85th Illinois Infantry: Chapter 10

History of the 85th Illinois Volunteers
Illinois Volunteer Infantry
by
Henry J. Aten

CHAPTER X.
Pages 97 - 108
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August 1863 - September 1863

     From the first of July to the middle of August the Army of the Cumberland occupied a line from Winchester to McMinnville, in readiness to cross the Cumberland mountains and seize Chattanooga as soon as sufficient supplies could be secured. To the accomplishment of this purpose all energies were directed, and even the ripening corn in the Tennessee valley was relied upon to furnish a part of the forage necessary for the animals. In view of the strength of Chattanooga against direct attack General Rosecrans resorted again to a flank movement to dislodge his antagonist, directing his first maneuvers so as to mislead the enemy with regard to his ultimate design. The crossing of the mountain range was begun on the 16th, and by the evening of the 20th, the advance of the Federal army arrived at Bridgeport, the point selected for crossing the Tennessee river. Bragg was now forced to concentrate his entire command of the Tennessee, and the withdrawal of his raiding troopers permitted Rosecrans to reduce the garrisons at various points in his rear, and thus reinforce his army at the front.
     Thursday morning, August 20th, the Eighty-fifth received orders to turn over to the quartermaster the large Sibley tents drawn at Peoria, and be ready to march at a moment’s notice. In a remarkably short time the canvas village disappeared, and the tents were rolled up and placed in army wagons waiting to haul them to storage warehouses in the city. Many of the camp conveniences were destroyed, and the command was soon stripped to light marching order. The Second brigade, under command of Colonel McCook, moved out on the Franklin pike about noon, and camped that night at Brentwood.
     The next day the command marched to Franklin, and the Eighty-fifth camped near the railway bridge, remaining there several days. General Morgan’s orders directed him, while moving to the front by easy marches, to protect the mechanics and laborers while repairing the railroad to Nashville to Stevenson, thereby opening up another line of supplies, a matter of vital importance to the army now nearing Chattanooga. When the brigade left Franklin, the Eighty-sixth Illinois detached and marched throughout the journey some three or four days in the rear of the main column.
     The distance from Nashville to Chattanooga by the route over which the Eighty-fifth marched was two hundred miles. Of the towns along the route Franklin, Columbia and Pulaski in Tennessee, and Athens and Huntsville in Alabama, were the most important. Columbia was a fine old town, the early home of James K. Polk, the eleventh President of the United States. Situated on high ground in a deep bend of the Duck river, it was supplied with water from that stream in a curious and primitive manner. A huge water wheel was thrust out into the river, which the rapid current caused to revolve, and a long rod attached to a crank on the shaft of this wheel, supplied the motive power to the town pump.
     The First brigade, which had been stationed some forty miles south of Murfreesboro for a month or more, moved to Columbia on August 20th, and upon its arrival the Second brigade moved on after a stay of two days at Columbia, and the next evening reached Pulaski. This town won much unenviable notoriety soon after the war closed. Here the Ku-Klux-Klan was organized; had a rapid growth, and became a menace to law and order. It spread rapidly over the South, and carried consternation and desolation wherever its oath-bound assassins rode. The “Invisible Empire,” as this society of cut-throats was called, could have existed in no civilized country in the world, unless encouraged by lawless sentiment and a lax administration of justice.
     From Pulaski the brigade moved steadily on through Athens, Huntsville and Stevenson, crossing the Tennessee river at Bridgeport on the 10th. That evening the Eighty-fifth camped at Shellmound, and all had an opportunity of visiting the famous Nick-A-Jack cave, from whose cavernous depths cooling waters issued from a mammoth spring. This cave contained an extensive saltpeter deposit, the most extensive within the borders of the ever narrowing limits of the Confederacy, and near by were extensive saltpeter works, which had furnished the insurgents large quantities of material for gunpowder.
     On Sunday afternoon, September 13th, the Eighty-fifth crossed the nose of Lookout mountain. For three days past urgent orders had kept the toiling column moving on, up and down, over the hills and through the narrow valleys, while the scenery increased in grandeur. Sand and Lookout mountains were bald peaks, that appeared near at hand, while the weary soldiers marched many miles before they reached the rugged base of the latter. But when the highest point of the wagon road was reached, the scene which there opened out was one of magnificence and beauty. Chattanooga appeared in the distance, while the placid Tennessee seemed like a silver ribbon winding in and out among the rugged, timbered hills which lined its banks. To the left were huge ledges of rock that fell almost perpendicular to the river. To the right loomed up the palisades, crowned by the crest of that soon to be historic mountain.
     The brigade spent a restful day at Chattanooga, and on the morning of the 15th it moved four miles south to Rossville. At this point a gap, through which the road from Chattanooga to Lafayette runs, cuts Mission Ridge almost to its base. Here the Eighty-sixth Illinois rejoined the brigade on the next day. General Morgan, commanding the Second division, having been assigned to the command of the post at Bridgeport, with the First brigade as garrison, the Second brigade was here attached for the time being to the First division, under command of General James B. Steedman. This arrangement continued until the ninth of October, when a general reorganization of the Army of the Cumberland took place.
     By a series of brilliant maneuvers General Rosecrans had driven the rebel army under General Bragg over the Cumberland mountains and across the Tennessee river. Then, by a skillful flank movement, full of audacity, genius and daring, he turned the Confederates out of Chattanooga. Thus, without a battle or heavy skirmish, the “Gateway to Georgia,” and the southern entrance to East Tennessee, fell into his hands as the result of his masterly strategy. But brilliant campaigns without battles do not destroy an army and a campaign from Tullahoma to Chattanooga always means a battle at some other point. It was therefore evident to the officers and man of both armies that they were soon to meet in deadly strife, but where and when was a question none could answer. Chattanooga, with its railroads and its river, was a prize so great and a position so vital as to render it certain that the Confederate government would put forth every possible effort to retake it, and that a like effort should be made by the Federal government to retain a position of such vast importance. The rebel government was the first to act with the promptness, energy and decision demanded by the situation, and Longstreet’s corps, the flower of the Army of Northern Virginia, composed of three full divisions, was hurried by rail to Bragg’s assistance. Nor were Longstreet’s troops the only reinforcements – two divisions from Mississippi and General Buckner’s command from East Tennessee, arrived in time for the coming battle.
     To meet this largely reinforced army now confronting him, General Rosecrans could only rely upon troops drawn from garrisons in his rear, and these were now concentrated at Rossville under the command of General Gordon Granger, and were composed of the following commands: The First brigade of the First division, under the command of General Walter C. Whittaker; the Second brigade of the same division, under the command of Colonel J. G. Mitchell, both of which had marched from the vicinity of Wartrace and Shelbyville; the Twenty-second Michigan of the First brigade of the Second division of the same corps, and the Second brigade of the same division – to which brigade the Eighty-fifth belonged – under command of Colonel Daniel McCook, both of which had marched from Nashville. This was a paltry number, a beggarly reinforcement compared with the scores of regiments that had been sent at the call of the rebel commander.
     A very exciting event occurred while the troops lay resting at Rossville. In the face of stringent orders to the contrary, some of the men would evade guards and go foraging. Some men were caught returning from a trip of this kind, and General Granger, the commander of the corps, in order to impress the command with a due regard for his authority, caused several men to be tied up by the thumbs near his headquarters. Instantly the camp filled with indignation at the needlessly cruel treatment of the men. Officers demanded the release of the men, and thousands of soldiers gathered near by. General Granger was profane as usual, and made terrible threats, but the murmur of suppressed excitement that ran through the ever-increasing crowd indicated that this was to be a test case. The men had determined that intelligent volunteers should not be thus cruelly treated in an active campaign in the enemy’s country and on the eve of battle. But not until a battery was trained upon headquarters, and a given number of minutes allowed for the release of the men, did the general yield. Then he gave the order for their release, and slunk away into his tent, cursing everybody. He did well to surrender; had he not heeded the demands of the outraged soldiers there would have been a tragedy. This was the only approach to a mutiny the writer ever witnessed.
     Friday, the 18th, the Second brigade was ordered to move out to Reed’s bridge, at a crossing of the Chickamauga, on the Ringgold road, but events transpired which prevented the command from reaching that point. Arriving within a mile of the bridge at dark, the skirmishers ran into McNair’s rebel brigade and captured twenty-two prisoners.* As the purpose of the expedition was to reconnoiter and not to fight, a line of battle was quickly formed, and the men rested on their arms, without fire for the night. During the evening conversation with the prisoners developed the fact that Bragg had been largely reinforced from Mississippi, from whence they had recently come. The prisoners appeared greatly elated at the prospect of battle which they claimed would take place the next day. In the course of the conversation, one of the prisoners stated that “Lee had sent Longstreet’s corps out west to show Bragg’s army how to fight,” ending his statement with, “You Yanks will find fighting tomorrow such as you have not found hitherto.” These statements were not made in the style of mere bravado, but evidently expressed the confidence the enemy felt in his superior numbers; the assurance that he could return to Chattanooga, and his hope of destroying the Union army.
[* These prisoners were captured by Eli Shields and Henry C. Swisher of Company H; Thomas Brown, Joseph B. Shawgo and George Workman, of Company G, of the Eighty-fifth, and ----- Pierce, of the Fifty-second Ohio, at the time mounted scouts at brigade headquarters. The writer is indebted to Dr. Joseph B. Shawgo for the following racy account of the affair: “Eli Shields was in the lead when we ran into the rebel army and that the nerve to sing out in a clear voice, “Halt!” To this some thoughtful Johnny replied, “Keep your dam mouth shut!” We pulled Shields off and pushed him back into the brush out of the immediate sight and hearing of the enemy, then crept back to the road and picked up one after another, and placed them with Eli to guard, until we had taken twenty-two prisoners. (I have been telling the story with thirty-seven as the number captured, and if you had not corrected me, I should have had one hundred captured before long.) Among the prisoners were several belonging to a band, and the instruments were taken with them. There was also a rebel major, whose horse, a very fine one, we gave to Colonel McCook. This horse was afterward known as McCook’s Chickamauga pacer.”]
     Before the first glimmer of dawn the next morning the men were ready for action. Nor had they long to wait, for at daylight the enemy advanced his skirmishers against the left of the brigade; then as it changed front the attack came from a different direction. Companies D and K, of the Eighty-fifth, were on the skirmish line, and barely escaped capture. Assailed on the right, left and rear with both infantry and artillery, the engagement was fast becoming general when, at seven o’clock, a preemptory order recalled the brigade to Rossville. This order came not a moment too soon, as we now know the brigade had spent the night in the midst of an overwhelming force of the enemy, then in position west of the creek and under orders to attack at daylight. As coolly as if on parade the brigade withdrew, under a heavy fire, in which two men of Company D were wounded and fell into the hands of the enemy.
     Arriving at the point where the Ringgold road enters the road to Lafayette, and some three miles south of Rossville, the command met the head of General Brannan’s division of the Fourteenth corps. The men were covered with dust; had marched all night in their effort to reach the threatened point of attack, and now, without rest, they resolutely advanced against the enemy. This division opened the battle of Chickamauga by a determined and successful attack on the advancing enemy within a mile of the Lafayette road. On the arrival of the brigade at Rossville, fires were kindled, and very soon the men were enjoying the exhilarating coffee and the satisfying hardtack. Throughout the 19th the roar of the artillery and at times the rattle of fierce musketry could be heard, as the tide ebbed and flowed in the valley toward Lee and Gordon’s Mills. All were favorably impressed with the fact that few if any stragglers and skulkers came from the field where the conflict raged, and although the noise of battle indicated desperate fighting, no report of disaster reached the camp at Rossville. That evening the brigade moved out on the Cleveland road to the top of a hill east of Rossville a mile or more, and the men lay in line all through the chilly night without removing their accoutrements, every one clutching his rifle and thinking of the morrow. No fires could be built; even the solace of a cup of coffee was denied them, and the teeth chattered as the weary hours rolled slowly by.
     Sunday morning, the 20th, opened with a dense haze or smoke, which was slow in rising, but soon after daylight the brigade moved to McAfee’s Church, where it remained in line of battle until noon. About nine o’clock the sounds of battle floated up from the south, indicating a renewal of the conflict between the main armies. The roar deepened as the day advanced, and at times musketry could be plainly heard in ever-increasing volume. Throughout the morning the enemy’s skirmishers in our immediate front contented themselves with firing an occasional shot, showing that an attitude of observation was being maintained, rather than an advance contemplated. About noon General Steedman led the brigades of Whittaker and Mitchell southward, with the sound of battle as a guide. An hour later Colonel McCook received orders to move his brigade in the same direction, and the command moved off at a rapid pace. When theLafayette road was reached the column turned south, and while marching by the right flank the enemy opened with artillery, which enfiladed the line. But steadily the brigade moved on while shot and shell fell around at every step. The position assigned the command was a hill overlooking the McDaniel’s house and field, and about a mile north of the left of the line held so stubbornly by General Thomas. The hill commanded the road to Rossville, and afforded an admirable position for defense. The brigade was quickly formed in two lines, the Eighty-fifth in front, its left resting on the battery and its right on the Eighty-sixth Illinois, and Company K deployed as skirmishers. The bursting shells set the woods on fire, and the first fight was to prevent the fire from reaching the dry weeds and high grass around the battery. For a time the smoke hid the enemy from view, but soon the fire was put out, the smoke lifted, and the infantry and artillery of the enemy could be seen in the edge of the timber beyond McDaniel’s field, but beyond musket range.
     After deliberate preparation under a shower of shot and shell, the battery opened on the enemy with such accuracy that another rebel battery was brought into action. At this time the enemy was moving against the left and rear of General Thomas, and these batteries were attempting to cover this movement, and divert attention from the manoeuvre [manuever]. Then there was “music” in the air. Two rebel batteries seemed to interest the commander of the brigade battery, and in a very short time Captain Charles M. Barnett blew up the caissons of the intruding battery and drove its remains from the field. This cleared the field for a successful charge, which was promptly made by General Turchin’s brigade, and the enemy was driven beyond the Lafayette road, to the seizure of which his efforts had long been directed. Many of Turchin’s men returning from their brilliant and successful charge passed through the line of the Eighty-fifth. One of these heroes was struck by solid shot, and had his leg torn off while crossing the line between the regiment and battery. Seemingly all the more sad, as it was almost the last shot fired by the enemy.
     After dark the brigade was ordered to retire quietly, and with flankers thrown out toward the enemy. As the command retired, the last to leave the field, the rebels could be seen around their bivouac fires, but showed no desire to interrupt our movement. It was nearly midnight when we reached Rossville, and the tired men sought rest to enable them to meet whatever fate had in store for them on the morrow. Some of the commands had been more or less broken, and Monday morning, the 21st, found the army in some disorder. But by sunrise preparations were made to defend a new line by disposing the available force so as to hold Mission Ridge. In the new line the Second brigade was placed on the top of the Ridge immediately south of the Gap. Throughout the day it was expected that the enemy would move forward and attack the new position, but their losses had been so heavy that they were not anxious to renew the battle, but contended themselves with a spirited reconnaissance, in which there was a sharp skirmishing, and the brigade was subjected to a severe artillery fire. The position of the army was admirable for defense against a direct assault, but its right might be easily turned, and that night after firing ceased, the army was withdrawn to Chattanooga. This was accomplished before daylight the next morning, without confusion and without loss.
     Bragg had entered a tactical victory at immense cost, and the Army of the Cumberland had met its first and last defeat. But the Federal army had retired deliberately and in good order with its face to the foe, to permanently occupy Chattanooga, the prize for which the battle had been fought. The men were in wonderful spirit, considering their excessive fatigues and heavy losses, and no thought of further retreat was entertained for a moment. All worked with a will, and by the time the advance of the enemy closed down on our outposts, a line of earthworks extending from the river above to the river below the town, had been erected, which was virtually impregnable. The enemy, however, had no intention of assaulting such well fortified lines, but contended himself with investing them closely. To this end, he established his right on the crest of Mission Ridge, massed the bulk of his army across the valley in our immediate front, and with his left occupied and fortified the base of Lookout mountain. Then the siege of Chattanooga began.
     Colonel McCook reported the loss of the brigade at Chickamauga as follows: Two killed, 14 wounded and thirteen captured. There were none killed in the Eighty-fifth, but the following gives the wounded and captured:

WOUNDED – A. F. Krebaum, of Company B; Robert Neider, of Company D; John R. Powell, Frederick T. Zellers and John T. Zimmerman, of Company H; Lieutenant David M. Holstead, Sergeant John E. Reno and Lemuel Welker, of Company I.

CAPTURED – Willard Hicks and Robert Neider, of Company D; and Matthew L. Wrigley, of Company F.

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