slight affairs occur, which are magnified into serious engagements; but
really nothing of any importance has transpired since we obtained
possession of Murfreesboro. A day or two ago we had an account of an
expedition into the enemy's country by the One Hundred and Twenty-third
Illinois, Colonel Monroe commanding. According to this veracious report,
the Colonel had a severe fight, killed a large number of the enemy, and
captured three hundred stand of arms; but the truth is, that he did not
take time to count the rebel dead, and the arms taken were one hundred
old muskets found in a house by the roadside.
The expeditions sent out to capture John Morgan have all been failures.
His own knowledge of the country is thorough, and besides, he has in his
command men from every neighborhood, who know not only every road and
cow-path in the locality, but every man, woman, and child. The people
serve him also, by advising him of all our movements. They guide him to
our detachments when they are weak, and warn him away from them when
strong. Were the rebel army in Ohio, and as bitterly hated by the people
of that State as the Nationals are by those of Kentucky and Tennessee,
it would be an easy matter indeed to hang upon the skirts of that army,
pick up stragglers, burn bridges, attack wagon trains, and now and then
pounce down on an outlying picket and take it in.
20. Colonel Lytle, my old brigade commander, called on me to-day. He
informed me that he had not been assigned yet. I inferred from this that
he thought it utterly impossible for one so distinguished as himself to
come down to a regiment. His own regiment, the Tenth Ohio, is here, and
nominally a part of my brigade, although it has not acted with it since
Rosecrans assumed command of the Army of the Cumberland. Under
Lieutenant-Colonel Burke, it is doing guard duty at Department
head-quarters.
MARCH, 1863.
1. There is talk of consolidation at Washington. This is a sensible
idea, and should be carried into effect at once. There are too many
officers and too few men. The regiments should be consolidated, and kept
full by conscription, if it can not be done otherwise. The best officers
should be retained, and the others sent home to stand their chances of
the draft.
A major of the Fifteenth Kentucky sent in his resignation a few days
ago, assigning as a reason for so doing that the object of the war was
now the elevation of the negro. The concluding paragraph of his letter
was in these words: "The service can not possibly suffer by my
resignation." The document passed through my hands on its way to
Department head-quarters, and I indorsed it as follows:
"Major H. F. Kalfus, Fifteenth Kentucky Volunteer Infantry, being
'painfully and reluctantly convinced' that the party in power is
disposed to elevate the negro, desires to quit the service. I trust he
will be allowed to do so, and cheerfully certify to the correctness of
one statement which he makes herein, to-wit: The service can not
possibly suffer by his resignation."
General Rosecrans has just sent me an order to arrest the Major, and
send him under guard to the Provost-Marshal General. The arrest will be
made in a few minutes, and may create some excitement among our Kentucky
friends.
3. The fortifications are progressing. The men work four hours each day
in the trenches. The remainder of the time they spend pretty much as
they see fit.
General Garfield is now chief of staff. It is the first instance in the
West of an officer of his rank being assigned to that position. It is an
important place, however, and one too often held not merely by officers
of inferior rank, but of decidedly inferior ability. General Buell had a
colonel as chief of staff, and, until the appointment of Garfield,
General Rosecrans had a lieutenant-colonel or major.
To-night an ugly and most singular specimen of the negro called to
obtain employment. He was not over three feet and a half high,
hump-backed, crooked-legged, and quite forty years old. Poking his head
into my tent, and, taking off his hat, he said: "Is de Co'nel in?"
"Yes." "Hurd you wants a boy, sah. Man tole me Co'nel Eighty-eighth
Olehio wants a boy, sah." "What can you do? Can you cook?" "Yas, sah."
"Where did you learn to cook?" "On de plantation, sah." "What is your
master's name?" "Rucker, sah." "Is he a loyal man?" "No, sah, he not a
lawyer; his brudder, de cussen one, is de lawyer." "Is he secesh?" "O,
yas, sah; yas, he sesesh." "It is the Colonel of the Eighty-eighth
Indiana you should see;" and I directed him to the Colonel's tent. As he
turned to leave, he muttered, "Man tole me Eighty-eighth Olehio;" but he
went hobbling over to the Eighty-eighth, with fear, anxiety, and hope
struggling in his old face.
4. Major Kalfus, Fifteenth Kentucky, arrested on Sunday, and since held
in close confinement, was dishonorably dismissed from the service to-day
for using treasonable language in tendering his resignation. He was
escorted outside the lines and turned loose. The Major is a cross-roads
politician, and will, I doubt not, be a lion among his half-loyal
neighbors when he returns home.
5. Our picket on the Manchester pike was driven in to-day. The cavalry,
under General Stanley, went to the rescue, when a fight occurred. No
particulars.
9. T. Buchanan Reid, the poet, entertained us at the court-house this
evening. The room had been trimmed up by the rebels for a ball. The
words, "Shiloh," "Fort Donelson," "Hartsville," "Santa Rosa,"
"Pensacola," were surrounded with evergreens. The letter "B," painted on
the walls in a dozen places, was encompassed by wreaths of flowers, now
faded and yellow. My native modesty led me to conclude that the letter
so highly honored stood for Bragg, and not for the commander of the
Seventeenth Brigade, U. S. A.
General Garfield introduced Mr. Reid by a short speech, not delivered in
his usual happy style. I was impressed with the idea all the time, that
he had too many buttons on his coat--he certainly had a great many
buttons--and the splendor of the double row possibly detracted somewhat
from the splendor of his remarks.
Mr. Reid is a small man, and has not sufficient voice to make himself
heard distinctly in so large a hall. In a parlor his recitations would
be capital. He read from his own poem, "The Wagoner," a description of
the battle of Brandywine. It is possibly a very good representation of
that battle; but, if so, the battle of Brandywine was very unlike that
of Stone river. At Brandywine, it appears, the generals slashed around
among the enemy's infantry with drawn swords, doing most of the hard
fighting and most of the killing themselves. I did not discover anything
of that kind at Stone river. It is possible the style went out of
fashion before the rebellion began. It would, however, be very
satisfactory to the rank and file to see it restored. Mr. Reid said some
good things in his lecture, and was well applauded; but, in the main, he
was too ethereal, vapory, and fanciful for the most of us leather-heads.
When he puts a soldier-boy on the top of a high mountain to sing
patriotic songs, and bid defiance to King George because "Eagle is
King," we are impressed with the idea that that soldier could have been
put to better use; that, in fact, he is entirely out of the line of
duty. The position assigned him is unnatural, and the modern soldier-boy
will be apt to conclude that nobody but a simpleton would be likely to
wander about in solitary places, extemporizing in measured sentences;
besides it is hard work, as I know from experience. I tried my hand at
it the other day until my head ached, and this is the best I could do:
O! Lord, when will this war end?
These days of marchings, nights of lonely guard?
This terrible expenditure of health and life?
Where is the glory? Where is the reward,
For sacrifice of comfort, quiet, peace?
For sacrifice of children, wife, and friends?
For sacrifice of firesides--genial homes?
What hour, what gift, will ever make amends
For broken health, for bruised flesh and bones,
For lives cut short by bullet, blade, disease?
Where balm to heal the widow's heart, or what
Shall soothe a mother's grief for woes like these?
Hold, murmurer, hold! Is country naught to thee?
Is freedom nothing? Naught an honored name?
What though the days be cold, or the nights dark,
The brave heart kindles for itself a flame
That warms and lightens up the world!
Home! What's home, if in craven shame
We seek its hearthstone? Bitterest of cold.
Better creep thither bruised, and torn, and lame,
Than seek it in health when justice needs our aid.
Where is the glory? Where is the reward?
Think of the generations that will come
To praise and bless the hero. Think of God,
Who in due time will call His soldiers home.
How comfort mother for the loss of son?
What balm to which her heaviest grief must yield?
Ah! the plain, simple, ever-glorious words:
"Your son died nobly on the battle-field!"
What balm to soothe a widow's aching heart?
The grand assurance that in the battle shock
Foremost her husband stood, defying all,
For freedom and truth, unyielding as the rock.
Then, courage, all, and when the strife is past,
And grief for lost ones takes a milder hue,
This thought shall crown the living and the dead:
"He lived, he died, to God and duty true."
10. Rain has been descending most of the day, and just now is pouring
down with great violence. A happy party in the adjoining tent are
exercising their lungs on a negro melody, of which this is something
like the chorus:
"De massa run, ha, ha!
De nigger stay, ho, ho!
It mus' be now de kingdom comin',
And de year of jubelo."
I can not affirm that the music with which these gentlemen so abound, on
this rainy and dismal night, has that soothing effect on the human heart
ascribed to music in general; but, however little I may feel like
rejoicing now, I am quite sure I shall feel happier when the concert
ends. The singers have concluded the negro melody, and are breathing out
their souls in a sentimental piece. Now and then, when more than
ordinarily successful in the higher strains, they nearly equal the most
exalted efforts of the tom-cat; and then, again, in the execution of the
lower notes and more pathetic passages, we are brought nigh unto tears
by an inimitable imitation of the wailings of a very young and sick
kitten.
"Do they miss me at home; do they miss me?"
I venture to say they do, and with much gratification if, when there,
you favored them often with this infernal noise.
14. The weather is remarkably fine to-day. I saw Mrs. and Major-General
McCook and Mrs. and Major-General Wood going out to the battle-field, on
horseback, this morning. Mrs. General Rosecrans arrived last night on a
special train.
16. The roads are becoming good, and every body is on horseback. Many
officers have their wives here. On the way to Murfreesboro this morning,
I met two ladies with an escort going to the battle-field. Returning I
met General Rosecrans and wife. The General hallooed after me, "How d'ye
do?" to which I shouted back, at the top of my voice, the very original
reply, "Very well, thank you." From the number of ladies gathering in,
one might very reasonably conclude that no advance was contemplated
soon. Still all signs fail in war times, as they do in dry weather. As a
rule, perhaps, when a movement appears most improbable, we should be on
the lookout for orders to start.
The army, under Rosecrans' administration, looks better than it ever did
before. He certainly enters into his work with his whole soul, and
unless some unlucky mishap knocks his feet from under him, he will soon
be recognized as the first general of the Union. I account for his
success thus far, in part at least, by the fact that he has been long
enough away from West Point, mixing with the people, to get a little
common sense rubbed into him.
While writing the last word above, the string band of the Third struck
up at the door of my tent. Going out, I found all the commissioned
officers of that regiment standing in line. Adjutant Wilson nudged me,
and said they expected a speech. I asked if beer would not suit them
better. He thought not. I have not attempted to make a speech for two
years, and never made a successful attempt in my life; but I knocked the
ashes out of my pipe and began:
"GENTLEMEN: I am informed that all the officers of the Third are here. I
am certainly very glad to see you, and extremely sorry that I am not
better prepared to receive and entertain you. The press informs us that
I have been very highly honored. If the report that I have been promoted
is true, I am indebted to your gallantry, and that of the brave men of
the Third, for the honor. You gave me my first position, and then were
kind enough to deem me worthy of a second; and if now I have obtained a
third, and higher one, it is because I have had the good fortune to
command good soldiers. The step upward in rank will simply increase my
debt of gratitude to you."
The officers responded cordially, by assuring me that they rejoiced over
my promotion, and were anxious that I should continue in command of the
brigade to which the Third is attached.
Charlie Davison can sing as many songs as Mickey Free, of "Charles
O'Malley," and sing them well. In Irish melodies he is especially happy.
Hark!
"Dear Erin, how sweetly thy green bosom rises,
An emerald set in the ring of the sea;
Each blade of thy meadows my faithful heart prizes,
Thou Queen of the West, the world's cush la machree.
* * * * *
Thy sons they are brave; but the battle once over,
In brotherly peace with their foes they agree,
And the roseate cheeks of thy daughters discover,
The soul-speaking blush that says cush la machree."
17. Dined with General Wagner, and, in company with Wagner and General
Palmer, witnessed an artillery review.
18. My brigade is still at work on the fortifications. They are,
however, nearly completed.
Shelter tents were issued to our division to-day. We are still using the
larger tent; but it is evidently the intention to leave these behind
when we move. Last fall the shelter tents were used for a time by the
Pioneer Brigade. They are so small that a man can not stand up in them.
The boys were then very bitter in condemnation of them, and called them
dog tents and dog pens. Almost every one of these tents was marked in a
way to indicate the unfavorable opinion which the boys entertained of
them, and in riding through the company quarters of the Pioneer
Brigade, the eye would fall on inscriptions of this sort:
PUPS FOR SALE--RAT TERRIERS--BULL PUPS
HERE--DOG-HOLE NO. 1--SONS OF BITCHES
WITHIN--DOGS--PURPS.
General Rosecrans and staff, while riding by one day, were greeted with
a tremendous bow-wow. The boys were on their hands and knees, stretching
their heads out of the ends of the tents, barking furiously at the
passing cavalcade. The General laughed heartily, and promised them
better accommodations.
The news from Vicksburg is somewhat encouraging, but certainly very
indefinite, and far from satisfactory.
19. Reviews are the order of the hour. All the brigades of our division,
except mine, were reviewed by General Rosecrans this afternoon. It was a
fine display, but hard on the soldiers; they were kept so long standing.
At Middletown, sixteen miles away, the rebels are four thousand strong,
and within a day or two they have ventured to Salem, five miles distant.
20. Loomis, who has just returned from home, called this evening, and we
drank a bottle of wine over the promotion. He is in trouble about his
commission as colonel of artillery. Two months ago the Governor of
Michigan gave him the commission, and since that time he has been
wearing a colonel's uniform; but General Rosecrans has expressed doubts
about his right to assume the rank. Loomis is all right, doubtless, and
to-morrow, when the matter is talked over between the General and
himself, it will be settled satisfactorily.
21. I have been running over Russell's diary, "North and South," and
must say the Yankee Nation, when looked at through Mr. Russell's
spectacles, does not appear enveloped in that star-spangled glory and
super-celestial blue with which it is wont to loom up before patriotic
eyes on Fourth of July occasions. He has treated us, however, fully as
well as we have treated him. We became angry because he told unpleasant
truths about us, and he became enraged because we abused him for it. He
thanks God that he is not an American; and should not we, in a spirit of
conciliation, meet him half way, and feel thankful that he is not?
Flaming dispatches will appear in the Northern papers to-morrow
respecting the defeat of John Morgan, by a small brigade of our troops
under Colonel Hall. The report will say that forty of the enemy were
killed, one hundred and fifty wounded, and one hundred and twenty
captured; loss on our side inconsiderable. The reporters have probably
contributed largely to the brilliancy of this affair. It is always safe
to accept with distrust all reports which affirm that a few men, with
little loss, routed, slaughtered, or captured a large force.
Peach and cherry trees are in full bloom. The grass is beginning to
creep out. Summer birds occasionally sing around us. In a few weeks
more the trees will be in full leaf again.
23. General Negley, who went home some time ago, returned to-day, and, I
see, wears two stars.
General Brannan arrived a day or two ago. He was on the train captured
by guerrillas, but was rescued a few minutes after.
The boys have a rumor that Bragg is near, and has sent General Rosecrans
a very polite note requesting him to surrender Murfreesboro at once. If
the latter refuses to accept this most gentlemanly invitation to deliver
up all his forces, Bragg proposes to commence an assault upon our works
at twelve M., and show us no mercy. This, of course, is reliable.
At sunset rain began to fall, and has continued to pour down steadily
ever since. The night is gloomy. Adjutant Wilson, in the next tent, is
endeavoring to lift himself from the slough of despond by humming a
ditty of true love; but the effort is evidently a failure.
This morning I stood on the bank of the river and observed the
pontoniers as they threw their bridge of boats across the stream. Twice
each week they unload the pontoons from the wagons, run them into the
water, put the scantling from boat to boat, lay down the plank, and thus
make a good bridge on which men, horses, and wagons can cross. After
completing the bridge, they immediately begin to take it up, load the
lumber and pontoons on the wagons, and return to camp. They can bridge
any stream between this and the Tennessee in an hour, and can put a
bridge over that in probably three hours.
General Rosecrans makes a fine display in his visits about the camps. He
is accompanied by his staff and a large and well-equipped escort, with
outriders in front and rear. The National flag is borne at the head of
the column.
Rosecrans is of medium height and stout, not quite so tall as McCook,
and not nearly so heavy. McCook is young, and very fleshy. Rousseau is
by far the handsomest man in the army; tall and well-proportioned, but
possibly a little too bulky. R. S. Granger is a little man, with a
heavy, light sandy mustache. Wood is a small man, short and slim, with
dark complexion, and black whiskers. Crittenden, the major-general, is a
spare man, medium height, lank, common sort of face, well whiskered.
Major-General Stanley, the cavalryman, is of good size, gentlemanly in
bearing, light complexion, brown hair. McCook and Wood swear like
pirates, and affect the rough-and-ready style. Rousseau is given to
profanity somewhat, and blusters occasionally. Rosecrans indulges in an
oath now and then; but is a member of the Catholic Church in good
standing. Crittenden, I doubt not, swears like a trooper, and yet I have
never heard him do so. He is a good drinker; and the same can be said of
Rousseau. Rosecrans is an educated officer, who has rubbed much against
the world, and has experience. Rousseau is brave, but knows little of
military science. McCook is a chucklehead. Wood and Crittenden know how
to blow their own horns exceedingly well. Major-General Thomas is tall,
heavy, sedate; whiskers and head grayish. Puts on less style than any of
those named, and is a gentlemanly, modest, reliable soldier. Rosecrans
and McCook shave clean; Crittenden and Wood go the whole whisker; Thomas
shaves the upper lip. Rosecrans' nose is large, and curves down;
Rousseau's is large, and curves up; McCook has a weak nose, that would
do no credit to a baby. Rosecrans' laugh is not one of the free, open,
hearty kind; Rousseau has a good laugh, but shows poor teeth; McCook has
a grin, which excites the suspicion that he is either still very green
or deficient in the upper story.
22. Colonels Wilder and Funkhauser called. We had just disposed of a
bottle of wine, when Colonel Harker made his appearance, and we entered
forthwith upon another. Colonel Wilder expects to accomplish a great
work with his mounted infantry. He is endeavoring to arm them with the
Henry rifle, a gun which, with a slight twist of the wrist, will throw
sixteen bullets in almost that many seconds. I have no doubt he will
render his command very efficient and useful, for he has wonderful
energy and nerve, and is, besides, sensible and practical. Colonel
Harker is greatly disappointed because he was not confirmed as
brigadier-general during the last session of Congress. He is certainly
young enough to afford to wait; but he seems to fear that, after
commanding a brigade for nine months, he may have to go back to a
regiment. He feels, too, that, being a New Jersey man, commanding Ohio
troops, neither State will take an interest in him, and render him that
assistance which, under other circumstances, either of them might do.
These gentlemen dined with me. Harker and Wilder expressed a high
opinion of General Buell. Wilder says Gilbert is a d--d scoundrel, and
responsible for the loss at Mumfordsville. Harker, however, defended
Gilbert, and is the only man I have ever heard speak favorably of him.
The train coming from Nashville to-day was fired upon and four men
wounded. Yesterday there was a force of the enemy along the whole south
front of our picket line.
From the cook's tent, in the rear, comes a devotional refrain:
"I'm gui-en home, I'm gui-en home,
To d-i-e no mo'."
24. We are still pursuing the even tenor of our way on the
fortifications. There are no indications of an advance. The army,
however, is well equipped, in good spirits, and prepared to move at an
hour's notice. Its confidence in Rosecrans is boundless, and whatever it
may be required to do, it will, I doubt not, do with a will.
The conscript law, and that clause especially which provides for the
granting of a limited number of furloughs, gives great satisfaction to
the men. They not only feel that they will soon have help, but that if
their conduct be good, there will be a fair chance for them to see home
before the expiration of their term of enlistment. Hitherto they have
been something like prisoners without hope.
26. Another little misfortune has occurred to our arms at Brentwood. The
Twenty-second Wisconsin, numbering four hundred men, was captured by
General Forrest. The rebels succeed admirably in gathering up and
consolidating our scattered troops.
The Adjutant and others are having a concert in the next tent, and
certainly laugh more over their own performance than singers do
generally. They have just executed
"The foin ould Irish gintleman,"
And are at this present writing shouting
"Vive l' America, home of the free."
I think it more than probable that as their enthusiasm increases, the
punch in their punch-bowl diminishes.
27. A mule has just broken the stillness of the night by a most
discordant bray, and I am reminded that all horses are to be turned over
to the mounted infantry regiments, and mules used in the teams in their
stead. Mules are far better for the wagons than horses. They require
less food, are hardier, and stand up better under rough work and
irregular feeding.