Between sundown and dark our division, under Wallace, slipped in
between the lines of the rebel and union forces, while our gunboats
constantly threw shells over into the rebel ranks. All during the
night, under this same protection, Nelson’s forces were being brought
across the river, and General Buell’s army was coming up the river
from Savannah, as reinforcements. These two forces numbered 35,000.
The union force outnumbered that of the confederates then by 17,000.
That night the rebels drew their lines back about one and a half
miles. Our division laid down in line of battle and remained in that
position all night, with the rain pouring down all the time. The
groans of the dying and wounded were terrible to hear, yet many of us
slept soundly until we were awakened to fall in line.
At 4 o’clock on the morning of the 7th, drenched in rain and very
hungry, Wallace’s division plunged into the fight on the right of the
army of the Tennessee and opened the battle of the second day’s fight.
We moved out one mile and formed our line of battle. Our brigade
supported the Ninth Indiana battery. We were charged by a regiment
of rebel cavalry. They were repulsed in a short time and went back
faster than they came.
Companies A and B were placed on the skirmish line with Birds’
sharpshooters. We charged on two big twelve-pound batteries
which were raining shot and shell into our lines, causing great
destruction. We got within forty yards of their guns and silenced
them for a few minutes, but they then double shotted with canister
and drove us back. We soon met our main column coming up into the
charge.
Our two companies got lost from our regiment and fell in line with
a Kentucky regiment. We supported the center of our army, while it
was driving the enemy back on the flanks in every charge. The center
which we supported was masked with three firing lines. The fighting
was awful.
The batteries were pushed up by hand and as many as two files of
wounded were going back to the rear for an hour. The earth shook as
if with an earthquake. It seemed as if nothing could live in the hell
of fire. One could taste the sulphur and the shell and bullets could
have been stirred with a stick. The atmosphere was blue with lead.
The rebels were drawing off on the flanks and were holding their
center with all their strength to cover their retreat. At 3 p. m.
General Bragg, seeing that he had come to stay, withdrew his army and
skedaddled in the direction of Corinth. He was whipped and had left
8,000 men on the field dead and dying. Among them was Sidney Johnson,
one of the South’s best generals.
Our cavalry followed up the retreat a few miles, picked up a few
prisoners and was called back.
The union loss at this place was 10,000. The loss in the
Twenty-fourth Indiana was thirty-two killed and wounded. We lost
three officers who were as good and brave as any who ever drew saber.
Lieutenant Colonel Gruber was struck in the breast with a spent
cannon ball while in front of the regiment on the charge. Lieutenant
Southwick of Company B, had his jaw shot off with grape shot. Captain
McGuffin, of Company I, was shot through the breast.
A report From History of the Battle of Shiloh.
Grant, with his victorious army, moved up the Tennessee river to
Shiloh. Here, April the 6th, 1862, he was attacked by General A. S.
Johnson and driven back.
The night after the battle General Buell brought a large force of
Union troops. The Union troops outnumbered the Confederates now
by seventeen thousand. The next day Grant gained his second great
victory.
He said in his report, “I am indebted to General Sherman for the
success of the battle.”
Twenty-five thousand men, dead and wounded, lay on the field after
the battle.
When the battle was over we lay down on the battlefield and remained
there all night without anything to eat. A steady rain was falling
and had been for several days. The 8th and 9th the wounded were cared
for and the dead buried. This put an end to the bloody battle of
Shiloh.
The Battle of Shiloh Hill in verse:
“Come gentlemen and ladies, a story I will tell,
About a noted battle that you all remember well;
It was an awful strife and will cause your blood to chill;
It was the famous battle that was fought on Shiloh Hill.
It was on the 6th of April, about the break of day,
The drums and fifes were playing for us to march away;
The feelings of that hour I do remember still,
When first my feet were treading on the top of Shiloh Hill.
There were men from every nation lying on those bloody plains,
Fathers, sons and brothers were numbered with the slain,
That has caused so many homes, with deep mourning to be filled,
All from the bloody battle that was fought on Shiloh Hill.
Early the next morning we were called to arms again,
Unmindful of the wounded, unmindful of the slain;
We fought them full nine hours before the strife was o’er,
And the like of dead and wounded I never saw before.
Our army reinforced, we made a desperate stand,
And before the battle ended we fought them hand to hand;
The carnage it was fearful and ten thousand men were killed;
All at the bloody battle of the famous Shiloh Hill.
And now my song is ended about those bloody plains,
I hope the sight by mortal man may ne’er be seen again;
And I pray to God the Saviour if it be His holy will,
To save the souls of all of those who fell on Shiloh Hill!”
We lay here on the field five days without shelter or rations, except
what the other regiments, stationed here gave to us. On the 13th
a detail was sent after our tents and camp equipage. It was still
raining, but we had to move out and do something, as we could already
hear the “graybacks” crawling in the leaves.
On the 16th we moved out to the front and went into a camp in a nice
meadow. Here we had four hours’ brigade drill each day.
General Halleck soon took charge of this army and commenced to
advance on Corinth, where Bragg had a force of 60,000 troops, well
fortified. On the 20th a small squad of rebel cavalry ran into our
picket line. Our lines were reinforced and we had to stand in line of
battle from 4 o’clock until daylight.
Our fatigue guard duty was now heavy. Almost all of our time was
employed. The weather was getting fine. Leaves were putting forth
and the aroma of the flowers filled the air. The birds warbled their
sweet songs and all Nature seemed to say, “How foolish for human
butchers to slaughter one another.”
On the 26th we marched to a place called Hamburgh, seven miles away.
We found no enemy and returned to camp on the 27th of April.
May 2d, 1862, we marched out near Perdy, a distance of about ten
miles. We halted, went into camp, and sent a force of cavalry on to
burn the railroad bridge. The cavalry returned at 4 o’clock in the
evening of the 3d and reported that there was a heavy guard at the
bridge, and they had not fired a shot at the enemy. General Wallace
sent them back with orders to burn that bridge at all hazards, or he
would dismount them and send the infantry on their mounts. That trip
they burned the bridge, captured some prisoners, and ran the train
into the bridge.
We could hear the distant boom of our gunboats and heavy artillery
that were advancing on Corinth. We started back to camp. It had
rained and we had a very muddy, hard march on the return.
On May 8th we took up our line of march to the front. We moved out in
the direction of Corinth, Mississippi, and went into camp on Gravel
Ridge.
Our division was held in reserve four miles in the rear of our main
army. We had an army of 80,000 collected here. The Union force was
trying to dig a canal to get the gunboats near enough for action. We
had Corinth almost surrounded and the heavy guns kept up a constant
bombardment.
We had battalion drill two hours each day. We were drilled by
Spicely, who was major at that time. About this time we drew four
months’ pay, which amounted to fifty-two dollars.
Our picket duty was extremely heavy, as the rebel cavalry made
frequent visits to our lines. There was heavy skirmishing in the
advance at all times. We were closing in too near to suit old
Beauregard and Bragg.
On the 26th of May Bragg’s army to a man evacuated Corinth. It was
no siege--merely a draw battle. That army went in the direction of
Richmond. Most of them went by railroad. This was the end of the
first battle of Corinth.
June 2d we received marching orders, and on the morning of the 3d
we marched in the direction of Memphis, Tennessee. The roads were
dry and dusty, making our march very disagreeable. We passed through
Union Town on the 8th. Here was the first place on this march where
we had seen the Stars and Stripes waved by citizens, and you bet the
boys gave them three cheers and a tiger.
We marched on through Bolivar and on the night of the 13th we went
into camp near Memphis. After a march of a hundred miles, we were all
tired and ready for a little rest, but our rest was yet to come, for
at 1 a. m. o’clock the next morning the bugle sounded the assembly.
We fell in line and marched to the city.
The fearful wind it blew a blast,
The lightning never ceased to flash,
The thunder roared,
And the rain it poured.
but on our weary boys tramped into Memphis. We took refuge under
sheds, porches or any place else to get shelter from the rain. The
next morning we marched down to the river bank, pitched tents and
went into camp.
On the morning of the 16th we were ordered out seven miles back of
the town on a scout. We found no enemy and marched back to camp. We
had a heavy provost guard at this place to keep the boys from running
around over town.
We received marching orders on the morning of the 17th. We embarked
on a steamer, and went as far as Helena, Arkansas. Here we got orders
to reinforce General Curtis who was in Missouri with a small force,
at that time. We got on board a boat and ran down the river, sixty
miles below Helena. Here we turned our course up White River as far
as Aberdeen, a small town on the bank of the river.
We could not hear of the whereabouts of Curtis’ army, and on the 4th
of July, we remained all day at Crockett’s Bluff. On the 6th, six
companies of our regiment under command of Colonel W. T. Spicely,
marched out about six miles to Grand Prairie. Here we ran into a
force of the 2nd Texas cavalry, about four hundred in number. Only
four of our companies were in line. These companies numbered about
180. The rebels charged up within thirty steps of us. They lay over
on the opposite sides of their horses and fired at us with double
barrel shotguns, from under their horses’ necks.
They were repulsed, tried the second charge, and were driven off in
disorder.
Colonel Fitch’s command was two miles in our rear but they did not
get up in time for the fight. Late in the evening we returned to the
boats and Colonel Fitch treated us to the beer. On the morning of the
7th all the troops marched to Grand Prairie again. There was some
skirmishing with the rebel pickets but they made no stand. We had
battalion drill at 10 o’clock that night.