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 15
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None of the old soldiers have forgotten how much unpleas- ant "fatigue duty" they had to do, and the remarks, full of ginger and pepper and mustard, they used to make about it. Details of this kind were always made by the orderly sergeant, and he kept a list to show who came next; for details were made alphabetically through the roll, and every man, unless he was sick, had to take his turn. The orderly was presumed to show no partiality in these matters. While some of the boys always responded without a murmur, there were others who were chronic and constitutional kickers. They couldn't help it. If they hap- pened to be detailed for some particularly obnoxious duty, or at night, or when the weather was bad, they rarely failed to question the correctness of the orderly's book, declaring in sulphurous language that it wasn't their turn. Now and then one became so obstreperous that he landed in the guard-house.
Everybody remembers "Joe" Weir, of Company B, Sixty-
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1862.]
181
"JOE" WEIR AS A KICKER.
fifth. He was a prime soldier. There was not a man in the regiment who did better or more faithful service, nor was there one who kicked harder about doing it. Joe was a master in the use of language. He had a wonderful vocabulary of expressive words, and could use them on every occasion with a fluency and emphasis that were the envy of many of his comrades, who wished they could talk as he could. Late one night an order came to the Sixty-fifth from brigade headquarters for a detail of a dozen men to guard a lot of rations and forage. The weather was cold, raw and rainy, and it was almost impossible to step any- where without going over shoe top in mud. Joe Weir, from Company B, was aroused from sleep and ordered to turn out. He kicked off the blanket and began to pour out a stream of his pet words, with a vehemence that aroused the whole mess. He de- clared that he wouldn't budge an inch, launching all the maledic- tions in the calendar upon everybody, from the president down to the colonel and the orderly. But all the time Joe was scratching around to get his traps on, and he was the first man to step into his place when the corporal in command of the squad ordered the men into ranks. Joe kept his tongue going all night.
At another time Joe was one of a large detail sent to the Landing after rations. The men had to assist in unloading the supplies from a steamboat. The captain of the boat was some- thing of a talker, himself. He was fully equal to the average mule driver, and that is saying a good deal. After listening to him with admiration for a few minutes, Joe went up to the captain and offered him his cap.
"Take this, captain," he said, "I've found a man at last who can beat me !"
In a towering rage, the captain poured upon Joe a torrent of epithets and expletives, and told him that if he didn't get off the boat he would throw him into the river. Joe went ashore and stayed there.
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[December,
CHAPTER XVI.
THE SIXTH BATTERY.
ITS SERVICE BEFORE JOINING THE TWENTIETH BRIGADE-BLOCKADING THE CUMBERLAND RIVER-LIFE IN CAMP GREEN -MUD AND MIS- ERY-NEW WAY TO ROAST TURKEY-ORDERED TO NASHVILLE ; THEN TO SHILOH-THE BATTERY COMPLIMENTED-ASSIGNED TO WOOD'S DIVISION-AN AKRON JUDGE AT THE FRONT.
A BOUT the Ist of May we were rejoiced to greet our old friends of the Sixth battery, whom we had not seen since leaving Louisville. The battery had served in another part of the field but was now permanently assigned to our brigade. In this chapter will be given a sketch of its haps and mishaps while separated from us, written by Captain Aaron P. Baldwin :
"The Sixth battery was the last of the Sherman brigade to leave Mansfield, taking its departure on the 19th of December and reaching Cincinnati soon after midnight. The men embarked on the steamer General Buell. The guns, caissons and horses were loaded upon barges which were taken in tow by the steamer. The men having been supplied with three days' rations at Mans- field, they only required hot water for coffee. This was supplied by the steamer's steward, and all settled down to what seemed a picnic excursion. We soon left Cincinnati and during daylight all were engrossed with the changing scenery. We looked over Kentucky's hills, and the general remark was 'Well, that is cer-
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1861.]
183
THE SIXTH BATTERY ENTERS THE FIELD.
tainly a tough looking country and hardly worth the sacrifice probably in store for us to reclaim.' We landed in Louisville on the morning of the 21st of December and with wonderful prompt- ness the battery was disembarked. Noon found us in Camp Gil- bert, located on the fair grounds, some three miles northeast of the city, and known as the artillery camp. The Sherman brigade was speedily broken up by General Buell. The infantry went to the infantry camp and the cavalry into eastern Kentucky. The latter was seen no more by the battery during the war. Our hope of serving as a brigade under the eye of General Sherman, broth- er of Senator John Sher- man, was dashed to pieces. "Three weeks were oc- cupied with daily drills, foot and mounted, and in com- pleting our outfit for the field. We drew a forge, wagons and teams and a full supply of ammunition for the battery. This con- sısted of percussion shells, case shot-which were fired with a paper fuse-and can- ister for the Parrott guns. For the bronze guns we re- THOMAS POWELL, CAPTAIN, AND AFTERWARD CHAPLAIN, SIXTY-FIFTH, ceived solid shot, shells and canister. The battery was inspected by General Gillman, General Buell's chief of artillery, and was selected by that officer to proceed south to the Cumber- land river for the purpose of blockading the river and preventing supplies from passing up from Nashville to the rebel General Crittenden's command, then encamped near Mill Springs, Ken- tucky. Having received orders to proceed by rail to Lebanon, Sunday, January 16th, 1862, found us at the depot, and in a drizzling rain we commenced our first movement with prom-
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184
ORDERED TO THE CUMBERLAND RIVER.
[January,
ises of glory and all the accompaniments that active service and the field of battle furnish. At eleven o'clock we left the depot, the train pulling away slowly, giving us time to note the differ- ence in the people and to contrast it with our departure from Mans- field. We had been led to believe through the press that Ken- tucky was largely loyal to the government, and we expected to be received in Louisville with something of an ovation. As we saw none, and the depot and grounds on that Sunday were deserted, we concluded that we or the newspapers had drawn largely upon imagination. We found that there was a big difference in manag- ing railroads between the northi and the south, as it took thirteen hours to reach Lebanon, scarcely sixty miles distant.
"As the day passed away the drizzling rain turned to sleet and by night everything was covered with a coating of ice. We reached Lebanon at midnight, and then we saw for the first time what we might expect from service in the field. The night was dark and cold, mud and sleet were everywhere; by persistent effort, however, we got matters in shape for the night. Daylight and reveille turned out the command. Breakfast over, the battery was put into marching order, and with an escort of the famous Wolford's cavalry we proceeded southward toward Columbia, Kentucky.
"Just as we were ready to move, a medical officer called Cap- tain Bradley's attention to the fact that he missed several cases of 'medical stores' from his stock in the depot and was afraid that some of the battery men had been drawing supplies without the usual requisition. Captain Bradley assured the doctor that his men were all temperance men and consequently some other com- mand had done the irregular drawing. We immediately moved forward. The road that we followed led directly south to Colum- bia and then on to the Cumberland river. As we went south the country became more hilly. When we reached the river we found that the bluffs upon the northern shore were three hun- dred feet above the water. Before reaching camp on our first day's march a part of the supplies that had been drawn from the medical department at Lebanon began to show up. It was found that to properly cover the same it had been put into the guns; in other words the guns were loaded with the 'wet ammu-
1862.]
HOW THE BATTERY SCARED THE REBELS.
IS5
nition' drawn in the morning, and slyly issued on the march.
"The battery was supplied with Sibley tents, one to twelve men, and wall tents for the officers. Our horses being unused to the new life, the width of Kentucky roads and the depth and quality of the mud, our progress for a day or two was very slow and tedious. Reaching Columbia, Captain Bradley reported to General Boyle, a Kentucky officer, from whom we received our final orders. One section, the bronze guns, under the command of Lieutenant McElroy, was detained at General Boyle's head- quarters. The remainder of the battery, the four Parrott guns, was ordered to the Cumberland river, with directions to report to Colonel Thomas E. Bramlette, Third Kentucky infantry, which with the Nineteenth Ohio, Colonel Sam Beatty, and the battery, was to blockade the river. We reached the hills overlooking the stream about two o'clock. The road made a sharp turn close to the river and until the bend was reached the stream was under cover. On rounding the point several horsemen were seen on the op- posite bank, who proceeded to mount and leave southward at a lively gait. We afterward learned that they were a rebel cavalry picket belonging to General Crittenden's command at Mill Springs.
"The battle at Mill Springs was at that moment being fought. Intelligence of our appearance at the river was carried to General Crittenden, and he, understanding that we were crossing with artillery and infantry, expected we would reach Somerset and cut off his line of retreat. He at once ordered a retreat of his forces from Mill Springs, leaving General George H. Thomas master of
. the battlefield. We always believed that our appearance at the river gave the turning point to General Thomas, and that we should have the credit due us, although we did not hear a gun or fire a shot. The battlefield was visited by Lieutenant Ayres and others of the battery, and our entire command got the benefit of their visit, which furnished material for talk for weeks.
"The success of General Thomas at Mill Springs left us noth- ing to do. The rainy season set in and for several weeks it seemed to rain day and night. We found drilling impossible, and it was very difficult to keep up a supply of forage for our horses. The few people living among the hills around us claimed to be loyal, but we secured corn blades and other supplies by hard
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186.
THE BATTERY AT CAMP GREEN.
[February,
work. Soon came the glad news of the fall of Forts Henry and Donelson, below Nashville, and it was generally believed that our occupation was gone; the war would be ended and we would not have a chance to fire a gun.
"Camp life began to tell; the radical change of living and the continuous wet weather, brought on much sickness. A log hospital was built and was soon filled with the sick. Here we lost our first men by death, Corporal James M. Walton and Pri- vate George Neir. The battery was not supplied with a surgeon and we depended upon the surgeon of the Third Kentucky. The medicine issued was apparently all of a kind, and it depend- ed upon a man's feelings whether he got one powder or ten pow- ders, for they all came out of the same box.
"The six weeks that we spent in Camp Green were the most tedious of our entire military history. It rained constantly. The infantry was unable to drill, to any great extent, but as usual, when in quarters for a long time, the men found something with which to while away the time. They started laurel root pipe fac- tories and visited the river and gathered up mussel shells, making finger rings and other articles which they sent to their friends at home. There was a good deal of visiting between the battery and the infantry regiments. Captain Bradley invited Colonel Bram- lette and staff to dine with the officers of the battery. The writer was caterer of the officers' mess and it was proposed to have a northern dinner. The camp was daily visited by hucksters, to one of whom was given an order for a turkey, to be roasted, and it was delivered in due time. When all the party were gathered for dinner it was discovered that the turkey had simply been be- reft of its feathers and roasted in that condition; and when brought to the table, although wingless, it soon found its way to the rear. The incident, although undiscovered by Colonel Bram- lette and staff, was a standing joke in the battery.
"On March 15th we were ordered to Nashville. Boats were sent up the river for the battery, the infantry, in part, marching overland. Every eye was on the watch for the steamboats, and the first intimation we had of their coming was the familiar tune of "Hail Columbia," played by a steam calliope. Immediately everything was in commotion. Soon the boats came around the
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IT MOVES ON TO SHILOH.
1862.]
bend in the river and we at once broke camp and proceeded to embark, having a detail from the Third Kentucky for an escort. We reached Nashville on the 18th of March, and were ordered to report to Colonel James Barnett, commanding artillery. We had a splendid camp, and the rain having ceased the weather was as fine as could be wished for. Everybody was pleased with the change of climate and our ten days stay in Nashville was en- joyed by all.
"General Buell's army took up its line of march X for Pittsburg Landing the latter part of March. The - battery moved with the re- serve artillery under the command of Colonel Bar- -- nett, going out on the Co- lumbia pike, which was in strong contrast with the muddy roads along which we had struggled in Ken- tucky. The country through which we passed was a rich farming region and there were evidences of prosperity on every hand. We passed many a planter's home, which as a rule was some distance EBBEN BINGHAM, FIRST LIEUTENANT, SIXTY-FIFTH. Killed on Atlanta Campaign, June 18, 1864. from the pike, and in the rear could be seen the negro quarters, neatly whitewashed, and all seemed contented with their condition in life. So long as we had the pike to travel on, all went well. After leaving Columbia, we traveled on dirt roads to the Tennessee river.
"The 6th of April came and the battle of Shiloh was being fought, but the battery was still many miles from Savannah. Or- ders came to pushi forward with all possible dispatch, but toward night rain set in and continued several days in succession; con-
188
SAVANNAH AND THE BATTLEFIELD.
[April,
sequently instead of being able to quicken our movement, we were going slower and slower. We reached Savannah on the evening of the 7th of April. Steamboats were rushing the in- fantry up the river with the greatest possible speed all night long.
"On the following morning everything was in confusion- wagon trains with swearing drivers, mules braying, infantry and artillery very badly mixed up and all pushing for the steamboat landing. The emergencies on the field of Shiloh required infantry and they were pushed forward while everything else had to wait. This gave us time to canvass our chances as to having a hand in the battle. About midday a general movement by every one was made toward the landing. No one seemed to know why, but all were going to see what was up. Soon we saw a large arrival of the enemy. As they were under guard none seemed to be afraid of accidents and pressed close up to see what a 'reb' looked like when a prisoner of war. They were a sorry looking crowd, with all kinds of uniforms, apparently no two alike, yet they in a measure stood up under difficulties and urged us to hurry over, as Beauregard had enough men to 'chaw us up' as fast as we landed. Many retained their side arms, but as they consisted of home- made butcher knives, of every conceivable style and length, they were not thought very dangerous. The provost guard considered differently and they were relieved of their weapons. The night was passed in comparative quiet ; scarcely a shot was heard. The following day we moved to the landing, embarked on a steamer, and soon found ourselves on the famous field of Shiloh, camping on the hills near the river.
"The following morning, April 9th, we moved forward. Although we had been impressed with the idea that no mud could equal the mud of Tennessee, we found that Mississippi was ahead. We toiled slowly along and finally passed Shiloh church, a log structure built in the woods, and here we began to see evidences of the battle-abandoned guns, wagons and other debris, trees shattered and torn, or scarred by hundreds of bullets.
"We went into the reserve artillery camp and the following day was given over to a general reconnoissance by the battery, each man on his own hook going over the battlefield. A few
1862]
REJOINS OLD FRIENDS.
189
days afterward, owing to the imperfect burial of the enemy's dead and the fact that continued rains had washed off what little cover- ing of earth had been put over them, the stench of the putrefac- tion filled the air. It became unbearable, and a detail from the reserve artillery was ordered to re-bury the dead. The bodies were found in every conceivable condition. In some instances men had fallen near logs and an attempt had been made to cover them where they lay. This duty was exceedingly unpleasant and will never be forgotten by any of the detail.
"A few days passed, when the battery was inspected by Gener- al Gillman, General Buell's chief of artillery, and a report was made to army headquarters that one of the best organized, equipped and drilled batteries in the army was in the reserve. General Thomas J. Wood, commanding the Sixth division, being at headquarters, overheard the report and he immediately applied to General Buell to have the battery assigned to his division. This he succeeded in accomplishing and the following day found us enroute to Wood's command. Upon our reporting to him he stated that from what he had heard, he felt that he was very for- tunate in securing the battery, and that he had no doubt we would see that the report was warranted. We trust that we never disap- pointed General Wood in bis estimate or his confidence. We served through the entire war either directly or indirectly under his command. We were assigned to the Twentieth brigade, Gener- al James A. Garfield commanding, and were heartily glad to be once more with our cherished comrades of the Sixty-fourth and Sixty-fifth Ohio."
During the siege of Corinth the battery was frequently en- gaged-or rather did its full share of the desultory and often pur- poseless firing which was so conspicuous a feature of Halleck's alleged "campaign" against Corinth. Bradley's guns may or may not have hurt anybody, but they made a deal of noise. The effective strength of the battery became so reduced by sickness that some twenty-five men were detailed from the Sixty-fourth Ohio and Fortieth Indiana for temporary service as artillerymen. An infantry soldier was complete in himself. If he were the only one left of his regiment he could still blaze away on his own account. It was not so with the artillery. A certain number of
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190
THE JUDGE, FROM AKRON, WAS STAMPEDED.
[May,
men were indispensable to work the guns, and it was no uncom- mon thing for a decimated battery to be reinforced by a detail from the infantry.
Captain Baldwin tells this story on a judge who went down to see the boys: "One day when on the line of battle and under fire, we received a visit from a member of the sanitary commission, the Honorable E. P. Green, of Akron, who brought some of the members of the battery souvenirs from friends at home. The judge was anxious to see the enemy, and no sooner were their earthworks pointed out to him, than a rebel battery opened. As a shell came whizzing over toward our position, singing 'Whar is ye ? Whar is ye ?' the judge mounted his steed, and we after- ward learned that the horse was kept on a gallop nine long miles until it reached the steamboat landing. This was the last we saw of the judge. We heard that he returned home and was the observed of all observers, being full of news 'from the front.'"
The captain writes as follows of a gentlemen who for several months was associated with the battery: "Early in May we were visited by a young man in citizen's attire who said he was an artist and had joined the army in the interest of 'Harper's Weekly' and, showing proper vouchers, stated that he desired to become a member of our officers' mess. This arrangement was easily and speedily consummated and Henry Mosler became a member of our headquarters mess. He sketched the battery in camp, on the field of Shiloh, sent the sketch to Cincinnati and had it lithographed, and nearly every member of the battery se- cured a copy. These lithographs are highly prized to recall the faithful reproduction of the command. Mr. Mosler remained with the battery during the summer and was a great addition to our mess. The sketches he sent to 'Harper's Weekly', when we had a chance to see them, had at least a hundred or more witnesses to their faithfulness. Mr. Mosler left us at Stevenson, Alabama, when we started on the Bragg campaign, and while the war lasted we never had the pleasure of again meeting him."
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1862.]
CHAPTER XVII.
SOME OLD ACQUAINTANCES.
WHICH THE SOLDIERS NEVER CAN FORGET-THE PEDICULUS, OR "GRAYBACK"-HE "TOOK THE CAKE" AMONG THE PESTS-THE MUSICAL AND BLOODTHIRSTY MOSQUITO-THE QUIET BUT IN- DUSTRIOUS WOODTICK-THE NIMBLE FLEA-THE EXASPERATING "JIGGER" -- THE BLACK FLY.
B EFORE entering Corinth, and bidding adieu to the field of Shiloh, where we spent two such uncomfortable months, I deem it not out of place to pause in the narrative, and devote a chapter to some of the numerous little pests which, of one kind or another, year in and year out, foraged upon the body of the soldier. In every new locality, wherever we went, there appeared to be a freshi assortment of ravenous bugs
and insects, to cause bodily misery and drive away sleep. There was one species in particular which stayed by the soldier con- tinually and under all circumstances-his close and intimate companion, through summer's heat and winter's cold, in camp and hospital and prison, on the march and the battlefield. Bullets and screaming shell were not pleasant to any of the senses, but as a rule they came to us only now and then, while the bugs and insects, in every form that creeps or flies, were with us always, and were a very considerable factor in making up the sum of life in the army. Many of them, though annoying, were harmless, while others seemed to have been created for the express purpose
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192
INTRODUCING THE "GRAYBACK."
[May,
of spoiling men's tempers, and getting them into the habit of using bad language. It is my purpose in this chapter to recall a few of those which were most obnoxious to the soldiers. I am persuaded that a familiar sketch of these old acquaintances, with brief mention of their leading characteristics, will not be devoid of interest. It was before Corinth that we first seriously experienced their ravages.
There can be no question as to which is entitled to first place cn the list. Every soldier who marched and scratched will cheerfully accord the post of honor to an insect that the scientific men call pediculus vestimenti. To speak in the phrase of the present day, it was the "boss." It may fairly be presumed that few of the old soldiers will recognize it by this high-sounding name, for that is not what we used to call it in the army. The scientific peo- ple gave it this big Latin title probably because it may be used in any com- pany of polite people with comparative safety, as not EZEKIEL MOORES, CAPTAIN, SIXTY-FIFTH. one person in a hundred can have any idea what it means. To call it by its other name, which is spelled 1-o-u-s-e, would be shocking to sensitive ears.
The savants have the classification down to a fine point and designate this variety of the louse as the pediculus vestimenti, there- by indicating its habit of browsing around upon the body and making its home in the clothing of its victim; while the other fellow, that lives in the jungle of hair upon the head, and is only exterminated through the persuasive efforts of a fine-tooth comb,
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1862.]
193
"PEDICULUS," HIS SCIENTIFIC NAME.
is called the pediculus capitis. If doubt exists in the mind of any respecting the identity of the pediculus vestimenti, it will be re- moved by the following extract from an article on this cheerful theme in the American Entomologist-a magazine in which the wise men tell all they know or can guess at, about bugs and in- sects. It says :
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