
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172
CAPTAIN ORLOW SMITH'S WIG.
[May,
schoolboys in the rhyme who charged upon the flock of geese :
"We routed 'em, we scouted 'em, Nor lost a single man !"
Had the rebels heard of our exploits it would be little wonder that they evacuated Corinth.
Captain Orlow Smith, of Company G, Sixty-fifth, is occa- sionally mentioned in these pages. This is because he uncon- sciously furnished us so much amusement. He had a fine head of hair, swelling into a beautiful roll at the bottom, of which he was very proud. One day while we were "taking a battery," charging like mad through a dense thicket of brambles, Captain Smith's hat flew off and a brier snatched from his head-a wig. ! It landed on the ground several yards away. His head was as bare and smooth as a door-knob, and glistened in the sun like the gilded ball on Drum-major Critchfield's staff. There wasn't a sign of hair except a little cheval-de-frise around the back of his neck. How the boys screamed with delight as they saw him scratching to recover his wig ! I doubt if a man in the regiment knew before that he wore one. We all supposed that his beautiful hair grew there.
With our gradual approach to the enemy's lines, matters looked more and more serious. There were frequent alarms by day and by night. Each of these was the signal for the immediate "fall in" of a hundred thousand men. Indeed, it may be pre- sumed that our neighbors on the other side were similarly affected by these spasmodic fusillades. With two great armies lying so near to each other, a general action was liable to be brought on at any moment. On May Ist the Union army was ordered to have three days' cooked rations constantly in haversacks, and to keep everything in readiness for sudden and rapid movements. This certainly had an appearance of business, and we lived in hourly expectation of a mighty conflict.
May 2nd was pay-day. The visit of the paymaster was al- ways an interesting and important event. Major Lowrey and his packages of crisp new greenbacks were received with great en- thusiasm. For some time the boys had been short of money, most of them entirely out, in fact, and the various sinful games by which money is transferred from the pocket of one to that of
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HIGH TIMES AFTER PAY-DAY.
1862.]
some other fellow, had languished. Now they were all in full blast again. Wherever two or three were gathered together were heard eager discussions concerning "pairs," and "fluslies" and "jack-pots" ; and out under the trees, day after day, were scores of "lay-outs" for the seductive but exceedingly uncertain games of "chuck-a-luck" and "Honest John." Great activity in this branch of industry always followed in the wake of the pay- master. You could always tell when a regiment had been re- cently paid.
Most of the money that was not disposed of in this way went to the sutlers. Drennan and Horner, the "skinners"-as the boys affectionately called them-of the Sixty-fourth and Sixty-fifth, always came up smiling at the paymaster's tent, to collect the amounts due them for "checks" issued to the boys dur- ing seasons of financial famine. As soon as they received their pay the soldiers rushed to the big tents of the sutlers and laid in a stock of canned fruit, pickles, cheese, sardines, etc., at prices which took away one's breath as well as his cash. For a few days they abandoned themselves to riotous living. The money didn't last long and when it was gone they would settle down, go to buying checks again "on tick" and wait for the next pay-day. The sutlers had to look out for themselves. When there was danger ahead they hugged the rear, but when it was over they would gear up their mules, drive to the front, and open up their seductive stock. Now and then an outfit would be captured and looted by the "Johnnies," who reveled in the spoil. Then the sutler would get a fresh load, put up the prices, and thus recoup his loss.
On May 3rd there was another general advance. Reveille sounded at three o'clock and we were ordered to be ready to move at daylight. We marched four miles and encamped in a beautiful sassafras grove. It was the most pleasant camp we had seen for many a day. Soon after noon there was heavy firing on the left which called us into line for an hour. On account of the bad condition of the roads our wagons did not reach us till dark. As usual it rained all the afternoon, and we were thoroughly drenched.
A somewhat singular order was promulgated at this time, to
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[May,
AARON P. BALDWIN. CAPTAIN, SIXTH-BATTERY.
1862.]
175
WE REPAIR A ROAD AND KILL SOME HOGS.
the effect that until further notice no mail matter would be per- mitted to leave the army. We were quite at a loss to understand the object of such an order, but it was strictly enforced for two weeks.
May 6th our brigade was ordered two miles to the front to re- pair a road, probably on account of the experience we had had in such work at Hall's Gap. We left our camp standing, in charge of a few invalids, taking with us arms, implements, blankets and haversacks. The road was an old corduroy, in a sadly demoralized condition, requiring much labor to make it passable for artillery and wagons. Muskets were loaded and stacked near by, and pickets were carefully posted to give warn- ing should anybody come that way with a design to molest us. Then we fell to with axes and shovels, wearing our accouter- ments that we might be ready to spring to our arms at a mo- ment's notice. We toiled diligently till nearly night without an alarm. Once a picket shot caused a sudden dropping of tools and seizing of arms, but it proved to be only a scare. We did not return to our canip as we expected, but fell back half a mile, posted a strong picket and bivouacked for the night.
A notable incident next morning was the slaughter of a dozen hogs which made their appearance near our bivouac. It .was strange enough that they had thus far escaped the ravage of war. Probably their continued existence was due to the fact that they were midway between the two armies. But now their time had come. Not less than two hundred men instantly sur- rounded them. No attempt was made to check the onslaught, and they were bayonetted, to the last pig.
We did not resume our work on the road, but were ordered to police a camping ground where we were, being informed that the wagons would soon bring up our tents and baggage. The day was excessively warm, but after we had worked and per spired for a couple of hours it was discovered that we were too far to the front. We marched back a mile and did our work all over again.
Two days later we were thrown into excitement by the sound of heavy artillery and musketry firing at Farmington, a few miles east of Corinth. It sounded more like a battle than any-
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176
YELLING OVER GOOD NEWS.
[May,
thing we had heard since Shiloh. It proved to be a severe en- gagement between one of General Pope's divisions and a strong column of the enemy.
At dress-parade that evening orders were read announcing the capture of New Orleans by Admiral Farragut, which threw the whole army into a paroxysm of cheering. It was also stated that McClellan was making good headway toward Richmond and the speedy capture of the Confederate capital was confidently ex- pected. The bands played all the patriotic tunes they knew, and everybody yelled himself hoarse. Captain Smith, of the Sixty- fifth, told Company G that he believed the war would soon be over and they could all go home in a few days; which called forth an extra vocal effort from the boys of that company, who were overjoyed at the prospect of a speedy return to their homes, even though they hadn't killed any rebels yet ! There was no mistake about New Orleans, but it was three years before, in the wilds of East Tennessee, we shouted and screamed like lunatics over the fall of Richmond ; and nearly four years passed before the few that were left of Company G, or any other company of the Sher- man brigade, stacked arms for the last time.
We moved again May roth, this time four miles in the di- rection of Farmington. We spent that day and most of the next in wandering about, in a vague sort of way, trying to find where we were wanted. Half a dozen times we moved after having been ordered to fix our camp. We finally came to anchor during the afternoon of the 11th. On the 15th the Sixty-fifth was or- dered on picket, after tearing through the brush under a burning sun from seven to nine on brigade drill. We marched rapidly two miles to the picket-line, which we reached in a melting con- dition. We relieved the Sixty-fourth, from members of which we learned that some of the videttes had been exchanging compli- ments with the rebel pickets. The day passed quietly, however, and we felt that so long as they didn't shoot we would rather be on picket than drilling in camp. But soon after midnight a very spirited firing suddenly broke out a short distance to our right, which brought everybody up standing. The firing continued, and in a few minutes we heard the drums and bugles far in the rear, arousing the whole army from slumber. The camps of the enemy
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1862.]
IT WAS A LIVELY DAY. ...
were also astir. A scattering fire was kept up till daylight, but nothing came of it except to scare the two armies. During the morning a fine deer ran past our line. Yielding to the impulse, several men fired but without bringing down the game. He dashed off toward the enemy's lines and directly we heard shots which indicated that the rebel videttes were practicing on him. Toward noon we were relieved by the Fifty-first Indiana.
May 17th was an exciting day. We arose at three, and after standing in line till daylight were dismissed with orders to pre- pare breakfast at once, strike tents, and be ready to march at six. When the drums beat to the color line Colonel Harker made a speech to the Sixty-fifth beginning with: "If we get into action today," which caused a general pricking up of ears. He expressed the hope, and the belief, that every man would do his duty and the regiment acquit itself with honor. Pending the arrival of or- ders to move, he put us through three hours of battalion drill. We captured several batteries and lines of intrenchments, and went through all the evolutions that Hardee or any other man ever conceived. About ten o'clock we were marched back to camp and ordered to unload wagons and pitch our tents again on the same old spot. We learned that we had been directed to be in readiness to support the planting of some heavy seige guns, in case the enemy should seem disposed to argue the question.
Between four and five o'clock in the afternoon there was a loud burst of cannonading directly in our front. Almost in a moment we had formed and were on our way at double-quick. The narrow road through the woods and swamps was literally choked with regiments eagerly pressing forward and batteries dashing off at a gallop. Before we could reach the scene of action the firing had ceased, but we pushed on and at length brought up in a dense thicket of oak bushes, panting, breathless, reeking with perspiration, and almost suffocated with the heat and dust. After loading our pieces we were directed to rest till furthier orders. Shortly after dark we "boxed the compass" for an hour, crashing through the dense brush in every direction until we appeared to have reached the right spot. Then we were told to lie down in our tracks, sleep on our arms, and be ready to spring at any mo- ment We lay there that night, the following day, and the next (12)
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GETTING AT CLOSE QUARTERS.
[May,
night. On the morning of the 19th we were moved half a mile and set to building breastworks. We spent the day hard at work, and pitched our camp two hundred yards in rear of the line.
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We were now getting at close quarters with the enemy. One more advance, such as we had made from time to time, would bring us squarely against his intrenchments. Picket firing and skirmishing became an everyday matter. We began to get ac- customed to the whistle of bullets, but as scarcely anybody seemed to be getting hurt we did not mind it. May 20th we lay all day in the trenches, the men only being permitted to go to camp by reliefs for their meals. During the afternoon the rebel pichets made themselves somewhat too numerous. They kept up a steady fire and wounded several of the Thirteenth Michigan, which was on the outposts. General Wood rode up, took a sur- vey of the situation and quietly remarked that he would show them a thing or two. Ordering up the Sixth Ohio battery, he posted it on an eminence a short distance in rear of the works and directed the gunners to shell the woods through which ran the rebel picket line. They responded noisily, and for a time there was a liberal distribution of explosive hardware which gave the Johnnies something to attend to besides peppering our videttes. A rebel battery feebly returned the fire for a few minutes but it was soon silenced. The rebels disappeared in our front and gave us no further trouble that day. May 21st the Sixty-fifth was on picket again. The line was advanced half a mile, to secure a better position. The pressure upon the enemy elicited a spirited protest. During all the afternoon there was very active skir- mishing. No man on either side could show himself without being the instant target for a dozen bullets. Richard and John Wolfe, brothers, of Company K, were wounded, the former in the arm, and the latter severely in the body.
During the next three or four days comparative quiet reigned along the lines. There were occasional picket firing and, now and then, a few artillery shots, which kept us constantly on the alert, but no aggressive movements were attempted on either side, in our immediate vicinity. One regiment from the brigade was de- tailed each day for picket duty, the others alternately occupying the trenches, night and day. One evening a forlorn squad of half
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THE REBELS PREPARE TO EVACUATE. 179
a dozen deserters entered our lines. They said Beauregard was showing signs of weakening, and expressed the belief that he was intending to evacuate Corinth. Events a few days later showed that they were correct in their opinion.
May 24th another paymaster appeared in our midst. He distributed two months pay, squaring accounts to the first of May. Two days later the chaplains of both the Sixty -fourth and Sixty-fifth went to Ohio, carrying with them several thousands of dollars for the families and friends of the soldiers. During the 27th, 28th and 29th the rebels showed un- .. usual activity all along the line. The pickets skir- mished continually, and heavy firing at various points kept us in a constant state of alarm. We slept but little, and half a dozen times during each twenty- four hours .we were called into line at the intrench- ments. It was a good deal like keeping a railroad ho- tel, with "warm meals.at all hours" for the wayfaring public. It turned out that all this extraordinary fuss on the part of the enemy ROBERT S. CHAMBERLIN, CAPTAIN, SIXTY-FOURTH. was only a ruse to divert General Halleck's attention while Corinth was being evacuated; for during these days and nights of constant skirmishing and standing at arıns in the trenches, Beauregard was fast making his preparations to "jump the town." Train after train bore south by railroad the heavy artillery, munitions and baggage. During the night of May 29th the rebels quietly folded their tents, or left their huts, and "silently stole away." In the evening of that day, and up to midnight, while the evacuation was in progress,
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180
THREE OFFICERS DIE FROM DISEASE.
[May,
their pickets were very noisy, keeping us in a constant stew. But that was the last night we spent in the trenches before Corinth. .
Soon after we left Nashville both regiments were bereft of officers by death from disease. On March 30th Lieutenant Thomas McGill, of Company I, Sixty-fourth, died at Nashville. He was a worthy man, ardent and zealous in the discharge of his duties, but physically delicate and unable to endure the hardships of the field. The same may be said of Lieutenant George N. Huckins, of Company E, Sixty-fifth, who died at Nashville April 2nd. He was born and raised in Canada. At the time he . entered the service he was near graduation, in the college at Berea, Ohio, where Company E was raised. Huckins intended to be- come a citizen of the United States and believed the country worth fighting for. Blessed with a singularly sunny and lovable disposition, he was a favorite at college and in his company and regiment. Lieutenant Clark S. Gregg, of Company G, Sixty- fifth, was stricken with typhoid fever on the field of Shiloh. He died May rith on a steamboat while being conveyed north. He was a young man of education and culture, whose future was bright with promise. His home was at Sandusky, whither his body was taken for interment.
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