USA > Pennsylvania > Warren County > History of Warren County, Pennsylvania, with Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of some of its Prominent Men and Pioneers > Part 24
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On the Ioth of December, 1862 (the regiment, meanwhile, having been posted at Loudon Heights since the battle of Antietam), it moved with the Twelfth Corps - to which it had been assigned - towards Fredericksburg, and on the 16th settled down in winter quarters at Fairfax Station, the battle of Fredericksburg, in the mean time, having been fought and lost. In January, 1863, the regiment marched to Acquia Creek, a part of the general movement afterwards termed the " Mud Campaign." About a month later it was assigned to the Second Brigade, General Kane; Second Division, General Geary ; Twelfth Corps, General Slocum. While at Acquia Creek the One Hundred and Eleventh was one of ten regiments selected out of the whole army, for the excellent condition in which they were found upon inspection. The regiments thus honored were the First, Second, and Twentieth Massachusets; Tenth and Nineteenth Maine; Fifth and Tenth New York; One Hundred and Eleventh Pennsylvania; Third Wisconsin, and First Minnesota Volunteers.
On the 27th of April, under command of Colonel Cobham, Schlaudecker having resigned in November, 1862, the regiment marched out to participate in the Chancellorsville campaign. On this march the men carried each one hundred rounds of cartridges, and eight days' rations, and accomplished a dis- tance of sixty miles in less than three days. In the battle which ensued the regiment was actively engaged and was changed about from one threatened or advantageous position to another; but its losses were rather light -six killed, eight wounded, and three missing
With its division the regiment arrived within two miles of Gettysburg on the evening of July I, and bivouacked on the left of the Baltimore Pike. On the following morning it advanced to a position on Culp's Hill, where earthworks were erected. It rested behind these, undisturbed, until five P. M., when it was led, with other troops of the division, to the assistance of the left, then being hard pressed. The enemy on the left having been repulsed, Gen- eral Geary led his troops back to re-occupy his abandoned breastworks. But in the mean time the enemy had pushed through and taken possession of the ground far out toward the Baltimore Pike. At eleven o'clock P. M., Lieuten- ant-Colonel Walker was ordered to lead the regiment forward, and post the men in the trenches. He proceeded to execute this command, under the sup- position that no enemy was in the vicinity. Two companies on the left, which were in front, had been brought into position, when they received a volley
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from the hill, scarcely six rods from the flank and rear of the command. The remaining companies were immediately brought into line perpendicular to the works, and facing in the direction from which the fire had come. Skirmishers were at once sent out, who soon discovered that the whole hill and woods on the right were occupied by the enemy. This fact was reported to Colonel Cobham, then assisting General Kane, still enfeebled by his wounds, in bring- ing up the brigade, who again ordered the regiment to be led into the breast- works; but, on being shown that the line would then be exposed to an enfi- lading fire from the enemy, the position already taken was ordered to be held. In this it remained, keeping close watch upon the enemy in front, until three in the morning, when it was determined that the line should be moved a little to the rear, so as to get the advantage of a wing of the breastworks held by General Greene.
" I was endeavoring," says Lieutenant-Colonel Walker, " to move my men, a man at a time, with the utmost caution, when our watchful enemy detected a move and, supposing we were about to retire, opened fire upon us. My men returned the fire, silencing theirs, and then moved to the position assigned them, awaiting daylight for the work to begin. At about a quarter before four, the line of the enemy advanced with a yell. We opened fire briskly, quickly compell- ing them to take the shelter of the rocks, and of our trenches that were in their possession. We continued fighting in this way until four minutes of six o'clock, when we were relieved, and retired for the purpose of renewing our ammuni- tion. After filling our boxes and wiping our guns we returned to the position which we had left. At eleven o'clock the enemy gave up the contest, and we re-occupied the works we had built for defense. In this fight about half of my regiment was in open line, fighting a desperate enemy to regain possession of the very rifle pits we had built for our protection. We expended one hundred and sixty rounds of ammunition to the man." Nevertheless the regiment's losses were comparatively light, being but six killed and seventeen wounded.
During the latter part of September following, the regiment, with the Eleventh and Twelfth Corps, was ordered to proceed by rail towards Chatta- nooga, Tenn. It reached Murfreesboro October 6, with a loss of one hundred men by desertion. These renegades consisted of drafted men, substitutes, and bounty jumpers, who had recently joined the regiment, and during the move- ment via Washington, D. C., Harper's Ferry, Belleair, Columbus, Indianapolis, Louisville, Nashville, etc., they had ample opportunities to sneak away. From Murfreesboro the command marched in a leisurely manner southward, crossing the Tennessee River at Bridgeport, Ala., October 26, and arriving at Wau- hatchie on the 28th.
The movements of the command - which consisted of a part of Geary's Division of the Twelfth Corps-on the afternoon of that day were closely watched by the enemy's signal corps, from a station on Lookout Mountain,
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overlooking the valley along which the Union troops were marching. At about five o'clock in the evening the command bivouacked at the junction of the roads leading to Kelly's and Brown's ferries, over which trains were moving with supplies for the Army of the Cumberland, a few miles away at Chatta- nooga. Between eleven and twelve o'clock that night a very determined at- tack was made upon this small force in bivouac, by three brigades of the rebel army, which had moved stealthily from their lines on Lookout Mountain, with the design of surprising and making of it an easy prey. The One Hundred and Eleventh was the first to form in line, taking position facing the mountain, and was the first struck, receiving the attack on its left flank, the enemy ad- vancing in heavy lines up the valley. Discerning the direction from which the attack was to come, it immediately, under a heavy fire, changed front to rear on first company, and presented a barrier to his further advance, until the other regiments of the brigade could form on its left and prolong the line. The at- tack was made with much determination, but was met with a valor unsurpassed, and when the line was once formed it stood immovable until the enemy yielded the ground and withdrew, with ranks fearfully decimated from the contest. The regiment here sustained a loss of two officers and eleven men killed, six officers and twenty-five men wounded, and one enlisted man missing. Among the killed was Lieutenant Marvin D. Pettit, of a Warren county company.
After the battle the regiment moved to a spur of Raccoon Mountain, where it was encamped for nearly a month. On the 24th of November it proceeded early from quarters to join in a movement upon Lookout Mountain. The part taken by the regiment in this and in the subsequent movements, which swept Bragg from his strongholds environing the Union army, and sent him in flight and confusion from its front, will be best shown by the following extracts from Lieutenant-Colonel Walker's report, Colonel Cobham then being in command of the brigade of which the One Hundred and Eleventh formed a part.
"I was aroused, at about five o'clock of the 24th, by an order to report forthwith, without knapsacks and with one day's rations, at headquarters. We were soon under way and, arriving at the headquarters of the division, were conducted to the ford over Lookout Creek, some three miles above the north point of the mountain. On the road we were joined by the Twenty- ninth Pennsylvania, the Third Brigade, and Whitaker's Brigade of the Fourth Corps. Together with these troops, we were massed and screened from view behind one of a series of knobs that lie adjacent to the creek, until the pioneers and some details had succeeded in constructing a foot-bridge over the stream. This was accomplished without resistance, and at nine o'clock A. M. my regi- ment was crossing the creek, following the Twenty-ninth Pennsylvania, and closely followed by the Third Brigade, the Sixtieth New York joining us. We continued marching by the flank until we had gained about two-thirds of the slope of the mountain, when we halted, fronted, dressed, threw out a strong
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skirmish line to cover the front, and awaited the order of the general com- manding to move forward. The front line had thus attained its position, and the reserve- General Whitaker's Brigade - was well on its way when the order was brought. As we went forward our skirmishers soon became engaged, and pressed the enemy's, without being for a moment delayed. We continued to move in line, excepting two short halts for breathing spells, until we approached and could get a glimpse of the point of the mountain. The line now moved so that the Twenty-ninth Pennsylvania, which had the right, should crown the main spur just below the peak. The enemy was now pour- ing a sharp fire from the cover of every rock; but with cheers the line moved steadily on, capturing and sending to the rear many prisoners without escort. The position of the One Hundred and Eleventh, in conjunction with the Twenty-ninth, in the line, was such that our advance continually turned the intrenchments of the enemy, while regiments on our left charged to their very teeth. As we crowned the north ridge, immediately under the point of the mountain, we saw the enemy lying in their intrenchments below us, and the the troops of the Third Brigade rushing forward with the bayonet. We fired but few shots here, as our superior position and the steel of our troops was too much for the enemy, and they either surrendered or fled. At twelve o'clock M., in conjunction with the Twenty-ninth, we were in line from the point of the mountain down the main spur. From this position we faced to the right and filed to the left, close around the cliffs, going to the east side. We here fronted, occupying the highest available part of the slope, and remained until relieved, about ten o'clock P. M., by fresh troops. We bivouacked, after sup- plying ourselves with one hundred rounds of ammunition per man, in the old camp of the enemy.
" Early on the morning of the 25th we moved out by the left, the Twenty- ninth following, and posted on the west slope of the mountain, the left resting against the cliffs, to guard against any approach along this side of the mount- ain. We left this position about twelve o'clock M., marched down the east slope of the mountain, across the valley to Missionary Ridge, and turning to the left kept down the ridge for some distance, moving in column doubled on the center, until ordered up the slope. Before reaching the summit the enemy had fled. We now bivouacked at the foot of the hill, and at a little past ten A. M. of the 26th we started on the road to Ringgold. We marched this day without provisions, and at night reached Pigeon Ridge, where we bivouacked. We were under arms at daylight, and started again, hungry-the supply trains not having come up-and reached the town of Ringgold about eleven A. M., and were ordered into line in the old cornfield, on the right front of the depot, where we lay, submitting, without return shots, to the fire of the enemy's sharpshooters concealed in the forest that lined the slope of Taylor's Ridge, on which they were posted. We remained here until the heights were carried
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on the left, when my regiment was moved forward to hold the gap." During this series of engagements the regiment lost only three killed and seven wounded.
On the Ist of December the regiment marched back to its old camp, on Raccoon Mountain, and on the 28th, many of its original members having re-enlisted for a second term of three years, it departed for home, on its well- earned veteran furlough, arriving at Erie on the afternoon of the 14th of Janu- ary, 1864.
At the expiration of the furlough the command assembled at Pittsburgh, and moved thence by railroad to Bridgeport, Ala., where it reported to Gen- eral Geary, and was assigned by him to the Third Brigade, Second Division, (Geary's) Twentieth Army Corps.
Early in May Sherman's Atlanta campaign opened, and on the morning of the 3d the division crossed the Tennessee, and, moving via Shell Mound, Whiteside, and Wauhatchie, crossed Lookout Mountain, Chickamauga Hills, and Taylor's Ridge, and on the 8th came up with the enemy, where the regi ment acted as support to the cavalry. Early in the day it went into position at Snake Creek Gap, where it awaited the arrival of McPherson's Army of the Tennessee. At five P. M. it was relieved, and, counter-marching, rejoined the division at Mill Creek Church. On the 12th the troops passed through Snake Creek Gap en route to Resaca, and on the following day went into position in reserve at the junction of the Dalton, Calhoun, and Sugar Valley roads, where it intrenched. The morning of the 14th found it on its way to the left of the army, and upon taking position was engaged in covering the front with rifle pits. On the following day it returned to the right, where the entire corps was massed, to charge the enemy upon the opposite hills. The One Hundred and Eleventh moved against a four gun battery posted in a natural basin, a little in front of the fortified line of the enemy. The advance was gallantly made, and at the parapet the men took shelter and picked off the rebel gun- ners, but were unable to gain the interior on account of the enemy's concen- trated fire. At nightfall tools were brought up, and the work of digging through the parapet to obtain the guns was commenced. At half-past ten fresh troops were sent in, who continued the work, and before midnight the guns were reached and triumphantly brought off. In this assault the regiment lost four killed, twenty-four wounded, and two missing.
During the night the enemy fell back, and the Union troops pressed on in pursuit. On the 23d the division crossed to the south side of the Etowah River, followed up Raccoon Creek, thence over the Allatoona Mountains, and on the 25th passed over Pumpkin Vine Creek. Here the division met the ad- vance of the enemy and halted, while the One Hundred and Eleventh was sent through the woods to the right to open communication with Williams's Division, which had crossed below. This was successfully accomplished, and
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the regiment had returned, when, at nightfall, it was advanced through a wood against the enemy, in position near New Hope Church. In this night en- counter it sustained a loss of five killed or mortally wounded, thirty-five wounded, and three missing.
From this time forward, for many weeks, skirmishing and fighting heavy battles was of almost daily occurrence with all of the troops under the com- mand of General Sherman. The combined forces included three armies - Army of the Cumberland, Army of the Tennessee, and Army of the Ohio ; seven army corps - the Fourth, Fourteenth, Fifteenth, Sixteenth, Seventeenth, Twentieth, and Twenty-third ; aggregating more than one hundred thousand effective fighting men at the beginning of the campaign; and all were needed (besides constant additions to make good losses in battle and by disease), in the work of pushing back, step by step, Johnston's rebel army from Dalton to Atlanta.
Thus did the One Hundred and Eleventh, with its brigade, division, and corps, push forward during those eventful days. It participated in the actions fought at Dallas, Ackworth, Big Shanty, Kenesaw and Pine Mountains, Grier's Plantation, the crossing of the Chattahoochie River, and on the evening of July 19 arrived on the bank of Peach Tree Creek, at a point about six or eight miles distant and northeast from the rebel stronghold, Atlanta.
This creek was crossed before dark, the enemy's skirmishers being driven from the opposite bluffs, with a loss to the regiment of one killed and three wounded. A strong line of earthworks was thrown up, but at noon of the fol- lowing day (the 20th) the brigade was moved forward and massed, as was understood, in rear of the First and Second Brigades. At three o'clock P. M. the enemy attacked in full force, and with unusual impetuosity. The One Hundred and Eleventh was immediately thrown forward to meet him, and, advancing across a ravine and up the opposite slope, found, on arriving at the summit, its right suddenly enveloped, front, flank, and rear, by the foe, who was advancing through a gap in the line, and was now struggling fiercely for the mastery. Without support, and taken at a great disadvantage, the regi- ment made a heroic stand, but was finally forced back a short distance, where the line was re-formed and held. The fighting was, at times, hand to hand, and very severe. Near the close of the struggle, which resulted in a complete victory for the Union arms, Colonel Cobham fell, mortally wounded, and ex- pired on the field. Of the regiment, seventeen were killed and twenty-seven wounded, in the action known as the battle of Peach Tree Creek, besides a considerable number taken prisoners.
In describing scenes and incidents connected with this battle a correspond- ent for a Cincinnati paper said : " For the first time in the campaign, a fight took place with neither party behind works. Almost the whole of Hooker's Corps was struck simultaneously while it was moving by flank toward the left,
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although, as the wave of battle rolled from right to left, Ward's division was engaged a minute or two sooner than the others [Williams's and Geary's]. Face to face the combatants stood, firing deadly volleys into each other's bosoms. At times the lines were not more than fifteen feet apart. On Col- onel Harrison's front a hand to hand conflict actually took place, in which offi- cers as well as men were engaged. On Colonel Cobham's center the lines met each other so furiously that they passed one beyond the other, and each changed front [about faced] to renew the conflict."
Again, the New York Times, in speaking of Colonel Cobham's death, says : " He was surrounded by the enemy and called upon by an officer to surren- der. With a rare nobility of character he refused to yield, and for refusing was shot through the body by order of the rebel who made the demand. Mor- tally wounded, but not killed, Cobham turned, and with the calm dignity that always characterized him, ordered a soldier who stood near him to 'shoot that fellow.' The order was promptly obeyed, and the murderer paid with his life the penalty of killing one of the noblest soldiers that the army ever contained." Colonel Cobham was shot through the left lung, and expired four or five hours later.
Thereafter the corps formed part of the Union forces engaged in the in- vestment of Atlanta. During the latter part of August, when Sherman, with the major portion of his army, moved thirty miles to the southward and de- feated the enemy at Jonesboro, thus compelling the hasty evacuation of Atlanta by the rebels, the Twentieth Corps retired northward to Pace's Ferry on the Chattahoochie, where formidable works were erected, and the results of Sherman's bold movement awaited. As soon as it was ascertained that the enemy had fled as a result of the defeat of their main body at Jonesboro, the Twentieth Corps returned towards the now prostrate, helpless city, and on the morning of September 2 the advance column of the command entered the town and took possession without resistance. The colors of the One Hundred and Eleventh, and the Sixtieth New York were at once unfurled from the city hall, amidst the wildest enthusiasm of the troops.
The corps remained at Atlanta until November 16, when the march through Georgia was commenced by the Fourteenth, Fifteenth, Seventeenth, and Twen- tieth Army Corps. The outer works defending Savannah were reached De- cember 10, and on the morning of the 21st of the same month, the rebel de- fenders having fled, the city was occupied by the Federal volunteers.
On the 27th of January, 1865, the division started on the march through the Carolinas, and arrived at Goldsboro, N. C., two months later, where much- needed supplies were obtained. The One Hundred and Ninth and One Hun- dred and Eleventh Pennsylvania Regiments, having served side by side since the spring of 1862, at the request of their commanding officers, seconded by the men, were here consolidated, eight hundred and eighty-five strong, as the 14
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One Hundred and Eleventh Regiment. After the surrender of Johnston, which soon followed, the command moved to Raleigh, and thence via Rich- mond to Washington, where it participated in the grand review of the Army of the Potomac, and Sherman's armies of "Georgia " and the "Tennessee." The regiment was here ordered to report to General Augur, commandant of the city, by whom it was assigned to duty in guarding the Old Capitol, Carroll, and other prisons, and where it remained until the 19th of July, when it was mustered out of service.
The major portion of the Warren county men who served in the regiment are shown in the following lists :
FIELD AND STAFF.
Colonel George A. Cobham, promoted from lieutenant-colonel November 7, 1862, to brevet brigadier-general July 19, 1864; killed at Peach Tree Creek, Ga., July 20, 1864.
Adjutant Albert G. Lucas, promoted from first sergeant Company B Sep- tember 13, 1864 ; mustered out with regiment.
COMPANY B.
Captain Arthur Corrigan, killed at Antietam September 17, 1862.
Captain W. P. Langworthy, discharged on surgeon's certificate February 9, 1863.
Captain Wallace B. Warner, wounded at Wauhatchie October 29, 1863 ; resigned March 15, 1864.
Captain William Geary, discharged April 8, 1865, expiration of term.
Captain John J. Haight, mustered out with company. 1
Second Lieutenant Marvin D. Pettit, killed at Wauhatchie October 29, 1863.
First Sergeant George King, mustered out with company ; veteran.
First Sergeant Mills F. Allison, wounded at Gettysburg; transferred to Veteran Reserve Corps.
Sergeant William H. Ihawkins, mustered out with company ; veteran.
Sergeant George W. Chappel, wounded at Gettysburg ; mustered out with company ; veteran.
Sergeant Elliott C. Young, mustered out with company ; veteran.
Sergeant William E. Rush, mustered out with company ; veteran.
Sergeant Joseph A. McGee, discharged on surgeon's certificate March 2, 1863.
Sergeant Edson C. Hills, killed at Chancellorsville May 3, 1863.
Sergeant Walker H. Hogue, killed at Dallas, Ga., May 31, 1864.
Sergeant Robert M. Watson, died at Winchester, Va., July 6, 1862. Corporal James McAuley, sr., mustered out with company ; veteran.
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ONE HUNDRED AND ELEVENTH REGIMENT.
Corporal William A. Selby, wounded at Wauhatchie ; mustered out with company ; veteran.
Corporal Charles B. Haight, wounded at Antietam; mustered out with company ; veteran.
Corporal Henry W. Ellsworth, wounded at Antietam, and at Culp's Farm, Ga .; mustered out with company ; veteran.
Corporal Austin W. Merrick, mustered out with company ; veteran.
Corporal Edward A. Young, wounded at Cedar Mountain ; discharged by reason of same ; re-enlisted 1864; discharged July 7, 1865.
Corporal J. R. Broughton, sr., discharged on surgeon's certificate May 16, 1862.
Corporal William Gray, discharged on surgeon's certificate November 1, 1862.
Corporal David McNeil, discharged April 9, 1865, expiration of term.
Corporal Miletus Tuttle, discharged by general order June 21, 1865 ; vet- eran.
Corporal John S. Good, killed at Antietam September 17, 1862.
Musician Rufus M. Ross, mustered out with company ; veteran.
Musician Phineas Burnham, died at Alexandria, Va., July 18, 1862.
Privates.
Thomas Arters, wounded at Culp's Farm, Ga .; mustered out with company ; veteran.
Thomas J. Anderson, mustered out with company; veteran.
Samuel Arbuckle, substitute, mustered out with company.
Milo Alger, discharged on surgeon's certificate May 16, 1862.
Isaac Armitage, discharged on surgeon's certificate February 6, 1863.
Benjamin Blizzard, mustered out with company; veteran.
William Blizzard, mustered out with company; veteran.
William Black, mustered out with company; veteran.
Edward Baker, mustered out with company; veteran.
George Buhl, substitute, mustered out with company.
William Brown, substitute, wounded at Wauhatchie; mustered out with company.
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