History of the 85th Illinois Volunteers
Illinois Volunteer Infantry
by
Henry J. Aten
History of the 85th Illinois Volunteers
Illinois Volunteer Infantry
by
Henry J. Aten
CHAPTER XIII.
Pages 144 - 160
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January 1864 - April 1864
So far as the military situation is concerned, the
Union victories gained at Gettysburg, Vicksburg, and Chattanooga decided the
fate of the Confederacy, and there the struggle should have ended. In most wars
the side on whose soil the battles were fought has been the losing side. The
belligerent that can not prevent his own territory from becoming the seat of war
must ultimately surrender. This is an important lesson to bear in mind when it
becomes necessary to determine the great moral question of responsibility of
continuing a hopeless contest.
The second attempt at invading the North ended in
disaster at Gettysburg, and Lee returned to Virginia and to the defense of the
rebel capital, after losing at least forty percent of his army. On the next day
Vicksburg fell; the army defending it became prisoners of war; the Mississippi
river was opened, and the Confederacy was cut in two. The capture of
Chattanooga, the martial throne of strategy far and near, and the objective of
the Federal army for almost two years, was recognized by the Southern leaders
and people as a direct menace to the existence of the rebellion. And General Lee
wrote the rebel president, “That upon the defense of the country now threatened
by General Grant depends the safety of the points now held by us on the
Atlantic.”
The Confederate army felt its defeat at Chattanooga
most keenly, and to General Bragg it came with crushing force. In his official
report, after acknowledging the total defeat and panic of his army, in language
which showed his surprise, he said: “The position ought to have been held by a
skirmish line against any assaulting column.” This statement no doubt expressed
his own opinion of the strength of the position, but it was by no means true. No
doubt his men had been somewhat overawed by the magnitude of General Grant’s
preparations, and the successes of the previous days; but the loss of more than
twenty percent in the two central divisions of the storming column, in a contest
of less than an hour, proves that they did not yield without a struggle. Their
retreat was not caused so much by fear as by a conviction that resistance was
useless. It is said that while Bragg was riding among his men, he vainly tired
to rally them by shouting, “Here’s your commander!” They answered in derision,
“Here’s your mule!”
Soon after reaching Dalton and learning that the
pursuit had been discontinued, Bragg appears to have realized that he had lost
the confidence of his troops, and he asked to be relieved and that a new
commander be assigned to the rebel army. His request was granted so far as his
relief was concerned, and General William J. Hardee was assigned to temporary
command. As a permanent assignment the position was not sought, and among others
General Lee declined the honor of being thrust forward, to meet and check the
triumphant career of General Grant [Rebellion Records, Serial No. 56, page 785].
Richmond, December 5th, 1863
General R. E. Lee, Orange Court House, Va.
Could you consistently go to Dalton, as heretofore explained?
JEFFERSON DAVIS
Two days later General Lee wrote the following remarkable letter in response to
the request of the rebel president: [Rebellion Records, Serial No. 56, page 792]
Headquarters Army of Northern Virginia,
Rapidan, December 7th, 1863.
His Excellency Jefferson Davis, President Confederate States, Richmond:
Mr. President – I have had the honor to receive your dispatch, inquiring where I
could go to Dalton. I can if desired, but of the expediency of the measure you
can judge better than I can. Unless it is intended that I should take permanent
command, I can see no good that will result, even if in that event any could be
accomplished. I also fear that I would not receive cordial co-operation, and I
think it necessary if I am withdrawn from here that a commander for this army be
sent to it. General Ewell’s condition, I fear, is too feeble to undergo the
fatigue and labor incident to the position. I hope your excellency will not
suppose that I am offering any obstacles to any measure you may think necessary.
I only seek to give you the opportunity to form your opinion after a full
consideration of the subject. I have not that confidence either in my strength
or ability as would lead me of my own option to undertake the command in
question.
I am, with great respect, your obedient servant,
R. E. LEE, General.
The camp at McAfee’s church was situated at the
northern limits of the battlefield of Chickamauga, and distant some six miles
from Chattanooga. The line between the states of Tennessee and Georgia ran
through the division camps, but state lines had lost much of their former
importance. The dense forest surrounding the camp had formerly been the refuge
for the thieves, murderers and outlaws of the two states. An old resident said
that he had seen hundreds of these scoundrels encamped around the spring from
which we obtained our water supply. When an officer of Tennessee came with a
writ to arrest them, they would step a few yards into the state of Georgia and
laugh him to scorn. So when Georgia sought to lay her official hand on an
offending citizen of that start, he would walk over into Tennessee and argue the
case across the line. It was indeed an ideal spot for criminals. Requisitions
from the governors of Georgia and Tennessee could of course be obtained, but
this would take time, and in the meantime the culprit could walk leisurely into
Alabama or North Carolina, neither of which was far away. For years the presence
of these desperadoes in large numbers had kept that locality from being settled
by good men, and consequently there were thousands of acres in which there had
not been a field cleared or a tree felled.
The winter was unusually severe, both North and South;
but we had abundance of wood close at hand, and the prospect seeming to promise
a stay more or less peaceful and extended, the men proceeded with much labor and
ingenuity to make their stay comfortable. Among the most enterprising and
luxurious, cabins were built and covered with their own make of clapboards. A
blanket over the doorway excluded the wintry blasts, while a mud and stick
chimney gave the single room a somewhat cheery aspect. Yet on cold nights the
men had to get out of their bunks and warm by the fire between their snatches of
sleep.
Toward the end of January the weather became mild and
pleasant, and on the 26th the Third brigade took part with other commands in a
reconnaissance to Tunnel Hill, returning on the 28th without loss or adventure.
Our old enemy was known to be at Dalton, one of the oldest towns in Georgia,
some thirty miles south of Chattanooga. And the fact that General Joseph E.
Johnston, probably the most skillful army commander in the Confederate service,
had been selected to lead the rebel army in the coming campaign was due notice
to all concerned that soon or late we must be prepared for an energetic renewal
of the contest. But he required time in which to organize his army, and both men
and material must be had to replace the losses sustained under Bragg at
Chattanooga before he could become a source of much apprehension. So we remained
quietly in camp for almost a month, but with strong outposts thrown out well to
the front. On the tenth of February the Third brigade relieved the Second
brigade at Chickamauga Station, where it remained on outpost duty until ordered
to join the division at Ringgold, where we arrived on the evening of the 23rd.
General Grant had ordered General Thomas to take Dalton if possible, and at
Ringgold we found all of the Army of the Cumberland available at the time for
the undertaking.
Early on the morning of the 24th the Third brigade
pushed on through Thoroughfare Gap, and soon after the skirmishers found the
enemy at Tunnel Hill. The enemy was driven until near sunset, when we closed
down on his position in Buzzard Roost, a gap in Rocky Face ridge. Mill creek
runs through this gap, as does the railroad from Chattanooga to Atlanta. At this
time the First brigade was moving on the left of the railroad, the Third brigade
on the right, and as the Eighty-fifth came into line, the enemy opened with a
battery of Parrot guns from a position until then concealed from view. One of
the shells stuck the railroad bed without bursting and came bounding toward the
regiment. Its motion was so slow that we could see it whirling end over end, and
apparently going to pass harmlessly by the column. But suddenly it changed
direction and struck Sergeant Marion Horton, of Company H, wounding him
severely. The enemy was driven from a range of mound shaped hills, through which
both wagon and railroad meandered, and which intervened between us and the
enemy’s main line in the gap. From these hills the position of the enemy could
be easily reconnoitered, and from the fire of his artillery two strongly posted
field batteries were discovered. By this time it was almost dark, and strong
pickets were thrown out well to the front. The command was located so as to be
protected from the enemy’s artillery and at the same time be able to resist an
attack, and the troops rested on their arms for the night.
Early the next morning sharp skirmishing began, and the
line of battle was advanced to the crest of the hills secured the evening
before. The Eighty-fifth and the Eighty-sixth Illinois in the front line, with
the other regiments of the brigade in reserve. Buzzard Roost is a rocky gorge
between two mountains, in which there are many sharp spurs, abrupt ravines,
steep hills and isolated knolls, forming an almost impregnable position. During
the morning thick smoke and haze obscured the sight, making it difficult to see
objects even at a short distance; but the skirmishers pressed on with vigor
until their fire commanded the enemy’s rifle pits. About noon the smoke was
blown away, when the skirmish line was reinforced and the firing became very
brisk. In our front was a cleared field some two hundred and fifty yards in
width and beyond it a ravine ran from right to left. Beyond this depression was
heavy timber, which concealed the enemy’s line. At three o’clock the advance was
sounded and the First brigade on the left, and the Third brigade on the right of
the railroad, moved forward. This brought a prompt response from the enemy’s
artillery and infantry. Three batteries opened on our advancing lines, with
great fierceness from right , left and front, making it exceedingly hot until
the ravine was reached. There the line was halted, and being fairly well covered
from the artillery fire we watched a well-matched contest of sharp-shooting by
the skirmish lines until dark.
Our advance had been rapid, and brought the line so
close to the rebel batteries that they served us with grape shot, which the
writer remembers made a whirring noise in its flight very much like that made by
a flock of rising birds. During the day the regiment lost three men killed and
eleven wounded. After dark the Third brigade was relieved by a brigade of the
First division, and we retired behind the hills where we could cook and eat in
safety. The fact had been demonstrated that the enemy’s position was too strong
to be carried by direct assault, and the next day, while sharp skirmishing was
maintained along our front, his flanks were felt by other troops. But our army
was not then strong enough in numbers to render a turning movement possible, and
during the night of the 26th we returned to Ringgold. The next day the division
returned to its camp at McAffee’s church.
The losses in the Third brigade fell upon the
Eight-fifth and the Eighty-sixth Illinois, and were 14 in the former and 8 in
the latter. The killed and wounded in the Eighty-fifth were as follows:
KILLED – Joseph Dunn, Of Company C; Joseph Forner, of
Company F; Robert C. Garrison, of Company K.
WOUNDED – Lieutenant A. D. Cadwallader, of Company B;
Clinton Black, of Company D; James Carey, of Company F; John Thompson, of
Company G; James T. Toler and Marion Horton, of Company H; Orpheus Ames, Isaac
Fountain, Josiah McKnight, Zimri Thomas, and Jas. M. Whittaker, of Company K.
The events of the past year, when viewed from either a
military or political standpoint, were full of encouragement to the defenders of
the Union. The victories of the Federal armies and the support of war measures
by the vote of the loyal people, alike indicated that the crisis in the nation’s
destiny had passed. That the strength of the insurrection had culminated was
evidenced by the ever-increasing desertions from the rebel army. This had been
greatly stimulated by President Lincoln’s offer of pardon to all who gave up and
came in, below the rank of brigadier general. The reports of the provost
marshal-general show that the number of deserters coming into the lines of the
Army of the Cumberland for the six months ending on May 1st, 1864, aggregated
3,731, or an average of over 600 for each month.
With the beginning of the new year the maintenance of
the full strength of the Federal armies became the great problem. The term of
enlistment of very many regiments would expire early in the year. Their
retirement in the midst of active operations would endanger the success of all
plans of aggression which might be formed. In fact, the hope of the speedy
suppression of the revolt, turned upon the retention of the hardy, well-seasoned
troops, and yet there was not law to hold them. Fortunately for the county the
patriotism of these citizen-soldiers was equal to the emergency, and their
voluntary re-enlistment gave assurance of adequate armies for the coming
campaign. Many of them had been engaged in the winter campaign for the relief of
Knoxville, in which they had endured hardships and privations such as had only
been equaled at Valley Forge. And no event throughout the war gave more eloquent
testimony to the devotion and courage of the volunteer soldier.
Upon re-enlistment these veterans were given a
thirty-days’ furlough to visit their homes, and for the time being the army at
Chattanooga was so reduced in numbers that the enemy at Dalton had the greater
force. In the Army of the Cumberland seventy regiments of infantry, twelve of
cavalry, thirteen batteries, and thirty-one detachments re-enlisted as “veteran
volunteers.” When these veteran organizations returned to the front at the
expirations of their furloughs, they brought with them some five thousand fresh
recruits, mostly young men. These recruits arrived – clean-shaven, hair
close-cropped, freshly vaccinated, and newly baptized, ready for any kind of
carnage, from squirrel hunting to manslaughter in the first degree, but their
enormous appetites threatened the peace and quiet of the camp.
On Saturday, the 3rd, Wheeler’s rebel cavalry made an
attack on an outpost at Leet’s tanyard, and dispersed a regiment of mounted
infantry stationed at the point. As a result of this raid the Third brigade was
ordered to Lee and Gordon’s mills, where we went into camp that evening on
ground held by the right of our army throughout the first day’s battle at
Chickamauga. The next day many of the men went out to Leet’s tanyard and spent
time in looking over the remains of the mounted infantry camp, and as they
wandered among the ruins they wondered how the “accident” happened.
The Eighty-fifth had been without tents since leaving
Nashville, but here the men were supplied with shelter tents, as they were
termed in general orders, or, as they were always spoken of by the men, the “dog
tents” or “pup tents.” This was another step in the process of reducing the
wagon train by taking the burden from the animal and placing it on the man, and
perhaps these tents should be described at this point. To each man was given a
piece of white cotton cloth, five feet six inches square. The edges were made
double by a strip three inches wide being sewed across them. At two of the
corners a loop of rope was fastened so that stakes might be driven through them
into the ground. At the opposite edge there was a row of buttons and button
holes. When camp was reached and tents were to be pitched there was no waiting
for the wagons to come up before the men could provide shelter. Two men who has
cast their fortunes together would drive two stakes four and one-half feet in
length into the ground, lay a pole six feet long across the top of the stakes,
button their pieces of tent together, place it over the pole, and fasten the
lower corners to the ground with tent pins. As there was no protection at the
ends, they were usually well ventilated, and in case of storm they could be
readily shifted so that the rain would not blow in. But for some reason or
prejudice shelter tents never became very popular in the Eighty-fifth.
The 22nd is memorable for a very severe snow storm
which prevailed throughout the night and covered the ground to a depth of ten
inches. Commands that happened to be on the move at that time suffered greatly,
but fortunately the Eighty-fifth was in camp with an abundance of fuel near at
hand. This storm tended somewhat to reconcile the men to their shelter tents.
The snow being in good packing condition suggested the idea that a snow ball
battle would be good sport, and on the next day a very vigorous fight, with snow
balls for weapons, took place between different regiments in the brigade. In the
evening the weather turned very cold, and the freezing snow quickly formed lumps
of ice. Not content with the sport had during the day, snow balling was resumed
at night, and the engagement was fast becoming both general and serious, when
the damaged heads that had come in contact with the lumps of ice led the
officers to stop the sanguinary sport.
On the 31st the Second division was reviewed by General
Thomas, the Third brigade joining the First and Second for that purpose, at a
point about half way between their camps at McAfee’s church and Lee and Gordon’s
mills.
-------------------------
The period of which this chapter
treats was one of active preparation, in which General Grant’s genius for
organization, concentration and the supply of his armies in the field was
strikingly manifest. Forces were concentrated around Chattanooga and organized
and equipped for an extended campaign into the heart of the Confederacy. But
General Grant was not allowed to direct in person the campaign he had planned
for the Army of West. Before spring opened he was appointed lieutenant general,
and was placed in command of all the armies of the United States. And true to
his soldierly instincts, Grant at once started east to direct in person the
Armies of the Potomac and the James against the largest and best equipped of all
the Confederate armies. The Army of the Potomac had been most unfortunate in its
commanders, and up to this time its only important victories were those won at
Antietam and Gettysburg. After Gettysburg it became so quiescent that Longstreet
with 20,000 men slipped away from its front and was fighting at Chickamauga
before the commander of that army learned of his departure. It has now been
dormant for more than nine months, permitting Longstreet and his troops to
remain in East Tennessee throughout the winter, living off the loyal people of
that region until time to rejoin Lee at Richmond for the spring campaign.
Perhaps one of the most amazing facts in the history of the war is that this
army, eager to be led against the foe which it greatly outnumbered, with a
secure base on tide water, should be held in check so long by the incompetence
of its commander.
In accordance with Grant’s desire, the President
assigned General Sherman to the command of the military division of the
Mississippi, left vacant by his promotion. The sentiment of both the country and
the army approved of General Grant’s choice of his successor, and from the day
of his assignment to the close of the war, the confidence of the army in General
Sherman never wavered, but grew in strength day by day.
When on the march in the early days of the war the men
were loaded down with well-filled knapsacks, overcoats and blankets, in addition
to their arms and accoutrements. Gradually the contents of the knapsacks were
reduced, and finally it and the overcoat were thrown away. Then men found that a
wool blanket and a rubber poncho, which could be rolled up and thrown in a coil
over the shoulder, the two ends tied on the opposite side, answered their
necessities much better than the clumsy gear furnished them at the outset. So,
too, in the beginning each company was provided with a wagon drawn by six mules,
and three such wagons and teams were allowed for regimental headquarters. But so
many mules died from starvation during that period of hunger and raggedness
which covered the siege of Chattanooga that as a matter of necessity the
campaign in East Tennessee was made with a very limited wagon train. And what
was looked upon as a doubtful experiment at the beginning was regarded at the
successful conclusion of that campaign as a demonstration that the wagon train
might be safely and permanently reduced.
Accordingly, along the lines of previous experience,
General Sherman continued the cutting down process until but one wagon was
allowed to a regiment, and that was to carry ammunition and the regimental
records only. Attached to each army corps of about twenty thousand men was an
ammunition and provision train which was limited to five hundred wagons. Man’s
endurance surpasses that of the beast, and while the number of animals was
reduced and their burdens decreased, additional loads were put upon the troops.
Each man was required to carry in addition to his musket and accoutrements forty
rounds of ammunition in his cartridge box, and one hundred and sixty more in his
pockets or haversack. The provision issued was a much abridged ration, but each
soldier was required to carry a five-day’s supply of hard bread and salt pork,
and with its issue came the information that such supply must last him from
seven to ten days as occasion might require. A herd of live cattle was to be
driven in the rear of the army, from which fresh meat was to be issued
occasionally, but these soon grew so thin from hard driving and lack of forage
that the men spoke in derision of that part of the ration “as beef dried on the
hoof.”
But if the men were limited in their supply of bread and
meat, the ration was more than made good by the bountiful issues of sugar and
coffee, which were generous in quantity and above reproach in quality. The men
had learned how to extract from the coffee its most subtle virtues, and although
brewed in the most primitive manner, “strong enough to float an iron wedge” and
innocent of any adulteration, it gave strength to the weary and heavy laden, and
courage to the despondent and sick at heart.
Thus stripped of all baggage that could possibly be
dispensed with, and ready for instant battle, the army was prepared to move from
Chattanooga. The sick and the afflicted were sent to the rear, and for twelve
long months and until the end of the war, drills and parades were abandoned. The
fife’s shrill note and the sounding drum-beat were seldom heard, as to the
stirring bugle call the army marched and fought its way to the sea, and on
through the birthplace of secession to victory and to peace.
It is true our army largely outnumbered that of the
enemy. But the strength of his defensive positions in a country abounding in
mountains and rivers, where almost every citizen was an active scout or spy, and
his shorter lines of communications fully compensated him for his inferior
numbers. Thus Sherman would be compelled to attack the enemy in positions
naturally strong, chosen with skill, carefully fortified and defended with the
courage of desperation. The following commissioned officers resigned on the
dates given below, but on account of reduced strength of the regiment none of
the vacancies created were filled at the time, and some never were: George
Myers, second lieutenant of Company B, on January 21st; William W. Turner,
second lieutenant of Company D, on March 30th; Thomas R. Roberts, captain of
Company A, on April 15th, and James C. Patterson, second assistant surgeon, on
April 16th, leaving Surgeon P. L. Dieffenbacher without an assistant in the
discharge of his arduous duties until late in the summer.
The following enlisted men died during the period of
which this chapter treats: John Barnett, of Company E, in the field hospital at
McAffee’s church, April 20th; Aaron Brewer, of Company G, in the field hospital
at McAffee’s church, on January 22nd; Daniel T. Joneson, of Company K, at
Richmond, Va., on February 4th; James Cary, of Company F, of wounds on March
11th, and Joseph Orange, of same company, on March 28th, in the field hospital
at McAffee’s church.
The official report for April 30th gives a total
present for duty in the Eighty-fifth of 439.
Any contributions, corrections, or suggestions would be deeply appreciated!
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