MISCELLANEOUS.
On the night of December 9th, 1864, when the regiment was being
transported by rail from Opequan Bridge, in the Valley, to Washington,
on our way to join the Army of the Potomac, in front of Richmond,
Private Silas Simpson, of Company C, being on a flat-car crowded with
men, laid down near the bumper, and having, it is presumed, dropped
asleep and fallen between the cars, met with an instant death, no less
than three trains passing over his body before it was discovered that he
was missing.
During the early part of our term of service, the orders were very
strict in reference to individual foraging, and whenever complaints were
made at headquarters by some Secesh citizen, that some of the boys had
been slaughtering a beef of his, or perhaps a poor innocent porker had
gone the way of all the world, or, perchance, a box of honey, or a loaf
of bread, or a nice ham, was not to be found, then forthwith a guard
must be stationed around his house and the mens’ quarters searched for
the missing articles. The men generally received due and timely notice,
and the articles were buried in some tent and a poor sick boy, that
could not be moved, would be lying over it. The officers engaged in the
search, would perhaps look in the tent and says, “Boys, is any of that
meat or honey here?” They were never known to receive an affirmative
answer. Occasionally they would be caught in the act, as the following
incident will testify: The regiment had just gone into camp on the bank
of the Shenandoah, near Halltown, one hot day in August, 1864. The men
were nearly all bathing in the river, when they spied a field of corn on
the opposite bank and immediately went for it. Two boys of Company A,
each unadorned with any particular amount of clothing, and, having their
arms filled with roasting ears, were caught by a cavalry guard set there
to watch the corn; and without their clothing, which was on the other
side, were marched to division headquarters; from which place they were
sent, through the _regular channels_, to regimental headquarters, with
an order to have them “tied up by the thumbs.” From there Col. Wilson
sent them to company headquarters, with instructions to carry out the
order _after night_—the _particular_ night not being specified. Why
Capt. C. had plenty of corn for dinner is plain.
After any of these depredations, should any of the officers discover
next morning in their quarters, a nice steak, plate of honey or roll of
butter, it was not deemed necessary to institute a search to see where
it came from.
When we passed near Sewell Mountain, returning from the Lynchburg Raid,
June 29th, 1864, one of the men caught a young fawn and made a present
of it to the Colonel. A “hard tack” box was rigged up, the fawn put into
it and conveyed on the back of a mule to Camp Piatt; from there it was
taken with the regiment to Martinsburg, where it became a great favorite
with the men, and was finally sent from there to Ohio.
At Winchester there were several Union families, one of whom will always
be remembered with hearts full of gratitude for their kindness to many
of our regiment. The members of that family who resided there during the
war, consisted of an old Quaker gentleman, Mr. Sidwell, his wife, one
son—a young man—and his two daughters, Anna and Martha. When we were
captured there, on the 15th of June, 1863, and confined in the Court
House, we were without anything to eat for thirty-six hours. Sending a
note through one of our surgeons to Mr. Sidwell, he, in company with his
wife, soon made his appearances with a large basket of provisions, which
was certainly a rich treat to us. The next morning the two daughters
came with more supplies, and towels and soap, which afterwards proved of
great use to us in Libby. During the whole war, from its commencement to
the close, Winchester was hardly free from the conflict of battle for
any length of time, changing hands no less than _seventy-three_ times,
three times in one day. This family remained there the whole time,
unable to get away, the two daughters making it a constant practice
every day to visit the hospitals, and endeavor to ameliorate the
condition of our sick and wounded. There are several in the 123d who
will not soon forget them and their acts of kindness.
The following correspondence will explain itself:
CAMP OF THE 123D O. V. I. }
NEW MARKET HEIGHTS, VA., March 11, 1865 }
_Sir_:—At the request of the commanding officer of the regiment, I
have the pleasure of presenting through you to the State of Ohio,
the remnants of the colors carried by the 123d Regiment of Ohio
Volunteer Infantry during last summer’s campaign in the Shenandoah
Valley, Virginia. They were borne through the following engagements
in Virginia: Newmarket, May 15th, 1864; Piedmont, June 5th;
Lynchburg, June 18th; Snicker’s Ferry, July 18th; Winchester, July
24th; Martinsburg, July 25th; Berryville, September 3d; Winchester,
September 19th; Fisher’s Hill, September 22d; Cedar Creek, October
19th, 1864. Hoping that you will give them a place in the Arm and
Trophy Department of the State, I am with great respect
Your most obedient servant
HON. JOHN BROUGH, J. W. CHAMBERLIN,
Governor of Ohio. Capt. A Co. 123d O. V. I.
To which Gov. Brough replied as follows:
THE STATE OF OHIO EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT, }
COLUMBUS, March 24th, 1865. }
_Maj. J. W. Chamberlin; 123d O. V. I._
SIR—Your favor of the 15th instant has been handed me, accompanied
by “what remains of the colors of the 123d Regiment.” The custody of
these tattered flags is thankfully accepted on the part of the
State, and they will be appropriately placed among other and similar
mementoes of the patriotism and courage of our soldiers in this
great struggle to sustain the Government and unity of the country.
The 123d Regiment presents a record highly honorable to its officers
and men, and ennobling to the State. These records have given to our
State the high rank she now occupies in the annals of the war, and
they constitute one of the brightest pages in the history of this
wicked Rebellion. Thanking you for the presentation made by the
regiment,
I am very truly yours.
JOHN BROUGH.
The first six months we were in the service we did a great amount of
picket duty, and for men who were then “spoiling for a fight,” it was
not generally a very pleasant labor. Still, occasionally an incident
would occur that would vary the monotony a little. One, that a few men
will not soon forget, occurred while we were at Petersburg. A large
detail from the regiment was on picket, and one of the captains—who had
never officiated as “Officer of the Day”—was acting in that capacity on
this occasion. When the hour at night came for “grand rounds” he started
out on the Franklin Pike. When nearing the post he was ordered to halt,
and to “dismount and advance one with the countersign.” He obeyed, and
with his sword drawn and at a carry, advanced to the sentinel, whose
authority he recognized by giving the salute, with drawn sword, due to a
superior officer. Soon after, Company C was picketing on the Moorefield
road, when Gen. Milroy was returning in the night with an escort from
Moorefield, but without the countersign. He was halted, compelled to
dismount, and, notwithstanding his assertions that “he was Gen. Milroy,”
was conducted to the “officer of the guard,” who recognized him
officially before he was permitted to pass.
On the 19th of October, 1864, when Sheridan, gained his famous victory
at Cedar Creek, while the infantry were lying down in two lines, waiting
for the advance, which was soon made, and while the enemy were throwing
solid shot just over us, an enterprising newsboy rode up with the
Baltimore _American_ for sale. He rode along slowly disposing of his
papers, until a solid shot struck very near his horse, when he turned
his head to the rear and rode off with the remark that “it was getting
too d—d hot for him there.”
Just after we had got fairly started on our Lynchburg raid, and when one
day the men had got very tired of carrying their one hundred rounds of
ammunition each and were grumbling much thereat, a cavalry officer rode
by, and inquiring of one of our men, “What troops are these?” received
the reply, “Troops? Hell, this is Gen. Hunter’s ammunition train!”
When the Regiment was lying at New Creek, November, 1862, Capt. Horace
Kellogg, with his company (B), was ordered by Gen. Milroy to proceed at
once to St. George, Tucker county, Virginia, and assess and collect
enough money from disloyal citizens to reimburse the loyal citizens of
that place, who had been robbed by guerrillas. Gen. Milroy’s order was
as follows “If they do not pay the amount you assess them, at the
designated time, you will proceed to burn their houses, seize their
property and shoot the men.” As soon as the company arrived at St.
George, Capt. Kellogg found out who were the disloyal subjects, and
proceeded to issue circulars to them, in accordance with Milroy’s
orders. It is needless to say that the money was forthcoming. Five
thousand dollars were collected and disbursed to the Union men who had
been despoiled of their property.
COMPANY D.
Inasmuch as Company D was away from the regiment on detached duty for a
time, it may be interesting to give an outline of their doings while
thus employed.
Sometime during the month of May, 1863, Company D was ordered to report
to Gen. Milroy for duty. Capt. Shawhan was appointed Provost Marshal,
and his company formed a part of the guard. Capt. Shawhan went to work
at once in the performance of the duties of his office, and made a very
efficient officer. He soon had the city thoroughly cleaned, his men
burning two kilns of lime and scattering it thoroughly about, thereby
contributing greatly in arresting the contagious diseases, that were
rapidly turning the entire city into a general hospital.
Some indiscrete young ladies insisted upon coming upon the streets
wearing gloves with “Secesh” emblems upon them, until three or four were
arrested and put in the guard house. They soon sued for peace, and ever
after there was no trouble in curbing the turbulent dispositions of the
most violent Secessionists.
During the fight at Winchester, June 15th, 1865, the company was busy
guarding prisoners and getting out ammunition for the artillery in the
forts. When the retreat commenced they had orders to follow with their
prisoners in the rear of the command. They fell in with the first
regiment they came to, the 116th O. V. I., and when they came to where
the battle was going on, that regiment was ordered to march right on to
the Potomac river. They arrived at Orleans Station on the night of the
16th, where they drew rations. On the 18th they started for Cumberland,
and when within ten miles of that place they received orders to march
into Pennsylvania, arriving at “Bloody Run,” where Milroy’s command was
reorganized. They remained there until July 4th, when, with Couch’s
Division of the 6th Corps, they followed after Lee’s retreating army,
until reaching Harper’s Ferry, when Company D was ordered to
Martinsburg, arriving there August 4th.
The regiment was collected together here, with Maj. Kellogg in command
of the post, though still suffering much from his wound.
Again, after serving with the regiment through the campaign in the
Valley, about the middle of March, 1865, they were selected to form a
part of the corps of sharpshooters for our division. The boys did not
much relish the idea of leaving the regiment again, but of course they
had no option in the matter, and at once commenced learning the use of
their Spencer rifles. They did excellent service at Hatcher’s run,
losing several in killed and wounded. Again, at Fort Gregg they were
deployed in front of our brigade in making that assault, and by their
rapid and well directed firing, assisted materially in the capture of
the fort, and were complimented by Col. Potter, our Brigade Commander,
for their good conduct. Remaining with the division until after Lee
surrendered, they then made the trip to Lynchburg. They were then sent
home and mustered out with the regiment.