is enlivening the night, and trenching upon the Sabbath, by giving loose
rein to his genius.
During the light baggage and rapid marches of the latter part of Buell's
administration, together with the mishaps at Perryville, the string band
of the Third was very considerably damaged; but the boys have recently
resuscitated and revived it to all the glory and usefulness of former
days. One of its sweetest singers, however, has either deserted or
retired to hospital or barracks, where the duties are less onerous and
life more safe. His greatest hit was a song known as "The Warble," in
which the following lines occurred:
"Mein fadter, mein modter, mein sister, mein frau,
Und zwi glass of beer for meinself.
Dey called mein frau one blacksmit-schopt;
Und such dings I never did see in my life."
When, at Shelbyville and Huntsville, this melody mingled with the
moonlight of summer evenings, people generally were deluded into the
supposition that an ethereal songster was on the wing, enrapturing them
with harmonies of other spheres. But sutlers, it is well known, are men
of little or no refinement, with ears for money rather than music. To
their unappreciative and perverted senses the warble seemed simply a
dolorous appeal for more whisky; and while delivering up their last
bottle to get rid of the warbler and his friends, in order that they
might get sleep themselves, they have been known to express the hope
that both song and singers might, without unnecessary delay, go to that
region which we are told is paved with good intentions.
The voice of a colored person in the rear breaks in upon my
recollections of the warbler. The most interesting and ugliest negro now
in camp, is known as Simon Bolivar Buckner. He is an animal that has
been worth in his day eighteen hundred dollars, an estray from the
estate of General S. B. Buckner. He manages, by blacking boots and
baking leather pies, to make money. He deluded me into buying a second
pie from him one day, by assuring me, "on honah, sah, dat de las pie was
better'n de fus', case he hab strawberries in him." True, the pie had
"strawberries in him," but not enough to pay one for chewing the
whit-leather crust.
30. Read Judge Holt's review of the proceedings and findings in the case
of Fitzjohn Porter. If the review presents the facts fairly, Porter
should have been not only dismissed, but hung. An officer who, with
thirteen thousand men, will remain idle when within sight of the dust
and in hearing of the shouts of the enemy and the noise of battle,
knowing that his friends are contending against superior numbers, and
having good reason to believe that they are likely to be overwhelmed,
deserves no mercy.
It is dull. I have hardly enough to do to keep me awake. The members of
the staff each have their separate duties to perform, which keep them
more or less engaged. The quartermaster issues clothing to the troops;
the commissary of subsistence issues food; the inspector looks into the
condition of each regiment as to clothing, arms, and camp equipage; the
adjutant makes out the detail for guard and other duties, and transmits
orders received from the division commander to the regiments. All of
these officers have certain reports to make also, which consumes much of
their time.
APRIL, 1863.
1. Adjutant Wilson received a letter to-day, written in a hand that
bespoke the writer to be feminine. He looked at the name, but could not
recollect having heard it before. The writer assured him, however, that
she was an old friend, and said many tender and complimentary things of
him. He tried to think; called the roll of his lady friends, but the
advantage, as people say, which the writer had of him was entirely too
great. If he had ever heard the name, he found it impossible now to
recall it. Finally, as he was going to fold the letter and put it away,
he noticed one line at the top, written upside down. On reading it the
mystery was solved: "If this reaches you on the first day of April, a
reply to it is not expected."
The colored gentlemen of the staff are in a great state of excitement.
One of the number has been illustrating the truth of that maxim which
affirms that a nigger will steal. The war of words is terrible. "Yer
d--d ole nigger thief," says one. "Hush! I'll break yer black jaw fer
yer," says another. They say very few harder things of each other than
"you dam nigger." One would think the pot in this instance would hardly
take to calling the kettle black, but it does. They use the word nigger
to express contempt, dislike, or defiance, as often and freely as the
whites. Finally, the parties to this controversy agree to leave the
matter to "de Co'nel." The accused was the first to thrust his head into
my tent, and ask permission to enter. "Dey is a gwine to tell yer as I
stole some money from ole Hason. I didn't done it, Co'nel; as sure as
I'm a livin' I didn't done it." "Yaas, yer did, you lyin' nigger!" broke
in old Hason. "Now, Co'nel, I want ter tell you the straight of it." I
listened patiently to the old man's statement and to the evidence
adduced, and as it was very clear that the accused was guilty, put him
under guard.
The first day of April has been very pleasant, cool but clear. The night
is beautiful; the moon is at its full almost, and its light falls mellow
and soft on the scene around me. The redoubt is near, with its guns
standing sentinel at each corner, the long line of earthworks stretches
off to the right and left; the river gleams and sparkles as it flows
between its rugged banks of stone; the shadowy flags rise and fall
lazily; the sentinels walk to and fro on their beats with silvered
bayonets, and the dull glare of the camp-fires, and the snow-white
tents, are seen every-where.
Somebody, possibly the Adjutant, whose thoughts may be still running on
the fair unknown, breaks forth:
"O why did she flatter my boyish pride,
She is going to leave me now;"
And then, with a vehemence which betokens desperation,
"I'll hang my harp on a willow tree,
And off to the wars again."
From which I infer it would be highly satisfactory to the young man to
be demolished at the enemy's earliest convenience.
A large amount of stores are accumulated here. Forty thousand boxes of
hard bread are stacked in one pile at the depot, and greater quantities
of flour, pork, vinegar, and molasses, than I have ever seen before.
3. An Indiana newspaper reached camp to-day containing an obituary
notice of a lieutenant of the Eighty-eighth Indiana. It gives quite a
lengthy biographical sketch of the deceased, and closes with a letter
which purports to have been written on the battle-field by one
Lieutenant John Thomas, in which Lieutenant Wildman, the subject of the
sketch, is said to have been shot near Murfreesboro, and that his last
words were: "Bury me where I have fallen, and do not allow my body to be
removed." The letter is exceedingly complimentary to the said lamented
young man, and affirms that "he was the hero of heroes, noted for his
reckless daring, and universally beloved." The singular feature about
this whole matter is that the letter was written by the lamented young
officer himself to his own uncle. The deceased justifies his action by
saying that he had expended two dollars for foolscap and one dollar for
postage stamps in writing to the d--d old fool, and never received a
reply, and he concluded finally he would write a letter which would
interest him. It appears by the paper referred to that the lieutenant
succeeded. The uncle and his family are in mourning for another martyr
gone--the hero of heroes and the universally beloved.
Lieutenant DuBarry, topographical engineer, has just been promenading
the line of tents in his nightshirt, with a club, in search of some
scoundrel, supposed to be the Adjutant, who has stuffed his bed with
stove-wood and stones. Wilson, on seeing the ghostly apparition
approach, breaks into song:
"Meet me by moonlight alone,
And there I will tell you a tale."
Lieutenant Orr, commissary of subsistence, coming up at this time,
remarks to DuBarry that he "is surprised to see him take it so coolly,"
whereupon the latter, notwithstanding the chilliness of the atmosphere,
and the extreme thinness of his dress, expresses himself with very
considerable warmth. Patterson, a clerk, and as likely to be the
offender as any one, now joins the party, and affirms, with great
earnestness, that "this practical joke business must end, or somebody
will get hurt."
4. Saw Major-General McCook, wife, and staff riding out this morning.
General Rosecrans was out this afternoon, but I did not see him. At this
hour the signal corps is communicating from the dome of the court-house
with the forces at Triune, sixteen miles away, and with the troops at
Readyville and other points. In daylight this is done by flags, at night
by torches.
5. There are many fine residences in Murfreesboro and vicinity; but the
trees and shrubbery, which contributed in a great degree to their beauty
and comfort, have been cut or trampled down and destroyed. Many frame
houses, and very good ones, too, have been torn down, and the lumber and
timber used in the construction of hospitals.
There is a fearful stench in many places near here, arising from
decaying horses and mules, which have not been properly buried, or
probably not buried at all. The camps, as a rule, are well policed and
kept clean; but the country for miles around is strewn with dead
animals, and the warm weather is beginning to tell on them.
6. It is said that the Third Regiment, with others, is to leave
to-morrow on an expedition which may keep it away for months. No
official notice of the matter has been given me, and I trust the report
may be unfounded. I should be sorry indeed to be separated from the
regiment. I have been with it now two years, and to lose it would be
like losing the greater number of my army friends and acquaintances.
7. The incident of the day, to me at least, is the departure of the
Third. It left on the two P. M. train for Nashville. I do not think I
have been properly treated. They should at least have consulted me
before detaching my old regiment. I am informed that Colonel Streight,
who is in command of the expedition, was permitted to select the
regiments, and the matter has been conducted so secretly that, before I
had an intimation of what was contemplated, it was too late to take any
steps to keep the Third. I never expect to be in command of it again. It
will get into another current, and drift into other brigades, divisions,
and army corps. The idea of being mounted was very agreeable to both
officers and men; but a little experience in that branch of the service
will probably lead them to regret the choice they have made. My best
wishes go with them.
All are looking with eager eyes toward Vicksburg. Its fall would send a
thrill of joy through the loyal heart of the country, especially if
accompanied by the capture of the Confederate troops now in possession.
8. Six months ago this night, parching with thirst and pinched with
hunger, we were lying on Chaplin Hills, thinking over the terrible
battle of the afternoon, expecting its renewal in the morning, listening
to the shots on the picket line, and notified by an occasional bullet
that the enemy was occupying the thick woods just in our front, and very
near. A little over three months ago we were in the hurry, confusion,
anxiety, and suspense of an undecided battle, surrounded by the dead and
dying, with the enemy's long line of camp-fires before us. Since then we
have had a quiet time, each succeeding day seeming the dullest.
Rode into town this afternoon; invested twenty-five cents in two red
apples; spoke to Captain Blair, of Reynolds' staff; exchanged nods with
W. D. B., of the Commercial; saw a saddle horse run away with its rider;
returned to camp; entertained Shanks, of the New York Herald, for ten
minutes; drank a glass of wine with Colonel Taylor, Fifteenth Kentucky,
and soon after dropped off to sleep.
A brass band is now playing, away over on the Lebanon pike. The
pontoniers are singing a psalm, with a view, doubtless, to making the
oaths with which they intend to close the night appear more forcible.
The signal lights are waving to and fro from the dome of the
court-house. The hungry mules of the Pioneer Corps are making the night
hideous with howls. So, and amid such scenes, the tedious hours pass by.
10. A soldier of the Fortieth Indiana, who, during the battle of Stone
river, abandoned his company and regiment, and remained away until the
fight ended, was shot this afternoon. Another will be shot on the 14th
instant for deserting last fall. A man in our division who was sentenced
to be shot, made his escape.
It seems these cases were not affected by the new law, and the
President's proclamation to deserters. Hitherto deserters have been
seldom punished, and, as a rule, never as severely as the law allowed.
My parchment arrived to-day, and I have written the necessary letter of
acceptance and taken the oath, and henceforth shall subscribe myself
yours, very respectfully, B. G., which, in my case, will probably stand
for big goose.
General Rosecrans halted a moment before my quarters this evening, shook
hands with me very cordially, and introduced me to his brother, the
Bishop, as a young general. The General asked why I had not called. I
replied that I knew he must be busy, and did not care to intrude.
"True," said he, "I am busy, but have always time to say how d'ye do."
He promised me another regiment to replace the Third, and said my boys
looked fat enough to kick up their heels. The General's popularity with
the army is immense. On review, the other day, he saw a sergeant who had
no haversack; calling the attention of the boys to it he said: "This
sergeant is without a haversack; he depends on you for food; don't give
him a bite; let him starve."
The General appears to be well pleased with his fortifications, and
asked me if I did not think it looked like remaining. I replied that the
works were strong, and a small force could hold them, and that I should
be well pleased if the enemy would attack us here, instead of compelling
us to go further south. "Yes," said he, "I wish they would."
General Lytle is to be assigned to Stanley Matthews' brigade. The latter
was recently elected judge, and will resign and return to Cincinnati.
The anti-Copperhead resolution business of the army must be pretty well
exhausted. All the resolutions and letters on this subject that may
appear hereafter may be accepted as bids for office. They have,
however, done a great deal of good, and I trust the public will not be
forced to swallow an overdose. I had a faint inclination, at one time,
to follow the example of my brother officers, and write a patriotic
letter, but concluded to reserve my fire, and have had reason to
congratulate myself since that I did so, for these letters have been as
plenty as blackberries, and many of them not half so good.
A Republican has not much need to write. His patriotism is taken for
granted. He is understood to be willing to go the whole nigger, and,
like the ogre of the story books, to whom the most delicious morsel was
an old woman, lick his chops and ask for more.
Wilder came in yesterday, with his mounted infantry, from a scout of
eight or ten days, bringing sixty or seventy prisoners and a large
number of horses.
11. A railway train was destroyed by the rebels near Lavergne yesterday.
One hundred officers fell into the hands of the enemy, and probably one
hundred thousand dollars in money, on the way to soldiers' families, was
taken. This feat was accomplished right under the nose of our troops.
To the uninitiated army life is very fascinating. The long marches,
nights of picket, and ordeal of battle are so festooned by the
imagination of the inexperienced with shoulder straps, glittering
blades, music, banners, and glory, as to be irresistible; but when we
sit down to the hard crackers and salt pork, with which the soldier is
wont to regale himself, we can not avoid recurring to the loaded tables
and delicious morsels of other days, and are likely at such times to
put hard crackers and glory on one side, the good things of home and
peace on the other and owing probably to the unsubstantial quality of
glory, and the adamantine quality of the crackers, arrive at conclusions
not at all favorable to army life.
A fellow claiming to have been sent here by the Governor of Maine to
write songs for the army, and who wrote songs for quite a number of
regiments, was arrested some days ago on the charge of being a spy. Last
night he attempted to get away from the guard, and was shot. Drawings of
our fortifications were found in his boots. He was quite well known
throughout the army, and for a long time unsuspected.
12. Called on General Rousseau. He referred to his trip to Washington,
and dwelt with great pleasure on the various efforts of the people along
the route to do him honor. At Lancaster, Pennsylvania, they stood in the
cold an hour and a half awaiting his appearance. Our division, he
informs me, is understood to possess the chivalric and dashing qualities
which the people admire. With all due respect, I suggested that dash was
a good thing, doubtless, but steady, obstinate, well-directed fighting
was better, and, in the end, would always succeed.
W. D. B., of the Commercial, Major McDowell, of Rousseau's staff, and
Lieutenant Porter, called this afternoon. My report of the operations of
my brigade at Stone river was referred to. Bickham thought it did not do
justice to my command, and I have no doubt it is a sorry affair,
compared with the elaborate reports of many others. The historian who
accepts these reports as reliable, and permits himself to be guided by
them through all the windings of a five-days' battle, with the
expectation of finally allotting to each one of forty brigades the
proper credit, will probably not be successful. My report was called for
late one evening, written hastily, without having before me the reports
of my regimental commanders, and is incomplete, unsatisfactory to me,
and unjust to my brigade.
13. General Thomas called for a moment this evening, to congratulate me
on my promotion.
The practical-joke business is occasionally resumed. Quartermaster Wells
was astonished to find that his stove would not draw, or, rather, that
the smoke, contrary to rule, insisted upon coming down instead of going
up. Examination led to the discovery that the pipe was stuffed with old
newspapers. Their removal heated the stove and his temper at the same
time, but produced a coolness elsewhere, which the practical joker
affected to think quite unaccountable.
14. Colonel Dodge, commanding the Second Brigade of Johnson's division,
called this afternoon. The Colonel is a very industrious talker, chewer,
spitter, and drinker. He has been under some tremendous hot firing, I
can tell you! Well, if he don't know what heavy firing is, and the
d--dest hottest work, too, then there is no use for men to talk! The
truth is, however much other men may try to conceal it, his command
stood its ground at Shiloh, and never gave back an inch. No, sir! Every
other brigade faltered or fell back, damned if they didn't; but he
drove the enemy, got 'em started, other brigades took courage and joined
in the chase. At Stone river he drove the enemy again. Bullets came
thicker'n hail; but his men stood up. He was with 'em. Damned hot, you
better believe! Well, if he must say it himself, he knew what hard
fighting was. Why, sir, one of his men has five bullets in him; dam' me
if he hasn't five! Says he, Dick says he, how did they hit you so many
times? The first time I fired, says Dick, I killed an officer; yes, sir,
killed him dead; saw him fall, dam me, if he didn't, sir; and at the
same time, says Dick, I got a ball in my leg; rose up to fire again, and
got one in my other leg, and one in my thigh, and fell; got on my knees
to fire the third time, says Dick, and received two more. Well, you see,
the firing was hotter'n hell, and Colonel Dodge knows what hot firing
is, sir!
15. Since the fight at Franklin, and the capture of the passenger train
at Lavergne, nothing of interest has occurred. There were only fifteen
or twenty officers on the captured train. A large amount of money,
however, fell into rebel hands. The postmaster of our division was on
the train, and the Confederates compelled him to accompany them ten
miles. He says they could have been traced very easily by the letters
which they opened and scattered along the road.
16. Morgan, with a considerable force, has taken possession of Lebanon,
and troops are on the way thither to rout him. The tunnel near Gallatin
has been blown up, and in consequence trains on the Nashville and
Louisville Railroad are not running.
17. Am member of a board whose duty it will be to inquire into the
competency, qualifications, and conduct of volunteer officers. The other
members are Colonels Scribner, Hambright, and Taylor. We called in a
body on General Rousseau, and found him reading "Les Miserables." He
apologized for his shabby appearance by saying that he had become
interested in a foolish novel. Colonel Scribner expressed great
admiration for the characters Jean Val Jean and Javort, when the General
confessed to a very decided anxiety to have Javort's neck twisted. This
is the feeling of the reader at first; but when he finds the old granite
man taking his own life as punishment for swerving once from what he
considered to be the line of duty, our admiration for him is scarcely
less than that we entertain for Jean Val Jean.
18. The Columbus (Ohio) Journal, of late date, under the head of
"Arrivals," says: "General John Beatty has just married one of Ohio's
loveliest daughters, and is stopping at the Neil House. Good for the
General." This is a slander. I trust the paper of the next day made
proper correction, and laid the charge, where it belongs, to wit: on
General Samuel. If General Sam continues to demean himself in this
youthful manner, I shall have to beg him to change his name. My
reputation can not stand many more such blows. What must those who know
I have a wife and children think, when they see it announced that I
have married again, and am stopping at the Neil with "one of Ohio's
loveliest daughters?" What a horrible reflection upon the character of a
constant and faithful husband! (This last sentence is written for my
wife.)
19. Colonel Taylor and I rode over to General Rousseau's this morning.
Returning, we were joined by Colonel Nicholas, Second Kentucky; Colonel
Hobart, Twenty-first Wisconsin, and Lieutenant-Colonel Bingham, First
Wisconsin, all of whom took dinner with me. We had a right pleasant
party, but rather boisterous, possibly, for the Sabbath day.
There is at this moment a lively discussion in progress in the cook's
tent, between two African gentlemen, in regard to military affairs. Old
Hason says: "Oh, hush, darkey!" Buckner replies: "Yer done no what'r
talkin' about, nigger." "I'll bet yer a thousand dollars." "Hush! yer
ain't got five cents." "Gor way, yer don't no nuffin'." And so the
debate continues; but, like many others, leads simply to confusion and
bitterness.
20. This evening an order came transferring my brigade to Negley's
division. It will be known hereafter as the Second Brigade, Second
Division, Fourteenth Army Corps.