USA > Pennsylvania > York County > Shiloh > The Seventy-seventh Pennsylvania at Shiloh. History of the regiment. The battle of Shiloh > Part 12
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On the twenty-third General Grant arrived and took com- mand there. General Thomas submitted to him General Rose- crans' plan for the opening of communications by way of the Tennessee river, and thereby relieve the situation then exist- ing at Chattanooga.
As no better plan could be devised: General Grant approved it. After which, by order of General Thomas, the plan was successfully carried into effect, precisely in the manner and by the identical officers and troops designated in General
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Seventy-seventh Pennsylvania Regiment.
Rosecrans' orders issued prior to the coming of General Grant.
Thus it will be readily seen, that the presence of Grant at Chattanooga, had absolutely no bearing or influence whatever, upon the opening of the "Cracker line," and again giving the army abundant supplies.
The same results would have been obtained at the same time, regardless of the whereabouts of General Grant.
While the command was in Chattanooga, it performed the ordinary routine duties incident to camp and field. Nothing of special importance occurred. Almost daily the Confeder- ates threw a few shells into the camp from Lookout Mountain. To this the men became so accustomed, that they paid no at- tention to them. But rarely did they waste ammunition in replying to it.
On the afternoon of September twenty-fifth, Colonel Erdel- meyer, of the Thirty-second Indiana, was directed to relieve the third brigade with details from the first and second bri- gades, amounting in all to six hundred men. About seven o'clock the pickets were suddenly attacked by a considerable force of the enemy which had been concealed along the north bank of Chattanooga creek. So sudden and fierce an attack caused some confusion, which was, however, only momentary. The Confederates had been ordered to charge the Union lines, and came within twenty-five yards of the works, under a heavy fire. There they gave way, retiring in confusion across the creek. Other Confederate troops then began firing from their positions in the woods, and continued it for about three hours, when all again became quiet. This affair was for a time, very spirited. The enemy's attack was very daring, and they fought well. After the first attack, the relief detail, acting coolly and judiciously, poured into the enemy such vol- lers as they could not withstand. The Seventy-seventh Penn- sylvania and the Thirty second Indiana played the most con- spicuous part in this affair, as the attack was on their imme- diate front. Their loss was only three, slightly wounded. The enemy's known loss was four killed, and sixteen wounded.
On October tenth. General Rosecrans published an order relieving Generals McCook, and Crittenden from command and directing that the Twentieth and Twenty-first corps be con-
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Chattanooga.
solidated, to be known thereafter as the Fourth corps, with General Gordon Granger in command. In this reorganization it was the misfortune of the second brigade to be almost en- tirely dismembered. The Twenty-ninth Indiana was assigned to Cruft's brigade, of Stanley's division; the Thirty-fourth Illi- nois, to Morgan's brigade, of Davis' division, and the Seventy- ninth Illinois, to Harker's brigade, of Sheridan's division. The Seventy-seventh Pennsylvania and the Thirtieth Indiana were both assigned to the third brigade, which was com- manded by Colonel Wm. Grose, of Stanley's first division, Fourth corps.
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On October twenty-fourth the first and third brigades of the first division, with the Fifth Indiana battery, all under General Cruft, were ordered to march, at two o'clock the next morning, on the north side of the river, for Rankin's Ferry. There they were to guard a pontoon bridge, and to co-operate with General Hooker, who had been ordered to the same point, by the south side of the river. The march over Walden's Ridge was on roads that were barely passable. As a heavy rain was falling, the march was tedious and most difficult. The column encamped about two miles from the top of the hill and eight miles from Chattanooga. The artil- lery could not get up the mountain until sometime the next day. On the twenty-sixth the troops encamped on the crest of the mountain; on the twenty-seventh, at Prigmore's, at the foot of the mountain, in the Sequatchie Valley. On the morn- ing of the twenty-eighth, the command was set in motion, in a drenching rain, for Rankin's Ferry.
On the twenty-ninth a steam tug drawing two barges, loaded with provisions for General Hooker, came up the river. Their arrival was hailed with joy, as it showed that the river was open, and gave assurance that all suffering at Chatta- nooga, for lack of supplies, was at an end. The command, pursuant to orders, crossed the river at Shellmound, joining General Hooker and camping there for the night. On the thirty-first the third brigade moved to Whiteside. On the morning of the twenty-third of November, pursuant to orders. the brigade commenced their march to Lookout Valley, and there reported to General Hooker for orders.
The Seventy-seventh Pennsylvania, Thirtieth Indiana and
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Serenty-serenth Pennsylvania Regiment.
Battery H, Fourth United States Artillery were left at White- side to hold the place. The other regiments of the brigade duly reached General Hooker, and took part in the battle of Lookout Mountain. The regiment remained at Whiteside, and there on January 5, 1864, about three-fourths of the men re-enlisted as veteran volunteers.
On Tuesday, January twenty-sixth, that part of the regi- ment which had been re-enlisted, having been given veteran furloughs, started in a body for Pennsylvania. Arriving at Pittsburg at noon on February twelfth, they dispersed to their respective homes.
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The Atlanta Campaign.
CHAPTER VIII.
Regiment returns and joins the Army at Blue Spring, Tennessee -- Atlanta Campaign-Colonel Rose returns from Prison.
0 N Saturday, March twenty-seventh, the furloughs having expired, the regiment, which had been re-assembled at Pittsburg, Pennsylvania for several days, left there to again join the army at the front, going by railway to Nash- ville, Tennessee. At Pittsburg, the veterans had been joined by a large number of recruits who had been enlisted for the Seventy-seventh, for a term of three years. After some con- siderable detention at Nashville, on April fifth the regiment started on a march through Murfreesborough and Chatta- nooga, joining the brigade at Blue Springs, near Cleveland, Tennessee, on the twenty-fourth. Preparations had already been almost completed for the Atlanta campaign, and, in less than a fortnight after rejoining its command, the regiment moved southward with the army, in pursuit of the enemy.
At the opening of the Atlanta campaign, the regiment, in command of Captain J. J. Lawson, marched with the brigade, from its camp at Blue Springs, to Red Clay, on the Georgia line, and camped for the night. On May fourth, after some skirmishing it reached Catoosa Springs, Georgia. It rested there for two days. On May seventh the regiment marched with the corps, drove the enemy from Tunnel Hill, Georgia, and took possession of it. Then for several days the brigade advanced, ineffectually endeavoring to drive the enemy from Rocky Face Ridge, in its front. The brigade's position was on the left of the rail and wagon roads, leading through Buz- zard's Roost Gap, on the Dalton road. The enemy had strongly fortified the pass, and the high ridge on either side. Their position was impregnable. On the ninth, at midnight, the regiment went on picket, and on the tenth, it skirmished all day, having three men wounded.
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On the eleventh, the Seventy-seventh Pennsylvania and the Thirtieth Indiana moved unto a ridge, commanding Mill Creek Gap, and threw up rifle-pits. The loss of the brigade here, in its attack on Rocky Face Ridge, was about forty men. Finally, a portion of the Union army having passed the ridge farther south, on the morning of the thirteenth, it was found that the enemy had retreated from the front of the brigade. Then the command moved, in pursuit, on the Dalton road, and at nine o'clock in the morning, came up with the rear guard of the enemy. Skirmishing at once commenced. The Confed- erates were driven through Dalton and pursued. About noon, three miles south of Dalton on the Resaca road, the enemy drew up in line upon a high, wooded hill. On the Union ap- proach, their artillery opened. A heavy artillery duel ensued, as soon as the Federal batteries could be placed in position. The enemy was quickly driven away. The advance continued a few miles to the right into Sugar Valley, where the regiment camped in line, with the corps for the night. Early on the morning of May fourteenth, the corps moved forward about two miles, toward the enemy's position at Resaca, on the right bank of the Oostenaula river. About noon the bri- gade came upon the enemy in position, about three miles from the river. The. country was rough and hilly, being mainly woodland with thick underbrush. Here and there were a few small farms. The brigade was formed with the Seventy-ser- enth Pennsylvania in the front line. The ground was too rough for artillery to move over. The regiment was on the extreme left of the line. At two o'clock it advanced, drove the enemy from the woods, formed there again and were or- dered to halt. Fighting continued until night, and darkness put a stop to it. The regiment had one officer. Captain S. T. Davis, and one enlisted man wounded. At that time Captain Davis was acting Assistant Inspector General on the Staff of General William Grose.
On the fifteenth the fighting commenced again at daylight, and continued all day. The enemy lost heavily in prisoners and artillery, and was obliged to retreat during the night, leaving most of their dead and wounded on the field. The Sev- enty-seventh lost three men, wounded. On May sixteenth the regiment moved at six o'clock in the morning into and through
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The Atlanta Campaign.
Resaca, and at four P. M., crossed the river, marched four miles in pursuit of the enemy and camped near Calhoun.
On May seventeenth the regiment marched eight miles, and encamped near Adairsville. It resumed marching on the eigh- teenth at six o'clock in the morning, passing through Adairs- ville. Six miles farther on some skirmishing took place. That night camp was pitched on the Kingston road. On May nine- teenth, the command marched at six o'clock in the morning, came up with the enemy's rear gnard, skirmished with them, and drove them into their trenches, on a high ridge southeast of Cassville. In this skirmish the regiment lost one man killed and three wounded. The command rested at Cassville until the twenty-third of May, and then marched across the Etowah river, to the right of the Atlanta road and encamped at Euharlee. On the twenty-fourth, at six A. M., the com- mand marched fifteen miles to Burnt Hickory and encamped. On the twenty-fifth, after marching eight miles toward Dallas, crossed Pumpkin Vine creek, and rested in the rear of the Twentieth corps, commanded by General Hooker.
On the twenty-sixth the command moved into position on left of the Twentieth corps, pressed close upon the enemy's lines, and fortified four miles north of Dallas. On the twenty- seventh, the position was changed to the left, relieving Wood's division. There was sharp fighting all day, in which the regiment lost one man, killed, and three wounded. On the twenty-ninth an all-day skirmish cost the regiment four men wounded. Skirmishing continued on the thirtieth with . an additional loss of two wounded. The regiment had another man wounded the next day. On June first the fight- ing continued, and a Seventy-seventh man was killed. One man was wounded on the second, and two more on the third. As the enemy had retreated during the night, the regiment, on the fourth, moved at daylight, to the left. On the sixth, the regiment marched east with the corps, ten miles to within two and one-half miles of Acworth, where it rested until June tenth.
Having escaped from Libby Prison. been re-captured and ex- changed, Colonel Thomas E. Rose returned to the Seventy- seventh, and resmned command of it on the seventh of June, 1801. On the tenth. the regiment moved about four miles
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Seventy-seventh Pennsylvania Regiment.
southeast, and found the enemy in a strong position on Pine Mountain. Skirmishing began here at once and continued until the night of the thirteenth. The Seventy-seventhi was on the second line and was not engaged. On the thirteenth it moved one mile to the left, and threw up intrenchments dur- ing the night. The same night the enemy retreated. On the fourteenth after a pursuit of two miles the regiment found the Confederates in strong force and strongly fortified. Here the Seventy-seventh had one man wounded. Skirmishing con- tinued on the fifteenth and sixteenth, one being wounded on the latter day. The enemy again withdrew during the night. Next day, after a pursuit of about two miles the Confederates were found again, and driven from fortifications on Kenesaw Mountains and adjacent hills, the regimental loss being one officer and seven men wounded, and two men killed.
On the twentieth the regiment laid in front of Kenesaw all day, without sustaining any loss. Next day it moved for- ward to the right, and was opened upon by two Confederate batteries. A new line of works was thrown up, this being the third line which the regiment constructed in its front within twenty-four hours. The loss was one man killed and two wounded. On the twenty-second the works were com- pleted and afforded perfect protection to the men and conse- quently there were no casualties. After dark the regiment moved close to the enemy and fortified. A man was wounded on the twenty-fourth, and two more on the twenty-sixth. In the general assault, made on the twenty-seventh, the regiment lost one killed and one wounded. and next day an officer and two men were wounded. On the twenty-ninth the dead were buried under a flag of truce. During the night the enemy attacked, but were repulsed. The regiment lost three men wounded.
Heavy skirmishing and artillery fire was kept up on both sides until the night of July second. Then, under cover of darkness, the enemy evacuated Kenesaw Mountain and Marietta and retreated.
On the third the regiment moved forward with the brigade, through Marietta and five miles beyond Smyrna, where the enemy was found, on the Atlanta road, strongly fortified. The fourth was celebrated by charging the enemy's works
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The Atlanta Campaign.
at eleven in the morning, capturing their riffe pits and a large number of prisoners, and killing and wounding a large number of Confederates. The regimental loss was one killed and one officer and seventeen wounded. During the night the enemy withdrew four miles to the Chattahoochie river. The next morning at daybreak the enemy was pursued to the river, the regiment camping that night on the river bank, one mile to the left of Vining station. Skirmishing continued across the river, until the tenth, when the regiment marched five miles up the river, and rested until the twelfth. Then the command crossed the river on canvas pontoons, and moving down the river to Power's Ferry, camped in front of the Twenty-third corps, on a high bluff, overlooking the river. The regiment moved seven miles to near Buckhead on the eighteenth, ad- vancing at eleven A. M. the next day to Peach Tree Creek. Intrenchments were thrown up on the south side of the creek. Some skirmishing followed without any regimental casualties. The fortified position of the enemy was attacked, and his ritle- pits carried on the twentieth. The brigade captured forty- three prisoners and the regiment had two men wounded. The following morning at sunrise the Seventy-seventh moved for- ward to the skirmish line and threw up works under a heavy fire, one officer and four men being wounded. During the night the enemy silently stole away.
Pursuit was resumed at three A. M. on the twenty-second, . the Seventy-seventh being in advance. In a heavy fog, the command came upon the enemy quite abruptly at sunrise. It was quickly drawn up in line and after a sharp engagement drove the hostile force off. Fortifications were then built within two miles of Atlanta, and within a half mile of one of their forts, after a regimental loss of four wounded. Daily skirmishes followed. On the twenty-sixth a sharp engage- ment took place, resulting in the advance of the Union skir- mish line, during which three more were wounded. The bri- gade charged upon the enemy's works on the fifth of August, but was repulsed with a loss of thirty-six. The loss of the Seventy-seventh Pennsylvania was the heaviest, consisting of one officer, Captain John E. Walker, and five men killed, and fourteen men wounded.
On August seventeenth the regiment changed its position
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Seventy-seventh Pennsylvania Regiment.
from the right to the extreme left of the brigade, with a loss of three wounded. On the twenty-fifth the regiment moved seven miles to the right and camped at Proctor's creek. On the next day it continued its move to the right about eight miles, passing the Army of the Tennessee and the Fourteenth corps. On the twenty-eighth it continued its move about three miles, and camped near Red Oak Station on the West Point Railroad. On the next day the regiment assisted in the destruction of a large portion of the railroad. On the thirtieth it moved about five miles southeast, and encamped in a dense woods, near Shoal creek. On the thirty-first it moved early in the morning, about five miles to near the Macon railroad.
On September first the destruction of that railroad began. The regiment moved down the railroad, destroying it as they went, until the command came to near Jonesborough, where a line of battle was formed to advance upon the enemy, who were strongly fortified at that place. The regiment was on the extreme right of the brigade, where it advanced through a dense thicket, for about half a mile, close to the enemy's line. There slight works were thrown up under a heavy fire of musketry and artillery, which wounded two men. During the night the enemy retired. On the second the command moved down the railroad to Lovejoy station, where it again . encountered the enemy. The regiment was in reserve here, and met with no casualties.
On the third, the Seventy-seventh Pennsylvania was moved to the front, relieving another regiment of the brigade. As the Seventy-seventh was larger than the regiment it relieved, it was necessary to extend the works to cover their entire front. As soon as the fog lifted the enemy opened with musketry and artillery upon the regiment, keeping up the fire until the works were completed. ' Lieutenant R. H. Thomp- son was killed, Major Philips lost an arm and eleven men were wounded. On the fifth the regiment withdrew to Jonesbor- ough. On the seventh it moved to Rough and Ready, and next day to Atlanta, encamping about two miles east of that city.
Thus ended the most eventful and successful campaign of the war. The Confederates were driven from Dalton, their stronghold, over rivers and mountains. Their naturally
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strong positions, one after another, yielded to the force of the Union arms, until the "Gate City," Atlanta, at last fell into possession of the Federal armies.
The total loss of the Seventy-seventh in the eventful cam- paign was two officers and seven men killed, six officers and seventy-seven men wounded, and three men missing, an ag- gregate loss of ninety-five.
The Atlanta Campaign, for long continued tenacious fight- ing stands unparalleled in history, ancient or modern.
The first skirmish of the campaign took place on the fourth day of May, and from that time on, for more than four months, or to be more precise, until the eighth day of Septem- ber, there was one continuous struggle, over territory more than one hundred and fifty miles in extent, and during all that time there was hardly a single day that there was not fight- ing-sometimes reaching the proportions of great battles- going on somewhere along the lines.
Those four battle months were indeed a great school for the soldier; the men who joined the regiment as raw recruits at the beginning of the campaign, were at its close, well seasoned soldiers, the equal of any soldiers to be found anywhere in the civilized world.
Four months of incessant toil and fighting, almost without rest day or night, over a rugged mountainous country, in a semi-tropical climate, during the hottest, most sultry part of the year, was indeed a most severe test of the physical en- durance of the strongest and most robust nature.
Imagine an army of young men,under such conditions, in the face of a determined and valiant foe, toiling up the rugged sides of the mountains, fighting every step of their way up the rocky slopes, from crag to crag, and in many places, where horses could get no foothold, dragging up the cannon by hand, often more than a score of men tugging with all their strength, at a single gun, and all this under the hail of shot and shell coming from the foe.
It was not enough to merely drive the enemy from his posi- tions, the ground gained by day; had to be secured by night, when the tired weary men, almost worn out by the day's ex- ertions, instead of lying down to refreshing sleep, nature's sweet restorer to gain the much needed rest. were obliged
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to dig up the earth with the ouly implement at hand-the bay- onet-and construet defensive works to shelter themselves from the storm of death dealing missiles that were sure to come from the enemy with the following day. Thus it went on from the beginning of the campaign to its close; driving the enemy, day after day from one position to another, it is true sometimes slowly, but always surely, meeting with the most stubborn resistance at every point, but always gaining the point aimed at.
Portions of the army, alternately, at different times, would get short periods of rest, but such rests the men were obliged to snatch when not on duty, either on the picket or skirmish line, or in the trenches on fatigue duty, were conse- quently like Angels visits-few and far between-and taken altogether, would amount to very few days during the entire four months.
Yet, notwithstanding all the privations and hardships, there was no faultfinding or grumbling, and the men were always cheerful, and as soon as one duty was performed were ready for the next one; it was well for the country that such was the case; such willingness to do their duty on the part of the men, was a sure precursor of final victory.
The Seventy-seventh Pennsylvania, always at the front, endured its full measure -- shaken together, pressed down and running over-of all the hardships of this campaign, and the men were as cheerful and happy under all circumstances, as those of any other command in the army.
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In Pursuit of Hood.
CHAPTER IX.
Confederates move Northward-Thomas sent to Nashville-Spring Hill- Battle of Franklin-Battle of Nashville-In Pursuit of the Enemy- Winter quarters at Huntsville.
F OUR days after the fall of Atlanta, Jefferson Davis tele- graphed to General Hood that re-inforcements would · be sent to him from every available part of the South- ern Confederacy, even from Texas, and that he must get ready to move into Tennessee. He commenced preparations accordingly, at once, and, by the end of September, his army was in motion for Sherman's rear, and had captured the gar- risons at Acworth, Big Shanty, Dalton and Tilton.
On September twenty-fifth Sherman found that Hood's troops were in his rear, threatening his communications. To provide against this Sherman sent a division to Chattanooga, and one to Rome, Georgia, supposing that Hood would fall back in the direction from which he, Hood, had come, to reach the railroad.
On September twenty-eighth Sherman sent Major General Thomas, his second in command, to Nashville to organize the new troops expected to arrive there, and tomakearrangements to meet the enemy, giving Thomas full power over all troops. subject to Sherman's command, except the four corps with which he designed to move through Georgia. This gave Thomas two divisions under A. J. Smith, in Missouri; the Fourth and Twenty-third corps; all the garrisons in Tennes- see, and a considerable force of cavalry, which was badly in need of horses. These forces, General Sherman thought, would enable Thomas successfully to cope with Hood and the whole Confederate army that had confronted Sherman's en- tire army throughout the Atlanta campaign.
On the first of October it was definitely known that Hood, with his army had crossed the Chattahoochee and was mov- ing northward.
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On the third, the regiment with the Fourth corps, moved out from Atlanta in pursuit of the enemy, being the leading corps of the Union army. The route in following Hood, led first to Marietta; thence via Pine Top and Lost mountain, to Allatoona and Kingston; from Kingston' to Rome, where, finding that Hood had struck the railroad north of Resaca, the corps marched to Resaca, and with the Fourteenth corps, crossed Rocky Face Mountain, just north of Snake Creek Gap, compelling the enemy to relinquish his hold on that pass.
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