Beginning of the Battle of Chickamauga.
Major General Rosecrans commanded the Army of the Cumberland at the
battle of Stone River and also at Chickamauga. What I saw of Gen.
Rosecrans, and also what I learned about him otherwise, convinced me
that he was brave in battle, and capable in command of a small army,
and patriotic. But he possessed a passionate gallantry, which we saw
displayed on battlefields by a few of our generals. A commander
possessing these qualities will generally become easily discouraged,
and relinquish a contested battlefield with but slight occasion for
doing so.
Brig. Gen. Hazen commanded a brigade in Palmer’s division. I
delivered messages at his headquarters often, during a period of more
than a year, and had an opportunity to learn his character to some
extent. I considered him to be a fine soldier and a gentleman. He was
always at his post of duty, and enforced discipline with his
soldiers, and was always ready to see that they were properly
supplied with rations, clothing, and everything they were entitled
to.
[Illustration: Hazen’s Brigade.]
[Illustration: Grose’s Brigade.]
Col. William Grose commanded a brigade in Gen. Palmer’s division. I
delivered messages to Col. Grose as often as I did to Gen. Hazen, and
had as much opportunity of studying his character. I considered him
to be a gentleman, and a good and patriotic soldier. He did not
enforce discipline as readily as Gen. Hazen, but held his command
fairly well in hand.
[Illustration: Cruft’s Brigade.]
Brig. Gen. Cruft also commanded a brigade in Palmer’s division, and I
delivered messages to him the same as I did to Gen. Hazen and Col.
Grose, and learned his character about as well as I did theirs. I
formed a good opinion of Gen. Cruft. He appeared to me as very
kindly, and pleasant to his companions. He apparently knew his duty
and did it.
Sept. 19, 1863, dawned with the enemy in close proximity, and
apparently moving toward our left, threatening to cut our
communications with Chattanooga. During the day heavy fighting
occurred along different parts of the line. Of course we also moved
toward our left which was in danger of being flanked by the enemy. By
the evening of the 19th the battle was well under way, and during the
night many changes were made in our lines. Gen. Palmer’s division
took position in the woods, on a long, low ridge extending north and
south, and a short distance east from the famous Kelly field (perhaps
twelve or fifteen rods), which also extended north and south.
Accompanying is a photograph taken in 1907, faintly showing the
position occupied by Gen. Palmer’s division at Chickamauga on Sept.
20, 1863, with Reynolds’ division on his right, and Baird’s and
Johnson’s on his left. The line is marked by monuments, showing the
place occupied by each regiment. But the monuments do not appear
distinctly in this photograph, on account of its having been greatly
reduced in size. The above battle line extends parallel with the east
line of the Kelly field and faces to the east. Near the southeast
corner of the field can be seen a pyramid of cannon balls, which
marks the spot where Col. E. A. King, commanding a brigade in
Reynolds’ division, was killed, Sept. 20.
[Illustration: Photograph of Kelly Field—East Side.]
I closely inspected this part of the battlefield in September, 1906,
and found its location almost exactly as I remembered it from 1863.
During the night of Sept. 19, 1863, a line of temporary defenses was
constructed with old logs, trees and stones, or anything that would
answer the purpose. These breastworks were from two to three feet in
height, making very good protection for the infantry while they were
lying down.
During the morning, when the battle was momentarily expected to open,
Gen. Palmer was standing in rear of the temporary defenses,
inspecting them, and the infantry were lying on the ground behind
them awaiting the attack, when some of them were peering over the top
of a log which composed the upper portion of the defenses looking in
the direction of the enemy, trying to discover their position.
Everything was as still as death, when an enemy’s bullet struck the
log, knocking off a large splinter and sending it whizzing through
the air. The General, seeing what happened, cried out, “Down with
your head, my man, you have got only one head and you may want to use
that in a minute.” In an instant several more bullets came over,
passing through the folds of the General’s pants. One of the boys
seeing what took place looked at the General and said: “General, down
with your legs, you have only one pair of them and you may want to
use them in a minute.” In an instant all was confusion, and the
bullets were coming over almost as thick as hail, and I think there
was use for heads and legs.
During the evening of the 19th, as the members of Co. C were sitting
around a small fire, Lieut. Shaw made the remark: “Boys, tomorrow
will be the hardest fought battle that we have seen”; which
subsequently proved to be true. One of the members, named William
Buchan, folded his arms and said in a sort of joking way: “I wish I
was at home with mother.” Poor boy, it would have been well for him
if he had been there, for he was hit by a shot the following day
while serving as orderly for Lieut. Shaw, and lived only a short
time. When he was struck they were obliged to retreat, with the enemy
not far away. They halted, took him from his horse, laid him down,
and the brave boy spoke and said: “Lieutenant, go on or you will be
captured; do not stop for me, in a few minutes I will be done.” He
then shook hands, saying, “Tell Scudder (my chum) to tell my folks
how I died.”
This incident about Buchan I did not witness, but it was related to
me later on by my comrades of Co. C. Comrade Buchan was a sample of
whom the majority of the army was composed. Dear reader, think of the
unselfish patriotism displayed by him in his dying hour. He was
willing to be left alone on a dreary battlefield to die, in order
that his comrades might escape capture and therefore be able to
assist in the restoration of the Union, that future generations, in
fact all mankind, might enjoy the blessings resulting from a united
country and the best and most righteous government on earth.
About two months later, after the Federal army had been reinforced
and the enemy driven back, a large party of Federal troops, including
some of Co. C, went out to the battlefield of Chickamauga to bury the
dead who had been left there unburied after the battle. I was
informed that they found more than one thousand unburied bodies. A
number of members of Co. C proceeded to the portion of the
battlefield where they had left Buchan at the time he was killed, and
there found his remains. There was not much remaining except the
skeleton, but they identified him by his curly hair, and a certain
peculiar ring on his finger, which was removed and sent home to his
folks.
The boys removed and buried him, and marked his grave. Later his
remains were removed to the National Cemetery near Chattanooga,
Tenn., which I visited in September, 1906, and with a kodak
photographed the grave, which is shown in the illustration.
He was a good boy and loved by all. On the day that the remains of
Buchan were found and buried by the Co. C boys, many sad scenes were
discovered by them on the battlefield of Chickamauga, which battle
was fought two months previous. The marks of the fearful strife were
yet visible. Here and there were lines of hastily-constructed
defenses, the ground was strewn with knapsacks, fragments of harness,
haversacks, canteens, pieces of clothing, tin plates, bullet-pierced,
round shot and unexploded shell. And there were also found straps,
cartridge boxes, old socks, old shoes, letters rotting on the
decaying bodies of once brave soldiers, all sad signs and telling
their silent story of the great fight at Chickamauga. What a crowd of
sorrowful memories! Where is the soldier who wore that belt? Where
the one who wore those shoes? Is he cold in death? If so what eyes
have been dimmed with tears at his sad fate? What hopes have been
destroyed, what affections crushed, what hearts wrung with anguish
never more to brighten? But sadder sights than the above were
discovered by our boys as they moved over the battlefield. The
unburied remains of hundreds of Union soldiers lay full length here
and there, and again some had been partly buried, and others so
slightly covered with earth that they were rooted out by the swine
and lay scattered about in promiscuous heaps. And another sight was
beheld. A deep well was discovered, filled to the surface with Union
soldiers. Fellow citizens, do we appreciate what we enjoy, which has
been secured by such sacrifices?
[Illustration: William Buchan’s Grave.]
Soon after the time that Buchan was killed by the enemy’s shot I was
inside of the line of the Confederate army looking for a place to
escape. Sept. 20, 1863, was a day which will remain fresh in my
memory as long as I live, on account of its terrible battles, the
loss of William Buchan and many others, and myself being made a
prisoner of war. The battle in our front began in the morning about
nine o’clock, and raged fiercely at intervals during nearly the whole
day and along Snodgrass Hill until after dark. The Confederates
charged Palmer’s front repeatedly, but were as often repulsed. Some
parts of the Union lines were broken by the enemy during the day and
our prospects for success appeared rather discouraging.
On one occasion during the forenoon, when the Confederates charged on
Palmer’s and Baird’s positions, they approached so near that those in
advance came inside of our temporary defenses and were made
prisoners. I well remember seeing them after their surrender.
[Illustration: Chickamauga Map.]
The Confederate loss in our front was fearful, because whenever they
came in sight our artillery poured forth grape and canister, which
literally mowed swaths through their ranks. And if they approached
within rifle or musket range, a dazzling sheet of flame would burst
forth from our long lines of infantry.
This each time compelled them to fall back in disorder. During the
day, while Gen. Palmer and myself were riding from one part of the
line to another, his horse was struck just over one eye by a bullet,
which stunned him and he fell to the ground. The General, being in a
hurry to reach another part of our line, asked me to let him ride my
horse, to which I consented and remained with his, which soon
recovered, regained his feet, and apparently was all right again. The
General returned and gave me my horse, and we mounted and rode away
to another part of the line, where he wished to give some directions.
We remained here for some time to watch the progress of the next
attack, which was looked for soon to come. The infantry were lying
behind their low breastworks, and the gunners of the artillery were
alert near their guns awaiting the attack. The General had just
dismounted in rear of the line of battle, and I was on my horse near
by waiting for orders, when the enemy made another terrific movement
on our line. Immediately our artillery bellowed with a deafening
roar, sending forth its terrible missiles of destruction among the
enemy, who when coming within rifle range received also the fire from
our infantry, from whose long lines burst forth a sheet of flame; and
the Confederates were repulsed with heavy loss. Their bullets came
over at a fearful rate; at times it seemed as though they came as
thick as if one would take a handful of shelled corn and scatter it
broadcast. The roar of firearms from friend and foe was deafening,
and it seemed as if the earth trembled beneath our feet.
The General was standing, talking to some of the officers. He turned
toward me, saying: “Eby, you should not expose yourself
unnecessarily. You would better dismount and step behind a tree while
you are waiting for orders.” I immediately obeyed the General’s
suggestion with a good will. It was now some time after noon, but we
had not stopped for dinner, as there seemed to be some objections on
the other side. The firing in our front ceased at times, but we could
hear the incessant roar of musketry and artillery off at our right
and rear, we being on the left. It seemed to move off farther and
farther, until it sounded as though it were a mile away. Then in a
few moments it would begin again nearer to us, and again roll off
gradually in the distance. And now after these forty-five years of
time have passed when I think about it I imagine that I can hear that
same roar of firearms.
Thus the afternoon wore slowly away, we occasionally receiving some
news from other parts of the army in regard to the progress of the
battle, sometimes favorable and at other times unfavorable. I well
remember when the news came that Gen. Granger’s reserve corps was
coming to assist us. We felt very much encouraged and felt like
cheering with perhaps many others. During the day, the exact time I
do not remember, the General with part of his staff (including
myself) was riding down the line quite a distance when we met several
generals, among them Major Gen. Thomas.
They halted and so did we. The generals immediately began talking
very briskly, and seemed to be holding a council of war. I well
remember Gen. Thomas. During their conversation I noticed by their
manner that something was not going right in regard to the battle, as
Gen. Thomas shook his head several times in a way that indicated
trouble. After the generals finished their talk they rode away to
their respective commands.
[Illustration: John M Palmer]
[Illustration]
_Palmer, Shutt, Drennan & Lester,
Attorneys & Counsellors at Law.
Springfield, Illinois._
_John M. Palmer.
William E. Shutt.
John G. Drennan.
Andrew J. Lester._
Sept. 16, 1896.
Henry H. Eby:—
Mandotta, Illinois.
My dear Eby:—
Am obliged to you for your letter of the 11th inst. and for the clip
you furnished me containing the names of the old comrades who were
present at the Re-union and who answered roll call. I trust you
tendered all who assembled my kindest regards.
Yours truly,
_John M Palmer_
[Illustration: Eastern Slope of Snodgrass Hill, Chickamauga.]
General Thomas was a model of good and noble character, who solicited
no praise for himself and was sparing of praise to others. He declined
all the numerous gifts of houses, lands, money and bonds tendered him
by his grateful countrymen. When he declined gifts offered to himself,
he urged his proposed benefactors to provide out of their abundance
for the wants of the widows and orphans of those who died for their
country. General Thomas was one of the most resolute men. He did not
possess the passionate gallantry that we have often seen displayed on
fields of battle, but his sure-footed, reliable judgment did not allow
him to fall into a mistake. The victories he won speak louder than
words.
After returning to our division I saw a fine horse lying upon the
ground dead with its head almost severed from the body. We were
informed that it belonged to Gen. Cruft, who commanded a brigade in
Palmer’s division. The horse had been struck by a cannon shot.
Late in the afternoon the heaviest firing seemed to be shifting toward
that part of the line of battle adjacent to Snodgrass Hill, where the
enemy was concentrating its best forces, trying hard to turn our right
flank and get possession of the road leading to Chattanooga. They
could thereby sever our communications with the latter place and the
North, and they came very near accomplishing their object. They
attacked Gen. Thomas’ line repeatedly and as often were repulsed with
heavy loss, Gen. Thomas holding his position.
[Illustration: Snodgrass Hill, with Stable.]
The battlefield of Chickamauga is now owned by the United States
Government. Monuments have been erected marking the places where each
command was stationed during the battle, and cannon are in position in
the same places where the cannon of the opposing forces stood during
the battle. The above illustration, made from a photograph taken by
the author in 1906, represents a portion of Snodgrass Hill (which was
occupied by Federal troops during Sept. 20, 1863), showing the old
Snodgrass log stable partly fallen down, and also one large tree which
was shot nearly to pieces by the Confederate artillery during the
battle of Sept. 20, 1863. As can be seen in the illustration, the
limbs of the large tree were nearly all cut off by the Confederate
cannon shot. Their guns being located down in the valley they were
obliged to elevate them when firing, and the tree being quite a
distance back on the summit, as a consequence they could hit the tree
only on its upper portion. The tree is dead and apparently has been
since the battle, or at least has been for a number of years.
[Illustration: Portrait of Gen. Thomas.]
The tree standing near the stable was alive when photographed, in
1906. Its top was entirely cut off during the battle, but it remained
alive and formed a new top, as shown in the illustration. The Federal
troops occupied Snodgrass Hill until the battle ended in the evening
of Sept. 20, 1863.
The last desperate effort to dislodge Gen. Thomas’ command was made by
the Confederates just at nightfall, and they were repulsed with the
usual result. They then ceased the combat and withdrew their forces.
The road to Chattanooga remained in possession of the Federals. Gen.
Thomas then also withdrew his troops from the battlefield to
Rossville, several miles in the rear, where they remained until Sept.
22, when they leisurely marched into Chattanooga. Thus closed the
fearful battle of Chickamauga. The enemy’s loss according to reports
was about 19,000 killed and wounded. The Federal loss was about
16,000. It is claimed by many that the great battle of Chickamauga was
a victory for the Confederates, but I think differently. Chattanooga
was the objective point in this campaign. The armies met ten or twelve
miles south of the place, where a general engagement occurred for the
possession of the city, in which the Confederate loss in men was
greater than the Federal. The Confederates gained possession of the
battlefield, but ceased the combat before the Federal army vacated its
last line of battle. The Federals took a new position several miles to
the rear, near Rossville, which they occupied until Sept. 22 without
being molested by the Confederates during the 21st and 22nd, then took
possession of Chattanooga and held it.
[Illustration: Trading Between Lines.]
It was immaterial whether the fighting for the possession of
Chattanooga occurred ten miles away, or within a mile or two of the
city. The Federal army accomplished its object at the battle of
Chickamauga. The Confederates gained nothing that was of any benefit
to them, but lost several thousand good soldiers in excess of the
Federal loss.
This picture represents a scene which lives in many a veteran’s
memory. A truce to the murderous picket firing has been established,
and the men have met to exchange the things they may have for others
that they want more. The rebels bring tobacco, rebel newspapers, and
sometimes corn-bread and fresh meat, but mainly tobacco. The Union
soldiers bring coffee, hardtack, papers, knives, combs and similar
articles, but mainly coffee. The rebels wanted many things which were
plentiful enough in the Union camps, but they wanted coffee more than
anything else. They and their “women folks” seemed half crazy for
“Yankee coffee.” They would swap anything except their muskets for it.
A pound of Yankee coffee was the most acceptable present one of them
could send back home to his mother or sweetheart. It was not often
that one of them had the self-denial to do this. He wanted it too
badly himself. From the way the Union soldier in the foreground is
displaying his stock of coffee, he must be expecting to buy up
everything the Confederates had in that section of the country.
[Illustration: The Historic Balm of Gilead
Johnson Farm, Waterloo, N. Y.
Leaving his scythe hanging in this tree Wyman J. Johnson enlisted and
was mustered into service at Elmira, N. Y., November 15, 1861; and
became member of Company G, of the 85th N. Y. Volunteers. He served in
15 engagements; was promoted to Fourth Sergeant April 13, 1863; was
wounded at New Burn, N. C., and died in the hospital, Raleigh, N. C.,
May 22, 1864.
The young sapling has now grown to be a massive tree, enveloping
nearly all of the scythe, and becoming indeed, a living monument of
the dead.]