UC-NRLF 
 
COLONEL JOHN T. SMITH. 
 
A HISTORY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 Thirty-First Regiment of Indiana 
 Volunteer Infantry 
 
 IN THE 
 
 WAR OF THE REBELLION 
 
 BY 
 
 JOHN THOMAS SMITH 
 
 h 
 
 The Third Colonel of Regiment 
 
 WHO WAS WITH THE COMMAND THREE YEARS AND SEVEN MONTHS 
 
 PUBLISHED FOR THE AUTHOR BY THE 
 
 WESTERN METHODIST BOOK CONCERN 
 
 220 WEST FOURTH STREET, CINCINNATI 
 
 1900 
 
- 5 
 
Betitcatton 
 
 TO MY COMRADES, LIVING OR DECEASED; 
 TO THEIR MOTHERS AND WIVES, WHO 
 WILLINGLY MADE SUCH GREAT SACRIFICE 
 DURING THE WAR; TO THEIR SONS AND 
 DAUGHTERS, WITH RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 GRATITUDE TO THE RULER OF NATIONS, 
 THIS VOLUME IS DEDICATED, -v -v -v -v 
 MAY ITS INFLUENCE LEAD TO LOYALTY, 
 BOTH TO COUNTRY AND CREATOR! .v .v 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 THE fair and honorable fame of all those Indiana soldiers, 
 or those connected in any way with them in their efforts 
 to suppress the rebellion, is a treasure committed to our com 
 mon trust, in which all should feel a deep and abiding interest. 
 It was after months of hesitation, and after the duty had been 
 laid on us by the survivors of the regiment, that we undertook 
 to compile the transactions of the Thirty-first Regiment of Indi 
 ana Volunteers in the War of the Rebellion. Even at the time 
 it would have been next to impossible to have written an ac 
 count that would have given equal and exact justice to each 
 one concerned, and how much more difficult after the lapse of 
 thirty years! The work will be found lacking in many re 
 spects, and incomplete; yet in regard to dates, and the in 
 cidents related, we flatter ourselves that it will be found sub 
 stantially correct. The survivors of the several companies of the 
 regiment had appointed company historians and an advisory 
 committee, some of whom have been of material service, while 
 others, who were doubtless equally willing, have been so far 
 away that anything like a personal interA T iew could not be had. 
 To George W. Miller, of Company I, and who is Secretary of 
 the Veteran Association of Old Soldiers at Terre Haute, I am 
 greatly indebted for various favors. To Henry E. Wyeth, of 
 Company C, and who was Commissary Sergeant, and who was 
 commissioned Second Lieutenant of his company, I am indebted 
 for the use of his historical sketch of his company. I arn 
 also indebted to W. H. Nelson, of Independence, Kansas, late 
 of Company B, for the use of Regimental Historical Chart. 
 But to Gilbert Listen, of Coffee, Indiana, and who was First 
 Sergeant of Company F, I am under the greatest obligations 
 for the use of his diary, which he had faithfully kept during 
 his three years term of service, and for his compilation of the 
 
 7 
 
8 Preface. 
 
 diary of Alonzo B. Stark, musician of Company F, who veteran 
 ized and went through the entire war. To my comrade and life 
 long friend, General Thomas A. McISTaught, of Spencer, In 
 diana, I am indebted for access to, and the free use of, the 
 Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies of the 
 War of the Rebellion. And to many others, who were members 
 of the regiment, for various favors. We send out the work 
 with greetings to the survivors of the regiment and their friends, 
 and to all comrades of Indiana regiments, hoping that it will, 
 at least in some degree, contribute to the perpetuation of the 
 memory of deceased comrades and of the sacrifices and noble 
 deeds of all connected with the command. For the various 
 omissions and defects of the work we ask considerate indulgence. 
 
 JOHN T. SMITH. 
 BOWLING GREEN, 1899. 
 
A History of the Thirty-First Regiment of 
 
 Indiana Volunteers in the War 
 
 of the Rebellion. 
 
 THE Thirty-first Regiment Indiana Volunteer Infantry was 
 recruited in what was then the Seventh Congressional Dis 
 trict of the State of Indiana. Company A was recruited in the 
 northwest part of Parke County and the adjoining territory of 
 Fountain. Company B was from Owen County. Company C 
 was recruited from Terre Haute, the eastern part of Vigo, and 
 adjoining territory of Clay. Company D was from Sullivan 
 County, and Companies E and K were from Terre Haute and 
 Vigo County. Company F was recruited mainly in the vicinity 
 of Jasonville, Coffee, and Hymera, in the counties of Greene, 
 Clay, and Sullivan. Company G came from Monroe County, 
 and Company H from the eastern part of Greene County. Com 
 pany I came from Rockville and the vicinity north of that 
 place, in Parke County. The several companies went into camp 
 north of the city of Terre Haute, during the month of August, 
 1861. The camp was known as Camp Vigo. The regiment 
 was composed largely of men from country life, a majority being 
 farmers, and most of the rest were known as laboring men. 
 They were, generally, men in the prime of life and in good 
 financial circumstances. There was a manifest indifference in 
 regard to positions or promotion in the regiment, and yet there 
 were more promotions in this than any other infantry regiment 
 that went into the service from this State. The volunteers were 
 
10 77/r Thirty-first Indiana Regiment 
 
 received by the citizens -of Terre Haute with great kindness, 
 and every possible convenience and favor was granted. The 
 regiment was mustered into the service on the 15th day of 
 September, 1861, to date from September 5, 1861. On the 
 21st of September Companies A, C, E, I, and K left by rail 
 for Evansville, Indiana, and on Sunday, the 22d, drew their 
 arms and tents. The night following Companies A and K 
 ascended Green River, Kentucky, to the first locks, and took 
 possession of the little town of Spottsville, then threatened by 
 the enemy, being the first- Union troops to take possession in 
 that part of the country. 
 
 On the 25th of September, 1861, Companies C, E, and I 
 went on board the steamer Mattie Cook, and ascended Green 
 River to the second locks, eighty miles, and took posssession of 
 the town of Romney, remained long enough to bring away a 
 cargo of tobacco, found no enemy, and returned to Evansville. 
 On the 28th of September was again sent up the river to Spotts 
 ville, remained until October 6th, when Companies B, D, F, G, 
 and H left Terre Haute, and came to Evansville, and the whole 
 regiment moved to Henderson, Kentucky, arriving there on 
 the 6th of October, 1861. The regiment remained at Hender 
 son, drilling and protecting recruiting for Kentucky regiments, 
 until the 1st of November, 1861, when it moved to Calhoun, 
 Kentucky. We remained here in camp at Calhoun until Jan 
 uary 15, 1862, and here we were thoroughly drilled. While 
 here we were assailed with disease. Measles, mumps, malarial 
 fever, and rheumatism were, in a manner, epidemic, and many 
 fell victims. While here at Calhoun we became a part of Gen 
 eral T. L. Crittenden s division of Buell s Army. The 15th 
 of January, 1862, we were ordered to South Carrollton, still 
 further up the river. We arrived at South Carrollton just in 
 time to be a few hours in advance of a force of the enemy which 
 intended to occupy the place. But, on learning that we were 
 there, they graciously decided to not come in. We remained 
 here two weeks, and made some formidable breastworks, and de 
 stroyed a vast amount of timber, much of which was valuable. 
 We returned to Calhoun, and remained there until February 9, 
 
In ike War of ike Rebellion. 11 
 
 1862, when we embarked on board the steamer Ben J. Adams, 
 and arrived nt Pnducali on the night of Feburary 10th, and the 
 next morning headed towards Fort Henry, up the Tennessee 
 River; but returned without disembarking, the fort having been 
 taken the day before. We then ascended the Cumberland River, 
 and arrived near Fort Donelson on the morning of February 
 14, 1862. 
 
 THE BATTLE OF FORT DONELSON. 
 
 We landed, on the 14th day of February, 1862, a few miles 
 below the fort, and marched about six miles, halting, just after 
 dark, a short distance, nearly south of Dover. The ground 
 was thoroughly saturated. We stacked arms, and received orders 
 to keep on our accouterments and build no fires. That night 
 it rained, sleeted, and snowed, and it was disagreeably cold. The 
 next morning, the 15th inst., the entire brigade moved, by the 
 flank, towards the east, with a view of extending the line of 
 battle, from the right of McClernand s division, around to the 
 river above Dover, to make the investment of the town and fort 
 complete. The brigade consisted of the Thirty-first Indiana, Lieu 
 tenant-Colonel John Osborn commanding; the Seventeenth Ken 
 tucky, Colonel John II. McHenry; the Forty-fourth Indiana, 
 Colonel Hugh B. Reed; and the Twenty-fifth Kentucky, Colonel 
 James M. Shackelford; and was commanded by Colonel Charles 
 Cruft, of the Thirty-first Indiana, it being the First Brigade, 
 Third Division, commanded by General Lew Wallace. The 
 Twenty-fifth Kentucky was in the advance, followed by the 
 Thirty-first Indiana, the Seventeenth Kentucky, and the Forty- 
 fourth Indiana. The two regiments in front had passed the 
 extreme right of General McCJernand s line; the Thirty-first, 
 crossing a narrow valley, where the head of the column had 
 gained the top of the ridge, when they discovered heavy lines 
 of the enemy immediately in their front, and but a few paces 
 distant, extending off to the south and to our right as far as 
 could be seen. The fact was, the brigade had been led into a 
 pocket, and, if it had been later in the war, but comparatively 
 few would have escaped. But then, later in the war we would 
 
12 7 /// Thirty-first Indiana Regiment 
 
 not have gone in there in the way we did. No blame, however, 
 attaches to the brigade Commander, for a guide had been sent 
 to him to put the brigade in position. The best thing the 
 Twenty-fifth Kentucky could do was to get out of there in a 
 hurry, which they did. Colonel Osborn was far enough up the 
 hill to see and take in the situation, and would, probably, have 
 taken the Thirty-first out in good order, but his horse just then 
 became unmanageable, and, the Colonel dismounting, the horse 
 got away. The Thirty-first had received orders, previous to this, 
 to follow the Twenty-fifth Kentucky, and orders were never 
 more promptly obeyed. The rear of the regiment being in the 
 valley, it could not see, and had not seen anything yet, and it 
 was at a loss to know the cause of this sudden change of direc 
 tion. Company F was the third company from the rear, and was 
 on the lowest ground. The Captain, seeing if it remained on 
 its feet it would surely be carried away, gave command to lie 
 down, which it did, and remained until all the troops had gone 
 back over the ridge out of sight. By this time the Confederates 
 advanced their line to the top of the ridge in front, and Com 
 pany -F realized that it was left. It was not long, however, in 
 getting back to the top of a ridge in the rear, deployed as skir 
 mishers, and the firing commenced, and this was the first firing 
 done on that part of the line. It was but a few minutes until 
 the division was brought up and put in position on this ridge, 
 which, General Lew "Wallace afterwards said, proved to be the 
 key to the situation. The campaign against Fort Donelson, 
 the reduction of the fort, the capture of about 14,000 prisoners 
 and their munitions of war by troops who, with very few ex 
 ceptions, had never been under fire, and with officers who, in 
 the main, had had very little, if any, practical experience,- all 
 go to make a chapter that does not suffer in comparison with 
 any other chapter in the world s history.- The Thirty-first 
 Regiment lost, in this engagement, nine enlisted men killed; 
 eight officers and forty-four enlisted men wounded; total loss, 
 sixty-one. But if there was a man in the command that passed 
 through that battle, and the exposure incident thereto, that 
 did not have his health broken and constitution impaired, we 
 
In the War of the Rebellion. 18 
 
 failed to make his acquaintance. To make the history of events 
 more complete we give the report of the Brigade and Regimental 
 Commanders: 
 
 REPORT OF COLONEL CHARLES CRUFT, 
 THIRTY-FIRST INDIANA INFANTRY, COMMANDING FIRST BRIGADK. 
 
 HEADQUARTERS FIRST BRIGADE THIRD Div., DEPT. WEST TENNESSEE, j 
 
 FORT HENRY, February 18, 1862. \ 
 
 I have the honor to report to you the part taken in the re 
 duction of Fort Donelson and the fortifications near Dover, 
 Tennessee, on the 15th inst., by the First Brigade of your di 
 vision. The brigade was composed of the Thirty-first Indiana 
 Volunteers, Lieutenant-Colonel Osborn temporarily command 
 ing; Twenty-fifth Kentucky Volunteers, Colonel James M. 
 Shackelford; eight companies of the Forty-fourth Indiana Volun 
 teers, Colonel Hugh B. Reed; and the Seventeenth Kentucky 
 Volunteers, Colonel John H. McHenry. 
 
 At 8.30 o clock A. M., General Wallace s order was received 
 to put the brigade in rapid motion to the extreme right of our 
 line, for the purpose of re-enforcing General McClernard s di 
 vision. It was speedily moved forward in column of companies, 
 the Twenty-fifth Kentucky in advance, followed by the Thirty- 
 first Indiana, the Seventeenth Kentucky, and the Forty-fourth 
 Indiana. An order to halt the column at a point indicated for 
 the formation of the regiments in line was not executed by the 
 advance, owing to the pressing request of a messenger from one 
 of the Illinois regiments, then to the right, to hurry forward 
 and engage the enemy. The guide sent with the head of the 
 column here shamefully abandoned it, not, however, until he 
 had given Colonel Shackelford an improper instruction. After 
 passing Taylor s Battery in the direction of the enemy s in- 
 trenchments, and entering the woods just beyond, the head 
 of the column became suddenly engaged with a superior force 
 of the enemy in front and to the right. This appeared to be a 
 force that was endeavoring to outflank the battery and the line 
 of infantry supporting it, and pass into the ravine behind. A 
 well-directed fire was opened on the Twenty-fifth Kentucky and 
 
14 The Thirty -first Indiana Regiment 
 
 Thirty-first Indiana before they could form to resist it. The 
 line of battle, however, was formed rapidly and steadily under 
 continued volleys of the enemy s musketry. The Seventeenth 
 Kentucky and Forty-fourth Indiana were shortly brought up in 
 good order, and entered the action. The enemy s fire upon the 
 right continued to be very severe, and this assault was pressed 
 up to within twenty feet of our lines. It continued for some 
 minutes with much fury, and was replied to with effect by our 
 men. I was then at the left of the line. At this juncture it 
 was reported to me that two officers from other regiments, then 
 on the right, came up, and, without consulting the Colonel of 
 the Twenty-fifth Kentucky, ordered his men forward down the 
 enemy s line. They pressed down under a heavy volley, and 
 again opened their fire. While thus fighting, officers from the 
 other regiments then at the right rode up and ordered the 
 Twenty-fifth Kentucky to cease firing, and it accordingly did. 
 Almost simultaneously with this, troops from the other brigade 
 at the right retreated in confusion, and some of them, passing 
 obliquely against my line, broke through it, disconnecting a 
 portion of the Twenty-fifth Kentucky with Colonel Shackelford 
 and his associate field and staff officers, and Lieutenant-Colonel 
 Osbom, of the Thirty-first Indiana, with a few of the privates 
 of his command. 
 
 The brigade was now left without support, occupying the 
 extreme right of the line of investment, and in advance of it 
 half a mile. It was ordered to fall back in line, and occupy the 
 slope of the hill a few hundred feet in rear of the point of at 
 tack. The movement was accomplished in good order. This 
 brought the Forty-fourth Indiana in line on the left. A mes 
 sage was now received from one of the Illinois regiments, re 
 questing that the left should not fire. This message was re 
 garded, and the Forty-fourth Indiana was ordered to reserve 
 their fire till ordered. In the meantime, a heavy fire was 
 poured into the regiment by the enemy. The line was here 
 twice attacked, and the enemy was each time repulsed. From 
 this position an effective charge was made, forcing the enemy 
 to retire some distance. An attempt was now made to outflank 
 
/// ///< ir<7/* of the Rebellion. 15 
 
 my line on the right. It was continually worked 1 to our right, 
 however, to resist this. A company of the Thirty-first Indiana 
 was detailed as skirmishers on the right, in the bushes beyond. 
 The fight was still progressing, but at this time the regiment to 
 our left, supporting the battery, gave way (from want of ammu 
 nition, as was said), and a portion rushed into our rear, creating 
 some confusion in the Forty-fourth Indiana, carrying with them 
 some men of that regiment, and exposing it to the flanking fire 
 of the enemy, who appeared, at that point, with considerable 
 force of both cavalry and infantry. It was ordered to return the 
 fire, and soon repulsed the enemy. The whole brigade was 
 now moved in line to the rear, in complete order, and occupied 
 a better position on a commanding ridge in front of the enemv. 
 An ineffectual advance was again made by the enemy, which 
 was repulsed, and the firing ceased, except some skirmishing 
 between a small detail of men sent to the front and the enemy s 
 sharpshooters. Here the enemy drew off, leaving us in pos 
 session of the ground, and commenced retreating to the right, 
 pursuing the woods, at times in sight, to a ridge across a large 
 ravine about half a mile to our right and rear of us, and endan 
 gered the hospital buildings in our rear, to which our wounded 
 had been conveyed. 
 
 The firing had now ceased on all sides. It being impossible 
 to communicate with General Wallace or get dispatches to him, 
 and information being casually received that the main line had 
 been es;ablished further back, it was deemed prudbnt to retire 
 to it. This was accordingly done, and the brigade was formed 
 in column, and marched to the high ground just north of the 
 hospital buildings, with a view to protect them, to form part 
 of the main line, and to watch the enemy on our right. Upon 
 communicating with the General commanding division, the 
 position was regarded by him as well taken, and the order given 
 to hold it all hazards. Here the men rested on their arms for 
 some time, having been hotly engaged with the enemy at inter 
 vals for more than three hours. This concluded our engage 
 ment of the morning. 
 
 The brigade remained in position on the extreme right (a 
 
Itf The Thirty-first Indiana Regiment 
 
 short distance from Colonel Thayer s Brigade), in view of the 
 enemy during the subsequent action, at the center, holding him 
 in check, and protecting the hospital. During the engagement 
 at the center a volley was fired on the hospital by the enemy s 
 sharpshooters from the hills to the right, and, but for the pres 
 ence of the brigade, it would doubtless have been taken. In 
 this position valuable information was obtained as to the enemy s 
 movements on the right. Prom this point dispatches were sent, 
 and here, subsequently, General Wallace met me. The ground 
 on which the action occurred is a succession of hills and ravines, 
 covered with thick undergrowth of oak bushes. The deadened 
 leaves of the oak-shrubs were almost identical in color with the 
 brown jeans uniforms of the enemy, and rendered it almost 
 impossible to distinguish their line until a fire revealed its lo 
 cality. This fact, together with the character of the ground, 
 gave the enemy a great advantage, and spread a feeling of un 
 certainty among the men as to the location of the attacking 
 Knes. It is impossible to say with accuracy what force of the 
 enemy was encountered. From the best observations that could 
 be made it is believed that there were at least five regiments of 
 infantry, and one of cavalry, the whole under command of 
 Colonel Roger W. Hanson. 
 
 At about 4 P. M. an order was received from General 
 Wallace to co-operate with Colonel Smith s Brigade, consist 
 ing of the Eighth Missouri and the Eleventh Indiana, in carrying 
 the enemy s works on the right, in the front of Dover, by storm., 
 The officers and men, though much fatigued from the action of 
 the morning, and worn from loss of rest and lack of food, 
 responded cheerfully to the order, and wheeled into column. The 
 enemy was in force on the hill, under cover of the wood on both 
 sides of the only road leading up in the direction of the works. 
 It was necessary to cross an open space of several hundred feet, 
 exposed to the enemy s fire, before the foot of the hill could be 
 reached. The Eighth Missouri led the advance up the road.. The 
 Eleventh Indiana charged up the hill on the left. The Forty- 
 fourth Indiana followed up the road. Five companies of the 
 Thirty-first Indiana were ordered up the hill on the extreme 
 
In the War of the Rebellion. 17 
 
 left, and the remainder of this regiment, with the residue of 
 the brigade, were ordered to the right, to outflank the enemy, 
 and attack in the rear. The assault was a complete success. All 
 the regiments behaved handsomely. The whole of my brigade 
 was actually engaged. In a sharp and desperate fight of a few 
 minutes duration the hill was carried by storm, and the enemy, 
 with tremendous cheers, driven up to and within his breast 
 works. The flank attack of the portion of my brigade up the 
 hill, in line at a right angle to the main advance, was gallantly 
 conducted, and contributed, no doubt, largely to the rout of 
 the enemy. Colonel Dickey, of the Fourth Illinois Cavalry, 
 during the attack, at my request, dismounted four-fifths of his 
 troops, armed with Sharp s rifles, and led them up hill in sup 
 port of regiments engaged. His aid, however, was not required. 
 This action, a brilliant one in any view, was rendered more so 
 from the fact that it was made in the face of a heavy fire of 
 grape and shrapnel from the battery of the enemy located across 
 the ravine to the left of the road, in full command of the hill 
 and the approaches to it. After pursuing the enemy to the open 
 ground in front of the fortifications, a distance of over half a 
 mile, an order was received to fall back to the hill where the 
 attack was made, and there camp, hold the position during the 
 night, and prepare to storm the works early the next morning. 
 The regiments slept on the hillside, and were aroused early the 
 following morning (16th), and drawn up in column, ready to 
 march to the assault, when intelligence of the surrender of the 
 enemy was received. According to orders, I then marched the 
 brigade through the enemy s works to Dover, and took possession 
 of the town and the large number of prisoners and amount of 
 army stores which it contained. 
 
 As a whole, the officers and men of the various regiments 
 of my command behaved well. They received the enemy s fire 
 with coolness, and returned it with steadiness and effect. Or 
 ders w r ere executed with commendable promptness and pre 
 cision. In view of such general soldierly bearing it is difficult 
 to discriminate individual instances of valor. Many such fell 
 under my immediate observation, and others are reported by 
 
18 .The Thirty -first Indiana Regiment 
 
 commanders of regiments. These cases will form the subject of 
 a subsequent report at an early day. 
 
 The members of the brigade staff are entitled to commen 
 dation for their conduct during the day. Captain W. H. Fair 
 banks, Acting Assistant Adjutant-General, was constantly in the 
 field, at times also acting aide-de-camp. His conduct through 
 out was creditable. 
 
 I am, Captain, very respectfully yours, etc., 
 
 CHAELES CRUFT, 
 
 CAPTAIN FRED KNEFLER, Colonel Commanding. 
 
 Assistant Adjutant General, Third Division. 
 
 REPORT OF MAJOR FREDERICK ARN, 
 THIRTY-FIRST INDIANA INFANTRY. 
 
 HEADQUARTERS THIRTY-FIRST REGIMENT INDIANA VOLUNTEERS. ) 
 FORT HENRY, TENN., February 18, 1862. ) 
 
 SIE, In obedience to your order, the regiment left its camp, 
 near Fort Donelson, on the morning of the 15th of February, 
 1862, with an effective force of 727 men. The order given to 
 Lieutenant-Colonel Osborn was to follow the Twenty-fifth Ken 
 tucky Regiment, and form- in line on the left, and await further 
 orders. Before the regiment could reach the position which it 
 was to occupy, it was exposed to a galling fire of musketry and 
 artillery from the hill on our left, which was occupied by the 
 enemy in strong force. The regiment was promptly formed in 
 line of battle at the foot of the hill, and opened a cool and 
 effective fire on the tenemy until it was broken by the troops 
 which gave way on our right and front, and came rushing 
 through our ranks near the center. Our lines were, however, 
 promptly re-formed on the hill to the right and rear of our po 
 sition. This movement was made necessary by the movement 
 of the enemy, who had outflanked and driven back the Twenty- 
 fifth Kentucky, formed in line at the foot of the hill occupied 
 by your brigade in its new position. In the change of position- 
 a few men with Lieutenant-Colonel Osborn became detached 
 from the regiment, and were unable to rejoin it during the day. 
 
 From this position a most effective fire was poured into the 
 
In lit- \\ ,,r of t/ I!,-l>,-n;<m. 19 
 
 enemy s ranks, which was interrupted by Colonel Logan, who 
 stated that we were firing into his brigade from our right. To 
 ascertain the correctness of this statement, you ordered me to 
 deploy the First Company, Captain Smith, as skirmishers. He 
 soon reported that it was the enemy in force which we had been 
 firing upon, and that their line extended a considerable distance 
 beyond our right. In accordance with your order, I then moved 
 the line further to the right, the movement being executed with 
 the greatest coolness and order. From this position the enemy s 
 fire was replied to with such precision that they soon gave way. 
 You then ordered two companies to be deployed as skirmishers. 
 I ordered Companies I and C to deploy in front of our line, 
 which was promptly executed, and the woods and bushes were 
 soon cleared of the enemy. At this time the report reached us 
 that the enemy were forming in a hollow leading to the hos 
 pital in our rear. You ordered me to move, with the brigade, to 
 the hill immediately in rear of the hospital. Xo further attack 
 being made, the regiment was kept in this position until about 
 four o clock P. M. At this time I was ordered to march the regi 
 ment into the ravine below the fort, on the extreme right of our 
 lines, and support the Eleventh Indiana and Eighth Missouri 
 Eegiments, which were ordered, with us, to assault the hills, 
 and drive the enemy within their works. I formed the regiment 
 on the left of the Seventeenth Kentucky, and charged over the 
 hills until we reached a ravine immediately below the enemy s 
 batteries, where we were exposed to a terrible fire of grape, 
 shrapnel, and shells. To avoid this, I moved the regiment by 
 the right flank farther up the ravine, when the enemy, having 
 retreated within their works, we were ordered back to the po 
 sition from which we charged. 
 
 I can not speak too highly, Colonel, of the coolness and 
 bravery of the men and the gallant behavior of the officers who 
 were with the regiment during the day. Where all were so 
 prompt in performing their duty as brave soldiers, it would be 
 unjust to particularize. Although brought into action for the 
 first time, under a terrible fire from the enemy concealed in a 
 dense undergrowth of leafy oak-bushes, they never for a moment 
 
J<> 77" Thirty-first Indiana 
 
 lost coolness and presence of mind. They used their arms with 
 the greatest deliberation, retaining their fire until they could 
 procure a deliberate aim. In the afternoon engagement they 
 exhibited, if possible, even more daring, not flinching in the 
 least from the storm of iron which raked the bushes and plowed 
 the ground around them. 
 
 I am, Colonel, your most obedient servant, 
 
 FRED. ARN, 
 
 COLONEL CHARLES "CROFT, Ma J or > //:^ Indiana Volunteers. 
 
 Commanding First Brigade, Third Division; 
 
 On the 17th, the day after the surrender, the regiment * 
 marched across to the Tennessee River, and went into camp near 
 Fort Henry. By this time we had almost a speechless command. 
 Every one had contracted a severe cold, and many were so hoarse 
 they could scarcely speak above a whisper. Perry H. Thomp 
 son, Company A, Nathan Barton and Bartlett B. Bastion, Com 
 pany F, and Philip Bayne, Company I, died here in camp. We 
 have no means of telling how many were sent to hospital and 
 home that never recovered. We remained here, at Fort Henry, 
 until March 7, 1862, when we struck tents, and marched about 
 five miles up the river, and embarked on board the Fanny Bul- 
 litt, for Pittsburg Landing. We landed on the 16th, and went 
 immediately on picket, being the first regiment to go ashore. 
 While here, before the battle of Pittsburg Landing, there were 
 many changes made in the organization of the army. The 
 Thirty-first Regiment was put in the Third Brigade of the Fourth 
 Division. The division was commanded by Brigadier-General 
 Stephen A. Hurlbut, and the day before the battle, Brigadier- 
 General Jacob G. Lauman was assigned to the command of the 
 brigade. The brigade then consisted of the Thirty-first and 
 Forty-fourth Indiana Regiments and the Seventeenth and 
 Twenty-fifth Kentucky Regiments. 
 
 BATTLE OF PITTSBURG LANDING OR SHILOH. 
 
 Early on the morning of April 6, 1862, the regiment went 
 into the battle of Pittsburg Landing. In this engagement 
 the loss officers killed, two; enlisted men killed, nineteen; offi- 
 
CAPTAIN A. C. FORD. 
 COMPANY A. 
 
 m 
 
 CAPTAIN W. H. H. BEADLE. 
 COMPANY A. 
 
 "\ 
 
 CHAELES M. SPENCER. 
 COMPANY A. 
 
 CAPTAIN R. M. WATERMAN. 
 
 , NY A. 
 
In the War of the Rebellion. 23 
 
 cers wounded, four; enlisted men wounded, one hundred and ten; 
 captured or missing, three; total loss, one hundred and thirty- 
 eight. The transactions of the regiment in this battle are very 
 correctly given in the official reports of Colonel Charles Cruft 
 and Lieutenant-Colonel John Osborn. 
 
 REPORT OF COLONEL CHARLES CRUFT, 
 THIRTY-FIRST INDIANA VOLUNTEERS. 
 
 HEADQUARTERS THIRTY-FIRST INDIANA VOLTNTEERS, | 
 Ix THE FIELD, PITTSBURG LANDING, TENN., 
 
 April 10, 1862. J 
 
 CAPTAIN, The following report of the part taken by the 
 Thirty-first Regiment of Indiana Volunteers, in the battle near 
 Pittsburg Landing, Tennessee, on the 6th and 7th inst, is re 
 spectfully submitted : 
 
 On Sunday morning, the 6th instant, about 7.30 o clock, 
 rapid volleys of musketry from camps to the front indicated the 
 commencement of the battle. Soon an order was received from 
 the General commanding brigade to form the regiment for 
 action. In ten minutes it was in brigade line on the right. 
 In a few moments thereafter the brigade was moved in column 
 to the front along the Hamburg road. The regiment was formed 
 in line of battle in the position indicated by Brigadier-General 
 Lauman. At this time the battle was progressing actively upon 
 the right and left of the main line. Soon the enemy attacked 
 our brigade in great force and with much desperation. My 
 line met the attack with perfect coolness, and with a low and 
 steady fire. Officers and men behaved handsomely. After the 
 expenditure of some thirty rounds the enemy was repulsed. The 
 advance was made up to within some ten yards of my line, and 
 the slaughter among the enemy in its -front was terrible. A 
 second attack was shortly made with increased fury. The line 
 stood unbroken, however, and after exhausting nearly the last 
 cartridge, again repulsed the enemy. Here a slight cessation 
 in the attack occurred, barely long enough to procure fresh 
 ammunition from the rear. The boxes of the men were scarcely 
 filled before the enemy were the third time upon us. The line 
 stood firm, and again succeeded against superior numbers. There 
 
24 The Thirty-first Indiana Regiment 
 
 was now a short cessation of firing, during which the cartridge- 
 boxes of the men were again filled. A fourth assault was soon 
 made, which was gallantly repulsed, and the enemy withdrew, 
 leaving my regiment, with the balance of the brigade, in position. 
 The enemy retreating, moved off toward the left of the main 
 line. 
 
 During the action my regiment fired an average of about 
 one hundred rounds per man. The piles of the enemy s dead, 
 which were lying along our front when he retreated, attested the 
 accuracy and steadiness of the fire. 
 
 About two o clock P. M. an order was received to move to 
 the left. This was promptly executed. For some minutes the 
 brigade was halted near Hamburg road, to protect Willard s 
 batter) 7 , that was then playing upon the enemy. The various 
 regiments were then moved farther to the left, and my regiment 
 ordered to the extreme left, and placed in position to await the 
 expected attack. An Illinois regiment subsequently formed to 
 our left and rear. The action soon commenced to our right. 
 It was apparent, from the reports of skirmishers sent to the front 
 and from observations, that the enemy were preparing to flank 
 our line to the left in great force. This was shortly accom 
 plished. Regiment after regiment marched up from a large 
 ravine to the left, .moving in echelon, in compact lines, with 
 Confederate flags flying, in perfect order, as if on parade, and 
 came steadily down upon our small front. An order was given 
 for our left to advance. My regiment did so promptly. It was 
 soon evident that the advance could not be sustained, in the 
 absence of a reserve, against the overwhelming force of well- 
 disciplined troops of the enemy. After my regiment had fired 
 some ten rounds, the regiment to the left was forced back. An 
 order was now given along the entire line to fall back, and a 
 general retreat was made about ^3.30 o clock P. M. to a ridge 
 near the river. Here the regiment was again formed in brigade 
 line, and marched up to the support of a section of battery of 
 large siege guns, and occupied this position during the desperate 
 fight which closed the day. After the final repulse of the enemy, 
 the regiment was moved forward, with the residue of the brig- 
 
In the War of the Rebellion. 25 
 
 ade, about three-fourths of a mile, and there bivouacked for 
 the night, at about T.30 o clock. At this time the effects of the 
 wounds received during the early part of the day compelled me 
 to retire from the field, and it has not since been possible for 
 me to rejoin the regiment. The command henceforth devolved 1 
 on Lieutenant-Colonel Osborn, who had borne himself gallantly 
 during the whole day, and who alone of the field officers escaped 
 unharmed. 
 
 On the next day (the 7th inst.) the regiment was actively 
 engaged with the balance of your brigade on the right of our 
 main line. For the particulars of this day s work you are re 
 ferred to the report of Colonel Osborn, hereto appended, marked 
 A. The casualties of the previous day had made great inroads 
 among the officers and non-commissioned officers of the various 
 companies. It affords me pleasure, however, to report to you 
 that the regiment fully sustained its former well-earned repu 
 tation, and gallantly bore its part in the sharp engagements 
 which were that day fought, and joined in the victorious rout 
 and pursuit of the enemy, which resulted therefrom. 
 
 It grieves me to report the loss of two gallant officers. During 
 the first charge of the enemy, on the morning of the 6th, Major 
 Fred Arn fell mortally wounded. He was a true soldier and an 
 accomplished gentleman. No more gallant soul ever "took 
 wing" from a battle-field. Captain George Harvey, one of the 
 best officers of the regiment, was killed upon the field while 
 bravely leading his company in the afternoon. 
 
 The number of commissioned officers of the regiment 
 wounded more or less seriously was large, being more than one- 
 third of those in the fight. 
 
 Lieutenant Clifford W. Ross, regimental Adjutant, was un 
 horsed early in the first engagement from the effects of a shell, 
 while in the fearless discharge of duty. 
 
 The commandants of companies, Captains Winans, Mewhin- 
 ney, Wall, Fairbanks, J. T. Smith, McCalla, Beatty, C. M. 
 Smith, and Lieutenant Waterman, each acted nobly. The Lieu 
 tenants and subaltern officers of their companies also conducted 
 themselves with courage and propriety. The conduct of Sur- 
 
26 The Thirty-first Indiana, Regiment 
 
 gcon James E. Armstrong and his assistant, W. C. Hendricks, 
 merits honorable mention. They accompanied the regiment 
 constantly on both days, often in such close proximity as to en 
 danger their own lives, ministering to the wounded with a kind 
 ness and assiduity beyond the ordinary calls of professional duty. 
 With assurance of regard to General commanding brigade, 
 
 I am, Captain, yours respectfully, 
 
 CHARLES CRUFT, 
 
 Colonel Thirty-first Indiana Volunteers. 
 
 REPORT OF LIEUTENANT-COLONEL JOHN OSBORN, 
 THIRTY-FIRST INDIANA VOLUNTEERS. 
 
 HEADQUARTERS THIRTY-FIRST INDIANA VOLUNTEERS, ) 
 PITTSBURG LANDING, April 8, 1862. \ 
 
 COLONEL, I beg leave to report to you the action of our 
 regiment during Monday, 7th instant, in the battle at this place, 
 while, owing to your wounds, it was under my command. The 
 regiment remained at the place where you bivouacked it during 
 Sunday night and until about eleven o clock A. M. on Monday. 
 At this time it was ordered out with the brigade to engage in 
 the general fight, which had again commenced. We were con 
 ducted over towards the creek, on the extreme right of our lines, 
 and some distance along it, over broken ground and through the 
 woods, to a point near the right of our front. Here the regi 
 ment was placed in position. In a short time the enemy ap 
 peared, and we became hotly engaged. The attack was fiercely 
 made, and bravely resisted by our men. After some minutes 
 severe fighting the enemy were forced to give way, and an assault 
 being ordered on his lines, the men sprang forward in eager 
 pursuit. They were driven for near a mile, when our line was 
 ordered to halt. The enemy soon wholly disappeared from our 
 front. Afte^ holding the ground for some time, it was ascer 
 tained that the enemy s retreat had become general, and we 
 were ordered to return to camp. 
 
 It affords me great pleasure to report to you, Colonel, that 
 the officers and men of your regiment acted with their accus 
 tomed gallantry while under my command. Their conduct was 
 as brave as on the day previous, when you led them in person. 
 
/// fh> Wf/r of the Rebellion. 27 
 
 Every officer and soldier, without one single exception, acted 
 courageously and properly. I am much, indebted to the com 
 manders of companies for their noble conduct during the day. 
 While we all deplore the casualty which kept you from the field, 
 each strove so to act as to insure you a good report of his conduct. 
 Hoping that you may soon recover from the wounds you 
 received in the battle of Sunday, and be able to join the regiment, 
 and congratulating you upon your narrow escapes, 
 
 I am, Colonel, vour obedient servant, 
 
 JOHN OSBORN, 
 
 Lieutenant-Colonel. 
 
 General Hurlbut, in his official report, says: "Brigadier-Gen 
 eral J. G. Lauman, commanding the Third Brigade, took com 
 mand only the day before the battle. The brigade and their 
 commander know each other now. I saw him hold the right 
 of my line on Sunday with his small body of gallant men, only 
 1,717 strong, for three hours, and then, when changed over to 
 the left, repel the attack of twice his force for a full hour of 
 terrible fighting, closing by the most gallant and successful 
 charge, which gave him time to draw off his force in order and 
 comparative safety." Brigadier-General Jacob G. Lauman, who 
 commanded the brigade, in his report says: "When I come to 
 speak of the gallantry and bravery of the officers and men of 
 my command, I find great difficulty in finding language strong 
 enough to express my feelings on the subject, and can only say 
 that they fought from morning until night like veterans. Well 
 mav Indiana and Kentucky be proud of them. They have added 
 aiiotner bright page to their martial history; and where all be 
 haved so well, I find great difficulty in giving to each one the 
 particular notice they so well earned. Colonel Cruft, of the 
 Thirty-first Indiana, was severely wounded in the leg and shoul 
 der in the early part of the contest, but refused to leave the field 
 until near the close of the* engagement, though suffering much 
 from pain and loss of blood. Major Arn, of the Thirty-first, was 
 mortally wounded on Sunday morning since dead. A braver 
 or better officer never gave up his life in his country s cause." 
 
 The battle of Pittsburg Landing, during the first day, was 
 
28 The Thirty-first Indiana Reyino nl 
 
 one of the most terribly hard-f ought battles of the war. The 
 attack was the most fierce, and the resistance the most stubborn. 
 It was a complete illustration of Southern dash and Northern 
 pluck and endurance. The Confederate army that bore arms 
 numbered forty thousand, commanded by Albert S. Johnson, 
 one of their most skillful and distinguished generals. We had 
 thirty-three thousand men, including chaplains, surgeons, team 
 sters, etc., who did not bear arms. Then we had one or two 
 regiments which had not received their guns. All told, I do not 
 suppose we had as many as twenty-five thousand men in line, at 
 any time, during the first day. The battle opened with fury 
 at 7.30 o clock A. M. Our army was taken complete? by sur 
 prise. Some were in bed yet, some were eating breakfast, and 
 a few companies were being inspected; but in less time than one 
 can tell it, regiments, brigades, and divisions were formed in 
 line ; and for nearly two and a half hours the battle raged before 
 the General commanding reached the field. I do not know why 
 three staff officers certified that General Grant was on the field 
 at 7.30 o clock, for it is a mistake; for this was the time the 
 battle began, and General Grant himself says, in his Personal 
 Memoirs," that he was at breakfast when he first heard the guns. 
 He, being at Savannah, had ten miles to travel. General Lew 
 Wallace talked with him at Purdy, four miles below Pittsburg 
 Landing, at nine o clock that morning. I saw the General 
 myself riding out from the Landing towards the front, with his 
 staff, within a few minutes of ten o clock A. M. The brigade 
 and division commanders, however, w r ere equal to the occasion, 
 and with General Lew Wallace s division, which would have 
 been on the battle-field several hours earlier than it was if it had 
 received no orders at all, would have defeated the Confederates, 
 even if General Grant and General Buell had both failed to 
 
 come. 
 
 
 
 The battle of Pittsburg Landing was an open-field fight. The 
 army had not yet begun to use the shovel and pick, and the 
 surface of the country was such that neither army could get 
 much advantage of the other. The Thirty-first was rather fortu 
 nate in getting a favorable position. It was halted in an old 
 
/// Mr War of the Rebellion. 29 
 
 road, in which there had been beaten and washed a depression 
 nearly a foot deep. In this depression the regiment lay down, 
 and fired and loaded without getting up. The ground in front 
 was literally covered with small undergrowth a real thicket. 
 This was, however, all cut off with bullets almost as clean as if 
 a mowing machine had run over it. At no place, on the whole 
 line, did Confederate dead lie thicker than here in our front. 
 So numerous, in fact, were the rebel dead here, that this place 
 received the name and was known as the "hornets nest." 
 
 General Halleck arrived at Pittsburg Landing April 11, 
 1862, and assumed command. On the 21st, General Pope ar 
 rived with an army thirty thousand strong, fresh from the cap 
 ture of Island Number 10 in the Mississippi River. He went 
 into camp at Hamburg, five miles above Pittsburg. Halleck 
 had now three armies the Army of the Ohio, Buell command 
 ing; the Army of the Mississsippi, Pope commanding; and the 
 Army of the Tennessee, Grant commanding. The Thirty-first 
 Regiment remained in camp at Pittsburg Landing until the 
 2d clay of May, 1862, during which time there was a kind of 
 general reorganization of the army, and the Thirty-first was 
 transferred to the Army of the Ohio, and became a part of the 
 Twenty-second Brigade, Fourth Division. 
 
 The brigade now consisted of the First, Second, and Twen 
 tieth Kentucky Regiments and the Thirty-first Indiana. Colonel 
 Cruft, not yet well enough for duty, the brigade is commanded 
 by Colonel Sedgwick, of the Second Kentucky, General William 
 Nelson commanding the division. 
 
 On May 2d, the regiment, together with the division, moved 
 from the field of Pittsburg Landing, and encamped near the forks 
 of the road east of Monterey, and for a few days were kept busy 
 cutting roads and corduroying. This, with the heavy picket 
 duty owing to the bad weather, was heavy on the troops. 
 
 May 7th advanced camp three miles, and the next day moved 
 to Nichols Ford on Seven-mile Creek, to support, as we under 
 stood, a reconnaissance that was being made by General Pope. 
 During the next ten days we marched and countermarched in 
 almost every direction. On the 18th we moved forward on the 
 
30 The Thirty-first Indiana Regim< nt 
 
 Farmington road, and here we began the use of the spade. 
 Pretty heavy intrenchments were thrown up on commanding 
 ground in front of the camps. We were now having daily skir 
 mishing with the enemy, and occasionally they would throw a 
 few shells into our lines. 
 
 On the morning of the 21st the regiment was sent out with 
 the brigade to make a forced reconnaissance in front of General 
 Wood s Division, on the road to Corinth. We also had with us 
 a battery of artillery and a squadron of cavalry. This recon 
 naissance developed quite a hot little engagement, in which eigh 
 teen men, including one Captain of the First Kentucky, were 
 wounded. Five companies of the Thirty-first were hotly en 
 gaged for a while. On this expedition, Captain McCalla com 
 manded the regiment. From the fact that- we found thirty-five 
 new graves near there, we supposed this was the loss of the 
 enemy. May 28th the whole division moved to the front, the 
 Twenty- second Brigade being in the advance, and, after some 
 heavy skirmishing, we drove the enemy from the bridge over 
 Bridge Creek, on the main road from Hamburg to Corinth, 
 which position we held until the 30th, when we moved into 
 Corinth, the enemy having retreated. In all this skirmishing in 
 front of Corinth the regiment had but one officer and seven 
 enlisted men wounded. 
 
 This forced reconnaissance, on the 21st inst, was really none 
 of our fight. G-eneral Nelson was impatient to advance, but was 
 not allowed to do so until General Wood, who was on his im 
 mediate right, made an advance, and Wood declared he could 
 not move. General Nelson bet hinr a barrel of whisky that he 
 could clear his front with his "Scrub Brigade. 7 Hence our 
 brigade was ordered up. When it arrived at Wood s head 
 quarters, Nelson closed each regiment in mass on the center, 
 and moved through the woods, deploying in line of battle, ac 
 complished the work, and next morning Nelson sent the boys 
 a drink of whisky. 
 
 After the evacuation of Corinth we moved forward, coining 
 up with Pope s troops near Booneville, Miss. On June the 9th 
 we passed through the beautiful little town of Jacinto, and 
 
In the \V<tr of th^ Rebellion. 31 
 
 arrived at luka June lltli, went into camp, and slept under our 
 blankets for the first time since the 4th of May. Here we were 
 busy for several days, repairing the railroad bridge across Bear 
 Creek and mending roads. On the 21st of June the regiment 
 was detached, and sent to Eastport on the Tennessee River. We 
 broke camp here the 23d, and did some unusual hard marching, 
 reaching the Charleston Railroad the 24th, and rejoined the 
 brigade the 25th, and arrived at Tuscumbia. The next day 
 went to the Tennessee River, where Companies D and F did 
 a hard day s work in a drenching rain, unloading and loading 
 baggage and train on the ferry-boat. About dusk the same 
 evening we reached Florence, Alabama, marching to the tune 
 of "Dixie. " June the 30th we passed through Rogersville, and 
 finally reached Elk River. We found it about seventy-five yardk 
 wide, and from three to four feet deep. The water was swift, 
 clear, and cool. It was rather difficult for some of the smaller 
 men to carry their household and kitchen furniture, their guns, 
 accoutrements, and clothing, and keep all out of the water; but 
 we all waded, and were nothing the worse, as far as known. 
 July 1st we arrived at Athens, Alabama, and went into camp. 
 Here, on the 4th, we made a march of three miles, through the 
 mo-t intense heat, 1o the Fair Grounds, to celebrate the Fourth 
 by a dress parade. ~Not a white person from the town honored 
 us with their presence. But quite a number of the colored popu 
 lation came out and cheered the old flag. July the 9th the 
 Thirty-first was again detached from the brigade, and marched 
 north until we came to Elk River, where the Nashville & Hunts- 
 ville Railroad crosses. We reached there on the 10th, having 
 waded several creeks on the way. Our business here was to 
 rebuild the railroad bridge, which had been torn down. We left 
 here and marched by the way of Pulaski, and reached Reynolds s 
 Station, July 15, 1862. Here was a large provision depot for 
 BuelPs army, and it was our business to do rather an unusual 
 amount of guard and picket duty. It was here, on the 21st of 
 July, 1862, that First Lieutenant William Thompson, of Com 
 pany F, died very suddenly. He was a grand man. Patriotic, 
 brave, honest, and true. On the 28th we took the cars for JSiash- 
 
32 The Thirty-first Indiana Regiment 
 
 ville, where we arrived in the evening and went into camp. The 
 29th, at eleven o clock at night, we were called out in great 
 haste, and took the train for Gallatin, Tenn., where we arrived 
 the morning of the 30th, and went into camp in the Fair 
 Grounds. We left here August 1st, and went by rail through 
 Nashville to Murfreesborough, where we remained until August 
 8th, when we were again on the road, and, after various hard 
 marches and countermarches, we arrived late in the evening 
 of August 15th at McMinnville. Here we rejoined our brigade, 
 and on the next morning we were ordered to report to General 
 Nelson s headquarters for inspection. Inasmuch as we had been 
 almost constantly on the march, or in box-cars, sleeping in the 
 woods, the report of the inspector was not very complimentary. 
 We remained at McMinnville, at the foot of the Cumberland 
 Mountains, until September 3, 1862, when we began that long, 
 fatiguing march to Louisville, Kentucky. We passed through 
 Woodbury, and about noon on the 5th passed Murf reesboro, and 
 made connection with the main body of Buell s army. We 
 passed through Nashville September 8th, taking the Gallatin 
 pike, and passing through Franklin, Bowling Green, Elizabeth- 
 town, and on to the river, arriving there on the 20th of Septem 
 ber, where we came up with the rear of Bragg s army. Our 
 army was put in line of battle, and there was heavy skirmishing 
 all that day and part of the next. On the afternoon of the 21st 
 we were again on the march, Buell having let Bragg get away. 
 On the 22d passed through Munfordsville and Westpoint. Here 
 we drew full rations, our rations having been rather scant for 
 a month. On the 26th we arrived at Louisville, marched down 
 through the city, and went into camp on the Ohio River, in a 
 potato-field. Here we remained the rest of the month, and in 
 the meantime were introduced to the Ninetieth Ohio Regiment, 
 which became a part of our brigade. A finer-looking regiment 
 of men never went into the service. And it was as true as steel, 
 and as brave as it was true. The day they came into our brigade 
 they were splendidly equipped; had everything allowed by the 
 regulations, and more too. The next morning they did not have 
 near so much. The fact is, the Thirty-first had made a draw, 
 
/// flu }} ((/ of tin It dull ion. 83 
 
 and it was with great difficulty that you could get the Ninetieth 
 to believe that the Thirty-first had not robbed them of their 
 household goods and kitchen furniture. 
 
 These two regiments, however, became knitted together in 
 friendship akin to that that existed between David and Jona 
 than. It was also while we were here that our division com 
 mander, General William Nelson, was killed by General Jeff. C. 
 Davis. On the morning of September 30th there was a detail 
 of one hundred and forty men of the Thirty-first, to form part 
 of the procession that bore his remains to the cemetery at 
 Louisville. 
 
 We left Louisville, October 1, 1862, marching out on the 
 Mount Washington Pike, and on to Bardstown and Springfield 
 to Perryville. On this march from Louisville the troops suffered 
 for water. At Perryville, on the 8th of September, did some 
 skirmishing; but we were really not in that bloody battle. On 
 the 9th we moved in line of battle across farms, and over fences, 
 hills, and hollows, and had considerable skirmishing. The 10th 
 we passed through Perryville, and took the road towards Dan 
 ville, and had some sharp skirmishing with rebel cavalry. The 
 12th, after much maneuvering and marching, we went into Dan 
 ville about midnight, and the regiment was posted through the 
 town as pickets. We found the people here the most kind and 
 sociable of any we had met. They voluntarily brought us pro 
 visions, and kindly invited us to their houses. We left Danville 
 September 14th, and passed through Stanford, Crab Orchard, 
 Mount Yernon, Wild Cat, across Kockcastle Eiver. The 18th 
 we made a rapid march across to Nelson s Crossroads, where we 
 surprised a brigade of rebel cavalry, and, after a sharp skirmish, 
 captured a few prisoners and drove the enemy in rapid retreat. 
 The 19th was spent in sending out scouting parties, gathering 
 up the stragglers in rear of Bragg s army. Company F, in the 
 afternoon while out on a scout, gathered up 18 mules, 29 head 
 of beef cattle, and the 30 rebels who were guarding them. The 
 work of the brigade during the day was: Prisoners captured, 
 140; beef cattle, 155; and 18 head of mules. This stock was 
 part of that which Bragg had gathered up in Kentucky for the 
 
34 The Thirty-first Indian a Regiment 
 
 use of his army. On the 20th the brigade marched some fifteen 
 miles along a deep creek pass on a reconnaissance, until it came 
 to an almost impassable hill, where we found the enemy had 
 burned a large portion of their wagon train, and had destroyed 
 a large number of small arms. The pursuit was abandoned, and 
 after a short rest and a lunch the brigade returned to camp. 
 October 22d the brigade marched to Goose Creek salt-works, in 
 Clay County, Kentucky, a distance of about thirty miles, through 
 a rough, mountainous country. The 23d was spent in destroy 
 ing the works, immediately after which we returned to Nelson s 
 Crossroads, and on to Rockcastle River, arriving there on the 
 evening of October 25, 1862. The night following we en 
 countered a most terrific snow-storm. We had left our tents 
 behind; many of the men had no blankets, some were without 
 shoes. All were thinly clad. The snow was wet and heavy; it 
 stuck to the limbs of the trees. The bushes and saplings were 
 bent, in some places, to the ground and across the road. The 
 snow was some six or seven inches deep. It was slavish march 
 ing at best, and for those without shoes it was dreadful. The 
 26th, about noon, we reached Mount Yernon. Here some of 
 the men bought shoes at the stores. Just after noon we started 
 out on the Somerset Road, and went into camp about sundown; 
 that is, we marched out into a meadow and stacked arms, the 
 snow being almost up to the locks of the guns. I had never 
 seen a night coming on that promised so little in the way of 
 comfort, and yet we got a good night s rest. The men procured 
 boards and scraped away the snow. We went about a third of 
 a mile, and carried over a lot of shock fodder. Orders had been 
 given to take none but the top rail from the fence, and it was 
 astonishing how top rails turned out. There were plenty of rails 
 to run all night long. The regiment was doubled, so one-half 
 of it would be on one side of the fire, and the other half on the 
 other side. Each company kept a man up all the while to keep 
 the fire going, and to see that no sparks got into the fodder. The 
 next day we continued the march, and passed through Somerset 
 and took the road toward Columbia, and on the 29th rejoined 
 the other two brigades of our division. On the 31st, Captain 
 
CAPTAIN R. H. WATERMAN. 
 COMPANY A. 
 
 LORENZO D. GARD. 
 COMPANY B. 
 
 JAMES K. WELLS. 
 COMPANY B. - 
 
 HI RAM GILBERT. 
 
In the War of the Rebellion. 37 
 
 Watterman, of Company A, and quite a number of the regi 
 ment who had been left behind sick, rejoined us. October 2d 
 we resumed the march, passing through Columbia, and arriving 
 at Moscow late in the evening of November 4, 1862. Here 
 we went into camp near the town, and put up our tents for 
 the first time since we took them down at McMinnville, on the 
 3d day of September, 1862, making two months that we had 
 taken the weather, day and night, just as it came, without shel 
 ter or protection. November the 5th the regiment was called 
 into dress parade, the first for two months or more. On the 
 morning of the 7th we again broke camp, and were on the march. 
 Arrived at Scottville November 8th, going into camp, and re 
 maining two days. On the 10th we passed through Gallatin, 
 in the State of Tennessee, and, taking the Lebanon road, we 
 reached the Cumberland River, and went into camp after dark. 
 The next day we crossed the river, and marched to Silver 
 Springs, in Wilson County, Tennessee. We remained here in 
 camp until the 19th, when we resumed the march, passing by 
 the Hermitage, and refreshed our memory of the hero of New 
 Orleans, marched on across Stone River, and finally pitched tents 
 on the Murfreesborough pike, near Nashville, Tennessee. We 
 remained here until December 26, 1862, being occupied in camp, 
 guard, and picket duty. 
 
 BATTLE OF STONE RIVER. 
 
 REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL CHARLES CRUFT, 
 
 COMMANDING FIRST BRIGADE, INCLUDING SKIRMISH AT LAVERGNE, 
 DECEMBER 26, 1862. 
 
 HEADQUARTERS FIRST BRIGADE, SECOND DIVISION, LEFT WING 
 IN THE FIELD, BEFORE 
 
 DE, SECOND DIVISION, LEFT WING ~\ 
 MURFREESBOROUGH, TENN., 
 
 January 8, 1868. ) 
 
 CAPTAIN, I herewith submit, for the consideration of the 
 General commanding the division, the following report of the 
 operations of this brigade in the recent action before Murfrees- 
 boro, Tennessee. 
 
 The brigade broke camp, near Nashville, on the morning of 
 the 26th ultimo. The effective infantry strength of the com 
 mand on leaving camp was 1,207. It consisted of the First 
 
38 The Thirty -first Indiana Regiment 
 
 Kentucky Volunteers, Colonel D. A. Enyart; Second Kentucky 
 Volunteers, Colonel T. D. Sedgwick; Thirty-first Indiana 
 Volunteers, Colonel John Osborn; and the Ninetieth Ohio 
 Volunteers, Colonel I. X. Ross. Captain Standards Ohio Bat 
 tery, Company B, First Regiment, was attached to the com 
 mand for temporary service. 
 
 After passing the picket lines near Nashville, this brigade 
 had the advance, preceded by a portion of Colonel Kennett s 
 cavalry command. After various trifling skirmishes and some 
 artillery firing, the enemy s skirmishers were forced into the 
 village of Lavergne. Here quite a force of cavalry, artillery, 
 and infantry (or dismounted cavalry) of the enemy disputed 
 the occupancy of the place. General Palmer ordered me to 
 drive the enemy from the woods on the left, and take possession 
 of the village from that quarter, if daylight would permit. The 
 Thirty-first Indiana and the First Kentucky Volunteers were 
 placed under command of Colonel Enyart, and sent by me to 
 accomplish this. Colonel Murray, of the Third Kentucky Cav 
 alry, having been ordered to report to me for temporary duty, 
 was placed upon the left flank of these regiments, and, with 
 his command, acted very handsomely in protecting it and se 
 curing the woods beyond. The regiments above named ad 
 vanced, towards nightfall, under cover of the cedars on the 
 left, and finding the enemy in force, near the frame church on 
 the west of Stoney Creek, attacked him, and, after a sharp dis 
 charge of musketry, ran in on a bayonet charge, and routed 
 him, forcing him across the creek, and occupying the west bank. 
 Our line of skirmishers was then placed in the field beyond 
 the creek and along the outskirts of the village. The conduct 
 of both regiments and all the oificers in this skirmish was ex 
 cellent. The casualties of my command were eight wounded. 
 
 The Thirty-first Indiana was withdrawn to the rear to en 
 camp, and Colonel Enyart, with his regiment (First Kentucky), 
 and a section of artillery, under Lieutenant Xewell, were loft 
 to occupy the position until morning. On the 27th ultimo the 
 brigade reached Stewart s Creek, and went into camp at night. 
 
 On the 28th (Sunday) the command lay at Stewart s Creek, 
 
In tie War of the Rebellion. 39 
 
 one-half the brigade on picket duty. On the 20th the brigade 
 advanced from Stewart s Creek, in line of battle across the 
 field, and at night took position in the front, on the Nashville 
 Turnpike, in the cedars, near Cowan s burnt house, about three 
 and a half miles west of Murfreesborough. An effective line 
 of skirmishers was thrown forward, and the open ground to 
 our front firmly held. On the 30th the brigade rested in po 
 sition, holding the front of woods where it was bivouacked, and 
 the line of pickets to the front during the fierce engagement 
 which occurred on the right of our line. During the night the 
 Second Kentucky (Colonel Sedgwick) was on picket duty. This 
 regiment succeeded in driving the enemy s pickets from the 
 crest in the field near the burnt house. His temporary shelters, 
 along the row of peach-trees on the lane, some sixty yards east 
 of the burnt house, were occupied by my troops after a sharp 
 night skirmish, and held by them, against two charges of cav 
 alry, until daylight the following morning. No pains were 
 spared to explain my position during the night. Support was 
 promised on my left, but did not come. If re-enforced on the 
 flank, this position could probably have been held. One-half 
 the effective force of my brigade was kept out all night, on 
 picket, trying to hold this advanced line. The attempt was 
 partially successful. It was suspected that the enemy had rifle- 
 pits and a large force beyond the crest; but the best recon 
 naissance I could make, by night, could not furnish the facts. 
 Subsequent knowledge evinced the correctness of the suppo 
 sition, and also demonstrated the fact that 5,000 troops could 
 not have taken and held the crest which my brigade of 1,200 
 attempted to reach and hold. 
 
 On the 31st ultimo an order was received from the General 
 commanding division, about 8 A. M., to advance in line, with 
 the brigade supporting me on the right and left. The brigade 
 was promptly put in motion, formed in two lines, as follows: 
 The Second Kentucky and Thirty-first Indiana Volunteers (un 
 der general charge of Colonel Sedgwick as ranking officer) con 
 stituting the front line, and First Kentucky and Xintieth Ohio 
 (under general charge of Colonel Enyart as ranking officer) 
 
40 The Thirty-first Indiana Regiment 
 
 forming the second line; Captain Stand art s artillery was formed 
 in half-battery on each flank of the front line. The brigade, 
 by this formation, exhibited a. front of, say, 600 men more or less 
 than a full regiment. Colonel Hazen s Brigade was in position 
 on my left and rear, and brigades of General Negley s Division 
 on the right. Upon giving orders to advance, my skirmishers 
 ran rapidly forward from the wood, and engaged those of the 
 enemy in the open field. They drove them, and my front line 
 advanced promptly up to the rail fence in the margin of the 
 woods. The enemy pushed toward us rapidly, and charged my 
 line in great force and in solid rank. The fight became very 
 severe and. obstinate about 9 o clock A. M. My troops fought 
 with heroism. Every officer and soldier acted well, and seemed 
 to me to accomplish more than could be expected of him. For 
 sturdy endurance, stalwart bravery, and manly courage, it does 
 not seem to me that the conduct of these two regiments here 
 could be surpassed. The enemy were driven back, although 
 superior in numbers. His charge was made in two lines, with 
 the appearance of a four-rank formation, and in most admirable 
 order and discipline. 
 
 After the first repulse, and before my line could be ad 
 vanced, the enemy made a second charge (reserving fire until 
 a close approach was had), which was more furious than be 
 fore. The Second Kentucky and Thirty-first Indiana nobly 
 held their ground, and, after some thirty minutes well-directed 
 fire, drove him back again for a short distance. A respite of 
 a few minutes in active firing enabled me to execute a passage 
 of lines to the front, to relieve the first line, the ammunition 
 of which was nearly exhausted. This maneuver was well ex 
 ecuted, considering that it was done under a brisk fire of the 
 enemy s skirmishers, the crossfire of flanking parties that had 
 already passed to the right and left of the line, and in face of 
 two of the enemy batteries. 
 
 The rear line, now front, was soon actively engaged. I at 
 tempted with it to assail the enemy, and ordered an advance. 
 The first Kentucky, Colonel Enyart, on the right of the line, 
 made a gallant charge, and drove the enemy before it, rush- 
 
/// ///< }] .(, of ///- 7A-/W/ ;/>,/. 41 
 
 ing forward to the crest of the hill, clear beyond and to the 
 right of the burnt house. The fire was so severe from the 
 enemy s force at the burnt house, on the left, that the order 
 to move up the Ninetieth Ohio was countermanded; not, how 
 ever, until many of the officers and men of this gallant regi 
 ment had pressed forward over the fence in line with the old 
 First Kentucky. 
 
 The sad list of the killed and wounded of the Ninetieth 
 and First Eegiments speaks loudly of the courage and man 
 hood they evinced in this charge. Standart, with his gallant 
 gunnel s, was throwing in grape and canister from the flanks 
 as my men ran forward to the charge, and thinning the enemy s 
 ranks. He was too strong for us, however, and soon my gal 
 lant advance was beaten back to the point of woods. This point 
 was still held. The brigade on the left was never pressed up 
 to my front, and left me exposed from this quarter. General 
 Negley s Brigade, on the right, first advanced with my men; 
 but, yielding to the impulsive charge of the enemy, broke up, 
 and a portion of it drifted, in disorder, immediately to my rear, 
 and left me exposed to the crossfire of the enemy from the 
 woods on the right. We were now completely flanked. Our 
 own troops impeded my retreat. Cannon, caissons, artillery 
 wagons, and bodies of men in wild retreat, filled the road and 
 woods to my rear, precluding everything like proper and or 
 derly retreat. Captain Standards artillery ammunition was fail 
 ing rapidly. He was shifting front constantly to keep off the 
 enemy. The cartridges of my men were becoming short. Mes 
 sages were sent to the rear for re-enforcements and for the re 
 serve brigade of the division. The enemy s fire was upon three 
 sides of my position, and apparently exactly to the rear, in the 
 woods. It was impossible to get ammunition up, to communicate 
 with the General commanding the division, or to obtain re- 
 enforcements. 
 
 In this condition the ground was still held for some forty 
 minutes longer than seemed right or proper. My cdmmand 
 had some cover in the edge of the woods from the enemy s bul 
 lets, and still kept up a fire sufficiently strong to keep them from 
 
42 The Thirty-first Indiana 
 
 rushing into the woods. Seeing my little brigade failing rapidly, 
 and many of its best men earned wounded to the rear, without 
 hope of support or further ability to hold on, I withdrew it in 
 as good order as practicable. The enemy pressed closely, firing 
 constantly into the retreating mass. We faced to rear, and 
 covered the retreat of General Negley s men as well as could 
 be done. The Second Kentucky Regiment brought off three 
 pieces and the Ninetieth Ohio Volunteers one piece of aban 
 doned artillery, by hand, which the enemy were rushing upon 
 and about to capture. 
 
 Standards Battery was saved, with a loss of three men and 
 seven horses. It had but sixteen rounds of ammunition when 
 the order to retire was given. Upon falling back to the edge 
 of the woods on the west side, I met Major-General Thomas, and 
 reported to him, and, with his consent, continued to fall back 
 across the open ground to the turnpike with my shattered forces,, 
 now numbering about 500. After forming in line along the 
 turnpike (about twelve miles), the brigade was ordered, by a 
 member of General Rosecrans s staff, to the left, to support a 
 battery on the railroad. It took this position, and held it dur 
 ing the remainder of the day and the night following. 
 
 On the 1st instant the brigade was placed in line on the right 
 of the division, in the rear of the interval between the First 
 and Third Divisions. After remaining thus until noon, it was 
 advanced to the front to support Swallow s (Indiana) Battery, 
 posted on a commanding elevation to the left of the railway, 
 and near the ford across Stone River. During the day it was 
 exposed to occasional shelling from the enemy s batteries. On 
 the 2d instant rude breastworks were constructed back of the 
 batteries, and the brigade held the same position behind them. 
 It lay here during the severe fight across the creek, on our left,. 
 supporting the batteries, and exposed to a heavy crossfire from 
 the enemy s guns. A higher scene of cool, moral courage, per 
 haps, has not been evinced, during the war, than that exhibited 
 by my brigade on this memorable day. The line lay still and 
 quiet behind the frail works we had been able to construct,, 
 with the shot and shell of the enemy coming from three di 
 rection?, and bursting above, in front of it, and all around it, 
 
In the War of the Rebellion. 43 
 
 our own massed batteries were belching out their con 
 tents in front of and over it. The roar of artillery was terrific. 
 The smoke from our own pieces, and the bursting of shell of the 
 enemy, at times obscured the line from our view. By some 
 wonderful Providence but three men of the brigade were killed 
 here by the enemy s shells. 
 
 About dark, when the enemy were driven upon our left, 
 the brigade was advanced by General Palmer, he gallantly lead 
 ing t\vo regiments, the Thirty-first Indiana and the Ninetieth 
 Ohio, to the point of woods a half a mile to the front and left 
 of our artillery position, and in line with our advance on the 
 left, across the creek. I followed rapidly with the residue of 
 the brigade across the open field to the General s right, and on 
 line with him. Knowing nearly the position of a masked bat 
 tery of the enemy, hid by a crest in the field, I ordered the men 
 to cheer loudly as w r e approached the latter. It had now r be 
 come dark. As the noise of the last cheer died away, the enemy 
 opened a fire of shrapnel from four small guns. The line im 
 mediately lay down under shelter of the crest, and for some 
 thirty minutes the enemy continued to play at us. His shot 
 passed just over our heads, and struck the ground not to ex 
 ceed one hundred feet to the rear of our line. . . . With 
 assurance of esteem to the Brigadier-General commanding the 
 division, I am, Captain, very truly yours, etc., 
 
 CHARLES CRUFT, 
 CAPTAIN NORTON, Brigadier- General, Commanding First Brigade. 
 
 Acting Ass t Adjt., Second Div., Left Wing, Fortieth Army Corps. 
 
 The casualties of the regiment in this engagement were five 
 er Ik-ted men killed; one officer and forty-four enlisted men 
 wcunded: three officers and thirty-four enlisted men missing; 
 total, loss, eighty -seven. 
 
 REPORT OF COLONEL JOHN OSBORN, 
 
 THIRTY-FIRST INDIANA INFANTRY, INCLUDING SKIRMISH AT LAVERGXE, DECEMBER 26TH. 
 
 HEADQUARTERS THIRTY-FIRST REGIMENT, INDIANA VOLUNTEERS, ) 
 CAMP NEAR MURFREESBOROUGH, TENN. , January 7, 1863. 
 
 CAPTAIX, I have the honor of submitting to you the fol 
 lowing report of the part taken by this regiment in the late 
 action with the rebel army before Murfreesborough, commencing 
 
44 The Thirty-first Indiana Regiment 
 
 December 16, 1862, at the town of Lavergne, and ending befoae 
 Murfreesborough, January 3, 1863: 
 
 Or the morning of December 26th, when the United States 
 forces were put in motion, our regiment was on picket duty 
 some six miles southeast of Nashville. Before the pickets could 
 be called in, and the regiment in line of march, the brigade to 
 which they belonged was some four miles in advance. The 
 regiment had a very fatiguing march through mud and rain. 
 In passing the forces, we had to take the fields; that made the 
 marching more arduous. At 3 P. M. we joined the brigade 
 one mile west of La Yergne. We were at once ordered to the 
 advance, the First Kentucky on the right, and our regiment on 
 the left, the Second Kentucky Regiment and the Ninetieth Ohio 
 Regiment our support. We were ordered across a field to a 
 woods to the left of the Murfreesborough road. Shortly after 
 we had taken our position, the enemy commenced throwing 
 shell into, the woods. We immediately sent out two companies 
 (E and K), and deployed them as skirmishers in advancfe of our 
 line, and moved on the enemy in line. After advancing about 
 one mile, we came in reach of the enemy s guns. They opened 
 a heavy fire from their rifles and two pieces of artillery, which 
 overreached our line. Our men rushed forward with a shout, 
 which caused the enemy to leave in great confusion. We then 
 moved a short distance to the right, and bivouacked for the 
 night. Both officers and men conducted themselves with cool 
 ness and bravery, without receiving any injury whatever. 
 
 The next day we moved forward in line of battle, which 
 was continued, from day to day, until the evening of December 
 29th. We arrived, at nightfall, within a few miles of Murfrees 
 borough, our brigade filing to the right of Murfreesborough 
 pike, about one-quarter of a mile, when we bivouacked for the 
 night. Nothing occurred during the night, except heavy skir 
 mishing in our front. 
 
 1 arly on the 1 morning of December 30, 1862, we were or 
 dered forward to the front of the grove in which we were 
 bivouacked, which order was promptly executed, our regiment 
 on the right, and the Second Kentucky on our left, the Nine- 
 
In tin 1 W<n* of the Rebellion. 45 
 
 tieth Ohio supporting the Second Kentucky, and the First Ken 
 tucky supporting our regiment. Upon arriving at this position, 
 I \viis ordered by you to report to Colonel Sedgwick, of the 
 Second Kentucky, who, you informed me, would command 
 the front line. I was ordered to deploy two companies in front 
 of our line as skirmishers, connecting with a like corps from 
 Gv ii oral Xcpgley s Division on the right, and the Second Ken 
 tucky on the left, which was immediately done by sending out 
 Companies C and E. Before our lines were established, the 
 enemy opened on us a brisk fire of shell and ball, which con 
 tinued all day, the balls of the enemies sharpshooters reaching 
 our lines. About four o clock in the evening we were ordered 
 to advance our line to support ,a battery, which was done, and 
 we remained in that position during the night, Companies A, 
 B, I, D, and IT, relieving, alternately, C and E as skirmishers. 
 Early on the morning of the 31st we were again ordered to 
 move our lines to support a battery, which was done. Shortly 
 after our skirmishers were driven in by the enemy, our men 
 reserving their fire until all their comrades had joined the line. 
 At this time a heavy force of the enemy appeared in our front, 
 in an open field, on a piece of rising ground, where they opened 
 a severe fire upon our line, which was returned with steady 
 nerve by our men, which soon made them fall back. In a few 
 moments they again returned to the crest of the field, and at 
 tempted to charge our line, but the steady nerve of our boys 
 and their deadly aim caused them again to retire. Our men, 
 getting short of ammunition, the First Kentucky Kegiment 
 came to our aid, and. passing our line, followed the enemy up 
 into the field; but the heavy force of the enemy in front, and 
 the regiment being exposed to a crossfire from the enemy s bat 
 teries, they were compelled to fall back with considerable loss. 
 Our regiment remained in its former position, and held their 
 fire until their Kentucky friends had passed to the rear. They 
 again, with the coolness of veterans, poured another volley into 
 the lines of the enemy, thinning their ranks, and making them, 
 the third time, fall back to their former hiding-place. In a 
 short time the enemy changed their point of attack, and ap- 
 
46 The Thirty-first Indiana Regiment 
 
 peared. in great force, on the left of our brigade, and on the 
 right, between our regiment and General Negley s forces. Both 
 our right and left falling back, I was forced to order the regi 
 me] it to fall back, the men obeying the order reluctantly, and 
 oar left, being so fur turned before orders to fall back were re 
 ceived, caused our list of missing to be so large. We were also 
 exposed to a crossfire of the enemy s artillery. 
 
 Our regiment occupied the front line from the morning 
 of the 30th until 11 A. M. on the 31st, with the exception of 
 a few moments, when the First Kentucky occupied the front. 
 The brigade, falling back through a dense growth of cedar, be 
 came scattered somewhat, but were formed again in line ready 
 for any emergency. 
 
 !Next morning, January 1st, the regiment, with the brigade, 
 took a position farther to the left, as a reserve. January 2d 
 the regiment again took a front position, sending out Company 
 F as skirmishers, and, during this day, they lay in rifle-pits, 
 exposed to a terrific fire from the enemy s artillery. Late in the 
 evening Lieutenant-Colonel Smith and Captain J. T. Smith, 
 Acting Major, with General Palmer, led them in a splendid 
 charge on the enemy, cleaning out a piece of woods occupied 
 by them in force, both officers and men acting heroically, to 
 the entire satisfaction of the brave General. 
 
 I can not close this report without calling your attention to 
 the gallant conduct of the officers under my command during 
 the action. Lieutenant- Colonel Smith was always on the alert, 
 cheering the men, passing along the line of skirmishers and the 
 regiment; wherever duty called him, there he was, during the 
 whole engagement. Captain Smith, Acting Major, was always 
 at his post, calm and collected, cheering the men, and directing 
 them where to strike the hardest blow. Captain Hollowell, 
 Acting Adjutant, was always on duty, visiting the outposts, 
 and cheering the men, and where the balls flew thickest, he 
 appeared the oftenest. Captain Waterman, of Company A 
 I can not speak too highly of his bravery. When one of his 
 men fell, he picked up his gun, and nobly .kept it still in use. 
 Captains Neff, of Company D, and Grimes, of Company G, 
 were always at their posts, discharging their whole duty. Lieu- 
 
In the War of 1h< /A /"///"//. 47 
 
 tenants Picket, of Company B, Ray, of Company C, Scott, of 
 Company E, LeaseJ of Company F, Brown, of Company H, 
 Pike, of Company I, and Hager, of Company 7\, were in com 
 mand o.: their respective companies during the whole action, 
 and conduded themselves like old veterans, cheering their men, 
 and directing them to fire with deliberation. 
 
 Lieutenant Ford, of Comapny A, after the regiment fell 
 back, on the morning of -the 31st, after Captain Waterman 
 was missing:, took command of his company, and nobly imi 
 tated the gallant conduct of his veteran Captain. Lieutenants 
 Clark, of Company D, Hatfield, of Company H, Brown, of 
 Company F, Fielding, of Company E, Roady an 1 McPhetridge. 
 of Company G, and Haviland, of Company B, were at their 
 places throughout the whole action, vying with each other in 
 noble deeds of valor. 
 
 Assistant Surgeon Morgan was ever attentive to his pro 
 fession, close in the rear of the regiment. Close thereby he 
 established his hospital, and refused to leave the wounded sol 
 diers, but nobly remained with them, suffering himself to be 
 taken prisoner rather than leave them to suffer. The same is 
 also true in regard to Dr. McKinney, Hospital Steward, who 
 was also taken prisoner. 
 
 I can not speak in too high terms of the conduct of Sergeant- 
 Ma j or !N"oble, who gallantly buckled on the cartridge-box, and 
 took a rifle, and was in the front rank of the line, dealing out 
 lead pills for the secesh. Sergeant Douglass, of Company K, 
 who was discharging the duties of a Lieutenant, was active in 
 leading his brave men to the post of honor. And, indeed, it 
 is not necessary for me to speak of individuals; every com 
 missioned officer and non-commissioned officer and private of 
 my command did his whole duty, without an exception, as did 
 all the officers that came under my notice of the entire brigade. 
 Brigadier-General Cruft was, at his post, ever watchful of his 
 command, fearing no danger where duty called him; frequently 
 riding along the line, waving his hat and cheering his command 
 in the hottest of the contest. Of the few killed on the field, 
 three were of the color-guard. JOHN OSBORX, 
 
 Colonel Commanding Thirty-first Regiment, Indium* Volunteers. 
 
48 . The Tlilrlij-lii xi In<t/<ma Regiment 
 
 General John M. Palmer, in his report of the battle of 
 Stone River, speaking of the action on December 31st, says: 
 "I only saw the regiments of Craft s Brigade fighting early in 
 the day. I had no fears for them where valor covild win. 7 In 
 relation to the afternoon of Friday, January 2d, he says: "The 
 First Brigade (Craft s) was posted to support a battery on the 
 hill near the ford. During the heavy cannonading the brigade 
 maintained its position with perfect coolness. While the en 
 gagement was going on across the river, a rebel force of what 
 seemed to be three small regiments entered the clump of woods 
 in front of the position of our batteries on the hill near the ford. 
 I ordered up two of Graft s regiments, and upon approaching 
 the woods halted them told them it was my purpose to clear 
 the woods at the point of the bayonet. To get the proper direc 
 tion guides were thrown out, the proper changes made, bayonets 
 were fixed, and these two regiments, the Thirty-first Indiana and 
 the Ninetieth Ohio, ordered to clear the woods. 
 
 "They went in splendidly. It was done so quickly that the 
 rebels had hardly time to discharge their pieces. They fled with 
 the utmost speed. These regiments behaved handsomely." 
 
 In this charge I only know of one man being killed Ser 
 geant Henry D. Lehman, of Company F, a splendid soldier 
 and a good man every way. We held this ground until towards 
 midnight, and returned to our position near the batteries on the 
 hill, where we remained until the retreat of the enemy. 
 
 After the Thirty-first and Second Kentucky had taken po 
 sition, on the morning of the 31st, in front of the cedar woods, 
 and near the "natural well," and after the skirmishers had been 
 sent out, it was suggested by the Acting Major the building of 
 a stone fence or wall for breastworks. The men laid down their 
 guns and went to work, and in a few minutes you would have 
 thought that every man was a natural-born stonecutter, and that 
 each one was a master-builder. A. rail fence in our front was 
 thrown down, and by the time our skirmishers were driven in, 
 our position was next to impregnable. We were here attacked 
 by the brigade of rebel General J. R. Chalmers, consisting of 
 the Seventh, Ninth, Tenth, and Forty-first Mississippi Regiments 
 
/// // !( ,/, of the Rebellion; 4<J 
 
 and Blythe s Mississippi Kegiment, together with the Ninth 
 Mississippi Battalion of sharpshooters. The first charge made, 
 Chalmers was Carried off the field so severely wounded he did 
 no further duty. The charge was repulsed with fearful slaugh 
 ter. It made a second charge, and the result was that the brigade 
 was so completely wiped out that the organization was destroyed. 
 Chalmers s brigade was supported by the brigade of General 
 D. S. Donelson, consisting of the Eighth, Sixteenth, Thirty- 
 eighth, Fifty-first, and Eighty-fourth Tennessee Kegiments. 
 After Chalmers s total defeat almost destruction Donelson s 
 Brigade came up with deliberate, steady step; but General Polk, 
 in his report, says the slaughter was terrific. The Eighth Ten 
 nessee lost 306 out of 425, the colonel of the regiment being 
 killed. The Sixteenth Tennessee lost 207 out of 402. Polk 
 says: "All the line in their front was carried, except the extreme 
 right of Palmer s Division. This point, which was the key to 
 the enemy s position, and which was known as the Kound 
 Eorest, was attacked by the right of the (Donelson) brigade. 
 It was met by a fire of musketry and artillery which mowed 
 down half its number." 
 
 In consequence of the terrible slaughter of Chalmers s Bri 
 gade, which were all Mississippians, that part of the battle-field 
 is known as "Mississippi Half Acre." When we went into po 
 sition here in the morning, we connected with Negley s com 
 mand on our right, and with Ilazen s Brigade on our left. There 
 had been, however, quite a gap between Cruft s Brigade and 
 Hazen s, and besides Hazen s Brigade was not as far advanced 
 to the front as that of Cruft. This gap, however, was covered 
 by the Brigade of Gross, who was held as support to Hazen. We 
 held our position here after the repulse of Chalmers and Donel 
 son s Brigades until Negley s right had been so far turned that 
 the line of battle stood at right angles with our line. In the 
 meantime the ammunition of the Thirty-first and Second Ken 
 tucky having been about exhausted, an attempt was made to 
 relieve them by sending in the First Kentucky to take the place 
 of the Thirty-first, and the Ninetieth Ohio to relieve the Sec.ond 
 Kentucky. When the First Kentucky had nearly reached our 
 4 
 
50 Tin- 77/ //7// 7 ///*/ ImJtumi Ii>((hiint 
 
 position, the Colonel gave command to charge. The Thirty-first 
 was ordered to lie down, and the First Kentucky charged im 
 mediately over us. and actually carried a few members of the 
 Thirty-first with it, who had not heard the command to lie 
 down. The First Kentucky soon encountered such an unequal 
 force, and being exposed to a crossfire of both musketry and 
 artillery, that it rapidly fell back, and again charged over the 
 Thirty-first, closely followed by double lines of the enemy. As 
 soon as the First Kentucky had all passed to the rear, the Thirty- 
 first gave the enemy such a deadly volley that they fell back 
 as rapidly as they had come. Gross s Brigade, which was in 
 reserve to our left, in rear of Hazen, had been "about-faced" 
 to re-enforce ^egley, who soon repulsed the enemy in our rear, 
 but leaving the gap between the brigades of Cruft and Ilazen 
 open and unguarded, which let the enemy in on our left, and 
 soon we would have been completely surrounded. I looked for 
 our support, and found it was gone. It was self-evident that the 
 time had fully come for us to get out; hence orders were given 
 to the regiment to get back through the cedar woods, every 
 fellow for himself, and rally at the railroad. The regiment all 
 started, except a portion of two companies on the right. I at 
 tempted to ride up to them to repeat the command, the rattle 
 of battle being so terrific that it was difficult to make yourself 
 heard. But the impudent Johnnies ordered me to surrender. 
 This, however, I declined to do, and took to the bushes. I passed 
 out through the wood a little to the left from the way most of 
 the regiment had gone, and after getting about to the middle of 
 the woods, my attention was called to the report of a gun very 
 near at hand. To my dismay I discovered quite a large rebel, 
 soldier, and just about the same time he discovered me. He 
 immediately sprang behind a tree, and began to reload his gun. 
 Just at this time, and in the very nick of time, John S. Moore 
 came running up, and said, "Get out of here quick." I at once 
 pointed out to him the Johnnie behind the tree, the tree not 
 being quite large enough to completely hide him, the point of 
 one shoulder being considerably exposed. Moore laid his gun 
 on a cedar limb, and, deliberately taking aim, fired. The 
 
/// //// Win* of 1h< H* J>, //Jon. 51 
 
 Johnnie fell, and then we did not stand on the order of our 
 going, but we went. In getting out of the woods I found Gen 
 eral Rousseau planting a battery, which had no support what 
 ever. He wanted to know where my command was, and I told 
 him up on the railroad. He requested me to bring it down to 
 support his battery, which I agreed to do, and galloped over to 
 the road, where I found the regiment in line, and we double- 
 quicked back to the battery, and had the satisfaction of seeing 
 the General give the enemy grape, canister, shrapnel, shell, 
 and solid shot effectively. This closed the fighting as a regiment 
 for the last day of the year 1802. The official reports detail 
 pretty correctly the transactions of the regiment during the rest 
 of the engagement. 
 
 There is a mystery in connection with the official report of 
 the battle of Stone River. The Colonel and Lieutenant-Colonel 
 had both been more or less indisposed, and for several days both 
 had been excused from duty by the surgeon. About December 
 8, 1862, the commissioned officers of the regiment, by an elec 
 tion, recommended me for promotion to Major. Hence I was 
 detailed a few days before the battle to act as Major. The Col 
 onel and Lieutenant-Colonel, however, had remained most of the 
 time with the command, and both were with us for a while on 
 the morning of December 31st; but I did not see either of them 
 after we fell back through the cedar-grove until after the battle 
 was over, the command of the regiment being in my hands. A 
 few clays after the battle the Colonel requested me to assist him 
 in making his report. Soon after the report was forwarded it 
 was returned, with an order for the man to make the report who 
 had commanded the regiment. I then re-wrote the report, mak 
 ing very few changes, all of which the Colonel approved. I 
 signed the report as commanding regiment, and forwarded it. 
 Spme time afterwards, General Cruft, with a view to compliment 
 me, remarked that he would have sent all the reports made to 
 him back, if he had thought there would: have been like im 
 provement on them. As I had written both reports, I did not 
 very highly appreciate the compliment. But I have always 
 supposed that the official report of the transactions of the regi- 
 
.VJ The Thirty-first Indiana Regiment 
 
 ment in this battle was made by me, but I find that the report 
 on record was made by Colonel John Osborn, and it is not the 
 one written by me for him either. 
 
 During this engagement the Thirty-first Regiment was a 
 part of the First Brigade, Brigadier-General Charles Cruft com 
 manding; Second Division, Brigadier-General John M. Palmer; 
 left wing Fourteenth Corps, Major-General Thomas L. Crit- 
 tenden. 
 
 A few days after the battle, the Thirty-first Regiment, to 
 gether with the brigade, moved out to Cripple Creek, some eight 
 miles east of Murfreesboro, and went into camp, where it re 
 mained until the 24th of June, 1863. The five and a half 
 months we spent in camp here on the banks of this naturally 
 deformed, classic stream was possibly the most pleasant of our 
 experience. True, we were on picket one-fourth of the time, 
 and we were regularly and thoroughly drilled. Made quite a 
 number of reconnaissances and foraging expeditions. he 
 weather was generally pleasant, our supplies were abundant, 
 and the enemy had received such terrible punishment at Stone 
 River that they kept at a safe distance. The most disagreeable 
 encounter the writer had while there was an unprovoked at 
 tack he made on a skunk. The loss in this little action amounted 
 to a valuable suit of clothes. On one occasion the Thirty-first 
 went out as a guard with a brigade train for forage. Some five 
 miles southeast of camp we came to a farm and a nice crib of 
 corn. Orders were given to take the corn without disturbing 
 the building. In returning from putting out some pickets, we 
 noticed corn-cobs in the fence-corners, all along the lane. We 
 immediately w^ent to the Negro quarters, and inquired of an 
 old colored woman how they came there, and were informed 
 that a regiment of rebel cavalry had been there every day for 
 more than a week, at about one o clock, and fed their horses. 
 The picket force was at once doubled, and the corn-crib torn 
 clown, and in thirty minutes the corn was all loaded into our 
 wagons. We prepared papers showing the amount and value 
 of the corn we had taken, and took them to the house to pre 
 sent to the good woman; but we did not find her in a very 
 amiable temper. After a little conversation, we wrote "a se- 
 
/// ///>: HW of the Rebellion. 53 
 
 cessionist" across the face of the papers, and were about to take 
 our leave, when some of the boys inquired if she would sell 
 some chickens. She said they were all for sale at fifty cents 
 apiece. A chicken was caught, and she was offered fifty cents 
 in fractional currency. This was more than she could endure, 
 and she fairly stormed. Some one showed her a facsimile Con 
 federate bill. This she accepted gladly, and in a few minutes 
 she had no chickens, but plenty of facsimile. Two Captains of 
 the regiment made an arrangement to go back the following 
 Thursday to get some butter; but when the time came, they 
 failed to procure a pass, and, in consequence- of said failure, 
 they were quite liberal in their denunciations of the regimental 
 commander; but they felt quite different that night when a 
 little colored boy came in with a message from the colored 
 folks, not to come, for the place was alive with rebels waiting 
 for them. 
 
 On the first day of April the regiment, in connection with 
 some other troops, were sent out to Woodbury to attack some 
 rebel cavalry that Avere" supposed to be there. We made a night 
 march, and came on to the enemy early in the morning. After 
 a sharp skirmish we captured some forty prisoners, one sutler 
 stand, and three wagons loaded with whisky and tobacco, and, 
 in a day or t\vo, returned to camp. 
 
 SUMMARY. 
 
 From May 4, 1862, the time we left Corinth, Mississippi, 
 to January 3, 1863, the close of the battle of Stone River, was 
 about eight months, or two hundred and forty days. During 
 all this time the regiment was considered in camp ninety-nine 
 days. It actually had its tents up but fifty-six days, leaving 
 one hundred and eighty-four days that the men were exposed 
 to the inclemency of the weather, just as it came, without 
 shelter of any kind, and the worst weather that came found us 
 without our tents, and on short rations. 
 
 During this time the regiment was under fire, in actual 
 battle, twelve days, beside various skirmishes that sometimes 
 amounted to quite a respectable little battle. 
 
 The regiment marched from Fort Donelson to Fort Henry; 
 
54 The Thirty-first Indiana Rj u,,<nl 
 
 then went by boat to Pittsburg Landing; then skirmished and 
 t iiiiii lit its way to Corinth; then marched to Booneville and 
 Jacinto, Mississippi. From there it marched to luka and to 
 Eastport, in the northeast corner of Mississippi; thence, by the 
 way of Tuscnmbia, Florence, and Rogersville, to Athens, Ala 
 bama; thence north across the State of Tennessee, passing 
 through Eeynolds Station and Nashville, to Gallatin, near the 
 Kentucky State line. Thence back through Nashville, Mur- 
 freesborough, Liberty, and Smithville, to McMinnville, near 
 the foot of Cumberland Mountain. Then a couple of days 
 march up into the mountain and return. Then we start out on 
 the famous Buell-Bragg foot-race, back through Nashville to 
 Louisville, Kentucky; then to the Perry ville battle-field; and 
 thence through Danville, Stanaford, Crab Orchard, Mount Yer- 
 non, across Rockcastle River, up onto Wildcat Mountain, to Nel 
 son s Crossroads, to Goose Creek salt-works in Clay County, the 
 southeast part of Kentucky; and thence back through Mount 
 Vernon, Somerset, Columbia, Glasgow, Scottville, to Gallatin, 
 Tennessee; thence, by a circuitous route, crossing the Cum 
 berland above Nashville, and into camp near Nashville; and 
 thence to the battle-field of Stone River, near Murfreesborough, 
 having marched, in the meantime, more than three thousand 
 miles . 
 
 During this time the regiment was on detached service, and 
 almost entirely alone for a period of forty-one days. 
 
 The most laborious marching w r e had to do was what was 
 called "flanking." The troops followed the road, and each regi 
 ment would detail a company, one-half of which were thrown 
 out on each side of the road, two or three hundred yards, and 
 march in Indian file, keeping as near the same distance as 
 possible from the troops in the road. Of course fences, hills, and 
 ravines had to be crossed, streams had to be waded, thickets and 
 brier patches had to be penetrated, and, at the same time, you 
 had to keep up with the troops in the road. 
 
 Another laborious duty, one that got to be quite burdensome, 
 was "train guarding." When at any point away from the depot 
 of supplies, brigade and division trains would be sent, and troops 
 
JOSEPH P. STRATTON. 
 COMPANY D. 
 
 ROBERT K. HOUPT. 
 COMPANY D. 
 
 S. D. BAILEY 
 COMPANY D. 
 
 LIEUTENANT WM. GID. SMITH. 
 COMPANY F. 
 
In the War of the Rebellion. 57 
 
 detailed to guard them. The trains, of course, would be given 
 the road, and the guards would have to march as best they 
 could, and, in the event a team got stuck in the mud, the guards 
 had to lay down their guns, and put their shoulders to the wheels. 
 This train guarding was almost an every-day business, and the 
 Thirty-first Regiment, somehow, was lucky in getting jobs of this 
 kind to do. I do not suppose, however, that on this line we did 
 more than our proportionate share. It was astonishing to see 
 how quick a wagon could be repaired. If an axle should break, 
 with scarcely no tools, and with no material except such as could 
 be picked on a farm where the rails had all disappeared, a man 
 or two would go to work, and the next morning the wagon would 
 be up and ready for use. The method of repairing a wheel was 
 different. If a wheel gave way, the teamster would drive to 
 one side of the road, and wait till night, and then look out for 
 a teamster who was off his guard, or a wagon that was not under 
 the immediate eye of a sentinel, when it was only the work of 
 a moment to take a good wheel off and put the broken one on. 
 I have heard it said that sometimes a wheel would be carried 
 five miles before the exchange could be made. It was insisted 
 that there was no stealing in this, for the wagons all belonged to 
 Uncle Sam, and that they were working for him. Be this as 
 it may, it had all the symptoms of stealing. 
 
 The 24th day of June, 1863, we struck tents, and bid fare 
 well to Camp Cripple Creek, moving out in a southeast direc 
 tion until we came to the Murfreesborough and Bradyville pike, 
 passing Bradyville, and up Dug Hollow, where we had some 
 pretty heavy skirmishing; had one man killed, and one wounded. 
 We continued our march toward Manchester, arriving there 
 the evening of the 27th. We remained here a few days, marched 
 in the direction of Tullahoma, until we got to Elk River. We 
 remained here until the 8th of July, when we returned with* 
 the division to Manchester, and went into camp on the railroad. 
 We remained here until August 16, 1862, when we broke camp, 
 marched out on the McMinnville Road, following it until the 
 next day, and turned in towards the mountain on the road to 
 Dunlap. We waded Colens River on the 18th, and near noon 
 
58 The Thirty-first Indiana Regiment 
 
 came to the foot of the mountain. The regiment was detailed 
 to assist the train up the big hill, which we succeeded in 
 doing soon after nightfall, and the regiment went into camp 
 on the top of the mountain the night of the 10th. During the 
 forenoon the next day we came up with the division, and moved 
 on across the mountain, and down into Sequatchie Valley, ar 
 riving at Dunlap in the evening of August 20th. We remained 
 here until the 1st of September, and found that there were a 
 large number of Union people in this part of Tennessee. They 
 came in, in large numbers, on Sunday, to hear Chaplain Gilmore 
 preach. They were all delighted with the sermon, and many 
 were profoundly impressed. 
 
 The first day of September found us again on the march, 
 passing down the valley, and through the town of Jasper, and 
 arriving at Shellmound, on the Tennessee Kiver, on the evening 
 of the 3d, at nine o clock. The Thirty-first was ferried across 
 the river in small flatboats, about eleven o clock at night, being 
 the first troops to cross, and was immediately sent out on guard 
 or picket duty, while the remainder of the division was cross 
 ing. We remained here at Shellmound until the 5th, and what 
 time we were not on duty, w r e were diligently putting in the time 
 exploring Mckajack Cave, the mouth of which was a large, 
 subterranean cavity, in which a regiment of men could find 
 perfect shelter and safety from any cyclone, from which quite 
 a number of narrow cavities led out to large halls or rooms. 
 It was said that large quantities of salpeter were procured here; 
 but the works were quite rude and simple, consisting mainly of 
 old-fashioned ash-hoppers. 
 
 BATTLE OF CHICAMAUGA. 
 
 REPORT OF COLONEL JOHN T. SMITH, 
 THIRTY-FIRST INDIANA INFANTRY. 
 
 HEADQUARTERS THIRTY-FIRST REGIMENT, INDIANA VOLUNTEERS, ) 
 CAMP NEAR CHATTANOOGA, TENN., September 28, 1863. j 
 CAPTAIN FAIRBANKS, A. A. A. G. : 
 
 SIR, I have the honor to submit, herewith, a report of 
 the part borne by the Thirty-first Regiment Indiana Volunteer 
 Infantry, in the late engagement with the Confederate forces 
 
In the Wai of th<> Rebellion. 59" 
 
 under command of General Bragg, on the Little Chickaiuauga, 
 near Missionary Kidge, on the 10th and 20th inst. 
 
 We crossed the Tennessee River, at SLellmonnd, on the night 
 of the 3d instant, and the afternoon of the .">th we moved out 
 on the river road, toward Chattanooga, and at 10 o clock at 
 night we bivouacked in Whiteside Valley. 
 
 Early next morning we moved out on the road leading to 
 Knickerjaek Pass, finding the road obstructed by the falling 
 of trees, which we soon removed, and formed a junction with 
 General Brannon s Division some four miles from Trenton, 
 near the railroad running from that place to Chattanooga. 
 
 On the 7th inst. Company K was detailed! to establish and 
 guard a signal station on Lookout Mountain; but before they 
 reached the summit they discovered that the enemy held that 
 point, and a brisk skirmish ensued, in which private Andrew 
 Case was slightly wounded. The Thirty-first Regiment and 
 the Ninetieth Ohio were ordered to their support; but the com 
 pany having cleared its front, and the enemy making no further 
 resistance, the regiments returned to camp. This reconnaissance 
 discovered Knickerjaek Pass and its practicability. On the 8th 
 inst. we moved down the Trenton Valley some five miles, and 
 bivouacked near General Wood s Division. At 9 o clock A. M.,. 
 on the 9th inst. we moved in the direction of Chattanooga,, 
 leaving the main road at the base of the mountain; we bivouacked 
 for the night at Rossville, five miles south of Chattanooga. 
 
 On the morning of the 10th, at 3 o clock, the Thirty-first 
 was thrown forward to the summit, on the left hand, or Ringgold 
 road. Here we captured three prisoners, and at 7 o clock A. M 
 we rejoined the brigade, which was moving in the direction of 
 Ring-gold. We halted at Peavine Creek at 11 o clock A. M., and 
 had scarcely stacked arms when the advance guard was driven 
 in. The Thirty-first was immediately moved forward, Com 
 panies G and I in advance as skirmishers, who engaged the 
 enemy, and drove him some two miles, the regiment following 
 in supporting distance. We then returned to Peavine Creek, 
 and bivouacked for the night. Early next morning we moved 
 out via Graysville, to Ringgold, where we again bivouacked, 
 and passed the night. 
 
60 The Thirty-fast Indiana Regiment 
 
 At 6 o\ lock on the morning of the 12th inst. we moved out 
 on the Lafayette road, and came to the enemy s pickets, some 
 three mibs from Lee and Gordon s Mill, which, after consider 
 able maneuvering, were driven back, and we passed on to the 
 mill, where we bivouacked for the night. Early next morning 
 our pickets were driven in, and the day was spent in line of 
 battle and maneuvering; but the enemy making no further 
 demonstration, we retiied to the mill, and passed the night, and 
 remained until the afternoon of the 1 5th inst., when we moved 
 some three miles south of Crawfish Springs, near Mathew s 
 house. The afternoon of the 17th we moved back to Ambro- 
 cromby s house, a distance of one and a half miles, where we re 
 mained until the evening of the 18th, when we moved to a po 
 sition half a mile north of Lee and Gordon s Mill. At 11 o clock 
 A. M. of the 19th we moved down the Chattanooga road some 
 one and one-half miles, or to McNamar s, where we moved by 
 the right flank, or in line, Company E deployed as skirmishers, 
 the Second Kentucky on our right, and the Ninetieth Ohio on 
 our left. 
 
 We had moved in that direction but a few rods when our 
 skirmishers engaged those of the enemy, driving them some 
 three-fourths of a mile, to an open field, beyond which we found 
 the enemy in line of battle, and we were soon engaged in a 
 close contest for some two hours, expending, on an average, 
 fifty rounds of ammunition per man, and driving the enemy from 
 our front. 
 
 We then retired some fifty yards to the woods, where we 
 rested, and filled up our cartridge-boxes. 
 
 By this time the enemy was pressing the forces on the right 
 of our brigade. We were ordered to change front perpendicular 
 to the right; but just as this movement was accomplished, the 
 troops on our right and front gave way, and were precipitated on 
 the right of our regiment, closely followed by a heavy column of 
 the enemy. We then attempted to withdraw, but, in doing so, the 
 regiment became somewhat scattered, but were soon rallied, and 
 joined in a charge against the enemy, repulsing him handsomely. 
 After holding the ground for some time, we were moved to 
 
In the \\ <ir <f the Rebellion. (>1 
 
 the Chattanooga road, near Kelly s house, where we prepared 
 to bivouac for the night; but the. enemy making an assault on 
 a division to our left, we were moved to their support. On 
 getting into position, we found the enemy repulsed, and we 
 were ordered to rest on our arms for the night. 
 
 Early on the morning of the 20th we prepared some hasty 
 defenses of logs and trees, and at one-quarter before 8 o clock 
 the enemy made his appearance in our immediate front, and 
 made a vigorous assault on our feeble works. He was, however, 
 soon repulsed, but renewed the attack three different times, but 
 was forced to retire, severely punished. We continued to hold 
 our position during the. day until 5 o clock P. M., when we were 
 ordered to retire, and, in doing so, had to pass through an open 
 field under a most terrific shower of shot and shell. This move 
 ment was conducted with perfect order and self-possession. 
 After gaining the wood, the regiment was formed in line, with 
 the brigade facing the enemy, amid a perfect mass of scattered 
 and disordered troops. 
 
 Here we rested for nearly an hour, when we marched 
 leisurely to Rossville. 
 
 During the engagement of the 19th, Captain William J. 
 Lease fell, mortally wounded, while leading his command in 
 a charge against the enemy. He was a brave, faithful officer, 
 and had, by his bravery on this and other occasions, won the 
 esteem of his command and the entire regiment. Color-Ser 
 geant John West was killed while bearing the colors before the 
 enemy. ^vTo sooner, however, had he fallen, than the colors were 
 gathered up and unfurled by Corporal Jesse R. Dodd, of Com 
 pany F, who bravelv carried them during the remainder of the 
 day. Lieutenant-Colonel ^Xeff was struck on the elbow with a 
 spent canister, disabling his arm; but he remained on the field, 
 always at his pest. Adjutant !N"oble was slightly wounded, but 
 continued at his post until the close of the engagement. Lieu 
 tenant Connelly was severely wounded, and carried off the field. 
 Lieutenant Haviland received a slight but painful wound, and 
 was sent to the rear. The company commanders, Captains 
 Waterman, Pickens, Grimes, Brown, Hager, Hallowell, and 
 
62 The Thirty-first Indiana Regiment 
 
 Lieutenants Morris, Mason, Brown, and Scott all maneuvered 
 their commands successfully, and acquitted themselves with 
 much gallantry. Lieutenants Roddy, Hatfield, Ford, Powers, 
 Douglas, Fielding, Wells, and McKinzie were all cool, faithful 
 and brave, and rendered much efficient service. Chaplain Gill- 
 more was constantly on the field attending to the wounded, and 
 was much exposed, having his horse killed. 
 
 Assistant Surgeon McTCiimey was on the field, and rendered 
 all the assistance in his power. 
 
 I can not express terms of praise too high for the conduct 
 of my entire command. During the whole of the campaign 
 they evinced a spirit of endurance and bravery unexcelled, 
 which was truly gratifying to myself as well as creditable to 
 them. 
 
 Appended you will find a list of casualties. 
 
 All of which is respectfully submitted. 
 
 I am, sir, Your obedient servant, 
 
 JOHN T. SMITH, 
 
 Colonel Commanding. 
 
 In this engagement Sergeant John West, of Company A, a 
 color-bearer, was killed, and Corporal Marston Gibbons and 
 privates Warren Brockway, James H. Laverty, Robert H. Water 
 man,- and William M. Elmore were wounded. In Company B 
 Lieutenant Stephen S. Haviland, First Sergeant Robert T. 
 McKee, and Sergeants John H. Neese and Lorenzo D. Gard, 
 and privates Lewis G. Lybarger and Andrew J. Pool were 
 wounded. The wounded of Company C were Andrew J. New 
 ton (mortally). Corporals Thomas Green and John G. Malory, 
 and privates John C. Arterburn, William H. H. Gray, Isaac 
 O. Lowe, Jahiel F. Joslin, and James J. Ferguson. In Com 
 pany D there were wounded Corporal William L. Knotts and 
 privates William J. Bilyew, William A. Bland, and William 
 Cowden. In Company E, Carlton B. Lyon was killed, and Will 
 iam B. Cochran, Tilghinan Moore, Oliver B. Lochman, and 
 John Runey, all privates, were wounded. Of Company F, Cap 
 tain William J. Lease and Robert Clayton were killed, and 
 David M. Stuckey, John Guthrey, W. B. S. Maddox, M. E. 
 
In tin }\ <tr of the RdxU ,0,,. 63 
 
 Harrison, T. J. Garrett, W. II. II. Welch, John S. Moore, and 
 James Sanders were wounded. Company G had First Sergeant 
 David C. Hunter, and Sergeant Albert L. Waugh, and privates 
 George W. Elkins, Alonzo Clark, Joseph Woolery, Hezekiah 
 Axam, Archibald Harper, Levi X. Rhorer, and Ayers Ellsbury 
 wounded. Of Company H, Corporal Hiram Lackey and privates 
 James M. Lancaster, James E. Wilson, and Mason Beatty were 
 wounded. In Company I, Lieutenant Jesse B. Connelly was 
 severely wounded in the head, and Sergeant Norval W. Cum- 
 niings was wounded in the thigh, Corporal Lancelot C. Eubank 
 was wounded in the head, Moses T. Kelly severely wounded in 
 the face, Eli C. Brattain in the arm, James R. Adams in the 
 thigh, William C. Adams in the face, Silas Dark in the hand, 
 Otterbin G. Beard in the arm, Thomas Elzy in the leg, Sidney 
 A. Seymour in the leg, and John W. Jackson in the head. In 
 Company K, John Day, Pleasant W. Watts, and William A. 
 Kendricks, privates, were wounded. 
 
 Samuel Thomas and William Posey, of Company D, and 
 William H. Bennett, of Company I, were missing in action, 
 and not being heard of afterwards, they are supposed to be dead. 
 Josiah D. Crist, of Company F, died in Andersonville, Georgia, 
 May 13, 1864, and Fred. Snellenberger, of Company I, died 
 at the same place, both having been captured in this engage 
 ment. David M. Stuckey, of Company F, who was shot in 
 the breast, the ball lodging against the skin on his back, and 
 who lay in the open weather eleven days, was reported dead; 
 but he was afterwards brought into Chattanooga, and, at this 
 date, still lives. Captain Lease had a presentiment that he 
 would be killed on the 19th, the first day s fight. He gave me 
 his pocket-book and a message for his wife. I tried to prevail 
 on him that he was laboring under some kind of a foolish hallu 
 cination, but he persisted in the declaration that this was his last 
 day to live. I told him that I did not see that I could send 
 him to the rear, and he replied that there was no way, that he 
 had looked over the whole ground, and there was no way to 
 get back honorably, and that he would die before he would go 
 back dishonorably. I spoke to him late in the afternoon, after 
 
64 The Thirty-first Indiana Regiment 
 
 we had repulsed the enemy, that he was getting along all right, 
 to which he replied that his time had not quite come yet, and, 
 in less than an hour, he had received a mortal wound. When 
 the Captain fell, First Sergeant Gilbert Liston took command 
 of the company, and, with fidelity and ability, discharged the 
 duties of Captain during the remainder of the engagement 
 After the brigade got back near Rossville, it being late in 
 the night, we procured plenty of water for the first time since 
 the battle began. We bivouacked here for the night, having 
 fallen back five miles. We had left our dead and many of our 
 wounded on the battle-field. The night was dark, and we found 
 the road strewn with wounded men, being assisted along by 
 their comrades as best they could. 
 
 About S o clock A. M. the 21st, we again formed in line 
 of battle on Mission Ridge, but it was near noon before skir 
 mishing began, and during the afternoon we had considerable 
 heavy cannonading. A. detail was made from each regiment 
 for picket duty, and I was put in command of the pickets of 
 the division. About 10 P. M. we received orders to report 
 in person to headquarters, and, after being put under the most 
 solemn obligations of secrecy, were told that the command would 
 soon move out, and that I could either go with it, or remain 
 until 2 o clock, and try to take off the men on picket. I chose 
 to remain; but very soon the men on picket grew suspicious, 
 .and declared the army was gone. The enemy was moving up, 
 adjusting and establishing his lines in dangerous proximity. 
 From twelve to two o clock were the longest two hours we ever 
 experienced. But the time finally arrived, and the pickets 
 were called together, and we went up to the place where head 
 quarters had been; but now we were lost. We did not know 
 which way to go; did not know north from south or east from 
 west. The men were deployed, and began to feel the ground 
 for the track of the artillery. The ground-in the woods being 
 rather soft, we had but little trouble in getting out to the road. 
 But here we confronted a still more serious trouble. We did 
 not know which end of the road to take. We got out of this 
 by supplying the men with matches, deployed them along the 
 
 
In the War of the Rebellion. 65 
 
 road, and lighting the matches, being careful to keep the light 
 concealed as much as possible, and examining to see which way 
 the artillery turned when it reached the road. This expedient 
 was a perfect success, and soon we were making good time to 
 wards Chattanooga. We passed off of Missionary Ridge into 
 Chattanooga valley just at break of day, and had gone 
 probably half a mile into the valley by the time it was fully 
 light. We then could look back and see the ridge occupied 
 by the enemy s cavalry. We joined the brigade amid much 
 rejoicing, and soon ate a square meal; and it was well we did, 
 for it was not long until plenty to eat could not be procured. 
 The morning of the 22d, soon after breakfast, the troops be 
 gan to move out and take position around the town of Chatta 
 nooga, and, by the middle of the afternon, all hands were busy 
 building fortifications. Late in the evening the enemy com 
 menced shelling us, but the distance was so great that they 
 did us no harm. We camped during the night in line of battle, 
 keeping details at work all night on the works. We all got 
 some sleep, b^ing the first of any note for about five days and 
 nights. 
 
 Near the position occupied by the regiment stood a hand 
 some cottage, out of which came a lady, who said she wanted 
 to go away, and requested us to s,ee that her house was not 
 disturbed in any way. The Colonel promised her most un 
 qualifiedly that nothing about the premises should be hurt. 
 Pretty soon, however, after she had gone, the engineer came 
 along, and directed us to go to work on our defenses, and to run 
 the line through the yard; that that cottage would have to 
 be taken down. The doors were locked, and the keys gone; but 
 we got in all the same, carefully packed up all the goods, and 
 carried everything out; took out the doors and windows; took 
 off the roof, a side at a time; cut and pried the frame apart, 
 and took the sides and 1 ends down, in a manner, whole; piled 
 the house around the goods and furniture, and removed the 
 yard fence, and cut a large ditch across the yard, and threw up 
 an embankment three or four feet high. When the lady re 
 turned, the n?xt day, she pctnally looked lonesome. The neces- 
 
66 The Thirty-first Indiana Regiment 
 
 sity of the thing was explained to her, and she took the thing 
 quite philosophically, arid said, if she just knew where she could 
 get a team to move her goods, she would be all right. A call 
 was made on Lieutenant James C. Beeler, the Quartermaster, 
 who soon sent around all the teams necessary, and her goods 
 were loaded, and a detail sent to help unload. She thanked us 
 very heartily for being so careful with her goods. Her ac 
 quaintance with the Thirty-first was quite brief; but she will 
 never forget it. We had an appraisement made of her house 
 and fence, and an estimate of the damage done to her lot of 
 ground. We hope she has received her pay. 
 
 The following excellent paragraphs we are permitted to take 
 from Captain A. C. Ford s "Midnight on Mission Kidge:" 
 
 Tor days prior to the battle the Twenty-first Corps had 
 marched through mountain-gaps and pine-forests, past Chatta 
 nooga and Grayville, to Lee and Gordon s Mills, and on to 
 Crawfish Springs. Who of that command will ever forget the 
 crude uncertainties, the horrible forebodings, and the myste 
 rious and inexplicable stillness of those September days, as we 
 aimlessly wandered up and down the rugged byways along the 
 winding banks of the Chickamauga, halting now for an hour, 
 and now marching again without haste or apparent purpose? 
 . Soldiers climbed into tree-tops, or to some rugged height, while 
 officers waited impatiently below for report of what they saw. 
 On the 15th and 16th, over the tall pine-forests to the south- 
 west, from one to three miles away, a long line of reddish-yel 
 low dust could be seen rolling up in the bright sunshine, evi 
 dently from a long column of marching troops, to-day moving 
 in a southeast direction, and to-morrow moving back again. 
 But who? Was it Thomas? or McCook? It could not be. 
 Thomas must be further away, and McCook could not be nearer 
 than thirty miles as the crow flies, and directly beyond the cloud 
 of dust, marching, it was fondly hoped, to join Thomas, and 
 Crittenden, somewhere between Lee and Gordon s Mills and 
 McFarland s Gap. 
 
 "The strain of these long and anxious days and nights, in- 
 .cluding the two days battle ending in heaping the army in 
 
In the War of the Rebellion. 67 
 
 the Chattanoc ga val ey, was all and more than mind and body 
 could endure; the Commander of the army himself almost suc 
 cumbing to the more than human task. But the dawn of light 
 on the morning of the 21st brought fresh hope and renewed 
 powers of endurance. 2^o army ever more cheerfully marched 
 to new duties than the Army of the Cumberland did that bright 
 September morning. The Twenty-first Corps climbed to the 
 top of Mission Ridge, and stretched its length along the crest 
 to the north, from Rossville far beyond the point since known 
 as Bragg s Headquarters. The day wore away, and the attack 
 that had been hourly expected was not made. At 9 o clock at 
 night all was as quiet as a sick-chamber; at 10 o clock, while we 
 lay sleeping behind th.e barricade busy hands had been building 
 from early dawn until after nightfall, an order came, delivered 
 in low breath, to be ready to march in ten minutes, and with 
 out a loud word being spoken. Standing in line, awaiting or 
 ders to move, an order was received for a company from the 
 brigade to be left deployed along the entire line of our works. 
 Company A, Thirty-first Indiana, was detailed, and stepping a 
 pac or two out of 1 ne, we stood at attention while the command 
 marched by and away, the officers stepping from their places in 
 line to take a hurried leave of their associates, while the sol 
 diers whispered a jocular message to General Bragg, or made 
 request for a souvenir from Andersonville or Libby Prison. 
 We stood in perfect silence until the last sound of the march 
 ing columns died away in the valley to the west. The lone 
 liness seemed almost suffocating, but recovering from the stupe 
 fying influences of the situation, we proceeded to obey orders 
 by deploying the little command at intervals, sufficient to cover 
 the ridge occupied by our command. 
 
 The enemy, Folk s Corps, was in position on a ridge in an 
 irregular line, in our front, and so near at places, we could 
 plainly hear every loud word spoken, the marching of their 
 columns into position, and the rattling of their artillery over the 
 rough ground all night long, while we stood looking steadily 
 into the impenetrable darkness of the deep gulch and forest 
 between us. Orders to rejoin our command, and morning, it 
 
68 The Thirty-first Indiana Regiment 
 
 seemed, would never come. Suddenly hoof-beats of an ap 
 proaching horseman were heard in the distance, but, owing to 
 the peculiar echoing of sound, the direction could not be deter 
 mined. A mounted soldier rode into our line from its right 
 south flank, and was brought, between two bayonets, to the com 
 pany commander. To learn he did not bring orders ending our 
 lonely watch was a severe disappointment, but it had its com 
 pensation. He claimed he had been sent from corps head 
 quarters with a bottle of whisky to the chief of artillery, under 
 whose direction empty caissons had been rattling over the rough 
 hills, away to our right, all night long. How he had ridden 
 into our lines it puzzled him to know, and he was greatly dis 
 tressed at being a prisoner. "We dismounted him, and relieved 
 him of his arms and munitions of war, and gave him assurance 
 that, although he would be unable to reach his alleged chief 
 of artillery, immediate arrangements would be made for the 
 disposition of the burthen of his errand. 
 
 "Looking again to the east, the gray streaks of morning light 
 could be seen shooting up in the horizon, and the gray line of 
 danger was momentarily expected to be heard and felt. Who 
 of us of the line, at about this period of the war, did not hope 
 to bear eagle wings, and who of the field had not a dim, distant 
 star to guide him? With a command of not more than fifty 
 men, on a lonely mountain ridge, miles away from the army to 
 which we belonged, and but a few hundred yards from a power 
 ful enemy, I remember a thought came into my mind, that 
 this, perhaps, was the oppoi: tunity to do something that would 
 make report of our services worthy the attention of oiir coun 
 try- 1 a youthful ambition 1 as commendable as hopeless. But a 
 courier, that came crashing through the brush and over fallen 
 timbers, from the foot of the mountain, stopped indulgence in the 
 illusions of a foolish hope, and we hurriedly rallied on the cen 
 ter/ and followed, while the courier led the way down to the val 
 ley and on to the Rossville Road, a mile or more away. A hurried 
 march of half an hour brought "us inside the cavalry vidette, 
 three miles or more out from Chattanooga. We dropped to the 
 ground for a moment s rest just as the morning sunlight was 
 
/// Mr }} <{/ of the Rebellion. 69 
 
 touching the taLe.t ] lines on Mission Ridge. Almost instantly 
 all were asleep. Awakening suddenly, I saw standing before me, 
 with his hand grasping the rein of his horse, and still wearing 
 a bayoneted gun on either side, our prisoner of a few hours 
 before, who was as much delighted that our uniforms, that 
 looked gray by starlight, were blue, as I was surprised that 
 he wore the same color. 
 
 "Resuming our march, as we drew nearer our lines, that 
 ran from toward the foot of Lookout Mountain around to the 
 Tennessee River on the north, we beheld an army playing at 
 the game of war with spades as trumps. Far around to the 
 northward, on the high ground, since known as Fort Wood, we 
 saw standing on the half -made works a squad of soldiers looking 
 intently at our little moving column, and we directed our course 
 toward them. Climbing over the works where they stood, and 
 receiving congratulations at our unexpected return, we stacked 
 our arms, and followed suit by also playing spades from quarter 
 master s deal, while distracted women and children stood stupe 
 fied and overwhelmed at the destruction of their beautiful sub 
 urban homes, that a few hours before had been the pride and 
 ornament of Chattanooga. 
 
 "History tells you how successful the ruse was, and how 
 nearly we came to a realization of our ambitious hopes, based on a 
 daybreak attack. We could have almost taken an early dinner 
 there, for not until many hours had passed did we see a long line 
 of gray looking down on us from the barricade we had left, and 
 they had spent hours shelling before occupying. General Polk 
 had been invited by a farmer to breakfast at a reasonable hour, 
 and General Bragg subsequently said he never let so trifling a 
 matter as attacking an enemy interfere with his acceptance of 
 an invitation of that kind.. His failure in obeying orders to 
 attack at daybreak was the cause for a renewal of a quarrel 
 between them, that ended only when the Bishop General was 
 killed on Pine Mountain by a shot from the Fifth Indiana bat 
 tery, on the 14th of June, 1864. 
 
 "Attempts were made to throw shells into our lines, that were 
 by that time well-formed and fortified, from batteries on Mission 
 
70 The Thirty-first Indiana Regiment 
 
 Ridge and Lookout .Mountain; but the result, in most part, was 
 more to our amusement than danger. But in the days and weeks 
 that followed the amusement ceased, and the danger came, but 
 from an enemy the Army of the Cumberland up to that time 
 had been a stranger to starvation. A record of the splendid 
 deeds that saved us from that dread conqueror makes a page in 
 history that reads unlike others. It tells the story of a battle 
 fought under the command, or from the common impulse, of the 
 lowest in rank, where and when a half-starved army, growing 
 impatient of restraint, rushed upon a powerful foe, broke and 
 drove his columns far from its front, and enriched its trophies 
 of war with a hundred captured guns and thousands of 
 prisoners." 
 
 We remained in camp here at Chattanooga about a month, 
 during which time the place was pretty well fortified, and from 
 the fact that the rebel cavalry were industriously disturbing our 
 line of communication we were most of the time sho.t of rat ons. 
 On the 25th of October, 1863, we left for Bridgeport, Alabama, 
 for the purpose of guarding the bridge and supplies at that 
 place. On our arrival at Bridgeport, we relieved a brigade that 
 immediately went to Chattanooga to take part in the battle of 
 Missionary Ridge, which was fought November 25, 1863. Two 
 companies of the Thirty-first guarded some thirteen hundred 
 prisoners, captured in this engagement, to Nashville, Tenn. 
 While in camp here two hundred and eighty-five men of the 
 regiment re-enlisted, or veteranized, which was considerably 
 above an average. Those who re-enlisted were mustered as vet 
 erans on the Yth day of January, 1864. Those re-enlisting were 
 paid up in full, including the original bounty of $100, additional 
 bounty and premiums of $101. The veterans left Bridgeport 
 January 26th, and arrived at Indianapolis, January 30, 1864. 
 The regiment was held at Indi-mapolis, and given a magnificent 
 reception. The ladies and authorities of the city had prepared 
 an excelent dinner, after which addresses were made by Gov 
 ernor Morton, General Laz. Noble, Colonel John T. Smith, 
 Lieutenant-Colonel Francis L. Kneff. When the regiment ar 
 rived at Terre Haute, it found the city all aglow with enthusiasm 
 
In the War of the Rebellion. 71 
 
 and patriotic ardor, determined to show their good-will and 
 approval with a reception that was to eclipse everything else of 
 the kind, and with their immoital Colonel R. M. Thompson, 
 with hi?; inimitable eloquence, they could not have failed; but 
 the men of the regiment, who had been absent from dear ones 
 nearly two and a half years, were too eager to get home. The 
 arms of the regiment were deposited where they remained until 
 March 14, 1861. There had been one ma:i from each company 
 sent home on recruiting service some time before the regiment 
 veteranized, some time probably in November, who had gath 
 ered up a few recruits. The veterans while at home obtained a 
 few more, so the regiment returned with several recruits. 
 
 We returned from our homes to Indianapolis, March 15, 
 1864, and immediately started to the front. On the ITti arrive! 
 at Nashville, Tennessee, and not being able to obtain transpor 
 tation, we took up the line of march for Stevenson, Alabama,, 
 passing by the battle-field of Stone River, and arriving at Steven 
 son on the 29th, at noon. Here we procured transportation, 
 taking deck passage on a freight train, and arrived at Chatta 
 nooga at eight o clock at night, marched out two and one-half 
 mile?, and bivouacked. We rested here one day, and early the 
 next morning we resumed the march through a rough, broken 
 country, and arrived at Ottawa Station, on the Chattanooga & 
 Knoxville Railroad, April 1, 1864. Here we rejoined our 
 brigade, and soon found ourselves in comfortable quarters. 
 
 The non-veterans of the regiment, during the absence of the 
 veterans on furlough home, were attached to the Eighty-first 
 Regiment Indiana Volunteers, and were commanded by William 
 H. Zimmerman, of Company F. We rejoined them at Ottawa. 
 
 During the month of April the army was making active 
 preparations for the approaching campaign, and various changes 
 were made in its organization. The Thirty-first Regiment was 
 in the First Brigade, which was commanded by Brigadier-Gen 
 eral Charles Cruft, until the 10th of June, when, in consequence 
 of sickness, he was sent back to Chattanooga, and Colonel Isaac 
 M. Kirby assumed command. The brigade at this time con 
 sisted of the Twenty-first Illinois (General Grant s regiment), 
 
72 The Thirty-first Indiana Regiment 
 
 commanded by Major James E. Galloway; Thirty-eighth Illinois 
 Regiment, Colonel William T. Chapman; Thirty-first Indiana, 
 Colonel John T. Smiih; Eighty-first Indiana, Colonel William 
 C. Wheeler; First Kentucky, Colonel David A. Enyart this 
 regiment was sent home May 29th, to be mustered out, term of 
 service having expired; Second Kentucky, Lieutenant-Colonel 
 John R. Hurd sent home June 3d for muster out, time expired; 
 Ninetieth Ohio, Lieutenant-Colonel Samuel N. Yeoman; 101st 
 Ohio, Colonel I. M. Kirby, and after June 10th this regiment 
 was commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Bedan B. McDonald. 
 We were in the First Division, commanded by Major-General 
 David S. Stanly until about August 1st, and then by Brigadier- 
 General Nathan Kimball. We were in the Fourth Army 
 Corps, commanded by Major-General Oliver O. Howard, until 
 July 27th, when he was assigned to the command of the Army 
 of the Tennessee, and was succeeded in the command of the 
 corps by General Stanly. We were in the Army of the Cum 
 berland, commanded by Major-General George H. Thomas. 
 
 The entire army consisted of the Army of the Cumber 
 land, commanded by Major-General George H. Thomas, and 
 including infantry, cavalry, and artillery, numbering 60,773 
 men and 130 guns; the Army of the Tennessee, commanded 
 by Major-General James B. McPherson, with a force of 24,465 
 men of infantry, artillery, and cavalry, and 96 guns; the Army 
 of the Ohio, Major-General John M. Schofield, with 13,559 
 men of all arms, and 28 guns, all under the command of 
 Major-General William T. Sherman, of the Military Division 
 of the Mississippi. Grand aggregate: Troops, 98,797 and 254 
 guns. About these figures were maintained during the cam 
 paign, the number of men joining from furlough and hos 
 pitals about compensating for the loss in battle and from sickness. 
 
 These armies, about the first of May, had their head 
 quarters as follows: The Army of the Cumberland, at Ring- 
 gold; that of the Tennessee, at Gordon s Mills, on the Chicka- 
 mauga; and that of the Ohio, near Red Clay, on the Georgia 
 line, north of Dalton. The enemy lay in and about Dalton, with 
 about ten thousand cavalry and between forty-five and fifty 
 thousand infantry and artillery. 
 
GILBERT LISTON. 
 COMPANY F. 
 
 LIEUTENANT JOHN W. BROWN. 
 COMPANY F. 
 
 
 CAPTAIN LEWIS W. BROWN 
 COMPANY F. 
 
 GEORGE CLAYTON. 
 COMPANY F. 
 

In the War of the Rebellion. 75 
 
 ATLANTA CAMPAIGN. 
 
 REPORT OF COLONEL ISAAC M. KIRBY, 
 ONE HUNDRED AND FIRST OHIO INFANTRY, COMMANDING FIRST BRIGADE. 
 
 HEADQUARTERS FIRST BRIGADE, 
 
 FIRST DIVISION, FOURTH ARMY CORPS, NEAR ATLANTA, GA., 
 
 September 11, 1864. 
 
 I have the honor to submit the following report of the 
 operations of this brigade during the campaign commencing 
 May 3d and ending September 8th, in the occupation of At 
 lanta: 
 
 From May 3d to June 10th, Brigadier-General Craft com 
 manded the brigade, and for a report during that time I am 
 restricted to information gained from regimental reports and 
 from my Assistant Adjutant-General. On the third day of May, 
 this brigade, composed of the Thirty-first Indiana, Eighty-first 
 Indiana, Ninetieth Ohio, and One hundred and first Ohio, and 
 detachments of the non-veterans of the Twenty-first and 
 Thirty-eighth Illinois, attached to the One hundred and first 
 Ohio, broke camp at Ooltewah, Tenn., and, under command 
 of Brigadier-General Cruft, marched out the road leading to 
 Tunnel Hill via Catoosa Springs, camped on a high ridge, half 
 a mile south of Catoosa Springs, on the evening of the 4th. On 
 the morning of the 7th, the brigade, in advance of the division, 
 moved directly on Tunnel Hill. The One Hundred and First 
 Ohio, and two companies of the Eighty-first Indiana, deployed as 
 skirmishers, soon met the enemy s skirmishers, and drove them 
 steadily back till our line swung around on the base of Tunnel 
 Hill. While lying in that position, General Whitaker s brigade 
 moved down on the crest of the ridge, and occupied the enemy s 
 works on the hill. That night the brigade encamped on the 
 hill. May 8th, moved forward to the railroad, and lay in line 
 of battle. May 9th, brigade moved forward a short distance; 
 skirmishers briskly engaged during the day. May 10th, occu 
 pied same position. May llth: this afternoon, brigade ordered 
 on a reconnaissance in the gorge at Rocky Face. One Hundred 
 and First Ohio, Thirty-first Indiana, and a portion of the Nine 
 tieth Ohio deployed as skirmishers. Eighty-first Indiana, sup- 
 
76 The Thirty-first Indiana Regiment 
 
 porting the right of the One Hundred and First Ohio, pressed 
 forward, and drove the enemy from his detached works to his 
 main line, and withdrew under cover of night. May 12th, 
 moved to the right to a position occupied by a/brigade of Gen 
 eral Davis s division, and intrenched. May 13th, the enemy 
 having evacuated his position, the brigade, in the division col 
 umn, marched through Dalton, and bivouacked on the road 
 leading to Resaca. May 14th, marched on in pursuit of the 
 enemy; soon met his skirmishers; deployed the One Hundred 
 and First Ohio, and drove his skirmishers back to his line on 
 the hills near Resaca. The brigade was then formed for ac 
 tion, and, with the Fifth Indiana Battery, moved forward on 
 the Resaca road beyond the junction of the Tilton road, and 
 became hotly engaged. Owing to the extent of country to 
 be observed by so small a force, the brigade was necessarily 
 posted in detached positions. The enemy, sweeping down on 
 us in overwhelming force, and pressing a heavy body entirely 
 past our left flank, compelled the brigade to fall back in con 
 fusion. The Fifth Indiana Battery, having been, fortunately, 
 posted in rear of the lines, checked the enemy s further ad 
 vance, and punished him severely. Just at nightfall the brigade 
 was rallied, re-formed, and moved to a position in rear of Colonel 
 (now General) Grose s brigade, where it remained till the 
 evacuation of the works at Resaca, the morning of the 16th. 
 Moved forward that day in pursuit. Came up with the enemy 
 on the evening of the 17th, near Adairville; formed in line of 
 battle, and advanced skirmishers; light skirmishing until dark. 
 During the night the enemy withdrew. Moved forward on 
 the morning of the 18th; found the enemy near Kingston; de 
 ployed the One Hundred and First Ohio and Eighty-first In 
 diana. Heavy skirmishing ensued, driving the enemy about 
 one and a half miles. Formed a line of battle, and moved for 
 ward, the enemy withdrawing; camped near Cassville. May 
 23d, 3 P. M., marched with the division via Burnt Hickory, 
 across Pumpkin-vine Creek, to a position near Dallas. Lay in 
 reserve at Dallas till the morning of May 30th, when the bri 
 gade was ordered to accompany a supply train to Kingston. 
 
In the War of the Rebellion. 77 
 
 The Twenty-first Illinois, returned from veteran furlough, 
 joined the brigade at Kingston, June 14th. Rejoined the divis 
 ion at Acworth, June 7th. June 9th, Thirty-eighth Illinois 
 joined the brigade, having returned from veteran furlough. 
 On the morning of June 10th, General Cruft was ordered to 
 Chattanooga on account of severe sickness, and I had the honor 
 to assume command. 
 
 Moved out on the Burnt Hickory and Marietta road in ad 
 vance of the division; deployed the Twenty-first Illinois and 
 Thirty-first Indiana as skirmishers. The line soon became en 
 gaged with the enemy s skirmishers; drove them back nearly 
 half a mile. The line was here halted, and column deployed 
 into position, and slight barricades constructed. June llth, line 
 was relieved by portions of Colonel Grose and General Whit- 
 aker s brigades ; and my command, by order of General Stanley, 
 moved to the left of General Grose, relieving General Mor 
 gan s brigade, of the Fourteenth Army Corps, and formed in 
 two lines, three battalions front. Just before dusk, commenced 
 movement to occupy position four hundred or five hundred yards 
 farther to the front; completed movement unde? cover of night. 
 During the night my position was strongly iritrenched. June 
 12th, light skirmishing all day. Advanced the skirmish line 
 about fifty yards ; considerable firing on the skirmish line all 
 night. June 13th -and 14th, light skirmishing. June 15th, at 
 early dawn, skirmish line advanced one-half mile without 
 finding an enemy; took six prisoners. By order of Major-Gen 
 eral -Stanley, brigade advanced three-fourths of a mile. 2 P. M., 
 formed in double column, three battalions front. 5 P. M., 
 advanced to the front and right, deployed in position on the 
 right of General Grose; advanced strong line of skirmishers 
 under a brisk fire. June 16th, skirmishers briskly engaged the 
 entire day. During- the day, the Thirty-first Indiana, and 
 part of the- Ninetieth Ohio, intrenched on the skirmish line in 
 an open field and immediately under the enemy s guns, perform 
 ing their work gallantly. The Ninetieth and One Hundred 
 and First Ohio completed the line in the early part of the night. 
 June, 17th, 3 A. M., advanced skirmishers to the enemy s works. 
 
78 The Thirty-first Indiana Regiment 
 
 and found them evacuated. During the morning, advanced the 
 brigade one and one-half miles to a commanding position and 
 on the right of General Grose. Was relieved in the afternoon 
 by Geneal Beatty s brigade, and moved to the left in position, 
 supporting the right brigade of General Newton s division. June 
 18th, advanced one-half a mile, supporting same brigade of Gen 
 eral Newton s; 4 P. M., moved to position in front line farther to 
 the right, and joining the left of General Wood s division. 
 June 19th, moved to the right, and relieved a brigade belong 
 ing to the Twentieth Army Corps. June 20th, advanced a 
 strong skirmish-line to seize a high hill held by the enemy in 
 my front. Succeeded, under a heavy artillery and musketry fire, 
 in gaining the hill, but the enemy immediately moved a strong 
 line of battle (under cover of a well-directed artillery fire) 
 against me, and, my flanks not being sufficiently protected, my 
 men were driven back. June 21st, moved the brigade against 
 the hill that I failed to hold on the 20th. The Thirty-first In 
 diana deployed as skirmishers, Ninetieth Ohio supporting, all 
 of the pioneers of the brigade following closely. These regi 
 ments carried the hill gallantly, and were followed immediately 
 "by the balance of the brigade, going rapidly into position pre 
 viously indicated. The enemy opened a heavy artillery fire; 
 did comparatively little damage. My pioneers, particularly, 
 deserve my thanks, and won my admiration on this occasion 
 for their almost superhuman efforts and great gallantry dis 
 played. June, 22d, occupied the same position; the enemy kept 
 up a constant and heavy skirmish fire on us, and at times during 
 the day, opened a heavy artillery fire. June 23d, 3 A. M., 
 was relieved by Colonel Scribner s brigade, Fourteenth Army 
 Corps, and moved to the right about a mile, and relieved por 
 tions of Generals Hooker s and Kimball s brigades. June 24th, 
 advanced skirmish line (Eighty-first Indiana), and seized a ridge 
 occupied by the enemy s skirmishers. One Hundred and First 
 Ohio and Twenty-first Illinois moved closely in support of 
 skirmish line, and, with assistance of pioneers, soon had good 
 works on the ridge. The Ninetieth Ohio was then moved up, 
 and completed the line. The enemy resisted this advance stub- 
 
In the War of the Rebellion. 7i> 
 
 bornly, and continued to annoy us very much during the night. 
 My regiments engaged performed their work in an admirable" 
 manner. June 25th and 26th, occupied the same position, 
 subjected to an annoying fire from the enemy. June 27th, at 
 8 A. M., formed in column, regimental front, supporting in 
 echelon. General Kimball s brigade formed for assault. The 
 assault proving unsuccessful, was withdrawn and placed in 
 same position occupied before. June 28th, 29th, and 30th, 
 occupied same position. July 1st, in same position, with heavy 
 skirmish and artillery firing. July 2d, late P. M., moved to the 
 left, and relieved a portion of General Newton s line. July 3d, 
 enemy evacuated, brigade marched via Marietta, and bivouacked 
 in front of enemy, in rear of General Grose s brigade, five miles 
 south of Marietta. July 4th, went into position on left of Gen 
 eral Grose, pushed forward a strong skirmish line, and advanced 
 in line of battle; took enemy s skirmish pits, and intrenched 
 during the evening. July 5th, enemy evacuated; brigade 
 marched to the Clmttahoochee River. July 6th, 7th, 8th, and 
 9th, occupied same position. July 10th, at 10 A. M., marched 
 on the road leading up the river, camped within one mile of 
 pontoon crossing. July llth, occupied same position. July 
 12th, crossed the river, and went into position on high bluff, 
 one mile below crossing. July 13th, 14th, 15th, 16th, and 17th, 
 occupied same position. July 18th, brigade marched out on 
 Atlanta road at 5 o clock A. M., following General Newton s 
 division; camped near Buck Head. July 19th, marched about 
 three miles, and went into position on left of division. July 
 20th, marched in rear of division, crossed south fork of Peach- 
 tree Creek, and bivouacked in rear of Colonel Taylor s lines. 
 July 21st, occupied same position. July 22d, marched in pursuit 
 of enemy; went into position in front of enemy at ten A. M., 
 and advanced skirmish-line. July 23d, 24th, 25th, and 26th 
 occupied same position, building works and skirmishing. July 
 27th, at 9 P. M. moved to left flank of army, and occupied 
 enemy s old works. July 28th, 29th, 30th, and 31st, occupied 
 same position. August 1st, in the evening relieved one brigade 
 of General Hascall s Division on the front line. August 2d, 
 
80 The Thirty-first Indiana Regiment 
 
 occupied same position. August 3d, made demonstration with 
 skirmish line; lost eight men wounded. August 4th, same po 
 sition. August 5th, made demonstration with skirmish-line. 
 August 6th, 7th, Sth, 9th, 10th, and llth, all quiet. August 
 12th, advanced skirmish-line three hundred or four hundred 
 yards; met very little resistance, returned to old position. Au 
 gust 13th, 14th, and 15th, occupied same position. August 16th, 
 shifted position to the left, the length of brigade. August 17th 
 and 18th, all quiet. 
 
 August 19th, put the brigade in position on the Augusta 
 Railroad to the left of picket-line, deployed Ninetieth Ohio, One 
 Hundred and First Ohio, and Twenty-first Illinois as skir 
 mishers, and advanced one-half mile ; drove the enemy s skirmish 
 ers into their rifle-pits, and withdrew. In the afternoon, made a 
 similar demonstration. August 20th, 21st, 22d, 23d, 24th, and 
 25th, occupied same position, occasionally making a display of 
 the troops. August 25th, immediately after dark, broke up 
 camp, and marched in rear of the lines to the right; crossed the 
 Chattanooga Railroad, and bivouacked in some old works; 
 Eighty-first Indiana deployed as pickets. August 26th, the 
 enemy advanced a strong line of skirmishers on our pickets, 
 pushing them vigorously, succeeded in driving our pickets off the 
 ridge occupied. The Thirty-eighth Illinois was immediately 
 deployed as support. The Eighty-first Indiana rallied and 
 charged the enemy, driving the lines back handsomely. The 
 brigade was then withdrawn, and marched off to the right in 
 division column, and camped at night in rear of the Fourteenth 
 Corps. August 27th, continued march to the right, and went 
 into position near Mount Grilead Church. August 28th, con 
 tinued march, and went into position near West Point Railroad. 
 August 29th, occupied same position; Thirty-first Indiana en 
 gaged in destroying railroad track. August 30th, marched to a 
 position near Mud Creek. August 31st, drove the enemy s 
 skirmishers from works on the bank of creek, and camped one 
 mile west of Macon Railroad. September 1st, marched down 
 Macon Railroad, destroying track. About 3.30 P. M., became 
 engaged with the enemy s skirmishers, and drove them steadily 
 
 
In the War of the Rebellion. 81 
 
 before us to their main line, near Jonesboro; formed junction 
 with Fourteenth Army Corps battle-line, and moved upon the 
 enemy; became very spiritedly engaged, driving the enemy into 
 his works. Nightfall compelled us to cease our efforts. During 
 the night intrenched. The enemy withdrew during the night. 
 September 2d, pursued the enemy through Jonesboro, coming 
 up to him again near Lovejoy s; went into position, and drove 
 his skirmishers back to his main line of works. Again night 
 compelled cessation of work. September 3d, was placed in re 
 serve to Second and Third Brigades; occupied same position 
 until evening of the 5th, when we withdrew and marched to 
 present position on Augusta Kailroad, arriving September 8th, 
 P.M. 
 
 In the early part of this arduous campaign this brigade lost 
 by sickness the valuable services and directions of its proper 
 commander, Brigadier-General Cruft. For its comparative suc 
 cess since then I am indebted to the intelligent and untiring 
 efforts of the regimental commanders. I am truly under lasting 
 obligations to these officers for their cheerful and prompt execu 
 tion of all orders, and for their indefatigable zeal and watchful 
 ness by day and night. To the line officers and men more than 
 thanks are due. They have labored and fought cheerfully and 
 gallantly when physical energies seemed taxed beyond endur 
 ance. We mourn the loss of gallant comrades to the number 
 of 6 commissioned officers and 53 enlisted men killed, and sym 
 pathize with 22 commissioned officers and 343 enlisted men 
 wounded, and 15 men missing. Lieutenant-Colonel Neff, Thirty- 
 first Indiana; Major Angle, Ninetieth Ohio; and Captain Eber- 
 sole, One Hundred and First Ohio; and Captain Harris, Thirty- 
 eighth Illinois, fell in front of Kenesaw; Captain Rains, Nine 
 tieth Ohio, in front of Atlanta; and Lieutenant Hosmer, One 
 Hundred and First Ohio, in the dark gorge at Rocky Face. 
 Brave, gallant, accomplished gentlemen, whose memory their 
 comrades will never cease to revere, and whose virtues their 
 highest aim will be to emulate. 
 
 I must bear testimony of the invaluable aid rendered by the 
 
 pioneer detachments of this brigade. They seemed to have been 
 6 
 
82 The Thirty-first Indiana Regiment 
 
 selected for their gallant and earnest enthusiasm in the cause. 
 I offer my thanks to Lieutenant Petticord, One Hundred and 
 First Ohio, and Lieutenant Graham, Eighty-first Indiana, pio 
 neer officers. 
 
 To make mention of the officers and men of this brigade 
 distinguished for gallantry would be to make out almost a com 
 plete muster-roll; but I can, without detriment to the other gal 
 lant men, call attention to Captain Sutphin, Ninetieth Ohio; 
 Captain Latimer, One Hundred and First Ohio ; Lieutenant Ford, 
 Thirty-first Indiana, as officers deserving more than thanks. 
 
 To all the members of my staff I am under obligations for 
 the prompt and energetic manner in which they have discharged 
 their duties. Particularly am I indebted to Lieutenant Felton, 
 Ninetieth Ohio, aide-de-camp, and Lieutenant Stevens, Eighty- 
 first Indiana, assistant inpector-general. Always correct in their 
 judgment, always on the front line when there was work to do, 
 rendering active and invaluable assistance, and untiring in their 
 efforts. 
 
 I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 
 
 I. M. KIRBY, 
 
 CAPTAIN E. I). MASON, Colonel Commanding. 
 
 Ass t Adjt. Gen., First Division, Fourth Corps. 
 
 From the report of Major-General David S. Stanley, who 
 commanded the First Division, Fourth Corps, from the com 
 mencement of the Atlanta campaign to July 26, 1864, we make 
 the following extracts: 
 
 "I have the honor to state that at 12 M. on the 3d day of 
 May, the First Division, under my command, marched from its 
 camp at Blue Springs, under orders to move to Catoosa Springs. 
 The division took the main road to Dalton, and camped the same 
 night one mile south of Red Clay. 
 
 "Marching early the next morning, we reached Catoosa 
 Springs at noon, near Dr. Lee s house. General McCook s cav 
 alry, which was in advance of the infantry, exchanged shots with 
 the rebel pickets, who ran away in the direction of Tunnel Hill. 
 We remained in camp the 5th and 6th, and on the morning of 
 the 7th marched for Tunnel Hill, this division leading. After 
 
In the War of the Rebellion. 83 
 
 passing Dr. Lee s house, the main road leading down the base of 
 Rocky Face was taken. Skirmishers were deployed, and the 
 enemy s skirmishers were soon encountered. We found the road 
 obstructed by fallen trees; but all difficulties were soon over 
 come, and we soon found ourselves in sight of the enemy s in- 
 trenchments upon Tunnel Hill. As the force of the enemy was 
 entirely uncertain, Brigadier-General Cruft, with the First Bri 
 gade, was directed to attack the line in front, and Brigadier- 
 General W. C. Whitaker, with the Second Brigade, was sent to 
 move down the ridge near Rocky Face, and attack in flank. This 
 movement at once dislodged the rebels, who seemed to have only 
 cavalry and artillery. Captain Simonson, chief of artillery, who 
 promptly brought forward a section of rifled guns of the Fifth 
 Indiana Battery, had a few fine shots at the retiring cavalry, and 
 hurried their pace. The division was formed in line of battle 
 facing east, having before us Rocky Face, the summit of which 
 we could observe occupied by the enemy in quite strong force. 
 In getting possession of Tunnel Hill, the division lost four men 
 wounded. 
 
 "Early on the next morning of the 8th, the division advanced 
 in line of battle within four hundred or five hundred yards of 
 Rocky Face. The enemy still held some round hills intrenched 
 at the entrance of Buzzard Roost Gap, from which they annoyed 
 the division by a flank fire. In the afternoon, General Davis 
 formed a force to charge these hills, and Captain Simonson 
 turning his batteries upon them, they very easily fell into our 
 hands. The skirmishers of this division advanced with those of 
 General Davis s Division, driving the rebels into their intrench- 
 ments, and developing the full strength of the position before 
 us. Early the next morning our skirmishers pushed up to the 
 foot of the palisades under cover of the brushwood, and main 
 tained a constant fire with the enemy all day. In the evening I 
 received orders to press the enemy strongly in the gorge of Buz 
 zard Roost. This duty was assigned Colonel Champion with his 
 own regiment (the Ninety-sixth Illinois), and Eighty-fourth In 
 diana, Lieutenant-Colonel Neff. Our men drove the rebels 
 quickly to their main lines, and pushed up to the foot of the per- 
 
84 The Thirty-first Indiana Regiment 
 
 pendicular rocks of the mountain, and maintained themselves 
 until night, when all but the pickets were withdrawn. The fire 
 of the enemy was severe, much of it coming almost from over 
 head. Our loss in this affair was fifty or sixty men killed and 
 wounded. Major Boyd, Eighty-fourth Indiana, a brave and 
 devoted officer, here received a mortal wound. During the 10th 
 we occupied our position, slight skirmishing going on. The 
 enemy varied the performance by throwing shells into the valley 
 we occupied from some howitzers they had dragged to the top 
 of the ridge. On the morning of the llth, we made arrange 
 ment to relieve General Da vis s Division in the occupancy of 
 the hills commanding tlie entrance to Buzzard Roost Gap. 
 It being reported that the enemy was leaving, a re 
 connaissance was ordered toward evening. This was made 
 by the First Brigade, Brigadier-General Grafts commanding. 
 The Thirty-first Indiana and One Hundred and First Ohio 
 were deployed as skirmishers, and, pushing boldly forward, 
 drove the enemy from his first line {an intrenched picket-line) ; 
 but were met .by a heavy fire of musketry and artillery. 
 
 Our men maintained their position until dark, and 
 during the night, having relieved General Davis s troops, we 
 threw up works facing those of the enemy, and about six hundred 
 yards from them. This reconnaissance cost us, as upon the 9th, 
 about fifty men killed and wounded. During the 12th we 
 watched the enemy closely, the Fourth being the only corps be 
 fore Dalton. Early on the morning of the 13th we learned the 
 rebels had left their works. 
 
 "As soon as the evacuation of his works by the enemy was 
 known, we started in pursuit. Passing through Dalton we moved 
 down the Sugar Valley road. The enemy left but little behind 
 him but his well-built earthworks. A few cavalry opposed our 
 progress. We camped at night about nine miles south of Dalton, 
 camping in line of battle, facing toward Tilton, our backs to 
 Rocky Face. On the morning of the 14th, the division marched 
 towards Tilton, to ascertain if any of the enemy remained in 
 that direction. Upon reaching the main Dalton and Resaca 
 road, I received orders to move south toward Resaca, this divis- 
 
In the War of the Rebellion. 85 
 
 ion being the only one on that road, and forming the left flank 
 of the army. The division advanced to within about two and a 
 half miles of Resaca, driving in the skirmishers of the enemy; 
 but as Wood s Division, on our right, had not yet come up, and 
 as firing was heard in rear of our right, the division was halted, 
 and directed to barricade. At two P. M., Wood advanced, and 
 made connection with the right of this division, and we advanced 
 together until stopped by the heavy fire of artillery coming from 
 the enemy s works. I received about this time an order from the 
 general commanding the corps to hold the Dalton road running 
 by my left flank. To do this I stationed Graft s Brigade upon 
 the left of the road, posting two of his regiments upon a round- 
 top hill about one hundred yards from the road, and directing 
 them to intrench themselves. These troops were not yet in 
 position when the enemy was seen forming to attack them in 
 flank, and word was at once sent the corps and department com 
 manders of the fact. In the meantime, Simon son s Battery, 
 which had been advanced, was as a matter of caution withdrawn, 
 and posted to sweep the open ground to the rear of the threatened 
 brigade. The attack came about an hour before sundown, and 
 perpendicular to my line. The Thirty-first Indiana, stationed 
 upon the round-topped hill, found itself fired into from three 
 directions. They did the best they could under the circum 
 stances; they got out of the way with such order as troops can 
 hurrying through a thick brush. 
 
 "Directing their attack more to our rear than flank, 
 the One Hundred and First Ohio and Eighty-first Indiana 
 were soon driven back, and the enemy was bursting exultingly 
 upon the open field when Simonson opened on them with can 
 ister, which soon broke and dispersed their attack. The enemy 
 formed in the woods, and attempted to cross the open field again, 
 but met the same savage shower of canister. Robinson s Bri 
 gade, of the Twentieth Corps, had also arrived, and formed 
 facing the attack. The broken regiments of the First Brigade 
 had re-formed near the battery, and the enemy was easily re 
 pulsed, with very severe loss to him. The troops of the brigade 
 did as well as could be expected, situated as they were. Attacked 
 
86 The Thirty-first Indiana Regiment 
 
 in the flank and greatly outnumbered, they could only get out 
 of the way the best they could. Had it not been for the timely 
 aid of the battery, it would have gone hard with the brigade. 
 Captain Simonson and the Fifth Indiana Battery deserve great 
 praise ; their conduct was splendid. The coming up of the Twen 
 tieth Corps was also timely, though, in my opinion, the fire of 
 the battery was itself adequate to the successful repulse of the 
 enemy. The night and the day following, our lines were ad 
 justed and strengthened, and a constant fire was kept up upon 
 the enemy. The division was formed ready to follow up General 
 Hooker s attack, had he broken the enemy s lines. Artillery fir 
 ing was kept up during the night upon the rebel position. About 
 eleven o clock the rebels made a demonstration on our pickets, 
 occasioning a general discharge of cannon and muskets along 
 the whole line. Early on the next morning, the 16th, it was 
 found the enemy had evacuated under cover of the night. The 
 loss of the division about Resaca, killed, wounded, and missing, 
 amounted to two hundred. 
 
 "Early on the morning of the 16th the pursuit was com 
 menced. Finding the bridges at Resaca destroyed, this division 
 built a temporary foot-bridge upon the ruins of the railroad 
 bridge over the Oostenaula, and pushed on, the same evening 
 camping near Calhoun. On the 17th, marched in rear of New 
 ton s Division, and formed line on his left at five P. M., three 
 miles north of Adairsville, where the enemy had made a stand. 
 On the 18th, passed through Adairsville, getting considerably 
 entangled with the Army of the Tennessee, and camped at Cox s 
 house. Early on the morning of the 19th, the division took up 
 the line of march for Kingston. The cavalry pickets of the 
 enemy were soon encountered, and driven before us through 
 Kingston. We found them posted in considerable force upon 
 the hills east of Kingston, beyond the crossing of the creek. 
 Craft s and Whitaker s Brigades were formed in line facing the 
 enemy, and Colonel Grose was instructed to feel his way down to 
 the left of the railroad, and drive him from his position. This 
 was readily accomplished after some severe skirmishing. The 
 enemy upon the main Cassville road gave back very stubbornly, 
 
In the War of the Rebellion. 87 
 
 and at a point about three miles from Cassville the enemy was 
 discovered, formed in three lines of battle perpendicular to the 
 road, and very soon after the appearance of the head of the 
 column the entire rebel line advanced toward us. The division 
 was deployed hastily as possible, batteries were put in position, 
 and other troops were coining up to form upon the flanks of the 
 division, when the enemy was seen withdrawing. Some volleys 
 from rifled cannon caused them to move off in a good deal of 
 confusion, and the whole division advanced in line to the rebel 
 position. Finding the enemy had left, the division moved on in 
 accordance with orders, with a view of reaching Cassville. When 
 within about a mile of that place, and while changing direction 
 of the skirmishers, the head of the column received a sudden 
 volley from the enemy across an open field. The division was 
 again deployed, and as night had arrived, the men were in 
 structed to fortify their positions. Very sharp skirmishing was 
 kept up the early part of the night, and early in the morning we 
 found the enemy had again abandoned his works, and retired 
 across the Etowah. 
 
 "From the evening of the 19th to the morning of the 23d 
 we remained in camp at Cassville, preparing for our movement 
 upon Dallas and Marietta. The order was to take twenty days 
 rations; but this division was only enabled, from limited trans 
 portation, to carry seventeen days. The division crossed the 
 Etowah the evening of the 23d, and encamped near Euharlee. 
 Made a tedious day s march on the 24th, reaching camp two 
 miles from Burnt Hickory at ten o clock at night in a rain 
 storm. On the 25th, we marched to Dallas, keeping the roads 
 to the right of the main road. At three P. M. were ordered to 
 close up rapidly, as General Hooker had found the enemy in 
 force. We crossed the Pumpkin Vine near sunset, and at night 
 closed up to Hooker s left. On the 26th, Colonel Grose s Brig 
 ade went into line on the left of Geary s Division. We also put 
 in a battery to play upon the enemy s lines. Early on the 27th, 
 moved the division to the left to relieve Wood s Division, which 
 moved off to the left to attempt to turn the enemy s right. The 
 position of the division here remained substantially the same 
 
88 The Thirty-first Indiana Regiment 
 
 until the night of the 4th of June, during which time the enemy 
 evacuated his line. 
 
 "Craft s Brigade was started back to Kingston, as escort to 
 the wagon train of the corps, on the 30th. On the night of the 
 3d of June we relieved half of Davis s front on the left of this 
 division. Our time was constantly employed, whilst in this 
 position, in pushing out works, by successive advances, close to 
 the enemy; and a constant fire of musketry and artillery was kept 
 up whenever we could annoy the enemy. The 5th we lay in 
 camp near "New Hope Church. On the 6th the division moved 
 on the Acworth road to the vicinity of Morris Hill Chapel. The 
 division remained in position at Morris Hill until the morning 
 of the 10th, when, moving through the lines of the Twentieth 
 Corps, on the Marietta road, we soon struck the pickets of the 
 enemy. Pushing forward, the enemy was found in force, with 
 an intrenched line extending across the summit of Pine Top 
 Mountain. The division was formed facing this line of the 
 enemy, and intrenched in full view and under easy cannon-range 
 of them. This position we maintained with some modifications 
 until the morning of the 1 5th. On the 14th the position of the 
 enemy was sharply cannonaded by all our batteries, and, as we 
 learned subsequently, the second shot fired from a rifled section 
 of the Fifth Indiana Battery exploded in a group of rebel Gen 
 erals, killing Lieutenant-General Leonidas Polk. Early in the 
 morning of the 15th it was found the enemy had abandoned his 
 work on Pine Top. The position was at once occupied by our 
 skirmishers, and it was learned that Pine Top was an advanced 
 work, the main rebel line being in the rear and connecting Xene- 
 saw and Lost Mountain. Shortly after noon the division was 
 formed in column of attack, following the Second Division; but 
 the General commanding the corps having decided an attack 
 impracticable at that point where the head of the column struck 
 the rebel line, this division formed in line and intrenched oppo 
 site to the rebel position. On the 16th, the line was advanced 
 under severe fire. A heavy cannonade was kept up upon the 
 rebel position all day. While laying out a position for a battery 
 this day, Captain Peter Simonson, Fifth Indiana Battery, Chief 
 

 In the War of the Rebellion. 89 
 
 of Artillery, was instantly killed by a sharpshooter. This was 
 an irreparable loss to the division. I have not, in my military 
 experience, met with an officer who was the equal of this one 
 in energy, efficiency, and ingenuity in the handling of artillery. 
 He never missed an opportunity and allowed no difficulties to 
 deter him from putting in his batteries in every position that 
 he could prove annoying or destructive to the enemy. On the 
 morning of the 17th, it was found the enemy had again evacu 
 ated his line, and we advanced to find that he had abandoned his 
 hold on Lost Mountain with his left. Again we had the experi 
 ence of feeling for the position of the rebels, and found him, as 
 usual, strongly intrenched on one of the small branches of 
 Noyes s Creek. On the 18th, the rain poured in torrents. 
 Kirby s Brigade was sent to support General Newton s Division, 
 which engaged the enemy s lines closely all day. This night the 
 enemy abandoned his line, and on the 19th we moved forward, 
 and found him in his intrenched line of Kenesaw Mountain. 
 Our lines pushed up close to the rebel position, and intrenched 
 during the night, Grose s Brigade on the left, Whitaker s in the 
 center, and Kirby s on the right. These positions were gained 
 after severe skirmishing. During the 20th we strengthened 
 our position, and at four P. M. we made a demonstration with a 
 strong line of skirmishers on our whole line. Colonel Price, in 
 command of General Whitaker s skirmishers, gallantly charged 
 the hill in his front, and took it, with a number of prisoners. 
 General Whitaker s main line was ordered to be established on 
 the picket-line captured from the enemy. The pioneers had 
 only time to throw up a few rails, when the enemy advanced in 
 strong force to repossess their line. Our men at once stood to 
 arms, and after a sharp contest repulsed them. At sundown the 
 enemy repeated his attempt, and was again severely repulsed. 
 Not satisfied, about eight o clock at night they made another 
 determined attack, carrying a part of our line occupied by the 
 Thirty-fifth Indiana. 
 
 "The good behavior of the Ninetieth Ohio, which coolly 
 formed a flank and poured a fire into the rebel force which had 
 broken our line, saved the brigade. The Fortieth Ohio was 
 
90 The Thirty-first Indiana Regiment 
 
 brought up, and charged the rebel force which had broken 
 through, restoring our lines. This affair, which was a very 
 severe fight, reflects great credit upon Whitaker s Brigade. The 
 men fought with great coolness and resolution. The loss in the 
 brigade was quite severe. Five field officers were killed, 
 wounded, and missing, and the loss in the affair amounted to 
 two hundred and fifty men. Colonel Kirby s Brigade carried 
 the bald hill in his front; but the enemy rallied and drove him 
 back. This occurred three times, when, night having arrived, I 
 directed the contest to stop. On the morning of the 2 1st, Col 
 onel Kirby was ordered to retake the hill for which he contended 
 the d ay before. As General Wood s Division moved forward 
 at the same time, this was accomplished with slight loss. During 
 the 22d the division remained in position, excepting five regi 
 ments of Colonel Grose s Brigade, which marched to the right 
 to relieve part of Butterfield s Division. At night General 
 King s Division of the Fourteenth Corps relieved us, and we, in 
 turn, relieved Butterfield s Division by daylight in the morn 
 ing. We occupied the day strengthening our position, and 
 about five P. M. formed strong picket-line and charged that of 
 the enemy, capturing about forty of them. Shortly afterwards 
 the enemy made a counter-charge, and, outflanking the skir 
 mishers of Whitaker s Brigade, forced them back. Our loss in 
 the affair was about sixty men. During the 24th, 25th, and 26th, 
 our lines were a little advanced and improved. "Our position was 
 in easy musket-range of the enemy. 
 
 "On the morning of the 27th, it having been determined to 
 attack the enemy from the front of the First Division, this divis 
 ion was selected as the support of the assaulting columns of the 
 Second Division, which was selected to lead the assault. Whit 
 aker s and Kirby s Brigades were formed in columns of regi 
 ments; Grose s Brigade, to hold the line of breastworks, was 
 deployed. From the failure of the assault the troops of this 
 division were not engaged. Kirby s Brigade only passing out 
 of the works, and yet so severe was the fire of the enemy, that 
 the division lost over one hundred men killed and wounded 
 while waiting the movement of the Second Division. Captain 
 
In tin ]] <(,> of the I!,-!.,li;<m. 91 
 
 McDowell, Company B, Independent Battery, my second chief 
 of artillery, a most excellent and acomplished young officer, was 
 killed while superintending his batteries, just before the as 
 sault. From this date, until the night of the 2d of July, we 
 merely maintained our lines, very little firing, even between 
 pickets, occurring. On the night of the 2d of July, the 
 lines of the First Division were extended, relieving all of Gen 
 eral Newton s division. Early the morning of the 3d, finding 
 the enemy gone, the division followed their trail, leading 
 through Marietta, and taking the road east of the railroad lead 
 ing to Pace s Ferry. This division was in the lead, and had 
 some skirmishing, and in the evening came again upon the 
 enemy, intrenched at Raff s Station. Grose s brigade alone was 
 deployed, and severe skirmishing was kept up during the 
 evening. About eleven o clock on the 4th, the General com 
 manding the division having expressed a doubt of there being 
 an enemy in force in front of us, orders were given to feel the 
 position strongly. To this end a strong skirmish-line, well sup 
 ported, was deployed, and advanced at charge-step over the 
 open corn-field against the enemy s rifle-pits, which were plainly 
 visible and very strong. Colonel Grose s skirmishers, having 
 the least distance to move to strike the enemy, at once came 
 under a most galling fire. The day being very hot, the men 
 dropped down to gain breath, after making half the distance; 
 but as soon as a little rested, they w r ere rallied by the brave 
 Captain Hale, Seventy-fifth Illinois Infantry, commanding the 
 skirmish-line, and dashed forward, broke the rebel line, and at 
 once occupied their pits. The main lines of the division were 
 moved up at once, and established themselves on the late 
 rebel picket-line under the severest and most continued cannon- 
 ade the rebels had ever used upon us. Our loss in this affair 
 was one hundred men killed and wounded. We took fifty 
 prisoners of the enemy. This same night the enemy abandoned 
 his line, and withdrew to the river, and on the 5th the division 
 followed in rear of the corps on the railroad, and took position 
 on the Chattahoochee, above Pace s Ferry. From the 5th un 
 til the 10th, we remained resting in camp, occasionally shelling 
 
D2 The Thirty-first Indiana Regiment 
 
 the rebels across the river, and picketing the river and islands. 
 On the 10th, the division moved up to Soap Creek, and bivou 
 acked near the pontoon bridges thrown across by General 
 Schofield. 
 
 a On the morning of the 12th, the division crossed on the 
 pontoon bridge laid for the Army of the Ohio, and, moving 
 down the river, occupied and fortified a prominent ridge 
 covering Power s Ferry. The rest of the corps having crossed 
 and taken position, the 14th, 15th, and 16th were occupied in 
 building a bridge over the Ohattahoochee. This was well done 
 by Major Watson, Seventy-fifth Illinois, with the pioneeers and 
 Thirty-sixth Indiana. On the morning of the 18th, we marched 
 for Atlanta, marching via Buck Head. We encamped that 
 night at Buck Head, and the next morning sent a regiment on 
 a reconnaissance to Peach-tree Creek. Finding but little re 
 sistance, the division was crossed over the north fork of Peach 
 Tree on bridges rebuilt by us, and encamped in line facing At 
 lanta. Early on the morning of the 20th, we marched on the 
 Decatur road to the match factory, when, turning to the right, 
 we crossed the south fork of Peach Tree. Rebuilding the bridge 
 burnt by the enemy, and driving his skirmishers back, we 
 forced him from his intrenched skirmish-line and back to his 
 main line, near Wright s house. The enemy made an effort in 
 the afternoon to retake his picket-line, but was badly repulsed; 
 and late in the evening, Colonel Suman, Ninth Indiana, 
 charged their picket-line further to our right, and took forty- 
 three prisoners without losing a man. 
 
 "During the 21st, we improved our line, skirmishing with 
 the rebels all d ay. Captain Snodgrass, Fortieth Ohio, was 
 killed. The enemy evacuated his line during the night, and 
 early in the morning, Colonel Grose s brigade leading, we fol 
 lowed, and soon came upon the enemy again in force, in their 
 intrenchments of Atlanta. The entire division was deployed, 
 and advanced, under a very annoying artillery-fire, to the near 
 est point we could occupy without driving the enemy from his 
 lines, and breastworks were thrown up to shelter the men from 
 the enemy s shells. This same day, the rebels attacked the 
 
In the War of the Itifx I! /,,,,. 93 
 
 Army of the Tennessee heavily upon the left, but made no 
 demonstration upon our position. 
 
 "From this, until the night of the 26th, the division was 
 engaged in strengthening our position, and especially in con 
 structing a strong abatis, as it was probable that the division 
 would be required to hold a very long line, in consequence of 
 the withdrawal of troops toward our right. On the 26th, Colo 
 nels Taylor and Kirby s brigades were sent to occupy the reverse 
 lines, to the left of the Twenty-third Army Corps. On the same 
 evening, the command of the Fourth Army Corps was trans 
 ferred to me, and my connection with the First Division, as 
 commander, ceased. 
 
 "I have thus imperfectly traced out the marches, fights, and 
 labors of the division. It would be difficult to give a description 
 which would adequately show the services rendered for nearly 
 three months. But few days had passed, that every man of the 
 division was not under fire, both of artillery and musketry. No 
 one could say any hour, that he would be living the next. Men 
 were killed in their camps, at their meals; and several cases hap 
 pened, where men were struck by musket-balls in their sleep, 
 and passing at once from sleep into eternity. So many men 
 were daily struck in the camp and trenches, that men became 
 utterly reckless, passing about where balls were striking, as 
 though it was their normal life, and making a joke of a narrow 
 escape or a noisy, whistling ball. 
 
 "We lost many valuable officers. Colonel Price, Twenty- 
 first Kentucky; Colonel Champion and Lieutenant-Colonel 
 Smith, Ninety-sixth Illinois, were all severely wounded in the 
 fight of Whitaker s Brigade on the 20th of June. Major Duf- 
 ficy, Thirty-fifth Indiana, "a gallant and daring officer, was 
 mortally wounded; and Lieutenant-Colonel Watson, Fortieth 
 Ohio, captured in the same affair. Lieutenant-Colonel Neff, 
 Thirty-first Indiana, a most excellent officer, was killed by one 
 of those chance bullets, so destructive to us during our occu 
 pation of trenches in front of Kenesaw Mountain. 
 
 "To mention all the officers deserving of special notice for 
 zeal and good conduct in this long and arduous campaign,. 
 
94 The Thirty-first Indiana Regiment 
 
 would require the naming of the great majority of the officers 
 of the division." 
 
 When General Stanley took command of the Fourth Corps, 
 Brigadier-General Nathan Kimball assumed command of the 
 First Division. He made an official report of the transactions of 
 the division from the time he took command until September 8, 
 1864; but his report is very general, and deals almost exclu 
 sively with the command as brigades. 
 
 Neither General Stanley nor Colonel Kirby does the Thirty- 
 first Regiment justice in their reports. At one time the 
 Thirty-first Regiment, alone, captured a line of rebel pickets, 
 who were strongly intrenched in rifle-pits, without losing a man, 
 and who numbered more than the whole division had captured at 
 any one time. The regiment was complimented in Special Or 
 ders; but the fact is not mentioned by either of the command 
 ers in their reports. 
 
 Lieutenant-Colonel Joseph S. Fullerton, Assistant Adjutant- 
 General, of the Fourth Army Corps, kept a daily journal of 
 the Atlanta Campaign, in which the important events of the 
 entire corps are faithfully recorded. He says, under date of 
 August 5th, after heavy firing had been heard in front of 
 Generals Schofield and Palmer, and it was suspicion ed that the 
 rebels had weakened their lines on their right: "At five P. M., 
 Colonel Smith s regiment Thirty-first Indiana was sent out 
 to the left on a reconnaissance to move toward the Augusta 
 railroad. After Colonel Smith had gone six hundred yards, he 
 came up with the enemy s skirmishers, and he quickly drove 
 them back to their main works. Soon he discovered one regi 
 ment of the enemy moving out to his left, and another to his 
 right, and he slowly fell back to oiir works." 
 
 The order for this reconnaissance was given by General 
 Kimball in person, who shook hands, bidding us farewell, with 
 tears running down his cheeks. We inquired about the cause 
 of his trouble, when he replied, that the result of obeying that 
 order would be the destruction of the regiment. We replied 
 that there were nearly a hundred thousand men there around 
 Atlanta, and that we were ready and willing to do our share 
 
CAPTAIN NOAH BEOWN. 
 COMPANY H. 
 
 JAMES C. BEELER. 
 QUARTERMASTER. . 
 
 GEORGE M. NOBLE. 
 ADJUTANT. 
 
 M. T. KELLEY. 
 COMPANY I. 
 
In the War of the Rebellion. 97 
 
 of the work in destroying the rebel army ; but that we did not pro 
 pose to destroy the regiment simply in trying to obey an order; 
 that, at the end of an honest effort, we would stop. 
 
 After we had got within full view of the rebel rifle-pits, a 
 portion of the regiment was deployed into a skirmish-line, and 
 we advanced; but, on getting, within easy musket-range, the 
 rebels abandoned their pits, and marched back to their main 
 line. The regiment advanced to within a hundred and fifty 
 yards of the rebel works, when it was halted, and we approached 
 the works, near enough to talk to the rebels in their works. We 
 had not passed along their line very far until we discovered 
 the regiment was moving back. The rebels very kindly noti 
 fied us, not to go back, and invited us to come in. We replied 
 that, for several days, we had been thinking about coming in, 
 and to please give us a little time. Just ahead of us, a short 
 distance, was a ravine, and we found it quite difficult to walk 
 leisurely, until we reached the ravine; but, when once there, 
 we made long, rapid strides to the rear. After passing the rebel 
 rifle-pits, the rebels threw a few solid shot, some of which came 
 dangerously near us, but no one was hurt. Our escape grew 
 out of the fact that the rebels thought they could throw a force 
 around us in such a way, that they could capture the entire 
 command, -and sent out lines, both to our right and left; but 
 they failed to make connection. We were enabled to make 
 report of their number of siege-guns and batteries, the charac 
 ter of their works, and apparent force. General Grose called 
 in question the correctness of the report, and he and General 
 Kimball had some pretty hot words in relation to it; and as a 
 result, General Grose was sent out the next day to verify the 
 report with his brigade. He made a vigorous attack on the 
 rebel rifle-pits on the same ground, and was unable to move 
 them. He lost about thirty men wounded. After the fall of 
 Atlanta, we had the pleasure of inspecting these works along 
 with General Grose and Major Brant, of the Eighty-fifth In 
 diana Regiment, and the General frankly admitted the correct 
 ness of the report, and so informed General Kimball. 
 
 May 3, 1864, we broke camp at Ooltawah, Georgia, about 
 
98 The Thirty-first Indiana Regiment 
 
 noon, and took up the line of march towards Ringgold, and 
 arrived at Catoosa Springs about noon the next day; and here 
 we joined the rest of the division. In the afternoon, we moved 
 out about two miles, and camped on a high ridge, south of 
 Catoosa Springs. This afternoon we had some skirmishing with 
 rebel cavalry. We remained here in camp the 5th and 6th, 
 and the morning of the 7th found us on the march for 
 Tunnel Hill, our division being in the advance, and our brigade 
 in the advance of the division. We had not moved far until 
 we commenced skirmishing, which was kept up all the way to 
 Tunnel Hill, the road being obstructed in every conceivable 
 manner by fallen trees. We reached Tunnel Hill about noon, 
 and, after some very sharp skirmishing and heavy artillery firing, 
 we passed through the town a short distance, and bivouacked for 
 the night. The morning of the 8th, we soon found the enemy 
 strongly posted at Rocky Face, and still holding some of the 
 hills, on which they were intrenched, at the entrance of 
 Buzzard Roost Gap and along Chattahoochee Mountain. Our 
 corps was halted in front of the Gap, and remained here until 
 the morning of the 13th, having more or less skirmishing every 
 day. On the evening of the llth, the brigade was ordered 
 to charge Rocky Face. The Thirty-first Indiana and the One 
 Hundred and First Ohio constituted the front line of battle. 
 The face of the mountain was so steep, and the fire of the en 
 emy was so severe, that the troops had to be drawn off after 
 dark. In this fight the regiment lost two men killed and eighteen 
 wounded. The 12th, the regiment was engaged in throwing up 
 breastworks in front of the Gap. The morning of the 13th, 
 it was ascertained that the enemy had evacuated his works, 
 and had fallen back. We marched immediately through the 
 Gap, and passed through Dalton, and bivouacked on the road 
 leading to Resaca. During the night we intrenched, there 
 having been sharp fighting to our left. The 14th, marched 
 on in pursuit of the enemy, and were soon engaged with his 
 skirmishers, driving them back. W T e were now heading towards 
 Tilton, and followed the Tilton road until we reached the main 
 Dalton and Resaca road, when we turned south, our division 
 
Li the War of the Rebellion. . , 
 
 being the only troops on that road, and forming the left flank 
 of the army our brigade being the extreme left. We had ad 
 vanced to a point within about two miles of Resaca, and had 
 been driving the skirmishers of the enemy the most of the day. 
 AYith a view of holding the Dalton road, and protecting the 
 flank of the army, the brigades of our division were in detach 
 ments our brigade being still to the left of the Dalton road. 
 The Thirty-first Regiment being sent up on a round-topped hill, 
 with orders to intrench, and hold the hill at every hazard. 
 After a sharp skirmish, the hill was taken without loss, and 
 skirmishers were advanced; but they soon encountered several 
 lines of battle, and troops were rapidly passing around to our 
 left. Word had been sent to the brigade commander that the 
 hill could not be held twenty minutes. The orders sent back 
 were but a repetition -to hold the hill at every hazard. We 
 immediately sent the Orderly back with the word that we could 
 not hold the place ten minutes. The orderly had scarcely 
 started, when we discovered Colonel Neff about-facing the 
 three left companies. Inasmuch as we had three lines of battle 
 in our front, we knew the emergency that required that action 
 must be great, so we stepped quickly a half dozen steps to the 
 rear, and, to our amazement, we found two lines of battle climb 
 ing the hill in our rear, and very near the top. The command* 
 was given, "By the right flank, double-quick; every fellow for 
 himself! 7 and much quicker than it can be told, every man of 
 the regiment, except two, came off William R. Boon, of Com 
 pany F, and - , of Company , were unwell, and 
 thought they could not run, so they were captured. The regi 
 ment had been cautioned, and told that, in the event it had to 
 come off the hill in confusion, to halt at the Dalton road, and 
 form a skirmish line, hold the enemy in check, and fall back 
 as it was forced to. The regiment reached the road, all at about 
 the same time; and skirmishing immediately began. It was 
 then discovered that we had but few ramrods. While on the 
 hill, the men were so hotly engaged that they did not take time 
 to return rammer, but stuck it into the ground, and their 
 departure was so sudden, that the rammers were left. We 
 
100 The Thirty-first Indiana Regiment 
 
 had been at the road but a very few minutes when a young 
 officer rode up, and directed us to march back across a field, and 
 support a battery. The regiment passed out of the wood on 
 quick time, and then went double-quick across the field, and 
 formed in line to the left .of the Fifth Indiana Battery. By 
 the ( time this was accomplished, the rebels, in three lines of 
 battle, marched exultingly out of the wood into the field, with 
 their guns at right-shoulder shift, as though they were going 
 on parade. They had come about half across the field prob 
 ably within one hundred and fifty yards when the battery 
 opened. xYfter the first fire, we could see nothing in consequence 
 of the smoke from the guns. A few rounds were fired, and the 
 smoke rose up, and not a man could be seen standing up. Just 
 at this time General Hooker rode up, and deployed a brigade of 
 his (Twentieth) Corps, and advanced, and retook the hill. The 
 Thirty-first Regiment gathered up the dead and wounded, result 
 of the work of the battery. There were two hundred and sixty- 
 eight dead, and probably twice that number wounded. A de 
 tail of one man from each company was sent out for ramrods, 
 and very soon each man returned with an armload. The entire 
 brigade suffered more or less confusion, as each regiment was 
 more or less detached, completely flanked, and contending with 
 such a superior force. As night had come on, we moved to 
 the right, and bivouacked in rear of the division. During the 
 most of the day, the 15th, there was heavy fighting, more or less 
 along the whole line. Early in the morning of the 16th, it was 
 ascertained that the rebels had evacuated under cover of the 
 night, and the pursuit was immediately commenced. The regi 
 ment marched through their works, and on through Resaca, 
 and crossed the Oostenaula River on an improvised foot-bridge 
 on the ruins of the railroad-bridge. The rear of the rebel 
 army was closely pressed until night, when we bivouacked, near 
 Calhoun. The 17th, we continued to press the rear of the rebel 
 army, and had some sharp skirmishing. Companies F and G 
 were side skirmishers. The 18th, the regiment was rear guard 
 for the entire corps train. Did not get started until noon, and 
 marched all night, passing through Adairsville. The regiment 
 

 In the War of the Rebellion. 1 ( 1 
 
 slept about an hour, and was into line on the 19th, and took 
 position in the front line. About ten A. M., we arrived at 
 Kingston, and scarcely passed through the town until heavy 
 skirmishing and artillery firing commenced, and continued the 
 remainder of the day. We were pressing the enemy closely, 
 and moved in line of battle, over hills, across hollows, and 
 through brush and briers. The army settled down at night 
 to rest, with heavy skirmishing in front. The two next 
 days we rested. On the 23d, two P. M., we were again 
 on the march, and crossed the Etowah River, and contin 
 ued our march until eight o clock at night, and camped near 
 Euharlee. Made a tedious day s march on the 24th, and went 
 into camp a couple of miles from Burnt Hickory. The night 
 was extremejy dark, and it rained quite hard, and a large number 
 of men fell out of line, and did not get in until next morning. 
 On the 25th, at ten A. M., marched for Dallas, keeping the 
 roads to the right of the main road. In the afternoon, we 
 crossed the Pumpkin-vine Creek, and at night closed up to 
 Hooker s left, he having had a pretty heavy engagement with 
 the enemy at Dallas Woods. The 26th, the army was 
 maneuvering and getting into position all day, with heavy skir 
 mishing on the front line. The morning of the 27th, the 
 Thirty-first took position on the front line, and, for awhile, 
 was under a terrific artillery fire; but, during the forenoon, 
 was relieved, and took position in reserve, in support of artillery. 
 The 28th, moved to the left, and commenced throwing up 
 breastworks close in the rear of Wood s Division. There was 
 heavy skirmishing and artillery firing all day. We re 
 mained in this position until the 30th, when the regiment moved 
 to the left to support some cavalry. The regiment returned late 
 in the evening, and in a short time started back to Kingston 
 as escort to wagon-train of the corps; moved around the right 
 of the army on to the Kingston road, a distance of about six 
 miles, and camped on Pumpkin-vine Creek for the night. 
 
 The instructions as train guard were, to keep a sharp look 
 out for the enemy in the direction of Richland Creek as the 
 train approached Stilesborough, and to keep the train at Kings- 
 
102 The Thirty-first Indiana Regiment 
 
 ton until the arrival of General Blair s command there, and to 
 follow it back as far as he marches on the return route. 
 
 On the 31st, again on the move with the train, and arrived 
 at Kingston, June 2, 1864. On the 4th, the train was loaded, 
 and started for the front, arriving at the foot of Altooney 
 Mountain on the 5th. Here the Thirty-first was detailed to 
 help the train up the mountain, working until midnight. We 
 made slow headway the 6th, owing to recent rains and the 
 rough country we had to pass over, but reached Pumpkin-vine 
 Creek, and bivouacked. The Tth, had considerable corduroy 
 ing to do on the roads, as the ground was everywhere soft, and 
 some places were swampy. We rejoined the division about 
 two and a half miles from Acworth, near Morris Hill 
 Chapel. We remained here until the morning of the 10th, 
 when we marched three miles, passing the front lines. The 
 Thirty-first being thrown out on the left as skirmishers, we 
 soon engage the rebel skirmish-line, which we drive back two 
 miles, where we find the enemy strongly posted, with an in 
 trenched line extending across the summit of Pine Top Moun 
 tain. The division was here put into position and intrenched 
 in full view and easy cannon-range of them. This position we 
 maintained with very little change until the morning of the 
 15th. In the meantime, we continued to strengthen our works 
 and skirmish with the enemy. The 14th was a rainy, disagree 
 able day, and our batteries kept up a pretty vigorous fire most, 
 of the day. We soon learned that a shot from the Fifth Indiana 
 Battery exploded a shell in a group of rebel officers, and killing 
 rebel General Leonidas Polk. This evidently exasperated the 
 rebels, for they opened with their artillery on us, and a solid 
 shot passed under the neck of Colonel Smith s horse, break 
 ing both bridle-reins, and, passing on to the right and rear, it 
 knocked down a few panel of fence, and killed one man. On 
 the morning of the 15th, we found that the enemy had, during 
 the night, evacuated their position on Pine Top Mountain; and 
 we moved forward, and occupied their late position, but soon 
 after moved on through the woods, changing our course more 
 
In the War of the Rebellion. 103 
 
 to the right, the rebel army being, all the time, our objective 
 point. 
 
 On the morning of June 16, 1864, the Thirty -first went 
 on to the skirmish-line, with orders to press the enemy. The 
 rebel skirmishers were driven into their intrenchments, which 
 were strongly built on the farther edge of a prominent ridge, 
 which was some seventy-five yards wide. We determined to 
 intrench on the crest of the same ridge. There was a large log 
 lying in the valley, off of which we took a cut some sixteen 
 feet in length, which we rolled up the hill into the line where we 
 desired to erect our works. A line of men was formed, lying 
 down, and a quantity of brush was passed along up the line, 
 and thrown over the log. Then the shovels were kept busy, 
 cutting a large ditch, and throwing the dirt over onto the brush. 
 This operation was repeated until the entire log had been rolled 
 up the hill, and the regiment strongly intrenched, in open day 
 light, and within less than a hundred yards of the rebel works. 
 The Ninetieth Ohio Regiment continued the line, and by a 
 little after night the two regiments were in a strong position. 
 General Joe Hooker came along in the morning, just after we 
 had commenced to work, and directed us to quit. He was in 
 formed that he was not in command 1 of these troops. He then 
 told us to go, and report to our commander that Joe Hooker said 
 that work could not be accomplished, and for him to hav$ 
 us quit our foolishness. He came along again in the afternoon, 
 dismounted, walked up, and inspected the work, and inquired 
 if we had reported to our commander what he had said ; and, on 
 being informed that we had not, he said, "Please, do n t say 
 a word about it," and then added, "Put in that other regiment, 
 and the rebels will either have to put you out of this, or else 
 they will have to get away." Soon after, the rebels opened on 
 us with their artillery, and it looked, for a time, that they would 
 knock everything down that we had put up; but it was not 
 long until our batteries got into position, and the rebels were 
 quieted; and the night following, the enemy evacuated. The 
 next morning, we moved into their works, and took our break- 
 
104 Tfte Thirty-first Indiana Regiment 
 
 fast. This was the line of works that had been erected under 
 the supervision of Governor Brown, of Georgia, for the Yankees 
 to use in butting out their brains. The building of these works 
 by the Thirty-first, on the 16th, was one of the most gallant 
 and skillful performances of the entire campaign. t The work 
 was done under a brisk skirmish-fire and at very great risk, 
 and yet there was not a man hurt. The credit of the thing 
 was wholly due to the Thirty-first Regiment, although Colonel 
 Kirby, in his official report, tries to deny it. He says: a June 
 16th, skirmishers briskly engaged the entire day. During the 
 day, the Thirty-first Indiana and a part of the Ninetieth Ohio 
 intrenched on the skirmish-line, in an open field, and imme 
 diately under the enemy s guns, performing their work gal 
 lantly. The Ninetieth and One Hundred and First Ohio com 
 pleted the line in the early part of the night." 
 
 The evacuation of these works compelled the enemy to 
 loosen his hold on Lost Mountain. As soon as we had taken 
 our breakfast, we again started in pursuit of the enemy; and 
 after marching some three miles we found them in a strong 
 position, well intrenched. It seems as though they had all the 
 colored men of the South constantly engaged in building works. 
 They w r ould evacuate a position that actually appeared impreg 
 nable, and fall back but a few miles, and in less than half a 
 day were in position, apparently just as strong. Those moun 
 tains were admirable for defense. All afternoon there was 
 heavy shirmishing, and late in the evening there was~ a regular 
 artillery duel, our batteries firing "by battery." The 18th, rain 
 fell in sheets and in torrents. Our lines were advanced, and 
 there was considerable fighting all along the line. In the after 
 noon, we took position in line of battle, and threw up temporary 
 works. The enemy opened on us with their artillery, and made 
 things quite hot for us. After nightfall, we moved a consider 
 able distance to the right. The morning of the 19th, we ad 
 vanced between two and three miles, skirmishing heavily all 
 the time, the rebels falling back stubbornly. In the evening 
 of the 20th, we charged a bald knob with skirmish-line, and 
 captured it, and, after holding it for some time, our ammuni- 
 
In the War of the Rebellion. 105 
 
 tion being exhausted, we had to abandon it. In this charge, the 
 regiment lost one man killed and four wounded. 
 
 In the evening, General Stanley came to us, and said he 
 was directed to take that hill with one regiment, and, as it was 
 directly in our front, he guessed we would have to take it. We 
 told him, if we could have our own time and way, we would 
 willingly make the attempt. "When is your time?" was his 
 inquiry, and we replied, "To-morrow morning, at daylight." 
 "All right," he said, "take it to-morrow morning." The hill 
 was really a kind of short, abrupt ridge, just about midway be 
 tween the two armies, and near the end of it, to our left, there 
 was a sugar-loaf hill. From one end of the ridge to the other 
 there was a continuous line of rifle-pits, occupied by a heavy 
 line of pickets. Soon after dark, in company with Lieutenant- 
 Colonel Neff, we explored the sugar-loaf hill, and found that 
 it was not occupied by the rebels; but they had a rifle-pit 
 within fifteen yards of its base. We agreed that Colonel Neff 
 should intrench his old company (D) on the hill. This was 
 a difficult undertaking, as it was so near to the enemy s pickets, 
 but it was skillfully and gallantly done. Before daylight the 
 next morning, the regiment was moved out by platoons to a 
 point as near the enemy as we could get without attracting at 
 tention, and was to lie down until six o clock, at which time 
 Company D was to open fire on the rebel picket-line, and, while 
 their attention was attracted by the firing from an unexpected 
 direction, the regiment was to charge the line. The whole thing 
 went like clock work. We captured every man on the line 
 a number almost as large as the regiment without firing a gun. 
 We immediately went to work, facing the rifle-pits the other 
 way, and otherwise strengthening the works. The rebels 
 opened on us immediately with their artillery; and it was 
 here they cut down a dead tree, nearly a foot in diameter, 
 with a cannon-ball, which fell lengthwise with our line and a 
 very few feet in its rear; and before the thing was still, men 
 enough took hold of it to pick it up and carry it into proper 
 position for the breastworks, and called to the Johnnies to cut 
 down that other tree that stood near by. The taking of this 
 
106 The Thirty-first Indiana Regiment 
 
 hill was considered such a clever trick, that the regiment was 
 complimented in Special Orders, as follows: 
 
 "HEADQUARTERS FIRST DIVISION, FOURTH ARMY CORPS, ) 
 " KENESAW MOUNTAIN, GA., June 21, 1864, J 
 
 "COLONEL, General Thomas has been notified by General 
 Howard of your success in charging and holding the hill in 
 your front to-day, and in a note to General Howard expressed 
 his gratification and thanks to the troops for the work they have 
 done. Please communicate to your command the thanks of 
 Generals Thomas and Stanley for the success they have 
 achieved. 
 
 "I am your obedient servant, 
 
 "N. H. SINCLAIR, A. A. G. 
 " COLONEL THIRTY-FIRST INDIANA." 
 
 The 22d, we were sharply engaged, skirmishing all day. 
 Late in the evening, the enemy advanced on our skirmish- 
 line, and, at the same time, opened on us with a battery. The 
 shells came immediately over us, and exploded very near us, 
 but our works had been so strengthened that we were w r ell 
 protected. About ten o clock P. M., we moved out about one 
 mile to the right, and stacked arms in the rear of the line of 
 battle, and remained until about eight o clock A. M., June 
 23d, when we took position in the second line of works. In 
 the afternoon, we moved forward in line of battle until we 
 found the enemy in his stronghold on Kenesaw Mountain. We 
 immediately went to intrenching under a hot fire from the 
 enemy, and had one man of Company E William A. Lewis 
 killed while at work. The 24th, at three o clock A. M., the 
 regiment advanced to within easy musket range, and went 
 actively to work fortifying the position. All day we were busy 
 strengthening the works, and skirmishing. Most of the day, 
 there was heavy firing all along the line. We lost three men 
 Jdlled, and constantly had to keep down behind the works for 
 protection. We remained in this position until July 3d, we 
 occupying the crest of a ridge, while the rebels in our front 
 occupied the crest of another. Between the two lines was a 
 
 
In the War of the jRebellion. 1<>7 
 
 ravine, or hollow, so deep that, in looking across from one line 
 to the other, you looked above the tops of some pretty good- 
 sized trees that stood on the lowest ground in the hollow. It 
 was about two hundred yards, down the hill on our side, and 
 up on theirs. It was something like half the distance straight 
 across. If a man showed half his hat above the works on either 
 side for half a minute, he was very apt to get a bullet-hole 
 through it. We were, virtually, prisoners, and so were they; 
 and the regiment lost several men, killed and wounded, here. 
 
 June 25, 1864. This morning, Lieutenant-Colonel Francis 
 L. Neff was killed. He was sitting under a chestnut-tree, where 
 he and the colonel had slept the night before, reading a paper. 
 The ground off to our left got lower on our side of the hollow, 
 and the rebels during the night had cleared out some under 
 brush that, the evening before, covered the position he was in, 
 and which left it exposed that morning. His death cast a deep 
 gloom over the regiment. He was a most popular officer, and 
 had the good will and confidence of all. He was companionable 
 in his intercourse, and generous almost to a fault. At the or 
 ganization of the regiment, he was commissioned First Lieu 
 tenant of Company D. He was made Captain of said com 
 pany, July 31, 1862. He was commissioned Major of the regi 
 ment, February 11, 1863, and was commissioned Lieutenant- 
 Colonel, July 15, 1863. He was killed on Kenesaw Mountain, 
 in the State of Georgia, June 25, 1864. He was about thirty- 
 four years of age, in the prime of life, full of ambition and hope. 
 Physically, he was small in stature, rather below the medium. 
 He was gentle in manner as a child, and had a heart soft and 
 tender as a woman. We doiibt if he had a real enemy in the 
 world. He was modest in bearing and pure in life; he was 
 an example of those virtues that characterize the true man, 
 and crown the real hero. His remains were sent to his home, 
 in Sullivan, Indiana. 
 
 The 26th, there was heavy cannonading and considerable 
 musket-firing all day. Early the morning of the 27th, the 
 Second Brigade of the Second Division of our corps made 
 an unsuccessful assault on the rebel works in our front. Our 
 
108 The Thirty-first Indiana Regiment . 
 
 brigade was under orders to support the assaulting column. 
 This assault was gallantly made, the rebel skirmishers were 
 quickly driven into their intrenchments, and the assaulting col 
 umn charged up within a few yards of the rebel lines; but the 
 ground to be passed over was so completely obstructed with 
 fallen timber, and an almost impassable abatis, and, being ex 
 posed to a crossfire of artillery and musketry, the troops fell 
 back, and were withdrawn. The Thirty-first, being a part of 
 the supporting column, passed over its works, and, for awhile, 
 was fearfully exposed without being in position to punish the 
 enemy. Wagoner s brigade lost in this affair four commissioned 
 officers and thirty-five enlisted men killed, and eleven commis? 
 sioned officers and one hundred and sixty-five enlisted men 
 wounded. This certainly was the most inexcusable and sense 
 less assault we saw made during .the war. 
 
 The 28th, Colonel John T. Smith, being officer of the day, 
 he and the rebel officer of the day arranged a truce, under 
 which it was agreed that there should be no firing in our di 
 vision front until further notice. This arrangement was con 
 tinued for about three days, and was hugely enjoyed, as it vir 
 tually released us from prison. The same afternoon, the regi 
 ment had an opportunity to exchange its surplus coffee with 
 the rebels for tobacco. The next day, there were hundreds 
 of the troops met the rebels in the hollow between the lines, 
 and exchanged papers, and traded coffee for tobacco. The ar 
 rangement would doubtless have continued a day or two longer, 
 but our boys got to stealing the Johnnies. The second day of 
 the truce, the men of the regiment brought off fifteen rebel 
 soldiers. Their plan of operation was, to take a suit of our 
 uniform pants, blouse, and cap in their haversack, and 
 when they could find a fellow who wanted to get out, a lot of 
 them would get around him and have him put on these 
 clothes over his, after which he could walk off with perfect im 
 punity. After getting him up into our works, they would have 
 him divest himself of these clothes, and return to repeat the 
 operation. The terms of the truce at first provided that there 
 should be no work done, of. any kind whatever, on the fortifica- 
 
In the War of the Rebellion. 109 
 
 tions on either side, but it was afterwards agreed that each 
 army might do anything it desired or wanted done on their 
 works. A while after this, the Colonel was called out by the 
 rebel officer of the day, and told that he must look out for 
 artillery; that the enemy was putting in two guns in our im 
 mediate front, and that he could not control them, and that 
 they were liable to open on us as soon as they got them 
 planted. This intelligence was immediately conveyed to Gen 
 eral Stanley, and in a few minutes he and his chief of artillery 
 were at our front line. We were ordered to get out on our 
 front, and to pile up an immense heap of brush to conceal our 
 operations. It did not require fifteen or twenty men long to 
 pile up the brush, and then a couple of guns were brought up, 
 and a few men were sufficient to pull the brush-pile down the 
 hill, out of the way; and the two guns opened. On the top of 
 the rebel works were some timbers, leaving a space under the 
 timbers, through which they could fire, while the timber pro 
 tected their heads while firing. The top of the rebel works 
 was lined with men, more numerous than one ever saw chickens 
 on a fence after a shower. At the first shot from our guns, 
 these timbers, and the men that were on them, were knocked 
 several feet up into the air. After a few shots the firing ceased, 
 and the guns moved back. In a little while the rebel officer of 
 the day called again for the Colonel, and told him he need have 
 no further fears in regard to artillery, for their guns would 
 hardly make good kindling-wood. He said they intended to play 
 a trick on us, and they had got beat at their own game, and if 
 we had not got so many killed and hurt I would be glad of it. 
 Nearly every man on those timbers was killed. We then had 
 peace until the morning of the 30th. About one o clock A. M. 
 tremendous heavy artillery and musket firing was heard on our 
 right, which kept extending down the line until it reached us, 
 and which was continued for some time. We had more or less 
 cannonading and musketry firing until the night of the 2d of 
 July, when they evacuated their position on Kenesaw Mountain. 
 Early the morning of the 3d we moved out to the right of 
 Marietta, and some five miles south of it, having some light 
 
110 The Thirty-first Indiana Regiment 
 
 skirmishing, until in the evening we again found the enemy in 
 position. We advanced in line of battle, having heavy skirmish 
 ing and some cannonading. We bivouacked for the night in line 
 of battle. July 4, 1864, skirmishing is continued, the enemy fall 
 ing back stubbornly. In the afternoon we found the skirmish 
 ers intrenched in rifle-pits. As they seemed disposed to remain 
 in their pits, we charged them, and captured a lot of prisoners. 
 The rebels then began to use their artillery quite freely. In the 
 evening we threw up some light works, and occupied them dur 
 ing the night. We had four men wounded during the day, one 
 of the men dying during the night. This afternoon, after cap 
 turing the rebel picket or skirmish line, a detail was sent back 
 to bring up our pack animals, as we felt by this time like it would 
 be agreeable to celebrate the Fourth with some dinner. About 
 a quarter of a mile to the rear, while Oliver Leonard, of Company 
 B, was leading an old mare along, loaded with the household and 
 kitchen furniture, together with an amount of their provisions, 
 the old mare put her head down to get a bite of grass, when a 
 cannon-ball took off her head and one of Leonard s legs. The 
 boys told it on him, and I guess it is a fact, that Leonard said, 
 "Ain t this a hell of an out, a veteran a quarter of a mile to the 
 rear, with his leg shot off?" Leonard is still living, and a mem 
 ber of the Post, at Cataract, Owen County, Indiana. 
 
 On the morning of the 5th we found that the enemy had 
 again fallen back, and we moved forward about six miles to the 
 Chattahoochee River, with but little resistance. We remained 
 here near Vining s Station, skirmishing w r ith the rebels across 
 the river, and cannonading more or less every day until the 12th, 
 when we crossed the river and intrenched. We remained in this 
 position until the 18th, when we advanced about six miles, skir 
 mishing most of the way, and camped near Buck Head. The next 
 day we crossed the north fork of Peach Tree Creek, finding very 
 little opposition. The 20th, we marched on the Decatur road 
 some three miles, and then turned to the left and crossed the 
 south fork of Peach Tree; had some sharp skirmishing, and cap 
 tured some prisoners. The 20th, the regiment remained in 
 position all day, while considerable skirmishing was being done 
 
In the War of the Rebellion. 1 1 1 
 
 in front. The 21st, we advanced, driving the enemy into his 
 intrenchments around Atlanta. The 22d, we pressed up as near 
 as possible to the rebel works, and began to fortify, the rebels 
 shelling us most of the day. General Hood having been put in 
 command of the rebel army, he that afternoon attacked the 
 Army of the Tennessee heavily, immediately to our left; but 
 was defeated with terrible loss. The Thirty-first Eegiment occu 
 pied a position on the extreme left of the Fourth Corps, and was 
 to connect with the Army of the Tennessee; but it was attacked 
 before it got into position. During this engagement General 
 McPherson was killed. From this time until the 25th of August 
 we were engaged in the siege of Atlanta, making various recon 
 naissances, marching and countermarching, and during almost 
 every day doing more or less skirmishing, and being each day 
 under the fire of rebel guns. No regiment in the service was 
 more fortunate in getting jobs. If a forage train was to be 
 guarded, if the wagon train was to be put aboard the cars, if a 
 train had to be assisted up a hill, if the railroad had to be de 
 stroyed, or anything else had to be done where only one regiment 
 was employed, the lot was sure to fall to the Thirty-first Eegi 
 ment. 
 
 August 25, 1864, we quietly withdrew from the left, and 
 inarched around across the Chattanooga Railroad, and bivou 
 acked in some old works. The next morning the rebels com 
 menced skirmishing vigorously, and at first drove our pickets 
 back; but the skirmish-line was re-enforced, and the enemy 
 driven back. In the afternoon we were withdrawn, and marched 
 about seven miles to the Sadtowri road, and camped for the 
 night. The 27th, we resume the march, and about noon go into 
 position near Mount Gilead Church, and intrench, there being 
 considerable skirmishing in front. The 28th, the Fourth Corps 
 move past us, the Thirty-first being rear guard for the Corps, 
 except Company F, which was side skirmisher for the brigade. 
 The regiment moving out about noon, after marching some five 
 miles, we reach the Montgomery Railroad. The 29th, we occu 
 pied the same position as a brigade; but the Thirty-first were sent 
 out to destroy the railroad, which we did effectually. We burned 
 
112 The Thirty -first Indiana Regiment 
 
 the ties and heated and twisted the rails so they could not be 
 again used. The 30th, we move up the railroad, and then leave 
 it to our left, and continued our march until dark; the Thirty- 
 first supporting the skirmish-line, while the rest of the brigade 
 were throwing up works. The next morning we moved about a 
 mile and a half, and came to a line of the enemy s works. We 
 throw up temporary works and skirmish until .nearly noon, when 
 we charge their works, finding but a light line of the enemy 
 there. We captured some prisoners, and move on to within a 
 short distance of the Macon Railroad. Here we took position 
 and fortified, and during the night sent a detachment to destroy 
 the railroad. 
 
 September 1st: we moved out this morning, and strike the 
 Rough and Ready Railroad sixteen miles from Atlanta, and 
 move along the road towards Jonesborough, tearing up the road 
 as we go, until we get near the town, at which place we find the 
 enemy strongly posted. We are formed in line of battle, our 
 brigade being on the right, the Thirty-first being on the right 
 of the brigade, our right being on the railroad, the Fourteenth 
 Corps being on the right of us, and having its left on the rail 
 road. We advance on the enemy, and sharp battle ensues. The 
 enemy is defeated; we capture nineteen pieces of artillery and 
 about twenty-five hundred prisoners, when darkness intervenes, 
 and the battle closes for the day. The regiment lost one killed 
 and five wounded. During the night the rebel army falls back, 
 and the next morning, as soon as three days rations can be issued 
 to us, we begin the pursuit. We soon find them in a strong forti 
 fied position at Love joy Station, some ten miles south of Jones- 
 borough. We were formed in line of battle, and pressed the 
 enemy into his line of works, and were stopped by reason of night 
 coming on. Last night the rebels blew up their arsenals, and 
 destroyed their ammunition at Atlanta, and evacuated the place, 
 and the city was to-day occupied by the Twentieth Corps. Sep 
 tember 3d, the day opened with sharp skirmishing, which was 
 continued all day, and also the next day until noon, when we 
 were relieved, and we moved back in rear of artillery. On the 
 5th we came back to Jonesborough, and took position in rear of 
 
In iln- !! <// of the Rebellion. 1 K> 
 
 our old works. The 6th, we strengthened the works, and skir 
 mished with some rebel cavalry. On the Tth we took up the line 
 of march to Atlanta, arriving there on the 8th, marched through 
 the city, and going into camp on the left near our old position. 
 
 " HEADQUARTERS MILITARY DIVISION OK THE MISSISSIPPI, 
 " Ix THE FIELD NEAR LOVEJOY S, September 3, 
 
 >-;. j 
 
 11 SPECIAL FIELD ORDERS No. 6 
 
 "The General commanding announces with great pleasure 
 that he has official information that our troops under Major-Gen- 
 eral Slocum occupied Atlanta yesterday at eleven A. M., the en 
 emy having evacuated the night bef jie, destroyed vast magazines 
 of stores, and blowing up, among other things, eighty car-loads of 
 ammunition, which accounts for the sounds heard by us on the 
 night of the 1st instant. Our present task is, therefore, well 
 done, and all work of destruction on the railroads will cease. 
 
 "By order of Major-General W. T. Sherman, 
 
 "L. M. DAYTON, 
 
 " Aide-de- Ca mp." 
 
 On the 6th of September the following Special Field Orders 
 Xo. 66 was issued: 
 
 "The General-in-chief communicates with a feeling of just 
 pride and satisfaction the following orders of the President of 
 the United States, and telegram of Lieutenant-Geheral IT. S. 
 Grant, on hearing of the capture of Atlanta: 
 
 " EXECUTIVE MANSION, (" 
 " WASHINGTON, D. C., September 3, 1864. \ 
 
 "The National thanks are tendered by the President to Major- 
 General W. T. Sherman and the gallant officers and soldiers of 
 his command before Atlanta, for the distinguished ability, cour 
 age, and perseverance displayed in the campaign in Georgia, 
 which, under Divine favor, has resulted in the capture of the city 
 of Atlanta. The marches, battles, sieges, and other military 
 operations that have signalized the campaign must render it 
 famous in the annals of war, and have entitled those who have 
 participated therein to the applause and thanks of the Nation. 
 8 "ABRAHAM LINCOLN, 
 
 "President of tin United St 
 
114 The Thirty-first Indiana Regimtnt 
 
 " CITY POINT, YA., September 4, 1864, > P. M- 
 
 C ^M A JOB-GENERAL SHERMAN, I have just received your dis 
 patch announcing the capture of Atlanta. In honor of your 
 great victory, I have ordered a salute to be fired with shotted 
 guns from every battery bearing upon the enemy. The salute 
 will be fired within an hour amidst great rejoicing, 
 
 "U. 8. GRANT, 
 
 "Lieutenant-General." 
 
 All the corps, regiments, and batteries composing the army 
 were authorized, without further orders, to inscribe " Atlanta" 
 on their colors. 
 
 It has been estimated that during this Atlanta campaign of 
 one hundred and twenty-five days, the Thirty-first Regiment 
 was engaged in actual battle, time equal to ten days; in sharp 
 skirmishing, equal to twenty-two days; in building breastworks, 
 seventeen days, besides the almost constant inarching across hills 
 and over mountains, through heat and rain, day and night. The 
 regiment lost sixteen men killed and eighty -four wounded; cap 
 tured three, and one died of disease with the command. 
 
 The regiment remained in camp near Atlanta, from Septem 
 ber 8, 1864, to October 3d, when it struck tents, and started back 
 with the Fourth Army Corps in pursuit of rebel General Hood, 
 who had passed to the rear of our army. The first day s march 
 brought us to the vicinity of Marietta. October 4th, the march 
 is continued, passing through Marietta and following the road 
 to Kingston, we reach Pine Top Mountain on the evening of the 
 5th, where we go into camp, and remain until the 8th, the time 
 being occupied in sending out scouting parties. On the morning 
 of the 8th we move out some seven miles on the Ac worth road. 
 On the 10th we pass through Altooiia Gap, and go into camp 
 near Cartersville.- The llth, we march in the rear of the Four 
 teenth Corps, and hear considerable cannonading in the direc 
 tion of Homo. We went into camp within two miles of King 
 ston. The 12th, we did not take up the line of march until four 
 P. M., then taking the Calhoun road, and continuing the march 
 until twelve at night. On the inarch again next morning at day- 
 liglit, and pass through Calhoun and Resaca, and go into camp 
 
In the War of the Rebellion. 115 
 
 near the old Resaca battle-field. The 15th, on the march at 
 daybreak, crossing a small mountain into Snake Greek Gap, just 
 in the rear of Hood s army. We had a sharp skirmish, and cap 
 tured some prisoners, and going into camp at the foot of the 
 mountain at dark. The 16th, moved down the valley some dis 
 tance, removing impediments out of the -road which had been 
 thrown there by the rebels, and we go into camp in Dry Valley 
 at night. On the 17th foraging parties are sent out, who return 
 during the day with a pretty fair supply. On the morning of the 
 18th again early on the march, passing Summerville, and on to 
 Galesville, Alabama, arriving there about sundown. On the 
 20th there was a detail of ten men from each company, put under 
 command of Quartermaster, whose duty it was to forage for 
 supplies. We remained at this place seven days. On the morn 
 ing of the 27th we break camp, and again take up the line of 
 march, arriving, late in the evening of the 28th, at Lafayette, 
 where we bivouack for the night. The next morning move out 
 on the Chattanooga road, passing Lee and Gordon s Mills, and go 
 into camp at Rossville. On the 30th we pass through Chatta 
 nooga, and go into camp near the foot of Lookout Mountain. 
 The next day our brigade is detailed to guard the wagon train; 
 the balance of the corps took the cars for Pulaski, Tennessee. 
 November 1, 1864, we move out in charge of the corps 
 train, passing Shellmound, Bridgeport, Stevenson, and Ander 
 son and Tantalon Stations. We then cross the mountain, and 
 take the road to Decherd s Station. We there leave the Hunts- 
 ville Railroad, and march, by the way of Winchester, Salem, and 
 Brantville, then to Fayetteville and Pulaski, arriving there on 
 the 12th. Here we rejoin the division, and go into camp. On 
 the 15th, Colonel J. T. Smith reports with two hundred drafted 
 men and substitutes, together with some additional recruits. 
 There being a vacancy in the position of Sergeant-Major, James 
 E. Terhune, of Company , was appointed to the place. We re 
 mained at Pulaski until the 23d, when, at two P. M., we take 
 up the line of march, passing Reynolds Station, and arrive at 
 Linnville on the Nashville pike on the 24th; passing on, we reach 
 Columbia after dark. Early on the morning of the 25th, we 
 
116 The T/ui ty-jirst Indiana J!></ ////</// 
 
 take position, and intrench. Between two and three o clock in 
 the afternoon the enemy began to shell our pickets. The cannon 
 ading was continued the remainder of the day. At eight P. M. 
 we were relieved. We then moved to the right, and worked on 
 fortifications all night. The 26th, the enemy drive in our pick 
 ets at daylight, and there was heavy skirmishing, fighting, and 
 cannonading all day. The skirmishing and cannonading were 
 continued all the next day, and at eight P. M. we moved some 
 two miles back to Duck River, which we crossed, and went into 
 camp about a mile and a half from the river. The 28th, we move 
 back, passing through Columbia, the rebel skirmishers coming 
 into town as we pass out. We cross the river and take position; 
 in the meantime Hood r s army is crossing the river some distance 
 above, and passing to our rear, the skirmishing being vigorously 
 kept up in our front. The Second Division had gone to Spring 
 Hill, where they were attacked, and a heavy fight ensues. At 
 nine o clock at night we move out, and take the pike towards 
 Spring Hill, arriving there about two o clock in the morning. 
 Just before we get into Spring Hill, however, we encounter about 
 thirty men on picket standing on the pike. One of them fires 
 at us; but he shoots too high, and the ball passes over our heads. 
 General Kimball and his staff were in front, being closely fol 
 lowed, by the Thirty-first Regiment. The General and staff 
 dismounted, and not knowing whether these pickets were friends 
 or enemies, the General gave orders not to fire without orders, 
 and at the word to run on to the pickets. At the given signal we 
 made a dash for the pickets, who fired a volley and fled. They 
 missed everything, firing too high. The camp-fires of the enemy 
 were brightly burning not a third of a mile away, and we could 
 distinctly hear the commands as they rapidly fell into line. On 
 our arrival at Spring Hill, we found the road and streets com 
 pletely jammed and packed with wagons, ambulances, and artil 
 lery. General Stanley was heard to say that we were surrounded, 
 and unable to get out. General Kimball replied that he was 
 going out, and Stanley told him to proceed. Colonel Smith was 
 directed to work his way through the jam with the regiment, 
 and as soon as he could get out to divide the regiment, putting 
 
In the War of the Rebellion. 117 
 
 one-half on each side of the pike, and when he came to the head 
 of the train to move it up, and fight his way through and go out, 
 taking the train with him. The Colonel said he approved the 
 order; but suggested keeping the regiment all together, and hav 
 ing the One Hundred and First Ohio, following us, to move up 
 abreast, and take one side of the road. The suggestion was ap 
 proved, and the movement was begun. After getting out a short 
 distance we were halted a moment for Lieutenant-Colonel Bedan 
 B. McDonald to report with his regiment. We had not pro 
 ceeded more than one-third of a mile until we found the teams 
 were abandoned by the drivers, and a little further on wagons 
 were afire and burning, with the teams wandering about without 
 drivers. A Lieutenant was detailed to take charge of the train, 
 and men were detailed for drivers, and soon the train was moving 
 along all right. We had not gone much further until a volley 
 was fired into us from the opposite side of the pike. Colonel 
 Smith ordered the One Hundred and First to be right-faced, 
 and reply to the volley. 
 
 In their immediate front was a cornfield, and the regiment 
 firing into a field of dry cornstalks made a racket very much like 
 that of a small cyclone. And the rebel cavalry fairly hustled to 
 get out of the way. We had no further trouble until after day 
 light, except to keep awake. Men would go to sleep walking 
 along, and Lieutenant-Colonel James R. Hallowell went to sleep 
 on his horse and lost his hat. 
 
 Soon after daylight, General Kimball came up, and had the 
 Thirty-first Regiment to halt to get some breakfast as quickly as 
 possible, and form the rear guard for the Corps; and, in order 
 to prevent the rebel cavalry from gobbling us up, we must keep 
 well up with the column. Three companies, however, and the 
 Colonel, were to keep three hundred yards in the rear. The 
 rebels were impudent, and kept close and to press, when the 
 Colonel sent the Adjutant forward to request General Kimball 
 to stop a couple pieces of artillery on a hill a couple of miles in 
 our front. As soon as we reached the foot of the hill, we double- 
 quicked to the top. The pike, then, for half a mile was crowded 
 with rebel cavalry. They were allowed to approach within a 
 
118 The Thi ii y-ji M Indnitui l!<-<jt nnt 
 
 hundred yards, when the guns were run up, and fired. It looked 
 like a third of the men were unhorsed the first fire, and a few 
 more shots were sufficient to give them to understand that they 
 were not wanted, and they gave us no further trouble. We 
 reached Franklin about" eleven A. M., having marched all night, 
 the night before, and not having much sleep or rest for several 
 days. From and including the 25th, we had scarcely had an 
 hour s rest. We were marching, skirmishing, or building breast 
 works almost constantly. We found the troops at Franklin 
 pretty well intrenched. We passed through the works and 
 around to the extreme right of our lines. The right of our bri 
 gade rested on the river below the town. About two P. M., the 
 fight opened, and from that until night it raged with tremendous 
 fury. The rebels made charge after charge, and each time 
 they were repulsed with terrific slaughter. There was no attack 
 made in our front until about five o clock in the evening. Their 
 advance on us was made in two lines. We allowed them to come 
 within a hundred yards, when we gave them our first volley, 
 which took about as much effect on their second line as it did 
 on the first one. The attempt was repeated several times, and 
 was repulsed each time with severe loss. About two hundred 
 yards in our front stood a house a double log-cabin in which 
 the rebels took shelter. Men were called for to volunteer to 
 go and burn the house, and quite a number responded ; but only 
 two were sent. The end of the house being towards us, and 
 no window in the end, we thought these men would be safe, 
 provided, the regiment could force the men in the house to 
 stay there. The men provided kindling stuff and matches, and 
 faithfully performed their work, and returned safely. 
 
 We had one drafted man who said he intended to stay with 
 us and faithfully do all the duties of a soldier, except to shoot 
 that he would not shoot, that he never intended to fire a gun. 
 He was told that he would get along all right then, for no one 
 would ever tell him to shoot. About the time that it was seen 
 that the rebels intended charging us, the Colonel went to where 
 this man lay behind temporary works, and found that his gun 
 was empty neither loaded or capped. He called to the Ser- 
 
RICHARD HARDIN. 
 COMPANY F. 
 
 MAJOR SILAS GR I M ES. 
 
 JOHN AV. McBRIDE. 
 COMPANY F. 
 
 LIEUTENANT-COLONEL JAMES 
 R. HOLLO WELL. 
 
In the \Yar of the I!,-l.,li;<m. \ 2\ 
 
 geant-Major to make a detail of a Corporal and two men, who 
 would rather shoot a man than not. The Sergeant-Major soon 
 reported with the detail, and said, "If such men as you want 
 are in the regiment, I believe I have got them." The Colonel 
 said he believed so, too. The Colonel then directed the Corporal 
 to lay down there near that man, and not tell him to shoot, nor 
 allow any one else to tell him to; but, when the regiment fired, 
 if his gun did not go off, to put three bullet-holes through him. 
 The Colonel walked away, and the drafted man said to a com 
 rade at his elbow, "I believe they will do it." "Of course, they 
 will," was the reply. The drafted man then got up and care 
 fully loaded his gun, and, capping it, again lay down, and, turn 
 ing to the Corporal, said, "Now, if this darned thing explodes, 
 and the gun doVt go off, you must give a fellow a little 
 chance." But his gun went off, and it was thought that he was 
 the first man in the regiment to fire, and he kept it up manfully ; 
 and after the engagement was over, he seemed to be the proudest 
 man in the command, and apparently seemed to think he had 
 done it about all. 
 
 About midnight the night of the 30th, the army very quietly 
 withdraws from Franklin, taking artillery, wagon-train, all 
 safely off the battle-field, and reach Nashville about eleven 
 A. M., and go into camp about two miles from the city. It is 
 remarkable that the regiment should pass through such a series 
 of skirmishing, endure such cannonading, go through the battle 
 at Franklin, all without any casualty of any kind whatever. 
 
 December 2d, about two P. M., the enemy makes a demon 
 stration, and we move into position, send out skirmishers, and 
 fortify. The next day, the enemy makes an advance, and drives 
 back our pickets. The 4th, we move to the right a short dis 
 tance, and take position in the front line, and the next day we 
 lay off regular camp. There being considerable skirmishing and 
 cannonading along the lines, the enemy throwing up fortifications 
 in our front. The 6th, there is heavy cannonading to our right. 
 AVe continue to shell the enemy in our front, but get no response. 
 The 7th, the skirmishing and cannonading is continued. The 
 8th, the enemy advances, driving in our skirmishers. AVe charge 
 
\ 2 2 The Thirty-first Indiana 
 
 them, and they are driven back to their old position. We cap 
 ture a few prisoners. The 9th, 10th, and llth, the weather is 
 cold and disagreeable. The 12th, we receive orders to send 
 all who are unable to march to hospital. The 13th, the day 
 more pleasant; thawed considerable in the afternoon. The 14th, 
 we were ordered to have all extra baggage sent to brigade head 
 quarters, and to be ready to move at six o clock the next morning. 
 
 THE BATTLE OF NASHVILLE. 
 
 December 15, 1864. We move out at daylight from the left 
 of the Ilillsborough pike. The battle opens with considerable 
 fury on our extreme right, and for about two hours the enemy 
 is pressed and pushed and driven, and after it was thought that 
 he had. removed all his reserves from our left, the fight is opened 
 there, and his right turned. He is then pressed along the whole 
 line. The skirmish-line of our brigade is in command of Lieu 
 tenant-Colonel James R. Hollowell, of the Thirty-first, and no 
 skirmish-line was ever handled with more consummate skill. 
 The Colonel knew his men, and they knew him, and there was 
 no mistake made by either during the day. During the day the 
 regimental commander concluded that the Colonel would surely 
 get shot, as his duty required him to pass so frequently imme 
 diately under the guns of a fort, and so he sent back to get 
 a large flag in which to wrap the Lieutenant-Colonel after he 
 had fallen. But, then, he never fell, and the Colonel had to 
 carry the flag through the engagement. Tn the afternoon, we 
 charged the rebel works. The rebel fort was in the immediate 
 front of the Thirty-first Regiment. We had to climb a con 
 siderable hill to reach the works, and then had to jump quite a 
 large ditch. Some of the boys could scarcely make it, and had 
 to have help to get out when they fell into the ditch. The 
 Chaplain, Rev. James B. Hamilton, was among the first to scale 
 the rebel works. When Robert Crocket, of Company K, was 
 pulled out of the ditch and got on top the rebel works, and saw 
 the Chaplain over among the rebels, making them lay down 
 their arms, he exclaimed, "Hell, a chaplain in a charge!" We 
 captured the artillery and a lot of prisoners, and securely held 
 
In thf War of the Iteldlion. . 128 
 
 their front line of works. Night coining on, we moved to the 
 left, and bivouacked on the Granville pike. The morning of the 
 16th, we advanced at daylight and promptly began to skirmish 
 with the enemy, and charged and took some works and prisoners. 
 In the afternoon we saw the colored troops make a couple of 
 charges, which were done with great gallantry. About three 
 P. M., a general charge was made along the entire line, with 
 complete success, capturing the entire rebel line and a number 
 of prisoners and guns. The enemy was followed up, and skir 
 mishing was kept up until night, when we bivouacked about 
 six miles from Nashville. The loss of the regiment was eleven 
 men killed and twenty-seven wounded. We advanced, on the 
 morning of the 17th, the cavalry in front. We met, in the fore 
 noon, a detachment taking back two rebel flags and a lot of 
 prisoners. We go into camp 011 llarpeth Iliver, near Frank 
 lin, the day having been rainy and somewhat disagreeable. The 
 18th, we follow the Columbia pike, . arriving at Spring Hill at 
 three P. M., and pass on a mile and a half, when we move in 
 front of the cavalry, and take position in line of battle, with a 
 strong skirmish line well to the front. The next day, we only 
 advance two miles, and bivouacked on Rutherford Creek. De 
 cember 20th, about noon, we cross the creek, and pass on across 
 Duck Eiver and through Columbia. Hear sharp cannonading 
 beyond the town, which resulted in our cavalry capturing four 
 pieces of artillery and five hundred prisoners. The regiment 
 continued to advance, following up the cavalry, which does 
 more or less skirmishing each day until the evening of the 28th, 
 when we reach Lexington, Alabama. The rebel .army having 
 crossed the Tennessee River, further pursuit was abandoned. 
 The 31st, we take up the line of inarch, and go into camp at 
 dark within two miles of Elk River, having marched eighteen 
 miles during the day. January 1 and 2, 1865, we put in build 
 ing a bridge across Elk River. On the 3d, about noon, we start 
 for Huntsville, which we reach after a tedious march over bad, 
 swampy roads, about eleven o clock on the 5th, and, passing 
 through the city and going half a mile east, we go into camp. 
 The next dav we were directed to prepare winter quarters, and 
 
124 The Thirty-first Indiana Regiment 
 
 from that until the 14th we were busy getting our houses in 
 order, and then regular camp duties were taken up. The 19th, 
 our baggage, which we left at Nashville at the beginning of the 
 campaign, arrived. We remained here in rather comfortable 
 quarters until the thirteenth day of March, 1865. We found 
 Huntsville to be a beautiful city, well supplied with water, in a 
 fertile section of country. While here, there was a Court-martial 
 in session most of the time, of which the Colonel of the regi 
 ment was a member, but it had no occasion to be troubled much 
 with any member of the Thirty-first. 
 
 On the morning of March 13th, we struck tents, and about 
 noon shipped aboard the cars, passing through Stevenson and 
 Bridgeport, Alabama, and Chattanooga and Ivnoxville, Ten 
 nessee, and on to Strawberry Plains, arriving there on the mom- 
 ing of the 15th, and go into camp in a most beautiful place. 
 The troops continue to arrive, some going into camp on the 
 other side of the river, and going on towards Buell Gap. 
 
 On the 23d, our wagon-train arrives, and the next day we 
 break camp, and cross the Hoist-on River, and then on to New 
 Market, and go into camp on Mossy Creek. On the 25th we 
 again resume the march, passing through Mooresville, and on 
 to Eussellville, and bivouac ; and the next day we arrive at Buell 
 Gap, and go into camp. The 28th, we again break camp, march 
 through the gap some six miles, and go into camp, where we 
 remain until April 3, 1865, at which time we march with the 
 brigade, with three days rations in haversacks and seven days 
 rations in wagons, leaving baggage behind. We take the North 
 Carolina road, and after marching fourteen miles, we halt for 
 the night. The next morning, we are on the march early, and 
 cross Chuckey River, and go through narrow passes in the moun 
 tains, and cross French Broad River into North Carolina. 
 April 5, 1865, we are on the march early up the river. At ten 
 A. M., we halt and draw rations, and leave the wagons and ar 
 tillery behind, and after a march of seventeen miles we reach 
 Marshall. On the 6th we move on early, and arrive at Alexan 
 dria at ten A. M., and, after destroying a bridge, we move on 
 up the river. We arrive at Asheville at three P. M. Here we find 
 the enemy. Lines are immediately formed, and sharp skirmish- 
 
/// tlt< \\iir of the Rebellion. !-."> 
 
 ing ensues, which continues until night, the enemy using a 
 battery. Just at dark the right wing of the regiment was placed 
 on picket, and it captured several prisoners and some horses. 
 At about eight o clock we were drawn off, and marched about 
 ten miles, and went into camp for the remainder of the night. 
 On the morning of the 7th, were on the march early, and after 
 marching about nine miles, halted on Clear Creek for breakfast. 
 The next day we marched fifteen miles. April 9th, we took up 
 the march early, and reached Hot Springs about ten A. M., and 
 went on over across the mountain, a distance of ten miles. The 
 next day, continued the march, taking dinner near Chuckey 
 River, and then went on into camp near Greenville. We con 
 tinued to march on the llth, and reached our old camp on Lick 
 Creek about two P. M. April 12th was a rainy, disagreeable 
 day. The next day clear and delightful, and every one rejoicing 
 over the news of Lee s surrender. The 18th, we received orders 
 to get ready to march at once, and at two P. M. we marched 
 to Buell s Gap, and bivouacked. The 19th, our division hospital 
 was shipped aboard the cars. The 20th, we took the train, and 
 passed through Knoxville, Chattanooga, Stevenson, to Nashville,, 
 where we arrived at eight P. M., the 22d. We disembarked west 
 of town, and bivouacked for the night. Then we move out 
 six miles, the 23d, west of the city, and go into camp. The 26th,. 
 the sutler arrives with a full supply, and at once becomes the 
 center of attraction. We remain here in camp until June I7 r 
 1865, performing the usual camp and guard duties. In the 
 meantime a number of drafted men and non-veteran regiments 
 were mustered out of the service. 
 
 June 17th, we break camp, and take the cars for Johnson- 
 ville; and the next d ay we get aboard the steamer Silver Moon, 
 having ten days rations and the entire brigade aboard. We ar 
 rive at Paducah the 19th, and immediately head down stream. 
 We pass Cairo, Memphis, Yicksburg, Natchez, Baton Rouge, 
 and halt for a short time at New Orleans, and then run down a 
 few miles, and tie up for the night, on the evening of June 25th. 
 The next day we disembark, and move out about two miles, and 
 go into camp, where we remain and are kept busy fighting mos 
 quitoes, sraVos, and crocodiles until July 8th, at which time we 
 
126 The Thirty-first Indiana 
 
 march back to the boat-landing, and bivouac for the night. On 
 the 9th, about noon, we embark on board the steamer McClellan, 
 and run down the river, arriving at the Gulf about dark, and 
 after a run of three days, without any special event of interest, 
 we arrive at Tndianola, Texas, July 11, 1865. We disembark the 
 next day, and march out about a mile and bivouac. The next 
 day our baggage, tents, and camp equipage arrive. The water here 
 is brackish and hard to get. The 16th, we move at four P. M., 
 and march twenty-two miles through a barren, sandy desert. 
 We had to carry water with us, as there was none on the route. 
 We halt, and go into camp on Green Lake, where we remain 
 until the eighth day of August, 1865, when we again take up the 
 line of inarch for twenty miles through a country destitute of 
 shade or water, and bivouac 011 a small stream. On the 9th, we 
 are on the march at six A. M., and arrive at Victoria, Texas, 
 about midnight, and bivouac for the rest of the night. The next 
 morning we are on the march at five A. M. We wade the Guada- 
 lupe River, and halt for breakfast. We then march some live 
 miles, and go into camp on the river. Here we remain under the 
 most rigid camp-discipline until the 26th of September, when 
 we strike tents, and march back to Victoria, and go into camp 
 on the railroad, about a mile from town. On the 28th, forty 
 men were detailed from the regiment to work on the railroad. 
 October 24th, we have a storm of rain and wind, followed by a 
 few days of cool weather, called by the natives a Northerner. 
 December 1, 1865, the muster-rolls for payment and discharge 
 are made out and delivered, and the details of the regiment were 
 relieved and returned to the command. December 2d, brigade 
 headquarters break up, and the next day Adjutant John J. 
 Meacham goes to Indianola to procure transportation. Decem 
 ber 6th, we turn over all our camp and garrison equipage, and 
 the next day we take leave of Camp iSTen and march to Chalk 
 Lake, a distance of twenty-six miles. We have to remain here, 
 waiting for transportation until the llth. We then get off and 
 arrive at Indianola about two o clock P. M., and here we remain 
 until the 17th, the weather being cold and disagreeable. De 
 cember 17th, four companies go aboard the Tilla, which moves 
 
LIEUTENANT J. B. CONNELLY. 
 COMPANY I. 
 
 EDWARD D. LITSEY. 
 COMPANY I. 
 
 THOS. J. RATCLIFF. 
 COMPANY I. 
 
 MAY ID J. RATCLIFF. 
 COMPANY I. 
 

In the War of the Rebellion. \ i> ( .) 
 
 out to the bar, and casts anchor. The 18th was so foggy, she 
 could not run. The other six companies ship aboard the Ala 
 bama, which comes out to the bar, and anchors. The 19th, it 
 is still foggy. The 20th, the Alabama pulls out and gets to sea; 
 and about four P. M. the Tilla makes an effort, but fails, and 
 does not get out until the 24th. In the meantime, however, she 
 goes back to Indian ola, and eight days 7 rations are drawn. The 
 Tilla gets to New Orleans the 27th, and runs up to Greenville, 
 and rejoins those who came on the Alabama. On the 28th the 
 regiment ships aboard the Virginia about midnight, and about 
 two o clock A. M., the 29th, makes the start up the river home 
 ward. We reach Cairo, 111., January 4, 1806* disembark, and 
 take the train for Terre Haute, the place we had started from 
 more than four years ago. "We arrived at Terre Haute January 
 6th, at eleven A. M. We were met at the depot by a delegation 
 of returned soldiers and citizens, and escorted to Bowling Hall, 
 where we were served to a most sumptuous and bountiful dinner, 
 and given a magnificent reception by the citizens of the city, 
 which we claim as our military home. We then "broke ranks" 
 for the last time, and departed for our respective homes. 
 
 CONCLUSION. 
 
 In retracing the steps of the Thirty-first Regiment Indiana 
 Volunteers in the War of the Rebellion, after the lapse of a 
 third of a century, it is a matter of astonishment that so many 
 incidents which have not been thought of for years have come 
 to mind. Incidents of individual personal bravery and daring; 
 incidents on the battle-field, on the march, in camp, and, in fact, 
 all along the line, that ought to be mentioned and perpetuated. 
 But into this inviting field we have not dared to venture space 
 would not allow, and we would not be able to do equal and exact 
 justice to all. Therefore, we have mainly aimed to record the 
 acts of the regiment, and suggest that all items of this character, 
 together with many things that have cscaj>c<l the attention of the 
 author, and that should have appeared in this book, be carefully 
 written out, and delivered t<> the regimental historian for any 
 
 future use. 
 9 
 
ROSTER 
 
 OF THE 
 
 Thirty-First Regiment of Indiana 
 Volunteer Infantry. 
 
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APPENDIX 
 

Appendix. 197 
 
 LETTEK OF GENERAL LEW WALLACE. 
 
 MY DEAR FRIEND, I have your letter of 13th January last. 
 Pardon the delay in answering it. 
 
 You inform me you are writing the transactions of the 
 Thirty-first Indiana Regiment. I hope you will keep at it until 
 it is finished. We can not have too many memoirs of the kind. 
 I wish every regiment, brigade, division, and corps could receive 
 the same careful attention. Of such is the final history to be 
 made. 
 
 The pages of manuscript you inclosed I read with interest, 
 the more possibly because of the fact that everything pertaining 
 to that awful mystery known as the Battle of Pittsburg Land 
 ing comes home more directly to me than to most of those en 
 gaged in it. O, the lies, the lies, that w r ere told to make me the 
 scapegoat to bear off the criminal mistakes of others in connec 
 tion with that awful first day! It took General Grant about a 
 quarter of a century to work himself up to an admission that I 
 was blameless. But think, my brave comrade, think of what 
 I suffered in the meantime! Think, too, that the slanders have 
 gone into history, and may never be corrected! 
 
 As to the first day on the field, I never permit myself to 
 speak of it critically; for not having been there myself, I am 
 always afraid of doing some other soldier the wrong that was so 
 cruelly inflicted on me. 
 
 It was nearly, if not quite nine o clock in the morning when 
 General Grant passed my boat going from Savannah to Pitts- 
 burg Landing. To be safe, I have been in the habit of putting 
 the time about 8.30 A. M. 
 
 You say I talked with the General at Purdy, four miles be 
 low Pittsburg Landing, etc. That would be a mistake. Purdy 
 is a day s march away from the river, while the interview of 
 which you speak took place at Crump s Landing, where my 
 
 division was headquartered. 
 
 197 
 
198 The Thirty-first Indiana Regiment. 
 
 I still think, if my march to the battlefield as I begun it had 
 not been countermanded, we would have done more than win a 
 victory that first day we would have captured a great part of 
 the Confederate Army. The surprise would have been to them, 
 not our people. 
 
 With ail good wishes, I am very truly your friend, 
 JOHN T. SMITH, ESQ., LEW WALLACE. 
 
 Bowling Green, Ind. 
 
 A SOLDIER S STORY. 
 
 THE LATE J. H. BEADLE AT FORT DONELSON. 
 
 THE BEGINNING OF THE BATTLE. IMPRESSIONS AND EXPERIENCES OF THE 
 
 FIRST GREAT UNION VICTORY OF THE WAR. THE JOURNEY 
 
 TO JOIN GRANT S ARMY. A GHASTLY SIGHT. 
 
 "THREE cheers for Grant and the Union!" 
 
 The tall sergeant swung his cap, and the cheers rang far 
 over the Ohio as the boats shoved back from the wharf. A 
 strong tenor voice in the Forty-fourth Indiana struck up a 
 familiar camp song. The Thirty-first at once caught it, and 
 then the Kentuckians, and as the boats rounded the bend we 
 sang bood-bye to Evansville, in the roaring notes of "We 11 
 hang Jeff Davis to a sour apple-tree as we go marching on." 
 
 We had passed a miserable winter along Green River, where 
 six per cent of our regiment had died of camp fever, and twice 
 as many more were invalided. But now we were off to join 
 Grant "somewhere in Tennessee." Daylight of February llth 
 found us at Paducah, a queer old town, overcrowded and liter 
 ally blue with soldiers. All day we ran up the Tennessee River, 
 and at sundown reached Fort Henry, where we were treated to 
 a beautiful illumination of the fleet and shore. All the steamers 
 carried red and blue lights. In the fort and along the bluff 
 thousands of fires were blazing, and faintly over the water on 
 the evening air came the songs of the exultant soldiers, for 
 
// ./. 199 
 
 already the capture of that fort had given rise to many new 
 versions of the old songs. It was soon decided that it was 
 cheaper for us to go round by water, and so morning found us 
 again at Paducah, where we lay all day. It was the way things 
 were done that winter all movements were slow, and nothing 
 was done till the fifty-ninth minute of the eleventh hour. 
 
 Late at night we steamed away, and daylight found us as 
 cending the Cumberland. All day men and officers were at the 
 height of mirth and jollity, for it was the first nice traveling 
 our brigade had had. The weather was delightful, and soldiers 
 soon form the habit of enjoying the present good without thought 
 of the doubtful morrow. We were paraded on the upper deck, 
 and arms and ammunition thoroughly inspected. Our mag 
 nificent band played inspiring tunes, and all the soldiers danced 
 and sang and shouted till they were hoarse. I came down into 
 the cabin, and there the surgeons had their instruments laid out 
 for inspection on the long table knives, saws, tourniquets, 
 everything indicating dreadful work at hand. A sudden revul 
 sion of feeling overcame me. I turned cold around the heart 
 at thought of a dreadful wound and possible amputation. 
 
 AVith the night came an awful change. In two hours the 
 mercury must have fallen twenty degrees. I had to stand guard 
 on the lower deck, and there was a cold and driving rain which 
 changed to sleet. As the boat turned this way and that with 
 the windings of the stream, the sleet drove across the open space 
 in almost horizontal lines, and soon my overcoat was solid with 
 ice. Daylight showed three or four inches of snow. All fore 
 noon we toiled getting the material off the boats, and at noon 
 entered on the march, with the officers exhorting us to speed, for 
 the sound of cannonading at Donelson showed but too clearly 
 that actual business had begun. Over abrupt hills and through 
 heavily-timbered hollows, nearly bootleg deep in places with 
 mud and water, we toiled on till, reaching a hollow which led 
 directly to the fort, we heard the cannonading as loud and clear 
 as if it were but a mile away. 
 
 Turning to the right, we rose to a narrow level, and a mile or 
 so farther began to pass behind our first line of battle. Across 
 
The Thirty-first Indiana Regiment. 
 
 the hollow to our left solid shot from rebel batteries were strik 
 ing high in the trees, making a great crashing among the limbs, 
 but hurting nobody, for there was nobody there to hurt. A 
 few forced a laugh at the sound of the cannon, and said it was 
 music; but I could not see it in that light. I have "enjoyed" the 
 hand-organ for hours, and endured boarding-school "practice;" 
 but I never heard music that felt in the knees like that. The 
 half- jocular bravado of some of the men, to my mind, showed 
 fear as plainly as the silence of others. I kept my feelings to 
 myself, determined that no matter how badly I got scared no 
 body should know it. We camped for the night in an old field, 
 with orders to "rest on arms and in place without sleeping." 
 
 O, the miseries of that fearful night! Crouched down in 
 the snow, with my gun between my knees, within two hours 
 every inch of my body was jerking with cold like the flesh of a 
 freshly-skinned beef. For the first time in my life I felt cold 
 through my interior. About two o clock in the morning we 
 were permitted to lie d own, and did so by threes two gum 
 blankets and one woolen below us, two woolens and one gum 
 above. A sleet storm came on, and I awoke from sound sleep, 
 with my hair matted in frozen lumps. It was scarcely light 
 before the cannonading was resumed. The reveille and shouting 
 of officers rose from every camp, and the smell of powder came 
 faintly on the morning air. Raw pork and cold crackers were 
 soon dispatched, and we were in line for orders. And now the 
 woods in front and 1 the road to our right were lively with 
 mounted orderlies, small detachments of soldiers, and batteries 
 hurrying to their places in the line. It was plain that a general 
 battle had begun. Ambulances passed back filled with wounded, 
 and now and then an artillery horse limped by, shot in the hip 
 or shoulder, but sometimes with a ghastly seam along the side. 
 
 Then came the order, "To the right, and take position with 
 Porter s Battery." We started on the run, and kept it up for 
 about two miles; but, as General Shackleford afterward told me, 
 his guide directed him too far to the left, so we missed Porter s 
 Battery entirely, and halted on a ridge toward which the main 
 force of the rebels was advancing, and I think our brigade was 
 
Appendix. 201 
 
 the end of the Union line to the east. The Seventeenth and 
 Twenty-fifth Kentucky moved at once to the summit of the 
 ridge, and opened fire vigorously, while our half of the brigade, 
 the Thirty-first and Forty-fourth Indiana, lay flat in the snow 
 behind them and a little down the slope. We had passed behind 
 the Thirty -first Illinois, and I saw three men lying right by our 
 road my first look at men killed in battle. They lay on their 
 backs, each with a bullet-hole in his forehead. I was struck 
 with the singularly peaceful expression on each face. 
 
 Wounded Kentuckians soon passed our line in considerable 
 numbers, some not making a sound, others groaning,, and one 
 shrieking dreadfully, and I took notice that the one making the 
 most noise was a mere boy with a shattered arm. Our Captain 
 Watterman had just passed behind us, saying that in a minute 
 or two we should move to the right of the Kentuckians, and I 
 was still looking in the direction pointed by his sword when 
 suddenly there was a grand crash and roar through the deep 
 woods, as if heaven and earth were coming together. A big 
 body of rebels had come close into our right, and partially in 
 our rear. I saw the Kentuckian on the extreme right throw his 
 gun high in the air, and fall back dead. The next man gave one 
 glance, and turned to flee. The line broke, and both regiments 
 came rushing back right over us. In less time than it takes to 
 tell it, we were up and after them, all rank and order lost, offi 
 cers and men, Kentuckians and Indianians, all in a mass, and 
 thus we ran to the bottom of the slope. 
 
 The line officers rushed with drawn swords among the men, 
 who soon fell into ranks from mere habit, and, with a sponta 
 neous feeling of shame, began to check their retreat. Colonel 
 Bristow came down on us shouting phrases which he assuredly 
 never learned in Sunday-school. Aide-de-camp Terry galloped 
 in with a message from General Cruft of the Thirty-first, and 
 shouted: "Come on, Indiana! I m only a boy; but I 11 go at 
 the head!" We raised the yell, re-formed, and fell back slowly, 
 and were soon all in line at the top of the next ridge. All? 
 Well, not quite. Our lieutenant-colonel and about two hundred 
 others had turned back bv the road we came in, and we saw 
 
202 The Thirty-first Indiana Regiment. 
 
 them no more that day, while about fifty from various com 
 mands, with one lieutenant at their head, never stopped till they 
 reached the landing we had left the day before. It was long told 
 about the camp-fire that this officer found a boat just starting 
 down the river, got aboard, and actually reached his home in 
 Southern Indiana before he heard that Donelson had surren 
 dered. 
 
 We had got well in line, and were listening to some rather 
 emphatic remarks from Colonel Bristow when the shout was 
 raised, "Here they come!" On the ridges there was tall timber 
 without underbrush; but down the slope the latter grew thickly, 
 so I could see nothing. A few scattering shots were fired as the 
 volleys of the advancing rebels began, to strike the trees; but 
 stern orders were given to wait for the word. It came soon. 
 "Ready!" I gazed down into the thicket, and saw no man; but 
 the bushes moving, and an occasional puff of smoke. "Aim!" 
 I drew down my gun about where I thought the middle of a 
 man would be in those bushes. "Fire!" There was a terrific 
 crash as two thousand rifles went oft , arid after it a wild yell of 
 exultation from our line. Our blood was up. Shame and anger 
 had cast out fear. For a minute or two there was firing at will, 
 and then our little battle was over. The smoke rose slowly, and 
 there was an almost oppressive silence for a few minutes. Then 
 came once more the dull rumble of the cannon at the fleet and 
 water battery, followed by musketry firing far to our left. I then 
 saw a few men lying on the ground. In the retreat and fight 
 our regiment had lost twelve killed and sixty wounded. 
 
 A cry was raised, "The cavalry is coming!" We moved 
 forward, and stqod at a charge bayonet for a few minutes, and 
 looking down an old road I saw the rebel flag for the first and 
 last time. The next instant the cavalry was out of sight, and 
 where we were for the rest of that day I have never been able 
 to figure out. We moved this way and that, hearing firing to 
 our right and to our left, and 1 near sundown were in the hollow 
 nearest to the rebel intrenchments on the upper Dover road, and 
 to us there came General Lew Wallace with the Eighth Missouri 
 and Eleventh Indiana. They did the right half wheel in a 
 
Appendix. 
 
 manner which drew a cheer from us, and then charged up the 
 hill a little to our right. They fired but one volley, and had 
 gone far to the right by the time we reached the top of the hill. 
 We halted. Bang! went a six-pounder, and "Down!" shouted 
 the officers. But it was needless. Every man was prone before 
 the whiz of the ball had died away. I hugged the ground so 
 close that I almost made a hole in it, as shot and shell came 
 alternating, getting lower till they skimmed the snow. I lay in 
 -a small furrow, and was looking at Comrade Taylor of Company 
 G, about two rods forward and to the left of me, when one of 
 the last shells struck him just as it exploded. It took off the top 
 of his head, and cleaned out the brains as neatly as if it were 
 done with a surgeon s knife. Then the cold sweat came out on 
 my forehead, and for perhaps a minute I felt a kind of agony of 
 fear. The next instant my face seemed blistering, it was so hot. 
 The firing ceased at dark, and we moved to the right and into a 
 hollow, and sat down disconsolately to another dreary night and 
 talk of a bloody morrow. Great deeds had been done seven miles 
 to our left, and the siege of Donelson was ended; but we did not 
 know it. 
 
 II. 
 
 SCENES JUST AFTER THE BATTLE. THE FIRST NEWS OF THE VICTORY. 
 
 PEN-PICTURES ALONG THE BRIGADE LINE. SUGGESTIVE SIGHTS 
 
 AT THE BREASTWORKS. MEETING WITH A WOUNDED 
 
 TEXAN BOY SOLDIER. 
 
 XIGHT had settled down on the long-extended battle-field of 
 Fort Donelson. A dreary night it was. The snow had melted 
 to slush, the air was loaded with dampness, and the darkness was 
 such as could be sliced with a knife. But our brigade was in a 
 deep hollow, and, though very close to the rebel intrenchments, 
 we were sheltered, and very soon cheerful fires were blazing all 
 along the line, ^ot far to our left were the Eleventh Indiana 
 and other regiments of Lew Wallace s Brigade, and the other 
 way were forest and swamp, for we were on the extreme Union 
 right. The darkness without was as light compared with that 
 in our hearts. We did not know that the brave lowans and 
 
204 The Thirty-first Indiana Regiment 
 
 Illinoisans had captured the main earthworks, or that the water 
 batteries were silenced. And ignorance was not bliss, for we 
 firmly believed that our little battle of that morning was but a 
 prelude to a bloody morrow. 
 
 "What can you do?" asked a despondent corporal of Com 
 pany G. a They are intrenched just the other side of that field 
 up there. If you go to the top of that hill, they will shoot you 
 down. Across that level we can t charge in less than ten min 
 utes anyhow, and the rebels can kill ten of us to our one of them 
 that way. We just can t take it." 
 
 "Can t take it? Shut up! We must take it. That s what 
 we came here for. We ve just got to take it, and we will take 
 it," said his comrade. 
 
 "That s the way to talk," said Captain John T. Smith. "We 
 came here to take it, and we re not going away till we get it." 
 
 This is but a specimen of what was going on all along the 
 brigade line, and many a poor doubting fellow crouched over 
 the fire in gloomy silence, honestly believing that he would 1 be 
 killed the next day, and killed to no purpose. There w T as much 
 recrimination as to the past day s battle. I was very near com 
 plete exhaustion by two nights without sleep and two days of 
 march and battle; but we had to stay up till midnight anyhow, 
 and I exhorted earnestly, as much to keep awake as to cheer 
 others. About midnight we lay down, and I scarcely touched 
 the blanket till I was dead asleep. It seemed to me that I had 
 but closed my eyes when the covering was snatched off, and even 
 now I hardly know whether to laugh or shudder at the first words 
 I heard. A reckless lieutenant with whom I had swapped lies 
 on guard at various times stood over us and shouted: "Get up, 
 boys! Get up and hear the little birds sing their praises to 
 D n your souls, get up!" 
 
 This unique bit of blasphemy was common enough in the 
 army afterward; but that was the first time I heard it, and it 
 struck me as a queer preparation for a day of danger, with big 
 chances for death. I sprang up and promptly fell again. I 
 struggled to my feet, staggered around a few seconds, and leaned 
 over a log gasping for breath. What on earth had hold of me? 
 
Appendix. 
 
 An agonizing pain racked my left side, shifting slowly to my 
 chest, and when I breathed deeply it seemed as if a sharp knife 
 was run under my left shoulder blade. I thought my joints 
 would never become limber again. The gum blanket on which 
 we lay had not prevented the warmth of our bodies from melt 
 ing the frozen ground below it, and we had sunk down into a 
 cold loblolly. Our Captain Waterman was a doctor, and to my 
 complaint he sharply replied: "You re beat out; that s all. It 
 will pass away." It did pass away about six weeks later 
 that is, the worst of it did. But seven and one-half years passed 
 away before I again drew an unobstructed breath. Yes, it was 
 in August, 1869, on the mountains of Southern Utah, that I 
 for the first time after Donelson enjoyed the exquisite delight 
 of breathing to the very bottom of my lungs and bounding over 
 the hills without a pulmonary wheeze. Two of the strongest 
 men in our company, ISTeil Duval and Tom Byerly, who rose 
 with the same symptoms, died within three weeks, and two others 
 never fully recovered. But I anticipate. 
 
 Daylight showed that our camp was the scene of a battle the 
 day before, and several corpses lay about. One, two rods or so 
 from where I slept, was frozen solid. The fires were soon blaz 
 ing again, and by a rare good fortune Commissary Grubbs found 
 us, and soon had several wagons there with provisions, which 
 were laid open for every man to take at will, as there was no 
 time for a regular draw. What a glorious breakfast we had! 
 pork broiled on the coals, strong tea made in tincups, fresh 
 crackers, and all the sugar we wanted. I drank three pints of 
 tea, and the pain in my side abated. I have breakfasted in many 
 elegant places; but never in hotel or restaurant did I enjoy a bill 
 of fare so delicious. 
 
 But why this strange silence? Not a sound of cannon was 
 to be heard, as yesterday morning. The men stood in line, with 
 gritted teeth and strained looks, nerving themselves for a dread 
 ful day. There were whispered exchanges of confidence, and 
 requests as to what this or that one wanted done in case of death. 
 A few of the men took out of their pockets spent and flattened 
 bullets and other curiosities, picked up the day before, and threw 
 
206 The Thirty-first Indiana Regiment. 
 
 them away, as if to lighten themselves for a running charge. 
 Several officers and some men made hurried notes in their memo 
 randum-books as to the disposal of their corpses and effects, and 
 two or three of the minor officers went behind the line, tapping 
 our bayonets, and saying: "These are the things we 11 use to-day, 
 men. Depend on these." I raised my eyes and took a long look 
 around, with a sort of conviction that it was my last chance. 
 The cold of yesterday had abated, the breeze came softly from 
 the south and stirred the tree-tops with a beauty of motion I had 
 never before appreciated, while the clouds broke and glided 
 away, with silvery lining, and the rising sun shone through the 
 rifts in glorious majesty. How beautiful this earth did look 
 too beautiful to leave! 
 
 And still there was a strange silence. Then we heard cannon 
 far to our ]eft. Another and another followed, apparently in 
 a series down the line toward us. "She s begun again, men/ 7 
 said our captain. But no; there was silence again. Then we 
 heard a faint cheering far away to the left. Nearer and nearer 
 and louder it came, with each return prolonged till at last the 
 Eleventh Indiana and Eighth Missouri took it up and made the 
 forest ring. The next minute Lew Wallace came riding around 
 the point of the hill, and, bearing down on us, shouted: "Fort 
 Donelson is < ours! Unconditional surrender! Arms, ammu 
 nition, and fourteen thousand prisoners!" Then broke from all 
 the brigade a Union yell as if two thousand throats were one. 
 Every man realized on the instant that we had helped w r in the 
 first great victory of the war. Swords were waved and blue caps 
 flew high in air. The next instant guns were dropped, and the 
 ranks broke without orders. All discipline was ignored. Offi 
 cers and men wrung each other s hands, and even hugged each 
 other and gave way to demonstrations of joy. 
 
 And yet the shouting was not so strange as the weeping. I 
 have often been told that I was mistaken ; but I am positive that 
 I saw both officers and men shed tears. It really seemed to me 
 that joy made every man change his nature. Our Captain 
 Waterman, usually a little grim and a severe disciplinarian, 
 laughed till the breath failed him. There certainly were tears 
 
Appendix. 2 ( > 7 
 
 in the eyes of Major Fred Am and Adjutant Cliff Ross. And 
 the reckless lieutenant who had waked me with a bit of blas 
 phemy stood 1 silent with folded arms and a face like a statue. 
 One fact I have often laughed over with the veterans in ten 
 minutes nearly all the men were talking about the muster out, 
 and giving their opinions as to the time. Bets were even that 
 we should "be at home by corn-planting," and two to one on the 
 Fourth of July. Captain "Bull" Smith effusively proposed a 
 regimental reunion on that day and a grand military celebration 
 at Terre Haute, where our regiment was organized. There was 
 much disputing as to whether this was our last battle; but the 
 weight of opinion was that the regiment would see some more 
 service. What fools we were! 
 
 The brigade was re-formed, and we took the Dover road, 
 gazing as we went with much curiosity on the effects of cannon 
 shots in the timber. We crossed the rebel breastworks at a full 
 run to the inspiring double quick of our field bands; but the 
 sharp pains in my lungs came on, and I dropped out of line and 
 sank to the ground. The whole brigade and then the division 
 swept by me in magnificent array, and I soon felt able to rise 
 and look about. In all directions were groups of rebels, some 
 scowling, more grimly silent and most good-naturedly drunk. 
 They had plundered their commissary as soon as they heard of 
 the surrender, and every man had whisky. Along the breast 
 works were many suggestive sights. Open boxes, labeled "Buck 
 and Ball Cartridges/ 7 were scattered at convenient intervals. I 
 dissected one, and found it made of three buckshot bound on the 
 end of a common musketball; hence the name, and hence, too, 
 the peculiar wounds some of our men had received the day 
 before. At one place there were many signs that our shells had 
 struck thickly. There were much blood, and a dismounted can 
 non and some corpses still waiting the burial party. Most of the 
 faces looked strangely peaceful. I was particularly struck with 
 the appearance of one Mississippian, a very tall and handsome 
 man, lying on his back on a small mound. His deep blue eyes 
 were half open, his finely-cut features were like those of a Greek 
 statue, and his magnificent physique, long and well-shaped hands, 
 
208 The Thirty-first Indiana Regiment. 
 
 and feet with arched insteps, combined to prove him a man of 
 good family and culture. A few rods back was a deep hollow, 
 in which the rebels had taken their wounded horses to be killed, 
 and the sight of scores of the poor creatures, mangled and bloody, 
 was quite as depressing as that of the dead soldiers. 
 
 A boy of sixteen or eighteen approached and held out his 
 hand, which I took. Both of us were strangely embarrassed, 
 each curious to hear the other s views, and each hesitating to 
 begin. "Something to drink?" said he, holding out his canteen. 
 "After you, certainly," said I. He winked and smiled as he 
 turned up the canteen, and some subtle instinct made me know 
 his thought. There had been much foolish talk about poison, 
 and he had already heard of our suspicions. He laughed aloud 
 as I turned the canteen high; but this changed to a sort of ap 
 prehensive gaze as he watched the many swallows homeward fly. 
 
 The same offer was made by all we met as we walked toward 
 the town, and I drank more whisky that day than on any other 
 of my life, much more than a pint, and took besides some heavy 
 drinks of brandy which our company had taken from the plun 
 dered drugstore. Yet I felt no sign of intoxication, though the 
 pain in my chest abated. We went to headquarters to take a 
 glance at General Buckner, and then by my captain s orders I 
 sought the nearest rebel hospital, where room was found for me 
 on the floor with a Texan boy whose arm had been broken in 
 our fight the morning before. "How do I know but yo air the 
 man who shot me?" he asked, as we stretched out for the night. 
 "But if yo air I forgive yo . For all I can see one side s fit 
 as brave as t other." I responded as warmly, and we sank to 
 sleep like brothers under one blanket. 
 
 III. 
 
 HORRORS OF A FRESH BATTLE-FIELD. CAMPAIGN MISERIES. A MORAL 
 
 PRECEDING THE STORY. THE PILES OF DEAD AND WOUNDED. 
 
 A NIGHT OF SUFFERING. THE EXPERIENCE OF 
 
 SEEING MEN SLAUGHTERED. 
 
 THE sufferings of one man are of no consequence to man 
 kind in general. Sometimes, however, the one is a type of 
 millions, and he is then justified in telling his story to point a 
 
Appendix. i>n ( .) 
 
 moral. The battle in which I bore a very small part now seems 
 to me the merest trifle ; but the misery which preceded and fol 
 lowed it grows greater in the retrospect. In view of the pre 
 vailing jingoism, especially the feeling toward Great Britain, I 
 feel justified in these details, and shall invert the usual order 
 by giving the moral first. It is this: The man who really wants 
 a war, be it with Great Britain, Spain, or any other Power, is 
 at heart a demon. Smooth and bloodless he may be, dressed in 
 fine cloth and clean linen, and with no spiked tail visible; but 
 at heart that man is a demon. 
 
 The second day after the surrender of Fort Donelson I crept 
 out of the temporary hospital in Dover, and, under the combined 
 stimulus of whisky and quinine, started to find my regiment. 
 Three days and nights of almost continuous exposure and very 
 little sleep had done their perfect work on me. But the sick 
 soldier, not too sick to w r alk, pines for his company and regiment 
 as a sick child pines for home. As I moved slowly up the hill 
 the sight was interesting. Along the river bank lay thousands 
 of captured guns, and details of our men were still firing them 
 off and piling them into wagons. The rebel commissary stores 
 had been thrown open, and soldiers and citizens were carrying 
 off the provisions, especially sugar, in haversacks, buckets, can 
 teens, washpans, and even in caps and blankets. The rebels were 
 being called into line for transportation, and their uniform was 
 like that of the beggar s opera. In place of the solid woolens 
 issued to our men, they had for blankets everything which could 
 be pressed into service bedclothes, tablecloths, sections of 
 woolen carpets, and even women s dresses and piano-covers. The 
 result was a gorgeous parti-colored picture, like those I have 
 seen of a Mexican plaza on a fete day. 
 
 Through the open doors of many houses I saw the ghastly 
 array of wounded men, and in one place the surgeons were still 
 busy with knife and saw, bandage and 1 tourniquet. Out beyond 
 the intrenchment I found the stretcher-bearers still bringing in 
 the dead. The line of battle from first to last extended near 
 eight miles, from the creek below to the swamp above, and the 
 hollows interlocked in scores of places, while in the uncleared 
 
 lowlands the brush was so thick that, as the lines of battle swiftly 
 14 
 
210 The Thirty-first Indiana Regiment. 
 
 changed, men fell dead and were overlooked. The hunting 
 parties were searching everywhere among the bushes and logs, 
 and in the most unexpected places came upon corpses already 
 horribly swollen, for the weather had turned warm as suddenly 
 as it turned cold the first night of the siege. I descended to the 
 hollow we had crossed on the day of battle. The log cabin from 
 which a widow and her children had fled at the first shots had 
 been turned into a field hospital. The mud around it was spotted 
 with blood, and a small heap of dissevered limbs lay awaiting 
 removal, and already decomposing. I toiled on to the camp we 
 had occupied the night before our battle, and found there a few 
 slightly wounded or exhausted men of the First Nebraska Regi 
 ment. They told me their brigade had had a very sharp fight 
 there soon after we left, and our baggage was shot all to pieces, 
 and that Wallace s and Graft s Brigade had gone on to Fort 
 Henry. 
 
 I found space in a wagon-load of sick and wounded, with a 
 sister of charity in command, and we moved on. A light rain 
 had begun to fall; but all along the road lay sick and exhausted 
 men on the ground, on logs, on piles of rails, or anything their 
 comrades could fix for them before passing on. Yet a gum 
 blanket below and above as they lay by twos served as some pro 
 tection. At Fort Henry I found the camps stretching back two 
 miles or more from the river, and for the next week stretcher- 
 bearers and ambulances were perpetually going, and every day 
 a large steamer loaded with the sick moved down the Tennessee. 
 It was common talk in the camps that one-third of Grant s army 
 had been invalided by the Fort Donelson campaign, and one or 
 two out of every company in our regiment died. My own case 
 was simple, and the diagnosis by our surgeon was: "Double 
 pneumonia threatened. Can avert it with a big dose." A big 
 dose it was, of morphine, quinine, and ipecac. For two nights 
 and a day I slept most of the time, and awoke the second morning 
 with something near akin to delirium tremens. The next morn 
 ing I was able to walk to the hospital boat, and my active con 
 nection with the Thirty-first Regiment of Indiana Volunteers 
 ended forever. 
 
Appendix. 211 
 
 If a tender-hearted man of to-day could see the steamer 
 Ohio No. 3 as it was, even at the beginning of that voyage, he 
 could not restrain his tears. What it was when the voyage ended 
 must be largely left to the imagination. It was literally jammed 
 with the sick, and of all that number only thirteen were able to 
 move about. Every stateroom was packed, and on each side of 
 the cabin lay men in close order, their feet toward the center, 
 leaving just room for one to pass between, and not one able to 
 rise or help himself even in the most necessary offices. To take 
 care of this boat-load of utterly helpless men there were just two 
 able-bodied nurses and one hospital steward. A sergeant of our 
 regiment promptly made out a list of the thirteen who were able 
 to move, and urged or ordered that they should act as nurses. 
 In a small space at the rear end of the cabin a table was set for 
 the boatmen, and those who had money and could get to it could 
 buy a meal for fifty cents. I managed to swallow a cup of coffee 
 and one biscuit, then rushed to the guard and contributed my 
 fifty-cent breakfast to the muddy Tennessee an experience re 
 peated more than once on the trip. 
 
 The whole voyage remains in my mind; as a horrid night 
 mare. In that solemn hour between waking and sleeping, when 
 the mind seems to gain fresh retrospective power while the body 
 sinks to rest, the whole scene rises before me. I see especially 
 that poor ISfebraska boy who lay on his back in the corner near 
 the door, insensible, his eyes rolling and his hands perpetually 
 moving as if he were trying to fend off something from his face. 
 For thirty hours he never once ceased this motion, then gasped 
 twice, and was dead. Another dying man kept up a continuous 
 automatic moaning, which seemed to rise and sink like the sigh 
 ing of a wind in the forest. By next morning the cabin was so 
 noisome that one could scarcely abide in it, and yet there had 
 been no deaths, though at least a dozen were evidently dying. 
 Most of the sick were coughing and expectorating dreadfully; 
 but it was impossible for us to take the usual precautions, and 
 the whole floor was a sight to have made the strongest man sick. 
 We lay at Paducah all day, while the surgeon vainly sought for 
 a vacant house. But the report came that the place was already 
 
212 The Thirty-first Indiana Regiment. 
 
 quite overcrowded with sick, and at night we were ordered to 
 move on to Evansville. 
 
 It was a night of horror. The worst cases commenced dying 
 as we shoved off, and as fast as they died they were carried out 
 and laid on the open deck forward, wrapped in their blankets, 
 A fearful storm came on, and in two hours there was a heavy, 
 driving snow, which covered the corpses as we laid them out. 
 It was soon discovered, also, that there were five bad cases of 
 smallpox on the boat, and a general panic was added to our other 
 miseries. Yet I was compelled to eat and compelled to sleep, or 
 die. I bought a plateful of provisions and a tincup of coffee,, 
 and this time took the precaution to stand out on the guards in 
 the cold wind to eat, and it staid with me. Crouching down in 
 the corner of the cabin they had moved the sickest men to the 
 front, and the rear space was almost tolerable with my back 
 against the wall, I managed to get some hours of troubled sleep. 
 The morning was intensely cold; but we had reached the wel 
 come shore of Indiana at last, and pitying friends came to carry 
 our helpless men to the Evansville hospitals. They have since 
 told me that when they entered that cabin they could hardly 
 believe that healthy men could have lived in it one night. Es 
 pecially pitiable was the sight of a pile of corpses on the front 
 deck, apparently of no more consequence than so much cord- 
 wood stacked there, covered with snow and seeming to be partly 
 frozen. 
 
 I need not repeat the oft-detailed story of the hospitals the 
 long wards filled with wounded and sick, the dreadful operating- 
 table, the cries and shrieks of some and the groans of many, the 
 wearisome days in the lonely wards, and the nights of feverish 
 sleep haunted by dreams of the dead. Yet, when the worst was 
 passed, convalescence was delightful, and the natural gayety of 
 young men reasserted itself. When the wounded arrived from 
 the battle-field of Shiloh, convalescents and all had wearing work 
 foY a while. But we were in a well-appointed hospital and a 
 Christian country, where all the people stood ready to supply 
 what the medical storas lacked, and, save the dreadful amputa 
 tions, the horror of which can not be mitigated. Life was not 
 
Appendix. -j 1 :\ 
 
 altogether miserable. I formed many pleasant acquaintances, 
 some among the wounded rebels captured at Shiloh. The de 
 lusion of the days just after Fort Donelson was all dissipated 
 now, and the men of both armies settled d own doggedly to the 
 conclusion that it was to be a long war, and a fight to the finish. 
 In our discussions in the days of convalescence each side held its 
 own tenaciously, but good-humoredly. "You can not conquer 
 the South; no, sir, never!" was the continuous refrain of the 
 Johnnies, as about that time we began to call them. And "This 
 rebellion mus t and shall be put down, and the Union restored," 
 was the conclusion of every argument on the part of the Blue. 
 
 I may, in conclusion, give one experience which may seem 
 trivial; but as it was a matter I was very curious about before 
 the war, others may be curious about it now. When I enlisted 
 I had seen but one person die, and had never once looked on 
 a really ghastly wound. During the battle I only saw two men 
 killed. One of these was apparently shot through the heart, and 
 the other was struck in the head by a shell which exploded just 
 as it struck him. 
 
 When the firing ceased, I saw men on the ground, and just 
 in front of me was a very large man who, I thought, was shot 
 exactly through the center of the head, as I saw the bullet-hole 
 in his forehead. But as I looked he rose to a sitting posture, 
 and grasping both hands full of snow pressed it on the wound 1 . 
 In a month he was well, for the bullet had merely glanced over 
 the skull. In the next two months I saw many, very many, 
 deaths. Most died as gently as a lamp goes out when the oil 
 is exhausted. A few babbled incessantly to the last minute, and 
 three sang and shouted in a kind of religious exultation till in 
 the very article of death. My general conclusion from that and 
 much subsequent experience is that all men, soldiers and others, 
 alike who die of disease go in about the same way, without resist 
 ing death or caring much about it. It is the indescribable misery 
 which precedes death, and the almost infinite misery inflicted 
 upon the innocent, which make me say that the man who really 
 wants another war is at heart a demon. J. H. BEADLE. 
 
214 The Thirty-first Indiana Regiment. 
 
 t 
 
 A TRIBUTE TO THE MEMORY OE LIEUTENANT- 
 COLONEL FRANK L. NEEF. 
 
 FRANCIS LEWIS NEFF was born in the year 1830, in Mercer 
 County (now Boyle), in the State of Kentucky. When he was 
 but three years of age his parents moved from Kentucky, and 
 located in Hendricks County, State of Indiana, near the village 
 of North Salem. His parents were highly respected, and be 
 longed to that large class known as the common people, and were 
 in moderate financial circumstances. His father was a farmer, 
 and only able to purchase a small tract of land on his arrival in 
 Indiana, and that in the woods. Here with all the inconven 
 iences and privations incident to the pioneer he began his life- 
 work to make a farm, provide for and educate his children. 
 Frank s educational advantages were poor. There were no free 
 schools; scarcely any of any kind. For several years after this 
 schools were not taught according to law, but according to the 
 article. The article generally specified that instruction would 
 be given in spelling, reading, writing, and arithmetic to the 
 Rule of Three. It is said that from the time Frank was eight 
 years old he worked almost constantly on their little farm, cul 
 tivating the crop during spring and summer, and clearing more 
 ground during fall and winter. During his minority he worked 
 eleven summers in a brickyard, and the summer before he grad 
 uated in law school he molded and set in kiln each working day, 
 for a day s work, five thousand brick. At the age of nineteen 
 years his father procured from the County Commissioners of 
 Hendricks County a certificate of admission to the State Uni 
 versity at Bloomington, Indiana, the law at that time being that 
 two students from each county were entitled to admission, tuition 
 free, if properly certified by the County Board. He remained 
 in the Literary Department about one year, when he made the 
 acquaintance of the late David McDonald, who was professor 
 of the Law School. The professor told Frank that he had never 
 attended school but thirteen weeks; and Frank was prevailed 
 on to enter the Law School, and, taking the required two regular 
 
Appendix. 215 
 
 terms, he graduated in the spring of 1853, and immediately be 
 gan the practice of law in Danville, in the county where he had 
 grown up to manhood, and the county that had sent him to col 
 lege. In the spring of 1854 he located in the town of Sullivan, 
 and continued in the practice of law, in partnership with his 
 brother, Willis G. Neff. Soon after he was appointed by Gov 
 ernor Joseph A. Wright, Prosecuting Attorney for the district 
 in which he resided. At the expiration of his appointment, he 
 was elected to the same position. He was an earnest, conscien 
 tious, ardent advocate, and was recognized by the legal profession 
 generally as being rather a clear-headed lawyer. It was during 
 his official term that the writer first made his acquaintance; but 
 which did not become intimate or familiar until after we had 
 gone into the service. 
 
 About the last of August, 1861, he came into Camp Yigo 
 as First Lieutenant of a company that was afterward designated 
 as Company D, Thirty-first Eegiment Indiana Volunteers. He 
 was mustered into the service as First Lieutenant, to date from 
 September 5, 1861. He was commissioned Captain, July 31, 
 1862, and was commissioned Major, February 11, 1863, and 
 was mad e Lieutenant-Colonel, July 15, 1863. He was killed on 
 Kenesaw Mountain, in the State of Georgia, on the morning of 
 June 25, 1864. About thirty-four years of age, in the prime of 
 life, full of ambition and hope, Frank L. Neff, a patriot, was 
 shot to death,, a victim of the most inexcusable and vile Ee- 
 bellion known in the annals of the human family. Physically 
 he was small in stature, rather below the medium; but he had 
 the strength and courage of his convictions, and was not the man 
 to be quiet when wrong was being perpetrate^. He was gentle 
 in manner as a child, and had a heart soft and tender as that of 
 a woman. We doubt if he had a real enemy in the world. With 
 neither the disposition or faculty for hoarding, ever willing to 
 divide his last cent or last hardtack with those in need, it was a 
 natural consequence that he never accumulated largely of this 
 world s goods; but he was rich in the love of many a genuine 
 friend. He may have had his weaknesses his faults, if you 
 will but if so, they were such as neither degraded him nor in- 
 
"216 The Thirty-first Indiana Regiment. 
 
 jured his friends. He was modest in bearing, pure in life, never 
 profane, was strictly temperate in his habits; in a word, he was 
 an example of those virtues that characterize the true man and 
 crown the real hero. 
 
 Colonel Neff loved his family and his home. In the field, in 
 camp, or on the march, it mattered not where, he never forgot 
 Amanda Farris Neff or little Ken ton; he was never unfaithful 
 to his marital vows. No tale of questionable romance or scandal 
 ever smirched his character. His native goodness added to his 
 greatness. He was married to Miss Amanda Farris, of Bloom- 
 ington, Indiana, in the summer of 1854, who survived him. It 
 can be said, without fear of any kind of successful contradiction, 
 that the Thirty-first Regiment had a well-established reputation 
 of being reliable. It was seldom sent on any mission that it did 
 not accomplish, or make it self-evident that the work could not 
 be dbne. ~Not only so, but the work was done on time. How 
 many failures resulted from the fact that some one was too slow, 
 or some commander was too fast! It was not so with the Thirty- 
 first, and the regiment in this respect was Colonel NefL A few 
 days before his death, General Stanley came and said he was 
 ordered to take a certain ridge that lay immediately in our front, 
 -and which was held by a strong skirmish-line of the enemy, who 
 was well fortified by the use of intrenchments, or gopher-holes. 
 The General said it could not be taken without great loss, and 
 he regretted to have one of his best regiments cut up; but it 
 being immediately in our front, he could not well send in any 
 other command. After a little consultation, the General was 
 told that if we could take our own time and way we would cheer 
 fully undertake the work. "When is your time?" asked the 
 General, and we answered, "To-morrow morning at daylight." 
 "All right," he replied; "take it to-morrow morning in your own 
 way." This ridge was about midway between the lines of the 
 contending armies, and near the north end of the ridge was a 
 sugar-loaf hill of considerable size. After dark Neff and I ex 
 plored this hill, and while the Confederates had a gopher hole 
 within twenty-five yards, they were not in possession of the hill. 
 So he proposed to take his old Company D, go in and fortify 
 
Appendix. 217 
 
 the hill, and this he did. Just how a man could take a company 
 and dig a trench, throw up an embankment within twenty-five 
 yards of twenty or thirty men, gather dry weeds and cover the 
 fresh earth, and not attract attention, is a matter more easily con 
 ceived than executed. Just before daylight the regiment was 
 moved out by platoons within seventy-five yards of the enemy, 
 and lay down in an open field, to await the next move on the 
 checkerboard by Neff. At six o clock the bugle in the rear was 
 sounded, and Neff immediately opened fire on the enemy s line, 
 who were wonderfully surprised to find bullets coming from that 
 hill, and after giving them a round or two the firing ceased, and 
 within a minute the regiment was at the gopher-holes, and we 
 captured about as many men as we had in the regiment, without 
 getting a man hurt. I relate this incident to show that grand 
 trait in the character of Colonel N"eff, so important in military 
 life that of being always just on time. 
 
 COMMISSIONS AND PROMOTIONS. 
 
 THE Thirty-first Regiment Indiana Volunteers had, during 
 its term of service, four Colonels, seven Lieutenant-Colonels, 
 nine Majors, five Adjutants, three Quartermasters, two Chap 
 lains, three Surgeons, six Assistant Surgeons, forty-one Cap 
 tains, fifty-five First Lieutenants, and fifty-five Second Lieuten 
 ants. There were thirty-nine original appointments, and there 
 were one hundred and fifty-one promotions, making one hundred 
 and ninety commissions issued to various members of the regi 
 ment, being a larger number than was issued to any other 
 infantry or cavalry regiment that went into the service from the 
 State of Indiana. 
 
 The Thirty-first Regiment went into the service with forty- 
 four commissioned officers, andjiineteen non-commissioned offi 
 cers and band. There were nine hundred and seventy-five en 
 listed men, including sergeants, corporals, musicians, and 
 wagoner. The regiment received five hundred and sixty-three 
 recruits. Ten commissioned officers were killed in action, died 
 of wounds or disease, and three hundred and fifty-six enlisted 
 
218 
 
 The Thirty-first Indiana Regiment 
 
 men were killed or died while in the service. There were forty- 
 six men deserted, and thirteen more were never accounted for. 
 Whole number mustered into the regiment, 1,886. The regi 
 ment lost more men killed in action, or who died of wounds or 
 disease, than any other infantry or cavalry regiment that went 
 into the service from the State of Indiana. The Thirtieth Regi 
 ment, before its reorganization, came within one of being equal 
 to it; but it reorganized and entered the service for another 
 term, and from first to last had mustered into it 2,211 men, and 
 including both organizations it lost by death thirteen more men 
 than did the Thirty-first Regiment, and in this respect it leads 
 all Indiana infantry and cavalry regiments. 
 
 PRESENT OR ACCOUNTED EOR. 
 
 THERE were ninety-eight non-commissioned officers and en 
 listed men in each company at its original organization. The 
 following table, which is substantially correct, accounts for each 
 man in the regiment: 
 
 o 
 
 
 
 
 
 a 
 
 
 
 ta 
 
 
 
 
 
 umber who Served 
 their Three Years, 
 
 umber of Veterans 
 who were Dis 
 charged with Reg 
 iment; 
 
 umber who were 
 Discharged for 
 Disability, Disease 
 and Wounds 
 
 umber Killed 
 
 umber Died in the 
 Service 
 
 umber Deserted... 
 
 umber Promoted.. 
 
 [umber Trans 
 ferred 
 
 umber Discharged 
 is Exchanged 
 Prisoners 
 
 umber Missing or 
 Unaccounted for.. 
 
 A 
 
 15 
 
 22 
 
 22 
 
 9 
 
 18 
 
 2 
 
 6 
 
 3 
 
 2 
 
 
 B 
 
 10 
 
 10 
 
 39 
 
 7 
 
 17 
 
 9 
 
 5 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 C 
 
 13 
 
 27 
 
 13 
 
 6 
 
 25 
 
 2 
 
 7 
 
 3 
 
 
 1 
 
 D 
 
 17 
 
 16 
 
 20 
 
 6 
 
 22 
 
 7 
 
 6 
 
 3 
 
 
 2 
 
 E 
 
 13 
 
 15 
 
 25 
 
 8 
 
 15 
 
 14 
 
 3 
 
 2 
 
 
 3 
 
 F 
 
 11 
 
 28 
 
 28 
 
 3 
 
 16 
 
 3 
 
 5 
 
 3 
 
 
 1 
 
 G 
 
 14 
 
 22 
 
 28 
 
 5 
 
 14 
 
 7 
 
 4 
 
 4 
 
 
 
 H 
 
 21 
 
 18 
 
 26 
 
 
 24 
 
 2 . 
 
 3 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 
 I 
 
 17 
 
 18 
 
 27 
 
 3 
 
 15 
 
 5 
 
 7 
 
 3 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 K 
 
 19 
 
 16 
 
 22 
 
 8 
 
 .18 
 
 5 
 
 7 
 
 4 
 
 
 
Appendix. 219 
 
 GENERAL SHERMAN S CAMPAIGN IN GEORGIA. 
 
 BY GRANVILLE ABBOTT, CORPORAL, COMPANY I, THIRTY-FIRST 
 REGIMENT, INDIANA VOLUNTEERS. 
 
 General Sherman, it is said, 
 
 Hurra! hurra! 
 With plans which he himself had made, 
 
 Hurra! hurra! 
 
 Way down in Georgia made a raid, 
 With men who in their places staid ; 
 We 11 all feel gay, 
 When Johnny comes marching home! 
 
 Ringgold he left the fourth of May, 
 Took Tunnel Hill upon his way, 
 And captured all that there did stay, 
 Which was the work of but a day. 
 
 " I see," says Sherman, " you re induced 
 To give the rebs an upper boost ;" 
 Then we our batteries unloosed, 
 And threw up shells on Buzzard Roost. 
 
 They thought up there they had a trap 
 To catch the General in a snap ; 
 Thinking he would charge the gap, 
 But soon they found out their mishap. 
 
 For Sherman, as a soldier-boy, 
 Deployed his army like a toy, 
 And " flanked" the " Johnnies," to our joy, 
 Which did the rebels much annoy. 
 
 T was here our boys their fun began , 
 And round these hills our army span ; 
 We charged our guns each by its man, 
 Then showed ourselves ! but Johnnies ran. 
 
 At Ackworth and Resaca, few 
 Their courage lines still to renew ; 
 There on the First Brigade they flew, 
 But found more work than they could do. 
 
 For Hooker came around in time 
 To form his " regiment" into line ; 
 And with a lead saltpetre mine, 
 Piled them up like slaughtered swine. 
 
The Thirty -first Indiana Regiment. 
 
 Old Bragg had then just come out west, 
 And said to Johnson : " It is best ; 
 I speak the truth, it is no jest, 
 Go dig yourself another nest." 
 
 Then quickly a retreat began, 
 Headed by that arch-traitor man ; 
 A dust was raised up as they ran, 
 Using their coat-tails for a fan. 
 
 At New Hope Church and Dallas Hills 
 We gave them more of "Lincoln s pills ;" 
 And with an aim that always kills, 
 To show them we have " powder drills." 
 
 To Pine Mountain now they lope, 
 And there a shell killed Bishop Polk ; 
 He thus escaped a knotted rope, 
 His fate to others is my hope. 
 
 Now at Ball Knob and Kenesaw, 
 With picks and spades we dirt did paw ; 
 Two hundred yards in front we saw 
 The horrors of Jeff. Davis law. 
 
 To fight " Gray backs" with sure licks, 
 I 11 tell you one of Sherman s tricks : 
 We in our works drove sharp sticks 
 To prod the rebels in their quicks. 
 
 There, " cannonades we flung all round," 
 That they in rebeldom might sound, 
 There many a dead lay on the ground ; 
 A traitor s grave their souls have found. 
 
 Next they showed a disposition, 
 And to fall back was their decision, 
 That they might find a better position 
 Down by their military prison. 
 
 Fourth of July, all wide awake, 
 
 On rebel lines w r e made a break ; 
 
 I speak the truth, and no mistake, , 
 
 The rebels in their boots did shake. 
 
 While cannonades tore down their fort, 
 This work to us was truly sport ; 
 And " Johnnies " to our left did lurk 
 To see if they could not desert. 
 
Appendix. 221 
 
 The officers next day could see 
 The river called Ohnttahoochee ; 
 They saw Atlanta, and drank their tea 
 To the health of " Old A B E." 
 
 It was not long ere a pontoon 
 The river span, to give us room, 
 To cross our corps, and seal the doom 
 Of rebel hearts where cannons boom. 
 
 Now we knew that all was right, 
 "Ant-lanta " being close in sight ; 
 We knew our task could not be light, 
 And soon we had a bloody fight. 
 
 First, " Fighting Jo " the rebs did test, 
 McPherson /iext was on our left, 
 And both these armies came out best ; 
 McPherson s soul is now at rest. 
 
 Camp-kettles now burst all around, 
 Tearing the dirt up from the ground, 
 And o er our breastworks they do sound, 
 As to the Q. M. s rear they are bound. 
 
 The last few days, close on our right 
 Has been the spot for us to fight ; 
 This we have done with all our mights, 
 To give graybacks their Southern rights. 
 
 Savannah ours now, all right ; 
 
 The Stars and Stripes wave out there bright ; 
 
 If traitors think this is not right, 
 
 Let them try us another fight. 
 
 To be a soldier is all right, 
 But to enlist, enlist to fight, 
 Not " in the rear," out of sight, 
 For our expenses are not light. 
 
 But our expenses are not all, 
 
 We must have men at every call ; 
 
 The Stars and Stripes must float, not fall. 
 
 And Union live in Congress hall. 
 
 My three years now are almost out, 
 And soon I 11 take a Northern route, 
 What are you Butternuts about? 
 Your heads I 11 twist off by your snout. 
 
222 The Thirty-first Indiana Regiment. 
 
 I wonder how the North does stand, 
 To have such traitors in the land ; 
 Poison as copperheads in sand, 
 With stingers in their tongues and hands. 
 
 Now if you do not like my rhyme, 
 Enlist, or Abe won t give you time ; 
 But conscript you into the line, 
 Where rebel balls will make you whine. 
 
 SUMMAKY OF THE PRINCIPAL EVENTS 
 
 OF THE ATLANTA (GEORGIA) CAMPAIGN, FROM MAY 1 TO SEPTEMBER 8, 
 
 1864, AS GIVEN IN OFFICIAL RECORDS OF THE WAR OF 
 
 THE REBELLION. 
 
 May 1, 1864. Skirmish at Stone Church. 
 
 2. Skirmish at Lee s Cross-roads, near Tunnel 
 
 Hill. 
 Skirmish at Ringgold Gap. 
 
 3. Skirmish at Catoosa Springs. 
 Skirmish at Red Clay. 
 Skirmish at Chickamauga Creek. 
 
 4. Major-General Frank P. Blair, Jr., assumes 
 
 command of the Seventeenth Army 
 Corps. 
 Skirmish at Varnell s Station Road. 
 
 5. Skirmish near Tunnel Hill. 
 6-7. Skirmishes at Tunnel Hill. 
 
 7. Skirmish at Varnell s Station. 
 
 Skirmish near JSTickajack Gap. 
 
 8-11, Demonstration against Rocky Face Ridge, 
 
 with combats at Buzzard Roost or Mill 
 Creek Gap and Dug Gap. 
 
 8-13. Demonstration against Resaca, with combats 
 
 at Snake Creek Gap, Sugar Valley, near 
 Resaca. 
 
 9-13. Demonstration against Dalton, with com 
 
 bats near Varnell s Station (9th and 
 12th), and at Dalton the 13th. 
 13. Skirmish at Tilton. 
 
Appendix. 223 
 
 May 14-15, 1864. Battle of Eesaca. 
 
 15. Skirmish at Armuchee Creek. 
 Skirmish near Rome. 
 
 16. Skirmish near Calhoun. 
 
 Action at Rome, or Parker s Cross-roads. 
 Skirmish at Floyd s Spring. 
 
 17. Engagement at Adairsville. 
 Action at Rome. 
 
 Affair at Madison Station, Ala. 
 
 18. Skirmish at Pine Log Creek. 
 18-19. Combats near Kingston. 
 
 Combats near Cassville. 
 20. Skirmish at Etowah River, near Cartersville. 
 
 23. Action at Stilesborough. 
 
 24. Skirmish at Cass Station and Cassville. 
 Skirmish at Burnt Hickory, or Huntsville. 
 Skirmish near Dallas. 
 
 2 5- June 5. Operations on the line of Pumpkin-vine 
 Creek, with combats at New Hope 
 Church, Pickett s Mills, and other 
 points. 
 
 2 6- June 1. Combats at and about Dallas. 
 
 27. Skirmish at Pond Springs, Ala. 
 
 29. Action at Moulton, Ala. 
 
 June 9. Skirmish near Big Shanty and near Stiles- 
 
 borough. 
 
 10. Skirmish at Calhoun. 
 
 10-July 3. Operations about Marietta, with combats at 
 Pine Hill, Lost Mountain, Brush Moun 
 tain, Gilgal Church, Noonday Creek, 
 McAfee s Cross-roads, Kenesaw Moun 
 tain, Powder Springs, Cheney s Farm, 
 Kolb s Farm, Alley s Creek, Mckajack 
 Creek, Noyes s Creek, and other points. 
 
 24. Action at LaFayette. 
 
 July 4. Skirmish at Ruff s Mill, Neal Dow Station, 
 
 and Rotten-wood Creek. 
 
224 The Thirty-first Indiana Regiment. 
 
 July 5-17, 1804. Operations on the line of the Chattahoochee 
 
 River, with skirmishes at Howell s, 
 Turner s, and Pace s Ferries, Isham s 
 Ford, and other points. 
 
 10-22. Rousseau s raid from Decatur, Ala., to the 
 
 West Point and Montgomery Railroad, 
 with skirmishes near Coosa River 
 (13th), near Greenpoint and at Ten 
 Island Ford (14th), near Auburn and 
 near Chehaw, the 18th. 
 
 18. Skirmish at Buck Head. 
 
 General John B. Hood, C. S. Army, succeeds 
 General Joseph E. Johnston in com 
 mand of the Army of Tennessee. 
 
 19. Skirmish on Peach-tree Creek. 
 
 20. Battle of Peach-tree Creek. 
 
 21. Engagement at Bald or Liggett s Hill. 
 
 22. Battle of Atlanta. 
 
 Major-General John A. Logan, U. S. Army, 
 succeeds Major-General James B. Mc- 
 Pherson in command of the Army of 
 the Tennessee. 
 22-24. Garrard s raid to Covington. 
 
 23. Brigadier-General Morgan L. Smith, U. S. 
 
 Army, in temporary command of the 
 Fifteenth Army Corps. 
 
 2 3- Aug. 25. Operations about Atlanta, including battle 
 of Ezra Church (July 28th), assault at 
 Utoy Creek (Aug. 16th), and other 
 combats. 
 
 24. Skirmish near Cartersville. 
 
 27. Major-General Oliver O. Howard, U. S. 
 
 Army, assumes command of the Army 
 of the Tennessee. 
 
 Major-General John A. Logan, U. S. Army, 
 resumes command of the Fifteenth 
 Army Corps. 
 
r. 225 
 
 July. 27, 1864. Major-General David S. Stanley, U. S. 
 Army, succeeds Major-General Howard 
 in command of the Fourth Corps. 
 Brigadier-General Alpheus S. Williams suc 
 ceeds Major-General Joseph Hooker in 
 temporary command of Twentieth 
 Corps. 
 
 27-31. McCook s raid on the Atlanta & West Point 
 
 and Macon & Western Railroads, with 
 skirmishes near Campbellton (28th), 
 near Lovejoy s Station (29th), at Clear 
 Creek (30th), and action near New 
 man (30th). 
 
 Garrard s raid to South River, with skir 
 mishes at Snapfinger Creek (27th), Flat 
 Rock Bridge and Lithonia (28th). 
 
 27-Aug. 6. Stonenlan s raid to Macon, with combats at 
 Macon and Clinton (July 30th), Hills- 
 borough (July 30th, 31st), Mulberry 
 Creek and Jug Tavern (Aug. 9th). 
 
 30. Major-General Henry W. Slocum, II. S. 
 
 Army, assigned to the command of the 
 Twentieth Army Corps. 
 
 Aug. 7. Brigadier-General Richard W. Johnson in 
 
 temporary command of the Fourteenth 
 Army Corps, succeeding Major-General 
 John M. Palmer. 
 
 9. Brevet Major-General Jefferson C. Davis, 
 
 U. S. Army, assigned to the command 
 of the Fourteenth Army Corps. 
 
 10-Sept. 9. Wheeler s raid to North Georgia and East 
 Tennessee, with combats at Dalton 
 (Aug. 14th, 15th), and other points. 
 
 15. Skirmishes at Sandtown and Fairburn. 
 
 18-22. Kilpatrick s raid from SandtoAvn to Love- 
 
 joy s Station, with combats at Camp 
 Creek (18th), Red Oak (19th), Flint 
 River (19th), Jonesborough (19th), and 
 
 Lovejoy s Station (20th). 
 15 
 
226 The Thirty-first Indiana Regiment. 
 
 Aug. 22, 18tU. Brevet Major-General Jefferson C. Davis 
 assumes command of the Fourteenth 
 Army Corps. 
 
 26-Sept. 1. Operations at the Chattahoochee Kailroad 
 brid ge, and at Pace s and Turner s Fer 
 ries, with skirmishes. 
 
 27. Major-General Henry W. Slocum, U. S. 
 
 Army, assumes command of the Twen 
 tieth Army Corps. 
 
 29. Skirmishes near Red Oak. 
 
 30. Skirmishes near East Point. 
 Action at Flint River Bridge. 
 
 31. Skirmish near Rough and Ready Station. 
 31-Sept. 1. Battle of Jonesborough. 
 
 Sept. 2. Union occupation of Atlanta. 
 
 2-5. Actions at Love joy s Station. 
 
 6. The campaign was officially announced 
 
 closed, and orders were given for the 
 army to move to Atlanta. 
 
 8. The Fourth Army Corps reached Atlanta, 
 
 and went into camp. 
 
,5 
 
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