Chapter 7, History of the 85th Illinois Regiment Volunteer Infantry

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

CHAPTER VII
Pages 61-72

January 1863 - February 1863

     The battle of Stone River was not only a very bloody one, but exhibited in a marked degree the endurance of Rosecrans and his army. The two army commanders had conceived a precisely similar plan of battle, each intending to turn and crush the other’s right flank. Bragg won in the outset by attacking an hour earlier than the time set by Rosecrans for his assault. At first the dash of the Southern troops was resistless, and before noon on the 31st, the right of the Union army had been doubled back on the center. But here, as usual, the tide was turned. The impetuous rush of the Southern soldier had spent itself, and the superior staying qualities of his Northern opponent began to tell. The enemy’s success of the morning had not been gained without desperate fighting and heavy loss, and when the extent of the disaster to his right flank, with its crushing force was revealed to the commander of the Union army, he realized the full burden of his responsibility, and rising to the demands of the hour he was simply superb. Far the greater part of his troops had never seen Rosecrans under the enemy’s fire before, and seeing him riding fearlessly on the extreme front, cool and collected in the heat of battle, giving orders and encouraging his men, his presence was an inspiration. Personal bravery was seldom more strikingly displayed. And as Rosecrans dashed from one point to another, he massed his artillery where his quick eye saw the exposed points, and with manifest confidence in ultimate success, he showed that he had confidence in his men. Nobly they responded to the enthusiasm of their commander, and guided by his unconquered spirit, they plucked victory from impending defeat.
     When General Bragg retired to Murfreesboro after his Kentucky campaign, he fully expected to remain there unmolested through the winter. No one dreamed that Rosecrans would attack the place before spring, and there was high festivity among the insurgents about Christmas time. One of the most dashing of the rebel cavalry leaders was married in Murfreesboro, the ceremony being performed by Bishop and General Leonidas Polk, the Confederate President being present as a guest. On this occasion the floor was carpeted with a United States flag, on which the company danced, to signify that they had put its authority under their feet, but their revelry was rudely interrupted by the unexpected advance of the defenders of the National flag.
     In the campaign which ended in the occupation of Murfreesboro, the losses had been very heavy. General Bragg reported his losses at ten thousand in killed, wounded and captured, while General Rosecrans lost in killed 1,553, wounded 7,245, and 2,800 prisoners – total 11,598. Thus more than 25 per cent of the troops engaged on the Union side had been lost, not was this all. Rosecrans had lost 28 pieces of artillery and a large portion of his wagon train had been captured and destroyed. But a victory had been gained by the Army of the Cumberland, and in view of the early success of the enemy, it was a great victory. The final battle for Kentucky had been fought by the enemy and lost. The victory for the Union was a long stride toward the restoration of the status of the preceding summer in Middle Tennessee. The railroad from Nashville to Murfreesboro had been broken, and until its track could be repaired and its bridges rebuilt, the army depended solely on wagon trains for supplies. The vastness of the daily demand, the reduced wagon train and the contingencies of bad weather and bad roads, made it imprudent to immediately increase the force at the front, where the men were already on half rations and in need of clothing. Then, too, at that period of the war it was considered necessary, after each great battle, to spend some time in reorganizing the army and in filling vacancies caused by loss in action. But it is a universal principle that there is no vacancy in an army while in the field. The instant a superior falls, the man next in rank to him takes his place – without an order, without an assignment. The colonel replaces the general, the line officer the field officer, the non-commissioned officer the commissioned officer. However, vacancies may be filled by orders from headquarters, whatever form promotions may take, this is the invariable rule in action. As soon as a vacancy occurs, the man next in rank fills it the moment he knows it exists, and he continues to fill it till superior orders make a different arrangement. If, therefore, supplies could have been transported to the front sufficient for the demands of the army, together with the reinforcements then near at hand, the enemy might have been pursued within a few days after the battle ended. As it was, however, the army remained at Murfreesboro until well into the next summer.
     The most elaborate fortifications were erected at Murfreesboro during the six months which followed the occupation of that place. Earthworks of the strongest type were thrown up on the high ground between the town and Stone’s river, on each side of the railroad, and on the elevated ground north of the river. These heave works were commanded in turn by a succession of forts, which offered vulnerable sides to the great central fortress. And in front of the camps of the army, lines of lighter works were thrown up. These defenses a year later furnished refuge for troops stationed for the protection of communications and the depot of supplies at Murfreesboro, but no great army ever had an opportunity of defeating a greater army by their friendly aid.
    At this period of the war, the cavalry of the enemy outnumbered that arm of the service in the Army of the Cumberland at least two to one. These troopers were nearly all veterans in the service; led with dash and skill; accustomed to all the hardships and privations of their calling, and it was amazing with what rapidity they moved and the amount of fatigue they could undergo. Small bands of rebel cavalry continually raided the Louisville & Nashville railroad, burning bridges, destroying trestle work, water tanks and stations. In a report of the superintendent of that road for the year ending July 1st, 1863, he states that during this time, "The road has been operated for its entire length only seven months and twelve days. All the bridges and trestle-work on the line, except the bridge over Barren river and four small bridges, were destroyed and rebuilt during the year."
     As the army was dependent upon this railroad for the bulk of its supplies, it can readily be seen that the men must live on short rations, and endure the winter with a limited supply of clothing. Indeed, for the first few weeks after the battle of Stone River, the troops were on half rations, and many of the articles constituting the "ration" were entirely dispensed with, leaving but three or four on the list. The surrounding county for miles was scoured for forage and provisions. Everything of that kind was gathered by foraging parties, strong enough in numbers to fight a battle if found necessary. In many instances these foraging parties left scarce enough for the actual necessities of the inhabitants. To such an extreme did this shortage of food extend that officers who had the means to purchase what they needed found potatoes and onions luxuries beyond their reach. And this deplorable condition was even worse with the troops on garrison duty at Nashville, as they could not reach the county where forage and vegetables could be obtained in any quantity, and the whole army was threatened with the scurvy.
     Among the smaller annoyances for soldier life on ground that had long been used for camps, was the unending struggle with that pestiferous little insect knows to military men as the "greyback." Perhaps a few had made his acquaintance before, but his presence did not become general until the regiment located on the old camp grounds at Nashville. From that time forward, the command was abundantly supplied with this numerous, industrious and persistent camp follower. It was one of the serious annoyances of army life, and no amount of care on the part of the soldier could permanently rid him of the pest. Boiling the clothes and the most diligent and unwearied "skirmishing" on the part of the soldier only kept them in check, but did not exterminate them. Two or three days and nights of active service, in which the clothing could not be removed, gave ample assurance that the pest was still there, ready for business at the old stand. Nor did these unwearied workers have any respect for rank, but subjected officers and men alike to his bite. All had to "skirmish," as the work of hunting through the seams of the soldier’s clothing was called.
     A few months of army life bring out the characteristics of the men; not only their aptness to acquire the habits of a soldier, but their courage and their devotion to duty. The reputation of a man as a citizen at home did not always prove a suitable standard with which to measure him as a soldier. The brawling bully, the terror of the community in which he lived – the man who is always ready to fight his neighbor, is among the first to skulk from duty, the first to act the coward’s part in battle. The modest, timid boy, or bashful man, becomes the trusty soldier, who would rather die then desert his post or leave the ranks while under fire. The morals of the reckless dare-devil improve under military discipline, while those of his comrades of more pious pretensions become greatly modified if not wholly wrecked. The man of great strength and giant proportions frequently falls a prey to disease, grows weak and helpless, and finally finds his way to the hospital and the grave, while the spindling boy is rounded into vigorous manhood, and seems to thrive on duty, danger and exposure. It is not mere animal courage that leads men up to the cannon’s mouth, but moral and intellectual force – devotion to duty, while fully realizing the danger.
     During the month the regiment was usually called at four o’clock in the morning, as were all the troops at Nashville, – and stood to arms until after daylight. The men were obliged to stand in line, – engaged in drilling as they preferred, – for at least an hour before daylight every morning, and occasionally reveille sounded at three o’clock. This was a necessary precaution, rendered so by the activity of the enemy’s cavalry, who were continually raiding the outposts, and boldly threatening an attack on the garrison. Much of the time there was snow on the ground, or it was covered with sleet. Generally the weather was damp and cold, and the mornings almost always foggy, rendering the dull, daily routine of the garrison exceedingly unpleasant, and adding largely to the sick list.
     The great number of wounded in the battle of Stone River, and the ever-increasing number of sick taxed the medical department to its utmost capacity. Many of the public buildings in Nashville were turned into hospitals, while a large number of the slightly wounded were sent farther north. These hospitals were models of neatness, and all that medical and surgical skill could do to relieve the suffering inmates, was promptly done. But sadly and slowly, to those yet helpless but recovering from wounds and disease, the days passed in a kind of dreary dream as they listened to the groans of the suffering men about them, the gasping breath or muttered prayer of the dying, the raving of fever’s delirium, and the slow tramp of those who bore away the tenant of some now useless couch to a yet more narrow resting place. This was relieved at times by the happier sounds of chatting convalescents, and the pleasant speech of the faithful army nurse. But perhaps the saddest sights in all the hospital were those suffering from nostalgia, for, who can minister to the mind diseased? Many were the cases where the soldier’s longing for home resulted in death, and it was surprising the number of fatalities there were attending that heart-breaking disease.
     On the 11th the resignation of Captain Matthew Langston, of Company A, was accepted, and First Lieutenant Thomas R. Roberts was promoted to be captain, Second Lieutenant Daniel Westfall being appointed his successor, and Sergeant Daniel Havens was promoted second lieutenant. On the 13th the resignation of Second Lieutenant Richard W. Tenney, of Company F, was accepted, and First Sergeant Edwin D. Lampitt (Lampit) was promoted to the place made vacant. On the 20th Abraham (Abram) Clarry, second lieutenant of Company E, resigned, and Sergeant Major Clark N. Andrus was appointed his successor. On the 24th James {John} A. Mallory, second lieutenant of Company B, resigned, and First Sergeant William Allen was commissioned his successor. But before he was mustered his commission was cancelled, and he was appointed sergeant major, and Sergeant George Myers was appointed and mustered second lieutenant.
     The following died during the month of January: Johnson Galbraith, Bartholomew Hurley and James B. Thomas, of Company B; Richard A. Lane, of Company C; Joseph Cady and William H. Ransom, of Company D; Samuel Havens, of Company E; John Maloney, of Company F; George W. Barnes, John B. Hagan and Josiah Kelley, of Company H; Thomas Burbige, John Cokley and Thomas Frazee, of Company I; Corporal John M. Durham, Benjamin H. Grover and John Rakestraw, of Company K.
   On February 3rd, the enemy, under command of Generals Forrest and Wheeler, with a force of cavalry and mounted infantry of fully six thousand men, made a daring attack on the garrison at Fort Donelson, with a view of closing navigation on the Cumberland river, then by recently resumed. The Federal garrison consisted of nine companies of Eighty-third Illinois, numbering six hundred and fifty men, under command of Colonel Harding, a single battery of artillery and a thrity-two-pounder rifled siege gun. The battle lasted from early in the afternoon until half-past eight o’clock in the evening, when the enemy retreated after being terribly punished. The attack was made and repeated, time and again, with utter recklessness, and the defense made by the little garrison stand among the most brilliant of the war. The garrison lost sixteen killed, sixty wounded and twenty prisoners, while the enemy lost two hundred killed, six hundred wounded and one hundred captured. Especially brilliant does this feat of the Federal arms appear when it is remembered that the attacking force outnumbered the garrison at least ten to one, and that we killed and wounded more of the enemy that the defenders numbered.
     The resumption of navigation on the Cumberland river opened up another line of supply, and steamboats loaded with military stores arrived almost daily. And, from this time on, the garrison at Nashville received full rations, but the single line of railroad from there to the front, even when assisted by the wagon train, was still unable to furnish the army with full supplies. Soon supplies began to accumulate, and large details were made from the troops on garrison duty to unload the transports, which were usually convoyed by gunboats. After the warehouses had been filled with clothing, provisions and ammunition, the river front was piled mountain high with grain and forage, and it appeared to the tired men that General Rosecrans was laying up supplies for the world to come.
     Elaborate fortifications were constructed on the hills south of the city, one of which, Fort Negley, became a fortress of the strongest type. These defenses subsequently had a prominent part in the battle of Nashville, in which a rebel army was practically destroyed within the sound of their guns. But this happened almost two years later, when a few supposed that an experienced soldier of the Confederacy would stake his all upon a single hazard.
     On the 7th a large fleet of transports, convoyed by several gunboats, having on board eighteen regiments of infantry and four batteries of artillery, steamed up the Cumberland river and landed at Nashville. This fleet, as it came winding round the bends of the crooked river below the city, presented an imposing appearance. The boats were covered with troops, their arms and banners flashing in the sunlight, bands playing, and the men full of enthusiasm. It was a picture of power and splendor and a revelation alike of the strength and determination of the Federal Government to resume its authority over its rebellious subjects. It was a stately, floating column, a triumphal procession. These troops with other regiments arriving a little later numbered about fourteen thousand men, and formed an army corps commanded by Major General Gordon Granger, afterward known as the reserve corps of the Army of the Cumberland. During the entire time the brigade remained in Nashville, the activity of the guerillas was such that heavy details were required to guard all trains going to and coming from the front. Then, too, the turnpike had to be kept in repair, and large working parties were continually at work in order to keep it passable for wagons. These working parties had also to be protected by troops detailed from the garrison. Trying and exasperating were these duties, and the men longed for relief that they might go to the front, where more congenial employment might be found.
     On the 7th Captain Samuel Black, of Company C, resigned from disability, whereupon First Lieutenant George A. Blanchard was promoted to be captain, Second Lieutenant William W. Walker being commissioned first lieutenant and Sergeant James M. Hamilton second lieutenant. On the 9th Second Lieutenant Hugh McHugh, of Company I, resigned on account of failing health, and Sergeant Albert P. Britt, of Company E, Twenty-seventh Illinois Infantry, was commissioned to succeed him. On the 16th Second Lieutenant Washington M. Shields, of Company H, resigned for disability, and Sergeant Andrew J. Horton was promoted to the vacancy. On the 23rd Adjutant John B. Wright resigned, and Second Lieutenant Clark N. Andrus, of Company E, was promoted to be adjutant. On the same date Sergeant Andrew J. Shackey was promoted to be second lieutenant of Company E.
     The deaths reported during the month of February were: James P. Arnett and Andrew Conley, of Company A; James McKalip, of Company B; Martin L. Treadway, of Company D; Leander Veileit, of Company E; P. D. Cleavland {Cleveland} and Our Mike, of Company F; Alfred Smith, of Company G; Henry Bloomfield, of Company H; Oliver Trapp, of Company I, and John M. Barr, of Company K.

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