A SURVEY OF THE FIELD--PLUNDERING THE DEAD--CIVILIANS
AND RELIC-SEEKERS--CONGRATULATORY ORDERS--CAMP ON A
FIELD OF GRAVES.
Drenched by the rain and without covering, the troops of Buell
had lain all night on the advance portions of the field in line
of battle. In the morning many of them began to discharge their
pieces to get the wet loads out of them. These reports caused great
consternation among the stragglers in their rear, who fled toward the
river firing their pieces as if to repeat the alarm. For some time
we did not heed these noises; but soon hosts of stragglers, most of
them armed, began to pour through our camp, reporting that the enemy
was renewing the attack. Our teamsters began to hitch up their mules;
our sutler gathered up his books and commenced a retreat toward the
landing. In a moment our regiment was in line. Captain Smith was
in command. We joined the 32d Illinois on our left and stretched
our line across the road which ran between their camp and ours,
thus intercepting the terror-stricken herd that poured down it, and
compelling them to take positions in our ranks. We stacked arms and
broke ranks as soon as the panic had subsided.
During the afternoon, I yielded to curiosity, and with some comrades
took a stroll over the field. From our extreme front camps to the
river, and for three or four miles to right and left, the dead were
everywhere to be found. Upon the crests of certain hills, in camps
and in open fields they lay more thickly than elsewhere. One could
discern with unmistakable certainty on what parts of the field the
battle had raged with greatest fury. Nowhere did the enemy's dead lay
so thickly as on the open field behind which the First Brigade of the
Fourth Division had fought on Sunday, and nowhere did our own dead
lay so thickly as at certain points to the right and left of it.
Soldiers were scattered everywhere over the field, some prompted by
curiosity, some by a desire to revisit some particular spot where his
regiment had fought and suffered, where some dear comrade had fallen,
or where he had witnessed while it was taking place, some particular
feature of the battle, and some by a desire to plunder the dead.
For ourselves, we paid particular attention to the position our
regiment had held for five hours on Sunday. "Here," said we, "we
repulsed the charge on the field and piled up the enemy's dead. Here
Mann's Battery engaged the enemy; here we supported the steel guns
and here the 2d Michigan. And what a storm was here! And here was our
first, and here our second position in retreat; and here we made our
last stand, and then----".
The dead presented every possible appearance. Some of them looked
calm and natural as if taking a quiet sleep; not a mark of any
emotion; not a distorted line in their features. It did not
seem possible that these men could have fallen in battle. Other
countenances exhibited traces of rage; others of fear. One rebel
lay dead holding a cartridge in his teeth. We noticed that the
countenances of our own dead seemed much more natural than those of
the enemy.
As to the appearance of the wounds which caused death, no general
idea can be given. Some did not seem to be wounded at all, but only
asleep. There were no traces of violence or injury upon them, except,
perhaps, the hair in a particular place would be clotted with blood.
Under it, a buckshot had perhaps penetrated the skull. Many were shot
in the face, and showed a ball hole under the eye or on either cheek,
and a pool of clotted blood under the head. Many were shot in the
chest and abdomen. Their bodies were swelled enormously, and a watery
liquid bubbled and gurgled from their wounds. Some of their eyes
were closed. Others lay on their backs, staring an unearthly stare,
as though the light of a strange world were breaking on them. Some
bore evidences of having expired in great agony, and looked sickening
in the extreme. Their eyes were grim, their faces yellow and their
mouths filled with foam. Other bodies were torn to pieces, as if by
the explosion of a percussion shell. Others were disembowelled by
canister, and beheaded, unlimbed and cut in two with solid shot.
Less than a mile from the landing, five of the enemy's dead lay in a
row behind a tree. They were evidently killed by the same missile.
The skull of the first was torn open on one side; the second was
struck in the neck, the third in the chest, and so on, as though a
descending shell had struck them while standing behind the tree in a
row. Near them were two other bodies which bore evidence of having
been killed by an exploding shell.
After surveying the field and its multitude of dead, I returned,
sickened, depressed, and disgusted with all things. Was it possible
that such masses of corruption had been the dwelling places of
immortal souls? Could spirits inhabit such foul tenements, and then
fly to the stars? Such were the temples in which the images of God
were appointed to dwell,--beautiful, it may be, when whole; but
when broken, how monstrous! I hated myself because I was flesh and
blood. I could have killed myself, had it not been for the thought
of becoming like them. I was equally disgusted with war, with peace,
with life. I hated peace; for looking back upon it, it seemed
cowardly. I hated war; for it was a work of destruction. It was
against life, that is to say, against God. I hated life; because it
was a scene either of war or of peace. For a while it seemed to me as
though men were made only to play a little, worthless game, and then
sink into nothingness. To such an extent were my feelings depressed,
while contemplating this sickening scene of horror.
After the battle came the sad duty of caring for the wounded and
burying the dead. Late as Tuesday evening we saw ambulances bringing
in the wounded; and Thursday night many of the dead were unburied.
It must not be supposed that our army thus neglected its own dead.
It was the first duty with the men of the Third Iowa to bury their
dead comrades. It was done as well as circumstances would permit, and
head-boards were placed at the graves with suitable inscriptions.
How the wounded were cared for, they and their attendants best can
tell. They were placed upon hospital boats, and sent as rapidly as
possible to northern hospitals. Fatigue parties were detailed to bury
the enemy's dead. After the first day after the battle, this duty
was anything but agreeable. Immense pits were dug where the dead
lay thickest, to which the bodies were dragged by means of horses
and then thrown in and buried. Thus were the heroes rewarded with
nameless graves. But as they had been comrades in peril, they were
now comrades in their last resting-place. To some of these graves our
soldiers had placed head-boards. I noticed one with an inscription
like this:--
FOURTEEN DEAD REBELS,
KILLED APRIL 6TH AND 7TH,
1862.
On the cotton field where we had fought on Sunday, it was said that
one hundred and thirty had been buried in one of these pits. Most
of our regiments buried their dead by themselves, thus forming a
little regimental cemetery, around which they built an enclosure. The
tardiness and carelessness with which the enemy's dead were buried
was a disgrace to our army. Wednesday afternoon, I saw putrid corpses
lying upon an open field within ten rods of General Nelson's tent,
and in plain view of it.
There were more men ready to engage in plundering the dead, than
voluntarily to assist in burying them;--hyenas in uniform; vermin
who creep over the field of battle by night and rifle the pockets of
the slain,--who pull the boots from their feet, and cut off their
fingers for the rings that are on them; birds of prey too despicable
to be classed with buzzards,--who are too cowardly to pursue living
game; but who skulk in the rear in battle, and when it is over, go
forth and plunder alike friend and foe, whose arms can no longer
strike, and whose voices can no longer rebuke them. Crawling over
the field by night; skulking through the woods by day; when you meet
them they tell you they are in search of dead or wounded comrades;
they entertain you with tales of their own marvelous exploits in the
battle. But if you watch them, it will not be many days before they
will have "trophies" to exhibit,--swords, money, watches, jewelry.
There is but one way to deal with such persons. To give them trial
by court martial, is to insult discipline and to abuse the service.
Mounted patrols should be detailed to scour the field after a battle,
and should shoot without questioning whoever is caught plundering the
dead. I do not mean to say that valuable property should be buried
with dead men. But the dead should be collected and buried in the
usual way, and their effects retained or disposed of by the proper
officers for the benefit of the Government.
After a lapse of a few days, an army of civilians appeared on the
field;--men who had come in search of missing friends, or to care
for wounded ones,--agents of Sanitary Commissions sent to nurse
the wounded, and having charge of stores for their benefit, who,
according to report, lived upon the stores and spent their time
rambling over the field in search of relics and gratifying curiosity.
They permeated the woods like a host of locusts. It was the especial
delight of the boys to impose upon them. A soldier would cut a small
stick, shoot two or three holes in it from his revolver, and sell
it to one of them for a dollar as a cane cut from the battle-field.
A soldier found an old, rusty, musician's sword, and sold it to a
civilian for ten dollars, stating that he had captured it from a
rebel officer! Many such tricks were practiced both to our amusement
and profit.
The battle changed materially the _morale_ of the army. It had
diminished our inclination to boast. If it had not taught us to
respect ourselves less, it had taught us to respect our enemies more.
It diminished our confidence in General Grant, and greatly increased
it in General Hurlbut. From the former, a general without experience
and an army equally so, it is true we could not reasonably expect
more than tolerable management. But he had allowed an immense army to
march upon him and surprise him, and that surprise had entailed upon
us defeat, and, to a certain degree, dishonor. The conduct of the
latter won our unbounded admiration. We had expected nothing of him;
he had done everything for us. If the country did not know it, we
nevertheless felt it--that the Fourth Division under his leadership
had covered itself with glory.
On Sunday the enemy had beaten us by superiority of numbers, by
having his plans laid and his dispositions for the battle made
without our knowledge, and without any interruption from us, and,
finally, by the advantage gained in the attack being a complete
surprise to us. Of these, his advantage in superiority of numbers is
the only one that has been questioned. The most moderate estimates
from the enemy's side have placed his force at about forty thousand.
No one who knows that our army was so much reduced by sickness and
other causes that not more than half the men borne on its rolls were
available for the line of battle, will believe that we had more
than thirty thousand actually engaged. I have no doubt, that in
the afternoon the enemy opposed us on the left with two to one. We
believed that this battle had demonstrated the superiority of the
enemy's generals; but at least the equal bravery of our own troops.
His prisoners admitted that they had not imagined we would fight so
well. We told them in reply that we were all Americans, the only
difference between us being of ideas and education. If we were to
believe what the newspapers at home said of us, we were both heroes
and cowards. We knew that if we had achieved nothing splendid, we
were at least victors. Though we knew that we had not won much glory,
we felt that we had merited much more than we had won. On the whole,
we were disposed to rejoice, not so much on account of the bare
victory we had gained, as that the army had escaped, though narrowly,
from the utter ruin which hung over it.
Finally, the following orders of thanks and congratulation came, the
two latter of which, and particularly the one of Governor Andrew,
brought tears to the eyes of stout soldiers as they were read on
parade:--
HEADQUARTERS, DEPARTMENT OF THE MISSISSIPPI, }
PITTSBURGH, Tenn., April 15th, 1862. }
GENERAL ORDERS, }
NO. 16. }
The Major General commanding the Department thanks
Major Generals Grant and Buell, and the officers and
men of their respective commands, for the bravery and
endurance with which they sustained the general attacks
of the enemy on the sixth, and for the heroic manner
in which, on the seventh, they defeated and routed the
whole rebel army. The soldiers of the West have added
new laurels to those which they had already won on
numerous fields.
While congratulating the troops on their glorious
success, the General commanding desires to enjoin
upon all officers and men the necessity of greater
discipline and order. These are as essential to the
success as to the health of the army, and without them
we can not long expect to be victorious; but with them
we can march forward to new fields of honor and glory,
till this wicked rebellion is completely crushed out,
and peace returned to our country.
By command of Major General Halleck,
(Signed) N. H. MCLEAN, A. A. G.
HEADQUARTERS, DISTRICT OF WEST TENNESSEE, }
April 10th, 1863. }
GENERAL ORDERS, }
NO. 34. }
The General commanding congratulates the troops who so
gallantly sustained the attack, repulsed and routed a
numerically superior force of the enemy, composed of
the flower of the Southern army, and fought by them
with all the desperation of despair. In numbers engaged
no such contest ever took place on this continent. In
importance of result, but few such battles have taken
place in the world.
Whilst congratulating the brave and gallant soldiers,
it becomes the especial duty of the General commanding
to make mention of the brave wounded and those
killed on the field. Whilst they leave friends and
relatives to mourn their loss, they have won a nation's
gratitude, and undying laurels, not to be forgotten by
future generations, who shall enjoy the blessings of
the best Government the sun ever shone upon, preserved
by their valor.
By command of Major General Grant,
(Signed) JOHN A. RAWLINS, A. A. G.
HEADQUARTERS, DEPARTMENT OF THE MISSISSIPPI, }
CAMP PITTSBURGH LANDING, April 19th, 1862. }
GENERAL ORDERS, }
NO. 17. }
The following General Order of the Governor
and Commander-in Chief of the Commonwealth of
Massachusetts, has been received and is published to
the Military and Naval forces of this Department:--
COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS, }
HEADQUARTERS, BOSTON, April 10th, 1862. }
GENERAL ORDERS, }
NO. 6. }
In honor of the most signal victories recently won
by the soldiers of the Union in the Department
commanded by Major General Halleck, under the immediate
leadership of Major Generals Pope, Grant and Buell, and
by the sailors and marines commanded by Flag Officer A.
H. Foote, and as a humble expression of the grateful
joy with which the splendid results of the heroic
valor, energy and good conduct of these commanders,
their officers and men, is received by their brethren
and fellow citizens of Massachusetts, it is ordered
by the Governor and Commander-in-Chief of the Militia
of Massachusetts, that a salute of one hundred guns
be fired on Boston Common, to-morrow, the 11th day of
April current at noon.
Not even the cannon's mouth can loudly enough
proclaim the debt which our country, human liberty,
and civilization itself, owe to those noble men of
the West, who have met the angriest torrents of the
rebellion, and rolled its waves back upon its depths.
The heart of every son of Massachusetts leaps to salute
them and do them homage.
Major General Andrew, commanding First Division, is
charged with the execution of this order.
By command of His Excellency John A. Andrew,
Governor and Commander in Chief.
WILLIAM SCHOULDER, Adjutant General.
By command of Major General Halleck,
N. H. MCLEAN, A. A. G.
HEADQUARTERS FOURTH DIVISION, }
PITTSBURGH, Tenn., April 9th, 1862. }
GENERAL ORDERS, }
NO. 20. }
The General commanding tenders his heartfelt gratitude
to the surviving officers and men of this Division, for
their magnificent service during the two days struggle
which under the blessing of God has terminated in
victory.
Let this Division remember that for five hours on
Sunday, it held under the most terrific fire, the key
point of the left of the army, and only fell back when
flanked by overwhelming masses pressing through points
abandoned by our supports. Let them remember that when
they fell back it was in order, and that the last line
of resistance in rear of the heavy guns was formed by
this Division. Let them remember that on the morning
of Monday, without food and without sleep, they were
ordered forward to reinforce the right; and that
where-ever either brigade of this division appeared
on the field, they were in time to support broken
flanks and hold the line. Keep these facts before your
memories to hand down to your children when we conquer
a peace, and let it be the chief pride of every man of
this command, as it is of your General, that he was at
Pittsburgh with the Fighting Fourth Division.
By order of Brigadier General Hurlbut,
SMITH D. ATKINS, A. A. G.
But when we looked through the ranks of our regiment and surveyed
our losses, there was left us little room for joy or congratulation.
Of the four hundred and fifty who had marched into the battle under
our flag on Monday morning, twenty-eight were killed, and over two
hundred were killed, wounded and missing. Of our officers, Stone
was captured; Hobbs was killed; O'Niel, Knight, Merrill and Wayne
were wounded and captured; and Trumbull, Ogg, Weiser, Tullis and
Hammill were wounded. In addition to this, Williams, whom we claimed
was disabled while commanding the brigade, and while doing his duty
bravely and well. Many regiments of the different divisions had
suffered as much, and some perhaps more than ours. It was a poor
satisfaction that the enemy's dead outnumbered our own. The only joy
we could derive from a knowledge of his sufferings was that it would
diminish his strength for the next battle. The field attested that
his killed outnumbered ours by at least one-third. But his prisoners
in our hands asserted that their dead in proportion to their wounded
was unusually large. When both sides of the question shall have been
fully heard in reference to this great battle, it will be believed
that the aggregate losses of the two contending forces were very
nearly equal.[1]
Adding together our own and the enemy's dead, and including those
who died of wounds and disease, at least four thousand men were
buried on the field of Shiloh. And here, breathing a foul atmosphere,
drinking a sickening water, and surrounded by loathsome and gloomy
associations, we remained for three weeks--in camp on a field of
graves.
FOOTNOTE:
[1] I have been unable to obtain the official report of this battle
by our regimental commander, and through fear of making invidious
comparisons, have refrained from mentioning the names of certain
officers and men whose bravery was especially conspicuous. Among
these, Trumbull, Knight, Crossley and Lakin sustained in a splendid
manner on the first day's field, the reputation they had won at
Blue Mills. Lieutenant Crossley was called to command the regiment
late in the afternoon of Sunday, and from that time till Monday,
did his duty with a degree of heroism which merits the life-long,
honored gratitude of every member of our regiment. He rose with every
occasion; and amid the severest shocks, and heaviest disasters, no
one seemed so capable of inspiring men as he. Trumbull acted as field
officer, and was conspicuous for his cool gallantry till in the
afternoon of Sunday, when he was wounded by a shell and compelled to
quit the field. Sergeant Lakin bore the colors the first day with a
bravery nowhere surpassed; but during the night he was taken severely
ill, and was unable to carry them the second day. In his absence
Corporal Anderson Edwards filled his place in a manner which can not
be too highly praised.