USA > Wisconsin > Eau Claire County > History of Eau Claire county, Wisconsin, past and present; including an account of the cities, towns and villages of the county > Part 12
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them from the steamer decks. They killed some. Occasionally they would hit a big bull, who would start for the bank, and then, shaking his long mane, would charge back at the boat, but, of course, we were beyond their reach. At one point in the river the boat passed under some high overhanging cliffs. We were told that here the Indians were likely to heave rocks down on the boats. To guard against this we disembarked below the cliff's and marehed to the summit. We found no Indians, but the ground was piled with the bones and skulls of those who had been killed there. It was an old Indian battle ground.
"Fort Union was situated on a high open ridge near the river. About a half mile up the river the ground was lower, and covered with small timber, cottonwoods, etc. A similar piece of timber, only larger and heavier, lay about a mile down the river, and there was also timber on the opposite bank. Close to the river the brush was so dense and thiek one could see but a few feet ahead of him. There were a number of Indian tribes near us, but only the Sioux were troublesome. The Crows were especially friendly. Their camp was about sixty miles north, but some of them stayed around the fort or pitched their wigwams inside of the stoekade. Some of our company were granted the privilege of visiting the Crows at their eamp, spending several days with them, and we were treated with all the hospitality their means would allow. We also hunted buffalo with them, but none of us were experts, and our awkwardness in attempting to chase buf- falo on their pones gave the Indians a great deal of amusement. The orders were that the men should only leave the fort to go any considerable distance except in companies of ten or more. As weeks would pass without any signs of hostile Indians the men would become more careless and would often go hunting singly. One day I took a light gun and went across the river in a skiff to hunt rabbits. I left the skiff and returning to it only a few minutes later found the tracks of a big grizzly bear by the skiff made in my absence. I lost no time in getting out of that vicinity.
"In our company were several of the boys who were just ach- ing to run across a grizzly, and often told how they would fix him if opportunity offered. At last they got their chance. Under charge of First Sergeant Orrin S. Hall six of them went some dis- tanee from the fort for several days of elk hunting. One day they had shot two elk, had strung one up and, it being late, had left the other on the ground. In the morning they went to look for the one left on the ground but it had disappeared, and the traeks of a big grizzly showed what had become of it. Hall was
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a brave and fearless man, and I will have more to say of him later. With him in the lead the boys cautiously followed the grizzly's trail, and before long came upon him standing over the dead elk. Hall told the boys that the only show was to kill the grizzly at the first fire, otherwise some of the company would very likely be killed by the grizzly. Telling the boys to take careful aim and to fire when he counted three, the boys raised their guns, but their hands shook so that Hall told them to put down their guns. After a few moments he told them to try again, but their hands shook worse than ever. Seeing it would he foolhardy to allow them to shoot under the circumstances a retreat was ordered, and the grizzly was left in undisturbed possession of the field.
"Wolves were plentiful around the fort. We had in our com- pany a man by the name of Blin, who made quite a business dur- ing the winter of poisoning the wolves, with the intention of skinning them later and selling the pelts .. An old buffalo would be shot and while still warm poison would be put into it, which would spread throughout the careass. The wolf pelts would bring only a dollar, and it was worth more than that to skin them. By spring there were a hundred carcasses piled up outside the fort, but Blin put off the skinning job so long that warm weather struck him, the carcasses began to smell to high heaven and the poor fellow had to tote them all to the river and throw them in. "On New Year's day, 1865, we had a grand ball. Each of the boys had invited a squaw for a partner weeks in advance, and the way those sqnaws bought gay ribbons and finery for the occasion was a sight to see. We chipped in and paid our cook an extra $25 for preparing the spread, while we furnished the provisions. In the absence of large game we had a hundred rabbits for meat. Only the squaws came to the hall. Many of them were of mixed Freneh and Indian blood and knew something of dancing, and the others were not slow to learn. It was a sight to note their appetites and amusing to see them tucking away in their clothing the cake they were unable to eat.
"The Sioux Indians occasionally came to the fort ready to waylay an individual or small company they might find. One day I was hunting rabbits in the thiek brush across the river when I heard the crackling of brush not far back of me, then on one side and then on the other. I gave the call to which our boys and the Crows always responded, but received no reply. I realized that the sounds were made by Sioux Indians, so I made a break for the river bank, but the Indians did not show themselves this time. On another occasion I was about a mile below our fort near
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an old deserted log fort in a clearing. Three Sioux on horseback started for me, but I ran and got behind the logs of the old fort. They eireled around me a number of times and tried to indnee me to come out into the open, but I could not see it in that light. Finally they rode away and after waiting for a considerable time I made for the fort. On another occasion the Indians made a raid and captured every horse belonging to our company. The soldiers and friendly Crows started in pursuit. There was cou- siderable confusion and delay in getting started ; then it was some- times hard to tell Sioux from Crow Indians. We usually distin- guished them by their horses. I was about to shoot at what I felt sure was a Sioux, when Captain Greer stopped me telling me that was a Crow. A little later this same Indian, who proved to be a Sioux, made for us. I fired, but had forgotten to remove the wooden plug or "Tompkins" which we kept in our guns to prevent rusting. The Indian kept right on, but was killed a few moments after by one of the Crows, and two pieces of my wooden plug were found imbedded in his chest. The Crow sealped his vietim, and the squaws, not content with this, later cut off the hands and feet of the eorpse and otherwise mutilated it.
"The only loss of life to the company by the Indians occurred in April, 1865. Grizzly signs had been seen in a piece of timber less than a mile from the fort where some of the boys had been detailed to eut firewood. Early in the morning Sergeant Orrin S. Hall, George Vaux and Erastus Livermore went out to see if they could get a shot at the grizzly. Soon Livermore came running back to the fort, stating that Hall and Vaux had both been killed by the Indians. Livermore had a hole shot through his eoat, but was uninjured. Ile had seen the other two fall, but had managed to eseape. The eartridge had stuek in his gun, and being unable to shoot he had jumped over the river bank and made his way back to the fort. We hurriedly made for the timber. It was scarcely light. We found Vaux badly wounded but alive. Ile had crawled into a thieket and later had erawled back to the trail so we would find him. A little further along we found poor Hall, dead, pierced with fourteen arrows and scalped. One Indian lay dead on the field and we could see where a wounded Indian had been taken away by friends. Vaux said that IIall died like the brave man he was, continuing to shoot until he fell. The dead Indian was sealped and the sealp was brought baek to Eau Claire by Alex. Watson, well known to old residents. Vaux recovered and returned to this county. We were at Fort Union just about one year. In the spring of 1865 we returned to Louisville, Ky. At
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that place I was taken sick and was sent home. That was in August. The company returned to St. Louis and from there went to Washington, taking part in the grand review, after which both of them returned to this section of the country."
Editor Daily Telegram: Several weeks ago an account was given of the battle of Farmington, with the death of Captain Perkins, of the Eagle company, and the promotion of Lieutenant Wolf to the head of the company. That was in May, 1862.
Today we have a letter from Captain Green, of the Eagle regiment, describing the siege and later battle of Corinth :
"Bivouac, South of Corinth, Miss., June 4, 1862. The thing 'which was to have arroven have arrived.' Corinth is ours! Of course you have heard through the newspapers all about the evacuation, the fight with the rear guards, the destruction of property, etc. I only know that the enemy skedaddled; that a part of our army is in Corinth and that General Pope's corps has marched through and is now bivouacking three or four miles south of Corinth. It is said that 4,000 prisoners were taken, but I have not seen them. But now I will proceed to give you an account of our movements from the 27th of May to the present time; first remarking that our regiment was in the front line and met the last charge of the enemy, repulsed them and drove the into their intrenchments. Our loss was small, only two killed and four wounded in Company I. On the 27th of May our regi- ment went on grand guard. Well, as I was saying, we had our sentinels posted by 9 o'clock of the 27th. The rebel guard was not over 500 yards in our front and the sentinels could see each other and even hold conversation; but they did not talk much; it is a serious breach of military discipline, and a violation of the rules of war. About 9 o'clock in the morning we expected to be relieved, not knowing that all the forces had left camp and were marching to the front. We soon found out, however, that we were to be relieved from picket duty only to go into more serious business, for in an hour or so a line of skirmishers came out in advance of our forces, passed beyond our guard lines and attacked the rebel pickets. They drove the rebel pickets in, after some sharp firing, and followed them closely. Our guards were called off post, canteens filled with fresh water, and then we started in search of our brigade. Found it about a mile to the right, and in advance of all the other forces, drawn up in line of
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battle in a little ravine running through an old cornfield with rising ground in front, from the top of which the land sloped down gradually four hundred yards to a creek, across which on another knoll was a rebel fort, one of the strongest of all the Corinth works, mounting twelve guns and defended by one or more brigades of infantry. The creek ran parallel with our line of battle and extended three hundred yards to our right, when it turned and rau at a right angle with our lines, heavily timbered on the opposite side. We had no sooner taken our posi- tion on the right of our brigade than the rebel battery commenced throwing shells at us. We got out of the ravine as quickly as we could and laid down on the side of the hill in front, which afforded protection against cannon shot and shell. The deep worn corn furrows comfortably hid a fellow. Our own batteries opened on the rebels immediately, firing over our heads as well as from our right and left ; a deafening, terrific eannonading was kept up for half an hour. It seemed as if hell had broke loose. All at once there was a cessation of the cannonading from the rebel battery and we began to cheer, supposing their guns had been dismounted. But the rising shout was soon drowned in the quick sharp reports of musketry on our left, which increased in a few moments to vol- leys. Up it came from left to right; up to our feet we sprang and forward to the top of the hill. The left companies of our regiment were already engaged, and as soon as we reached the brow of the hill we saw the rebel infantry rushing toward us. Bang, bang. whiz, zip, zip, sang the rifle balls. The butternuts stood to give about three volleys, their colonel on a splendid looking white horse galloping between the two lines shouting, 'Forward my brave men! The battery is ours!' The horse an instant after rushed riderless through our ranks bleeding from one shoulder. Dust and smoke until you couldn't tell a man from a stump ten yards off. Forward we rushed, firing and shouting, officers giv- ing orders to the tops of their voices, when a voice was heard crying: 'Look out to the right, men! Look out to the right!' And three men on horseback emerged into view from that direc- tion, one of whom, a magnificent looking old soldier, we recog- nized as 'Old Rosy,' General Rosencrans, and at the same instant almost the rebels came out of the woods to our right and showered us with musket balls, but overshooting. With a yell, Company A and my company wheeled 'round to the right and dashed after them to the edge of the timber, but the rebels, not more than one or two companies, who had been deployed there as skirmishers, skedaddled fast, although we wounded eight or ten of them and
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captured their knapsacks, blankets and haversacks filled with five days' rations which they had laid in a pile before advancing. The fight lasted only twenty minutes. Thirty rebels were dead on the field in front of our regiment and a good many were picked up wounded. A few were taken prisoners. We lost only two killed and four wounded. The rebel charge was gallantly exe- cuted-they got so close to one of our batteries that the artillery- men shot some of them with revolvers. That night we threw up intrenehments and stayed there until the night of the twenty- ninth. The rebels left on that day.
"Bivouac, near Boonville, Miss., June 6, 1862 .- We are 30 miles south of Corinth, chasing the rebels. Beauregard's evacua- tion of Corinth was not altogether successful. The road for 20 or 30 miles south of Corinth was strewn with discarded equipage, whole camps, tents, commissary and quartermaster's stores, sick and wounded soldiers, wagons, mules, etc., left or abandoned in the greatest haste, showing that we pressed hard after them. We found plenty of graves, in one of which was buried a 12-pound howitzer. It had a headboard marked 'W. C.,' with date, etc. They had not time to round up the grave before our advance came in sight.
"October 3 .- We have completed the circle and now hail again from Corinth. We are in camp about five miles west of town. I am in a private house under the surgeon's care. The enemy, Price and Van Dorn's army, is all around us everywhere, but no one seems to know just where.
"Camp near Ripley, October 8. I began this letter at Corinth, October 3, and had only gotten it fairly commenced when the surgeon came into my room greatly excited, saying the rebels were coming. There were but a few soldiers in town. Our brigade was marching from a point five or six miles southwest toward Corinth as rapidly as possible. About noon the report of cannon was heard in the near distance and our troops began pouring into town from different directions and forming into line of battle. I waited from 11 o'clock in the forenoon until the middle of the afternoon before our regiment put in its appear- ance. I tell you it was a period of awful suspense, and I never was so glad in my life as I was to see the old Eagle regiment coming up the road. They had been on the run for several hours and were in a state of exhaustion. I joined my company and we went into the fight. We doubled-quicked through a field and ran directly into the enemy in the woods, who poured a deadly fire into our ranks while we were marching and before we could form
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in line of battle. The fight was hot for ten minutes or more, but the enemy were too strong for ns. They had ten times our num- ber. They made a charge, yelling like so many screeeh owls or devils. We stood our ground and fired volley after volley into them, but it seemed to make no impression on them whatever. They eame right on like a great wave, overwhelming everything in its progress. Catching sight of our eagle those in front of our regiment gave forth an unearthly yell and started to capture it. Old Abe, up to that time had behaved himself with great gal- lautry, but at this moment a bullet slightly wounded him under one wing and he hopped off his pereh to the ground and dueked his head between his carrier's legs. All attempts to make him stay on his perch were useless. He was thoroughly demoralized, and the same feeling extended itself to the line and they broke and ran before the rebel charge, the carrier of the eagle picking him up and carrying him under his arm as fast as he could run. It was a new experience for us, for heretofore we had always been the vietors. The regiment and brigade dissolved so quickly that it was impossible to see what had become of them. I found myself with Captain Wolf, of Company C, and the colors, with perhaps a dozen men. The color bearer was shot and the next man who picked them up was wounded. We brought them off the field with the enemy at our heels. We got back to Battery Robinette, which opened on the rebels and checked their advance and waited the next move. It was now dusk and the fight for that day was over. We laid on our arms all night, and as soon as morning broke the eannonading opened and was kept up with fearful energy. After this our advance skirmishers were driven in and we formed our lines and waited. We did not have long to wait. The rebel line of battle emerged from the woods and eame forward to Battery Robinette through the abbatis formed by falling trees, with the greatest heroism and daring. All the guns of the fort and the musketry of our line of battle opened on them, but on they came, elosing up their ranks-on, on, running, elimbing, shooting, shouting and yelling-their leader, Colonel Rogers, mounted on a white horse, riding in advance waving his sword and looking as grand and noble as Mars himself. Oh, it was a terrible charge. Right up to the parapet of the battery they swarmed, their gallant leader and his horse being shot as he leaped the ditch. They swarmed over the parapet. Our line of battle gave way before them and fell baek, perhaps, fifty yards, when General Roseerans, bareheaded, waving his hat and sword, rushed along in front of the line and the men soon went forward
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and drove the rebels back. Some of the rebels actually got into the battery and were killed or captured by the gunners. Many surrendered rather than run the risk of being killed on the re- treat. The ground in front was covered with their dead and wounded. Over 3,000 rebels were killed and wounded. Our loss was not so large, but was heavy enough. Our regiment had ninety men killed and wounded. The records of the world may be searched in vain, I verily believe, to find a more desperate, bloody and gallant charge than that made by the rebels. They had every- thing at stake. Everything depended on their winning the battle and they fought hard for it, but in vain. The two armies were about equal in numbers, but we had the heaviest artillery. As soon as the charge was over we waited for them to try it again. But they did not charge again. Again and again they formed their lines and advanced to the edge of the woods, but their men would go no further. Officers swore and- appealed to them to go in just once more, but they had had enough."
It was in the fall of 1862, soon after the battle of Corinth, that Coloney Murphy, of the Eighth Wisconsin, allowed the enemy to destroy an immense store of supplies at Holly Springs, which event had an important bearing on the Vicksburg campaign, making, as it did, impossible the carrying out of one of the earlier plans for the reduction of Vicksburg.
The late Col. W. F. Vilas, in his history of the Vicksburg cam- paign, makes the following reference to this affair: "And to cap all, the surprise by Van Dorn of Holly Springs, the intermediate base where Grant had gathered a million dollars' worth of sup- plies, which the enemy destroyed, determined his (Grant's) with- drawal from this attempt. It is humiliating to add that the cow- ardice of a Wisconsin officer, Colonel Murphy, of the Eighth In- fantry, the Eagle regiment, who basely yielded the post at Holly Springs, which he could easily have defended, furnished the sole reason for that disaster ; because, but for his action, his men would have protected the place. It is not a consolation that he was promptly cashiered."
In May, 1863, we find Grant's army before Vicksburg, and Captain Green, writing to his wife as follows: "Camp near Vicks- burg, May 26, 1863 .- On returning to camp (eve of the twenty- first) we had an order that the army was to charge the enemy's works at ten o'clock next day all along the line. In the morning the army was in line of battle, waiting the order to go in. It was about noon, however, when the bugles sounded and the Union Army, with flags waving over them, charged the rebel works.
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Our brigade was held in reserve. We stood in line of battle and saw the front go in. They melted away before the withering fire from the entrenchments and soon disappeared from view. Presently, when the smoke lifted, we saw them in ravines and in the ditch right under the rebel guns, with their flags planted on the outer slope of their works. About two o'clock in the after- noon General Grant and Adjutant-General Rawlins met Generals Sherman, Tuttle and Mower, where we were standing under arms. Grant had on a slouch hat, a torn blouse and an eye glass shing over his shoulder. They had a conference at the head of our regiment, and several of us officers went up to where they were talking and heard what they said. General Grant said he had a dispatch from McClernand, on the extreme right of him, down by the Mississippi river, on the lower side of Vicksburg, stating that his troops had carried the enemy's works and were now in them, and if another charge was made on another part of the line to prevent the enemy sending re-enforcements to repel him he could go into the city. I heard General Grant say that he did not think it was true, but it might be so, and in order that the enterprise might not fail for lack of support, he would order that another charge be made immediately; and turning to General Sherman, he said: 'Send in your reserves.' General Sherman turned to General Tuttle, our division commander, and ordered him to send in a brigade. General Tuttle said in turn to General Mower, who commanded our brigade, 'General, charge the works with your brigade at once.' General Mower was a brave man, there was no discount on that-he meant to obey the order, but could not help saying, 'General, it will be the death of every man in the brigade to go in there now,' and without waiting to hear what reply was made he sent his aide to the colonels command- ing the regiments of the brigade with orders to follow the ad- vance, marching by right flank for about one hundred yards, where the ground would not permit a forward movement in line of battle, and when they got out of this to form in line of battle and charge on the double quick. The Eleventh Missouri was in the lead, the Fifth Minnesota came next, the Eighth Wisconsin was next and the Forty-seventh Illinois in the rear.
"The orders were given. We moved down the road diagonally to the front, marching four abreast until we struck a sunken road, three or four fect deeper than the surrounding ground. This sunken road was perhaps two hundred yards long, then it turned to the right. We were marching four abreast through this road until it turned, then we were to form in line of battle and march
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forward. Just as we struck the road we came out in full view of the enemy, who were standing by their guns. Our appearance was the signal for them to open fire on us with all their guns and a stream of fire shot out from the rebel works not over a thousand yards away. It was perfectly awful. The two regiments ahead of us had disappeared and the sunken road was full of dead and wounded. Just as we reached it, Lieutenant Chapman, as brave a young fellow as every was in the army, and a genial com- panion was shot, a canister shot hitting him in the breast and going through him. He fell against me, his blood spurting out in streams. I laid him down as gently as I could. His eyes looked into mine, but he was dead, killed instantly. We actually stepped on the dead and wounded in the sunken road, so thickly were they lying. Men were falling all around us. The bullets whizzed in our ears like a swarm of bees and the shells exploded among us incessantly. We reached the turn in the road and left it, the com- panies making a half wheel to get into line of battle, then charged forward on the double quick, without much regard to alignment. The ground was open and level, here and there a tree or a stump or a bunch of cane behind which a squad of men were crouching. The works were only a few hundred yards ahead, but it seemed a mile. We ran on through an iron hail before which our men fell like leaves, killed and wounded. Our flag went down-then reappeared-the air thick with the dust and the noise of the enemy's shots perfectly deafening. It seemed as if we would never get there, but at last we reached the ditch at the foot of the entrenchments, jumped and drew a long breath of relief. Our color-bearer was boosted up and planted his flag in the ground half way up.
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