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 38
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Second Lieutenant Thomas H. Ehlers to first lieutenant, Janu- ary 3rd.
Second Lieutenant Thomas E. Tillotson to first lieutenant, April Ist.
Second Lieutenant Thomas R. Smith to first lieutenant. April ist.
Second Lieutenant Frank H. Killinger to first lieutenant, April Ist.
Sergeant John W. Zeigler to first lieutenant, April Ist ; to captain, May 18th.
Sergeant-Major Robert S. Chamberlain to first lieutenant, April Ist; to captain, August 5th.
Second Lieutenant John K. Shellenberger to first lieutenant, April Ist.
Second Lieutenant David Cummins to first lieutenant. April Ist.
First Sergeant George C. Marshall to first lieutenant, May 18.
First Sergeant Riley Albach to second lieutenant, April ist; to first lieutenant, August 5th.
Sergeant Alexander Moffett to second lieutenant, April Ist.
Sergeant John Q. McIlvaine to second lieutenant, April Ist.
Sergeant Daniel Howe to second lieutenant, April Ist.
First Sergeant Alonzo W. Hancock to second lieutenant, April Ist.
Commissary-sergeant Jacob G. Bittinger to second lieutenant, April Ist.
First Sergeant Lewis High to second lieutenant, April ist.
First Sergeant Alfred A. Reed to second lieutenant, August 5th.
RESIGNATIONS:
Major William W. Smith, January 15th.
Assistant Surgeon Volney P. Miller, May 16th.
Assistant Surgeon Amos Potter. November 9th.
Captain Charles R. Lord, January 31st.
Captain David A. Scott, March 23rd.
Captain Joseph B. Ferguson, May 18th.
Captain Aaron S. Campbell, August 5th.
FROM OTHER CAUSES:
Captain Warner Young, honorably discharged October ist, on ac- count of wounds received at Stone River; entered Veteran Reserve Corps.
Colonel John Ferguson, left the service, March 11th.
First Lieutenant Simeon B. Conn, dismissed, February 2nd.
Second Lieutenant Cyrus Y. Freeman, dismissed, March 20th.
471
CHANGES IN THE SIXTY-FIFTH.
1863.]
Sixty-fifth Regiment.
KILLED IN ACTION OR DIED OF WOUNDS:
First Lieutenant Nelson Smith, at Chickamauga, September 19th.
Second Lieutenant Samuel C. Henwood, at Chickamauga, Septem- ber 19th.
Major Samuel C. Brown, died at Chattanooga, September 22nd, of wounds received at Chickamauga, September 20th.
Adjutant William H. Massey, died at Cleveland, Ohio, April 9th; of wounds received at Stone River, December 31st, 1862.
PROMOTIONS:
Major Horatio N. Whitbeck to lieutenant-colonel, March 22nd. Captain Samuel C. Brown to major, March 22nd.
Captain Orlow Smith to major, September 22nd.
First Lieutenant John C. Matthias to captain, February 20th. First Lieutenant Andrew Howenstine to captain, March 20th.
First Lieutenant William M. Farrar to captain, May 24th.
First Lieutenant Asa A. Gardner to captain, October 14th.
Second Lieutenant Franklin Pealer to first lieutenant, Feb- ruary 13th.
Second Lieutenant Joseph F. Sonnanstine to first lieutenant, March 22nd.
Sergeant-major Brewer Smith to second lieutenant, January Ist; to firstlieutenant, March 23rd.
Second Lieutenant Robeson S. Rook to first lieutenant, April 5th. Second Lieutenant Nelson Smith to first lieutenant, May 24th. Sergeant Joseph H. Willsey to second lieutenant, January Ist. . First Sergeant John Body to second lieutenant, February 13th. Sergeant Samuel C. Henwood to second lieutenant, March 22nd.
First Sergeant Philip P. McCune to second lieutenant, March 23rd. First Sergeant Christian M. Bush to second lieutenant, March 30th. First Sergeant Benjamin F. Trescott to second lieutenant, April 5th. Sergeant Ebben Bingham to second lieutenant, May 24th.
First Sergeant John S. Talmadge to second lieutenant, June ist.
RESIGNATIONS:
Lieutenant-colonel Alexander Cassil, March 22nd.
Assistant Surgeon William A. McCulley, November 3rd.
Chaplain Andrew Burns, February 16th.
Captain Francis H. Graham, February 20th.
Captain Samuel L. Bowlby, May 24th.
Captain William M. Farrar, October 14th.
First Lieutenant Oscar D. Welker, February 13th.
First Lieutenant Albert Ellis, November 13th.
First Lieutenant Peter Markel, November 20th, on account of wounds received at Stone River.
First Lieutenant Frank B. Hunt, November 29th,
472
IN M'LAUGHLIN'S SQUADRON.
[January,
First Lieutenant Robeson S. Rook, December 11th, on account of wounds received at Stone River.
Second Lieutenant Samuel H. Young, March 30th.
FROM OTHER CAUSES:
Second Lieutenant Charles Schroeder, dismissed, June 9th.
Sixth Battery.
No changes during the year 1863.
McLaughlin's Squadron.
RESIGNATIONS:
Major Gaylord McFall, January 17th.
First Lieutenant Benjamin B. Lake, February 17th.
PROMOTIONS:
Captain Richard Rice to major, January 17th.
Second Lieutenant John Dalzell to captain, January 17th.
First Lieutenant John L. Skeggs to captain, February 25th.
Sergeant George W. Pomeroy to second lieutenant, January 17th; to first lieutenant, February 17th.
Second Lieutenant Erastus P. Coates to first lieutenant, Feb- . ruary 25th.
Corporal Ross R. Cowan to second lieutenant, February 26th.
Sergeant Jacob O. Stout to second lieutenant, February 17th.
1864.]
CHAPTER XLIV.
"THREE YEARS MORE."
WE RE-ENLIST AND GET A FURLOUGH-THE "VETERAN" CRAZE-IT GOES THROUGH THE SHERMAN BRIGADE LIKE THE SMALL-POX- FOUR HUNDRED DOLLARS BOUNTY AND THIRTY DAYS AT HOME- THIS CATCHES THE BOYS-DRAWING CUTS FOR THE FIRST TRIP HOME-THE SIXTY-FOURTH IS LUCKY-IT STARTS FOR OHIO IN A BEDLAM OF SHOUTS AND YELLS-IT RETURNS TO THE FRONT.
S OME months previous to this time, the War Department had determined upon a plan by which it hoped to secure the continued service of the large body of soldiers who had already been in the field two years or more, and whose term of enlistment would expire in a few months. It was decided to offer to all such who should re-enlist for "three years or during the war" a bounty of four hundred dollars each, and a furlough giving thirty days at home, the time going and coming not to be counted. Any company or regiment, three-fourths of whose members should re-enlist, would retain its organization and be accompanied home by its officers. The wisdom of this
473
474
WE CATCH THE RE-ENLISTMENT FEVER.
[January,
measure was amply shown by its result. Nearly one hundred and forty thousand men re-enlisted under the honorable designa- tion of "Veteran Volunteers." These were all soldiers-trained and disciplined, inured to hardship, and of tried courage. A regiment of three hundred such men was worth more in an ac- tive, arduous campaign than a thousand raw recruits. The forty or fifty per cent who were physically unable to endure the service, and those who were deficient in that important quality known as "sand," had been weeded out, and those who remained were men who could be relied upon to discharge any duty and face any danger. The armies that fought the great battles of 1864 con- tained large levies of new troops. The veterans gave to these a steadiness that would otherwise have been wanting. The wonder was that so large a number who had marched and fought and suf- fered so long, and knew what war was, should be willing to sign for "three years more." For the courage and patriotism thus shown, the vereran volunteers deserve to be held. as they will be, in lasting remembrance.
It was while in East Tennessee, under the conditions and amidst the surroundings that have been described, that the "vet- eran" excitement broke out in Harker's brigade. It went through the Sixty-fourth and Sixty-fifth like the small-pox. A day or two after Christmas the commanding officer of each regi- ment called a "mass meeting" of its members, at which the orders from Washington were read and the alluring scheme of four hundred dollars bounty and a thirty days' furlough was fully explained. No doubt it was thought that the holiday season was a good time to talk about going home. In this way the boys were vaccinated with the veteran virus. It "took" right away. They went like sheep over a wall. A "bell-wether" in each company started it, and the rest almost fell over one another in their haste to get hold of the pen and sign the new roll.
No doubt the thirty days' furlough was a potent influence in inducing the men to re-enlist. It is impossible for anyone except the soldiers themselves to conceive how great was the temptation. In no other way can it be half so well expressed as in the words of Captain Brewer Smith, of the Sixty-fifth, in a personal letter to the writer. Said he: "The boys made up their minds to take
475 .
1864.]
.
ISAAC GASS, LIEUTENANT-COLONEL, SIXTY-FOURTH.
476
MIKE TURNEY'S "KICK."
[January,
three years more of hell for the sake of thirty days of heaven- home." But the great impelling force that moved the veterans was a fervent and exalted consecration to the work which they had undertaken ; a determination to stand by "Old Glory" until the rebellion was conquered. The history of the world affords no more shining example of patriotic sacrifice and devotion.
There was a chap in Company E, Sixty-fifth, by the name of "Mike" Turney. He was a prime soldier, had been through every battle, and had "hoofed it" every mile that the regiment had marched-and we all know that those miles were many. One evening, just before the re-enlistment craze, Mike was sitting on a log, stirring up a little meal and water, which was all he had for supper.
"Boys," he suddenly broke out, "d'ye s'pose I'd ever 'listed in this cussed war if I'd knowed that I'd have to come down to livin' on a spoonful o' bran a day ? No-sir-ee-bob! I'll be durned if I'll ever help save another country !" Three or four days later Mike was the second man in Company E to sign the veteran roll.
Before the Ist of January, five-sixths of each regiment had re-enlisted, and then nothing was talked of night or day, but that furlough. No one knew when the regiments would go, and the impatience became almost uncontrollable. Of course all the vet- erans could not leave at once, but assurance was given from the highest official sources, that they should be sent home just as fast as they could be spared with safety. The veterans of the Sixty-fourth were mustered in on January Ist, and those of the Sixty-fifth on January 3rd. Of the other regiments of the bri- gade, the Forty-second and Fifty-first Illinois re-enlisted as organ- izations; many members of the Twenty-second and Twenty- seventh Illinois and Third Kentucky became veterans, but not a sufficient number to make them veteran regiments; tlie Seventy- ninth Illinois and One Hundred and Twenty-fifth Ohio were 1862 regiments and were not eligible to the high "privilege " of be- coming veterans, only half of their term having expired.
It is proper to remark here that not one word I have said, or may say, on this subject should be construed as casting the small- est reflection upon those of the old Sherman Brigade-about forty
1
477
EQUAL HONOR TO NON-VETERANS.
1864.]
in each regiment-who did not sign the veteran roll. Among them were some of our very best soldiers, who for good and sufficient reasons, could not see their way clear to re-enlist for three years more. Some of them freely expressed the opinion that a full term of such service as fell to our lot was one man's share, that if he lived through it he was fairly entitled to go home and stay there, and it was the duty of some other fellow to strap on a knap- sack, shoulder a gun and take his place in the ranks-for there were yet in the north many hundreds of thousands, able to bear arms, who had not responded to those calls of the President, which seemed to say to every one, "Thou art the man!" Indeed, as we now look back upon it, we are amazed that even one of our number was willing to bind himself for three years longer. Should the war continue, he could scarcely hope to live through another term. No doubt a similar surprise will be felt by any person who may have followed this narrative - written truth- fully and conscientiously, with no word of exaggera- tion.
ARTHUR G M'KEOWN, SERGEANT, COMPANY H, COLOR-BEARER, SIXTY-FIFTH.
When the veterans left to enjoy their month at home the non-veterans stayed behind. In the great campaigns of '64 they served with faithfulness and unflinching courage. Some of them were killed and others were wounded in the fierce conflicts of that year. I have in mind one of them, a noble sergeant, who voluntarily went into action with his company at Spring Hill, and was killed, after his term had expired. Those who survived were mustered out a few days
.
.. .
478
THE SIXTY-FOURTH DRAWS A PRIZE.
[January,
after the expiration of their term, having earned the fullest meed of praise and honor. It seemed to me but just that this much should be said regarding our non-veterans. As a matter of fact, the war ended four months after they left us. The only action in which they did not participate was the battle of Nashville.
On the fifth of January the veterans of Harker's brigade were thrown into a high state of inflammation, by an order for one regiment to start for home. All were clamorous to go, and the question was decided by casting lots. The Sixty-fourth was the lucky one. It was ordered to start for Chattanooga the next morning. The veterans of the Sixty-fifth envied them their good fortune, but consoled themselves with the thought that their turn was coming ; they had but to "wait a little longer." The Sixty- fourth was fairly intoxicated with joy-not with anything else. After a violent eruption of cheers, the veterans, with glad hearts and smiling faces, betook themselves to packing up their few goods and chattels. No order to march was ever so boisterously welcomed-except the one which took them out of Camp Buck- ingham, in 1861.
Bright and early on the morning of the 6th the Sixty-fourth veterans were astir. They buckled on their traps and fell in with alacrity at tap of drum. They guyed unmercifully the forlorn squad of non-veterans, but the latter faced without flinching the volley of good-natured jests and gibes that flew from the ranks. Almost the entire brigade assembled to give the regiment a hearty send-off. As it started away at the command "March!" the woods resounded with such uproarious cheers as only soldiers could utter.
Never did the miles seen so short as during the march to Chattanooga. Blisters counted for nothing, as the men plodded gayly on their way, with laugh and jest and song, for every step brought them nearer to home and loved ones. No order to "close up" was necessary; they couldn't travel fast enough to keep tally with their feelings. At Chattanooga the regiment was formally inuistered in as a veteran organization. A few days were spent in making out muster and pay rolls. The men received two months' pay and their veteran bounties. The officers got 110 bounties, so that for once the men had a good deal more money
.
479
"SAME OLD REGIMENT !"
1864.]
than the officers. With their pockets full of crisp, new green- backs, they felt like lords; to speak in modern phrase, they "owned the earth." The worn, tattered and graybacked gar- ments, in which they had roughed it so long in East Tennessee, were gladly cast aside, and all were arrayed, from top to toe, in brand-new uniforms. To the question "What regiment is that?" the boys could truly give the answer so often heard in the army : "Same old regiment, but we've drawed new clothes!"
When the red tape had all been unwound, the Sixty-fourth took the cars for Nashville and thence proceeded to Columbus, Ohio. headquarters being established at Camp Chase. Colonel Robert C. Brown writes :
"The comrades of this command will remember the 'dandy' soldiers on camp-guard the morning af- ter their arrival. With what military pomp these guards brought down their bur- nished guns while command- ing 'Halt!'. as our weather- beaten veterans approached the line; and how the veterans rallied to a grand JOHN C. WEBER, SIXTH BATTERY. Orderly, staff of General T. J. Wood. charge, stampeding those brave guards! Perhaps our men never knew that the writer, and their regimental com- mander, with infinite amusement, witnessed this stampede from a tent flap surreptitiously raised.
Our stay at Camp Chase was short. A leave of absence for thirty days was soon granted, and in hopeful glee we set out for our homes. Upon our arrival at Mansfield, a public reception and entertainment was given the soldiers. Then followed the warmest greetings-fathers, moth-
...
480
THE BOYS IN CLOVER.
[January,
ers, brothers, sisters, wives, sweethearts and friends met us with joyful tears. With it all there was a sadness attending this re- ception. There were many disappointed ones. The ravages of war had reduced our number more than half, The vacant places in our ranks were explained by the battles inscribed upon our banners."
After thirty red-letter days at home, which were enjoyed to the fullest extent, farewells were spoken and the veterans, accom- panied by a few recruits, betook themselves to Camp Chase, to enter upon their new term of service. Scarcely a man failed to re- port upon the day appoint- ed, and the "Sixty-fourth Ohio Veteran Volunteer In- fantry" was off to the war. Proceediug by rail to Nash- ville, it was obliged to foot it from that place to Chat- tanooga and thence to Cleveland, Tennessee, where it rejoined the bri- gade, the latter having re- turned from East Tennes- see to that point. Every- where were seen the un- mistakable signs of an THEODORE P. KENT, SIXTH BATTERY. early opening of the cani- paig11 of 1864. The army was being stripped of every incumbrance, and orders were daily received looking to its most complete mobilization. Clearly there was business ahead, and the veterans, having surfeited them- selves with pleasure during their thirty days at home, were to plunge again into the bloody vortex of war.
1864.]
-
CHAPTER XLV.
HOME AND BACK TO THE FRONT.
ADVENTURES OF A "CONVALESCENT" DETACHMENT- PHIL SHERIDAN WANTS A COFFIN-THE "COFFEE COOLERS" WHIP JOE WHEELER- THE MARCH TO BLAINE'S CROSS-ROADS-CAVORTING ABOUT EAST TENNESSEE-THE SIXTY-FIFTH GETS ITS FURLOUGH-RE-ENLIST- MENT OF THE SIXTH BATTERY-NOW FOR ATLANTA.
T WO OR three days after the Sixty-fourth left Blaine's Cross-roads for Chattanooga, a large body of convales- cents rejoined the brigade. A page or two will not be wasted in giving a brief account of their adventures. My Chickamauga wound nearly healed. I left home for the front 'in the latter part of November, still carrying my damaged arm in a sling. I reached Cincinnati just after the battle of Missionary Ridge, and I fairly devoured the accounts in the newspapers. When I read that " Harker's brigade charged with the greatest gallantry, crossing the rebel works at Bragg's headquarters, capturing several cannon and a large number of prisoners," I was proud of my brave comrades and wished that I might have been
481
(31)
482
CONVALESCENTS AT CHATTANOOGA.
[January,
with them to share their glory and enthusiasm. At Bridgeport I met half a dozen other convalescents from our regiments. We made our way to Chattanooga by marching with a wagon train over the long and tedious Sequatchie valley route. The road was execrable and we were seven days making the trip of fifty miles. We reached Chattanooga on the toth of December.
Reporting at headquarters, we were told that Harker's bri- gade was at some unknown locality in the woods beyond Knox- ville ; that if it did not soon return to Chattanooga, as expected, the convalescents would be sent forward in a' body. In the meantime we could do nothing but wait. A large number of officers and ine11, representing every regiment in the two Fourth corps divisions in East Ten- nessee, were there. They had recovered from wounds or sickness and wished to rejoin their commands. Others were reporting daily. Captain Williams and Lieu- tenant Body, of the Sixty- fifth, were there, and before we left, Lieutenants Gard- ner and Shipley ar- JOSEPH BULL, COMPANY B, SIXTY-FIFTH. Killed at Stone River, December 31st, 1862; the first man of the regiment to fall in battle. rived. I found Quarter- master-sergeant John C. Zollinger, of the Sixty-fifth, snugly quartered in a wall tent, and gladly accepted an invitation to share it with him.
Among the convalescents was our old friend, Phil Sheridan -not the general, but the wild Irishman of Company I. One day I was at the office of Captain J. M. Randall, of the Sixty- fifth, Harker's brigade quartermaster, when Phil came in, look- ing as though he had lost his last friend on earth.
1864.]
HARDTACK OR A COFFIN.
483
"Captain, " he said, saluting the quartermaster, "won't ve be so kind as to give me an order for a few crackers ? It's almost starved I am !".
"I am sorry that rations are so short, " said the captain, " but you get just as much as anybody else, and you ought to get along as well as others do."
"The fact is, Captain, " replied Phil, "there's mighty few men that needs as much as I do."
Randall explained to him that he had no control over rations, as they were issued by the commissary department.
"Well, then," said Phil, sorrowfully, "jist write me an order for some boards to make a coffin !"
--
As the days dragged ou and there were no indica- tions of the return of the Fourth corps troops, it was determined to organize the convalescents into a provi- sional brigade and send it forward-if the mountain would not come to Ma- homet, Mahomet must go to the mountain. This was done, and we made a pretty ELEAZOR JOHNSTON, COMPANY A, SIXTY-FOURTH. Mortally wounded at New Hope Church, Ga., May 27th, 1864. respectable appearance, numbering about two thou- sand five hundred. Those from each brigade were organized into a regiment, those from each regiment forming a company. Our "regiment " was four hundred and sixty strong, including about fifty men from each the Sixty-fourth and Sixty-fifth. It was very ably commanded by Lieutenant-colonel David H. Moore, of the One Hundred and Twenty-fifth Ohio. The six "regiments " made a large brigade,
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:
t
!
484
JOE WHEELER WAS WHIPPED.
[January,
which was under the command of Colonel Laiboldt, of the Second Missouri.
On the day before Christmas we struck out for Knoxville. The weather was cold and rainy, and the roads were simply villainous. We jogged along without incident till we reached Charleston, where, on the morning of December 28th, we had a brisk and exciting encounter with Wheeler's cavalry. Learning that the detachment of convalescents had started from Chatta- nooga, Wheeler, with three or four thousand troopers, left Dalton for the purpose of destroying it-or trying to do so. While we were preparing breakfast, our pickets were assailed and driven in with a rattling fusillade of musketry. There was an instant scramble to arms, and the brigade advanced in battle array to meet those who had so rudely disturbed our matutinal meal. A heavy rebel skirmish line was seen advancing from a skirt of woods not more than three hundred yards dis- tant. The brigade was MORDECAI PANGLE, SERGEANT, SIXTH BATTERY. formed in two lines, our regiment being in the first. Skirmishers were quickly thrown out and sharp firing began at once. The bullets whizzed about us in a most uncomfortable way. Colonel Laiboldt, who was a thorough soldier, determined to make a short job of it. He ordered the whole brigade to charge, two regiments being detached to tickle the enemy's flanks. With a wild yell the brigade dashed forward. The rebels showed fight for a few minutes and then adjourned in great disorder, pursued by three companies of the First Ohio cavalry. The latter were
1864.]
THE MARCH RESUMED.
485
stationed at Charleston and had turned out to take a hand in the lit- tle game. Our loss was three killed and twelve or fifteen wound- ed. In our regiment two were wounded, one each in the detach- ments of the Third Kentucky and Seventy-ninth Illinois. We gathered up twelve rebel dead and nearly twenty who were too badly wounded to get away. In the melee we captured one hundred and thirty-five prisoners. These marched with us all the way to Loudon, where they were turned over to the post commander.
The scare was soon over. With appetites sharpened by the exercise, we finished our breakfast and resumed the march, as though nothing had hap- pened. Wheeler seemed to have gained some respect for the fighting qualities of the "coffee coolers " for he did not again molest us. As a cautionary measure, flankers were kept out when on the march, and upon going into camp, strong pickets were posted, an entire regiment being on duty each night. We reached Loudon December 31st. That day the Sixty- ASA A. GARDNER, CAPTAIN, SIXTY-FIFTH. fifth squad marched as a guard for the prisoners, took them into town and corralled them in a deserted building.
We lay at Loudon ten days, suffering keenly from the bitterly cold weather and from the general scarcity of rations. We had brought through from Chattanooga, a long train of supply wagons, and the work of ferrying them across the Tennessee river was extremely tedious. January 11th we resumed the march, and at noon on the 14th rejoined our comrades at Blaine's
486
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