USA > Wisconsin > History of the First Wisconsin Battery Light Artillery > Part 23
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Comrade Leith writes:
"During the retreat of General Banks' army from Alexan- dria, La., the center section of the Battery was detached, under Lieutenant Eph L. Hackett, to operate with the cavalry in the rear guard.
"As soon as the columns began to move the rebels com- menced to attack and harass the rear. These attacks, which sometimes assumed the proportions of miniature battles. were kept up day and night until the troops reached the Missis- sippi River.
"As may be assumed. there was no rest for the rear guard, and the fatigue occasioned by the loss of sleep was keenly felt by all. Many a sleepy man fell off his horse and in one or two cases was badly injured.
"When the columns halted the enemy would close up on the rear guard. and in order to protect those in front the rear guard would have to face about and form a line of battle. Sometimes the enemy would endeavor to cut out portions of
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the column, and one morning they nearly succeeded in getting the Battery section. T'his occurred on the morning of May 18th, at Yellow Bayou.
"At daybreak on that day the column began to move as usual, and the rear guard soon followed. The bayou was crossed at a point where it made a turn almost at a right angle so that the formation of the land opposite was what the French call a cul de sac. After crossing the troops followed down the left bank for some distance. The enemy crossed further up and came in on our left flank. We immediately faced about and went into action on the bank of the bayou. The horses were ordered to be taken over the bank for protec- tion from the enemy's shells. Emery Stanford and C. A. Leith were in charge of the horses. One of Stanford's horses would not lead and hung back, and Leith, spying a rebel gun- ner training his gun on the horses, hurried over the bank and at the same time calling to Stanford to let the refractory horse go and 'get there.' He obeyed just in time, for imme- diately the shell came and cut the said horse's head half off, causing the animal to rear and fall backward over the bank, and narrowly escaping a mix-up with the horses taken there for shelter. In trying to avoid getting crushed by the falling horse Nick Hitchcock received a severe injury to his foot from a horse's hoof.
"The Johnnies then began cutting down the bank with their shells in order to reach the horses, and so far succeeded as to cut the rolls of blankets off the rear of the saddles of two horses. In the meantime our guns had exhausted all their am- munition and expected to be captured, and would certainly have been had it not been for the timely arrival of two bat- teries and the 8th Wisconsin Regiment (the Eagle regiment). This force succeeded in cutting us out.
"A Maryland cavalry regiment then charged the enemy, but was badly cut up and repulsed. We then resumed our march."
A great many negro families left their homes and followed the army. Some of the saddest sights imaginable were there witnessed. Poor, sad and dejected; miserably clad and worse fed, with large families of small children, they were jostled about by the army as if they were cattle instead of human beings. Each family, or group of families, would have its wagon, or train of wagons, drawn by oxen, mules or ponies, and all so poor that it seemed as if they could barely get along without drawing a load, and they were crowded out or crowded in, just as the whim of some officer happened to be. By some they were told that this was their place, by others that. and by a third that they had no place at all, and no business in the way of an army. But they were very patient and seemed more than satisfied if they could only be assured that they
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would escape the persecutions of the Confederate army, and at the same time secure their freedom.
The route pursued was to follow the river to Fort DeRus- sey, thence to Marksville, to Symsport, upon the Atchafalaya River, which stream was crossed on a pontoon made of steam- boats placed side by side so that we could drive from the deck of one to the deck of another. This is the stream in which Longfellow makes Evangeline to pass her lover in the early morning, whom she, with the Holy Father, is seeking. It is certainly, as Longfellow says, in the "Garden of Louisiana." Symsport is about 15 miles from the Mississippi River, and after we crossed this stream the rebels left the chase and re- turned to their base. At Marksville, or near there, on Marks' prairie, we witnessed one of the grandest of sights seen in the army. It was the whole of Banks' army in view at one time. It was moved across in three parallel columns and as the prai- rie was large enough to perinit the whole force to get on at once, and it was comparatively level land, those with field glasses were favored with the sight of a lifetime.
From Symsport to Morganza Bend, on the Mississippi River, the march was made without incident. At the latter place, 40 miles above Port Hudson, the army was camped prepara- tory to taking shipping for other fields, but for some reason was permitted to remain some time. The Battery was as- signed quarters on a plat of ground near an old cotton gin, and as the latter had a shed on one side of it the boys thought it would be a fine place to put the horses and a rush was made for the "best" place, but scarcely had they entered before they were beating a retreat from the shed and brushing the lower portion of their trousers legs and the horses were pawing the ground and stamping and kicking furiously. Investigation showed that the cause of the commotion was nothing but fleas, of which there were millions. So indelibly did those indus- trious insects impress themselves upon the persons of those who then and there suffered from their ravages that long years after the memory of them, as it was suggested by receiving a little poem on the "Grayback," caused the writer, like Silas Wegg, to fall into poetry as follows:
THE FLEA OF MORGANZA.
The "Grayback" poem has been received And its illustrations scanned. sir, But nothing therein pictured or penned Caused my hair to rise upon end Like a memory of the flea of Morganza.
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It is true that a sight of the crawling "phiz" Of the old army brigand, sir, Sent a hand under by arm with a vim,
But not in such haste to capture him
As 'twas wont to go for that flea at Morganza.
The Grayback is an industrious bird, But try the best he can, sir, To crawl all over a man in a minute, He is not now ana never was "in it" With that jumping flea of Morganza.
The movements of Pediculus V. Are slothful, my dear man, sir, As compared with the jumps and the jerks While climbing your spine with fantastic quirks, Of that ubiquitous flea of Morganza.
The Grayback would bite, we all of us knew, But, whenever he ran, sir, We'd surely find him in some of his haunts; In pleat of shirt or seam of pants, But where was that flea of Morganza ?
The soldier was content if he could strike back, Or get his assailant in hand, sir, This he could do with the Grayback bums And "mash" their life out between his thumbs; Not so with the flea of Morganza.
Thus it was then, and ever has been, Since ever the world began, sir, The Grayback, though worse than the "cracker bug," The "bacon worm" or the "commissary jug," Was not "in it" with the flea of Morganza.
We were soon comfortably fixed in camp with most modern army conveniences and wondering "What next?" On the 25th of May the Battery was ordered to prepare for an expedition, carrying two days' cooked rations. Lieutenant Webster being sick, did not accompany the Battery on this trip, which was for the purpose of capturing or intercepting a rebel force sup- posed to be in our rear. In the meantime a "wet spell" had set in which rendered the camp more or less muddy and un- comfortable. the ground being so level that it was difficult to drain it. The sun. when it shone. was hot and the weather sultry, while the mosquitoes were only equaled in number by the ubiquitous flea. The above expedition proved a "water
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haul" and the Battery soon returned and settled down to reg- ular camp duties, part of which consisted of speculation as to when we were to move from that place, and to where ?
About the 10th of June Captain Foster went to New Or- leans to look after the interests of the Battery and procure some much-needed supplies for the same, leaving Lieutenant Webster in command. No sooner had the Captain left than the Lieutenant moved the camp to a dryer and more suitable piece of ground a little further back from the river. The new quarters were properly drained, the tents ditched around, the kitchen put in good shape and the whole camp much im- poved and daily policed. About this time the troops at that place were reviewed by General Sickles. The column had barely began moving when it commenced to rain. and for more than an hour the water poured down as it can only pour in that country, but the review went right along. The reviewing officer sat on his horse as unconcernedly as if the weather was as fair as the proverbial May morning, while the troops marched as orderly as if they knew no other kind of weather. Within five minutes from the commencement of the rain there was not a dry thread in a single garment in that marching column. It was a grand sight to, witness the stolid indiffer- ence to the rain of that army of veterans. The lines were maintained with as much precision and the step was as perfect as if on holiday parade. There was one regiment that passed the reviewing officer the men of which were nearly all bare- footed. It had been a long time since they had been able to get any shoes, and as those they had were so badly worn and dilapidated that they were very little protection to the feet, the men decided to turn out without them. The reviewing officer expressed himself as being well pleased with the ap- pearance and conduct of the men, and said their military bear- ing would compare favorably with that of any he had re- viewed. In the meantime rumors were rife that we were soon to move: sometimes it would be to New Orleans, then to the Potomac, then to Tennessee and to various other places. A move in any direction would have been welcomed by the Bat- tery, as all were heartily tired of that locality. It is un- doubtedly the best country for bugs, ants. fleas and chigoes one ever saw. They were, in fact, a spontaneous production. The ground was full of ants that run over you, the air was full of bugs that fly and get into your eyes, ears. and hide in your clothing and blankets, the grass was full of chigoes which would bury themselves under the cuticle and set up an inflammation that would discount "poison oak," erysipelas and the itch combined. while the fleas were everywhere. Dig into the earth. they were there: keep on the surface of the earth and they would greet you at every turn; go into a house,
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mill or barn and lo, it was their dwelling place. When a man put on his boots or shoes he found them filled with bugs and creeping things: they were in his clothing, knapsack and bedding, while the ants were in everything, particularly the sugar, molasses and "grub" generally. One was either scorch- cd with the heat of the sun or drenched with the rain, overrun with fleas and eaten by chigoes by day, while at night he was meat for bugs, fleas and mosquitoes. Was it any wonder we were willing to move-anywhere ?
On the 13th of June the following order was received :
"The 1st Wisconsin Battery, Horse Artillery, is hereby ordered from duty with the Thirteenth Army Corps and will be sent to New Orleans without delay, and report to Briga- dier-General Richard Arnold, Chief of Cavalry, for service with the cavalry division. By command of Major-General Banks."
This was, indeed, good news, as, aside from the unpleasant- ness of the place, we were without money and needed clothing badly, neither of which we could get there. Preparations were at once made for moving that we might be ready the moment that transportation should be provided. While waiting for transportation . Major-General Daniel E. Sickles, Inspector- General of the army, came to the Bend to inspect the troops at that point. The Battery, of course, was "in it," although it had les sthan two hours' notice to appear, but the reviewing General complimented us as making the best show of any bat- tery in the column.
Captain Foster having learned upon his arrival in New Or- leans that the Battery had been ordered to that city, returned without making any requisition for the needed supplies, as they could be the more readily obtained when we should arrive there. In the meantime an inspection was ordered to be conducted by the Corps Inspector. Lieutenant Webster put the camp in excellent order and saw that the accoutrements of the men. the harness, horses, guns, etc., were properly pre- pared. About one hour before the time set for the inspection to begin a boat arrived from below bringing Captain Foster. He at once assumed charge of affairs and when the inspecting officer appeared met him and accompanied him through the Battery. Before transportation could be furnished us, the order sending us to New Orleans was revoked and we were ordered to remain where we were for the present. So we once more unpacked our effects and hung our banners upon the outer wall and poceeded to make ourselves as comfortable as possible. As we had become better acquainted with the in- habitants and were on better terms with the fleas, bugs and mosquitoes we did not mind staving a few weeks longer, par- ticularly as the weather had "faired up" and the heat moder-
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ated. The monotony of camp life was now and then broken by a dash of the cavalry into the country after guerrillas, who infested the neighborhood. On all of these occasions from one to four guns of the Battery accompanied the expedition, usually under the command of Lieutenant Hackett, the dash- iest officer and the best fighter the Battery ever had.
About the 20th of June the Battery was ordered to proceed at once to New Orleans, and as transportation was speedily furnished, we embarked and arrived in the city on the 24th of the month and were assigned quarters in cotton yards a few squares from our former camping place. The people living in the neighborhood welcomed us back, as the best of relations had existed between them and the men in the Battery. It is but justice to say here that there was never any complaint from any of the citizens laid against the conduct of the men of the 1st Wisconsin Battery in the city of New Orleans.
The Chicago Mercantile Battery, or so much of it as was saved from the disastrous Red River campaign, was at this time at Carrollton, in charge of the only commissioned officer that escaped death or capture, a Second Lieutenant. They were required to do guard duty with muskets pending their equipment, but the men refused to do such duty and the officer would not attempt to make them do so. The result was the Lieutenant was put under arrest with his men. General Arnold decided to send Lieutenant Webster from our Battery to take command of them, but Captain Foster objected. as he did not want to spare the Lieutenant. But General Arnold insisted upon the detail and sent for Webster to talk with him about the matter. He told the Lieutenant that if he would go and take charge of that battery that the De- partment officers would unite in a recommendation that he be commissioned as its Captain by the Governor of Illinois, but the Lieutenant told him he would rather remain a Lieutenant in the 1st Wisconsin Battery than accept a commission from any other State as Captain, and begged off from the detail as proposed. The trouble in the Chicago Battery was finally ad- justed by a visiting delegation from home and the selection of one Patrick White as its Captain.
On the 28th of June Captain Foster and Lieutenant Aylmer mounted their horses for a ride to the city. On meeting a street car the horse of Lieutenant Avlmer became frightened and rearing up fell backward on the track in front of the car, throwing the Lieutenant's arm under the wheels, which so mangled that member that amputation was necessary. He was taken to a hospital, where he received the best of care. It worried the Lieutenant exceedingly that he should lose his arm in that manner. after going through all the fighting the Battery had taken part in. If it had only been lost in battle
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he would have submitted without a murmur; but to have been a soldier and then to lose an arm through the agency of a street car was mortifying in the extreme.
There was to be a review and parade on the Fourth of July, and, as usual, Captain Foster was on the qui vive for some- thing in which the Battery might attract its full share of at- tention and at the same time demonstrate its superior training. He had learned where there were to be had some Regular artil- lery caps with tall red plumes and cords and determined to have them for the occasion. They were procured and issued to the men which was just so much more paraphernalia for them to look after and care for and keep in order for inspections and re- views. The harness was freshly cleaned and oiled and the guns and carriages thoroughly cleaned and everything put in the best shape possible, which with Captain Foster meant in unexceptionable condition. While in the midst of all this preparation orders were received to take boat for Baton Rouge in the morning, to go light, take nothing but what men could carry on their horses. Again was all hurry and confu- sion, but we were ready to start on time; the order to move was, however, countermanded and instructions given to wait further orders.
There was a great scarcity of horses in the Department for the cavalry and artillery, and orders were issued to confiscate from the citizens who owned them, wherever they might be found. As a result of said order the hacks and carriages of the city suffered severely. Vehicles of all descriptions were left standing in the streets and the horses turned over to the Quartermaster's Department. In some instances finely dressed ladies, with their cavaliers, were left horseless in their car- riages in the street. and neither tears. supplications, threats or invocations would help to regain them. All registered ene- mies were required to apply for transportation beyond the Federal lines.
On the 30th of June we were inspected by General Rey- nolds, commanding the post ; General J. W. Davidson, com- manding the cavalry forces, and General Arnold, Chief of Artillery, all of whom expressed themselves as being thor- oughly satisfied with the appearance and conduct of the Bat- terv.
The Confederate prisoners were yet confined in the city and were granted concessions strangely in contrast with the favors granted to our boys confined in the rebel prisons. Quite a number of the rebel prisoners were permitted to marry ladies in the city and then spend the honeymoon in regal style in their quarters. receiving their friends as freely as if they were at a public hotel. In some instances where the parties wished to have the marriage ceremony performed in church the
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groom was accompanied by a guard who stood with musket at a shoulder while the ceremony was performed and then es- certed the happy pair to the prison, where they would receive their city friends in state.
On the Fourth of July came the anticipated review, with General Canby as reviewing officer. By virtue of rank Nimms' Massachusetts Battery and the two Regular batteries should have preceded us in the review, but General Arnold said that from the standard of efficiency the 1st Wisconsin was entitled to the right of the column, which place was assigned to us. The others did not like it very well, but had to submit. Nimms' Battery was really a good one, much above the aver- age, but for all-around business did not equal ours. The Regu- lars we ignored as much as possible, giving them just attention enough to take all honors from them. The 1st Wisconsin Bat- tery earned all the honors it gained that day, for the weather was hot and sweltering, and the shakos and plumes were heavy and burdensome.
On the 5th of July we were paid off, when Cameron sug- gested to Heckman that a purse be raised to purchase a friendly testimonial from the men in the Battery of their regard for Lieutenant Aylmer. Cameron deemed it eminently proper that Heckman should lead in this matter, as he (Heck- man) and the Lieutenant had not as yet become reconciled since they had a serious falling out which had led to blows. Heckman, one of the frankest men that ever lived, entered into the scheme readily, giving more towards it than any other man in the Battery. One hundred and thirty-five dollars were raised and placed in the hands of Lieutenant Webster, who was commissioned to procure the present and present the same to the Lieutenant when he should return to the Battery. A gold watch was selected on the inner case of which was en- graved the proper inscription. together with the names of all the battles in which Lieutenant Avlmer had taken part and ending with the Latin motto. "Vil Desperandum." Tom Mil- ler, a detailed man from the 16th Ohio Regiment, was in the hospital and absent from the Battery during the Red River campaign and had returned to the Battery since Lieutenant Aylmer had been in the hospital. He desired to see the watch before it should be delivered to the Lieutenant. and when it was shown to him asked to have the inscription read. Tom was a splendid soldier and a favorite with all in the Battery, but, like many another good man, was not well up in Latin, and when the names of the battles was followed by "Nil Des- perandum" Tom was not a little nonplussed, for he had been in all the battles the Battery had taken part in and remem- bered no such place. At last he solved the matter this way;
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said he: "Spran, spran, spran-dum; O, that was that fight up Red River, wasn't it?"
But Lieutenant Aylmer was never to see the beautiful pres- ent his comrades had prepared for him, as he was taken sud- denly with a rheumatic fever which ran into pneumonia and car- ried him off very suddenly. He was at no time after the watch was purchased in a condition to be told of the present. It was finally sent to his relatives in Philadelphia, who un- doubtedly cherished it for his sake. The Lieutenant was buried with military honors, his remains being carried to the cemetery on one of his caissons with the Battery as an escort. Pallbearers were furnished from other artillery companies in the city. Thus passed away as brave an officer and as true a patriot as fell during that great struggle.
On the 2Sth of July Captain Foster was again detached from the Battery and put in charge of a camp of instruction, which put Lieutenant Webster once more in command of the Battery.
The people of New Orleans at this time abhorred the Yan- kees above all other people on earth, and were not slow in let- ting their antipathy be known; yet they dressed in Yankee made goods, sat in Yankee chairs, lounged on Yankee sofas, ate their bread made from Yankee flour, off of Yankee china, while sitting around a Yankee table with a Yankee napkin lying across their laps; slept in Yankee made bedding upon a Yankee bedstead, combed their hair with a Yankee comb, washed with Yankee soap, swept with Yankee brooms, walked in Yankee shoes and wore Yankee hats or bonnets. If they rode it was in a Yankee carriage drawn by a Yankee harness, and when they died they were buried in a Yankee coffin-the grave being the only home product furnished from start to finish, they having been rocked in Yankee cradles. Yet the horrid Yankee! It was this feeling that not only promoted them to withhold any sympathy for the Federal prisoners then returning from the rebel prisons of Texas and Louis- iana for exchange, but caused them to rejoice at the miserable plight they were in. They were ragged and emaciated. Many of them had not received an article of clothing for months, and, as they were poorly supplied at the time of capture and had been robbed of the best of what they had, they presented a spectacle that would appeal to the sympathy of a brazen image; but it did not affect the chivalrous sons and daughters of the Pelican State in that way. Many of them were bare- footed: some were without shirts, while others had neither shirts, hats, boots, shoes or coats, having only pantaloons, and they were cut off at the bottom to furnish material for patch- ing other and more important parts of the garments. They reported that at the prisons they were fed and cared for as
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