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. NTEEK8 t> H Tit i rt ij-li rxt l!i<inu>iit. \\\\\ ;SS^ :=# pa - Ei E E- - 8d c c 55 65 II P-S- = s < - i n co co Q t>- t^- 55 1 ri : s ~ - p^ H <r- = = - ?, o g g ~ ~ J 3 06 oo o5 oc ii c -- i ^ r r : r ^ 3 B ~ <K Hc ^ /. on ^ * . T X _z - ^ z . . 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S Ira Wina James K. 15 o; T* on ens, G ame esl In til }V<I, <>1 //// Iul>, II i,,H. 147 - / /. d o - o ^ .5 co ^ K ftl 1 O ^ | g 1 I -M O ^: 02 h ^ p -d <D . d J - p ^S r- JD S xl - So ; SS ^ S**5o ~- ~^ X - .1" -I S c^ ^ * ? *-|s"-|,^1*-Ss28"sVl, ^ ^ J. l li ^ 1 O 4A M 1!^ \sT -i-T 1 1 z 1 c~NcT o vif cT V ^T I -5 5533-5 aS5 * -"-1-^ -~ "~ ^O _ | Ill X 5 || l|| | jQoG >^ /. /I 71 . 9^ Robert T. McK.-c. Orolenna King, . Kot)crt Hullett. . ^^ PQ s- .-< MUSICIANS William H. McCuii John Bowen, . . . >IMX()!)VA\ 1 1-5 PRIVATES ti < c _r I; William Antibus, Stephen N. Barnes, Edward J. Bartin, e" . . A r/M oT o5 -M^" "S5 i i = -: -^ -t Elliot Bowen, . . C - ca c~ f a3 . - O fn J^ ^ - ^ ? sllllllpl^ Ii|Hlf^II - :Ott!lSC)4 a =~W |ola-8isliis> 148 The Thirty-first Indiana Regiment *.= - *- 1 .11 . sl i^l IHK - * 90 il c -g s ggTjSESSt H 149 c 1 I gg T3 00 C 3 s a I 4 1 3 > r c > s- (Ss o . s " ^ oc ^ : - O^J ~<: \ ^^ *" Ifc as r.* - -iC S c CD rzJ 5 J25 "" "Sc - *.|2S . g ? 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OQ fl c !z ^ - 4 fc p- _- ^ - - = -a- u, ^^ ^r^^-, ^ G o I iii *l5 g ) Si ~ In 52 2 6 5 1 111 HI 111 t 1 ^;;ii Pvtf T^r-j Q C * t) d sl yy fg&l w ~ O r ^ O O ""O O O V: X CC X O X -/; i) r/; -/; k> ^ -^ /^ ^ "-^ ^ /-\ V^ /^ /^! S ~ L ~ ~ ~ S 5 -nS 5 2 o S3 HOh-3 H> Ml c ^ si inn 5^ =^ S ^ 3 y- x a ~ c s SJ-l-^s-^ 152 The Thirty-first Indiana Regiment 32 5 1 s If "I 2 QC . 2| ra ed i IliIiJijilililFji In the War of the Rebellion. 158 a *2 ;: ~ i 5 o 0> 03 S 154 The Thirty-first Indiana Regiment vi T i i ^ ^"iliJW \i P i in -* s? . -- 60 aj-^g, cS ?c 3fl si isi s , IF 1 .1 1 il 5 - - c: 2 0^ O) 73 73 H ac < P g CC OC -H"cT o &a7o o cm <s x ; * .3 * S i 1^1 O r2 O CU 5 O a; H O <JH H y i ^ -2 . flllllllllllilll II Hill /// tin \\ <l/ of fli> Ii> ! I/toil . 5 - 5 " o > O > m > O <D -: a; o> c| I * C IZ . GC s. +J ^* ^ ^ i 5 5> ^H O E = = . S|2l |i2! s^-^8 OJ oT 2 2 C cO -* ~ ^. \-~ S o.1=^:r - .5 oT"3 pa j~. n x. -^ x CV = = i c S,r s .-5 7 >i . &J2 !^a=- ? eS <2 ?!.= =; : O 5H C ^"^-= : yii^ E S:fcgtaL-f!S :^St25 d SM 5 Cj l l: M 156 The Thirty-first Indiana Regiment 5 -; . S^ p -M +a J-T-3 s3 f^ 3 . Ill 1S<5 all . T3 -*-H s- O <D S3 J2 ^ ^^ in-dr^ - CD CD W CO iO GC OC OC CD i -^ i <x ^rrC T Q Q P P P ____ CDCDCDCOCOCDCDCD ac ac ac oc oc cx; cc oc -^ CD oc oc cc t- M ^ TJI r-ac os ^o as CD crac uo ^Hl 1 S i IC^ iT-H^jCOl-H 1 W i 1 1 1 5 > e W) ^ > . SlIIIlllllIIIMMI^J p ^^ OW OHWOH W d**d s * -1 *** a^ - 6 rf lllllltlllllllllillill ss S ci C 3 C c . c orj o o -T o _j -t-s CO -t- 3 |>. (Drq ^r^ ^. "o^ oC K p a; o o S PH O PM ft ^3 T" ^"^ 35 tc | !" < . .-f? . /// t/ }] ((! <>f /// / < It, II /Oil. G 35 & -2 C O . a-Sw 1 O 3 CO t.oc; ooc . sc - ^ ^M - d ^~ _ QC^CC S 5cS t^ ~ r-H CO U GO ^ 2 co 2 S ~ 2 ~t!^ rjiijij! teran ; d ed March ^ .c ^ o fi 5 = g S c c OO ^ . ci ^^ . i lili Is > > ^ > x. -*j > 8*1 02 158 Thirty-first Indiana Regiment z < Q- _2o o r ^ r ^ r ^ o_2o r ^_^ v * "C o c sj r & < ~ > G r T3Q&Q >r & r & _ .2 .2 .2 .2 .2 .2 " .2 .2 "S .2 .2 .22 .2 .2 S S .2 .2 S "S .2 .2 .2 .2 o3 .2 "S O 2 / o Sg z K -^ 111 s " ^ 0) ui i :: . :* :::::::::::::: i ^s .-.:. g 02 a | S ?. >S || SS - S SS ? 5SS!!S:!5 | |11Ji ss | 11 CO McO ^g pQPHCOfflCQ !^ HCO M C " C : In the- War of the Rebel! <,. I.V.I - >> l ^ o Si = . il .-73 ^r a A Oi r2 * i >H :s ssgei II Ow ^"^ _^ . -v ^H P 5 *3 ^ ss r-X >*& ^ G. $;** lill 25 ~ X *" 3 +a ?J 71 ft ^ S/*U wfl ^ P s P s a ^^n^r: M TH ^ o ^< 3 12 X S ,3 --e ^ -c - ^ es --S*2-sS^rl-2 s^ 8 ^ 5 1 = li s lt^ sa -- i 7 r li~~ CO *"!.^ _._k>,-i>-^GC so/i-, "-^ CD i? ^ ~H.-ilE --/-2S-^^ s iS^ "rcc 1-f igx-^:^-F^: ^nd ^^ q S S C 71 ^^ ^ .^flJ eg flJ 2 fi| D .: U <1) . 3^ t if, p II <lll II? Illlll illl S . |S M .^ pp 160 Thirty-first Indiana Regiment f> , ? -S -T A 11 g _o/ c O M -- ...g S 10 "c >tH ~ 2 P3 id CD id S j M 3 !i> isf iS ^F "" 1 5 ^ ^ -u id id" ^t>^ T ^ en ~r~T* s "" - . 1 ~ l m ^ ^ "S " Q > Z < __ _ ___ ^ _ S5S555SS8SSSSBS5r CO CO CO CD CDCDCDCDCD LL OC"CO"O^CD" co"oo"i-rco"i-rcD"ocrco ^ ^ oc~^ cTcD"co" QC"PCD"QC" Z H^ % rHIM^H^-T^ (N i-l (M rH rH^^"^^ ^ ?1 I ^-t ^ ^ R TH 111 - ^^ " "l^l * ull ^uP <*, - ^ k2 ^k5 R^ cDt5i5 P< ,2 ft Q -<C<I^ O^1gpQso^<J^ -"1 ^^^ <j^^^ UJ - -I W M i .:: fi 1 B 5 c~ ; c g c PH CD >.>--- .> -2 - .> - ^ - ^ ^ 3 - ^ - S .> -| .> L r 3 3-5 s oi s H PH^ ^ GQ >gj HS GQ X 5Q O GQ - M fe ^ : PH H fi M H J < *< S^rK ^bJ P- PH C h-iH.S^fl g u^ HH ^ S ^ g t*- "111 ^ >- ^l ^ J2 SaSs o i^lSi m sa!Sa:!W jBg a g?S|s^ s In the War of the Rebellion. 161 , . . S S E S | gs S i 1 &* 2 C > tZ^^^xx-S o ^ . 0) p 03 . X V o u ; o u ^3 u Y. Y. /. x Y. DO O S CO ^2 X ^S- - 2 ~ O ^ < UJ 0) S - H Jl Sl ^ >> - - : M g 4J -- ^, V. _ o a * 53 rt S .- .- .22 o .- .- .- . .- ^ ^ Y> Y- Y. Y P C fl 5- - a g CC OQ -:(-: 162 The Thirty-first Indiana Regiment o Sc 02 S 1 5 .9 ^^ 2 5 c 5 w W =H ^ pS = -!,= 1 || |* s?t=*|^|pl2s2|||^|^| IK the War of tJie It* lull inn. e > t s|f; I 00 > .5 >, . ,- - x S| w j3 - s^ ojiocS ff 2-*o - -,-_ .,- 2.^15 S||J^|Kgi2*|*a|j l|Isl||5E|l!^llllii T?-TS d_d 3O rC 1 ^^ :vi XT; r ^-: p^ ^~y: . ? s1? -".ig^- 1 _-^== i-I 00 ? 1 ; ;" ^ .. .- 5 ..^ ^ c : C -I n ^ ^ 4i - 5 B U SB ^ L - ^ ^ -^-> ^^ i^ i^l-^IS gg S ;?iL:i^ ! rr ? ^t ^ dccx ?^ ~ >>;.H ^ *^ o ^ p ~,~~ | ^^^5 tlsa ". ! c .^ 4) co . STSrr, tr. r s, c o ^ & *J^^ ?-d S ^ ili ^c * ^ 3*0 fi .2 .S >> Q > g > " ^ "S ^^^* "^^^ ** es ^-- r -X- . .5 - E 1" ^ g* ^2 83^, 35 s * - - - o^*J~ > o*~ i OK- C fl} 0? d> ^*^ fl} *r^ ^ d) 111 /}^-E- ,. o <- >t S * js 2 ,r ,. " = == r -E r .fl p H P-=S- Isllllillllllllllllwllllllllllllllll 164 The Thirty-first Indiana Regiment i ^ = ^ 1 firt O C eter d eteran ; d to D te te te ra har ra har r Se o ffi QgrGrW Q} ^H Qj rt) 3j ^J ^. -U 4J +- xwmMwja^ja ,c; ^Prt^0 a aia) ya) 2 iyrJ glSSSfll! .s.2 SSWQp(S>S^SSS fcJCbCC o oo c ^ o c S , o r^" DATE OF MUSTER. - OOdJCO j 00 00 S 3 V3 *"W 5 hC^>r/) =ll=|=S|o|= In the War of the Rebellion. 165 1 5 o o z^ p ^ ^ s) r ^ o o o o F ^ ""c^ *"o *"o ^ ^ ""o ^* ""o ""o r ^ o o o o o r ^ r ^ o o o* c3 o 72 oa -/: G) oj !Xi G^ x x v: x x x x ^ DDfl3n24>S2oDSS u O a; GO M cc w "~ 5 5 H 5 5 5S 553 S 535 S 5 5 5 IffOJ^ft^CC t^lff MOC tCOT It^CClffQCt^CC f MCCt-COOOGC IffOO-f T-i -r^. ~ ~^ T* ^ ^. -H ^ TH 1 I I ( T (M 1 I I (Ml I^^^T I 1 I - . O O O O 125055 -O O <D ....... ^ . . i . . . "3 c? ; . .s . : :| a HH . .| : : : : 1 : : : & , . . i 1 . g s . a H o Q 166 (? Thirty-first Indiana Regiment DATE OF MUSTER. 2-2 T3 . T3 10 c ._. 5 co *-> ^ 1O ^ " /^ * i D CD ^-i3;~~ ooc -H o^ C ^1 ~ of ^ ~ ^ ccascc^ ^ ^ *rt^ o o "^ O) <D O) O 0, tXtX tx b 3 1 r ^ s &&&3 l1 1-| ^ ^ & ^1 W CN r^ o d o ~ + d be C^;:;:^ t^2 ^OOOO i-nO^-i 0x^0)02 O^O Tjis . S 3 Si - - g . ."5 ^S S|y -| _a 1 I I1I|S||^ Hi /// War of the Rebellion. \(\1 ged Dec lo, 1XI ,1. discl d Se Q Q .... - Hill g^-g^- ^ 5^^ 5 ~ 5 c 5 5 S-^J 2 5 2 5 S^^o^ a o^^ o B o S^-g-^^^^-g- ID .2 .5 .sS 2 .2 .- .Ss .- ^ .2 "S . x ^ " K x ,^>cc;q^c; s $ OH o .2 cs~ S.2S 1 --3 3 5 > * *" "" " * . r r-^ r- O Z^ ^ ^ ^i r-^ -I rA) I-- ^^ ^-* ^> c^i m ~~ f\ ^ - ~" ^i "* r r 11 1 JI* I rI : |^M: : *fi^^Ss J3;;?: o - % ?, 3 2 | C 3 *5-C J2 &g g-2 S S-^ c = S i3 glfS* 2 168 The Thirty-first Indiana Regiment s r > 53 o . .- c O < ic ^ ic ^ fl P 13 00*0 00 CU 3 r ^ -IT M S V ft -.EH g g ft $ ft " I ~t CD -*,-S 00 OO T-H .5 OW ^M ?rf-8So02SJ30 ^ c bC a> . "d A - ^ ^ T3 r^ ^ a; a; a> -i TS il) ^^^S^ --^ " 52 |sg lsgsl C -5 >r d M S.Sf 1 PQ Q O Q .js -^ t> .^ fp^ = ?h^ = .2 I s S5e- . > ^ c bC /// the War of the Rebellion. 169 d. ; dra d. d gi d Jan. 1 , 1865. June 20, 186 his Way to June 20, 186 Dec. 8, 1865. dr Ala 186 hen riri ischarged ischarged eserted on ischarged ischarged , 8 rged June an. 3, 1865 Dec. Disc Died ii ft & 2~2g" e3 0. 5^ s ^. 3 -o 1 . -d - ^ . r. ^ C r 170 The Thirty -first Indiana Regiment 2 5 s a- ^ ^ a. cc VSsV. - - 03" . <D r . c . " C 0^^0-4JC T3 0> O) O be tCbC^bObOgObC o o a r^ o o o c O3 33 OS ^ !K /! GC DC Q QCS2 T^ e ilossom, X! b O ^ s L -9 - ^ ^ ^ S ^ "So c 1 ;_ (J *" 1 ! *> ^ rT :J ^ K . . ^^ 1 5 oT aT^T^ ^^a^t^^ ST3 ^^ In the War of the Rebellion. 171 2 g cc |^rjs?j|" s a a; ^ o ~ 3 o >T* ~ X "3 -^ . ^3 (!)2S"~"-(-3-t J ~~ 3c"S~ - ;S-i-3 ~^CC^ - oC gQGQQ "^r^^Tjr^r x 5c x 3c 3c S bn 2 2 *C ^ ^ ^^ iitj! 4 1 ^ - | ^- ) - ^- < - ^ ISM* s^is $M& & in in ii 9 ~ 2 -r ^c5:^ f J2 2 g 2 ^ ^^=1 saslaia.jS S Sls Itflls li|228ill|f a Mrf !j|li|^lllPl5^ll|ll6l ^O ^*^ i, ^C QC X ^ X C g S c 8 g ~ 1 ~ - " / c ill I: - -^ r . K^.^^K .&=, 3 s a o S c tf 172 Thirty-first Indiana Regiment c . 1 = 1 ^ 00 }< no Q PC; .5 If Illl 58 O - O ~ tr o .- s 1= = I II 1 I I II I 15 K J I M A o 1 1 II fes II 81 O< K S5 ^ O rH O <U < 3 ^ w 5 ^Si - a fl d S d 1 w BD W CJT^"^_( 37? o t*!* a^Oe-S^u^.^O^^^ - - /// the War of the Rebellion. s g a, sg, 2>^i|^s,i;r.||i|2>>|^ ^>>pil|i- .11 is.- - .- > H > 3 2 174 The Thirty -first Indiana Regiment CQ 03 W 5 C - r- 0) o 15 "S -~ o s ^ - s^ ^ J-s-s 1 Mx-^M S5 c P I George AV. A Henry Bend In the War of th 175 *. a^l 3 -Sd gg |y| | || || Ew w o> a) ~ tJC tX tX t~ t QD&aoaQOBGOW&aaflQ^aoVaoVaQ at ID S OB QJ M 3 o n v aa OB QQ S c:z;5i:5;5:5;5;;5E:5:5:5 ES;5 22 [222:522 f-t t-f M -fCC ti f M-f ^ Tti ^ Ml^^-fTti ^-fCC-ti f f-t -t ** ^^^^^^^^^^032 ODO ^^^^^;^:^;^;^:^;-r:^;^: CD^ XXXXXXXXXXX OCX XXXXXXXXXXXXX OCX ^C n CO CO C^ 1>~ X C^ CO C* Ci ^ "T"! O ^ CC CO ~ CO i^T O CO n CO C 1 ! CO CO O ^ "3;^ S C 773 ^ "an ~ > i_ "w 3 CB Si 176 The Thirty-first Indiana Regiment 1C 1C CD CD gricSs^ri<q-e Sills 8 S1 S 5 p 5 5 5 8 o O g o ^ ^^2 11 ig Illli S CD . lS.Sl.8 $1 si CO GC, O CO 00^ rll > Q O CD (M SX M If -! c u Sv C3 II > o o> -y;-^ s 1 = 0) 2tf EH < d)>d tf JS^ s c ^ 5 9 .Sr? ^ O^ S^.^SK 02 O tr ^ JpOci^ S * ^ .5 S^.S fl alli isss^ >i.2 -s S 0> tf *^ JS m P5 W. ia ! II S^ ^> -1 rz; "o > .- Mr War of the U<1>, II ,<>,,. 177 9_ >> , ;i Q 3 g S g ~ ^3 13 v co ;.; |iS^>j3^ .= S-iS^iJ-ig^i-.i^isz, ^i-c^j-l* * **s*ai-s^;-4-?!iu-:-.} y a/ .x > x O C C 178 Tin 1 Thirty-first In<li<ni Regiment * 13 5 i- 2 H. J : ^ 2 2 IS 3 5, d*- 1, 1 pills Is-gil ^ i s fc oc O;QC ogsS*? ^x S^^ of SO- i||l||ili|2lll I r^^S- C!--^^^^ 13 CO CL cc - -i S ,0 O C O fe 05 ffi C = 2k^O t okr o^C fe- -QOO oO< b- O C c /. -c 2 fl P i M ^ ~ <D O ^> .n 03 o^j be ~ S - ^ 2 o - fc-rt 5 ^ bx) ^ TJ (v ~73 cs ^ ^ ^ -on 5 i ^ o ^j l^li^JtiSllii^Ci^ i.l^sIl ^>o^^.s^ .a ^ -,-3^ l rGd3-2HH tc- IPPH-^QS -r: . S 9.5 ^-/J Si* /// //>/< II /// of fit. It, In Hi, in. 17!) s ??s 2 $ 8 . * 5 - to oc -* ^ -T - :b >o ^- li3 5D ; x px ^p^x^y 1 ^ -x r-4 -4 -^ QO <M Od IO QO O CD C4 r M C "M ^-( NfHt-<iHiHC5iHWHt-4C^iHrHtHiH g O O O ^ O 4> O V M a ^COJOCXC C Hr ii ^. -: 180 Thirty-jirtt Indiana Regiment - w CD XXX ^^ k I /// the War of the li 181 o o A c ^ li. r- i* CD CD GO 05 11,-? IT 1 1 O C -x- -^ Annapolis, Bethany, Annapolis, ^ < Rockville, . Annapolis, I *! ff{? ^ffi c/r r lil J^3 ^ - 1 : . . . X 2 . ! -/ x Ott X H ^i C >5 >; C <; c , . >> K < B x a . g . 1 . SERGE A X ^ ^ S tfgSg 5^ s--: ^^OC:> K _* 5 5* |~ fl >ir^ B CD II ^OQ rt^; << ^ . Stuart, l| >^ S^W g^ 5 x x C E- 1 x X "r ll s n: c .fr^j: o :- l|||| II ^ 41 > "^ l! -J f 5| 182 77///7// 7 /7V.sY //id in n i C^) 1 | 1 S 1 1 -- ll Illli I ^ 2 ,$ w i -x fl i , 4) 1 III fl=iji |i IJiii n =t t| ig iiiii ii "2 S -^ S ^ ~ "i "S-^ f-^^ ^i S S S r ^ l-?1f" H ?^^ 3 - 8 -3 ^ /// f/ir Wilt <>f tll> /{, /> I It < ill. 183 S | 42 c c d c 09 i. - EH" x_ B 7. S_ o o 1 LL. ^0 u s go t>5 /; T. X - iX* -, 8| -^ s ^ i -S i E7 3c . . ^ V ; ^ -JQ 3 " * |S > >, ^ ^1 r,^ -. . 10 * H-^r-^--" -*^ x 15 ^*1jJ CO -P ^ * ~ . , 184 77// Thirty-first Indiana Regiment ^ S 5 ^ e * s rt rH c^ ^ ^ q) 4) ^2^^" ! ~S^ Dt- s ^ t. .. o.. J ^ o ^ tj ^3 o o r- OJ Tfi O) r/J V CD OD -32 -5 CO ^\ o <D o o> be be be be i- t- ^ t~ 00 O O co cc ct cc S c cc oc oc oc cc cc . oc c K H 1 03 f! In the War of the 7iV/,, ///, 185 1 <D t+ Nl s J521 o *3 *^ & T-i ^ -^ t3 - i-J 5 E? a <DT3<i> 5 ^2 is "5 s r^^ ** * C - 5 C t^ K^ a o 5 ^ * * d ~ ^_l F ^ x / -5 ^oS d a *~^ 7 s * 1 "^ * NI <<J *^ ilsil I - 3 <D 0; S^O - PSSS Hftcgfi ^ ,0 .^ P^ L>? ^T^T!^ ^^^ ^ 1 aia)^ ) a; 0)^<D o> fcCtC^t-c bCtX bC --- 7 S ";; a t? "S "o "o r i -; o r c3 B a r ^ o X X 5C M XXX Q) QD a V 00 DO V 00 o ^ o d o a o u o X X CC O CC D OD X 92 CO X X XXX .XXXXXX cc r^ 7 x re ? TC c c " o oo ~ ~- ^ ~s: ~ ~* - - ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ & i~~ . .z. ~~" 18H Thirty -first Indiana Regiment UJ S K H ^S >a 03 -H tx TJ TS o> Q3K tx &C b b iX 3 t-i SH t-i-^^it, "X" " ^ " X^X^ Oi r /5 t CfiO?!M acccococcCGc ocac Ili- I B|-filplis g^Sf5J gg>igji lo = 2 3j :| 3-$ I ^ ^ H to il 03 S*o^ " S 5 S^ ^ 9/ 03^5 rt 03 % o T^ C > 03^ r:i ftlNllSl <ZQ K- c K- 03 S O C ^ r-^ OE- OB S < 53 O i i O ~ 03 "3 O, . O rt 03H-5 i l- c S-. 03 ~ igs liijgjs lit tin- \\ <tt of //// 1ST rged Nov ruvd Sept O O GO GC c5 c . 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Donel . wounds. ril 22, 1863 , Tenn., Dec. 23 26, 1862 ; disab unted for. 25, 1862; disab son, Ga., Sept. ed out June 21 , of disease. 30, 1862; i, O., Ap 21, 1865. 3 3 | O T^ O O) o: i C^ 1 > 0) S S_ 5^-i 0) R ^02 c^ o 2 -GO S l^-p^g-s jS-g^g S- aSS^ S $ aJ CB .s ^ .S S 4J ^3 ^J r* -J r-] r^ e 3 n d o ! 2 o 3 3 r ^ o r t3o ^sSss^^.iiss ^ ft ft a ftftft ft ft OOO> <DO<D CCOQOQ oQO)r/2 4-s bJD oT C tn 45 :::: :5. :s :^ : : . .0 .^,-3 .w .5 . . > . c- . s ^ o "5 . 5 <D > ^ ^ -M . S -<D - C fi ? In 3 C 0) S 02 02 .q . .ffi . O -t 3 a - 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 THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY