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THE  HISTORY 


OF  THE 


13th  ILLINOIS  INFANTRY 


TO   THE 

COMRADES   OF  THE  THIRTEENTH, 
LIVING   OR   DEAD, 

AND   TO 

THE   FAITHFUL  AND   TRUE   FRIENDS   AT   HOME 

WHOSE   HEARTS   AND    PRAYERS    WERE   WITH   US, 

THESE   RECORDS 

ARE 

LOVINGLY   DEDICATED. 


M15724.2 


COL.  JOHN   B.  WYMAN. 
Thirteenth  Regiment  Illinois  Volunteer  Infantry. 


MILITARY  HISTORY  AND  REMINISCENCES 


OF  THE 


THIRTEENTH  REGIMENT 


OF 


ILLINOIS  VOLUNTEER  INFANTRY 


IN   THE 


CIVIL  WAR  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 


1861-1865 


PREPARED  BY  A  COMMITTEE  OF  THE  REGIMENT,  1891 


PUBLICATION  COMMITTEE:     H.  T.  NOBLE.     S.  C.  PLUMMER.     H.  D.  DEMENT.     C.  E.  BOLLES. 
HISTORIANS:     A.  B.  MUNN.     A.  H.  MILLER.     W.  O.  NEWTON. 


CHICAGO 

WOMAN'S  TEMPERANCE  PUBLISHING  ASSOCIATION 
1892 


PREFACE. 

A  book  written  to  contribute  the  proper  acknowledgement 
of  worthy  deeds,  and  to  add  to  the  enjoyment  of  those  who 
may  come  after  us,  is  in  order.  Such  is  the  design  and  hope 
of  this  unpretentious  record. 

As  the  individual  stone  has  its  part  in  rearing  the  moun 
tain,  so  the  organization  of  our  regiment,  we  are  happy  to  say 
and  show,  bore  a  very  honorable  part  in  the  most  worthy  ef 
forts  of  the  army  and  navy  of  the  United  States. 

In  telling  this  story,  as  you,  surviving  comrades,  have 
asked  the  committee  to,  we  shall  do  what  seems  to  us  repre 
sents  our  regiment  fairly.  When  we  are  called  upon  to  touch 
upon  individual  records,  we  may  seem  to  some  to  give  scant 
or  overdue  preferences  ;  yet  such  is  not  our  intent. 

We  shall  not  feel  called  upon  to  laboriously  vindicate  any 
one  nor  in  many  words  condemn  any  man's  course.  As  a 
regiment,  we  have  no  particular  complaints  of  not  having  had 
an  open  door  to  glory  ;  for  if  long  marches  and  sharp  fighting 
be  glory,  then  we  got  enough  to  settle  the  froth  on  our  patri 
otism  of  1 86 1,  and  cooled  to  the  point  of  going  slow  before 
taking  a  contract  of  like  size  again. 

We  were  called  by  the  Government  in  its  hour  of  special 
peril.  We  promptly  responded.  There  was  toil  and  exposure 
and  suffering  and  death  to  many.  If  we  who  live  may  be  per 
mitted  to  speak  for  all,  we  would  say  that  we  would  not 
change  it.  The  Union  was  preserved  and  humanity  was 
helped  by  it.  In  what  better  way  can  men  exert  themselves 
or  even  sacrifice  life. 

Our  men  lie  buried  far  and  wide.  Some  were  tenderly 
borne  to  their  homes  where  as  boys  they  played,  but  the  con 
ditions  forbade  this  in  most  cases,  so  that  they  were  buried 


VI  PREPACK. 

where  they  fell,  all  over  the  Southern  States.     The  spot  where 
their  bodies  rest,  may  or  may  not  be  marked  ;  yet  that  mat 
ters  little  ;  the  spot  where  they  lie  is  hallowed  ground. 
Thomas  Campbell  beautifully  says  : 

"What,  hallow  ground  where  heroes  sleep? 

'Tis  not  the  sculptured  piles  you  heap  ; 
In  dews  that  heavens  far  distant  weep 

Their  turf  may  bloom, 
Or  genii  twine  beneath  the  deep 

Their  coral  tomb. 

' '  But  strew  his  ashes  to  the  wind 

Whose  sword  or  voice  has  served  mankind 
And  is  he  dead  whose  glorious  mind 

Lifts  thine  on  high  ? 
To  live  in  hearts  we  leave  behind 
Is  not  to  die." 

We  have  not  been  paid  for  our  War  services.  No  number 
of  dollars  can  pay  for  them.  If  they  could,  we  would  not 
receive  them  ;  for  then  would  our  glory  be  taken  from  us  and 
we  would  be  as  hirelings.  Then  we  would  lose  the  comfort 
of  our  heart  that  comes  from  having  given  something,  for  we 
learn  that  ' '  It  is  more  blessed  to  give  than  to  receive. ' ' 

The  record  is  made  ;  in  this  book  we  hope  to  preserve  some 
of  the  names  and  events  as  pleasant  memories  to  the  surviv 
ing  comrades  and  their  interested  friends. 

While  such  a  book  had  been  desired,  it  was  not  brought 
to  the  surface  in  any  way  till  the  reunion  of  the  regiment  on 
its  twenty-fifth  anniversary  of  our  muster  into  the  service. 
Then  Comrade  W.  O.  Newton  of  Company  B,  residing  at 
Marshalltown,  Iowa,  moved  that  we  begin  such  a  work,  and 
he  was  appointed  historian  to  do  what  he  could  to  secure 
material.  This  he  faithfully  did.  The  regiment  will  be 
under  lasting  obligations  to  him.  A  committee  of  publica 
tion  was  then  appointed,  consisting  of  Col.  H.  T.  Noble, 
Surgeon  S.  C.  Plummer  and  Rev.  A.  H.  Miller.  The  Regi- 


PREFACE.  Vll 

mental  Association  asked  A.  H.  Miller  to  write  the  regi 
mental  history.  At  the  reunion  at  Dixon  in  May,  1889,  the 
matter  was  taken  up  more  seriously,  and  at  the  next  reunion  a 
plan  and  scope  and  cost  of  the  book  was  presented  and 
approved.  During  the  year  Capt.  Asa  B.  Munn  was  added 
to  the  committee.  Since  then  Captain  Munn  has  been  most 
active  in  the  work,  having  written  the  current  history  from 
our  arrival  at  Rolla,  Missouri,  to  the  capture  of  Vicksburg, 
and  also  the  history  and  roster  of  Company,  I  of  which  he  was 
a  member. 

We  take  great  pleasure  in  giving  credit  to  those  who  did 
work  or  lent  data  from  which  to  make  records.  The  regi 
mental  association  appointed  different  persons  to  look  after 
the  special  work  of  each  company,  thinking  that  a  member  of  a 
company  would  be  better  acquainted  with  the  names  and  the 
facts  than  a  general  historian  could  be.  There  will  be  some 
difference  in  the  amount  of  work  and  space  given  to  each 
company.  This  must  be  attributed  to  the  amount  of  work 
given  by  the  company  historians.  Some  will  be  ready  to  see 
omissions  of  valuable  matter  from  the  book.  That  would 
have  been  given  if  it  had  been  furnished  ;  but  we  could  not 
put  in  what  the  men  were  not  ready  to  contribute. 

H.  D.  Dement  wrote  for  Company  A.  S.  T.  Josselyn 
wrote  for  Company  C.  Francis  Fox  wrote  for  Company  E. 
Reuben  Hevenor  wrote  for  Company  F.  A.  H.  Sibley  wrote 
for  Company  H.  Charles  Carpenter  and  Capt.  J.  J.  Cole 
furnished  material  for  Company  K. 

Further  acknowledgements  are  due  Mrs.  Walter  Blanch- 
ard,  the  widow  of  our  grand  old  Captain  of  Company  K,  who 
gave  his  life  to  our  cause  at  Ringgold  Gap,  who  furnished  a 
valuable  diary  kept  by  her  husband,  for  which  she  places  the 
"  Regimental  Organization  "  under  deep  obligation. 

Comrade  Wilson  B.  Chapel,  of  Company  F,  had  written 
and  preserved  a  most  valuable  diary  which  has  contributed 
largely  to  the  success  of  this  work. 

With  the  patriotism  worthy  the  true  daughter  of  a  vete 
ran,  Miss  Nellie  A.  Hevenor,  daughter  of  comrade  Reuben  M. 


Vlll  PREFACE. 

Hevenor,  painstakingly  copied  Comrade  Chapel's  diary,  in  a 
neat  and  clerkly  hand,  for  the  uses  of  the  regimental  historian. 
For  this  service  she  deserves  special  than&s. 

Comrade  Reuben  M.  Hevenor,  historian  for  Company  F, 
furnished  a  valuable  diary  covering  an  important  period  of 
the  services  of  the  regiment ;  as  also  did  comrade  Josselyn,  of 
Company  C,  and  comrade  J.  D.  Davis,  of  Company  B. 

Comrade  Charles  H.  Sanford,  Company  B,  furnished  val 
uable  maps.  Comrades  Charles  K.  Bolles,  and  Charles  Car 
penter,  both  of  Company  K,  and  J.  B.  Farnesworth,  of  the 
Hundred  and  thirty-fourth  Illinois,  cheerfully  furnished  books 
of  reference  and  otherwise  rendered  valuable  assistance. 

Edward  A.  Munn,  besides  being  helpful  with  the  type 
writer,  entered  with  patriotic  alacrity  into  the  spirit  of  the 
undertaking,  and  drew  the  two  maps  of  the  "  Chickasaw 
Bayou  "  battle-field  which  accompany  this  work. 

The  confederate  Rebellion  Archives,  published  by  order  of 
Congress,  have  been  largely  drawn  from  for  much  valuable 
information  which  would  have  been  obtainable  from  no  other 
source. 

And  lastly,  from  very  many  of  the  surviving  comrades, 
came  an  inspiring  "  God  bless  you  !  Push  on  the  history." 


HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRTEENTH  REGIMENT 
ILLINOIS  VOLUNTEER  INFANTRY. 


CHAPTER    I. 

THE  PRAIRIES  ABLAZE  WITH  PATRIOTISM  AT  THE  FIRING 
ON  SUMTER. — WE  ORGANIZE  AT  DIXON,  ILLINOIS, 
SWORN  FOR  THREE  YEARS  OF  WAR. 


AT    DIXON. 

kAY  9,  1861,  found  most  of  the  men  who  were 
to  make  up  the  Thirteenth  Regiment  of 
Illinois  Volunteers  Infantry  gathered  at 
Dixon,  Illinois. 

A  place  where  a  man  is  born,  is  usually 
a  place  of  lasting  interest  to  him.  Dixon  is  where 
our  regiment  was  born  and  will  ever  be  remembered 
by  those  who  were  there  when  it  was  born.  We  now 
speak  of  the  "  Old  Thirteenth,"  and  so  all  men  might  speak 
of  it  if  they  were  to  see  the  survivors  in  a  body.  Some  help 
ing  out  their  crippled  limbs  with  staffs,  and  their  eyes  with 
glasses,  and  sheltering  their  crowns  with  wigs  or  displaying 
thinned  locks.  But  on  that  memorable  day  in  May  the  regi 
ment  was  just  ready  to  be  made  and  there  was  the  timber  out 
of  which  it  was  to  come.  Then  not  "old"  but  "new,"  not 
seasoned,  but  somewhat  green  ;  yet  that  was  no  fault  of  the 
timber. 


2  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

If  one  were  to  ask  what  brought  to  Dixon  in  one  day  this 
large  body  of  young  men,  it  would  open  the  way  to  an  obser 
vation  or  two  that  it  would  not  be  out  of  place  to  record,  as  a 
part  of  the  true  history  of  the  time  and  of  the  regiment.  The 
first  and  short  answer  would  be,  we  were  there  at  the  call  of 
Richard  Yates,  at  that  time  Governor  of  Illinois.  But  what 
magic  was  there  in  the  suggestion  or  call  of  this  man  that  a 
thousand  young  men  should  leave  business  and  home  and  in 
one  day  repair  to  Dixon,  even  rush  there  with  eagerness  ?  To 
be  sure  this  man  was  the  chosen  executive  of  our  State.  But 
then  men  do  not  always  come  at  call,  unless  there  is  some 
thing  back  of  the  call.  There  was  something  back  of  the  call 
that  made  so  prompt  a  response  possible.  That  thing  was 
latent  love  of  country,  and  of  good  government.  This  love 
blazed  into  the  spirit  of  sacrifice,  when  the  government  was 
put  in  open  peril. 

As  I  said,  we  were  at  Dixon  on  the  gth  of  May  ;  and  I 
have  given  the  reason  why  we  were  there  as  soldiers.  We  did 
not  get  even  that  far  on  our  honorable  soldier's  career  without 
some  sacrifice — all  of  life  is  made  up  of  a  series  of  sacrifices. 
We  got  to  Dixon  easily  enough,  as  far  as  conveyance  was 
involved.  It  was  a  jolly  lot  of  men  rolling  over  a  good  rail 
road.  And  it  was  quite  in  contrast  with  any  transportation 
we  had  in  Missouri  or  Arkansas.  There  were  no  long  and 
weary  marches  in  getting  together.  A  single  day  was  suffi 
cient  to  accomplish  this. 

Dixon  is  located  on  the  Illinois  Central  railroad,  in  the 
northwestern  part  of  Illinois.  Now  this  railroad  looked  like 
any  innocent  sort  of  a  speculation,  when  constructed  a  few 
years  before  the  war.  Now  over  it  rolled  thousands  of  trains 
loaded  with  the  sturdy  men,  and  almost  countless  trains  of 
supplies  that  were  the  very  sinews  of  war. 

While  the  rebels  were  laying  plans  against  the  govern 
ment,  providence  seemed  among  other  things  to  be  laying 
lines  of  railroads  that  should  bring  the  forces  of  the  North 
near  to  the  line  of  battle. 

It  is  certain  that  the  war  could  not  have  been  fought  on 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY.  3 

the  scale  it  was,  in  so  wide  an  extent  of  country,  without  the 
railroads.  It  is  certain  they  helped  us  to  our  camping  place, 
where  we  soon  learned  to  go  afoot,  so  that  we  could  in  an 
independent  way  stir  up  the  rebels,  who  were  back  in  the 
woods. 

WHAT   WE   BROUGHT   WITH    US. 

Of  course  in  coming  to  camp  the  men  brought  along  with 
them  the  very  best  they  had  and  knew  to  bring.  Of  the 
things  they  brought,  some  were  soon  left  behind  and  other 
things  taken  on,  that  abide  with  us  to  this  day. 

In  obeying  the  call  of  the  governor  and  our  patriotic 
impulses,  most  of  the  men  came  without  military  uniform  ; 
quite  a  requisite  in  army  life.  Those  who  came  in  uniform 
presented  more  of  a  soldierly  appearance,  but  had  not  a  whit 
more  of  the  soldierly  heart  on  that  account.  The  Scriptures 
are  authority  for  the  statement  that  ' '  No  man  goeth  to  war 
fare  at  his  own  charge. ' '  So  the  boys  for  the  Thirteenth  came 
looking  to  the  government  for  rations  and  equipments.  Yet 
some  of  the  men  were  armed  with  revolvers,  not  knowing  but 
that  they  would  soon  have  need  of  them.  But  I  think  it  is 
fair  to  say  that  all  of  the  men  who  were  harmed  or  killed  by 
the  use  of  revolvers  during  the  war,  except  by  accident, 
hardly  warranted  the  trouble  of  carrying  them. 

FIFTEEN   STAND   OF   ARMY. 

It  was  reported  that  the  State  of  Illinois  had  only  fifteen 
stand  of  arms  fit  for  service  at  the  opening  of  the  war.  If  she 
had  had  as  few  loyal  hearts  and  strong  arms,  she  would  have 
fared  badly  to  begin  with  and  would  not  have  the  proud 
record  she  now  has. 

Another  thing  we  had  a  full  stock  of,  was  an  absence  of 
military  knowledge.  It  is  safe  to  say  that  the  most  of  our 
officers  were  loaded  down  with  about  the  same  amount  of 
ignorance  as  the  rank  and  file. 


4  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH   REGIMENT 

One  man  who  was  elected  lieutenant  had  been  down 
Bast  somewhere  and  observed  some  militia  drilling.  He 
noticed  that  they  "marked  time"  a  good,  deal.  He  con 
cluded  that  it  was  an  important  move,  so  he  had  his  men 
mark  time,  when  he  could  not  readily  think  of  any  other 
order  to  give.  Yes,  we  brought  to  camp  a  full  stock  of  mili 
tary  ignorance,  but  time  and  experience  wrought  a  change, 
so  that  at  the  end  of  our  three  years,  it  would  not  be  boast 
ing  to  say  that  this  regiment  was  wise  in  this  regard,  and 
equal  to  the  best. 

While  we  freely  confess  ignorance  on  this  point,  these  men 
were  evidently  sharp  enough  in  other  things.  If  all  the 
thoughts  and  views  and  ambitions  of  these  men  could  be 
written  out,  I  am  sure  you  would  not  have  to  follow  them 
beyond  this  camp  to  write  a  most  interesting  book. 

Some  of  the  men  were  not  tied  down  very  closely  in  life, 
and  they  were  glad  to  accept  the  promised  excitement  in  this 
new  kind  of  life.  Others  had  some  of  the  military  fire  in 
their  blood  and  this  brought  to  them  visions  of  honor  and 
promotion,  while  others  had  more  serious  plans  for  life,  so 
that  serious  sacrifices  had  to  be  met  on  the  first  move  toward 
camp  and  war. 

In  all  of  these  men,  there  was  the  boiling  of  young  blood, 
and  yet  a  certain  vein  of  seriousness  and  devotion  that  fur 
nished  material  from  which  the  true  men  were  to  come  when 
brought  under  pressure  and  the  fires  of  sad  and  horrible 
war. 

Some  persons  are  disposed  to  pass  over  the  stay  in  our  first 
camp  as  an  unimportant  period.  That  is  evidently  not  the 
case.  The  future  history  of  the  regiment  was  largely  shaped 
in  these  first  few  weeks.  Men  were  consenting  to  make  an 
entire  change  in  their  mode  of  life.  They  were  drilling 
themselves  into  the  consent  of  ready  obedience  to  the  word 
and  beck  of  another,  in  the  name  of  patriotism  and  for  the 
sake  of  the  government.  During  this  time  they  were  getting 
acquainted  with  each  other  so  as  to  be  friendly,  even  when 
there  was  little  congeniality  either  in  person  or  in  habits. 


ILLINOIS    VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  5 

ONLY   NINETY   DAYS. 

Many  of  the  men  were  of  free  and  lofty  spirits,  so  that  to 
consent  to  be  part  of  a  machine  where  a  thousand  men  should 
be  moulded  into  one,  and  move  at  the  command  of  one  man 
day  or  night,  sick  or  well,  was  truly  a  trying  time.  Then 
too,  at  the  time  of  our  coming  into  camp,  to  most  of  the  men 
and  their  friends  it  meant  but  ninety  days  from  home.  A  few 
days  in  camp  put  on  a  more  serious  aspect  to  the  picture. 
The  call  and  muster  by  the  general  government  for  three 
years,  struck  many  unfavorably,  so  that  it  was  quite  a  strain 
both  upon  their  courage  and  pride  to  take  the  more  serious 
step. 

When  this  thousand  men  came  to  camp  they  brought 
something  more  than  numbers.  Some  things  that  could 
neither  be  counted  nor  weighed — some  things  that  would 
either  prove  a  tower  of  strength,  or  a  source  of  weakness  to 
them,  as  they  pushed  on  into  the  battle  line.  Back  of  these 
men  were  a  thousand  homes,  more  or  less.  Each  of  these 
turned  to  the  camp  in  Dixon.  In  these  were  fathers  and 
mothers,  wives,  sisters  and  sweethearts.  In  these  were  well- 
wishes,  tears  and  prayer  ;  from  them  came  many  letters  filled 
with  inspiration,  or  in  some  cases  discouragement.  We  called 
our  regiment,  "One  thousand  strong."  But  was  it  not  true 
that  one  half  of  our  strength  was  never  seen  in  either  the 
camp  or  the  battle-field.  It  was  found  in  the  homes  and 
hearts  left  behind. 

IN   CATTLE   SHEDS. 

It  was  a  new  experience  for  these  men  to  take  up  lodging 
in  sheep  pens  and  cattle  shelds.  But  the  adjustment  was  soon 
made,  and  many  times  before  the  service  closed,  these  quarters 
would  have  been  regarded  palatial. 

By  night  of  the  gth  of  May  the  ten  companies  from 
which  the  regiment  was  to  be  formed  had  arrived  at  Dixon 
and  made  their  way  to  the  Fair-ground  east  of  the  city. 
These  companies  hailed  from  Dixon,  Sterling,  Amboy,  Rock 


6  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

Island,  Sandwich,  Sycamore,  Morrison,  Aurora,  Chicago  and 
Naperville.  The  grounds  were  good  ;  having  on  them  some 
timber  and  a  good  spring  of  water,  while  fhe  Fair-ground 
fence  was  something  of  an  advantage  in  keeping  men  in  and 
out,  but  not  equal  to  the  "great  gulf"  that  is  declared  to  be 
fixed.  Before  the  sun  went  down  on  this  day  there  was  some 
thing  of  a  stir  in  camp.  One  thing  was  settled  and  all  of  our 
experience  only  seemed  to  confirm  the  conclusion.  It  was, 
that  we  would  get  hungry  in  spite  of  all  our  patriotism  and 
disposition  to  sacrifice  for  our  country.  The  matter  of  ra 
tions  not  having  been  fully  looked  after,  a  move  was  made  on 
the  Nachusa  House,  and  some  of  these  same  hungry  fel 
lows  still  make  for  the  "  Nachusa  "  when  near  it. 


THE   FIRST   DAY    IN   SERVICE. 

May  loth  was  our  first  day  in  service.  A  severe  rain-storm 
coming  on  before  daylight  gave  us  a  touch  of  what  was 
a  common  thing  before  "  the  cruel  war  was  over."  It  was,  a 
wet  time  and  a  late  breakfast.  But  after  things  were  straight 
ened  out  a  little,  we  were  treated  with  a  speech  from  Mr. 
Dennio,  who  had  just  come  from  Washington,  D.  C.  This 
was  a  matter  of  interest,  as  it  seemed  to  bring  us  something 
from  headquarters.  The  companies  were  then  sworn  into  the 
State  service  for  thirty  days  by  Captain  John  E.  Smith  of 
Governor  Yates'  staff.  A  vote  was  then  taken  for  regimental 
officers,  resulting  in  the  choice  of  John  B.  Wyman  of  Amboy 
as  Colonel,  Benjamin  F.  Park  of  Aurora  for  Lieutenant- Col 
onel,  and  Adam  B.  Gorgas  of  Dixon  as  Major. 

Just  what  our  voting  had  to  do  with  the  choice  of  a  Col 
onel  I  could  not  see,  when  it  has  been  stated  on  good  author 
ity  that  J.  B.  Wyman  had  tendered  a  regiment  to  Governor 
Yates,  to  be  raised  in  our  congressional  district,  and  that  the 
Governor  had  accepted  it.  But  then  we  were  children  in 
those  things,  and  we  were  led  to  think  we  were  doing  some 
thing  while  we  went  through  the  motions. 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  7 

THE    FIRST   MAN   WOUNDED. 

Guns  were  put  into  the  hands  of  two  of  the  companies  ; 
and  the  first  day  brought  on  war  to  the  extent  of  one  wounded 
man.  Some  of  Company  K,  then  known  as  the  "  Du  Page 
rifles,"  were  on  guard,  and  a  soldier,  starting  to  go  by,  was 
given  a  lively  bayonet  jab  in  the  abdomen. 

DRILL,   DRILL. 

Drill  of  all  kinds  from  "squad"  to  "battalion"  was  at 
once  instituted  and  kept  up  in  a  most  vigorous  way.  It 
seemed  hard,  and  was  hard  work,  but  it  served  us  well  in  after 
months,  whether  on  parade  or  on  the  march  or  in  battle  line. 
Our  friends  had  no  occasion  to  feel  ashamed  of  us. 

AN   EVENT   IN   MISSOURI. 

While  we  were  getting  ourselves  adjusted  to  camp  life  and 
fitted  for  more  serious  service,  some  things  were  transpiring 
in  that  part  of  the  country  where  we  were  soon  to  act,  that  it 
may  be  of  interest  to  note  at  the  time  of  their  occurrence. 
While  we,  as  a  regiment,  had  nothing  to  do  with  them,  they 
doubtless  modified  the  history  of  that  field  and  so  modified 
our  future  services. 

It  is  well  known  to  men  familiar  with  the  history  of  the 
time  that  Missouri  was  at  heart  a  Secession  State,  and  that  the 
great  city  of  St.  Louis  was  disloyal  and  only  wanted  a  pretext 
to  openly  declare  with  the  South. 

Near  the  city  was  a  camp  called  together  under  the  State 
Militia  law,  and  commanded  by  Brigadier-General  D.  M. 
Frost.  While  they  professed  loyalty  to  the  general  govern 
ment,  they  were  in  constant  communication  with  the  so- 
called  Southern  Confederacy. 

Captain  Nathaniel  Lyon,  .of  the  Second  Infantry,  had  been 
put  in  command  of  the  Arsenal  at  St.  Louis  and  of  the  troops 
stationed  there.  He  was  a  clear-headed,  energetic,  patriot 
officer,  and  saw  at  a  glance  that  it  was  very  important  that 


8  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

St.  lyOuis  should  not  fall  into  the  rebel  hands.  He  saw  that 
this  nominally  loyal  but  heartily  disloyal  camp  should  be 
broken  up.  He  determined  to  act  at  once  T}y  capturing  the 
whole  camp.  Having  secured  sufficient  forces  he  proceeded 
on  May  loth,  at  3  p.  m.  , to  Camp  Jackson  in  the  northern  part 
of  the  city  and  addressed  the  following  communication  to  the 
commander,  General  Frost. 

HEADQUARTERS  OF  U.  S.  TROOPS, 

ST.  Louis,  MISSOURI,  May  loth,  1861. 

SIR  :  Your  command  is  regarded  as  evidently  hostile  toward  the 
Government  of  the  United  States.  It  is  for  the  most  part  made  up  of 
those  citizens  who  have  openly  avowed  their  hostility  to  the  general 
government,  and  have  been  plotting  at  the  seizure  of  its  property  and 
the  overthrow  of  its  authority. 

You  are  in  open  communication  with  the  so-called  Southern  Con 
federacy,  which  is  now  at  war  with  the  United  States  and  you  are  receiv 
ing  at  your  camp  from  the  said  Confederacy  and  under  its  flag,  large 
supplies  of  the  material  of  war,  most  of  which  is  known  to  be  the  property 
of  the  United  States. 

These  extraordinary  preparations  and  the  well  known  purpose  of  the 
Governor  of  this  State,  under  whose  order  you  act,  and  whose  purposes 
recently  communicated  to  the  legislature  have  just  been  responded  to 
by  that  body  in  the  most  extraordinary  legislation,  having  in  direct  view 
hostilities  to  the  general  government  and  co-operation  with  its  enemies. 

In  view  of  these  considerations,  and  of  your  failure  to  disperse  in 
obedience  to  the  Proclamation  of  the  President  and  of  the  eminent 
necessities  of  State  policy  and  warfare,  and  the  obligations  imposed  upon 
me  by  instructions  from  Washington,  it  is  my  duty  to  demand,  and  I  do 
demand  of  you  an  immediate  surrender  of  your  command,  with  no  other 
conditions  than  that  all  persons  surrendering  under  this  demand  shall 
be  honorably  and  kindly  treated.  Believing  myself  prepared  to  enforce 
this  demand,  one  half  hour's  time  before  doing  so  will  be  allowed  for 
your  compliance  therewith. 

Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

N.    I/YON, 

Capt.  Second  Infantry,  U.  S.  Troops. 

Captain  Lyon  took  the  camp  with  fifty  officers  and  six 
hundred  and  thirty-nine  men.  While  he  was  marching  off  to 
the  prison  some  fighting  was  indulged  in,  killing  and  wound 
ing  a  number  of  persons,  and  as  is  usual  in  such  cases,  some 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  9 

innocent  people.  In  this  camp  were  found  guns  and  stores 
that  had  been  taken  from  the  United  States  Arsenal  at  Baton 
Rouge,  Louisiana,  boxed  and  directed  to  some  Union  men  in 
St.  Louis,  as  a  blind  to  the  real  destination. 

The  future  developments  proved  conclusively  that  Captain 
Lyon's  judgment  in  the  case  was  correct,  and  that  his  prompt 
action  saved  St.  Louis  to  us,  and  much  fighting  in  that  quarter 
to  the  United  States  troops. 

Of  course,  General  Frost  protested  most  earnestly  against 
such  measures,  and  appealed  to  General  Harney  who  was  at 
that  time  ' '  Commanding  the  Department  of  the  West. ' '  This 
protest,  together  with  Captain  Lyon's  account  of  the  affair 
was  sent  to  Washington. 

Let  us  note  a  further  occurence  of  the  day  following  as 
reported  by  Captain  Lyon,  and  also  an  expression  of  his,  as  to 
General  Harney 's  relation  to  the  vigorous  measures  necessary 
at  that  time. 

ST.  Louis  ARSENAI,,  May  i2th,  1861. 

SIR  :  Yesterday,  I  left  to  Captain  Callender  and  Lieutenant  Saxton, 
the  duty  of  receiving  and  arming  about  twelve  hundred  men,  from  the 
northern  part  of  the  city,  who  on  returning  to  their  station,  were  fired 
into  by  a  mob,  which  fire  was  returned  by  the  troops,  from  which,  all 
told  on  both  sides,  about  twelve  persons  were  killed, — two  of  whom,  as 
far  as  I  am  informed,  were  of  the  United  States  troops  ;  further  particu 
lars  of  which  may  hereafter  be  transmitted. 

General  Harney  having  arrived,  has  assumed  command  of  the  de 
partment,  and  has  ordered  into  the  city  all  of  the  troops  of  the  regular 
service  now  here  (except  my  own  company)  and  four  pieces  of  artillery. 

It  is  with  great  delicacy  and  hesitancy  I  take  the  liberty  to  observe 
that  the  energetic  and  necessary  measures  of  the  day  before  yesterday, 
reported  in  my  communication  of  yesterday,  require  persevering  and 
constant  exertions  to  effect  the  object  in  view  of  anticipating  combina 
tions  and  measures  of  hostility  against  the  general  government,  and 
that  the  authority  of  General  Harney  under  these  circumstances  em 
barrasses,  in  a  most  painful  manner,  the  execution  of  the  plans  con 
templated,  and  upon  which  the  safety  and  welfare  of  the  government, 
as  I  conceive,  so  much  depends,  and  which  must  be  decided  in  a  very 
short  period. 

Very  respectful^, 

N.  LYON. 


10  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

THE    FIRST   SABBATH    IN    CAMP. 

This  day  made  a  deep  impression  on  maay  of  the  young 
men,  and  was  in  some  sense  a  test  of  their  training  and 
temper.  Most  of  them  had  been  accustomed  to  spend  the  day 
in  quiet  at  home  and  at  religious  service.  Now  they  were  in  a 
military  camp  and  are  not  entirely  at  liberty  to  make  their 
own  plans  and  go  their  own  way.  Some  may  have  been  rest 
less  under  what  they  deemed  the  restraints  of  the  Sabbath, 
and  they  may  regard  this  free  use  of  the  Sabbath  a  happy 
change.  There  was  drill :  so  the  notion  of  the  leaders  ran. 
A  better  view  obtains  now.  There  was  ball-playing  and 
wrestling  and  some  card-playing,  but  that  was  generally 
regarded  as  out  of  order  ; — before  the  war  closed  it  became  so 
common  as  to  attract  no  special  attention,  except  as  it  devel 
oped  bad  temper  or  bad  debts. 

The  courage  and  spirit  of  one  young  man  from  Chicago 
was  shown  on  the  first  Sabbath  ;  for,  taking  his  stand,  he 
delivered  a  religious  discourse  to  all  who  would  give  ear.  It 
is  often  a  great  advantage  to  get  up  your  colors  before  any 
one  else  has  a  chance  to  occupy  the  place. 

The  position  taken  up  by  that  young  man  before  his  com 
rades  on  that  first  Sabbath  was  well  taken  and  held.  He  had 
the  respect  of  his  superior  officers  to  such  a  degree,  that  when 
the  position  of  chaplain  was  vacant,  he  was  recommended  to 
fill  the  place,  and  did  so  with  credit  to  himself  and  the  cause, 
during  the  last  year  of  our  service.  Mr.  A.  T.  Needham,  for 
this  was  the  young  man's  name,  at  this  writing,  is  filling 
an  honored  place  in  the  ministry  in  California. 

Rev.  Mr.  Harsha,  of  Dixon,  delivered  a  short  sermon  to  the 
men.  Many  visitors  from  the  surrounding  country  came  to 
the  camp.  On  this  afternoon  our  Colonel,  J.  B.  Wyman, 
came  upon  the  ground  for  the  first  time,  and  no  one  who  saw 
his  glances  over  and  through  the  camp,  doubted  but  a  man  of 
superior  parts  had  come.  But  few  of  the  men  knew  him,  yet 
he  was  soon  given  a  welcome  by  all. 


GENERAL  ORDERS.) 

ComiTfiiiidant;  iTf.'  *JG55nT[uit^jr3    <A     will    detail 

f 
"  "  V 


*_*-        JZz, 


Officer  of  the  Day 
Officer  of  the  Guard.^ 


z.~ 


Reveille  at      "^o'clock  A.  M. 

Company  Drill  and  Roll  Call  fro 

Breakfast  at          /       o'clock. 

b^t'.  OH..  /Report,  .,       ^^clock 

Guard  Mounting  at      ^          o'clock 

Company  Drill  on  Manual  from    /^      o'clock  to      ///^o'clock 

Dinner  at       /  2-  o'clock 

Drill  by^^v  felon  from    .2.         o'clock  to 
Dress  Parade  at      3     '    o'clock. 
Supper  at        \£>        o'clock 
Retreat  and  Roll  Call  at        f     o'clock 
Tattoo  at      *?          o'cloc 
Taps  at 


**     *       --,^, 


olonel  C'ommQndiiig,  Camp  Dement. 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  II 

OUR   CHAPLAIN. 

Mr.  Joseph  C.  Miller,  a  Baptist  minister  from  Amboy,  was 
appointed  chaplain  of  the  regiment  and  conducted  his  first 
service  at  8  a.  m.  of  the  i5th.  Mr.  Miller  was  a  man  of  fine 
appearance  and  good  address,  but  for  some  reason,  or  reasons, 
did  not  succeed  in  adapting  himself  to  the  situation.  It  was 
a  field  of  great  opportunity  for  good,  but  not  easily  filled  to 
satisfaction.  Many  good  men  who  tried  to  fill  the  position 
found  it  far  different  from  the  accustomed  position  in  civil  life. 
Military  requirements  exacted  respect  to  the  chaplain  as  a 
superior  officer,  but  unless  he  could  get  it  on  different  grounds 
than  that,  it  proved  to  be  but  cool  comfort  to  him.  To  fill 
the  place,  a  man  needed  personal  bravery,  independent  bear 
ing,  absence  of  much  sentimentalism,  ready  to  be  the  servant 
of  all,  ready  to  talk  out  plain  common-sense  religion,  with  no 
disposition  to  fawn  to  superior  officers,  and  no  evidence  of 
vanity  or  desire  to  feather  his  own  nest.  Such  a  man  could 
draw  on  the  confidence  of  any  manly  soldier  and  not  be  dis 
appointed  in  his  drawing. 

Of  course  this  whole  life  was  new  to  the  boys,  and  some 
very  innocent  and  green  thoughts  and  expressions  were  in 
dulged  in.  From  one  diary  of  the  time  I  extract  as  follows  : 
"  This  is  the  first  day  for  me  as  sentinel  on  the  picket  line." 
As  we  later  learned  there  was  no  ' '  picked  guard  "  at  "  Camp 
Dement"  and  no  occasion  for  any,  as  there  were  no  rebels  to 
watch  against. 

MEN   IN   HOSPITAL. 

From  the  same  date  I  extract  the  following  :  ' '  There  are 
four  men  in  the  hospital  house,  with  the  measles,  and  one 
with  the  fever."  The  "Hospital  House"  and  measles  and 
fever  came  so  soon  and  became  familiar,  and  continued 
with  us  to  the  end  of  the  three  years,  and  to  me  were  the 
saddest  part  of  the  whole  picture.  I  wrote  home  often  and 
said,  "  If  you  have  sympathy  and  sanitaries,  be  sure  to  give 
them  to  the  sick  and  hurt  soldier-boy  ;  but  the  soldier-boy  as 
long  as  he  is  well  can  take  care  of  himself." 


12  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT. 

Some  of  you  will  remember  that  J.  C.  Fishell  of  Company 
C,  who  had  stood  in  his  place  for  over  three  years,  and  while 
awaiting  discharge  at  Camp  Butler,  so  near  to  his  home,  took 
a  fever  and  died  on  June  16,  1864.  It  always  has  made  me 
sad  to  think  of  it. 

VISITORS   A   DISTRACTION. 

There  was  one  feature  of  camp  life  that  we  experienced  at 
our  camp  in  Dixon  and  nowhere  else  in  all  of  our  army  life. 
This  was  in  its  way  very  pleasant,  and  yet  I  fear  not  very 
profitable.  Large  numbers  of  visitors  came  and  usually  came 
in  picnic  fashion,  with  well-stored  baskets,  while  the  food  and 
faces  were  homelike,  yet  the  presence  of  so  many  interfered 
with  the  duties  of  camp.  And  then,  too,  as  these  favors  came 
mostly  from  friends  who  could  readily  get  to  the  camp  and 
none  to  the  companies  who  came  from  a  distance,  it  created 
some  feeling  against  the  more  favored  ones. 

THE   REGIMENT   ACCEPTED    FOR   THREE   YEARS. 

On  the  22d  of  May  a  dispatch  came,  saying  our  regiment 
was  accepted  by  the  general  government  for  a  term  of  three 
years  and  would  be  mustered  in  at  an  early  date.  Some  of 
the  men  did  not  fully  take  in  the  situation,  and  were  not  quite 
prepared  in  mind  for  the  move.  Of  course  none  were  legally 
bound  to  respond,  for  their  enlistment  was  but  for  thirty  days, 
and  then  only  to  the  State,  and  they  were  not  compelled  to  go 
out  of  the  bounds  of  the  State. 

But  on  the  24th  muskets  were  given  to  the  men  not  yet 
armed,  and  Mr.  Dennio  was  sent  to  the  camp  and  made  a 
flattering  speech,  to  be  sure  that  the  men  would  go  in  response 
to  this  call  for  a  longer  term.  On  the  23d  Colonel  Parks 
spoke  to  the  men  in  rather  a  threatening  strain.  But  I  am 
persuaded  that  the  men  were  so  intelligent  that  when  they 
finally  acted,  they  did  so  little  influenced  by  either  of  the 
lines  of  thought  presented  in  the  speeches. 


CHAPTER    II. 

THE  REAL,  SCHOOL  OF  THE  SOLDIER. —  CAMP  LIFE  AND 
DRILL.  —  FIELD  AND  STAFF  ELECTED  AND  AP 
POINTED. — VIA  CASEYVILLE  TO  THE  FRONT. 

May  24th,  1861. 

HIS  May  24th  was  a  great  day  in  our  camp 
at  Dixon  ;  and  to  all  who  were  there  and  yet 
survive,  the  events  of  that  day  gave  it*  a  promi 
nence  in  their  mind — a  sort  of  a  starting-point, 
that  marks  it  a  day  among  days.  And  the  feeling 
does  not  wear  away  with  the  years.  Captain  John 
Pope  of  the  regular  army,  and  afterwards  prominent  as  a 
major-general  was  the  man  who  came  to  muster  us  in  for 
' '  three  years  or  during  the  war. ' '  There  was  considerable 
dissatisfaction  among  the  men,  yet  the  great  majority  toed 
the  scratch  and  were  in  for  the  fight  on  good  faith.  A  few 
from  each  of  the  companies  except  Company  I,  for  various 
reasons,  left  the  ranks  and  in  due  time  left  the  camp.  Com 
pany  I  had  a  good  many  hard  thumps,  but  at  this  time  there 
was  no  discounting  it.  It  was  on  the  line. 

"EVERY   TRADE    HAS    ITS   TRICKS." 

It  is  said  that  every  trade  has  its  tricks.  And  even  in  the 
mustering  in  of  a  regiment  there  may  be  some  tricks  that  it 
is  not  thought  best  to  put  into  the  daily  bulletin  at  the  time. 
There  was  something  of  a  trick  in  our  muster  if  we  credit  the 
story  of  Captain  Quincy  McNeil  of  Company  D,  from  Rock 
Island,  Illinois,  and  we  do  credit  it  and  give  it  just  as  he  tells 

13 


14  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH   REGIMEMT 

it.  It  seems  that  Captain  McNeil  and  some  of  his  men  had 
been  associated  with  a  company  from  Rock  Island  that 
was  received  into  the  Twelfth  Regiment,  but  .the  company 
being  too  large,  it  was  divided  and  he  and  some  of  the 
men  raised  the  company  known  as  Company  D  of  the  Thir 
teenth  Regiment. 

The  company  being  called  upon  to  muster  into  the  United 
States  service,  was  short  of  the  requisite  number  of  men 
(seventy-seven  being  the  minimum  number)  by  the  refusal  of 
several  of  its  members  to  muster  for  three  years.  But  by  bor 
rowing  some  men  from  Company  G  it  was  mustered  in,  much 
to  the  gratification  to  those  who  were  anxious  to  go  to  the 
war.  In  making  out  the  muster-roll,  there  were  just  lines 
enough  for  the  one  hundred  and  one  names.  The  names  of 
the  men  from  Company  G  were  interlined  in  such  a  bungling 
manner  fhat  the  mustering  officer  returned  the  roll  to  Captain 
McNeil  with  a  blank  muster-roll  and  instructions  to  fill  up 
the  blanks  so  that  they  could  be  easily  read.  In  the  mean 
time  the  company  had  been  filled  up  by  recruits  from  Rock 
Island  and  the  muster  in  roll  was  sent  to  Captain  Pope  with 
one  hundred  and  one  names  plainly  written.  The  rolls  of 
Companies  G,  C,  E,  H,  I,  and  K,  were  legible  and  the  names 
of  the  men  borrowed  showed  as  belonging  to  the  company. 
To  rectify  the  roll,  the  borrowed  men  were  reported  as 
deserters.  The  list  of  these  was  so  large,  that  it  drew  an 
inquiry  from  the  War  Department.  The  several  captains 
finally  made  a  clean  breast  of  the  transaction,  though  in 
dread  of  dismissal  from  the  service.  The  company  was  then 
mustered  into  the  service  for  the  three  years  as  required. 

DUTIES    OF   THE    DAY. 

We  will  here  introduce  a  page  that  will  at  once  be  recog 
nized  by  the  orderly  sergeants  of  those  earlier  days  of  camp 
life.  It  will  also  show  what  was  the  daily  routine  of  camp  life. 
Some  of  the  men  whose  names  are  here  recorded  soon  left, 
but  others  remained,  and  some  are  still  in  active  life. 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  15 

''COLONEL   ELSWORTH." 

On  this  day  in  which  we  were  mustered  into  the  United 
States  service  an  event  occurred  that  helped  to  kindle  the  fire 
of  patriotism  and  purpose  to  carry  on  the  war.  It  was  on  the 
morning  of  this  day  that  the  first  man  of  any  note  lost  his  life 
in  the  Union  cause.  He  may  have  been  foolhardy,  but  he 
lost  his  life,  and  it  was  not  lost  to  our  cause.  Colonel  E.  E. 
Elsworth  was  a  popular  young  lawyer,  born  in  New  York  in 
1837,  and  was  practicing  law  in  Chicago  at  the  time  of  Mr. 
Lincoln's  election  and  had  a  company  of  zouaves  that  were 
noted  for  their  fine  drill.  When  Mr.  Lincoln  went  to  Wash 
ington,  Elsworth  went  with  him.  In  April  he  went  to  New 
York  city  and  raised  a  regiment  of  fire  zouaves,  of  which  he 
was  made  colonel.  The  account  of  his  untimely  death  I  will 
quote  from  the  account  as  given  by  a  historian  of  the  South 
ern  side.  He  says  : 

"On  the  24th  of  May,  Alexandria  was  occupied  by  the 
Federals,  the  Virginia  forces  evacuating  the  town  and  falling 
back  toward  Manassa  Junction.  The  invasion  was  accom 
plished  under  the  cover  of  night.  It  was  attended  by  an  inci 
dent  which  gave  a  lesson  to  the  enemy  of  the  spirit  he  was  to 
encounter,  and  furnished  the  first  instance  of  individual  mar 
tyrdom  in  the  war.  On  one  of  the  hotels  of  the  town,  the 
Marshall  House,  there  was  a  Confederate  flag  flying.  The 
proprietor  of  the  hotel,  Mr.  Jackson,  captain  of  an  artillery 
company  in  his  town,  had  deliberately  declared,  that  under 
any  circumstances,  he  would  defend  that  flag  with  his  life, 
and  had  been  deaf  to  the  advice  of  his  neighbors,  not  to  make 
his  house  by  this  display,  a  sign  for  the  enemy's  attack.  The 
flag  could  be  seen  from  the  window  of  the  White  House  in 
Washington.  As  a  company  of  fire  zouaves,  at  the  head  of 
which  was  Colonel  Elsworth,  entered  the  town  in  the  gray  of 
morning,  their  commander  declared  he  would  have  that  flag 
as  his  especial  prize.  He  was  attended  in  his  adventure  by  a 
squad  of  his  men.  Having  found  his  way  into  the  hotel,  he 
got  through  a  trap-door  to  its  top,  where  he  secured  the  ob- 


1 6  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

noxious  ensign  ;  but  descending  the  ladder  he  found  facing 
him  a  man  in  his  shirt-sleeves  with  a  double-barreled  gun  in 
his  hand.  "Here  is  my  trophy,"  exclaimed •Elsworth,  dis 
playing  the  flag  on  his  arm.  "  And  you  are  mine,"  replied 
Jackson,  as  he  quickly  raised  his  gun  and  discharged  the 
contents  into  the  breast  of  the  exultant  Federal.  Another 
moment  and  the  Virginian  was  stretched  by  the  side  of  his 
antagonist,  a  lifeless  corpse,  for  one  of  Elsworth' s  men  had 
sped  a  bullet  through  his  brain,  and  another  had  thrust  a 
bayonet  into  his  breast  as  he  was  in  the  act  of  falling." 

"  IN  FOR  IT." 

Just  above  I  have  spoken  of  the  fact  that  it  was  not  with 
out  considerable  strain  that  many  of  the  men  consented  to 
enroll  themselves  for  "  three  years,  or  during  the  war."  But 
as  soon  as  the  deed  was  done,  and  they  were  really  in  for  it, 
there  was  manifested  a  characteristic  that  was  a  very  impor 
tant  factor  in  the  future  of  the  regiment ;  that  is,  to  cheerfully 
make  the  most  of  the  situation.  After  supper,  on  the  24th, 
they  formed  a  procession.  Some  one  carried  the  Stars  and 
Stripes,  planks  were  put  on  the  shoulders  of  some  of  the  men, 
and  two  of  the  musicians  mounted  upon  them,  they  marched 
about  playing  and  singing  lively  tunes.  It  is  a  happy  feature 
of  human  nature  that  it  is  capable  of  at  once  throwing  off  the 
serious  and  depressing,  and  taking  on  the  light  and  gay  as  a 
relief. 

IN   MEMORY   OF  STEPHEN   A.    DOUGLAS. 

An  event  in  our  camp  was  the  recognition  given  to  the 
death  of  Hon.  Stephen  A.  Douglas.  On  June  4th,  the  cannon 
was  fired  at  intervals  of  one  hour,  and  later  in  the  week  a 
memorial  service  was  held.  This  seemed  fitting,  as  Judge 
Douglas  was  an  eminent  man  and  a  prominent  loyalist,  as 
this  stress  of  war  had  come  upon  the  government.  Judge 
Douglas  was  born  in  Vermont  in  1813  and  came  to  Illinois  in 
1833.  He  was  prominently  connected  with  the  politics  of  the 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY.  17 

State  and  the  United  States  up  to  the  time  of  his  death.  Mr. 
Douglas  had  ambition  that  found  something  of  gratification 
in  him  in  the  State  Legislature,  in  the  supreme  judgeship  of 
the  State  and  in  both  houses  of  Congress,  but  he  wanted  to 
be  President  of  the  United  States,  and  would  probably  have 
gotten  the  position  if  a  wise  providence  had  not  placed  Mr. 
Lincoln  in  the  position  at  the  only  time  Mr.  Douglas  could 
have  gotten  it.  He  and  Mr.  Lincoln  were  opponents  in  the 
school  of  politics  and  rivals  both  for  the  position  of  the  United 
States  senator  and  for  the  presidential  chair. 

Mr.  Douglas  and  Mr.  Lincoln  were  both  great  men.  Mr. 
Lincoln  was  doubtless  the  superior  of  Mr.  Douglas  in  his 
logic  and  candor.  Mr.  Lincoln  could  not  descend  to  any 
trickery  of  words  to  gain  his  point,  while  Mr.  Douglas  did  not 
seem  able  to  rise  entirely  above  it.  Men  mourned  the  death 
of  Mr.  Douglas,  but  rejoiced  that  Mr.  Lincoln's  hand  was  on 
the  helm  when  the  tempest  struck  us. 

Mr.  Douglas  seemed  to  be  in  some  things  with  the  South  ; 
yet  when  things  came  to  worst,  it  did  not  take  him  long  to  de 
clare  himself,  and  stand  by  Mr.  Lincoln  and  the  government. 
In  April,  Mr.  Douglas  had  made  a  loyal  speech  before  the 
Illinois  Legislature  that  carried  everything  with  it,  and  set 
the  State  into  the  forefront  of  patriotic  endeavor  to  establish 
the  supremacy  of  the  United  States.  But  now,  in  the  early 
days  of  June,  his  death  is  announced.  Much  was  expected  of 
him  in  the  contest  and  men  truly  sorrowed  over  his  death. 
Had  he  lived,  just  what  would  have  been  his  part,  none  may 
be  able  to  tell.  It  is  certain  he  was  removed  as  a  factor  from 
the  contest  and  many  more  able  men  with  him,  and  yet  the 
conflict  went  on  to  the  finish.  This  points  to  the  fact  that 
great  causes  are  greater  than  great  men,  and  move  on  after 
men  fall  by  the  way. 

CAMP    PUNISHMENTS. 

Various  punishments  were  resorted  to  while  in  this  our 
first  camp,  for  various  offenses.  Of  course  the  guard-house 
was  a  general  resort  for  malefactors,  but  by  some  it  was  rather 


1 8  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

enjoyed  than  otherwise,  if  the  term  was  not  too  protracted. 
This  was  a  common  punishment,  and  yet  others  were  used, 
some  of  which  were  discontinued  when  we  got*to  the  front.  I 
note  from  memory  and  a  diary,  some  such  as  these  :  ' '  Tied  to  a 
tree  "  — "  gaged  " — "  made  to  stand  on  a  barrel  some  hours  for 
refusing  to  attend  religious  services."  I  suppose  the  punish 
ment  in  this  case  was  for  disobedience  of  orders.  While  all 
the  men  who  enlisted  pledged  themselves  to  obey  all  the  com 
mands  of  their  superior  officers  and,  of  course,  ought  to  have 
kept  their  word,  yet  it  was  hardly  wise  on  the  part  of  the  offi 
cers  in  volunteer  service  to  absolutely  demand  attendance 
upon  such  service,  and  later  on  it  was  abandoned.  The  fact 
is,  that  many  of  the  officers,  to  begin  with,  were  not  prepared 
to  know  what  should  be  insisted  upon  and  what  should  be  left 
to  the  good  sense  and  heart  of  the  men. 

I  remember  the  case  of  one  wild,  young  Irishman  who  had 
never  controlled  himself  nor  been  controlled,  who  set  out  on  a 
general  course  of  wild  insubordination.  Falling  into  the 
hands  of  drill-master  Brown,  for  some  misdemeanor,  he  was 
loaded  with  a  full  knapsack  and  set  on  a  double-quick  with  a 
right  about  face  at  the  end  of  about  ten  rods  ;  after  this  had 
gone  on  for  half  an  hour  he  grew  tame,  and  later  I  heard  him 
say,  he  deemed  it  wise  to  fall  in  with  the  rules. 

THE  DEATH  OF  COOPER  BERRY. 

Mr.  Cooper  Berry  was  a  fine  young  man  who  came  to  camp 
with  the  company  from  Sterling  and  was  the  first  man  in  the 
regiment  to  lose  his  life.  He  was  shot  by  one  of  the  guards 
on  the  night  of  June  i2th.  Mr.  Berry  was  only  a  boy  in  years, 
but  a  man  in  appearance  and  energy.  He  was  a  born  mili 
tary  man,  and  could  he  have  lived,  in  riper  years  would  have 
been  just  the  man  to  take  men  anywhere  that  men  could  go. 
He  was  living  in  Sterling  at  the  time  of  the  outbreaking  of 
the  war,  and  when  a  company  was  organized  in  that  town,  he 
was  designated  as  first  lieutenant,  fte  drilled  the  men  in  the 
most  enthusiastic  way  and  did  good  service.  But  he  was 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  19 

young,  fiery,  and  lacked  judgment.  This  led  him  to  manifest 
an  overbearing  and  arbitral  spirit.  After  a  time  the  men  of 
the  company  did  not  feel  that  they  could  stand  that,  and  so 
united  in  asking  him  to  vacate  the  position  to  which  he  had 
been  assigned  but  for  which  no  commission  had  yet  come. 
Seeing  what  was  the  wish  of  the  men,  he  consented  and  left 
the  position.  He  was  then  assigned  to  the  position  of 
sergeant-major,  and  it  was  while  he  was  in  this  position  that 
he  lost  his  life.  My  recollection  of  it  is  that  there  was  some 
trouble  outside  of  the  camp  and  that  Mr.  Berry  was  going 
around  among  the  guards  to  see  if  they  were  all  at  their  posts. 
He  came  upon  one  of  the  guards  near  the  spring,  and  as  he 
approached  the  man,  was  shot  through  the  neck  and  died 
instantly.  It  was  asserted  by  some  that  it  was  done  with 
intent,  but  I  could  never  make  myself  believe  that  any  of  our 
men  had  that  kind  of  a  spirit,  even  if  he  were  led  to  think 
that  an  officer  had  been  arbitrary  toward  him.  Of  course  the 
man  was  arrested,  but  he  was  not  held,  and  it  is  certain  such 
a  thing  would  not  have  been  passed  by  if  there  was  any  evi 
dence  of  guilt. 

With  proper  military  attention  Mr.  Berry's  remains  were 
borne  to  Sterling  for  burial.  The  death  seemed  very  sad,  and 
it  looked  as  if  there  was  no  return  for  the  loss  of  such  a 
life  in  such  a  way  ;  and  yet  it  is  true  that  all  that  men  have, 
costs  something,  and  it  may  be  that  something  came  to  offi 
cers  and  men  for  their  preparation  for  the  future,  from  his 
death  at  this  time,  that  was  equal  to  the  sacrifice. 

It  is  certain  that  he  was  the  first  of  a  long  line  that  fell 
before  the  regiment  returned,  and  some  of  them  seemed  not  to 
have  counted  for  more  than  this. 

If  men  with  his  zeal  could  add  to  it  the  good  judgment  of 
some  one  else,  they  would  sweep  everything  before  them.  It 
will  be  remembered  that  young  Ellet  who  commanded  the  ram 
' '  Queen  of  the  West ' '  when  she  made  her  daring  passage  past 
the  batteries  at  Vicksburg  on  the  2nd  of  February,  1863,  was 
a  boy  of  but  eighteen  years.  I  shall  never  forget  his  flushed 
and  proud  appearance  as  he  rounded  up  his  boat  to  the  shore 


20  HISTORY   OF    THE    THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

below  the  batteries.  But  his  history  a  few  days  later,  when 
he  lost  that  grand  boat  up  the  Red  river,  showed  that  while 
there  was  no  lack  of  daring,  there  was  of  discretion.  It  is 
very  seldom  that  we  see  an  old  head  on  young  shoulders. 

GETTING   READY   TO   LEAVE   DIXON. 

We  had  now  been  in  camp  for  five  weeks,  getting  weaned 
somewhat,  from  home  and  civil  life  and  being  drilled  into  that 
unit  known  as  regiment.  The  various  experiences  were  not 
without  their  deep  impress  upon  us.  Could  the  incidents  be 
recalled,  we  would  find  some  most  delightful  in  pathos,  or 
with  fun  that  would  split  the  sides  of  a  deacon,  and  some  most 
sad.  But  we  did  not  come  into  camp  just  to  camp.  The  ob 
ject  of  our  move  was  beyond  and  more  serious,  as  many 
understood  and  as  all  learned  by  later  experience.  The  order 
came  to  move,  and  with  it  came  the  drawing  of  dress  suits, 
knapsacks,  rations  and  all  the  things  that  seemed  necessary. 
Let  me  note  here  what  most  people  of  to-day  are  not  aware  of, 
that  up  to  that  time  the  uniform  of  the  United  States  Arm}^ 
was  gray  and  not  blue  as  now.  The  suits  that  we  drew  at 
this  time  were  gray.  The  change,  I  understood,  was  made 
because  the  uniform  of  the  South  was  gray.  It  is  certain  that 
the  blue  made  a  more  distinct  target  in  battle  and  on  that  ac 
count  is  not  the  best. 

The  announcement  of  our  departure  drew  crowds  of  inter 
ested  friends  from  far  and  near,  they  came  to  extend  farewell 
and  God-speed  with  feelings  that  were  in  many  cases  tinged 
with  a  feeling  that  it  might  be  the  last,  and  of  course  in  many 
cases  it  proved  to  be  so. 

The  day  assigned  for  our  move  was  Sunday,  June  i6th. 
The  breaking  of  camp  was  entirely  new  and  of  course  was  not 
easily  accomplished.  There  was  cooking  to  be  done  and 
stowed  away,  and  camp  stuff  to  be  packed.  Being  so  igno 
rant  of  the  whole  matter,  it  was  of  necessity  done  in  confusion. 
We  were,  called  up  at  3:30  a.  in.  and  then  the  scene  opened. 
Those  who  did  not  have  much  work  to  do  could  run  to  and 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  21 

fro  and  make  a  noise,  and  they  did  their  share  of  it.  By  6  a.  m. 
friends  from  Sterling  and  Amboy  and  the  country  round 
began  to  arrive,  which  only  added  to  the  confusion.  But 
somehow,  by  8  a.  m.  the  regiment  was  in  line  and  ready  to 
move.  And  now  the  body  is  on  its  first  march  ;  not  far,  to  be 
sure,  to  the  Illinois  Central  depot,  but  as  much  of  a  task  as  a 
much  longer  one,  after  we  had  learned  how. 

There  stood  the  puffing  engines,  there  were  the  long  lines 
of  cars  ;  freight  cars  for  the  stock  and  baggage,  but  nice  pas 
senger  cars  for  the  men.  But  let  me  say  for  the  information 
of  children,  grandchildren  and  interested  friends,  that  that 
was  about  the  last  we  saw  of  passenger  cars  while  we  worked 
for  Uncle  Sam.  There,  too,  was  a  great  company  of  friends, 
fathers,  mothers,  children,  wives  and  sweethearts.  Some  felt 
light,  but  most  felt  heavy, — some  joked,  others  wept.  It  was 
no  light  matter,  and  it  made  most  of  us  feel  indeed  that  we 
were  off  for  the  war. 

OFF   FOR   THE   SOUTH. 

Time  was  up  ;  the  engines  puffed  as  if  impatient  to  be  off. 
The  word  was  given,  and  twenty-two  cars  loaded  with  men 
and  things  were  off  headed  for  the  South.  It  was  the  finest 
time  of  the  year,  when  everything  is  fresh  and  growing.  We 
ran  into  a  grand  country,  almost  a  garden — broad  fields  waved 
with  grain,  bright  streams  ran  along  in  sight  and  beneath  our 
train  as  we  dashed  on,  never  slacking  our  pace.  Then  we 
saw  broken  and  rough  portions  that  only  heightened  the 
beauty  of  the  landscape.  Everything  seemed  so  peaceful  on 
that  fair  Sabbath  day,  but  we  were  bent  on  war. 

As  the  day  passed,  we  found  that  we  had  gone  directly 
South,  some  two  hundred  miles.  This  brought  on  quite  a 
change. 

In  the  morning  we  were  in  the  midst  of  early  summer  but 
the  evening  found  us  at  Sandoval,  just  east  of  St.  Louis,  and 
amid  fields  ripe  to  the  harvest. 

There  was  nothing  striking  developed  in  the  day's  travel 
only  that  the  men  ate  freely,  and  the  cooked  vitnals  were 


22  HISTORY   OF   THE    THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

packed  away  where  they  could  not  be  gotten  at.  It  is  said 
that  some  of  the  officers  bought  a  barrel  of  eggs  at  Sandoval 
and  had  them  cooked  for  the  men.  Some  growled,  but  none 
starved. 

At  this  point  there  was  a  shipment  from  the  Illinois 
Central  railroad  to  the  Ohio  &  Mississippi  railroad,  and  we 
were  headed  west.  A  few  hours'  ride  brought  us  to  Casey- 
ville,  near  which,  and  some  eight  miles  from  St.  Louis,  was 
to  be  our  camp  for  the  present. 

While  in  this  place  the  drill  went  on  as  usual,  but  our 
coming  here  brought  with  it  a  new  feature,  that  is,  living  in 
tents.  Of  course  we  suffered  some  inconvenience  until  we 
knew  how  to  prepare  the  ground  and  how  to  stake  the  tents 
for  all  kinds  of  weather.  Some  did  not  ditch,  and  found  that 
it  was  a  mistake  when  the  floods  came.  Some  stretched  the 
canvas  to  the  utmost  tension  when  the  cloth  was  dry,  and  then 
found  that  in  the  midst  of  the  shower  the  cloth  had  shrunk 
enough  to  pull  out  the  pegs  and  drop  down  the  tent. 

While  we  were  occupied  here  in  doing  guard  and  drilling, 
our  principal  business  was  to  watch  St.  Louis.  It  was  in  the 
hands  of  the  Union  forces,  but  was  not  disposed  to  stay  there, 
if  by  any  means  it  could  be  passed  into  the  hands  of  the 
Secessionists.  A  body  of  troops  near  at  hand  had  a  whole 
some  effect  upon  the  plans  and  movements  of  those  who 
would  have  given  it  over.  The  Twentieth  Regiment  of 
Illinois  Infantry  came  and  camped  near  by  us,  thus  increas 
ing  this  force  near  to  the  great  city. 

GENERAL  LYON. 

On  the  very  day  of  our  arrival  at  our  camp  at  Casey ville, 
General  Lyon  had  quite  a  fight  with  the  rebels  at  Boonville, 
Missouri.  He  met  with  some  loss,  but  drove  the  enemy  from 
their  position.  Later  all  of  the  men  became  interested  in 
General  Lyon,  and  it  may  be  of  interest  to  introduce  him  at 
this  point.  I  take  the  description  from  a  Southern  pen  : 

"  Major  General  Nathaniel  Lyon  was  a  native  of  Connecti- 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  23 

cut,  and  had  served  in  the  regular  army  of  the  United  States. 
He  was  an  exception  to  the  politics  of  that  army,  for  he  was 
an  undisguised  and  fanatical  Abolitionist.  He  entered  the 
United  States  Army  as  second-lieutenant  and  was  subse 
quently  promoted  to  captain.  He  arrived  in  St.  Louis  in 
April,  1 86 1,  having  been  sent  from  a  post  in  the  far  south 
west.  Here  his  great  activity  in  suppressing  the  excitement 
of  Southern  feeling,  seizing  the  Arsenal,  erecting  defenses 
around  the  city,  and  disarming  Southern  sympathizers,  recom 
mended  him  to  notice  in  the  North  and  at  Washington,  and 
he  rapidly  rose  from  the  rank  of  captain  to  that  of  major- 
general  in  two  months.  He  was  undoubtedly  an  able  and 
dangerous  man  ;  one  who  appreciated  the  force  of  audacity, 
and  the  value  of  quick  decision. 

"  He  was  small  in  stature,  wiry,  active,  of  dark  complexion, 
brave  to  a  fault,  and  an  excellent,  though  restless  and  ambi 
tious  officer.  For  several  days  before  the  battle  in  which  he 
lost  his  life,  he  is  said  to  have  been  a  prey  to  uneasiness  and 
disappointment,  which  brought  on  his  face  a  troubled  look, 
observed  by  all  around  him.  To  one  of  his  staff  he  said, 
gloomily,  that  he  could  not  rid  himself  of  the  idea  that  the 
coming  battle  would  result  disastrously.  The  fall  of  this 
man  was  undoubtedly  a  serious  loss  to  the  Federals  in 
Missouri." 

General  Lyon  left  by  will  thirty  thousand  dollars  to  the 
United  States  Treasury. 

I  quote  from  one  diary  as  follows  :  ' '  This  camp  was  called 
McClellan.  Here  we  received  our  cartridge-boxes,  belts,  etc., 
also  our  pay  for  the  sixteen  days  spent  in  the  State  service 
from  May  gth  to  May  24th.  Drilling  and  target  practice  was 
the  order  of  each  day." 

Another  says,  "  Here  we  had  to  come  down  to  Uncle 
Sam's  rations  ;  it  was  rather  hard  at  first,  but  it  had  to  be 
'  did.'  We  missed  the  visits  that  we  had  received  from  kind 
friends  about  Dixon  ; — '  Long  may  they  wave  !  '  " 

This  coming  down  to  regulation  rations  with  no  nick-nacks 
to  supplement  them  seemed  a  little  hard.  Some  very  poor 


24  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

meat  was  issued  and  it  was  declared  by  some  that  it  was 
mule-meat.  Of  course  it  was  not,  but  our  live  colonel  raised 
his  voice  and  something  better  was  soon  forthcoming.  Here 
started  in  the  joke  that  ran  until  it  was  stale,  that  some  of 
the  hard  bread  was  so  old  and  musty  that  it  must  have  been 
made  in  the  time  of  the  Mexican  war,  or  that  some  had 
been  detected  with  the  mark  "  B.  C."  and  had  been  left 
over  by  the  Roman  army. 

SUTLER    STORE. 

Here  first  loomed  upon  the  horizon  of  the  Thirteenth  that 
wonderful  requisite  of  army  life,  the  sutler's  store.  The 
dictionary  defines  a  sutler  as  "  a  trader  in  a  small  way,"  also 
one  who  does  ''dirty  work."  Now  I  suppose  it  was  true  of 
many,  if  not  all  of  the  sutlers  of  our  army,  that  either  one 
of  these  definitions  would  apply  to  them.  They  did  trade  in 
a  small  way  and  yet  the  aggregates  were  not  always  so  small. 
It  is  said  of  one  sutler  in  one  of  the  campaigns  in  Louisiana 
under  General  Banks  that  he  cleared  twenty-five  thousand 
dollars  in  three  months.  Many  made  a  good  thing  of  their 
position.  It  ^s  true  that  they  ran  great  risks  from  bad  debts 
and  raids,  both  from  our  boys  and  the  rebels,  but  the  prospects 
of  profits  were  such  that  many  were  ready  to  embark  in  the 
business. 

I  think  it  is  also  true  that  many  of  them  did  ' '  dirty 
work."  They  sold  poor  stuff  for  a  large  price,  so  that  many 
boys  spent  most  of  their  wages  in  that  way.  Then,  many  who 
went  in  response  to  the  "  sick  call  "  would  have  had  no  occa 
sion  to  have  gone  if  they  had  staid  away  from  the  sutler. 
But  it  was  not  all  bad  ;  it  was  a  great  comfort  to  many  to 
have  a  chance  to  spend  something,  when  they  did  not  know 
what  to  do  with  their  salaries.  Those  bottles  of  pickles,  if 
they  were  high  priced,  were  often  just  the  thing  when  a  man 
was  growing  bilious.  Those  sardines,  often  oiled  over  things 
when  a  man  was  disgusted  with  everything  he  cooked. 

A  sutler's  tent  and  its  contents  was  not  an  unmixed  evil  ; 
as  to  the  sutler  himself,  our  sutler,  "Old  Hyde,"  as  the 


ILLINOIS    VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  25 

boys  saw  fit  to  dub  him,  will  be  written  up  later  on  in  our 
story. 

We  spent  our  first  Fourth  of  July  in  the  service,  in  a  sense, 
watching  St.  Louis.  It  was  feared,  and  with  reasons,  this 
day  might  be  used  as  a  time  for  an  outbreak.  An  engine  and 
train  was  in  readiness  to  have  sped  to  the  city  if  there  had 
been  a  call  for  it.  Things  were  on  the  stir  in  Missouri  and 
Arkansas. 

At  this  date,  Captain  Pope,  now  Brigadier- General  Pope, 
was  ordered  to  take  command  of  the  troops  at  Alton,  Illinois. 
General  Hurlbut  to  take  command  at  Quincy,  Illinois.  Gen 
eral  Lyon  was  on  the  way  from  Boonville,  Missouri,  to  Spring 
field,  Missouri.  General  Franz  Sigel  was  out  near  Carthage, 
Missouri,  and  had  something  of  an  engagement  there  on  the 
5th  of  July.  Rebel  Generals  Price  and  Parsons  were  con 
nected  with  this  same  place.  General  Jeff  Thompson  was  at 
Pocahontas,  Arkansas.  General  Ben  McCollough  who  was 
killed  at  Pea  Ridge  was  gathering  the  rebel  forces  at  Fort 
Smith,  Arkansas,  while  General  Albert  Pike  was  seeking  to 
marshal  the  Indians  of  the  Indiana  Territory  against  the 
United  States.  Into  the  midst  of  this  we  were  'soon  to  move 
and  do  service  for  almost  a  year. 

AGAIN    ON   THE   MOVE. 

On  July  6th,  in  the  midst  of  excessive  heat  the  order  came 
to  pack  and  move.  This  was  satisfactory,  for  soldiers  in 
actual  service,  have  neither  desire  nor  opportunity  for  long 
stays.  A  train  ran  out  from  St.  Louis  and  we  were  soon  off. 
Hoof  and  baggage  we  were  soon  across  the  Father  of  Waters 
not  to  see  it  again  for  one  year.  The  regiment,  strong  in  num 
bers  and  fine  in  appearance  made  its  way  through  the  streets 
of  the  city  and  finally  brought  up  at  Southwestern  Pacific  rail 
road  depot.  This  gave  us  some  intimation  of  the  direction  of 
our  travels,  if  not  of  our  destination.  As  the  regiment  passed 
along  the  streets,  it  called  out  various  expressions.  The 
Union  people  felt  free  to  express  themselves  openly  and 


26  HISTORY    OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

freely.  The  Secessionist  were  reticent.  The  grown  people 
showed  a  respectful  silence,  but  smiled  comfortably  when 
the  children  hurrahed  for  Jeff  Davis,  or  made  other  demon 
strations  that  were  in  accord  with  their  feelings. 

Many  of  the  boys  made  their  way  to  the  public  market 
place  and  readily  got  what  they  wanted  to  eat,  and  at  the 
same  time  learned  the  sentiments  of  the  German  market 
women  by  getting  things  at  a  nominal  price  or  as  a  free 
gift.  By  10  p.  m.  we  were  loaded  on  the  trains  and  ready 
to  move. 

INTO    DARKNESS   AND   DANGER. 

As  our  trains  pulled  out  of  the  depot,  of  course  we  did  not 
know  just  what  to  expect.  There  is  always  a  measure  of 
danger  in  running  trains,  especially  where  so  much  life  is 
involved.  Now  we  could  guess  that  the  danger  would  be 
enhanced  as  we  were  moving  into  an  enemy's  country  who 
would  be  glad  to  see  us  killed,  and  be  glad  to  do  it  if  they 
had  half  a  chance.  This  railroad,  as  we  learned  at  that  time, 
terminated  at  Rolla,  one  hundred  and  eight  miles  to  the 
southwest.  This  was  guarded  by  a  Home  Guard  and  especially 
at  the  bridges. 

We  had  run  some  distance  from  the  city  when  our  train 
was  flagged  and  came  to  a  stand-still.  The  guards  at  the 
bridge  where  we  stopped  had  just  captured  a  man  who  had 
made  an  effort  to  fire  the  bridge.  This  doubtless  had  been 
done  in  anticipation  of  our  coming,  and  in  the  hope  it  might 
prove  disastrous  to  us.  We  soon  started  up  again  and 
crowded  on  through  the  darkness  and  possible  danger,  trust 
ing  in  and  being  safely  kept  by  a  kind  Providence.  The  next 
morning  found  us  landed  in  Rolla.  This  was  held  at  the 
time  of  our  arrival  by  four  hundred  soldiers  who  were  antici 
pating  an  attack.  However  that  may  have  been,  after  our 
arrival,  it  did  not  come  off,  and  it  was  held  by  our  forces 
during  the  whole  of  the  war. 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  27 

THE   STATE   OF   MISERY. 

We  were  now  fairly  landed  in  what  was  known  among  the 
soldiers  as  the  "State  of  Misery  "  (Missouri).  It  is  true  that 
they  had  some  miserable  experiences  while  within  its  borders, 
yet,  as  some  of  them  were  profane  enough  to  add,  it  was  much 
"better  than  hell." 

4 '  Misery  ' '  was  the  land  of  long-haired  people  and  ' '  but 
ternut  "  clothes,  also  a  land  of  long  miles.  The  distances  as 
learned  from  the  natives  were  of  such  an  uncertain  quantity, 
that  after  a  time  when  a  man  said  it  was  so  many  miles  to  a 
place,  the  boys  would  ask,  ' '  United  States  miles  or  Missouri 
miles  ?  ' '  This  was  the  land  where  they  made  peach  pies  with 
out  lard  or  sugar,  pies  so  tough  that  it  needed  an  ax  to  cut 
them.  A  land  of  log  cabins  and  few  accomplishments,  and 
yet  withal  the  people  knew  enough  to  take  sides  on  this  great 
question  of  union  and  disunion,  of  human  slavery  and  human 
liberty,  and  to  bitterly  fight,  neighbor  against  neighbor,  and 
even  brother  against  brother.  In  the  siege  of  Vicksburg  there 
were  two  brigades  of  Missourians  facing  each  other,  and  in 
the  swinging  of  Grant's  army  to  the  rear  of  Vicksburg,  at  the 
skirmish  at  Fourteen-mile  Creek,  as  the  men  of  the  Seventeenth 
Missouri  Regiment  (Union)  advanced,  one  of  the  men  came 
upon  his  own  brother,  wounded  and  belonging  to  the  rebel 
side. 


CHAPTER   III. 

THE  STRATEGIC  IMPORTANCE  OF  THE  TRANS-MISSISSIPPI 
NORTHWEST,  AND  OF  ROLLA  IN  PARTICULAR. — CALLED 
TO  THAT  POST. — WYMAN. 


HE  geographical  and  strategic  position  of  Mis 
souri,  at  the  breaking  out  of  the  War  of  the 
Rebellion,  made  it  a  point  of  the  greatest  im 
portance,  both  to  the  Union  and  slave  powers. 
It  was  on  the  extreme  left  of  the  Confederate 
lines,  and  its  position  in  that  line  was  as  if  it  had 
made  a  right  half-wheel,  intending  to  overlap,  and 
completely  outflank  the  Federal  line  of  the  Union  States. 
There  was  no  geographical  divisions  of  the  Confederate 
States,  including  the  Gulf  and  Atlantic  seaports,  that  pos 
sessed  such  dangerous  possibilities  against  the  Union,  as  did  this 
trans-Mississippi  left  flank  of  the  Confederacy.  It  included 
the  Indian  Territory,  which  had  been  overawed,  bribed,  and 
cajoled  from  its  loyalty  to  the  rebels,  and  very  early  in  1861, 
the  Cherokees  had  decided  to  cast  their  fortunes  with  seces 
sion  ;  and  this  left  loyal  Kansas  exposed  on  its  entire  south 
ern  and  eastern  sides,  and  even  its  western  border  neighbors, 
the  Utes,  under  such  leaders  as  Colorow,  made  life  and  prop 
erty  insecure  ;  and  so,  Kansas  was  entirely  cut  off  from 
direct  communication  with  its  sister  loyal  States  ;  and  only 
by  the  circuitous  and  difficult  routes  through  Nebraska  and 
Iowa,  would  it  be  able  to  reach  the  other  Free  States. 

Missouri  was  even  more  badly  located  for  mischief  to  us, 
than  was  Arkansas  and  the  Indian  Territory.  Missouri  not 
only  overlapped  a  large  part  of  Illinois,  but  the  entire  State  of 

28 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY.  29 

Iowa  on  its  southern  border,  besides  an  easy  chance  of  holding 
a  corner  on  Nebraska  ;  and  this  would  afford  a  safe  footpath 
for  intercommunication  between  the  Indians  of  the  Southwest 
and  those  of  the  Northwest,  who  were  destined  to  make  a  di 
version  in  favor  of  Jeff  Davis,  by  an  outbreak  which  would 
carry  death  and  destruction  to  so  many  of  the  men,  women, 
and  children,  and  homes  of  the  Northwest,  as  to  largely  de 
plete  our  armies  of  forces  sufficient  to  quell  the  outbreak,  and 
give  permanent  protection  to  the  frontier  settlers. 

THIS   DIABOLICAL  SCHEME 

was  literally  carried  out  in  the  season  of  1862,  principally  in 
Minnesota  ;  and  we  shall  have  occasion,  in  another  part  of 
this  work,  to  trace  the  causes  and  fix  the  responsibility  where 
it  belongs. 

Almost  superhuman  exertions  were  made  by  the  young 
Confederacy  to  so  thoroughly  fortify  the  strongest  points  on 
the  Mississippi  River,  from  Columbus,  Kentucky,  to  New  Or 
leans,  that  the  Union  armies  could  not  possibly  reduce  them 
enough  to  gain  their  possession,  while  it  would  afford  them  an 
easy,  and  the  only  route  by  which  they  could  distribute  to  its 
people  and  armies,  the  transportation,  food,  and  munitions  of 
war,  necessary  to  their  existence.  Hence  the  tremendous 
efforts  they  put  forth  to  prevent  the  river  from  falling  into 
our  hands — well-knowing  that  our  success  would  literally  cut 
the  Confederacy  in  two. 

How  long  it  took  to  do  this  ;  how  much  hard  campaigning, 
through  all  sorts  of  exposure  and  hardship ;  how  many  Union 
lives  lost,  and  how  many  of  its  own  comrades  were  left  on 
many  battle-fields,  including  our  beloved  Wyman,  the  Thir 
teenth  need  not  be  told. 

There  seems  no  room  to  doubt  the  perfect  loyalty  and 
incorruptibility  of  General  Harney  in  the  secession  spring  of 
1 86 1,  but  he  fell  into  the  dangerous  error  of  reposing  con 
fidence  in  the  honesty  and  loyalty  of  such  secession  leaders 
as  Sterling  Price  and  Governor  Claib.  Jackson, 


30  HISTORY   OF   THE  THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

WHO   WERE   PLOTTING   TREASON   WHILE   HOODWINKING 
GENERAL   HARNEY, 

who  was  too  easily  led  to  trust  their  hypocritical  professions 
of  joining  him  in  preventing  Missouri  from  secession  ;  and, 
but  for  the  clear  foresight  of  Captain  L,yon,  Frank  P.  Blair, 
and  other  loyal  men,  and  their  prompt  action  in  capturing 
Camp  Jackson,  Missouri  would  have  been,  temporarily,  as 
hopelessly  lost  to  the  Union,  as  was  any  other  of  the  seces 
sion  States  ;  and  until  overpowered  and  restored,  so  large 
a  force  of  troops  would  have  been  necessary  to  guard  the  left 
bank  of  the  Mississippi,  from  Cairo  to  Iowa,  and  the  southern 
border  of  that  State  as  well,  as  to  very  materially  weaken 
our  forces  in  other  parts  of  the  field.  This,  however,  was 
probably  of  much  less  importance  to  the  Union  cause,  than 
would  have  been  the  dangerous  proximity  of  secession  Mis 
souri  to  Canada,  that  pest-house  of  refuge 

AND  VOMITING- GROUND  FOR  ALL  THE  FOUL  BROOD  OF 

SECESSION'S 

surplus  of  spies,  conspirators,  outlaws  and  assassins,  who, 
together  with  our  own  copperhead  renegades,  and  English 
sympathizers  with  Southern  treason,  formed  an  army  in  our 
rear  which  was  formidably  dangerous,  and,  it  is  possible, 
would  have  turned  the  scale  against  us,  had  it  not  been  for 
the  fact  that  they  were  generally  both  physical  and  moral 
cowards  and  always  were  kept  under  sleepless  surveillance 
by  our  authorities,  who  prevented  them  from  doing  what  the 
Jeff  Davis  organization  expected  of  them. 

Some  of  this  FalstafHan  rabble  were  as  ' '  mild  mannered 
gentlemen  as  ever  scuttled  a  ship  or  cut  a  throat" 

Very  few  of  these  conspirators,  however,  had  the  nerve 
and  devotion  to  a  bad  cause,  to  carry  out  the  behests  of 
their  masters,  which  required  the  murder  of  even  a  President 
of  the  United  States  ;  and  if  the  murder  of  President  Lincoln 
be  classed  as  one  of  their  successes,  then  it  was  a  success 
which  they  could  not  well  afford  ;  for  it  aroused  the  indigna- 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY.  31 

tion  and  horror  of  the  civilized  world,  and  weakened  their 
unholy  cause  by  the  withdrawal  of  a  hitherto  widespread 
sympathy,  mistaken  though  it  was,  which  had  been  ex 
tended  then  ;  and  the  effect  was  to  cause  such  a  revulsion 
of  feeling,  that  the  Union  cause  was  correspondingly 
strengthened. 

With  the  exception  of  the  assassination  of  President  Lin 
coln,  no  notable  success  was  achieved  by  these  Jeff  Davis 
scavengers ;  and  their  operations  amounted  to  scarcely  more 
than  the  abortive  attempts  to  burn  and  plunder  a  few 
Northern  cities,  release  and  arm  several  thousands  of  rebel 
prisoners  in  several  Northern  States,  to  capture  one  or  two 
vessels  on  the  Northern  lakes;  and  the  too  successful  auxili 
ary  aid  of  the  English-secession  contingent  in  inciting  the 
revolt  of  the  Indians  of  the  West  and  Northwest. 

These  rear  and  side-lights  serve  to  throw  into  bold  relief, 
over  the  canvas  of  history,  the  importance  to  both  sides,  of 
Missouri,  which,  to  the  rebels  was  a  sort  of  turn-table  and 
way-station  on  the  rebel  underground  railroad  for  easily 
reaching  Canada. 

On  Sunday  morning,  July  yth,  at  daylight,  after  a  rough 
night's  ride  in  freight  and  lumber  cars,  over  the  southwest 
branch  of  the  Missouri  Pacific  railroad,  the  ' k  Thirteenth  " 
arrived  at  Rolla,  Missouri,  disembarked  and  stacked  arms 
near  the  depot,  the  men  expecting  to  march  on  to  Springfield 
to  reinforce  General  Lyon,  as  soon  as  transportation  could 
arrive.  After  about  two  hours,  however,  they  were  ordered 
to  ''fall  in,"  and  were  marched  to  a  camping-ground  about 
one  hundred  rods  to  the  east  of  the  town,  where  they  again 
' '  stacked  arms  ' '  and  then  cooked  breakfast ;  after  which  the 
ground  was  thoroughly  cleared  off,  and,  by  night,  the  tents 
were  all  up,  on  what,  as  it  proved,  was  to  be  their  military 
home  for  three  months  ;  and  camp  life  on  the  enemy's  soil 
began  in  earnest. 

A  force  of  only  five  companies  of  Infantry,  under  Colonel 
Bayles,  was  garrisoning  the  post  on  our  arrival,  and  much 
apprehension  of  attack  from  rebels  existed,  and  a  patrol  guard 


32  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

was  ordered  on  duty  from  our  regiment  the  very  first  night  of 
our  Missouri  life. 

This  seemed  a  little  like  earnest  work,  but  k  was  what  the 
boys  had  clamored  for,  what  we  came  to  Missouri  to  do  ;  and 
that  there  was  abundant  necessity  for  its  being  done,  a  look 
at  the  military  and  political  situation  in  the  trans-Mississippi 
department  of  the  military  operations  of  the  war  will  readily 
show ;  and  why  Colonel  Wyman  and  his  regiment  were 
assigned  to  this  post. 

Although  the  weather  was  somewhat  sultry,  the  day  was 
fine  ;  and  while  the  men  were  clearing  off  the  grounds  for  a 
camp,  and  getting  ready  for  real  soldiering,  some  rear  and 
side-lights  may  be  let  on  to  make  clear  the  situation. 

As  early  as  December  2oth,  1860,  South  Carolina,  true  to  her 
old-time  treasonable  leadership,  had  seceded.  On  January  gth, 
nth,  iQth  and  26th,  1861,  Mississippi,  Alabama,  Georgia  and 
Lousiana,  in  the  order  named,  had  seceded,  to  be  followed 
April  i  yth,  and  May  6th  by  Virginia  and  Arkansas,  respect 
ively.  Three  months  before  the  form  of  secession  had  been 
gone  through  with,  Arkansas  had  persuaded  the  Choctaw 
Indians  to  join  the  fortunes  of  the  South  and  had  seized  the 
United  States  Arsenal  at  Little  Rock. 

On  May  nth  United  States  troops  had  been  fired  on  in 
St.  Louis.  On  June  i2th,  the  rebel  governor  of  Missouri, 
Claib.  Jackson,  called  for  fifty  thousand  troops  to  fight  the 
United  States. 

It  seems  that  staunch  old  Union  Secretary  of  War,  Simon 
Cameron,  with  grim  Scottish  sarcasm,  sent  a  requisition  to 
the  Governor  of  Arkansas,  for  its  contingent  of  Arkansas 
troops  with  which  to  help  put  down  the  rebellion  ;  and 
received  the  following  reply  : 

Honorable  SIMON  CAMERON,  Secretary  of  War, 

Washington  City. 

In  answer  to  your  requisition  for  troops,  from  Arkansas,  to  subjugate 
the  Southern  States,  I  have  to  say  that  none  will  be  furnished.  The 
demand  is  only  adding  insult  to  injury.  The  people  of  this  common- 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  33 

wealth  are  freemen,  not  slaves,  and  will  defend  to  the  last  extremity, 
their  honor,  lives,  and  property  against  Northern  mendacity  and  ursur- 
pation. 

H.  M.  RECTOR, 
Governor  of  Arkansas. 

Captain  James  Totten,  Second  Artillery,  Commandant  at 
Little  Rock  Arsenal,  as  earl y  as  February  6th,  1861,  notified 
Adjutant-General  Cooper,  United  States  of  America,  as 
follows  : 

SIR  :  I  have  to  inform  you  that  companies  of  armed  citizens  from 
various  sections  of  the  State  have  already  arrived,  and  it  is  said  there 
will  soon  be  five  thousand  here  for  the  express  purpose  of  taking  the 
Arsenal.  Instructions  are  urgently  and  immediately  asked.  Collision 
seems  inevitable  if  the  Arsenal  is  to  be  held. 

Same  date  same  notifies  same  that  Governor  H.  M.  Rector 
of  Arkansas,  demands  the  surrender  of  the  Arsenal  to  State 
authorities. 

April  2oth  Liberty  Arsenal  in  Missouri,  was  taken  posses 
sion  of  by  rebels  and  fifteen  hundred  arms  and  a  few  cannon 
distributed  to  citizens  of  Clay  county. 

April  23d  secessionists  took  possession  of  Fort  Smith,  the 
Governor  acting  as  though  the  State  had  already  seceded. 

As  early  as  February  i2th  General  Scott  telegraphed  to 
General  Harney,  commanding  Department  of  the  West : 

Have  you  in  the  St.  Louis  Arsenal  troops  enough  to  defend  it? 
Ought  you  not  to  send  up  all  the  men  from  Jefferson  Barracks  ? 

The  General-in-Chief  desires  to  strengthen  that  dispatch  by  calling 
your  attention  to  these  considerations.  That  it  is  best  to  move  in 
advance  of  excitement  when  it  is  possible.  When  an  emergency  arises 
reinforcements  may  be  cut  off ;  and  that  all  the  force  may  now  be  use 
fully  employed  at  work  in  adding  to  the  defenses  of  the  Arsenal. 

General  Harney  did  not  see  any  danger. 
Nine  days  after  the  above,  General  Harney  received  the 
following  peremptory  command  : 

Brigadier- General  Harney  :  Stop  the  march  of  the  troops  from  Fort 
Smith.  WIXFIELD  SCOTT. 


34  HISTORY    OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

Only  nineteen  days  from  the  date  of  the  above,  Captain 
Nathaniel  Lyon  was  assigned  to  the  command  of  the  St.  Louis 
Arsenal.  Beginning  to  comprehend  at  last^  that  General 
Scott  was  getting  his  mad  up,  General  Harney  began  to 
move  ;  and  in  the  light  of  swift  following  events,  he  moved 
none  too  soon  ;  and  as  a  result  we  have  the  following  : 

HEADQUARTERS,  DEPARTMENT  OF  THE  WEST, 

ST.  Louis,  MISSOURI,  April  gth,  1861. 
To  MAJOR  HAGNER. 

SIR  :  Under  existing  circumstances,  the  Department  Commander 
deems  it  of  great  importance  that  the  Ordnance  supplies  stored  in  the 
magazine  at  Jefferson  Barracks,  or  elsewhere,  be  brought  within  the 
vicinity  of  St.  Louis  Arsenal  limits  with  the  least  practicable  delay. 

S.  WILLJAMS, 
Assistant  Adjutant-General. 

Either  General  Scott's  tongue-lashing,  or  some  other 
inspirational  cause,  had  set  General  Harney  to  looking  about 
him  to  better  purpose  than  formerly,  as  is  seen  by  the  follow 
ing  communication  to  the  headquarters  of  the  General-in- 
Chief  of  the  Army. 

HEADQUARTERS  WESTERN  DEPARTMENT, 

ST.  Louis,  MISSOURI,  April  16,  1861. 

ASSISTANT  ADJUTANT-GENERAL  OF  THE  ARMY  AT  NEW  YORK, 

SIR  :  The  Arsenal  buildings  and  grounds  are  completely  com 
manded  by  hills  immediately  in  their  rear,  and  within  easy  range.  I 
learn  from  sources  which  I  consider  reliable,  that  it  is  the  intention  of 
the  Executive  of  this  State  to  cause  batteries  to  be  erected  on  these  hills, 
and  also  upon  the  Island  opposite  the  Arsenal.  I  am  further  informed 
that  should  such  batteries  be  erected,  it  is  contemplated  by  the  State 
authorities,  in  the  event  of  the  secession  of  the  State  from  the  Union,  to 
demand  the  surrender  of  the  Arsenal.  While  our  force  would  probably 
be  able  to  resist  successfully  an  assaulting  party  greatly  superior  to 
itself  in  numbers,  it  could  not  withstand  the  fire  of  the  batteries  situated 
as  above  indicated. 

W.  S.  HARNEY, 
Brigadier-General  Commanding. 

With  regard  to  the  St.  Louis  Arsenal  matter,  it  seems  to 
have  engaged  the  personal  attention  of  Jeff  Davis  also  about 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  35 

this  same  time,  and  he  writes  from  Montgomery,  Alabama,  on 
April  23d,  1861,  to  Governor  Jackson  of  Missouri,  as  follows  : 

I  have  directed  that  Captains  Green  and  Duke  should  be  furnished 
with  two  twelve-pounder  howitzers  and  two  thirty-two-pounder  guns 
with  the  proper  ammunition  for  each.  These,  from  the  commanding 
hills  will  be  effective,  both  against  the  garrison,  and  to  breach  the 
inclosing  walls  of  the  place. 

I  concur  with  you  as  to  the  great  importance  of  capturing  the  Arse 
nal  and  securing  the  supplies, 

That  the  Union  authorities  and  leading  Unionists  of  the 
West  were  as  fully  alive  to  the  importance  of  defending 
the  St.  Louis  Arsenal,  and  its  valuable  stores,  as  Jeff  Davis 
could  possibly  be,  the  following  correspondence  will  show  : 

EAST  ST.  Louis,  lu,.,  April  igth,  1861. 
Hon.  SIMON  CAMERON,  Secretary  of  War. 

SIR  :  Dispatches  to  United  States  Officers  at  St.  Louis,  should  be 
addressed  to  East  St.  Louis,  via  Terre  Haute.  Their  contents  will  then 
be  perfectly  safe  as  far  as  all  western  points  are  concerned.  Notify 
other  members  of  the  Cabinet,  and  ascertain  yourself  about  Baltimore 
and  Washington  Offices. 

Send  order  by  telegraph,  at  once,  for  mustering  men  into  service, 
to  Captain  N.  Lyon.  It  will  surely  then  be  executed  and  we  will  fill 
your  requisition  in  two  days. — "  RELIEVE  HAGNER." 

FRANK  P.  BLAIR,  Jr. 

"Hagner"  seemed  to  have  been  the  ordnance  officer,  an 
important  military  position,  whose  loyalty  was  suspected,  or 
who  was  indiscreet  and  of  dangerous  use  to  the  secessionists, 
and  whose  removal  was  necessary  to  the  perfect  success  of  a 
plan  then  under  consideration  for  anticipating  the  possible 
capture  of  the  Arsenal  by  the  rebel  Governor  Jackson.  The 
following,  of  three  days  earlier  date  than  the  above  letter  of 
Hon.  Frank  P.  Blair,  undoubtedly  explains  why  they  dis 
trusted  "  Hagner." 

Captain  Lyon  writes  to  Governor  Yates  of  Illinois,  from 
St.  Louis  Arsenal,  on  April  i6th  suggesting  to  Governor 
Yates  that  as  the  arms  are  what  are  wanted  by  the  rebs,  and 


36  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

will  be  the  cause  of  an  attack,  had  not  Governor  Yates  better 
make  requisition  for  a  large  supply  of  arms  and  get  them 
shipped  from  St.  Louis  Arsenal  to  Springfield,  Illinois. 

The  danger  must  have  been  imminent  indeed  to  have 
been  acquiesced  in  so  universally  and  so  promptly  as  to  cut 
red-tape  into  ravelings  and  by  the  most  conservative  of  the 
Government  fossils. 

FOR   INSTANCE- 
HEADQUARTERS  WAR  DEPARTMENT, 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C. 

COMMANDANT  OF  ARSENAL  AT  ST.  Louis,  MISSOURI. 

SIR:  *  *  *  *  You  will,  moreover,  issue  ten  thousand  addi 
tional  stand  of  arms  and  accoutrements  to  the  authorized  agent  or 
agents,  of  His  Excellency,  the  Governor  of  Illinois,  with  a  correspond 
ing  amount  of  ammunition. 

SIMON  CAMERON, 

Secretary  of  War. 

On  April  3Oth,  1861,  President  Lincoln  authorizes  Captain 
Lyon  to  enroll  for  his  own  command,  ten  thousand  militia  of 
loyal  citizens  of  St.  Louis  and  vicinity,  also  directs  that  the 
arms  and  other  military  stores  at  the  Arsenal,  not  needed  for 
Missouri,  must  be  removed  to  some  safe  place  in  Illinois. 

It  is  revolutionary  times ;  and  therefore,  /  do  not  object  to  the 
irregularity  of  this. 

W.  S.  [Winfield  Scott.] 
Approved,  April  30,  1861. 

A.  LINCOLN. 

Colonel  Thomas  ( Adjutant-General)  will  make  this  order. 

SIMON  CAMERON, 

Secretary  of  War. 

This  unexampled  action  in  throwing  wide  open  the 
ratchet-wheel  which  generally  keeps  slowed  down  the  spools 
from  which  red-tape  is  so  begrudgingly  unwound,  ought  to 
be  blazoned  on  every  Union  battle-flag,  for  all  time  ;  and  the 
whole  caboodle — Lyon,  Lincoln,  Scott,  Cameron  Jand  Blair, 
richly  deserved  a  good  pull  from  some  comrade  's  canteen. 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  37 

At  the  risk  of  sorely  trying  the  reader's  patience,  the  his 
torian  has  deemed  it  desirable  to  record,  for  future  reference, 
as  well  as  for  present  reading,  some  of  the  political  and  mil 
itary  conditions  which  led  up  to  the  necessity  which  called 
for  the  selection  of  the  proper  military  leader,  who  also  pos 
sessed  great  executive  ability  as  a  manager  of  lines  of  rail 
road.  That  it  had  been  a  matter  of  grave  deliberation  by  the 
commander  of  the  Department  of  the  West,  seems  to  clearly 
be  set  forth  in  the  following  documents  ;  and  that  this  great 
trust  was  confided  to  our  Colonel,  must  be  a  source  of  pride  to 
every  surviving  member  of  the  Thirteenth  Regiment. 


ST.  Louis  ARSENAL,  Mo.,  July  6th,  1861. 
GENERAL  GEORGE  B.  MCCLELLAN,  Buckhannon,  Virginia. 

SIR  :  General  Lyon  has  sent  Wy man's  regiment  to  Rolla  this  even 
ing.  This  with  the  seven  hundred  troops  now  there  will  be  enough  for 
the  present.  Colonel  Wyman  is  in  command,  with  instructions  to  keep 
open  the  line  of  communication  on  which  all  supplies  will  be  sent  here 
after.  General  Lyon  has  moved  down  towards  Springfield  with  twenty- 
four  hundred  and  Major  Sturgis  with  twenty-two  hundred  on  the 
frontier.  Sweeney  is  there  and  at  Mt.  Vernon  and  beyond  there,  with 
twenty-five  hundred,  besides  guards  at  posts  on  lines. 

CHESTER  HARDING,  JR. 

A.  A.-G.,  Mo.  Vol. 

ST.  Louis  ARSENAL,  MISSOURI, 

July  yth,  1861. 
To  ADJUTANT-GENERAL  THOMAS. 

SIR  :  Besides  garrisoning  Jefferson  City,  Boonville,  and  Lexington 
General  Lyon  has  marched  southward  with  two  thousand  four  hundred 
men  in  round  numbers.  His  intention  was  to  go  to  Little  Rock  ;  but 
movements  of  the  enemy  in  the  southeastern  portion  of  the  State,  may 
change  his  plans.  There  are  at  Springfield  and  Mt.  Vernon,  and  on  the 
way  there  from  Rolla,  about  three  thousand  men  under  Captain  T.  W. 
Sweeney,  Second  Infantry,  by  order  of  General  Harney,  as  Brigadier- 
General  of  United  States  Reserve  Corps  of  St.  Louis.  In  addition  to 
these,  there  are  about  one  thousand  of  Home  Guards  and  Rifle  Bat 
talion,  protecting  line  of  communication  from  St.  Louis  to  Springfield. 
As  this  line  has  become  the  most  important  in  the  whole  State,  and  as  it 
is  threatened  by  hostile  bands  under  General  McBride  and  others,  it  has 


38  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH   REGIMENT 

been  deemed  best  to  place  it   under  the  command  of  Colonel  Wyman 
Thirteenth  Illinois  Volunteers,  who  went  down  to  Rolla  last  night. 

As  soon  as  General  Lyou's  plan  of  campaign  developed  itself,  the 
secessionists  in  the  southeast  began  to  organize  their  forces.  They  have 
hitherto  been  met,  as  well  as  possible,  by  expeditions  from  Cairo,  and 
from  this  place,  and  by  Home  Guards  organized  and  armed  under  Gen 
eral  Lyon's  authority.  These  expeditions  were  necessarily  confined  to 
temporary  visits  to  disaffected  regions,  and  have  accomplished  little. 
The  whole  of  the  southeast  requires  permanent  occupancy  by  our 
troops,  as  it  contains  more  enemies  than  any  other  portion  of  the 
State. 

CHESTER  HARDING,  JR., 

A.  A.-G.  Mo.  Vols. 

L.  THOMAS,  ADJUTANT-GENERAL,  Washington,  D.  C. 

SIR  :  At  the  suggestion  of  General  Lyon,  I  write  to  inform  you  of 
the  movements  of  troops  in  this  State.  *  *  *  * 

In  addition  to  these  there  are  about  one  thousand  of  the  Home 
Guard  and  Rifle  Battalion  protecting  the  line  of  communication  from 
St.  Louis  to  Springfield.  As  this  line  has  become  the  most  important 
one  in  the  whole  State,  and  as  it  is  threatened  by  hostile  bauds  under 
General  McBride  and  others,  it  has  been  deemed  best  to  place  it  under 
the  command  of  Colonel  Wyman,  Thirteenth  Illinois  Volunteers,  who 
went  down  to  Rolla  with  his  regiment  last  night.  He  will  establish  his 
headquarters  either  at  Rolla  or  Lebanon,  beyond  the  crossing  of  the 
Gasconade  river,  as  he  finds  most  expedient.  *  *  *  * 
I  am,  sir,  very  respectfully, 

Your  obedient  servant, 

CHESTER  HARDING,  JR.,  A.  A.-G. 

The  three  immediately  foregoing  communications  from  the 
headquarters  of  General  Lyon,  Department  of  the  West,  while 
all  relating  to  the  selection  of  Colonel  Wyman,  for  command 
ing  the  post  at  Rolla,  vary  enough  to  give  us  two  or  three 
points  of  sufficient  interest  to  warrant  the  quoting  of  all 
three.  Taking  the  three  together,  we  learn  that  General 
Lyon  did  not  intend  that  the  Thirteenth  should  compose  a 
part  of  his  forces  in  the  campaign  to  Springfield,  and  still 
further  to  the  southwest ;  and  while  it  was  almost  universally 
understood  by  the  enlisted  men  of  the  regiment,  that  we  were 
to  join  General  Lyon  at  Springfield,  Colonel  Wyman  knew 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  39 

better  all  the  time  ;  and  must  have  known,  and  in  fact  ac 
cepted  the  appointment,  while  still  at  Caseyville  ;  but  he  kept 
his  own  counsel  well. 

We  also  learn  from  these  letters,  that  Colonel  Wyman  was 
in  command  of  the  post,  which  included  the  entire  line  of 
railroad  from  St.  Louis  to  Rolla,  as  soon  as  the  Thirteenth  was 
well  aboard  the  cars,  on  that  Saturday  night  of  July  6th, 
1 86 1,  although  the  order  assigned  him  had  not  been  pub 
lished. 

By  referring  to  the  communication  of  Adjutant-General 
Harding  to  General  McClellan,  dated  July  6th,  1861,  he  says: 
11  Colonel  Wyman  is  in  command,  with  instructions,"  etc. 
This  seems  sufficient  to  establish  the  above  claim. 

Another  thing  will  be  learned  for  the  first  time  by  many 
of  the  Thirteenth,  that  we  should  have  gone  into  camp  at 
Lebanon,  if  Colonel  Wyman  had  thought  it  best. 

Your  historian  also  learns  from  all  three  of  the  above 
letters,  that  "  Colonel  Wyman  and  his  regiment  went  down  to 
Rolla  last  night ;  "  that  being  the  case,  the  said  historian,  if 
he  wants  to  keep  abreast  with  current  events,  would  better 
sharpen  his  pencil  and  go  down  to  Rolla  too. 


CHAPTER    IV. 

LYON  ASKS  FREMONT  TO  SEND  HIM  THE  THIRTEENTH  AT 
ONCE  ;  BUT  IS  TOLD  THAT  "  WYMAN'S  IS  A  SPLENDID 
REGIMENT,"  BUT  WE  DON'T  MARCH. 


UTTING  the  camp  in  order  was  the  service 
required  of  the  men  on  that  first  Sunday  at  the 
front ;  and  to  show  that  war  does  not  shave, 
wash  its  neck,  and  dress  up  for  Sunday,  there  was 
no  church  service  ;  and  that  first  Sunday  night 
brought  several  alarms  ;  and  once,  the  boys  were 
called  up  and  ordered  to  "fall  in";  but  the  alarms  proved 
false,  and  the  first  reveille  in  "  Dixie  "  woke  them  on  Monday 
morning,  July  8th,  with  another  day's  work  of  clearing  the 
grounds  and  putting  everything  to  rights.  The  men  were 
generally  well,  and  commenced  their  new  life  with  a  zestful 
alacrity  which  may  be  said  to  be  a  characteristic  of  the  sol 
dier  of  no  other  nationality. 

Captain  Blanchard,  of  Company  K,  was  the  Officer-of-the- 
Day,  the  first  to  officiate  in  that  capacity  on  rebel  soil. 
Whether  this  honor  came  to  him  as  the  senior  in  years,  in  the 
regiment,  is  not  now  known  by  any  record,  but  it  most  likely 
was  the  case.  Tuesday,  July  gth,  broke  clear  and  pleasant, 
and  a  scouting  party  drawn  from  Companies  K,  H  and  I— 
Captains  Gardiner  with  his  Company  H,  Wadsworth  with  his 
Company  I,  and  Lieutenant  Hobson  with  Company  K  as  its 
captain,  Blanchard  was  in  command  of  the  expedition. 

Captain  Blanchard  was  mounted  on  the  Colonel's  horse. 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  4! 

Captain  Wadsworth  and  Captain  Gardiner,  both,  are  reported 
as  returning  sick,  but  the  sturdy  old  veteran  in  command 
seems  to  have  had  a  good  time,  and  was  fortunate  enough  to 
capture  and  bring  back  a  rifle  as  a  trophy.  On  this  day  also, 
two  captains  of  the  regiment  are  reported  as  being  detailed  on 
special  duty  ;  what  particular  duty,  there  is  now  no  record  to 
show,  but  it  seems  certain  that  one  was  Captain  Bushnell  who 
was  put  in  the  superintendency  of  the  construction  of  the 
Fort,  which  was  commenced  about  this  time. 

Thursday,  July  i8th,  at  the  camp  of  the  Thirteenth  regi 
ment  it  was  pleasant  all  day,  and  Captain  Blanchard  was  Of- 
ficer-of-the-Day.  On  this  day  Confederate  General  McCulloch 
writes  to  Confederate  Secretary  of  War  Walker  as  follows  : 

The  regiment  of  Chocktaw  and  Chickasaw  Indians  is  no  doubt  now 
all  assembled  at  Scully ville,  about  fifteen  miles  from  Fort  Smith.  I  will 
arm  them  as  soon  as  the  arms  can  be  sent,  and  keep  them  there  as  a 
check  on  the  Cherokees.  The  same  disposition  will  be  made  of  the 
Creek  regiment,  should  one  be  organized. 

Three  days  before  the  above  was  written,  the  rebel  general, 
Bishop  Leonidas  Polk,  writes,  <l  Price  and  McCulloch  have  at 
Bentonville,  Arkansas,  thirty-one  thousand,  three  hundred 
men." 

Wednesday,  July  iyth,  General  L/yon,  from  Springfield, 
Missouri,  on  this  date  writes  to  his  Adjutant-General  Harding 
in  St.  Louis  as  follows  : 

I  inclose  you  a  copy  of  a  letter  from  Colonel  Townsend  on  the  sub 
ject  of  an  order  from  General  Scott,  which  calls  for  five  companies  of  the 
Second  Infantry  to  be  withdrawn  from  the  West  and  sent  to  Washing 
ton.  A  previous  order  withdraws  the  mounted  troops,  as  I  am  informed; 
and  were  it  not  that  some  of  them  were  en  route  to  this  place,  they  would 
now  be  in  Washington.  This  order t  carried  out,  would  not  now  leave  at 
Fort  Leavenworth  a  single  company.  I  have  Companies  B  and  E,  Second 
Infantry,  now  under  orders  for  Washington  ;  and  if  all  these  troops  leave 
me,  I  can  do  nothing,  and  must  retire,  in  the  absence  of  others  to  supply 
their  places.  In  fact,  I  am  badly  enough  off  at  the  best,  and  must  utterly 
fail  if  my  regulars  all  go.  At  Washington,  troops  from  all  the  Northern, 
Middle  and  Eastern  States  are  available  for  the  support  of  the  army  in 


42  HISTORY   OF   THE    THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT. 

Virginia,  and  more  are  understood  to  be  already  there  than  are  wanted  ; 
and  it  seems  strange  that  so  many  troops  must  go  on  from  the  West  and 
strip  us  of  the  means  of  defense.  But  if  it  is  the  intention  to  give  up  the 
West,  let  it  be  so  ;  it  can  only  be  the  victim  of  imbecility  or  malice. 
Scott  will  cripple  us  if  he  can.  Can  not  you  stir  up  this  matter  and  se 
cure  us  relief?  See  Fremont  if  he  has  arrived.  The  want  of  supplies 
has  crippled  me  so  that  I  can  not  move  ;  and  I  do  not  know  when  I  can. 
Everything  seems  to  combine  against  me  at  this  point.  Stir  up  Blair. 

This  almost  wail  of  despair  from  Lyon  is  pathetic  and  sad 
enough  to  throw  a  pall  of  the  deepest  gloom  over  the  stoutest 
hearts,  as  to  our  prospects  in  Missouri;  and  if  "coming 
events  ever  do  cast  their  shadows  before,"  perhaps  Lyon's 
prophetic  soul  bridged  the  four  days'  chasm  and  saw  the  thou 
sands  of  gory  forms  obstructing  the  field  of  the  first  Manassas  ; 
and  our  armies  in  full  retreat. 

We  can  abundantly  excuse  him  the  spasm  of  bitterness 
which  wrings  from  him  the  unjust  (probably)  accusation 
against  that  grand  old  veteran,  General  Scott,  when  we  thor 
oughly  understand  the  desperate  situation  of  General  Lyon 
and  his  handful  of  troops  at  that  time.  It  almost  seems  as  if 
the  devoted  Lyon  already  heard  the  rippling  flutter  of  the 
death  angel's  raven  wings,  as  that  dread  messenger  touched 
the  warrior's  shoulder  and  granted  him  but  twenty-three  more 
days  before  martyrdom  for  his  country  ;  and  he  catches  at  two 
straws,  as  it  were,  when  he  almost  gasps,  "  See  Fremont  !  " 
"Stir  up  Blair  !  " 

This,  also,  most  undoubtedly,  was  the  most  critical  turn 
ing-point  in  the  history  of  the  Thirteenth,  as  to  whether  the 
regiment  should  go  forward  to  the  front,  and  join  Lyon,  or 
remain  to  hold  the  post  of  Rolla.  This  is  evidenced  by 
Harding' s  reply  to  the  above  letter  of  Lyon,  where  he  says  : 

Wyman's  is  a  splendid  regiment ;  and  I  am  trying  to  get  other 
troops  to  supply  his  place,  and  send  him  forward. 

This  seems  to  show  that,  in  his  emergency,  General  Lyon 
was  considering  the  expediency  of  changing  a  former  plan, 
and  draw  Wyman  and  his  regiment,  to  Springfield. 


ILLINOIS     VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  43 

Had  not  Sigel  seized  the  bits  in  his  teeth,  and  run  away 
too  far  to  return  in  time  to  turn  the  scale  against  the  rebels  at 
Wilson's  Creek,  our  army  would  have  been  victorious  ;  or, 
had  the  Thirteenth  marched  on  to  the  field  and  formed  line  of 
battle,  in  the  gap  where  Sigel  ought  to  have  been,  it  is  not 
too  extravagant  to  claim  that  our  army  would  have  driven 
the  enemy  from  the  field. 

Lyon  might  not  have  been  saved,  but  the  victory  would. 

Sunday,  July  2ist,  1861,  Harding  says  to  Lyon,  in  answer 
to  the  above  : 


Now  in  the  southwest  part  of  the  State,  we  stand  thus :  Two  regi 
ments,  not  in  communication  with  each  other ;  no  artillery,  and  a  few 
Home  Guards,  against,  what  they  expect  to  be,  twenty  thousand  men 
(regular  troops,  well  provided),  who  design  marching  on  St.  Louis.  So 
much  for  the  southeast ;  meanwhile  your  departure  from  Boonville, 
and  the  necessity  of  having  eighteen  hundred  troops  to  garrison 
Jefferson  City,  Boonville,  and  Lexington,  encouraged  the  rebels  in 
northeast  Missouri.  Brigadier-General  Tom  Harris  gathered  a  force 
below  Monroe  Station,  in  camp.  I  took  the  liberty  of  ordering  Colonel 
Smith,  of  Illinois,  who  was  lying  eighteen  miles  from  him,  to  break  up 
the  camp.  He  waited  a  day  or  two  until  Harris  had  got  together 
sixteen  hundred  men,  proceeded  a  part  of  the  way,  shut  himself  up 
in  a  seminary,  and  sent  back  for  reinforcements  as  his  men  had  been 
marched  off  in  such  a  hurry  that  they  forgot  to  fill  their  cartridge-boxes, 
and  had  only  four  rounds  apiece.  He  was  relieved,  and  Harris  marched 
southwestwardly,  on  his  way  through  Callaway  county,  to  make  a  com 
bined  attack  upon  Jefferson  City,  with  forces  from  Pettis,  Osage,  and 
Linn  counties. 

The  line  of  communication  from  Rolla  to  Springfield,  is  kept  open 
by  Wyman  and  Bayles.  Wyman's  is  a  splendid  regiment  ;  and  I  am 
trying  to  get  other  troops  to  supply  his  place,  and  send  him  forward. 

Bayles,  with  his  command  of  seven  hundred,  broke  camp 
on  the  2ist  (same  date  as  the  above  letter)  and  went  forward, 
leaving  the  Thirteenth  to  guard  the  post  of  Rolla,  and  the 
railroad  to  St.  Louis,  against  a  probable  rebel  force  of  twenty 
thousand  (regulars,  well  provided),  their  avowed  destination, 
St.  Louis.  (See  immediately  preceding  letter. ) 

It  is  an  old  adage  that  ' '  those  who  know  nothing,  fear 


44  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

nothing,"  and  it  is  well  that  the  men  of  the  Thirteenth  knew 
nothing  of  that  matter  until  the  danger  had  passed. 

The  thousand  details  of  arranging  a  permanent  camp  were 
putting  themselves  to  rights  almost  automatically,  so  quietly 
were  the  few  soldierly  belongings,  arranged  to  fit  small  nooks 
and  corners.  Forked  stakes  came  out  of  the  woods,  and 
stuck  one  end  of  themselves  in  the  ground,  and  good-natur 
edly  adjusted  themselves  so  that  a  cross-bar  could  horizon- 
talize  itself  across  their  shoulders, — from  which,  various  camp- 
kettles  would  trapeze  themselves  ;  and  yet,  notwithstanding 
all  this  gymnastic  exercise,  boils  were  frequent.  The  small 
fry  kept  nearer  the  ground  and  did  fully  as  well.  Some  of 
the  rations  were  so  sensitive  as  to  be  kept  in  a  stew  a  good 
share  of  the  time  ;  while  others,  were  so  quarrelsome,  as  to  be 
in  a  broil  of  almost  guard-house  dimensions  most  of  the  time. 
Some  of  those  whose  duty  it  was  to  procure  fuel,  were  so  lazy 
as  to  exclaim,  Oh,  would  that  wood  would  come  / 

Nine  out  of  every  ten,  who  undertook  to  arrange  the  feed 
ing,  and  to  cater  to  a  crowd,  made  a  mess  of  it  ;  and  yet 
nearly  all  would  try  it ;  and  to  all  in- tents  (and  purposes)  this 
was  satisfactory. 

Reveille  is  supposed  to  rouse  everybody  in  camp,  except 
the  sick. 

The  camp  breakfast  is  first  on  the  docket ;  and  the  best 
thing  in  camp  life  ;  and,  for  that  matter,  the  best  and  most 
delicious  repast  in  any  kind  of  life.  The  warmed-over  baked 
beans,  and  slice  of  side  pork,  equal  to  any  breakfast-bacon, 
or,  that  greatest  of  soldier's  luxuries,  LOBSCOUSE  !  !  !  !, 
which  consisted  of  hard-tack  broken  up  in  water  over  night, 
and  then  fried  in  bacon-grease  ;  then  the  tin-cup  of  coffee, 
sipped  a  little  at  a  time,  as  if  it  were  nectar  (and  it  is),  while 
seated  on  a  log,  hovering  over  the  fire,  the  very  hovering, 
being  in  itself,  delightful ;  then  the  smoke  ;  so  far  from  being 
avoided,  actually  confers  a  favor  by  whisking  itself  into  one's 
eyes. 

The  sharp  and  incisive  wit  and  humor,  which  always  gives 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY.  45 

its  best  at  such  times,  all  combine  to  render  this  the  most 
delightful  experience  of  the  day. 

The  Guard-mounting,  and  the  Guard-house  ;  the  latter, 
always  a  place  of  absorbing  interest,  and  more  than,  as  like 
as  not,  having  at  that  very  time,  a  worthy  representative, 
marching  up  and  down  the  parade-ground,  carrying  a  knap 
sack  filled  with  bricks,  with  an  armed  guard  as  an  escort, 
(the  meanest  of  all  detestable  guard-duty),  are  all  features  of 
the  early  part  of  the  day. 

The  Battalion  Drill,  the  real  school  of  war,  is  also  a  fore 
noon  duty  ;  but  the  real  drawing-room  reception  of  the  day, 
is  the  Dress-Parade,  toward  night ;  here,  white  gloves  and 
polished  army-shoes  are  calculated  to  bring  out  all  the  latent 
vanity  of  the  soldier,  and  is  always  a  favorite  feature  of  the 
"  pomp  and  circumstance  of  glorious  war." 

Delicious  evening  gossiping  around  the  camp-fire,  social 
visits  from  tent  to  tent,  and  perhaps  some  good  singing,  cover 
the  space  until  retreat,  and  soon  after,  "  taps,"  when  the  lights 
go  out  and  the  day  goes  to  bed. 

Among  the  amusing  things  of  memory,  Captain  Everest 
recalls  the  incident  of  several  of  the  commissioned  officers  of 
our  regiment,  about  the  time  of  its  organization,  making  a 
contract  with  the  clothier  A.  D.  Titsworth,  of  Chicago,  to 
furnish  them  with  regulation  dress-coats  of  blue.  These  coats , 
after  wearing  but  a  short  time,  turned  red.  At  which  the  said 
officers  were  intensely  disgusted  ;  the  more  so  as  all  the  lower 
orders  were  laughing  at  them. 

Bills  came  repeatedly  from  the  shoddy  contractor,  for  pay, 
but  the  swindle  did  not  work  ;  the  coats  were  never  paid  for  ; 
and  it  is  fair  to  presume  that  the  St.  Louis  dyers  ivere  the  only 
ones  who  got  any  satisfaction  out  of  the  transaction. 

July  2 1 st. — This  proved  to  be  a  fateful  day.  In  the  first 
place,  at  Rolla,  it  rained  heavily  all  day,  and  the  tents  leaked 
badly,  and  the  men  underwent  much  discomfort.  Then 
again,  Colonel  Bavles  left,  with  his  command,  for  the  front, 
leaving  the  Thirteenth  the  only  force  at  the  post.  It  is  true, 
Captain  Cole  returned  from  a  scout,  bringing  back  with  him, 


46  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

the  Secesh  captain,  Henderson,  a  prisoner.  This  success  is 
spoken  of  by  one  of  the  officers,  as  ' '  The  first  real  achieve 
ment  of  the  regiment."  But  a  darker  gloom  had  been  ours, 
had  we  known  it,  on  that  dark  day,  when  at  Bull  Run,  our 
army  was  defeated  with  a  loss  of  four  hundred  and  eighty-one 
killed,  ten  hundred  and  eleven  wounded,  and  fourteen  hun 
dred  and  sixty  missing  and  captured. 

This  dire  misfortune,  in  its  effects  on  our  cause  in  Missouri, 
is  described  by  the  Union  General,  John  Pope,  at  St.  Charles, 
Missouri,  in  a  letter  to  Governor  Kirkwood,  of  Iowa,  of  date, 
July  23d,  two  days  later,  as  follows  :  *  *  *  * 

Your  active  interference  in  North  Missouri,  will,  I  fear,  be  very 
shortly  necessary,  and  in  a  stronger  force  than  you  suggest.  The  un 
fortunate  repulse  of  our  forces  at  Manassas,  has  aroused  the  whole 
Secession  element  in  this  State  to  renewed  activity  ;  and  intelligence 
received  this  morning  from  St.  Louis,  has  compelled  me  to  suspend,  for 
the  present,  further  movements  of  the  troops  from  this  place  in  the 
direction  of  the  Hannibal  and  St.  Jo  railroad.  It  is  by  no  means  im 
probable  that  I  may  be  obliged,  within  a  few  days,  to  move  the  whole 
force  in  North  Missouri,  into  St.  Louis  to  protect  that  city  from  civil 
tumult  and  bloodshed ;  and  in  that  case,  I  shall  call  upon  yourself  and 
Governor  Yates  to  replace  them  by  State  forces.  *  *  *  * 

In  addition  to  what  General  Pope  says  above,  as  to 
whether  our  cause  in  general,  and  consequently  our  cause  in 
particular,  in  Missouri,  was  in  a  somewhat  critical  condition, 
in  those  last  days  of  July,  it  may  be  well  to  interrogate  the 
rebs  themselves,  as  to  whether  we  had  real  cause  for  vigi 
lance. 

July  23d. — Two  days  after  Bull  Run,  Confederate  General 
Polk,  to  Confederate  Secretary  of  War,  Walker,  says  : 

*  *  *  *  I  have,  therefore,  directed  General  Pillow  to  detach 
from  the  force  in  West  Tennessee,  six  thousand  troops  *  *  *  to 
make  a  movement  on  Missouri,  through  Madrid.  He  will  be  joined  as 
soon  as  he  lands,  by  three  thousand  Missourians  ;*  *  *  *  and  he  goes 
forward,  by  other  forces  that  are  prepared  to  come  to  him.  *  *  *  * 
General  Hardee  is  at  Pocahontas,  and  will  co-operate  with  Pillow,  with 
seven  thousand  men  ;  and  there  are  near  him  two  thousand  five  hundred 
Missourians  who  will  join  him. 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  47 

"McCulloch's  force  is  six  thousand  men.  Near  him  is  Price,  with 
twelve  thousand  men.  This  column  of  twenty-five  thousand  men,  I  aui 
in'  communication  with.  They  will  advance  on  the  enemy's  position 
(Springfield)  where,  I  learn,  General  Lyon  has  concentrated  the  prin 
cipal  part  of  his  force,  say  ten  thousand  or  twelve  thousand  men.  In 
the  meantime  I  shall,  on  Saturday  next,  direct  the  column  of  which  I 
have  spoken,  under  General  Pillow,  to  cross  the  river  to  New  Madrid, 
and  take  up  the  line  of  march  into  Missouri  for  Irontoii.  He  will 
be  joined  by  three  thousand  Missourians  now  near  New  Madrid.  With 
this  force  of  eleven  thousand,  including  three  batteries  complete,  with 
two  extra  guns,  he  will  find  no  difficulty  in  reaching  the  point  indicated. 
At  that  point  he  will  be  joined  by  General  Hardee  with  a  column  of 
seven  thousand,  who  will  move  about  the  same  time  from  Pocahontas. 
They  are  directed  to  pass  in  behind  Lyon's  force  by  land,  or  to  proceed 
to  St.  Louis,  seize  it  (great  Caesar  !  !  !),  and  taking  possession  of  the 
boats  at  that  point,  to  proceed  up  the  river  Missouri,  raising  the  Mis 
sourians  as  they  go,  and  at  such  point  as  may  appear  most  suitable,  to 
detach  a  force  to  cut  off  Lyou's  return  from  the  West.  *  *  *  If, 
as  I  think,  I  can  drive  the  enemy  from  Missouri,  with  the  force  indi 
cated,  I  will  enter  Illinois  and  take  Cairo  in  the  rear  on  my  return. 

Perhaps  some  of  the  reasons  why  General  Folk's  grand 
scheme  for  a  basket  picnic  through  Missouri  and  Illinois,  did 
not  materialize,  may  be  found  in  the  letter  from  Hardee,  on 
July  27th  to  Price,  that  instead  of  seven  thousand  men, 
'•  already  to  march,"  he  says  : 

"GENERAL:  I  received  your  communication  of  the  igth  inst., 
inviting  my  co-operation  in  a  combined  attack  of  the  forces  under 
McCulloch,  Price,  and  yourself  on  the  Federal  forces  at  Springfield, 
Missouri.  I  regret  to  say  that  it  is  impossible  for  me  at  this  time  to 
move  my  command.  The  forces  in  Arkansas,  are  now  being  transferred 
to  the  Confederate  States.  Only  about  eight  hundred  men  have  been  so 
transferred,  and  I  have  actually  under  my  command  less  than  two  thou 
sand  three  hundred  men.  When  all  the  forces  in  this  part  of  the  State 
are  transferred,  I  shall  have  less  than  five  thousand  men,  badly  organ 
ized,  badly  equipped,  and  wyanting  in  discipline  and  instruction.  One  of 
my  batteries  has  no  harness,  and  no  horses  (no  need  of  harness  then), 
and  not  one  of  the  regiments  has  transportation  enough  for  active  field 
service.  I  have  not  been  in  command  a  week.  I  am  doing  all  in  my 
power  to  remedy  these  deficiencies,  but  it  takes  time  to  get  harness  and 
transportation.  I  do  not  wish  to  march  to  your  assistance  with  less 
than  five  thousand  men  well  appointed,  and  a  full  complement  of  artil- 


48  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

lery.  With  every  desire  to  aid  and  co-operate  with  the  forces  in  the 
West,  I  am  compelled,  at  this  time,  to  forego  that  gratification.  I  hope 
at  no  distant  ?day,  to  be  able  to  lend  you  efficient  aid  in  overthrowing 
the  federal  domination  in  Missouri.  ,  • 

This  sublime  flight  of  General  Folk's  poetic  imagination, 
came  down  like  the  boy's  arrow  ;  after  "  soaring  !  and  soar 
ing  !  !  and  soaring  !  !  !  it  came  down  on  daddy's  wood-pile." 

July  28th. — General  Polk  says  to  Confederate  Secretary  of 
War,  Walker  : 

I  had  the  honor  of  addressing  you  a  few  days  ago,  informing  you  of 
a  movement  [the  basket  picnic  mentioned  above]  I  was  contemplating 
on  Missouri. 

Since  yesterday  [why  not  say  to-day  ?]  I  have  had  to  arrive  at  head 
quarters  the  gentleman  who  is  the  bearer  of  this,  Colonel  Little,  Adju 
tant-General  of  the  forces  of  Missouri.  He  comes  directly  from  General 
Price's  camp.  From  him  I  learn  that  the  force  stated  to  be  under  the 
command  of  the  respective  generals  above,  as  stated  by  Governor  Jack 
son,  is  greatly  exaggerated,  to  the  extent  of  indeed,  one  half.  [The 
exclamation  points  should  have  been  used,  when  the  arrow  came  down.] 

*  *  *  *  This  abatement  of  the  force  disposable  for  the  invasion 
of  Missouri,  has  caused  me  to  pause  in  the  execution  of  the  plan  indi 
cated.  *  *  *  * 

Perhaps  we  ought  to  consider  that  General  Polk's pause 
was  better  late  than  never,  but  the  great  General  being  a 
clergyman,  before  publishing  to  several  other  Confederate  gen 
erals,  his  highly  inflated  scheme  for  cantering  over  the  State  of 
Missouri,  and  Illinois,  should  pause  long  enough  to  take  his 
New  Testament,  and  turn  to  the  i4th  chapter  of  Luke,  where 
the  Saviour  is  giving  much  good  advice,  and  read  over  three 
or  four  times,  the  3ist  and  32d  verses,  as  follows  : 

Or  what  king,  going  to  make  war  against  another  king,  sitteth  not 
down  first,  and  consulteth  whether  he  be  able  with  ten  thousand  to 
meet  him  that  cometh  against  him  with  twenty  thousand?  Or  else, 
while  the  other  is  a  great  way  off,  he  sendeth  an  embassage,  and  desireth 
conditions  of  peace. 

It  would  seem  as  if  General  Jeff  Thompson,  would  indorse 
the  above  criticism,  as  he  tells  General  Pillow  on  August 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY.  49 

1 6th,  1 86 1,  that  "The  distrust  and  bad  feeling  at  New 
Madrid,  is  distressing.  General  Polk  either  does  not  under 
stand  the  people  of  Missouri,  or  he  belongs  to  the  ox-tele 
graph-line."  *  *  *  * 

A  comparison  between  the  bombastic  letters  of  General 
Polk  and  the  common-sense  advice  of  our  Saviour,  can 
hardly  be  other  than,  as  between  the  warlike  clergyman  and 
the  ' '  Prince  of  Peace ' '  ;  the  latter  would  have  made  a  far 
abler  general,  and  possibly,  almost  as  good  a  Christian. 

July  2 2nd. — This  was  a  showety  day  in  camp.  Several 
prisoners  sent  to  St.  Louis. 

Confederate  General  Hardee,  to-day  took  command  of  that 
part  of  Arkansas  lying  west  of  the  White  and  Black  rivers, 
and  to  the  Missouri  line. 

July  24.th,  Wednesday. — Captain  Blanchard,  of  Company 
K,  detailed  and  sent  out  with  one  hundred  and  twenty  men 
and  Bowen's  Cavalry,  to  scout  and  if  possible,  take  Miscal 
Johnson,  a  somewhat  notorious  rebel,  of  local  reputation. 

The  day  was  warm,  and  the  scouting  party  did  not  leave 
camp  until  5:30  p.  m.,  and  they  marched  eighteen  miles 
and  camped  for  the  night. 

They  were  also  to  hunt  Old  Lenox,  ten  miles  beyond 
Bennett's  Mill. 

July  2$th,  Thursday. — Generel  Fremont,  to-day  assumed 
command  of  the  "  Department  of  the  West." 

The  scouting  party  resumed  their  march,  and  arrived  at 
Bennett's  Mill,  where  it  was  learned  that  the  rebels  had  re 
treated.  Several  prisoners  were  taken,  however,  but  as  it 
was  not  thought  best  to  be  incumbered  with  them,  they  were 
sworn  and  turned  loose  on  parole,  with  orders  to  report  to 
Colonel  Wyman  the  next  week.  Among  the  prisoners  were 
Dent  and  Cook,  two  of  the  leading  rebels  in  that  country. 
The  men  were  well,  and  foraged  plenty  of  sheep,  chickens, 
honey,  tobacco,  etc.,  and  lived  well.  This  reminds  one,  of 
what  Sherman  wrote  to  Grant,  almost  exactly  three  }rears 
later,  as  follows:  "We  are  gradually  falling  back  to 
Atlanta,  feeding  high,  on  the  corn-fields  of  the  Confederacy." 


50  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

July  26th,  Friday. — Captain  Blanchard's  scouting  party 
broke  camp  at  Bennett's  Mill,  at  7  p.  m.,  and  marched  for 
Salem  ;  keeping  scouts  out  all  the  way,  reaching  there  an 
hour  after  midnight. 

On  this  day  the  Union  Home  Guards  had  a  brush  with 
the  rebels  at  "Lane's  Prairie,"  near  Rolla.  Union,  three 
wounded  ;  rebels,  one  killed,  and  three  wounded.  This  caused 
some  excitement  in  camp,  and  a  detachment  sent  by  forced 
march,  to  the  locality  of  the  fight,  achieved  nothing. 

On  this  day,  General  Schofield,  to  Adjutant- General  at  St. 
Louis  Arsenal,  says  :  "  We  have  heard  of  the  defeat  of  our 
troops  in  Virginia,  though  hardly  enough  to  judge  of  its 
extent.  If  so,  the  next  new  swill  be  our  defeat  also."  *  *  *  * 

July  27th,  Saturday. — At  Salem,  Bowen  scouted  all  day, 
routing  a  squad  of  rebels,  taking  one  prisoner  and  five  guns. 
Lenox  was  heard  from,  not  far  off,  threatening  an  attack. 
One  of  his  spies  was  captured,  and  several  prisoners  dis 
posed  of. 

This  day,  General  Lyon,  and  Captain  Clark  Wright,  both 
report  rebel  forces  moving  from  Arkansas  to  Carthage  and 
vicinity,  for  invasion  of  Missouri.  Refugees  give  startling 
accounts  of  the  depredations  that  are  being  committed  by  the 
rebels  as  they  return. 

July  28th,  Sunday.  —  The  scouting  party  at  Salem, 
broke  camp  at  5  p.  m.,  and  marched  for  Rolla;  but  after 
marching  fifteen  miles,  reached  Lake  Spring,  where  they 
camped. 

That  was  a  quiet  Sunday  in  camp.  It  was  quiet  only  be 
cause  we  did  not  realize  or  know,  even,  the  critical  condition 
of  the  State  generally,  and  of  Rolla  in  particular,  but  will  be 
fully  realized  when  we  read  the  reports  from  all  the  important 
points  as  follows  : 

On  this  day,  Secretary  Seward  is  told  by  General  Fre 
mont,  that — 

' '  The    rebels    are    advancing    in    force    from    the   south 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY.  51 

upon   these   lines.     *     *     *     *      We   have   plenty   of  men, 

BUT   ABSOLUTELY   NO   ARMS  ; 

and  the  condition  of  the  State,  critical.'' 

This  reference  by  General  Fremont  to  want  of  arms,  is 
particularly  interesting  to  the  boys  right  here,  as  it  was 
General  Fremont  himself,  who  purchased  in  Europe,  these 
identical  old  Belgian  and  Austrian  muskets  with  which  we 
were  at  that  very  time,  armed.  As  to  whether  General 
Fremont  was  to  be  thanked,  or  censured  for  this  act,  we 
shall  further  along  have  occasion  to  examine  into. 

On  this  same  quiet  Sunday,  also,  General  Prentice  from 
Cairo,  Illinois,  writes  General  Fremont,  that  —  "Rebels 
from  Tennessee,  are  constantly  crossing  at  New  Madrid, 
Missouri,  with  avowed  intention  of  assulting  Bird's 
Point.  *  *  #  * 

On  yesterday,  three  thousand  rebels  west  of  Bird's  Point 
forty  miles,  three  hundred  at  Madrid,  three  more  regiments 
ordered  there,  also  troops  from  Randolph  and  Corinth.  The 
number  of  organized  rebels  within  fifty  miles  of  me  will 
exceed  twelve  thousand. "  *  *  *  * 

Again  to-day,  Capt.  Clark  Wright,  reports  from  Green 
field  to  General  Lyon  :  "  My  picket-guard,  sixteen  miles  out 
in  the  direction  of  Carthage,  assured  me  twenty  minutes 
since,  that  I  would  have  to  be  reinforced.  The  situation 
seemed  so  serious,  that  I  at  once  sent  a  dispatch  to  Major 
Sturgis,  calling  for  reinforcements." 

In  response  to  this  call  from  Captain  Wright,  Assistant 
Adjutant-General  Schofield  ordered  five  companies  of  Colonel 
Andrew's  regiment,  Missouri  Volunteers  and  four  companies 
of  Colonel  Deitzler's  regiment  and  two  companies  of  Cavalry, 
dispatched  at  once. 


CHAPTER    V. 

COMPANY  "  Q  "  ORGANIZES  AND  SELLS  THE  SUTLER  A  BARREL 
OF  COFFEE. — WHAT  THE  REBS  THOUGHT  AND  SAID 
OF  US. — DUG  SPRING  AND  WILSON'S  CREEK. 

July  2gtft,  Monday. 

HEN  Captain  Blanchard's  scouting  party 
resumed  the  homeward  march,  this  morning, 
at  7,  Major  Bowen  continued  to  scout,  and  suc 
ceeded  in  engaging  the  force  of  "  Old  Lenox," 
with  the  misfortune,  however,  of  being  partly  sur 
rounded,  which  might  have  proved  a  serious  matter,  had  not 
Captain  Blanchard's  Infantry  force  arrived  on  a  double-quick, 
at  the  critical  moment,  having  heard  the  firing.  On  this  turn 
of  affairs,  the  rebs  retreated  ;  when  the  march  was  continued, 
and  the  detachment  reached  the  post  at  7  in  the  evening,  with 
much  plunder,  consisting  of  horses,  cattle,  sheep,  etc.  Three 
rebels  were  killed,  and  three  prisoners  were  brought  in.  No 
casualties  on  our  side. 

July  3oth  Confederate  General  McCulloch  writes  Confed 
erate  Secretary  of  War  Walker,  that  he  is  about  to  move  (next 
day )  from  Cassville  on  Springfield  ;  and  that  he  has  suggested 
to  General  Hardee  to  make  a 

DEMONSTRATION   AT  THE   SAME   TIME   ON   ROLLA. 

It  is  to  be  presumed  that  Colonel  Wyman,  as  commander 
of  the  post  at  Rolla,  knew  of  the  threatening  demonstrations 
from  various  directions,  and  very  frequently,  must  have  been 

52 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  53 

in  a  state  of  extreme  anxiety,  with  but  his  own  regiment,  and 
with  no  defensive  fortifications,  and  nothing  but  a  thousand 
men,  full  of  fight,  it  must  be  admitted,  but  poorly  armed  and 
with  only  a  small  cavalry  force  for  light  scouting,  and  vedette 
guard. 

The  fort  had  not  yet  been  commenced,  and  was  not  for 
twenty-eight  days  after  ;  and  the  four  siege-guns  would  not 
arrive  for  about  twenty  days,  and  would  be  useless  for  many 
days  to  come  until  they  could  be  mounted.  Of  course  it  is 
useless  to  speculate  as  to  how  Hardee,  or  any  other  rebel 
general,  backed  by  a  considerable  force,  would  have  been 
received,  if  attacking  us  suddenly,  but  it  is  pretty  certain  that 
they  would  have  picked  up  a  smart  chunk  of  a  fight,  and 
would  have  had  considerable  to  talk  about,  had  they 
succeeded. 

In  the  meantime  the  routine  of  camp  life  went  on  at  Rolla, 
with  very  little  of  absorbing  interest  to  vary  the  monotony. 
Company  and  battalion  drill  went  on  every  day  of  good 
weather,  prisoners  were  frequently  brought  in,  and  in  due 
time  forwarded  to  St.  Louis. 

Unionist  refugees,  in  considerable  numbers,  were  almost 
every  day  arriving  at  the  post,  to  seek  protection,  food  and 
shelter.  Their  tales  of  suffering  and  abuse,  and  not  infre 
quently,  gross  outrage,  were  well  calculated  to  call  forth  all 
of  indignation  and  sympathy  natural  to  the  noble  soul  of 
Colonel  Wyman,  and,  in  fact,  of  his  entire  regiment;  and 
while  the  naturally  impatient  and  impetuous  disposition  of  our 
commander  chafed  under  the  severe  control  which  he  was 
obliged  constantly  to  exercise  over  himself,  the  men  of  the 
Thirteenth  were  often  clamorous  to  be  led  where  some  of 
these  rebel  miscreants  could  be  chastised. 

.  It  is  well  that  we  should  know  something  of  the  opinion 
entertained  towards  us,  as  instilled  into  the  minds  of  the  rebel 
soldiers,  and  common  people,  by  rebel  officers  and  leaders. 

"  Oh  !  wad  some  power  the  Giftie  gie  us, 
To  see  oursels  as  ithers  see  us. ' ' 


54  HISTORY   OF  THE   THIRTEENTH   REGIMENT 

On  July  2d,  1861,  Mr.  E.  C.  Cabell,  of  Missouri,  wrote 
Jefferson  Davis,  as  follows  • 

• 

*  *  *  *  To  insure  the  accession  of  Missouri  to  the  Confederate 
States,  has  been  the  object  of  my  labors  for  several  months  past.  This 
great  result  may,  and  I  feel  confident  will,  be  attained.  But  it  is  second 
ary  to  the  cause  of  Southern  independence  ;  and  should  it  fail,  which 
God  forbid,  and  which  I  do  not  apprehend,  I  shall  be  none  the  less  de 
voted  to  that  cause,  for,  I  shall  never  reside,  and  I  would  rather  bury 
my  children  than  have  them  live  in  any  State  which,  willingly  or  un 
willingly,  remains  under  the  rule  of  the  men  of  the  late  United  States. 

Now,  it  is  more  than  half  certain,  that  Mr.  Cabell' s  chil 
dren,  would  prefer  to  live,  even  in  Missouri,  to  being  buried ', 
anywhere ;  and  his  disinterestedness  strongly  resembles  that 
of  the  late  Artemus  Ward,  who  declared  that  "  This  rebellion 
must,  and  shall  be  put  down,  if  it  takes  every  drop  of  blood 
flowing  in  the  veins  of  my  wife  ' 's  relations" 

On  December  4th,  1862,  Confederate  General  Hindman, 
addressing  his  soldiers,  said  :  *  *  *  *  ' '  Soldiers : 
Fifth,  do  not  break  ranks  to  plunder.  *  *  *  *  Plun 
derers  and  stragglers  will  be  put  to  death  on  the  spot. 
[Xofty  virtue,  and  vigorous  discipline.]  File-closers  are  es 
pecially  charged  with  this  duty.  Remember  that  the  enemy 
you  engage,  has  no  feeling  of  mercy  or  kindness  toward  you. 
His  ranks  are  made  up  of 

PIN   INDIANS. 

(Whatever  does  that  mean  ?  ) 

Free  nogroes. 

Southern  tories. 

Kansas  jayhawkers. 

And  hired  Dutch  cut-throats." 

On  April  21,  1861,  some  loud  crowing  Confederate  rooster, 
calling  himself  S.  R.  Cockerell,  writing  from  Nashville, 
Tennessee,  to  Confederate  Secretary  of  War,  Walker,  thus 
"norates"  : 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  55 

*  The  Legislature  meets  next  Thursday  ;  aud  the  plan  is 
to  pass  the  ordinance  of  secession,  and  let  the  people  ratify  it,  arm  the 
State,  and  stand  ready  to  march  South  or  North.  [Wonder  why  they 
failed  to  march  North  ?]  Arkansas  will  go  out  May  6th  before  break 
fast.  [He  knew  certainly,  or  guessed  exactly.] 

THE   INDIANS   COME   NEXT. 

Companies  are  forming  rapidly,  and  I  expect  both  my  sons  to  go 
whenever  the  insolent  invader  shall  tread  a  hostile  foot  upon  our  soil. 
The  Slave  States,  a  unit,  are  omnipotent  in  defense.  Arkansas  and 
Tennessee  are  wild  with  indignation  at  the  insolence  and  usurpation  of 
the  Buffoon  at  Washington  city.  *  *  *  *  The  prospect  of  a  corn 
crop  fine.  I  have  planted  one  hundred  acres  for  your  army.  [Ten 
chances  to  one,  the  Yanks  got  it]  *  *  *  *  With  streamers  gay, 
push  forward  with  sanguine  cheer.  The  "  God  of  battles  must,  and  will 
go  with  you." 

(The  chances  are,  that  if  the  "  God  of  battles  "  paid  any 
attention  at  all,  to  the  matter,  he  boosted  the  other  side.) 

The  Rector(tude)  of  the  Governor  of  Arkansas,  is  evinced 
in  a  communication  to  John  Ross,  Principal  Chief  of  the 
Cherokee  Nation,  on  January  29,  1861,  in  which  he  says  : 

SIR  :  It  may  now  be  regarded  as  almost  certain,  that  the  States 
having  slave  property  within  their  borders,  will,  in  consequence  of  re 
peated  Northern  aggressions,  separate  themselves  and  withdraw  from 
the  Federal  government.  *  *  *  *  It  is  well  established  that  the 
Indian  country  west  of  Arkansas,  is  looked  to  by  the  incoming  admin 
istration  of  Mr.  Lincoln,  as  fruitful  fields,  ripe  for  the  harvest  of  abo 
litionism,  free-soilers  and  Northern  montebanks. 

It  seems  unaccountable,  and  almost  incredible,  that  these 
men  uttered  such  things.  It  must  have  been  done  to  prej 
udice  and  imbitter  the  feelings  of  that  class  from  which  came 
the  recruits  for  the  rank  and  file  of  the  Confederate  army. 

Even  the  Confederate  General,  Joseph  E.  Johnston,  one  of 
their  ablest  and  most  chivalric  officers,  five  days  after  the 
surrender  at  Vicksburg,  harangued  his  soldiers  as  follows  : 

"An  insolent  foe,  flushed  with  hope  by  his  recent  suc 
cesses  at  Vicksburg,  confronts  you,  threatening  the  people, 
whose  homes  and  liberties  you  are  here  to  protect,  with 


56  HISTORY   OF    THE    THIRTEENTH     REGIMENT 

plunder   and   conquest.  This   enemy,    it   is   at 

once  the  mission  and  duty  of  you  brave  men  to  chastise  and 
expel  from  the  soil  of  Mississippi. 

' '  The  telegraph  has  already  announced  a  glorious  victory 
over  the  foe,  won  by  your  noble  commanders  of  the  Virginia 
army  on  Federal  soil." 

Lee  had  then  been  on  the  keen  run  from  "  Federal  soil," 
at  Gettysburg,  for  five  days  ;  and  Johnston  must  have  known 
it  at  that  very  time. 

The  men  who  stooped  to  such  questionable  means  to 
bolster  up  a  bad  cause,  were  men  educated  in  the  schools, 
colleges,  and  universities ;  and  in  addition,  most  of  them  had 
received  a  military  education,  at  the  expense  of  our  govern 
ment,  which  they  were  now  trying  to  destroy. 

With  all  these  advantages,  these  officers  may  be  supposed 
to  have  moved  in  good  society,  and  been  familiar  with  the 
amenities  which  obtain  in  refined  social  life  ;  and  it  is  diffi 
cult  to  treat  them  with  that  dignity  and  forbearance,  which 
the  historian  is  forced  to  use. 

The  readers  have  exact  quotations  of  their  language  and 
writings,  and  must  draw  their  own  conclusions. 

Whether  the  monotonous  routine  of  camp  life,  is  primarily 
responsible  for  the  bringing  into  existence  of  that  anomalous 
but  potent  force,  or  institution,  known  as  Company  Q,  will 
probably  never  be  certainly  known. 

There  seems  to  be  no  doubt,  however,  that  its  pedigree 
may  be  traced  for  a  considerable  distance  in  that  direction  ; 
and  a  variety  of  other  conditions,  or  things,  may  have  been 
its  god-fathers.  However  that  may  be,  certain  it  is,  that 
Company  Q,  always  reports  for  duty,  is  never  in  hospital,  on 
the  sick-list,  or  home  on  furlough. 

Some  time  in  August,  1861,  the  contingent  of  Company 
Q,  from  Company  I,  conceived  that  it  had  an  account  to 
settle  with  "Old  Hyde,"  the  sutler.  He  was  not  "  old  " 
because  of  years,  but  it  was  a  sort  of  semi-epithet,  with 
about  the  same  significance  that  it  would  possess  if  applied 
to  a  pawnbroker,  or  a  dealer  in  "old  junk."  High  prices 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  57 

at  the  sutler's  store,  had  been  accepted  as  a  declaration  that 
his  hand  was  against  every  man,  especially  of  the  rank  and 
file,  and  every  man  of  the  rank  and  file  of  Company  Q,  was 
against  him. 

As  we  were  close  to  the  village,  the  sutler  sold  goods  to  a 
good  many  citizens. 

The  cooks  of  Company  I,  having  a  surplus  of  rations,  and 
more  especially  of  coffee,  were  in  the  habit  of  boiling  the 
coffee  without  grinding  ;  and  then  drying  the  berries  for 
future  using  over  again,  should  it  be  found  necessary. 

Almost  a  barrel  had  been  used,  and  then  dried  in  this 
way,  when  a  bright  idea  struck  some  brain,  more  than  usually 
fertile  in  camp  expedients,  in  a  commercial  direction  ;  and  a 
scheme  was  concocted,  to  sell  the  boiled  dried  coffee  to  "  Old 
Hyde." 

This  was  hailed  with  great  gusto,  and  the  conspirators 
organized  at  once.  The  chief  conspirator  sought  and  ob 
tained  a  confidential  interview  with  the  doomed  sutler,  and 
cautiously  asked  him  if  he  could  quietly  dispose  of  some  sur 
plus  coffee  ?  Hyde  said  he  could,  but  the  transaction  must  be 
kept  a  profound  secret,  as  the  officers  would  never  allow  the 
soldiers  to  trade  off  their  rations,  and  that  he  would  be  held 
responsible  for  receiving  the  goods. 

A  sample  of  the  coffee,  liberally  mixed  with  some  of  full 
strength,  was  submitted  to  the  sutler  for  examination,  and  as 
there  appeared  to  be  nothing  wrong,  he  offered  a  liberal  price 
for  the  entire  barrel,  and  the  sale  was  made,  and  one  dark 
night  the  coffee  was  safely  transferred  to  the  sutler's  tent. 

It  soon  leaked  out  that  the  citizens  who  had  been  buying 
coffee  of  the  sutler  were  grumbling,  and  finding  fault  about 
the  coffee  having  no  strength.  "  Old  Hyde  "  began  to  sus 
pect  something  ;  and  a  close  examination  revealed  the  cheat. 

He  did  not  dare  say  anything,  however,  but  it  was  too 
good  to  keep,  and  the  conspirators  themselves  told  the  story, 
and  it  was  a  long  time  before  the  officers  quit  bantering  "  Old 
Hyde  "  about  the  coffee  trade  with  Company  Q. 

August  ist. — Colonel  Marsh,  at  Camp  Fremont,  to  General 


58  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

Prentiss.  "  The  following  information,  just  received,  is,  I  be 
lieve,  reliable.  General  Pillow  was  at  New  Madrid  on  the 
morning  of  the  3ist,  with  eleven  thousand  troops  well  armed 
and  drilled  ;  two  regiments  of  cavalry,  splendidly  equipped  ; 
one  battery  of  flying  artillery,  ten  pounders,  and  ten  guns, 
manned  and  officered  by  foreigners  ;  several  mountain-howitz 
ers,  and  other  artillery,  amounting  in  all  to  one  hundred  ; 
nine  thousand  men  moving  to  reinforce.  He  has  promised 
Governor  Jackson  to  place  twenty  thousand  men  in  Missouri 
at  once.  I  have  a  copy  of  his  proclamation  and  also  one  of 
his  written  passes." 

August  2d. — Fight  at  Dug  Springs,  Missouri.  First- 
Iowa,  Third — Missouri.  Five  batteries  Missouri  Light  Artil 
lery.  Union,  four  killed  and  thirty-seven  wounded.  Confed 
erate,  forty  killed  and  forty-four  wounded. 

August sd.— Pillow  says  to  Polk,  at  New  Madrid  :  *  *  * 
"  I  have  made  arrangements  with  Mr.  Townsend  to  return  to 
St.  Louis,  and  with  his  secret  society  to  destroy  a  large  por 
tion  of  the  Iron  Mountain  road.  This  is  essential  to  be  done, 
and  to  be  done  quickly  as  possible,  as  a  means  of  crippling 
the  enemy  in  their  future  movements,  looking  to  a  concentra 
tion  of  forces  to  meet  us."  *  *  *  * 

Our  copperhead  patriots  who  have  protested  with  loud  and 
boisterous  profanity,  so  often,  that  these  secret  societies  ex 
isted  only  in  the  imagination,  should  make  a  note  of  what 
General  Pillow  says. 

On  this  same  August  3d,  trains  of  provisions  and  other 
supplies  started  from  Rolla  for  General  Lyon's  army  at  Spring 
field,  and  a  detail  of  two  men  from  each  company  of  the  Thir 
teenth  was  made  to  guard  the  train,  in  command  of  Lieutenant 
James  Beardsley  of  Company  D.  The  train  reached  Spring 
field  in  safety,  and  our  men  participated,  as  volunteers  in  the 
great  battle  of  "Wilson's  Creek." 

August  4.th,  Sunday. — A  member  of  the  regiment  said  to 
day  :  "Camp  life  dull  and  monotonous.  Religious  services 
don't  amount  to  anything.  Elder  Miller  puts  on  airs,  and 
goes  in  for  display.  Ornamental,  nothing  more ;  but,  O 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  59 

God  !  how  sacred  the  evening  hours  of  prayer,  away  from 
the  noise  of  camp." 

And  yet,  Company  Q  puts  on  record  that  on  this  same 
August  4th,  Sunday,  "The  means  of  grace  enjoyed  by  our 
regiment,  are  abundant,  and  of  the  very  best  quality.  Dr. 
Plummer  performed  "  Blue  Mass,"  in  the  morning,  and  gave 
a(b)solution  of  quinine  and  tartar-emetic,  to  all  of  that  faith  ; 
while  Chaplain  Miller  preached  later  on  in  the  day,  to  the 
Protestant  branch  of  the  soldiery  ;  but,  for  some  unexplained 
reason,  he  did  not  seem  to  reach  the  true  inwardness  of  his 
hearers,  for,  they  did  not  seem  to  absorb  his  doctrine  ;  but 
Dr.  Plummer's  devotees,  one  and  all,  did  absorb  his  doctorin'. 

But  the  spirituous  condition  of  both  churches  was  exalted 
or  depressed  in  proportion  to  the  success  of  Company  Q,  who 
watched  and  preyed  on  the  quartermaster's  stores,  by  sneak 
ing  past  the  guard,  and  under  the  depot,  and  boring  holes  up 
through  the  floor,  and  into  certain  casks,  from  which  can 
teens  were  not  sent  empty  away.  A  man  who  had  been 
wounded  at  Lane's  Prairie,  died  to-day. 

August  5th,  Monday. — The  soldier  who  died  yesterday, 
was  buried  to-day  with  military  honors. 

August  6th. — Assistant  Adjutant-General  Kelton,  at  St. 
Louis,  to  General  Pope,  says  :  ' '  The  General  directs  that 
you  send  to  this  city  immediately,  the  Fourteenth,  Fifteenth 
and  Twenty-first  Illinois  Regiments  ;  also  Colonel  Marshall's 
regiment  of  Illinois  Cavalry.  Colonel  Marshall,  with  parts 
of  his  regiment  and  others,  will  be  to-day  at  Hannibal. 
You  are  directed  to  use  the  utmost  possible  dispatch  in  car 
rying  out  the  above  orders." 

Same  day,  Hons.  John  S.  Phelps,  and  Frank  P.  Blair,  Jr., 
asked  President  Lincoln  for  a  Union  invasion  of  Arkansas, 
and  force  sufficient,  and  also  to  keep  the  Indians  in  subjection 
west  of  the  State. 

Some  inkling  of  the  above  may  have  reached  Pillow  ;  for, 
on  this  same  date  he  hounds  Polk  to  strengthen  him  at 
New  Madrid ;  which  he  says  is  not  a  strong  strategic 
point.  *  *  *  * 


60  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

The  astonishing  celerity  of  military  movement  of  consid 
erable  bodies  of  troops,  on  emergency,  is  shown  from  the  fact 
that  Assistant  Adjutant-General  Kelton's  oitfer  to  General 
Pope,  to  send  to  St.  Louis  the  regiments  mentioned  in  the 
order  above,  was  issued,  and  the  regiments  reached  St. 
Louis,  and  two  of  them  reached  Rolla  on  that  same  day, 
August  6th.  The  emergency,  of  course,  related  to  the 
hurried  preparations  of  General  Lyon,  at  Springfield,  for 
the  coming  battle,  which  seemed  so  inevitable,  that  its  cer 
tainty  was  the  common  talk  in  the  regiment.  An  entry  in  a 
private  diary,  of  August  8th  (two  days  before  the  battle) 
says:  "General  Lyon's  fight,  the  talk  of  the  camp." 

The  Fourteenth  Illinois,  Colonel  John  M.  Palmer,  and  the 
Fifteenth  Illinois,  Colonel  Thomas  J.  Turner,  arrived  to-day, 
and  went  into  camp  not  far  from  our  regiment.  These  were 
very  fine  regiments  of  men,  and  seemed,  in  one  sense,  a  part 
of  our  own  family,  as  they  were  numbered  respectively,  next 
in  order  following  ours. 

In  the  light  of  General  Lyon's  expressions  of  his  desperate 
situation  some  days  previously,  it  is  astonishing  why  these 
two  fine  regiments  were  not  pushed  forward ;  as  a  forced 
march  of  four  days  should  have  brought  them  on  to  the  field 
at  Wilson's  Creek  in  time  to  have  given  Lyon  the  much- 
needed  succor. 

Perhaps  the  reason  for  the  detention  of  these  two  regi 
ments  at  Rolla,  during  those  four  days  previous  to  the  battle, 
and  the  sixty  days  subsequently,  may  be  found  in  what  must 
have  been  anticipated  at  St.  Louis,  and  which  Confederate 
General  Hardee  said  to  General  Pillow,  the  next  day  after  the 
arrival  at  Rolla,  of  these  regiments.  Hardee  says  : 

1 '  Your  true  policy  is  to  unite  with  me  here  (Greenville, 
Missouri),  take  Ironton,  march  on  Rolla  ;  then  abandon  our 
base  of  operations,  cut  off  Lyon  from  his  communications, 
attack  and  route  him ;  then  march  with  all  our  forces 
combined,  yours,  McCulloch's,  Jackson's,  and  mine,  on  St. 
Louis.  *  '*  *  * 

August    7//J. — Three  days    before    the    battle,    President 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  6 1 

Lincoln  says  to  our  Secretary  of  War  :  "I  see  by  a  private 
report  to  me  from  the  Department,  that  eighteen  regiments 
are  already  accepted  from  Missouri.  Can  it  not  be  arranged 
that  part  of  them  (not  yet  organized  as  I  understand)  may  be 
taken  from  the  locality  mentioned  (Southwest  Missouri  and 
put  under  the  control  of  Mr.  Phelps  (Hon.  John  S.)  and  let 
him  have  discretion  to  accept  them  for  a  shorter  time  than 
three  years,  or  the  war,  understanding,  however,  that  he  will 
get  them  for  the  full  term  if  he  can  ?  ' ' 

Nobody,  except,  perhaps,  General  Sherman,  not  even  Mr. 
Lincoln,  yet  realized  the  magnitude  of  the  war. 

August  8th. — Two  days  before  the  battle,  Governor  Claib. 
Jackson,  of  Missouri,  says  to  Mr.  Cabell  ;  "Your  dispatch 
communicating  the  welcome  intelligence  that  the  Confederate 
Congress  had  appropriated  one  million  dollars  for  the  defense 
of  Missouri,  has  been  received.  *  *  *  *  I  issued  on 
August  5th  (five  days  before  the  battle)  a  declaration  of  inde 
pendence,  a  copy  of  which  I  inclose." 

The  above  mentioned  one  million  dollars,  seems  to  dwarf 
into  positive  niggardliness  the  sum  asked  for  but  just  a  little 
while  before  by  our  chief  quartermaster,  from  the  govern 
ment,  with  which  to  run  his  department.  He  asked  for  ten 
thousand  dollars. 

Whether  the  Confederate  million,  mentioned  above  was  a 
Federal  price,  a  Confederate  price,  a  price  Sterling,  or  merely 
a  Sterling  Price,  we  are  not  informed  ;  but  most  likely,  the 
latter. 

August  $th. — This  day,  General  Fremont  said  to  Hon. 
Montgomery  Blair :  ' '  The  contest  in  the  Mississippi  Valley 
will  be  a  severe  one.  We  had  best  meet  it  in  the  face  at  once. 
Who  now  serves  the  country  quickly,  serves  her  twice. ' ' 

August  i oth. — This  was  the  dark,  dark  day  at  "Wilson's 
Creek,"  where  were  engaged  and  defeated,  of  Union  troops, 
the  Sixth  and  Tenth  Missouri  Cavalry,  Second  Kansas 
Mounted  Volunteers,  one  Company  of  First  United  States 
Cavalry  ;  First  Iowa  ;  First  Kansas  ;  First,  Second,  Third  and 
Fifth  Missouri  ;  detachments  of  First  and  Second  United 


62  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

States  Regulars ;  Missouri  Home  Guards  ;  First  Missouri 
Light  Artillery  ;  Battery  F,  Second  United  States  Artillery. 

Union,  two  hundred  twenty- three  killed,  *seven  hundred 
twenty-one  wounded,  two  hundred  ninety-one  missing. 

Confederate,  two  hundred  sixty-five  killed,  eight  hundred 
wounded,  thirty  missing. 

Union  Brigadier-General,  Nathaniel  Lyon,  killed. 

The  Thirteenth  Illinois  was  represented  in  this  battle  by 
Lieutenant  James  M.  Beardsley,  of  Company  D,  who  with  a 
detail  of  two  men  from  each  of  the  ten  companies  of  the  regi 
ment  had  been  sent  forward  from  Rolla  to  guard  a  train  of 
provisions  and  other  supplies.  This  detail  probably  started 
from  Rolla  on  Sunday,  the  4th  of  August.  The  historian  has 
failed,  so  far,  in  finding  any  proof  that  they  started  on  the 
day  mentioned,  but  has  seized  on  a  clew  found  in  an  old  diary 
of  Captain  Blanchard,  kept  at  that  time,  and  which  has  the 
following  entry  : 

"  Saturday,  August  3d,  trains  of  provisions  going  forward 
to  Springfield  detached  Ballou  and  Ned  Naper  to  guard 
train." 

If  this  detail  was  made  on  Saturday,  the  3d,  it  is  fair  to 
presume  that  the  train  would  not  start  before  the  next  day. 
That  would  give  Lieutenant  Beardsley  six  days  to  reach 
Springfield,  before  the  battle  actually  came  off.  And  we  may 
be  sure  that  Colonel  Wyman  would  hurry  the  expedition  off 
as  soon  as  possible,  knowing  the  pressing  need. 

It  is  to  be  regretted  that  a  detailed  account  of  this  expedi 
tion  could  not  be  incorporated  into  this  history,  not  only  on 
account  of  the  general  interest  which  it  would  possess  to  the 
reader,  but  because  there  were  twenty  men,  good  and  true,  on 
whom  rested  the  honor  of  every  company  in  the  regiment,  the 
honor  of  their  relatives  and  friends,  besides  their  own  personal 
honor. 

These  men  had  for  their  leader  an  officer  whose  subsequent 
record  on  many  battle-fields  was  second  to  none,  and  a  lasting 
source  of  pride  and  admiration  to  all  the  true  men  of  the 
Thirteenth  Regiment. 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  63 

That  our  twenty  good  men,  under  such  a  leader,  made  a 
good  record,  can  not  be  doubted  ;  and  if  we  only  knew  how 
many  bullets  they  put  in  where  they  would  do  the  most  good, 
it  would  give  all  their  old  comrades  much  pleasure. 

August  nth,  1 86 1. — That  periods  of  gloom  have  their 
compensatory  flashes  of  light  from  the  silver  lining  behind  the 
cloud,  has  been  mercifully  proven  on  many  occasions  during 
the  war,  and  this  gloom  following  our  reverse  at  Wilson's 
Creek,  was  rifted  by  gleams  of  sunshine  which  reached  us 
afterwards,  and  had  been  defending  us  all  the  time,  had  we 
only  known  it. 

If,  through  this  rift  in  the  dark  cloud,  we  could  have  had 
handed  down  to  us  the  following  document,  we  should  have 
been  more  cheerful. 

August  nth. — General  Pillow,  from  New  Madrid,  to 
General  Polk,  said,  *  *  *  *  "  Your  order  to  fall  back 
casts  a  deep  gloom  over  this  army,  and  caused  me  the  most 
anxious  and  painful  day  I  ever  experienced." 

This  was  the  day  after  the  battle. 

Same  day,  General  Jeff  Thompson,  at  Camp  Whitewater, 
to  General  Pillow  says,  *  "I  can  not  write  more 

as  I  distinctly  hear  the  report  of  the  large  guns.  Had  I  not 
received  the  letter  (from  Governor  Claib.  Jackson)  this 
morning,  I  wrould  cross  the  river  at  once,  and  go  to  the  fight 
wherever  it  is." 

Now,  a  fight  was  the  last  place  where  Brigadier-General 
Jeff  Thompson  wanted  to  be  ;  and,  without  doubt,  he  was 
perfectly  delighted  to  have  the  above  mentioned  excuse  ;  but 
he  kept  hearing  the  boom  of  the  big  guns,  and  it  made  him 
so  nervous  that  he  considered  it  his  duty  to  notify  the  Con 
federate  War  Department  ;  and  so,  on  the  same  date  as  his 
above  letter  to  General  Pillow,  he  addressed  the  Confederate 
Secretary  of  War,  Colonel  James  A.  Walker,  by  saying:  *  *  * 

"WE  CAN  HEAR  THE  GUNS  AT  NEW  MADRID." 

The  ancient  war-horse  "  sniffed  the  battle  from  afar";  but 
the  "war-horse"  had  but  one  nose;  whereas  Jeff  had  two 


64  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH   REGIMENT 

ears,  and  they  seemed  always  to  be  kept  unfurled  and  trimmed 
to  detect  the  sound  of  hostile  guns  ;  and  those  guns,  in  size, 
Jeff  always  gave  credit  for  being  as  big  as  were  his  ears  ; 
hence,  he  always  considered  them  formidable. 

The  slave  States,  in  1861  held  thousands  of  Northern  men 
who  willingly  would  have  sacrified  all  business  and  other 
interests,  and  returned  North,  but  the  marriage  tie  held  them, 
and  forced  them  into  the  Confederate  army. 

Several  years  after  the  close  of  the  war,  I  met  in  Florida, 
the  Confederate  General,  James  Harding.  Twenty  years 
after,  while  delving  among  the  Confederate  archives,  for 
matter  for  this  history,  I  stumbled  across  the  following  docu 
ment,  which  vividly  recalled  my  pleasant  acquaintance  with 
my  Confederate  friend.  The  document  reads  : 

MEMPHIS,  TENNESSEE,  August  i3th,  1861. 
Major-General  LEON  IDAS  POI<K. 

SIR  :  This  is  to  certify  that  the  bearer,  General  James  Harding, 
Quartermaster-General  of  the  State  of  Missouri,  is  hereby  authorized  and 
empowered  to  make  requisition  for  all  army  stores  for  the  Missouri 
State  Guard,  and  for  me,  and  in  my  name,  to  receive  and  receipt  for  the 
same  ;  and  he  is  further  authorized  to  receive  and  receipt  for  such  sums 
of  money  or  bonds  as  may  be  furnished  by  the  Confederate  States  as 
may,  on  official  statement,  be  shown  to  be  necessary  for  the  indispensa 
ble  wants  of  the  Missouri  State  Guard. 

C.  F.  JACKSON, 
Governor  and  Commander-in-chief  of  Missouri  State  Guards. 


My  memory  galloped  back  over  the  twenty  years  to  the 
time  when  I  had  personally  known  General  Harding.  He 
was  a  gentlemen  whom  it  gave  me  great  pleasure  to  converse 
with,  and  I  frequently  drew  him  out  on  the  subject  of  the 
war.  On  one  of  these  occasions,  while  comparing  notes,  we 
discovered  that  we  originally  were  from  the  same  county  in 
western  Massachusetts ;  and  that  my  colonel  and  General 
Harding,  were  old  friends  ;  also,  that  he  was  a  son  of  the 
artist,  Chester  Harding.  The  further  fact  also  developed  that 
he  and  I  had  played  hide-and-seek,  up  and  down  through 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  65 

Missouri  and  Arkansas,  as  the  Blue  and  the  Gray  were  wont  to 
do  in  those  times. 

General  Harding  said  to  me,  one  day  : 

"When  the  rebellion  broke  out,  I  found  that  I  was  on 
the  wrong  side  of  Mason  and  Dixon's  line.  I  had  no  such 
great  pecuniary  or  business  interests  but  what  I  might  have 
abandoned  everything,  and  set  my  face  toward  the  North 
Star  and  joined  the  Union  army,  which,  I  most  certainly 
should  have  done,  but,  then,  there  were  the  ties  resulting 
from  my  marriage  with  a  Southern  lady  ;  and  that  relation 
and  those  ties  held  me.  Thousands  were  in  the  same  condi 
tion  as  myself;  and  while  my  loyalty  to  the  old  flag  was  just 
as  strong  as  ever,  there  I  was  under  the  rebel  flag.  You  may 
rest  assured  that  we  did  not  exult  much  when  we  gained  a 
victory,  or  felt  much  sorrow  when  we  lost  a  battle." 

General  Harding  then  related  to  me  the  following  ex 
tremely  interesting  incident : 

"  Being  on  staff  duty  in  General  Price's  army,  in  Missouri, 
early  in  1861,  /  learned  that  my  old  friend  and  your  colonel, 
John  B.  Wyman,  was  commanding  the  post  at  Rolla,  I  found 
means  to  secretly  communicate  with  him,  and  ask  him  to 
do  an  old  friend  the  kindness  of  forwarding  a  letter  containing 
a  sum  of  money  to  my  aged  mother  in  Massachusetts  ;  which 
he  kindly  promised  to  do.  I  sent  the  letter  and  its  inclosure, 
and  in  a  few  weeks  there  came  safely  back  to  me  my  mother's 
reply,  acknowledging  the  receipt  of  both  letter  and  money  ; 
and  after  thanking  me  in  such  terms  as  a  mother  would  be 
likely  to  do  under  such  circumstances,  expressed  great  sorrow 
that  a  son  of  her's  should  be  in  arms  against  his  country. 
This  was  harder  to  bear  than  to  face  a  battery  of  hostile 
guns.  I  knew  that  I  deserved  it,  but  what  could  I  do  ? 


i ' 


CHAPTER  VI. 

FREMONT  URGES  HASTE  IN  RE-INFORCEMENTS  FOR  MIS 
SOURI. — GREAT  REBEL  FORCES  THREATENING  ROLLA. 
—AT  ALL  HAZARDS,  HOLD  ROLLA. 

A  ugust,  /j,  1861. 

>'P  TO  this  date,  three  days  after  Lyon's  battle, 
p")  it  is  evident  that  General  Fremont  had  not 
learned  of  the  orders  for  the  rebel  armies  to 
''fall  back,"  but  presumed  that  our  army, 
under  Sigel,  would  be  followed  up  and  har 
assed  on  their  retreat,  if,  in  fact,  a  formidable  com 
bined  movement  should  not  make  a  dash  on  Rolla  ; 
which,  if  captured,  would  dangerously  expose  St.  Louis  ;  and 
may  have  inspired  the  following  from  General  Fremont  to  the 
Secretary  of  War. 

August ijth. — "General  Lyon's  Aid  reports  engagement, 
with  severe  loss  on  both  sides.  General  Lyon  killed.  Col 
onel  Sigel  in  command,  retiring  in  good  order  from  Spring 
field  toward  Rolla.  Let  the  Governor  of  Ohio  be  ordered 
forthwith  to  send  me  what  disposable  force  he  has  ;  also, 
Governors  of  Illinois,  Indiana  and  Wisconsin  ;  order  the  ut 
most  promptitude.  The  German  (Groesbeck's  Thirty-ninth) 
regiment  at  Camp  Dennison,  might  be  telegraphed  directly 
here. 

WE   ARE    BADLY   IN   WANT   OF    FIELD   ARTILLERY  ; 

and   up  to  this  time,  very  few  of  our  small  arms   have   ar 
rived." 

August  ij th. — General  Fremont  writes  to  Montgomery 
Blair  : 

66 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  67 

' '  See  instantly  my  dispatch  to  the  Secretary  of  War.  My 
judgment  is  that  some  regiments  with  arms  in  their  hands, 
and  some  field  artillery  ready  for  use,  with  arms  and  ammu 
nition,  ought  to  be  expressed  to  this  point.  The  report  of  the 
action  comes  from  General  Lyon's  Aid,  Major  Farrar.  If 
true,  you  have  no  time  to  lose. 

"  The  Governor  of  Ohio  postponed  my  urgent  request  for 
aid  until  ordered  by  you.  Will  you  issue  peremptory  orders 
to  him  and  other  governors  to  send  me  instantly  any  dis 
posable  troops  and  arms  ?  An  artillery  company  of  regulars 
at  Cincinnati  which  has  been  there  three  months,  I  have  ap 
plied  for  repeatedly  ;  the  enemy  is  in  overpowering  force,  and 
we  are  weak  in  men.  *  *  *  * 

1 '  A  little  immediate  relief  in  good  material  might  prevent 
great  sacrifices." 

The  absence  of  red-tape,  and  the  promptitude  with  which 
these  urgent  appeals  of  General  Fremont  were  met,  is  simply 
delicious,  and  worthy  of  all  praise.  In  proof  of  which,  we 
quote  : 

Cameron  to  Governor  Dennison  :  "Send  the  Groesbeck 
(Thirty-ninth  Regiment)  and  all  other  available  force  to  Gen 
eral  Fremont  without  delay.  Give  him  full  supply  of  field 
artillery  and  small  arms.  The  utmost  promptitude  is  desired. 
Advise  the  Department  of  our  action.  (Same  to  Governor 
Randall,  Wisconsin,  and  Governor  Yates,  Illinois." 

August  i jth. — Fremont  to  Colonel  Lauman,  Seventh 
Iowa  :  ' '  Sir  :  You  are  hereby  ordered  to  proceed  by  railroad 
forthwith  to  Rolla,  to  reinforce  and  support  Brigadier-General 
Sigel,  with  five  other  regiments  ordered  there.  As  it  is  appre 
hended  that  the  rebels  under  Hardee  will  threaten  Rolla  from 
Salem,  and  endeavor  to  cut  off  General  Sigel's  communication 
from  St.  Louis. 

"That  place  (Rolla)  is  to  be  held  at  all  hazards.  The 
same  to  the  colonels  of  the  Thirteenth,  Fourteenth  and  Fif 
teenth  Illinois  and  Second  and  Seventh  Regiments  of 
Infantry." 


68  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

August  ijth. — Fremont  to  the  President :  "  Will  the  Pres 
ident  read  my  urgent  dispatch  to  the  Secretary  of  War  ? ' ' 

August  i^.th. — Fremont  to  the  President:  ''General 
Grant,  commanding  at  Ironton,  attacked  yesterday  at  6  p.  m., 
by  a  force  reported  at  thirteen  thousand." 

August  i^.th. — Fremont  declares  martial  law  in  St.  Louis. 

August  ij.th, — Secretary  of  War  to  Fremont :  "  Your  mes 
sage  to  the  President  received.  Positive  order  was  given 
yesterday,  to  Governor  Dennison,  and  to  the  Governors  of 
Indiana,  Illinois,  and  Wisconsin,  to  send  all  their  organized 
forces  with  full  supply  of  artillery  and  small  arms." 

August  i5th. — The  President  to  Fremont  :  "  Been  answer 
ing  your  messages  ever  since  day  before  yesterday.  Do  you 
receive  the  answers  ?  The  War  Department  has  notified  all 
the  governors  you  designated  to  forward  all  available  force, 
and  so  telegraphed  you.  Have  you  received  these  messages  ? 
answer  immediately." 

This  message  from  President  Lincoln  to  General  Fremont, 
is  admirable,  as  showing  how  that  great  heart  went  out  to  us 
with  a  sympathy  characteristic  of  the  man,  and  also  showing 
that  he  had  all  the  departments  well  in  hand,  and  especially 
the  War  Department,  which  seems  to  have  been  in  full  sym 
pathy  with  the  President. 

August  i$th. — Advance  stragglers  of  Sigel's  army  began 
to  arrive  at  Rolla,  and  each  one  had  performed  the  most 
astonishing  acts  of  valor  on  the  battle-field  five  days  before,  to 
which  we  tender-feet  listened  with  open-mouthed  wonder  and 
credulity  proportioned  to  our  inexperience. 

August  i6th. — The  somewhat  depleted  army,  under  Gen 
eral  Sigel,  arrived,  and  the  real  heroes,  including  our  own 
twenty-one  men,  marched  across  our  parade-ground,  and  now, 
we  had  an  opportunity,  for  the  first  time,  of  witnessing  the 
steady  march  of  a  battle-stained  army  ;  and,  with  us,  many  a 
heart  almost  stood  still,  and  eyes  were  moist,  as  the  riderless 
war-horse  of  the  lamented  Lyon,  in  full  caparison,  was  led  at 
the  head  of  the  column.  The  marching  army  was  of  course, 
very  impressive,  but,  what  war  really  means  can  only  be 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  69 

thoroughly  understood  by  looking  into  the  ambulances  of 
wounded  soldiers  ;  and  this,  even,  is  the  brightest  half  of  the 
dark  picture,  which  can  only  be  taken  in  by  imagining  the 
condition  of  those  unfortunates  so  badly  wounded  that  they 
could  not  be  removed  from  the  battle-field,  and  must  be  aban 
doned  to  the  tender  mercies  of  a  victorious  enemy. 

The  term,  of  enlistment  of  many  of  General  Sigel's  troops 
had  expired,  and  they  were  at  once  forwarded  to  St.  Louis  to 
be  mustered  out ;  and  a  reorganization  was  necessary  before 
the  army  would  be  in  a  condition  to  take  the  field.  In  the 
meantime, 

THE   REBELS   WERE   THREATENING 

our  small  force  at  Salern,  who  sent  to  Rolla  for  reinforcements, 
and  a  detachment  consisting  of  Companies  A  and  F  of 
the  Thirteenth  and  two  companies  each,  from  the  Fourteenth 
and  Fifteenth  Illinois,  and  Seventh  Missouri,  in  command  of 
Captain  Littlefield,  of  the  Fourteenth  Illinois,  was  sent  to 
Salem  on  August  15.  Except  scaring  away  any  force  of 
rebels  who  may  have  contemplated  a  dash  on  Salem,  nothing 
of  great  importance  was  accomplished  by  this  expedition, 
which  was  recalled  by  forced  march,  reached  Rolla  on  the  22d 
to  find  the  regiment  under  marching  orders,  destination 
unknown. 

These  marching  orders  included,  besides  the  Thirteenth, 
the  Fourth  Iowa,  Colonel  Dodge,  the  Fourteenth  Illinois, 
Colonel  Palmer,  and  the  Second  Battalion  of  Cavalry.  Four 
miles  beyond  the  Gasconade  river,  countermanding  orders, 
counter-marched  the  force  back  to  Rolla,  which  was  reached 
September  3oth. 

August  i8th. — The  four  thirty-two-pound  siege-guns  for 
Fort  Wyman  arrived  at  Rolla  from  St.  Louis,  although  the 
work  on  the  fort  was  not  commenced  until  the  2yth,  nine  days 
after.  It  took  a  ten-mule  team  to  haul  each  gun  to  the 
ground  selected  for  the  fort. 

When  the  importance  of  the  post  of  Rolla  is  considered,  it 
seems  astonishing  that  thjs  fort  was  not  built  long  before. 


70  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

How  critical  the  situation  was  considered  at  Department 
Headquarters  at  St.  Louis,  we  have  seen  by  the  hurrying  for 
ward  to  Rolla  of  all  available  troops.  It  will  be  interesting 
to  learn  the  rebel  opinion,  covering  the  same  period  ;  and, 
fortunately,  we  have  two  rebel  opinions,  from  two  standpoints, 
which  arrive  at  directly  opposite  conclusions. 

One  comes  from  General  Pillow,  who  had  not.  been  fight 
ing  lately,  and  was,  consequently,  full  of  fight,  and  who 
banked  heavily  on  McCulloch  who  had  been  fighting.  The 
other  comes  from  McCulloch  himself  who  had  recently  fought 
and  held  a  victorious  field,  but  the  victor,  was  too  badly 
whipped  himself,  to  want  any  more  immediate  fighting. 

Aiigust  i6th. — General  Pillow  to  General  Polk: — "  At 
2  o'clock  last  night  I  received  the  inclosed  communication 
from  Thompson  (Jeff)  which  explains  itself ;  also  the  inclosed 
Extra  Republican  [Missouri  (Democrat)  Republican']  from 
which  it  is  now  certain  that  a  battle,  and  a  bloody  one,  has 
been  fought  between  McCulloch  and  Lyon's  forces,  in  which 
the  latter  was  defeated  and  Lyon  killed.  *  *  *  *  You 
will  perceive  from  the  Republican  that  it  has  thrown  every 
thing  into  commotion.  *  *  *  *  His  whole  force  (Union) 
except  two  thousand  at  Bird's  Point,  is  drawn  up  to  St.  Louis, 
to  save  that  city  and  protect  his  retreating  force,  crippled  and 
cut  to  pieces.  *  *  *  *  The  great  city  of  St.  Louis,  with 
its  capital,  shops,  and  bank  capital,  the  point  from  which  all 
his  operations  must  be  directed,  is  in  imminent  danger,  and 
will  fall  if  we  push  up  our  operations,  and  then  he  will  have 
received  a  blow  paralyzing  him  more  than  if  Washington  was 
captured. 

«  *  *  *  *  you  will  perceive  that  the  steps  ordered  by 
you,  and  based  entirely  on  impressions  and  information  of  last 
night,  would  be  modified  by  the  new  light  we  now  have.  All 
of  our  impressions  from  then  existing  lights,  are  totally 
changed  by  the  developments  since  you  left,  showing  that 
the  enemy  at  that  very  moment  was  hurrying  his  forces  from 
our  front  to  St.  Louis,  and  that  the  movement  involved  the 
fall  of  his  cause  in  the  West." 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  71 

And  yet,  the  Thirteenth  and  the  rest  of  the  boys  never  budged 
an  inch  from  Rolla,  and  in  less  than  three  and  a  half  months, 
both  Price  and  McCulloch  were  in  full  retreat  from  the  State, 
towards  Arkansas. 

After  having  looked  at  the  conditions  of  things  through 
General  Pillow's  spectacles,  we  will  adjust  General  Mc 
Culloch' s  specs  and  see  how  different  men  see  differently. 

August  2$th. — At  Camp  Pond  Spring,  near  Springfield 
Missouri,  McCulloch  to  Hardee  :  *  *  *  *  "  I  am  in  no 
condition  to  advance,  or  even  to  meet  an  enemy  here  ;  having 
little  ammunition  or  supplies  of  any  kind.  In  fact,  with  the 
means  of  transportation  now  at  my  disposal,  I  find  it  impossi 
ble  to  keep  my  force  supplied  ;  and  will,  in  consequence, 
shorten  my  line,  by  falling  back  to  the  Arkansas  line,  near 
the  Indian  Territory,  and  there  proceed  to  drill  and  organize 
a  force  to  meet  the  enemy  when  they  take  the  field  again  in 
this  quarter. 

' '  We  have  little  to  hope  or  expect  from  the  people  of  this 
State.  The  force  now  in  the  field  is  undisciplined  and  led  by 
men 

WHO   ARE   MERE   POLITICIANS  ; 

not  a  soldier  among  them  to  control  and  organize  this  mass  of 
humanity.  [Pretty  tough  on  Price.]  The  Missouri  forces 
are  in  no  condition  to  meet  an  organized  army,  nor  will  they 
ever  be  whilst  under  the  present  leaders.  I  dare  not  join 
them  in  my  present  condition,  for  fear  of  having  my  men 
completely  demoralized,  *  *  Their  straggling  camp 

followers  stole  three  hundred  stand  of  arms  from  my  killed 
and  wounded,  and  borrowed  six  hundred  more  of  General 
Pierce,  none  of  which  they  would  return  after  the  battle 
(Wilson  Creek)  was  over.  They  stole  the  tents  of  my  men 
at  Cassville  *  in  a  word,  they  are  not  making 

friends  where  they  go  ;  and  from  all  I  can  see 

WE   HAD   AS   WELL    BE    IN    BOSTON 

as  far  as  the  friendly  feelings  of  the  inhabitants  are  con 
cerned." 


72  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

Here  is  a  most  astonishing  revelation  which  much  more 
than  offsets  the  condition  of  things  as  pictured  by  General 
Pillow.  While  the  vanquished  army  was  retreating  in  good 
order,  and  by  easy  stages,  towards  Rolla,  and  were  in  that 
condition  that  they  could  have  made  a  tremendous  fight  had 
they  been  attacked,  the  General  of  the  victorious  army  says — 
fourteen  days  after  the  battle — that  his  army  is  so  badly 
crippled  that  he  can  not  advance,  nor  can  he  meet  an  enemy 
where  he  is  ;  and  such  is  the  character  of  any  reinforcement 
of  Missouri  troops — from  which  alone,  he  could  draw — that 
he  dare  not  use  them  for  fear  that  the  contact  would  utterly 
demoralize  his  own  men.  He,  therefore,  proposes  to  with 
draw  from  the  State,  and  reorganize,  and  build  up  an  army, 
drilled  and  disciplined.  In  fact,  General  McCulloch  might 
well  dread  another  victory  for,  another  such  a  victory  would 
utterly  destroy  both  army  and  victorious  General. 

And  so,  while  ' '  chewing  the  cud  of  sweet  and  bitter  re 
flection,"  it  must  have  become  apparent  to  General  Pillow, 
that 

"The  best  laid  scheme  of  mice  and  men,  gang  aft  agley." 


The  rebel  general,  Jeff  Thompson,  also  kindly  contributes 
evidence  at  this  time,  to  show  that  the  rebels  did  not  want 
their  real  strength  known,  and  much  less  to  march  out  far 
enough  to  have  that  strength  measured  on  the  battle-field. 

August  1 8th. — Camp  Ben  ton,  Jeff  Thompson  to  General 
Pillow  :  "  I  hope  some  of  the  troops  will  be  up  immediately, 
as  the  chances  are  that  Marsh  (Colonel  C.  C.,  Twentieth  Illi 
nois  Volunteers)  may  hear  the  truth  as  to  the  paucity  of  my 
force  and  attempt  to  give  me  a  fight  to-morrow  or  next  day  ; 
and  I  am  anxious  to  run  him  through  a  thrashing  machine" 

In  the  meantime,  at  the  post  at  Rolla,  things  seemed  to 
move  monotonously  quiet  and  provokingly  slow.  We  heard 
of  bands  of  rebels,  here  and  there,  plundering  and  driving 
away  Union  people,  who  flocked  to  Rolla  for  protection,  and 
while  the  boys  chafed  to  go  after  the  rebs,  the  refugees  were 


ILLINOIS     VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  73 

indignant  that  a  force  was  not  started  out  immediately  to  rein 
state  them  in  the  homes  from  which  they  so  recently  had  been 
ejected ;  and  they  seemed  to  expect  that  Colonel  Wyman 
would  send  a  sufficient  force  to  place  a  guard  around  every 
house  that  had  contained  a  Union  family.  Besides  this,  the 
wife  of  every  blatant  rebel  in  Missouri  had  the  cheek  to 
demand  a  guard  for  their  houses,  on  the  ground  that  the 
ladies  were  in  danger  of  abuse  from  the  soldiers ;  and,  at  the 
same  time,  it  was  altogether  probable  that  some  of  the  hus 
bands,  brothers  and  sons  of  these  secesh  ladies  were  plotting 
and  working  to  effect  what  moved  Colonel  Wyman  to  make 
the  following  report  to  General  Fremont : 

August  291/1. — "  General :  As  the  train  from  St.  L,ouis  was 
approaching  this  place  last  evening,  and  when  within  seven 
miles,  a  terrible  explosion  was  heard  immediately  under  the 
tender  of  the  engine  and  the  baggage-car  of  the  train.  As 
soon  as  the  train  was  stopped  it  was  ascertained  that  a  keg, 
or  part  of  a  keg  of  powder  had  been  put  upon  the  track,  and 
so  arranged  with  combustibles  as  that  it  would  explode  when 
the  train  went  over  it.  It  did  explode,  but  most  fortunately 
without  injuring  any  person,  or  damaging  the  track  in  the 
least.  I  immediately  dispatched  forty  of  my  best  mounted 
men  to  the  point,  with  orders  to  reinforce  the  guards  already 
on  the  road,  and  to  arrest  any  suspicious  person  they  might 
find. 

"A  messenger  is  just  in  from  them,  and  informs  me  they 
have  found  two  places  where  the  rails  have  been  removed 
from  the  track,  evidently  with 

THE   INTENTION   OF   DESTROYING   THE   TRAIN   WITH   TROOPS, 

which  was  to  have  left  here  at  three  this  morning.  As  soon 
as  it  is  light  enough  to  admit,  I  shall  start  the  train,  on  which 
is  embarked  the  Second  Kansas  Regiment  and  some  good 
track-repairers,  and  I  trust  there  will  be  little  delay  in  getting 
through.  The  receipt  of  this  will  enable  you  to  judge." 

This  wholesale  attempt  at  murder,  by  the  destruction  of 


74  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

an  entire  railroad  train,  loaded  with  troops,  called  loudly  for 
stringent  measures,  and  accordingly,  on  the  next  day,  August 
3oth,  General  Fremont  • 

DECLARED  MARTIAL   LAW 

throughout  the  State  of  Missouri. 

Ten  days  before  this,  on  August  2oth,  our  troops  had  been 
paid  ten  dollars  in  gold,  each,  from  the  forced  loan,  as  it  was 
called,  and  one  can  easily  imagine  that  General  Fremont 
looked  with  grim  satisfaction  that  this  gold  had  been  drawn 
from  the  pockets  of  these  railroad  wreckers,  and  was  changed 
into  the  trowsers  of  loyal  men. 

An  expedition,  with  flag  of  truce,  to  Springfield,  to  bring 
back  some  of  our  men,  wounded  at  Wilson's  Creek,  and  now 
in  the  rebel  hospital  there,  was  planned  by  Colonel  Wyman, 
and  passes  for  the  officer  in  charge,  had  been  received  from 
General  McCulloch,  for  safe  passage  through  places  occupied 
by  rebel  forces. 

Colonel  Wyman  had  first  contemplated  putting  Captain 
Blanchard,  of  Company  K,  in  charge,  but,  at  the  last  moment, 
substituted  Lieutenant  I.  H.  Williams,  of  Company  I,  for 
Captain  Blanchard. 

September  loth. — The  truce  train,  consisting  of  three  am 
bulances,  started  from  Rolla,  with  many  fears  for  the  safe 
return  of  the  lieutenant,  the  drivers,  and  twenty  wounded  men. 

Lieutenant  Williams  was  successful,  not  only  in  getting 
the  men  specified,  but  secretly  made  arrangements  with  two 
others  of  our  men,  to  meet  him  two  miles  from  town,  on  his 
return  trip,  and  he  would  try  and  take  all  through  together  ; 
which  he  actually  •  accomplished,  but  at  great  risk  and 
trouble. 

When  well  along,  on  his  return  road,  the  train  fell  into 
the  hands  of  a  guerrilla  force,  the  leader  of  which  refused  to 
respect  the  flag  of  truce,  roughly  handled  the  train  drivers 
and  wounded  men,  and  even  went  so  far  as  to  make  prepara 
tions  to  hang  Lieutenant  Williams  ;  which  was  averted  only  by 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  75 

the  timely  arrival  on  the  scene  of  Colonel  Tom  Price,  com 
manding  the  regiment  to  which  the  detached  party  belonged. 
Some  Masonic  signs,  on  the  part  of  Lieutenant  Williams,  were 
acknowledged  by  the  rebel  colonel  and  ample  apologies  made, 
and  the  train,  at  last,  came  safely  writhin  our  lines  on  the  22d 
of  September,  having  been  gone  twelve  days. 

Colonel  Price,  himself,  afterwards  fell  into  our  hands,  as  a 
prisoner,  and  Lieutenant  Williams  had  an  opportunity  of  re 
turning  the  courtesies  he  himself  had  received. 

Tuesday,  the  ijth — 

GENERAL   HUNTER    REVIEWED   THE   TROOPS 

at  Rolla,  which  was  taken  as  an  indication  that  a  forward 
movement  was  about  to  be  made  ;  and  this  time  it  was  be 
lieved,  the  Thirteenth  certainly  would  not  be  left  behind. 

October  jd. — In  reporting  to  General  Asboth,  from  Sedalia, 
General  Sigel  says:  "If  the  movement  of  Price  retreating 
from  Warrensburg  to  effect  a  junction  with  Ben  McCulloch, 
in  Bates  county,  is  confirmed  among  the  proper  movements,  I 
would  propose  that,  Third,  the  troops  at  Rolla  should  advance 
to  Linn  Creek." 

October  6th. — Camp  Lillie  near  Jefferson  City,  Adjutant- 
General  Eaton  to  General  D.  Hunter,  says:  *  *  *  * 
To-day  Colonel  Wyman  has  been  ordered  to  proceed  with  a  full 
and  complete  train  of  wagons  from  Rolla  to  Versailles  to  join 
you.  The  General  regrets  the  suffering  of  the  troops,  and  he 
can  not  understand  how,  with  reports."  *  *  *  * 

October  6th. — Near  Jefferson  City,  same  to  Colonel  Wyman. 
"  SIR  :  The  enemy  having  evacuated  Lexington,  and  the  cir 
cumstances  of  the  service  having  made  it  unnecessary  for  you 
to  come  to  this  place,  the  Major- General  commanding  the 
department,  directs  that  you  march  immediately  from  Rolla 
direct  to  Versailles,  with  full  transportation  complete.  You 
will  direct  your  line  of  march  to  cross  the  Osage  at  Linn 
Creek,  or  if  you  deem  it  more  convenient  and  expedient,  to 
march  upon  Versailles  and  cross  the  Osage  by  whatever  route 


76  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

you  think  best.  Versailles  is  to  be  occupied  by  the  division  of 
General  Hunter,  to  which  you  belong,  but  should  you  find 
that  he  has  left  that  place  (which  is  not  -likely  to  be  the 
case),  scouts  sent  about  the  country  to  learn  his  position  will 
enable  you  to  vary  your  march  to  join  him  accordingly." 

October  i oth,  1861. — The  total  of  the  force,  now  at  Rolla, 
was  quoted  from  the  Department  Abstract  as  being  two  thou 
sand  sixty-nine. 

October  nth. — From  circular  letter  from  General  Fremont : 
11  General  Pope  with  his  force  will  march  by  way  of  Otterville 
to  Sedalia,  and  to  Leesville  ;  Gen.  Jeff.  C.  Davis  on  October 
1 3th,  from  Georgetown  via  Sedalia  to  Leesville,  arriving  on 
the  1 5th  ;  Sigel  on  the  i3th,  from  Sedalia  via  Spring  Rock 
and  Cole  Camp  to  Warsaw,  and  cross  on  the  i6th  at  all  haz 
ards  ;  McKinstry  will  start  on  the  i3th  and  proceed  in  four 
marches  by  Florence,  Haw  Creek,  and  Cole  Camp  to  Warsaw, 
where  he  will  co-operate  with  Sigel;  Hunter  will  start  also  on 
the  1 3th,  four  marches  via  Versailles  and  Hibernia  to  Durock 
Ferry  ;  Sturgis  and  Lane  are  expected  to  be  at  the  same  time 
in  Clinton  on  our  extreme  right." 

October  i ^th. — From  Rolla,  Colonel  Dodge  says  to  McKee- 
ver :  "A  messenger  from  Colonel  Wyman,  commanding  Thir 
teenth  Illinois,  and  Major  Wright's  command,  arrived  last 
night  bringing  this  dispatch  : 

"  '  The  rebs  have  left  Iberia,  and,  as  near  as  we  can  learn, 
the  main  body  have  gone  to  Lebanon, — say  not  over  twelve 
hundred  in  all  at  that  point.  We  took  five  prisoners  last 
night,  one  of  whom  was  armed  with  an  English  Tower  gun 
and  United  States  equipments.  Some  of  their  scouts  have 
just  fired  on  our  pickets.  The  companies  of  rebels  south  and 
east  of  this  post  are  ordered  to  the  west  of  this  place,  but  to 
what  point  I  can  not  yet  ascertain.  They  are  all  moving  in 
that  direction.'  " 

Why  Colonel  Dodge  failed  to  speak  of  Colonel  Wyman  as 
Acting  Brigadier-General,  in  the  above  dispatch,  instead  of 
Colonel  Commanding  Thirteenth  Illinois  and  Major  Wright's 
command,  is  not  clear. 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  77 

October  i^th  1861. — From  Linn  Creek,  Missouri,  Wyman 
to  Hunter  : 

GENERAL  :  I  have  the  honor  to  report  to  you  that  immediately 
upoii  the  departure  of  my  messenger  to  you  yesterday  morning,  I  put  my 
command  on  the  march  at  7  o'clock  in  the  following  order:  Major 
Boweu,  commanding  battalion  attached  to  the  Thirteenth  Regiment 
Illinois  Volunteers,  in  the  advance,  with  his  own  transportation.  Then 
the  Thirteenth  Regiment,  Lieutenant-Colonel  Gorgas  commanding,  im 
mediately  followed  by  his  own  transportation,  and  that  of  the  commis 
sary  department,  the  rear  being  brought  up  by  Major  Clark  Wright,  com 
manding  Fremont  Battalion.  After  seeing  the  entire  column  in  motion, 
I  started  for  the  head  of  it  and  had  proceeded  about  six  miles  to  the 
point  where  the  road  turns  off  from  the  route  to  Lebanon  for  this  point 
and  had  reached  the  right  of  the  Thirteenth  Regiment,  when  I  was  in 
formed  that  Major  Bo  wen  had  discovered  a  party  of  rebels,  seventy  in 
number,  and  had  gone  in  search  of  them,  towards  Lebanon,  feeling  con 
fident  of  his  ability  to  cope  with  them  successfully.  I  turned  the  column 
toward  this  point  and  had  proceeded  about  two  miles,  when  a  rapid 
volley  of  musketry  fell  on  my  ear.  I  immediately  turned  toward  the 
left  of  my  command, 

ORDERING  THE  TRAIN   CORRALED   AT  ONCE, 

and,  at  the  same  time  met  a  courier  from  Major  Boweu,  informing  me 
that  he  had  engaged  the  enemy,  and  that  they  were  from  eight  hundred 
to  one  thousand  strong ;  that  he  had  been  obliged  to  fall  back,  and 
asked  for  reinforcements.  This  same  messenger  had  been  sent  to  Major 
Wright,  who,  with  his  usual  promptness  took  two  of  his  companies, 
himself  taking  the  advance.  At  the  same  moment  I  sent  an  order 
to  Lieutenant-Colonel  Gorgas,  to  send  to  the  support  of  the  Cavalry,  the 
five  left  companies  of  the  Thirteenth  Regiment,  reserving  the  other  five 
companies,  under  Major  Partridge,  as  reserve,  and  guard  to  the  train. 

The  order  was  promptly  delivered  to  Colonel  Gorgas,  and  as 
promptly  executed. 

The  line  of  march  was  at  once  broken  up,  headed  by  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  Gorgas  himself.  Company  K,  Captain  Blanchard  ;  Company  I, 
Captain  Samuel  Wadsworth  ;  Company  H,  Captain  Gardiner  ;  Company 
G,  Captain  Cole  ;  and  Company  F,  Captain  Button,  all  at  double-quick  ; 
and  to  show  you  the  rapidity  of  their  movements,  I  beg  to  assure  you 
that  they  made  a  march  of  nearly  five  miles  in  forty-five  minutes. 

After  issuing  the  order,  I  immediately  started  for  the  scene  of 
action. 

In  the  meantime,  Major  Wright  had  formed  a  junction  with  Major 
Boweu,  and  they  had  made  arrangements  for  another  attack,  for  partic- 


78  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

ulars  of  which,  I  beg  leave  to  refer  you  to  their  respective  reports. 
Approving  of  them,  I  relieved  Major  Wright  of  the  center  command, 
and  ordered  him  to  join  the  line  of  flankers  thrown  out  by  him,  and  my 
self  made  a  forward  movement  from  the  center.  *  The  enemy  had  by 
this  time  become  satisfied  he  could  not  cope  with  us  (or,  for  some  other 
reasons  known  only  to  themselves),  commenced  a  rapid  retreat,  so 
fast  indeed,  that  it  was  impossible  for  even  the  Thirteenth  to  keep 
up  with  them.  I  therefore  ordered  a  halt  of  the  Infantry,  and  ordered 
the  Cavalry  forward,  with  orders  to  drive  them  as  far  as  possible,  and 
reach  camp  at  sunset.  They  did  so  and  drove  them  twelve  miles  toward 
Lebanon. 

For  the  list  of  killed,  wounded,  and  prisoners,  I  beg  to  refer  you  to 
the  reports  of  my  different  officers  in  command.  I  also  take  occasion  to 
say  that  proper  and  respectable  arrangements  were  made  for  the  burial  of 
the  enemy's  dead,  which  they  had  left  upon  the  field  to  be  devoured  by 
swine,  beasts  of  prey,  or  the  vulture. 

I  reached  camp,  on  the  return,  at  4  p.  m.,  and  the  entire  command 
were  all,  with  one  exception,  safely  in  at  6  p.  m.  Total  enemy  killed, 
thirty-nine  ;  prisoners,  fifty-one ;  wounded,  twenty-nine ;  horses  cap 
tured,  eighteen;  guns  captured  or  destroyed,  ninety-three;  with  only  a 
loss,  on  our  side,  of  one  man  killed,  and  two  horses.  Among  the  pris 
oners  are  one  Colonel  (Summers)  one  L/ieutenaut  (Langlin),  non-com 
missioned  officers,  six,  and  forty-three  privates. 

TRUSTING  THAT  THIS   LITTLE   DIVERSION 

from  my  line  of  march  to  join  you  as  ordered,  will  meet  your  approba 
tion,  I  have  the  honor  to  subscribe  myself, 

Respectfully  and  obediently  yours, 

J.  B.  WYMAN, 

Act.  Brig.  Gen.  ist  Brid.  ist  Div.  W.  D. 
[Major-General  Hunter,  W.  D.] 

Colonel  Wyman  also  reports  from  Linn  Creek,  to  General 
Hunter,  concerning  this  day's  march  previous  to  arriving  at 
the  place,  and  of  taking  possession  of  the  place.  He  says  in 
his  report  : 

We  broke  camp  twenty-four,  southeast  of  this  place,  at  6  : 30  a.  ni. 
and  moved  the  column.  Before  moving,  I  had  ordered  {[Major  Clark 
Wright,  who  was  to  take  the  advance,  to  prevent  any  and  all  parties 
from  preceding  him  and  to  enter  the  place  at  a  charge  and  secure  all 
who  might  be  found  in  it. 

HOW  WELL  HE  EXECUTED  MY  ORDERS, 

I  leave  you  to  judge  by  inclosing  a  copy  of  his  own  graphic  account  of 
the  affair. 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY.  79 

Major  Clarke  Wright  in  giving  his  report  to  Colonel 
Wyman,  of  the  taking  of  the  place,  says  : 

At  7  o'clock  of  the  morning  of  the  I4th,  my  command  left  Camp 
Gorgas  in  advance  of  the  column.  Having  arranged  my  men  to  the 
best  advantage  against  surprise,  we  moved  forward  feeling  our  way, 
without  any  incident  worthy  of  note,  until  n  130  a.  m.  On  our  arrival 
at  Alexander  Berry's,  five  miles  southeast  of  this  place,  I  there  learned 
that  there  was  no  doubt  but  that  Linn  Creek  was  occupied  with  rebel 
forces,  and  rumor  said  two  hundred,  who  had  arrived  the  day  before. 

I   AT  ONCE   DECIDED   TO  STRIKE  THEM 

with  all  the  available  force  I  had,  leaving  out  the  skirmishers  and  suffi  - 
cient  force  to  cover  the  front  of  the  Thirteenth  Illinois  Regiment,  then 
in  my  immediate  rear.  I  sent  forward  two  scouts  in  citizens'  dress  to  go 
into  the  town,  take  observations  and  report  to  me  one  mile  out,  before  I 
arrived.  Then  called  out  Captain  Crockett's  company,  myself  taking 
the  right  and  ordering  a  descent  upon  the  town  in  double-quick.  Arriv 
ing  at  a  point  to  meet  the  scouts  I  called  a  halt.  As  the  scouts  did  not 
return,  I  was  led  to  conclude  they  had  been  detained.  I  soon  learned, 
however,  that  there  was  a  company  of  rebels  then  in  town  commanded 
by  the  notorious  "  Bill  Roberts."  I  ordered  a  double-quick  descent  on 
the  town.  We  arrived  at  i  o'clock,  surrounded  it  and  demanded  an  un 
conditional  surrender.  The  captain,  a  few  of  his  followers,  and  his  wife 
broke  from  the  buildings,  fired  on  my  troops,  and  tried  to  make  their 
escape.  We  fired  on  them.  Some  fifty  random  shots  were  fired  but 
owing  to  the  fences,  buildings,  and  other  means  of  cover  none  were 
killed,  and  but  one  wounded  on  the  rebel  side.  The  Cavalry  arresting 
citizens,  and  the  rebels  running  to  and  fro.  The  screams  of  the  women 
and  children,  the  firing  from  both  sides  echoing  back  from  the  sur 
rounding  bluffs,  made  the  whole  scene  look  somewhat  frantic.  At  the 
end  of  thirty  minutes  we  had  quiet  restored  and  the  rebels  under  guard. 

The  result  was  as  follows :  Prisoners,  thirty-seven  ;  horses,  five  ; 
mules,  two  ;  guns,  thirty-six ;  one  keg  of  powder,  and  one  half  bushel 
of  bullets,  and  peaceable  possession  of  the  town. 

MAJOR  CLARK  WRIGHT. 

[To  Acting  Brigadier-General,  J.  B.  Wyman.] 

At  this  fight  of  lyinn  Creek,  one  of  our  boys  turned  over 
the  body  of  a  dead  rebel,  which  was  lying  face  downward, 
and,  on  examining  his  features,  exclaimed  to  his  companions, 
why,  this  is  oiir  old  pie  man  /  This  man  had  been  selling  pies 
in  our  camp  at  Rolla,  every  day,  for  months ;  a  spy,  under  the 
guise  of  a  peddler  of  pies. 


CHAPTER     VII. 

FREMONT'S  ARMY  IN  LINE  OF  BATTLE  BY  COLUMN  SWEEP 
ING  SOUTHWARD,  RIGHT  ON  KANSAS,  LEFT  ON  ROLLA, 
AND  WELL-GUARDED  FLANK. 


HK  time  was  now  fast  approaching  when  we 
were  to  more  fully  realize  that  we  were  some 
thing  more  than  a  mere  handful  of  unattached 
soldiers,  fit  for  nothing  more  than  guard  duty  and 
foraging  expeditions,  but  were  about  to  be  incorporated 
into  the  heart  of  a  great  army  which  was  well  calculated 
to  inspire  us  with  the  belief  that  it  was  the  symbol  of  splendid 
force  and  gigantic  possibilities  for  victory. 

We  remained  in  Linn  Creek  seven  days  ;  during  which 
time,  the  boys  managed  to  extract  a  good  deal  of  pleasure 
and  comfort  from  nearly  all  of  their  surroundings.  Nature 
had  done  far  more  for  its  inhabitants  than  they  deserved, 
Hill  and  valley,  a  noble  river,  forest  and  woodland,  ought  to 
have  nourished  a  loyal  and  thrifty  people  ;  but  such  was  not 
the  case.  Colonel  McClurg,  a  loyal  merchant,  had  been 
driven  out,  but  while  we  were  there,  he  returned  at  the  head 
of  a  regiment  of  loyal  men,  and  he  proposed  to  hold  the 
place,  after  we  should  be  gone. 

Some  rebel  merchants  in  Linn  Creek  refused  to  sell  the 
boys  anything,  and  so  the  boys  opened  the  stores  on  their  own 
account  ;  and  they  declared  that  they  realized  quite  handsome 
profits.  Of  course,  our  sutler  discouraged  any  expansion  of 
mercantile  business,  but  the  boys  repeatedly  proved  to  him 

that  they  were  at  home  behind  the  counter. 

so 


ILLINOIS    VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  8 1 

The  boys  fished  in  the  Osage,  hunted  in  the  forest,  and 
foraged  through  the  neighboring  plantations,  to  their  heart's 
content,  during  our  encampment  at  Linn  Creek,  and  were 
loth  to  leave  so  pleasant  a  place,  but  great  events  had  been  on 
the  march,  while  we  had  been  in  camp  ;  and  victories  never 
hang  around  camps. 

October  i8th. — Colonel  Dodge  at  Rolla,  to  McKeever,  says: 
"  A  scout  returned  here  last  night  and  reports  that  the  rebel 
forces  at  Vienna  have  dispersed,  some  joining  Johnston,  and 
balance  scattered.  Freeman  is  about  forty  miles  south,  with 
a  force  of  seven  hundred  men.  Price  has  halted  south  of  the 
Osage,  and  called  the  legislature  together  at  Carthage  on  the 
4th  of  November.  Taylor  has  issued  a  proclamation  prohibit 
ing  any  Missourian  carrying  property  out  of  the  State.  Re 
port  from  Springfield  to-day  that  Johnston  is  ordered  to  take 
command  in  Missouri." 

October  22d,  Tuesday. — Broke  camp  at  Linn  Creek,  at 
6  a.  m.,  and  marched  out  on  the  Bolivar  road.  The  weather 
was  rough,  it  being  cloudy  and  chilly  ;  but  the  scenery  was 
wildly  beautiful,  and  the  finest  ever  seen  by  many  of  the  boys 
from  the  prairies  of  Illinois,  and  it  had  the  effect  to  divert 
the  attention  from  the  rough  condition  of  the  roads  and  the 
chilly  air. 

About  9  a.  m.  we  crossed  Spoon  river,  which  graced  a 
saw-mill  on  its  banks  which  in  its  turn  honored  the  river. 
Made  eighteen  miles  and  encamped  in  a  stubble-field,  in  itself 
a  strong  reminder  of  peace  ;  but  whose  owner,  presumably, 
had  straightened  out  his  sickle  into  a  spear  and  gone  off  to 
the  wars. 

October  2jd. — We  left  camp,  and  at  sunrise  we  stretched 
out  towards  sundown  and  passed  through  some  extremely 
picturesque  scenery  in  which  pleasantly  figured  the  pretty 
Meango  River,  over  which  the  infantry  crossed  on  some  logs. 

After  following  the  course  of  this  little  gem  of  a  river  for  a 
considerable  distance,  both  bluffs  and  river  bade  us  a  modest 
farewell  and  gave  us  a  God-speed  on  our  way  to  Mack's 
Creek,  where  we  camped  after  a  twelve-mile  march. 


82  HISTORY   OF   THE    THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT. 

An  incident  of  to-day's  march  is  worth  relating. 

Every  soldier  has  observed  the  fact  that  a  thousand  men 
will  sometimes  march  for  miles  with  a  qtiiet  pervading  the 
entire  regiment  as  if  by  common  consent  ;  or  as  though  a  part 
of  a  system  of  military  discipline  ;  and  yet  neither  of  the 
above  has  anything  whatever  to  do  with  it.  It  may  not  be 
very  good  philosophy  to  say  that  quiet,  like  enthusiasm,  is 
contagious,  but  it  is  the  only  solution  which  offers  itself  at 
the  present  moment,  and  the  philosophical  part  can  be  settled 
some  other  time,  and  allow  us  to  go  on  with  our  story. 

It  was  a  delightful  morning,  and  the  calm  and  beauty  of 
nature  may  have  been  the  influence  which  stilled  the  usu 
ally  boisterous  spirits  of  the  men  as  they  tramped  quietly 
along.  All  at  once  we  came  out  into  a  small  clearing  contain 
ing  but  one  building,  and  that  a  log  schoolhotise.  No  signs 
of  life  were  visible  about  the  house  at  first,  and  quiet  still  per 
vaded  our  ranks  until  the  head  of  the  column  got  a  little  past 
the  front  of  the  building,  when  an  urchin  discovered  us  and 
raised  the  school-boy's  war-whoop,  when  the  entire  hive 
poured  out  of  the  door,  except  about  a  dozen  of  the  back-seat 
boys  who  shot  through  the  windows  as  if  propelled  by  a 
catapult.  The  school-marm  was  not  the  last  one  to  come  to 
the  front,  by  any  means.  This  was  enough  to  raise  such  a 
shout  as  only  a  regiment  of  soldiers  can  give  ;  and  the  fact 
that  the  young  lady  teacher  was  comely  to  look  upon,  did  not 
seem  to  lessen  the  enthusiasm. 

We  had  no  means  of  ascertaining  whether  the  teacher  re 
garded  us  as  friends  or  foes  ;  but  she  could  boast  among  her 
lady  associates  of  having  received  the  undisguised  admiration 
of  a  thousand  men  at  one  time,  and  given  in  a  most  emphatic 
manner. 

October  i^th,  Thursday,  i86f. — The  march,  for  the  last  two 
or  three  days,  had  been  tedious  and  very  fatiguing  as,  in  one 
place,  where  the  road  had  been  along  the  Meango,  the  river 
crowded  so  close  to  a  high  bluff,  that  those  on  foot  must 
either  wade  the  river  or  find  a  passage  over  the  bluff;  the 
boys  chose  the  latter  way  out  of  the  difficulty,  but  to  do  so, 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  83 

had  to  pull  themselves  up  the  almost  perpendicular  rock. 
This  was  very  fatiguing  work,  but  they  thought  it  better 
than  cold  water  on  a  cold  day. 

At  this  camp  on  Mack's  Creek  the  regiment  remained  all 
day  (for  rest,  it  was  said)  but  in  the  light  of  after  events,  it  is 
more  than  probable  that  the  regiment  was  ahead  of  schedule 
time,  and  had  one  day  to  spare  ;  and  Colonel  Wyman  would 
not  want  to  be  ahead  of  time,  any  more  than  to  be  tardy— and 
the  latter  would  have  been  considered  an  unpardonable  sin. 

The  boys  had  a  good  growl  here  over  the  fact  that  there 
were  in  this  camp  no  rations  of  sugar  or  coffee. 

October  251/1. — The  regiment  marched  twelve  miles,  over 
fine  roads  and  reached  Grand  Prairie,  which  strongly  re 
minded  the  boys  of  Illinois.  On  the  west  of  the  prairie,  was 
a  fine  little  village  called  L/ewisburg,  where  several  loyal 
people  welcomed  us,  and  a  young  lady  was  so  strongly  loyal 
that  she  appeared  on  the  gallery  with  the  Stars  and  Stripes 
worn  draped  as  an  apron.  Under  the  circumstances,  it  seemed 
an  extremely  rash  thing  to  do,  as  spies  from  the  woods  close 
by  would  be  pretty  sure  to  see  it  and  lay  up  a  store  of  ven 
geance  for  future  use. 

October  26th. — Marched  thirty-four  miles  and  reached 
Bolivar  at  4  p.  m.  Here,  the  Linn  Creek  and  Springfield, 
and  Jefferson  City  and  Springfield  roads  connect,  and  here  we 
witnessed  the  passing  of  a  great  army.  This,  then,  was 

"THE   POMP   AND   CIRCUMSTANCE   OF   GLORIOUS   WAR." 

It  is  true,  that  this  great  army  "  marched  up  the  hill  and 
then  marched  down  again,"  but  this  is  very  often  the  case  in 
military  life. 

Our  regiment  was  camped  just  south  of  the  town,  which 
has  been  a  nice  town,  but  is  now  shabby  enough.  The 
trundling  of  artillery  wagons,  and  tramp  of  regiments,  was 
going  on  all  night,  and  still  they  continued  to  come  on  and 
press  forward. 

October  2?th. — Sunday  our  regiment  remained  in  camp  all 


84  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

day,  and  our  chaplain  preached.  Steady  stream  of  troops 
passed  all  day  long.  Here  to-day,  many  of  us  had  our  first 
sight  of  General  Fremont,  who  passed  through  on  his  way  to 
Springfield. 

October  28th, — We  made  but  a  patchwork  of  a  march, 
owing  to  so  many  regiments  in  advance  of  us,  and  the  old 
Thirteenth  could  not  let  itself  out  as  it  had  been  in  the  habit 
of  doing. 

October  2(?tk,  Tuesday. — Arrived  at  Springfield,  after  a 
march  of  fifteen  miles,  and  camped  a  mile  from  town,  where 
there  was  plenty  of  good  water.  Comrade  Wilson  E.  Chapel, 
of  Company  F,  records  that  "we  marched  through  town  in 
grand  style  and  received  from  General  Fremont  the  name  of 
his  '  flying  Infantry,'  on  account  of  our  fast  marching." 

It  was  no  more  than  natural  that  we  should  desire  to  visit 
the  now  historic  battle-field  of  Wilson's  Creek  ;  and  for  sev 
eral  days,  we  understood  that  General  Price,  with  his  army, 
was  on  that  same  ground,  ready  to  give  us  battle  ;  and,  on 
November  3d,  it  was  ordered  that  the  army  march  out  and 
attack  Price  ;  and  the  advance  was  on  the  road,  and  our 
regiment  formed,  when  the  order  was  countermanded,  on 
learning  of  the  retreat  southward  of  Price's  army.  Even 
after  this,  very  few  were  permitted  to  go  out  to  the  battle 
field  only  nine  miles  away. 

And  now,  rumor  said  that  General  Fremont  was  removed 
from  his  command,  and  succeeded  by  General  Hunter.  And, 
as  this  subject  is  to  occupy  our  attention  long  enough  to 
allow  the  side-lights  of  later  developed  history  to  shed  all 
possible  light  on  a  (then)  much  misunderstood  matter,  and  in 
that  misunderstanding  lay  wrapt  up  enough  dangerously  de 
structive  dynamite  to  threaten  the  very  existence  of  the  army 
then  at  Springfield,  we  must  approach  the  subject  from  both 
our  own  (as  then  understood)  point  of  view,  and  next,  from 
that  of  the  Government,  after  a  thorough  official  investiga 
tion  ;  and  we  are  fortunate  in  not  approaching  this  delicate 
matter  too  soon  for  the  whole  truth  to  be  transmitted  to  those 
who  may  read  this  history  after  we  shall  be  gone. 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  85 

To  open  the  subject,  I  quote  from  the  diary  of  comrade 
Wilson  E.  Chapel,  of  Company  F  : 

"  On  the  gth  of  November,  we  learned  that  General  Fre 
mont  had  been  removed  from  his  command.  This  caused  a 
general  feeling  of  indignation  among  the  troops,  for  he  is  be 
lieved  by  all  of  us  to  be  just  the  man  for  the  place  and  for  us. 

SOME   OF     THE    REGIMENTS     THREATENED     TO     STACK    THEIR 

ARMS 

and  never  take  them  till  he  was  restored  to  his  command  ; 
and  I  believe  that  if  one  regiment  had  set  the  example,  all 
the  rest  would  have  followed  suit." 

This  admiration  for  Fremont  was  general,  not  only 
throughout  the  army,  but  throughout  the  country  as  well. 
Even  the  school  books  had  set  Fremont  before  the  children, 
as  a  kind  of  hero  of  romance.  He  had  saved  California  to 
the  United  States,  -was  the  "  Pathfinder  of  the  Rocky  Mount 
ains,"  and  had  encountered,  in  his  route  of  explorations, 
mountain  canyons  filled  with  snow  seventy  feet  deep.  Being 
in  Europe  when  the  war  broke  out,  and  knowing  that  the 
arms  were  in  the  hands  of  the  rebels,  he  purchased  all  the 
small  arms  he  could,  and  forwarded  them  to  this  country,  and 
himself  hastened  home  and  offered  his  services  to  the  Gov 
ernment. 

Many  of  us  supposed  that  he  almost  created  the  fleet  of 
gun-boats  on  the  Mississippi.  And  now,  at  Springfield,  we 
supposed  that  we  saw  the  best  equipped  army  then  in  the 
country,  created  and  mobilized  by  the  genius  of  Fremont. 

Let  us  see  if  any  sacrilegious  iconoclast  dare  strike  a  blow 
at  this,  our  idol  ! 

Adjutant- General  Lorenzo  Thomas,  United  States  Army, 
was  ordered,  by  Secretary  of  War,  Cameron,  to  investigate 
the  charges  against  General  Fremont,  and,  in  part,  says, 
on  October  nth,  1861. 

"  SIR  :  I  have  the  honor  to  submit  the  report  requested 
in  your  letter  of  the  igth  instant  *  *  *  *  General 


86  HISTORY   OF   THE    THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

Curtis  said  of  Fremont,  that  the  latter  never  consulted  him  on 
military  matters,  nor  informed  him  of  his  plans.  General 
Curtis  remarked  that  while  he  would  go  witrl  freedom  to  Gen 
eral  Scott  and  express  his  opinions,  he  would  not  dare  to  do  so 
to  General  Fremont.  He  deemed  General  Fremont  unequal 
to  the  command  of  an  army,  and  said  that  he  was  no  more 
bound  by  the  law,  than  by  the  winds.  *  *  *  *  Colonel 
Andrews,  chief  paymaster  called  and  represented  irregularities 
in  the  Pay  Department,  and  desired  instructions  from  the 
Secretary  for  his  government,  stating  that  he  was  required  to 
make  payments  and  transfers  of  money  contrary  to  law  and 
regulations.  Once,  upon  objecting  to  what  he  conceived  an 
improper  payment,  he  was  threatened  with  confinement  by  a 
file  of  soldiers.  *  *  *  *  The  following  is  a  copy  of  one 
of  his  appointments  : 

"  'ST.  Louis,  August  28th,  1861. 

"  '  SIR  :  You  are  hereby  appointed  Captain  of  Cavalry,  to 
be  employed  in  the  land  transportation  department  and  will 
report  for  duty  at  these  headquarters. 

J.  C.  FREMONT,  Major-General,  commanding. 
["  '  To  Captain  Felix  Vogelt,  present.'] 

"  I  also  saw  a  similar  appointment  given  to  an  individual 
on  General  Fremont's  staff,  as  director  of  music,  with  the 
rank  and  commission  of  captain  of  engineers. 

"  THIS  PERSON  WAS  A  MUSICIAN  IN  A  THEATRE    IN   ST.  LOUIS. 

ft*-**"  Among  the  supplies  sent  by  General  Fremont 
to  the  army  now  in  the  field  may  be  enumerated  five  hundred 
half-barrels,  to  carry  water  in  a  country  of  abundant  supply, 
and  five  hundred  tons  of  ice.  *  #  #  #  General  Hunter 
stated  that  he  had  just  received  a  written  report  from  one  of 
his  colonels,  informing  him  that  but  twenty  out  of  one  hun 
dred  of  his  guns  would  go  off.  These  were  the  guns  procured 
by  General  Fremont  in  Europe.  I  may  here  state  that  Gen 
eral  Sherman  at  Louisville,  made  a  similar  complaint  of  the 
great  inferiority  of  these  European  arms.  *  *  *  *  In 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  87 

conversation  with  Colonel  Swords,  Assistant  Quartermaster- 
General  at  Louisville,  just  from  California,  he  stated  that  Mr. 
Selover,  who  was  in  Europe  with  General  Fremont,  wrote  to 
some  friend  in  San  Francisco  that  his  share  of  the  profit  of  the 
purchase  of  these  arms  was  thirty  thousand  dollars. 

"  When  General  Hunter,  at  Jefferson  City,  received  orders 
to  march  to  Tipton,  he  was  directed  to  take  forty -one  wagons 
with  him,  when  he  had  only  forty  mules,  which  fact  had  been 
duly  reported  to  headquarters.  *  *  *  *  General  Hunter 
stated  that,  though  second  in  command,  he  never  was  con 
sulted  by  General  Fremont,  and  knew  nothing  whatever -of 
his  intentions.  Such  a  parallel,  I  venture  to  assert,  can  not  be 
found  in  the  annals  of  military  warfare.  I  have  also  been 
informed  that  there  is  not  a  Missourian  on  his  staff,  nor  a  man 
acquainted  personally  with  the  topography  and  physical  char 
acteristics  of  the  country  or  its  people.  *  *  *  * 

"On  his  arrival  at  St.  Louis,  General  Fremont  was  met 
by  Captain  Cavender,  First  Missouri,  and  Major  Farrar,  Aid 
to  General  Lyon,  with  statements  from  the  latter,  and  asking 
for  reinforcements.  To  Governor  Gamble  he  said,  '  General 
Lyon  is  as  strong  as  any  other  officer  on  this  line.'  He  failed 
to  strengthen  Lyon,  and  the  result,  as  is  well  known,  was  the 
defeat  of  that  most  gallant  officer.  The  two  regiments  at  Rolla 

' '  SHOULD    HAVE    BEEN    PUSHED    FORWARD, 

and  the  whole  of  Pope's  nine  regiments  brought  by  rail  to 
St.  Louis  and  Rolla,  and  thence  sent  to  Lyon's  force.  Any 
other  general,  in  such  an  emergency,  would  have  pursued  this 
obvious  course.  *  *  *  * 

"  General  Fremont  called  four  regiments  from  North  Mis 
souri,  and  went  with  them  to  Cairo.  It  is  evident  he  had  no 
intention  of  reinforcing  General  Lyon,  for  the  two  regiments 
at  Rolla,  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  miles  from  Springfield, 
received  no  orders  to  march,  and  were  not  supplied  with  trans 
portation  ;  and  thirty  or  forty  hired  wagons,  just  returned 
from  Springfield,  were  discharged  at  Rolla,  August  4th,  seven 


88  HISTORY   OF    THE    THIRTEENTH     REGIMENT 

days  before  the  battle,  and  returned  to  St.  Louis.  After  the 
news  of  the  battle  reached  St.  Louis,  four  other  regiments 
were  drawn  from  Pope,  in  North  Missouri,  and  sent  to  Rolla. 
Better  to  have  called  in  these  before  the  tattle,  as  after  the 
battle  the  whole  revolutionary  elements  were  called  forth. 
The  six  regiments  accomplished  nothing,  and  were  not  or 
dered  to  advance  and  cover  the  retreat  of  Lyon's  army, 
although  it  was  supposed,  in  St.  Louis,  that  Price  and  Mc- 
Culloch  were  following  it,  and  that  Hardee  had  moved  up  to 
cut  off  its  retreat  on  the  Gasconade.  An  advance  of  these 
regiments  would  have  enabled  the  army  to  retrace  its  steps 
and  to  beat  the  forces  of  Price  and  McCulloch  so  badl}',  that 
they  would  have  been  unable  to  follow  our  forces  in  their 
retreat.  It  is  said  that  every  officer  in  Lyon's  army  expected 
to  meet  re -enforcements  and  to  return  with  them,  and  drive 
Price  and  McCulloch  from  the  southwest. 

"  General  Hunter  arrived  at  St.  Louis  from  Chicago,  called 
thither  on  a  suggestion  from  Washington,  as  an  adviser. 
General  Fremont  submitted  to  him,  for  consideration  and 
advice,  a  paper  called  '  Disposition  for  retaking  Springfield/ 
It  sets  out  with  a  statement  that  Springfield  is  the  strong 
strategical  point  of  that  wide  elevation  which  separates  the 
waters  of  the  Osage  from  those  of  the  Arkansas  ; 

"THE   KEY   TO   THE   WHOLE    OF  SOUTHWESTERN    MISSOURI, 

commanding  an  area  of  nearly  sixty  thousand  miles.  Why 
did  not  this  enter  the  brain  of  the  Major-General  before  the 
fall  of  I/yon  and  he  strain  every  nerve  to  hold  that  important 
key  when  in  his  possession  ? 

"  General  Hunter,  to  the  paper,  replied,  'Why  march  on 
Springfield,  where  there  is  no  enemy,  and  nothing  to  take? 
Let  me  take  the  troops  and  proceed  to  Lexington,'  in  which 
direction  Price  was  marching,  and  where  he  expected  to  be 
joined  by  four  thousand  rebels. 

"  Instead  of  this  he  was  sent  to  Rolla,  without  instruc 
tions,  and  remained  there  until  ordered  to  Jefferson  City,  still 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  89 

without  instructions,  and  thence  to  Tipton  where  we  found 
him. 

"  No  steps  having  been  taken  by  General  Fremont  to  meet 
Price  in  the  field,  he  moved  forward  his  line  of  march,  plainly 
indicating  his  intention  of  proceeding  to  Lexington.  When 
within  some  thirty-five  miles  of  the  place  he  remained  ten  or 
more  days,  evidently  expecting  that  some  movement  would 
be  made  against  him.  None  being  made,  he  advanced  and 
with  his  much  superior  force  laid  siege  to  Lexington,  defended 
by  Mulligan,  with  two  thousand  seven  hundred  men,  Septem 
ber  1 2th,  and  captured  it  the  2ist,  nine  days  thereafter. 

"Now  for  the  facts  to  show  that  this  catastrophe  could 
have  been  prevented,  and  Price's  army  destroyed  before  or 
after  that  disastrous  affair. 

"Before  Price  got  to  Lexington  the  forces  to  resist  him 
were  as  follows  :  Jefferson  City,  five  thousand  five  hundred  ; 
at  Rolla,  four  thousand  ;  along  the  Hannibal  and  St.  Joseph 
railroad,  about  five  thousand  ;  western  line  of  Mississippi, 
down  near  Fort  Scott,  two  thousand  three  hundred  ;  Mulli 
gan's  force  at  Lexington,  two  thousand  seven  hundred  ;  a 
large  force  in  Illinois  along  the  Mississippi  river,  and  on  the 
Iowa  line,  outside  of  St.  Louis,  some  seventeen  thousand  ;  in 
St.  Louis,  eighteen  thousand,  but  say — ten  thousand.  Total, 
forty-six  thousand  five  hundred. 

"  Hunter's  plan  up  to  Sunday,  September  22d,  was  to  con 
centrate  from  St.  Louis,  Jefferson  City,  and  Rolla,  also  from 
the  Hannibal  and  St.  Joseph  railroad,  twenty  thousand  men, 
and  relieve  Mulligan.  He  said  that  if  Price  was  a  soldier, 
Lexington  had  then  fallen  ;  but  he  could,  with  energy,  be 
captured  with  all  his  baggage  and  plunder.  The  objection 
that  there  was  no  transportation  is  idle.  The  railroads  and 
river  were  at  command,  and  the  march  from  Sedalia  was  only 
forty -five  miles.  The  force  could,  so  General  Hunter  sup 
posed,  be  thrown  into  Lexington  by  Thursday,  as  it  appears, 
before  it  was  taken. 

"  General  Fremont  ordered  Sturgis,  in  North  Missouri,  to 
Lexington,  and  by  crossing  the  river  to  reinforce  Mulligan. 


90  HISTORY    OF  THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

Sturgis  had  only  eleven  hundred  men,  and  on  reaching  the 
river  opposite  the  town  found  it  commanded  by  Price,  and  of 
course  was  compelled  to  fall  back.  ^ 

"  Hunter's  plan  of  moving  these  troops  was  to  strike  the 
river  at  a  point  below  Lexington  in  our  control,  cross,  and 
march  up  to  the  place. 

"  In  the  interview  with  General  Fremont,  the  question  was 
asked  whether  any  orders  had  been  given  to  reinforce  Mulli 
gan,  and  the  reply  being  in  the  negative,  General  Hunter 
suggested  orders  to  Sturgis  ;  and  had  the  order  then  been 
given  by  telegraph,  he  would  have  reached  the  river  before 
Price  had  taken  possession  of  the  north  bank,  and  could  have 
crossed.  The  order  was  not  given  until  three  days  after  the 
interview.  This  loss  of  time  was  fatal. 

"  Mulligan  was  ordered  from  Jefferson  City,  then  garri 
soned  with  five  thousand  troops,  with  only  one  regiment,  to 
hold  Lexington  until  he  could  be  relieved.  When  Lexing 
ton  fell,  Price  had  twenty  thousand  men,  his  force  receiving 
daily  augmentations  from  the  disaffected  in  the  State.  He 
was  permitted  to  gather  much  plunder,  and  fall  back  towards 
Arkansas  unmolested,  until  we  were  at  Tipton,  the  i3th  of 
October,  when  the  accounts  were  that  he  was  crossing  the 
Osage. 

"  Fremont's  order  of  march  was  issued  to  an  army  of 
nearly  forty  thousand,  many  of  the  regiments  badly  equipped, 
with  inadequate  supplies  of  ammunition,  clothing  and  trans 
portation. 

"With  what  prospect  (it  must  be  inquired)  can  General 
Fremont,  under  such  circumstances,  expect  to  overtake  a  re 
treating  army,  some  one  hundred  miles  ahead,  with  a  deep 
river  between  ? 

' '  General  Hunter  expressed  to  the  Secretary  of  War,  his 
decided  opinion  that  General  Fremont  was  incompetent  and 
unfit  for  his  extensive  and  important  command.  This  opt 
ion,  he  gave  reluctantly,  owing  to  his  position  as  second  in 
command.  The  opinion  entertained  by  gentlemen  who  have 
approached  General  Fremont  and  observed  him  is,  that  he  is 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  91 

more  fond  of  the  pomp,  than  of  the  stern  realities  of  war ; 
that  his  mind  is  incapable  of  fixed  attention  or  strong  concen 
tration  ;  that  by  his  mismanagement  of  affairs  since  his  ar 
rival  in  Missouri, 

' '  THE   STATE    HAS   ALMOST   BEEN   LOST. 

and  that  if  he  is  continued  in  command,  the  worst  results  may 
be  anticipated.  This  is  the  concurrent  testimony  of  a  large 
number  of  the  most  intelligent  men  in  Missouri." 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  October  24,  1861. 
Brigadier-General  S.  R.  CURTIS  : 

DEAR  SIR  :  Ou  receipt  of  this,  with  the  accompanying  iuclqsure, 
you  will  take  safe,  certain,  and  suitable  measures  to  have  the  inclosure, 
addressed  to  Major-General  Fremont  delivered  to  him  with  all  reason 
able  dispatch,  subject  to  these  conditions  only,  that  if,  when  General 
Fremont  shall  be  reached  by  the  messenger— yourself  or  any  one  sent 
by  you -he  shall  then  have,  in  personal  command,  fought  and  won  a 
battle,  or  shall  be  in  the  immediate  presence  of  the  enemy  in  expecta 
tion  of  a  battle,  it  is  not  to  be  delivered  but  held  for  further  orders. 
After,  and  not  till  after,  the  delivery  to  General  Fremont,  let  the  iuclo- 
sure  addressed  to  General  Hunter  be  delivered  to  him. 

Your  obedient  servant, 

A.  LINCOLN. 

GENERAL  ORDERS  >      HEADQUARTERS  OF  THE  ARMY, 

No.   1 8.  \  WASHINGTON,  October  24th,  1861. 

Major-General  Fremont,  of  the  United  States  Army,  the  present 
Commander  of  the  Western  Department  of  the  same,  will,  on  the  receipt 
of  this  order,  call  Major  General  Hunter  of  the  United  States  Volunteers, 
to  relieve  him  temporarily  in  that  command,  when  he  (Major- General 
Fremont)  will  report  to  General  Headquarters,  by  letter,  for  further 
orders. 

By  command—  WINFIED  SCOTT, 

Fv.  D.  TOWNSEND, 

Assistant  Adjutant-General. 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  October  24th,  18  i. 
Brigadier-General  S.  R.  CURTIS. 

MY  DEAR  SIR  :  Herewith  is  a  document— half  letter,  half  order — 
which,  wishing  you  to  see,  but  not  to  make  public,  I  send  unsealed. 
Please  read  it,  and  then  inclose  it  to  the  officer  who  may  be  in  command 
of  the  Department  of  the  West  at  the  time  it  reaches  him.  I  can  not 
now  know  whether  Fremont  or  Hunter  will  then  be  in  command. 

Yours  truly,  A.  LINCOLN. 


92  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

This  letter  contained  suggestions  to  halt  his  main  army, 
divide  it  into  two  corps  of  observation,  one  occupying  Sedalia, 
and  the  other  Rolla.  Then  recruit  the  condition  of  both  corps 
by  re-establishing  and  improving  their  discipline,  etc.,  but 
largely  discretionary.  Thinks  any  further  pursuit  of  Price 
unwise. 

SPRINGFIELD,  Mo.,  i  a.  m.,  October  3oth,  1861. 
Brigadier- General  D.  HUNTER. 

GENERAL  :  I  am  directed  by  the  Commanding  General  to  inform 
you  that  he  has  received  information  that  the  rebel  army  is  marching 
directly  on  this  place.  He  therefore  orders  that  you  march  immediately 
to  join  him  at  this  place  with  your  command,  and  that  it  will  require 
your  utmost  exertions  to  reach  him  in  time  to  aid  with  your  troops. 
Same  to  Pope,  McKinstry,  Sturgis  and  Lane. 

EATON, 
Acting  Assistant  Adjutant-General  to  FREMONT. 

SPRINGFIELD,  Mo.,  October  3ist,  1861. 
Same  to  Same  : 

Since  forwarding  the  dispatch  of  last  night,  duplicates  of  which  are 
herewith  sent,  the  General  commanding  has  received  more  positive 
information  of  the  movement  of  the  rebel  army,  which  is  now,  or  soon 
will  be,  but  a  day's  march  from  this  place.  You  will,  therefore,  see  the 
imperative  necessity  of  moving  with  the  greatest  celerity,  even  if  your 
command  has  to  live  on  beef  alone.  Please  acknowledge  receipt 
instantly. 

SPRINGFIELD,  MISSOURI, 

November,  2d,  1861. 
Brigadier-General  D.  HUNTER. 

GENERAL:  Your  dispatch  of  this  day  en  route  is  received.  General 
Fremont  directs  me  to  say,  that  having  been  relieved  from  the  command 
of  the  Western  Department,  and  having  relinquished  command  in  orders 
into  the  hands  of  Major-General  Hunter,  when  you  reach  here  the  con 
trol  of  the  public  service  at  this  point  will  fall  upon  you.  You  should, 
therefore,  he  says,  push  on  to  reach  here  with  all  dispatch. 

EATON, 
Act.  Asst.-Adjt.  Gen. 

General  Orders  -»        HEADQUARTERS  WESTERN  DEPARTMENT, 
No.  28.          j  SPRINGFIELD,  MISSOURI,  November  2,  1861. 

In  compliance  with  General  Orders,  No.  18,  from  the  Headquarters 

of  the   Army,  this   day  received,  the   undersigned  hereby  relinquishes 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  93 

command  of  the  Western  Department,  and  of  this  army  in  the  field,  into 
the  hands  of  Major-General  D.  Hunter,  U.  S.  Vols. 

J.  C.  FREMONT, 

Maj.-Gen.  U.  S.  Army. 

SPRINGFIELD,  MISSOURI, 

November  2d,  1861. 
Major-General  D.  HUNTER,  en  route. 

GENERAL  :  I  am  directed  by  Major-General  Fremont  to  inform  you 
that  the  advance  guard  of  the  enemy  will  b%  at  Wilson's  Creek  to-night. 
The  Union  men  are  flocking  in  here  for  protection,  and  he  urges  you  to 
hurry  forward  your  division  with  all  possible  celerity,  and  to  push  on 
yourself  in  person,  to  assume  the  command. 

-  EATON, 

Act.  Asst.  Adjt.-Gen. 

We  search  these  War  Records  in  vain,  for  any  verification 
of  the  camp  rumors  prevalent  at  the  time,  and  long  afterwards, 
to  the  effect  that  General  Fremont  placed  every  possible 
obstacle  in  the  way  of  General  Hunter's  assuming  command 
of  the  army,  until  after  a  battle  could  be  fought. 

FREMONT'S  FAREWELL  TO  HIS  ARMY. 

SPRINGFIELD,  Mo.,  November  2d,  1861. 
SOLDIERS  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI   ARMY  : 

Agreeably  to  orders  this  day  received,  I  take  leave  of  you.  Al 
though  our  army  has  been  of  sudden  growth,  we  have  grown  up  to 
gether,  and  I  have  become  familiar  with  the  brave  and  generous  spirit 
which  you  bring  to  the  defense  of  your  country,  and  which  makes  me 
anticipate  for  you  a  brilliant  career.  Continue  as  you  have  begun,  and 
give  to  my  successor  the  same  cordial  and  enthusiastic  support  with 
which  you  have  encouraged  me.  Emulate  the  splendid  example  which 
you  have  already  before  you,  and  let  me  remain,  as  I  am,  proud  of  the 
noble  army  which  I  had  thus  far  labored  to  bring  together. 

Soldiers,  I  regret  to  leave  you.  Most  sincerely  I  thank  you  for  the 
regard  and  confidence  you  have  invariably  shown  to  me.  I  deeply  re 
gret  that  I  shall  not  have  the  honor  to  lead  you  to  the  victory  which 
you  are  just  about  to  win,  but  I  shall  claim  to  share  with  you  in  the 
joy  of  every  triumph,  and  trust  always  to  be  fraternally  remembered  by 
my  companions  in  arms. 

J.  C.  FREMONT, 
Major-General  United  States  Army. 


CHAPTER   VIII. 

FREMONT  REMOVED.  —HUNTER  SUCCEEDS  HIM  AND  REPU 
DIATES  HIS  NEGOTIATIONS  WITH  PRICE  ;  AND  THE 
LATTER  IN  FULL  RETREAT  SOUTH. 

*t 

Y  implication,  the  report  of  the  Adjutant- 
General  of  the  army,  in  the  investigation  of 
General  Fremont's  administration  of  the 
Department  of  the  West,  by  order  of  the 
Secretary  of  War,  fragments  of  which  we 
have  given  in  preceding  chapter,  General  Fremont  is 
charged  with  the  needless  sacrifice  of  both  Lyon  and 
Mulligan,  and  thereby  dangerously  jeopardizing  the 
Union  cause  in  that  department,  and  that  another  fine  army 
may  now  be  sacrificed  by  his  incornpetency,  unless  imme 
diately  removed.  It  is  noticeable  th  it  in  three  different  orders 
to  General  Hunter,  during  the  last  three  days  of  General 
Fremont's  command  at  Springfield,  he  represents  Price  at 
three  different  stages  of  rapid  approach,  and  thus  throwing 
down  the  gage  of  battle. 

Our  army,  without  moving  out  of  camp  to    secure  posi 
tion,    and  without  changing  anything,   except  commanders, 
four  days  thereafter  beheld  the  army  of  Price  in  full  retreat. 
It  is  a  question  whether  this  meant  that  Price  did  want  to 
fight  Fremont,  but  did  not  want  to  fight  Hunter. 

HEADQUARTERS  WESTERN  DEPARTMENT, 

November  3d,  via  ROLLA,  MISSOURI, 

November  yth,  1861. 
ADJUTANT-GENERAL,  U.  S.  ARMY. 

SIR  :     I   take  command  of  the  Department  to-day.     General  Fre 
mont  left  for  the  East  this  morning.     I  do  not  think  the  enemy  is  in 

94 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  95 

force  in  our  neighborhood.  I  will  telegraph  you  daily.  [It  turned  out 
that  on  that  identical  day,  November  yth,  Price  left  Cassville  in  full 
retreat  upon  Arkansas,  and  McCulloch  one  day  sooner.] 

The  above,  in  face  of  the  fact  that,  for  seven  days,  General 
Fremont  had  been  urging  forward  the  troops  by  forced 
marches  to  meet  the  enemy,  who^Tie  says,  "will  be  at  Wil 
son's  Creek  on  the  night  of  November  2d."  On  November  ist 
General  Fremont  urges  forward  with  the  greatest  celerity, 
and  that  a  forced  march  is  imperatively  necessary.  Novem 
ber  2d  he  urges  General  Hunter  forward  "with  all  possible 
celerity."  And  General  Pope,  in  special  orders,  expresses 
his  "  high  appreciation  of  the  soldierly  response  of  the  Thirty- 
seventh  Illinois,  by  a  forced  march  to  Springfield,  but  which," 
he  says,  "  proved  to  be  unnecessary." 

The  following  communication  will  explain  itself: 

SPRINGFIELD,  MISSOURI,  November  yth,  1861. 
ADJUTANT-GENERAL  U.  S.  ARMY. 

GENERAL  :  Inclosed  you  will  find  copies  of  certain  negotiations 
carried  on  between  Major-General  J.  C.  Fremont,  of  the  first  part,  and 
Major- General  Sterling  Price,  of  the  second,  having  for  objects,  first,  to 
make  arrangements  for  the  exchange  of  prisoners  ;  second,  to  prevent 
arrests  or  forcible  interference  in  future  "  for  the  mere  entertainment  or 
expression  of  political  opinions"  ;  third,  to  insure  that  "the  war  now 
progressing  shall  be  confined  exclusively  to  armies  in  the  field  ";  and 
fourth,  the  immediate  disbandinent  of  "  all  bodies  of  armed  men  acting 
without  the  authority  or  recognition  of  the  major-generals  named,  and 
not  legitimately  connected  with  the  armies  in  the  field." 

You  will  also  find  inclosed  (D)  a  copy  of  my  letter  of  this  date,  dis 
patched  under  a  flag  of  truce  to  General  Price,  stating  that  "  I  can  in 
no  manner  recognize  the  agreement  aforesaid,  or  any  of  its  provisions, 
whether  implied  or  direct,  and  that  I  can  neither  issue  nor  allow  to  be 
issued,  the  joint  proclamation  purporting  to  have  been  signed  by  Gen 
erals  Price  and  Fremont  on  the  first  day  of  November,  A.  D.  1861." 

It  would  be,  in  my  judgment  impolitic  in  the  highest  degree  to  have 
ratified  General  Fremont's  negotiations,  for  the  following,  amongst 
many  other,  obvious  reasons.  The  second  stipulation,  if  acceded  to, 
would  render  the  enforcement  of  martial  law  in  Missouri,  or  in  any  part 
of  it,  impossible,  and  would  give  absolute  liberty  to  the  propangandists  of 
treason  throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  State.  The  third 


96       HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRTEENTH  REGIMENT 

stipulation,  confirming  operations  exclusively  to  armies  in  the  field, 
"would  practically  annul  the  confiscation  act  passed  during  the  last 
session  of  Congress  ;  and  would  furnish  perfect  immunity  to  those  dis 
banded  soldiers  of  Price's  command  who  have  now  returned  to  their 
homes,  but  with  the  intention,  and  under  a  pledge  of  rejoining  the  rebel 
forces  whenever  called  upon.  And  lastly,  because  the  fourth  stipulation 
would  blot  out  of  existence  ,the  loyal  men  of  the  Home  Guard,  who 
have  not,  it  is  alleged,  been  recognized  by  act  of  Congress,  and  who,  it 
would  be  claimed,  are  therefore  "  not  legitimately  connected  with  the 
armies  in  the  field." 

There  are  many  more  objections  quite  as  powerful  and  obvious 
which  might  be  urged  against  ratifying  this  agreement.  Its  address, 
<l  to  all  peaceably  disposed 

''CITIZENS  OF  THE  STATE  OF  MISSOURI," 

fairly  allowing  the  inference  to  be  drawn  that  citizens  of  the  United 
States,  the  loyal  and  true  men  of  Missouri,  are  not  included  within  its 
benefits.  In  fact,  the  agreement  would  seem  to  me,  if  ratified,  a  conces 
sion  of  all  the  principles  for  which  the  rebel  leaders  are  contending, 
and  a  practical  liberation,  for  use  in  other  and  more  immediately 
important  localities,  of  all  their  forces  now  kept  employed  in  this 
portion  of  the  State. 

I   have  the   honor  to   be,    General,  very   respectfully,    your  most 

obedient  servant, 

D.  HUNTER,  Major-General  Commanding. 

November  pt/i,  1861. — General  H.  W.  Halleck  takes  com 
mand  of  the  Department  of  the  Missouri. 

HEADQUARTERS,  CAMP  IN  BENTON  COUNTY,  MISSOURI, 
Fifteen  miles  south  of  Warsaw,  November  nth,  1861. 

L.  THOMAS,  Adjutant  United  States  Army. 

GENERAL  :  In  conformity  with  the  views  of  the  President,  in 
which  I  fully  concur,  I  fall  back  on  Rolla  and  Sedalia.  Price  left  Cass- 
ville  on  the  7th  in  full  retreat  upon  Arkansas,  McCulloch  having  pre 
ceded  him  by  one  day's  march,  and  I  have  no  doubt  they  are  both  now 
out  of  this  State.  My  command  is  in  good  order  and  fine  spirits. 
Please  correct  a  slander  which  has  gone  forth  with  regard  to  the  Ger 
mans.  An  effort  was  made  to  induce  them  to  mutiny  ;  and  I  have 
found  them  loyal  and  efficient. 

I  shall  order  to  St.  Louis,  about  eighteen  thousand  men,  ready  for 
service  at  the  South,  retaining  sufficient  garrison  for  Rolla  and  Sedalia. 

D.  HUNTER, 

Brig.  Gen.  Comd'g. 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  97 

Same  to   same  : 

Nov.  nth,  1861. 

GENERAL  :  Great  portions  of  the  army  stores  and  other  public 
property  in  the  department  are  in  the  hands  of  irresponsible,  ignorant 
and  illegally  appointed  persons,  who  have  given  no  security,  hold  no 
commissions,  and  are  accountable  to  no  tribunal. 

THIS   MUST  BE   AT  ONCE   CORRECTED, 

and  the  department  placed  on  a  basis  of  integrity,  capacity,  and  respon 
sibility.     *    *    *    *  D.  HUNTER, 

Brig.  Gen.  Comd'g. 

HEADQUARTERS  C.  S.  A.,  RICHMOND,  VA. 

November  3Oth,  1861. 
General  BEN.  McCuLLOCH. 

SIR  :  /  can  not  understand  why  you  withdrew  your  troops,  instead 
of  pursuing  the  enemy,  when  his  leaders  were  quarreling,  and  his  army 
separated  into  parts  under  different  commanders:  SEND  AN  EXPLANA 
TION.  JUDAH  P.  BENJAMIN, 

Sec.  of  War,  C.  S.  A. 

It  seems  from  the  above,  that  General  McCulloch,  in  his 
reports  to  his  chief,  did  not  keep  his  words  close  together  or, 
in  other  words,  had  "  drawn  the  long  bow." 

On  this  identical  date,  Colonel  Wyman  wrote  General 
Halleck  that  McCulloch  was  ordered  North  but  refused  to 
go  and  is  falling  back  into  Arkansas.  Colonel  Wyman  has  a 
scout  who  is  cousin  to  Price's  quartermaster,  and  is  reliable. 

The  reader  will  have  discovered  before  following  this  his 
tory  thus  far,  that  its  historians  have  found  means,  not  only 
to  find  access  to  the  papers  of  the  officers  of  our  Union  gener 
als  in  command,  but  have  compelled,  not  only  Price,  McCul 
loch,  Pillow,  and  other  Confederate  generals,  to  report  to  the 
Thirteenth  Illinois,  but  even  the  headquarters  at  Richmond, 
with  its  Cabinet  officers,  including  JefF  Davis  himself,  have 
promptly,  though  reluctantly,  delivered  up  their  papers  for 
the  inspection  of  the  Thirteenth  Illinois.  And  so  your  histo 
rian  has  kept  you  lingering  about  Springfield,  until  Price  & 
Co.  complied  with  our  order  to  send  in  their  reports,  which 


98  HISTORY   OF   THE    THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

you  have  just  read  ;  so  now  we  are  ready  to  march  to-morrow 
morning  back  towards  Rolla. 

November  nth,  Monday.  —  Reveille  roused  us  at  2:30  and 
we  were  on  the  road  at  5  a.  m.  The  weather  was  rough  and 
windy,  and  threatened  rain.  We  took  the  direct  road  back 
to  Rolla,  which  was  new  to  us,  as  but  few  of  the  regiment  had 
ever  been  over  this  particular  road.  We  passed  through 
Sand  Spring,  Lebanon,  Hazle  Green,  Belfort  and  Waynes- 
ville. 

November  i2th. — On  Tuesday  we  started  at  daylight  and 
marched  about  twenty-five  miles.  Our  camp  was  in  a  large 
meadow,  and  the  hardships  'undergone  by  reason  of  the  long 
and  tedious  march  were  partly  assuaged  and  compensated  for 
by  plenty  of  fresh  pork.  No  good  soldier  will  go  back  on  the 
hog  ;  but  all  will  admit,  yea,  stoutly  maintain,  that  the  hog 
is  a  public  benefactor. 

November  i^tJi. — We  marched  sixteen  miles  and  reached 
Lebanon,  where  we  camped  ;  on  Thursday,  the  14,  we  broke 
camp  at  7  a.  m.  and  made  fifteen  miles. 

November  i^th,  Thursday. — We  broke  camp  at  7  a.  m.  and 
marched  on  through  many  discouragements  for  the  men,  many 
of  whom  were  on  the  sick  list,  and  ambulances  were  in  great 
demand,  and  in  many  a  case  a  government  wagon  had  to  do 
the  duty  belonging  to  the  ambulance.  Made  but  fifteen  miles 
and  camped  in  a  corn-field,  where  was  a  fine  little  stream  of 
water. 

November  i^th,  Friday. — We  broke  camp  early  and  at 
ii  a.  m.  arrived  at  a  little  village  called  Waynesville,  where 
we  met  our  supply- train,  which  was  most  acceptable  to  the 
boys,  as  they  were  short  of  rations.  We  rested  here  some  little 
time,  when  we  resumed  our  march,  which  for  the  day  meas 
ured  twenty  miles,  and  carried  us  to  the  Big  Piney  river, 
across  which  on  the  following  cold,  frosty  morning  of  Novem 
ber  1 6th,  the  most  of  the  boys  had  to  wade.  Marching  on  for 
twenty-four  weary  miles,  we  reached  our  winter's  camping- 
ground,  which  proved  to  be  the  former  camping-ground  of  the 
Fourteenth  and  Fifteenth  Illinois. 


ILLINOIS    VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  99 

The  survivors  of  the  Thirteenth  will  long  have  cause  for 
unpleasant  remembrance  of  that  march. 

This  particular  Springfield  campaign,  begun  so  auspi 
ciously,  was  ending  most  disappointingly  and  disagreeably  ; 
for  which  there  were  many  reasons.  Our  boys  had  started 
from  Rolla  with  high  hopes,  perfect  confidence  in  their  leaders 
and  in  themselves,  had  marched  one  hundred  and  twenty 
miles,  some  of  the  marching  having  been,  forced,  at  the  urgent 
request  of  General  Fremont  himself,  until  the  close  proximity 
to  the  rebel  army  of  only  sixteen  miles  ;  and  then,  instead  of 
being  ordered  forward,  had  been  compelled  to  see  the  rebels  in 
full  retreat,  while  we  were  ordered  to  face  to  the  rear,  and  march 
back  again.  Unfortunately,  we  did  not,  and  could  not  know 
that  General  Hunter  was  not  to  blame  for  this,  but  that  Presi 
dent  Lincoln  himself,  had  advised  that  there  could  be  nothing 
gained  by  following  the  fast  retreating  enemy.  Accordingly, 
the  return  march  to  Rolla,  was  commenced  under  conditions 
as  unpleasant  as  unfavorable.  The  winter  was  near  at  hand  ; 
the  weather  was  forbidding  ;  the  country  marched  through 
was  rough  and  uninteresting.  The  Big  Piney  river,  when 
reached,  had  no  bridge,  and  there  were  no  pontoons  with  the 
train  ;  and  so,  most  of  the  infantry  had  to  wade  a  considerable 
river  whose  waters  were  icy  cold.  The  marches  were  long 
and  heavy,  and  many  of  the  boys  fell  sick,  and  becoming 
exhausted,  fell  out  by  the  way,  and  came  hobbling  into  camp 
long  after  dark,  dispirited,  discouraged,  and  hungry,  with  no 
hot,  nourishing  food,  and  in  many  cases,  not  even  the  invig 
orating  hot  coffee.  Dr.  Plummer  was  at  his  wit's  end  to  take 
care  of  those  who  thronged  his  ambulance  accommodations, 
and  it  was  of  daily  occurrence  to  see  himself  and  Colonel 
Wyman,  and  in  fact,  all  the  mounted  officers,  trudging  along 
on  foot  while  the  rank  and  file  were  riding,  generally  double, 
on  the  staff  horses. 

After  nearly  thirty  years,  I  have  in  my  mind  the  case  of  a 
comrade  who  made  that  march  under  circumstances  and  con 
ditions  so  unfavorable,  that  he  is  not  likely  to  forget  it. 

During  our  stay  at  Springfield,  this  comrade  began  to  have 


100  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

boils  develop  themselves  on  different  parts  of  his  body,  which 
so  increased  in  number  that  literally  they  almost  covered  his 
body.  By  actual  count  they  numbered  ever  thirty.  Several 
of  these  sores  developed  into  carbuncles  with  several  heads, 
through  which  they  finally  discharged.  This  was  the  com 
rade's  condition  when  we  commenced  this  march.  So  vigilant 
were  these  ancient  enemies  of  Job,  to  deprive  the  comrade  of 
rest,  that  they  had  so  distributed  themselves  that  he  could  not 
sit  on  the  ground,  he  could  not  sit  in  an  ambulance,  neither 
could  he  ride  a  horse.  The  only  way  he  could  get  any  rest  in 
a  recumbent  posture  was  to  throw  himself  on  his  stomach, 
prone  on  the  ground,  rising  painfully  to  his  feet  when  the 
spell  of  rest  came  to  an  end,  and  the  march  was  resumed. 

During  that  six  days'  march,  no  day  passed  but  brought 
the  colonel,  the  doctor,  and  other  mounted  officers  to  the 
comrade  who  was  trudging  along  so  painfully,  with  urgent 
requests  for  him  to  try  to  ride  their  horses  ;  their  anxiety 
and  sympathy  were  shown  in  their  tear-stained  faces.  They 
brought  an  exquisite  balm  to  his  grateful  soul,  but,  alas  !  no 
bodily  rest. 

Arrived  at  Rolla,  the  two  lieutenants,  with  such  sympa 
thetic  kindness  as  that  comrade  will  never  forget,  vacated 
their  own  tent  for  his  own  especial  use,  and  themselves  sought 
quarters  elsewhere. 

When  the  boils  began  to  disappear,  scurvy  set  in,  which 
was  scarcely  more  endurable  than  the  first.  This  condition 
of  things  held  the  comrade  for  eight  months. 

The  winter  of  1861  and  1862  at  Rolla,  proved  cold  and 
blustering,  with  considerable  snow.  The  boys  resorted  to 
many  ingenious  expedients  to  keep  their  tents  comfortable. 
One  was  to  construct  a  covered  trench  from  the  fire-pit  inside, 
out  under  the  walls  of  the  tent,  when  a  stack  of  empty  flour- 
barrels  would  coax  the  smoke  upward  to  its  top  and  send  it 
on  and  away. 

One  blustering  night,  during  this  winter,  there  came  to 
Rolla  two  bluff  and  hearty  Englishmen  to  visit  the  army. 
They  had  come  in  on  the  train  from  St.  Louis,  and  each  had 


ILLINOIS    VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  IOI 

the  amount  of  luggage  granted  in  the  Magna  Charta,  which 
the  Barons  had  wrung  from  King  John  away  back,  consisting 
of  valises,  grip-sacks,  boxes  and  bundles.  They  came  to  the 
office  of  the  provost-marshal,  and  the  writer  was  detailed  to 
pilot  them  to  a  hotel  a  half  mile  away. 

There  was  considerable  drifted  snow  on  the  ground,  and  a 
driving  snow-storm  then  coming.  I  helped  with  the  luggage 
all  I  could,  and  the  Britishers  beguiled  the  way  with  good- 
natured  jokes  and  badinage.  What  with  the  blinding  driven 
snow,  and  the  frequent  plunging  into  drifts  in  the  darkness, 
the  principal  of  the  two,  got  a  fall.  Not  the  first,  by  any 
means,  nor  yet  the  second,  that  Johnnie  Bull  has  got  by  coming 
over  here  to  look  into  our  affairs. 

In  this  fall,  the  packages  were  scattered  right  and  left,  in 
only  a  little  less  emphatic  manner  than  were  certain  packages 
of  tea  in  Boston  Harbor,  some  years  before  ;  and  my  charge 
rolled  into  a  snow-drift  by  the  side  of  the  walk. 

I  rendered  what  aid  I  could,  and,  amid  their  loud  shouting 
and  laughter,  I  succeeded  in  getting  him  on  his  pins  again, 
and  finally  landed  them  safe  and  sound  at  the  hotel,  amid 
boisterous  thanks  and  offers  of  pay. 

The  gentleman  whom  I  had  helped  out  of  the  snow-drift, 
was  the  celebrated  writer  and  author, 

ANTHONY   TROLLOPE. 

There  was  much  pleasant  weather,  and  we  managed  to 
extract  many  pleasures  from  somewhat  meager  material.  We 
had  a  brass  band  which  was  an  ornamental  and  aesthetic  feature 
of  our  dress  parade  and  guard  mounts.  Lieutenant  Colonel 
Gorgas  was  a  fine  flute  player  ;  John  Burbank,  Company  E, 
was  a  fiddler  ;  Edwin  W.  Loomis,  of  Company  H,  was  a  fine 
clarionet  player  ;  Ben.  Palmer,  of  Company  I,  was  a  guitar 
ist  ;  and  all  these  musicians  readily  got  their  instruments 
transported  and  taken  good  care  of  by  the  wagon  drivers,  for 
the  sake  of  the  music. 

Then  there  was  the  singing.     Lieutenant  James  G.  Ever- 


102  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

est  and  Lieutenant  Isaiah  H.  Williams,  both  of  Company  I, 
and  Frank  Brown,  and  Orrin  V.  Anderson,  both  of  the  latter 
of  Company  H,  were  all  fine  singers,  arid  would  frequently 
give  us  some  fine  quartette  singing  which  always  enlivened 
the  boys  of  an  evening. 

John  Grant  (usually  called  Scotty),  of  Company  I,  was  a 
famous  cook  ;  and  the  "  Delmonico  "  of  our  regiment;  and 
frequently  catered  to  both  men  and  officers.  Lieutenant  Isaiah 
H.  Williams,  of  Company  I,  put  up  a  successful  job  on  a 
young  officer  out  of  pure  mischief.  Comrade  Williams  made 
quite  a  little  bluster,  inviting  several  officers,  including  the 
intended  victim  of  the  joke,  to  a  supper  of  baked  opossum,  at 
Scotty 's,  who  entered  into  the  fun  of  the  thing  for  all  it  was 
worth.  The  victim  ate  heartily,  and  said  that  he  had  never 
known  that  opossum  was  so  perfectly  delicious. 

Then  came  the  "  feast  of  reason  and  the  flow  of  soul,"  and 
while  the  company  was  discussing  something  from  a  canteen 
(probably  water)  Williams  asked  the  principal  guest  of  the 
evening,  if  he  knew  what  he  had  been  eating  !  to  which  the 
young  officer  replied,  "Why,  'possum,  of  course."  He  was 
told  that  it  was  not  opossum,  but  the  old  camp  cat,  which  had 
howled  and  prowled  through  camp  for  the  last  several  months. 
This  was  verified  by  "Scotty,"  who  showed  him  that  the 
others  had  eaten  some  other  kind  of  meat,  not  observed  by 
the  victim,  at  the  time. 

Not  only  the  "  feast  of  reason,"  but  the  "flow  of  soul" 
had  flowed  into  that  man's  stomach,  evidently,  for,  amid 
facial  contortions  and  violent  retchings,  beverages,  profane 
oaths,  and  considerable  chunks  of  baked  cat  tumbled  out  so 
fast  and  promiscuously  that  they  could  not  be  assorted  and 
labeled.  There  being  nothing  further,  the  meeting,  some 
what  abruptly,  adjourned. 

November  yt/i.—  Battle  of  Belmont,  Missouri.  Twenty- 
second,  Twenty-seventh,  Thirtieth,  and  Thirty-first  Illinois, 
Seventh  Iowa,  Battery  B,  First  Artillery,  two  Companies 
Fifteenth  Illinois  Cavalry.  Union  :  ninety  killed,  one  hun 
dred  and  seventy-three  wounded,  two  hundred  and  thirty-five 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  103 

missing.  Confederate  :  two  hundred  and  sixty-one  killed, 
four  hundred  and  twenty-seven  wounded,  two  hundred  and 
seventy -eight  missing. 

November  loth. — From  Camp  Harbin,  Missouri,  on  his  re 
treat  from  Springfield,  McCulloch  tells  Price  that  his  running 
away  from  our  army  was  for  the  sake  of  drawing  the  enemy 
further  from  his  resources  and  nigher  to  where  we  can  hope 
for  reinforcements. 

HEADQUARTERS,  ROLLA,  MISSOURI, 

November  22,  1861. 
Major  General  HALLECK  : 

GENERAL  :  The  rebel  forces  between  Springfield  and  Lebanon  are 
large.  Their  pickets  extend  ten  miles  this  side  of  Lebanon.  Their 
forces  are  scattered  over  a  large  part  of  the  country  for  subsistence. 
They  pick  up  many  stragglers  and  rob  the  fugitives. 

G.  M.  DODGE, 
Colonel  Commanding  Post. 

HEADQUARTERS,  ROLLA,  MISSOURI, 

November  24th,  1861. 
Same  to  same  : 

GENERAL  :  My  scouts  are  just  in  from  Springfield  ;  left  Wednesday 
night.  The  enemy's  main  force  was  still  south  of  Springfield.  The}' 
had  scouting  parties  out  in  all  directions.  The  force  that  followed 
Major  Wright  to  Lebanon  has  disappeared  from  the  country  between 
Lebanon  and  Springfield.  Their  scouting  parties  made  several  of  our 
stragglers  prisoners  at  Lebanon.  There  wras  a  scouting  party  of  eighty 
or  more.  I  am,  General,  very  respectfully, 

G.  M.  DODGE, 
Colonel  Commanding  Post. 

The  boys  now7  seriously  began  fixing  up  camp  for  winter 
quarters.  General  Halleck  was  expected.  A  diary  kept  by 
a  member  of  Company  K,  records  that  on  November  22d, 
Hobson  and  Ketcham  went  hunting  and  killed  a  deer  and 
two  wild  turkeys.  An  officer  of  the  regiment  records  that  on 
the  26th  he  took  supper  with  Colonel  (?)  Partridge,  and  had 
oysters  and  champagne.  It  was  probably,  the  champagne 
that  magnified  the  major's  shoulder-straps  into  those  of  a 


104  HISTORY   OF    THE    THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

colonel.     But  really,  such  bills  of  fare  would  seem  to  indicate 
that  we  were  not  starving. 

The  chaplain  was  postmaster  and  had  a  placard  posted  on 
the  peak  of  his  tent  bearing  this  legend  :  "  The  chaplain  don't 
know  when  another  mail  will  go  out."  The  artist  of  Com 
pany  Q,  not  being  satisfied  with  the  chaplain's  grammar,  con 
sidering  the  paragraph  not  finished,  took  down  the  card  one 
night,  corrected  and  returned  it,  and  in  the  morning  the  cor 
rection  read,  "and  don 7  care  a  damn" 

THE   GREAT   SPRING    AT  JAMES'    IRON    WORKS. 

From  the  interesting  diary  of  Comrade  Wilson  E.  Chapel, 
Company  F,  Thirteenth  Regiment,  is  taken  the  following  : 

"  Wednesday,  October  2$d,  1861. — Reveille  at  4  a.  m.,  and 
at  sunrise  were  on  the  road.  This  was  on  the  second  day 
after  leaving  Linn  Creek  for  Springfield.  I  think  the  scenery 
was  altogether  the  wildest  and  most  picturesque  that  I  ever 
saw.  We  passed  over  some  very  high  bluffs,  one  of  which 
was  nearly  three  hundred  feet  high,  and  almost  perpendicular, 
with  a  beautiful  spring  gushing  out  of  its  side,  about  twenty 
feet  above  its  base,  of  sufficient  volume  and  power  to  carry  a 
large  grist-mill  with  an  overshot  wheel." 

The  mention  of  the  spring  will,  no  doubt,  revive  the  mem 
ories  of  all  the  survivors  of  the  regiment  who  were  there  on 
that  occasion  ;  and  calls  up  a  kindred  reminiscence  which  may 
bear  reproducing  for  this  history. 

The  proprietors  of  James  Iron  Works,  between  Rolla  and 
St.  Louis,  were  strong  Unionists,  and  employed  some  two 
hundred  men,  mostly  Englishmen,  and  with  few  exceptions 
these  men  desired  to  manifest  their  loyalty  to  their  adopted 
country  by  taking  the  oath  of  allegiance,  while  pursuing  their 
labor  at  the  Iron  Works,  which  was  perhaps  of  as  much  service 
to  the  Union  cause  as  though  they  had  enlisted  under  the 
Stars  and  Stripes  and  had  shouldered  a  musket. 

A  request  from  the  Messrs.  James  reaching  Colonel  Wyman 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  105 

that  an  officer,  authorized  to  administer  such  an  oath,  be  sent 
to  their  place  as  soon  as  convenient,  was  promptly  acted  upon 
by  ordering  the  Provost- Marshal  Lieutenant,  Isaiah  H.  Wil 
liams,  to  attend  to  the  matter  at  once.  The  Marshal  had  a 
clerk  whom  he  deputized  to  do  the  work,  and  this  deputy 
proved  to  be  identical  with  your  historian,  hence  the  story. 

The  deputy-marshal,  as  a  special  mark  of  confidence  and 
trust,  was  allowed  to  employ  a  clerk,  and  he  was  further  per 
mitted  to  pay  any  necessary  expenses,  out  of  his  own  pocket. 
The  deputy  seemed  to  regard  this  as  an  additional  mark  of 
confidence  and  put  in  no  demurrer,  but  proceeded  to  select 
Drum- Major  Merritt  Perry  as  his  assistant ;  ;which  selection 
received  the  sanction  of  his  superior  officers,  and  on  a  bright 
and  bracing  winter  morning  the  two,  "  clothed  in  a  little  brief 
authority"  and  their  "dress  parade"  suits,  boarded  the  St. 
Louis  train.  An  exceptionally  generous  spasm  from  those  in 
authority  had  provided  us  with  free  passes  ;  but  I  could  never 
quite  forgive  myself  for  being  stingy  enough  to  sponge  the 
amount  of  those  two  passes  from  the  Government. 

A  messenger  from  the  Iron  Works  met  us  at  its  nearest 
station  and  conducted  us  to  the  Works,  which  we  reached 
some  little  time  before  noon. 

We  were  met  by  the  managers  who  showed  us  many  inter 
esting  things  connected  with  this  industry,  and  soon  after 
the  noon  whistle  had  set  the  workmen  loose  for  dinner, 

WE    FOUND   THE    MEN   DRAWN   UP    IN    LINE  ; 

when  the  clerk  read  to  the  assembled  men,  by  sections,  the 
oath,  after  which,  the  deputy-marshal  passed  along  the  entire 
line  and  explained  to  them  what  might  possibly  be  indefinite 
or  obscure,  asking  them  whether  any  of  them  wished  to  de 
cline  to  commit  themselves.  None  stepped  out  of  the  line, 
and  the  oath  was  administered,  and  followed  by  three  hearty 
cheers  and  a  tiger.  Blank  forms  had  been  used,  and  a  list  of 
the  names  previously  supplied  had  allowed  of  all  being  pre- 


IO6  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

pared  beforehand,  even  to  the  signature  of  the  deputy-mar 
shal  ;  and  in  a  few  minutes  each  man  had  a  Certificate  of 
Allegiance.  •  .' 

The  afternoon  was  spent  in  further  examining  the  build 
ings  and  plant  of  the  extensive  Works,  a  list  of  which  is  not 
now  remembered  ;  but  by  far  the  most  interesting  feature  of 
the  locality,  was  the  wonderful  spring,  throwing  from  some 
subterranean  reservoir,  more  than  water  enough,  and  having 
head  enough  to  turn  all  the  wheels  of  the  machinery  of  these 
extensive  Works.  The  spring  threw  up  from  its  center 

A   BOILING   COLUMN   WHOSE    CREST 

was  about  four  feet  above  the  spring's  level.  The  spring  lay 
in  a  three-sided  bowl,  formed  by  an  amphitheatre  of  hills  about 
a  hundred  feet  high,  and  clothed  with  trees  and  bushes,  mak 
ing  the  surroundings  beautiful  and  romantic.  In  this  bowl 
lay  the  spring,  fully  a  hundred  yards  in  diameter,  and  almost 
perfectly  round. 

The  combination  of  boiling  spring,  the  murmuring  ripple 
of  its  river-like  outflow,  copse- crowned  crags,  cliffs,  groves, 
and  canyons,  all  seemed  peaceful,  and  blessedly  oblivious  to 
the  surrounding  clangor  of  loud-throated  war. 

As  we  were  to  spend  the  night  at  the  Works,  we  ram 
bled  to  our  heart's  content,  took  tea  at  the  hospitable  board 
of  one  of  the  proprietors,  at  which  several  ladies  were  present, 
who  added  zest  and  charm  to  the  feast,  and  sparkle  and  smiles 
to  the  after-supper  conversation. 

When  the  hour  for  retiring  came,  one  of  the  gentlemen 
took  us  to  a  small  building  a  little  detached  from  the  main 
house,  and  ushered  us  into  a  most  commodious  and  comfort 
able  room,  which  contained  a  reposeful  looking  bed,  washing 
conveniences  somewhat  in  advance  of  Uncle  Sam's  camp- 
economy,  but  which  we  thought  we  could  stand  for  one  night 
without  becoming  demoralized.  Having  personally  inspected 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  107 

every  matter  which  might  involve  our  comfort,  our  kind  and 
thoughtful  host  bade  us  good-night,  and  retired. 

The  deputy-marshal,  wearied  by  carrying  for  a  whole  day 
such  a  load  of  responsibility  and  dignity,  was  soon  testing  the 
softness  of  his  pillow, — but  not  so  the  clerk.  When  he  had  ad 
justed  his  costume  to  the  requirements  most  conducive  to  the 
wooing  of 

"TIRED  NATURE'S  SWEET  RESTORER,  BALMY  SLEEP," 

all  of  a  sudden,  the  spirit  of  mischief  seemed  to  take  posses 
sion  of  him.  He  proceeded  to  a  distant  corner  of  the  room, 
where  hung  a  nice  white  curtain,  \vhich  he  drew,  and  there 
was  disclosed  hanging,  various  articles  necessary  to  a  lady's 
wardrobe  ;  whereupon,  what  does  our  Mephistopheles  do,  but 
to  take  down  a  lady's  hoop-skirt  of  ample  dimensions,  and 
adjust  it  very  nearly  as  a  lad}7  might  be  supposed  to  adjust  it 
to  its  proper  place.  Going  to  the  dressing-case,  he  surveyed 
the  effect  from  all  points  of  toilet  view,  and  seemed  satisfied. 
He  then  returned  to  the  corner-wardrobe  and  took  down  a 
bonnet,  which  undoubtedly  represented  what  would  then  be 
considered  a  "love  of  a  bonnet,"  and  fitted  it,  though  some 
what  bunglingh-,  it  is  true,  on  top  of  a  shock  of  coarse  black 
hair,  tied  the  ribbon- strings  under  his  chin,  and  a  second  look 
in  the  glass  seemed  to  show  him  that  the  make-up  was  com 
plete. 

The  remonstrances  of  the  deputy-marshal  were  unavail 
ing,  and  this  most  ridiculous  farce  was  to  proceed.  After  a 
few  last  twitchings  of  the  hoop-skirt,  and  a  last  few  pokes  of 
the  bonnet,  this  "chief  of  the  revels,"  turned  with  great  dig 
nity,  and  addressing  an  imaginary  violinist  in  a  ball-room 
voice,  he  ordered, 

"ON   WITH   THE    DANCE  ;     LET  JOY    BE   UNCONFINED." 

Then  commenced  one  of  the  most  ridiculous  farces,  and 
in  the  most  extravagantly  ridiculous  costume,  ever  put  on 


108  HISTORY   OF   THE    THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT. 

the  boards,  public  or  private,  amateur  or  professional.  He 
would  mincingly  cross  the  floor  and  approach  an  imaginary 
lady,  and  ask  her  hand  in  the  dance?  giving  both  the  ques 
tion  and  the  lady's  reply,  the  latter  in  a  most  ridiculously 
ragged  falsetto,  something  as  follows  : 

"  Ah,  Miss  Trernain,  am  delighted  to  see  you  this  even 
ing  ;  I  was  hoping  you  would  be  here  to  redeem  the  dance 
from  what,  otherwise,  would  have  been  an  utterly  common 
place  affair  ;  do  pray,  let  me  lead  3rou  on  to  the  floor  for  the 
next  dance." 

"  Why,  Mr.  St.  Ledger  ;  I  am  flattered  by  your  polite  in 
vitation  and  shall  be  pleased  to  let  you  have  my  poor  self  for 
this  dance,  if,  indeed,  you  can  endure  so  poor  a  partner  ;  for, 
I  assure  you,  your  graceful  politeness  has  captivated  all  the 
the  society  ladies  in  our  set." 

"Ah,  my  dear  Miss  Tremain,  your  kindness  would  hold 
me  a  captive  by  your  side  through  the  entire  evening,  were 
it  not  for  the  claims  of  a  necessary  etiquette." 

All  this  accompanied  by  such  bows,  grimaces,  salaams, 
facial  contortions,  and  genuflections,  as  would  drive  to  de 
spair  a  French  dancing-master. 

After  handing  Miss  Tremain  to  her  seat,  our  Mr.  St. 
Ledger  would  mince  up  to  another  imaginary  lady  with  : 

"  Ah,  Miss  Fitz-James,  you  have  saved  my  life  ;  for  I  was 
nearly  dead  with  ennui;  there  seemed  a  deep  twilight  gloom 
pervading  the  room,  which  was  so  depressing  as  to  be  felt  like 
a  nightmare,  you  know  ;  until  all  at  once  a  glorious  radiance 
seemed  to  fill  the  room,  and  some  subtle,  spiritual  essence 
plainly  whispered  to  my  heart,  '  Miss  Fitz-James  has  come," 
and,  sure  enough,  on  looking  round,  you  were  just  entering 
the  room." 

"  Now,  Mr.  St.  Ledger,  such  flattery  "— 

"Excuse  the  interruption,  madam,  let  me  assure  you  I 
never  flatter,  Miss  Fitz-James." 

Upon  which,  the  lady  was  in  an  ecstasy  of  delight,  while 
Mr.  St.  Ledger,  with  his  hand  on  his  heart,  bowed  profoundly, 


ILLINOIS    VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  IOQ 

and   this  would  be  punctuated  by  the  far-reaching  voice  of 
Mr.  St.  Ledger  as  floor-manager — 

"BALANCE     TO    PARTNERS — CROSS    RIGHT     AND     LEFT — ALL 
HANDS    ROUND — LADIES'    GRAND    CHAIN." 

Then  the  handing  the  ladies  to  their  carriages,  and  the 
revel  ceased  ;  much  to  the  relief  of  the  deputy-marshal,  who 
had  almost  been  thrown  into  pleurisy  by  the  attempts  to 
smother  the  side-splitting  mirth  which  must  not  be  allowed 
too  much  voice.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  ladies  never  dis 
covered  that  their  wardrobe  had  been  disturbed. 

The  next  morning  the  officials  returned  to  Rolla  ;  but/ for 
many  a  night,  that  passed  the  deputy-marshal's  wedge-tent 
dreams  were  disturbed  by  visions  in  white  ;  the  dreamland 
being  peopled  by  Terpsichorean  gods  and  goddesses,  nymps 
and  imps,  satyrs  and  other  matters,  in  which  the  floor-manager 
would  be  conspicuous,  draped  in  little  more  than  a  feather- 
crested  bonnet,  and  a  well-ventilated  hoop-skirt  of  ample 
dimensions,  above  the  waist-bands  of  which,  on  the  back, 
was  fastened  a  large  placard  inscribed  : 

THIRTEENTH    ILLINOIS. 


CHAPTER    IX. 


THE   CAVALRY    AND    SQUADS     OF     INFANTRY,    BUSY   ALL   WIN 

TER,    UNDER    MAJOR    BOWEN,  EL-BOWIN'    THE    REBS.  — 

FROM    MISSOURI    OUT   OF   THE   STATE. 


|g  HIS  was  to  prove  to  be  the  winter  of  prep 
aration,  on  both  sides,  for  the  decisive  strug 
gle  for  the  final  possession  of  the  State  of 
Missouri,  for  the  Union  or  its  abandonment. 
Should  we  gain  substantial  possession,  the  occu 
pation  of  Arkansas  by  us,  would  be  a  foregone  con 
clusion  ;  and  that  would  leave  but  a  comparatively  small 
central  section  of  the  Mississippi  river  but  what  would  be  open 
to  the  free  navigation  of  our  fleets  of  gun-boats,  which  would 
safely  convey  the  immense  quantities  of  ordnance-  stores  and 
all  necessary  army  supplies  for  the  series  of  brilliant  victories 
which  culminated  in  the  reduction  of  Vicksburg  and  Port 
Hudson,  and  which  broke  the  Confederacy  in  two. 

But,  comrades,  we  shall  see  more  tedious  scouting,  much 
monotonous  drill  and  guard-detailing  for  protecting  the  post 
at  Rolla,  hundreds  of  miles  of  exhausting  marches  through 
an  almost  torrid  climate,  where  sick  and  dying  soldiers  will 
die  for  the  want  of  water,  which  is  poisonous  at  the  best,  but 
which  has  been  artificially  poisoned 

BY  COMMAND   OF   THE   REBEL    OFFICERS. 

But  let  us  go  back  to  Rolla  and  report  for  duty.  The 
trouble  will  come  soon  enough. 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  I  1 1 

The  history  will  unfold  and  explain  itself  for  awhile. 

HEADQUARTERS,  ST.  Louis,  Mo. 

November  24th,  1861. 
Brigadier-General  SiGEL  at  ROLLA. 

GENERAL  :  Hold  your  divisions  in  readiness  for  an  attack  or  to 
move  against  the  enemy,  and  telegraph  me  all  information.  Send  out 
strong  reconuoitering  parties  in  the  direction  the  enemy  is  said  to  be 
moving. 

H.  W.  HALLECK. 
Major- General  Commanding  Department. 

HEADQUARTERS,  ST.  Louis,  Mo. 

November  26,  1861. 
General  FRED.  STEELE. 

GENERAL  :  Telegrams  from  Rolla  indicate  that  the  enemy  is 
moving  north,  but  not  in  any  large  force.  *  *  * 

HEADQUARTERS,  SEDALIA,  MISSOURI, 

November  26th,  1861. 
Major-General  H.  W.  HALLECK. 

GENERAL  :  Look  well  to  Jefferson  City  and  the  Northern  Pacific 
railroad.  Price  aims  at  both.  *  *  *  *  i  think  McCulloch  will 
threaten  Rolla,  whilst  Price  crosses  the  Osage,  by  large  numbers  of 
detachments  to  assemble  at  some  agreed  point.  Two  detachments  are 
out  about  which  I  feel  uneasy. 

With  very  great  respect, 

W.  T.  SHERMAN. 

HEADQUARTERS,  ROLLA,  MISSOURI, 

November  3oth,  1861. 
Major-General  H.  W.  HALLECK. 

GENERAL:  Another  of  my  scouts  in  from  the  southwest.  Left 
Osceola  Tuesday  night.  Price  was  there  with  four  thousand  men.  The 
Quartermaster  of  the  force  is  own  cousin  to  my  scout,  who  informs  him 
that  Price  is  determined  to  ravage  and  burn  Kansas,  even  if  peace  was 
declared  to-morrow,  and  intends  to  go  into  Kansas,  north  of  Fort  Scott, 
at  or  near  Butler.  McBride  was  at  Stockton  with  six  thousand  men,  and 
Raines  at  Chester  with  five  thousand  men.  McCiilloch  was  ordered  north 
with  his  whole  force,  but  he  refused  to  go,  and  is  falling  back  into 
Arkansas.  About  one-third  of  the  Cherokees  are  rebels.  About  five 
thousand  of  them  are  moving  north  to  join  Price  in  Kansas.  John  Ross 

AFTER   BEING   HUNG  UP  THREE  TIMES, 
was  forced  to  agree  to  remain  neutral,  with  the  remainder  of  the  tribe. 


112  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

One  of  Price's  spies  came  iuto  his  camp  Tuesday  morning.  Had 
been  to  Fort  Scott ;  reports  Lane  there  with  five  thousand  men.  Price 
will  attempt  to  get  into  Kansas  north  of  him.  He  says  he  does  not 
intend  to  attack  the  troops  in  Missouri.  Tkey  had  already  sent  back 
into  Arkansas  four  hundred  stolen  horses. 

I  am,  General,  respectfully, 

J.  B.  WYMAN,  Acting  Brigadier-General. 
Commanding  Post. 

December  2d,  1861. — President  Lincoln  declares  Martial 
law  in  Missouri. 

HEADQUARTERS,  SALEM,  MISSOURI, 

December  3d,  1861. 
Gen.  J.  B.  WYMAN. 

GENERAL  :  I  was  attacked  this  morning  at  4  o'clock  by  three  hun 
dred  rebels,  under  command  of  Colonels  Freeman  and  Turner.  They 
dismounted  some  two  miles  from  town,  and  by  coming  through  the 
woods  they  got  inside,  of  my  outer  pickets.  They  first  commenced 
firing  on  Company  A's  quarters,  killing  one  and  wounding  others. 
Companies  B  and  C,  being  quartered  some  five  hundred  yards  from 
them,  rallied  on  foot  to  the  rescue  of  Company  A.  After  a  hard  fight 
of  twenty  minutes,  Company  D  came  up  mounted.  I  ordered  Captain 
Williams  to  charge  on  the  rebels,  who  were  then  retreating,  which  was 
promptly  done,  dispersing  them  in  every  direction. 

My  officers  and  men  proved  themselves  to  be  soldiers  ;  and  I  feel  I 
have  just  reason  to  be  proud  of  them.  My  force  consisted  of  thirty  from 
each  company,  one  hundred  and  twenty  in  all. 

Our  loss  is  two  men  killed,  two  mortally  wounded  (one  since  dead), 
and  eight  slightl}'  wounded.     The  rebel  loss  was  six  killed,  ten  mortally 
wounded,  twenty  slightly  wounded.     We  also  took  several  guns. 
I  am,  General,  respectfully  and  truly  yours, 

W.  D.  BOWEN, 

Maj.  First  Bat'l  Cav.  attached  to  Thirteenth  111.  Vol. 
[Act.  Brig. -Gen.  Wyman.] 

HEADQUARTERS,  ST.  L/ouis,  MISSOURI, 

December  3d,  1861. 
Major-Gen.  McCLELLAN. 

GENERAL  :  *  *  *  *  McCulloch  near  Springfield  falling  back 
towards  Arkansas.  Perhaps  his  retreat  is  a  mere  ruse  to  draw  our  forces 
from  Rolla  in  the  direction  of  Osceola.  *  *  *  * 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  113 

Same  to  same  : 

December  3d,  1861. 

GENERA^  :  Insurrections  were  to  be  organized  in  various  counties 
north  of  the  Missouri,  so  as  to  draw  off  our  troops  in  various  directions. 
In  the  meantime  Price  was  to  threaten  Sedalia,  not  supposed  to  be 
strong,  and  make  a  dash  at  Jefferson  City,  the  insurgents  at  different 
points  also  moving  in  that  direction.  If  the  troops  at  Rolla  moved  in 
Price's  rear,  McCulloch  was  to  cut  them  off  from  St.  Louis.  Finding 
our  forces  at  Sedalia  much  stronger  than  was  supposed,  Price  halted 
near  Osceola,  not  venturing  to  advance  any  farther. 

I  am,  General,  very  respectfully, 
H.  w.~  HALLECK, 

Com'd'g  Dept. 

HEADQUARTERS,  ROLLA,  MISSOURI, 

December  4th,  1861. 
Major-General  HALLECK. 

GENERAL  :  I  have  the  honor  to  inform  you  that  on  Thursday  last, 
Colonel  Dodge  requested  me  to  send  a  small  party  to  Salem  and  vicin 
ity,  to  bring  in  some  witnesses  in  the  case  of  some  prisoners  he  has  now 
in  the  Fort.  I  made  the  arrangement  for  forty  men  to  go  the  next 
morning.  In  the  meantime  one  of  my  scouts  came  in  from  Salem  and 
below  there,  and  reported  that  Freeman,  with  eighty  or  one  hundred 
men  was  in  the  vicinity.  I,  therefore,  increased  the  detachment  to 
one  hundred  and  twenty  men  with  proper  officers,  all  under  command 
of  Major  Bowen.  He  left  Friday  at  9  a.  m.  and  reached  Salem  same 
afternoon  (twenty-five  miles).  Saturday  and  Sunday  he  devoted  to 
scouring  the  country.  Did  not  find  Freeman, 

BUT    TOOK   EIGHT   PRISONERS, 

all  of  whom  have  been  in  the  rebel  army.  On  Monday  morning  at 
4  o'clock,  Freeman  approached  Salem  and  made  his  way  through  the 
brush  and  woods  (thus  avoiding  the  pickets),  and  got  to  the  inside 
picket-Hue  before  any  one  was  aware  of  his  approach.  Driving  in  their 
pickets,  they  proceeded  to  the  quarters  of  Company  A  and  commenced 
their  attack.  How  bravely  and  gloriously  they  were  repulsed,  I  leave 
you  to  judge  from  reading  the  report  of  the  Major,  which  I  have  this 
moment  received1. 

I  beg  also  to  inform  you  that  upon  the  receipt  of  the  news  yester 
day  at  12  o'clock  I  ordered  a  reinforcement  sent  Major  Bowen,  and 
at  i  p.  m.  one  hundred  and  thirty  chosen  men  left  this  post,  and  at 
6  p.  m.  had  joined  the  Major  at  Salem,  who  was  at  that  hour  in 
peaceable  possession  of  the  town,  although  anticipating  another  attack 


114  HISTORY   OF  THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

last  night ;  but  feeling  fully  confident  he  could  cope  with  them  success 
fully  if  they  dared  to  do  so. 

I  should  be  glad  to  receive  orders  from  you  to  take  or  send  such  a 
force  as  would  either  exterminate  or  drive  them  out  of  the  State. 

I  am  informed  by  reliable  parties  that  Freeman  and  Turner  both 
intend  to  winter  in  Dent  county,  and  have  laid  in  stores  and  forage  for 
that  purpose.  In  fact,  the  prisoners  inform  me  they  swear  they  "  will 
do  so  or  die." 

Awaiting  your  orders,  I  am,  General, 

Respectfully  and  obediently  yours, 

J.  B.  WYMAN, 

Col.  and  Acting  Brigadier-General. 
[Major-General  Halleck, 

Commanding  Department  of  Missouri.] 

Same  to  same  : 

Dec.  6th,  1 86 1. 

GENERAL  :  Our  forces  at  Sedalia  and  Rolla  are  held  in  readiness 
to  move,  but  their  efficiency  is  greatly  reduced  by  disorganization  and 
sickness.  *  The  camp  measles  is  prevailing  and  daily 

increase  our  sick  list.     *    *     *    * 

(This  can  have  no  reference  to  the  Thirteenth,  as  Dr. 
Plummer  never  allowed  any  of  his  patients  to  have  more  than 
one  measle  at  a  time. ) 

HEADQUARTERS,  PILOT  KNOB,  MISSOURI, 

December  6th,  1861. 
Major-General  H.  W.  HALLECK. 

GENERAL  :  I  have  sent  out  scouts  from  Potosi  and  this  post  towards 
Salem,  Steelville,  and  Centerville.  The  Potosi  scouts  report  no  rebel 
troops  at,  or  east  of  Salem  or  Steelville  ;  that  Freeman's  baud,  four 
hundred,  had  been  to  both  places,  but  were  driven  away  by  Colonel 
Wyman.  *  *  *  * 

I  am,  General,  respectfully, 

WM.  P.  CARLIN, 
Thirty-eighth  Illinois. 

HEADQUARTERS,  SEDALIA,  MISSOURI, 

December  6th,  1861. 
Major-General  HALLECK. 

GENERAL  :  It  is  reported  that  Price  crossed  the  Osage  on  the  4th 
instant. 

I  am,  General,  respectfully, 

FRED'K  STEELE, 
Brig.-Gen.  Com'd'g. 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY.  115 

ROLLA,  MISSOURI, 

December  yth,  1861. 
Major-General  HALLECK. 

GENERAL  :     Captain  Waldemar,  of  the  Bentou  Hussars    ' 
was  yesterday  within  eight  miles  of  Lebanon  and  reports  McBride  there 
with  three  thousand  strong.     *     * 

I  am,  General,  respectfully, 

P.  J.  OSTENHAUS,  Col. 

HEADQUARTERS,  ROLLA,  MISSOURI, 

December  9th,  1861. 
Major-General  HALLECK. 

GENERAL  :  A  dispatch  from  Salem  has  just  reached  me.  Bowen 
was  in  full  chase  of  Freeman  in  Texas  county,  five  miles  in  his  rear  ; 
intends  giving  him  battle  if  he  can  overtake  him.  A  rumor  had  reached 
Salem  that  McBride  was  moving  from  Huntsville  with  sixteen  hundred 
men  and  two  pieces  of  artillery  to  reinforce  Freeman.  If  such  proves 
to  be  the  fact,  I  wish  permission  to  reinforce  Bowen  with  one  battery 
of  artillery. 

I  am,  General,  respectfully, 

J.  B.  WYMAN, 

Com'd'g  Post. 

HEADQUARTERS,  ST.  Louis,  MISSOURI, 

December  Qth,  1861. 
Colonel  J.  B.  WYMAN, 

Commanding  Post  at  Rolla. 

COLONEL  :  You  are  authorized  to  reinforce  Major  Bowen  if  you 
deem  it  advisable.  Do  not  let  him  advance  so  far  in  pursuit  as  to  be  cut 
off  by  McBride.  Look  out  for  that.  H.  W.  HALLECK, 

Maj.-Gen.  Com'd'g  Dep't. 

HEADQUARTERS,  ROLLA,  MISSOURI, 

December  loth,  1861. 
Capt.  J.  C.  KELTON,  A.  A.-G. 

CAPTAIN  :  I  inclose  copies  of  dispatches  received  from  Major  Bowen 
at  i  o'clock  this  morning.  By  them  you  will  see  that  the  major  has 
fallen  back  to  Salem,  which  place  he  will  hold  until  further  orders.  My 
opinion  is  that  a  force  sufficient  to  hold  that  place  should  be  placed 
there  permanently ;  say  four  companies  of  cavalry,  and  one  battery  of 
artillery.  I  feel  confident  it  would  have  the  effect  to  keep  McBride  and 
Freeman  at  a  proper  distance.  I  submit  this  for  the  consideration  of 
our  general  and  await  orders. 

Very  truly  yours, 

J.  B.  WYMAN, 
Acting  Brigadier-General. 


Il6  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH   REGIMENT 

HEADQUARTERS,  ST.  Louis,  MISSOURI, 

December  I3th,  1861. 
LORENZO  THOMAS,  Adjutant-General  U.  S.  A. 

GENERAL  :  The  Engineer  Corps  proper,  as  it  is  called,  has  no 
troops,  but  probably  about  fifty  officers.  The  names  of  forty-three  have 
already  been  ascertained,  but  some  one  turns  up  every  few  days  holding 
a  commission  or  appointment  from  General  Fremont.  Some  of  these 
are  already  discharged  ;  but  it  is  impossible  to  discharge  them  all  at 
present,  their  services  being  absolutely  indispensable  in  the  construction 
of  the  works  which  are  now  being  built  at  Paducah,  Cairo,  Fort  Holt, 
Girardeau,  Rolla,  Jefferson  City,  La  Mine  Cantonment  near  Sedalia. 
*  *  *  *  [WasitthefortatRolla?] 

H.  w.  HALLECK, 
Major-General  Com'd'g  Dep't. 

HEADQUARTERS,  ST.  Louis,  MISSOURI, 

December  I4th,  1861. 
Maj.-Gen.  GEO.  B.  McCLELLAN  : 

GENERAL  :  Salem,  south  of  Rolla,  threatened  by  a  large  force.  It 
has  been  reinforced. 

I  am,  General,  yours  respectfully, 

H.  W.  HALLECK, 
Major-General  Com'd'g  Dep't. 

Same  to  same  about  same  : 

December  i6th,  1861. 

GENERAL  :  Major  Bowen  wrote  from  Salem  on  the  9th  that  he  had 
driven  the  enemy  through  the  Current  Hills,  taking  twenty  prisoners 
and  some  twenty- five  horses.  I  have  since  learned  that  about  fifteen 
hundred  of  the  enemy  turned  on  him.  He  has  been  reinforced  with 
infantry  and  artillery  from  Rolla.  *  *  *  *  General  Sigel  is  still 
sick  ;  and  I  feel  greatly  embarrassed  about  a  commander  for  the  troops, 
mostly  Germans,  at  Rolla.  If  General  Asboth  has  not  been  appointed, 
or  if  there  be  any  objections  to  him,  please  let  me  have  P.  J.  Osterhaus 
made  Brigadier-General  of  Volunteers.  Perhaps,  all  things  considered, 
he  is  the  better  man  of  the  two. 

I  am,  General,  your  obedient  servant, 

H.  W.  HALLECK, 
Major-General  Com'd'g  Dep't. 

HEADQUARTERS  DEPARTMENT  OF  MISSOURI. 

December  2oth,  1861. 
Gen.  G.  B,  McCLELLAN  : 

GENERAL  :  Captain  Wood's  scouting  party  has  returned  to  Rolla. 
It  pursued  the  enemy  south  of  Houston,  killed  one  captain  and  brought 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  117 

in  one  major  prisoner  of  war.     About  one  hundred  of  Price's  men  were 
captured  and  released  on  parole,  not  being  able  to  bring  them  in. 
Very  respectfully, 

H.  W.  HAI^ECK,  Major-General, 
Com'd'g  Dep't  of  Missouri. 

HEADQUARTERS,  ST.  Louis,  MISSOURI. 

December  24th,  1861. 
Gen.  FRANZ  SIGEI,,  Rolla,  Missouri. 

GENERAL  :  You  will  assume  command  of  all  the  troops  at  Rolla  and 
vicinity,  including  the  Fourth  Division. 

Respectfully, 

H.  W.  HALLECK, 
Major-General  Com'd'g  Dep't. 

But  the  time  had  come  when  the  irksomeness  of  guarding  a 
post  so  far  back  from  the  front  as  never  to  be  approached  by 
large  hostile  forces,  was  getting  to  be  unbearable.  The  repu 
tation  of  being  the  finest  regiment  in  the  Western  Department, 
was  as  gall  and  wormwood  to  the  boys  and  officers  of  our 
regiment,  who,  for  nearly  a  year,  had  chafed  and  fretted  to  be 
allowed  on  the  battle-field  to  show  what  stuff  the}7  were 
made  of. 

What  availed  it  that  General  Lyon,  on  the  same  day  of 
the  arrival  of  our  regiment  at  Rolla,  had  said  :  "As  this  line 
(S.  W.  branch  of  the  Pacific  railroad)  has  become  the  most 
important  in  the  whole  State,  and  as  it  is  threatened  by  hos 
tile  bands  under  General  McBride  and  others,  it  has  been  deemed 
best  to  place  it  under  the  command  of  Colonel  Wyman,  Thir 
teenth  Illinois  Volunteers  ' '  ? 

What  availed  it  that  fourteen  days  further  along,  Adjutant- 
General  Harding  said  to  General  Lyon  "  Wyman' s  is  a  splen 
did  regiment ;  and  I  am  trying  to  get  other  troops  to  supply 
his  place,  and  send  him  forward"  ? 

What  would  it  avail,  that  by  the  time  our  campaigning 
had  reached  Helena,  Arkansas,  and  only  five  days  after 
General  E.  A.  Carr  had  assumed  command  of  the  "  Army  of 
the  Southwest,"  he  should  tell  General  Curtis  that  "  he  desired 
to  give  Wyman  a  division  "  f 


Il8  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH   REGIMENT 

In  all  other  regiments,  seemingly,  Chevrons,  double  Chev 
rons,  and  diamond  Chevrons,  were  being  ripped  off  and 
transferred  to  subordinate  shoulder-slteves.  Bars  suddenly 
appeared  on  unaccustomed  shoulders,  and  seemed  to  act  as  a 
fertilizer  to  hasten  the  growth  of  silver,  and  golden  foliage  ; 
and  this  attracted  the  Eagles,  who  in  turn,  were  scared  off  to 
lower  perches  by  the  flash  and  glare  of  falling  Stars,  double 
Stars,  and  clusters  and  constellations  of  Stars,  which  seemed 
to  hang  suspended  over  battle-fields,  and  which  the  thunder  of 
artillery  condensed  and  precipitated  on  the  worthy  shoulders 
of  the  great  captains  of  battle. 

But  battle-fields  avoided  the  Thirteenth  as  though  the  contact 
were  dangerous  contagion,  and  only  loomed  up  to  our  view 
like  the  mirage  of  the  desert,  to  follow  which  brought  no 
fruition  of  tangible  reality.  In  fact,  it  began  to  seem  as  if 
any  lieutenant  of  any  other  regiment  than  ours,  who  could  get 
fairly  across  the  Gasconade  river,  to  the  southwest  of  Rolla, 
headed  toward  the  front,  in  a  few  weeks  was  almost  sure  to 
return  through  Rolla  as  a  Brigadier-General  on  a  leave  of 
absence. 

Our  boys  of  the  rank  and  file,  were  being  taunted  as  the 
"fighting  regiment  which  never  fought"  ;  and,  on  several 
occasions,  were  compelled  to  turn  in  and  soundly  thrash  some 
indiscreet  recruits  who  made  the  mistake  of  shooting  off  their 
mouths  to  the  implied  disparagement  of  the  Thirteenth. 

The  Thirteenth  seemed  to  be  chained  to  Rolla,  and  Rolla  to  the 
rear.  In  our  regiment,  no  Chevrons  came  in  contact  with 
scissors.  Bars  seemed  made  only  to  prevent  our  advance. 
Gold  and  silver  foliage  had  less  life  than  the  fodder  of  an  army 
mule  ;  and  as  for  Stars,  none  were  to  be  seen  ;  and  not  even 
the  belligerant  planet  Mars,  could  have  been  discovered  by 
even  the  great  Lick  telescope. 

When  the  Thirteenth  arrived  at  Rolla,  Missouri,  on  July 
yth,  1861,  Wyman,  as  Colonel,  ranked  Grant,  Sheridan,  Hurl- 
but,  Palmer,  and  McClernand. 

He  ranked  Grant  by  twenty-four  days. 

He  ranked  Sheridan  by  one  year  and  one  day. 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  1 19 

He  ranked  Palmer  by  one  day. 

He  ranked  Hurlbut  and  McClernand  by  several  months. 

He  had  been  a  Colonel  one  hundred  and  seven  days  when 
Logan  was  commissioned.  And  Sherman  ranked  Wyman  by 
only  twelve  days,  but,  to  be  sure,  he  was  in  the  regulars. 

There  is  nothing  to  show  why  Wyman  was  not  the  peer  of 
any  one  of  those  named  above, — certainly,  of  any  one  of  them 
below  Grant,  Sherman  and  Sheridan  ;  and  could  he  have  gone 
to  the  front  in  time  to  reinforce  Lyon,  it  is  altogether  proba 
ble  that  at  Wilson's  Creek,  he  would  have  found  his  first  Star  ; 
and  could  he  have  reached  Pea  Ridge  before  the  battle,  his 
chance  for  promotion  would  have  been  good. 

But  with  Wyman  still  wearing  the  Eagle  of  the  Thirteenth, 
the  subordinates  from  the  Silver  leaf,  down  to  the  most  meager 
Chevron  could  hope  for  promotion  only  through  accident  or 
resignation  ;  and  so,  that  fatal  reputation  of  being  a  good  rail 
road  man,  long  blasted,  not  only  his  own  chances  for  promotion, 
but  of  a  thousand  other  good  men  as  well. 

Guided  now  by  the  light  of  after  events,  the  following 
order  was  fateful  of  glorious  possibilities  for  the  Thirteenth. 

HEADQUARTERS,  ST.  Louis,  MISSOURI, 

August  6th,  1861. 
Brigadier-General  JOHN  POPE. 

GENERAL:  The  General  directs  that  you  send  to  this  city  immedi 
ately,  the  Fourteenth,  Fifteenth,  and  Twenty-first  Illinois  Regiments. 
*  *  *  *  You  are  directed  to  use  the  utmost  possible  dispatch  in  car 
rying  out  the  above  orders.  *  *  *  * 

I  am,  General,  with  great  respect, 

KEI/TON,  Adj't-Gen. 

The  hurried  ordering  of  these  regiments  was  evidently  to 
fit  an  emergency  ;  and  the  Fourteenth  and  Fifteenth,  on 
reaching  St.  Louis,  were  hurried  on  to  Rolla,  while  the 
Twenty-first,  Colonel  U.S.  Grant,  was  sent  down  the  river. 

Why  the  Twenty-first  was  not  selected  as  one  of  the  two 
regiments  to  go  to  Rolla,  we  shall  probably  never  know. 
It  does  not  seem  probable  that  the  Fourteenth  and  Fifteenth 
should  be  sent  to  us  because  of  their  numbers  following  ours 


120  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

in  regular  order ;  and  it  would  seem  reasonable  that  the 
Twenty-first,  as  well  as  the  other  two,  should  have  been  sent 
to  Rolla,  because  all  four,  including  yie  Thirteenth,  were 
raised  in  northern  Illinois  ;  and  brigades,  frequently,  were 
made  up  of  regiments  from  the  same  neighborhoods.  Had 
Fate's  wheel  of  fortune  made  a  half  turn  the  opposite  way, 
what  chains  of  friendship  and  mutual  respect  might  not  have 
been  forged  which  would  have  resulted  in  Wyman's  advance 
ment  by  the  future  greatest  general  of  the  age,  who  never  kept 
back  a  competent  subordinate. 

Already,  about  the  middle  of  December,  1861,  the  old  gray 
uniform  had  been  exchanged  for  nice  blue,  and  the  boys  were 
very  proud  of  the  change.  Company  F  was  now  furnished 
with  new  rifled  Minnie  muskets,  in  place  of  the  old  Spring- 
fields,  and  a  like  change  was  to  come  also  to  the  other 
companies  soon  after.  On  the  last  day  of  the  old  year,  the 
regiment  had  been  mustered  for  pay. 

Several  ladies  visited  us  at  different  times,  while  in  camp 
at  Rolla  :  among  whom  were  Mrs.  Colonel  Wyman  and  her 
sister,  Miss  Bradley,  Mrs.  Captain  Messenger,  Mrs.  Captain 
Wadsworth  and  her  sister,  Miss  Nina  T.  Pratt,  Mrs.  Sergeant 
Hinman,  Mrs.  Captain  Noble. 

But  the  youngest  lady  who  came  there  to  see  us,  was  Miss 
Mary  Hinman,  who  was  just  seventeen  months  and  Jive  days  old 
the  day  she  arrived  in  our  camp.  Her  advent  caused  a  com 
motion  ;  and  while  she  held  the  reins  of  social  power,  she 
held  them  very  gently  ;  but,  unconsciously,  she  reigned  right 
royally  among  the  thousand  men  who  wore  the  uniform  of 
the  Union  while  she  remained  with  us  ;  and  their  loyalty  and 
admiration  followed  her  home  from  the  "  tented  field,"  tac 
itly  acknowledging  her  as  the  "  daughter  of  the  regiment"  ; 
and  her  love  for  the  regiment  seemed  to  have  been  born  in 
our  camp,  and  has  grown  and  strengthened  with  maturing 
years.  No  door  of  any  home  will  open  wider  and  more  cordially 
swing  back  to  any  worthy  survivor  of  the  Thirteenth  Regi 
ment,  than  that  of  the  comfortable  home  of  Mrs.  Mary  Hinman 
Van  Lanningham,  of  Blue  Island,  Illinois. 


CHAPTER  X. 


OUR  INTENSE  ANXIETY  TO  BE  RELIEVED  FROM  HOLDING 
THE  POST  AT  ROLLA,  AND  TO  GO  FORWARD  WITH 
OTHER  TROOPS  TO  THE  FRONT. 


HHN  asked  to  assist  in  writing  our  regi 
mental  history,  your  historian  was  utterly 
at  a  loss  to  know  how  to  begin,  as  all  regi 
mental  records,  and  papers  of  all  kinds,  it  was 
understood  had  been  captured  by  the  rebels  and 
burned,  at  Madison  Station,  Alabama,  when  the 
regiment  was  about  to  be  mustered  out  of  the  service.  And 
the  only  scrap  of  anything  resembling  a  regimental  paper  so 
far  furnished  for  the  history,  is  the  original,  and  one  other  of 
which  the  following  is  a  copy,  of  the  first  which  was  sent  to 
Comrade  Colonel  Henry  T.  Noble  at  Dixon,  Illinois,  which 
letter  is  given  entire  as  of  special  interest  to  the  boys. 

STERLING,  ILLINOIS,  February  25th,  1891. 

COMRADE  NOBLE  :  Find  inclosed  paper.  You  probably  will  recog 
nize  it.  They  (there  were  other  papers)  were  found  in  an  old  bureau 
here  that  had  been  left  for  repairs  ;  and  most  of  the  companies  were 
represented.  I  found  one  that  I  made  out  for  feed  in  1862,  for  Company 
G.  It  pleased  me  to  see  the  bill  of  fare^fter  thirty  years.  So  I  send 
you  yours.  Yours  truly, 

C.  H.  DRAKE. 

Comrade  Drake  merits  our  thanks  and  congratulations 
for  sending  on  this  old  scrap  of  paper  ;  for  it  comes  back  on 
the  memory  like  a  long-forgotten  strain  of  music  ;  and  its  very 


122  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

lonesomeness  pleads  for  its  preservation  in  this  history.     The 
following  is  a  reproduction  of  it  : 

Provision  Return  For  Capt  H.  T.  Noble's  Comp'y  A  I3th  Reg't. 
Ills.  Vols.  for  Ten  days  commencing  Jan'y  nth,  1862,  and  ending  Jan'y 
20th,  1862. 

Camp  LaFayette. 

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HENRY  T.  NOBLE  Comdg.  Co. 
The  A.  C.  S.  will  issue  agreeably  to  above  return. 

Comdg.  Regt. 

On  January  i^th  the  troops  began  to  leave  Rolla,  for  the 
Southwest,  and  we  expect  to  go  soon. 

The  weather  lately,  has  been  bad  and  stormy,  and  roads 
bad.  Orders  to  be  ready  to  move.  January  iSth  our  orders 
countermanded. 

January  2ist  the  Ninth  Iowa,  and  a  six-gun  battery  of 
artillery  came  on  from  St.  Louis,  and  went  right  on  towards 
the  front.  This  made  us  nervous. 

On  February  jet ^  we  moved  back  from  Camp  LaFayette,  to 
Camp  Rolla,  our  first  camp  after  coming  to  Missouri.  This 
was  so  far  from  going  to  the  front,  that  it  looked  like  a  perma 
nent  settlement  for  an  indefinite  time ;  and  an  apathetic 
sullennes  pervaded  the  regiment,  which  could  be  seen  in  the 
faces,  but  not  given  voiee  or  action.  The  camp  duties  were 
promptly  and  scrupulously  performed,  while  the  cleaning  up 
and  policing  of  the  grounds  was  as  thoroughly  done  as  if  for  a 
year's  longer  stay. 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  123 

This  was  characteristic  of  the  Thirteenth,  and  was  a  glo 
rious  trait,  and  one  that  helped  not  a  little  to  preserve  for  us 
the  proud  reputation,  among  both  friends  and  enemies,  of 
being  desired  as  a  reinforcement,  or  dreaded  as  a  foe,  as 
much  as  many  whole  brigades. 

In  the  meantime,  those  tempestuous  elemental  storm- 
centers,  Confederate  General  Raines,  and  General  Frost,  with 
gusty  South- windiness  of  both  speech  and  proclamation,  were 
richocheting  up  and  down  the  State,  trying  to  induce  the 
people  to  revolt  against  the  Union,  and  flock  to  the  standard 
of  secession.  These  were  supplanted  by  inflammatory  ap 
peals  for  men  and  means  from  General  Sterling  Price,  who 
poetically  urged  the  men  to  "  come  to  the  tented field '."  Tented 
field  was  particularly  good,  in  the  light  of  Confederate  General 
Jeff  Thompson's  experience  of  what  General  Price's  tented 
field,  consisted  of,  as  he  found  it.  He  says  : 

SIKESTOWN,  MISSOURI,  August  16,  1861. 
Major-General  GIDEON  J.  PILLOW  : 

GENERAL  :  *          »    *    i  herewith  send  you  a  requisition  for  a  tent 
for  myself.     I  have  been  sleeping  about  more  like  a  stray  dog,  than  a 
general.     *    *    *    *    I  do  not  care  about  a  regular  marquee.    *    * 
Anything  will  answer  the  purpose. 

I  am,  General,  respectfully  yours, 

M.  JEFF.  THOMPSON, 
Commanding  Post. 

General  JefF  Thompson  sleeping  about  like  a  stray  dog, 
was  scarcely  more  vagabondish  than  was  the  rebel  Missouri 
Legislature  ;  which,  with  its  rebel  governor,  had  been  chased 
and  worried  by  Abraham  Lincoln,  and  his  renegade  Yanks, 
so  sharply  and  continually  that  they  had  never  found  the 
opportunity  to  get  together  long  enough  to  adopt  an  ordi 
nance  of  secession.  They  were  making  another  effort  in  that 
direction  on  February  26,  1861,  according  to  a  letter  to  Con 
federate  General  Earl  Van  Dorn,  from  Confederate  General 
Jeff  Thompson  at  New  Madrid,  who  therein  says  : 
"The  Legislature  is  to  meet  here  on  Monday,  if  we  are  not 
driven  away  before  then." 


124  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

The  last  clause  of  the  preceding  paragraph  must  have  been 
prophetic  ;  for,  on  March  3d,  General  Thompson  issued  a 
circular  which  reads  :  • 

WHEREAS  :  The  forces  of  Abraham  Lincoln  are  making  such  dem 
onstrations  this  day,  that  it  is  deemed  unsafe  and  inexpedient  for  the 
Legislature  of  Missouri  to  assemble  and  transact  business  in  this  town. 

M.  JEFF.  THOMPSON, 
Brigadier-General  Commanding  Post. 

(Abraham  Lincoln  ought  to  have  been  ashamed  of  himself.) 
This  picture  of  the  wandering  Legislature  of  Missouri,  is 
so  vividly  drawn  by  both  General  Jeff  Thompson,  and  Gov 
ernor  Claib.  Jackson,  that  it  leaves  little  to  the  imagination  to 
conceive,  of  the  poor  old  governor  being  so  pestered  by 
Abraham  Lincoln,  as  to  be  compelled  to  make  his  State  jour 
neys  on  the  back  of  a  mule,  his  great  Seal  of  State  in  his 
saddle-bags,  and  wherever  he  could  find  one  member  of  the 
legislature,  he  would  convene  that  man,  open  the  session , 
appoint  that  man  as  a  committee  on  credentials,  the  committee 
would  seat  that  man,  and  declare  no  opposition.  At  about 
this  stage  of  the  session,  an  alarm  would  come  by  some 
mounted  scout,  that  a  force  of  Yanks  was  near  by,  when 
Governor  Jackson  would  hastily  prorogue  that  man,  declare 
the  legislature  adjourned  without  day,  stuff  the  great  Seal  of 
State  into  the  saddle-bags,  throw  the  saddle-bags  across  the 
saddle,  straddle  the  mule,  and  disappear  down  some  cart- 
track  through  the  woods  ;  and  when  arrived  at  a  safe  dis 
tance,  he  would  dismount,  hitch  the  mule,  sit  down  on  some 
rebel  stump  and  make  a  frugal  meal  from  a  corn  pone  which 
had  been  the  companion  of  the  great  Seal ;  and  when  suffi 
ciently  refreshed,  he  would  take  the  brown  paper  wrapper  of 
the  pone,  and  with  his  pencil,  draft  the  Declaration  of  Inde 
pendence  which  was  issued  on  August  $th,  1861. 
It  appeared  that  the  Thirteenth  were  destined 

NEVER   TO   SEE    THE   COMPLETION   OF   FORT   WYMAN, 
which,  although  commenced  as  far  back  as  the  latter  part  of 


ILLINOIS     VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  125 

August,  1 86 1,  and  the  four  siege-guns  had  arrived  as  long 
ago  as  August  i8th,  and  had  been  hauled  to  the  site  of  the 
Fort  by  a  ten-mule  team  to  each  gun,  no  use  of  the  Fort  ap 
pears  to  have  been  made,  except  for  keeping  prisoners,  which 
we  learn  through  Colonel  Wyman  in  a  letter  to  General 
Halleck,  under  date  of  December  4th,  1861,  where  he  says  : 

"Colonel  Dodge  requested  me  to  send  a  small  party  to 
Salem  and  vicinity,  to  bring  in  some  witnesses  in  the  case  of 
some  prisoners  he  has  now  in  the  Fort. ' ' 

And  again,  in  a  letter  to  Adjutant- General  Thomas,  of  the 
Regular  Army,  by  General  Halleck,  who,  under  date  of  De 
cember  1 3th,  1861,  says  *  *  *  *  "  The  sendee  of  some 
of  these  (army  engineers)  is  absolutely  indispensable  in  the 
construction  of  the  works  which  are  now  being  built  at  *  *  *  * 
Rolla." 

And  as  late  as  January  i8th,  1862,  we  find  in  Comrade 
Chapel's  diary,  the  following  entry  : 

' '  Troops  all  gone  except  our  regiment,  which  has  all  the 
duty  to  do.  Provost-guard,  Labor  details  at  the  Fort.  A 
picket  guard  for  the  railroad,  besides  our  own  camp  guard." 

And  lastly,  in  a  communication  to  Captain  N.  H.  McLean, 
Assistant  Adjutant-General  to  General  Halleck,  under  date 
of  February  i6th,  1862,  only  twenty  days  before  we  bade 
good-bye  to  Rolla  forever,  Colonel  Wyman  says  : 
"  I  am  still  of  opinion  there  should  be  more  force  at  this  post, 
particularly  a  battalion  of  cavalry,  and  one  company  (one 
hundred  men)  with  two  good  officers  to  man  the  Fort,  and 
finish  it  up" 

Dear  delightful  old  Fort  Wyman  !  You  were  ours,  and 
we  loved  you  from  the  first  spadeful  of  your  loyal  earth  which 
was  to  begin  your  walls,  under  the  competent  and  accom 
plished  Bushnell,  and  on  upward  through  the  various  slow 
stages  of  construction  toward  your  never-consummated 
completion. 

We  loved  those  four  old  guns  of  yours;  skulkingly  half 
hid  among  the  neutral  undisturbed  weeds  near  by  ;  with  hun 
gry  stomachs  which  had  never  yet  had  a  square  meal  of 


126  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

powder  and  ball  ;  but  which  had  already  most  thoroughly 
scared  more  rebels  than  ten  times  as  many  of  McClellari*  s 
mounted  guns  of  much  larger  caliber  on  the  Peninsular. 

The  Thirteenth  loved,  and  always  will  love  you,  for  your 
name  ;  which,  together  with  the  figures  one  and  three,  and 
your  unfinished  walls,  and  those  four  unmounted  cannon,  and 
the  old  Thirteenth  alone  at  the  post  for  defense,  and  at  the 
same  time  handicapped  by  the  care  of  over  a  thousand  sick 
and  wounded  men  of  other  regiments  ;  yet  your  frowning, 
ragged  walls  and  the  significant,  though  silent,  growls  from 
those  skirmishing  four  old  "  dogs  of  war  "  in  the  neighboring 
brush,  were  potent  enough  to  prevent  Price,  McCulloch,  Hardee, 
or  Pillow,  from  approaching  nearer  than  three  or  four  days1 
march.  And  even  after  we  were  gone,  Price  never  seemed 
ready  to  march  toward  you.  His  tastes  led  him  in  some  other 
direction.  In  fact,  it  was  not  his  forte. 

We  wish  we  could  take  you  with  us.  You  are  tenderly 
associated  in  our  memories  with  the  well-loved  Bushnell,  your 
builder ;  and  the  names  of  Wyman  and  Bushnell,  not  to  men 
tion  others  as  worthy,  will  always  cause  such  a  thrill  of  sol 
dierly  pride  and  loyal  devotion  in  the  heart  of  every  survivor 
of  the  old  regiment,  as  to  involuntarily  bring  every  imaginary 
gun  to  an  imaginary  "  Present  arms  !  " 

Farewell  old  Fort !  Farewell  old  guns  !  !  Farewell  for 
ever,  dear  old  Fort  Wyman  !  !  ! 

HEADQUARTERS,  ST.  Louis,  MISSOURI, 

December  25th,  1861. 
General  FRANZ  SiGEL,  at  Rolla,  Missouri. 

GENERAL  :  Get  all  your  troops  ready  for  the  field.  The  cavalry  as 
soou  as  possible.  Respectfully, 

H.  W.  HALLECK. 
Maj-Gen.  Com'd'g  Dep't. 
Pope  to  Halleck  : 

December  25th,  1861. 

GENERAL  :  Price  in  full  retreat  for  Arkansas,  says  it  is  by  order 
from  Richmond.  Passed  Humansville  on  Saturday. 

I  am,  General,  with  very  great  respect, 

JOHN  POPE, 
Brig-Gen.  Com'd'g. 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  1 27 

HEADQUARTERS,  ST.  Louis,  MISSOURI, 

January  2Oth,  1862. 
Major  General  GEO.  B.  McCLELLAN. 

GENERAL  :  So  far,  it  seems  to  me  the  war  has  been  conducted  upon 
what  may  be  called  pepper-bo.r  strategy — scattering  our  troops  so  as  to 
render  them  inferior  in  numbers  in  any  place  where  they  can  meet  the 
enemy. 

I  am,  General,  with  very  great  respect, 

H.  W.  HALLECK, 
Maj-Gen.  Com'd'g  Dep't. 

Curtis  to  Halleck  : 

February  ist,   1862. 
Major-General  H.  W.  HALLECK. 

GENERAL  :  One  (scout)  arrived  last  night  giving  news  direct  from 
Springfield.  All  was  quiet  there  ;  Price  still  occupying  Mr.  Grave's 
house,  and  no  signs  of  running  away. 

Very  respectfully, 

S.  R.  CURTIS, 

Maj -General. 

The  reference  to  General  Price  occupying  the  house  of  Mr. 
Graves  at  Springfield,  Missouri,  in  the  above  letter  of  General 
Curtis  recalls  a  story  told  the  writer,  by  Mrs.  Graves,  touch 
ing  the  matter  itself. 

A  LADY  OUT- GENERALS  A  GENERAL. 

The  alternate  advance  and  retreat  of  both  Union  and  Con 
federate  armies  in  Missouri,  in  the  beginning  of  the  war, 
rendered  the  condition  of  the  Union  families  precarious  in  the 
extreme  ;  and  many  of  them  flocked  to  Rolla,  as  the  only 
safe  place  until  peace  should  again  settle  down  on  the  land. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Graves  were  living  in  Springfield,  Missouri, 
at  the  breaking  out  of  the  war,  and,  as  he  was  a  merchant, 
his  stock  of  goods  was  constantly  in  jeopardy  ;  and  when  the 
death  of  General  Lyon  lost  us  the  battle  of  Wilson's  Creek, 
Mr.  Graves  removed  his  stock  of  goods  to  Rolla,  leaving 
Mrs.  Graves  to  close  up  their  affairs  as  soon  as  possible,  and 
join  him. 


128  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

They  had  a  very  fine  house  at  Springfield,  which  would  be 
pretty  likely  to  be  appropriated  by  some  of  the  Confederate 
officers.  In  a  closet  of  this  house,  Mrs.  (graves  had  packed  away 
large  quantities  of  valuable  medicines,  left  in  her  care  by  Union 
surgeons,  who,  in  the  hurry  of  evacuation  following  defeat, 
found  it  impossible  to  take  their  medicines  along  with  them  to 
Rolla,  and  had  begged  Mrs.  Graves  to  secrete  them  until  they 
could  be  reclaimed.  These  medicines,  valuable  though  they 
were  to  us,  would  be  a  thousand  times  more  valuable  to  the 
Confederates  ;  hence  the  importance  of  putting  them  in  a 
place  of  safety  ;  and  Mrs.  Graves  had  promised  to  do  the  best 
she  could  with  them,  and  had  nailed  them  up  in  this  closet. 

General  Sterling  Price,  the  Confederate  Commander,  was 
personally  known  to  Mrs.  Graves,  and  applied  to  her  for  per 
mission  to  occupy  her  house  for  his  headquarters  until  he  was 
obliged  to  move.  Mrs.  Graves  told  General  Price  that  he 
was  welcome  to  her  house  on  two  conditions.  That  she  had 
some  articles  of  bric-a-brac,  nick-nacks,  and  some  other 
articles  of  very  little  intrinsic  value,  but  of  great  value  to  her 
on  account  of  some  associations  connected  with  them,  in  that 
closet,  and  she  did  not  want  the  closet  opened  and  the  things 
rumaged  among. 

She  wanted  his  word  of  honor  that  the  closet  might  remain 
nailed  up  just  as  she  left  it ;  and  the  other  condition  was,  that 
he  would  take  as  good  care  of  the  house  and  grounds  as  he 
could,  as  she  desired  to  occupy  it  again  "  when  this  cruel  war 
was  over."  All  of  which  General  Price  promised  and  per 
formed,  never  dreaming  that  in  that  closet,  which  he  passed 
several  times  every  day,  lay  stored,  what,  to  the  army  under 
him  would  have  been  worth  more  than  its  bulk  in  gold. 

When  next  Mrs.  Graves  occupied  her  house,  the  closet  honestly 
gave  up  intact  its  stores  of  bric-a-brac,  nick-nack  and  ipicac. 
Mrs.  Graves  had  out-generaled  a  General. 

Thirty  years'  distance  from  war,  and  war's  alarms,  undoubt 
edly  tends  to  a  feeling  of  security  against  the  realities  of  what 
the  veterans  of  the  Thirteenth  experienced  at  the  other  end  of 
those  three  decades  ;  but  now  and  then  a  shudder  may  be 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY.  129 


called  up  by  reading  of  the  perils  of  those  campaigns  which 
were,  many  times,  not  far  off,  as  a  bit  of  rebel  contemporary 
history,  which  your  historian  has  rescued,  will  abundantly 
show.  It  is  as  follows  : 


Special  orders  ^  HEADQUARTERS,  COLUMBUS,  KENTUCKY, 

No.  —         j  January  i6th,  1862. 

The  General  commanding  congratulates  Lieutenant  S.  Swank,  with 
four  men  :  Matthew  Wyrick,  Geo.  Holman,  Jo.  Danforth,  and  Alonzo 
Clark,  all  of  the  C.  S.  A.,  who  attacked  and  drove  thirteen  hundred  of  the 
Yankees,  killing  five  and  wounding  twenty-one,  of  whom  five  died  soon. 

LEONIDAS  POLK,  C.  S.  A., 

Maj.-Gen.  Com'd'g. 


This  most  astonishing  piece  of  work  might  most  properly 
call  forth  a  congratulatory  order  from  any  commanding  gen 
eral — -for,  of  course,  it  is  trite — and  it  is  recorded  here  for  the 
emulation  of  the  Thirteenth^  and  it  seems  to  have  been  a  direct 
and  conspicuous  example  of  the  pious  teachings  of  the  good 
bishop,  inculcated  at  the  same  time,  and  alongside  of  Har- 
dee's  manual  of  arms  ;  and  is  positive  evidence  that  such 
remarkable  prowess  could  only  be  attained  by  those  who, 
like  the  disciples  of  the  good  bishop,  kept  the  commandments, 
as  shown  in  Leviticus,  26th  chapter  and  eighth  verse,  where 
reference  is  found  to  these  very  men,  as  follows  : 

"And  five  of  you  shall  chase  an  hundred,  and  an  hundred 
of  you  shall  put  ten  thousand  to  flight."  *  *  *  * 

It  will  be  observed  that  the  number  of  these  champions 
exactly  agrees  with  the  Bible  account,  only,  the  soldiers  turned 
out  by  the  bishop  were  thirteen  times  as  valiant  as  the  best  of  the 
Bible  soldiers.  It  is  to  be  regretted  that  the  force  chased  by 
these  valiant  Southerners,  could  not  have  been  designated,  or 
have  by  some  means  been  recorded  in  history.  It  would  also 
be  interesting  to  know  whether  these  doughty  (doubtful  ?) 
warriors  kept  up  their  fighting  reputation  in  the  same  direc 
tion  ?  It  was  claimed  at  the  beginning  of  the  war,  by  the 
Southerners  that  one  Southerner  was  good  for  ten  Yanks  ; 


130  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

but  each  one  of  these  valiant  men  under  Bishop  Polk,  was 
twenty-six  times  as  good  as  the  above  claim.  It  seems  as 
though  we  must  admit  the  above  claim,  as,  up  to  the  present 
writing,  none  of  the  thirteen  hundred  so  chased,  have  found 
the  opportunity  to  return  and  report  for  duty,  and  substanti 
ate  the  rebel  claim. 

By  comparison,  however,  we  shall  find  some  other  rebel 
forces  not  quite  so  formidable  as  were  those  of  Bishop  Polk  ; 
and  undue  anxiety  need  not  be  harbored  by  the  Thirteenth, 
as  will  be  seen  by  reference  to  what  is  said  by  Confederate 
General  Thomas  C.  Hindman,  of  the  Trans-Mississippi  De 
partment,  who  does  not  seem  to  have  been  so  fortunate  in  a 
moral  direction,  in  his  army,  as  was  Bishop  Polk  ;  for,  in  a 
report  to  his  superior  officer,  Major-General  T.  H.  Holmes, 
about  all  that  can  be  gathered  of  interest,  after  wading 
through  seven  or  eight  solid  pages,  is  the  mention  of  a  battle 
in  which  Schofield  and  Brown  captured  one  of  his  batteries, 
defeated,  and  drove  him  off,  and  his  only  offset  was,  his  claim 
to  have  captured  General  Schofield' s  cook.  He  bounced 
Brigadier-General  Raines  for  drunkenness,  and  Colonel  Coffee 
for  being  intoxicated.  He  arrested  Colonel  Stevens  for  cow 
ardice,  and  also  Colonel  Bass  for  not  daring  to  any  longer 
fight  the  Yanks.  He  then  says  that  he  instructed  Brig. -Gen. 
A.  Rust  to  poison  the  drinking  water  on  the  rout  of  Curtis' 
army,  by  killing  cattle,  ripping  open  the  carcasses  and  throw 
ing  them  into  the  water. 

General  Hindman  and  his  army  had  evidently  not  been 
pupils  in  Bishop  Polk's  Sunday-school. 

LEBANON,  MISSOURI. 

February  2d,  1862. 
Major-General  HAUJSCK,  St.  Louis. 

GENERAL  :  Col.  Jeff.  C.  Davis'  Division  was  expected  at  Linn  Creek 
to-day.  *  *  *  * 

S.  R.  CURTIS, 
Maj  or-  Gen  er  al . 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY.  131 

ROLLA  MISSOURI, 

February  2d,  1862. 
Major-General  H.  W.  HALLECK. 

GENERAL  :  No  forces  at  Salem.  General  Curtis  ordered  them  all 
away.  /  have  only  my  own  regiment  to  hold  this  post.  One  thousand 
sick  left  behind  for  me  to  take  care  of. 

I  am,  General,  with  very  great  respect, 

J.  B.  WYMAN, 
Col.  Com'd'g  Post. 

CAMP  VERNON,  MISSOURI. 

February  6th,  1862. 
Major-General  H.  W.  HALLECK. 

GENERAL  :  Twenty-five  of  the  teams  used  on  the  march  were  or 
dered  by  the  post  quartermaster  at  Rolla,  and  ten  were 
given  in  accordance  with  your  orders  by  Colonel  Wyman,  from  his  regi 
ment,  under  my  obligation  to  return  them. 

I  am,  General,  with  very  great  respect, 

ASBOTH. 

February  8th  1862. — Martial  law  declared  in  Kansas,  by 
General  Hunter. 

Special  Orders  1  LEBANON,  MISSOURI, 

No.  80.         /  February  9th,  1862. 

VI. — "The  remaining    troops   of   this    command,    the    J^hirteenth 
Illinois,   commanded  by   Colonel    Wyman,    Colonel   Phelp's   regiment, 
Bowen's  Battalion,  the  Curtis  Horse,  and  other  troops  not  here  desig 
nated,  will  report  to  these  headquarters  until  otherwise  ordered." 
By  order  of  Brigadier-General  S.  R.  Curtis. 

T.  I.  McKENNY, 

Act.  Asst.  Adjt.-Gen. 

EXECUTIVE  MANSION,  WASHINGTON, 

February  loth,  1862. 
Major-General  HUNTER  and  Brigadier-General  LANE, 

Leavenworth,  Kansas. 

"  My  wish  has  been,  and  is,  to  avail  the  Government  of  the  services 
of  both  General  Hunter  and  General  Lane  ;  and,  so  far  as  possible,  to 
personally  oblige  both.  General  Hunter  is  the  senior  officer  and  must 
command  when  they  serve  together ;  though,  in  so  far  as  he  can,  con 
sistently  with  the  public  service,  and  his  own  honor,  oblige  General 
Lane,  he  will  also  oblige  me.  If  they  can  not  come  to  an  amicable 
understanding,  General  Lane  must  report  to  General  Hunter  for  duty, 
according  to  the  rules,  or  decline  the  service.  A.  LINCOLN. 


132  HISTORY   OF  THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

Bowed  down,  as  these  Generals  knew  President  Lincoln  to 
be,  under  the  load  of  anxieties  and  responsibilities  of  a  dis 
rupted  nation's  troubles,  it  does  seem*as  if  they  might  have 
settled  their  squabbles  by  themselves,  and  there  is  a  tinge  of 
pathetic  sadness  in  the  fatherly  firmness  with  which  he  settles 
the  dispute. 

MARSHFIELD,  MISSOURI, 

February  loth,  1862. 
Major- General  H.  \V.  HALLECK. 

GENERAL  :  The  Iowa  Cavalry  are  not  needed  at  Rolla,  They 
are  needed  here.  I  wish  they  might  be  allowed  to  come  forward. 
Van  Dorn  is  moving  up  to  join  Price.  Shall  try  to  prevent  junction. 
My  columns  are  arriving  here.  Let  the  cavalry  reinforce  me, 
Van  Dorn  has  promised  thirty  thousand  or  forty  thousand  at  Springfield 
very  soon.  Expects  to  be  there  with  ten  thousand  by  the  i5th.  These 
are  the  hopes  and  expectations  of  the  enemy.  I  move  on  to  attack  in 
detail.  I  ain,  General,  with  great  respect, 

S.  R.  CURTIS, 
Maj.-Geu.  Coni'd'g. 


Iii  thus  taking  away  the  cavalry  from  Rolla,  General 
Curtis  must  have  considered  the  Thirteenth  nearly  equal  to 
General  Folk's  five  men. 

Where  are  kept  the  rosters  of  the  great  armies  of  anxious 
ones  who  were  constantly  pressing,  by  rail  or  steamer,  to  the 
front,  peering  through  hospitals,  or  gasping  almost  despair 
ingly  over  battle-fields,  sometimes  so  fortunate  as  to  find  their 
loved  ones,  but  far  more  frequently,  despondently  returning 
alone  to  a  home  of  sadness  and  gloom  ?  Some  of  them  ex 
tremely  fortunate  if  they  could  recognize  and  tenderly  bear 
back  the  cold  remains  for  burial  in  some  quiet  nook,  where 
tears  could  be  shed  on  the  sacred  mound. 

I  have  a  memory  for  voices.  I  was  busily  writing  passes 
one  evening,  in  the  Provost-Marshal's  office  at  Rolla,  Mis 
souri,  surrounded  by  probably  twenty  applicants,  when  my 
ear  caught  a  familiar  voice  talking  with  Marshal  Williams, 
who  was  questioning  the  man  as  to  where  he  lived,  and  so  on. 
I  had  not  heard  that  voice  for  six  years,  but  knew  it  at  once  ; 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  133 

and  I  called  to  the  Marshal,  that  I  would  vouch  for  that  man. 
The  man  was  Mr.  Coon  ;  and  was  an  old  neighbor  of  mine  at 
Rockton,  Winnebago  county,  Illinois,  and  he  wanted  a  pass 
for  himself  and  sick  son,  who  was  a  soldier. 

Mr.  Coon  came  over  to  my  table,  and,  looking  at  me 
sharply,  said,  "  Who  are  you,  sir  ?  "  I  explained  the  matter 
to  him,  when  he  said  :  "  I  perfectly  well  remember  the  man 
whom  you  claim  to  be,  but  I  do  not  in  the  least  recognize  you 
while  dressed  in  the  army  blue."  "  Never  mind,  Mr.  Coon," 
said  I,  "so  long  as  your  pass  is  all  right.  When  you  get  home, 
please  remember  me  to  my  old  neighbors,  Fletcher,  Gridley, 
Dickinson,  the  Talcotts  and  all  the  rest." 

Mr.  Coon  departed,  still  eying  me  sharply,  but  rejoicing. 

Twenty  years  after,  I  was  visiting  in  the  village  where  I 
had  known  Mr.  Coon,  and  while  walking  the  streets  with  one 
of  the  old  friends  mentioned  above,  he  said,  "There  comes  Mr. 
Coon  ;  you  must  remember  him,"  which  was  true;  but  the 
army  incident  had  entirely  gone  from  my  memory,  until  Mr. 
Coon  himself,  said  :  "  Why,  you  are  the  man  who  gave  me 
the  pass  to  bring  home  my  sick  son."  Then  it  came  over  me 
like  a  flash  ;  and  I  replied,  "  I  am  the  same  man."  The 
greeting  on  his  side,  I  hardly  need  say,  was  cordial,  and  the 
meeting,  at  the  same  time  with  him  who  had  been  the  sick 
soldier,  made  it  the  more  interesting. 

HEADQUARTERS,  ST.  Louis,  MISSOURI, 

February  I3th,  1862. 
Major-General  GEO.  B.  McCLEU^AN. 

GENEAU,  :     *    *    *    *     I  am  anxious  about  Fort  Donelson. 
I  am,  General,  respectively, 

H.  W.  HAT,LECK. 

Com'd'g  Department. 

Three  days  later,  Grant  relieves  the  anxiety,  not  only  of 
General  Halleck,  but  of  the  nation,  by  the  capture  of  Fort 
Donelson  and  thirteen  thousand  prisoners.  And  on  the  same 
day,  Price  orders  retreat  from  Springfield. 


CHAPTER    XI. 

GRANT'S  CAPTURE    OF    DONELSON    MAKES    us    THE    MORE 

EAGER   TO   HUNT    PRICE    IN  THE   BOSTON   MOUNTAINS. 
—AT   LAST   WE   ARE   ON   THE   MARCH. 

'RICE  had  retreated  from  Springfield,  the 
day  before  the  date  of  the  following  letter, 
from  Van  Dorn,  laying  out  their  joint  spring's 
work,  which  letter  must  have  had  some  trouble 
in  making  a  circuitous  skulk  around  the  flanks  of 
our  army,  and  humping  itself  briskly  enough  to 
overtake  Price,  who  was  ' '  not  standing  on  the  order 
of  his  going,  but  was  in  something  of  a  hurry."  Van  Dorn's 
letter  was  as  follows  : 

POCAHONTAS,  ARKANSAS,  February  i4th,  1862. 
GENERAL  STERLING  PRICE. 

GENERAL  :     On   the  ist  of  April,   you   and    I  together  will  have 
twenty-three  thousand  men.  *    *    I  design  attempting  St.  Louis. 

As  soon  as  I  can  get  my  wing  ready  to  march  from  Pitman's  Ferry,  I 
intend  putting  your  column  toward  Salem,  in  Dent  county,  covering 
your  object  by  moving  your  advance  toward  Rolla.  I  will  move  so 
as  to  join  you  between  Salem  and  Potosi.  *  *  *  *  From  this  point  of 
junction  of  the  two  columns,  I  will  push  on  by  rapid  marches  to 
St.  Louis,  and  attempt  it  at  once  by  assault.  As  we  advance,  the  bridges 
on  the  railroads  from  Sedalia,  Rolla,  and  Ironton,  will  be  destroyed. 
*  Being  between  Irontou  and  Rolla,  if  we  are  immediately 
threatened  on  either  hand,  we  can  strike  with  our  whole  force  to  the 
right  or  to  the  left,  as  most  advisable,  taking  the  two  armies  in  detail. 
If  we  were  repulsed  from  St.  Louis,  or  if  we  found  it  not  advisable  to 
attempt  it,  we  could  attack  the  enemy  in  the  field  towards  Rolla  and 
Sedalia,  passing  up  the  river  and  gathering  together  our  friends  in  that 

134- 


ILLINOIS    VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  135 

section  of  country  to  reinforce  us.     *     *  Now  with  this  plan  in 

view,  I  do  not  think  it  advisable  to  disturb  the  enemy,  or  alarm  him  any 
more  than  is  necessary  until  we  are  ready  to  march.  But  if  in  the  mean 
time,  with  the  force  at  your  disposal,  and  you  think  it  perfectly  practi 
cable  to  strike  him  a  blow  at  Rolla,  [don't  remember  of  feeling  anything] 
secure  his  amis  [just  imagine  the  Thirteenth  handing  over  their  guns  to 
Price]  and  check  his  intention  of  advancing  for  awhile,  it  is  well  to  do 
so.  [The  trouble  with  the  Thirteenth  was,  that  they  could  never  get  any 
orders  to  advance.  ]  Having  done  this,  pause  where  you  are  [Price  was  too 
wise  to  ever  go  near  enough  to  Rolla  to  need  an}'  advice  about  pausing,] 
and  call  in  recruits  from  that  section  or  country  and  north,  and  watch 
closely  the  enemy  to  the  northwest,  and  maneuver  yotir  column  over  the 
country  between  Rolla  [saw  nothing  of  them,]  and  Springfield  until  I  am 
in  readiness  with  my  column  to  join  you  at  or  near  Potosi. 
I  am,  General,  respectfully, 

EARL  VAN  DORN,  Commanding. 

There  being  more  room  south  of  Springfield,  Price  ma 
neuvered  his  army  in  that  direction,  instead  of  between  Spring 
field  and  Rolla.  And  Van  Dorn,  with  his  army,  long  before 
that  ist  of  April,  had  been  among  the  conquered,  and  was  in 
hiding  among  the  fastnesses  of  the  Boston  Mountains. 

The  subject  of  the  valor,  or  fighting  qualities  of  Confed 
erate  soldiers  and  their  generals,  is  a  bundle  of  surprises  and 
contradictions  very  difficult  to  understand. 

On  the  23d  day  of  July,  1861,  Confederate  General  Polk 
announced  to  Confederate  Secretary  of  War  Walker,  his 
scheme  for  overrunning  Missouri,  seizing  St.  Louis,  invading 
Illinois,  and  "  taking  Cairo  in  the  rear  on  his  return."  He 
claimed  to  have  twenty-five  thousand  men  to  do  it  with. 
Five  days  afterward,  he  writes  again  to  Secretary  Walker, 
and  says  that  since  his  former  letter  he  learns  from  the  Adju 
tant-General  of  Missouri,  that  his  estimate  of  the  forces  under 
the  several  generals  reported  to  him  by  Governor  Claib.  Jack 
son,  was  greatly  exaggerated  ;  to  the  extent  indeed,  of  one-half. 
(What  a  fall  was  there,  my  countrymen!)  And  so,  the  invaders 
did  not  invade. 

At  Wilson's  Creek,  the  victorious  rebel  army  did  not  fol 
low  the  vanquished  army  a  single  step  ;  and  went  the  other  way 
when  they  did  move. 


136  HISTORY   OF    THE    THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

On  the  other  hand,  five  men  of  Confederate  Bishop  General 
Folk's  army  encountered,  attacked,  and  routed,  an  army  of  thir 
teen  hundred  Federals,  several  being  killed  and  many  more 
wounded."  (???) 

Then,  again,  while  our  army  under  Hunter,  lay  at  Spring 
field,  Missouri,  in  the  fall  of  1861,  Price,  with  his  army  ap 
proached  to  within  one  day's  march  of  Springfield,  and  there, 
without  striking  a  blow,  or  being  attacked,  titrned,  and  precipi 
tately  fled  into  Arkansas. 

Instances  could  be  produced  similar  to  the  above  enough 
to  seriously  discommode  the  multiplication-table  to  measure  ; 
but  the  following  will  do  for  a  finish  : 


FAYETTEVILLE,  ARKANSAS, 

February  i6th,  1862. 
Major-General  STERLING  PRICE. 

GENERAL  :  Rumors  have  reached  me  that  you  are  fall 

ing  back  from  Springfield.     I  place  no  reliance  on  the  rumor,  because  I 
think  you  would  have  advised  me  of  the  movement. 

I  am,  General,  with  great  respect, 

BEN.  McCuLLOCH, 

Maj. -General. 


When  McCulloch  wrote  that  letter,  Price  was  three  days' 
march  on  his  retreat  ;  and  it  may  easily  be  presumed  that 
Price  invited  himself  to  supper  that  evening  at  McCulloch's 
table. 

On  February  24th,  1862,  one  week  previous  to  the  time  he 
and  Price  were  to  assault  St.  Louis,  capture  Rolla  and  the 
Thirteenth,  Van  Dorn,  issued  a  circle  to  the  people  of  Arkansas, 
in  which  he  says  : 


•*  *  *  *  The  enemy  has  invaded  your  State.  His  army  is 
powerful,  disciplined,  flushed  with  success,  and  he  comes  with  hatred 
in  his  heart.  He  seeks  to  subjugate  your  soil,  to  desolate  your  homes, 
and  to  wrest  from  you  and  degrade  all  you  hold  dearest  in  life.  * 

EARL  VAN  DORN, 
Commanding  C.  S.  A.  Forces. 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  137 

HEADQUARTERS,  ST.  Louis,  MISSOURI, 

February  15th,  1862. 

Major-General  S.  R.  CURTIS. 

GENERAL  :  Be  careful  in  your  pursuit  of  Price.  Don't  separate  or 
divide  your  forces.  Keep  them  together,  and  well  in  hand.  SigeVs 
detour  lost  the  battle  of  Wilson's  Creek.  Don't  let  him  lead  you  into 
the  same  error. 

I  am,  General,  respectfully, 

H.  W.  HALLECK, 
Major-General  Commanding  Department. 


HEADQUARTERS,  ROLLA,  MISSOURI, 

February  i6th,  1862. 
Captain  N.  H.  McLEAN,  A.  A.-G. 

CAPTAIN  :  The  telegraph  of  General  Halleck  last  night,  is  at  hand. 
I  had  an  interview  with  Major  Wood  this  morning,  and  find  he  has  re 
ceived  sabers  sufficient  to  arm  his  command,  and  also  has  made  requisi 
tion  for  carbines,  which  is  being  filled  by  Colonel  Callender  as  fast  as 
possible.  This  will  make  him  effective.  I  am  satisfied  from  present 
appearances  that  I  shall  be  obliged  to  keep  at  least  half  of  his  force 
near  Salem  to  support  Major  Drake.  The  counties  of  Dent,  Texas, 
Shannon  and  Howell  are  infested  with  three  or  four  bands  of  outlaws, 
who  are  stealing  and  destroying  all  the  Union  property  they  can  find  ; 
would  attack  Salem  and  this  post  if  they  dared,  and  will  try  and  tear 
up  the  railroal  track  unless  closely  watched. 

I  am  still  of  the  opinion  there  should  be  more  force  at  this  post,  par 
ticularly  a  battalion  of  cavalry,  and  one  company  (one  hundred  «men) 
with  two  good  officers  to  man  the  Fort  and  finish  it  up.  A  battery  of 
four  guns,  well  manned,  would  be  the  best  to  take  possession  of  the 
Fort,  as  they  could  be  used  both  in  the  field  and  Fort.  There  is  an  im 
mense  amount  of  government  property  here  which  I  do  not  want  the 
rebels  to  get  or  destroy,  and  do  not  intend  they  shall  while  I  command 
here. 

I  have  sent  Major  Wood  with  two  hundred  of  his  best  mounted  and 
armed  men  to  the  support  of  Major  Drake  at  Salem,  with  the  orders  to 
exterminate  or  drive  out  of  the  State  any  marauding  rebels  they  can 
find. 

I  am,  Captain,  respectfully  yours, 

J.  B.  WYMAN, 
Colonel  Commanding  Post. 


138  HISTORY   OF   THE    THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

NEW  MADRID,  MISSOURI, 

February  26th,  1862. 
General  EARL  VAN  DORN. 

GENERAL  :  *  *  *  *  The  Legislature  ?s  to  meet  here  on  Mon 
day,  if  we  are  not  driven  away  before  that  time. 

I  am,  General,  respectively  yours, 

M.  JEFF.  Thompson. 

Com'd'g  Post. 

This  rebel  Legislature  of  Missouri,  reminds  one  of  the  Mis 
souri  farmer,  whose  chickens  used  to  come  up  to  the  door 
every  morning,  and  roll  over  on  their  backs,  and  stick  up  their 
legs  and  cross  them,  to  have  them  tied  ;  so  used,  had  they  got 
to  moving. 

Confederate  General  Jeff  Thompson,  who,  only  six  days 
ago,  wrote  General  Van  Dorn  of  the  meeting  of  the  Legisla 
ture,  and  his  doubts  of  its  accomplishment,  seems  to  be  in 
such  a  condition  of  unrest  as  to  think  it  necessary  to  promul 
gate  a  proclamation  to  the  effect  that 

WHEREAS,  The  forces  of  Abraham  Lincoln  are  making  such  de 
monstrations  this  day,  that  it  is  deemed  unsafe  and  inexpedient  for  the 
Legislature  of  Missouri  to  assemble  and  transact  business  in  this 

town.     *    *    *     * 

M.  JEFF.  THOMPSON, 
Brig-Gen.  Com'd'g  Post. 

On  February  26th,  1862,  Lieutenant-Colonel  S.  N.  Wood 
reports  to  Colonel  Wyman,  at  Rolla,  his  raid  on  Salem  and 
vicinity,  and  of  the  affair  at  West  Plains,  which  the}-  sur 
rounded  and  took,  and  where  their  mountain-howitzer  sent  a 
shell  through  both  walls,  and  three  partitions  of  the  Court 
House,  and  then  exploded. 

CROSS  HOLLOW,  ARKANSAS, 

February  22d,  1862. 
Major-General  H.  W.  HALLECK. 

GENERAL  :  My  flank  movements  command  Cross  Hollow.  The 
enemy  evacuated  and  my  cavalry  drove  the  pickets  and  camped  on  the 
ground.  All  the  traps  have  now  been  taken.  I  shall  camp  here  till  my 
Commissary  train  comes  up  ;  my  left  resting  on  Cross  Hollow,  and  my 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  139 

right  on  this  Spring  (Osage  Spring)  extending  from  road  to  road  six 
miles.  I  will  send  my  cavalry  forward  to  take  Fayetteville,  which  is 
only  ten  miles  from  their  front  pickets. 

THE  ARKANSAS  HILLS   ECHO  THE  SHOUTS 

of  my  troops  who  rejoice  at  the  glorious  news  from  Fort  Donelson. 
I  am,  General,  with  great  respect, 

S.  R.  CURTIS, 
Maj.-Gen.  Com'd'g. 

HEADQUARTERS,  ST.  Louis,  MISSOURI, 

February,  28,  1862. 
Maj.-Gen.  S.  R.  CURTIS. 

GENERAL  :  Carry  out  the  general  instruction  of  the  22d.  Vary  the 
details  as  circumstances  may  require.  General  Hunter  will  soon  move 
with  rive  thousand  men  on  your  right  flank.  All  you  have  to  do  now  is 
to  hold  your  position  and  keep  the  enemy  south  of  the  Boston  Mount 
ains.  I  will  turn  them  in  a  few  weeks  and  cut  off  their  supplies.  / 
have  kept  Colonel  Wyman  at  Rolla.  It  will  not  do  yet  to  weaken  that 
post.  I  am,  General,  very  respectfully, 

H.  W.  HALLECK, 
Maj.-Gen.  Com'd'g. 

How  the  post  of  Rolla,  numerically,  could  be  weakened 
and  still  held,  General  Halleck  does  not  say  ;  but  he  has 
talked  and  acted  all  along  as  though  he  considered  the  place 
perfectly  safe  as  long  as  the  garrison  consisted  of  no  more  than 
the  Thirteenth  ;  and  even  the  regular  and  refugee  loyal  citi 
zens  had  such  perfect  confidence  in  the  prowess  of  our  regi 
ment,  not  to  speak  of  the  cordial  friendship  entertained  by 
almost  a  year's  association,  that  they  protested  against  our  leav 
ing  and  going  to  the  front;  and  they  had  got  so  accustomed  to 
the  methods  of  procedure  of  our  Company  Q  that  they  much 
rather  have  their  good  things  stolen  by  that  organization  than  to 
sell  them  to  new-comers. 

CROSS  HOLLOW,  ARKANSAS, 

March  4th,  1862. 
Maj.-Gen.  H.  »W.  HALLECK. 

GENERAL:  I  regret  the  delay  of  Wymari  s  regiment  for  many  rea 
sons.     The  enemy  is  said  to  be  receiving  large  reinforcements.   *   *   *   ' 
I  am,  General,  with  great  respect, 

S.  R.  CURTIS, 
Maj.-Gen.  Com'd'g. 


140  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

Our  release  came  at  last.  On  March  5th,  we  had  orders 
to  march  at  8  o'clock  next  morning. 

Had  we  spent  one  more  day  here,  «it  would  have  been 
exactly  eight  months  since  our  first  arrival.  The  regiment 
arrived  at  Rolla  at  daylight  on  Sunday,  July  yth,  1861.  We 
leave  on  Thursday,  March  6th,  1862. 

The  morning  was  cold  and  stormy,  and  we  took  the  road 
toward  the  front,  at  10  a.  m.  in  the  midst  of  a  severe  snow 
storm.  When  we  reached  a  more  wood-sheltered  locality, 
the  weather  was  more  comfortable ;  but  there  had  been 
enough  storm  to  render  the  roads  difficult  of  travel. 

After  nearly  a  year's  stay  at  Rolla,  we  could  not  bid  fare 
well  for  ever,  without  much  sober  thought,  accompanied  by 
many  pleasant  and  tender  recollections  ;  and  the  day  of 
gloomy  weather  accorded  well  with  the  depression  of  spirits 
observable  among  the  men  by  their  silence  and  quietness  of 
manner  ;  and  then  the  somewhat  sad  thoughts  of  what  we 
were  leaving,  were  smothered  and  driven  back,  by  the  future 
looming  up  before  us  with  its  responsibilities  and  possibili 
ties. 

We  crossed  the  Little  Piney,  and  camped  on  its  thither 
bank,  at  3:30  p.  m.,  after  marching  fourteen  miles. 

Friday,  the  yth,  we  broke  camp  at  Little  Piney,  at  about 
7  a.  m.,  and  during  the  day  crossed  the  Big  Piney  river, 
on  a  ferry-boat,  made  about  twenty  miles,  and  went  into  camp 
near  the  town  of  Waynesville.  The  weather  had  moderated, 
and  was  now  warm.  Fresh  pork  seemed  to  be  abundant, 
which  indicated  disloyalty  ;  as  Union  pork  stands  a  poor 
chance  in  a  Secesh  community.  But  disloyal  pork  affiliates 
in  a  most  friendly  manner  with  Union  soldiers  ;  and  our  boys 
made  the  most  of  their  opportunity. 

DESECRATING   A   GRAVE. 

It  was  at  a  small  plantation  close  by  our  camp  here,  that 
several  of  our  boys  visited,  and  struck  a  streak  of  unusual 
luck.  At  the  house,  there  were  two  young  ladies  who 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  141 

walked  uneasily  up  and  down  the  galleries  and  seemed  to 
keep  a  sharp  lookout  on  the  boys,  seeming  to  watch  their 
every  movement  ;  and  even  when  one  of  the  politest  and 
suavest  of  the  Illinois  soldiers,  having  a  record  for  gallantry 
achieved  among  Dixie's  fair  daughters,  approached  and  tried 
to  engage  them  in  conversation,  he  was  snappingly  repulsed, 
while  the  fair  damsels  seemed  to  regard  the  other  soldiers 
with  more  interest  than  the  one  at  hand.  Chagrined,  piqued, 
vexed  and  mortified,  our  hero  drew  off  his  forces  to  secure  a 
better  position  ;  and  it  struck  him  that  the  ladies  had  some 
strong  reason  for  their  close  watch  of  his  comrades  ;  and  he 
set  himself  to  fathom  the  mystery  if  he  could.  He,  as  well  as 
the  other  boys  had  already  discovered  a  new-made  grave,  in 
a  secluded  spot,  and  surrounded  by  older  graves.  Our  boys 
were  naturally  somewhat  suspicious  of  fresh  graves,  especially 
in  "the  land  of  cotton"  ;  for,  many  times  they  had  proved 
to  be  cunningly  arranged  cache's  containing  no  corpse,  but 
articles  of  more  or  less  value  hidden  for  safety.  The  discarded 
ladies'  man  noticed  an  entire  change  of  facial  expression  in 
the  young  ladies,  as  the  soldiers  approached,  or  receded  from, 
the  fresh  grave.  He,  therefore,  came  to  the  conclusion  that  a 
sufficiently  thorough  post-mortem  examination  had  not  been 
made  of  the  deceased,  before  burial,  and  that  the  public  (the 
five  soldiers)  were  clamoring  for  an  investigation. 

Our  philosopher  called  the  boys  and  imparted  to  them  his 
suspicions,  and  his  reasons  therefor.  The  whole  five  ap 
proached  the  gallery,  and  our  previously  discomfited  hero,  of 
Company  A,  being  the  acknowledged  spokesman,  said  : 

"  Ladies,  what  does  that  fresh  grave  contain?  " 

"Why!  our  aunt  is  buried  there,"  replied  the  light- 
haired  one,  in  somewhat  well  assumed  astonishment. 

After  each  question  and  its  answer,  the  military  quintette 
of  coroners  would  walk  a  little  apart,  apparently  for  consulta 
tion  and  again  approach  with  another  interrogatory. 

The  man  from  Company  G,  in  the  coolest,  matter-of-fact 
way,  now,  asked  : 

"  Ladies,  how  happened  your  aunt  to  die  just  then  ?  " 


142  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

1 '  Why, ' '  replied  the  dark-complexioned  one,  with  ill- 
concealed  vexation,  at  such  a  preposterous  question  : 

"  Can't  we  uns  die  when  we  uns  git  ready,  and  not  ax  you 
Yanks?" 

Upon  which  tall  Bob,  of  Company  I,  replied  : 

"Folks  are  not  apt  to  die  just  as  our  regiment  comes 
along,  unless  they  get  killed." 

This  philosophy  seemed  to  stagger  the  blonde  young  lady, 
who  seemed  to  be  the  milder  of  the  two  in  disposition,  and 
she  said  : 

"  Do  you  uns  'spect  ter  have  we  uns  die  afore  the  time,  or 
wait  'till  you  uns  git  by,  jest  ter  please  you  uns  ?  " 

A  Company  C  man  now  asked  : 

' '  Why  do  you  not  wear  mourning  for  your  aunt  ? ' ' 

"  Nun  o'  yer  bizniz,"  snapped  out  she  of  the  raven  tresses  ; 
"we  had  black  rigin'  all  fixed  up,  and  Bowen's  critter 
company,  and  er  lot  oy  them  ere  nasty  of  Thirteenth,  up  ter 
Roily,  raided  down  this  a-way,  und  stole  mighty  nigh  every 
dog-goned  fixen  we  uns  had." 

The  Company  A  man  thought  it  high  time  to  bring  the 
inquest  to  a  close  ;  and  once  more  addressing  the  young 
ladies,  said  : 

' '  Ladies,  we  are  suspicious  that  you  have  arms  and  ammu 
nition  buried  in  that  grave,  with  which  to  arm  our  enemies. 
We  must  examine  that  grave." 

Not  desiring  to  encounter  the  full  force  of  the  two  cyclones 
already  shadowed  forth  by  the  sharply  accentuated  uncom 
plimentary  epithets  and  taunts,  to  be  found  only  in  the 
vocabulary  of  a  rebel  Secesh  woman,  the  boys  politely  raised 
their  caps,  bowed  profoundly,  withdrew  from  the  dangerous 
proximity  of  the  female  storm-centers,  procured  a  .spade,  rev 
erently  opened  the  grave  of  the  young  ladies'  aunt,  and 
exhumed  about  six  bushels  of  very  fine  apples. 

Sending  to  camp  for  enough  extra  pairs  of  trousers,  by 
tying  the  bottoms  of  the  legs,  convenient  receptacles  were 
thereby  fitted,  in  which  to  transfer  the  treasure-trove  to  camp. 
Before  leaving,  tall  Bob  drew  deferentially  near  and  said  : 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  143 

' '  Young  ladies,  /  like  your  aunt  more  than  any  woman  I 
have  seen  about  here. ' ' 

It  seems  hardly  worth  while  to  wait  until  we  are  Hearing 
Helena  to  relate  a  story  which  overmatches  the  above,  and 
will  be  given  now,  as  it  is  a  companion  piece  to  this,  and  is 
related  in  the  company  history  of  H  Company,  by  its  his 
torian,  Sibley,  as  follows  : 

The  day  but  one  before  we  reached  Helena,  Arkansas, 
as  our  regiment  was  passing  through  a  suburb  of  the  town  of 
Clarendon,  we  passed  a  burying-ground,  where  there  was  a 
new-made  grave,  several  of  the  boys  sat  down  and  agreed 
that  the  rebs  had  hidden  bacon  there,  and  to  fool  us,  had 
made  the  mound.  Warren  Jennings,  of  G  Company,  com 
monly  called  "Old  Sly,"  stoutly  asserted  the  contrary.  "It 
was  a  grave,"  he  said  ;  but  the  majority  prevailed,  and  they 
got  a  shovel  and  took  turns  digging,  "Old  Sly"  sulkily 
watching.  It  was  a  h'ot  day  ;  but  the  boys  soon  reached  a 
strong  scen^  and  then  said  it  \vas  a  grave,  and  were  for  filling 
it  up.  "  Old  Sly  "  however,  took  the  shovel  and  now  said, 
"It  is  bacon,  I  know  it  is."  He  soon  came  to  a  box,  took  off 
the  lid,  and  reached  down  and  pulled  up  a  colored  child,  its 
teeth  and  eyes  shining  and  grinning. 

It  is  almost  needless  to  say  that  the  resurrectionists 
jumped  out  of  the  grave  and  left  in  a  hurry. 

The  luxury  of  apples  was  a  delicious  dessert  after  fried 
bacon,  lobscouse,  and  hard-tack.  But  six  bushels  of  apples 
among  a  thousand  men  would  not  have  much  of  a  show 
towards  going  round  and  giving  each  a  taste  of  even  the  core, 
or  a  bit  of  paring,  and  it  was  not  to  be  thought  of,  and  no 
distribution  was  attempted,  except  to  a  few  of  the  particular 
chums  of  the  apple  foragers. 

Comrade  Nelson  E.  Chapel  records  that,  at  this  camp 
Colonel  Wyman  ordered  Captain  Button  and  a  squad,  to  go 
up  town  and  empty  three  barrels  of  whisky  on  to  the  ground. 

Saturday,  March  8th. — Had  reveille  at  4  o'clock,  and  left 
Camp  '  'Reb  Russet ' '  ( named  by  the  boys  in  honor  of  the 
apples )  at  daylight.  The  weather,  which  in  the  morning  had 


144  HISTORY    OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

been  beautiful,  made  a  change  in  the  afternoon,  which 
brought  rain  in  torrents  ;  and  the  last  of  the  day's  march  of 
twelve  miles,  was  through  mud  and  wat^r,  sometimes  ankle  - 
deep.  The  marching  in  mud  and  rain  for  an  entire  day, 
once  in  a  while,  would  not  amount  to  much  in  the  way  of 
discomfort,  if  it  were  not  for  the  inevitable  discomfort  of  the 
following  night.  If  the  soldier,  after  marching  all  day,  in 
mud  and  storm,  could  come  into  camp  to  find  a  good  rail  fire, 
a  piece  of  hard-tack,  a  cup  of  hot  coffee,  and  a  dry  bed  to 
sleep  in,  he  would  laugh  at  talk  of  hardship  and  exposure. 

This  camp  was  near  Lebanon,  Missouri,  and  it  was  here 
that  we  got  the  first  rumors  of  the  fight,  and  our  victor}7,  at 
Pea  Ridge  ;  and  it  served  to  divert  the  minds  of  the  boys,  and 
cheer  them  while  surrounded  by  so  many  discomforts. 

Sunday,  March  gth,  sky  clear,  but  our  ten  miles  was  made 
over  horrible  roads. 

Monday,  March  loth,  roads  so  bad  that  a  late  start,  at  10 
a.  m.  was  considered  better  policy,  than  forced  marching  when 
the  weather  and  roads  were  at  their  worst.  We  went  into 
camp  not  more  than  ten  or  twelve  miles  from  our  last  night's 
camp. 

Tuesday,  March  nth,  1862,  Comrade  Chapel's  diary  says  : 
"During  the  night,  we  got  word  that  a  fight  was  going  on 
near  Springfield,  between  Generals  Curtis  and  Sigel,  and 
*  Old  Price  '  and  that  we  were  wanted  there  as  soon  as  possi 
ble  ;  so  we  were  five  miles  on  our  way  by  sunrise.  We 
marched  the  first  fourteen  miles  in  four  hours.  During  the 
day  we  marched  over  some  very  pretty  country,  including 
several  small  prairies  that  served  to  remind  us  of  Illinois.  We 
marched  twenty-six  miles  and  camped  at  3  p.  m.  within  six 
teen  miles  of  Springfield.  We  have  learned  that  the  fight  had 
taken  place  at  Sugar  Creek,  Arkansas,  and  Price  was  thor 
oughly  cleaned  out." 

Wednesday,  March  i2th,  clear  and  bright,  and  we  got  an 
early  start,  and  reached  out  for  Springfield,  which  we  reached, 
and,  in  the  best  form  which  the  Thirteenth  was  capable  of 
putting  on,  the  regiment,  with  guns  at  a  "right  shoulder," 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY.  145 

and  band  playing  "Jefferson's  Liberty,"  looked  its  very 
best. 

Colonel  Wyman  led  us  through  the  town,  and  two  and  a 
half  miles  beyond,  where  we  went  into  camp.  This  camp  was 
called  ' '  Camp  Bush  ' '  ;  and  xas  we  are  to  spend  one  day  here 
for  rest,  we  shall  find  it  a  convenient  opportunity  for  learning 
something  about  the  great  fight,  which,  although  we  could 
not  participate  in,  we  see  the  evidence  of  on  every  hand,  in 
the  great  numbers  now  passing  through  here,  of  the  wounded 
and  prisoners. 

The  battle  of  Pea  Ridge,  Arkansas,  was  fought  on  the  6th,. 
yth  and  8th  of  March,  1862.  It  commenced  the  same  day 
that  the  Thirteenth  left  Rolla  to  take  part  in  it.  General 
Curtis'  force  consisted  of  the  Twenty-fifth,  Thirty-fifth, 
Thirty-sixth,  Thirty-seventh,  Forty-fourth  and  Fifty-ninth 
Illinois;  Sec6ud,  Third,  Twelfth,  Fifteenth,  Seventeenth, 
Twenty-fourth,  and  Phelps'  regiment,  Missouri  ;  Eighth, 
Eighteenth  and  Twenty-second  Indiana  ;  Fourth  and  Ninth 
Iowa,  Third  Iowa  Cavalry,  Third  and  Fifteenth  Illinois  Cav 
alry,  First,  Fourth,  Fifth  and  Sixth  Missouri  Cavalry,  Batteries 
B  and  F  Second  Missouri  Light  Artillery,  Second  Ohio  Battery, 
First  Indiana  Battery,  Battery  A  Second  Illinois  Artillery. 

Union  :  two  hundred  and  three  killed,  nine  hundred  and 
seventy-two  wounded,  one  hundred  and  seventy-four  missing. 
Confederate :  eleven  hundred  killed,  twenty-five  hundred 
wounded,  sixteen  hundred  missing  and  captured. 

Union  Brigadier-General  Asboth  and  Acting  Brigadier- 
General  Carr  wounded.  Confederate  General  B.  McCulloch 
and  Acting  Brigadier-General  James  Mclntosh  killed. 

It  is  an  advantage  not  to  write  history  close  by  the  events 
of  which  that  history  is  composed.  Later  on,  the  light  of 
many  contemporaneous  events  can  be  turned  on,  throwing 
into  conspicuous  relief,  causes,  reasons,  and  results,  which 
are  so  necessary  to  a  clear  understanding  of  what  is  imper 
fectly  understood  at  the  time. 

We  turn  on  the  light,  therefore,  but  only  those  veterans 
who  have  survived  for  twenty-nine  years  will  be  able  to  read 


146  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

what  that  same  night  in  ' '  Camp  Bush  ' '  brought  forth  not  far 
off,  as  told  by  General  Pope,  as  follows  : 

fi 
NEW  MADRID,  MISSOURI, 

March  I4th,  1862. 
General  H.  W.  HALLECK. 

GENERAL  :     To  my  utter  amazement,   the  enemy  hurriedly  evac 
uated  the  place  last  night,  leaving  everything.     *    *    *    * 
I  am,  General,  with  great  respect, 

JOHN  POPE, 
Com'd'g  Post. 

And  again  Halleck  to  Stanton,  same  date  : 

HEADQUARTERS,  ST.  Louis,  MISSOURI, 

March  I4th,  1862. 

EDWIN  M.  STANTON,  Secretary  of  War. 

GENERAL  :  The  enemy  has  evacuated  his  post  and  in- 

trenchments  at  New  Madrid,  leaving  all   his  artillery,  field  batteries, 

tents,  wagons,  mules,  etc.,  and  an  immense  quantity  of  military  stores. 

This  was  the  last  stronghold  of  the  enemy  in  this  State. 

There  is 

NO   REBEL   FLAG   NOW   FLYING  IN   MISSOURI. 

I  am,  General,  with  great  respect, 

H.  W.  HALLECK, 
Maj-Gen.  Com'd'g  Dep't. 

This  continual  snatching  away  of  victories  which  bob  up 
just  ahead  of  the  skirmish-line  of  the  Thirteenth,  both  to  the 
right  and  left,  was  desperately  provoking,  while  we  were 
almost  literally  double-quicking  to  catch  up  with  one. 
This  evacuation  of  New  Madrid,  within  a  week  after  the 
victory  at  Pea  Ridge,  seems  to  have  resulted  from  that  vic 
tory,  the  importance  of  which  is  thus  shown,  and  must  have 
greatly  cheered  General  Curtis.  And  it  would  greatly  have 
cheered  us,  had  we  known,  that  when  we  left  "  Camp  Bush  " 
and  three  days  afterwards  reached  the  State  line  of  Arkansas, 
we  left  nothing  formidable  behind  us. 


CHAPTER     XII. 


TOO  LATE,  BUT  CURTIS  WHIPPED  MCCULLOCH  WITH  HIS 
INDIANS,  WHO  WERE  ALLOWED  TO  MUTILATE  WITH 
THEIR  SCALPING-KNIVES. 


resting  a  day  at  Camp  Bush,  we  left 
the  camp  at  6  a.  m.  on  Friday,  March  i4th, 
made  a  short  halt  at  the  old  battle-ground  of 
Wilson's  Creek,  and  saw  many  reminders  of 
that  battle.  After  making  eighteen  miles 
over  bad  roads,  went  into  camp  at  Dug  Springs, 
where  some  of  the  boys  luxuriously  slept  on  straw 
which  they  found  three  and  a  half  miles  away.  Passed  many 
rebel  prisoners  during  the  day  being  taken  to  Springfield, 
some  of  whom  were  Indians. 

Saturday ',  March  i$th. — Marched  through  mud  and  water 
sixteen  miles  and  made  our  camp  in  an  orchard  near  the  head 
of  Crane  Creek.  On  Sunday,  March  i6th,  made  nineteen 
miles  over  bad  roads,  passing  many  wounded  men  in  ambu 
lances,  being  taken  back  to  Springfield.  We  made  our  camp 
to-night  near  Cassville.  Comrade  Reuben  Hevenor  records 
that  we  crossed  Platt  Creek  ten  times  to-day. 

Monday,  March  ijth. — Notwithstanding  bad  roads,  we 
made  twenty-four  miles.  The  latter  part  of  the  march  took 
us  over  parts  of  the  late  battle-ground,  where  were  evidences 
on  every  hand  of  the  prevalence  of  the  ' '  besom  of  destruc 
tion  ' '  which  follows  artillery  practice  in  great  battles.  The 
splintering  of  great  trees,  the  lopping  off  of  their  tops  and 
branches,  as  though  they  had  been  nothing  but  reeds,  the 

147 


148  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

ground  furrowed  by  shot  and  shell,  spent  cannon-balls,  dead 
horses,  muskets,  and  broken  artillery  wagons,  were  all  to  be 
seen  by  one  sweep  of  the  eye.  Neatly  all  of  the  dead  had 
been  buried. 

On  Tuesday,  March  i8th,  there  is  recorded  in  Comrade 
Wilson  B.  Chapel's  diary  this  interesting  and  worthy  to  be 
preserved  record  : 

"This  morning  our  knapsack  wagon  was  discharged,  and 
for  the  first  time  in  our  (military)  lives 

WE    PACKED    OUR    KNAPSACKS   ON    OUR    BACKS. 

Made  but  seven  miles  and  camped  on  Sugar  Creek,  Sigel's 
old  ground,  and  near  where  he  and  his  troops  now  were. 

Wednesday,  March  i$th. — A  severe  march  of  twenty-four 
miles,  between  i  a.  m.  and  dark,  brought  us  back  to  Keets- 
ville,  where  we  went  into  camp  for  fifteen  days,  which  will 
give  us  time  to  look  up  some  matters  which  must  be  recorded 
before  commencing  the  Arkansas  Campaign. 

In  one  of  the  opening  chapters  of  this  history,  in  speaking 
of  the  Confederate  conspiracy  with  the  Indians,  of  which  the 
massacre  of  the  white  settlers  in  Minnesota  was  the  first  fruits, 
the  writer  then  said  :  "We  shall  have  occasion,  in  another 
part  of  this  work,  to  trace  the  causes,  and  fix  the  responsi 
bility  where  it  belongs." 

On  March  gth,  1862,  one  day  after  the  closing  of  the 
battle  of  Pea  Ridge,  Confederate  General  Karl  Van  Dorn, 
under  flag  of  truce,  asked  permission  of  General  Curtis  to 
bury  his  dead.  In  addition  to  the  granting  of  the  permission 
asked,  General  Curtis  instructed  his  adjutant-general  to  say  : 

' '  The  General  regrets,  that  we  find  on  the  battle-field,  con 
trary  to  ' '  civilized  warfare, ' '  many  of  the  Federal  dead,  who 
were  tomahawked^  scalped,  and  their  bodies  shamefully  mangled, 
and  expresses  a  hope  that  this  important  struggle  may  not  de 
generate  to  a  savage  warfare. ' ' 

Colonel  Cyrus  Bussey,  and  Adjutant  John  W.   Noble,  of 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  149 

the  Third  Iowa  Cavalry,  made  affidavits  that  eight  of  the  men 
of  their  regiment 

WERE  SCALPED. 

These  barbarous  atrocities  seem  to  furnish  a  fitting  text 
for  a  consideration  of  the  Indian  question,  as  connected  with 
the  Slaveholders'  Rebellion. 

By  the  light  of  comparatively  recent  history,  it  is  impossi 
ble  to  avoid  the  conclusion  that,  by  the  aid  of  a  Slaveholders' 
Rebellion,  long  promised  in  the  United  States,  Rome  was 
ready  to  strike  a  deadly,  and  decisive  blow  for  the  destruction 
of  civil  and  religious  liberty  in  America.  America's  neces 
sity  was  to  be  Rome's  opportunity,  when  the  Monroe  doctrine 
could  be  ignored  with  impunity.  The  Slaveholder's  Rebellion 
was  to  occupy  all  the  powers  of  the  Union  ;  the  Indian  nations, 
from  the  Canada  line  to  the  Rio  Grande,  were  to  revolt  against 
the  United  States  Government,  simultaneously  with  the  Re 
bellion,  all  of  which  were  to  engage  our  forces  by  a  combined 
power  so  formidable  as  to  afford  Rome  the  needed  opportu 
nity  of  using  the  bayonets  of  Roman  Catholic  Europe,  in 
placing  a  Roman  Catholic  prince  on  an  imperial  throne  in 
Mexico,  on  our  very  borders  ;  presuming  that  Catholic 
Mexico  would  hasten  to  obey  her  behests. 

The  imperial  chariot  of  Rome  was  ready  to  move  before 
the  slaveholders  of  America,  with  their  Indian  allies,  were 
ready  to  co-operate.  Mexico  was  overawed  by  European  co 
horts  long  enough  to  thrust  Maximilian  on  to  a  hastily  im 
provised  throne,  and  the  semblance  of  an  imperial  court 
stalked  through  the  ancient  "  halls  of  the  Montezumas." 

Maximilian  had  no  troops  that  he  could  spare  to  assist 
the  Rebellion,  when  they  were  needed.  Jefferson  Davis  was 
overmatched  at  home  and  could  not  lend  a  man  to  help  sus 
tain  the  insecure  throne  across  the  river,  and  a  direct  interpo 
sition  of  divine  Providence  sent  a  Russian  fleet  accidental!}' 
near  our  Pacific  coast  at  the  right  time  to  prevent  a  naval 
fleet  from  Protestant  England  seizing  our  cities  and  harbors 
on  that  defenseless  coast,  the  conspirators,  having  once 


150  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

before  failed  to  stab  us  in  the  back,  by  secret^  backing 
Mexico  against  us  in  the  Mexican  War  of  1846.  Only  a  few 
of  the  Indians  revolted,  and  that  few  were  controlled  so  as  to 
be  useless  to  the  rebels. 

Treason's  hand  was  finally  shaken  from  the  throat  of  our 
nation,  but  a  four- thousand-million  saddle  of  bankruptcy  was 
left  on  its  back,  which  made  it  impossible  to  immediately 
drive  Rome's  Empire  from  Mexico  ;  but  mountainous  Mexico 
had  reared  a  liberty-loving  race  of  people  who  had  tasted  the 
sweets  of  political  liberty  ;  and  while  still  willing  to  wear  the 
iron  collar  of  Rome's  religion,  utterly  refused  to  wear  the 
political  shackles  of  monarchy.  They  overthrew  the  throne, 
tossed  the  Imperial  crown  into  the  smelting-pot,  and  igno- 
miniously  shot  the  usurping  Emperor. 

THUS    LAY  MINGLED    IN  A    LAST   EMBRACE,  THE  ASHES  OF 
THE  LAST  AMERICAN  EMPIRE,  AND  THE  FRAG 
MENTS   AND  DUST  OF  ITS   INTENDED 
DEPENDENCY,  THE  AMERICAN 
SLAVEHOLDERS'  CON 
FEDERACY. 

As  corroborating  and  substantiating  the  above  position 
and  claims,  it  seems  timely  and  appropriate  to  take  the  evi 
dence  of  no  less  distinguished  personages  than  one  Arch 
bishop  of  the  Romish  church,  one  Romish  Cardinal,  and  the 
Sovereign  Pontiff,  Pope  Pius  IX.,  himself. 

The  article  following  is  taken  from  the  public  prints  of  the 
time  of  the  document  found  in  the  records  captured  at  the 
time  of  the  evacuation  of  Richmond,  and  is  as  follows  : 

POPE   AND   REBEL. 

Pius  IX.' s  Recognition  of  Jeff  Davis — A  letter  unearthed  at 
Washington. 

Washington  Dispatch  :  ' '  For  twenty-five  years  it  has 
been  charged  and  denied,  and  denied  and  charged,  that  the 
Vatican  was  in  sympathy  with  the  South  during  the  war.  In 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  151 

his  political  history  of  the  Rebellion,  McPherson,  who,  in 
matters  of  doubt,  always,  and  naturally,  leans  to  the  north 
ward,  says  that  the  church  took  no  official  action,  although 
Archbishop  Lynch  went  to  Rome  as  agent  of  the  Confederacy. 
He  also  gives  a  letter  from  Cardinal  Antonelli,  addressed  to 
A.  Dudley  Mann,  J.  M.  Mason,  and  John  Slidell,  Commis 
sioners  of  the  Confederate  States  of  America,  acknowledging 
on  behalf  of  the  Pope  the  receipt  of  a  manifesto  from  Jefferson 
Davis,  and  expressing  the  hope  of  the  Pope  that  war  between 
the  States  may  be  speedily  terminated." 

This  is  all  I  can  find  in  history  on  the  subject,  beyond 
numerous  general  assertions  and  denials  that  the  Pope  did 
officially  recognize  the  Confederate  Government  and  gave 
Jefferson  Davis  his  august  blessing.  That  Davis  sought  the 
same  has  never  been  disputed,  and  that  he  received  it  has 
been  claimed  by  nearly  all  the  historical  writers  on  the  Con 
federate  side.  High  functionaries  of  the  church  have  re 
peatedly  denied  that  the  Pontifical  benediction  was  ever 
pronounced  upon  the  Confederacy,  and  their  denial  has  been 
accepted  as  final. 

At  the  Treasury  Department  the  other  day,  Mr.  Crites, 
of  Nebraska,  the  chief  of  the  division  of  captured  and  aban 
doned  property,  showed  me  a  time-worn  paper,  which  was 
found  among  the  records  captured  at  the  time  of  the  evacua 
tion  of  Richmond,  that  will  settle  the  controversy  forever.  It 
has  lain  all  this  time  in  the  pigeon-holes  of  the  department, 
unknown  and  unnoticed,  while  the  historians  and  theologians 
have  been  disputing  its  existence.  Attached  to  it  is  the  fol 
lowing  letter  of  transmittal  : 

BRUSSELS,  May  9,  1864. 

To  the  PRESIDENT  :  Herewith  I  have  the  honor  to  transmit  the  let 
ter  which  his  Holiness,  Pope  Pius  the  IX.,  addressed  to  your  Excellency 
the  3d  of  December  last.  Mr.  W.  Jefferson  Buchanan  has  obligingly 
undertaken  its  conveyance  and  will  deliver  it  to  you  in  the  person. 
This  letter  will  grace  the  archives  of  the  Executive  office  in  all  coining 
time.  It  will  live,  too,  forever  in  story  as  the  production  of  the  first 
potentate  who  formally  recognized  your  official  position  and  accorded  to 
one  of  the  diplomatic  representatives  of  the  Confederate  States  an  audi- 


152  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

ence  in  an  established  court  palace,  like  that  of  St.  James  and  the  Tuil- 
eries.     I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  the  most  distinguished  consideration, 
Your  Excellency's  obedient  servant, 

A.  DUDLEY  MANN. 

[To  his  Excellency,  Jefferson  Davis.  President  C.  S.  A.,  Richmond.] 


The  letter  of  the  Pope  is  written  upon  parchment  in  the 
quaint  ecclesiastical  style,  in  Latin,  of  course,  and  is  addressed 
as  follows  : 

Illustre  et  Honorabilie  Viro,  Jefferson  Davis,  Prafesidi  F&deratarum 
America?  Region um.  Richmond. 


The  following  is  a  translation  of  the  text  : 


ILLUSTRIOUS  AND  HONORABLE  SIR  :  We  have  received  with  fit 
ting  kindness  the  gentleman  sent  by  your  Excellency  to  deliver  us  your 
letters  bearing  date  of  the  23d  of  September  last.  We  certainly  experi 
enced  no  small  pleasure  when  we  learned  from  the  same  gentleman  and 
the  letters  of  your  Excellency  with  what  emotions  of  joy  and  gratitude 
towards  us  you  were  affected,  Illustrious  and  Honorable  Sir,  when  you 
were  first  made  acquainted  with  our  letters  to  the  reverend  brothers, 
John,  Archbishop  of  New  York,  and  John,  Archbishop  of  New  Orleans, 
written  the  i8th  of  October  last,  in  which  we  again  and  again  urged 
and  exhorted  the  same  reverend  brethren  that  as  behooved  their  dis 
tinguished  piety  and  their  episcopal  charge,  they  should  most  zealously 
use  every  effort  in  our  name  and  also  bring  an  end  to  the  fatal  Civil 
War  that  had  arisen  in  these  regions,  and  that  these  people  of  America 
might  at  length  attain  mutual  peace  and  concord  and  be  reunited  in 
mutual  chanty.  And  very  grateful  was  it  to  us,  Illustrious  and  Honora 
ble  Sir,  to  perceive  that  you  and  these  people  were  animated  with  the 
same  feelings  of  peace  and  tranquillity  which  we  earnestly  inculcated 
in  the  letters  mentioned  as  having  been  addressed  to  the  aforesaid 
reverend  brethren  ;  and  would  that  other  people  also  of  these  regions, 
and  their  rulers,  would  seriously  consider  how  grievous  and  mournful 
a  thing  is  intestine  war,  and  be  pleased  with  tranquil  minds  to  embrace 
and  enter  upon  counsels  of  peace.  We,  indeed,  shall  not  cease,  with 
the  most  fervent  prayers,  to  beseech  God,  the  omnipotent  and  all-good, 
to  pour  out  the  spirit  of  Christian  charity  and  peace  upon  all  the  people 
of  America  and  deliver  them  from  the  evils  so  great  with  which  they 
are  afflicted.  And  of  the  most  Merciful  Lord  of  Compassion,  Himself, 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  153 

we  likewise  pray  that  He  may  illumine  your  Excellency  with  the  light 
of  His  grace  and  conjoin  you  in  perfect  love  with  ourself. 

Given  at  Rome,  at  St.  Peters,  December  3d,  in  the  year,  1863,  and 
of  our  pontificate  the  eighteenth. 

Pius  P.  P.  IX. 


To  show  the  importance  of  its  intended  Indian  contingent, 
it  will  be  necessary  to  show  the  record  of  the  Indian  connec 
tion  with  the  Confederacy  from  the  standpoint  of  both  sides. 

Every  survivor  of  the  army  under  Fremont  first,  and  then 
of  Hunter,  at  Springfield,  Missouri,  will  remember  the  force 
of  mounted  Cherokee  Indians  who  came  to  us  there,  and  the 
conspicuous  figures  they  cut,  blanketed,  and  riding  their 
ponies  through  the  camps  ;  but  principally  roasting  on 
sharp  sticks,  at  their  camp-fire,  and  devouring  enormous 
quantities  of  fresh  beef  which,  it  was  understood,  was  ordered 
to  be  issued  to  them  until  they  left  us  to  return  to  the  Indian 
Territory  from  which  they  came  to  offer  their  services  for  the 
war  ;  but  which,  it  was  understood,  the  Commander  of  the 
Department  declined,  as  being  considered  contrary  to  the 
rules  of  civilized  warfare.  No  records  whatever,  have  been 
found  relating  to  this  matter,  but  there  seems  a  strong  proba 
bility  that  the  above-mentioned  view  of  the  affairs  was  taken 
by  the  commanders  of  both  sides,  from  the  fact  that  the  Con 
federate  General  McCulloch  says  : 


CAMP  JACKSON,  ARKANSAS,  October  i4th,  1861. 
General  I,.  P.  WALKER,  Secretary  of  War . 

GENERAL  :  *  *  *  *  in  conclusion  I  beg  leave  to  suggest  the 
propriety  of  destroying  Kansas  as  far  north  as  possible.  We  can  never 
have  safety  or  quiet  among  the  Indians  so  long  as  Kansas  remains 
inhabited  by  the  present  population  ;  and,  although  I  have,  up  to  this 
time  declined  to  march  an  Indian  force  into  Missouri,  yet  I  will  do  so  in 
the  event  of  the  approach  of  a  large  Federal  force,  or  it  may  be  possible 
that  they  will  be  used  against  Kansas  this  fall. 

I  am,  General,  with  great  respect, 

B.    MCCULLOCH, 
Brigadier-General  Commanding. 


154  HISTORY   OF    THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

That  a  cordon  of  revolted  and  revolting  Indian  nations 
against  the  Union,  reaching  from  the  Rio  Grande  to  the  Brit 
ish  Northwest,  was  a  part  of  the  far-reaching  scheme  of  the 
rebel  leaders,  and  which  Rome  counted  in  as  among  the  assets 
of  the  capital  stock  of  the  transatlantic  investment,  is  cer 
tain  ;  and  would,  no  doubt,  have  been  consummated  in  time 
had  not  Union  victories  conquered  and  scattered  the  standards 
around  which  the  Plains  Indians  were  expected  to  rally. 
There  is  plenty  of  evidence  that  the  plan  was  ripe,  but  the 
conditions  necessary  for  the  harvest  of  the  fruit  were  too 
unfavorable  to  risk. 

Lieutenant-Colonel  and  Aid-de-camp,  H.  C.  Nutt,  of  Coun 
cil  Bluffs,  Iowa,  to  Governor  Kirkwood,  of  Iowa,  under  date 
of  September  i5th,  1862,  says  :  *  *  *  *  "  I  saw,  while 
at  Sioux  City,  Captain  L,u  Barja,  who  had  just  returned  with 
his  boat  from  the  Upper  Missouri.  Captain  Lu  Barja  has 
been  in  the  employ  of  the  American  Fur  Company  for  twenty- 
five  years  and  says  that  never  before  this  trip  have  the  In 
dians  been  unusually  hostile.  He  says  the  whole  Sioux 
Nation  is  bound  for  a  war  of  extermination  against  the 
frontier  ;  but  says  they  will  not  come  to  Sioux  City,  but  go 
down  by  Forts  Laramie  and  Kearney  and  beyond.  Captain 
Lu  Barja  says  that  the  British  Government,  through  the 
Hudson  Bay  Company,  are,  in  his  opinion,  instigating  all 
these  Indians  to  attack  the  whites,  he  says  : 

BRITISH     RUM, 

from  Red  river,  comes  over  onto  the  Missouri  river,  and 
British  traders  are  among  them  continually.  I  have  great 
confidence  in  his  judgment  and  opinions." 

On  August  soth,  1862. — Brigadier-General  Craig,  at  Fort 
Laramie,  writes  General  James  G.  Blunt,  c<  I 

am  convinced  that  nearly  all  the  French  in  these  mountains 
are  unfriendly  to  the  Government.  They  are  wary  and  pru 
dent,  but  that  some  vicious  influence  is  at  work  among  the 
Indians  is  proved  by  the  fact  that  there  never  was  a  time 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY.  155 

in  the  history  of  the  country  when  so  many  tribes  distant 
from,  and  hostile  to  each  other,  were  exhibiting  hostility  to 
the  whites." 

On  September  6th,  1862. — Governor  Ramsey,  of  Minnesota, 
to  the  President,  said  :  "Those  Indian  outrages  continue. 
#  *  #  *  This  is  not  our  war  it  is  a  national  war."  *  *  *  * 

On  August  2$th,  1862. — General  Craig,  to  General  Halleck, 
said:  "I  am  satisfied  that  rebel  agents  have  been  at  work 
among  the  Indians." 

On  October  2d,  1862,  General  Pope  at  St.  Paul,  to 
General  Halleck,  said  *  *  *  *  "  General  Elliott  informs 
me  from  Omaha,  that  white  men  (secessionists)  are  among 
the  Indians  urging  them  forward.  He  is  endeavoring  to 
arrest  them." 

It  is  certain  that  up  to  the  dates  of  the  above  communi 
cations  no  solution  of  the  problem  of  the  "  vicious  influence  " 
had  been  arrived  at,  but  few  doubted  its  existence.  That 
not  only  the  Indians,  but  General  Craig  is  convinced  that 
nearly  all  the  French  in  the  mountains  are  unfriendly  to  the 
Government.  General  Craig  also  says  in  a  communication  to 
General  Halleck,  on  August  25th,  1862,  that  he  is  "satisfied 
that  rebel  agents  have  been  at  work  among  the  Indians." 

All  this  tends  to  prove  the  cordon  of  revolt,  notwithstand 
ing  that  there  was  wanting  a  missing  link,  undiscovered  by 
Unionists  until  the  captured  Confederate  archives  gave  up 
the  secret,  and  the  missing  link  shows  Gen.  Albert  Pike, 
Confederate  Commissioner  to  the  Indians,  to  have  been  Gen 
eral  Craig's  "vicious  influence,"  as  is  seen  to  be  the  case 
when  he  says  to  Confederate  Secretary  of  War,  L.  P. 
Walker,  July  3ist,  1861  :  "I  take  an  escort  of  fifty-six 
Creeks  and  Seminoles,  organized  as  a  company,  as  my  escort 
to  the  Wichita  country,  where 

I  AM  GOING  TO  TREAT  WITH  THE  WILD  COMANCHES  OF 
THE  PRAIRIE." 

*  *  *  This  Confederate  Emissary  bureau,  was  managed 
with  consummate  ability  by  Gen.  Albert  Pike,  for  the  rebel 


156  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT. 

government,  and  he  must  not  only  have  made  many  personal 
visits  to  the  far- western  tribes,  but  have  had  many  agents 
of  ability,  and  "wary  and  prudent"  to  a  remarkable  degree, 
to  have  kept  their  work  and  identity  from  the  knowledge  of 
our  military  officers  on  the  frontier  for  a  full  year  in  the 
beginning  of  the  war. 

HEADQUARTERS,  LITTLE  ROCK,  ARKANSAS, 

May  nth,  1861. 
R.  W.  JOHNSON. 

SIR  :  It  is  absolutelj*  certain  that  the  enemy's  government  will 
not  permit  the  Indian  country  west  of  us  to  belong  to  the  Confederate 
States  without  a  severe  struggle.  It  will  hardly  be  safe 

to  count  upon  putting  in  the  field  more  than  three  thousand  five 
hundred  Indians  ;  maybe  we  may  get  five  thousand.  To  procure  any, 
or  at  least,  any  respectable  number,  we  must  guarantee  them  their 
lands,  annuities  and  other  rights  under  treaties,  furnish  them  arms 
(rifles  and  revolvers,  if  the  latter  can  be  had),  advance  them  some 
twenty-five  dollars  ahead  in  cash,  [wonder  if  they  got  the  cash,  and 
whether  it  was  Confederate  money  !  ]  and  send  a  respectable  force 
there  as  evidence  that  they  will  be  efficiently  seconded  by  us.  •• 

The  arms  for  the  Indians  should  be  forwarded  as  soon  as  possible 
to  be  placed  in  depot  on  the  frontier  and  there  distributed  to  organized 
bodies.  We  must  also  have  several  regular  officers  to 

command  the  bodies  of  Indians  enlisted. 

With  great  respect, 

ALBERT  PIKE, 
Captain  and  Confederate  Commissioner  to  Indians. 

MONTGOMERY,  ALABAMA, 

May  13,  1861. 
Major  DOUGLAS  A.  COOPER. 

MAJOR  :  I  now  empower  you  to  raise  among  the  Choctaws  and 
Chickasaws,  a  mounted  regiment  to  be  commanded  by  yourself  in  co 
operation  with  General  McCulloch.  It  is  designed  also  to  raise  two 
other  similar  regiments  among  the  Creeks,  Cherokees,  Seniinoles,  and 
other  friendly  tribes  for  the  same  purpose.  The  arms  we  are  purchasing 
for  the  Indians  are  rifles,  and  they  will  be  forwarded  to  Fort  Smith. 

Respectfully, 

S.  COOPER, 
Adj't  and  Ins.  Gen. 


ILLINOIS    VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  157 

MONTGOMERY,  ALABAMA, 

May  n,  1861. 
General  BEN  McCuLLOCH. 

GENERAL  :  *  *  *  *  Independently  of  this  force  (white),  it  is 
desirable  to  engage,  if  possible,  the  service  of  any  of  the  Indian  tribes, 
occupying  the  territory  (Indian)  referred  to,  in  numbers  equal  to  two 
regiments.  This  force,  should  you  be  able  to  obtain  it,  you  are  author 
ized  to  receive  and  organize  as  a  part  of  your  command,  for  such  serv 
ice  as  your  judgment  may  determine. 

I  am,  General,  respectfully, 

S.  COOPER, 

Adj't  Gen. 

HEADQUARTERS,  LITTLE  ROCK, 

May  13,  1861. 
Honorable  JEFFERSON  DAVIS. 

MR.  PRESIDENT  :  *  Captain  A.  Pike  and  myself  are  anx 

ious  that  some  steps  be  taken  at  once  to  secure  the  co-operation  of  the 
Indians  of  the  West,  and  especially  to  prevent  any  emissaries  of  the 
Republicans  from  poisoning  the  minds  of  the  full  bloods.  Ufany  of  the 
Cherokees  are  already  abolitionists ;  but  the  half-breeds,  and  the  en 
lightened  part  of  the  nation,  are  true  to  the  South  in  their  sympathies. 
I  am,  sir,  very  respectfully  your  obedient  servant, 

N.  BART  PIERCE, 

Brig.-Gen. 

MONTGOMERY,  ALABAMA, 

May  14,  1861. 
DAVID  HUBBARD,  Confederate  Superintendent  Indian  Affairs. 

SIR  :  You  are  now  especially  charged  to  proceed  to  the  Creek 
Nation,  and  *  '  the  rest  of  the  tribes  west  of  the  Arkansas 

and  south  of  Kansas     *  '     and  represent   to  them  the  earnest 

desire  of  the  Confederate  States  to  defend  and  protect  them  against  the 
rapacious  and  avaricious  of  their  and  our  enemies  at  the  North  yet 
holding  the  Government  at  Washington.  You  will  impress  upon  them 
the  imperious  fact  that  the  real  design  of  the  North  *  *  *  •  has 
been  and  still  is  if  consummated,  the  emancipation  of 

their  slaves  and  the  robbery  of  their  lands.     To  these  nefarious  ends  all 
the  schemes  of  the  North  have  tended  for  many  years  past. 
You  will  be  diligent  to  explain  to  them     *  *    that  the  Govern 

ment  of  the  Confederate  States  of  America,  now  powerfully  constituted 
through  an  immense  league  of  sovereign  political  societies,  great  forces 
in  the  field  and  abundant  resources,  will  assume  all  the  responsibility  of 


158  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

protecting  them.  To   do  this   effectively,  they  must  call 

out  their  warriors  and  form  them  into  military  organizations.    *    *    *   * 
In  addition  to  these  things,  regarded  of  primary  importance,  you 
will, 

WITHOUT  COMMITTING  THE    GOVERNMENT  TO   ANY  SPECIAL  CONDUCT, 

express  our  serious  anxiety  to  establish  and  enforce  the  debts  and  an 
nuities  due  to  them  from  the  Government  at  Washington,  which  other 
wise  they  will  never  obtain. 

Finally,  communicate  to  them  the  abiding  solicitude  of  the  Confed 
erate  States  of  America  to  advance  their  condition  in  the  direction  of  a 
proud  political  society  ; 

BUT  YOU    WILL    GIVE     NO     ASSURANCE    OF    STATE    ORGANIZATION    AND 
INDEPENDENCE ; 

As  they  still  require  the  strong  arm  of  protecting  power,  and  may  prob 
ably  need  our  fostering  care. 

I  am,  sir,  respectfully, 

L.  P.  WALKER, 
Sec.  of  War,  C.  S.  A. 

The  above  Jesuitical  policy  marked  out  for  the  guidance 
of  the  Confederate  Superintendent  of  Indian  Affairs,  did  not 
seem  to  suit  Albert  Pike,  for  he  says  : 

HEADQUARTERS  CONFEDERATE  COMMANDANT  INDIAN  AFFAIRS, 

LITTLE  ROCK,  ARKANSAS, 

May  2oth,  1861. 
Honorable  ROBERT  TOMBS,  Montgomery,  Alabama. 

SIR  :**•**!  very  much  re"gret  that  I  have  not  received  dis 
tinct  authority  to  give  the  Indians  guarantees  of  all  their  legal  and  just 
rights  under  treaties.  It  can  not  be  expected  they  will  join  us  without 
them;  and  it  would  be  very  ungenerous,  as  well  as  unwise  and  useless, 
in  me  to  ask  them  to  do  it.  Why  should  they,  if  we  will  not  bind  our 
selves  to  give  them  what  they  hazard  in  giving  us,  their  rights  under 

treaties  ? 

I  am,  sir,  with  very  great  respect, 

ALBERT  PIKE, 

Con.  Com.  to  the  Indians. 

« 

May  25th,  1861. 

The  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  of  the  Chickasaw  Nation, 
among  other  Acts,  resolved  as  follows  : 

"That  the  current  of  the  events  of  the  last  few  months  has  left  the 
Chickasaw  Nation  independent,  the  people  thereof  free  '  to 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY.  159 

take  such  steps  to  secure  their  own  safety,  happiness,  and  future  wel 
fare  as  may  to  them  seem  best. 

Sixth,  Resolved,  "That  the  Governor  of  the  Chickasaw  Nation  be, 
and  he  is  hereby  instructed  to  issue  his  proclamation  to  the  Chickasaw 
Nation,  declaring  their  independence. 

Ninth,  Resolved,  "That  the  Governor  cause  these  resolutions  to  be 
published  in  the  National  Register  at  Boggy  Depot,  and  copies  thereof 
sent  to  the  several  Indian  Nations,  to  the  Governor  of  the  adjacent 
States,  to  the  President  of  the  Confederate  States,  and  to 

ABRAHAM   UNCOLN,   PRESIDENT  OF  THE   BI^ACK  REPUBLICAN   PARTY." 

(Signed)  ALEXANAN, 

Speaker  House  Representatives. 
JOHN  K.  ANDERSON, 

President  of  Senate. 
C.  HARRIS,  Governor. 


It  will  be  seen  that  the  noble  Red  Man  was  making  rapid 
strides  of  "advance  in  the  direction  of  a  proud  political  so 
ciety,"  by  taking  on  statehood  eleven  days  after  Mr.  Hub- 
bard  was  instructed  not  to  give  it  to  them. 


LITTLE  ROCK,  ARKANSAS, 

May  28th,  1861. 
GOVERNOR  MOORE,  LOUISIANA. 

HONORED  SIR  :  *  The  agent  of  the  Indians  called  on 

me  this  morning,  and  states  that  the  Nations  on  the  borders  of  this 
State  are  anxious  and  desirous  to  be  armed  :  that  they  can  and  will  mus 
ter  into  the  service  twenty-five  thousand  men;  that  they  have  immense 
supplies  of  beeves,  sufficient  to  supply  the  meat  for  the  whole  Confed 
erate  service.  *  *  *  * 

With  very  great  respect, 

HYAMS, 
Lieut-Col.  3d  La.  Vol. 

The  Confederacy  could  not,  at  that  time,  have  armed 
twenty-five  thousand  Indians,  neither  would  any  organization 
be  able  to  hold  and  control  them. 


l6o  HISTORY   OF  THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

HEADQUARTERS  CONFEDERATE  SUPERINTENDENT  INDIAN  AFFAIRS. 

LITTLE  ROCK,  ARKANSAS,  June  2d,  1861. 
L.  P.  WALKER,  Montgomery,  Alabama.  % 

GENERAL  :  My  sense  of  duty  requires   me   to  report 

that  with  about  twenty-five  thousand  able-bodied  men,  Arkansas  has 
less  the  appearance  of  a  military  organization  than  any  people  I  ever 
yet  knew.  The  people  are  nearly  all  under  arms,  and  daily  rumors  of 
invasions  calling  them  from  home,  and  I  never  yet  saw  people  who  ap 
peared  to  know  so  little  about  commanders,  or  who  seemed  so  utterly 
devoid  of  confidence  in  any  one  faction  or  leader  of  a  faction  in  the 
State.  My  belief  and  conviction  is  that  but  little  can  be  done  among 
these  factions,  and  that  a  military  leader  from  without  the  State  is 
needed,  who,  when  he  gets  here  shall  have  command  of  all  the  forces 
not  under  McCulloch  ;  and  that  the  bold  and  brave  men  can  rally  under 
such  without  disturbance  from  leaders  of  any  faction  whatever  ;  and 
that  without  this,  Arkansas,  with  her  brave  and  hardy  hunters,  can  not 
be  made  available  in  any  other  way,  unless  it  be  by  waiting  for  a  new 
man  to  grow  up. 

I  am,  General,  with  very  great  respect, 

DAVID  HUBBARD, 
Con.  Supt.  Indian  Affairs. 

Fortunately  a  fragmentary  specimen  of  an  Indian  Declara 
tion  of  Independence  and  draft  for  military  service,  and  roster 
of  vSeminole,  and  of  First  Regiment  of  Cherokee  Mounted 
Riflemen,  has  been  preserved  for  our  history.  It  is  as  follows: 

Now,  therefore,  I,  George  Hudson,  Principal  Chief  of 
the  Choctaw  Nation,  do  hereby  publish  and  proclaim  that  the  Choctaw 
Nation  is,  and  of  right  ought  to  be,  free  and  independent, 
and  (in  accordance  with  a  law  passed  by  the  General  Council)  that 
Apuckshanubbee  district  shall  furnish  three  volunteer  companies. 
«*•.**  TWO  companies  of  like  strength  from  Pushmataha  district 
and  two  from  Mosholatubbee  district,  and  report  them 

selves  ready   for  immediate  service,  :    of  the   Confederate 

States  of  America,   to  be  commanded  by  Col.  D.  H.  Cooper,  of  C.  S. 
Army. 

Maj.  John  Jumper  was  Chief  of  the  Seminoles.  Of  the 
First  Regiment  Cherokee  Mounted  Rifles,  among  others,  were  : 
Major  Pegg  ;  Lieutenant  White  Catcher  ;  Lieutenant  Deer-in- 
Water[;  Captain  Geo.  W.  Scraper ;  Lieutenant  Bearmeat ; 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  l6l 

Lieutenant  Trotting  Wolf;  Lieutenant  Little    Bird;  Private 
Nelson  Hogshooter. 

The  latter   most  undoubtedly  a   deserter  from  Company 
Q  of  the  Thirteenth. 

SEMINOLE  AGENCY,  INDIAN  TERRITORY, 

July  3ist,  1861. 
General  L.  P.  WALKER, 

Secretary  War,  C.  S.  A. 

GENERAL  :  When  I  recommended  the  appointment  of  William  H. 
Garrett,  the  present  agent  of  the  Creeks,  to  be  colonel  of  the  Creek 
Regiment,  I  had  not  sufficiently  estimated  the  ambition  and  desire  for 
distinction  of  the  leading  men  of  that  nation  ;  and  I  also  supposed  that 
Mr.  Garrett,  popular  with  them  as  an  agent,  would  be  acceptable  as 
colonel  of  their  regiment ;  but  when  I  concluded  with  them  the  very 
important  treaty  of  July  loth  instant,  they  strenuously  insisted  that  the 
colonel  of  the  regiment  to  be  raised,  should  be  elected  by  the  men.  As 
the  public  interest  did  not  require  I  should  insist  on  a  contrary  pro 
vision,  by  which  I  might  have  jeoparded  the  treaty,  I  yielded  ;  and  the 
consequence  is  that  by  the  treaty,  as  signed  and  ratified  by  the  Creek 
Council,  the  field  officers  are  all  to  be  elected  by  the  men  of  the  regi 
ment.  *  *  *  *  I  take  an  escort  of  fifty-six  Creeks  and  Seminoles, 
organized  as  a  company,  as  my  escort  to  the  Wichita  country,  where  I 
am  going  to  treat  with  the  wild  Comanches  of  the  prairie  ;  and  I  con 
sider  it  no  small  matter,  in  the  present  state  of  affairs  on  our  border,  that 
we  have  so  dealt,  by  fairness  and  frankness,  with  these  brave  and  honest 
Indians,  so  lately  at  war  with  us,  and  whose  old  homes  we  possess,  that 
they  are  now  with  us  almost  to  a  man,  as  zealous  as  we  are,  for  the  rights 
of  the  South. 

I  am  sir,  with  very  great  respect, 

ALBERT  PIKE, 
Capt.  and  Commissioner  to  Indians. 

That  Jeff  Davis  and  his  Cabinet,  who,  at  first,  proposed  to 
ride  the  high  horse  (rough  shod)  over  these  Indians,  had 
finally  to  dismount  and  eat  humble  pie,  is  evidenced  in  the 
following  : 

MONTGOMERY,  ALABAMA, 

August  24th,  1861. 
ALBERT  PIKE, 

Com.  to  Indians. 

SIR  :  In  order  that  there  shall  be  no  misunderstanding  with  the 
friendly  Indians  west  of  Arkansas,  this  Department  is  anxious  that  the 


1 62  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

article  in  the  treaty  made  by  you,  guaranteeing  to  them  the  right  of 
electing  their  own  field-officers,  shall  be  carried  out  in  good  faith.  The 
name  of  Mr.  Garrett  will  therefore  be  dropped  as  Colonel  of  the  Creek 
regiment,  and  that  regiment  will  proceed  to  elect  its  own  officers.  The 
regiment  being  formed  among  the  Semiuoles  will  exercise  the  same 
right. 

Reassure  the  tribes  of  the  perfect  sincerity  of  this  Government 
toward  them. 

Most  respectfully, 

L,.  P.  WALKER, 
Con.  Sec.  of  War. 

"Perfect  sincerity"  is  good  ;  in  the  light  of  the  instruc 
tions  of  this  same  "government"  to  Mr.  Hubbard,  a  few 
pages  back  ;  and  it  is  refreshing  to  see  Jeff  Davis  confronted 
with  Lieutenant  Trotting  Wolf,  Lieutenant  Bearmeat,  and 
Private  Nelson  Hogshooter,  who  demand  and  compel  their 
rights. 


CHAPTER   XIII. 


THE  INDIO-CONFEDERATE  CORRESPONDENCE  RICHLY  SUG 
GESTIVE  OF  QUAINT  AND  CURIOUS  METHODS  OF 
DIPLOMACY  WITH  INDIANS. 


HRONIC  rumor-tism  prevailed  here  in  Camp 
Cross-Timbers,  its  symptoms  usually  being  a 
wide-open  mouth,  and  a  bulging  out  of  the 
eyes.  Our  boys  will  readily  recall  to  mind 
the.  many  idle  and  false  rumors  that  circu 
lated  through  our  camps,  especially  as  to  whom  was 
due  the  praise  of  having  planned  and  directed  the 
battle  of  Pea  Ridge  to  a  successful  issue.  There  was  a 
current  rumor  that  at  the  close  of  the  second  day's  fight,  a 
council  of  war  was  called,  as  to  the  best  thing  to  be  done  for 
the  next  day  ;  or,  in  other  words,  as  to  whether  we  were 
already  whipped ;  and  General  Curtis  was  said  to  have 
advanced  the  opinion  that  we  were  then  whipped,  and  had 
better  retreat.  Upon  which  General  Sigel  got  mad  and  swore 
he  would  not  retreat ;  and  that  if  General  Curtis  would  not 
fight  any  longer,  he  (Sigel)  with  his  own  troops,  would  go 
on  with  the  fight  on  the  next  day.  The  rumor  had  it  that 
General  Curtis  allowed  General  Sigel  to  conduct  the  next 
day's  fight,  and  the  result  was  a  glorious  Union  victory. 

General  Halleck  may  be  able  to  throw  a  little  light  on  this 
particular  matter,  and,  as  he  was  at  that  time  Commander  of 
the  Department,  and  directed  all  of  General  Curtis'  move 
ments,  it  must  be  admitted  that  he  was  good  authority,  and 
his  testimony  will  be  allowed  in  this  court. 

163 


164  HISTORY    OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

The  following  letter  was  written  the  same  day  that  the 
Thirteenth  reached  Camp  Cross-Timbers,  on  the  back-track, 
where  we  went  into  camp  for  what  proved  to  be  fifteen  days. 

HEADQUARTERS,  ST.  Louis,  MISSOURI. 

March  igth,  1862. 
General  S.  R.  CURTIS. 

GENERAI/:  I  was  by  no  means  surprised  at  General  Sigel's  con 
duct,  before  the  battle  of  Pea  Ridge.  //  was  precisely  in  keeping  with 
what  he  did  at  Carthage  and  Wilson's  Creek.  After  your  expedition 
started,  I  received  documentary  proofs  from  Generals  Sturgis,  Schofield 
and  Totten,  and  a  number  of  other  officers,  in  regard  to  his  conduct  on 
these  occasions,  which  destroyed  all  my  confidence  in  him.  It  was  for 
that  reason  that  I  telegraphed  you  so  often  not  to  let  Sigel  separate  from 
you.  I  anticipated  that  he  would  try  to  play  you  a  trick  by  being  absent 
at  the  critical  moment.  I  wished  to  forewarn  you  of  the  same,  but  I 
could  not  then  give  you  my  reasons.  I  am  glad  you  prevented  his  pro 
jects  and  saved  your  army.  I  can  not  describe  to  you  how  much  uneasi 
ness  I  felt  for  you.  You  saved  your  army  and  gained  a  glorious  victory 
by  refusing  to  take  his  advice.  I  do  not  believe  he  has  been  made  a 
Major-General.  If  so,  I  shall  ask  to  have  him  sent  to  some  other 
department.  *  *  *  * 

I  am,  General,  with  very  great  respect, 

H.  W.  HALLECK,  Commanding  Department. 

As  we  were  on  three-quarter  rations,  for  a  part  of  the  time 
we  lay  in  Camp  Cross-Timbers,  foraging  came  boldly  to  the 
front.  On  one  such  expedition  one  of  the  wagons  carried, 
among  others,  George  Robinson,  of  Company  H,  who  man 
aged  to  detach  his  wagon  from  those  under  the  oversight  of 
the  lieutenant  in  charge,  and  assumed  its  management. 

George  Robinson  regarded  all  citizens  of  the  South,  as 
rebs  anyway,  and  consequently,  that  it  was  lawful  to  plun 
der  them  of  everything  needed  in  our  camp  ;  but  indiscrimi 
nate  plunder  was  not  allowed  ;  but  if  there  was  a  show  of 
honest  dealing,  the  transaction  was  seldom  inquired  into  by 
the  commanding  officers.  Driving  up  to  the  plantation-house 
and  calling  to  whoever  he  could  see,  George  Robinson  would 
order  them  to  call  off -and  chain  up  their  dogs.  He  would 
then  tell  the  men  with  the  wagon  to  load  up  with  anything 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  165 

they  could  find  ;  turkeys,  pigs,  chickens,  and  fodder  ;  while 
he,  himself,  would  engage  the  old  man  or  woman  in  conver 
sation,  in  which  he  was  an  adept.  He  would  assure  them 
that  while  the  needs  of  the  army  made  it  necessary  to  take 
the  things,  the  Government  paid  cash  for  everything  so 
taken.  That  any  time  after  such  a  day,  setting  the  time 
several  days  ahead,  they  could  come  to  camp  and  get  their 
pay  on  the  receipt  which  he  would  give  them.  This  setting 
the  time  so  far  ahead,  was  for  the  purpose  of  giving  ample 
time  to  eat  up,  and  so  secure  the  things  taken,  that  identifica 
tion  would  be  next  to  impossible,  if  there  should  happen  to 
be  any  trouble  about  it  ;  but  the  old  planter  was  given  to  un 
derstand  that  the  delay  was  on  account  of  the  paymaster  who 
was  expected  in  a  few  days.  The  receipt  was  as  follows  : 

Mr.  Judas  Reb,  Cr.,  by  turkeys,  chickens,  eggs,  pigs,  etc.,  as  per 
schedule > $00.00 

GEO.    MULECHEEK, 

Adjutant  Fourth  Vermont. 

The  man  would  be  instructed  to  inquire  in  camp  for  the 
above-named  regiment.  Now  if  there  was  any  such  regiment 
in  the  service,  it  was  probably  not  nearer  than  the  army  of  Vir 
ginia,  any  way ;  and  when  this  man  came  for  his  pay,  and 
accosted  first  one  officer  and  then  another,  as  to  the  where 
abouts  of  the  Fourth  Vermont,  no  such  regiment  could  be 
found ;  and  the  old  planter  would  come  reluctantly  to  the 
conclusion  that  he  had  been  assessed  for  the  support  of  the 
Government  of  Abraham  Lincoln. 

CAMP  CROSS-TIMBERS,  ARKANSAS, 

March  24th,  1862. 
Gen.  H.  W.  HALLECK,  Com'd'g  Dep't. 

GENERAL  :    Hospital  stores  arrived  yesterday.    They  are  thankfully 
received,  and  I  am  grateful  to  the  General  and  the  Sanitary  Commission 
for  promptness  in  this  regard.     Many  an  aching  wound  is  comforted  by 
this.     God  bless  the  ladies  that  care  for  the  sick  and  wounded  soldiers. 
I  am,  General,  with  very  great  respect, 

S.  R.  CURTIS, 
Maj.-Gen.  Com'd'g. 


1 66  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

The  employment  of  Indians  in  a  body,  in  the  army,  by  the 
Confederates,  called  forth  a  very  general  and  indignant  pro 
test,  as  being  an  outrage  against  the  rules  of  warfare  among 
civilized  nations.  But  the  policy  of  the  act  was  as  short 
sighted  as  the  outrage  was  gross. 

Take  a  hundred  Indians  and  distribute  them  not  more 
than  one  or  two  in  a  company  of  white  soldiers,  and  the  prob 
ability  is  that  you  will  have  a  hundred  effective  fighting  men  in  a 
regiment. 

Take  the  same  hundred  Indians  and  let  them  operate  in  a 
body  by  themselves,  under  their  own  officers,  and  governed 
by  their  own  ideas  of  warfare,  and  it  is  nearly  certain  that  you 
have  a  hundred  almost  worthless  men. 

No  doubt,  at  the  battle  of  Pea  Ridge,  bullets  from  Indian 
sharp-shooters  laid  low  many  good  men  in  blue,  but  in  any 
concerted  movement  of  regular  military  tactics  they  are  worse 
than  useless,  as  the  following  history  will  show.  General 
Fremont  promptly  declined  the  proffered  services  of  a  large 
body  of  Cherokee  Indians  on  what  was  supposed  to  be  the 
eve  of  a  great  battle.  The  Confederate  General  Ben.  McCul- 
loch,  however,  employed  a  large  body  of  rebel  Indians  at  the 
battle  of  Pea  Ridge,  commanded  by  Gen.  Albert  Pike. 

It  is  said  that  immediately  in  front  of  where  the  Indians 
were  stationed,  there  was  a  Union  battery  of  artillery,  which 
the  Indians  called  "Fire-wagons,"  and  which  they  were  or 
dered  to  charge  and  capture.  They  sprang  across  the  interven 
ing  space  with  all  the  demoniac  yells,  war-whoops,  and  pagan 
bric-a-brac,  common  to  them  on  such  occasions,  and  what  with 
their  impetuosity  and  infernal  din,  demoralized  our  battery- 
men  to  such  a  degree  that  they  were  driven  from  their  guns 
long  enough  for  the  "  noble  Red  Man  "  to  seize  and  tip  over 
the  "  Fire-wagons  " ;  when,  not  stopping  to  draw  one  of  them 
off,  or  even  to  spike  a  gun,  they  rushed  back  again,  yelling,  as 
they  came.  The  Yanks  soon  recovered  their  composure, 
righted  up  the  carriages  and  guns,  and  in  a  few  minutes  were 
sending  shot  and  shell  from  those  same  guns  into  the  Indian 
lines  in  a  manner  that  Gen.  Albert  Pike  must  have  despised. 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY.  167 

General  Sherman  is  credited  with  saying  that  "The  only 
good  Indian,  is  the  dead  Indian."  That  being  so,  when  our 
burial  corps  was  burying  the  dead,  on  the  field  of  Pea  Ridge, 
after  our  victory,  they  found  not  a  few  "  good  cold  Indians  " 
lying  about.  At  first,  they  utterly  refused  to  bury  them,  on 
the  assumption  that  none  of  the  rules  of  civilized  warfare 
required  the  decent  burial  of  what  might  be  called,  outlawed 
belligerants.  Instead  of  burial,  our  men,  it  was  said,  piled 
them  2ip  like  cord-ivood  between  two  trees,  eight  feet  apart.  But 
the  grave-diggers  had  reckoned  without  their  host  ;  for  it  is  a 
well  ascertained  fact,  that  a  chronically  moribund  Indian 
smells  as  loudly  as  a  white  man;  and,  in  this  way,  the  "  good 
Indian,"  not  only  demanded,  but  enforced  the  order  for  his 
own  burial. 

HEADQUARTERS,  ARMY  OF  THE  SOUTHWEST, 

CAMP  CROSS-TIMBERS,  March  315!,  1862. 
Major- General  H.  \V.  HALLECK. 

GENERAL  :     *    *    *    *     "  Much  talk  about   Thompson  and  others 
burning  railroad  and  Roll  a.     Rebels  think  that  is  Price's  next  move." 
I  am,  General,  with  very  great  respect, 

S.  R.  CURTIS, 
Major- General  Com'd'g. 

A  good  many  things  happened  during  those  fifteen  days 
at  Camp  Cross-Timbers.  A  characteristic  story  is  told  of 
Colonel  Wyrnan,  that  ought  to  be  true. 

Henry  Taylor,  of  our  regiment,  a  worthless  soldier,  and 
back  of  that,  a  worthless  man,  met  Colonel  Wyman,  one  day 
outside  the  regimental  lines,  and  accused  the  Colonel  of 
doing  him  an  injustice,  in  the  way  of  punishment  for  some 
alleged  shortcoming. 

The  Colonel  condescended  to  explain  and  justify  himself; 
but  nothing  could  placate  Taylor,  and  he  told  the  Colonel, 
then  and  there,  that  his  shoulder-straps  alone  protected  him 
from  a  flogging. 

The  Colonel,  coolly  and  deliberately  dismounted,  hitched 
his  horse  to  the  fence,  then  coolly  took  off  his  coat  and  threw 


1 68  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

it  across  a  rail,  and  then  said  :  "Taylor,  there  is  now  no  differ- 
.ence  in  our  rank  ;  when  I  take  off  my  coat,  I  take  off  in}'  rank 
also  ;  now  pitch  in.  Taylor  pluckily  pitched  in,  but,  with 
out  knowing  it  had  encountered  a  scientific  boxer;  and  was  soon 
polished  off  so  that  he  expressed  himself  satisfied. 

The  Colonel,  resuming  his  coat  and  rank,  said  :  Taylor, 
whenever  you  desire  promotion  to  my  rank,  I  will  cheerfully  take 
off  my  coat. 

KINSHIP. 

On  the  march  from  Springfield,  Missouri,  to  Pea  Ridge, 
Arkansas,  a  ludicrous  thing  happened  which  interested  the 
writer  personally,  more  than  any  other  member  of  the  regi 
ment  ;  but  no  really  good  thing  in  the  army  can  be  kept  per 
sonal,  it  is  seized  by  all  as  though  it  had  been  issued  from 
the  quartermaster's  department  on  a  regimental  requisition. 

After  a  good  day's  march,  the  regiment  had  gone  into 
camp  on  the  hither  side  of  some  plantation  buildings  which 
were  flush  with  the  road  over  which  we  should  pass  on  re 
suming  our  march  the  next  day. 

Sometime  during  the  night,  I  was  gradually  awakened  by 
a  hand  gently  pressing  and  shaking  my  shoulder,  while  an 
almost  inaudible  whisper,  close  to  the  ground,  outside  the 
tent,  and  close  to  my  head,  was  saying,  "  Hush,  A.  B.,  hush." 
"What  is  it,"  I  responded,  in  an  equally  guarded  whisper. 
"Take  this  package,"  the  voice  said,  "and  put  it  in  your 
haversack,  and  make  no  mistake  (there  were  five  other 
haversacks  hanging  there),  and  be  sure  you  eat  it  before 
reveille."  I  took  the  package,  never  doubting.  I  knew  the 
voice.  To  me,  always  kindly  ;  but  the  parcel  did  feel  curi 
ously,  rough  and  stiff,  but  clean.  I  thought  of  cabbage,  rhu 
barb,  and  dock  ;  this  latter  it  proved  to  be,  instead  of  paper, 
which  could  not  be  had  for  love  or  money.  After  intrusting 
the  precious  secret  to  my  haversack,  I  snuggled  and  wriggled 
back  into  my  place,  for  the  voice  was  waiting  to  explain.  I 
listened  to  enough  of  the  explanation  to  get  the  points,  and 
gathered  the  details  afteiwards. 


ILLINOIS     VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  169 

That  my  exact  locality  in  the  small  text,  containing  six  of 
us,  was  well  known  to  my  friend,  was  not  at  all  surprising, 
for,  it  is  probable  that  the  members  of  Company  Q  knew 
within  three-quarters  of  an  inch,  where  every  head  lay,  in 
every  tent  in  the  regiment ;  and  a  mistake  of  one  and  one-half 
inches,  would  be  considered  an  unpardonable  blunder,  and 
would  subject  the  delinquent  to  a  severe  reprimand. 

After  the  explanation  I  could  not  sleep  any  more,  and  it 
would  not  be  long  before  reveille  any  way,  and  so,  quietly, 
selfishly,  stealthily,  meanly,  and  hoggishly,  I  took  down  my 
haversack  and  took  out  the  precious  package,  which  proved  to 
be  the  upper  and  lower  joint  of  a  chicken' s  leg,  done  to  a  turn, 
and  seemed  to  me  the  most  delicious  morsel  I  ever  ate  ;  and 
what  surprised  me  was,  that  I  could  not  for  the  life  of  me  tell 
whether  the  chicken  was  Confederate  or  Union, — for  I  never 
did  school  myself  or  my  palate  sufficiently  to  tell  the  differ 
ence.  When  I  had  fairly  scraped  the  bones,  I  did  them  up  in 
the  generous  burdock  leaf,  and  warily  threw  them  over  among 
the  tents  of  the  next  company.  This  would  save  litter  around 
our  own  tent,  and  at  the  same  time  lend  an  air  of  generous 
living  to  our  neighbor. 

The  explanation  was,  that  two  or  three  of  Company  Q  boys 
of  our  company  had  sallied  out  by  the  ' '  sweet  silver  light  of 
the  moon"  for  adventure;  and,  having  been  used  to  good 
society,  they  resolved  to  call  at  the  plantation  house  and  pay 
their  respects  to  the  good  people  there. 

Two  or  three  ' '  bra  laddies, ' '  each  with  a  shining  musket 
in  his  hands,  under  most  circumstances,  will  command  re 
spect — and  is  a  strong  reminder  to  others  of  the  necessity  on 
their  part,  of  good  manners  and  politeness  ;  and  when  these 
Company  Q  boys  knocked  at  the  door  of  the  farm-house,  a 
"Come-in"  was  promptly  vouchsafed,  and  such  broken 
chairs,  stools  and  boxes  as  were  available,  were  placed  at  the 
disposal  of  the  visitors,  by  the  daughter  of  the  house,  whom 
the  mother  called  Miz-u-ry  ;  giving  the  u  its  long,  full  sound, 
and  with  a  strong  accentuation.  This  was  really  meant  for 


170  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH   REGIMENT 

Missouri  ;  a  very  common  name  for  a  girl  in  the  Southern 
States. 

"  Miz-u-ry,"  under  the  inspiration  o*f  the  bright  buttons, 
of  the  blue  clothes,  and  the  bright  glances  of  the  eyes  of  the 
wearers  of  the  buttons,  moved  about  so  briskly,  that  seats 
were  soon  found  by  the  visitors,  without  disturbing  the  lady 
of  the  house  from  the  only  splint-bottomed  chair  in  the  room. 
Here  the  matron  sat,  entirely  undisturbed  by  the  visitors, 
somewhat  spitefully  smoking  a  corn-cob  pipe,  and  anon  ex 
pectorating  a  jet  of  saliva  from  where  she  sat,  in  the  middle  of 
the  room,  to  a  particular  knot-hole  in  the  fore  stick  in  the  fire 
place,  where  was  burning  an  ample  fire. 

This  accomplishment  is  by  no  means  rare  among  the 
ladies  of  the  South  ;  and  our  boys  soon  noticed  that  the  fair 
marks  woman  never  missed  her  target  ;  and  that  before  they 
took  their  leave,  the  knot-hole  could  hold  no  more. 

Both  ladies  were  dressed  in  some  dark  homespun,  and 
home-woven  fabric,  that,  when  new,  or  clean,  must  have 
been  comfortable  looking.  The  mother's  hair  was  of  a  dull 
terra-cotta  color,  and  cut  short  in  the  neck,  and  was  intended 
to  be  kept  back  behind  the  ears,  but  straggled  badly,  and 
seemed  to  have  a  disposition  to  come  to  the  front ;  while  the 
young  lady,  just  budding  into  womanhood,  aspired  to  a  top 
knot,  made  by  bringing  all  the  hair  together  on  the  top,  and 
winding  a  string  from  the  head  upward,  for  four  or  five 
inches,  and  then  letting  the  golden  surplus  (red)  fall  outward 
in  graceful  overflow.  Both  ladies  kept  their  hair  comparatively 
smooth  by  crawling  through  the  brush-fence  after  the  pigs. 

A  half-suppressed  giggle  from  the  corner  where  ' '  Miz-u- 
ry  "  and  one  of  the  boys  sat,  caused  the  mother  to  turn  in 
that  direction  so  suddenly  as  to  almost  miss  her  target,  at 
which  she  was  just  then  again  firing,  and  sharply  said,  "  I 
declar  to  grashus,  Miz-u-ry,  you  be  that  ornary,  that  the 
Yanks  '11  think  ye  ha'n't  got  no  larnin."  "Well  ma,"  ex 
plained  the  young  lady,  "  he  sez,  what's  dad's  name?  "  (She 
had  forgotten  to  also  tell  her  ma  that  the  Yank  had  just  taken 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY.  17 1 

her  hand  and  was  squeezing  it  somewhat  fervently  for  such  a 
short  acquaintance. ) 

"Wall,  what  o'  that?"  sharply  interrogated  the  mother. 

"  I  told  him  'twas  Mun,"  replied  the  girl. 

Here  the  soldier,  addressing  the  mother  directly,  asked  : 
"  Madam,  is  that  his  name?  " 

"  Wall,"  she  replied,  "/  never  did  rightly  git  hold  o'  the 
old  man' s  name.  I  taxed  him  about  it  a  time  or  two,  when  we 
was  a  courting  but  I  'low  that  I  never  did  git  hold  of  arry  right 
eend  on't.  'Pears  like  he  said  'twas  Mummy-Mungrel — ( Mon 
grel)  Mun — Vermen — Mullen — (mullein)  Muren — (Murrain) 
or  sum  sich." 

The  young  lady  in  the  meantime,  had  gone  out,  and  on 
coming  back,  handed  the  soldier  an  old  envelope  on  which 
had  sometime  been  addressed,  the  following: — "  gege  rulf 
mun." 

The  whole  three  scanned  it  and  studied  over  it  as  though 
it  had  been  an  ancient  "  cryptogram  "  ;  and  finally  decided 
it  to  be  intended  for—  Judge  Ralf  Munn. 

Again  addressing  the  lady,  the  soldier  said, — "  Madam, 
there  is  a  man  up  in  our  camp  by  that  same  name." 

(The  young  lady  had  already  told  her  admirer  that  her 
father  was  in  the  Confederate  army.) 

"  Do  he  tote  arry  gun  ?  "  the  lady  asked. 

"  Oh,  no,"  was  the  reply,  "  he  is  a  musician." 

"  What  ;  is  he  one  of  them  ar'  rub-a-dub  fellers  "  ? 

"  No,"  the  soldier  replied,  at  the  same  time  imitating  the 
holding  and  playing  of  a  fife. 

"  Oh,  then  he  blows  into  one  of  them  ar'  screechinsticks"  ? 

The  soldier  thought  this  latter  name  too  appropriate  to 
question,  and  made  no  further  conversation. 

Upon  this,  the  lady,  either  inspired  with  disgust,  or  hav 
ing  determined  upon  a  more  aggressive  attitude,  delivered  a 
most  Gatling-like  discharge  of  nicotinized  saliva  at  the  devoted 
knot-hole,  which  caused  such  a  violent  ebullition  as  to  make 
enough  overflow  as  to  almost  put  out  the  fire  ;  at  the  same 
time  rising  and  knocking  the  bowl  of  the  pipe  against  the 


172  HISTORY   OF   THE    THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

chimney-jam,  to  empty  it,  she  stood  a  moment  refilling  the 
pipe,  looking  the  soldiers  full  in  the  face  all  the  time,  as 
though  measuring  them,  to  decide  how  far  she  might  safely  go 
in  abuse  without  laying  herself  liable  to  retaliation.  "  Wall  " 
she  finally  continued,  "7  hope  a  bullet  from  my  old  marts 
sqidrrel  rifle  '//  hunt  him  up  and  make  his  acquaintance" 

And  it  is  certain  that  had  that  bullet  ever  got  after  me, 
propelled  with  the  venom,  and  with  the  certain  aim  that  my 
amiable  lady  namesake  was  master  of,  I  should  most  certainly 
have  gone  under. 

The  boys  could  take  no  personal  revenge  on  the  woman 
who  they  considered  had  literally  spattered  me  with  so  nasty 
an  insult,  but  they  determined  to  assess  exemplary  damages, 
at  least ;  accordingly  they  took  their  way  out  through  the 
outbuilding  and  yards,  and  gathered  in  six  nice  chickens  and 
a  noble  shoat  that  would  weigh  at  least  a  hundred  pounds. 

The  boys  took  the  chickens  and  pig  far  enough  into  a 
neighboring  piece  of  woods  to  prevent  the  light  from  a  fire 
being  seen,  and  there  dressed  and  cooked  them,  and  feasted 
all  they  could  comfortably  get  away  with,  gave  some  packages 
of  it  to  the  guard,  instead  of  the  countersign,  when  they  went 
back  through  the  guard  lines,  brought  me  my  package,  and 
may  possibly  have  had  two  hours'  sleep  before  reveille. 

A  sick  comrade,  who  had  started  along  a  little  in  advance 
of  the  regiment,  thinking  to  walk  a  little  for  exercise  until 
the  ambulance  should  overtake  him,  had  sat  down  in  the  gal 
lery  of  the  house,  and  afterward  told  me  what  he  had  observed. 
He  said  that  the  lady  of  the  house  was  walking  up  and  down 
the  gallery  of  the  house  in  a  state  of  decided  unrest,  and  he 
had  from  the  first,  noticed  that  she  always  spat  from  a  certain 
spot  on  the  gallery,  and  in  exactly  the  same  direction.  Look 
ing  more  closely,  he  discovered  that  a  great  fat  toad  had 
crawled  from  his  burrow  and  was  watching  for  unwary  flies, 
when,  unfortunately  for  him,  the  lady  saw  him  and  immedi 
ately  selected  him  for  her  morning's  target.  Somehow,  in 
this  lady's  vivid  imagination,  the  poor  creature,  in  a  manner, 
seemed  to  typify,  and  even  personate  the  average  Yankee 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  173 

soldier  ;  and  as  such,  all  the  worse  for  the  toad,  the  lady  was 
determined  to  show  her  disgust  for  the  Lincoln  Government. 
As  the  drums  and  screechinsticks  struck  up,  announcing  the 
approach  of  the  regiment,  the  lady's  disquietude  increased, 
and  the  unsavory  missiles  struck  the  toad's  mailed  sides  with 
greater  frequency,  and  more  destructive  impact,  and  always 
with  unerring  aim.  Finally,  the  toad,  seeing  that  he  was 
entirely  overmatched  in  the  fight,  retreated  precipitately  to 
his  burrow,  where  he  wriggled,  twisted,  and  squirmed  until 
he  had  thrown  up  sufficient  earthworks  to  temporarily  protect 
himself. 

As  a  laughable  contrast  to  the  mother's  belligerant  aspect, 
and  attitude,  the  daughter's  face  was  radiant  while  this  splen 
did  regiment  of  men  marched  by  ;  and  a  sudden  suffusing  of 
her  neck  and  face  with  blushes,  told  too  certainly  that  she  had 
discovered  in  the  ranks,  her  last  night's  admirer,  who  had 
attracted  her  notice  long  enough  to  waft  her  from  his  fingers' 
tips,  several  kisses,  the  language  of  which,  young  ladies,  by 
the  time  they  are  sixteen,  learn  by  intuition. 

Good-bye,  my  fair  kinswoman  ;  you  will  be  madder  still 
two  or  three  hours  from  now,  when  you  learn  that  you  and 
"  Miz-u-ry  "  have  not  so  many  chores  to  do  us  usual. 

Gambling,  to  a  fearful  extent,  prevailed  in  the  army.  If 
officers  surrounded  tables  piled  with  money,  though  protected 
from  too  general  observation  by  private  rooms,  and  night,  the 
boys  could  not  be  expected  to  resist  the  blandishments  of  the 
Chuck- a-luck  board  in  an  adjoining  grove.  Men  fell  into  the 
demoralizing  practice  in  the  army,  who  had  never  done  so  at 
home  ;  and,  should  they  live  to  see  home  again,  would  never 
touch  gambling  machinery  again. 

John  Curtis  was  one  of  the  most  quiet,  and  least  boisterous 
of  our  soldiers  ;  and  yet,  one  of  the  most  indefatigable  and 
reckless  gamblers. 

He  was  never  excited,  possessed  a  countenance  so  stolid,  that 
feeling  never  lit  it  up.  Losses  were  never  recorded  on  his  face  ; 
and  gains  had  no  power  whatever,  to  make  him  look  cheer 
ful  ;  in  fact,  he  had  the  same  face  for  faro  as  for  funerals . 


174  HISTORY    OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

I  asked  him  one  day,  whether,  on  the  whole,  he  lost,  or 
gained  by  play  ?  He  replied,  "  I  don't  mind  telling  you  that 
I  have  gained  by  play,  enough  to  senti  home  to  my  father 
nearly  a  thousand  dollars,  with  which  to  pay  off  a  mortgage 
on  the  farm.  I  would  not  have  my  parents  know  how  I  got 
the  money,  for  the  world  ;  it  would  break  their  hearts.  I 
deceive  them  by  saying  that,  when  off  duty,  I  have  an  oppor 
tunity  of  making  considerable  money  by  trading.  I  don't 
intend  to,  ever  again,  touch  a  card  after  I  leave  the  army." 

It  is  to  be  hoped  that  he  carried  out  the  above  good  resolu 
tion  ;  but  greatly  to  be  feared  that  the  habit  clung  to  him  like 
a  <l  Shirt  of  Nessus." 

There  is  no  rich,  rare,  or  racy  quality  of  the  human  mind 
which  did  not  find  ample  scope  for  exercise,  in  army  life. 

The  order  that,  none  but  the  "top  rail"  of  the  old 
planter's  fence  be  used  for  the  boys'  camp-fires,  caused  the 
legitimate  destruction  of  the  entire  fence,  on  the  principle  that 
when  the  top  rail  is  taken  off,  the  next  lo\ver  one  immediately 
becomes  a  top  rail  ;  and  so  on  in  regular  promotion  down 
ward,  according  to  the  strictest  interpretation  of  the  rules  of 
Civil  Service  Reform. 

Colonel  Wyman,  was  famous  for  ambiguous  orders  :  but 
his  actions  usually  gave  the  key  to  his  intentions. 

One  afternoon,  after  a  march  since  daylight,  and  a  few 
days  before  arriving  at  Camp  Cross-Timbers,  our  camping- 
ground  was  chosen  in  a  beautiful  grove,  and  near  a  fine  plan 
tation  which  was  extensive  and  under  good  cultivation. 
Arms  were  stacked  and  everything  ready  for  breaking 
ranks,  when  the  Colonel  rode  into  one  of  the  central  company 
streets  of  the  prospective  camp,  and  halted  right  in  the  midst 
of  an  old  sow  and  large  litter  of  fine  roasting  size  pigs.  The 
old  sow  and  family,  by  their  familiar  confidence,  betrayed  a 
lamentable  ignorance,  not  only  of  the  existence  of  war,  at  that 
time,  but  of  the  latent  possibilities  wrapped  up  in  the  uniform  of 
a  soldier,  whether  wearing  the  blue  or  the  gray. 

The  Colonel  called  for  attention,  and  then  addressed  the 
regiment  as  follows  : 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  175 

"  I  have  learned  that  the  gentleman  who  owns  yonder 
plantation,  is  a  good  Union  man.  It  is  true  his  sons  and 
sons-in-law  are  all  in  the  Confederate  army,  but,  of  course, 
you  will  not  hold  the  old  gentleman  in  the  least  responsible 
for  what  is  entirely  beyond  his  control.  I  have  frequently 
observed,  however,  that  here  in  the  South,  the  more  intensely 
loyal  to  the  old  flag  a  man  is,  the  more  sons  he  has  in  the  rebel 
army.  This  is  a  somewhat  curious  coincidence,  but  most  prob 
ably  to  be  accounted  for  on  the  principles  of  the  old  darky, 
who  said  that  he  prayed  to  the  devil  half  of  the  time,  as  it 
was  uncertain  whose  hands  he  should  fall  into. 

"Now  the  Union  man's  property  must  be  preserved; 
nothing  must  be  touched  ;  not  even  one  of  these  pigs"  Upon 
which,  he  drew  his  revolver,  still  sitting  in  his  saddle,  shot 
two  of  the  pigs  dead  on  the  spot.  The  Colonel  then  rode  to  the 
place  where  his  own  tent  was  being  pitched,  and  dismounted. 

It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  add  that  nearly  everything  eat 
able  on  that  plantation  went  inside  those  blue  uniforms  before 
marching  next  day. 

Besides  being  hungry,  at  Camp  Cross-Timbers,  we  were 
cold.  I  can  not  do  better  than  to  quote  from  Comrade 
Chapel's  diary,  as  to  the  weather  during  a  part  of  the  time. 
The  diary  says  : 

"  Friday,  March  2ist,  1862. — It  snowed  all  night,  and  this 
morning  we  have  as  much  snow  as  we  had  at  Rolla  any  time 
this  winter.  It  is  a  regular  "down  easter  "  equinoctial  storm. 
As  we  left  our  overcoats,  and  all  our  blankets,  except  one,  at 
Springfield,  we  have  to  work  hard  to  keep  warm.  I  laid 
abed  almost  all  day,  wrapped  up  in  my  blanket.  Towards 
night  the  weather  moderated  a  little." 


CHAPTER   XIV. 

BENTON  HUSSARS  POISONED,  AND  CAPTAIN  DUFLER  FATALLY. 
—OUR  SOLDIERS  CAN  STAND  HUNGER  AND  COLD,  BUT 
OBJECT  TO  POISON. 

was  about  to  commence  one  of  the 
most  remarkable  campaigns  of  the  war  ; 
whether  looked  at  from  the  standpoint  of 
hard  marching,  over  almost  impassable 
roads,  inclement  weather,  hunger,  cold,  sickness, 
less  danger  of  battle  than  of  poison,  in  beverage  and 
in  food,  and  poisoned  wells,  springs,  and  streams  of  water,  or 
from  being  cut  off  from  any  source  of  supply,  or  from  the 
knowledge  or  whereabouts  of  our  army,  by  General  Grant,  and 
other  armies  east  of  the  Mississippi. 

The  following  order  inaugurates  the  campaign  : 

Special  orders  )          HEADQUARTERS,  ARMY  OF  THE  SOUTHWEST, 
No.  134.       \  CAMP  CROSS-TIMBERS,  April  4,  1862. 

VIII. — "The  army  in  the  field  will  move  to-morrow,  the 5th  instant, 
in  the  order  herein  stated,  on  the  road  or  eastward,  leading  through 
Cassville  and  hence  toward  Yellville.  Order  of  march  :  First  Division 
will  move  at  6  a.  m.  ;  Fourth  Division  at  8  a.  m.;  Wytnau's  Brigade  at 

8  .-30  a.  m.  "     *    * 

By  command  of  Major-Geueral  Curtis. 

H.  Z.  CURTIS, 
Asst.  Adj't-Gen. 

When  our  army  broke  camp  at  Cross-Timbers,  it  took  the 
back  track,  and  we  were  fearful  that  the  campaign  was  ended, 
and  that  we  were  destined  to  see  Rolla  again  ;  but  when  we 

176 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  177 

reached  Cassville  and  took  an  easternly  direction,  we  were 
reassured,  and  right  away  began  to  speculate  as  to  where 
such  horrible  roads,  through  so  wretched  a  country  could 
take  us,  unless  we  ran  into  the  Mississippi  river  some  dark 
night  while  trying  to  make  camp.  This  zigzag  campaign 
of  two  hundred  miles  in  an  easterly  direction,  consuming 
twenty-three  days,  first  zigging  to  one  side  of  the  line  be 
tween  the  two  States,  and  then  zagging  back  to  the  other 
side,  through  rain  and  snow,  much  of  the  time  without  blank 
ets,  muddy  roads  letting  the  wheels  of  the  army  wagons  in  to 
the  hub,  going  without  their  one-quarter  ration,  which  was  in 
those  wagons  stuck  in  the  mud,  three  miles  back  from  camp, 
country  forage  scarce,  the  natives  hungry  and  the  women 
and  children  half-starved,  and  so  utterly  wretched  that  an 
angel  would  shed  tears  of  pity,  and  at  the  sight  of  our  boys 
dividing  their  one-quarter  ration  with  these  poor  people,  that 
same  angel  might  properly  weep  tears  of  joy. 

Great  God  !  What  a  heart  of  gold  hast  Thou  wrapped  up 
in  many  of  those  blue  uniforms  !  ! 

The  route  of  our  army,  the  destination  of  which  puzzled 
and  worried  our  boys  so,  lay  across  the  northern  spurs  of  the 
Ozark  Mountains  ;  and  these  spurs  had  a  way  of  throwing 
themselves  crosswise  of  their  general  direction  ;  and  valleys, 
streams  and  roads  were  tortuous,  devious,  and  doubled  back 
on  themselves  so  frequently,  that  their  geography  was  dis 
appointing  and  so  distracting  as  to  make  one  feel  sure  that  he 
was  making  more  distance  backward  than  forward. 

The  boys  began  to  think  our  destination  to  be  Memphis  ; 
as  that  exhausting  and  exhaustless  eastward  tramp  seemed  to 
point  to  that  place  as  being  the  only  place  in  that  direction 
worthy  to  be  called  an  objective. 

But  finally,  when  we  had  fairly  turned  the  head- waters  of 
the  White  river,  and  headed  southward,  we  came  to  the  con 
clusion  that  probably  General  Curtis  knew  what  his  orders 
were,  and  how  to  carry  them  out.  We  must,  however,  have 
a  more  detailed  record  of  that  mountain  march  with  no  known 
destination. 


178  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

April 5th. — On  the  first  day  from  Cross-Timbers  marched 
eighteen  miles  and  camped  on  Stony  Creek. 

Sunday,  April  6th. — Bad  roads,  no  meat,  and  short  of 
meal,  wet  through  with  rain,  no  tents  or  blankets,  suffered 
with  cold  during  the  night.  Under  such  conditions,  marched 
eighteen  miles,  while  Shiloh's  first  day's  battle  was  being 
fought. 

Monday,  April  jth. — Distance  not  recorded,  but  a  march 
much  interrupted  by  teams  was  made,  reaching  until  mid 
night,  bringing  us  to  Platt  Creek,  without  tents,  blankets,  or 
food,  raining,  and  we  suffered  greatly.  Our  discomfort  would 
hardly  have  been  noticed  by  us,  could  we  have  known  of  the 
glorious  Union  victory  at  Shiloh,  on  this  very  day,  in  which 
the  Union  loss  was  seventeen  hundred  and  thirty-five  killed, 
seven  thousand  eight  hundred  and  eighty-two  wounded,  and 
three  thousand  nine  hundred  and  fifty-six  captured.  Confed 
erate  loss — seventeen  hundred  and  twenty-eight  killed,  eight 
thousand  and  twelve  wounded,  and  nine  hundred  and  fifty- 
Seven  captured. 

Tuesday,  April  8th. — Did  not  break  camp,  got  some 
rations,  built  a  bridge  over  Platt  Creek,  during  which  time, 
Island  Number  Ten  was  captured  from  the  rebels,  with  three 
thousand  prisoners.  We  were  then  ready  for  the  following 

order  : 

CAMP  AT  GALENA,  MISSOURI. 

April  8th,   1862. 
Special  Orders  1 
No.  138.         / 

Order  and  hours  for  marching  April  Qth.  Boweu's   bat 

talion,  immediately  after  the  First  Division   has  crossed  James'  Fork, 
and  proceed  with  the  same  to  the  mouth  of  Bear  Creek. 

Wyman's  Brigade,  immediately  after  the  Fourth  Division,  camp  on 
the  east  bank,  move  at  8  a.  m.  of  the  loth  instant  rear  of  Fourth  Divi 
sion  and  camp  at  mouth  of  Bear  Creek. 

S.  R.  CURTIS, 
Maj.-Gen.  Cotn'd'g. 

Wednesday,  April  $th. — Pursuant  to  above  order,  marched 
nine  miles  over  bad  roads  and  went  into  camp  on  James'  Fork, 
at  Galena,  Missouri. 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  179 

Thursday,  April  loth. — Made  thirteen  miles,  and  crossed 
James'  Fork,  on  a  bridge  of  wagons  placed  end  to  end. 

Friday,  April  nth. — After  marching  seven  miles,  camped 
on  a  hillside  on  the  east  bank  of  Bear  Creek,  with  plenty  of 
wood  and  water  ;  and  only  the  "  top  rail  "  was  taken  for  the 
boys'  camp-fires. 

Saturday,  April  1 2th.  —  Comrade  Chapel  says  : — "We  lay 
in  camp  all  day,  expecting  orders  to  march,  but  none  came. 
It  came  my  turn  to  cook  ;  which  is  no  desirable  job,  now  that  we 
have  nothing  but  cornmeal  to  live  on,  and  unbolted  at  that ;  and 
no  sieve  to  sift  it  with.  Some  of  the  boys  went  out  to  buy 
something ;  but  could  not  find  anything." 

The  regiment  lay  in  this  camp  on  Bear  Creek,  at  Galena, 
Missouri,  from  Saturday  the  twelth  to  Sunday  the  twentieth. 
Comrade  Hevenor  says  :  ' '  Here  we  had  nothing  to  do  but 
forage  and  pick  up  a  living  as  best  we  could,  through  a 
country  which  barely  affords  subsistence  for  its  thinly  scattered 
population.  We  occasionally  found  a  beef,  and  a  few  hogs  on 
the  mountains,  but  no  meal  or  flour.  Obliged  to  live  on  a 
one-third  ration." 

Comrade  Chapel  says,  same  day: — "Our  teams  went  to 
Forsyth  for  rations,  and  succeeded  in  getting  a  little.  Adams 
and  Olney  were  out  and  shot  two  pigs  which  are  very  accept 
able  just  now.  Barton  went  off  and  got  us  some  sorghum. 
We  to-day  first  heard  of  the  great  Union  victory  in 
Tennessee." 

With  all  these  discouragements,  hunger,  cold,  fatigue, 

NOTHING   COULD   DAMPEN   THE   HOPES   AND   SPLENDID 

COURAGE 

of  these  noble  men  ;  and  while  hovering  over  their  camp-fires, 
where  food  in  sufficient  variety  and  quantity  was  a  stranger 
to  those  hungry  stomachs,  the  genial  warmth  was  there,  and 
which  they  seemed  to  devour  through  every  pore,  as  though 
the  warmth  was  the  most  delicious  food,  and  the  pores  were 
so  many  passages  to  imaginary  stomachs  which  were  revel- 


180  HISTORY   OF   THE    THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

ing  in  a  square  meal,  at  any  rate  these  men  were  so  jolly  that 
Comrade  Chapel  records  that,  "  I  made  a  bet  (on  April  i8th) 
with  Jimmy  Smith,  for  oysters  for  the  me^s,  that  peace  would 
be  declared  within  three  months,"  and  this  hungry  man 
adds  :  "  /  believe  the  rebs  begin  to  sec  their  case  is  hopeless. ' ' 

Now,  while  a  rebel  bullet  would  not  dodge  such  a  man, 
any  more  than  it  would  the  most  worthless  man  in  the  army, 
to  the  ordinary  vicissitudes  of  military  campaigning  they 
were  invincible. 

And  •  now  loomed  up  the  Arkansas  campaign,  and  it 
looked  like  business  ;  which,  indeed  it  proved  to  be  before 
we  got  through  with  it,  and  many  a  long  and  weary  month 
elapsed  before  the  declaration  of  that  ' '  peace ' '  which  Com 
rade  Chapel  risked  the  "  oysters  "  on. 

Sunday,  April  2oth,  left  Camp  Starvation  at  8  a.  m.,  in  a 
drenching  rain,  struck  the  worst  road  yet  encountered. 
Obliged  to  double  teams,  unload  wagons,  pry  the  wagons 
out  of  the  present  mud-hole,  only  to  have  them  plunge  into  a 
worse  one  just  beyond.  The  mules  got  the  most  real  enjoy 
ment  out  of  this  mud-hole  experience,  for  the  simon-pure 
army-mule  is  never  happy  unless  everybody,  including  him 
self,  is  miserable  ;  he  will  then  fairly  enjoy  getting  his  wagon 
stalled  in  the  mud,  being  thrashed  nearly  to  shoe-strings  by 
both  the  wagon-driver  and  the  wagon-master,  who  then 
double  black-snake  whips  and  mule-driving  profanity,  every 
word  of  which  the  mule  perfectly  understands,  and  gets  back 
by  bringing  forward  a  reverse  of  balkiness  never  before  used  ; 
and  then  when  he  is  unharnessed  for  the  night,  he  immedi 
ately  rolls  over  from  three  to  five  times  (seldom  an  even 
number),  then  gets  up  and  shakes  himself  and  sings,  "Ye 
banks  and  braes"  and  then  pretends  to  be  attending  to  his 
feed  ;  but  is  watching,  and  if  he  has  a  half  a  chance,  will 
eat  lip  his  driver's  jacket. 

Leaving  Bear  Creek  a  mile  behind  us,  we  came  to  Bull 
Creek  ;  and,  although  a  large  and  rapid  stream,  as  we  were 
already  wet  through  and  through,  the  boys  found  the  wading 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  l8l 

of  it  a  scarcely  increased  discomfort  ;  and  plundged  in,  sing 
ing,  "  Jordon  am  a  hard  road  to  trable." 

Our  tents  and  blankets  being  of  the  past,— that  is,  they 
were  some  of  the  things  we  had  passed  a  good  ways  back, 
their  wagons  stuck  in  the  mud  ;  and  there  was,  therefore, 
but  little  prospect  of  securing  a  state-room  for  the  coming 
night. 

For  myself,  I  had  hunted  up  three  rails  of  unequal  sizes 
and  degrees  of  crookedness,  but  the  most  nearly  matched 
obtainable  in  the  then  distracted  condition  of  the  country, 
and  had  rested  one  end  of  them  on  the  lower  rail  of  a  neigh 
boring  fence,  to  raise  them  above  any  possible  accumulation 
of  water  underneath,  during  the  night ;  for  it  was  still  rain 
ing  ;  and  I  wanted  to  assure  myself  of  a  dry  bed.  The  lower 
end  of  my  bedstead  rested  on  the  ground.  On  this  couch  I 
turned  in,  thanking  my  stars  that  I  was  not  as  other  men  ; 
even  as  those  fellows  who  were  obliged  to  huddle  around  the 
camp-fire  all  night.  Sometime  in  the  night  I  woke,  not 
feeling  as  comfortable  as  I  had  reason  to  believe  I  had  in 
sured  to  myself  and  which  I  insisted  that  I  had  a  right  to 
expect.  It  was  raining,  and  I  found  myself  lying  in  a  con 
siderable  puddle  of  water.  The  rails  which  had  composed 
my  bedstead  were  gone,  and  also  the  fence  on  whose  lower 
rail  one  end  of  my  bedstead  had  rested,  had  gone  entirely. 
In  a  somewhat  dazed  condition  of  mind,  not  varying  materi 
ally  from  somnambulism,  I  waded  on  to  higher  ground  and 
took  a  survey,  or  reconnoissance  (not  in  force)  of  the  situa 
tion.  It  did  not  take  long  to  arrive  at  a  conclusion. 

The  boys  had  determined  to  keep  the  camp-fires  burning 
all  night ;  and  had  needed  the  rails.  With  the  most  generous 
and  delicate  consideration  for  my  comfort,  they  had  removed  the 
rails  so  carefully  as  not  to  wake  me.  I  was  deeply  touched 
by  such  friendly  consideration  for  my  comfort.  I  received  a 
hearty  welcome  to  a  snug  place  by  the  camp-fire  which,  my 
rails  had  helped  to  make. 

Monday,  April  2ist. — Accomplished  but  two  and  a  half 
miles,  being  hindered  by  wagons  fast  in  the  mud.  We  found 


1 82  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

a  good  camping-ground,  and  Comrade  Havener  says,  "plenty 
of  good  pork." 

These  evening  camp-fires  are  occasions  of  much  social  en 
joyment  at  the  time,  but  also  impress  the  memory  with  pleas 
ant  recollections  to  be  called  up  in  after  years,  and  lived  over 
again  and  again.  Many  times  these  evenings  were  reunions 
with  former  comrades  who  had  left  our  regiment  for  promo 
tion  to  commissions  in  other  regiments  who  came  to  us  for 
suitable  timber  for  officers,  for  which  we  had  an  enviable  rep 
utation  among  neighboring,  but  younger  regiments.  Com 
pany  A,  of  the  Thirteenth,  had  given  Bowen's  Cavalry 
Battalion  Comrade  John  D.  Crabtree,  as  a  Lieutenant,  who 
made  his  way  to  an  honorable  mention,  by  General  Curtis,  in 
his  report  of  the  battle  of  Pea  Ridge,  and  who  achieved  a 
Major's  rank  before  leaving  the  service. 

Company  K,  of  our  regiment,  had  given  Comrade  Daniel 
W.  Ballou,  as  a  Lieutenant,  to  the  Tenth  Missouri  Cavalry  ; 
and  he  was  repeatedly  mentioned  in  reports  of  his  superiors 
as  having  rendered  efficient,  and  important  service  ;  and  at 
the  battle  of  Chickasaw  Bayou,  Lieutenant  Ballou  com 
manded  Company  C  of  the  Tenth  Missouri  Cavalry  in  our 
(Blair's)  First  Brigade,  Fourth  Division,  Thirteenth  Army 
Corps. 

Lieutenant  Pierre  Bushnell,  of  Company  C,  was  another 
comrade  of  ours,  that  we  had  given  to  the  Sixth  Missouri 
Cavalry,  and  at  Chickasaw  Bayou,  was  in  the  Third  brigade 
of  our  Fourth  Division.  These  young  officers,  whenever 
camped  in  our  vacinity,  lost  no  opportunity  of  coming  home 
to  spend  the  evening,  and  swap  their  chicken  stories  for  our 
hog  yarns  ;  and  were  somewhat  envied  by  our  boys  for  their 
greater  foraging  opportunities  over  us,  by  reason  of  their 
belonging  to  the  "  critter  companies."  We  gave  other  good 
men,  but  no  record  is  at  hand. 

This  evening,  the  second  after  leaving  "  Camp  Starva 
tion,"  Lieutenant  Bushnell  came  over,  and,  after  discussing  a 
tin- cup  of  coffee,  told  me  the  following  incident  of  Pea  Ridge, 
in  which  battle  he  had  participated.  It  was,  in  fact,  a 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  183 

counterpart,  in  reality,  of  Washington  Irving' s  beautiful 
fiction,  of  the  "Headless  Horseman."  The  battle-field  of 
Pea  Ridge  was  one  of  the  roughest  of  all  the  unpromising 
surfaces  over  which  our  brave  soldiers  have  fought  during  the 
war  ;  being  little  less  than  deep  mountain  gorges  and  ravines, 
made  almost  impassable  by  tangled  vines,  and  scrubby  under 
brush,  the  whole  being  covered  by  a  forest  so  dense  that  the 
screaming  shells  with  their  concentrated  death,  concealed  in 
their  iron  bosoms,  could  scarcely  find  their  way  ;  and  were 
continually  bursting  with  impotent  rage  against  the  giants  of 
the  forest,  who  minded  as  little  about  the  amputation  of  their 
huge  limbs,  as  though  no  deadly  scalpel  was  searching 
eagerly  for  congenial  employment. 

Artillery  could  scarcely  gain  positions  from  which  to  sweep 
those  parts  of  the  field  occupied  by  the  enemy,  and  cavalry 
charges  were  entirely  out  of  the  question,  over  almost  the  en 
tire  battle-field  ;  but  battalions  of  the  latter  were  stationed  at 
different  points,  in  readiness  for  any  favorable  turn  in  the 
battle,  when  their  services  might  be  made  available. 

Drawn  up  close,  in  line  of  battle,  Comrade  Bushnell's  com 
pany  was  impatiently  waiting  the  order  to  charge.  Every 
horse  as  immovable  as  its  rider,  the  roar  of  artillery,  and  the 
crashing  of  heavy  projectiles  through  the  timber,  and  burst 
ing  of  shells  all  about  them,  failed  to  break  their  ranks,  even 
when  one  of  these  winged  messengers  of  death  found  its  way 
to  them.  More  than  one  horse  and  rider  were  stretched  life 
less  or  fearfully  mangled  on  the  ground  by  their  side,  and  yet 
the  order  to  charge,  came  not ;  but  death  in  its  most  appalling 
form  came  to  one  of  the  brave  men  who  sat  there  in  his  sad 
dle.  A  cannon-shot  cut  the  head  clean  from  the  body,  and  it 
dropped  upon  the  ground  behind  the  horse,  while  the  body 
remained  perfectly  upright  in  its  saddle  (so  closely  were  the 
horses  wedged  together  in  line),  until  the  order  to  charge, 
which  fortunately  came  just  at  this  time,  when  the  body 
tumbled  heavily  to  the  ground,  thereby  relieving  its  comrades 
from  its  awful  presence. 


1 84  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH   REGIMENT 

This  serves  to  bring  to  mind  Homer's  grand  verse,  in  de 
scribing  the  death  of  Archilochus,  slain  by  Ajax  : 

"And  took  the  joint,  and  cut  the  nerves  in  twain  : 
The  drooping  head  first  tumbled  on  the  plain. 
So  just  the  stroke,  that  yet  the  body  stood 
Erect,  then  rolled  along  the  sand  in  blood." 

Comrade  Bushnell  said  that  he  had  seen  terrible  sights  on 
the  battle-field  before,  but  that  sitting  by  the  side  of  that  head 
less  corpse,  drenching  itself  and  the  horse  with  its  own  gore, 
was  a  far  more  horrible  sight  than  he  had  ever  seen. 

Tuesday,  April  22d. — The  weather  proved  clear,  and  we 
found  better  roads,  and  started  at  daylight  and  pressed  for 
ward  in  the  opposite  direction  from  that  in  which  somebody, 
or  somebody  else,  has  said  that  "  the  Star  of  Empire  takes  its 
way." 

Crossed  many  creeks,  and  made  twenty  miles,  and  went 
into  camp  near  a  church.  We  were  living  high  to-day,  on  one 
gigantically  small  hunk  of  corn  pone,  and  nothing  whatever  to 
cook  for  supper. 

Our  camp  was  named  "  Camp  Hungry  Church,"  but  the 
boys  did  manage  to  kill  some  kind  of  a  carcass  of  what  the 
people  called  beef,  but  Dr.  Plummer,  being  called  upon  for  a 
physiological  opinion,  expressed  grave  doubts  about  it,  and 
hinted  that  he  could  tell  better  about  it  if  a  nicely  cooked  slice 
of  it  should,  in  some  manner,  find  its  way  to  his  table. 

"  Camp  Hungry  Church,"  was  only  about  twenty  miles 
from  Springfield,  Missouri,  almost  directly  south. 

Wednesday,  April  2jd. — Broke  camp  at  8  a.  in.,  and 
marched,  as  usual,  toward  the  rising  sun,  and  camped  on 
Beaver  Creek  ;  the  morning  was  cloudy,  but  it  cleared  about 
noon.  We  got  some  flour  to-day. 

Thursday,  April  24.111. — Made  eighteen  miles  over  more 
spurs  of  the  Ozark  Mountains,  and  went  into  camp  in  good 
season. 

Our  hunger  was  no  greater,  our  disgust  was  no  smaller, 
our  endurance  was  not  going  to  give  out,  and  our  patriotism 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  185 

was  of  the  "Yankee  Doodle"  kind;  therefore,  there  was 
nothing  of  unusual  dimensions  to  record. 

Friday,  April  2$th. — Reached  longingly  eastward,  and 
took  in  about  fifteen  miles,  and  camped  about  two  or  three 
miles  from  Vera  Cruz,  Missouri.  As  usual,  we  are  camped 
on  a  small  stream. 

Saturday,  April  26th. — Comrade  Hevenor  says: — "Leav 
ing  camp  at  6  a.  m.,  we  made  a  hard  day's  march  of  twenty 
miles,  over  rough  roads.  To-night  a  commissary  train  came 
up  with  us,  and  for  the  first  time  in  many  days,  we  had  plenty 
of  hard  bread.  It  relished  better  than  ever  did  the  daintiest 
morsel  at  home. ' ' 

Sunday,  April  2jth. — Left  camp  at  6  o'clock  in  the  morning, 
and  during  the  day,  crossed  the  north,  or  east,  branch  of  White 
river,  twice.  In  fact,  most  of  these  streams  are  as  crooked  as 
the  great  hollow  log  that  the  farmer  used  in  the  foundation  of 
his  fence  ;  through  which  an  old  sow  went,  expecting  to  come 
out  into  the  garden,  but  was  exceedingly  puzzled  on  her  exit, 
to  find  herself  still  on  the  outside.  Not  fully  understanding 
why  this  was  thus,  she  tried  it  again,  but  with  the  same 
result.  Going  again  to  the  entrance  she  looked  warily  in, 
then,  after  a  moment's  hesitation,  turned,  gave  several  grunts 
of  intense  disgust,  and  ran  off  into  the  wroods. 

We  made  fifteen  miles  to-day,  and  camped  in  a  splendid 
pine  grove.  Called  it  "Camp  Pleasant."  A  good  many 
troops  passed  our  camp,  some  of  which  we  fed,  satisfying  their 
hunger  out  of  our  abundance.  We  were 

VERY   HUNGRY   YESTERDAY, 

and  may  be  so  again,  probably  by  the  day  after  to-morrow. 
Monday,  April 28th. — Reveille  at  3  a.  m.,  and  broke  camp 
at  5  o'clock,  and  twenty  miles  passed  behind  us  before  we  made 
camp  within  a  mile  of  West  Plains,  Missouri,  a  small  village 
from  which  Colonel  Wood  had  driven  the  rebels,  eight  days 
before  we  left  Rolla.  This  was  the  place  where  one  of 
Colonel  Wood's  howitzers  had  sent  a  shell  entirely  through 


186  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTEENTH  0  REGIMENT 

the  two  walls,  and  three  partitions  of  the  Court  House,  after 
which  the  shell  exploded.  Colonel  Wood  was  kind  enough  to 
leave  the  hole,  and  the  rebs  were  so  much  in  awe  of  it,  that  it 
had  remained  ;  and  our  boys  now  made  pilgrimages  to  it,  as 
to  a  shrine. 

Tuesday,  April  2pth. — Passed  through  West  Plains,  and 
took  a  southerly  direction,  which  seemed  to  indicate  that  we 
were  about  to  come  into  active  sympathy  with  the  "  Arkansaw 
Traveller."  Four  o'clock,  and  fifteen  miles,  brought  us  to 
our  camp  at  Spring  Creek. 

Wednesday,  April  joth. — We  were  early  on  tl\e  road,  and 
Comrade  Hevenor  says  :  "  At  9  o'clock,  we  pass  the  Arkansas 
line,  and,  with  the  band  playing  "  Yankee  Doodle,"  we  give 
three  rousing  cheers,  shake  the  dust  (mud)  off  our  shoes,  and 
bid  adieu  (as  we  hope,  forever, )  to  Missouri. 

The  fact  was,  we  were  in  no  mood  to  accept  the  advice  of 
William  Shakespeare,  that  we 

"  Better  bear  the  ills  we  have,  thau  fly  to  those  we  know  not  of." 

Fifteen  miles  brought  us  to  Salem,  Arkansas,  where  we 
camped  in  a  full-blooded  secession  State. 

The  day  we  remained  at  Salem,  there  came  to  our  camp 
an  old  man  who  lived  but  two  or  three  miles  off.  While  talk 
ing  with  the  Colonel,  he  asked  if  we  had  an  American  Flag  ? 
The  Colonel  wished  to  know  why  he  asked  ?  He  replied  : 
"  Colonel,  I  have  lived  seventy  years,  but  have  never  seen  the 
American  Flag."  We  happened  to  have  no  flag  flying  at  the 
time,  but  the  Colonel  immediately  ordered  the  regimental  flag 
raised  ;  and  soon,  a  beautiful  specimen  was  floating  on  the 
breeze,  which  had  not  yet  been  defaced  by  the  rough  usage 
which  it  afterward  experienced  at  Chickasaw  Bayou,  rebel 
capture,  and  its  imprisonment  at  Libby  Prison.  The  old 
man's  admiring  gaze  was  fixed  on  it  for  a  long  time,  while  he 
walked  around  it  and  viewed  it  from  every  point  of  view, 
except  that  of  loyalty,  and,  on  being  asked  how  he  liked  it, 


ILLINOIS    VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  187 

replied  :  "Colonel,  its  a  mighty  peart  fixin'  ;  sure's  you're 
born." 

After  the  old  man  had  gone  ;  the  Colonel  was  heard  to 
growlingly  soliloquize  :  "7  have  my  opinion  of  any  grown 
American  citizen,  who  has  never  seen  the  American  Flag" 

While  staying  here  at  Salem,  Arkansas,  for  rest,  and  to 
muster  for  pay,  we  will  pay  a  little  attention  to  General  Steele, 
who  had  on  March  ist,  been  ordered  to  Pilot  Knob,  and  from 
there,  on  an  armed  expedition,  with  a  force  of  ten  thousand 
men  through  Arkansas,  between  St.  Francis,  and  Cache  rivers, 
there  being  a  favorable  route  here,  called  Crowley's  ridge. 
His  destination  was  Helena,  Arkansas,  which  he  was  to 
occupy  and  fortify,  so  as  to  cut  off  steamboat  communication 
with  Memphis  by  the  rebels  from  below. 

General  Steele  found  it  impossible  to  move  his  army  to 
Helena  by  land  on  account  of  the  country  being  flooded  above 
Helena  ;  and  so,  came  across  the  country  to  us  at  Batesville, 
and  practically  had  been  a  double  left-wing  to  our  army. 

This  particular  work  which  General  Steele' s  expedition 
was  set  to  do,  the  cutting  off  rebel  steamboat  communication 
with  Memphis  from  below,  was,  fortunately,  more  thoroughly 
and  promptly  accomplished  by  other  means,  which  could  not 
have  been  calculated  for  beforehand  ;  and  which  a  short  recap 
itulation  will  make  clear,  and  explain  why  he  was  able  to  join 
us  at  Batesville,  Arkansas,  and  go  with  us  from  there  to 
Helena. 

Sixteen  days  before  the  Thirteenth  left  Rolla  for  the  front, 
General  Curtis  drove  the  Confederate  army  out  of  Missouri 
into  Arkansas.  Eight  days  after  that,  Columbus,  Kentucky, 
was  evacuated  by  the  Confederates. 

On  the  day  after  the  Thirteenth  finally  left  Rolla,  General 
Curtis  was  victorious  at  the  great  battle  of  Pea  Ridge. 

March  ijth. — Having  reached  Springfield  the  evening  be 
fore,  the  regiment  rested  in  camp  all  day  ;  and  on  that  day 
the  Confederates  evacuated  New  Madrid,  Missouri,  in  haste, 
leaving  a  million  dollars'  worth  of  military  stores. 

Tuesday,  April  8. — The  day  we  lay  at  Platt  Creek,  after 


1 88  HISTORY    OF   THK   THIRTEENTH^  REGIMENT 

having  left  Cassville,  Island  Number  Ten,  was  captured  from 
the  rebels. 

Tuesday,  April  28th. — The  day  we  left  what  we  called 
Camp  Pleasant,  and  camped  near  West  Plains,  Missouri, 
Forts  Jackson  and  St.  Philip,  below  New  Orleans,  surrendered 
to  the  Union  forces. 

May  1 2th. — While  in  camp  at  Batesville,  Arkansas,  Nat- 
ches,  on  the  Mississippi  River,  surrendered  to  Farragut. 

Thus  we  see  that,  so  far  as  cleaning  out  the  Mississippi 
river  was  concerned,  General  Steele's  "  occupation  was 
gone ' '  ;  and  whether  he  sighed  because  there  were  no  more 
Secesh  towns  to  conquer,  we  don't  know  ;  but  we  do  know 
that  we  felt  all  the  stronger  for  this  reinforcement  of  ten 
thousand  men. 

Friday,  May  2d. — Did  not  march  until  i  p.  m.  as  the  order 
of  march  required  a  considerable  part  of  the  army  to  take  the 
advance  of  us,  and  regiments,  batteries  and  cavalry  battalions 
had  been  moving  past  our  camp  ever  since  daylight.  The 
mere  matter  of  their  being  in  advance  of  us,  we  cared  nothing 
about  ;  but  after  the  wheels  of  many  artillery  carriages,  and 
numberless  army  wagons  had  cut  the  roads  up  badly,  it  left 
us  a  soft  thing,  to  be  sure  ;  but  under  such  conditions,  there 
is  very  little  romance  left  in  the  roads.  And  then,  again, 
beeves,  hogs,  chickens,  and  bonny  clabber,  get  badly  worn 
out  before  the  rear- guard  gets  a  sight  of  them. 

DOG    SALEM. 

The  "  dogs  of  war  "  are  not  all  guns  ;  and  many  a  canine 
becomes  as  much  attached  to  army  life,  as  do  the  soldiers 
themselves,  and  they  learn  not  to  fear  the  thunder  of  artillery 
and  carnage  of  battle,  and  seem  as  much  inspirited  by  loud- 
throated  war,  as  any  soldier  can  be.  A  little  dog  came  oack 
along  with  the  army  from  Wilson's  Creek,  where  he  was  said 
to  have  chased  spent  cannon-shot,  and  used  his  paws  to  try  to 
stop  them  ;  and  would  snap  at  them  savagely. 

Captain  Henry  T.  Noble,  of  Company  A,  Thirteenth  Illi- 


ILLINOIS    VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  189 

nois,  took  into  the  army  with  him  a  fine  Newfoundland  dog, 
named  Nep,  who  seemed  to  be  in  his  glory,  while  we  were  on 
the  march,  and  delighted  to  skirmish  through  the  woods  by 
the  road-side,  and  scatter  the  masked  batteries  of  Secesh  pigs; 
but  sometimes  had  to  fall  back  on  his  reserves  for  a  stronger 
support.  He  was  always  a  general  favorite.  The  Captain 
took,  or  sent,  him  home  so  as  not  to  lose  him. 

"  Dog  Salem,"  however,  was  the  real  "  dog  of  the  regi 
ment  "  ;  and  he  deserved  a  far  abler  historian's  pen  than  falls 
to  the  lot  of  the  average  regiment.  This  is  to  be  regretted, 
but  in  this  case,  seems  to  be  unavoidable. 

After  a  most  tedious  march  of  many  days,  the  Thirteenth 
turned  short  to  the  south  and  camped  for  one  day,  May  ist, 
1862,  in  the  town  of  Salem,  Arkansas.  On  the  morning  of 
May  2d  we  were  ready,  but  did  not  march  until  i  o'clock, 
p.  m.,  and  when  we  did  go,  the  "  irrepressible  little  Irish 
man,"  Peter  Dougdale,  of  Company  H  (as  company  historian 
Sibley,  calls  him),  took  away  from  the  town,  concealed  in  his 
blouse,  a  small  pup.  His  nativity  suggesting  his  name  ; 
hence — Dog  "  Salem." 

Whether  Peter  Dougdale's  love  for  pets,  caused  him  to 
tote  away  this  small  canine,  or  whether  is  was  a  passing  freak 
of  fancy,  we  do  not  know  ;  but,  certain  it  is,  that  the  other 
boys  all  sympathized  with  Peter,  and  volunteered  to  assist  in 
the  care  of  the  juvenile  "Dog  Salem,"  through  the  "dog- 
days  "  that  were  coming  on,  and  they  declared  that 

"EVERY  DOG  MUST  HAVE  HIS  DAY." 

After  a  day  or  two,  the  pup  was  assigned  quarters  in  the 
feed-box  of  the  wagons  ;  and  from  that  time  onward,  he  may  be 
said  to  have  an  assured  position  as  the  "  dog  of  the  regiment." 
His  cunning  tricks  as  a  pup,  endeared  him  to  his  friends,  and 
his  development  towards  dogship  was  watched  with  great  in 
terest  and  he  soon  began  to  develop  unusual  sagacity  ;  and  it 
was  claimed  of  him  that,  after  we  got  to  Helena,  and  large 
numbers  of  negroes  were  employed  as  cooks,  waiters,  serv- 


1 90  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH,  REGIMENT 

ants,  and  ostlers,  etc.,  that  "Salem  "  knew  unerringly,  every 
negro  who  belonged  to  our  camp  ;  and  that  it  was  only  neces 
sary  to  say — "  Salem,  there  is  a  strange  nigger  in  camp  ;  hunt 
him  out."  Thereupon,  he  would  set  out  and  search  until  he 
found  him,  and  then  drive  him  out  of  camp. 

When  in  a  fight,  the  zip  of  bullets  excited  him  so  that  he 
would  savagely  snap  at  them  as  they  whizzed  near  him,  strik 
ing  the  trees  or  ground. 

Having  been  born  in  a  slave  State,  is  hardly  a  sufficient 
cause  for  his  seeming  antipathy  to  the  negro  race.  There  was 
a  tradition  in  "  Salem's  "  family,  from  away  back,  that  there 
was  an  ancestral  "  Bloodhound "  in  his  pedigree;  if  so, 
then  it  might  be  that  some  of  that  ancestor's  traits  had 
cropped  out  in  "Salem."  His  careful  training  in  Union 
camps,  however,  gave  him  a  loyalty  that  could  not  be  shaken. 

The  historian  has  not  been  able  to.  ascertain  with  certainty 
the  fate  of  "  Dog  Salem  ";  but  it  is  probable  that  in  some  of 
the  many  steamboat  expeditions  of  the  regiment,  "Dog 
Salem"  failed  to  get  on  board  the  boat  with  the  regiment, 
and  was  lost  to  us  ;  and  a  grievous  loss  it  was. 

It  only  remains  for  the  historian's  pen  to  draw  a  portrait 
of  "  Dog  Salem's  "  personal  appearance.  He  grew  to  be  a  dog 
of  middle-size,  made  for  quick  action  and  great  endurance. 
Had  a  keen  eye,  which  beamed  kindly  on  his  friends,  but 
flashed  fire  in  scintillations,  and  sparks,  on  those  who  pro 
voked  him.  His  tail,  which  was  not  long  nor  aggressive,  was 
a  strong  reserve  force  which  always  ably  seconded  the  advance 
part  of  the  animal,  which  never  lagged,  but  kindly  wagged, 
both  for  his  friends,  and  the  Union  cause.  He  was  shaggy 
about  the  head  and  shoulders.  But  his  color— "aye,  there's 
the  rub  " — he  was  not  a  "  yaller  dog,"  neither  was  he  a  "  red 
dog  "  ;  one  need  not  be  offended  if  he  was  called  a  reddish- 
brown,  but  he  certainly  did  not  have  a  terra-cotta  color.  In 
fact,  one  would  not  be  far  out  of  the  way  to  say  that  his  color 
was  something  like  the  worst  painted  house  in  town. 

However,  if  the  Pythagorean  doctrine  of  metempsychosis, 
is  true,  and  the  transmigration  of  souls  takes  place,  and  the 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  19! 

spirit  of  an  animal  may  animate  the  body  of  a  man,  as  well  as 
the  opposite,  then  there  are  plenty  of  men  who  would  be 
vastly  the  gainers  could  they  swap  souls  with  "  Dog  Salem." 

The  weather  was  now  warm,  but  we  made  an  afternoon's 
march  of  twelve  miles  over  a  much  improved  country,  and 
camped  on  Strawberry  Creek  at  5  p.  m. ;  but,  let  alone  the 
berries,  we  could  not  find  even  the  straw,  for  beds. 

Saturday,  May jd. — The  reveille  roused  us  at  3  o'clock  and 
breakfast  did  not  hinder  us  from  starting  at  4  ;  and  twenty- 
two  miles  of  rain  and  mud  brought  us  to  our  camp  on  Butter 
milk  Creek,  at  i  p.  m. 

Neither  the  strawberries  of  yesterday,  nor  the  buttermilk 
of  to-day  materialized  ;  but  still  further  improvement  is 
noticeable  in  the  country  through  which  the  last  two  or  three 
days  have  taken  us,  and  if  the  above  named  luxuries,  or  any 
other,  exist  in  this  country,  our  boys  will  be  sure  to  have 
their  part. 

Sunday,  May  ^.th. — The  inexorable  reveille  pulled  us  out 
of  bed  (picked  us  from  off  the  ground)  at  i  o'clock,  and 
through  an  incessant  rain,  which  drenched  us  thoroughly, 
diversified  by  wading  through  twenty-one  miles  of  mud,  two 
miles  of  which  were  on  a  wrong  road,  and  had  to  be  counter 
marched,  \ve  reached  Batesville,  Arkansas,  at  2  p.  m.,  pretty 
well  fagged  out,  and,  as  usual,  hungry. 

Monday,  May  ^th. — The  first  move  was  to  select  a  better 
camping  ground,  for  it  seemed  likely  that  we  might  remain 
here  for  several  days,  which  proved  to  be  the  case.  A  suit 
able  place  was  found  just  east  of  the  town,  with  plenty  of 
wood  and  water,  and  here  the  boys  cleared  up  a  fine  camping- 
ground,  and  put  everything  in  the  best  condition  for  comfort 
and  attractive  appearance.  As  Comrade  Chapel  wields  a 
graceful,  and  versatile  quill,  I  shall  borrow  his  impressions 
of  Batesville  : 

' '  The  town  is  situated  on  White  river,  and  is  the  most 
beautiful  town  I  have  seen  in  the  West.  Its  streets  and 
residences  are  beautifully  laid  out  and  ornamented.  I  was 
much  surprised  to  find  so  pretty  a  town.  The  river  is  naviga- 


IQ2  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH  .REGIMENT. 

ble  from  here  to  Memphis,  from  which  we  are  one  hundred 
miles.  The  people  here  are  all  Secesh,  and  they  own  it,  and 
defend  it  too. 

' '  When  our  cavalry  came  in  here,  there  were  three  thou 
sand  rebels  camped  on  the  other  side  of  the  river ;  but  a  few 
shells  from  our  howitzers  made  them  think  they  had  better 
be  off;  and  as  all  the  boats  were  on  their  side  of  the  river, 
our  men  could  not  get  over  till  the}7  were  out  of  harm's  way." 

The  conditions  for  an  early  resumption  of  our  march  to 
wards  the  Mississippi  can  be  ascertained  from  General  Curtis 
himself  who  says  : 

HEADQUARTERS,  BATESVIL,L,E,  ARKANSAS, 

May  6th,  1862. 
Inspector-General  KETCHUM. 

GENERAL,  :  A  scout  sent  forward  to  determine  the  possibility  of 
moving  east,  could  only  go  forty  miles  east  of  Jacksouport  ;  beyond  it 
was  an  endless  lake  of  water. 

The  General  directs  me  to  press  forward  to  the  Mississippi,  and  it 
seems  the  river  is  coming  this  way.  The  whole  country  about  the  mouth 
of  the  Arkansas  and  White  rivers  is  overflowed.  Napoleon  is  flooded. 
/  am  preparing  means  to  cross  the  White  river,  so  as  to  drive  some 
Texas  troops  away,  and  take  Little  Rock. 

I  am,  General,  with  very  great  respect, 

S.  R.  CURTIS,  Major- General, 

Com'd'g  Army  of  the  Southwest. 


CHAPTER     XV. 


PEA  RIDGE  HAVING  ELUDED,  AND  NEW  MADRID  DODGED 
US,  WE  CROSSED  THE  OZARKS  WITH  NO  REBEL  ARMY 
ON  OUR  FLANK  OR  REAR. 


,HEN  Van  Dorn  retreated  from  Pea  Ridge, 
he  was  ordered  to  take  his  array  to  Des 
Arc,  Arkansas,  a  town  on  the  White  river, 
some  miles  below  Jacksonport,  from  which  they 
were  under  orders  for  Memphis,  by  boats  which 
were  to  take  them  from  Des  Arc,  and  the  day  on 
which  Comrade  Chapel  records  going  out  with  a  foraging- 
party  from  Keitsville,  under  Lieutenant  Buck,  and  when 
rumors  were  thick,  that  Price  was  advancing  on  us,  Price  was 
a  General  without  an  army.  And  on  April  5th,  the  day  we 
began  our  Arkansas  campaign,  turning  east  from  Cassville, 
Van  Dorn  returned  to  his  army  at  Des  Arc,  until  which  time, 
it  was  not  generally  known  that  Missouri  and  Arkansas  were 
practically  abandoned  to  the  victorious  Union  army.  And  the 
day  we  built  the  bridge  over  Platt  Creek,  Tuesday,  April  8th, 
Little's  Missouri  brigade  embarked  for  Memphis,  and  the  en 
tire  rebel  army,  of  twenty  thousand  men,  quickly  followed. 
The  rebel  army  of  Van  Dorn  was  too  late  for  Shiloh,  and  as  a 
military  organization,  very  few  of  those  rebel  soldiers  ever 
returned  to  their  trans- Mississippi  homes  ;  and,  practically, 
from  April  8th,  to  3ist  of  May,  General  Curtis  had  no  organ 
ized  army  to  fear,  in  any  direction.  On  that  last-named  date, 
and  while  we  were  camped  near  Searcy,  Hindtnan  established 

193 


IQ4  HISTORY   OF  THE  THIRTEENTH   REGIMENT 

his  headquarters  at  Little  Rock,  and  the  "  Conquest  of  Ar 
kansas,"  by  Snead,  says : 

"  Van  Dorn,  on  leaving  Arkansas,  had  assigned  Brigadier- 
General  Roane  to  the  command  of  that  State.  There  were  no 
troops  there  except  a  few  companies  of  State  militia,  and  these 
were  badly  organized  and  poorly  armed  ;  and  Roane,  though 
he  had  been  governor  of  the  State  and  was  a  brave  and  esti 
mable  gentleman,  amiable  and  popular,  was  wholly  unfit  for 
a  military  command.  Besides  these  militia  companies  there 
were  some  five  or  six  thousand  Indian  and  mixed  (Indian 
and  white)  troops  in  the  Indian  Territory  under  Brigadier- 
General  Albert  Pike,  but  they  could  hardly  be  accounted  a 
force,  as  they  were  of  no  value  except  on  furlough,  and  had 
even  then  to  be  fed  and  clothed,  and  supplied  with  all  sorts 
of  things,  and  treated  with  great  consideration  and  gentle 
ness. 

"  Arkansas  was  thus  utterly  undefended,  and  her  people, 
feeling  that  they  had  been  abandoned  by  the  Confederate  gov 
ernment,  were  fast  becoming  despondent  and  apathetic.  Those 
living  to  the  north  of  the  Arkansas  among  the  mountains 
which  rise  west  of  the  White  and  Black  rivers  were  fast  sub 
mitting  to  the  authority  of  the  Union,  and  many  of  them  were 
enlisting  in  the  Union  army.  The  slaveholders  that  lived  in 
the  valley  of  the  Arkansas  and  on  the  rich  alluvial  lands  south 
of  the  river  and  along  the  Mississippi,  were  in  despair.  The 
governor  and  State  officers  were  making  ready  to  abandon  the 
capital,  and  that  part  of  the  population  which  still  remained 
loyal  to  the  Confederacy  was  panic-stricken.  In  these  straits 
a  delegation  was  sent  to  Beauregard,  to  whose  department  the 
trans-Mississippi  region  belonged,  to  beg  him  to  appoint 
Major-General  Hindman  to  the  command,  from  which 
Van  Dorn  had  been  taken  ;  and  to  authorize  him  to  raise 
an  army  for  the  defense  of  the  State. 

"Hindman  was  consequently  assigned,  on  the  26th  of 
May,  to  the  command  of  the  trans-Mississippi  district,  com 
prising  the  States  of  Missouri  and  Arkansas  and  that  part  of 
Louisiana  north  of  the  Red  river  and  the  Indian  Territory. 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY.  195 

He  had  commanded  a  brigade  at  Shiloh,  was  wounded  there, 
and  had  been  promoted  for  good  conduct. 

"Leaving  Corinth  at  once  Hindman  went  to  Memphis, 
which  the  Confederates  were  preparing  to  evacuate  as  soon  as 
Corinth  should  be  abandoned.  There  he  collected  a  few  sup 
plies  for  his  army,  and  "impressed"  a  million  dollars  that 
was  in  the  banks.  Thus  equipped  he  hastened  to  Little  Rock, 
where  he  assumed  command  of  his  district  and  established 
headquarters  on  the  3ist  of  May,  1862. 

"  With  great  energy  and  with  administrative  ability  of  the 
highest  order,  he  went  to  work  to  create  an  army  and  provide 
supplies  for  it.  He  declared  martial  law,  and  scattered  his 
provost-marshals  all  over  the  State  ;  enforced  the  conscript 
law  remorselessly  ;  collected  thousands  of  stragglers  that  were 
skulking  in  all  directions  ;  arrested  deserters  and  shot  scores 
of  them;  sent  recruiting  officers  into  northern  Arkansas  and 
Missouri ;  stopped  five  Texas  regiments  that  were  on  their 
way  to  Beauregard  ;  established  workshops  for  making 
powder,  shot,  arms,  clothing,  and  other  supplies  for  his 
forces  ;  and  worked  in  every  way  so  intelligently  and  earnestly 
that  early  in  July  he  had  an  army  of  about  twenty  thousand 
armed  men  and  forty-six  pieces  of  artillery. 

"  Not  only  had  Little  Rock  and  the  valley  of  the  Arkansas 
been  saved  to  the  Confederacy,  but  Curtis'  position  at  Bates- 
ville  was  fast  becoming  untenable.  In  front  he  was  threat 
ened  by  Hindman,  who  was  growing  stronger  and  bolder  ever}7 
day,  while  behind  him  the  Missourians  were  organizing  in  all 
directions  to  break  his  long  line  of  communication  with  St. 
Louis.  The  failure  of  a  gun-boat  expedition  to  relieve  him 
from  this  precarious  situation  determined  him  to  retreat  across 
the  swamps  to  Helena.  Hindman  resolved  to  attack  him. 
Sending  a  considerable  force  under  Brigadier-General  Albert 
Rust  to  get  between  the  retreating  army  and  Helena,  and  to 
hold  the  crossing  of  the  almost  impassable  Cache,  he  himself 
set  off  in  pursuit.  But  Rust,  though  a  very  successful  politi 
cian,  was  one  of  the  most  incompetent  of  all  '  political  gen 
erals,'  and  was  easily  brushed  out  of  the  way  by  Curtis,  who, 


196  HIStORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

conquering  the  greater  obstacles  which  nature  opposed  to  his 
march,  got  safely  to  Helena  on  the  i3th  of  July." 

It  will  easily  be  remembered  that,  in  our  regiment,  the 
question  used  frequently  to  be  raised,  whether  the  real  desti 
nation  of  our  army,  was  Little  Rock?  In  a  former  order 
General  Curtis  says  that  he  is  preparing  to  ' '  take  Little 
Rock,"  and  his  authority  is  distinctly  shown  in  the  following 
order  : 

HEADQUARTERS,  ST.  Louis,  MISSOURI, 

May  1 2th,  1862. 
Major-General  S.  R.  CURTIS. 

GENERAL  :  On  reaching  Little  Rock,  you  will  assume  the  direction 
of  affairs  in  Arkansas,  as  military  Governor. 

All  civil  authorities  who  are  untrustworthy,  or  who  may  not  take 
the  oath  of  allegiance,  will  be  removed  from  office  and  others  appointed 
in  their  place. 

I  am,  General,  respectfully  yours, 

H.  W.  HALivECK, 
Major-General  Com'd'g  Dep't. 

Special  Orders)  BATESVII^E,  ARKANSAS, 

No.  172.        '  May  I3th,  1862. 

*  The  divisions  of  the  Army  of  the  Southwest  having  been 
reorganized,  as  set  forth  in  General  Orders  No.  19,  paragraph  in,  the 
commanding  officers  of  the  following  named  regiments,  detachments, 
and  batteries  will  report  by  letter  without  delay  to  Briga 

dier-General  E.  A.  Carr,  commanding  Second  Division  :  Ninth  Iowa 
Infantry,  Fourth  Iowa  Infantry,  Thirteenth  Illinois  Infantry,  Fourth 
Iowa  Cavalry,  Third  Illinois  Cavalry,  First  Missouri  Cavalry,  Elbert's 
Flying  Battery,  First  Iowa  Battery,  Dubuque  (Iowa)  Battery. 

S.  R.  CURTIS, 
Major-General  Com'd'g. 

In  addition  to  the  information  furnished  by  the  above 
order,  and  of  particular  interest  to  our  regiment,  Comrade 
Josselyn's  diary  says  :  "  The  army  was  here  (Batesville)  reor 
ganized,  and  the  Thirteenth  ivas  made  First  regiment,  First 
Brigade  of  Second  Division,  Army  of  the  Southwest,  under  com 
mand  of  Brigadier- General  Eugene  A.  Carr. ' ' 

In  an  order  recorded  a  few  pages  back,  it  will  be  remem- 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY.  197 

bered  that  General  Curtis  said  :  "  /  ant  preparing  means  to 
cross  White  river,  so  as  to  drive  some  Texas  troops  away  and 
take  Little  Rock." 

This  undoubtedly  has  reference  to  the  four  flat-boats,  after 
wards  taken  to  Jacksonport  by  Company  I  of  our  regiment,  a 
detailed  account  of  which  will  be  found  in  the  history  of  Com 
pany  I. 

While  camped  in  the  vicinity  of  Batesville,  we  were 
rescued  from  the  utter  monotony  of  camp  life — which  is  the 
bane  of  soldier  life — by  foraging  expeditions,  military  raids, 
and  thickly  flying  rumors  of  approaching  enemies  ;  and  this 
called  frequently  for  the  "long  roll,"  which  always  had  the 
effect  of  causing  us  to  tumble  out,  and  hastily/is//  in. 

Marching  orders  moved  us  for  Little  Rock,  on  May  i8th, 
and  over  very  muddy  roads,  and  through  frequent  drenching 
rains,  the  main  army  reached  as  far  as  Searcy,  on  the  Little 
Red  river,  and  its  advanced  posts  within  thirty-five  miles  of 
the  capital,  when  rebel  reverses  at  Corinth,  Mississippi,  and 
resultant  evacuation  of  Memphis  by  the  rebels,  opened  the 
Mississippi  to  Vicksburg,  and  the  consequent  opening  of  the 
White  river,  determined  General  Curtis  to  avail  himself  of 
this  opportunity  of  securing  a  sure  base  of  supplies  for  so 
large  an«army  ;  and  while  the  means  for  opening  this  new 
line,  via  the  White  river,  were  being  prepared,  we  remained 
as  a  sort  of  army  of  occupation,  with  headquarters  at  Bates 
ville. 

It  has  before  been  said  that  in  our  supposed  Little  Rock 
march  from  Batesville,  we  had  reached  as  far  as  Searcy,  which 
lay  about  midway  between  the  two  places,  a  considerable  town 
on  the  south  bank  of  the  Little  Red  river.  An  almost  exactly 
north  and  south  line,  drawn  from  Batesville,  besides  cutting 
the  White,  Little  Red,  and  Arkansas  rivers,  would  also  have 
touched  Batesville,  Searcy  and  Little  Rock. 

On  May  iqth,  the  second  day  from  Batesville,  detachments 
of  the  Third  and  Seventeenth  Missouri,  and  Fourth  Missouri 
Cavalry,  Battery  B  First  Missouri  Light  Artillery,  had  a  fight 
with  the  rebels,  at  Searcy  Landing,  in  which  we  lost  eighteen 


198  HISTORY   OF    THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

killed  and  twenty-seven  wounded.  The  rebel  loss  was  one 
hundred  and  fifty  killed,  wounded  and  missing.  Many  of  the 
dead  of  the  Seventh  Missouri  were  barbarously  mutilated  ; 
and  a  Union  surgeon  was  afterwards  found  hanged  to  a  tree, 
his  tongue  cut  out, 

AND   HIS   BOWELS    RIPPED   OPEN. 

From  the  above,  and  similar  experiences  already  passed 
through,  it  would  seem  that  we  had  "supped  full  enough  of 
horrors"  to  satiate  even  the  fastidious  would-be  "thane  of 
Cawdor"  ;  but  two  weeks  from  now,  on  the  White  river, 
near  St.  Charles,  we  shall  see  the  United  States  ironclad 
"  Mound  City"  exploded  by  a  thirty-two-pound  shot  which 
had  penetrated  its  port  casemate,  and  passing  directly  through 
its  steam-drum,  fore  and  aft,  killing  in  the  casemate,  eighty- 
two  men  outright  while  many  who  were  suffering  indescrib 
able  torture  from  the  scalding  steam,  leaped  into  the  river, 
and  were  deliberately  fired  on  by  rebel  sharp  shooters  on  the  bank. 

Two  weeks  still  further  on,  General  Hindman  will  order 
General  Albert  Rust,  to  pollute  and  poison  the  springs  and 
streams,  by  throwing  into  them  the  rotting  carcasses  of  dead 
animals,  prepared  for  that  purpose,  along  the  supposed  route 
of  our  army,  and  which  water  our  soldiers  would  be  compelled  to 
drink. 

It  is  not  claimed  that  these  cases  cited,  are  samples  of  an 
average,  but  as  samples  of  cases  which  were  altogether  too 
possible  and  frequent ;  and  which  would  have  been  impossi 
ble,  except  among  a  people  fighting  for  the  perpetuation  of 
human  slavery. 

That  our  soldiers  could  be  restrained  from  wreaking  swift 
and  summary  vengeance,  is  matter  of  astonishment. 

Considering  the  above  mentioned  rebel  atrosities,  if  our 
soldiers  did  not  retaliate  in  kind,  it  would  be  asking  too  much 
of  weak  human  (soldier)  nature  to  expect  them  to  neglect  any 
chance  for  pillage,  or,  for  the  same  reason,  that  many  of  the 
officers  would  be  extra  vigilant  to  prevent  it  ;  but  instead  of 


ILLINOIS    VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY.  199 

being  influenced  by  feelings  of  revenge,  almost  invariably, 
the  spirit  of  mischievous  fun  seemed  to  be  the  dominant 
feeling. 

There  is  no  form  of  thieving,  mischievous  outrage,  or 
vandalism,  but  what  was  committed  by  soldiers  in  the  army, 
and  whether  singly  or  in  combination,  frequently  exhibited  a 
wonderful  ingenuity  in  the  conception,  secrecy  and  celerity  in 
the  working  up  and  skill  (or  audacity,  which  is  frequently  the 
full  equal  of  skill)  in  the  masterly  manner  in  which  such  pro 
jects  were  brought  to  a  successful  issue. 

On  the  first  day's  march  from  Searcy,  Arkansas,  back  to 
Batesville,  during  one  of  those  wonderful  moods  when  every 
man  keeps  'silent,  and  lets  his  neighbor  think,  the  pro 
found  silence  was  rudely  broken  in  upon  by  a  cumulative 
shout  that  made  the  welkin  ring.  The  colonel  and  staff 
turned  their  horse's  heads  to  see  what  was  up.  And,  behold  ! 
about  twenty  men,  holding  their  guns  at  a  right  shoulder, 
with  their  right  hands  in  their  left,  each  one  carried  an  open 
umbrella,  or  parasol,  as  jauntily,  and  stepped  as  mincingly,  as 
to  gait,  as  any  fashionable  lady  on  Broadway.  Immediately 
in  their  rear,  came  about  twenty  more  soldiers  in  full  Masonic 
regalia,  marching  with  as  much  decorum  as  if  in  some  civic 
procession.  Colonel  Wyman  could  possibly  have  stood  the 
parasols  and  umbrellas,  but  the  Masonic  regalia  was  a  little 
too  much,  as  he  was  a  Mason  himself,  and  would  look  upon 
such  an  outrage  as  bordering  on  sacrilege  ;  and  his  vocabulary 
for  special  occasions  was  immediately  called  into  requisition, 
and  made  to  perform  all  it  was  capable  of,  as  he  saw  at  once 
that,  besides  robbing  a  dry-goods  store,  the  scamps  had  plun 
dered  a  Masonic  lodge.  Every  article  of  regalia  was  scrupu 
lously  returned,  but  the  parasols  and  umbrellas  were  thrown 
into  the  brush  by  the  roadside. 

No  one  wondered  for  a  moment  how  the  things  could  be 
procured,  but  the  wonder  was  as  to  how  the  men  could  so 
successfully  conceal  them  about  their  clothes  as  to  escape 
the  eyes  of  the  officers  when  the  order  to  "  fall  in  "  came,  in 


200  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

the  morning.     The  conclusion  was  irresistible  that  several  of 
the  officers  connived  at  it. 

THE   CACHE   ON   LITTLE   RED   RIVER. 

When  Curtis'  army  mobilized  itself,  after  the  battle  of  Pea 
Ridge,  the  head  of  the  columns  pointed  south  ;  and  that  re 
markable  campaign  was  commenced,  which  was  only  equaled 
by  "  Sherman's  march  to  the  sea,"  which,  in  fact,  it  strongly 
resembled  in  many  respects.  A  detailed  comparison  will  not 
be  instituted  here,  as  this  is  merely  a  reminiscence  of  Com 
pany  Q;  but  as  the  campaign  unfolds  itself  in  the  regular 
course  of  the  regimental  history,  the  remarkable  similarity  to 
General  Sherman's  immortal  achievement  will  be  conspicu 
ously  seen. 

It  is  almost  needless  to  premise  that  many  of  the  remark 
ably  mischievous  pranks  of  Company  Q  never  could  have  been 
carried  to  a  successful  issue  without  the  willing  connivance  of 
some  commissioned  or  non-commissioned  officer,  and  the  price 
of  such  connivance,  of  course,  ought  to  be  and  was,  a  generous 
slice  of  the  plunder. 

The  country  through  which  our  army  marched  was  either 
dry  and  thirsty  or  water-soaked  and  muddy,  and  these  alterna 
tions  of  extremes  were  equally  exhausting  in  exposure  and 
trying  to  the  constitutions  of  the  men,  even  though  they  were 
as  hardy  as  were  those  of  the  Thirteenth  regiment. 

In  the  vicinity  of  the  Little  Red  river,  our  regiment  re 
mained  for  several  days  in  camp  ;  and  foraging  parties  were 
sent  out  every  day.  Company  H  being  out  foraging  one  day, 
in  some  woods,  smelt  out  and  unearthed  a  cache  containing  a 
most  remarkable  find,  which  was  nothing  less  than  five  or  six 
casks  of  assorted  beverages,  of  apple-jack,  peach  brandy  and 
whisky. 

This  was  turned  over  to  Quartermaster  Henderson,  whose 
storage-tent  was  right  alongside  of  the  tent  of  Colonel  Gorgas. 

It  had  been  quite  rainy,  and  disagreeable  weather,  and  a 
deputation  of  the  men  waited  on  Colonel  Gorgas  and  asked 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  2OI 

that  rations  of  the  liquor  be  served  to  the  guards  and  other  de 
tails.  Colonel  Gorgas  declined  to  do  so.  The  men  then  de 
manded  as  a  right  what  they  at  first  had  asked  as  a  favor  ; 
but  what  the  colonel  had  before  declined,  he  now  flatly  re 
fused.  No  threatenings  were  indulged  in,  but,  though  some 
what  sullenly,  the  men  retired  in  an  orderly  manner  to  their 
quarters. 

If  Colonel  Gorgas  had  been  a  prophet,  or  the  son  of  a 
prophet,  the  previous  rainy  weather  might  have  presaged  a 
storm,  but  instead  he  looked  for  fair  weather. 

The  quartermaster's  store-tent,  with  this  liquor,  or  as 
much  of  it  as  had  not  evaporated  into  or  through  the  condens 
ers  in  the  officer's  quarters,  had  been  guarded  for  three  days, 
before  it  came  the  turn  of  Company  I  to  relieve  the  previous 
guard. 

Certain  friends  of  good  order  and  military  discipline,  in 
Company  I  had  concluded  that  the  precious  nectar  was  too 
dangerously  near  the  quarters  of  the  Staff  officers  to  be  safe, 
and  so  when  Company  I  sent  its  detail  for  this  service,  Ser 
geant  Frank  Thoma  was  Sergeant  of  the  guard. 

The  camp-guard  as  well  as  the  special  guard,  at  the  quar 
tern!  aster's  tent,  would  be  relieved  at  an  hour  after  midnight  ; 
but  it  would  be  inconvenient  in  the  accomplishment  of  any 
great  enterprise,  to  have  a  general  guard  and  a  special  guard 
relieved  at  the  same  time  ;  and  as  this  particular  special  guard 
was  to  be  doubly  special  for  that  night,  its  time  for  relief  was 
fixed  for  a  quarter  to  i  o'clock  a.m.  It  had  not  cleared  off 
in  any  sense  as  the  colonel  had  trusted,  but  nature  had 
dropped  down  a  murky  curtain  about  the  camp,  while  an  un 
comfortable  drizzle  served  to  make  the  general  guard  much 
less  vigilant  and  observing. 

At  a  quarter  to  i  a.  m.,  Sergeant  Thoma  withdrew  Henry 
Reinhardt  and  William  Schonberg  from  guard  at  the  quarter 
master's  tent,  and  placed  there,  Orson  Hamlin  and  Edward 
D.  Minton,  while  Theoderick  Pool  was  conveniently  near,  as 
his  services,  it  was  expected,  would  be  in  demand.  Before  it 
was  the  regular  time  for  relieving  guard,  all  the  remaining 


202  HISTORY   OF    THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

liquor  had  been  removed  so  secretly  and  quietly,  that  Ser 
geant  Thoma's  second  relief  did  not  know  it. 

Sergeant  Thoma  had  in  his  tent  four  boxes  of  shoes,  and 
a  box  of  clothing,  of  which  he  had  charge  ;  two  of  these  shoe 
boxes  he  emptied  entirely,  and  the  clothing  box,  and  packed 
the  contents  away  somewhere  else  ;  he  put  three  or  four  full 
canteens  in  each  box  and  covered  with  a  part  of  their  former 
contents.  He  piled  up  the  four  shoe  boxes  in  one  pile,  those 
with  the  filled  canteens  at  the  bottom,  the  full  boxes  of  shoes 
on  top.  The  box  of  clothing  was  disposed  of  so  as  to  attract 
as  little  attention  as  possible,  and  besides  these  canteens, 
which  he  had  concealed,  five  camp- kettles  of  the  liquor  were 
distributed  and  concealed  elsewhere,  principally  among  the 
wagons. 

As  was  expected,  there  was  a  tremendous  row  in  camp 
next  morning  when  the  quartermaster's  sergeant  opened  up. 

Sergeant  Thoma  was  hauled  over  the  coals,  as  being  de 
linquent  in  his  guard  duty  ;  and  protested  that  his  guards  had 
faithfully  done  their  duty. 

He  called  up  his  first  relief,  Henry  Reinhardt  and  William 
Schonberg,  and  they  convinced  Colonel  Gorgas  that  the  quar 
termaster's  tent  had  not  been  disturbed  up  to  the  time  that 
they  had  been  relieved.  (That  they  had  been  relieved  earlier 
than  usual,  they  did  not  know,  and  the  darkness  had  been  so 
great,  that  faces  could  not  be  seen.)  Of  course  Hamlin  and 
Minton  were  not  called  up,  as  the  detail  list  did  not  include 
them. 

The  second  relief  swore  stoutly  that  nothing  went  wrong 
while  they  were  on  duty.  The  Colonel  was  in  a  towering 
rage,  and  said  he  would  search  each  tent. 

Sergeant  Thoma  was  trembling  in  his  boots  (army  shoes) 
when  the  Colonel  and  Staff  appeared  at  his  tent  to  search  it. 
Frank  stormed  about  and  swore  that  they  might  search  and 
be  d — urned  ;  and  led  the  way  inside  his  tent,  followed  by  the 
military  inquisition.  Wrenching  off  the  cover  of  the  top  box, 
he  gave  it  a  vicious  throw  at  random,  and  it  sailed  danger 
ously  near  the  colonel's  head,  who  dodged  the  missile,  saying 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  203 

deprecatingly,  "  My  conscience,  Frank  !  don't  break  my 
head."  By  this  time  the  army  shoes  began  to  fly  in  every 
direction  without  regard  as  to  where  a  target  might  be  located 
as  though  they  had  been  discharged  from  a  magazine-gun. 

A  pair  of  y's  struck  Major  Partridge  in  the  abdomen,  and 
doubled  him  up  like  a  jack-knife,  and  caused  that  officer  to 
gracefully  back  out  of  the  tent  with  great  apparent  politeness; 
and  as  they  began  to  stand  not  "  on  the  order  of  their  going, 
but  to  go  at  once,"  a  pair  of  large  ID'S  struck  Quartermaster 
Henderson  in  the  back  between  the  shoulders,  just  as  he  was 
making  a  somewhat  unceremonious  exit,  which  drew  from 
him  a  baritone  grunt,  that  was  a  tribute  both  to  the  quality 
of  the  army  shoes,  and  of  Sergeant  Thoma's  indignant  ear 
nestness. 

When  Sergeant  Thoma  had  vigorously  emptied  the  second 
box,  he  looked  out  of  his  tent  in  search  of  the  searchers  ;  he 
saw  the  company  street  half  full  of  assorted  sizes  of  army  shoes, 
but  no  commissioned  officer  in  sight.  The  Colonel  never 
found  the  liquor. 

Something  of  the  nature  of  our  service  at  this  time,  may 
be  learned  from  the  following  communication  from  our  Divi 
sion  Commander,  General  E.  A.  Carr,  to  General  Curtis. 

CAMP  NEAR  SEARCY  LANDING,  ARKANSAS, 

May  28th,   1862. 
Major-General  S.  R.  CURTIS. 

GENERAL  :  Lieutenant-Colonel  Lewis'  (of  the  First  Missouri)  skir 
mish  yesterday  resulted  in  killing  four  of  the  enemy  and  wounding 
many  others,  as  shown  by  blood  on  the  ground.  He  lost  one  sergeant, 
mortally  wounded,  and  one  private,  slightly.  He  remained  out  all 
night  on  the  other  side,  thirteen  miles  above.  I  was  very  anxious  about 
him,  and  sent  Wymarfs  brigade  at  daylight  to  succor  him.  He  made  a 
detour  to  the  southwest  on  account  of  the  bad  crossing  of  Indian  Creek, 
which  wagons  and  all  had  plunged  through  in  their  ardor,  and  came  into 
Searcy  while  Wyman  was  looking  for  him.  *  *  *  * 

Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  while  no  rebel  army  confronted 
us  from  any  direction,  at  that  time,  there  were  yet  left  enough 


204  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

guerrillas,  to  cause  much  annoyance,  and  continuous  vigi 
lance  ;  and  the  more  so,  as  from  about  this  time,  our  base  of 
supplies  was  cut  off  from  the  direction  of  Rolla,  and  now  we 
must  subsist  off  the  country,  or,  cut  our  way  through  to  a 
new  ba.se,  both  of  which  we  were  successful  in  doing. 

THE    DRAMA    IN   THE   ARMY. 

.     .     .     .     O,  it  offends  me  to  the  soul,  to  see  a  robustious 
periwig-pated  fellow  tear  a  passion  to  tatters. 

—Hamlet. 

.  .  .  .  But  I  will  aggravate  my  voice  so,  that  I  will  roar 
you  as  gently  as  any  sucking  dove  ;  I  will  roar  you  an 
'twere  any  nightingale. 

— Bottom. 

Among  our  armies,  in  addition  to  military  musicians,  there 
had  to  be  of  necessity,  now  and  then  one  who  had  more  or 
less  (generally  less)  dramatic  talent  ;  and  of  course,  where 
there  was  a  dearth  of  fighting,  or  of  fun,  all  of  this  surplus 
talent  was  brought  into  requisition. 

Frank  Clark,  a  soldier  of  General  Steele's  body-guard, 
(Kane  county,  Illinois  Cavalry)  which  had  just  now  joined  us 
at  Batesville,  was  one  of  these  dramatic  artists,  from  whom 
our  friend  "Bottom"  at  the  top  of  this,  could  have  learned 
some  points  to  his  advantage. 

In  person,  he  was  tall,  lanky,  and  loose-jointed.  His  two 
eyes  could  never  agree,  except  to  disagree  ;  and  generally 
looked  in  opposite  directions.  His  hair,  which  was  really  his 
strong  feature,  generally  stood  up,  whether  in  deference  to  the 
company,  as  a  part  of  good  manners,  or  other  motive,  was,  I 
believe,  never  ascertained  ;  but  certain  it  is  that  his  hair  had 
imbibed  most  radical  "State's  rights"  doctrines;  for  every 
particular  hair,  not  only  stood  on  end,  but  each  hair  in  the 
confederacy  reserved  to  itself  the  right  to  carry  out  its  own 
ends  ;  and  when  all  of  these  sovereign  hairs  massed  their 
different  expressions,  this  feature  became  not  only  formidably, 
but  comically  expressive. 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEKR   INFANTRY.  205 

He  could  easily  transpose  tragedy  into  extremely  low 
comedy,  and  he  could  mix  the  two  in  just  the  right  propor 
tions  to  make  the  whole  an  extremely  ridiculous  farce. 

He  delighted  in  travestying  Shakespeare,  and  every  other 
poet  and  writer. 

Some  samples  must  be  given  in  order  to  show  his  talents  ; 
but  no  word-painting,  however  graphic,  could  reproduce  his 
personality.  Commencing  where  Othello  says  : 

"  I  had  rather  be  a  toad  and  live  upon  the 
vapors  of  a  dungeon,  than  keep  a  corner 
in  the  thing  I  love,  for  others'  uses." 

He  would  render  thusly  : 

"  I  would  rather  be  a  tadpole  and  feed  on  the 
vitals  of  an  Injun,  than  have  one  drop  of 
water  in  the  rum  I  love." 

And  then  Macbeth  to  Banquo  : 

"Banquo,  thy  soul's  flight,  if  it  find  heaven,   .... 
must  find  it  out  to-night." 


Adding  : 


"But   if  you   miss  the   way,  then,  well, 
Go  thou  and  fill  another  room  in  hell." 


Another : 

"Imperial   Caesar;  dead,  and  turned   to   clay, 
Might  stop  a  crack  to  keep  the  winds  away." 

Then,  this  argument  : 

"  Now,  if  Imperial  Caesar  would  deliberately  join 
a  Plasterers'  Union,  using  his  mortuary  remains 
for  mortar,  why  may  not  the  imagination  trace 
the  noble  dust  of  Alexander  till  he  finds  it 
stopping  a  bun 


206  HISTORY   OF  THE   THIRTEENTH   REGIMENT. 

Then,  too,  Frank  Clark  was  a  singer.  That  is,  he  knew 
something  of  tunes  in  a  general  way,  and  in  a  chorus  could 
do  extremely  well ;  or  at  any  rate,  he  had  a  way  of  opening 
his  mouth,  causing  his  hair  to  vibrate  or  oscillate  in  some 
queer  way  which,  together  with  abundance  of  facial  contor 
tion,  gave  the  impression  that  he  was  singing,  and  I  believe 
most  people  thought  he  was  singing. 

This  really  great  artist  was  welcome  everywhere  through 
out  all  the  camps  where  he  visited.  His  whole  appearance, 
even  in  his  soberer  moments,  was  provocative  of  merriment, 
and  his  friends  and  auditors  would  commence  to  laugh  before 
he  had  said  a  word.  His  presence  had  a  far  better  sanitary 
effect  than  the  entire  medicine  chest  of  the  surgeon  ;  and  his 
ability  in  the  comic  line  was  of  vastly  greater  value  to  the 
country  than  he  could  have  been  while  stopping  bullets. 

Frank  Clark  held  a  captain's  commission  when  mustered 
out  of  the  service. 

May  loving  hearts  prompt  willing  hands  to  strew  fresh  and 
fragrant  flowers  as  each  succeeding  Decoration  Day  comes 
round,  on  the  mound  covering  the  remains  of  genial  Frank 
Clark. 


CHAPTER    XVI. 

CURTIS'  ARMY  LOST  FOR  WEEKS  IN  THE  WILDS  OF  ARKAN 
SAS. — GREAT  ANXIETY  OF  GRANT  TO  REACH  US.— 
FIGHT  TO  GAIN  THE  RIVER. 


B  had   now  reached  a  crisis  in  our  cam 
paign,  in  which,  for  a  period  of  several  weeks, 
we  were  as  completely  lost  to  the  world  as  was 
Sherman's  army,  a  year  and  a  half  later,  dur 
ing  its  "  march  to  the  sea  ";  and  the  greatest  anxi 
ety  was  experienced  as  to  our  safety,  as  will  be  seen 
by  the  following  : 

BATESVILLE,  ARKANSAS, 

May  3oth,  1862. 
Brig.  -Gen.  SCOTT  KETCHUM. 

GENERAL  :  My  express  from  Rolla  has  not  arrived  for  several  days. 
At  last  news  the  train  was  attacked  near  Rolla.  A  report 

has  just  come  in  that  Pike,  with  eight  thousand  Indians,  has  crossed 
White   river  thirty-five  miles  above  here  and  designs  to    take  Rolla. 
The  report  seems  incredible,  but  should  be  looked  after. 
I  am,  General,  with  great  respect, 

S.  R.  CURTIS, 
Maj.-Gen.  Com'd'g. 


SHIP,  WESTERN  FLOTILLA, 

June  loth,  1862. 
Hon.  GIDEON  WELLS,  Sec.  U.  S.  Navy. 

SIR:  *  *  *  *  I  received  this  morning  a  telegraphic  message 
from  General  Halleck,  urging  me  to  open  communication  with  General 
Curtis  by  way  of  Jacksonport.  I  shall,  therefore  alter  the  original  de- 

207 


208  HISTORY   OP  THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

sign  of  the  expedition  so  far  as  to  limit  it  to  the  waters  of  White  river, 
so  long  as  its  presence  may  be  necessary  to  give  support  to  Gen.  Curtis. 
I  am,  Sir,  with  very  great  respect, 

C.  H.  DAVIS, 

Flag  Officer. 

HEADQUARTERS,  WESTERN  DEPARTMENT, 

June  23d,  1862. 
General  S.  R.  CURTIS. 

GENERAL,:  Colonel  Fitch,  with  transports  and  provisions,  ascended 
White  river  one  hundred  and  seventy  miles,  but  being  unable  to  com 
municate  with  you  fell  back  to  St.  Charles,  ninety  miles  from  the 
mouth.  Can  you  not  move  down  east  side  of  White  river  and  connect 
with  your  supplies  ?  Endeavor  to  communicate  with  Colonel  Fitch  at 
St.  Charles,  and  order  supplies  up  to  Duvall's  Bluff,  or  above,  as  soon  as 
you  can  change  your  base  to  White  river  and  draw  your  suoplies  from 
Memphis.  As  soon  as  communication  between  you  and  Memphis  is 
opened,  I  will  send  you  reinforcements  if  required.  I  receive  no  com 
munications  from  you,  and  am  kept  in  entire  ignorance  of  your  move 
ments  and  wants.  If  you  have  telegraphic  communication  with  St. 
Louis,  there  is  no  reason  why  I  should  not  hear  from  you  daily. 

I  am,  General,  respectfully, 

H.  W.  HAI^ECK, 
Maj.-Gen.  Com'd'g  Dept. 

HEADQUARTERS,  CORINTH,  MISSISSIPPI, 

June  25th,  1862. 
General  U.  S.  GRANT. 

GENERAL:  If  your  information  from  Arkansas  is  such  as  to  render 
it  safe  for  the  expedition  to  ascend  White  river,  send  all  of  Colonel 
Slack's  forces  to  reinforce  Colonel  Fitch  and  open  communication  with 
General  Curtis.  If  the  boats  can  not  get  up  the  river,  we  must  repair 
the  railroad.  Have  we  no  gun-boats  at  White  river  ? 

I  remain,  General,  with  great  respect, 

H.  W.  HAIJ.ECK, 
Maj.-Gen.  Com'd'g  Dept. 


On  June  25th,  1862,  Grant  says  to  Halleck  :  "I  will, 
with  your  approval,  send  such  of  the  boats  now  loaded  with 
supplies  for  General  Curtis  as  can  ascend  the  White  river, 
reinforcing  Colonel  Fitch  with  two  regiments  from  here. 
There  are  two  gun-boats  at  the  mouth  of  White  river,  but 


VOLUNTKER  INFANTRY.  2OQ 

• 

they  can  not  ascend  over  sixty  miles  with  the  present  stage  of 
water.  I  would  recommend,  on  consultation  with  Captain 
Phelps,  that  two  or  three  light  draught  steamers  be  fitted  up 
to  keep  open  the  communication  with  General  Curtis.  *  *  * 
I  am  informed  that  a  body  of  rebel  troops  are  now  trying 
to  get  in  north  of  General  Curtis." 

Same  date  as  above,  Ketchum  writes  to  Curtis  :  "Trans 
ports  ascending  White  river  one  hundred  and  seventy  miles 
and  could  get  no  higher.  Hearing  nothing  of  you,  fell  back 
to  St.  Charles,  ninety  miles  from  the  mouth. 

"  General  Halleck  directs  me  to  give  you  this  notice,  and 
see  if  you  can  not  communicate  with  the  boats.  They  are 
loaded  with  commissary  stores." 

We  had  now  been  in  the  vicinity  of  Batesville,  Arkansas, 
including  the  Searcy  campaign,  from  the  4th  to  the  25th  of 
June,  1862  ;  and  were  now  again  under  marching  orders  ; 
and,  with  the  exception  of  Company  I,  which  was  detailed  for 
service  with  the  Flat-boat  fleet  on  White  river,  the  regiment 
had  reveille  at  two  on  the  morning  of  the  25th,  and  breakfast 
before  daylight,  and  broke  camp  at  fouK  and  headed  southeast, 
taking  the  old  stage-road  to  Jacksonport.  We  camped  that 
night  about  fifteen  miles  from  Batesville. 

On  Thursday,  the  26lh,  the  same  matutinal  hours  were 
observed,  in  regard  to  reveille,  breakfast,  and  etc.,  and  were 
again  on  the  road  at  4  a.  m.,  but  had  only  nine  miles  of 
march  before  reaching  our  camp  between  the  White  and  Black 
rivers,  two  miles,  or  so,  above  their  junction. 

On  this  last  day,  to  Colonel  Graham  N.  Fitch,  command 
ing  expedition  on  White  river,  General  Grant  writes  : 

' '  I  send  five  steamers  loaded  with  supplies  for  General 
Curtis'  army.  As  they  necessarily  pass  through  a  hostile 
country,  great  caution  will  have  to  be  exercised  to  prevent 
these  supplies  from  falling  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy  or 
from  being  destroyed. 

"I  have  selected  you  as  commander  of  the  expedition, 
and  reinforce  you  with  two  additional  regiments,  as  you  will 
perceive  from  special  orders  accompanying  this. 


210  HISTORY   OF  THE  THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

• 

' '  It  would  be  impossible  to  give  full  special  instructions 
for  the  management  of  this  expedition.  Much  must  neces 
sarily  be  left  to  the  discretion  of  the  officer  in  command.  I 
would  suggest,  however,  that  two  pieces  of  artillery  be  placed 
on  the  bow  of  the  boat  intended  to  lead  ;  and  that  all  of  them 
be  kept  well  together  ;  and  when  you  tie  up  for  the  night, 
strong  guards  be  thrown  out  upon  the  shore,  and  that  the 
troops  be  landed  and  required  to  march  and  clear  out  all  points 
suspected  of  concealing  a  foe. 

"  It  is  desirable  these  supplies  should  reach  General  Curtis 
as  early  as  possible.  As  soon  as  the  boats  can  possibly  be  dis 
charged  return  them,  bringing  your  entire  command  to  St. 
Charles,  or  to  where  you  now  are. 

"  It  is  not  intended  you  shall  reach  General  Curtis  against 
all  obstacles,  but  it  is  highly  desirable  he  should  be  reached." 

Friday,  June  2jth. — The  regiment  crossed  the  Black  river 
by  the  pontoon  bridge,  and  Comrade  Hevenor  says  :  "  Moved 
up  stream  one  mile  and  camped  in  a  cypress  swamp,  between 
Black  river  and  Horseshoe  lake." 

The  regiment  remained  in  this  camp  one  week.  In  the 
meantime  Company  I  had  not  left  Batesville  for  seven  days 
after  the  regiment  had  gone.  It  had  taken  that  time  to 
complete  and  load  the  boats.  Carr's  Division,  to  which  we 
belonged,  was  the  real  guard  of  the  army,  and  Bowen's 
Cavalry  was  assigned  as  the  escort  of  the  boats,  and  was 
to  move  down  the  river  on  roads  parallel  to,  and  as  near 
as  possible,  so  as  to  be  able  to  render  such  aid  as  might  be 
necessary.  The  boats  got  away  on  the  3d  of  July,  were  at 
tacked  on  Friday,  the  4th,  at  a  point  where  the  cavalry  escort 
could  not  reach  them  on  account  of  a  cane-brake  through 
which  there  was  no  road,  and  perfectly  impenetrable  by  any 
animal  larger  than  a  hog.  The  cavalry  distinctly  heard 
heavy  musketry  firing  for  the  space  of  half  an  hour,  or  so, 
and  charged  up  and  down  the  outside  edge  of  that  cane-brake, 
and  were  foiled  at  every  point,  and  were  extremely  anxious 
for  the  safety  of  the  boat's  crew,  and  eagerly  watched  at  the 
nearest  point  where  the  river  could  be  approached  from  below. 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  21 1 

And  when  the  boats  drifted  into  view,  and  nearer,  they  felt 
somewhat  relieved,  but  had  many  misgivings  as  to  the  losses 
sustained  through  such  heavy  firing ;  and  were  very  much 
astonished  to  find  our  men  victorious,  and  not  a  man  even 
scratched,  except  Captain  Wadsworth,  and  his  wound  not 
dangerous. 

Disembarking  at  this  point  where  the  cavalry  was  waiting, 
Company  I  camped  there  for  that  night,  and  next  morning, 
July  5th,  took  on  board,  one  of  Colonel  Bo  wen's  mountain 
howitzers,  shelling  the  woods,  occasionally,  on  the  right  bank 
of  the  river,  at  places  which  looked  as  if  a  foe  might  choose  it 
for  another  ambush  ;  but  no  serious  hindrance  was  met  with, 
and  Company  I  with  fresh  laurels  after  this  baptism  of  fire, 
safely  reached  Jacksonport  that  night,  where  the  four  boats 
were  eventually  scuttled  and  sunk. 

This  fight  was  at  a  place  called  "  Devil's  Bend,"  and  was 
about  twenty-five  miles  above  Jacksonport. 

July  6th. — Company  I  rejoined  the  regiment,  near  Augusta. 

Qn  July  jd.—  The  day  that  the  Flat-boat  fleet  left  Bates- 
ville,  General  Grant  says  to  General  Halleck  :  "So  well  sat 
isfied  am  I  from  information  received  (and  which  I  telegraph 
herewith)  that  I  deem  it  my  duty,  in  the  absence  of  instruc 
tions,  to  dispatch  to  Colonel  Fitch,  to  take  no  risks  in  reaching 
General  Curtis.  It  is  impossible  to  reinforce  him  from  here 
sufficiently  to  insure  the  success  of  the  expedition." 

On  July  6th,  1862. — The  same  day  that  Company  I 
rejoined  the  regiment  near  Augusta,  Arkansas,  Grant  says 
to  Halleck  :  "A  messenger  is  just  here  from  Colonel  Fitch. 
He  reached  Clarendon  with  nine  casualties  from  guerrilla 
firing  (three  fatal),  when  the  gun-boat  declined  proceeding 
farther.  This  is  below  Ball's  (Detail's)  Bluff,  the  point  of 
greatest  danger.  Colonel  Fitch  has  dispatched  two  messen 
gers  to  General  Curtis,  informing  him  of  his  position.-  I  will 
instruct  him  to  remain  where  he  now  is  (he  has  dropped  back 
to  St.  Charles)  a  reasonable  time  to  hear  from  General  Curtis, 
and  if  the  latter  is  not  making  his  way  to  Fitch,  to  return 
here. 


212         HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRTEENTH  R*EGIMENT 

"In  the  meantime,  I  have  two  separate  messengers  on  their 
way  to  General  Curtis.  Colonel  Fitch  says  that  it  will  be 
impossible  to  reach  Jacksonport  without  cavalry  and  artillery, 
and  a  very  considerable  increased  infantry  force  from  what  he 
now  has."  *  *  *  * 

As  a  fitting  text,  or  preamble  to  the  record  of  those  few 
last  dreadful  days  between  Augusta  and  Helena,  we  draw 
from  Confederate  General  Thomas  Hind  man,  in  his  report  to 
his  superior,  Major- General  T.  H.  Holmes,  dated  November 
3d,  1862,  bringing  up  a  considerable  period  in  arrears,  he 
says  :  "On  June  24th,  1862,  certain  information  reached  me 
that  Curtis  with  his  entire  army  was  in  motion  down  the  east 
bank  of  White  river,  and  that  he  was  almost  destitute  of  sup 
plies.  *  *  *  *  Three  regiments  of  infantry  were  being 
raised  east  of  White  river,  mounted,  to  admit  of  their  with 
drawal  on  any  sudden  emergency.  They  were  concentrated 
at  Cotton  Plant,  fifteen  miles  east  of  Des  Arc,  and  added  to 
General  Albert  Rust's  command.  His  force  amounted  to 
about  five  thousand  effectives.  His  instructions  were  to  resist 
the  enemy  to  the  last  extremity,  blockading  roads,  burning 
bridges,  destroying  all  supplies,  growing  crops  included,  and 
polluting  the  water  by  killing  cattle,  ripping  the  carcasses  and 
throwing  them  in.  In  that  country  at  this  season,  the  streams 
are  few  and  sluggish.  No  army  could  march  through  it  so 
opposed." 

(It  is  fortunate  that  we  have  Confederate  authority  for 
these  diabolical  proceedings.  And  it  is  no  palliation  of  the 
fiendish  intention,  that  he  afterwards  says,  that  he  counter 
manded  the  order. ) 

*  #  *  *  "  In  that  interval  (two  days)  Curtis  advanced, 
crossed  the  Cache  river  and  attacked  General  Rust,  whose 
command,  after  an  engagement  of  about  thirty  minutes, 
retreated  in  great  disorder  across  White  river.  *  *  *  * 
The  Governor  and  other  executive  officers  fled  from  the  capi 
tal,  taking  the  archives  of  the  State  with  them. 

"These  evils  were  aggravated  by  an  address  of  the 
Governor,  issued  shortly  before  his  flight,  deprecating  the 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY.  213 

withdrawal  of  troops,  and  threatening  secession  from  the 
Confederacy. ' ' 

We  shall  avail  ourselves  of  the  graphic  pen  of  Comrade 
Reuben  M.  Hevenor,  to  picture  that  last  seven  days'  march, 
from  Augusta  to  Helena,  Arkansas.  Comrade  Hevenor  says  : 

"Tuesday,  July  8th,  1862. — With  an  early  start,  we  made 
eighteen  miles.  The  dust  and  heat  are  terrible.  Water  very 
scarce  and  all  suffer  much. 

"  Wed.iesday,  yth. — Up  again  at  two,  and  on  the  road  at 
4  o'clock.  Slow  marching  on  acccount  of  teams.  Heat  as 
usual,  and  water  very  scarce.  Made  but  fifteen  miles. 

"  Thursday,  loth. — Three  o'clock  found  us  on  the  road 
again.  Water  scarcer  than  ever,  and  we  were  glad  to  get  a 
cup  half-filled  with  mud.  The  boys  were  so  overcome  with 
heat  that  they  could  hardly  travel  ;  and  were  scattered  for 
miles  along  the  road.  Suffering  thus,  we  dragged  out  twenty 
miles  ere  we  encamped  for  the  night. 

"Friday,  the  nth. — Broke  camp  at  6  a.  m.,  and  after  four 
miles  travel,  news  came  that  the  enemy  was  upon  us,  and  we 
were  brought  into  line  of  battle  on  a  double-quick.  It  proved 
a  false  alarm,  but  the  day's  work  was  spoiled,  and  we  filed 
into  the  woods  and  encamped. 

"Saturday,  the  i2th. — Left  camp  at  2  a.  m.  and  made  one 
of  the  longest,  hardest  marches  ever  known.  The  sun  was 
scorching,  and  the  dust  blinding.  There  were  few  wells  on 
the  rout,  and  we  were  parched  with  thirst.  One,  and  even  two 
dollars,  was  offered  for  a  canteen  of  water,  but  money  was  no 
object.  Men  would  stay  for  hours  at  a  well,  till  all  the  troops 
had  passed,  before  they  could  fill  their  canteens.  For  thirty- 
two  miles  we  toiled  on,  and  then  found  a  small,  filthy  lake  in 
a  cypress  swamp >  near  which  we  pitched  our  tents.  We  were 
ready  to  rest  here,  and  the  most  of  us  too  tired  to  eat,  threw 
ourselves  on  the  ground,  and  only  arose  at  reveille  next 
morning. 

"Sunday,  the  ijth. — But  little  rested  from  the  march  of 
yesterday,  we  started  at  6  a.  m.,  making  ten  miles  during  the 
day. 


214  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

"Monday,  the  i^ih. — We  start  off  briskly  and  cheerfully, 
for  this  day  is  to  be  the  last  of  marching  for  a  time.  We 
mind  not  sun  or  dust  but  stretch  out  bravely ',  and  after  twenty 
miles,  we  then,  for  the  first  time  in  twelve  months,  see  the 
waters  of  the  old  Mississippi.  With  three  rousing  cheers, 
such  cheers  as  the  Thirteenth  only  can  give,  we  close  our 
columns,  and  with  firm  and  steady  step  to  the  music  of  our 
band,  pass  through  the  streets  of  Helena,  the  strongest  and 
healthiest  regiment  in  the  grand  Army  of  the  Southwest" 

Comrade  Josselyn,  in  his  diary,  says:  "The  distance 
marched  by  the  regiment,  from  our  arrival  at  Rolla,  Missouri, 
to  our  arrival  at  Helena,  Arkansas,  was  twelve  hundred  and 
eighteen  miles." 

Here,  and  now,  seems  fitting  in  both  place  and  time,  for 
drawing  some  comparisons  between  General  Curtis'  Arkansas 
campaign,  and  that  of  General  Sherman,  in  his  famous 
"march  to  the  sea,"  one  year  and  a  half  later. 

Sherman  was  lost  to  the  world  four  weeks.  Curtis  was 
not  heard  of  for  five  weeks,  and  from  the  efforts  of  Halleck 
and  Grant  to  communicate  with  the  latter,  his  condition  will 
be  seen  to  be  considered  far  more  perilous  than  was  that  of 
Sherman  during  nearly  a  like  period  of  time.  For  the  greater 
anxiety  in  the  case  of  Curtis,  there  were  many  reasons. 

Sherman  marched  through  a  section  of  country  with  which 
he  was  personally  thoroughly  well  acquainted,  not  only  with 
its  physical  geography,  but  with  many  of  its  inhabitants  as 
well ;  and  could  feel  sure  of  exemption  from  modes  of  warfare 
not  allowable  among  civilized  people. 

Curtis  marched  through  a  section  of  the  country  where  the 
tomahawk,  the  scalping -knife,  and  the  poisoning  of  social  bever 
ages  and  food,  and  of  springs  and  streams,  were  modes  of 
warfare  which  many  experiences  made  it  necessary  for  him  to 
constantly  guard  against. 

Sherman  started  from  Atlanta  with  twelve  hundred  thou 
sand  rations,  which  was  a  twenty  days'  supply  for  an  army  of 
sixty-two  thousand  men,  and  through  a  country  where  he 
says  :  "  We  found  abundance  of  corn,  molasses,  meal,  bacon, 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  215 

and  sweet  potatoes."  *  *  *  *  "We  also  took  a  good 
many  cows  and  oxen.  In  all  these  the  country  was  quite 
rich,  never  before  having  been  visited  by  a  hostile  army." 

To  McPherson,  he  had  said  :  "  The  recent  crop  had  been 
excellent,  had  been  just  gathered,  and  laid  by  for  the  winter. 
As  a  rule,  we  destroyed  none,  but  kept  our  wagons  full,  and 
fed  our  teams  bountifully.  *  *  *  * 

' '  They  ( the  foraging  parties)  would  usually  procure  a 
wagon,  or  a  family-carriage,  load  it  with  bacon,  cornmeal, 
turkeys,  chickens,  ducks,  and  everything  that  could  be  used 
as  food  or  forage.  *  *  *  * 

"Even  cattle,  packed  with  old  saddles  and  loaded  with 
hams,  bacon,  bags  of  cornmeal,  and  poultry  of  every  charac 
ter  and  description.  *  *  *  * 

"  Our  men  were  well  supplied  with  all  the  essentials  of 
life  and  health.  *  *  *  * 

"And  our  animals  were  well  fed.  Indeed,  when  we 
reached  Savannah,  the  trains  were  pronounced  by  experts  to 
be  the  finest  in  flesh  and  appearance  ever  seen  with  any 
army." 

To  Honorable  E.  M.  Stanton,  United  States  Secretary  of 
War,  Sherman  says  :  "The  army  is  in  splendid  order,  and 
equal  to  anything.  The  weather  has  been  fine  and  supplies 
are  abundant.  Our  march  was  most  agreeable.  And  we 
were  not  at  all  molested  by  guerrillas.  We  have  not  lost  a 
wagon  on  the  trip." 

Curtis  marched  through  a  country  of  such  scarcity,  that 
his  army  would  have  been  deeply  grateful  for  the  overplus  which 
Sherman  left^  or  permitted  the  slaves  to  carry  off ,  and  which  his 
sleek  teams  left  in  the  feed-boxes. 

Sherman  says  :  "  The  most  extraordinary  efforts  had  been 
made  to  purge  this  army  of  non-combatants  and  of  sick  men, 
for  we  knew  well  that  there  was  to  be  no  place  of  safety  save 
with  the  army  itself.  Our  wagons  were  loaded  with  ammuni 
tion,  provisions  and  forage  ;  and  we  could  ill  afford  to  haul 
even  sick  men,  in  the  ambulances  ;  so  that  all  on  this  exhibit 
(roster  to  go)  may  be  assumed  to  have  been  able-bodied, 


216  HISTORY   OF    THE   THIRTEENTH    »EGIMENT 

experienced  soldiers,  well-armed,  well-equipped,  and  provided, 
as  far  as  human  foresight  could,  with  all  the  essentials  of  life, 
strength,  and  vigorous  action." 

Alas  !  for  Curtis'  poor,  sick,  wounded,  and  crippled  vet 
erans,  they  could  not  be  turned  over  to  General  Thoma,  and 
safely  protected  and  comfortably  transported  by  his  magnifi 
cent  and  invincible  army,  which  was  about  to  move  back 
towards  home.  There  was  no  back  towards  home  for  our  men, 
there  was  only  a  back  towards  destruction  ;  the  only  alternative 
to  which  was,  forward  with  the  army  in  wagons  sunk  to  the 
hub  in  swamp-muck  or  quicksand,  with  ambushes  from  guer 
rillas  concealed  in  the  tangled  woods  skirting  the  roads,  with 
no  water,  or  poisoned  water  to  drink,  or  some  other  method  of 
assassination  awaiting  every  straggler. 

Through  Sherman's  entire  march  he  never  once  encoun 
tered  a  bad  road  ;  for  he  says:  "  We  have  not  lost  a  wagon 
on  the  trip. ' ' 

When  our  regiment  arrived  at  Helena  on  Monday,  the 
1 4th  of  July,  1862,  we  had  camped  temporarily  above  the 
town  about  two  miles  ;  but  the  place  proved  to  be  so  muddy 
in  wet  weather,  that  we  were  glad  to  be  ordered  to  move, 
which  we  did  on  the  2oth,  to  an  ideal  camp-ground  on  the 
side  of  a  fine  hill  where  the  soil  was  so  sandy  that  it  thirstily 
drank  up  the  rain  as  fast  as  it  fell,  leaving  no  mud  to  remind 
us  of  the  mud  we  had  waded  through  in  the  twelve  hundred 
or  more  miles  now  between  us  and  Rolla  ;  and  we  called  that 
mud-splashing  marching.  We  were  much  nearer  the  town. 
Then  again,  the  outlook  from  our  new  camp  was  inspiring  to 
all  who  love  a  beautiful  landscape, — one  sweep  of  an  appreci 
ative  eye  took  in  woods-covered  hills,  fertile  valleys,  and  a 
noble  river  ;  then  our  hill  was  crowned,  and  ornamented 
partly  down  the  sides,  by  beautiful  and  most  majestic  beech 
trees,  which  nowhere  reached  a  grander  perfection  of  growth 
than  over  our  camp  on  that  delightful  hillside.  Then,  too, 
we  knew  that  those  busy  steamers  plying  up  and  down  the 
river  so  constantly,  were  bearing  off,  with  full  cabins  and 
crowded  decks,  our  sick  and  wounded,  who  were  thereby 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY.  217 

snatched  from  the  grave  and  borne  back  to  homes  of  loved 
ones,  and  to  health,  which  soon  sent  them  again  to  the  front 
with  unabated  patriotism  and  a  new  lease  of  life, 

When  those  steamers  brought  back  those  soldiers  to  rejoin 
us,  their  holds  were  filled  with,  not  only  munitions  of  war, 
but  with  provisions  for  the  army.  We  had  known  what  it 
was  to  be  hungry,  without  knowing  whence  was  coming  the 
food  to  feed  that  hunger.  Comrade  Hevenor,  had  written  in 
his  diary,  at  "Camp  Starvation"  on  April  22d  last, — "  To 
day  we  had  but  a  small  piece  of  corn  bread  to  the  man,  and 
nothing  to  cook  for  supper •."  But  as  we  looked  from  our  hill 
side  camp  at  those  boats  on  the  river,  we  knew  that  abundant 
stores  of  provisions  were  in  their  holds,  and  even  piled  on 
their  decks.  This  made  us  feel  as  if  we  had  never  been  hun 
gry,  and  never  should  be. 

And  those  "  ironclads,"  we  had  never  before  had  them  to 
lend  us  courage  ;  but  now,  their  tremendous  enginery  of  war 
gave  us  a  most  delicious  sense  of  security. 

Notwithstanding  the  well  known  fact  that  millions  of  gov 
ernment  rations  were  now  in  the  commissary  department,  the 
boys  were  just  as  eager  to  hunt  out  any  concealed  stores  as 
though  we  were  still  at  "  Camp  Starvation  "  ;  and,  in  one 
sense,  it  was  their  duty  to  prevent  such  stores  from  being  used 
by  the  rebels.  As  a  case  in  point,  Comrade  Chapel  records 
that — "  Last  night  (July  2ist)  some  of  the  boys  found  where 
an  old  rebel  had  stored  fifty  thousand  pounds  of  sugar,  one 
thousand  dollars'  worth  of  champagne,  and  a  lot  of  lard  ;  and 
they  went  there  and  took  all  the  liquor  and  lard,  and  as  much 
of  the  sugar  as  they  wanted.  We  took  one  hundred  and  fifty 
pounds  of  the  sugar  for  our  mess.  So  we  shall  not  be  out  of 
sugar  for  awhile." 

The  fact  is,  the  boys  had  much  rather  have  that  old  reb's 
sugar,  even  though  it  was  ?io  higher  than  sixteen  grade,  Dutch 
standard,  than  twice  the  amount  of  crushed  government  sugar. 

The  reader  has  not  followed  this  history  for  fourteen 
months  of  time,  and  fifteen  hundred  miles  of  distance,  without 
having  learned  or  recalled  the  daily  details  and  routine  of 


2l8  HISTORY    OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

camp  life  ;  and  to  tell  again  of  our  life  at  Helena,  which  in  no 
essential  differs  from  that  at  Rolla,  would  be  a  needless  reiter 
ation  of  a  twice-told  tale  ;  and  only  new  incidents  and  experi 
ences,  which  seem  to  call  for  special  mention,  will  be  allowed 
to  clog  the  onward  march  of  events. 

It  will  be  recalled  that,  a  little  while  back,  there  are  re 
corded  some  extracts  from  a  report  of  the  rebel  general, 
Thomas  C.  Hindman,  to  his  superior,  in  which  he  tells  how 
he  ordered  his  subordinate,  General  Albert  Rust,  to  poison  the 
ivater  which  the  Yankees  would  be  obliged  to  drink.  The  law 
of  compensations  may  not  fully  even  up  things  in  some  cases, 
but  may  come  pretty  near  an  average  in  the  long  run.  Gen 
eral  Hindman  had  a  fine  mansion  in  Helena,  and  it  was  soon 
occupied  by  General  Steele,  for  his  headquarters  ;  and  two,  at 
least,  of  the  Thirteenth  boys,  David  Hitchcock  and  Asa  B. 
Munn,  were  installed  as  clerks,  and  nights,  took  a  grim  satis 
faction  in  unrolling  their  mattresses  on  the  parlor  floor,  and 
metaphorically,  fairly  "reveling  in  the  halls  of  the  rebel 
Montezumas." 

About  the  middle  of  August  the  regiment  drew  full  new 
uniforms. 

On  August  i 5th i  our  State  colors  came  to  us  from  Illinois, 
and  were  displayed  for  the  first  time  on  August  i8th,  at  brig 
ade  review,  General  Carr  being  the  reviewing  officer;  General 
Curtis  was  also  present. 

August  28th. — Companies  E  and  G  went  foraging  up  the 
St.  Francis  river,  returning  on  the  3oth,  with  plenty  of  cotton 
and  corn. 

September  ist. — Comrade  Chapel  records  drawing  tea  and 
sauerkraut  for  the  first  time. 

September  loth. — Companies  A  and  F  and  two  companies 
from  the  Fourth  Iowa,  with  cavalry  and  artillery,  started  on 
an  expedition  up  the  St.  Francis  river,  gone  four  days,  but 
bringing  back  no  results  of  importance. 

On  August  22d  the  "  Tyler"  came  down  bringing  heavy 
guns  for  the  fort  now  being  built  here  by  negro  labor. 


IUJNOIS   VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY.  219 

Augiist  26th. — Some  of  our  boats  returned  from  a  trip  to 
the  mouth  of  the  Yazoo  river,  when  they  met,  coming  out, 
the  rebel  steamer,  "Fair  Play,"  which  was  bound  for  Little 
Rock,  by  way  of  the  Arkansas  river,  with  arms  and  ammu 
nition  for  Hindman's  army.  There  were  on  board  five  thou 
sand  new  rifles  and  a  battery  of  field  artillery.  It  may  put  us 
out  some,  but  we  are  going  to  try  and  use  these  things  and  so 
save  General  Hindman  the  trouble.  The  one  hundred  pris 
oners  which  we  took  at  the  same  time  concluded  to  go  North 
to  some  of  the  watering-places  for  the  season. 


CHAPTER    XVII. 


CAMP  LIFE  AT  HELENA.  — EXPEDITIONS  TO  VARIOUS  POINTS. — 
PREPARATIONS  FOR  VICKSBURG.  — THE  THRIRTEETH 
APPROACHING  ITS  FIRST  BATTLE. 


OL/DIKRS  in  active  service,  as  well  as  sailors, 
develop  a  remarkable  fondness  for  pets  among 
the  brute  creation,  and  they  even  introduce 
them  to  the  battle-field. 

I  saw,  on  one  occasion,  near  Vicksburg,  a 
battery  of  guns  hurrying  into  position  for  real  work, 
the  horses  in  a  gallop,  and  the  cannoneers  being 
bounced  about  in  their  seats,  holding  hard  to  prevent  being 
thrown  off;  and  at  the  same  time  two  squirrels  and  a  coon 
fastened  by  small  chains  to  the  "  limbers,"  who  seemed  not  at 
all  put  out. 

General  Curtis'  love  for  pets  developed  itself  in  getting  up 
a  headquarters  train  of  white  mules  ;  sixteen  teams,  each  of 
six  white  mules,  carefully  selected  as  to  size  and  other  good 
points,  and  the  train  presented  a  very  beautiful  appearance. 
His  "  ships  of  the  desert,"  however,  attracted  fully  as  much 
attention  as  did  his  mule  teams.  In  Oriental  countries, 
camels  have  been  termed  "  Ships  of  the  desert." 

Some  years  before  the  war,  some  parties  imported  several 
camels,  for  use  on  the  "great  American  desert";  but  the 
trouble  with  an  American  desert  is,  we  soon  develop  it  into 
the  very  richest  of  farming  lands,  then  gridiron  it  with  rail 
roads,  and  the  camel's  occupation  is  gone. 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY.  221 

Some  of  General  Curtis'  scouting  parties  accumulated  sev 
eral  of  these  camels  and  brought  them  into  Helena,  and  the 
incongruous  sight  was  common,  to  see  a  Yankee  soldier  riding 
a  camel  through  the  streets  of  an  American  town. 

One  of  the  boys  told  me  that  after  he  had  one  day  been 
riding  one  of  those  camels  about  the  streets  of  Helena,  his 
dreams  were  so  strangely  confused  that  he  saw  whole  pha 
lanxes  of  the  most  beautiful  houries  from  Mohammed's  seventh 
heaven,  going  through  the  motions  of  the  manual  of  arms 
and  the  evolutions  of  battalion  drill. 

When  General  Curtis  was  relieved  from  the  command  of 
the  Army  of  the  Southwest,  and  sent  again  to  Missouri,  it 
was  understood  that  he  took  along  the  camels  with  him,  and 
left  them  on  his  place  at  Keokuk,  Iowa,  the  general's  home. 

Among  other  accumulations  from  the  rebels,  for  our  own 
convenience,  was  the  large  "  wharf-boat,"  which  was  so  con 
spicuous  (not  exactly  a  landmark,  but  water-mark),  which 
we  had  for  so  long  a  time  at  Helena.  This  wharf-boat  had 
been  lying  at  Eunice,  Arkansas,  and  Lieutenant-Colonel 
William  H.  Raynor,  of  the  Fifty-sixth  Ohio,  which  had  been 
attached  to  our  brigade,  had  been  sent  down  to  capture  and 
tow  up  the  boat  to  Helena.  The  boat  being  very  large 
and  heavy,  the  task  was  slow  and  difficult  but  was  accom 
plished  in  six  days  and  reported  to  headquarters  on  Septem 
ber  3d  and  the  boat  turned  over  to  Quartermaster  Winslow. 


General  Orders  )          HEADQUARTERS,  ARMY  OF  THE  SOUTHWEST, 
No.  50.         /  October  7th,  1862. 

I.— The  undersigned  assumes  command  of  this  army. 

II. — The  following  is  announced  as  the  Staff  of  the  Brigadier-Gen 
eral  Commanding  : 

Major  Louis  D.  Hubhard,  Third  Illinois  Cavalry,  Acting  Assistant 
Adjutant-General. 

Surgeon  S.  C.  Plummer,  Thirteenth  Illinois  Infantry,  Medical 
Director. 

Lieutenant  G.  P.  Brown,  Thirteenth  Illinois  Infantry,  Topograph 
ical  Officer. 

Lieutenant  L.  Shields,  Fourth  Iowa  Infantry,  A.  D.  C. 


222  HISTORY   OF  THE   THIRTEENTH   REGIMENT 

Lieutenant  John   E.  Phelps,  Third  United  States  Cavalry,  Acting 
A.  D.  C. 

Captain  Greene  Durbin,   United  States   Volunteer,  Chief  Quarter 
master. 

Captain  G.  I.  Taggart,  United  States  Volunteer,  Chief  Commissary. 
Major  John  McConuell,  Third  Illinois  Cavalry,  is  announced  as  Pro 
vost-marshal  General. 

E.  A.  CARR, 
Brig. -Gen.  U.  S.  Vol. 


Five  days  after  the  issuance  of  the  above  ' '  general  order, ' ' 
assuming  command  of  the  Army  of  the  Southwest,  General 
Carr  puts  on  record  his  friendship  for,  and  trust  in  Colonel 
Wyman.  In  a  communication  to  General  Curtis,  command 
ing  the  department,  on  October  i2th,  1862,  General  Carr 
says  : 

•  <  *  *  *  #  £  would  be  glad  to  have  new  troops.  I 
think  I  can  handle  them.  And  I  think  that  our  organization 
had  better  be  changed, — I,  to  retain  command  of  my  division 
for  reasons  which  you  will  appreciate  ;  but  with  a  few  more 
troops  I  could  give  Washburn,  Wyman,  and  Vandever  a  divi 
sion  each,  or  at  least  give  Washburn  and  Wyman  a  division 
each,  and  put  Vandever  under  Washburn." 

This  confidence  in  and  appreciation  of  Colonel  Wy man's 
abilities,  is  of  especial  interest  to  us  as  coming  from  a  gradu 
ate  of  West  Point,  and  officer  in  the  regular  army  of  the 
United  States  ;  but  perhaps  a  still  greater  interest  attaches  to 
it  for  us,  from  the  fact  that  this  is  the  last  recorded  effort,  from 
any  source  that  Colonel  Wyman" s  meritorious  services  should  be 
acknowledged  by  promotion. 

On  November  ////,  the  old  blankets  and  gray  overcoats, 
which  were  left  at  Springfield,  Missouri,  just  about  eight 
months  before,  again  came  safely  to  hand,  but  the  old  gray 
overcoats  we  were  not  allowed  to  wear  any  more,  we  were 
now  to  have  new  blue  overcoats  instead. 

Those  old  blankets  and  coats  reminded  us  strongly  of 
many  things  that  had  happened  since  we  parted  company, 
before  we  started  out  on  that  dreadful  Arkansas  campaign. 


ItUNOlS   VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY.  223 

GENTILE   VERSUS  JEW. 

Ben  Hadad  Lazarus,  a  Dutch  Jew,  had  a  stock  of  sutler's 
goods  in  a  tent  on  the  levee,  at  Helena,  Arkansas,  at  the 
time  that  the  Thirteenth  regiment  was  camped  there,  in  the 
summer  and  fall  of  1862. 

Close  by  a  large  wharf-boat  did  duty  as  both  wharf  and 
warehouse,  for  the  unloading  and  storage  of  the  army  supplies 
from  the  steamboats  from  St.  Louis.  From  this  wharf-boat, 
mule-teams  would  haul  the  stores  to  the  different  commands, 
as  they  were  needed  ;  the  details  of  men  for  loading  and  un 
loading  were  furnished  by  the  different  companies  in  turn. 

A  good  deal  of  the  custom  that  came  to  our  Hebraic  mer 
chant's  store,  came  from  those  details  of  men,  working  at  the 
wharf-boat. 

Ben  Hadad  Lazarus  was  endowed  with  his  fair  share  oi 
Jewish  thriftiness,  and  lost  no  occasion  of  calling  the  attention 
of  the  soldiers,  to  his  "  schplendid  schtock  of  cigars,  tobacco, 
und  clodings,  vich  he  was  giving  avay  at  such  ruinous  price 
as  never  vas. ' ' 

The  boys  had  bought  some,  and  confiscated  some,  but 
knew  very  well  that  what  they  had  honestly  paid  for,  had 
been  at  a  profit  which  would  fully  make  up  for  what  they  had 
confiscated. 

This  went  on  for  some  time,  until,  in  comparing  notes, 
they  came  to  the  conclusion  that  the  Jew  was  ahead  in  the 
deal,  and  that  they  had  been  overreached,  both  in  the  quality 
and  price  of  the  goods.  The  boys  of  Compaii}T  I  held  a  secret 
sanhedrim,  where  it  was  unanimously  declared  that  it  would 
be  demoralizing  to  allow  such  a  condition  of  things  to  exist  ; 
the  more  especially  as  the  above-mentioned  Ben  Hadad  Laz 
arus,  it  was  found,  was  selling  wine  and  champagne  to  the 
officers,  while  the  men  might  not  have  it  ;  and  it  was  the 
sense  of  the  sanhedrim,  that  the  enlisted  men  were  measur 
ably  responsible  for  the  morals  of  the  commissioned  officers, 
and  it  was  urged  that  no  permanent  reformation  among  the 
officers,  could  be  hoped  for  under  the  "Jewish  dispensation." 


224  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

It  was  voted  that  Daniel  Shaw  take  the  matter  under  ad 
visement,  and  if  possible,  suggest  a  remedy.  This  secret 
sanhedrim  kept  no  records,  and  its  work  could  only  be  judged 
by  the  light  of  after  events. 

This  sutler's  tent  was  necessarily  of  large  size,  but  of  the 
usual  pattern,  of  a  horizontal  or  ridge-pole,  and  an  upright 
pole  at  each  end,  to  support  the  ridge-pole,  and  their  lower 
ends  set  about  four  inches  in  the  ground.  It  had  the  usual 
tent-pins  at,  and  between,  the  corners. 

The  sutler  himself  always  slept  in  his  tent,  having  no  other 
guard.  The  tent  fronted  the  north,  with  its  rear  toward  the 
wharf-boat.  Just  inside  the  front  entrance,  close  by  the  west 
wall  of  the  tent,  on  some  shoe-boxes  laid  on  their  sides,  the 
sutler  spread  a  small  mattress,  which,  with  plenty  of  blankets, 
one  of  which  folded  for  a  pillow,  made  quite  a  comfortable 
bed  ;  under  this  pillow  lay  a  loaded  revolver,  while  the  Jew 
dreamed  of  his  scattered  race  being  restored  to  the  land  of 
their  fathers. 

On  the  eve  of  the  day  on  which  Company  I  was  to  furnish 
the  wagon-detail,  Orderly  Sergeant  Frank  Thoma,  notified  the 
following  as  the  regular  wagon-detail,  with  special  instructions  : 
Tom  Whitecraft,  Dan  Shaw,  Bob  Sinister,  Orson  Hamlin  ; 
and  an  extra  detail  as  follows  :  Dan  Shaw  again  ;  Theoderick 
Pool,  George  Sutherland,  Ed  Vining,  Sidus  Helmic.  The 
latter  probably  the  largest  man  in  the  regiment,  except  Cap 
tain  Brinkerhoif,  and  of  giant  strength. 

During  the  extreme  hot  weather,  early  details  were  com 
mon  ;  and  then  the  men  lay  by  in  the  middle  of  the  day. 

On  a  certain  morning,  only  two  hours  after  midnight,  an 
army  wagon  with  mule  team  arrived  near  the  wharf-boat,  so 
quietly  that  even  the  guard  at  the  boat  did  not  notice  it. 
Four  men  got  out  of  it,  upon  which,  the  driver  on  the  saddle- 
mule,  turned  his  team  about  and  stopped  them,  without 
speaking  a  word,  or  using  the  whip.  He  then  dismounted 
and  quietly  patted  and  softly  stroked  the  animals  as  though 
to  prevent  any  vocal  demonstrations,  which  otherwise  they 
might  indulge  in. 


ILLINOIS     VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  225 

Meanwhile,  of  the  four  men  who  got  out  of  the  wagon, 
Sidus  Helmic  quiety  stationed  himself  at  the  sutler's  front 
tent-pole,  with  both  hands  clasping  it  four  feet  from  the 
ground.  Edward  R.  Vining,  stationed  himself  in  the  same 
way,  at  the  rear  pole.  "  Curly,"  or  George  W.  Sutherland, 
took  his  position  at  the  northeast  corner,  with  an  open  jack- 
knife  in  his  hand,  where  he  could  command  two  tent-ropes. 
Thomas  Whitecraft  controlled  the  southeast  corner,  in  the 
same  way. 

NOT   A   WORD   HAD    BEEN    SPOKEN. 

No  sooner  had  these  several  dispositions  been  made,  and 
not  a  minute  to  spare,  than  from  the  man  by  the  team,  a  low 
whistle  was  heard  ;  when,  as  if  automatically,  the  four  east 
side  tent-ropes  were  cut ;  Helmic  and  Vining  raised  the  tent- 
poles  and  lowered  them  over  to  the  west,  carrying  the  tent 
with  them,  which  completely  covered  up  the  sutler  and  his 
bed,  and  which  woke  him  and  drew  from  him  the  exclama 
tions— "Great  Israel!  Vot  der  Teufel  ish  dot?"  which, 
undoubtedly  would  have  been  quickly  followed  by  cries  of 
murder  ;  but  just  then  the  giant  Helmic  threw  himself  on 
top  of  the  Jew,  who,  though  a  large  and  powerful  man,  even 
if  free  to  handle  himself,  would  have  been  no  match  for  Hel- 
mic's  vast  strength,  who  now  tightened  his  embrace  on  the 
Jew,  at  the  same  time  saying  to  him  emphatically,  but  sotto 
vocc, — "Avast  there,  you  landlubberly  son  of  a  gun  !  put  two 
or  three  reef  points  in  that  jaw  hamper  of  yours,  and  belay  !" 

Before  the  war,  comrade  Helmic  had  been  a  sailor  on  the 
"  high  seas,"  and  now,  when  he  got  excited  or  very  earnest, 
his  phraseology  was  apt  to  smack  of  the  "  briny  deep." 

While  uttering  the  above  caution,  he  had  covered  the 
Jew's  mouth  with  his  left  hand,  with  the  tent-cloth  between, 
and  had  managed  with  his  right  to  gather  up  enough  of  the 
front  of  the  tent  to  allow  of  his  reaching  under  and  removing 
the  revolver  from  under  the  pillow  of  the  Jew,  who  would  no 
doubt  use  it  if  he  could,  possibly  with  deadly  effect. 


226  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    BEGlMENT 

In  scarcely  more  time  than  this  narration  has  taken,  all  of 
the  goods  the  boys  cared  for  had  been  loaded  on  the  wagon, 
the  exact  locality  of  everything  in  the  tent  being  previously 
known  to  the  boys  ;  the  driver  (who  may  have  been  Daniel 
Shaw)  seeming  to  know  or  care  nothing  but  to  keep  his  mules 
quiet. 

The  stores,  consisting  of  all  that  the  sutler  had  of  wine, 
champagne,  cigars,  tobacco,  canned  vegetables,  nuts,  raisins, 
and  canned  fruits,  were  packed  in  shoe  and  dry-goods  boxes, 
driven  briskly  to  camp,  and  distributed  among  the  proper  par 
ties,  and  the  empty  boxes  taken  and  deposited  close  in  the  rear 
of  the  quarters  of  the  Fourth  Iowa  regiment,  with  which  we 
were  on  terms  of  intimate  friendship. 

Helmic  continued  to  hug  his  Jewish  bedfellow  until  the 
team  must  have  reached  camp,  when  he  suddenly  sprang  from 
the  prostrate  Jew  and  vanished  in  the  gray  shadows  of  fast 
approaching  morning  ;  but  not  so  quickly  but  he  could  dis 
tinguish  a  gurgle-like  confusion  of  English,  Dutch,  Sanscrit 
and  Talmudic  profanity,  from  beneath  the  folds  of  the  pros 
trate  tent. 

As  soon  as  possible  the  goods  were  unloaded,  and  the  reg 
ular  working  detail,  consisting  of  the  same  driver,  Daniel 
Shaw,  Robert  Schuster,  Theoderick  Pool  again,  and  Orson 
Hamlin,  jumped  into  the  wagon,  and  were  driven  at  a  lively 
pace  down  to  the  wharf- boat,  where  they  arrived  just  as  it 
was  daylight.  They  were  astonished  to  find  everything  in 
confusion  on  the  levee,  the  sutler's  tent  lay  prostrate  on  the 
ground,  citizens  and  soldiers  were  vociferously  telling  and 
asking  what  had  happened. 

The  Jew  almost  rent  the  air  with  lamentations  about  hav 
ing  been  robbed,  plundered  and  almost  murdered. 

It  was  with  the  greatest  difficulty  that  our  wagon-detail 
could  calm  the  Jew  sufficiently  to  learn  from  him  what  was 
the  nature  and  extent  of  his  loss,  and  regretted  that  they  had 
not  arrived  earlier  so  as  to  have  prevented  such  an  outrage. 

The  warmly  expressed  sympathy  of  our  men  did  not  seem 
to  have  much  effect  on  the  Israelite,  who  flatly  told  our  boys 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  227 

that  he  believed  some  of  the  wagon-details  had  done  the 
work,  and  swore  that  he  would  lay  the  matter  before  Gen 
eral  Wyman,  the  brigade  Commander,  and  see  if  he  could  not 
get  justice  done.  The  boys  knew  very  well  that  an  investi 
gation  would  ensue,  and  had  some  little  misgiving  as  to  how 
the  matter  would  end. 

Theoderick  Pool  had  a  remarkable  mustache  ;  black,  long, 
and  commanding,  which  he  cherished  as  the  apple  of  his  eye, 
and  he  was  satisfied  that  if  a  search  should  be  made,  the  Jew 
would  most  undoubtedly  recognize  the  mustache  as  belonging 
to  one  of  the  sympathizers  on  the  wharf  that  morning.  He 
was  also  well  aware  that  if  Colonel  Wyman  should  notice 
him  at  all,  he  would  inevitably  notice  the  absence  of  the  mustache; 
and  which,  of  itself,  would  be  evidence  against  him.  He 
chose  the  last,  as  the  least  of  the  two  evils  ;  rightly  judging 
that  the  Jew  would  be  inexorable,  but  Colonel  Wyman  might 
be  lenient.  He  hurried  to  his  tent  and  shaved  off  the  danger 
ous  hirsute  ornament,  secretly  mourning  its  loss  almost  as 
much  as  did  the  Jew  the  loss  of  his  goods.  He  took  some 
flour  and  mixed  it  with  grease,  and  thoroughly  rubbed  his 
face  with  it  so  that  the  marks  of  recent  shaving  should  not 
tell  against  him. 

Before  noon  the  storm  broke,  and  the  strain  on  the 
boys  was  tremendous.  Colonel  Wyman,  General  Willis  A. 
Gorman,  commanding  the  Post,  and  two  staff  officers  of  the 
latter,  the  Jew,  and  the  provost-marshal,  appeared  in  the 
camp  of  the  Thirteenth,  all  mounted,  and  looking  black  in 
the  face.  The  boys,  however,  by  this  time  had  so  effectually 
covered  up  their  tracks  that  the  most  thorough  search  would 
hardly  succeed  in  finding  anything  incriminating.  Colonel 
Wyman  ordered  Colonel  Gorgas  to  have  the  men  "fall  in,"  in 
their  company  streets,  and  remain  there  until  an  inspection  of 
quarters  had  been  gone  through  with  ;  Colonel  Wyman,  ad 
dressing  the  Jew,  then  said  :  "  Mr.  Lazarus,  of  what  do  you 
complain?"  Upon  which  the  Jew  went  into  a  detailed 
account  of  how  about  twenty  men  had  robbed  him,  while 
two  of  them  stood  over  him  with  cocked  revolvers,  compelling 


228  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    WEGIMENT. 

him  to  silence.  During  this  soul-thrilling  narration,  his  lam 
entations  were  as  extravagantly  loud  and  boisterous  as  ever 
were  those  of  "  Shilock,"  while  bemoaning  and  bewailing  the 
loss  of  his  "  ducats  and  his  daughter." 

Sergeant  Thoma  was  ordered  to  produce  his  order-book, 
with  the  list  of  the  wagon-detail.  The  Jew  was  asked  if  he 
recognized  any  man  there,  as  he  saw  them  on  the  levee  for  a 
load  of  forage  ?  He  acknowledged  that  he  could  not ;  that 
one  of  the  men  who  came  after  forage,  had  a  very  long  mustache; 
but  he  did  not  now  see  him.  He  was  asked  if  he  should  know 
the  mules  of  the  forage  team?  His  reply  was,  "Why,  mine 
dear  Scheneral  ;  how  should  you  expect  me  to  know  von  mule 
ven  all  de  mule  look  schust  like  doze  oder  von  ?  und  ven  I 
see  von  mule,  I  could  schvear  dot  I  see  all  der  mule  in  der 
vorld  ;  und  ven  I  see  all  of  doze  mule  in  der  vorld,  I  could 
schvear  dot  I  see  no  more  as  von  mule  ;  so  helup  me,  Moses." 

General  Gorman  now  broke  in  by  calling  to  Colonel 
Wyman,  to  whom  he  said  :  "  Colonel  Wyman,  I  regret  to  say 
that  this  army  has  acquired  an  unenviable  reputation  for 
plundering,  robbing,  and  burning  property.  When  I  took 
command,  it  seemed  to  me  the  most  undisciplined  mob  I  ever 
came  in  contact  with.  The  material  is  splendid,  but  the  polit 
ical  demagogues  in  it  are  cnougli  to  damn  the  best  army  on  God '  s 
earth.  I  charge  you  to  sift  this  matter  to  the  bottom. ' '  Upon 
which  he  drew  himself  and  his  bridle-lines  up,  and  cantered 
away,  followed  by  his  staff. 

Just  where  General  Gorman  could  discover  any  politics 
cropping  out  in  this  matter,  it  is  hard  to  see.  The  outrages 
may  have  developed  a  racial  prejudice,  but  hardly  one  of 
politics. 

Colonel  Wyman  personally  conducted  the  search  of  the 
tents  of  the  Thirteenth  and  while  passing  down  the  line  of 
Company  I,  suddenly  turned  towards  the  men  in  line,  and 
snapped  out:  "Pool,  since  when  have  you  been  without  a 
mustache?"  Pool  felt  a  little  shaky  in  the  knees,  but  man 
aged  to  assume  coolness,  and  quickly  replied,  "  Why,  Colonel, 
the  boys  have  been  laughing  at  me  for  three  weeks,  about  my 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY.  229 

baby  face"  The  Colonel  passed  on,  swearing  that  if  he  could 
find  the  culprits,  he  would  hang  them  to-day,  and  shoot  them 
to-morrow. 

A  formal  search  was  made  through  both  our  own  and  the 
Fourth  Iowa  regiments,  but  in  vain.  Too  many  of  both 
men  and  officers  were  cognizant  of  it,  and  beneficiaries. 

As  to  the  boxes  in  which  the  plunder  of  the  sutler's  tent 
had  been  taken  to  camp,  and  then  deposited  where,  if  found, 
the  Fourth  Iowa  would  have  another  opportunity  of  sharing  in 
the  losses,  but  not  burdened  with^  the  profits  of  the  Thirteenth 
Illinois,  an  early  riser  in  the  Fourth  had  discovered  the  tell 
tale  boxes,  and  quickly  divining  their  significance,  had 
removed  them  to  a  little  ravine  close  by,  and  had  covered 
them  with  some  loose  brush,  where  they  were  successfully 
concealed  until  after  the  search,  and  were  then  broken  up,  one 
by  one,  for  kindling-wood. 

This  particular  act  of  confidence  on  the  part  of  the  Thir 
teenth  towards  the  Fourth  Iowa,  was  typical  of  that  beautiful 
spirit  of  fraternity  which  was  always  shown  by  the  former  ;  and 
their  history  shows  that  the  Thirteenth  cherished  this  spirit 
towards  their  old  neighbors,  even  to  the  grave.  (See  Chaplain 
Needham.) 

The  guilty  ones  were  never  found. 

SICK    FURLOUGHS. 

"  Those  thirty  days'  furloughs  in  the  States  of  enlistment 
though  politic  are  very  uumilitary."  (Sherman  to  Mc- 
Pherson. ) 

There  is  no  class  of  people  in  whom  the  love  of  home  is 
greater  than  soldiers.  That  great  general  of  infantry,  Field- 
Marshal  McDonald,  a  Scotchman,  would  not  permit  the 
national  and  other  Scottish  tunes  to  be  played  by  the  bands  in 
Napoleon's  campaigns,  as  it  so  aroused  the  longings  for  home 
in  the  hearts  of  the  Scottish  soldiers,  that  they  were  liable  to 
desert,  not  by  squads  alone,  but  by  companies  and  regiments. 

In  the  camps  at  Helena,  Arkansas,  I  saw  literally,  thou 
sands  of  men  wasted  away  to  death's  door,  by  homesickness 


230  HISTORY   OF   THE    THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

alone  ;  and  scores  of  them  went  to  their  graves  with  no  other 
disease. 

The  commanders  and  surgeons  were  equal  to  the  situation, 
and  furloughs  and  leaves  of  absence  were  granted  as  fast  as 
steamers  could  be  procured  to  take  the  sick  up  the  river. 

These  men  nearly  all  returned  in  a  few  weeks'  time,  robust, 
cheerful,  and  courageous  as  at  first,  and  never  had  a  recurrence 
of  the  old  malady. 

DINING    IN  A    HEN-ROOST. 

On  December  vth,  General  Willis  A.  Gorman  arrived  at 
Helena  and  assumed  command  and  selected  the  large  wharf- 
boat  as  his  headquarters.  In  addition  to  the  storage  room  on 
the  lower  deck,  was  a  large  saloon  and  various  small  offices 
and  state-rooms  on  the  upper  deck.  The  saloon  was  used  for 
the  office,  and  contained  the  desks  of  the  Assistant  Adjutant- 
General,  and  of  the  clerks  ;  it  was  also  used  as  a  dining-room 
for  the  General  and  his  staff. 

In  the  middle  of  the  roof  was  a  hurricane  (or  supplemental) 
roof  raised  about  three  feet,  under  the  eaves  of  which  were 
side-lights  which  could  be  opened  for  ventilation  ;  and  just 
inside  these  hurricane  windows  was  a  deep  moulded  cornice, 
and  when  the  windows  were  open,  some  of  the  quartermaster's 
chickens,  which  were  kept  in  coops  on  the  roof,  would  walk 
in  onto  this  inside  cornice,  and  frequently  make  the  entire 
circuit  of  the  saloon,  picking  their  rations  of  flies  from  the 
windows. 

General  Gorman  always  seemed  to  think  it  a  waste  of  dig 
nity  to  laugh,  or  even  chat,  while  at  table  ;  and  no  member 
of  his  staff  was  ever  heard  to  laugh  while  at  table  by  the 
clerks  whose  desks  were  in  the  same  room,  only  a  few  feet 
away. 

At  dinner,  one  day,  which  was  generally  eaten  with 
silences  instead  of  sauces,  the  General  looked  up  and  saw  one 
of  the  chickens  making  the  "  grand  rounds  "  on  the  inside 
cornice,  drawing  its  rations  of  flies  as  it  went  along. 
"Well!"  the  General  exclaimed,  "/  am  damned  if  this 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY.  231 

is  n't  the  first  time  I  ever  took  dinner  in  a  hen-roost."  Not 
a  man  at  the  table  cracked  a  smile  or  made  any  remark  in 
reply. 

Various  expeditions,  for  various  purposes,  were  sent  out  in 
various  directions,  and  with  more  or  less,  or  no,  success  that 
was  visible  to  the  rank  and  file, — but  then,  the  rank  and  file 
were  not  always  competent  to  judge  correctly,  as  it  was  very 
seldom  that  the  rank  and  file  was  called  in  to  confer  with  the 
General  commanding. 

Comrade  Josselyn  says  :  ' '  Scouting  parties  went  off  in 
various  directions.  September  loth  Companies  A  and  F  went 
out  to  St.  Francis  river,  and  during  October,  the  regiment 
furnished  details  for  picket  duty  across  the  river,  and  for  work 
on  the  fort.  November  i5th  we  started  on  the  White  river 
expedition,  on  board  the  Imperial.  The  Fourth  Iowa  was 
aboard  this  steamer  with  us.  Also  a  battery  and  some  cav 
alry.  At  the  mouth  of  White  river  we  were  transferred  to 
the  Decatur,  a  lighter  draft  boat.  After  proceeding  up  the 
river  four  miles,  we  ran  on  a  sand-bar  and  stuck  fast.  Dis 
embarking,  we  marched  back  to  the  Mississippi,  and  again 
boarded  the  Imperial,  and  went  up  to  Montgomery's  Point, 
and  then  back  to  Helena,  arriving  November  22d. 

"The  object  of  this  expedition  was  said  to  be  the  capture 
of  Arkansas  post,  but  the  river  was  found  too  low  for  boats  to 
ascend. 

"November  2jth. — We  again  started  under  orders,  got 
aboard  the  Nebraska,  went  down  the  river  ten  miles  and 
landed  at  Delta,  on  the  Mississippi  side,  and  commenced  the 
Coldwater  and  Tallahatchee  expedition.  We  arrived  at  the 
junction  of  the  Coldwater  and  Tallahatchee  rivers,  Novem 
ber  2gth,  and  on  November  3oth  and  December  ist  made  a 
double-quick  march  for  eight  miles  toward  Granada,  when 
there  was  heavy  firing  heard.  '  About-faced,'  and  returned 
to  camp  without  firing  a  shot. 

*  *  *  *  «  We  remained  at  camp  on  the  bank  of  the 
Tallahatchee  river  until  December  5th,  when  we  returned  to 
Delta,  and  to  our  camp  at  Helena,  arriving  December  yth, 


232  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    ftEGIMENT 

having   marched  on  this  trip  one  hundred  miles.      General 
Charles  E.  Hovey  was  in  command  of  the  expedition." 

As  one  after  another  of  the  autumn  months  dropped  out 
of  the  calendar  and  went  to  the  rear,  the  specific  gravity  of 
.the  military  atmosphere  grew  denser  and  thicker  with  im 
pending  fate.  We  felt,  rather  than  knew,  that  a  crisis  was  at 
hand. 

The  flight  of  birds  and  drift  of  sea- weed,  was  a  written 
page  to  Columbus,  promising  him  that  success  was  near.  The 
signs  of  the  times  pointing  us  towards  Vicksburg,  were  : 

On  November  2ist  the  returning  White  river  expedition 
was  met  by  the  Gladiator,  with  orders  to  return  to  Helena 
immediately. 

December  gili. — Generals  Gorman,  Thayer  and  Hovey, 
came  down. 

December  i 5th. — A  Vicksburg  expedition  with  the  Thir 
teenth  left  out,  talked  about. 

About  this  time,  General  Frank  P.  Blair,  stalked  in  to 
report  to  General  Gorman. 

Gorman  expostulated  with  by  our  officers,  and  we  go. 

Staff  officer  Lieutenant  Gorman  reviewed  the  troops,  De 
cember  1 8th. 

December  igt/i.  —  Company  F  drew  new  cartridge-boxes, 
turning  over  old  ones,  and  all  extra  guns. 

We  were  watching  and  waiting  for  a  forward  movement. 
When  it  should  come,  we  knew  it  would  mean  Vicksburg. 
We  desired  nothing  more,  and  would  be  satisfied  with  nothing 
less.  It  almost  seemed  as  if  Vicksburg  was  approaching. 
Our  psychological  impressions  were  as  strong  evidence  to  us 
as  was  the  massing  of  troops  and  unusual  accumulation  of  the 
munitions  of  war. 

The  river  Mississippi  must  be  held  sacred,  and  any  attempt  of  the 
enemy  to  make  a  lodgment  anywhere  on  its  banks,  must  be  prevented 
by  any  and  all  means.  Also  its  peaceful  navigation  must  be  assured  ; 
any  firing  on  boats  or  molestation  of  them,  when  engaged  in  a  legitimate 
and  licensed  traffic,  should  be  punished  with  terrible  severity. 

SHKRMAN. 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY.  233 

HEADQUARTERS,  RIGHT  WING,  THIRTEENTH  ARMY  CORPS. 

HELENA,  ARKANSAS,  December  21  st,  1862. 

Captain  JOHN  A.  RAWUNS. 

CAPTAIN  :  I  arrived  here  last  evening  and  immediately  saw  Gen 
erals  Gorman,  Steele  and  Blair.  Their  share  of  transports  had  previously 
been  sent  and  were  here  loaded,  to  receive  their  troops. 

Already,  9  a.  m.,  two  of  my  Memphis  Divisions  (Morgan  L.  Smith 
and  General  Morgan)  have  passed  down  to  the  first  rendezvous,  Friar's 
Point,  and  I  expect  A.  J.  Smith  every  hour.  Steele's  Division  will  be 
afloat  to-day  and  drop  down  to  Friar's  Point,  so  that  by  to-inorrow  morn 
ing,  my  whole  command  will  be  embarked  and  under  way.  I  will  reach 
Games'  Landing  to-morrow,  the  22d,  and  Milliken's  Bend  23d,  and  be 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Yazoo  Christmas.  I  sent  a  full  and  complete 
return  of  the  first  three  Divisions  from  Memphis  ;  and  now  send  you  an 
abstract  of  the  Fourth  (Steele's)  of  which  I  can  not  get  a  detailed  report 
till  we  get  away  from  Helena. 

I  am  Captain,  respectfully, 

W.  T.  SHERMAN,  Major-General  Commanding, 

Mississippi  River  Expedition. 

General  Gorman  and  Colonel  Wyman  did  not  agree  very 
well  ;  both  were  a  little  cranky,  and  their  conferences  were 
not  always  conducted  in  whispers  ;  and  there  is  but  little 
doubt  that  our  Colonel,  when  calling  on  General  Gorman,  was 
in  the  habit  of  calling  things  by  their  right  names,  and  it  is 
just  possible  that  he  may  have  volunteered  some  advice  ;  at 
any  rate,  General  Gorman  was  in  the  habit  of  calling  Colonel 
Wyman,  "  Old  Know-it-all." 

December  2otk,  1862. — Our  marching  orders  came,  and 
about  noon  on  the  2ist,  we  embarked  on  board  the  "John 
Warner." 


CHAPTER     XVIII. 

THE  EXPEDITION. — LANDING  AT  CHICASAW  BLUFFS. — DEATH 
OF  WYMAN. — DEADLY  ORDEAL  OF  BATTLE  ON  NEXT 
DAY. — SLAUGHTER  AND  RETREAT. 


O  PICTURE  vividly  the  absorption    of   the 
Thirteenth    regiment    by    Sherman's    great 
naval  army,  we  will  quote  Comrade  Chapel, 
who  says,  on  December  2ist,  1862:    "All  last 
night,  General  Sherman's  fleet  was  coming 
down  from  Memphis,  and  the  continued  ringing  of 
bells  and  blowing  of  whistles  kept  us  awake  a  good 
share  of  the  night.     As  soon  as  daylight,  I  went  down 
to  the  levee  to  see  the  fleet. 

"The  wharf  was  lined  with  boats  and  crowded  with 
troops  ;  mostly  from  Ohio,  Indiana  and  Missouri. 

"At  ii  o'clock  a.  m.  we  received  orders  to  start,  and  in  a 
very  short  time  broke  camp,  and  the  Twenty-eighth  Iowa 
took  possession  of  it. 

"Embarked  on  the  steamer  John  Warner,  a  medium- 
sized,  and  very  good  boat,  and  our  regiment  occupied  it  alone 
and  we  had  to  work  by  detail  all  night  to  coal  her  up  for  the 
trip. 

"Night,  starlight  and  warm,  but  too  much  noise  for 
sleep." 

Our  brigade,  up  to  this  time,  commanded  by  Colonel 
Wyman,  but  now  transferred  to  General  Thayer,  was  given 
the  steamers  Ella,  the  headquarters  boat  of  General  Thayer, 
Tecumseh,  Satan,  Decatur,  and  John  Warner  ;  the  latter,  as 
has  already  been  stated,  was  assigned  to  our  regiment. 

234 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  235 

We  ran  down  to  Friar's  Point,  Mississippi,  twenty  miles 
from  Helena,  and  tied  up  for  the  night  alongside  of  the  Divis 
ions  of  General  Morgan  L,.  Smith  and  General  George  W. 
Morgan,  who  had  passed  Helena,  and,  at  what  General  Sher 
man  calls  "the  first  rendezvous,"  were  waiting  for  Steele's 
(ours)  Division,  and  that  of  General  A.  J.  Smith,  which  was 
expected  now,  every  hour. 

SHERMAN'S  GREAT  RIVER  EXPEDITION 

to  Vicksburg,  was  one  of  the  grandest  movements  of  the  war. 

In  spectacular  effect,  it  could  scarcely  have  been  approached 
by  anything  of  its  kind  before  ;  even  "  The  Invincible 
Armada,"  with  its  one  hundred  and  thirty-two  vessels  could 
not  then  have  been  maneuvered  so  as  to  have  made  so 
grand  a  spectacle  as  did  Sherman's  one  hundred  and 
twenty-seven,  with  steam  to  propel  and  control  them.  In 
pure  romance,  it  may  have  been  exceeded  by  the  same  great 
General's  "  march  to  the  sea." 

In  originality  of  conception,  and  perfection  of  organization 
and  execution,  both  were  worthy  of  the  mind  of  the  most 
brilliant  military  leader  that  our  war  developed. 

The  organization  was  completed  at  Helena,  with  the  ren 
dezvous  at  Friar's  Point,  twenty  miles  below,  when,  on  the 
morning  of  December  23d,  1862,  the  signal  cannon  boomed 
the  advance,  our  one  hundred  and  twenty-seven  steamers,  con 
voyed  by  the  requisite  number  of  gun-boats,  swung  out  into 
the  stream  and  leisurely  headed  downward— pointing  towards 
Vicksburg. 

So  perfectly  executed  was  the  arrangement,  that  corps, 
division  and  brigade  organizations,  remained  intact,  and 
moved  with  as  much  precision  as  an  army  on  land  would  do  ; 
and  when  the  column  of  steamers  entered  the  long,  straight 
reaches  of  the  river,  the  entire  fleet  could  be  seen  at  one  time, 
and  the  sight  was  magnificent. 

When  it  was  time  to  tie  up  for  the  night,  which  was 
always  done,  a  gun  would  be  fired  from  the  Flag-ship,  when 


236  HISTORY   OF   THE    THIRTEENTH   REGIMENT 

the  leading  boat  would  swing  in  to  the  left  bank,  head  up 
stream,  and  tie  up  ;  the  second  would  round  to  at  a  proper 
distance  below  the  first,  and  so  on  until  the  rear  boat  in  the 
day's  march  came  in  below  all  the  others. 

A  strong  picket-line  was  immediately  thrown  out,  covering 
the  entire  river  front  occupied  by  the  fleet. 

At  the  firing  of  the  signal  gun  in  the  morning,  the  upper 
most  boat  in  the  camp,  would  swing  gracefully  out  into  the 
stream,  heading  down,  and  followed  by  all  the  others  until 
the  lowermost  boat  fell  in  and  brought  up  the  rear. 

This  splendid  organization  was  preserved  throughout  the 
entire  expedition. 

A    FAMILY    CARRIAGE 

had  been  accumulated  by  some  of  our  boys  during  one  of  the 
nights  when  our  fleet  had  been  tied  up  to  the  Mississippi 
river  bank,  and  had  been  smuggled  on  to  the  lower  deck  of 
one  of  the  steamers,  and  partly  concealed.  This  could  never 
have  been  done  unless  both  the  picket  and  camp-guard  had 
connived  at  it ;  and  had  it  never  been  called  for,  would  have 
been  put  ashore  at  the  next  landing.  This,  of  course,  the 
boys  cared  nothing  about,  merely  wishing  to  annoy  the  reb 
as  much  as  possible. 

The  owner  of  this  carriage,  however,  promptly  put  in  an 
appearance  the  next  morning  to  recover  his  coach.  No  sooner 
had  he  arrived  in  camp,  than  the  boys  took  off  one  of  the 
hind  wheels  and  quietly  dropped  it  overboard,  on  the  river 
side  of  the  boat.  The  carriage  was  soon  discovered,  but  not 
a  man  could  be  found  who  knew  the  least  thing  about  it.  The 
guards  of  both  lines  were  examined,  but  all  declared  that 
nothing  had  passed  through  them  during  the  night.  The 
officers  made  a  great  bluster,  of  course,  but  were  secretly 
glad  of  it.  The  missing  wheel  was  not  recovered,  and  a 
tedious  time  of  it  the  owner  had  in  rigging  some  kind  of  a 
purchase  by  which  to  get  the  vehicle  home. 

The  boys  told  me  afterwards,  that  they  hauled  that  con 
founded  carriage,  with  four  dozen  of  chickens,  who  wanted  to 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  237 

enlist  in  our  army,  and  five  hams  which  happened  to  be 
traveling  our  way,  three  miles,  "  and  it  wanted  greasing  too ." 

The  day  we  left  Friar's  Point,  the  weather  was  cloudy, 
cold  and  un  com  for  fable.  There  is  no  scenery  on  the  lower 
Mississippi. 

On  a  cast  of  the  eye  over  any  five  miles  of  its  country, 
there  can  be  nothing  worse  in  the  way  of  scenery,  unless  it  is 
the  next  five  miles, — that  is  faintly  possible,  but  not  strongly 
probable. 

We  reached  Games'  Landing  on  the  24th,  and  the  mouth 
of  the  Yazoo  on  the  25th  (Christmas). 

On  the  day  after  Christmas,  December  26th,  1862,  having 
passed  the  night  on  board  the  steamer,  she  moved  out  into 
the  stream  and  turned  into  the  Yazoo,  and  up  stream  about 
twelve  miles  to  the  Johnson  plantation  on  the  bank  towards 
Vicksburg,  where  afternoon  we  debarked,  formed  in  line, 
and  stacked  arms. 

Sherman's  army  here  consisted  of  four  splendid  divisions, 
the  first,  commanded  by  Brigadier-General  Andrew  J.  Smith  ; 
second  division  by  Brigadier-General  Morgan  L-  Smith  ;  third 
division  by  Brigadier-General  George  W.  Morgan  ;  fourth 
division  by  Brigadier-General  Frederick  Steele.  The  first 
brigade  of  the  latter  was  commanded  by  Brigadier- General 
Frank  P.  Blair,  and  its  first  regiment  was  the  Thirteenth 
Illinois.  Being  the  first,  our  regiment  had  the  right,  and 
took  the  lead. 

Confederate  General  Pemberton  describes  the  ground  over 
which  our  army  had  to  approach  the  Chickasaw  Bluffs,  which 
was  our  objective,  as  "swamps,  lakes  and  bayous,  running 
parallel  with  the  river,  intervene  between  the  bank  and  the 
hill,  and  leave  but  four  practicable  approaches  to  the  high 
ground  from  Snyder's  Mills  to  the  Mississippi  river,  but  all 
outside  the  fortifications  of  Vicksburg." 

Of  these  four  "practicable  approaches,"  the  first  division 
took  the  lower,  or  most  southerly  one,  the  second  division, 
the  one  next  north,  while  Blair's  brigade,  took  the  one, 
reaching  inland  from  the  Johnson  plantation,  and  which  leads 


238  HISTORY   OF  THK    THIRTEENTH   fcEGIMEMT 

past  the  south  side  of  Mrs.  Lake's  plantation,  and  thence  by 
a  corduroyed  causeway  and  bridge,  across  the  bayou,  and  up 
over  the  future  battle-ground,  to  a  junction  with  the  country- 
road,  which  helped  to  form  the  third  line  of  the  enemy's 
defenses. 

General  Morgan,  with  his  third  division  also  reached  Mrs. 
Lake's  plantation  by  a  road  from  the  mouth  of,  and  to  the 
south  of,  Chickasaw  Bayou,  where  he  took  command  of  our 
brigade,  which  General  Sherman  had  ordered  to  report  to  him 
for  duty;  which  it  did,  and  for  two  days  was  fighting  under 
his  command. 

To  General  Steele  was  assigned  the  duty  of  reaching  the 
Bluffs  by  a  road  north  of  Chickasaw  Bayou  ;  but  this  project 
was  abandoned  and  he  was  ordered  to  take  position  in  rear  of 
Morgan,  as  a  support  to  the  third  division.  General  Steele 
reached  the  new  position  assigned  him,  over  the  same  road 
used  by  Blair's  brigade. 

As  we  have  said,  the  Thirteenth  debarked  from  the  John 
Warner,  at  Johnson's  plantation,  on  Friday  afternoon,  De 
cember  26th,  1862,  formed  in  line  and  stacked  arms. 

We  were  soon  again  on  the  move  and,  from  our  regiment, 
which  was  in  the  lead,  advanced  skirmishers  were  thrown  out, 
and  very  soon  drove  in  the  enemy's  pickets  and  captured  two 
horses  and  the  supper  that  the  reb  pickets  had  prepared  for 
themselves.  A  little  further  on,  captured  one  man  who  re 
ported  that  we  were  within  one  mile  and  a  half  of  the  forti 
fications. 

The  orders  to  the  General  were,  at  the  distance  of  about 
two  miles,  to  go  into  camp,  which  was  done. 

On  the  morning  of  the  27th,  march  was  early  resumed, 
and  soon  the  boys  of  the  Thirteenth  drove  in  the  rebel  pickets 
in  considerable  numbers,  and  soon  after,  running  on  to  a 
squad  of  nearly  fifty  rebels,  we  formed  and  made  a  most  diffi 
cult  advance  in  line  of  battle,  owing  to  the  underbrush  among 
the  trees.  This  lasted  but  a  little  while,  however,  when  we 
emerged  to  the  skirts  of  an  open  field  on  Mrs.  Lake's  planta 
tion,  from  the  opposite  side  of  which,  near  the  "White 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  239 

House,"  our  skirmishers  were  fired  on  by  a  battery  of  two 
guns  ;  but  a  section  of  Hoffman's  battery  was  quickly  in  posi 
tion  and  soon  silenced  them,  and  they  lost  no  time  in  retiring 
inside  their  intrenchments,  from  which  they  never  ventured 
again  during  the  time  they  were  confronted  by  our  forces. 
They  had  discreetly  chosen  their  position  on  the  causeway 
which  was  bridged  across  the  bayou,  and  the  only  road  by 
which  they  could  gain  their  intrenchments,  or  by  which  we 
could  follow  them. 

The  engagement  between  the  two  hostile  batteries,  with 
the  attendant  fire  of  skirmishers  and  sharp-shooters,  may 
said  to  have  opened  the  ball  of  the  serious  fighting  which, 
much  intensified,  was  continued  through  the  two  following 
days. 

Our  brigade  bivouacked  for  the  night  of  the  27th,  on  the 
ground  occupied  by  Hoffman's  battery  during  the  artillery 
duel  in  the  morning. 

The  most  conspicuously  and  sadly  fateful  day,  perhaps, 
that  the  Thirteenth  regiment  was  to  count  in  its  history,  was 
Sunday,  the  28th  of  December,  1862.  If  the  veil  could  partly 
have  been  lifted,  how  many  of  us  would  have  mentally  uttered 
most  fervently  Shakespeare's  apostrophe  : 

"  Oh  you  leaden  messengers  that  ride  upon  the  violent  speed  of  fire,  fly 
with  false  aim." 

General  Blair  says  of  this  day,  ' '  The  orders  of  the  day 
placed  my  brigade  in  reserve."  But  the  severely  wounding 
early  in  the  day  of  General  Morgan  L.  Smith,  of  the  second 
division,  seemed  to  make  necessary  a  modification  of  the 
above  arrangements  so  far  as  to  call  our  regiment  to  the  front, 
where  we  were  placed  directly  to  the  left  of  the  second  divis 
ion,  at  about  u  o'clock  a.  m.,  where  our  brigade  was  soon 
warmly  engaged  with  the  enemy,  whose  sharp-shooters  were 
soon  silenced.  At  not  far  from  noon,  Colonel  Wyman  received 
his  death  wound, — shot  through  the  breast,  from  left  to  right, 
by  a  rifle-ball  which  was  found  lodged  in  the  underclothing 
on  the  right  side  of  his  body.  After  being  stricken  down,  but 


240  HISTORY   OF    THE    THIRTEENTH    ^REGIMENT 

while  still  living,  he  was  placed  on  a  stretcher  and  taken  back 
to  the  operating  table  of  Dr.  Plummer,  who  saw  that  the  Col 
onel  had  but  a  short  time  to  live,  and  he  directed  a  member  of 
the  ambulance  corps  to  remain  by  the  Colonel's  side,  and  at 
once  sent  to  the  front  for  Corporal  Osgood  Wyman,  the  Col 
onel's  son,  who  arrived  in  season  to  be  recognized  by  his 
father  and  to  exchange  with  him  the  last  farewell  in  life. 

In  another  place,  fitting  tributes  to  his  memory  have  been 
written  by  those  who  knew  his  worth  and  many  noble  traits 
of  character  ;  and  that  it  was  not  commissioned  officers  alone 
who  loved  and  admired  him,  is  strongly  evidenced  by  the  fact 
that  the  enlisted  men  of  the  Thirteenth  regiment,  politely,  but 
firmly,  declining  the  proffered  aid  of  the  officers,  raised  money 
sufficient,  and  erected  over  his  remains,  one  of  the  grandest 
military  monuments  to  be  found  in  "  Rose-Hill  Cemetery,"  a 
few  miles  to  the  north  of  Chicago. 

The  warrior  was  sleeping  while  the  carnage  went  on  ;  and 
the  roar  of  artillery  and  bursting  of  great  shells  among  the 
giant  trees  that  towered  above  his  bier,  were  a  fitting  requiem. 

Colonel  Wyman  must  have  been  shot  sometime  between 
noon  and  i  p.  m.  From  its  position  as  reserve,  General  Blair 
received  orders  at  about  10  or  u  a.  m.  to  take  position  with 
his  brigade  on  the  immediate  left  of  the  second  division, 
which  was  then  engaging  the  enemy,  with  the  bayou  between. 
It  probably  took  our  brigade  about  an  hour  to  reach  the  posi 
tion  indicated,  for  General  Blair  says  in  his  report  :— 

"  I  ordered  Captain  Hoffman,  under  instructions  from  Gen 
eral  Sherman,  to  cross  his  battery  over  the  pontoon-bridge 
then  being  put  up  by  the  advance  of  General  Morgan."  This 
pontoon- bridge  did  not  lead  to  the  triangular  battle-ground  of 
the  next  day,  but  was  only  a  convenient  cross-cut  to  reach 
the  position  to  which  we  had  been  ordered  on  the  left  of 
the  second  division.  General  Blair  continues  :  "  I  pushed  on  as 
fast  as  the  nature  of  the  ground  would  permit,  to  the  left  of  Gen 
eral  M.  L.  Smith,  and  engaged  the  enemy,  with  my  entire  bri 
gade,  in  his  rifle-pits  and  intrenchments  in  my  front  beyond 


ItLlNOlS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  24! 

the  bayou,  and  a  sharp  and  brisk  encounter  silenced  his  sharp 
shooters. " 

This  ' '  encounter' '  must  have  been  going  on  between  noon 
and  i  p.  m.,  and  Colonel  Wyman  fell  early  in  the  "encoun 
ter."  This,  together  with  the  memory  of  survivors,  enables 
us  to  closely  approximate  the  hour  when  the  Colonel  fell. 

Memory  vividly  calls  up  the  scene  in  the  deep  forest  that 
day,  where  Dr.  Plummer's  operating-table  was  surrounded  by 
many  wounded  and  dying  soldiers,  besides  the  dying  Wyman. 
This  was  sad  proof  of  the  severity  of  the  day's  struggle,  by 
which  our  regiment  lost  two  killed,  and  eight  wounded  ;  the 
particulars  of  which  will  be  found  in  the  company  histories. 

During  the  afternoon,  our  brigade  was  withdrawn  from 
the  left  of  the  second  division,  and  was  ordered  by  General 
Sherman,  to  report  to  General  Morgan,  who  was  hotly  engaged 
with  the  enemy  in  front  of  the  "  White  House,"  and  the 
Thirteenth  Illinois  was  led  by  General  Blair  to  a  position  on 
the  right  of  General  Morgan's  center,  where  it  was  soon  found 
that  we  were  exposed  to  the  fire  of  our  own  batteries,  besides 
those  of  the  rebels.  By  order  of  General  Morgan,  we  were 
now  withdrawn  from  this  position  with  orders  to  take  position 
on  the  left,  across  the  bayou  below  the  junction  of  its  two 
arms,  which  placed  us  to  the  north,  and  beyond  the  enemy's 
right. 

Comrade  Josselyn  says  of  the  crossing  of  this  bayou,  by 
our  brigade  : 

' '  General  Blair  rode  along  as  we  were  about  crossing  a 
muddy  bayou,  and  said  :  'I'll  see  if  you  can  stand  mud  and 
water  as  well  as  you  can  stand  fire.  '  ' ' 

Having  crossed  the  bayou  at  the  place  indicated  by  the 
orders,  we  formed  line  of  battle  in  the  heavy  timber  in  rear  of 
where  the  assault  was  to  be  made,  but  if  an  assault  had  been 
contemplated  for  that  day,  as  the  formation  of  the  line  clearly 
indicated,  near-approaching  night  countermanded  the  orders, 
and  we  moved  to  the  rear  and  took  position  with  the  bayou  on 
our  right,  and  Thompson's  lake  to  our  left,  where  we  lay  on 
our  arms  through  the  night  of  the  28th. 


242  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

To  aggravate  the  memory  of  the  condition  of  things  on 
those  two  days  of  the  28th  and  2Qth  of  December,  1862,  in 
which  we  lost  Colonel  Wyman,  and  many  another  brave  man, 
only  to  be  repulsed  at  last,  it  is  only  necessary  to  be  told, 
twenty  four  3^ears  and  eight  months  later,  by  Confederate 
General  Stephen  D.  Lee,  through  General  Morgan,  that  "on 
the  28th  and  29th,  the  city  was  occupied  and  defended  solely 
by  the  Twenty-seventh  Louisiana  regiment  under  Colonel 
Marks,  and  by  the  batteries  commanding  the  Mississippi  ; 
and  on  the  29th,  there  was  but  a  single  regiment  under  Gen 
eral  Vaughn,  between  the  city  and  'Mound,'  'Sand-Bar,'  or 
'Bluff,'  as  it  was  differently  called,  four  miles  in  rear  of 
Vicksburg,"  and  that  "had  Sherman  attacked  at  any  point 
between  the  bayou  and  Vicksburg,  he  could  have  gone  into 
the  city." 

Before  moving  to  his  position  across  the  bayou  on  the 
afternoon  of  the  28th,  among  other  things,  General  Blair  was 
instructed  to  reconnoiter  the  position  of  the  enemy  on  this 
side  and  prepare  to  assist  in  storming  his  works.  It  was, 
however,  too  near  night  when  we  had  got  into  position,  and 
General  Blair  could  not  make  a  thorough  reconnoissance,  and 
without  any  perfect  knowledge  of  his  position,  the  best  he 
could  do  was  to  double  his  pickets,  and  allow  no  fires  lighted, 
while  the  soldiers  slept  on  their  arms  ;  but  our  veterans  of 
thirty  years  do  not  propose  to  sleep  at  all  without  knowing 
what  they  have  got  to  do  to-morrow  ;  and  so,  during  the 
night,  gathered  enough  to  report  being  told  by  General  Mor 
gan  that :  "  The  ground  on  which  the  battle  was  fought  was 
a  triangle,  the  apex  of  which  was  at  the  point  of  divergence  of 
the  two  branches  of  the  bayou,  the  high  and  rugged  bluff  in 
front  being  the  base.  Standing  at  the  apex  and  facing  the 
base  of  the  triangle,  its  left  side  was  formed  by  the  left  branch 
of  the  bayou  (over  which  our  brigade  passed  in  the  assault) 
which  flowed  obliquely  to  (and  I  believe  through )  a  break  in 
the  bluffs  ;  while  the  right  was  formed  by  a  broken  line  of 
rifle-pits  that  ran  obliquely  from  the  base  toward  the  apex,  and 
by  the  other  branch  of  the  bayou  (crossed  by  DeCourcy  and 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY.  243 

Thayer)  which  first  runs  obliquely  to  the  right,  then  parallel 
to  the  bluffs  and  forms  McNutt's  lake." 

' '  Our  troops  had  not  only  to  advance  from  the  narrow  apex 
of  a  triangle,  whose  short  base  of  about  four  hundred  yards 
and  sharp  sides  bristled  with  the  enemy's  artillery  and  small 
arms,  but  had  to  wade  the  bayou  (only  Blair's  brigade  did 
that)  and  tug  through  the  mucky  and  tangled  swamp,  under 
a  withering  fire  of  grape,  canister,  shells,  and  minnie  balls, 
before  reaching  dry  ground." 

Confederate  General  Stephen  D.  Lee,  who  commanded  the 
enemy's  defenses  at.  that  point,  said  that:  "Had  Sherman 
moved  a  little  faster  after  landing,  or  made  his  attack  at  the 
'Mound,'  or  'Sand-Bar'  (in  front  of  General  A.  J.  Smith's 
First  Division),  or  at  any  point  between  the  bayou  and  Vicks- 
burg,  he  could  have  gone  into  the  city  ;  as  it  was,  he  virtually 
attacked  at  the  apex  of  a  triangle  while  I  held  the  base  and 
parts  of  the  two  sides." 

From  General  Steele  we  learned  that  :  "  Between  his 
(Blair's)  line  and  this  bayou  was  an  entanglement  formed  by 
cutting  down  small  cotton- trees,  leaving  the  trees  entwined 
among  the  stumps.  The  bed  of  the  bayou  was  about  a  hun 
dred  yards  wide,  quicksand,  and  about  fifteen  feet  wide,  and 
water  three  feet  deep. 

"  The  bank  on  the  opposite  side  was  steep  and  obstructed 
by  abatis,  crowned  by  a  line  of  rifle-pits.  On  the  slope  above 
this  was  still  another  line  of  rifle-pits,  and  above  this,  on  the 
plateau  was  the  "  county  road,"  the  earth  being  thrown  on 
the  lower  side,  forming  a  parapet  which  covered  batteries  and 
sharp-shooters.  Batteries  were  also  placed  on  the  heights  to 
the  right  and  left,  which  enfiladed  the  rifle-pits  and  the  road." 

Colonial  Williamson  was  too  modest  to  say  much,  but  he 
did  say  that  :  "  As  the  head  of  the  column  emerged  from  the 
crossing,  it  became  exposed  to  a  terrific  fire  of  musketry  from 
the  intrenchments  in  front,  and  also  to  a  fire  from  the  enemy's 
batteries  on  the  right  and  left  flanks.  These  batteries  were  so 
situated  as  to  perfectly  command  this  point." 

Very    early    on  the  morning   of  the  29th,    General  Blair 


244  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

made  as  thorough  an  examination  of  the  ground  in  our  front 
as  he  could,  and  to  supplement  which,  he  sent  forward  a  bat 
talion  of  the  Thirteenth  Illinois  as  skirmishers  to  feel  the 
enemy  and  examine  the  ground,  which  he  describes  by  saying 
that  :  "  The  works  of  the  enemy  on  their  right  were  more 
formidable  than  from  any  other  approach. 

"  Almost  every  gun  and  rifle-pit  bore  upon  us  and  many 
enfiladed  our  line  of  battle.  The  natural  obstructions  were 
certainly  as  great  as  from  any  other  direction,  and  we  had  not 
the  advantage  of  as  thorough  a  reconnoissance  of  the  ground, 
nor  had  we  facilities  of  a  pontoon-bridge  to  cross  the  bayou  in 
our  front,  which  was  deep,  and  the  bottom  of  it  nothing  but  a 
treacherous  quicksand.  The  enemy  had  improved  their  natu 
rally  strong  position  with  consummate  skill.  The  bed  of  the 
bayou  was,  perhaps,  one  hundred  yards  in  width,  covered 
with  water  for  a  distance  of  fifteen  feet.  On  the  side  of  the 
bayou  held  by  my  troops  (after  emerging  from  the  heavy 
timber  and  descending  a  bank  eight  or  ten  feet  in  height) 
there  was  a  growth  of  young  cotton  woods,  thickly  set,  which 
had  been  cut  down  by  the  enemy  at  the  height  of  three  or  four 
feet  and  the  tops  of  these  saplings  thrown  down  among  these 
stumps  so  as  to  form  a  perfect  net  to  entangle  the  feet  of  the 
assaulting  party.  Passing  through  this,  and  coming  to  that 
part  of  the  bayou  containing  water,  it  was  deep  and  miry,  and 
when  this  was  crossed  we  encountered  a  steep  bank  on  the 
side  of  the  enemy  at  least  ten  feet  high,  covered  with  a  strong 
abatis  and  crowned  with  rifle-pits  from  end  to  end.  Above 
them  was  still  another  range  of  rifle-pits,  and  still  above,  a 
circle  of  batteries  of  heavy  guns  which  afforded  a  direct  and 
enfilading  fire  upon  every  part  of  the  plateau,  which  rose 
gently  from  the  first  range  of  rifle-pits,  to  the  base  of  the 
embankment  which  formed  the  batteries. 

''These  formidable  works,  defended  by  a  strong  force  of 
desperate  men  such  as  held  them  on  the  2Qth,  would  seem  to 
require  almost  superhuman  effort  to  effect  their  capture." 

This,  then,  was  the  ground  over  which  our  three  brigades 
were  expected  to  make  their  way  to  victory  the  next  day, 


ht*/Wt: 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  245 

over  fifteen  thousand  of  the  enemy's  best  troops,  who  were 
intrenched  in  some  of  the  strongest  works  of  both  nature  and 
art  that  military  engineering  could  devise  and  construct.  But 
this  fearful  impending  crisis  did  not  disturb  the  soldiers  of 
that  noble  brigade,  who  slept  that  night  on  their  arms,  on  the 
extreme  left  of  our  line,  while  on  the  other  wing,  the  no  less 
brave  soldiers  of  General  A.  J.  Smith's  splendid  division, 
slept  equally  well  and  undisturbed,  with  but  one  rebel  regi 
ment  in  their  front,  for  the  defense  of  Vicksburg.  How 
different  ! 

Early  on  the  morning  of  the  29th,  our  brigade  was  formed 
in  line  of  battle,  with  fixed  bayonets,  in  the  heavy  timber  out 
of  sight  of  the  enemy,  waiting  the  signal  to  charge. 

Consulting  the  map,  it  will  be  seen  that  the  bayou-trunk 
was  formed  by  an  east  branch,  and  a  southwest  branch,  from 
the  junction  of  which  the  trunk  flowed  sluggishly  north  and 
emptied  into  the  "  Yazoo,"  a  little  distance  east,  and  above, 
the  Johnson  Plantation. 

On  this  morning  our  brigade  faced  the  east  branch  of  the 
bayou,  while  DeCourcy  faced  the  southwest  branch,  with  the 
trunk  of  the  bayou  between  the  two  forces.  Blair's  brigade 
charged  in  line  of  battle,  while  DeCourcy,  followed  by  Thayer, 
charged  in  column  across  the  corduroy  bridge. 

Blair's  line  of  battle  had  been  formed  with  the  Thirteenth 
Illinois,  Lieut. -Col.  Adam  B.  Gorgas,  in  the  right- front,  with 
the  Fifty- eight  Ohio,  Lieut. -Col.  Peter  Dister,  in  the  rear. 
The  Thirty-first  Missouri,  Col.  Thomas  C.  Fletcher,  in  the 
left-front,  with  Twenty-ninth  Missouri,  Col.  John  S.  Caven- 
der,  in  the  rear.  The  right  company  of  the  Twenty-ninth 
Missouri,  and  the  left  company  of  the  Fifty-eighth  Ohio, 
formed  the  rear-guard.  The  two  lines  fifty  yards  apart. 

On  our  right  at  a  distance  of  three  hundred  yards,  and 
across  the  trunk  of  the  bayou,  was  DeCourcy  in  line  of  battle, 
and  massed  across  the  causeway-road  which  led  to  the  bridge, 
having  the  Twenty-second  Kentucky,  Lieut. -Col.  George  W. 
Monroe,  in  the  right-front,  with  the  Forty-second  Ohio,  Lieut. - 
Col.  Don  A.  Pardee,  in  rear.  The  Fifty-fourth  Indiana,  Col. 


246  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    RBGIMENT 

Fielding  Mansfield,  in  the  left-front,  with  the  Sixteenth  Ohio, 
Lieut. -Col.  Philip  Kershner,  in  rear.  Thayer's  brigade  was 
in  rear  of  DeCourcy,  as  support,  in  column  of  fours  with  the 
Fourth  Iowa,  Col.  James  A.  Williamson,  on  the  right,  and  the 
Thirtieth  Iowa,  Col.  Charles  H.  Abbott,  second  ;  third,  the 
Ninth  of  Iowa,  Lieut. -Col.  William  H.  Coyle  ;  fourth,  Thir 
ty-fourth  Iowa,  Col.  George  W.  Clark,  and  fifth,  Twenty- 
eighth  Iowa,  Col.  William  E.  Miller. 

Why  DeCourcy  with  four  regiments,  needed  the  support  of 
five  regiments,  and  Blair  none,  does  not  appear. 

Seven  hundred  yards  on  DeCourcy's  right  was  the  pontoon 
bridge,  which  seems  not  to  have  been  used. 

The  distance  separating  the  two  brigade  lines  of  battle  was 
about  fifty  yards. 

The  designated  guns  boomed  the  signal  for  the  assault  just 
before  noon,  when  our  brigade  emerged  from  the  timber,  the 
formation  almost  perfect,  and  is  graphically  described  by 
Comrade  Albert  H.  Sibley,  Company  historian  of  H  Company, 
Thirteenth  Illinois,  who  says:  "The  orders  were  'Guide 
right,  double-quick.'  I  looked  at  the  line  just  before  we 
came  to  the  water,  which  many  could  not  jump  across,  and  I 
remarked  that,  though  the  wings  traveled  a  little  the  fastest, 
and  the  line  curved  a  little,  both  in  the  Thirteenth  and  the 
regiment  that  formed  on  our  left  (Thirty-first  Missouri),  the 
front  was  bold  and  magnificent,  and  the  battle  maintained 
with  courage  and  splendor — if  such  things  can  be  called 
splendor,  that  take  men's  lives." 

Of  the  same  thing  General  Blair  says  :  "  When  the  signal 
of  attack  was  given  the  brigade  rushed  with  impetuosity  to 
the  attack  and  pressed  over  every  obstacle  and  through  a 
storm  of  shell  and  rifle-bullets,  and  carried  the  first  and  sec 
ond  range  of  rifle-pits  with  an  irresistible  charge." 

The  individual  deeds  of  daring  and  heroism  performed  on 
this  field  can  not  be  rescued  and  have  given  to  them  their  de 
servedly  rich  value,  in  emblazoning  history  ;  but  it  is  certain 
that  no  troops  deserve  better,  and  all  was  accomplished  that 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY.  247 

human  courage  and  endurance  could  achieve  under  the  cir 
cumstances. 

It  was  a  source  of  great  grief  to  our  boys  that  Ensign 
Pierce  was  stricken  down  as  insensible  as  though  dead,  by 
the  concussion  of  a  shot  or  shell,  and  that  being  close  to  the 
enemy's  works  and  hard  pressed,  our  National  colors  were 
captured  by  the  enemy. 

While  still  at  Helena,  Arkansas,  Colonel  Wyman  had  re 
vived  the  rank  of  "  Ensign,"  which  officer  was  supposed  to 
have  the  immediate  command  of  the  Color-Guard,  which  con 
sisted  of  a  Sergeant,  drawn  from  each  of  the  ten  companies 
of  the  regiment.  In  the  case  of  our  regiment,  Colonel 
Wyman  had  bestowed  this  honor  on  Sergeant  Jesse  D.  Pierce, 
of  H  Company,  a  most  excellent  selection  ;  and  it  is  to  be 
regretted  that  the  names  of  all  the  Sergeants  of  the  Color- 
Guard  on  that  occasion  belonging  to  the  Thirteenth  Regi 
ment  are  not  now  known,  so  that  they  could  be  given  their 
proper  honorable  mention,  in  this  battle  of  "  Chickasaw 
Bayou."  Ensign  Pierce,  and  Color-Sergeant  Jesse  A.  Betts, 
of  Company  I,  are  the  only  names  now  at  hand,  for  record  in 
this  work. 

When  the  charge  was  ordered,  the  entire  brigade  sprang 
into  the  swamp  and  reached  the  bayou,  which  could  be  leaped 
across  in  some  places,  but  was  too  wide  in  others,  and  our 
Color-Guard  did  not  hesitate,  but  plunged  into  the  water  with 
the  national  colors  in  the  hands  of  Color-Sergeant  Betts  ;  but 
Ensign  Pierce,  who  first  scrambled  up  the  other  bank, 
reached  back  and  took  the  colors  from  the  hands  of  Color- 
Sergeant  Betts,  who  reached  the  flag  to  the  Ensign,  while  he 
himself  was  still  struggling  in  the  water.  Ensign  Pierce 
immediately  advanced  the  colors  in  unison  with  the  line  of 
battle,  which  was  charging  on. 

After  reaching  the  bayou,  and  plunging  in,  Ensign  Pierce 
has  no  recollection  of  seeing  any  of  the  Color-Guard,  except 
ing  Sergeant  Betts  ;  and  as  the  Thirteenth  had  to  clamber 
over  the  Sixteenth  Ohio,  of  DeCourcy's  brigade,  who  had 
managed  to  dispossess  the  rebels  of  their  first  line  of  intrench- 


248  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

ments,  and  seemed  determined  to  "hold  the  fort,"  it  seems 
probable  that  the  other  eight  of  our  color-bearers  had  been 
forced  from  their  positions  in  the  line  and  had  become  mixed 
with  other  regiments  of  the  brigade. 

Soon  after  crossing  the  first  line  of  the  enemy's  intrench- 
ments,  Ensign  Pierce  seems  to  have  dropped  insensible,  from 
the  concussion  of  some  missile  of  large  caliber  that  just 
missed  his  head  ;  for  he  suddenly  lost  consciousness  of  every 
thing,  and  remained  in  that  condition  until  partly  restored  by 
the  cold  rain  which  fell  heavily  during  the  succeeding  night  ; 
and  he  was  then  made  a  prisoner,  and  was  informed  by  his 
captors  that  he  was  found  lying  on  the  flag,  supposedly  dead, 
and  that  he  had  to  be  rolled  over  to  liberate  the  flag,  which 
they  valued  much  more  than  they  did  the  sergeant. 

The  flag  having  been  carried  down  with  the  fall  of  the 
Ensign  there  was  left  no  visible  rah}  ing  point  of  the  regi 
ment  ;  hence  the  dispersion  of  the  Color- Guard. 

To  show  that  greater  valor  could  not  have  saved,  and 
brought  off  our  flag,  or  that  greater  valor  could  not  be 
shown,  than  was  shown,  it  is  only  necessary  to  quote  General 
Blair,  a  little  further,  where  he  says  :  "At  this  point  (second 
range  of  rifle-pits)  I  observed  the  rapidly  thinning  ranks  of 
that  portion  of  my  brigade  which  made  the  assault  under  my 
command,  and  turned  and  saw  the  column  from  the  center  of 
General  Morgan  coming  up  over  the  first  range  of  the  rifle- 
pits."  (This  was  really  Thayer  and  his  brigade,  consisting 
of  the  Fourth  Iowa,  only,  who,  starting  in  as  a  support  of  the 
brigade  of  DeCourcy,  traveled  over  that  brigade,  as  it  lay  in 
the  first  line  of  rifle-pits,  beyond  which,  General  Thayer  says, 
they  did  not  advance  that  day.)  General  Blair  continues  : 
"Encouraged  by  this  support,  my  gallant  troops  pushed  still 
further  and  to  within  a  short  distance  of  the  enemy's  last 
intrenchments.  Some  reached  the  foot  of  the  formidable 
works  only  to  pour  out  their  lives  at  their  base." 

The  younger  officers  of  our  regiments  were  conspicuous 
for  gallantry  on  this  field  ;  and  no  inviduous  distinction  is 
intended  when  mention  is  made  of  Lieut.  Henry  D.  Dement 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  249 

of  Company  A,  who  had  a  large  and  delicate  responsibility  as 
commander  of  his  company  ;  and  as  such,  had  the  right  of  his 
company,  and  the  right  of  the  regiment,  and  also  the  right  of 
the  brigade,  and  who  reached  one  of  the  more  advanced  posi 
tions  on  the  battle-field  ;  but  for  want  of  support,  had  to  fall 
back.  Of  Lieutenants  Josselyn  and  Sage,  of  Company  C  ;  of 
Captain  Beardsley,  of  Company  D,  one  of  the  bravest  of  the 
brave, — these  are  all  types  of  that  conspicuous  gallantry. 
Their  average  age  scarcely  exceeded  twenty-one  years. 

The  impregnability  of  the  enemy's  work,  and  the  lack  of 
prompt  and  sufficient  support  of  Blair's  brigade  and  the  one 
regiment  of  General  Thayer,  the  Fourth  Iowa,  who  alone 
were  on  the  field  at  the  last,  forced  these  brave  troops  to  retire 
beyond  the  bayou  to  the  position  occupied  before  the  assault ; 
here  we  are  safe,  for  the  enemy  can  no  more  disturb  us  here 
than  we  could  go  over  and  take  their  works  from  them  ;  and 
while  our  men  are- re-forming  their  lines  preparatory  to  another 
charge,  orders  for  which  were  expected,  it  may  be  a  good 
time  to  call  the  general  officers  to  account  for  our  repulse. 


CHAPTER   XIX. 


REPORTS  OF  GENERALS  STEELE,  BLAIR,  THAYER,  AND  COLO 
NEL  WILLIAMSON,  AND  THEIR  CRITICISMS  ON  GENERAL 
MORGAN  AND  DE  COURCY. 


HAT  no  injustice  may  be  done  these  officers, 
and  to  afford  all  possible  opportunity  for 
studying  this  battle,  it  seems  best  to  give 
the  reports  in  full,  alongside  of  any  com 
ments  that  may  be  made.  This  is  the  more  nec 
essary  in  order  that  exact  and  even  justice  may 
be  done  to  all  these  general  officers,  as  bad  blood  will  be 
found  tingeing  the  hitherto  harmonious  relations  between 
them,  before  these  events  have  passed  into  recorded  history. 

COLONEL  WILLIAMSON'S  REPORT. 

HEADQUARTERS,  FOURTH  IOWA  INFANTRY, 

BATTLE-FIELD  NEAR  VICKSBURG,  MISSISSIPPI, 

December  30,  1862. 

CAPTAIN  :  I  have  the  honor  to  make  the  following  report  of  the 
part  taken  in  the  battle  before  Vicksburg  on  the  28th  and  2gth  instant 
by  the  Fourth  Iowa  Infantry. 

Early  on  the  morning  of  the  28th,  I  took  the  position  assigned  me 
on  the  right  of  the  brigade.  In  obedience  to  the  orders  of  the  General 
commanding  the  brigade,  I  detailed  thirty  men  from  my  regiment  illicit r 
command  of  First-Lieutenant,  E-  C.  Miller,  of  Company  G,  to  act  as 
pioneers  and  skirmishers.  Of  these  thirty  men,  one  was  killed,  and  five 
wounded  during  the  day. 

250 


VOLUNTEER  INFANTRY.  251 

At  daylight  on  the  29th,  the  regiment  again  debarked  and  took  the 
advance  of  the  brigade,  marching  about  two  miles  to  a  point  near  where 
General  Morgan's  division  was  engaging  the  enemy.  At  this  point  the 
regiment  was  commanded  to  halt,  where  it  remained  until  about  3  : 30 
o'clock,  when  I  received  orders  from  the  General  commanding  the  bri 
gade  to  charge  the  enemy's  intreuchments,  about  one-half  mile  distant 
near  the  base  of  the  hill.  There  is  near  the  base  of  the  hill,  a  slough, 
or,  more  properly,  a  swamp,  which  could  only  be  crossed  at  one  place 
(a  narrow  causeway  which  had  been  constructed)  and  at  that  time,  only 
by  the  flank  of  the  regiment.  As  the  head  of  the  column  emerged  from 
the  crossing  it  became  exposed  to  a  terrific  fire  of  musketry  from  the 
iutrenchnieuts  in  front,  and  also  to  a  fire  from  the  enemy's  batteries  on 
the  right  and  left  flanks.  These  batteries  were  so  situated  as  to  per 
fectly  command  this  point.  After  effecting  the  crossing,  the  head  of 
the  column  filed  right,  the  left  coming  forward  into  line,  the  right  rest 
ing  on  the  inside  of  a  strong  abatis,  which  had  been  formed  by  the 
enemy  for  his  own  protection.  Here  I  was  informed  by  the  General 
commanding  the  brigade,  that  contrary  to  his  orders,  my  regiment 
was  not  supported  by  others,  and  that  I  should  hold  the  position  I  then 
had,  until  he  could  ascertain  if  support  was  coming,  provided  I  could  do 
so,  leaving  me  to  judge  of  that  matter  for  myself.  I  held  the  position 
for  about  thirty  minutes  under  a  fire  which  can  not  be  described. 

At  the  end  of  this  time,  seeing  that  I  had  no  support  and  that  my 
officers  and  men  were  suffering  dreadfully  from  a  fire  which  could  not 
be  returned  effectively,  I  gave  the  order  to  fall  back,  which  was  accom 
plished  in  good  order,  but  with  great  loss. 

I  am,  General,  with  very  great  respect, 

J.  A.   WILLIAMSON, 

Commanding  Fourth  Iowa  Infantry. 

BLAIR'S  REPORT. 

HEADQUARTERS  FIRST  BRIGADE, 

FOURTH  DIVISION,  THIRTEENTH  ARMY  CORPS, 

December  3oth,  1862. 
Brigadier-General  GEORGE  W.  MORGAN. 

GENERAL:  On  the  evening  of  the  26th  of  December,  the  Thirteenth 
Army  Corps,  under  Major-General  Sherman,  lauded  at  the  plantation  of 
General  A.  S.  Johnson  (?)  on  the  Yazoo  river.  My  brigade  consisted  of 
the  Thirteenth  Illinois,  Twenty-ninth,  Thirtieth,  Thirty-first  and  Thirty- 
second  Missouri,  and  Fifty-eighth  Ohio  Infantry  regiments,  Captain 
Hoffman's  Fourth  Ohio  Battery,  and  one  company  of  the  Fourth  regi 
ment  Missouri  Cavalry,  was  ordered  to  march  out  to  recounoiter  and  to 
bivouac  two  or  three  miles  from  the  landing.  After  marching  a  short 


252  HISTORY   OF    THE    THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

distance  our  advance  skirmishers  from  the  Thirteenth  Illinois  Volunteer 
Infantry,  drove  in  the  enemy's  pickets  and  captured  two  horses.  We 
encamped  for  the  night  after  pushing  the  reconuoissance  somewhat 
farther,  about  the  distance  designated  in  our  orders. 

On  the  27th  we  resumed  our  march  and  drove  in  the  enemy's  pickets 
in  greater  numbers  than  on  the  preceding  day,  and  upon  emerging  from 
the  timber  at  a  place  known  as  Mrs.  Lake's  plantation,  where  we  were 
ordered  to  open  communications  with  General  Morgan's  division,  our 
skirmishers  were  fired  upon  by  a  battery  of  two  guns,  planted  near  the 
"  White  House  "  on  Chickasaw  Bayou.  A  section  of  Hoffman's  battery 
was  placed  in  position  on  our  front  and  silenced  the  enemy's  battery, 
which  was  quickly  retired  from  the  field. 

Lieutenant  Ballou,  commanding  Company  C,  Fourth  Missouri 
Cavalry,  was  then  ordered  to  make  a  reconuoissauce  to  our  right,  to 
discover  the  force  and  position  of  the  enemy. 

About  one  hour  after  the  battery  was  silenced  by  our  fire,  we  found 
that  General  Morgan  had  reached  the  mouth  of  Chickasaw  Bayou,  and 
was  disembarking  his  troops.  Lieutenant  Ballou  returned  soon  after 
and  reported  the  enemy  beyond  the  bayou  in  force. 

The  division  of  General  Morgan  L.  Smith,  which  had  been  ordered 
to  advance  on  my  right,  came  up  about  the  time  the  enemy  opened  on 
us  with  his  battery,  and  as  all  the  cavalry  under  my  command  had  been 
thrown  out  on  my  right  to  reconnoiter,  when  we  subsequently  observed 
the  arrival  and  landing  of  the  command  of  General  Morgan  at  or  near 
the  mouth  of  the  bayou  ;  General  M.  L.  Smith  sent  forward  his  cavalry 
escort  to  open  communication  with  him.  At  the  suggestion  of  General 
M.  L.  Smith  and  by  his  orders  one  regiment  of  my  brigade,  the  Fifty- 
eighth  Ohio  Infantry,  and  one  regiment  of  General  Stewart's  brigade  of 
the  Second  division  were  sent  on  our  right  to  skirmish  and  feel  the 
enemy,  reported  to  be  in  force  beyond  the  bayou  on  our  right. 

The  report  of  Lieutenant  Colonel  Dister,  commanding  the  Fifty- 
eighth  Ohio  Infantry  of  my  brigade,  which  I  herewith  transmit,  gives 
an  account  of  the  operations  of  his  regiment  under  this  order. 

The  heavy  skirmishing  of  these  two  regiments  on  our  right  and  by  the 
advance  of  General  Morgan's  command  at  the  "  White  House  "  showed 
the  enemy  in  force  and  strongly  intrenched  beyond  the  bayou.  My 
brigade  bivouacked  for  the  night  on  the  ground  upon  which  Hoffman's 
battery  was  put  in  position  and  silenced  the  battery  at  the  "White 
House"  and  forced  it  to  retire. 

The  orders  of  the  day  placed  my  brigade  in  reserve,  while  General 
Morgan  advanced  from  the  "  White  House  "  and  drove  the  enemy  from 
this  position  beyond  that  point,  ai.d  the  division  of  General  M.  L.  Smith 
engaged  the  enemy  on  the  right. 

At  an  early  hour  of   the  day  General  M.   L.   Smith   was  severely 


ILLINOIS  VOLUNTEER  INFANTRY.  253 

wounded,  aiidat  loor  n  a.  m.,  I  was  ordered  with  my  brigade  to  advance 
with  my  right  upon  his  left.  Not  being  able  to  cross  the  bayou  at  that 
point  with  my  artillery,  I  ordered  Captain  Hoffman,  under  instructions 
from  General  Sherman,  to  cross  his  battery  over  the  pontoon-bridge,  then 
being  put  up  by  the  advance  of  General  Morgan.  I  pushed  on  as  fast  as 
the  nature  of  the  ground  would  permit,  to  the  left  of  General  M.  L,. 
Smith  and  engaged  the  enemy  with  niy  entire  brigade,  in  his  rifle-pits 
and  intrenchments  in  my  front  beyond  the  bayou,  and  a  sharp  and  brisk 
encounter  silenced  his  sharp-shooters. 

In  this  action  Colonel  Wytnan,  of  the  Thirteenth  Illinois  Volunteer 
Infantry,  a  gallant  and  most  meritorious  officer,  whose  regiment  was 
first  engaged,  lost  his  life  ;  and  several  others  were  killed  and  wounded 
in  this  and  other  regiments  of  my  command  while  thus  engaged  in  aid 
ing  to  silence  the  fire  of  the  enemy's  batteries  and  rifle-pits  on  the  other 
side  of  the  bayou. 

I  received  an  order  from  General  Sherman  to  withdraw  my  brigade 
for  the  purpose  of  reinforcing  General  Morgan,  who  was  hotly  engaged 
with  the  enemy  in  front  of  the  "White  House."  I  immediately  withdrew 
and  was  ordered  to  report  to  General  Morgan  by  General  Sherman,  who 
ordered  me  to  advance  my  brigade  to  a  position  on  the  right  of  the  cen 
ter.  I  proceeded  to  execute  the  order,  and  led  up  the  Thirteenth  Illinois 
in  the  direction  indicated,  but  soon  found  that  I  was  exposing  my  men 
to  the  fire  of  our  own  batteries  as  well  as  those  of  the  enemy,  and  was 
ordered  by  General  Morgan  to  retire  the  regiment  and  take  position  on 
the  left,  across  the  bayou,  in  the  heavy  timber  facing  the  right  of  the 
enemy.  My  instructions  were  to  reconnoiter  the  position  of  the  enemy 
on  this  side  and  prepare  to  assist  in  storming  his  works. 

The  day  was  so  far  spent  that  I  was  unable  to  make  any  recounois- 
sance.  My  troops  rested  upon  their  arms  without  fires,  and  with  a  very 
imperfect  knowledge  of  my  position  I  felt  it  proper  to  double  my 
pickets. 

On  the  morning  of  the  29th,  when  about  to  make  a  thorough 
reconnoissance,  I  received  orders  from  General  Morgan  to  bring  my 
entire  force  across  the  bayou,  and  in  rear  of  his  center  to  aid  in  resisting 
an  attempt  of  the  enemy  to  assault  his  right.  This  was,  however,  frus 
trated  before  the  movement  was  completed,  and  I  again  resumed  my 
position  on  the  left,  and  in  obedience  to  orders  made  a  personal  recon 
noissance  of  the  enemy's  position  in  my  front,  and  afterward  threw  out 
skirmishers  (one  battalion  of  the  Thirteenth  Illinois)  to  feel  the  enemy 
and  observe  the  ground  over  which  we  were  directed  to  charge.  It  was 
exceedingly  difficult. 

The  works  of  the  enemy  on  their  right  were  more  formidable  than 
from  any  other  approach.  Almost  every  gun  and  rifle-pit  bore  upon  us 
and  many  enfiladed  our  line  of  battle.  The  natural  obstructions  were 


254  HISTORY   OF  THE   THIRTEENTH    EEGIMENT. 

certainly  as  great  as  from  any  other  direction,  and  we  had  not  the 
advantage  of  as  thorough  a  reconnoissance  of  the  ground,  nor  had  we 
the  facilities  of  a  pontoon-bridge  to  cross  the  bayou  in  our  front,  which 
was  deep  and  the  bottom  of  it  nothing  but  a  treacherous  quicksand. 
The  enemy  had  improved  their  naturally  strong  position  with  consum 
mate  skill.  The  bed  of  the  bayou  was  perhaps  one  hundred  yards  in 
width,  covered  with  water  for  a  distance  of  fifteen  feet.  On  the  side  of  the 
bayou  held  by  my  troops  (after  emerging  from  the  heavy  timber  and 
descending  a  bank  eight  or  ten  feet  in  height)  there  was  a  growth  of 
young  cotton-wood,  thickly  set,  which  had  been  cut  down  by  the  enemy 
at  the  height  of  three  or  four  feet  and  the  tops  of  these  saplings  thrown 
down  among  these  stumps  so  as  to  form  a  perfect  net  to  entangle  the 
feet  of  the  assaulting  party.  Passing  through  this  and  coming  to  that 
part  of  the  bayou  containing  water,  it  was  deep  and  miry,  and  when  this 
was  crossed  we  encountered  a  steep  bank  on  the  side  of  the  enemy  at 
least  ten  feet  high,  covered  with  a  strong  abatis  and  crowned  with  rifle- 
pits  from  end  to  end.  Above  them  was  still  another  range  of  rifle-pits, 
and  still  above,  a  circle  of  batteries  of  heavy  guns  which  afforded  a 
direct  and  enfilading  fire  upon  every  part  of  the  plateau,  which  rose 
gently  from  the  first  range  of  rifle-pits,  to  the  base  of  the  embankment 
which  formed  the  batteries.  These  formidable  works,  defended  by  a 
strong  force  of  desperate  men  such  as  held  them  on  the  twenty-ninth, 
would  seem  to  require  almost  superhuman  efforts  to  effect  their  capture. 

The  force  under  my  command  in  this  assault  consisted  of  four  regi 
ments  of  infantry — the  Thirteenth  Illinois,  commanded  by  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  Gorgas  ;  the  Twenty-ninth  Missouri,  Col.  John  S.  Cavender;  the 
Thirty-first  Missouri,  Col.  Thos.  C.  Fletcher,  and  the  Fifty-eighth  Ohio, 
Lieutenant-Colonel  Dister.  Two  regiments  which  formed  part  of  my 
brigade,  to-wit,  the  Thirty-second  Missouri,  commanded  by  Col.  F.  H. 
Manter,  and  the  Thirtieth  Missouri,  Lieut.  Col.  Otto  Schadt,  has  been 
detached  from  my  command  by  the  order  of  the  day  for  the  291!),  and 
placed  under  the  immediate  command  of  General  Morgan,  in  the 
center. 

The  regiments  under  my  command  were  drawn  up  in  two  lines  of 
battle,  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  apart,  the  Thirteenth  Illinois 
holding  the  right  front,  and  the  Fifty-eighth  Ohio  in  the  rear.  The 
Thirty-first  Missouri  occupied  the  left  front  with  the  Twenty  ninth  in 
rear.  The  right  company  of  the  Twenty-ninth  Missouri,  and  the  left 
company  of  the  Fifty-eighth  Ohio  formed  the  rear-guard. 

When  the  signal  of  attack  was  given  the  brigade  rushed  with  im 
petuosity  to  the  attack  and  pressed  over  every  obstacle  and  through  a 
storm  of  shell  and  rifle-bullets,  and  carried  the  first  and  second  ranges 
of  rifle-pits  with  an  irresistible  charge. 

At  this  point  I  observed  the  rapidly  thinning  ranks  of  that  portion 


ILLINOIS  VOLUNTEER  INFANTRY.  255 

of  my  brigade  which  made  the  assault  under  my  command,  and  turned 
and  saw  the  column  from  the  center  of  General  Morgan  coming  up  over 
the  first  range  of  rifle-pits.  Encouraged  by  this  support  my  gallant 
troops  pushed  still  further  and  to  within  a  short  distance  of  the  enemy's 
last  iutrenchmeuts.  Some  reached  the  foot  of  the  formidable  works 
only  to  pour  out  their  lives  at  their  base,  and  among  them  I  must  not 
omit  to  mention  the  brave  Lieutenant-Colonel  Dister,  of  the  Fifty- 
eighth  Ohio,  who  is  said  to  have  fallen  dead  upon  their  breastworks. 
This  gallant  officer  was  conspicuous  for  his  efforts  to  urge  forward  and 
encourage  his  men  through  the  entire  charge.  Colonel  Fletcher,  of  the 
Thirty-first  Missouri,  it  is  ascertained,  was  so  badly  wounded  that  he  fell 
into  the  hands  of  the  enemy.  It  is  useless  to  apply  words  to  eulogize 
the  heroism  of  those  who  thus  shed  their  blood  for  their  country. 

Major  Jaensch,  of  the  Thirty-first,  was  also  killed  in  the  assault, 
and  Lieutenant-Colonel  Simpson,  of  the  same  regiment,  whose  report  of 
the  transaction  is  herewith  transmitted,  has  omitted  (from  motives  of 
modesty,  which  only  adds  to  the  lustre  of  his  courage)  to  allude  to  a 
slight  wound  received  in  his  head.  Colonel  Cavender,  of  the  Twenty- 
ninth  Missouri,  proved  himself  worthy  of  the  soldier's  reputation  gained 
by  the  scars  of  Wilson's  Creek  and  Shiloh,  and  retired  from  the  bloody 
field  only  when  further  efforts  were  unavailing. 

Lieutenant  Colonel  Gorgas,  of  the  Thirteenth  Illinois,  displayed 
admirable  coolness  and  courage,  and  showed  himself  well  worthy  to 
lead  the  regiment  of  the  lamented  Wyman,  who  fell  on  the  day  pre 
vious.  It  is  impossible  for  me  to  allude  to  other  instances  of  individual 
courage. 

The  list  of  casualties  in  the  regiments  under  my  command,  embrac 
ing  nearly  one-third  of  the  entire  number  that  went  into  the  field, 
attests  the  courage  and  obstinacy  with  which  they  struggled  for  victory, 
and  which  natural  obstacles  alone  placed  beyond  our  grasp. 

I  only  feel  it  necessary  to  state  that  in  retiring  from  the  field  I 
passed  out  of  the  enemy's  works  at  a  point  opposite  to  the  left  of  Gen 
eral  Morgan's  center,  and  found  the  banks  on  which  the  enemy's  rifle- 
pits  were  situated  were  approached  by  a  broad  and  easy  road,  and  that 
the  bayou  was  bridged  precisely  at  this  point,  and  from  thence  out  to 
the  position  of  General  Morgan  was  a  broad  and  unobstructed  road.  It 
was  unfortunate  that  our  reconnoissance  had  not  disclosed  this  fact  be 
fore  the  assault,  as  it  is  possible  that  by  taking  advantage  of  it  in  time 
and  pressing  the  assault  at  a  point  comparatively  so  accessible  with 
greater  numbers,  a  different  result  might  have  been  attained. 
I  am.  General,  with  very  great  respect, 
FRANK  P.  BLAIR,  Brig.-Gen., 

Com'd'g  First  Brigade  Fourth  Div. 


256  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

HEADQUARTERS  RIGHT  WING,  THIRTEENTH  ARMY  CORPS, 

IN  THE  FIELD,  December  30,  1862. 
Maj.  J.  H.  HAMMOND,  Chief  of  Staff. 

MAJOR  :  The  road  referred  to  by  General  Blair  was  known  to  me  and 
was  the  line  of  Morgan's  attack.  It  was  reconnoitered  by  me  in  person 
the  day  before  and  on  the  morning  of  the  29th,  the  day  of  the  final 
assault. 

The  pontoon-bridge  ordered  to  be  constructed  was  placed  about 
seven  hundred  yards  to  the  right,  or  south  of  the  road,  and  was  designed 
as  auxiliary  to  enable  his  division  to  pass  over  the  bayou  at  two  points  at 
the  same  instant  of  time.  Blair  crossed,  in  making  his  attack,  about 
three  hundred  yards  to  the  left,  or  north,  of  the  same  road.  The  enemy, 
in  leaving  this  road  partially  unobstructed,  did  so  to  enable  his  pickets 
and  advance  to  fall  back  into  his  fortified  position,  trusting  with  full 
and  well  founded  confidence  in  his  batteries  and  rifle-pits  to  prevent  our 
using  it. 

I  am,  Major,  respectfully, 

W.  T.  SHERMAN, 

Maj. -Gen.  Com'd'g. 

HEADQUARTERS  THIRD  DIVISION,  THIRTEENTH  ARMY  CORPS, 

January  4th,  1863. 
Maj. -Gen.  W.  T.  SHERMAN. 

GENERAL:  I  have  the  honor  to  state  that  the  "broad  and  easy 
road"  spoken  of  by  Brigadier-General  Blair  is  the  same  road  over 
which  the  brigade  of  DeCourcy  advanced  to  the  charge,  and  the  same 
road  over  which  he  retired  after  the  repulse  of  our  troops.  That  road 
remained  in  our  possession  from  the  afternoon  of  the  28th  ultimo  until 
the  night  of  the  ist  instant,  when  our  forces  retired  to  the  boats. 
I  am,  General,  very  respectfully, 

GEORGE  W.  MORGAN, 

Brig.-Gen.  Com'd'g. 

THAYER'S  REPORT. 

HEADQUARTERS  THIRD  BRIGADE,  FOURTH  DIVISION, 
RIGHT  WING,  THIRTEENTH  ARMY  CORPS, 

IN  THE  FIELD,  December  3ist,  1862. 
Brigadier-General  GEORGE  W.  MORGAN. 

GENERAL  :  Brief  report  of  the  action  of  my  brigade,  being  the 
Third  of  Steele's  division,  in  conjunction  with  General  Morgan's  divis 
ion,  on  the  29th  instant. 

About  2  p.  m.  on  the  29th,  I  received  an  order  from  General  Steele 
to  move  my  brigade,  composed  of  five  Iowa  regiments  and  the  First 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY.  257 

Iowa  Battery,  forward  to  the  support  of  General  Morgan.  On  reaching 
General  Morgan,  he  requested  me  to  take  my  infantry  and  cross  the 
bayou,  enter  the  enemy's  works  and  take  the  hill.  By  advice  of  Gen 
eral  Morgan,  I  dismounted  and  directed  all  officers  mounted  to  do  the 
same,  as  we  would  be  sure  to  draw  the  fire  of  the  enemy's  sharp-shooters 
if  mounted.  The  Fourth  Iowa,  Colonel  J.  A.  Williamson,  was  on  the 
right.  I  took  my  place  at  the  head  of  the  column  and  moved  forward 
by  the  right  flank.  We  crossed  the  bayou  and  went  over  the  enemy's 
outside  works.  I  then  directed  Colonel  Williamson  to  deploy  his  regi 
ment  to  the  right  and  extend  them  as  skirmishers.  We  were  still  ad 
vancing  in  front  of  the  enemy's  rifle-pits  and  batteries,  and  crossed  over 
a  high  rail  fence.  On  seeing  the  ground,  I  at  once  formed  my  plan  to 
move  up  the  hill,  when,  looking  back  for  my  other  regiments,  to  my 
amazement,  none  were  to  be  seen  and  none  coming,  for  I  could  then  see 
back  to  the  point  from  which  I  had  started.  I  could  not  account  for  it. 
I  had  supposed  that  five  regiments  were  following  me.  I  found  myself 
in  the  enemy's  works  with  but  one  regiment.  I  then  went  back  to  the 
intrenchments,  where  I  had  seen,  as  we  went  over,  a  regiment  of  our 
troops  lying  in  the  ditch,  entirely  protected  from  the  rebel  fire.  I 
ordered  and  begged  them,  but  without  effect,  to  come  forward  and  sup 
port  my  regiment,  which  was  now  warmly  engaged.  I  do  not  know 
what  regiment  it  was.  On  returning  to  Colonel  Williamson,  I  observed 
our  forces  which  had  entered  the  works  away  to  my  left  retiring,  which, 
of  course,  added  to  our  extreme  peril.  The  Fourth  Iowa  was  then  draw 
ing  the  concentrated  fire  of  all  the  enemy's  batteries  and  rifle-pits.  I 
directed  Colonel  Williamson  to  hold  the  position,  if  possible,  till  I  could 
bring  up  reinforcements,  but  if  he  could  not,  to  retire.  Being  on  foot,  and 
exhausted,  and  the  distance  back  so  great,  before  regiments  could  be 
moved  forward,  Colonel  Williamson  was  compelled  to  bring  off  his  regi 
ment,  which  he  did  in  good  order:  It  was  nothing  but  slaughter  to 
remain.  During  the  half  hour  it  was  there,  seven  men  were  killed  and 
one  hundred  and  four  wounded. 

On  inquiring  of  Colonel  Abbott,  of  the  Thirtieth  Iowa,  which  was 
next  in  line  to  the  Fourth  Iowa,  why  he  did  not  follow  the  Fourth,  I 
found  that  after  I  had  started  he  had  been  ordered  by  General  Steele  in 
person,  to  turn  off  to  the  right  to  take  another  position.  I  had  directed 
the  commander  of  each  regiment  to  follow  the  preceding  one. 

The  second  regiment  of  my  column  being  turned  aside,  it  broke  my 
line,  cutting  off  four  regiments  without  my  knowledge,  leaving  the 
Fourth  Iowa  going  ahead  alone.  *  *  *  * 

I  am,  General,  with  very  great  respect, 

JOHN  M.  THAYER, 

Brig-Gen.  Com'd'g. 


258  HISTORY   OF  THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

STEELE'S  REPORT. 

HEADQUARTERS  FOURTH  DIVISION, 

RIGHT  WING,  THIRTEENTH  ARMY  CORPS, 

January  3d,  1863. 

MAJOR  :  I  have  the  honor  to  report  the  operations  of  my  Division, 
from  our  base  on  the  Yazoo  : 

My  command  debarked  at  Johnson's  plantation  on  the  afternoon  of 
December  26th.  Pursuant  to  instructions,  Blair's  brigade  moved  for 
ward  on  the  Johnson  road,  drove  in  the  enemy's  pickets,  and  bivouacked 
for  the  night  about  two  miles  from  the  landing. 

On  the  morning  of  the  27th,  Blair's  brigade  was  detached,  and  I 
embarked  with  the  other  two  brigades,  with  orders  to  land  above 
the  mouth  of  the  Chickasaw  Bayou  and  advance  between  the  Chicka- 
saw  Bayou  and  Thompson's  Lake.  While  we  were  cutting  the  road 
through  the  timber  to  the  levee,  Admiral  Porter  called  for  troops  to 
cross  the  river  and  disperse  about  four  hundred  sharp-shooters  that  were 
concealed  on  the  west  side  of  the  river,  and  impeding  the  progress  of 
the  gun-boats  toward  Haynes  Bluff.  I  sent  the  Seventeenth  Missouri 
Infantry. 

After  having  accomplished  the  work  they  returned  and  I  proceeded 
with  the  whole  command,  directed  by  the  negro  guide  whom  the  Gen 
eral  sent  to  conduct  me  to  the  bluffs.  Our  progress  was  considerably 
retarded  by  the  timber  felled  across  the  levee,  on  either  side  of  which, 
the  ground  was  impracticable  for  artillery.  We  soon  came  to  deep 
water  on  the  right  side  of  the  levee,  which  turned  out  to  be  Thompson's 
Lake  instead  of  Chickasaw  Bayou.  About  sunset,  General  Hovey 
(Charles  E.)  whose  brigade  was  in  advance,  came  upon  an  outpost  of  the 
enemy.  After  a  short  engagement  the  enemy  retired.  Tt  was  now  dark 
and  we  bivouacked  for  the  night  without  camp-fires. 

The  march  had  scarcely  been  resumed  early  next  morning  when  our 
skirmishers  became  engaged  with  the  enemy's  sharp-shooters,  concealed 
in  rifle-pits  behind  the  levee.  At  this  point  the  levee  turned  to  the  left 
and  continued  in  a  curve  for  about  eight  hundred  yards,  the  Chickasaw 
Creek  on  our  right  and  a  timbered  marsh  on  our  left.  The  pioneers 
were  sent  forward  to  clear  some  obstructions  on  the  levee,  covered  by 
Laudgraeber's  battery.  The}'  were  immediately  fired  upon  by  a  battery 
of  the  enemy  established  on  the  bluff  about  eight  hundred  yards  dis- 
ta|ut,  our  skirmishers  being  at  the  same  time  hotly  engaged  with  the 
enemy's  sharp-shooters.  Both  the  battery  and  the  pioneers  were  sub- 
jected  to  a  murderous  fire,  and  some  of  the  pioneers  were  killed  and 
wounded,  as  also  were  some  of  the  battery.  The  axle  of  one  of  the 
pieces  was  broken,  still  Captain  Landgraeber,  nothing  daunted  in  his 
exposed  position,  continued  to  reply  to  the  heavier  guns  of  the  enemy. 


ILLINOIS    VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY.  259 

At  the  same  time  Colonel  Hassendeuble,  of  the  Seventeenth  Missouri, 
was  trying  to  drive  the  sharp-shooters  from  the  rifle-pits  to  clear  the  way 
for  our  advance.  *  *  *  * 

At  4  p.  m.  I  received  the  General's  orders  to  send  him  a  regiment  of 
infantry  if  I  could  not  reach  the  bluffs,  and  follow  with  the  rest  with  dis 
patch. 

My  command  was  occupied  all  night  in  re-embarking  for  Johnson's 
plantation  and  getting  supplies. 

Early  on  the  morning  of  the  2Qth  I  moved  forward  with  Thayer's 
brigade,  leaving  orders  for  Hovey  to  come  up  as  soon  as  possible.  At 
the  "White  House"  I  met  General  Morgan,  who  told  me  that  he  was 
building  a  bridge  across  the  bayou,  which  would  occupy  two  hours  ;  that 
within  thirty  minutes  thereafter  he  would  have  possession  of  the  heights, 
to  a  moral  certainty. 

'  I  received  orders  from  the  General  commanding  to  halt  the  brigade 
and,  subsequently,  to  render  General  Morgan  any  assistance  that  he 
might  ask  for.  General  Morgan  finally  told  me  that  he  was  going  to 
storm  the  heights  without  waiting  for  the  bridge  to  be  completed.  He 
requested  me  to  support  the  storming  party  with  what  force  I  had.  On 
being  informed  that  Thayer's  brigade  was  at  hand  and  that  Hovey's 
would  soon  be  up,  he  gave  some  orders  to  Thayer  in  regard  to  the  route 
which  his  brigade  should  take  and  sent  a  guide  to  lead  him.  After 
Thayer  had  passed  with  the  Fourth  Iowa  Infantry,  Colonel  Williamson, 
General  Morgan  asked  me  how  many  troops  I  had  ;  I  told  him,  Thayer's 
brigade— one  of  his  regiments,  however,  the  Twenty-sixth  Iowa,  was 
detached  to  cut  a  road  ;  but  that  I  did  not  know  whether  any  of  Hovey's 
had  arrived  or  not.  He  then  asked  me  to  turn  part  of  the  troops  a  little 
farther  to  the  right.  I  therefore  directed  Col.  Charles  H.  Abbott,  of  the 
Thirtieth  Iowa  Infantry,  a  little  to  the  right,  supposing  the  object  of 
this  was  to  facilitate  the  crossing  of  the  troops  over  the  bayou  by  pre 
venting  them  from  all  huddling  into  the  same  place. 

At  the  time  I  did  not  know  that  there  was  any  dry  crossing,  and 
I  presume  General  Morgan  was  not  aware  of  the  fact.  The  troops  that  I 
directed  to  the  right,  it  seems,  did  not  get  across  the  bayou,  but  General 
Thayer  went  gallantly  on  with  the  Fourth  Iowa,  and  instead  of  being  a 
support  to  the  storming  party,  was  soon  in  advance  and  entered  the 
enemy's  second  line  of  rifle-pits  nearly  as  soon  as  any.  I  gave  no  orders 
on  the  field  that  day,  except  at  the  suggestion  of  General  Morgan,  save 
that  I  followed  up  the  movement,  encouraging  the  men  while  they  were 
advancing,  and  endeavoring  to  check  them  when  they  fell  back. 

General  Hovey's  brigade  did  not  get  up  to  the  front  in  time  to  take 
part  in  the  assault,  but  was  up  very  soon  after  it  was  over,  and  took  posi 
tion  to  the  left  of  the  ba}-ou,  which  had  been  occupied  by  Blair's  brigade 


260  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT. 

previous  to  the  assault,  awaiting  orders  to  storm  the  enemy's  position, 
which  his  whole  command,  I  am  told,  was  anxious  to  do. 

Although  Blair  was  detached  from  my  command,  it  would,  perhaps, 
not  be  improper  for  me  to  report  in  regard  to  the  part  taken  by  his  bri 
gade  in  the  assault.  Two  of  his  regiments,  Manter's  and  Schodt's, 
Thirty-second  and  Thirtieth  Missouri,  were  detached  to  support  Mor 
gan's  battery.  His  line  was  formed  in  the  woods  between  Thompson's 
f,ake  and  Chickasaw  Bayou,  a  short  distance  behind  the  bayou  that 
;onuects  these  two.  Between  his  line  and  this  bayou  was  an  entangle 
ment  formed  by  cutting  down  small  cotton-trees,  leaving  the  trees  en 
twined  among  the  stumps.  The  bed  of  the  bayou  was  about  one 
hundred  yards  wide,  quicksand,  and  about  fifteen  feet  wide,  and  water 
three  feet  deep.  The  bank  on  the  opposite  side  was  steep  and  obstructed 
by  abatis,  crowned  by  a  line  of  rifle-pits.  On  the  slope  above  this  was 
still  another  line  of  rifle-pits,  and  above  this  on  the  plateau  was  the 
county  road,  the  earth  being  thrown  on  the  lower  side,  forming  a  para 
pet  which  covered  batteries  and  sharp-shooters.  Batteries  were  also 
placed  on  the  heights  to  the  right  and  left,  which  enfiladed  the  rifle-pits 
and  the  road. 

General  Blair  led  his  brigade  with  intrepidity  in  the  face  of  all 
these  obstacles,  leaving  his  horse  floundering  in  the  quicksands  of  the 
bayou,  and  passing  over  two  lines  of  rifle-pits,  he  nearly  reached  the  foot 
of  the  parapet.  Here  he  turned  and  saw  the  storming  party  of  General 
Morgan's  division  coming  over  the  first  line  of  rifle-pits.  His  troops 
fell  fast  around  him,  and  among  others  was  Lieutenant-Colonel  P.  Dis- 
ter,  of  the  Fifty-eighth  Ohio,  whose  gallantry  had  been  conspicuous. 
Colonel  F.  C.  Fletcher,  of  the  Thirty-first  Missouri,  was  wounded  and 
fell  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy.  Major  Jaensch,  of  the  Thirty-first 
Missouri,  was  killed  (mistake)  Lieutenant-Colonel  Simpson,  of  the  same 
regiment,  was  wounded.  Colonel  Caveuder,  of  the  Twenty-ninth  Mis 
souri,  and  Lieutenant-Colonel  Gorgas,  of  the  Thirteenth  Illinois,  are 
also  mentioned  for  conspicuous  daring  in  the  assault. 

Colonel  J.  B.  Wyman,  of  the  Thirteenth  Illinois  Infantry,  was  killed 
the  day  before  while  bravely  leading  his  men  against  the  enemy. 

Perhaps  it  would  not  be  inappropriate  for  me  to  remark  that  I  saw 
a  part  of  the  assaulting  party  turn  their  flank  to  the  enemy  in  front  of 
the  second  line  of  rifle-pits,  and  move  off  to  the  left  behind  the  bank 
over  which  Blair's  brigade  had  passed,  and  there  remain  until  our  troops 
commenced  retreating.  *  *  *  * 

I  am,  Major,  with  very  great  respect, 
FREDERICK  STEELR, 

Brig. -Gen.  Commanding. 


CHAPTER   XX. 


AFTER  THIRTY  YEARS  GENERAL  THAYER  WRITES  US  A  LETTER 
REITERATING  HIS  CHARGES  THAT  MORGAN'S  INEFFI 
CIENCY  LOST  THE  BATTLE. 


AVING  given  these  reports  in  full,  the  witnesses 
will  now  be  recalled  for  cross-examination. 
On  page  291,  of  "Sherman's  Memoirs," 
Vol.  i,  he  says:  "One  brigade  (DeCourcy's) 
of  Morgan's  troops  crossed  the  bayou  safely,  but 
took  to  the  cover  behind  the  bank,  and  could  not  be 
moved  forward. ' ' 
Four  pages  farther  on  in  the  same  book  Sherman  adds  :  "I 
have  ever  felt  had  General  Morgan  promptly  and  skillfully  sus 
tained  the  lead  of  Frank  Blair 's  brigade  on  that  day,  we  should 
have  broken  the  rebel  line,  and  effected  a  lodgment  on  the 
hills  behind  Vicksburg." 

Comrade  Wilson  E.  Chapel,  of  Company  F,  Thirteenth  Illi 
nois,  in  his  diary  of  that  day's  work,  among  many  interesting 
items,  says  :  "  Our  line  was  broken  up  by  the  Fifteenth  Ohio 
(Sixteenth  Ohio)  lying  in  the  rifle  pits,  out  of  which  the  enemy 
had  retreated  ;  and  the  only  way  we  could  do,  was  to  press 
forward,  every  man  for  himself." 

General  Morgan  in  his  article  entitled  "  The  Assault  on 
Chickasaw  Bluffs,"  to  be  found  in  ' '  Battles  and  Leaders  of  the 
Civil  War,"  says:  "Blair  did  not  refer  to  the  matter 
(DeCourcy's  delinquency)  in  his  report,"  but  eleven  lines 

previously,     General    Morgan    had    said:        "Shortly    after 

261 


262  HISTORY   OF   THE    THIRTEENTH   ftEGIMEMT 

DeCourcy  had  returned  to  his  command,  Blair  came.  He 
said  that  DeCourcy' s  brigade  had  behaved  badly." 

Then  General  Morgan  quotes  Thayer's  report  to  him,  as 
follows  :  "  I  found  myself  in  the  enemy's  works  with  but  one 
regiment.  I  then  went  back  to  the  intrenchments,  where  I 
had  seen  as  we  went  over  a  regiment  of  our  troops  lying  in 
the  ditch,  entirely  protected  from  the  rebel  fire.  I  ordered  and 
begged  them,  but  ivithout  effect,  to  come  forward  and  support 
my  regiment,  which  was  now  warmly  engaged.  I  do  not 
know  what  regiment  it  was." 

This  last  paragraph  quoted  from  General  Thayer,  General 
Morgan  has  put  in  Italics. 

General  Morgan,  in  the  above-named  article,  adds  with 
great  circumstantiality,  that:  "On  August  3oth,  1887, 
twenty-four  years  and  eight  months  after  the  date  of  his  report, 
General  Thayer  in  a  letter  to  me,  says  :  '  DeCourcy  and  his 
brigade  on  that  day  made  no  assault  whatever,  unless  against 
the  outside  rifle-pits,  and  were  not  repulsed.  They  got  into  the 
enemy 's  rifle-pits  and  there  remained.1  ' 

If  General  Morgan  introduced  this  letter  from  General 
Thayer,  for  the  opportunity  which  he  seems  to  think  he  sees 
in  it  of  proof  to  refute  General  Thayer's  charges  against 
DeCourcy,  by  parading  the  reported  losses  of  DeCourcy  as 
being  greater,  as  he  says,  than  those  of  Blair  and  Thayer 
together,  then  Thayer's  letter  proves  too  much. 

It  proves  that  whatever  losses  DeCourcy  met  with,  must 
have  been  sustained  before  reaching  the  first  line  of  rifle-pits, 
or,  between  the  corduroy  bridge  and  the  first  line  of  the 
enemy's  works  ;  for,  beyond  that,  General  Thayer  declares 
that  DeCourcy  did  not  go  ;  and  in  so  much,  General  Morgan's 
statement  that  DeCourcy's  loss  was  greater  than  that  of  Blair 
and  Thayer  together,  while  it  may  be  technically  true,  is  evasive 
and  misleading.  The  enemy,  no  doubt,  poured  their  concen 
trated,  and  most  destructive  fire  on  the  advancing  column  of 
DeCourcy,  whose  men,  as  General  Morgan  says,  "were 
jammed  together,"  and  afforded  a  better  mark  for  his  bat- 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  263 

teries,  than  would  the  comparatively  scattered  men  of  Blair, 
advancing  in  line  of  battle. 

It  proves  that  the  regiment  which  General  Thayer  saw  in 
the  ditch  as  he  went  over,  and  found  still  there  when  he  went 
back,  was  one  of  DeCourcy's  regiments  ;  for,  all  of  Blair's 
regiments,  and  General  Thayer' s  one  regiment  were  at  that 
very  moment  away  up  in  front  fighting  desperately  ;  while 
the  four  other  regiments  of  Thayer  never  crossed  the  bayou  at 
all. 

It  proves  that  if  General  Steele  was  not  mistaken  when  he 
says,  "  I  say  a  part  of  the  assaulting  party  turn  their  flank 
to  the  enemy  in  front  of  the  second  line  of  rifle-pits,  and  move 
off  to  the  left  behind  the  bank  over  which  Blair's  brigade  had 
passed,  and  there  remain  until  our  troops  commenced  retreat 
ing,"  that  those  troops  must  have  been  DeCourcy's. 

It  is  worthy  of  notice,  that  General  Morgan  nowhere  and 
never,  explicitly  declares  that  any  of  his  troops,  except  those 
two  brigades  which  he  had  borrowed  from  Steele  for  the  occa 
sion,  were  on  the  field  that  day  except,  as  he  tells  General 
Sherman,  in  his  report,  "  The  Sixteenth  Ohio  Infantry  was 
peerless  on  the  field,"  which  seem  a  somewhat  invidious  dis 
tinction  as  against  Blair's  four  regiments,  and  General 
Thayer' s  one  regiment,  and  if  that  distinction  by  General 
Morgan  is  merited,  then  the  party  that  General  Steele  saw 
' '  turn  the  flank  to  the  enemy  in  front  of  the  second  line  of 
rifle-pits  and  move  off  to  the  left  behind  the  bank  over  which 
Blair's  brigade  had  passed,  and  there  remain  until  our  troops 
commenced  retreating,"  could  not  have  been  the  Sixteenth 
Ohio  ;  but  still,  must  have  been  one  of  DeCourcy's  regi 
ments. 

It  is  difficult  to  see  just  how  General  Morgan  could  have 
known  whether  or  not,  "  Hie  Sixteenth  Ohio  was  peerless  on  the 
field, ' '  as  General  Morgan  was  at  no  time  on  the  field  himself, 
and  any  such  report  from  Colonel  DeCourcy  would  hardly  be 
accepted  as  quite  accurate,  considering  that  General  Thayer 
declares  that  "  DeCourcy  never  got  beyond  the  first  line  of  rifle- 
pits"  It  seems,  therefore,  as  if  the  regiment  itself  must  have 


264  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

made   a  report,  virtually  saying  that,    "  We  were  peerless  on 
the  field  that  day. ' ' 

Having  arrived  at  this  stage  of  the  work  of  this  history, 
an  interesting  coincidence  brings  in  the  day's  mail,  a  letter 
from  Governor  Thayer  of  Nebraska,  in  reply  to  one  asking 
him  for  certain  points  in  this  Chickasaw  Bayou  affair.  The 
Governor's  great  kindness  has  furnished  an  exceedingly  in 
teresting  and  valuable  historical  letter  which  will  enrich  our 
history,  and  will  locate  both  praise  and  blame  where  they 
belong.  The  letter  is  as  follows  : 

LINCOLN,  NEBRASKA, 

September  i8tb,  1891. 

MY  DEAR  SIR  AND  COMRADE  :  I  take  the  first  opportunity  of  a 
little  leisure  to  reply  to  your  favor  of  the  3ist  of  August,  asking  rue  for 
iu formation  in  regard  to  the  assault  of  Chickasaw  Bluffs.  I  can  not 
speak  accurately  in  regard  to  Blair's  brigade  except  to  make  this  gen 
eral  statement : 

On  the  morning  of  the  day  when  the  assaults  were  to  be  made,  my 
brigade  was  formed  in  a  column  of  four  ready  for  marching,  and  were 
stretched  back  from  right  to  left  into  slightly  timbered  land  and  await 
ing  orders.  My  position  was  to  the  right.  My  brigade  was  the  assault 
ing  column  of  the  right.  DeCourcy's  was  to  be  the  central  assaulting 
column,  and  Blair's  position  was  over  to  the  left,  corresponding  with 
mine  on  the  right. 

I  received  orders  from  General  Morgan  in  person  to  move  my  col 
umn  forward,  he  saying  to  me,  "I  want  you  to  take  those  heights," 
pointing  to  the  Vicksburg  Bluffs.  I  moved  my  men  forward  in  a  column 
of  four  to  cross  the  dry  bed  of  Chickasaw  Bayou. 

Upon  the  inside  of  the  bayou,  the  rebels  had  a  line  of  rifle-pits, 
across  which  they  had  left  a  roadway.  As  I  passed  over  this  roadway, 
I  saw  soldiers  in  their  uniform  down  in  the  rifle-pits.  Why  they  were 
there  I  could  not  understand.  I  kept  forward  till  I  reached  a  fence 
which  crossed  a  corn-field,  if  I  recollect  aright,  forming  a  line  parallel 
with  the  bluffs  at  which  I  was  aiming.  We  passed  over  this  fence, 
tearing  it  down,  and  when  I  reached  a  point  where  I  thought  it  best 
to  bring  my  column  into  line  parallel  with  the  rifle  pits  in  our  front 
along  the  bluffs,  I  stationed  Colonel  Williamson,  of  the  Fourth  Iowa 
at  a  certain  point,  saying :  "  Bring  your  regiment  into  Hue,  and  I  will 
go  back  along  the  line  and  bring  the  whole  of  my  force  of  five  regi 
ments  into  a  parallel  Hue  with  the  view  of  making  an  assault  to  gain 
t he  heights. "  When  I  turned  back,  to  my  dismay  and  horror,  1 'found 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  265 

only  the  Fourth  Iowa  Infantry  had  followed  me.  No  other  regiment 
was  to  be  seen.  It  was  awful — a  repetition  of  Balaklava,  although  mine 
was  infantry  and  Earl  Cardigan's  force  was  cavalry. 

My  first  thought  was  of  those  troops  that  I  had  seen  in  the  rifle-pits, 
and  I  said  to  Colonel  Williamson  :  "Hold  your  ground,  if  possible,  while 
I  go  back  and  get  those  troops  up  to  support  you." 

/  returned  to  the  place  where  I  had  seen  them  and  found  General 
Blair,  in  a  very  earnest  and  excited  conversation  with  an  officer  who,  I  was 
informed,  was  DeCourcy.  He  was  urging  DeCourcy  to  get  his  men  for 
ward,  having  anticipated  my  intentions.  I  joined  in  the  conversation, 
but  to  no  purpose.  I  then  started  to  return  to  where  the  Fourth  Infantry 
was  and  met  Colonel  Williamson  bringing  his  regiment.  He  had  less 
than  five  hundred  men  in  the  morning  ;  one  hundred  and  fifty-two  were 
killed  and  wounded  in  less  than  thirty  minutes,  and  to  have  remained 
would  have  been  a  murderous  sacrifice  of  his  men  ;  for  two  lines  of 
rifle-pits  along  the  height  and  several  batteries  were  bearing  upon  his 
regiment,  as  they  had  been  bearing  upon  us  as  we  marched  forward  to 
the  assault.  In  leading  the  assault  I  had  marched  side  by  side  with 
Colonel  Williamson  at  the  head  of  his  regiment.  On  getting  back  to 
the  field  where  I  had  left  them  I  saw  General  Steele,  and  in  no  very 
respectful  language  demanded  to  know  why  he  had  taken  the  four  regi 
ments  away  from  me  without  my  knowledge.  My  brigade  consisted  of 
five  regiments  of  Iowa  troops,  the  Fourth,  Ninth,  Twenty-sixth,  Thir 
tieth  and  Thirty-fourth  Iowa  and  the  First  Iowa  battery.  When  I 
received  the  order  in  the  forenoon  from  General  Morgan  to  assault  the 
heights  I  went  back  along  the  line  directing  the  colonel  of  each  regi 
ment  to  follow  the  preceding  regiment  and  to  keep  well  closed  up,  and 
to  obey  this  order  till  they  received  further  instructions.  Steele  replied 
that  after  I  had  moved  forward  across  the  bayou  General  Morgan  came 
to  him  and  directed  him  to  turn  Colonel  Abbott,  with  the  Thirtieth 
Iowa,  which  had  followed  the  Fourth  Iowa  in  accordance  with  my 
orders.  Abbott,  knowing  Steele  to  be  niy  superior  officer,  obeyed  the 
order  instead  of  carrying  out  my  order,  and  before  crossing  the  bayou, 
turned  away  to  the  right,  the  Ninth  Iowa  following,  the  Thirtieth  fol 
lowing  it,  and  thus  they  were  taken  from  my  command.  The  other 
regiments  did  the  same.  Each  commander,  except  Colonel  Abbott, 
complying  with  my  order  to  follow  the  preceding  regiment.  The  four 
regiments  were  thus  parted  from  me,  and  I  was  left  to  proceed  with  the 
Fourth  Iowa,  which  was  only  a  half  regiment. 

My  regret  always  has  been  that  I  did  not  prefer  charges  against 
Morgan  and  Steele,  for  between  them  they  were  responsible  for  one  of  the 
most  terrible  blunders  which  has  ever  occurred  in  military  affairs. 
There  was  a  conflict  between  them  as  to  which  ranked  the  other,  and 


266  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

General  Sherman  bad  placed  Morgan  in  command  of  the  assault  to  be 
made  that  day. 

DeCourcy's  men  were  staying  in  the  rifle-pits  when  Blair's  brigade 
and  niy  Fourth  Iowa  were  moving  toward  that  most  terrible  assault. 
They  never  went  beyond  the  line  of  rifle-pits  which  hugged  the  bayou. 

I  have  written  on  your  map  the  place  where  my  command  was 
lying  in  the  morning  and  where  I  crossed  the  bayou.  I  have  also 
marked  the  place  where  the  fence  was,  and  have  marked  the  battle 
ground. 

At  Balaklava  the  Earl  of  Cardigan  was  ordered  to  charge  with  his 
six  hundred  men  the  whole  Russian  army.  I  was  ordered  to  take  the 
Chickasaw  Bluffs  and  to  lead  my  command  as  the  assaulting  column 
when  I  had  three  thousand  five  hundred  men  ;  but  when  I  got  into  the 
field  directly  in  front  of  the  enemy's  batteries  and  rifle-pits,  I  found  my 
self  with  less  than  five  hundred  men.  The  other  four  regiments  were 
nearly  full,  having  been  in  the  field  but  a  short  time.  It  was  worse  than 
a  blunder.  It  was  a  crime,  a  terrible  crime,  and  the  responsibility  for 
that  crime  rests  upon  Morgan  and  Steele. 

General  Morgan  wrote  to  me  a  couple  of  years  ago  asking  me  for  a 
statement  of  my  parts  in  that  terrible  affair.  I  gave  him  a  partial 
statement,  which  he  found  anything  but  agreeable  and  I  have  never 
heard  anything  further  from  him. 

I  am,  with  great  respect,  very  truly  yours, 

JOHN  M.  THAYER. 

Notwithstanding  General  Thayer's  positive  assertions  that 
DeCourcy's  men  did  not  get  on  to  the  real  battle-field  at  all, 
on  the  29th,  it  is  claimed,  and  generally  admitted,  that  the 
enemy,  after  being  driven  from  their  first  line  of  rifle-pits, 
never  were  again  in  possession  of  that  part  of  the  field  until 
after  the  final  retreat,  and  took  no  prisoners  in  that  near 
vicinity  ;  and  as  DeCourcy  lost  in  missing,  three  hundred 
and  fifty-five,  it  follows  that  a  considerable  portion  of  De 
Courcy's  brigade  must  have  reached  a  position  on  the  battle 
field  well  in  advance  of  the  first  line  of  rifle-pits. 

In  the  light  of  General  Thayer's  letter,  as  given  above,  the 
student  of  military  history  will  not  only  turn  again  to  General 
Morgan's  statements  of  his  action  in  the  battle  of  the  2gth  of 
December,  1862,  and  carefully  re-read  the  lines,  but  will  read 
between  the  lines,  for  possible  motives  of  action  ;  and  in  some 
minds  will  be  left  a  painful  doubt  as  to  whether  General  Mor- 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY.  267 

gan  intended  to  effectively  co-operate  to  carry  out  General 
Sherman's  plans  for  assaulting  the  works  of  the  enemy  on 
that  day. 

In  his  article  on  "  The  Assault  on  Chickasaw  Bluffs,"  in 
"  Battles  and  Leaders  of  the  Civil  War,"  after  quoting  Gen 
eral  Sherman,  where  he  says,  "Already  gun-boats  have 
secured  the  Yazoo  for  twenty  miles,  to  a  fort  on  the  Yazoo,  on 
Haynes  Bluff,"  General  Morgan  comments  on  as  follows  : 
: '  These  movements  of  the  gun-boats  not  only  rendered  a  sur 
prise  impossible,  but  gave  notice  to  the  enemy  of  the  coming 
attack." 

Sherman  had  declared  a  surprise  intended. 

As  General  Grant  had  originated  or  approved  the  mode  of 
this  intended  "surprise,"  both  Grant  and  Sherman  are  in 
cluded  in  General  Morgan's  criticism. 

A  few  lines  farther  on,  after  describing  the  formidable  feat 
ures  both  of  nature  and  art,  of  the  prospective  battle-ground, 
General  Morgan  thus  comments  :  "  Such  was  the  point  chosen 
for  the  assault  by  General  Sherman.  What  more  could  be  de 
sired  by  an  enemy  about  to  be  assailed  in  his  trenches  ?  ' ' 

Drawing  a  sharp  contrast  with  the  above,  as  what  an  able 
general  should  have  done,  he  quotes  Confederate  General 
Stephen  D.  Lee,  who  commanded  the  enemy's  defenses,  at 
that  time,  as  follows  :  "  Had  Sherman  moved  a  little  faster 
after  landing,  or  made  his  attack  at  the  'Mound,'  *  *  * 
or  at  any  point  between  the  bayou  and  Vicksburg,  he  could 
have  gone  into  the  city." 

To  which  statement  General  Morgan  makes  what  some 
would  call  a  sarcastical  comment  in  the  following  language  : 
"  Sherman  did  make  an  attack  at  the  '  Mound,'  but  only  sent 
one  regiment,  the  Sixth  Missouri  to  the  assault  ;  and  in  mak 
ing  it  that  gallant  regiment  lost  fifty-seven  men." 

That  General  Sherman  intended  the  advance  of  that  regi 
ment,  in  this  case,  as  anything  more  than  the  skirmish  of  a 
regiment  to  feel  of  the  enemy  to  develop  his  position  and 
strength,  and  not  an  attack  or  assault,  will  be  doubted  by 
many  soldiers  who  are  capable  of  judging. 


268  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

On  the  next  page  General  Morgan  says  :  ' '  Had  a  real  at 
tack  been  ordered  by  General  Sherman,  Vicksburg  would 
have  fallen." 

These  items  already  noticed  seem  very  little  more  than 
harmless,  of  themselves,  or  perhaps  savoring  a  trifle  of  the 
inordinate  vanity  exhibited  by  mediocre  minds  who  not  only 
overrate  themselves,  but  underrate  their  superiors  ;  and  may, 
therefore,  assume  a  possible  significance  alongside  of  others. 

Again  General  Morgan,  after  minutely  describing  a  re 
quested  interview  with  General  Sherman  at  Morgan's  front, 
on  the  morning  of  the  29th,  says  :  "  For  a  time  General  Sher 
man  made  no  reply.  At  length,  pointing  toward  the  bluffs, 
he  said  :  '  That  is  the  route  to  take  !  '  and  without  another 
word  having  been  exchanged,  he  rode  away  to  his  headquarters 
hehind  the  forest. ' ' 

This  polished  sneer  (''behind  the  forest,")  which  covertly 
implies  a  want  of  personal  bravery  in  General  Sherman,  will 
fall  as  harmless  among  the  thousands  of  both  enlisted  men 
and  commissioned  officers  who  have  lived  and  fought  with 
General  Sherman,  as  would  the  poisoned  arrow  of  the  savage 
without  momentum  enough  to  cleave  the  distance  from  the 
bow  to  its  mark. 

General  Morgan,  without  fear  of  rivalry,  may  safely  carry 
off  the  honors  of  being  the  first  to  accuse  General  Sherman  of 
cowardice. 

In  a  foot-note  in  this  same  article,  General  Morgan  further 
says  of  this  interview  :  "  As  to  this  interview,  General  Sher 
man  and  myself  are  at  variance.  He  states  that  he  gave  me 
an  order  to  lead  the  assault  in  person,  and  that  I  replied  / 
would  be  on  top  of  those  hills  in  ten  minutes  after  the  signal  for 
the  assault  was  given.  I  am  positive  that  no  such  order  was 
given  ;  nor  was  there  such  an  understanding.  A  well- 
mounted  horseman,  unobstructed  by  an  enemy,  could  not 
have  reached  the  top  of  those  hills  in  double  that  length  of 
time.  The  circumstances  of  the  occasion  must  decide  be 
tween  us. ' ' 

As  to  the  exact  number  of  minutes  in  which  General  Moi- 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  269 

gan  is  said  by  General  Sherman  to  have  promised  to  be  on  the 
top  of  those  hills,  the  denial  of  General  Morgan  as  to  having 
promised  any  such  thing,  will  hardly  be  accepted  as  sincere, 
after  reading  General  Steele's  report  to  General  Sherman, 
which  says  :  t 

"*  *  *  *  At  the  'White  House,'  I  met  General 
Morgan,  whe  told  me  he  was  building  a  bridge  across  the 
bayou,  which  would  occupy  two  hours  ;  that  within  thirty 
minutes  thereafter  he  would  have  possession  of  the  heights,  to  a 
moral  certainty." 

General  Sherman's  statement,  corroborated  with  sufficient 
exactitude  by  General  Steele,  makes  it  certain  that  General 
Morgan  could  use  very  extravagant  language,  which  seems  to 
show  that,  in  his  hands,  "the  pen  was  mightier  than  the 
sword." 

Leaving  the  occupation  of  the  "Bluffs,"  which  seems  to 
have  been,  with  General  Morgan,  merely  a  question  of  time 
ranging  from  ten  to  thirty  minutes,  we  come  from  the  implied 
personal  cowardice  of  General  Sherman,  to  his  utter  disregard 
of  the  sacrifice  of  the  lives  of  his  soldiers,  which  is  to  be 
inferred  from  the  language  which  General  Morgan  puts  into 
the  mouth  of  General  Sherman,  and  by  him,  ordered  carried 
by  his  Assistant  Adjutant-General,  Major  John  H.  Hammond, 
to  General  Morgan,  as  follows:  "Tell  Morgan  to  give  the 
signal  for  the  assault ;  that  we  will  lose  five  thousand  men 
before  we  take  Vicksburg,  and  may  as  well  lose  them  here  as 
anywhere  else." 

This  heartlessness  in  regard  to  the  sacrifice  of  human  life, 
which  General  Morgan  impliedly  imputes  to  General  Sherman, 
would  be  received  with  more  credulity  in  the  shape  of  a  written 
order  over  General  Sherman's  signature  ;  but,  unfortunately, 
it  is  given  to  us  through  the  medium  of  a  verbal  order  which, 
if  accepted  at  all,  will  be  with  slow  reluctance  ;  and  it  comes 
with  a  bad  grace  from  General  Morgan,  who  quotes  himself  as 
saying  to  Major  Hammond,  to  be  reported  to  General  Sher 
man,  that :  "  We  might  lose  five  thousand  men,  but  that  his 
entire  army  could  not  carry  the  enemy's  position  in  my  front ; 


270  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

that  the  larger  the  force  sent  to  the  assault,  the  greater  would 
be  the  number  slaughtered." 

Notwithstanding  that  defeat  and  great  "slaughter  had 
been  predicted  by  General  Morgan,  yet,  when  we  had  experi 
enced  both  the  defeat  and  slaughter,"  General  Morgan 
reported  to  General  Sherman  that  "the  troops  were  not  dis 
couraged  at  all,"  and  he  would  renew  the  assault  [and 
slaughter  (?)  ]  in  half  an  hour."  And  that  orders  and 
instructions  were  given  the  Generals  of  brigades  to  prepare 
for  another  "slaughter,"  is  evident  from  the  fact  that  the 
troops  who  had  made  a  scattered  retreat,  immediately  re-formed 
in  line  of  battle. 

And  nowr,  strange  to  say,  General  Sherman  interposes  to 
prevent  the  renewal  of  the  "  slaughter  "  proposed  by  General 
Morgan. 

The  words  of  General  Sherman  were  :  "At  first  I  intended 
to  renew  the  assault,  but  soon  became  satisfied  that  the 
enemy's  attention  having  been  drawn  to  the  only  two  practi 
cable  points,  it  would  prove  too  costly,  and  accordingly  resolved 
to  look  elsewhere  below  Hay  ties  Bluff,  or  Blake's  plantation." 

When  General  Sherman  says:  "I  have  ever  felt  that 
had  General  Morgan  promptly  and  skillfully  sustained  the 
lead  of  Frank  Blair's  brigade  on  that  day,  we  should  have 
broken  the  rebel  line,  and  effected  a  lodgment  on  the  hills 
behind  Vicksburg,"  he  will  be  borne  out  in  his  belief  by 
many  a  brave  man  of  Blair's  and  Thayer's  brigades  who,  as  it 
was,  went  to  the  foot  of  the  enemy's  last  works,  the  success 
having  been  accomplished  by  only  five  of  the  thirteen  regi 
ments  which  had  been  ordered  to  the  assault.  It  is  believed  by 
many  who  helped  do  what  was  done  that  day,  that  had  the 
entire  thirteen  regiments  designated,  moved  forward  with  the 
impulse  which  inspired  those  of  Blair,  and  of  the  Fourth  Iowa, 
that  they  would  have  been  on  top  of  Walnut  Hills  before 
dark.  But  if  that  had  been  doubtful,  there  were  still  remain 
ing  out  of  the  fight,  two  more  of  Blair's  regiments  which  had 
been  detached,  and  six  more  regiments  of  Morgan's  troops, 
and  six  more  regiments  of  Steele's,  which  latter  General  Slier- 


IIJJNOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  271 

man  had  assigned  to  the  support  of  Morgan,  for  that  battle. 
Had  the  entire  original  assailants  of  thirteen  regiments  been 
as  far  to  the  front  as  were  Blair  and  Thayer,  and  looked 
round  and  seen  fourteen  more  regiments  charging  over  the 
first  line  of  rifle-pits,  neither  the  bravery  nor  skill  then  pos 
sessed  by  the  enemy  before  us  could  have  saved  them  the 
victory  ;  and  further,  there  was  General  Morgan  L.  Smith's 
second  division,  on  our  right,  with  ten  regiments  which 
could  have  been  moved  to  the  left,  and  put  behind  the  twenty- 
seven  regiments  preceding,  and  there  was  no  danger  what 
ever  that  the  vacant  position  would  weaken  our  line,  for 
nature  had  so  arranged  the  ground  where  these  battles  were 
being  fought,  that  each  position  was  nearly  impregnable 
against  the  other  side.  Theirs  to  us  by  reason  of  the  great 
difficulty  of  approach,  and  the  formidable  works  of  military 
engineering,  and  fully  manned  by  determined  men, — ours  to 
them  by  reason  of  the  same  difficulty  of  approach,  and  their 
weakness  when  outside  their  fortifications  and  on  ground 
where  it  would  be  impossible  to  maneuver  armies. 

Sherman  says:  ''At  the  point  where  Morgan  I,.  Smith's 
division  reached  the  bayou,  was  a  narrow  sandspit,  with  abatis 
thrown  down  by  the  enemy  on  our  side,  with  the  same  deep, 
boggy  bayou  with  its  levee  parapet  and  system  of  cross  bat 
teries  and  rifle-pits  on  the  other  side.  To  pass  it  in  front  by 
the  flank  would  have  been  utter  destruction  ;  for  the  head  of 
the  column  would  have  been  swept  away  as  fast  as  it  presented 
itself  above  the  steep  bank." 

And  yet,  that  was  exactly  what  was  done  the  next  day  by 
DeCourcy  and  Thayer,  under  the  orders  of  General  Morgan. 

It  will  be  seen  that  while  Blair's  brigade  rushed  to  the 
assault  in  line  of  battle,  plunging  and  struggling  through 
mud,  water,  quicksand,  and  all  kinds  of  difficult  abatis,  De 
Courcy  and  Thayer  went  in,  in  column,  and  dry  shod,  but 
their  formation  subjected  them  to  a  more  deadly  fire  between 
the  corduroy  bridge  and  the  first  line  of  the  enemy's  rifle-pits, 
than  could  possibly  have  been  concentrated  on  the  brigade  of 
Blair.  General  Morgan  had  originally  intended  to  order 


272  HISTORY    OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

Blair's  brigade  to  assault  in  a  column  parallel  to  that  of  De- 
Courcy  ;  but  fortunately,  this  plan  was  abandoned  and  prob 
ably  many  precious  lives  saved  thereby.  As  it  was,  the 
crossing  of  that  bridge  in  column  gave  the  enemy  the  desired 
opportunity  for  unlimited  slaughter  of  the  assailants  as  they 
entered  the  death-trap  at  Chickasaw  Bayou,  which  could  be 
only  faintly  paralleled  by  the  slaughter  of  Napoleon's  troops 
while  charging  across  "  the  bridge  of  Lodi." 

If  General  Morgan  had  moved  DeCourcy  and  Thayer  to 
the  left  and  formed  them  in  line  in  rear  of  Blair,  and  let  them 
follow  that  brigade  until  it  had  cleaned  out  the  first  line  of 
rifle-pits,  then  let  them  move  by  the  right  flank  until  Blair 
was  uncovered,  then  form  line  with  a  front  of  their  own,  far 
more  efficiency  and  much  less  slaughter  would  have  resulted. 
The  four  hundred  yards  only  of  gateway  to  the  battle-ground 
made  it  impossible  to  simultaneously  bring  three  brigades  on 
to  the  ground  without  "jamming"  the  men  together,  break 
ing  files  to  the  rear,  or  by  some  way  of  telescoping  the  wings 
into  the  center,  which  could  have  been  more  safely  done  after, 
than  before  the  first  rifle-pits  were  carried. 

A  most  astonishing  thing  that  took  place  that  day,  was 
diverting  of  four  of  General  Thayer's  regiments  from  their 
position  in  the  assaulting  column  which  was  following  De 
Courcy 's  column  across  the  bridge,  by  turning  them  to  the 
right,  without  any  notice  whatever  to  General  Thayer,  who 
was  on  foot  leading  what  he  supposed  was  his  brigade,  but 
really  was  the  Fourth  Iowa  only. 

After  the  repulse,  General  Thayer  says:  "On  inquiring 
of  Colonel  Abbott  of  the  Thirtieth  Iowa,  which  was  next  in  line 
to  the  Fourth  Iowa,  why  he  did  not  follow  the  Fourth,  I 
found  that  after  I  had  started  he  had  been  ordered  by  General 
Steele  in  person,  to  turn  off  to  the  right  to  take  another  posi 
tion.  I  had  directed  the  commander  of  each  regiment  to 
follow  the  preceding  one.  The  second  regiment  of  my  col 
umn  being  turned  aside,  it  broke  my  line,  cutting  off  four  regi 
ments  without  my  knowledge,  leaving  the  Fourth  Iowa,  going 
ahead  alone." 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  273 

This  passes  the  responsibility  along  to  General  Steele  ;  and 
he  says:  "After  Thayer  had  passed  with  the  Fourth  Iowa 
Infantry,  Colonel  Williamson,  General  Morgan  asked  me  how 
many  troops  I  had.  I  told  him  Thayer's  brigade,  one  of  his 
regiments,  however,  the  Twenty-sixth  Iowa,  was  detached  to 
cut  a  road,  but  that  I  did  not  know  whether  any  of  Hovey's 
had  arrived  or  not.  He  then  asked  me  to  turn  a  part  of  the 
troops  a  little  further  to  the  right.  I  therefore  directed  Colonel 
Charles  H.  Abbott,  of  the  Thirtieth  Iowa  Infantry,  a  little  to 
the  right,  supposing  the  object  of  this  was  to  facilitate  the 
crossing  of  the  troops  over  the  bayou  by  preventing  them  from 
all  huddling  into  the  same  place.  At  the  time  I  did  not 
know  that  there  was  any  dry  crossing,  and  I  presume  General 
Morgan  was  not  aware  of  the  fact.  [General  Morgan  knew 
all  about  it.]  The  troops  that  I  directed  to  the  right,  it  seems, 
did  not  get  across  the  bayou  ;  but  General  Thayer  went  gal 
lantly  on  with  the  Fourth  Iowa,  and  instead  of  being  a  sup 
port  to  the  storming  party,  was  soon  in  advance,  and  entered 
the  enemy's  second  line  of  rifle-pits  nearly  as  soon  as  any. 

1 '  I  gave  no  orders  on  the  field  that  day,  except  at  the  sug 
gestion  of  General  Morgan,  save  that  I  followed  up  the  move 
ment,  encouraging  the  men  while  they  were  advancing,  and 
endeavoring  to  check  them  when  they  fell  back." 

This  leaves  the  burden  of  proof  on  General  Morgan,  who 
never  explains,  but  drops  it  by  merely  saying,  in  one  place  : 
"  Four  regiments  of  Thayer's  brigade  of  Steele's  division  were 
on  my  right."  And  again  :  "  By  some  misunderstanding — a 
fortunate  one,  I  think,  as  it  turned  out — four  of  Thayer's 
regiments  diverged  to  the  right,  leaving  only  one  regiment, 
the  Fourth  Iowa,  with  him  in  the  assault." 

This  dodges  the  responsibility  entirely  ;  but  whether  by 
mistake,  misunderstanding,  or  any  other  cause  whatever, 
the  presence  of  those  four  regiments  on  his  right  must 
have  been  known  to  General  Morgan,  and  the  misfortune 
should  promptly  have  been  rectified,  involving  as  it  may  have 
done,  the  lives  of  many  brave  men  at  the  front. 

As  to  the  time  of  day  when  this  assault  was  begun,  there 


274  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

is  great  diversity  of  claims.  Memories  differ  widely,  not  only 
from  the  recorded  reports  of  commanders  who  were  on  that 
field  but  among  themselves.  General  Thayer,  in  his  report, 
says  at  about  2  p.  tn.  Colonel  Williamson,  who  took  his  orders 
from  General  Thayer,  says  his  order  to  charge  came  at  about 
3:30  p.  m.  It  seems  as  though  both  of  the  above  must  be 
mistaken.  It  will  be  remembered  that  it  was  at  the  time  of 
the  year  when  the  days  are  the  shortest,  and  if  the  assault  was 
not  commenced  until  3:30  p.  m.  there  would  be  no  more  than 
an  hour  and  a  half  of  daylight  lelt ;  and  it  is  a  fact  that  the 
troops  re-formed  in  line  of  battle  after  being  driven  from  the 
field,  fully  expecting  to  renew  the  assault ;  but  this  was  given 
up,  and  after  that,  a  flag  of  truce  party  approached  the  ene 
my's  lines,  but  by  that  time  it  had  got  so  dark  that  the  move 
ment  was  misunderstood  and  the  flag  of  truce  party  fired  on, 
and  had  to  retire. 

Comrade  Charles  Carpenter,  of  K  Company,  Thirteenth 
Illinois,  says  that  he  was  there  made  a  prisoner,  and  was  in 
Vicksburg  before  night. 

Since  writing  the  above,  a  letter  from  General  Thayer,  of 
a  late  date,  and  given  in  full  above,  says  that  he  received  his 
orders  to  assault  in  the  forenoon,  showing  that  the  former  fig 
ures  undoubtedly  were  a  clerical  error. 

Comrade  Lieut.  Simeon  T.  Josselyn,  of  Company  C,  Thir 
teenth  Illinois,  says  that  the  assault  was  begun  at  noon. 

Comrade  Wilson  E.  Chapel,  of  F  Company,  Thirteenth 
Illinois,  says  that  the  assault  began  at  11:45  a.  m.  and  that  we 
got  back  to  the  woods  at  i  p.  m. 

Confederate  General  Pemberton  says  the  assault  began  be 
tween  ii  a.  m.  and  noon. 

From  the  above,  it  is  safe  that  our  history  should  claim 
that  the  assault  at  Chickasaw  Bayou  was  made  at  noon. 

If  any  reader  thinks  that  needless  space  has  been  taken  up 
with  this  Chickasaw  Bayou  affair,  it  may  be  answered  that  on 
no  other  battle-field  of  the  war  was  its  geography  so  intricate 
and  difficult  to  be  understood  as  was^the  case  here  ;  and  your 
historian  has  only  partly  become  familiar  with  it  after  the 


IUJNOIS   VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY.  275 

most  careful  and  repeated  study,  aided  by  the  memories  of 
many  who  were  there,  and  he  still  feels  that  in  many  impor 
tant  particulars  he  has  made  but  a  poor  and  unsatisfactory 
effort.  It  is  hoped  that  very  many  will  read  this  history  ; 
some  of  whom  will  be  almost  sure  to  study  as  well  as  read, 
especially  veterans  will,  many  of  them,  study  battle-fields. 
When  the  positions  and  numbers  of  regiments  on  the  field  — or 
preparing  to  take  the  field — are  known,  the  interest  is  much 
greater  ;  as  a  friend  may  have  been  in  such  a  regiment  on  a 
certain  part  of  the  field,  a  brother  on  the  extreme  right,  and 
they  themselves  were  somewhere  in  the  fight  ;  hence  the  inter 
est  attaching  to  as  minute  a  description  as  possible,  and  which 
the  historian  should  not  neglect. 

To  several  grave  charges  affecting  the  reputation  for 
bravery  of  DeCourcy's  brigade  during  the  assault  on  the 
enemy's  works  at  Chickasaw  Bayou  on  December  29th,  1862, 
General  Morgan  makes  no  specific  denial  of  all  or  either  of 
these  charges,  but  instead,  offers  the  figures  of  the  compara 
tive  losses  as  reported  of  the  three  brigades  constituting  the 
assaulting  force,  which  he  says  shows  that  DeCourcy's  losses 
were  greater  than  those  of  Blair  and  Thayer  together,  and 
which,  he  says,  "speak  for  themselves."  Some  comparisons 
of  those  losses  itemized,  and  then  grouped,  seem  to  give  a 
somewhat  different  answer  to  the  charges  from  that  which 
General  Morgan  seemed  to  desire,  when  he  offers  the  aggregate 
loss  of  DeCourcy,  which  foots  up  three  hundred  and  fifty- five 
against  the  aggregate  of  both  Blair  and  Thayer's  two  hundred 
and  eighty- five.  It  must  be  confessed  that  without  analyzing, 
this  would  seem  to  show  that  DeCourcy  experienced  more 
fighting,  and  harder  fighting,  than  did  Blair  and  Thayer  ;  but 
there  are  losses,  and  losses  ;  and  an  analysis  will  show  that 
General  Morgan's  dependence  for  DeCourcy's  greater  losses 
than  both  Blair  and  Thayer  together,  is  derived  from  De 
Courcy' s  captured  and  missing.  It  will  be  seen  that  while 
Blair's  loss  in  missing  was  only,  say  :  eighty-three  and  two 
one -thousandths  per  cent  of  DeCourcy's,  on  the  other  hand, 
DeCourcy's  killed  were  only  forty-eight  and  four  one-thou- 


276  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    RESIMENT 

sandths  per  cent  of  Blair's;  and  in  wounded,  only  ninety -seven 
per  cent  of  Blair's  ;  and  few  soldiers  will  be  found  who  take 
more  pride  in  the  capture  and  missing  of  their  comrades,  than 
in  that  desperate  valor  which  claims  either  victory,  or  death, 
or  wounds  which  totally  disable  from  fighting  or  retreat.  Gen 
eral  Morgan  however,  almost  boastingly  parades  seventy  men 
who  arc  missing,  as  make- weights  to  boast  a  preponderance  of 
losses  for  DeCourcy  as  proof  against  the  ugly  charges  pre 
ferred  by  four  generals,  one  the  Commander-in-chief,  outrank 
ing  General  Morgan,  and  three  others  of  at  least  equal  rank 
with  himself.  If  General  Morgan  takes  more  pride  in  cap 
tured  or  missing,  than  in  the  valor  which  is  shown  by  the 
killed  and  wounded,  then  he  must  deeply  commiserate  Gen 
eral  Thayer,  who  was  so  unfortunate  as  to  lose  none  in  cap 
tured  or  missing ;  and  who  probably  would  be  generous 
enough  to  congratulate  General  Morgan  that  DeCourcy  was, 
in  that  particular,  "  peerless  on  the  field." 

The  losses  in  Blair's  brigade  in  the  three  days  at  Chick- 
asaw  Bayou,  were  ninety-nine  killed,  three  hundred  and  thirty- 
one  wounded,  and  one  hundred  and  seventy-three  missing. 

In  DeCourcy's  brigade,  forty-eight  killed,  three  hundred 
and  twenty-one  wounded,  and  three  hundred  and  fifty-five 
missing. 

In  Thayer' s  brigade  (only  one  regiment  on  the  29th),  seven 
killed,  and  one  hundred  and  five  wounded,  and  none  missing. 

The  army,  two  hundred  and  eight  killed,  one  thousand 
and  five  wounded,  and  five  hundred  and  sixty-three  missing. 
Total,  seventeen  hundred  and  seventy-six. 

The  Thirteenth  lost  twenty-seven  killed,  one  hundred  and 
seven  wounded,  and  thirty-nine  missing.  Total,  one  hundred 
and  seventy-three. 

Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  the  Thirteenth,  in  killed,  lost 
twenty-seven  and  a  quarter  per  cent  of  Blair's  brigade,  thirty- 
two  and  three  one-thousandths  per  cent  of  its  wounded,  while 
Blair  had  in  killed,  forty-seven  and  six  one-thousandths  per 
cent  of  the  whole  army  ;  and  in  wounded,  thirty- two  and  nine 
one-thousandths  per  cent  of  the  whole  army  ;  or  nearly  one 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY.  277 

half  the  army  in  killed,  and  very  nearly  one  third  the  entire 
army,  in  wounded. 

The  Thirteenth  had  in  killed,  considerably  more  than  one- 
half,  and  in  wounded,  exactly  one-third,  the  entire  brigade  of 
DeCourcy. 

The  Thirteenth  lost  in  killed,  three  officers,  and  twenty- 
four  enlisted  men — a  total  of  twenty-seven  killed  ;  and  in 
wounded,  eight  officers,  and  ninety-nine  enlisted  men — a  total 
of  one  hundred  and  seven  wounded  ;  and  of  missing,  two 
officers,  and  thirty-seven  enlisted  men — a  total  of  thirty-nine 
missing.  Total  loss,  one  hundred  and  seventy-three. 

The  total  of  losses  in  the  Thirteenth,  exactly  equaled  the 
total  of  missing  of  the  entire  brigade. 

^The  writer  confesses  to  a  feeling  that  the  combinations 
and  groupings  of  the  foregoing  analysis  are  somewhat  inco 
herent,  but  believes  that  each  separate  statement  and  prop 
osition  is  as  accurate  as  the  means  at  hand  will  allow  of. 

On  the  3ist  a  flag  of  truce  was  successful  in  getting  per 
mission  to  bring  our  dead  and  desperately  wounded  from  the 
field  of  battle,  which  was  still  held  by  the  enemy,  under  the 
usual  restrictions,  such  as  limiting  the  flag  of  truce  party  to 
exactly  such  a  number  of  commissioned  officers,  exactly  such 
a  number  of  the  ambulance  corps  to  each  stretcher,  each  with 
a  white  badge  on  the  left  arm  above  the  elbow,  and  of  such 
ample  dimensions  as  to  be  easily  seen  for  a  considerable 
distance. 

The  writer,  as  musician,  was  a  member  of  the  ambulance 
corps,  which  is  supposed  to  be  constituted  of  musicians,  with 
the  exception  of  the  above  specified  commissioned  officers, 
and  noted  many  things  for  future  record  ;  and  memory  calls 
up  the  scenes  of  that  battle-field  as  though  twenty-nine  years 
were  but  as  yesterday. 

The  stark  forms  of  our  dead  comrades  lay  about  us  in 
every  direction,  and  in  every  conceivable  position.  Some  lay 
with  the  face  down,  and  painfully  expectant  were  we  in  turn 
ing  the  body,  that  some  well  known  face  would  be  exposed 
to  view.  Some  lay  with  their  faces  fully  exposed,  and  the 


278  HISTORY    OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

wide-open  eyes  staringly  met  ours,  but  it  was  the  stare  of 
death. 

The  writer,  while  too  busy  in  garnering  this  fruitful 
harvest  of  death,  to  particularly  notice  the  actions  of  his 
comrades  in  the  work,  nevertheless  became  aware,  more  by 
impression  than  by  sight,  that  a  strange  ambulance  man  was 
making  himself  extremely  useful  among  us  ;  and  finally  a 
tone  of  voice  caused  him  to  look  closer  to  the  face  of  the  man 
who  wore  a  private's  clothes  and  the  regulation  white  badge  ; 
but  he  then  saw  that  both  tone  of  voice,  and  face  belonged 
to  Lieut.  James  Beardsley,  of  Company  D,  of  our  regiment, 
who,  in  the  garb  of  an  ambulance  man,  had  (unbeknown  to 
Dr.  Plummer,  of  course)  come  onto  the  field  as  a  spy,  and 
while  busily  engaged  in  clearing  the  battle  field  of  our 
lamented  dead,  was  also  busily  engaged  in  turning  a  critically 
observant  eye  to  every  part  of  the  enemy's  fortifications, 
making  mental  notes  for  possible  future  use  ;  and  as  his 
modesty  would  never  allow  him  to  say  anything  which  might 
be  construed  as  self-praise,  it  is  believed  by  the  writer  that 
this  is  not  an  improper  time  and  place  to  say,  that  this  action, 
just  mentioned,  is  no  otherwise  than  characteristic  of  the 
man,  Lieutenant,  Captain  or  Major,  Jim  Beardsley,  who,  dur 
ing  his  entire  military  life  with  the  Thirteenth,  never  let  slip 
an  opportunity  of  devising,  leading  into,  or  following  into, 
some  desperately  dangerous  scheme,  which,  if  successful, 
would  redound  to  the  prestige  and  glory  of  the  old  Thirteenth 
regiment,  while  at  the  same  time,  no  cooler,  or  braver  man 
ever  went  on  to  a  battle-field. 

We  found  the  bodies  of  several  of  our  dead  who  had  been 
stripped  of  their  outer  clothing,  but  evidently  not  for  plun 
der,  as  the  pockets  had  been  turned  and  their  contents  emptied 
on  to  the  ground,  where  we  found  them  still  lying.  When 
seeing  these  things  scattered  over  the  ground  no  one  could 
feel  like  attaching  blame  to  those  who  took  the  clothes,  evi 
dently  from  necessity,  as  the  contents  of  the  pockets,  including 
not  a  little  money  showed  that  robbery  was  not  the  motive. 

The  contents  of  the  emptied  pockets  was  a  curious  and 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  279 

sadly    interesting    study    that    afforded    abundant   food    for 
reflection. 

There  were  watches,  spectacles,  knives,  match-boxes, 
pipes,  tobacco,  handkerchiefs,  packs  of  playing-cards,  Bibles, 
combs,  revolvers,  and  pictures  ;  and  this  by  no  means  ex 
hausts  the  schedule  of  personal  property  lying  about  ;  and  the 
fingers  of  some  of  our  men  fairly  itched  to  gather  up  some  of 
these  things,  but  they  must  not  be  touched.  Among  other 
things  a  small  meerschaum  pipe  lay  tantalizingly  handy,  and 
wrung  from  the  very  soul  of  one  of  our  men,  the  admiring 
exclamation,  "By  gosh!  ain't  it  a  beauty!"  and  "the 
pregnant  hinges  of  his  knees  "  began  to  crook,  preparatory  to 
a  closer  acquaintance  with  the  "beauty,"  but  suddenly  he 
straightened  and  swept  the  field  with  a  wicked  flash  of  his 
eyes,  and  found  the  enemy's  guard  so  vigilantly  observant  of 
our  every  movement,  that  the  "  beauty  "  remained  untouched. 

The  pictures,  I  hardly  need  say,  were,  with  scarcely  an 
exception,  faces  of  the  loved  ones  at  home.  They  were  of  all 
possible  kinds.  Daguerreotypes,  tintypes,  ambrotypes,  and 
photographs.  They  were  pictures  of  sisters,  sweethearts, 
wives  and  mothers.  The  most  sacred  mementoes  of  home  ; 
and,  upon  reflection,  they  seemed  to  be  in  their  proper  places, 
when  on  the  battle-field. 

Who  will  undertake  to  measure,  prescribe,  or  circumscribe 
the  power  and  extent  of  the  restraining  influence  from  the 
temptations  and  vices  of  army  life,  and  the  strengthening 
influences  towards  all  good  promptings  towards  a  better  life 
which  these  mementoes  possessed  ? — were  they  not  the  guard 
ian-angels  of  life  ?  The  Marys,  and  those  other  Marys,  who 
were  always  "  last  at  the  cross,  and  first  at  the  grave  ?  "—in 
short,  "faithful  until  death,"  and  then,  the  real  "  angels  of 
the  sepulchre,"  which  contains  the  mortal  remains  of  those 
dearly  loved  ones  slain  on  the  battle-field  ? 

Oh,  these  old  army  memories  !  how  they  are  constantly 
spiriting  us  back  through  the  accumulating  decades  of  years, 
but  do  not  relieve  us  of  our  wrinkles,  our  gray  hair,  or  our 
crutches. 


280  HISTORY   OF  THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT. 

Among  the  dead  we  found  part  of  a  human  hand.  It  con 
sisted  of  nearly  the  entire  palm,  with  the  four  fingers  but 
without  the  thumb,  of  the  right  hand.  It  was  entirely  blood 
less,  and  was  not  ragged  where  severed  ;  we  did  not  then,  nor 
afterwards,  find  the  body,  or  the  man  to  which  it  belonged. 
Very  probably  the  soldier  after  receiving  the  wound,  was  cap 
tured,  and  by  the  time  we  found  the  hand,  was  on  the  way  to 
some  rebel  prison.  It  was  carefully  buried  and  I  shall  never 
forget  the  mute,  but  pathetic  eloquence  of  that  hand. 

The  captured,  lost,  and  recovered  battle-flags  of  our  regi 
ment,  on  the  Chickasaw  Bayou  battle-field,  possess  so  much 
of  strange  fortune  and  vicissitude,  as  to  invest  them  with  a 
romantic  interest,  and  they  clamor  for  a  place  in  our  history  ; 
and  as  much  justice  as  can,  will  be  given  them  under  the  title 
of  the  "Confusion  of  the  Battle-Flags." 


CHAPTER   XXI. 

THE  CONFUSION  OF  THE  BATTLE-FLAGS. — THE  RETREAT  NOT 
FOLLOWED. — ARKANSAS  POST  EXPEDITION.  — THIS  TIME 
WE  ARE  THE  VICTORS. 

,N   MRS.  LJVERMORE'S  "My  Story  of 
the  War,"  the  author  gives  a  short  his 
tory  of  about  fifty  battle-flags  ;    and   on  page 
329  are  pictured  six  battle-flags,  beautifully  col 
ored    and   artistically   grouped.      The    regiments 
and   batteries   to   which    these   precious    relics    be 
longed,  were  : 

First  Minnesota  Artillery,  Second  Michigan  Infantry, 
Seventh  New  York  Heavy  Artillery,  Twenty  fourth  Michigan 
Infantry,  Eighth  Missouri  Infantry,  Thirteenth  Illinois 
Infantry. 

The  latter  is  the  National  colors,  mistakenly  supposed  by 
many,  to  be  the  stand  captured  by  the  enemy  at  Chickasaw 
Bayou  ;  but  was  really  the  successor  of  that  flag.  The  flag 
represented  by  the  picture,  was  borne  on  the  field  of  Ringgold 
Gap,  Georgia,  by  Color-Sergeant  Patrick  Riley,  of  Company 
K,  who  was  there  shot  through  the  breast,  and  fell  in  such  a 
manner  as  to  be  enveloped  by  the  flag,  which  thus  became  his 
winding-sheet,  and  still  has  the  stains  of  Sergeant  Riley 's  life- 
blood,  which  are  shown  by  the  picture. 

The  presence  of  the  blood-stained  battle-flag  of  the 
Thirteenth  Illinois,  in  the  above-mentioned  group,  in  Mrs. 
Liverinore's  picture,  suggests  the  propriety  of  a  detailed  ac 
count  of  what  may  properly  be  termed,  ' '  The  Confusion  of  the 

281 


282  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH  ^REGIMENT. 

Battle-flags,"  of  the  Thirty-first  Missouri  and  the  Thirteenth 
Illinois,  at  Chickasaw  Bayou. 

When  Blair's  brigade  charged  the  enemy's  works  at 
Chickasaw  Bayou,  at  noon  on  the  2gth  of  December,  1862, 
the  eight  battle-flags  of  the  four  regiments  in  the  brigade,  in 
two  lines  of  battle,  were  a  most  inspiring  sight ;  and  they 
were  borne  proudly  on  to  the  bloody  field  where  some  were 
lost,  while  others  were  trailed  in  the  dust  and  trodden  under 
foot  by  both  friend  and  foe  as  the  waves  of  battle  ebbed  and 
flowed  in  successes  and  reverses  until  our  troops  were  driven 
from  the  field. 

No  flag  was  borne  more  proudly,  defended  more  stoutly, 
or  beckoned  its  brave  followers  nearer  the  last  works  of  the  enemy, 
than  ours.  The  fortunes  of  war  decreed  its  capture  by  the 
enemy. 

The  brigade  line  of  battle  had  been  formed  by  placing  our 
regiment,  Thirteenth  Illinois,  in  the  right  front,  and  the 
Thirty-first  Missouri  in  the  left  front  ;  and  it  will  be  noticed 
that  of  those  two  regiments  touching  elbows  in  line  of  battle, 
the  figures  designating  the  number  of  one,  are  exactly  trans 
posed  in  that  of  the  other.  This  will  be  shown  to  have  been 
the  cause  of  a  most  singular  double  mistake,  after  the  repulse 
of  our  troops. 

A  strong  personal  friendship  prompted  Private  Jack 
Kenyon,  of  Company  K,  Thirteenth  Illinois,  to  crawl  over  on 
to  the  battle-field,  after  dark,  to  search  for  the  wounded  or 
dead  lieutenants  of  his  company,  who  were  missing. 

In  his  search  he  came  across  a  flag  whose  figures  he 
thought  were  a  '  'one' '  and  a  '  'three. ' '  While  not  knowing  that 
our  flag  was  missing,  this  seemed  proof  that  it  was  so  ;  and 
he  determined  to  rescue  it  from  eventually  falling  into  the 
enemy's  hands.  He  tore  the  flag  from  the  staff  and  wound  it 
about  his  body,  and  continued  what  proved  an  unavailing 
search.  Just  before  daylight  he  had  recrossed  the  bayou  and 
reached  camp  only  to  find  that  the  flag  was  the  State  flag 
belonging  to  the  Thirty-first  Missouri. 

When  driven  off  the  field  that  same  day,  Private  George 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY.  283 

W.  Sutherland,  of  Compaq  I,  Thirteenth  Illinois,  was  not  so 
scared  but  that  he  noticed  a  flag  partly  rolled  up,  and  nearly 
concealed  under  the  body  of  a  dead  soldier  and  the  other 
wreckage  of  a  battle-field. 

Enough  of  the  flag  was  exposed  to  show  a  figure  "three," 
and  he  had  no  doubt  that  it  was  our  flag  ;  and  making  a  mental 
memorandum  of  the  locality,  for  that  was  all  he  could  do 
then,  as  the  bullets  and  shells  of  the  rebs  were  ''speeding 
the  parting  guest,"  and  so  Comrade  Sutherland  "stood  not 
upon  the  order  of  his  going,  but  went  at  once." 

From  the  first,  he  had  determined  to  return  to  the  battle 
field  during  the  night  and  bring  away  the  flag.  When  the 
darkness  brought  the  opportunity,  he  could  not  find  Colonel 
Gorgas  or  any  staff  officer  authorized  to  give  the  required 
permission,  except  Surgeon  Plummer,  who  reluctlantly  gave 
him  the  permission  by  saying  :  "Well,  George,  go  over  and 
get  the  flag,  but  be  sure  that  the  rebs  don' t  get  you." 

After  a  tedious  search,  he  found  the  flag,  and  dragged  it, 
staff  and  all,  to  the  first  line  of  rifle-pits,  then  ran  for  the 
bayou,  across  which  he  found  a  log  which  he  used  as  a 
bridge,  and  triumphantly  bore  his  trophy  to  Surgeon  Plum 
mer,  who  was  taken  down  considerably  by  the  revelation  that 
it  was  the  National  colors  of  the  Thirty-first  Missouri,  both  of 
whose  flags  had  been  lost  on  the  field,  and  both  had  been 
rescued  and  restored  by  soldiers  of  the  Thirteenth  Illinois,  who 
both  supposed  that  they  were  rescuing  their  own  flag.  An  officer 
of  the  regiment  to  which  the  flags  belonged,  stood  near  and 
claimed  the  flag  that  Private  Sutherland  had  delivered  to 
Dr.  Plummer,  who,  too  readily  gave  it  up  ;  and  for  the  rescue 
of  neither  of  these  flags  did  any  thanks  come  back. 

The  National  colors  carried  by  the  Thirteenth,  on  to  the 
battle-field  of  Chickasaw  Bayou,  on  December  29th,  1862,  and 
captured  by  the  enemy  at  that  time,  was  afterwards  trans 
mitted  to  the  State  of  Illinois,  with  the  following  letters  : 


284  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH  REGIMENT 

COMMONWEALTH  OF  MASSACHUSETTS, 

EXECUTIVE  DEPARTMENT,  BOSTON,  May  loth,  1865. 
To  His  Excellency,  GOVERNOR  OGLESBY,  Springfield,  111. 

GOVERNOR  :  I  inclose  with  this  a  copy  of  a  letter  I  received  yester 
day  from  Rev.  Dr.  Lothrop,  clergyman  of  the  Brattle  Street  Church  in 
this  city,  which  tells  its  own  story.  Locke,  who  is  a  fine  young  fellow 
in  appearance,  brought  it  to  me  in  person,  and  brought  with  it  the  silk 
flag,  the  first  Union  flag  displayed  in  Richmond  on  the  day  of  its  cap 
ture.  Upon  examination,  this  flag  appears  to  belong  to  an  Illinois 
regiment,  numbered  the  Thirteenth;  but  of  what  arm  of  the  service, 
whether  infantry  or  cavalry,  does  not  appear.  It  was  probably  hanging 
in  Turner's  office  as  a  rebel  trophy.  It  belongs  of  right,  therefore,  to 
your  State,  and  I  hold  it  subject  to  your  order,  content  in  yielding  it  to 
you,  to  remember,  as  symbolical  of  the  common  patriotism  of  the  whole 
country,  that  the  first  Union  flag  raised  in  Richmond  was  an  Illinois 
flag  by  a  Massachusetts  soldier. 

I  am,  Governor,  faithfully, 

Your  friend  and  servant, 

JOHN  A.  ANDREW, 

Governor  of  Massachusetts. 

Then  follows  the  exceedingly  interesting,  and  historically 
valuable  letter  to  Governor  Andrew,  from  the  Rev.  S.  K. 
Lothrop,  to  whom  the  flag  was  brought  before  he  took  it  to 
the  Governor,  by  Locke,  who  raised  it  over  Richmond  at  its 
capture,  and  who  then  took  it  home  to  Massachusetts  with 
him. 

12  CHESTNUT  STREET,  May  9th,  1865. 
To  His  Excellency,  JOHN  A.  ANDREW, 

Governor  of  Massachusetts. 

DEAR  SIR:  The  bearer,  John  F.  Locke,  of-Somerville,  a  private  of 
Company  E,  Thirty-ninth  Regiment  Massachusetts  Volunteers,  Fifth 
Army  Corps,  was  captured  at  the  attack  on  Weldon  railroad,  on  the  igth 
of  August,  1864,  and  sent  to  Salisbury,  N.  C.,  where  he  was  kept  till  the 
2oth  of  February,  1865,  and  on  that  day  was  sent  to  Richmond,  arriving 
there  on  the  22d,  to  be  paroled  and  exchanged. 

The  day  after  his  arrival  at  Richmond,  he  met  Captain  Porter,  Ad 
jutant-General  of  his  brigade,  who  had  been  left  by  General  Hays  in 
charge  of  the  supplies  sent  to  Richmond  for  our  prisoners  there,  and 
Captain  Porter  wished  him  to  remain  and  assist  in  the  charge  and  distri 
bution  of  these  supplies.  With  this  wish,  or  order,  he  complied,  and 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  285 

remained  at  Richmond  so  employed  up  to  the  time  of  the  evacuation  of 
that  city  by  the  rebels,  civil  and  military. 

Captain  Porter,  having  in  the  meantime  left,  and  Captain  Stewart  of 
the  One  Hundred  and  Forty-sixth  New  York  Regiment  taking  his  place. 
On  the  morning  of  the  3d  of  April,  Captain  Stewart,  Locke,  and  one  sol 
dier,  having  passed  the  night  in  the  building  containing  our  stores, 
which  was  near  Libby  Prison,  Captain  Stewart  left  a  little  before  7  o'clock 
and  walked  up  Main  street  to  see  what  was  going  on— the  explosions, 
the  fires,  and  other  indications  all  satisfying  them  that  the  city  was  being 
evacuated.  Locke  was  left  in  charge  of  the  building.  About  twenty 
minutes  after  this,  Captain  Stewart's  servant  came  down  to  the-building 
and  said  the  Federal  cavalry  were  coming  in,  that  they  were  about  a 
mile  and  a  half  off.  Lock  upon  hearing  this,  went  immediately  over  to 
Libby,  entered  Major  Turner's  office,  found  there  two  captured  Union 
flags,  one  silk,  the  other  bunting,  returned  to  the  building,  and  proceed 
ing  to  the  third  story,  hung  out  the  Union  flag  from  a  window  or  door 
way  before  any  of  our  troops  were  in  sight,  and  while  there  were  yet 
straggling  many  rebel  soldiers  in  the  street.  He  claims  thus  to  have 
raised  the  first  Union  flag  in  Richmond,  and  as  he  proposes  waiting 
upon  your  Excellency  with  the  Union  flag  which  he  took  from  Major 
Turner's  office  in  the  Libby,  and  wanted  these  facts  to  be  known  to  you, 
I  have  taken  the  liberty  to  write  them  out  in  the  form  of  this  note  to 
you.  Locke  has  been  nearly  three  years  in  the  service,  and  is  twenty- 
one  years  old. 

Commending  him  to  your  Excellency,  I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with 
great  regard,  your  friend  and  obedient  servant. 

S.  K.  LOTHROP. 


Both  of  these  priceless  relics  are  now  in  the  office  of  the 
Adjutant- General  of  Illinois,  where  they  can  be  seen,  the 
one  with  the  blood-stains  of  Sergeant  Riley,  and  the  other, 
after  war's  many  vicissitudes,  bearing  the  proud  record  of  its 
regiment,  which  says:  "Thirteenth  Illinois,  First  National 
Colors,  First  Regimental  Colors.  Actually  first  at  Chickasaw 
Bayou,  and  assault  of  29th;  Jackson,  May  i4th,  1863  ;  Vicks- 
burg  and  assault,  May  22d,  1863  ;  Jackson,  July  loth,  1863  ; 
Tuscumbia,  October  26th  and  2yth,  1863  ;  Lookout  Mountain, 
November  24th,  1863  ;  Mission  Ridge  November  25th,  1863  ; 
Riiiggold,  Georgia  November  2yth,  1863." 

January  ist>  i86j. — On  board  steamer  Continental,  l>'ing 
in  the  Yazoo  river. 


286  HISTORY   OF    THE    THIRTEENTH  .REGIMENT 

We  had  broken  our  camp  before  the  enemy  last  night. 
We  had  buried  the  dead  year  side  by  side  with  our  dead 
heroes  from  the  battle-field.  Our  wounded  were  in  hospital. 
Great  fires  were  kindled  to  deceive  the  enemy,  and  we  marched 
away  from  one  of  those  fields  of  glory  where  death  and  defeat 
are  constituent  parts. 

During  the  last  day  of  the  old  year,  our  brigade  received 
orders  to  take  two  days'  rations  and  be  ready  to  march  at 
8  p.  m.  We  marched  sullenly,  however,  and  as  though  fol 
lowing  the  orders  of  the  Grecian  general,  Diomed,  who,  not 
daring  to  meet  the  approach  of  the  great  Hector,  is  made  by 
Homer  to  say  : 

' '  Retire  then,  warriors,  but  sedate  and  slow, 
Retire,  but  with  your  faces  to  the  foe." 

Thus  silently,  we  left  that  silent  camp,  with  noiseless  tread 
and  guns  at  a  trail-arms,  and  on  reaching  the  Yazoo,  had  em 
barked  on  the  steamer  Continental,  presumably  for  some  secret 
night  expedition.  It  might  be  for  an  attack  on  Haynes 
Bluff;  but  the  night  proved  foggy  and  dark,  which  was  prob 
ably  the  reason  why  we  found  ourselves  in  the  same  place  this 
morning  ;  and  still  did  not  move  till  dark,  when  we  left  the 
Continental  and  marched  two  miles  down  the  river  and  em 
barked  on  our  old  floating  home,  the  John  Warner,  where  we 
found  our  hospitable  knapsacks  impatiently  waiting  for  us 
with  warm  blankets  and  other  all-wool  comforts  which  we  had 
been  without  for  five  days  ;  and  which,  a  part  of  the  time,  we 
needed  very  much. 

Friday,  January  2d. — At  about  2  p.  ra.  dropped  down  to 
the  Mississippi,  touched  at  Young's  Point,  and  then  at  about 
dark,  Comrade  Chapel  says:  "We  were  ordered  up  to  Milli- 
ken's  Bend.  The  night  was  rainy,  foggy,  and  dark  ;  and  it 
was  very  difficult  and  dangerous  running.  We  put  up  some 
tents  on  the  hurricane-deck  ;  but  were  in  danger  of  swamping 
our  boat,  from  having  too  much  sail  on  her,  and  had  to  take 
them  down  in  double-quick  time,  and  then  lay  exposed  to  a 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  287 

terrible  rain-storm  all  night,  but  had  got  to  the  '  Bend  '  at 
10:30  p.  m.  and  laid  over  until  morning." 

The  whole  fleet  rendezvoused  at  Milliken's  Bend,  and  on 
January  3d,  General  McClernand  arrived,  and  the  next  day 
assumed  command  of  the  expedition,  and  reorganized  the 
army,  to  which  he  gave  the  name  of  "  The  Army  of  the  Mis 
sissippi,"  dividing  it  into  two  corps  ;  the  Thirteenth  Corps, 
commanded  by  Brigadier- General  George  W.  Morgan,  and  the 
Fifteenth  Corps  commanded  by  Major-General  W.  T.  Sherman. 

We  were  now  the  First  Regiment  of  Blair's  First  Brigade 
of  Steele's  First  Division  of  Sherman's  Fifteenth  Corps,  of 
Grant's  Army  of  the  Tennessee.  The  regiments  of  Blair's 
brigade  now  consisted  of  the  : 

Thirteenth  Illinois,  Lieutenant-Colonel,  Adam  B.  Gorgas. 

Twenty-ninth  Missouri,  Colonel,  John  S.  Cavender. 

Thirtieth  Missouri,  Lieutenant-Colonel,  Otto  Schadt. 

Thirty-first  Missouri,  Lieutenant-Colonel,  Samuel  P. 
Simpson. 

Thirty-second  Missouri,  Colonel,  Francis  H.  Manter. 

Fifty-eighth  Ohio,  Captain,  Bastian  Benkler. 

Fourth  Ohio  Battery,  Captain,  Louis  Hoffman. 

Of  the  other  brigades  in  Steele's  Division,  the  Second 
Brigade  was  commanded  by  Brigadier-General  Charles  E. 
Hovey,  and  the  Third  was  commanded  by  Brigadier- General, 
John  M.  Thayer. 

The  "  Mississippi  River  Expedition,"  which  we  have  been 
considering,  in  its  incipiency  and  carrying  out,  was  almost 
as  intricate  and  difficult  to  be  understood  as  was  the  geog 
raphy  of  the  Chickasaw  Bayou  battle-field,  and  the  policy 
which  is  held  responsible  for  the  criminal  manslaughter  of  its 
victims. 

On  the  2ist  day  of  October,  1862,  Secretary  Stanton  se 
cretly  authorized  Major-General  John  A.  McClernand,  who 
was  in  Washington,  to  proceed  WTest  and  raise  an  army  for  a 
Mississippi  river  expedition,  with  Vicksburg  as  an  objective. 

Secretary  Stanton  authorized  General  McClernand  to  show 
his  secret  orders  to  the  Governors  of  Indiana,  Illinois,  and 


288  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH.  REGIMENT 

Iowa,  but  they  were  not  communicated  to  General  Grant, 
who  was  also  planning  the  reduction  of  Vicksburg  by  a  com 
bination  of  his  own  army,  and  a  river  force,  and  General 
Halleck  as  commander  of  the  department  was  in  telegraphic 
communication  with  Grant  who  designated  Sherman  to  com 
mand  the  river  force,  which  had  the  sanction  of  General 
Halleck,  and  this  secret  movement  was  kept  from  the  knowl 
edge  of  General  Grant  for  fifty -eight  days,  when  on  the  iSth 
of  December,  Halleck  telegraphed  Grant  to  give  the  command 
of  the  "  river  expedition  "  to  McClernand.  Fearing  this  very 
thing,  Grant  had  hurried  Sherman  off  from  Memphis  before 
McClernand  could  get  started  down  the  river,  so  that  when 
obliged  to  notify  McClernand  of  his  appointment,  and  Sher 
man  to  delay  at  Memphis  for  McClernand,  the  note  sent  to 
Cairo  could  not  find  McClernand,  and  that  to  Sherman  at 
Memphis  was  too  late,  as  Sherman  had  already  sailed  with 
his  fleet. 

On  December  soth,  two  days  before  we  left  Helena,  Van 
Dorn  and  Forest  had  so  maneuvered  as,  the  one  to  capture 
Grant's  great  depot  of  supplies  at  Holly  Springs,  and  the 
other  by  a  raid  into  west  Tennessee,  to  break  his  communica 
tions  so  that  his  co-operating  advance  on  Vicksburg,  had  to  be 
abandoned.  This  left  Sherman  in  the  river  before  Vicksburg 
with  either  an  unequal  fight,  or  a  back  out.  The  latter,  with 
McClernand  expected  any  day,  who  would  take  from  him  the 
command,  which  was  exceedingly  repugnant  to  the  Sherman 
nature,  was  not  to  be  thought  of,  hence  the  fighting  which 
we  have  been  considering. 

The  expedition  against  Fort  Hindman,  or  Arkansas  Post, 
said  to  have  been  a  conception  of  Sherman,  and  adopted  by 
McClernand,  had  the  great  merit  of  promptness,  and  prompt 
ness  is  always  a  strong  element  of  success.  The  same  day 
that  he  assumed  command,  Sunday,  January  4th,  1863,  Mc 
Clernand  embarked  the  army  of  thirty-two  thousand  men,  and 
with  Porter's  fleet  of  three  ironclads  and  six  gun- boats  .^et 
sail  for  the  Arkansas  river.  The  objective,  about  sixty  miles 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  289 

up  from  the  Mississippi,  was  described  by  Professor  James 
Russell  Soley,  U.  S.  N.,  as  : 

"  A  square  bastioned  work  standing  at  a  bend  of  the 
river  sufficiently  high  to  command  the  surrounding  country. 
It  was  commanded  by  Lieutenant  John  W.  Dunnington,  who 
had  done  such  good  service  at  St.  Charles,  and  defended  by 
troops  under  Brigadier-General  Thomas  J.  Churchill.  On  the 
side  facing  the  river  were  three  casemates,  two  of  them  at  the 
angles  containing  each  a  nine-inch  gun,  and  the  intermediate 
one  an  eight-inch.  On  the  opposite  side  the  approaches  were 
defended  by  a  line  of  trenches  a  mile  in  length,  beginning  at 
the  fort  and  terminating  in  an  impassable  swamp.  In  the 
main  work  and  in  these  trenches  were  mounted  fourteen 
lighter  pieces,  several  of  them  rifled.  Two  or  three  outlying 
works  were  built  on  the  levee  below  the  fort,  but  these  were 
exposed  to  an  enfilading  fire  from  the  gun-boats,  and  at  the 
first  attack  by  the  latter,  were  promptly  abandoned." 

Stopping  to  investigate  a  wood -pile  here,  then  crossing  the 
river  to  interview  a  very  promising  rail-fence,  then  puffing 
and  wheezing  up  stream  a  few  miles  further,  and  hungrily  ap 
proaching  the  Adriatic,  for  rations,  then  with  frowning  and 
grumbling  politeness  throwing  a  hawser  aboard  the  grounded 
gun-boat,  Louisville,  to  tow  her  off  a  sand-bar,  and  going  over 
to  Luzerne  for  five  hundred  bushels  of  coal,  then  back  again 
to  the  Mississippi  shore,  and  then  re-crossing  and  spending 
the  entire  night  taking  on  more  coal,  was  the  way  we  crawled 
up  the  "  Father  of  Waters  "  and  to  glory,  until  we  made  the 
mouth  of  the  White  river  on  the  yth,  four  days  from  Milliken's 
Bend. 

Ran  into  the  White  river  on -the  yth,  passed  through  the 
"Cut-off"  on  the  Qth,  and  disembarked  below  the  fort  on 
the  loth,  and  began  throwing  out  the  lines  of  investment. 

Sunday,  the  nth. — The  investing  movement  was  early  com 
pleted  ;  our  Fifteenth  Corps  having  the  right  and  advance. 
Made  a  circuit  and  came  out  on  to  the  river  above  the  fort. 
Morgan's  Thirteenth  Corps  was  on  our  left.  Blair's  brigade 
having  lately  had  so  much  work  to  do,  was  placed  in  reserve  ; 


290  HISTORY    OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

and  our  brigade  loss  was  nine  wounded,  of  which  two  were  in 
the  Thirteenth. 

Sherman,  on  this  same  subject,  says  to  McClernand  :  "  The 
former  [Blair]  having  borne  the  brunt  of  our  unsuccessful 
assault  at  Vicksburg,  was  properly  held  in  reserve  on  this 
occasion,  and  suffered  but  little  loss." 

The  gun-boats  engaged  in  the  expedition  of  "Arkansas 
Post"  were  the  : 

De  Kalb,   Lieutenant-Commander,  John   G.  Walker. 

Louisville,  Lieutenant-Commander,    Elias  K.  Owen. 

Cincinnati,  Lieutenant,  George  M.  Bache. 
(Ram)   Monarch,  Colonel,  C.  R.  Ellet. 

Blackhaiuk,  Lieutenant-Commander,  K.  R.  Breese. 

Tyler,  Lieutenant-Commander,  James  W.  Shirk. 
Then  the  Tin  clads  : 

Rattler,  Lieutenant- Commander,  Watson  Smith, 
(and)     Glide,  Lieutenant,  S.  K.  Woodworth. 

Four  hundred  yards  below  the  fort,  the  three  ironclads 
had  ranged  themselves  in  line  across  the  river,  the  DC  Kalb 
on  the  right,  the  Louisville  on  the  left,  while  the  Cincinnati 
had  the  center.  Eight  hundred  yards  in  their  rear  was 
another  line  with  the  gun-boat  Lexington  on  the  right,  the 
gun-boat  Monarch  on  the  left,  the  tin-clad  Rattler,  the  right- 
center,  and  the  tin-clad  Glide  the  left-center.  Sixteen  hun 
dred  yards  still-  below  the  last  line,  were  stationed  near  the 
left  bank,  the  gun-boat  New  Era  and  near  the  opposite  bank, 
the  gun-boat  Blackhawk. 

The  bombardments  from  the  boats  began  on  Saturday 
afternoon,  the  loth,  which  was  a  sort  of  prelude  ;  but  at  night 
the  boats  dropped  down  stream  and  tied  up  to  the  bank,  out 
of  sight  range  of  the  heavy  guns  of  the  fort,  moving  up  to 
their  previous  position  again  in  the  morning  of  Sunday, 
January  nth,  and  at  i  p.  m.,  the  army  being  ready,  the 
fighting  was  commenced  in  earnest  ;  and  while  pouring  in  an 
incessant  fire  from  both  musketry  and  artillery,  the  investing 
lines  advanced  preparatory  to  a  final  assault.  It  had  already 
become  apparent  that  the  enemy  was  over-weighted  from  both 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  29 1 

afield  and  afloat.  The  belligerant  voice  from  the  fort  grew 
weaker  and  its  white  flags  hastened  to  articulate  :  ' '  Hold  ! 
enough  !  ' ' 

We  captured  about  five  thousand  prisoners,  all  their  arms, 
ammunition,  fort  equipments  and  stores.  Our  loss  was  one 
thousand  and  sixty-one  killed  and  wounded,  while,  besides 
the  prisoners,  the  enemy's  loss  was  sixty  killed  and  eighty 
wounded. 

The  rebs  had  comfortable  log  quarters  which  they  kindly 
turned  to  our  boys,  as  they  themselves  expected  to  spend  the 
summer  in  Chicago. 

When  the  flood-tide  of  victorious  Yanks  poured  over  the 
works  of  that  fort,  many  bloody  scenes  of  slaughter  met  the 
eye.  Dead,  dying  and  wounded  were  lying  about  all  through 
the  works.  To  be  sure,  such  scenes  were  not  unfamiliar  to 
our  eyes,  but  each  new  horror  has  peculiar  features  of  its  own, 
and  is  nearer  and  newer  than  the  previous  one  ;  and  there  is 
possible  a  climax  of  horrors  beyond  any  that  have  preceded. 

On  looking  into  the  casemate,  the  destruction  of  which 
had  specially  been  assigned  to  the  ironclad,  Cincinnati,  a 
death-chamber  was  revealed  which  seemed  to  have  reserved  to 
itself  the  supreme  climax  of  horrors. 

This  casemate,  built  of  the  heaviest  hewn  timber,  and 
covered  and  banked  by  a  great  depth  of  earth,  contained  a 
monster  gun  of  nine-inch  caliber,  which,  when  it  looked  from 
its  deep  embrasure,  commanded  a  down-river  sweep  which 
brought  into  the  sweep  of  its  vision  a  considerable  land  space 
occupied  by  the  left-wing  of  our  army,  and  any  gun-boat 
which  could  be  stationed  in  the  river  below,  and  bearing  on 
the  fort  ;  and  right  there,  only  four  hundred  yards  away,  and 
looking  right  into  this  particular  embrasure,  were  four  of  our 
best  ironclads.  A  shell  from  one  of  these  four  (the  Cincinnati) 
had  entered  the  embrasure,  exploding  as  it  struck  the  heavy 
timber  with  such  tremendous  force  as  to  cause  the  roof  to  fall 
in,  had  dismounted  the  great  gun,  and  killed  every  man  of  the 
six  who  had  served  the  gun. 

Awful  as  this  scene  was  to  the  looker-on,  the  awfulness 


292  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    RE*GIMENT 

never  reached  the  consciousness  of  the  doomed  men,  so  sud 
denly  had  death  met  them. 

The  postures  in  which  death  had  left  them  would  very 
strongly  suggest  the  effects  of  Mesmerism,  wer%  it  not  that 
some  of  them  were  so  horribly  mutilated  ;  but  there  was 
nothing  in  the  expression  of  their  faces  to  show  that  any  of 
them  had  realized  the  close  proximity  of  the  grim  destroyer. 

Looking  on  the  countenances  of  these  corpses,  who  seemed 
to  be  only  sleeping,  they  brought  forcibly  to  mind  the  case  of 
the  "Seven  Sleepers  of  Bphesus";  and  it  seemed  that,  could 
it  be  possible  for  life  to  reanimate  those  stark  forms,  even 
though  years  elapsed  to  intervene,  they  would  leap  to  their 
feet  and,  instantaneously,  make  a  most  desperate  effort  to 
remount  that  gun  and  train  it  on  the  Federal  gun-boat  that 
had  caused  the  disaster,  and  which,  presumably,  would  still 
be  at  anchor  in  the  river  below. 

Of  the  few  days  immediately  succeeding  the  capture  of 
Arkansas  P9st,  Comrade  Chapel  says  :  "  Monday,  January 
12,  I  took  a  walk  over  the  battle-field  and  gathered  some 
relics.  Moved  into  the  rebel's  barracks  at  9  a.  m.,  our  regi 
ment  occupying  five  streets,  and  our  Company  F,  five  houses  ; 
which  gave  us  plenty  of  room.  Our  mess  occupies  the  rebel 
lieutenant's  quarters.  Spent  the  day  in  cleaning  and  putting 
new  bunks  in  it.  They  tell  us  we  are  to  remain  here  some 
time.  For  the  first  time  since  I  left  Helena  (tiventy-two  days}  I 
undressed  and  slept  well, 

"  Wakened  at  daylight  by  reveille.  Quite  a  new  thing,  as 
we  had  not  heard  reveille  before  for  three  weeks.  Had  a  nice 
Johnny-cake  made  of  secesher's  cornmeal  for  breakfast. 


CHAPTER    XXII. 

WE  DESTROY  ARKANSAS  POST. — OCCUPY  MILUKEX'S  BEND 
AND  YOUNG'S  POINT. — CAPTURE  THE  DE  SOTO. — GO  TO 
GREENVILLE,  MISSISSIPPI,  AND  RETURN. 

2 

PENT  half  the  forenoon  on  the  battle-field,  and 
just  got  back  when  Adjutant  Jenks  sent  for  me 
to  do  some  writing  for  him.  Spent  three  or 
four  hours  in  writing  general  orders,  when 
another  general  order  came  for  us  to  embark  imme 
diately  on  the  Warner.  This  is  the  way  it  always 
is  ;  as  soon  as  we  begin  to  be  comfortable,  we  have 
to  get  up  and  move.  We  were  ordered  to  put  everything 
combustible  into  the  houses  and  fire  them  ;  which  we  did  and 
at  2  p.  m.  we  started  for  the  boat,  leaving  nothing  but  smok 
ing  ruins.  The  rifle-pits  are  filled  up  and  the  fort  is  being 
demolished  as  fast  as  possible,  and  soon  the  fort  at  "Arkansas 
Post,"  will  remain  only  in  history. 

"  We  were  busy  loading  all  night.  I  volunteered  to  stand 
guard  for  the  sake  of  having  a  dry  place  to  sleep  (between 
reliefs). 

Wednesday,  January  ij.th. — From  daylight  to  dark  it  con 
tinued  to  rain  in  perfect  torrents  ;  not  even  holding  up  long 
enough  for  us  to  cook  anything.  The  new  Monitor  came  up 
from  the  Mississippi  river.  She  carries  two  1 3-inch  Dahlgren 
guns  and  is  one  of  the  best  gun-boats  ever  built. 

' '  Toward  night  it  began  to  grow  cold  and  we  had  to 
leave  the  decks  and  hunt  places  below.  Hartman  and  I  laid 
(not  slept)  down  on  some  cord-wood  near  the  boiler.  About 
12  midnight  it  began  to  snow  and  we  lay  shivering  till  morn 
ing,  which  brought  us  no  abatement  of  the  storm. 

293 


294  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH 

"  Snowed  all  da\T.  Two  or  three  inches  of  snow.  Sever 
est  storm  known  for  a  great  while. 

"  Pulled  out  at  9  o'clock  in  the  morning,  January  15,  and 
started  down  the  river.  The  boat  broke  one  of  her  runners 
and  we  had  to  go  slowly  to  keep  right  side  up. 

Friday,  January  i6th.—A.\.  7  a.  m.  we  reached  Napoleon, 
and  tied  up  to  the  wharf.  Colonel  Gorgas  told  us  to  go  on 
shore  and  make  ourselves  as  comfortable  as  possible  in  the 
vacant  houses  around  town  ;  and  we  all  found  shelter.  We 
(Company  F)  went  into  a  boarding  house  and  found  some 
stoves  and  felt  quite  at  home. 

January  i6t1i. — Busy  all  day  cooking  and  fixing  up  our 
quarters.  We  found  some  molasses  and  made  some  excellent 
candy.  We  were  sent  out  on  picket-guard,  and  although  I 
was  one  of  the  color-guard  and  excused  from  all  duty,  I  went 
out  and  stood  my  regular  guard  with  the  rest.  We  did  not 
come  on  duty  until  5  o'clock  in  the  morning. 

Saturday,  January  ijth. — We  remained  on  duty  all  day; 
and  for  some  unexplainable  reason,  were  not  relieved  and  had 
to  remain  out. 

Sunday,  January  i8th. — We  were  relieved  at  noon  and 
ordered  on  board  the  Warner  immediately.  Packed  up  our 
traps  and  embarked.  Had  not  been  out  long  when  some 
rascal  set  fire  to  the  town,  and  the  boats  had  to  move  up 
stream.  It  rained  nearly  all  night." 

According  to  the  following  correspondence  between  Mc- 
Clernand  and  Sherman,  as  to  the  burning  of  Napoleon,  the 
fire  must  have  been  on  Saturday,  the  iyth,  instead  of  Sunday, 
the  1 8th,  as  recorded  by  Comrade  Chapel.  The  correspond 
ence  was  as  follows  : 


HEADQUARTERS,  ARMY  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI, 

AFLOAT  OFF  NAPOLEON,  ARKANSAS, 

January  I7th,  1863. 
Major-General  W.  T.  SHERMAN, 

GENERAL  :  Take  measures  immediately  to  extinguish  the  flames 
which  are  consuming  Napoleon,  and  find  if  possible  the  incendiaries  and 
punish  them. 


ILLINOIS     VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  295 

Place  guards  to  stop  the  scandals  which  are  being  perpetrated  by 
worthless  men. 

I  am,  General,  respectfully, 

JOHN  A.  McCLERNAND, 
Commanding. 

To  which  General  Sherman  characteristically  replied  : 

HEADQUARTERS,  FIFTEENTH  ARMY  CORPS, 

NAPOLEON,  ARKANSAS,  January  17,  1863. 
Major-General  JOHN  A.  McCLERNAND  : 

GENERAL  :  *  It  is  impossible  to  find  out  the  incendiary  ; 

not  a  clew  can  now  be  found.    *  *    No  man  in  the  army  has  labored 

harder  than  I  have  to  check  this  spirit  in  our  soldiers  ;  and  I  am  free  to 
admit  we  all  deserve  to  be  killed  [tough  on  McCleruand],  unless  we  can 
produce  a  state  of  discipline  when  such  disgraceful  acts  can  not  be  com 
mitted  unpunished. 

I  am,  General,  with  very  great  respect, 

W.  T.  SHERMAN, 
Maj.-Gen.  Com'd'g  Corps. 

Under  peremptory  orders  from  General  Grant  to  return 
immediately  to  Milliken's  Bend,  General  McClernand  moved 
the  army  down  stream  with  some  show  of  alacrity,  to  both  the 
place  designated,  and  Young's  Point,  arriving  there  on  the 
2oth,  where  wre  were  soon  followed  by  General  Grant,  who 
arrived  down  on  the  29th,  and  assumed  command  of  the  army 
in  person. 

On  February  3d,  1863,  Grant  says  to  Halleck  :  "One  of 
the  rams  ran  the  blockade  this  morning.  This  is  of  vast  im 
portance,  cutting  off  the  enemy's  communications  with  the 
west  bank  of  the  river. ' ' 

As  above  stated,  we  had  arrived  down  from  Arkansas  Post, 
to  Milliken's  Bend  on  January  2oth,  1863,  and  on  the  22d  lay 
alongside  the  supply  steamer,  Adriatic,  nearly  all  day  drawing 
rations.  Here,  and  on  this  day,  Color-Sergeant,  Wilson  E. 
Chapel,  of  Company  F,  took  charge  of  a  squad  for  the  burial 
of  Private  Joseph  M.  Bashaw,  of  Company  E,  who  had  died 
the  dav  before  of  wounds  received  at  Chickasa\v  Bavou. 


296  HISTORY   OF   THE    THIRTEENTH    REQIMENT 

On  the  next  day,  January  230!,  our  boat  dropped  down  to 
the  landing  at  Young's  Point  where  the  regiment  debarked 
and  consumed  almost  the  entire  day  in  taking  off  our  things 
from  the  boat ;  when,  towards  evening  the  entire  brigade  took 
up  its  march  across  Young's  Point  to  go  into  camp  along  the 
levee  below  Vicksburg,  but  above  Warrenton.  The  road  was 
so  badly  blocked  by  other  troops,  on  the  road  to  their  several 
posts,  that  at  midnight  we  stopped  until  early  morning  of  the 
24th,  when  we  went  on  to  our  designated  position  and  went 
into  camp. 

The  canal,  which  we  were  to  guard  and  help  finish,  had 
been  begun  the  previous  year  by  General  Thomas  Williams, 
who,  in  command  of  a  small  force  of  troops  from  General  But 
ler's  army  had  come  up  with  Farragut's  fleet,  which  was 
intended  to  reduce  Vicksburg  ;  but  the  movement  was  not 
successful,  and  the  canal  was  not  finished  ;  but  General  Grant 
now  decided  to  renew  the  scheme,  trusting  to  the  high  water 
in  the  river  to  do  a  large  part  of  the  excavating  when  once  the 
head-gates  of  the  canal  should  be  opened  and  the  flood  let  in. 
But  this  and  other  like  schemes  which  were  tried  later  on,  to 
deprive  Vicksburg  of  navigable  communication,  from  either 
above  or  below,  were  destined  to  failure  ;  and  the  pick-axe  and 
spade  had  to  retire  behind  the  gun  and  bayonet. 

Time  and  events  were  evidently  to  prove  not  so  monotonous 
in  this  as  in  some  former  camps  ;  for,  while  very  busy  putting 
our  camp  in  order,  even  on  that  first  day,  events  seemed  to 
court  our  acquaintance,  even  to  meeting  us  more  than  half 
way.  Towards  noon  the  rebel  transport,  Vicksburg,  came 
up  from  below,  and  when  opposite,  our  batteries  opened  on 
her  by  guess,  as  she  could  not  be  seen  through  a  heavy 
blanket  of  fog  which  had  been  let  down  on  the  river  and 
reached  up  above  our  heads.  It  is  not  likely  that  any  of  our 
shots  struck  her,  as  she  was  well  over  on  the  other  shore,  and 
vsoon  ran  under  the  guns  of  their  forts. 

During  the  same  afternoon  some  asthmatic,  wheezing  puffs 
were  heard  apparently  approaching,  and  Sergeant  Amos  H. 
Miller  of  Company  B  climbed  a  tree  where  he  could  look  over 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  297 

the  fog,  and  reported  the  approach  of  a  small  steamer  from 
below,  and  headed  towards  a  seductive  wood-pile  right  in 
front  of  our  camp.  It  proved  to  be  the  De  Soto,  a  small  rebel 
foraging  boat  whose  crew  did  not  know  of  our  occupying  the 
levee  at  that  place.  Without  any  consultation,  or  plan  of 
campaign,  several  of  our  boys  ran  to  camp  and  got  their  guns 
and  hid  behind  the  levee,  prepared  for  anything  that  might 
turn  up. 

The  boat  came  up  alongside  the  non-committal  wood-pile, 
threw  a  line  ashore,  followed  by  a  man  who  made  it  fast  to  a 
tree,  when  up  jumped  our  boys  who  had  the  officers  and  crew 
captured  in  a  trice,  and  the  supplies  of  eggs,  chickens,  butter, 
and  sweet  potatoes,  etc.,  confiscated.  This  was  one  of  those 
wonderful  inspirations  that  move  forward  unerringly  to  their 
consummation,  with  no  officers,  no  privates,  no  orders,  and  no 
obedience  necessary. 

The  De  Soto,  in  our  hands,  was  barricaded  with  bales  of 
cotton,  a  twenty-pound  Parrott  gun  was  put  on  board  of  her, 
and,  manned  by  a  detail  from  our  regiment,  she  was  turned 
into  a  sort  of  floating  battery,  and  served  well  to  provoke  and 
draw  the  enemy's  fire. 

On  the  morning  of  the  25th,  not  long  after  midnight,  con 
siderable  firing  below  was  heard,  and  although  probably 
between  belligerant  boats,  it  was  feared  that  the  rebels  might 
be  trying  to  land  and  surprise  our  right  flank.  The  Thir 
teenth  was  ordered  into  line  and  marched  a  considerable  dis 
tance  down  the  levee,  but  found  nothing  threatening  or 
suspicious,  and  so  went  back  to  camp  and  went  to  bed,  but 
got  little  sleep,  as  another  disturbance  before  daylight  brought 
out  the  entire  brigade  again,  and  again  we  were  all  marched 
down  the  levee,  and  in  line  of  battle,  in  a  drenching  rain  we 
stood  there  until  after  daylight.  On  the  26th,  the  brigade 
was  again  called  out,  but  there  being  no  enemy,  quiet  was 
soon  restored. 

On  January  jist,  1863. — Five  companies  from  our  regi 
ment  were  detailed  to  work'  on  the  canal.  These  details  were 
frequent,  and  were  sufficiently  dangerous  to  relieve  the  tedium 


298  HISTORY    OF   THE    THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

of  hard  work  of  too  much  of  the  prosaic,  by  intermittent 
dashes  of  poetic  spice  in  the  shape  of  explosive  shells  from  the 
enemy's  heavy  batteries  across  the  river,  whose  gunners  would 
now  and  then  calculate  the  range  so  accurately  as  to  lift  down 
a  monster  shell  right  into  the  canal  ;  and  our  boys  were  .scarce 
ever  so  stubborn  as  to  dispute  the  right  of  way  with  the  self- 
invited  stranger  from  the  Confederate  States,  and  would 
politely  and  good-naturedly  retire  until  the  envoy  had  deliv 
ered  his  message.  While  our  boys  would  gladly  have  dis 
pensed  with  these  over  the  river  favors,  nevertheless  the 
visitations  of  these  masterful  messengers  were  not  without 
their  practical  and  substantial  benefits  ;  for,  not  infrequently 
they  would  strike  right  at  the  base  of  a  huge  stump  and  raise 
it  out  by  the  roots  and  blow  it  bodily,  or  in  fragments,  com 
pletely  out  of  the  canal,  which  otherwise  would  have  resisted 
for  hours  the  combined  efforts  of  a  squad  of  our  men. 

On  February  2d,  1863. — At  daylight  the  Ram  Queen  of  the 
West,  ran  the  blockade  and  landed  near  our  camp.  Of  this 
affair  General  Grant,  to  General  Halleck,  says:  "  One  of  the 
Rams  ran  the  blockade  this  morning.  This  is  of  vast  impor 
tance,  cutting  off  the  enerm^'s  communication  with  the  west 
bank  of  the  river." 

Writing  of  the  condition  of  things  at  this  time,  Lieutenant 
Josselyn  says  :  "Our  camp  opposite  Vicksburg  is  the  drear 
iest  and  most  unhealthy  one  we  have  ever  had.  The  ground 
is  low  and  wet,  made  worse  by  frequent  rains.  Water  is  bad, 
and  sickness  and  death  are  upon  all  sides." 

Lieutenant  Josselyn  by  no  means  exaggerates  ;  and  the 
actuality  would  admit  of  a  much  higher  coloring.  We  were 
then  receiving  large  accessions  of  new  regiments  which  had 
been  so  lately  organized  and  sent  to  the  front  that  there  had 
been  no  chance  for  their  getting  seasoned  ;  and  when  sent 
immediately  to  Young's  Point,  some  single  regiments  literally 
buried  hundreds  of  men  before  the  movement  for  the  reduc 
tion  of  Vicksburg  was  put  into  action,  until  the  amphithe- 
atrical  segment  of  the  land  side  of  the  levee,  for  miles  was  a 
vast  cemetary  of  terraced  soldiers'  graves.  But  in  strong  con- 


ILLINOIS    VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  299 

trast  to  this  terrible  mortality  in  the  new  regiments,  the 
writer  well  recollects  being  told  by  Dr.  Plummer,  at  that 
time,  that  so  far,  after  an  arduous  service  of  almost  two  years, 
our  regiment  had  lost  but  sixteen  men  from  disease.  It  is  pre 
sumable  that  there  is  no  survivor  of  our  regiment  who  would 
den}7  that  Dr.  Plummer  has  the  right  of  chief  honor  for  this 
splendid  sanitary  record. 

Continuing,  Lieutenant  Josselyn  says :  "  *  *  *  * 
"Large  details  of  men  work  on  the  canal  every  day,  varied 
often  by  standing  picket,  and  unloading  boats.  Constant 
cannonading  is  heard  between  the  enemy's  Vicksburg  and 
Warrenton  batteries  and  our  land  batteries  and  gun-boats. 
Camps  are  changed  frequently  to  avoid  the  rising  waters,  and 
sometimes  we  are  camped  on  the  levee." 

About  this  time  work  on  the  canal  had  to  be  given  up  by 
reason  of  the  flood  in  the  Mississippi  which  burst  in  the  head- 
gates  of  the  canal  which  was  soon  full  to  overflowing,  and  the 
adjoining  country  was  slowly  inundated,  which  drove  our 
camps  to  higher  ground,  Our  brigade  had  already  broken 
camp  and  moved  back  across  the  Point  to  the  landing  ;  and 
on  March  8th,  we  moved  camp  one  mile  up  the  river  and 
camped  near  McClernand's  headquarters. 

The  levees  of  the  lower  Mississippi,  when  seen  for  the 
first  time,  seem  so  stupendous  that  they  force  a  comparison 
with  the  great  Pyramids  of  Egypt;  but  the  purposes  for  which 
the>'  were  severally  built  are  in  most  striking  contrast.  The 
levees  of  the  lower  Mississippi  make  certain  the  seed-time 
and  harvest  of  millions  of  acres  of  the  garden-land  of  Amer 
ica.  The  Pharaohs  and  Potiphars  of  Egypt,  for  thousands  of 
years  never  caused  a  spadeful  of  earth  to  be  moved  to  prevent 
the  annual  inundation  of  the  Nile  from  sweeping  to  their 
deaths  the  toiling  millions  whose  entire  lives  were  devoted  to 
the  erection  of  those  Pyramid-Mausoleums,  the  wonder  of  the 
world,  on  the  outside,  but  containing  nothing  but  a  crypt, 
large  enough  to  hold  a  sarcophagus  which  in  its  turn  con 
tains  a  swathed,  shrunken  mummy,  who  might  very  naturally 


3OO  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    RBGIMENT 

exclaim,  as  he  looks  out  of  his  glass  case  in  Barnum's 
Museum  :  ' '  To  what  base  uses  are  we  come  !  ' ' 

The  tops  of  these  levees  are  so  broad  as  to  allow  teams  and 
wagons  to  pass,  and  are  used  as  highways,  and  it  was  now  no 
unusual  thing  to  meet  General  Grant,  General  Logan,  General 
McPherson,  and  other  mounted  officers  on  the  levee-road. 

On  March  14,  1863,  Lieutenant  George  P.  Brown  (now 
Captain)  of  Company  B,  returned  from  staff-duty,  as  topo 
graphical  engineer,  with  General  E.  A.  Carr. 

Any  unusual  firing  was  watched,  and  speculated  upon  with 
the  greatest  freedom,  as  well  as  the  greatest  interest,  and  every 
private  in  the  army  felt  that  he  had  as  good  a  right  to  know 
all  that  was  going  on,  as  had  the  commander-in-chief  himself 
and  it  was  astonishing  how  after  knowledge  verified  the  anal 
ysis  of  most  important  events,  by  the  rank  and  file  which 
could  only  be  certainly  known  to  commanders,  at  the  time. 

The  following  is  well  worth  recording  : 

HEADQUARTERS,  THIRTY-SEVENTH  OHIO 
VOLUNTEER  INFANTRY, 

YOUNG'S  POINT,  LOUISIANA, 

February  25th,  1863,  6  a.  m. 
P.  B.  STANBERRY,  Lieutenant  and  A.  A.  A.  General, 

Third  Brigade,  Second  Division,  Fifteenth  Army  Corps. 
SIR  :  I  have  the  honor  to  report  that  the  firing  from  the  rebel  bat 
teries  near  the  city  at  12  p.  m.,  was  occasioned  by  a  boat  which  is  now 
lying  below  the  mouth  of  the  canal,  and  proves  to  be  a  flat-boat  rigged 
up  to  represent  a  gun-boat.  She  has  a  square  turret  forward,  with  a 
mock  cannon  projecting  toward  the  bow  from  within.  Smoke-stack  made 
of  flour-barrels,  wheel  house,  etc.,  covered  all  over  with  a  thick  coat 
of  tar.  Has  a  hole  just  above  the  water  line  at  the  bow,  from  a  shot. 
Nothing  else  of  interest. 

Very  respectfully  yours, 

E.  HASLER,  Second  Lieutenant, 
Thirty-seventh  Ohio  Vol.  Inf'ty. 

In  an  article  entitled  "  Naval  Operations  in  the  Vicksburg 
Campaign,"  among  the  articles  published  by  the  "Century 
Company,"  entitled  "  Battles  and  Leaders  of  the  Civil  War," 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY.  30 1 

"Prof.  James  Russell  Soley,  U.  S.    N.,  of  the   above  affair, 
says  : 

"A  day  or  two  later,  Porter,  whose  buoyancy  of  spirits 
never  deserted  him,  set  adrift  from  his  anchorage  a  dummy- 
monitor,  constructed  out  of  a  coal  barge  surmounted  by  bar 
rels.  The  incident  was  in  the  nature  of  a  stupendous  joke,  but 
it  had  very  practical  results.  The  dummy  passed  the  Vicks- 
burg  batteries  under  a  terrific  fire.  When  the  Queen  of  the 
West,  acting  as  a  picket  to  the  Indianola,  saw  this  new  antag 
onist  coming,  she  only  stopped  to  give  the  alarm,  and  fled  down 
the  river.  The  supposed  monitor  stuck  fast  a  mile  or  two 
above  the  Indianola,  but  the  Confederate  officer  in  charge  of 
the  work  on  board  the  latter,  did  not  wait  for  an  attack,  but 
set  fire  to  the  recent  prize,  which  was  in  great  part  de 
stroyed." 

On  March  nth. — We  were  reviewed  by  General  Sherman. 

Our  old  Brigadier-General  Frank  P.  Blair,  had  lately  been 
promoted  to  Major-General  of  Volunteers.  The  writer  had 
means  of  knowing,  and  will  here  relate  the  fact  that  both 
General  Steele,  and  General  Blair,  had  notice  that  their  com 
missions  were  on  the  road,  and  might  be  expected  any  da}T. 
General  Steele  outranked  General  Blair  and  up  to  this  time, 
General  Blair  was  General  Steele' s  subordinate  in  the  same 
Division. 

For  some  reason  General  Steele' s  commission  was  delayed 
while  General  Blair  had  received  his,  but  made  it  a  point  of 
honor  not  to  wear  two  stars  until  General  Steele  could  do  the 
same.  However,  General  Steele's  commission  came  by  the 
next  dispatch-boat,  and  the  two  new  Major-Generals  each  toted 
an  additional  star. 

General  Blair  was  now  made  commander  of  the  Second 
Division  of  our  Corps,  and  Colonel  Francis  H.  Manter,  late 
Colonel  of  the  Thirty-second  Missouri,  was  put  in  command 
of  our  brigade,  and  our  status  was  now,  Gorgas'  First  regi 
ment  of  Manter's  First  brigade,  of  Steele's  First  Division,  of 
Sherman's  Fifteenth  Corps,  of  the  right  wing  of  Grant's  Army 
of  the  Tennessee. 


302  HISTORY    OF  THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

On  March  jist  1863.— General  Sherman  ordered  General 
Steele  on  the  Deer  Creek  expedition  to  last  two  weeks. 

On  April  2d. — Having  already  received  orders,  the  entire 
Division,  our  regiment  on  the  Metropolitan,  climbed  the  Missis 
sippi  river  to  Greenville,  Mississippi,  and  raided  the  country 
inland  for  the  twofold  purpose  of  driving  off  a  small  force  of 
rebels  who  seemed  to  be  used  to  scare  off  any  small  force  of 
ours  that  might  come  there  for  forage  ;  and  also  to  destroy 
the  great  granary  from  which  the  rebels  at  Vicksburg  drew 
the  bulk  of  their  supplies.  Hence  the  importance  of  the 
expedition. 

We  arrived  at  Greenville  on  the  4th  of  April,  and  immedi 
ately  organized  an  advance  with  companies  A  and  B  of  ours, 
and  a  section  of  Hoffman's  Battery  in  the  lead,  and  proceeded 
to  try  and  hunt  up  the  rebel  force  which  we  came  for.  They 
were  there,  but  fell  back  as  fast  as  we  advanced,  and  destroyed 
the  bridges  and  cotton  as  they  retreated,  and  we  burned  the 
mills,  gin-houses,  and  storehouses  as  we  advanced,  took  all  the 
forage  we  could  find  transportation  for,  and  when  ready  to 
leave,  we  burned  the  small  remnant  0/1,600,000  bushels  of  corn. 

It  was  said  at  the  time,  that  the  rebels  caught  a  negro  in 
the  act  of  trying  to  escape  to  us,  and  hung  him  on  the  spot. 

A  negro  generally  keeps  dark,  but  in  this  case  he  shed 
much  light  as  to  where  we  wTere  to  look  to  find  wagons  ready 
loaded  with  supplies,  and  hid  in  the  woods  to  be  hauled  away 
in  emergency,  and  many  other  things  too  good  to  be  left ;  and 
as  a  consequence,  our  boys  fed  high  on  honey,  eggs,  chickens, 
and  sweet  potatoes. 

On  the  yth  of  April  we  came  up  with  the  rebels  at  about 
2  p.  m.  and  had  an  artillery  duel  until  night,  the  darkness  of 
which  helped  them  to  leave  us  far  behind.  It  was  on  this 
occasion  that  Captain  Silverspeare  with  his  battery  executed 
one  of  those  dashing  movements  which  so  electrifies  soldiers 
on  either  side,  and  compels  admiration  from  both  friend  and 
foe  alike,  and  which  seemed  characteristic  of  both  Silver 
speare  and  Landgraeber.  We  were  confronting  the  enemy 
who  were  found  to  be  in  force  in  the  edge  of  a  piece  of  woods, 


ILLINOIS    VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  303 

on  the  far  side  of  a  cleared  field.  The  enemy  had  the  advan 
tage  of  the  curtain  of  woods  which  concealed  both  their  move 
ments  and  numbers  ;  while  we  had  the  advantage  in  position 
of  much  higher  ground.  It  was  necessary  to  silence  their 
batteries  and  dislodge  them  from  their  cover  of  woods  before 
we  could  advance.  General  Steele  chose  a  point  of  elevation 
but  a  few  steps  away  from  where  he  was  standing,  where  he 
ordered  Captain  Silverspeare  to  plant  his  battery  and  drive 
the  enemy  from  the  wood.  This  order  seemed  to  instantly 
transform  Captain  Silverspeare  into  the  fiery  representative  of 
Mars  himself.  He  snatched  his  sabre  from  its  noisy  scabbard, 
whirled  it  about  his  head  in  blazing  circles,  gave  some  ringing 
commands,  and  then  wheeled  his  horse  as  if  he  were  hung  on 
a  pivot,  and  spurred  forward  in  the  lead,  right  into  the  very 
teeth  of  the  enemy's  line,  the  entire  battery  close  at  his  heels, 
followed  by  the  deafening  shouts  of  the  boys  in  blue,  who 
soon  learned  that,  while  the  movements  of  the  fiery  Swede 
looked  almost  like  desertion  to  the  enemy,  really  meant  de 
struction  to  the  foe.  General  Steele,  who  had  seen  something 
of  war  in  Mexico,  among  the  Indians  011  the  frontier,  and  now 
for  two  years  in  this  war  of  the  Rebellion,  now  stood  aston 
ished  at  the  strange  movements  of  this  cyclonic  Swede,  and 
remarked,  in  his  usual  squeaking  voice,  "  Well,  Captain  Sil 
verspeare  may  know  where  he  is  going,  but  I  do  not." 

So  audacious  wras  this  onset  that  the  rebel  batteries  tempo 
rarily  ceased  their  loud-throated  clamor,  and  the  minie-bullet 
paused  in  the  rifle-barrel  before  speeding  on  its  death-errand, 
while  this  battle-born  cyclone  swept  round  its  eccentric  orbit, 
almost  brushing  the  muzzles  of  the  astonished  rebel  guns,  and 
still  swept  on,  completing  the  perfect  circle,  so  as  not  to  mar 
its  moral  or  poetical  symmetry  by  any  cross- lots  work,  and  came 
thundering  up  to  the  spot  originally  indicated,  unlimbered, 
and  came  into  battery,  and  before  the  rebel  guns  had  resumed 
work,  was  dealing  such  efficient  death  and  destruction  into 
those  woods,  that  the  rebels  were  soon  glad  to  get  away. 

At  this  distance  of  time  it  is  extremely  difficult,  if  not  im 
possible,  to  remember  the  exact  causes  which  led  up  to  a  very 


304  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT. 

ridiculous  affair  which  happened  on  this  Greenville  expedi 
tion,  in  which  Colonel  Manter,  who  was  in  command  of  our 
brigade  at  the  time,  through  some  provocation,  real  or  imagi 
nary,  from  some  of  the  boys  of  the  Thirteenth,  placed  the 
entire  regiment  imder  arrest.  The  result  being  (according  to 
the  best  recollection)  that  on  that  very  evening,  fearing  an 
attack,  and  not  enough  other  troops  available  for  a  safe  resist 
ance,  he  was  obliged  to  eat  crow,  and  unconditionally  release 
the  regiment  from  arrest. 

Out  of  respect,  we  visited  the  homes  of  General  French 
and  Dr.  Thompson,  who,  under  pressure,  subscribed  liberally 
from  their  corn-cribs  and  smoke-houses,  to  the  Union  cause. 

Failing  to  induce  the  rebels  to  stand  and  give  battle  that 
would  be  decisive  of  anything,  and  having  largely  diminished 
the  sources  of  abundant  supply  for  feeding  General  Pernber- 
ton's  army  in  Vicksburg,  General  Steele  concluded  that  he 
had  accomplished  all  that  could  be  done  under  the  circum 
stances,  returned  to  Greenville,  and  on  the  24th  of  April,  the 
fleet,  including  the  John  H.  Groesbeck,on  which  our  regiment 
was  embarked,  returned  to  Young's  Point. 

During  our  three  weeks'  absence  up  the  river,  events  were 
shaping  and  hastening  to  their  fulfillment,  which  were  to  give 
to  history  the  siege  and  surrender  of  Vicksburg. 


CHAPTER   XXIII. 

GREAT  MOVEMENT  FOR  TURNING  THE  ENEMY'S  LEFT  FLANK. — 
THE  MARCH  SOUTH  DOWN  THE  RIGHT  BANK. — FERRY 
ING  GRANT'S  ARMY. — SIEGE. 

I 

T  WAS  necessary  to  General  Grant's  plan  of 
campaign,  that  a  large  number  of  the  trans 
ports  then  above  Vicksburg,  and  the  neces 
sary  gun-boat  convoys  should  be  massed  below 
the  city,  to  be  used  both  as  supply  boats  and 
ferry-boats.  To  accomplish  this  the}*  must  run  the 
blockade  past  the  Vicksburg  batteries. 
The  experiments  that  had  so  far  been  tried  by  sending 
single  vessels  by  these  formidable  batteries,  not  excepting  the 
modest  and  imperturbable  old  dummy,  with  its  Quaker  bow-gun, 
and  its  flour-barrel  smoke-stack,  which  had  so  badly  scared 
the  rebels  out  of  their  boots,  had  demonstrated  to  General 
Grant's  satisfaction,  that  instead  of  the  apparent  certainty  of 
sailing  into  the  very  jaws  of  death,  it  was  in  reality  one  of 
the  most  economically  safe  methods  of  warfare. 

The  method,  having  passed  its  experimental  stage,  was 
now  to  be  applied  in  earnest,  and  meant  business  ;  and  which 
General  Grant,  on  April  lyth,  1863,  reports  to  General 
Halleck,  as  follows  : 

"Seven  gun-boats,  Benton,  Mound  City  Carondelet, 
L/ouisville,  Pittsburg,  De  Kalb,  and  Tuscumbia,  and  three 
transports,  Silver  Wave,  Forest  Queen,  and  Henry  Clay— 
with  the  Ram,  General  Price,  ran  the  Vicksburg  batteries 
last  night.  The  crew  of  the  steamer  Henry  Clay,  excepting 
the  pilot,  deserted  soon  after  getting  under  fire.  The  boat 

305 


306  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

took  fire  and  burned  up.  One  other  transport  slightly  dam 
aged.  One  man  killed  and  three  wounded  on  the  Benton." 

Six  days  afterward,  on  the  23d  of  April,  1863,  the  General 
reports  to  General  Halleck,  the  second  attempt  of  the  kind,  as 
follows  : 

"Six  boats,  the  Tigress,  Anglo-Saxon,  Cheeseman,  Em 
pire  City,  Moderator,  and  one  other  (name  not  given )  ran  the 
Vicksburg  batteries  last  night.  All  the  boats  got  by  more  or 
less  damaged. 

"The  Tigress  sunk  at  3  a.  m.  and  is  a  total  loss.  Crew 
all  safe.  The  Moderator  was  much  damaged.  I  think  all 
the  barges  went  through  safely." 

"Two  men  mortally  wounded,  and  several  wounded  more 
or  less  severely.  About  five  hundred  shots  were  fired.  I 
look  upon  this  as  a  great  success."  *  *  *  * 

Prefacing  the  accounts  of  these  two  hazards  of  running 
the  blockade  in  force,  it  was  stated  that  the  initial  experi 
ments  of  sending  by  a  few  vessels,  or  a  single  one,  demon 
strated  to  General  Grant  that,  instead  of  sailing  into  the  jaws 
of  death,  it  would  prove  to  be  one  of  the  most  economically 
safe  methods  of  warfare.  These  last  two  movements  verified 
the  above  estimate.  In  the  last  of  these  movements,  only  two 
men  were  killed  by  five  hundred  heavy  artillery  shots  from 
the  enemy.  Five  hundred  shots  to  kill  one  man.  In  the  one 
preceding,  two  men  were  killed.  Allowing  the  same  num 
ber  of  shots,  then  it  took  two  hundred  and  fifty  shots  to  kill 
one  man  ;  or,  in  the  two  affairs,  three  men  were  killed  by  one 
thousand  shots,  or,  three  hundred  and  thirty-three  and  one- 
third  shots  to  a  man. 

At  any  rate,  we  now  had  plenty  of  hard-tack  and  ferry 
boats  waiting  us  on  the  river  below. 

On  the  day  after  our  return  from  Greenville,  General  Sher 
man  issued  the  following  order  : 

General  Orders  ~\         HEADQUARTERS,  FIFTEENTH  ARMY  CORPS, 
No.  26.         )  Camp  near  Vicksburg,  April  25th,  1863. 

I. — Pursuant  to  special  order  No.  no,  from  the  headquarters  Depart 
ment  of  the  Tennessee,  the  Fifteenth  Army  Corps  will  march  to  Car- 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  307 

thage  via  Milliken's  Bend  and  Richmond,  by  the  left  flank,  viz.,  in  the 
order  of  the  Third,  Second,  and  First  Divisions.     * 

II. — The  First  Division,  General  Steele  commanding,  will  on  its 
arrival  from  Greenville,  land  at  the  old  camps,  gather  up  their  old  camp 
equipage,  and  proceed  by  boat  to  a  point  near  General  Grant's  headquar 
ters  at  Milliken's  Bend,  and  thence  march  to  Richmond,  and  keep 
closed  up  on  Second  Division. 

The  above  orders,  so  far  as  they  affected  both  Steele' s  and 
Blair's  Divisions,  were  countermanded  and  Yazoo  demonstra 
tions  substituted  : 

Steele's  Division,  instead  of  marching  to  Carthage,  pur 
suant  to  the  above  order,  went  on  the  Yazoo  expedition  under 
Sherman,  the  object  of  which  was  to  draw  as  much  as  possible 
of  the  enemy's  attention  in  that  direction,  while  Grant  could 
successfully  cross  his  main  army  below,  and  gain  a  foothold 
from  which  to  act  against  Vicksburg  from  the  south.  During 
this  movement  up  the  Yazoo,  our  regiment  was  left  at  Milli 
ken's  Bend. 

In  the  meantime,  General  Blair,  with  his  Second  Division, 
was  left  at  Milliken's  Bend  to  hold  the  place,  and  guard  the 
roads  below,  and  was  relieved  by  troops  ordered  by  Grant 
from  Hurlburt  at  Memphis,  when  both  the  First  and  Second 
Divisions  followed  Grant  and  caught  him  up  in  season  to  take 
a  part  in  the  stirring  movements  preliminary  to  the  siege. 

We  had  left  Young's  Point  on  April  26,  on  the  D.  J. 
Taylor,  and  arrived  at  Milliken's  Bend,  on  the  same  day, 
signed  the  pay  rolls  on  the  28th,  and  on  the  2gth  received  four 
months'  pay. 

On  May  2nd  received  orders  to  move  that  same  afternoon 
at  4  with  three  days'  cooked  rations  in  haversack. 

Comrade  Josselyn  has  the  following  :  *  *  *  *  "  Moved 
southward  through  Richmond,  and  passed  many  fine  plan 
tations,  making  about  sixteen  miles  a  day.  On  the  5th,  we 
made  four  miles  of  very  hard  marching  after  dark  through 
a  dense  forest.  One  day  (the  4th)  as  we  were  taking  our 
noonday  hard-tack,  a  body  of  rebel  prisoners  passed  going 
North,  four  hundred  and  thirty-eight  in  number,  taken  at 


308  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT. 

Port  Gibson.  They  remarked  as  they  went  by  us  that  "all 
fashionable  Southern  gentlemen  took  a  trip  North  during  the 
hot  months. ' ' 

On  the  4th  we  passed  Me  Arthur's  Division  in  Camp,  in 
which  is  the  Ninety-fifth  Illinois  whose  boys  brought  us  can 
teens  of  cool  water  which  greatly  refreshed  us.  On  May  5th 
made  Perkins'  Landing  through  New  Carthage  ;  and  in  the 
evening  marched  six  miles  further  and  camped  in  the  grounds 
of  the  plantation  of  Dr.  Bowie,  who  was  one  of  the  exceptions 
among  Southern  slaveholders  who  generally  spent  little  or  no 
money  at  home,  on  residences,  ornamental  grounds,  roads, 
bridges,  schoolhouses,  churches,  or  other  public  buildings  ; 
but,  leaving  the  plantation  in  the  hands  of  an  overseer,  the 
vast  income,  not  uncommon,  was  spent  at  Saratoga,  or  other 
places  of  summer  resort  in  the  North,  or  in  Europe. 

Dr.  Bowie,  on  the  contrary,  had  a  magnificent  mansion 
with  beautiful  grounds  surrounding  it,  the  spaciousness  and 
costly  fittings  of  which  may  be  imagined  by  the  mention  of 
only  a  few  details. 

On  the  threatened  approach  of  our  army,  the  Doctor  had 
hastily  gathered  together  the  easily  movable  valuables  and 
decamped.  Many  good  things  were  left. 

General  Sherman,  General  Steele,  and  recollection  says, 
General  Chas.  E.  Hovey,  with  the  staff  officers  of  all,  with 
not  a  few  headquarters  followers,  slept  in  that  house  that 
night,  all  on  fine  curled  hair  mattresses,  elegant  bed  clothes 
(bed  linen  alone  wanting)  on  elegant  bedsteads,  standing  on 
heavy,  rich  Brussels  carpets,  and  each  had  plenty  of  room, 
and  must  have  "dreamed  that  they  dwelt  in  marble  halls." 
At  any  rate,  the  writer  of  this  reclined  on  a  richly  upholstered 
sofa-lounge,  on  the  front  gallery  of  the  house,  and  absorbed 
more  luxury  in  that  one  night,  for  thirteen  dollars  a  month, 
than  he  ever  knew  before  or  since.  On  our  arrival,  at  the 
right  hand  back-corner  of  the  house,  outside,  was  an  elegant 
piano,  which  had  been  chopped  to  pieces  with  an  axe.  A 
grand  piano,  in  one  of  the  front  parlors,  manipulated  by  one 
of  Blair's  skilled  musicians,  gave  forth  more  patriotic  strains 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  309 

than  had  been  evolved  therefrom  for  some  years  ;  and  dance 
music  rippled  from  under  the  ivory  keys  for  those  who  desired 
to  trip  "  the  light  fantastic  toe." 

As  the  hours  wore  on  towards  the  interior  of  the  night, 
some  of  the  men  got  boisterous,  and  before  they  could  be  re 
strained  charged  bayonets  on  their  own  images  in  the  magnifi 
cent  pier-glasses,  which  reached  from  floor  to  ceiling,  and 
shattered  them  into  a  thousand  fragments.  Soon  after  the 
army  was  on  the  road  in  the  morning  following,  some 
vandal  had  applied  the  torch  to  that  house,  and  pianos,  pier- 
glasses,  rich  furniture,  and  all  else,  comprising  such  an 
accumulation  of  wealth  and  luxury,  were,  in  a  few  short 
moments  reduced  to  ashes. 

From  the  fact  that  before  the  day's  march  was  over,  we 
marched  past  another  mansion  in  flames,  whose  owner  him 
self  had  applied  the  torch  before  he  ran  away,  in  sullen  spite 
against  the  Yankees,  we  are  relieved  from  the  obligation  of 
sympathy  in  such  cases,  and  there  is  left  a  regret  only,  that 
such  acts  on  our  part  are  subversive  of  military  discipline. 

On  May  6th,  1863.  —  Marched  nine  miles  and  camped  two 
miles  from  Hard  Times  Landing.  On  the  yth,  we  marched 
early,  to  the  Landing,  and  crossed  the  river  on  the  gun-boat 
Carondelet ;  and  Comrade  Josselyn  records  the  fact  that 

GENERAL   SHERMAN    CROSSED   ON   THE    BOAT   WITH    US. 

And  now,  and  here,  came  to  an  end  the  almost  two  years'9 
continuous  service  of  the  Thirteenth  Regiment  west  of  the  Missis 
sippi  river,  and  it  only  lacked  seventeen  days  of  two  years  since 
the  regiment  was  mustered  into  the  United  States  Service,  at 
Dixon,  Illinois. 

We  remained  about  Grand  Gulf,  Mississippi,  the  entire 
day  of  our  landing  on  Mississippi  soil,  mostly  employed  in 
drawing  rations. 

The  enemy's  works  at  this  place  were  very  formidable, 
and  a  front  attack  would,  most  probably,  have  resulted  in  great 
loss  of  life  and  failure  at  last.  The  flank  movement  by  way 


310  HISTORY   OF    THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

of  Port  Gibson  drove  the  rebels  to  evacuate  Grand  Gulf,  and 
was  the  key  to  the  investment  of  Vicksburg,  aided  by  the 
insubordination,  and  bad  generalship  of  General  Pemberton, 
who  disobeyed  the  positive  orders  of  his  superior,  General 
Joseph  E.  Johnston,  in  scattering  his  covering  forces  so  that 
General  Grant  had  the  opportunity  which  he  sought,  a  chance 
to  fight  and  conquer  each  rebel  force  in  detail,  and  then  driv 
ing  the  fragments  behind  the  fortifications  of  Vicksburg 
where  they  could  not  be  reinforced,  could  not  cut  their  way 
out,  could  shoot  away  the  remainder  of  their  ammunition, 
exhaust  their  few  remaining  rations,  kill  and 

EAT   THEIR    MULES,  EAT   THE    FEW    RATS 

that  had  not  already  died  of  starvation,  and  then  haul  down 
their  flag. 

May  TJ»,  1863. — Gen.  Joseph  E.  Johnston  wrote  to  Confed 
erate  Secretary  of  War,  Seddon,  as  follows  :  "I  arrived  at 
Jackson  this  evening,  finding  the  enemy's  force  between  this 
place  and  General  Pemberton,  cutting  off  the  communica 
tion  . "  "  /  am  too  late. ' ' 

This  almost  wailing  knell  of  the  Confederacy,  is  answered 
by  Jefferson  Davis  personally,  to  General  Johnston,  as  fol 
lows  :  *  *  *  * 

"Do  not  perceive  why  a  junction  was  not  attempted, 
which  would  have  made  our  force  nearly  equal  in  numbers  to 
the  estimated  strength  of  the  enemy,  and  might  have  resulted 
in  his  total  defeat  under  circumstances  which  rendered  re 
treat  or  reinforcement  to  him  scarcely  practicable." 

To  this,  General  Johnson  replied  that:  "  On  the  igth  of 
May,  he  sent  orders  by  telegraphic  dispatches  and  by  couriers, 
to  Major- General  Gardner  to  evacuate  Port  Hudson.  And 
also  explicit  orders  to  General  Pemberton  to  save  his  army  by 
leaving  Vicksburg  ;  none  of  which  orders  were  obeyed." 

We  quote  the  Confederate  General,  C.  H.  Lockett,  Chief 
Engineer  of  the  Defenses  of  Vicksburg,  to  substantiate  the 
charges  of  bad  generalship  and  insubordination  against  Gen- 


ILLINOIS    VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  3!  I 

eral  Pemberton  at  this  time.  General  IvOckett  says  :  *  *  *  * 
"  At  last  General  Pemberton  became  convinced  that  General 
Grant's  intention  was  to  march  up  the  east  bank  of  Big  Black 
river  to  strike  the  railroad  at  or  near  Edward's  Depot,  and 
thus  cut  off  his  communications  with  Jackson.  *  *  *  * 
During  this  time  General  Pemberton  received  numerous  dis 
patches  from  President  Davis,  and  from  Gen.  J.  E.  Johnston, 
who  had  recently  arrived  at  Jackson.  I  saw  or  heard  read, 
most  of  these  dispatches.  They  were  very  conflicting  in  their 
tenor  ;  and  neither  those  of  Mr.  Davis  nor  those  of  General 
Johnston  exactly  comported  with  General  Pemberton 's  views. 
He  then  made  the  capital  mistake  of  trying  to  harmonize  in 
structions  from  his  superiors  diametrically  opposed  to  each 
other,  and  at  the  same  time  to  bring  them  into  accord  with 
his  own  judgment,  which  was  adverse  to  the  plans  of  both. 
Mr.  Davis'  idea  was  to  hold  Vicksburg  at  all  hazards  and  not 
to  endanger  it  by  getting  too  far  from  it.  Johnston's  plan 
was  to  cut  loose  from  Vicksburg  altogether,  maneuver  so  as 
to  avoid  a  general  engagement  with  Grant  until  Confederate 
forces  could  be  concentrated,  and  then  beat  him.  Pemberton 
wished  to  take  a  strong  position  on  the  line  of  the  Big  Black 
and  wait  for  an  attack,  believing  that  it  would  be  successfully 
resisted,  and  that  then  the  tables  could  be  turned  upon  Gen 
eral  Grant  in  a  very  bad  position,  without  any  base  of  sup 
plies,  and  without  a  well  protected  line  of  retreat.  As  I  have 
said,  none  of  these  plans  were  carried  out,  but  a  sort  of  com 
promise  or  compound  of  all  these  attempts,  resulting  in  the 
unfortunate  battle  of  Baker's  Creek,  or  Champion's  Hill,  and 
the  disgraceful  stampede  of  Big  Black  Bridge. ' ' 

A  few  added  words,  to  the  above,  by  General  Johnston, 
say: 

*  *  *  *  "He  (Mr.  Davis)  accuses  me  of  producing 
confusion  and  consequent  disasters  by  giving  a  written  order 
to  Lieutenant-General  Pemberton,  which  he  terms  opening 
correspondence.  But  as  that  order,  dated  May  i3th,  was  dis 
obeyed,  it  certainly  produced  neither  confusion  nor  disaster. 
But  "consequent  disaster"  was  undoubtedly  due  to  the  diso- 


312  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

bedience  of  that  order,  which  caused  the  battle  of  Champion's 
Hill.  When  that  order  was  written,  obedience  to  it,  which 
would  have  united  all  our  forces,  might  have  enabled  us  to 
contend  with  General  Grant  on  equal  terms,  and  perhaps,  to 
win  the  campaign.  *  *  *  * 

Soldiers,  as  well  as  many  citizens,  have  expressed  doubts 
about  the  garrison,  and  people  of  Vicksburg  being  driven  to 
the  extremity  of  eating  mule-meat  before  surrender. 

We  shall  let  the  Confederate  General  Lockett  (quoted  just 
above)  reply  that  : 

*  *  *  *  '«we  Were  short  of  provisions,  so  that  our 
men  had  been  on  quarter  rations  for  days  before  the  close  of 
the  siege,  had  eaten  mule-meat  and  rats  and  young  shoots  of 
cane,  with  the  relish  of  epicures  dining  on  the  finest  delicacies 
of  the  table."  *  *  *  * 

On  May  8th. — Our  regiment  in  the  lead,  left  camp  at  2  a.  m. 
and  marched  eighteen  miles,  passing  Quimby's  Division,  and 
camped  near  Black  river. 

On  May  yth. — Moved  camp  only  one  mile,  and  for  the  rest 
of  the  day  had  a  good  rest  in  a  pleasant  camp,  surrounded 
by  hills,  valleys,  brooks  of  water  and  fine  shade  trees. 

May  loth. — Had  inspection  at  10  a.  m.  and  after  2  p.  m. 
marched  eight  miles,  a  hot  and  dry  day,  but  troops  feeling 
well. 

May  nth. — Were  somewhat  slow  in  using  the  twelve 
miles  immediately  in  our  front.  On  this  day — says  Lieuten 
ant  Josselyn — "We  passed  General  Grant's  Headquarters, 
and  Generals  Carr's  and  Osterhaus's  Divisions.  In  passing 
General  Carr's  Headquarters,  three  cheers  were  give/i  him  by 
the  regiment. ' ' 

Passed  through  the  town  of  Cayuga,  where  a  part  of 
McClernand's  Corps  is  camped.  We  went  into  camp  at 
sundown. 

May  1 2th. — We  marched  until  10  a.  m.  when  our  advance 
brigade  (Second  Brigade,  First  Division,  Gen.  Charles  R. 
Wood)  came  up  with  the  enemy's  pickets,  and  a  brisk  skir 
mish  ensued,  which  resulted  in  driving  the  enemy  off,  but 


ILLINOIS    VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  313 

with  a  loss  to  us  of  seven  killed  and  eight  wounded  ;  after 
which  we  built  a  new  bridge. 

The  Thirteenth,  having  had  a  skirmish  at  Fourteen-mile 
Creek,  moved  forward  two  or  three  miles  and  camped.  It 
was  here  that,  before  having  broken  ranks,  the  Thirteenth 
had  been  halted  in  the  road,  near  which  was  an  inhabited 
house  ;  in  which  happened  to  be  just  then,  General  Sherman, 
who,  with  his  staff,  had  halted  for  a  rest.  Captain  Cole,  of 
Company  G,  Thirteenth,  happened  to  have  halted  his  com- 
panjr  in  the  road  almost  immediately  in  front  of  this  house. 
An  order  had  been  issued  that  while  on  duty,  no  man  must  be 
found  without  his  gun  or  sword.  One  of  Captain  Cole's  men 
determined  to  put  down  the  rebellion  by  capturing  rebel  chickens  ; 
and  had  been  so  successful  as  to  be  returning  from  the  out 
houses  with  four  chickens  in  each  hand,  but  without  any  gun. 
As  he  was  passing  the  house,  the  lynx-eyes  of  General  Sher 
man  saw  him,  and  out  the  General  ran,  bare-headed,  and 
ordered  the  man  to  give  him  the  chickens,  which  the  man  did, 
well  knowing  who  General  Sherman  was.  The  General  took 
the  chickens  just  as  the  soldier  had  done,  four  in  each  hand, 
and  tugged  them  out  to  the  road  and  gave  them  all  to  Cap 
tain  Cole's  men  who  were  still  standing  in  line,  at  the  same 
time  sharply  rebuking  the  man  for  abandoning  his  gun  for 
foraging.  Captain  Cole  resented  General  Sherman's  interfer- 
ference  with  his  man,  and,  it  is  said,  has  never  forgiven  him. 

An  order  from  General  Grant  reached  General  Steele  at 
this  camp  to  send  an  armed  force  across  to  the  left  with  orders 
to  General  McClernand  ;  and  General  Steele  ordered  the  de 
tail  to  be  made  from  the  Thirteenth  ;  and  a  quota  from  each 
company  was  detailed  and  headed  by  Colonel  Gorgas. 

This  service  was  not  only  difficult,  but  hazardous  ;  how 
much  so,  will  be  better  realized  by  a  description  of  the  phys 
ical  features  of  the  country  from  General  Grant's  own  descrip 
tion,  as  follows  : 

*  *  X  *  •«  T/te  country  in  this  part  of  Mississippi 
stands  on  edge,  as  it  were,  the  roads  running  along  the  ridges 
except  where  they  occasionally  pass  from  one  ridge  to  another. 


314  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMEMT 

Where  there  are  no  clearings,  the  sides  of  the  hills  are  cov 
ered  with  a  very  heavy  growth  of  timber,  and  with  under 
growth,  and  the  ravines  are  filled  with  vines  and  cane- 
brakes,  almost  impenetrable.  This  makes*  it  easy  for  an 
inferior  force  to  delay,  if  not  defeat  a  far  superior  force. 

"  Near  the  point  selected  by  Bo  wen  to  defend,  the  road  to 
Port  Gibson  divides,  taking  two  ridges,  which  do  not  diverge 
more  than  a  mile  or  two  at  the  widest  point.  These  roads  unite 
just  outside  the  town.  This  made  it  necessary  for  McCler- 
nand  to  divide  his  force.  It  was  not  only  divided,  but  it  was 
separated  by  a  deep  ravine  of  the  character  above  described. 
One  flank  could  not  reinforce  the  other  except  by  marching 
back  to  the  junction  of  the  roads." 

The  above  graphic  description  of  the  country  by  General 
Grant  will  give  something  of  an  idea  of  the  night  expedition 
of  six  miles  crosswise  of  such  a  country.  The  start  was  made 
at  dark,  and  after  wandering  all  night  in  the  woods  and 
gorges,  daylight  developed  our  position  to  be  between  the  picket- 
lines  of  the  enemy  and  of  our  own.  Not  being  empowered  to 
arbitrate,  and  not  desirous  of  being  made  into  sieves  and  col 
anders,  Colonel  Gorgas  with  his  Thirteenth  backed  gracefully 
out  of  an  awkward  position,  crawled  up  and  slid  down  one  or 
two  more  hog-backs,  found  McClernand's  Headquarters,  de 
livered  his  dispatches,  and  counter-marched  by  daylight  to 
the  camp  we  had  left  and  found  it  empty,  our  forces  having 
gone  on  to  Raymond.  Resting  an  hour,  we  started  after  them 
with  many  of  the  men  bearing  aloft  on  their  bayonets  hams 
and  bacon  which  Mrs.  Bush,  a  kind  rebel  lady,  had  generously 
donated  by  compulsion  to  the  Union  cause. 

We  encamped  two  miles  west  of  Raymond,  having  come 
up  with  our  brigade. 

On  May  ij th. — We  passed  through  Raymond,  the  scene  of 
yesterday's  battle  by  Generals  Logan  and  Crocker  of  our  side. 

On  May  ifth. — Through  a  tremendous  down-pour  of  rain, 
we  passed  on  toward  Jackson  where  we  could  distinctly  make 
out  artillery  conversation  between  the  Confederate  General 
Joseph  E.  Johnston,  and  our  Brigadier- General  James  M. 


ILLINOIS    VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  315 

Tuttle,  commanding  the  Third  Division  of  Sherman's  Fif 
teenth  Corps,  who  had  the  advance  that  day  ;  but  on  our 
coming  up  and  deploying  into  line  of  battle,  General  Johnston 
concluded  not  to  dispute  any  longer,  faced  to  the  rear,  and 
politely  retired,  and  we  walked  into  the  city. 

Our  flag  looked  beautiful  and  inspiring,  floating  over  the 
city,  and  as  though  it  belonged  there. 

This  city  had  extensive  manufactories  of  Confederate  mili 
tary  supplies,  all  of  which  we  destroyed,  as  well  as  all  rail 
roads  and  bridges,  and  all  supplies  that  we  could  not  use, 
including  four  hundred  hogsheads  of  sugar. 

On  May  i6th,  via  Clinton,  we  marched  towards  Vicksburg, 
forty-seven  to  fifty  miles  distant,  making  nineteen  miles  to 
Bolton  Station,  where  we  learned  of  the  battle  that  day,  of 
Champion's  Hill. 

On  May  ijth. — We  had  the  advance  of  the  Fifteenth  Corps, 
ours  being  the  right  or  northernmost  of  the  three  Corps  of 
Sherman,  McPherson  and  McClernand,  which  were  now  fast 
closing  in  on  the  devoted  city. 

At  Bridgeport  we  found  supplies,  helped  to  complete  one 
of  the  three  several  bridges  being  there  constructed,  as  the 
bridge  over  the  Big  Black  had  been  destroyed  that  morning  by 
the  vanquished  enemy.  We  crossed  the  river  at  dark  and 
camped  one  mile  further  on,  in  the  woods. 

We  have  the  narration  of  the  following  incident  from  the 
Confederate  General,  S.  H.  Lockett,  "  Chief  Engineer  of  the 
defenses  of  Vicksburg,"  on  the  occasion  of  the  rebel  retreat  to 
the  fortifications  of  Vicksburg,  after  their  defeat  at  the  battle 
of  Big  Black  Bridge. 

General  Lockett  says  :  '  'After  the  stampede  at  the  bridge, 
orders  were  issued  for  the  army  to  fall  back  to  Vicksburg, 
Major-General  Stevenson  being  placed  in  command  of  the 
retreating  forces. 

"  General  Pemberton  rode  on  himself  to  Bovina,  a  small 
railroad  station  about  two  and  a  half  miles  from  the  river.  I 
was  the  only  staff  officer  with  him.  He  was  very  much 
depressed  by  the  events  of  the  last  two  days,  and  for  some 


316  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

time  after  mounting  his  horse  rode  in  silence.  He  finally 
said  :  '  ljust  thirty  years  ago,  I  began  my  military  career,  by 
receiving  my  appointment  to  a  cadet  ship  at  the  United  States 
Military  Academy;  and  to-day — the  same  date — that  career  is 
ended  in  disaster  and  disgrace. ' ' 

And  again,  at  a  council  of  war  on  the  night  of  July  2d, 
1863,  in  Vicksburg,  General  Pemberton  said  :  "Well,  gentle 
men,  I  have  heard  your  votes  and  I  agree  with  your  almost 
unanimous  decision,  though  my  own  preference  would  be  to 
put  myself  at  the  head  of  my  troops  and  make  a  desperate 
effort  to  cut  our  way  through  the  enemy.  That  is  my  only 
hope  of  saving  myself  from  shame  and  disgrace.  Far  better 
would  it  be  for  me  to  die  at  the  head  of  my  army,  even  in  a 
vain  effort  to  force  the  enemy's  lines,  than  to  surrender  it  and 
live  and  meet  the  obloquy  which  I  know  will  be  heaped  upon 
me.  But  my  duty  is  to  sacrifice  myself  to  save  the  army 
which  has  so  nobly  done  its  duty  to  defend  Vicksburg.  I 
therefore  concur  with  you  and  shall  offer  to  surrender  this  army 
on  the  4.th  of  July." 

On  May  i8th. — Bright  and  early  we  were  on  the  road, 
which  the  rebels  had  kindly  left  unobstructed  until  we  had 
measured  off  about  fifteen  miles,  when  our  advance  encoun 
tered  the  enemy's  pickets  with  whom  our  boys  insisted  on  an 
exchange  of  skill  at  shooting  at  a  mark.  Our  regiment  fol 
lowed  our  skirmishers  so  closely,  and  boldly,  that  either  one 
side  or  the  other,  had  to  give  way  ;  and  it  was  not  us;  and  we 
slept  there  that  night  close  up  to  the  enemy's  outer  works, 
which  were  empty  the  next  morning,  May  iQth,  and  this  gave 
us  the  right  of  way  to  the  Yazoo  river,  which  added  greatly  to 
our  convenience  and  comfort,  as  it  re-established  our  connec 
tions  with  our  old  base  of  supplies,  and  uninterrupted  com 
munications  with  the  outside  world.  From  these  hills,  Vicks 
burg  was  in  sight,  and  our  old  battle-ground  of  Chickasaw 
Bayou,  lay  at  our  very  feet. 

The  Fourth  Ohio  Battery  was  now  soon  brought  into  posi 
tion  and  opened  fire,  supported  by  our  regiment,  which  was 
the  first  regiment  in  position  in  the  investing  lines. 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  317 

On  May  27 th. — Our  brigade  with  four  others  under  Blair, 
was  sent  up  the  Yazoo,  for  some  work,  which  being  accom 
plished,  we  took  our  old  position  in  the  line  of  investment. 
During  a  seige  like  that  of  Vicksburg,  there  is  little  to  be  said 
of  any  one  regiment  in  particular  and  this  siege  of  forty-seven 
days  gave  no  opportunity  for  particular  mention.  Lieutenant 
Josselyn  says:  "On  May  226.  another  grand  assault  was 
made,  our  regiment  taking  part  to  the  left  of  our  position. 
From  this  time  to  the  last  of  May,  our  duties  were  to  support 
the  battery,  sharp  shooting,  and  digging  trenches.  *  *  *  * 

"Colonel  Gorgas  detailed  Lieutenants  Dement,  Russell 
and  Josselyn,  with  two  men  from  each  company,  to  go  over 
to  Young's  Point  and  bring  over  our  camp  equipage.  All 
sick  men  left  there  when  we  started  for  Grand  Gulf,  now 
joined  their  companies. 

"  From  this  time  until  the  surrender  of  Vicksburg,  our 
work  and  duties  were  constant.  Strong  picket  lines  out  every 
night,  digging  trenches,  roadways,  sapping  and  mining, 
making  earth-works  supporting  the  Marine  and  Hoffman's 
batteries  and  sharp-shooting  were  the  order  of  each  day.  The 
fire  was  continuous  from  artillery,  musketry  and  the  Mortars. 
Towards  the  last  of  June  the  enemy  seemed  more  quiet  ;  and 
it  was  not  often  that  we  could  get  a  good  shot  at  them  with 
a  musket.  We  could  see  buildings  burning  occasionally 
over  in  town,  set  on  fire  by  the  bursting  mortar-shells.  Gen 
eral  bombardments  took  place  June  2oth  and  25th." 

As  far  back  as  March  ist,  General  Halleck  had  written 
General  Grant  as  follows  :  General  :  ' '  There  is  a  vacant 
major-generalcy  in  the  regular  army  ;  and  I  am  authorized 
to  say  that  it  will  be  given  to  the  general  in  the  field  who 
first  wins  an  important  and  decisive  victor}'." 

This  had  reached  General  Grant  while  at  Young's  Point  ; 
and  six  days  later,  had  been  replied  to  as  follows  :  "General  : 
I  will  have  Vicksburg  this  month  or  fail  in  the  attempt." 

This  seems  a  vain  boast  so  entirely  foreign  to  the  nature 
of  General  Grant,  that  its  appearance  among  the  War  Docu- 


318  HISTORY    OF   THE    THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT. 

mentvS,  published  by  order  of  Congress,  alone  saves  it  from 
a  doubt  of  its  authenticity. 

However,  the  surrender  came  in  season  to  save  General 
Grant's  chance  in  competition  with  General  Mead,  at  Gettys 
burg,  by  nearly  twenty-four  hours. 

On  the  2ist  of  May,  when  the  investment  was  completed, 
we  were  eight-hundred  yards  distant  from  the  enemy's  main 
works.  On  June  4th,  or  fourteen  days  afterward,  we  had  so 
well  employed  our  time  and  opportunities  as  to  have  advanced 
our  lines  to  within  one  hundred  and  fifty  yards  of  the  same 
objective  ;  and  when  the  surrender  came,  the  thickness  of 
the  enemy's  parapet  alone  divided  the  hostile  forces. 

The  surrender,  which  had  fully  been  decided  on  by  Gen 
eral  Pemberton  as  early  as  the  night  of  the  2d  of  July,  was 
consummated  as  agreed  upon  with  General  Grant,  on  the  4th 
of  July. 

If  ever  soldiers  had  earned  a  rest,  and  time  in  which  to 
participate  in  the  celebration  of  the  glorious  victory,  it  cer 
tainly  was  Sherman's  soldiers,  after  so  arduous  a  campaign  ; 
but  that  was  not  to  be  ;  and  already  the  tremendous  energies 
of  these  great  generals  had  planned  for  further  vigorous  move 
ments  almost  before  the  surrender  could  be  completed,  as  will 
be  seen  by  fragments  of  two  communications  to  Grant  from 
Sherman,  of  date  of  July  3d,  as  follows:  *  *  *  *  "If 
you  are  in  Vicksburg,  glory,  hallelujah  !  The  best  4th  of 
July  since  1776." 

And  again:  *  *  *  *  "  Already  are  my  orders  out 
to  give  one  big  huzza.  !  and  sling  the  knapsack  for  new 
fields."  *  *  *  * 

Comrades,  when  you  "slung  knapsacks  for  new  fields," 
twenty-nine  years  ago,  the  writer  had  just  severed  his  connec 
tion  with  the  old  Thirteenth  Regiment;  he  was  still  to  wear 
the  blue,  in  the  same  service  but  in  other  fields.  And  now 
again,  I  must  leave  you.  Other  hands,  able  and  patriotic, 
will  guide  your  historian's  pen  to  completion,  and  again  I 
must  say,  comrades,  God  speed  you,  and  good-bye. 

ASA  B.  MUNN. 


CHAPTER   XXIV. 

SHERMAN  TO  GRANT.  — "  IF  YOU  ARE  IN  VICKSBURG,  GLORY, 
HALLELUJAH  !  " —  KNAPSACKS  SLUNG  FOR  NEW  FIELDS. 
—THE  BEST  4TH  OF  JULY  SINCE  1776. 

N  JULY  4th,  10  a.  m.  the  white  flag  went 
up  on  the  fortifications  of  Vicksburg,  Missis 
sippi. 

General   Order   No.   52,  emanating  from 
General  W.  T.  Sherman,  awaited  this  event 
and  spoke  then  as  follows  : 

The   moment   Vicksburg   falls  and   the   investing   army   is 
relieved  from  the  trenches,  by  General  Grant's  orders  a  move 
ment  will  be  made  inland,  preliminary  to  which  the  following  orders 
are  made  : 

1 .  Thirteenth  Army  corps  will  move  direct  to  the  Big  Black  river, 
in  the  direction  of  Edward's  Depot. 

2.  The  Fifteenth  Army  corps,  -General  Sherman's  will  move  by  the 
Bridgeport  road  to  Tiffin,  and  take  the  road  by  Fox's  to  Messenger's  ford, 
an  advance  guard  to  occupy  the  hills,  the  main  body  along  the  Big 
Black  and  Fox's  Creek. 

3.  The  Ninth  Army  corps,  General  Parke's,  move  to  the  vicinity 
of  Bird's-song  Ferry  with  his  advance  guard  across  his  main  force  on 
Bear  Creek. 

4.  The  Cavalry  force,  Colonel  Bussey,  will  cross  Black  River  near 
the  mouth  of  Bear  Creek. 

5.  All   commanders  will   see  that  their  troops  are  well  provided 
with   five   days'  rations   in   their  haversacks   and   regimental   wagons ; 
cartridges  at  the  rate  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  per  man.     Great  atten 
tion  must  be  paid  to  providing  water. 

All  baggage,  tents  and  incumbrances  of  any  kind  must  not  be  taken 
along. 

By  order  of 

MAJ.-GEN.  W.  T.  SHERMAN. 
319 


320  HISTORY   OF   THE    THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

.i  number  of  things  are  suggested  by  this  order. 

First.  It  was  confidently  expected  that  we  had  about 
reached  a  triumphant  conclusion  of  General  Grant's  effort  to 
secure  Vicksburg  and  open  the  Mississippi*  river.  And  so  we 
had. 

Second.  We  still  had  business  on  hand  and  our  officers 
were  disposed  to  attend  to  it  without  delay  and  spend  no  time 
in  fire-cracker  demonstrations  over  our  victory.  To  some  per 
sons  it  will  hardly  seem  credible,  that  when  the  white  flag 
went  up  over  the  fortifications,  that  gave  us  thirty  thousand 
prisoners  and  hundreds  of  cannon  and  an  open  river,  that  there 
were  no  noisy  demonstrations  of  joy.  The  fact  was,  that  this 
feature  of  it  had  been  about  all  worked  off  earlier,  and  that 
we  regarded  it  as  a  foregone  conclusion  for  weeks,  that  Vicks 
burg  was  ours,  and  we  had  death  enough  to  sober  us,  and 
there  was  no  disposition  to  unduly  exult  over  a  fallen  enemy, 
that  had  fought  bravely  ;  so  the  event  passed  off  quietly  for 
so  great  an  event  in  the  war.  The  noisy  part  we  left  to  our 
friends  in  the  North,  who  did  not  have  the  satisfaction  of  see 
ing  it.  It  is  true  that  when  the  navy  came  down  the  river  in 
array,  guns  were  fired.  This  feature  of  it,  on  the  part  of  the 
navy,  was  most  imposing  and  delightful  in  appearance.  The 
long  line  of  boats  headed  by  Admiral  D.  D.  Porter's  flagship, 
gorgeously  set  off  by  the  Stars  and  Stripes,  and  firing  as  they 
came  in  line  down  the  river  and  swinging  around  to  the  landing 
at  the  wharf  of  the  captured  city,  was  one  not  easily  forgotten, 
and  much  enjoyed  by  all  but  the  fallen  enemy. 

Another  thing  suggested  by  the  order  and  not  fully  appre 
ciated  by  those  not  familiar  with  army  life,  is  that  baggage 
must  be  kept  at  a  minimum  in  a  sharp  campaign,  and  further, 
that  the  details  for  the  necessities  of  the  army  must  be  looked 
after  with  great  care.  On  the  march  that  was  to  follow,  a 
lack  of  sufficient  and  good  water  was  the  greatest  cause  of 
suffering. 

General  Grant  said  to  General  Sherman  as  soon  as  they 
had  surrendered,  "  General  Sherman  :  Ord  will  get  off  a  divis 
ion  of  his  troops  to-night  and  the  balance  to-morrow.  Steele 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  321 

will  get  off  before  daylight  to-morrow.  I  have  just  returned 
from  a  visit  to  the  Admiral  at  the  landing.  The  number  of 
prisoners  as  given  by  the  rebels,  is  twenty-seven  thousand. 
There  is  much  more  artillery  than  we  thought.  The  field 
pieces  are  given  at  one  hundred  and  twenty-eight  and  about 
one  hundred  siege  guns."  The  Thirteenth  Regiment  was  in 
Steele's  division  and  so  we  were  to  be  off  before  daylight. 

Major-General  McPherson  was  put  in  charge  of  paroling 
the  prisoners. 

Major-General  Logan  was  given  command  of  the  city  and 
the  necessary  garrison  duty.  By  special  request  of  General 
McPherson,  because  of  special  hard  service  and  exposure  dur 
ing  the  siege,  the  Forty-fifth  Illinois  Infantry  (known  as  the 
Lead-mine  regiment),  was  permitted  to  take  the  advance  in 
going  into  the  city  and  to  take  possession  of  the  Court  House. 

While  certain  troops  were  designated  to  take  charge  of  the 
works  and  the  prisoners,  many  others  took  the  liberty  during 
the  day  to  leave  their  camps  and  go  into  the  rebel  fortifica 
tions  and  camps,  to  see  what  and  whom  they  had  been  fighting. 
The  care  and  anxiety  that  they  had  been  compelled  to  keep 
up  so  many  weeks  had  passed  away,  and  the  men  felt 
when  standing  on  the  works,  as  a  man  would  toward  a  dead 
lion. 

COCKED  THE  CANNON. 

Iii  the  midst  of  this  scene  one  of  our  camps  was  quite 
astonished  to  find  several  shells  come  booming  from  the  rebel 
guns.  They  began  to  shelter  themselves,  not  knowing  but 
that  the  old  sore  had  for  some  reason  broken  out  again.  The 
explanation  was  that  some  of  our  bad  boys  on  going  to  the  rebel 
works,  had  found  the  guns  of  a  battery  loaded  and  "just  for 
fun  "  had  cocked  them,  put  on  a  cap  and  snapped  it  and  then 
of  course  ran  away.  But  had  they  killed  some  of  our  brave 
soldiers,  it  would  have  been  too  serious  even  for  the  Fourth  of 
July  at  Vicksburg. 


322  HISTORY   OF   THE    THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

A    MEAN    MAN. 

While  going  through  one  of  the  camps  I  saw  a  group  of 
soldiers  of  each  kind  together.  An  argument  of  some  kind 
was  going  on.  A  talkative  soldier  of  a  rebel  regiment,  but 
of  Northern  birth,  was  making  some  strong  declarations 
about  the  Northern  army.  A  Southern  man  with  a  drawling 
tone  said  to  our  soldiers,  "  Don't  pay  any  attention  to  what  he 
says,  for  he  is  the  meanest  fellow  you  ever  surrounded." 

Even  if  we  were  modest  in  the  amount  of  noise  made  on 
this  great  occasion  we  would  of  course  expect  some  exuber 
ance  of  feeling  and  something  of  the  manner  of  the  Fourth  of 
July  in  addresses.  Let  me  present  to  you  something  from 
some  of  our  Generals. 

General  McPherson  himself  wrote  to  his  men  as  follows  : 

VlCKSBURG,    MISSISSIPPI,  July  4,  '63. 

Soldiers  of  the  SEVENTEENTH  ARMY  CORPS. 

Again  I  rejoice  with  you  over  your  brilliant  achievements,  and  your 
unparalleled  success.  Hardly  had  your  flag  floated  to  the  breeze  on  the 
Capitol  of  Mississippi,  when  springing  to  the  call  of  our  noble  com 
mander  you  rushed  upon  the  defiant  columns  of  the  enemy  at  Champion 
Hills  and  drove  him  in  confusion  and  dismay  across  the  Big  Black  river 
to  his  defenses  within  the  stronghold  of  Vicksburg.  Your  assaulting 
columns  that  moved  upon  his  works  on  the  22d  of  May,  and  stood  for 
hours  under  a  withering  fire,  you  were  unsuccessful  only  because  no  men 
could  take  the  position  by  storm.  With  tireless  energy  and  sleepless 
vigilance  by  night  and  by  day,  with  battery  and  rifle-pit,  with  trench 
and  mine  you  made  your  sure  approaches,  until  overcome  by  fatigue  and 
driven  by  despair  to  oppose  your  progress,  the  whole  garrison  of  thirty 
thousand  men  with  all  their  munitions  of  war,  have,  on  the  anniversary 
of  our  National  Independence  surrendered  to  the  invincible  troops  of 
the  Army  of  the  Tennessee.  The  achievements  of  this  hour  will  give  a 
new  meaning  to  this  memorable  day,  and  Vicksburg  will  brighten  the 
glow  in  the  patriot's  heart  which  kindles  at  the  mention  of  Bunker  Hill 
and  Yorktown.  This  is  indeed  an  auspicious  day  for  you.  The  God  of 
battles  is  with  you.  The  dawn  of  a  corresponding  peace  is  breaking 
upon  you  ;  the  plaudits  of  an  admiring  world  will  hail  you  wherever 
you  go,  and  it  will  be  an  ennobling  heritage  surpassing  all  riches,  to 
have  been  of  the  Seventeenth  Army  Corps  on  the  Fourth  of  July,  1863. 


ILLINOIS     VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  323 

General  Sherman  was  in  'command  of  the  army  that  faced 
toward  General  Johnson  so  that  he  was  not  permitted  to- look 
upon  the  goings  on  at  Vicksburg  on  the  Fourth,  but  he  knows 
of  the  event,  and  writes  from  his  headquarters  on  the  Big 
Black  both  to  General  Grant  and  Admiral  Porter.  To  Gen 
eral  Grant  he  says  : 

Major-General  GRANT. 

MY  DEAR  GENERAL  :  The  telegraph  has  just  announced  to  me  that 
Vickburg  is  ours.  I  can  hardly  contain  myself.  Surety  I  will  not  punish 
my  soldiers  for  being  "unco5  happy  "  this  most  glorious  anniversary  of 
the  birth  of  a  nation  whose  sire  was  Washington.  Did  I  not  know  the 
honesty  and  purity  of  your  nature,  I  would  be  tempted  to  follow  the 
example  of  my  standard  enemy  of  the  press  in  indulging  in  wanton 
flattery,  but  as  a  man  and  soldier  and  ardent  friend  of  yours,  I  warn  you 
against  the  incense  of  flattery  that  will  fill  our  land  from  one  extreme  to 
another.  Be  natural,  be  yourself  and  this  glittering  flattery  will  be  as 
the  passing  breeze  of  the  sea  on  a  summer  day. 

To  me  the  delicacy  with  which  you  have  treated  a  brave  and  de 
luded  enemy  is  more  eloquent  than  the  most  gorgeous  victory. 

This  is  a  day  of  jubilee,  a  day  of  rejoicing  to  the  faithful  and  I 
would  like  to  hear  the  shout  of  my  old  and  patient  troops  ;  but  I  must 
be  a  "  Grad-Grind."  I  must  face  facts  and  knocks  and  must  go  on. 
Already  are  my  orders  out  to  give  one  big  huzza  !  and  sling  the  knapsack 
for  new  fields. 

I  did  want  rest,  but  I  ask  nothing  until  the  Mississippi  is  ours  ;  and 
Sunday  and  the  Fourth  of  July  are  nothing  to  Americans,  until  the  river 
of  our  greatness  is  as  free  as  God  made  it.  Though  in  the  background, 
as  I  ever  wish  to  be  in  civil  war,  I  feel  I  have  labored  some  to  secure 
this  glorious  result.  Your  friend, 

W.  T.  SHERMAN. 

This  letter,  written  so  spontaneously,  brings  out  in  beautiful 
manner  the  brotherly  feeling  between  Grant  and  Sherman, 
and  also  the  warmth  with  which  Sherman's  heart  entered  into 
the  cause  and  country  he  served. 

To  Admiral  Porter,  Sherman  says  : 

DEAR  ADMIRAL  :  No  event  in  my  life  would  have  given  me  more 
personal  pride  or  pleasure  than  to  have  met  you  to-day  on  the  wharf  at 
Vicksburg— a  Fourth  of  July  so  eloquent  in  events  as  to  need  no  words 
or  stimulants  to  elevate  its  importance. 


324  HISTORY    OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

I  can  appreciate  the  intense  satisfaction  you  must  feel  in  lying  be 
fore  the  very  monster  which  has  defied  us.  In  so  magnificent  a 
result  I  stop  not  to  ask  who  did  it.  It  is  done  and  the  day  of  our 
Nation's  birth  is  consecrated  anew  in  a  victory  won«by  the  united  navy 
and  army  of  the  country. 

Thus  I  muse  as  I  sit  in  my  solitary  camp  out  in  the  woods,  far  from 
the  point  for  which  we  have  jointly  striven  so  long  and  so  well  ;  and 
though  personal  curiosity  would  tempt  me  to  go  and  see  the  frowning 
batteries  and  sunken  pits,  that  have  defied  us  so  long  and  sent  to  their 
silent  grave  so  many  of  our  early  comrades  in  the  enterprise,  I  feel  that 
other  tasks  lie  before  me  and  time  must  not  be  lost. 

Without  casting  anchor,  and  despite  the  heat  and  dust  and  drought, 
I  must  again  strike  into  the  bowels  of  the  laud  to  make  the  conquest  of 
Vicksburg  fulfill  all  the  conditions  it  should  in  the  progress  of  the  war. 
Whether  success  attends  my  efforts  or  not,  I  know  Admiral  Porter  will 
ever  accord  to  me  the  exhibition  of  a  pure  and  unselfish  zeal  in  the 
service  of  our  country. 

Congratulating  you  and  the  officers  and  men  of  your  command,  I 
remain  as  ever, 

Your  friend  and  servant, 

W.  T.  SHERMAN. 


As  we  consult  the  records  we  find  many  orders  and  letters 
attributed  to  General  Grant  on  the  Fourth  of  July,  but  no  con 
gratulations.  He  had  no  time  for  that  just  then,  but  it 
seemed  that  by  his  quiet  touch  that  his  whole  vast  army 
moved  in  some  direction  for  some  purpose.  Some  to  meet 
Johnson's  army  ;  some  to  see  after  the  spoils  and  some  to  fly 
to  the  relief  of  General  Banks  at  Port  Hudson. 


A  BATTLE  AT  HELENA,  ARKANSAS. 

Before  starting  on  our  march  after  Gen.  Joseph  Johnson  and 
the  repossession  of  the  State  Capital,  it  will  be  of  interest  to 
refer  to  what  was  going  on  at  this  same  date  at  Helena, 
Arkansas,  so  long  our  camp-ground  just  previous  to  entering 
upon  the  Vicksburg  campaign. 

General  B.  M.  Prentiss  was  in  command  of  the  place,  with 
about  four  thousand  men,  fortified,  and  a  gun-boat  in  the  river 
as  a  support. 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  325 

Many  plans  had  been  projected  for  the  relief  of  Vicksburg 
on  the  part  of  the  rebel  forces  west  of  the  river.  It  finally 
culminated  in  an  attack  upon  Helena  on  the  morning  of  the 
Fourth  of  July. 

Lieutenant-General  Holmes  was  in  command,  and  on 
July  3d  issued  the  following  order  which  will  somewhat 
explain  the  situation,  and  the  purpose  of  the  rebels. 

July  3rd,  1863. 

i. — The  attack  on  Helena  will  be  made  to-morrow  at  daylight. 

2.  Major-General  Price  will  assault  and  take  the  gravej'ard  hill  at 
daylight. 

3. — Brigadier-General  Walker  with  his  cavalry  brigade  will  proceed 
to  the  Sterling  road  and  when  the  hill  is  captured  will  enter  the  town 
and  act  against  the  enemy. 

4. — Brigadier-General  Fahan  will  assault  and  take  the  batteries  on 
Hindman's  Hill  at  daylight. 

5. — Brigadier- General  Marrnaduke  will  assault  and  take  Reiter's 
Hill  at  daylight. 

This  plan  was  attempted,  but  not  entirely  carried  out. 
General  Price  did  succeed  in  getting  possession  of  the  fort  and 
hill  where  the  Thirteenth  had  been  encamped  the  previous 
summer  and  fall,  but  was  not  able  to  hold  it  in  the  face  of  the 
fire  of  the  gun-boat.  The  other  two  attacks  failed  and  so  the 
whole  battle  failed  with  severe  loss  in  killed,  wounded  and 
prisoners  to  the  rebels,  and  with  but  slight  loss  to  the  Union 
forces. 

The  battle  was  ill-advised.  General  Price  was  strongly 
against  it  but  General  Holmes  proposed  to  fight,  ready  to 
take  the  glory  or  blame  as  the  outcome  might  be. 

General  Hurlbut  reports  concerning  it  as  follows  : 

Major-General  HALLECK. 

GENERAL:  General  Prentiss  was  attacked  by  a  force  of  rebels 
under  Holmes  and  Price  at  Helena  on  yesterday.  He  estimated  the 
force  at  fifteen  thousand.  I  think  nine  thousand  will  cover  their 
strength.  Prentiss  sustained  their  attack  from  daylight  to  3  p.  m., 
when  the  rebels  were  repulsed  at  all  points,  leaving  twelve  hundred 


326  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT. 

prisoners.  Their  loss  from  killed  and  wounded  is  from  five  to  six  hun 
dred.  Prentiss  lost  about  sixty.  He  has  already  sent  me  eight  hundred 
and  sixty  prisoners,  whom  I  have  sent  to  Alton  to-day. 

(9 

This  was  quite  a  change  from  the  quiet  days  spent  on  this 
same  ground  by  our  regiment,  with  nothing  more  than  a  raid 
on  some  sutler's  goods  or  rough  joke  on  some  of  the  officers, 
or  a  mournful  march  along  the  ridge  to  bury  some  fallen  com 
rade.  We  hardly  thought  then  that  this  same  ground  would 
be  strewn  thick  with  dead  and  wounded  from  battle. 

A    VICKSBURG    NEWSPAPER. 

But  to  return  to  our  preparation  for  our  march  from  Vicks- 
burg  after  Gen.  Joseph  Johnson's  army.  And  yet  before  doing 
so  it  may  be  interesting  to  look  over  the  Daily  Citizen,  J.  M. 
Swords,  proprietor,  printed  in  Vicksburg. 

The  type  was  set  up  for  July  2d,  1863,  but  was  not  struck 
off  until  the  4th  after  we  had  possession.  Then  some  of  our 
boys  ran  off  the  edition  on  wall-paper,  as  that  was  the  only 
material  the  proprietor  had  in  stock. 

It  is  interesting  to  see  ourselves  as  others  see  us,  and  hear 
them  talk  about  us.  In  this  copy  we  have  some  of  this,  and 
some  of  the  news  inside  of  the  besieged  city. 

We  glean  as  follows: 

KILLED   ON    MONDAY. 

Mrs.  Cisco  was  instantly  killed  on  Monday  on  the  Jackson  Road. 
Mrs.  Cisco's  husband  is  now  in  Virginia  a  member  of  Moody 's  artillery, 
and  the  death  of  such  a  loving  and  affectionate  wife,  will  be  a  loss  to 
him  irreparable. 

The  deaths  among  women  and  children  were  frequent  dur 
ing  the  siege  and  seemed  to  add  new  horrors  to  war,  that 
people  in  Northern  homes  knew  nothing  about. 

We  were  indebted  to  Major  Gillespie  for  a  steak  of  Confederate  beef, 
alias  meat.  We  have  tried  it  and  can  assure  our  friends  that  if  it  is 
rendered  necessary,  they  need  have  no  scruples  about  eating  the  meat. 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  327 

It  is  sweet,  savory  and  tender,  and  so  long  as  we  have  a  mule  left  we  are 
satisfied.     Our  soldiers  will  be  content  to  subsist  on  it. 


Grant's  forces  did  a  little  firing  on  Tuesday  afternoon,  but  the  bal 
ance  of  that  day  was  comparatively  quiet.  Yesterday  morning  they 
were  very  still  and  continued  so  until  early  in  the  afternoon  when  they 
sprung  a  mine  on  the  left  of  our  center  and  opened  fire  along  the  line 
for  some  distance.  We  have  not  been  able  to  ascertain  anything  defi 
nitely  as  to  the  extent  of  our  loss,  but  as  our  officers  were  on  the  lookout 
for  the  move  of  the  enemy,  the  expectations  of  the  Yankees  were  not 
realized  by  a  great  deal. 


Among  the  many  deeds  spoken  of  with  pride  by  our  citizens,  we 
can  not  refrain  from  mentioning  the  case  of  Mr.  F.  Kiser.  The  gentle 
man,,  having  more  corn  than  he  thought  was  necessary  during  the  siege 
of  this  place,  portioned  off  what  would  do  him  for  the  brief  interval 
that  must  ensue,  before  the  arrival  of  the  succor  for  the  garrison,  and 
since  that  time  has  relieved  the  wants  of  many  families,  free  of  charge. 
May  he  live  and  prosper  and  his  name  be  handed  down  to  posterity, 
when  the  siege  of  Vicksburgh  is  written,  as  one  in  whose  breast  the 
milk  of  human  kindness  had  not  dried  up. 


Commodore  Porter's  mortars  have  not  been  used  for  nearly  forty- 
eight  hours.  Poor  fool,  he  might  as  well  give  up  the  vain  aspirations  he 
entertains  of  capturing  our  city  or  exterminating  our  people,  and  return 
to  his  master  to  receive  the  reward  such  a  gasconading  dolt  will  meet  at 
the  hands  of  the  uuappreciating  government  at  Washington. 

After  two  days  the  said  city  was  captured  and  Porter's  fleet 
was  at  the  wharf ;  some  gasconading  on  the  part  of  the  editor, 
Mr.  Sword,  it  seems. 


Death  of  Lieutenant-Colonel  Griffin.  General  Smith's  impetuous 
division  seems  singularly  unfortunate.  He  has  lost  many  gallant  men 
during  the  siege  whose  deaths  are  a  great  public  calamity.  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  Griffin,  commanding  the  Thirty-first  Louisiana  Regiment  was 
killed  on  Saturday.  He  was  a  popular  and  efficient  officer.  May  the 
soft  south  winds  murmur  sweet  requiems  over  his  name,  and  the  twilight 
dews  fall  gently  like  an  angel's  tear-drop  and  moisten  his  turfy  bed. 


328  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

EXTORTIONERS. 

If  aught  would  appeal  to  the  heart  of  stone  of  the  extortioners  with 
success,  the  present  necessities  of  our  citizens  would  do  so.  It  is  need 
less  to  attempt  to  disguise  from  the  enemy  or  our  own  people  that  our 
wants  are  great,  but  still  we  can  conscientiously  assert  our  belief,  that 
there  is  plenty  within  our  lines,  by  an  exercise  of  prudence,  to  last  till 
long  after  succor  reaches  us.  We  are  satisfied  that  there  are  numerous 
persons  within  our  city  who  have  breadstuffs  secreted  and  are  doling  it 
out  at  the  most  exorbitant  figures  to  those  who  had  not  the  foresight  or 
means  at  their  command  to  provide  for  the  exigency  now  upon  us.  A 
rumor  has  reached  us  that  parties  in  our  city  have  been  and  are  now 
selling  flour  at  five  dollars  a  pound,  molasses  at  ten  dollars  per  gallon, 
and  corn  at  ten  dollars  per  bushel.  We  have  not  as  yet  proved  the  fact 
upon  the  parties  accused,  but  if  proven,  let  a  brand  not  only  be  placed 
upon  their  brow,  but  let  it  be  seared  into  their  very  brains  that  humanity 
may  scorn  and  shun  them  as  the  very  portals  of  hell  itself. 


We  have  heretofore  refrained  from  alluding  to  a  matter  that  has 
been  a  source  of  extreme  annoyance  and  loss  to  our  citizens.  We  refer 
to  the  lax  discipline  of  some  of  the  company  officers  in  allowing  their 
men  to  prowl  about  day  and  night  and  purloin  fruit,  vegetables,  chick 
ens,  etc.,  from  our  citizens,  and  in  the  majority  of  cases  from  those 
whose  chief  subsistence  is  derived  therefrom.  This  charge  is  not  con 
fined  wholly  to  those  at  the  works,  but  is  equally,  if  not  mainly  attrib 
utable  to  the  wagoners  and  those  in  charge  of  animals.  Several  cases 
here  come  to  our  knowledge,  where  the  offenders  have  in  open  day 
light  entered  the  premises,  seized  the  cattle  and  other  things  and  defied 
the  owners  to  the  teeth.  We  are  pained  to  learn  that  an  esteemed 
citizen  of  our  Vicksburg,  Wm.  Patterfield,  was  under  the  necessity  in 
protecting  his  property,  to  wound  one  or  two  soldiers  and  take  the  life 
of  another. 

We  fully  appreciate  the  fatigue,  hardships  and  privations  to  which 
our  men  are  subjected.  But  on  inquiry  it  ma}*  be  found  that  our  city  is 
second  to  none  in  contributing  to  those  gallant  spirits  who  risked  life 
and  limb  to  make  us  the  most  honored  people  on  the  earth  ;  but  such 
conduct  is  base  ingratitude.  A  soldier  has  his  honor  as  much  at  stake 
as  when  he  is  a  civilian.  Then  let  him  preserve  his  good  name  and 
reputation  with  the  same  jealous  care  as  before  he  entered  the  ranks. 
But  so  long  as  this  end  is  lost  sight  of,  we  may  expect  to  chronicle 
bloodshed  among  our  own  people. 

GOOD    NEWS. 

In  devoting  a  large  portion  of  our  space  this  morning  to  Federal 
intelligence,  copied  from  the  Memphis  Bulletin  of  the  25th,  it  should  be 


ILLINOIS    VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  329 

remembered  that  the  news  is  the  original  truth,  whitewashed  by  the 
Federal  Provost-marshal,  who  desired  to  hoodwink  the  poor  Northern 
white  slaves. 

The  former  editors  being  rather  proslavery  were  arrested  for  speak 
ing  the  truth  when  the  truth  was  unwelcome  to  Yankeedom,  and  placed 
in  the  chain  gang,  working  at  Warrenton  where  they  now  are.  This 
paper  at  present  is  in  duress  and  edited  by  a  pink-nosed,  slab-sided, 
toad-eating  Yankee,  who  is  a  lineal  descendant  of  Judas  Iscariot  and  a 
brother  germain  to  the  greatest  Puritanical  sycophant,  howling  scoun 
drel  unhung — Parson  Browrnlow,  yet  with  such  a  character  this  paper 
can  not  cloak  the  fact  that  Gen.  Robert  E.  Lee  has  given  Hooker,  Mil- 
roy  &  Co.,  one  of  the  soundest  whippings  on  record,  and  that  the 
"  glorious  Union  is  now  exceedingly  weak  in  the  knees." 

In  the  following  paragraph  we  have  a  measure  of  exalting 
that  was  rather  premature. 

GEN.  ROBERT  E.  IvEE. 

Again  we  have  reliable  information  from  the  gallant  corps  of  Gen 
eral  Lee  in  Virginia.  Elated  with  success  and  encouraged  by  a  series 
of  brilliant  victories,  they  have  marched  through  Shenandoah  Valley, 
Maryland,  into  Pennsylvania  and  are  threatening  Washington  and  are 
within  a  few  miles  of  Baltimore.  To-day  the  mongrel  administration 
of  Lincoln,  like  Japhet,  are  in  search  of  a  father,  for  their  old  Abe  has 
departed  for  parts  unknown.  Terror  reigns  in  their  halls.  Lee  is  to  the 
left  of  them,  the  right  of  them  and  all  around  them,  and  daily  we  ex 
pect  to  hear  of  his  being  down  on  them.  To-day  Maryland  is  ours,  to 
morrow  Pennsylvania  will  be,  and  the  next  day  Ohio  will  fall.  Success 
and  glory  to  our  arms  !  God  and  right  are  with  us. 

That  day  in  which  Ohio  was  to  fall  General  Lee  and  army 
were  in  full  retreat  and  Vicksburg  with  its  whole  garrison,  the 
editor  who  wrote  these  lines,  included,  had  surrendered  and 
were  once  more  under  the  stars  and  stripes. 

ox  DIT. 

That  the  great  Ulysses,  the  Yankee  Generalissimo,  surnamed 
Grant — has  expressed  his  intention  of  dining  in  Vicksburg  on  Saturday 
next,  and  celebrating  the  4th  of  July,  with  a  grand  dinner,  and  so  forth. 
When  asked  if  he  would  invite  General  Joseph  Johnston  to  join  him,  he 
said  :  "No,  for  fear  there  might  be  a  row  at  the  table."  Ulysses  must 
get  in  the  city  before  he  dines  in  it.  The  way  to  cook  a  rabbit  is  "first 
catch  the  rabbit." 


330  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

The  rabbit  was  caught  and  cooked  and  the  dinner  had  at 
the  time  suggested,  viz.:  in  the  stronghold  of  Vicksburg. 


A    ROYAI,   WEDDING. 

Mid  the  din  aud  clash  of  arms,  the  screech  of  shells  and  the 
whistle  of  bullets,  which  are  a  continual  feature  in  the  status  of  our 
beleagured  city,  incidents  of  happiness  often  arise  to  vary  in  a  cheery 
way,  the  phases  of  so  stern  a  scene.  On  the  evening  of  the  28th  ult.,  with 
gaiety,  mirth  and  good  feeling,  at  a  prominent  hospital  in  the  city, 
through  the  ministerial  offices  of  a  chaplain  of  a  gallant  regiment, 
Charles  Royall,  Prince  Imperial  of  Ethiopia  of  the  Barbirago  family, 
espoused  the  lovely  and  accomplished  Rosa  Glass,  Archduchess  of 
Seuegambia,  one  of  the  most  celebrated  Princesses  of  the  Laundressind 
regime.  The  affair  was  conducted  with  great  magnificence  though,  as 
is  usual  in  troublesome  times,  the  sable  element  was  predominant  : 

The  foe  may  hurl  their  deadly  bolts, 

And  think  we  are  affrighted  ; 
Well  may  we  scorn  them,  silly  dolts, 

Our  blacks  are  now  united. 

VICTIMIZED. 

We  learn  of  an  instance  wherein  a  "  Knight  of  the  Quill  "  and  a 
"disciple  of  the  black  art"  with  malice  in  their  hearts  and  vengeance  in 
their  eyes,  ruthlessly  put  a  period  to  the  existence  of  a  venerable  feline, 
that  has  for  time  not  within  the  recollection  of  the  "oldest  inhabitant," 
faithfully  discharged  the  duties  to  be  expected  of  him  to  the  terror  of 
sundry  vermin  in  his  neighborhood.  Poor  defunct  Thomas  was  then 
prepared,  not  for  the  grave,  but  the  pot,  and  several  friends  invited  to 
partake  of  a  nice  rabbit.  As  a  matter  of  course  no  one  wound  the  feel 
ings  of  another  by  refusing  a  cordial  invitation  to  dinner,  and  the  guests 
assisted  in  consuming  the  poor  criminal  with  a  relish  that  did  honor  to 
their  tastes.  The  "  sold  "  assured  us  that  the  meat  was  delicious  and 
that  pussy  must  look  out  for  her  safety. 

When  Vicksburg  fell  the  rebel  commissary  department 
reported  as  having  on  hand  :  bacon,  38,000  pounds  ;  rice, 
51,  ooo  pounds  ;  sugar,  92,000  pounds;  salt,  428,000  pounds; 
peas,  5,000  bushels. 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  331 

These  had  been  held  in  reserve,  as  they  had  hoped  to 
break  out  of  their  imprisoned  condition. 

General  Johnson  had  written  to  General  Pemberton  on 
July  3d,  "I  hope  to  attack  the  enemy  in  your  front  about  the 
5th  and  your  co-operation  will  be  necessary.  The  manner, 
and  point,  for  you  to  bring  the  garrison  out,  you  must  deter 
mine.  Our  firing  will  show  you  where  '  we  are. '  If  Vicks- 
burg  can  not  be  saved,  the  garrison  must  be." 


CHAPTER    XXV. 

SHERMAN'S  CHASE  AFTER  JOHNSTON,  WHOSE  SPEED  SEEMED 
TO  SHOW  NOT  ONLY  RIGHT  AND  LEFT  WINGS,  BUT 
ALSO  WINGS  IN  HIS  REAR. 

E  will    now   use    some    extracts    from    several 
diaries. 

Sunday,  July  ^th,  1863. — Our  division  took 
the  road  at  2  a.  m.  to  reinforce  General  Sher 
man  who  is  after  Johnston.     The  day  was  exces 
sively  hot.     Passed  through  the  fortifications  that 
had  been  erected  as  our  rear  line.    We  came  fifteen 
miles  and  camped  just  at  dark. 

July  6th. — Spent  most  of  the  day  in  a  very  pleasant  camp. 
We  found  blackberries  in  great  profusion  and  the)7  were 
sought  after  and  enjoyed.  This  kind  of  fruit  was  without 
doubt  a  great  preserver  of  health  during  the  siege.  Much  for 
aging  was  done  during  the  day.  Came  two  miles  to  the  Big 
Black  river. 

July  jth. — Started  early,  crossed  the  river  on  pontoons, 
came  twelve  miles  and  camped  near  Bolton.  The  heat  and 
dust  was  very  severe  on  the  army.  Many  men  were  sun- 
struck  and  some  died  from  the  heat.  WTe  passed  General 
Tuttle's  division.  A  kind  providence  gave  us  a  shower  of 
rain  this  evening. 

July  8th. — Skirmish  with  the  enemy  on  the  part  of  the 
cavalry  was  carried  on.  Our  division  started  in  the  afternoon 
and  marched  some  ten  miles  to  the  vicinity  of  Clinton.  We 
are  laying  in  line  of  battle.  Losses  for  the  day  small.  The 

332 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  333 

Fourth   Iowa  skirmished  into  town  taking  a  number  of  pris 
oners  and  killing  and  wounding  some. 

July   yth.  —  General  Johnston  who  was  opposing  our    ad 
vance  wrote  : 


SOLDIERS  :  An  insolent  foe  flushed  with  hope  by  his  re 
cent  successes  at  Vicksburg  confronts  you.  Their  guns  may  even  now 
be  heard  at  intervals  as  they  advance.  It  is  at  once  the  mission  and 
duty  of  you  brave  men  to  chastise  and  expel  this  enemy  fr6m  the  soil  of 
Mississippi.  The  country  expects  in  this,  the  great  crisis  of  its  destiny, 
that  every  man  will  do  his  duty. 

General  Johnson  knew  they  could  not  do  this,  but  it  seemed 
necessary  to  whistle  to  keep  up  any  kind  of  courage. 

INVESTING  THE  JACKSON. 

On  July  loth  we  closed  up  to  Jackson,  the  State  Capital,  and 
found  it  well  fortified.  As  fast  as  the  troops  and  guns  could 
be  gotten  up,  the  investment  went  forward  extending  the  lines 
from  the  river  above  the  city  to  the  river  below.  During  this 
time  there  was  constant  picket  firing  and  the  use  of  artillery. 
Sometimes  it  was  furious  and  there  were  sallies  on  the  part  of 
the  enemy,  and  charges  on  the  part  of  our  troops  with  consid 
erable  loss.  On  the  thirteenth  General  Lauman's  division 
made  a  charge  and  was  repulsed  with  severe  loss. 

By  this  time  General  Sherman  had  brought  up  sufficient 
forces  to  make  a  demonstration  on  the  opposite  side  of  the 
river  and  the  enemy's  rear.  General  Johnson  was  too  shrewd 
to  have  the  same  trick  played  on  him  that  had  cooped  General 
Pembertoii  in  Vicksburg. 

On  the  1  6th  a  part  of  our  regiment  was  sent  to  the  front  to 
dig  some  rifle-pits.  A  fight  had  been  going  on  to  the  left  of 
us  and  this  drew  the  fire  on  us  and  we  had  some  close  calls 
from  bursting  shells. 

WATER     SCARCE. 

The  drinking  water  was  bad  and  scarce,  the  only  good 
water  being  found  in  cisterns  ;  these  were  soon  used  dry, 
some  of  the  men  going  as  far  as  three  miles  to  get  it,  and 


334  HISTORY   OF  THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

some  of  the  boys  paying  as  high  as  fifty  cents  for  a  canteen - 
ful.  There  were  some  houses  with  cisterns  at  our  advance 
lines,  and  between  the  two  lines.  These  were  sought  after  for 
the  water.  I  myself  took  a  load  of  canteens  before  daylight 
on  the  morning  of  the  iyth  and  went  to  one  of  these  houses 
to  fill  them;  and  some  of  our  outposts  were  there.  I  remem 
ber  to  have  heard  one  of  the  boys  say,  "  I  believe  the  rebs 
have  left  the  works  and  the  city,  but  I  don't  feel  quite  safe  to 
run  over  to  the  lines  to  make  sure  of  it. ' '  An  hour  later  the 
venture  was  made  and  the  works  were  found  to  be  empty. 

A  DOCTOR'S  HOUSE. 

This  house  that  I  visited  for  water  was  a  fine  brick  one  near 
the  main  Jackson  and  Vicksburg  road.  Of  course  it  was  aban 
doned  by  the  rebel  doctor.  He  had  a  fine  library  in  it  that 
had  been  thrown  about  in  bad  shape.  As  it  was  one  of  our 
picked  posts,  it  was  badly  riddled  by  the  rebel  shells.  I  heard 
afterwards  that  the  owner,  a  doctor,  sought  to  have  the  United 
States  pay  him  for  the  damage  done  to  his  property.  Uncle 
Sam  has  paid  many  a  bill  with  no  more  show  of  justice  in  it 
than  this. 

THE  ORDER  FOR  THE  EVACUATION. 

As  I  said,  General  J.  E.  Johnston  was  too  shrewd  to  be 
caught  in  a  net.  The  following  is  a  circular  letter  issued  by 
him  dated  July  i6th  and  tells  how  the}7  went  out  into  the 
open  country  to  the  Hast. 

' '  The  time  having  arrived  when  in  the  opinion  of  the 
commanding  General,  the  safety  of  this  army  renders  neces 
sary  a  retrograde  movement,  the  following  order  will  be  ob 
served. 

' '  The  right  wing  of  the  army  consisting  of  the  division  of 
Major- Generals  Loring  and  Walker,  with  batteries  attached 
to  them,  will  retire  by  the  upper  Brandon  road,  crossing  the 
Pearl  river  on  the  upper  bridge  at  Carson's  Ferry. 

"The  left  wing  composed  of  the  divisions  of  Major- 
Generals  Breckenridge  and  French,  will  retire  by  the  old 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  335 

Brandon  road,  crossing  the  Pearl  river  on  the  bridges  near  the 
lower  end  of  the  town. 

' '  The  artillery  in  or  near  the  trenches  will  be  moved  by 
hand  for  at  least  a  half  a  mile  to  the  rear,  where  they  will  be 
limbered  up  and  moved  without  delay  by  the  routes  desig 
nated. 

"The  artillery  will  be  moved  at  9  p.  m.,  and  every  ar 
rangement  must  be  made  previously  to  insure  punctuality. 

"At  10  a.  m.  the  whole  of  the  Infantry  force,  with  the  ex 
ception  of  the  skirmishes  and  pickets  in  advance,  will  march 
out  from  the  trenches  rapidly  and  noislessly  by  brigades. 

"  At  i  p.  m.  the  whole  line  of  skirmishes  and  pickets  will 
be  drawn  in  and  follow  as  quickly  as  possible." 

This  program  was  carried  out  and  daylight  found  us  con 
fronted  by  empty  works,  a  few  stragglers  and  wooden  cannons  ; 
these  and  the  town  were  our  only  trophies.  If  we  wanted  Gen 
eral  Johnston  and  his  army  we  would  have  to  go  further  on 
our  march,  as  they  had  left  the  "old  stand."  The  evacuating 
forces  set  fire  to  the  business  part  of  the  town,  much  of  which 
was  consumed.  Many  men  surrendered  themselves  as  prison 
ers  of  war,  doubtless  not  caring  to  keep  up  the  strife  or  wish 
ing  like  the  men  taken  at  Vicksburg  to  have  a  chance  to  get 
home. 

July  1 8th. — Received  orders  to  have  three  days'  rations  in 
haversacks  and  to  march  after  the  retreating  army.  Our  regi 
ment  with  others  moved  into  town  and  laid  in  the  street  all 
night,  delayed  by  a  difficulty  at  the  bridge.  The  next  day 
we  started  to  Brandon,  a  town  twelve  miles  out.  Having  gone 
about  nine  miles  our  forces  were  resisted  and  quite  a  fight  en 
sued  in  which  several  were  killed  and  wounded. 

Our  regiment  formed  line  and  were  ordered  through  a 
vast  corn-field  on  the  right  of  the  main  road,  where  the  fight 
ing  was  being  carried  on.  In  this  field  the  heat  was  intolera 
ble  and  it  did  seem  that  we  would  have  died  of  suffocation,  if 
a  kind  providence  had  not  just  then  sent  a  brisk  rain  that 
wonderfully  relieved  matters. 


336  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

The  advance  was  pushed  and  by  dark  we  were  in  posses 
sion  of  the  town,  the  enemy  having  gone  on  to  the  east. 

What  the  purpose  of  General  Johnston  was  may  be  learned 
from  the  following  dispatch  to  General  Chalmers,  dated  at 
Brandon,  July  lyth.  He  says  :  "  General,  I  was  compelled  to 
abandon  Jackson  last  night.  I  shall  halt  within  fifteen  or 
twenty  miles  of  this  place  unless  driven  farther. ' ' 

He  was  not  driven  farther,  so  we  may  infer  he  halted. 

On  the  2Oth  many  prisoners  were  picked  up,  and  many  of 
the  paroled  prisoners  from  Port  Hudson,  that  had  surrendered 
on  the  Qth,  came  into  town.  Part  of  the  town  was  burned  and 
our  troops  began  to  tear  up  and  burn  the  railroad.  Our  regi 
ment  was  a  part  of  the  detail,  and  the  work  was  thoroughly 
done.  A  whole  regiment  would  form  in  line  on  one  side  of 
the  track  and  just  lift  the  thing  up  bodily.  Then  it  would  be 
knocked  to  pieces,  the  ties  piled  up  and  the  rails  put  across 
them.  As  the  ties  burned  the  rails  would  become  sufficiently 
heated  to  bend  and  so  become  useless. 

FEEDING    ON    GREEN    CORN. 

One  feature  of  this  campaign  was,  that  the  army  lived 
largely  on  green  corn,  just  then  in  season.  When  the  army 
stopped  for  dinner  it  would  just  strip  acres  of  it  for  a  single 
meal. 

It  would  be  cooked  after  this  fashion.  A  fire  would  be 
kindled  between  two  rails,  and  the  corn  with  husks  on  would 
be  laid  upon  the  fire.  By  the  time  the  husks  were  burned  off 
the  corn  would  be  cooked  by  the  steam  and  be  in  a  delicious 
state  to  be  eaten. 

TROUBLE   WITH    VICKSBURG    PRISONERS. 

The  rebel  authorities  seemed  to  have  had  great  trouble  in 
handling  the  prisoners  taken  at  Vicksburg.  They  wanted  to 
put  them  into  the  field  again  at  once,  but  the  men  were  set 
on  seeing  their  homes.  After  much  discussion  between  Gen- 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  337 

eral  Peniberton  and  Jefferson  Davis,  Mr.  Davis  consented  to 
give  furloughs.  It  was  the  only  thing  they  could  do,  as  the 
men  were  all  scattering.  General  Pemberton  issued  an  order 
allowing  the  furlough,  but  calling  for  a  prompt  return  of  every 
man. 

We  faced  these  same  men  on  November  24th,  1863,  on 
the  side  of  Lookout  Mountain.  Whether  they  had  been 
properly  exchanged  or  not  I  can  not  say.  The  rebels  them 
selves  questioned  it,  and  on  that  account  were  less  valiant  in 
the  defense  of  their  strong  position. 

On  July  2ist. — We  were  again  camped  in  Jackson.  On 
the  22d  a  body  of  Union  citizens  appealed  to  General  Sher 
man  to  garrison  the  town  and  hold  it,  but  the  destruction  of 
public  property  began  which  showed  that  this  was  not  the 
plan. 

On  the  2jd. — Our  division  left  the  place  and  headed  toward 
Vicksburg. 

On  Jidy  2jth. — We  were  located  in  a  fine  camp  near  Black 
river  bridge  and  our  camp  equipage  was  sent  for  that  we 
might  settle  down  for  a  rest. 

Vicksburg  and  Mississippi  river  were  now  in  our  posses 
sion,  fairly  won,  and  yet  not  without  a  great  price.  The 
graves  of  thousands  of  brave  men  were  scattered  all  the  way 
from  Cairo  to  the  Gulf ;  about  Vicksburg  they  were  to  be 
seen  at  every  turn.  But  this  could  not  be  dwelt  upon,  for  the 
work  was  not  yet  finished. 

While  our  regiment  did  not  lose  many  men  in  the 
campaign  that  closed  with  the  siege  of  Vicksburg  and 
Jackson,  yet  this  is  noticeable  that  in  the  weeks  that  imme 
diately  followed,  the  death  rate  of  the  regiment  was  very 
large.  This  shows  that  the  services  performed  were  most 
severe  and  were  paid  for  with  the  lives  of  brave  men. 

July  3oth. — It  was  announced  that  five  per  cent  of  the  well 
men  were  to  be  given  furloughs,  while  many  more  of  the  sick 
were  sent  up  the  river,  and  where  they  were  able  many  of 
them  were  sent  home.  Drills  and  other  camp  duties  were 
taken  up  and  gone  through  with. 


338  HISTORY   OF    THE    THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

August  i st. — Colonel  Partridge  returned  from  his  home. 

August  jrd. — Lieutenant  Dement  resigned  and  is  going 
home.  He  has  been  regarded  as  one  of  the  best  officers  in 
the  regiment.  Major  Bushnell  and  Lieutenant  Patterson 
started  for  home  to-day. 

Quiet  reigned.  It  was  a  time  of  rest.  All  men  went 
home  who  could  secure  furloughs,  and  they  had  good  times. 
The  sick  languished  and  many  died. 

On  September  igth  and  2oth  was  fought  the  very  severe 
and  memorable  battle  between  General  Braxton  Bragg  and 
General  Rosecranz  near  Chattanooga  and  known  as  the  battle 
of  Chickamauga.  Our  forces  were  defeated  and  driven  into 
and  shut  up  in  Chattanooga. 

From  this  event  or  rather  the  strained  condition  just 
before  the  battle,  sprung  the  call  that  took  us  from  our  rest 
and  ordered  us  to  new  fields  of  marching  and  strife.  On 
September  226.  the  order  came  for  the  Fifteenth  Army  Corps, 
of  which  our  regiment  formed  a  part,  to  move  at  once.  All 
things  were  soon  astir.  The  camp  that  had  become  quite 
home-like  was  broken  up,  and  by  5  p.  m.  we  were  on  the 
march  toward  Vicksburg.  When  at  Vicksburg  we  found  that 
we  were  to  go  up  the  river  again. 

At  noon  on  the  24th  we  pushed  off  from  the  city,  and,  most 
of  us,  looked  back  on  the  city  we  had  won,  for  the  last  time. 

The  city  has  become  prosperous  and  is  now  by  far  the 
most  populous  in  the  State.  The  campaign  for  the  capture 
of  this  place  was  a  most  brilliant  one  and  will  doubtless  be 
regarded  in  our  history,  as  it  now  is  in  Europe,  as  one  that 
exhibited  the  highest  order  of  military  genius. 

Before  leaving  the  field  finally  (the  most  memorable  to  our 
regiment  of  any  in  which  we  served),  I  will  take  the  liberty  to 
introduce  an  article  that  was  taken  from  the  National  Tribune, 
and  by  instituting  a  comparison  between  Vicksburg  and 
Crimea,  show  somewhat  the  magnitude  of  the  campaign  that 
'  resulted  in  the  capture  of  this  stronghold. 


VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  339 

VICKSBURG   VS.    THE   CRIMEA. 

In  reply  to  invidious  comparisons  made  by  soldier-haters  of  the  size 
of  our  pension  roll  with  that  of  Great  Britain,  we  have  repeatedly  made 
the  assertion  that  during  the  war  of  the  rebellion  we  lost  more  men 
killed  upon  the  field  of  battle  than  England  has  in  all  her  wars  since  the 
days  of  William  the  Conqueror.  We  have  also  said  that  the  Crimean 
war — the  only  time  in  the  last  three-quarters  of  a  century  when  England 
has  "  fought  anybody  with  breeches  on  " — was  not  so  much  of  a  war,  all 
things  considered,  as  a  single  one  of  our  campaigns — that  against  Vicks- 
burg,  for  example.  England's  share  in  it  fell  far  below  in  magnitude 
of  the  operations,  the  numbers  engaged,  and  the  loss  of  life,  to  either 
the  campaign  against  Richmond  or  that  against  Atlanta.  We  will  now 
present  some  figures  to  demonstrate  this. 

The  Allied  Armies  landed  in  the  Crimea  on  the  i4th  of  September, 
1854,  and  on  the  2ist  of  that  month  the  battle  of  the  Alma  was  fought. 
Kinglake  gives  the  losses  as  follows  (and  there  seems  to  be  a  singular 
unanimity  in  all  reports  on  this  subject): 

BRITISH    LOSS.  KILLED.      WOUNDED.      MISSING.      TOTAL. 

Officers 25  81  } 

Sergeants 19  102  I      19 

Rank  and  file 318  1,438  J 


362  1,621  2,002 

French  official  accounts  give  their  loss  as  1,339. 

At  the  battle  of  Balaklava  the  loss  of  the  Allies  is  given  as  : 

English 426 

French 52 

Turks   .  260 


738 
Russian  loss 627 

At  the  battle  of  Tchernaya  the  losses  were  : 

KILLED.      WOUNDED.      MISSING.      TOTAL. 

French — 

Officers 19  61  146 

Men •  172  1,163 


191  1,224                                   1,561 
Sardinians — 
Officers  1 

Men       }  '    '    '                             65  '35                                       200 

1,761 

Russians— 

Officers 27  85 

Men 3,329  4,700 

3>356  4,785                                   8,141 


340 


HISTORY   OF    THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 


At  the  battle  of  Inkermau,  Kiuglake  gives  the  loss  of  the  British  as  : 

Killed  and  wounded .    .    .    .x '..'.    .    ...    2,357 

39  officers  being  killed  and  91  wounded. 

The  French  loss  :  • 

13  officers  and  130  men  killed. 
36  officers  and  750  men  wounded. 

The  Russian  loss  : 

10,729  killed,  wounded  and  prisoners. 
Giving  their  killed  as  2,988. 

On  the  i8th  of  June,  1855,  the  English  and  French  made  their  first 
assault  upon  the  "  Malakoff "  and  "  Redan."  It  was  unsuccessful. 

On  September  8,  1855,  the  second  assault  was  made  ;  the  French  capt 
ured  the  Malakoff,  the  English  failed  at  the  Redan.  The  French  left 
attack  also  failed.  Sebastopol  fell  next  day.  The  losses  on  the  two  days 
were  : 


June  18,  1855. 


OFFICERS. 

KILLED. 


English  . 
French  . 
Russians 

Total 


English  . 
French  . 
Russians 

Total 


22 

37 
16 


WOUNDED. 

78 

96 

153 


MISSING. 


MEN. 


75 


KILLED. 

244 

1,274 

781 


2,299 


Grand  total,  officers  and  men,  10,717. 


327 


WOUNDED         MISSING. 

1,209 

1,644       270 
4,826 

7,679       270 

September  8.  1755. 


OFFICERS. 


KILLED.    WOUNDED. 


Russians 
French  . 
English 


Total 


Russians  . 
French  .  . 
English  . 

Total  . 


MEN. 


59 

H5 

29 

233 


KILLED. 

2,635 

1,489 

361 


279 
254 
I29 


662 


WOUNDED. 
6,964 
4,259 


MISSING. 

i,739 

1,400 

176 


4,475 


3,3*5 


Grand  total,  officers  and  men,  21,857. 


ILLINOIS    VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  341 

The  figures  given  during  the  period  of  the  bombardment  show  that 
the  weekly  loss  of  the  English  army  alone  would  range  from  150  to  270 
per  week,  this  proportion  being  largely  increased  on  the  occasions  when 
the  Russian  troops  made  sorties.  The  casualties  for  the  yth  and  8th  of 
June,  1855,  are  given  at — killed  and  wounded,  3,282. 

Summary  : 

The  French  government  gives  us  the  losses  in  their  army  during  the 
two  years  of  the  war— 62,492  men. 

The  English  loss  was  : 

KILLED  DlEp   OF      DIED   OF 

IN   ACTION.      WOUNDS.       DISEASE. 

Officers .  158  51  55 

Men •.    .         1,775  1,870  15,669 


i,933  1,921  15,724 

Grand  total 

Discharged  for  wounds  or  disease  and  not  dying  in  service     .    . 

22,451 

Now,  contrast  these  figures  of  the  losses  incurred  by  the  English  in 
reducing  Sebastopol  with  those  we  incurred  in  capturing  Vicksburg. 

Excluding  the  bloody  battles  of  Corinth  and  luka,  which  were 
really  part  of  the  general  operations  against  Vicksburg.  we  may  say  that 
the  campaign  against  that  stronghold  began  in  October,  1862,  when 
Grant  was  put  in  command  of  the  troops  officially  designated  as  the 
"Thirteenth  Army  Corps."  This  included  all  in  the  districts  of  Mem 
phis,  Jackson,  Corinth,  and  Columbus,  and  numbered  about  forty  eight 
thousand  five  hundred  men.  Subsequently  this  force  was  largely 
swelled  by  regiments  coming  out  under  the  second  call. 

The  first  serious  engagement  was  Sherman's  luckless  assault  at 
Chickasaw  Bayou,  December  29,  1862,  where,  out  of  the  small  force  en 
gaged  he  lost  one  hundred  and  ninety-one  killed,  nine  hundred  and 
eighty-two  wounded,  and  seven  hundred  and  fifty-six  missing— one 
thousand  nine  hundred  and  twenty-nine  in  all. 

The  next  was  the  capture  of  Arkansas  Post  January  n,  1863,  where 
the  rebels  lost  two  hundred,  killed  and  wounded  and  four  thousand 
seven  hundred  and  ninety-one  prisoners,  while  the  Union  loss  was  one 
hundred  and  twenty-nine  killed,  eight  hundred  and  thirty-one  wounded 
and  seventeen  missing — total,  nine  hundred  and  seventy-seven. 

Then  came  the  long  months  of  waiting  around  Milliken's  Bend, 
where  disease  wrought  its  ravages  unchecked. 

The  last  movement  against  the  city  opened  with  the  attack  on 
Grand  Gulf,  where  our  loss  was  one  hundred  killed  and  wounded. 


342       HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRTEENTH  REGIMENT 

At  Port  Gibson  the  rebels  lost  sixty  killed,  three  hundred  and  forty 
wounded  and  three  hundred  and  eighty-seven  missing,  while  the  Union 
troops  had  one  hundred  and  twenty-nine  killed,  seven  hundred  and  ten 
wounded  and  ten  missing.  ^ 

These  operations  brought  Grant  and  Pemberton  face  to  face,  each 
with  about  fifty  thousand  men. 

At  Raymond,  Logan's  Division  engaged  and  drove  Gregg's  com 
mand  from  the  field,  losing  sixty-five  killed,  three  hundred  and  thirty- 
five  wounded  and  thirty-two  missing — total  four  hundred  and  thirty-two  ; 
while  the  rebels  reported  having  lost  seventy-three  killed,  two  hundred 
and  twenty-nine  wounded  and  two  hundred  and  four  missing — total, 
five  hundred  and  five. 

At  Jackson  we  lost  two  hundred  and  ninety-five  men,  and  the  rebels 
eight  hundred  and  forty-five. 

At  Champion  Hills  the  Union  loss  was  three  hundred  and  ninety- 
seven  killed,  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  thirty-seven  wounded  and 
one  hundred  and  seventy-four  missing — total,  two  thousand  four  hun 
dred  and  eight.  The  rebel  loss  was  three  hundred  and  eighty  killed, 
one  thousand  and  eighteen  wounded  and  two  thousand  two  hundred  and 
forty-one  missing — total,  three  thousand  eight  hundred  and  thirty-nine. 

At  Edward's  Station  the  Union  loss  was  two  hundred  and  seventy- 
three  killed  and  wounded,  and  the  rebel  loss,  including  missing,  one 
thousand  seven  hundred  and  fifty-one. 

On  the  iQth  of  May,  and  again  on  the  22d,  Grant's  army  assaulted 
the  works,  suffering  a  loss  of  six  hundred  and  three  killed,  three  thou 
sand  two  hundred  and  thirty-three  wounded,  and  one  hundred  and  seven 
ty-nine  missing.  The  rebel  loss  was  small. 

From  that  time  until  the  surrender,  July  4,  the  fighting  was 
continuous,  frequently  severe,  and  every  day  showed  losses.  By  the 
time  that  Pemberton  capitulated  Grant  had  lost,  killed  and  wounded, 
ten  thousand  of  the  men  whom  he  led  across  the  river,  and  the  rebels, 
including  prisoners,  over  forty-six  thousand. 

While  this  was  going  on  a  force  of  fifty-six  regiments,  under  General 
N.  P.  Banks,  was  besieging  Port  Hudson,  which  surrendered,  with  fifty- 
four  hundred  men  July  8.  The  besiegers  lost  in  their  several  assaults 
and  other  operations  five  hundred  killed  and  twenty-five  hundred 
wounded. 

In  the  attack  on  Milliken's  Bend  the  Union  loss  was  one  hundred 
and  fifty-four  killed,  two  hundred  and  twenty-three  wounded  and  one 
hundred  and  fifteen  missing. 

In  the  rebel  assault  on  Helena  they  lost  400  killed,  one  hundred  and 
eight  wounded,  and  nine  hundred  and  ninety-three  prisoners  ;  while  our 
loss  was  fifty-seven  killed,  one  hundred  and  twenty-seven  wounded  and 
thirty-six  missing. 


VOLUNTEER  INFANTRY.  343 

RECAPITULATI  OX . 

UNION  LOST.                                          KILLED.  WOUNDED.                 MISSING. 

Chickasaw  Bayou 191  982  756 

Arkansas   Post 121  831  17 

Port  Gibson 130  718  5 

Champion    Hills 426  1,842  182 

Vicksburg 545  3,688  303 

Port   Hudson 500  2,500  .    .    . 

Milliken's   Bend 154  223  115 

Jackson 100  800  100 

Helena 457  127  36 


2,244  10,711  1,514 

Thus  we  see  that  the  actually  killed  in  the  righting  for  Vicksburg 
exceeded  the  entire  number  of  English  killed  in  the  two  years  of  fight 
ing  for  Sebastopol.  If  we  had  the  numbers  of  the  wounded  who  died, 
of  the  "missing"  who  were  really  killed,  and  of  the  men  who  were 
killed  by  the  foul  water  and  malaria  of  those  deadly  swamps,  the 
disparity  would  appear  much  greater. 

Yet  the  Crimean  war  was  a  great  struggle  among  three  of  the  then 
strongest  nations  in  the  world,  writh  two  other  nations  taking  part,  while 
the  opening  of  the  Mississippi  was  merely  one  of  our  campaigns. 

GENERAL     PEMBERTON. 

The  officers  and  soldiers  who  captured  Vicksburg  and  its 
garrison,  could  think  severely  of  General  Pemberton,  because 
he  had  been  an  officer  of  the  United  States  Army  and  so  a 
traitor  to  his  country,  yet  as  a  man  whom  they  had  succeeded 
in  defeating,  they  could  afford  to  think  leniently  about  him,  if 
not  generously.  But  many  in  the  South  were  evidently  ungen 
erous  in  their  thoughts  and  severe  in  their  estimate  of  him. 

The  following,  taken  from  what  is  called  a  Standard  His 
tory  of  the  Southern  side  will  show  this  : 

"  The  appointment  of  General  Pemberton  to  the  defense 
of  Vicksburg  was  an  unfortunate  one.  It  was  probably  the 
most  unpopular  single  act  of  President  Davis,  who  was  con 
stantly  startling  the  public  by  the  most  unexpected  and  gro 
tesque  selections  for  the  most  important  posts  of  public 
service.  General  Pemberton  had  not  fought  a  battle  in  the 
war.  He  was  a  Pennsylvania!!  by  birth.  He  had  been  a 
Major  in  the  old  United  States  service,  and  from  this  incon- 


344  HISTORY   OF   THE    THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT. 

siderable  rank,  without  a  single  record  of  meritorious  service 
in  the  Confederacy,  he  had  been  raised  by  a  stroke  of  Presi 
dent  Davis'  pen  to  the  position  of  Lieutenant-General,  and 
put  in  command  of  a  post,  second  only  in  Importance  to  the 
Confederate  Capital. 

11  He  had  previously  had  some  uneventful  commands  at 
Norfolk  and  at  Charleston.  He  was  removed  thence  on 
account  of  frequent  protests,  but  in  each  instance  with  promo 
tions,  as  if  the  President  was  determined  in  each  instance  to 
mark  his  contempt  for  public  opinion,  which  did  not  appreci 
ate  his  favorite,  or  hoped  to  inspire  a  dull  brain  by  adding 
another  star  to  his  collar.  He  was  sent  to  Vicksburg  with  a 
larger  command  and  a  more  extensive  field,  to  show  event 
ually  the  accuracy  of  the  public  judgment  as  to  his  capacity 
for  even  subordinate  positions.  With  armies  so  intelligent  as 
those  of  the  Confederacy,  no  man  unfit  for  command  could 
long  maintain  their  confidence  and  respect.  He  might  in 
trench  himself  in  all  the  forms  and  parade  of  the  schools,  but 
intelligent  soldiers  easily  penetrated  the  thin  guise  and  dis 
tinguished  between  the  pretender  and  the  man  of  ability. 

"  So  it  was  at  Vicksburg.  Peniberton  had  already  there 
given  early  evidence  of  his  unfitness  for  command.  While 
Grant  was  assiduously  engaged  under  his  eyes  for  months  in 
preparing  the  powerful  armament  which  was  to  spend  its  force 
on  the  devoted  fortress,  his  adversary  took  no  notice  of  the 
warning. 

' '  The  water  batteries  which  might  have  been  strengthened 
were  afterwards  found  so  imperfect  as  to  inflict  but  slight 
damage  on  the  gun-boats,  and  permit  the  run  of  all  the  trans 
ports  of  a  large  army  with  equal  impunity.  The  fortifications 
of  Grand  Gulf  where  Grant  was  making  his  next  demonstra 
tion,  had  been  neglected  until  the  tardy  attempt  rendered  the 
accumulations  of  guns  and  stores  there  an  easy  prey  to  the 
enemy.  Yicksburg  with  an  abundant  country  about  it,  had 
only  two  months'  instead  of  twelve  months'  provisions. 

1 '  How  was  Peniberton  engaged  ?  Immersed  in  official 
trifles,  laboriously  engaged  in  doing  nothing,  while  the  rnur- 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  345 

murs  around  him,  and  the  friction  of  events  had  developed 
personal  characteristics  which,  with  want  of  confidence  of 
officers  and  men,  rendered  him  highly  unpopular. 

"  Of  a  captious  and  irritable  nature,  a  narrow  mind,  and  a 
slave  of  the  forms  and  fuss  of  the  schools,  General  Pemberton 
was  one  of  those  men  whose  idea  of  war  began  with  a  bureau 
of  clothing  and  equipment,  and  ended  with  a  field  day  of  dress 
parade.  Warning  after  warning  was  sounded,  but  President 
Davis  turned  a  deaf  ear  to  them  ;  not  perhaps  that  he  cared 
especially  for  Pemberton,  but  because  his  own  vanity  was  so 
exacting,  that  even  to  question  his  own  infallibility  of  selec 
tion  was  an  offense  not  to  be  condoned.  General  Pemberton, 
who  appeared  to  have  been  at  last  aroused  to  a  sense  of  the 
danger  of  his  position,  telegraphed  the  news  of  Grant's  move 
ment  to  General  Johnston.  He  received  orders  to  attack  at 
once,  but  the  bewildered  commander,  without  the  resolution , 
to  risk  a  decisive  battle,  committed  the  unpardonable  error  of 
allowing  his  army  to  be  cut  up  in  details  by  an  enemy  with 
massed  forces." 

Pemberton  determined  to  surrender  Vicksburg  on  the 
anniversary  of  the  Fourth  of  July  for  the  very  singular  reason 
that  it  would  gratify  the  vanity  of  the  enenw  to  enter  the 
stronghold  of  the  great  river  on  that  particular  day,  and  that 
such  a  concession  might  procure  better  terms  than  any  other 
time. 

The  preliminary  note  for  terms  was  dispatched  on  the  3d 
of  July.  Correspondence  on  the  subject  was  continued 
through  the  day  and  until  9  o'clock  the  next  morning. 
General  Pemberton  came  out  and  had  a  personal  interview 
with  Grant  in  front  of  the  Federal  lines,  the  two  sitting  for  an 
hour  and  a  half  in  close  communion.  A  spectator  says, 
"  Grant  was  silent  and  smoking,  while  Pemberton,  equally 
cool  "and  careless  in  manner,  was  plucking  straws  and  biting 
them  as  if  in  merest  chit-chat."  It  was  a  terrible  day's  work 
for  such  sang  froid.  It  was  the  decisive  event  of  the  Missis 
sippi  Valley. 


346  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

AT   MEMPHIS. 

After  a  tedious  passage  up  the  river  on  September  29th 
we  found  ourselves  at  Memphis,  Tennesseev  While  many  of 
the  men  had  been  in  the  city  before,  this  was  the  first  time  we 
were  here  as  a  regiment.  The  summer  before  Companies  A 
and  B  had  been  here  as  an  escort  to  General  Carr.  Mem 
phis  is  the  one  great  city  between  St.  Louis  and  New  Orleans. 
It  is  high  and  dry  on  the  east  bank  of  the  river  and  near  the 
south  line  of  Tennessee.  It  is  finely  situated  and  a  great 
commercial  center.  I  think  it  had  as  high  as  thirty  thousand 
of  a  population  before  the  war,  and  it  now  has  about  sixty 
thousand.  One  drawback  to  it  is  that  it  is  sometimes 
scourged  by  the  Yellow  Fever,  which  drives  the  people  away 
and  unsettles  the  growth  of  population.  Memphis  was  a 
thoroughly  secession  town. 

The  Confederates  of  course  had  hoped  to  hold  the  river 
from  Cairo  to  the  Gulf.  When  General  Grant  took  Fort 
Henry,  Columbus,  Kentucky  became  untenable.  Then 
Island  Number  Ten  became  their  "Little  Gibraltar."  This 
was  sought  after  by  our  forces  and  early  in  April  1862,  it  fell 
into  our  hands  with  many  stores. 

About  this  time  was  fought  the  battle  of  Shiloh.  The 
rebels  then  occupied  Corinth,  Mississippi,  with  their  great  army 
while  Fort  Pillow  and  Fort  Randolph  guarded  the  Mississippi 
river,  so  that  Memphis  was  supposed  to  be  safe.  But  when 
General  Beauregard  evacuated  Corinth,  Fort  Pillow  was 
abandoned  and  then  the  only  thing  that  stood  in  the  way  of 
our  possessing  Memphis  was  the  fleet  of  rebel  gun-boats. 
They  were  anchored  before  the  city,  June  6th,  1862,  when  our 
superior  fleet  of  gun-boats  and  rams  made  their  appearance. 

The  fleet  consisted  of  the  General  Van  Dorn  (flagship), 
General  Price,  General  Bragg,  General  Lovell,  General  Beau- 
regard,  Jeff  Thompson,  Sumpter  and  Little  Rebel.  All  under 
the  command  of  Commodore  Montgomery.  The  fight  opened 
at  once,  but  only  lasted  a  few  hours.  The  Jeff  Thompson, 
Beauregard,  Sumpter  and  Bragg  were  disabled,  run  ashore  or 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  347 

set  on  fire  while  the  crews  fled  on  the  opposite  side  of  the 
river.  There  were  but  one  or  two  of  the  boats  that  were  not 
used  up.  The  city,  of  course,  was  at  once  taken  possession  of. 
It  remained  in  our  hands  as  one  of  the  great  distribution  and 
hospital  centers  during  the  remainder  of  the  war. 

In  one  of  the  public  squares  was  a  statue  of  President 
Andrew  Jackson,  and  on  the  monument  was  the  sentence, 
"The  Union  must  and  shall  be  preserved."  The  word  Union 
had  been  chiseled  out.  This  would  be  but  a  pointer  to  the 
disloyal  sentiment  of  the  place.  Quite  a  number  of  the  Thir 
teenth  regiment  are  numbered  with  the  great  arm}7  of  loyal 
.soldiers  who  are  buried  there. 

A  CAISSON  EXPLODES. 

The  dangers  of  life  and  limb  to  soldiers  are  many  besides 
those  on  the  battle-field.  We  had  an  illustration  of  this  on 
the  levee  at  Memphis  while  one  of  our  batteries  was  being 
removed  from  the  boat.  The  incline  from  the  landing  to  the 
city  level  is  steep  and  paved  with  heavy  cobble-stones.  One 
of  the  guns  had  been  unloaded  and  was  being  pulled  up  the 
hill.  The  men  mounted  the  caisson  in  which  the  ammunition 
is  packed.  The  box  was  full  of  percussion  shells  and  must 
not  have  been  properly  packed,  for  as  a  wheel  struck  a  stone 
one  of  the  shells  exploded  and  that  set  off  the  rest  and  four 
brave  soldiers  were  killed  or  wounded.  A  few  months  later 
the  same  thing  occurred  as  a  battery  was  crossing  the  railroad 
track  at  Huntsville,  Alabama,  with  the  same  sad  results. 

OFF    TO    CORINTH. 

On  October  ist,  9  a.  m.,  we  took  the  cars  and  moved  east 
ward  and  at  7  p.  m.  we  found  ourselves  landed  at  Corinth, 
Mississippi,  ninety-three  miles  east  and  a  little  south  of  our 
starting  point.  We  noted  that  the  railroad  was  strongly 
guarded  and  at  many  places  fortified.  This  railroad  was  a 
bone  of  contention  through  most  of  the  war  after  it  fell  into 
our  hands,  as  raiding  parties  from  Mississippi  could  so  easily 


348  HISTORY    OF   THE    THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

cross  it  and  cut  it.  General  Htirlbut  said  later,  it  took  more 
men  to  defend  it  than  it  would  to  clear  the  whole  State  of 
Mississippi  of  rebels. 

9 

GENERAL  SHERMAN  ALMOST  CAPTURED. 

It  was  at  a  station  on  this  road  that  General  Sherman 
barely  escaped  capture.  Memphis  was  always  full  of  spies. 
As  his  train  was  to  leave,  the  news  was  borne  to  a  body  of 
rebel  cavalry,  and  when  his  train  drew  up  at  one  of  the  sta 
tions,  a  dash  was  made  to  capture  him.  The  fight  was  made 
about  the  train  and  one  of  the  General's  horses  was  taken 
from  the  car  and  carried  off.  It  was  only  with  extreme 
gallantry  on  the  part  of  his  body-guard  that  the  General  was 
saved  from  capture.  Had  they  succeeded,  it  would  have  been 
a  sweet  plum  to  that  crowd. 

Corinth  is  a  town  at  time  of  this  writing  of  two  or  three 
thousand  persons.  Its  importance  in  war  times  grew  out  of 
the  fact  that  it  was  a  junction  of  railroads  that  needed  to  be 
defended  in  the  interest  of  speedy  transportation  for  the  rebel 
forces.  After  the  battle  of  Shiloh  General  Beau  regard  fell 
back  and  fortified  the  place,  but  after  a  few  weeks,  on  May 
30th,  1862,  felt  compelled  to  fall  back  still  farther  and  so  left 
it  in  our  hands.  We  garrisoned  and  fortified  it. 

BATTLE    OP   CORINTH. 

On  October  3,  1862,  just  a  year  before  we  were  landed  in 
it,  Corinth  was  the  scene  of  a  most  determined  battle.  It 
was  led  by  General  Rosecrans  on  our  part,  and  Van  Dorn  and 
Sterling  Price  on  the  other  side.  The  fight  was  fierce,  and 
the  rebel  forces  made  their  way  into  the  streets  of  the  town, 
and  even  to  the  yard  where  General  Rosecrans'  headquarters 
were  ;  but,  reinforcements  coming,  they  were  driven  back  and 
compelled  to  retreat. 

On  October  jd,  we  marched  three  or  four  miles  to  the 
southeast  of  the  town  and  went  into  camp.  The  ground  was 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  349 

favorable  for  a  camp,  but  water  was  not  readily  procured,  nor 
was  what  we  did  secure,  good  water.  We  spent  our  time 
here  until  the  Qth,  in  drill,  parade,  "and  duties  incident  to 
camp-life.  The  writer  remembers  the  camp,  as  having  had 
while  there,  the  most  lonesome  sense  that  he  knew  in  all  the 
three  years  of  service.  The  winds  moaned  through  the  pines 
and  the  leaves  rustled  in  a  way  that  the  occasion  was  a  most 
dismal  time. 

October  ?t/i. — Started  on  the  road  to  luka  Springs  and  came 
some  twelve  miles.  The  arrangement  .seems  to  be  to  extend 
the  railroad  to  the  east  as  parties  are  employed  on  repairing 
it.  On  the  loth  continued  our  march  some  eleven  miles  and 
camped  at  luka.  This  is  quite  a  fine  little  town.  It  has  five 
mineral  springs,  and  is  fixed  up  as  a  pleasure  resort. 

A  sharp  little  battle  was  fought  here  just  before  the  battle 
of  Corinth  in  which  General  Price's  army  was  the  party  who 
got  worsted. 

We  stayed  at  this  place  a  full  week.  One  of  the  things 
that  characterized  our  stay  here,  and  it  was  not  an  unknown 
thing  in  army  life,  was  a  series  of  preaching  and  prayer  meet 
ings  that  developed  something  of  a  revival.  War  is  serious 
business  and  men  who  engage  in  it  ought  to  be  serious  and 
thoughtful  men.  While  the  opposite  spirit  seemed  to  have  a 
large  place,  it  was  not  universal,  perhaps  not  so  generally  as 
it  seemed.  As  thoughtfulness  that  is  touched  with  pride, 
sometimes  tries  to  hide  itself  by  noisy  demonstration,  so  as 
to  put  the  world  off  the  track  of  our  thoughts. 


CHAPTER    XXVI. 


SHERMAN  JUST  ESCAPES  CAPTURE. — MULTITUDE  OF  LITTLE 
FIGHTS.— A  COUNTRY  "WHERE  EVERY  PROSPECT 
PLEASES,  AND  ONLY  MAN  IS  VILE."  — GEN.  SHERMAN 
IN  DANGER. 

,N    REFERRING    to    our   passage     from 
Memphis  to  Corinth,  allusion  was  made  to 
the  fact  that  on  this  passage  General  Sherman 
came  very  near  being  captured  by  General  Chal- 
mer's  cavalry.     This  occurred  at  Colliersville,  a  sta 
tion  on  the  railroad  between  the   two  places  just 
referred  to. 

It  was  on  Sunday,  October  n,  1863,  that  General  Chal 
mers  with  some  twenty-five  hundred  cavalry  made  a  descent 
upon  this  place  which  was  held  by  the  Sixty-sixth  Indiana 
Infantry,  about  two  hundred  and  forty  men  present.  It  was  a 
fortified  place  and  contained  quite  an  amount  of  stores. 

The  colonel  of  this  regiment  reported  at  about  10  o'clock 
a.  m.:  "  General  Chalmers,  with  a  large  force  of  cavalry  and 
several  pieces  of  artillery,  attacked  our  camp.  As  soon  as 
the  enemy's  lines  were  fairly  formed  they  sent  in  a  flag  of 
truce,  demanding  the  immediate  surrender  of  the  place.  This 
was  refused.  They  then  opened  with  artillery.  Just  at  this 
moment  a  tram  from  Memphis  arrived,  having  upon  it  General 
Sherman  with  his  staff,  and  the  Thirteenth  United  States  Reg 
ulars  as  an  escort,  numbering  two  hundred  and  forty  officers 
and  men.  Some  forty  citizens  were  on  the  train,  and  they  too 
were  armed  and  bore  their  part.  The  fight  was  kept  up  until 

3:30  p.  m.,  when  the  enemy  withdrew. 

350 


ILLINOIS    VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  351 

"The  loss  was,  in  the  Sixty-sixth  Indiana,  killed  four; 
wounded  thirteen  ;  missing  forty-one  ;  in  the  Thirteenth  Reg 
ulars,  killed  nine  ;  wounded  twenty-seven  ;  missing  twenty- 
five.  Twenty-five  of  the  rebels  were  left  dead  on  the  field." 

General  Sherman  says  among  other  things: 

At  noon  we  reached  Colliersville  aud  observing  signs  of  danger,  the 
train  was  stopped.  The  enemy  at  once  opened  with  artillery.  They 
threw  some  shells  at  us,  but  principally  aimed  at  our  train,  disabling  the 
locomotive  and  damaging  some  of  the  cars ;  they  also  killing  and 
wounding  eight  of  our  horses.  They  got  possession  of  one  end  of  the 
train  and  set  it  on  fire,  but  they  were  driven  off  from  this  and  the  fire 
put  out.  There  is  no  doubt  of  our  opportune  arrival ;  and  that  the  efforts 
of  the  regulars  saved  the  place,  and  what  is  more  important,  the  rail 
road  at  that  point.  I  avail  myself  of  the  opportunity  to  record  my  high 
appreciation  of  the  services  of  this  small  but  devoted  battalion.  They 
have  served  near  my  person  for  a  year,  and  have  been  subjected  to  every 
test,  and  have  been  proven  equal  to  them  all.  They  have  suffered  terri 
bly;  having  lost  in  battle  fully  one-half  of  their  original  number.  All 
the  officers  deserve  a  brevet. 

The  moment  the  enemy  retired  I  gave  orders  for  the  repair  of  the 
road  and  wires.  The  next  day,  the  I2th,  I  came  on  to  Corinth  to  push 
on  the  organization  and  supplies  necessary  for  the  movement  on  which 
I  am  engaged. 

W.  T.  SHERMAN. 

This  was  one  of  the  multitude  of  little  fights  that  were 
hardly  noticed  and  in  which  so  many  brave  men  were  killed 
or  maimed. 

The  special  interest  in  this  one  is  the  fact  that  General 
Sherman,  our  corps  commander,  and  a  man  so  important  and 
necessary  to  our  service,  was  so  imminently  exposed  to  death 
or  imprisonment. 

Had  he  either  been  killed  or  taken  prisoner,  it  might  have 
given  quite  a  different  aspect  to  the  campaign  on  which  we 
were  entering.  We  rejoiced  over  his  safety. 

At  this  time  the  thought  is  to  repair  the  railroad  to  the 
Tennessee  river  at  Tuscumbia,  Alabama.  The  men  are  at 
work  on  the  bridges  and  pushing  things  as  fast  as  possible. 

October  ipt/i. — Our  regiment  was  detailed  for  picket  duty 
and  sent  some  four  miles  east.  This  took  us  into  Alabama 


352  HISTORY    OF   THE    THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

and  across  Bear  Creek.  This  Bear  Creek  Valley  at  this  time 
of  year  was  one  of  the  most  beautiful  I  ever  looked  upon. 
The  look  down  the  stream  gave  the  appearances  of  a  series  of 
terraces  on  either  hand  ;  the  foliage,  dark*  green  pines,  the 
brilliant  oak  leaves  turned  red  by  the  cold  weather  and  the 
chestnut  leaves  a  beautiful  yellow,  gave  a  variety  that  was 
most  pleasing  to  the  eye.  We  might  say  of  this  country, 
"  Every  prospect  pleases  and  only  man  is  vile." 

Our  Division  and  General  Blair's  moved  up  the  creek. 

October  2oth. — Moved  up  about  thirteen  miles  to  Cherokee 
station. 

At  this  place  we  were  opposed  by  a  force  of  the  rebel  cav 
alry  commanded  by  Stephen  D.  Lee,  numbering  some  five 
thousand,  strengthened  with  artillery.  The  days  spent  here 
were  full  of  anxiety  and  excitement  as  the  rebels  hung  around 
us  and  made  dashes  both  day  and  night  ;  for  more  than  a 
week  it  was  a  constant  strain. 

October  21 st. — The  Second  Brigade  of  our  Division  had 
quite  a  fight  and  loss  to-day.  Our  cavalry  were  on  the  picket 
line  and  Colonel  Torrence  of  the  Thirtieth  Iowa  told  them  not 
to  fire,  for  those  were  our  men  in  front.  The  rebels  had  put 
on  blue  clothes  to  deceive  us.  The  Thirtieth  Iowa  was  then 
flanked,  and  fired  into.  Colonel  Torrence  was  killed  and 
many  wounded  and  missing.  The  Fourth  Iowa,  our  near 
and  good  friends,  had  one  orderly  sergeant  killed  and  six  men 
wounded.  Some  of  our  pickets  were  taken  last  night.  The 
rebels  made  dashes  on  our  pickets  and  then  fled.  This  was 
kept  up  at  short  intervals. 

October  2$th. — At  i  o'clock  a.  m.  Companies  A  and  B  of 
our  regiment  were  sent  out  and  stayed  on  the  skirmish  line 
till  morning. 

General  inspection  was  ordered  to  see  that  everything  was 
in  the  best  of  shape  ;  and  an  order  left  to  move  in  the  morning 
at  2  a.  m.,  with  three  days'  rations.  Almost  anything  would 
be  a  relief  from  the  present  irritating  surroundings. 

October  26th. — We  were  up  at  12  o'clock.  Tents,  baggage 
and  sick  were  sent  back  to  Dickson  Station.  We  were  on  the 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  353 

move  at  3  a.  m.  A  mile  out  we  struck  the  rebel  pickets ; 
pushed  them  back  with  steady  skirmishing  for  about  six 
miles.  At  daylight  we  found  their  main  body  supported  by 
artillery.  A  fire  was  kept  up  while  a  flank  movement  was 
made  upon  them.  Two  of  our  men  were  wounded.  At  9  a.  m. 
our  flanking  forces  compelled  them  to  abandon  their  position. 
At  ii  a.  m.  they  again  made  a  stand  at  a  small  creek,  but  this 
was  not  intended  as  a  real  position. 

At  3  p.  m.  we  came  upon  them  in  a  strong  position,  two 
miles  west  of  Tuscumbia.  They  had  been  reinforced  and  had 
a  couple  of  long-range  guns  that  reached  us  as  soon  as  we 
came  out  of  the  woods  across  the  valley  opposite  to  them.  I 
suppose  our  commander  thought  they  would  soon  abandon 
their  position,  as  they  had  before,  so  that  we  were  not  thrown 
into  line,  but  merely  sheltered  ourselves  somewhat  by  moving 
out  of  the  road  among  the  scattered  trees.  Another  regiment 
of  the  brigade  came  up  beside  us.  The  shells  came  unpleas 
antly  near  our  heads.  Finally  one  struck  the  regiment  that 
had  just  come  up  and  the  men  and  rails  flew  in  every  direction 
as  it  burst.  Several  men  were  badly  wounded.  One  man  set 
up  an  unearthly  yell  that  was  very  trying  to  our  nerves.  It 
was  found  out  that  the  man  w7ho  made  the  noise  \vas  not  hurt 
at  all,  only  covered  with  blood  from  the  man  next  to  him  who 
had  a  leg  torn  off.  Our  regiment  was  then  thrown  into 
line  of  battle  on  the  south  side  of  the  railroad  and  held  this 
position  till  morning.  In  this  position  a  shell  struck  the  regi 
ment  just  to  the  rear  of  us,  killing  one  man  and  badly  wound 
ing  two  others. 

After  it  was  over  some  one  asked  Norman  Sterling,  of 
Company  A,  if  he  got  down  when  those  shells  were  tearing 
through  amongst  us.  "  Get  down  ?  "  said  he,  li  why  I  spread 
all  over  like  a  pancake,  and  wished  I  could  get  thinner." 

October  2jth. — We  laid  in  line  of  battle  all  last  night. 
This  morning  one  brigade  of  the  second  division  moved  to  the 
right  to  flank  the  enemy's  position.  A  full  battery  of  twenty- 
pound  Parrott  guns  were  brought  up  and  opened  on  the  rebel 
battery.  Their  firing  was  so  rapid  and  close,  that  without 


354  HISTORY    OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

firing  another  shot  they  limbered  up  and  fled  at  full  gallop. 
We  started  to  follow  them  by  brigades  in  column.  They 
offered  no  opposition,  and  before  i  o'clock  we  were  in  pos 
session  of  Tuscumbia.  This  proved  to  be  a  fine  village  with 
a  beautiful  country  surrounding  it.  At  the  time  of  writing 
this,  it  is  a  town  of  some  fifteen  hundred  inhabitants. 

We  found  some  one  hundred  of  the  rebels  wounded  in  the 
town  and  vicinity,  among  them  Colonel  Forrest,  mortally 
wounded.  He  was  a  brother  of  the  famous  General  Forrest. 
They  had  some  thirty  killed.  The  enemy  had  spent  all  the 
night  previous  in  destroying  the  railroad. 

The  plan  of  advance  was  evidently  changed,  for  the  next 
day  found  us  on  the  back  track,  destroying  what  we  had 
repaired  on  the  railroad. 

On  the  2$th. — The  rebels  followed  us  closely,  evidently 
determined  to  find  out  what  our  movement  meant ;  the  skir 
mish  was  kept  up  all  day.  We  had  one  man  killed  and 
twelve  wounded  ;  the  enemy  had  five  killed  and  nineteen 
wounded  and  three  taken  prisoners. 

On  the  night  of  the  3ist  three  companies  of  our  regiment 
were  on  guard.  They  were  fired  upon,  and  one  man  of  Com 
pany  C  and  one  negro  were  wounded. 

By  November  ist. — It  was  apparent  that  we  were  to  cross 
the  Tennessee  river  and  move  east  on  the  north  side. 

On  the  ^d  of  November. — Our  regiment  crossed  the  river 
at  3:30  a.  m.,  moved  out  to  the  town  of  Waterloo,  break 
fasted,  and  then  moved  on  some  ten  miles  further  and  camped 
at  Gravel  Springs.  Being  now  north  of  the  river  \ve  seem  to 
have  no  forces  opposing  us  but  some  small  bodies  of  cavalry. 
At  this  date  General  Blair's  escort  was  pounced  upon  by  one 
of  these  bands.  They  took  two  wagons  and  killed  one  man 
and  eight  horses.  We  are  in  a  most  delightful  valley  and 
plenty  of  good  water. 

As  we  left  the  river  for  our  long  march,  all  men  who  were 
not  able  to  march,  were  ordered  to  the  hospitals  or  invalid 
camp  in  the  rear.  It  was  a  grand  country  to  pass  through 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  355 

and   many  men    who    were    ailing    when  they  started,  were 
stronger  and  fatter  when  the  march  was  over. 

GOING   TO   THE    FRONT   UNDER    DIFFICULTIES. 

Let  me  here  introduce  an  item  of  individual  history 
given  by  Comrade  D.  B.  Brink  now  of  Melvern,  Kansas,  that 
will  illustrate  a  trait  of  character  found  among  men.  Some 
men  were  disposed  to  drift  to  the  rear  while  others  could 
hardly  be  kept  from  the  front.  In  time  of  fighting,  when 
the  pickets  or  artillery  begin  firing  some  men  suddenly 
become  lame  or  sick  while  others  as  soon  forget  all  lameness 
or  sickness.  This  account  of  Comrade  Brink's  tells  of  men 
beating  their  way  to  the  front  under  disadvantages  : 

"  I  will  now  give  you  some  of  the  trials  and  privations 
that  a  private  soldier  will  sometimes  undergo,  to  beat  his  way 
back  to  his  command  after  being  sent  to  the  hospital.  Ibout 
the  5th  of  November,  in  the  year  1863,  the  Thirteenth  Regi 
ment  with  the  balance  of  their  command,  left  the  Tuscumbia 
Mountains  to  march  overland  to  Chattanooga,  Tennessee.  I 
was  at  that  time  sick  with  bilious  fever.  I,  together  with 
George  Drake  of  Company  G,  was  ordered  to  the  hospital  at 
Memphis,  Tennessee.  We  started  about  10  o'clock  in  the 
morning  in  an  army  ambulance,  rode  ten  miles  and  there  had 
to  wait  for  a*  freight  train  to  take  us  on  to  Memphis.  While 
there,  I  was  taken  with  hemorrhage  of  the  lungs  and  bled 
very  freely.  Comrade  Drake  thought  I  was  going  to  die  and 
so  did  I.  As  we  had  no  medicine  of  any  kind,  Drake  thought 
he  would  look  around  and  see  if  he  could  find  any  -one  that 
could  give  him  anything  that  would  stop  the  bleeding,  as  he 
was  very  badly  used  up  himself  from  a  wound  of  some  kind. 
He  had  great  difficulty  in  getting  very  far  from  me.  He 
finally  found  some  sappers  and  miners  working  on  the  railroad 
and  from  them  procured  some  coffee,  from  which  he  made  me 
a  very  strong  cup,  and  gave  it  to  me  almost  boiling.  I 
thought  sure  it  would  burn  my  insides  out,  but  the  hot  coffee 
had  the  desired  effect ; — it  stopped  the  bleeding  and  I  felt  some 


356  HISTORY  OF  THE:  THIRTEENTH  REGIMENT 

better.  About  4  o'clock  p.  m.  the  freight  train  came  along 
and  with  the  assistance  of  some  of  the  train  men,  I  was  placed 
on  the  top  of  a  box  car  and  started  for  Memphis.  After  that 
I  lost  track  of  friend  Drake.  Having  arrived  at  the  hospital  I 
found  my  old  comrade,  and  a  part  of  the  time,  bunk-mate, 
Chas.  M.  Mack  of  Company  B.  I  will  say  right  here,  he  was 
as  good  a  boy  and  soldier  as  there  was  in  the  army. 

"After  being  in  the  hospital  for  a  few  days  I  felt  very  much 
better,  and  about  the  i5th  of  November,  1863,  I  learned  that 
our  forces  were  about  going  to  make  an  attack  on  Lookout 
Mountain  and  Chattanooga,  and  as  I  had  never  missed  a  bat 
tle  that  my  regiment  had  been  in,  I  was  anxious  to  be  with 
them  in  this  one.  So  I  told  Comrade  Mack  that  I  was  going 
to  my  command.  He  said  that  if  I  went  he  would  go  too  ; 
but  I  finally  prevailed  upon  him  to  stay  at  the  hospital,  as  he 
was  still  quite  lame  from  a  wound  he  received  at  Chickasaw. 
Bayou,  December  29th,  1862.  I  went  to  the  surgeon  in  com 
mand  of  the  hospital  and  asked  him  for  a  pass  to  go  to  my 
command.  He  said  that  I  would  not  be  able  to  go  for  two 
weeks  yet,  and  would  not  give  me  a  pass.  So  I  packed  my 
knapsack  and  went  up  the  river  about  half  a  mile  where  the 
boats  all  stopped  to  wood  up.  I  did  not  wait  more  than  an 
hour  before  a  boat  came,  and  while  the}7  were  taking  on  wood, 
I  boarded  her  and  went  to  Cairo,  Illinois.  I  was  taken  in 
charge  by  the  guards  and  taken  to  the  SoldierV  Home  and 
stayed  there  all  night.  I  crossed  the  river  early  in  the  morn 
ing,  went  to  Louisville,  Kentucky,  was  taken  by  the  guards 
and  put  in  the  barracks.  I  here  found  another  one  of  our 
boys,  Frank  Willard,  who  had  been  home  on  a  furlough,  and 
had  been  held  there  some  time  awaiting  transportation  to  his 
regiment.  There  were  twenty- two  other  men  belonging  to 
different  regiments  who  had  been  waiting  for  transportation  to 
their  regiments.  We  were  all  guarded  by  some  new  recruits  ; 
this  we  did  not'like  very  much.  After  remaining  in  the  bar 
racks  a  few  days  we  boarded  a  freight  train  and  started  for 
Bridgeport,  Alabama.  Just  before  reaching  Stevenson,  a  small 
town  on  the  railroad,  the  engine  and  two  forward  cars  jumped 


ILLINOIS  VOLUNTEER  INFANTRY.  357 

the  track.  The  coupling  between  the  second  and  third  car 
(the  one  we  were  on)  broke  and  down  the  embankment  they 
went,  leaving  the  balance  of  the  train  on  the  track.  I  was 
asleep  on  top  of  the  car  with  the  rest  of  our  men  when  the  first 
crash  came.  Willard  jerked  my  knapsack  from  under  my 
head,  and  with  his  own  started  to  jump  from  the  top  of  the 
car,  giving  me  a  kick  in  the  ribs  to  waken  me  up.  I  says, 
'Frank,  what  are  you  going  to  do?'  'Jump,'  he  says. 
'  Don't  you  see  we  are  going  off  the  track.'  I  took  in  the 
situation  at  a  glance,  caught  Frank  by  the  leg  and  told  him 
he  should  not  jump,  as  our  car  was  standing  still  ;  and  he 
would  be  more  apt  to  get  hurt  if  he  jumped  than  if  he  re 
mained  on  the  car;  and  so  it  proved,  for  out  of  the  twenty-two 
that  jumped  off  from  the  car,  there  were  only  ten  or  twelve 
that  were  able  to  walk  on  to  Stevenson  only  a  few  miles  dis 
tant.  We  finally  arrived  in  Bridgeport  all  right  ;  but  there 
we  could  get  no  rations,  as  we  had  no  passes  ;  so  we  went 
down  near  the  river,  gathered  up  some  logs,  built  up  a  fire 
and  tried  to  pass  the  night  as  best  we  could.  The  rain  came 
down  in  torrents  and  we  were  drenched  to  the  skin,  but  the 
most  of  us  bore  it  patiently  until  almost  morning,  when  we 
heard  a  boat  coming  up  the  river,  loaded  with  supplies  for  the 
army  at  Chattanooga.  So  Willard  and  I  boarded  her  and 
finally  got  to  Chattanooga  just  as  the  battle  of  Ringgold  was 
finished.  This  was  the  only  time  I  was  away  from  the  regi 
ment  during  any  of  its  engagements  from  the  time  I  enlisted, 
May  24th,  1861,  until  I  was  discharged  the  i8th  of  June,  1864." 
On  November  5th  we  marched  fourteen  miles  and  camped 
on  Cypress  Creek  where  the  large  Wharton  Cotton  Mills  had 
been  located  but  had  been  burned  some  months  before  by  our 
cavalry.  It  rained  all  day.  Our  regiment  was  detailed  as 
guard  over  some  two  hundred  wagons.  There  were  squads  of 
the  enemy  on  our  flanks  but  no  attacks  were  made.  The  next 
morning  our  route  lead  through  Florence,  a  fine  town  on  the 
Tennessee  river.  This  town  had  suffered  much  less  from  the 
effect  of  war  than  most  places  on  the  lines  where  armies  had 
moved. 


358  HISTORY    OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

As  most  of  the  bridges  had  been  destroyed  over  the  streams, 
from  this  point  our  course  was  to  the  north  and  east.  This 
took  us  through  Lexington,  Pulaski  and  Fayetteville. 
Through  here  many  of  the  people  were  disposed  to  be  loyal. 
We  met  many  of  the  men  in  their  homes,  in  fact  more  than 
we  had  yet  seen  in  any  section  of  the  South.  At  Fayetteville 
we  passed  over  a  fine  stone  bridge  ;  that  was  a  new  thing  to 
find  in  the  South.  The  South  had  been  very  backward  in  the 
matter  of  permanent  improvements. 

DISPATCHES    FROM    GENERAL   SHERMAN. 

Before  going  farther  on  our  journey,  I  will  introduce  to 
your  reading  some  dispatches  and  letters  from  General  Sher 
man  that  will  give  official  sanction  to  the  statements  made 
concerning  the  march  from  Corinth,  and  at  the  same  time 
throw  light  on  things  that  were  of  necessity  dark  to  the 
subordinates. 

IUKA,  MISSISSIPPI,  October  25th,  1863. 
Special  Orders     ) 

No.  i.  \ 

Major-General  F.  P.  Blair,  Jr.,  will  assume  command  of  the  Fif 
teenth  Army  Corps. 

Colonel  S.  G.  Hicks.  Fortieth  Illinois,  will  proceed  with  dispatch  to 
Paducah,  Kentucky,  and  assume  command  of  that  post. 

The  entire  Fourth  Division  of  the  Fifteenth  Army  Corps  will  be 
prepared  to  start  to-morrow  to  Eastport,  to  cross  the  river  and  proceed 
to  Florence,  with  ten  days'  rations. 

IUKA,   October  25th. 
To  General  HURLBUT,  Memphis. 

DEAR  GENERAL  :  I  rose  before  daylight  to  write  you  some  points. 
It  is  now  manifest  that  the  "powers  that  be  "  want  the  mass  of  avail 
able  troops  over  toward  Huntsville,  and  the  only  question  is  how  to  get 
them  there.  I  won't  waste  very  much  more  labor  on  Bear  Creek  bridge. 
I  will  push  up  to  the  station  on  the  hill  at  Cherokee  and  use  that  for  a 
picket  station  for  a  time,  but  I  will  take  immediate  steps  to  cross  the 
body  of  the  troops  to  Florence  and  Huntsville,  and  I  want  you  to  so  dis 
pose  things  as  to  draw  everything  to  this.  Order  every  officer  and  man 
to  his  regiment.  It  will  take  some  time  to  make  changes,  but  I  want 
you  to  help  me.  I  like  Memphis  and  the  old  Mississippi.  It  is  my 


ILLINOIS    VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  359 

hobby,  but  we  must  needs  leave  it  for  a  time.  We  only  point  east  now 
instead  of  south,  neglecting  for  a  time  the  river  and  exaggerating  the 
valley  of  the  Tennessee  from  Huntsville  up. 

Yours,  SHERMAN. 

IUKA,  October  26,   1863. 
General  HURLBUT. 

It  will  exactly  suit  us  if  Joe  Johnston  will  assemble  a  force  at  Oko- 
loua.  Don't  disturb  them  now,  but  keep  a  spy  there  to  report  their 
object.  I  expect  the  Tennessee  river  will  supply  me  in  the  future,  and 
I  will  look  to  the  railroad  only  as  an  auxiliary.  I  will  gradually  draw 
this  way  all  the  troops  but  a  small  command  at  Memphis  and  from 
Tuscumbia,  luka  or  Corinth  we  could  strike  any  force  the  enemy  may 
assemble  on  the  railroad  about  Okoloua  or  Columbus. 

We  want  the  enemy  to  divide  and  not  pile  on  too  heavy  at  Chat 
tanooga,  where  it  is  so  hard  to  feed  and  supply  our  troops. 

W.  T.  SHERMAN. 

IUKA,  October  27th,  1863. 
General  HURLBUT. 

After  I  cut  loose,  if  our  railroad  proves  to  be  an  element  of  weak 
ness,  we  will  drop  it  for  a  time.  With  our  present  force  we  can  not 
attempt  to  re-open  the  Northern  road.  It  will  be  time  for  us  to  replace 
our  road  when  the  new  levies  come  to  us  in  the  Spring.  This  present 
pressure  is  a  crisis  and  we  must  strip  for  it. 

W.  T.  SHERMAN. 


There  were  some  things  printed  in  the  Memphis  papers  con 
cerning  the  fight  at  Colliersville  that  General  Sherman  did  not 
like  about  it,  we  have  two  communications,  one  to  the  Mem 
phis  Bulletin  and  the  other  to  Colonel  Anthony,  of  the  Sixty- 
sixth  Indiana,  commanding  at  the  time  of  the  fight.  General 
Sherman  was  annoyed  by  the  reports  in  the  Memphis  papers. 

IUKA,  October,  27th,  1863. 
Editor  of  MEMPHIS  BULLETIN  : 

I  don't  think  you  can  conceive  the  mortification  a  soldier  feels  at 
the  nauseating  accounts  given  to  the  public  as  history.  That  affair  at 
Colliersville  should  have  been  described  in  these  words:  "Chalmers 
tried  to  take  Colliersville  and  did  not,"  but  ridiculous,  nonsensical 
descriptions  have  followed  each  other  so  fast  that  you  ought  to  be 
ashamed  to  print  Colliersville.  Now  that  I  am  again  in  authority  over 
you,  you  must  heed  my  advice.  You  must  print  nothing  that  prej- 


360  HISTORY    OF   THE    THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

udices  Government  or  excites  envy,  hatred  and  malice  in  a  community. 
Persons  in  office  or  out  of  office  must  not  be  flattered  or  abused.  Don't 
publish  an  account  of  any  skirmish,  battle  or  movement  of  any  army 
unless  the  name  of  the  writer  is  given  in  full  and  printed.  I  wish  you 
success,  but  my  first  duty  is  to  maintain  "  order  and»harmony." 

Yours, 

W.  T.  SHERMAN. 

IUKA,  October  2yth,  1863. 
Colonel  D.  C.  ANTHONY,  Colliersville. 

DEAR  COLONEL :  Captain  Fitch  has  just  shown  me  you  rletter.  The 
accounts  published  in  the  newspapers  of  the  affair  at  Colliersville  are 
generally  ridiculous  and  nonsensical,  and  I  shall  stop  all  such  trash 
hereafter  from  originating  in  Memphis. 

Your  command,  of  course,  did  all  any  person  could  expect,  and  is 
entitled  to  credit  equally  with  the  regulars.  You  will  remember  on  leav 
ing  you  I  told  you  to  make  the  official  report  and  I  hope  you  have  done 
so.  It  was  your  fight,  not  mine.  I  happened  to  drop  in  accidentally, 
but  the  moment  Chalmers  drew  off,  I  came  along  on  my  journey.  I 
assure  you  of  my  personal  respect,  and  you  may  convey  to  your  officers 
and  men  my  personal  thanks  for  defending  their  posts  so  manfully. 

Yours  truly, 

W.  T.  SHERMAN. 

IUKA,  October  28th,  1863. 
General  DODGE,  Corinth. 

A  messenger  just  arrived  from  Chattanooga  with  dates  of  24th, 
makes  it  necessary  for  me  to  drop  everything,  and  with  my  old  corps 
(Fifteenth)  push  for  Stevenson,  Alabama.  Push  your  preparations  to 
follow  with  all  possible  speed  working  night  and  day.  Cross  at  East- 
port  and  follow  via  Florence,  Athens,  Huntsville  to  Stevenson. 

W.  T.  SHERMAN. 

Gen.  F.  P.  Blair  who  was  in  command  of  the  Fifteenth 
Army  Corps  reports  concerning  our  advance  on  Tuscnmbia  to 
General  Sherman  as  follows  : 

TUSCUMBIA,  ALABAMA,  October  27,  1863. 

GENERAL  :  We  left  camp  at  Cherokee  yesterday  at  daybreak  and 
found  the  enemy  wide  awake.  They  first  resisted  us  at  Little  Cane  and 
finally  at  Little  Bear  Creek,  where  they  had  a  strong  position,  and  as  it 
had  grown  late,  I  thought  it  best  to  encamp.  This  morning  the  Second 
Division  made  a  detour  to  the  right  and  crossed  a  mile  above  the  rail 
road,  after  a  pretty  sharp  skirmish.  At  the  same  moment  De  Gress' 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.    %  361 

battery  went  iuto  position  aud  opened  the  twenty-pound  Parrotts  on 
them,  aud  they  left  in  a  very  great  hurry,  after  which  we  entered  Tus- 
cumbia  without  any  further  opposition.  The  enemy,  I  understand, 
have  fallen  back  beyond  Town  Creek,  fourteen  miles  from  here,  where 
Wheeler  is  with  some  forces.  His  forces  did  not  exceed  three  thousand 
with  six  pieces  of  artillery. 

Our  losses  are  not  large,  say  three  killed  and  ten  wounded.  Lights 
burn  in  flanking  them  this  morning,  saw  four  of  their  dead.  I  have 
heard  from  several  sources  of  many  of  them  being  killed  and  wounded, 
and  find  in  this  town.  Colonel  Forrest,  a  captain,  and  six  privates 
severely  wounded. 

We  shall  Teturn  to-morrow  and  probably  reach  our  camp 
to-morrow  night.  I  forgot  to  say  we  lost  some  doctors  and  a 
medicine  wagon  at  Little  Cane,  in  consequence  of  a  positive  diso 
bedience  of  orders.  They  were  too  anxious  to  be  in  the  rear.  The 
wagon,  I  understand,  was  burned  and  I  don't  care  if  the  doctors  were  in 
it.  The  country  is  pretty  well  cleaned  out  of  everything,  and  these  peo 
ple,  I  believe,  are  losing  faith  in  the  rebel  leaders,  who  have  promised 
to  clean  us  out  at  every  step  on  the  way. 

Very  respectfully 

«   FRANK  P.  BLAIR,  JR. 

I  will  extract  a  few  sentences  from  a  report  of  General 
Sherman  that  will,  in  some  measure,  explain  why  we  took  the 
route  we  did,  that  seemed  to  take  us  out  of  our  course. 

He  says,  "  In  person  I  crossed  the  Tennessee  river,  and 
passed  to  head  of  column  at  Florence  on  the  ist  of  November, 
leaving  the  rear  division  to  be  conducted  by  General  Blair  and 
marched  to  Rogersville  and  the  Elk  river.  This  was  found 
impassable.  To  ferry  would  consume  too  much  time  and  to 
build  a  bridge  much  more  time,  so  there  was  no  alternative 
but  to  turn  up  Elk  river,  by  the  way  of  Gilbertsborough, 
Elkton,  etc.,  to  the  stone  bridge  at  Fayetteville.  There  we 
crossed  Elk  and  proceeded  to  Winchester  and  Dercherd. 

"At  Fayetteville,  I  received  orders  from  General  Grant  to 
come  to  Bridgeport  with  the  Fifteenth  Army  Corps,  and 
leave  General  Dodge  in  command  at  Pulaski  and  along  the 
railroad  from  Columbus  to  Decatur. 

"  I  instructed  General  Blair  to  follow  with  the  second  and 
first  divisions  by  the  way  of  New  Market,  Larkinsville  and 


362  HISTORY    OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

Bellefonte,  while  I  conducted  the  other  two  by  the  way  of 
Dercherd  ;  the  Fourth  Division  crossing  the  mountains  to 
Stephenson  and  the  third  by  University  Place  and  Sweden's 
Cove  and  Battle  Creek  ;  I  reaching-  Bridgeport  at  night  of 
November  i3th." 

We  will  now  resume  the  current  incidents  of  our  onward 
march.  After  crossing  Klk  river  at  Fayetteville  our  general 
course  for  a  time  was  to  the  south  until  we  crossed  into 
Alabama  and  there  again  to  the  east.  Some  of  the  road  was 
rugged,  then  again  swampy  and  then  smooth  -and  delightful 
marching.  On  the  i3th  we  passed  through  New  Market 
a  small  town  in  Alabama  ;  yet  the  name  was  no  guide  to  the 
appearance  of  the  place,  for  there  seemed  nothing  new  about 
it.  As  we  were  about  to  cross  the  State  line  the  boys  were 
ready  to  make  all  the  inquiries  possible,  as  to  where  it  was. 
An  old  lady  said  the  line  was  "on  top  of  the  hill  yonder." 
After  we  had  gotten  over  the  hill  we  met  two  women  sitting 
by  the  road-side.  We  inquired  about  the  location  of  the  line 
,to  them.  The  younger  of  the  two  who  was  plagued  with  sore 
eyes,  and  was  in  no  way  a  beauty,  said  it  was  ' '  on  the  top  of 
the  hill." 

The  old  lady  said  she  "did  not  know  right  plump  where 
it  was,  but  that  she  thought  it  was  a  leetle  rise  of  the  top  of 
the  hill."  Our  course  led  us  to  within  fourteen  miles  of 
Huntsville,  and  then  we  bore  to  the  east. 

November  i^th, — We  moved  fifteen  miles,  passed  through 
Maysville  where  a  division  of  cavalry  and  mounted  infantry 
were  stationed,  we  went  into  camp  along  the  Memphis  and 
Charleston  railroad.  There  had  been  saltpeter  works  at  this 
place,  but  they  are  now  abandoned.  The  mountains  are  all 
around  us.  What  grand  things  they  are.  They  are  full  of  in 
spiration,  telling  a  story  of  stability  and  strength.  Loyal  or 
disloyal  armies  may  pass  round  them  or  over  them  ;  they  stand 
the  same,  performing  their  mission  faithfully,  unmoved  by  all 
the  changes  of  men.  Years  ago  they  looked  down  on  savage 
men  and  savage  beasts  ;  and  now  they  are  ready  to  smile  on 
men  who  strive  in  war,  or  who  rejoice  in  peace. 


ILLINOIS    VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  363 

Just  now  war  is  going  on  all  around  them.  So  the  weeks 
and  months  go  on,  along  this  very  road  and  under  the  shadow 
of  these  mountains  will  go  train-loads  of  groaning,  bleeding, 
dying  men. 

Sunday,  November  i^th. — Brought  us  on  our  way  some 
twenty  miles  and  landed  us  at  L/arkinsville.  The  Government 
rations  had  run  low,-  and  here  a  train  from  Stevenson  brought 
us  two  days'  supply  of  welcome  coffee  and  hard  bread.  On 
the  26th  of  September  our  cavalry  had  quite  a  skirmish  at 
this  place.  A  company  of  native  Alabamians  were  in  posses 
sion,  but  did  not  do  us  or  themselves  much  credit.  This  was 
just  after  the  great  battle  of  Chickamauga.  We  are  hurrying 
on  to  the  relief  of  the  noble  band  of  men  held  in  Chattanooga. 
On  the  i6th  we  moved  over  the  ridge  and  struck  what  is  called 
the  State  Road.  This  brought  us  to  Bellefonte,  a  small  but 
pleasant  village.  I  recall  an  incident  of  this  night's  camping 
which  shows  how  forces  are  disabled  and  not  by  the  necessi 
ties  of  war.  A  man  in  our  brigade  with  loaded  gun  was  after 
some  persimmons.  To  get  them  down  he  used  the  butt  of  his 
gun  against  the  tree.  The  gun  went  off  and  shot  the  man 
himself  through  the  leg  and  wounded  another  man  standing 
by.  He  got  the  persimmons  and  more  too. 

"  The  longest  pole  takes  the  persimmons,"  'tis  said.  He 
had  better  have  used  the  long  pole.  A  word  about  the  per 
simmons.  What  soldier  had  not  had  his  mouth  well  puckered 
by  them.  The  encyclopedia  says  "  The  astringency  renders 
the  fruit  somewhat  unpalatable,  but,  after  it  has  been  subjected 
to  the  frost,  or  has  become  partially  rotten,  its  flavor  is  im 
proved.  In  some  of  the  Southern  States  the  fruit  is  said  to 
be  kneaded  with  bran,  made  into  cakes  and  baked,  while 
from  the  cakes  a  fermented  liquor  is  made."  I  have  often 
wondered  what  persimmons  were  for,  except  to  demonstrate 
how  much  puckering  power  could  be  condensed  in  a  small 
space.  I  shall  now  conclude  that  almost  anything  can  be 
turned  into  a  drink  that  will  make  men  feel  better  so  that  they 
can  feel  worse,  and  then  want  more  to  feel  better  again. 


364  HISTORY    OF   THE    THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

November  ijth. — We  came  through  a  rough  mountain 
country.  Guarding  trains  came  through  Stevenson,  which 
is  at  the  junction  of  the  Nashville  and  Charleston  and  Mem 
phis  railroads.  One  of  the  boys  in  his  diary  describes  the 
town  as  "  a  small,  shabby,  stinking  place  at  the  foot  of  a 
mountain. ' ' 

He  may  have  been  mistaken  in  some  of  his  impressions, 
but  he  must  have  been  correct  in  the  case  of  its  size,  for  the 
latest  census  gives  its  population  at  but  three  hundred. 

Our  next  move  brought  us  to  Bridgeport  on  the  Tennes 
see  river  where  the  whole  corps  was  crossing  as  fast  as  possible 
to  get  to  Chattanooga  and  the  coming  great  battle.  Here  we 
washed  up  and  fixed  ourselves,  rested  for  a  day  and  were 
then  off  again,  crossing  the  river  on  the  2oth.  From  this 
place,  a  sergeant  from  each  company  and  one  commissioned 
officer  was  detailed  to  go  home  on  recruiting  service. 

Any  one  could  see  at  a  glance  that  we  were  now  in  the 
midst  of  intense  activities  ;  large  forces  of  men  were  repairing 
the  railroad  bridge  and  preparing  for  the  extension  of  the  road. 
There  was  the  ceaseless  clatter,  day  and  night,  building 
steamboats  on  the  shore  near  by.  Trains  of  wagons  were 
constantly  moving  as  fast  as  the  jaded,  half-starved  beasts  could 
draw  them.  It  was  declared  that  there  were  enough  of  dead 
mules  lying  along  the  road  between  Stevenson  and  Bridgeport 
to  have  made  a  road  of  them  all  the  way.  It  certainly  was 
terrible.  The  troops  were  crossing  day  and  night  over  the 
pontoon-bridge. 

The  Fourth  Division  crossed  first  and  our  Division  last. 
We  hardly  thought  that  this  incident,  that  only  seemed  to 
happen  so,  would  make  so  great  a  difference  in  the  part  we 
were  to  take  in  the  coming  strife.  But  it  did  determine 
whether  we  should  be  on  the  right  with  Sherman  or  on  the 
left  with  Hooker,  whether  we  should  fight  on  the  Missionary 
Ridge,  or  at  Lookout  and  Ringgold. 

On  the  2ist  we  came  some  six  miles  and  camped  near  a 
great  cave  called  the  Nickajack.  This  is  said  to  be  seven 
teen  miles  long.  A  lieutenant  and  four  soldiers  had  gone  in 


ILLINOIS    VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  365 

to  explore  it,  and  after  four  days  had  not  returned.     A  relief 
part}'  of  soldiers  and  citizens  had  been  sent  to  the  rescue. 

Sunday,  Nov.  22d. — We  find  the  road  through  this  ravine 
very  bad,  and  we  are  now  being  stripped  for  the  fight. 
Blankets  over  the  shoulders,  one  hundred  rounds  of  ammuni 
tion  on  our  person,  two  days'  bread  in  haversack  and  two  in  a 
single  wagon  to  the  regiment. 

We  came  up  to  Whiteside  station  and  met  many  of  our  old 
friends  in  the  Seventy-fifth  and  Ninety-second  Illinois  Regi 
ments.  At  midnight  we  were  on  the  move  after  a  little  rest. 

During  the  day  General  Osterhaus  arrived  to  take  com 
mand  of  the  division  and  passed  through  the  regiment.  Each 
company  gave  him  "  three  cheers."  He  enjoyed  it  as  an  ex 
pression  of  confidence,  and  the  men  were  glad  to  see  him.  At 
daylight  of  the  23d  we  had  reached  the  Valley  that  led  down 
along  I^ookout  Mountain  and  gave  us  a  full  view  of  the  mount 
ain.  The  scenery  is  grand,  almost  beyond  description,  and 
if  it  were  not  to  be  associated  with  such  tragic  events  would 
have  been  enjoyable. 

During  the  day  our  division  marched  down  near  the  river, 
and  close  up  to  the  mountain,  and  camped  near  to  General 
Hooker's  troops.  We  were  for  a  few  days  to  be  identified 
with  them,  from  necessity.  The  pontoon-bridge  over  which 
we  were  to  have  passed  and  have  joined  the  other  divisions  of 
our  corps  under  General  Sherman  on  the  extreme  left,  having 
been  broken  and  there  being  not  sufficient  time  to  repair  it  be 
fore  the  battle  began. 

All  things  are  now  ready  for  the  great  battle  that  is  to  de 
termine  who  shall  be  the  masters  of  this  country  for  the 
future.  Before  giving  an  account  of  it,  let  me  take  in  some  pre 
liminary  information  that  may  be  of  interest  and  of  value  in 
taking  in  the  grand  affair. 


CHAPTER     XXVII. 


WHIPPED  THE  REBS  FROM  LOOKOUT,  THEN  MISSION  RIDGE 
AND  RINGGOLD,  WHERE  BUSHNELL,  BLANCHARD,  RILEY 
AND  OTHER  GOOD  MEN  FALL. 


'T  IS  said  that  from  the  top  of  Lookout  Mount- 
p)  ain  on  a  clear  day,  seven  of  the  States  can  be 
seen.  It  rises  some  two  thousand  three  hun 
dred  feet  from  the  level  of  the  sea,  and  scfme 
eighteen  hundred  feet  above  the  valleys  that 
lay  about  it.  It  is  a  grand  natural  object  ;  Chatta 
nooga  that  lies  upon  the  Tennessee  river  near  its 
base,  is  a  strategic  point  not  only  in  times  of  war,  but  as  a 
commercial  center.  It  was  not  an  accident  that  General 
Bragg' s  army  had  possession  of  this  place  at  one  time,  and 
that  we  now  held  it.  Both  armies  wanted  it.  The  Confeder 
ates,  that  they  might  hold  the  country  back  of  them,  and  the 
Union  army  that  they  might  make  it  the  gateway  to  what  was 
yet  unconquored  in  the  southeast. .,  ^ 

It  will  be  well  known  by  all  readers  of  history  of  these 
times,  that  the  "  Army  of  the  Cumberland  "  had  flanked  Gen 
eral  Bragg' s  army  and  compelled  him  to  draw  out  of  the 
place  ;  and  that  he  had  in  turn  so  crippled  our  army  at  the 
terrible  battle  of  Chickamauga  on  September  igth  and  2Oth, 
1863,  that  they  had  retreated  to  Chattanooga  ;  and  that  they 
were  then  so  enveloped  by  General  Bragg' s  army  that  they 
were  practically  held  fast. 

General  Bragg  makes  this  statement  in  his  report  of  the 
condition  of  things  just  after  tjie  battle  :  "  The  enemy's  most 

important  road,  and  the  shortest  by  half  to  his  depot  of  sup- 

366 


POSITIONS  OF  ARMIES  BEFORE  THE  BATTLES. 

•MB  Union  Army    »     when  Gen.Grant  WEDNESDAY  NOV. 25, 
do.  Picket     )     took  command, Oct.23.18S3.              •=*  Rebel  Line  in  the  morning 


'  Rebel  Army 
„».«    do.  Picket  Line  f 
:mrm  Position  of  Gen.Ilooker's  Corps 
™=»  Gen.Shtrman' s  firxt  position 

MONDAY  NOV.23- 

—  -  Line  developed  by  Recconnoissance 
in  force  under  Gen.Thomaa 
TUESDAY  NOV.24. 

•am  Position  of  General  Hooker's  Corps 
•7=  Position  of  Gen.Sherman'i  Corps  in  the  morning 


--— Routes  taken  by  Hooker 


•—  —  Ground  covered  by  a  charge  ofth& 
Army  of  the  Cumberland  in  the 
afternoon 
zm  LintS'of  Reble  retreat 

-  —  —  Lines  of  advance  by  the  Army  of 
the  Cumberland 


BATTLEFIELD  OF 

CHATTANOOGA 

SCALE 

1  Mile 


ILLINOIS     VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  367 

plies  at  Bridgeport,  lay  along  the  south  bank  of  the  Tennessee 
river.  The  holding  of  this  all  important  route  was  confided 
to  General  Longstreet's  command  ;  and  its  possession  forced 
the  enemy  to  a  road  double  the  length,  over  two  ranges  of 
mountains  by  wagon  transportation.  At  the  same  time,  our 
cavalry,  in  large  force,  was  thrown  across  the  river  to  operate 
on  this  long  and  difficult  route.  These  dispositions  faithfully 
sustained,  insured  the  enemy's  speedy  evacuation  of  Chatta 
nooga  for  want  of  food  and  forage.  Possessed  of  the  shortest 
road  to  this  depot,  and  the  one  by  which  reinforcements  must 
reach  him,  we  held  him  at  our  mercy,  and  his  destruction  was 
only  a  question  of  time." 

That  is  the  way  it  looked  ;  and  yet  the  destruction  did  not 
come  about.  The  case  was  certainly  desperate  ;  could  any 
thing  be  done  but  to  retreat  ? 

The  ground  was  held.  On  October  i6th,  1863,  the  War 
Department  relieved  General  Rosecrans  and  put  General 
George  H.  Thomas  in  command  of  the  Army  of  the  Cumber 
land.  At  the  same  time,  the  military  division  of  the  Missis 
sippi  was  constituted  and  General  Grant  put  at  its  head.  But 
before  these  events  reinforcements  had  been  ordered  to  the 
relief  of  the  army.  The  Fifteenth  Corps  from  Vicksburg  and 
the  Eleventh  and  Twelfth  Corps  from  the  Potomac.  The 
transfer  of  these  last  troops,  some  twelve  thousand  in  num 
ber,  may  be  regarded  as  a  fact  unequaled  in  military  move 
ments.  In  ten  days  they  and  all  their  transportation  and 
artillery  were  moved  one  thousand  miles  and  put  near  enough 
to  help  the  beleaguered  force  at  Chattanooga.  General  Grant 
was  on  the  ground  in  person  on  October  23d.  At  a  glance  he 
saw  the  truth  of  General  Bragg' s  statement,  that  if  the  shorter 
road  to  the  base  of  our  supplies  could  be  held,  it  would  only  be 
a  short  time  before  the  army  must  disastrously  retreat  or  sur 
render.  Already  ten  thousand  animals  had  perished  in  draw 
ing  'half  rations  to  the  army.  They  could  not  be  supplied 
another  week  in  that  way. 

At  once  he  determined  to  make  an  effort  to  get  possession 
of  the  south  side  of  the  river  to  Bridgeport.  General  Hooker 


368  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

was  sent  up  the  valley  by  way  of  Shell  Mound  and  Whiteside. 
On  the  night  of  October  27th,  a  body  of  men  were  put  in 
pontoons  and  floated  down  the  river  to  Brown's  Ferry  below 
Lookout,  and  landed,  taking  possession  of* the  hills  covering 
the  ferry,  and  by  10  a.  m.  the  next  day,  they  had  a  good  pon 
toon  laid.  At  this  time,  Hooker  with  the  Eleventh  Corps  and 
part  of  the  Twelfth,  came  into  the  valley  driving  off  the  enemy 
on  guard  there,  and  then  our  army  was  in  possession  of  the 
river  and  the  shorter  line. 

The  enemy  seeing  the  advantage  they  had  lost,  on  the  next 
night  made  a  desperate  night  attack  upon  General  Garey's 
Division.  The  attack  failed  and  the  enemy  were  then  driven 
back  still  further,  by  General  Howard's  corps,  and  our  lines 
were  firmly  established. 

The  next  thing  in  our  favor,  or  what  would  prove  to  be, 
when  the  battle  came  off,  was  the  sending  of  General  Long- 
street's  corps  to  attack  General  Burnside  at  Knoxville. 

On  November  i5th  General  Sherman  arrived,  and  was  in 
Chattanooga  with  General  Grant.  On  the  i6th  the  grounds 
were  looked  over  and  the  plans  laid.  General  Sherman  was 
to  make  a  demonstration  on  Trenton,  a  place  in  the  valley 
south  of  Lookout  Mountain,  but  his  real  work  was  to  be  done 
on  the  other  extreme  at  Missionary  Ridge,  which  he  was 
expected  to  "take,  hold  and  fortify."  General  Sherman  then 
says  :  ' '  My  command  had  marched  from  Memphis  (a  distance 
of  over  300  miles)  and  I  had  pushed  them  as  fast  as  the  roads 
and  distance  would  permit  ;  but  I  saw  enough  of  the  condition 
of  the  men  and  animals  in  Chattanooga  to  inspire  me  with 
renewed  energy. 

I  immediately  ordered  my  leading  division  (Ewing's)  to 
march  via  Shell  Mound  to  Trenton,  and  demonstrate  against 
Lookout  Ridge,  but  to  be  prepared  to  turn  quickly  and  follow 
me  to  Chattanooga.  In  person  I  returned  to  Bridgeport,  row 
ing  a  boat  down  the  river  from  Kelley's  Ferry  on  the  night  of 
the  1 8th,  and  immediately  on  arrival,  put  in  motion  my  divis 
ions  in  the  order  they  had  arrived. 

The  bridge  of  boats  at  Bridgeport  was  frail  and  though 


ILLINOIS    VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  369 

used  day  and  night,  our  passage  was  slow.  I  reached  Gen 
eral  Hooker's  headquarters  four  miles  from  Chattanooga  dur 
ing  a  rain  in  the  afternoon  of  the  2oth,  and  met  General 
Grant's  orders  for  the  general  attack  on  the  next  day.  It  was 
simply  impossible  for  me  to  fill  my  part  in  time.  Only  one 
division,  General  J.  E.  Smith's,  was  in  position,  General 
Bwing's  at  Trenton,  and  the  other  two  toiling  along  the  ter 
rible  road  between  Shell  Mound  and  Chattanooga.  No  troops 
ever  were  or  could  be  in  better  condition  than  mine  ;  or  who 
had  labored  harder  to  fulfill  their  part  ?  On  a  proper  presen 
tation  General  Grant  postponed  the  attack.  On  the  2ist  I  got 
the  Second  Division  over  the  Brown's  Ferry  bridge,  and  Gen 
eral  Bwing  got  up,  but  the  bridge  broke  repeatedly  and  delays 
occurred  that  no  human  sagacity  could  prevent.  All  labored 
day  and  night  and  on  the  23d  I  got  Ewing's  Division  over,  but 
my  rear  Division  (General  Osterhaus)  was  cut  off  by  the 
broken  bridge.  I  offered  to  go  into  action  with  my  three 
Divisions,  leaving  one  of  my  best  Divisions  to  act  with  Gen 
eral  Hooker." 

There  was  a  special  reason  why  the  Fifteenth  Corps  was  as 
signed  to  the  position  on  the  extreme  left.  It  was  the  plan  to 
do  the  fighting  there,  that  might  be  most  severe  ;  it  was  the  post 
of  honor.  By  permission  I  copy  from  an  account  of  Capt.  Phil. 
McCahill  of  the  Twenty-sixth  Iowa,  an  ordnance  officer  for 
General  Osterhaus' s  Division  at  that  time,  and  later,  he  says  : 
"  Comte  de  Paris,  Vol.  IV.,  p.  225,  in  treating  of  the  north 
end  of  Missionary  Ridge  as  defended  by  Bragg,  which  consti 
tuted  his  right  wing  and  Grant  his  left,  says,  '  Grant  could 
not  move  out  of  Chattanooga  under  the  eyes  of  the  Confederate 
Army  the  troops  intended  for  the  accomplishment  of  this 
dash.  It  was  necessary  to  bring  them  secretly  on  the  bank  of 
the  Tennessee  opposite  to  the  mouth  of  South  Chickamauga, 
make  sure  of  their  crossing  by  secretly  preparing  a  pontoon- 
bridge,  and  then  hurl  them  on  the  point  that  it  was  necessary 
to  occupy,  ere  the  enemy  could  offer  any  serious  opposition. 
In  order  to  accomplish  this  brilliant  and  difficult  task,  there 
were  needed  numerous  and  tried  troops,  inured  to  rapid 


370  HISTORY    OF   THE    THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

marches,  because  they  might  have  upon  them  for  a  few  hours 
the  entire  army  of  the  enemy.  Grant  reserved  this  task  for 
the  Fifteenth  Corps.  *  .*  *  # 

In  this  grand  operation  which  was  to  collect  on  one  battle 
field  sixty  thousand  men,  some  of  which  had  been  fighting  for 
the  past  three  months  in  the  mountains  of  Georgia,  while 
others  had  just  left  the  banks  of  the  Mississippi  or  the  hills  of 
Virginia,  Grant,  as  one  can  see,  had  reserved  the  first  part  for 
the  troops  that  had  fought  under  his  orders,  and  whose  leaders 
had  his  entire  confidence." 

General  Grant  says,  '  'A  deserter  from  the  rebel  army  who 
came  into  our  lines  on  the  22d  of  November,  reported  Bragg 
falling  back.  The  following  letter  from  Bragg,  received  by 
flag  of  truce  on  the  2oth  tended  to  confirm  this  report. 

Major-General  GRANT,  Commanding  Forces,  Chattanooga. 

GENERAL  :  As  there  may  be  still  some  non-combatants  in  Chat 
tanooga,  I  deem  it  proper  to  notify  you  that  prudence  would  dictate 
their  early  withdrawal. 

I  am,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant. 

BRAXTON  BRAGG. 

"  Not  willing  that  he  should  get  his  army  off  in  good 
order,  Thomas  was  directed  early  on  the  morning  of  the  23rd 
to  ascertain  the  truth  or  falsity  of  this  report,  by  driving  in 
his  pickets  and  make  him  develop  his  lines.  This  he  did 
with  the  troops  stationed  at  Chattanooga  and  Howard's  Corps, 
in  the  most  gallant  style,  driving  the  enemy  from  his  first  line 
and  securing  to  us  what  is  known  as  Indian  Hill  or  Orchard 
Knob,  and  the  low  range  of  hills  south  of  it.  The  points 
were  fortified  during  the  night,  and  artillery  put  on  them. 
The  report  of  this  deserter  was  evidently  not  intended  to 
deceive,  but  he  had  mistaken  Bragg' s  movements.  It  was 
afterwards  ascertained  that  one  of  the  divisions  of  Buckner's 
Corps,  had  gone  to  join  L,ongstreet,  and  a  second  division  of 
the  same  corps  had  started  but  was  brought  back  in  conse 
quence  of  our  attack.  By  daylight  of  the  24th,  eight 
thousand  of  Sherman's  men  were  on  the  south  side  of  the 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  371 

Tennessee  and  fortified  in  rifle  trenches.  By  half-past  3, 
p.  m.,  the  whole  of  the  northern  extremity  of  Missionary 
Ridge  to  near  the  railroad  tunnel  was  in  Sherman's  posses 
sion.  By  3  o'clock  of  the  same  day,  Colonel  Long  with  a 
brigade  of  cavalry  of  Thomas's  army,  crossed  to  the  south  side 
of  the  Tennessee  and  of  South  Chickamauga  Creek  and  made 
a  raid  on  the  enemy's  communications.  He  burned  Tyner 
Station  with  many  stores,  cut  the  railroad  at  Cleveland, 
captured  nearly  a  hundred  wagons  and  over  two  hundred 
prisoners.  Hooker  carried  out  the  part  assigned  to  him  for 
the  day,  equal  to  the  most  sanguine  expectations.  Thus  on 
the  night  of  the  24th  our  forces  maintain  an  unbroken  line 
with  open  communications  from  the  north  end  of  Lookout 
Mountain  through  Chattanooga  Valley  to  the  north  end  of 
Missionary  Ridge." 

General  Hooker,  under  whom  w.e  were  to  serve  says,  "  On 
the  morning  of  Novemher  24th,  my  command  consisted  of 
Osterhaus's  Division,  Fifteenth  Corps,  Cruft's  of  the  Fourth 
Corps,  Carey's  of  the  Twelth  Corps,  except  such  as  were  re 
quired  to  protect  our  communications  with  Bridgeport,  mak 
ing  an  aggregate  force  of  ninety-six  hundred  and  eighty-one. 
We  were  all  strangers,  110  one  of  the  divisions  ever  having 
seen  either  of  the  others. 

Garey's  Division  supported  by  Whittaker's  brigade  of 
Cruft's  Division,  wras  ordered  to  proceed  up  the  valley,  cross 
the  creek  near  Wauhatchie,  and  march  down  sweeping  the 
rebels  from  it.  The  other  brigade  of  the  Fourth  Corps  was  to 
advance,  seize  the  bridge  just  below  the  railroad  and  repair 
it.  Osterhaus's  Division  was  to  march  up  from  Brown's  Ferry 
under  cover  of  the  hills  to  the  place  of  crossing.  Also  to  fur 
nish  support  for  the  batteries.  The  Fourth  Ohio  Battery  was 
to  take  a  position  on  the  Bald  Hill,  and  the  New  York  Bat 
tery  on  the -hill  directly  in  the  rear.  The  disposition^  the 
forces  was  ordered  to  be  made  as  soon  after  daylight  as  possi 
ble.  At  this  time  the  enemy's  picket  formed  a  continuous 
line  along  the  right  bank  of  Lookout  Creek  with  the  reserves 
in  the  valley,  while  the  main  force  was  encamped  in  ajhollow 


372  HISTORY   OF  THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

half-way  up  the  mountain.  The  summit  was  held  by  three 
brigades  of  Stevenson's  Divisions,  and  these  were  comparatively 
safe,  as  the  only  means  of  access  from  the  West  for  a  distance 
of  twenty  miles  Up  the  valley,  was  by  two  or  "three  trails,  ad 
mitting  of  the  passage  of  but  one  man  at  a  time  and  these  trails 
were  held  by  rebel  pickets.  *  *  *  * 

Viewed  from  whatever  point,  Lookout  Mountain,  with  its 
high  and  palisaded  crest,  and  its  steep,  rugged,  rocky  and 
deeply  furrowed  slopes,  presented  an  imposing  barrier  to 
our  advance  ;  and  when  to  the  natural  obstacles  were  added 
almost  interminable,  well  planned,  and  well  constructed  de 
fenses,  held  by  Americans,  the  assault  became  an  enterprise 
worthy  of  the  ambition  and  the  renown  of  the  troops  to  whom 
it  was  intrusted. 

Garey  commenced  his  movement  as  instructed,  crossed  the 
creek  at  8  a.  m.,  captured  the  entire  picket  of  forty-two  men 
posted  to  defend  it,  marched  directly  up  the  mountain  until 
his  right  rested  on  the  palisade,  and  headed  down  the  valley. 

At  the  same  time  Grose's  brigade  advanced  resolutely,  with 
brisk  skirmishing,  drove  the  enemy  from  the  bridge  and  at 
once  proceeded  to  put  it  in  repair. 

The  firing  at  this  point  alarmed  the  rebels,  and  immedi 
ately  their  columns  were  seen  filing  down  the  mountain  from 
their  camps  and  moving  into  the  rifle-pits  and  breastworks  ; 
at  the  same  time  numbers  established  themselves  behind  the 
railroad  embankments,  which  enabled  them,  without  expos 
ure  to  themselves,  to  sweep  with  a  fire  of  musketry,  the  field 
over  which  our  troops  would  be  compelled  to  pass  for  a  dis 
tance  of  three  or  four  hundred  yards. 

Our  division  (General  Ostershaus)  was  assigned  to  the  left 
of  the  line  along  Lookout  Creek.  Here  two  batteries  and  a 
section  of  twenty-pounder  Parrott  guns  were  placed,  so  as  to 
reach  the  enemy's  works  and  camp  on  the  mountain  side. 
These  batteries  were  hauled  into  their  position  by  hand. 
The  Thirteenth  Illinois  and  Fourth  Iowa,  old  and  tried 
friends,  were  thrown  together  in  support  of  the  Fourth  Ohio, 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  373 

and  the  Twenty-fifth  Iowa  was  in  support  of  the  New  York 
battery. 

These  were  special  details  on  the  part  of  General  Oster- 
haus,  the  Hoffman,  or  Fourth  Ohio,  always  wanted  the  Thir 
teenth  to  support  it  if  possible  ;  at  7:30  a.  m.  the  division  was 
reported  all  ready  for  duty.  Our  brigade  was  commanded  by 
Gen.  Charles  R.  Woods.  He  was  soon  ordered  with  all  the 
brigade  except  our  regiment  to  move  to  the  right,  and  we  did 
not  get  together  again  till  the  next  day. 

At  ii  a.  m.  General  Garey  had  commenced  to  move  along 
the  mountain  side  toward  the  point.  Then  all  of  our  guns 
were  opened  ;  and  our  skirmishes  moved  down  the  creek. 
The  enemy  were  driven  from  the  railroad  embankment,  most 
of  the  pickets  near  the  creek  laid  down  in  their  pits  ready  to 
surrender,  as  soon  as  our  lines  had  gotten  fairly  to  their  rear. 
Just  after  the  artillery  had  opened  General  Osterhaus  rode  up 
to  the  rear  of  our  regiment  on  his  bay  bobtail  horse,  with  the 
cape  of  his  coat  thrown  back  over  his  shoulders  revealing  a 
scarlet  lining.  One  of  the  rebel  pickets  who  saw  him  said, 
"Say,  Yank,  is  that  old  U.  S.  sitting  on  that  horse  yonder  ?  " 
The  nearest  picket  told  him  that  he  was  right.  It  had  been 
an  understanding  between  the  men  who  picketed  on  opposite 
sides  of  the  creek,  not  three  rods  wide  yet  deep,  that  they 
were  not  to  fire  at  each  other  unless  there  was  a  battle  on. 
When  the  battle  opened,  it  was  so  one-sided  at  this  point  that 
the  pickets  \vere  all  captured  before  they  got  in  a  shot. 

Just  to  the  right  of  where  our  regiment  \vas  stationed,  sup 
porting  a  battery,  the  wagon  road  ran  along  the  creek  for 
some  rods,  then  crossed  the  creek  and  thence  up  the  side  of 
the  mountain  on  the  way  to  Chattanooga.  Companies  A  and 
B  of  the  regiment  were  pushed  still  closer  toward  the  point 
where  the  road  crossed  the  creek.  This  was  in  full  sight  of 
the  rebel  lines,  but  they  were  now  so  taken  up  with  Generals 
Garey  and  Woods  on  their  flank,  that  they  turned  to  them 
and  did  not  fire  at  us  at  all,  though  we  expected  to  receive 
their  best  respects  in  the  shape  of  lead.  We  then  moved  down 
to  the  bridge  that  had  broken  down,  and  under  the  direction 


374  HISTORY   OF  THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

of  Major  D.  R.  Bushnell  of  our  regiment,  set  to  work  to  con 
struct  a  floating  bridge  out  of  the  timbers.  As  soon  as  this 
was  done,  the  prisoners  in  large  numbers  were  brought  over 
under  charge  of  the  Ninth  Iowa,  that  had  been  detailed  for 
that  purpose. 

•While  Major  Bushnell  was  standing  on  the  elevated  road 
side,  an  Irish  lieutenant  among  the  prisoners  sang  out  "  How 
d'  ye  do  Major  Bushnell  ;  "  after  a  sharp  glance  the  Major  rec 
ognized  the  man  and  in  turn  said,  "  Why  Pat,  what  are  you 
doing  here  ?  "  The  quick  reply  was,  "  Bejabers,  I  am  fight 
ing  with  the  waker  party."  The  Major  further  asked 
' '  Where  is  your  brother  John  ?  ' '  The  answer  was  ' '  You 
fellows  killed  him  down  at  Vicksburg." 

Major  Bushnell  had  been  the  surveyor  in  laying  out  the 
Northwestern  railroad  in  Whiteside  county,  Illinois,  and  the 
two  Irish  brothers  had  had  the  contract  for  grading  the  depot 
grounds  at  Sterling,  Illinois.  When  the  war  broke  out,  it 
found  them  in  like  occupation  down  in  Mississippi.  Being 
wide-awake  fellows  they  made  the  most  of  the  situation  by 
accepting  commissions  in  the  Confederate  army,  perhaps 
caring  little  on  which  side  they  took  arms,  maybe  having 
enough  of  the  chivalrous  in  them  to  prefer  to  fight,  if  at  all, 
"  with  the  weaker  party." 

Pat  went  off  to  the  rear  and  may  be  alive  at  this  date  for 
aught  I  know,  while  the  gallant  Major  met  his  death  just  three 
days  later.  I  have  heard  it  said  that  the  Major  was  not  at  all 
well  at  this  time,  and  that  he  wrote  a  letter  home  speaking  of 
this  and  that  nothing  but  the  sternest  sense  of  duty  and  pride 
could  lead  him  to  go  on  through  the  battle.  He  was  a  brave 
and  true  soldier. 

Later  our  regiment  and  the  Fourth  Iowa  were  ordered 
across  the  creek  and  up  the  wagon  road  over  the  mountain. 
General  Garey  had  gotten  possession  of  the  point  of  the 
mountain  at  what  is  known  as  "Craven  House."  He  then 
came  down  and  led  our  two  regiments  up  the  mountain  as 
reinforcements.  He  was  a  fine  man,  and  walked  up  the  mount 
ain  at  our  head  gauging  our  strength  by  his  own. 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  375 

As  we  got  up  to  the  nose  of  the  mountain  it  was  almost 
dark,  the  mountain  was  in  a  dense  fog,  and  to  them  in  the 
valley  seemed  like  clouds.  The  battle  has  since  been  desig 
nated  as  "Hooker's  battle  above  the  clouds."  It  has  been 
surrounded  with  something  of  sentiment  and  prominence 
that  a  prosy  and  truthful  man  is  not  fully  prepared  to  in 
dorse. 

We  soon  passed  through  the  works  that  the  enemy  had 
erected  and  past  the  two  guns  that  had  been  captured.  I  saw 
one  of  our  men  standing  on  one  knee  as  if  about  to  shoot. 
That  is  probably  what  he  had  been  in  the  act  of  doing,  when 
he  was  struck  dead  instantly  and  all  his  muscles  had  become 
rigid  and  he  remained  in  that  position. 

Our  regiment  moved  into  line  as  a  support  of  the  front  line. 
We  lost  no  men,  though  the  missiles  flew  thick,  and  the  dan 
ger  was  great.  I  saw  one  of  our  musicians,  I  think  from 
Company  D,  struck  on  the  side  of  the  head  by  a  ball  that  had 
first  struck  a  rock,  and  go  down  as  if  he  were  dead,  but  he 
was  only  stunned  and  had  the  tip  of  his  ear  cut  off,  and  was 
on  his  feet  again.  The  thermometer  began  to  go  down  and 
soon  the  weather  was  near  the  freezing  point.  As  all  of  the 
men  were  wet,  it  made  it  hard  to  bear.  The  men  made  small 
fires  behind  some  of  the  big  rocks  scattered  over  the  mountain 
side,  and  sought  small  comfort.  As  the  enemy  still  had  pos 
session  of  the  top  of  the  mountain  and  could  look  down  upon 
our  lines,  some  few  of  the  men  were  wounded  near  the  fires 
by  sharp-shooters,  in  the  earlier  part  of  the  night. 

Lieutenant  CunifTe,  of  Company  I,  of  our  regiment,  had 
been  back  from  the  regiment  to  one  of  these  fires.  He  was 
absent-minded  and  on  his  way  back  to  the  lines  of  the  regi 
ment  missed  his  way  and  walked  over  into  the  enemy's  lines. 
It  is  said  he  looked  up  and  seeing  a  lot  of  the  rebels  about  a 
fire,  he  said  "  What  are  you  fellows  doing  here  without  being 
guarded  ?"  they  replied,  "  We  will  do  the  guarding,"  and  they 
took  possession  of  the  young  man.  It  is  certain  we  never  saw 
him  with  the  regiment  again. 


376  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

A   GRAND   SIGHT. 

We,  who  had  just  come  from  the  West,  had  never  yet  seen 
Chattanooga,  and  of  course  did  not  have  much  idea  of  the 
location  of  things.  As  it  grew  cold,  the  fog  blew  away  and 
we  were  able  to  see  where  Chattanooga  wras  and  the  surround 
ing.  After  a  close  study,  the  whole  thing  fell  into  shape  and 
jtwas.a  grand  sight.  Across  the  valley  between  Lookout 
Mountain  and  Missionary  Ridge  was  a  dark  line.  This  was 
the  space  between  the  two  army  lines.  As  the  night  was 
very  cold,  this  space  was  fringed  by  two  lines  of  small  picket- 
fires.  Further  back  of  these  on  either  side,  were  many  larger 
fires,  that  pointed  out  the  two  main  lines  of  defense.  '  As  we 
afterward  learned,  the  enemy  \vere  vacating  their  lines  across 
the  valley,  but  keeping  up  the  fires  as  a  show.  Yonder  on 
the  hill  in  the  town  was  our  signal  station,  and  on  it  was  seen 
the  ceaseless  waving  and  dipping  of  the  lights  as  messages 
were  being  conveyed  to  the  different  corps.  The  same  thing 
was  going  on  within  the  enemy's  lines  from  the  top  of  Mis 
sionary  Ridge.  There  was  but  little  sleep.  The  generals 
were  wide-awake  on  both  sides,  preparing  for  the  great  deadly 
struggle  on  the  morrow.  Some  of  the  troops  were  moving 
from  left  to  right  and  from  right  to  left,  and  the  others  were 
kept  awake  either  from  the  cold  or  because  they  were  on  the 
picket-line.  At  least  one  hundred  and  twenty  thousand  men 
were  in  these  camps  and  with  the  morrow  the  two  contending 
armies  would  certainly  grapple  with  each  other,  dead  and  the 
mangled  would  be  counted  only  by  the  thousands. 

It  was  a  grand  sight  ;  it  was  an  awful  thought.  It  seems 
so  strange  that  in  this  world  the  cause  of  righteousness  and 
humanity  has  had  to  travel  over  gory  fields  and  walk  amid 
human  wails. 

We  learn  through  the  rebel  dispatches  and  communica 
tions  that  the  fight  was  made  during  the  earlier  part  of  the 
night  for  what  was  called  the  Summerville  Road,  and  that  by 
2  o'clock  the  whole  of  Lookout  Mountain  was  abandoned. 

It  appears  from  these  dispatches  that  they  were  afraid  all 


ILLINOIS    VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  377 

the  time  that  they  could  not  hold  the  position.  It  is  certain 
that  the  defense  was  not  all  that  it  should  have  been  for  such 
a  stronghold. 

Here  we  met  some  of  the  same  men  that  we  had  captured 
at  Vicksburg,  and  it  may  be  that  they  were  not  altogether 
hearty  in  their  defense.  Then,  too,  there  seems  to  have  been 
some  difficulty  among  the  officers. 

Early  in  the  evening  after  some  brisk  skirmishing,  Gen 
eral  Carlin  with  a  fine  brigade  came  from  Chattanooga  and 
connected  with  our  forces,  so  that  the  way  was  opened  into 
the  city  by  way  of  the  mountain. 

Lookout  Mountain  was  now  all  in  our  possession.  It  has 
been  a  question  what  regiment  first  put  a  flag  on  the  top  of 
the  mountain.  It  has  been  claimed  for  our  regiment.  I  can 
vouch  for  this  incident.  Captain  Beardsley,  later  Major  of 
the  regiment,  came  to  the  writer,  then  a  Sergeant  in  Company 
B,  about  i  o'clock,  and  said  :  "I  believe  the  rebels  have  left 
the  top  of  the  mountain,  and  that  we  can  some  way  get  up 
those  palisades,  and  have  the  flag  of  the  Thirteenth  wave 
there  first.  If  a  dozen  of  you  reliable  boys  will  go  with  me, 
I  will  get  permission  to  try  it."  Some  of  them  agreed  to  join 
in  it,  but  when  he  sought  the  permission  from  his  superior,  it 
was  denied. 

The  next  morning  some  other  flag  xvas  waving  there.  I 
met  the  Captain  and  he  said  :  "  Sergeant,  it  almost  makes  me 
sick  to  see  some  other  flag  than  the  Thirteenth  there,  when  I 
am  sure  we  could  have  had  ours  there  first. ' ' 

General  Whittaker  reports  that  ' '  early  on  the  morning  of 
the  25th  I  called  for  volunteers  from  the  Eighth  Kentucky 
Infantry  to  scale  the  cliffs  and  take  possession  of  Lookout 
Rock.  It  was  not  known  what  force  was  on  the  top.  Cap 
tain  Wilson  of  Company  C  and  seven  men  offered,  and  soon 
took  possession  of  the  place,  and  unfurled  our  country's  flag 
where  so  lately  treason  had  flaunted  the  symbol  of  her  ruin. 
This  flag  was  the  gift  of  the  loyal  women  of  Estill  county, 
Kentucky." 

In  the  absence  of  any  denial  of  this,  let  us  take  for  granted 


378  HISTORY    OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

that  this  is  how  it  was,  and  that  whatever  special  honor  goes 
with  it,  belongs  to  them,  as  it  would  have  to  us,  if  we  had 
gotten  our  flag  there  first. 

Early  the  next  morning,  for  some  bungling  reason,  \ve 
marched  down  the  mountain  again  and  got*  our  breakfast  and 
then  marched  back  over  the  mountain  again  into  Chattanooga 
valley. 

As  we  were  marching  down  the  mountain  side,  we  could 
plainly  see  almost  the  whole  of  General  Grant's  army  then  in 
the  valley,  moving  out  toward  the  ridge,  to  battle  ;  mostly 
infantry,  but  with  it  much  artillery  and  some  cavalry.  It  was 
a  fine  sight,  such  as  few  men  ever  see  in  a  lifetime. 

We  soon  came  upon  the  creek  over  which  the  enemy  had 
withdrawn  and  destroyed  the  bridges.  This  caused  great 
delay,  and  with  it  loss  of  vantage.  It  is  fair  to  presume,  that 
had  General  Hooker  struck  General  Bragg' s  left,  three  hours 
sooner,  the  results  would  have  been  much  more  disastrous  to 
the  rebel  army. 

As  it  was,  it  was  too  near  night  to  make  the  most  of  our 
advantage.  As  we  came  to  this  stream  we  found  a  few  of  the 
rebel  wounded  that  had  been  carried  so  far,  and  then  for  some 
reason  abandoned.  They  were  quite  bitter  in  their  denuncia 
tions  of  being  left  to  freeze  to  death. 

Having  got  across  the  stream  we,  with  the  rest  of  our 
division,  and  General  Hooker's  forces,  moved  across  the 
valley  and  down  the  ridge  till  opposite  Rossville  Gap,  in  and 
about  which  was  stationed  General  Bragg' s  extreme  left. 

They  were  soon  driven  out  of  this  and  we  were  in  the  gap 
and  on  the  ridge.  On  the  ridge  we  marched  over  some  of  our 
dead  that  had  fallen  at  the  battle  of  Chickamauga  over  two 
months  before,  but  had  been  unburied.  A  few  days  after 
this,  a  detail  of  our  men  picked  up  the  skeletons  of  over  three 
hundred,  and  buried  them. 

An  incident  that  occurred  just  after  we  got  possession  of 
the  gap,  and  while  our  regiment  was  resting  on  the  top  of  the 
ridge  and  facing  the  road  that  led  down  from  the  open  country 
through  this  gap,  is  a  striking  illustration  of  nerve. 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  379 

While  resting,  I,  with  others,  saw  a  rebel  officer  ride  down 
this  road  on  a  fine  horse  into  our  lines.  As  he  found  himself 
right  upon  our  forces  (not  knowing  we  were  in  possession  of 
the  gap)  he  did  not  even  draw  a  rein  or  give  any  sign  but  that 
what  he  intended  to  do  was  to  come  into  our  lines.  He  rode 
right  on  to  General  Osterhaus's  headquarters  in  the  gap,  and 
asked  for  an  ambulance  to  remove  a  wounded  rebel  officer  up 
on  the  ridge.  He  then  came  back  and  rode  up  the  hill  on  the 
North  side  of  the  gap.  One  of  the  men  said,  "See,  there  goes 
that  rebel  again  ;  I  have  a  mind  to  put  a  ball  into  him  before 
he  gets  away."  He  put  spurs  to  his  horse  and  disappeared 
on  the  top  of  the  ridge.  He  doubtless  thought  to  get  out  of 
our  lines  and  regain  his  own  again,  but  just  then  he  came 
upon  the  good  old  Fourth  Iowa,  some  of  whom  were  scat 
tered  along  that  part  of  the  ridge  as  skirmishers.  One  of 
them  quickly  halted  him  and  bade  him  dismount.  It  was  the 
wise  thing  to  do  seeing  he  was  looking  down  a  loaded  and 
cocked  rifle  in  the  hands  of  a  determined  soldier.  So  he  did 
it.  He  found  his  way  among  other  prisoners  who  were  moving 
North.  General  Osterhaus  rode  his  horse  after  that.  Some 
of  the  boys  will  remember  the  little  blooded  roan.  The  man 
was  Captain  Breckenridge,  the  son  of  General  Breckenridge. 

We  captured  some  artillery  and  much  camp  stuff  here. 
We  then  moved  up  the  road  that  led  through  the  gap  into 
the  open  country  for  perhaps  a  mile  or  more,  when  we  came 
to  where  the  road  forked,  one  leading  to  the  southeast  to 
Ringgold  and  the  other  to  the  northeast  along  the  Ridge. 
We  followed  the  latter  road  for  some  distance,  when  we  were 
stopped  and  faced  toward  the  Ridge  in  line  of  battle. 

During  this  time  the  artillery  firing  along  the  line  of 
battle  was  just  terrific.  It  seemed  as  though  it  would  bring 
on  an  earthquake. 

Some  notice  must  have  reached  General  Bragg  of  the  fight 
at  Rossville  Gap,  for  a  body  of  rebel  troops  was  seen  moving 
down  in  that  direction  as  reinforcements.  They  were  not 
a\vare  of  our  presence  to  the  rear  of  the  Ridge,  and  when  they 


380  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTEENTH     REGIMENT 

saw  the  situation,  most  of  them  laid  down  their  arms  and 
surrendered. 

As  we  stood  in  line  and  about  to  advance,  a  family  that 
had  been  living  in  a  house  near  the  rebel  Jines,  frightened  by 
the  fearful  cannonading,  ran  for  our  lines,  a  man  and  a  grand 
mother  and  a  younger  woman  with  three  children.  They 
passed  through  our  regiment  to  the  rear.  One  of  the  children 
was  a  boy  of  s,even  or  eight  years  of  age  who  became  familiar 
with  camp-life,  and  was  dressed  in  Southern  uniform.  He 
did  not  seem  in  the  least  frightened  by  this  state  of  affairs, 
and  with  his  hands  in  his  pockets,  said,  "  Well,  I  think  you 
have  got  them  this  time."  He  seemed  to  have  taken  in  the 
situation  quite  fully  for  one  so  young. 

We  were  ordered  forward  to  the  enemy's  lines  across  an 
open  space  on  double-quick.  Over  twenty-seven  years  have 
gone  by,  but  it  seems  to  me  that  I  can  see  that  rail  fence  dis 
appear  before  us,  as  some  of  the  men  ran  before  us  and 
leveled  it  in  a  moment. 

We  were  after  them  and  they  were  fleeing.  The  troops  on 
the  other  side  of  the  ridge  had  shaken  the  tree  and  we  were 
holding  the  bag  to  get  the  fruit.  With  almost  no  loss  to  our 
division  at  this  time,  we  are  credited  with  making  large  capt 
ures  of  prisoners. 

Our  regiment  is  given  credit  with  having  captured  two 
hundred  and  fifty-eighty  men. 

The  following  is  the  tabulated  report  as  given  by  Brig.- 
Gen.  C.  R.  WToods  of  the  prisoners  taken  by  his  brigade  dur 
ing  the  24th,  25th  and  2yth. 

Third  Missouri  Volunteers 197 

Twelfth   Missouri  Volunteers  .    . 179 

Seventeenth  Missouri  Volunteers 219 

Twenty-seventh  Missouri  Volunteers 409 

.Twenty-ninth   Missouri  Volunteers 2 

Thirty-first   Missouri   Volunteers 76 

Thirty-second  Missouri  Volunteers 250 

Thirteenth  Illinois  Volunteers 258 

Seventy-sixth  Ohio 410 

Total    ,  i,999 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  381 

I  most  gladly  insert  at  this  point  a  supplement  report  of 
General  Osterhaus,  which  the  Thirteenth  and  their  friends  are 
proud  of.  We  considered  Lieutenant  Josselyn  among  the 
bravest  of  our  brave  men. 

HEADQUARTERS  FIRST  DIVISION, 

FIFTEENTH  ARMY  CORPS, 

BRIDGEPORT,  December  14,  '63. 

GENERAL  :  I  omitted  to  state  in  my  report  that  Lieut.  S.  T.  Josselyn 
and  a  party  of  skirmishers  of  the  gallant  Thirteenth  Illinois  Infantry 
captured  the  battle-flag  of  the  Eighteenth  Alabama  on  Missionary 
Ridge,  November  25th.  I  forward  the  flag  to  you  with  this  supplemen 
tary  report.  I  am,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant. 

P.  Jos.  OSTERHAUS. 

[Brigadier-General  of  Volunteers  Commanding  First  Division  Fifteenth 
Army  Corps.] 

To  Major-General  D.  BUTTERFIELD, 

Chief  of  Staff,  Major-General  HOOKER'S  Army. 

Having  gathered  in  all  the  prisoners  we  could,  we  camped  on  the 
Ridge  where  part  of  Bragg's  army  had  been  in  full  possession  and 
camped  the  night  before.  \Ve  walked  around  among  the  dead  and 
gathered  some  of  the  rebel  wounded  to  our  camp-fires  and  shared  our 
blankets  with  them,  as  it  was  a  severely  cold  night  for  camping  out  with 
out  any  shelter. 

General  Bragg's  headquarters  had  been  near  where  we 
camped  and  he  and  General  Breckenridge  narrowly  escaped 
capture  at  our  hands. 

On  the  next  morning  our  army  started  in  pursuit  of  the 
fleeing  forces.  Our  division  was  in  the  rear,  and  met  with 
nothing  special  during  the  da}*  other  than  the  tiresome  fact 
that  it  took  the  whole  day  to  reach  Chickamauga  Creek, 
six  miles  away,  where  we  camped  for  the  night.  Before 
leaving  camp  the  Thirteenth  boys  picked  up  some  stragglers 
as  prisoners  and  four  hundred  guns. 

GENERAL  BRAGG  REPORTS. 

"  By  a  decided  stand  here  the  enemy  was  entirely  checked, 
and  that  portion  of  our  force  to  the  right,  remained  intact. 


382  HISTORY   OF  THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

All  to  the  left,  however,  except  a  portion  of  Bates'  Division, 
was  entirely  routed,  and  in  rapid  flight,  nearly  all  of  the  artil 
lery  having  been  shamefully  abandoned  by  its  infantry  sup 
port.  Kvery  effort  which  could  be  made  by  myself  and  staff 
and  many  other  mounted  officers,  availed  but  little.  [A 
Southern  historian  tells  us  that  he  rode  among  his  men  crying, 
"  Here  is  your  commander."  Their  reply  was,  "  Here  is  your 
mule."  They  had  lost  confidence  in  him.]  A  panic,  which 
I  had  never  witnessed  before,  seemed  to  have  seized  upon 
officers  and  men,  and  each  seemed  to  be  struggling  for  his 
personal  safety,  regardless  of  his  duty  or  character.  In  this 
distressing  and  alarming  state  of  affairs,  General  Bates  was 
ordered  to  hold  his  position,  covering  the  road  for  the  retreat 
of  Breckenridge's  command,  and  orders  were  immediately 
sent  to  Generals  Hardee  and  Breckenridge  to  retire  their 
forces  on  the  depot  at  Chickamauga. 

"  Fortunately  it  was  now  near  nightfall,  and  the  country 
and  roads  in  our  rear  were  fully  known  to  us,  but  equally  un 
known  to  the  enemy.  The  routed  left,  made  its  way  back  in 
great  disorder,  effectually  covered,  however,  by  Bates'  com 
mand,  which  had  a  sharp  conflict  with  the  enemy's  advance, 
driving  it  back.  After  night,  all  being  quiet,  Bates  retired  in 
good  order,  the  enemy  attempting  no  pursuit. 

"  No  satisfactory  excuse  can  possibly  be  given  for  the 
shameful  conduct  of  our  troops  on  the  left  in  allowing  their 
line  to  be  penetrated.  The  line  was  one  that  ought  to  have 
been  held  by  a  line  of  skirmishers  against  any  assaulting 
column,  and  wherever  real  resistance  was  made,  the  enemy 
fled  in  disorder,  after  suffering  heavy  loss. 

"  Those  of  our  enemy  who  reached  the  Ridge  did  so  in  a 
condition  of  exhaustion,  from  the  great  physical  exertion  in 
climbing,  which  rendered  them  powerless,  and  the  slightest 
effort  would  have  destroyed  them.  Having  secured  much  of 
our  artillery,  they  soon,  availed  themselves  of  our  panic,  and, 
turning  our  guns  upon  us,  enfilading  the  lines  both  right  and 
left,  rendering  them  entirely  untenable. 

'  'But  one  possible  reason  presents  itself  as  an  explanation  of 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  383 

such  bad  conduct  in  veteran  troops.  They  had  for  two  days 
confronted  the  enemy,  marshaling  his  immense  forces  in  plain 
view,  and  exhibiting  to  their  sight,  such  a  superiority  in 
numbers,  as  may  have  intimidated  weak-minded  and  untried 
soldiers.  But  our  veterans  had  so  often  encountered  similar 
hosts,  when  the  strength  of  position  was  against  us,  and  with 
perfect  success,  that  not  a  doubt  of  holding  the  lines  crossed 
my  mind.  Our  losses  are  not  yet  ascertained,  but  in  killed 
and  wounded  it  is  known  to  have  been  small.  In  prisoners 
and  stragglers,  I  fear  it  is  much  larger.  The  chief  of  artillery 
reports  the  loss  of  forty  pieces." 

On  the  2yth  the  pursuit  was  continued  with  our  division 
and  our  brigade  in  the  advance.  We  moved  out  of  the  camp 
at  6  a.  m.  We  soon  came  upon  the  sights  to  be  found  in  the 
wake  of  an  army  fleeing  in  haste.  Broken-down  gun-car 
riages,  abandoned  wagons,  guns,  ambulances,  clothes,  etc. 
For  some  reasons  whether  for  good  or  bad,  many  rebels  lin 
gered  in  the  woods.  Some  forty  or  fifty  were  picked  up  as 
prisoners. 

Captain  House  with  his  men  mounted,  some  one  hundred 
and  seventy  in  number,  led  the  way  followed  by  the  Seven 
teenth  Missouri  Infantr}^  as  skirmishers.  When  they  came  to 
the  Chickamauga  Creek,  near  the  town  of  Ringgold,  they 
found  the  ford  and  a  covered  bridge  to  the  right  of  the  ford 
and  further  up  the  creek,  guarded  by  about  two  hundred  rebel 
cavalry.  Captain  House  dashed  at  them  and  drove  them  into 
town.  When  the  rebels  saw  the  inferiority  of  numbers 
against  them,  they  in  turn  drove  him  out  of  the  town  and 
back  across  the  ford.  The  Seventeenth  and  Twenty-ninth 
Missouri  hastened  by  a  circuitous  route  to  get  possession  of  the 
covered  bridge.  This  took  time,  but  it  was  better  than  to  force 
the  infantry  through  three  feet  of  water.  The  roads  were  bad 
and  for  some  reason  the  artillery  was  not  up — a  mistake— had 
it  been  the  enemy  could  have  been  driven  out  with  much  loss 
of  life  and  limb. 


384  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

IN    FRONT   OF   THE    GAP. 

As  our  regiment  came  up,  we  passed  to  the  right  of 
the  ford  up  the  stream  to  the  covered  bridge  over  it,  and 
through  the  town  by  flank.  Just  ahead  of  us  were  the 
Seventeenth,  Twenty-ninth  and  Thirty-first  Missouri  Regi 
ment  that  had  been  skirmishing  up  to  the  foot  of  Taylor 
Ridge,  where  the  enemy  were  strongly  posted.  The  rebels 
pressed  upon  these  and  drove  them  back  in  some  confusion. 
We  then  passed  up  near  the  depot  and  filed  to  the  right  into 
line  squarely  across  the  gap,  in  an  open  space.  The  boys  were 
as  chipper  as  could  be,  and  hardly  expecting  so  much  danger 
so  near  at  hand.  We  had  scarcely  got  faced  to  the  front, 
when  from  a  clump  of  young  trees,  a  masked  battery  of  two 
pieces  belched  forth  grape  and  canister.  This  passed  through 
the  right  wing  of  our  regiment.  By  it  Captain  Beardsley  of 
Company  D  was  wounded,  John  Dykeman  of  Company  C  had 
his  thigh  broken,  and  Martin  Blair  of  Company  A  was  bruised. 
Poor  Dykeman  of  Company  C,  I  stood  near  him  as  he  went 
down  with  a  groan.  He  and  Fred  Darling  of  Company  D 
and  the  writer,  were  caught  close  up  under  the  rebel  works  at 
the  Chickasaw  charge  and  came  near  being  captured,  but  at 
dusk  made  our  way  off,  carrying  with  us  a  badly  wounded 
Fourth  Iowa  man.  Dykeman  lingered  along  till  January 
zoth,  1864,  and  then  died  of  his  wounds. 

MASKED    BATTERY   FIRE. 

This  was  a  surprise  and  a  severe  test  of  our  nerve  and 
power  of  concession  as  a  regiment ;  at  a  word  from  the  offi 
cers,  all  the  men  lay  flat  on  the  ground  but  stayed  in  place. 

Let  us  hear  what  General  Cleburne,  who  was  in  com 
mand  of  the  forces  that  opposed  us,  says  :  "Shortly  after  8 
a.  m.  the  enemy's  skirmishers  were  in  view,  advancing.  He 
opened  fire,  and  under  cover  of  it,  his  line  of  battle  was  placed 
and  moved  with  the  utmost  decision  and  celerity  against  the 
ridge  on  the  right  of  the  gap.  So  quick  and  confident  was 
this  attack,  the  enemy  must  have  acted  on  a  concerted  plan, 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY.  385 

and  must  have  had  guides  who  knew  well  the  nature  of  the 
country.  As  the  first  line  moved  toward  the  ridge,  its  right 
flank  became  exposed  at  canister  range  to  my  artillery  in  the 
mouth  of  the  gap.  Five  or  six  rapid  discharges  broke  the 
right  of  this  line  to  pieces  and  caused  them  to  run  for  shelter 
under  the  railroad  embankment." 

Soon  after  this  burst  of  canister  upon  us,  the  word  came 
to  advance  some  skirmishers  to  the  front  of  the  line.  Lieu 
tenant-Colonel  Partridge  ordered  forward  Companies  A  and  B, 
and  went  with  them.  The  fire  was  directed  toward  the  two 
pieces  of  artillery,  so  as  to  keep  them  from  firing  if  possible. 
Among  these  skirmishers  John  D.  Davis,  of  Company  B  was 
wounded  in  the  mouth  before  he  got  in  a  shot ;  he  brought  off 
his  gun,  went  to  the  rear  ;  had  his  wound  dressed  and  came 
back  into  the  front.  The  order  then  came  to  advance  the 
whole  regiment.  Major  Bushnell  gave  the  command,  when 
the  men  arose  and  bending  as  though  facing  a  hail-storm, 
moved  most  gallantly  to  the  front.  I  am  not  prepared  to  say 
that  the  regiment  understood  just  what  was  expected  of  them. 
I  think  if  the  command  would  have  been  given,  they  would 
have  gone  into  the  gap,  and  to  the  mouth  of  the  guns. 

As  it  was,  they  went  as  far  as  the  log-house  located  at  the 
mouth  of  the  gap  and  then  sought  shelter  behind  it  and  the 
barn,  pig-pen  and  some  old  railroad  ties  near  by. 

THE   COLORS   GO    DOWN. 

But  before  they  had  reached  this  line  the  battery  had 
opened  upon  them  with  canister  sweeping  through  about 
where  the  colors  were  moving.  Sergeant  Patrick  Riley  of 
Company  K  bore  the  colors  and  went  down  with  a  grape- 
shot  through  his  breast.  His  life's  blood  soaked  the  Stars  and 
Stripes  and  to-day  stain  most  of  its  folds  as  it  rests  in  the  State 
house  at  Springfield,  Illinois.  Of  course  the  colors  went  down 
with  the  brave  man,  but  did  not  long  remain.  Corporal 
Joseph  Sackett  of  Company  C  and  a  member  of  the  Color- 
guard  took  up  "Old  Glory,"  now  more  sacred  because 


386  HISTORY   OF   THE    THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

drenched  with  patriotic  blood,  and  bore  it  for  some  distance. 
As  the  regiment  was  no  longer  advancing,  this  brave  man 
dropped  the  flag  through  the  fork  of  an  apple  tree  and  cast 
himself  upon  the  ground  by  it.  It  remained  swinging  under 
the  eyes  of  the  rebels  during  the  rest  of  the  fight. 

It  is  of  this  flag  that  General  Cleburne  says  "a  stand  of 
colors  lay  temptingly  within  sixty  yards  of  my  line,  and  some 
of  the  officers  wanted  to  charge  and  get  it,  but  as  it  promised 
no  solid  advantage  to  compensate  for  the  loss  of  brave  soldiers, 
I  would  not  permit  it. 

A  Dalton  newspaper  in  speaking  of  our  regiment's  action 
at  this  time,  did  so  in  the  most  glowing  terms,  and  with  the 
spirit  of  exaggeration  so  common  with  the  times,  said  we  had 
come  on  without  faltering,  until  the  dead  were  actually  piled 
up  in  the  road. 

The  fight  went  on  in  the  most  determined  way  with  con 
stant  losses  to  us.  Colonel  Partridge  received  a  painful  wound 
in  his  left  hand,  while  standing  near  the  barn  not  far  from 
the  bank  of  the  creek.  Wishing  to  have  it  dressed,  he  asked 
one  of  Company  B  to  seek  Major  Bushnell  and  ask  him  to 
take  command  of  the  regiment  for  a  time.  But  the  Major 
could  not  receive  the  word,  for  his  ear  was  already  heavy  in 
death  and  his  eye  was  dimmed  to  the  sight  of  earthly  things. 
He  had  paid  the  highest  price  possible  on  the  altar  of  his 
country. 

With  some  others  he  had  sought  shelter  behind  some  rail 
road  ties  ;  for  unnecessarj^  exposure  was  no  virtue  at  such  a 
time.  A  bullet  from  the  enemy  had  grazed  the  end  of  a  tie, 
and  passing  into  his  forehead  lodged  in  the  back  part  of  his 
neck. 

The  command  was  given  into  the  hands  of  Capt.  Walter 
Blanchard  of  Company  K,  who  was  located  behind  the  log- 
house  spoken  of.  Ere  long,  while  he  stood  at  the  corner  of 
the  house,  he  was  struck  by  a  grape-shot  that  tore  his  knee 
all  into  pieces.  He  died  from  the  effects  of  it  about  one  week 
later. 

In    this  same  house  Chas.  Beckman,  of  Company  K,  was 


ILLINOIS    VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY.  387 

struck  and  had  his  right  arm  broken  while  in  the  act  of  shoot 
ing  out  of  the  window.  He  gave  a  little  shriek  as  the  bone 
snapped,  and  then  was  as  brave  as  a  man  could  be. 

Robert  Skinner  was  shot  while  passing  from  the  pig-pen  to 
the  barn.  I  saw  him  fall.  Seaman  of  the  same  company  was 
shot  and  died  from  the  effects  of  a  hip  amputation  the  next 
day. 

Chas.  V.  Peck  was  struck  on  the  tcp  of  his  head,  and  with 
the  brain  open  to  the  air,  was  living  yet  at  the  close  of  the 
battle. 

Those  who  were  either  killed  on  the  field  or  died  from 
wounds  soon  after,  numbered  twelve,  while  the  killed  and 
wounded  were  sixty. 

\V.  B.  Howe,  of  Company  E,  had  four  fingers  shot  off  of 
one  hand  and  three  off  of  the  other.  Just  twenty-six  years 
from  that  day,  he  was  instantly  killed  by  an  engine  in 
Chicago. 

Ed.  Sheehey,  of  Company  H,  seemed  not  to  have  any 
sense  of  danger.  He  was  in  the  house  ;  he  shuffled  his  feet 
and  sang  and  swore  in  the  thickest  of  the  fight. 

After  we  had  fought  some  time  and  our  ammunition  was 
about  all  gone,  some  New  York  troops  were  ordered  in  as  a 
support  or  a  relief.  But  they  only  came  in  to  get  many  killed 
and  wounded.  We  had  fought  our  way  in  and  could  hold  the 
ground  with  less  loss  than  any  other  body  of  troops. 

We  learn  that  the  reason  for  crowding  so  closely  and 
strongly  on  the  gap  was  the  hope  of  breaking  through  the 
lines  before  the  enemy  could  get  out  of  the  wray  on  the  other 
side,  and  then  be  compelled  to  lose  heavily  in  war  material,  if 
not  in  men.  It  failed.  Another  way  would  have  been  better  ; 
fewer  men  would  have  been  sacrificed. 

In  this  house  in  the  gap  a  family  lived.  They  were  in  the 
cellar  while  the  battle  was  on,  and  made  their  appearance  at 
the  close  of  it.  There  was  an  able-bodied  man  in  the  number. 
He  claimed  to  be  innocent,  but  he  was  counted  among  the 
prisoners  and  given  a  free  ride  North. 


388  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT. 

The  woman  of  the  house  scolded  freely  for  making  her 
feather  bed  bloody  from  Captain  Blanchard's  wound. 

FLYING  DUTCHMAN.  + 

A  graphic  account  is  given  of  Captain  Landgraber  getting 
up  his  battery  to  our  relief.  He  got  within  sound  of  our  firing, 
but  the  road  was  filled  so  that  he  could  not  pass.  But  he  was 
wild  to  go  to  the  front.  He  dashed  fiercely  about  until  he  got 
the  order  to  give  him  the  road.  His  men  were  mounted,  and 
he  was  known  as  the  "  Flying  Dutchman."  He  fairly  won 
the  title,  both  by  his  action  in  putting  his  battery  in  position 
at  Vicksburg,  and  by  his  conduct  on  this  day.  As  soon  as  he 
secured  the  right  of  way,  he  fairly  flew  along  that  stony  road, 
bidding  it  to  be  cleared  for  his  men.  He  said,  "  Oh  my  Gott, 
the  Twelfth  Missouri  and  Thirteenth  Illinois  are  being  killed, 
and  I  am  not  there  to  help  them."  These  two  regiments  had 
won  his  special  affection. 

Then  came  the  word,  "Forward."  Then  the  spurs  and 
whips  were  applied  until  those  guns  fairly  flew  to  pieces  as 
they  went  sounding  over  those  rough  roads.  Coming  to  the 
Chickamauga  creek,  the  speed  was  not  slackened.  As  they 
passed  through  the  creek  the  water  flew  as  if  a  cyclone  had 
gone  by.  A  few  moments  more,  and  some  of  the  guns  were  in 
our  rear  and  sending  shells  over  our  heads  and  into  the  ene 
my's  lines  that  made  music  to  us  sweeter  than  the  notes  of  the 
dulcimer.  Two  twenty-pound  Parrotts  came  up  and  joined  in 
the  song  of  relief. 

The  guns  of  Semple's  rebel  battery  commanded  by  Lieu 
tenant  Goldwaite  were  withdrawn  about  i  p.  m.;  but  they 
had  held  the  ground  long  enough  to  keep  us  from  securing 
much  of  the  train.  The  battle  was  over. 


CHAPTER     XXVIII. 


WE  CLOSED  1862  AMID  SLAUGHTER  AND  DEFEAT;  AND  NOW, 
WITH  NO  LESS  CARNAGE,  1863  CURTAINS  OUR  ARMY 
WITH  PROUD  VICTORY. 

HE    enemy   having    retreated,    we    gathered 
ourselves  together  to  sorrowfully  look  upon 
our  dead  and  care  for  the  wounded,   as  best 
we  could.     One  of  the  boys  lay  behind  the 
old  corn-crib  or  barn  near  the  creek,  bloody 
from   head    to  foot,    having   been  struck  six  times  ; 
twice  with   grape-shot   and  four   times  with   bullets. 
Some  of  these  wounds  were  made  as   he  lay  on  the 
ground  helpless.     He  died  the  next  day. 

There  was  an  old  horse  standing  in  the  wagon  shed.  He 
was  first  hit  and  one  leg  was  broken,  then  another,  and  then 
a  third  ;  and  then  the  poor  old  fellow  dropped.  The  pig  in 
the  sty  was  shot  by  his  own  pen,  but  shot  by  our  men. 
Chaplain  Needham,  brave  as  the  bravest,  collected  the 
ambulance  corps  and  went  into  the  thickest  of  the  battle  to 
carry  the  wounded  off.  While  doing  so,  one  of  the  bearers 
was  wounded  and  had  to  be  carried  off.  The  Colonel  then 
forbade  his  taking  such  risks,  telling  him  to  wait  until  the 
battle  was  over. 

The  writer  of  these  events  fought  from  the  house  in  the 
gap.  And  while  doing  so  knocked  out  a  piece  of  a  clapboard 
from  the  kitchen  so  as  to  have  a  place  to  fire  from.  Seven 
teen  years  later  he  passed  through  the  town  and  gap  on  a 
railroad  train.  The  only  change  noticeable  in  the  house  was 

389 


390  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

that  the  board  was  tacked  on  again  temporarily.     The  South 
does  not  rush  in  improvements. 

We  moved  back  across  the  creek  near  the  ford  and  went 
into  camp.  The  body  of  Major  BushnelTwas  taken  with  us 
and  kept  in  camp  during  the  night.  Sergeant  Harvey  was 
detailed  to  take  the  body  to  his  old  home  in  Sterling,  Illinois, 
for  burial.  He  started  the  next  day.  The  wounded  that 
could  bear  moving  were  removed  to  Chattanooga  hospital. 

Two  things  were  now  to  be  thought  of  by  the  command 
ing  General.  The  one  was  to  pursue  Bragg's  army  and  the 
other  was  to  send  relief  to  General  Burnside,  who  was 
besieged  in  Knoxville  by  General  Longstreet's  army. 

Could  both  be  done  to  advantage  ?  General  Grant  decided 
he  could  not  do  both  well,  and  so  he  decided  to  save  Burnside  if 
possible,  and  in  doing  so  save  East  Tennessee  to  our  armies. 
A  consideration  to  this  last  was  our  lack  of  supplies  to  follow 
farther. 

The  pursuit  of  Bragg  was  given  up  and  the  forces  turned 
toward  Knoxville  with  General  Sherman's  command. 

General  Grant  says  in  his  report  at  the  time  "  I  returned 
from  the  front  on  the  28th.  I  found  Granger  had  not  got  off. 
Besides  he  moved  reluctantly  and  with  complaints.  I  deter 
mined  therefore,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  two  divisions 
of  Sherman's  forces  had  marched  from  Memphis  and  had  gone 
into  battle  immediately  on  the  arrival  at  Chattanooga,  to  send 
him  with  his  command  to  do  the  work,  and  orders  in  accord 
ance  therewith  were  sent  to  him  at  Calhoun,  to  assume  com 
mand  of  the  troops  with  Granger,  in  addition  to  those  with 
him,  and  proceed  with  all  possible  dispatch  to  the  relief  of 
Burnside. 

Sherman  succeeded  in  getting  to  Knoxville  in  time  to 
relieve  Burnside. 

Before  going  further,  I  will  introduce  the  casualties  as 
reported.  First,  by  General  Grant  for  our  whole  army. 
Second,  by  General  Bragg  for  the  Confederate  army.  Third, 
that  for  our  army  corps.  Fourth,  that  for  our  division. 

What  next?     On  November  27th,  from  Grayville,  Georgia, 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY.  391 

General  Sherman's  Adjutant- General  writes  to  General  O.  O. 
Howard  : 

GENERAL  :  General  Sherman  visited  General  Grant  to-day  at  Ring- 
gold  by  appointment,  and  the  following  movements  were  ordered. 
After  the  destruction  of  a  section  of  the  railroad  from  Dalton  to  Cleve 
land  by  your  corps,  the  army  will  return  to  its  original  camps  at  or  near 
Chattanooga  by  way  of  Chickamauga  depot. 

To-morrow  the  Fifteenth  Corps  will  destroy  the  railroad  and  all  the 
property  of  use  to  an  enemy  in  this  neighborhood,  and  General  Hook 
er's  command  will  in  like  manner  destroy  that  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Riuggold,  and  as  soon  as  advised  of  your  arrival  at  Parker's  Gap,  the 
General  will  make  the  necessary  orders  for  the  general  movement  back 
to  Chattanooga. 

By  order  of  MAJOR-GENERAI,  W.  T.  SHERMAN. 

It  will  not  be  out  of  place  to  record  here  the  good  words 
said  by  the  several  generals  of  our  regiment  and  its  conduct 
during  the  campaign. 

General  Hooker  says  of  the  fight  at  Ringgold  :  "The  only 
way  to  ascertain  the  enemy's  strength  was  to  feel  him,  and  as 
our  success  if  prompt  would  be  crowned  with  a  rich  harvest 
of  material,  without  waiting  for  my  artillery,  the  skirmishers 
advanced.  A  brisk  musketry  fire  began  between  the  skir 
mishers.  At  the  same  time  the  enemy  kept  his  skirmishers 
at  work.  The  Thirteenth  Illinois  Regiment  from  the  right 
of  Woods'  brigade  was  thrown  forward  to  seize  houses  from 
which  gunners  could  be  picked  off  by  our  men.  These 
were  heroically  taken,  and  held  by  that  brave  regiment.  Ap 
prehensive  that  he  might  lose  his  artillery,  the  enemy  ad 
vanced  with  a  superior  force  on  our  skirmishers,  and  they  fell 
back  of  Woods'  line,  when  that  excellent  officer  drove  them 
into  the  gorge,  and  they  left  their  dead  and  wounded  on  the 
ground.  Our  skirmishers  at  once  re-occupied  their  line,  the 
Thirteenth  Illinois  all  the  time  maintaining  its  position  with 
resolution  and  obstinacy." 

It  was  reported  current  in  camp  after  the  battle,  that 
wrhile  Generals  Hooker  and  Osterhaus  stood  behind  the  stone 
depot,  General  Hooker  had  said  with  much  feeling,  that  he 


392  HISTORY    OF   THE    THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

feared  the  Thirteenth  Illinois  and  the  Twelfth  Missouri  would 
give  way  under  such  fierce  firing,  before  the  artillery  could 
come  up  in  support.  General  Osterhaus  had  replied  with 
much  assurance,  "  General,  you  never  mind,  I  know  those 
men,  and  they  never  give  back,"  and  that  General  Hooker 
had  turned  away  with  impatience. 

General  Osterhaus  says,  "  While  Colonel  Cramer's  line  of 
skirmishers  drove  the  rebels  back  on  their  main  line,  and  ad 
vanced  beyond  the  railroad,  General  Woods  received  orders 
to  deploy  the  Thirteenth  Illinois  and  the  Third  and  Twelfth 
Missouri  regiments  on  the  line  just  vacated  by  Colonel 
Cramer.  The  enemy's  artillery  was  placed  at  short-range  in 
the  gap,  and,  partly  shielded  by  undergrowth  and  young  pine 
trees,  kept  up  a  most  galling  fire.  He  fired  mostly  grape  and 
canister.  *  •  #  #  #  At  the  same  time  I  ordered  the 
Thirteenth  Illinois  Infantry  (which  held  the  extreme  right) 
to  advance  rapidly  over  an  open  field  to  a  few  houses  in  front. 
By  these  movements  I  concentrated  a  converging  fire  on  the 
enemy's  artillery,  which  I  hoped  to  secure  by  driving  off  the 
enemy's  cannoneers  and  supports. 

^The  Thirteenth  Illinois  Infantry  executed  the  order  in  mag 
nificent  style.  They  charged  through  a  hail-storm  of  bullets, 
and  gained  the  position  assigned  to  them  and  held  it.  Al 
though  the  rebels  poured  a  most  murderous  fire  on  these 
brave  men  from  the  gorge  in  front  and  the  hill  on  the  right, 
the  Thirteenth  remained  undaunted,  keeping-  up  a  vehement 
fire. 

"  I  beg  leave  to  call  your  attention  to  the  very  heavy  per 
centage  of  losses  among  the  officers,  and  I  can  not  pass  over 
the  fact  without  expressing  the  highest  praise  for  their  energy, 
valor  and,  in  fact,  every  virtue  which  honors  a  good  soldier. 
To  name  those  who  behaved  most  gallantly,  is  the  next  thing 
to  an  impossibility,  as  I  feel  under  obligations  to  every  one, 
officers  and  men.  They  were  all  ready  to  do  their  duty,  and 
they  did  it  nobly  and  well  under  the  most  trying  circumstances. 
I  take  pleasure,  however,  in  recapitulating  from  the  reports  of 
my  brigade  commanders  the  names  they  mention  ;  The  heroic 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY. 


393 


Colonel  Wangelin,  of  the  Twelfth  Missouri,  who  lost  his  right 
arm.  lieutenant-Colonel  Partridge,  of  the  Thirteenth  Illinois, 
who  lost  part  of  his  left  hand.  The  lamented  Major  Bushnell, 
of  the  Thirteenth  Illinois,  who  sacrificed  his  life,  and  Captain 
Walter  Blanchard,  of  the  Thirteenth  Illinois,  who  lost  his  leg 
and  a  week  later  yielded  his  life.  Also  Captain  Beardsley, 
of  the  Thirteenth  Illinois,  who  was  badly  wounded  in  the 
arm." 

Gen.  Chas.  R.  Woods,  commander  of  our  brigade,  says  : 
"The  fighting  on  the  extreme  right  was  severe,  77?^  Thir 
teenth  Illinois  Infantry  firing  one  hundred  rounds  of  cartridges 
per  man,  besides  taking  all  the  ammunition  from  their  killed 
and  wounded  in  order  to  hold  their  position''1 


CASUALTIES   FOR  THE   UNION   AND   CONFEDERATE    FORCES,   NOVEMBER 

23   TO    27. 


CAPTURED 

KILLED. 

WOUNDED. 

OR 

MISSING. 

a 

n 

<L> 

V 

G 

£ 

8 

X 

C 

t« 

z 

g. 

0 

_ 

0 

•c 

0 

r^ 

s 

u 

u 

rg 

60 

0 

.2 
"c 

O 

3 

O 

I 

60 

Casualties  for  the  Union  forces  Nov.  23d  to  27. 
"      "     Confederate    " 

69      684 

395      4.329 

27    322 

15.824 

Killed. 

Wounded. 

Missing. 

361 

2,180 

4.146 

General  Grant  reports  there  were  captured  6,142  Prisoners. 

7,000  Stand  of  arms. 
40  Cannon. 


CASUALTIES   IN   THE   FIFTEENTH   ARMY   CORPS. 


First  Division 

69 

364 

66               497 

Second  Division  . 
Third  Division 

10 

89 

90 

288 

2                      102 

122               499 

Fourth  Division  . 

72 

535 

21               628 

Total  loss  in 

Fifteenth  Army  Corps. 

238 

1,277 

211             '      1,726 

394 


HISTORY   OF  THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 


Return  of  Casualties  in  the  First  Division  of  the  Fifteenth  Army 
Corps,  Nov.  23d  to  Nov.  27th,  1863— General  P.  J.  Osterhaus,  command 
ing. 

COMMAND. —  FIRST     DIVISION.        BRIGADIER-GENERAL,  P.   J.  OSTERHAUS. 
First  Brigade.    Brigadier-General  Charles  R.  Woods. 


KILLED. 

WOUNDED. 

CAPTURED 
OR 
MISSING. 

TOTAL. 

Thirteenth  Illinois  Infantry  
Third  Missouri  Infantry    
Twelfth  Missouri  Infantry    
Seventeenth  Missouri   Infantry 
Twenty-seventh  Missouri  Infantry  .   . 
Twentv-ninth  .Missouri  Infantry    
Thirty-first  Missouri   Infantry    

Off. 

i 

i 

i 

2 

Men. 
3 

4 

2 
2 

16 

Off 

7 

4 
3 

5 

a 

Men. 

51 
7 
'9 
ii 

10 

19 
19 

2 
40 

Off. 

I 

I 
2 

Men. 

3 

26 
6 

2 

63 

7 
27 

20 
13 

54 
28 

2 
63 

Thirty-second  Missouri  Infantry    
Seventy-sixth  Ohio  Infantry    

Totals 

5        28 

25        118 

4        37 

277 

Second  Brigade.     Colonel  J.  A.  Williamson. 


KILLED. 

WOUNDED. 

CAPTURED 
OR 
MISSING. 

TOTAL. 

Off 

Men. 

Off 

Men. 

Off 

Men. 

Fourth  Iowa  Infantry 

I 

36 

2 

49 

Ninth  Iowa  Infantry  "   

12 

15 

Twenty-fifth  Iowa  Infantry  

9 

7 

22 

29 

Twenty-sixth  Iowa  Infantry  
Thirtieth  Iowa  Infantry  

3 

4 
i 

12 
22 

16 

27 

Thirty-first  Iowa  Infantry   .   .   . 

i 

16 

19 

Totals    

I 

18 

H 

120 

2 

155 

Total  First  Division. 


KILLED. 

WOUNDED. 

CAPTURED 
OR 
MISSING. 

TOTAL. 

Totals    

Off. 

6 

Men.  |  Off. 

46    '39 

Men    ;0ff.    Men 

298       \  4         39 

432 

A   GREAT   WORK    DONE. 

A  great  work  had  just  been  done,  first  in  the  relief  of  our 
beleaguered  armies  in  Chattanooga  and  Knoxville,  and  second 
in  the  decisive  blow  to  the  Confederate  armies,  as  that  they  were 
not  only  driven  back  with  great  losses,  but  compelled  to 
change  commanders.  Even  though  they  made  a  change  for 
the  better,  yet  it  is  a  blow  to  an  army  to  have  so  much  dissat 
isfaction  as  to  be  compelled  to  change  leaders,  either  before  or 
after  a  battle.  It  was  a  strength  to  our  Western  arms  that 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  395 

Grant  and  Sherman  from  Shiloh  to  the  end  of  the  war  went 
up  together.  In  view  of  the  work  done  and  advantage  gained, 
congratulations  were  now  in  order. 

From  Washington,  D.  C.,  came  the  following  dispatch  : 

Major-General  GRANT  : 

Understanding  that  your  lodgment  at  Chattanooga  and  Knoxville 
are  now  secure,  I  wish  to  tender  you  and  all  under  your  command  my 
more  than  thanks,  my  profoundest  gratitude  for  the  skill,  courage  and 
perseverance  with  which  you  and  they,  over  so  great  difficulties,  have 
effected  that  important  object.  God  bless  you  all. 

A.  LINCOLN. 

When  Congress  assembled  it  passed  two  joint  resolutions 
of  thanks.  The  first  addressed  to  General  Grant  and  the 
army  under  him,  accompanied  by  a  medal,  and  a  second  to 
General  Sherman. 

As  we  bore  a  very  honorable  part  as  a  regiment  in  this 
campaign,  for  which  these  thanks  were  offered,  we  may  here 
insert  them  as  being  addressed  to  us. 

The  text  of  the  first  is  as  follows  : 

Be  it  resolred  by  the  Senate  and  the  House  of  Representatives  of  the 
United  States  of  America  in   Congress  assembled  : 

That  the  thanks  of  Congress  be,  and  they  hereby  are  presented  to 
Major-Genera  1  Ulysses  S.  Grant,  and  through  him  to  the  officers  and 
soldiers  who  have  fought  under  his  command  during  the  rebellion,  for 
their  gallantry  and  good  conduct  in  the  battles  in  which  they  have  been 
engaged.  And  that  the  President  of  the  United  States,  be  requested  to 
cause  a  gold  medal  to  be  struck  with  suitable  emblems  and  devices  and 
inscriptions  to  be  presented  to  Major-General  Grant. 

And  be  it  further  resolved,  That  when  the  said  medal  shall  have 
been  struck,  the  President  shall  cause  a  copy  of  this  joint  resolution  to 
be  engrossed  on  parchment,  and  shall  transmit  the  same  together  with 
the  said  medal,  to  Major-General  Grant,  to  be  presented  to  him  in  the 
name  of  the  people  of  the  United  States  of  America. 

SCHUYLER  COLFAX, 

Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives. 
HANNIBAL  HAMLIN, 

Vice-Presideut  and  President  of  the  Senate. 

A.  LINCOLN. 


396  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

The  second,  a  tender  of  thanks  to  General  W.  T.  Sherman, 
was  as  follows  : 

Be  it  resolved  by  the  Senate  and  the  House  of  Representatives  of  the 

United  States  of  America  in  Congress  Assembled  : 

That  the  thanks  of  Congress  and  the  people  of  the  United  States  are 
due,  and  the  same  are  hereby  tendered  to  Major-General  W.  T.  Sherman, 
Commander  of  the  Army  of  the  Tennessee,  and  the  officers  and  soldiers 
who  served  under  him  for  their  gallant  and  arduous  services  in  marching 
to  the  relief  of  the  Army  of  the  Cumberland,  and  for  their  gallantry  and 
heroism  in  the  battle  of  Chattanooga,  which  contributed  in  a  great  de 
gree  to  the  success  of  our  army  in  that  glorious  victory. 

GENERAL  HOOKER'S  FREE  LANCE. 

The  following  extract  from  a  letter  written  by  General 
Hooker  to  Salmon  P.  Chase,  at  that  time  secretary  of  the 
treasury,  shows  that  the  general  was  on  horseback  thrusting 
his  lance  right  and  left.  It  also  incidentally  brings  out  one  of 
the  weak  points  in  the  carrying  on  of  war,  viz.,  the  ambition 
and  spirit  of  jealousy  held  among  the  officers. 

He  says  :  "I  wrote  you  hastily  from  Ringgold,  and  in  my 
letter  intimated  that  the  battle  just  ended  had  developed  and 
closed  differently  from  what  was  designed,  so  far  as  concerned 
the  operation  of  my  column.  #  #  #  #  By  the  first  order 
that  unceremoniously  deprived  me  of  the  Eleventh  corps,  you 
will  perceive  that  the  strategy  and  tactics  of  the  campaign 
were  to  throw  it  into  the  hands  of  Sherman,  to  my  exclusion. 
On  receiving  this  order  I  said  to  General  Thomas,  that  it  was 
my  practice  to  accompany  that  part  of  my  command  going 
into  battle,  and  that  if  he  had  no  objection  I  would  go  with 
the  Eleventh  corps  to  Chattanooga,  to  which  he  assented  and 
said  that  he  would  be  glad  to  have  me  do  so.  You  will  ob 
serve  that  the  attack  was  ordered  to  be  on  Saturday,  the  iQth. 
At  this  time  the  greater  part  of  the  troops  to  whom  the  duty 
was  assigned,  were  at  Bridgeport,  certainly  two  good  marches 
distant.  Of  course  they  were  not  on  hand,  at  the  appointed 
time,  and  the  movement  that  was  intended  more  or  less  to  be  a 
surprise,  was  postponed,  first,  until  the  next  day  (Sunday), 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY.  397 

and  again  until  the  following  Tuesday.  You  will  rightly 
conclude  that  these  delays  extinguished  all  hopes  of  taking 
the  enemy  unawares.  *  *  *  Meanwhile  I  received  a  re 
quest  from  General  Thomas  to  remain  in  Lookout  Valley.  I 
presume  for  the  reason  that  he  expected  some  demonstration 
of  the  enemy  in  this  direction,  as  at  the  time  of  making  the 
order  it  was  not  known  that  any  force  would  be  left  me  to 
make  any  aggressive  movement.  The  thing  began  to  look 
squally  for  me;  I  said  to  Butterfield  it  was  cut  and  dried  for 
me  to  be  a  spectator  to  the  fight,  but  I  thought  I  would  have 
a  toe  in  the  stirrup,  somehow,  before  it  was  over ;  that  it  had 
been  my  fortune  to  take  a  leading  part  in  every  battle  except 
that  of  the  first  Malvern  from  the  beginning  of  the  rebellion  ; 
that  man  proposed  and  God  disposed  in  the  matter  of  battles, 
and  went  about  my  business,  obeying  orders  as  usual  to  the 
best  of  my  ability. 

"  Monday  night  came  and  found  three  of  Sherman's  divis 
ions  over  the  bridge  at  Brown's  Ferry,  when,  lo  and  behold  ! 
the  pontoon  parted  and  left  Osterhaus's  division  on  my  side  in 
Lookout  Valley.  Near  midnight  I  received  orders  that  in  the 
event  that  the  division  could  not  cross  that  night,  I  would  con 
sider  it  of  my  command  and  attack  Lookout  Mountain.  You 
know  the  rest,  That  day  I  crossed  Lookout  and  the  night 
of  that  day  and  the  following  morning,  Sherman  crossed  the 
Tennessee  writh  his  command. 

"All  of  Sherman's  attacks  were  made  after  I  carried  Look 
out  which  enabled  me  to  command  the  enemy's  defense  across 
Chattanooga  Valley,  and  which  my  success  had  compelled 
him  to  abandon.  This  attack  on  the  left  after  I  had  taken 
Lookout,  can  only  be  considered  in  the  light  of  a  disaster. 

"  Sherman  is  an  active,  energetic  officer,  but  in  judgment  is 
as  infirm  as  Burnside.  He  will  never  be  successful.  Please 
remember  what  I  tell  you.  It  was  natural  for  Grant  to  feel 
partial  to  his  old  companions  and  do  all-  possible  to  enhance 
their  renown  ;  nevertheless  you  will  appreciate  my  nervous 
ness  in  being  placed  in  a  situation  in  wrhich  this  partiality 
was  manifest  wholly  at  my  expense.  (It  was  clear  in  this 


398  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

case  and  I  suppose  in  too  many  other  cases  beside,  '  personal 
renown  '  was  put  first,  and  the  cause  of  the  Union  second.) 

"  I  will  do  Grant  the  justice  to  believe  that  he  was  honestly 
of  the  opinion  that  the  plan  he  adopted  was  the  most  likely  to 
secure  the  success  of  our  arms.  He  aimed  for  the  battle  to 
commence  and  end  on  the  left,  while  it  commenced  and  ended 
on  the  right.  I  am  informed  that  he  has  since  said,  '  Damn 
the  battle,  I  had  nothing  to  do  with  it  ! ' 

"The  day  after  Lookout,  I  encountered  the  rebels  on  Mis 
sionary  Ridge,  when  my  disposition  and  their  executions  were 
extremely  gratifying  to  me.  At  Ringgold  I  was  fairly  up 
with  the  tail  end  of  the  enemy's  column.  My  losses  in  all 
three  operations  will  be  near  eleven  hundred  men.  I  took 
upward  of  four  thousand  prisoners,  eight  pieces  of  artillery, 
eight  stand  of  colors  and  a  large  lot  of  small  arms,  etc. 

"  The  troops  were  wrought  up  to  an  intense  degree  of  excite 
ment,  and  I  believe  there  is  no  one  of  them  from  the  highest 
to  the  lowest,  who  will  not  say  those  four  days  were  not  only 
the  most  eventful,  but  the  happiest  of  their  lives.  We  started 
out  with  two  days'  rations,  but  that  was  enough.  We  lived 
on  excitement.  My  command  consisted  of  detachments  of  all 
the  armies,  and  they  met  for  the  first  time  on  the  morning  of 
the  advancement  on  Lookout.  I  was  convinced  with  the  force 
I  there  had,  it  was  in  my  power  to  follow  the  army  until  I 
captured  or  destroyed  it. 

"The  pursuit,  however,  was  suspended  for  the  reason, -I 
believe,  that  the  commanding  general  had  not  sufficient  confi 
dence  in  the  opinion  of  Burnside  as  to  the  impregnability  of 
his  position  at  Knoxville  to  leave  him  to  take  care  of  himself 
till  I  could  take  care  of  Bragg' s  army.  He  might  have  been 
influenced  by  considerations  of  which  I  have  no  knowledge. 
I  only  know  that  here  the  pursuit  ended.  #  #  #  *  I  re 
gret  that  Sherman  should  have  returned  from  Knoxville  until 
Longstreet  was  driven  so  far  into  North  Carolina  that  return 
would  be  impossible.  I  am  of  the  opinion  that  he  will  rejoin 
Bragg's  army  by  the  road  through  the  mountain  leading  from 
Raleigh.  This  will  surely  be  his  course  if  an  advance  is 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY.  399 

looked  for  from  here,  but  we  are  in  no  condition  to  advance, 
and  if  no  improvement  is  made  in  our  communications,  we 
never  can. 

"  I  spoke  about  the  raising  of  negro  troops  in  "Kentucky 
and  Tennessee,  and  mentioned  General  Butterfield  in  connec 
tion  with  it,  only  for  the  reason  that  I  know  of  no  officer  who 
would  accomplish  so  much  in  so  short  a  time.  His  forte  is 
dispatch  and  completeness  of  organization.  He  will  accom 
plish  more  in  one  day  than  most  men  can  in  ten.  *  *  *  * 
I  have  become  so  sick  of  the  war,  that  I  desire  nothing  so 
much  as  its  termination.  *  *  *  * 

"  If  my  services  in  this  rebellion  do  not  merit  reward,  they 
certainly  have  been  such  as  to  shield  me  from  punishment. 

"  Many  of  my  juniors  are  in  the  exercise  of  independent 
commands,  while  I  am  here  \vith  more  rank  piled  on  top  of  me 
than  a  man  can  well  stand  up  under,  with  a  corporal's  guard, 
comparatively,  for  a  command.  You  can  not  wonder  at  my 
desire  to  have  the  war  come  to  a  close,  irrespective  of  the 
country  and  the  cause.  I  see  that  they  are  pitching  into 
Mead  on  all  sides.  I  lost  my  confidence  in  him  when  he 
allowed  Lee  to  escape.  I  thought  well  of  him  as  a  corps 
commander,  and  never  doubted  that  he  would  do  as  well  in 
command  of  an  army  upon  him.  He  is  a  small  craft  and  carries 
no  ballast.  The  report  of  our  veteran  General-in-Chief  reads 
well  and,  if  true,  would  be  a  good  one. 

"  Grant  swears  he  had  no  orders  to  disobey  in  his  campaign 
of  Vicksburg,  and  I  know  that  I  was  sent  here,  not  to  protect, 
but  to  open  communications  with  Rosecran's  army.  Since  I 
have  been  in  the  West  I  have  made  the  acquaintance  of  a 
glorious  soldier,  and  that  is  General  Osterhaus.  He  is  going 
East  in  a  few  days  and  I  hope  you  will  have  an  opportunity 
of  seeing  him.  If  I  may  except  the  Prince  de  Joinville,  he  is 
the  best  representative  of  the  European  service  it  has  been  my 
fortune  to  become  acquainted  with.  He  commanded  a  Division 
on  my  last  campaign  and  I  speak  from  a  full  knowledge  of  his 
admirable  mode  of  governing  men,  and  his  splendid  conduct 
on  the  field.  No  mistake  can  be  made  in  making  such  men 


400  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

Major- Generals,  nor  in  unmaking  many  that  we  have.  *  *  *  * 
With  regard  to  myself,  until  I  fell  into  command  of  the  Army 
of  the  Potomac,  I  had  a  good  character,  and  so  far  as  I  know 
I  have  since,  and  as  I  am  not  conscious  ef  any  change  in 
myself,  I  conclude  I  was  mistaken  for  the  office,  and  that  it 
was  the  latter  that  committed  all  the  offenses  against  high 
heaven.  Our  Savior  was  calumniated  while  on  earth,  and  if 
people  have  grown  wiser  since,  I  doubt  if  they  are  better." 

ON    THE    BACK   TRACK. 

Following  the  battle  of  Ringgold,  the  days  and  the  nights 
were  very  cold,  so  much  so  that  many  of  the  men  suffered  and 
could  not  sleep,  as  we  had  no  shelter.  The  badly  wounded 
were  either  put  on  flat-cars  and  the  cars  pushed  by  hand  to 
Chattanooga,  or  carried  on  stretchers.  Captain  Blanchard 
was  carried  by  his  men  some  sixteen  miles  to  a  hospital  near 
Chattanooga.  We  laid  in  camp  near  Ringgold  for  three  days 
after  the  battle,  when  the  following  orders  came  and  set  us 
going  again. 

On  November  joth  General  Hooker  ordered  that  his  com 
mand  move  on  the  day  following,  in  following  order  :  General 
Cruft's  Division  was  to  move  at  2  a.  m.  and  return  to  its  camp 
on  the  road  to  Bridgeport, 

General  Garey's  Division  to  move  at  2:30  a.  m.  returning 
to  his  camp  in  Lookout  Valley. 

General  Osterhaus's  Division  to  follow  General  Garey's 
and  encamp  in  Chattanooga  Valley,  between  Rossville  and 
Chattanooga,  and  report  to  General  Grant  for  instructions. 
The  baggage  and  wagons  to  start  as  soon  as  the  moon  was  up. 

General  Garey  was  to  destroy  all  the  mills,  railroad  depots, 
tanneries  and  the  two  bridges  across  the  Chickamauga  Creek 
before  leaving. 

December  i si,  at  4  p.  m.,  we  were  moving  back  over  the 
road  we  had  come,  and  in  the  evening  after  marching  fourteen 
miles,  camped  between  Missionary  Ridge  and  Lookout  Mount 
ain.  The  4th  we  made  our  way  to  Whiteside  station,  and  on 


ILLINOIS    VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY.  401 

the  evening  of  the  5th,  we  camped  near  Bridgeport,  having 
crossed  the  Tennessee  again. 

We  remained  in  camp  at  this  place  trying  to  keep  warm 
and  only  doing  those  things  essential  to  camp  welfare,  until 
December  2ist,  when  we  were  on  the  move  again.  Camped 
the  first  night  at  Stevenson,  and  then  had  to  await  the  work 
of  the  pioneer  corps  ;  they  had  to  make  roads  for  the  teams 
and  artillery  to  reach  the  high  and  more  solid  road  near  the 
foot  of  the  mountain.  These  roads  and  the  work  that  had  to 
be  done  to  make  them  passable  would  seem  appalling  to  men 
not  used  to  the  work.  I  remember  in  a  special  way  the  piece 
of  road  fitted  up  at  this  time.  They  first  cut  logs  about  two 
feet  thick  and  laid  them  side  by  side.  On  these  were  laid 
logs  about  a  foot  thick,  and  on  these  poles  of  a  smaller  size 
and  brush,  in  order  to  hold  up  the  teams  from  sinking,  and 
this  had  to  be  done  not  only  for  a  narrow  stream,  but  for 
many  rods  together  before  an}7  advance  could  be  made  at  all. 

On  December  2^.th  we  were  on  the  road  again,  and  a  tramp 
of  twelve  miles  brought  us  near  Bellefonte. 

Christmas  came,  cold  and  cloudy  and  we  celebrated  the 
day  by  a  tramp  of  sixteen  miles  over  a  rough  road  and  put  up 
for  the  night  in  the  vicinity  of  the  City  of  Larkinsville  Ala 
bama.  The  hotel  accommodations  not  being  such  as  we 
approved,  we  rolled  up  in  our  blankets  and  looked  up  at  the 
twinkling  stars  until  they  put  us  to  sleep. 

After  a  rainy  night  and  on  a  rainy  morning  we  moved  on 
our  way  to  the  West ;  our  march,  in  this  particular,  that 
p  irt  of  the  day  we  took  the  railroad  track  leaving  the  more 
common  road  to  the  wagon  trains  and  artillery.  We  moved 
on  this  way  for  about  ten  miles  and  at  3  p.  m.  went  into  camp 
at  Woodville,  a  small  railroad  station. 

We  remained  here  the  remaining  days  of  the  year,  all  of 
which  were  cold  and  wet  and  disagreeable.  It  was  during 
this  weak  that  the  order  was  read  to  us,  which  was  a  call  for 
the  older  troops  to  re-enlist  as  veterans  ;  with  the  re-enlist 
ment  was  included  a  bounty  and  a  thirty  days'  furlough. 


402  HISTORY   OF  THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

Many  of  the  troops  which  had  served  about  two  years, 
accepted  the  proposition  and  went  in  for  the  new  term.  But 
our  regiment  did  not  take  to  it  strongly.  They  reasoned  this 

wise  :  we  have  less  than  five  months  to  serve  and  we  shall  be 

• 

free  to  go  where  we  please,  to  stay  at  home  or  join  the  service 
elsewhere.  The  number  from  the  regiment  that  fell  in  with  the 
arrangement  was  just  forty.  All  the  companies  sent  one  or 
more  except  Company  E.  The  greatest  number  (ten)  being 
from  Company  C. 


CHAPTER   XXIX. 

THE  COLD  NEW  YEAR  1864. — WINTER  QUARTERS  AT  WOOU- 
VILLE,  ALABAMA.  —  GUARDING  RAILROADS. — BATTLES 
OVER. — SERVICE  ENDED. — GOING  HOME. 

"THAT    COLD   NEW   YEAR." 

N  New  Year's  eve  there  came  a  remarkable 
change  in  the  weather.  In  a  very  few  min 
utes  the  wind  began  coming  down  the  gorge 
with  a  most  mournful  whistling  noise.  The 
tents  that  were  wet  from  the  hard  rains 
froze  stiff  in  a  short  time  and  in  some  cases  were 
blown  down.  Later  it  began  to  snow.  It  was  a  night 
long  to  be  remembered.  Not  only  at  that  locality,  but 
all  over  the  United  States  the  cold  prevailed  to  an  alarming 
degree.  Railroad  trains  were  stopped  and  people  were  frozen 
on  the  trains.  In  many  sections  people  who  were  caught  out 
perished,  and  stock  of  all  kinds  and  fowls  were  frozen  to 
death. 

It  is  known  in  the  calendar  as  "that  terrible  cold  New 
Year's  day."  We  lived  through  the  night  and  then  as  early 
as  possible  filled  ourselves  up  with  hot  coffee  and  hard-tack. 
Many  of  the  boys  gathered  among  the  rocks  on  the  hillside 
and  built  large  fires  of  dry  cedar. 

IN   WINTER   QUARTERS. 

January  sd  we  moved  about  two  miles  ;  near  Paint  Rock 
river  and  bridge,  and  camped  in  a  beech  grove  at  the  south 

403 


404  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

foot  of  a  hill.  I  think  this  was  one  of  our  best  camps.  The 
boys  understood  that  this  was  to  be  our  camp  for  the  winter, 
and  they  at  once  set  about  making  themselves  as  comfortable 
as  possible.  Some  contented  themselves  with  their  tents, 
made  firm  and  banked,  etc.,  but  most  of  them  set  out  to  make 
houses  of  some  kind.  The  timber  of  all  kinds  was  plentiful. 
On  one  side  of  the  camp  was  a  hill  covered  with  cedar  fallen 
down  and  dry.  This  was  used  for  wood  to  burn,  with  a 
bright  flame  and  a  crackling  noise  ;  or  on  the  other  hand 
there  was  any  quantity  of  beech  that  could  be  cut  into  logs 
and  rolled  into  the  fire-places  that  were  soon  built. 

SOME  OF  THE  DEVICES  FOR    COMFORT   AND    PASTIME. 

Many  of  the  men  proposed  to  have  genuine  log  cabins. 
They  were  either  made  from  logs  slabbed  off  or  of  poles  ; 
where  the  material  suitable  for  this  was  not  near  at  hand,  the 
mule-teams  were  brought  into  requisition  and  it  was  brought 
from  a  great  distance.  But  soon  the  regiment  fell  into  the 
shape  of  a  compact  town,  crude  enough  to  be  sure  in  appear 
ance,  but  for  all  that,  tj^e  seat  of  a  great  deal  of  comfort. 

Let  me  describe  the  erection  of  one  of  these  cabins  and  let 
that  stand  in  the  main  for  the  many  that  were  built. 

The  lot  was  pre-empted  in  the  name  of  Uncle  Sam.  It 
was  "  squatter  sovereignty."  This  cabin  was  built  and  occu 
pied  by  six  men.  It  was  twelve  feet  wide  and  sixteen  feet 
long.  To  the  back  end  of  this  the  fire-place  was  built,  con 
sisting  of  split  sticks  and  plastered  with  clay.  The  first 
thing  was  to  put  up  the  poles,  notching  them  so  that  they 
would  lay  near  together  ;  into  the  cracks  small  sticks  were 
put  and  then  daubed  with  mud. 

There  was  a  door  in  the  front  and  one  on  the  left  side  near 
the  fire-place  ;  outside  of  this  door  was  a  tent  in  which  the 
cooking  and  dish-washing  was  done.  The  front  door  was 
made  of  boards.  These  boards  had  been  "foraged"  some 
where  and  carried  for  miles.  Boards  were  not  numerous  in 
that  section.  The  hinges  were  made  of  wood.  They  were 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY.  405 

fastened  on  by  a  few  nails  secured  at  Nashville.  A  few  panes 
of  glass  were  also  imported  from  Nashville,  and  one  of  them 
was  set  in  the  door  at  the  proper  place. 

.But  now  how  were  we  to  secure  the  material  for  the  floor 
and  roof,  for  it  was  proposed  to  live  in  a  genuine  civilized 
way.  One  of  the  boys  caught  sight  of  a  cross-cut  saw  in  the 
hands  of  some  pioneer  corps.  This  was  secured  for  a  time. 
Another  found  a  piece  of  wagon  tire.  This  was  taken  to  the 
blacksmith's  and  made  into  a  "frow"  with  which  to  split 
shingles.  Some  distance  from  the  camp  a  white-oak  tree  was 
picked  out  ;  a  veritable  monarch  of  the  forest,  four  feet  thick 
and  seventy  feet  to  the  first  limbs.  It  was  attacked  and  laid 
low.  It  was  then  found  that  the  saw  was  no  longer  than  the 
tree  was  thick.  Notches  were  cut  on  each  side  and  by  slow 
work,  a  cut  was  sawed  off.  Then  came  the  splitting  into 
shingles  for  the  roof. 

Then  a  longer  cut  was  made  that  was  split  into  boards  for 
the  floor.  Then  followed  the  bedsteads  made  by  a  post 
set  upright  and  rails  set  in  the  side  of  the  bouse.  On  this 
was  laid  slats  and  long  grass,  then  the  overcoats  and  blankets 
were  added  ;  so  that  the  boys  with  a  oright  beech  fire  on  the 
hearth  were  fixed  "  as  snug  as  a  bug  in  a  rug."  But  addi 
tions  were  made  to  even  this.  Some  cut  off  logs  for  seats, 
but  some  made  the  frames  for  stools  and  seated  them  by 
weaving  elm  bark  upon  them.  Then  out  of  the  red  and  white 
cedar,  chessmen  and  checkers  were  made,  and  these  games 
were  entered  into  to  pass  away  the  long  winter  evenings,  for 
there  was  not  much  reading  material  at  land. 

The  chaplain  called  some  of  the  boys  to  his  aid  and  a  log 
cabin  was  erected  over  which  a  "  fly  "  was  spread  as  a  roof, 
a  blanket  for  a  door  and  a  small  pulpit  at  one  end,  and  a 
chapel  was  ready  for  service.  Here  the  men  so  disposed, 
gathered  for  song  and  prayer.  Here  also  the  negro  children 
were  assembled  and  taught  to  read  and  spell.  It  was 
astonishing  how  eager  the  little  fellows  were  to  learn.  They 
somehow  got  money,  and  the  chaplain  sent  to  Nashville  and 


406  HISTORY   OF   THE    THIRTEENTH   REGIMENT 

got  the  necessary  books.     They  trudged  a  couple  of  miles  to 
get  an  hour  or  two's  instruction  daily. 

• 

THE    BOYS   WITH   KNIFE   IN    HAND. 

The  guard  duty  and  drill  was  not  very  heavy,  so  that  the 
boys  had  much  leisure  time  at  their  disposal.  One  way  of 
employing  it  was  in  the  use  of  saw  and  knife  in  making  trink 
ets  of  different  kinds.  The  principal  material  was  the  laurel 
roots  that  could  be  found  on  the  cliffs  of  the  mountains. 
While  a  great  variety  of  things  were  made,  the  principal  prod 
uct  was  pipes.  These  were  made  in  great  numbers,  some 
used,  but  many  sent  home.  Some  of  them  were  beautifully 
inlaid  and  mounted.  This  certainly  was  a  very  innocent  if 
not  profitable  use  of  time. 

With  so  much  time  on  hand  many  were  the  jokes  and 
tricks  thought  out,  often  at  the  expense  of  some  of  the  offi 
cers.  As  a  variety,  a  day  was  often  spent  in  target  shooting, 
but  many  of  the  boys  felt  that  they  had  done  all  of  their 
fighting,  so  that  there  \vas  not  as  much  zest  in  this  as  at  an 
earlier  period  in  the  service. 

Frequent  foraging  expeditions  were  sent  out  at  which 
time  a  train  load  of  corn  would  be  brought  in  to  feed  the  ani 
mals,  and  along  with  these  would  either  come  hogs  that  had 
strayed  or  been  stolen.  These  trips  usually  took  the  parties 
south  toward  the  Tennessee  river. 

These  trips  while  not  considered  especially  dangerous  were 
not  without  some  danger,  so  that  it  was  wise  to  have  a  good 
guard  and  to  keep  pretty  close  together.  South  of  the  river 
was  quite  a  force  of  rebel  cavalry,  as  we  found  to  our  sorrow 
before  we  got  out  of  the  service.  Occasionally  a  descent  was 
made  and  some  one  or  more  men  picked  up.  The  trouble 
was  that  these  natives  knew  all  the  ground  and  every  path 
and  byway  that  permitted  them  to  take  full  advantage  of  any 
man  or  party  that  put  themselves  at  a  disadvantage  with 
them. 

General  Woods,  who  was  commander  of  our  division  at  the 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY.  407 

time,  reports  as  follows  a  little  incident  which  will  illustrate 
the  statement : 

WOODVILLE,  ALABAMA,  January  26th,  1864. 

MAJOR  :  I  have  the  honor  to  report  that  on  Saturday  night  the  23d 
iiist.,  about  9  o'clock,  a  party  of  rebels  numbering  about  sixty  made  a 
descent  upon  the  camp  of  unserviceable  animals  under  the  charge  of  the 
division  quartermaster,  and  drove  off  a  portion  of  them,  besides  the  tak 
ing  of  seventeen  citizens.  The  number  of  animals  missing  is  about  ninety, 
but  I  have  reliable  information  that  only  about  forty  were  gotten  across 
the  river.  Men  are  out  to  pick  up  the  animals  and  will  no  doubt  succeed. 
The  corral  is  situated  beside  the  railroad,  about  three  miles  east  of 
Woodville,  and  within  four  hundred  yards  of  the  railroad  guard  of 
twenty-five  men,  and  between  their  post  and  this  station.  The  animals 
and  teamsters  were  taken  by  a  bridle-path  over  the  mountain  within 
two  miles  of  Woodville.  The  existence  of  this  path  was  not  known. 
The  rebels  kept  on  the  summit  of  the  mountains  avoiding  the  roads  and 
crossing  at  a  ferry  four  miles  below  Larkiu's  Ferry.  They  reached  the 
ferry  about  daylight.  As  they  took  all  the  teamsters  and  left  a  guard 
to  prevent  the  citizens  from  giving  the  alarm,  it  was  not  known  until 
10  a.  m.,  and  by  that  time  the}7  had  crossed  the  Tennessee  river. 

The  scattered  animals  were  picked  up,  and  Company  K  of 
the  Thirteenth  put  there  as  a  guard  for  a  time. 

THE   WOMEN   OF   THIS   COUNTRY. 

The  women  of  this  part  of  the  country  were  mostly  uned 
ucated  and  quite  crude.  They  were  almost  universally  given 
up  to  the  habit  of  using  tobacco,  either  chewing  it  or  dipping 
snuff.  The  "  dipping  "  was  on  this  wise  :  They  would  take 
a  small  stick,  chew  it  into  slivers  at  one  end,  dip  that  end 
filled  with  saliva  into  a  box  of  snuff  and  then  place  it  in  the 
side  of  their  mouths  and  take  their  time  to  draw  the  strength 
of  the  snuff  into  their  stomachs.  A  most  filthy  and  disgusting 
practice,  but  not  regarded  so  by  them.  They  would  ask  a 
soldier  for  a  piece  of  ''tobacco,"  with  as  little  thought  of  it 
being  a  misdemeanor,  as  the  worst  loafer  in  our  streets. 

Huntsville  was  a  fine  town,  or  rather  city,  for  that  part  of 
the  world,  some  thirty  miles  west  of  us.  This  was  a  place  of 
unusual  wealth  and  aristocratic  life.  It  was  said  that  all  the 


408  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

wealthy  men  kept  mulatto  women  or  quadroons  as  mistresses. 
There  is  very  little  doubt  about  this  being  as  reported.  This 
being-  so,  we  can  get  pretty  nearly  the  key  to  the  general 
virtue  of  the  country.  The  scenery  throughout  this  country 
along  the  Tennessee  and  adjacent  country  is  very  fine  and 
worthy  to  be  enjoyed  by  a  more  appreciative  class  of  people. 


MAJOR  BEARDSLEY'S  RETURN. 

Captain  James  M.  Beardsley  was  severely  wounded  at 
Ringgold  on  November  27th.  At  the  same  time  Major  Bush- 
nell  and  Captain  Blanchard  losing  their  lives,  it  left  Captain 
Beardsley  the  ranking  Captain.  He  was  accordingly  pro 
moted  to  the  rank  of  Major,  his  rank  to  date  from  the  day  of 
battle.  After  being  gone  over  two  months  he  returned  to 
camp  with  a  leaf  on  his  straps.  An  incident  of  the  time  he 
was  at  his  home  at  Rock  Island  is  given  thus  :  One  of  the 
editors  of  this  town  of  the  class  then  known  as  copperheads, 
made  some  remark  that  rather  reflected  on  the  conduct  of  Mrs. 
Beardsley.  This  incensed  the  Major  who  on  meeting  the 
man  standing  in  front  of  a  store,  with  the  hand  that  was  not 
disabled,  he  knocked  him  through  the  window  and  then  fol 
lowed  to  give  him  some  more  of  the  same  medicine.  The 
editor  beat  an  inglorious  retreat,  leaving  his  wig  and  cane 
behind  him.  The  townspeople  made  the  Major  a  present  of  a 
fine  horse  for  the  spirit  shown  and  the  services  rendered. 

At  this  time  Gen.  John  A.  Logan  commanded  the  Fif 
teenth  Corps,  General  Osterhaus  our  division,  and  Colonel 
Miles  Smith  the  brigade. 

Qn  January  2$th  an  expedition  was  fitted  out  consisting  of 
Gen.  M.  L.  Smith's  division  and  one  brigade  from  our 
division,  that  left  Scotsborough  to  the  east  of  us,  crossed  the 
Tennessee  river  on  pontoons  and  moved  toward  Rome,  Georgia. 
It  was  gone  about  ten  days  ;  it  destroyed  some  niter  works, 
took  some  fifty  prisoners,  captured  a  lot  of  Confederate  money 
at  Guntersville  and  aroused  the  loyal  sentiment  of  which 


ILLINOIS     VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  409 

there  was  a  good  deal  in  north  Alabama.     Thus  the  months  of 
the  winter  were  enlivened. 

On  March  jist  General  Osterhaus  reports  :  "  Learning  that 
some  of  Mead's  guerrillas  were  hovering  around  near  the 
mouth  of  Clear  Creek,  fourteen  miles  from  Woodville,  I  sent 
out  an  expedition  last  night.  They  have  just  returned,  gob 
bled  one  lieutenant,  one  first-sergeant  and  three  men.  The 
Captain  was  not  with  the  party  but  is  expected  daily  from  the 
Tennessee  river." 

AN    INCIDENT    THAT   ILLUSTRATES. 

A  young  man  of  the  Thirteenth  had  been  detailed  as 
clerk  at  division  headquarters.  He  soon  began  to  feel  his 
"oats"  and  was  far  from  being  courteous  or  obliging  to 
either  the  officers  or  men  who  had  business  in  that  office. 
One  day  one  of  the  boys  who  had  been  away  on  furlough, 
walked  up  from  camp  at  Paint  Rock  to  Woodville  with  a 
requisition  for  the  amount  due  on  rations  while  he  was  away 
on  furlough.  The  smart  young  clerk  picked  some  slight  flaw 
in  the  requisition,  and  refused  to  pay  the  amount,  but  said, 
"  Fix  that  and  bring  it  back  to-morrow,  and  it  will  be  paid." 
"  But,"  said  the  boy,  "  the  rule  of  the  office  is  to  attend  to  such 
things  only  on  Tuesday  and  Fridays."  "Never  mind,  you 
bring  it  here  to-morrow  and  it  will  be  attended  to."  When 
the  morrow  came  the  requisition  was  presented,  when  the 
smart  young  man  coolly  turned  away  with  the  remark, 
"This  is  not  our  day  to  attend  to  such  things."  Not  far 
distant  was  General  Osterhaus' s  headquarters.  The  man 
struck  straight  for  the  General's  quarters.  He  found  him 
sitting  in  front  of  his  tent  in  his  shirt-sleeves.  Approaching 
and  saluting  he  said,  "I  have  a  matter  I  would  like  to 
present  to  you."  "  Veil,"  said  the  General,  which  meant  go 
on.  The  conduct  of  the  clerk  was  presented.  Then  the 
General  broke  out  and  said,  "  Dat  Shew  (Jew)  has  been  more 
bodder  to  me  dan  a  whole  prigade."  He  then  bade  the  man 
go  back  to  the  camp  and  enter  complaint  through  the 


4-IO  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

Captain  and  Colonel  and  he  would  see  to  it  that  the  matter 
was  attended  to.  Ere  long  the  smart  clerk  was  carrying  a 
gun  again,  certainly  to  the  gratification  of  at  least  one  man. 

THE    BIG   SNOWFALL. 

Spring  with  all  its  mildness  began  to  show  itself  during 
the  earlier  days  of  March.  It  was  much  enjoyed,  and  ac 
counts  of  it  were  sent  North  by  letters  to  the  home  folks,  who 
were  yet  in  the  embrace  of  winter.  But  on  the  night  of 
March  4th,  it  began  to  snow  and  stopped  only  when  the 
whole  earth  was  covered  fourteen  inches  deep.  The  natives 
of  fourscore  years  had  never  seen  the  like,  and  could  only 
account  for  it  on  the  theory  that  somehow  the  Yankees  were 
responsible  for  it.  They  hardly  dare  put  their  heads  out  of 
the  doors.  But  it  was  a  holiday  for  the  boys  who  had  been 
raised  amid  snow  drifts  in  the  North.  They  made  the  most 
of  it.  It  was  almost  worth  an  officer's  head  to  go  to  his  meals, 
for  a  couple  of  days,  \vhile  the  crop  of  snowballs  lasted. 

A  snowball  party  was  gotten  up  after  the  fashion  of  the 
old-time  spelling  match,  with  officers  for  captains  on  either 
side.  It  was  said  that  some  of  the  boys  put  chips  and  little 
stones  in  the  balls  that  were  intended  to  reach  some  of  the 
officers  that  were  not  liked.  I  am  inclined  to  think  that  no 
viciousness  entered  into  this  lively  and  delightful  sport. 

On  the  22d  day  of  March,  while  the  whole  land  was  glis 
tening  in  the  emblem  of  purity,  one  of  the  boys  (Osborn 
Cheeney  of  Company  A,  if  my  memory  serves  me  right)  was 
carried  out  and  buried,  and  the  pure  snow  covered  upon  his 
grave.  A  fitting  prayer  for  us  as  we  laid  him  away  would  be, 
"  Wash  me,  and  I  shall  be  whiter  than  snow." 

GREAT   ACTIVITY. 

The  great  campaign  known  as  "  Sherman's  Atlanta  cam 
paign  "  was  to  open  early  in  May.  With  the  month  of  April 
came  greatly  increased  activities,  things  were  crowding  to  the 
front,  all  available  men  and  long  trains  filled  with  all  kinds  of 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  411 

army  supplies  were  moving.  Our  regiment  was  not  counted 
in  the  general  move,  for  the  reason  that  our  time  was  so  nearly 
out  that  to  take  us  to  the  front  for  a  few  days  and  then  have 
to  send  us  home,  would  only  burden  the  lines  of  transporta 
tion  that  was  already  fully  taxed,  so  our  assignment  was  on 
railroad  guard  duty  for  the  short  time  we  had  to  stay. 

Little  expeditions  were  sent  out  just  to  feel  of  the  enemy 
and  to  learn  where  he  was  keeping  himself.  There  were 
known  to  be  small  bodies  all  along  the  south  side  of  the  Ten 
nessee  river  to  Decatur.  To  ascertain  more  definitely,  on 
April  12,  General  Garey  loaded  some  eight  hundred  men  and 
some  artillery  on  the  steamboat  Chickamauga,  and  a  couple  of 
barges  at  Bridgeport,  and  started  down  the  Tennessee  river. 
He  found  squads  and  companies  scattered  all  along  the  line, 
but  no  large  forces  camped  near  the  river  till  he  arrived  at  a 
place  called  Triana.  Here  they  had  a  brigade  on  each  side 
of  the  river  with  artillery,  and  proposed  fight.  As  his  men 
were  crowded  close  together  on  the  boat,  to  have  fought  \vould 
only  have  been  to  lose  many  lives,  so  he  declined  the  fight. 
Having  come  down  the  river  one  hundred  and  ten  miles,  and 
having  destroyed  forty-seven  small  boats  used  to  ferry  men 
across,  he  returned  to  Bridgeport. 

The  fact  that  he  found  those  forces  at  Triana,  was  the 
thing  that  called  us  from  our  winter  camp. 

The  order  for  our  regiment  and  the  Thirtieth  Iowa  came  on 
April  23d.  At  4  p.  m.  we  boarded  the  cars  for  Huntsville 
some  twenty-five  or  thirty  miles  distant.  We  then  dis 
embarked  and  camped  for  the  night. 

The  next  morning  \ve  started  on  the  march.  Noon  brought 
us  to  Madison  station,  some  ten  miles  away.  After  resting  and 
eating  we  started  on,  when  a  further  march  of  ten  miles 
brought  us  to  Triana  on  the  river.  The  forces  that  General 
Garey  had  found  on  the  north  side  of  the  river  had  crossed 
over  to  the  south  side,  but  they  were  there,  and  their  pickets 
were  all  along  the  river.  The  time  of  day  was  often  passed 
both  by  word  and  bullet.  Our  stay  at  this  place  was  from 
April  24th  to  May  loth.  We  built  a  stockade  at  this  place 


412  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

and  called  it  Fort  Brown.  On  May  yth  Companies  A,  H  and 
K  crossed  the  river  some  two  miles  below  and  destroyed  some 
boats,  but  the  enemy  disappeared  and  did  not  even  fire  on 
the  boys. 

On  May  loth  we  marched  back  to  Madison  station  on  the 
railroad.  There  were  but  two  weeks  more  until  the  expira 
tion  of  our  term  of  enlistment.  The  home  feeling  was  grow 
ing  as  the  time  drew  near.  The  cars  that  carried  things  to 
the  army  went  down  by  the  way  of  Murfreesborough,  but 
came  back  by  the  way  of  Madison.  As  the  ball  had  opened  in 
the  early  part  of  the  month,  many  wounded  men  came  pour 
ing  North  on  these  otherwise  empty  trains.  The  men  were 
brave,  but  many  of  them  ghastly  sufferers. 

On  May  ijth  our  regiment  fell  in  with  a  most  unfortunate 
circumstance.  It  seems  that  the  rebel  General  Roddy,  being 
thoroughly  posted  on  our  situation,  through  citizen  spies,  who 
had  passes  and  came  and  went  through  our  lines,  decided  to 
come  in  upon  us  during  the  night  and  capture  the  whole  regi 
ment.  The  plans  were  well  laid  but  did  not  quite  come  about. 
They  crossed  the  Tennessee  river  with  the  thought  of  coming 
upon  us  at  about  3  or  4  o'clock  in  the  morning  while  our  men 
were  yet  asleep.  For  some  reason  they  did  not  come  upon  us 
until  8  a.  m.,  just  as  we  were  at  guard  mounting.  The  teams 
were  just  going  out  for  forage  as  the  rebels  rushed  on  the 
pickets  capturing  most  of  them.  The  teams  came  running 
back  pell-mell,  which  was  our  first  intimation  of  danger. 

Let  me  here  give  a  short  description  of  our  situation.  Mad 
ison  is  a  small  railroad  town  in  a  wooded  country,  but  with  a 
small  clearing  to  the  south  west  of  it.  Large  amounts  of  wood 
were  piled  up  near  the  depot,  as  it  was  a  wooding  station  for 
the  engines.  The  road  from  the  south,  over  which  the  rebels 
came,  crossed  the  railroad  at  the  west  end  of  the  depot.  In 
the  southeast  part  of  the  town  was  a  small  stockade  to  pro 
tect  the  depot.  As  soon  as  the  alarm  was  given  the  men  who 
were  scattered  about  ran  for  their  guns,  and  loading  them, 
made  for  the  south  end  of  the  town  in  squads.  The  enemy 
began  firing  from  the  fringe  of  woods  just  south  of  the  town, 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY.  413 

and  then  soon  opened  with  two  pieces  of  artillery.  The  men 
who  were  nearest  to  these,  mostly  Companies  A  and  B,  opened 
on  them  so  lively  that  they  drew  back  their  artillery  some  dis 
tance.  Just  then  came  the  shout  "here  they  come,"  and 
looking  to  the  west  there  came  a  company  of  cavalry  dash 
ing  in  on  the  road  from  the  south  at  a  full  gallop.  The  boys 
turned  towards  them  and  fired,  but  as  the  ground  sloped 
towards  the  west,  and  the  aim  was  too  high,  most  of  it, 
if  not  all,  went  over  them.  One  man  was  thrown  from  his 
horse  and  broke  his  jaw  and  was  captured.  The  rest  of  them 
broke  and  fled  down  the  railroad,  and  in  disorder  made  their 
way  back  to  their  fellows. 

This  man  that  was  captured  when  questioned  by  our  Colo 
nel,  said  that  there  were  one  thousand  men  and  two  pieces  of 
artillery  against  us.  The  Colonel  said  :  "  My  conscience  that 
is  too  many  for  us  to  fight  against,  we  must  get  out  of  this." 

The  rebels  had  passed  to  the  east  and  west  of  our  camp 
and  had  cut  the  wires  so  that  we  could  not  communicate 
with  any  other  forces  in  that  way.  They  then  threw  a  line 
entirely  around  our  lines,  but  came  at  us  with  their  main 
force  from  the  south  where  their  artillery  was.  When  the 
Colonel  gave  the  order  to  give  way,  it  was  obeyed  reluctantly, 
the  Major  wanting  to  fight  it  outright  there  and  the  men  were 
ready  to  stand  and  fight.  A  few  of  the  men  ran  to  the  stock 
ade,  but  as  the  rest  of  the  regiment  was  falling  back,  they 
saw  that  to  stay  meant  capture,  as  the  rebels  had  dismounted 
and  were  pouring  up  over  the  open  space  south  of  the  houses. 
They  fired  a  few  rounds  from  the  stockade  and  then  got  out. 
Someone  at  this  place  shot  "Joe,"  one  of  their  favorites. 
They  then  rushed  on  the  stockade.  The  only  man  in  there 
was  a  Fifth  Iowa  man  who  had  no  gun.  He  plead  for  his  life, 
but  they  killed  him  right  there,  out  of  revenge.  He  was  the 
only  Union  soldier  killed  at  that  time,  a  few  being  slightly 
wounded.  As  the  men  gave  way  the  rebs  rushed  close  after 
them,  yelling  at  the  tops  of  their  voices.  One  reb  drew  a 
bead  on  one  of  our  boys  and  bade  him  "  Halt."  He  halted. 
He  said,  ' '  Surrender, ' '  but  he  had  been  a  prisoner  once  before, 


414  HISTORY    OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

and  he  did  not  want  to  be  again,  so  he  coolly  said,  "  I  can't  see 
it,"  and  went  on.  The  reb  fired  but  just  missed  his  mark, 
and  the  Thirteenth  man  returned  the  compliment. 

% 
CHAPLAIN  NEEDHAM'S  EXPERIENCE. 

"  Colonel  Gorgas  and  Major  Beardsley  held  a  hurried 
council  of  war,  and  it  was  decided  to  mass  our  forces,  and 
break  through  the  enemy's  line  between  us  and  Huntsville, 
the  headquarters  of  our  corps.  My  horse  being  the  only  one 
in  camp,  I  was  the  only  officer  mounted,  and  hence  acted  as 
aid-de-camp  to  the  Colonel,  galloping  to  right  and  left,  deliv 
ering  the  orders  that  brought  the  command  together  prepara 
tory  to  a  charge  on  a  single  front  of  the  enemy's  line,  which 
was  advancing  from  four  sides.  Before  leaving  the  town  it 
was  stated  that  our  flag  had  been  left  in  front  of  the  quarters. 
The  enemy  were  already  in  town  and  behind  the  cotton  bales 
piled  on  the  platform  of  the  depot.  Our  headquarters  had 
been  an  empty  store  across  the  street  from  the  depot.  Turn 
ing  my  horse's  head  toward  town,  I  thrust  my  spurs  into  her 
side,  and  galloped  up  to  headquarters  amid  a  fusilade  of  rifles 
from  behind  the  cotton  bales.  When  I  reigned  up  in  front  of 
headquarters,  and  was  looking  for  the  flag,  an  officer  followed 
by  a  number  of  men  rushed  up  in  front  of  my  horse  demand 
ing  my  surrender.  I  had  no  weapon,  and  as  two  men  stretched 
forth  their  hands  to  seize  my  horse's  bridle,  I  plunged  my  spurs 
into  her  side  giving  her  a  sudden  turn.  The  mare  plunged 
and  kicked  as  she  turned,  compelling  my  assailants  to  scatter  ; 
but  soon,  alternating  with  swearing  and  firing,  they  sent  their 
compliments  after  me.  The  fire  opened  up  from  behind  the 
cotton  bales  as  I  dashed  past,  and  I  had  a  narrow  escape  ;  two 
shots  struck  the  rear  of  my  saddle,  one  bent  the  wheel  of  my 
right  spur,  two  or  three  cut  the  saddle  in  front,  and  one  came 
so  near  to  my  upper  lip,  that  the  sensation  was  as  if  the  lower 
part  of  my  nose  and  the  entire  lips  were  torn  off.  That  morn 
ing  I  had  said  to  myself  as  the  engagement  began,  '  I  would 
not  mind  receiving  a  flesh  wound  as  a  memento  of  these  battle 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY.  415 

scenes, '  but  when  the  bullet  whizzed  past  my  nose  and  lips,  I 
was  sorry  I  had  not  specified  the  place. 

"  I  failed  to  recover  the  flag,  but  found  out  afterward  that 
it  was  the  State  flag  that  had  been  left,  and  that  being  still  in 
its  oil-cloth  sheath  upon  the  ground,  I  did  not  see  it." 

WE   DRIVE   THEM    OFF. 

Word  had  been  hurriedly  sent  to  Huntsville  of  the  attack. 
Some  cavalry  came,  and  a  train  was  run  down  with  a  couple  of 
pieces  of  artillery  and  a  part  of  the  Fifty-ninth  Ohio.  Pur 
suit  was  then  made  toward  the  Tennessee  river.  We  followed 
them  and  came  upon  them  just  at  night  as  they  were  crossing 
the  river.  Several  of  the  cavalry  and  the  Ohio  men  were 
wounded,  one  mortally.  Just  what  their  loss  in  killed  and 
wounded  was  we  never  knew,  but  much  more  than  ours.  Our 
loss  in  prisoners  was  large.  I  got  the  information  about  this 
of  A.  ~L,.  Marks  who  is  quite  accurate  and  was  himself  one  of 
the  prisoners  :  "  Company  A  one,  B  one,  C  six,  D  five,  H  five, 
F  ten,  G  seven,  H  eight,  I  eight,  K  nine,  one  assistant  sur 
geon,  one  qnartermaster  sergeant,  one  telegraph  operator, 
one  sutler,  eight  teamsters  and  their  teams,  two  ambulances 
and  six  men  from  the  Fifth  Iowa  that  were  about  to  relieve 
our  regiment." 

I  will  here  introduces  further  account  by  Comrade  A.  L. 
Marks  and  in  his  own  words,  as  to  how  they  were  handled  as 
prisoners,  and  some  of  his  personal  experience  as  a  prisoner 
until  the  time  of  his  release.  From  this  time  all  the  experi 
ence  worth  narrating  is  with  the  boys  that  were  taken  pris 
oners  rather  than  with  the  regiment  that  was  about  to  return 
home  and  go  out  of  the  service,  at  which  time  our  history 
must  close  as  far  as  this  book  recounts  it.  This  is  his  account. 

IX  GENERAL  RODDY'S  HANDS. 

' '  We  were  piled  into  the  wagons  and  driven  very  rapidly 
to  Fletcher's  Ferry  on  the  Tennessee  river.  Shortly  after  our 
crossing  to  the  opposite  bank,  firing  was  heard  close  to  us  and 


41 6  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

we  were  hustled  to  the  rear  as  fast  as  they  could  make  us 
move.  The  first  night  we  remained  in  the  camp  of  the  Fifth 
Alabama  Cavalry,  Colonel  Patterson  commanding.  Our  first 
lesson  was  a  march  of  thirty-five  miles,  \vth  cavalry  escort, 
without  a  bite  to  eat  and  very  little  to  drink.  That  night  we 
camped  in  a  church.  The  first  town  we  passed  through  was 
Danville,  Alabama,  where  we  spent  the  night  of  the  2ist. 
Colonel  Patterson  had  his  headquarters  at  this  place.  Our 
names  were  now  taken.  Here  we  heard  the  first  news,  from  a 
Southern  standpoint,  of  the  war.  Grant  and  Sherman  were 
terribly  defeated  in  a  fight  two  days  before.  Forty  of  our 
gun-boats  were  sunk  and  twenty-eight  captured.  The  natives 
were  wild  with  joy,  while  we  poor  invaders  were  jeered  at  by 
everybody.  We  remained  here  two  days  and  were  then 
marched  to  Dug  Springs  where  General  Roddy  had  his  head 
quarters.  On  the  25th  we  passed  through  Cortland,  Alabama, 
and  on  the  26th  through  Dickson  (where  we  had  camped  the 
fall  before),  and  on  the  2yth  through  luka,  Mississippi.  On 
the  28th  we  passed  through  Jacinto,  Mississippi ;  on  the  29th 
we  arrived  at  Rienzi,  where  we  had  some  rest  and  something 
to  eat.  We  were  put  on  cars  at  this  place  and  left  on  the 
3oth.  The  cars  were  not  of  the  passenger  style,  not  even 
bedded  with  straw,  as  would  have  been  the  case  were  cattle 
put  in.  The  cars  looked  as  though  they  had  been  in  use  since 
Creation.  We  had  nothing  to  eat  since  we  came  to  Rienzi. 
Our  next  towns  were  Tupela,  and  Meridian.  We  crossed  the 
Tombigbee  river,  passed  Annapolis  and  Selma  where  we  re 
mained  until  June  3rd.  The  prevailing  prices  were  :  Bread, 
$1.00  per  loaf;  eggs,  $3.00  per  doz.,  beef,  $2.50  per  lb.,  but 
ter,  $4.00  per  lb.  Here  we  were  placed  on  a  steamboat  and 
taken  to  Cahaba.  To  our  surprise  we  found  no  other  prisoners 
there,  for  the  reason  that  the  report  came  here  ahead  of  us 
that  Forest  had  captured  ten  thousand  Yankees  and  all  the 
prisoners  there  were  removed  to  Andersonville.  Here  after 
being  searched  (or  rather  robbed),  our  names,  rank,  company 
and  regiment  were  recorded,  etc.,  and  we  marched  two  or  three 
blocks  from  headquarters  to  the  south  part  of  town  and  close 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  417 

to  the  banks  of  the  Alabama  river.  Here  was  a  stockade 
built  of  rough  logs  standing  on  end  some  twenty  feet 
high.  On  the  north  side  stood  two  twelve-pounds  brass  can 
non  pointing  through  loop-holes  in  the  stockade.  The  prison 
proper  (or  Castle  Morgan,  as  it  was  called),  inclosed  a  piece  of 
ground  about  192x120  feet  surrounded  by  a  brick  wall  about 
twenty  feet  high.  A  truss  roof  extended  from  the  top  of  this 
wall  some  forty  feet.  About  half  of  it  on  the  south  and  west 
had  been  blown  down  ;  the  center  had  at  no  time  been  cov 
ered  ;  it  had  formerly  been  used  for  a  cotton  shed.  I  will  not 
describe  the  times  in  prison  until  about  March  ist,  1865,  when 
from  long-continued  rains,  the  water  of  the  river  came  over  the 
banks  and  rushed  in  upon  us.  Before  night  we  had  no  place 
to  lie  down.  We  stood  in  that  chilly  water,  except  some  few 
who  climbed  and  fixed  some  contrivance  to  the  rafters  under 
the  roof.  We  remained  in  that  fearful  condition  for  several 
days,  the  officers  visiting  us  in  boats.  Finally  on  March  4th, 
1865,  we  were  told  to  get  ready  to  be  exchanged.  We  felt 
hopeful,  but  not  very  joyful,  for  we  had  been  disappointed  so 
often,  that  we  made  up  our  mind  that  the  rebels  were  the  big 
gest  liars  living,  yet  the  hope  of  getting  out  of  that  mud-hole 
was  received  with  some  satisfaction.  We  arrived  at  Black 
river  bridge  on  March  igth,  1865." 

Still  further  information  from  Comrade  Marks,  both  of  a 
personal  character  and  experience  while  prisoner  is  furnished, 
and  as  so  few  have  been  ready  to  furnish  much,  I  will  intro 
duce  some  of  it.  In  1858  he  left  Chicago  and  went  to  New 
Orleans  remaining  South  until  April,  1861.  Some  of  the  time 
he  was  on  a  steamboat  plying  on  the  Yazoo  river.  While  on 
his  way  north  and  while  their  boat  was  tied  up  at  Vicksburg, 
he  saw  Jefferson  Davis.  He  formed  a  great  dislike  to  slavery, 
and  was  glad  of  the  prospect  of  having  a  hand  in  breaking  it 
up.  He  came  north  to  join  the  army,  but  found  that  his  father 
was  opposed  to  the  war.  He  being  but  eighteen  years  of  age 
his  father  forbade  his  going  into  the  service.  He  then  ran 
away  and  assuming  his  uncle's  name,  "  Charles  Harris,"  en 
listed  in  Company  K,  of  the  Thirteenth.  He  was  known  by 


4 1 8  HISTORY    OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

that  name  while  with  us.  Coining  out  of  the  service  he  as 
sumed  his  right  name,  A.  L.  Marks,  and  takes  this  means  to 
right  himself  before  the  boys. 

He  further  says  of  his  being  taken  prisoner,  having  been 
captured,  he  gave  the  reb  his  gun,  but  the  reb  said,  "  Give 
me  your  pocket-book."  This  was  done,  with  $8.00  in  green 
backs  in  it.  While  this  was  being  done  another  reb  snatched 
off  his  good  hat  and  gave  him  his  old  slouch  hat  instead. 
The  one  reb  said,  "  You  can  get  your  things  out  of  your  quar 
ters  if  you  wish."  He  did  so,  rejoicing  that  he  had  fallen 
into  such  good  hands,  but  at  the  end  of  twenty-four  hours 
they  were  all  confiscated,  and  he  had  nothing  but  the  clothes  on 
his  back.  A  few  days  after  this  his  boots  attracted  the  atten 
tion  of  a  long-haired  sandy- whiskered  guard  who  wanted  to 
"swap'.'  shoes.  He  was  told  if  he  would  shut  his  eyes  long 
enough  to  give  him  three  hundred  yards  the  start,  he  would 
trade.  He  would  not  do  this  but  offered  $150  in  Confederate 
money  for  the  boots.  This  proposition  was  laughed  at.  At 
night  the  long-haired  man  came  and  drawing  his  revolver, 
bought  the  boots  without  money  or  price.  Marks  had  no* 
shoes  till  the  next  February. 

JAMES    FARREU,   ESCAPES. 

Marks,  while  in  prison,  got  on  friendly  terms  with  a  cer 
tain  guard  where  the  chances  of  escape  were  best.  He  plied 
the  guard,  and  had  the  assurance  that  the  difficulties  would 
be  out  of  the  way.  But  he  had  no  shoes,  and  he  could  not 
make  the  tramp  without  something  on  his  feet.  His  generous 
friend,  James  Farrell,  offered  to  give  him  his  shoes,  but  they 
did  not  fit.  The  next  thing  was  for  Marks  to  be  generous 
and  let  his  friend  have  the  chance  if  he  could  get  it  for  him. 
He  applied  to  the  friendly  guard,  who  said  he  could  go,  and 
he  wished  he  could  go  too. 

Farrell  watched  the  chance,  slipped  into  ' '  the  hole  ' '  and 
made  good  his  escape.  He  bore  a  message  to  Mark's  father, 
asking  him  to  send  his  son  some  clothes,  as  he  was  almost  in 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY.  419 

the  state  that  people  are  when  they  are  born, — but  the 
clothes  never  reached  him,  though  an  effort  was  made  to  send 
them. 

The  following  personal  experience  is  given  by  John  W. 
Nichols  of  Company  F,  who  was  captured  on  May  lyth,  1864. 

"  While  we  were  in  quarters  at  Madison  Station,  Alabama, 
on  the  morning  of  May  i6th,  I  was  sent  in  charge  of  the 
guards  on  the  south  side  of  the  town  on  the  main  road  run 
ning  to  the  Tennessee  river.  On  the  morning  of  the  lyth,  just 
at  the  time  for  guard  mount  at  8  o'clock,  when  I  was  from  two 
to  three  hundred  rods  from  camp,  I  saw  the  rebel  cavalry 
coming  over  the  hill  about  fifty  rods  distant.  I  ordered  them 
to  halt  but  it  was  their  intention  to  take  us  by  surprise.  On 
they  came  pell-mell  ;  I  ordered  the  guards  to  fire  on  them  ; 
they  did  not  return  the  fire  but  came  as  fast  as  their  horses 
could  carry  them.  We  retreated  and  fired  the  second  time, 
and  as  I  fired,  I -hit  '  my  man.'  I  could  not  swear  to  having 
hit  another  all  through  the  service.  They  still  came  on  and 
took  us  prisoners.  There  were  nine  in  my  company  taken. 
These  were:  Daniel  P.  Bradley,  Geo.  M.  Carr  (died  in  Chicago 
in  1888);  George  Campbell,  now  in  Pennsylvania  ;  Wilson  K. 
Chapel,  taken  prisoner  at  Cane  Creek,  Alabama,  October 
27th,  1863,  died  at  L,ibby  Prison,  Richmond,  Virginia  ; 
Alonzo  Houghton,  taken  prisoner  May  lyth,  1864,  died  at 
Cahaba  prison,  Alabama,  death  caused  by  poisonous  vaccina 
tion  ordered  by  the  General  Surgeon  of  the  Southern  Confed 
eracy  ;  Joseph  L/.  Locy,  now  in  Nebraska  ;  Oliver  W.  Smith, 
died  after  coming  home  ;  George  Brown,  Frederick  C.  Mires, 
Chas.  W.  Orris,  now  in  Nebraska.  The  captain  in  charge  of 
the  rebel  cavalry  relieved  me  of  seventy  dollars  in  money,  my 
watch  and  ..my  hat.  We  were  taken  to  the  rear  and  there 
placed  in  our  own  wagons  that  they  had  captured,  and  started 
for  the  Tennessee  river  ;  a  more  scared  crowd  you  never  saw 
when  they  thought  our  regiment  had  received  reinforcements. 
They  sent  us  across  the  river  and  went  into  camp  for  the 
night.  It  rained  all  night  and  we  lay  down  on  our  '  soft  bed 
and  downy  pillows, '  choosing  either  large  or  small  rocks,  and 


420  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

without  anything  to  eat  or  any  fire,  and  not  one  blanket  in 
the  whole  crowd. 

"  On  the  morning  of  the  i8th,  at  daylight,  we  started  on  the 
march.  It  rained  all  day.  We  went  into  camp  a  little  after 
dark  and  there  got  the  first  mouthful  to  eat  for  two  days.  Our 
supper  consisted  of  unbolted  brown  cornmeal  without  salt. 
The  next  day  we  marched  to  the  Iron  Mountain  railroad  and 
there  were  turned  over  to  General  Forrest.  We  were  placed 
on  the  cars  and  sent  to  Selma,  Alabama,  and  there  transferred 
and  sent  to  Cahaba  prison.  Colonel  Jones  was  in  charge  of 
the  guard  and  was  under  General  Henderson,  the  exchange 
commissioner  of  the  Southern  Confederacy.  I  must  say  Gen 
eral  Henderson  was  one  of  the  best  men  the  South  had,  and 
on  the  other  hand  Colonel  Jones  one  of  the  worst.  Arriving 
here  on  the  2ist  of  the  same  month,  our  company  numbered 
seventy.  I  will  give  you  the  size  and  description  of  the 
prison.  It  was  built  of  brick,  two  rmndred  and  seventy  feet 
square,  sixteen  feet  high,  roof  over  one  half.  It  was  purposed 
for  a  cotton  house  at  first.  There  was  a  stockade  built  around 
the  prison  of  boards  sixteen  feet  high.  In  front  of  the  prison 
where  we  did  our  cooking,  there  was  a  quarter  of  an  acre. 
Our  water  was  furnished  from  an  artesian  well  running 
through  pipes  from  the  town.  The  prison  was  on  the  bank 
of  the  Alabama  river.  The  prisoners  came  until  we  numbered 
three  thousand.  In  the  month  of  September  there  were  some 
of  us  who  thought  we  would  take  leave  of  absence.  The 
water-closet  of  the  prison  was  situated  on  the  southeast  cor 
ner.  There  was  some  dirt  washed  from  the  end  of  the  seat. 
There  was  a  guard  within  five  feet  of  the  place,  Kelly  (or 
Curley  as  we  called  him)  sat  talking  with  the  guard  while  we 
slid  down  under  the  seat  and  jumped  the  stockade.  There 
were  forty-nine  escaped.  It  was  on  Sunday  while  the  citizens 
were  at  church.  We  started  down  the  river  until  we  came 
across  a  small  skiff.  There  were  two  besides  myself  who  got 
into  the  skiff  and  crossed  the  river.  My  comrades'  names 
were  Shell  and  Booze.  We  started  up  the  river  until  we  got 


ILLINOIS    VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  421 

up  opposite  Selma.     It  had  been  raining  for  several  hours  and 
we  stopped  for  fear  of  being  tracked. 

"The  next  morning  we  changed  our  hiding  place.  We 
had  to  cross  the  main  road  and  we  saw  a  man  running  down 
the  road.  We  kept  watch  of  him  until  we  decided  that  he 
found  our  track.  We  started  for  the  river  and  got  within  a 
mile  and  sat  down  to  rest.  We  had  not  rested  an  hour  when 
we  heard  the  hounds  on  our  track.  We  held  counsel  and  the 
decision  was  to  make  for  the  river.  Off  we  started  on  double- 
quick.  We  got  to  the  river,  the  dogs  howling  in  the  rear. 
We  undressed  and  swam  the  river  and  the  dogs  stood  on  the 
bank  barking.  We  sat  and  rested  until  the  men  came  up. 
We  laughed  at  them  and  told  them  to  come  on.  They  had  to 
go  two  miles  to  get  a  boat  to  cross  over.  We  started  down 
the  river  a  mile  or  so  and  sat  down  until  we  heard  the  hounds. 
Then  we  swam  the  river  back  again  and  started  down  the 
river  but  had  no  time  to  lose  and  had  to  jump  in  with  our 
clothes  on,  being  a  close  call  to  clear  the  hounds.  The  sun 
was  about  one  hour  high  and  we  started  west  as  fast  as  we 
could.  Darkness  came  on,  and  when  we  reached  one  of  the 
highest  mountains  we  laid  down  to  rest.  When  we  awoke  the 
sun  was  shining  and  we  jumped  up  and  looked  around  to 
see  what  move  to  make.  We  could  see  a  large  corn-field  about 
two  miles  off  and  started  for  the  field  and  it  was  worth  more 
to  us  than  a  gold  mine.  We  had  eaten  nothing  since  leaving 
the  prison,  this  being  the  third  day,  and  coming  through  the 
field  we  said,  'Thank  God  for  this.'  Our  thanks  were  not 
for  the  corn.  You  have  seen  what  is  called  milkweed,  and 
that  is  what  made  us  thankful.  We  gathered  what  we  could 
find.  Rubbing  it  on  the  bottoms  of  our  bare  feet,  it  threw  the 
dogs  off  our  track.  About  10  o'clock  the  dogs  were  heard 
coming  and  we  lit  out  and  traveled  from  eighty  to  one  hun 
dred  yards  and  then  stopped  to  rub  the  milkweed  on  our  feet. 
When  the  sun  was  about  an  hour  high  the}^  called  the  dogs 
off.  We  then  tried  to  find  a  negro's  cabin.  I  took  the  lead, 
started  on  the  main  road  with  timber  on  both  sides,  telling 
the  boys  I  would  keep  watch,  and  if  I  saw  any  one  I  would 


422  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

motion  for  them  to  take  to  the  brush.  We  went  about  one 
hundred  rods  when  we  heard  a  wagon  coming.  The  boys 
jumped  in  the  brush  and  I  went  to  meet  the  foe.  The  wagon 
in  sight  I  could  only  see  one  person.  I  stopped  him,  it  being  a 
big  negro.  We  intended  to  hold  him  if  we  could  do  no  bet 
ter.  '  Which  way  are  you  going, '  said  I  ?  '  Well  massa,  I 
just  lives  a  little  above  here,'  said  the  darky.  '  Take  your 
team  and  go  down  about  one  hundred  rods  and  get  two  damn 
Yankees  that  broke  out  of  the  prison  and  take  them  up  to 
your  house,  and  in  the  morning  take  them  back  to  the  prison/ 
said  I.  'My  stars,'  said  the  darky,  'I  can't  go  down  to 
that  awful  place.'  'Never  mind,'  said  I,  'go  along  and  get 
the  two  Yankees.'  'Well,  sir,  if  you  say  so,  I'll  have  to/ 
said  the  darky. 

"We  drove  back  to  where  I  left  them.  '  Come  out,  you 
damn  Yanks  and  get  into  this  wagon,  be  damn  quick,  too.'  In 
they  got  and  the  darky  drove  us  to  the  house  and  we  went 
in.  We  found  two  negro  women,  and  I  told  them  to  get  sup 
per  for  the  '  Yanks.'  The  darky  went  out  to  take  care  of  the 
team  and  I  followed  to  keep  watch  and  find  out  what  he  was. 
He  was  the  overseer  of  the  plantation.  When  we  went  into 
supper  I  saw  the  Yanks  had  new  shirts  on.  They  told  the 
women  I  was  a  Yank  too  but  \vas  playing  off  rebel.  I  wa 
left  out  in  the  cold  and  not  a  quarter  o/  a  shirt  on.  The 
negro  stared  and  looked  at  the  women  and  then  at  me  to  see 
how  I  took  it,  and  then  told  them  I  was  a  Yankee  too.  They 
gave  us  some  matches  and  salt  after  we  had  finished  our  sup 
per.  We  started  on  our  march  and  the  next  morning  found  us 
forty  miles  from  the  place.  And  good-bye  to  the  hounds.  We 
traveled  nights  and  rested  days  and  lived  on  green  corn. 
When  we  had  been  out  one  week,  we  came  up  to  a  plantation 
with  a  pasture  in  which  there  were  horses.  We  lay  there 
watching  the  horses  and  we  made  up  our  minds  to  take  the 
horses  that  night  and  make  a  big  march,  but  5  o'clock  came 
and  we  saw  a  man  coming  from  the  house  toward  the  pasture, 
get  over  the  fence  and  come  straight  towards  us  until  he  got 
to  the  other  fence.  We  thought  he  could  not  see  us,  but  h 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY.  423 

stopped  and  looked  over  the  fence  straight  at  us  for  a  few 
moments  and  turned  and  went  back  to  the  house.  We  were 
afraid  he  had  seen  us,  so  we  got  up  and  started  after  him.  We 
walked  into  the  yard  and  saw  him  sitting  on  the  porch. 
'Say  Uncle,  we  would  like  to  get  a  drink  of  water.'  He 
showed  us  the  well  and  we  drank  heartily  and  then  went  and 
sat  down.  We  intended  to  hold  him  there  until  dark  and 
then  start  out.  '  Say  Uncle,  we  are  three  Yanks  broke  out  of 
prison  and  we  would  like  something  to  eat.'  His  wife  came 
out  and  said  she  would  have  supper  as  soon  as  she  could  get 
it.  Following  the  old  man  into  the  house,  he  introduced  us 
to  his  son  who  belonged  to  the  First  Mississippi  Infantry. 
We  shook  hands  and  he  said  he  would  go  and  stand  guard 
while  we  ate  our  supper,  he  being  sick  of  the  war  he  would 
do  anything  for  us.  We  had  a  grand  supper  and  the  young 
man  showed  us  the  route  to  take  that  night  to  pass  to  the 
next  place  ;  because  if  we  left  any  tracks,  the  man  with  his 
hounds  would  find  us  the  next  morning,  making  it  his 
business  to  hunt  all  the  deserters. 

' '  It  commenced  raining  that  night  and  kept  up  for  five  days 
and  nights,  filling  all  the  streams  and  making  it  a  hard  job  to 
travel.  We  were  within  fifteen  miles  of  our  lines  when  we 
heard  the  command  to  halt.  '  Click,  click,'  and  looking 
around  we  saw  five  men  with  their  guns  cocked  telling  us  to 
throw  up  our  hands,  which  we  did,  because  they  had  the  bet 
ter  of  us.  Taking  us  to  the  house  where  they  stayed  until 
morning  they  then  took  us  to  the  railroad  which  was  twenty- 
two  miles  off.  We  were  placed  in  the  jail  and  looking 
through  the  bars  saw  a  hotel  across  the  street,  in  which  were 
some  young  ladies  waving  their  handkerchiefs  at  us  and  we 
waved  back.  Shortly  afterward  the  ladies  sent  us  a  basket  of 
victuals  with  their  compliments.  The  next  morning  we  were 
sent  back  to  Cahaba  prison.  We  reported  and  my  comrades 
were  sent  to  another  prison  and  I  was  left.  The  next  im 
portant  thing  we  did  was.  to  pick  out  a  hundred  of  the  best 
men,  make  a  general  outbreak,  and  no  one  knew  anything 
about  it  but  our  hundred  men.  We  tried  to  break  out  sev- 


424  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

eral  times  but  some  sneak  would  tell  on  us.  We  set  the 
day  and  hour  at  10  o'clock  in  the  evening  just  as  the  guard 
was  to  be  relieved.  There  \vere  some  commissioned  officers  in 
town  on  parole,  who  were  to  give  up  the  parole  and  join  us 
as  we  came  out.  It  was  a  grand  success  on  our  part.  We 
took  both  reliefs  off  guards  and  their  guns,  marching  through 
the  gate  where  we  met  the  officers  who  told  us  the  town  was 
surrounded  by  water,  so  we  could  not  get  away.  We  went 
back,  threw  our  guns  down  and  went  to  bed.  The  rest  of  the 
guards  all  left  and  were  not  seen  until  the  next  morning 
when  they  got  every  man,  old  and  young,  and  made  a  charge 
on  the  prison  with  two  cannon,  calling  for  us  to  give  up  the 
guard  and  the  guns  we  took.  We  were  asleep.  They  called 
again  and  some  of  the  men  holloaed  back,  '  We  do  not  know 
anything  of  your  men.'  When  the  Major  in  command  said, 
'  If  you  do  not  give  them  up,  we  will  fire  the  cannon  on  you.' 
Then  some  one  asked  him  if  his  cannon  were  cocked.  After 
the  guards  had  gone  out,  they  were  gone  for  twenty  or  thirty 
minutes.  They  charged  on  us  again  driving  us  to  one  side  of 
the  building.  They  had  us  pass  between  the  guards,  counting 
us  to  see  how  many  had  got  away,  but  found  not  one  missing. 
They  went  out  coming  back  in  an  hour  and  drove  us  to  one 
side  again.  Listen  to  '  General  Order,  Number  One.'  '  Any 
one  who  will  come  out  and  tell  who  the  leaders  of  the  break 
were  will  be  set  free.'  There  were  two  who  went  out  and 
said  they  could  tell,  then  the  officers  came  out  and  drove  us 
to  one  side,  and  had  us  pass  through  two  rows  of  guards  with 
these  two  sneaks  with  them,  but  they  failed  to  pick  them  out. 
'General  Order,  Number  Two.'  'The  guards  tell  us  they 
hurt  some  of  you  when  you  took  their  guns  away,  now  if 
you  come  out  we  will  doctor  you,  if  not  you  can  die.'  That 
failed  as  the  first. 

' '  '  General  Order,  Number  Three. '  'Every  man  undress  and 
tie  his  clothes  in  a  small  bundle  and  put  them  on  top  of  his 
head  and  pass  down  between  these  two  doctors,  turn  clear 
around  and  pass  on.'  This  was  done  to  find  out  whether  any 
one  was  hurt.  That  failed  the  same  as  the  rest  did.  '  Gen- 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  425 

eral  Order,  Number  Four.'  '  We  offered  everything  in  our 
power  to  have  the  leader  found  out  and  not  have  the  innocent 
suffer  with  the  guilt}7  ones.  The  order  is  that  no  man  shall 
have  anything  to  eat  until  the  leaders  are  given  up.'  This 
lasted  two  days,  then  we  sent  word  that  we  must  have  some 
thing  to  eat,  and  that  it  must  come  within  one  hour  or  suffer 
the  results  of  hungry  men,  and  it  came.  The  river  was  get 
ting  over  the  banks,  every  one  was  frightened  about  the  over 
flow,  as  the  water  was  from  three  and  one-half  to  four  feet  deep 
in  the  prison.  This  lasted  about  four  days,  the  only  sleep  I 
got  during  that  time  was  by  tearing  my  blanket  into  strips, 
tying  it  around  me  and  then  fastening  it  to  one  of  the  bars  of 
the  window.  Some  of  the  prisoners  stayed  there  longer  than  I 
did.  I  was  moved  up  to  Selma,  then  in  a  few  days  to  Meridian, 
Mississippi.  There  I  was  placed  hi  the  stockade  with  John 
Fitzpatrick,  formerly  of  Sycamore,  DeKalb  county,  Illinois. 

' '  Not  being  satisfied  we  formed  a  plan  to  get  out  and  we  de 
cided  to  tunnel  under  the  stockade,  so  we  commenced  to  dig. 
We  had  to  dig  with  a  butcher-knife  and  haul  the  dirt  back 
and  put  it  under  our  bed.  This  was  successful.  Being  low 
ground  we  needed  our  beds  raised  to  keep  out  of  the  water. 
The  day  we  finished  digging  it  rained,  and  the  tunnel  became 
about  half  full  of  water  ;  the  night  being  very  dark  and  still 
raining,  we  placed  ourselves  in  a  square  in  front  of  the  tent, 
and  commenced  on  the  left  to  go  into  the  tunnel,  and  as  fast  as 
one  went  in  another  took  his  seat  on  the  right.  We  sang 
songs  to  draw  the  attention  of  the  guards.  You  can  imagine 
how  I  looked  when  I  got  through  the  tunnel,  the  water  be 
ing  mixed  up  like  mortar.  Four  others  like  myself  made  their 
way  to  Yazoo  city,  and  from  there  to  Vicksburg.  The  rest 
were  sent  to  Black  river,  twelve  miles  from  there.  We  were 
sent  up  the  river  to  St.  Louis  and  went  into  the  Barracks  for 
one  week,  and  then  sent  to  Springfield,  Illinois,  to  wait  our 
discharge." 

Marks  tells  another  incident  about  his  '  *  mysterious  five- 
cent  piece." 

The    rebs    took    his    pocket-book    when    captured.     One 


426  HISTORY   OF  THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

morning  when  foot-sore,  cold  and  very  hungry,  a  rebel  soldier 
came  around  selling  "  corn  pones,"  price  $1.00  in  Confederate 
money  or  $3.00  in  greenbacks. 

But  he  could  not  buy  one  if  they  were  a  cent  a  hundred. 
In  very  desperation  he  had  put  his  finger  in  his  vest  pocket 
and  pulled  out  something  that  he  supposed  must  be  a  button, 
when  lo,  it  was  a  silver  five-cent  piece.  He  did  not  know 
that  he  had  it,  or  that  he  ever  had  had  it.  He  offered  it  to 
the  man  and  found  that  it  was  of  as  much  value  as  $3.00  in 
greenbacks  for  it  bought  a  ' '  pone ' '  and  met  his  craving  ne 
cessities. 

An  incident  worthy  of  note  was  the  conduct  of  Major 
Beardsley  and  a  few  men  whom  he  had  mounted  on  such 
animals  as  he  could  pick  up.  They  make  an  attack  on  the 
flank  of  the  dismounted  rebel  cavalry  near  the  Tennessee  and 
drove  them  from  their  position,  capturing  many  of  their 
horses. 

Surgeon  Plummer  had  a  mulatto  man  as  a  servant.  This 
man  was  captured.  He  professed  to  be  well  pleased  writh  the 
situation,  and  glad  to  get  back  among  his  old  friends.  The 
surgeon  of  Roddy's  men  took  him  for  his  servant!  In  the 
dusk  of  the  evening,  the  servant  was  asked  to  hold  his  case  of 
instruments.  While  the  doctor's  attention  was  elsewhere, 
the  darky  slipped  off  and  came  into  our  lines  with  the  case  of 
instruments.  It  is  not  told  us  what  the  man  said  when  he 
found  that  the  darky  and  instruments  were  gone. 

THE   GUILTY   PARTIES. 

This  scheme  to  take  in  our  regiment  was  evidently  con 
cocted  by  men  who  had  access  to  our  camp.  There  was  a 
cotton  buyer  who  had  a  pass  through  our  lines  who  rode  in 
from  the  south  just  a  few  moments  before  the  attack  was 
made  and  sat  on  his  horse  near  headquarters,  and  kept  looking 
intently  in  the  direction  the  rebels  were  coming.  I  think  this 
man's  name  was  Betts.  A  man  by  the  name  of  Fletcher  and 
this  man  Betts  were  arrested  and  sent  under  guard  to  Huntsville. 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  427 

If  this  one  man  would  have  been  left  in  camp  the  boys  would 
have  saved  him  the  expense  of  court  and  jury.  A  man  by  the 
name  of  Slater  was  arrested  and  then  set  free,  because  he  had 
passes  or  papers  from  several  Generals.  Later  this  negro  tes 
tified  that  he  was  a  spy,  and  some  things  taken  from  our  camp 
were  found  in  his  possession. 

Slater  was  again  arrested  ;  he  and  a  man  by  the  name  of 
Pride  were  taken  to  Huntsville  by  Major  Beardsley.  What 
their  fate  was  I  have  never  learned,  but  I  think  the  whole 
quartette  deserved  a  halter." 

May  2j.th  arrived  and  we  had  served  out  our  full  three 
years,  but  we  were  still  in  the  field  and  in  the  service.  On 
the  26th  we  were  relieved  from  duty  and  in  the  afternoon 
turned  over  our  guns  and  equipments,  and  were  ready  to 
start  home. 

As  all  our  blankets  and  coats  and  cooking  material  were 
stolen  pr  burned  by  the  rebels,  we  can  assure  you  it  was  cool 
comfort  and  close  picking  for  these  last  days ;  some  of  the 
boys  who  were  captured  were  those  who  had  been  off  on  the 
detail  and  had  come  to  the  regiment  without  arms  to  be  mus 
tered  out.  When  the  fight  began  they  skipped  into  the  woods 
only  to  run  into  the  hands  of  the  rebels. 

HOMEWARD    BOUND. 

Thursday,  May  26th,  at  9:45  p.  m.,  the  train  started  us 
homeward.  We  went  by  the  way  of  Decatur,  Alabama,  and 
Pulaski,  Tennessee,  and  arrived  at  Nashville  at  1 1  a.  m.  on 
the  27th.  As  the  train  rolled  up  the  great  open  valley  from 
Franklin  to  Nashville,  one  of  the  men  standing  on  the  top  of 
the  cars  said,  '*'  What  a  fine  place  for  a  great  battle."  It  was 
here  at  Franklin  that  General  Hood  dashed  his  forces  so 
fiercely  against  General  Thomas'  ranks,  and  following  it  up 
to  Nashville  was  defeated  ;  and  it  was  down  this  valley  that 
his  army  went  to  pieces,  never  to  gather  again  to  do  any  great 
service. 

On  the  28th  we  went  on  board  the  steamer  Imperial  and 


428  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT. 

started  down  the  Cumberland  river.  The  greatest  object  that 
met  our  gaze  was  Fort  Donelson.  It  was  here  that  our  army 
on  those  terrible  days  and  nights  of  Februan^,  1862,  fought 
and  suffered  and  won.  It  was  here  that  General  Grant  lifted 
himself  up  before  the  eyes  of  the  public,  and  from  this  time 
his  sun  of  glory  never  set,  nay,  was  scarcely  clouded. 
Donelson  will  be  memorable  in  the  records  of  the  Civil  War, 
as  one  of  the  favorable  turning-points  of  our  cause  and  one  of 
the  disastrous  points  of  the  Confederate  army. 

At  2  p.  m.  on  the  2Qth  we  were  out  of  the  Cumberland  and 
in  the  Ohio  river,  at  6:30  p.  m.  on  the  same  day,  and  were 
safely  landed  at  the  wharf  at  Cairo,  Illinois. 

We  spent  the  night  on  the  streets  without  shelter,  waiting 
for  railroad  transportation.  At  1 1  a.  m.  of  the  3oth  we  were 
again  moving  on  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad,  the  same  over 
which  we  had  started  out  about  three  years  before,  now  we  were 
north-bound,  then  were  going  south.  Then  we  were  ready 
for  glory  and  experience,  and  now  we  had  much  of  experience 
and  some  of  glory.  Then  we  were  mostly  boys,  now  we  were 
men,  if  severe  experience  and  hard  service  could  bring  it 
about.  But  the  boys  were  not  all  on  the  train  this  morning,  and 
we  did  not  hear  the  ringing  voice  of  our  gallant  Colonel  Wyman 
as  on  that  other  morning.  It  is  hushed.  We  are  all  more 
sober.  We  have  seen  sad  sights.  But  the  flag  we  bore  is  still 
given  to  the  breeze.  It  is  dearer,  it  means  more,  it  is  not  fine 
silk  at  so  much  a  yard,  it  is  the  baptized  emblem  of  liberty. 
But  it  did  not  even  yet  float  over  all  our  dominion,  yet  six  hun 
dred  thousand  brave  men  were  in  the  field  and  on  the  rampart 
to  say  that  it  should.  At  this  late  date  we  can  say  it  is  wav 
ing,  while  stars  and  bars  are  only  a  weak  relic. 

At  4:30  a.  m.  on  the  3ist  we  were  at  Decatur,  Illinois, 
and  then  soon  transferred  to  another  road,  and  on  our  way  to 
Camp  Butler,  some  six  miles  east  of  Springfield,  where  we  were 
to  be  mustered  out  of  service.  We  were  now  fairly  on  the 
prairies  of  Illinois  and  the  eye  had  a  full  stretch.  Many  of 
us  were  on  the  top  of  the  cars  glad  to  have  a  good  look  again. 
One  of  the  old  darkies  that  had  come  along  with  the  regiment, 


ILLINOIS    VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  429 

but  had  never  been  "  out  of  the  woods  "  before,  stood  on  top 
of  the  car  gazing  most  intensely.  Some  one  asked  him  what 
he  was  looking  at.  He  broke  out  "  Gorry,  I  just  begin  to  see 
where  all  dem  Yankees  come  from."  It  had  been  a  mystery 
where  all  the  soldiers  had  come  from,  but  as  he  caught  sight 
of  such  stretches  of  country,  he  saw  the  possible  solution. 

We  were  soon  at  our  camp,  but  the  regiment  was  practi 
cally  broken  up.  Of  course  the  men  were  expected  to  stay 
where  they  were  assigned,  and  they  could  draw  the  rations 
until  the  rolls  were  signed.  But  in  fact  some  ran  home  hav 
ing  made  engagements  to  that  effect  on  the  supposition  that 
we  were  to  be  mustered  out  on  time.  The  officers  mostly 
went  to  Springfield.  Many  of  the  privates  who  had  money 
at  their  command  also  went  to  the  city. 

The  Fourteenth,  Fifteenth  and  Eighteenth  Illinois  were 
there,  as  we  were,  to  be  mustered  out. 

On  the  yth  of  June  the  ladies  of  Springfield  and  the  State 
officers  sent  an  invitation  to  the  men  of  these  four  regiments 
to  join  in  a  public  reception  and  picnic  to  be  given  on  the 
grounds  where  the  new  State  House  was  being  built.  This 
was  accepted  and  we  left  the  camp  at  8:30  and  arrived  at 
the  grounds  at  about  noon. 

Governor  Yates,  Adjutant- General  Fuller  and  Major-Gen 
eral  Oglesby  made  speeches  welcoming  us  back  again.  We 
thanked  them  and  gave  them  three  cheers. 

On  the  1 3th  of  June  the  men  became  impatient  and  waited 
on  the  Colonel,  insisting  that  they  wanted  their  discharge. 
Saturday,  June  iSth,  all  of  the  papers  were  completed,  the 
rolls  signed,  back  pay  and  bounty  was  paid  to  the  men  and 
the  Thirteenth  Regiment  of  Illinois  Volunteer  Infantry,  as 
such,  ceased  to  be.  The  men  who  had  banded  together  as 
soldiers  for  the  country's  weal  or  woe,  had  now  dissolved 
that  bond.  They  were  now  citizens  only.  To  the  east  and 
west,  to  the  north  and  south,  these  men  took  their  way,  never 
all  to  meet  again,  unless  as  men  loyal  to  God  and  truth, 
they  respond  to  the  great  roll-call  above. 

AMOS  H.  MILLER. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  FIELD  AND  STAFF. 


COLONEL  JOHN  B.  WYMAN. 


O  HISTORY  of  the  Thirteenth  Illinois  In 
fantry  would  be  complete  without  doing  full 
justice  to  its  first  Colonel,  the  lamented  John 
&£.   B.  Wyman,  whose  memory  is,  and  always  will  be, 

NsyvV*'  ^ 

very  dear  to  the  hearts  of  the  men  he  loved  so  well, 
and  who  now  survive  him. 

While  it  was  as  a  soldier,  and  as  colonel  of  the  regiment, 
that  we  knew  him  best,  yet  it  is  thought  that  a  brief  sketch  of 
his  life  before  the  war  may  not  be  uninteresting  to  his  surviv 
ing  comrades. 

He  was  born  in  the  State  of  Massachusetts,  on  July  i2th, 
1817,  of  Scotch  ancestry,  who,  no  doubt,  did  what  they  could 
to  give  their  eldest  son  an  education,  but,  like  many  another 
man  whose  name  shines  out  brightly  on  the  pages  of  history, 
his  early  opportunities  in  that  regard  were  limited  and  few. 
Such  education  as  he  received  was  obtained  at  the  public 
schools  of  Shrewsbury,  Massachusetts,  and  at  a  select  school 
in  Bolton,  in  the  same  State.  At  the  early  age  of  fourteen 
years,  however,  he  quitted  the  schools  entirely,  and  thereafter 
his  education  was  acquired  in  his  intercourse  with  men,  the 
reading  of  books,  and  his  constant  observation  of  the  events 
and  transactions  of  the  busy  world  around  him. 

430 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY.  431 

His  mind  was  appreciative  and  retentive.  He  exemplified 
in  himself  the  possibility  of  a  man  in  this  free  country  of  ours 
having  but  the  rudiments  of  an  education  to  start  with,  yet  be 
coming  by  his  own  efforts,  fully  equipped  for  all  the  practical 
business  which  could  be  reasonably  demanded  of  a  man  in 
his  sphere  of  life. 

In  all  particulars  John  B.  Wyman  was  a  thoroughly  self- 
made  man. 

After  leaving  school,  he  was  for  a  time  employed  in  a 
clothing  store  in  Shrewsbury,  Massachusetts,  and  as  early  as 
1838,  became  a  partner  in  a  mercantile  house,  and  is  said  to 
have  opened  the  first  ready-made  clothing  store  in  Cincinnati, 
Ohio.  For  two  years  only  he  remained  in  the  latter  place, 
and  then  returned  to  his  native  State,  when  he  became  a  mem 
ber  of  a  firm  engaged  in  the  dry-goods  business.  About  this 
time  he  was  married  to  Miss  Maria  Bradley. 

In  1848,  he  was  a  general  clerk  in  the  Springfield  Car  and 
Kngine  shops,  and  afterwards  was  Superintendent  in  the  con 
struction  of  cars.  In  1850  he  was  a  conductor  on  the  New 
York  &  New  Haven  Railroad,  and  subequently  Superintend 
ent  of  the  Connecticut  River  Railroad. 

Entering  the  service  of  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Com 
pany  in  1852,  he  assisted  in  the  survey  and  construction  of 
that  railroad  under  Colonel  R.  B.  Mason,  General  Superin 
tendent  and  Chief  Engineer.  For  a  time  he  was  employed 
upon  the  Chicago  branch  of  the  road,  but  in  1853,  was  trans 
ferred  to  the  main  line  with  headquarters  at  Amboy,  and  on 
the  opening  of  the  road  for  business  he  was  appointed  Super 
intendent  of  the  Northern  Division. 

Amboy  became  his  permanent  home,  and  he  took  a  great 
interest  in  its  growth  and  prosperity,  being  elected  the  first 
Mayor,  and  re-elected  in  1860. 

Colonel  Wy man's  business  career  was  a  varied  and  check 
ered  one,  well  calculated  to  give  him  a  broad  and  comprehen 
sive  knowledge  of  men  and  things,  and  thus  better  fit  him  for 
the  stern  duty  which  he  was  afterwards  called  upon  to  perform. 

At  an  early  age,  Colonel  Wyman  evinced  a  great  fondness 


432  HISTORY   OF    THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

for  military  affairs,  and  for  the  drilling  and  handling  of  men. 
When  a  very  young  man  he  belonged  to,  and  trained  with,  a 
rifle  company  in  Shrewsbury,  and  was  a  member  of  the  ' '  City 
Guards,"  of  Worcester,  Massachusetts.  At.  a  later  date,  he 
commanded  the  "  Chicago  I/ight  Guards,"  the  crack  military 
company  of  that  city,  and  for  some  years  was  its  popular  cap 
tain.  A  number  of  years  before  the  war,  when  a  military 
company  was  being  organized  in  Dixon,  the  writer  well  remem 
bers  seeing  the  Colonel  (then  called  "  Captain  " )  drilling  the 
company,  apparently  with  as  much  enthusiasm  as  if  it  had 
been  actually  going  to  war,  instead  of  playing  soldier.  It  will 
thus  be  seen,  that  by  natural  ability,  as  well  as  by  practical 
education  and  military  training,  the  Colonel,  at  the  outset  of 
the  war,  was  well  qualified,  and  abundantly  equipped,  in  all 
that  was  necessary  to  enable  him  successfully  to  organize  and 
command  men  when  called  out  for  the  defense  of  their  coun 
try.  But  above  and  beyond  all  this,  deep  down  in  his  heart 
he  was  a  patriot,  a  true  lover  of  his  country,  and  when  our 
flag  was  fired  upon,-  and  the  Union  was  threatened  with  dis 
solution  and  destruction,  the  deepest  emotions  of  his  nature 
were  profoundly  stirred,  and  like  hundreds  and  thousands  of 
the  volunteers  of  that  day,  he  swore  by  the  God  of  our  fathers 
to  help  save  the  country  or  die  in  the  attempt. 

It  was  the  privilege  of  the  writer  to  know  Colonel  Wyman 
well,  and  he  will  never  forget  a  certain  morning  in  April  1861, 
when  the  Colonel  came  into  the  office  where  the  writer  was  then 
studying  law,  for  the  purpose  of  arranging  some  business 
preparatory  to  starting  for  Springfield  to  assist  in  the  organi 
zation  of  the  first  regiments  enlisted  under  the  call  for  75,000 
men.  After  expressing  himself  in  his  usual  forcible  language, 
as  to  the  purposes  of  the  leaders  of  the  rebellion,  he  said, 
"John,  we  are  going  to  have  war  and  I  am  going  to  have  a 
hand  in  it."  I  replied  by  saying,  "Captain,  if  you  go  into 
the  war  I  will  go  with  you." 

We  were  both  as  good  as  our  word,  but  how  little  could 
either  anticipate  the  tragic  fate  which  met  him  at  Chickasaw 
Bayou. 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY.  433 

The  evening  of  the  day  upon  which  the  above  conversation 
was  had,  Colonel  Wyman  started  for  Springfield  where  he  was 
immediately  appointed  Assistant  Adjutant-General  of  Illinois, 
in  which  capacity,  by  his  military  knowledge  and  great  exec 
utive  ability  he  rendered  very  valuable  services  to  the  State 
government. 

In  the  organization  of  the  Thirteenth,  he  was  commis 
sioned  as  its  colonel,  and  it  is  believed,  that  he  was  the 
ranking  Colonel  of  the  Volunteer  Army  of  the  United  States, 
at  the  time  of  his  death. 

His  actual  command  of  the  regiment,  may  be  said  to  have 
commenced  on  that  memorable  Sunday,  when  we  left  camp 
Dement  for  Caseyville,  and  thenceforward  his  career  is  a  part 
of  the  history  of  the  Thirteenth. 

To  the  survivors  of  the  regiment,  little  need  be  said  as  to 
the  characteristics  of  the  Colonel.  Towards  the  shirk,  sneak, 
or  coward,  he  could  be  stern,  rough,  and  sometimes  even  vio 
lent,  but  to  his  "boys"  generally,  whom  he  believed  to  be 
patriots,  trying  to  do  their  whole  duty  to  their  country,  he 
could  be  as  gentle  as  a  father.  He  hated  injustice  and  petty 
tyranny,  and  no  one  ever  went  to  him  with  a  just  complaint, 
and  failed  to  get  a  fair  hearing.  None  of  his  men  ever  ap 
pealed  to  him  for  a  favor  and  was  refused,  unless  the  necessities 
of  the  service,  or  a  stern  sense  of  duty  forbade  its  being  granted. 
His  heart  went  out  to  his  men,  and  he  had  a  keen  sense 
of  the  responsibility  placed  upon  him  in  assuming  their  com 
mand.  On  one  occasion  in  Camp  Dement  when  the  regiment, 
one  thousand  strong,  was  drawn  up  in  line  on  the  parade  ground, 
he  stood  looking  at  them  and  remarked  to  Captain  Dement : 
' '  I  feel  the  necessity  of  being  a  Christian  now,  more  than  ever 
before.  The  responsibility  of  the  lives  and  health  of  these  men, 
is  too  much  for  one  man,  of  himself."  In  daily  intercourse 
with  Colonel  Wyman  in  the  army,  he  would  hardly  have  been 
suspected  of  entertaining  sentiments  such  as  this,  but  to  those 
who  knew  him  best  it  would  be  no  surprise.  Like  the  chest 
nut-burr,  he  was  the  roughest  on  the  outside.  Beneath  his 
brusk  manner,  and  sometimes  rough  exterior,  beat  as  warm 


434  HISTORY  OF   THE   THIRTEENTH   REGIMENT 

and  generous  a  heart  as  ever  throbbed  in  a  soldier's  bosom. 
When  Lyon  was  killed  at  Wilson's  Creek,  and  the  survivors 
of  that  desperate  fight  came  back  to  Rol^a,  the  writer  was  in 
a  position  to  see  and  know  somewhat  of  the  efforts  put  forth 
by  the  Colonel,  to  provide  for  help  and  assist  the  wounded 
men  who  had  been  in  the  engagement.  No  man  could  have 
done  more,  nor  could  any  one  have  shown  greater  kindness, 
or  tenderer  sympathy  than  he  did  at  that  time.  It  was  in  his 
heart  to  be  kind  to  the  soldier,  unless  his  duty  required  him  to 
appear  otherwise.  In  common  with  his  fellows,  he  had  some 
faults,  but  many  virtues.  All  will  agree,  that  in  himself,  he 
exemplified  the  truth  of  the  lines  : 

"  The  bravest  are  the  tenderest, 
The  loving,  are  the  daring." 

As  an  executive  officer,  Colonel  Wyman  had  few  equals. 
His  ability  in  this  regard,  undoubtedly  caused  the  long  de 
tention  of  the  regiment  at  Rolla,  Missouri,  much  to  the  dis 
satisfaction  of  many  of  the  men  and  officers  of  the  command. 
But  Rolla  was  an  extremely  important  military  post  in  the 
early  part  of  the  war,  being  the  base  of  supplies  for  all  the 
armies  of  the  Southwest,  and  it  was  necessary  that  some 
officer  should  be  in  command  there,  about  whose  competency 
there  could  be  no  question.  That  he  fully  met  all  the  de 
mands  made  upon  him  while  filling  the  responsible  position 
of  commandant  of  the  post  at  Rolla  has  never  been  doubted, 
but  his  retention  there  so  long  was  unquestionably  a  great  dis 
advantage  to  him  personally.  Other  men  of  lesser  rank,  and 
certainly  of  no  greater  ability,  went  to  the  front  with  their 
regiments,  and  became  brigadier  and  major-generals.  Had 
the  Thirteenth  been  at  Pea  Ridge  with  Colonel  Wyman  in 
command,  he  would  have  ranked  with  Jeff.  C.  Davis,  G.  M. 
Dodge.  E.  A.  Carr,  P.  J.  Osterhaus,  Frank  J.  Herron,  Colonel 
Vandever  and  others  who  became  general  officers  after  that 
fight  and  by  reason  of  the  record  they  there  made. 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY.  435 

That  he  was  as  brave  as  the  bravest  of  them,  was  after 
wards  demonstrated. 

At  our  reunion. in  Dixon  in  May,  1886,  Captain  Dement 
gave  an  instance  of  Colonel  Wyman's  great  executive  ability, 
which  it  is  believed  is  well  worthy  of  being  preserved  here  as 
illustrative  of  his  readiness  in  emergencies.  When  General 
Steele's  Division  was  about  to  embark  for  Chickasaw  Bayou, 
the  General  said  he  could  not  get  his  command,  with  the 
artillery,  wagon-train,  etc.,  on  the  steamboats  assigned  to 
him  ;  and  was  very  much  embarrassed  by  the  situation.  Col 
onel  Wyman  hearing  the  condition  of  affairs,  informed  the 
General  that  he  could  load  the  division  in  a  single  day  by  five 
o'clock.  General  Steele  requested  him  to  take  charge  of  the 
embarkation.  Colonel  Wyman  complied  with  the  request  and 
easily  accomplished  the  task.  He  always  saw,  if  a  thing  could 
be  accomplished  at  all,  not  only  the  way  to  do  it  but  the  best 
way  to  do  it.  When  other  men  deliberated  and  hesitated,  he 
seemed  to  grasp  the  situation  by  intuition,  and  know  instantly 
what  ought  to  be  done.  Added  to  this,  his  influence  over 
men  was  so  great  that  he  had  the  faculty  of  getting  out  of 
them  their  best  efforts  and  endeavors.  Colonel  Wyman  had 
three  characteristics  in  a  marked  degree,  which  are  eminently 
necessary  to  make  a  successful  military  commander,  viz., 
first,  undoubted  personal  bravery  and  courage  ;  second,  ex 
ecutive  ability  of  a  high  order  ;  third,  the  ability  to  inspire 
his  men  with  his  own  faith  and  confidence  in  the  success  of 
whatever  they  undertook  to  do.  Had  he  lived,  there  is  no 
doubt  he  would  have  attained  high  rank  in  the  army,  for  he 
had  all  the  essential  qualifications  for  a  successful  commander. 
If  he  had  a  fault  as  a  commander,  it  was  in  being  too  oblivious 
to  any  sense  of  personal  danger.  He  utterly  disregarded  any 
idea  of  shielding  himself  from  harm,  and  while  having  the 
utmost  anxiety  that  his  men  should  be  protected  as  far  as 
possible,  he  recklessly  exposed' himself  to  danger,  and  it  may 
truthfully  be  said  that  he  fell  a  victim  to  his  own  rashness. 
The  story  of  ' '  Chickasaw  Bayou  ' '  will  be  told  in  other  parts 
of  this  history,  and  it  is  not  the  purpose  of  this  chapter  to 


436  HISTORY   OF  THE   THIRTEENTH   REGIMENT 

detail  it  here,  except  in  so  far  as  Colonel  Wyman  was  con 
cerned  in  it  personally  ;  but  it  was  then  that  he  and  his  regi 
ment  first  met  a  baptism  of  fire,  and  it  was  there  also  he  met 
his  tragic  death.  Those  of  the  regiment  who  were  there  and 
participated  in  that  bloody  fight,  will  unhesitatingly  bear  wit 
ness  to  the  fact,  that  Colonel  Wyman  was  the  central  and 
commanding  figure  in  that  portion  of  the  field  where  his  regi 
ment  was  engaged.  In  the  way  they  fought,  they  were,  to  a 
certain  extent,  sacrificed  or  whipped  in  detail.  That  the  men 
of  the  Thirteenth,  had  no  lack  of  individual  bravery,  goes 
without  saying  ;  but  lacking  cohesion  and  concert  of  action 
which  gives  the 

"  ESPRIT  DE  CORPS," 

it  was  impossible  it  should  have  done  its  best  work  or  accom 
plished  the  results  which  otherwise  might  have  been  attained. 
During  the  short  time  he  was  in  the  engagement,  he  fully 
demonstrated  his  abilities  as  a  commander  when  under  fire  and 
in  the  face  of  the  enemy  and  but  for  the  murderous  bullet  of 
the  sharp-shooter  which  terminated  his  career,  he  must  soon 
have  been  recognized  as  fully  entitled  to  take  higher  rank  and 
a  larger  command  than  he  had  thus  far  received. 

Before  his  death  he  had  been  nominated  as  a  brigadier- 
general  by  President  Lincoln,  and  his  name  had  been  sent  to 
the  Senate  for  confirmation  ;  but  he  died  before  the  good 
news  could  reach  him  of  his  long  delayed  promotion. 

While  we  may  mourn  for  him  and  for  all  the  martyred 
hosts  that  shared  his  fate,  we  may  yet  thank  God  the  sacrifice 
was  not  in  vain,  but  that  the  cause  for  which  they  fell  was 
successful,  and  that  our  glorious  Union  was  and  is  preserved. 

Colonel  Wyman  was  killed  at  Chickasaw  Bayou,  December 
28th,  1862.  He  had  been  surveying  the  field  of  operations  on 
the  rebel  side,  with  a  field-glass,  and  had  already  been  fired  at 
several  times  by  rebel  sharp-shooters,  but  disregarding  the 
danger,  he  seemed  to  think,  and  in  fact  is  said  to  have  re 
marked,  that  the  bullet  was  not  made  that  could  hit  him  ;  and 
so  he  was  shot  and  received  his  death- wound. 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY.  437 

Captain  Dement  thus  relates  the  incident :  ' '  Being  the 
only  officer  near  him  when  he  was  shot,  I  can  testify  that  no 
soldier  ever  received  his  death- wound  with  more  sublime 
courage.  When  I  searched  for  the  wound,  I  found  the  bullet 
had  passed  through  his  shirt  in  front  of  his  shoulders,  and 
remarked  :  This  wound  can  not  be  dangerous  Colonel,  but 
with  that  pleasant  smile  so  characteristic  of  him  he  said, 
'  Oh  !  yes  Harry,  it  is  all  over  ;  this  side  is  nearly  paralyzed 
already.'  He  never  complained — the  same  pleasant  smile 
spread  over  his  features  when  any  member  of  his  regiment 
approached." 

He  was  not  permitted  to  live  long  enough  to  see  our  cause 
gloriously  triumphant,  and  the  union  of  these  States  estab 
lished  on  a  firmer  basis  than  the  founders  of  our  government 
ever  dreamed  of,  'but  he  did  all  that  man  could  do  for  the 
attainment  of  that  end.  His  remains  were  brought  back  to 
his  home  in  Amboy,  where  a  vast  concourse  of  people  wit 
nessed  his  burial  in  Prairie  Repose  Cemetery.  Subsequently 
he  wras  removed,  and  the  remains  interred  in  Rose  Hill  Ceme 
tery  in  Chicago,  where  they  still  repose,  and  at  his  tomb,  the 
enlisted  men  of  his  regiment  have  erected  a  handsome  monu 
ment  in  honor  of  his  memory. 

It  was  the  privilege  of  the  writer  to  meet  Colonel  Wyman 
in  Dixon,  only  a  few  weeks  before  starting  on  the  fated  expe 
dition  to  Chickasaw  Bayou.  After  a  few  minutes  friendly 
chat,  we  shook  hands  and  parted.  The  last  words  he  said 
were  spoken  in  his  usual  jovial  and  jocular  style,  which  every 
member  of  the  regiment  will  remember.  While  holding  my 
hand  he  said  :  "  Well,  good-bye,  we'll  meet  again  down  below, 
somewhere  this  side  of  Heaven  ;  if  not,  we'll  meet  at  the 
gates  and  go  in  together."  Are  there  some  who  would  regard 
these  words  as  flippant  and  irreverent  ?  They  do  not  strike 
me  so,  nor  do  I  think  they  were  so  intended.  We  were  both 
soldiers,  and  knew  not  what  a  day  might  bring  to  either. 

The  words  deeply  impressed  me  at  the  time,  lightly  as 
they  were  spoken,  and,  when  a  few  days  afterwards  I  learned 
of  his  tragic  death,  and  knew  that  his  cheery  voice  was  stilled 


438  HISTORY   OF  THE   THIRTEENTH   REGIMENT 

in  death,  that  his  kindly  heart  had  ceased  to  throb  and  pulsate 
with  the  pnrple  current  of  life,  and  the  hand  that  so  recently 
and  warmly  grasped  mine,  had  become  lifeless  as  clay.  I 
recalled  his  last  words  to  me,  and  they  sank  deep  down  into 
my  heart,  never  to  be  erased  while  memory  holds  a  place  in 
my  being. 

If  he  has  not  already  ' '  passed  through  the  gates, ' '  may 
not  all  of  the  old  "  Thirteenth  "  hope  to  meet  him  there,  wait 
ing  to  welcome  them,  when  they  are  called  to  their  final 

reward. 

J.  D.  CRABTREE. 


THE  DEATH  OF  COLONEL  JOHN  B.  WYMAN. 

Comrade  Judge  Crabtree's  splendid  tribute  to  the  memory 
of  Colonel  John  B.  Wyman,  as  given  above,  is  exhaustive  and 
as  complete  as  was  possible  under  the  circumstances  ;  but  the 
last  hours  of  our  Colonel  were  not  known  to  the  Judge,  and  he 
will  have  no  objection  to  seeing  the  picture  completed  by  hands 
that  helped  to  smooth  the  pillow  of  the  dying  soldier. 

Some  who  were  about  Colonel  Wyman  when  the  fatal  bul 
let  struck  him  down,  remarked  the  great  calmness  and  peace 
exhibited  in  his  demeanor.  This  must  have  been  the  calm 
which  precedes  the  storm.  Following  the  directions  of  the  sur 
geon,  the  writer  stood  by  the  stretcher  that  was  to  prove  the 
bier  of  Colonel  Wyman,  and  while  holding  his  hand,  the 
cyclone  of  his  soul  burst  forth,  and  the  most  fearful  impreca 
tions  were  hurled  through  the  lips  which,  at  the  same  moment 
were  covered  with  the  froth  of  near  approaching  death.  His 
whole  warrior's  soul  was  aroused  to  combat  both  rebellion  and 
death ;  to  neither  of  which  would  he  surrender.  He  defied 
first  one  and  then  the  other  ;  and  the  violent  transitions  from 
the  stormy  emotions  of  rage  toward  his  foes,  to  the  tenderest 
pathos  of  fatherly  endearments,  lavished  with  the  prodigality 
which  might  be  expected  from  a  loving  woman's  heart  only, 
on  his  son  Osgood,  who  stood  by  his  side  with  his  face  bathed 
in  tears,  and  his  frame  shaken  with  deep  emotion,  can  never  be 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY.  439 

forgotten.  But  the  tempest  spends  its  fury,  and  the  tempest- 
tossed  human  soul  must  have  rest. 

THE  DEAD  WARRIOR,  AT  LAST,  WAS  AT  REST. 

Earthly  ambitions  were  buried  in  the  hero's  grave.  His 
country  had,  too  late,  considered  his  case  for  promotion.  What 
need  had  he  now,  for  stars  ?  except 

' '  AS   STARS   IN   HIS    CROWN   OF   REJOICING  ' '  ? 

for,  unquestionably,  Colonel  Wyman  long  had  cherished  the 
Christian's  hope. 

The  remains  were  carefully  sealed  up  in  a  metallic  casket 
and  borne  tenderly  to  the  steamer  on  the  Yazoo,  for  transpor 
tation  North  ;  but,  as  though  turning  his  gaze  backward  twice, 
in  his  journey  toward  the  land  of  eternal  silence,  and  beckon 
ing  another,  and  another  farewell  to  his  old  comrades  of  the 
Thirteenth,  we  hear  of  him  twice  again. 

On  January  $d,  1863,  General  Hurlbut,  at  Memphis,  writes 
to  General  Grant  that : 

"  I  have  received  dispatches  from  Gorman.  Sherman  has 
had  a  bitter  fight ;  forced  the  first  line  of  intrenchments,  cap 
tured  and  holds  one  nine-gun  battery,  captured  their  main 
fort  on  Walnut  Hills  at  point  of  bayonet,  but  supports  did 
not  come  up,  and  our  men  were  driven  out  with  great  slaugh 
ter.  Morgan  Smith  is  wounded  ;  Giles  Smith,  Colonel  Eighth 
Missouri,  and  Wyman,  Thirteenth  Illinois ,  killed.  *  *  *  * 
January  i  st,  1863,  General  Gorman,  at  Helena,  to  General 
Hurlbut  at  Memphis,  says  : 

*  *  *  *  "The  dead  body  of  Colonel  Wyman,  of  the 
Thirteenth  Illinois,  is  here  on  board  a  flag  of  truce  boat." 

:£       ><:       j«c       ^ 

As  though,  when  arrived  at  Helena,  his  mortal  remains 
had  reached  the  border-land  beyond  which  mortal  vision 
ceases. 

This  is  the  last  glimpse   that   his   old   regiment,  and   the 

army  has  of  the  lamented  John  B.  Wyman. 

ASA  B.  MUXN. 


440  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

COL.  ADAM  B.  GORGAS. 

Col.  Adam  B.  Gorgas  was  born  at  Myerstown,  Lebanon 
county,  Pennsylvania,  January  5th,  1829.  At  the  age  of 
about  two  years  the  family  removed  to  Pine  Grove,  Schuyl- 
kill  county,  Pennsylvania,  where  young  Gorgas  resided  until 
1852,  at  which  time  he  located  in  Dixon,  Illinois. 

In  his  early  life  he  attended  the  common  schools  and 
received  a  fair  business  education.  At  the  age  of  seventeen 
years  he  accepted  a  position  as  clerk  in  the  office  of  Register 
and  Clerk  of  Orphans'  Court  in  said  Schuylkill  county, 
where  he  remained  four  3^ears.  He  then  entered  the  law 
office  of  G.  Loesen  and  commenced  the  study  of  law.  He 
served  the  term  required  by  the  rules  of  the  court  necessary 
to  be  admitted  to  practice,  but  never  applied  for  admission  to 
the  bar.  Instead,  he  adopted  the  profession  of  Conveyancer, 
remaining  in  that  office  for  about  five  years. 

September  i3th,  1853,  he  was  married  ;  his  wife  and  four 
children — three  girls  and  one  boy — are  still  living.  He  was 
eng  agd  in  the  profession  of  Conveyancer  and  writing  in  the 
Recorder's  office  of  Lee  county  a  portion  of  the  time  after 
removing  to  Dixon,  until  the  outbreak  of  the  war  in  1861. 
Colonel  Gorgas  had  some  experience  in  military  matters  in 
an  organization  of  State  troops,  and  when  a  company  was 
organized  in  Dixon  under  the  call  for  troops,  he  was  elected 
captain  of  said  company,  which  afterwards  became  Company 
A,  of  the  Thirteenth  Illinois  Volunteer  Infantry.  At  the 
organization  and  "muster  in "  of  the  regiment  May  gth, 
1861,  he  was  elected  major  and  mustered  in  as  such.  Lieu 
tenant-Colonel  B.  F.  Parks  resigned  June  25th,  1861,  and 
Major  Gorgas  was  promoted  to  the  office  of  Lieutenant- 
Colonel,  in  which  capacity  he  served  until  the  death  of  Col. 
John  B.  Wyman,  which  occurred  at  Chickasaw  Bayou, 
December  28th,  1862.  February  28th,  1863,  he  was  mustered 
in  as  colonel,  and  held  that  position  until  the  "muster  out  " 
of  the  regiment,  June  i8th,  1864. 

After  the  close  of  the  war  he  resided  for  a  time  in  German- 


S.    C.    PI.UMMEK,    M.    I). 
Regimental  Surgeon,  1862. 


S.    C.    PLUMMER,    M.    D. 
Regimental  Surgeon  (1892). 


ILLINOIS     VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  441 

town,  Pennsylvania,  and  sometime  in  1881  removed  with  his 
family  to  Crookston,  Minnesota,  where  he  now  resides.  He 
engaged  for  a  time  in  the  real  estate  business,  but  later 
became  interested  in  the  Crookston  Water  Works,  where  he 
was  employed  for  a  time.  He  then  returned  to  the  real-estate 
business  in  connection  with  insurance,  in  which  he  is  still 
engaged. 

Colonel  Gorgas  was  blest  with  a  strong,  vigorous  frame, 
a  splendid  military  bearing  and  a  kind  heart  which  always 

went  out  in  sympathy  to  his  subordinates. 

H.  T.  NOBLE. 


SAMUEL  CRAIG  PLUMMER,  M.  D. 

SURGEON   OF  THE   THIRTEENTH    ILLINOIS. 

Enlisted  at  Rock  Island,  Illinois,  April  i6th,  1861,  and 
mustered  with  the  regiment  at  Dixon,  Illinois,  on  May  24th, 
1 86 1,  with  the  rank  of  major. 

Dr.  Plummer  was  born  April  loth,  1821,  at  Salem  Cross- 
Roads,  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania  ;  and  on  entering 
the  army  was  forty  years  old,  light  complexion,  blue  eyes, 
dark  brown  hair,  five  feet  nine  and  one-half  inches  tall, 
weighed  one  hundred  and  sixty  pounds,  and  was  by  profes 
sion  a  physician. 

The  Plummers  are  of  English  descent,  where  one  or  more 
branches  of  the  family  can  now  be  found  in  Middlesex  ;  but 
the  American  patriarch  of  the  family,  Francis  Plummer,  who 
was  by  occupation  a  linen-weaver,  and  residing  at  Woolwich, 
near  London,  with  Ruth,  his  wife,  and  several  children,— 
certainly  their  two  sons,  Samuel  and  Joseph, — came  to  New 
England  in  1633.  and  settled  in  Newbury,  in  the  then  Colony 
of  Massachusetts  Bay,  but  which  in  1776  became  the  State  of 
Massachusetts.  Somewhat  of  his  status  may  be  learned  from 
the  old  records  which  declare  him  to  have  been  a  freeman  in 
the  year  after  coming  to  New  England,  which  means  that  he 
was  a  voter  by  reason  of  Puritan  church-membership,  which 


442  HISTORY   OF  THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

alone,  in  those  times,  qualified  a  man  for  citizenship  in  that 
colony. 

The  descendants  of  Francis  Plummer  have  been  repre 
sented  in  the  Colonial  Legislature,  and  have,  furnished  a  gov 
ernor  to  New  Hampshire  and  five  were  members  of  Congress. 

Dr.  Plummer  also  comes  of  good  fighting  stock  ;  for  John 
Plummer,  the  grandson  of  the  patriarch  Francis,  a  soldier  from 
Dorchester,  Massachusetts,  was  killed  by  the  Indians  while 
defending  Hatfield,  Massachusetts,  on  the  28th  of  August, 
1675.  Dr.  Plummer' s  great-grandfather,  on  his  father's  side, 
served  on  General  Braddock's  staff,  and  was  with  him  at  the 
battle  and  defeat  of  General  Braddock,  at  Braddock's  Field, 
in  1755,  then  near,  and  now  in  the  city  of  Pittsburg,  Pennsyl 
vania.  His  grandfather  on  his  mother's  side  was  a  soldier  in 
the  war  of  1812. 

The  parents  of  Dr.  Plummer,  John  B.  Plummer,  and  Eliza 
beth  Craig,  were  both  born  in  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsyl 
vania,  and  their  ancestors  settled  in  western  Pennsylvania  at 
an  early  day. 

Dr.  Plummer  received  a  common  school  education,  after 
which  he  was  in  the  Preparatory  Department  of  Western  Re 
serve  College,  Ohio,  for  one  year.  Returning  to  Greenville, 
Pennsylvania,  he  was  in  the  Greenville  Academy  about  two 
years.  He  then  read  medicine  under  Dr.  H.  D.  La  Cossett  for 
three  years.  He  also  attended  lectures  at  Cleveland  Medical 
College,  from  which  he  graduated.  He  also  received  the 
Ad  eundem  degree  from  the  Western  Reserve  University  at 
Cleveland,  Ohio,  and  for  thirteen  years  previous  to  entering 
the  army,  he  practiced  his  profession  in  Rock  Island,  Illinois. 

Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  by  long,  patient  and  thorough 
study,  and  subsequent  practice,  Dr.  Plummer  brought  to  his 
new  position  of  Army  Surgeon  the  full  equipment  and  rich 
furnishment  which  were  necessary  to  that  position  and  its  col 
lateral  possibilities. 

Being  the  ranking  surgeon  in  the  Volunteer  Army — as  he 
believed — together  with  his  social  qualities,  and  his  great 
executive  abilities,  and  devoted  patriotism,  he  was  conspic- 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY.  443 

uously  w.ell  fitted  to  fill  the  important  and  honorable  positions 
to  which,  early  in  the  service,  he  was  called  ;  and  whether  a 
regimental-surgeon,  medical  director  of  the  army  of  the 
Eastern  District  of  Arkansas,  surgeon-in-chief  First  Division 
of  the  Fifteenth  Army  Corps,  or  medical  director  of  the  Fif 
teenth  Army  Corps,  he  honored  the  service  as  much  as  these 
various  grades  of  service  honored  him.  And  while  these 
higher  grades  of  the  service  were  enjoyable  to  him — as  he 
says — as  it  brought  him  into  close  and  intimate  association 
with  many  of  our  most  prominent  generals  and  commanding 
officers  in  all  departments  of  the  service,  his  fealty  to  his  old 
regiment  never  faltered  ;  and  while  his  old  boys  were  always 
scolding  about  him,  that  is,  those  natures  that  are  always 
chronic  grumblers,  at  the  same  time  they  would  much  rather 
take  a  dose  of  blue-mass  from  him,  than  whisky  and  sugar 
from  any  of  the  assistant  surgeons  ;  while  on  his  part  he 
might  be  depended  upon  to  mount  his  horse  and  ride  three 
miles  to  the  camp  of  the  Thirteenth,  to  look  at  the  tongue  of 
some  eighth  corporal,  or  high-private  in  Company  Q,  and 
then  prescribe  blue-mass,  and  see  that  it  was  taken,  than  to 
accept  an  invitation  to  dinner  with  some  major-general. 

As  characteristic  of  the  above-mentioned  fealty  to  his 
comrades  of  his  old  regiment,  and  his  hatred  of  shams,  and 
the  fuss-and-feathers  of  high-graded  red-tape,  it  will  be  both 
pertinent  and  proper  here  to  relate  that  on  the  day  that  Wy- 
man  fell,  at  Chickasaw  Bayou,  Dr.  Plummer,  being  a  medical 
director,  and  with  his  operating  table  in  the  woods,  some 
what  back  and  to  the  southwest  of  the  I/ake  Plantation,  and 
near  General  Sherman's  headquarters,  was  notified  that 
Colonel  Wyman  was  shot.  The  doctor  dropped  everything, 
mounted  his  horse  and  without  asking  leave,  hastened  with 
such  speed  as  the  nature  of  the  country  would  allow  of,  away 
to  the  right  to  where  our  regiment  was  in  line  of  battle  imme 
diately  to  the  left  of  Gen.  Morgan  I,.  Smith's  second  division 
and  was  hotly  engaged.  The  ranking  surgeon  was  imme 
diately  informed  of  Dr.  Plummer' s  action,  and  started  a 
mounted  messenger  in  hot  pursuit  with  orders  for  Dr.  Plum- 


444  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

mer  to  return  immediately  to  his  post  of  duty  ;  which,  on 
overtaking  the  doctor,  the  messenger  delivered,  and  received 
the  reply  that  the  doctor's  Colonel  had  been  shot  and  he  was 
going  to  him.  The  messenger  called  the  attention  of  the 
doctor  to  the  fact  that  the  order  was  imperative.  This  raised 
the  doctor's  ire  to  its  highest  executive  pitch  ;  and  he  sent 
back  a  plump  refusal  to  obey  the  order,  together  with  a  mes 
sage  couched  in  language  of  such  scorn  and  contempt  as 
enraged  the  ranking  surgeon  to  that  degree  that  he  at  once 
preferred  charges  against  the  doctor ;  but  on  being  brought 
before  General  Sherman,  his  explanation  caused  the  General 
to  dismiss  the  case  with  something  less  than  a  reprimand, 
and  scarcely  more  than  a  suggestion  that,  henceforth,  his 
language  should  be  somewhat  more  carefully  considered 
when  communicating  with  his  superior  officer. 

It  seems  unjust,  and  certainly  is  unfortunate,  that  such 
eminent  services  as  were  rendered  his  country,  by  Dr.  Plurn- 
mer,  do  not  carry  with  them  promotion  in  rank  such  as  is 
received  by  commanders  of  troops  in  the  field.  Measured  by 
the  actual  value  of  important  services  rendered,  the  unsur 
passed,  if  approached,  sanitary  condition  of  his  regiment  dur 
ing  its  full  term  of  service,  and  his  eminent  ability  in  many 
higher  positions,  as  a  surgeon,  fully  entitled  him  to  have  car 
ried  home  with  him  the  stars  of  a  major-general. 

Dr.  O.  P.  S.  Plummer,  a  brother  of  the  subject  of  this 
sketch,  was  for  a  few  months,  assistant  surgeon  of  our  regi 
ment  ;  while  the  doctor's  son,  Samuel  C.  Plummer,  Jr.,  M.  D., 
is  now  a  practicing  physician  in  Chicago. 

On  being  mustered  out  of  the  military  service,  Dr.  Plum 
mer  returned  to  his  family  at  Rock  Island,  Illinois,  and 
resumed  the  practice  of  his  profession. 

On  October  ryth,  1844,  Dr-  Plummer  had  married  Julia 
Hayes,  of  Burg  Hill,  Ohio,  who  died  October  6th,  1872. 
They  had  five  children. 

Dr.  Plummer  married  the  second  time,  on  June  gth, 
1874,  Sarah  Moore  Dawson,  at  New  Wilmington,  Penn 
sylvania. 


LIKUT.-COL.   F.    W.    PARTRIDGE. 

Thirteenth  Regiment  Illinois  Volunteer  Infantry. 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  445 

By  the  explosion  of  a  shell,  at  the  assault  on  the  22d  of 
May,  1863,  during  the  siege  of  Vicksburg,  Dr.  Plummer  lost 
the  hearing  of  his  right  ear  ;  otherwise,  with  the  grizzled  hair 
and  white  beard  of  his  seventy  years,  he  is  remarkably  well 
preserved,  attending  to  the  duties  of  surgeon  for  two  impor 
tant  railroads  besides  a  large  home  practice,  is  a  Mason,  is  a 
Republican,  and  periodically  attends  the  meetings  of  the 
Loyal  Legion,  at  Chicago,  and  never  misses  the  annual 
reunion  of  his  old  regiment,  at  Dixon,  Illinois. 

Dr.  Plummer  and  his  estimable  lady  live  respected  by  all  at 
their  home  at  Rock  Island,  Illinois,  where  the  latch-string 
always  hangs  outside,  and  his  pill-box  is  invitingly  open  to 
every  surviving  member  of  his  old  regiment,  who  all  hope  he 
will  be  with  them  yet,  many  long  years.  ASA  B.  MUNN. 


FREDERICK  W.  PARTRIDGE. 

Staff  No.  4,  General  Frederick  W.  Partridge  was  born 
August  igth,  1826,  at  Norwich,  Windsor  county,  Vermont. 
He  traces  his  lineage  to  a  line  of  ancestry  noted  for  military 
tastes  and  acquirements.  His  father  commanded  a  company 
in  General  Scott's  regiment  at  the  battle  of  Lundy's  Lane  in 
1812.  Two  of  his  uncles  were  graduates  of  West  Point 
Academy  and  were  captains  in  the  Corps  of  Engineers  at  the 
time  of  their  death. 

A  cousin  of  his  father's,  named  Alden  Partridge,  was  cap 
tain  in  the  regular  army,  and  at  one  time  was  superintendent 
of  the  West  Point  Academy. 

Colonel  Partridge  attended  the  common  schools  in  his  early 
years  and  afterward  entered  as  a  student  the  Norwich  Vermont 
Literary,  Scientific  and  Military  Academy,  and  was  for  a 
length  of  time  under  the  personal  care  of  its  president,  Cap 
tain  Alden  Partridge. 

Later  on  he  spent  some  years  at  Dartsmouth  College,  at 
Hanover,  New  Hampshire,  and  was  elected  Military  In 
structor  of  the  Pennsylvania  Military  Academy  at  Harrisburg. 


446  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

He  was  serving  in  that  capacity  when  the  Mexican  War 
broke  out  in  1847  an<^  at  tn^s  time  was  given  a  commission  in 
the  army,  and  sent  by  President  Polk  on^  secret  service  to 
Mexico.  Owing  to  the  fact  that  his  mission  was  a  secret  one, 
he  could  not  explain  to  the  commanding  officer  the  character 
of  his  trust,  and  owing  to  this  and  the  frontier  difficulty  of 
passing  into  the  enemy's  territory,  he  never  reached  his  desti 
nation,  but  was  arrested  as  a  spy  and  after  a  brief  imprison 
ment  returned  to  Washington  without  accomplishing  the 
object  of  his  mission. 

Lieutenant  Burton,  a  cousin  of  General  Partridge,  was  in 
command  of  the  garrison  at  San  Juan  De  Ulloa  where  he  was 
confined  as  prisoner,  and  at  his  instance  received  kind  and 
liberal  treatment.  Lieutenant  Burton  afterwards  became  a 
general  on  the  artillery  branch  of  service,  and  was  in  command 
at  Fort  McHenry,  near  Baltimore,  Maryland,  when  Jefferson 
Davis  was  confined  there  ,as  a  State  prisoner  in  1865. 

After  his  return  to  Washington,  he  was  given  a  leave  of 
absence  and  went  to  Kendall  county,  Illinois,  and  engaged  in 
farming. 

In  the  spring  of  1858,  he  removed  to  Sandwich,  Illinois, 
with  his  family,  and  then  went  to  Chicago  to  complete  his 
law  studies,  which  he  had  commenced  years  before  in  the 
office  of  Franklin  Pierce  at  Concord,  New  Hampshire.  In 
Chicago  he  entered  the  law  office  of  Arnold,  Larned,  and 
Gregory,  and  in  due  time  was  admitted  to  the  bar,  and  opened 
a  law  office  at  Sandwich.  He  resigned  his  place  in  the  Army 
after  his  "  leave,"  had  expired  in  1847. 

Although  severing  his  connection  with  the  army,  his  mili 
tary  tastes  and  inclinations  still  adhered  to  him  and  he  felt  an 
active  interest  in  military  organization,  and  took  an  active 
part  in  organizing  a  militia  company,  in  the  Forty-fourth 
Battalion  commanded  by  Major  Hitt,  of  Ottawa,  Illinois.  He 
was  a  leader  and  officer  in  other  organizations  for  political 
purposes  for  the  Republican  party  in  the  campaign  of  1856 
and  1860  and  performed  valuable  services  in  his  espoused 
cause. 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY.  447 

At  the  breaking  out  of  the  war  for  the  Union  in  1861,  he 
raised  two  companies  which  were  tendered  through  the  State 
to  the  general  Government  for  the  defense  of  the  ' '  old  flag, ' ' 
one  of  which  he  commanded  as  captain  and  was  known  as 
Company  K  of  the  Thirteenth  Illinois  Volunteers'  Regiment, 
which  became  the  Color  Company. 

When  Lieutenant-Colonel  Parks  resigned  in  June  1861, 
Captain  Partridge  was  elected  Major,  and  when  Colonel 
Wyman  was  killed  in  December,  1862,  Major  Partridge  was 
elected  Lieutenant- Colonel.  He  was  mustered  out  with  the 
regiment  June  18,  1864.  He  was  with  the  regiment  from  first 
to  last  excepting  an  absence  after  he  was  wounded  at  the 
battle  of  Ringgold  Gap. 

March  i3th,  1865,  he  was  brevetted  Colonel  and  Brigadier- 
General.  After  his  return  to  his  home  he  was  elected 
circuit  clerk  and  recorder  of  DeKalb  county,  and  served  in 
this  capacity  four  years,  and  was  then  appointed  Consul  - 
General  of  the  United  States  at  Bangkok,  for  Siam  and  its 
dependencies,  which  position  he  filled  for  more  than  seven 
years.  He  filled  this  position  with  credit  to  himself  and  satis 
faction  to  his  government.  His  duties  were  of  a  varied 
character — some  pleasant,  some  otherwise — and  he  had  the 
bitter  mingled  with  the  sweet — the  cloud  and  the  sunshine. 
Owing  to  the  character  of  the  people,  and  the  state  of  the 
country,  there  were  many  "  accidents  and  incidents  by  flood 
and  field,"  which  confronted  him,  that  are  of  interest  to  his 
old  comrades,  and  the  writer  will  give  in  his  own  words, 
describing  a  trip  he  took  in  that  far-away  land.  He  says  : 

' '  At  one  time  I  traveled  across  the  Continent  of  Asia 
commencing  at  Bangkok,  and  mostly  on  elephant  back 
through  the  Strait's  settlements,  Hindoostan,  and  across  the 
Persian  Gulf. 

"  In  this  long  and  interesting  journey  I  was  several  times 
called  upon  to  defend  my  life,  and  at  one  time  had  to  fight 
stubbornly  with  a  native  chief,  and  kill  and  disable  several  of 
his  warriors.  This  incident  made  a  friend  of  the  King  of 
Cambodia,  whose  son  was  liberated  as  one  of  the  results  of  the 


448  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

fight  and  this  King  made  me  a  "knight"  in  his  Princial 
Order,  and  later  on,  decorated  me  three  times,  which  deco 
rations — beautiful  and  of  considerable  intrinsic  value  are  now 
in  my  possession  at  Sycamore,  as  pleasant  mementoes  of  an 
exciting  passage  in  personal  history." 

In  the  autumn  of  1876,  General  Partridge  returned  to 
America,  visiting  on  his  way  home  many  places  of  interest  on 
the  continent,  Italy,  Switzerland,  France  and  Great  Britain. 

In  1882  he  was  commissioned  by  the  Interior  Department, 
as  special  examiner  of  pensions  and  sent  to  Indiana,  where  he 
has  rendered  efficient  service,  often  visiting  Ohio  and  other 
States  in  special  cars. 

In  the  summer  of  1889,  he  resigned  and  returned  to  his  old 
home  at  Sycamore,  Illinois,  where  he  now  resides. 

In  a  note  to  the  writer  he  says,  ' '  I  have  retired  to  my 
home  to  enjoy  the  rest  and  quiet  that  nowhere  else  are  to  be 
found ;  and  as  my  mind  runs  back  over  the  scenes  and  mem 
ories  of  an  active  life,  I  find  no  place  where  it  lingers  with 
such  pleasures,  as  when  contemplating  my  soldier  life.  No 
scenes  more  stirring,  more  prized,  or  more  firmly  impressed 
than  my  campaign  and  comradeship  with  the  glorious  old 
Thirteenth.  HENRY  T.  NOBLE. 


DOUGLAS  R.  BUSHNELL. 

Maj.  Douglas  R.  Bushnell,  son  of  Francis  W.  and  Louisa 
Bushnell,  was  born  at  Norwich,  Connecticut,  June  iyth, 
1824,  where  the  first  years  of  his  life  were  spent,  and  where 
he  received  a  thorough  education  and  adopted  the  profession 
of  civil  engineer, ,  in  which  capacity  he  was  connected  with 
the  railroads  in  the  vicinity  of  his  native  place. 

In  1845  he  removed  to  New  Hampshire,  and  still  follow 
ing  his  profession,  was  employed  on  many  of  the  railroads  in 
that  and  the  adjoining  State  of  Vermont. 

At  Highgate,  Vermont,  on  the  i6th  of  September,  1849, 
he  was  married  to  Miss  Emily  J.  Edson,  an  intelligent  and 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  449 

accomplished  lady,  in  whose  refined  taste  and  cultivated 
society  he  found  the  counterpart  of  his  own  cultivated  mind  ; 
and  he  participated  in  unusual  domestic  happiness  until  duty 
called  him  to  offer  even  this  precious  boon  upon  the  altar  of 
his  country. 

In  the  fall  of  1850,  falling  in  with  the  tide  of  emigration, 
which  was  wending  its  way  toward  the  fertile  prairies  of  the 
great  West,  he  came  to  Illinois  and  located  at  Rockford,  to 
which  place  he  removed  his  family  the  year  following.  After 
a  three  years'  residence  there,  in  the  meantime,  being 
connected  with  the  Galena  &  Chicago  Union  Railroad,  he 
located  his  family  at  Sterling.  While  here,  he  was  prom 
inently  connected  as  engineer,  with  the  Dixon  Air  Line  Rail 
road,  and  as  chief  engineer,  superintended  the  construction  of 
one  of  the  main  roads  in  the  northern  part  of  Iowa,  running 
westward,  and  also  the  Sycamore  branch  of  the  Galena  & 
Chicago  Union  railroad.  When  the  Sterling  &  Rock  Island 
road  \vas  projected,  he  was  called  to  the  position  of  chief 
engineer,  and  most  successfully  he  performed  his  duties. 

In  the  spring  of  1861,  when  the  first  call  was  made  for 
troops  to  maintain  our  integrity  as  a  nation,  and  to  repel  the 
treasonable  assaults  of  Southern  disunionists  upon  our 
glorious  inheritance  of  unity  and  liberty,  Major  Bushnell  was 
among  the  first  to  respond.  Prompted  by  a  sense  of  duty  to 
his  country,  and  impelled  by  the  true  spirit  of  patriotism,  he 
added  his  name  to  the  muster-roll  of  honor,  and  went  forth  to 
battle  for  the  right— to  lend  the  aid  of  a  heart,  an  intelligent 
mind,  and  a  strong  arm,  in  the  defense  of  his  country's  insti 
tutions. 

At  Sterling,  scores  of  resolute  men,  among  whom  were  the 
most  intelligent,  wealthy  and  influential  of  her  citizens,  left 
their  counters,  their  workshops,  their  offices  and  their  farms, 
to  volunteer  for  the  defense  of  their  dear  old  flag,  and  imme 
diately  commenced  drilling  for  the  service. 

They  expected  no  light  work,  and  raised  no  questions  of 
bounty  and  pay.  They  knew  only  that  their  country  was  in 
danger,  and  their  bosoms  burned  to  avenge  her  wrongs. 


450  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH   REGIMENT 

Such  were  the  heroes  of  the  Thirteenth  Illinois  Infantry,  and 
such  were  the  men  of  Company  B.  To  be  chosen  leader  of 
these  brave  sons  of  Sterling,  was  an  honor  not  to  be  lightly 
esteemed,  and  in  electing  D.  R.  BushneM  for  their  captain, 
they  manifested  their  appreciation  of  his  ability,  experience 
and  many  virtues.  The  company  was  presented  with  a  beau 
tiful  flag  by  the  citizens,  with  appropriate  ceremonies  ;  and 
with  an  affectionate  adieu  to  his  two  lovely  children  and  a 
tender  farewell  to  the  brave  woman,  who  bade  him  "God 
speed"  in  this  glorious  cause,  Captain  Bushnell  hastened  to 
join  the  regiment  in  camp  at  Dixon. 

The  early  volunteers  having  been  accustomed  to  civil 
liberty,  were  not  prepared  to  endure  the  restraints  of  military 
duty,  and  to  some,  Captain  Bushnell' s  strict  discipline  seemed 
severe  ;  but  in  a  short  time,  they  learned  to  prize  him  all  the 
more  for  this  qualification. 

From  Dixon,  the  regiment  was  ordered  to  Rolla,  Missouri, 
and  there,  during  the  summer  of  1861,  Colonel  Wyman  was 
in  command  and  Captain  Bushnell,  acting  Major.  At  the 
request  of  General  Totten,  who  was  personally  acquainted 
with  his  abilities  as  engineer,  he  was  put  in  charge  of  the 
construction  of  a  fort  at  that  place,  which  was  nearly  completed 
under  his  supervision,  and  was  afterward  pronounced  one  of 
the  strongest  and  most  complete  of  its  size  in  the  United 
States.  It  was  proposed  to  name  it  after  its  scientific  con 
structor,  but  Captain  Bushnell,  with  his  characteristic  mod 
esty,  declined  the  honor  and  gave  the  preference  to  his 
superior  officer  and  it  was  called  "  Fort  Wyman." 

In  March,  1862,  the  regiment  joined  General  Curtis'  army 
at  Pea  Ridge,  and  in  all  their  toilsome  marches  through 
southern  Missouri  and  Arkansas,  Captain  Bushnell  was  acting 
Major,  and  by  his  sagacity  and  uniform  sympathy  with  the 
weary  but  uncomplaining  soldiers,  won  the  confidence  and 
affection  of  officers  and  men.  After  the  arrival  at  Helena  on 
the  i4th  of  July,  he  was  frequently  put  in  command  of  expedi 
tions  into  the  surrounding  country.  In  one  of  these  he  was 
sent  to  St.  Francis  river,  with  a  detachment  of  the  Thirteenth 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  451 

Illinois  and  Fourth  Iowa,  and  from  the  plantation  of  Generals 
Pillow  and  Brown,  he  brought  away  quite  a  large  quantity  of 
corn  and  a  number  of  cattle.  In  General  Hovey's  expedition 
to  the  Coldwater  and  Tallahatchie  rivers,  Captain  Bushnell 
had  a  command  of  two  hundred  of  the  Thirteenth  ;  and  after 
a  successful  raid  in  the  enemy's  country,  and  destroying  the 
railroad  at  Oakland  Station,  they  returned  to  Helena  where 
they  remained  until  the  22nd  of  December.  The  regiment 
was  then  put  under  command  of  General  Sherman,  in  General 
Blair's  brigade,  and  ordered  immediately  to  Vicksburg. 

After  arrival  there,  the  "  Old  Thirteenth  "  was  placed  in 
advance,  and  was  the  first  Illinois  regiment  to  assault  the 
enemy's  ranks.  In  all  the  engagements  previous  to  Decem 
ber  2oth,  Captain  Bushnell  led  his  own  brave  company  of 
Sterling  boys  ;  but  upon  the  fall  of  Colonel  Wyman,  he 
was  promoted  to  Major  of  the  regiment. 

On  the  29th  occurred  the  memorable  charge  upon  the 
rebel  rifle-pits  at  the  foot  of  Walnut  Hills,  at  Chickasaw 
Bayou,  in  which  the  Thirteenth  lost,  thirty  killed  and  over 
one  hundred  wounded.  Major  Bushnell  highly  distinguished 
himself  for  coolness  and  courage,  by  advancing  within  a  few 
rods  of  the  enemy's  works,  under  a  fire  that  swept  the  ground 
on  which  he  stood. 

On  the  loth  and  nth  of  January,  1863,  we  find  him  dis 
playing  the  same  heroic  devotion  at  the  assault  and  taking  of 
Arkansas  Post.  After  this  his  engineering  abilities  were 
again  called  into  requisition  during  the  seventy-five  days  the 
regiment  was  at  Young's  Point,  digging  canals,  building 
levees,  and  erecting  fortifications  to  operate  against  Vicks 
burg. 

In  General  Steele's  raid  upon  Deer  Creek  in  April,  in  the 
march  upon  Grand  Gulf  and  Jackson  in  May,  in  the  terrific 
assaults  upon  Vicksburg  in  June  and  July,  Major  Bushnell 
was  ever  at  his  post — shrinking  from  no  toil,  privation  or 
danger  to  which  the  regiment  was  exposed.  In  General 
Sherman's  operations  against  Johnston,  after  the  fall  of  Vicks- 


452  HISTORY    OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

burg,  Major  Bushnell  acted  as  Lieutenant-Colonel  until  they 
returned  to  their  summer  quarters,  August  13,  1863. 

He  had  risen  high  in  the  estimation  of  his  superior  officers, 
and  had  he  been  ambitious  for  office  as  he  was  to  be  useful,  he 
might  have  arrived  at  greater  distinction,  but  would  have 
been  less  a  hero.  His  only  desire  was  to  discharge  the  duty 
to  his  country  faithfully,  and  then  to  return  to  the  bosom  of 
his  family  ;  and  now  as  he  drew  nearer  his  last  battle,  and  the 
images  of  his  loved  ones  rise  before  him,  his  affectionate 
letters  to  them  breathe  more  earnestly  this  longing  desire. 

In  one  of  them  he  says :  "I  pray  God,  at  the  end  of  my 
service,  I  may  be  restored  to  my  beloved  family  in  safety,  but 
more  especially  I  pray,  that  the  cause  in  which  I  have  staked 
my  life  and  my  honor  may  succeed." 

He  had  passed  through  the  storm  of  shot  and  shell  in  the 
fierce  contests  of  Lookout  Mountain  and  Missionary  Ridge, 
on  the  24th  and  25th  of  November,  and  was  now  hopeful  that 
he  should  see  the  end — to  see  the  rebellion  crushed,  and  to 
see  his  country  again  united  and  happy,  but  the  God  of  bat 
tles  had  ordered  it  otherwise. 

On  the  morning  of  the  27th,  the  Thirteenth  Illinois  Infan 
try  held  the  extreme  right  before  Ringgold,  and  was  ordered 
by  General  Osterhaus  to  advance  rapidly  over  an  open  field, 
which  was  covered  with  shells,  canister  and  bullets,  like  hail, 
to  a  few  houses  in  front,  from  which  they  might  drive  off  the 
artillery  men  of  the  enemy.  This  they  accomplished  in  mag 
nificent  style,  and  gained  the  position,  which  they  held,  in 
spite  of  the  murderous  fire  from  the  gorge  in  front  and  the 
hillside  on  the  right. 

General  Osterhaus  in  his  report  of  this  battle,  says  : 

"  The  Thirteenth  Illinois  remained,  undauntedly  keeping 
up  a  vehement  fire.  These  struggles,  during  which  so  many 
deeds  of  bravery  were  exhibited,  lasted  from  9  a.  m.  to  i  p.  m., 
our  infantry  fighting  against  the  combined  forces  of  the 
enemy." 

The  artillery  coming  up,  the  rebels  were  soon  driven  from 
the  gorge,  and  the  victory  won.  But  the  glad  shouts  of  tri- 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  453 

umph  which  rent  the  air,  fell  unheeded  upon  the  ear  of  the 
gallant  Major  Bushnell.  He  had  given  his  life  this  day  as  a 
sacrifice  for  his  country's  honor,  and  a  more  patriotic  or  pure 
heart  was  never  laid  upon  her  altar.  While  assisting  some 
of  his  men  to  place  a  railroad-tie  in  front  for  their  protection,  a 
musket  ball  came  crashing  through,  and,  striking  him  in  the 
left  temple,  passed  into  the  brain  and  killed  him  instantly. 

Lieutenant  Joseph  Patterson,  of  Company  B,  Thirteenth 
Illinois,  in  a  letter  to  his  father,  whose  residence  is  near  that 
of  the  late  Major  Bushnell,  says:  "We  mourn  exceedingly 
the  death  of  our  gallant  Major,  and  sympathize  deeply  with 
his  bereaved  family.  *  *  *  *  I  feel  deeply  for  Mrs. 
Bushnell  and  her  little,  fatherless  children.  It  will  tend  to 
alleviate  her  distress  to  know  that  her  husband  fell,  fighting 
in  defense  of  his  bleeding  country.  The  Major  was  a  cour 
teous  gentleman,  a  true  patriot,  and,  as  an  officer,  unexcelled 
in  the  regiment" 

^— From  "HEROES  AND  MARTYRS  OF  ILLINOIS." 


CHAPLAIN  JOSEPH  C.  MILLER. 

Chaplain  Joseph  C.  Miller,  a  Baptist  clergyman  of  Amboy, 
Lee  county,  Illinois,  joined  the  regiment  and  was  mustered  in 
as  Chaplain  at  its  organization,  Ma>~  9,  1861.  He  died  in 
May  some  nine  or  ten  years  ago  and  we  can  not  get  sufficient 
data  to  give  a  detailed  account  of  his  services,  civil  and  mili 
tary.  He  was  a  man  of  fine  presence  and  fair  ability,  and 
loyal  to  his  country.  After  the  regiment  was  organized  it  re 
mained  in  Camp  Dement,  at  Dixon,  Illinois,  some  four  weeks 
as  a  camp  of  instruction.  One  of  the  exercises  in  daily  rou 
tine  in  this  early  military  life  was  that  of  attending  religious 
service,  and  each  morning  at  9  o'clock  the  troops  were  massed, 
company  front,  at-  headquarters,  and  addressed  by  Chaplain 
Miller,  the  exercises  closing  by  reading  of  the  Scripture, 
prayer  and  singing  the  first,  second,  or  third  pieces  "on  the 


454  HISTORY    OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

card. ' '  A  few  pieces,  such  as  '  'America, ' '  ' '  The  Star  Spangled 
Banner,"  etc.,  had  been  printed  and  distributed  among  the 
men,  and  as  there  were  many  good  singers  in  the  regiment, 
the  music  was  a  striking  feature  of  the  services,  which  still 
linger  in  the  memories  of  the  remnant  of  the  old  Thirteenth  as 
among  the  pleasant  scenes  of  their  army, life. 

Chaplain  Miller  accompanied  the  regiment  to  Caseyville, 
Illinois,  June  i6th,  1861,  where  it  remained  drilling  and  per 
fecting  itself  in  the  use  of  arms — company  and  battalion  drill 
and  discipline — until  July  5th,  1861,  when  it  crossed  the  Mis 
sissippi  river,  marched  through  St.  Louis  to  Rolla,  Missouri, 
where  it  remained  until  about  February,  1862.  The  time  at 
Rolla  was  spent  in  building  fortifications  and  earthworks  for 
the  protection  of  the  supplies  at  that  depot,  and  in  scouting 
and  scouring  the  country  in  search  of  rebels  and  guerrillas 
that  infested  that  region.  The  Chaplain  remained  on  duty 
with  the  regiment  until  it  left  in  February,  1862,  via  Spring 
field^  Missouri,  to  join  the  army  of  General  Curtis  at  Pea 
Ridge,  Arkansas,  but  instead  of  going  with  the  regiment  he 
visited  his  old  home  at  Amboy  on  leave  of  absence.  He 
never  reported  to  the  regiment  for  duty  after  that  date.  Dur 
ing  the  latter  part  of  the  year  1861,  and  early  part  of  1862, 
many  officers  of  the  Union  army  had  visited  their  homes  and 
over-stayed  the  term  granted  in  their  leave  of  absence,  and 
consequently  were  "absent  without  leave."  Karly  in  1862  a 
general  order  was  issued  by  the  War  Department  ordering  all 
such  delinquents  back,  with  commands  to  appear  before  a 
commission  August  ist,  1862,  and  show  cause  why  they 
should  not  be  mustered  out  for  violation  of  orders,  and  for 
the  proper  discipline  of  the  army.  Chaplain  Miller  was  not 
able  to  show  good  and  sufficient  reason  for  his  failure  to  return 
to  his  duties  with  the  regiment,  and  so  was  discharged  from 
the  service  September  i4th,  1863. 

H.  T.  NOBLE. 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  455 

AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  CHAPLAIN  ARNOLD  T. 
NKEDHAM. 

I  was  born  in  the  Island  of  Guernsey,  a  British  possession 
near  the  coast  of  France,  August  i4th,  1838. 

My  father  was  an  English  merchant,  keeping  a  shoe  store, 
and  largely  interested  in  shipping. 

When  I  was  between  thirteen  and  fourteen  years  of  age, 
my  father  emigrated  to  America,  settling  in  Chicago,  Illinois, 
in  May  1852. 

Nearly  ten  years  had  passed,  and  a  crisis  was  approaching. 
I  had  cast  my  first  vote,  and  it  had  been  for  Abraham  Lincoln, 
and  with  that  vote  I  was  ready,  if  need  be,  to  give  my  life. 

Quick  as  news  came  to  Chicago  that  Fort  Sumter  had 
been  fired  upon,  I  went  to  the  first  recruiting  station  and  en-( 
listed.  My  father  had  died  about  a  year  previous,  and  my 
mother  reminded  me  that  I  was  her  oldest  boy  ;  she  asked  me 
if  I  was  convinced  that  I  ought  to  go,  and  had  I  prayed  over 
the  matter  ;  when  I  answered  in  the  affirmative,  she  continued, 
"  Then  go  my  boy,  but  be  sure  you  are  not  wounded  in  the 
back."  These  words  of  my  mother  I  remembered  when  our 
forces  were  repulsed  on  the  battle-field  of  Chickasaw  Bayou, 
and  when  an  opportunity  was  offered  to  retreat,  I  still  contin 
ued  firing,  until  too  late  to  retire,  and  hence  was  surrounded 
and  captured. 

Our  regiment  had  the  honor  of  being  mustered  in  as  the 
first  regiment  from  the  State,  for  three  years.  Also  the  addi 
tional  honor  of  being  the  first  to  cross  the  Mississippi  river. 

As  soon  as  my  company  (Company  D),  was  organized,  I  was 
made  a  corporal,  and  passed  through  the  different  gradations, 
until  I  became  Third  Sergeant.  Having  been  called  upon  oc 
casionally  to  officiate  for  our  first  chaplain,  the  Reverened 
Mr.  Miller,  a  Baptist  minister,  I  was  early  recognized  as  at 
least  a  candidate  for  the  ministry.  Some  of  the  privates  in  my 
company  seemed  to  imagine  that  the  profession  of  religion, 
and  especially  candidacy  for  the  ministry,  would  render  an  in- 


456  HISTORY    OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

dividual  very  submissive  ;  and  therefore  one  day  when  on  the 
march,  some  of  them  entered  into  a  conspiracy  to  test  my 
spirit.  That  morning  when  the  company  was  formed  prepara 
tory  to  marching,  the  captain  ordered,  '  '•Sergeants  to  the 
front ;"  when  in  the  front  we  were  lectured  as  file-closers,  to 
allow  no  man  to  break  ranks  during  the  march,  assuring  us 
that  every  sergeant  would  be  held  responsible  for  his  portion 
of  the  platoon.  After  we  had  been  marching  a  few  miles,  I 
noticed  some  of  the  men  in  my  section  of  the  platoon  whis 
pering,  when,  suddenly,  one  of  these  men  stepped  out  of  the 
ranks  in  front  of  me.  At  first  I  simply  called  the  offender  by 
name,  and  reminded  him  of  what  the  captain  had  said.  His 
response  was,  "Who  cares?"  I  called  to  him  the  second 
time  to  get  into  the  ranks,  but  he  responded,  "  I  won't  go 
back,  and  you  can't  make  me."  Judging  from  his  weight  and 
that  of  his  fellow  conspirators,  it  was  very  evident  that  I 
would  be  greatly  worsted  in  a  hand-to-hand  contest.  I  knew 
I  was  no  match  for  him,  but  he  had  insulted  my  office,  as  well 
as  myself;  he  was  a  rebel  against  rightful  authority,  as  truly 
as  the  men  we  were  fighting  ;  and  I  would  as  lief  die  as  sub 
mit  to  have  my  authority  despised,  and  my  sense  of  justice 
outraged.  I  flew  at  him  like  a  panther,  and  slung  him  back 
into  the  ranks  ;  as  he  staggered  among  the  men,  two  or  three 
tripped  and  fell,  and  now  three  or  four  mouths  were  belching 
at  me  their  anathemas.  They  threatened  to  thrash  me  when 
they  got  into  camp  at  night.  I  turned  to  them,  now  thor 
oughly  roused,  and  said,  "I  shall  be  in  camp  to-night 
to  stack  arms  with  the  company,  and  yo u  can  do  to  me  just 
what  you  see  fit  ;  but  you  shall  not  trample  on  my  rights,  nor 
despise  a  sergeant's  authority  while  I  wear  these  chevrons. 
I'll  die  in  defense  of  my  rights,  and  for  the  respect  due  to  the 
office  before  I  will  submit."  I  meant  it  in  every  fiber  of  my 
being,  and  these  men  seemed  so  to  understand  it,  for,  though  I 
stood  beside  them  that  night  when  we  had  stacked  arms  and 
had  broken  ranks,  they  were  silent,  and  never  lifted  a  hand 
against  me.  From  that  time  forth  no  man  in  my  company 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  457 

was  disposed  to  trample  upon  my  rights,  and  taunt  me  with 
being  a  preacher. 

Many  other  petty  persecutions  to  which  I  had  been  sub 
jected,  now  ceased  ;  and  I  think  I  had  the  respect  of  all  my 
company,  and  they  certainly  had  my  best  wishes. 

After  my  imprisonment  in  Vicksburg  and  Jackson,  Mis 
sissippi,  while  still  a  paroled  prisoner  and  visiting  friends  in 
Chicago,  I  received  a  petition — signed  by  all  the  officers  of  the 
regiment,  except  one,  asking  me  to  take  measures  for  ordina 
tion,  and  to  accept  the  chaplaincy.  I  consulted  Dr.  T.  M. 
Eddy,  editor  of  the  Northwestern  Christian  Advocate,  who  was 
a  personal  friend,  and  had  known  me  from  my  boyhood.  He 
procured  me  ordination  in  the  Congregational  church,  because 
our  church  had  not  yet  given  its  bishops  powers  of  dispensa 
tion  to  ordain  young  men  for  special  work,  without  the  stipu 
lated  time,  and  conference  action.  Returning  to  my  regiment 
with  my  commission  as  chaplain,  I  was  not  permitted  to  mess 
with  the  men  as  I  had  done,  but  required  to  board  with  the 
officers. 

For  nearly  three  months  I  served  as  chaplain  before  I 
could  be  mustered  in,  and  then,  at  the  risk  of  being  captured, 
I  made  my  way  back  from  the  front  to  luka,  Mississippi, 
where  I  found  a  mustering  officer. 

By  the  officers  and  men  of  the  Thirteenth,  I  must  say,  I 
was  ever  treated  with  the  greatest  respect,  and  shall  always 
hold  them  in  high  esteem. 

On  the  eve  of  the  battle  of  Tuscumbia,  Colonel  Gorgas  and 
his  Adjutant  were  speaking  of  the  great  need  of  some  one  to 
take  charge  of  the  litter-corps  ;  I  proffered  my  sendees  and 
was  at  once  accepted,  and  from  that  time  forward  I  superin 
tended  the  removing  of  the  wounded  from  the  field. 

I  have  the  satisfaction  of  knowing  that  from  henceforth 
more  of  the  Thirteenth  men  were  brought  in  for  the  surgeon's 
care  during  action  than  of  any  other  regiment.  Some  of  my 
litter-men  were  shot  down  while  carrying  off  the  wounded, 
and  as  they  fell,  I  took  their  place. 


458  HISTORY   OF    THE    THIRTEENTH     REGIMENT 

I  did  my  praying  while  carrying  the  wounded,  and 
my  exhortations  were  mixed  with  the  giving  of  medicine. 
I  look  back  upon  those  busy  and  exciting  scenes,  and  thank 
God  I  was  able  to  serve  a  cause  I  loved  so  .much,  under  cir 
cumstances  that  showed  how  useful  such  services  might  be  to 
dying  men. 

I  recall  one  circumstance  that  occurred  just  after  the  bat 
tle  of  Ringgold  Gap,  that  affected  me  very  deeply.  I  was 
anxious  to  know  how  many  of  the  men  of  my  old  company 
were  left  after  the  battle.  I  found  the  camp  about  the  time 
of  reveille.  The  men  had  fallen  in  for  roll-call.  I  looked  a 
moment  at  the  feeble  remnant,  and  my  heart  was  full.  As  I 
drew  near,  one  of  my  former  messmates  rushed  from  the  ranks 
and  seizing  my  hand  in  both  of  his,  looked  up  into  my  face 
and  said,  "  Chaplain,  oh,  I  am  so  glad  you  were  not  hit." 
Another  threw  his  arms  around  me  and  said,  "  Chaplain,  you 
picked  up  the  boys  as  fast  as  they  were  hit  ;  God  bless  you." 
At  the  call  from  the  Orderly  Sergeant,  the  men  returned  to  the 
ranks,  and  roll-call  was  resumed.  Frequently  the  response 
would  be  "wounded"  or  "killed."  At  last,  just  as  the  order 
was  given,  "break  ranks,"  a  soldier  came  up  the  street  band 
aged  about  the  head  and  arm.  His  companion  seeing  him, 
rushed  up  to  him  and  throwing  his  arms  about  him,  fell  upon 
his  neck,  and  amid  his  sobs  said,  "Joe,  I  thought  you  were 
dead."  It  is  astonishing  how  a  soldier's  feelings  are  wrought 
up  after  battle.  He  weeps  like  a  woman  and  sobs  like  a  child, 
with  every  incident  that  appeals  to  his  feelings. 

After  leaving  the  service,  I  entered  the  Rock  River  con 
ference,  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  and  preached  at 
the  following  places  in  Illinois  :  Sand  Lake,  Geneva,  St. 
Paul's  Chicago,  Benton,  Wheaton,  Dunton,  Sandwich,  Mt. 
Morris  and  Morrison.  From  Morrison  I  came  to  California, 
and  finished  out  the  conference  year  at  the  First  M.  E.  Church, 
Oakland. 

I  have  filled  the  following  appointments  in  California, 
Grace  church,  San  Francisco,  Stockton,  Almeda,  and  now,  am 
at  Sixth  Street  church,  Sacramento. 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  459 

I  have  been  asked  since  in  California,  to  allow  my  name  to 
be  put  on  the  Republican  ticket,  for  city  superintendent  of 
public  schools,  but  have  refused  on  the  ground,  that  as  a  min 
ister,  I  must  be  free  to  speak  on  all  questions,  irrespective  of 
party  limitations.  Though  I  have  been  radically  a  Republi 
can,  I  have  loved  my  country  more  than  party,  truth  and 
righteousness  n;ore  dearly  than  earthly  ties,  and  my  God 
supremely. 

To  the  surviving  members  of  the  Thirteenth,  I  send  a 
chaplain's  loving  benediction,  and  trust  that,  when  the  last 
section  of  veterans  "break  ranks"  on  earth,  it  may  be  to  meet 

in  a  grand  reunion  in  heaven. 

A.  T.  NEEDHAM. 

[NOTE. — As  this   goes   to  press,  Chaplain   Needham   is  a  Presiding 
Elder  in  California. — HISTORIAN.] 


QUARTERMASTER     HENDERSON. 

William  Coleman  Henderson  was  born  at  Pequea,  Salis 
bury  Township,  Lancaster  county,  Pennsylvania,  June  22d, 
1827. 

His  father  was  Thomas  G.  Henderson,  whose  ancestors 
came  from  England  at  an  early  date  and  were  among  the  first 
settlers  of  Pequea  Valley.  He  was  educated  at  Litz,  L/an- 
caster  county,  and  at  West  Chester  and  also  with  the  Rev. 
Dr.  Trinlow.  In  1844  he  entered  the  office  of  Grant  and 
Barton  in  New  York  city,  and  remained  with  them  four  years. 

Returning  to  his  home,  he  engaged  in  farming  which  he 
carried  on  until  the  fall  of  1859.  May  ist,  1851  he  was 
appointed  as  one  of  the  staff  of  Gov.  William  F.  Johnston  of 
Pennsylvania.  In  the  fall  of  1859  he  sold  his  farm  in  Lan 
caster  county,  and  in  the  spring  following,  moved  to  Illinois, 
where  he  purchased  a  farm  near  Sterling,  Whiteside  county, 
and  again  engaged  in  farming.  In  April,  1861,  he  enlisted 
in  Company  B,  and,  at  the  organization  of  the  regiment,  was 
appointed  by  Colonel  Wyman,  and  was  commissioned  as  first 
lieutenant,  May  i,  1861. 


460  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

He  remained  on  duty  with  his  regiment  with  the  excep 
tion  of  details  of  special  duty  until  July  28th,  1863,  at  which 
time  he  sent  in  his  resignation,  which  was  accepted  on 
account  of  disability  occasioned  by  disease  which  was  con 
tracted  while  in  the  service. 

In  1865,  owing  to  continued  ill  health,  he  sold  his  farm  in 
Illinois  and  returned  to  his  old  home,  where  he  has  since  re 
sided  with  the  exception  of  a  few  years  which  were  spent  in 
Colorado. 

He  has  been  one  of  the  auditors  of  accounts  in  Salisbury 
Township  for  the  past  twelve  years. 

Quartermaster  Henderson  has  been  twice  married,  his 
first  wife  having  died  in  1867.  He  has  two  sons  living,  both 
in  the  service  of  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad. 

He  is,  perhaps,  better  remembered  by  the  boys  of  the  reg 
iment  by  the  name  of  "Jake  Sightsinger,"  than  by  his  real 
name.  He  gave  himself  this  cognomen  and  it  has  stuck  to 
him  ever  since.  In  1862,  when  the  regiment  was  on  the 
march  to  Pea  Ridge  and  about  crossing  the  State  line  between 
Missouri  and  Arkansas,  he  told  the  colonel  that  he  had 
always  hoped  the  duties  of  the  service  would  never  call  him 
into  Arkansas,  for  he  was  prejudiced  against  that  State.  He 
said  that  when  living  in  Pennsylvania  in  his  younger  days, 
whenever  a  person  committed  a  mean  act  or  crime,  he  inva 
riably  escaped  to  Arkansas,  and  the  meanest  man  he  ever  knew 
in  his  neighborhood  was  named  "Jake  Sightsinger."  And 
so  when  he  was  forced  to  stay  in  that  State,  Arkansas,  he 
wanted  to  be  called  and  known  as  Jake  Sightsinger.  And 
the  men  of  the  regiment  were  too  gallant  not  to  comply  with 
his  request.  He  said  that  when  he  left  the  State  he  intended 
to  resume  his  true  name,  but  this  was  not  to  be  with  the 
members  of  the  Thirteenth. 

When  on  the  march  with  the  regiment  from  Pea  Ridge 
through  the  desolate  and  impoverished  country  inhabited 
mostly  by  a  poor  class  of  white  people,  without  many  evi 
dences  of  civilization,  living  mostly  in  huts  and  cabins,  the 
country  infested  with  guerrilla  bands  and  bush-whackers,  the 


|R« 


*X 


fr 


*r 


COL.    HENRY    T.    N 
Compaii}-  A. 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  461 

means  of  supylying  our  army  with  food  and  clothing  cut  off, 
the  mail  intercepted,  and  without  letters  from  home,  this 
march,  lasting  for  more  than  three  months  was  a  dreary  one. 

The  troops  seemed  to  feel  the  necessity  of  instituting 
every  means  within  their  power  of  doing  all  they  could  to 
entertain  and  make  the  burden  as  light  as  possible. 

In  addition  to  the  regular  foraging  to  supply  the  army, 
they  held  concerts,  court  trials,  theatrical  entertainments, 
negro  minstrelsy,  horse  races  and  cock  fights,  in  short,  any 
thing  for  a  pastime  whenever  a  leisure  hour  occurred. 

Quartermaster  Henderson  recruited  a  menagerie  which  he 
exhibited  from  time  to  time  in  a  dilapidated  tent.  It  is  true, 
his  collection  was  not  very  extensive,  but  it  was  the  best  the 
country  afforded.  He  had  striped  legged  little  mules,  goats, 
dogs,  cats,  snakes,  squirrels,  tarantulas,  centipedes,  one  rac 
coon,  which  he  described  as  a  "  most  amoozin'  little  cuss  !  " 
and  last,  but  not  least,  at  Batesville,  he  added  Burr's  whis 
tling  darky  boy  that  would  have  been  the  envy  of  a  Barnum. 

Often  the  regiment  would  be  startled  by  the  stentorian 
vpice  of  Quartermaster  Henderson  exhorting  and  entreating 
the  soldiers  to  come  and  visit  his  great  and  glorious  enter 
tainments.  And  in  this  way  added  his  mite  toward  keeping 
the  minds  and  thoughts  of  the  soldiers  from  the  hardships 
through  which  they  were  to  pass. 

H.  T.  NOBI.E. 


HENRY  T.  NOBLE. 

Born  at  Otis,  Massachusetts,  May  3,  1829.  Moved  to 
Dixon,  Illinois,  spring  of  1851,  engaging  in  the  land  business 
and  real  estate.  Entered  service  as  private,  Company  A, 
Thirteenth  Illinois  Infantry  April  17,  1861  ;  elected  First 
Lieutenant  of  Company  April  21,  1861  ;  commissioned  Cap 
tain  May  24,  1 86 1  ;  Regiment  organized  at  Dixon,  Illinois, 
and  mustered  into  United  States  Service  for  three  years  May 


462  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

24,  1 86 1,  by  Capt.  John  Pope,  U.  S.  Army,  being  the  first 
regiment  mustered  into  service  from  Illinois ;  ordered  to 
Casey ville,  Illinois,  June  16  ;  moved  to  Rolla  Missouri,  July  6, 
the  first  regiment  to  cross  the  Mississippi  river,  and  moved 
into  hostile  Missouri,  attached  to  Fremont's  army  ;  went  to 
Department  of  the  Ohio  July  to  October,  1861  ;  district  of 
Rolla,  Department  of  Missouri,  January,  1862  ;  unassigned 
Army  of  Southwest  Missouri,  Department  of  Missouri  to 
March,  1862;  Fifteenth  Brigade  Second  Division  Army  of 
Southwest  Missouri,  Department  of  Missouri,  to  July,  1862, 
district  of  Bast  Arkansas,  Department  of  Missouri  to  Decem 
ber,  1862. 

NOW    THE    SERVICE. 

Duty  at  Rolla,  guarding  terminus  of  Southwestern  Pacific 
Railroad  and  chasing  guerrilla  bands  until  October,  1861  ; 
moved  to  Springfield,  Missouri,  to  join  Freemont's  army 
October  loto  18  ;  action  at  Wet  Glaize,  Missouri,  October  13, 
and  Lynn  Creek  October  15  ;  returned  to  Rolla  November  10, 
on  duty  there  until  March  6,  1862  ;  advance  on  action  of  Salem 
December  3,  1861  ;  ordered  to  join  Curtis  March  6,  1862  ; 
marched  to  Helena,  Arkansas,  April  8  to  July  14,  and  on  dut}T- 
there  until  December  ;  detached  from  regiment  and  assigned  to 
duty  as  Acting  Assistant  Quartermaster,  staff  General  W.  A. 
Gorman,  commanding  district  East  Arkansas  Department  of 
the  Tennessee  December,  1862  to  February,  1863  and  on 
staff  of  Gen.  L-  F.  Ross  commanding  Thirteenth  Division  of 
Thirteenth  Corps  Army  of  Tennessee,  February  8,  1863  ;  oper 
ating  against  Fort  Pemberton,  Greenwood  March  n  to  April 
5  ;  received  honorable  mention  from  General  Ross  in  his  report 
of  the  expedition ;  rejoined  regiment  at  Milliken's  Bend, 
Louisiana,  April  18,  1863,  and  detached  as  Acting  Aide-de 
camp  to  Gen.  P.  J.  Osterhaus,  commanding  Ninth  Division 
Thirteenth  Corps  Army  of  the  Tennessee  until  July  ;  Vicksburg 
campaign  April  25  to  July  4,  1863  ;  movement  to  Bruinsburg, 
and  turning  Grand  Gulf  April  25  to  30-;  battle  Fort  Gibson, 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY.  463 

Mississippi,  May  i  to  14,  Mile  Creek  May  12,  arrived  at  Ray 
mond  evening  of  May  12  ;  battle  of  Champion  Hills  May  16, 
Big  Black  river  May  16  ;  siege  of  Vicksburg  May  18  to  July 
4  ;  assaults  on  Vicksburg  May  19  and  22  ;  surrender  of  Vicks 
burg  May  24 ;  appointed  and  commissioned  by  President, 
Captain  and  Acting  Quartermaster  of  United  States  Volun 
teers  July  8,  1863  ;  duty  at  Helena,  St.  Charles  and  Duval's 
Bluff,  Arkansas  district  Bast  Arkansas,  staffs  Gen.  B.  M. 
Prentice  July  and  August,  1863  ;  M.  Montgomery,  August 
and  September,  1863  ;  Gen.  N.  B.  Buford,  September  1863  to 
January  1864  ;  Franz  Salamon,  Commanding  Third  Division 
Seventh  Corps  Department  of  Arkansas  to  May  1864  and 
First  Division  Seventh  Corps  to  August  1864  in  charge  of  all 
river  transportation  at  Helena,  Arkansas  June  i,  to  Novem 
ber  1864  ;  duty  at  mouth  of  White  river  February,  1865  ; 
assigned  duty  at  little  Rock  as  Acting  Chief  Quartermaster 
Department  of  Arkansas  March,  1865  ;  brevetted  Major  United 
States  Volunteers  March  13,  1865,  brevetted  Colonel  United 
States  Volunteers  March  13,  1865,  for  efficient  and  merito 
rious  service  during  the  war,  Colonel  by  assignment  and  Chief 
Quartermaster  Department  of  Arkansas,  staffs  of  J.  J.  Rey 
nolds  and  Gen.  B.  O.  C.  Ord  at  Little  Rock,  Arkansas,  June  16, 
1865  to  October  5,  1866  ;  mustered  out  October  5,  1866,  and 
honorably  discharged  from  service.  Commended  by  Quarter 
master  General  Meigs  in  official  communication  dated  Au 
gust  9,  1864,  as  follows  :  "  You  have  not  only  performed  the 
duty  of  Quartermaster  to  my  entire  satisfaction,  and  have  the 
confidence  and  esteem  of  all  who  know  you,  because  of  your 
integrity  and  efficiency,  and  this  is  the  best  evidence  of  your 
patriotism  and  your  devoted  loyalty,"  commended  in 
inspection  report  of  Colonel  J.  V.  Critteiiden,  December  19, 
1864,  for  the  excellent  order  in  which  all  books,  papers,  cash 
and  other  accounts  of  his  department  are  kept ;  also  for  the 
high  standing  which  all  who  know  him  as  a  man  of  intelli 
gence  and  integrity  and  capable  of  filling  with  credit  any  or 
all  positions  in  the  Quartermaster's  Department  commended, 
by  B.  O.  C.  Ord  in  orders  relieving  him  for  muster  out 


464  HISTORY    OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT. 

October  1866  for  long,  meritorious  and  faithful  service  for 
nearly  five  and  a  half  years.  After  returning  home  he 
was  employed  in  the  Plow  Manufacturing  business  at  Dixoii, 
Illinois,  retiring  from  active  business,  January,  1890,  and 
enjoying  the  fortune  that  he  had  labored  so  hard  to  accumu 
late  devoting  his  time  to  the  interests  of  the  city  and  much 
of  the  prosperity  now  enjoyed  by  the  city  is  due  to  his 
personal  efforts  and  liberality.  He  was  striken  with  pneumonia 
April  1 3th,  1891,  and  died  April  i5th,  aged  sixty- three 
years. 


HISTORY   AND    ROSTER    OF  THE 
COMPANY. 


COMPANY  A. 

OMPANY  A  was  recruited  at  Dixon,  Illinois, 
in  April,  1 86 1.  The  flag  of  the  Union  was 
fired  upon  at  Fort  Sumter  on  the  morning 
of  April  1 4th,  1861.  President  Lincoln's 
proclamation  calling  for  seventy-five  thou 
sand  militia  of  the  several  States  to  execute  the 
laws  and  maintain  the  National  Union  was  dated 
April  1 5th,  1861.  The  quota  that  Illinois  was  to 
furnish  of  this  number  being  six  regiments,  or  about  six 
thousand  men.  On  the  same  date  Governor  Yates  issued  his 
proclamation,  convening  the  General  Assembly  of  Illinois, 
on  the  23rd  of  April,  1861,  for  the  purpose  of  enacting  laws 
for  the  more  perfect  organization  of  the  militia  of  the  State, 
and  to  render  the  necessary  assistance  to  the  government  in 
enforcing  the  laws  and  protecting  the  rights  of  the  people 
of  the  nation. 

On  the  1 6th  of  April  the  governor  issued  orders  for  the  or 
ganization  of  six  regiments  of  volunteer  militia,  and  fixed  the 
place  of  rendezvous  at  Springfield,  and  for  each  company  or 
regiment  to  report  there  at  the  earliest  possible  period,  and 
that  the  companies  should  be  received  in  the  order  in  which 
their  services  were  offered.  On  the  evening  of  April  i6th,  a 
mass  meeting  of  the  citizens  of  Dixon  was  held  at  the  Court 
House.  Patriotic  speeches  were  made  by  the  citizens,  amid 

465 


466  HISTORY   OF  THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

wild  enthusiasm,  and  several  names  were  enrolled  of  those 
who  were  ready  to  offer  their  services  to  the  government,  and 
within  twenty-four  hours,  fully  one  hundred  had  signed  the 
roll,  and  on  the  igth  A.  B.  Gorgas  was  elected  as  captain,  he 
having  previously  had  some  military  experience  as  colonel  of 
a  Minnesota  regiment  of  militia,  Henry  T.  Noble  was  elected 
First-Lieutenant  and  Henry  D.  Dement,  Second-Lieutenant, 
and  the  tender  made  to  the  governor  of  this  company,  for 
service  as  part  of  the  six  regiments. 

After  the  lapse  of  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century,  no 
one,  not  a  participant  in  the  stirring  scenes  of  1861,  can 
imagine  the  feelings  of  mortification,  chagrin  and  regret, 
felt  by  the  members  of  this  company,  and  when  they  were 
informed  that  our  number  in  the  list  of  companies  was 
sixty-four  and  that  sixty  companies,  the  number  required 
for  the  six  regiments,  had  been  accepted,  fearing  that 
seventy-five  thousand  would  be  all  that  the  governor  would 
need  to  restore  peace,  suppress  the  outbreak  and  redress 
wrongs,  the  rosy  vision  of  a  soldier's  life,  the  heroic  deeds 
performed  for  our  country,  the  return  to  a  grateful  people 
from  the  field  of  battle  crowned  with  honor  and  glory, 
which  had  filled  the  heart  of  every  one  of  this  little  band,  was 
changed  to  'disappointment  and  almost  to  despair.  How  little 
we  knew  then  of  the  gigantic  struggle  before  us,  which  was 
to  continue  for  years,  and  bring  sorrow  and  mourning  to  hun 
dreds  of  thousands  of  souls.  But,  "  Hope,  the  anchor  of  the 
soul,"  takes  the  place  of  despair,  and  possibly  when  the  legis 
lature  met  on  the  23rd,  provision  might  be  made  and  more 
soldiers  be  required,  and  so  it  was  decided  to  send  a  delegate 
to  Springfield,  and  Henry  T.  Noble  was  delegated  to  proceed 
to  Springfield  in  their  behalf.  The  loyalty  of  Illinois  was  not 
then  what  it  is  now,  and  there  was  doubt  whether  that  body 
would  enact  laws  to  increase  the  militia  of  the  State.  Action 
was  deferred  until  the  Hon.  Stephen  A.  Douglas  arrived, 
about  the  25th,  and  made  his  famous  Union  speech  before  the 
Legislature,  the  effect  of  which  forever  settled  the  question  of 
the  loyalty  of  the  State.  The  Legislature  enacted  what  is 


LIEUT.   HENRY    D.  DKMKNT 
Company  A. 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  467 

known  as  the  Tenth  Regiment  Bill.     This  second  district  was 
made  up  of  the  counties  of  Cook,   Dupage,   Kane,  DeKalb,  \ 
Lee,  Whiteside  and  Rock  Island. 

Col.  J.  B.  Wyman  was  in  the  Adjutant- General's  office  at 
Springfield  at  date  of  passage  of  this  law.  May  2d.  Colonel 
Wyman,  the  member  of  the  Legislature  and  Henry  T.  Noble 
agreed  upon  the  companies  which  were  to  compose  the  regi 
ment  from  this  district,  and  Colonel  Wyman  tendered  the  regi 
ment  to  the  Governor  at  the  very  hour  the  bill  passed  the 
Senate.  The  regiment  was  ordered  to  rendezvous  at  Dixon 
May  gth,  and  at  once  elected  officers,  and  was  mustered  into 
the  State  service  by  Col.  John  E.  Smith,  aid-de-camp  to  Gov 
ernor  Yates,  and  into  the  United  States  service  May  24th, 
1 86 1,  by  Capt.  John  Pope,  and  the  company  from  Dixon  was 
designated  Company  A.  This  company  was  made  up  of  the 
best  class  of  young  men  of  Dixon,  and  among  its  members 
were  two  doctors,  seven  lawyers  and  thirty-nine  who  had 
taught  school,  and  from  its  ranks  eleven  were  promoted  and 
received  commissions  in  other  regiments.  At  the  organiza 
tion  of  the  regiment,  Captain  Gorgas  was  promoted  to  Major, 
Henry  T.  Noble  to  Captain,  Henry  D.  Dement  to  First-Lieu 
tenant  and  Benj.  H.  Gilman  to  Second-Lieutenant. 

ROSTER. 

• 

CAPTAINS. 

Adam  B.  Gorgas, 

Dixon,  promoted  to  lieutenant-colonel.      Present  address,  Crooks- 
town,  Minn. 

Henry  T.  Noble, 

Dixon,  promoted  July  31,  1863. 

A.  Judson  Pinkham, 

Dixon,  mustered  in,  December  7,  1863  ;  mustered  out,  June  18,  1864. 
Present  address,  Ketchum,  Idaho. 

FIRST-UEUTEXAXTS. 

Henry  T.  Noble, 

Dixon,  mustered  in,  May  24,  1861 ;  promoted. 
Henry  D.  Dement, 

Dixon,  resigned  August  i,  1863.     Present  address,  Joliet,  111. 


468  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

Mark  M.  Evans, 

Dixon,   mustered  ill,  September,   18,   1863  ;  mustered  out,  June  18, 
1864. 

SECOND-LIEUTENANTS. 

Henry  D.  Dement, 

Dixou,  mustered  iu,  May  24,  1861  ;  promoted  May  24,  2861.    Present 

address,  Joliet,  111. 
Benjamin   Gilman, 

Dixon,  resigned  October  i,  1861. 
George  L.  Acken, 

Dixon,  mustered  in,  May  24,  1862  ;  died  April  12,  1863. 
A.  Judson  Pinkham, 

Dixon,  mustered  in,  August  4,  1863  ;  promoted.     Present  address, 

Ketchum,  Idaho. 

FIRST-S  ERGE  ANT. 

George  L.  Acken, 

Dixon,   mustered  in   May   24,    1861  ;    promoted  second-lieutenant 

March  i,  1862. 

SERGEANTS. 
Adoniram  /.  Pinkham, 

Dixon,  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;   promoted  to  second-lieutenant 

June  n,  1863.     Present  address,  Ketcham,  Idaho. 
Harry  Van  Houton, 

Dixon,  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  discharged  November  30,  1863,  to 

accept  command  as  major  of  the  Third  Arkansas  Cavalry. 
Coridon  L.  Heath, 

Dixon,  mustered  in  May  24,    1861  ;  discharged  November  9,  1862  ; 

disability. 
Samuel  Uhl, 

Dixou,    mustered  in   May   24,    1861  ;    died   December  5,    1863,  on 

furlough. 

CORPORALS. 

Alexander  Pitts,  9 

Dixon,  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  promoted  sergeant,  first-sergeant, 

reduced  sergeant ;  mustered  out  June  18,  1864. 
Edwin  A.  Snow, 

Dixon,  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  promoted  sergeant ;  discharged 

April  27,  1862  ;  disability.     Present  address,  Dixon,  111. 
Dwight  Heaton, 

Dixou,  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  mustered  out  June  18,  1864. 
James  M.  Shaiu, 

Lee  Center,  mustered  in  May  24,    1861  ;  discharged  February  28, 

1863  ;  disability, 
Henry  H.  Palmer, 

Grand   Detour,    mustered   in    May  24,    1861  ;    promoted   sergeant  ; 

mustered  out  June  18,  1864.     Present  address,  Lowell,  Mich. 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY.  469 

Martin  C.  Auld, 

Dixou,  mustered  in   May  24,  2861  ;  transferred'  to  Bowen's  cavalry 

(now  Tenth  Missouri)  August  i,  1861. 
Henry  M.  Dumphery, 

Dixon,  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  discharged  March  17,   1863,  to 

accept  position  as  hospital  steward.     Present  address,  St.  Louis,  Mo. 
Richard  B.  Young, 

Dixon,   mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  discharged  October  10,   1861  ; 

disability. 

PRIVATES. 

Cyrline  B.  Ayers, 

Dixon,  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  discharged  March  19,  1863. 
Henry  A.  Anderson, 

Dixon,  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  mustered  out  June  18,  1864,  as 

corporal. 
Martin  Abels, 

Dixon,  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  mustered  out  June  18,  1864,  as 

corporal. 
Palmer  Atkins, 

Dixon,   mustered   in   May   24,    1861  ;  mustered   out  June    18,  1864. 

Present  address,  Springfield,  111. 
DeGras  W.  Britton, 

Paw  Paw,  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  discharged  August  24,  1861 ; 

disability.     Age  23. 
Charles  A.  Becker, 

Dixon,  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  died  of  wounds  received  near 

Vicksburg,  December  28,  1862. 
Charles  Boucher, 

Dixon,  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  transferred  to  Invalid  corps,  Sep 
tember  i,  1863. 
Samuel  Boyer, 

Dixon,    mustered   in   May   24,  1861  ;  mustered   out  June    18,   1864. 

Present  address,  Dixon,  111. 
James  H.  Boyd, 

Dixon,  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  discharged  September  19,  1861. 
Dennison  Brandon, 

Dixon,  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  veteran,  transferred  to  company  I, 

Fifty-sixth   Illinois  Infantry ;    age,    21.      Present   address,    Valley 

Falls,  Kan. 
John  H.  Brubaker, 

Dixou,  mustered  in  May  24,    1861  ;  mustered  out  June   18,    1861  ; 

first  sergeant.     Present  address,  Anthony,  Kan. 


470  HISTORY   OF    THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

James  Brennan, 

Dixon,    mustered   in    May   24,  1861  ;    killed   at   Chickasaw    Bayou 

December  29,  1862,  age  28. 
Horace  W.  Beal, 

Dixon,   mustered  in   May   24,    1861  ;    discharged   April    12,    1863 ; 

disability. 
Martin  Blair, 

Dixon,    mustered  in   May   24,   1861  ;  mustered  out  June    18,  1864. 

Present  address,  Dixon,  111. 
Charles  A.  Benjamin, 

Dixon,  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  mustered  out  June  18,  1864. 
George  Bass, 

Ogle  Station,  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  discharged  September  8, 

1863,  disability. 
Amos  P.  Curry, 

Dixon,  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  transferred  to  Bowen's  battalion 

cavalry   (now  Tenth   Missouri   cavalry)  August  10,   1861.     Present 

address,  Spokane  Falls,  Mont. 
William  H.  Casterline, 

Lane  Station,    mustered  in  May  24,    1861  ;  discharged  September 

1863,  disability.     Present  address,  Dixou,  111. 
Amzi  Crane, 

Grand  Detour,  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  transferred  to  Invalid 

Corps  September  i,  1863. 
John  D.  Crabtree, 

Dixon,  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  transferred  to  Bowen's  Battalion 

cavalry  October  i,  1861.     Present  address,  Dixou,  111. 
Zebnlon  Crane, 

Grand  Detour,  mustered  in  May  24,   1861  ;  mustered  out  June  18, 

1864.  Present  address,  What  Cheer,  Iowa. 
Jonathan  H.  Crabtree, 

Dixou,    mustered  in   May   24,  1861  ;   promoted   corporal.     Present 

address,  Rogers,  Ark. 
William  H.  Cheeseman, 

Dixon,  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  discharged  February  17,  1864; 

disability. 
Osborne  Cheney, 

Dixon,   mustered  in  May  24,   1861  ;  died  March  21,  1864  ;  born  in 

Illinois  ;  age  20.     Present  address,  Woodville,  Ala. 
James  E.  Cove II, 

Dixon,  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  mustered  out  June  18,  1864. 
William  Coffey, 

Dixou,    mustered  in  May  24,    1861  ;  mustered  out  June    18,  1864. 

Present  address,  Dixon,  111. 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  471 

Henry  A.  Davlin, 

Dixon,  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  in  general   hospital,  Memphis. 

Present  address,  Plankiugton,  S,  D. 
Arthur  J.  Driver, 

Dixon,    mustered   in   May   24,    1861  ;  transferred   to   invalid   corps 

September  i,  1863.     Present  address,  Sycamore,  111. 
George  F.  Dunwiddie, 

Dixoii,  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  mustered  out  June  18,  1864. 
Mark  Evans, 

Dixon,  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  promoted  to  first-lieutenant. 
Henry  W.  Glassey, 

Dixou,    mustered   in   May   24,    1861  ;  transferred   to   invalid   corps 

February  i,  1863. 
Charles  J.  Coble, 

Dixon,  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  died  fron*  wounds  received  at 

Black  River  Bridge,  August  17,  1863  ;  age  20.  i 
William  H.  Griffin, 

Mustered  in  May  24,  1861. 
Lewis  Greogor, 

Dixon,  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  drowned  July  7,  1862. 
John  H.   Gilgan, 

Dixon,  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  in  general  hospital,  Memphis. 
Milton  Giles, 

Dixon,    mustered  in    May   24,    1861  ;  mustered   out  June    18,  1864. 

Present  address,  Olympia,  Wash. 
Austin  Gallup, 

Dixon,  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  mustered  out  June  18,  1864. 
Robert  Hadley, 

Dixou,  mustered  in   May  24,   1861  ;  mustered   out  June   18,   1864. 

Present  address,  Kanopolis,  Kan. 
LeRoy  Hallowell, 

Dixou,  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  mustered  out  June  18,  1864. 
John  Hamil, 

Dixon,   mustered  in  May  24,   1861  ;   mustered   out  June    18,  1864. 

Present  address,  Sumner,  Iowa. 
Orville  Hamilton, 

Dixon,  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  transferred  to  Invalid  Corps  Sep 
tember  i,  1863. 
James  A.  Hill, 

Dixon,  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  discharged  December  23,  1861  ; 

disability. 
John  A.  D.  Heaton, 

Dixon,  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  transferred  to  non-commissioned 

staff  November  20,  1863,  as  drum  major.     Present  address,  Elsmore, 

Cal. 


472  HISTORY    OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

Edward  M.  Heaton, 

Dixon,  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  discharged  February  14,   1863  ; 

wounds.     Present  address,  York,  Neb. 
George  W.  Harkness, 

Dixon,  mustered  in  May  24.  1861  ;  mustered  out  June  18,  1864. 
Clinton  D.  Harrison, 

Dixon,  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  died  November  n,  1862,  at  Ben- 
ton  Barracks. 
William  Irwin, 

Dixon,  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  mustered  out  June  18,  1864,  as 

sergeant. 
Albert  Kelly, 

Dixon,  mustered  in   May  24,   1861  ;    mustered   out  June  18,    1864. 

Present  address,  Chicago,  111. 
Mark  W.  Link, 

Dixon,  mustered  in  May  24,  1661  ;  died  September  16,  1863,  at  St. 

Louis  of  congestion  of  the  brain. 
David  H.  Law, 

Dixon,  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  transferred  to  non-commissioned 

staff,  May  24,  1861,  as  hospital  steward. 
William  M.  Mann, 

Dixon,  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  mustered  out  June  18,  1864. 

Joseph  R.  Merrill, 

Dixon,  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  mustered  out  June  18,  1864. 

George  F.  Mann, 

Dixon,    mustered   in  May   24.   1861  ;  mustered  out  June    18,  1864. 

Present  address,  Sterling,  111. 
Henry  Mosely, 

Dixon,  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  mustered  out  June  18,  1864. 
William  H.  Mead, 

Dixon,  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  discharged  December  23,  1861  : 

disability.     Present  address,  Dixon,  111. 
John  Oakley, 

Dixon,  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  discharged   April  5,   1863  ;  dis 
ability.     Present  address,  Shubert,  Neb. 
Benjamin  F.  Pratt, 

Lee  Center,  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  mustered  out  June  18,  1864. 
Oscar  H.  Philbrick, 

Dixon,  mustered  in  May  24.  1861  ;  died  August  14,  1863,  at  Vicks- 

burg,  of  chronic  diarrhoea,  age  29. 
Charles  W.  Reynolds, 

Dixon,  mustered  in   May   24,  1861  ;    mustered   out  June   8,    1865. 

Present  address,  Salt  Lake  City,  Utah. 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  473 

Ed.  V.  E.  Remington, 

Dixou,  mustered  in  May  24,  1862  ;  veteran  transferred  to  company  I, 

Fifty-sixth  Illinois  Infantry,  age  21. 
Milton  Santee, 

Dixon,  mustered  in  May  24,  1862;  transferred  to  to  Bowen's  Battalion 

cavalry,  October  i,  1861.     Present  address,  San  Diego,  Cal. 
Rollin  H.  Stearns, 

Lee  Center,  mustered  in  May  24,   1861  ;  died  January   i,    1864,    at 

Benton  Barracks,  Mo. 

Egbert  D.  Shaw, 

Lee  Center,  mustered   in  May  24,  1861 ;  discharged  February  24, 

1863;  disability.     Present  address,  Shaw  Sta.,  Lee  Co.,  111. 
Thomas  H.  Smurr, 

Dixon,   mustered  in  May  24,    1861  ;    mustered  out  June  18,   1864. 

Present  address,  Elkhart,  Ind. 
Charles  H.  Sutton, 

Mustered  in  May  24,  1861. 
Cyrus  Peckards  Smith, 

Paw  Paw,  mustered  in   May  24,  1861.     Present  address,    Parker's 

Prairie,  Minn. 
Charles  W.  Snyder, 

Dixon,  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  transferred  to  Forty-ninth  United 

States,  colored  infantry,  sergeant-major.    Present  address,  Red  Oak, 

Iowa. 
Jedediah  Shaw, 

Dixon,  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  mustered  out  June  18,  1864,  as 

corporal.     Present  address,  .Washington,  D.  C. 
Norman  P.  Sterling, 

Dixon,  mustered  in  May  24,   1861  ;    mustered  out  June   18,   1864. 

Present  address,  Wesington,  S.  D. 
David  N.  Slearry, 

Dixon,  mustered  in,  May  24,  1861 ;  veteran,  transferred  to  company 

I,  Fifty-sixth  Illinois  Infantry. 
Andrew  Voorhees, 

Dixon,  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  in  general  hospital  at  St.  Louis. 

Present  address,  Elmira,  N.  Y. 
George  W.   Wells, 

Dixon,  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  discharged  September  i,  1861  ; 

disability. 
Joshua  W.  Wood, 

Dixon,  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  mustered  out  June  18,  1864. 
Jacob  R.    Wolverton, 

Dixon,  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  discharged  December  23,  1862  ; 

disability. 


474  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

Hugh   Wilson, 

Dixon,  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  deserted  September  20,  1861. 
Martin  H.  Williams, 

Dixon,  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  transferred  to  Bowen's  battalion 

cavalry,  October  I,  1861. 
Charles  A.  Williams, 

Dixon,  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  transferred  to  Bowen's  battalion 

cavalry,  October  I,  1861. 
William  H.  Woodyatt, 

Dixon,  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  discharged  September  20,  1863  ; 

disability.     Present  address,  Dixou,  111. 
Patrick   Walsh, 

Dixon,  mustered  in  May  24,  1861 ;  veteran,  transferred  to  company  I, 

Fifty-sixth  Illinois  Infantry. 
John  M.  Welty, 

Dixon,  mustered  in    May  24,   1861  ;  mustered  out  June  1861,  1864. 

Present  address,  Washington,  D.  C. 

VETERANS. 

Lyman  M.  Cole, 

Dixon,  mustered  in  January  29,  1864;  corporal,  transferred  to  com 
pany  I,  Fifty-sixth  Illinois  Infantry,  age  23.  Present  address, 
Geneva,  Ohio. 

Dennison  Brandon, 

Dixon,  mustered  in  January  29,  1864  ;  transferred  to  compauj'  I , 
Fifty-sixth  Illinois  Infantry.  Present  address,  Valley  Falls,  Kan. 

Joseph  S.  Potter, 

Dixon,  mustered  in  January  29,  1864  5  transferred  to  company  I, 
Fifty-sixth  Illinois  Infantry,  age  24. 

E.  V.  E.  Remington, 

Dixon,  mustered  in  January  29,  1864  ;  transferred  to  company  I, 
Fifty-sixth  Illinois  Infantry. 

David  N.  Stary, 

Dixon,  mustered  in  January  29,  1864 ;  transferred  to  company  I, 
Fifty-sixth  Illinois  Infantry,  age  23.  Present  address,  St.  Louis,  Mo. 

Patrick  Walsh, 

Dixon,  mustered  in  Jauugry  29,  1864;  tranferred  to  company  I, 
Fifty-sixth  Illinois  Infantry,  age  26. 

RECRUITS. 

George  D.  Burton, 

Dixon,  mustered  in  June  i,  1861  ;  mustered  out  June  18,  1864. 
Seth  D.  W.  C.  Britton, 

Paw  Paw,  mustered  in  August  24,  1861  ;  transferred  to  company  I, 

Fifty-sixth  Illinois  Infantry. 


CHAS.  H.  NOBLE. 
Company  A. 


ILLINOIS    VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY.  475 

William  Cook, 

Dixon,  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  discharged  December  23,  1861  ; 

disability. 
James  E.  Edson, 

Dixon,  mustered  in  March  i,  1862,  transferred  to  company  I,  Fifty- 
sixth  Illinois  infantry  ;  mustered  out  February  28,  1865,  age  25. 
Sherman  A.  Griswold, 

Lee  Center,  mustered  in  July   10,  1861  ;  discharged  December   17, 

1863  ;  promoted  to  second-lieutenant  in  Eleventh  Missouri  cavalry. 
Norman  Gaylord, 

Canton,  mustered  in  March  26,    1864  ;   transferred  to  company '  I, 

Fifty-sixth  Illinois  infantry,  age  27. 
Joseph  Hill, 

Dixon,  mustered  in  September  15,  1861  ;  died  November  15,  1863,  at 

Paduca,  age  18. 
SethJ.  Heaton, 

Dixou,  mustered  in  September  15,  1861  ;    died  December  5,   1861, 
John   W.  King, 

Dixon,  mustered   in  August   15,   1862  ;  transferred  to   company   I, 

Fifty-sixth  Illinois  infantry.     Present  address,  Dixon,  111.      Age  28. 
Peter  Jr.  La  Forge, 

Franklin,  mustered  in  June   i,  1861  ;  mustered  out  June  18,  1864. 

Present  address,  Bronco,  Cal. 
William  G.  McGinnis, 

Dixon,  mustered  in  September  15,  1861  ;  transferred  to  company  I, 

Fifty-sixth  Illinois  infantry,  age  24.     Present  address,  Dixon,  111. 
Patrick  McKever, 

Dixon,  mustered  in  November  18,   1863  ;  transferred  to  company  I, 

Fifty-sixth  Illinois  infantry,  age  28.     Present  address,  Watseka,  111. 
Charles  H.  Noble, 

Dixon,  mustered  in  September  15,  1861  ;  transferred  to  company  I, 

Fifty-sixth  Illinois  infantry,  age  18.     Present  address,  Dixon,  111. 
William  A.  Palmer, 

Chicago,  mustered  in  December  21,  1863  ;  trrnsferred  to  company  I, 

Fifty-sixth  Illinois  infantry,  age  28. 
Charles  F.  Sawyer, 

Lee  Center,  mustered  in,  June  i,  1861  ;  mustered  out  June  18,  1864. 

Present  address,  Bunker  Hill,  Kan. 
John  Schwabe, 

Dixou,  mustered  in  February  4,  1864;   transferred  to  company  I, 

Fifty-sixth  Illinois  infantry,  age  25. 
Jacob  Spencer, 

Canton,   mustered  in  March   26,  1864  ;  transferred   to   company  I, 

Fifty-sixth  Illinois  infantry,  age  36. 


476  HISTORY   OF  THE  THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

Oscar  A.  Webb, 

Dixon,  mustered  in  September  15,  1861  ;  transferred  to  company  I. 

Fifty-sixth  Illinois  infantry,  age  17.  Present  address,  Dixon,  111. 
HobartP.  Wicks, 

Dixon,  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  transferred!  as  principal  musician, 

1861,  to  non-commissioned  staff.  Present  address,  St.  Louis,  Mo. 
Edward  White, 

China,  mustered  in  December  30,  1863  ;  transferred  to  company  I, 

Fifty-sixth  Illinois  infantry,  age  28. 


COMPANY  B. 

Fort  Sumter  was  fired  upon  by  the  rebels  at  Charleston, 
S.  C.,  on  Friday,  April  i2th,  1861.  On  Tuesday,  April  i6th, 
W.  H.  H.  Hagey  and  Prince  J.  King,  two  young  men  who 
afterwards  joined  Company  B,  issued  a  call  for  a  war  meet 
ing  in  Sterling  and  procured  a  hall  for  that  purpose.  Interest 
was  at  once  aroused  and  on  Saturday  evening,  the  2oth,  there 
was  a  meeting  in  Wallace  Hall  to  organize  a  company  and 
elect  officers.  Over  fifty  men  signed  the  roll,  when  the  fol 
lowing  were  elected  as  officers  :  Captain,  D.  R.  Bushnell.  The 
contest  for  First-Lieutenant  was  between  Cooper  Berry  and  G. 
P.  Brown.  As  Brown  was  not  known  to  many  of  the  boys  the 
choice  fell  upon  Berry,  but  with  some  misgivings.  W.  M. 
Kilgour  was  elected  Second-Lieutenant,  afterwards  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  in  the  Seventy-fifth  Illinois.  Old  Captain  Beatie, 
who  had  been  in  the  Mexican  War,  was  chosen  Drill  Master. 
All  the  military  spirit  in  him  took  fire,  and  he  could  hardly 
get  the  consent  of  his  mind  not  to  rush  in  with  the  boys. 
When  the  company  was  about  to  leave  Sterling  they  voted 
thanks  and  a  fine  cane  to  the  old  man.  It  broke  him  all  up. 

Captain  Bushnell  was  sent  to  Springfield  to  offer  our  com 
pany  for  service,  but  the  rush  was  so  great,  that  he  failed  to 
get  us  into  the  six  regiments  called  for  three  months.  But 
we  were  accepted  for  thirty  days  State  service,  subject  to  the 
call  for  United  States  service.  Young  men  came  from  Como, 
Erie  and  other  places,  making  in  all  about  ninety  men.  The 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  477 

drill  went  on  each  day  on  the  commons  and  in  the  evening  in 
the  hall.  The  citizens  proposed  to  send  the  company  out  in 
good  shape  and  at  once  sent  for  blankets  and  material  for 
uniforms.  These  were  secured,  and  many  hands  put  at  work 
to  have  the  suits  made  up  in  short  order.  The  work  was  all 
done  when  the  order  came  to  go  into  camp  at  Dixon.  In  fine 
rig  and  fine  spirits  the  company  left  Sterling,  Thursday,  at  2 
p.  m.,  May  Qth,  1861.  Having  left  the  train,  a  march  of  a 
mile  brought  them  to  the  Fair  Grounds,  East  of  the  town, 
which  was  to  be  the  place  of  encampment.  But  one  company 
was  on  the  ground  when  we  arrived,  yet  ere  night,  the  ten 
companies  that  were  to  form  the  regiment  had  all  arrived.  No 
provision  having  been  made  on  the  ground  to  feed  the  men, 
the  officers  of  our  company  took  the  men  to  the  Nachusa 
House  for  supper.  Returning  to  camp,  we  were  quartered  in 
the  Fair  Grounds  buildings.  Before  morning,  were  awakened 
by  a  heavy  rain  that  found  its  way  through  the  roof,  much  to 
our  discomfort. 

The  next  morning  brought  plenty  to  eat,  and  an  assignment 
to  some  of  the  duties  incident  to  the  camp  life.  The  life  that 
was  to  bring  us  all  into  serious  experience,  and  to  be  the  last 
of  earthly  life  to  so  many.  General  Dennio,  just  from  Wash 
ington,  addressed  us  in  a  most  patriotic  strain.  An  election 
for  regimental  officers  was  held  which  resulted  in  the  choice 
of  J.  B.  Wyman  for  Colonel ;  B.  F.  Parks  for  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  and  A.  B.  Gorgas  for  Major. 

The  Company  was  now  a  part  of  the  larger  organization  and 
much  of  its  history  was  the  history  of  the  regiment.  On  the 
1 4th  of  May  the  Company  was  honored  by  about  one  hundred 
friends  from  the  vicinity  of  Sterling  and  of  course  feasted  and 
fed  in  fine  style.  On  the  i5th  Rev.  Miller,  a  Baptist  minister, 
from  Amboy  arrived  as  chaplain  for  the  regiment  and  held  his 
first  religious  sendee  with  us.  In  the  evening  Company  B 
was  detailed  to  draw  out  and  fire  the  cannon,  and  as  this  was 
the  first  time  it  was  done,  it  was  accounted  an  honor.  By  the 
1 9th,  the  company  had  become  satisfied  that  Cooper  Berry 
was  not  acceptable  as  First-Lieutenant,  and  they  asked  him 


478  HISTORY   OF  THE   THIRTEENTH   REGIMENT 

to  vacate.  He  did  so,  when  Sergeant  G.  P.  Brown  was 
elected  to  the  position.  A  few  days  later  Cooper  Berry  was 
shot  and  killed  by  one  of  the  guards.  The  company  re 
ceived  its  first  guns  on  the  23rd.  Three  recruits  joined 
the  company  on  the  24th.  Captain  John  Pope  arrived  to 
muster  the  regiment  into  the  United  States  service  for  three 
years  or  during  the  war.  It  was  carried  on  amid  great  dis 
satisfaction.  Most  of  the  men  were  mustered,  but  some  from 
each  Company,  except  Company  I,  including  several  from 
Sterling  backed  out.  The  regiment  was  now  fairly  started  on 
its  career  as  soldiers  for  fun,  work,  hardships,  strife,  and,  to 
many,  death.  Of  all  the  companies  in  the  regiment,  the 
Sterling  company  came  through  the  three  years  with  the  least 
loss,  though  she  ever  was  in  her  place  to  do  her  whole  duty. 
Of  the  one  hundred  and  four  men  who  enlisted,  ninety  were 
living  when  the  three  years  were  ended. 

ROSTER. 

Mathew  R.  Adams, 

Enlisted  at  Sterling ;  at  organization  as  sergeant  promoted  to  first- 
sergeant,  mustered  out  June  18,  1864.  Had  been  a  farmer  and 
deputy-sheriff  of  Whiteside  county.  Present  address,  Rock  Falls, 
Illinois. 

Albert  W.  Adams, 

Mustered  May  24,  1861,  at  Dixon,  Illinois.  Transferred  to  invalid 
corps.  Mustered  out.  Prosperous  farmer.  Present  address  Almond, 
Wisconsin.  , 

Richard  Arey,  jr., 

Enlisted  at  Sterling.  Mustered  in  at  Dixon  May  18,  1861.  Served 
well.  Mustered  out  June  18,1864.  Has  lived  in  Rock  Falls,  Illi 
nois,  and  Tennesee.  Machinist.  Present  address,  Rock  Falls,  Illi 
nois. 

James  C.  Arey, 

Born  in  Massachusetts  February  9,  1837.  Came  from  Sterling,  and 
mustered  in  June  7,  1861.  Taken  prisoner  at  Chickasaw  Bayou  De 
cember  29,  1862.  Served  well.  Mustered  out  June  18,  1864.  Pres 
ent  address  Rock  Falls,  Illinois. 

John  Aliment, 

Sterling,  Illinois.  Mustered  in  May  24,  1861.  Mustered  out  June 
18,  1864.  Business,  wagon  maker.  Present  address,  Sterling,  Illi- 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  479 

Adam  C.  Anderson, 

Enlisted  from  Sterling  June  13,  1861.  Mustered  out  June  18,  1864. 
Died  at  Davenport,  Iowa,  in  1871. 

Douglas  J?.  Bushnell, 

Came  from  Sterling.  Captain  at  organization  ;  promoted  to  major 
December  29,  1862.  Instantly  killed  by  a  bullet  through  his  brain, 
November  27,  at  Ringgold,  Georgia.  Buried  at  Sterling.  A  fine 
soldier. 

George  P.  Brown, 

From  Fulton.  Mustered  as  sergeant  ;  promoted  to  first-lieutenant ; 
to  captain  December  29,  1862.  Served  on  staff  of  General  Carr. 
Mustered  out  June  18,  1864.  Address  Sterling,  Illinois. 

N.  Cooper  Berry, 

Elected  to  the  position  of  first-lieutenant  at  the  organization  of  the 
company  in  Sterling.  For  reasons,  another  was  commissioned,  and 
Mr.  Berry  assigned  to  the  position  of  sergeant-major.  On  the  night 
of  June  12,  he  was  killed  by  a  guard.  Buried  at  Sterling. 

Gideon  Bowers, 

From  Sterling ;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861,  as  sergeant ;  wounded 
December  29,  1862  ;  died  in  hospital  February  i,  1863.  Buried  at 
Sterling. 

John  Byers, 

Empire  ;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861 ;  promoted  corporal ;  discharged  for 
disablement  September  23,  1862  ;  farmer.  Address  Sterling,  Illinois. 

Warner  P.  Banes, 

Sterling  ;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  served  as  clerk  ;  mustered  out 
June  1 8,  1864;  was  in  government  employ  at  Washington,  District 
Columbia.  Deceased. 

Howard  L.  Burkil, 

Lyndon,  Illinois  ;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  mustered  out  June  18, 
1864  ;  business,  real  estate  and  insurance.  Present  address,  Omaha, 
Nebraska. 

David  Brink, 

Sterling  ;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  mustered  out  June  18,  1864. 
Present  address,  Melvern,  Osage  county,  Kansas. 

George  A.  Blinn, 

Sterling  ;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  mustered  out  June  18,  1864. 
Nothing  further  known  of  him. 

John  Bartholomew, 

Sterling  ;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  promoted  to  corporal  ;  dis 
charged  for  disablement  December  19,  1862. 

Samuel  Chamberlain, 

Erie  ;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  wounded  at  Chickasaw  Bayou  De 
cember  29,  1862  ;  mustered  out  June  18,  1864. 


480  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

John  D.  Cota, 

Sterling  ;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  mustered  out  June  18,  1864. 
Has  since  died. 

William  Cross, 

Erie  ;  mustered  in  November  16.  1861.  Diect  July  14,  1863  at  Vicks- 
burg,  Mississippi.  Born  in  Ohio  ;  age  nineteen.  Chronic  diarrhoea. 

William  P.  Carpenter, 

Sterling  ;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861.  Died  August  8,  1863  ;  buried 
at  Memphis,  Tennessee.  Born  in  New  York  ;  age  thirty-five. 

John  Cahalon, 

Sterling  ;  father  lived  at  Waukegan,  Illinois  ;  mustered  in  May  24, 
1861  ;  mustered  out  June  18,  1864.  Whereabouts  not  known. 

John  D.  Davis, 

Como  ;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  wounded  at  Ringgold,  Georgia, 
November  27,  1863 ;  re-enlisted  January  29,  1864 ;  transferred  to 
Company  I,  Fifty-sixth  Illinois  Infantry,  June  1864  ;  age  twenty- 
seven.  Address,  Rock  Falls,  Illinois. 

Edward  E.  Dunham, 

Geneva  ;  mustered  in,  May  24,  1861  ;  mustered  out,  June  18,  1864. 
Present  address,  Aurora,  Illinois. 

EdwardS.  Dickenson, 

Prophet  stown  ;  mustered  in,  May  24,  1861,  as  corporal  ;  promoted 
to  lieutenant  in  Tenth  Missouri  Cavalry,  August  i,  1864. 

August  S.  Dickenson, 

Prophetstown  ;  mustered  in,  May  24,  1861.  Mustered  out,  June  18, 
1861.  Died  at  Nashville,  Tennessee,  1880. 

Ira  Dota, 

Sterling;  mustered  in,  June  n,  1861.  Mustered  out,  June  18,  1864. 
Later  history  not  known.  A  good  soldier. 

Richard  Evans, 

Sterling;  mustered  in,  May  24,  1861.  Deserted,  March  2r,  1862. 
Returned  to  regiment  and  was  re-instated.  Mustered  out,  June  iS. 
1864.  Re-enlisted  in  Regular  Artillery.  Stationed  at  Fortress  Mon 
roe,  Virginia.  Present  address,  Stanton,  Virginia. 

John  A.  Euson, 

Sterling  ;  mustered  in,  May  24,  1861.  Discharged  for  disablement, 
December  29,  1862. 

Noble  F.  Eddy, 

Erie;  mustered  in,  November  4,  1861.  Re-enlisted  as  Veteran  and 
transferred  to  Company  I,  Fifty-sixth  Illinois  Infantry.  Present 
address,  Erie,  Illinois.  Farmer. 

Abram  J3.  Endeston, 

Sterling;  mustered  in,  September  20,  1861.  Re-enlisted  as  veteran, 
transferred  to  Company  I,  Fifty-sixth  Illinois  Infantry.  Salesman. 
Present  address,  Council  Bluffs,  Iowa. 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY.  481 

Michael  W.  Finneran, 

Sterling;  mustered  in,  May  24,  1861  ;  mustered  out,  June  18,  1864. 

Re-enlisted.     A  lively  Irishman. 
Martin  B.  V.  Farington, 

Erie  ;  mustered  in,  May   24,  1861  ;  wounded  at  Chickasaw,  Bayou, 

December  29,  1862  ;  mustered  out,  June  18,  1864.     Present  address, 

Norway,  Kansas.     Farmer. 
Charles  L.  Fessler, 

Princeton,  Iowa  ;  mustered  in,  June  n,  1861  ;  mustered  out,  June  18, 

1864.     Reported  died,  1890. 
William  H.  Gavit, 

Como  ;  mustered   in,  May  24,  1861  ;  mustered   out,  June    18,    1864. 

Present  address,  North  Scituate,  Rhode  Island. 
Roscoe  F.  Green, 

Sterling  ;  mustered  in,  May  24,  1861  ;  mustered  out,  June   18,  1864. 

In  railroad  employ.     Present  address,  Rock  Island  Depot,  Chicago, 

Illinois.     Fine  tsoldier. 
Fletcher  C.  Galloway, 

Sterling  ;  mustered   in,  May  24,  1861  ;  transferred   to  Naval  Corps. 

Further  history  lost. 
James  Guild, 

Sterling  ;  mustered  in,  May  24,  1861  ;  taken  prisoner  at  Chickasaw 

Bayou,  December  29,  1862  ;  starved  and  died  soon  after  his  release 

at  New  Orleans,  Louisiana  ;  age,  24;  a  Canadian. 
Moses  M.  D.  Hubbard, 

Sugar  Grove  ;  mustered  in,  May  24,  1861;  discharged  disabled,  Feb 
ruary  6,  1862.     Farmer.     Present  address,  Gap  Grove,  Lee  county, 

Illinois. 
Frederick  Hill, 

Sterling.    German.    Mustered  in,  May,  24,  1861;  deserted,  March  21, 

1862  ;  joined  a  Guerrilla  baud  near  Helena,  Arkansas  ;  was  captured 

by  Union  Cavalry  and   in   trying  to  escape  was  killed   by  a  guard 

at  Helena.     A  most  desperate  character. 
William  H.  H.  Wagery, 

Sterling  ;  mustered  in,  May   24,  1861 ;  discharged   disabled,  July  i, 

1862.     Physician  ;  has  practiced  in  Sterling. 
John  Henry, 

Princeton,  Iowa  ;  mustered  in,  June  n,  1861  ;  lost  his  right  arm  at 

Chickasaw  Bayou,  December  29,  1862  ;  transferred  to  Invalid  Corps 

Home,  Omaha,  Nebraska.     Business,  harness  maker.     Successful  in 

business. 
Henry  Hanson, 

Princeton,  Iowa  ;  mustered  in,  June  n,  1861  ;  died,  October  5,  1861. 


482  HISTORY   OF    THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

John  J.  Hostl cinder, 

Sterling ;  mustered  in,  Ma}'  24,  1861  ;  mustered  out,  June  18,  1864. 
Machinist.  Present  address,  525  Bramau  street,  San  Francisco, 
California. 

Oliver  C.  Hamlin, 

Erie  ;  mustered  in,  May  24,  1861  ;  mustered  outj  June  18,  1864.  In 
employ  of  Telegraph  Company.  Present  address,  Erie,  Illinois. 

A 11  dre  iv  Ha  bcrer, 

Sterling  ;  mustered  in,  May  24,  1861  ;  transferred  to  Veteran  Re 
serve  Corps.  Constable.  Present  address,  Sterling,  Illinois. 

Newton  P.  Howe, 

Prophetstown  ;  mustered  in,  May  24,  1861  ;  mustered  out,  June  18, 
1864.  Further  history  not  known. 

Lucius  E.  Hawley, 

Sterling,  mustered  in  May  24,  1861.  Re-enlisted.  Transferred  to 
Company  I,  Fifty-sixth  Illinois  Infantry,  soon  after  came  out  of  serv 
ice  lost  his  arm  in  a  threshing  machine.  County  clerk.  Present 
address,  Ludingtou,  Mich.,  age  twenty-five. 

Samuel  C.  Harvey, 

Sterling ;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861,  as  corporal,  promoted  to  ser 
geant  January  i,  1862  ;  mustered  out  as  sergeant,  June  18,  1864. 
Died  at  Sterling,  1885. 

Reuben  Heffelfinger, 

Sterling  ;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861,  as  corporal  ;  mustered  out  as 
sergeant  June  18,  1864.  Has  been  in  banking  business.  Present 
address,  Denison,  Iowa. 

Geo.  A.  Hall, 

Batavia  ;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861,  as  drummer ;  transferred  to 
Invalid  Corps.  Later  history  not  known. 

William  Irons, 

Sterling ;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  became  fifer  ;  mustered  out 
June  18,  1864.  Present  address,  Marshalltown,  Iowa. 

Benja  m  injudd, 

Sterling  ;  May  24,  1861.  Died  at  Rolla,  Mo.,  September  21,  1861. 
The  first  death  in  the  regiment ;  buried  at  Sterling. 

Edward  R.  Joslyn, 

Sterling  ;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  taken  prisoner  at  Madison 
Station,  Ala.;  May  17,  1864  ;  was  held  till  the  close  of  the  war  and 
died  at  St.  Louis  on  his  way  home. 

Prince  /.  King, 

Sterling  ;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  discharged  for  disablement 
July  i,  1862.  Latest  address,  Rockford,  111. 

Edward  Kimball, 

Sterling  ;  mustered  in  June  9,  1861  ;  discharged  for  disablement 
September  7,  1863. 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY.  483 

William  M.  Kilgour, 

Sterling ;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861,  as  second-lieutenant ;  resigned 
February  3,  1862  ;  raised  a  company  for  the  Seventy-fifth  Illinois  In 
fantry  ;  promoted  to  major,  then  to  lieutenant-colonel  and  to  brevet 
brigadier-general  ;  was  badly  wounded  at  Perryville,  Ky.  ;  lawyer  by 
profession  ;  resided  at  Sterling,  111.  Died  in  California  May  30,  1885. 

Warren  Lnfcins, 

Sterling  ;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  discharged  disabled  March  i, 
1863  ;  has  lived  at  Rock  Falls,  111.  Present  address  Passadena,  Cal. 

Charles  Mann, 

Sterling  ;  mustered  in  May  24  ,1861,  as  corporal ;  mustered  out  June 
1 8,  1864  ;  express  agent.  Present  address,  Milwaukee,  Wis. 

Henry  J.  Maddison, 

Sterling  ;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  deserted  October  i,  1861  ;  en 
listed  in  Thirteenth  Illinois  Cavalry  ;  deserted  from  there  and  en 
listed  in  Seventeenth  Regular  United  States  Infantry  and  was  killed 
in  a  charge  at  the  Second  Battle  of  Bull  Run.  His  conduct  showed 
he  he  was  loyal  to  the  cause,  though  not  wise  in  leaving  his  regiment. 
John  G,  Ufanahan, 

Sterling  ;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  as  corporal  ;  wounded  at  Chick- 
asaw  Bayou  ;  promoted  to  sergeant  September  13,  1863  ;  transferred 
to  Company  I  ;  lawyer.  Present  address,  Sterling,  111.  Member  of 
Illinois  legislature. 

Amos  H.  Miller, 

Sterling  ;  born  October  20,  1840 ;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  pro 
moted  to  corporal  October  i,  1861  and  to  sergeant  March  26,  1863 . 
mustered  out  June  18,  1864  as  sergeant ;  minister  in  Methodist 
church.  Present  address,  Lockport,  111.  Served  one  year  in  Com 
pany  F,  Second  Regiment  Hancock's  Veteran  Corps. 

William  H.  McMillin 

Erie  ;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  mustered   out  June  18,  1864 ;  bar 
ber.     Present  address,  Lake  City,  Minn. 
Joseph  Mickle, 

Sterling  ;  mustered  in  June  6,  1861  ;  promoted  to  corporal  Decem 
ber  19,  1862  ;  mustered  out  June  18,  1864.  Present  address, 
Marshalltown. 

William  D.  Morgaridge, 

Como  ;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  mustered  out  June  18,  1864. 
Postmaster,  Gait,  111. 

Frank  AfcCarty, 

Erie ;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  mustered  out  June  18,  1864. 
Present  address,  Sterling,  111. 


484  HISTORY   OF  THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

Charles  J\L  Mack, 

Sterling  ;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  wounded  at  Chickasaw  Bayou, 
December  29,  1862  and  carries  the  lead  yet^  transferred  to  Veteran 
Reserve  Corps  ;  a  printer.  Present  address,  157  West  Madison  St., 
Chicago. 

John  M.  Marble, 

Chicago  ;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  discharged  August  22,  1861  ; 
promoted  to  captain  in  Forty-sixth  Illinois  Infantry.  Died  1880. 

James  M.  Moore, 

Princeton,  Iowa  ;  mustered  in  June  n,  1861  ;  mustered  out  June  18, 
1864.  Present  address,  Soldiers'  Home,  Dayton,  Ohio. 

John  S.  McClary, 

Sterling  ;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  promoted  to  Quartermaster 
Sergeant,  and  to  Quartermaster,  September  12,  1863  ;  mustered  out 
June  18,  1864.  Present  address,  Norfolk,  Neb. 

William  O.  Newton, 

Sterling  ;  born  in  England,  1843  ;  mustered  in  June  6,  1861  ;  wounded 
at  Chickasaw  Bayou,  December  29,  1862  ;  discharged  September  7, 
1863  ;  disabled  ;  machinist.  Present  address,  Belle  Plain,  Iowa  ;  the 
first  projector  of  this  history. 

Henry  C.  Osgood, 

Sterling  ;  born  in  Vermont,  age  26  ;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861,  as 
Corporal.  Died  at  St.  Charles,  Illinois,  March  22,  1862. 

David  Hick  man  Over, 

Erie;  mustered  in  May  24,1861;  discharged  August  n,  1863; 
disability.  Died  soon  after;  buried  at  Memphis,  Tennessee. 

Henry  C.  Plant, 

Sterling ;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  served  in  pioneer  corps  ;  mus 
tered  out  June  18,  1864  ;  carpenter.  Present  address,  Sterling. 

Joseph  M.  Patterson, 

Sterling  ;  mustered  in  May  24.  1861  as  First-Sergeant  ;  promoted  to 
Second  Lieutenant  February  3,  1862  ;  to  First-Lieutenant  December 
29,  1862  ;  wounded  at  Riuggold,  Georgia,  November  27,  1863  ;  mus 
tered  out  June  18,  1864  ;  has  been  at  banking  at  Sterling,  Illinois, 
and  State  Senator  in  Illinois.  Present  address,  1317  West  Thir 
teenth  Street,  Kansas  City,  Missouri,  in  agriculture  business  and  is 
City  Alderman. 

David  P.  Parsons, 

Sterling  ;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  February  i,  1863,  promoted  to 
Adjutant  Eleventh  Missouri  Cavalry.  Died  in  Sterling  soon  after 
the  war. 

Gordon  M.  Pierce, 

Sterling  ;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  promoted  to  Corporal  Septem 
ber  13,  1862  ;  mustered  out  June  18,  1864  ;  carpenter.  Present  ad 
dress,  Sterling. 


JOHN   W.    RHODES. 
Company  B. 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  485 

William  H.  Pol  ling  ton, 

Sterling  ;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  discharged  September  7,  1863  ; 

disability;  it  was  understood  that   his  right   name  was  "'Wright." 

He  died  suddenly  while  going  into  a  store  at  Marion,  Illinois,  just 

after  the  close  of  the  war. 
A  rth  u  r  Pa  tier  so  n , 

Princeton,  Iowa;  mustered  in  June  n,  1861  ;  promoted  to  Corporal 

June  27,  1862  ;  mustered  out  as   Corporal  June  18,  1864  ;  carpenter. 

Present  address,  Tomales,  California. 

George  Russell, 

Como  ;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  discharged  September  7,  1863  ; 
disability.  Died  soon  after  at  his  home. 

John  W.  Rhodes, 

Erie  ;  born  in  Wilmington,  Indiana,  1842  ;  mustered  in  May  24, 
1861  ;  discharged  June  8,  1863  and  commissioned  Second-Lieutenant 
Third  Mississippi  Colored  Troops  ;  promoted  to  First-Lieutenant 
October  10,  1863  and  to  Captain  September  20,  1864  ;  discharged 
March  8,  1866 ;  manufacturer.  Present  address,  Havana,  Illinois. 

Orin  D.  Reed, 

Sterling  ;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861 ;  discharged  July  i,  1862  ;  dis 
abled.  Died  in  Rock  Falls,  Illinois,  1884. 

Thomas  Randall, 

Princeton,  Iowa;  mustered  in  June  n,  1861  ;  killed  at  Helena, 
Arkansas,  September  8,  1862,  while  in  liquor.  This  was  the  cause 
of  the  death  of  many  a  good  soldier  ;  age  27. 

Jesse  Rood, 

Coloma  ;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  left  the  regiment  March  22, 
1862.  It  is  supposed  was  soon  after  killed. 

John  J.  Russell, 

Sterling  ;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  as  Sergeant ;  promoted  to  Sec 
ond-Lieutenant  December  29,  1862  ;  mustered  out  June  18,  1864,  as 
Second-Lieutenant  ;  is  a  lawyer  at  Jefferson,  Iowa  ;  has  been  State 
Senator.  Is  now  one  of  the  trustees  of  the  Soldiers'  Home  in 
Iowa. 

Andrew  J.  Stow  ell, 

Erie ;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  as  Sergeant;  discharged  July  i, 
1862,  for  disability. 

Cyrenus  Stewart, 

Sterling;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  mustered  out  June  18,  1864; 
lived  in  Rock  Falls,  Illinois.  Died  in  1874. 

Nathaniel  Sipes, 

Corno  ;  mustered  in  Maj  24,  1861  ;  mustered  out  June  18,  1864 ;  a 
good  and  faithful  teamster.  Present  address,  Albany,  Illinois. 


486  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

Herman  L.  Smith, 

Sterling  ;   mustered   in  June   6,    1861  ;  discharged  March  10,  1864  ; 

disability.     Supposed  to  have  been  killed  a  fow  years  ago  in  Texas. 
Sherman  S.  Smith, 

Sterling,  mustered  in  June  2,   1861  ;  mustered  out  June  18,    1864  ; 

served  one  year  in  Company  F  Second  Regiment;  Hancock's  Veteran 

Corps.     Present  address,  Ottawa,  Kansas. 
James  R.  Smith, 

Born  in  Canada  December  15,  1840  Prophetstown  ;  mustered  in  May 

24  1861  ;  mustered  out  June  18  1864.     Present  address  Prophetstown, 

Illinois. 
Charles  H.  Sanford, 

Born  October  6,  1837,  Pittsford,  Vermont ;  Round  Grove  ;  mustered 

in  August  17  1861  ;  promoted  to  corp.  and  sergeant ;  Transferred  to 

Company  I  Fifty-six  Illinois  Infantry,  first  sergeant.     Present  ad 
dress,  Cedar  Rapids,  Iowa  ;  has  lived  in  Illinois,  Michigan  and  Iowa  ; 

worth)"  of  higher  position. 
Calvin  W .  Smith, 

Sterling,  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  wounded  at  Chickasaw  Bayou 

December  29,   1862  and  taken  prisoner  ;  transferred  to  Company  I 

Fifty-sixth  Illinois,  January    15,  1864.     Present  address,  Wellesley 

Hills,  Massachusetts. 
John  H.  Stolb, 

Sterling,   mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  mustered  out  June  18,    1864; 

shoe-maker.     Present  address,  Rock  Falls,  Illinois. 
Homer  B.  Silliman, 

Como  ;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  died  September  16,  1861  at  Rolla, 

Missouri. 
Abiathur  Sutliff, 

Como  ;  mustered  in  June  6,  1861  ;  died  at  Vicksburg,  August  8,  1863  ; 

born  in  Ohio,  age  twenty-three  ;  general  debility. 
John  A.  Stackhouse, 

Empire  June  6,  1861  ;  promoted  to  corps  and  sergeant  June  i,  1863  ; 

died  at  Youngs'    Point  Louisiana,  March  25,    1863  ;  buried  on  the 

Levee  ;  born  in  Pennsylvania,  age  twenty-seven. 
Luke  L.  Tuttle, 

Erie  ;   mustered   in   May   24,   1861  ;    mustered   out  June    18,    1864. 

Present  address  New  Britton,  Connecticut. 
William  A.  Thomas, 

Como  ;  mustered  in  January  24,  1861  ;   promoted  to  corp.  June  I, 

1863  ;  mustered  out  June  18  1864. 
George  F.  Tobey, 

Erie  ;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  mustered  out  June  18,  1864.     Re 
ported  died  1889. 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  487 

David  W.  Utts, 

Sterling  ;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  mustered  out  June  18,  1864  as 
corp.  Present  address,  Lyons,  Iowa  ;  tinsmith. 

Henry  W.  Weaver, 

Sterling;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  mustered  out  June  18,  1864. 
Present  address,  Stockton,  California. 

Horatio  Wells, 

Round  Grove  ;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  wounded  December  29, 
1862  ;  mustered  out  June  18,  1864,  as  corp.  Present  address,  Aledo, 
Illinois  ;  marble  merchant. 

Francis  Willard, 

Sterling  ;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  wounded  at  Chickasaw  Bayou, 
December  29,  1862  ;  mustered  out  June  18,  1864.  Present  address, 
New  York  City,  care  of  Clipper. 

Barent  E  Van  Buren, 

Sterling  ;  mustered  in  June  13,  1861  ;  wounded  December  29,  1862  ; 
re-enlisted  and  transferred  to  Company  I  Fifty-sixth  Illinois. 
Present  address,  Theressa,  Bradford  county,  Florida  ;  he  is  Post 
master  at  that  place  ;  discharged  from  Fifty-sixth  Illinois  August  12, 
1865.  Has  lived  in  Chicago,  (Illinois,)  and  Florida. 


COMPANY  C. 

Organized  at  Amboy,  Lee  county,  Illinois,  April  25, 
1 86 1,  under  supervision  of  William  E.  Ives,  Esq.  Went  into 
camp  on  the  same  day  at  the  County  Fair-grounds  and  used 
Floral  Hall  for  sleeping  quarters,  and  built  small  houses  out 
side  for  cooking.  Company  officers  were  elected  and  non 
commissioned  officers  were  appointed. 

Drilling  awkward  squads  was  the  order  of  each  day  to 
the  extent  of  knowledge  at  the  command  of  our  commissioned 
officers. 

Lieutenant  Neff's  comprehensive  command  when  march 
ing  the  company  by  flank  up  to  the  tight,  high,  board  fence, 
was,  ' '  Whoa  ;  ' '  and  we  had  to  stand  there  facing  the  fence 
until  he  could  think  of  some  command  to  give  to  get  them 
about-faced. 

Remained  at  this  camp  until  May  gth,  1861,  when  we 
moved  to  Dixon,  Illinois  ;  by  order  of  J.  B.  Wyman,  then 
Acting  Assistant  Adjutant-General  of  the  State,  saying  we 


488  HISTORY   OF   THE    THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

had  been  accepted  by  the  State  for  thirty  days,  for  the  pur 
pose  of  drill. 

Before  leaving  Amboy,  the  company  was  presented  with  a 
beautiful  silk  flag  by  the  ladies  of  the  place.  This  was 
accepted  by  the  company  in  an  appropriate  speech  delivered 
by  Remington  Warriner.  Arrived  at  Dixon,  May  Qth,  and 
during  same  day  and  day  following,  were  joined  by  nine  other 
companies  from  different  parts  of  the  State,  making  what  was 
afterwards  the  Thirteenth  Illinois  Volunteers'  Infantry. 

ROSTfiR. 

Henry  M.  Messinger, 

Captain ;  born  in  Friendship,  Alleghany  county,  State  of  New 
York  ;  enlisted  from  Amboy,  Illinois  ;  mustered  with  the  regiment ; 
discharged  November  3,  1863,  for  physical  disability  ;  has  since 
resided  at  Centralia,  Illinois,  and  in  Kansas.  Present  address,  1824 
Holly  street,  Kansas  city,  Missouri. 

George  B.  Sage, 

Second-lieutenant ;  mustered  with  the  regiment ;  promoted  first- 
lieutenant,  November  15,  1862  ;  promoted  captain,  November  3, 
1863 ;  mustered  out  June  18,  1864.  Present  address,  Denisou, 
Texas. 

Nathaniel  Nefft 

First-lieutenant ;  enlisted  from  Amboy,  Illinois,  and  mustered  with 
the  regiment ;  resigned  November  15,  1862.  Railroad  engineer  by 
profession,  and  has  since  died. 

Simeon   T.  Josselyn, 

Sergeant ;  enlisted  from  Amboy,  and  was  mustered  with  the  regi 
ment  ;  promoted  second-lieutenant,  November  15,  1862  ;  promoted 
first-lieutenant,  November  3,  1863;  discharged  June  18,  1864.  Occu 
pation,  Railroading.  Present  address,  Omaha,  Nebraska,  where  he 
is  engaged  in  Insurance  business  ;  Lieutenant  Josselyu  was  born 
in  Buffalo,  New  York,  January  14,  1842. 

John  A.  Shipman, 

Sergeant ;  enlisted  from  Amboy,  Illinois ;  was  mustered  with  the 
regiment ;  mustered  out  as  first-sergeant,  November  4,  1864.  His 
present  address  is  Sioux  City,  Iowa. 

David  L.  Kinninment, 

Sergeant ;  enlisted  from  Amboy,  Illinois,  and  mustered  with  the 
regiment;  promoted  sergeant-major,  October  n,  1861  ;  discharged 
for  promotion  December  i,  1863,  by  reason  of  promotion  to  first- 
lieutenant,  Sixth  United  States  Colored  Heavy  Artillery  ;  promoted 


LIEUT.  S    T.  JOSSELYN 
Company  C. 


SERGT.  WILLIAM   H.   HALE. 
Company  C 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY.  489 

captain  Company  L,  same  regiment,  February  n,  1865  ;  mustered 
out  at  Natchez,  Mississippi,  May  15,  1866.  Comrade  Kinninment 
was  born  in  Scotland  ;  present  address  is  338  Harvey  avenue, 
Ridgeland,  Oak  Park,  Cook  County,  Illinois.  At  Natchez,  Missis 
sippi,  he  served  as  captain  and  aide-de-camp  on  the  staff  of  Major- 
Gen.  J.  W.  Davidson,  also  as  judge-advocate  of  the  southern  district 
of  Mississippi.  From  October  5,  1866,  to  May,  1868,  was  inspector 
'in  the  Internal  Revenue  Department  of  Illinois. 

William  H.  Hale, 

Sergeant ;  was  born  in  Harmony,  Pennsylvania ;  enlisted  from 
Amboy,  Illinois  ;  mustered  out  June  18,  1864  ;  present  residence 
Amboy,  Illinois.  Comrade  Hale  has  been  conductor  on  the  Illinois 
Central  Railroad  ever  since  his  discharge  from  the  army,  and  is  so 
employed  now. 

Frank  A.   Wood, 

Sergeant ;  enlisted  from  Sublette,  Illinois,  and  was  mustered  with 
the  regiment ;  died  January  3,  1864,  of  chronic  diarrhoea,  at  Nash 
ville,  Tennessee  ;  born  Massachusetts,  age  twenty. 

Frederick   W.  Cooper, 

Corporal ;  enlisted  from  Melugin's  Grove,  and  was  mustered  with 
the  regiment ;  was  made  a  sergeant,  but  was  mustered  out  as  a  pri 
vate,  on  June  18,  1864. 

William  H,  Ripley, 

Corporal ;  enlisted  from  Amboy,  Illinois,  and  mustered  with  the 
regiment ;  mustered  out  June  18,  1864,  as  a  private. 

Alexander  Rolto. 

Corporal ;  enlisted  from  Amboy,  and  mustered  with  the  regiment ; 
mustered  out  June  18,  1864,  as  a  private. 

Alexander  McNaughton, 

Corporal  ;  was  born  in  Salem,  New  York,  April,  1829 ;  enlisted 
from  Amboy,  Illinois,  and  was  mustered  with  the  regiment ;  dis 
charged  at  Helena,  Arkansas,  September  28,  1862,  on  account  of 
disability  ;  present  address  is  Janesville,  Wisconsin. 

Albert  B.  McKune, 

Corporal  ;  enlisted  from  Sublette  and  mustered  with  the  regiment  as 
private  ;  was  mustered  out  with  the  regiment. 

Joseph  T.  Sackett, 

Corporal  ;  enlisted  from  Heyworth,  Illinois,  and  mustered  with  the 
regiment ;  mustered  out  as  color-sergeant,  June  18,  1864. 

Herman  G.  Huster, 

Corporal  ;  enlisted  from  Amboy,  Illinois,  and  mustered  with  the 
regiment,  and  mustered  out  with  the  regiment  as  sergeant ;  present 
residence  is  sterling,  Illinois. 


49°  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

George  M.  Berkley, 

Corporal ;  enlisted  from  Sublette,  Illinois,  and  mustered  with  the 
regiment,  and  mustered  out  as  sergeant,  with  the  regiment ;  has 
been  sheriff  of  Lee  county  ;  present  residence*is  Dixon,  Illinois. 

Tracy  F.  Marshall, 

Fifer  ;  enlisted  from  Amboy,  Illinois,  and  mustered  with  the  regi 
ment  ;  he  was  discharged  February  5,  1862,  for  disability ;  his  last 
known  residence  was  at  Marshalltown,  Iowa. 

Frank  Lee, 

Drummer;  was  enlisted  from  Amboy,  Illinois,  and  was  mustered 
with  the  regiment;  as  "musician"  he  was  mustered  out  with  the 
regiment ;  present  address  is  Gara,  Missouri. 

Richard  Atkinson, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Amboy,  Illinois,  and  mustered  with  the  regi 
ment  ;  was  promoted  corporal,  and  as  such,  was  mustered  out  with 
the  regiment. 

William  H.  Adams, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Lena,  Illinois,  and  mustered  with  the  regi 
ment,  but  deserted  January  30,  1863. 

Edward  A.  Barnard, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Amboy,  Illinois,  and  mustered  with  the  regi 
ment  ;  he  is  said  to  have  been  killed  in  Texas,  since  the  close  of  the 
war  ;  but  served  the  full  term,  and  was  mustered  out  with  the  regi 
ment. 

Otis  B.  Bridgman, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Amboy,  Illinois,  and  mustered  with  the 
regiment ;  died  May  28,  1864. 

Pierre  Bushnell, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Heyworth,  Illinois,  and  mustered  with  the 
regiment ;  transferred  as  lieutenant  to  the  Tenth  Missouri  Cavalry. 

John  F,  Banister, 

Private ;  enlisted  from  Amboy,  Illinois  and  mustered  with  the 
regiment ;  discharged  January  15,  1864,  for  disability. 

Willis  Bronson, 

Private ;  enlisted  from  Amboy,  Illinois  and  mustered  with  the 
regiment.  Comrade  Bronson  was  born  in  New  Britain,  Connecticut ; 
served  the  full  term  and  was  mustered  out  with  the  regiment,  as 
corporal. 

John  Creamer, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Amboy,  Illinois  and  mustered  with  the 
regiment ;  deserted  Feburary  28,  1863. 

Henry  Christie, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Malugin's  Grove,  Illinois  and  mustered  with 
the  regiment ;  deserted  June  15,  1862. 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  491 

Valentine  Cortz, 

Born  in  Germany,  age  twenty-one  ;  private  ;  enlisted  from  Arnboy, 
Illinois,  and  mustered  with  the  regiment ;  killed  in  action  at  Vicks- 
burg,  May  22,  1863. 

James  Christeance, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Malugin's  Grove,  Illinois,  and  mustered  with 
the  regiment;  promoted  corporal;  served  until,  January  i,  1864, 
when  he  veteranized  and  was  sworn  in  as  such  on  January  29,  1864, 
and  was  assigned  to  Company  I,  Fifty-sixth  Illinois  Infantry.  Age 
twenty-two. 

Michael  Casey, 

Private ;  enlisted  from  Amboy,  Illinois,  and  mustered  with  the 
regiment  ;  mustered  out  June  18,  1864. 

Henry  Clay, 

Private  ;  enlisted  at  Amboy,  Illinois,  and  mustered  with  the  regi 
ment.  He  was  on  detached  service  in  Alabama  ;  captured  March  3, 
iS6d,  and  confined  at  Andersonville  ;  mustered  out  January  10,  1865. 

Sylvan  us  Cole, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Malugiu's  Grove,  Illinois,  and  mustered  with 
the  regiment ;  age  twenty-five  ;  veteranized  January  19,  1864,  and 
was  sworn  in  as  such  on  January  29,  1864,  and  assigned  to  Company 
I,  Fifty-sixth  Illinois  Infantry. 

Dennis  Donahue, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Heyworth,  Illinois,  and  mustered  with  the 
regiment ;  promoted  corporal,  and  mustered  out  with  the  regiment. 

William  H.  Deardorff, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Jonesborough,  Illinois,  and  mustered  with 
the  regiment ;  discharged  August  19,  1863,  for  disability. 

John  Dyke  man, 

Private ;  age  eighteen ;  born  in  Amboy,  Illinois ;  enlisted  from 
Amboy,  Illinois,  and  mustered  with  the  regiment  ;  died  January  10, 
1864,  at  Chattanooga,  Tennessee,  of  wounds. 

Andrew  DeWolf, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Lee  Center,  Illinois,  and  mustered  with  the 
regiment  ;  discharged  June  12,  1863,  for 'disability. 

Frederick  P.  Fox, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Amboy,  Illinois,  and  mustered  with  the  regi 
ment  ;  promoted  commissary-sergeant  June  I,  1863,  and  mustered 
out  with  the  regiment  ;  present  residence,  Republican,  Nebraska. 

Samuel  C.  Fairchild, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Malugiu's  Grove,  Illinois,  and  mustered  with 
the  regiment ;  mustered  out  with  the  regiment ;  present  residence. 
Oak  Dale,  Nebraska. 


492  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH   REGIMENT 

Joseph  C  Fishell, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Sublette,  Illinois,  and  mustered  with  the  regi 
ment  ;  died  June   16,   1864,  two  days  before  Jie   would  have  been 
mustered  out  ;  his  disease  was  pneumonia. 
Mills  J.  Giffvrd, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Amboy,  Illinois,  and  mustered  with  the  regi 
ment  ;  served  the  full  term  and  was  mustered  out  with  the  regi 
ment. 
James  E.  Gray, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Lee  Center,  Illinois,  and  mustered  with  the 
regiment  ;  Comrade  Gray  was  born  in  London,  Canada  West,  on 
the  15th  of  December,  1841  ;  was  wounded  at  Chickasaw  Bayou, 
and  left  on  the  field  for  dead  ;  afterwards  served  one  year  in  the 
Seventh  Illinois  Cavalry,  and  was  mustered  out  at  the  same  time  of 
his  old  regiment.  In  the  passing  years  since  the  war,  Comrade 
Gray  has  been  a  busy  man  ;  he  has  held  the  office  of  Township  Tax 
Collector  for  a  term  of  nine  years,  and  on  March  27,  1889,  he  was 
appointed  postmaster  at  Lee  Center,  Illinois,  where  he  now  resides. 
Josiah  K.  Goodwin, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Amboy,  Illinois,  and  mustered  with  the  regi 
ment  ;  promoted  hospital  steward,  May  24,  1861  ;  born  in  Pennsyl 
vania  ;  died  August  5,  1863,  at  Vicksburg. 
Edward  Clarence  Hubbard, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Amboy,  Illinois,  and  mustered  with  the  regi 
ment  ;  was  promoted  sergeant-major  December  i,  1863. 
[Comrade  Hubbard's  death  is  noticed  in  the  National  Tribune,  as 
follows  : 

"DECEASED. — In  Chicago,  Illinois,  June  27,  1887,  Edward  Clarence 
Hubbard,  aged  forty-four,  of  Hartford,  Kentucky.  Comrade  Hubbard 
was  well  known  to  the  members  of  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic, 
having  been  Adjutant-General  of  that  organization  for  the  State  of 
Kentucky.  At  the  time  of  his  death  he  was  Commander  of  Preston 
Morton  Post,  of  Ohio  county,  Kentuck}r.  He  was  also  one  of  the 
leading  members  of  the  bar  in  western  Kentucky,  and  honored  as  a 
prominent  Republican  politician  all  over  the  State,  having  been  a 
delegate  from  his  district  to  the  Presidental  Convention  held  in  Cincin 
nati  in  1876,  to  a  similar  one  in  Chicago  in  1880,  and  elector-at-large 
for  the  State  of  Kentucky  in  1884.  He  was  born  in  Cook  county, 
Illinois,  and  was  a  graduate  of  the  Chicago  High  School.  Just  after 
leaving  the  High  School,  he  enlisted  in  the  Thirteenth  Illinois,  serving 
through  to  the  end  of  the  war.  While  in  the  service  he  contracted 
throat  trouble  that  carried  him  off  in  the  prime  of  life." 

The  San  Francisco  Daily  Alta  says  that :  "  Hon.  E.  Clarence  Hub 
bard,  a  leading  citizen  and  lawyer  of  Kentucky,  died  early  yesterday 


ILLINOIS    VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  493 

morning,  at  the  home  of  his  mother,  in  Chicago,  whither  he  had  been 
removed  for  the  benefit  of  his  health.  Mr.  Hubbard's  parents  emigrated 
to  Illinois  when  Fort  Dearborn,  now  Chicago,  was  an  Indian  trading 
post,  near  which  place,  February  24th,  1843,  ne  was  born  and  grew  to 
manhood.  He  was  a  graduate  of  the  Chicago  High  Schoo%  of  the  class 
of  1859,  and  was  a  class-mate  with  Mr.  John  R.  Scupham,  of  San  Fran 
cisco.  When  the  first  call  for  troops  was  made,  in  April,  1861,  the 
deceased  enlisted  in  the  Thirteenth  Illinois  Volunteers,  and  was 
appointed  Sergeant-Major  of  the  regiment,  of  which  regiment  Mr. 
Frank  W.  Gushing  of  the  United  States  Customs  of  this  city,  was  a 
member.  After  three  and  a  half  years'  service  Mr.  Hubbard  returned  to 
Chicago  and  assisted  in  the  formation,  and  was  an  officer  of  the  first 
Army  and  Navy  Club  organized  in  the  Northwest,  of  which  Charles  A. 
Dana,  now  editor  of  the  New  York  Sun,  was  the  President,  and  Col. 
Lyman  Bridges,  of  San  Francisco,  was  vice-President.  Having  married 
the  daughter  of  Col.  Q.  C.  Shanks,  a  Union  cavalry  officer  of  Kentucky, 
that  State  afterwards  became  his  home.  In  politics  he  was  an  ardent 
Republican,  and  as  such  he  presided  in  the  councils  of  his  party,  was  a 
delegate  to  the  National  Convention  that  nominated  ex-Presidents 
Hayes  and  Garfield.  He  opposed  the  nomination  of  Grant  for  the 
third  term,  and  made  the  principal  address  at  the  anti-third  term  con 
vention  held  in  St.  Louis  in  1880,  and  was  the  orator  on  Memorial  Day 
at  Louisville  three  years  ago.  He  was  in  his  forty-fifth  year  at  the 
time  of  his  death,  and  was  a  brother  of  Col.  A.  S.  Hubbard  of  this  city. 
His  many  friends  of  this  coast  will  learn  with  regret  his  untimely 
death.] 

John  Hffctor, 

Private  ;  born  in  Ireland  ;  enlisted  from  Amboy,  Illinois,  and  mus 
tered  with  the  regiment  ;  a  prisoner  of  war,  at  Madison,  Alabama, 
sent  to  Cahaba,  and  Meridian,  Mississippi,  and  mustered  out  June 
8,  1865. 

Alfred  Hastings, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Sublette,  Illinois,  and  mustered  with  the  regi 
ment  ;  discharged  August  19,  1863,  for  disability. 

A  lex  a  n  der  Ha  m  ilto  n , 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Amboy,  Illinois,  and  mustered  with  the  reg 
iment  ;  age  twenty-three  ;  mustered  out,  June  9,  1865.  Present  ad 
dress,  Amboy,  Illinois. 

Theodore  Hyde, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Malugiu's  Grove,  Illinois,  and  mustered  with 
the  regiment ;  age,  twenty-one  ;  veteranized  on  January  i,  1864,  and 
mustered  for  veteran  service  on  January  29,  1864,  and  assigned  to 
Company  I.  Fifty-sixth  Illinois  Infantry. 


494  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

Simeon  C.  Huffy 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Amboy,  Illinois,  and  mustered  with  the  regi 
ment  ;  mustered  out  with  the  regiment. 
Willard  Jones, 

Private  ;  enlisted    from   Amboy,  Illinois,    and   mustered  with    the 
regiment ;  killed  at  Chickasaw  Bayou,  December  29,  1862.     Born  in 
Maine  ;  age,  twenty-four. 
A  ugustus  Judd, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Wapella,  Illinois, .    id  mustered  with  the  regi 
ment  ;  mustered  out  with  the  regiment. 
James  A.  Keat, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Amboy,  Illinois,  and  mustered  with  the  regi 
ment  ;  deserted  December  2,  1862. 
Charles  D.  Keene, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Malugin's  Grove,  Illinois,  and  mustered  with 
the  regiment ;  discharged  September  28,  1861,  for  disability. 
Nelson  Lane, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Malugin's  Grove,  Illinois,  and  was  mustered 
with  the  regiment ;  mustered  out  with  the  regiment.     Present  ad 
dress,  Philips,  Nebraska. 
William  J.  Lynch, 

Private ;  enlisted  from  Amboy,  Illinois,  and  mustered  with  the  regi 
ment  ;  mustered  out  with  the  regiment. 
Nathan  Meggarry, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Amboy,  111.,  and  mustered  with  the  regiment ; 
mustered  out  with  the  regiment. 
Zack  Mathuss, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Amboy,  111.,  and  mustered  with  the  regi 
ment ;  discharged  October  19,  1862,  for  disability.  His  present 
address  is  Los  Angeles,  Cal. 

[By  mistake,  this  comrade's  name  has  been  spelled  wrong ;  and  it 
deserves  righting  by  saying  that  Comrade  Zachariah  D.  Mathuss  was 
born  November  12,  1841,  at  Ashton,  N.  C.  Since  his  discharge  from  the 
army,  Comrade  Mathuss  has  resided  eighteen  months  in  Dixon,  111.,  five 
years  in  Virginia  City  and  Helena,  Mont.,  two  years  in  Chicago,  five 
years  at  Cairo,  111.,  ten  years  at  Shenandoah,  Iowa,  and  four  years  at 
Los  Angeles,  Cal.,  where  he  now  resides.  Comrade  Mathuss  is  an 
enthusiastic  Grand  Army  man,  and  delights  to  bring  up  the  reminis 
cences  of  thirty  years  ago.] 
James  McCollum, 

Private ;  enlisted  from  Amboy,  111.,  and  was  mustered  with  the 
regiment ;  was  captured  by  the  enemy,  at  Chickasaw  Bayou,  and 
died  of  wounds  received  at  Ringgold  Gap,  Ga.,  on  November  28, 
1863.  Born  in  Indiana;  age  twenty-four. 


ZACK   MATHUSS. 
Company  C. 


ILLINOIS     VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  495 

James  H.  Montgomery, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Dixon,  111.,  and  mustered  with  the  regiment. 

Died,  August  7,  1863.     Born,  Canada  West,  age  twenty-one. 
Harry   W.  McKune, 

Private;  enlisted  at  Sublette,  111.,  and  mustered  with  the  regiment. 

Died  at  Andersonville  Prison,  Ga.,  July  8,  1864.     Grave  No.  3050. 

Jacob  Nelson, 

Private  ;  enlisted  at  Amboy,  111.,  and  was  mustered  with  the  regi 
ment.  Served  the  full  term,  and  was  mustered  out  with  the 
regiment. 

Stephen  T.  Parker, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Malugin's  Grove,  111.,  and  mustered  with  the 
regiment.  Transferred  to  the  invalid  corps,  September,  3oth,  1863. 

Charles  W.  Rosbrough, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Freeport,  111.,  and  mustered  with  the  regi 
ment  ;  age  twenty-nine  ;  veteranized  January  1,  1884  ;  and  mustered 
as  such,  January  29,  1864,  and  assigned  to  Company  I,  Fifty-sixth 
Illinois  Infantry. 

Adam  Roundenbush, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Amboy,  111.  Mustered  with  regiment,  and 
in  hospital  September  20,  1862. 

Frank  T.  Rosbach, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Amboy,  111.,  and  mustered  with  the  regiment; 
mustered  out  September  loth,  1864  ;  present  address,  Assumption, 
111. 

Dor  son  A.  Rosencranzt 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Ogle,  111.,  and  mustered  with  the  regiment ; 
discharged  September  8th,  1863,  for  disability. 

Charles  E.  Rnnrill, 

Private  ;  born  in  Oswego,  N.  Y.,  December  6th,  1832  ;  enlisted  from 
Amboy,  111.,  and  mustered  with  the  regiment;  prisoner  of  war, 
mustered  out  May  2oth,  1865.  Present  address,  Woosuug,  Ogle 
county,  111. 

James  Shultz, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Franklin  Grove,  111.,  and  was  mustered  with 
the  regiment  ;  died  September  3Oth,  1863,  at  Malugin's  Grove,  111., 
of  chronic  diarrhoea  ;  born  in  Pennsylvania;  age  22. 

Tolman  A.  Seelley, 

Private ;  enlisted  from  Amboy,  111.,  and  mustered  with  the  regi 
ment  ;  mustered  out  June  18,  1864. 

Amos  E.  Sweet, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Malugin's  Grove,  111.,  and  mustered  with  the 
regiment.  Present  address  Compton,  111. 


496  HISTORY  OF  THE:  THIRTEENTH  REGIMENT 

Robert  H.  Thompson, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Malugin's  Grove,  111.,  and  mustered  with  the 
regiment ;  prisoner  of  war,  and  mustered  out  June  18,  1865.  Pres 
ent  address,  Ogdensburg,  N.  Y. 

Charles  Thomas, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Shammock,  111.,  and  mustered  with  the  regi 
ment  ;  mustered  out  with  the  regiment.  Present  address,  Clinton, 
Iowa. 

Edward  Thompson, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Malugin's  Grove,  111.,  and  mustered  with  the 
regiment ;  age,  twenty-five  years  ;  corporal,  and  veteranized  on  Janu 
ary  i,  1864,  and  on  January  29,  1864,  transferred  to  Company  I, 
Fifty-sixth  Illinois  Infantry.  Present  residence,  Otumwa,  Iowa. 

Hudson  R.  Unks, 

'Private;  enlisted  from  Amboy,  111.,  and  mustered  with  the  regi 
ment  ;  discharged  October  17,  1861,  for  disability.  Present  address, 
Evanston,  Wyoming. 

William  H.  Varney, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Hey  worth,  111. ;  mustered  with  the  regiment  ; 
mustered  out  with  the  regiment.  Present  address,  Pleasanton, 
Kansas. 

Thomas  W.  Willars, 

Private ;  enlisted  from  Amboy,  Illinois,  and  mustered  with  the 
regiment,  died  at  Helena  Arkansas,  September  23,  1862,  congestive 
chill ;  Born  in  Bngland,  age  twenty-four. 

Charles  C.  Wilson, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Atnboy,  Illinois,  and  mustered  with  the 
regiment,  and  with  it  mustered  out.  Present  residence,  Freeport 
Illinois. 

[In  addition  to  what  Comrade  Wilson  has  seen  fit  to  furnish  the 
historian,  his  record  (which  has  been  a  good  one)  would  not  be  complete 
without  some  few  items  which  have  cropped  out,  in  spite  of  Comrade 
Wilson's  intention  not  to  praise  himself.  The  historian  has  had  occa 
sion  to  examine  papers  recommending  comrade  Wilson,  signed  by 
General  Grant's  own  hand,  after  he  had  become  a  Lieutenant-General. 
After  the  war,  Comrade  Wilson  married  and  settled  down  to  civil  life. 
Has  not  sought  civil  honors,  nor  a  sounding  name,  but  has  gone  to  work 
to  procure  the  necessary  wherewithal  to  make  a  comfortable  home  for 
the  loved  ones  that  God  has  placed  in  his  charge.  Comrade  Wilson, 
with  wife,  son  and  daughter,  are  happily  situated  at  No.  38  High  street, 
Freeport,  Illinois,  and  the  veterans  of  the  old  Thirteenth,  will  find  no 
difficulty  in  locating  the  right  man,  as  the  latch-string  is  hanging  con 
veniently  on  the  outside.] 


C.   C.   WILSON. 
Com  pa  n  y  C. 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY.  497 

George  P.  Wood, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Sublette,  Illinois,  and  mustered  with  the 
regiment ;  killed  at  Chickasaw  Bayou,  December  29,  1862  ;  born  in 
Massachusetts  ;  age  twenty-two. 

Patsey  Ward, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Ogle,  Illinois,  and  mustered  with  the  regi 
ment  ;  mustered  out  with  the  regiment. 

Rimmington  Mariner, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Amboy,  Illinois,  and  mustered  with  the 
regiment,  and  with  it  mustered  out. 

Jackson  L.  Eels, 

Private  ;  enlisted  at  Sublette,  Illinois,  and  mustered  on  May  25, 
1861 ;  was  wagoner,  and  was  mustered  out  with  the  regiment. 

Richard  E.  Ash, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Sublette,  and  mustered  on  May  25,  1861  ; 
mustered  out  with  the  regiment. 

P.  E.  Allen, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Lamoille,  Illinois,  and  mustered  May  30,  1861  ; 
promoted  corporal,  and  mustered  out  with  the  regiment.  Present 
address  is  37  George  Street,  Saratoga  Springs,  N.  Y. 

George  H.  Beebee, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Peru,  Illinois,  and  mustered  on  May  25,  1861; 
was  detailed  on  detached  service,  November  14,  1862. 

Hugh  Carr, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Sublette,  Illinois,  and  mustered  on  May  25, 
1861  ;  absent  sick,  from  November  i,  1863.  Present  address,  Spirit 
Lake,  Iowa. 

Francis  Cole, 

Enlisted  from  Garrettville,  Illinois,  and  mustered  on  June  16,  1861, 
and  deserted  July  10,  1861. 

William  H.  Cur  ley, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Amboy,  Illinois,  and  mustered  on  September 
23,  1861  ;  discharged  August  14,  1863,  for  disability. 

George  W.  Dunbar, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Lamoille,  Illinois ;  on  June  14,  1861,  was 
mustered  into  service,  and  died  January  26,  1863,  typhoid  fever. 

David  Fair  child s, 

Private ;  enlisted  from  Malugin's  Grove,  Illinois,  and  was  mustered 
on  August  22,  1861  ;  age  21  ;  veteranized  on  January  i,  1864,  and 
mustered  on  January  29,  1864,  and  assigned  to  Company  I,  Fifty- 
sixth  Illinois  Infantry.  Present  address  is  West  Brooklyn,  Illinois. 

Albert  H.  Higday, 

Private ;  enlisted  from  Malugin's  Grove,  Illinois,  and  mustered  on 
May  25,  1861  ;  discharged  on  February  9,  1863,  for  disability. 


498  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

Henry  A.  Kirchner, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Lamoille,  Illinois,  and  was  mustered  on  June 
14,  1861,  and  discharged  on  February  25,  1863,  for  disability.  Pres 
ent  address,  Lamoille  Bureau  Co.,  Illinois. 

Hannibal  Keene,  •'• 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Paw  Paw,  Illinois,  and  was  mustered  on 
May  25,  1861  ;  discharged  September  28,  1861,  for  disability. 

William  H.  H.  Lane, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  St.  Louis,  and  was  mustered  on  May  30, 
1861  ;  mustered  out  with  the  regiment.  Present  address,  Columbus, 
Ohio. 

Henry  J.  Lee, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Lamoille,  Illinois,  and  was  mustered  on  May 
25,  1861  ;  promoted  sergeant,  and  mustered  out  with  the  regiment. 
He  was  born  in  Columbus,  Ohio,  February  22,  1864,  and  re-enlisted 
in  the  United  States  Eighth  Veteran  Volunteers.  President  address 
is  Saratoga  Springs,  New  York. 

Daniel  McCoy, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Franklin  Grove,  Illinois,  and  was  mustered 
on  May  30,  1861,  and  died  August  3,  1863.  Born  in  New  York  ;  age 
thirty-three. 

William  Morse, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Sublette,  Illinois,  and  was  mustered  on  May 
25,  1861,  and  mustered  out  with  the  regiment.  Present  address, 
Amboy,  Illinois. 

Sheldon  Marsh, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Malugin's  Grove,  Illinois,  and  was  mustered 
on  August  26,  1861  ;  age  twenty-five  :  veteranized,  and  was  mustered 
on  January  29,  1864,  and  assigned  to  Company  I,  Fifty-sixth  Illinois 
Infantry.  Present  residence,  Hopkins,  Missouri. 

Fred.  R.  Nourse, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  St.  Louis,  and  was  mustered  on  May  30,  1861, 
and  died  September  8,  1863. 

Abram  J.  Rodabaugh, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Amboy,  Illinois,  and  was  mustered  on  May 
25,  1861  ;  age  twenty-six  ;  veteranized,  and  was  mustered  on  January 
29,  1864,  and  assigned  to  the  Fifty-sixth  Illinois  Infantry,  Company 
I.  Present  address  is  St.  Louis,  Missouri. 

Benjamin  F.  Shinneman, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Malugin's  Grove,  Illinois,  and  was  mustered 
on  May  25,  1861  ;  age   twenty-four;  veteranized,  and  was  mustered 
'  on  January  29,  1864. 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY.  499 

Henry  Scizer, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Sterling,  Illinois,  and  was  mustered  on  May 
25,  1861  ;  and  mustered  out  with  the  regiment. 

Norman  Shaul, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Mendota,  Illinois,  and  was  mustered  with 
the  regiment  May  30,  1861,  and  deserted  June  19,  1863. 

George  F.  Thorn, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Daysville,  Illinois,  and  was  mustered  on  May 
25,  2861.  Discharged  September  8,  1863. 

Osgood  Wyman, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Amboy,  Illinois,  and  was  mustered  on  May 
30,  1861 ;  was  promoted  corporal,  and  mustered  out  with  the  regi 
ment.  Residence,  Amboy,  Illinois. 

Ogden  Fairchilds, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Viola,  and  was  mustered  on  May  30,  1861  ; 
age  twenty-eight ;  veteranized,  and  wras  mustered  on  January  29, 
1864,  and  assigned  to  Company  I  of  the  Fifty-sixth  Illinois  Infantry, 
and  was  mustered  out  on  June  18,  1864.  Residence,  West  Brooklyn, 
Illinois. 

John  H.  Scott, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Lincoln,  Illinois,  and  was  mustered  on  Feb 
ruary  8,  1864  ;  age  twenty,  and  veteranized. 


COMPANY  D. 

Quincy  McNeil  writes  in  March,  1887,  concerning  the 
company  raised  at  Rock  Island  and  known  in  the  regiment  as 
D  Company  : 

"  On  April  igth,  1861,  one  hundred  and  thirty-two  men  left 
Rock  Island  for  Springfield,  Illinois,  that  place  having  been 
declared  the  rendezvous  for  the  six  regiments  just  called  by 
the  Governor  to  meet  the  quota  for  the  seventy-five  thousand 
call  of  President  Lincoln.  These  men  were  commanded  by 
W.  W.  Williams,  Captain  ;  David  Benson,  First-Lieutenant ; 
Quincy  McNeil,  Second-Lieutenant.  At  Decatur  we  heard 
that  seventy-seven  men,  rank  and  file,  were  all  that  were 
allowed  in  a  company.  Williams  selected  those  out  of  the 
men  that  he  wanted  for  his  company,  but  said  nothing  to  the 
others  until  they  arrived  at  Springfield.  He  was  assigned 
with  his  men  to  the  Twelfth  Regiment  as  Company  D.  The 


500  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH   REGIMENT 

Legislature  soon  convened  and  authorized  each  Congressional 
District  to  raise  a  regiment.  The  men  who  were  not  wanted 
in  Williams' s  company  formed  another  company  to  belong 
to  the  regiment  from  the  Second  Congressional  District. 
Quincy  McNeil  was  elected  Captain  ;  James  M.  Beardsley, 
First-Lieutenant,  and  Albert  T.  Higby,  Second-Lieutenant. 
An  order  was  then  made  by  the  War  Department  to  fill  up 
each  company  to  one  hundred  and  one  men.  Williams  then 
desired  to  draw  enough  men  from  the  McNeil  company  to  fill 
his  own,  but  the  men  said  that  they  had  been  counted  out 
once,  and  now  he  could  fill  up  his  company  from  other  men. 
This  was  easily  done,  as  most  men  wanted  a  hand  in  the 
ninety  days  given  to  smash  secession.  The  McNeil  company 
was  ordered  to  Dixon  on  May  gth,  and  were  mustered  in  by 
Capt.  John  B.  Smith,  aid  to  Governor  Yates.  When  they 
came  to  muster  in  to  the  United  States  service,  some  of  the 
men  refused  to  number,  and  the  company  was  short  of  the 
requisite  number  to  muster  as  a  company.  To  meet  the 
emergency,  some  men  were  borrowed  from  Company  G, 
and  the  company  was  mustered,  to  the  gratification  of  those 
who  were  anxious  to  go  to  the  war.  In  making  out  the 
muster-roll,  the  names  of  all  the  men  were  placed  upon  it. 
As  there  were  just  lines  enough  for  the  one  hundred  and  one 
names,  those  from  Company  G,  which  had  been  borrowed  for 
this  occasion  were  interlined.  This  was  done  in  such  a 
bungling  way  that  Captain  Pope,  the  mustering  officer, 
returned  the  roll  to  Captain  McNeil,  who  was  given  another 
blank  and  instructions  to  fill  it  up  so  that  the  names  could  be 
easily  read.  In  the  meantime  enough  of  the  troops  had  been 
secured  from  Rock  Island  so  that  the  spaces  could  be  filled 
up  without  the  borrowed  names.  To  rectify  the  roll  the 
borrowed  men  were  reported  as  having  deserted.  The  large 
number  of  them  was  noticed,  and  the  War  Department  called 
for  an  explanation.  The  Captains  who  had  loaned  men 
finally  made  a  clean  breast  of  it  though,  in  fear  of  dismissal 
from  the  service.  The  company  was  now  fairly  in  the  service 
and  made  its  record  with  the  regiment. 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  501 

ROSTER. 
Quincy  McNeil, 

Born  November  21,  1822,  at  Princeton,  Indiana;  enlisted  April  14, 
1861  ;  mustered  in  as  Captain  Company  B,  May,  24,  1861  ;  promoted 
May  2  ;  Illinois  Cavalry,  July  n,  1861  ;  promoted  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  August  30,  1862 ;  served  with  Thirty-Ninth  Regiment ; 
colored  troops  from  March  u,  1864  ;  served  under  General  Burnside 
in  battle  of  Wilderness  in  forty-two  engagements ;  returned  to  Rock 
Island  May  15  ;  has  been  in  Rock  Island  most  of  the  time  since. 
Present  address,  Rock  Island.  He  further  writes  :  "I  made  teu 
thousand  dollars  in  the  army,  *  six  bits '  in  money  and  the  rest  in 
experience ;  was  retired  by  a  fool  Court  Martial  April  4,  1865  ; 
returned  home  and  was  appointed  whisky  smeller  to  a  distillery  ; 
have  been  the  maker  of  abstracts  of  titles  for  twenty  years  ;  have 
lost  the  use  of  my  right  hand  by  writer's  paralysis ;  wife  died  ; 
children  all  gone  ;  I  want  to  go  home." 

[Early  in  the  campaign  of  1851,  Captain  McNeil  resigned  from 
Company  D  of  our  regiment  to  accept  promotion  as  major  of  the 
Second  Illinois  Cavalry  ;  and  while  serving  as  such,  at  Paducah,  Ken 
tucky,  in  January,  1862,  the  copperhead  convention  of  Illinois,  sitting 
at  Springfield,  ostensibly  for  revising  the  Constitution,  bid  really  to  be 
used  as  a  political  machine  assumed  to  control  the  soldiers  in  the  field, 
passing  the  following  resolution  : 

Resolved,  That  the  Committee  on  Military  Affairs  be  instructed  to 
inquire  whether  the  soldiers  sent  into  the  field  from  this  State  have 
been  and  continue  to  be  provided  for  in  all  respects  as  the  troops  sent 
into  the  field  from  other  States  have  been  provided  for  ;  and  if  the 
committee  find  that  the  Illinois  troops  have  not  been  thus  provided  for, 
that  they  be  instructed  to  inquire  further  whether  the  neglect  is  justly 
chargeable  to  any  person  or  persons  holding  office  under  this  state,  and 
to  report  the  facts  to  this  convention. 

The  following  reply  to  this  resolution  from  the  gallant  McNeil 
was  more  than  they  bargained  for  : 

PADUCAH,  KENTUCKY,  Feb.  i6th,  1862. 
James  W.  Singleton,  Esq.,  Chairman  Committee  on  Military  Affairs, 

Springfield,  Illinois. 

DEAR  SIR  :  Your  circular  dated  January  23d,  1862,  including  a 
resolution  of  the  Illinois  Constitutional  Convention,  came  to  hand 
to-day. 

Should  I  give  you  the  information  the  resolution  calls  for,  I  should 
make  as  great  an  ass  of  myself  as  the  Convention  has  of  you  by  asking 
you  to  attend  to  that  which  is  none  of  your  business  ;  and  which  is  also 


502  HISTORY   OF  THE   THIRTEENTH   REGIMENT 

not  the  business  of  the  Convention.  If  I  am  rightly  informed,  you 
were  elected  to  make  a  constitution  for  the  State  of  Illinois.  Why  in 

h dorft  you  do  it  ?    Comparing  the  equipments   of  the   soldiers  of 

the  several  states  is  about  as  much  your  business  as  it  would  be  my  busi 
ness  to  inquire  into  the  sanity  of  the  members  of  the  Convention. 
Suppose  the  facts  were  as  your  resolution  would  seem  to  imply — that  we 
are  not  as  well  equipped  and  armed  as  soldiers  from  the  other  States — 
can  you  as  a  member  of  that  Convention  be  of  any  service  to  us  ?  But 
I  know,  and  you  know,  that  the  resolution  was  offered  for  a  different 
purpose — a  purpose  for  which  every  member  of  the  Convention  should 
blush  for  shame — to  make  political  capital. 

If  the  Committee  on  Military  Affairs  are  so  very  anxious  to  exhibit 
their  ability  in  inquiring  into  war  matters,  I  would  suggest— as  the  res 
olution  permits  me  to  make  suggestions — that  it  inquire  into  the  history 
of  the  Mormon  war,  in  which  its  venerable  chairman  played  so  conspic 
uous  a  part. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  sir,  your  obedient  servant, 

QUINCY  McNEiL, 
I&ajor  Second  Illinois  Cavalry. 

«^.  ' 
Governor  Yates,  himself,  flatly  refused  to  answer  like  impertinent 

questions  of  this  Convention.] 

4 

James  M.  Beardsley, 

Born  October  30,  1840,  Ellington,  N.  Y.  ;  mustered  as  first-lieu 
tenant  Company  D,  May  24,  1861  ;  promoted  to  captain  and  major 
November  27,  1863  ;  promoted  by  brevet  to  brigadier-general  June  28, 
1865  ;  badly  wounded  November  27,  1863.  Resides  in  Rock  Island 
since  the  war  ;  county  clerk  and  attorney.  Present  address,  Rock 
Island. 

Albert  T.  Higby,  *  . 

Mustered  in  as  second-lieutenant  May  24,  1861  ;  promoted  first-lieu 
tenant  August  10,  1861  ;  mustered  out  June  22,  1864. 

George  G.  Knox, 

Private  ;  enlisted  in  Company  D,  from  Chicago,  and  mustered  in 
with  the  regiment  at  Dixon,  111.,  May  24,  1861,  and  was  promoted 
first-sergeant  after  a  few  weeks,  serving  as  such  until  August  10, 
1861,  when  he  was  promoted  as  first-lieutenant  of  his  company  ;  he 
was  born  in  Rock  Island,  111.,  January  12,  1842,  was  nineteen  years 
old,  of  medium  stature,  and  would  weigh  about  one  hundred  and 
forty  pounds. 
[George  G.  Knox  came  of  good  Revolutionary  fighting  stock,  his 

lineage  running  back  to  Henry  Knox,  of  Watertown,  Massachusetts,  of 

English  pedigree. 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  503 

When  the  War  of  the  Revolution  broke  out,  Henry  Knox  was  made 
colonel  of  continental  artillery,  then  brigadier-general  of  artillery,  and 
Chief-of-Staff  to  General  Washington,  and  when  Washington  laid  down 
the  sword,  and  went  into  private  life,  Congress  made  Major-General 
Henry  Knox  Commander-in-Chief  of  the  Army  ;  and  on  Washington 
taking  the  Presidental  Chair,  he  called  his  old  friend  and  army  comrade, 
General  Knox,  to  be  his  Secretary  of  War.  The  Order  of  the  Cincinnati 
was  formed  in  1783,  at  the  suggestion  of  General  Knox. 

General  Knox  was  the  largest  man  at  the  Headquarters  of  the  Con 
tinental  army.  He  weighed  two  hundred  and  eighty  pounds,  and 
Washington  was  next  in  size,  being  six  feet  two  inches  tall,  and  weigh 
ing  two  hundred  and  twenty  pounds. 

The  pedigree  of  the  gigantic  old  Revolutionary  officer,  in  being 
handed  down  through  the  intervening  generations,  lost  something  of 
the  old  general's  stature  before  reaching  our  comrade  of  Company  D, 
but  not  a  particle  of  the  spirit  of  so  many  generations  ago,  was  lost. 

Lieutenant  Knox  served  as  second-lieutenant  until  March  6,  1862, 
when  he  was  promoted  first-lieutenant  of  Battery  H,  First  Illinois  Artil 
lery.  He  reported  to  ~3enton  Barracks  for  duty,  and  was  at  once  ordered 
to  Shiloh,  and  took  a^lJctive  part  in  both  day's  fighting. 

On  the  first  day  of  the  fighting  at  Shiloh,  General  Sherman  came  to 
Lieutenant  Knox  and  pointed  out  a  position  for  the  locating  of  his  bat 
tery,  and  asked  him  if  he  had  any  supports  so  that  he  could  hold  the 
position,  which  was  important ,  to  which  Lieutenant  Knox  replied  that 
he  had  no  supports,  but  would  hold  the  position  without  supports. 
General  Sherman  passed  on  and  Lieutenant  Knox  took  the  position 
indicated,  while  he  observed  some  squads  of  demoralized  troops  in  his 
rear  to  whom  he  went  and  urged  to  come  forward  and  support  his  bat 
tery  ;  but  urging  seemed  to  have  no  effect  on  them  until  the  lieutenant 
got  out  of  patience  and  gave  them  a  vigorous  piece  of  his  mind  ;  saying 
to  them,  "Oh  dear!  if  I  only  had  the  Thirteenth  Illinois  here  behind 
my  battery,  I  could  clean  out  all  the  rebs  between  here  and  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico."  Upon  which  a  little  Irishman  stepped  out  and  said  : 

"  Bedad  Cap'n,  I'll  go  wid  ye." 

That  shamed  the  others  so  that  the  lieutenant  got  sufficient  recruits 
for  his  needs,  and  held  the  position  until  ordered  away. 

Comrade  Knox  is  far  too  modest'to  give  any  details  of  the  amount, 
or  value  of  his  services  at  Shiloh,  but  that  they  were  valuable,  and 
highly  appreciated,  we  have  a  right  to  infer  from  the  fact  that  only 
about  twenty  days  after  that  battle,  he  was  detailed  to  act  as  A.  D.  C.  on 
the  staff  of  Major-General  Thomas  L.  Crittendou,  Commanding  First 
Division  of  General  Buell's  army.  He  was  in  all  the  battles  under  Gen 
eral  Buell  until  that  army  arrived  in  Nashville,  Tenn. 

General  Rosecrans  then  took  command,  and  Lieutenant  Knox  still 


504  HISTORY   OF  THE   THIRTEENTH   REGIMENT 

on  the  staff  of  General  Crittendon  was  with  that  General  at  the  battle  of 
"Stone  River," 

That  Comrade  Knox  put  in  some  good  work  at  that  battle  will  admit 
of  no  doubt,  for  on  July  17,  1862,  about  two  days  after  the  rest  of  us,  of 
the  old  Thirteenth,  straggled  into  Helena,  Ark'ansas,  hungry,  and  in 
many  other  ways  demoralized,  Comrade  Knox  was  made  a  captain  by 
special  act  of  Congress  "  for  gallantry  at  Stone  River,"  and  was  then  and 
there  appointed  "  Chief  of  Scouts  "  of  the  Twenty-first  Army  Corps,  by 
General  Rosecrans. 

He  took  part  in  all  the  battles  under  General  Rosecrans,  up  to,  and 
including  Chickamauga,  and  the  battles  about  Chattanooga. 

He  then  went  with  General  Crittendon  to  the  army  of  the  Potomac, 
where  General  Crittendon  took  command  of  the  First  Division  of 
General  Burnside's  Ninth  Army  Corps,  and  took  part  in  all  of  the 
"Wilderness  campaign,"  and  the  battles  around  Richmond,  Virginia. 

As  Chief  of  Scouts,  Comrade  Knox  was  in  the  saddle  most  of  the 
time,  and  had  no  end  of  small  engagements.  It  was  his  duty  to  keep 
watch  of  the  movements  of  the  enemy,  and  for  that  purpose,  he  had 
to  be  outside  of  our  lines  most  of  the  time,  for  "you  know,"  he  says, 
"  the  Johnies  would  not  allow  a 'Yank'  to  be  fooling  around  without 
giving  him  trouble."  And  he  was  thanked,  more  than  once,  by  General 
Rosecrans  forgiving  him  timely  information. 

The  list  of  battles  in  which  Captain  Knox  took  part,  include  : 
Shiloh,  Corinth,  Perryville,  Stone  River,  Chattanooga,  Chickamauga. 
Seventeen  days  of  battles  of  the  Wilderness,  Fredericksburg,  Spottsyl- 
vania  Court  House,  Shady  Grove  Road,  and,  "  on  to  Richmond." 

In  conclusion  of  this  splendid  record,  the  writer  will  venture  to 
quote  Captain  Knox's  feeling  allusion  to  his  connection  with  the  old 
Thirteenth  regiment : 

"  I  have  always  looked  back  to  the  Thirteenth  regiment,  as  my 
'  home  '  in  the  army  ;  and  although  I  was  with  the  regiment  so  short  a 
time,  I  learned  to  love  the  '  boys,'  and  to-day,  if  asked  where  I  was  in 
the  army,  I  always  say  :  Company  D,  Thirteenth  Illinois  Infantry." 

Captain  Knox,  apparently  with  reluctance,  adds — "I  can  not  say 
much  of  my  own  part  in  the  war.  /  always  tried  to  do  my  duty,  had  my 
share  of  good  hard  fighting,  and  never  ran  away." 

Captain  Knox  was  mustered  out  of  service  December  17,  1864,  re 
turned  to  Chicago  where  he  now  resides.  ASA  B.  MUNN.] 

ElishaJ.  Beardsley, 

Mustered  in  May  24,  1861,  as  first-sergeant,  promoted  to  second- 
lieutenant  March  6,  1862  ;  killed  in  battle  of  Chickasaw  Bayou, 
Mississippi,  December  28,  1862. 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY.  505 

Mark  Boyer, 

Mustered  in  as  sergeant  May  24,  1861;  promoted  second-lieutenant 
December  29,  1862.  Died  March  30,  1863. 

Matthew  McCullough, 

Mustered  in  May  24,  1861,  as  corporal  ;  promoted  second-lieuten 
ant,  March  30,  1862  ;  to  captain,  November  27,  1863  ;  mustered  out, 
June  22,  1864. 

Theodore  Schwartz, 

New  York  City;  mustered  in  as  sergeant,  May  24,  i86i;vdeserted, 
Jan.  i,  1862. 

Robt.  N.  Button, 

Chicago  ;  mustered  in,  May  24,  1861,  as  sergeant;  mustered  out,  June 
22,  1864. 

John  Taylor,  > 

Port  Byron  ;  mustered  in  as  corporal  May  24,  1861  ;  killed  at  Chick- 
asaw  Bayou,  December  29,  1862. 

Arnold  T.  Needham, 

Mustered  in  as  corporal,  May  24,  1861;  promoted  to  sergeant;  taken 
prisoner  at  Chickasaw  Bayou,  December  29,  1862  ;  promoted  to 
chaplain,  June  14,  1863  ;  mustered  out,  June  18,  1864.  Has  lived  in 
Illinois  and  California  ;  minister  of  the  gospel.  Present  address, 
Sacramento,  California,  1512  2d  street. 

Jonas  C.  Overmeyer, 

Oakley  ;  mustered  in  as  corporal,  May  24,  1861.  Born  in  Indiana  ; 
age,  25  ;  died  January  3,  1864,  at  Batavia,  Illinois,  of  chronic  diar 
rhoea  and  general  debility. 

Malcolm   Wiser, 

Rock  Island  ;  mustered  in  as  corporal,  May  24,  1861  ;  mustered  out, 
June  22,  1864.  Was  born  at  Cedar  Rapids,  Iowa,  September  17,  1842  ; 
died  at  Laredo,  Texas,  August  25,  1888  of  some  disease  of  the  liver. 

Percy  Hope, 

Columbus  ;  mustered  in  as  corporal,  May  24,  1861  ;  re-enlisted  Jan 
uary  1864  ;  transferred  to  Company  I,  Fifty-sixth  Illinois  Infantry. 

Frank  McDaniels, 

Hampton  ;  mustered  in  as  corporal,  May  24,  1861;  discharged  Aug 
ust  29,  1862,  disabled. 

Isaiah  R.  Bowen, 

Palestine  :  mustered  in  as   corporal,   May  24,  1861  ;  mustered  out, 
May  8,  1865. 
Thomas  F.  Abbott, 

Moline  ;  mustered  in  as  musician,  May  24,  1861  ;  transferred  to  in 
valid  corps  July  15,  1863. 


506  HISTORY    OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

Theodore   W.  Reeves, 
6*  Rock  Island;  mustered  in  as  musician,  May  24,  1861;  mustered  out, 

June  §2,  1864, 
Lgwis   V.  Adams, 
'}  Chicago  ;  mustered  in,  May  24,  1861  ;  mustered  out,  June  22,  1864. 

Was  born  in  Bradford  county,  Pennsylvania,  February  17,   1840. 
John  Anthoinc, 

Portland.  Maine  ;  mustered  in,  May  24,  1861;  died  June  2,  1864,  of 

wounds. 
John    m  Alcott,  • 

Moline:  mustered  in,  May  24,  1861;  discharged,  Septembers,  1863  ; 

disabled. 
Peter  Byer,        * 

Meudota  ;  mustered  in,  May  24,  1861;  mustered  out,  June  22,  1864. 

Present  address,  National  Home,  Milwaukee. 
Geo.    W.  Barnett, 

Rock  Island;  mustered  in,   May  24,  1861;  discharged,  January  19, 

1862  ;  disabled. 
John   W.  B  by  fas, 

Moline  ;  mustered  in,  May  24,  1861  ;  mustered  out,  June  22,  1864. 
Thomas  M.  Blair, 

Ediugton  ;  mustered  in  June  8,  1861  ;  promoted  to  corporal,  sergeant 

and  first-sergeant ;  mustered  out  June  22,  1864. 
Michael  Cooney, 

Chicago  ;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861.     Died  March  2,  1862. 
Henry  R.  F.  Calantsky, 

Moline  ;  mustered  in  May  24,   1861  ;  mustered  out  June  22,   1864. 


•resent  address,  Moline. 
l\am  Cn 


Crooks, 

mustered  in  May  24,  1861.     Died  December  30,  1862. 
James  L.  Cook, 

Port  Byron  ;  mustered  May  24,  1861  ;  age  nineteen.     Died  Septem 
ber   20,    1863,  at  Port   Byron,    111.,    chronic   diarrhoea,  and   general 

debility. 
Hiram  Conly, 

Rock  Island  ;  mustered  in  June  IT,  1861.     Discharged  February  i, 

1862. 
Tliomas  Co.v, 

Chicago;  mustered  in  June  n,  1861.     Deserted  May  12,  1863. 
John  Cook, 

Chicago  ;  mustered  in  June  n,  1861 ;  promoted  to  sergeant.  Mustered 

ou^t  June  24,  1864. 
Oliver}.  Cook, 

Davenport  ;  mustered  in  June  8,  1861. 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY.  507 


\ 

aM 
^iu 


Joseph  Cooper,  . 

Rock  Island;  born('"i  IrelaM  April  10,  1834;  mustered  in  June  8, 

1861  ;  re-enlisted  in  HJottrte^iuh  Illinois  Infantry,  and  served  to  the 

end  of  the  war.     Present  address,  Milan,  Rock  Island  Co.,  111. 
William  B.  Cooper, 

Aledo,    mustered    in    June    8/*iS6i  ;     discharged   July    13,    1863. 

Disabled.  n 

Robert  Cole, 

Chicago  ;  mustered  in  June  n,  1861  ;  mustered  out  June,  1864. 
John  F.  Casey, 

Chicago;  mustered  in  June  \\,  iSjSj  ;  deserted  December,  12,  1861. 
Frederick  A.  Cramer, 

Rock  Island  ;  mustered  in  June  8,  1861  ;  discharged  June  3,  1863. 
Frederick  L.  Darling, 

Mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  mustered  out  June  22,  1864. 
Asa  G.  Darby,  t 

Aledo  ;  mustered  in   May  24,   1861  ;  mustered  out  June   22,    1864. 

Present  address,  Aledo,  111. 
Richard  Dobson,  0      M 

Born  June  25,   1840,   Lancashire,  Eng.,   Rock   Island  ;  mustered  in 

May  24,  1861  ;  promoted  corporal  ;  nm^^ed  out  June  22,  1864  ;  has 

wandered  wide  ;  engineer.     Present  ado.  v£s,  Salt  Lake  City,  Dak. 
James  Dunham, 

Coal   Valley  ;  mustered    in  May  24,  iS6ii  ;   promoted  to   corporal, 

veteran,  transferred  to  company  I,  Fifty-sixth  Illinois. 
Anton  Deisenworth, 

Rock  Island  ;  born  in  Germany  March  21,  i$39,  mustered  in  June  8, 

1861  ;  mustered  out  June  22,  1864.    Present  address,  Rock  Island,  111. 
William  P.  Dumm, 

Arlington  ;  mustered  in  June  8,  1861  ;  died  January  27,  1863. 
Lewis  V.  Eckert,  <^.' 

Born  in  Germany,  October  15,   1841  ;  mustered  in   May  24,  1861  ; 

mustered  out  June  24,  1864.     Has  been  cit}7  marshal,  deputy  sheriff, 

etc.     Present  address,  Rock  Island,  111.    ^         .  T 
William  H.  Elton, 

Coal  Town  ;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  mustered  out— 
Noyes  B.  Elliott, 

Coal  Town  ;  mustered  in  May  8,  1861  ;  prfmioted  to  corporal. 
Thomas  B.  Gordon,  "  ^ 

Geneseo  ;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  mustered  out  June  24,  1862,  as 

corporal. 
Joseph  Graves,  *^ 

Chicago;  mustered  in  June  n,  1861.   .Deserted  Pecember  12,  1861. 


508  HISTORY   OF  THE   THIRTEENTH   REGIMENT 

Adam  C.  Hartzell, 

Port  Byron  ;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  mustered  out  June  22,  1864. 
Orville  B.  Hazen, 

Davenport,  la.;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  Discharged  August  22, 

1861  ;  disability. 
William  V.  Hardenbrook, 

Rock  Island  ;   mustered  in  May  24,   1861  ;  mustered  out  June  22, 

1864. 
Calvin  P.  Harson, 

Born  October  15,   1841,  Waldo  county,  Me.;  mustered  in  May  24, 

1861  ;  mustered   out  June    18,    1864.      Has   lived   in   Rock   Island. 

Present  address,  Rock  Island. 

Christian  Henni, 

Dubuque,  la.;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861.     Died  April  24,  1863. 
Edon  C.  Hill, 

Mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  May  29,  1861. 

George  Henderson, 

Deanington  ;  mustered  in  June  8,  1861  ;  discharged  August  25,  1862  ; 

disability. 
Henry  Heisel, 

Rock   Island;   mustered   in  June   n,  1861  ;   mustered  out  June  22, 

1864.     Died  at  Natioryju-oldiers'  Home,  Milwaukee,  about  1882. 
John  Icher,  ^tf 

Dubuque,  Iowa  ;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  discharged  September 

i,  1863  ;  disability. 
John  H.  Jones, 

Springfield  ;  born  in  Franklin  County,  Ohio,  age  19  ;  mustered  in 

May  24,  1861.     Died  at  his  home  in  Ohio  of  chronic  diarrhrea  and 

general  debility,  October  22,  1863. 
Hen  ry  Joh  nson, 

Rock  Island  ;  mustered  in  June  n,  1861  ;  disabled  April  28,  1863. 
Jacob  B.  Kleinfelter, 

Rosemond  ;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  deserted  August  9,  1862. 
James  Keenan, 

Mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  mustered  out  June  22,  1864. 
Hugh  L.  Kendall, 

Rock  Island ;   mustered  in  May   24,  1861  ;  mustered   out  June   22, 

1864,  as  Corporal.     Present  address,  Washington,  Iowa. 
John  Kressler,     ^ 

Mustered    in    May  24-,  1861.     Killed    in    battle  Chickasaw  Bayou, 

Mississippi,  December  28,  1862. 
Charles  Lindborn, 

Born  in  Eskjor,  Sweden,  age  31  ;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861.     Died 

December  14,  1863,  at  Bridgeport,  Alabama. 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY.  509 

Christian  Lorenz, 

Mustered   in   May  24,  1861  ;   mustered  out  June   22,  1864.     Present 
address,  Dennison,  Iowa. 

George  Me  Coach, 

Bloomington  ;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  mustered  out  June  7,  1865. 

Present  address,  Kittanning,  Pennsylvania. 
Rodney  T.  Miller, 

Roanoke,  Missouri;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  mustered  out  Jan 
uary  22,  1864,  as  corporal.     Latest  address,  Osceola,  Iowa. 
Henry  B.  Miller, 

Born   October  24,  1840,  Lebanon,  Pennsylvania  ;  mustered  in  May 

24,  1861  ;  mustered  out  June  22,  1864  ;  has    lived  in  Rock   Island, 

Missouri,  Ohio.     Present  address,  Osceola,  Iowa. 
Anthony  Murphy, 

Born    in  Halifax,  New  Brunswick,  age  22  ;  occupation,  cigarmaker  ; 

enlisted   from   Springfield,  Illinois.     Died  in   General   Hospital  at 

Quincy,  Illinois,  September  6,  1863,  of  chronic  diarrhoea. 
Stephen  B.  Moore, 

Rock  Island  ;  born  March  5,  1839,  Burlington,  Iowa  ;  mustered  June 

8,  1861  ;   mustered  out  June   22,  1864  ;   has  lived   in  Rock   Island. 

Present   address,  Rock  Island   Guard,  United  States  Arsenal,  Rock 

Island. 
Llewellyn  Nash, 

Rock  Island;  mustered  in  June,  u,  1861. 
George  O'Connor, 

Rock   Island  ;  mustered  in   May   24,   1861  ;  discharged   August  29, 

1862  ;  disability. 
William  Payne, 

Born   March  8,    1841  ;  Rock  Island ;   mustered  in   May   24,    1861  ; 

mustered  out  June  22,  1864,  as  sergeant ;  has  been  sheriff  of  Rock 

Island   county,  two  terms,    and  judge   of  a   baby   show.     Present 

address,  Rock  Island. 
Milton  G.  Parker, 

Rock  Island ;   mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  mustered  out  June  22, 

1864. 
James  Pugh, 

Rock  Island  ;  mustered  in  May  24,    1861  ;  mustered  out  June  24, 

1864. 
Robert  Park, 

Rock  Island  ;  mustered  in  June  u,  1861. 
Jacob  Pearce, 

Rock  Island  ;  mustered  in  June  8,  1861.     Present  address,  Earlton, 

Kansas. 


510  HISTORY   OF  THE   THIRTEENTH   REGIMENT 

Albert  G.  Schroder, 

Rock  Island  ;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861. 

John  Sims, 

Rock  Island  county  ;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861 ;  mustered  out  June 
22,  1864.  •. 

Leander  S.  Schafer, 

Rock  Island  county  ;  mustered  in  May  24.  1861  •  mustered  out  June 
22,  1864,  as  corporal.  Present  address,  Viola,  Mercer  county,  Illi 
nois. 

John  Shea, 

Rock  Island  county  ;  mustered  in  May  24.  1861  ;  mustered  out  June 

22,    1864. 

George  Schelcher, 

Rock  Island  county  ;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  mustered  out  June 

22,  1864. 
Christian  Schakeller, 

Rock  Island  county  ;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861 ;  mustered  out  June 

22,  1864. 
Mahlon  Stearns, 

Rock  Island   county;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861.     Died   March  6, 
1863. 
Jacob  J.  Schqfinty 

Rock  Island  ;  born  in  Germany  June  9,  1840 ;  mustered  in  May  24, 
1861.  Wounded  at  Arkansas  Post  in  left  leg  ;  in  hospital  six 
months  ;  mustered  out  June  22,  1864,  as  fourth-sergeant.  Present 
address,  Muscatine,  Iowa. 

John  Shaw, 

Rock   Island  ;  mustered   in  May  24,    1861  ;   transferred  to   Invalid 

Corps,  March  15,  1864. 
Thomas  Salter, 

Rock  Island  ;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  mustered  out  June  22,  1864. 
George  A.  Seymour, 

Rock  Island  ;  mustered  in  June  n,  1861. 
William  B.  Saddler, 

Rock  Island  ;  mustered  in  June  8,  1861  ;  died  May  9,  1862. 
John  Sanford, 

Rock  Island  ;  mustered  in  June  u,  1861  ;  deserted  December  12, 

1861. 
Thomas  Tole, 

Rock  Island  ;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861 ;  mustered  out  June  24,  1864. 
Shipley  H.   Troville, 

Rock  Island  county  ;  mustered  in  May  24,   1861  ;  died  September 

23,  1862. 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY.  511 

Thomas  J.    West, 

Rock  Island  ;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  promoted  to  corporal  and 
sergeant ;  mustered  out  October  6,  1864.  Present  address,  Chicago. 

Charles  B.  Whitson, 

Rock  Island  ;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  transferred  to  Company 
H  Fifty-first  Illinois  and  promoted  to  second-lieutenant.  Present 
address,  Topeka,  Kansas. 

William  A.  Woodring, 

Born  in  Northampton  county,  Pennsylvania  ;  enlisted  from  Rock 
Island ;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  served  with  regiment  until 
March,  1862  ;  ordered  to  duty  as  telegraph  operator  ;  had  some 
eventful  and  dangerous  experiences  ;  could  not  get  mustered  out 
until  the  summer  of  1866.  Present  address,  104  Twelfth  street, 
Kansas  City,  Missouri. 

Joel  Wright, 

Rock  Island  ;  born  in  Vermont,  age  28  ;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ; 
died  August  31,  1863,  at  regimental  hospital  at  Black  River,  Missis 
sippi. 

Charles  Weber, 

Rock  Island  ;  Born  in  Prussia,  January  8, 1839  ;  mustered  in  May  24, 
1861 ;  mustered  out  June  22,  1864  ;  has  lived  in  Rock  Island.  Pres 
ent  address,  1128  Ninth  Avenue,  Rock  Island. 

William  L.  Walker, 

Rock  Island  ;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  disabled  September  5, 
1693  ;  disability. 

Jacob  P.  Williamson, 

Rock  Island  county  ;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  killed  at  Chicka- 
saw  Bayou,  Mississippi,  December  29,  1862. 

Jacob  Witsel, 

Rock  Island  county  ;  born  in  Buchheim,  Baden,  age  forty ;  mus 
tered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  died  March  23,  1864. 


COMPANY  K. 

In  writing  of  the  formation  of  Company  E,  Thirteenth 
Illinois  Infantry,  after  an  lapse  of  thirty  years,  I  think  of 
nothing  not  in  common  with  the  formation  of  all  other  com 
panies  ;  the  same  enthusiasm  and  strife  to  be  first  in  the  field 
that  attended  other  companies  attended  Company  E. 

There  is  one  thing,  however,  that  I  remember  more  dis 
tinctly  than  all  others — that  was  listening  to  part  of  a  speech 
that  was  never  finished.  A  war  meeting  was  held  in  the  south- 


512  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

side  schoolhouse  in  Sandwich  soon  after  the  fall  of  Fort 
Sumter.  Elder  Crawford  was  at  the  time  pastor  of  the  Con 
gregational  church.  He  had  gone  to  the  meeting  early  and 
occupied  a  seat  in  the  rear  part  of  the  house,  seemingly  unde 
cided  whether  a  minister  should  take  a  part  in  war  meetings 
or  remain  a  silent  spectator.  As  the  evening  advanced,  and 
speakers  one  after  another  spoke  of  the  necessity  of  immediate 
action  on  the  part  of  the  United  States  government,  Elder 
Crawford  was  called  for,  and  as  he  was  in  the  rear  part  of  the 
house  and  every  part  of  it  packed,  making  it  almost  impossible 
for  him  to  come  forward  to  the  rostrum,  he  stood  on  a  writing 
desk  and  looked  over  the  audience  and  said  : 

"  I  am  a  peaceable  man,  a  minister  of  the  gospel  of  peace, 
but  were  I  to  preach  a  sermon  to-night,  my  text  would  be 
— He  that  hath  no  sword,  let  him  sell  his  garment  and  buy  one" 

That  was  all  he  was  able  to  say  ;  enthusiasm  knew  no 
bounds  ;  speech-making  was  no  longer  the  order  of  the  even 
ing,  but  gave  way  at  the  more  stern  realities  of  the  commence 
ment  of  civil  war,  viz.,  enlisting,  and  in  a  very  short  time  a 
company  was  formed,  and  reported  under  command  of  Captain 
F.  W.  Partridge,  at  Dixon,  Illinois,  where  the  Thirteenth 
Illinois  regiment  was  formed  ;  and  I  am  glad  to  know  to-day 
that  the  same  spirit  manifested  in  the  southside  schoolhouse 
thirty  years  ago  is  found — not  only  in  the  heart  of  the  veteran 
—but  is  also  manifested  by  the  sons  and  daughters  of  veterans 
when  the  flag  is  assailed.  With  this  difference,  the  sword 
has  given  way  to  the  Winchester  rifle,  as  was  the  case  in 
Indiana  a  few  weeks  ago.  F.  M.  Fox. 

ROSTER. 
Frederick  W.  Partridge, 

Captain,  Sandwich,  111.;  mustered  May  21,  1861  ;  promoted  June  26, 

1861.     For  further  information  refer  to  field  and  staff. 
A.  J.  Brinkerhoff, 

Sandwich,  111.;  mustered  in  May  24,    1861  ;    promoted  to  captain. 

Resigned  March  14,  1863.     Present  address,  Santa  Marie,  Cal. 
Sanford  W.  West, 

Somonauk,  111.;  musician,  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  mustered  out 

June  18,  1864.     Present  address,  Dighton,  Kas. 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY.  513 

George   W.  Atwood, 

Little  Rock,  111.;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861 ;  discharged  February 
15,  1863.  Disabled. 

Henry  Ankel, 

Born  in  Germany,  April  9,  1832  ;  enlisted  at  Dixon,  May  24,  1861  ; 
discharged  at  Springfield,  111.,  June  18,  1864.  Has  since  resided  at 
Hinckley,  111  ,  which  is  his  present  home. 

Total  An  to  I, 

Ottawa,  111.;  enlisted  May  24,  i86i>  Born  in  France,  age  22.  Mus 
tered  in  May  24,  1861,  and  died  July  30,  1863,  in  camp  near  Black 
River,  Miss.,  July  29,  1863,  of  chronic  diarrhoea  and  congestive 
chills. 

Lewis  Bish, 

Squaw  Grove  ;  enlisted  May  24,  1861,  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ; 
mustered  out  June  18,  1864,  as  corporal.  Present  address,  Hiuck- 
ley,  111. 

Jacob  B.  Bagley, 

Born  November  5,  1838,  in  Crawford  county,  Pennsylvania  ; 
enlisted  at  Dixon,  Illinois  ;  private  Company  E,  Thirteenth  Illinois 
Infantry  May  24,  1861  ;  discharged  June  18,  1864  ;  has  since  resided 
at  Serena,  Illinois,  Thawville,  Illinois,  and  Buckley,  Illinois.  Now 
lives  at  Roberts,  Ford  county,  Illinois.  Was  wilh  the  regiment 
from  the  time  of  muster  in  on  its  marches  through  Missouri  and 
Arkansas,  and  in  all  battles  in  which  the  regiment  took  a  part. 

James  M.  Dobbin, 

Freeland,  Illinois  ;  born  in  Jackson,  New  York  ;  age  twenty-five  ; 
mustered  May  24,  1861,  and  died  January  12,  1863,  of  his  wounds 
received  at  Chickasaw  Bayou,  December  29,  1862  ;  disabled. 

James  R.  Neer, 

Little  Rock,  Illinois  ;  mustered  May  24,  1861,  and  was  discharged 
April  22,  1862  ;  disabled. 

Corporal  Robert  Skinner, 

Northville,  Illinois  ;  born  in  Summerville,  Pennsylvania ;  age 
twenty-four  ;  mustered  May  24,  1861,  and  died  December  23,  1863, 
of  his  wounds  received  in  action  at  Ringgold,  Georga,  November  27, 
1863  ;  taken  prisoner  at  Chickasaw  Bayou  for  three  months  and  ex 
changed  ;  wounds  were  received  at  Ringgold  on  November  27,  1863. 

William  E.   Underwood, 

Sandwich,  Illinois  ;  enlisted  May  24,  1861  ;  was  mustered  May  24, 
1862,  and  was  mustered  ont  June  8,  1865  as  sergeant  ;  died  a  few 
years  after  the  close  of  the  war  at  Sandwich,  Illinois. 

Effing  ham  T.  Bowers, 

Somonauk,  Illinois  ;  mustered  May  24,  1861  ;  mustered  out  June  18, 
1864.  Present  address,  Dighton,  Kansas. 


514  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

William  Wallace, 

Sergeant  ;  born  in  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania,  November  5,  1834  ; 
enlisted  at  Sandwich,  IlHnois.  Was  sergeant  the  first  year,  second- 
lieutenant  the  second  year  and  first-lieutenant  the  third  year.  Dis 
charged  June  18,  1864.  Has  since  resided  at  Sandwich,  Onarga, 
Desplaines,  Illinois,  and  Pittsburg,  Pennsylvania.  Now  lives  at 
Beaver,  Beaver  county,  Pennsylvania. 

Benjamin  J.   Gifford, 

Piano,  Illinois  ;  mustered  May  24,  1861;  promoted  to  second-lieu 
tenant,  March  14,  1863  ;  mustered  out,  June  18,  1864.  Present  ad 
dress,  Rantoue,  Illinois. 

W.  E.  Dewey, 

First  Sergeant.  Sandwich,  Illinois;  mustered  in,  May  24,  1861,  and 
was  dishonorably  discharged  June  18,  1864. 

Zenas  S.  Harrison, 

Sandwich,  Illinois ;  mustered  in,  May  24,  1861  ;  discharged,  Novem 
ber  3,  1861;  disabled.  Present  address,  Kalamazoo,  Michigan. 

George  Brownell  Duvoll, 

Born  at  Liberty  R.  I. ;  enlisted  at  Sandwich,  Illinois,  where  he 
has  resided  since  discharge  ;  was  elected  second-lieutenant  by  the 
company  ;  mustered  Ma)'  24,  1861,  at  Dixon,  Illinois.  Was  pro 
moted  June  24,  1861  ;  resigned  February  29,  1862,  on  account  of  sick 
ness,  having  done  first-  and  second-lieutenant  duty  nine  mouths  and 
twenty-seven  days,  having  110  second-lieutenant,  as  the  law  read, 
the  adjutant  should  draw  his  pay  as  a  lieutenant  of  a  regiment. 
There  being  no  other  vacancy,  he  had  to  draw  pay  as  second  of 
Company  E.  Resigned  March  31,  1862  ;  could  never  rally  from 
effects  of  sickness. 

Henry  T.  Porter, 

DeKalb  county,  Illinois;  enlisted  June  25,  1861;  mustered  June  25, 
1861,  and  promoted  to  adjutant.  Present  address,  97  Dearborn 
street,  Chicago. 

Geo.  H.  Carpenter, 

Sandwich,  Illinois;  enlisted  January  29,  1862;  promoted  to  captain, 
March  14,  1863.  Present  address,  Griswoldville,  Massachusetts. 

William  H.  Alger, 

Somonauk,  Illinois  ;  mustered  in,  August  25,  1861 ;  transferred  to 
Company  I,  Fifty-sixth  Illinois  Infantry. 

Benj.  D.  Courtwright, 

Mission,  111. ;  was  mustered  May  25,  1861,  and  was  mustered  out 
June  18.  1864,  as  sergeant. 

Oscar  J.  Cone, 

Chicago,  111.  ;  mustered  in  May  25,  1861  ;  mustered  out  June  18, 
1864.  Present  address,  Fall  River,  Mass. 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  515 

Louis  Clemmens, 

Tonica,  111.;  mustered  in  May  25,  1861  ;  mustered  out  June  18,  1864. 
William  J.   Chitlendon, 

Chicago,  111.;  borii  in  New  York   1833  ;  mustered  in  May  27,  1861, 

taken  prisoner  of  war  at  Madisouville,  Ala.,  May  17,  1864  ;  mustered 

out  May  8,  1865.     Present  address,  516  West  Adams  Street,  Chicago, 

111. 
Philip  Boy  let, 

Northville,  111. ;  born  in  Thorn  Hill,  Canada  ;  mustered  in  May  24, 

1861,  age  twenty-three  ;   died  February  5,   1863,  in  hospital,  at  St. 

Louis,  Mo.,  of  chronic  diarrhoea. 
Joseph  M.  Bashaw, 

Sandwich,  111. ;  born  in  Milton,  Vt. ;  age  nineteen  ;  mustered  in  May 

24.  1861  ;  died  on  steamer  Adriatic,  at  Milliken's  Bend,  La.,  January, 

21,  1863,  of  wounds  received  in  action  at  Chickasaw  Bayou,  Decem 
ber  29,  1862. 
John  Burbank, 

Little  Rock,  111.;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  discharged  September 

8.  1863.     Disabled. 
Jacob  Brainerd, 

Squaw  Grove,   111.;  mustered  in   May  24,    1861  ;  mustered  out  June 

18,  1863. 
Thomas  Darnell, 

Little  Rock,  111.;  born  in  Magnolia,  111.,  age  twenty-one  ;  mustered 

in    August  25,  1861  ;  died  July  I,   1863,  of  his  wounds,  in  hospital, 

First   Division,    Fifteenth    Army   Corps,  at   Walnut  Hills,  Miss.,  of 

wounds  received  in  battle  June  30,  1863,  during  siege  of  Vicksburg. 
Wallace  Henry, 

Little  Rock,  111.;  mustered  in  August  25,  1861  ;  died  September  16, 

1861. 
Jared  I\f.  Hinkley, 

La  Salle,   111.;  mustered  in   May  25,    1861  ;  mustered   out  June  18, 

1864,  as  sergeant.     Present  address,  Delmar,  Iowa. 
William  Laing, 

La  Salle,  111.;  mustered  in  May  25,  1861  ;  mustered  out  June  18,  1864. 

Present  address,  Fairmont,  Neb. 
John  W.  Livingstone, 

Mustered  in  March  5,  1862  ;  transferred   to   the  Fifty-sixth  Illinois 

Infantry. 
Frank  Colgrove, 

Fox,  Illinois  ;  mustered  May  24,  1861,  and  deserted  July  4,  1861. 
Thomas  Cooper, 

Bristol,  Illinois  ;  mustered  May  24,  1861  ;   and  mustered  out  June  16, 

1864. 


516  HISTORY    OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

Marcus  B.  Doolitlle, 

Sandwich,  Illinois  ;  born  in  Theresa,  New  York,  age  24  ;  mustered 
May  24.  1861.  Died  March  7,  1863,  in  General  Hospital,  St.  Louis. 
Missouri,  phthisis  pulmonalis.  49 

Jefferson  J.  Eastman, 

Fox,  Illinois  ;  born  in  Cattaraugus  county,  New  York,  age  21  ;  mus 
tered  May  24,  1861.  Died  November  7,  1862,  in  camp  at  Helena, 
Arkansas,  of  congestive  chills. 

Horace  M.  Ellsworth, 

Fox,  Illinois;  mustered  May  24,  1861  ;  mustered  out  June  2,  1865. 
Present  address,  Midland  City,  Michigan. 

Erick  Erickson . 

Adams,  Illinois  ;  mustered  Ma}-  24,  1861  ;  mustered  out  June  18, 
1864. 

Enoch  D,  Darnell, 

Born  in  Marshall  county,  Illinois,  December  9,  1837  ;  enlisted  at 
Sandwich  ;  discharged  at  Springfield,  June  18,  1864  ;  has  since 
resided  in  the  township  of  Fox,  Kendall  county  and  Hinkley. 
Present  address,  Hinkley. 

Edward  C.  Hinkley, 

Born  in  1843  in  Brooklyn,  Cuyahoga  county,  Ohio  ;  enlisted  at 
La  Salle,  Illinois  ;  discharged  at  vSpriugfield,  Illinois,  June  13,  1864  ; 
ha<i  since  resided  in  Clinton  county,  Iowa.  Present  address,  Welton, 
Clinton  county,  Iowa. 

Ch  ir/es  Franklin  Fairbanks, 

Born  February  25,  1843  at  Farmington,  Maine  ;  enlisted  at  Dixon, 
Illinois,  May  24,  1861  ;  discharged  June  18,  1564;  lived  in  Tennessee 
four  years,  since  then  in  Georgia.  Present  address,  Atlanta, 
Georgia. 

["  Immediately  after  discharge  I  resided  on  a  plantation  adjoining  the 
<  Hermitage.,'  near  Nashville,  and  during  Hood's  raid  was  surrounded  by 
Buford's  Brigade  Cavalry  and  met  old  'rebs.'  We  had  fought  at  Vicks- 
burg,  Lookout  Mountain,  etc.  Having  picked  up  some  information  that 
might  be  of  some  value  to  give  Thomas,  I  crossed  the  river  on  a  plank. 
Reached  Nashville  safely  and  reported.  The  next  morning  the  Nash 
ville  fight  commenced.  That  service,  if  any,  was  my  best  war  service, 
though  I  believe  I  have  contributed  in  helping  to  'reconstruct'  our 
Southern  brethren  and  sisters  as  I  married  one  of  the  'sisters.'  Have 
occupied  several  unimportant  civil  offices  and  have  been  treated  with  all 
respect  by  my  neighbors,  all  of  whom  were  old  rebel  soldiers."] 

Francis  AT.  Fox, 

Private  ;  was  born  in  the  state  of  Pennsylvania  1841  ;  enlisted  at 
Dixon,  Illinois,  May  24,  1861  ;  Discharged  June  18,  1864;  and  has 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  517 

since  resided  in  Chicago,  Illinois,  and  his  present   address   is  3199 

Archer  avenue,  Chicago,  Illinois,  where  he  is  engaged  in  the  retail 

drug  business. 
Jacob  Fifer, 

Yorkville,  Illinois  ;  mustered  May  24,  1861,  and  died  September  29, 

1861. 
Charles  O.  Fuller, 

Bristol,    Illinois  ;  mustered  May  24,   1861,  and    was   transferred  to 

invalid  corps  September  20,  1863. 
William  Fullerton, 

Newark  ;  mustered  May  24,  1861,  and  was  taken  prisoner  of  war. 

Albert  C.  Fitch, 

Somonauk  ;  mustered  May  24,  i86i.and  was  musteied  out  June  18, 

1864.     Present  address,  Hiawatha,  Kansas. 
Joshua  Hough, 

Northville,  Illinois;  mustered   May  24,  1861,  and  deserted  May    i, 

1862. 
William  B.  Howe, 

Enlisted  from  Chicago  ;  mustered  at  Dixon,  Illinois,  Ma)r  24,  1861  ; 

discharged  April  2,  1864;  disabled,  having  lost  most  of  his   fingers 

at  Riuggold,  Georgia,  November  27,  1863  ;  resided  in  Chicago  since 

discharge,  and  employed  as  a  letter-carrier  until  1889,  when  he  was 

killed  by  railroad  cars  while  on  duty  November  27,  1889. 
J ud son  Grummon, 

Born  in  Chautauqua  county,  New  York,  April    13,  1839  ;  enlisted    at 

Sandwich,  Illinois  ;  discharged  June  18,  1864;  has  since  resided  in 

Fillmore    county,  Nebraska,    most   of  the  time,  and   now   lives   at 

Strang,  Fillmore  county,  Nebraska. 
Robert  Holly, 

Big  Rock,  Illinois;  mustered  May  24,  1861,  and  deserted  December 

29,  1862. 
Leivis  Hermis, 

Sandwich,  Illinois  ;  mustered  May  24,  1861  ;  mustered  out  June  18, 

1864. 
William  Joles, 

Sandwich,  Illinois  ;  mustered  May  24,  1861  ;  mustered  out  June  18, 

1864. 
John  H.  Jordan, 

Bristol,  Illinois;  mustered    May    24,  1861  ;  mustered    out  June    18, 

1864.     Present  address,  Yorkville,  Illinois. 
3Iichael  Judge, 

Somonauk,  Illinois  ;  mustered  May  24,  1861  ;  mustered  out  June  18, 

1864. 


518  HISTORY   OF    THE    THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

Michael  Kouth, 

Sotnonauk,  Illinois  ;  mustered  May  24,  1861,  and  deserted  July  4, 
1861. 

James  Kelly, 

Born  January  i,  1840,  at  Utica,  New  York  ;  enlisted  at  Sandwich,  Illi 
nois,  April  29,  1861  ;  in  State  service  May  9,  1861  ;  United  States 
service  for  three  years,  May  24,  1861  ;  discharged  June  18,  1864';  has 
since  resided  at  Sandwich  and  Earlville,  Illinois,  and  now  lives  at 
Earlville,  Illinois  ;  profession,  teacher  of  music.  Has  been  very 
successful,  and  civic  honors  have  been  flattering,  indeed. 

John  F.  Iliff, 

Born  April  2,  1836,  in  New  Germantown,  Hunterdon  county,  New 
Jersey  ;  enlisted  at  Sandwich,  DeKalb  county,  Illinois  ;  mustered 
at  Dixon,  Illinois,  May  24,  1861;  was  discharged  at  Springfield, 
June  1 8,  1864  ;  was  taken  prisoner  at  Chickasaw  Bayou,  December  29, 
1862  ;  has  since  resided  at  Millington,  Illinois  ;  Chicago,  Illinois ; 
Kinsley,  Kansas  ;  Offerle,  Kansas ;  Topeka,  Kansas  ;  and  at  present 
resides  at  Aurora,  Kane  county,  Illinois. 

Paul  D.  McGilvcry, 

Northville,  111.;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861,  and  deserted  March  25, 
1863. 

James  Dana  Mattison, 

Sandwich,  111.;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861,  and  was  mustered  out 
June  18,  1864  ;  was  regimental  bugler. 

Thomas  Nicholas, 

Somonauk,  111.;  born  in  England,  age  eighteen  ;  mustered  in  May 
24,  1861  ;  died  August  6,  1863,  at  Jefferson  Barracks  Hospital,  of 
chronic  diarrhoea. 

Acquilian  W.  Noe, 

Bristol,  111.;  born  in  Indianapolis,  Ind.;  age  twenty-five  years  ;  mus 
tered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  died  December  29,  1863,  of  wounds  received 
in  action  at  Ringgold,  Ga. 

Albert  B.  Orr, 

Somonauk,  111.;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  was  discharged  Septem 
ber  8,  1863  ;  disabled. 

John    William  Ncer, 

Born  December  25,  1840,  in  Pleasant  Valley,  Maryland  ;  enlisted  at 
Dixon,  111.,  May  24,  1861  ;  discharged  June  18,  1864  ;  has  since  re 
sided  in  Nebraska  and  Kansas,  now  lives  at  Duulap,  Morris  county, 
Kansas. 

Stephen  H.  Marcey, 

Chicago  ;  mustered  in  May  24,  iS6i  ;  deserted  August  6,  1862. 

John  Mullen, 

Sandwich,  111.;  mustered  in  October  i,,  1861  ;  taken  prisoner  of  war; 
mustered  out  April  21,  1865.  Present  address,  Stockton,  Kansas. 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  519 

James  McGuire, 

Somonauk,  111.;  born  in  Chicago,  111.;  age  eighteen  years  ;  mustered 

in  August  25,  1861  ;  died  in  hospital  at  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  February  7, 

1863,  of  chronic  diarrhoea. 
William  A.  Mitten, 

Sandwich,   111.;  enlisted  August  25,    1861  ;  taken  prisoner  of  war  ; 

mustered  out  May  30,  1865,  as  corporal ;  supposed  to  have  been  mur 
dered  in  Texas  a  few  years  after  the  close  of  the  war. 
George  Morgan, 

LaSalle,  111.;  enlisted   May    26,  1861  ;  mustered   in    May    26,    1861  ; 

mustered  out  June  18,  1864. 
John  Leitch, 

Private ;    born    July    30,    1840,    in    Falkland    Fifeshire,    Scotland  ; 

enlisted  at  Sandwich,  Illinois  ;  discharged  June  18,  1864.     Has  since 

resided  at  Piano,  Illinois,  which  is  his  present  address. 
Nicholas  Liter, 

Squaw  Grove,  Illinois  ;  mustered  May  24,   1861,  and  was  mustered 

out  June  18,  1864. 
Nicholas  Miller, 

Squaw  Grove,  Illinois  ;  mustered  May  24,   1861,  and  was  mustered 

out  June  8,    1865  ;    prisoner  of  war.     Present   address,  David  city, 

Nebraska. 
Adrew  Mullen, 

Sandwich,  Illinois  ;  born  in  Watertown,  New  York  ;  age  eighteen  ; 

mustered  May  24,  1861,  and  was  killed  in  action  at  Chickasaw  Bayou, 

December  29,  1862. 
George  Middltmas, 

B  istol,    Illinois;    mustered    May    24,     1861,    and    was    discharged 

September  20,  1861  ;  disabled. 
Martin  Me  Net  t, 

Northville,  Illinois  ;  mustered  May  24,  1861,  and  was  mustered  out 

June  18,  1864. 
William  B.  Patch, 

Clinton,  Illinois  ;  mustered  May  24,  1861  ;  deserted  March  5,  1862. 
Thomas  B.  Potter, 

Born  in  and  enlisted  from  Somonauk,  Illinois  ;  mustered  May  24, 

1861  ;  age  nineteen  ;  killed  at  Chickasaw  Bayou,  December  29,  1862. 
Camillus  L,  Palmer, 

Squaw   Grove,  Illinois  ;    born  in    Chautauqua   county,  New  York  ; 

age  ninteen  ;  died  of  chronic  diarrhoea  while    home   on    furlough, 

June  12,  1863  ;  mustered  May.  24,  1861  ;  died  June    16,  1863. 
Alfred  Benjamin  Pierce, 

DeKalb  ;  mustered  May  24,  1861  ;  died  June  27,  1862. 


520  HISTORY    OF   THE    THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

Rizziner  Root, 

Earle,     Illinois  ;    born    in    Fredonia,     Illinois  ;    age    twenty-four  ; 
mustered  May  24,   1861  ;  killed  at  Chickasaw  Bayou,  December  29, 
1862. 
Patrick  H.  Quinlisk, 

La  Salle  ;   mustered   May  24,  1861  ;   dishonorably  discharged  April 
29,  1863. 
Francis  E.  Reed, 

La  Salle,  Illinois  ;  mustered  May  24,  1861  ;  mustered  out  June  18, 
1864. 
Sillman  H.  Sherman, 

Chicago,  Illinois  ;  mustered  May  24,  1861  ;  died  August  3,  1863. 
Frederick  Trapp, 

Somonauk,  111.;  born  in  Germany,  age  thirty-one  years  :  mustered 
in  May  24,  1861  ;  died  March  5,  1863,  on  board  United  States  hospi 
tal  steamer,  D.  A.  January,  of  chronic  diarrhoea. 
Joseph  Simpson, 

Born  at  Yorkshire,  England,   October  23.    1839  ;  enlisted  at  Sand 
wich,  111.  ;  discharged  at  Rolla,  Mo.;  resided  at  Sandwich,  111.,  1870; 
since  then  at  Spring  Hill,  Johnson  county,  Kansas. 
Abram  B.  Serene, 

Northville,  111. ;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861 ;  mustered  out  June  16, 
1864  as  sergeant;  died  in  California,  1887. 
Martin  V.  V.  Sterns, 

Fox,  111. ;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861 ;  mustered  out  June  16,  1864. 
Othello  Smith, 

Serena,  111. ;  mustered  in  May  24,    1861 ;  discharged  September  8, 
1863:  disabled. 
Harry  J.  Seaman, 

Northville,    111.;    born   in    Northville,    111. ;  age   twenty-one   years; 
mustered  in  May  24,  1861 ;  killed  in  action  at  Ringgold,  November 
27,  1863. 
John  See  Icy, 

Fox,  111.;  mustered  in  at  Dixou,  May  24,  1861;  deserted  July  4,  1861. 
Daniel  Stewart, 

Sandwich,    111.;  enlisted  May   24,  1861 ;  mustered  in   May  24,  1861; 
mustered  out  June   18,   1864;  died  in  Canada  a  few  years  after  the 
war. 
Aaron  Sheridan, 

Northville,    111.;  mustered  in  May  24,    1861;  mustered  out  June  18, 
1864   as  corporal;  died  at   Marriton  Island  in    1870,  where   he  had 
charge  of  a  government  lighthouse. 
Perry  G.  Tripp, 

Little  Rock,  111.;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861;  discharged   September 
8,  1863;  disabled. 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  521 

Daniel  Trunible, 

Earle,  111.;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861;  discharged  December  3;  dis 
abled. 

John  R.  Swarthout, 

Born  in  Newfaue,  N.  Y. ;  age  twenty-seven  years ;  died  August  3, 
1863,  of  typhoid  fever  and  diarrhoea. 

Luden  L.  Van  Valzer, 

DeKalb,  Illinois  ;  mustered  May  24,  1861  ;  deserted  April  24,  1862. 

Samuel  H.   Trowb ridge. 

Corporal  ;  Company  E  Thirteenth   Illinois  Infantry  ;  born  in  Ches 
ter,  Ohio  ;  died  at  Memphis,  Tennessee,  April  21,  1863,  age  twenty- 
two  years,  four   months  and  twent)'  eight  days,   of  small-pox,  in 
hospital ;  of  Northville,  mustered  at  Dixon. 
[His  captain  says  of  him  :  "  I  have  lost  a  very  valuable  man,  always 

ready  for  duty,  and  willing  and  anxious  to  do  it.     I  valued  him  much,  as 

a  friend  and  companion.     He  was  truly  a  noble  young  man.     He  was 

beloved  and  respected  by  all  the  company  and  we  greatly  feel  his  loss, 

both  as  a  soldier  and  much  valued  friend."] 

John  Trowbridge, 

Born  in  Chester,  Knox  county,  Ohio ;  enlisted  at  Sandwich  DeKalb 
County,  Illinois  ;  discharged  with  the  regiment  June  1864 ;  has 
since  resided  at  Montgomery  Kane  county,  Illinois  ;  next  five 
years  in  Chicago  ;  two  and  a  half  years  in  Nebraska  ;  since  then  at 
Metz,  Steubeu  county,  Indiana. 

OleH.  Voider, 

Earl,  Illinois ;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861,  and  was  promoted  to 
corporal. 

Speed  Van  Order, 

Northville,  Illinois  ;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  and  was  discharged 
September  20,  1861. 

IrwinJ.   Walker, 

Fox,  Illinois  ;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  taken  prisoner  of  war 
and  was  mustered  out  June  2,  1865.  Present  address,  Villisca,  Iowa. 

Otis  Wilco.v, 

Sandwich,  Illinois  ;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  deserted  July  4, 
1861. 

Hen  ry    JTr  igh  t, 

Born  in  LaSalle  county;  enlisted  at  Sandwich,  Illinois;  has  since 
resided  and  now  resides  at  Somouauk,  Illinois  ;  mustered  out  June 
18,  1864. 

John  Van  Sickle, 

Born  October  19,  1837,  in  Iowa  Territory  ;  enlisted  in  Dixon  ;  dis 
charged  June  8,  1865  by  general  order  from  War  Department,  since 
then  has  lived  for  eight  years  in  Illinois,  the  remainder  of  the  time 
at  Scranton,  Iowa,  where  he  resides  now. 


522  HISTORY    OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 


COMPANY  F. 

Those  who  organized  Company  F,  of. our  regiment,  have 
left  but  meager  data  from  which  to  write  its  history.  From 
Captain  E.  F.  Button,  its  second  captain,  we  have  the  follow 
ing  : 

There  is  not  much  of  a  history  connected  with  Company 
F,  Thirteenth  Illinois  Infantry,  before  its  muster  into  service. 

"  Zelotus  B.  Mayo  was  urged  by  the  patriotic  young  men 
of  Sycamore  to  organize  a  company.  A  paper  was  drawn  up 
and  signatures  solicited.  Captain  Mayo  was  the  first,  and  E. 
F.  Button  second  to  enlist,  and  they  were  the  first  to  enroll  in 
the  defense  of  our  country,  from  Be  Kalb  county,  Illinois. 
This  was  on  April  17,  1861. 

'  There  was  a  great  scrabble  to  get  in.  It  was  not  dreamed 
that  it  was  more  than  an  excursion  ;  a  kind  of  a  picnic  we 
wrere  enlisting  for. 

'The  company  was  organized  by  electing  Z.  B.  Mayo 
captain,  and  E.  F.  Button  first-lieutenant,  R.  A.  Smith  sec 
ond-lieutenant,  and  J.  S.  Harrison  first-sergeant,  Great  fears 
existed  throughout  the  company  that  we  would  not  be  ac 
cepted  ;  and  delegates  went  to  Springfield  to  interview  the 
governor,  and  intercede  for  the  acceptance  of  our  company  as 
a  part  of  some  regiment  called  by  him  for  three  months' 
service. 

'  We  spent  the  time  till  May  gth,  in  drilling  company 
drill,  in  a  hall  and  through  the  streets.  A  hardware  store 
kindly  loaned  us  broom-handles  which  we  used  as  a  substi 
tute  for  muskets. 

' '  On  May  yth  we  were  notified  by  the  governor  to  go  into 
camp  at  Bixon,  Illinois,  there  to  be  mustered  into  the  State 
service  for  thirty  days,  and  if  not  needed  by  the  United  States 
government  within  thirty  days  we  were  to  be  discharged. 

"We  remained  at  Camp  Bixon,  drilling  and  performing 
camp  duty  till  May  24th,  when  we  were  called  by  the  United 
States,  and  Captain  John  Pope,  of  the  regular  army,  appeared 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  523 

to  muster  us  into  the  United  States  service.  An  opportunity 
was  then  given  for  those  who  declined  the  service,  to  drop  out. 
A  few  availed  themselves  of  this  opportunity,  but  nearly  all 
of  the  boys  were  true  blue.  There  were  no  casualties  and  no 
desertions  up  to  this  time." 

ROSTER. 

Zelotus  B.  Mayo, 

Original  Captain  ;  enlisted  from  Sycamore,  Illinois,  and  was  mus 
tered  at  Dixon,  Illinois,  with  the  regiment  on  May  24,  1861,  and 
resigned  July  25,  1861. 

[Captain  Mayo  was  getting  rather  old  for  service,  which  \\asthecause 
of  his  resignation. 

It  is  said  that  he  was  a  soldier  in  the  Florida  war;  and  at  the  out 
break  of  the  rebellion,  it  was  thought  that  any  man  who  had  seen  service 
was  competent  for  the  command  of  a  company,  \\liether  he  had  the  fac 
ulty  to  command  men  or  not.  In  the  case  of  comrade  Mayo,  this  rule 
failed  to  hold  good.  The  men  all  liked  "  Bing,"  though  they  had  no 
confidence  in  him  as  a  military  man.  He  died  since  the  war,  at  his  home 
in  Sycamore.] 
Everett  F.  Button, 

Original  first-lieutenant  ;  born  in  Charlestown,  New  Hampshire  ; 
enlisted  from  Sycamore  ;  mustered  on  May  24,  with  the  regiment  in 
1861;  he  was  promoted  captain  and  mustered  as  such  on  August  6, 
1862  ;  vice  Mayo  resigned  ;  was  promoted  major  of  the  One-hundred 
and  fifth  Illinois  Infantry,  and  to  lieutenant-colonel  of  the  same. 
Received  a  brevet  as  brigadier-general  for  gallant  and  meritorious 
services  in  the  Atlanta  Campaign,  and  in  North  Carolina  ;  has  been 
circuit  clerk  of  De  Kalb  county,  Illinois  for  eight  years,  and  clerk 
of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Illinois,  from  1878  to  1884.  Is  now  en 
gaged  in  banking  at  Sycamore,  and  is  well  to  do  as  far  as  worldly 
possessions  are  concerned. 

Comrade  Button  was  well  liked  as  an  officer  by  the  most  of  the 
company. 
Richard  A.  Smith, 

Original  second-lieutenant ;  born  at  Geneva,  Chenango  county, 
New  York,  in  1828  ;  enlisted  from  Sycamore,  Illinois,  and  was  mus 
tered  writh  the  regiment  ;  was  promoted  first-lieutenant  in  Septem 
ber,  1861,  and  captain  in  the  summer  of  1862  ;  was  discharged 
August  21,  1863. 

[Captain  Smith  lost  his  right  arm  on  the  29th  of  December,  1862,  in 
the  battle  of  Chickasaw  Bayou,  Mississippi,  and  also  received  a  severe 
wound  in  the  right  thigh  at  the  same  battle. 


524  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

Comrade  Smith  was  elected  county  treasurer  of  DeKalb  county, 
Illinois,  in  the  fall  of  1863,  and  was  re-elected,  serving  four  terms  in  the 
office,  or  eight  years  altogether,  as  county  treasurer.  He  was  a  farmer 
for  ten  years  thereafter.  In  the  year  1884  he  removed  to  Lake  City, 
Iowa,  a  town  of  two  thousand  inhabitants,  aiM  is  postmaster  of  that 
town  at  the  present  time. 

Captain  Smith  was  liked  by  all  the  company,  and  when  he  resigned 
all  felt  that  his  place  would  be  hard  to  fill.] 

John  S.  Harroun, 

Original  First-Sergeant.  Comrade  Harroun  enlisted  from  Sycamore 
and  was  mustered  with  the  regiment.  Under  the  head  of  "  Re 
marks,"  the  Adjutant-General's  report  merely  says  of  him,  "Absent 
on  duty."  Nothing  further  is  before  us. 

Azro  A.  Buck, 

Original  Second-Sergeant.  Sergeant  Buck  enlisted  from  Sycramore, 
Illinois,  and  was  mustered  with  the  regiment.  Sergeant  Buck  was 
promoted  Second-Lieutenant,  First- Lieutenant  and  Captain,  and 
was  mustered  out  June  18,  1864.  Captain  Buck  was  a  very  good 
officer,  generally  liked  in  his  company,  and  looked  out  for  the  wel 
fare  of  his  men  as  well  as  any  officer  of  Company  F.  After  his 
punster  out  as  Captain,  he  helped  raise  the  One  Hundred  and  Forty- 
Seventh  Illinois  Infantry,  a  one  hundred  day  regiment,  which  he 
entered  as  Captain.  After  the  war  he  went  South  and  died  in 
Kansas. 

Lorenzo  H.   Whitney, 

Original  Third-Sergeant.  Enlisted  from  Sycamore,  Illinois,  and 
mustered  with  the  regiment.  He  was  discharged  the  from  service  on 
September  10,  1861.  Sergeant  Whitney  has  resided  most  of  the 
time  since  the  war  at  Chicago.  He  is  a  lawyer  by  profession.  After 
his  discharge  from  Company  F,  he  raised  Company  B  for  the  Eighth 
Illinois  Cavalry,  then  resigned  and  helped  raise  the  One  Hundred 
aii'>l  Fortieth  Regiment,  Illinois  Infantry,  of  which  he  was  the 
Colonel. 

Enos  Churchill, 

Original  Fourth-Sergeant.  Comrade  Churchill  was  born  in  Erie 
county,  New  York,  October  14,  1828  ;  enlisted  from  Courtland,  Illi 
nois,  and  mustered  with  the  regiment.  He  was  mustered  out  June 
18,  1864.  Comrade  Churchill,  from  his  home  in  Tulare,  Tulare 
county,  writes  that  he  is  crippled  with  rheumatism,  which  unfits 
him  for  labor,  but  has  great  hopes,  as  he  has  patented,  both  in  Eng 
land  and  America,  an  "air-compressed  washer  and  churn,"  an  in 
vention  of  his  own  which  he  thinks  will  supply  him  in  place  of  the 
p  nsioii  which  we  all  should  have. 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  525 

Porter  D.  Hall, 

Original  fifth  sergeant ;  enlisted  from  Sycamore,  111.  ;  mustered 
with  the  regiment ;  mustered  out  June,  18,  1864.  He  was  reported 
absent ;  wounded  since  November  27,  1863  ;  it  was  said  that  he  de 
serted  some  time  in  1862,  and  returned  to  the  regiment  under  the 
proclamation  of  the  President.  Was  reduced  to  the  ranks  on  his 
return.  Residence  unknown. 

Richard  S.  Davenport, 

Original  first  corporal  ;  enlisted  from  McDonough,  111.  ;  mustered 
with  the  regiment ;  mustered  out  June  18,  1864,  as  first  sergeant  ; 
residence  unknown  ;  last  heard  from  in  Oregon  or  California. 

Byron  F.  Wyman, 

Original  second  corporal;  enlisted  from  Sycamore,  111.;  mustered 
with  the  regiment ;  mustered  out  June  18,  1864,  as  sergeant. 

[Comrade  Wyman  has  been  Secretary  of  the  DeKalb  County  Agri 
cultural  Society,  and  supervisor  of  the  town  of  Sycamore,  111.  He  says, 
"Am  a  candidate  for  State  Senator,  and  expect  to  get  elected."  He 
did  n't.  Is  a  large  and  prosperous  farmer,  and  a  good  citizen.  Resides 
at  Sycamore,  111.] 

Ransom  Burleigh, 

Original  third  corporal;  enlisted  from  Sycamore,  111.;  mustered  in 
with  the  regiment ;  mustered  out  June  18.  1864,  as  sergeant.  Pres 
ent  residence  not  known.  A  jolly,  full  of  fun  soldier,  always  ready 
for  duty. 

Wi'liam  S.  Smith, 

Original  fourth  corporal ;  enlisted  from  Sycamore,  111.;  mustered  in 
with  the  regiment,  but  died  September  19,  1861.  He  was  the  first 
man  who  died  in  our  company,  and  is  buried  at  Sycamore,  111. 

Edward  W.  Olney, 

Original  fifth  corporal  ;  enlisted  from  Sycamore,  111.;  mustered  with 
the  regiment ;  mustered  out  June  18,  1864,  as  sergeant.  Comrade 
Olney  was  badly  wounded  at  the  battle  of  Chickasaw  Bayou.  Has 
resided, since  1871,  in  Nebraska,  where  he  took  up  a  homestead  and 
is  engaged  in  farming.  He  says,  "  Had  a  visit  from  Cooper,  of 
Company  C  ;  and  while  Cooper  went  away  richer  by  a  few  shekels 
I  was  riclur  in  knowledge."  How  many  of  the  boys  of  the  Thir 
teenth,  can  tell  the  same  story?  (They  would  about  every  one  an 
swer  "Here,"  at  such  a  roll-call.)  Olney  was  as  good  a  messmate 
as  the  writer  well  knows. 

Thomas  Hog  an, 

Original  sixth  corporal;  enlisted  from  Sycamore,  111.;  mustered 
with  the  regiment.  He  died  May  25,  1863,  from  wounds  received  in 
assault  on  Vicksburg. 


526  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

Wesley  D.  Russell, 

Original  seventh  corporal  ;  enlisted  at  Sycamore,  111. ;  and  mustered 
with  the  regiment,  and  died  June  26,  1863. 

William  Allen, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Sycamore,  111. ;  mustered  with  the  regiment  ; 
mustered  out  June  18,  1864.  He  served  a  part  of  the  time  as  private 
and  part  as  musician.  Since  being  mustered  out,  he  has  been  con 
nected  with  the  state  militia,  in  which  he  has  reached  the  rank  of 
captain.  His  present  address  is  not  found. 

ill  orris  At  wood, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Sycamore,  111. ;  mustered  with  the  regiment, 
and  discharged  September  9,  1863,  for  disability.  He  re-enlisted  in 
1864,  in  the  Seventh  Illinois  cavalry.  He  died  near  Sycamore,  in 
1889. 

Samuel  T.  Bryant, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Sycamore,  111. ;  mustered  with  the  regiment; 
mustered  out  June  18,  1864. 

Isaiah  Babcock, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Sycamore,  111. ;  mustered  with  the  regiment  ; 
mustered  out  June  18,  1864. 

Daniel  Bradley, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Sycamore,  111. ;  mustered  with  the  regiment  ; 
mustered  out  May  8,  1865.  He  was  for  awhile,  a  prisoner  of  war. 

Cyrus  C.  Burkee, 

Private  :  enlisted  from  Sycamore,  111. ;  mustered  with  the  regiment  ; 
mustered  out  June  18,  1864.  He  was  born  in  Sipersville,  Somerset 
county,  Pa.  He  was  an  odd  sort  of  a  character,  but  was  always 
ready  for  duty,  being  on  the  sick-list  seldom.  Since  the  war  he  has 
been  a  wanderer  over  Uncle  Sam's  domain,  but  making  Kingston, 
DeKalb  county,  111.,  his  home  most  of  the  time. 

Lewis  Burgess, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Courtlaud,  111. ;  mustered  with  the  regiment  ; 
discharged  at  Roll  a,  Mo.,  June  i,  1862. 

Anthony  Barton, 

Private;  enlisted  from  Syacamore,  111. ;  mustered  with  the  regiment: 
mustered  out  June  24,  1864.  He  was  born  in  Ferrisburg,  Vt.,  Sep 
tember  28,  1822.  He  has  been  in  the  detective  service  of  the  United 
States  government  for  several  years.  He  was  a  true  soldier  for  his 
country.  Present  residence,  Joplin,  Jasper  county,  Mo. 

Daniel  A.  A.  B.  Barnes, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Sycamore,  Illinois  ;  mustered  with  the  regi 
ment  ;  mustered  out  June  18,  1864.  Comrade  Barnes  was  a  good 
soldier,  somewhat  eccentric  in  his  demeanor,  but  was  liked  by  most 
of  the  boys  in  Company  F,  a  great  reader,  and  generally  gobbled 
everything  in  the  reading  line  that  he  could  lay  hands  on. 


ILLINOIS     VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  527 

John  Cooglc, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Sycamore,  Illinois  ;  was  mustered  with  the 
regiment,  but  deserted  August  1861.     Nuf  sed. 
George  Carr, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Sycamore,  Illinois  ;  mustered  with  the  regi 
ment.     Comrade  Carr — "Trip"  was,  for  some  time,  a   prisoner  of 
war  ;  mustered  out  June  6,  1865.     He  is  said  to  be  dead. 
Cyrenius  S.  Courtright, 

Private ;  enlisted  from  Courtland,  Illinois ;  mustered  with  the  regi 
ment  ;  mustered  out  June  18,  1864.  Residence  at  present,  not  known. 
Leonard  Ciawson, 

Private  enlisted   from  Sycamore  Illinois  ;  born  in    Illinois,  age  19  ; 
mustered  with  the  regiment,  and  died  March  15,  1864,  of  disease,  in 
camp  at  Woodville,  Alabama. 
Harlan  Culver, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Courtland,  111.  ;  mustered  with  the  regiment, 
and  discharged  January  i,  1862.     Said  to  be  dead. 
George  Campbell, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Sycamore,  Illinois  ;  mustered  with  the  regi 
ment.     Was  a  prisoner  of  war,  and  discharged  June  18,  1865. 
Charles  H.  Caswell, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Sycamore,  Illinois  ;  mustered  with  the  regi 
ment  ;  mustered  out  June  18,  1864.  Comrade  Caswell  was  born  at 
Belvidere,  Illinois.  He  was  a  good  soldier,  knew  no  fear,  appar 
ently,  always  ready  for  duty,  and  always  well  until  the  march  to 
Jackson,  Mississippi,  in  July,  1863,  when  he  was  sun-struck.  He 
was  sent  to  the  hospital  at  Paducah,  Kentucky,  where  he  caught  the 
small-pox.  He  returned  to  the  regiment,  when  at  Madison  Station, 
Alabama,  a  physical  wreck,  and  is,  as  far  as  known,  still  in  very 
bad  health.  He  lives  at  Republic,  Chickasaw  county,  Iowa. 
Wilson  E.  Chapel, 

Private;  enlisted  from  Malta,  111. :  mustered  in  with  the  regiment. 
[Comrade  Chapel  was  born  in  Massachusetts,  and  came  to  Illinois 
sometime  in  1860,  locating  at,  or  near,  Malta,  DeKalb  county;  his  occu 
pation,  was  that. of  a  school  teacher.  The  writer  became  acquainted 
with  him  in  the  winter  of  1860-1,  and  he  was  as  true  a  friend  as  it  falls 
to  the  lot  of  men  to  have.  His  devotion  to  country  was  not  of  the  spas 
modic  order;  but  was  of  that  kind  to  be  found  in  the  descendants  of 
hardy  old  Massachusetts  stock.  Together  with  the  writer,  he  com 
menced  to  drill  in  a  company  organized  at  DeKalb,  111.,  on  the  iSth  day 
of  March,  i86r.  That  company  not  being  accepted,  he  went  to  Syca 
more  and  joined  Company  F,  on  the  gth  of  May,  1861. 

Comrade  Chapel  was  taken  prisoner  near  Tuscumbia,  Ala.,  in   the 
fall  of  1863,  and  died  in  Danville  prison  in  the  fore  part  of  1865.] 


528  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

Charles  R.  Crosby, 

Private;  enlisted  from  Sycamore,  111.;  mustered  in  with  the  regi 
ment;  mustered  out  June  18,  1864. 

John  Clark, 

Private;  enlisted  from  Courtland,  111.;  discharged  December  10, 
1861. 

Nicholas  Depuc, 

Private;  enlisted  from  Sycamore,  111.;  mustered  in  w'lh  the  regi 
ment;  mustered  out  as  corporal,  June  18,  1864. 

Jacob  S.  Deiley, 

Private;  enlisted  from  Sycamore,  111.;  mustered  in  with  the  regi 
ment.  Comrade  Deiley  was  badly  wounded  at  the  battle  of  Chicka- 
saw  Bayou,  and  died  from  his  wounds  soon  after.  A  good  soldier, 
and  a  good  messmate. 

Thomas  Dolan, 

Private;  enlisted  from  Sycamore,  111.;  mustered  in  with  the  regi 
ment;  discharged  July  I,  1862.  Present  residence  not  known. 

Samuel  Feidermont, 

Private;  enlisted  from  Sycamore,  111.;  mustered  in  with  the  regi 
ment;  mustered  out  June  18,  1864.  Residence  unknown. 

Wayne  Gaudy, 

Private;  enlisted  from  Courtland,  111.;  mustered  in  with  the  regi 
ment;  discharged  for  disability,  May  4,  1863. 

Andrew  J.  Green, 

Private ;  enlisted  from  Sycamore,  111. ;  mustered  in  with  the  regi 
ment:  died  October  2,  1861. 

Philo  D.  Hartman, 

Private.  Enlisted  from  Sycamore,  Illinois,  and  mustered  with  the 
regiment  ;  mustered  out  June  18,  1864.  He  re-enlisted  February  9, 
1865,  in  Company  F,  One  Hundred  and  Forty-seventh  Illinois  In 
fantry,  and  was  discharged  at  Savannah,  Georgia,  January  24,  1866. 
Since  discharge  Comrade  Hartmau  has  resided  in  Illinois,  Iowa,  and 
his  present  address,  is  Marysville,  Kansas. 

Charles  J.  Harrison, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Sycamore,  Illinois,  and  mustered  with  the 
regiment;  mustered  out  July  25,  1864.  Comrade  Harrison,  since 
the  war,  has  resided,  at  different  times,  in  Minnesota,  Iowa,  and 
Nebraska  ;  and  from  the  latter  he  was  sent  to  its  Legislature,  and 
President  Cleveland  appointed  him  Postmaster  of  Wahoo,  Nebraska, 
which  is  his  present  address. 

Alonzo  Houghton, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Sycamore,  Illinois,  and  mustered  with  the 
regiment,  from  which  he  veteranized ;  captured  by  the  rebs  at  Mad 
ison  Station,  Alabama,  and  taken  to  Cahaba  Prison  where  he  died. 


ILLINOIS    VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  529 

John  Humphries, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Sycamore,  Illinois,  and  mustered  with  the 
regiment,  from  which  he  was  discharged,  April  30,  1863,  for  disabil 
ity.     Is  presumed  to  be  living  at  present  in  Kansas. 
Reuben  M.  If  even  or, 

Musician;  enlisted  from  Malta,  Illinois,  and  mustered  with  the  regi 
ment;  mustered  out,  June  18,  1864.  Those  who  thoroughly  know 
Reub.  Hevenor,  well  know  that  he  would  never  toot  his  own  bugle 
to  any  extent ;  but  an  associate  musician  whose  good  fortune  it  was 
to  be  his  messmate  during  some  of  those  times  when  we  not  only 
wore  the  blue,  but  were  blue  all  through,  says  that  Reub.  Hevenor 
was  one  of  those  rarely  grand  comrades  who  would  start  out  hungry 
in  the  morning,  all  hands  being  on  quarter  rations,  and  those  rations 
in  the  Commissary-wagon  three  miles  back,  stalled  in  the  mud, 
tramp  all  day  through  deep  mud  and  perhaps  soaked  through-aud- 
through  in  an  all  day's  downpour  of  rain,  wearily  reach  camp  after 
dark,  then  scour  the  vicinity  for  something  to  make  a  fire  with,  coax 
the  wet  wood  into  burning,  and  if  perchance  there  was  half  of  a 
hardtack  left  in  his  haversack,  break  it  in  two  and  divide  with  a 
more  unfortunate  pr  imprudent  messmate,  sip  to  the  very  dregs,  as 
if  it  were  nectar  {and  it  was),  every  drop  of  his  tin-cup  of  muddy 
coffee,  cheerfully  tell  camp-fire  stories,  with  perhaps  the  prospect 
of  a  great  battle  on  the  morrow,  hopefully  jot  down  in  his  diary  the 
day's  happenings  of  the  march,  then  lay  down  on  the  wet  ground, 
heaving  a  sigh  of  tenderest  solicitude  as  to  whether  the  loved  ones 
at  home  were  comfortable.  The  only  times  that  he  would  show 
auger  would  be  when  some  copperheadish  grumbler  would  declare 
the  effort  to  put  down  the  rebellion  a  failure. 

[That  such  a  man  would  make  a  good  soldier,  and  that  such  a  soldier 
would  make  a  good  citizen,  goes  without  saying. 

After  muster  out,  Comrade  Heveuor  resided  in  Malta,  his  old  home, 
where  he  held  the  offices  of  justice  of  the  peace,  and  of  collector  ;  after 
which  he  removed  to  Creston,  111.,  where  he  holds  the  office  of  justice  of 
the  peace,  and  is  Adjutant  of  Post  124,  Department  of  Illinois. 

Comrade  Hevenor  now  resides  at  the  latter  named  place,  in  the 
midst  of  a  loving  family  who  will  never  drop  any  stitches  from  the 
loyalty  to  the  old  flag  which  he  so  nobly  supported  on  many  a  deadly 
field,  and  by  a  faithful  presentation  of  precept,  through  all  the  later 
years.] 
' John  Hill, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Malta,  111.;  mustered  with  the  regiment. 
Comrade  Hill  is  falsely  reported  in  the  Adjutant-General's  Report, 
as  a  deserter.     The  facts  are,  he  was  sent  to  the  hospital  from  Helena, 
Ark.,  and  his  descriptive  roll  given  him;  he  lost  this.     He  died  in  1864. 


530  HISTORY    OF   THE    THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

George  Goodrich, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Courtlaud,  111.;  mustered  with  the  regiment 

He  died  February  16,  1863. 
William  J.  Jones, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Malta,  111.;  mustered  with  the  regiment,  and 

discharged  December  14,  1861.      Last  known  residence,  Kalamazoo, 

Mich. 
William  C.  Kerr, 

Private;    enlisted    from  Sycamore.    111.;    mustered    with    regiment. 

Died  January  5,  1863,  of  wounds. 
Isaac  Keppel, 

Born  in  Morgan  Count}-,  Ohio,  age  twenty-five  ;  enlisted  from  North 

Kingston,  111.;  mustered  with  the  regiment.     Died  May  17,  1862,  in 

Post  Hospital  at  Batesville,  Ark.,  of  disease. 
George  Louden, 

Private;  enlisted   from   Sycamore,    111.;    mustered   with  regiment; 

discharged  January  i,  1862. 
Theodore  Loring, 

Private;  enlisted  from  Courtland,  111.;  mustered  with  regiment. 

Comrade  Loring  was  promoted  first-sergeant,  then  to  second-lieu 
tenant  October  25,  1862,  and  to  first-lieutenant,  November  19,  1863.  Was 
mustered  out  June  18,  1864. 

After  his  muster  out,  he  re-enlisted  in  a  battery,  but  no  autobiog 
raphy  of  his  services  and  subsequent  history  has  been  procurable  He 
was  a  very  good  officer,  attending  to  all  his  duties  promptly.  He  now  re 
sides  at  Courtland,  111.,  where  he  has  been  postmaster,  and  justice  of  the 
peace. 
Joseph  W.  Locy, 

Private;    enlisted  from    DeKalb,    Illinois,   and   mustered    with   the 

regiment ;  and  was  mustered  out  June  6,  1865. 

Comrade  Locy  was  captured  at  Madison  Station,  Alabama,  and 
sent  to  Castle  Morgan,  Alabama,  until  March  17,  1865,  when  he  was 
paroled  and  sent  to  Parol  Camp  at  Black  River  Bridge,  from  which  he 
was  sent  to  Benton  Barracks,  and  from  there  to  Springfield,  Illinois 
where  he  received  his  discharge.  He  is  now  farming  at  Firth,  Lan 
caster  County,  Nebraska,  where,  also,  he  has  been  connected  with  the 
State  Militia. 
Frederick  C.  Mieres, 

Private ;  enlisted  from  Sycamore,  Illinois,  and  mustered    with  the 

regiment ;  veteranized,  and  captured  at  Madison  Station,  Alabama, 

served  a  term  in  rebel  prisons,  but  finally  mustered  out  June  6,  1865. 
Thomas  McLaughlin, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from   Sycamore,  Illinois,  and  mustered  with  the 

regiment  and  deserted  February  28,  1863  ;  don't  know  his  present 

residence  and  don't  care. 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY.  531 

Robert  Mil  I  ig  an, 

Enlisted  from  Sycamore.  Illinois,  and  mustered  with  the  regiment, 
as  a  private  and  deserted  April  28,  1863. 

Albert  Mulligan, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Sycamore,  Illinois,  and  mustered  with  the 
regiment,  and  mustered  out  June  18,  1864.  Present  residence, 
Atchison,  Kansas. 

Joseph  N a  green, 

Private ;  enlisted  from  Sycamore,  Illinois,  and  mustered  with  the 
regiment,  and  mustered  out  May  5,  1864.  Comrade  Nagreen  was  a 
good  man.  Since  the  war  he  has  been  engaged  in  the  furniture 
business  and  resides  at  Leeman,  Outagamie  County,  Wisconsin. 

Sylvester  W.  Norris, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Sycamore,  Illinois,  and  mustered  with  the 
regiment,  and  mustered  out  June  18,  1864.  Since  dead. 

John   W.  Nichols, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Sycamore,  Illinois,  a.nd  mustered  with  the 
regiment,  and  mustered  out  May  30,  1865  ;  was  made  a  prisoner  at 
Madison  Station,  Alabama,  and  sent  to  Cahaba,  Alabama  ;  has  been 
a  farmer  near  Sycamore,  111.  He  was  mustered  out  as  sergeant. 

Thomas  J.  Orr, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Sycamore,  Illinois  ;  mustered  with  the 
regiment  ;  mustered  out  July  19,  1864.  Residence  unknown. 

John    Ovitt, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Malta,  Illinois  ;  mustered  with  the  regiment; 
discharged  for  disability  November  24,  1862  ;  has  since  died. 

Hans   Oleson, 

Born  in  Norway  ;  age,  thirty-four  ;  private  ;  enlisted  in  Courtland, 
Illinois  ;  mustered  with  the  regiment  ;  died  November  2,  1863,  in 
General  Hospital,  Memphis,  Tennessee,  of  chronic  diarrhoea. 

Charles    V.   Peck, 

Born  in  Delaware  County,  Ohio  :  age  twenty-one  ;  private  ;  enlisted 
from  Sycamore,  Illinois  ;  mustered  with  the  regiment  ;  killed  in 
action  at  Ringgold,  Georgia,  November  27,  1863.  * 

Zelotes  B.  Partridge, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Sycamore,  Illinois  ;  mustered  with  the 
regiment  ;  discharged  May  6,  1863,  for  disability  ;  but  re-enlisted  in 
Seventeenth  Illinois  Cavalry  ;  now  resides  in  Nebraska. 

William  A.  Phelps, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Sycamore,  Illinois  :  mustered  with  the 
regiment  ;  mustered  out  June  18,  1864  ;  killed  by  the  cars  at  Court- 
land,  Illinois,  in  the  fall  of  1884. 

Seneca  Potter, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Sycamore,  Illinois  ;  mustered  with  the  regi 
ment  ;  discharged  for  disability  July  23,  1862.  Said  to  have  died. 


532  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

Alfred  Robbins, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Sycamore,  Illinois  ;  mustered  with  the  regi 
ment  ;  discharged  October  20,  1862. 
Gustavus  F.  Russell, 

Enlisted  from  Courtland,  Illinois  ;  mustered  with  the  regiment,  as 
'private  ;  mustered  out  June  18,  1864  ;  now  resides  in  Kansas. 
Henry  Rawer, 

Private  ;   enlisted   from    Pierceville,    Illinois  ;  mustered   with    the 
regiment  ;  mustered  out  June  18,   1864.     He  now  resides  at  Maple 
Park,  Kane  County,  Illinois. 
Jacob  Sigline, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Sycamore,  Illinois  ;  mustered  with  the  regi 
ment  ;  discharged  September  10,  1861  ;  he  re-entered  the  service  as 
a  lieutenant  in  the  Eighth  Illinois  Cavalry.     Resides  somewhere  in 
the  State  of  Oregon. 
James  M.  Smith, 

Private ;  enlisted  from  Sycamore  111. ;  mustered  in  with  the  regiment, 
deserted  May  31,  1862.  This  charge,  however,  is  said  to  have  been 
removed  on  his  claim  that  he  was  taken  prisoner  at,  or  near 
Searcy,  Ark.,  while  we  were  campaigning  in  that  region.  Let  us 
give  him  the  benefit  of  the  doubt. 
William  H.  Stark, 

Musician;  enlisted  from  Courtlaud,  111.;  mustered  in  with  the  regi 
ment. 

[Comrade  Stark  and  the  writer  of  this  were  the  two  old  men  of 
the  drum  corps;  and  on  that  account  probably  fraternized  more  closely 
than  any  other  two  of  our  mess  ;  and  Comrade  Stark,  under  all  circum 
stances  and  conditions  showed  so  many  good  qualities  as  to  make  him  a 
general  favorite;  his  quaint  humor,  expressed  in  such  inimitably  droll 
utterance,  usually  kept  the  boy  drummers  in  a  roar,  and  the  rest  of  us 
in  good  humor;  and  those  boys  in  their  early  teens,  now  thatched  with 
silvery  hair,  will  hardly  recall  the  droll  old  fifer  without  a  sympathetic 
tear  to  moisten  the  sod  over  the  old  man's  grave. 

The  exposure  of  that  wearying  counter-march  from  Rolla  to  Spring 
field  and  return,  in  the  Fremont  campaign,  proved  too  much  for  Com 
rade  Stark,  and  he  died  at  Rolla  soon  after  our  return  there,  on  December 
15,  1861.] 
John  H.  Spiking, 

Private ;  enlisted  from  Sycamore,  111. ;  mustered  in  with  the  regi 
ment;  mustered  out  June  18,  1864.  Resides  somewhere  in  California. 

Henry' Smith, 

Born  in  Germany ;  age  thirty-three  years ;  private ;  enlisted  from 
Pierceville,  111. :  mustered  in  with  the  regiment;  killed  in  action  at 
Ringgold,  Ga.,  November  27,  1863. 


ILLINOIS    VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  533 

Seymore  Stafford, 

Private;  enlisted  from  Sycamore,  111. ;  mustered  in  with  the  regiment; 
transferred  to  the  invalid  corps,  September,  i,  1863.  mustered  out  at 
Rock  Island,  111.,  June  18,  1863;  is  a  prosperous  merchant  at  Coal 
Valley,  III. 

Julius  Thompson, 

Private;  enlisted  from  South  Grove,  111. ;  mustered  in  with  the  regi 
ment;  mustered  out  June  18,  1864;  disability  kept  him  in  hospital 
much  of  the  time,  and  he  died  soon  after  being  mustered  out. 

Francis  Secord, 

Private;  enlisted  from  Sycamore,  111.;  mustered  in  with  the  regi 
ment;  absent  sick  from  October  i,  1863. 

Oliver  W.  Smith, 

Private;  enlisted  from  Sycamore;  mustered  in  with  the  regiment; 
mustered  out  June  18,  1864. 

John    Walkron, 

Private;  enlisted  from  Sycamore,  111. ;  mustered  in  with  the  regiment; 
discharged  for  disability,  December  16,  1862 ;  since  died. 

As  i  P.  West, 

Private ;  enlisted  from  Sycamore,  111. ;  mnstered  in  with  the  regi 
ment;  wounded  in  the  right  lung  at  Chickasaw  Bayou,  and  suffered 
a  great  deal  from  his  wound;  discharged  June  6,  1863.  His  address 
is  Geneva,  Kane  county,  111.,  and  is  a  lawyer. 

V inter  B,    Wing, 

Private;  enlisted  at  Sycamore,  111. ;  mustered  in  with  the  regiment; 
died  September  6,  1862. 

Moses  M.  Willis, 

Private:  enlisted  from  Sycamore,  111.;  mustered  in  with  the  regi 
ment;  discharged  for  disability  August  n,  1863;  he  re-enlisted  in 
Seventeenth  Illinois  Cavalry;  was  killed  near  Leaven  worth,  Kansas. 

John   Young, 

Born  in  Germany ;  age  twenty-five  years ;  private :  enlisted  from  Syca 
more,  111. ;  mustered  in  with  the  regiment;  died  from  wounds  received 
at  Ringgold,  January  13,  1864,  in  hospital  No.  3,  at  Chattanooga,  Tenn. 

John  Adams, 

Private;  enlisted  from  Sycamore,  111.;  mustered  in  May  30,  1861,  at 
Dixon,  111.  Comrade  Adams  was  born  in  the  State  of  Maine  in 
1828;  was  promoted  corporal  July  5,  1863. 

Comrade  Adams  has  resided  most  of  the  time  since  the  war,  in 
Fair  View,  Jones  county,  Iowa,  where  he  has  held  the  office  of 
Justice  of  the  Peace. 

Horace  C.  B  urban  k, 

Private;  enlisted  from  Sycamore,  111. ;  mustered  in  June  3,  1861 ; 
transferred  to  the  invalid  corps  September  i,  1863.  Present  resi 
dence  unknown. 


534  HISTORY    OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

Elbert  Burbank, 

Private;  enlisted  from  Sycamore,  111. ;  mustered  in  June  3,  1861 ; 
mustered  out  June  3,  1864.  Residence  unknown. 

Joh  n  Bcroga  n , 

Private;  enlisted  and  mustered  in  May  24tTi,  1861;  mustered  out 
June  19,  1864;  born  in  Belgium.  His  address  is  Webster  City, 
Iowa. 

George  Brown, 

Private;  enlisted  from  Courtland,  111.;  mustered  July  6,  1861;  was 
a  prisoner  of  war;  mustered  out  June  6,  1865.  Present  residence  not 
known. 

Charles  Cook, 

Private;  enlisted  from  Dixon,  111;  mustered  in  December  16,  1863, 
and  transferred  to  company  I,  Fifty-sixth  Illinois  infantry.  Present 
residence  unknown. 

William  Freeman, 

Private;  enlisted  from  Sycamore,  111.;  mustered  July  2,  1861,  and 
deserted  July  31,  1861. 

Benjamin  L.  Gould, 

Private;  enlisted  from  Courtland,  111.;  mustered  July  2,  1861,  and 
discharged  for  disability,  July  26,  1863.  Resided  in  Illinois  for  five 
years  after  the  war,  and  since  then  in  Kansas,  where  his  present 
address  is  Ottawa,  Kansas. 

Nelso  n  R.  Ha  r ring  to  n . 

Private;  enlisted  from  Sycamore,  111.;  mustered  September  3,  1861. 
He  veteranized  and  was  transferred  to  company  I,  Fifty-sixth  Illi 
nois  infantry.  Comrade  Harrington  resided  for  some  years  in 
Minnesota,  where  he  held  the  offices  of  justice  of  the  peace,  town 
clerk,  assessor  and  constable  ;  showing  that  he  was  as  good  an  all- 
around  citizen,  as  he  had  been  a  soldier  wearing  the  blue.  Has 
been  city  marshal  of  Sycamore,  111.,  for  several  years,  where  he  can 
be  found  at  this  present  writing. 

James  Humphries, 

Private;  enlisted  from  Peoria,  111.;  mustered  September  3,  1861. 
He  veteranized  and  was  made  prisoner  of  war,  and  mustered  out  as 
corporal,  May  8,  1865.  Lives  somewhere  in  Kansas. 

Albert  F.  Kingsley, 

Private;  enlisted  from  Sycamore,  111.;  mustered  in  June  18,  1861, 
mustered  out  June  18,  186433  corporal.  His  residence  is  Washing 
ton^.  C. 

John  M.  Lawrence, 

Private;  enlisted  from  Courtland,  111.;  mustered  in  June  10,  1861. 
No  date  of  muster  out,  and  present  residence  unknown. 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY.  535 

Abbott  Merrill, 

Private;  enlisted  from  Kaiieville,  111.  ;  mustered  May  30,  1861;  mus 
tered  out  June  18,  1864.  Was  wounded  in  the  thigh,  at  Chickasaw 
Bayou.  Since  muster  out,  he  has  resided  mostly  in  Orland,  Col  ma 
county,  Cal.,  following  the  occupation  of  farming,  residing  at  the 
above  address. 

Stephen  Nichols, 

Private;  enlisted  from  Sycamore,  111. ;  mustered  in  September  3,  1861, 
and  discharged  for  disability,  February  21,  1863,  and  has  since  died. 

Charles  W.  Orvis, 

Private;  enlisted  from  Sycamore,  111.;  mustered  in  July  26,  1861. 
He  re  enlisted  as  a  veteran,  but  where  and  when  he  w?as  mustered 
out,  there  are  no  records  to  show. 

David  H.  Patten, 

Private;  enlisted  from  Sycamore,  111.;  mustered  in  May  30,  1861, 
and  mustered  out  June  18,  1864. 

Alphonso  Russell, 

Private:  enlisted  from  Courtlaud,  111.;  mustered  in  September  3, 
1861.  He  was  killed  at  Chickasaw  Bayou. 

Edward  F.  Sprague, 

Private;  enlisted  from  Sycamore,   111.:  mustered  in   September  3, 
1861.      Transferred    to   company  I,    Fiftyrsixth    Illinois    Infantry. 
Date  of  place  and  muster  out  not  given. 
[Comrade  Sprague  is  in  the  lumber  business  at  Emporia,  Kansas. 

Has  been  honored  with  several  offices  by  his  fellow  citizens,  and  is  held 

in  high  esteem  by  all  who  know  him.] 


COMPANY  G. 

According  to  Captain  George  M.  Cole,  a  company  of  cav 
alry,  formed  in  the  western  part  of  Whiteside  county  on  April 
4th,  1 86 1,  in  anticipation  of  the  war  that  so  soon  broke  upon 
the  country,  was  used  as  a  nucleus  for  the  company  that  was 
formed  shortly  after,  at  Morrison,  and  known  as  Company  G, 
of  the  Thirteenth  Illinois  Infantry  ;  and  over  which,  Mr.  Cole 
was  elected  captain.  The  usual  methods  were  adopted  to 
attract  the  attention  and  arouse  the  military  and  patriotic 
spirit  of  the  town  and  surrounding  country. 

The  noise  of  drums  and  fifes  and  drills  and  parades  called 
men  together  until  there  were  enrolled,  one  hundred  and 
fifteen  names. 


536  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

William  M.  Jenks,  was  elected  first-lieutenant,  and 
Silas  Jackson,  second-lieutenant.  M.  C.  Goodwin  was  made 
orderly  sergeant,  with  George  H.  Drake,  Abram  P.  Anthony, 
Frederick  M.  Cole,  and  James  W.  Gilmore,  J;he  other  sergeants. 

The  company  went  to  Dixon,  on  May  gth,  and  was  soon 
in  its  place  and  at  work.  It  suffered  more  than  any  company 
in  the  regiment,  and  left  more  dead  men  behind  it  than  any 
company.  It  went  into  the  battle  of  Chickasaw  Bayou  with 
forty-seven  men  in  the  ranks,  and  of  these,  twenty-seven  were 
killed  or  wounded  and  twelve  killed. 

Captain  Cole  was  wounded  at  this  time.  He  resigned  his 
position  August  loth,  1863,  and  Lieutenant  Jenks  was  pro 
moted  to  the  captaincy,  and  was  with  the  company  to  the 
close  of  its  service. 

ROSTER. 

George  M.  Cole, 

Captain;  enlisted  from  Fentoii,  Whiteside  county,  111.;  and,  with 
the  regiment,  was  mustered  into  the  service,  May  24,  1861  ;  was 
wounded  at  Chickas.aw  Bayou,  December  29.  1862  ;  resigned  his 
position  August  10,  1863.  Has  since  lived  in  Illinois  and  Dakota. 
Latest  address,  Morrison,  111. 
William  M.  Jenks, 

First-lieutenant;  born  February  20,  1834,  at  Warren,  Pa.;  enlisted 
from  Morrison,  111.;  mustered  with  the  regiment;  promoted  captain 
of  Company  G  August  10,  1863;  mustered  out  June  18,  1864  has 
since  lived  in  Illinois  and  Kansas.  Latest  address  is  1012  Twenty- 
first  Street,  Sacramento,  Cal. 

Silas  M.Jackson, 

Second- lieutenant ;  enlisted  from  Morrison,  111.;  mustered  with  the 
regiment  at  Dixou,  111.,  May  24,  1861  ;  promoted  first-lieutenant 
August  10,  1863,  and  mustered  out  June  18,  1864. 

Marvin  C.  Goodwin, 

First-sergeant ;  enlisted  from  Morrison,  111. ;  mustered  with  the 
regiment  at  Dixon ;  promoted  to  quartermaster's  sergeant  Septem 
ber  12,  1863;  mustered  out  February  2,  1864.  There  was  no  trouble  to 
hear  Goodwin  when  he  called  Company  G  to  fall-in  for  roll-call. 

George  H.  Drake, 

Sergeant;  enlisted  from  Fair  Haven,  Carroll  county,  111.;  mustered 
in  with  the  regiment  May  24,  1861 ;  mustered  out  June  18,  1864,  as 
sergeant.  Drake  was  always  on  hand  and  heard  from ;  is  stiff  in 
politics,  and  takes  no  man's  sauce;  has  been  deputy  sheriff  of 
Whiteside  county.  Present  address,  Sterling,  111. 


CAIT.   WILLIAM    M.    JKNKS. 
Company  G. 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY.  537 

Abram  P.  Anthony, 

Sergeant:  enlisted  from  Morrison,  111.;  mustered  with  regiment  at 

Dixon;  mustered  out  June  18,  1864. 
Frederick  M.  Cole, 

Sergeant;  enlisted  from  Lyndon,  mustered  with  regiment  May  24, 

1861 ;  promoted  to  adjutant  of  Wood's  Cavalry  June  i,  1862. 
James   W.  Gilmore, 

Sergeant;  enlisted   from   Lyndon;   mustered  May   24,    1861.      Dis 
charged  April  24,  1862,  on  account  of  disability. 
Charles  Stiles, 

Corporal;  enlisted  from  Morrison ;  mustered  May  24,  1861 ;  promoted 

to  sergeant  and  transferred  to  Signal  Corps,  September  12,  1863. 
William  H.  H.  Jones, 

Corporal  ;  enlisted  from  Mount  Pleasant  ;  mustered  May  24,  1861  ; 

promoted  to  sergeant ;  mustered  out  June  18,  1864  ;  afterward  com 
missioned   in   another   regiment.      At   present    doing    business    at 

Marshaltown,  Iowa. 
Thomas  J.  Kennedy, 

Corporal  ;  born  in  Greenwich,  New  York  ;  age  nineteen  ;  enlisted 

from  Mount  Pleasant ;  mustered  with  the  regiment ;  killed  at  charge 

at  Chickasaw  Bayou,  December  29,  1892. 
Charles  A.  Montgomery, 

Corporal  ;  enlisted  from  Garden  Plains  ;  mustered  May  24,  1861  ; 

mustered  out  June  18  1864  as  corporal. 
Edward  A.  Watson, 

Corporal  ;  enlisted  from  Unionville  ;  mustered  with  the  regiment  at 

Dixon  ;  deserted  February  i,  1863. 
Aaron  B.  Jackson, 

Corporal  :   enlisted   from    Morrison  ;  mustered  with   the  regiment 

May  24,  1861  ;  died  November  30,  1861. 
John  Niblock, 

Corporal ;  enlisted  from  Fulton  ;  mustered  May  24,  1862  ;  mustered 

out  June  18,  1864. 
Samuel  G.  Johnson, 

Corporal  ;    enlisted    from    Morrison  ;    mustered    May    24,     1861  ; 

mustered  out  June  18,  1864. 
George  W.  Alexander, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Morrison  ;  mustered  May  24,  1862  ;  mustered 

out  Febuary  2,  1865.  « 

Robert  S,  Anthony, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Morrison  ;   mustered   May   24,    1861  ;    died 

December  19,  1861. 
Ferdinand  Angelope, 

Private  ;  enlisted   from   Morrison  ;    mustered  with    the  regiment  ; 

mustered  out  June  18,  1864.     Residence,  Fulton,  Illinois. 


HISTORY    OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

Stephen  E.  Austin, 

Private  ;  born  in  Pine,  Pennsylvania  ;  age  eighteen  ;  enlisted  from 
Dixon  •  mustered  May  24,  1861  ;  fought  at  Chickasaw  Bayou, 
Mississippi  ;  wounded  December  29,  1862,  and  died  from  his  wounds 
January  23,  1863. 

Henry  D.  Alden, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Lane  ;  mustered  May  29,  1861  ;  died  Novem 
ber  5,  1861. 

Deloss  W.  Back  hits, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Lane  :  mustered  May  26,  1861  ;  mustered  out 
June  19,  1864  ;  died  at  his  residence,  84  Park  Avenue,  Chicago, 
Feburary  14,  1891,  aged  fifty-four  years. 

Sylvester  Boldry. 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Mount  Pleasant  ;  mustered  May  24,  at 
Dixon  ,  died  February  12,  1863, 

Milan  E.  Bonney, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Lyndon,  Illinois  ;  mustered  May  24,  1861  ; 
deserted  January  12,  1863. 

Alvin  Bartholomew, 

Private  ;  born  in  Morrisville,  Ohio  ;  age  eighteen  ;  enlisted  from 
Mount  Pleasant  ;  mustered  May  24,  1861  ;  killed  in  action  at 
Chickasaw  Bayou  December  29,  1862. 

Frederick  Babcock^ 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  St.  Charles;  mustered  June  6,  1861 ;  promoted 
to  corporal  ;  mustered  out  June  18,  1864.  Present  address,  not 
known.  Has  been  commander  of  a  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic 
Post  in  that  city. 

William  Buckley, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Morgan  county  Missouri  ;  mustered  October 
20,  1861,  and  deserted  March  6,  1862, 

Lewis  H.  Barter, 

Private ;  enlisted  from  Lyndon  ;  mustered  May  24,  1861  ;  trans 
ferred  to  the  Invalid  Corps  September  i,  1863. 

Henry  Calauska, 

Private  ;  no  further  information  given  ;  no  report.  Present  address, 
Chanute,  Kansas. 

Frank  J.  Cole, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Fentou  ;  mustered  June  6,  iSji  ;  transferred 
to  the  Sixth  Missouri  Cavalry  as  adjutant,  February  15,  1862. 

Robert  COJT, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Morrison  ;  mustered  May  24,  1861  ;  Mustered 
out  June  18,  1864. 

Thomas  Comstock, 

Private  ;  born  in  Lockport,  New  York,  age  twenty  ;  enlisted  from 
Lyndon  ;  mustered  May  24,  1861  ;  killed  in  action  at  Chickasaw 
Bayou,  December  29,  1862. 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY.  539 

Leonard  Chessley, 

Private ;  born  in  Potstown,  New  York  ;  age  twenty  ;  enlisted  from 
Morrison  ;  mustered  May  24,  1861  ;  died  July  30,  1863,  in  camp  at 
Vicksburg,  of  fever. 

Edwin  K.  Chamberlain, 

Private  ;  enlisted   from  Lyndon  ;  mustered  May  24,  1861,  and  mus 
tered  out  June  18,  1864,  as  corporal.     Latest  address,  Panama,  Iowa. 
William  Gri swell, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  St.  Louis,  Missouri  ;  mustered  August  8,  1861  ; 
transferred  to  Company  I,  Fifty-sixth  Illinois  Infantry. 

John  E.  Clark, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  St.  Charles  ;  mustered  June  6,  1861  ;  de 
serted  March  9,  1862. 

John  P.  Che s ley, 

Private  ;  Morrison  ;  mustered  May  24  ;  deserter  January  12,  1863. 

Sew  all  Chamberlain, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Fenton,  and  mustered  December  22,  1861, 
and  transferred  to  Company  I,  Fifty-sixth  Illinois  Infantry,  as  cor 
poral  ;  mustered  out  June  8,  1865.  Present  address,  Panama,  Iowa. 

Albert  Duffin, 

Private  ;  Enlisted  from  Morrison,  Illinois,  and  mustered  May  24, 
1861  ;  deserted  February  i,  1863. 

Fayette  DeGroot, 

Private  ;  born  in  Centerville,  Ohio  ;  age  twenty  ;  enlisted  from  Mor 
rison,  and  mustered  May  24,  1861  ;  killed  in  action  at  Chickasaw 
Bayou,  December  29,  1862. 

Charles  Daw, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Garden  Plains  and  mustered  May  24,  1861  ; 
mustered  out  June  18,  1864. 

John  Dennis, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Licking,  Misouri  ;  mustered  August  3,  1861  ; 
Transferred  to  Company  I,  Fifty-sixth  Illinois  Infantry  as  sergeant. 
Present  address,  Fresno,  California. 

Lewis  Echhart, 

Private  ;  that's  all  we  have. 

Anthony  M.  French, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Mount  Pleasant,  and  mustered  May  24,  1861. 
Died  March  17,  1864. 

Benjamin  Fry, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Clyde,  Michigan,  and  mustered  May  24,  1861  ; 
mustered  out  October  7,  1864.  Latest  address,  Sabetha,  Kansas. 

Hiram  C.  Frisky, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  St.  Charles,  and  mustered  June  6,  1861,  and 
died  September  25,  1863. 


540  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

William  Garlick, 

Private ;  enlisted  from  Morrison,  111. ;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861 ; 
mustered  out  June  2,  1865.  Present  address,  600  Edwards  street, 
Kansas  City,  Mo. 

William  Golden, 

Private;  enlisted  from  Prophetstown,  111';  mustered  in  May  24,  1861 ; 
veteranized  and  transferred  to  Company  I,  Fifty-sixth  Illinois 
Infantry.  .  . 

Thaddeus  Graves, 

Priva  e;  enlisted  from  Union ville;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861 ;  mus 
tered  out  June  18,  1864. 

Samuel  Genung, 

Private;  enlisted  from  Dixon;  mustered  May  24,  1861;  died  April  3, 
1863,  from  wounds.  « 

Leroy  Genung, 

Private;  enlisted  from  Dixon;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861 ;  mustered 
out  June  1 8,  1864. 

Warren  Genung, 

Private;  enlisted  from  Dixon;  mustered  May  24,  1861 ;  mustered  out 
June  1 8,  1864.  Address,  Pine  Hills,  Wis. 

Fennimore  Hardy, 

Private;  enlisted  from  Morrison;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861;  trans 
ferred  to  invalid  corps,  September  I,  1863. 

Frederick  Hawes, 

Private;  enlisted  from  Unionville;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861,  at 
Dixon;  mustered  out  June  18,  1864,  as  corporal.  Latest  address  178 
1 6th  street,  Detroit,  Mich. 

George  Humphrey, 

Private;  enlisted  from  Clyde;  mustered  May  24,  1861 ;  discharged  by 
order  of  court-martial.  Latest  address,  Granada,  Kansas. 

fames  Harlan, 

Priv  te;  enlisted  from  Fenton ;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861 ;  dis 
charged  by  order  of  court-martial. 

Samuel  Huber, 

Private;  enlisted  from  Anamosa,  Iowa;  mustered  in  May  25,  1861 ; 
mustered  out  June  18,  1864. 

John  E.  Hayes, 

Private;  born  in  New  Orleans,  La.;  age  eighteen  years;  enlisted 
from  Dixon;  mustered  in  May  24,  1681 ;  killed  in  action  at  Chicka- 
saw  Bayou,  December  29,  1862. 

Adam  C.  Hartzell, 

Private;  no  further  information  given  in  the  adjutant-general's 
report. 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY.  54! 

James  H.  Holt, 

Private ;  enlisted  from  Lyndon ;  mustered  in  June  6,  1861 ;  transferred 
to  Boweu's  Cavalry,  September  i,  1861. 

Addison  Jackson, 

Private;  enlisted  from  Mount  Pleasant:  mustered  in  May  24,  1861; 
wounded  at  Ringgold,  Ga.,  November  27;  died  December  i,  1863. 

Frank  Johnson, 

Born  in  Sweden;  age  nineteen  years;  private;  enlisted  from  Lyn 
don;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861;  killed  in  action  at  Chickasaw  Bayou 
December  29,  1862. 

Hugh  L.  Kendall, 

Private;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861.     Address,  Washington,  Iowa. 

Albert  Kendall, 

Private;  Lodi,  111. ;  mustered  in,  June  6,  1861;  mustered  out  June  18, 
1864. 

Henry  A.  Kennedy, 

Private;  enlisted  from  Mount  Pleasant;  mustered  in,  August  29, 
1861;  transferred  to  Company  I,  Fifty-sixth  Illinois  Infantry.  Latest 
address,  Grand  Island,  Neb. 

George  A.  Leiser, 

Private;  enlisted  from  Lyndon;  mustered  in,  May  24,  1861;  deserted 
November  21,  1862. 

William  H.  Ladler, 

Private;  enlisted  from  Morrison;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861;  mus 
tered  out  June  18,  1864.  Latest  address,  Morrison,  111. 

Charles  Lewis, 

Private;  enlisted  from  Lyndon;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861 ;  veteran 
ized  and  assigned  to  Company  I,  Fifty-sixth  Illinois  Infantry.  Latest 
address,  West  Gate,  Iowa. 
John  Linguin, 

Private;  enlisted  from  Dixon ;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861 ;  deserted 
October  27,  1862. 

Richard  McGee, 

Private;  enlisted  from  Unionville;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861 ;  dis. 
charged  October  29,  1862  for  disability.  Present  address,  Washing 
ton,  Iowa. 

George  Mclntosh, 

Private;  enlisted;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861 ;  deserted  January  20, 
1863. 

Rodney  S.  Miller, 

Private:  no  further  record  in  adjutant-general's  report. 
James  Markhatn, 

Private;  enlisted  from  Rhode  Island;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861; 
transferred  to  invalid  corps  September  i,  1863.  Latest  address, 
Woodland,  Kansas. 


542  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

Charles  Myers, 

Private;  enlisted  from  St.  Louis  ;  mustered  in  June  15,  1861 ;  deserted 
July  10,  1862. 

David  Nichols, 

Private;  enlisted  from  Lyndon;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861 ;  died  Feb 
ruary  26,  1862. 

George  O' Conner, 

Private;  no  more  record  found. 

John  O*  Brian, 

Private;  enlisted  from  St.  Charles;  mustered  in  June  6,  1861 ;  mus 
tered  out  June  8,  1865. 

Charles    W.  Potter, 

Private;  enlisted  from  Fenton ;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861 ;  veteran 
ized.  Latest  address,  Ainsworth,  Neb. 

William  Proll, 

Private;  enlisted  from  Morrison;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861 ;  died 
December  27,  1861. 

Thurston  D.  Pratt, 

Private:  enlisted  from  Lyndon;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861 :  mustered 

out  June  18,  1864  as  corporal.     Latest  address,  Harlau,  Iowa. 
John  G.  Penny, 

Piivate;  enlisted    from  Fenton    mustered  in  May  24,  1861.     Latest 

address,  Soldier's  Home,  Marshalltown,  Iowa. 

James  A.  Peck, 

Private;  enlisted  from  Morrison;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861 ;  drowned 
May  28,  1862. 

Patrick  Ponsonby, 

Private;  enlisted  from  St.  Charles;  mustered  in  June  6,  1861 ;  mus 
tered  out  June  2,  1865. 

Samuel  Pike, 

Private;  enlisted  from  St.  Charles;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861 ;  dis 
charged  for  disability. 

Charles  O.  Pratt, 

Private;  enlisted  from  Lyndon;  mustered  in  August  29,  1861 ;  dis 
charged  August  n,  1863,  for  disability. 

Henry  Russing, 

Private;  enlisted  from  Morrison;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861 ;  no   fur 
ther  information  available. 
John  C.  H.  Richards, 

Private ;  born  in  Roses,  Ohio ;  age  twenty  enlisted  from  Fair 
Haven  ;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  killed  in  action  at  Chickasaw 
Bayou  December  27,  1862. 


ILLINOIS    VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY.  543 

John  Robins, 

Private;  'born  in  Steuben  Co.,  N.  Y.,  age  twenty-eight,  enlisted  from 
Delhi;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  died  February  20,  1863,  of  fever, 
on  Hospital  Boat. 

George  Rogers, 

Private;  enlisted  from  St.  Charles;  mustered  June  6,  1861 ;  mustered 
out  June  18,  1865. 

Thomas  Riley, 

Private  ;  born  in  Ireland,  age  twenty  one,  enlisted  from  New  York ; 
mustered  June  20,  1801;  killed  in  action  at  Chickasaw  Bayou,  De 
cember  29,  1862. 

Peter  Savage, 

Private;  enlisted  from  Morrison;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  died 
at  Andersonville  June  13,  1864.  Grave,  No.  1902. 

Samuel  H.  Smith, 

Private;  enlisted  from  Morrison;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  mus 
tered  out  June  18,  1864,  as  corporal.  Latest  address,  Marshalltowu, 
Iowa. 

John  D.  Sperry, 

Private;  born  in  Lyndon,  111.,  age  nineteen,  enlisted  from  Lyndon; 
mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  killed  in  action  at  Chickasaw  Bayou, 
December  29,  1862. 

William  H.  Shear, 

Private;  enlisted  from  Morrison  ;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  mus 
tered  out  June  18,  1864.  Address,  Morrison,  111. 

John  TSimms, 

Private.     No  record  in  adjutant-general's  report. 

Jacob  Shufurt, 

Private;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861.  Blank  record  in  adjutant- 
general's  report. 

Albert  G  Scroder. 

Private;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861;  no  further  record. 

David  Symonds, 

Private;  enlisted  from  Morrison;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  trans 
ferred  to  Invalid  Corps  September  4,  1863. 

Almon  A.  Stevens, 

Private;  enlisted  from  St.  Charles;  mustered  June  6,  1861  ;  no 
account  of  his  discharge. 

Isaac  Shipman, 

Private;  enlisted  from  St.  Charles;  mustered  in  June  6,  1861  ;  died 
October  13,  1863. 

George  H.  Styles, 

Private;  enlisted  from  Lane;  mustered  in  June  15,  1861;  deserted 
October  13,  1863. 


544  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

Jacob  Snyder, 

Private;  enlisted  from  Maries  county,  Mo.;  mustered  August  3, 
1861 ;  transferred  to  Company  I,  Fifty-sixth  Illinois  Infantry. 

Orlin  E.  L.  Thurber, 

Private;  enlisted  from  Lyndon;  mustered  in^Iay  24,  1861  ;  deserted 
December  24,  1861. 

John  B.  Taylor, 

Private  ;  no  further  record  in  the  adjutant-general's  report. 

William  Vaugn, 

Private ;  enlisted  from  Fulton ;  mustered  in  May  24,  2861.  Dis 
charged  August  n,  1863,  for  disability. 

George  Wilson, 

Private;  enlisted  from  Morrison  ;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  mus 
tered  out  June  18,  1864. 

William  P.  Wilson, 

Private;  enlisted  from  Morrison;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861. 
Deserted. 

All  nits  A.  Winters, 

Private;  enlisted  from  Morrison;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861 ;  dis 
charged  August  n,  1863,  for  disability.  Present  address,  Walnut, 
111. 

David  A.  Whited, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Lyndon  ;  mustered  in  May  24,    1861. 

Charles  Weaver, 

Private ;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861,  but  no  further  record  in  adju-. 
tant-general's  report. 

COMPANY  H. 

Company  H  of  the  Thirteenth  Regiment  sprang  into 
being,  as  a  result  of  the  spontaneous  uprising  of  loyal  men  all 
through  the  Free  States,  in  the  spring  of  1861. 

It  seems  ne\er  to  have  existed  in  embryo,  but  to  have 
organized  in  full  panoply,  and  marched  to  the  field  direct 
from  the  homes  of  its  brave  men. 

ROSTER. 

Benjamin  F.  Parks, 

Captain  ;  Aurora  ;  Mustered  May  24,  1861  ;  promoted  lieutenant- 
colonel.  Present  address,  Soldiers'  Home,  Milwaukee,  Wisconsin. 


A.  H.  SIBLEY  and  RANDOLPH  MOSTOW 
Company  H. 


CAPT.  ETHAN  A  PRICHARD. 
Company  H. 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  545 

George  H.  Gardner, 

Captain  ;  enlisted  Aurora,  Illinois  ;  mustered  May  24,  1861  ,  dis 
missed  September  3,  1862  ;  no  pay  ;  reinstated  ;  died  January  5, 
1863  ;  presented  with  a  fine  sword  by  Company  H  ;  was  universally 
liked  and  respected  for  kindness  and  fair  treatment  ;  was  a  brave, 
true  soldier. 

Edwin  Wendt, 

First-lieutenant;  was  mustered  May  24,  i86r,  as  first-lieutenant; 
promoted  captain  March  2,  1863  ;  mustered  out  June  18,  1864  ;  has 
since  been  in  the  barber  business  in  various  cities.  Present  address, 
Marshalltown,  Iowa. 

Ethan  E.  Pritchard, 

Lieutenant ;  residence,  Aurora,  Illinois  ;  mustered  May  24,  1861  ; 
promoted  first-lieutenant  January  5,  1853  ;  mustered  March  2,  1863  ; 
mustered  out  June  18,  1864  ;  was  especially  noted  for  good  conduct 
in  battle  ;  died  at  his  residence  in  Aurora  from  exposure  in  army 
and  grief  at  loss  of  his  little  boy  who  was  drowned  in  Fox  River, 
in  the  winter  of  1864  and  1865. 

Jesse  D.  Pierce, 

First-sergeant  ;  promoted  to  ensign  ;  date  of  muster  May  24,  1861  ; 
promoted  to  second-lieutenant  January  5,  1863  ;  mustered  out  June 
18,  1864  ;  was  stunned  by  a  bursting  shell  and  taken  prisoner  at 
Chickasaw  Bayou,  December  29,  1863  ;  was  a  generous,  clever,  and 
superior  man  ;  born  in  Delaware  County,  Pennsylvania,  April  21, 
1822.  Address,  I/eavenworth,  Kansas. 

William  Lara  be, 

Sergeant  ;  residence  Aurora  ;  mustered  May  24,  1861  ;  mustered  out 
June  18,  1864. 

George  B.  Putnam, 

Sergeant  ;  Aurora,  Illinois  ;  mustered  May  24,  1861  ;  promoted  first- 
sergeant  June  5,  1863  ;  mustered  out  June  18,  1864.  A  thorough 
little  orderly  ;  did  his  duty  and  always  was  obliging  ;  particularly 
distinguished  himself  at  Ringgold  by  keeping  down  the  rebel  can 
noneers,  by  firing  from  a  window  in  the  log-house  on  the  left  center 
of  the  regimental  line,  with  Milton,  Sheer  and  several  others  ; 
served  in  all  battles. 

John  Woodard, 

Sergeant;  Aurora,  Illinois  ;  mustered  May  24,  1861.  Known  as 
"  Cattaraugus  ";  discharged  October  9,  1861, 

Dexter  L.  Watson, 

Sergeant ;  residence  Lodi,  111  ;  mustered  May  24,  1861  ;  wounded  at 
Chickasaw  Bayou  December  29,  1862  ;  died  January  n,  1863  of 
wounds  ;  was  a  bright  soldier. 


546  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

James  B.  Lowry, 

Bristol,  Illinois:  mustered  May  24,  1861  ;  promoted  to  sergeant; 
was  a  good  soldier,  saw  hard  marching  and  all  the  battles  of  the 
Thirteenth  ;  always  ready  for  duty.  Present  address,  Pullman, 
Illinois.  W 

Eli  H.  Holly, 

Aurora,  Illinois  ;  mustered  May  24,  1861  ;  mustered  out  June  18, 
1864  ;  promoted  to  sergeant  ;  born  August  28,  1830,  at  Big  Flat-s, 
York  State  ;  wounded  at  Chickasaw  Bayou  December  29,  1862  ;  kind 
and  obliging,  universally  liked  by  Company  H  ;  good  soldier. 
Present  address,  Ottumwa,  Iowa. 

George  Meyers, 

Aurora,  Illinois  ;  mustered  May  24,  1861,  as  corporal  ;  discharged 
March  25,  1864,  disability  ;  detached  as  clerk  June  20,  1863,  to 
quartermaster  division  headquarters.  After  an  illness  of  two  years 
he  died  at  Aurora,  Illinois,  1864,  from  injuries  received  in  the 
service. 

Lucius  W.  S  mead  ley, 

Bristol,  Illinois;  mustered  May  24,  1861  ;  discharged  January  27, 
1863.  Corporal  Smeadley  was  always  complaining,  but  was  a  good 
soldier. 

Mahomb  G.  Clark, 

Corporal  ;  Big  Rock  ;  mustered  May  24,  1861  ;  mustered  out  June 
18,  1864;  born  1826  at  Williston,  Vermont.  "Old  Mack"  was 
somewhat  on  hunting  good  forage  in  the  travels  through  Missouri 
and  Tennessee.  Mack  wanted  "good  grub."  He  was  a  good 
soldier.  Present  residence,  Lura,  Russell  county,  Kansas. 

Rodney  Jay, 

Residence  Sugar  Grove,  Illinois  ;  mustered  May  24,  1861.  Corporal 
Jay  was  taken  prisoner  at  Madison  Station,  Alabama,  May  17,  1864; 
made  a  drawing  of  Castle  Morgan  Prison  on  oil-cloth  blanket,  which 
was  afterwards  photographed  ;  never  recovered  the  hardships  of 
prison  life.  Was  a  prompt  and  active  soldier.  Died  in  California. 

Henry  K.  Allison, 

Corporal  ;  residence  Aurora,  Illinois ;  mustered  May  24,  1861  ;  trans 
ferred  to  Invalid  corps,  January  15,  1864.  Present  address,  Minne 
apolis,  Minnesota. 

Frank  G.  W  hippie, 

Corporal  ;  residence  St.  Charles  ;  mustered  May  24,  1861  ;  mustered 
out  June  18,  1864  ;  served  as  orderly  for  Wyman  to  December  1862  ; 
served  in  H  Company  with  musket  at  Chicaksaw  Bayr  u,  Lookout 
Mountain,  Missionary  Ridge,  and  Ringgold  ;  detailed  as  quarter 
master  clerk  with  quartermaster  Flint,  brigade  Quartermaster  ; 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY.  547 

taken  prisoner  at  Madison  Station,  Alabama  ;  escaped  at  Okalona, 
Mississippi,  June  i.  The  boys  were  surprised  to  see  him  walk 
into  Camp  Butler  June  17,  dressed  in  an  old  rebel  cavalry  jacket 
and  butternut  pants.  He  also  served  one  year  in  Hancock's  Veteran 
Corps.  Present  address,  Leavenworth,  Kansas. 

Edwin  W.  Loomis, 

Musician  ;  residence  at  St.  Charles  ;  mustered  May  24,  1861  ;  dis 
charged  January  10,  1863.  All  the  Thirteenth  remember  Edwin  and 
his  clarionet.  Present  address,  Prophetstown,  Illinois. 

Frank  Brown, 

Musician  ;  residence,  Aurora,  Illinois  ;  mustered  May  24,  1861  ;  de 
serted  May  24,  1863. 

Orrin   V.  Anderson, 

Aurora,  111 ;  mustered  May  24,  1861  ;  mustered  out  June  18,  1864. 
The  boys  will  always  remember  Orriu  with  his  pleasant  ways  and 
lively  disposition.  Anderson,  Captain  Everest  and  others  furnished 
the  camp  with  many  pleasant  songs. 

Lendrum  Armstrong, 

Aurora  ;  mustered  May  24,  1861  ;  deserted  May  4,  1863. 

Benjamin  F.  Brisben, 

Aurora,  Illinois  ;  mustered  May  24,  1861  ;  transferred  Company  I 
September  i,  1863  ;  wounded  and  taken  prisoner  at  Chickasaw  Bayou 
December  29,  1862  ;  up  to  that  time  served  with  company  ;  a  gallant 
soldier.  On  December  29,  1862,  while  in  file  in  rear  rank,  he  said  as 
regiment  lay  awaiting  order  to  charge  the  Vicksburg  Fort,  "  I  wrould 
not  go  in  there  for  one  million  dollars,"  and  answered,  said,  "  You 
don't  think  I  am  not  going  with  the  company,  I  mean  I  would  not 
go  for  one  million  dollars,  rud  would  not  stay  back  for  a  million." 
In  forty  minutes  both  his  legs  were  broken,  and  he  was  a  prisoner  in 
rebel  hands.  Up  to  1886  he  received  no  pension.  Residence, 
Churches  Corners,  Hillsdale  county,  Michigan. 

George  Beardsley, 

Shabonna  Grove;  mustered  May  24,  1861.  Died  October  21,  1861, 
at  St.  Louis,  Mo. 

Albert  O.  Beardsley, 

Aurora,  Illinois;  mustered  May  24,  1861  ;  mustered  out  June  18, 
1864  ;  seriously  wounded  at  Chickasaw  Bayou,  December  28,  1862; 
wounded  again  at  Ringgold,  Georgia,  November  27,  1863  ;  gallant 
soldier.  Present  address,  Cascadeville,  Essex  county,  N.  Y. 

Thomas  L.  Burt, 

Aurora  ;  mustered  May  24,  1861  ;  mustered  out  June  18,  1864.  Tom 
could  find  fault  with  hard  bread,  beans,  officers  and  the  world,  but 
was  on  hand  for  duty.  Present  address,  Harrison,  Mich. 


548  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

Merrill  F.  Boomer, 

Bristol  ;  born  iu  Charleston,  Mass.;  age  22  ;  mustered  May  24,  1861  ; 
seriously  wounded  at  Chickasavv  Bayou,  December  29,  1862  ;  pro 
moted  to  corporal ;  sent  to  hospital  on  hospital  boat  from  Vicks- 
burg,  and  died  on  the  way  up  the  river,  January  5,  1863. 

Eugene  A.  Brownell, 

St.  Charles  ;  mustered  May  24,  1861  ;  mustered  out  June  18,  1864. 
Detailed  to  a  medical  department.  Was  sunstruck  at  Fairview, 
Arkansas,  1862.  A  good  soldier.  Present  address,  St.  Charles, 
Illinois.  Since  the  war  has  been  engaged  in  the  manufacturing  of 
paper,  is  married,  has  five  children  and  is  also  called  grandfather  ; 
in  civil  honors,  he  has  not  been  overlooked,  as  the  following 
enumeration  will  show  :  town  commissioner,  highway  commis 
sioner,  school  director,  alderman  and  postmaster  for  six  years. 

Edwin  H,  Bab  cock, 

Aurora,  111. ;  born  in  Ravenna,  Ohio;  age  20  ;  mustered  May  24,  1861. 
Died  June  6,  1863,  of  wound  received  at  Jackson,  Mississippi.  A 
conservative,  reliable  soldier  and  good  companion. 

George  Bank  son, 

Mustered  May  24,  1861  ;  discharged  April  30,  1863. 

Ebenezer  B.  Baird, 

Aurora  ;  mustered  May  24,  1861  ;  mustered  out  June  18,  1864.  A 
small  puny  fellow,  but  a  good  soldier  and  forager  ;  occupied  a  berth 
behind  a  pig-pen  at  Ringgold  in  which  one  hog  was  killed  and  the 
other  wounded,  but  Ebenezer  never  received  a  scratch. 

Thomas  Bexon, 

Aurora  ;  mustered  May  24,  1861  ;  mustered  out  June  18,  1864.  Tom 
had  several  severe  attacks  of  fever,  weak  and  puny  naturally,  but  in 
battle  and  on  the  march,  a  soldier.  He  would  stand  for  an  hour  at 
White  river,  and  shoot  fish  for  his  mess  to  which  I  belonged.  It 
was  great  enjoyment  for  him,  he  being  a  good  shot.  At  the  battle 
of  Missionary  Ridge  after  we  were  ordered  to  charge  the  rebels,  a 
six-foot  rebel  tried  to  run  away  ;  then  faced  us,  and  held  up  both 
hands  to  surrender,  having  passed  through  our  lines  by  Tom — "Am 
I  safe,"  he  cried.  "Can't  you  thee  ?  Courth  you  are,"  said  Tom, 
who  lisped.  It  seemed  to  me  remarkable,  a  giant  and  a  dwarf,  but 
the  dwarf  was  a  lion.  At  Madison  Station,  Tom  hid  in  a  tree  top 
and  escaped  capture.  He  served  in  our  hardest  battles.  Accident 
ally  killed  at  Aurora,  Illinois. 

Alfred  Barnes, 

Sugar  Grove  ;  mustered  May  24,  1861  ;  mustered  out  June  7,  1865  ; 
was  taken  prisoner  at  Chickasaw  Bayou,  December  29,  1862  ;  and 
again  taken  prisoner  at  Madison  Station,  Alabama,  May  17,  1864  ; 


EBENEZER  B.  BAIRD. 
Company  H. 


EDGAR    L.    CURRIKK. 
Company  H. 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  549 

taken  to  Castle  Morgan,  Cahaba,  Alabama,  and  at  Meriden,  Mis 
sissippi.  A  whole-souled  comrade.  Present  address,  Dows  Prairie, 
Humboldt  county,  California. 

fames  Cliggett, 

Oswego  ;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  mustered  out  June  18,  1864,  as 
corporal  ;  wounded  and  taken  prisoner  at  Chickasaw  Bayou  Decem 
ber  29,  1862  Jim,  four  others  and  myself  slept  under  the  pilot 
house  on  the  Warner  going  to  Vicksburg,  but  going  to  Arkansas 
Post  there  were  but  three  of  us.  Three  were  left  on  that  bloody 
field  wounded  at  Chickasaw.  Present  address,  Chamberlain,  South 
Dakota. 

Geo.  E.  Conklin, 

St.  Charles;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  mustered  out  June  2,  1865  ; 
taken  prisoner  May  17,  1864  ;  imprisoned  at  Castle  Morgan,  Cahaba, 
Ala. ;  escaped  from  train,  was  fired  on  by  guards  and  recaptured  ; 
escaped  from  Castle  Morgan,  and  again  taken.  He  was  a  genial 
good  fellow.  Present  address,  De  Soto,  Mo. 

Guy  Clark, 

Big  Rock  ;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  mustered  out  June  16,  1864; 
Promoted  to  corporal ;  Guy  was  Co.  Commissary  and  a  good  one. 
Present  address,  Aurora,  111. 

Walter  B.  Corthell, 

Big  Rock;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  mustered  out  June  18,  1864. 
Walt  could  always  tell  when  he  was  well  fed.  He  was  a  good 
soldier. 

Philander  C.  Co  star, 

Aurora  ;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  rather  too  easy  for  campaign 
ing,  but  a  good  soldier.  Present  residence,  Bristol,  111. 

William  Cheatham, 

Aurora,  111.;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  mustered  out  June  18,  1864  ; 
easy  and  quiet  but  on  hand  for  duty  and  hardship,  he  served  in  our 
hardest  battles.  Present  address,  Malta,  111. 

Frank    W.  Cushing, 

Aurora,  111.;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  mustered  out  June  18,  1864; 
born  1843,  Aurora,  111.;  very  efficient  soldier;  Commander  of  Far- 
ragut  Post,  No.  4,  Department  of  California  G.  A.  R.,  1869,  1872; 
Deputy  Postmaster  of  Oakland,  Cal.,  1876  to  1879  inclusive  ;  is  now 
a  clerk  in  the  office  of  collector  of  customs,  Port  of  San  Francisco, 
Cal. 

Edgar  L,  Currier, 

St.  Charles;  mustered  itt  May  24,  1861  ;  mustered  out  Jane  8,  1865. 
Ed.  was  taken  prisoner  at  Madison  Station,  Ala.,  May  17,  1864,  im 
prisoned  at  Cahaba,  Ala.,  and  in  other  prisons.  Ed.  fought  in  every 


550  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

engagement  the  Thirteenth  participated  in.  No  braver  soldier 
served,  and  he  was  a  good  shot,  cool  and  firm.  Residence,  Mallette, 
Spink  county.  Dak. 

Noah  Sharp  Cramer, 

Aurora,  111. ;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  discharged  October  21, 
1862  ;  general  court  marshal.  Sharp  was  a  sport,  many  a  trick  he 
put  up.  He  and  wicked  Eddy,  when  in  Missouri,  shaved  Captain 
Weudt's  pony's  tail  until  it  resembled  the  old  sign  in  front  of  the 
captain's  barber  shop  before  he  enlisted.  Present  address,  Wash 
ington,  N.  Y. 

Bar  I  ley  Dein, 

Aurora,  111.:  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  mustered  out  June  18,  1864; 
born  in  Ireland ;  a  reliable,  number  one  .soldier.  He  married  and 
settled  in  JefFersonville,  Ind.,  in  1865.  Was  pleasant  and  in  good 
humor  all  the  time,  wet  or  dry. 

Peter  Doug  dale, 

Aurora,  Illinois,  .mustered  May  24,  1861  ;  discharged  April  22,  1863, 
for  disability.  "Peter  the  irrepressible"  little  Irishman,  a  great 
sport  that  will  never  be  forgotten  by  the  Thirteenth,  while  any 
of  them  survive.  All  probably  recollect  our  dog  "  Salem "  for 
whom  the  Thirteenth,  was  so  willing  to  stand  up.  How  many  of 
the  boys  know  that  when  we  marched  out  of  the  town  of  Salem, 
Arkansas,  Pete  made  his  exit  with  a  pup  carefully  concealed  in  his 
blouse  ;  the  boys  took  turns  in  carrying  him.  In  a  day  or  two  we 
got  him  in  a  wagon  and  he  soon  became  the  regiment  dog.  All  the 
boys  owned  "  Salem." 

Watterman  Da  Lee, 

Aurora,  Illinois;  mustered  May  24,  1861  ;  mustered  out  June  18, 
1864.  Watterman  was  captain  Wendt's  clerk  and  a  good  soldier  for 
duty  when  called  upon  ;  serving  with  musket  all  the  time. 

John  M.  Eddy, 

St.  Charles,  Kane  county,  Illinois  ;  born  April  29,  1842  ;  mustered 
May  2 1,  1861  ;  mustered  out  June  18,  1864;  served  with  company 
until  detailed  January  1863,  on  medical  staff;  was  in  battles  of  Wet 
Glaze  and  marched  to  Pea  Ridge  and  Helena  ;  participated  in  every 
battle  with  regiment,  including  Chickasaw,  Bayou  and  Arkansas 
Post.  John  was  one  of  the  boys.  From  date  of  muster  out  of  ser 
vice  until  March  1866,  attended  college  ;  entered  railway  service  in 
March  1866  ;  from  March  1866  to  July  1872  was  chairman,  rodman, 
cashier  and  auditor  engineering  department,  general  town  lot  agent 
and  assistant  chief  engineer  Union  Pacific  Railway  ;  July  1872  to 
November  1873,  superintendent  construction  Texas  and  Pacific 
Railway  ;  December  15,  1873  to  December  14  1883.  president  Fort 
Worth  and  Denver  City  Railway  Company  ;  September  1877  to 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  551 

January  1878,  superintendent  and  chief  engineer  Omaha  and  Re 
publican  Valley  Road  ;  Jaunuary  1878  to  November  1879.  general 
agent,  freight,  passenger  and  land  departments,  Kansas,  Pacific  and 
Atchison,  Topeka  and  Santa  Fe  roads  ;  was  in  Chicago  Illinois  ; 
November  1879  to  November  1880  ;  general  superintendent  con 
struction  Missouri  Pacific,  and  Missouri,  Kansas  and  Texas  rail 
ways  in  Texas  ;  November  1880  to  July  1883,  superintendent  Mis 
souri,  Kansas  and  Texas  railways  in  Texas  ;  July  1883  to  November 
1883,  superintendent,  Texas  and  Pacific  railway  ;  December  i,  1883 
to  May  15,  1888,  general  manager  Omaha  Belt  railway  ;  May  15, 
iSSS,  to  February  n,  1889,  general  manager  International  and  Great 
Northern  road  ;  appointed  receiver  of  International  road,  February 
n,  1889.  Died  at  Pasadena,  California,  January  1891  of  hemorrhage 
of  the  lungs. 

Edwin  M.  Emerson, 

Aurora,  Illinois ;  mustered  May  24,  1861  ;  transferred  as  second- 
lieutenant  Tenth  .Missouri  Cavalry. 

Geo  W.  Fikes, 

Montgomery;  mustered  May  24,  1871  ;  mustered  out  June  7,  1885  ; 
Born  1837  in  York  State.  Geo,  was  one  of  the  men  to  be  counted 
for  duty.  When  Company  H  left  camp,  May  22,  1863  to  charge  the 
works  at  Vicksburg,  Geo.,  who  was  that  day  Company  Cook,  said  ; 
'•Well  boys  you  will  get  your  dinner  to-day  just  on  time.''  We 
laughed,  but  at  noon  Fikes  appeared  with  a  colored  assistant  who 
carried  a  kettle  of  coffee  and  one  of  soup  on  a  pole ;  Fikes  walking 
behind  protesting  against  the  darkey  spilling  the  coffee.  Few  of 
the  soldiers  could  say  they  had  a  warm  dinner  on  May  22,  1863  at 
Vicksburg  ;  but  Company  H  did.  George  was  taken  prisoner  at 
Madison  Station,  Alabama,  May  17,  1864.  With  other  prisoners  at 
Cahaba,  Alabama,  he  captured  the  rebel  guards,  but  wras  found  out 
and  the  prison  guards  came  in.  They  turned  the  cannon  on  the 
prisoners  atid  threatened  to  fire  if  the  leaders  were  not  giveia  up, 
they  tried  starving  them  to  terms  but  finally  dropped  the  matter. 
Present  address,  Hoopstown,  Illinois. 

John  E.  Foster, 

Big  Rock  ;  mustered  May  24,  1861  ;  discharged  April  25,  1862,  for 
disability. 

John  Fisher, 

Big  Rock  ;  mustered  May  24,  1861  ;  missing  January  20,  1863. 
Henry  M.  Harms  talked  with  A.  H.  Sibley  and  wanted  him  to  go 
with  him  and  Huston,  and  some  boys  to  get  potatoes  and  country 
products,  on  that  to  them  fatal  day,  I  was  guarding  a  horse  on  the 
bank  of  the  river  and  could  not  go.  This  was  at  Griffith's  Lauding, 
Mississippi,  January  20,  1863.  I  consider  it  was  wrong  to  mark 


552  HISTORY    OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

them  de-erters.  Fisher  went  with  them.  They  had  no  idea  of 
deserting.  I  would  make  affidavit  to  this  an}-  time.  I  don't  want 
these  three  boys  marked  deserters  in  Company  H's  history. 

A.  H.  SIBLEY. 
James  Goo  dale,  • 

Montgomery ;  mustered  May  24,  1861  ;  discharged  September  18, 
1863,  for  disability.  James  was  a  good  soldier.  Present  address, 
Oak  Valley,  Kansas. 

Barney  Mines, 

Aurora ;  mustered  May  24,  1861  ;  wounded  at  Chickasaw  Bayou 
December  29,  1862.  A  good  fellow  and  was  discharged  for  disability 
August  12,  1863.  Present  address,  Foutanelle,  Iowa. 

Will.  A.  Hawley, 

Oswego  ;  mustered  May  24,  1861  ;  transferred  to  Company  I,  Fifty- 
sixth  Illinois,  January  15,  1864.  Present  address,  Meulo,  Guthrie 
County,  Iowa. 

Theodore  C.  Hayes, 

Bristol;  mustered  May  24,  1861  ;  mustered  out  June  18,  1864;  was  a 
rustler  for  chickens.  Present  address,  Dixon,  Carbon  County, 
Wyoming. 

Walter  S.  Hunt. 

Oswego,  Illinois  ;  mustered  May  24,  1861  ;  mustered  out  June  18, 
1864  ;  promoted  to  sergeant.  Present  address,  Emington,  Illinois. 

Isaac  P.  Hunt, 

Born  in  Litchfield  County,  Connecticut  ;  age  eighteen  ;  Bristol  ; 
mustered  May  24,  1861  ;  died  March  12,  1863,  of  wounds  recieved  at 
Chickasaw  Bayou,  Mississippi.  There  are  some  characters  natur 
ally  attractive  and  their  memory  is  sunshine.  Such  was  Isaac's. 
The  night  of  the  28th  and  29th  of  December  1862,  I  passed  oi 
picket  post  with  Isaac,  Purdy  and  Thatcher  ;  one  watched,  three 
cuddled  together  ;  we  had  no  fare  ;  what  a  time  we  had,  the  fellow 
in  the  middle  was  the  warmest.  How  merry  Isaac  was.  After  day 
light  how  we  laughed  over  the  scuffle  for  the  warmest  place  that 
night ;  this  was  Isaac's  last  night  without  suffering,  for  he  received  a 
horrible  wound  from  which  he  died  March  12,  1863. 

Henry  M.  Harmes,  * 

Sugar  Grove  ;  mustered  May  24,  1861  ;  missing  since  January  20, 
1863,  Griffith's  Landing,  Mississippi.  Harmes  was  a  great  boy  to 
forage  for  country  products,  always  ready  for  duty  ;  undoubtedly 
captured  and  killed. 

$  H.  Huntcon> 

Aurora  ;  mustered  May  24,  1861  ;  missing  since  January  20,  1863  at 
Griffith's  Landing  ;  wounded  at  Chickasaw  Bayou.  He  was  un 
doubtedly  murdered.  He  was  a  most  agreeable  companion. 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  553 

John  Hall, 

Aurora;  mustered  May  20,  1861  ;  discharged  January  n,  1863,  for 
disability.  Address,  Soldiers'  Home,  Leaven  worth,  Kansas. 

William  Irwin, 

Kendall  ;  mustered  May  24,  1861  ;  mustered  out  June  18.  1864,  as 
corporal.  Will  could  look  stern  ;  he  was  gobbling  some  beans 
through  a  window,  when  in  Tennessee,  on  the  march  for  Chatta 
nooga.  The  people  were  looking  at  the  army  pass  in  front  of  the 
house.  Will  was  in  the  rear  filling  his  haversack  when  the  woman 
of  the  house  walked  into  the  room.  Will  wanted  to  run  but  we 
needed  the  beans,  so  he  gave  her  a  terribly  fierce  look.  The  woman, 
being  scared,  said  nothing.  I  suppose  she  thought  she  got  off  cheaply. 

John  M.  Jolley, 

Aurora  ;  mustered  May  24,  1861  ;  transferred  in  Company  I,  Fifty- 
sixth  Illinois  March  15,  1864.  He  was  our  stand-by  teamster.  A 
faithful  comrade.  John  was  transferred  against  his  wish.  It  troubled 
him  but  he  had  to  go. 

Hen  ry  M.  Joh  nson , 

Big  Rock  ;  mustered  May  24,  1861  ;  transferred  to  Invalid  Corps,  Jan 
uary  15,  1864. 

Robert  S.  Johnson, 

Aurora  ;  mustered  May  24,  1861  ;  mustered  out  June  18,  1864.  Not 
strong  or  large,  but  a  good  soldier. 

Justus  J.  Ketcham, 

Bristol  ;  mustered  May  24,  1861  ;  mustered  out  June  7,  1865  ;  born  in 
Addison  county,  Vt. ;  promoted  to  corporal  ;  wounded  at  Chickasaw 
Bayou,  December  29,  1862.  Served  in  every  battle.  Was  captured 
May  17,,  1864,  at  Madison  Station,  Ala.  Present  residence,  Sacra 
mento,  California.  P.  O.  Box  No.  510. 

Eldorado  Knight \ 

St.  Charles  ;  born  St.  Charles,  1841  ;  mustered  May  24,  i§6i  ;  mus 
tered  out  June  18,  1864.  Was  detailed  as  musician  and  was  after 
wards  on  medical  staff;  served  on  the  river  and  at  Vicksburg.  Ray 
was  a  favorite  with  Company  H.  Present  address,  Anniston,  Ala. 

Benjamin  Morris, 

Bristol  ;  mustered  May  24,  1861  ;  mustered  out  June  18,  1864.  At 
shadow  or  snap  of  a  cap,  Ben  was  gone.  He  never  died  for  his 
country. 

Randolph  Mostow, 

Aurora,  111.;  mustered  May  24,  1861 ;  mustered  out  June  18,  1864. 
Served  with  regiment  until  detailed  ;  was  in  battle  Chickasaw  Bayou 
and  Arkansas  Post,  always  ready  for  duty  ;  born  Oswego,  N.  Y. 
Detailed  engineer  corps,  February  to  August,  1863,  detailed  chief 
clerk,  assistant  adjutant-general's  office  first  Division,  Fifteenth, 


554  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

army  corps,  September,  1863,  to  June,  1864.  After  muster  out, 
entered  quartermaster  Department  as  chief  clerk.  Headquarters  mili 
tary  division  of  Mississippi  at  Atlanta  and  Savannah,  Ga.,  Moore- 
head  City  and  Raleigh,  North  Carolina.  Transferred  to  Freedman's 
Bureau  Quartermaster  Department,  State  of  Florida.  Headquarters 
at  Tallahassee  in  January,  1865,  ordered  to  Fort  Garland,  Colorado 
mil.  post,  under  command  of  Kit  Carson  until  January,  1867. 
In  April,  1868,  entered  homestead  in  South  Dakota,  Assistant 
United  States  Marshall.  1869,  member  of  legislature,  70-72.  County 
commissioner  1873  to  1879.  Resident  of  Kansas  City,  Missouri, 
since  iSSr.  Engaged  in  real  estate  and  loans,  No.  702  Forest  Ave. 

James  McGuire, 

Aurora  ;  mustered  May  24,  1861  ;  discharged  August  19,  1861. 

John  Martin, 

Oswego,  111.;  mustered  May  24,  1861  ;  re-enlisted  a  veteran.  Trans 
ferred  to  company  I,  Fifty-sixth  Illinois  Infantry  and  served  in  the 
hardest  campaigns. 

John  T.  North, 

Bristol;  mustered  May  24,  1861  ;  deserted  January  26,  1863. 

Charles  Pelan, 

Aurora,  111.;  mustered  May  24,  1861  ;  mustered  out  June  18,  1864  as 
sergeant  ;  served  well,  always  ready  for  duty.  At  Madison  Station, 
Alabama,  May  17,  Charlie  said  "  I  hate  to  run  but  if  ever  there  was 
a  time  to  run  it  is  now."  The  bullets  knocked  the  sand  about  his 
feet.  He  was  getting  to  where  the  regiment  was  forming  and  came 
very  near  being  cut  off.  Served  one  year  in  the  Sixth  regiment 
Hancock  Veteran  Corps  with  H.  L,.  Thatcher  and  Lieutenant  Bailey 
of -K  company.  Address,  Stockham,  Neb. 

Joseph  C.  Paulin, 

Aurora  ;  mustered  May  24,  1861  ;  died  December  8,  1861  at  Rolla, 
Mo. 

Lemuel  Purdy, 

Aurora  ;  mustered  May  24,  1861  ;  mustered  out  June  18,  1864.  A 
jolly  boy  ;  wore  number  eleven  shoes.  Purdy  scouted  with  Ben 
Harris  in  winter  of  1863  and  1864;  he  made  a  comical  figure  cross 
ing  Flint  river  on  the  back  of  the  large  mule  that  used  to  draw  our 
iron  bake  oven.  Purdy  was  on  his  knees  on  the  tup  of  the  saddle  ; 
he  was  dry  ;  and  laughed  at  us  who  were  on  small  stock  and  got 
wet.  That  night  rushing  through  the  brush  in  the  dark  to  get  a 
position  on  the  bank  of  the  Tennessee  river,  a  grape-vine  let  all  who 
were  on  small  horses  pass  under,  but  caught  Purdy  under  the  chin 
and  swept  him  off  over  the  "  Elephant's"  tail.  We  then  laughed 
last.  Purdy  was  an  active,  thorough  soldier.  Present  address, 
Lewistown,  111. 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  555 

George  B.  Robinson, 

Aurora  ;  mustered  May  24,  1861  ;  promoted  hospital  steward  Octo 
ber  8,  1863;  born  in  Wilmington,  Vt.,  1835.  George  was  a  natural 
nurse  for  the  sick,  and  a  kind-hearted  steward.  Served  one  year  in 
Hancock's  Corps;  discharged  February  I,  1866.  Address,  632  Gal 
loway  street,  Eau  Claire,  \Vis. 

Frederick  Rink, 

Aurora  ;  mustered  May  24,  1861  ;  mustered  out  June  18,  1864.  Cor 
poral.  Frederick  served  faithfully  three  years.  I  remember  how 
he  and  I  smelt  powder  May  18,  1863,  on  the  hillside  at  Vicksburg. 
Born,  Germany,  1837.  Residence,  Council  Bluffs,  la.,  813  East 
Avenue. 

Marcus  Sherman, 

Aurora  ;  mustered  May  24,  1851  ;  died  December  30,  1862.  Born  in 
Remington,  N.  Y. ;  age  22. 

Simon  P.  Schamp, 

Oswego  ;  mustered  May  24,  1861  ;  killed  in  action  December  29, 
1862,  Chickasaw  Bayou.  Simon  was  a  noble  man.  In  appearance 
full  six  feet  in  height,  a  calm  tempermeut,  high  forehead,  black, 
curly  hair,  fine  dark  eyes.  When  the  Thirteenth  disembarked  at 
the  Yazoo  river,  December  26,  1862,  the  Thirteenth  was  deployed  as 
skirmishers  and  advancing  inland,  drove  back  a  confederate  out 
post.  In  the  front  of  Company  H  there  was  left  by  a  fire  some 
dried  beef  which  was  quickly  gobbled.  I  was  so  fortunate  as  to  get 
a  quart  of  butter.  I  shared  with  all.  Simon  said,  "Sib,  give  me 
some  for  my  hard  bread."  "  All  you  want,  I  said."  I  did  not  think 
that  I  would  never  speak  to  him  again. 

Town  send  A.  Seeley, 

Kendall  county  ;  mustered  May  24,  1861  ;  discharged  August  12, 
1863  ;  disability.  Born,  Goshen,  N.  Y.  Town,  was  a  good  soldier 
and  good  comrade.  Present  address,  Yorkville,  111. 

Mathias  Siegfried, 

Aurora  ;  mustered  May  24.  1861  ;  wounded  at  Chickasaw  Bayou  De 
cember  29,  1862  ;  died  since  discharge  ;  leaves  a  widow.  Was  a 
good  soldier. 

George  W.  Smith, 

Aurora  ;  mustered  May  24,  1861  discharged  March  5.  1862  born 
Connecticut.  Residence,  Dubuque,  Iowa. 

John  A.  Sohnley, 

Aurora  ;  born  in  Wiirternberg,  Germany  ;  age  thirty-four ;  mustered 
May  24,  1861  ;  wounded  December  29,  1862  ;  died  January  21,  1863, 
of  wounds  got  in  action,  at  Chickasaw  Bayou,  December  29,  1862. 
John  was  a  quiet,  orderly  soldier,  always  ready  for  duty,  a  pleasant 
comrade  with  a  smile  for  all.  He  was  supposed  to  be  only  slightly 


556  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

wouiided  in  the  arm.  Well  I  recollect  seeing  him  with  his  face 
pressed  close  to  the  glass  of  the  hospital  boat  window,  looking  at  a 
few  of  us  who  had  been  down  to  the  Yazoo  River  to  bid  the  wounded 
good  bye  before  they  were  taken  North ;  he  nodded  good-bye ;  it 
was  forever.  • 

Milton  Sheer, 

Montgomery  ;  mustered  May  24,  1861 ;  mustered  out  June  18,  1864. 
Milton  advanced  too  far  in  front  of  our  line  at  Riuggold  with  Whip- 
pie  and  Ed.  Wales.  When  called  back  they  all  walked,  when  asked 
why  they  did  not  run,  Milton  said  he  ran  at  Chickasaw  and  never 
was  going  to  run  again.  He  took  position  in  a  log  house  at  a  win 
dow  at  Ringgold,  and  served  with  coolness.  Was  reliable.  Pres 
ent  address,  Piano,  Illinois. 

Edwin  Sheehe, 

Aurora,  Illinois  ;  mustered  May  24,  1861  ;  mustered  out  June  18, 
1864;  H  Company's  representative  of  "  Ould  Ireland."  About  the 
ist  of  May  1864,  while  Thirteenth  laid  at  Trienna,  Alabama,  we 
were  watching  close  for  the  rebels,  for  they  had  sent  word  that  they 
were  going  to  take  us  in.  Sheer,  Sheehe  and  myself  were  watching 
a  picket  post.  Sheehe  made  a  great  outcry.  We  all  ran  in  expect 
ing  to  find  the  enemy.  Sheer  said,  "Where  are  they?"  "Snake! 
snake  !"  was  all  we  couM  get  out  of  him  at  first  ;  come  to  find  out  a 
snake  had  crawled  over  his  hand  while  he  slept.  No  more  sleep  for 
him  that  night.  As  a  diplomate,  Sheehe  was  bright ;  the  cane  brake 
or  hills  of  Askansas  were  the  same  to  him  ;  he  could  find  whisky  when 
others  could  not.  He  took  a  nice  pair  of  ladies'  shoes  from  Rolla, 
traded  to  people  in  Missouri  or  Arkansas  ;  watched  his  chance, 
stole  them  back  again,  and  then  traded  again  at  the  next  town.  Ed. 
is  dead.  Sheehe  stood  in  the  house  at  Ringgold  gap,  firing  out  of  a 
window  ;  someone  did  the  loading  and  he  fired  the  two  guns  ;  he 
would  swear  at  the  men  for  not  loading  faster  ;  then  shuffle  his  feet 
and  sing,  "  We'el  be  gay  and  happy  still."  As  death  was  all  about 
us,  I  reproved  him,  but  it  did  not  seem  to  impress  him. 

Christopher  C.  Scrafford, 

Aurora  ;  mustered  May  24,  1861  ;  discharged  September  8,  1863. 

Stewart  B.  Strong, 

Aurora  ;  mustered  May  24,  1861  ;  dropped  from  roll  June  8,  1863. 
Afterwards  enlisted  on  a  Mississippi  ''Iron  Clad."  I  saw  him  at 
Grand  Gulf  when  we  crossed  the  river. 

Ch  ristoph  er  Sch  afer, 

Aurora  ;  mustered  May  24,  1861  ;  mustered  out  June  18,  1864  ;  de 
tailed  as  blacksmith.  Died  at  Louisville,  Kentucky. 

Emit  Sicr, 

Aurora  ;  mustered  May  24,  1861.     Died  February  5,  1862. 


ILLINOIS    VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  557 

Nelson    Terlll, 

Aurora  ;  mustered  May  24,  1861  ;  died  October  28,  1861. 
Nelson  L.  Thatcher. 

Mustered  May  24,  iS6r  ;  mustered  out  June  18,  1864;  enlisted  in 
Hancock's  corps  and  served  one  year.  Conducted  a  mercantile  busi 
ness  in  Council  Bluffs,  Iowa,  and  again  in  Nebraska  City  ;  was 
financially  successful  at  time  of  death.  Thatcher  was  one  of  the 
boys.  I  forgive  him  and  Walt  Corthell  for  hiding  a  five  gallon 
keg  of  whiskey  under  my  bunk  while  they  acted  retail  merchants. 
It  worked  fine  with  the  first  keg,  but  the  officers  got  hold  of  it,  and 
Thatcher  said  some  one  had  to  go  in  the  guard  house,  and  it  was 
Sibley's  turn. 

[During  the  siege  of  Jackson,  July  10,  to  16,  1863  we  were  on  duty. 
Thatcher  and  three  others  spread  a  blanket  and  started  a  game  of  draw 
poker.  The  rebels  got  our  location  and  we  had  to  hustle  around  occa 
sionally,  just  to  give  our  minds  peace.  Finally  a  shell  came  for  that 
blanket.  One  called  ;  it  took  time  to  show  the  cards,  they  all  wanted 
to  get  out,  the  winner  took  the  money  and  a  piece  of  shell  went  through 
the  blanket,  all  were  white  as  corpses  ;  but  how  could  they  lose  the  pot?] 

Peter  Thompson, 

Aurora,  Illinois  ;  mustered  May  24,  1861  ;  discharged  September  12, 

1862. 
Myron  A.  Wood, 

Shabbona  Grove  ;  mustered  May  24,  1861  ;  mustered  out  June  18, 

1864  ;  detailed  as  clerk  at  General  Sherman's  headquarters;  a  bright 
man. 

John  W.  Williams, 

Bristol  ;  mustered  May  24,  1861  ;  dishonorably  discharged;  sentenced 
by  general  court-martial  ;  John, though  the  youngest  in  our  mess,  was 
"  Father  John";  he  fired  his  gun  off  carelessly, 'nearly  hitting  one  of 
Company  F's  men  for  which  he  was  court-martial  led  and  dishonor 
ably  discharged.  It  was  play  with  John,  but  could  not  be  so  con 
sidered  by  the  officer  in  charge,  Lieutenant  Gifford. 

George  W.  Walker, 

Oswego  ;  mustered  May  24,  1861  ;  left  sick  at  Paducah,  Kentucky, 
probably  killed  there. 

Arthur  B.  West, 

Sugar  Grove  ;  mustered  May  24,  1861  ;  mustered  out  June  18.  1864  ; 
born  New  York  state,  1839  '•>  was  wounded  at  Ringgold,  March  28, 
1863  ;  was  a  good  soldier.  Family  residence,  Dakota,  Humboldt 
county,  Iowa.  He  is  in  the  insane  asylum. 

Edwin  Wales, 

Paw  Paw  Grove  ;  mustered   May  24,  1861  ;  mustered  out  June  30, 

1865  ;  taken  prisoner  May  17,   1864,  at  Madison  Station,  Alabama  ; 


558  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH   REGIMENT 

escaped  from  Castle  Morgan,  Cahaba,  Alabama  ;  captured  near 
Mnrion,  Alabama,  with  hounds  ;  refused  to  come  out  of  tree  when 
ordered,  under  threats  of  instant  death.  After  seeing  Tom  West 
bitten  by  the  dogs,  he  told  the  guards  to  ride  under  the  tree  and  let 
him  drop  behind  the  guard  on  a. horse  or  shdot  ;  they  finally  took 
him  off;  behaved  with  great  coolness  at  the  battle  of  Ringgold  ; 
made  two  desperate  attempts  to  escape  from  the  rebel  prison. 

John  Martin, 

Oswego  ;  enlisted  January  I,  1864;  mustered  January  9,  1864; 
transferred  to  Company  I,  Fifty  sixth  Illinois  Infantry. 

George  W.  Young, 

St.  Charles;  mustered  May  24,  1861  ;  mustered  out  June  18,  1864. 
George  W.  served  with  the  regiment  until  detailed  January,  1863  ; 
was  in  the  battles  of  Chickasaw  Bayou  and  Arkansas  Post  ;  was  on 
medical  staff  the  last  year  ;  was  a  favorite  with  the  Thirteenth. 
Present  address,  Baraboo,  Wisconsin. 

Grove  Arnold, 

Paw  Paw  ;  mustered  May  28,  1861  ;  mustered  out  June  18,  1864. 
Grove  was  a  quiet,  orderly  soldier  ;  did  his  duty.  Present  residence, 
Aurora,  Illinois. 

Henry  Bon  an, 

Born  in  Chamble,  Canada  ;  age  eighteen  ;  mustered  April  5,  1862  ; 
died  April  19,  1864,  at  Aurora,  Illinois,  of  disease  contracted  in  the 
army.  Henry  was  a  good  soldier. 

Austin  W.  Ewing, 

Neosha;  mustered  March  n,  1862  ;  discharged  August  3,  1862. 
Present  address,  Hersher,  Kansas. 

Joseph  Everard, 

Aurora  ;  mustered  May  28,  1861  ;  mustered  out  June  18,  1864  ;  regi 
ment  wagon  master.  Present  address,  Rochester,  Minnesota. 

Emil  Kothe, 

Aurora  ;  born  in  Germany  ;  age  seventeen  ;  mustered  Feburary  22, 
1862;  died  June  12,  of  wounds  received  at  siege  of  Vicksburg. 
Kothe  was  wounded  December  28,  1862  before  Vicksburg  ;  the 
Thirteenth  was  ordered  to  lay  down.  Kothe,  Cliggett  and  others 
stood  up  to  try  and  see  our  hidden  foe.  Kothe  sunk  silently  to  the 
ground  struck  in  the  thigh.  "  Lie  down,"  said  Colonel  Wymau,  in 
aloud,  clear  voice,  "they  will  kill  you  and  you  can't  see  them." 
"  We  will,"  said  Cligget,  "  if  you  will."  "It  is  my  duty  to  stand 
and  see  what  is  going  on  and  yours  to  obey  orders."  The  Colonel 
staggered,  and  I  shall  always  think  the  same  sharp  shooter  hit  both 
these  men  Kothe  was  again  wounded  in  1863,  before  Vicksburg, 
of  which  he  died  June  I2th,  of  that  year. 


ILLINOIS    VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  559 

Orville  B.  Merrill, 

Aurora;  mustered  in  May  28,  1861  ;  transferred  as  lieutenant  to 
Thirty-sixth  Illinois  Infantry, 

John  H.  Steel, 

Aurora;  mustered  in  March  8,  1862;  wounded  December  29,  1862; 
left  in  hospital. 

Albert  H.  Sibley, 

Born  in  St.  Charles,  Kane  county,  111. ;  mustered  in  September  28, 
1861:  transferred  to  Company  I,  Fifty-sixth  Illinois  Infantry,  when 
the  Thirteenth  was  mustered  out;  was  never  hurt  and  was  not  much 
sick.  Perhaps  most  service  done  in  the  shortest  time  was  when 
detailed  with  Captain  Harriss,  Scout,  in  winter  of  1863  and  1864  in 
North  Alabama  about  three  months.  Residence  1117,  Michigan 
Ave.,  Kansas  City,  Mo.;  has  superintended  the  construction  of  many 
of  the  largest  buildings  in  Kansas  City,  Mo.,  from  1865  to  1891. 

Abram  Van  Riper, 

Aurora:  mustered  in  June  15,  1861;  transferred  to  Company  I,  Fifty- 
sixth  Illinois  Infantry;  Abram  served  as  private  for  a  period,  and  was 
then  mustered  a  musician  ;  a  good  soldier.  Present  residence,  Chi 
cago,  111. 

Smith  G.  Ward, 

Kaneville;  mustered  in  May  28,  1861  ;  promoted  captain  Fifty- 
second  Illinois  Infantry,  August  2,  1861. 

Warton  L.  White, 

Blackberry;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861;  died  September  20,  1861; 
was  raised  on  farm  in  Kane  county;  proved  to  be  brave,  and  was  a 
favorite  with  all  who  knew  him. 

Newton  Wells, 

Aurora:  mustered  in  May  28,  1861:  mustered  out  June  18,  1864; 
for  short  was  called  "  Mississippi  "  At  Ringgold  Newton  and 
Whipple  were  a  little  profane  as  we  were  ordered  to  lay  down  and 
not  fire.  ''A  poor  place  to  swear,"  said  I.  "  Well  what  are  you 
swearing  for?  "  said  Whipple.  "  I  don't  want  them  shooting  at  me 
and  not  shoot  back."  In  a  minute  they  had  orders  to  advance  and 
fire  all  they  wanted.  They  took  position  behind  a  rail  pig  pen  and 
when  the  battle  closed,  jumped  into  the  pen  and  killed  the  wounded 
hog  and  served  the  pork  for  supper;  detailed  as  clerk  at  General 
Osterhauser's  headquarters,  winters  of  1863  and  1864. 

L  a  wren  ce  Wh  a  la  n , 

Aurora:  mustered  in  February  21,  1862;  Died  July  17,  1862,  on  the 
march  to  Helena  in  ambulance. 


560  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 


COMPANY  I. 

The  nucleus  to  which  gravitated  th&  diverse  elements, 
which,  when  crystallized  as  a  whole,  became  afterwards,  Com 
pany  I  of  the  Thirteenth  regiment  Illinois  Volunteer  Infantry, 
almost  may  be  said  to  have  been  belched  from  the  mouths  of 
Major  Anderson's  cannon  at  Sumter,  on  that  memorable 
1 2th  of  April,  1 86 1  ;  for,  on  the  night  of  that  day,  at  Blue 
Island,  Cook  county,  Illinois,  the  nucleus  of  the  company 
sprang  into  being.  On  the  evenings  of  many  days,  war 
meetings  had  been  held,  up  to  the  above  named  day  ;  but  the 
electric  wires  of  that  day  had  not  only  sent  a  thrill  of  patrio 
tism  to  every  patriot's  heart  throughout  the  land,  but  almost 
had  galvanized  into  life,  the  patriot  dead.  But  one  or  two  in 
all  Blue  Island,  deserved  the  application  of  the  lines  which 
read— 

"  Lives  there  a  man  with  soul  so  dead?  " 
Undoubtedly,  but  it  must  be  said, 
He  was  a  miserable  copperhead, 
Nearly  the  only  one  in  Blue  Island. 

The  meeting  at  Blue  Island  that  night,  was,  no  doubt, 
matched  but  not  excelled  for  patriotic  zeal,  in  all  the  country. 

A.  K.  Breed,  a  prominent  resident  of  that  place,  proposed 
to  raise  a  full  company,  which  was  to  have  the  privilege  of 
choosing  its  own  officers.  This  was  promptly  approved 
without  dissent. 

At  this  stage  of  the  meeting,  several  of  those  present, 
mostly  young  single  men,  made  a  proposition'  to  George  E. 
Hinman,  an  old  resident,  that  they  would  go  if  he  would. 
Upon  which  he  responded  "  Boys,  if  you  are  waiting  for  me, 
you  need  not  wait  any  longer.  Come  right  up  and  .sign  your 
names  under  mine  ;  and  here  goes  mine  to  head  the  list." 
He  was  followed  by  twenty-seven  of  the  boys,  but  Mr.  Breed 
did  not  sign  that  night. 

Mr.  Hinman  had  joined  the  United  States  Army,  at  New 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY.  561 

York  City,  for  service  in  the  Mexican  war  ;  and  had  imme 
diately  been  sent  to  "  Carlyle  Barracks,"  Pennsylvania,  and 
went  through  a  severe  course  of  drill  for  six  weeks,  expecting 
every  day,  to  be  ordered  forward  to  the  army  in  Mexico  ;  but 
about  this  time,  peace  was  declared,  and  as  he  had  enlisted 
for  the  war,  he  was  discharged  and  went  home.  But  the 
practical  knowledge  of  the  drill  acquired  at  "  Carlyle  Bar 
racks,"  was  a  valuable  acquisition  to  the  raw  recruits,  of  the 
war  of  the  Rebellion. 

This  military  prestige  had  its  weight  in  constituting  Mr. 
Hinman  a  sort  of  leader  to  rally  around. 

The  next  day  Mr.  Hinman  took  the  papers  and  in  a  very 
short  time  had  one  hundred  and  four  names.  Not  more  than 
three  days  after  that  meeting,  Mr.  Breed,  who  was  their 
acknowledged  captain,  took  his  company  to  Chicago,  where 
they  were  quartered  in  the  old  wigwam,  northwest  corner 
Lake  and  Market  streets. 

When  the  Blue  Island  company  was  formed,  the  ladies  of 
that  place,  then,  and  ever  after,  influenced  by  a  lofty  and 
admirable  patriotism,  bought  and  presented  it  a  beautiful  silk 
flag.  This  was  taken  to  Chicago  with  them. 

Like  many  others,  the  Blue  Island  company  found  them 
selves  too  late  to  be  counted  in  with  the  75,000;  and  this 
served  to  break  up  the  organization,  and  scatter  the  men  into 
other  regiments,  until  only  about  forty  were  left,  some  going 
home  and  afterwards  enlisting  again, 

About  two  days  after  Captain  Breed's  company  occupied 
the  wigwam,  another  fragmentary  company,  of  about  fifty,  rep 
resented  by  Mr.  Samuel  W.  Wadsworth,  came  to  the  wigwam, 
and  entered  into  negotiations  with  Captain  Breed,  for  the 
joining  of  the  forces,  and  making  one  company  out  of  the  two. 
A  third  military  fragment  now  came  forward  and  made  propo 
sitions  to  be  admitted  to  partnership.  This  was  the  remains 
of  a  company  of  the  Rumsey  Rifles,  called  the  Union  Cadets  ; 
of  whom  Frank  Thoma,  had  been  the  acting  captain. 

In  this  triangular  negotiation,  Mr.  Breed  claimed  a 
colonelcy,  when  a  regiment  should  be  raised  ;  and  would  be 


562  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

satisfied  with  nothing  less.  Frank  Thoma  claimed,  and  others 
admit,  that  he  was  promised,  a  commission,  by  Breed,  in  the 
consolidated  organization  ;  not  because  he  brought  some  men 
with  him,  but  because  of  his  claim  to  Being  an  expert  in 
military  drill,  which  was  acquired  while  a  pupil  of  Colonel 
Els  worth,  the  famous  commander  of  the  Chicago  Zouaves. 

Captain  Breed  soon  drew  out  without  having  received  any 
military  position  whatever  ;  and  it  was  alleged,  gave  away  the 
interests  of  the  Blue  Island  contingent,  and  swamped  Frank 
Thoma  as  well.  George  E.  Hinman,  asked  for  nothing,  and 
got  the  position  of  First-Sergeant,  which  he  did  not  want.. 
Frank  Thoma,  reluctantly,  and  under  protest,  took  the  posi 
tion  of  Second-Sergeant. 

These  discordant  elements,  founded  on  broken  promises, 
were  never  thoroughly  harmonious  ;  though  whether  anyone, 
except  Breed,  was  to  blame,  does  not  appear. 

No  election  ever  took  place,  but  Samuel  W.  Wadsworth  was 
made  Captain,  James  G.  Everest  was  made  First-Lieutenant, 
and  Isaiah  H.  Williams  was  made  Second-Lieutenant. 

Everest  and  Williams  had  long  been  acquainted ;  but 
Wadsworth  and  Everest  had  an  acquaintance  of  but  a  few 
da}^s,  brought  about  by  reason  of  membership  in  the  old  Yates 
Phalanx,  which  both  had  joined  for  opportunity  for  drill. 
This  naturally  brought  Wadsworth,  Everest  and  Williams 
into  relations  of  friendship.  A  promise  of  a  Lieutenantcy, 
induced  Everest  to  join  the  Barker  Dragoons,  for  a  few  days, 
until  he  discovered  that  nearly  enough  commissions  had  been 
promised  to  supply  a  regiment,  when  he  withdrew  ;  when  he, 
together  with  Wadsworth  and  Williams,  with  nearly  fifty  men, 
consolidated  with  the  Blue  Island  contingent,  and  this  organi 
zation  became  Company  I,  of  the  Thirteenth  Illinois. 

When  the  majority  of  the  men  from  Blue  Island  had  drawn 
out,  Sergeant  Hinman  felt  it  his  duty  to  send  back  the  flag  to 
the  lady  donors  of  Blue  Island,  the  more  especially  as  they 
were  expecting  to  raise  another  company.  The  officers  opposed 
this  ;  but  the  sergeant  rescued,  and  carried  off  the  flag  before 
their  eyes. 


ILLINOIS    VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  563 

He  then  intrusted  the  flag  to  Mr.  Breed,  who  sold  it  and 
never  accounted  to  the  Blue  Island  ladies  for  either  money  or 
flag. 

The  consolidated  company  occupied  the  wigwam  about  a 
week  ;  those  from  Blue  Island  going  home  every  night,  while 
the  days  were  spent  in  drill  ;  but  as  most  of  the  men  were 
subjected  to  considerable  expense,  the  earliest  possible  oppor 
tunity  for  incorporation  into  some  regiment  was  taken,  which 
proved  the  Thirteenth  Illinois  ;  and  the  companies  of  which  it 
was  to  be  composed,  were  ordered  to  rendezvous  at  Dixon,  Lee 
county,  which  was  the  home  of  Company  A. 

Company  I  was  neither  armed  or  uniformed  before  leaving 
Chicago,  which  they  did  on  May  9,  over  the  Northwestern 
railroad  arriving  at  Dixon  the  same  da}',  and  the  first  com 
pany  to  arrive,  of  all,  from  abroad  ;  but  all  the  companies  had 
arrived  by  that  night. 

While  still  in  Chicago,  company  I  had  enlisted  William 
Howard,  "  the  little  drummer"  (twelve  years  old)  who,  together 
with  another  small  boy  played  the  fife,  but  the  latter  not  being 
enlisted,  only  went  with  the  company  as  far  as  Dixon,  then 
returning  home,  furnished  the  first  martial  music  which  Com 
pany  I  had.  It  is  greatly  to  be  regretted  that  the  name  of 
this  young  fifer  cannot  now  be  recalled. 

It  was  to  the  music  of  these  little  musicians  that  Com 
pany  I  marched  from  the  depot,  through  the  streets  of  Dixon, 
to  their  first  quarters,  the  court  house,  wrhich  had  been  as 
signed  them  temporarily,  until  their  permanent  quarters  at  the 
fair  grounds  could  be  fitted  for  them. 

It  is  an  extremely  difficult  thing  to  do,  from  memory  to 
thoroughly  establish,  even  a  small  fact  or  incident,  as  to  time, 
place,  or  other  conditions,  which  happened  thirty  years  before, 
though  well  known  at  the  time  by  a  thousand  men  ;  and  as  to 
the  exact  time  of  the  occupancy  of  the  court  house  at  Dixon 
by  Company  I  there  are  various  opinions  ;  but  probably  not 
more  than  two  nights,  but  certainly  one. 

The  Company's  permanent  quarters  at  the  fair  grounds 
consisted  of  a  long  "lean-to"  building,  whose  legitimate  use 


564  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

had  been  stalls  for  blooded  stock.  These  were  luxurious 
quarters  for  soldiers,  if  they  had  only  known  it,  and  they  did 
know  it  before  the  close  of  the  next  three  years. 

There  is  no  individual  company  history  o/  Company  I  dis 
connected  from  the  regimental  history,  at  this  time,  calling 
for  particular  record.  There  are,  however,  two  incidents  con 
cerning  members  of  our  company,  which  may,  in  one  case, 
and  which  must,  in  the  other,  be  recorded. 

The  first  is  a  very  pretty  romance  ;  and  the  romances 
connected  with  war,  have,  in  all  history,  been  the  most  eag 
erly  perused,  and  the  most  fondly  cherished  in  memory. 

Lieutenants  James  G.  Everest  of  Company  I,  and  N. 
Cooper  Berry  of  Company  B,  both  emulous  of  the  knightly 
feats  of  ancient  chivalry,  were  engaged  in  a  friendly  bout  of 
bayonet  practice,  and  were  using  such  skill  as  they  were  pos 
sessed  of,  in  thrust,  parry  and  guard,  when  Lieut.  Berry's 
\\tapm  found  its  way  through  his  opponent's  guard  and 
through  his  hand. 

The  next  morning,  when  preparing  to  go  on  duty,  the 
wound,  not  having  been  properly  dressed,  broke  out  afresh 
and  bled  profusely. 

Two  ladies,  Mrs.  Wadsworth  and  her  sister,  Miss  Nina  T. 
Pratt,  happened  to  be  near,  and  saw  that  the  soldier  was  hand 
ling  the  dressing  very  bunglingly,  whereupon  Miss  Pratt 
asked  to  be  allowed  to  dress  the  wound  herself.  The  gallant 
bachelor  lieutenant  had  never  seen  the  lady  before,  but  not 
at  all  reluctantly,  it  is  to  be  presumed,  accepted  the  proffered 
service  ;  and  while  the  deft  fingers  of  the  fair  nurse  were 
cleansing  the  wound  and  skillfully  adjusting  the  bandages, 
two  or  three  deep-chested  sighs,  certainly  coming  from  as  low 
down  as  the  heart,  escaped  from  the  lieutenant's  lips,  the 
cause  of  which  may  have  been  the  pain,  but  not  probable  ;  at 
any  rate  the  hand  the  lady  had  healed  was  offered  her  in  pay 
ment,  and  by  her  accepted. 

Sad  that  so  soon  after,  one  of  the  parties  in  the  above  story 
should  figure  in  a  tragedy  fatal  to  himself. 

N.  Cooper  Berry  had  been  a  young  man  who  had  shown 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  565 

great  promise  of  military  efficiency  and  zeal  in  the  service  ;  so 
much  so  indeed,  that  Company  B  had  elected  him  First  Lieu 
tenant  of  the  company;  but  he  soon  developed  a  tyrannical 
and  overbearing  disposition,  and  had  several  times  managed 
to  cajole  or  over-awe  some  inexperienced  sentinel  and  would 
disarm  him  and  then  report  him  as  derelict  in  his  duty, 
thereby  getting  the  delinquent  punished.  This  seemed  to  be 
more  to  show  off  his  smartness,  than  having  any  ill-will  or 
any  other  umvorthy  feeling  against  any  particular  man. 

So  unpopular  did  he  soon  become,  that  the  same  men  \vho 
had  secured  his  election  as  lieutenant,  now  requested  him  to 
resign,  which  he  promptly  agreed  to  do,  if  the  request  wrere 
unanimous. 

This  wras  shown  him  to  be  the  case,  and  as  he  had  not 
been  commissioned,  he  was  reduced  and  given  a  place  on  the 
non-commissioned  staff,  and  was,  for  a  time,  acting  sergeant- 
major  of  the  regiment. 

On  the  night  of  the  i4th  and  i5th  of  Ma}T,  Fred.  W. 
Brinkman,  of  Company  I,  was  on  guard  at  the  spring.  Brink- 
man  was  not  a  man  to  be  fooled  with  while  on  duty  ;  and,  as 
though  he  had  been  considering  what  to  do  in  case  Berry 
should  select  him  as  his  next  victim,  if  he  should  repeat  his 
tampering  with  the  guard  and  try  to  either  pass  or  disarm 
him,  he  asked  Orderly-Sergeant  Hinman  for  instructions  in  a 
supposable  case.  Sergeant  Hinman  told  him  that  he  knew 
his  duty,  and  that  he  himself,  had  no  power  or  discretion  to 
alter  the  plain  orders  touching  a  sentinel's  duty  ;  that  he  was 
to  do  his  duty  fearlessly  and  he  \vould  be  sustained  by  his 
superior  officers. 

There  was  some  disturbance  near  the  camp  about  mid 
night,  and  Berry  assumed,  or  was  permitted  the  authority  to 
inspect  the  guard-posts,  and  his  fate  seemed  to  impel  him  to 
tamper  with  Brinkman  who  promptly  ordered  him  to  halt  and 
advance  one,  and  give  the  countersign.  To  this,  Berry  re 
plied,  "  You  know7  me  well  enough  without  the  countersign," 
and  all  the  time  kept  advancing  on  Brinkman  who  had  warned 
him  two  or  three  times,  in  addition  to  the  order,  three  times 


566  HISTORY    OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

given,  to  halt.  Brinkman  now  fired,  the  ball  passing  directly 
through  Berry's  neck,  killing  him  instantly. 

Brinkman  was,  of  course,  arrested,  and  kept  under  guard, 
until  the  arrival  of  Colonel  Wyman,  from  Springfield,  which 
was  only  a  few  hours,  wrho  heard  the  case,  carefully  sifting  all 
the  evidence,  and  then  ordered  him  released  and  returned  to 
duty. 

Popular  opinion  sustained  Brinkman,  who  was  ac 
knowledged  to  have  done  nothing  but  his  duty. 

On  the  next  day,  May  15  the  remains  of  Berry  \vere 
followed  to  the  depot  from  which  they  were  taken  to  Sterling, 
Whitesides  county,  Illinois,  for  burial. 

The  fact  that  the  happenings  to,  and  personal  experiences 
of  the  soldier,  are  to  be  found  in  a  department  by  itself  con 
sisting  of  each  soldier's  personal  history  leaves  little  to  be 
added  to  our  company  history,  after  recording  all  of  im 
portance  that  can  be  learned  of  its  company  organization. 
The  "Flat-boat"  expedition,  however,  fairly  belongs  to.  the 
company  history,  as  being  in  no  way  controlled  by,  or  con 
nected  with  the  regiment  ;  and  is  here  given  as  a  legitimate 
part  of  the  company  history  ;  following  which,  the  history  of 
the  company  is  so  completely  merged  in  that  of  the  regiment, 
as  not  to  call  for  separate  mention. 

While  the  army  was  at  Batesville,  Arkansas,  in  the  spring 
of  1862,  and  preparing  for  its  advance  on  Little  Rock,  a  part 
of  the  preparation  consisted  of  the  building  of  four  ' '  flat- 
boats  "  to  be  used  as  ferry-boats  for  the  army  in  crossing 
White  River,  on  the  left  bank  of  which  the  army  was 
encamped  ;  and  when  the  Little  Rock  part  of  the  campaign 
was  abandoned,  the  work  on  the  boats  went  on  to  completion, 
as  their  use  to  the  army  might  be  of  great  service  in  trans 
porting  commissary  stores  ;  and  their  possible  use  still,  as 
ferry-boats,  as  long  as  the  rout  of  march  towards  Helena 
should  follow  the  river. 

The  boats  were  nearly  completed  when  the  advance  of  the 
army  left  Batesville,  and  the  stores  were  on  board  and  the 
bulwarks  of  cotton-bales  adjusted  to  the  two  sides  of  each  boat 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY.  567 

as  a  protection  against  sharp-shooters  from  the  river-banks, 
the  long  steering-sweeps  in  their  places,  and  Mr.  Norton, 
supposed  to  be  a  union  man,  a  resident  of  that  country,  who 
had  been  sent  to  us  as  a  pilot,  took  his  place  on  the  bow  of 
the  leading,  or  (<  Flag- Boat,"  his  left  arm  resting  on  the 
steering-sweep,  which  was  adjusted  to  the  bow  of  the  boat, 
while  his  experienced  eye  swept  over  the  fleet,  and  at  a  signal 
from  him,  the  four  columns  of  Company  I,  Thirteenth  Illinois 
Infantry,  detailed  for  that  work,  marched  on  board  their 
respective  boats,  and  on  this  Thursday,  the  3rd  of  July,  1862, 
the  several  boats  were  shoved  into  the  stream  ;  the  ' '  Flag- 
Boat  "  in  advance,  commanded  by  Capt.  Samuel  W.  Wads- 
worth,  also  in  command  of  the  fleet.  The  second  boat, 
commanded  by  Second-Lieutenant,  George  E.  Hiriman, 
(First- Lieutenant,  James  G.  Everest,  being  on  staff  duty 
with  Gen.  E.  A.  Carr. )  The  third  boat  was  commanded  by 
First-Sergeant,  Frank  Thoma,  and  the  fourth  boat  was  com 
manded  by  Second-Sergeant,  Hyacinthe  CunifFe. 

The  men  uiislung  knapsacks  and  cartridge-boxes,  bestow 
ing  them  where  they  could  quickly  be  brought  into  use  if 
necessary  ;  then  adjusted  themselves  as  comfortably  as  cir 
cumstances  would  admit  of. 

Our  company  had  been  selected  for  this  service  on  account 
of  having  in  its  ranks  quite  a  number  of  sailors  ;  who,  while 
good  fighters,  might  reasonably  be  presumed  to  also  be  skilled 
in  managing  all  kinds  of  water  craft  ;  and  after  the  fleet  was 
\vell  under  way,  there  was  no  end  of  the  jibes,  jokes  and  chaff 
poked  at  these  old  sailors  by  the  landsmen. 

Corporal  Jesse  A.  Betts,  had  been  a  sailor  on  the  lakes 
for  several  years,  and  Private  George  W.  Sutherland  advised 
Corporal  Betts  to  suggest  to  Admiral  Wadsworth,  that  there 
were  signs  of  a  squall,  and  to  ask  him  if  he  had  not  better  luff 
a  little.  Corporal  Betts  replied  that  Admiral  Wadsworth 
would  not  know  a  raft  of  pine  logs,  on  the  Wisconsin  River, 
from  a  line-of- battle-ship  off  Portsmouth. 

Sidous  R.  Helmick,  was  an  old  salt-water  sailor,  and  was 
approached  by  Private  Orson  Hamlin,  who  took  the  position 


568  HISTORY    OF   THE    THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

of  a  soldier,  touched  his  cap,  and  bowing  profoundly,  said  : 
"Captain  Helmick,  could  3^ou  not  coax  a  little  more  speed 
out  of  this  vessel  ?  "  To  which  Helmick  replied  :  "Mr.  Ham- 
lin,  if  your  ears  were  of  the  ordinary  size,  it  would  be  worth 
at  least  five  more  knots  of  speed  to  this  shipT" 

John  Grant  (usually  called  Scotty)  was  an  old  man-of- 
warsman,  and  Private  John  A.  Curtis  asked  him  if  there  was 
no  way  of  increasing  the  speed  of  the  boat?  "  Certainly," 
replied  the  old  sailor,  "jump  right  overboard  and  push  on  the 
stern." 

The  day  was  very  warm,  and  canvas  awnings  were  agree 
able.  Nothing  of  particular  interest  occurred,  and  before 
sundown,  Admiral  Wadsworth  signaled  to  draw  in  to  the  left 
bank,  where  an  encampment  for  the  night  was  made,  two  lines 
of  guards  were  thrown  out,  but  no  alarm  disturbed  us  and 
early  on  the  morning  of  the  Fourth  of  July,  and  after  a  leis 
urely  breakfast,  the  fleet  was  again  under  way  ;  the  heat 
much  greater  than  on  the  previous  day. 

Colonel  Bowen,  with  his  cavalry  battalion,  was  detailed  as 
our  escort,  with  instructions  to  follow  the  course  of  the  river, 
and  keep  as  near  us  as  the  roads  and  nature  of  the  country 
would  permit. 

All  boats,  skiffs  and  dug-outs  were  gathered  from  both 
sides  of  the  river,  and  after  selecting  one  for  each  of  our  boats, 
the  others  were  destroyed  to  prevent,  as  far  as  possible,  com 
munication  by  the  enemy  from  one  to  the  other  side  of  the 
river. 

During  the  forenoon,  two  men  signaled  from  the  right 
bank,  and  were  brought  on  board  Captain  Wadsworth 's  boat 
and  warned  the  captain  that  we  were  likely  to  be  attacked 
sometime  during  the  day.  This  warning  was  based  on  the 
fact  that  these  men  had  that  morning,  come  upon  a  camping 
place  of  a  very  considerable  body  of  men  who  had  left  the 
camp  so  recently  that  the  camp  fires  were  still  burning. 

Hardly  more  than  a  momentary  impression  of  the  neces 
sity  of  caution  was  produced,  however,  before  the  men  were 
as  careless  as  ever,  lolling  and  reclining  at  full  length  on  top 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY.  569 

of  the  cotton  bales  and  other  exposed  points,  and  even  bathing 
in  the  river,  a  few  at  a  time. 

Between  Batesville  and  Jacksonport,  about  twenty-five 
miles  above  the  latter  place,  the  White  river  makes  a  great 
bend  to  the  west  and  then  returns  again  to  about  its  original 
general  direction.  Our  pilot,  Mr.  Norton,  informed  us  that 
it  was  called  "  Devil's  Bend."  The  space  of  several  hundred 
acres  lying  between  the  two  arms  of  this  bend  was  covered  by 
a  cane-brake  so  dense  that  nothing  but  a  rattlesnake,  or  an 
Arkansas  hog,  which  is  of  about  the  same  caliber,  could  get 
through  ;  and  there  were  no  indications  of  any  road  ever  hav 
ing  been  cut  through  it. 

On  Friday,  the  Fourth  of  July,  1862,  our  boats  swung 
lazily  into  that  bend,  when,  from  another  canebrake  on  a 
high  bank  on  the  outside,  or  western  side  of  the  bend,  we 
were  ambushed  by  250  Texas  rangers,  w^hose  storm  or  bullets 
was  the  first  notice  we  had  of  their  near  proximity.  The  boys 
rolled  off  those  cotton  bales,  for  all  the  world,  like  mud-tur 
tles  from  a  log  when  scared  into  the  water.  The  rebs  poured 
into  us  for  about  thirty  minutes,  a  steady  shower  of  buckshot, 
and  bullets  from  shotguns,  squirrel-rifles,  and  one  Springfield 
musket,  (known  by  its  voice),  when  they  suddenly  ceased  fir 
ing  and  fired  no  more. 

In  the  mean  time,  our  boys  had  sprung  to  their  posts  and 
returned  the  compliment  as  best  they  could.  In  the  weather 
gunwale  of  the  captain's  boat,  over  eighty  bullets  were  em- 
beded  in  a  width  above  water  of  not  over  eighteen  inches. 
An  awning,  which  had  been  put  up  to  keep  the  sun  off, 
looked  like  a  sieve  from  bullet  holes.  Garments  which  hap 
pened  to  be  lying  about  on  cotton  bales,  were  well  riddled. 
Captain  Allen  J.  Whittier  of  Company  I,  Eleventh  Wisconsin 
Infantry,  an  invalid,  had  been  assigned  passage  in  our  fleet, 
and  happened  to  be  reclining  on  a  cotton  bale,  over  which  he 
had  spread  his  blue  overcoat.  He  was  on  the  opposite  side 
from  which  the  bullets  were  coming  and  he  also  mud-turtled 
off  his  perch  with  all  the  alacrity  of  a  well  man.  When  the 
fight  was  over,  six  bullet-holes  were  found  in  his  overcoat. 


570  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

And  yet,  strange  to  say,  not  a  man  on  the  entire  fleet  was 
wounded  except  Capt.  Wadsworth,  and  he  was  struck  in  the 
top  of  the  head  ;  and  the  bullet,  which  was  taken  out  with  a 
jack-knife  after  the  fight,  was  as  flat  as  a  penny.  It  was  prob 
ably  a  glancing  shot,  after  having  flattened  itself  against 
something  else  ;  but  we  all  insisted  to  the  captain,  that  his 
skull  was  harder  than  a  bullet. 

In  this  fight  we  were  so  close  under  the  west  bank  of  the 
river,  that  the  rebs  had  to  fire  down  on  us  at  an  angle  of  at 
least  thirty  degrees  ;  and  in  nearly  all  such  cases  the  aim  is 
too  high  to  be  effective.  If  these  rebs  had  stationed  them 
selves  a  little  lower  do\vn  off  from  the  high  bluff,  with  one 
piece  of  artillery,  they  could  have  blown  us  all  out  of  the 
water. 

We  afterwards  learned  from  some  prisoners  captured,. that 
we  killed  and  mortally  wounded  twenty-six  rebs. 

It  was  the  first  time  that  most  of  us  had  been  under  fire  ; 
and  the  attack  had  been  so  sudden  and  so  complete  a  surprise, 
that  there  was  no  chance  for  that  nameless  dread,  which  most 
soldiers  are  said  to  experience  once  for  all,  when  they  march 
steadily  up  to  where  they  know  they  will  receive  the  .enemy's 
fire  for  the  first  time. 

In  the  mean  time  Col.  Bowen  and  his  calvary  heard  the 
firing  and  it  set  them  perfectly  wild  ;  and  they  raged  up  and 
down  the  outskirts  of  that  cane  brake  to  find  some  road  or 
opening  where  they  could  come  to  our  assistance.  They  could 
judge  very  justly  as  to  the  proportions  of  the  fight  by  the  fir 
ing,  and  that  gave  them  the  gravest  anxiety  ;  but  the  rebs 
knew  well  the  ground  they  had  chosen,  and  that  we  could  re 
ceive  no  help.  We  helped  ourselves  however,  and  that  is  the 
very  best  kind  of  help. 

At  that  point  where  the  river  comes  back  from  its  great 
westward  bend  and  resumes  its  original  course  toward  the 
Mississippi,  was  the  nearest  point  where  Col.  Bowen 's  road 
touched  the  river.  Here,  as  he  could  not  go  to  the  boats,  the 
boats,  unless  captured  or  destroyed,  must  come  to  him  ;  and 
with  his  anxiety  scarcely  lessened,  but  with  hopes  somewhat 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRV.  571 

increased,  he  at  last  beheld  their  sluggish  approach.  When 
we  finally  disembarked,  the  rejoicing  was  great  and  we  were 
the  heroes  of  the  hour. 

After  camping  for  one  night  at  the  place  where  we  joined 
Col.  Bowen,  and  taking  on  board  one  of  his  Mountain  Howit 
zers,  with  which  we  thoroughly  shelled  the  woods  and  other 
suspicious  looking  places,  on  the  morning  of  July  5th,  we  again 
set  sail  and  arrived  in  Jacksonport  the  same  day. 

On  Sunday,  July  6th,  1862,  the  company  resumed  the 
march,  temporarily  interrupted  and  re-joined  the  regiment, 
near  Augusta. 

Of  Company  I,  it  only  remains  to  be  said,  that  in  all  the 
subsequent  history  of  the  Thirteenth  Regiment,  this  company 
shrank  from  no  duty  ;  and  at  Chickasaxv  Bayou,  Arkansas 
Post,  the  attendant  battles,  and  the  siege  of  Vicksburg,  Look 
out  Mountain,  Mission  Ridge  and  Ringgold  Gap,  it  had  its 
full  share  of  exposure  and  danger  and  always  bore  off  its  full 
share  of  honor. 

ASA  B.  MUNX, 
Historian  to  Company  I. 

ROSTER. 

Samuel  W.  Wadsworth, 

Captain  ;    was  at   the  breaking  out  of  the  war  of  the  rebellion,  a 

resident  of  Chicago,  and  by  occupation  a  railroad  conductor. 

[He  was  twenty-nine  years  old,  dark  complexion,  black  eyes  and 
hair,  was  of  stout  build,  was  about  five  feet  seven  inches  tall,  and  would 
weigh  about  one  hundred  and  sixty  pounds.  Was  of  a  mercurial 
nature,  was  boisterously  jubilant  and  morbidly  depressed  by  turns. 

He  was  enrolled  and  mustered  with  the  regiment  at  Dixon,  Illinois, 
for  three  years,  by  Capt.  John  Pope,  U.  S.  A. 

At  the  sharp  fight  with  his  company  at  "  Devil's  Bend,"  Arkansas, 
in  early  July,  1862,  he  behaved  gallantly  ;  but  at  the  battle  of  "  Chicka- 
saw  Bayou,"  December  29,  1862,  he  was  brought  from  the  field  during 
the  progress  of  the  battle,  with  a  mere  scratch  between  two  toes,  which 
really  needed  no  attention  from  the  surgeon,  and  which  he  was  gener 
ally  charged  with  having  come  by  dishonorably  ;  and  so  indignant  were 
the  officers  of  the  regiment  gererally,  that  a  Court-Martial  was  averted 
only  by  his  promise  to  promptly  resign.  He  left  the  army  immedi 
ately,  but  the  withholding  the  tender  of  his  resignation  for  two  and  a 
half  mouths,  was  considered  a  gross  abuse  of  the  leniency  shown  him. 


572  HISTORY   OF  THE   THIRTEENTH   REGIMENT 

His  resignation  is  dated  March  17,   1863.     On  leaving  the  army  he 
resumed  his  former  occupation,  and  lately  was  living  at  St.  Josephs, 
Missouri.] 
James  Grant  Everest, 

Original  first-lieutenant  of  the  company  ;  was  a  resident  of  Chicago 
at  its  organization.  He  was  twenty-nine  years  old,  of  fair  complex 
ion,  black  eyes  and  hair,  five  feet  and  ten  inches  tall,  and  weighed 
one  hundred  and  seventy-five  pounds. 

[Captain  Everest  comes  of  good  New  England  fighting  stock  of 
English  ancestry,  the  American  Patriarch  of  which,  was  Isaac  Everest, 
of  Guilford,  Connecticut  who  lived  thereat  about  1670,  and  his  descen 
dants  about  five  generations  further  down,  were  represented  by  Ethan 
Everest,  whom  we  find  living  at  Pierrepont,  St.  Lawrence  County,  New 
York,  on  the  gth  of  January,  1834,  which  is  the  date  of  the  birth  of  the 
subject  of  this  autobiography. 

His  father,  Ethan  Everest,  was  one  of  about  thirty  boys,  all 
between  the  ages  of  sixteen  and  twenty-one  years,  who  offered  their 
services  to  the  government,  were  accepted  and  they  were  enlisted  for 
the  full  term  of  the  war  of  1812. 

During  the  siege  of  Plattsburgh,  on  the  nth  of  September,  1814, 
Ethan  Everest  was  wounded  in  the  leg  by  a  British  musket  ball, 
which  was  never  extracted,  and  the  patriot  carried  it  to  his  grave. 

The  patriotism  of  these  boys,  and  their  excellent  service  to  their 
country,  was  so  highly  appreciated  that  Congress  passed  a  vote  of 
thanks  to  them,  and  ordered  that  each  survivor  be  given  a  gun,  into  the 
stock  of  wyhich  was  inlaid  a  silver  plate  handsomely  engraved  and 
which,  in  this  case,  bore  the  following  legend  : 

"  By  resolve  of  Congress,  presented  to  Ethan  Everest,  for  his  gal 
lantry  at  the  siege  of  Plattsburgh." 

On  a  smaller  plate,  shield  shaped,  about  the  size  of  a  silver  half- 
dollar,  right  behind  the  hammer  of  the  lock,  near  where  the  hand  grasps 
the  stock,  is  engraved  the  date  of  the  wound  mentioned  above,  as 
follows  : 

"  SEPTEMBER  ii,   1814." 

The  gun  is  a  flint  lock,  breech  loader,  and  now  has  the  bayonet  fixed. 
It  is  of  about  the  dimensions  of  a  modern  Springfield  rifle,  perhaps  a 
little  heavier,  and  seems  to  have  been  a  most  effective  weapon.  The 
writer  lately  examined  this  historic  gun,  and  to  him,  ii  was  a  revelation 
that  the  breech-loader  preceded  the  percussion  rap. 

Ethan  Everest  lived  to  see  the  opening  of  the  War  of  the  Rebellion  ; 
and,  as  if  to  inspire  in  the  hearts  of  his  descendants  the  same  patriotism 
that  had  fired  his  own  heart,  and  nerved  his  arm,  when  his  country 
needed  his  service,  he  willed  the  gun  to  that  one  of  his  six  sons  who 
should  first  enlist  in  the  Union  Army,  to  put  down  the  rebellion.  Our 


CAPT.  JAMES  G.  EVEREST. 
Company  I. 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  573 

subject,  James  G.  Everest,  the  youngest  of  the  six  brothers,  was  the  first 
to  enlist,  and,  consequently,  was  entitled  to  the  precious  heir-loom, 
which  he  now  has  and  treasures  it  as  a  precious  relic,  and  ever  tangible 
proof  that  his  country  appreciated  and  acknowledged  his  father's 
patriotism. 

Captain  Everest  may  well  lay  claim  to  inheriting  his  father's  mili 
tary  spirit,  for.  when  only  eighteen  years  old,  he  was  a  member  of  the 
"  West  Boylston  Guards,"  attached  to  the  Eighth  regiment,  Massachu 
setts  State  Milita. 

At  an  enlistment  for  the  war,  captain  Everest's  employment  had  been 
railroading;  but  he  had  temporarily  switched  off  into  mining  in  the 
Rockies,  and  with  fair  success. 

He  enlisted  from  Chicago,  and  was  mustered  with  the  regiment  at 
Dixon,  Illinois.  His  enlistment  is  dated  May  3,  1861. 

He  served  as  first-lieutenant  until  March  17,  1862  ;  then  promoted 
captain,  vice  Wadsworth  resigned. 

Captain  Everest  contributed,  and  his  company  contributed,  their  full 
share  of  the  honorable  service  which  gained  the  Thirteenth  regiment 
particularly  honorable  mention  from  General  Hooker,  and  other  com 
manders  at  Lookout  Mountain,  Mission  Ridge,  and  Ringold  Gap  ;  and 
at  the  expiration  of  their  three  years'  term  of  service,  were  mustered  out 
with  the  regiment  at  Springfield,  Illinois,  on  June  18,  1864,  having 
served  three  years  and  two  months. 

While  on  a  leave  of  absence  home,  in  the  winter  of  1862  63,  lieutenant 
Everest  married  Miss  Nina  T.  Pratt  ;  and,  with  two  daughters,  is  now 
living  at  Englewobd,  Illinois. 

After  muster  out,  captain  Everest  returned  to  Chicago  and  resumed 
railroading  ;  and  his  ability  and  efficiency  are  abundantly  shown  by  the 
fact  that,  for  the  Chicago,  Milwaukee  and  St.  Paul  railway,  he  has 
filled  many  important  and  responsible  positions  for  the  last  twenty  con 
secutive  years.] 
Isaiah  Hibbard  Williams, 

Original  Junior  Lieutenant  of  the  Company  ;  enlisted  from  Chicago, 
May  23,  i86r,  and  on  the  next  day  was  mustered  with  the  regi 
ment  at  Dixon,  111. 

[Lieutenant  Williams  was  born  in  Hadley,  Hampshire  county, 
Massachusetts,  in  February,  1820.  At  enlistment,  he  was  thirty-three 
years  old.  He  had  a  light  complexion,  light  hair,  and  blue  eyes,  was 
stout  of  build,  about  five  feet  seven  inches  tall,  and  weighed  about  170 
pounds,  and  by  occupation  was  a  police  detective. 

He  was  of  a  pleasant  disposition,  always  good-natured,  was  a  gen 
eral  favorite,  but  had  not  the  soldierly  bearing  of  the  senior  lieutenant , 
and  military  drill  was  always  irksome  to  him.  He  was  a  most  genial 
companion,  however,  was  a  good  singer,  as  was  also  the  senior  lieuten- 


574  HISTORY    OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

ant  ;  and  the  two  were  in  request  for  duett  singing  for  the  entire  regi 
ment. 

Under  Colonel  Wyman,  as  Commander  of  the  Post  of  Rolla,  Mo. 
Lieutenant  Williams,  for  several  months,  served  acceptably  as  provost 
marshal.  % 

On  March  31,  1862,  he  resigned,  went  home  to  Chicago,  raised  a 
company  of  which  he  was  made  captain,  and  which  was  assigned  to  the 
Seventy-second  regiment.  Captain  Williams  took  his  company  to  the 
front,  but  himself  was  made  provost  marshal  of  Columbus,  Ky.,  for 
which  service  his  peculiar  ability  fitted  him.  After  some  months  of 
this  service,  he  again  resigned  and  went  into  private  life,  and  after  fol 
lowing  various  pursuits,  died  in  hospital  in  Chicago,  March  23,  1886,  at 
the  age  of  fifty-eight  years  and  one  month  ] 
George  Edward  Himnan, 

Original  first-sergeant;  enlisted  from  Blue  Island,  Cook  county,  111. 

[Lieutenant  Hinman  was  born  in  the  glorious  historic  town  of  Ben- 
uington,  Vt.,  November  7,  1826,  and  comes  of  an  old  Connecticut  family 
of  English  Puritans  whose  first  American  ancestor  was  Benjamin  Hin 
man,  of  \\oodbury,  Conn.,  and  the  American  history  of  the  family 
reaches  back  one  hundred  years  before  the  Revolutionary  War. 

From  Benningtou  the  family  moved  back  to  Connecticut,  from 
where  they  had  originally  gone  to  Vermont,  and  now  settUd  at  Litch- 
field,  where  the  subject  of  this  military  autobiography  passed  his 
minority  in  school,  and  in  learning  the  trade  of  a  molder. 

At  about  the  time  of  his  coming  of  age,  the  war  with  Mexico  broke 
out  and  young  Hinman  promptly  enlisted  at  New  York  City,  for  the  war, 
and  was  immediately  sent  to  Carlisle  Barracks,  Penn.,  and  drilled  for  six 
weeks,  expecting  every  day  to  be  sent  forward  to  the  front ;  but  at  this 
time,  Peace  was  declared,  the  war  was  at  an  end,  and  our  soldier  again 
became  a  citizen. 

The  drifting  period  which  comes  into  the  lives  of  most  young  men, 
now  claimed  our  ex-soldier,  and  a  migratory  life  for  several  years  set  in 
during  which  he  could  not  decide  for  what,  when,  or  where,  to  settle  into 
something  permanent ;  and  he  passed  through  many  vicissitudes  which 
would  have  been  dangerous  to  many  young  men,  but  in  him,  only 
seemed  to  strengthen  the  well  grounded  principles  of  a  judicious  early 
training  ;  and  so,  whether,  as  enlisting  for  two  wars  or  as  the  successful 
leader  of  a  revolting  Mississippi  river  steam  boat's  crew  against  the 
unbearable  abuse  of  a  brutal  mate,  the  exciting  quest  for  gold  in  the 
Colorado  canyons  about  Pike's  Peak  or, as  a  lion-tamer  in  a  menagerie 
of  wild  beasts;  the  out-come  was  to  bring  out  more  clearly  a  manhood 
which  was  the  assurance  of  a  citizenship  which  was  safely  trusted  in 
by  all  who  knew  him.  For  many  years  before  the  Rebellion,  Lieuten 
ant  Hinman  had  married  Miss  Anna  Fay,  of  Blue  Island,  Cook  county 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  575 

Illinois,  aud  at  the  breaking  out  of  the  war,  was  surrounded  by  a  large 
family  of  children.  Leaving  all,  he  enlisted  for  his  second  war,  trusting 
to  one  of  those  many  efficient  and  patriotic  wives  who  made  it  possible 
to  send  into  the  field  the  very  best  men  of  the  country,  to  care  for  home 
and  all  those  sacred  interests  which  our  citizen  soldiery  must  leave 
behind. 

He  was  mustered  with  the  regiment  at  Dixou,  111.,  May  24,  1861.  He 
was  thirty-three  years  old,  sandy  complexion,  light  hair,  and  blue  eyes, 
was  about  five  feet  ten  inches  tall,  and  weighed  one  hundred  and  seventy 
pounds.  He  served  as  first-sergeant  until  March  31,  1862,  when  he  was 
promoted  second-lieutenant,  vice  Williams  resigned. 

Lieutenant  Hinmau  served  all  through  the  terrible  Arkansas  cam 
paign,  which  completely  ruined  his  health,  and  it  was  with  the  greatest 
difficulty  that  he  made  the  journey  from  Batesville  to  Helena,  Ark.  One 
of  his  legs  swelled  frightfully,  and  the  skin  burst  open  lengthwise  in  two 
places ;  and  this  caused  him  great  distress  ;  and  while  we  all  prophesied 
his  speedy  death,  his  own  courage  never  faltered. 

He  was  discharged  at  Helena,  November  10,  1862,  for  rheumatism, 
and  resulting  heart  disease. 

The  most  loving  attention,  and  careful  home  nursing,  gave  back  to 
the  soldier  partial  health. 

Lieutenant  Hinman  has  been  honored  by  his  townsmen  with  such 
official  positions  as  his  physical  strength  would  admit  of  his  undertaking 
the  discharge  of.  He  has  been  deputy  sheriff,  superintendent  of  police, 
and  superintendent  of  public  works  ;  and  while  in  most  precarious  health, 
draws,  a  more  than  well  earned,  pension,  lives  loved  by  his  family,  and 
respected  by  all  who  know  him.] 
Frank  Thoma, 

Original  second-sergeant;  enlisted  from  Chicago  and  mustered  with 
the  regiment.  When  he  joined  Company  I,  Sergeant  Thoma  was  20 
years  old,  of  dark  complexion,  black  te}es  aud  hair,  about  five  feet, 
seven  inches  tall,  stout  of  build,  and  would  weigh  about  a  hundred 
and  fifty  pounds.  He  had  a  pleasant  disposition,  always  cheerful 
and  easily  made  friends  with  his  comrades,  and  was  tidy  in  his  dress, 
and  soldiej-ly  in  his  bearing. 

Sergeant  Thorna  had  drilled  with  the  "Ellsworth  Zouaves,  "and 
had  acquired  facility  in  the  intricate  fancy  drill  of  that  famous  body 
of  citizen  soldiery  ;  and  now  found  the  value  of  that  drill  which 
gave  him  an  enviable  prestige  among  the  comrades  of  the  regiment. 
Sergeant  Thoma  was  transferred  to  the  invalid  corps  on  March 
I5th,  1864,  aud  did  not  again  join  the  company  during  the  remain 
ing  three  months  of  their  service. 

Sergeant  Thoma  is  now  a  resident  of  Des  Plains,  Cook  County, 
Illinois,  where  he  is  living  in  prosperous  circumstances,  aud  sur- 
roundtd  by  an  interesting  family. 


576  HISTORY   OF   THE    THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

Hyacinth  Cunniffe, 

Original  third-sergeant ;  enlisted  from  Chicago  and  mustered  with 
the  regiment.  He  was  of  Spanish-Irish  parentage,  was  twenty-two 
years  old,  had  fair  complexion,  black  eyes  and  hair,  tall  and  slight 
of  build,  about  five  feet,  nine  inches  tall,  £ud  would  weigh  about 
one  hundred  and  thirty-five  pounds. 

Sergeant  Cunniffe  was  somewhat  singular  in  his  ways,  but  not 
unpleasantly  so.  On  the  whole,  generally  liked. 

Sergeant  from  date  of  enlistment  to  Nov.  loth,  1862,  then  pro 
moted  second-lieutenant  to  June  3d,  1863  ;  vice  Hiuman  resigned, 
then  first- lieutenant,  vice  Everest  promoted. 

At  Lookout  Mountain,  the  night  of  Nov.  24th,  1863,  was  cold, 
foggy  and  cheerless  ;  and  Lieutenant  Cunniffe  was  heard  to  say  that 
he  was  going  to  some  of  the  fires  to  get  warm.  Some  of  the  fires 
within  sight  were  those  of  the  enemy,  and  it  was  presumed  that  he 
became  confused  and  approached  a  rebel  fire  and  was  captured. 

Although  Lieutenant  Cunniffe  returned  North  after  the  war,  and 
has  been  met  by  some  of  the  surviving  members  of  our  company,  no 
detailed  authentic  narrative  of  his  capture  and  captivity,  has  ever 
reached  the  writer.  His  residence,  not  long  since,  is  said  to  have 
been  Grand  Rapids,  Michigan. 
John  B.  Baker, 

Original  fourth-sergeant  ;  enlisted  from  Blue  Island,  Cook  County, 
Illinois,  and  was  mustered  with  the  regiment.  He  was  thirty-two 
years  old,  of  light  complexion,  light  hair,  and  blue  eyes,  about  five 
feet,  nine  inches  tall,  of  stout  build  and  would  weigh  one  hundred 
and  eighty  pounds. 

Sergeant  Baker  was  good-natured  and  jolly,  and  was  well  liked. 
Heart  disease  compelled  his  discharge,  Nov.  2ist,  1861. 
John  Paul  Evans, 

Original  fifth-sergeant;  enlisted  from  Chicago  and  mustered  with  the 
regiment.  He  was  twenty-four  years  old,  of  dark  complexion,  black 
eyes  and  hair,  slimly  built,  about  five  feet  ten  inches  tall,  and  would 
weigh  about  one  hundred  and  forty  pounds  ;  transferred  to  Bowen's 
Battalion  of  the  Tenth  Missouri  Cavalry,  November  I,  1861.  Pres 
ent  residence  not  known. 
Charles  Williams, 

Original  first-corporal;  enlisted  from  the  town  of  Worth,  Cook 
County,  Illinois,  and  was  mustered  with  the  regiment. 

He  was  twenty-seven  years  old,  of  light  complexion,  light  hair 
and  blue  eyes,  about  five  feet  ten  inches  tall,  well  built  and  would 
weigh  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  pounds. 

Corporal  Williams  had  a  soldierly  bearing,  clothes,  arms  and 
equipments  always  in  good  order. 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  577 

He  veteranized  January  i,   1864;  mustered  as  a  veteran  January 

29,  1864  ;  was  assigned  to  Company  I,  Fifty  Sixth  Illinois  Infantry  ; 

was  given  a  Descriptive  Roll  and  sent  to  the  front.     Present  resi 
dence  not  known. 
David  C.  Button, 

Original  second  corporal  ;  enli-ted  from  the  town  of  Worth,  Cook 

County,  Illinois,  and  was  mustered  with  the  regiment. 

Corporal  Button  was  thirty-five  years  old.    A  diseased  leg  caused 

his  discharge  from  the  service  atRolla,  Missouri,  September  21,  1861. 
Thomas  Vaughn, 

Original  third-corporal ;  enlisted  from  Chicago,  and  was  mustered 

with  the  regiment. 

Hernia  in  the  left  side,   compelled  the  discharge    of  Corporal 

Vaughn,  on  December  23,  1861.     Present  residence  not  known. 

[Corporal  Vaughn  had  been  a  British  soldier.  He  was  thirty-seven 
years  old,  spare  build,  about  five  feet  nine  inches  tall,  light  complex 
ion,  light  hair,  blue  eyes,  and  would  weigh  about  one  hundred  and 
thirty -five  pounds. 

He  was  eccentric,  but  very  quiet  in  his  behaviour,  and  was  in  the 
habit  of  frequently,  without  regard  to  the  time  of  day,  brewing  a  little 
tea  or  coffee,  at  any  camp-fire  that  happened  to  be  lighted,  whether  in 
our  company  or  not.  This  he  did  in  a  little  tin  fruit-can  with  a  wire 
bale  or  handle,  which  made  it  convenient  for  fastening  to  his  belt  when 
marching  ;  and  even  when  a  halt  was  called,  even  for  a  few  minutes, 
which  would  general  I}7  be  where  there  was  water,  the  ever  ready  little 
packages  of  tea,  coffee  and  sugar,  which  had  come  to  be  the  inseparable 
companions  of  the  veteran  soldier,  were  taken  from  the  haversack  or 
knap-sack,  the  little  tin  fruit-can  kettle  was  unhitched  from  the  belt, 
the  ever  ready  match  had  lighted  a  few  small  twigs  ;  and  in  a  surpris 
ingly  few  minutes,  a  delicious  cup  of  coffee  or  tea  had  been  adjusted  to 
the  place  where  it  would  do  the  most  good.] 
Orren  T.  Alfred, 

O/igiual  fourth-corporal;  enlisted  from  Blue  Island,  Cook  County , 

Illinois  ;  mustered  with  the  regiment. 

Corporal  Alfred  was  twenty-six  years  old,  served  as  Corporal  to- 

April  i,  1862,  then  promoted  Sergeant.     On  November  18,  1863,  at 

Helena,  Arkansas,  hemorrhage  of  the  lungs  compelled  his  discharge 

from  service. 
Frank  Benthusen, 

Original    fifth-corporal  ;    enlisted   from   Algonquin,  Lake   County, 

Illinois,  and  mustered  with  the  regiment. 

Corporal  Benthusen  was  twenty-two  years   old,  and  was   only 

a  little   more  than  two  months   in  the  service,    when  he  deserted 

while  on  furlough,  August  3,  1861.    Subsequent  career  not  known. 


578  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH   REGIMENT 

An  son  C.    Tut  hill, 

Original  sixth-corporal;  enlisted  at  Chicago  from  Galesburg,  111.; 
mustered  in  with  the  regiment ;  born  in  East  Otto,  Cattaraugus 
county,  New  York,  on  July  26,  1840  ;  he  had  light  complexion,  light 
blue  eyes,  light  hair,  was  five  feet  eight  inches  tall,  stout  build,  and 
weighed  one  hundred  and  sixty  pounds  ;  his  occupation  was  railroad 
ing. 

[Corporal  Tuthill  was  from  English  ancestors  on  his  father's  side, 
who  settled  on  Long  Island  ;  while  his  mother's  ancestors  came  from  a 
Scotch  line,  and  settled  in  Massachusetts.  His  grandfather  Crombie  was 
in  the  battle  of  Platts'mrgh,  while  his  grandmother  Crimbie  was  with 
in  sound  of  the  guns  of  that  battle.  His  father  was  born  in  the  town  of 
Saxton's  River,  Vt.,  and  moved  to  and  settled  in  the  State  of  New  York, 
from  where  he  moved  to  Illinois,  settling  first  in  Crete,  and  afterwards  in 
Galesburg. 

Comrade  Tuthill  has  filled  every  grade  on  a  railroad  train  except 
engineer,  from  train-boy  to  conductor.  He  was  breaking  on  the  first 
train  that  carried  supplies  for  our  troops  through  from  Chicago  to  Cairo, 
which  train  had  been  threatened  with  destruction  at  Carbondale,  by  the 
rebel  sympathizers,  as  it  was  carrying  a  large  amount  of  ammunition 
and  other  munitions  of  war  for  the  first  of  our  troops  stationed  there. 
The  train,  however,  strongly  guarded,  went  safely  through. 

Corporal  Tuthill  saw  all  the  long  and  tedious  campaign  of  the  Thir 
teenth  Regiment,  up  to  the  surrender  of  Vicksburg,  and  then,  while 
General  McPherson  was  in  command,  he  was  detailed  for  railroad  serv 
ice  under  Colonel  J.  Condit  Smith,  Chief  Quartermaster  of  the  Fifteenth 
Army-Corps,  which  was  then  Sherman's  Corps,  in  which  he  served  up  to 
March,  1864,  when  he  was  furloughed  ;  but  on  April  15,  1864,  reported 
back  to  Quartermaster  Smith,  at  Huutsville,  Ala.,  and  on  being  relieved 
by  that  officer,  from  his  detailed  service,  rejoined  our  regiment,  then 
stationed  in  that  vicinity. 

It  was  at  this  time  that  our  regiment,  having  but  seven  days  more  to 
serve  to  complete  their  term,  and  while  at  Madison  Station,  Ala.,  prepar 
ing  for  their  home  journey  to  be  mustered  out,  was  attacked  on  May  17, 
1864,  by  a  considerable  rebel  force,  far  in  excess  of  our  own,  commanded 
by  the  Confederate  General  Roddy,  who  were  finally  driven  off,  but  not 
until  after  a  desperate  fight  on  our  part,  and  the  capture  of  about  sixty 
of  our  men.  Among  these  latter  was  Corporal  Tuthill  ;  and  that  part  of 
the  rebel  force  by  which  he  was  captured,  was  under  the  immediate 
command  of  a  Colonel  Patterson.  The  captors  of  our  men  robbed  them 
of  the  contents  of  their  pockets,  and  even  of  their  haversacks,  which 
contained  some  food. 

The  march  of  the  prisoners  was  towards  the  Tennessee  river  ;  and 
on  that  march  one  of  the  rebel  guard  by  the  name  of  Kendall,  found 


CORPORAL  AXSON  C.   TUTHILL. 
Company  I. 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  579 

means  to  hold  enough  conversation  with  Corporal  Tuthill  to  assure  him 
that  he  himself  fully  intended  to  desert  the  rebel  cause,  and  would  have 
done  so  before  then,  had  it  not  been  for  the  fact  that  before  leaving  for 
the  North  he  must  draw  from  a  small  store  of  money  which  he  had 
secreted,  for  his  traveling  expenses  ;  and  the  further  and  more  impor 
tant  fact  that,  before  leaving  he  must  see  a  young  lady  whom  he  hoped 
sometime,  to  marry. 

Being  satisfied  of  the  honesty  of  his  guard,  corporal  Tuthill  con 
spired  with  him  to  effect  his  own  escape  ;  and  many  plans  were  discussed 
which  were  either  ineffectual,  or  too  dangerous  to  undertake. 

After  crossing  the  Tennessee,  the  prisoners  would  be  somewhat  less 
vigilantly  guarded,  but  the  chances  for  escape  would  be  fewer,  and 
much  more  difficult  of  achievement.  Kendall  now  proposed  that  his 
prisoner  should  feign  sickness  hoping  to  be  left  behind,  trusting  that 
something  favorable  would  turn  up  ;  but  his  prisoner  was  of  the  opinion 
that  real  sickness  would  do  better  ;  and  suiting  the  action  to  the  word, 
he  immediately  swallowed  a  large  quantity  of  tobacco-juice  which  made 
him  deathly  sick  in  earnest  ;  and  he  lay  down  in  the  road  and  begged 
to  be  killed  ;  one  of  the  subordinate  rebel  officers  proposed  to  take 
him  at  his  word,  and  all  the  other  sick  prisoners  as  well  ;  but  Colonel 
Patterson  would  not  allow  so  diabolical  a  scheme  to  be  carried  out  ;  and 
a  more  humane  policy  prevailed.  Kendall  was  allowed  to  furnish  the 
sick  prisoner  with  a  horse  ;  but  comrade  Tuthill  was  too  sick  to  keep 
up  with  the  main  force,  and  he  and  Kendall  were  left  to  fall  behind. 
Kendall  now  proposed  to  take  his  prisoner's  blouse,  shoot  a  hole  through 
the  body  of  it,  and  while  the  prisoner  was  making  a  desperate  strike 
for  liberty,  he  would  take  the  blouse  to  Colonel  Patterson  and  show 
it  to  "him.  and  swear  that  he  had  shot  the  damned  Yankee  while  he  was 
trying  to  ecsape.  This  plan  was  also  given  up  as  too  dangerous  while  the 
Dixie  side  of  the  river  was  so  thoroughly  patrolled  by  Forest's  forces. 

Having  reached  Okalona,  Mississippi,  where  the  prisoners  were 
turned  over  to  the  rebel  General  Forest,  the  captives  were  crowded  into 
cattle-cars  and  taken  to  Meridian,  Mississippi,  during  which  journey 
they  had  nothing  to  eat  until  the  paroled  Vicksburg  prisoners  divided 
their  rations  with  our  boys  of  the  Thirteenth,  which  partly  satisfied 
their  hunger. 

From  Meridian,  again  in  cattle-cars  to  McDowal's  Landing,  on  the 
Tombigbee  River,  where  the  beautiful  natural  surroundings  of  bursting 
flowers  and  foliage  of  the  semi-tropical  springtime,  and  the  usually  en 
livening  strains  of  a  steamboat  caliope,  were  in  rude  and  chilling  con 
trast  with  the  gloomy  shadows,  and  dark  forebodings  of  our  unfortunate 
comrades  on  their  sad  journey  to  unknown  rebel  prisons. 

From  McDowal's  Lauding,  the  boys  were  put  011  board  a  transport 
and  shipped  to  Demopolis,  from  there  to  Selma,  and  thence  to  Cahaba, 


580  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT  , 

Alabama.  After  a  few  months  they  were  returned  to  Meridian,  Missis 
sippi,  and  confined  in  the  prisoners  stockade,  and  suffered  much  from 
hunger  and  sickness  ;  and  here  Corporal  Tuthill  was  enabled  to  do  con 
siderable  towards  ameliorating  the  sad  condition  of  those  sick  and 
hungry  men,  having  been  permitted  to  go  outsid*  the  stockade  and 
procure  many  needed  comforts  for  his  sick  comrades. 

It  was  here,  and  then,  that  Alonzo  H.  (Ben)  Palmer,  of  Company  I, 
killed,  dressed  and  cooked,  the  old  stockade  cat  which  was  devoured 
with  the  keenest  relish  ;  and  comrade  Tuthill  was  offered  ten  dollars, 
payable  after  the  war,  on  condition  that  the  contracting  parties  lived  to 
go  home  again,  if  he  would  deliver,  dead  or  alive,  inside  the  stockade,  a 
certain  well-to-do  dog,  which  Ben  Palmer,  with  a  hungry  covetousness 
had  seen  through  the  cracks  or  the  stockade  from  day  to  day.  But  this, 
if  discovered,  would  have  deprived  Corporal  Tuthill  of  his  partial  liberty, 
and  was  given  up. 

In  this  stockade,  and  about  this  time,  John  Tirtlop,  of  company  K, 
died. 

And  now,  fearing  that  the  Yankee  General  Wilson,  in  his  great  raid, 
might  scoop  in  all  their  prisoners,  and  themselves  as  well,  five  hundred 
prisoners  were  hurried  off  back  again  to  Cahaba  prison.  This  was  about 
December,  1864.  Through  the  ensuing  winter,  there  were  plenty  of 
plots  and  plans  for  escape,  but  very  few  got  safely  off. 

Next  spring  the  rivers  overflowed  and  the  country  was  inundated; 
and  the  prisoners  at  Cahaba  were  obliged  to  climb  anything  at  hand  to 
keep  out  of  the  water,  which  was  quite  deep  all  through  the  prison,  and 
it  became  necessary  to  remove  the  prisoners  to  prevent  their  drowning; 
for  which  purpose,  the  steamer  Henry  King  took  off  the  Cahaba  prison 
ers,  who  had  to  wade  breast-high  in  water  to  reach  the  boat.  On  going 
on  board  hard-tack  was  poured  on  the  deck,  as  though  foddering  hogs  ; 
and  the  hungry  prisoners  scrambled  eagerly  for  the  precious  food  ;  and 
Tim  Horrigan,  of  company  I  scrabbled  up  more  than  the  others,  and  hid 
it  in  his  bosom  under  his  shirt,  lest  the  rebs  should  take  it  away  from 
him.  This  he  divided  generously  among  his  comrades,  and  it  lasted 
two  or  three  days. 

Running  down  the  Alabama  to  its  junction  with  the  Tombigbee,  the 
steamer  turned  up  the  latter  river,  and  the  very  first  night,  the  cry  of  a 
man  overboard,  rang  through  the  vessel,  which  promptly  rounded  to, 
and  a  short  search  discovered  poor  old  Tim  Horrigau,  who  had  done  the 
boys  of  the  Thirteenth  so  good  a  turn  in  hiding  so  many  crackers  inside 
his  shirt,  on  going  on  board  the  boat  at  Cahaba.  Tim  had  caught  hold  of 
the  limb  of  a  tree  that  the  Lord  had  caused  the  flood  to  set  out  in  the 
river  for  Tim's  use.  Tim,  it  is  a  pleasure  to  say,  was  rescued,  and  lived 
to  be  mustered  out  of  the  service. 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  581 

On  the  way  up  to  Gainsville,  comrade  Tuthill  and  his  comrades  suc 
ceeded  in  spiking  two  guns  for  the  Confederate  states. 

From  Gainsville,  they  were  taken  again  to  Meridian,  and  soon  to 
Jackson,  where  they  were  paroled,  went  to  Four-Mile  Bridge,  near 
Vicksburg,  thence  soon  to  St.  Louis,  where  Comrade  Tuthill  was  free 
from  parades,  prisons,  and  paroles  ;  and  was  mustered  out  of  service  on 
May  I5th,  1865. 

On  November  I4th,  1888,  Comrade  Tuthill  married  Mrs.  Sannie 
McCabe  at  Zanesville.  Ohio.  Mrs.  McCabe  was  the  widowed  daughter 
of  Dr.  J.  B.  Irwin,  who  was  very  prominent  in  the  work  of  sending  for 
ward  both  troops  and  surgeons  from  Ohio  to  the  Union  army.  Dr. 
Irwin  was  State  examining  surgeon  for  Ohio.  In  both  civil  and  political 
life,  also,  Dr.  Irwin  was  no  less  prominent  and  popular,  having  been 
once  mayor  of  the  city  of  Putnam  and  two  terms  in  succession  he  was 
mayor  of  the  city  of  Zanesville,  Ohio.  Comrade  Tuthill's  wife  had 
passed  much  of  her  early  life  in  her  father's  office  and  was  an  accom 
plished  medical  student.  As  the  wife  of  a  Union  veteran  soldier,  Mrs. 
Tuthill  patriotically  seconds  her  husband  in  Grand  Army  movements, 
and  in  keeping  alive,  and  cherishing  the  memories  which  lead  back 
thirty  years  to  the  great  struggle  for  National  existence. 

Comrade  Tuthill,  until  recently,  had  been  for  two  years,  guide  and 
lecturer  at  the  Libby  Prison  War  Museum  in  Chicago,  but  has  now 
severed  his  connection  with  that  institution,  and  is  now  merchandizing. 

Latest  address,  3486  Archer  Avenue,  Chicago,  Illinois.] 
Israel  C.  Vining, 

Original  Seventh  Corporal  ;  enlisted  from  Chicago,  and  mustered 
with  the  regiment. 

Corporal  Vining  was  born  in  Hatfield,  Hampshire  county,  Mass.; 
was  twenty-three  years  old,  slim  of  build,  about  five  feet  ten  inches 
tall,  and  would  weigh  about  135  pounds.  Was  of  light  complexion, 
light  hair,  and  blue  eyes,  and  by  occupation,  a  broom-maker. 

Corporal  Vining  had  the  disposition  of  a  mild  grumbler  ;  but  it 
disturbed  no  one,  and  he  possessed  man}-  amiable  qualities. 

He  died  in  hospital  at  Memphis,  Tenn.,  on  January  5,  1864,  of 
chronic  diarrhoea. 
Edward  R.  Vining, 

Was  a  brother  of  the  above,  with  the  same  place  of  nativity  and 
same  occupation.  He  was  the  original  Eighth  Corporal  ;  enlisted 
from  Chicago,  and  was  mustered  with  the  regiment. 

Corporal  E.  R.  Viniug  was  thirty-one  years  old,  light  complex 
ion,  black  hair  and  blue  eyes,  of  medium  stature,  about  five  feet 
eight  inches  tall,  and  would  weigh  about  140  pounds. 

When  off  duty,  Corporal  E.  R.  Vining  was  a  most  efficient  mem 
ber  of  Company  Q,  and  in  its  service,  never  returned  from  the  field 


582  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

of  action  unless  laden  with  trophies  of  his  prowess  in  the  line  of 
pigs,  chickens,  roosters,  etc.,  and  when  on  duty,  he  sought  out  the 
owners  of  the  plunder  mentioned  above,  and  took  their  scalps  if  he 
could. 

One  of  Corporal  E.  R.  Vining's  comrades  wh8  campaigned  with 
him  for  three  years,  says  that  he  was  a  perfect  lion   in  a  fight,  and' 
was  absolutely  without  fear.     His  ancestors  were  of  the  real  New 
England  fighting  stock. 

Corporal  Viniug  was  mustered  out  with  the  regiment ;  returned 
to  Chicago  and  resumed  his  former  occupation.     He  was  never  mar 
ried,  and  is  now  an  inmate  of  the  National  Soldier's  Home  at  Mil 
waukee,  Wis. 
A  staunch  and  patriotic  Unionist,  a  brave  soldier,  and  a  good  friend. 

Michael  Askins, 

Private;  enlisted  from  Springfield,  111.,  and  was  mustered  with  the 
regiment. 

Private  Askins  was  twenty-four  years  old,  of  dark  complexion, 
black  eyes  and  hair,  compactly  built,  about  five  feet  seven  inches 
tall,  and  would  weigh  about  135  pounds.  Corporal  Askins  (made 
such  on  Oct.  2d,  1861)  served  until  June  I4th,  1863,  when  he  was 
promoted  sergeant.  He  was  left  behind  with  the  Telegraph  Corps, 
(presumably  about  Vicksburg)  and  mustered  out  of  service  as  ser 
geant,  June  22d,  1864. 
At  last  accounts  he  was  living  at  Hunter,  Green  County,  New  York. 

Thomas  B.  Beers, 

Private.  He  enlisted  from  Chicago,  and  was  mustered  with  the  reg 
iment.  He  was  twenty-eight  years  old  but  was  with  the  regi 
ment  but  four  mouths,  when  he  was  discharged  from  the  service 
at  Rolla,  Mo.,  on  Sept.  2ist,  1861,  with  a  broken  ankle. 

Caspner  Burkel, 

Private.  He  was  enlisted  from  Chicago,  and  mustered  with  the 
regiment.  He  veteranized  Jan.  ist,  1864,  and  mustered  at  Wood- 
ville,  Ala.,  Jan.  29th,  1864,  by  Lieut.  Ronan,  and  assigned  to  Com 
pany  I,  fifty -sixth  Illinois  infantry.  He  must  have  been  a  good  man, 
and  was  mustered  out  of  service,  Jan.  5th,  1865. 

Thomas  J.  Chatt, 

Private.  He  was  enlisted  frem  Chicago,  and  mustered  with  the 
regiment.  Private  Chatt  was  twenty-five  years  old,  light  com 
plexion,  light  hair,  blue  eyes,  large  of  stature,  about  six  feet  tall, 
and  would  weigh  in  the  vicinity  of  two  hundred  pounds.  Good 
natured,  obedient  to  orders,  and  very  respectful. 

On  the  march  from  Batesville  to  Helena,  Ark.,  the  day  after 
crossing  the  Cache  River,  on  July  9th,  1862,  and  four  days  before 
reaching  Helena,  Private  Chatt  was  so  unfortunate  as  to  have  his 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY.  583 

right  hand  shot  to  pieces  by  carelessness  in  putting  his  gun  into  a 
stack.     Amputation  was  necessary  but  he  was  not  discharged  until 
Dec.  i8th,  1862,  at  Helena,  Ark. 
James  Cong  don, 

Private.     Was  enlisted  from  Chicago  and  mustered  with  the  regi 
ment.     He  was  twenty-five  years  old,  and  deserted  from  Rolla,  Mo., 
Aug.  3ist,  1861. 
Aurora  B.  Callender, 

Private.     Was  enlisted  from  Chicago,  and  mustered  with  the  regi 
ment.     He  was  twenty-nine  years  old,  and  deserted  from  Jefferson 
Barracks,  Mo.,  on  Sept.  2ist,  1863. 
William  Chase, 

Private.     He  was   enlisted   from    Chicago,  and   mustered   with  the 
regiment.     He  was  twenty-seven  years  old  and  deserted  from  Rolla, 
Mo.,  on  Aug.  3ist,  1861. 
Jesse  A.  Betts, 

Private.  Enlisted  from  Washington,  Wis.,  and  mustered  with  the 
regiment.  He  was  thirty-two  years  old,  of  light  complexion,  light 
hair  and  blue  eyes,  small  of  stature,  five  feet  six  inches  tall,  and 
weighed  one  hundred  and  thirty  pounds.  By  occupation  he  was  a 
lake  sailor.  Promoted  corporal,  November  16,  1861,  at  Rolla,  Mo. 
Veteranized  on  January  i,  1864,  at  Woodville,  Ala.,  and  mustered 
by  Lieutenant  Rouan  on  January  29,  1864,  and  went  to  the  front, 
having  been  assigned  to  Company  I,  Fifty-sixth  Illinois  Infantry. 
In  this  company  also,  he  had  been  a  corporal,  but  left  his  company 
without  leave,  and  was  marked  as  a  deserter;  but  thirteen  days 
afterward,  he  shipped  on  the  United  State  Ram  "Vindicator"  by  the 
name  of  George  Darrow.  He  had  deserted  from  the  Fifty-sixth 
Illinois  at  Indianapolis,  Ind. ,  and  had  shipped  on  the  "  Vindicator" 
at  Mound  City,  111.  Under  the  name  of  George  Darrow  he  served 
on  the  "Vindicator"  until  July  5th,  1865,  when  he  was  honorably 
discharged. 

[In  the  spring  of  1863,  I  was  mustered  out  of  the  Thirteenth  Illinois, 
to  receive  promotion  ;  and  thence  forward  to  the  end  of  the  war,  I  served 
in  Company  I,  Fifty-first  United  States  Colored  Troops.  Sometime  in  the 
summer  of  1864,  being  stationed  at  Vicksburg,  Miss.,  one  rainy  day  I 
heard  a  scratch  on  the  flap  of  the  tent,  and  my  "come  in"  brought  in  a 
boy  who  handed  me  a  small  folded  paper,  but  reluctantly,  until  he  was 
sure  that  my  name  was  the  one  for  which  he  was  hunting.  The  boy 
waited  until  I  had  opened  and  read  the  note,  which  was  signed  :  "George 
Darrow,"  ("Jesse  Betts.") 

For  two  years  I  had  campaigned  with,  and  intimately  known,  Jesse 
Betts  both  of  us  members  of  Company  I,  Thirteenth  Illinois,  and  I  had 
found  him  a  pleasant,  and  more  than  commonly  intelligent  companion, 


584  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

and  popular  among  his  comrades,  for  he  could  tell  a  good  story,  or  sing 
a  good  song,  which  helped  largely  to  dispel  the  camp-fire  gloom  after 
marching  all  day  in  the  rain  and  mud,  and  the  difficulty  of  cooking  cof 
fee  when  the  neighboring  planter's  fence-rails  were  wet  and  soggy.  On 
the  return  of  our  regiment  to  Rolla,  Missouri,  from  Springfield,  where 
we  had  been  ordered  to  join  General  Fremont's  army,  in  the  fall  of  1861, 
the  day  we  occupied  our  winter  camp,  Jesse  A.  Betts  was  made  a  Cor 
poral.  This  does  not  appear  on  any  muster-rolls  that  I  have  examined, 
but  I  distinctly  recollect  the  circumstance  of  considerable  jubilation 
among  his  admiring  comrades. 

Corporal  Betts  performed  his  duties  to  the  satisfaction  of  his  supe 
rior  officers,  and  I  was  very  much  surprised  to  learn  that  after  he  veter 
anized,  he  deserted. 

I  have  felt  it  necessary  to  keep  the  boy  waiting  until  I  could  bring 
up  the  rear-guard  of  Corporal  Betts'  military  history  to  intelligibly 
couple  on  the  remainder. 

The  note  stated  that  an  old  friend  and  comrade  wished  to  see  me 
to  explain  the  reasons  for  his  desertion,  of  which  he  stood  charged  ;  but 
would  not  trust  himself  in  my  hands  except  under  a  written  pledge 
that  I  would  do  nothing  against  him  until  after  his  explanation  in  per 
son.  I  wrote  the  pledge  and  sent  the  boy  off  with  it,  and  somewhat  un 
easily  awyaited  developments. 

I  had  not  long  to  wait  when  a  second  "  Come  in,"  followed  a  second 
scratch,  and  he  whom  I  had  formerly  known  as  "Jesse  Betts,"  but  now 
"George  Darrow,"  stood  before  me  ;  and  his  hand-clasp  seemed  to  indi 
cate  that  he  was  glad  to  meet  a  comrade  to  whom  he  could  freely  talk  ; 
while  my  own  hand-clasp  was  intended  to  indicate  to  him  that  I  was  not 
only  glad  to  see  him,  but  that  he  should  be  treated  fairly  in  the  inter 
view. 

I  cannot  detail  this  conversation,  if  I  would  ;  neither  would  it  be 
necessary  to  this  history,  if  I  could. 

Corporal  Betts  reviewed  his  connection  with  our  old  company,  in 
which  he  had  made  many  pleasant  acquaintances,  which  he  would  wish 
to  retain  through  life  were  it  possible,  and  while  he  had  done  the  one 
act  that  would  make  future  association  with  these  friends  impossible,  it 
was,  he  said,  done  advisedly,  after  much  anxious  thought,  and  the  con 
clusion  was  reached;  not  only  by  him,  but  by  others,  that  desertion  was 
the  only  alternative  of  escape  from  the  troubles  somewhat  vaguely  spec 
ified  by  him,  and  not  clearly  understood  by  me.  He  particularly  called 
my  attention  to  the  fact,  that  in  deserting,  he  had  not  deserted  the  serv 
ice  ;  which  he  was  prepared  to  show  me  if  I  would  go  down  to  the  wharf 
where  then  lay  the  United  States  Ram  "  Vindicator,"  on  which  he 
claimed  to  have  a  position  of  honor.  The  storm  prevented  my  going  that 
day,  but  I  gave  him  my  word  that  I  would  do  so  next  day.  In  parting, 


ILLINOIS    VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY.  585 

he  told  me  that  he  did  so  with  a  lighter  heart  than  he  had  felt  in  many 
a  day. 

The  next  day  I  went  to  the  city,  and  on  going  down  to  the  wharf, 
there,  sure  enough,  lay  the  "Vindicator,"  but  would  the  "  Vindicator," 
of  the  Navy,  prove  to  be  the  vindicator  of  my  friend's  character  for  ver 
acity  ?  I  went  on  board  and  saluted  the  "  Officer  of  the  Deck,"  who 
politely  returned  my  salnte  and  asked  how  he  could  serve  me.  I  told 
him  I  had  called  to  find  an  old  friend  by  the  name  of  George  Darrow. 
He  replied  that  there  was  a  man  on  board  by  that  name  ;  upon  which 
he  called  one  of  his  men  and  told  him  to  show  the  officer  to  the  quarters 
of  Mr.  Darrow.  I  am  sure  that  my  memory  is  not  at  fault  as  to  his  say 
ing  Mr.  Darrow.  This  puzzled  me  a  little,  but  I  thought  that  I  had 
read  somewhere  in  Marryat  or  Cooper  of  that  title  being  used  on  ship 
board,  but  I  somehow  got  the  impression  that  it  was  only  applied 
to  officers  of  a  certain  rank.  After  threading  a  maze  of  marine  archi 
tectural  intricacies,  my  guide  rapped  at  a  door  and  I  was  ushered  into 
a  cubby-hole  which  proved  to  be  the  quarters  of  my  friend,  George 
Darrow,  who  now  stood  up  to  receive  me  ;  and  when  the  guide  had 
retired,  we  indulged  in  a  long  shake.  "Why,"  said  I,  "comrade 
Darrow,  you  look  for  all  the  world  like  an  old  friend  of  mine  whose 
name  was  Jesse  A.  Beits."  "  Hush  !"  he  whispered,  fairly  snatching 
the  words  from  the  tip  of  my  tongue  almost  before  they  were  uttered,  at 
the  same  time  casting  a  scared  look  all  over  the  floor,  ceiling,  and 
walls  of  his  cubby-hole,  he  continued  under  his  breath,  "  The  potatoes 
for my  dinner  have eyes  ;  and  even  that  canned  corn  once  had  ears  ;  and 
neither  the  eyes  nor  the  ears  must  ever  know  anything  about  the  name 
you  have  just  used."  But  all  other  names  could  be  used  with  im 
punity  ;  and  he  plied  me  with  question  after  question  about  his  old  com 
rades,  which  I  answered  to  the  best  of  my  ability.  When  I  rose  to  go, 
and  our  hands  clasped  for  the  last  time  on  earth,  there  was  a  moisture  in 
his  eyes,  which  could  hardly  be  attributed  to  the  strength  of  his  tobacco. 
On  passing  out,  he  took  me  by  a  different  route  from  the  one  of  my  en 
trance,  and,  pulling  off  the  tarpaulin  from  a  beautiful  brass  gun,  he  said, 
"lam  the  Captain  of  this  gun  ;  and  I  have  a  crew  under  me  whose 
duty  in  action  is  to  serve  this  gun,  under  my  directions  ;  and  there  is 
daily  drill  at  all  other  times.  I  am  responsible  for  the  condition  of  the 
gun  and  the  efficiency  of  my  men  ;"  and  he  patted  and  caressed  the 
gun  as  though  it  had  been  his  sweetheart.  Continuing,  he  said  :  "  I 
wish  you  could  hear  her  voice  ;  but  she  scarce  ever  talks  unless  she  has 
something  serious  to  say.  I  replied  that  she  would  probably  be  more 
loquacious  when  talking  to  the  rebs.  "That  is  so,"  said  he  ;  "She  can 
scold  and  dispute  like  a  very  drab  ;  and  insists  on  having  the  last  word." 
This  being  "  Captain  of  the  gun,"  undoubtedly  solved  the  problem  of 
the  title  of  "  Mr."  and  I  came  to  the  conclusion  that  "  George  Darrow," 


586  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

as  captain  of  that  guu,  was  doing  his  country  far  more  valuable  service 

than  could  "Jesse  A.  Betts,"  while  being  shot  as  a  deserter. 
And  so  we  parted  ;  and  I  never  saw  him  again. 
As  I  crossed  the  deck  towards  the  exit  gangway,  I  asked  the  officer 

of  the  deck,  the  standing  of  my  friend  Darrow,  qn  the  ship.     The  officer 

replied  :  "  none  but  a  first-class  man  can  be  captain  of  a  gun  ;  and  such, 

George  Darrow  is." 

I  left  the  good  ship  Vindicator,  with  mingled  emotions  of  sorrow 

and  pride.     Sorrow,  that  commissioned  officers  could  be  found  in  our 

service,  who  could   be   so  abusive   as  to   drive   their  men  to  desertion. 

Pride,  that  we  had  men  whom  no  amount  of  abuse  could  drive  out  of  the 

service. 

Only  a  few  years  since,  Corporal  Jesse   A.  Betts,  otherwise  Captain 

George  Darrow,  then  a  married  man,  died  of  lung  disease,  in  Buffalo,  N.  Y., 

and  was  buried  in  Tonawanda,  same  State,  where  his  widow  now  resides.] 

John  A.   Curtis, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Chicago;  mustered  in  with  the  regiment ;  was 
twenty-two  years  old,  light  complexion,  light  hair  and  blue  eyes, 
thick-set  build,  about  five  feet  eight  inches  tall,  and  would  weigh 
about  one  hundred  and  sixty  pounds. 

He  is  reported  as  having  been  absent  without  leave,  and  twelve 
dollars  of  his  pay  stopped  ;  but  having  been  restored  to  duty,  and 
having-  served  out  his  full  term,  it  leaves  a  doubt  as  to  whether  he 
deserved  fining  and  censure,  at  all.  His  present  residence  unknown. 

Andrew  J.  Dawdy, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Chicago  ;  mustered  in  with  the  regiment  ; 
was  twenty  two  years  old,  light  complexion,  light  hair,  blue  eyes, 
medium  build,  about  five  feet  eight  inches  tall,  and  would  weigh 
about  one  hundred  and  thirty-five  pounds. 

He  was  diffident  and  retiring  in  his  manners,  but  as  good  a  soldier 
as  ever  slung  a  musket  from  a  shoulder  to  a  ready  ;  and  a  man  that 
one  would  like  to  know  after  the  war. 

He  was  mustered  out  with  the  regiment,  and  his  present  residence 
is  Gosheu,  Ind. 

John  Dubois, 

Private  ;  enlisted  in  Chicago  ;  mustered  in  with  the  regiment ;  was 
twenty-three  years  old,  of  good  stature,  and  would  weigh  about  one 
hundred  and  seventy-five  pounds  ;  must  have  been  a  good  and  capa 
ble  man  to  have  received  promotion  as  corporal  on  November  14, 
1861,  and  as  sergeant  on  June  14,  1863  ;  mustered  out  as  sergeant  at 
the  expiration  of  his  three  years. 

Sylvester  A.  Davis, 

Private  ;  enlisted  at  Chicago  ;  mustered  in  with  the  regiment ,  was 
twenty  years  old  ;  made  a  corporal  on  October  3,  1862,  and  sergeant 
on  March  15,  1864  ;  mustered  out  as  such  at  the  end  of  three  years. 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  587 

Philip  H.  Carr, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Dundee,  111. ;  mustered  in  with  the  regiment 
September  19,  1861  ;  discharged  from  the  service  for  blindness. 
Whether  now  living  or  of  his  welfare,  nothing  has  come  to  hand. 

David  Farley, 

Private  ;  enlisted   from  Chicago  ;  mustered  in  with  the  regiment  ; 
was  eighteen  years  old,  but  a  broken  wrist  compelled   his  discharge 
at  Rolla,  Mo.,  on  September  22,  1861.     If  living,  his  address  is  not 
known. 
John  Wesley  Foster, 

Private  ;  he  enlisted  from  Chicago,  and  was  mustered  with  the  reg 
iment.  He  was  twenty  years  old,  and  was  transferred  to  the  In 
valid  Corps,  by  General  Order  No.  53,  Adjutant  General's  Office, 
War  Department,  series  1864,  to  take  effect  February  15,  1864. 
His  subsequent  career  not  known. 

William  C.  Anys, 

Private  ;  born  in  Gilderland,  Holland,  age  twenty-seven  ;  enlisted 
from  Worth,  Illinois  and  mustered  with  the  regiment.  Private 
Anys  was  twenty-seven  years  old,  light  complexion,  blue  eyes, 
and  flaxen  hair,  spare  of  build,  about  five  feet,  eight  inches  tall  and 
would  weigh  about  one  hundred  and  thirty  pounds.  Was  a  good 
soldier,  and  had  but  about  five  more  months  to  serve,  when  disease 
compelled  his  being  sent  home  on  sick  furlough,  and  he  died  at 
home  on  March  2,  1864.  Disease  not  specified. 

William  H.  Fletcher, 

Private  ;  he  was  enlisted  from  Chicago,  and  mustered  with  the  reg 
iment  ;  after  less  than  a  year's  service,  his  life  was  cut  short  by 
consumption,  and  he  died  in  hospital  at  Rolla,  Missouri,  March  13, 
1862. 

James  Fletcher, 

Private  ;  was  enlisted  from  Kenosha,  Wisconsin  and  mustered  with 
the  regiment ;  was  mustered  as  a  veteran  at  Woodville,  Alabama, 
on  January  29,  1864,  by  Lieutenant  Ronan  ;  was  wounded  in  action 
at  Madison  Station,  Alabama,  May  18,  1864. 

Charles  H.  Gildersleve, 

Private;  he  was  twenty  years  old,  was  enlisted  from  Courtland, 
Illinois  ;  mustered  with  the  regiment.-  He  is  reported  as  having 
deserted  from  the  paroled  prisoners'  camp  at  St.  Louis,  Missouri, 
October  i,  1864,  and  as  being  mustered  out  May  15,  1865. 

John  Gregory, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Blue  Island,  Illinois,  and  mustered  with  the 
regiment  ;  he  was  twenty-two  years  old,  but  his  further  record 
merely  says  that  he  was  mustered  out  June  22,  1864  ;  wounded.  It 
is  safe  to  assume  that  his  was  a  good  record. 


588  HISTORY   OF  THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

Matthew  Gaffney, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Chicago,  and  mustered  with  the  regiment  ; 
Private  Gaffney  was  thirty-one  years  old,  dark  complexion,  black 
eyes  and  hair,  somewhat  short  of  stature,  stout  of  build,  and  would 
weigh  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  pound§  ;  an  excellent  soldier, 
and  a  good  man,  and  well  liked  by  both  officers  and  men.  On  Feb 
ruary  26,  1864,  was  promoted  corporal,  which  he  held  to  the  end. 
At  Lookout  mountain,  November  24,  1863,  while  his  right  hand  was 
extended,  in  returning  rammer,  a  rebel  bullet  cut  off  the  little 
finger  on  that  hand,  and  smashing  to  pieces  a  ring  that  was  on  that 
finger,  which  he  had  been  at  considerable  pains  to  make  himself;  at 
which,  with  a  rueful  countenance,  he  exclaimed — "  Bedad,  they've 
shpoilt  me  ring  !"  and  adding— "  Never  mind  b'ys  this  gits  me  a 
furlough  to  go  home  and  see  the  ould  woman,"  and  it  did  ;  but  he 
returned  to  duty,  and  at  Madison  Station,  Alabama,  May  17,  1864, 
while  the  remnant  of  the  regiment  was  making  a  desperate  defence 
against  an  overwhelming  force  of  rebels  under  Roddy,  Corporal 
Gaffney  observed  a  rebel  climbing  a  telegraph  pole  to  cut  the  wire 
to  prevent  news  being  sent  to  Huntsville  for  help,  and  tumbled  him 
to  the  ground  by  a  well-directed  shot  from  his  gun.  After  being 
mustered  out  of  the  service,  Corporal  Gaffney  returned  to  Chicago, 
but  death  deprived  him  of  his  family,  and  he  is  now  an  inmate  of 
the  National  Soldiers'  Home  at  Milwaukee,  Wisconsin. 

John  Grant, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Chicago  ;  mustered  with  regiment.  (Famil 
iarly  called  "Scotty.")  "Scotty,"  was  thirty-six  years  old  and  was 
an  old  English  man-of-warsman.  He  was  the  "  Delmonico  "  of  the 
regiment,  and  so  good  a  cook  that  his  culinary  skill  was  frequent!)' 
brought  into  use  in  catering  suppers  for  the  officers. 
Nearly  all  the  regiment  will  bear  in  sad  remembrance  that  on  the 
day  after  we  left  Linn  Creek,  on  the  Springfield  campaign  under 
Fremont,  "  Scotty  "  broke  his  leg  ;  and  amid  tears  from  more  eyes 
than  his  own,  he  had  to  be  sent  back,  and  was  discharged  on  sur 
geon's  certificate  of  disability,  on  February  18,  1862. 

Timothy  Horrigan, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Chicago  ;  mustered  with  regiment ;  he  was 
twenty-five  years  old  ;  he  is  reported  as  "  absent,  captured  by  the 
enemy,  since  May  17,  1864,  at  Madison,  Ala.;  stoppage  by  sentence 
of  general  court-martial,  twenty-six  dollars." 

This  is  a  most  unjust  record,  whatever  the  actual  charge  may  have 
been,  for  it  is  left  to  be  inferred  that  Private  Horrigan  was  fined 
twenty-six  dollars  for  being  captured,  and  for  lying  in  a  rebel  prison 
over  a  year.  He  was  mustered  out  May  29,  1865. 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY.  589 

Si  do  us  R.  Hchnick, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Chicago  ;  mustered  with  regiment ;  he  was 
twenty-five  years  old,  light  complexion,  light  hair,  hazel  eyes,  one 
of  the  giants  of  the  regiment,  in  stature  about  six  feet  two  inches, 
strongly  built,  and  would  weigh  about  two  hundred  and  twenty- 
five  pounds  ;  his  occupation  had  been  that  of  a  salt-water  sailor,  he 
was  of  so  pleasant  a  disposition  as  to  be  generally  liked.  Private 
Helmick  deserted  at  Helena,  Ark.,  on  August  7,  1862. 

Stephen  Harrison, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Chicago  ;  mustered  with  regiment ;  he  was 
twenty-seven  years  old,  light  complexion,  blue  eyes,  light  hair,  spare 
of  build,  about  five  feet  ten  inches  tall,  and  would  weigh  about  one 
hundred  and  forty-five  pounds.  Private  Harrison  veteranized  on 
January  i,  1864  ;  mustered  at  Woodville,  Ala.,  by  Lieutenant  Bonan, 
January  29,  1864  ;  was  assigned  to  Company  I,  Fifty-sixth  Illinois 
Infantry. 

Cornelius  Healy, 

Private  ;  was  enlisted  from  Chicago  mustered  with  the  regiment. 
He  was  twenty-one  years  old,  dark  complexion,  black  hair  and 
eyes,  compactly  built,  but  with  a  stoop  of  the  shoulders  which  pre 
vented  his  making  so  soldierly  an  appearance  as  many  of  his  com 
rades  ;  but  his  gun-barrel  was  as  straight  as  any  in  the  company, 
and  his  bullets  neither  stooped  nor  wabbled.  A  good  soldier  and 
veteranized  at  Woodville,  Ala.,  on  January  22,  1864,  and  was  mus 
tered  there  by  Lieutenant  Ronau,  on  January  29,  1864,  and  assigned 
to  Company  I,  Fifty-sixth  Illinois  Infantry. 

Martin  Hog  arty, 

Private  ;  was  enlisted  from  Chicago,  and  mustered  with  the  regi 
ment.  He  was  twenty  years  old,  a  good  man,  a  brave  soldier,  and 
died  on  December  29,  1862,  from  wounds  received  on  that  same  day 
at  the  deadly  battle  of  Chickasaw  Bayou. 

David  Hitchcock,  Jr, 

Private  ;  was  enlisted  from  Chicago  and  was  mustered  with  the  regi 
ment.  Private  Hitchcock  was  born  in  Granville,  Washington 
county,  State  of  New  York,  in  1834  ;  and  was  twenty-seven  years 
old  at  date  of  enlistment,  and  was  by  occupation,  a  book-keeper. 
He  had  a  light  complexion,  light  hair  and  dark  blue  eyes,  small 
of  stature,  about  five  feet  eight  inches  tall,  and  wrould  weigh  about 
130  pounds. 

Private  Hitchcock  was  promoted  sergeant  November  i,  1861,  and 
held  that  rank  to  the  close  of  his  service  wTith  the  Thirteenth  reg 
iment. 

On  the  march  from  Springfield,  Mo.,  to  Helena,  Ark.,  by  reason  of 
the  exposures  and  privations  of  that  dreadful  campaign,  he  was  so 


590  HISTORY   OF  THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

disabled  that  the  surgeon's  certificate  stated  that  he  was  suffering 
from  "chronic  diarhcea,"  "  hepatitis,"  and  "  tubercular  bronchitis," 
which  renders  him  unfit  for  the  duties  of  a  soldier,  and  not  fit  for 
the  "Invalid  Corps.'  "  Disease  contracted  in  the  service."  He 
was  discharged  from  the  Thirteenth  regiment  by  order  of  General 
Samuel  R.  Curtis,  on  March  10,  1863. 

Most  people  would  think  that  after  such  an  experience,  Sergeant 
Hitchcock  would  have  hurried  aboard  the  first  steamer,  gone  home 
and  stayed  there,  and  let  the  others  fight  it  out ;  but  he  was  not 
built  that  way. 

On  August  21,  1864,  Citizen  Hitchcock  re-enlisted  in  the  Third  Reg 
iment  Colorado  Cavalry  for  one  hundred  days.  Served  out  that 
term,  and  was  discharged  at  Denver,  Col.,  December  29,  1864. 
Sergeant  Hitchcock's  patriotism  dragged  his  worn  out  body  into 
another  campaign,  and  he  enlisted  for  the  third  time,  and  now  in 
the  "Veteran  Battalion  of  Colorado  Cavalry,'' on  the  yth  of  January, 
1865. 

Comrade  Hitchcock  served  through  his  third  term,  and  was  dis 
charged  by  orders  from  headquarters  of  United  States  Forces  of 
Kansas  and  territories,  by  special  order  Thirty- six,  Headquarters 
District  of  Colorado,  November  16,  1865. 

To  the  old  comrades  of  Sergeant  Hitchcock,  this  will  be  considered  a 
remarkable  case,  and,  undoubtedly,  without  a  duplicate  in  our  com 
pany,  considering  his  meager  physical  structure  and  constitution, 
and  the  fact  that  the  surgeon  had  declared  him  unfit  even  for  the 
"Invalid  Corps." 

Of  course  Sergeant  Hithcock  retired  from  the  service  for  the  third 
time,  with  health  too  badly  shattered  ever  to  be  recovered,  but, 
strange  as  it  may  seem,  he  can  be  found  at  his  desk  to  day,  nearly 
thirty  years  after  those  deadly  campaigns  that  carried  many  stronger 
men  to  their  graves  before  their  terms  of  service  were  expired. 
Comrade  Hithcock,  with  his  wife,  is  now  living  at  1175  South  Cen 
tral  Park  Avenue,  Chicago,  Illinois. 

Orson  Hamlin, 

Private  ;  was  enlisted  from  Leaven  worth,  Kansas,  and  was  mustered 
with  the  regiment.  He  was  twenty  years  old,  of  light  complexion, 
light  hair  and  eyes,  about  five  feet  eight  inches  tall,  slim  built  and 
would  weigh  about  one  hundred  and  thirty-five  pounds. 
He  deserted  at  Napoleon,  Arkansas,  January  13,  1863  ;  nothing  is 
known  of  his  subsequent  career. 

Patrick  Hay  don, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Chicago,  and  was  mustered  with  the  regi 
ment.  He  was  eighteen  years  old  ;  rendered  good  soldierly  service, 
and  was  mustered  out  with  the  regiment. 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  59! 

John  R.  Hall, 

Private;  enlisted  from  Chicago,  and  mustered  with  the  regiment. 
He  was  twenty-six  years  old  ;  he  was  discharged  on  surgeon's  cer 
tificate  of  disability,  on  March  i,  1862,  at  Rolla,  Missouri,  for  con 
sumption. 

fames  T.  Hay  wood, 

Private ;  enlisted  from  Lisbon,  Illinois,  and  mustered  with  the 
regiment  ;  was  born  in  England,  age  twenty  three,  dark  com 
plexion,  light  hair  and  blue  eyes,  about  five  feet  six  and  three- 
fourths  inches  tall,  and  weighed  about  one  hundred  and  thirty-five 
pounds  ;  promoted  corporal  June  14,  1863,  and  died  December  14, 
1863,  seventeen  days  after  being  wounded  at  Ringgold  Gap,  Georgia. 

Christian  H.  Justin, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Chicago,  and  mustered  with  the  regiment. 
He  was  twenty -three  years  old,  was  promoted  corporal  December 
20,  1861,  and  sergeant  November  18,  1863  ;  and  as  such,  was  mus 
tered  out  with  the  regiment. 

So  far  as  known,  Sergeant  Justin  is  now  living  at  St.  Louis,  Mis 
souri  ;  his  occupation  being  that  of  a  trunk-maker. 

Abram  Kelley, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Chicago,  and  was  mustered  with  the  regi 
ment.  He  w7as  twenty-one  years  old,  a  good  soldier,  and  was  killed 
in  action  at  Chickasaw  Bayou,  Miss.,  December  29,  1862. 

Robert  W.  King, 

Private;  enlisted  from  Sterling,  Whiteside  county,  111.,  and  was 
mustered  with  the  regiment.  He  was  eighteen  years  old;  rendered 
good  service,  and  veteranized  January  29th,  1894,  and  mustered  at 
Woodville,  Ala.,  by  Lieutenant  Ronan,  on  January  29,  1864,  and 
assigned  to  company  I,  Fifty-sixth  Illinois  Infantry.  Private  King 
was  captured  by  the  enemy  at  Madison  Station,  Ala.,  May  17,  1864. 

Lewis  C.  Lockney, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Chicago,  and  mustered  with  the  regiment. 
He  was  twenty-nine  years  old,  and  was  promoted  corporal  and 
transferred  to  the  Invalid  Corps,  January  15,  1864.  Corporal  Lock- 
ney's  further  service  or  welfare,  not  now  known. 

Lawrence  Lynch, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Chicago,  and  mustered  with  the  regiment. 
He  was  twenty-nine  years  old.  Was  promoted  corporal  November 
3d,  1861,  and  sergeant  June  3d,  1863.  As  such,  he  was  mustered  out 
with  the  regiment.  So  far  as  known  Sergeant  Lynch  is  now  living 
in  Chicago. 

Henry  Kep linger, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Chicago,  and  was  mustered  with  the  regi 
ment.  He  was  twenty-one  years  old.  He  died  of  dysentery,  in 
hospital  at  Memphis,  Tenn.,  March  24,  1863. 


592  HISTORY    OF   THE    THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

William  H.  Kellogg, 

Private;  enlisted  at  Chicago  and  was  mustered  with  the  regiment. 
He  was  twenty  three  years  old,  fair  complexion,  brown  hair,  blue 
eyes,  stout  of  build,  about  five  feet,  ten  inches  tall,  and  would  weigh 
about  170  pounds.  He  made  a  good  record,  and  supplemented  it  by 
veteranizing  on  January  i,  1864,  and  was  mustered  at  Woodville, 
Ala.,  on  January  29th,  1864,  by  Lieutenant  Ronan,  and  was  assigned 
to  company  I,  Fifty-sixth  Illinois  Infantry.  Comrade  Kellogg  now 
lives  at  Arlington  Heights,  Cook  county,  111. 

John  K ulcer, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Chicago,  and  mustered  with  the  regiment. 
He  was  twenty-one  years  old,  and  died  from  wounds  received  on  the 
same  day,  December  29th,  1862,  at  Chickasaw  Bayou,  Miss. 

Jo  Jin  Loftus, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  the  city  of  Chicago,  and  mustered  with  the 
regiment.  He  was  eighteen  years  old,  and  deserted  from  the  com 
pany  at  Little  Piney,  Mo.,  on  the  day  that  the  regiment  finally  left 
Rolla. 

Edward  D.  Minton, 

Private;  he  was  enlisted  from  Harrington,  Cook  county,  111.,  and 
was  mustered  with  the  regiment.  He  was  nineteen  years  old,  small 
of  stature,  about  five  feet  seven  inches  tall,  and  would  weigh  about 
130  pounds.  He  had  light  complexion,  dark  brown  hair  and  blue 
eyes.  He  deserted  at  Napoleon,  Ark.,  January  13,  1863.  Nothing 
now  known  of  him. 

Joseph  Mann, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Chicago,  and  mustered  with  the  regiment. 
He  was  twenty -six  years  old,  of  English  birth,  light  complexion, 
brown  hair,  dark  blue  eyes,  small  of  stature,  about  five  feet  eight 
inches  tall,  and  would  weigh  about  130  pounds.  An  excellent  man, 
and  good  soldier,  and  was  wounded  at  the  battle  of  Chickasaw 
Bayou  December  29,  1862.  He  was  mustered  out  with  the  regiment. 

Thomas  Tignor  McCall, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Chicago,  and  mustered  with  the  regiment. 
He  was  twenty-one  years  old,  served  the  entire  three  years,  and  was 
mustered  out  with  the  regiment. 

Samuel  R.  McMonagle, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Chicago,  and  mustered  with  the  regiment. 
He  was  twenty  years  old,  dark  complexion,  black  hair  and  eyes, 
small  but,  compact  of  stature,  about  five  feet  seven  inches  tall  and 
would  weigh  about  135  pounds.  He  was  good  natured,  friendly, 
and  a  good  soldier.  Private  McMonagle  wras  mustered  out  with  the 
regiment. 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY.  593 

McDonald, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Chicago,  and  mustered  with  the  regiment. 
He  was  Scotch  by  birth,  twenty-six  years  old,  light  complexion,  light 
hair,  hazel  eyes,  small  of  stature,  about  five  feet  seven  inches  tall, 
and  would  weigh  about  140  pounds.  Private  McDonald  re-enlisted 
as  a  veteran  on  January  20,  1864,  at  Woodville,  Ala.,  where  he  was 
mustered  on  January  29,  1864,  by  Lieutenant  Ronau,  and  assigned 
to  Company  I,  Fifty-sixth  Illinois  Infantry. 

A.   W.  McKenzie, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Chicago,  and  mustered  with  the  regiment. 
He  was  thirty-one  years  old,  and  was  discharged  on  surgeon's  cer 
tificate  of  disability  at  Rolla,  Mo.,  September  22,  1861,  for  con 
sumption. 

James  Xolan, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Detroit,  Mich.;  mustered  with  regiment  ;  he 
was  nineteen  years  old;  deserted  from  Rolla,  Mo.,  February  15,  1862. 

William  Henry  Phillips, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Chicago  ;  mustered  with  regiment ;  he  was 
twenty  years  old  ;  deserted  at  Little  Piuey,  Mo.,  March  7,  1862. 

Alonzo  H .  Palmer, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Chicago  ;  mustered  with  regiment ;  he  wras 
twenty-one  years  old,  dark  complexion,  black  hair  and  eyes,  was 
about  five  feet  ten  inches  tall,  and  would  weigh  about  one  hundred 
and  sixty  pounds.  He  was  a  musician,  and  had  a  guitar  with  him 
in  the  army  ;  and  the  instrument,  and  its  master's  skill  were  in 
great  demand.  The  teamsters  would  always  find  room  for  Com 
rade  Palmer's  guitar,  and  safely  stow  it  away  in  the  arm}-- wagons, 
well  knowing  that  it  had  concealed  in  its  soul,  many  excellent 
tunes  which  it  had  to  give  up  when  "  Ben  "  got  his  fingers  on  it, 
and  the  boys  had  "  lit  "  their  pipes  and  had  assembled  at  the  even 
ing  camp  fire.  A  good  soldier,  a  pleasant  companion,  and  had 
many  friends.  He  was  captured  by  the  enemy,  at  Madison  Station , 
Ala.,  May  17,  1864;  mustered  out  May  15,  1865.  His  present  resi 
dence  is  at  Arnington,  Cascade  County,  Mont. 

Or  in  L.  Pierce, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Chicago  ;  mustered  with  regiment ;  he  was 
twenty-seven  years  old  ;  but  dishonorably  discharged  by  sentence  of 
a  general  court  martial,  by  General  Order  43,  Headquarters  First 
Division,  Fifteenth  Army-Corps,  Woodville,  Ala.,  April  28,  1864. 
His  offence  is  not  found  on  the  Official  record. 

Michael  Front, 

Private  ;  enlisted  at  Chicago  ;  mustered  with  regiment ;  he  was 
thirty-seven  years  old  ;  discharged  February  6,  1862,  at  Rolla,  Mo., 
for  deafness. 


594  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

William  H.  Post, 

Private ;  enlisted   at   Chicago  ;    mustered   with   regiment  ;    he   was 
twenty  two  years  old  ;  died  in  hospital  at  Rolla,  Mo.,  February  25, 
1862,  of  typhoid  pneumonia. 
Robert  Rutherford, 

Private  ;  enlisted  at  Chicago ;  mustered  with  regiment  ;  he  was 
twenty-one  years  old  ;  light  complexion,  light  hair  and  blue  eyes, 
closely  approached  a  gigantic  stature  ;  was  about  six  feet  four  inches 
tall,  neither  heavily  nor  meagerly  built,  and  would  weigh  about 
two  hundred  and  twenty-five  pounds. 

The  circumstances  of  his  enlistment  are  worth  relating  here. 
[About  the  first  or  second  day  after  occupying  the  old  Chicago  wig 
wam,  where  company  I  rendezvoused  while  completing  its  organization, 
Sergeant  Hiuman  was  drilling  the  company  in  the  manual  af  arms,  and 
the  facings,  and  in  short  marches  around  the  block  where  the  wigwam 
was  located,  and  wrhich  was  bounded  by  Lake,  Market,  Randolph  and 
Franklin  streets  ;  in  one  of  the  halts  and  Sergeant  saw  and  accosted  a 
very  tall  young  man,  who  seemed  listless  and  out  of  sorts  ;  and  was 
watching  the  evolutions  of  the  soldiers.  Sergeant  Hinman  bluntly  pro 
posed  to  the  stranger  to  enlist.  Hesitating  at  first,  somewhat,  he  took 
the  Sergeant  a  little  to  one  side  and  said  that  he  had  no  objections 
to  enlisting,  but  that  he  had  just  come  across  the  lake  and  the  lake- 
captain  had  detained  his  valise  which  contained  all  his  worldly  goods,  in 
default  of  the  passage  money  which  his  financial  condition  would  not 
stand  the  strain  of  paying.  The  sergeant  assured  him  that  his  valise 
should  be  forth-coming  ;  and  this  assurance  decided  the  young  man  and 
he  enlisted  at  once.  At  the  close  of  the  drill,  Sergeant  Hiuman  took 
twenty  men,  including  the  recruit,  and  marched  them  down  to  the  boat, 
then  lying  in  the  river,  summoned  the  captain,  told  him  their  errand, 
and  demanded  the  valise  at  once  peaceably,  or  it  would  be  taken  by 
force.  These  tactics  were  successful,  and  the  valise  was  restored  to  its 
owner. 

The  tall  recruit  proved  a  valuable  accession  to  Company  I,  became  a 
prime  favorite  with  the  comrades,  and  between  Sergeant  Hiiimau  and 
himself,  there  sprang  up  a  lasting,  and  almost  brotherly  friendship. 

Private  Rutherford  was  promoted  corporal,  July  3,  1861,  at  Rolla, 
Missouri  ;  promoted  sergeant  October  2,  1862,  at  Helena,  Arkansas  ; 
promoted  second-lieutenant  June  2,  1863,  in  front  of  Vicksburg,  vice 
Cunniffe  promoted,  and  in  that  rank  he  was  mustered  out  with  the 
regiment. 

When  the  Thirteenth  regiment  was  thrust  into  Ringgold  Gap,  Geor 
gia,  to  dislodge  and  drive  through  rebel  General  Pat  Cleburne's  rear 
guard  of  the  retreating  rebel  army,  it  was  a  very  hot  place  ;  and  twenty- 
two  men  of  Companies  I  and  K,  ceized  and  held  a  house  in  the  mouth  of 


GEORGE   W.    SUTHERLAND    (iS6i).     Weight  135  Ibs. 
Company   I. 


W.   SUTHERLAND   (1891).     Weight  230  Ibs 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  595 

the  Gap,  from  which  they  picked  off  many  rebel  gunners  from  the  rebel 
batteries.  So  briskly  did  our  men  keep  up  their  fire,  that  the  guns 
would  get  so  hot  that  it  was  necessary  to  wait  every  little  while  and  let 
them  cool.  Lieutenant  Rutherford  sallied  out  on  to  the  battle-field  and 
gathered  all  he  could  carry  of  the  guns  and  amunition  of  the  dead  men 
lying  there,  and  took  them  into  the  house  to  increase  our  scanty 
arsenal ;  and  this  he  persisted  in  doing  repeatedly,  notwithstanding  the 
remonstrances  of  his  comrades,  who  feared  that  his_toweriug  form  would 
make  too  conspicuous  a  target  for  the  rebel  sharp-shooters. 

For  several  years  after  the  war,  Lieutenant  Rutherford  made  Chicago 
his  home,  where  he  had  settled  down  to  married  life,  but  his  present 
residence  is  not  known.] 
Gilbert  Rodgers, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Hanover,  Illinois,  and  was  mustered  with  the 
regiment.     He  was  28  years  old,  and  was  the  first  man  to  desert  from 
the  regiment,  which  he  did  at  St.  Louis,  Missouri,  July  4,  1861. 
Henry  Reinhardt, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Blue  Island,  Illinois,  and  was  mustered  with 
the   regiment.     A   good   soldier,  served  faithfully  the  entire  three 
years,  and  was  mustered  out  with  the  regiment. 
William  H.  Russell, 

Private;  enlisted  from  Chicago,  and  was  mustered  with  the  regi 
ment.  He  was  27  years  old,  of  light  complexion,  blue  eyes,  light 
hair,  about  five  feet  nine  inches  tall,  and  would  weigh  about  145 
pounds.  He  was  left  in  hospital  at  Jefferson  Barracks,  St.  Louis, 
Missouri,  October  i,  1863,  and  for  some  unknown  reason,  his  record 
has  never  been  perfected,  as  to  whether  he  died  in  hospital,  or  was 
discharged  cured. 
William  Sanders, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Chicago,  and  mustered  with  the  regiment. 
He  was  23  years  old,  of  light  complexion,  light  hair,  blue  eyes,  about 
five  feet  ten  inches  tall,  and  would  wTeigh  about  one  hundred  and 
forty  pounds.  He  \vas  captured  by  the  enemy  at  Madison  Station, 
Alabama,  May  17,  1864,  and  was  mustered  out  June  2,  1865. 
Robert  Shuster, 

Private  ;  enlisted  at  Chicago,  and  mustered  with  the  regiment.  He 
was  18  years  old,  of  light  complexion,  light  hair,  hazel  eyes,  about 
five  feet  eight  inches  tall,  and  would  weigh  about  one  hundred  and 
forty  pounds.  Served  honorably  through  the  entire  three  years,  and 
was  mustered  out  with  the  regiment. 
George  W.  Sutherland, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Oswego,  Illinois,  and  was  mustered  with  the 
regiment.  He  was  22  years  old,  of  light  complexion,  light  hair,  blue 
eyes,  about  five  feet  nine  inches  tall,  and  weighed  one  hundred  and 
thirty  five  pounds. 


596  HISTORY   OF    THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

MILITARY   AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF    GEORGE   W.    SUTHERLAND. 

He  was  born  in  Little  Falls,  Herkinier  County,  State  of  New  York, 
October  22,  1838.  He  comes  of  fighting  stock.  His  mother's  father 
was  born  in  Vermont  and  fought  at  the  battle  of  Plattsburgh. 

Our  soldier-boy  settled  in  Oswego,  Keudal  County,  Illinois,  in  June, 
1852,  and  was  by  occupation,  a  printer,  at  the  breaking  out  of  the  war. 
He  was  the  first  man  to  enlist  from  Kendall  County  in  1861.  He  en 
listed  in  the  three  years  service,  and  was  enrolled  and  mustered  at  the 
age  of  twenty-two,  in  Company  I,  Thirteenth  Illinois  Infantry,  Volun 
teers,  at  Dixon,  Illinois,  May  24,  1861,  by  Captain  Pope.  He  served  in 
all  the  campaigns  and  battles  in  which  the  regiment  was  engaged,  in 
cluding  the  battles  about  Vicksburg,  and  its  siege  of  forty-seven  days  ; 
served  with  his  regiment  in  the  Fifteenth  Army  Corps,  under  Sherman  ; 
on  the  march  along  the  Memphis  and  Charleston  Railroad,  to  join 
General  Grant  for  the  Chattanooga  Campaign,  shared  the  disappoint 
ment  of  his  regiment  in  arriving  at  Brown's  Ferry  too  late  to  cross  in 
season  to  join  Sherman  on  the  extreme  left,  but  were  switched  off  to 
Hooker,  011  the  extreme  right,  where  Comrade  Sutherland  had  the  good 
fortune  to  personally  assist  some  other  daring  spirits  in  an  attempt  to 
plant  the  stars  and  stripes,  the  first,  on  the  heights  of  Lookout  Moun 
tain,  but  Colonel  Gorgas  interfertd  and  spoiled  the  scheme. 

At  Ringgold  Gap,  also,  Comrade  Sutherland  took  a  hand,  and  was 
one  of  the  twenty-one  men  of  the  Thirteenth  who  made  a  dash  on  to 
the  battlefield,  where  was  a  house  which  they  seized  and  held,  and  from 
which  the  rebels  suffered  extremely  by  having  their  artillery  gunners 
picked  off  by  the  Thirteenth  sharpshooters.  At  this  house,  Captain 
Blauchard  of  Company  K  received  the  wound  that  caused  his  death. 

The  subject  of  this  article  was  also  at  Madison  Station,  twelve  miles 
from  Huntsville,  Alabama,  where  on  their  way  home  to  be  mustered 
out,  a  part  of  them  having  turned  over  their  arms  to  the  quartermaster, 
their  time  of  service  having  expired,  a  remnant  of  three  hundred  of 
them  were  surprised  early  one  morning,  by  the  rebel  general  Roddy, 
with  a  force  of  one  thousand  five  hundred,  with  artillery  ;  but  still  our 
boys  had  too  much  fight  in  them  to  run  or  surrender  to  a  well  armed 
force  of  no  more  than 

FIVE  TO  ONE, 

and  so  turned  in  and  drove  the  Roddy  rebels  from  the  place  and  held 
the  field. 

He  was  mustered  out  with  the  regiment,  June.  18,  1864,  at  Spring 
field,  Illinois. 

Comrade  Sutherland  re-enlisted  on  September  8,  1864,  at  Utica, 
New  York,  in  Company  C,  Fourteenth  New  York  Heavy  Artillery. 
After  re-enlistment,  the  artillery. force  which  he  had  joined,  was  sta- 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  597 

tioned  at  Utica,  New  York  for  a  month  ;  during  which  time  he  got  a 
pass  and  went  home,  and  on  September,  16 — eight  days  after  re-enlist 
ment,  was  married  to  Miss  Margaret  Bedunoh,  who  was  born  near 
Boonville,  Oneida  County,  New  York,  in  1842.  Her  grandfather  and 
grandmother  on  both  sides,  were  born  in  Roxbury,  Massachusetts,  and 
her  grandfather  Bedunoh  took  a  grant  of  land  for  his  services  as  a  sol 
dier  in  the  Revolutionary  War,  and  settled  in  Rensselaer  County,  New 
York,  where  her  parents  were  born.  So  comrade  Sutherland,  his  wife, 
and  daughter  all  inherit  a  priceless  legacy  of  loyalty,  which  is  conspic 
uous  in  their  lives. 

On  going  again  to  the  front,  Private  Sutherland  was  captured  at 
Fort  Steadmau,  in  front  of  Petersburg,  March  25th,  1865,  taken  to  Rich 
mond,  where  he  boarded  at  Hotel  I/ibby,  until  paroled  among  the  last 
batch  of  paroled  prisoners  which  went  out  of  Libby,  and  that  was  on  the 
same  day  that  the  Union  troops  advanced  on  the  city  ;  the  paroled,  under 
a  flag-of-truce,  meeting  General  Butler,  with  his  colored  troops  march 
ing  in. 

Our  "bold  soldier  boy"  was  mustered  out  of  the  United  States' 
service  at  Delaney  House,  Washington,  D.  C.,  sent  to  Elmira,  N.  Y. ; 
where  he  was  paid  and  his  discharge  was  dated  at  that  place,  and  so  his 
wife  and  friends  rejoiced  to  see — 

"JOHNNY  COME  MARCHING  HOME." 

Well,  no  more  rations  from  Uncle  Sam's  Commissary  Department, 
the  soldier  has  to  learn  a  new  trade.  From  the  battles  of  the  war, 
where  lead  was  the  principal  circulating  medium,  to  the  battle  of  life, 
where  sand  is  the  principal  ingredient,  and  pretty  much  all  that  the 
soldier  has  to  begin  life  with. 

In  the  fall  of  1866,  Comrade  Sutherland  emigrated  to  Wisconsin. 
On  counting  his  available  means,  he  found  as  follows:  A  wife,  (as  good 
as  gold) — a  one  year  old  child,  helpless,  but  exceedingly  helpful.  Him 
self— (George  Sutherland)— with  a  stout  heart  and  willing  hands.  Cash, 
13  cents.  On  this  he  settled  down  to  farming;  but  there  was  more  than 
enough  good  stuff  in  him  for  a  plodding  farmer. 

In  the  army,  he  had  been  somewhat  reckless  as  to  the  morals  of 
sobriety,  and  his  language  was  too  often  punctuated  by  unthinking  pro 
fanity;  but,  happily,  this  does  not  always  mean  a  dead  conscience,  or 
absence  of  manliness ;  and,  next  to  bravery  on  the  battle  field,  we  are 
proud  of  the  returned  veteran  when  he  shows  that  he  has  the  purpose  of 
making  a  good  citizen. 

One  of  the  grandest  moral  developments  in  human  life,  is  to  see  a 
misused  young  life  arrested  by  Omnipotence,  when  God  claims  His  own, 
reach  forth  and  tear  off  the  ragged  husk  that  imprisons  the  healthful 
fruit,  and  lifts  the  individual  to  the  full  stature  of  a  grand  manhood. 


598  HISTORY    OF   THE    THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

Of  politics,  Comrade  Sutherland  has  had  a  taste,  as  seen  by  the  fact 
that  he  has  been  honored  with  the  positions  of  clerk  of  the  Lumberman's 
Committee  of  Wisconsin  State  Legislature  of  iSSi,  town  and  city 
assessor,  constable,  deputy  sheriff,  and  city  marshal.  But  in  Grand 
Army  matters  he  almost  lives,  breathes,  and  has  his  being  ;  and  is  one 
of  the  most  conspicuous  figures  in  the  Northwest.  He  organized,  on 
the  9th  of  May,  1882,  the  "John  B.  Wyman  Post  "  of  Clintonville,  Wis., 
of  which  he  has  been  three  times,  Commander  ;  has  been  junior  vice 
commander,  of  State  Department,  Delegate  to  National  encampment,  at 
Columbus,  Ohio,  Milwaukee,  Wis,  and  Boston,  Mass.  Together  with 
Colonel  E.  B.  Gray,  of  the  Twenty-eigth  Wisconsin  Infantry,  he  organ 
ized  the  "  Ledergerter "  Post  of  the  Menominee  Indian  Reservation, 
which  has  about  forty  members,  all  Indians. 

A  circumstance  as  fortunate  as  curious,  has  restored  to  Comrade 
Sutherland,  the  gun  which  he  so  long  carried  during  the  war.  The 
"John  B.  Wyman  Post,"  which  he  had  established  in  Clintonville,  Wis., 
needed  a  few  guns  for  service  in  mustering  recruits  and  for  burial  ser 
vice,  and  so  sent  to  Dr.  Plummer,  who  was  living  at  Rock  Island,  to  go 
to  the  United  States  Arsenal,  at  that  place,  and  procure  the  guns  if  he 
could.  Upon  looking  about  the  Arsenal,  the  doctor  discovered  a  gun- 
box,  marked  Company  I,  Thirteenth  Illinois.  This  was  our  friend's  own 
regiment  and  company  ;  and  the  doctor  was  fortunate  enough  to  get  a 
dozen  guns  from  that  box  ;  and  they  were  promptly  forwarded,  and 
among  that  dozen,  Comrade  Sutherland  found  his  own  well-tried  gun 
with  his  initials  marked  on  it  by  his  own  hand  ;  it  was  the  identical  one 
with  which  he  shot  the  pig.  That  gun,  it  is  needless  to  say,  will  be 
treasured  in  that  family  for  generations  to  come. 

Comrade  Sutherland  has  been  strictly  temperate  now  for  many 
years,  and  has  been  fairly  prosperous.  Since  1883,  he  has  been  em 
ployed  in  the  Land  Department  of  the  Milwaukee,  Lake  Shore  and 
Western  Railroad. 

Not  long  since,  the  writer  found  him  the  head  of  a  pleasant  family- 
circle,  in  a  beautiful  home — not  palatial,  not  grand,  not  ornate,— but 
beautiful  in  the  best  sense  of  that  word  ;  where  the  wife  and  married 
daughter  fully  returned  the  love  and  devotion  of  the  husband  and 
father,  and  heartily  joined  him  in  keeping  alive,  not  only  the  patrio 
tism  which  he  inherited,  but  which  he  learned  and  brought  home  with 
him  from  the  battle-fields  of  the  war  ;  and  the  memories  of  which  he  and 
they  will  always  cherish  as  the  most  sacredly  precious  of  life's  experi 
ences. 

At  this  home,  an  air  of  cordial  hospitality  greets  the  lately  arrived 
guest,  with  constantly  increasing  heartiness  until  the  departure.  Com 
fort  and  good  taste  cover  the  floors  and  adorn  the  walls  ;  while  intelli 
gence  has  loaded  the  book-shelves  with  books,  periodicals  and  daily 


-   ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  599 

papers,  which  have  been  read  and  re-read.  The  basket  on  the  center- 
table  contains  at  least  a  thousand  G.  A.  R.  visiting  cards  ;  while  on  a 
banner  hanging  on  the  wall,  about  fifty  G.  A.  R.  badges,  many  of  them 
very  beautiful  are  hanging  ;  the  gifts,  many  of  them,  of  comrades  and 
posts  where  he  has  visited.] 

Comrade   Sutherland,   at   this   writing   lives   at   Clintouville,   Wis. 

Long  may  he  wave. 

John  ff.  Smith, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  McHenry,  Illinois ;  mustered  with  the  regi 
ment.  He  was  twenty-one  years  old  and  served  with  the  regiment 
until  the  affair  at  Madison  Station,  Alabama,  May  17,  1864,  where 
he  was  captured  by  the  enemy  ;  mustered  out  June  20,  1864.  If 
alive,  welfare  not  known. 
William  Schonburg, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Milford,  Illinois,  and  mustered  with  regi 
ment.  He  was  thirty  years  old,  of  light  complexion,  light  hair,  blue 
eyes,  spare  of  build,  about  five  feet  eleven  inches  tall,  and  would 
weigh  about  one  hundred  and  sixty  pounds.  He  was  promoted 
corporal,  before  Vicksburg,  June  14,  1863,  and  in  that  rank,  was 
mustered  out  with  the  regiment. 
Adam  Stadle, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Milford,  Illinois,  and  was  mustered  with  the 
regiment.     He  was   thirty- two   years  old,   and   was   discharged    for 
disability,    at   hospital   at  St.    Lonis,    Missouri    January    22,    1863, 
disease  not  stated. 
Caspner  Schultz, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Chicago,  and  mustered  with  the  regiment. 
He  was  twenty-one  years  old,  light  complexion,  blue  eyes,  light 
hair,  heavy  of  build,  about  five  feet  nine  inches  tall,  and  would 
weigh  about  one  hundred  and  severity  pounds.  Served  the  entire 
three  years  and  was  mustered  out  with  the  regiment. 
Henry  J .  Taylor, 

Private  ;   enlisted  from  Chicago,  and  was   mustered  with  the   regi 
ment  ;  deserted  at  Rolla,  Missouri  Feburary  16,  1862. 
[Henry  J.  Taylor  was  about  as  worthless  material    from  which   to 
construct  a  soldier  as  ever  stumbled  into  the  drag-net  of  a  recruiting 
officer.     This   he  did  for  three  years  at  Dixon,   111.     May   24,    1861,  at 
twenty-two  years  of  age  ;  and  when  he  deserted  at  Rolla,  Mo.,  on  Feb 
ruary  16,  1862,  it  left  his  company  strengthened  and  purified. 

Campaigning  with  the  army  of  General  Curtis,  we  found  ourselves 
at  Batesville,  Ark.,  in  June  1862,  where  the  army  rested  for  several  days. 
While  there  I  had  occasion  to  go  to  the  office  of  the  Provost  Marshal  for 
some  material  that  I  had  use  for. 


600  HISTORY    OF   THE    THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

The  Marshal  placed  at  my  disposal  a  desk  and  writing  material  and 
I  was  soon  so  absorbed  in  scribbling,  that  I  did  not  raise  my  eyes  when  I 
heard  the  tread  of  two  men,  who  came  in  and  crossed  the  floor  close  to 
my  desk,  and  commenced  a  conversation  with  the  Marshal.  I  ever  had 
a  good  memory  for  voices,  and  would  sooner  trust  my  ears  to  locate  the 
owner  of  a  voice  that  I  had  well  known  than  my  eyes  to  recognize  the 
face  that  went  with  the  voice.  Up  to  the  opening  of  the  talk  of  the  two 
men  with  the  Marshal,  I  had  not  looked  up.  The  first  voice  did  nothing 
towards  attracting  my  attention,  but  the  second  voice  went  through  my 
ears  like  a  gong,  and  seemed  to  rasp  against  every  untuned  string  in  the 
gamut  of  discord  through  my  whole  being.  It  was  the  voice  of  the  de 
serter,  Henry  J.  Taylor.  Following  the  law  of  the  eternal  fitness  of 
things,  Nature  had  given  Taylor  a  voice  commensurate  with  a  meager 
soul,  and  that  voice  caused  me  to  look  up  with  much  the  same  feeling 
that  gives  warning  of  the  presence  of  a  snake.  Our  glances  met,  for  he 
had  recognized  me.  Both  were  dressed  in  butternut  clothes  and  wore 
spurs  ;  but  this  I  did  not  notice  until  later  on.  When  they  were  through 
with  the  Marshal  they  sauntered  out,  Taylor  passing  close  enough  to  me 
to  slightly  press  my  foot,  which  I  took  to  be  a  desire  to  speak  with  me 
outside.  I  followed  them  out,  thinking  of  plans  of  arrest  all  the  while 
that  Taylor  was  filling  me  with  lies  as  to  the  reasons  for  his  desertion. 
All  the  time  we  had  been  slowly  approaching  two  saddle-horses,  whose 
bridles  had  been  thrown  over  a  pin  which  had  been  driven  through  an 
auger  hole  in  a  horizontal  bar,  which  can  be  found  before  nearly  every 
store,  tavern,  or  public  building  in  the  southern  country. 

Suddenly,  both  men  vaulted  into  their  saddles,  both  bridles  having 
been  unhitched  by  Taylor's  pal  while  we  had  been  talking,  and,  putting 
spurs  to  their  horses,  they  were  off  like  the  wind,  and  I  left  standing 
with  a  very  foolish  look  on  my  face  at  being  so  badly  outwitted.  I  hur 
ried  in  and  told  the  Marshall,  who  laughed  heartily  at  my  discomfiture. 
I  also  hurried  to  camp  and  reported. 

A.  few  of  the  poorest  horses  that  were  in  the  quarter-master's  corral, 
were  brought  out  after  awhile  and  some  teamsters  mounted  on  them, 
and  the  most  conservatively  slow  lieutenant  in  the  regiment  put  in  com 
mand,  and  Colonel  Wyman  boisterously  gave  him  his  instructions,  which 
were  to  pursue  the  deserter  and  capture  him  if  he  had  to  chase  him  all 
over  the  Indian  nation,  and  wound  up  with  his  usual  language,  breathing 
out  threateniugs  and  slaughter, — ''we'll  shoot  him  to-day,  and  hang 
him  to-morrow."  The  lieutenant  took  the  opposite  direction  from  that 
taken  by  the  fugitives,  and  returned  in  an  hour  and  a  half,  and  reported 
having  scoured  the  country  for  miles,  but  without  success.  On  a  by-road 
they  had  discovered  the  tracks  of  two  horses,  which  they  presumed  were 
those  of  the  fugitives,  but  the  tracks  finally  led  them  right  back  to  town. 
They  thought  that  if  the  pursuit  was  to  be  continued,  fresh  horses 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  6oi 

should   be   given   them,   which,    considering    that   the   horses  seemed 

fresher  than  when   they  started,    looked   somewhat   absurd  ;  but  which 

was  settled   by  Colonel  Wyman,  ordering   the   pursuit   abandoned,  with 

the  characteristic  addition  of  "  damn  'em  let  'em  go."     That  was  all.] 

Caleb   Vliet, 

Private;  enlisted  from  Maine,  Cook  county,  Illinois,  and  was  must 
ered  with  the  regiment.  He  was  34  years  old,  promoted  Corporal 
October  20,  1861,  and  died  March  15,  1863,  at  Milliken's  Bend,  Loui 
siana,  of  small  pox. 

/a  in  es   Wh  itlock , 

Private ;  enlisted  at  Chicago,  and  was  mustered  with  the  regiment. 
He  was  27  years  old.  He  was  transferred  to  the  Invalid  Corps,  Jan 
uary  15,  1864. 

Thomas  J.    Whitecraft, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Chicago,  and  mustered  with  the  regiment. 
He  was  21  years  old,  light  complexion,  light  hair,  hazel  eyes,  spare 
build,  about  five  feet  nine  inches  tall,  and  would  weigh  about  one 
hundred  and  thirty-five  pounds.  He  was  wounded  at  the  battle  of 
Chickasaw  Bayou,  and  was  mustered  out  with  the  regiment.  Is  now 
at  the  National  Soldiers'  Home  at  Milwaukee,  Wis. 

Nicholas  Woods, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Detroit,  Michigan,  and  mustered  with  the 
regiment.  He  was  18  years  old,  fair  complexion,  blue  eyes,  dark 
brown  hair,  about  five  feet  seven  inches  tall,  light  of  build,  and 
would  weigh  about  one  hundred  and  thirty  pounds.  Promoted  cor 
poral  June  14,  1863,  in  which  rank,  after  honorable  service,  he  was 
mustered  out  with  the  regiment,  returned  to  Detroit,  where,  with 
his  family,  he  now  resides,  an  enthusiastic  Grand-Army  man,  with 
his  latch-string  always  hanging  out  so  as  to  be  handy  to  any  deserv 
ing  old  Comrade. 

John  Williams, 

Private  ;  enlisted  at  Chicago,  and  mustered  with  the  regiment.     He 
was  25  years  old,  served  the  full  term,  and  was  mustered  out  of  ser 
vice  with  the  regiment. 
John  H.  Welch, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Detroit,  Michigan,  and  was  mustered  with 
the  regiment.  He  was  18  years  old,  promoted  corporal  January  25, 
1864,  in  which  rank,  after  good  soldierly  service,  he  was  mustered 
out  with  the  regiment. 

Benjamin  Zoelle, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Stewart,  Illinois,  and  was  mustered  with  the 
regiment.  He  was  21  years  old,  and  served  the  entire  term,  and 
then  our  Government,  which  does  so  much  for  the  soldier,  stopped 
forty-five  cents  from  his  pay,  for  the  loss  of  one  bayonet-scabbard. 


6O2  HISTORY    OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

He  was  mustered  out  with  the  regiment.  His  present  address  is,. 
Watertowii,  Wis. 

William  H.  Howard, 

Drummer  ;  he  is  recorded  as  being  18  years  old  ;  but  was  really 
about  12.  He  was  enlisted  from  Chicago  a^td  mustered  with  the 
regiment.  He  served  in  all  the  campaigns  in  which  the  regiment 
took  a  part,  and  was  mustered  out  with  the  regiment. 

Asa  Benjamin  Munn, 

Fifer  ;  was  enlisted  at  Chicago,  and  mustered  in  at  Rolla,  Missouri,. 
July  19,  1861,  by  Col.  John  B.  Wyman.  He  was  38  years  old,  light 
complexion,  black  eyes,  light  hair,  five  feet  nine  inches  tall,  spare 
build,  and  weighed  one  hundred  and  thirty-five  pounds  ;  was  born 
in  Deerfield,  Franklin  county,  Mass.,  July  ist,  1823.  A  long  line 
of  American  ancestors  and  kindred  has  produced  considerable  good 
fighting  material,  among  whom  his  grandfather's  great-great-grand 
father,  Benjamin  Munn,  was  a  soldier  in  the  Pequot  war,  in  1637, 
was  in  the  military  service  nearly  all  of  his  life,  and  died  in  Spring 
field,  Mass.,  in  1675 — a  hundred  years  before  the  Revolutionary 
War.  His  grandfather's  great-grandfather,  John  Munn,  was  in  the 
Falls  fight  (now  Turner's  Falls),  near  Greenfield,  Mass.,  in  which  he 
lost  .horse,  saddle,  and  bridle.  He  died  in  1684,  His  great  grand 
father,  Samuel  Munn,  was  a  soldier  in  the  French  and  Indian  warsr 
and  died  in  1777.  His  grandfather,  Francis  Collins  Munn,  was  a 
soldier  in  the  war  of  the  Revolution,  and  died  in  1818.  His  great- 
great-great-graud-uncle,  James  Munn,  was  in  the  Falls  fight,  and  a 
soldier  in  King  William's  War,  and  was  living  in  1718.  His  great- 
grand-uncle,  John  Muun,  was  a  soldier  at  Fort  Duuimer,  in  i73Oy 
date  of  death  not  known.  His  grand-uncle,  Asa  Munn,  lost  a  leg  in 
the  service  of  the  war  of  the  Revolution,  and  died  in  1792.  His 
grand-uncle,  Benjamin  Munn,  was  a  soldier  at  the  battle  of  Lake 
George,  in  1755,  was  in  the  attack  on  old  Fort  Ti.  1758,  was  one  of 
Rogers'  Rangers,  and  was  in  the  fight  near  Fort  Ann  when  Major 
Putnam  was  captured.  In  this  action,  Comrade  Munn  took  an 
Indian's  gun  and  scalp,  which  he  brought  home.  Was  a  sergeant 
under  Captain  Selah  Barnard,  in  the  conquest  of  Canada.  Being  in 
Cambridge,  Mass.,  June  16,  1775,  he  joined  a  party  going  to  Bunker 
Hill,  and  was  in  the  battle  ;  was  accidentally  killed  in  1824.  His 
mother's  great-great-grandfather,  Sergeant  Benjamin  Waite,  of 
Hatfield,  Mass.,  was  called  the  hero  of  the  Connecticut  Valley, 
because  he  had  crowned  an  honorable  soldier's  life  of  hardships  and 
dangers,  by  striking  boldly  into  the  trackless  forest,  with  but  one 
comrade,  rescuing  and  bringing  home  from  Canada,  and  out  of 
Indian  captivity,  seventeen  of  his  townspeople,  including  his  own 
wife  and  three  daughters.  A  brother  of  Asa  B.  Munn,  Francis  H. 


ASA   B.    MUNN   (1861). 

Music'.an. 
Company  I. 


ILLINOIS    VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  603 

Munn,  made  an  honorable  military  record  in  the  Union  army  during 
the  war  of  the  Rebellion. 

From  early  manhood,  up  to  the  breaking  out  of  the  war,  the  sub 
ject  of  this  sketch  followed  the  occupation  of  broom-making,  then 
enlisted  as  a  fifer  in  Company  I,  Thirteenth  Illinois  Infantry  Volun 
teers,  at  Rolla,  Missouri.  In  1851  he  had  married  Miss  Jerusha 
Adams,  of  Hadley,  Mass  ,  whom  he  now  left  with  two  children  at 
Chicago.  Besides  serving  as  musician,  was  on  detached  service  at 
Rolla,  Mo.,  as  clerk  to  the  Provost  Marshal.  At  Helena,  Ark.,  served 
in  the  same  capacity  at  the  headquarters  of  Generals  Carr  and  Gor 
man,  and  on  steamer  Continental,  and  before  Vicksburg,  served  on 
three  different  details,  as  clerk  at  the  headquarters  of  General 
Steele.  Took  part  in  all  the  grand  campaign  which  reduced  Vicks 
burg,  daring  which  he  was  promoted  to  a  captaincy,  and  assigned  to 
the  command  of  Company  D,  First  Mississippi  Regiment  of  African 
descent,  afterwards  designated  ar,  the  Fifty-first  United  States 
Colored  Troops.  While  at  Vicksburg  was  ordered  detatched  to 
serve  as  Judge  Advocate  of  Court  Mart  al,  wh''ch  service  was  pre 
vented  by  orders  for  the  army  to  move.  In  General  Canby's  army, 
was  in  service  at  reduction  of  Mobile,  which  resulted  from  the  re 
duction  of  Spanish  Fort,  and  Fort  Blakely,  his  company  being  part 
of  the  investing  army  which  charged  and  captured  Fort  Blakely, 
on  the  same  day  t.,at  Lee  surrendered  to  Grant  at  Appomattox,  April 
9,  1865.  Captain  Munn  was  mustered  out  of  service  for  disability, 
June  25,  1865,  and  went  first  to  Alabama,  then  to  Florida,  where  he 
resided  for  the  next  five  or  six  years.  At  Pensacola,  was  Deputy 
Collector  of  the  port  ;  for  two  years  was  an  alderman  of  the  city,  was 
deputy  collector  of  interual  revenue  for  nine  counties  ;  was  deputy 
United  States  marshal  ;  was  appointed  commissioner  of  pilotage, 
assessor  and  collector  of  taxes  ;  was  county  treasurer  ;  served  two 
terms  as  county  superintendent  of  education,  organizing  and  super 
intending  the  first  free  schools  in  Escambia  county,  Florida;  was  com 
missioned  by  Governor  Harrison  Reed,  as  assistant  adjutant  general 
of  State  troops,  with  the  rank  of  major.  Notwithstanding  never  hav 
ing  been  a  politician,  in  1872,  by  unanimous  vote  of  the  conventions 
of  both  political  parties,  received  the  nomination  to  the  State  Senate, 
but  his  broken  health  obliged  him  to  decline  the  honor.  Soon  after 
this,  he  returned  to  Illinois  where  he  now  resides,  at  the  age  of  sixty- 
eight  years,  a  government  pensioner,  rated  for  full  disability. 
Daniel  C.  Shaw, 

Private  ;  he  was  enlisted  and  mustered  at  Chicago,  May  27.  1861. 
The  name  of  the  mustering  officer,  in  this  case,  is  not  given.  He 
was  twenty-seven  years  old,  light  complexion,  light  hair,  and  blue 
eyes,  well  built,  about  five  feet  nine  inches  tall,  and  would  weigh 


604  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH   REGIMENT 

about  one  hundred  and  fifty  pounds.  As  soldier,  teamster,  or  fora 
ger,  he  was  always  efficient ;  served  the  entire  term  and  was  mus 
tered  out  with  the  regiment. 

Patrick  Askins, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Springfield,  Illinois,  £nd  mustered  Septem 
ber  19,  1861,  at  Rolla,  Missouri,  by  Colonel  John  B.  Wymau.  He 
was  twenty  years  old,  dark  complexion,  black  hair  and  eyes,  about 
five  feet  nine  inches  tall  and  would  weigh  about  one  hundred  and 
forty  pounds  ;  he  was  particularly  efficient  as  a  teamster  ;  and  is 
said  to  have  shown  great  managing  ability,  and  cool  courage,  as  a 
wagon- master  on  the  occasion  of  the  rebel  attack  on  the  Thirteenth 
regiment  at  Madison  Station,  Alabama. 

On  the  muster  out  of  the  regiment,  private  Askins  was  assigned  to 
Company  I  of  the  Fifty-sixth  Illinois  to  serve  out  his  three  years, 
given  a  descriptive  roll  and  sent  to  the  front. 

Samuel  R.  Earnhardt, 

Private ;  enlisted  from  Chicago,  and  was  mustered  with  the  regi 
ment  ;  he  was  of  dark  complexion,  black  eyes  and  hair,  about  five 
feet  nine  inches  tall,  and  would  weigh  about  one  hundred  and  forty 
pounds  ;  served  the  full  term  and  was  mustered  out  with  the  regi 
ment. 

Frederick  W.  Brinkman, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Thornton,  Illinois,  and  mustered  with  the 
regiment.  He  was  twenty-one  years  old  ;  and  while  on  guard  at 
Dixon,  Illinois,  he  shot  and  killed  Lieutenant  N.  Cooper  Berry,  of 
Company  B  who  insisted  on  passing  the  guard  line  without  the 
countersign  ;  the  details  will  be  found  in  the  history  of  Company  I. 
He  was  a  good  soldier,  and  served  out  his  full  time,  and  was  mus 
tered  out  with  the  regiment. 

Lyman  Butter  field, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Northfield,  Illinois,  and  was  mustered  with 
the  regiment.  He  had  a  florid  complexion,  light  hair  and  blue  eyes, 
of  heavy  build,  about  five  feet  eleven  inches  tall,  and  would  weigh 
about  one  hundred  and  eighty-five  pounds  ;  he  was  discharged  for 
disabilitj',  from  hospital  at  St.  Louis,  Missouri,  July  29,  1862  ;  dis 
ease  not  stated.  He  was  recently  residing  at  Baraboo,  Wisconsin. 

Gu stave  Boy  I  ad, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Chicago,  May  27,  1861,  and  died  in  hospital 
at  Rolla,  Missouri,  March  2,  1862,  of  fits. 

James  Bourne, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  DesPlaines,  111.,  and  mustered  on  May  27, 
1861  ;  served  the  entire  three  years  and  was  mustered  out  with  the 
regiment. 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  605 

Peter  Freeman, 

Private;  enlisted   from  Jefferson,    111.,  and   mustered   on    May   27, 
1861,  and  deserted  from  Rolla,  Mo.,  November  10,  1861. 
Cyrus  Golden, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Aurora,  111.,  but  no  date  of  either  enlistment 
or  muster  can  now  be   found.     He  was   discharged   for  disability 
September  26,  1862,  but  place  and  disease  not  stated. 
Charles  R.  Hall, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Chicago,  at  Dixon,  111.,  on  May  24,  1861,  and 
mustered  same  day  with  the  regiment  and  three  days  afterwards,  on 
May  27,  was  discharged  on  surgeon's  certificate  of  disability,  dis 
ease  not  stated.  It  seems  difficult  to  understand  how  a  man  should 
be  enlisted  and  mustered  while  suffering  such  a  degree  of  disability 
as  to  make  it  necessary  to  discharge  him  three  days  afterward. 
George  Hampson, 

Private;  enlisted  from  Jefferson,  111.,  and  mustered  on  May  27, 
1861,  at  Dixon,  111.,  by  Judge  D.  Welty.  He  was  thirty-three  years 
old,  light  complexion,  light  hair,  blue  eyes,  spare  of  build,  about 
five  feet  ten  inches  tall,  and  would  weigh  about  140  pounds.  He 
was  wounded  at  the  battle  of  Ringgold  Gap,  Ga.,  November  27,  1863, 
and  was  mustered  out  with  the  regiment. 
William  Kantzler, 

Private  ;  a  resident  of  Blue  Island,  Cook  county,  111.     He  was  en 
listed  and  mustered  at   Rolla,  Mo.,  by  Colonel  John   B.  Wyman,  on 
March  i,  1862.     He  was  eighteen  years  old,  light  complexion,  brown 
hair,  blue  eyes,  small  of  stature,  about  five  feet  seven  inches  tall, 
and  would  weigh  about  125  pounds.     Private  Kantzler  served  in  the 
Thirteenth  until  their  term  expired,  was  then  assigned  to  Company 
I,  Fifty-sixth  Illinois  Infantry,  and  sent  to  the  front  to  complete  his 
term  of  service.     On  his  journey  home,  after  his  term  of  service  had 
ended,  he  is  supposed  to  have  been  lost  on  the  Steamer  "General 
A.  B.  Taylor,"  near  Goldsboro,  N.  C.,  March  27,  1865. 
[William  Kantzler,  had  a  somewhat  romantic  military  career,  but 
with  a   tragical  ending,   which  will   be  worth  giving  at   some   length. 
When  the  war  broke  out  and  the  Blue  Island  soldiers  had  gone  to  the 
front,  the  boy  longed  to  go  too,     He  was  living  in  the  family  of  Ser 
geant  George  K,  Hinman,  of  Company  I  Thirteenth  Illinois,  who  had 
befriended  him,  and  to  whom  he  had  become  strongly  attached.     He 
was  a  good  worker  and  had  produced  a  good  crop  ready  for  harvest,  in 
the  fall  of  1861,  when  he  told  Mrs.  Hinman  that  he  was  going  to  Rolla 
to  join  the  army.     Mrs.  Hinman  tried  every  persuasion  to  get  him  off 
the  notion  of  going,  but  all  to  no  purpose  ;  even  an  appeal  to  his  sense 
of  duty  to  his  parents,  had  no  effect  whatever,  and  he  told  Mrs.   Hin 
man,  that  when  the  fall  work  in  the  field  was  all  done,  if  she  did  not 


606  HISTORY    OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

give  her  consent,  he  would  run  away.  Finding  it  no  use  to  oppose  him 
any  longer,  she  paid  him  his  wages,  and  he  very  soon  disappeared  from 
Blue  Island,  and  soon  appeared  at  Rolla,  Missouri,  where  the  Thir 
teenth  was  then  stationed,  much  to  the  astonishment  and  annoyance  of 
Sergeant  Hiuuian,  who  feared  the  censure  of  th^  boy's  parents,  which 
in  fact,  was  the  case  for  a  considerable  time,  but  which  he  did  not  in  the 
least  deserve,  as  both  himself  and  Mrs.  Hinman,  had  done  everything 
possible  to  prevent  the  boy  from  going  into  the  army.  He  had  made 
his  way  to  Rolla,  at  an  expense  of  less  than  a  dollar  and  a  half, 
although  he  had  considerable  money  in  his  pocket. 

For  sometime,  Sergeant  Hinmau  kept  him  from  enlisting,  hoping 
he  would  get  over  the  notion  of  enlisting,  but  not  for  long,  as  he  was 
determined  to  be  sworn  in  and  become  a  real  soldier.  He  was  not  what 
would  be  termed  a  model  soldier,  but  he  was  most  certainly,  a  model, 
good  boy  and  soldier  together.  It  is  hardly  too  much  to  say  that  he 
would  unhesitatingly  have  laid  down  his  life  for  Lieutenant  Hinman  ; 
and  when  the  latter  was  very  sick  at  Helena,  he  scoured  the  country 
foraging  for  something  that  the  Lieutenant  might  find  an  appetite  for 
eating ;  and  it  was  a  sad  day  for  the  poor  boy  when  his  friend  and  pro 
tector  had  to  leave  the  army  to  preserve  his  life. 

The  boy's  kind  and  obliging  disposition,  and  his  unfailing  good 
temper,  made  for  him  many  friends,  and  there  was  many  a  kind  word 
for  "  Billy  Kantzler." 

Having  still  some  time  to  serve,  when  the  veterans  of  the  regiment 
were  ready  to  be  mustered  out,  he,  with  other  recruits  in  the  regiment 
wras  transferred  to  the  Fifty-sixth  Illinois,  in  which  he  filled  out  the 
balance  of  his  term  of  service,  and  at  Goldsboro,  North  Carolina,  he 
took  passage  for  New  York,  on  the  steamer,  "A.  B.  Taylor,"  to  sail 
on  the  27th  of  March,  1865.  This  was  the  last  we  ever  heard  of  William 
Kautzler  ;  but  we  learn  the  fate  of  the  vessel  on  which  he  had  taken 
passage,  from  Charles  D.  Tildeu,  formerly  of  Company  K,  Thirteenth 
Illinois  who  was  to  have  sailed  on  the  same  vessel;  his  account  is  as 
follows  : 

"  We  took  passage  (at  Goldsboro,  North  Carolina)  on  the  steamer 
'Gen.  A.  B.  Taylor'  and  were  to  start  for  New  York,  March  27,  1865. 
As  I  was  the  only  soldier  with  discharge  papers  and  descriptive  list 
aboard,  I  was  told  that  there  was  a  paymaster  up  town  ;  and  as  I  had 
not  drawn  my  pay  since  I  left  the  old  Thirteenth,  I  thought  it  would  be 
nice  to  have  some  money  on  our  arrival  in  New  York,  and  so  I  left  my 
traps  aboard  and  went  ashore  to  find  the  paymaster,  but  did  not  succeed 
in  getting  any  money  ;  so  I  went  back,  but  found  the  boat  had  just  pulled 
out,  and  I  was  left.  I  felt  very  lonesome  and  badly  about  it,  and  took 
another  boat ;  but  before  the  next  sun  arose  I  was  truly  thankful,  for  we 
ran  on  to  the  '  A.  B.  Taylor,'  burned  to  the  water's  edge  ;  and  only  one 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  607 

soul  lived  to  tell  the  tale.     A  drummer  boy,  of  some  other  regiment,  I 

can  not  call  his  name,  but  I  know  the  way  he  was  saved  was,  he  plugged 

his  drum  and  sat  on  the  head  of  it  and  balanced  himself  with  a  spar. 

After  several  weeks'  delay,  I  arrived  home  safely,  finding  my  family 

in   mourning,  and  startling  my  mother  so  she  fainted.     They  had  seen 

my  name  in  the  list  of  the  lost  on  the  '  A.  B.  Taylor.' 

"  Yours  truly, 

"CHARGES  D.  TILDEN."] 

John  Loehnor, 

Private  ;  born  in  Germany  ;  age  twenty-five  ;  enlisted  from  Jeffer 
son,  111.,  and  was  mustered  May  27,  1861,  at  Dixon,  111.,  by  Judge 
Welty  ;  was  promoted  corporal  March  22,  1863.  Corporal  Loehuor 
rendered  good  service  to  his  country,  and  died  December  2,  1863, 
in  hospital  at  Chattanooga,  Term.,  from  wounds  received  at  Ring- 
gold  Gap,  Ga.,  November  27,  1863.  Gun-shot  wound  caused  ampu 
tation  of  left  leg. 

Henry  Money, 

Private  ;  a  resident  of  Jefferson,  111.,  and  enlisted  and  was  mustered 
at  Dixon,  111.,  May  27,  1861,  by  Judge  Welty.  He  was  twenty- one 
years  old,  served  the  entire  three  years  and  was  mustered  out  with 
the  regiment. 

Jo ', n  R.  Oil  ing  er, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Niles,  Hi.,  and  was  mustered  at  Dixou,  111., 
May  27,  1861,  by  Judge  Welty.  He  was  twenty-one  years  old,  ren 
dered  honorable  service,  and  was  mustered  out  with  the  regiment. 

Theodoric  Poole, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Chicago,  and  was  mustered  at  Dixon,  on 
May  27,  1861,  by  Judge  Welty.  He  was  discharged  at  Boviua, 
Miss.,  September,  9,  1863,  for  loss  of  speech. 

Jacob  H.  Quant, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Aurora,  .111.,  and  was  mustered  by  Lieutenant 
Pritchard,  on  March  n,  1862.  He  was  ejghteen  years  old,  was  cap 
tured  at  Madison  Station,  Ala.,  May  17,  1864,  and  mustered  out  June 
7,  1865.  Comrade  Quant  now  resides  at  Grand  Rapids,  Mich. 

Charles  Swale, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Niles,  Mich.,  and  mustered  at  Dixou,  111., 
May  27,  1861,  by  Judge  Welty.  He  was  twenty-two  years  old,  and 
was  mustered  out  with  the  regiment. 

Benjamin  F.  Stinnit, 

Private  ;  enlisted  from  Steelville,  Mo.,  and  transferred  to  our  regi 
ment  from  Bowen's  Battalion  of  the  Tenth  Missouri  Cavalry,  No 
vember  i,  1861,  at  Springfield,  Mo.  In  hospital  at  Paducah.  Ky., 
he  died  on  February  3,  1863,  from  wounds  received  in  action  Decem 
ber,  29,  1862,  at  Chickasaw  Bayou. 


608  HISTORY    OF   THE    THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

George  C.  Wood, 

Private;  enlisted  from  Aurora,  111.;  dates  of  enlistment  and  mus 
ter  not  given.  Discharged  from  hospital  at  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  August 
23,  1862,  by  order  of  General  Carr,  on  surgeon's  certificate  of  disa 
bility.  Disease  not  stated. 

COMPANY  K. 

In  answer  to  a  communication  from  the  editor  of  the  his 
tory  of  the  regiment  Captain  Cole  makes  the  following  state 
ment  ;  and  as  the  statement  is  from  his  own  knowledge,  I 
use  it  substantially  entire,  with  the  exception  of  correcting 
the  dates,  which  he  agrees  with  me,  from  a  careful  inspection 
of  data,  are  as  now  given. 

"What  was  known  as  Company  K  was  recruited  in  the 
south  half  of  Du  Page  county,  Illinois,  and  was  largely  com 
posed  of  farmers  and  mechanics.  The  manner  of  its  organi 
zation  was  as  follows  :  The  news  that  the  rebels  had  captured 
Fort  Sumter  reached  the  village  of  Downer's  Grove  on  the 
afternoon  of  April  21,  1861.  There  were  some  who  were  con 
vinced  that  a  long  civil  war  was  before  us.  Among  that 
number  was  J.  J.  Cole,  who  was  captain  of  a  semi-  military 
organization  known  as  'The  Downer's  Grove  Plow  Boys.'  ' 

There  were  about  forty-five  of  these  men  who  had  done 
duty  in  the  two  preceding  presidential  campaigns  as  a  re 
publican  marching  club. 

That  evening  Mr.  Cole  called  on  Judge  Blanchard,  who 
was  president  of  the  club,  and  in  discussing  the  probabilities 
of  being  called  on  as  a  volunteer  he  expressed  himself  as  de 
termined  to  enlist  at  the  first  opportunitunity.  The  Judge 
said  that  although  he  was  getting  old  he  regarded  it  as  his 
duty  to  enlist,  should  a  call  be  made  ;  and  then  proposed 
the  raising  of  a  company  in  DuPage  county.  It  was  then 
agreed  that  as  soon  as  the  call  came  meetings  should  be  held 
in  Downer's  Grove,  Naperville  and  Warrenville. 

The  call  came.  The  meetings  were  held  and  addresses 
were  made  by  Mr.  Blanchard,  Mr.  Hobson  and  others.  Suffi 
cient  recruits  having  been  secured  they  met  at  Naperville  the 
next  Saturday  evening  and  elected  Judge  Blanchard  Captain  ; 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY.  609 

Merritt  Hobson  First-Lieutenant,  and  J.  J.  Cole  Second-Lieu 
tenant. 

Captain  Blanchard  went  as  soon  as  possible  to  Springfield 
to  offer  his  company,  but  too  late  for  the  six  regiment  call. 

In  the  call  of  the  ten  regiment  bill  the  company  was  re 
ceived,  and  went  into  camp  at  Dixon  on  May  9,  as  a  part  of 
the  Thirteenth  regiment. 

After  about  the  usual  excitement  of  camp  in  such  cases  it 
came  to  be  known  that  we  should  not  be  able  to  take  service 
for  three  months.  This  was  entirely  unexpected  and  many  of 
the  men  were  not  prepared  to  enlist  for  so  long  a  period.  Out 
side  influences  were  brought  to  bear,  and  the  fact  that  it  was 
first  intended  to  go  for  only  three  months  was  used  as  an  argu 
ment  in  justification  of  a  refusal  to  enlist  for  the  longer  period. 
Captain  Blanchard  had  returned  to  Du  Page  county  to  secure 
some  needed  recruits  along  about -the  22nd,  and  was  not  pres 
ent  in  camp  when  Captain  Pope  came  to  muster  the  regiment 
for  the  three  years'  service. 

It  was  a  time  of  unusual  excitement.  Many  of  the  men 
felt  that  they  were  being,  in  a  way,  crowded  into  the  service 
for  a  longer  period  than  they  had  enlisted  for,  and  that,  taken 
with  other  motives,  led  some  of  the  men  to  refuse  to  be  mus 
tered.  The  lieutenants  both  did  what  they  could  but  the  men 
would  not  yield,  and  Captain  Blanchard  hurried  to  camp, 
arriving  on  the  morning  of  Saturday,  May  25.  I  quote  from 
his  diary,  as  that  shows  better  than  any  words  of  mine  how 
keenly  he  felt  the  disappointment  :  l '  Arrived  at  camp  half 
past  3  a.  m.  and  learned  that  my  company  had  refused  to  be 
mustered  in.  Never  can  I  describe  my  feelings,  so  intense  my 
mortification,  anger  and  indignation  that  I  could  not  restrain 
the  tears.  To  God  I  raised  my  prayers. ' ' 

The  next  morning  Captain  Blanchard  entered  the  camp. 
His  appeal  was  one  of  those  exhibitions  of  powerful  feeling 
which  men  do  not  often  see.  It  had  been  one  of  the  stormiest 
mental  struggles  ever  known  to  his  forceful  nature.  I  know 
from  his  [own  lips  that  few  men  ever  passed  a  more  trying 
ordeal  than  he  did  during  the  early  hours  of  that  morning  be 
fore  he  entered  Camp  Dement. 


6 10  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

His  appeal  was  thoroughly  effective  and  the  men  rallied  to 
his  side  and  were  mustered  on  the  28th,  and  none  of  them,  I 
venture  to  say,  regretted  the  decision  reached  at  that  exciting 
time. 

This  brings  the  company  to  the  time  when  it  became  a  part 
of  the  regiment,  and  we  turn  to  the  brief  sketch  of  the  indi 
vidual  members  : 

When  the  time  came  for  the  regiment  to  be  mustered  out  in 
June,  1864,  the  mustering  officer  at  first  refused,  to  muster  us 
out,  but  through  the  intervention  of  Governor  Yates  and  the 
prompt  action  of  Captain  Cole,  an  order  from  the  War  Depart 
ment  was  obtained  directing  that  the  muster  should  date  as  of 
the  24th  of  May,  so  that  the  company  can  rightfully  claim 
that  it  was  mustered  on  the  24th  of  May,  1861. 

Our  experience  from  this  time  forward  was  as  a  part  of  the 
Thirteenth,  and  we  turn  to  a  personal  sketch  of  the  members. 

Captain  Walter  Blanchard,  was  born  at  Newhamptoii; 
Grafton  county,  N.  H.,  on  the  3ist  of  March,  1807.  He  was 
one  of  a  large  family,  and  his  earlier  years  were  passed  in  a 
sharp  struggle  with  poverty,  and  with  only  the'  slightest 
opportunity  for  education,  and  his  whole  latter  career  was 
subject  to  that  disadvantage.  That  he  overcame  this  almost 
entire  want  of  acquaintance  with  books  in-  early  life  was  due 
to  his  energy  and  force  of  character.  He  was  not  a  man  who 
loved  work  for  its  own  sake,  or  a  book  worm,  who  would  ac 
quire  for  the  mere  love  of  acquisition.  It  needed  the  spur  of  a 
strong  motive  to  bring  out  his  best  efforts,  but  he  found  these 
in  the  necessities  with  which  he  was  surrounded  in  the  ties  of 
family  and  in  the  various  positions  of  trust  in  which  he  was 
placed.  He  never  treated  these  obligations  slightingly,  but 
whatever  effort  was  necessary  to  accomplish  a  worthy  object  he 
put  forth,  and  he  was  in  the  community  in  which  he  lived  one 
of  its  most  honored  and  useful  citizens. 

He  was  an  early  settler  in  the  State  and  had  a  large  ac 
quaintance  among  the  foremost  men  of  that  time  who  had  a 
part  to  play  in  the  building  up  of  the  commonwealth,  many 
of  whom  he  knew  personally.  The  influence  which  he  had 


I 


CAPT.    WAVIER   BLAXCHARD. 
Company  K. 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  6ll 

was  often  of  use  to  the  people,  and  he  was  always  ready  to 
help  forward  the  best  interests  of  the  community,  and  of  his 
many  friends  in  every  proper  manner. 

That  Captain  Blanchard  was  beloved  by  his  men  is  shown 
by  one  of  those  incidents  which  comes  back  to  the  memory  of 
his  comrades  as  one  of  the  most  pathetic  in  the  history  of  the 
regiment.  When  the  regiment  fell  back  from  Ringgold  Gap 
to  Chattanooga,  a  distance  of  twenty  miles,  Captain  Blanchard 
had  lost  his  leg  and  was  weak  from  the  loss  of  blood,  but  he 
had  his  old  well-remembered  grit  and  steadiness,  and  the  men 
would  not  entrust  him  to  the  tender  mercies  of  the  ambulance 
but  on  a  litter  carried  him  on  their  shoulders  the  whole  dis 
tance  from  the  hospital  to  the  city  of  Chattanooga,  cheerfully 
taking  turns,  and  vying  with  each  other  in  this  labor  of  love. 

And  so,  when  it  became  evident  that  he  could  not  recover, 
and  he  saw  that  the  grim  messenger  was  near  he  turned  to  his 
wounded  comrade,  Major  Beardsley,  and  dictated  his  will,  re 
membering  with  his  last  act  those  dearest  to  him  in  life,  and 
crowning  with  his  last  act  his  life's  devotion  to  his  family,  to 
his  country  and  to  his  God. 

He  was  one  among  thousands  like  him,  in  this,  for  the 
country  was  full  of  patriotic  devotion,  but  he  was  ours,  and  we 
honor  with  our  love  and  tears  the  memory  of  one  of  our 
bravest  and  truest. 

Merritt  S.  Hobson  was  born  August  6,  1834,  in  a  log  cabin, 
at  what  is  known  as  the  Hobson  homestead — his  father  being 
the  first  settler  in  what  is  now  Du  Page  county,  Illinois.  He 
began  his  education  in  the  common  school,  continuing  in  that 
until  he  was  seventeen  years  of  age.  He  attended  the  Seminary 
at  Warrenville  for  two  years.  At  twenty-one  he  commenced 
the  study  of  law  at  a  college  of  law  located  in  Poland,  Ohio, 
whence  he  graduated  at  the  end  of  the  year.  After  this  he 
went  to  school  under  his  old  and  favorite  professor,  afterwards 
General  Leggett. 

In  December,  1856,  he  entered  into  a  law  partnership  with 
Judge  Blanchard,  which  lasted  for  a  year,  when  he  went  into 
partnership  with  John  Haight,  his  brother-in-law. 


6l2  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

July  10,  1857,  he  married  Miss  Elmira  Kentner  of  Board- 
man,  Mahoning  county,  Ohio. 

He  was  active  in  organizing  Company  K. ,  and  was  on  ac 
count  of  that,  and  his  general  popularity^  elected  to  the  first 
lieutenancy  of  that  company.  He  was  an  earnest,  patriotic 
man,  but  did  not  get  on  well  with  Colonel  Wyman,  and  re 
signed. 

He  died  January  9,  1867,  at  Ottumwa,  Iowa,  where  he 
then  resided. 

Captain  J.  J.  Cole  was  born  April  16,  1833,  in  Putnam 
county,  New  York.  He  had  only  such  opportunities  for  edu 
cation  as  were  afforded  by  the  common  schools  of  that  state, 
and  made  the  best  use  possible  of  them. 

While  in  New  York  he  joined  a  company  of  New  York 
militia  and  took  an  active  interest  in  military  matters  so  far 
as  he  had  opportunity. 

After  he  came  to  Illinois  there  was  no  opportunity  for  the 
gratification  of  this  ambition  until  the  organization  of  the 
"  Plow  Boys,"  which  club  he  commanded  ;  and  he  there  had 
an  opportunity  to  show  his  ability  for  organizing  and  drilling 
men  in  the  ranks  of  a  company.  The  men  of  the  company 
who  knew  him  remembered  this  when  the  company  was 
organized,  and  were  enabled  to  secure  for  one  of  its  commis 
sioned  officers  the  best  organizer  and  drill  master  among  its 
members,  at  the  outset. 

On  the  resignation  of  Lieutenant  Hobson  he  was  pro 
moted  to  the  first  lieutenancy,  and  on  the  fall  of  Captain  Blan- 
chard  he  was  made  captain,  which  position  he  held  until  the 
regiment  was  mustered  out. 

He  was  wounded  and  captured  at  Chickasaw  Bayou,  and 
was  held  a  prisoner  at  Vicksburg,  Jackson,  and  in  L,ibby  prison. 
He  was  exchanged  May  5th,  1863,  and  went  to  the  command 
at  once.  He  was  in  all  the  engagements  of  the  regiment  ex 
cept  Arkansas  Post. 

He  has  held  various  offices  in  the  county  ;  supervisor, 
county  clerk,  mayor  of  Wheaton,  etc.,  and  in  all  these  posi 
tions  has  shown  the  same  fidelity  and  sound  judgment  that  he 


CAPT.  J.  J.  COLE. 
Company  K. 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  613 

exhibited  in  his  military  life  when  connected  with  the  thir 
teenth.  He  is  still  a  resident  of  Wheaton  and  one  of  its  fore 
most  citizens. 

George  Austin  Naper  was  born  in  Ashtabula,  Ohio,  July  i, 
1827.  He  came  west  with  his  family  in  June,  1831,  reaching 
Naperville  in  July. 

His  opportunities  for  education  were  confined  to  the  dis 
trict  school,  but  he  was  quick  to  learn  and  made  good  use  of 
them. 

At  the  age  of  seventeen  he  went  on  the  lake,  and  at  the 
age  of  twenty-one  was  master  of  a  vessel  of  his  own,  and  con 
tinued  in  that  vocation  until  the  war  broke  out. 

His  father  died  August  5,  1850,  and  from  that  time  he  had 
the  care  of  the  family.  His  mother  says,  "He  was  like  a 
father  to  the  younger  ones.  He  was  a  kind  son,  a  loving 
brother.  He  was  one  who  from  boyhood  made  friends  and 
was  liked  by  all  who  knew  him." 

At  Chickasaw  Bayou  he  was  severely  wounded,  and  while 
in  care  of  two  of  our  men  who  were  directed  to  assist  him  off 
the  field,  a  shell  exploded  under  his  feet  and  he  fell  forward 
and  so  far  as  we  can  learn  was  killed  on  the  spot. 

No  amount  of  inquiry  has  ever  enabled  his  friends  to  learn 
anything  further  from  him,  and  so  we  leave  him  to  the  silence 
of  the  battle-field  when  the  battle  has  ended. 

Eli  Bailey  was  born  at  Lake  Mahopac,  Putnam  county, 
N.  Y.,  on  the  i8th  of  August,  1838,  and  moved  to  Illinois, 
early  in  life  and  had  been  a  resident  of  Du  Page  county  for 
some  years  before  the  war  began. 

He  was  among  the  first  to  enlist  in  what  was  afterwards 
Company  K,  and  was  made  a  sergeant  on  the  organization  of 
the  company,  and  served  in  that  capacity  until  December, 
1863,  when  he  was  promoted  to  first-lieutenant. 

Lieutenant  Bailey  was  a  good  soldier,  and  one  of  his  more 
conspicuous  acts  of  bravery  may,  perhaps,  be  mentioned  with 
out  being  invidious.  At  Ringgold  Gap  when  the  regiment 
was  out  of  ammunition,  Lieutenant  Bailey  volunteered  to  go 
and  procure  some,  and  he  crossed  the  field  in  full  view  of  an 


6 14  HISTORY   OF   THE    THIRTEENTH   REGIMENT 

enemy  on  the  alert  and  a  target  for  their  line  of  battle,  got 
his  box  of  ammunition  and  returned,  now  doubly  a  target  for 
their  fire  and  coolly  distributed  the  ammunition.  His  com 
rades  who  looked  upon  the  action  thought  ft  a  specially  daring 
one. 

Lieutenant  Bailey  was  living  in   Kansas  when  last  heard 
from. 

ROSTER. 

Franklin  Blanchard, 

Born  November  7,  1838  at  Downer's  Grove,  Illinois  ;  mustered  in 
May  24,  1861  as  corporal  ;  promoted  to  sergeant  ;  mustered  out  June 
18.  1864  ;  has  lived  at  Batavia.  Present  address,  Downer's  Grove. 

William  Blanchard, 

Born  at  Downer's  Grove  April  27,  1841  ;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ; 
discharged  April  18,  1862,  disabled  ;  was  captain  of  Company  D, 
Fifty-sixth  Illinois  Infantry,  March  9,  i865 ;  has  lived  in  California. 
Present  address,  Downer's  Grove,  Illinois. 

Lewis  C.  Ball, 

Naperville ;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  mustered  out  June  18, 
1864.  Dead. 

Charles  Beckman, 

Born  in  Bavaria,  Germany  ;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  lost  his 
right  arm  at  Ringgold  Gap,  Georgia,  November  27,  1863  ;  dis 
charged  March  10,  1864  ;  lived  in  Naperville  until  1870.  Present 
address,  728  Seventh  Avenue,  Council  Bluffs,  Iowa. 

Adolph  Badcr, 

Naperville  ;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  taken  prisoner  at  Madison 
Station  ;  mustered  out  January  18,  1865. 

Lewis  Busing, 

Naperville.  Born  in  France,  age  nineteen  ;  mustered  in  May  24, 
1861  :  died  August  5,  1863,  at  Camp  Sherman,  Mississippi,  of 
chronic  diarrhoea. 

Daniel  W.  Ballon, 

Born  in  Cuyahoga  Falls  Ohio  ;  mustered  May  20,  1861  ;  was  with 
General  W.  Lyoii  when  he  fell  at  Wilson's  Creek  Missouri  ; 
transferred  to  Company  C,  Tenth  Missouri  Cavalry,  second-lieuten 
ant;  fought  at  Pea  Ridge  ;  wounded  May  18,  1863  in  rear  of  Vicks- 
burg,  carrying  the  ball  until  his  death.  After  the  war  he  was  local 
manager  of  the  "  Quincy  Whig  ;  "  lived  in  California  from  1868  ;  a 
great  sufferer  ;  died  in  Oakland,  California,  1885. 

Charles  Boettger, 

Born  in  Germany,  September  18,  1835  ;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ; 
mustered  out  June  18,  1864.  Present  address,  Naperville,  Illinois, 


C.  E.  BOWLES. 
Company  K. 


CHARGES  CARPRNTER. 
Company  K. 


ESEK  C.   IJOLLES. 
Company  K. 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  615 

% 

Fritz  Benck, 

Du  Page  county.  Mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  mustered  out  June  i8> 
1864.  Present  address,  Chicago.  Re-enlisted  in  May,  1864  in  the 
Fourth  regiment  veteran  corps,  Company  F. 

Willia  m  Ba  Him  a  n , 

Private.  Born  in  Clinton  county,  Penn.,  Feb.  yth,  1844.  Mustered 
in  Naperville,  May  24,  1861.  Mustered  out  June  18,  1864.  A  long 
siege  of  being  school  director.  Has  lived  in  Omaha.  Present 
address,  St.  Paul,  Neb. 

Lorentz  Baugertz, 

Private  ;  Downer's  Grove,  mustered  in  May  24,  1861.  Discharged 
July  25,  1862.  Disabled. 

Essec  C.  Bolles, 

Born  October  14,  1842,  Cambridgeport;  mustered  in  Du  Page  county, 
111.  Promoted  to  corporal.  Mustered  out  June  18,  1864.  Died  at 
Momeuce,  111.,  December  6,  1878. 

Charles  E.  Bolles, 

Born  October  14,  1844  at  Cambridgeport,  Vt.;  mustered  in  May  8, 
1862  ;  mustered  out  February  10,  1863,  on  account  of  wounds  received 
at  Chickasaw  Bayou,  December  29,  1862.  Present  address,  Oak 
Park,  111.  In  1864,  passed  Examination  Board  at  Nashville,  Tenn., 
as  first  class  first-lieutenant,  as  regiment  quartermaster. 

Jordan}.   Cole, 

Born  April  16,  1833  at  Putnam  county,  N.  Y.  ;  mustered  in,  Down 
er's  Grove,  May  24,  i86ias  second-lieutenant ;  promoted  to  first-lieu 
tenant  June  22,  1862,  to  captain,  December  4,  1863  ;  wounded  and 
taken  prisoner  at  Chickasaw  Bayou,  December  29,  1862  ;  confined  at 
Vicksburg,  Jackson  and  Libby  prison,  Richmond,  Va. ;  exchanged 
May  5th,  1863  ;  was  in  all  the  engagements  of  the  regiment  except 
Arkansas  Post  ;  has  been  supervisor,  county  clerkof  Du  Page  county 
and  mayor  of  Wheaton.  Present  address,  Wheaton,  111. 

Charles  Carpenter, 

Born  in  Dewitt  county,  N.  Y.,  September  21,  1833;  enlisted  Down, 
er's  Grove,  111. ;  mustered  in,  May  24,  1861  ;  taken  prisoner  at  Chicka 
saw  Bayou,  December  29,  1862  ;  confined  at  Vicksburg  and  Jackson 
and  exchanged  at  New  Orleans  ;  shorthand  reporter  ;  mustered  out, 
June  18,  1864.  Present  address,  Downer's  Grove. 
Charles  P.  Cruggs, 

Joliet,  111.;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861,  at  fourteen  years  of  age  ;  was 
a  bugler  to  the  Sixth  Missouri  Cavalry  ;  was  in  thirty-six  skirmishes 
and  battles  ;  wounded   three   times  ;    expressman,   Leadville,   Col. 
Present  address,  329  W.  Chestnut  Street,  Leadville,  Col. 
William  Clark, 

St.  Clair  county  ;  mustered  in  July  7,  1861  ;  deserted   May  16,    1863. 


6l6  HISTORY   OF   THK   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

John  Daniels, 

Naperville  ;  mustered  in  May  24,    1861  ;  transferred  to  Tenth  Mis 
souri  Cavalry,  October  i,  1864. 
Charles  B.  Deuel, 

York  ;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861 ;  mustered  out  June  18,  1864. 
Adam  L.  Dirr, 

Born  May  25,  1829,  Richmond  county,  Ohio  ;  mustered   in  May  24, 

1861  ;   mustered  out  June  18,  1864  ;   wounded  at  Chickasaw  Bayou 

December  29,  1862.     Dead. 
Phillip  Do  err, 

Naperville;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  transferred  Tenth  Missouri 

Cavalry  October  i,  1861. 
Charles  Serris, 

Lisle  ;  mustered  in  May    24.   1861  ;  died  November  26,  1861. 
Oliver  S.  Fowler, 

Born  March  6,  1833,  in  Onondago  county,  N.  Y;  mustered  in  May  24, 

1861  ;  mustered  out  June  18,  1864  as  corporal ;  has  been  supervisor, 

assessor,  school   director,    Sunday-school  superintendent,    G.  A.  R. 

Commander,  etc.     Present  address,  lyemont,  Iowa. 
James  Farrell, 

Du  Page  county  ;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  re-enlisted  transferred 

to  Company   I,    Fifty-sixth   Illinois.     Present  address,    Park    City, 

Utah. 
Eugene  F.  Farrer, 

The  first  white  child  born  in  Du  Page  county,  111.;  Downer's  Grove; 

mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  mustered  out  June  28,  1864,  as  sergeant. 

Present  address,  Downer's  Grove. 
John  G.  Gladding, 

Winfield ;    mustered  in   May   24,    1861  ;  discharged   December   25, 

1862;     disabled. 
Joseph  Greggs, 

Du  Page  county  ;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  discharged  September 

i,  1863.     Disabled.     Dead. 
fames  P.  Gillespie, 

Aurora,  111.;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  mustered  out  June  18,  1864, 

as  corporal. 
Adam  Griffith, 

Warrenville  ;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  disappeared  December  15, 
i»52.     Supposed  to  be  dead. 
Charles  Griffith, 

Warrenville  ;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  mustered  out  June  18,  1864. 

Lewis  Cokey, 

Warrenville  ;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  re-enlisted  ;  transferred  to 
Company  I,  Fifty-sixth  Illinois. 


SERGT.  JOHN  G.   GLADDING. 
Company  K. 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY.  617 

Samuel  Griffith, 

Warreuville  ;  mustered  iu  September  10,  1861  ;  discharged  Febru 
ary  27,  1863  ;  disabled. 

Merritt  S.  Hobson, 

Naperville  ;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861,  as  first-lieutenant;  resigned 
January  22,  1862  ;  now  dead. 

Chas.  W.  Hyde, 

Born  June  9,  1830,  in  Vermont,  age  thirty-one.  Naperville  ;  mus 
tered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  wounded  December  29,  1862  at  Chickasaw 
Bayou;  was  taken  prisoner;  poorly  cared  for  by  medical  students  and 
died  January  15,  in  the  rebel  hospital  at  Vicksburgh.  A  grand  man. 

Abrcwi  C.  Howard,  t 

Downer's  Grove,  111.;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  transferred  to  Inva 
lid  Corps  September  i,  1863. 
Tohn  B.  Hubbard, 

Enlisted  at  Rolla,  Mo.,  September  10,  1861  ;  transferred  to  Invalid 
Corps.  Present  address,  Chicago,  111.,  Letter  carrier. 

Henry  K.  Hull, 

Naperville  ;  mustered  in  September  10,  1861  ;  discharged  November 
15,  1862  ;  disabled. 

Matthias  Hart, 

Naperville  ;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  mustered  out  June  18,  1864 
as  corporal.  Present  address,  La  Grange,  111. 

fas.  L.  Holly, 

Du  Page  county  ;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  mustered  out  June  18, 
1864  ;  brother  of  Franklin  Holly.  Present  address  California. 

Henry  Hunt, 

Downer's  Grove  ;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  discharged  Febuary 
20,  1862  ;  disabled. 

Michael  Hintz, 

Du  Page  ;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  discharged  March  30,  1863  ; 
disabled.  Present  address,  Downer's  Grove. 

Christian  Henrich, 

Brush  Hill ;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  mustered  out  June  18,  1864. 

Patrick  Hartigan, 

Du  Page  ;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  mustered  out  June  18,  1864. 
Present  address,  Catholic  Hospital,  Joliet,  Illinois. 

Chas.  E.  Holland, 

Lisle;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  died  October  25,  1861,  on  the 
march  to  Springfield,  Missouri ;  buried  on  a  prairie  knoll. 

Charles  Harris, 

Du  Page  ;  right  name  A.  L.  Marks  ;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ; 
re-enlisted  ;  transferred  to  Company  I,  Fifty-Sixth,  Illinois.  Pres 
ent  address,  Jewell  city,  Kansas. 


6l8  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

Franklin  Holly, 

Born  in  Susquehanua,  Pennsylvania  ;  age  twenty-three  :  Lee  Centre; 

mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  wounded  in  action  December  29,  1862  ; 

died  Febuary  3,  1863  of  wounds. 
Jos.  W.  Judson, 

Oswego  ;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  discharged  May  21,  1863. 
William  Johnson, 

Du  Page  County  ;  mustered  in  May  24,    1861  ;   re-enlisted  ;   trans 
ferred  to  Company  I,  Fifty-Sixth  Illinois. 
Hiram  Ket  chain, 

Winfield  ;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861,  as  sergeant ;  wounded  ;  mus 
tered  out  June  1 8,  1864. 
John  M.  Kenyan i 

York  ;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861,  as  musician  ;  transferred  to  non 
commissioned  staff  as  fife-major  ;  mustered  out  June  18,  1864. 
Israel  Kenyan, 

Mustered  in  May  24,  1861  as  corporal ;  discharged  February  30,  1862  ; 

disabled. 
Mathais  Kuchel, 

Lisle  ;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  mustered  out  June  18,  1864. 
Ferdinand  Kreutzer, 

Du   Page  ;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  discharged   October  i,  1861  ; 

disabled. 
Daniel  Kniffin, 

Lisle  ;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  transferred  to  Invalid  Corps. 
William  J.  Kenyan, 

Naperville  ;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  died  April  20,  1863. 
Abraham  Ketchum, 

Winfield  ;  mustered  in  October  i,  1861  ;  re-enlisted  ;  transferred  to 

Company  I.  Fifty-sixth  Illinois  ;  dead. 
John  P.  Miller, 

Naperville  ;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  taken  prisoner  ;  now  dead  ; 

mustered  out  June  7,  1864. 
Jas.  McAvoy 

Henry  county  ;  mustered  in  May  24,   1861  ;  transferred   to  Invalid 

Corps,  September  i,  1863  ;  dead. 
William  H.  Marsh, 

Joliet ;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  wounded  December  29,  1862  ;  dead. 
Michael  McKnight, 

Joliet  ;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  mustered  out  June  18.  1864. 
Geo.  A.  Napier, 

Born  in  Ashtabula  county,  Ohio,  age  thirty-three  years  ;  Naperville; 

mustered  in  May  24,  1861,  as  sergeant;  promoted  to  second-lieutenant 

June  22,  1862  ;  was  killed  at  Chickasaw  Bayou,  December  29,  1862. 


COLOR-SKRGT.  PATRICK  RILKY. 
Company   K. 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY.  619 

Baptiste  Neas, 

Born  in  France  ;  age  thirty-nine  years  ;  Naperville  ;  mustered  in 
May  24,  1861  ;  killed  at  Chickasaw  Bayou,  December  29,  1862. 

John  N.  Napier, 

Naperville;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  discharged  January  14,  1864, 
disabled.  Present  address,  Naperville,  111. 

Daniel  Needenhauser, 

Naperville  ;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  died  October  27,  1861. 

Merritt  Perry, 

Downer's  Grove  ;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861,  as  musician  ;  transferred 
to  non-commissioned  staff  as  drum-major  ;  mustered  out  June  18, 
1865. 

E.  E.  Page, 

Lisle  ;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861,  as  sergeant ;  mustered  out  June  18, 
1864,  as  first-sergeant.  Present  address,  Naperville. 

William  Potter, 

Born  in  N.  Y.  ;  mustered  in  Naperville,  May  24,  1861  ;  transferred 
to  infantry  corps  ;  mustered  out,  May  26,  1864.  Present  address,  Ba- 
tavia,  111. 

Reuben  B.  Pollard, 

Downer's  Grove  ;  mustered  in,  May  24,  1861  ;  discharged  May  25, 
1863. 

Robert  K.  Potter, 

Born  at  Naperville,  July  2,  1842  ;  mustered  in,  May  24,  1861  ;  mus 
tered  out  May  26,  1863  ;  disabled  ;  present  address  Boone,  Iowa. 

Hiram  H.  Powers, 

Warrenville  ;  mustered  in,  September  10,  1861  ;  deserted  January 
5th,  1862. 

Joseph    Prandelburg, 

Du  Page  county  ;  mustered  in,  July  16,  1861  ;  transferred  to  Com 
pany  I,  fifty-sixth  Illinois. 

Patrick  Riley, 

Born  in  Ireland,  age  28.  Downer's  Grove  ;  mustered  in,  May  24, 
1861  as  corporal ;  promoted  to  sergeant  and  killed  at  Ringgold  Gap, 
Ga.,  November  27,  1863  while  carrying  colors  in  action. 

William  E.  Rose, 

Naperville,  mustered  May  21,  1861  ;  mustered  out,  June  18,  1864. 

Elvin  L.  Reid, 

Wells,  N.  Y.  ;  mustered  in,  May  24,  1861  ;  prisoner  of  war. 

Matthias  Remmel, 

Born  in  Baden,  Germany,  November  n,  1824.  Naperville,  mus 
tered  in,  September,  10,  1861  ;  wounded  January  i,  1863  ;  lost  the 
use  of  his  eye  ;  mustered  out,  June  10,  1863.  Present  address, 
Naperville. 


620  HISTORY   OF  THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

John  H.  Rousch, 

Naperville;  mustered  in,  September  10, 1861;  deserted,  Msrch  18,  1863. 

Jeremiah  J.  Rousch,  • 

Naperville.  September  10,  1861  ;  discharged  August  n,  1863;  dis 
abled. 

William  Rose, 

Mustered  in,  October  ist,  1862  ;  discharged  April  18,  1863  ;  dis 
abled.  Present  address,  Elgin. 

Reuben  Snyder, 

Naperville  ;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  wounded  November  27, 
1863,  at  Ringgold  Gap  ;  died  December  21,  1863,  of  wounds. 

Joseph  Smith, 

Lisle;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  mustered  out  June  18,  1864. 
Present  address,  Downer's  Grove,  111. 

Harlow  Slate, 

Aurora  ;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  transferred  to  Tenth  Missouri 
Cavalry,  October  i,  1861. 

Robert  Suddock, 

Born  in  England  ;  La  Salle  county  ;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861 ;  re- 
enlisted  ;  transferred  to  Company  I,  Fifty-sixth  Illinois  ;  mustered 
out  August  12,  1865  ;  has  worked  at  farming  and  mining  and  hotel 
business  ;  lived  in  Kansas,  New  Mexico  and  California.  Present 
address,  Williamsport,  Penn. 

William  Shuster, 

I/isle  ;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  prisoner  of  war  last  known  of. 

Jacob  B.  Sucher, 

Born  October,  1842,  Shepherdsville,  Ky.;  Downer's  Grove;  mus 
tered  in  May  14,  1864  ;  mustered  out  June  18,  1864  ;  has  lived  in  Chi 
cago  and  Kansas.  Present  address,  Denver,  Col.;  carpenter,  by 
occupation. 

James  W.  Sucker, 

Born  July  5,  1841,  Shepherdsville,  Ky  ;  Downer's  Grove  ;  mustered 
in  May  24,  1861,  as  musician  ;  worked  eleven  months  as  blacksmith 
for  the  United  States  ;  mustered  out  June  18  1864.  Present  address, 
Downer's  Grove  ;  blacksmith  by  occupation. " 

Henry  Standave, 

Du  Page  county  ;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861;  reported  dead. 

Dewitt  Stevens, 

Naperville,  where  he  was  born,  age  sixteen  years ;  mustered  in  July 
7,  1861;  killed  at  Chickasaw  Bayou,  December  29,  1862. 

John  Starnhagen, 

Franklin  county;  mustered  in  July  21,  1861  ;  died  May  24,  1862. 

Henry  Stark, 

Franklin  county;  mustered  in  June  26,  1861;  transferred  to  Com 
pany  I,  Fifty-sixth  Illinois.  Present  address,  Salem,  Mo. 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  621 

Chas.  Tuttle, 

Du  Page  county;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861;  died  December  26,  1861. 
Isacher  Teeple, 

Joliet;  mustered   in  May   24,    1861;  transferred  to   Tenth   Missouri 

Cavalry  October  i,  1861. 
Geo.    Turner, 

Downer's  Grove;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861;  mustered  out  June  18. 

1864. 
Lysander  Townsend, 

York  ;  mustered  in  May  24,    1861  ;  discharged  December  10,  1863  ; 

disabled. 
Frank  Tirtlop, 

Downer's  Grove;  mustered   in  May  24,  1861 ;  prisoner  of  war;  died 

in  the  prison  in  Meridian,  Miss.,  according  to  A.  C.  Tuthill  of  Com 
pany  I. 
Joseph  Tennant, 

Naperville;  mustered  in  September  10,  1861 ;  reinlisted  a   veteran; 

transferred  to  Company  I,  Fifty-sixth  Illinois. 
Charles  D.  Tilden, 

Born  October   17,  1844,  Naperville;  Aurora;  mustered  in  March  24, 

1861 ;  transferred  to  Company  I,  Fifty-sixth  Illinois;  was  to   have 

left  Goldsburg,  N.  C.,  March  27,  1865,  for  home,  on  steamer  A.  B. 

Taylor.     When  ashore  the  boat  left  him.     The  boat  was  burned  and 

his  life  was  thus  saved.      Only  one  other  was    saved.      Present 

address,  276  Flournoy  Street,  Chicago,  111. 
Franklin  Wilson, 

Naperville;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861 ;  deserted  November   n,  1862. 
Christian   Wilfling, 

Du  Page  county;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861;  re-enlisted;  transferred 

to  Company  I,  Fifty-sixth  Illinois. 
Christian    Walters, 

Downer's  Grove;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861 ;  mustered  out  June    18, 

1864. 
Chas.  Webster, 

Lisle;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861;  mustered  out  June  18,  1864. 
John    White, 

Rochester,  N.   H.;  mustered  in  May  24,   1861  ;  discharged  June  4, 

1863  ;  disability. 
Jacob   Wagner, 

Dixon;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861;  mustered  out  June  18,  1864. 
Hercules   Wood, 

Dixon  ;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861  ;  deserted  April  29,  1862. 
Hollis  Wood, 

Winfield;  mustered  in  May  24,  1861;  wounded  at  Chickasaw  Bayou, 

December  29,  1862 ;  died  January  29,  1863. 


622  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

Theophilus   Wescott, 

Warrenville;  mustered  in  September  10,  1861;  discharged  October 
i,  1861;  disability. 

John  Wright, 

Collinsville  ;  mustered  in  July  5,  1861  ;  absent  as  skk  after  Septem 
ber  18,  1862. 


THE   COMPANY  LEFT   BEHIND   IN   DIXIE. 

The  following  order  concerning  veterans  and  recruits,  is 
furnished  by  First-sergeant  Charles  H.  Sanford,  formerly  of 
company  B,  of  our  regiment. 

HEADQUARTERS  DEPARTMENT  AND  ARMY  OF  THE  TENNESSEE 
NEAR  CHATTAHOOCHIE  RIVER,  GEORGIA,  July  9,  1853. 
SPECIAL  FIELD  ORDER  63. 

II. — The  detachment  of  the  Thirteenth  Regiment  Illinois  Infantry 
Volunteers,  remaining  after  the  muster  out  of  the  men  whose  term  of 
service  has  expired,  will  be  forthwith  organized  into  one  company,  and 
will  be  transferred  to  the  Fifty-sixth  Regiment  Illinois  Infantry  Volun 
teers,  to  be  known  and  reported  as  company  I  of  that  regiment.  The 
proper  officers  for  this  company  will  be  selected  from  the  veterans  of  the 
same,  by  the  commanding  officer  of  the  regiment,  and  applications  and 
recommendations  for  their  commissions  forwarded  through  these  head 
quarters  to  the  governor  of  their  State. 

By  order  of  Major-General  McPherson, 

WM.  T.  CLARK, 
Assistant  Adjutant-General. 

Sergeant  Sanford  continues  :  "  When  the  Thirteenth  was 
mustered  out  at  Camp  Butler,  111.,  June  i8th,  1864,  in  pursu 
ance  of  the  above  order  the  veterans  and  recruits  returned  to 
Huntsville,  Ala.,  Lieutenant  Mark  M.  Evans,  of  company  B, 
the  only  commissioned  officer  that  returned  with  us,  being 
detailed  at  headquarters,  left  me  in  command  of  the  company, 
and  with  it  the  duties  of  "  officer-of-the-day  "  and  of  the 
guard  ;  which  combination  I  continued  to  run  until  I  was 
mustered  out  June  22cl.  The  regiment  left  Huntsville,  Ala, 
and  on  the  2d  day  of  July,  1864,  were  at  Adairsville,  Ga.,  at 
which  place  I  left  them  and  went  home.  The  regiment 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY. 


623 


remained  at  Adairsville,  guarding  the  Post  and  the  railroad 
until  the  fall  of  Atlanta,  when  they  joined  the  Fifteenth  Corps. 
Were  with  them  in  the  famous  ''March  to  the  Sea,"  and  at 
the  "  Grand  Review  "  at  Washington. 


ROSTER   OF  THE  COMPANY   I,EFT   BEHIND. 


Mark  Evans,  lieutenant-com'd'g. 
C.  H.  Sanford,  first-sergeant. 
/.  Dennis,  second-sergeant. 
W.  McGinnis,  first- corporal. 
L.  M.  Cole,  second-corporal. 


J.  D.  Davis,  fourth -corporal. 
J.  Christiance,  fifth -corporal. 
J.  Dunham,  sixth-corporal. 

C.  W.  Potter,  seventh-corporal. 

A.  Ketcham,  eigth-corporal. 


N.  R.  Harrington,  third-corporal.    E.  E.  Thompson,  ninth-corporal, 


W.  H.  Alger. 
Patrick  Askins. 
D.  Brandon. 
S.  D.  W.  C.  Br titan . 
Sylvenus  Cole. 
W.  H.  Christwell. 
N.  F.  Eddy. 
A.  B.  Enderton. 
David  Fairchilds. 
William  Golden. 
Lewis  Cokey. 
L.  E.  Haw  ley. 
Theodore  Hyde. 
P.  Hope. 
Cornelius  Healy. 
Stephen  Harrison. 


PRIVATES. 

William  Johnson. 
William  H.  Kellogg, 
H.  Kennedy. 
William  Kantzler. 
J.  W.  Livingston, 
S.  Marsh. 
John  Martin. 
Patrick  McKeever. 
I\I ungo  McDonald. 
Charles  H.  Noble. 
J.  S.  Potter. 
William  A.  Palmer. 

—  Brandleburg. 

E.  V.  E.  Remmington, 

—  Rosebrough. 
A.  Rodelbraugh. 


D.  W.  Stary. 

B.  F.  Shinnemon. 
R.  Suddock. 
J.  Spencer. 
J.  Swabe. 
J.  H.  Scott. 

E.  F.  Sprague. 
J.  Snyder. 

A.  H.  Sibley. 
H.  Stark. 

J.  L.  Tennant. 
Charles  Tilde n. 

B.  E.  VanBuren. 
Patrick  Walsh. 
Charles  Williams. 


A 

B 

C 

D 

E 

F 

G 

H 

I 

K 

TOTAL. 

Total  Enrollment  of  Companies.  . 

ITS 

T06 

106 

102 

107 

103 

no 

109 

III 

TT2 

1084 

Mustered  out  at  Expir.  of  Service. 
Discharged  for  Disability  

44 

TQ 

53 

!4 

52 

T7 

51 
IT 

55 
13 

49 
19 

43 
6 

54 
19 

43 
24 

37 

22 

482 
164 

Trausf  jrred  to  other  Regiments  . 

32 

!4 

4 

6 

^ 

7 

16 

8 

17 

21 

128 

Wounded,  Killed  in  Battle,  etc.    . 

IS 

T6 

T'l 

21 

7.7. 

16 

27 

78 

T? 

16 

i~5 

Deserted   

3 

6 

6 

II 

<s 

13 

3 

12 

fi 

59 

Resigned  

2 

2 

2 

2 

i 

2 

2 

I 

15 

MISCELLANEOUS    PAPERS. 

A  CHAPTER  OF  MILITARY  LIFE,   FROM  THE 
STAND-POINT  OF  A  CHAPLAIN. 


BY   ARNOLD   T.    NEEDHAM. 


'N  COMPLIANCE  with  the  reqrest  that 
I  present  reminiscences  of  the  "  Thirteenth" 
from  the  standpoint  of  a  Chaplain,  I  gladly 
assume  the  task,  for  I  proudly  recall  m  r  connec 
tion  with  this  bravest  of  regiments.  As  I  per 
formed  many  of  the  duties  of  the  chaplaincy  before  being 
installed  in  that  office,  and  while  yet  a  sergeant  in  Company 
D,  it  is  proper  that  I  should  begin  with  this  preliminary  stage. 
For  some  time  previous  to  December,  1862,  our  chaplain  had 
been  absent  on  furlough.  Having  officiated  for  him  at  his 
request  on  several  occasions,  I  was  early  known  in  the  regi 
ment  as  at  least  a  licentiate.  In  the  summer  of  1863,  after  my 
imprisonment,  I  received  my  commission,  and  henceforward 
was  the  chaplain. 

While  the  regiment  was  marching  through  what  was 
known  as  the  ' '  Dry  Country, ' '  between  Pea  Ridge  and 
Helena,  Arkansas,  in  the  summer  of  1862,  a  young  man  of 
Company  D,  from  Vermont,  who,  because  of  his  trading  vent 
ures  and  wandering  habits,  was  called  the  "  Wandering  Jew," 
came  to  me  on  one  occasion  and  said,  "  I  have  been  watching 
you  professing  Christians,  and  I  am  persuaded  you  have  an 
experience  I  greatly  need.  Will  you  go  out  with  me  to  some 

retired  spot,  and  pray  with  and  for  me  ?     I  gladl  VT  consented, 

624 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  625 

and  every  night  for  a  week,  after  getting  into  camp,  we  went 
together  to  some  secluded  spot  for  prayer.  Before  we  reached 
Helena  he  had  found  peace,  and  was  rejoicing  in  a  Saviour's 
love.  While  in  camp  at  this  place  he  was  taken  sick  ;  and 
when  we  started  with  General  Sherman  for  Vicksburg  he  was 
sent  with  the  sick  up  the  river  to  Memphis.  I  heard  nothing 
more  of  him  till  the  fall  following  when  passing  through 
Memphis  as  an  exchanged  prisoner.  Here  a  friend  informed 
me,  that  when  dying  this  young  man  became  so  exultant,  and 
exhorted  those  about  him  with  such  fervor  that  a  glorious  re 
vival  broke  out  in  the  hospital  which  extended  to  every  ward, 
and  scores  were  converted.  This  incident  made  the  Thir 
teenth  Illinois  memorable  to  many  a  converted  soldier. 

While  it  is  true  that  many  professing  Christians  in  the 
army  became  backsliders  and  profane  infidels,  yet  it  is  also 
true  that  many  maintained  their  religious  character  and  man 
fully  witnessed  for  Jesus.  A  sergeant  of  Company  B,  while 
we  were  at  Helena,  was  called  before  the  commanding  officer, 
and  severely  reprimanded  for  refusing  to  serve  on  a  detail  to 
do  butchering  on  Sunday.  The  sergeant  replied  that  any 
work  of  necessity  he  was  willing  to  perform  on  Sunday  ;  but 
when  the  slaughtering  could  be  done  on  a  week  day  and  was 
not  done  then,  he  did  not  propose  to  violate  his  conscience  to 
suit  the  whim  of  any  living  man.  When  reminded  that  as  a 
soldier  he  had  promised  to  obey  his  superiors,  he  replied  that 
he  willingly  gave  his  life  and  all  its  possibilities  for  his  coun 
try,  but  his  conscience  was  a  matter  between  him  and  his  God, 
and  no  power  on  earth  could  make  him  outrage  its  prompt 
ings. 

The  officer  commended  him  for  his  religious  zeal  and  con 
sistency,  and  expressed  a  hope  that  some  day  he  himself  would 
be  as  true  to  conscience  as  this  faithfnl  subaltern.  The  ser 
geant,  encpuraged  by  this  remark,  began  preaching  the  gospel 
to  this  officer  and  urged  him  to  come  to  Christ  now  ;  but  the 
promise  that  he  would  be  a  Christian  when  he  got  out  of  the 
war,  was  the  only  promise  he  would  give.  At  the  battle  of 
Chickasaw  Bayou  I  was  approaching  this  officer  when  he  was 


626  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

shot  while  in  an  act  of  needless  exposure,  having  defied  the 
enemy  with  a  bitter  execration  on  his  lips. 

THUS   FELL   ONE   OF   THE    BRAVEST  .OFFICERS 

that  ever  drew  a  sword  or  gave  a  command.  Faithfully 
warned  by  the  sergeant,  a  few  days  before,  let  us  hope  that  in 
the  period  between  wound  and  death,  the  warning  availed. 

While  still  at  Helena,  a  circumstance  entirely  different 
from  that  of  the  "  Wandering  Jew,"  or  of  the  faithful  sergeant 
occurred  which  will  serve  to  illustrate  the  strange  vicissitudes 
in  the  experience  of  an  army  chaplain.  A  member  of  my 
company  had  died  of  intemperance,  and  a  detail  of  two  men 
to  dig  a  grave  was  sent  up  to  the  hill  west  of  the  camp  on 
which  was  a  temporary  cemetery  used  by  the  troops  camping 
on  the  north  of  town.  After  an  absence  long  enough  to  have 
completed  their  task,  these  men  returned,  and  reported  to  the 
orderly-sergeant  that  the  grave  was  ready  ;  also  stating  that 
the  Fourth  Iowa  had  a  funeral  at  the  same  hour,  and  that  in 
asmuch  as  our  camp  was  nearer  to  the  cemetery  and  there  was 
only  a  narrow  path  leading  to  it,  could  we  not  have  ours  a 
half-hour  earlier,  and  avoid  the  embarrassment  of  two  funerals 
in  a  narrow  path,  and  ceremonies  interferring  one  with  the 
other.  The  request  being  reasonable,  our  officers  assented,  to 
the  arrangement,  and  the  short  "Fall  in  Company  D,"  was 
heard  a  half  hour  earlier  than  announced  in  the  morning.  I 
had  been  notified  at  the  last  moment  that  I  must  officiate  as 
chaplain,  in  the  absence  of  that  officer,  and  accordingly  I  pre 
pared  myself  for  the  duty.  In  the  interim  of  preparation  for 
the  funeral,  I  had  been  made  suspicious  by  the  grave-digging 
detail  calling  on  me  and  urging  me  to  have  a  very  short  ser 
vice.  My  suspicions  were  too  vague  to  lead  to  any  definite 
action.  The  ceremony  was  exceedingly  short,  the  grave  was 
filled,  the  funeral  salute  was  fired,  and  we  were  about  to  file  out 
of  the  cemetery  when  the  Fourth  Iowa  funeral  appeared  on  the 
scene.  We  halted  till  they  passed  in,  and  then  immediately 
passed  out.  As  we  were  descending  the  hill  to  the  notes  of 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY.  627 

a  lively  tune,  we  heard  some  one  shout  to  us  from  the  ceme 
tery, 

"SAY  !  YOU  OLD  THIEVING  THIREENTH,  WHERE  is  OUR 
GRAVE  ?  " 

The  question  seemed  so  ridiculous  to  many  of  us,  that  we 
smiled  and  passed  on.  When  back  in  camp  we  learned  that 
oar  detail  on  going  to  the  cemetery  in  the  morning  and  find 
ing  the  Fourth  Iowa  men  digging  a  grave  conceived  the  idea 
of  stealing  it,  and  their  report  of  a  request  for  an  earlier  fu 
neral  was  only  to  make  their  plan  the  more  successful. 
Strange  as  it  may  appear,  the  "  Thirteeenth,"  who  were 
strongly  attached  to  the  Fourth  Iowa,  had  actually  stolen  a 
grave  from  their  dearest  friends. 

From  Helena,  Ark.,  we  frequently  crossed  the  river  to  go 
on  cotton  raids  into  the  State  of  Mississippi,  While  on  one 
of  these  raids  we  camped  on  Colonel  Games'  plantation. 
Among  the  slaves  was  a  colored  local  preacher  whom  one  of 
the  scape-graces  of  Company  D  induced  to  come  to  our  camp 
and  preach  for  us.  Uncle  Alfred,  for  such  was  his  name, 
came  accompanied  by  another  sable  exhorter.  A  hard-tack 
box  was  set  upon  end,  and  a  blanket  thrown  over  it  for  a  pul 
pit  stand,  while  a  similar  box  was  laid  upon  its  side  and  a 
blanket  thrown  over  it  for  a  sofa.  On  this  sofa  Uncle  Alfred 
and  his  companion  sat  waiting  for  the  congregation  to  gather. 
Spreading  their  blankets  on  the  ground,  the  soldiers  squatted 
or  lay  down  in  luxurious  idleness,  "  waiting  for  the  show  to 
begin,"  as  they  styled  this  religious  meeting.  At  a  signal 
from  the  party  who  had  invited  him,  our  sable  brother  and 
his  companion  arose,  and  sang  a  wierd  negro  melody  ;  his 
companion  followed  him  with  a  vociferous  prayer,  and  then 
.Uncle  Alfred  delivered  one  of  the  most  grotesque  sermons  I 
ever  heard. 

All  through  the  discourse  he  was  interrupted  with  mock 
shouts  of  "  glory  !  "  "  hallelujah  !  "  "  amen  !  "  and  other  ex 
clamations  of  praise  or  approval.  True  to  his  Methodist  in- 


628  HISTORY   OF  THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

stincts,  the  backslider  scapegrace  who  had  invited  the 
preacher,  passed  the  hat  for  a  collection,  and  then  gave  its 
contents  to  him.  In  this  collection  there  were  some  pieces  of 
paper  currency,  and  an  indescribable  lot  o£  just  such  knick- 
knacks  as  are  found  in  a  soldier's  pocket,  such  as  pieces  of 
plug-tabacco,  scalloped  with  teeth-marks,  buttons  of  every  • 
size  and  shape,  bullets  whittled  into  fantastic  shapes,  purcus- 
sion  caps,  and  an  occasional  card  from  a  badly  worn  deck.  In 
the  afternoon  I  determined  to  find  Alfred,  and  assure  him 
that  all  the  soldiers  were  not  disposed  to  make  light  of  relig 
ion.  I  found  him  quite  communicative,  and  anxious  to  have 
a  theological  problem  solved.  He  informed  me  that  in  his 
youth  he  belonged  to  a  Virginia  planter  ;  that  when  he  be 
came  a  man  he  married,  and  in  the  course  of  time  he  had 
quite  a  large  family,  and  that  when  his  master  died,  the  plan 
tation  was  sold  and  the  chattels  were  divided  among  the  heirs. 
His  wife  was  taken  into  Georgia,  and  he  into  Mississippi. 
For  two  years  he  kept  track  of  his  wife,  and  then  lost  all 
traces  of  her.  Finally  he  concluded  to  marry  again,  his 
second  wife  being  a  slave  on  the  same  plantation. 

NOW  AROSE  A  THEOLOGICAL  MUDDLE. 

He  had  heard  read,  but  not  explained,  the  quibble  of  the 
Sadducee  marrying  the  woman  who  had  married  seven  hus 
bands.  His  first  wife  was  a  good  woman,  and  he  thought  if 
dead,  had  gone  to  heaven  ;  his  second  he  expected  would  go 
to  the  same  place,  and  he  had  a  longing  desire  for  the  same 
blessed  abode.  "  Now,"  said  he,  "  dere  is  a  passage  of  Scrip- 
tor  what  reads  like  dis — "  dere  was  a  woman  what  had  seven ' 
husbands,  and  in  de  kingdom  of  Heben,  whose  wife  she  gwine 
to  be  ?  " 

Looking  at  me  for  a  moment  to  see  if  I  understood  him, 
and  perceiving  the  nod  with  which  I  assented,  he  continued. 
"  Now  when  I  comes  up  into  Heben,  and  my  fust  wife  comes 
to  me  and  says,  'my  husban'  Alfred  I'se  so  glad  to  see  you,' 
den  my  second  wife  '11  say  '  No  it  taint  your  husban'  he's 
mine,'  '  dere' 11  be  a  purty  row  right  afore  de  Lord  Jesus." 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  629 

Here  his  face  assumed  the  shape  and  hue  of  despair.  Very 
soon  I  comforted  him,  by  showing  that  the  words  he  had 
quoted,  were  simply  a  quibble  of  unbelieving  Sadducees,  and 
that  Jesus  said  that  there  was  neither  marrying  nor  giving  in 
marriage  in  Heaven,  and  these  relations  could  by  no  means 
interfere  with  the  happiness  of  the  heavenly  world.  His  joy 
knew  no  bounds,  and  we  were  at  once  fast  friends. 

As  showing  the  kindliness  of  Union  soldiers,  I  will  relate 
an  incident  which  occurred  while  we  were  camping  for  a  night 
on  the  banks  of  Cache  Bayou.  Just  before  dark,  some  of  our 
religious  comrades  reported  to  me,  that  there  was  a  sick,  and 
they  thought,  dying  Confederate  soldier  in  a  hut  with  his  family 
not  far  from  the  camp  ;  I  started  at  once  to  see  him,  and  found 
that  he  was  in  mortal  dread  that  we  would  take  him  away  from 
his  family  as  a  prisoner  of  war.  Assuring  him  that  he  would 
not  be  disturbed  in  his  sickness,  I  began  to  talk  to  him  about 
his  soul's  welfare,  and  while  praying  with  him,  the  comrades 
came  laden  down  with  provisions  they  had  brought  from  their 
meager  store  of  rations.  The  tearful  gratitude  of  the  recipi 
ents  was  abundant  compensation  for  the  short  rations  we 
endured  for  several  days  following. 

On  another  occasion,  two  weeping  children  watching  our 
regiment  as  it  passed  by,  were  asked  the  cause  of  their  grief. 
They  said  the  guerrillas  had  taken  all  they  had  to  eat,  and  they 
feared  we  would  do  worse.  When  asked  where  their  father 
was,  they  tremblingly  said  he  was  in  the  confederate  army. 
The  regiment  camping  near  by,  some  comrades  went  to  the 
house  and  found  things  as  the  children  had  said.  Before  dark 
that  night  the  family  was  rejoicing  in  one  week's  rations 
brought  from  the  meager  supply  of  these  generous  soldiers. 

In  one  of  the  companies  of  our  regiment,  was  a  young  man 
whose  demure  manners,  and  strange  gesticulations,  when  alone, 
had  impressed  those  about  him,  that  either  he  was  the  victim 
of  remorse,  or  that  he  was  on  the  verge  of  insanity.  One  day 
while  holding  a  Bible  class  and  prayer-meeting  in  the  woods, 
this  young  man,  attracted  by  the  Sunday-school  hymns  we 
were  singing,  came  into  our  meeting  and  said  with  tearful 


630  HISTORY    OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

eyes,  ' '  Oh  !  I  would  give  all  the  world,  if  I  could  be  as  inno 
cent  as  I  was  when  I  used  to  sing  those  Sunday-school 
hymns."  He  continued  to  attend  our  meetings  and  was  hap 
pily  converted.  When  the  call  was  made  for  veterans  to  re-en 
list,  and  a  furlough  of  thirty  days,  and  a  bounty  of  one  hundred 
dollars  promised,  he  came  to  me  for  advice.  He  told  me  his 
this  story. 

"  When  I  was  in  my  teens,  I  quarreled  with  my  brother  in 
the  wood-shed  back  of  our  house.  I  was  frantic  with  rage, 
and  struck  my  brother  over  the  head  with  a  heavy  stick  of 
fire-wood. 

"  He  fell  lifeless  at  my  feet.  The  thought  flashed  upon  me 
'I  am  a  murderer.'  Alarmed,  I  fled  from  home,  going  night 
and  day  till  I  thought  I  was  far  enough  not  to  be  known.  I 
could  stay  nowhere,  on  and  on  I  kept  moving  till  at  last  I 
reached  Chicago.  Years  had  passed  since  the  event,  and  there 
in  Chicago  I  saw  my  father  and  mother  on  the  other  side  of 
the  street.  I  wanted  to  go  and  make  myself  known,  but  the 
thought  that  I  had  murdered  my  brother  made  me  hesitate. 
My  parents  had  passed  along  and  turned  a  corner.  I  still 
hesitated,  and  when  I  started  to  find  them  they  were  gone,  and 
I  never  saw  them  after,  for  years. 

"  Wretched  beyond  description,  I  enlisted,  hoping  that  in 
some  battle  I  might  come  to  the  end  of  this  dreary  life.  After 
my  conversion  I  felt  a  strong  desire  to  find  my  parents  ;  and 
now,  after  long  search,  I  have  found  where  they  are.  My 
mother  is  old  and  feeble,  and  I  fear  that  if  I  wait  till  my  time 
is  out,  I  will  never  see  her.  If  I  enlist,  I  get  the  furlough  at 
once  and  also  the  bounty  ;  what  would  you  do  ?"  I  advised 
him  to  re-enlist  ;  he  did  so. 

He  went  home,  found  his  father  and  mother  alive,  and 
also 

THE    BROTHER   WHOM    HE   THOUGHT   HE   HAD    KILLED. 

But  the  great  scar  on  the  side  of  his  head  and  face  told 
how  near  that  brother  had  been  brought  to  death. 

The  reconciliation  was  complete,  a  saddened  family  were 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.          .  631 

made  to  rejoice,  and  the  grace  of  God  as  manifest  in  the 
prayer-meeting  of  the  Thirteenth  Illinois  had  brought  a  wan 
derer  home,  and  a  stricken  soul  to  Christ. 

Our  western  troops  were  fortunate,  I  think,  in  each  regi 
ment  being  allowed  to  organize  its  own  litter  corps.  Ours  was 
composed  of  the  fifer  and  drummer  of  each  company,  and  these 
felt  a  special  interest  in  the  wounded  of  their  own  company. 
Some  of  the  eastern  troops  had  litter  corps  for  whole  brigades 
composed  of  special  details  who  had  no  particular  interest  in 
any  regiment  or  company.  Ours,  feeling  a  comrade's  interest 
in  every  man  that  fell  in  the  regiment,  were  always  the  first 
on  the  ground,  and  I  believe  more  were  saved  from  bleeding 
to  death  on  the  field  from  our  regiment  than  from  any  other 
engaged  in  the  same  battles. 

During  the  period  of  my  chaplaincy  I  had  charge  of  the 
litter  corps,  and  found  them  brave  and  self-sacrificing  to  a 
fault. 

As  chaplain  of  a  fighting  regiment  that 

NEVER   ENTERED   A   BATTLE   THAT   IT     DID     NOT    STAY     THE 
LAST   ON  THE   FIELD, 

I  had  a  fine  opportunity  of  observing  the  following  phenom 
ena  of  mind,  or  ministration  of  the  Divine  Spirit.  The  night 
previous  to  the  battle  of  Ringgold  Gap,  I  was  riding  in  the 
rear  of  the  regiment,  with  the  major  on  one  side  and  an  aged 
captain  on  the  other.  The  latter,  looking  toward  the  setting 
sun,  and  directing  his  talk  to  me  said,  "  Chaplain,  I  never  look 
upon  a  setting  sun  of  late,  but  I  am  reminded  that  my  day  of 
life  will  soon  be  done,  and  oh  !  what  an  unworthy  creature  I 
feel  myself  to  be."  I  urged  upon  him  his  religious  duties. 
He  turned  to  me  and  in  an  oracular  voice  said,  "  Chaplain,  I 
am  impressed  that  the  next  will  be  my  last  battle  ;  I  will 
never  live  to  get  out  of  the  service." 

I  tried  to  encourage  him  to  hope  that  he  might  live  ;  but 
urged  him  to  be  ready  in  any  event.  Just  then  the  Major 
broke  into  the  conversation,  and,  addressing  himself  to  the 


632  HISTORY   OF    THE    THIRTEENTH     REGIMENT 

venerable  Captain,  said  :  "I,  too,  feel  impressed  that  the  next 
battle  is  to  be  my  last."  I  offered  a  silent  prayer,  asking  for 
wisdom,  and  spoke  to  those  men  with  as  much  fervor  and  skill 
as  I  could  command.  The  Major  fell  the  next  day  with  a 
bullet  through  the  center  of  his  brow,  the  (Captain's  leg  was 
shattered  with  grape,  and  upon  the  stump  of  that  leg  he  raised 
himself  up  and  fired  the  guns  of  the  dead  soldiers  about  him. 

The  Captain  sent  for  me  while  I  was  directing  the  litter 
corps  just  as  the  battle  closed.  I  found  him  in  the  house  in 
the  mouth  of  the  Gap  near  which  he  fell  ;  the  wounded  were 
about  him  everywhere,  and  blood  lay  in  puddles  on  the  floor. 
As  soon  as  I  entered  the  door  the  Captain  stretched  forth  his 
hands  to  me  and  said  :  "I  told  you  it  would  be  so,  but  I  did 
my  duty  to  the  last."  I  asked  him  as  to  his  spiritual  welfare, 
and  the  Captain  said  :  "I  have  been  a  terrible  backslider,  but 
God  has  been  merciful  to  me  ;  I  would  not  give,  for  worlds  on 
worlds,  the  peace  I  now  have.  I  lingered  around  the  Cap 
tain's  bed  at  Chattanooga,  whither  he  had  been  taken  on  the 
shoulders  of  his  own  men,  and  was  present  when  he  died. 

That  morning  Captain,  afterwards  Major  Beardsley,  who 
was  in  the  same  ward,  seeing  the  ominous  tokens  of  mortifica- 
cation — said  to  the  dying  man,  "  if  you  have  any  business  to 
transact  you  had  better  do  it  at  once."  Seating  myself  beside 
the  dying  Captain  aided  by  Captain  Beardsley — who  was  a 
lawyer — I  wrote  out  the  will  of  the  dying  Captain  Blanchard. 
When  the  will  was  complete  I  read  it  to  him.  He  nodded 
assent,  for  his  tongue  was  already  paralyzed  ;  I  gave  him  the 
pen  with  which  to  write  his  signature,  a  circular  mark  was  all 
he  could  make. 

I  ASKED  HIM  IF  I  SHOULD  PRAY. 

He  grasped  my  hand  as  best  he  could,  and  nodded  asssent. 
As  I  prayed  he  pressed  my  hand  when  I  mentioned  his  family, 
or  referred  to  his  own  spiritual  interests.  When  I  rose  to 
speak  to  him,  his  hand  was  set  in  death,  and  he  was  gone 
beyond  the  noise  and  tumult  of  war.  With  some  difficulty  I 
withdrew  my  hand  from  his  and  we  stretched  out  the  mutilated 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY.  633 

body,  and  the  hero  of  company  K  was  ready  ior  the  rest  of 
the  grave.  Our  eyes  were  dim  and  we  turned  to  look  out  of 
the  window,  and  there  stood  L,ookout  Mountain  scarred  and 
silent  with  the  somber  clouds  of  November  lurking  near  and 
casting  saddening  shadows  o'er  its  front. 

In  the  cases  of  both  the  Major  and  the  Captain,  were  clear 
premonitions  of  coming  death,  and  may  we  not  say  the 
promptings  of  the  spirit  that  they  might  be  prepared  ? 

On  the  morning  of  the  battle  of  Ringgold  Gap,  Jimmy 
McCollum,  of  company  C,  and  sergeant  Robert  Skinner, 
of  company  E.,  both  of  whom  had  been  with  me  in  prison, 
came  to  me  and  said,  independent  of  each  other,  that  this  was 
to  be  their  last  battle.  Both  said  they  would  like  to  have 
lived  to  see  the  war  over,  and  peace  established  in  the  land, 
but  they  were  resigned  to  whatever  was  God's  will.  That 
evening  I  found  Jimmy  lying  on  the  floor  of  a  vacant  store, 
near  to  the  surgeon's  table  where  amputations  were  being 
made.  The  wounded  were  all  around  him.  He  had  been  ex 
amined  by  the  surgeons  sufficient  to  convince  them  that 
nothing  could  be  done  for  him.  I  attempted  to  speak  to  Jimmy 
but  broke  down.  I  loved  him  as  Jonathan  loved  David.  He 
had  been  one  of  the  most  patient  and  heroic  during  our  three 
months'  imprisonment  in  Vicksburg  and  Jackson,  Miss.  I 
attempted  to  sing  Jimmy's  favorite  hymn,  the  one  he  always 
sang  at  prayer-meeting — 

"  Come  sing  to  me  of  heaven, 
When  I'm  about  to  die  ; 
Sing  songs  of  holy  ecstacy 
To  waft  my  soul  on  high,"- 

but  the  song  was  never  finished.  We  mingled  our  tears, 
and  amid  my  sobs  I  asked  Jimmy  if  it  were  well  with  his 
soul  ?  He  replied,  "  Oh  !  God  is  so  good.  He  has  received 
me  in  Christ. ' '  He  then  went  on  to  state  that  he  wished  he 
could  have  seen  his  mother  before  he  passed  away  ;  but  he 
was  resigned  to  God's  will.  He  died  the  next  day— I  think- 
in  a  flat  car  011  his  way  to  Chattanooga,  and  was  buried  in  his 


634  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

blanket  on  the  banks  of  Chicamauga  Creek.  The  head  of  a 
hard-tack  box  was  his  head  board,  and  there  sleeps,  the  brav 
est  of  the  brave.  Robert  Skinner  was  among  the  killed.  His 
patience  in  prison  and  his  heroism  in  battle,  made  him  the 
envy  of  all  who  desired  a  good  name. 

A  country  that  has  such  men  to  give  for  its  defense, 

CAN  NEVER  FAIL  IN  WAR  OR  DECLINE  IN  PEACE. 

I  conclude  this  chapter  with  a  narration  of  the  experience 
of  some  of  the  Thirteenth  in  the  prisons  of  Vicksburg  and 
Jackson,  Miss.  I  record  it  with  pride,  that  three  of  us  who 
were  captured  at  Chickasaw  Bayou,  fell  into  the  enemy's 
hands  because  obeying  the  first  order  to  "  Charge,"  and  not 
hearing  the  counter-order,  ' '  Retreat  ;  * '  we  pressed  forward 
through  the  dense  smoke  of  the  enemy's  artillery,  till  beyond 
the  reach  of  support.  Surrounded  by  the  enemy,  the  few  of 
us  who  were  left  alive  had  no  alternative  but  to  surrender 
singly  or  in  small  squads  to  a  triumphant  enemy,  before  and 
behind.  There  were  about  three  hundred  men  captured  on 
that  field,  many  of  them  being  wounded.  Our  band  of  pris 
oners  was  composed  of  men  from  the  Sixteenth  Ohio,  a  Mis 
souri  regiment,  a  Kentucky  regiment,  and  the  majority  from 
the  Thirteenth  Illinois.  After  three  months'  imprisonment, 
our  band  of  three  hundred  was  reduced  by  starvation,  sickness 
and  exposure  to  less  than  eighty.  A  portion  of  the  Thirteenth 
men  composed  a  mess,  which  they  called  the  "Aubrey  Mess," 
in  commemoration  of  the  battle  in  which  they  were  captured, 
Aubrey  being  the  name  the  enemy  gave  to  that  engagement, 
while  our  people  called  it  Chickasaw  Bayou.  The  latter 
name  we  never  heard  until  after  our  imprisonment. 

In  this  mess  were  some  young  men  of  literary  talent,  and 
of  musical  culture.  These  formed  what  they  called  a  literary 
club  and  circulating  library  ;  and  yet  there  was  not  a  book 
among  them  save  an  occasional  New  Testament.  In  the 
evening  hours  this  literary  club  would  meet,  and  one  of  their 
number,  according  to  his  turn,  would  recite  all  he  could 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY.  635 

remember  of  some  book  he  had  read  in  his  past  life.  Then 
others  who  had  read  the  book  would  add  what  they  could 
remember  that  had  not  been  mentioned  by  the  others.  Some 
times  the  merits  of  the  writer  and  others  matters  of  criticism 
would  follow,  and  in  this  wray  their  minds  were  kept  from 
brooding  over  their  present  condition.  Thus  these  active  and 
inventive  minds  were  enjoying  all  the  privileges  of  a  circu 
lating  library  and  literary  club.  This  society  appointed  two 
of  its  number,  each  to  compose  a  song  recounting  the  facts 
concerning  the  battle  whose  issue  had  brought  them  to  a 
prisoner's  fate.  The  club  was  to  choose  which  of  the  songs 
should  be  its  mess  song.  A  music  teacher  among  them  was 
appointed  to  compose  the  music.  Paper  was  exceedingly 
scarce  in  Vicksburg  at  this  time.  The  Memphis  Appeal 
was  printed  on  wall-paper.  Letter  paper  was  worth  fifty 
cents  a  sheet.  We  were  without  money,  but  by  trading  off 
trinkets  we  managed  to  get  enough  on  which  to  write  the 
music  and  the  songs. 

Of  the  songs  composed,  the  following  was  chosen  because 
the  jingle  could  better  be  adapted  to  music.  I  am  inclined  to 
think  the  literary  merit  of  the  other  was  superior,  though  its 
meter  was  defective.  The  chosen  song  was  written  by  a 
member  of  Company  D  of  the  Thirteenth.  To  appreciate  its 
wording  it  is  necessary  to  recall  the  facts  that  Blair's  Brigade 
was  chosen  as  the  forlorn  hope,  and  ordered  late  Sunday 
night,  December  28,  1862,  to  take  its  position  under  cover  of 
the  darkness  as  near  to  the  enemys'  line  as  possible.  When 
in  this  position  they  were  to  come  quietly  to  a  "  rear-open- 
order,"  "  ground-arms,"  and  lay  down  in  line  until  morning. 
All  night  long  a  signal  gun  was  fired  at  regular  intervals, 
from  one  of  our  heavy  batteries  ;  at  the  dawn  it  was  to  cease 
for  a  specified  time,  and  when  the  fire  was  resumed  it  was  to 
be  the  signal  of  "  attention." 

We  were  to  come  to  a  close  order  and  prepare  at  once  to 
charge.  Between  us  and  the  enemy  was  that  slough  or 
morass  known  as  Chickasaw  Bayou  ;  through  this  we  must 
pass,  and  charging  up  the  opposite  bank  must  drive  the 


636  HISTORY   OP  THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

enemy  from  his  rifle-pits.  We  were  in  the  edge  of  the  woods 
east  of  the  Bayou,  and  from  these  woods  we  emerged  with  a 
shout.  I  give  the  poem  as  it  was  adopted  ;  and  leave  our 
comrades  to  judge  as  to  its  faithfulness  of  Description.  Its 
title  is— 

"AUBREY'S  BLOODY  CHARGE." 

When  Aubrey's  works  we  boldly  stormed, 

Ah  !  little  thought  had  we, 
That  battle-lines  so  closely  formed, 

So  soon  should  scattered  be. 
Each  man  arose  from  off  the  ground, 

Where  sleep  at  night  had  we  ; 
All  anxious  for  the  startling  sound, 

That  should  our  signal  be. 

CHO. — Then  weep  not  friends  at  home, 

Your  sons  so  freely  given, 
Their  work  on  earth  is  done, 
They  swell  the  host  in  heaven. 

The  extended  line  all  silent  stood, 

And  trembling  hands  were  there  ; 
The  hush  proclaimed  "  Here  terrors  brood," 

Yet  blanched  no  cheek  with  fear. 
As  when  some  sudden,  dreadful  sound. 

Disturbs  the  midnight  air, 
So  came  the  order  ;  then  the  bound 

Of  heroes,  gone,  oh  !  where  ? — CHO. 

Like  lightening  from  the  brooding  cloud 

That  ope's  the  pelting  shower, 
Our  bayonets  flashed  from  out  the  wood, 

A  blaze  of  fearful  power  : 
On,  sweeping  through  the  willow  swamp 

O!er  yielding  mud  and  sand, 
The  serried  line  in  gleaming  pomp 

Surged  on  the  firmer  land.— CHO. 

The  bank  was  reached— a  resting  place— 

A  wearied  host  we  were, 
While  shot  and  shell,  flew  on  apace, 

In  horrid  frantic  whirr  ; 


ILLINOIS     VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  637 

No  time  is  lost ;  but  up  the  bank, 

The  eager  columns  bound  ; 
And  scarce  they  mount,  ere  every  rank 

Is  thinned  by  death  and  wound.— CHO. 

Proud  stars  and  stripes  are  onward  borne — 

Brave  hearts  the  emblems  wave — 
Till  every  stripe  by  grape  is  torn, 

Then  falls  to  shroud  the  brave. 
Oh  !  tell  me  not,  that  heroes  past 

Could  better  stand  the  test, 
Of  rifles  whang,  or  cannons  blast, 

Than  scions  of  the  West. — CHO. 

A  surging  wave  we  swept  the  plain 

Upon  that  awful  day  ; 
But  ere  the  banks  of  slaughter  gain, 

The  wave  is  lost  in  spray. 
"Surrender,"  rang  upon  the  air — 

The  dead  bestrewed  the  field— 
The  foe  unseen  had  gained  the  rear, 

And  we  alas  !  must  yield. — CHO. 

A  meager  few  within  their  w?orks 

We're  hurried  by  the  foe  ; 
Ta'en  far  beyond,  this  danger  lurks, 

To  feel  the  prisoner's  woe. 
Oh,  "  Vicksburg  Jail  !  "  if  walls  had  tongues 

And  thine  could  tell  their  tale, 
Each  ear  would  ache  to  hear  of  wrongs 

Endured  within  thy  pale. — CHO. 

Having  plenty  of  time  to  sing,  we  did  not  complain  of  the 
length  of  our  song.  This  and  other  songs  we  frequently  sung 
for  the  colored  body  servant  of  the  jailor,  as  a  compensation 
for  the  remnant  of  the  meal  his  master  left  on  his  plate.  Our 
meat  was  from  the  Texan  cattle  that  had  died  of  starvation  in 
the  city,  being  unable  to  eat  the  hard  dry  corn  that  had  been 
given  them.  That  which  had  been  fat  in  these  unfortunate 
creatures,  had  turned  into  a  bluish  gelatine  substance  that 
spread  over  all  the  meat  when  boiled  like  mucilage,  and  was 
quite  adhesive.  At  first  we  discarded  the  meat,  but  semi- 
starvation  soon  gave  us  an  appetite  of  unscrupulous  voracity. 


638  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

The  corn  pone  issued  to  us  twice  a  day,  was  meal  in  which  the 
cob  was  ground  up  with  the  corn.  The  cathartic  effects  of 
this  combination  was  truly  alarming.  The  more  thoughtful 
corrected  these  tendencies  by  oak-bark  tea,  amd  such  astring 
ents  as  we  in  our  poverty  and  ingenuity,  could  devise.  We 
had  occasional  religious  services,  but  the  effort  to  obtain 
quiet  seemed  only  to  aggravate  those  who  were  not  favorable 
to  such  exercises. 

After  a  month  in  Vicksburg,  we  were  sent  to  Jackson, 
Mississippi,  and  confined  in  the  ruins  of  the  old  Pearl  river 
covered  bridge.  While  here,  a  proposition  was  made  to  us, 
that  if  we  would  take  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  the  Confeder 
acy,  we  would  be  liberated,  and  given  work  in  a  cotton  fac 
tory  at  four  and  five  dollars  a  day.  At  that  time  the  infamous 
Vallandigham  was  making  his  seditious  speeches  in  Con 
gress,  and  everything  looked  exceedingly  dark  respecting  the 
Union  cause.  When  the  provost  marshal  came  to  administer 
the  oath,  there  was  only  one  man  of  the  Thirteenth,  after 
these  months  of  suffering,  who  was  willing  to  take  it,  and  he 
was  glad  to  be  removed  beyond  sight  or  sound  of  his  incensed 
comrades,  when  their  indignation  burst  forth  in  hisses  and 
groans.  In  response  to  this  proposition,  the  poet  who  had 
composed  our  song,  wrote  these  verses,  which  so  truly  reflect 
ing  our  sentiment,  I  give  entire.  It  was  entitled 

"THE  PATRIOT'S  REPLY. 

"  Me  take  the  oath  from  dread  of  doom, 

Or  all  the  ills  in  prisons  found? 
I'd  rather  weep  in  endless  gloom, 

Than  that  these  lips  should  breathe  the  sound 
That  brands  me  slave,  a  living  shame, 

A  curse  to  all  my  father's  name. 

"  Me  yield  ?     Alas  !  though  hunger  haunts, 

And  grim  disease  my  vitals  gnaw, 
I'd  rather  sink  'neath  myriad  wants, 

And  food  become  in  vulture's  maw, 
Than  craven-like,  my  honor  sell, 

And  shame  e'en  traitors  bound  in  Hell. 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  639 

"  Me,  fainting  droop  !  from  feeble  fear, 

And  rouse  to  heat  a  kindred's  scorn, 
Dry  up  with  shame  a  mother's  tear, 

Who'd  grieve  she  had  a  Judas  borne  ? 
No  !  let  this  mark  my  humble  grave, 

'My  God,  the  Union,  and  the  brave. ' ): 

While  incarcerated  in  the  bridge,  the  men  devised  various 
ways  of  escape.  One  was,  for  two  or  three  to  gather  all  the 
canteens  possible  after  dark,  go  to  the  door  and  ask  the  privi 
lege  to  go  and  fill  them.  A  guard  would  be  detailed  to 
take  the  three  under  the  bridge  to  the  river  brink.  One  of 
the  prisoners  would  engage  the  guard  in  animated  conversation 
while  the  others  were  ostensibly  filing  the  canteens.  In  the 
darkness  the  other  two  would  slip  away,  and  leave  only  one 
man  to  go  back  with  the  guard.  The  guard,  chagrined  at  his 
loss,  would  say  nothing  of  his  loss  in  the  escape.  Another 
plan  was  to  make  a  rope  of  old  rags,  drop  down  through  a 
hole  in  the  bridge,  and  swinging,  catch  some  of  the  braces  that 
stretch  from  the  piers  on  the  shore  and  slide  down  these 
till  they  reached  the  river  bank.  By  wrapping  a  stocking 
about  a  file  they  muffled  the  sound  as  they  filed  off  the 
chains  that  locked  some  boats  to  the  shore,  and  in  these  they 
descended  the  river,  traveling  by  night  and  seeking  a  covert 
by  day.  Night  and  morning  we  were  counted,  but  there  were 
always  some  less  in  the  morning  after  a  dark  night.  At  last 
a  shrewd  officer  coming  into  the  bridge  one  morning  called 
aside  one  of  the  seediest  looking  of  our  number,  and  whisper 
ing  to  him  that  if  he  would  tell  him  where  the  hole  was 
through  which  these  men  were  getting  out,  he  would  return 
him  to  his  lines,  and  let  him  go  home.  The  seedy  "  Yank," 
looked  at  him  for  a  moment  ;  asked  him  if  he  would  truly  do 
this  for  him.  The  officer  feeling  assured  from  the  confidential 
manner  of  the  Yankee  that  he  had  gained  his  point,  extended 
to  him  his  hand,  and  gave  his  solemn  pledge  to  fulfill  his 
promise.  The  Yankee  looked,  and  waited  for  still  further  as 
surance,  and  received  it-;  whereupon,  putting  his  hand  to  his 
mouth  and  drawing  the  officer's  head  close  to  him,  instead  of 


640  HISTORY   OF  THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

whispering,  he  shouted  loud  enough  to  be  heard  all  through 
the  bridge — 

"  I  guess  the  last  man  took  the  hole  with  him." 
The  roar  that  followed,  showed  plainly  that  the  prisoners 
now  understood  the  nature  of  their  communications. 

Vividly  impressed  upon  my  mind  is  an  evening  hour  in 
that  old  "  Bridge  of  Sighs."  It  was  the  month  of  March 
when  a  somber  day  was  darkening  into  a  threatening  night, 
and  the  coarse  jests  and  ribaldry,  and  the  blasphemous  whines 
of  the  discontented  had  come  to  a  lull,  that  a  sweet  tenor 
voice  from  a  group  lying  on  the  floor  began  to  sing — 

"  How  tedious  and  tasteless  the  hours, 
When  Jesus  no  longer  I  see,  &c. 

It  acted  like  a  charm,  and  all  was  peace.  When  the 
singer  came  to  the  words — 

"  While  blest  with  a  sense  of  his  love, 

A  palace,  a  toy  would  appear, 
And  prisons  would  palaces  prove. 

If  Jesus  would  dwell  with  me  there." 

His  voice  faltered,  and  there  was  a  silence,  broken  only 
by  the  sobs  of  those  who  had  never  felt  the  significance  of 
those  words  as  they  did  now.  Many  of  those  who  joined  in 
that  hymn  that  night,  lived  to  get  out  of  their  imprisonment, 
but  they  fell  at  Lookout  Mountain,  Missionary  Ridge,  Ring- 
gold  Gap  and  Madison  Station. 

At  Springfield  , Illinois,  June  18,  1864  my  services  as 
chaplain  of  the  Thirteenth  ended  ;  and  going  from  the  scene 
of  our  ' '  muster  out, ' '  the  first  marriage  ceremony  I  ever  per 
formed  was  for  a  member  of  Company  D,  who  married  an  es 
timable  lady  of  Atlanta,  Illinois. 

Thus  the  Thirteenth  so  heroic  in  war  has  come  back  fully 
into  all  the  amenities  of  society,  the  comforts  of  the  home, 
and  the  pursuits  of  peace. 

Should  war  ever  again  visit  our  land,  and  I  not  too  old  to 
enlist,  I  would  ask  no  higher  privilege  than  to  be  mustered— 
in  with  the  survivors  of  the  grand  old  Thirteenth. 

God  bless  you  my  comrades,  farewell. 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  641 


EXPERIENCE  OF  W.  H.  WOODRING  OF  COMPANY 
D,  AS  A  TELEGRAPH  OPERATOR. 


A    LONELY   RIDE,    OF    1 2O   MILES   WITHOUT   AN   ESCORT. 


On  the  night  of  April  i2th,  1861,  I  was  receiving  the  tel 
egraphic  dispatches  at  Rock  Island,  111.,  where  I  was  tele 
graph  manager  and  operator,  and  the  news  which  I  received 
that  night  about  the  firing  on  Fort  Sumter,  so  worked  on  my 
patriotic  feelings  that  I  soon  resigned  my  position,  and  three 
weeks  later  I  was  en  route  for  the  camp  of  instruction,  having 
enlisted  as  a  private  in  the  Thirteenth  regiment,  Illinois  Infan 
try,  the  first  regiment  of  three  years'  men  from  that  state. 

It  is  not  my  intention  to  speak  of  my  service  during  the 
first  year  I  enlisted,  but  proceed  at  once  to  relate  an  incident 
in  my  soldier  life,  which  I  have  selected  for  this  occasion. 

In  1862,  the  government  began  to  appreciate  the  great 
value  of  the  military  telegraph,  wherewith  to  quickly  transmit 
orders  and  information  concerning  the  movements  of  troops, 
and  munitions  of  war.  So  great  was  the  demand  for  skilled 
telegraph  operators,  that  orders  were  issued  to  the  various 
commanders  to  search  among  their  troops  for  soldiers  who 
could  operate  the  telegraph.  By  order  of  Maj.  Gen.  Halleck, 
I  was  given  a  furlough  from  my  regiment,  March  2d,  1862, 
and  ordered  to  report  for  duty  to  Maj.  George  A.  Smith,  quar 
termaster  in  charge  of  the  military  telegraphs  of  the  Depart 
ment  of  Missouri.  From  thenceforward,  my  post  of  duty  was 
"  at  the  front"  although  in  the  rear  of  the  fighting  part  of 
the  army.  The  telegraph  corps  followed  the  advancing 
troops  with  its  wires  as  rapidly  as  it  could,  and  quickly 
opened  communication  between  them  and  the  Department 
Headquarters,  as  well  as  between  army  corps  and  divisions, 
often  establishing  its  impromptu  offices  upon  the  battle  field 
behind  a  sheltering  tree,  and  reading  the  message  from  the 
tick  of  the  little  pocket  sounder,  which  was  often  a  difficult 
task  amid  the  noise  of  battle. 


642  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

On  the  4th  of  June,  1862,  I  was  intrusted  with  a  copy  of 
the  code  or  cipher  key,  such  as  was  used  only  between  the 
commanding  generals,  for  the  transmission  of  important  com 
munications.  Messages  forwarded  under  this  code  could  not 
be  translated  except  by  those  in  possession  of  the  key.  I  was 
ordered  to  proceed  at  once  from  St.  Louis  to  Springfield,  Mis 
souri,  and  report  for  duty  to  the  general  in  command  at  that 
place.  I  proceeded  by  rail  to  Rolla,  in  the  central  part  of  the 
state  and  there  drew  a  raw-boned  saddle  horse  from  the  quar 
termaster's  corral.  Next  in  order  was  a  call  for  an  escort 
from  the  post  commandant,  but  was  informed  by  that  officer 
that  they  could  not  spare  any  troops  for  that  purpose  at  that 
time.  My  orders  were  imperative  ;  so  on  the  morning  of  the 
5th,  I  began  a  long,  tiresome  journey,  a  journey  of  one  hun 
dred  and  twenty  miles  through  a  portion  of  Missouri  full  of 
bush-whackers  or  guerrillas,  as  they  were  termed.  They  had 
captured  and  burned  a  quartermaster's  wagon  on  the  road, 
twenty-five  miles  out  from  Rolla  only  two  days  before,  and  an 
other  train,  on  another  road  a  short  distance  south  of  it,  near 
the  same  time.  This  was  not  very  inspiring  news  to  me,  but 
I  placed  my  cipher  key  in  a  convenient  pocket  where  I  could 
quickly  get  it  to  destroy,  if  likely  to  be  captured  by  the  en 
emy,  and  started  on  the  journey  alone.  My  way  led  through 
forests  the  greater  part  of  the  way,  along  by  dilapidated  farm 
fences,  through  valleys,  where  the  foliage  of  the  trees  drooped 
thickly  over  the  lonely  road,  then  alongside  the  winding 
course  of  the  Little  Pine}7  river,  on  one  side  of  which  were 
high  bluffs  covered  with  scrubby  timber— a  splendid  place  for 
concealed  assassins.  I  passed  the  wreck  of  the  burned  wagon 
train  about  four  o'clock,  in  a  small  clearing  in  a  valley,  with 
thickets  on  all  sides  of  it  ;  it  was  anything  but  a  cheering 
sight  for  the  lone  traveller  in  blue,  as  he  rode  quickly  by  the 
remains  of  the  still  smouldering  ruins.  My  eyes  were  on  the 
constant  lookout  for  an  enemy,  but  none  appeared  and  half 
an  hour  after  the  sun  had  set,  I  was  made  glad  by  the  appear 
ance  of  the  lamp  lights  ahead  of  me,  of  the  little  town  of 
Waynesville,  thirty  miles  from  Rolla.  I  was  very  weary,  and 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  643 

retired  as  soon  as  I  had  my  supper  in  the  little  village  hotel. 
Thefeat/ier  bed  on  which  I  slept  was  illy  appreciated  by  me— 
having  slept  on  the  hard  ground  so  long,  that  feathers  were  a 
torture.  (?) 

Started  early  next  morning  for  Lebanon,  twenty-five  miles 
distant,  the  country  was    now    more  open  than  that  east  of 
Waynesville,   until  I  came  to  the  Big  Piney  river  ten  miles 
from  Lebanon,  a  deep  swift  stream   which  I  had  to  ford  ;  this 
too  was  surrounded  by  timber  and  bordered  on  the  west  by 
high  bluffs.     I  hastened  on,  and  reached  Lebanon  before  dark. 
Nothing   of  importance  occurred  until  after  I  had  made  the 
next  stopping  place  thirty  miles  from  Lebanon — the  fourth  day; 
I  started  early  that  morning  and  rode  fast — the  road  was  most 
ly    through   timber    the    last   thirty    miles,    before    reaching 
Springfield,  and  was  more  dangerous  than  that  passed  over  the 
two  previous  days.     About  eighteen  miles  from  Springfield  I 
overtook   a  two  horse  wagon  in  which  were  three  telegraph 
line  repair  men,  on  their  way  to  Springfield.     This  was  a  most 
welcome    sight    for   me — I    and    my    horse   were   both    tired 
and  sore,  although  we  only  averaged  thirty  miles  per  day  on 
this  journey,  nevertheless  thirty  miles  was  a  good  day's  jour 
ney,  when    the    nature  of  the   country  traversed  by  the  old 
stage  road  which  I  followed  is  taken  into  consideration.     Per 
haps  some  of  those  present  on  this  occasion,  have  taken  this 
trip,  in  the  old  overland  stage  coach,   if  so,  they    can  testify 
to  the  numerous  difficulties  encountered.     Hills  and  valleys, 
mud,  corduroy  roads,  and  rivers  followed  each  other  in  quick 
succession.     I  tied  my  horse  to  the  rear  of  the  wagon  and  took 
a  seat  in  it  with  the  men.     We  went  along  leisurely  through 
the  winding  woodland  road,  talking  and  forgetting  our  sur 
roundings,   when  we  heard  some  one  hurrying  up  behind  us, 
a  countryman  in  homespun  clothes,  who  overtook  us,  and  ex 
citedly  told  us  that  a  party  of  twelve  guerrillas,  armed  with 
rifles  had  crossed  over  the  road  just  out  of  sight  to  the  rear  of 
us.     I  jumped  on  my  horse  and  we  made  lively  time  from 
thence  to  Springfield,  arriving  at  my  journey's  end  in  safety 
for  which  I  thanked  God  most  feverently.     I  consider  it  a  most 


644  HISTORY   OF   THE    THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

wonderful  event  that  I  got  through  without  seeing  an  enemy 
— and  in  fact,  with  hardly  seeing  a  friend — I  met  very  few 
persons  on  the  way,  those  whom  I  did  meet  were  suspicious 
and  wary  of  me,  as  I  was  of  them.  At  seme  of  the  dilapi 
dated  farm  houses,  by  the  way,  could  be  seen  sad  eyed  wom 
en,  and  a  large  number  of  ragged  children,  watching  the  lone 
rider  until  he  was  out  of  sight.  The  only  signs  of  farming  at 
these  poor  log  houses,  was  perhaps  a  small  patch  of  corn  and 
potatoes.  Very  few  cows  and  chickens  were  left  them  — all 
was  most  desolate  and  uninviting,  showing  the  awful  effect 
that  war  has  produced  on  these  once  happy  farmers.  Thus 
ended  a  journey  which  to  me  was  perhaps  the  most  danger 
ous,  and  difficult  duty  performed  during  the  three  and  a  half 
37ears  of  my  service  in  the  army. 


COPIED    FROM    PLUM'S    "MILITARY    TELEGRAPH 
IN    THE    CIVIL    WAR." 

"  Early  in  January,  1863,  Marmaduke,  collecting  about 
four  thousand  troops,  mainly  horse,  and  a\oiding  Blunt,  pre 
pared  to  assault  Springfield,  Missouri,  his  base  of  supplies. 
Heron  'having  taken  away  the  best  troops  with  him,  leaving 
under  General  E.  B.  Brown  but  about  twelve  hundred  militia 
three  hundred  convalescents  and  one  hundred  and  fifty  Iowra 
troops,  the  result  was  very  uncertain.  Brown's  few  cavalry 
men  delayed  the  enemy  as  long  as  possible,  to  give  time  to 
prepare  for  the  battle.  Several  old  iron  howitzers,  that  lay 
in  the  arsenal  grounds,  were  put  on  temporary  carriages  in 
the  little  earth  fort  about  a  block  from  headquarters,  and 
manned  by  experienced  gunners.  By  daylight  of  the  eighth, 
Brown  was  ready. 

"  Early  in  the  morning  of  the  seventh,  the  telegraph  line 
was  cut,  both  east  and  south,  to  prevent  Brown  from  commu 
nicating  with  outside  forces.  The  night  of  the  seventh  was 
clear,  the  moon  shining  brightly,  and  realizing  the  great  ne- 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  645 

cessity  of  re-establishing  the  telegraph  before  the  attack, 
operator  Woodring  called  to  him  repairers  Owen  Monday,  a 
splendid  man  with  real  Irish  pluck,  and  Bob  Bates,  who 
would  go  wherever  sent.  Monday  mounted  his  big  '  clay- 
bank,'  horse,  and  going  east  found  and  repaired  the  line 
about  seven  miles  out,  and  returned  before  daylight,  undis 
covered  ;  but  Bates  had  to  go  farther,  and  did  not  find  the 
break  until  near  morning.  Having  repaired  the  line  and 
rested  a  little  at  a  wayside  house,  h.e  was  unable  to  return 
until  the  rebels  had  begun  their  attack,  which  commenced 
about  one  p.  m.,  when  suddenly  he  found  himself  in  the  midst 
of  a  squad  some  distance  out  of  town,  where  the  road  on  both 
sides  was  skirted  with  brush  and  timber.  Being  in  citizens 
dress,  no  immediate  measures  were  taken  to  detain  him,  and 
soon  comprehending  the  situation,  he  spurred  his  little  mare 
directly  into  the  timber,  when  the  squad  sent  a  volley  after 
him  without  effect.  Telegraphic  communication  being  thus 
re-established,  the  operator  was  able  to  and  did  advise  the 
commanding  General  at  St.  Louis,  of  the  progress  of  the  bat 
tle  during  the  whole  of  the  time  it  continued. 

"  Woodring  and  Briggs  felt  little  disposed  to  remain  idle 
within  a  few  blocks  of  the  fighting,  and  as  each  was  well  sup 
plied  with  Knfield  rifles,  they  sallied  forth  to  render  such  service 
as  they  might,  Briggs  taking  position  among  the  volunteer 
skirmishers,  and  Woodring  acting  as  aide  to  Brown,  anon 
firing  from  convenient  shelter,  at  short  intervals  ran  back  to 
his  office  and  telegraphed  prospects.  At  one  time  peeping 
over  the  parapet  for  a  shot,  he  drew  a  heavy  rebel  fire,  that 
was  almost  too  well  aimed.  At  another,  while  he  was  in  his 
office  just  after  dark,  lighting  his  lamp,  preparatory  to  report 
ing  that  General  Brown  was  severely  wounded,  there  was  a 
sudden  crash  through  the  building,  already  well  riddled  with 
bullets.  The  room  seemed  to  fill  with  splinters  and  powdered 
plaster,  aud  ere  he  could  comprehend  what  was  the  matter, 
he  saw  a  dark  ball  rolling  on  the  floor  right  by  his  feet.  It 
was  a  shell  from  the  enemy's  cannon.  Greatly  startled  he 
jumped  back  and  crouched  in  a  corner  awaiting  its  explosion, 


646  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

but  happily  for  him  the  fuse  had  not  ignited.  That  shell 
passed  through  a  wooden  church  and  three  partitions  in  the 
telegraph  building  before  reaching  the  office  where  it  struck  a 
brick  chimney  and  fell  to  the  floor.  It  is  no«w  the  property  of 
Superintendent  Smith.  (It  was  returned  to  Mr.  Woodring  at 
the  close  of  the  war,  and  is  still  in  his  possession.)  Woodring 
hurriedly  arranged  his  wires,  and  taking  out  a  relay  went  to  a 
building  facing  Market  Square,  where  the  office  was  formerly 
located,  and  there  he  made  his  report  to  St.  Louis. 

"  About  eight  o'clock  the  enemy  withdrew,  and  Spring 
field  was  saved.  About  one  a.  m.  the  Union  gunners  fired 
again,  to  feel  for  the  enemy,  and  Woodring,  believing  the 
battle  was  being  renewed,  reported  accordingly,  and  then  the 
line  was  cut  again,  leaving  the  department  commander, 
at  St.  Louis,  and  the  Northern  people,  in  suspense.  Marina- 
duke  had  taken  the  Rolla  road,  cut  the  wire  in  many  places 
and  strung  it  across  the  highway  behind,  as  he  advanced. 

Since  2  p.  m.  no  tidings  had  come  from  brave  Briggs.  Let 
us  now  follow  him.  In  company  with  a  lieutenant  and  a  few 
others,  he  took  position  behind  some  shade  trees,  not  far  from 
the  two  story  brick  seminary  building,  lately  used  as  a  mili 
tary  prison,  which  the  enemy  captured,  and  from  which  they 
were  inflicting  much  injury.  Briggs  and  the  others  were 
endeavoring  to  pick  off  some  of  the  enemy,  and  in  so  doing 
he  fired  every  cartridge  but  one.  His  position  becoming  very 
uncomfortable  at  this  time,  the  lieutenant  advised  Briggs  to 
fall  back,  but  he  wanted  one  more  shot,  and  in  exposing  him 
self  to  secure  it,  he  was  himself  shot  and  instantly  killed. 
Woodring  sallied  forth  early  on  the  ninth,  to  find  his  comrade 
operator.  After  some  search  and  inquiry  he  learned  that  he 
had  been  killed,  and  hurrying  to  a  back  porch  near  the  office, 
he  saw  the  body  of  poor  Briggs,  cold  in  death.  A  bullet  had 
entered  an  eye  and  passed  through  the  head.  While  the 
Union  people  of  the  North  were  proudly  discussing  the  vic 
tory,  a  few  days  later,  at  Delavan,  Wisconsin,  Henry  G. 
Briggs'  young  wife  and  two  children  were  bewailing  the 
death  of  this  gallant  volunteer  whose  remains  lie  buried  in 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  647 

the  soldiers'  cemetery  in  the  town  he  assisted  so  bravely  in 
defending.* 

The  Federals  lost  fourteen  killed  and  one-hundred  and 
forty-five  wounded  ;  their  antagonists  loss  exceeded  two 
hundred. 

A  new  attack  was  expected  the  next  day,  and  preparations 
were  made  by  Colonel  George  H.  Hall  for  a  final  defense  in 
the  main  fort  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  town  from  where  the 
fighting  on  the  eighth  chiefly  occurred.  Woodring  burned 
his  old  messages,  hid  his  instruments,  except  relay  and  key, 
which,  with  recent  telegrams  and  cipher  key,  he  took  to  the 
fort,  where,  Colonel  Hall  desiring  to  telegraph  for  reinforce 
ments,  Woodring  volunteered  to  transmit  them  from  the 
nearest  point  where  he  could  get  an  electric  current  from  St. 
L,ouis  batteries,  provided  an  escort  was  furnished.  Accord 
ingly,  as  directed,  he  reported  at  dark  with  repairer  Bates, 
received  the  dispatches,  and  with  twenty-one  men  of  the 
Seventh  Missouri  Cavalry,  proceeded  slowly,  owing  to  the 
wires  across  the  road.  Twenty- four  miles  out  the  men  began 
to  object  to  proceeding  farther,  and  soon  decided  to  return  to 
their  command,  the  sergeant  commanding  them  exercising 
little  control.  The  operator  called  for  volunteers  and  only 
one  man  besides  Bates  responded  ;  but  with  these  two  men 
Woodring  pressed  forward,  determined  on  his  mission.  Ten 
miles  beyond,  they  discovered  a  small  party  of  mounted  men, 
armed,  and  dressed  partly  in  blue,  the  rest  in  jeans  looking 
not  unlike  Marmaduke's  men.  They,  it  seems,  were  suspicious 
of  the  three,  and  cried — "  Halt,  advance  one  ;  "  but  the  trio, 
considering  their  inferior  numbers,  deemed  the  demand  unfair, 
and  successfully  insisted  that  one  of  the  others  advance.  As 
he  approached,  the  three  separated,  two  being  on  the  side  and 
one  in  the  center,  prepared  to  dash  through  the  others  if  they 
were  rebels  ;  but  they  were  the  advance  guard  of  a  large 
militia  command  en  route  for  Springfield,  but  in  fact  diverged 


*Henry  G.  Briggs,  a  telegraph  operator,  assistant  to  \V.  H.  Woodriug — was  a   pri 
vate  soldier,  a  member  of  the  Ninety-ninth  Regiment  Illinois  Infantry. 


648  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

on  Hartsville.  That  night  (tenth),  after  a  grand  reception  at 
Lebanon,  where  the  operator  and  others  were  duly  lionized, 
Woodring  himself  telegraphed  the  messages  from  St.  Louis, 
not  having  been  able  to  get  circuit  therefrom  west  of  Lebanon 
The  North  had  understood  that  Springfield  was  captured. 
The  cowardly  sergeant  was  reduced  to  the  ranks. 


SURGEON     PLUMMER    WRITES    THE    FOLLOWING 

ITEMS  CONCERNING  THE  HEALTH  OF  HIS 

REGIMENT. 

"  We  had  hardly  got  into  camp  at  Dixon,  111.,  when  sick 
ness  began  to  show  itself  among  the  men,  on  account  of  the 
change  from  the  comforts  of  home  to  the  exposure  of  camp 
life.  We  had  a  number  of  cases  of  pneumonia  and  measles 
among  the  men  while  in  camp  at  Dixon.  After  moving  from 
Dixon  to  Caseyville,  111.,  we  were  free  from  diseases  of  all 
kinds  except  now  and  then  a  case  of  measles.  From  Casey 
ville  we  crossed  the  Missouri  River  passing  through  St.  Louis 
to  Rolla,  Mo.,  where  we  lay  in  camp  from  July  until  the  fall. 
During  our  encampment  at  Rolla  we  had  perhaps  a  dozen 
cases  of  typhoid  among  the  men,  all  of  whom  recovered  with 
the  exception  of  two  ca,ses  that  were  removed  from  the  field 
tent  hospital  to  what  was  supposed  to  be  more  comfortable 
quarters,  in  a  dwelling  house.  Both  of  the  patients  died, 
while  those  treated  in  the  camp  hospital  recovered.  During 
the  whole  winter  we  had  men  taken  down  with  the  measles 
from  time  to  time  with  but  one  death.  The  death  was  the 
result  of  delirium,  the  man  having  gotten  out  of  the  hospital 
and  run  through  the  snow  at  night.  After  getting  through 
the  epidemic  of  measles,  the  regiment  was  comfortably  free 
from  disease  until  after  the  battle  of  Pea  Ridge,  when  small 
pox  broke  out  among  the  men,  the  result  of  exposure  and  con 
tagion  by  two  companies  occupying  a  church  at  Lebanon, 
Mo.,  that  had  been  used  during  the  winter  before  as  a  small- 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY.  649 

pox  hospital.  I  hauled  patients  afflicted  with  small- pox  all 
the  way  from  Cassville,  Mo.,  to  Helena,  Ark.,  in  army 
wagons.  The  wagons  were  kept  about  a  half  a  mile  in  the 
rear  of  the  command  with  '  Small-Pox  '  painted  in  big  letters 
on  each  side.  The  '  Johnnies  '  never  disturbed  those  wagons. 
Every  man  afflicted  with  small-pox  recovered.  I  attributed 
the  fact  of  their  all  recovering  to  their  being  carried  in  canvas- 
covered  wagons,  which  allowed  all  obnoxious  vapors  to 
escape.  After  our  arrival  at  Helena,  on  the  Missouri  River, 
our  men  were  afflicted  with  diseases  of  malarial  type,  and 
many  with  mucous  or  chronic  diarrhoea.  With  the  exception 
of  the  mucous  diarrhoea,  after  reaching  the  Mississippi  River, 
we  had  very  little  sickness  in  the  regiment,  and  during  the 
months  of  the  winters  of  '62  and  '63,  the  health  of  the  regi 
ment  was  so  good  that  I  never  had  any  men  in  the  hospital. 
I  attributed  the  immunity  of  the  men  from  disease  to  the  fact 
that  they  were  intelligent,  wide-awake  and  knew  how  to  take 
care  of  themselves,  not  indulging  in  any  excess  of  either  food 
or  drink,  and  protecting  themselves  from  exposure  when  they 
could,  and  to  another  fact,  that  they  were  the  best  'jay- 
hawkers  '  in  the  family.  If  there  was  anything  in  the  country 
to  be  obtained  by  any  means  that  was  good  to  eat,  they  always 
got  it,  and  whatever  they  did  get,  the  surgeon  usually 
received  a  share  of  it,  too. 

"  The  Thirteenth,  like  all  other  regiments,  had  some  boys 
in  it  that  would  '  play  off '  if  they  got  a  good  chance,  and  in 
order  to  be  excused  from  duty,  used  often  to  come  to  '  Sur 
geon's  Call,'  which  was  always  held  early  in  the  morning,  and 
when  I  was  satisfied  that  the  man  merely  wanted  to  be  ex 
cused  from  duty,  nothing  ailing  him,  my  universal  practice 
was  to  order  him  a  dose  of  castor  oil  and  turpentine.  The  men 
very  soon  learned  that  when  that  order  was  given,  they  knew 
I  understood  that  they  were  *  playing  off,'  and  made  a  'bee 
line '  for  their  own  quarters. 

'  While  in  camp  at  Helena,  Ark.,  I  received  orders  from 
the  headquarters  of  the  Medical  Department  of  the  army,  to 
issue  whisky  and  quinine  to  the  men  to  prevent  them  from 


650  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

having  malarial  diseases.  I  had  drawn  a  few  barrels  of  whis 
ky  for  that  purpose,  had  the  head  of  one  knocked  in,  put  the 
necessary  amount  of  quinine  into  it,  and  each  morning  issued 
the  quantity  necessary  to  each  orderly-sergeant.  After  issu 
ing  out  the  first  barrel,  Orville  Hamilton,  known  as  '  Old 
Ham,'  said  to  me  when  I  was  about  to  open  the  second  bar 
rel,  that  he  could  drink  whisky  with  almost  anything  in  it, 
but  that  he  preferred  it  without  flies  ;  that  knocking  the  head 
of  the  barrel  in,  let  the  flies  get  into  it,  and  if  I  would  allow  him, 
he  would  fix  it  so  the  flies  could  not  get  into  it.  I  told  him 
to  fix  it.  He  pounded  on  the  side  of  the  barrel  until  the  bung 
flew  out,  The  necessary  quantity  of  quinine  was  put  into  the 
barrel,  and  then  the  bung-hole  was  closed  up  again.  He  bored 
a  hole  near  the  bottom  and  put  a  wooden  faucet  into  it,  which 
he  had  in  his  pocket.  He  was  always  ready  with  everything. 
He  knew  just  where  to  get  a  block  of  the  right  size,  put  it 
into  the  corner  of  my  tent  and  put  the  barrel  on  top  of  it. 
The  next  morning  when  I  went  to  issue  the  rations  to  the 
men,  there  was  not  a  drop  of  whisky  in  the  barrel.  He  had 
raised  the  corner  of  the  tent,  set  a  bucket  under  the  faucet,  and 
issued  the  entire  barrel  to  the  men  in  the  course  of  the  night. 
I  met  him  two  or  three  days  afterward,  not  having  seen  him 
for  that  time.  I  said  to  him,  '  You  are  an  old  scoundrel  !  ' 
He  looked  at  me  good-naturedly  and  inquired,  '  Doctor,  what 
is  the  matter  with  you  now  ? '  I  said  to  him,  '  You  stole  my 
barrel  of  whisky.'  His  answer  was,  'You  would  not  get 
mad  at  a  little  joke  like  that.' 

"In  the  surgical  practice  among  the  men  of  the  Thirteenth 
Illinois,  they  were  all  heroes.  It  made  no  difference  how  se 
verely  men  were  injured  they  bore  up  well,  and  I  attributed 
their  recovery  in  a  great  many  instances  to  that  heroism." 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY.  65! 


MRS.    LJVERMORE'S  VISIT  TO   THE  THIRTEENTH. 

"  I  had  been  requested,  before  leaving  home,  to  visit  the 
camp  of  the  Thirteenth  Illinois  if  I  should  happen  in  their 
neighborhood  ;  and  I  had  been  trusted  with  various  packages 
for  individuals  of  it. 

' '  These  I  had  sent  forward  and  had  received  acknowledge 
ments  of  their  receipt.  They  were  encamped  seven  miles 
down  the  levee,  and  almost  daily  I  had  received  a  note  from 
some  man  of  the  regiment  charging  me  not  to  forget  to  con_e 
to  them,  with  other  similiar  messages.  One  pleasant  day  I 
started  for  their  encampment. 

* '  The  only  chance  for  a  ride  was  in  an  army  wagon  drawn 
by  six  mules  and  loaded  with  molasses,  hard-tack,  salt  pork 
and  coffee. 

"  A  very  black  negro  drove  the  team,  who  rejoiced  in  the 
name  of  Socrates.  He  pronounced  his  name  as  though  it  were 
1  succotash.' 

"In  this  lumbering  ark  I  took  passage  through  the  mud 
and  water.  We  had  gone  but  a  little  way  when  we  stuck 
fast  in  the  mud.  Thereupon  black  Socrates  fell  in  a  passion 
worthy  of  Xanthippe,  and  cudgeled  the  mules  unmercifully. 
They  kicked  and  pulled  and  floundered,  and  at  last  extricated 
themselves.  We  started  again,  rode  slowly  a  little  farther, 
again  got  stuck  in  the  mud,  and  again  Socrates  applied  his 
cudgel  and  beat  and  swore,  and  swore  and  beat,  until  I  could 
stand  it  no  longer. 

"  'What  are  you  beating  the  mules  for,'  I  remonstrated. 
*  Don't  you  see  they  are  doing  the  best  they  can  ?  ' 

"  '  Lors  Missis  dey  orter  be  licked,  mules  is  dat  mean  dey 
allus  won't  pull  a  bit  when  dey  knows  yers  gwine  somwhar 
in  a  hurry.' 

"  '  Well,  I  wont  have  them  beaten  any  more.  Now  stop 
it.  I  can't  stand  it.  It  hurts  me.' 

"Socrates  threw  back  his  head,  showed  all  his  gleaming 
teeth,  and  laughed  immoderately.  '  You'd  git  hurted  a  heap, 


652  HISTORY   OF  THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

Missis  if  yer  stayed  hyar  allers  ;  fer  I  clar  to  goodness,  mules 
is  dat  mighty  mean  dat  yer  jes  has  ter  lick  em.'  And  he  flew 
to  cudgeling  again.  It  was  too  much.  I  could  not  stand  it  ; 
and  crawling  out  from  the  molasses  and  pork,  I  picked  my 
way  to  the  top  of  the  levee,  thickly  dotted  with  soldiers' 
tents.  For  miles  the  inside  of  the  levee  was  sown  with 
soldiers'  graves,  at  the  head  and  foot  of  which  were  rude 
tablets,  bearing  the  name  and  rank  of  the  deceased,  and  some 
other  particulars.  The  soldiers  spoke  of  their  buried  com 
rades  in  a  nonchalant  way,  as  'planted.' 

' '  In  most  cases,  the  poor  fellows  had  been  wrapped  in 
their  blankets  and  buried  without  coffins  ;  or  '  overcoats  '  as 
the  men  called  them. 

"In  places  the  levee  was  broken,  or  washed  out  by  the 
waters,  and  the  decaying  dead  were  partially  disinterred. 
This  sickening  sight  did  not  move  me  then,  as  it  would  now  ; 
for  hospital  and  army  life,  after  the  first  few  weeks,  merci 
fully  lent  a  temporary  stoicism  that  enabled  one  to  see  and 
hear  any  form  or  tales  of  horror  without  deep  emotion. 

"A  young  Lieutenant  became  my  guide  and  escorted  me  to 
the  camp  of  the  Thirteenth  Illinois.  We  came  upon  it  unex 
pectedly. 

"I  halted  reverently  and  laid  my  hand  upon  the  Lieutenant's 
arm,  for  some  sort  of  a  service  was  in  progress  in  the  camp. 

"  The  men  were  standing  or  sitting  in  a  body,  and  a  chap 
lain  was  delivering  an  address  or  preaching  a  sermon.  As  I 
listened,  he  seemed  to  be  setting  the  sins  of  his  audience  be 
fore  them  in  a  manner  that  savored  more  of  frankness  than 
tact,  and  he  was  exhorting  the  men  to  repentance.  The  boys, 
however,  seemed  to  enjoy  the  recital  of  their  shortcomings  and 
sins  of  commission,  and  frequently  assisted  the  preacher's 
memory  to  facts  which  he  had  forgotten,  or  did  not  know, 
suggesting  peculiar  punishment  for  them,  all  of  which  was 
immediately  adopted  into  the  discourse. 

' '  I  thought  the  interruptions  of  the  soldier  audience  need 
less  and  profane. 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  653 

' '  Little  as*  I  sympathized  with  the  queer  exhortations  of  the 
chaplain,  I  tried  to  infuse  into  my  manner  an  expression  of  rev 
erence  that  would  rebuke  the  wild  fellows.  The  service  was 
brought  to  an  abrupt  close  by  one  of  the  men  shouting  out  : 
'  I  say,  Harry,  you'd  better  wind  up  your  gospel  yarn  and  see 
who's  behind  you  ! ' 

"There  was  a  shout.  The  speaker  turned  toward  me, 
when  lo  !  it  was  no  chaplain,  but  the  young  brother  of  one  of 
my  friends,  an  irrepressible  wag  and  mimic.  His  mimicry  in 
this  case,  if  reprehensible,  was  perfect.  I  found  that  this 
regiment  had  made  quite  a  reputation  by  its  versatility.  There 
was  nothing  its  men  could  not  do.  All  the  arts,  trades,  pro 
fessions  and  mechanical  employments  were  represented  in  it. 
In  addition  to  their  other  accomplishments,  they  were  such 
experts  in  quizzical  thefts  that  they  had  earned  the  some 
what  equivocal  sobriquet  of  the  stealing  regiment. 

"The  brigade  surgeon  walked  back  with  me  part  of  the 
way  a'nd  gave  me  an  amusing  account  of  their  exploits  in  this 
line,  some  of  which  were  very  comical.  He  told  me  after 
wards  that  \vhile  he  \vas  thus  engaged  (  escorting  the  lady  ) 
the  boys  went  to  his  tent,  and  while  some  of  them  diverted  the 
attention  of  his  servant,  others  stole  his  stove  with  all  the  pipe 
attached  to  it,  the  fire  in  it  burning  all  the  while,  all  of  his 
kettles  and  pans  on  it  and  the  supper  cooking  in  them.  They 
gave  operatic  concerts,  sham-fights,  exhibitions  of  gymnastics, 
feats  of  legerdemain,  were  proficient  in  negro  minstrelsy, 
gave  medical  lectures  and  conducted  religious  services,  in 
short,  there  was  no  performance  to  which  they  were  not  equal. 

' '  As  soon  as  we  recovered  from  the  laughter  raised  at  the 
expense  of  the  counterfeit  chaplain,  I  asked  to  be  shown  to 
the  regimental  hospital. 

"  'Haven't  got  any  ! '  was  the  answer  in  chorus. 

"  Why,  what  do  you  do  with  your  sick  men  ?  "  I  inquired. 

"  Don't  have  any,"  was  the  reply  again  in  chorus.  And, 
indeed,  they  rarely  had  sickness  in  their  camp.  They  were 
fortunate  in  their  men  to  begin  with,  who  were  strong,  not  too 
young  and  mostly  married.  (???.) 


654  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

"And  then  almost  all  had  resources  in  themselves,  thanks 
to  their  mental  ability  and  early  training.  They  had  an  induce 
ment  in  their  families  to  take  care  of  themselves,  and  good 
influences  were  exerted  over  them  by  the  letters  of  wives  and 
mothers. 

'  Their  officers  were  men  of  intelligence  who  knew  how  to 
take  care  of  their  men,  had  been  attached  to  their  commands, 
were  humane  and  not  drunken.  They  had  lost  heavily  at  the 
battle  of  Chickasaw  Bayou,  their  Colonel  being  left  among 
the  dead.  But  when  it  came  to  sickness  they  hooted  at  the 
idea. 

"  The  regiments  in  their  neighborhood  were  a  little  afraid 
of  them,  I  found,  they  were  so  hearty  and  roistering  and  so 
full  of  pranks. 

"After  dining  with  the  Adjutant,  I  left  them  not  quite 
satisfied  with  m}r  visit,  because,  as  that  worthy  explained,  '  I 
had,  unfortunately,'  found  them  all  well  instead  of  all  sick. 

"  On  my  way  back,  I  passed  black  Socrates  still  plowing 
through  the  mud,  but  evidently  reconciled  to  '  the  mighty 
meanness  '  of  his  mules  as  he  was  sitting  aloft  on  the  driver's 
seat  shouting  in  a  sing-song  recitative — 

"  '  An'  I  hope  to  gain  de  promis'  Ian' 
Glory  Hallelujah  ; 
Lor'  I  hope  to  gain  de  promis'  Ian'  ; 
Dat  I  do  ! 

Glory,  Glory,  how  I  lub  my  Sabior, 
Dat  I  do  !  '  " 


INCIDENTS,  BY  A.  H.  SIBLEY  OF  COMPANY  H. 

John  Williams,  two  others  and  myself  got  leave  to  go 
ahead  of  the  regiment  one  day  in  Arkansas,  on  march  from 
Pea  Ridge  to  Helena.  We  were  hungry — came  to  a  house — 
four  cavalry  were  just  seated  at  a  table  to  eat— the  first  new 
potatoes  we  had  seen  in  '62.  John  Williams  and  John  Rich 
ards  of  G  Company  made  a  grab  and  we  followed  suit  and 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  655 

emptied  the  plate  of  potatoes.  "  Here's  bacon,"  yelled  Rich 
ardson,  grabbing  some  out  of  a  hot  skillet  by  the  fire.  We 
rushed  out  of  the  door  and  down  the  road.  I  sometimes  have 
thought  I  would  like  to  know  what  the  cavalry  boys  did  after 
we  left.  But  Bowen's  cavalry  liked  the  Thirteenth,  and  I 
guess  they  thought  we  were  in  need. 

Alas  !  Johnny  Richards  was  soon  after  killed  at  Chickasaw. 
A  great  forager  and  live  soldier. 

Abner  Baird  and  John  Williams,  Company  H,  Jesse  Betts 
of  Company  I,  and  myself  left  camp  opposite  Vicksburg  with 
out  leave  and  went  on  the  railroad  track  down  to  the  town  of 
DeSoto  directly  opposite  Vicksburg.  As  the  water  was  high 
we  had  to  walk  every  foot  on  the  railroad  bed  ;  the  rebel  bat 
teries  commanded  the  track  for  more  than  a  mile.  I  wanted 
to  go  back,  thinking  the  rebels  would  fire.  I  felt  blue,  as  we 
had  left  our  guns  in  camp  and  would  be  marked  deserters  if 
missing.  There  were  quite  a  number  of  our  men  down  look 
ing  at  Vicksburg  and  I  finally  went  to  the  houses,  remarking 
that  if  I  was  in  Vicksburg  I  would  fire.  Betts  went  into  an 
old  frame  house  ;  Williams  and  Baird  started  to  take  a  ride  in 
an  old  hand  car ;  I  stood  outside  of  a  small  levee  about  five 
feet  high — I  saw  companies  of  soldiers  marching  behind 
breastworks — from  the  belt  up,  they  were  in  plain  view. 
There  was  one  man  in  the  Court  House  tower,  another  came 
up  ;  I  was  watchful,  I  saw  a  puff  of  smoke — instantly  I  fell— 
the  shell  tore  the  bank  just  over  me,  bursting  after  passing 
me.  Williams  and  Baird  fell  behind  the  levee,  the  rebels 
cheered;  I  put  my  hands  on  the  ground  and  threw  myself 
over  the  levee;  the  rebels  then  fired  a  volley  of  musketry  from 
the  steamer,  City  of  Vicksburg,  which  lay  at  their  wharf  and 
the  old  shake  house  rattled  and  shook  Betts  out  of  the  back 
door  over  behind  the  levee  ;  the  rebels  cheered  loud  and  long. 
I  was  mad  at  Williams  and  myself,  and  every  body. 

I  got  up  and  shook  my  cap  to  let  them  know  I  was  yet 
kicking.  They  made  us  down  quickly  ;  all  was  quiet — 
we  thought  we  would  retire.  The  minute  we  showed  up  they 
peppered  us  with  the  siege  guns.  Every  time  we  saw  a  puff 


656  HISTORY   OF    THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

of  smoke,  we  ducked  our  heads  behind  the  bank  forgetting 
our  heels  as  the  water  would  not  let  us  shelter  our  bodies — 
when  we  came  to  the  second  washout,  the  men  had  left  the 
raft  on  the  opposite  side  and  the  wire  broke  antl  there  we  were 
on  the  bank.  Williams  and  I  were  for  swimming,  Betts  swore 
he  could  not  swim,  Baird  could  not — in  I  went,  Williams 
also,  we  landed — they  begged  us  not  to  leave  them.  We  were 
inexorable  so  in  went  Betts  and  Abner  and  if  they  never 
swam  before  they  got  there. 

Four  pretty  figures  we  cut  that  March  day  ;  not  a  dry 
thread  on  one  of  us,  and  Williams'  long  curly,  black  hair  so 
full  of  cuckle  burrs  that  it  had  to  be  cut  Off.  I  served  some 
time  after  but  never  went  out  of  our  lines  to  see  what  the 
Johnnies  were  doing. 

lyieutenant  Gifford  received  orders  to  report  with  sergeant 
and  twenty  men  to  captain  Ben  Harriss  (Chief  of  Scouts,) 
winters  '63-' 64.  I  was  detailed — we  were  mounted  on  mules. 
Pat  Askins  of  Company  I,  teamster,  got  leave  to  go  ;  he  said  ; 
"  Sib.  if  there  is  a  fight  I  want  to  see  it,"  Being  a  teamster 
he  had  not  been  in  any.  "  You  are  always  around,  post  me 
well"  Pat  said.  "  I  will  stay  with  Harriss,  if  he  divides  his 
party  and  sends  part  to  one  house  with  the  lieutenant,  just 
see  that  you  go  to  the  place  that  Harriss  makes  his  head 
quarters."  We  rode  three  days  and  three  nights  stopping 
about  three  o'clock  getting  one  hour's  sleep,  while  the  people 
cooked  some  coffee  and  meat  and  corn,  feeding  our  stock  ;  the 
fourth  day  we  came  to  a  settlement.  Harris  ordered  ten  men 
with  a  lieutenant  to  a  man's  house  whose  name  was  Watson. 
He  was  a  heavy  set  man  about  forty-two  years  old.  We  fed 
the  stock  and  were  cooking  at  about  three  o'clock.  I  noticed 
Harriss  and  Watson  talking  and  going  to  the  stable  ;  I  fol 
lowed,  they  saddled,  so  did  I,  Pat,  and  a  little  fellow  by  the 
name  of  Bishop.  Harriss  mounted.  We  rode  toward  the 
Tennessee  river,  and  crossed.  Harriss  ordered  us  to  hitch  the 
stock  in  a  bunch  of  timber  and  left  Bishop  with  the  stock. 
We  proceeded  on  a  well  beaten  path.  I  was  posted  in  a  hol 
low  tree  with  orders  to  shoot  any  one  coming  up  the  path 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY.  .      657 

from  the  river.  He  went  off  toward  the  brush  toward  some 
large  corn  cribs  on  the  bank  of  the  river.  I  grew  impatient 
waiting,  but  finally  I  heard  rushing  and  snapping  of  timber 
and  cane.  Watson  hove  insight.  "They  are  coming  "  he 
cried.  "  Harris  says  come  down  and  keep  behind  the  corn 
cribs  and  I'll  send  the  rest  dowrn."  I  went  to  the  river — 
Askins  was  guarding  a  colored  man  .  Behind  the  crib  Harriss 
was  talking  to  some  men  in  boats  who  were  crossing  to  our 
shore — there  were  three  boats  and  as  near  as  I  could  see 
twelve  men.  When  they  got  close  to  the  shore  Pat  said, 
"What  shall  we  do  ?"  I  said  %<  Let  the  first  boat  land,  we  will 
run  down  the  bank,  order  them  to  surrender  and  fire  and  use 
our  bayonet  on  those  who  do  throw  down  their  arms.  Pat 
and  I  shook  hands.  Just  then  captain  Harriss  fired  when  the 
first  boat  was  in  thirty  feet  of  the  shore.  I  suppose  he  was 
afraid  to  let  them  land  as  his  fate  was  certain  death  if  cap 
tured  by  the  rebels.  They  returned  fire.  They  had  supposed 
Harriss  was  a  rebel  citizen  as  he  was  dressed  in  rebel  uniform. 
They  had  been  learning  the  news  generally,  had  inquired  of 
Harriss  h~»w  the  war  was  getting  on,  was  there  any  news  from 
Harriss,  and  Jackson  battery,  as  they  had  named  our  squad, 
because  we  always  rode  mules  and  carried  Knfield  muskets  ; 
they  were  long  range.  Well,  Harriss  was  not  slow  at  snap 
ping  his  and  it  was  fun  till  he  fired,  then  Pat  and  I  and  Bishop 
stepped  out,  we  could  hear  the  canoes  crack  when  struck  ;  we 
fell  some  men  into  the  river  and  fired  twenty  rounds  before 
the  survivors  reached  the  south  bank.  We  then  elevated  our 
guns  and  fired  where  we  could  hear  a  great  noise  and  many 
talking.  Then  all  became  silent.  It  was  dark.  The  next 
time  we  were  in  that  vicinity  we  were  told  that  the  last  fire 
had  put  a  bullet  through  a  rebel  negre^s  hand. 

We  were  next  taken  to  Deposit,  a  ferry  crossing,  and  eight 
of  us  were  posted  behind  some  large  rocks  on  the  north  side 
of  the  river.  The  rebels  had  a  fort  opposite  the  guards  in 
plain  view,  We  were  ordered  to  fire  on  them,  we  did  so  and 
some  were  hit.  I  asked  why  this  was  done  and  ascertained 
that  they  had  been  firing  at  a  house  on  the  north  bank— at 


658  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

the  women  of  the  house  when  they  went  to  the  spring  to  get 
water.  Our  general  ordered  us  to  retaliate.  They  quit  firing 
then. 

When  we  were  scouting  from  the  mouth  of  Flint  river  to 
the  mouth  Paint  Rock  creek,  at  a  point  where  the  road  is  cut 
on  the  face  of  the  bluff,  and  it  was  impossible  to  get  out  of  the 
road,  the  rebs  showed  up  opposite,  behind  trees  and  peppered 
for  about  a  mile.  We  had  to  grin  and  scratch  gravel,  but  we 
got  there  and  not  one  of  us  was  hit.  We  crossed  the  creek, 
hitched  our  mules  in  the  thick  timber  with  a  couple  of  guards, 
and  went  carefully  through  the  brush,  to  the  river  bank  ;  con 
cealed  ourselves,  expecting  rebels  to  cross  and  hide  their  boat 
in  the  creek  ;  which  they  did  before  and  after  by  turning  the 
canoe  bottom  side  up,  it  then  looked  like  a  log.  There  was  a 
brigade  of  rebel  cavalry  camped  opposite.  The  sentinel  was  on 
the  bank,  in  the  bright  moonlight,  a  flock  of  geese  were  in  the 
river,  the  boys  made  noise  enough  to  attract  the  sentinel's 
attention,  he  called  the  corporal  down,  the  corporal  cursed 
him  for-a  "  Georgia  Conscript,"  accused  him  of  being  scared 
at  the  geese  in  the  river,  and  went  back  to  a  log  house  on  the 
hill  side  where  they  commenced  playing  a  violin  and  dancing. 
The  light  at  the  house  gave  us  a  good  view.  We  waited  until 
three  o'clock  in  the  morning  ;  we  then  elevated  our  guns  and 
fired  in  the  shake  roof  of  the  house.  The  light  went  out 
instantly  and  we  returned  to  camp. 

WARREN    GENNINGS    OF    COMPANY    G,    OR    "  OT,D    SLY." 

At  the  battle  of  Chickasaw  Bayou,  "Sly's"  younger 
brother  was  killed,  his  brother  older  than  himself  was  mortally 
wounded.  After  the  battle,  "Sly"  appeared  loaded  with 
weapons  he  had  picked  up.  They  were  for  sale  for  cash. 

Gennings  had  blue  eyes,  long,  yellow  hair,  turn  up  nose  and 
was  too  sleepy  for  anything.  At  the  siege  of  Vicksburg  we 
were  guarding  a  battery  manned  by  the  sailor  gunners.  One 
morning  ' '  Sly  ' '  and  I  started  from  camp  to  a  battery  ;  there 
was  a  good  trench  ;  I  jumped  down  into  it  and  started  for  the 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  659 

battery — "  Sly  ' '  kept  on  the  parapet.  ' '  You  will  get  shot, ' '  I 
said."  They  can't  hit  me,"  he  answered.  The  rebels  made 
the  dust  fly  and  we  moved  along  lively.  When  we  got  to  the 
battery  "Sly"  jumped  down  quickly.  "I  told  you  they 
couldn't  hit  me."  A  gun  lay  on  the  ground,  "  Sly  "  inquired 
whose  it  was,  getting  no  answer  he  put  five  cartridges  in, 
one  on  topof  the  other.  A  lieutenant  who  saw  the  gun  was 
loaded,  thought  he  would  try  a  shot.  He  rested  it  on  the 
parapet,  aimed  at  "Dixie"  and  got  set  back;  he  thought  a 
mule  had  kicked  him.  No  one  knew  anything  about  the  gun 
or  the  load. 

At  Black  river  after  the  siege  of  Jackson,  "Sly"  and 
Trim  Platt  wanted  a  bake  oven,  and  I  built  one  for  them. 
They  bought  a  load  of  pumpkins  from  a  colored  man,  and  Sly 
cut  his  finger  to  be  excused  from  duty.  They  forged  Captain 
Jenkin's  name  to  an  order  on  the  commissar}7,  and  flooded  the 
camp  with  pies  at  t went}*- five  cents  apiece.  My  reward  was 
all  the  pies  I  wanted.  Lieutenant  Pritchard  said  if  I  would 
get  a  mule  he  would  get  a  permit  to  keep  one,  and  if  we 
marched  we  could  keep  the  company's  kettles  and  things  on 
the  mule.  We  hoped  to  get  the  permit  by  reason  of  Pritchard' s 
ill  health.  I  did  my  part.  I  got  several,  the  quartermaster 
took  them  as  orders  were  strict.  Finally  Quartermaster  McCrary 
said  "  I  will  let  you  keep  that  mule  ;  you  got  so  many  fine 
ones  the  22d  of  September."  "Sly"  borrowed  my  mule  to  get 
pumpkins.  Before  noon  we  received  orders  to  march  immedi 
ately  to  Vicksburg  and  embark  on  a  steamboat.  We  packed 
our  traps  and  watched  for  our  mule,  but  finally  the  orders 
came,  and  we  had  to  march — about  4  o'clock  here  came  "Sly  " 
with  my  mule  loaded  down  with  traps.  "  Here's  your  mule, 
Sib."  "What  goodwill  he  do  me  ?  Why  didn't  you  leave 
him  in  the  country  ?  "  "I  thought  you  would  want  to  sell 
him,"  said  "Sly."  "I've  sold  three  since  we  camped  at 
Black  river.  "  Whom  did  you  sell  to  ?  How  much  can  I  get." 
"Fifteen  dollars."  "Sell  him  said  I.  "No,  I  am  too 
busy  "  said  "Sly."  I  tried.  The  only  offer  I  could  get  was 
§2.50.  The  boat  was  to  leave  at  8  o'clock.  I  rode  as  far 


660  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH   REGIMENT 

below  Vicksburg  as  I  dared  risk  and  turned  the  mule  loose, 
hid  the  saddle  and  bridle  and  walked  back  determined  not  to 
let  the  parties  have  my  stock  at  less  than  ten  dollars. 

Comrade  Conley  furnishes  his  military  life  for  the  regi 
mental  history  as  follows  : 

He  was  born  in  the  town  of  Mason,  Delaware  county,  in 
the  state  of  New  York,  on  the  3d  day  of  April,  1828  ;  on  the 
6th  day  of  December,  1848,  in  the  city  of  New  York,  he  enlisted 
in  the  general  service  of  the  United  States  Army  under  the 
name  of  Owen  W.  Sherman,  through  fear  of  the  interference 
of  one  Gregor  McGregor,  to  whom  he  had  been  bound  out 
when  a  child,  and  from  whom  he  ran  away.  He  was  sent  to 
Governor's  Island  to  receive  additional  instruction  as  a  mu 
sician. 

He  was  in  Texas  on  the  Neuces  river  during  his  five  years' 
term,  and  was  three  times  slightly  wounded  by  Indian  arrows 
while  in  one  of  the  scouting  parties  under  the  command  of 
General  Ben.  McCulloch  ;  was  honorably  discharged  at  the 
end  of  his  five  years'  term. 

About  the  23d  day  of  June,  1861,  Comrade  Conley  en 
listed  at  Dixon,  111.,  in  Company  D,  Thirteenth  Illinois  Infan 
try,  and  expected  to  have  been  made  drum  major  ;  but  the 
choice  fell  on  Merritt  Perry,  of  Company  K.  Comrade  Conley 
having  had  instruction  in  martial  music  in  the  regular  army, 
took  this  disappointment  very  much  to  heart,  so  that  together 
with  the  effect  of  an  attack  of  measles  at  Springfield,  Missouri, 
made  him  reckless  and  he  took  to  excessive  drinking,  and  by 
Colonel  Wyman's  orders,  but  without  trial  and  no  papers  to 
show  service  performed  so  as  to  draw  pay,  then  in  arrears,  he 
was  drummed  out  of  the  regiment  at  Rolla,  Missouri,  on  or 
about  the  ist  of  February,  1862,  and,  but  for  the  kindness  of 
Lieutenant  Beardsley,  who  gave  him  some  money,  he  would 
have  been  turned  adrift  without  a  cent  in  his  pocket.  He 
claims  to  have  been  dealt  by  without  any  form  of  military 
law,  or  any  other  law,  and  says  that  he  pressed  the  matter  on 
the  attention  of  the  war  department  and  that  as  late  as  1888, 
his  claim  was  allowed  and  paid,  to  the  amount  of  $151.98. 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  66 1 

On  the  i8th  day  of  February,  1862,  he  enlisted  for  the 
third  time  at  St.  Louis,  Missouri,  in  the  Second  Missouri 
Mounted  Rifles,  and  served  in  the  cavalry  of  the  state  militia, 
which  was  afterwards  consolidated  with  the  First  Missouri 
state  militia,  rendering  service  as  principal  musician  and  was 
honorably  discharged  on  December  27th,  1862. 

Afterward,  on  August  2oth,  1863,  he  enlisted  for  the 
fourth  time  in  the  first  regiment  Missouri  Volunteers,  and 
served  until  June  3oth,  1865,  when  he  was  honorably  dis 
charged  by  reason  of  the  termination  of  the  civil  war. 

On  the  1 5th  day  of  January,  1866,  he  enlisted  for  the  fifth 
time,  and  served  three  years  on  the  border  in  Dakota,  and  was 
honorably  discharged  at  Fort  Totten,  Dakota  Territory,  by 
reason  of  expiration  of  term  of  service. 

Comrade  Conley  says  that  his  entire  military  service  un 
der  the  United  States  flag,  covers  a  total  of  eleven  years,  eight 
months  and  nineteen  days. 

Comrade  Conley  is  now  at  the  National  Soldiers'  Home 
at  Milwaukee,  Wisconsin. 


IN  MEMORIAM. 

Geo.  H.  Thomas,  Post  No.  5,  took  the  following  action  in 
relation  to  the  deceased  Comrade  Thomas  Mitchell  Blair,  late 
of  Company  D,  Thirteenth  Illinois  Volunteer  Infantry,  at 
their  regular  meeting  July  22d,  1886. 

"WHEREAS,  Our  Comrade  Thomas  Mitchell  Blair,  a 
member  of  this  post,  was  suddenly  killed  at  his  post  of  duty 
as  a  railroad  conductor  on  the  iyth  day  of  June,  1886,  at 
Kilgore,  Kentucky,  and  we  bow  humbly  but  sadly  to  the 
decree  of  an  overruling  and  all-wise  Providence,  and 

"WHEREAS,  Our  deceased  comrade  as  a  soldier  in  the 
war  for  the  Union  ;  as  a  citizen  and  as  a  man,  was  composed 
of  the  best  elements  that  constitute  excellence  of  character  and 
true  manhood  by  which  our  grief  at  his  untimely  death  is 
enhanced, 


662  HISTORY    OF   THE    THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

''Resolved,  That  we  deeply  deplore  the  tragic  event  that 
has  deprived  this  post  of  one  of  its  most  meritorious  members, 
has  involved  the  loss  to  his  venerable  parents  of  a  beloved 
son,  and  has  been  to  brothers  and  sisters  a*  source  of  deep 
affliction. 

"  Resolved,  That  we  deeply  sympathize  with  his  relations 
in  their  irreparable  loss  and  that  a  copy  of  these  resolutions, 
with  the  preamble  and  accompanying  memorial  statement  of 
his  life  and  military  service  of  the  lamented  deceased  be 
transmitted  to  them  in  evidence  thereof. 

' '  Resolved,  That  the  historiographer  of  the  post  is  hereby 
instructed  to  enter  the  proper  record  in  the  memorial  volumes 
of  the  Post." 

HISTORICAL   SKETCH. 

"Thomas  Mitchell  Blair,  son  of  James  and  Ann  W.  Blair, 
was  born  August  Qth,  1839,  at  Fredericktown,  Knox  County, 
Ohio,  and  was  killed  in  a  railroad  accident  at  Kilgore,  Ken 
tucky,  on  the  Chesapeake  and  Ohio  Railroad,  June  17,  1886, 
aged  forty-six  years,  ten  months  and  eight  days. 

"  This  is  the  brief  record  of  one  man,  one  of  the  countless 
myriads  of  the  human  race.  The  great  world  goes  on,  and 
soon  the  man  is  forgotten  by  his  fellow  men.  It  seems 
appropriate,  however,  that  we,  a  gathering  of  comrades  of  the 
G.  A.  R.  should  pause  for  a  few  brief  moments  this  evening, 
and  pay  loyal  tribute  to  the  memory  of  one  who  was  to  us 
more  than  an  atom  in  the  great  mass  of  humanity — for  he 
was  a  comrade  in  the  "  Grand  Army  "  and  a  member  of  Geo. 
H.  Thomas  Post  No.  5,  Department  of  Illinois. 

"  Comrade  Blair  was  the  oldest  son  in  a  large  family,  hav 
ing  two  brothers  and  one  sister,  and  two  half  brothers  and 
four  half  sisters.  These  together  with  an  aged  father  and 
mother  survive  him  and  were  present  at  his  funeral,  June  20, 
1886,  at  Ibena,  Ohio. 

"  Comrade  Blair  was  mustered  as  private  in  Company  D, 
Thirteenth  Illinois  Infantry,  June  8,  1861,  being  then  twenty- 
one  years  of  age,  and  was  mustered  out  as  first-sergeant  of 


ILLINOIS    VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  663 

same  company,  June  i3th  1864,  having  served  three  years. 
In  the  autumn  of  1864  he  re-enlisted  in  Company  K,  First 
United  States  Veteran  Volunteers,  receiving  his  final  dis 
charge  as  Sergeant,  January  gth,  1866,  thus  completing  a 
long  and  hon'orable  record  as  a  soldier. 

' '  Comrade  Blair  was  as  modest  as  he  was  brave,  and  was 
not  given  to  referring  to  his  owrn  soldier  experiences,  hence 
the  writer  of  this,  who  only  knew  him  in  later  years,  can  not 
give  the  personal  details  of  his  soldier  life.  It  is  to  be 
regretted  that  the  members  of  his  company,  who  could  in  a 
measure  supply  details  that  are  lacking,  are  scattered  far  and 
wide,  and  in  the  twenty-two  years  that  have  come  and  gone 
since  the  muster  out  of  his  regiment,  death  has  been  busy  and 
many  who  passed  unharmed  through  war's  ordeal  have  joined 
their  comrades  gone  before. 

"It  may  not  prove  uninteresting  to  our  comrades  here 
assembled  many  of  whom  saw  service  amid  far-away  scenes,  to 
listen  to  a  brief  history  of  Comrade  Blair's  regiment,  and  as 
he  was  one  who  always  was  on  hand  to  do  his  .full  duty,  the 
regiment's  history  is  in  a  measure  his  history." 

HISTORY   NOT    NECESSARY   HERE. 

"Comrade  Blair  joined  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic 
by  muster  into  Geo.  H.  Thomas  Post,  February  29,  1864. 
The  same  modesty  and  quiet  steadfastness  to  duty  that 
characterized  him  as  a  soldier,  marked  his  life  among  us  as  a 
comrade.  With  him  the  guiding  principles  of  our  Order, 
'  Fraternity,  Charity  and  Loyalty,'  were  no  unmeaning  words; 
but  principles  to  be  upheld  at  all  times  and  places.  The 
resolutions  you  have  this  evening  adopted  express  more 
eloquently  your  sense  of  bereavement  than  any  words  of  mine 
could  do. 

"Comrade,  farewell  !  The  swiftly  passing  days  are  bring 
ing  us  nearer  to  the  hour  when  we  too  shall  have  left  these 
scenes  and  rejoined  you,  at  the  assembling  of  the  l  Grand 
Army '  above. 


664  HISTORY    OF   THE    THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

"The  text  chosen  by  the  preacher  at  Comrade  Blair's 
funeral  contains  for  us  suggestions  and  admonitions,  '  There 
fore,  be  ye  also  ready. ' 

"In  addition  to  the  above  prepared  by  Adjutant  Miller, 
the  following  eloquent  letter  from  a  fellow  soldier  of  the  grand 
old  Thirteenth  Illinois  Infantry,  Geo.  G.  Knox,  Esq,  was 
read  and  incorporated  with  the  Memorial  Services  : 

"  DEAR  COMRADES:  I  have  just  heard  of  the  death  of  Thos.  M.  Blair, 
once  a  member  of  Company  D,  Thirteenth  Illinois  Volunteers  and  a 
member  of  your  Post.  Having  carried  a  musket  in  the  same  company 
with  him,  I  want  to  add  my  testimony  to  his  worth  as  a  gallant  soldier 
and  a  trusty  friend.  How  vividly  can  I  recall  Tom  Blair  to-day  as  I 
look  back  twenty-five  years.  There  he  stands  in  the  front  rank,  near 
the  right  of  the  company,  neat  in  his  dress,  arms  in  perfect  order,  always 
ready  for  '  inspection,'  a  determined  look  on  his  face,  only  a  boy  in 
those  days,  but  every  inch  a  soldier. 

"  How  well  I  can  remember  him  as  he  appeared  when  '  on  duty.' 

"The  stern  look  in  his  face,  never  a  smile,  his  whole  mind  bent  on 
a  strict  obedience  to  orders.  "Tom's  Beat"  was  kowu  as  a  bad  road 
to  bring  in  captured  chickens  at  night. 

"Then  how  many  of  the  old  company,  could  they  speak  to  you  to 
night,  would  tell  you  of  his  big  loving  heart,  tender  as  a  woman's  ;  if  a 
man  was  sick  '  Tom  '  was  the  first  to  comfort  him,  if  his  bed  was  hard, 
Tom's  blanket  was  always  ready  to  make  it  softer,  and  his  cheerful 
words  and  smiling  face  seemed  to  do  more  good  than  the  "blue  mass" 
and  "quinine"  of  the  surgeon.  I  have  often  seen  him  on  the  long 
hard  marches  insist  on  taking  the  musket  from  the  shoulder  of  some 
tired  comrade  to  lighten  his  load,  tind  he  would  always  divide  his  ra 
tions  with  a  hungry  man,  and  his  canteen  always  had  water  for  a  thirsty 
one.  These  may  seem  little  things  to  recall  of  a  comrade  who  has  gone  ; 
but  to  men  who  have  been  in  the  army  they  mean  a  good  deal.  It  re 
quires  more  than  mere  bravery  to  be  a  soldier.  Tom  Blair  was  brave — 
I  have  heard  a  man  after  a  battle,  in  speaking  of  him,  say  :  '  He  is  a 
whole  brigade  in  a  fight.'  He  has  that  cool  courage  that  gave  con 
fidence  to  all  those  about  him.  He  was  a  general  in  a  private's  uniform. 

"  I  have  never  seen  him  but  once  since  the  war,  when  he  hunted  me 
up  here  in  Chicago  ;  the  hearty  shake  of  the  hand,  and  the  '  God  bless 
you  Comrade, '  showed  me  that  he  had  the  same  loving  heart  ;  and  during 
the  hour  that  we  talked  over  the  old  army  life,  his  voice  would  tremble, 
and  his  eyes  would  fill  with  tears,  as  he  would  recall  the  names  of  those 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  665 

who  had  fallen   on  the  field  of  battle.     And  now  he  has  gone  to  join 
them.     What  better  epitaph  can  we  write  over  his  grave  than  this  : 
' '  A  brave  soldier,  a  loving  friend,  honorably  discharged. 
"  May  we  all  meet  him  at  the  preat  "  'Muster '  >:  on  the  other  side.' ' 

"  Yours, 

"  GEO.  G.  Kxox, 

"  Late  1 3th  111.  Vol.  In'ty. 
"  CHICAGO,  Ii,!,.,  July  9th,  1886." 


THE  GRIND  STRATEGY  OF  COMPANY  Q,  IN 
CAPTURING  THE  PIG. 

BY  ASA  B.  MUNN. 

That  element  in  any  military  force  in  the  field,  which  has 
been  designated  as  Company  Q  is  not  necessarily  composed  of 
the  bummer  element,  as  has  been  generally  supposed,  by  a 
great  many  who  know  nothing  by  experience  of  army  life,  it 
is  generally  composed  of  some  of  the  bravest  and  best  soldiers 
in  the  army  ;  it  really  means  nothing  worse  than  that  the 
average  Company  Q  man,  when  not  on  duty,  laughs  at  the 
idea  of  being  forced  to  stay  in  camp  because  there  is  a  guard 
stationed  around  it,  or,  if  he  is  not  a  prohibitionist,  of  filling 
his  canteen  with  ditch-water  when  there  is  something  of  a 
deeper  color,  and  richer  flavor  in  the  commissary  department. 

He  does  not  think  that  a  Union  soidier  should  be  forced 
to  eat  salt-side  pork  all  the  time  when  there  is  a  fine  pig  on  a 
neighboring  plantation,  whose  proprietor  and  two  sons  are  in 
the  rebel  army. 

He  can't  bear  to  hear  a  rebel  rooster  crow  in  the  morning 
before  the  reveille,  and  will,  doubtless,  take  measures  to  abate 
the  nuisance. 

The  most  unprotected  women  and  children  have  nothing 
to  fear  of  abuse,  personal  indignity,  or  insult,  from  a  member 
of  Company  Q,  for,  at  heart,  he  is  a  gentleman.  He  is  even 
aesthetic  in  his  tastes  ;  can  be  profoundly  moved  by  the  con 


666  HISTORY   OF  THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

cord  of  sweet  sounds  ;  has  an  artistic  appreciation  of  a  beautiful 
landscape,  and  has  an  open  soul  for  the  storage  of  all  that  is 
rich  in  tone,  tint,  or  perfume  of  flowers,  and  all  beautiful 
things. 

On  a  delicious  Indian-summer  afternoon,  when  the  lan 
guorous  atmosphere  was  only  disturbed  by  the  droning 
hum  of  bees,  and  all  nature  was  peaceful  enough  to  convert 
the  most  pessimistic  grumbler  into  cheerfulness,  Company  Q, 
of  the  Thirteenth  Illinois  started  out  for  - 

ADVENTURE,  OR  PERADVENTURE 

forage.  The  company  consisted  of  Charley  Man,  of  Company 
B,  George  W.  Sutherland,  or  "Curley,"  as  he  was  usually 
called,  and  Kd  Vining  ;  the  two  latter  of  Company  I,  and 
probably  one  or  two  more,  but  names  now  forgotten.  It  was 
during  the  march  along  the  Memphis  and  Charleston  railroad, 
of  Sherman's  Fifteenth  corps,  the  delay  of  which  caused  Gen 
eral  Grant  so  much  anxiety,  as  he  desired  to  bring  on  the 
battles  about  Chattanooga  before  Sherman  could  possibly 
reach  him. 

Company  Q  had  been  leisurely  traversing  a  patch  of 
woods  where  from  the  gnarled  branches  of  the  live-oaks  there 
hung  streamers  and  festoons  of  the  Spanish  moss  which, 
gently  stirred  by  the  breath  of  wandering  forest-winds,  looked 
so  uncanny  and  weird  as  to  suggest  the  long  flowing  beards 
of  Druid  priests  while  officiating  at  the  sacrificial  altar  in  the 
sacred  groves  of  ancient  Britain,  when  they  came  out  to  a 
clearing  where  was  a  small  plantation.  There  was  a  log 
house,  evidently  the  master's  house,  with  a  gallery  in  front,  a 
half  dozen  smaller  cabins  or  quarters,  an  old  negro  was  follow 
ing  a  most  primitive  plow,  drawn  by  a  brindle  mule  whose 
harness  was  made  of  corn-shucks.  Negro,  mule,  plow  and 
harness  intimately  related  to  one  another  according  to  the 
eternal  fitness  of  things.  A  noble  magnolia  shaded  a  spring- 
house,  which  would  naturally  suggest  to  Company  Q,  possi 
bly  sweet-milk,  but  certainly  bonny-clabber,  which  was 
equally  welcome  to  the  boys. 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  667 

A  crape-myrtle  stood  by  a  side-window,  blossomless  now, 
but  its  polished  bark  suggestive  of  the  delicate  beauty  of  its 
fringe-like  pink  blossoms  of  an  earlier  part  of  the  season.  Two 
venerable  looking  China-trees  flanked  the  gap  in  the  Virginia 
fence  which  answered  the  purpose  of  a  gate,  covered  with 
clusters  of  berries,  whose  fermented  juice  intoxicated  the  rob 
ins  who  daily  got  drunk  on  them  and  were  easily  captured  by 
hand. 

Company  Q  had  taken  in  all  the  details  of  this  quietly 
beautiful  scene  much  sooner  than  it  takes  to  write  it,  when, 
all  at  once, 

SHOUTS  AND  SQUEALS  RENT  THE  AIR, 

and  what  was  the  astonishment  of  our  heroes,  to  see  a  large 
squad  of  some  new  Iowa  troops  chasing  a  fine  shoat  up  to  the 
open  space  in  front  of  the  house,  and  trying  to  capture  it.  A 
slatternly  woman  in  a  sun-bonnet,  which  was  neither  an  orna 
ment  nor  a  detriment  to  her  beauty,  rushed  to  the  gallery  and 
strode  up  and  down,  vociferating  and  chewing  her  snuff- swab 
alternately,  where  she  was  soon  joined  by  a  couple  of  young 
girls,  so  frouzy  as  to  easily  indicate  their  parentage  ;  besides 
nearly  a  dozen  young  negroes  from  the  quarters,  while  the 
yelps  of  a  yellow  dog  added  variety  to  the  scene. 

Company  Q,  took  in  the  situation  at  a  glance  and  double- 
quicked  across  an  intervening  corn-field  to  the  field  of  glory. 
The  new  troops  were  closing  on  the  pig,  in  line,  while 

COMPANY    Q   WAS   ADVANCING   IN    COLUMN, 

Charley  Man  in  the  advance,  "  Curley"  in  the  center,  and 
Ed  Vining  as  a  convenient  reserve,  and  all  in  easy  supporting 
distance  of  each  other.  This  peculiar  disposition  of  their 
force,  moving  on  to  a  field  of  battle  in  column,  instead  of  in 
line,  Company  Q  has  never  explained  ;  but  its  leaders,  when 
interrogated  on  the  subject,  would  only  grunt  out  something 
to  the  effect  that  these  tactics  had  their  advantages.  Rail- 
fences,  unfortunately  for  the  pig,  outflanked  him  on  both 


668  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

right  and  left,  and  he  was  skirmishing  for  position  when 
Company  Q  threatened  his  rear.  Already,  in  imagination, 
the  new  troops  were  reveling  in  bright  visions  of  ham,  tender 
loin,  liver,  sausage,  souse,  and  pig's-feet ;  but  the  pig's  strat 
egic  feat  might  possibly  prevent  their  securing  the  edible 
pig's-feet. 

Although  not  well  drilled,  the  new  troops  could  just  make 
out  to  rally-by-fours,  but  the  pig  could  rally  on-all-fours  ;  and 
then  deploy  to  the  right  or  left  as  the  emergency  demanded 
The  pig  came  near  making  a  fatal  movement  in  attempting  to 
form  square  in  order  to  prevent  a  bayonet  charge,  but  which, 
fortunately,  the  new  troops  did  not  observe  before  the  pig  de 
ployed  with  such  celerity  that  the  new  troops  declared  that 
there  was  considerable  more  than  one  pig.  The  pig  far  ex 
celled  the  new  troops  in  "grand  strategy,"  but  Company  Q 
far  excelled  the  pig. 

The  two  rival  forces  were  now  gradually  closing  on  the 
pig,  who  was  obliged  to  maneuver  for  time.  The  pig's  entire 
body  was  now  fairly  bristling 

WITH   SCORN    AND     CONTEMPT   FOR   THE   YANKS, 

and  his  case  seemed  desperate  indeed,  as  he  stood  sullenly  fac 
ing  the  new  troops  ;  and  while  he  could  perceive  no  chance  to 
save  his  bacon,  he  seemed  determined  to  die  game  ;  and  coolly 
and  deliberately  moved  by  the  right  of  companies  to  the  rear, 
into  column,  and  halted  just  a  little  in  front  of  Charley  Mann, 
who  was  at  the  head  of  Company  Q's  column,  and  with  des 
perate  calmness,  he  stood  for  a  moment  as  if  dazed,  or  as  if  act 
uated  by  some  loft}7  sentiment  or  high  moral  purpose.  There 
was  a  wicked  gleam  in  his  eye,  and  Charley  Mann  also  ob 
served  that  there  were  two  curls  in  his  tail  where  only  one  had 
been  before  this,  Charley  Mann  took  to  mean  swift  and  imme 
diate  mischief  ;  and,  throwing  down  his  gun,  he  braced  him 
self  with  his  legs  wide  apart  as  if  he  had  concluded  to  grab 
the  pig  if  he  should  come  on. 

"  Curley "    saw  that  the   critical    moment    had    come; 


ILLINOIS    VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  669 

dropping  on  his  left  knee  and  at  the  same  time  calling  to 
Charley  Man  to  stand  still  a  minute,  he  took  a  quick  sight  and 
fired  directly  between  Charley  Mann's  legs  and  killed  the  pig. 
One  can  hardly  tell  which  most  to  be  astonished  at,  the 
audacious  and  dangerous  strategy  of  Company  Q,  the  monu 
mental  stupidity  of  the  new  troops,  or 

THE   ESPRIT   DU   CORPS   OF   THE   PIG. 

The  new  troops  were  astonished  and  amazed  ;  but  Com 
pany  Q  did  not  seem  to  regard  it  as  anything  out  of  the  com 
mon  run  of  foraging  experience.  They  immediately  advanced 
and  gathered  up  the  pig  and  serenely  left  the  field. 

Charley  Mann  stoutly  maintains  to  this  day,  that  this  was 
the  nearest  he  ever  came  to  being  shot. 


CONFUSED  REBELS. 

In  the  fall  of  1861,  while  the  Thirteenth  was  lying  in 
temporary  camp,  near  Rolla,  Missouri,  having  crossed  the 
Gasconade  river,  Comrades  James  Keat,  Valentine  Cortz,  Ed. 
Barnard,  Patsey  Ward,  and  myself  went  out  foraging  and  to 
see  what  we  could  learn  of  the  enemy.  We  got  several  miles 
from  camp,  when  night  came  on  and  we  lost  our  way. 
Searching  for  shelter  for  the  night  wre  found  a  deserted  log 
cabin,  which  \ve  gladly  occupied.  I  had  an  earth  floor,  and 
old  fashioned  fire-place,  with  puncheons  loosely  laid  over 
head,  with  a  square  hole  in  one  corner  and  a  ladder  leading  to 
the  attic.  There  was  also  a  hole  about  three  by  six  feet  left 
in  the  puncheons  directly  in  front  and  over  the  fire  places,  the 
puncheon  projecting  beyond  the  joists  quite  a  distance. 

We  made  a  temporary  fire  boiled  our  coffee,  and  ate  our 
scanty  supply  of  hard  tack,  and  with  still  unsatisfied  stomachs 
we  turned  in,  for  the  night,  having  first  placed  a  guard  outside 
to  warn  us  of  approaching  danger.  After  having  been  asleep 


670  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

some  time  we  were  suddenly  aroused  by  our  guard,  and  noti 
fied  of  the  approach  of  horsemen,  and  we  all  took  to  the  attic, 
with  our  arms  and  accoutrements,  pulling  the  ladder  up  after 
us,  thinking  it  best  to  use  caution  until  we  had  ascertained 
whether  the  coming  party  were  friends  or  enemies.  Riding 
up  to  the  door,  they  entered,  and,  from  their  conversation,  we 
learned  that  they  were  bushwhackers  and  hunting  for 
"Yanks"  and  consequently  no  friends  of  "we'uns,"  and 
as  there  were  some  eight  or  ten  of  them  we  kept  as  still  as  our 
beating  hearts  and  rapid  breathing  would  allow  ;  our  respira 
tions  seeming  to  our  excited  imaginations  like  the  laboring  of 
an  engine,  while  the  seconds  were  minutes  and  the  minutes 
hours  as  we  were  held  captives  by  the  unwitting  enemy  below. 
After  they  had  placed  two  of  their  number  as  guards  and 
to  hold  their  horses  at  the  door,  they  began  preparing  rations, 
and  soon  the  broiling  ham  and  the  baking  corn  pones  were 
calling  loudly  to  our  yearning  appetites.  We  were  lying  side 
by  side  on  the  broad  puncheons,  flat  on  our  stomachs,  scarcely 
breathing  for  fear  the  enemy  wrould  hear  us.  Patsey  Ward 
commonly  called  "Sandy,"  a  well-known  character  in  the 
regiment  and  noted  for  his  Irish  wit  and  ready  resources,  was 
lying  beside  me.  Suddenly  he  whispered  to  me,  "Ralph,  be 
Jasus,  I  shmell  pertaties."  I  said,  "  Hush  !  keep  quiet  or  we 
will  be  murdered,  every  last  one  us."  The  enticing  odor  of 
the  baking  potatoes,  however,  was  too  much  for  Sandy,  and 
so  creeping  forward  on  the  puncheon  toward  the  opening  in 
front  of  the  fire-place  he  craned  his  neck  and  peered  over  to 
see  what  was  going  on  below.  I  tried  to  keep  the  rascal  back, 
but  he  persisted  in  looking  over,  until  without  warning  the 
puncheon  tipped  and  Sandy  with  his  bristling  red  hair  and 
yelling  at  the  top  of  his  voice  was  precipitated  among  the 
astonished  intruders  beneath.  While  Sandy  had  not  the  re 
motest  intention  of  joining  the  party  below  in  this  unceremo 
nious  manner,  yet  his  mother  wit  came  to  him  in  time  to  turn 
what  might  have  been  defeat  into  victory,  and  he  cried  at  the 
top  of  his  voice,  "Come  on  byes,  bedad  !  we've  got  '  em," 
and  at  the  same  time  each  one  of  us  yelling  loud  enough  for 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY.  671 

fifty  men,  hastened  to  Sandy's  assistance.  The  demoralized 
bushwhackers  evidently  thought  that  attic  was  alive  with 
"Yanks,"  and  crowding  for  the  door  they  mounted  their 
horses  and  struck  out  for  tall  timber,  leaving  behind  some  of 
their  arms,  hams,  corn  pones,  together  with  the  aforesaid 
"  pertaties  "  which  had  been  so  enticing  to  Pat's  olfactories, 
and  the  unconscious  cause  of  this  exciting  episode.  The  in 
ventory  of  the  ' '  traps  ' '  left  in  our  possession  included  three 
squirrel  rifles,  two  flint  lock  horse  pistols,  two  "  Arkansaw 
tooth  picks,"  one  butcher  knife,  one  ham  and  a  half,  half  a 
side  of  bacon,  together  with  the  corn  pones  and  potatoes. 
You  may  rest  assured  there  was  no  more  sleep  that  night,  but 
we  all  stood  guard,  and  while  regaling  ourselves  over  the 
savory  viands  left  by  the  enemy,  we  had  the  satisfaction  of 
knowing  that  our  terror  at  the  arrival  of  the  bushwhackers 
was  fully  equalled  by  their  own  at  the  sudden  advent  of  the 
red  headed  angel  from  above. 

At  the  approach  of  daylight  we  wended  our  way  to  camp, 
which  was  much  farther  than  we  had  imagined,  and  were 
welcomed  by  our  comrades,  having  learned  the  valuable  les 
son  that  ready  wit  and  a  bold  front  will  often  win  the  day, 
although  the  odds  may  be  against  us. 

Zachariah  D.  Mathuss.   correct  address. 


WE'VE  DRANK  FROM'  THE   SAME  CANTEEN, 

There  are  bands  of  all  sorts  in  this  world  of  ours, 
Fetters  of  friendship  and  ties  of  flowers, 

And  true  lovers'  knots  I  ween  ; 
The  girl  and  the  boy  are  bound  by  a  kiss, 
But  there's  never  a  bond,  old  friend,  like  this, 

We  have  drank  from  the  same  canteen. 

CHORUS  : 

We've  drank  from  the  same  canteen, 
But  there's  never  a  bond,  old  friend,  like  this— 

We  have  drank  from  the  same  canteen. 


672  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTEENTH    REGIMENT 

It  was  sometimes  water,  and  sometimes  milk, 
And  sometimes  apple-jack,  fine  as  silk, 

But  whatever  the  tipple  has  been, 
We  shared  it  together  in  bane  or  bliss, 
And  I  warm  to  you,  friend,  when* I  think  of  this — 

We  have  drank  from  the  same  canteen  !     Chorus. 

The  rich  and  the  great  sit  down  to  dine, 

And  they  quaff  to  each  other  in  sparkling  wine, 

From  glasses  of  crystal  and  green  ; 
But  I  guess  in  their  golden  potations  they  miss 
i    The  warmth  of  regard  to  be  found  in  this — 

We  have  drank  from  the  same  canteen.     C/iorus. 

We  have  shared  our  blankets  and  tents  together, 
And  have  marched  and  fought  in  all  kinds  of  weather, 

And  hungry  and  full  we  have  been  ; 
Had  days  of  battle  and  days  of  rest, 
But  this  memory  I  cling  to  and  love  the  best, 

We  have  diank  from  the  same  canteen.      Chorus. 

For  when  wounded  I  lay  on  the  outer  slope, 

With  my  blood  flowing  fast,  and  with  but  little  to  hope, 

Upon  which  my  faint  spirit  could  lean  ; 
Oh  then  I  remember  you  crawled  to  my  side, 
And,  bleeding  so  fast,  it  seemed  both  must  have  died, 

We  drank  from  the  same  canteen. 

CHORUS : 

We've  drank  from  the  same  canteen, 
But  there's  never  a  bond,  old  friend,  like  this — 
We  have  drank  from  the  same  canteen. 


14  DAY  USE 

RETURN  TO  DESK  FROM  WHICH  BORROWED 

LOAN  DEPT. 

This  book  is  due  on  the  last  date  stamped  below,  or 

on  the  date  to  which  renewed. 
Renewed  books  are  subject  to  immediate  recall. 


3***Y  USE? 

Ill  /I 

SENT  ON  ILL 

N(JV    1  1961 

FEB  0  7  200Z 

-  u. 

U.  C.  BERKELEY 

NOV    1  36? 

ftFISfT  ON  ILL 

SENT  ON  ILL 

r-rn  n  "?  ?nn? 

MAR  1  9  1996 

FEB  U  '  ^uut 

U.  C.  BERKELEY 

U.  C.  BERKELEY 

SENT  ON  ILL 

MAR  2  9  1999 

U.  C.  BERKELEY 

LD  21A-50m-8,'61 
(Cl795slO)476B 


General  Library 

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