s OF WAR
TOLD BY SOLDIERS.
COLLECTED AND EDITED
tf
BY EDWARD E. ] HALE.
BOSTON:
ROBERTS BROTHERS.
1880.
Copyright, 1879,
BY ROBERTS BROTHERS.
UNIVERSITY PRESS:
JOHN WILSON AND SON, CAMBRIDGE.
CONTENTS.
PAGE
I. INTRODUCTION. LIFE AT LITTLE CRASTIS . 1
II. THE FIRST BULL RUN 6
III. FORT HENRY AND FORT DONELSON .... 21
IV. GENERAL MCCLELLAN AND THE PENINSULA.
WEST VIRGINIA 30
V. ANTIETAM 61
VI. PITTSBURG LANDING 74
VII. VICKSBURG 92
VIII. GETTYSBURG 119
IX. CHICKAMAUGA AND CHATTANOOGA .... 150
X. GRANT'S ADVANCE ON RICHMOND. THE
WILDERNESS. SHERIDAN'S RIDE . . . 168
XI. SHERMAN'S GREAT MARCH 188
XII. NASHVILLE 216
XIII. SIEGE OF RICHMOND. THE LAST WEEK . 226
XIV. THE END . ... 261
STORIES OF THE WAR TOLD
BY SOLDIERS.
CHAPTER I.
LIFE AT LITTLE CRASTIS.
TT was the third day of a sour northeast storm.
-* Colonel Ingham had a great party of nephews
and nieces, and of his old correspondents and of
their friends, all young people, on a crazy,
rollicking visit at his country-house at Little
Crastis.
In pleasant weather they all fared very well,
for they were all out of doors. Many of the boys
and girls were none too big to pick berries. None
were so small but they could be trusted in the
boats, of which there were five, on the ponds,
of which there were six, within an hour's walk.
For the bigger boys and girls there was a cata-
maran, in which they could make voyages on
the ocean. There were plover and yellow-legs,
and thirty-one other varieties of sea-birds for the
boys who liked to shoot. There were little glens
innumerable, ruins of old barns, queer wrecks of
old apple-trees, for girls or boys who wanted to
l
2 STORIES TOLD BY SOLDIERS
make sketches. There were perch, pickerel, and
bass for those who liked to fish. There were clethra,
and clematis, and coreopsis rosea, and all the rest
of the alphabet for those who liked to botanize.
There were two tents for those who liked to camp
out. There were bows and arrows and targets, and
croquet-balls and mallets and hoops, and rackets
and nets, and crosses for Lacrosse, and battledores
and shuttlecocks, for those who wanted to play
games ; there were saddles and horses and ponies
for those who wanted to ride. But all such amuse-
ments, vocations, and avocations fail in a sour north-
east storm ; and here were there fifteen young
people cooped up in-doors, exhausting the in-door
occupations.
"Dear Uncle Fritz," said Horace, for they all
called him uncle, " what can I read? "
" Read, boy! " said the old gentleman, " there is
plenty of reading " ; and he kicked open the door
of his own den.
The boy looked in ruefully, but did not pretend
to enter. " O, you know, uncle, that there 's
nothing there. Walter told me how you shipped
all those things down here because there was no
room for them in C. Street. Who ever read a
Congressional document?"
" I have read a good many, Master Horace," said
the Colonel, laughing ; " and you will read a good
many before you have done. It is all in knowing
how, my dear boy."
FE AT LITTLE CRASTIS. 3
" Well, who ever read a bound-up file of old
newspapers, Colonel Ingham ? " asked Florence,
who had rallied to Horace's assistance as soon as
she saw that the Colonel was willing to talk.
" All people of sense read them a great deal,"
said the Colonel, still laughing. " Now look here,
children all," he said, "you were at me, only last
night, to tell you stories of my only battle, the
famous action of the Point of Rocks, in which
nobody was killed and nobody was wounded,
though we burned up thirty tons of powder. But
you would be more glad to have General Grant
walk in yonder, with Sherman on one side and
Sheridan on the other, and tell you about Vicks-
burg and Shiloh and Sheridan's ride."
" I am afraid we should, Uncle Fritz," said Hor-
ace, bravely.
" Very good. You would be fools if not. Now,
in those much despised documents yonder, Master
Horace, and in those abominated newspapers, Miss
Florence, and beneath that pile of dust in the
corner, Master Stephen, are Grant's stories and
Sherman's and Sheridan's, as they told them all
hot from fight, all mad with defeat, or happy in
victory. All that is needed is a boy of sense or
a girl of sense to know where to look for them."
" And a real good-natured old Uncle Fritz, with
nothing to do but to pet a good-for-nothing set
of boys and girls," said Florence, coaxing him
and kissing him, " and willing to show those
4 STORIES TOLD BY SOLDIERS.
stupid boys and girls where to dig in the dust,
and how."
"That's true enough," said the old gentleman,
willing to own that he was flattered; "for even
I will own that there is more chaff to the wheat in
those same newspapers and documents than there
is in any other threshing-floor or mill-hopper in
the world."
So it happened that these three young folks,
with more or less help from three others, whose
names will appear as we go on, fell foul of the heap
of straw, chaff, and wheat in the inner den. The
Colonel led the way loyally. He made them put
in marks, red, yellow, and blue, when they found
a good dramatic narrative that was worth reading
aloud.
There is a sort of fascination about it when you
are once started. And before long, even in that first
afternoon, five or six of the young people were at
work in or near the den. Those who read from
bound-up volumes of newspapers preferred on the
whole to lie nearly at full length on the floor with
the book, or "quarry," as Horace would call it,
open before them, or "in a measure," as he said,
under them. The others had attitudes more or
less elegant, and, in all cases, comfortable, for such
was the rule at Little Crastis. At first they began
to read aloud little scraps as they lighted on them,
and found them too exciting to be enjoyed alone.
LIFE AT LITTLE CRASTIS. 5
But it soon proved that such reading only interests
the reader. Uncle Fritz advised them soon to mark
with red pencils, which he provided, what was worth
reading, and wait till they found fit audience, who
really wanted to hear. And this they did.
And so it happened that on that very evening
there began a series of readings aloud from the
grimiest and stupidest-looking old volumes of doc-
uments and newspapers, readings which were
quite largely attended from the little company of
visitors. While, in the red parlor, there went on
a game at vingt-un, more or less noisy. Those who
had tired of vingt-un a little, or thought they had
outgrown it, gathered in the gray parlor, and the
gleanings for the earlier part of the war of the
Rebellion were read, under more or less control
from Colonel Ingham, who would not let an eager
reader bore the others, or a modest one give up
her turn for some one more resolute. As the
summer passed, some of the visitors stayed, and
some went away and other some came. But it
often happened that there was an evening when
they fell back on the war papers, as they came
to call them, and so
THE STORIES OF THE WAR
TOLD BY SOLDIERS
came into being.
CHAPTER II.
THE FIRST BULL RUN".
r I ^HE first evening's reading began with the First
-*- Bull Run. Bull Run was the first great bat-
tle of the war.
" I tell you, children," said Uncle Fritz, " there
was never anything like it, no, not in those long
four years. I mean there was nothing that made
people so sick at' heart. The truth was that till that
hour we knew nothing of war or what war was. It
was all a piece of stage-play and rhodomontade to
us who were not in the camp, and I was not. We
had hardly advanced on that first notion, in which
people supposed that an army on one side was to
walk up in an open field, and another army to walk
up opposite them on the other side, and that they
were to take aim and fire at each other till one side
had all run away. The stuff written home from
Washington and the camps to the newspapers was
such as I cannot now believe we ever read.
" I was away from home on Sunday, the day that
battle was fought. But the church, morning and
afternoon, was all excitement. Telegrams were
THE FIRST BULL RUN. 7
coming from Washington all day long ; nothing to
any real purpose, but all bragging, and nobody
thinking of anything but victory. All the anxiety
was who might be alive, or who dead. And from
that congregation where I was, I suppose some fifty
men, the minister among the rest, were in the bat-
tle, and we knew it. The next day I went down
to Boston. I was in a committee-room, with a com-
mittee of the Emigrant Aid Society. The news-
papers had had there some cheerful, even jubilant
accounts in the morning, and we were eagerly dis-
cussing them, when in came Lawrence, who was
always well informed.
u 4 1 have a despatch from Washington,' said he.
4 We are as badly beaten as an army can be. Wash-
ington is full of runaways, and I do n't know how
soon the Rebels may march in.'
" As it turned out, and as the boys will show
you, this was almost as much of an exaggeration as
the jubilation of the morning. But if our good
friend had walked round the circle and slapped any
one of us in the face we should not have been more
surprised, nay, we should not have been so much
displeased. It was the end of all business for that
day. We went out to the newspaper offices, or
where we could, to find more scraps of news. And
I know I went home to tell Polly and the children,
feeling as sick at body as at heart. It did not seem
to me that life was worth living for.
"At that same moment, as I knew years after-
8 STORIES TOLD BY SOLDIERS.
wards, almost every house in Richmond was in the
depth of sorrow. The Black Horse Cavalry was
terribly cut up by the Union army in that action.
And all that afternoon, and all the night which
followed, every carriage in Richmond so a negro
hackman told me in 1866 was carrying from the
station to his home some wounded soldier. And
in so many homes they were lamenting those who
would never come ! There are two sides to war.
" General Me Dowell was in immediate command
on our side. Horace has made up, from the care-
ful official reports of the battle, a little account of
the plan of it, and the way it was fought. He
will read you this first, and then you will place the
better the scraps which the others have found about
the details."
METHOD OF THE BATTLE.
In July, 1861, General McDowell was at Centreville,
twenty miles west of Washington, with the "Grand
Army" of twenty-eight thousand men. Two miles
west of him, encamped behind Bull Run, with his head-
quarters at Manassas, three miles back, was the Rebel
army under Beauregard, twenty thousand strong. To
the north, at Harper's Ferry, was another Union arm} 7 ,
of eighteen thousand men, under General Patterson,
which held in check eight thousand Rebels at Winches-
ter, commanded by General Johnston.
Supposing that Patterson could keep Johnston from
joining Beauregard, McDowell on the twentieth of July
gave his orders for an advance on Bull Run on the next
morning. There were three roads leading from Centre-
ville across the Run, all of which were guarded by the
THE FIRST BULL RUN. 9
Rebels ; but to the north, at Sudley Springs, was an un-
guarded ford which could be reached by a detour of
three miles from the northern road. By this ford the
real attack was to be made by two divisions of the
army, reinforced b}^ a third division advancing along
the northern road of the three to the Stone Bridge
where it crossed the Run, while the other division was
to make feints at the two southern roads, and act as a
reserve.
But the Rebels had guessed that some advance would
be made, and, before the orders for attack had been
given by McDowell, a large part of Johnston's army
had arrived at Manassas from Winchester by railroad,
and had been put into position. The rest of the army
was certain to arrive at noon of the next day.
At half past one on the morning of the twenty-first
the Union camp was astir. General Tyler's division
was under arms, and began its three-mile walk to Stone
Bridge. But the troops and officers were raw, and it
was dark. They could not see to get their breakfast,
men carried off each other's guns, company ran afoul of
company, and regiments started in the wrong order.
Suffice it to say that it took Tyler six hours to advance
three miles and deploy into line ; it was as late as half
past six when he began firing his thirty-pounder to show
that he was ready.
Colonel Hunter, who, with his own and General
Heintzelman's division, was to march five miles to Sud-
ley Springs, was still more unfortunate. He had to start
after Tyler on the same road ; he had to share all his
delays, and it was six o'clock before he came to his own
three miles of woods. Here the marching was still
more difficult, and it was half past nine before his ad-
vance reached the ford, with men who for eight hours
had been tired by marching, or by waiting, more tiring
even than marching.
This delay it was which lost the Union forces the
battle ; for though the whole Rebel army was massed
south of the Stone Bridge, Tyler's firing aroused them
10 STORIES TOLD BY SOLDIERS.
to the knowledge of our advance on the right, and at
once troops were sent up to sustain the attack. They
were drawn up to oppose Tyler ; but presently Hunter's
men were seen crossing above, and the Rebels faced to
the left and advanced to an open field sloping down to
the woods, from which he must emerge. They halted
within musket-shot of these woods, and when Hunter's
advance came to the open ground, it was met by both
artillery and infantry fire. Nothing daunted, however,
his first regiments formed in the shelter of the woods,
and advanced, driving the enem} 7 back, beyond the road
on which Tyler was stationed, while the troops in the
rear formed to the right and left. When Tyler learned
from look-outs in the high trees that Hunter was ad-
vancing to the road, he ordered his subordinates,
Colonels Sherman and Keyes, with their brigades,
across the Run. They forded the stream, as the bridge
and road were impassable from the abatis of the Rebels,
and faced to the south, forming to the left of Hunter's
two divisions. The whole line, advancing, drove the
enemy, though strongly reinforced, still farther back,
up rising ground upon a plateau, where they made a
stand. Here one of Keyes's regiments charged up the
hill, capturing a battery, and gaining a position upon
the top. This was the turning-point of the battle ; the
regiment was driven back again after holding the ridge
for hardly five minutes. The attack was renewed, with
less success, the Rebels advanced and were driven back,
and the wave of success swept to and fro.
Meanwhile, in the Rebel lines the prospects were by
no means so favorable. Their troops with the greatest
difficulty held the hill against the vigorous though spas-
modic attacks of our men. Beauregard had hurried
up all his troops from the two lower roads, excepting
one brigade, and these new troops were pushed to the
front, while those who had been broken by the Union
attacks were led and driven into shape behind. The
time had passed when Johnston's reinforcements were
promised. Messengers were sent to the railroad to stop
THE FIRST BULL RUN. H
the train at the nearest point to the battle-field, and hurry
the men up directly, when they should arrive. The fire
of the Union troops, which had slackened, was now
reviving, and there were S3'mptoms of a general ad-
vance, when, at half past three, on their extreme left,
the Rebels heard loud cheering. Anxiously they
watched to see if it were friend or foe, when the shout
of "Johnston! Johnston!" was heard, and the right
of the Union troops was seen to break and run. A
general advance was ordered, and the Union line fell
back, the two divisions on the right in total disorder,
with the exception of the battalion of regulars, which
covered their flight. The Rebels pursued them to the
Run, where, the reserve under Miles interposing to pro-
tect the rout, the Rebels called a halt. The panic
spread among the Union camp-followers, and many of
the fugitives did not stop till they reached Washington.
The whole Union line fell back to their old camp at
Centreville, where thej T passed the night. The next
day they retreated to the Potomac.
AN IMPROMPTU LOOK-OUT.
During this period of waiting the thirty-pounder was
occasionally used with considerable effect against bodies
of infantry and cavalry, which could be seen from time
to time moving in the direction of Hunter's column, and
out of the range of ordinary guns. Using a high tree
as an observator} r , we could constantl}' see the op-
erations of Hunter's and Heintzelman's column from
the time they crossed Bull Run, and through one of
my staff, Lieut. O'Rourke, of the Engineers, I was
promptly notified as to any change in the progress of
their columns up to the time when it appeared that the
heads of both were arrested, and the eneni}' seemed to
be moving heavy reinforcements to support their troops.
At this time I ordered Colonel Sherman with his brig-
ade to cross Bull Run, and to support the two columns
already in action. Colonel Sherman, as appears by his
12 STORIES TOLD BY SOLDIERS.
reports, crossed the run without opposition, and, after
encountering a party of the enemy frying before Hun-
ter's forces, found General McDowell, and received his
orders to join in the pursuit. Gen. Tyler, 1st Division.
A SAD MISTAKE.
This movement was effected at " quick " and " double-
quick" time, both by the infantry and artillery, during
which march the men threw from their shoulders their
haversacks, blankets, and most of their canteens, to
facilitate their eagerness to engage the enemy. On
arriving at the point indicated, being the extreme left
of the enemy and the extreme right of our line, and in
advance of all other of our troops, and where I was in-
formed officially that two other regiments had declined
to charge, we formed a line of battle, our right resting
within a few feet of the woods, and the left at and
around Rickett's battery, and upon the crest of the hill,
within fifty or sixty feet of the enemy's line of infantry,
with whom we could have readily conversed in an ordi-
nary tone of voice. Immediately upon Rickett's bat-
tery coming into position and we in "line of battle,"
Colonel Heintzelman rode up between our lines and that
of the enemy, within pistol-shot of each, which circum-
stance staggered my judgment whether those in front
were friends or enemies, it being equally manifest that
the enemy were in the same dilemma as to our identity.
But a few seconds, however, undeceived both, they
displaying the Rebel and we the Union flag. Instantly
a blaze of fire was poured into the faces of the comba-
tants, each producing terrible destruction, owing to the
close proximity of the forces, which was followed by
volley after volley, in regular and irregular order as to
time, until Rickett's battery was disabled and cut to
pieces, and a large portion of its officers and men had
fallen, and until Companies H, I, K, C, G, and those
immediately surrounding my regimental flag, were so
desperately cut to pieces as to make it more of a
THE FIRST BULL RUN. 13
slaughter-house than an equal combat, the enemy mani-
festly numbering five guns to our one, besides being
intrenched in the woods and behind ditches and pits
plainly perceptible, and with batteries upon the enemy's
right, enfilading my left flank, and within three hundred
and fifty }'ards' direct range. After an effort to obtain
aid from the Fire Zouaves, then immediately upon our
left, two or three different orders came to retire, as it
was manifest that the contest was too deadly and un-
equal to be longer justifiably maintained. Col. Gorham,
1st Minn., with 3d Division.
A BRAVE CAPTAIN.
A further order was then made to advance the colors
of the Seventy-first New York to the front, but, as it
seemed to be certain death to stand exposed to the tor-
nado which swept the brow of the hill, the color-bearer
naturally hesitated for a moment ; whereupon several of
Company F sprang quickly forward, with the excla-
mation, " Give us the colors ! " But Captain Coles, of
Company C, was the foremost in the effort, and, seizing
the flag, he ran with it full fifty pacts to the front, and
held it at arm's length high in the air, and then planted
it in the earth. Its folds were hailed in the Rebel bat-
tery with a demoniac yell, and in the next instant the
bright banner was riddled with a shower of balls. Prov-
identially, the gallant Captain was untouched. Gapt.
Wilkes.
A LEAP FOB LIBERTY.
The Sixty-ninth New York brought up the rear of the
temporarily retiring column ; but its gallant Colonel,
watchful of its welfare, lingered behind and urged strag-
glers not to get separated from their commands. He
paused for an instant to salute Colonel Tompkins, of
the Second, who stood dismounted at a little distance
from his regiment, on the opposite side of the road.
14 STORIES TOLD BY SOLDIERS.
Just at this moment a large body of the enemy's Black
Horse were seen making a charge toward them, though
its immediate object was to attack Carlisle's batteiy,
which, out of ammunition, stood limbered up in the
centre of the road. The two colonels watched the
movement, and, transfixed with excitement as they saw
the dragoons sabre the cannoniers, forgot to take meas-
ures for their own protection. It was imminently
necessar}' that they should, for the quick exploit upon
the battery had scarcely retarded the black column in
the least, and they came pouring upon the unformed
columns of the Schenck Brigade. Promptly, however,
the quick order of McCook shaped the First Ohio, and
the others, following by instinct, showed a firm line,
with bayonets all poised, and ready for the charge.
The Black Horse looked for a moment, but, not liking
that array of steel, the} 7 flirted off to the right (receiv-
ing a volley as they went) , and a squad of them made a
dash to cut off the two colonels who were isolated in the
road. Tompkins, who saw the danger coming, quickly
sprang to a horse near at hand, and calling on Corcoran
to follow, spurred him at a fence. The troopers, how-
ever, were too near for Corcoran's tired steed, and,
whirling around the Irish colonel, they took him cap-
tive", and bore him off. A portion of the squad followed
after Tompkins, but his spirited charger leaped two
fences in fine style, and amid the crack of the dra-
foons' six-shooters, he got safe away. The brigade of
chenck, being now utterly fagged out, and being more-
over entirely without orders, fell back upon the foot-
steps of the Sixty-ninth. Capt. Wilkes.
PIONEERS' WORK.
While this was going on, Captain Alexander, of the
Engineer Corps, brought up the compan}' of pioneers,
or axe-men, which, with its officers and sixty men, had
been entirely detailed from the regiments of my brigade,
to open a communication over the bridge, and through
THE FIRST BULL RUN. 15
the heavy abatis which obstructed the passage of troops
on our front bej^ond the Run. Gen. Schenck, 2d Bri-
gade, 1st Division.
At about two o'clock, p. M., General Tyler ordered
me to take a batteiy on a height in front. The battery
was strongly posted, and supported by infantry and
riflemen, sheltered by a building, a fence, and a hedge.
My order to charge was obeyed with the utmost prompt-
ness. Colonel Jameson of the Second Maine, and
Colonel Chatfield of the Third Connecticut Volunteers,
pressed forward their regiments up the base slope about
one hundred yards, when I ordered them to lie down at
a point offering a small protection, and load. I then
ordered them to advance again, which they did, in the
face of a 'movable battery of eight pieces and a large
body of infantiy, toward the top of the hill. As we
moved forward we came under the fire of other large
bodies of the enemy posted behind breastworks, and, on
reaching the summit of the hill, the firing became so hot
that an exposure to it of five minutes would have anni-
hilated my whole line Private Leach is also
highly praised for having spiked three abandoned guns
with a ramrod, and then bringing away two abandoned
muskets Lieutenant-Colonel Speidal of the First
Connecticut was set upon by three of the enemy, who
undertook to make him a prisoner. The Lieutenant-
Colonel killed one and drove off the other two of his
assailants, and escaped. Col. Keycs, 1st Brigade, 1st
Division.
THE FIRST REVERSE.
Griffin's and Rickett's batteries were ordered by the
commanding general to the top of the hill on the right,
supported with the Fire Zouaves and Marines, while the
Fourteenth entered the skirt of wood on their right to pro-
16 STORIES TOLD BY SOLDIERS.
tect that flank, and a column composed of the Twenty-
seventh New York, Eleventh and Fifth Massachusetts,
Second Minnesota, and Sixt}*-ninth New York moved
up toward the left flank of the batteries ; but so soon as
the} 7 were in position, and before the flanking supports
had reached them, a murderous fire of musketry and
rifles, opened at pistol range, cut down every cannonier
and a large number of horses. The fire came from
some infantry of the enemy, which had been mistaken
for our own forces, an officer in the field having stated
that it was a regiment sent by Colonel Heintzelman to
support the batteries.
The evanescent courage of the Zouaves prompted
them to fire perhaps a hundred shots, when they broke
and fled, leaving the batteries open to a charge of the
enemj^'s cavalry, which took place immediatel} 7 . The
Marines also, in spite of the exertions of their gallant
officers, gave wa} r in disorder. The Fourteenth, on the
right, and the column on the left, hesitatingly retired,
with the exception of the Sixty-ninth and Thhly- eighth
New York, who nobly stood and returned the fire of the
enemy for fifteen minutes. Soon the slopes behind us
were swarming with our retreating and disorganized
forces, while riderless horses and artillery teams ran
furiously through the frying crowd.
All further efforts were futile. The words, gestures,
and threats of our officers were thrown away upon men
who had lost all presence of mind, and only longed for
absence of body. Some of our noblest and best officers
lost their lives in trying to rally them. Upon our first
position the Twenty-seventh was the first to rally, under
the command of Major Bartlett, and around it the other
regiments engaged soon collected their scattered frag-
ments. The battalion of regulars, in the mean time,
moved steadily across the field from left to right, and
took up a position, where it held the entire forces of the
rebels in check until our forces were somewhat rallied.
Col. Porter, 1st Brigade^ 2e? Division.
THE FIRST BULL RUN. 17
THE ROUT.
The retreat continued thus until the column was
about emerging from the woods and entering upon the
Warrenton Turnpike, when the artillery and cavalry
went to the front, and the enemy opened fire upon the
retreating mass of men. Upon the bridge crossing Cub
Run a shot took effect upon the horses of a team that
was crossing. The wagon was overturned directly in
the centre of the bridge, and the passage was completely
obstructed. The enemy continued to play his artillery
upon the train carriages, ambulances, and artillery
wagons that filled the road, and these were reduced to
ruin. The artillery could not possibly pass, and five
pieces of the Rhode Island battery, which had been
safely brought off the field> were here lost. Col. Burn-
side^ 2d Brigade, 2d Division.
ACTION OF THE RESERVE.
Soon afterward, several squadrons of the enemy's
cavalry advanced along the road, and appeared before
the outposts. They were challenged, "Who comes
here?" and, remaining without any answer, I, being
just present at the outpost, called ' ' Union forever ! "
whereupon the officer of the enem}*'s cavalry com-
manded, "En avant! en avant ! knock him down!"
Now the skirmishers fired, when the enemy turned
around, leaving several killed and wounded on the spot.
About nine prisoners who were already in their hands
were liberated by this action. Col. Blenker, 1st Bri-
gade, nth Division.
A YOUNG COMMANDER.
While the Thirty-second was in this position, the
Sixteenth and Thirty-first having passed within its
range, a youthful orderly rode up to Colonel Matheson
2
18 STORIES TOLD BY SOLDIERS.
to inform him that the Black Cavalry, sheltered from
his observation by a piece of woods, were coming up
on the right, and, if he would take a cut with his
regiment across the fields, they would be turned back
upon their errand. The evolution was performed,
gave the protection that was desired, and the Black
Horse relinquished its purpose in that quarter. While
the regiment, however, was adhering to this position,
the same j'outh who had imparted the previous sug-
gestion rode up to the regiment again, and told
Matheson he had better now fall back on Centreville,
as his duty at that spot had been thoroughly per-
formed. As this was about the first sign of orders
(with one single exception) he had received during the
entire day, Matheson felt some curiosity to learn who
this 3~oung Lieutenant was, and whence these orders
came ; he therefore turned sharply on the youth, who, he
now perceived, could not be more than twenty -two or
three, and said, "Young man, I would like to know
your name." The youth replied that he was a son of
Quartermaster-General Meigs. u By whose authority,
then, do you deliver me these orders ? " was the Cali-
fornian's next inquiry. The young man smiled, and
remarked, " Well, sir, the truth is, that for the last few
hours I have been giving all the orders for this division,
and acting as general too, for there is no general on
the field." Capt. Wilkes.
A BRAVE OFFICER.
In addition, I deem it my dut} T to add that Lieut.
Ames was wounded so as to be unable to ride his horse,
at almost the first fire : yet he sat by his command
directing the fire, being helped on and off the caisson
during the different changes of front or position, refusing
to leave the field until he became too weak to sit up.
Capt. Griffin, 5th Art., with 2d Division.
THE FIRST BULL RUN. 19
A REBEL BATTERY.
While this last battery was forming in our front, a
vast column of thousands of infantry marched down in
close order, about two hundred yards to its right. I did
not then know where the several regiments of our bri-
gade were posted. We heard firing upon our right and
left, but too far off to protect us from a sudden charge,
as we were in the middle of an open field, and not a
single company of infantry visible to us on the right,
left, or rear. At the moment the enemy's main column
came down the hill, we observed the head of another
column advancing down the valley from our left, and
therefore concealed by a hill, and not over three hun-
dred and fifty or four hundred yards distant. At first
I took them for friends, and ordered the men not to fire
on them. To ascertain certainly who they were, I sprang
upon my horse and galloped to the top of the hill to
our left, when I had a nearer and better view. There
were two regiments of them. They halted about three
hundred yards in front of their own battery on the hill-
side, wheeled into line with their backs towards us,
and fired a volley, apparently at their battery. This
deceived me, and I shouted to my men to fire upon
the batter}', that these were friends, who would charge
and take it in a moment. Fortunate!} 7 , my order was
not heard or not obeyed by all the gunners, for some of
them commenced firing into this line, which brought
them to the right-about, and the}' commenced advancing
towards us, when their uniform disclosed fully their
character. I instantly ordered the second section of my
battery to limber up and come on the hill where I was, in-
tending to open on them with canister. Anticipating this
movement, and intending to make the hill to the left too
hot for us, or seeing me out there alone, where I could
observe their movements and report them, their nearest
battery directed and fired all its guns at me at once,
but without hitting me or my horse. I galloped back to
20 STORIES TOLD BY SOLDIERS.
my guns, and found that the two guns on our right had
left the field, and we were alone again. My order to
limber up the second section was understood as applying
to the whole battery, so that the drivers had equalized
the teams sufficiently to move all the guns and caissons,
and the pieces were all limbered. On riding back a
short distance, where I could see over the hill again, I
discovered the enemy approaching rapidly, and so near
that I doubted our ability to save the battery ; but, by a
very rapid movement up the ravine, we avoided the shells
of the three batteries that were now directed at us,
sufficiently to escape with three guns and all the caissons.
The fourth gun, I think, was struck under the axle by an
exploding shell, as it broke right in the middle, and
dropped the gun in the field. We saved the team.
Their advance fired a volley of musketry at us without
effect, when we got over the hill out of their reach, and
a few moments afterwards heard the infantry engage
them from the woods, some distance to the south oi
us. Capt. Imboden, Slaunton Artillery, 0. S. A.
CHAPTER III.
FORT HENRY AND FORT DONELSOtf.
"\7"OU can see well enough how eager the whole
"* country was for action, and how every-
body chafed under the delay, which people hardly
understood, of preparing for war. In truth, armies
had to be clothed, shod, trained to duty. Powder
had to be made, and for this saltpetre had to be
bought, even on the other side of the world,
cannon were to be cast, bored, and rifled, all
the other munitions of war were to be made, and
this on a scale without precedent. Winter also
came on, and winter, in countries where the roads
are bad, always arrests the course of war.
This tedious waiting w^as broken in upon every
day by some report or other from the long line of
the scene of war. It was not in Virginia only, it was
in the State then new made, and now called West
Virginia, a State which was loyal when " Old
Virginia " east of the mountains left the Union, it
was in Kentucky, in Missouri, in South Carolina, and
in Louisiana, that fighting w r as going on ; so that
every day's newspaper had its story of a skirmish
22 STORIES TOLD BY SOLDIERS.
somewhere, and the preparation for battle. And
there were letters oh, so many letters ! from the
armies, from brothers and sons and husbands and
fathers. Yet, all through the autumn and after the
winter began, there had been no movement of first-
rate importance until the Rebel armies were driven
out of Kentucky and of the greater part of Ten-
nessee by the capture of Fort Henry and Fort Don-
elson. The joy of the loyal States was out of all
proportion to the numbers engaged, or to the imme-
diate importance of the battles. In truth, those
battles showed a great many things which were not
known before, though they had been hoped for.
They showed how much might be expected from the
"push" and spirit of the Western troops, though
they had not been trained to war. Men fought in
them, and fought well, who had not had their
muskets a fortnight. These battles showed also
that a commander had appeared who understood
the Western troops, had confidence in them, and
knew how to use them with success.
This officer was Ulysses Simpson Grant, and
these successes first brought his name prominently
before the country.
You will probably not find Fort Henry or Fort
Donelson on your school maps. They were built
simply for the purposes of the Rebels there, and
have long since ceased to have any purpose. But
you can place them well enough on your maps,
if you will find where the Cumberland River and
FORT HENRY AND FORT DONELSON. 23
where the Tennessee River cross the line of Ken-
tucky. Just south of this line, on the eastern side
of the Tennessee, was Fort Henry, and a few miles
from it, on the western side of the Cumberland,
was Fort Donelson. General Grant moved with
seventeen thousand men, on transports, on the
river from Cairo, on the 2d of February, 1862. On
the 4th he landed three miles below Fort Henry,
and on the 6th began to move by land against
the fort. Commodore Foote, of the navy, in
command of the gun-boats, moved up by water.
Of course he arrived first. His fire silenced the
water batteries in an hour and a half, and the fort
surrendered at discretion. The garrison, except-
ing sixty men who were kept to rub the guns, had
been marched off to Fort Donelson. So when
General Grant arrived with his force, which had
a much longer course by land than the boats
had had by water, he found the fort had surren-
dered and the garrison were gone.
Here is his letter announcing the success. Ob-
serve the confidence with which he speaks of what
he should do next :
FORT HENRY CAPITULATES.
In a little over one hour all the batteries were silenced,
and the fort surrendered at discretion to Flag-Officer
Foote, giving us all their guns, camp equipage, etc.
The prisoners taken were General Tilghman and staff,
Captain Taylor and compairy, and the sick. The garri-
son. I think, must have commenced the retreat last
24 STORIES TOLD BY SOLDIERS.
night, or at an early hour this morning. Had I not felt
it an imperative duty to attack Fort Henr} r to-day, I
should have made the investment complete, and delayed
until to-morrow, so as to have secured the garrison. I
do not now believe, however, that the result would have
been any more satisfactory.
The gun-boats have proved themselves well able
to resist a severe cannonading. All the iron-clads
received more or less shots, the flag-ship, some
twenty-eight, without any serious damage to any ex-
cept the Essex. This vessel received one shot in her
boilers that disabled her, killing and wounding some
thirty- two men, Captain Porter among the wounded.
I shall take and destroy Fort Donelson on the 8th,
and return to Fort Henry with the forces emplo3 T ed, un-
less it looks possible to occupy the place with a small
force, that could retreat easily to the main body. I
shall regard it more in the light of an advanced guard
than as a permanent post.
For the character of the works at Fort Henry I will
refer you to reports of the engineers
Owing to the intolerable state of the roads, no trans-
portation will be taken to Fort Donelson, and but little
artillery, and that with double teams. Gen. Grant.
Just notice, " I shall take and destroy Fort Don-
elson on the 8th." This shows what General
Sherman alluded to as General Grant's confidence
in success.
He did not move on the 8th, however, but on
the 12th. And here is his story of what happened
then :
GENERAL GRANT'S HISTORY OF DONELSON.
I am pleased to announce to the Department the un-
conditional surrender, this morning, of Fort Donelson,
with twelve to fifteen thousand prisoners, at least forty
FORT HENRY AND FORT DONELSON. 25
pieces of artillery, and a large amount of stores, horses,
mules, and other public property.
I left Fort Henry on the 12th instant, with a force of
about fifteen thousand men, divided into two divisions,
under the command of Generals McClernand and Smith.
Six regiments were sent around by water the day before,
convoyed by a gun-boat (or boats) , and with instruc-
tions not to pass it.
The troops made the march in good order, the head
of the column arriving within two miles of the fort at
twelve o'clock M. At this point the enemy's pickets
were met and driven in. The fortifications of the enemy
were from this point gradually approached and sur-
rounded, with occasional skirmishing on the line. The
following day, owing to the non-arrival of the gun-boats
and reinforcements sent by water, no attack was made,
but the investment was extended on the flanks of the
enem}', and drawn closer to his works, with skirmishing
all day. On the evening of the 13th, the gun-boats and
reinforcements arrived. On the 14th, a gallant attack
was made by Flag-Officer Foote upon the enemy's river
batteries with his fleet. The engagement lasted proba-
bly one hour and a half, and bade fair to result favorably,
when two unlucky shots disabled two of the armored
boats, so that they were earned back by the current.
The remaining two were very much disabled also, hav-
ing received a number of heavy shots about the pilot-
houses and other parts of the vessels. After these
mishaps, I concluded to make the investment of Fort
Donelson as perfect as possible, and partially fortif} r ,
and await repairs for the gun-boats. This plan was
frustrated, however, by the enemy making a most vig-
orous attack upon our right wing, commanded by Brig-
adier-General J. A. McClernand, and which consisted
of his division and a portion of the force under General
L. Wallace.
The enemy were repelled, after a closely contested
battle of several hours, in which our loss was heavy.
The officers suffered out of proportion. I have not the
26 STORIES TOLD BY SOLDIERS.
means of determining our loss, even approximately, but
it cannot fall far short of twelve hundred, killed,
wounded, and missing. Of the latter, I understand,
through General Buckner, about two hundred and fifty
were taken prisoners. I shall retain here enough of the
enemy to exchange for them, as they were immediately
shipped off, and not left for re-capture.
About the close of this action the ammunition and
cartridge-boxes gave out, which, with the loss of many
of the field-officers, produced great confusion in the
ranks. Seeing that the enemy did not take advantage
of it, convinced me that equal confusion, a*nd conse-
quently great demoralization, existed with him. Tak-
ing advantage of this fact, I ordered a charge upon the
left (enemy's right) with the division under General C.
F. Smith, which was most brilliantly executed, and gave
our arms full assurance of victory. The battle lasted
until dark, and gave us possession of part of the in-
trenchment. An attack was ordered from the other
flank, after the charge by General Smith was com-
menced, by the divisions under McClernand and Wal-
lace, which, notwithstanding hours of exposure to a
heavy fire in the fore part of the day, was gallantly
made, and the enemy further repulsed. At the points
thus gained, night having come on, all the troops en-
camped for the night, feeling that a complete victory
would crown their efforts at an earty hour in the morn-
ing. This morning, at a very early hour, a note was
received from General Buckner, under a flag of truce,
proposing an armistice. A cop} T of the correspondence
which ensued is herewith enclosed.
I could mention individuals who especially distin-
guished themselves, "but will leave this to division and
brigade commanders, whose reports will be forwarded
as soon as received.
Of the division commanders, however, Generals
Smith, McClernand, and Wallace, I must do the justice
to say that all of them were with their commands in the
midst of danger, and were always ready to execute all
orders, no "matter what the exposure to themselves.
FORT HENRY AND FORT DONELSON. 27
At the hour the attack was made on General McCler-
nand's command I was absent, having received a note
from Flag-Officer Foote, requesting me to go and see
him, he being unable to call on me in consequence of a
wound received the day before. Gen. Grant, Official
fieport.
THE REBEL ATTACK.
Again the Rebels move towards the right flank of our
new line, and again the battle rages. Graft's brigade,
of Lewis Wallace's division, is ordered down upon this
flanking column at a run. Thus checked, the enemy
might have been driven back and pursued, had it not
been for a new and unexpected foe, or rather the fear of
one, swarming from their intrenchments, and passing
the rifle-pits like a surge of the sea. Buckner's force
came out to attack the left flank and crotchet of our
new line. As soon as they were discovered, Wallace
strengthened the flank thus threatened, and two of
Taylor's guns, coming rapidly into action, dealt grape
and canister on his advance. Buckner was easily re-
pulsed, for his attack was very feebly delivered, and
his troops behaved in the most cowardly manner. When,
at eleven o'clock, Pillow rode over to Buckner's position,
he found them huddled together under cover, from
which it was only after a good deal of artillery firing
that their general could persuade them to emerge. In
speaking of the repulse, Buckner says his attacking
regiments "withdrew without panic, but in some con-
fusion, to the trenches."
But the moral effect of Buckner's attack was not with-
out its value. Beset on all sides, Pillow thundering
upon our new front, the cavahy threatening our rear,
Johnson's well extended upon our right, checked but
not driven off by Craft, our men were somewhat demor-
alized by Buckner's demonstration ; many became dis-
heartened ; the fugitives from the front became a crowd.
A mounted officer galloped down the road, shouting,
28 STORIES TOLD BY SOLDIERS.
" We are cut to pieces." The ammunition had given
out. Our line, including Cruft, who had borne the brunt
of the battle for some time, was again forced back.
Logan, Lawler, and Ransom were wounded, many field-
officers and large numbers of subalterns killed. The
crisis of the battle had indeed arrived, when General
Wallace posted Colonel Thayer's (Third) brigade across
the road, formed a reserve of three regiments, placed
Wood's battery in position, and awaited the attack.
The retiring regiments formed again in the rear, and
were supplied with ammunition. The Rebel attack upon
this new line was extremely vigorous. They had de-
layed for a while to plunder the dead and pick up what
they could find in McClernand's camp, and Pillow sent
back an aid to telegraph to Nashville that, " on the
honor of a soldier," the day was theirs. The new at-
tack, which he was about to make, was only the finish-
ing stroke. Again he moved upon Thaj'er's brigade ;
but by their unflinching stand and deliberate fire, and
especially by the pioneers of the First Nebraska, and
the excellent handling of the artillery, he was re-
pulsed. Gen. Coppee.
SMITH'S ATTACK.
Wallace was already on his" war-path, as we have
just described, when General Smith organized his col-
umn of attack. Cook's brigade is posted on his left,
and is designed to make a feint upon the work. Caven-
der's heavy guns are posted in rear to the right and left,
having a cross-fire upon the intrenchments, and also
plaj'ing upon the fort ; but the attacking force the
forlorn hope is Lanman's brigade, formed in close
column of regiments, and composed of the Second Iowa,
the Fifty-second Indiana (temporarily attached), the
Twentj'-fifth Indiana, the Seventh Iowa, and the Four-
teenth Iowa.
Cook's feigned attack is already begun ; Cavender's
guns are thundering away. It is nearly sunset, when
FORT HENRY AND FORT DONELSON. 29
Smith, hearing Wallace's guns far to the right, puts
himself at the head of Lanman's. brigade, and, climbing
the steep hill-side, bursts upon the ridge on which the
enenryhas constructed his outer works. Before advan-
cing, and when the force was just in readiness to move,
Smith had ridden along the line, and in a few but em-
phatic words had told them the duty the}^ were to per-
form. He said that he would lead them, and that the
pits must be taken by the bayonet alone. Perhaps
during the whole war, full as it is of brilliant actions,
there is none more striking than this charge.
At the given signal, the lines are put in motion. Smith
riding in advance, with the color-bearer alongside of
him, his commanding figure, gra} r hair, and haughty
contempt of danger, acting upon his men like the white
plume of Navarre at Ivry. Not far has he moved be-
fore his front line is swept by the enemy's artilleiy with
murderous effect. His men waver for a moment, but
their general, sublime in his valor, reminds them, in caus-
tic words, that while he, as an old regular, is in the line
of his professional duty, this is what they have volunteered
to do. With oaths and urgenc} 7 , his hat waving upon
the point of his sword, by the splendor of his example,
he leads them on through this valley of death, up the
slope, through the abatis, up to the intrenchment and
over. With a thousand shouts, they plant their stand-
ards on the captured works, and pour in volley^ after
voile}', before which the Rebels fly in precipitate terror.
Battery after battery is brought forward, Stone's arriv-
ing first, and then a direct and enfilading fire is poured
upon the flanks and faces of the work. Four hundred
of Smith's gallant column have fallen, but the charge is
decisive. Grant's tactics and Smith's splendid valor
have won the day. Gen. Coppee.
CHAPTER IV.
GENERAL McCLELLAN AND THE PENINSULA.
WEST VIRGINIA.
"TV/TE AN WHILE, on the Atlantic side, in front
-L*J- of Washington, as soldiers say they did
not mean to make the mistake of Bull Run again.
General Scott, who was an old man, withdrew from
the command of the army. General McClellan,
comparatively a young man, had the credit of the
one success so far attained by the National army.
This was in West Virginia. He was an accom-
plished officer, and people hoped he would be the
young Napoleon again. You shall see, as an en-
gineer officer tells the story, how that success in
Western Virginia came about. McClellan was ap-
pointed to command the army of the Potomac. He
was not afraid to conquer by delay, if he could, as
Washington and Fabius had done before him. So,
from the 1st of August, 1861, all through the
winter, and until the next May, he was engaged
on the southern side of the Potomac in bringing
the Northern army into discipline, in arranging
its several parts so that they should work as one
machine, and in accustoming men and officers to
McCLELLAN AND THE PENINSULA. 31
their duties and to their relations with each other.
As nine out of ten of these soldiers had never been
soldiers before, indeed, had scarcely dreamed of
such a thing, the time was none too much for the
enterprise. At first the country behind the army
was well enough satisfied, for the lesson of Bull Run
had been a tremendous one. But people observed
that the Western army did not seem to require such
long preparation, and when spring came of the
year 1862 they were impatient, as the army itself
was indeed, for action. Still, from the army itself
there came back the word that nothing could be
done till the roads were dry. The mud of the
Virginia road is indeed a protection against in-
vaders for many months of the year, almost equal
to any batteries.
At last, however, the army moved ; not directly
across the country, as in the march which resulted
so badly at Bull Run, but by steamboats and barges
down Chesapeake Bay, to land at Fort Monroe, op-
posite Norfolk, at the mouth of James River, and so
to drive the Rebels from Yorktown, where Corn-
wallis surrendered eighty years before, and then
to march up " the Peninsula," as it was called, to
attack Richmond from the east.
The " Peninsula " means the peninsula between
James River and York River. It was the country
first settled in America. In one of Captain John
Smith's letters, written from the infant colony at
the old Jamestown, he says it is all of America that
32 STORIES TOLD BY SOLDIERS.
there will ever be any need to settle, and proposes
to build a line of little forts across the isthmus, to
keep out the Indians forever from it. It was in the
swamps of the Chickahominy that he was lost
when the Indians took him prisoner, and where he
pretended that Pocahontas rescued him. She was
then a chifd, seven years old. In these same
swamps McClellan's army encamped, and here
were the "battles of the six days" fought. These
were battles in which he withdrew his army from
that side of Richmond, after many severe fights
before that city, and changed the base of his sup-
plies from the York River to the James. That
means, that he received his supplies afterward by
James River.
General Me Clellan's own report of these move-
ments makes a book much larger than this which
you are reading. Horace and Walter were very
much interested in it, and for a while they became
very strong " McClellanites." They said that no
novel had scenes so pathetic as his descriptions of
his disappointments when troops were withheld
that he hoped for, or ordered away from him to
the defence of Washington when he needed them
for attack. But other readers and other people
have not greatly praised him.
Here is the detail of the success in West Virginia,
by which he earned his command. You will see
that, if he had had his way, the victory would not
have been won.
WEST VIRGINIA. 33
THE DEATH OF GARNETT IX WEST VIRGINIA.
And for nearly a week, we watched this road to the
north, and those to the right and left, along the north face
of the mountain, as ordered by McClellan ; it being
understood (as was stated by him) that he was to take
care of the road south, over the mountain ; by which road
Garuett eventually escaped. We had daily skirmish-
ing, now and then a man killed, and some two to five
wounded each da} T , on either side, for the five or six
days we lay there ; from time to time routing out Gar-
nett's camp with our artillery, which I had placed on
the different near hills as they could reach him. This
continued until about seven, on the morning of the
12th of July ; when a sergeant of the command (a
preacher at home) , who had been on picket, (or scout-
ing on his own account,) came rushing into Morris's
head-quarters at Eliot's House, crying out, "They are
gone, they are all gone ! We can see no one in their
camp." I mounted at once, and went forward to Gar-
nett's camp, reconnoitring carefully as we came near,
and entered the works, which I found were in a con-
tinuous line from the woods at the north to the moun-
tain on the west. I there saw manifest signs of their
leaving in great haste. Man} T articles of value, even,
had been abandoned, and much that was useful. I sent
back at once to request that General Morris would send
forward two regiments, and a wagon-load or two of bis-
cuit, for the pursuit. And while waiting for these in
Garnett's camp, about nine A. M., I received from
General Morris an order sent to him by General McClel-
lan, informing him of the rout of Pegram, and forbid-
ding him to attack Garnett.
As soon as the first regiment arrived, we started to
go over the Laurel Mountain, and reach the south side,
about three or four miles distant, between one and two
p. M. Here General Morris joined us ; and, after re-
maining an hour or so, he returned to camp to bring up
3
34 STORIES TOLD BY SOLDIERS.
the rest of his men. But he directed me not to move
from that position until he rejoined us, as he expected
to some time that afternoon.
About nine or ten r. M. General Moms joined us,
and was quite indignant at Milroy's disobedience, say-
ing he should not lead the march in the pursuit on the
next day to punish him for this disobedience of his
order ; by which he had found everything artillery,
wagons, and all were in the greatest confusion on
this narrow mountain-path at midnight.
About ten p. M. orders came from McClellan, then
at Beverly (in response to my report) , for us to pursue
with the earliest light, and stating that General Hill
had orders sent him to intercept Garnett where he was
expected to pass at the "Red House," near Oakland,
some twenty-five or thirty miles to the northeast of us.
At day light of the 13th, I started in command of the
advance column, .... there being some eighteen hun-
dred men in all. On reaching New Interest, at six to
seven A. M., we began to find the camp equipage scat-
tered along the road; first tent-poles, then tents, and
then camp furniture. And soon we made sure that
Garnett had turned off over a winding, hilly road, to
his right, which passed over several mountain spurs to
branches of the Cheat River, and led to the village of
St. Georges, some fifteen to twent}^ miles to the north-
east, on its right bank ; and, later, we found, as we
entered this mountain road, that the more valuable
camp furniture was then being left behind, and among
the first (probably as an example) , the fine camp-stools,
&c. (as marked) of General Garnett himself. We
then came upon barricades of trees felled across the
roads upon the mountain slopes, and at all defiles and
steep " hill-sides" : some eighteen or twent} f such ob-
structions, from eight}' to three hundred yards in extent
on the road, were encountered in the march of some
eight to ten miles over two spurs of the mountains.
The Rebels, fortunately for us, left their axes as they
WEST VIRGINIA. 35
fled from our advance skirmishers, sometimes by twos
and threes, struck into the trees woodman-like, some-
times by the boxful even ; and thus we were soon
enabled, with our Western woodsmen, to clear these
roads even for our artillery : so that, when we eventu-
ally reached the Cheat River, near noon, our guns joined
our advance regiment (Steedman's) within twenty to
thirty minutes after.
x On this route, about ten to eleven A. M., after passing
the second mountain spur, we came upon the last camp
of Garnett, deserted in such haste that the provisions
were actually cooking upon the fires, and were soon de-
voured by our half-famished men
About ten to eleven A. M. we came upon some wag-
ons loaded with clothing, drab overcoats, &c. ; with
which I at once equipped our advance skirmishers, to
deceive the enemy, as well as to protect ourselves from
the violent storm which had been raging for several
hours We finally discovered the Rebel wagon-
train resting in a field in the river-bottom, about five
hundred yards in advance, and apparently entirely un-
suspicious of our approach. I at once directed Colonel
Steedman, as soon as he could learn that our guns were
near his regiment, and Dumont well up behind them,
that he should cross carefully ; and, passing along by
the road on the right bank, as it curved to our left, and
was screened by the thick trees and bushes on the right
of this road, he was to endeavor to pass to the right and
rear of their wagons, without, as appeared possible, his
being discovered.
These guns of Barnett were reported to be well up,
and Dumont just behind them, ready to close in some
fifteen or twenty minutes after ; and the movement of
Steedman commenced with every prospect of his getting
to their rear unseen, and of capturing the whole train,
as he moved with much boldness and discretion. But
at this juncture a scoundrel straggler, who had crossed
without permission, fired off his musket in the air,
towards the wagon-train, as I CQuld only suppose on
36 STORIES TOLD BY SOLDIERS.
purpose to drive them forward, and avoid a fight. I
endeavored to gallop over him with my horse ; but he
escaped down the steep bank into the river. But the
enemy's train, for this time, was saved ; for we saw the
wagons move on immediately after, and then two lines
of infantry draw out to protect them ; and they started
on the run for the next ford.
I delayed Steedman there until most of our troops
had closed up ; and then we moved on as rapidly as
possible, crossing this second ford after covering with
our fire the adjacent hills to prevent a suspected ambus-
cade. And about two miles farther on, from a high
hill, we came in sight of their regiments, on a regular
run, and so near, that I ordered up the guns, directing
the vis a tergo of a few discharges to expedite their
movement, already characterized by one of our Western
captains as a " long dog-trot."
This force was still followed as rapidly as possible ;
although two messages had already reached me from
General Morris, each with a contingency, fortunately,
44 to stop the pursuit/' I had the first message before I
came to the first ford : it was brought by young Pritch-
ard (son of lieutenant-colonel of Sixth Indiana), who
had been .sent back with the first flag, captured, as it
was, under my horse's feet. This order required, that,
if I " was not sure of reaching the enemy within two or
three hours," I "must halt, and rest my men." The
second message, by Sergeant-Major Fletcher of the
Sixth Indiana, directed me to stop, and rest my men,
unless I " was immediately upon the enen^." A third,
by General Morris's aid (Lieut. Hines) , reached me as
I was arranging for action at Corrick's Ford, and was,
to "stop at once, unless" I "was ready to strike";
to which my repty simply was, " Wait five minutes ! "
General Morris afterwards told me, another (a fourth)
message had been sent, a positive order to stop at
once (and, as I understood, by Whitelaw Reid, a Cin-
cinnati reporter) ; but, as the General said, " This was
not delivered, as you were found to be fighting." These
WEST VIRGINIA. 37
orders were sent because General Morris had seen only
the stragglers who u fell by the wayside " ; while I had
the " whalebone" with me.
Our march thus continued for about three miles from
the second ford, till we came to another field of river-
bottom land, and another ford. Here we saw that the
Rebel troops had crossed, and that a part of their train
was in the river, apparently balked ; and we soon found
that the}' were making dispositions to defend this- train,
from the steep, elevated ground (about sixty to eighty
feet above the river) on the opposite side ; the river be-
ing some hundred and twenty yards wide and three feet
deep at this ford.
The advance regiments (Steedman's and next Du-
mont's), with Barnett's artillery T were soon arranged
along the river-bank, behind a rail fence, partially cov-
ered by a slight screen of trees ; and our fire first
opened at them across the river upon their more advan-
tageous position ; and I could not force our gallant fel-
lows, so unused to the danger, to take the slight cover
of the bank of an old channel-way, a few rods in their
rear, a cover such as before the war closed, however,
with just as much of bravery, our men, on other fields,
had learned to appreciate, and to seize on all occasions.
We received a strong musketry-fire in return ; and soon
their cannon opened on us, with the usual effect, or
rather non-effect, from a much more elevated position,
fortunately for us, for the most part ; and we replied
more effectively with our riflemen and artillery. As,
however, in the course of some ten to fifteen minutes, I
discovered a break in the hill on their left, which indi-
cated an easier ascent than by the steep bank in our
front, I sent orders to Dumont to cross at our right,
and move up this valley-gorge to attack them. This
was soon proved to be impossible, (as I found after-
wards, this slope was strewn with dead cedars,) and
the steepness was too great directly in front. I saw
the men flat on the ground, endeavoring to crawl up
the bank; and Colonel Milroy, who followed Dumont
38 STORIES TOLD BY SOLDIERS.
closely, rode up to me, and reported the hill to be en-
tirely impracticable. I sent word by him to Dumont to
go down the river with his regiment, and to hug the
cover of the bank, on the side of the enemy ; and that
he would certainly find the road below them, opposite
our left. The firing still continued for some fifteen to
twenty minutes longer, between our main body and the
Rebels on the hill ; our men picking off their gunners
whenever seen through the branches of the trees. And
at length I saw the men of Dumont moving down as
directed, until they passed the Rebel front at the foot
of the bank, and turned inland, to the right of the
enemy, bringing themselves at once in rear of their posi-
tion ; when the Rebels hastily retreated past the next
ford, some five hundred yards distant, leaving their
cannon, and their dead and wounded, behind them.
And they werd closely followed by Dumont's regiment
skirmishing in their rear.
At about the time of this retreat of the enemy from
his position on the hill, the leading regiment (the Sixth
Indiana) of General Morris's main column, which had
hurried up, hearing the firing, joined us, though too late
to share in the action.
I crossed over immediately after Dumont's success,
finding twent} 7 -two heavily-loaded wagons stalled in the
river, and a like number in the roadway made through
an impracticable laurel- thicket on the other side, all
with their horses and harnesses attached. And ascend-
ing by the rear, to the plateau they had just occupied,
we found their cannon and caisson, with the dead gun-
ners (seven or eight men) lying around the piece,
mostly shot in the head, some directly above the mouth,
the only sight our men had being through the bush
embrasures.
The position Garnett had selected here was one of
the best natural defensive sites I ever saw. It was a
cleared field of some two hundred yards square, with a
steep bank sixty to eighty feet down to the river. The
WEST VIRGINIA. 39
bank was covered with thick undergrowth, and fringed
at the top with trees whose branches had been cut away
to give firing views, embrasures, in fact, for their
guns. On their left, a steep ravine of a V cross-section,
filled with dead cedars, as stated, protected them, as
we had found, complete^ from assault ; and on their
right flank, as this plateau dropped to near the river
level, they were covered by the broad laurel- thicket, im-
practicable to man or beast, even to the smaller animals,
except by roadways cut through by the axe.
While examining the dead at this position, Major
Gordon (just recently sergeant-major of tha Ninth Indi-
ana) came up to me, asking if I knew Garnett, saying
an officer had just been killed at the next near ford,
who had " stars on his shoulders." I at once accompa-
nied him, crossing the ford; and, about twenty yards
bej'ond, I found the Rebel general, R. S. Garnett, lying
dead, and near him the body of a }*oung lad, in the uni-
form of the Georgia troops (gray with black facings,
like that of our Indiana regiments) . No other signs of
strife were near ; and I learned that they had been killed
from a clump of bushes on our side the river-bank, by
the fire, at about the same time, of three of our ad-
vanced scouts. Recognizing Garnett at once, who, six
3'ears before, received the majority I had declined in the
Ninth U. S. Infantry, I had Major Gordon remove and
take care of his sword, watch, and purse (of Confede-
rate money) , reserving for our use, as much needed, a
fine map of Virginia, and his field-glass.
The killed and wounded on our side were limited to
five or six onh^, as they mostly fired upon us down hill.
Of the Rebels we found about fifteen bodies, and some
twenty to thirty wounded. There were also taken three
flags, a fine rifled cannon, a military chest with bank
money ready for signing, and besides a large amount
of valuable private property the train to the number
of forty-four heavily-loaded wagons, with their horses
and harnesses even (some hundred and fifty to two nun-
40 STORIES TOLD BY SOLDIERS.
dred in all) ; and, in the pursuit next day and the day
after, about fifteen more loaded wagons were captured,
or about sixty in all. They were loaded with clothing,
blankets, tents, &c., and at an estimated value, as far
as we could judge, of at least some two hundred and
fifty thousand dollars. The quartermaster at the Graf-
ton depot afterwards told me, that there had reached
that station, within the next two or three weeks (and
by difficult or mountain roads) , an amount of property
worth at least a hundred thousand dollars. And this
was after weeks of plundering b}^ the occupants of the
adjacent farms, and after nearly all the horses and large
amounts of other property, as I was told, had been run
across the Ohio River, by these retiring troops, whose
three months of service expired, for the most part,
within one or two weeks after this action, which ended
the first campaign in West Virginia.
The report of the action was written and sent to
General McClellan from Corrick's House, on the morn-
ing of the 14th, and received by him at Huttonsville,
Va., about thirty-five miles southeast, at "eleven
p. M." ; when he at once telegraphed this success to
Washington in glowing colors.
Upon the evening of the 16th, Major Marcj', chief of
staff of General McClellan, came to Eliot's (en route to
Washington) with McClellan's reports, and the flags
from Philippi, and requiring also those just captured,
which, being still with the regiments in camp, he would
not wait for, but ordered to be " sent express to Wash-
ington."
Major Marcy had with him at this time four flags that
had been captured at Philippi, which, with considerable
difficulty and management, I had recovered from the
colonels of the regiments who had them, and sent to
General McClellan some time previously. One of them,
I recollect, was an elegant green silk cavalry flag, or
guidon, with gold bullion tassels and fringe, that had
within the week been presented to the Highland Guards
McCLELLAN AND THE PENINSULA. 41
by the ladies of Highland County ; when the captain,
as we were told, had promised " to defend that flag
with the last drop of his blood," &c. I presume, how-
ever, he forgot his promise, as no one was killed in this
rout. As this banner had on it in gold letters the
motto, " GOD DEFEND THE RIGHT," I had the pleasure,
soon after, of sending word to the ladies of Highland
Count} T "that God had heard and answered their
prayer."
Of the three flags taken at Corrick's Ford, one was a
large flag of Colonel Taliaferro's Twenty-third Virginia
Regiment ; another was a silk flag of Colonel Ramsey's
Georgia Regiment ; and the third, taken just after the
action, was an elegant white silk color, with silver tas-
sels and fringe, and over the arms of Georgia the motto,
" COTTON is KING," surmounting the temple. This beau-
tiful and unique banner has proved too much for the
honesty of some of the people about the White House
or the War Department ; for in the winter of 1863 and
1864, when I found most of these other flags in the War-
Office, this white banner had disappeared, as had also
the green silk cavalry guidon taken at Philippi.
Major Marcy proceeded to Washington, reaching
there a day or two before the defeat of Bull Run, and
at a most fortunate moment, as it proved, for himself
and his chief; for though it is certain, I believe, that
neither McClellan nor any of his staff (not on detached
service) had been within the range of a hostile cannon,
if they had even heard its sound, in all these actions
and skirmishes, } T et within that week McClellan' s chief
of staff, Major Marcy, was made Inspector-General, and
McClellan himself the Major-General and active chief of
our whole army. Gen. H. W. Benham.
When McClellan advanced np the Peninsula,
the first resistance was made at Yorktown, the
same place which Lord Cornwallis held.
42 STORIES TOLD BY SOLDIERS.
THE REBEL ARMY AT YORKTOWN.
It is clear that the forces stationed here had more
than enough to eat, many luxuries, and were pro-
vided for in all that was necessary for mere camp com-
fort, such as it is. The whole place is strewed with
heaps of oyster- shells, empty bottles, and cans of pre-
served fruit and vegetables, and, strange to say, there
are an enormous number of sardine-boxes lying around.
Privates and all seemed to have enjoyed the luxury of
sardines in profusion. They had the excellent Rich-
mond flour, from the Gallego mills, and Louisville packed
beef and pork. Their exit was so sudden that their
bread was left in their kneading-troughs, their pork over
the fire, and biscuits half baked ; but attempts were
made, more or less generally, to spoil the food. Here
and there a bottle of turpentine or some other vile fluid
was emptied over the food they could not take. The
tents are standing, but are slashed by knives.
The equipments and clothing of the rebel dead were
of the most miserable kind. No attempt at uniformity
of dress could be seen. Here and there some officer had
a flannel stripe sewed to his pantaloons. Their buttons
were simple bone and black fly buttons, such as are
used for waistcoats. Here and there an officer had a
gilt or United States artillery button. The men were
dressed in common linsey butternut, and cotton suits,
of the commonest and coarsest materials. They had
few knapsacks, being generally supplied with a school-
boy's satchel, sometimes of flimsy leather, but more
commonly of cotton osnaburg, with here and there a
rope to sling over the shoulders. Immense numbers of
these were scattered about the woods, generally contain-
ing a few articles of clothing and a hoe-cake. Boston
Journal Correspondence.
TAKEN AND LEFT.
In the course of the guerilla fighting of course there
were many very singular scenes. Captain Montgomery,
McCLELLAN AND THE PENINSULA, 43
General Newton's Chief of Staff, and Lieutenant Baker,
of General Franklin's staff, ventured too far into the
woods and soon found themselves close up with the
Hampton Legion. A question put by one of them
revealed their character, and instantly a number of
muskets were discharged at them. Lieutenant Baker
escaped ; Captain Montgomery's horse, pierced by half
a dozen bullets, fell with his rider. The Captain feigned
dead, but when the rebels commenced robbing his body,
he was moved to come to life, and to give the Seces-
sionists the benefit of some testamentary opinions, as
Mr. Choate said when he spoke in behalf of the remains
of the Whig party. Just at that moment a shell from one
of our batteries which I can't undertake to say, as the
officers of three companies have positively assured me
that they did it burst upon the party. Then the cry
was raised, "Shoot the Yankee!" "Wherefore?"
queried the Captain, "I did n't fire the shell." Then
another shell, whereupon the whole party skedaddled,
Rebels in one direction, and the Captain in the other.
Capt. Montgomery.
CAPTUBING A GUN.
There is an old chap in the Berdan Sharp-shooters,
near Yorktown, known as " Old Seth." He is quite a
character, and is a crack shot, one of the best in the
regiment. His " instrument," as he terms it, is one of
the heaviest telescopic rifles. The other night at roll-
call, Old Seth non est. This was somewhat unusual,
as the old chap was always up to time. A sergeant went
out to hunt him up, being somewhat fearful that the old
man had been hit. After perambulating around in the
advance of the picket-line, he heard a low "hollo."
"Who's there?" inquired the sergeant. "It's me,"
responded Seth, "and I've captured a Secesh gun."
" Bring it in," said the sergeant. "Can't do it," ex-
claimed Seth.
It soon became apparent to the sergeant, that Old
44 STORIES TOLD BY SOLDIERS.
Seth had the exact range of one of the enemy's
heaviest guns, and they could not load it for fear of
being picked off by him. Again the old man shouted .
" Fetch me a couple of haversacks full of grub, as this
is my gun, and the cussed varmints sha'n't fire it again
while the scrimmage lasts." This was done, and the old
patriot has kept good watch over that gun. In fact, it
is a " captured gun." N. T. Tribune.
THE SIAMESE TWINS.
It is not often that two regiments, camping side by
side for months, fall desperately in love. On the con-
trary, quite the reverse. But between the Ninth Mas-
sachusetts and the Sixty-second Pennsylvania there
exists a very romantic attachment. The shant} T of
the Sixty-second is always open to the patronage of
the Ninth, however scanty ma}' be its suppty. Does the
Sixt3~-second find itself short of provisions on a march?
Every haversack in the Ninth is opened. The men of
the Ninth may pass through the camp of the Sixty-
second at all times, but when one of the Three Hundred
and Thirty-third New York, or any other man, comes
up to the lines, he is ordered awaj T .
"How will we take Richmond?" says one of the
Sixty-second the other day. " Why, don't 3*011 know?
The*Sixt3*-two-th will fire, and the Ninth will charge ! "
Boston Journal.
FRIENDLY PICKETING.
We were stationed on Warwick Creek, and the
enem3 r 's pickets were on the opposite side, about six
hundred yards above. They kept up a constant fire
during the afternoon, and the way some of their bullets
whistled past our heads, if we poked them from behind
a tree, inclined us to believe that they had good arms,
and understood their use. Our orders were not to fire
back, but, in violation of orders, a stray shot would
McCLELLAN AND THE PENINSULA. 45
once in a while find its way to the opposite side, to let
them know that we still lived. This firing was kept up
until dark when the tongue superseded the rifle. Now
came the tug of war. Epithets were hurled spitefully
across Warwick's turbid waters. The burden of their
song appeared to be, " We will give you Bull Run."
"What do you think of Corinth?" "You can have
Yorktown if you can take it." " You are five to one,
but you can't whip us " ; to which latter accusation one
of our boys replied that it was so, as it took four Yan-
kees to catch one of them for one of us to whip. They
finally came to the conclusion, they could not out-talk
us in that st3'le, so they tried another tack, made all
manner of inquiries, of how we lived, what State we
were from, etc. They informed us that they were from
South Carolina, and if we would not fire upon them in
the morning, they would come out and talk with us.
Morning came, and with it a friendly conversation,
at first under cover of trees ; and as they gained confi-
dence, both parties came out from cover. They told
us that they lived principally upon fresh meat and
" sponge," soft bread ; " shingles " hard bread
had plaj'ed out with them. Salt was not within their
limits, it being twenty dollars a sack. Coffee could not
be got, it being a luxury not enjoyed by a soldier.
We asked them if they had any " salt-junk." No,
they had not got down to pickled mule yet. A Fall
River Soldier.
The " change of base " closed in the battle of
Malvern Hill. Here is General McClellan's own
account of it, and there follows the narrative of an
artillery officer.
GEN. MCCLELLAN'S ACCOUNT OF MALVERN HILL.
The position selected for resisting the further advance
of the enem}', on the 1st of July, was with the left and
46 STORIES TOLD BY SOLDIERS.
centre of our lines resting on Malvern Hill, while the
right curved backward through a wooded countr} 7 toward
a point below Haxall's, on James River. Malvern Hill
is an elevated plateau, about a mile and a half by three
fourths of a mile in area, well cleared of timber, and
with several converging roads running over it. In front
are numerous defensible ravines, and the ground slopes
gradually to the north and east to the woodland, giving
clear range for artillery in those directions. Toward
the northwest the plateau falls off more abruptly into a
ravine which extends to James River. From the posi-
tion of the enemy his most obvious line of attack would
be from the direction of Richmond and White-Oak
Swamp, and would almost of necessity strike in upon
the left wing. Here, therefore, the lines were strength-
ened by massing the troops and collecting the principal
part of the artillery. Porter's corps held the left of the
line, Sykes's division on the left, Morrell's on the
right, with the artillery of his two divisions advanta-
geously posted, and the artillery of the reserve so dis-
posed on the high ground that a concentrated fire of some
sixty guns could be brought to bear on any point in his
front or left. Colonel Tyler had also, with great exer-
tion, succeeded in getting two of his siege-guns in posi-
tion on the highest part of the hill. Couch's division
was placed on the right of Porter's ; next came Kearney
and Hooker ; next Sedgwick and Richardson ; next
Smith and Slocum ; then the remainder of Keyes's corps,
extending by a backward curve nearly to the river.
The Pennsylvania Reserve Corps was held in reserve,
and stationed behind Porter's and Couch's position.
One brigade of Porter's was thrown to the left, on the
low ground, to protect that flank from any movement
direct from the Richmond road. The line was very
strong along the whole front of the upper plateau, but
thence to the extreme right, the troops were more de-
ployed. This formation was imperative, as an attack
would probably be made upon our left. The right was
rendered as secure as possible by slashing the timbers,
McCLELLAN AND THE PENINSULA. 47
and by barricading the roads. Commodore Rodgers,
commanding the flotilla on James River, placed his gun-
boats so as to protect our flanks, and to command the
approaches from Richmond. Between nine and ten
A.M., the enemy commenced feeling along our whole
left wing with his artillery and skirmishers, as far to the
right as Hooker's division. About two o'clock a column
of the enenry was observed moving toward our right,
with the skirt of woods in front of Heintzelman's corps,
but bej'ond the range of artillery. Arrangements were
at once made to meet the anticipated attack in that
quarter, but though the column was long, occupying
more than two hours in passing, it disappeared, and was
not again heard of. The presumption is, that it retired
b} r the rear, arid participated in the attack afterwards
made on our left. About three P.M., a heavy fire of
artillery opened on Kearne3 T 's left and Couch's division,
speedily followed up by a brisk attack of infantry on
Couch's front. The artillery was replied to with good
effect by our own, and the infantry of Couch's division
remained lying on the ground until the advancing col-
umn was within short musket range, when they sprang
to their feet and poured in a deadly volley, which en-
tirely broke the attacking force, and drove them in dis-
order back on their own ground. This advantage was
followed up until we had advanced the right of our lines
some seven or eight hundred yards, and rested upon a
thick clump of trees, giving us a stronger position and
a better fire. Shortly after four o'clock, the firing
ceased along the whole front, but no disposition was
.evinced on the part of the enemy to withdraw from the
field. Caldweli's brigade, having been detached from
Richardson's division, was stationed upon Couch's right
by General Porter, to wliom he had been ordered to re-
port. The whole line was surveyed by the General,
and everything held in readiness to meet the coming
attack. At six o'clock the enemy suddenly opened
upon Couch and Porter with the whole strength of his
artillery, and at once began pushing forward his column
48 STORIES TOLD BY SOLDIERS.
of attack, to cany the hill. Brigade after brigade
formed under cover of the woods, started at a run to
cross the open space, and charged our batteries ; but
the heavy lire of our guns, and the cool and steady
volleys of our infantry, in every case, sent them reeling
back to shelter, and covered the ground with their dead
and wounded. In several instances our infantry with-
held their fire until the attacking columns, which rushed
through the storm of canister and shell from our artil-
lery, had reached within a few yards of our lines.
They then poured in a single volley, and dashed for-
ward with the bayonet, capturing prisoners and colors,
and driving the routed columns in confusion from the
field. About seven o'clock, as fresh troops were accu-
mulating in front of Porter and Couch, Meagher and
Sickles were sent with their brigades, as soon as it was
considered prudent to withdraw any portion of Simmer's
and Heintzelman's troops, to reinforce that part of the
line, and hold the positions. These brigades relieved
such portions of Porter's corps and Couch's division as
had expended their ammunition, and batteries from the
reserve were pushed forward to replace those whose
boxes were empt}*. Until dark the enemy persisted in
his efforts to take the position so tenaciously defended ;
but despite his vast numbers, his repeated and desper-
ate attacks were repulsed with fearful loss, and dark-
ness ended the battle of Malvern Hill, though it was
not until after nine o'clock that the artillery ceased its
fire. During the whole, Commodore Rodgers added
greatly to the discomfiture of the enemy by throwing
shells among his reserves and advancing columns. As
the arm}', in its movement from the Chickahominy to
Harrison's Landing, was continually occupied in march-
ing by night and fighting by day, its commanders found
no opportunity for collecting data w r hich would enable
them to give exact returns of casualties in each engage-
ment. McClelland Official Report.
McCLELLAN AND THE PENINSULA. 49
THE BATTLE OF MALVERN HILL, AS SEEN BY AN
OFFICER OF ARTILLERY.
The July sun shone clear and bright over Malvern
Hill, in the words of General McClellan's Report,
" an elevated plateau about a mile and a half by three
fourths of a mile in area." Through this plain ran the
road from White-Oak Swamp and the Chickahominy
region, along which the Rebel advance would come.
To the left, much below the plateau on which the Mal-
vern mansion-house stood, was the Richmond road, and
to the left and rear, by Turkey Island Bend, the James
River was laid like a bed of silver under the warm
morning sun. Woods skirted the northern side of these
fields, and about two thirds of a mile from this boundary
our main line of defence was posted. Here the light
field-batteries were stationed, with their infantry sup-
ports lying on the ground between their several posi-
tions. The earth swelled up to this line, then fell gently,
northerly and through the open plain rising again to-
ward the line of woods. But the woods were some-
what lower than the swell on which the guns stood, thus
giving the vantage, so dear to the artillery, of a slightly
plunging fire. This position was on the left of the Chick-
ahomin}' road, and was held by Porter's Fifth Corps. On
the right of the road the woods intruded more upon the
position, and Couch held this ground, looking rather
obliquely toward the main field, where the brunt of the
Rebel attack afterwards was felt. Porter's troops had
been severely punished at Gaines's Mills, and, smarting
under this defeat, they were in a good fighting mood,-
though they had lost heavily.
We, that is Porter's corps, had bivouacked on the
hill near Malvern House, and his arrangements were
made after an earl} 7 breakfast. McClellan with his staff
and General Barnard rode over the field, and inspected
the order of battle, as the corps commanders and en-
gineers had laid it out. " Very well, Fitz," (i. e. Fitz
4
50 STORIES TOLD BY SOLDIERS.
John Porter,) "there will be some axes up presently,
and you may cut and slash wherever you please." This
was said in the familiar, almost affectionate tone he
used with the old West Point comrades whom he knew,
and who trusted in him. McClellan never lost his hold
upon the affections of the Arnry o the Potomac, an or-
ganization which grew up under his forming hand.
The General's counsel referred to some timber upon
the left, which was soon " slashed " to prevent the enemy
from turning the position by a flank attack.
It is hard to comprehend that, while }'ou have a new
world created on the moment within the lines of }*our
own army, there is just beyond the skirmish lines and
pickets another world, your enemy's, differing from
and yet very like to your own. While we had been
marching up the above-mentioned road and spreading
our lines for miles on either side the main field, much
as if a lobster should spread his claws, then convert his
tail into more claws spreading wider and wider, the
enemy had been busy within his territory. Between
these two sections, bus}' with life and action, there is a
debatable land, dark under the coming storm-cloud,
quiet amid the forces hurrying on either side, heavy with
the mists of death.
The skirmishers are men deployed at wide intervals,
elastic feelers the army puts forth, to meet it knows
not what. The assailants push, the defenders recoil,
until the main body receives them, and feels the force of
the attacking party. About nine o'clock we felt the
enemy's approach, and for five or six hours he was oc-
cupied in running his feelers along our lines, seeking
the weakest points, and making his dispositions of at-
tack. Meanwhile the gunboats from the James River
and our heavy guns posted in the rear threw great
shells over our heads. These shells sometimes acciden-
tally damaged ourselves, but generally they burst in the
woods where the Rebels were forming, or along the line
of their march, and with excellent effect. The direc-
tion of the fire was controlled by the Signal Corps.
McCLELLAN AND THE PENINSULA. 51
" What did you do, in all these six hours? " That is
the hardest question of all. To be dressed for an even-
ing party and to wait a half-hour for the guests, is not
easy ; to be read}' and to wait five or six hours, when
the guests bring Minies, and the chance of a ba\'onet-
thrust, tries all the powers of a man. The line of
privates were kept at their fixed posts ; the conipany^ of-
ficers must be near by ; the field-officers took a little
wider range ; general and staff officers strolled about at
will, when not busy with the minor details of the plan
of defence. Every bit of shade, a steep bank, closed
and deserted houses, fence covers, single trees, each
became coignes of vantage where groups of waiting offi-
cers could while away {he weary interval. Criticism of
battles and generals flies fast and furious. Men sore
with a week's fighting, or exhausted by night marches,
are not gentle in their estimates of men or things.
Every incident is made much of. General Hooker
comes up the road with his staff. His reputation was
then making, and a bright halo rightly followed the ad-
mirable field-officer. He had not then been tried and
found wanting in the higher, the highest qualities of a
general. His presence, so gallant and soldier-like, was
just becoming known through the whole army. " That
man, don't you know Fighting Joe Hooker? Give
him a division, he knows what to do with it. I like to
see a general who knows what he is about. I am sick
of the indecision of a man who is alwaj's pulling at his
whiskers." This allusion to the well-known habits of a
worthy and most respectable Brigadier, never born to
command, caused a general smile. The speaker never
criticised another battle, for at sunset he was wrapped
in his blanket.
What good fellows the3 r were ! Griffin with the best
" soldier's eye " 1 of them all, now in his first week with
his brigade ; Butterfield, the one volunteer who mas-
tered the technique of field tactics, even better than the
regulars did ; and the Colonels, Wood bury of Michi-
1 Jomini thus characterizes the true soldierly intuition.
52 STORIES TOLD BY SOLDIERS.
gan, a tight-made red-bearded Saxon at the head of a
model regiment, and McQuaid, a solid New-Yorker.
Cass, the Irish leader of a full Irish American regiment,
had fallen at Gaines's ; so had Gove, the thoroughly edu-
cated Massachusetts Colonel ; so had Black, of Pennsyl-
vania, with "Forward, Sixty-ninth! Ch " on his
lips. The awful word was never S3*llabled, and another
led his regiment to the charge. And among the lesser
officers, lesser in rank, but not in the importance of their
service, for the}' wielded the mighty arm in this fight,
were the Lieutenants commanding batteries of field
artillery; Ames, one of the model officers from West
Point onward, Kingsbur} T , and Hazlitt, afterwards
killed at Antietam, now handling the old battery of in-
struction from West Point, which Griffin had vacated
for his promotion to a brigade of infantry. Waterman
of Rhode Island and Phillips of Massachusetts are
among the volunteers. Porter was himself an old offi-
cer of artillery ; he knew the latent power of that arm,
and to-day would use it to turn back the last attack Lee
and Jackson would have the strength to make.
There was a farm-house over on the left, and just in
rear of the line of batteries. The ice-house had been
opened, a pitcher and glasses had been seized from the
household, abandoned by the housekeeper, anc[ thirsty
warriors cooled themselves with the best of all drinks,
now made better and more precious by rarity. Even
whiskey or the strength-giving brandy could not com-
pete with ice-water here. Haversacks were opened,
and he who found a sandwich or a cold mutton-chop
was happy ; he who had hard-tack made the most of it.
The day wears on ; a breeze from the river .tempers
the fierce heat of the Southern sun. The sound of our
great guns mingles with the scattering shots of skir-
mishers, and the stealth}^ bullets of Rebel sharp-shooters
now beginning to take effect as the intervals lessened.
By three o'clock the enemy had reached his positions,
and his artillery opened a brisk fire upon our right and
centre. Almost immediately, the woods bordering oar
McCLELLAN AND THE PENINSULA. 53
main field swarmed with gray and butternut coats, and
regiments stepped briskly forward, firing as they
moved. Our batteries spoke quick and often. Shrap-
nell shells and case shot, fired with time fuses, burst
and scattered their bullets just in front of the advancing
ranks. Here and there a wide rent opens in the ordered
files ; it never closes, for another gap disorders the men
who would try to fill the first. On the left, where our
infantn- are solid and not impeded by the artillery, the}'
move obliquely forward, and add their galling fire to the
crash of the shells from tHe guns.
I have said that the woods came forward nearer to
Couch, and his position obliqued somewhat upon the
main field of battle. His infantry were also bearing
upon the Rebel lines now coming from the woods and
seeking to push forward to the line of batteries on the
swell of ground which was the main position to be held.
Couch's men rushed gallantly forward, with shouts and
cheers, and went beyond the intended lines of defence.
The General, alert and brave, but cool, was not carried
away by the enthusiasm. After the enemy were re-
pulsed, riding up, and switching his horse with a little
stick, he said eagerly, "That charge was all wrong!
Captain, if I am killed, be sure to say that I never com-
manded that movement."
No troops can stand such a fire, and the Rebel
brigades fell back under the cover of the woods after
half an hour or more of courageous effort. They came
out singly and picked up the wounded. On our side
we had not as yet suffered much. This was a smart
little action, but only the prelude to the battle of Mal-
vern Hill.
Comrades now meet again and exchange experiences.
The different arms congratulate each other for deeds,
observed perhaps better from points a little distant
from their actual occurrence. The jealousies of camp
life melt away in the more cordial service of the field ;
the three arms become as one in supporting the whole
body. The cavalry is the wings and eyes of the army.
54 STORIES TOLD BY SOLDIERS.
The infantry is the back-bone, the enduring frame, the
read}' fingers which never fail in the constant service
required of it. On its firm courage and patient endu-
rance the final success of all troops and of every cam-
paign must depend. But in certain contingencies, not
many, but important, the artillery becomes the leading
arm, and turns the fortune of the day. When a great
force is to be concentrated on one point, either for at-
tack or defence, then the power of guns and the skill of
the men who handle them become conspicuous.
There was no better soldier % on the field than Colonel
Woodbury, commanding the Fourth Michigan regiment.
We met in this pause. "Now, Colonel. 3*ou see what the
artillery can do ! " " Yes, I am glad to see an artillery
fight. I never saw the power of field guns before."
At sunset his bod^y was borne to the rear, and two days
after, his spirited little bay, christened u Baby," was
sent to his widow, sorrowing in her home at the West.
The field was now comparatively quiet, but not com-
fortable. The gun-boats had ceased firing as the lines
joined battle. The Rebels had crept up and gained
little points of cover, from which sharp-shooters might
give you that most miserable of deaths by one single
assassinating bullet. An officer would hardly lift his
field-glass when " whizz" would sing a minie, " phft"
it would thud into the brown earth, and a tiny column
of dust would mark the spot. This was not pleasant.
Lee's army, as well as McClellan's, had been roughly
handled in the half-dozen engagements of the week.
Magruder's and Huger's divisions were fresh, and they
meant to carry Malvern Hill by fier}* valor and the
sheer force of their onset. All the afternoon their
troops were massing, and our infantry sent us word that
the rebels were bringing up batteries in the woods
directly on our left front. We began to shell the
woods. Soon their guns opened fire from the shelter
of the trees bordering the main field, where the first
attack had been repulsed. This artillery fire was in-
tended to cover and assist Magruder's final attack. It
McCLELLAN AND THE PENINSULA. 55
was a pretty range, hardly twelve hundred yards. Our
shells burst regularly, sometimes at the very muzzles of
their guns, now marked by their own surging smoke.
The sun's rays were drooping, but at six o'clock
there was time to win or lose a battle. The masses of
men who had been gathering opposite the main field
poured oui from the woods. Regiments in line reached
out until they became brigades, and the brigades multi-
plied into divisions. All in good order they came, col-
ors flying, officers at their posts, men elbow to elbow,
marching as if on parade, the front lines firing as they
marched. But a thousand yards under your enemy's
cool and regular fire makes a long course of attack.
The steps are many, and at every step men drop. The
brave are wounded, cowards faint. Our guns, which
had been elevated at three degrees, were lowered to
two and a half, to two, to one and a half, and were
trained in the faces of the great mass drawing nearer
and nearer. Shrapnel! shells and case shot, bursting
just in front of the coming lines, showered down leaden
balls and fragments of broken iron. The ranks were
rent open ; men were winged and hipped ; but worse
than the individual losses was the disorder, physical
and moral, the "breaking and jangling of the nice ma-
chine built up with such careful skill. Regiments lost
their regimen ; colors were stricken down, officers killed
or disabled, men bewildered, made hopeless, scattered
under the merciless shells and the converging bullets of
the infantry. It seemed like thrusting a fagot of icicles
against white-heated iron. Your weapon fails, and you
know not where or how. The force and organization,
well enough when not overtasked, become naught before
a vastly superior force.
The sight was dreadful ; the sound was worse. The
air was torn by explosions ; not spli't, but rent and torn,
by so many discharges, into jagged vibrations, weird
and terrible. All these sounds swelled into one mighty
roar.
Toward sunset, the wind, which had purified the
56 STORIES TOLD BY SOLDIERS.
afternoon, died away, and left the guns and musketry
in their own atmosphere. The increasing volumes of
smoke rolled over the field and hung over the tree-tops,
murky, dark, and dismal. The cheery light of day was
gone, and the evening was beclouded with this infernal
darkness, lighted by blazing gunpowder. The attack-
ing party did better under these conditions. They
crept up under cover of the smoke until within one or
two hundred .yards of our guns. Then the batteries
rattled out canister shot, deadly at close range, and
drove them back. Gradually the enemy's fire slack-
ened, as iris gallant but ill-planned effort failed.
About twenty guns did the most of the work ; but they
were relieved in some cases two and three times, as the
batteries expended their ammunition. Ames had light
twelve-pounders, the very best field gun for a close en-
counter. Kingsbury's West Point battery was relieved
b3 T Weeden's of Rhode Island, commanded by Lieut.
Waterman, and a section of Phillips's.
These few minutes of description cover some three
hours of work. And, frightful as it seems in imagina-
tion, it was done much as other work is done. Reso-
lute men worked together, performing simple acts under
pressure of the most exciting circumstances. Mistakes
were made, and righted. The result was a great
achievement and heroic, but the deeds of individuals
were simple, and done in a simple way. A soldier
doing his duty thinks little of himself. Even the horses
submit patiently to the inevitable. My own horse
dragged wearily about. It did not seem strange, as his
week's service had been hard, that he would not answer
to the spur. But General Griffin, coming up, says,
44 Captain, your horse is wounded." Looking down, I
saw that one hinder leg was soaked in blood. He
went to the rear carrying the ball, which was afterward
extracted.
One forgets the more horrible scenes, or perhaps
rather ignores them. I could not have said whether
the livid corpses were Caucasian or African, for I did
McCLELLAN AND THE PENINSULA. 57
not look at them as I rode among them. And little
bits of action which were dramatic live in the memoiy,
though they might be trifles m historic importance. A
section of New York guns was on our right, beginning
Couch's left. Their position obliqued their direction
over the heads of some infantry. The fire looked high
as the shells swept across. "At what elevation are
3*ou firing, Lieutenant? " " Five degrees ! " " Five de-
grees, 3~ou might as well turn around and fire into the
James River." " 'T is General Couch's order, sir!"
Just then the General rode along. "General, these
guns are wasting their ammunition away over the heads
of the enenry." " But the infantry sent word the shells
burst among our own ranks." " General, the infantry
always think themselves hurt when fired over, whether
we point high or low. If you want to hurt the enemy,
3*ou must take the risk, and put the guns down where
they will tell." " Well, Captain, do as you think best
with them." And they were laid at a degree and a half.
My own command had been relieved, battery by
batten^. I went up to the centre of the line and
found General Porter, to know if there were any fur-
ther commands. Beside the corps commander was
General Hunt, chief of the artillery reserve of the Army
of the Potomac. At the rear there was a battery of
thirty-two-pounder howitzers, big light pieces, which
throw canister 133^ the hatful. Porter wanted them
brought up, but Hunt was doubtful whether the can-
noneers were experienced enough to be trusted in the
thick of that fight. The3' were talking quietly, even
in the din around them. Porter said very earnest^ 7 ,
" Why, Hunt, the sound of those guns will fill their
ears with terror." It was so unconscious, and so melo-
dramatic, that the humor of the scene has alwa3's lin-
gered in m3 T mind.
It was late in the evening. I turned down the road
toward Malvern House, in the rear. There were steep
banks on either side as the wa3 T descended. Bang !
bang ! a battery on my left was firing a whole round.
58 STORIES TOLD BY SOLDIERS.
I shivered with horror ; and almost with the thought
my horse sprang up the bank and bounded into the
space between guns and limbers. " Who is in com-
mand here ? " A sergeant gave the well-known name
of a crack officer in the horse artillery, and he came up,
almost at the moment. u Captain, }-ou are firing right
through our own line." " D n it, I can't help it. I
was ordered to fire when I was fired on, and the bul-
lets came in here ; I could not see." " Cease firing ! "
No serious harm came from it. A second line of guns
had been posted with orders to open on friend and foe
alike if bur first line had given way.
After nine o'clock, the uproar ceased. I found my
own mess, and ate a rude but welcome supper. We
lay down on a tarpaulin gun-cover, but not to sleep ;
for the adjutant-general soon found his way, by the light
of a lantern, to this uneasy couch. He brought orders
to move, and before midnight and for ail night we were
marching to Harrison's Landing.
We brought off our own wounded and dead. In the
early morning, Averill held the line our batteries had
defended so well, and then quietly left the field of
Malvern Hill, thickly strewn with the Rebel dead.
Capt. Weeden, First R. I. Artillery.
During the same summer Banks was in command
in the valley of the Shenandoah. Here is a story
of that campaign :
FIGHT AT WINCHESTER.
Though our men were exhausted, when we came by
General Banks, and were ordered by him to the double-
quick, the whole regiment seemed electrified and went
on with a will for the fight. We passed the Twenty-
seventh Maryland drawn up in line of battle, and things
looked serious. Companies A and C were thrown out
as skirmishers, and the rest of the battalion acted as
WEST VIRGINIA. 59
supports to the line of skirmishers and to the batteries.
As we came into the street a battery at the other end
opened upon us with shells, that came raking along
furiously in perfect range. We stove in the street
fences and pushed along under some shelter. On we
passed through people's gardens, and gave the natives
some new notions on the subject of demolishing fences.
Bert's regular battery and Cotheau's New York soon
got into position, and we drove the enemy like sheep a
mile or two out of the town, not without some com-
pliments from their guns. The firing was good on both
sides. At one time we noticed some Rebel cavalry pour-
ing round on our flank ; a piece was sent out to treat their
case, and the first shell struck in the very centre of
them, it would have hit the bull's-eye. A member of
the 2d Mass.
HOW GENERAL BANKS'S AKMY WAS SAVED.
You have probably heard by this time of the three
days' fighting from Strasburg and Front Royal to Mar-
tinsburg. Our company and Company B were ordered to
Front Royal, in the mountains, twelve miles from Stras-
burg, last Friday, and when we got within two miles
of our destination we heard cannonading. The Major
ordered the baggage to stop, and our two companies
dashed on, and found several companies of our infantry
and two pieces of artillery engaged with several thou-
sand of the enemy. Just as we arrived on the field,
Colonel Parem, who had command of our forces, rode
up to me and ordered me to take one man and the two
fastest horses in the company and ride for dear life to
General Banks's head-quarters in Strasbnrg for rein-
forcements. The direct road to Strasburg was occu-
pied by the enemy, so I was obliged to ride round by
another, seventeen miles. I rode the seventeen miles
in fifty-five minutes. General Banks did n't seem to
think it very serious, but ordered one regiment of in-
fantry and two pieces of artillery off. I asked General
60 STORIES TOLD BY SOLDIERS.
Banks for a fresh horse to rejoin my company, and he
gave me the best horse I ever rode, and I started back.
I came out on the Front Ro\*al turnpike, about two miles
this side of where I left our men. Saw two men stand-
ing in the road, and their horses standing by the fence.
I supposed they were our pickets. They did n't halt me,
so I asked them if the}^ were pickets. They said no.
Says I, " Who are you? " u We are part of General
Jackson's staff." I supposed that they were only joking.
I laughed and asked them where Jackson was. They
said he was in the advance. I left them and rode to
Front Royal, till I overtook a soldier, and asked him
what regiment he belonged to. He said he belonged to
the Eighth Louisiana. I asked how large a force they
had, and the reply was " twenty thousand." I then
turned back and drew my revolver, expecting a des-
perate fight or a Southern jail ; but the officers in the
road didn't stop me, and I was lucky enough not to
meet any of their pickets. But if it was not a narrow
escape, then I don't know what is. When I got out of
the enemy's lines I rode as fast as the horse could carry
me to General Banks, and reported what I had seen
and heard. He said I had saved the army. In less
than an hour the whofe army was in motion towards
Winchester. C. H. Greenleaf, 5th N. Y. Cav.
CHAPTER V.
ANTIETAM.
A FTER the six days' change of base, General
-^^ McClellan made Harrison's Landing his
base of supplies; but he afterwards occupied
Malvern Hill again, and on the 5th of August
wrote from that place to Washington, that with
reinforcements he could march his army to Rich-
mond in five days.
To which General Halleck, in command at
Washington, replied by telegraph, " I have no rein-
forcements to send you," and immediately after-
wards bade him send cavalry and artillery up to
the Potomac at Acquia Creek again, saying, " It is
reported that Jackson is moving North with a very
large force." He had been already ordered to
withdraw the whole army to Acquia Creek (below
Washington), and had, on the 4th of August,
protested against this change.
The country and the President took the strategic
" change of base " as an acknowledgment of defeat,
and as in fact defeat. This General McClellan
never acknowledged. General Pope, who had
62 STORIES TOLD BY SOLDIERS.
been summoned from the West, was directed to
defend Washington ; and as fast as the army
could be hurried back from the James River, which
was now open to the Union steamboats, it was
placed under his command. Meanwhile, the Rebel
army again threatened Washington. The forts
erected by McClellan on the southern side of the
Potomac were its protection. But beyond them,
with his army but just back from the James River,
on almost the same ground as the battle of the
year before, General Pope fought Generals Stone-
wall Jackson and Longstreet, and was badly beaten.
Meanwhile General Lee, who probably never in-
tended to attack that strong line of forts, had taken
the larger part of his army northward, so as to
march around them, and to attack the Northern
Capitol, or the Northern States, as he might find
best, by crossing the Potomac, and moving thence
either on Washington or on "Philadelphia.
A second defeat at Bull Run discouraged the
country, and perhaps the army, as much as that of
a year before. Rightly or wrongly, the army and
the country conceived a great contempt for General
Pope, who had lost this battle. It was supposed
as it proved very unjustly that General Fitz John
Porter, one of the ablest officers in the army, had
refused his best assistance in the battle. Presi-
dent Lincoln, with the magnanimity which always
showed itself in his character, was willing to ac-
knowledge that he had made a mistake, and
ANTIETAM. 63
placed McClellan again at the head of the army,
which now had to defend Washington on the west.
Under him the battle of Antietam was fought on
the 17th of September.
OPENING OF THE BATTLE.
The night of the 16th was passed by both armies
with the expectation of a heavy battle in the morning.
Few officers found relief from anxiety, for it was be-
lieved by many that it might be a turning-point in the
war. Only the commander-in-chief of the National
army seems to have had a lofty faith that all would be
well. He retired to his room at a little past ten o'clock,
and did not leave it until eight o'clock the next morn-
ing, when the surrounding hills had been echoing the
sounds of battle which had been raging within a mile of
head-quarters for three hours. Then, with some of his
aids, he walked to a beautiful grove on the brow of a
declivity near Pry's, overlooking the Antietam, and
watched the battle on the right for about two hours,
when he mounted his horse and rode &vfa,y to Porter's
division, on the right, where he was greeted, as usual,
by the hearty cheers of his admiring soldiers.
The contest was opened at dawn by Hooker, with
about eighteen thousand men. He made a vigorous
attack on the Confederate left, commanded b}^ Jackson.
Doubleda}" was on his right, Meade on his left, and
Ricketts in his centre. His first object was to push the
Confederates back through a line of woods, and seize
the Hagerstown road and the woods beyond it in the
viciuit}- of the Dunker church, where Jackson's line lay.
The contest was obstinate and severe. The National
batteries on the east side of the Antietam poured an en-
filading fire on Jackson that galled him very much, and
it was not long before the Confederates were driven with
heavy loss be}x>nd the first line of woods, and across an
open field, which was covered thickl}- in the morning
with standing corn.
64 STORIES TOLD BY SOLDIERS.
Hooker now advanced his centre under Meade, to
seize the Hagerstown road and the woods be} T ond. They
were met by a murderous fire from Jackson, who had
just been reinforced by Hood's refreshed troops, and had
brought up his reserves. These issued in great num-
bers from the woods, and fell heavily upon Meade in the
cornfield. Hooker called upon Doubleday for aid, and
a brigade under the gallant General Hartsuff was in-
stantly forwarded at the double-quick, and passed across
the cornfield in the face of a terrible storm of shot and
shell. It fought desperately for half an hour unsup-
ported, when its leader fell severely wounded. In the
meanwhile, Mansfield's corps had been ordered up to
the support of Hooker, and while the divisions of
Williams and Greene of that corps were deploying, their
brave commander was mortally wounded. 1
This brave and good man was killed, almost
immediately after the battle began, and General
Williams took command of the Twelfth Corps.
For abont two hours the battle raged with varied
success. But the Union troops gradually drove
the left wing of their enemy back into a line of
woods. At about nine o'clock General Sedgwick's
division arrived, as a reinforcement. It passed
diagonally to the front across an open space before
General Williams's first division, and this division
was withdrawn for a time. Entering the woods
and driving the enemy before them, the first line
was met in the woods by heavy musketry and a
fire of shell. Meanwhile a stray column of the
1 I take this concise statement of the opening of the battle
from Mr. Lossing's admirable book, because he had the advantage,
which I have not had, of personal acquaintance with the scene.
E. E. H.
ANTIETAM. 65
enemy had crowded back General Greene, so that
their left flank was exposed. General Howard
faced the third line to the rear preparatory to a
change of front to meet this advancing column.
But his men, exposed, both in front and on the left,
to a destructive fire which they could not return,
gave way, and were soon followed by the first and
second lines.
General Gorman's brigade, however, and one
regiment of General Dana's, soon rallied, and
checked the enemy's advance on the right. On
General Gorman's left the second and third lines
formed, and met the advance of the enemy with a
heavy fire. This fire and the Union batteries on
the left, which were able to open as soon as the
infantry withdrew, threw the enemy back into the
woods again. As these movements went on, Gen-
erals Sedgwick and Dana and Hooker were all
wounded and were taken from the field. General
Howard took General Sedgvvick's command, and
General Meade took General Hooker's.
General McClellan's report of the continuation
of the battle is in these words :
FRENCH AND RICHARDSON.
While the conflict was so obstinately raging on the
right, General French was pushing his division against
the enemy still further to the left. This division crossed
the Antietam at the same ford as General Sedgwick,
and immediately in his rear. Passing the stream in
three columns, the division marched about a mile from
5
66 STORIES TOLD BY SOLDIERS.
the ford, then, facing to the left, moved in three lines
towards the eneni3 T . . . . The division was first assailed
by a fire of artillery, but steadily advanced, driving in
the enemy's skirmishers, and encountered the infantry
in some force at the group of houses near Roulette's
farm. General Weber's brigade gradually advanced
with an unwavering front, and drove the enemy from
their position about the houses.
While General Weber was hotly engaged with the
first line of the enemy, General French received orders
to push on with renewed vigor to make a diversion in
favor of the attack on the right. Leaving the new
troops, w r ho had been thrown into some confusion from
their march through cornfields, over fences, &c., to form
as a reserve, he ordered the brigade of General Kimball
to the front, passing to the left of General Weber. The
enemy were pressed back to near the crest of the hill,
where he was encountered in greater strength, posted in
a sunken road, forming a natural rifle-pit, running in a
north westerly direction. In a cornfield in rear of this
road were also strong bodies of the enemy. As the line
reached the crest of this hill, a galling tire was opened
upon it from the sunken road and cornfield. Here a
terrific fire of musketry burst from both lines, and the
battle raged along the whole line with great slaughter.
The enemy attempted to turn the left of the line, but
were met by the Seventh Virginia and One Hundred
Thirty-second Pennsylvania Volunteers and repulsed.
Foiled in this, the enemy made a determined assault on
the front, but were met by a charge from our lines,
which drove them back with some loss, leaving in our
hands some three hundred prisoners and several stand
of colors. The enemy, having been repulsed by the ter-
rible execution of the batteries and the musketry fire on
the extreme right, now attempted to assist the attack
on General French's division by assailing him on his
right, and endeavoring to turn his flank ; but this attack
was met and checked by the Fourteenth Indiana and
Eighth Ohio Volunteers, and by canister from Captain
ANTIETAM. 67
Tompkins's battery, First Rhode Island Artillery. Hav-
ing been under an almost continuous fire for nearly four
hours, and their ammunition being nearly exhausted,
this division now took position immediately below the
crest of the heights on which they had so gallantly
fought, the enemy making no attempt to regain their
lost ground.
On the left of General French, General Richardson's
division was hotly engaged. Having crossed the Antie-
tam about 9.30 A. M., at the ford crossed by the other
divisions of Sumner's corps, it moved on a line nearly
parallel to the Antietam, and formed in a ravine be-
hind the high grounds overlooking Roulette's house ;
the Second (Irish) Brigade, commanded by General
Meagher, on the right, the Third Brigade, commanded
by General Caldwell, on his left, and the brigade com-
manded by Colonel Brooks, Fiftr-third Pennsylvania
Volunteers, in support. As the division moved forward
to take its position on the field, the enemy directed a
fire of artillery against it, but, owing to the irregularities
of the ground, did but little damage.
Meagher's brigade, advancing steadily, soon became
engaged with the enemy posted to the left and in front
of Roulette's house. It continued to advance under a
heavy fire nearly to the crest of the hill overlooking Pi-
per's house, the enemy being posted in a continuation
of the sunken road, and cornfield, before referred to.
Here the brave Irish brigade opened upon the enemy a
terrific musketry fire. All of General Sumner's corps
was now engaged, General Sedgwick's on the right,
General French in the centre, and General Richardson
on the left. The Irish brigade sustained its well-earned
reputation. After suffering terribly in officers and men,
and strewing the ground with their enemies as they
drove them back, their ammunition nearly expended,
and their commander, General Meagher, disabled by
the fall of his horse, shot under him, this brigade was
ordered to give place to General Caldwell's brigade,
which advanced to a short distance in its rear. The
68 STORIES TOLD BY SOLDIERS.
lines were passed by the Irish brigade, breaking by
company to the rear, and General Cald well's, by com-
pany to the front, as steadily as on drill. Colonel
Brooks's brigade now became the second line.
The ground over which General Richardson's and
French's divisions were fighting was very irregular, in-
torsected by numerous ravines, hills covered with grow-
ing corn, enclosed by stone walls, behind which the
enemy could advance unobserved upon any exposed
point of our lines. Taking advantage of this, the enemy
attempted to gain the right of Richardson's position in
a cornfield, near Roulette's House, where the division
had become separated from that of General French. A
change of front by the Fifty-Second New York and
Second Delaware Volunteers, of Colonel Brooks's brig-
ade, under Colonel Frank, and the attack made by the
Fifty-third Pennsylvania Volunteers, sent further to the
right by Colonel Brooks to close this gap in the line,
and the movement of the One Hundred Thirty-second
Pennsylvania and Seventh Virginia Volunteers, of Gen-
eral French's division, before referred to, drove the
enemy from the cornfield, and restored the line.
The brigade of General Caldwell, with determined
gallantry, pushed the enemy back opposite the left and
centre of this division, but sheltered in the sunken road
they still held our forces on the right of Caldwell in
check. Colonel Barlow, commanding the Sixtj^-first
and Sixty-fourth New York regiments, of Caldwell's
brigade, seeing a favorable opportunity, advanced these
regiments on the left, taking the line on the sunken
road in flank, and compelled them to surrender, captur-
ing over three hundred prisoners and three stand of
colors.
The whole of the brigade, with the Fifty-seventh and
Sixty-sixth New York regiments of Colonel Brooks's
brigade, who had moved these regiments into the first
line, now advanced with gallantly, driving the enemy
before them in confusion into the cornfield beyond the
sunken road. The left of the division was now well ad-
ANTIETAM. 69
vanced, when the enemy, concealed by an intervening
ridge, endeavored to turn its left and rear. Colonel
Cross, Fifth New Hampshire, by a change of front to
the left and rear, brought his regiment facing the ad-
vancing line. Here a spirited contest arose to gain a
commanding height, the two opposing forces moving
parallel to each other, giving and receiving fire. The
Fifth, gaining the advantage, faced to the right and de-
livered its volley. The enemy staggered, but rallied
and advanced desperately at a charge. Being rein-
forced ~by the Eighty-first Penns}*lvania regiment, these
regiments met the advance by a counter charge. The
enemy fled, leaving man}' killed, wounded, and prison-
ers, and the colors of the Fourth North Carolina in our
hands. Gen. McClellarfs Official Report.
GREENE'S CHARGE.
At last their line began to waver, and General Greene
shouted, " Charge ! " With a yell of triumph we started,
with levelled bayonets ; and, terror-stricken, the Rebels
fled. Like hounds after the frightened deer, we pur-
sued them fully three fourths of a mile, killing, wound-
ing, and taking prisoners almost every rod. Their colors
fell : a private soldier leaped forward, and tore them from
the staff.
Across the fields we pursued the foe, who again took
shelter in a heavy piece of timber, flanked by their
artiller}'. A battery of twelve-pounder howitzers came
to our support, and most efficient service it rendered.
We formed in two lines in rear of the battery, and lay
behind a low ridge, sufficiently high to protect from a
direct shot, but which offered no shelter from the frag-
ments of shells bursting near and over us ; these were
continually striking amongst us, often grazing a cap or
an arm, but doing no particular harm. The howitzers
were doing splendidly, when suddenly we heard, " But
eight rounds left ! " Twenty more rounds would silence
the Rebel battery, but we had them not. Soon the
70 STORIES TOLD BY SOLDIERS.
Rebel fire was more rapid, and a yell in the distance
denoted an advance of their infantry. Shall we retreat?
No ! we will hold our ground or die ! On they come,
yeiKng defiantly : 't is Hill's division, second to none but
Jackson's. We look anxiously for another battery. It
comes ! it comes ! We are safe ! Maj. Wood, 7th Ohio.
THOUGHT FOR THE WOUNDED.
As we neared the grove, it was at the corner of the
field, a regiment of Rebels, who had lain concealed
among the tall corn, arose and poured upon us the most
withering volley we had ever felt. Another and another
followed, and a continuous rattle rent the air. We
could not stop to reply, we could but huny on. The
slaughter was fearful ; I never saw men fall so fast ; I
was obliged to step over them at every step
We reached the grove, and drove the Rebels from it.
They retired obliquely into the corn-field, keeping up a
retreating fire. I observed, not thirt}* yards from me,
two stout Rebels assisting a wounded comrade from the
field, supporting his fainting form between them. I
could have killed one of them ; their backs were pre-
sented toward me very temptingly. I was going to fire,
but at that moment I heard the wounded man groan. I
hesitated. Could I shoot one of the men who were
bearing him awa}', and allow him again to fall to the
earth ? I could not. I sought another mark ; and seeing
a Rebel in the act of loading his gun, just at the edge
of the cornfield, I fired at him. Serg. Hill, 8th Penn.
Reserves.
MAINE AT ANTIETAM.
The Maine Seventh was ordered to drive the enemy
from a strong position about nine hundred yards in front
of the line of battle. Every private in the ranks knew
that a brigade of the enemy was massed there with a
battery of artillery, and that an awful blunder had been
ANT1ETAM. 71
made, but obedience is the first duty of a soldier. The
order was given to the regiment to advance. On they
went across the field under a shower of bullets, halting
twice to return the fire of the enem}'. After halting the
second time to deliver their fire, the regiment rushed
forward with such a cheer as only the " Seventh" can
give, driving the enemy before them.
The Rebels now took refuge behind a stone wall and
opened a galling fire of musketry. At this point the
regiment had arrived within range of one of our bat-
teries, which had been playing upon the enemy, and, not
aware of the advance, our forces continued firing. The
Rebels opened their battery with grape and canister.
The regiment seemed now devoted to destruction, yet
the men delivered their fire with steadiness and terrible
effect as the}' moved by the left flank to gain the cover of
an orchard. Thence through a cornfield, by a circuitous
route, they returned to their old position in line of bat-
tle. Not a man had straggled, all that the bullets had
spared were there ; but how thinned the ranks ! Only
sixty-five men now constitute the gallant " Seventh
Maine." Portland Press.
BURNSIDE'S ATTACK ON THE LEFT.
The Antietam in front of Burnside was deep, not
fordable, flowing in the bottom of a charming valley,
and overshadowed by trees. There was a solid stone
bridge over it, with three arches rising picturesquely in
the centre, with stone parapets on the sides, the para-
pets spreading at both ends of the structure. One
would almost imagine that it was an old Italian bridge,
transported to our modern building land. The side of
the valley held by the Rebel troops rises sharply, not
denseh' wooded, but covered by large trees thickly placed
as in an old English park. Along the top of this ridge
ran a solid stone wall, thicker and of heavier stones
than any we saw in the neighborhood. Where the wall
ended rifle-pits had been dug. Behind the massive
72 STORIES TOLD BY SOLDIERS.
trunks, and in the branches of the old trees, behind this
wall, and in the pits, were crowded the sharp-shooters
of the Rebels. The ascent from the bridge out of the
vallejr on the enemy's side was too steep for a straight
road up the ridge. If ever a bridge could be defended,
that should have been ; the only disadvantage the
Rebels were under was that they could not sweep it with
artillery.
Our left had vainly attempted to cross the bridge ;
twice had they been repulsed. On the right our troops
were hard pressed ; much of the ground gained in the
morning had been lost ; Hooker had been wounded,
Sumner's corps routed, Mansfield killed, and his corps
beaten back. Then McClellan ordered Burnside to take
the bridge, and hold it any cost. Burnside sent some
troops further down the river where it was fordable.
He called up one of his old brigades that had been with
him in North Carolina, saying, if any brigade could take
the bridge, that one would. It was composed of the
Fifty-first New York, Fifty-first Pennsylvania, Twenty-
first Massachusetts, and a Rhode Island regiment ; on
their colors were inscribed "Roanoke," u Newbern,"two
of our most glorious victories. With these veteran
troops was the Thirty-fifth Massachusetts, a new regi-
ment that had left home only a month before, but who
nobly did their part. Down went the Fifty-first Penn-
sylvania in column in the advance, at the run, shouting
and crowding and firing as they hurried across the
bridge, bringing down the Rebels from the trees, suffer-
ing themselves, but never halting. They crossed and
deployed on the other side. Next came the Thirty-
fifth Massachusetts over the bridge, up the valley, then
forming in line of battle on the top of the small hill com-
manding the stream. The enemy were drawn up before
them, quite a distance off, on the top of the next hill.
Every inch of ground between was commanded by the
Rebel fire ; but our brave fellows charged on up this
hill, driving the foe before them. Nothing daunted,
they followed up their charge, and drove the enemy from
ANT I ET AM. 73
this hill and took this most commanding position. There
they halted, close to Sharpsburg, almost in the rear of
the Rebels. Some of our troops even penetrated to
Sharpsburg itself, and were taken prisoners. A short
distance farther would have cut off the enemy's direct
retreat to the Potomac. Rebel troops were seen hurry-
ing on the road to the river. Our men were now fired
upon by artiller}', and attacked by fresh bodies of in-
fantry coming up, as the enemy say in their account,
from Harper's Ferry. Our brave fellows, however,
stood their ground waiting for reinforcements, which
Burnside called for. But McClellau, unfortunately,
dared not throw in his reserves ; his object had probably
been gained in making a diversion from the hard con-
tested field on our right. Our gallant fellows had to
stand there unsupported, until their ammunition gave
out. They fired their sixty rounds of ammunition, col-
lecting all they could from their dead and wounded
comrades, and then began to retreat. Benjamin's bat-
tery of artillery was also short of ammunition, and could
not support them. Our brave boys only retreated to
the next hill, not to the hill above the Antietam, and
there lay on their arms during the night, and there
they stayed during the next day, expecting the order to
advance. G. W. Loring, in the Continental Magazine.
CHAPTER VI.
PITTSBURG LANDING.
," said Uncle Fritz, "you are an old-
fashioned sort of boy. Do you remember
anything about Washington's success at the battle
of Trenton ? "
" Wh}% yes," said Tom ; "it says that they had
driven him across the Delaware, and had stretched
their array all over New Jersey; and that Wash-
ington said, l This is the time to clip their wings,
now they are so spread.' So he turned round and
took all the Hessians at Trenton, and a few days
after cut in on them at Princeton. And they say
he might have taken another set at Brunswick,
but his council of war would not let him. I hate
councils of war."
" They are pretty much out of fashion now,"
said Uncle Fritz. " Just that sort of thing, which
Washington did there, is what the Southern Gen-
erals Johnston and Beauregard tried to do with
Grant's army on the Tennessee. If you will look on
the map, you will see that, at the western part of
its course, the Tennessee River flows nearly north.
P1TTSBURG LANDING. 75
When General Grant took command of the National
army, on the 17th of March, 1862, he found it in
five ' divisions,' l ranged along this river. General
Sherman and General Hurlbut, with about half the
army, were at Pittsburg Landing, on the west
side of the river. They commanded two 4 divis-
ions/ and were farthest south, which is to say
nearest the enemy. General Lew Wallace, with
another division, was on the same side of the river,
about five miles farther north. General McCler-
nand and General Charles F. Smith, with two more
divisions, making about half the army, were at
Savanna, or in transports near it, still farther
north. As soon as Grant took command, he gave
orders to concentrate this force. On the other
-side, as soon as Johnston felt strong enough, he
meant to attack its advance, under Hurlbut and
Sherman, before it was strengthened, and this he
did in the beginning of April. It was precisely
what Washington did, with much smaller forces,
at Trenton, but that the English army there was
at posts separated by land, and here a navigable
river gave Grant's divisions easy methods of move-
ment. The Rebel army had been concentrated
around Corinth, which is in the northern part of
Mississippi. There was some skirmishing between
outposts as early as the 2d of April. On the 4th,
Johnston ' felt Sherman's front,' as soldiers say,
1 By " division " was meant a separate command, of which
the officers reported to the general at the head.
76 STORIES TOLD BY SOLDIERS.
in force. But both Grant and Sherman thought
there was no probability of an immediate engage-
ment. Here they were mistaken. For on the 6th
of April came one of the most terrible battles of
the war, or any war. which did not end, indeed,
till the final retreat of the defeated Rebel force on
the 7th. Johnston and Beauregard attacked with
their whole force the divisions of Hurlbut and
Sherman. Lew Wallace did not succeed in bringing
up the support of his division till night of the 6th.
At night McClernand's and Smith's divisions be-
gan to arrive from Savanna, and with the morning
Grant was able to move these fresh troops against
the enemy, who had been fighting all the day be-
fore. They gave way slowly, and he drove them
back to Corinth. On the first day they had driven
back Sherman's and Hurlbut's lines so far, as
to take possession of their camps. On the 7th
they were themselves driven back. But many of
the prisoners whom they took the first day were
not recaptured. The loss, in both days, of the
National army was twelve thousand two hundred
and seventeen. The loss of the Rebels was ten
thousand six hundred and ninety-nine.
" Remember that the battle-field reaches back from
the bluffs at Pittsburg Landing two or three miles.
It is a thickly- wooded and broken country, mixed
with some patches of cultivation. The river was
,very high, so that back-water filled deep the little
streams which run into it. As the battle began,
P1TTSBURG LANDING. 77
Sherman commanded at the extreme right, and a
little stream called Owl Creek protected him from
any attack from the west or the rear. Between
him and the Tennessee were McClernand's and
Prentiss's forces, with Stuart nearest the river.
In a second line, behind these troops were General
Hurlbut and General W. H. L. Wallace, whom
you must riot confound with General Lew Wallace,
who was five miles away. These officers were so
near that their men could be moved up at once to
support the front. The troops were all Western
troops, some of whom had never been under fire.
" Now I think you will understand these stories
of parts of the battle. The very earliest attack, at
three o'clock in the morning, was made on General
Prentiss's men. Colonel Everett Peabody, of the
Twenty-fifth Missouri, 'by one of those undefinable
impulses or misgivings which detect the approach
of catastrophe without physical warning of it, be-
came convinced that all was not right.' He com-
manded the first brigade of General Prentiss's
division. Very early Sunday morning, therefore,
he sent out three companies of his own regiment,
and two of the Twelfth Michigan, under the com-
mand of Major Powell of that regiment, to recon-
noitre."
Here is the report of that movement, as it is told
by the senior surviving officer :
The regiment occupied the right of the first brigade,
commanded b}^ Colonel Peabody, acting brigadier-gen-
78 STORIES TOLD BY SOLDIERS.
eral, and had the honor of opening the fight on the 6th,
the attack being made on its front at three o'clock in
the morning. By Colonel Peabody's orders three com-
panies were despatched to engage the enemy's advance,
which was successfully done until reinforced by the
Twenty-first Missouri. The fighting now became gen-
eral and heavy, and I was ordered to support with the
whole regiment. The enemy had now come within half
a mile of the encampment, where they were checked and
held until near seven o'clock, when our force fell back
to the line of encampment, where another stand was
made. The fighting was ver} 7 severe until eight o'clock,
when we were compelled to fall back still further, behind
our encampments, on the division which had by this
time formed in line of battle on an elevation in our rear.
My regiment had, by this time, become badly cut up,
but they rallied and took position on the right of the
Twelfth Michigan, with the loss of several of my most
valuable officers. The fighting now became most deter-
mined, and continued with little intermission for three
hours. The enemy, being thrice repulsed, finally moved
to our left. It was in this part of the engagement
that Major Powell fell mortally wounded, and Ser-
geant Euler, color-bearer, was killed, clinging to the
staff till it had to be detached from his grasp by Ser-
geant Simmons, who took his place. Lieut.- Col.
Van Horn.
- The Rebels, you see, were steadily gaming
ground here. General Prentiss with a part of
his command stood too firmly, for they were
taken prisoners, being surrounded by the Rebel
advance.
Now here is the account which the Twenty-first
Missouri give, who, as you see, reinforced these
companies.
PITTSBURG LANDING. 79
On the 5th with three companies I made a reconnois-
sance over three miles, which failed to discover the
enenry. I returned to my encampment about eleven
p. M. On Sunday morning, the 6th, at about six
o'clock, by order of Colonel Everett Peabody, com-
manding the first brigade, sixth division, I advanced
with five companies of my command a short distance
from our encampment. I met the retreating pickets
bringing in their wounded. I ordered and compelled
those who were able for duty to return to their posts,
and, learning that the enemy was advancing in force, I
sent for the remaining five companies of my regiment.
With them I ordered an advance, and attacked the
enemy, who were commanded by General Buggies. A
terrific fire was opened upon us from the whole front of
the four or five regiments forming the enemy's advance,
which my gallant soldiers withstood until I had com-
municated the intelligence of the movement against us
to my commanding general. About this time, being my-
self severety wounded, the bone of the leg below the
knee being shattered, I was compelled to retire from
the field, leaving Lieut. -Col. Woodj'ard in command.
Col. Moore.
Now here is Colonel Woodyard's story of what
happened there :
I then assumed command of the regiment, and formed
a line of battle on the brow of a hill on the cotton-field,
facing nearl}* west. I held this position for some half
or three quarters of an hour, and kept the enemy in
check. " He fell back, and attempted to outflank me.
Discovering this, I moved my line to the north of the
hill again, joined by four companies of the Sixteenth
Wisconsin infantry. Having no field-officers with them,
I ordered them to a position to the east of the field, and
as soon as this was done joined them with my command.
This line of battle, formed facing south, behind a small
incline, enabled my men to load and be out of the range
80 STORIES TOLD BY SOLDIERS.
of the enemy's fire. The position proved a strong one,
and we managed to hold it for upwards of an hour.
Finding they could not dislodge us, the enemy again
tried to outflank us and deal a cross-fire. We then fell
back in good order, firing as we did so, to the next hill.
Colonel Peabody, commanding first brigade, here came
up with the Twenty-fifth Missouri regiment. I requested
him to bring his men up to the hill on our right, as it would
afford protection to his men and be of assistance to my
command. He did so, but the enemy coming by
heavy main centre, and dealing a cross-fire upon our
right and left, we could not maintain this position for
over thirty minutes. We gradually began to fall back,
and reached our tents, when the ranks got broken in
passing through them. We endeavored to rally our
men in the rear of our tents, and formed as well as
could be expected, but my men got much scattered, a
great many falling into other regiments under the im-
mediate command of General Prentiss ; others divided
to other divisions, but continued to fight during the two
days. Col. Woody ard.
We cannot follow everybody's account of what
he and his men did, in this fashion. But I be-
lieve Tom and Walter read all the despatches,
and down on the beach the next day they fought
it all out by putting lines of white stones for our
men, and black stones for the Rebels. But this
is enough to show you how they tell the story.
You will see that Prentiss was being steadily
driven back. This being so, General Hurlbut
moved up to aid him. Here is a part of his re-
port :
A single shot from the enemy's batteries struck in
Meyers's Thirteenth Ohio battery, when officers and
men, with a common impulse of disgraceful cowardice,
PITTSBURG LANDING. 81
abandoned the entire battery, horses, caissons, and
guns, and fled, and I saw them no more until Tuesday.
I called for volunteers from the artillery : the call was
answered, and ten gallant men from Mann's battery
and Ross's battery brought in the horses, which were
wild, and spiked the pieces. The attack commenced on
the third brigade, through the thick timber, and was
met and repelled by a steady and continuous fire, which
rolled the enem}' back in confusion, after some half-hour
of struggle, leaving many dead and wounded.
The glimmer of ba}~onets on the left and front of the
first brigade showed a large force of the enemy gather-
ing, and an attack was soon made on the Forty-first
Illinois and Twenty-eighth on the left of the brigade,
and on the Thirty-second Illinois and Third Iowa on
the right. At the same time a strong force of very
steady and gallant troops formed in columns, doubled
on the centre, and advanced over the open field in front.
They were allowed to approach within four hundred
3'ards, when fire was opened from Mann's and Ross's bat-
teries, and from the two right regiments of the first brig-
ade, and the Seventeenth and Twenty-fifth Kentucky,
which were thrown forward slightly so as to flank the
column. Under this withering fire the}- vainly attempted
to deploy, but soon broke, and fell back under cover,
leaving not less than one hundred and fifty dead and
wounded as evidence how our troops maintained their
position.
The attack on the left was also repulsed ; but, as
the ground was covered with trees, the loss could
not be judged. General Prentiss having succeeded
in rallying a considerable portion of his command,
I permitted him to pass to the front of the right of my
third brigade, where they redeemed their honor by
maintaining that line for some time, while ammuni-
tion was supplied to m} T regiments. A series of attacks
upon the right and left of my line were readily repelled,
until I was compelled to order Ross's battery to the
rear, on account of its loss in men and horses. During
6
82 STORIES TOLD BY SOLDIERS.
all this time Mann's battery maintained its fire steadily,
effectively, and with great rapidity, under the excellent
handling of Lieut. E. Brotzmann.
For five hours these brigades maintained their posi-
tion under repeated and heavy attacks, and endeavored,
with their thin ranks, to hold the space between Stew-
art and McClernand, and did check ever}' attempt to
penetrate the line ; when, about three o'clock, Colonel
Stewart, on my left, sent me word that he was driven
in, and that I would be flanked on the left in a few
moments. It was necessary for me to decide at once
to abandon either the right or left. I considered that
Prentiss could, with the left of General McClernand's
troops, probably hold the right, and sent him notice to
reach out toward the right, and drop back steadily
parallel with my first brigade, while I rapidly moved
General Lanmanu's from the right to the left, and
called up two twent}'-pound pieces of Major Cavender's
battalion to check the advance of the enemy upon the
first brigade. These pieces were taken into action by
Doctor Cornine, the surgeon of the battalion, and
Lieut. Edwards, and effectually checked the enemy for
half an hour, giving me time to draw off my crippled
artillery and to form a new front with the third brigade.
In a few minutes two Texas regiments crossed the
ridge separating my line from Stewart's former one,
while other troops also advanced. Willard's battery
was thrown into position under command of Lieut.
Wood, and opened with great effect upon the lone-star
flags, until their line of fire was obstructed by the
charge of the third brigade, which, after delivering its
fire with great steadiness, charged full up the hill, and
drove the enemy three or four hundred yards. Per-
ceiving that a heavy force was closing on the left,
between my line and the river, while heav}* fire con-
tinued on the right and front, I ordered my line to fall
back. The retreat was made quietly and steadily, and
in good order. I had hoped to make a stand on the
line of my camp ; but masses of the enemy were press-
PITTSBURG LANDING. 83
ing rapidly on each flank, while their light artillery were
closing rapidly in the rear. On reaching the twenty-
four-pounder siege-guns in battery, near the river, I
again succeeded in forming line of battle in rear of the
guns, find, by direction of Major-General Grant, I
assumed command of all the troops that came up.
Broken regiments and disordered battalions came into
line gradually upon my division. Major Cavender
posted six of his twenty-pound pieces on my right, and
I sent my aid to establish the light artilleiy all that
could be found on my left. Many officers and men
unknown to me, and whom I never desire to know, fled
in confusion through the line. Many gallant soldiers
and brave officers rallied steadily on the new line.
I passed to the right, and found m3'self in communi-
cation with General Sherman, and received his instruc-
tions. In a short time, the enemy appeared on the
crest of the ridge, led by the Eighteenth Louisiana, but
were cut to pieces by the steady and murderous fire of
our artillery. Dr. Cornine again took charge of one
of the heavy twenty-four-pounders, and the line of fire
of that gun was the one upon which the other pieces
concentred. General Sherman's artillery, also, was
rapidly engaged ; and, after an artillery contest of
some duration, the enenty fell back. Captain Gwinn,
United States Navy, had called upon me, by one of his
officers, to mark the place the gun-boats might open
their _fire. I advised him to take position on the left of
my camp-ground, and open fire as soon as our fire was
within that line. He did so ; and from my own obser-
vation, and the statement of prisoners, his fire was most
effectual in stopping the advance of the enemy on Sun-
day afternoon and night.
About dark the firing ceased. I advanced my di-
vision one hundred yards to the front, threw out pickets,
and officers and men bivouacked in a heavy storm of
rain. Gen. Hurlbut.
84 STORIES TOLD BY SOLDIERS.
General Hurlbut's report is thus indorsed by
General Grant:
" This is a fair, candid report, assuming none too
much for officers or men of the division.
"U. S. GRANT,
Major- General."
Thus we have traced the history of the division
which met the very earliest attack, from three in the
morning to the end of that bloody day. Stewart's
brigade, detached at the left of Prentiss's main
force, had been driven back, as you have seen. The
Rebels in front of General Prentiss were under the
command of General Bragg. These accounts have
been by regimental officers and by General Hurl-
but. Uncle Fritz chose them as illustrations of the
way soldiers tell their story. Now you shall have
General Sherman's view of the whole, and of what
passed under his eye, stationed as he was on
Prentiss's right. To understand the time, you
should observe that it was a full hour after Pea-
body's outposts gave warning before they were
driven into Prentiss's camps. About seven the
Rebel General Gladden moved upon Prentiss's
centre, Chalmers's brigade on the left, and Jackson
on the right. Gladden was killed by a cannon-
shot. Peabody was mortally wounded in our lines.
Before nine o'clock the Confederates had driven
Prentiss from his camps. The attack on Sher-
man's front had been made at the same time, by
PITTSBURG LANDING. 85
General Hardee. By eight o'clock the battle was
raging on both these lines of attack.
About eight A.M., I saw the glistening baj^onets of
heavy masses of infantry to our left front in the woods
beyond the small stream alluded to, and became satis-
fied, for the first time, that the enemy designed a de-
termined attack on our whole camp. All the regiments
of my division were then in line of battle at their proper
posts. I rode to Colonel Appier and ordered him to
hold his ground at all hazards, as he held the left flank
of our first line of battle. I informed him that he had
a good battery on his right, and strong supports to his
rear. General McClernand had promptly responded to
my request, and had sent me three regiments, which
were posted to protect Waterhouse's battery and the
left flank of my line. The battle began by the enemy
opening a battery in the woods to our front, and throw-
ing shells into our camp. Taylor's and Waterhouse's
batteries prompt!} 7 responded, and I then observed
heav} 7 " battalions of infantry passing obliquely to the
left, across the open field in Appier's front ; also other
columns advancing directly upon my division. Our
infantry and artillery opened along the whole line, and
the battle became general. Other heavy masses of the
enemy's forces kept passing across the field to our left,
and directing their course on General Prentiss. I saw
at once that the enemy designed to pass my left flank,
and fall upon Generals McClernand and Prentiss,
whose line of camps was almost parallel with the Ten-
nessee River, and about two miles back from it. Ver} T
soon the sound of musketiy and artillery announced
that General Prentiss was engaged, and about nine
A. M. I judged that he was falling back.
About this time Appier's regiment broke in disorder,
soon followed by fugitives from Mungen's regiment,
and the enemy pressed forward on Waterhouse's bat-
tery, thereby exposed.
The three Illinois regiments in immediate support of
86 STORIES TOLD BY SOLDIERS.
this battery stood for some time ; but the enemy's ad-
vance was so vigorous, and the fire so severe, that
when Colonel Raith, of the Forty-Third Illinois, re-
ceived a severe wound and fell from his horse, his
regiment and the others manifested disorder, and the
enemy got possession of three guns of this (Water-
house's) battery. Although our left was thus turned
and the enemy was pressing on the whole line, I
deemed Shiloh so important that I remained by it and
renewed my orders to Colonels McDowell and Buckland
to hold their ground, and we did hold those positions
till about ten o'clock A. M., when the enemy got his
artillery to the rear of our left flank, and some change
became absolutely necessaiy.
Two regiments of Hildebrand's brigade, Appier's and
Mungen's, had alreadj^ disappeared to the rear, and
Hildebrand's own regiment was in disorder, and there-
fore I gave directions for Taylor's batterj 7 , still at
Shiloh, to fall back as far as the Purdy and Hamburg
road, and for McDowell and Buckland to adopt that
road as their new line. I rode across the angle, and
met Behr's battery at the cross roads, and ordered it
immediately to unlimber and come into battery, action
right. Captain Behr gave the order, but he was al-
most immediately shot from his horse, when drivers
and gunners fled in disorder, carrying off the cais-
sons, and abandoning five out of six guns without fir-
ing a shot. The enemy pressed on, and we were again
forced to choose a new line of defence. Hildebrand's
brigade had substantially disappeared from the field,
though he himself bravely remained. McDowell's and
Buckland's brigades still retained their organization,
and were conducted by my aids so as to join on Gen-
eral McClernand's right, thus abandoning my original
camps and line. This was about half past ten A. M.,
at which time the enemy had made a furious attack
on General McClernand's whole front. Finding him
pressed, I moved McDowell's brigade directly against
the left flank of the enemy, forced him back some
PITTSBURG LANDING. 87
distance, and then directed the men to avail them-
selves of every cover, trees, fallen timber, and a
wooded valley to our right. We held this position for
four long hours, sometimes gaining and at other times
losing ground, General McClernand and myself acting
in perfect concert, and struggling to maintain this line.
While we were so hardly pressed, two Iowa regiments
approached from the rear, but could not be brought
up to the severe fire that was raging in our front, and
General Grant, who visited us on that ground, will re-
member our situation about three p. M. ; but about four
p. M. it was evident that Hurlbut's line had been driven
back to the river, and, knowing that General Lew Wal-
lace was coming from Crump's Landing with reinforce-
ments, General McClernand and I, on consultation,
selected a new line of defence, with its right covering
the bridge by which General Wallace had to approach. 1
We fell back as well as we could, gathering, in addition
to our own, such scattered forces as we could find, and
formed a new line.
During this change the enemy's cavalry charged
us, but was handsomely repulsed by an Illinois regi-
ment, whose number I did not learn at the time or
since. 2 The Fifth Ohio battery, which had come up,
rendered good service in holding the eneni}' in check
for some time ; and Major Taylor came up with a new
batteiy, and got into position just in time to get a good
flanking fire upon the enemy's columns as he pressed
on General McClernand's right, checking his advance,
when General McClernand's division made a fine charge
on the enem}*, and drove him back into the ravines on
our front and right. I had a clear field, about two
hundred }-ards wide, in my immediate front, and con-
tented myself with keeping the enemy's infantry at
that distance during the rest of the da}'. In this posi-
tion we rested for the night. General Sherman.
1 But General Lew Wallace took the wrong road at starting,
and did not arrive before night.
2 It was the Twenty-ninth.
88 STORIES TOLD BY SOLDIERS.
And this must be all we can read of that terrible
first day at Shiloh, except one plucky little report
from an Illinois captain, who suspected that his
company had been accused of cowardice. As his
company lost even more than he says, namely,
six men killed and thirty-one wounded, more
than half the number he took into action, he might
have left that record to speak for itself. But he
could . not bear to have the living or the dead
maligned, so he sent in, " on his own hook," this
spirited little narrative.
Dear Sir : Enclosed please find list of killed,
wounded, and missing. I will avail im'self of this
opportunity to give }'ou a correct statement of things
that happened on the battle-field after our order to go
to the left (as to what happened before, there is no
dispute). I was ordered there by our colonel, who led
the way in person to the hollow, where we had the
severest part of the action, in which I participated.
We fought there until ordered to leave by the colonel
in person ; then I moved off with my company in as
good order as the nature of the case would admit, and
can say that a large part of the regiment could have
been rallied airywhere from two hundred yards of our
position to our quarters (where all assembled), if we
had had only one field-officer to have directed the move-
ment. I will also state that my men had shot away all
their ammunition, and in several instances had robbed
the boxes of the dead and wounded. Had we not been
compelled by the enem}' to fall back, we could not have
held our position longer for want of ammunition. After
my arrival in camp, I beat towards the river with all
rny company, all that was not detached to take care
of the wounded. When we arrived at the guard I was
pleased, for that was the first thing I had seen that
PITTSBURG LANDING. 89
looked like a place to stop ; here I stopped with my
squad, and with others formed and joined other frag-
ments of regiments and marched to the right, where we
lay on our arms all night. The next morning, I picked
up until I had sixteen men and my first-lieutenant, and
with Captain Davidson (our surgeon captain) reported
to you for duty ; as to what occurred after this, you
know as well as I do. I have only to add that I went
into the action with fifty-four men and three officers ;
lost, in killed, wounded, and missing, one lieutenant
and thirty men, leaving only twenty-four to fight and
take care of the wounded. And let me say that a
braver or better-behaved company of men never lived
on this continent ; you may stigmatize me as a coward,
but please make an exception to the brave men under
my command. I am getting old, and my fighting time
is almost done, consequent!}' it makes but little differ-
ence about me. I have a son and neighbor in this
action that his parent never expected to be disgraced
under my command. I also wear a sword presented to
me by an aged soldier father, who s stifl living to look
over the history of the Thirty-Second regiment Illinois
volunteers. What I say of my conduct, I suppose to
be true of other commanders of companies. . . . And
now allow me to say, to take everything into considera-
tion, I believe the Thirty-Second behaved as well, or
better, than an}' other regiment on the field that I have
heard of. I have only to add, that I expect never to
behave better in action while I live, and never expect a
better set of companies, consequently 3*011 need not
expect an} r better work of the Thirty-Second than they
have done. Capt. Campbell, 32d Illinois.
Night found the lines of Sherman and Prentiss
forced back with their left on the river at the
Landing. But at the Landing a batter}' of great
force had been formed, and the gun-boats had
moved up so as to shell the enemy in the woods.
90 STORIES TOLD BY SOLDIERS.
Lew Wallace had at last arrived with his division
b} T land, and General Buell with his by water,
so that the next day the tired regiments of Sun-
day's fight and the newly arrived reinforcements
had only to advance to drive the enemy back to
Corinth.
The Southern army had put all its men into the
battle. General Johnston, their commander-in-
chief, as well as Generals Gladden and Hindman.
were killed. On the Northern side, Prentiss had
been taken prisoner, and General W. H. L. Wallace
had been killed.
Of the second day the story is thus told by Gen-
eral Coppee :
The fresh troops were placed in line as they came
upon the field, ar in advance upon the ground aban-
doned by Beauregard after the failure of his last attack.
Nelson was on the left ; then, in order, Crittenden, Mc-
Cook, Hurlbut, McClernand, Sherman, and Lew Wal-
lace, the new line on the left nearly a mile in advance
of our position on Sundaj* evening
The battle of Monda} T began by a determined ad-
vance on our left and centre ; simultaneously with
which, Beauregard, having formed a strong rear-guard,
and whipping in all stragglers, undertook a vigorous
assault upon our left. He was still deceived into the
hope that he might capture the landing. The assault
upon Nelson was tremendous ; but while his troops
were wavering, in spite of all his efforts, the regular
battery of Captain Mendon had, detached by Buell
from Crittenden's division, come into action, unlimber-
ing at a jump, while the Rebels were rushing forward,
and, by rapid discharges of grape and canister, hurled
them back. Again and again fresh troops, were formed
PITTS BURG LANDING. 91
upon our left, but only to be driven back. At length
Hazen's brigade charged, captured a Rebel battery, and
turned it upon the astonished enemy.
Once more a Rebel charge, and Hazen is driven back,
when Terrill's battery, of McCook's division, being in
search of its position, is posted b} 7 General Buell at
the contested point. He opens with shell from his
ten-pounders, and grape and canister from his brass
twelves, and the brunt of the battle burns low in Nel-
son's front. Buell has admirably posted his artillery,
and the guns have been splendidly served. Nelson
can move forward. On his right, Crittenden and Mc-
Cook advanced abreast, but to meet with a stubborn
resistance. Throughout the war, as numerous exam-
ples could testify, the Rebel generals alwaj-s sought to
pierce our line at its weakest point, at some joint in
the armor. It was so now. In the slight interval
between Crittenden and McCook they endeavored to
force a passage. Rousseau, partially flanked, is driven
back, but rallies upon the support of Kirk's and Gib-
son's brigades.
On the right, Sherman and Wallace have advanced
with ardor to the same ridge occupied by the former on
Sunday morning. But here again furious battle was to
be joined, for the Rebels, when satisfied that they could
effect nothing on the left, had countermarched their
troops to try the right once more, and the little log
church of Shiloh was again to witness a desperate
struggle. By well-concerted movements, our troops
are kept well abreast throughout the whole line, and
when at length a concerted advance was made, in spite
of the great efforts of the enemy, it was successful. By
four o'clock the rebel commander had seen the useless-
ness of further effort ; b}~ half past five he was in full
retreat. Gen. Ooppee.
We cannot follow the details of the Western
campaign of that year; but must pass to the
siege and capture of Vicksburg.
CHAPTER VII.
VICKSBURG.
/
control of the Mississippi River was, for
each party, one of the most important objects
of the war. The navigation of that river by steam-
boats is very important for the States which bor-
der upon it and its branches. It also gives a very
easy method for the movement of troops. The city
of New Orleans grew to be the great city it was,
before the days of railroads, when almost all the
articles of trade produced in these great States were
sent down the river on their way to the markets
where they were sold. Cotton, pork, sugar, hemp,
tobacco, corn, wheat, and other productions of the
fertile Western and Southwestern States, were
sent down the river by steamboats to New Orleans.
As railroads have been built from the Mississippi,
across the country eastward to the ocean, the river is
not now the only means these States have of send-
ing their produce to market. Still the Mississippi
River is a very important channel for trade, and so
it was in the time of the war.
The United States government had therefore
seized Cairo, at the mouth of the Ohio, in the very
VICKSBURG. 93
beginning of the war, and this had become an im-
portant central point, as a dep6t of troops, food,
and ammunition. The Rebels had seized Memphis,
which stands on a high bluff on the eastern side of
the river and commands the passage. By this
word " commands," this is meant, that the bluff
is so high that cannons placed there are easily
fired downward upon vessels which try to pass,
while it is impossible for them to fire guns up, so
as to strike such batteries on the shores with any
great effect. When the Rebel armies were driven
towards the south, they could not hold Memphis,
and they withdrew their forces there. But in
place of Memphis they fortified Vicksburg, a city
of Mississippi, and it became what President Jeffer-
son Davis called the " Gibraltar of America." l
On the next page is a map, to show you how
admirably Vicksburg is situated for stopping the
passage of the river. The Mississippi, in one of
its winding frolics, doubles right in front of
Vicksburg. The river itself is less than half a
mile wide. The little neck just opposite the
city is three quarters of a mile wide. The bluff
on which the city stands is abrupt, and rises
two hundred feet above the river. A steam-
boat, therefore, which tried to pass down the Mis-
sissippi in front of Vicksburg would have to pass
the batteries twice, once northward, and again
1 Vicksburg is just below Walnut Hills, and just above the site
of Fort Adams. These places are often alluded to in the history
of the beginning of the century.
94
STORIES TOLD BY SOLDIERS.
close to the city southward. For, with guns as
high as two hundred feet above the object to be
struck, the distance even of a mile and three quar-
ters, which would be the farthest which a steam-
boat could take, would not be greater than the shot
could be thrown. Of course, when the boat turned
to go south, it would be close under the batteries.
The Rebels availed themselves carefully of these
advantages. They also fortified Port Hudson, in
Louisiana, lower down, for the purpose of prevent-
ing boats from coming up the river.
VICKSBURG. 95
To open the river again General Grant was to
take Vicksburg, and General Banks to take Port
Hudson. Each army had the assistance of what
President Lincoln called " our web-footed allies,"
by which he meant the vessels of the navy. With
Grant was Admiral Porter, who had sixty vessels
of all sorts, mostly river steamers ; this fleet carried
eight hundred men and two hundred and eighty
guns. At the beginning of the year 1863, when
the operations against Vicksburg began, Grant's
army, at all the posts of the Department of the Ten-
nessee, was one hundred and thirty thousand men.
General Grant took personal command of the
movement against Vicksburg on the 30th of Jan-
uary, 1863. On the 4th of July of that year, Gen-
eral Pemberton, the Rebel general who commanded
there, surrendered it to General Grant. In that
surrender Grant took prisoners thirty-one thou-
sand six hundred men, and one hundred and
seventy-two cannon. This was. at that time, the
largest capture of men and material ever made in
war. Before it took place, a campaign of very
great variety had occupied five months. Many
battles had been fought, many plans formed and
failed, and the result was due to one of the most
ingenious, as it was one of the boldest, military
combinations. It will always be a campaign which
young soldiers will study with great interest. It
is the campaign in which General Grant won his
reputation as one of the first soldiers of this time,
96 STORIES TOLD BY SOLDIERS.
in which he conciliated the regard of his most
skilful subordinates, and won the respect and
admiration of his superiors, General Halleck and
President Lincoln.
So I shall let you boys, and any girls who
have sense enough to read stories of war, have a
longer chapter about the campaign against Vicks-
burg, than we have yet had about any other single
event in this histoty.
The first plan made was to dig a canal across
the neck of land, or peninsula in front of Vicks-
burg, below the city, at a point where the
isthmus was only a mile and a fifth in width. This
had been begun before General Grant's arrival.
If a canal could have been made large enough for
large steamboats, then, no matter how strong were
the fortifications of Vicksburg, the boats would pass
through, far away from their fire. So a canal ten
feet wide and six deep was made here, in the hope
that the freshets of the river would widen it, and
so make it large enough for large steamers. But
very little came of the canal. When the river did
rise, it would not flow where it was meant to do.
It flooded the camps of the workmen. Meanwhile,
the Rebels had made new batteries below it. Thus
ended plan number one. Another similar plan, to
open a route by Lake Providence and Bayou Bax-
ter, Bayou Ma^on, and the Washita and Red River,
did not succeed better. The canals attempted here
were both on the west of the river. A very bold
VICKSBURG. 97
attempt was made on the east side, by what was
known as the Yazoo Pass, into the Tallahatchee
and Yazoo River. The expeditions sent by this
route would come out above Vicksburg ; but it
was hoped that thus the Rebel gunboats on the
Yazoo River might be destroyed. If a practicable
route were made here, the whole army could be
moved to Haine's Bluff, above Vicksburg, an
upland region very desirable for occupation. But
nothing came of this movement, though some hard
work and some hard fighting were done in it. What
resulted of importance was, that the troops found
their way into the granary from which Vicksburg
had been fed ; and in the resistance, many of the
Rebel stores were destro} T ed. In such attempts
February and March passed away. Meanwhile,
Admiral Farragut, of the navy, ran by the Rebel
batteries at Port Hudson, so that he communicated
with Grant below Vicksburg, and Grant could
communicate with General Banks, who was trying
to do at Port Hudson what Grant was trying to do
above. The distance from Vicksburg to Port Hud-
son is about one hundred and twenty miles in a
straight line, and more than twice that by the
crooked river.
Grant now determined to pass the city of Vicks-
burg on the west side of the river by marching his
army by land with the help of boats on some
bayous if possible from Milliken's Bend, which is
twenty miles above Vicksburg, to New Carthage,
7
98 STORIES TOLD BY SOLDIERS.
which is about as. far below. At his request Admi-
ral Porter sent seven of his iron-dads, with three
steamers and ten barges, down the river, past the
Rebel batteries. They were well laden with forage
and supplies. The crews of all but one refused to
go. But volunteers from the army offered, enough
to man a hundred vessels had they been needed.
On a dark night, of the 16th of April, led by
Admiral Porter, they steamed down, with the
barges in tow. They turned the bend without
being noticed. Then the first batteries opened on
them. The Rebels set fire to houses so as to light
up the scene ; and from the ships the crews could
see the men at the batteries and in the streets of
Vicksburg. Though every vessel was hit, all
got by, except the Henry Clay steamer. Finding
she was sinking, her commander cut off the barge
he was towing, which drifted safely down, and, soon
after, the vessel herself took fire. The crew es-
caped in their boats, the vessel, blazed up and
lighted up all around. At last, however, after the
boats had been under fire two hours and forty
minutes, the whole fleet except the Henry Clay
arrived safely below the batteries. Grant had thus
secured, not onl} r forage and stores, but the means
of transportation. On the 26th of April five more
vessels passed successfully, one being lost as before.
Grant was now strong enough to cross the Missis-
sippi River. His army had to march seventy miles
on the west side by muddy roads, scarcely above
VICKSBURG. 99
the river line. He feared he might have to go as
far down as a little town called Rodney for a good
landing-place on the east side. But a friendly
negro man, who knew the country, brought in infor-
mation that there was a good road-inland from Bru-
insburg, and so it proved. Grand Gulf, on the
river, where the Rebels had a post, was still between
Grant and Bruinsburg. Porter attacked it with
his gun-boats, and Grant was ready to land ten
thousand troops to storm the place if the batteries
were silenced. But Porter did not succeed. Grant
therefore marched his troops down on the west
side of the river. Porter ran by Grand Gulf with
transports in the night, and, on the morning of the
30th of April, Grant crossed the river with ten
thousand men. They did not carry a tent nor a
wagon. General Grant and his staff went without
their horses. It was said afterwards that his whole
baggage was a toothbrush !
Other divisions followed, and on the 3d of May
he left the river, and marched, not directly on
Vicksburg, but more inland, to cut off all commu-
nication with that city. His army took three days'
rations with them, and relied principally for pro-
visions on the stores in the rich country through
which they marched. In the twenty days which
followed, they fought the battles of Port Gibson,
of Raymond, and of Jackson, and took the city
of Jackson, the capital of Mississippi. Then
Grant turned back upon Vicksburg, and before
100 STORIES TOLD BY SOLDIERS.
May ended fought a very severe battle at Cham-
pion Hill, and in another gained the passage of
Black River. By these actions, in all of which
he succeeded, he separated General Pemberton and
his army in Vicksburg from General J. E. John-
ston, who was trying to relieve him. Pemberton
was obliged to fall back into Vicksburg.
Grant ass-aulted it, without success, on the 19th
of May, hoping to take it by storm. The works
were too strong, and the assaulting parties, after
gaining some few outworks, were all thrown back.
A regular siege then began, and Vicksburg surren-
dered, as has been said, on the 4th of July.
Now you are ready for some scraps of letters and
despatches which will give details of some of these
all-important movements and battles.
First you shall read one of General Sherman's
and then one of General Grant's brief histories.
After these come as many other accounts as we
can make room for.
THE YAZOO KIVEB.
On Sunday morning, March 21st, as soon as daylight
appeared, we started, following the same route which
Giles A. Smith had taken the day before ; the battalion
of the Thirteenth United States Regulars, Major Chase,
in the lead. We could hear Porter's guns, and knew
that moments were precious. Being on foot myself, no
man could complain, and we generally went at the
double-quick, with occasional rests. The road lay along
Deer Creek, passing several plantations ; and occasion-
ally, at the bends, it crossed the swamp, where the water
VICKSBURG. 101
came above my hips. The smaller drummer-boys had
to carry their drums on their heads, and most of the
men slung their cartridge-boxes around their necks.
The soldiers generally were glad to have their general
and field-officers afoot, but we gave them a fair speci-
men of marching, accomplishing about twenty-one miles
by noon. Of course, our speed was accelerated by the
sounds of the navy guns, which became more and more
distinct, though we could see nothing. At a plantation
near some Indian mounds, we met a detachment of the
Eighth Missouri, that had been up to the fleet, and had
been sent down as a picket to prevent any obstructions
below. This picket reported that Admiral Porter had
found Deer Creek badly obstructed, had turned back,
that there was a Rebel force bej-ond the fleet, with some
six-pounders, and nothing between us and the fleet. So
I sat down on the door-sill of a cabin to rest, but had
not been seated ten minutes when, in the wood just
ahead, not three hundred yards off, I heard quick and
rapid firing of musketry. Jumping up, I ran up the
road, and found Lieut. -Col. Rice, who said the head
of his column had struck a small force of Rebels
with a working gang of negroes, provided with axes,
who in the first fire had broken and run back into the
swamp. I ordered Rice to deploy his brigade, his left
on the road and extending as far into the swamp as the
ground would permit, and then to sweep forward until
he covered the gun-boats. The movement was rapid
and well executed, and we soon came to some large
cotton-fields and could see our gun-boats in Deer
Creek, occasionally firing a heavy eight-inch gun across
the cotton-fields into the swamp behind. About that
time a Major Kirby, of the Eighth Missouri, galloped
down the road on a horse he had picked up the night
before, and met me. He explained the situation of af-
fairs, and offered me his horse. I got on bare-back, and
rode up the Levee, the sailors coming out of their iron-
clads and cheering most vociferously as I rode by, and
as our men swept forward across the cotton-field in
102 STORIES TOLD BY SOLDIERS.
full view. I soon found Admiral Porter, who was on
the deck of one of his iron-clads, with a shield made of
the section of a smoke-stack, and I doubt if he was ever
more glad to meet a friend than he was to see me. He
explained that he had almost reached the Rolling Fork,
when the woods became full of sharp-shooters, who,
taking advantage of trees, stumps, and the Levee, would
shoot down every man that poked his nose outside the
protection of his armor ; so he could not handle his
clumsy boats in the narrow channel. The Rebels had
evidently despatched a force from Haines's Bluff up the
Sunflower, to the Rolling Fork, had anticipated the
movement of Admiral Porter's fleet, and had completely
obstructed the channel of the upper part of Deer Creek
by felling trees into it, so that further progress in that
direction was simply impossible. It also happened
that, at the instant of my arrival, a party of about four
hundred Rebels, armed, and supplied with axes, had
passed around the fleet, and had got below it, intending
in like manner to block up the channel by the felling of
trees, so as to cut off retreat. This was the force we
had struck so opportunely at the time before described.
I inquired of Admiral Porter what he proposed to do,
and he said he wanted to get out of that scrape as
quickly as possible. He was actually working back
when I met him, and, as we then had a sufficient force
to cover his movement completely, he continued to back
down Deer Creek. He informed me at one time things
looked so critical that he had made up his mind to blow
up the gun-boats, and to escape with his men through
the swamps to the Mississippi River. There being no
longer any sharp-shooters to bother the sailors, they
made good progress ; still it took three full days for the
fleet to back out of Deer Creek into Black Bayou, at
Hill's plantation, whence Admiral Porter proceeded to
his post at the mouth of the Yazoo, leaving Captain
Owen in command of the fleet. I reported the facts to
General Grant, who was sadly disappointed at the fail-
ure of the fleet to get through to the Yazoo above
VICKSBURG. 103
Haines's Bluff, and ordered us all to resume our camps
at Young's Point. We accordingly steamed down, and
regained our camps on the 27th. Gen. Sherman.
GEN. GRANT'S LETTER TO GEN. HALLECK.
GRAND GULF, Miss., May 3, 1863.
On the 29th of April, Admiral Porter attacked the
fortifications at this place with seven iron-clads, com-
mencing at eight o'clock A. M., and continuing until
half past one, engaging them at very close quarters,
many times not being more than one hundred yards
from the enemy's guns. During this time, I had about
ten thousand troops on board transports and barges,
ready to land them, and carr} T the place by storm the
moment the batteries bearing upon the river were
silenced, so as to make the landing practicable. From
the great elevation the enemy's batteries had, it proved
entirely impracticable to silence them from the river ;
and when the gun-boats were drawn off, I decided im-
mediately upon landing my forces on the Louisiana
shore, and marching them across the point below Grand
Gulf.
At night the gun-boats made another vigorous attack,
and in the mean time the transports safety ran the block-
ade, and on the following day the whole force with me
was transferred to Bruinsburg, the first point of land
below Grand Gulf where the interior can be reached,
and the march immediately commenced for Port Gib-
son. General McClernand was in the advance, with the
Thirteenth Army Corps. About two A. M., on the 1st of
Ma}*, when about four miles from Port Gibson, he met
the enenrv. Some little skirmishing'took place before
da}*ligbt, but not to any great extent. The Thirteenth
Corps was followed by Logan's division of McPhersou's
corps, which reached the scene of action as soon as the
last of the Thirteenth Corps was out of the road. The
fighting continued all day, and after dark, over the most
104 STORIES TOLD BY SOLDIERS.
broken country I ever saw. The, whole country is a
series of irregular ridges, divided by deep and imprac-
ticable ravines, grown up with heavy timber, under-
growth, and cane. It was impossible to engage &ny
considerable portion of our force at any one time. The
enemy were driven, however, from point to point, to-
wards Port Gibson, until night closed in, under which,
it was evident to me, they intended to retreat. The
pursuit was continued after dark, until the enemy was
again met by Logan's division, about two miles from
Port Gibson. The nature of the country is such, that
further pursuit in the dark was not deemed prudent
or advisable. On the 2d, our troops moved into the
town without finding any enemy except their wounded.
The bridge across Bayou Pierre, about two miles from
Port Gibson, on the Grand Gulf road, had been de-
stro} r ed, and also the bridge immediately at Port Gib-
son, on the Vicksburg road. The enemy retreated over
both these routes, leaving a battery and several regi-
ments of infantry at the former, to prevent a reconstruc-
tion of the first bridge. One brigade, under General
Stevenson, was detached to drive the enem} T from this
position, or occupj 7 his attention, and a heavy detail set
to work, under Lieut. -Col. Wilson and Captain Tresil-
lian, to reconstruct the bridge over the other. This work
was accomplished, a bridge and roadway (over a hun-
dred and twenty feet long) made, and the whole of
McPherson's two divisions marched over before night.
This corps then marched to the north fork of Bayou
Pierre, rebuilt a bridge over that stream, and was on
the march by five and a half A. M. to-day. Soon after
crossing the Bayou, our troops were opened on b} T the
enemy's artillery. It was soon demonstrated that this
was only intended to cover the retreat of the main
army. On arriving at Willow Springs, General Mc-
Pherson was directed to hold the position from there
to the Big Black with one division, and General Mc-
Clernand, on his arrival, to join him in this duty. I
immediately started for this place with one brigade of
VICKSBURG. 105
Logan's division, and some cavalry (twenty men).
The brigade of infantry was left about seven miles from
here, contrabands and prisoners taken having stated
that the last of the retreating enemy had passed that
point. The woods between here and the crossing of
the Big Black are evidently filled yet with the detach-
ments of the enemy, and some artillery. I am in
hopes manj- of them will be picked up by our forces.
Our loss will not exceed one hundred and fifty killed,
and five hundred wounded. The enemy's loss is prob-
ably about the same. We have, however, some five
hundred of their men prisoners, and may pick up many
more yet. Man}' stragglers, particular!} 7 from the Mis-
souri troops, no doubt have fallen out, and will never
join their regiments again.
The move by Bruinsburg undoubtedly took the enemy
by surprise. General Bowen's (the Rebel commander's)
defence was a good one, and well carried out. My
force, however, was too heavy for his, and composed
of well-disciplined and hardy men, who know no defeat
and are not willing to learn what it is.
This army is in the finest health and spirits. Since
leaving Milliken's Bend, they have marched as much by
night as by day, through mud and rain, without tents
or much other baggage, and on irregular rations, with-
out a complaint, and with less straggling than I have
ever before witnessed.
Colonel Grierson's raid from La Grange, through
Mississippi, has been the most successful thing of the
kind since the breaking out of the Rebellion. He
was five miles south of Pontotoc on the 19th of April.
The next place he turned up at was Newton, about
thirty miles east of Jackson. From there he has gone
south, touching at Hazlehurst, Bahala, and various
places. The Southern papers and Southern people re-
gard it as one of the most daring exploits of the war.
I am told the whole State is full of men paroled by
Grierson. Gen. Grant.
106 STORIES TOLD BY SOLDIERS.
THE ATTACK OF THE 22D OF MAY.
GRANT'S CADET.
Lawler's brigade in Carr's division, which had carried
the tete-du-pont on the Big Black River, dashed forward
with its old impetuosity, supported b}' Landrum's bri-
gade of Smith's division ; and, in less than fifteen min-
utes, a part of one regiment, the Twenty-second Iowa,
succeeded in crossing the ditch and parapet of a Rebel
outwork ; but, not receiving the support of the rest of
the column, could not push further, nor drive the enemy
from the main work immediately in the rear. A hand-
to-hand fight here ensued, lasting several minutes ;
hand-grenades also were thrown by the Rebels in the
rear, while the National troops still commanded the
outer parapet. Every man in the party except one was
shot down. Sergeant Joseph Griffith, of the Twenty-
second Iowa, fell at the same time with his comrades,
stunned, but not seriously hurt. On his recover} 7 , he
found a Rebel lieutenant and sixteen men lying in the
outwork, still unwounded, though exposed to the fire of
both friend and foe. He rose, and bade them follow
him out of the place, too hot for any man to stay and
live. The Rebels obeyed, and, calling to the troops
outside to cease their firing, Griffith brought his pris-
oners over the parapet, under a storm of Rebel shot that
killed four of those so willing to surrender. For this
act of gallantry, Griffith was next day promoted by
Grant to a first lieutenanc} 7 , thus literally, like a knight
of the Middle Ages, winning his spurs on the field.
He was not twenty years old, and shortly afterwards
received an appointment to the Military Academy
at West Point, where he was known as "Grant's
Cadet," and graduated in 1867, fifth in his class.
Gen. Badeau.
VICKSBURG. 107
THE FLAGS ON THE PARAPET.
The colors of the One Hundred and Thirtieth Illinois
were now planted on the counterscarp, and those of two
other regiments were also raised on the exterior slope of
the parapet. The work, however, was completely com-
manded by others in the rear, and no real possession of
it was gained by the National soldiers. But the troops
remained in the ditch for hours, although hand-grenades
and loaded shells were rolled over on them from the
parapet. The colors were not removed ; as often as a
Rebel attempted to grasp the staff, he was shot down by
soldiers in the ditch ; and the National flags waved all
da}^ on the Rebel work, neither party able to secure
them, but each preventing their seizure by the other.
After dark, a National soldier climbed up stealthily
and snatched one of the flags away ; the other was
captured by a Rebel, in the same manner, leaning over
suddenly from above. Gen. Badeau.
A HOT PLACE.
General A. J. Smith had been ordered by McClernand
to get two guns up to this position, and called upon five
or six batteries successively ; but the captains all pro-
tested that it was impossible to drag guns, by hand,,
down one slope and up another under fire. Smith
however, exclaimed, ' fc I know a battery that will go to
hell if you order it there." So he sent for Captain
White, of the Chicago Mercantile Battery, and told him
what he wanted. White replied, " Yes, sir, I will take
my guns there." And his men actually dragged the
pieces over the rough ground, by hand, carrying the
ammunition in their haversacks. One gun was stuck
on the way, but the other they hauled up so near the
Rebel works, that it was difficult to elevate it sufficiently
to be of use ; finally, however, White succeeded in firing
it into an embrasure, disabling a gun just ready to be
108 STORIES TOLD BY SOLDIERS.
discharged, and scattering death among the Rebel can-
noneers. A detachment here got into the work, but the
Rebels rallied and captured every man. These were the
only troops that actually carried or gained possession
even for a moment of any portion of the enemy's line.
Gen. Badeau.
CAVE LIFE IN VICKSBURG. THE CAVES.
Our new habitation was an excavation made in an
earth-bank and branching six feet from the entrance,
forming a cave in the shape of a T. In one of the wings
my bed fitted ; the other I used as a kind of dressing-
room ; in this the earth had been cut down a foot or
two below the floor of the main cave. I could stand
erect here ; and when tired of sitting in other portions
of my residence, I bowed ni}'self into it, and stood im-
passively resting at full height, one of the variations
in the still, shell-expectant life
THE SHELLS.
My heart stood still as we would hear the reports
from the guns, and the rushing and fearful sound of the
shell as it came toward us. As it neared, the noise
became more deafening ; the air was full of the rushing
sound ; pains darted through my temples, my ears were
full of the confusing noise ; and, as it exploded, the
report flashed through my head like an electric shock,
leaving me in a quiet state of terror, the most painful
that I can imagine, cowering in a corner, holding my
child to my heart, the only feeling of nry life being the
choking throbs of my heart, that rendered me almost
breathless. As singly they fell short, or be} T ond the
cave, I was aroused b} 7 a feeling of thankfulness that
was of short duration. Again and again the terrible
fright came over us in that night.
I saw one fall in the road without the mouth of the
cave, like a flame of fire, making the earth tremble, and,
VICKSBURG. 109
with a low, singing sound, the fragments sped on in
their work of death.
Morning found us more dead than alive, with blanched
faces and trembling lips. We were not reassured on
hearing, from a man who took refuge in the cave, that
a mortar shell in falling would not consider the thick-
ness of the earth above us a circumstance.
Some of the ladies, more courageous by daylight,
asked him what he was in there for, if that was the
case. He was silenced for an hour, when he left
PRECAUTIONS.
The night was so warm, and the cave so close, that
I tried to sit out at the entrance ; George [the servant]
saying he would keep watch, and tell when the}' were
falling toward us. Soon the report of the gun would be
heard, and George, standing on the hillock of loose
earth near the cave, looked intently upward ; while I,
with suspended breath, would listen anxiously, as he
cried, " Here she comes ! going right over ! " then again,
" Coming, falling, falling right dis way ! " Then
I would spring to my feet, and for a moment hesitate
about the protection of the cave. Suddenly, as the
rushing descent was heard, I would beat a precipitate
retreat into it, followed by the servant
A BESCUE.
I ran to the little dressing-room, and could hear them
striking around us on all sides. I crouched closely
against the wall, for I did not know at what moment
one might strike within the cave. A man came in much
frightened, and asked to remain until the danger was
over. The servants stood in the little niche by the bed,
and the man took refuge in the small ell where I was
stationed. He had been there but a short time, stand-
ing in front of me, and near the wall, when a Parrott
shell came whirling in at the entrance, and fell in the
110 STORIES TOLD BY SOLDIERS.
centre of the cave before us all, lying there smoking.
Our eyes were fastened upon it, while we expected every
moment the terrific explosion would ensue. I pressed
my child closer to my heart, and drew nearer to the
wall. Our fate seemed almost certain. The poor man
who had sought refuge within was most exposed of all.
With a sudden impulse, I seized a large double blanket
that lay near, and gave it to him for the purpose ot
shielding him from the fragments ; and thus we re-
mained for a moment, with our eyes fixed in terror on
the missile of death, when George, the servant boy,
rushed forward, seized the shell, and threw it into the
street, running swiftly in the opposite direction. For-
tunately, the fuse had become nearly extinguished, and
the shell fell harmless, remaining near the mouth of
the cave, as a trophy of the fearlessness of the servant
and our remarkable escape
Nor was this all. I had occasion to go to the mouth
of the cave one evening to speak to George ; and there,
with an enlightened audience of servants from the sur-
rounding caves collected near him, George was going
through a grave pantomime of the whole affair. It seems
that he expected the refugee to act the part of preserver
in our extremity, and throw out the shell ; but, as he
was disappointed in the matter, he represented him in
the most ridiculous manner possible to the audience.
Pressing up closely to the wheel of a wagon near by,
George extended his eyes, holding out his hand as with
a shell, and shrinking with the semblance of extreme
terror, that amused his spectators vastly ; then, chan-
ging the whole character, he put on the bravest port
imaginable, pushing his hat, with an independent air,
on the side of his head, and, assuming a don't-carish
look, he sauntered forward to a large piece of shell that
lay conveniently near, caught it with both hands, gave
it a careless swing and throw far different from the
reality, turned on his heels, walked back to the wagon,
with the peculiar swinging step of a proud negro ; then,
leaning his arm on the wheel, carelessly surveyed his
VICKSBURG. HI
audience with a look that plainly said, u What do you
think o' dat, niggers ? " . . . .
IN THE EIFLE-PITS.
So they sat cramped up all day in the pits, their
rations cooked in the valle}' and brought to them,
scarcely daring to change their positions and stand
erect, for the Federal sharp-shooters were watching for
their heads ; and to rise above the breastworks was
almost certain death
They amused themselves, while lying in the pits, by
cutting out little trinkets from the wood of the parapet
and the Minie balls that fell around them. Major Fry,
from Texas, excelled in skill and ready invention ; . . . .
he sent me one day an arm-chair that he had cut from
a Minie ball, the most minute affair of the kind I ever
saw, yet perfectly symmetrical. At another time he
sent me a diminutive plough, made from the parapet
work, with traces of lead, and a lead point made from
a Minie ball
SHKAPNEL.
There is one missile, were I a soldier, that would
totally put me to rout, and that is a Shrapnel shell.
Only those who have heard several coming at a time,
exploding near, and scattering several hundreds of
small balls around, can tell how fearful is the noise
they make, a wild scream, a clattering and whiz-
zing sound that never fails in striking terror to my
heart ! It seemed sometimes that as man}' as fifty
balls fell immediately around our door. I could have
sent out at any time, near the entrance of our cave,
and had a bucketful of balls from Shrapnel and the
Minie rifle, picked up in the shortest possible time.
A Southern Lady.
112 STORIES TOLD BY SOLDIERS.
CONDUCT OF THE SIEGE.
The lack of engineer officers gave the siege one of its
peculiar characteristics ; at many times, and at different
places, the work to be done depended on officers and
men without either theoretical or practical knowledge
of siege operations, and who had, therefore, to rely,
almost exclusively, on their native good-sense and in-
genuit} T . Whether a battery was to be constructed by
men who . had never built one before, or sap-rollers
made by those who had never heard the name, or a
ship's gun-carriage put together by infantry soldiers, it
was always done, and, after a few trials, well done.
This fertility of resource and power of adaptation to
circumstances, possessed in so high a degree by the
volunteers, was, however, displaj'ed while a relieving
force was gathering in Grant's rear. Officers and men
had to learn to be engineers while the siege was going
on. Much valuable time was in this wa}- lost, and
many a shovelful of earth was thrown that brought the
siege no nearer to an end.
One result of this scarcity of engineers was, that
Grant gave more personal attention to the supervision
of the siege than he would otherwise have done. His
military education fitted him for the duty, and he rode
daily around the lines, directing the scientific opera-
tions, infusing his spirit into all his subordinates,
pressing them on with energy to the completion of their
task, and, with unflagging persistency, devising and
employing evety means to bring about the great end to
which all labor, skill, and acquirement was made to
tend
At one point the enemy's salient was too high for the
besiegers to be able to return the hand-grenades which
were thrown into the trenches so freely. There were
no Cohorn mortars with the army, and wooden mortars
were therefore made, by shrinking iron bands on cylin-
ders of tough wood, and boring them out for six and
V2CKSBURG. 113
twelve pound shells. These mortars stood firing well,
and gave good results at a distance of one hundred or
one hundred and fifty yards. Gen. Badeau.
GBANT'S CONFIDENCE IN HIMSELF.
He was one day riding around his lines, and stopped
for water at the house of a Rebel woman who had re-
mained within her shattered walls, not changing her
disloyal sentiments. She asked Grant, tauntingly, if
he expected ever to get into Vicksburg. " Certainly,"
he replied. "But when?" "I cannot tell exactly
when I shall take the town, but / mean to stay here till
I do, if it takes me thirty years" The woman's heart
seemed to fail her at the reply. Apparently, she had
hoped that her friends would be able to tire out the be-
siegers, even if they could not drive them off; but this
waiting thirty years, if necessary, was a greater per
sistency than she had contemplated. Gen. Badeau.
THE MINES.
Meanwhile the head of sap had reached the ene-
my's lines, on the Grave-yard and Jackson roads, and
in Ransom's front as well as on the Baldwin and Hall's
Ferry roads. Mining had been resorted to by both be-
siegers and besieged, and, on the Jackson road, Grant
fired a heavy mine on the 25th of June. It extended
thirty-five feet from the point of starting ; fifteen hun-
dred pounds of powder were deposited in three different
branch mines, and seven hundred in the centre one ;
fuses were arranged so as to explode them all at the same
instant, and the mine was tamped with cross-timbers
and sand-bags. Troops were disposed so as to take ad-
vantage of any result. At three and a half p. M. the
explosion took place, and a heavy artillery-fire opened
along the line at the same moment. Huge masses of
earth were thrown up in the air, and the ground was
shaken as if by a volcano. As soon as the earth was
8
114 STORIES TOLD BY SOLDIERS.
rent, a bright glare of fire issued from the burning
powder, but quickly died away, as there was nothing
combustible in the fort. A few Rebel soldiers were
hurled into the air, one or two of whom came down
alive inside the National lines. The enemy, however,
had detected the building of the mine, and, in anticipa-
tion of the explosion, removed most of his troops be-
hind a new line in the rear. Countermining had also
been resorted to by the Rebels, and several sappers who
were in the lower shaft were buried ; all the troops in
the neighborhood were jarred by the shock.
The cavity made was large enough to hold two regi-
ments, and, as soon as the partial destruction of the
parapet was discovered, a column of Grant's infantry,
which had been concealed in a hollow beneath the fort,
rushed forward with loud cheers to gain possession of
the breach. The ditch and slope were gained, and a
desperate struggle ensued in the crater, but the Rebels
soon retired to their interior line, only a few feet back.
Pioneers went to work at once, clearing an entrance to
the crater ; but both sides were reinforced promptty, and
no further result was attained. The loss to the National
side was thirty men in killed and wounded, and to the
besieged about the same.
The crater was cone-shaped, and entirely exposed to
field projectiles or loaded shells thrown by hand, but
McPherson's men rushed into the gulf, lighting and
throwing grenades in return. The enemy, however,
from his higher position, could throw ten shells to their
one, and, in nearly every case, with deadly effect; in-
deed, the Rebels had only to lay the lighted missiles on
the parapet and roll them down. But, on the night
after the explosion, details from Leggett's brigade re-
lieved each other in the attempt to hold the crater. No
S} r stematic attempt could be made to carry the enemy's
work, or to take possession of his parapet and run
bo} T aux along the exterior slope ; yet, all night long,
parties of men, fifty, sixty, or eighty at a time, stood in
the crater, along its sides not shaped into banquettes,
VICKSBURG. 115
and fired at an enemy they could not see ; for after the
first hour the Rebels ceased to appear on the parapet at
all, contenting themselves with the use of the grenades.
After a while, feathered grenades were given to the
National troops, and thrown inside the Rebel Line with
some effect ; but many of these failed to explode, and
were hurled back by the Rebels with terrible results.
Boxes of field-ammunition were also brought out by the
enemy, who lighted them with port-fires and threw them
by hand into the crater. Nearty every one took effect,
killing and wounding sometimes half a dozen men.
The crater was called by the soldiers the * ' death-hole " ;
but the ground that had been gained was held through
all the horrors of the night, and rifle-pits next day were
built across the aperture. A covered galley was also at
once commenced, from which further mines or counter-
mines might lead.
As it was found impossible to continue the work
until the Rebels were driven from the outer face of the
opposing parapet, another mine was at once begun.
This was sprung on the 1st of July. The result was
the destruction of an entire redan, leaving only an im-
mense chasm where the Rebel work had stood. The
greater portion of the earth was thrown towards the
National forces, the line of least resistance being in that
direction. The Rebel interior line, however, was much
injured, and many of those manning the works were
killed or wounded. But no serious attempt to charge
was made, the result of the assaults on the 25th having
been so inconsiderable. Gen. Badeau.
FROM A REBEL ACCOUNT.
Among the casualties during the siege were three
women and three children, and four men [non-comba-
tant]. Among the troops the casualties were greater.
Most of these were sick or wounded, and in the hospi-
tals. A number were severely injured, and numerous
limbs were lost. Some most remarkable and ludicrous
escapes were made.
116 STORIES TOLD BY SOLDIERS.
I remember that one man had his head blown off
while in the act of picking up his child. One man had
a shell explode close by him, and lift him some distance
in the air. Many strange escapes and incidents are
spoken of, so many that they have not been specially
noticed.
One shell fell and exploded between two officers as
they were riding together on the street, and lifted both
horses and riders into the air without hurting either
man or beast. One woman had just risen from her
chair when a shell came through the roof, took her seat,
and shattered the house without injuring the lady ; and
a hundred other similar cases. A little girl, the daugh-
ter of Mr. Jones, was sitting at the entrance of a cave,
when a Parrott shell entered the portal and took her
head right off. Surely this is terrible warfare which
dooms the innocent lambs to inhuman slaughter.
THE TOWNSMEN'S PROTECTION.
The greatest curiosities are the caves hewn into the
banks of earth, in which the women and children and
non-combatants crept during the heat of the bombard-
ment. At night, and sometimes during an entire day,
the whole of the people would be confined to these cav-
erns. They are constructed about the height of a man
and three feet wide, a fork Y shaped into the bank.
There are perhaps five hundred of these caves in the
city around the works. As many as fifteen have been
crowded into one of them. St. Louis Republican.
THE MEETING OF GRANT AND PEMBERTON.
Thousands of soldiers looked upon the strange scene.
Two men who had been lieutenants in the same regi-
ment in Mexico, now met as foes, with all the world
looking upon them. t . . . When they had approached
within a few feet there was a halt and silence. Colonel
Montgomer}' spoke: ''General Grant, General Pern-
VICKSBURG. . 117
berton." They shook hands politety, but Peinberton
was evidently mortified. He said : " I was at Monterey
and Buena Vista. We had terms and conditions there."
General Grant here took him aside, and the}' sat down
on the grass and talked more than an hour. Grant
smoked all the time ; Pemberton pla}-ed with the grass
and pulled leaves. It was finally agreed to parole them,
allowing the officers each his horse. This was a politic
thing. The dread of going North and fear of harsh
.treatment had deterred them from capitulating sooner.
Our men treated the Rebels with kindness, giving
them coffee, which some had not tasted for a year. The
cit} T is much dilapidated, and many houses are injured.
The Vicksburg paper of July 2d admits the eating of
mule meat, and the pilfering of soldiers.
THE SURRENDER.
The} 7 marched out of their intrenchments by regiments
upon the grassy declivit}' immediately outside their fort ;
they stacked their arms, hung their colors upon the
centre, laid off their knapsacks, belts, cartridge-boxes,
and cap-pouches, and, thus shorn of the accoutrements
of the soldier, returned inside their works, and thence
down the Jackson road into the city. The men went
through the ceremon3 r with that look so touching on a
soldier's face ; not a word was spoken ; there was none
of that gay badinage we are so much accustomed to
hear from the ranks of regiments marching through our
streets ; the few words of command necessary were
given by their own officers in that low tone of voice we
hear used at funerals
At Forney's head-quarters .... were gathered all the
notables of both armies. In a damask armed rocking-
chair sat Lieut. -Gen. Pemberton, the most discontented-
looking man I ever saw. Presently there appeared in
the midst of the throng a man small in stature, heavily
set, stoop-shouldered, a broad face, covered with a
short, sandy beard, habited in a plain suit of blue flan-
118 STORIES TOLD BY SOLDIERS.
nel, with the two stars upon his shoulder denoting a
Major-General in the United States arm}% He ap-
proached Pemberton and entered into conversation with
him ; there was no vacant chair, but neither Pemberton
nor any of his generals offered him a seat, and thus for
five minutes the conqueror stood talking to the van-
quished seated, when Grant turned away into the house
and left Pemberton to his pride or his grief, it was
hard to tell which. Cincinnati Commercial.
CHAPTER VIII.
GETTYSBURG.
A T the moment of General Lee's retreat after
*-* Antietam, General McClellan was at the very
height of a new wave of popularity. But the
country which was eager to see Lee's retreat fol-
lowed was again disappointed. " Can you tell me
why General McClellan does not advance ? " said
a distinguished statesman to President Lincoln.
" I cannot guess," said the President, " and I do
not know." In his own despatches, written long
after, the boys found his reasons. He thought his
army not at all prepared for a winter campaign.
Meanwhile General Burnside had conducted with
spirit a campaign on the coast of North Carolina,
and the President was eager to give the army to
some one who had the confidence of the nation ;
and after McClellan had at last started with the
army, Burnside was appointed in his place.
This time Lee selected the line of the Rappa-
hannock for his line of defence, and here the two
armies looked at each other across the stream, till
Burnside, whose force was superior, boldly crossed,
120 STORIES TOLD BY SOLDIERS.
on the 10th of December, and began a series of
attacks which lasted for three days, but failed.
On the 15th, he withdrew all his men. Following
the old policy of never retaining unsuccessful
generals, the President superseded Burnside by
General Joseph Hooker, an officer so vigorous and
spirited that he had the nickname in the army of
" Fighting Joe Hooker." He attempted to dislodge
Lee's army by another attack. He crossed the
river on the 28th, and the battle known as the
battle of Chan cello rsville followed. It was a series
of bloody conflicts which lasted three days. In
the end the Union army was again withdrawn, after
losing twelve thousand in killed and wounded, and
five thousand prisoners. The Rebels lost ten
thousand in killed and wounded, and three thou-
sand prisoners.
Lee chose this opportunity for another rapid
and secret movement upon the Northern States.
Hooker's army was discouraged. Lee's, well rein-
forced, was in high spirits. Each army had about
seventy thousand men.
Lee's plan was to move swiftly and silently,
without Hooker's knowledge, beyond the first
range of the Alleghanies to the Shenandoah Valley.
He then could march on Philadelphia or Baltimore
before Hooker could catch up with him, and could
avoid the strong fortifications of Washington,
which would delay him too much. He was to live
on the country, keeping open his lines of connec-
GETTYSBURG. 121
tion through the Sftenandoah Valley for his am-
munition trains only.
If it had not been for those wretched ammuni-
tion trains, how much longer might not the war
have been prolonged! But the army's present
supply of powder was not large enough for Lee to
rely on, and he had to depend on what they sent
from Richmond, and little enough too little in-
deed it proved.
Well and quietly did Lee move to the Shenan-
doah, but not without alarming Hooker. Lee was
gone, but where? North or west it must be, so
Hooker broke camp and moved himself westward
and northward till the news came of the capture
by the Rebels of Winchester on the Shenandoah,
and later that the rebel advance was crossing the
Potomac. So Hooker crossed the Potomac too,
and marched northwest still, to threaten Lee's
lines of supply ; for if you step on the tail of an
army it will curl round its head to bite you.
It was in this march that General Hooker had
some difference with General Halleck, from Wash-
ington, who commanded the armies, about the
use of the troops at Harper's Ferry. Hooker asked
Halleck for them, Halleck refused him, and Hooker
resigned. In his place was appointed General
Meade, who was in command of the Fifth Corps,
and who had distinguished himself at Fredericks-
burg, and under General Meade our soldiers fought
the battle of Gettysburg.
122 STORIES TOLD BY SOLDIERS.
When Lee left the Rappahsftmock he left behind
most of his cavalry under General Stuart, a dash-
ing officer who had much the same reputation that
our General Custer had later. Stuart was to
watch the Union army, and when they crossed the
Potomac Lee was to be informed. But Stuart,
like other cavalry officers, was too fond of dashing
excursions, and he reconnoitred to such an extent
that when he found the Union army it was be-
tween him and Lee. The Union army crossed the
Potomac, and so long was the detour that Stuart
had to make, that, when the news arrived, Lee had
already felt the pressure on his army's snake-tail,
and was turning round to the east to bite his
assailant. He had hoped to manoeuvre so that he
should be always on the defensive, but that
ammunition !
So, 011 the last day of June, the two armies were
blindly approaching each other. Each knew that
the other was north of the Potomac, but that was
all. Lee was marching eastward toward Gettys-
burg, Meade was marching northward toward
Gettysburg. They did not know it, but it was
fated that at Gettj^sburg they should meet.
Meade's plan of action was to take up a defen-
sive position on Pipe Creek, to the east of Gettys-
burg ; he had given his orders for the march of
July 2d, and according to his programme his left
wing under Reynolds was to occupy Gettysburg.
The rest of the army was to the south and east,
at different towns in the neighborhood.
GETTYSBURG. 123
Reynolds led his men to Gettysburg on July 1st,
and had taken possession when he was informed
of the advance of the Rebels from the west.
Hastily he deployed such of his men as had come
up to meet the enemy, and fought successfully for
a short time ; but as the regiments on regiments
of Lee's column came up, Reynolds's corps was
outnumbered. In the sharp action which took
place Reynolds was killed, and his men, under
Howard, retreated beyond the town southward to
the heights of Cemetery Ridge. Here they made
a stand, though a large number of them had been
surrounded and captured in the streets of the
town.
These heights south of Gettysburg were the
Union lines during the battle of the next two
days. In shape they are like a fish-hook lying
north and south with the point on the eastern side.
The straight part is Cemetery Ridge, ending at the
south in two hills easily fortified. Here was the
left flank of the Union army. The lines extended
northward along Cemetery Ridge, and then, as they
stretched to the right, they turned to the east and
south. On the night of the 1st, Meade brought
up the rest of his command, and next morning he
drew it up on the crest of this range of hills.
But a mistake was made in the arrangement.
General Sickles, on the left, instead of taking his
place on the crest of the hill, drew up his men on
a lower range of hills to the front of the real line.
124 STORIES TOLD BY SOLDIERS.
As he had also to occupy the two hills on the left
his line was a V with the vertex turned toward
the enemy, and a very thin line of men made the
V, for he had none too many to fill the ground
allotted him.
So when Lee made his attack on both flanks on
the 2d, Longstreet's -men easily drove Sickles back,
though reinforced, to the ground he should have
taken in the beginning. At the same time the
Union right was slightly driven in, and at night
the Rebels, having gained ground on both flanks,
went to sleep in jubilant expectation.
The next day, the 3d of July, Lee saw that the
flanks had been pushed back as far as was prac-
ticable, and he ordered an attack on the centre,
just where the fish-hook begins to bend. Before
attacking with infantry he cannonaded the ridge.
Our men replied ; and from one o'clock till three
two hundred and fifty cannon were doing their
worst. Our men, however, were well intrenched,
and the enemy's guns did but little harm, though
one hundred and twenty rounds were fired on our
side, and many more on his.
At three o'clock his main attack began. Fifteen
thousand men were massed against our centre, and
marched down from the ridge where they were
posted, and up to our lines. It was nearly a mile
for them to march under fire of our artillery, and
half a mile under our rifles. The fire on our side
was too tremendous, their loss too horrible ;
GETTYSBURG. 125
no soldiers could bear it. Still their broken col-
umns rolled up the incline to our guns, but only
to be thrown back.
It was enough. Lee had not enough ammuni-
tion for such another day, and sullenly he retreated
back to the Shenandoah Valley whence he had
come.
On the same day Vicksburg fell. It was the
turning point of the Rebellion.
General Lee aferwards said that, after Gettys-
burg, he knew that the collapse of the Rebellion
was merely a question of time.
DEATH OF REYNOLDS.
General Reynolds now rode forward to inspect the
field and ascertain the most favorable line for the dis-
posal of his troops. One or two members of his staff
were with him. The enemy at that instant poured in a
cruel musketry fire upon the group of officers ; a bullet
struck General Reynolds in the neck, wounding him
niortall}'. Cr3*ing out, with a voice that thrilled the
hearts of his soldiers, " Forward ! for God's sake, for-
ward ! " he turned for an instant, beheld the order
obeyed by a line of shouting infantry, and, falling into
the arms of Captain Wilcox, his aid, who rode beside
him, his life went out with the words, "Goed God,
Wilcox, I am killed ! " N. Y. World.
THE FIRST DAY'S REPULSE.
Cutler, having the advance, opened the attack ;
Meredith was at it a few minutes later. Short, sharp
fighting, the enemy handsomely repulsed, three hundred
Rebel prisoners taken, General Archer himself reported
126 STORIES TOLD BY SOLDIERS.
at their head, such was the auspicious opening. No
wonder the First determined to hold its ground.
Yet they were ill-prepared for the contest that was
coming. Their guns had sounded the tocsin for the
Eleventh, but so had they too for Ewell, already
marching down from York to rejoin Lee. They were
fighting two divisions of A. P. Hill's now, numerically
stronger than their dwindled three. Their batteries
were not up in sufficient number, on Meredith's left,
a point that especially needed protection, there were
none at all. A battery with Buford's cavalry stood
near. Wadsworth cut red tape, and in an instant
ordered it up. The captain, preferring red tape to red
fields, refused to obey. Wadsworth ordered him under
arrest, could find no officer for the battery, and finally
fought it under a sergeant. Sergeant and captain there
should henceforth exchange places
Small resistance is made on our tight. The Eleventh
does not flee wildly from its old antagonists, as at their
last meeting, when Stonewall Jackson scattered them
as if they had been pygmies, foolishly venturing into
the war of the Titans. It even makes stout resistance
for a little while ; but the advantage of position, as of
numbers, is all with the Rebels, and the line is forced to
retire. It is done deliberately, and without confusion,
till they reach the town. Here the evil genius of the
Eleventh falls upon it again. To save the troops from
the terrible enfilading fire through the streets the
officers wheel them by detachments into cross-streets,
and attempt to march thus around one square after
another, diagonally, through the town. The Germans
are confused by the manoeuvre ; perhaps the old panic
at the battle-cry of Jackson's flying corps comes over
them ; at any rate they break in wild confusion, some
pouring through the town a rout, and are with difficulty
formed again on the heights to the southward. They
lose over one thousand two hundred prisoners in twenty
minutes. One of their generals, Schimmelfennig, an
old officer in the Russian service in the Crimean war, is
GETTYSBURG. 127
cut off, but he shrewdly takes to cover, conceals himself
somewhere in the town, and finally escapes. Cincinnati
Gazette.
AN INCIDENT.
General Schimmelfennig escaped capture bj r resorting
to a dodge worthy of the sharpest Yankee. When he
found his retreat cut off, he seized the coat of a private
and buttoned it closely over his uniform ; he was
knocked down and run over by a gang of Rebels who
were after plunder. He then stumbled swi&y into a
cellar and lay there concealed and without food for two
days ; but when he heard the bo}'s playing ' ' Yankee
Doodle " in the streets, he thought it safe to come out.
He is now in command of his brigade, and ready for
work. Rebellion Record.
SKIRMISHING ON THE SECOND DAY.
All Thursdaj' forenoon there was lively firing between
our skirmishers and those of the enemy, but nothing
betokening a general engagement. Standing on Cem-
etery Hill, which, but for its exposed position, consti-
tuted the best point of observation on the field, I could
see the long line of our skirmishers stretching around
centre and left, well advanced, lying flat on the ground
in the meadows or corn-fields, and firing at will as they
lay. The little streak of curling smoke that rose from
their guns faded awa}" in a thin vapor, that marked the
course of the lines down the left. With a glass the
Rebel line could be even more distinctly seen, eveiy man
of them with his blanket strapped over his shoulder,
no foolish " stripping for the fight" with these trained
soldiers. Occasionally the gray-coated fellows rose
from cover, and with a }*ell rushed on our men, firing
as they came. Once or twice in the half-hour that I
watched them the}- did this with such impetuosity as to
force our skirmishers back, and call out a shell or two
128 STORIES TOLD BY SOLDIERS.
from our nearest batteries, probably the very object
their officers had in view. Cincinnati Gazette.
SICKLES'S MISTAKE.
About three P. M. I rode out to the extreme left to
await the. arrival of the Fifth Corps and post it, when
I found that Major-General Sickles, commanding the
Third Corps, not fully apprehending my instructions in
regard to the position to be occupied, had advanced, or
rather was in the act of advancing, his corps some half-
mile or three quarters of a mile in the front of the
line of the Second Corps, on a prolongation of which it
was designed his corps should rest.
Having found Major-General Sickles I was explain-
ing to him that he was too far in the advance, and dis-
cussing with him the propriety of withdrawing, when
the enemy opened upon him with several batteries in
his front and his flank, and immediately brought for-
ward columns of infantry and made a vigorous assault.
The Third Corps sustained the shock most heroically.
Troops from the Second Corps were immediately sent
by Major-General Hancock to cover the right flank of
the Third Corps, and soon after the assault com-
menced.
The Fifth Corps most fortunately arrived and took a
position on the left of the Third, Major-General Sykes
commanding, immediately sending a force to occupy
" Round Top" ridge, where a most furious contest was
maintained, the enenry making desperate but unsuccess-
ful efforts to secure it. Notwithstanding the stubborn
resistance of the Third Corps, under' Major-General
Birney (Major-General Sickles having been wounded
ear^ in the action) , superiority in numbers of corps of
the enemy enabling him to outflank its advanced
position. General Birney was counselled to fall back
and re-form behind the line originally desired to be
held.
In the mean time, perceiving the great exertions of
GETTYSBURG. 129
the enemy, the Sixth Corps, Major-General Sedgwick,
and part of the First Corps, to which I had assigned
Major-General Newton, particularly Lockwood's Mary-
land Brigade, together with detachments from the
Second Corps, were all brought up at different periods,
and succeeded, together with a gallant resistance of the
Fifth Corps, in checking and finally repulsing the
assault of the enemy, who retired in confusion and dis-
order about sunset, and ceased any further efforts on
our extreme left. Maj.-Gen. Meade.
I cannot trace the movements further in detail ; let
me give one phase of the fight, fit type of many more.
Some Massachusetts batteries, Captain Bigelow's,
Captain Phillips's, two or three more under Captain
McGilroy of Maine, were planted on the extreme left,
advanced now well down to the Emmetsburgh road,
with infantry in their front, the first division, I think,
of Sickles's corps. A little after five a fierce Rebel
charge drove back the infantry and menaced the bat-
teries. Orders are sent to Bigelow, on the extreme left,
to hold his position at ever} 7 hazard short of sheer
annihilation, till a couple more batteries can be brought
to his support. Reserving his fire a little, then with
depressed guns opening with double charges of grape
and canister, he smites and shatters, but cannot break
the advancing line. His grape and canister are ex-
hausted, and still closely, grandly up over their slain
on they come. He falls back on spherical case, and
pours this in at the shortest range. On, still onward
comes the artilleiy-defying line, and still he holds his
position. They are within six paces of the guns, he
fires again. Once more and he blows devoted soldiers
from his very muzzles, and, still mindful of that solemn
order, he holds his place. They spring upon his car-
riages and shoot down his horses ! And then, his
Yankee artillerists still about him, he seizes the guns
9
130 STORIES TOLD BY SOLDIERS.
with the hand, and from the ver}' front of that line drags
two of them off. The caissons are further back, five
out of the six are saved.
That single company, in that half-hour's fight, lost
thirty-three of its men, including ever} 7 sergeant it had.
The Captain himself was wounded. Yet it was the
first time it was ever under fire ! I give it simply as a
t}*pe. So they fought along that fiery line ! Cincinnati
Gazette.
JOHN BURNS.
On the morning of the first da} T 's fight at Gettysburg,
he sent his wife awa} r , telling her that he would take
care of the house. The firing was near by, over Sem-
inary Ridge. Soon a wounded soldier came into the
town and stopped at an old house on the opposite cor-
ner. Burns saw the poor fellow lay down his musket,
and the inspiration to go into the battle seems the first
to have seized him. He went over and demanded the
gun.
' ' What are you going to do with it ? " asked the
soldier.
"I'm going to shoot some of the damned Rebels,"
replied John.
He is not a swearing man ; and the adjective is to be
taken in a strictly literal, not a profane sense.
Having obtained the gun, he pushed out on the Charn-
bersburg Pike, and was soon in the thick of the skirmish.
U I wore a high-crowned hat and a long- tailed blue,
and I was seventy years old," said he.
The sight of so old a man, in such costume, rushing
fearlessly forward to get a shot in the very front of the
battle of course attracted attention. He fought with
the Seventh Wisconsin Regiment, the colonel of \vhich
ordered him back and questioned him ; and finally, see-
ing the old man's patriotic determination, gave him a
good rifle in place of the musket he had brought with him.
' ' Are you a good shot ? "
GETTYSBURG. 131
" Tolerable good," said John, who is an old fox-
hunter.
4 ' Do you see that Rebel riding yonder ? "
"I do."
"Can you fetch him?"
" I can try."
The old man took deliberate aim, and fired. He
does n't say he killed the Rebel, but simply that his shot
was cheered by the Wisconsin boys, and that afterward
the horse the Rebel rode was seen galloping with an
empty saddle. " That's all I know about it."
He fought until our forces were driven back in the
afternoon. He had already received two slight wounds,
and a third one through the arm, to which he paid little
attention. "Onty the blood running down my hand
bothered me a heap." Then, as he was slowly falling
back with the rest, he received a final shot through the
leg. "Down I went, and the whole Rebel army ran
over me." Helpless, nearly bleeding to death from his
wounds, he lay upon the field all night.
"About sun-up the next morning I crawled to a
neighbor's house, and found it full of wounded Rebels."
The neighbor afterwards took him to his own house,
which had also been turned into a Rebel hospital. At-
lantic Monthly.
THE THIRD DAY'S ATTACK.
Soon from the Ceinetery^ Hill (I did not see this, but
tell it as actors in it told me) could be seen the forming
columns of Hill's corps. Their batteries had already
opened in almost a semicircle of fire on that scarred
hill-front. Three cross-fires thus came in upon it, and
to-day the tracks of shells ploughing the ground in as
many directions may be seen eveiywhere among the
graves. Howard never moved his head-quarters an
inch. There was his Eleventh Corps, and there he
meant to stay, and make them do their duty if he could.
They did it well.
132 STORIES TOLD BY SOLDIERS.
When the fierce cannonade had, as they supposed,
sufficiently prepared the way, down came the Rebel
lines, " dressed to the right," as if for a parade before
some grand master of reviews. To the front they had
a line of skirmishers, double or treble the usual strength,
next the line of battle for the charge, next another
equally strong in reserve, if the fierce fire they might
meet should melt away the first.
Howard sent orders for his men to He down, and for
a little our batteries ceased firing. The Rebels thought
the3 T had silenced us, and charged. They were well up
to our front when the whole corps of concealed Ger-
mans sprang up and poured out their sheet of flame and
smoke, and swiftly flying death ; the batteries opened,
the solid lines broke and crisped up into little frag-
ments, and were beaten wildly back. Our men charged,
company after compan}*, once at least a whole regiment,
threw down down their arms, and rushed over to be
taken prisoners and carried out of this fearful fire.
Simultaneously, similar scenes were enacting along
the front of the Second, Third, and Fifth Corps.
Everywhere the Rebel attack was beaten back, and the
cannonade on both sides continued at its highest pitch.
When this broke out I had been coming over from
the neighborhood of Pleasanton's head-quarters. As-
cending the high hill to the rear of Slocum's head-quar-
ters, I saw such a sight as few men may ever hope to
see twice in a lifetime. Around our centre and left
the Rebel line must have been from four to five miles
long, and over that whole length there rolled up the
smoke from their two hundred and fifty guns. The
roar, the bursting bombs, the impression of magnificent
power, "all the glory visible, all the horror of the
fearful field concealed," a nation's existence trembling
as the clangor of those iron monsters swayed the bal-
ance, it was a sensation for a century !
About two the fire slackened a little, then broke out
deadlier than ever, till, beaten out against our impene-
trable sides, it ebbed away, and closed in broken, spas-
modic dashes. Cincinnati Gazette.
GETTYSBURG. 133
THE THIRD DAY'S ATTACK.
Then there was a lull, and we knew that the Rebel
infantry was charging. And splendidly they did this
work, the highest and severest test of the stuff soldiers
are made of. Hill's division in the line of battle came
first on the double-quick, their muskets at the u right-
shoulder-shift." Longstreet's came as the support, at
the usual distance, with war-cries and a savage insolence
as yet untutored by defeat. They rushed in perfect
order across the open field, up to the very muzzles of
the guns, which tore lanes through them as they came.
But the} r met men who were their equals in spirit and
their superiors in tenacity. There never was better
fighting since Thermopylae than was done yesterda}^ by
our infantry and artillery. The Rebels were over our de-
fences. They had cleared cannoneers and horses from
one of the guns, and were whirling it around to use
upon us. The bayonet drove them back. But so hard
pressed was this brave infantry, that at one time, from
the exhaustion of their ammunition, every battery upon
the principal crest of attack was silent except Crowen's.
His services of grape and canister were awful. It
enabled our line, outnumbered two to one, first to beat
back Longstreet, and then to charge upon him and take
a great number of prisoners. Strange sight ! So ter-
rible was our musketry and artillery fire, that, when
Armistead's brigade was checked in its charge and
stood reeling, all of its men dropped their muskets and
crawled on their hands and knees underneath the
stream of shot, till close to our troops, where they
made signs of surrendering. They passed through our
ranks scarcely noticed, and slowly went down the slope
to the road in the rear. N. T. Times.
FROM A SOUTHERN POINT OF VIEW.
Now the storming party was moved up. Pickett's
division in advance, supported on the right by Wilcox's
134 STORIES TOLD BY SOLDIERS.
brigade and on the left by Heth's division, commanded
by Pettigrew. The left of Pickett's division occupied
the same ground over which Wright had passed the day
before. I stood upon an eminence and watched this
advance with great interest ; I had seen brave men
pass . over that fated valle}* the day before ; I had wit-
nessed their death-struggle with the foe on the opposite
heights ; I had observed their return with shattered
ranks, a bleeding mass, but with unstained banners.
Now I saw their valiant comrades prepare for the same
bloody trial, and already felt that their efforts would be
vain unless their supports should be as true as steel and
brave as lions. Now they move forward, with steady,
measured tread they advance upon the foe. Their ban-
ners float defiantly in the breeze, as onward in beautiful
order they press across the plain. I have never seen
since the war began (and I have been in all the great
fights of this army) troops enter a fight in such splen-
did order as d-id this splendid division of Pickett's.
Now Pettigrew's command emerges from the woods
upon Pickett's left, and sweeps down the slope of the
hill to the valley beneath, and some two or three hun-
dred yards in rear of Pickett. I saw by the wavering
of this line as they entered the conflict that they wanted
the firmness of nerve and steadiness of tread which so
characterized Pickett's men, and I felt that these men
would not, could not stand the tremendous ordeal to
which they would be soon subjected. These were
mostly raw troops, which had been recently brought
from the South, and who had, perhaps, never been
under fire, who certainly had never been in any very
severe fight, and I trembled for their conduct. Just
as Pickett was getting well under the enemy's fire, our
batteries ceased firing. This was a fearful moment for
Pickett and his brave command. Why do not our guns
re-open their fire ? is the inquiry that rises upon every
lip. Still our batteries are silent as death ! But on
press Pickett's brave Virginians ; and now the enemy
open upon them, from more than fifty guns, a terrible
GETTYSBURG. 135
fire of grape, shell, and canister. On, on they move, in
unbroken line, delivering a deadly fire as they advance.
Now they have reached the Emmetsburgh road, and
here they meet a severe fire from the heavy masses of
the enemy's infantr}*, posted behind the stone fence,
while their artillery, now free from the annoyance of
our artillery, turn their whole fire upon this devoted
band. Still they remain firm. Now again they ad-
vance ; they storm the stone fence ; the Yankees fly.
The enemy's batteries are, one by one, silenced in quick
succession as Pickett's men deliver their fire at the gun-
ners and drive them from their pieces. I see Kemper
and Armistead plant their banner in the enemy's works.
I hear their glad shout of victory !
Let us look after Pettigrew's division. Where are
they now ? While the victorious shout of the gallant
Virginians is still ringing in my ears, I turn m}* eyes to
the left, and there, all over the plain, in utmost con-
fusion, is scattered this strong division. Their line is
broken ; the} T are flying, apparently panic-stricken, to
the rear. The gallant Pettigrew is wounded ; but he
still retains command, and is vainly striving to rally his
men. Still the moving mass rush pell-mell to the rear,
and Pickett is left alone to contend with the hordes of
the enemy now pouring in upon him on every side.
Garnett falls, killed by a minie ball, and Kemper, the
brave and chivalrous, reels under a mortal wound, and
is taken to the rear. Now the enemy move around
strong flanking bodies of infantry, and are rapidly gain-
ing Pickett's rear. The order is given to fall back, and
our men commence the movement, doggedly contending
for eveiy inch of ground. The enem} T press heavily
our retreating line, and man} T noble spirits who had
passed safely through the fiery ordeal of the advance
and charge now fall on the right and on the left.
Armistead is wounded, and left in the enemy's hands.
At this critical moment the shattered remnant of
Wright's Georgia brigade is moved forward to cover
their retreat, and the fight closes here. Our loss in this
136 STORIES TOLD BY SOLDIERS.
charge was very severe, and the Yankee prisoners taken
acknowledge that theirs was immense. Richmond En-
quirer.
A REBEL CHARGE.
Reaching my post I looked up the line and there
stood the brave Stuart, calmly waiting for the troops
to get in position. "Fix bayonets ! " was the command,
quietly given, and the last act in this bloody drama was
about to be enacted. It was a dreadful moment. But
one brief second of life yet left ! The sword of the
general is raised on high ! " Forward, double-quick ! "
rings out in clarion tones, and the race to meet death
began. The fated brigade emerged from the woods
into the open plain, and here, O God ! what a fire
greeted us, and the death-shriek rends the air on every
side ! But on the gallant survivors pressed, closing up
the dreadful gaps as fast as they were made. At this
moment I felt a violent shock, and found myself instantly
stretched upon the ground. I had experienced the
feeling before, and knew what it meant, but to save me
I could not tell where I was struck. In the excitement
I felt not the pain, and, resting upon my elbow, anxiously
watched that struggling column. Column, did I say?
A column no longer, but the torn and scattered frag-
ments of one. But flesh and blood could not live in
such a fire ; and a handful of survivors of what had
been a little more than twelve hours before the pride
and boast of the army sought to reach the cover of the
woods. Maj. Goldsborough, 1st Md. C. S. A.
THE THICK OF THE FIGHT.
Men fired in each other's faces not five feet apart.
There were bayonet-thrusts, cuttings with sabres,
pistol-shots, cool, deliberate movements on the part of
some, hot. passionate, despairing efforts with others,
hand-to-hand contests. There was recklessness of
GETTYSBURG. 137
life, tena dty of purpose, oaths, curses, yells, hurrahs,
shoutings, men went down, some on their faces, some
leaping into the air with exclamations wrung from their
hearts. There were ghastly heaps of dead where the
cannon tore open the ranks. C. C. Coffin.
ADVANCE OF THE COLORS.
When the fight was most terrific, Colonel Hall, com-
manding the brigade, quietly ordered the color-bearer
of the Fifteenth Massachusetts to advance upon the
enemy alone. It was like an electric impulse. It
thrilled the entire line. Men forgot that they were on
the defensive ; and, without an order from a command-
ing officer, the line, as if bent on one common purpose,
surged ahead. Thousands of bayonets flashed in the
setting sun. Then came a wild hurrah, and the mass
of Rebels melted away over the plain. C. C. Coffin.
OUSTER'S CAVALRY CHARGE.
To repel their advance I ordered the Fifth Cavalry
to a more advanced position, with instructions to main-
tain their ground at all hazards. Colonel Alger, com-
manding the Fifth, assisted by Majors Trowbridge and
Ferry of the same regiment, made such admirable dis-
position of their men behind fences and other defences,
as enabled them to successfully repel the repeated
advance of a greatly superior force. I attributed their
success in a great measure to the fact that this regiment
is armed with the Spencer repeating rifle, which, in the
hands of brave, determined men, like those composing
the Fifth Michigan Cavalry, is, in my estimation, the
most effective fire-arm that our cavalry can adopt.
Colonel Alger held his ground until his men had ex-
hausted their ammunition, when he was compelled to
fall back on the main body. The beginning of this
movement was the signal for the enenvy to charge,
which they did, with two regiments, mounted and dis-
138 STORIES TOLD BY SOLDIERS.
mounted. I at once ordered the Seventh Michigan
Cavalry, Colonel Mann, to charge the advancing column
of the enemy. The ground over which we had to pass
was ver}' unfavorable for the manoeuvring of cavalry,
but despite all obstacles this regiment advanced boldly
to the assault, which was executed in splendid stj-le,
the enemy being driven from field to field until our
advance reached a high and unbroken fence, behind
which the enemy were strongly posted. Nothing
daunted, Colonel Mann, followed by the main body of
his regiment, bravely rode up to the fence and dis-
charged their revolvers in the very face of the foe. No
troops could have maintained this position ; the Seventh
was, therefore, compelled to retire, followed b}' twice
the number of the enemy. By this time Colonel Alger
of the Fifth Michigan Cavalry had succeeded in mount-
ing a considerable portion of his regiment, and gallantly
advanced to the assistance of the Seventh, whose fur-
ther pursuit by the enemy he checked. At the same
time an entire brigade of the enenry's cavalry, consist-
ing of four regiments, appeared just over the crest in
our front. They were formed in column of regiments.
To meet this overwhelming force I had but one avail-
able regiment, the First Michigan Cavalry and the fire
of Battery M, Second Regular Artillery. I at once
ordered the First to charge, but learned at the same
moment that similar orders had been given by Brigadier-
General Gregg. As before stated, the First was formed
in column of battalions. Upon receiving the orders to
charge, Colonel Town, placing himself at the head of
his command, ordered the "trot" and sabres to be
drawn. In this manner this gallant body of men ad-
vanced to the attack of a force outnumbering them five
to one. In addition to this numerical superiority the
enemy had the advantage of position, and were exultant
over the repulse of the Seventh Michigan Cavalry. All
these facts considered would seem to render success on
the part of the First impossible. Not so, however.
Arriving within a few yards of the enemy's column, the
GETTYSBURG. 139
charge was ordered, and, with a }*ell that spread terror
before them, the First Michigan Cavalry, led by Colonel
Town, rode upon the front rank of the enemy, sabring
all who came within reach. For a moment, but only a
moment, that long heavy column stood its ground, then,
unable to withstand the impetuosity of our attack, it
gave way into a disorderly rout, leaving vast numbers
of their dead and wounded in our possession, while the
First, being masters of the field, had the proud satisfac-
tion of seeing the much vaunted ' ' Chivahy " led by
their favorite commander, seek safety in headlong flight.
I cannot find language to express my high appreciation
of the gallantry and daring displayed by the officers
and men of the First Michigan Cavalry. The} 7 ad-
vanced to the charge of a vastly superior force with as
much order and precision as if going upon parade ; and
I challenge the annals of warfare to produce a more
brilliant or successful charge of cavalry than the one
just recounted. Maj.- Gen. Ouster.
THE KEPULSE.
As soon as the bullets began to whistle, a general
said to the orderly who carried the color of his brigade,
which he supposed would attract notice and draw the
fire of the enemy upon him, '"Take away that flag, go
to the rear with that flag ! " and the person who obe3 r ed
this direction remarked in stating it, " Faith, an' I was
as willin' to run with it to the rear as he was to have
me." ....
At sunset, at a critical time, in obedience to a
universal cry among the soldiers, u Charge on them ! "
" Take our old ground !" the fragments of the brigade,
with the colors of five regiments unfurled within the
distance of one hundred feet, in the absence of its gen-
eral, and against the orders of General Humphreys, the
division commander, who vainly shouted, ''Halt ! halt !
stop those men!" pursued the enemy half a mile, cap-
tured several prisoners, retook cannon that had been
140 STORIES TOLD BY SOLDIERS.
left upon the field, and assisted to achieve a conclusive
success
The Rebels told me that their generals and officers
said that there was nothing in their front except a force
of militia which would run away at the first voile}- ; but
this falsehood was detected as soon as the fighting com-
menced. The} 7 deceived others, who implored the Na-
tional troops not to kill them. I observed one wounded
youth, about sixteen years of age, who was ending, and
stated as the cause of his grief that "General Lee
always put the Fifth Florida in the front !"....
One of the staff arrived and stated that a brigadier-
general had decided to establish a new line of battle
about a mile in the rear, but was unable to find his
regiments, and delivered an order for the ranks to
return at once to that point. The men were very indig-
nant, because they wished to enjoy that rest which is so
precious to eveiy soldier, a sleep upon the field which
the a y had won by their bravery ; and an officer said,
"Tell the general that if he will come to the front he
will find his commands with their colors, and, if he was
not such a d d coward, he would be here with
them." ....
The Rebels were dispirited by the repulses upon the
2d and 3d; called the plain a "slaughter-pen"; de-
clared that further fighting was useless ; and some,
who considered Jackson their " very heart of hope,"
mournfully said, " We have not got Stonewall with us
now." They related the following incident regarding
Amistead, who commanded a brigade, and was killed
in the unsuccessful charge. He skulked behind the
trunk of a poplar- tree, in one of the battles before
Richmond ; and, as the}' advanced upon the open plain,
several men who disliked him shouted, " There are no
poplar-trees to get behind now " ; and he replied to
their taunts by saying, " Before this charge is ended,
you will wish that there were some poplar-trees here."
Capt. Blake, 11 th Mass.
GETTYSBURG. HI
GENERAL LEE AFTER THE BATTLE.
He was engaged in ralMng and encouraging the
broken troops, and was riding about, a little in front of
the wood, quite alone, the whole of his staff being
engaged in a similar manner, further to the rear. His
face, which is always placid and cheerful, did not show
signs of the slightest disappointment, care, or anno} T -
ance ; and he was addressing to every soldier he met
a few words of encouragement, such as, " All this will
come right in the end ; we '11 talk it over afterwards ;
but, in the mean time, all good men must rally. We
want all good and true men just now," &c. He spoke
to all the wounded that passed him, and the slightly
wounded he exhorted to bind up their hurts and take
up a musket in this emergenc3 T . Very few failed to
answer his appeal, and I saw many badly wounded men
take off their ha*ts and cheer him.
I saw General Willcox (an officer who wears a short
round jacket and a battered straw hat) come up to him,
and explain, almost crying, the state of his brigade.
General Lee immediately shook hands with him, and
said, cheerfully, " Never mind, General, all this has
been MY fault, it is /that have lost this fight, and you
must help me out of it in the best way you can."
In this manner I saw General Lee encourage and re-
animate his somewhat dispirited troops, and magnani-
mously take upon his own shoulders the whole weight
of the repulse. An English Officer.
WORK OF THE SANITARY COMMISSION.
4 ' Have you friends in the army, madam ? " a Rebel
soldier, lying on the floor of the car, said to me as I
gave him some milk. " Yes, my brother is on J s
staff." "I thought so, ma'am. You can always tell;
when people are good to soldiers, they are sure to have
friends in the army." " We are Rebels, you know,
112 STORIES TOLD BY SOLDIERS.
ma'am," another said; " do you treat Rebels so?"
It was strange to see the good brotherly feeling come
over the soldiers, our own and the Rebels, when^ side
by side, they lay in our tents, " Hallo, boys ! this is
the pleasantest way to meet, is n't it ? We are better
friends when we are as close as this, than a little far-
ther off." And then they would go over the battles
together: " we were here," and " you were there," in
the friendliest way. . . .* .
Few good things can be said of the Gettysburg farm-
ers, and I Only use Scripture language in calling them
"evil beasts." One of this kind came creeping into our
camp three weeks after the battle. He lived five miles
only from the town, and had " never seen a Rebel."
He heard we had some of them, and came down to see
them. " Boys, here 's a man whenever saw a Rebel
in his life., and wants to look at you " ; and then he
stood with his mouth wide open, and there they lay in
rows, laughing at him, stupid old Dutchman. u And
why have n't you seen a Rebel? " Mrs. said ; " why
did n't you take your gun and help to drive them out of
your town? " " A feller might 'er got hit ! " which
reply was quite too much for the Rebels ; they roared
wilh laughter at him, up and down the tents. Miss
Woolsey.
GENERAL MEADE'S OFFICIAL REPORT.
Major-General Reynolds immediately moved around
the town of Gettysburg, and advanced on the Cash-
town road, and without a moment's hesitation deployed
his advance division and attacked the enemy, at the
same time sending orders for the Eleventh Corps
(General Howard) to advance as promptly as possible.
Soon after making his dispositions for the attack, Major-
General Reynolds fell mortally wounded, the command
of the First Corps devolving on Major-General Double-
day, and the command of the field on Major-General
Howard, who arrived about this time (11.30A.M.),
GETTYSBURG. 143
with the Eleventh Corps, then commanded by Major-
General Schurz. Major-General Howard pushed for-
ward two divisions of the Eleventh Corps to support
the First Corps, now warmly engaged with the enemy
on the ridge to the north of the town, and posted his
Third Division, with three batteries of artillery, on Cem-
etery Ridge, on the south side of the town. Up to this
time the battle had been with the forces of the enemy
debouching from the mountains on the Cashtown Road,
known to be Hill's corps. In the early part of the
action, success was on our side, Wadsworth's division
of the First Corps having driven the enemy back some
distance, and capturing numerous prisoners, among
them, General Archer, of the Confederate army.
The arrival of reinforcements to the enemy on the
Cashtown Road, and the junction with Swell's corps,
coming on the York and Harrisburg roads, which
occurred between one and two o'clock p. M., enabled
the enemy to bring vastly superior forces against both
the First and Eleventh Corps, outflanking our line of
battle and pressing it so severely that, at about four
p. M., Major-General Howard deemed it prudent to
withdraw these two corps to Cemetery Ridge, on the
south side of the town, which operation was successfully
accomplished, not, however, without considerable loss
in prisoners, arising from the confusion incident to
portions of both corps passing through the town, and
the men getting confused in the streets.
About the time of the withdrawal, Major-General
Hancock arrived, whom I had despatched to represent
me on the field on hearing of the death of General Re}'-
nolds. In conjunction with Major-General Howard,
General Hancock proceeded to post troops on Cemetery
Ridge, and to repel an attack that the enem} T made on
our right flank. This attack was not, however, very
vigorous. The enemy, seeing the strength of the posi-
tion occupied, seemed to be satisfied with the success
he had accomplished, desisting from any further attack
this day.
144 STORIES TOLD BY SOLDIERS.
About seven p. M., Major-Generals Slocum and Sic-
kles, with the Twelfth Corps and part of the Third,
reached the ground and took post on the right and left
of the troops previously posted.
Being satisfied, from reports received from the field,
that it was the intention of the enemy to support, with
. his whole army, the attack already made, and reports
from Major-Generals Hancock and Howard on the
character of the position being favorable, I determined
to give battle at this point, and early in the evening of
the 1st, issued orders to all corps to concentrate at
Gettysburg, directing all trains to be sent to the rear
at Westminster.
At eleven p. M. of the 1st, I broke up my head-quar-
ters, which, till then, had been at Tane3'town, and
proceeded to the field, arriving there at one A. M. of
the 2d. So soon as it was light I proceeded to in-
spect the position occupied, and to make arrangements
for posting several corps as the}' should reach the
ground. By seven A. M. the Second and Fifth Corps,
with the rest of the Third, had reached the ground, and
were posted as follows. The Eleventh Corps retained
its position on the cemetery side, just opposite to the
town. The First Corps was posted on the right of the
Eleventh, on an elevated knoll, connecting with a ridge
extending to the south and east, on which the Second
Corps was placed. The right of the Twelfth Corps
rested on a small stream at a point where it crossed the
Baltimore Pike, and which formed on the right flank of
the Twelfth something of an obstacle. Cemetery Ridge
extended in a westerly and southerly direction,' gradu-
ally diminishing in elevation till it came to a very prom-
inent ridge, called Round Top, running east and west."
The Second and Third Corps were directed to occupy
the continuation of Cemetery Ridge, on the left of the
Eleventh Corps. The Fifth Corps, pending the arrival
of the Sixth, was held in reserve. While these disposi-
tions were being made, the enemy was massing his
troops on the exterior ridge, distant from the line
occupied by us from a mile to a mile and a half.
GETTYSBURG. 145 '
At two P. M. the -Sixth Corps arrived, after a march
of thirty-two miles, accomplished from nine A. M. the day
previous. On its arrival being reported, I immediately
directed the Fifth Corps to move over to our extreme
left, and the Sixth to occup} T its place as a reserve for
the right
Another assault was, however, made, about eight
p. M., on the Eleventh Corps, from the left of $hetown,
which was repulsed with the assistance of the troops
from the Second and First Corps. During the heavy
assault upon our extreme left, portions of the Twelfth
Corps were sent as reinforcements. During their ab-
sence, the line on the extreme right was held by a very
much reduced force. This was taken advantage of by
the enem3 T , who, during the absence of Geary's division
of the Twelfth Corps, advanced and occupied part of
the line. On the morning of the 3d, General Geary,
having returned during the night, was attacked at early
dawn by the enemy, but succeeded in driving him
back, and occupying his former position. A spirited
contest was maintained all the morning along this
part of the line. General Geary, reinforced by Whea-
ton's brigade, Sixth Corps, maintained his position,
inflicting very severe losses on the enen^. With
this exception, the quiet of the lines remained un-
disturbed till one P. M. on the 3d, when the enemy
opened from over one hundred and twenty-five guns,
plaj'ing upon our centre and left. This cannonade
continued for over two hours, when, our guns failing
to make any reply, the enemy ceased firing, and soon
his masses of infantry became visible, forming for
an assault on our left and left centre. The assault
was made with great firmness, being directed prin-
cipally against the point occupied by the Second Corps,
and was repelled with equal firmness by the troops of
that corps, supported by Doubleday's division and
Stannard's brigade of the First Corps.
During the assault, both Major-General Hancock,
commanding the left centre, and Brigadier-General
10
146 STORIES TOLD BY SOLDIERS.
Gibbon, commanding the Second Corps, were severely
wounded.
This terminated the battle, the enemy retiring to
his lines leaving the field strewed with his dead and
wounded, and numbers of prisoners fell into our hands.
The result of the campaign may be briefly stated in
the defeat of the enemy at Gettj'sburg, his compulsory
evacuation of Pennsylvania and Maryland, and his
withdrawal from the upper valley of the Shenandoah ;
and in the capture of three guns, fort3'-one standards,
and 13,621 prisoners. 24,978 small arms were col-
lected on the battle-field. Our own losses were very
severe, amounting, as will be seen b} T the accompany-
ing return, to 2,834 killed, 13,709 wounded, and 6,643
missing, in all, 23,186.
GENERAL LEE'S OFFICIAL REPORT.
The preparations for attack were not completed until
the afternoon of the 2d.
The enemy held a high and commanding ridge, along
which he had massed a large amount of artillery.
General Ewell occupied the left of our line, General
Hill the centre, and General Longstreet the right. In
front of General Longstreet the enemy held a position,
from which, if he could be driven, it was thought that
our arni 4 y could be used to advantage in assailing the
more elevated ground beyond, and thus enable us to
reach the crest of the ridge. That officer was directed
to endeavor to carry this position, while General Ewell
attacked directly the high ground on the enemy's right,
which had alread}- been partially fortified. General
Hill was instructed to threaten the centre of the Fed-
eral line, in order to prevent reinforcements being sent
to either wing, and to avail himself of any opportu-
nity that might present itself to attack.
After a severe struggle, Longstreet succeeded in get-
ting possession of and holding the desired ground.
Ewell also carried some of the strong positions which
GETTYSBURG. 147
he assailed, and the result was such as to -lead to the
belief that he would ultimate!} 7 be able to dislodge the
enemy. The battle ceased at dark.
These partial successes determined me to continue
the assault next day. Pickett, with three of his bri-
gades, joined Longstreet the following morning, and
our batteries were moved forward to the position gained
by him the day before.
The general plan of attack was unchanged, except
that one division and two brigades of Hill's corps w r ere
ordered to support Longstreet.
The enemy, in the mean time, had strengthened his
line with earth-works. The morning was .occupied in
necessary preparations, and the battle recommenced
in the afternoon of the 3d, and raged with great
violence until sunset. Our troops succeeded in en-
tering the advanced works of the enemy, and getting
possession of some of his batteries ; but our artillery
having nearty expended its ammunition, the attacking
columns became exposed to the heavy fire of the nu-
merous batteries near the summit of the ridge, and,
after a most determined and gallant struggle, were
compelled to relinquish their advantage, and fall back
to their original position, with severe loss.
The conduct of the troops was all that I could desire
or expect, and they deserved success so far as it can be
deserved by heroic valor and fortitude. More may
have been required of them than they were able to per-
form, but m} T admiration of their noble qualities, and
confidence in their abilit}' to cope successfully with the
enemy, has suffered no abatement from the issue of this
protracted and sanguinary conflict.
Owing to the strength of the enemy's position and the
reduction of our ammunition, a renewal of the engage-
ment could not be hazarded, and the difficulty of pro-
curing supplies rendered it impossible to continue longer
where we were. Such of the wounded as were in con-
dition to be removed, and part of the arms collected on
the field, were ordered to Williamsport. The arm} 7 re-
148 STORIES TOLD BY SOLDIERS.
mained at Gettysburg during the 4th, and at night be-
gan to retire b}' the road to Fail-field, carrying with it
about four thousand prisoners. Nearly two thousand
had previously been paroled, but the enemy's numer-
ous wounded, that had fallen into our hands after the
first and second day's engagements, were left behind.
Little progress was made that night, owing to a
severe storm, which greatly embarrassed our move-
ments. The rear of the column did not leave its posi-
tion near Gettysburg until after daylight on the 5th.
The march was continued during that day without
interruption by the enem3 r , except an unimportant
demonstration upon our rear in the afternoon, when
near Fairfield, which was easily checked. Part of our
train moved by the road through Fairfield, and the rest
b} T the way of Cashtown, guarded by General Imboden.
In passing through the mountains, in advance of the
column, the great length of the trains exposed them to
attack by the enemy's cavalry, which captured a num-
ber of wagons and ambulances ; but they succeeded in
reaching Williamsport without serious loss.
They were attacked at that place on the 6th by the
eneni3 r 's cavalry, which was gallantty repulsed by Gen-
eral Imboden. The attacking force was subsequently
encountered and driven off by General Stuart, and pur-
sued for several miles in the direction of Boonesboro.
The army, after an arduous march, rendered more diffi-
cult by the rains, reached Hagerstown on the afternoon
of the 6th and morning of the 7th of July.
The Potomac was found to be so much swollen by
the rains that had fallen almost incessantly since our
entrance into Maryland as to be unfordable. Our com-
munications with the south side were thus interrupted,
and it was difficult to procure either ammunition or
subsistence, the latter difficulty being enhanced b} T the
high waters impeding the working of neighboring mills.
The trains with the wounded and prisoners were com-
pelled to await at Williamsport the subsiding of the
river and the construction of boats, as the pontoon
GETTYSBURG. 149
bridge left at Falling Waters had been partially de-
stroyed. The enemy had not yet made his appearance ;
but as he was in condition to obtain large reinforce-
ments, and our situation, for the reasons above men-
tioned, was becoming daily more embarrassing, it was
deemed advisable to recross the river. Part of the pon-
toon bridge was recovered, and new boats built, so
that by the 13th a good bridge was thrown over the
river at Falling Waters.
The enemy in force reached our front on the 12th.
A position had been previously selected to cover the
Potomac from Williamsport to Falling Waters, and an
attack was awaited during that and the succeeding- day.
This did not take place, though the two armies were in
close proximity, the enemy being occupied in fortifying
his own lines. Our preparations being completed, and
the river, though still deep, being pronounced fordable,
the army commenced to withdraw to the south side on
the night of the 13th.
Swell's corps forded the river at Williamsport, those
of Longs treet and Hill crossed upon the bridge. Owing
to the condition of the roads the troops did not reach
the bridge until after da}iight of the 14th, and the
crossing was not completed till one p. M., when the
bridge was removed. The enemy offered no serious
interruption, and the movement was attended with no
loss of material except a few disabled wagons and two
pieces of artillerj', which the horses were unable to
move through the deep mud. Before fresh horses
could be sent back for them, the rear of the column had
passed.
During the slow and tedious march to the bridge, in
the midst of a violent storm of rain, some of the men
lay down by the way to rest. Officers sent back for
them failed to find many in the obscurity of the night,
and these, with some stragglers, fell into the hands of
the enemy.
CHAPTER IX.
CHICKAMAUGA AND CHATTANOOGA.
/CHATTANOOGA, in Eastern Tennessee, was
^-^ another of the points which were very im-
portant to each party in the war. It is the centre
of a great system of railroads, which unite the
Eastern and Western regions of the South. The
armies in Virginia and the East received by these
roads their supplies of grain and beef from Ala-
bama, Florida, amd Georgia. The inhabitants of
the neighborhood were loyal to the Union ; and on
this account alone the National government would
have been glad to take and hold Chattanooga, for
their encouragement. After the fall of Vicksburg,
Chattanooga was the most important point except-
ing Richmond for the National army to seize.
General Rosecrans took possession of it accord-
ingly, on the 9th of September, 1&63, having out-
generalled the Southern General Bragg, who was
intrusted with holding it. But Bragg had no in-
tention of leaving his enemy in possession, and,
having been largely reinforced, on the 19th of
September he attacked the widely extended army
CH1CKAMAUGA AND CHATTANOOGA. 151
of Rosecrans, " demolished his right wing," and
pierced his centre. But the persistency of General
Thomas who always distinguished himself by
holding on foiled Bragg in his principal object,
and, though Rosecrans lost sixteen thousand men
and thirty-six cannon in this battle, which is
known as the battle of Chickamauga, Chattanooga
was, for the moment, saved. Still, with his army
so terribly reduced, Rosecrans could do little more
than hold it. General Bragg considered its reduc-
tion a mere question of time. 1 He held all the
high land on the south side of the city, and as
the Tennessee River, not easily passed, shut it in
on the north and west, the National army was
virtually besieged in the city. The supply trains
from Bridgeport, twenty-five miles distant by road,
could not cross the mountains after the fall rains
set in ; and- General Rosecrans was obliged to put
his whole command on half-rations. Under these
circumstances General Rosecrans was removed,
and General Grant appointed in his place ; and, to
relieve Chattanooga, as soon as he could gather
strength sufficient, he fought the battle known as
" the battle of Chattanooga."
Of this battle General Badeau says : "It was the
grandest one fought west of the Alleghanies. It
covered an extent of thirteen miles, and Grant
had over sixty thousand men engaged At
1 General Bragg says in an official report : " We held him at
our mercy, and his destruction was only a question of time."
152 STORIES TOLD BY SOLDIERS.
Vicksburg it had been the strategy, at Shiloh
the hard fighting, but at Chattanooga it was the
manoeuvring in the presence of the enemy that
brought about the result ; aided, of course, in the
highest possible degree, by the gallantry of the
soldiers, without which the greatest of generals is
in fact unarmed. Few battles have ever been
won so strictly according to the plan laid down ;
certainly no battle, during the war of the Rebel-
lion, was carried out so completely according to
the programme. Grant's instructions in advance
would almost serve as a history of the contest.
Changes were indeed made in the orders ; but
before the battle began, the original plan was
resumed."
That plan was simple, and any boy who will fix
this in his mind, or set it down on an imaginary
map, on a bit of paper, will understand well enough
the more important places alluded to in the narra-
tives of details which follow. Remember that
Lookout Mountain is a high mountain which com-
mands the view of the whole scene. The fighting
at Missionary Ridge was thirteen miles northeast
of Lookout Mountain. Missionary Ridge runs
south from where it touches the Tennessee, and
along its summit ran, for six miles, the Rebel in-
trenchments, shutting in Chattanooga from, the
east ; then they turned westward and ran for four
miles across the valley of Chattanooga Creek, to
Lookout Mountain, which was held by a strong
CHICKAMAUGA AND CHATTANOOGA. 153
force to secure his left flank. Bragg had just
weakened himself by sending Longstreet on an
expedition into Eastern Tennessee with fifteen
thousand men, so that his effective force was only
forty-five thousand, scattered along his ten miles
of intrenchments.
Grant had thirty thousand men under Thomas
in Chattanooga, Hooker with ten thousand west of
Lookout Mountain on the south side of the Ten-
nessee, and Sherman on the north side, behind the
hills, with twenty thousand.
This is his plan in his own words : " The general
plan is for Sherman .... to effect a crossing of
the Tennessee River, just below the mouth of the
Chickamauga ; his crossing to be protected by ar-
tillery from the heights on the north bank of the
river, and to secure the heights from the north-
ern extremity to about the railroad tunnel, before
the enemy can concentrate against him. You "
(Thomas) " will co-operate with Sherman
Further movements will then depend on those of
the enemy."
But on the 23d of November it seemed as if the
knot was to be cut in an entirely different way.
A Rebel soldier, who had seen the departure from
the Rebel camp of a corps sent to reinforce Long-
street, deserted, and brought the news into the
Union camp that Bragg was evacuating his posi-
tion. Grant, unwilling to allow Bragg to make an
orderly retreat, and anxious to learn the truth,
154 STORIES TOLD BY SOLDIERS.
ordered an advance to feel the Rebels' centre, al-
though Sherman had not yet reached his position
behind Chattanooga. Sherman had been for more
than a month inarching up from Vicksburg.
Accordingly at noon of the 23d two corps of
Thomas's command formed in line of battle and
advanced quickly on the Rebel line. The enemy
were taken entirely by surprise, and driven a mile
and a half to their second line of defences. Thomas
immediately strengthened his position by earth-
works, and on the morning of the 24th he had
several guns in position on his new line. Here he
waited all the next day.
While he was fortifying himself, Sherman was
floating down pontoons from a creek above, and
building a bridge across the Tennessee north of the
enemy's position. The next morning, under cover
of the mist, he began ferrying his troops across,
and continued his work on the bridge, so that at
one of the 24th all his men were on the south side
of the river, and their line of communication secure.
As soon as his last men were across, he advanced
toward the south till he came to the main line of
the enemy, who offered vigorous resistance. Sher-
man's immediate object was to get possession of the
railroad from Chattanooga east, but the enemy were
strongly fortified and kept him back till night.
Hooker on the west also made an attack on the
24th, and in the afternoon fought his " Battle among
the Clouds." He had to build a bridge over the
CH1CKAMAUGA AND CHATTANOOGA. 155
Lookout Creek before advancing, but, once across,
he drove the enemy from their superior position,
and at four had gained a point which commanded
the enemy's works ; for two hours he had been
fighting in a cloud-mist, only more darkened by
the smoke of the battle.
In the night the enemy retreated from Lookout
Mountain across the Chattanooga Creek, burning
the bridges as they went. At the same time they
evacuated some of the ground they had held so
well in front of Sherman, and retreated to still
stronger defences.
Next morning, the morning of the 25th, Sherman
advanced over the ground given by the Rebels and
attacked them again and again. So hard he struck
that Bragg had again and again to reinforce his
men in this position, which they must keep. Di-
vision after division was sent to the right, and the
centre and left weakened by so much.
At last the time had come, and Grant gave the
word to Thomas in the centre. His army, the army
which had been defeated at Chickamauga, sprang
forward on the double-quick. Every man knew
that here was the moment to avenge that defeat.
The defence of the Rebels was nothing to them,
the Rebels were less ; on they went, with cheers
and shouts, over line after line of breastworks, over
line after line of soldiers, till the last pits on the
top of the ridge were gained, the enemy's centre
was crushed, the battle was won.
156 STORIES TOLD BY SOLDIERS.
Thomas turned some of his men to the left, to
rout the Rebels still holding out against Sherman ;
with others he pursued the retreat the flight
of the enemy.
" For Chickamauga," said Uncle Fritz, " we can-
not do much with the reports of our side : it is sad
work. But you will find a book the Rebel govern-
ment published with all their reports of that battle ;
perhaps you can pick out something interesting out
of that."
So Horace, who knew enough not to expect pictu-
resqueness from the report of any one higher than
a brigadier, picked out these three bits.
A REBEL BRIGADE.
The attack was soon made by the whole line. It
was stubbornly resisted from a very strong position just
behind the crest of the hill. A portion of two of my
regiments gained the crest of the hill and planted colors
there, but the position was a hot one, and some break-
ing to the rear on the left caused the whole to give way
for a time. The troops were rallied on the slope of the
hill, lines reformed, and all in readiness to resume the
attack, when the enemy advanced his line immediately
in my front, down the hill, with some impetuosity. The
line was instantly ordered forward to meet this charge,
and the command quickly responded to. The enemy
was met by a volley and a charge which did much exe-
cution, his line broken, and his troops fled in some con-
fusion ; but as there was no corresponding forward
movement by the brigades on my right and left, and as
t-be hill near the crest was very difficult to ascend, he
had time either to re-form or to bring up a second line
CHICKAMAUGA AND CHATTANOOGA. 157
before we reached the top of the hill, and another re-
pulse was the consequence. Troops never rallied more
prompth', nor with less confusion or clamor. Brig.'
Gen. Patton Anderson, G. S. A.
DEATH OF GENERAL DESHLEB, C. S. A.
About twelve o'clock our supply of ammunition
began to give out, and I sent a courier to Brigadier-
General Deshler to inform him of the fact, and to ask
where we could get more. A few minutes after, I saw
him coming towards my right, some forty paces from
me, when he was struck by a shell in the chest and his
heart literally torn from his bosom Refusing to
permit a staff-officer to endanger his life in going to ex-
amine the cartridge-boxes to see what amount of ammu-
nition his men had, he cheerfully started himself to brave
the tempest of death that raged on the crest of the hill.
He had gone but a little way when he fell, fell as he
would wish to fall. . . . Col. R. Q. Mills, commanding
Brigade G. S. A.
A BRAVE REBEL.
Private McCann was under my own eye. He stood
upright, cheerful and self-possessed in the very hail of
deadly missiles, and cheered up his comrades around
him. After he had expended all his ammunition, he
gathered up the cartridge-boxes of the dead and wound-
ed, and distributed them to his comrades. He bore
himself like a hero through the entire contest, and fell
mortally wounded by the last volleys of the enenry. I
promised him during the engagement that I would men-
tion his good conduct, and, as he was borne dying from
the field, he turned his boyish face upon me, and, with
a light and pleasant smile, reminded me of my prom-
ise. Col. R. Q. Mills, commanding Brigade G. S. A.
158 STORIES TOLD BY SOLDIERS.
But for Chattanooga they had only too much.
Uncle Fritz only let them read half of what they
wanted to, and it is to be hoped they halved their
book-marks wisely. Florence confesses that she
only left out the shorter extracts.
SHERMAN'S ADVANCE TO CHATTANOOGA.
Another bridge was in course of construction at Chat-
tanooga, under the immediate direction of Quarter-
master-General Meigs, but at the time all the wagons,
etc. had to be ferried across by a flying bridge. Men
were bus} T and hard at work everywhere inside our
lines, and boats for another pontoon bridge were being
rapidly constructed under Brigadier-General "W. F.
Smith, familiarly known as " Baldy Smith," and this
bridge was destined to be used by my troops, at a point
of the river about four miles above Chattanooga, just
below the mouth of the Chickamauga River. General
Grant explained to me that he had reconnoitred the
Rebel line from Lookout Mountain up to Chickamauga,
and he believed that the northern portion of Missionary
Ridge was not fortified at all ; and he wanted me, as
soon as my troops got up, to lay the new pontoon bridge
by night, cross over, and attack Bragg's right flank on
that part of the ridge abutting on Chickamauga Creek,
near the tunnel ; and he proposed that we should go at
once to look at the ground. In company with Generals
Thomas, W. F. Smith, Brannan, and others, we crossed
03- the flying bridge, rode back of the hills some four
miles, left our horses, and got on a hill overlooking the
whole ground about the mouth of the Chickamanga
River, and across to the Missionary Hills near the tun-
nel. Smith and I crept down behind a fringe of trees
that lined the river-bank, to the very point selected for
the new bridge, where we sat for some time, seeing the
Rebel pickets on the opposite bank, and almost hearing
their words.
CHICKAMAUGA AND CHATTANOOGA. 159
Having seen enough we returned to Chattanooga ;
and in order to hurry up my command, on which so
much depended, I started back to Kelley's in hopes to
catch the steamboat that same evening ; but on my
arrival the boat had gone. I applied to the command-
ing officer, got a rough boat, manned by four soldiers,
and started down the river by night. I occasionally
took a turn at the oars to relieve some tired man, and
about midnight we reached Shell Mound, where General
Whittaker, of Kentucky, furnished us a new and good
crew, with which we reached Bridgeport by daylight.
I started Ewing's division in advance, with orders to
turn aside towards Trenton, to make the enemy believe
we were going to turn Bragg' s left by pretty much the
same road Rosecrans had followed ; but with the other
three divisions I followed the main road, via the Big
Trestle at Whitesides, and reached General Hooker's
head-quarters, just above Wauhatchee, on the 20th ; my
troops strung all the way back to Bridgeport. It was
on this occasion that the Fifteenth Corps gained its
peculiar badge ; as the men were trudging along the
deeply-cut, mudd3 T road, of a cold, drizzly day, one of
our Western soldiers left his ranks and joined a party
of the Twelfth Corps at their camp-fire. They got into
conversation, the Twelfth Corps men asking what
troops we were, etc.,: etc. In turn, our fellow (who
had never seen a corps-badge, and noticed that ever} r -
thing w r as marked with a star) asked if they were all
brigadier-generals. Of course the} r were not, but the
star was their corps-badge, and every wagon, tent, hat,
etc. had its star. Then the Twelfth Corps men in-
quired what corps he belonged to, and he answered,
"The Fifteenth Corps." "What is .your badge?"
" Why," said he, (and he was an Irishman,) suiting the
action to the word, " forty rounds in the cartridge-box,
and twent\* in the pocket ! " At that time Blair com-
manded the corps ; but Logan succeeded soon after, and,
hearing the story, adopted the cartridge-box and forty
rounds as the corps-badge. Gen. Sherman.
160 STORIES TOLD BY SOLDIERS.
THE FIRST ATTACK.
At a given signal, Granger moved forward into the
plain, in front and on the right of Fort Wood. The fog
that had lain in the valley all day lifted, and the ra} T s of
the sun glanced back from twenty thousand bayonets.
The superb pageant went on, under the eyes of curious
crowds on Missionary Ridge ; but the troops moved with
such precision, that the enemy mistook their evolutions
for a parade. The Rebel pickets leaned on their mus-
kets, and quietly watched the advance of Thomas's
battalions. This unmeant deception was heightened by
the troops remaining nearly half an hour in position,
and in full view of the Rebel arnry, before they received
the final order to advance. At last, a dozen shots of
the National skirmishers scattered the Rebel pickets,
who fled in haste through a strip of timber, lying be-
tween the open ground and some secondary eminences,
on which the first line of rebel rifle-pits was built.
Wood followed rapidly, directly towards the front, driv-
ing not only the Rebel pickets, but their reserves. A
heavy fire of musketry was poured upon the advancing
troops as they entered the strip of woods ; but they fell
rapidly upon the grand guards stationed on the first line
of Bragg's rifle-pit, captured about two hundred men,
and secured themselves in their new positions, before
the enemy had sufficiently recovered from his surprise
to attempt to send reinforcements from his main camp
on the ridge. Sheridan now moved up rapidl}' on
Wood's right, and in fifteen minutes the Rebels had
abandoned their whole advanced line. Nothing re-
mained to them west of the ridge but the rifle-pit at its
foot. Brig.- Gen. Badeau.
LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN.
Simultaneously with these operations the troops on
the mountain rushed on in their advance, the right pass-
ing directly under the muzzles of the enemy's guns on
CH1CKAMAUGA AND CHATTANOOGA. 161
the summit, climbing over ledges and bowlders, up hill
and down, furiously driving the enemy from his camp and
from position after position. This lasted until twelve
o'clock, when Geary's advance heroically rounded the
peak of the mountain. Not knowing to what extent
the enemy might be reinforced, and fearing, from the
rough character of the field of operations, that our lines
might be disordered, directions had been given for the
troops to halt on reaching this high ground ; but, fired
by success, with a irying panic-stricken force before
them, they pressed impetuously forward. Cobham's
brigade, occup}~ing the high ground on the right, be-
tween the enen^'s main line of defence on the plateau
and the palisades, incessantly plied them with fire from
above and behind, while Freeland's brigade was vigor-
ously rolling them up on the flank, both being closely
supported by the brigades of Whitaker and Creighton.
Our success was uninterrupted and irresistible. Before
losing the advantages the ground presented us, (the
enemy had been reinforced meantime,) after having
secured the prisoners, two of Osterhaus's regiments had
been sent forward on the Chattanooga road, and the
balance of his and Cruft's divisions had joined Geary.
All the Rebel efforts to resist us only resulted in ren-
dering our success more thorough. After two or three
short but sharp conflicts the plateau was cleared. The
enemy, with his reinforcements, driven from the walls
and pits, around Craven's house, (the last point at
which he could make a stand in force,) all broken and
destroyed, were hurled in great numbers over the rocks
and precipices into the valle}-.
It was now near two o'clock, and our operations were
arrested by the dai-kness. The clouds, which had hovered
over and enveloped the summit of the mountain during
the morning, and to some extent favored our move-
ments, gradually settled into the valley and completely
veiled it from our view. Indeed, from the moment we
rounded the peak of the mountain, it was only from the
roar of battle, and the occasional glimpse our comrades
11
162 STOK1ES TOLD BY SOLDIERS.
in the valley could catch of our lines and standards,
that they knew of the strife in its progress ; and when,
from these evidences, our true condition was revealed to
them, their painful anxiety } r ielded to transports of
joy. Maj.- Gen. Hooker.
THE ATTACK ON THE LEFT.
General Jefferson C. Davis's division was ready to
take the bridge, and I ordered the columns to form in
order to carry Missionary Hills. The movement had
been carefully explained to all division commanders,
and at one P. M. we marched from the river in three
columns in echelon ; the left. General Morgan L.
Smith, the column of direction, following substantially
Chickamauga Creek ; the centre, General John E.
Smith, in column, doubled on the centre, at one bri-
gade interval to the right and rear, prepared to deploy
to the right, on the supposition that we would meet an
enenry in that direction. Each head of column was
covered by a good line of skirmishers, with supports.
A light drizzling rain prevailed, and the clouds hung
low, cloaking our movements from the enemy's tower
of observation on Lookout Mountain. 1 We soon gained
the foot-hills ; our skirmishers crept up the face of the
hills, followed by their supports ; at half past three p. M.
we had gained, with no loss, the desired point. A bri-
gade of each division was pushed rapidly to the top of
the hill, and the enemy for the first time seemed to
realize the movement, but too late, for we were in pos-
session. He opened with artillery, but General Ewing
soon got some of Captain Richardson's guns up that
steep hill, and gave back artillery, and the enemy's
light skirmishers made one or two ineffectual dashes at
General Lightburn, who had swept round and' got a
farther hill, which was the real continuation of the
1 Indeed, the enemy were engaged nearer home on Lookout
Mountain, as the reader has seen. HORACE.
CHICKAMAUGA AND CHATTANOOGA. 163
ridge. From stn (tying all the maps, I had inferred
that Missionary Ridge was a continuous hill ; but we
found ourselves on two high poinio. with a deep de-
pression between us and the one immediately over the
tunnel, which was my chief objective point. The
ground we had gained, however, was so important,
that I could leave nothing to chance, and ordered it to
be fortified during the night. One brigade of each
division was left on the hill, one of General Morgan L.
Smith's closed the gap to Chickamauga Creek, two of
General John E. Smith's were drawn back to the base
in reserve, and General E wing's right was extended
down into the plain, thus crossing the ridge in a gen-
eral line, facing southeast.
The enemy felt our left flank about four p. M., and a
pretty smart engagement with artillery and muskets
ensued, when he drew off; but it cost us dear, for
General Giles A. Smith was severety wounded, and
had to go to the rear ; and the command of the brigade
devolved on Colonel Tupper (One hundred and six-
teenth Illinois) , who managed it with skill during the
rest of the operations. At the moment of my crossing
the bridge, General Howard appeared, having come
with three regiments from Chattanooga, along the east
bank of the Tennessee, connecting my new position with
that of the main army in Chattanooga. He left the three
regiments attached temporarily to General Swing's right,
and returned to his own corps at Chattanooga. As night
closed in, I ordered General Jefferson C. Davis to keep
one of his brigades at the bridge, one close up to my
position, and one intermediate. Thus we passed the
night, heavy details being kept busy at work on the
intrenchments on the hill
The sun had hardty risen before General Corse had
completed his preparations, and his bugle sounded the
u Forward! " The Fortieth Illinois, supported by the
Forty-sixth Ohio, on our right centre, with the Thir-
tieth Ohio (Colonel Jones), moved down the face of
our hill, and up that held by the enemy. The line ad-
164 STORIES TOLD BY SOLDIERS.
vanced to within about twenty } 7 ards of the intrenched
position, where General Corse found a secondar}* crest,
which he gained and held. To this point he called his
reserves, and asked for reinforcements, which were
sent ; but the space was narrow, and it was not well
to crowd the men, as the enemy's artillery and mus-
ketry fire swept the approach to his position, giving
him great advantage. As soon as General Corse had
made his preparations, he assaulted, and a close, severe
contest ensued, which lasted more than an hour, gain-
ing and losing ground, but never the position first
obtained, from which the enemy in vain attempted to
drive him. General Morgan L. Smith kept gaining
ground on the left spurs of Missionary Ridge, and
Colonel Loomis got abreast of the tunnel and railroad
embankment on his side, drawing the enemy's fire,
and to that extent relieving the assaulting party on
the hill crest. Captain Callender had four of his guns
on General Ewing's hill, and Captain Woods his Napo-
leon battery on General Lightburn's ; also, two guns of
Dillon's battery were with Colonel Alexander's brigade.
All directed their fire as carefully as possible, to clear
the hill to our front, without endangering our own men.
The fight raged furiously about ten A. M., when Gen-
eral Corse received a severe wound, was brought off
the field, and the command of the brigade and of the
assault of that key -point devolved on that fine young
gallant officer, Colonel Walcutt, of the Forty-Sixth
Ohio, who fulfilled his part manfully. He continued
the contest, pressing forward at all points. Colonel
Loomis had made good progress to the right, and about
two P. M. General John E. Smith, judging the battle
to be most severe on the hill, and being required to
support General Ewing, ordered up Colonel Raum's
and General Mathias's brigades across the field to the
summit that was being fought for. They moved up
under a heavy fire of cannon and musketry, and joined
Colonel Walcutt ; but the crest was so narrow that
they necessarily occupied the west face of the hill.
CHICKAMAUGA AND CHATTANOOGA. 165
The enemy, at the time, being massed in great strength
in the tunnel-gorge, moved a large force under cover
of the ground and the thick bushes, and suddenly ap-
peared on the right rear of this command. The sud-
denness of the attack disconcerted the men, exposed as
the} 7 were in the open field ; they fell back in some dis-
order to the lower edge of the field, and re-formed.
These two brigades were in the nature of supports, and
did not constitute a part of the real attack. The move-
ment, seen from Chattanooga (five miles off) with spy-
glasses, gave rise to the report, which even General
Meigs has repeated, that we were repulsed on the left.
It was not so. The real attacking columns of General
Corse, Colonel Loomis, and General Smith were not
repulsed. They engaged in a close struggle all day,
persistently, stubbornly, and well. When the two
reserve brigades of General John E. Smith fell back as
described, the enemy made a show of pursuit, but were
in their turn caught in flank by the well-directed fire of
our brigade on the wooded crest, and hastily sought
cover behind the hill.
Thus matters stood about three p. M. The day was
bright and clear, and the amphitheatre of Chattanooga
lay in beauty at our feet. I had watched for the attack
of General Thomas " early in the day"
Column after column of the enemy was streaming
toward me ; gun after gun poured its concentric shot on
us, from every hill and open that gave a view of any
part of the ground held by us. An occasional shot
from Fort Wood and Orchard Knoll, and some musketry
fire and artillery over about Lookout Mountain, was all I
could detect on our side ; but about three p. M. I noticed
the white line of musketry fire in front of Orchard Knoll
extending farther and farther right and left and on.
We could only hear a faint echo of sound, but enough
was seen to satisfy me that General Thomas was at last
moving on the centre. I knew that our attack had
drawn vast masses of the enemy to our flank, and felt
sure of the result. Some guns which had been firing
166 STORIES TOLD BY SOLDIERS.
on us all day were silent, or were turned in a different
direction.
The advancing line of musketry fire from Orchard
Knoll disappeared to us behind a spur of the hill, and
could no longer be seen ; and it was not until night
closed in that I knew that the troops in Chattanooga
had swept across Missionary Ridge and broken the
enemy's centre. Of course, the victor} T was won and
pursuit was the next step. Gen. Sherman.
, THE STORMING OF THE RIDGE.
Twenty minutes to four, and from a battery at which
the gunners have been waiting with ill-concealed impa-
tience, the signal-guns agreed upon are fired, a regu-
lar salute, one two three four five six !
Number six has hardly sounded his brazen note, be-
fore the inert mass is instinct with life. The skirmish-
ers of Wood and Sheridan are awa} r , followed by the
fiery lines. All the forts and batteries bellow their
harsh thunder over the heads of our men They
charge the rifle-pits at the foot of the ridge
They have no orders to go farther than the foot of the
ridge, but when the} 7 see the enemy swarming like bees
out of the rifle-pits, and flying before them, they do not
stop for orders. They halt but a moment to re-form,
and then, in spite of a terrible storm of soughing shot,
screaming shell, pattering canister, and whizzing bul-
lets, they dash forward to storm the height. An aid-
de-camp follows them, crying out, " Take the ridge, if
you can " ; but it was an order to sanction what they
were already doing. 1
1 "I asked General Sheridan how he accounted for the ease
with which the first line of rifle-pits was carried. He said that he
happened to be in advance of his own line as it charged, and,
looking back, was impressed with the terrible sight presented by
the mass of approaching bayonets. The men were on a run and
the line had become almost a crowd, and the Rebels appeared
unable to resist the effect upon their imagination or their nerves
of this waving, glittering mass of steel.
CHICKAMAUGA AND CHATTANOOGA. 167
The lines ascend the hill in man}- wedge-forms, 1 the
advancing colors in the forward angle of each. The
artillery, from our positions, fires furiously over the
heads of our men. A gun from Orchard Knoll, sighted
by General Granger in person, explodes a Rebel caisson
on the ridge. The enemy, in surprise and confusion,
fire too high, and do less damage to our men than
mi^ht have been expected.
It is now evident to the excited beholders that the
color-bearers are running a race. The men partake of
the enthusiasm, until all are at a white heat. Each
regiment strains forward to place its colors first upon
the rebel battlements. Let all win ! . . . .
Just as the sun is sinking in the west, the great sea
of Union soldiers bursts upon the Rebel ridge, and the
day is ours. To the searcher among military pictu-
resques, there is no more splendid scene than this in any
war ; the wild mountain sceneiy ; the crests gilded by
the slanting light ; the ravines and valle^ys in shadow ;
the thunder of battle, the shouts of victory, and the
great sun, seeming to pause for a moment to take in
the ston~ which he was to tell as he journeyed to the*
Western lands, and which the whole world was to learn
and never forget. Col. Ooppee.
" When they had got a third of the way up, an aid of Granger's
ordered one of Sheridan's brigades down the hill, in conformity
with the original plan ; but Sheridan soon came up, and saw that
the flags were advancing steadily, and that two of his brigades
were still mounting the hill. He at once ordered back the troops
which had begun to descend. ' When I saw those flags going
up/ he said, ' I knew we should carry the ridge, and I took the
responsibility/ " Brig.- Gen. Coppee.
1 Compare this with the account of the battle of Preston Pans
in Waverley : " Both lines were now moving forward, the first
prepared for instant combat. The clans of which it was com-
posed formed each a sort of separate phalanx, narrow in front,
and in depth ten, twelve, or fifteen files, according to the strength
of the following. The best-armed and best-born, for the words
were sjmonymous, were placed in front of each of these irregular
subdivisions. The others in the rear shouldered forward the
front, and by their pressure added both physical impulse and
additional ardor and confidence to those who were first to encoun-
ter the danger." FLORENCE.
CHAPTER X.
GRANT'S ADVANCE ON RICHMOND. THE WIL-
DERNESS. SHERIDAN'S RIDE.
"\T7ITH the spring of 1864 there came the feel-
* * ing through the whole country that the end
must come now. I cannot say what this feeling was
at the South. But I know that General Lee said,
that after Gettysburg the fall of the Confederacy
was only a matter of time. At the North there was
a determination to put the matter through, and that
thoroughly. Abraham Lincoln, the President, had
full confidence in General Grant. This confidence
was shared by Stanton, his Secretary of War, and
Halleck, who had great power at Washington, as
director of the army at that centre, either to make
or ruin generals, as he liked them or disliked them.
With the accord of everybody who had to be con-
sulted, Mr. Washburne of Illinois, the same who
afterwards distinguished himself in France, intro-
duced a bill in Congress reviving the office of
Lieutenant-Gen eral. This office had existed only
twice in the history of the country. It was cre-
ated for Washington in 1798, a little before he
died, that he might take the oversight of the
THE WILDERNESS. 169
impending war with France and Spain. As a post
of honor, it had been revived for General Scott
in his last days. It was now revived for a third
time, both for honor and for efficiency, that the
whole gripe of affairs might be in one hand, and
that, from the Potomac to the Rio Grande, one will
might direct all the effort to crush the enemy.
Napoleon the Great once said that there was
only one thing worse than a bad general, and that
this was " two good generals."
You see the value and the humor of the state-
ment. But it was not known, or it was not acted
upon, at the beginning of this war. There was a
" Department of the Potomac," and a " Depart-
ment of the Shenandoah," and a " Department of
West Virginia," and a " Department of the Ohio,"
and a " Department of the Mississippi," each with
a general almost independent, and so on without
end. Of course, as one says after all this was
over, there was endless misunderstanding ; and
even where the mutual understanding was cordial,
there was no end of lost time and opportunity,
because in war two heads are worse than one.
All this was to be ended now. The moment
the new law passed General Grant was appointed
Lieutenant-General. He was the one man of
importance who had not been consulted regarding
the matter.
Tn one of his vivid conversational epigrams at
this time, General Butler described the campaign
170 STORIES TOLD BY SOLDIERS.
before the army thus : " We go at the heart now.
If you cut out a man's heart, his fingers and toes
do not live long." It had early been General
Grant's policy to seek the armies of the enemy
and beat them. In such a war he considered the
capture of one city or another as of less, impor-
tance than the end of war itself by the breaking
up of an organized army.
The country received the news of his appoint-
ment with enthusiasm. Every one felt that the
end had now come.
His own narrative of the year which followed is
one of the best pieces of history which has been
written in the last fifty years, and stands a better
chance of being read in America in the year 2500
than any other bit of the history of our time. He
became Lieutenant-General on the 2d of March,
1864. General Lee in person surrendered to him
at Appomattox on the 9th of April, 1865. The year
between divides itself into the campaign of the
Wilderness, so called ; the siege of Richmond and
Petersburg ; and the pursuit of the broken army.
Of the Wilderness campaign General Grant's own
story is short and clear.
By " the Wilderness" is meant a region, mostly
of forest, extending through Northeastern Vir-
ginia, from the Pamunky River to the Rappahan-
nock. It was perhaps never before the fortune of
the capital of a nation to be defended from in-
vaders by the forests which careless agriculture,
THE WILDERNESS. 171
penury, and laziness had permitted to grow up
within a hundred miles of the seat of government.
But the blight of slavery was ruining Virginia first
of all. Such is the divine law of compensation.
The lands which had been corn-lands and tobacco-
lands were now covered by the forest growth, and
you have no epigram which better describes the
Southern "Confederacy" than this fact of history,
which tells you that its metropolis was guarded by
a " Wilderness."
GENERAL GRANT'S NARRATIVE. THE BEGINNING.
The movement of the army of the Potomac com-
menced early on the morning of the 4th of Ma}-, 1864,
under the immediate direction and orders of Major-
General Meade, pursuant to instructions. Before
night the whole army was across the Rapidan, (the
Fifth and Sixth Corps crossing at Germania Ford, and
the Second in advance,) with the greater part of its
trains, numbering about four thousand wagons, meet-
ing with but slight opposition. The average distance
travelled by the troops that day was about twelve
miles. This I regarded as a great success, and it re-
moved from my mind the most serious apprehensions I
had entertained, that of crossing the river in the face of
an active, large, well-appointed and ably-commanded
army, and how so large a train was to be carried
through a hostile country and protected. Early on the
5th, the advance corps (the Fifth, Major-Gen. G. K.
Warren commanding) met and engaged the enemy
outside his intrenchments near Mine Run. The battle
raged furiously all da}*, the whole arm}' being brought
into the fight as fast as the corps could be got upon the
field, which, considering the density of the forest and
narrowness of the roads, was done with commendable
promptness.
172 STORIES TOLD BY SOLDIERS.
General Burnside, with the Ninth Corps, was, at the
time the Army of the Potomac moved, left with the
bulk of his corps at the crossing of the Rappahannock
River and Alexandria Railroad, holding the road back
to Bull Run, with instructions not to move until he
received notice that a crossing of the Rapidan was
secured, but to move promptly as soon as such notice
was received. This crossing he was apprised of on the
afternoon of the 4th. By six o'clock of the morning
of the 6th he was leading his corps into action near the
Wilderness Tavern, some of his troops having marched
a distance of over thirty miles, crossing both the Rap-
pahannock and Rapidan Rivers. Considering that a
large proportion, probably two thirds, of his command
was composed of new troops, unaccustomed to marches
and canning the accoutrements of a soldier, this was a
remarkable march.
THE SECOND AND THIRD DAYS.
The battle of the Wilderness was renewed by us at
five o'clock on the morning of the 6th, and continued
with unabated fury until darkness set in, each army
holding substantially the same position that the} r had
on the evening of the 5th. After dark the enemy made
a feeble attempt to turn our right flank, capturing
several hundred prisoners and creating considerable
confusion. But the promptness of General Seclgwick,
who was personally present and commanded that part
of our line, soon re-formed it and restored order. On
the morning of the 7th, reeonnoissances showed that
the enemy had fallen behind his intrenched lines, with
pickets to the front, covering a part of the battle-field.
From this it was evident to my mind that the two days'
fighting had satisfied him of his inability to further
maintain the contest in the open field, notwithstanding
his advantage of position, and that he would await an
attack behind his works. I therefore determined to
push on and put my whole force between him and Rich-
THE WILDERNESS. 173
mond ; and orders were at once issued for a movement
by his right flank.
THE MARCH AFTERWARD/
On the night of the 7th, the march was commenced
toward Spottsylvania Court-House, the Fifth Corps
moving on the most direct road. But the enemy
having become apprised of our movement, and having
the shorter line, was enabled to reach there first.
On the 8th, General Warren met a force of the enemy
which had been sent out to oppose and delay his
advance, to gain time to fortify the line taken up at
Spotts}'lvania. This force was steadity driven back on
the main force, within the recently constructed works,
after considerable fighting, resulting in severe loss to
both sides. On the morning of the 9th, General Sheri-
dan started on a raid against the enemy's lines of com-
munication with Richmond. The 9th, 10th, and llth
were spent in manoeuvring and fighting without decisive
results. Among the killed on the 9th was that able
and distinguished soldier, Major-Gen. John Sedgwick,
commanding the Sixth Army Corps. Major-Gen. H.
G. Wright succeeded him in command. Early on the
morning of the 12th, a general attack was made on
the enemy in position. The Second Corps, Major-Gen-
eral Hancock commanding, carried a salient of his line,
capturing most of Johnston's division of Swell's corps
and twenty pieces of artillery. But the resistance was
so obstinate that the advantage gained did not prove
decisive. The 13th, 14th, 15th, 16th, 17th, and 18th
were consumed in manoeuvring and awaiting the arrival
of reinforcements from Washington. Deeming it im-
practicable to make any further attack upon the enemy
at Spottsylvania Court-House, orders were issued on
the 18th with a view to a movement to the North Anna,
to commence at twelve o'clock on the night of the 19th.
Late in the afternoon of the 19th, Ewell's corps came
out of its works on our extreme right flank ; but the
174 STORIES TOLD BY SOLDIERS.
attack was promptty repulsed, with heavy loss. This
dela} r ed the movement to the North Anna until the
night of the 21st, when it was commenced. But the
enemy, again having the shorter line, and being in pos-
session of the main roads, was enabled to reach the
North Anna in advance of us, and took position behind
it. The Fifth Corps reached the North Anna on the
afternoon of the 22d, closely followed by the Sixth
Corps. The Second and Ninth Corps got up about the
same time, the Second holding the railroad bridge, and
the Ninth lying between that and Jericho Ford. Gen-
eral Warren effected a crossing the same afternoon, and
got a position without much opposition. Soon after
getting into position he was violently attacked, but
repulsed the enemy with great slaughter. On the 25th
General Sheridan rejoined the Army of the Potomac
from the raid on which he started from Spottsylvania,
having destro}'ed the depots at Beaver Dam and Ash-
land Stations, four trains of cars, large supplies of
rations, and many miles of railroad track ; recaptured
about four hundred of our men, on their wa}~ to Rich-
mond as prisoners of war ; met and defeated the enemy's
cavalry at Yellow Tavern; carried the first line of
works around Richmond ; but, finding the second line
too strong to be carried by assault, recrossed to the
north bank of the Chickahomin} 7 at Meadow's Bridge,
under heav} T fire, and moved by a detour to Haxall's
Landing, on the James River, where he communicated
with General Butler. This raid had the effect of draw-
ing off the whole of the enemy's cavalry force, and
making it comparatively easy to guard our trains
Finding the enemy's position on the North Anna
stronger than either of his previous ones, I withdrew
on the night of the 26th to the north bank of the North
Anna, and moved via Hanovertown to turn the enemy's
position by his right.
Generals Torbert's and Merritt's divisions of cavalry,
under Sheridan, and the Sixth Corps, led the advance ;
crossed the Pamunky River at Hanovertown after con-
THE WILDERNESS. 175
siderable fighting, and on the 28th the two divisions of
cavalry had a severe but successful engagement with
the enemy at Haw's shop. On the 29th and 30th we
advanced, with heavy skirmishing, to the Hanover
Court-House and Cold Harbor road, and developed the
enemy's position north of the Chickahominy. Late on
the evening of the last day the enemy came out and
attacked our left, but was repulsed with very consider-
able loss. An attack was immediately ordered by Gen-
eral Meade along his whole line, which resulted in
driving the enemy from a part of his intrenched skir-
mish line.
On the 31st, General Wilson's division of cavalry
destnyyed the railroad bridges over the South Anna
River, after defeating the enemy's cavalry. General
Sheridan on the same day reached Cold Harbor, and
held it until relieved by the Sixth Corps and General
Smith's command, which had just arrived, via White
House, from General Butler's army.
On the 1st day of June an attack was made at five
p. M. by the Sixth Corps . and -the troops under General
Smith, the other corps being held in readiness to ad-
vance on the receipt of orders. This resulted in our
carrj-ing and holding the enemy's first line of works in
front of the right of the Sixth Corps and in front of
General Smith. During the attack the enemy made
repeated assaults on each of the corps not engaged in
the main attack, but were repulsed with heavy loss in
every instance. That night he made several assaults
to regain what he had lost in the day, but failed. The
2d was spent in getting troops into position for an
attack on the 3d. On the 3d of June we again assaulted
the enemy's works, in the hope of driving him from his
position. In this attempt our loss was heavy, while
that of the enemy, I have reason to believe, was com-
paratively light. It was the only general attack made
from the Rapidan to the James which did not inflict
upon the enemy losses to compensate for our own losses.
I would not be understood as saying that all previous
176 STORIES TOLD BY SOLDIERS.
attacks resulted in victories to our arms, or accom-
plished as much as I had hoped from them ; but they
inflicted upon the enemy severe losses, which tended, in
the end, to the complete overthrow of the Rebellion.
From the proximity of the enemy to his defences
around Richmond, it was impossible by any flank move-
ment to interpose between him and the city. I was still
in a condition to either move by his left flank and invest
Richmond from the north side, or continue my move by
his right flank to the south side of the James. While
the former might have been better as a covering for
Washington, }-et a full surve}' of all the ground satisfied
me that it would be impracticable to hold a line north
and east of Richmond that would protect the Fred-
ericksburg Railroad, a long, vulnerable line, which
would exhaust much of our strength to guard, and that
would have to be protected to supply the army, and
would leave open to the enemy all his lines of communi-
cation on the south side of the James. My idea, from
the start, had been to beat Lee's army north of Rich-
mond, if possible. Then, after destroying his lines of
communication north of the James River, to transfer
the army to the south side, and besiege Lee in Rich-
mond, or follow him south if he should retreat. After
the battle of the Wilderness it was evident that the
enemy deemed it of the first importance to run no risks
with the army he then had. He acted purely on the
defensive behind breastworks, or feebly on the offensive
immediately in front of them, and where, in case of
repulse, he could easily retire behind them. Without a
greater sacrifice of life than I was willing to make, all
could not be accomplished that I had designed north of
Richmond. I therefore determined to continue to hold
substantially the ground we then occupied, taking ad-
vantage of any favorable circumstances that might
present themselves, until the cavalry could be sent to
THE WILDERNESS. 177
Charlottesville and Gordons ville, to effectually break up
the railroad connection between Richmond and the
Shenandoah Valley and I/^nchburg ; and, when the
cavalry got well off, to move the army to the south side
of the James River, by the enemy's right flank, where
I felt I could cut off all his sources of supply except by
the canal.
CAUSE AND EFFECT.
During three long years the armies of the Potomac
and Northern Virginia had been confronting each other.
In that time they had fought more desperate battles
than it probably ever before fell to the lot of two armies
to fight, without materially changing the vantage-ground
of either. The Southern press and people, with more
shrewdness than was displayed in the North, finding
that they had failed to capture Washington and march
on to New York, as they had boasted they would do,
assumed that they only defended their capital and
Southern territory. Hence, Antietam, Gettysburg, and
all the other battles that had been fought, were by them
set down as failures on our part, and victories for them.
Their army believed this. It produced a morale which
could only be overcome by desperate and continuous
hard fighting. The battles of the Wilderness, Spott-
sylvania, North Anna, and Cold Harbor, bloody and
terrible as they were on our side, were even more
damaging to the enem} 7 , and so crippled him as to
make him wary ever after of taking the offensive. His
losses in men were probably not so great, owing to the
fact that we were, save in the Wilderness, almost
invariably the attacking party ; and when he did attack
it was in the open field. The details of these battles,
which for endurance and bravery on the part of the
soldiery have rarely been surpassed, are given in the
report of Major-General Meade, and the subordinate
reports accompanying it. Gen. Grant',
12
178 STORIES TOLD BY SOLDIERS.
We cannot copy from General Meade's reports,
though the boys read them with eager interest.
Here are some little details of that slow advance
through the Wilderness.
ONE OF THE ATTACKS.
As soon as the troops were in readiness, general
orders were read to them, detailing the brilliant opera-
tions of General Sherman in the West, and General
Butler south of Richmond. This news fired the ardor
of the troops, and each man seemed to be determined
not to be outdone by those belonging to the other com-
mands. A wild enthusiasm was apparent in their eyes,
and for a moment the men appeared to be ungovernable.
But the word of command restored order and silence.
General Grant, surrounded by his staff, took up a
prominent and elevated position, and the corps com-
manders also occupied eminences within view of the
General-in-chief and of each other. They were thus
enabled to watch the movements of the vast columns
of the mighty army as they advanced to the respective
positions whence they were to make the attack
The hour for the assault was fixed at half past six,
and once more the time-pieces were compared. The
generals separated, to take up their assigned positions
and to direct their troops to victor}'. The signal guns
boomed aloud, arid twelve reports declared that the
moment had arrived for the attack. A wild cheer rang
along the whole line, and the mass advanced with a
steady front, column after column, line after line, the
whole moving together. In the face of a murderous
fire our troops pushed on determined 1}', each corps
fighting its own battle, until the army was master of
the field. Two thousand prisoners were taken, and,
when night closed, the Union forces were the conquer-
ors. N. F. Herald.
THE WILDERNESS. 179
CHARGE OF THE VERMONT BRIGADE.
Too much cannot be said in praise of the gallant
charge of the Vermont Brigade, commanded by Colonel
Grant. On the 10th of May, after the line of Rebel
works was carried, and their expected support did not
come up, the division of General Russell not being
able to remain, owing to the galling fire poured into
their serried ranks by the second line of the enemy's
rifle-pits, and being in imminent danger of being cut
off from the main line, on account of their advanced
position, had to fall back, and along with them their
prisoners, nearly two thousand in number. Twelve
pieces of cannon were in the works. These had to be
left, as the} 7 could not be removed, and they had not
with them the necessary implements for spiking them.
The Vermont Brigade utterly refused to fall back upon
the main line, even after the position had been occupied
two hours, and they had given up all hopes of being
reinforced. Colonel Upton rode down to them and told
them how dangerous it was to attempt to hold the works
they were in, since their last round of cartridge had
been discharged at the enemy, and the} 7 were rapidly
being flanked. But the blood of the Green Mountain
Bo}*s was up, and they absolutely refused to budge a
single hair from the field the}" had wrested from the
enemy, and from the spot where their comrades had
fallen. Colonel Upton, assisted by some of their
own officers, by promising them another charge when
they had supplied themselves with ammunition, at last
induced them sullenly to retire. Mr. Long, N. T.
Herald.
PICKET FIRING AND THE REASON.
All last evening and night there was a constant
musketiy-firing in our immediate front. Thinking it
unusually incessant, I inquired the cause, and it seems
that between our two skirmish lines are fifteen of our
180 STORIES TOLD BY SOLDIERS.
captured cannon, which we had been unable to take
from the field. The enemy was determined that we
should not get them, and our men were as determined
that they should not go back again into the possession
of the enemy. Hence the constant mutual firing. The
possession of these guns promises to become a hotly
contested point before it is decided. Mr. Hendrick,
N. T. Herald.
FIGHT WITH FIRE.
Unfortunate^ the dry logs of which the breastwork
was formed were but partially covered with earth ; and
the flames ignited by the burning wadding during the
conflict an enemy that could not be resisted as easily
as the nryrmidons of Longstreet destroyed them, and
every second of time widened the breaches. The un-
daunted men crowded together until they formed fourteen
or sixteen ranks ; and those who were in the front dis-
charged the guns which were constantly passed to them
by their comrades who were in the rear and could not
aim with accuracy or safety. The fire triumphed when
it flashed along the entire barrier of wood, reduced it to
ashes, and forced tfre defenders, who had withstood to
the last its intolerable heat, to retire to the rifle-pits
which were a short distance in the rear. Capt. Blake,
llth Mass.
BACK AND FORTH.
Both armies had protected their main columns by fell-
ing trees and forming almost impassable abatis, and the
fighting was done principally by divisions sent out from
these lines. The movements during the entire battle
were of a remarkable character, most expressively de-
scribed as seesaw, the Rebels making frantic efforts
to pierce our lines, first at one point and then an-
other, to be driven back by our troops, who charged
impetuously up to the Rebel barricades. It is impossi-
THE WILDERNESS. 181
ble now to particularize the individual achievements of
divisions, as these were frequently taken from one
corps to support another, and at times one corps com-
mander would have under his direction nearly one half
the army. Occasionally there was considerable dis-
order, but nothing serious, as troops that broke and ran
in the wildest manner afterwards made some of the
most brilliant charges of the day. N. T. Herald.
After the Wilderness fighting the armies of the
Potomac and of the James were united. The
James River was so bridged that communication
could be readily kept up between North and
South. From this time till Richmond fell, in the
next spring, the united armies were surrounding
the two cities of Richmond and Petersburg more
and more closely, and compelling them to draw all
supplies from the west and northwest exclusively.
Lee and his generals were eager at every pos-
sible moment to try the old strategy, of dashing
down the valley of the Shenandoah to alarm
Washington or the Northern States. But this
time they had General Phil Sheridan before them.
After the raid which Grant describes in the
despatch you have read, he was in command in the
Valley of Virginia.
There is hardly a boy or a girl who has not read
the ballad of Sheridan's Ride. Here is his own
description of that day, and what led to it.
He is speaking of a plan which he did not ap-
prove of, for which the consultations called him
away.
182 STORIES TOLD BY SOLDIERS.
This plan I would not indorse, but in order to settle
it definitely, I was called to Washington by the follow-
ing telegram :
Washington, October 13, 1864.
MAJOR-GENERAL SHERIDAN [through General. Augur] :
If you can come here a consultation on several points is
extremely desirable. I propose to visit General Grant, and would
like to see you first.
(Signed,) E. M. STANTON, Secretary of War.
On the evening of the 15th, I determined to go,
believing that the enemy at Fisher's Hill could not
accomplish much, and as I had concluded not to attack
him at present, I ordered the whole of the cavalry force
under General Torbert to accompan} 7 me to Front
Royal, from whence I intended to push it through
Chester Gap to the Virginia Central Railroad at
Charlottesville, while I passed through Manassas Gap
to Piedmont, thence by rail to Washington. Upon my
arrival with the cavalry at Front Royal, on the night
of the 16th, I received the following despatch from Gen-
eral Wright, who was left at Cedar Creek in command
of the army :
Head-quarters, Middle Military Division,
October 16, 1864.
MAJOR-GENERAL P. H. SHERIDAN, commanding Middle Military
Division :
GENERAL : I enclose you despatch which explains itself. [See
copy following ]
If the enemy should be strongly reinforced in cavalry, he
might, by turning our right, give us a great deal of trouble. I
shall hold on here until the enemy's movements are developed,
and shall only fear an attack on my right, which I shall make
every preparation for guarding against and resisting.
Very respectfully, your obedient servant,
(Signed,) H. G. WRIGHT, Major- General Commanding.
To LIEUTENANT-GENERAL EARLY :
Be ready to move as soon as my forces join you, and we will crush
Sheridan.
(Signed,) LONGSTREET, Lieutenant- General.
SHERIDAN'S RIDE. 183
This message was taken off the Rebel signal flag, on
Threetop Mountain.
M}- first thought was that it was a ruse, but, on reflec-
tion, deemed it best to abandon the cavalry raid, and
give to General Wright the entire strength of the army.
I therefore ordered the cavalry to return and report to
him, and addressed the following note on the subject :
Head-quarters Middle Military Division,
Front Royal, October 16, 1854.
MAJOR-GEN. H. G. WRIGHT, commanding Sixth Army Corps :
GENERAL: The cavalry is all ordered back to you; make
your position strong. If Longstreet's despatch is true, he is under
the impression that we have largely detached. I will go over to
Augur, and may get additional news.
Close in Colonel Powell, who will be at this point. If the
enemy should make an advance, I know you will defeat him.
Look well to your ground and be well prepared. Get up every-
thing that can be spared. I will bring up all I can, and will be
up on Tuesday, if not sooner.
(Signed,) P. H. SHERIDAN, Major- General.
After sending this note, I continued through Manas-
sas Gap and on to Piedmont, and from thence by rail
to Washington, arriving on the morning of the 17th.
At 12 o'clock M., I returned by special train to Martins-
burg, arriving on the evening of the 18th at Winchester,
in companj^ with Colonels Thorn and Alexander, of the
Engineer Corps, sent with me b} 1 General Halleck.
During my absence the enem3 T had gathered all his
strength, and, in the night of the 18th, and early on the
19th, moved silent!}' from Fisher's Hill, through Stras-
burg, pushed a heav}' turning column across the &he-
nandoah, on the road from Strasburg to Front Royal,
and again recrossed the river at Bowman's Ford, strik-
ing Crook, who held the left of our line, in flank and
rear, so unexpectedly and forcibly as to drive in his out-
posts, invade his camp, and turn his position. This
surprise was owing, probably, to not closing in Powell,
or to the cavalry divisions of Merritt and Custer being
placed on the right of our line, where it had always
occurred to me there was but little danger of attack.
184 STORIES TOLD BY SOLDIERS.
This was followed by a direct attack upon our front,
and the result was, that the whole army was driven
back in confusion, to a point about one and a half miles
north of Middle town, a very large portion of the in-
fantry not even preserving a compan} T organization.
At about seven o'clock on the morning of the 19th of
October, an officer on picket at Winchester reported
artillery firing ; but, supposing it resulted from a recon-
noissance which had been ordered for this morning, I
paid no attention to it, and was unconscious of the true
condition of affairs until about nine o'clock, when, hav-
ing ridden through the town of Winchester, the sound
of the artillery made a battle unmistakable, and, on
reaching Mill Creek, half a mile south of Winchester,
the head of the fugitives appeared in sight, trains and
men coming to the rear with appalling rapidity.
I immediately gave directions to halt and park the
trains at Mill Creek, and ordered the brigade at Win-
chester to stretch across the country and stop all strag-
glers. Taking twenty men from my escort, I pushed
on to the front, leaving the balance, under General
Forsyth and Colonels Thorn and Alexander, to do what
they could in stemming the torrent of fugitives.
I am happy to sa}- that hundreds of the men, who, on
reflection, found they had not done themselves justice,
came back with cheers.
On arriving at the front, I found Merritt's and Cus-
ter' s divisions of cavalr} T , under Torbert, and General
Getty's division of the Sixth Corps, opposing the en-
emy. I suggested to General Wright that we would
fight on Gett3''s line, and to transfer Custer to the right
at once, as he (Custer) and Merritt, from being on the
right in the morning, had been transferred to the left,
that the remaining two divisions of the Sixth Corps,
which were to the right and rear of Getty about two
miles, should be ordered up, and also that the Nine-
teenth Corps, which was on the right and rear of these
two divisions, should be hastened up before the enemy
attacked Getty.
SHERIDAN'S RIDE. 185
I then started out all my staff officers to bring up
these troops, and was so convinced that we would soon
be attacked, that I went back myself to urge them on.
Immediately after, I returned and assumed com-
mand, General Wright returning to his corps, Getty to
his division, and the line of battle was formed on the
prolongation of General Getty's line, and a temporary
breastwork of rails, logs, &c. thrown up hastily.
Shortly after this was done, the enemy advanced,
and, from a point on the left of our line of battle, I
could see his columns moving to the attack, and at
once notified corps commanders to be prepared.
This assault fell principally on the Nineteenth Corps,
and was repulsed.
I am pleased to be able to state that the strength of
the Sixth and Nineteenth Corps, and Crook's command,
was now being rapidly, augmented by the return of
those who had gone to the rear early in the day.
Reports coming in from the Front Royal pike, on
which Powell's division of cavalry was posted, to the
effect that a heavy column of infantry was moving on
that pike in the direction of Winchester, and that he
(Powell) was retiring, and would come in at Newtown,
caused me great anxiety for the time, and, although I
could not full} r believe that such a movement would be
undertaken, still it delayed my general attack.
At four o'clock P. M. I ordered the advance.
This attack was brilliantly made, and, as the enemy
was protected by rail breastworks, and at some por-
tions of his line by stone fences, his resistance was
very determined. His line of battle overlapped the
right of mine, and, by turning with this portion of it
on the flank of the Nineteenth Corps, caused a slight
momentary confusion. This movement was checked,
however, by a counter-charge of General McMillan's
brigade upon the re-entering angle thus formed by
the enem} T , and his flanking party cut off.
It was at this stage of the battle that Custer was
ordered to charge with his entire division : but, al-
186 STORIES TOLD BY SOLDIERS.
though the order was promptly obeyed, it was not in
time to capture the whole of the force thus cut off,
and many escaped across Cedar Creek.
Simultaneously with this charge, a combined move-
ment of the whole line drove the enemy in confusion
to the Creek, where, owing to the difficulties of cross-
ing, his army became routed.
Custer, finding a ford on Cedar Creek west of the
Pike, and Devens, of Merritt's division, one to the east
of it, they each made the crossing just after dark,
and pursued the routed mass of the enemy to Fisher's
Hill, where this strong position gave him some pro-
tection against our cavalry, but the most of his trans-
portation had been captured, the road from Cedar
Creek to Fisher's Hill, a distance of over three miles,
being literally blocked by wagons, ambulances, artil-
lery, caissons, &c.
The enemy did not halt his main -force at Fisher's
Hill, but continued the retreat during the night to
New Market, where his army had, on a similar pre-
vious occasion, come together by means of the nu-
merous roads that converge to this point.
This battle practically ended the campaign in the
Shenandoah Valley. When it opened, we found our
enemy boastful and confident, unwilling to acknowledge
that the soldiers of the Union were their equal in cour-
age and manliness ; when it closed with Cedar Creek,
this impression had been removed from his mind, and
gave place to good sense and a strong desire to quit
fighting.
The very best troops of the Confederacy had not
only been defeated, but had been routed in successive
engagements, until their spirit and esprit was de-
stro} T ed ; in obtaining these results, however, our loss
in officers and men was severe. Practically, all terri-
tory north of the James River now belonged to me, and
the holding of the lines about Petersburg and Rich-
mond by the enemy must have been embarrassing,
and invited the question of good military judgment.
SHERIDAN'S RIDE. 187
On entering the Valley, it was not my object, by
flank movements, to make the enemy change his base,
nor to move as far up as the James River, and^thus
give him the opportunity of making me change my
base, therefore converting it into a race-course as here-
tofore, but to destroy, to the best of my ability, that
which was truly the Confederacy, its armies ; in
doing this, so far as the opposing army was concerned,
our success was such that there was no one connected
with the army of the Shenandoah who did not so fully
realize it as to render the issuing of congratulatory
orders unnecessary ; every officer and man was made to
understand that, when a victory was gained, it was not
more than their duty, nor less than their country ex-
pected from her gallant sons !
" Uncle Fritz," said Horace, " Phil Sheridan
never read your book about writing."
" How do you know that, boy ? "
" Oh ! he writes such awful long sentences."
" Well, my boy, I do not care how long your
sentences are, if you will do your work as well
as he."
CHAPTER XL.
SHERMAN'S GREAT MARCH.
IN March, 1864, when Grant was appointed
Lieutenant-General and Commander-in-Chief,
he left Chattanooga and Nashville for the East.
General Sherman was then put in his place, with
Johnson in front of him, commanding what was
left of the army which had been defeated at Chat-
tanooga.
Sherman took the offensive as soon as the spring
came, and began driving the enemy back on At-
lanta. By a series of tactical manoeuvres, in sev-
eral instances by flanking his opponent, Sherman
forced him farther and farther back without any
serious battle, until, on the night of the 1st ot
September, Atlanta was abandoned. The whole
campaign was a moving siege. Johnson would
evacuate the lines which Sherman had rendered
untenable, and the next day he would be found,
ten miles back, behind another line of intrench-
ments.
Had this mode of offensive defence been con-
tinued, the famous " March to the Sea " would
never have been made, though the Union army
SHERMAN'S GREAT MARCH. l9
was much the superior; but the Rebel government
was not satisfied with these slow measures, and
superseded General Johnson by General Hood,
a rash soldier, who did not possess the confidence
of the army. He was not satisfied with looking
on while Sherman was establishing himself in At-
lanta, and with cutting his connections once in a
while. He looked with longing eyes to Tennessee,
and finally, early in October, he turned Sherman's
right, and attacked Allatoona, a fortified place
commanding the railroad north from Atlanta. If
he had taken it, he could, with a small number of
men, have kept Sherman south, while he marched
on Nashville.
But Allatoona was bravely defended by General
Corse, 1 and held against vastly superior numbers,
till it was relieved. Hood " caromed off," as
Sherman says, to the west, and then made himself
busy in equipping his army for a march north,
whether Sherman followed or no.
On this, Sherman sent two corps to General Tho-
mas, at Nashville, with orders to check Hood's ad-
vance, or to follow him, as the case might require.
He stripped Atlanta, and the northern posts as far
as Chattanooga, and, reserving for himself sixty-
five guns, with thirty days' rations and two hun-
dred rounds of ammunition for each of his sixty
thousand men, he sent the rest to Union ground.
1 Sherman's order, signalled to Corse, was the celebrated mes-
sage upon which the song " Hold the Fort " is based.
190 STORIES TOLD BY SOLDIERS.
Then he turned to the southeast, and set out for
.the sea.
Savannah is three hundred miles from Atlanta.
In marching these three hundred miles, Sherman
meant to destroy the railroad system of Georgia,
to disgust the inhabitants of the State with war,
and so to cut the Rebellion through in a second
place, as Grant had cut it before when he took
Vicksburg. The capture of Savannah was a sec-
ondary point.
This has all been done now. The new depart-
ure in war has been taken. But then it was
another matter. To give up one base of supplies,
and to strike so far for another, through an en-
emy's country, was almost unheard of. What-
ever else generals abandoned, they kept open their
lines of connection. We have seen how, at a slight
pressure on his line of communication, before the
battle of Gettysburg, Lee totally changed his line
of march in order to save them. In this he was
following the usual practice, and for a general to
attempt to feed sixty thousand men from what he
could carry and collect in a hostile country, was
unknown. The authorities in Washington gave
only a reluctant consent, and there were too many
so-called authorities elsewhere who pronounced
Sherman crazy. For almost a month, no word
came to the North from him, except by the South-
ern newspapers, which insisted that he was retreat-
ing in disorder and on the point of destruction.
SHERMAN'S GREAT MARCH. 191
Great were the rejoicings in the North when they
learned that he had taken Fort McAllister, had
joined our fleet, and captured Savannah !
Sherman met with but little resistance till he
reached Savannah ; his total loss in the campaign
was fourteen hundred, so that he was quite ready
to march north again through the Carolinas, and
receive the sword of his old rival, Johnson, when
the end came.
" HOLD THE FORT, FOB I AM COMING."
I inferred that Allatoona was their objective point,
and on the 4th of October I signalled from Vining's
Station to Kenesaw, and from Kenesaw to Allatoona,
over the heads of the enemy, a message for General
Corse, at Rome, to hurry back to the assistance of the
garrison at Allatoona.
Reaching Kenesaw Mountain about eight A. M. of
October oth (a beautiful day), I had a superb view
of the vast panorama to the north and west. To the
southwest, about Dallas, could be seen the smoke of
camp-fires, indicating the presence of a large force
of the enemy, and the whole line of railroad from Big
Shanty up to Allatoona (full fifteen miles) was marked
by the fires of the burning railroad. We could plainly
see the smoke of battle about Allatoona, and hear the
faint reverberation of the cannon.
From Kenesaw I ordered the T went}*- third Corps
(General Cox) to march due west on the Burnt Hick-
ory road, and to burn houses or piles of brush as it
progressed, to indicate the head of column, hoping to
interpose this corps between Hood's main army at
Dallas and the detachment then assailing Allatoona.
The rest of the army was directed straight for Alla-
toona, northwest, distant eighteen miles. The signal
192 STORIES TOLD BY SOLDIERS.
officer on Kenesaw reported that since daylight he had
failed to obtain aii3 T answer to his call for Allatoona ;
but, while I was with him, he caught a faint glimpse of
the tell-tale flag through an embrasure, and after much
time he made out these letters, " C.," tk R.," "8.,"
"E.," "H.," "E.," "R.," and translated the mes-
sage, " Corse is here." It was a source of great relief,
for it gave me the first assurance that General Corse
had received his orders, and that the place was ade-
quate^ garrisoned.
I watched with painful suspense the indications of
the battle raging there, and was dreadfully impatient
at the slow progress of the relieving column, whose
advance was marked by the smokes which were made
according to orders, but about two p. M. I noticed with
satisfaction that the smoke of battle about Allatoona
grew less and less, and ceased altogether about four
p. M. For a time I attributed this result to the effect
of General Cox's march, but later in the afternoon
the signal flag announced the welcome tidings that the
attack had been fairly repulsed, but that General Corse
was wounded.
Inasmuch as the enenr^ had retreated southwest,
and would probably next appear at Rome, I answered
General Corse with orders to get back to Rome with
his troops as quickly as possible.
General Corse's report of this fight at Allatoona is
very full and graphic. It is dated Rome, October 27,
1864 ; recites the fact that he received his orders by
signal to go to the assistance of Allatoona on the 4th,
when he telegraphed to Kingston for cars, and a train
of thirty empty cars was started for him, but about ten
of them got off the track and caused delay. By seven
p. M. he had at Rome a train of twenty cars, which he
loaded up with Colonel Rowett's brigade, and part of
the Twelfth Illinois Infantry; started at eight P. M.,
reached Allatoona (distant thirty-five miles) at one
A. M. of the oth, and sent the train back for more men ;
but the road was in bad order, and no more men came
SHERMAX'S GREAT MARCH. 193
/n time. He found Colonel Tourtellotte's garrison com-
posed of eight hundred and ninety men ; his reinforce-
ment was one thousand and fifty-four: total for the
defence, nineteen hunlred and forty-four. The out-
posts were already engaged, and as soon as daylight
came he drew back the men from the village to the
ridge on which the redoubts were built.
ALLATOONA FIGHT.
The enemy was composed of French's division of
three brigades, variously reported from four to five
thousand strong. This force gradually surrounded the
place by eight A. M., when General French sent in by
flag of truce this note :
Around Allatoona, October 5, 1864.
COMMANDING OFFICER, UNITED STATES FORCES, Allatoona :
I have placed the forces under my command in such positions
that you are surrounded, and to avoid a needless effusion of blood
I call on you to surrender your forces at once, and uncondition-
ally.
Five minutes will be allowed you to decide. Should you
accede to this, you will be. treated in the most honorable manner
as prisoners of war.
I have the honor to be, very respectfully, yours,
S. G. FRENCH,
Major General commanding forces Confederate State*
General Corse answered immediately :
Headquarters, Fourth Division, Fifteenth Corps, '
Allatoona, Georgia, 8 30 A. M., Oct. 5, 1864.
MAJOR GENERAL S. G. FRENCH, Confederate States, frc.:
Your communication demanding surrender of my command I
acknowledge receipt of, and respectfully reply that we are pre-
pared for the "needless effusion of blood" whenever it is agree-
able to you.
I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
JOHN M. CORSE,
Brigadier- General commanding forces United States.
Of course the attack began at once, coming from
front, flank, and rear. There were two small redoubts,
13
194 STORIES TOLD BY SOLDIERS.
with slight parapets and ditches, one on each side of
the deep railroad-cut. These redoubts had been located
by Colonc! Poe, United States Engineers, at the time
of our advance on Kenesaw, the previous June. Each
redoubt overlooked the storehouses close by the rail-
road, and each could aid the other defensively by
catching in flank the attacking force of the other. Our
troops at first endeavored to hold some ground outside
the redoubts, but were soon driven inside, when the
enemy made repeated assaults, but were always driven
back. About eleven A. M., Colonel Redfield, of the
Thirty-ninth Iowa, was killed, and Colonel Rowett was
wounded, but never ceased to fight and encourage his
men. Colonel Tourtellotte was shot through the hips,
but continued to command. General Corse was, at
one P. M., shot across the face, the ball cutting his ear,
whida stunned him, but he continued to encourage his
men and to give orders. The enemy (about 1.30 p. M.)
made a last and desperate effort to carry one of the
redoubts, but was badly cut to pieces b}' the artillery
and infantry fire fron^ the other, when he began to draw
off, leaving his dead and wounded on the ground.
Before finally withdrawing, General French converged
a heavy fire of his cannon on the block-house at Alla-
toona Creek, about two miles from the depot, set it on
fire, and captured its garrison, consisting of four offi-
cers and eight}*-five men. B} T four P. M. he was in full
retreat south, on the Dallas road, and got by before
the head of General Cox's column had reached it ; still,
several ambulances and stragglers were picked up by
this command on that road. General Corse reported
two hundred and thirty-one Rebel dead, four hundred
and eleven prisoners, three regimental colors, and eight
hundred muskets captured.
Among the prisoners was a Brigadier-General Young,
who thought that French's aggregate loss would reach
two thousand. Colonel Tourtellotte says that, for days
after General Corse had returned to Rome, his men
found and buried at least a hundred more dead Rebels,
SHERMAN'S GREAT MARCH. 195
who had doubtless been wounded, and died in the
woods, near Allatoona. I know that when I reached
Allatoona, on the 9th, I saw a good many dead men,
which had been collected for burial.
Corse's entire loss, officially reported, was :
Killed. Wounded. Missing. Total.
Officers .... 6 23 6 35
Men 136 330 206 672
Total . . . 142 "53 "212 ~707
I esteemed this defence of Allatoona so handsome
and important, that I made it the subject of a general
order, viz. No. 86, of October 7, 1864 :
The general commanding avails himself of the opportunity, in
the handsome defence made of Allatoona, to illustrate the most
important principle in war, that fortified posts should be defended
to the last, regardless of the relative numbers of the party attack-
ing and attacked The thanks of this army are due and are
hereby accorded to General Corse, Colonel Tourtellotte, Colonel
Kowett, officers, and men, for their determined and gallant de-
fence of Allatoona, and it is made an example to illustrate the
importance of preparing in time, and meeting the danger when
present, boldly, manfully, and well.
Commanders and garrisons of the posts along our railroad are
hereby instructed that they must hold their posts to the last
minute, sure that the time gained is valuable and necessary to
their comrades at the front.
By order of Major-General W. T. Sherman.
L. M. DAYTON, Aid-de-Camp.
A PART OF THE FIELD ORDERS FOR THE
MARCH.
4. The army will forage liberally on the country dur-
ing the march. To this end, each brigade commander
will organize a good and sufficient foraging party, under
the command of one or more discreet officers, who will
gather, near the route travelled, corn or forage of any
kind, meat of any kind, vegetables, corn-meal, or what-
ever is needed by the command, aiming at all times to
keep in the wagons at least ten days' provisions for his
196 STORIES TOLD BY SOLDIERS.
command, and three days' forage. Soldiers must not
enter the dwellings of the inhabitants, or commit any
trespass ; but, during a halt or camp, they may be
permitted to gather turnips, potatoes, and other vege-
tables, and to drive in stock in sight of their camp. To
regular foraging-parties must be intrusted the gathering
of provisions and forage, at any distance from the road
travelled.
5. To corps commanders alone is intrusted the
power to destroy mills, houses, cotton-gins, &c. ; and
for them this general principle is laid down : in districts
and neighborhoods where the army is unmolested, no
destruction of such property should be permitted ; but
should guerillas or bushwhackers molest our march, or
should the inhabitants burn bridges, obstruct roads, or
otherwise manifest local hostility, then army command-
ers should order and enforce a devastation more or less
relentless, according to the measure of such hostilit}^.
6. As for horses, mules, wagons, &c. , belonging to the
inhabitants, the cavalry and artillery may appropriate
freely and without limit ; discriminating, however, be-
tween the rich, who are usually hostile, and the poor and
industrious, usually neutral or friendly. Foraging-par-
ties may also take mules or horses, to replace the jaded
animals of their trains, or to serve as pack-mules for
the regiments or brigades. In all foraging of whatever
kind, the parties engaged will refrain from abusive or
threatening language, and ma3 r , where the officer in com-
mand thinks proper, give written certificates of the
facts, but no receipts ; and they will endeavor to leave
with each family a reasonable portion for their main-
tenance.
7. Negroes who are able-bodied and can be of ser-
vice to the several columns may be taken along ; but
each army commander will bear in mind that the ques-
tion of supplies is a very important one, and that his
first duty is to see to those who bear arms.
8. The organization, at once, of a good pioneer
battalion for each army corps, composed if possible of
SHERMA.V'S GREAT MARCH. 197
negroes, should be attended to. This battalion should
follow the advance-guard, repair roads and double them
if possible, so that the columns will not be delayed
after reaching bad places. Also army commanders
should practise the habit of giving the artillery and
wagons the road, marching their troops on one side,
and instruct their troops to assist wagons at steep hills
or bad crossings of streams. Gen. Sherman.
THE MABCH BEGINS.
About seven A.M. of November 16th we rode out of
Atlanta by the Decatur road, filled by the marching
troops and wagons of the Fourteenth Corps ; and reach-
ing the hill, just outside of the old Rebel works, we
naturally paused to look back upon the scenes of our
past battles. We stood upon the very ground whereon
was fought the blood}' battle of July 22d, and could
see the copse of wood where McPherson fell. Behind
us lay Atlanta, smouldering and in ruins, the black
smoke rising high in air, and hanging like a pall over
the ruined city. Away joff in the distance, on the
McDonough road, was the rear of Howard's column,
the gun-barrels glistening in the sun, the white- topped
wagons stretching away to the south ; and right before
us the Fourteenth Corps, marching steadily and rapidly,
with a cheery look and swinging pace, that made light
of the thousand miles that lay between us and Rich-
mond. Some band, by accident, struck up the anthem
of " John Brown's soul goes marching on"; the men
caught up the strain, and never before or since have I
heard the chorus of "Glory, glory, hallelujah!" done
with more spirit, or in better harmony of time and
place.
Then we turned our horses' heads to the east ; At-
lanta was soon lost behind the screen of trees, and
became a thing of the past. Around it clings many a
thought of desperate battle, of hope and fear, that now
seem like the memory of a dream ; and I have never
198- STORIES TOLD BY SOLDIERS.
seen the place since. The day was extreme!}' beautiful,
clear sunlight, with bracing air, and an unusual feeling
of exhilaration seemed to pervade all minds, a feeling
of something to come, vague and undefined, still full
of venture and intense interest. Even the common
soldiers caught the inspiration, and many a group called
out to me as I worked my way past them, "Uncle
Bill}-. I guess Grant is waiting for us at Richmond ! "
Indeed, the general sentiment was that we were march-
ing for Richmond, and that there we should end the
war, but how and when the}' seemed to care not ; nor
did they measure the distance, or count the cost in life,
or bother their brains about the great rivers to be
crossed, and the food required for man and beast, that
had to be gathered by the way. There was a ' devil-
may-care" feeling pervading officers and men, that
made me feel the full load of responsibility, for success
would be accepted as a matter of course, whereas,
should we fail, this "march" would be adjudged the
wild adventure of a crazy fool. I had no purpose to
march direct for Richmond by way of Augusta and
Charlotte, but always designed to reach the sea-coast
first at Savannah or Port Royal, South Carolina, and
even kept in mind the alternative of Pensacola.
The first night out we camped by the road-side near
Lithonia. Stone Mountain, a mass of granite, was in
plain view, cut out in clear outline against the blue sky ;
the whole horizon was lurid with the bonfires of rail-
ties, and groups of men all night were carrying the
heated rails to the nearest trees, and bending them
around the trunks. Colonel Poe had provided tools for
ripping up the rails and twisting them when hot ; but
the best and easiest way is the one I have described, of
heating the middle of the iron-rails on bonfires made
of the cross-ties, and then winding them around a tele-
graph-pole or the trunk of some convenient sapling. I
attached much importance to this destruction of the
railroad, gave it my own personal attention, and made
reiterated orders to others on the subject.
SHERMAN'S GREAT MARCH. 199
The next day we passed through the handsome town
of Covington, the soldiers closing up their ranks, the
color-bearers unfurling their flags, and the bands strik-
ing up patriotic airs. The white people came out of
their houses to behold the sight, spite of their deep
hatred of the invaders, and the negroes were simply
frantic with joy. Whenever the}' heard in}' name, they
clustered about my horse, shouted and prayed in their
peculiar style, which had a natural eloquence that would
have moved a stone. I have witnessed hundreds, if not
thousands, of such scenes ; and can now see a poor
girl, in the very ecstasy of the Methodist "shout,"
hugging the banner of one of the regiments, and jump-
ing up to the " feet of Jesus."
I remember, when riding around by a by-street in
Covington, to avoid the crowd that followed the march-
ing column, that some one brought me an invitation to
dine with a sister of Sam. Anderson, who was a cadet
at West Point with me ; but the messenger reached me
after we had passed the main part of the town. I
asked to be excused, and rode on to a place designated
for camp, at the crossing of the Ulcofauhachee River,
about four miles to the east of the town. Here we
made our bivouac, and I walked up to a plantation-
house close by, where were assembled man}' negroes,
among them an old, gray-haired man, of as fine a head
as I ever saw. I asked him if he understood about the
war and its progress. He said he did ; that he had
been looking for the "angel of the Lord" ever since
he was knee-high, and, though we professed to be fight-
ing for the Union, he supposed that slavery was the
cause, and that our success was to be his freedom. I
asked him if all the negro slaves comprehended this
fact, and he said they surely did. I then explained to
him that we wanted the slaves to remain where they
were, and not to load us down with useless mouths,
which would eat up the food needed for our fighting-
men ; that our success was their assured freedom ; that
we could receive a few of their young, hearty men as
200 STORIES TOLD BY SOLDIERS.
pioneers ; but that, if they followed us in swarms of
old and young, feeble and helpless, it would simply load
us down and cripple us in our great task. I think
Major Henry Hitchcock was with me on that occasion,
and made a note of the conversation," and I believe that
old man spread this message to the slaves, which was
carried from mouth to mouth, to the very end of our
journe} T , and that it in part saved us from the great
danger we incurred of swelling our numbers so that
famine would have attended our progress. It was at
this very plantation that a soldier passed me with a
ham on his musket, a jug of sorghum-molasses under
his arm, and a big piece of honey in his hand, from
which he was eating, and, catching my eye, he remarked
sotto voce and carelessly to a comrade, "Forage liberally
on the country," quoting from ni}* general orders. On
this occasion, as on man} r others that fell under my
personal observation, I reproved the man, explained
that foraging must be limited to the regular parties
properly detailed, and that all provisions thus obtained
must be delivered to the regular commissaries, to be
fairly distributed to the men who kept their ranks.
The skill and success of the men in collecting forage
was one of the features of this march. Each brigade
commander had authority to detail a company of
foragers, usually about fifty men, with one or two com-
missioned officers selected for their boldness and enter-
prise. This party would be despatched before daylight,
with a knowledge of the intended day's march and
camp ; would proceed on foot five or six miles from the
route travelled by their brigade, and then visit every
plantation and farm within range. They would usually
procure a wagon or family carriage, load it with bacon,
corn-meal, turkeys, chickens, ducks, and everything
that could be used as food or forage, and would then
regain the main road, usually in advance of their train.
When this came up, they would deliver to the brigade
commissary the supplies thus gathered by the way.
Often would I pass these foraging-parties at the road-
SHERMAN'S GREAT MARCH. 201
side, waiting for their wagons to come up, and was
amused at their strange collections, mules, horses,
even cattle, packed with old saddles and loaded with
hams, bacon, bags of corn-meal, and poultry of every
character and description. Although this foraging was
attended with great danger and hard work, there
seemed to be a charm about it that attracted the
soldiers, and it was a privilege to be detailed on such a
party. Daily they returned mounted on all sorts of
beasts, which were at once taken from them and appro-
priated to the general use ; but the next day they would
start out again on foot, onty to repeat the experience
of the day before. No doubt, many acts of pillage,
robbery, and violence, were committed by these parties
of foragers, usually called "bummers"; for I have
since heard of jewelry taken from women, and the
plunder of articles that never reached the commissary ;
but these acts wero exceptional and incidental.
I have seen much skill and industry displa3'ed by
these quartermasters on the march, in trying to load
their wagons with corn and fodder by the way without
losing their place in column. They would, while march-
ing, shift the loads of wagons, so as to have six or ten
of them empty. Then, riding well ahead, they would
secure possession of certain stacks of 'fodder near the
road, or cribs of corn, leave some men in charge, then
open fences and a road back for a couple of miles,
return to their trains, divert the empty wagons out of
column, and conduct them rapidly to their forage, load
up, and regain their place in column without losing dis-
tance. On one occasion I rem'ember to have seen ten
or a dozen wagons thus loaded with corn from two or
three full cribs, almost without halting. These cribs
were built of logs, and roofed. The train-guard, by a
lever, had raised the whole side of the crib a foot or
two ; the wagons drove close alongside, and the men in
the cribs, tying on their backs, kicked out a wagon-load
of corn in the time I have taken to describe it.
In a well-ordered and well-disciplined army, these
202 STORIES TOLD BY SOLDIERS.
things might be deemed irregular, but I am convinced
that the ingenuity of these younger officers accomplished
maay things far better than I could have ordered, and
the marches were thus made, and the distances were
accomplished, in the most admirable way. Habitually
we started from camp at the earliest break of dawn, and
usually reached camp soon after noon. The marches
varied from ten to fifteen miles a day, though sometimes
on extreme flanks it was necessary to make as much as
twenty, but the rate of travel was regulated by the
wagons ; and, considering the nature of the roads,
fifteen miles per day was deemed the limit.
The pontoon trains were in like manner distributed
in about equal proportions to the four corps, giving
each a section of about nine hundred feet. The pon-
toons were of the skeleton pattern, with cotton-canvas
covers, each boat, with its proportion of balks and
chesses, constituting a load for one wagon. By uniting
two such sections together, we could make a bridge of
eighteen hundred feet, enough for any river we had to
traverse ; but habitually the leading brigade would, out
of the abundant timber, improvise a bridge before the
pontoon train could come up, unless in the cases of
rivers of considerable magnitude. Gen. Sherman.
CUTTING LOOSE.
November I3tk. Yesterday the last train of cars
whirled rapidly past the troops moving south, speeding
over bridges and into the woods as if they feared they
might be left helpless in the deserted land. At Car-
tersville the last communications with the North were
severed with the telegraph-wire. It bore the message
to General Thomas, "All is well." And so we have
cut adrift from our base of operations, from our line of
communications, launching out into uncertainty at the
best, on a journey whose projected end only a few in
the command know. Its real fate and destination they
do not know, since that rests with the goodness of God
SHERMAN'S GREAT MARCH. 203
and the brave hearts and strong limbs of onr soldiers.
The history of war bears no similar example, except
that of Cortes burning his ships. It is a bold, hazard-
ous undertaking. There is no backward step possible
here. Thirty days' rations and a new base : that time
and those supplies will be exhausted in the most rapid
march ere we can arrive at the nearest sea-coast ;
arrived there, what then? I never heard that manna
grew on the sand-beaches or in the marshes, though
we are sure that we can obtain forage on our wa}^ ; and
I have reason to know that General Sherman is in the
highest degree sanguine and cheerful, sure even of
success.
As for the soldiers, they do not stop to ask questions.
Sherman says "Come," and that is the entire vocabu-
lary to them. A most cheerful feature of the situation
is the fact that the men are healthful and jolly as men
can be ; hoping for the best, willing to dare the worst.
Behind us we leave a track of smoke and flame.
Half of Marietta was burned up, not by orders, how-
ever ; for the command is that proper details shall be
made to destro}* all property which can ever be of use
to the Rebel armies. Stragglers will get into these
places, and dwelling-houses are levelled to the ground.
In Dearly all cases these are the deserted habitations
formerly owned b}* Rebels who are now refugees.
Yesterda}', as some of our men were marching
toward the Chattahoochee River, they saw in the dis-
tance pillars of smoke rising along its banks, the
bridges were in flames. Said one, hitching his musket
on his shoulder in a free and easy way, "I say,
Charley, I believe Sherman has set the river on fire."
" Reckon not," replied the other, with the same in-
difference ; "if he has, it's all right." And so they
pass along ; obeying orders, not knowing what is
before them, but believing in their leader.
From Kingston to Atlanta the rails have been taken
up on the road, fires built abou-t them, and the iron
twisted into all sorts of curves ; thus they are left, never
204 STORIES TOLD BY SOLDIERS.
to be straightened again. The Rebel inhabitants are
in agony of wonder at all this queer manoeuvring. It
appears as if we intended evacuating Atlanta ; but our
troops are taking the wrong direction for the hopes and
purposes of these people.
Atlanta is entirely deserted by human beings, except-
ing a few soldiers here and there. The houses are
vacant ; there is no trade or traffic of any kind ; the
streets are empty. Beautiful roses bloom in the gar-
dens of fine houses, but a terrible stillness and solitude
cover all, depressing the hearts even of those who are
glad to destroy it. In the peaceful homes at the North
there can be no conception how these people have suf-
*ered for their crimes. Capt. Nichols.
BREAKING CAMP.
The order of march is issued by the army command-
ers the preceding night, from them to the corps com-
manders, and then pass along until every soldier,
teamster, and camp-follower knows that an early start
is to be made. " The second division will be on the
Milledgeville road promptly at five o'clock," reads an
order, b}' way of instance.
At three o'clock the watch-fires are burning dimly,
and, but for the occasional neighing of horses, all is so
silent that it is difficult to imagine that twenty thousand
men are within a radius of a few miles. The ripple of
the brook can be distinctly heard as it breaks over the
pebbles, or winds petulantly about the gnarled roots.
The wind sweeping gently through the tall pines over-
head only serves to lull to deeper repose the slumbering
soldier, who in his tent is dreaming of his far-off North-
ern home.
But in an instant all is changed. From some com-
manding elevation the clear-toned bugle sounds out the
reveille, and another and another responds, until the
startled echoes double and treble the clarion calls.
Intermingled with this comes the beating of drums,
SHERMAN'S GREAT MARCH. 205
often rattling and jarring on unwilling ears. In a few
moments the peaceful quiet is replaced by noise and
tumult, arising from hill and dale, from field and for-
est. Camp-fires, hitherto extinct or smouldering in
dull gray ashes, awaken to new life and brilliancy, and
send forth their sparks high into the morning air. Al-
though no gleam of sunrise blushes in the east, the
harmless flames on every side light up the scene, so
that there is no disorder or confusion.
The aesthetic aspects of this sudden change do not,
however, occupy much of the soldier's time. He is
more practically engaged in getting his breakfast ready.
The potatoes are frying nicely in the well-larded pan,
the chicken is roasting delicately on the red-hot coals,
and grateful fumes from steaming coffee-pots delight
the nostrils. The animals are not less busy. An am-
ple supply of corn and huge piles of fodder are greedily
devoured by these faithful friends of the boys in blue,
and any neglect is quickly made known by the pawing
of neighing horses and the fearful braying of the mules.
Amid all is the busy clatter of tongues and tools, a
Babel of sound, forming a contrast to the quiet of the
previous hour as marked as that between peace and
war.
Then the animals are hitched into the traces, and the
droves of cattle relieved from the night's confinement in
the corral. Knapsacks are strapped, men seize their
trust}' weapons, and as again the bugles sound the note
of command, the soldiers fall into line and file out upon
the road, to make another stage of their journey, it
ma} T be to win fresh laurels in another victory, or per-
haps to find a rest which shall only be broken by the
reveille of the last trump.
A day's march varies according to the country to be
traversed or the opposition encountered. If the map
indicates a stream crossing the path, probably the
strong party of mounted infantry or of cavalry which
has been sent forward the day before has found the
bridges burned, and then the pontoons are pushed on
206 STORIES TOLD BY SOLDIERS.
to the front. If a battle is anticipated, the trains are
shifted to the rear of the centre. Under any circum-
stances, the divisions having the lead move unencum-
bered by wagons, and in close fighting trim. The
ambulances following in the rear of the division are in
such close proximity as to be available if needed. In
the rear of each regiment follow the pack-mules, laden
with every kind of camp baggage, including blankets,
pots, pans, kettles, and all the kitchen-ware needed for
cooking. Here will be found the led horses, and with
them the negro servants, who form an important fea-
ture of the menage.
Having placed the column upon the road, let us now
follow that long line of muskets gleaming in the rays of
the morning sunlight, and ride, heedless of the crack of
the rifles, to the head of the column. The advance are
driving a squad of Rebel cavalry before them so fast
that the march is not in the least impeded. The flank-
ers spread out, on a line parallel to the leading troops,
for several hundred yards, more or less, as the occasion
may require. They search through the swamps and
forests, ready for any concealed foe, and anxiously
looking out for any line of works which may have been
thrown up by the enemy to check our progress. Here
the general of the division, if a fighting man, is most
likely to be found; his experienced eye noting that
there is no serious opposition, he orders up a brigade
or another regiment, who, in soldier's phraseology, send
the Rebel rascals " kiting," and the column moves on.
A large plantation appears by the road-side. If the
" bummers" have been ahead, the chances are that it
has been visited, in which event the interior is apt to
show evidences of confusion ; but the barns are full of
corn and fodder, and parties are at once detailed to
secure and convey the prize to the road-side. As the
wagons pass along, they are not allowed to halt, but
the grain or fodder is stuffed into the front and rear of
the vehicles as they pass, the unhandy operation af-
fording much amusement to the soldiers, and not un-
SHERMAN'S GREAT MARCH. 207
frequently giving them a poor excuse for swearing as
well as laughing.
When the treasure-trove of grain and poultry and
vegetables has been secured, one man is detailed to
guard it until the proper wagon comes along. Num-
bers of these details will be met, who, with proper
authorit}-, have started off early in the morning, and
have struck out miles awa} T from the flank of the
column. They sit upon some cross-road, surrounded
with their spoils, chickens, turkeys, geese, ducks,
pigs, hogs, sheep, calves, nicely-dressed hams, buckets
full of hone}', and pots of fresh white lard.
A Roman consul, returning with victorious eagles,
could not wear a more triumphant air than this sol-
itary guard. The soldiers see it, and gibe him as they
pass.
' ' Say, }'ou thar ! where did jou steal them pigs ? "
" Steal ! " is the indignant response ; " steal ! per-
haps 3*ou would like to have one of ' them ' pigs
yourself."
An officer who is riding along gazes upon the appetiz-
ing show. He has recently joined, never has been on
one of Sherman's raids, and does not know that a sol-
dier will not sell his chickens- for any price.
" Ah ! a nice pair of ducks you have there, soldier ;
what will you take for them ? "
Firmly, but respectfully, the forager makes answer,
touching his cap the while, " They are not in the
market. We never sell our stuff, sir, could n't think
of it." Capt. Nichols.
TORPEDOES.
General Hardee was ahead, between us and Savannah,
with McLaw's division, and other irregular troops, that
could not, I felt assured, exceed ten thousand men. I
caused the fine depot at Millen to be destined, and
other damage done, and then resumed the march directly
on Savannah, by the four main roads. The Seventeenth
208 STORIES TOLD BY SOLDIERS.
Corps (General Blair) followed substantially the rail-
road, and, along with it, on the 5th of December, I
reached Ogeechee Church, about fifty miles from Savan-
nah, and found there fresh earth- works, which had been
thrown up by McLaw's division ; but he must have seen
that both his flanks were being turned, and prudently
retreated to Savannah without a fight. All the columns
then pursued leisurely their march toward Savannah,
corn and forage becoming more and more scarce, but
rice-fields beginning to occur along the Savannah and
Ogeechee Rivers, which proved a good substitute, both
as food and forage. The weather was fine, the roads
good, and everything seemed to favor us. Never do I
recall a more agreeable sensation than the sight of our
camps by night, lit up by the fires of fragrant pine-knots.
The trains were all in good order, and the men seemed
to march their fifteen miles a day as though it were
nothing. No enemy opposed us, and we could only
occasionally hear the faint reverberation of a gun to our
left rear, where we knew that General Kilpatrick was
skirmishing with Wheeler's cavahy, which persistently
followed him. But the infantry columns had met with
no opposition whatsoever. McLaw's division was fall-
ing back before us, and we occasionally picked up a few
of his men as prisoners, who insisted that we would
meet with strong opposition at Savannah.
On the 8th, as I rode along, I found the column
turned out of the main road, marching through the fields.
Close b} T , in the corner of a fence, was a group of men
standing around a handsome 3*oung officer, whose foot
had been blown to pieces by a torpedo planted in the
road. He was waiting for a surgeon to amputate his
leg, and told me that he was riding along with the rest
of his brigade staff of the Seventeenth Corps, when a
torpedo trodden on by his horse had exploded, killing
the horse and literally blowing off all the flesh from one
of his legs. I saw the terrible wound, and made full
inquiry into the facts. There had been no resistance
at that point, nothing to give warning of danger, and
SHERMAN'S GREAT MARCH. 209
the Rebels had planted eight- inch shells in the road,
with friction matches to explode them by being trodden
on. This was not war, but murder, and it made me
very angry. I immediately ordered a lot of Rebel
prisoners to be brought from the provost-guard, armed
with picks and spades, and made them march in close
order along the road, so as to explode their own torpe-
does, or to discover and dig them up. They begged
hard, but I reiterated the order, and could hardly help
laughing at their stepping so gingerly along the road,
where it was supposed sunken torpedoes might explode
at each step, but they found no other torpedoes till
near Fort McAllister. Gen. Sherman.
"SET FIHE TO THE WELL."
At Sandersville I halted the left wing until I heard
that the right wing was abreast of us on the railroad.
During the evening a negro was brought to me, who had
that day been to the station (Tenille) , about six miles
south of the town. I inquired of him if there were any
Yankees there, and he answered, " Yes." He described
in his own wa}^ what he had seen. " First, there come
along some cavalry-men, and they burned the depot ;
then come along some infantry- men, and they tore up
the track, and burned it " ; and just before he left
they had " sot fire to the well" !
The next morning, viz. the 27th, I rode down to the
station, and found General Corse's division (of the
Fifteenth Corps) engaged in destroying the railroad,
and saw the well which my negro informant had seen
'^ burnt." It was a square pit about twenty-five feet
deep, boarded up, with wooden steps leading to the
bottom, wherein was a fine copper pump, to lift the
water to a tank above. The soldiers had broken up
the pump, heaved in the steps and lining, and set fire
to the mass of lumber in the bottom of the well, which
corroborated the negro's description. Gen. Sherman.
14
210 STORIES TOLD BY SOLDIERS.
MABCH THROUGH THE PINES.
All day long the army has been moving through
magnificent pine woods. I have never seen, and I can-
not conceive, a more picturesque sight. The pines,
destitute of branches, rise to a height of eighty or
ninet}^ feet, their tops being crowned with tufts of pure
green. They are widely apart, so that frequently two
trains of wagons and troops in double column are
marching abreast. In the distance may be seen a
troop of horsemen, some general and his staff,
turning about here and there, their gay uniforms and
red and white flags contrasting harmoniously with the
bright yellow grass underneath and the deep evergreen.
War has its romance and its pleasures, and nothing
could be more delightful, nor can there be more beauti-
ful subjects for the artist's pencil, than a thousand
sights which have met my eye for da}*s past, and
which can never be seen outside the army. There is,
l>y the way, a most excellent artist accompanying the
expedition, who is working for the Harpers. His
sketches are artistically executed, and he has the gen-
uine spirit of an artist in his choice of subject ; but I
would have wished that Johnson, Hennessey, or Ken-
sett might have been here also, to give us in enduring
colors scenes now passing away, which belong to the
histor} T of the great day in which we live.
The most pathetic scenes occur upon our line of
march daily and hourly. Thousands of negro women
join the column, some carrying household goods, and
manj- of them carrying children in their arms, while
older boys and girls plod by their side. All these wo-
men and children are ordered back, heart-rending
though it may be to refuse them libert}'. One begs
that she may go to see her husband and children at Sa-
vannah. Long 3'ears ago she was forced from him
and sold. Another has heard that her boy was in
Macon, and she is " done gone with grief goin' on four
years."
SHERMAN'S GREAT MARCH. 211
But the majority accept the advent of the Yankees as
the fulfilment of the millennial prophecies. The u day
of jubilee," the hope and praj'er of a lifetime, has come.
They cannot be made to understand that they must
remain behind, and they are satisfied only when Gen-
eral Sherman tells them, as he does every da}*, that we
shall come back for them some time, and that they
must be patient until the proper hour of deliverance
arrives.
The other day a woman with a child in her arms was
working her way along among the teams and crowds of
cattle and horsemen. An officer called to her kindly,
" Where are you going, aunty? "
She looked up into his face with a hopeful, beseech-
ing look, and replied, " I'se gwine whar you'se gwine,
massa." Capt. Nichols.
FORT MCALLISTER.
About two P. M. we observed signs of commotion in
the fort, and noticed one or two guns fired inland, and
some musket-skirmishing in the woods close by.
This betokened the approach of Hazen's division,
which had been anxiously expected, and soon there-
after the signal officer discovered, about three miles
above the fort, a signal flag, with which he conversed,
and found it to belong to General Hazen, who was pre-
paring to assault the fort, and wanted to know if I were
there. On being assured of this fact, and that I expected
the fort to be carried before night, I received by signal
the assurance of General Hazen that he was making his
preparations, and would soon attempt the assault. The
sun was rapidly declining, and I was dreadfully impa-
tient.
At that very moment some one discovered a faint
cloud of smoke, and an object gliding, as it were, along
the horizon above the tops of the sedge toward the sea,
which, little by little, grew till it was pronounced to be
the smoke-stack of a steamer coming up the river. 4 ' It
212 STORIES TOLD BY SOLDIERS.
must be one of our squadron ! " Soon the flag of the
United States was plainly visible, and our attention
was divided between this approaching steamer and the
expected assault. When the sun was about an hour
high, another signal message came from General Hazen
that he was all read}', and I replied to go ahead, as a
friendly steamer was approaching from below. Soon
we made out a group of officers on the deck of this ves-
sel, signalling with a flag, u Who are } r ou? " The an-
swer went back promptly, " General Sherman." Then
followed, the question, "Is Fort McAllister taken ?"
" Not 3*et, but' it will be in a minute ! " Almost at that
instant of time, we saw Hazen's troops come out of the
dark fringe of woods that encompassed the fort, the
lines dressed as on parade, with colors filing, and
moving forward with a quick steady pace. Fort Mc-
Allister was then all alive, its big guns belching forth
dense clouds of smoke, which soon enveloped our as-
saulting lines. One color went down, but was up in a
moment. On the lines advanced, faintly seen in the
white, sulphurous smoke ; there was a pause, a cessa-
tion of fire ; the smoke cleared away, and the parapets
were blue with our men, who fired their muskets in the
air, and shouted so that we actually heard them, or
felt that we did. Fort McAllister was taken, and the
good news was instantly sent by the signal officer to
our nav}' friends on the approaching gun-boat, for a
point of timber had shut out Fort McAllister from their
view, and they had not seen the action at all, but must
have heard the cannonading
The fort was an enclosed work, and its land front was
in the nature of a bastion and curtains, with good par-
apet, ditch, /raise, and chevaux-de-frise, made out of
the large branches of live-oaks. Luckily, the Rebels
had left the larger and unwieldy trunks on the ground,
which served as a good cover for the skirmish line,
which crept behind these logs, and from them kept the
artillerists from loading and firing their guns accu-
rately.
SHERMAN'S GREAT MARCH. 213
The assault had been made by three parties in line,
one from below, one from above the fort, and the third
directly in rear, along the capital. All were simulta-
neous, and had to pass a good abatis and line of tor-
pedoes, which actually killed more of the assailants
than the heavy guns of the fort, which generally over-
shot the mark. Hazen's entire loss was reported, killed
and wounded, ninet3'-two. Each party reached the
parapet about the same time, and the garrison inside,
of about two hundred and fifty men (about fifty of
them killed or wounded), were in his power. Gen.
Sherman.
December 13th. Fort McAllister is ours. It has
been gallantly and bravely won. I saw the heroic
assault from the point of observation selected by Gen-
eral Sherman at the adjacent rice- mill.
During the greater part of to-day the General gazed
anxiously toward the sea, watching for the appearance
of the fleet. About the middle of the afternoon he
descried a light column of smoke creeping lazily along
over the flat marshes, and soon the spars of a steamer
were visible, and then the flag of our Union floated out.
What a thrilling, joyful sight ! How the blood bounded,
when, answering the signal waved above us, we saw
that the brave tars had recognized us, and knew that
our General was here with his army !
The sun was now fast going down behind a grove of
water-oaks, and as his last rays gilded the earth, all eyes
once more turned toward the Rebel fort. Suddenly
white puffs of smoke shot out from the thick woods
surrounding the line of works. Hazen was closing in,
ready for the final rush of his column directly upon the
fort. A warning answer came from the enemy in the
roar of heavy artillery, and so the battle opened.
General Sherman walked nervously to and fro, turn-
ing quickl}' now and then from viewing the scene of
conflict to observe the sun sinking slowly behind the
tree-tops. No longer willing to bear the suspense, he
214 STORIES TOLD BY SOLDIERS.
said, " Signal General Hazen that he must carry the
fort by assault, to-night, if possible."
The little flag waved and fluttered in the evening air,
and the answer came', " I am ready, and will assault at
once ! "
The words had hardly passed when from out the
encircling woods there came a long line of blue coats
and bright bayonets, and the dear old flag was there,
waving proudly in the breeze. Then the fort seemed
alive with flame ; quick, thick jets of fire shooting out
from all its sides, while the white smoke first covered
the place and then rolled away over the glacis. The
line of blue moved steadily on ; too slowly, as it seemed
to us, for we exclaimed, " Why don't they dash for-
ward ? " but their measured step was unfaltering. Now
the flag goes down, but the line does not halt. A
moment longer, and the banner gleams again in the
front. We, the lookers-on, clutched one another's arms
convulsively, and scarcely breathed in the eager inten-
sity of our gaze. Sherman stood watching with anx-
ious air, awaiting the decisive moment. Then the
enemy's fire redoubled in rapidity and violence. The
darting streams of fire alone told the position of the
fort. The line of blue entered the enshrouding folds of
smoke. The flag was at last dimry seen, and then it
went out of sight altogether.
u They have been repulsed ! " said one of the group
of officers who watched the fight.
" No, b} 7 heaven !" said another; "there is not a
man in retreat, not a straggler in all the glorious
line ! "
The firing ceased. The wind lifted the smoke.
Crowds of men were visible on the parapets, fiercely
fighting, but our flag was planted there. ' There
were a few scattering musket-shots, and then the sounds
of battle ceased. Then the bomb-proofs and parapets
were alive with crowding swarms of our gallant men,
who fired their pieces in the air for a feu de joie.
Capt. Nichols.
iS HERMAN'S GREAT MARCH. 215
SAVANNAH.
An incident connected with our occupation of Sa-
vannah illustrates the watchfulness and daring of our
officers and soldiers. Colonel Barnum, of New York,
commanding a brigade in the Twentieth Corps, a brave
soldier, who bears scars and unhealed wounds from
many a battle-field, was in command in the immediate
front upon our extreme left, and near midnight crept
out bej'ond his picket lines, which were only three hun-
dred j-ards from the Rebel works. Not hearing the
voices of the enemy, and not seeing their forms pass-
ing before their camp-fires, he suspected that thej* had
evacuated their lines, notwithstanding he could hear
the boom of their guns, which echoed through the dark
forests away off to the right. He selected ten of his
best men, and cautiously scaled the parapets of the
outside Rebel line ; passing rapidly and silently from
these to the fortifications from whose bastions frowned
the black muzzles of ponderous sixt} T -four-pounders.
Although their camp-fires still burned brightly, no
Rebels were to be seen. Sending back for reinforce-
ments, he marched from earth-work to earth-work, and
finally entered the city just as the early morning light
appeared in the eastern horizon ; while the forms of the
retreating enemy could be seen flying into the gra}*
mist across the marshes on the other side of the river.
~Capt. Nichols.
CHAPTER XII.
NASHVILLE.
"V7"OU remember how it tells, in the last chap-
* ter, that Sherman sent a couple of corps up
to Thomas, at Nashville, and how he trusted to
Thomas to keep Hood away from his own rear.
This chapter is to show how Thomas attacked
Hood in his lines before Nashville, and drove him,
broken and defeated, beyond the Tennessee.
GEN. GRANT DESCRIBES THE CAMPAIGN IN BRIEF.
Hood, instead of following Sherman, continued his
move northward, which seemed to me to be leading
to his certain doom. At all events, had I had the
power to command both armies, I should not have
changed the orders under which he seemed to be act-
ing. On the 24th of October, the advance of Hood's
army attacked the garrison at Decatur, Ala., but, fail-
ing to cany the place, withdrew toward Courtland, and
succeeded, in the face of our cavalry, in effecting a
lodgment on the north side of the Tennessee River,
near Florence. On the 28th, Forrest reached the
Tennessee, at Fort Hieman, and captured a gun-boat
and three transports. On the 2d of November, he
planted batteries above and below Johnsonville, on
the opposite side of the river, isolating three gun-
boats and eight transports. On the 4th, the enemy
NASHVILLE. 217
opened his batteries upon the place, and was replied to
from the gun-boats and the garrison. The gun-boats,
becoming disabled, were set on fire, as also were the
transports, to prevent their falling into the hands of
the enemy. About a million and a half dollars' worth
of stores and property, on the levee and in storehouses,
was consumed by fire. On the 5th, the enemy dis-
appeared and crossed to the north side of the Tennes-
see River, above Johnsonville, moving toward Clifton,
and subsequently joined Hood. On the night of the
5th, General Schofield, with the advance of the Twent}*-
third Corps, reached Johnsonville, but, finding the
enemy gone, was ordered to Pulaski, and put in com-
mand of all the troops there, with instructions to watch
the movements of Hood, and retard his advance, but
not to risk a general engagement until the arrival of
General A. J. Smith's command from Missouri, and
until General Wilson could get his cavalry remounted.
On the 19th, General Hood continued his advance.
General Thomas, retarding him as much as possible,
fell back toward Nashville for the purpose of concen-
trating his command, and gaining time for the arrival
of reinforcements. The enemy coming up with our
main force, commanded by General Schofield, at Frank-
lin, on the 30th, assaulted our works repeatedly during
the afternoon until late at night, but were in every in-
stance repulsed. His loss in this battle was 1,750
killed, 702 prisoners, and 3,800 wounded. Among
his losses were six general officers killed, six wounded,
and one captured. Our entire loss was 2,300. This
was the first serious opposition the enemy met with,
and, I am satisfied, was the fatal blow to all his ex-
pectations. During the night, General Schofield fell
back toward Nashville. This left the field to the
enenry, not lost by the battle, but voluntarily aban-
doned, so that General Thomas's whole force might
be brought together. The enem}- followed up, and
commenced the establishment of his line in front of
Nashville on the 2d of December.
218 STORIES TOLD BY SOLDIERS.
As soon as it was ascertained that Hood was cross-
ing the Tennessee River, and that Price was going out
of Missouri, General Rosecrans was ordered to send
to General Thomas the troops of General A. J. Smith's
command and such other troops as he could spare.
The advance of this reinforcement reached Nashville
on the 30th of November.
On the morning of the 15th of December General
Thomas attacked Hood in position, and, in a battle
lasting two days, defeated and drove him from the field
in the utmost confusion, leaving in our hands most of
his artillery and many thousand prisoners, including
four general officers.
Before the battle of Nashville, I grew very impatient
over, as it appeared to me, the unnecessary delay.
This impatience was increased upon learning that the
enemy had sent a force of cavalry across the Cumber-
land into Kentucky. I feared Hood would cross his
whole army and give us great trouble there. After
urging upon General Thomas the necessity of immedi-
ately assuming the offensive, I started West to super-
intend matters there in person. Reaching Washington
City, I received General Thomas's despatch announcing
his attack upon the enemy, and the result as far as the
battle had progressed. I was delighted. All fears and
apprehensions were dispelled. I am not yet satisfied
but that General Thomas, immediate^ upon the appear-
ance of Hood before Nashville, and before he had time
to fortify, should have moved out with his whole force
and given him battle, instead of waiting to remount his
cavahy, which delayed him until the inclemency of the
weather made it impracticable to attack earlier than he
did. But his final defeat of Hood was so complete,
that it will be accepted as a vindication of that distin-
guished officer's judgment. Gen. Grant.
As Hood was marching north from Florence,
Schofield was also marching from Pulaski, and
NASHVILLE. 219
there was some question which would first reach
Franklin; where their roads converged. At one
time, Hood was ahead, and would have cut Scho-
field off from Nashville, had not Schofield, by a
brilliant night march, with all his trains and his
whole army, passed within half a mile of Hood's
camp without arousing him. The next morning
he woke to find Schofield intrenched in front of
him, ready to repulse his whole army in the battle
of Franklin.
THE BATTLE OF NASHVILLE.
On the morning of the 15th of December, the weather
being favorable, the army was formed and ready at an
early hour to carry out the plan of battle promulgated
in the Special Field Order of the 14th. The for-
mation of the troops was partially concealed from the
enemy by the broken nature of the ground, as also b}' a
dense fog, which only lifted toward noon. The enemy
was apparently totally unaware of any intention on our
part to attack his position, and more especially did he
seem not to expect any movement against his left flank.
To divert his attention still farther from our real inten-
tions, Major-General Steedman had, on the evening of
the 14th, received orders to make a heav} r .demonstra-
tion with his command against the enemy's right, east
of the Nolensville pike, which he accomplished with
great success, and some loss, succeeding, however, in
attracting the enemy's attention to that part of his line
and inducing him to draw reinforcements from toward
his centre and left.
THE MAIN ATTACK BY OUR LEFT.
As soon as General Steedman had completed his
movement the commands of Generals Smith and Wil-
220 STORIES TOLD BY SOLDIERS.
son moved out along the Harding pike, and commenced
the grand movement of the day by wheeling to the left
and advancing against the enemy's position across the
Harding and Hillsboro' pikes. A 'division of cavalry
(Johnson's) was sent at the same time to look after a
battery of the enenr^'s on the Cumberland River at Bell's
Landing, eight miles below Nashville. General Johnson
did not get into position until late in the afternoon, when,
in conjunction with the gun-boats under Lieut. -Com-
mander Le Roy Fitch, the enemy's battery was engaged
until after nightfall, and the place was found evacuated
in the morning. The remainder of General Wilson's
command, Hatch's division leading and Knipe in re-
serve, moving on the right of General A. J. Smith's
troops, first struck the enemy along Richland Creek,
near Harding's house, and drove him back rapidly, cap-
turing a number of prisoners, wagons, &c., and, con-
tinuing to advance, while slightly swinging to the left,
came upon a redoubt containing four guns, which was
splendidly carried by assault, at one p. M., by a portion
of Hatch's division, dismounted, and the captured guns
turned upon the enenrp. A second redoubt, stronger
than the first, was next assailed and carried by the same
troops that captured the first position, taking four more
guns and about three hundred prisoners. The infant^,
Me Arthur's division of General A. J. Smith's command,
on the left of the cavalry, participated in both of the above
assaults, and indeed the dismounted cavahy seemed to
vie with the infantry who should first gain the works ;
as the} T reached the position nearly simultaneously, both
la}* claim to the artillen- and prisoners captured.
Finding General Smith had not taken as much dis-
tance to the right as I expected he would have done, I
directed General Schofield to move his command (the
Twenty-third Corps) from the position in reserve to
which it had been assigned over to the right of General
Smith, enabling the cavalry thereby to operate more
freely in the enemj-'s rear. This was rapidly accom-
plished by General Schofield, and his troops participated
in the closing operations of the day.
NASHVILLE. 221
THE CENTRE .
The Fourth Corps, Brig.-Gen. T. J. Wood command-
ing, formed on the left of General A. J. Smith's com-
mand, and, as soon as the latter had struck the enemy's
flank, assaulted the Montgomery Hill, Hood's most ad-
vanced position, at one P. M. The assault was most gal-
lantly executed by the Third Brigade, Second Division,
Colonel P. Sidney Post, Fifty-ninth Illinois, command-
ing, capturing a considerable number of prisoners.
Connecting with the left of Smith's troops (Brigadier-
General Garrard's division) , the Fourth Corps continued
to advance, and carried the enenr^'s entire line in its
front by assault, and captured several pieces of artillery,
about five hundred prisoners, some stands of colors, and
other material. The enemy was driven out of his origi-
nal line of works and forced back to a new position along
the base of Harpeth Hills, still holding his line of retreat
to Franklin b} 7 the main pike through Brentwood and
by the Granny White pike. Our line at nightfall was re-
adjusted, running parallel to and east of the Hillsboro'
pike, Schofield's command on the right, Smith's in the
centre, and Wood's on the left, with the cavalrj 7 on the
right of Schofield, Steedman holding the position he
had gained early in the morning.
The total result of the day's operations was the cap-
ture of sixteen pieces of artillery and 1,200 prisoners,
besides several hundred stand of small arms and about
forty wagons. The enem_y had been forced back at all
points with heavy loss, and our casualties were unusually
light. The behavior of the troops was unsurpassed for
steadiness and alacrity in every movement, and the
original plan of battle, with but few alterations, strictly
adhered to.
The whole command bivouacked in line of battle
during the night on the ground occupied at dark, while
preparations were made to renew the battle at an early
hour on the morrow.
222 STORIES TOLD BY SOLDIERS.
THE NEXT DAY'S BATTLE.
At six A. M., on the 16th, Wood's corps pressed
back the enemy's skirmishers across the Franklin pike
to the eastward of it, and then, swinging slightly to the
right, advanced due south from Nashville, driving the
enemy before him until he came upon his new main line
of works, constructed during the night, on what is called
Overton's Hill, about five miles south of the city and
east of the Franklin pike. General Steedman moved
out from Nashville by the Nolensville pike, and formed
his command on the left of General Wood, effectually
securing the latter' s left flank, and made preparations
to co-operate in the operations of the day. General A.
J. Smith's command moved on the right of the Fourth
Corps (Wood's) , and, establishing connection with Gen-
eral Wood's right, completed the new line of battle.
General Schofield's troops remained in the position
taken up by them at dark on the day previous, facing
eastward and toward the enemy's left flank, the line
of the corps running perpendicular to General Smith's
troops. General Wilson's cavalrj', which had rested for
the night at the six-mile post on the Hillsboro' pike,
was dismounted and formed on the right of Schofield's
command, and by noon of the 16th had succeeded in
gaining the enemy's rear, and stretched across the
Granny White pike, one of his two outlets toward
Franklin.
As soon as the above dispositions were completed,
and having visited the different commands, I gave
directions that the movement against the enemy's left
flank should be continued. Our entire line approached
to within six hundred yards of the enemy's at all points.
His centre was weak as compared with either his right,
at Overtoil's Hill, or his left, on the hills bordering the
Granny White pike ; still I had hopes of gaining his
rear and cutting off his retreat from Franklin.
About three p. M. Post's brigade of Wood's Corps,
supported by Streight's brigade of the same command.,
NASHVILLE. 223
was ordered by General Wood to assault Overtoil's Hill.
This intention was communicated to General Steedman.
who ordered the brigade of colored troops commanded
by Colonel Morgan (Fourteenth United States colored
troops) to co-operate in the movement. The ground
on which the two assaulting columns formed being open
and exposed to the enemy's view, he, readily perceiving
our intention, drew reinforcements from his left and
centre to the threatened point. This movement of
troops on the part of the enemy was communicated
along the line from left to right.
The assault was made, and received by the enemy
with a tremendous fire of grape, canister, and mus-
ketry, our men moving steadily onward up the hill until
near the crest, when the reserves of the enemy rose and
poured into the assaulting column a most destructive
fire, causing the men first to waver and then to fall
back, leaving their dead and wounded black and
white indiscriminately mingled lying amid the abatis,
the gallant Colonel Post among the wounded. General
Wood readily re-fornied his command in the position
it had previously occupied, preparatory to a renewal
of the assault.
THE THIRD SUCCESS.
Immediate!}' following the effort of the Fourth Corps,
Generals Smith's and Schofield's commands moved
against the enemy's works in their respective fronts,
carrying all before them, irreparably breaking his lines
in a dozen places, and capturing all of his artillery and
thousands of prisoners, among the latter four general
officers. Our loss was remarkably small, scarce!}* men-
tionable. All of the enemy that did escape were pur-
sued over the tops of Brentwood or Harpeth Hills.
General Wilson's cavalry, dismounted, attacked the
enemy simultaneously with Schofield and Smith, strik-
ing him in reverse, and, gaining firm possession of the
Granny White pike, cut off his retreat by that route.
224 STORIES TOLD BY SOLDIERS.
THE ROUT.
"Wood's and Steedman's troops hearing the shouts
of victory coming from the right, rushed impetuously
forward, renewing the assault on Overtoil's Hill, and,
although meeting a very heavy fire, the onset was irre-
sistible, artillery and innumerable prisoners falling into
our hands. The enemy, hopelessly broken, fled in con-
fusion through the Brentwood pass, the Fourth Corps in
a close pursuit, which was continued for several miles,
when darkness closed the scene and the troops rested
from their labors.
As the Fourth Corps pursued the enemy on the
Franklin pike, General Wilson hastily mounted Knipe's
and Hatch's division of his command, and directed them
to pursue along the Granny White pike and endeavoi
to reach Franklin in advance of the enemy. After pro-
ceeding about a mile they came upon the enemy's cav-
alry under Chalmers, posted across the road and behind
barricades. The position was charged by the Twelfth
Tennessee Cavalry, Colonel Spalding commanding, and
the enenry's lines broken, scattering him in all direc-
tions, and capturing quite a number of prisoners, among
them Brig. -Gen. E. W. Backer.
During the two da}-s' operations there were 4,462
prisoners captured, including 287 officers of all grades
from that of major-general, fifty-three pieces of artil-
lery, and thousands of small arms. The enemy aban-
doned on the field all of his dead and wounded.
Leaving directions for the collection of the captured
property, and for the care of the wounded left on the
battle-field, the pursuit was continued at daylight on
the 17th. The Fourth Corps pushed on toward Frank-
lin by the direct pike, while the cavaliy moved by the
Granny White Pike to its intersection with the Frank-
lin pike, and then took the advance.
NASHVILLE. 225
THE PURSUIT.
Johnson's division of cavalry was sent by General
Wilson direct to Harpeth River, on the Hillsboro' pike,
with directions to cross and move rapidly toward Frank-
lin. The main cavalry column, with Knipe's division in
advance, came up with the enemy's rear-guard strongly
posted at Hollow Tree Gap, four miles north of Frank-
lin ; the position was charged in front and in flank
simultaneously, and handsomely carried, capturing four
hundred and thirteen prisoners and three colors. The
enemy then fell back rapidl}' to Franklin, and endeav-
ored to defend the crossing of Harpeth River at that
place ; but Johnson's division, coming up from below on
the south side of the stream, forced him to retire from
the river bank, and our cavalry took possession of the
town, capturing the enemy's hospitals, containing over
two thousand wounded, of whom about two hundred
were our own men. Mai. -Gen. Thomas.
15
CHAPTER XIII.
SIEGE OF RICHMOND. THE LAST WEEK.
A FTER General Grant had crossed the James
^^ River and united his army with General But-
ler's, in the summer of 1864, he spent the rest of
that year and the months of winter in closer and
closer approaches upon Richmond and Petersburg.
These two cities were united by a railroad, so that
they supported each other ; arid the hardest fight-
ing done was, in fact, before Petersburg. The
whole effort, however, was popularly called u the
Siege of Richmond," though Richmond was never
besieged. It always drew provisions from the
west by the Southside Railroad, and other roads
through the valley of James River.
The lines of the Union army and those of the
Rebels at Petersburg came closer and closer. In
many bloody battles, Grant pushed his left wing
farther and farther to the west, cutting off the
line of the Weldon Railroad. The deep quagmires
which are called roads in Virginia, as in so many
years before, defended her capital so long as winter
lasted. But with the opening of spring the end
SIEGE OF RICHMOND. 227
came. It was all like the arrangement by which
a great player finishes a game at chess.
On the 24th of March, General Grant issued his
orders, without any " ifs" or "perhapses," for the
" general movement." They were addressed to
General Meade, General Ord, and General Sheri-
dan. They began, " Generals, on the 29th in-
stant, the armies operating against Richmond will
be moved by our left, for the double purpose of
turning the enemy out of his present position
around Petersburg, and to insure the success of
the cavalry, under General Sheridan, which will
start at the same time in its efforts to reach and
destroy the Southside and Danville railroads."
These are just such rules as a head of a family
might give about a " moving," that this cart
should come at this time, that cart at another, and
such and such a boy be ready at the new house to
tell where the furniture should go. There is just
that confidence that what is ordered will be done.
General Grant's report of the result shall be
copied first.
THE ARMY MARCHES.
I had spent days of anxiety lest each morning should
bring the report that the enemy had retreated the night
before. I was firmly convinced that Sherman's crossing
the Roanoke would be the signal for Lee to leave. With
Johnston and him combined, a long, tedious and expen-
sive campaign, consuming most of the summer, might
become necessary. By moving out I would put the
228 STORIES TOLD BY SOLDIERS.
army in better condition for pursuit, and would at least,
by the destruction of the Danville road, retard the con-
centration of the two armies of Lee and Johnston, and
cause the enemy to abandon much material that he
might otherwise save. I therefore determined not to
delay the movement ordered.
On the night of the 27th, Major-General Ord, with two
divisions of the Twenty-fourth Corps, Major-General
Gibbon commanding, and one division of the Twent} T -
fifth Corps, Brigadier-General Birney commanding, and
McKenzie's cavalry, took up his line of march in pursu-
ance of the foregoing instructions, and reached the posi-
tion assigned him near Hatcher's Run on the morning
of the 29th. On the 28th, the following instructions
were given to General Sheridan :
City Point, Va., March 28, 1865.
GENERAL : The Fifth Army Corps will move by the Vaughn
road at 3 A. M. to-morrow morning. The Second moves at about
9 A. M. having but about three miles to march to reach the point des-
ignated for it to take on the right of the Fifth Corps, after the latter
reaching Dinwiddie Court-House. Move your cavalry at as early
an hour as you can, and without being confined to any particular
road or roads. You may go out by the nearest roads in rear of
the Fifth Corps, pass by its left, and, passing near to or through
Dinwiddie, reach the right and rear of the enemy as soon as you
an. It is not the intention to attack the enemy in his intrenched
position, but to force him out, if possible. Should he come out
and attack us, or get himself where he can be attacked, move in
with your entire force in your own way, and with the full reliance
that the army will engage or follow, as circumstances will dictate.
I shall be on the field, and will probably be able to communicate
with you. Should I not do so, and you find that the enemy keeps
within his main intrenched line, you may cut loose and push for
the Danville road. If you find it practicable, I would like you to
cross the Southside road, between Petersburg and Burkesville,
and destroy it to some extent. I would not advise much deten-
tion, however, until you reach the Danville road, which I would
like you to strike as near to the Appomattox as possible. Make
your destruction on that road as complete as possible. You can
then pass on to the Southside road, west of Burkesville, and de-
stroy that, in like manner.
After having accomplished the destruction of the two railroads,
which are now the only avenues of supply to Lee's army, you may
return to this army, selecting your road further south, or you may
THE LAST WEEK. 229
go on into North Carolina and join General Sherman. Should you
select the latter course, get the information to me as early as
possible, so that I may send orders to meet you at Goldsboro'.
U. S. GRANT, Lieut.- Gen.
MAJ.-GEN. P. H. SHERIDAN.
On the morning of the 29th, the movement commenced.
At night the cavalry was at Dinwiddie Court-House, and
the left of our infantry line extended to the Quaker road,
near its intersection with the Boydton plank-road. The
position of the troops from left to right was as follows :
Sheridan, Warren, Humphre}'s, Ord, Wright, Parke.
Ever}-thing looked favorable to the defeat of the
enemy and the capture of Petersburg and Richmond,
if the proper effort was made. I therefore addressed
the following communication to General Sheridan, hav-
ing previously informed him verbally not to cut loose
for the raid contemplated in his orders until he received
notice from me to do so :
Gravelly Creek, March 29, 1865.
GENERAL : Our line is now unbroken from the Appomattox to
Dinwiddie. We are all ready, however, to give up all, from the
Jerusalem plank-road to Hatcher's Run, whenever the forces can
be used advantageously. After getting into line south of Hatcher's
we push forward to find the enemy's position. General Griffin
was attacked near where the Quaker road intersects the Boydton
road, but repulsed it easily, capturing about one hundred men.
Humphrej's reached Dabney's Mill, and was pushing on when last
heard from.
I now feel like ending the matter, if it is possible to do so, before
going back. I do not want you, therefore, to cut loose and go after
the enemy's roads at present. In the morning push around the
enemy, if you can, and get on to his right rear. The movements
of the enemy's cavalry may, of course, modify your action. We
will act all together as one army here until it is seen what can be
done with the enemy. The signal officer at Cobb's Hill reported,
at 11.30 A. M., that a cavalry column had passed that point from
Richmond towards Petersburg, taking forty minutes to pass.
U. S. GRANT, Lieut.- Gen.
MAJ.-GEN. P. H. SHERIDAN.
From the night of the 29th to the morning of the 31st
the rain fell in such torrents as to make it impossible to
move a wheeled vehicle, except as corduroy roads were
230 STORIES TOLD BY SOLDIERS.
laid in front of them. During the 30th, Sheridan ad-
vanced from Dinwiddie Court-House toward Five Forks,
where he found the enemy in force. General Warren
advanced and extended his line across the Boydton plank-
road to near the White Oak road, with a view of getting
across the latter ; but finding the enemy strong in his
front, and extending beyond his left, was directed to hold
on where he was and fortify. .General Humphreys
drove the enemy from his front into his main line on the
Hatcher, near Burgess's mills. Generals Ord, Wright,
and Parke made examinations in their fronts to deter-
mine the feasibility of an assault on the enemy's lines.
The two latter reported favorably. The enemy con-
fronting us, as he did at every point from Richmond to
our extreme left, I conceived his lines must be weakly
held, and could be penetrated if my estimate of his
forces was correct. I determined, therefore, to extend
my line no further, but to reinforce General Sheridan
with a corps of infantry, and thus enable him to cut
loose and turn the enemy's right flank, and with the
other corps assault the enemy's lines. The result of
the offensive effort of the enem} 7 the week before, when
he assaulted Fort Steadman, particularly favored this.
The enemy's intrenched picket line, captured by us at
that time, threw the lines occupied by the belligerents so
close together at some points, that it was but a moment's
run from one to the other. Preparations were at once
made to relieve General Humphreys's corps, to report to
General Sheridan ; but the condition of the roads pre-
vented immediate movement. On the morning of the
31st General Warren reported favorably to getting pos-
session of the White Oak road, and was directed to do
so. To accomplish this he moved with one division,
instead of his whole corps, which was attacked b}~ the
enemy in superior force, and driven back on the second
division, before it had time to form, and it, in turn,
forced back upon the third division, when the enemy
was checked. A division of the Second Corps was im-
mediately sent to his support, the enemy driven back
THE LAST WEEK. 231
with heavy loss, and possession of White Oak road
gained. Sheridan advanced, and with a portion of his
cavalry got possession of the Five Forks, but the enemy,
after the affair with the Fifth Corps, reinforced the Rebel
cavalry, defending that point with infantry, and forced
him back toward Dinwiddie Court-House. Here Gen-
eral Sheridan displayed great generalship. Instead of
retreating with his whole command on the main army, to
tell the stoiy of superior forces encountered, he deployed
his cavalry on foot, leaving only mounted men enough to
take charge of the horses. This compelled the enemy to
deploy over a vast extent of woods and broken country,
and made his progress slow. At this juncture he de-
spatched to me what had taken place, and that he was
dropping back slowly on Dinwiddie Court-House. Gen-
eral McKenzie's cavalry and one division of the Fifth
Corps were immediately ordered to his assistance. Soon
after, receiving a report from General Meade that Hum-
phre % ys could hold our position on the Bo}*dton road, and
that the other two divisions of the Fifth Corps could go
to Sheridan, the} T were so ordered at once. Thus the
operations of the day necessitated the sending of War-
ren because of his accessibility, instead of Humphrej^s,
as was intended, and precipitated intended movements.
On the morning of the 1st of April, General Sheridan,
reinforced by General Warren, drove the enemy back
on Five Forks, where, late in the evening, he assaulted
and carried his strongly fortified position, capturing all
his artillery and between five and six thousand prisoners.
About the close of this battle, Brevet Major-General
Charles Griffin relieved Major-General Warren in com-
mand of the Fifth Corps. The report of this reached
me after nightfall. Some apprehensions filled my mind
lest the enemy might desert his lines during the night,
and, b} T falling upon General Sheridan before assistance
could reach him, drive him from his position, and open
the way for retreat. To guard against this, General
Miles's division of Humphre}'s's Corps was sent to rein-
force him, and a bombardment was commenced and kept
232 STORIES TOLD BY SOLDIERS..
up until four o'clock in the morning (April 2), when
an assault was ordered on the enemy's lines. General
Wright penetrated the lines with his whole corps, sweep-
ing everything before him and to his left toward Hatch-
er's Run, capturing man}' guns and several thousand
prisoners. He was closely followed by two divisions of
General Ord's command, until he met the other division
of General Ord's that had succeeded in forcing the ene-
my's lines near Hatcher's Run. Generals Wright and
Ord immediately swung to the right, and closed all the
enemy on that side of them in Petersburg, while Gen-
eral Humphrej's pushed forward with two divisions and
joined General Wright on the left. General Parke suc-
ceeded in carrying the enemy's main line, capturing guns
and prisoners, but was unable to carry his inner line.
General Sheridan, being advised of the condition of
affairs, returned General Miles to his proper command.
On reaching the enemy's lines immediately surrounding
Petersburg, a portion of General Gibbon's corps, by
a most gallant charge, captured two strong, enclosed
works, the most salient and commanding south of
Petersburg, thus materially* shortening the line of in-
vestment necessary for taking the city. The enemy
south of Hatcher's Run retreated westward to Suther-
land's Station, where they were overtaken by Miles's di-
vision. A severe engagement ensued, and lasted until
both his right and left flanks were threatened by the
approach of General Sheridan, who was moving from
Ford's Station toward Petersburg, and a division sent
by General Meade from the front of Petersburg, when
he broke in the utmost confusion, leaving in our hands
his guns and many prisoners. This force retreated by
the main road along the Appomattox River.
THE FLIGHT OF LEE FROM RICHMOND.
During the night of the 2d the enemy evacuated
Petersburg and Richmond, and retreated toward Dan-
ville. On the morning of the 3d, pursuit was com-
THE LAST WEEK. 233
menced. General Sheridan pushed for the Danville
road, keeping near the Appomattox, followed by Gen-
eral Meade with the Second and Sixth Corps, while
General Ord moved from Burkesville along the South-
side road ; the Ninth Corps stretched along that road
behind him. On the 4th, General Sheridan struck the
Danville road near Jettersville, where he learned that
Lee was at Amelia Court-House. He immediately in-
trenched himself and awaited the arrival of General
Meade, who reached there the next day. General Ord
reached Burkesville on the evening of the 5th.
On the morning of the 5th I addressed Major-Gen.
Sherman the following communication :
Wilson's Station, April 5, 1865.
GENERAL : All indications now are that Lee will attempt to
reach Danville with the remnant of his force. Sheridan, who
was up with him last night, reports all that is left horse, foot,
and dragoons at twenty thousand, much demoralized. We
hope to reduce this number one half. I shall push on to Burkes-
ville, and, if a stand is made at Danville, will in a very few days
go there. If you can possibly do so, push on from where you are,
and let us see if we cannot finish the job with Lee's and John-
ston's armies. Whether it will be better for you to strike for
Greensboro' or nearer to Danville, you will be better able to
judge when you receive this. Rebel armies now are the only
strategic points to strike at.
U. S. GRANT, Lieutenant- General.
MAJ.-GEN. W. T. SHERMAN.
On the morning of the 6th, it was found that General
Lee was moving west of Jettersville, toward Danville.
General Sheridan moved with his cavalry, (the Fifth
Corps having been returned to General Meade on his
reaching Jettersville,) to strike his flank, followed by
the Sixth Corps, while the Second and Fifth Corps
pressed hard after, forcing him to abandon several
hundred wagons^and several pieces of artiller}'. Gen-
eral Ord advanced from Burkesville toward Farmville,
sending two regiments of infantry and a squadron of
cavalry, under Brevet Brig. -Gen. Theodore Read, to
reach and destroy the bridges. This advance met the
head of Lee's column near Farmville, which it hero-
234 STORIES TOLD BY SOLDIERS.
icalry attacked and detained until General Read was
killed and his small force overpowered. This caused a
delay in the enemy's movements, and enabled General
Orel to get well up with the remainder of his force, on
meeting which the enemy immediately intrenched him-
self. In the afternoon General Sheridan struck the
enemy south of Sailor's Creek, captured sixteen pieces
of artiller}*, and about four hundred wagons, and de-
tained him until the Sixth Corps got up, when a gen-
eral attack of infantiy and cavalry was made, which
resulted in the capture of six or seven thousand prison-
ers, among whom were many general officers. The
movements of the Second Corps and General Ord's com-
mand contributed greatly to the day's success.
On the morning of the 7th, the pursuit was renewed,
the cavalry, except one division, and the Fifth Corps
moving by Prince Edward Court-House ; the Sixth
Corps, General Ord's command, and one division of
cavalry, on Farmville ; and the Second Corps by the
High Bridge road. It was soon found that the enemy
had crossed to the north side of the Appomattox ; but
so close was the pursuit that the Second Corps got
possession of the common bridge at High Bridge before
the enem}' could destro} 7 it, and immediately crossed
over. The Sixth Corps and a division of cavalry
crossed at Farmville to its support. Gen. Grant.
At this point it was so sure that the Rebel chief
was checkmated, that Grant addressed to him a
note, which resulted in the surrender at Appomattox
Court-House.
It was on the last day of this pursuit that Sheri-
dan telegraphed to Grant this despatch, which at
the time excited great attention :
LIEUTENANT-GENERAL GRANT :
I have the honor to report that the enemy made a stand at the
intersection of the Burke's Station road, in the road upon which
they were retreating.
THE LAST WEEK. 235
I attacked them with two divisions of the Sixth Army Corps,
imd routed them handsomely, making a connection with the
cavalry. I am still pressing on with both cavalry and infantry.
Up to the present time we have captured General Ewell, Kershaw,
Button, Corse, De Barre, and Custis Lee, several thousand prison-
ers, fourteen pieces of artillery, with caissons and a large number
of prisoners. If the thin^ is pressed, I think Lee will surrender.
P. H. SHERIDAN, Major- General commanding.
City Point, April 7, 9 A. M.
It was always said, and probably truly, that the
answer was, " Press them."
Now that you have seen how the leader of the
whole host ordered the array, you shall read ho\v
one of the accomplished men who make a part of
it sees the whole. The first extract describes the
assault on one of the forts at Petersburg, on the 2d
of April. The description which follows is from
one of the surgeons who go everywhere with an
army, and even remain on the field of defeat, if
need be, and are taken prisoners with the men for
whom they care.
STORMING A BATTERY.
"Battery Gregg," a strong earth-work, was immedi-
ately in front. It was ours to assault. Could we take
it, the Rebel line was untenable.
Our formation was in column by brigade, our own bri-
gade in advance. The order reached us at about eleven
o'clock on the 2d of April. Moving directly against
the work, a terrific fire of musketry and grape and can-
ister struck us in front, while shells from all the neigh-
boring works were directed against our flanks. " When
within one hundred yards of the work," writes Captain
Leach, our gallant leader on that day, " we were obliged
236 STORIES TOLD BY SOLDIERS.
to lie clown, and crawl upon our hands and knees ; the
enemy all the time pouring grape and canister into our
ranks at a furious rate." But not a man flinched, al-
though dead and ctying comrades were lying stretched
upon the ground. The ditch around the fort was
readied at last, and although the water in it stood waist-
cleep, the brave fellows hesitated not to jump in, and
scramble up the bank of the fort, vainly attempting to
rush in en masse, and end the bloody struggle. Soon
the stars and stripes could be seen floating by the side
of the Rebel flag ; cheer after cheer rent the air, the
Rebels fighting with the desperation of madmen, and
shouting to each other," Never surrender! never sur-
render ! " For twent3*-seven minutes we hung upon the
works, knowing we could not retreat if we wished to.
One more rush and we were inside the fort, and for a
minute or two there was a hand-to-hand contest. The
works were ours; and the garrison, dead and alive.
-- Gen. Lincoln, Col. 34th Mass.
THE LAST WEEK.
As I overheard one enlisted man saying to another,
down on the James, in '62, " When a man tells me all
about a battle, what was done here, and what was
done there, I know that he was n't in it. I have been
in a good many fights ; and I 've always had enough to
do to take care of myself, without looking around at
what other people were doing." It is a piece of practi-
cal wisdom, that the war experience of every one below
a certain grade will confirm. But, if every one should
faithfully describe his own square, how the checker-
board of a campaign might be reconstructed ! One
difficulty in ordinary description lies in the too general
impression, that one's own little block is the whole
board. At Chickamauga, a high-spirited son of a
prominent Confederate general, although a mere bov",
held a nominal position on his father's staff. He was
given charge of a little mountain-howitzer during the
THE LAST WEEK. 237
action, chiefly to keep him out of worse mischief.
When the day was decided, he rode up exultant :
" Did you hear the howitzer, father? Did you hear the
howitzer, father? " We all are apt to believe that our
own little howitzers are, or ought to be, heard above
the roar of the battle. Most of us look upon our per-
sonal zenith as the celestial pole, around whose axis the
natural world revolves ; but by an aggregation of obser-
vations, true astronomical problems are wrought out.
A stereoscopic view is not to be seen with a single eye ;
a fraction is not the whole ; but the spatter of the little
piece is sometimes an epitome of the greater volleys. If
barely one man in ten, in any battle, should, at its close,
faithfully note down his own experience, what a mag-
nificent mosaic might be put together ! We shall never
know the views of the subalterns in the retreat of the
Ten Thousand ; nor are there any Commentaries but the
commander's on the war in Gaul. But what would not
the world give for a gossipy journal by the chief of some
syntagma under Xenophon, or by some lively legionary
of Caesar's ? Suppose that only the generals wrote of the
Rebellion : we should have abundance of grand strategy,
but very little of the wa\"side bivouac. The prominent
colors would be staring enough ; but we should lose the
delicate shadings.
There are many incidents of a march that are inter-
esting without being vital, little touches that neither
make nor mar the picture. This fragment of mosaic is
contributed as such.
How glorious was that last week ! The Rebs may
have enjoyed it slenderly ; but we were filled with new
life then. The cruel suspense that, mist-like, had
enshrouded us during the final movement to the left,
was torn aside by Five Forks and the storming of
Petersburg. Lee was in retreat ; and we were in full
cry after him. It was a new and agreeable sensation.
More than once in former da}'s we had retired from
before the Rebels. Now, it was a wilder chase than
ever ; and we were not in front.
238 STORIES TOLD BY SOLDIERS.
As ever} 7 body knows, the national forces marched in
two main columns. The Army of the Potomac, under
Meade, and the ubiquitous Sheridan with his centaurs,
were directly on the Rebel trail and right ; while Ord,
with the Army of the James, marched on their left
flank along the L}'nchburg Railroad, a moving wall
to resist their turning southward. Ord's first objective
was Burkesville Junction, to cut off the use of the Dan-
ville Railrcnd, upon which the enemy expected supplies,
and whose line he intended to follow south, possibly
hoping to unite with Johnston in the Carolinas. Grant
started with this column ; and we knew that affairs on
the northerly line were in the full tide of success, by
little waifs borne to us from time to time, almost mean-
ingless singly, but of most excellent omen united.
How triumphant we felt ! The assault and capture of
the Cockade City rekindled all the flame that the ashes
of a ten months' siege had covered but not extinguished.
A march through its battered streets and its beautiful
outskirts had deepened the sense of victory. The
balmy air and invigoration of sun and cheerful fields
of the Virginia spring stirred the physical man ; and
the very beasts of burden, escaped from plodding
through the winter's mud, seemed to catch the contagion
of the march. We were like so many school-boys on a
holiday. Sick of the restraints of the earth-works' nar-
row limits, of the monotonous routine of camp, of
shelling and being shelled, an occupation that was
irksome and not edifying, of the addition of perverse
columns, whose frequent resultant was disastrous sub-
traction, we started off with perhaps more than usual
glee, because directed against no fixed point, but liable
to wander over half the State before entering a perma-
nent camp. We were very jolly. We expected one
sharp fight ; but the spirit of prophecy within us
announced that the day of retribution for the wicked
Rebels was at hand, that we were surely crushing
the Rebellion. The mother of States and of presidents
had presided over many solemn marches and stately
THE LAST WEEK. 239
minuets, in which we had been unwilling participants
during the past four years. We had danced sometimes,
when the desire was not in us ; we had frequently paid
the piper when it was inconvenient f but now we were
instituting a veritable Virginia Reel, into which we
entered heart and soul. But no form of words can
describe our exultation, partly physical from pure ani-
mal excitement, but chiefly moral from the conscious-
ness of the speedy triumph of the good cause for which
we had fought so desperately and so long.
The pride and pomp and all that sort of thing of war
are seldom displa}~ed or should one say deplo3 r ed ?
in campaign. The pursuit of an enemy, the life-and-
death business of an active army, are not favorable to
stage effects, certainly not to designed effects. But
little gems often sparkle in the setting of bayonets
that owe their value quite as much to what they
mean as to what they are. During a mid-day rest
at Nottowa} T Court-House, a group was gathered on
the stoop or porch of the deserted tavern, which,
except for the dustj r undress uniforms, might well
have .been taken for a simple party of travellers.
There was no parade, no display. The main road on
which the troops were marching was not in immediate
view. A few orderlies held the horses and attended to
their wants.
Some of the dozen men walked hither and thither,
evidently unemplo3'ed. One or two were half asleep.
One or two more were jotting down, or referring to,
notes in little books. A sturdy, thoughtful, but cheer-
ful-looking man, \tho seemed the head of the party,
talked occasionally with others, who listened respect-
fully, or replied, as the case might be. His voice, as
caught, was low, but clear and gentle. There appeared
in his manner, or in that of his companions, nothing to
excite remark, certainly nothing to inspire awe ; and,
above all, there was not the least token of parade,
no "fuss and feathers," no glitter and dash, such as
the heroes of the books are often invested with. The
240 STORIES TOLD BY SOLDIERS.
most timid child would not have hesitated to ask a
favor of that cigar-smoking, tawny-bearded, kindly-
looking man, who was General Grant with his staff.
A good share of the brains engaged in antagonizing the
Rebellion spent an hour or two on that rusty old tavern
porch ; but no sign of tinsel was hung out, and no
nerve -power was wasted in attitudes.
The inarch that day was long ; but, about the middle
of the afternoon, glad tidings came over from the other
line ; and the despatch was read to the troops while in
motion. The particulars are not vital now ; but so many
men, so many generals, so man} 7 guns, were captured.
As the head of each brigade reached a certain point,
the despatch was read ; and it moved along with still
livelier stride. Each command in turn gave the cheer
of thanksgiving ; and it was propagated by contagion
front and rear. Those ahead renewed it, glad that
others were sharing in the joy they just had felt. Those
behind took it up, full of faith that there was good cause
for the outburst. After a while, the} T seemed only to
fear lest there would be no Rebels left for them to cap-
ture.
A few hours later the western sun looked full in the
face of the moving column. The road, which there
ran by the side of a forest, was filled with troops, who
swung along with the free, full stride of men whose
legs kept time to the quick-step of earnest hearts. The
well-closed ranks, the accoutrements in good condition,
the square shoulders, and serious but hopeful faces be-
neath the forage-caps, marked them veterans ; and the
fairly -re fleeting steel of the arms shone like a glory
over the entire array. That magnificent mass of in-
fantiy, apparently without end, but presenting the same
effectiveness, wherever viewed, looked the incarnation
of resistless power. As far as the eye could reach,
the curving countiy road was vivid with the lively, but
not boisterous, blue and steel. On the left were green
fields, cultivated and refreshing to the sight. On the
right, the road was bordered by a forest, whose trees
THE LAST WEEK. 241
were foil-grown and old. Through this forest, and by
the side of this magnificent bodj^, Generals Grant and
Ord had been riding together ; and their well-mounted
staffs and escorts formed a large and sprightly caval-
cade, winding in and out between the trees, here com-
parativel}' free from undergrowth. Their rattling sabres,
and their greater vivacity, the more quickly-moving
horses, and the occasional change of pace or direc-
tion, gave more of the notion of mobility than the
monotonous tramp, tramp, of the infantry. The swiftly-
falling sun in the clear heavens threw shadows that
magnified the originals into an army of giants ; while
its direct rays glorified all they touched. Ord had just
fallen back, and Grant was beginning to move ahead
at a livelier gait ; the mingled staffs had said good-b} T ,
and were again gathered into their proper groups ; the
escorts had closed up in their respective places, when
from the right and rear, two troopers in thre Rebel uni-
form dashed out of the wood on literally foam-flecked
horses. They were only two ; but to the outward eye
their dust}* gray clothes, their long hair and wild aspect,
and their general appearance, indescribable, but typical
of the Southern cavalry, marked them as unquestionably
Rebels. But their bold and rapid advance direct!}- up
to the column declared them, although personally un-
recognized, as scouts. Inquiring for General Grant,
they fairly pushed their horses to a run, in their eager-
ness to overtake him when the squadron that followed
him was pointed out. Just as our party again came up,
Grant, who had halted and read their despatch, imper-
turbable as ever, turned to two of his staff : ' ' Colonel
and Colonel , I wish 3*011 to go with me."
While a led horse was being prepared, he spoke a few
words to his adjutant-general, and, before remounting,
wrote a line or two, using a saddled horse as a desk.
Meanwhile, the ceaseless stream of infantry was rolling
by his side ; the lower and lower sun cast greater shad-
ows from the huge trees, and still brighter beams from
the polished barrels ; the great clusters of horsemen
16
242 STORIES TOLD BY SOLDIERS.
again coalesced, full of chat and conjecture ; the hard-
riding scouts at first loosened and then tightened their
horses' girths and their own belts ; and then, just as
the sun went down, the lieutenant-general and the two
aids, with an orderly or two and the n^sterious stran-
gers, started off on a long trot directly through the dark-
ening forest, at right angles to our line of march, and
into a country which, if it held an}'thing, held Rebels.
They were going to the column ; for Grant had news
from Sheridan. We had had a glimpse of the romance
of war.
On Friday we reached Farmville, whose inhabitants,
if not overjo}*ed to see us, at least were not openly
hostile. Lee had been foiled in his effort to escape
southward, and was exerting all his energy to gain
Lynchburg. We, still in pursuit, were correspondingly
elated ; and it was a matter of small moment who fell
in love with us en route. Farmville very closel}' resem-
bled those finished towns so common in some sections.
One could almost see surrounding it the nrythical fence
that is said to enclose and denote such completed vil-
lages. A church was occupied for the night by the
staff of General Ord, the general himself resting, by
invitation, in the house of a citizen. Among the cher-
ished traditions of Revolutionary horrors in my birth-
place is the story of the desecration by the British of
the village church where m}* ancestors preached. Cir-
cumstances so altered the relation of things, that no
qualm of conscience disturbed my repose that night on
the Farmville cushions. True, the red-coats used the
one as permanent barracks, and introduced horses as
well as men. We were heathen but for a single night ;
and our sacrilege was less physical than spiritual. Our
horses were not admitted ; the building was opened by
one of its own dignitaries ; and we were scrupulous to
inflict no unnecessary mischief.
Diagonally opposite to the church, which was on a
corner, was a young ladies' seminar}', then in the midst
of cultivation ; but the surly shutters remained imper-
THE LAST WEEK. 243
vious to the levelled field-glasses, although a sanguine
few fancied they saw signs of vitality, if not of hostil-
ity, through an occasional crevice.
Strangel}' enough, we were invited to tea by a gentle-
man, who, if memon' serves, made no profession of
Union sentiments, but seemed actuated by pure, ab-
stract hospitality. It ma} 7 be that he looked upon it as
a gentle species of briber} 7 in the interest of his property
against possible destruction ; for the Yankee name in-
spired much awe among the untravelled natives. Be
that as it may, he gave us a most capital supper, that
was heartily enjoyed ; for we had eaten nothing since
morning, and our wagons were in the unknown rear.
All the troops passed through and beyond Farm-
ville rapidly enough ; but, notwithstanding their ab-
sence, the place was abundantly lively the next day.
Both Grant and Ord had made head-quarters there ;
Meade was not far off; Sheridan halted there for a while ;
and the aids and escorts, the officers and orderlies,
filled the streets with much clatter and bustle. There
was no more parade than at Nottoway ; but there was
all that martial stir and tremor that necessarily marks
the head-quarters of a great army at a critical time.
Perhaps the most pronounced feature was a troop of
Sheridan's scouts, two of whom have been previously
mentioned. These, clad in gra\', rode through the
streets in the most approved frontier, fashion ; and no
horde of Texans ever looked wilder than these pseudo-
Rebels, who did such good service for the National
cause. And, while acknowledging their usefulness, it
must be confessed that they were as cut-throat-/oo^m^r
a gang ati ever wore spurs.
But Farmville is pre-eminently remembered by a com-
ical incident, after this fashion. Falling into conversa-
tion with the wife of a civil functionaiy (for the citizens
were talkative enough), she finally said something to
this effect :
" I do n't see what you Yankees want to come down
here and take away all our negroes for."
244 STORIES TOLD BY SOLDIERS.
" My dear madam, that is not our object. The} r will
go off after the army, in many cases, I know ; but we
are not here for that purpose."
" What do 3'ou suppose we are going to do without
our servants."
u Indeed, I hope 3~ou will not lose all your servants."
" Yes, we will ; I know we will ! I know they '11 all
go off. And what do you suppose I will do then ? "
' ' I 'm sure that I hope they '11 not all desert } r ou ;
but, if the}* should, yon can easily supply their places."
" No. They '11 all go, I know they will. And what
do 3*ou think will become of me ? Do 3-011 think I will
work?"
" I can't imagine 3'ou to beso unfortunate as not to
be able to get any servants whatever."
"We won't,! know we won't; they'll all go.
And I? do 3'ou suppose I will work? Indeed, I
won't. Indeed, I won't work ! "
" I can't believe that 3*ou will be so reduced; for
there must be some servants to be had at all times."
" I tell 3*011 there won't be ; they '11 all go off. And
do 3 T ou think I '11 work ? I 've alwa3 T s had servants.
Indeed, I won't work. Do you think I '11 do what I 've
alwa3's had servants to do ? Do 3*ou think I will cook ?
I shall do nothing of the sort. You come down here,
and take all our servants away, and then expect me to
work: indeed, I sha'n't."
" As I 've said before, madam, I sincere^ hope 3*ou
will be able to obtain servants, if 3*our own should
leave ; and I can scarcel3 r conceive that 3 T ou should not.
But suppose it should happen so that 3'oar own ser-
vants should all go, and that 3 T ou could get no assist-
ance whatever, that 3*our picture should be realized,
under such circumstances, if 3-011 could get literally
no one to help 3'ou, I presume you would realty be
obliged to make 3^our own bed, and to cook 3'our own
food."
" Indeed, I won't. I don't care if they all go.
What ! Do you suppose I will work ? I have always
THE LAST WEEK. 245
had servants. You may take them all away. Do you
think I will work? Indeed, I shall do nothing of the
kind."
"But just imagine the case, madam. If yon have
no one, and can't possibly get any one, the question
becomes ver}* simple. It is either to do it one's self,
or to go without ; and we know the consequences of
going without. I am sure I hope you may not be so
compelled; but, since that would be the only alterna-
tive, I am afraid }'ou might have to do your own
cooking."
" Indeed, I won't. I've alwa} T s had servants, and I
won't work : and I do n't see what }~ou Yankees want
to come down here for, and take our servants away."
To that st}ie of argument, what could a man reply ?
\Ve did not overtake the column that had pushed
ahead at an early hour, and with which Griffin's Fifth
Corps was also marching, until after mid-day on Satur-
day. Even then, a long journey had been made ; and
the men began to feel it, notwithstanding their elation
of spirits ; but they persisted manfully. Towards night-
fall, however, they naturally began to droop, for an all-
day's march is no light thing. Then, riding along the
ranks, Ord addressed them in pithy little sentences :
" Legs will win this battle, men." " It rests with us to
head them off." "This march will save all others."
"Whichever army marches best wins." "The cam-
paign is in your legs, men." "Good marching will
carry it." " The}' can 't escape, if you will keep up to
it." " One good steady march, and the campaign is
ended." And, strenuousl}- impressing upon the troops
that, by getting ahead of them, they would corral the
Rebels, that the termination of certainly the campaign,
perhaps the war, was virtually vested in the endurance
of their legs, in other words, by conjoined appeals
to their good sense and manly pride,. their flagging
strength was stimulated'; and the weary troops were
kept in motion. Presently, messages came from Sheri-
dan, ahead, begging us to march to the utmost ; that if
246 STORIES TOLD BY SOLDIERS.
we could make a certain distance, the problem would
be solved. Harris's brigade of Turner's division was
in the lead, magnificent athletes, who had been
trained in the mountains of West Virginia and in the
Vallej' ; and better marching infantry never did. It
was ten o'clock that night before tfie troops went
into bivouac ; but, just as we lay down, a fresh de-
spatch from Sheridan announced that Custer had cap-
tured a park of artillery and innumerable stores, and
begged Ord to advance a little further, so that next
morning might end it. The " assembly " rang out, the
men fell in, and, weary almost to exhaustion, they
staggered along up the road until past midnight.
Another bivouac was made, with strict orders for the
column to be stretched out at 3.30 A. M. But nature
has a limit, and it was only by the strenuous personal
exertions of the various general officers that we got in
motion after daylight. About seven o'clock, a half-
hour's halt was allowed for coffee, in the midst of which
there was sharp firing ahead, and an urgent request for
the immediate support of the infantry.
It was worth the fatigue of the march to watch Sher-
idan explaining the situation to Ord. The "battle-
light " is not a myth nor a figure of speech ; on that
morning, it fairl} 7 transfigured Sheridan. His face in
repose is impassive and not striking ; but, on the edge
of the fight, he grew all aflame ; the transformation was
absolute. It is no exaggeration to sa}^ that, in its
glow, one would scarcely recognize him as the same
man ; but he did not lose his head. Excited, and
quivering with enthusiasm, his mind grew keener, not
tremulous ; his sentences were graphic, not confused.
Although surrounded b}* woods, so that the eye ren-
dered no aid, two minutes' conversation portrayed the
situation as clearly as if mapped before us. General
Ord gave his orders for the disposition of the troops ;
and we rode forward to witness what had been so
graphically depicted. Emerging from the woods, on
the crest of a little bluff, a cleared basin lay before
THE LAST WEEK. 247
us, out of which, and towards us, an immense num-
ber of dismounted cavaliy-men, leading their horses,
were falling back. A strong Confederate skirmish-
line, whose wings stretched well on each side of the
main road, was in full view ; two brass guns in action
were conspicuous in the sunlight ; and distant trains,
waiting to move on, revealed that at last we had
come up with the swift- footed foe. The Confed-
erates seemed in high glee ; and well they might be,
for they appeared to have forced back the terrible
cavalry, and to have a way to the mountains open
before them. As we sat there, Sheridan, in a burst
of personal daring and display, like the solitary flash
of lightning before the storm, dashed off down the right
to reconnoitre, directly in the face of the Rebels, and
within their eas} r range. An orderly, bearing his crim-
son and white standard, making him so much the more
conspicuous, followed ; and his career seemed that of
some storied knight, offering adventurous personal
challenge, rather than a modern general, whose pre-
sumed province was the cool and comprehensive over-
sight of an army. But he knew his position ; and his
apparent recklessness was not folly.
We rode farther to the right ; and, again emerging
from the screen of woods, the full field was displayed.
The last of our cavalry had disappeared from its first
position ; the Rebel guns were far down the opposite
declivity ; the strong skirmish-line was thrown well for-
ward and advancing ; the mass "of the enemy was
known to be but a little in its rear ; and the view pre-
sented was that of a Confederate field-day. Just then,
a loud report announced one of our own guns as open-
ing. At the same instant, a return crackle was heard
from the woods just before them ; and the Rebel skir-
mishers halted. The legs had done their part, and our
own infantry was at last engaged. Our skirmishers
advanced, and the Rebels retired ; but their retiring was
a master-piece of discipline. They fired " at will," fell
back a few paces, fired again, made a momentary ad-
248 STORIES TOLD BY SOLDIERS.
vance, again fired, and again fell back, as orderly and
methodically as if on parade. The brass guns likewise
began to withdraw, then fired, then were run back, and
so on, until finally the crest of the hill was reached.
By this time, our full lines of battle had emerged from
the timber. The Fifth Corps and the Army of the
James held the right and left respective^, with the
centre between them, in common ; and the remounted
cavahy massed on Griffin's right. Our artillery fired
more rapidly, our skirmishers pressed forward with
greater speed, the Rebel riflemen retired in haste, and
the guns lingered for an instant on the ridge, as we
began a general advance.
The long lines swept silently forward, to possess the
victory they were conscious awaited them. Many
events prove historic, of the importance of which the
participants are at the time ignorant ; but, on that Sun-
day morning, not a ba3'onet or a sabre but knew that
the vitality of the Rebellion awaited its thrust. As we
afterwards learned, the North had gone wild over the
fall of Richmond ; but in the arnry, although the direct
prize for which so many had fought so long, that was
regarded as but an omen of ultimate success. While
Lee and his forces were in the field, the real work was
incomplete. Every man appreciated the consequences
of the approaching action ; and there was not a soldier
who had raced in the pursuit but realized that the crisis
was at hand. The advance was magnificent. The im-
mense wave of infantry, capped and sparkling with steel
and colors, and preceded b}' its skirmish spray, rolled
forward as steadily as the resistless sea, and with only
the seething hiss of its own motion before the billow
breaks. The great cloud of cavahy hung ready to pour
its storm ; the catastrophe was imminent, but, just
as the culmination was at hand, a shout ran down the
line, and men's hearts beat wilder yet. A white flag
rode out. Legs had won !
The flag bore a note from General Gordon, in our
immediate front, asking a truce. General Ord, as the
THE LAST WEEK. 249
senior present, granted it, until General Grant could be
consulted. The lines were ordered to stand fast, the
skirmishers serving as pickets. Present!}', the ranking
generals, on invitation, rode down to the Court-House
near by ; but, as Sheridan approached the Rebel lines,
their pickets fired on him at short range. One expla-
nation was, that, by an oversight, they had not been
instructed as to the truce ; another, that the}' avowed
themselves South Carolinians, and would therefore
"never surrender." Had one bullet struck, how that
avalanche of cavalry on the neighboring ridge would
have desolated the insurgents ! About noon, it was
officially announced that the Arm}' of Northern Virginia
would surrender. The pickets fraternized ; and, were
it not for the restraints of discipline, the armies them-
selves, to all appearance, would have coalesced.
By a curious coincidence, the articles of the surrender
were drawn up in the house of a gentleman whose
former home was on the field of Bull Run, and who had
moved to this locality to avoid the region of active
hostilities. How could he anticipate that the head-
waters of the Appomattox would .be the "last ditch,"
or that his new farm would witness the virtual close, as
his old one had seen the first actual battle, of the war !
The hosts dispersed almost as rapidly as they had
assembled. Promptly the next morning, Sheridan led
the cavalry to Danville, and the Sixth Corps followed.
Grant and Orel returned to tide- water immediately, and
much the larger part of the troops were quickly marched
away. Only enough remained to attend to the necessary
formalities of the capitulation. Very few of those
whose genius and valor accomplished it witnessed the
actual surrender of the Rebels. When defeat is assured,
the combatant victors are not the ones who exult in the
humiliation of brave enemies.
Excepting by those to whom the afflictions directly
came, there appears to have been no proper apprecia-
tion, at the North, of the daily casualties that blotted
the calendar of that final week ; while, in fact, at Appo-
250 STORIES TOLD BY SOLDIERS.
mattox itself, the seals of the surrender were moistened
with the blood of two hundred brave fellows, contem-
plation of the result diverted popular attention from the
road that led to it.
Two incidents, ordinarily not noteworthy, seemed of
special hardship on that ultimate day. One was, a
Confederate gun still in position, on the Lynehburg
highway, with a dead cannoneer lying b}* its trail.
Constant to the last, the misguided but faithful Rebel
clung to his post, sacrificed himself in his effort to
secure for his comrades the one avenue of escape, and
died just as resistance became hopeless, a noble but
unavailing victim for the cause he loved. The thought
of Appomattox always brings before me that poor dead
gunner, ashen and gray, lying alone and stark in the
dusty road.
The other was the case of a soldier of the Fifth New
York, mortally wounded by almost the last, if not
actually the last, Rebel fire. As he was borne off the
field, the message of submission came in sight ; the
cause he died for achieved its crowning triumph ; but
he fell, another martyr, an apparent!} 7 superfluous
martyr, to the infernal Rebellion. He died in the arms
of victory, ignorant that it was victory. The ranks
closed up, one man is not missed in a regiment. But
all that he had he had given. He had given, as so
many thousands gave, life, had given it in faith and
love. The sadness is not that he died, we all were
willing to die if need be, but that he died when the
victoiy was won. Dr. Alfred A. Woodhull.
SHERIDAN DESCRIBES THE END.
The resistance growing stubborn, a halt was called to
get up Wheaton's division of the Sixth Corps, which went
into position on the left of the road, Se3'inour being on
the right. Wheaton was ordered to guide right, with
his right connecting with Seymour's left and resting on
the road. I still felt the great importance of pushing
THE LAST WEEK. 251
the enemy, and was unwilling to wait for Getty's divis-
ion of the Sixth Corps to get up. I therefore ordered
an advance, sending word to General Humphreys, who
was on the road to our right, and requesting him to
push on, as I felt confident we could break up the enem}'.
It was apparent from the absence of artillery fire, and
the manner in which they gave way, when pressed, that
the force of the enemy opposed to us was a heavy rear-
guard. The enemy was driven until our lines reached
Sailor's Creek ; and, from the north bank, I could see
our cavalry on the high bank above the creek, and south
of it, and the long line of smoke from the burning
wagons. A cavalry-man, who, in a charge, cleared the
enemy's works and came through their lines, reported
to me what was in front. I regret that I have for-
gotten the name of this gallant young soldier.
As soon as General* Wright could get his artillery
into position I ordered the attack to be made on the
left, and sent Colonel Stagg's brigade of cavalry to
strike and flank the extreme right of the enemy's line.
The attack by the infantry was not executed exactly
as I had directed, and a portion of our line in the open
ground was broken by the terrible fire of the enemy,
who were in position on commanding ground south of
the creek.
This attack b}^ Wheaton's and Seymour's divisions
was splendid, but no more than I had reason to think
from the gallant Sixth Corps. The cavalry in rear of
the enemy attacked simultaneously, and the enemy,
after a gallant resistance, were completely surrounded,
and nearly all threw down their arms and surrendered.
General Ewell, commanding the enemy's forces, and
a number of other general officers, fell into our hands,
and a very large number of prisoners
On the 7th instant the pursuit was continued early
in the morning by the cavalry, General Couch in the
advance. It was discovered that the enemy had not
been cut off by the Army of the James, and under the
belief that he would attempt to escape on the Danville
252 STORIES TOLD BY SOLDIERS.
jroad through Prince Edward Court-House, General
Merritt was ordered to move his two divisions to that
point, passing around the left of the Arnry of the
James. General Crook continued the direct pursuit,
encountering the main body of the enemy at Farmville,
and again on the north side of the Appomattox, where
the enemy's trains were attacked by General Gregg, and
a sharp fight with the enemy's infantry ensued, in which
General Gregg was unfortunately captured.
On arriving at Prince Edward Court-House I found
General McKenzie, with his division of cavalry from
the Army of the James, and ordered him to cross the
bridge on the Buffalo River and make a reconnoissance
to Prospect Station on the Lynchburg Railroad, and
ascertain if the enemy were moving past that point.
Meantime I heard from General Crook that the enemy
had crossed to the north side of the Appomattox, and
General Merritt was then moved on and encamped at
Buffalo Creek, and General Crook was ordered to re-
cross the Appomattox and encamp at Prospect Station.
On the morning of the 8th Merritt and McKenzie con-
tinued the march to Prospect Station, and Merritt's
and Crook's commands then moved on to Appomattox
Court-House. Shortly after the march commenced-,
Sergeant White, one of my scouts, notified me that
there were four trains of cars at Appomattox depot
loaded with supplies for General Lee's army ; Generals
Merritt and Crook were at once notified, and the com-
mand pushed on briskly for twenty-eight miles. Gen-
eral Custer had the advance, and on nearing the depot
skilfully threw a force in rear of the trains and cap-
tured them. Without halting a moment he pushed on,
driving the enemy (who had reached the depot about
the same time as our cavalry) in the direction of Appo-
mattox Cou^t-House, capturing many prisoners and
twenty-five pieces of artillery, a hospital train, and a
large park of wagons. General Devin coming up,
went in on the right of Custer. The fighting continued
till after dark, and, the enemj* being driven to Appo-
THE LAST WEEK. 253
mattox Court-House, I at once notified the Lieutenant-
General, and sent word to Generals Ord and Gibbon
of the Army of the James, and General Griffin com-
manding the Fifth Corps, who were in rear, that, if they
pressed on, there was now no means of escape for the
enemy, who had reached "the last ditch." During
the night, although we knew that the remnant of Lee's
army was in our front, we held fast with the cavalry to
what we had gained, and ran the captured trains back
along the railroad to a point where they would be pro-
tected by our infantry that was coming up. The
Twenty-fourth and Fifth Corps and one division of the
Twenty-fifth Corps arrived about daylight on the 9th at
Appomattox depot.
After consulting with General Ord, who was in com-
mand of these corps, I rode to the front, near Appo-
mattox Court-House, and just as the enemy in heavy
force was attacking the cavalry with the intention of
breaking through our lines, I directed the cavalry,
which was dismounted, to fall back, gradually resist-
ing the enemy, so as to give time for the infantry to
form its lines and march to the attack, and, when this
was done, to move off to the right flank and mount.
This was done, and the enemy discontinued his attack
as soon as he caught sight of our infantry. I moved
briskly around the left of the enemy's line of battle,
and was about to charge the trains and the confused
mass of the enemy, when a white flag was presented to
General Custer, who had the advance, and who sent
the information to me at once that the enemy desired to
surrender. Gen. Phil. Sheridan.
THE FIGHT OF APKIL 6TH.
The night of the 1st of April, 1865, was occupied by
the Sixth Corps in preparation for a general assault on
the enemy's lines below Petersburg. The brigades
were formed in columns of attack, preceded by a band
of pioneers and a heavy skirmish line. In our brigade,
254 STORIES TOLD BY SOLDIERS.
the pioneers were under the direction of Sergeant
Tracy, and the skirmish line was commanded by Cap-
tain J. C. Robinson. Both these officers were of the
Thirty-seventh. The skirmish line was composed en-
tirely of men detailed from the Thirty-seventh. The
Thirty-seventh itself occupj'ing the front line of battle
in the brigade. While cutting away the abatis in front
of the enemy's forts, the pioneers suffered severely.
Sergeant Tracy was early disabled by a ball passing
through his leg. He did not leave the field, but, lying
on his side, he still directed the movements of his
men. While thus engaged, a second ball shattered his
knee-joint. Captain Robinson charged, at the head of
his skirmishers, through the abatis, when he was
wounded and had to be borne back. The colors of the
Thirty-seventh were the first in the division to wave
over the Rebel works. The Rebels fired their last vol-
ley as the regiment climbed from the ditch to the para-
pet. Many personal encounters ensued. Captain
Champney was foremost in entering the fort, and was
indefatigable in preventing the escape of any Rebels.
Sergeant Boston, of Company F, rushed on a brawny
gray-back, and disarmed him at a single pass of his
weapon. Corporal Welch, of Company E, succeeded
in wresting a battle-flag from a Rebel color-bearer, and
was rewarded with a medal. From the fort, we pushed
on towards the left until we met the troops of the other
brigade, and then forward to the Southside Railroad.
We alone, of the Sixth Corps, entered Petersburg the
next morning. Colonel Edwards received the surren-
der of the place. In this engagement, we lost three
killed and thirty- three wounded. Among the latter
were Captain Robinson, and Lieutenants Waterman
and Sheldon.
Constant marching and countermarching for four
days carried us. over seventy miles of country, and
found us again in front of the enem}' in the neighbor-
hood of Sailor's Creek. The morning of the 6th we
were at Amelia Court-House. At noon we had made a
THE LAST WEEK. 255
march of twenty-five miles, double-quicking nearly eight
miles of the way, and were confronting the enemy, with
a deep stream between us. Our brigade was on the
extreme right of the line, and the Thirty-seventh occu-
pied the left of the brigade. Rushing like an avalanche
across Sailor's Creek, where the water was up to our
arm-pits, we dislodged the enemy from the opposite
bank, and drove them over the crest of the hill.
Beyond the stream for a quarter of a mile, we ad-
vanced through a thick growth of underbrush, fighting
as we went. The firing waxed hotter and hotter, until
suddenly we found, to our dismay, that the regiment on
our right had given way, and the brigade on our left
had broken the connection, and halted some distance
back. We were lost to our friends. Our nearest
neighbor was our foe. The Rebels came pouring down
upon us, and within a few seconds had attacked and
enveloped both flanks of the regiment. A hand-to-
hand conflict ensued. Many men were wounded with
the ba}'onet, and pistol-shots were freely exchanged.
Adjutant Bradley, in endeavoring to stem the torrent
of their attack upon the right flank, closed with a Rebel
captain, received a shot from the captain's pistol
through the shoulder, wrested the pistol from his hand,
was shot through both legs by a Rebel soldier, who
thought it time to interfere, while one of our men in a
like spirit, and with a surer aim, plunged a ball through
the bodj* of the captain, killing him instantly. Cor-
poral Walker, of Company H, had a ba}*onet tilt with a
stalwart Rebel. The latter had the advantage in pos-
sessing the longer weapon (Spencer rifles are hardly
equal to Springfields in crossing bayonets), still, in
spite of this disadvantage, the corporal succeeded in dis-
arming his antagonist, and compelled him to surrender.
Captain Chandley was the centre of a bloody struggle.
Two of the Rebels and two of our own men fell fight-
ing around his person. One of our sergeants rushed to
the front and endeavored to seize a stand of colors.
He was instantly shot dead. Private Taggert, of
256 STORIES TOLD BY SOLDIERS.
Company B, saw him fall, darted from the line, and
bore away the prize through the smoke of battle.
Meanwhile, the Spencer rifle was working the havoc
for which it was intended. All down the front of our
regiment, the gaps that our fire opened in the enemy's
ranks were fearful. They had started to attack us
massed in heavy columns. Scattered fragments only
reached us. They came, throwing down their guns,
raising their hands, and imploring the cessation of the
fire. After the battle, more than seventy corpses
were counted on the ground in our immediate front.
And when we consider that the proportion of the
slain to the disabled on the field of battle is usually
only as one to six, it will be seen that the carnage
was terrific. Among the prisoners who fell into our
hands was Major-General Custis Lee, the son of the
commander-iii-chief of the Rebel armies. We .lost
in this engagement eight men killed and thirty-one
wounded. Among the latter, Captain Smith, Adjutant
Bradley, and Lieutenant Cushman. Among the killed
were Ezra D. Cowles, First Sergeant of Company D,
and Sergeant Bolton, of Company C. Sergeant Cowles
excited the admiration of all who saw him by his hero-
ism. He was mortally wounded early in the engage-
ment, but, instead of caring for himself, or allowing
others to minister to him, he encouraged all around
him " to fight," and, with his life-blood flowing away,
shamed those who would give over the battle for lost.
Col. Edwards in Gen. Schouler's Report.
THE BATTLE OF HIGH BRIDGE.
Early in the 6th of April, in compliance with orders
received the night previous, Colonel Washburn, with
two regiments of infantry, each about four hundred
strong, and a part of his own force of cavalry, number-
ing thirteen officers and sixty-seven men, started to
destroy High Bridge, eighteen miles distant, and of
great importance to the retreating Rebel army. The
THE LAST WEEK. 257
bridge was reached about noon, the enemy offering
feeble resistance to his advance. The infantry were
halted in the vicinity of the bridge, while the cavalry
pushed on two miles further, meeting a superior force
of the enem3''s cavaliy, with artillery. A short time
before the bridge was reached, Brevet Brig. -Gen.
Theodore Read arrived, with orders to hold, and not
destroy, the bridge. He took command. The cavalry
retired to the bridge, and found the infantry warmly
engaged with another force of the enemy's cavalry, and
showing signs of breaking. It was soon evident that
the enemy was superior in numbers, and that a fight at
long range could not be maintained until General Ord
should be apprised of their situation and should send
infantry the only troops he had to their relief.
Thus situated between two forces of the enemy,
the larger between him and the Army of the James,
to charge and break through the enemy, if possible,
seemed the only honorable course for General Read to
take ; no other was suggested.
Twice the cavalry charged, breaking through and
dispersing one line of the enemy, re-forming and char-
ging a second, which was formed in a wood too dense to
admit of free use of the sabre. In rain, however ; eight
of twelve officers engaged were put hors du combat,
three killed and five severely wounded. The little
band was hemmed in and overpowered by two divisions
of cavalry, Rosser's and Fitz Hugh Lee's, the
advance of General Lee's army.
Colonel Washburn, whose intrepid bravery in this
fight endears his name to his associates, and adds the
crowning glory to a life elevated by the purest patriot-
ism, died a few weeks afterwards from the effect of his
wounds. Because of the influence of the affair upon
the results of the campaign I have dwelt upon it.
44 To the sharpness of that fight," said a Rebel colo-
nel, inspector-general on Lee's staff, to General Ord,
4 ' the cutting off of Lee's army at Appomattox Court-
House was probably owing." So fierce were the charges
258 STORIES TOLD BY SOLDIERS.
of Colonel Washburn and his men, and so determined
their fighting, that General Lee received the impres-
sion that they must be supported by a large part of the
arm}', gave what the inspector-general called ' ' stamped-
ing orders," and began to throw up the line of breast-
works which were found there the next day. Three
trains of provisions, forage, and clothing, which had
been sent down from Lynchburg on the "Southside
road, were sent back to prevent their falling into our
hands, and his arnry, which was on third rations, and
those of corn only, was thus deprived of the provisions
the want of which exhausted them so much.
Moreover, by the delay occasioned by this halt, Gen-
eral Sheridan was enabled to come up with Swell's
division at Sailor's Creek. When Lee discovered his
mistake, and that the fighting force in his front was
only a small detachment of cavalry and infantry, Gen-
eral Ord, with the Army of the James, had already
profited by the delaj^, and so closed up with him that a
retreat directly south was no longer practicable ; he
was obliged to make the detour by way of Appomattox
Court-House. General Rosser concurs in this opinion,
and states that the importance of the fight has never
been appreciated. General Schouler.
THE REBEL AKMY.
When at last the beginning of the end came, in the
evacuation of Richmond and the effort to retreat, every-
thing seemed to go to pieces at once. The best disci-
plinarians in the army relaxed their reins. The best
troops became disorganized, and hardly any command
marched in a body. Companies w r ere mixed together,
parts of each being separated by detachments of others.
Flying citizens, in vehicles of every conceivable sort,
accompanied and embarrassed the columns. Man3 T com-
mands marched heedlessly on without orders, and seem-
ingly without a thought of whither they were going.
Others mistook the meaning of their instructions, which
THE LAST WEEK. 259
it was impossible to obey in any case. At Amelia Court-
House we should have found provisions. General Lee
had ordered a train load to meet him there, but the inter-
ests of the starving army had been sacrificed to the
convenience or the cowardice of the President and his
personal following. The train had been hurried on to
Richmond and its precious cargo of food thrown out
there, in order that Mr. Davis and his people might
retreat rapidly and comfortably from the abandoned
capital. Then began the desertion of which we have
heard so much. Up to that time, as far as I can learn,
if desertions had occurred at all, they had not become
general ; but now that the government, in flying from
the foe, had cut off our supply of provisions, what were
the men to do ? Many others followed the example of
the government, and fled ; but a singularly large propor-
tion of the little whole staj-ed and starved to the last.
And it was no technical or metaphorical starvation
which we had to endure, either, as a brief statement of
my own experience will show. The battery to which I
was attached was captured near Amelia Court-House,
and within a mile or two of my Home. Seven men only
escaped, and, as I knew intimately everybody in the
nejghborhood, I had no trouble in getting horses for
these to ride. Applying to General Lee in person for
instructions, I was ordered to march on, using my own
judgment, and rendering what service I could in the
event of a battle. In this independent fashion I marched,
with much better chances than most of the men had to
get food, and yet during three days and nights our total
supply consisted of one ear of corn to the man, and we
divided that with our horses. Capt. G. G. Eggleston of
the Confederate Army.
SERIDAN AT .FIVE FORKS.
A colonel with a shattered regiment came down upon
us in a charge. The bayonets were fixed, the men came
on with a yell. Their gray uniform seemed black amid
260 STORIES TOLD BY SOLDIERS.
the smoke. Their preserved colors, torn by grape and
ball, waved defiantly. Twice they halted, and poured
in volleys, but came on again like the surge from the
fog, depleted, but determined. Yet in the hot faces of
the carabineers they read a purpose as resolute, b*it
more calm ; and while they pressed along, swept all the
while by scathing volleys, a group of horsemen took
them in the flank.
It was an awful instant. The horses recoiled ; the
charging column trembled like a single thing : but at
once the Rebels, with rare organization, fell into a hol-
low square, and with solid sheets of steel defied our
centaurs. The horsemen rode around them in vain:
no charge could break the shining squares till our dis-
mounted carabineers poured in their volleys afresh, mak-
ing gaps in their spent ranks ; and then in their waving
line the cavalry thundered down. The Rebels could
stand no more ; they reeled and swayed, and fell back,
broken and beaten ; and on the ground their colonel
lay sealing his devotion with his life. N. JT. World.
JEFFERSON DAVIS'S FLIGHT.
He was at church on Sundaj 7 morning. The minister
was preaching, when an orderly entered, and handed a
note to the President of the Confederacy^. It was a
despatch from Lee, that his lines were broken in three
places, and that Richmond must be evacuated. It was
as if a hand had written once more, " Mene, mene,
tekel .... Thou art weighed and found w r anting ;
thy kingdom is divided." He turned pale ; but, taking
his hat, he hurriedly left the church. The hour of
twelve came. The people, as they passed the Capitol
on their way home from church, saw men hurriedly bring-
ing out the state papers, piling them upog the ground,
and setting them on fire. It was the first intimation
they had that the city was to be evacuated. Mrs.
Hanaford.
CHAPTER XIV.
THE END.
AND so the war was done. And may the good
God grant that it shall be ten million billion
years before anybody proposes another like it.
As for the Rebel soldiers they went home. They
were soured and disappointed, but at the bottom of
their hearts they were glad the fighting was over.
Some one asked if they were to give up their
horses. " No," said General Grant, " they will
want their horses to plough the land. Let them
take their horses." There is a great deal of phi-
losophy in this word of the great soldier, and there
is a vein of humor in it too, as there is in most
philosophy. So they took their horses and went
home.
As for the Union army, it was determined that,
both the great divisions, that of Meade and that
of Sherman, should pass through the city of
Washington, and, in a grand review, should receive
a sort of farewell from the President before they
were dismissed to their homes.
262 STORIES TOLD BY SOLDIERS.
This review is thus described by General Sher
man. Nor could I find a better last " Story of the
War " than that which is told so well b}^ this great
soldier.
During the afternoon and night of the 23d, the
Fifteenth, Seventeenth, and Twentieth Corps crossed
Long Bridge, bivouacked in the streets about the Cap-
itol, and the Fourteenth Corps closed up to the bridge.
The morning of the 24th was extremely beautiful, and
the ground was in splendid order for our review. The
streets were filled with people to see the pageant, armed
with bouquets of flowers for their favorite regiments or
heroes, and everything was propitious. Punctually at
nine A. M. the signal gun was fired, when in person,
attended by General Howard and all my staff, I rode
slowly down Penns} T ivania Avenue, the crowds of men,
women, and children densely lining the sidewalks, and
almost obstructing the way. We were followed close
by General Logan and the head of the Fifteenth Corps.
When I reached the Treasury-building, and looked
back, the sight was simply magnificent. The column
was compact, and the glittering muskets looked like a
solid mass of steel, moving with the regularity of a
pendulum. We passed the Treasury-building, in front
of which and of the White House was an immense
throng of people, for whom extensive stands had been
prepared on both sides of the Avenue. As I neared the
brick house opposite the lower corner of Lafaj'ette
Square, some one asked me to notice Mr. Seward, who,
still feeble and bandaged for his wounds, had been
removed there that he might behold the troops. I
moved in that direction and took off my hat to Mr.
Seward, who sat at an upper window. He recognized
the salute, returned it, and then we rode on steadily
past the President, saluting with our swords. All on
his stand arose and acknowledged the salute. Then,
turning into the gate of the Presidential grounds, we"
THE END. 263
left our horses with orderlies, and went upon the stand,
where I found Mrs. Sherman, with her father and son.
Passing them, I shook hands with the President, Gen-
eral Grant, and each member of the Cabinet. I then
took mj' post on the left of the President, and for six
hours and a half stood, while the army passed in the
order of the Fifteenth, Seventeenth, Twentieth, and
Fourteenth Corps. It was, in my judgment, the most
magnificent army in existence sixt}'-five thousand
men, in splendid physique, who had just completed a
march of nearly two thousand miles in a hostile country,
in good drill, and who realized that they were being
closely scrutinized by thousands of their fellow-country-
men and b}' foreigners. Division after division passed,
each commander of an army corps or division coming
on the stand during the passage of his command, to be
presented to the President, Cabinet, and spectators.
The steadiness and firmness of the tread, the careful
dress of the guides, the uniform intervals between the
companies, all eyes directty to the front, and the tat-
tered and bullet-riven flags, festooned with flowers, all
attracted universal notice. Man}' good people, up to
that time, had looked upon our Western army as a sort
of mob ; but the world then saw, and recognized the
fact, that it was an army in the proper sense, well
organized, well commanded and disciplined ; and there
was no wonder that it had swept through the South like
a tornado. For six hours and a half that strong tread
of the Army of the West resounded along Pennsylvania
Avenue ; not a soul of that vast crowd of spectators
left his place ; and when the rear of the column had
passed b}', thousands of the spectators still lingered to
express their sense of confidence in the strength of a
government which could claim such an army.
Some little scenes enlivened the da}', and called for
the laughter and cheers of the crowd. Each division
was followed by six ambulances, as a representative of
its baggage-train. Some of the division commanders
had added, by way of variety, goats, milch-cows, and
264 STORIES TOLD BY SOLDIERS.
pack-mules, whose loads consisted of game-cocks, poul-
try, hams, etc., and some of them had the families of
freed slaves along, with the women leading their chil-
dren. Each division was preceded by its corps of black
pioneers, armed with picks and spades. These marched
abreast in double ranks, keeping perfect dress and step,
and added much to the interest of the occasion. On
the whole, the grand review was a splendid success,
and was a fitting conclusion to the campaign and the
war. Gen. Sherman.
University Press: John Wilaon and Son, Cambridge.
Dniversity of Toronto
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