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 28
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Marching back a few JOHN S. M'KIBBEN, COMPANY D, SIXTY-FIFTH. Mortally wounded at Resaca, Ga., May 14, 1864. hundred yards from the river we bivouacked for the night in the edge of a cot- ton field. At last the boys had something to talk about. There were many tales of hair-breadth escapes. Rebel bullets passed within half an inch of the head of every man in the brigade !
As soon as the brigade recrossed the river the Sixty-fourthi was ordered on picket, the line stretching along the margin of the stream. The men threw up little barricades of timber, stones and earth. These proved of great service the next day as a pro-
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342
CAPTAIN BRADLEY WARMS UP HIS GUNS.
[December,
tection from the enemy's pickets, with whom there was constant skirmishing. During that day the Sixty-fourth suffered a loss of one man killed-Wesley Hetherington, the first death in the reg- iment from a hostile bullet-and five or six wounded.
We expected to advance or fight, and probably both, on the 30th, but we did neither. The exercises of the previous day had been of such a character that we had made up our minds that after tramping over four states looking for trouble, we were at last going to be accommodated-and we were, but not that day.
We were called into line at four o'clock and directed to be in readiness to advance at daylight, but that was all. The only movement we made was a very hasty change of position, several hundred yards to the rear, to get out of the way of the shells that a rebel battery on the ridge across the river kept throwing at us. They seemed to have more hardware than they wanted and insisted on sharing it with us. But we were well supplied and their motives were not appreciated. So we just "climbed" for the rear to get out of range. This was about the middle of the fore- noon. We could see their cannon glistening in the sunlight, less than a mile distant. There would be a puff of smoke and then whizz! boom! and everybody would be dodging to get out of the way of the pieces. Captain Bradley brought his .battery to the front and replied with a lively fire, which soon silenced the ene- my's guns. One of Bradley's carriages was struck by a solid shot and badly splintered. The Sixth battery men stood bravely to their work. It was clear that they could be depended upon.
The firing was kept up all day at intervals, not only in our front but at other points on the line. Our pickets, posted along the river bank, were almost constantly exchanging compliments with the rebel outposts.
During the afternoon several pigs wandered within the lines of the Sixty-fifth. They were surrounded and bayoneted without mercy. Our meat rations were running short, and the presence of the enemy did not prevent the boys from looking out for their stomachs. Colonel Cassil viewed the slaughter with compla- cency. He didn't make any fuss about it, and partook of a spare- rib with evident enjoyment.
Just at dusk we drew rations. The Sixty-fifth was ordered
1862.1
343
TWO PLANS THAT WERE ALIKE.
to report forthwith for picket duty, to relieve the Sixty-fourth. As we moved to the river bank the batteries on both sides opened with a tremendous fire. The roar was terrific, but it was mostly noise, only three or four men in our brigade being wounded by fragments of shell. Captain Bradley had all of his six guns going. He paid strict attention to the rebel battery on the ridge, which had suddenly become very active. We took our positions for the night along the bank, behind the little breastworks which had been thrown up by the Sixty-fourth. The night was com- paratively quiet, but we had no sleep save an occasional "cat-nap" when on the reserve.
The remainder of the brigade bivouacked in line of battle, as did both armies, the hostile lines being but six hundred yards apart. It was generally known, even among thie soldiers, that the mighty grapple of Rosecrans and Bragg would take place on the inorrow. By a singular coincidence, each commander had determined to take the offensive at dawn of the 31st, and both had decided upon the same plan of battle-that is, each was to assail the other's right flank. Rosecrans directed the left wing, under Crittenden, to cross Stone river, attack Breckinridge, com- manding the Confederate right, drive him from his position cov- ering Murfreesboro, sweep through the town, enfilade Bragg's main line with artillery, and obtain possession of the roads in the Confederate rear. Meanwhile the right, VeCook, and the center, Thomas, were to engage the enemy vigorously in their front and prevent the sending of reinforcements to Breckinridge. All this looked very feasible, on paper, but circumstances which we could not control interfered very materially with the carrying out of the well arranged program. Bragg's plan was to mass, during the night, a heavy column and at daylight hurl it upon the Union right, sweep the line and seize the Nashville turnpike, Rosecrans's avenue of retreat in case of disaster.
There was little sleep that night. Thoughts were intent up- on the coming day and what it would bring forth. Who would go down before the storm of battle? Who would escape the deadly missiles? Little wonder that mirth and jest were hushed, and thoughts of home and loved ones filled the hearts of the soldiers. Twenty-four hours later three thousand men lay dead
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344
THE NIGHT BEFORE THE BATTLE.
[December,
upon that bloody field of strife, and fifteen thousand more were pierced and mangled by bullet and shell ! After twelve months in the field, we were at last fronting the embattled lines of the foe On that Wednesday, the last day of the year 1862, the men of the Sherman Brigade were to prove of what stuff they were made.
CHAPTER XXXIII.
THE FIRST DAY OF STONE RIVER.
THE MEMBERS OF THE SHERMAN BRIGADE SHOW THEIR METTLE-WE "GATHER AT THE RIVER" TO CROSS AND ASSAIL THE ENEMY- BRAGG STRIKES FIRST, A MIGHTY BLOW-THE UNION RIGHT BROKEN - WE ARE ORDERED TO ITS ASSISTANCE - AWAY AT DOUBL C-QUICK-A SCENE OF WILD CHAOS-" INTO THE MOUTH OF HELL"-FIERCE AND DESPERATE FIGHTING-COMRADES FALL BY SCORES - BOTH FLANKS ENVELOPED - HARKER'S BRIGADE FALLS BACK-RALLIES AND RENEWS THE FIGHT-TWO GUNS OF THE BATTERY CAPTURED AND QUICKLY RETAKEN-THE REBELS HURLED BACK-OUR SADLY DECIMATED RANKS GATHER ABOUT THE COLORS.
L ONG before daylight, officers and orderly sergeants moved quietly along the line and aroused the soldiers. There was no sound of drum or bugle, as the men seized their muskets and took their places in the ranks. For an hour they stood waiting and watching for the dawn. Each man had forty rounds of ammunition in his cartridge box and forty more in his pockets, a haversack well filled with rations, and a canteen
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1862.]
THE STORM BURSTS.
345
of water. Nearly all had blankets, but thousands of these were flung away during the day. The confronting lines were about three miles in length. Stone river, by a sharp bend, cut the Confederate line, so that the main body of the rebel army was on the same side as our own. At the extreme Union left the river flowed between us and the enemy under Breckinridge.
In accordance with the orders of General Rosecrans, Van Cleve's division crossed Stone river at the lower ford and moved in battle array to assail the Confederate right. Our division (Wood's) was to cross at the upper ford, connect with Van Cleve's right, and join in the attack. Wood's leading brigade (Hascall's) was already in the stream and ours ( Harker's) was at the brink prepared to follow. No opposition had been encoun- tered, and thus far all was working well. As the sun rose we could plainly see the glistening guns of a rebel battery posted on high ground half a mile from the river, but up to this time they had given no sound.
Now the storm burst with the greatest fury upon the Union right, under McCook. In furtherance of his plan, Bragg had massed at that point two-fifths of his army, and a sudden and most impetuous assault threw McCook's flank into immediate confusion. His position was faulty and the consequences well nigh proved fatal. Many of the troops were not in line but were at breakfast, while the horses of some of the batteries were not even harnessed. Johnson's division, the extreme right, was swept in disorder from the field, after a brief resistance, losing nearly all of its artillery. Davis's division, next in line, was also disrupted and streamed to the rear, a mass of broken battalions. Next was the division of "Phil" Sheridan, and that officer and his men, breasting the tide with superb heroism, checked the on- ward rush of the enemy and gave priceless moments for General Rosecrans to make the new dispositions demanded by the unex- pected onslaught of the Confederates. It is not my province to write a history of the battle, but only of our part in it. I have said thus much to recall the alarming aspect of affairs at the time · a staff officer dashed up on a mad gallop and delivered an order suspending our movement across the river, and recalling the division of Van Cleve.
"Attention-Battalion !" and away we went at double-quick ·
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346
BATTLE OF STONE RIVER. -
[December,
toward the cedar thicket upon the right, whence came the unceas- ing roar of battle. Immediate succor was needed, and Harker's brigade - soon followed by others-was ordered to the point where the stress was .greatest. Just as we started from the river bank the rebel battery, of which mention has been made, opened upon us with shell. One of these missiles struck Company B, of the Sixty-fifth, and burst, killing Joseph Bull-the first man of the Sixty-fifth to fall in battle-and wounding several others. Our rapid movement soon carried .us out of range.
On and on we went, at the greatest possible speed. Every man was in his place, his nerves wrought up to the highest ten- sion, and none thought of weariness. We passed through a large space of open ground, which presented a scene of the wildest excitement and chaos that can be conceived. Demoralized strag- glers from the right wing were seeking safety at the rear, while officers, mounted and on foot, shouting and cursing, were en- deavoring to stay the tide of panic; teamsters, in a delirium of fright, lashed their mules into a furious gallop, as they sought to reach the pike with ammunition, supply and baggage wagons ; bodies of troops were hurrying forward to meet the advancing and exultant foe; generals and staff officers gathered here and there giving their orders; while shouts and yells and the braying of mules filled the air with a hideous din. It was a scene never to be forgotten.
Through this mass of frenzied men and animals we threaded our way, still on the double-quick. We saw many wounded making their way to the rear, unaided, or borne upon stretchers, or in ambulances. This was indeed war; the crucial test was be- fore us. Every man clutched his musket with a tighter grip and - nerved himself to face the storm, already so near that we could feel its fiery breath. There was no sign of flinching, and yet I may safely say that we hardly felt that raging desire to plunge into the blazing vortex of death, which had so often found ex- pression on our weary marches and around the camp-fires, during the previous year. But the truly brave man is he who realizes the danger and willingly faces it at the call of duty.
Still on, and a shell from a rebel battery bursts above us and the fragments hurtle around us, The droning buzz of spent
1862.]
347
WE FACE THE DEADLY STORM.
bullets is heard. We hastily form in line of battle, connecting with the right of a brigade of Van Cleve's division. "Forward!"' and the line moves steadily on. Two hundred yards in advance of us are Union troops fiercely engaged, whom we are ordered to support. The need is not immediate and we are directed to lie down. For a long time, as it seems to us-probably about twenty minutes-we remain prone upon the earth awaiting the issue. A staff officer daslies up to Colonel Harker and points toward the right. The rebels have overlapped the Union line and disaster is imminent.
Instantly each regiment receives the command : "Battalion-Rise up!" We face to the right and dash off upon the run. Farther and farther we go until a line of rebels is descried ad- vancing toward us. We halt, face to the front, and move forward in battle array to meet the foe. The Sev- enty-third Indiana, Sixty- fourth and Sixty-fifth Ohio are in the first line, supported by the Fifty-first Indiana and Thirteenth Michigan. The Sixth Ohio STEPHEN A. M'COLLUM, ADJUTANT, SIXTY- FOURTH. battery is upon the right of the Sixty-fifth. Two com- panies from each regiment in front are deployed as skirmishers. Five minutes, and they engage those of the enemy.
Now we are at the edge of the storm. Hissing bullets strike in our ranks and one and then another is stricken down, dead or wounded, Lieutenant Pealer, of Company A, Sixty-fifth, being one of the first to fall, grievously wounded in the thigh. We cannot pause to give them aid ; our duty is-yonder. More thickly come the bullets, and soon a dozen, twenty, are stretched
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348
BATTLE OF STONE RIVER.
[December,
upon the ground. We glance sorrowfully at the sufferers, nor can we repress a shudder as a comrade falls at our side, but we move steadily forward. The skirmishers are withdrawn; the hostile lines are separated by a distance of but two hundred yards.
At last we are face to face with the foe. "Commence firing !" and "Fire at will !" are the orders in quick succession. The en- emy delivers a volley and at once the fighting becomes fierce. Officers and men are killed or wounded by scores. In the Sixty- fourth Captain Sweet. of Company K, falls in immediate death. In the Sixty-fifth Captain Christofel, of Company I, receives a fatal wound; Adjutant Massey is thrice hit and mortally hurt; Lieutenant Vankirk, of Company G, is struck squarely in the fore- head and falls dead; Lieutenant-colonel Cassil is disabled by his horse, which is shot, falling upon him; Major Whitbeck, upon whom devolves the command of the regiment, is pierced through the shoulder but pluckily refuses to quit the field. The courage and steadiness of the men are above praise. The ground about them is thickly strewn with the dead and dying, but with cease- less vigor hands fly to cartridge boxes, bullets are rammed home, and muskets blaze defiance to the enemy.
A short distance to our right the Sixth battery is hotly en- gaged with the rebel artillery, posted at the left of the hostile line. Four guns, embracing the right and center sections, commanded respectively by Lieutenant Oliver H. P. Ayres and First Sergeant George W. Smetts, face directly to the front. The left section, Lieutenant Baldwin, which had been ordered to swing over and go into position a hundred yards to the right and rear, is in a furious duel with two or three Confederate guns which oc- cupy an advanced position on the extreme flank. Baldwin's rapid and well-directed fire silences the guns of the enemy and the section moves quickly up to the line of the battery, taking . post at the right of a small building which intervenes between these two pieces and the four others of the battery. Captain Brad- ley, cool and collected, directs with judgment and deliberation the fire of his guns. Officers and men stand gallantly to their work, serving their pieces with tireless energy. Men and horses are struck, but not for an instant does the firing slacken.
At length the brigade of Van Cleve's division upon our left,
1862.]
349
A BLIZZARD STRIKES THE BATTERY.
gives way before a charge of the enemy and falls back. By its re- cession our brigade, which is the extreme right of the line, is seriously compromised, both its flanks being now exposed. Fol- lowing hard after the retreating troops of Van Cleve, the rebels are swiftly advancing. In a few minutes we will be enveloped. To remain would be fatal and we are ordered to retire. We do so, rapidly, for two hundred yards, but rally behind the partial cover of a cedar fence, and again send our deadly greeting to the enemy.
Before the break in the infantry line, the Fifty-first Indiana had shifted to the right to support the Sixth battery. "Stick to them," shouts Colonel Streight, "the Fifty-first will see you through!" But when the infantry falls back it would be folly for the battery to "stick " longer. An order from Colonel Harker directs its retirement. The rebels are advancing with loud yells and the need of haste is urgent. Every instant of delay increases the imminence of the peril. Quickly the sections of Ayres and Smetts are limbered up and go whirling back nearly to the line of the fence behind which the infantry has rallied. Here the four pieces are unlimbered and again blaze defiance at the foe. Baldwin's section, separated from the others as before mentioned, does not, in the confusion, receive the order to fall back, and so intent are the men upon their work that they are ignorant of the movement to the rear. The section receives a galling fire of both infantry and artillery. Two horses of Sergeant Stewart Miller's piece are killed by a cannon ball, and driver William Corey has an arm torn off. The guns are in the greatest jeopardy, for the exultant rebels are charging toward them. Just in time, the dead and wounded horses are cut loose and the section dashes to the rear. As it reaches a depression in the ground the Confederates deliver a volley from their muskets. The bullets whiz over the heads of Baldwin's men, but strike with deadly effect the two sections which had first retired. Sergeant George W. Howard and Private Samuel M. Scott fall in death, and a number of others are wounded. Horses go down on every hand.
After a brief but fierce struggle at the fence we are again flanked upon the left and our decimated line is torn by a biting enfilading fire. There is no alternative and again we fall back,
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359
TWO GUNS LOST AND RECOVERED.
[December,
with the advancing rebels at our heels. We come upon the Twenty seventh and Fifty-first Illinois regiments, of Sheridan's division, lying in line. They have been sent to our aid. As soon as we have passed over them they rise, deliver a volley, and charge with fixed bayonets. Before that charge the Confederates recoil, turn about and scamper back to their own lines. Our fighting for the day is ended.
The infantry having yielded its position, the battery can no longer hold its place, and "Limber to the rear!" is again the order. It is executed with desperate haste. Two of the guns -one each in the sections of Ayres and Smetts-have lost eleven of their twelve horses. The four other guns of the battery dash away, but the rebels are close at hand, there is no chance to at- tach the prolongs, and the two pieces are abandoned. But they have been rendered harmless, for they have been spiked by Cor- poral David H. Evans. With exultant shouts the rebels take possession of the two guns. Not long do they hold their prize. The Thirteenth Michigan is lying among the rocks, a short dis- tance to the rear. Colonel Shoemaker orders the Thirteenth to charge. Almost in a moment it snatches the guns from their captors, the prolongs are attached, aud they are dragged back amidst a tempest of cheers. The battery takes up a new position near the pike. The rebels run out a battery which opens from a distance of four hundred yards. Colonel Harker directs Captain Bradley to "smash that battery." The men spring to their pieces and a few well-aimed shells send the rebel guns galloping to the rear.
We re-formed our broken lines; but how much shorter they were than in the morning ! There were many vacant places in the ranks. In the Sixty-fifth but five officers remained unhurt out of sixteen who went into the battle. For the time, the regi- ment was organized into a battalion of four companies. The en- emy made no further demonstration in our front. We stacked arms, and details were sent to bring in as many of our wounded as could be found. Those who were not wholly disabled had made their way to the hospitals. The greater part of our loss was incurred at our first position, and when we fell back we were reluctantly compelled to leave behind those who were so severely
1862.] .
"WE FIGHT OR DIE RIGHT HERE!"
351
wounded as to be helpless. They fell into the hands of the reb- els, and after the latter had been driven back they were between the lines. Every one who could be reached was brought back, but many lay upon the ground, without surgical aid, through all the long and bitterly cold night that followed. They and many hundreds of other wounded suffered unspeakable agonies.
That night at a council of General Rosecrans with his sub- ordinate commanders, a few timorous ones advised a retreat to Nashville.
"Gentlemen," said Rosecrans, " we fight or die right here!"
Before dawn he had readjusted his lines, which were so rudely broken the day before by the blows of his impetuous ad- versary ; confidence was restored, and he -was fully prepared to meet the enemy, should the latter again assail him. During the battle of Wednesday, Rosecrans gave abundant evidence of his high personal courage. He rode along the lines in the thickest of the fight, cheering and encouraging his hard-pressed soldiers. While galloping across a field, with his chief of staff by his side, the latter, Colonel Garesche, was instantly killed, a cannon ball taking off his head.
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[January,
CHAPTER XXXIV.
"DAYS OF DANGER, NIGHTS OF WAKING." .
A NIGHT MARCH ACROSS THE BATTLEFIELD-HARKER'S BRIGADE RE- TURNS TO THE LEFT WING-THE REBELS MAKE A STRONG "BLUFF" BUT ARE DRIVEN BACK-HEAVY ARTILLERY FIRING-THE SIXTH BATTERY ON THE PICKET LINE-IT GETS INTO A TIGHT PLACE- FIRED ON FROM FRONT AND REAR-BUCKETFULS OF GRAPE FROM A CHICAGO BATTERY-THE SIXTY-FOURTH CATCHES SOME OF IT- PART OF THE SIXTY-FIFTH ADVANCES FROM THE OUTPOSTS-FRI- DAY'S FIGHT ON THE LEFT-WE CROSS AND RECROSS THE RIVER -" PRAISE GOD FROM WHOM ALL BLESSINGS FLOW "-BURYING THE DEAD-OUR HEAVY LOSSES.
D URING the night-it was a sad New Year eve-we re- turned to our proper place in Crittenden's left wing. The ground was covered with a heavy white frost, which creaked under our feet as we marched across the battle- field, among the stiffened, lifeless forms of the dead. We went into position just west of the Nashville railroad, and rested till an hour before daybreak, when we were aroused to stand at arms. Sleep was scarcely possible. Chilled and benumbed by the keen, frosty air we were compelled to move about to keep the blood flowing in our veins. Soon after dawn we made a little coffee and ate a hasty breakfast, ready to instantly grasp our arms in case of need.
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353
BATTLE OF STONE RIVER.
Bragg evidently thought that Rosecrans ought to know that he was whipped, and retreat. About eight o'clock a heavy rebel force advanced in our front, probably to find out whether there was any fight left in the Union army. The long line was in plain view, at a distance of three-quarters of a mile, moving for- ward in battle array. The Sixth Ohio and two or three other batteries at once opened a tremendous fire. General Rosecrans rode up and dashed here and there, shouting, "Pour it into them boys! Pour it into them !" The rebels were soon satisfied that our pugnacity was not all gone and they gave it up, the whole line retiring in haste out of range.
Throughout the remainder of the day the armies, weary and sore from the buffetings of the previous day, lay comparatively inactive. Neither was disposed to resume the offensive, though each made every preparation to receive an attack. There was constant firing between the pickets; and sharpshooters, on both sides, with their long-range rifles, made themselves particularly obnoxious.
At noon the Sixth battery was stationed in an advanced posi- tion, facing what was known as the "round woods," where it re- mained during the night, with guns shotted. Captain Baldwin says: "It fell to the writer to be on duty from midnight until three o'clock in the morning. The night was cloudy and dark. About two o'clock cries were heard near our immediate front, asking for help and calling for a cup of water. Corporal Kimberk was directed to take a canteen of water and try to reach the wounded soldier. He had not proceeded more than twenty-five yards when bang! went a gun and the whizzing bullet struck a gun-tire within two feet of the writer. Corporal Kimberk re- turned and said if that fellow, whether friend or foe, needed any help, some one else might go, for he believed it was a plot on the part of the rebel pickets to make a widow up north, and he was not going to be the man to risk himself on that kind of a game. To stand picket with a battery was something new to us. But here we were, without a solitary infantryman between our lines and the enemy. Consequently we had to exercise extraordinary vigilance. If an attack had taken place there was nothing to meet it but the guns of the battery. Fortunately, the night passed without any movement by the enemy."
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