THE ARMY IN MOTION TO THE SOUTH--CHARACTER AND
SCENES OF THE FIRST DAY'S MARCH--A PICTURE OF THE
OLD SOLDIER IN BIVOUAC, AND A GLANCE AT HIS DOMESTIC
ARRANGEMENTS--THE MARCH OF NOV. 29.--BIVOUAC AT
HOLLY SPRINGS--MARCHING THROUGH THE CITY--AN
EARTHQUAKE--THE CAVALRY DIVISION AND THE ENEMY'S
REAR GUARD--CANNONADING--CAMP AT LUMKIN'S MILLS--A
STORM--MOVEMENT OF SHERMAN, RETREAT OF THE ENEMY AND
ADVANCE OF TROOPS--OUR DIVISION LEFT BEHIND--THINGS
TO THE FRONT--WE ADVANCE--REBEL WORKS ON THE
TALLAHATCHIE--SCENES AND SCENERY OF THE DAY'S
MARCH--CAMP AT HURRICANE CREEK--OXFORD--JOIN THE MAIN
ARMY AT YOCKONA CREEK--THE 33D WISCONSIN--THE SITUATION
AND MOVEMENTS--RAID OF VAN DORN--MOVEMENTS TO OPEN THE
COMMUNICATIONS.
Reveille sounded at 4 o'clock. We cooked breakfast, packed knapsacks
and haversacks, filled canteens, loaded wagons and fell into line.
Major Brown was in the saddle. It was cheering to the members of
Company F, to see their former esteemed Captain at the head of the
regiment. The field music struck up the old familiar marching tune,
"The Girl I left behind me," and the regiment marched out and took
its position in the column on the bluffs of the river. Here we
waited for the 2d and 3d Brigades to pass, watching in the meantime
their column of dark infantry mixed with white covered wagons, as
it extended to the south. It was a grand spectacle to see the right
wing of the army stretching over those broad and open fields further
into the land of the enemy. And when each soldier thought, "I am a
part of this grand movement; little as I am, I am helping to make
history," he felt an exultation known only to men in the hour of
great enterprises or of great success.
The left wing was also in motion on the road south from Grand
Junction. Where that road unites with the one on which we were
marching, six miles south of Wolf River, the right wing halted, and
the left wing assumed the advance.
The roads were most favorable for marching, but the sky was overcast
with leaden clouds, and the wind blew cold and raw from the
northwest. During the frequent halts occasioned by the great length
of the trains, the men would tear down the fences and build fires,
around which to warm themselves. So frequent were the halts, and
so great the length of the column, that before night the way was
almost a continuous line of fire. These fires extended through the
dry leaves and stubble, and communicated themselves to the fences,
till at length we seemed to be marching through a perpetual bonfire.
The sun went down, and darkness began to gather around, when, all at
once through a sudden rift in the gloomy clouds, the red twilight
broke gloriously, while to the east whither the wind was blowing,
the flames of burning fences, fields and buildings, lit up the sky,
which glared vengefully upon us as we marched along. It was a scene
worthy a poet or painter. It was the splendor of desolation. A vast
invading army marching through a blaze of the ruin it had made!
Whether it were intentional or accidental, we could not but deplore
such a destruction of property. We knew that the world would consider
such doings intentional, and that they would be a lasting stigma upon
our name. There were some among us that rejoiced at it; but many
shuddered instinctively at seeing ourselves re-enacting the deeds
which have made the name of _vandal_ the execration of all ages.
The advance infantry camped for the night at Cold Water. But our
division, though it marched two hours after night, camped near the
familiar brick church south of Lamar. Here there was no water for the
animals, and scarcely enough for the men. The wagons parked as they
traveled, by brigades. On account of the weight of our knapsacks, the
slowness of the march, and the frequent halts, we were excessively
fatigued, and when the order was given to file to the right, we had
scarcely patience enough left to go through the remaining movement
of halt!--close up--front! center dress! front! fix-bayonets!
shoulder-arms! stack-arms! break ranks--march!
And here a stranger could have observed in all its reality the
habits of the old soldier on the march. His knapsack is packed,
not according to regulations, but to suit his own convenience. His
haversack contains three days rations of bread, sugar and coffee, and
a sure supply of salt. For his meat he trusts chiefly to fortune and
to the enemy's pig-pens and henroosts. Outside his haversack hangs
all that is left of some merry oyster supper,--a small tin can with a
wire bail--his coffee pot. His canteen is never empty when water can
be procured, unless it contains something sweeter or stronger than
water. When the regiment halts for the night and breaks ranks, his
first purpose is to explore the near neighborhood, and espy and seize
whatever he can of fresh meat, which having brought in, he divides
liberally among his comrades, after reserving the best piece to
himself. He then proceeds to improvise a fire, if his comrades have
not a place for him by the side of theirs. And here let me say to all
uninitiated soldiers, that whatever may be said in favor of green
hickory, or dry oak tops, experience has taught me that well-seasoned
rails make decidedly the best camp-fire in Secession Land. When he
has built his fire, by chance he draws his gun from the stack, and
brings his knapsack close to the welcome blaze, and sits down upon
it, with his canteen, haversack and cartridge-box at hand. He fills
his "coffee kettle" and puts it on the coals. He cuts a piece of
meat, salts it, sticks his ramrod into it, and commences broiling it
in the blaze. And then, should the Orderly Sergeant be heard calling
him to go on guard or fatigue,--well, no one will blame me for not
rehearsing word for word the strict manner in which he complains of
the Fates. If he is so fortunate as to escape this, when his supper
is over (relished no where so well), he gathers a heap of dry leaves,
or it may be, breaks a bundle of broom sedge, upon which he spreads
his blankets, and soon, his feet to the fire and his head in the land
of cool air and pleasant dreams, till the morning drum or the night
alarm, he is oblivious to the weary world.
Ranging among the fires, the stranger will perceive that the manner
of this soldier varies greatly among the others. Some, like him,
find it good to be alone. Others, like geese, choose their mates and
go in pairs. Others, gregarious, go in herds of six or eight. These
variations in the size of families, cause as many modifications in
the mode of life, which in all cases has reference to the general
principle of acquiring the most comfort with the least possible labor.
November 29. We were aroused early, and were ready to move at
daylight. But we were to be rear guard to-day, and had to wait for
other troops to move out. The sun rose. Weary and stiff, we slung
knapsacks and moved into the road. Slowly and with much halting the
trains took the road, and by eight o'clock the column was again in
motion. The roads were dusty, and the halts were more frequent and
annoying than yesterday.
At 2 P. M., we reached Cold Water, where the left wing camped last
night. Here we halted to rest and water our animals, and it was
after dark when the march was resumed, and we did not reach Holly
Springs till 11 P. M. Here we halted for the night. We built fires
of the garden fences, and made our beds of forage taken from the
barns of the citizens. Who could blame us? When the alternative was a
cheerless night with no supper but that in our haversacks, and a bed
upon the damp ground, what soldier would have done less?
And now, once more, those of the dwellers of this beautiful city who
had not fled with their retiring army, saw on all sides the camp
fires of "the Invader," and heard upon their sidewalks the tread of
"Vandal" sentinels.
November 30--Sunday. The drums woke us at four o'clock, and though
our short sleep had illy sufficed to refresh us, the admonitions of
our officers, that we were soon to march, forbade any further attempt
at repose. At daylight, the 3d Iowa leading the Division, we marched
through the principal street of the city, with our files neatly
dressed, to the sound of martial music. Vain parade! There were no
citizens to witness it--none to admire it. If we had a terror for our
enemy, we had inspired it in the confusion of battle, not by keeping
step on review to sounds of fife and drum.
The day was cloudy, and the wind blew soft and damp from the
south. For a while we moved rapidly; but soon subsided into a more
reasonable gait. In the forenoon, while taking a short rest, we
experienced a perceptible shock of an earthquake, which was also felt
at Cairo and St. Louis. Reports frequently came that the cavalry
division under Colonel Dickey, were skirmishing with the enemy's rear
guard, and that he had captured two cannon.
As we approached Lumkin's Mills, a sudden burst of artillery saluted
our ears. The sound put Colonel Pugh in ecstacies; and looking
around, he called out in his peculiar tone of voice, "Boys, d'
ye hear that?" The discharges were frequent and the deep valleys
prolonged the sounds into deep echoes such as we had never heard
before. It was the cavalry division engaging the enemy's nearest
troops north of the Tallahatchie. This firing lasted nearly two
hours, and not knowing the cause of it, we took it to be the
beginning of a general engagement. We had been the rearmost
division in the march; and coming up with the troops of the other
divisions, we found them camped on a high, commanding ridge which
rises along the north bank of the stream which turns Lumkin's Mills,
and overlooks a more level tract southward toward the Tallahatchie.
We camped in advance of them, the 1st Brigade on the plain in the
extreme advance.
The cannonade died away with the daylight; and soon after the
artillery of Heaven in louder and longer echoes began to shake the
hills. We hastily put up tents in expectation of a storm. It came
sweeping from the west with loud crashings of thunder--a perfect
tornado. Our tents fell before it, and the water ran in streams under
our blankets. Many of us were compelled to seek warmth around our
re-enkindled fires. And here, though the body suffered, the mind
could not but feel exalted in the presence of such a grand commotion
of the elements. The crashing thunder, the intense darkness, relieved
only by the frequent lightnings and the camp fires of the army
extending far and wide to the north, and the rushing wind, were in
the highest degree sublime. In the morning God had shaken the earth;
in the evening man had shaken the heavens, and now God was shaking
both the heavens and the earth.
December 1st. The day was without rain, but the wind cold and raw,
blew broken masses of clouds from the north. It was reported that
Sherman with a strong column had crossed the Tallahatchie, nine miles
below the enemy's works, flanked him and compelled him to retreat.
That evening McArthur's division hastily advanced, and during the
entire following forenoon, the troops filed through our camps,
advancing to the south. Our division and that now under command of
Gen. Ross were left at this point; for what purpose, officers and men
were alike unable to conjecture.
Trains were sent back to Lamar for rations, and the engineer
troops were busy repairing the railroad southward from that point.
General Sherman returned to Memphis to begin his expedition against
Vicksburg, and General Grant, his column augmented by Denver's
division of Sherman's troops, was pushing forward after the enemy.
The details of his marches we knew only by report. The cavalry
division pushed the enemy's rear guard with splendid results. Many
prisoners passed to the rear, and we listened with thrilling interest
to rehearsals of the gallant conduct of this portion of the army.
The character of the cavalry, so much depreciated since the battle
of Shiloh, now took a sudden rise in our estimation. In the romantic
ideas of some of the young soldiers, "the man on the horse" came
to be all in all. And many were frequently heard, regretting their
misfortune in having enlisted in the infantry.
Meantime General McKean was relieved from active duty at his own
request, and early on the morning of the 11th, started north with his
staff. The division had received marching orders the night before,
and the same morning at six o'clock we took up the march toward the
south.
The weather was soft and delightful, and the roads all that could be
desired. At ten o'clock we reached the enemy's late advance works in
front of the Tallahatchie. They consisted of a single line of rifle
pits with embrasures at three points, sufficient each for a battery
of light guns. They were by no means formidable, and the ground
north of them was higher than that on which they were erected; but
their field of fire was open and level, and they could not have been
carried by direct assault without some loss. They were constructed
to defend the bridge across the Tallahatchie. Beyond the river we
came upon his main fort, its front and lateral faces angling with
the river, and very nearly closing behind. It was a formidable work,
its parapet thick and high, and its ditch wide and deep, with some
interior arrangements which I did not comprehend, and rifle pits
extending from its flanks, the whole buried in an impenetrable forest
of bottom timber. So dense was this timber, that artillery could not
have been brought to bear on them with success, and direct assault
in the presence of the intervening river would have been out of the
question.
As we marched through these works, we said among ourselves, "If
the enemy could not hold such a place as this, where this side of
Vicksburg will he make a stand? Our advance then will be a continued
march of victory." Thus in exultation we pressed on.
Three miles south of the Tallahatchie we passed Abbeville, a small
railroad station garrisoned by a few troops. We camped for the night
on Hurricane Creek, a small stream six miles north of Oxford.
The country through which we passed south of the Tallahatchie was
mountainous and picturesque. Sometimes we would ascend high ranges
of hills which would give us a wide view of the country; whence we
could see other ranges lying blue and dim in the distance, and far to
the right the deep and sleepy looking valley of the Tallahatchie. It
afforded a delightful contrast to the monotonous woods, interrupted
only by sparse plantations, which, on our previous marches in the
South, had bounded to narrow distances the inquiring vision, and rose
round us like a prison wall.
December 12th. We resumed the march early, and at nine o'clock passed
through Oxford, a very pleasant looking little city, but bounded
on all sides by the inevitable oak forest of these regions. It was
chiefly noted as being the site of the University of Mississippi.
This building, built of brick, in the western environs of the
city, rose in stately relief against the dark woods and above the
meaner edifices surrounding it, and was one of the few objects that
commanded our united respect, even in a land of traitors.
A march of twelve miles further, accomplished with much fatigue
and straggling, brought us in sight of the main army camped along
Yockona Creek. Here General Lauman was waiting to assume command of
the division. His return was greeted throughout our regiment with
great joy. That night we enjoyed the luxury of a drizzling Southern
rain, and the next morning we put up tents and laid out our camp in
regular order. The 103d Illinois had been left behind at Waterford,
and now the 33d Wisconsin was attached to the 1st Brigade to supply
its place. This regiment had advanced with Sherman's column from
Memphis, and then countermarched to Waterford, and then again
advanced to join the main army: in consequence of which, their supply
of rations was either so much exhausted or wasted, that they were
reduced to three-fourths of the regular allowance. In addition to
this, the vigilance and energy of the provost marshal had rendered
it impossible for inexperienced soldiers to draw many supplies from
the country. In this situation their complaints, as might have
been expected from young soldiers, were boisterous and perhaps
unreasonable. Indeed, they seemed to us to act very foolishly. They
abused without restraint their quartermaster and other officers, and
accused them of stealing their rations. They would besiege their
colonel's tent in great crowds, clamoring for rations. All day, with
scarcely an interruption, the cry of "_crackers!_" rang from their
camp; and long before reveille, of mornings, the woods would echo to
the cry of "_crackers! crackers!_" And in the middle of the night, if
they said aught, talking in their sleep, it would be to repeat that
inevitable and all-meaning word, crackers. Now we pitied them; and as
far as we were able, shared our rations with them. But we could not
but be amused at the vehement manner in which they expressed their
impatience; for it called to mind ludicrous recollections of the days
when we were young soldiers ourselves.
The army rested in this position, and waited the opening of railroad
communications from Holly Springs. In a week the cars were running
from Yockona Station. The cavalry division had sustained its
first defeat near Coffeeville--a severe repulse at the hands of
the enemy's infantry and artillery. This seemed to indicate his
intention to dispute the occupation of Grenada, where he was said to
be strongly fortified. But this result might have been anticipated
by the cavalry, when, already beyond the reach of support from the
infantry, they had pushed on against a vigilant and skillful enemy.
He had taken advantage of their temerity and punished it severely;
but, to the army in general, the affair was not of a serious
character.
But the enemy's cavalry under Van Dorn, late their commanding general
in Mississippi, was preparing a blow for our campaign, and it fell
suddenly where it was least expected. Most of the cavalry division
was recalled from the front, and part of it under Colonel Dickey was
sent east, to make a raid on the Mobile and Ohio Railroad, while
the other part under Colonel Lee proceeded north to protect the
communications from the designs of Forrest, who was moving on our
railroad lines in Tennessee. About noon of the 19th, the Ohio Brigade
of Ross' division, camped two miles south of Oxford, moved on the
cars toward the north, passed through Holly Springs that evening,
and arrived at Bolivar some time in the night. The same day Colonel
Dickey, on his return, crossed the trail of Van Dorn, who was then
moving to the north on his raid, and apprised General Grant of his
movements, but too late to enable him to take measures to check them.
On the 20th, intimations that Van Dorn had captured Holly Springs
came to the troops, first in the shape of vague rumors, and then of
more definite reports. Immediate dispositions were made to meet the
new danger. McArthur's division was sent to the north to open up
the communications. The same night, orders came to the 4th Division
to be ready to march at an early hour. The noise of preparation was
kept up far into the night. In the midst of this, across the valley
to the north of our regiment, we heard a tumult which sounded like a
thousand watch-dogs, joining all hideously in their midnight orgies.
It was a row between the 14th and 15th Illinois regiments on one
side, and the 16th Illinois on the other. I believe it was confined
entirely to words.
At six o'clock in the morning the division moved, and, passing to the
east, crossed the railroad at Yockona Station, and, after proceeding
about four miles, camped on the ground just abandoned by McArthur's
division. We laid out camps in the regular manner, got up tents, and
in the evening our regiment had dress parade, at which was read an
order from General McPherson that the troops of the right wing would
be put on three-quarter rations. Towards night marching orders came
to the artillery, and late in the night orders came to the infantry
to be ready to march early in the morning.