Return to the regiment--The Henry rifle--The march from
Milliken's Bend--The tug of war--The army crosses the
Mississippi--Capture of Port Gibson--Battle of
Raymond--Amusing Capture--The charge on Jackson--Battle of
Champion Hills--The rebel courier--Sharp-shooting--The
gallant charge--The march to Vicksburg--The place besieged.
It was about the middle of the month of April that I returned to my
regiment, which I found encamped at Berry's Landing, five miles above
Lake Providence, La. It was while there that I had an opportunity of
examining one of Henry's volcanic or repeating rifles, which are capable
of discharging seventeen shots without reloading. The one that I saw was
in the possession of the Captain of the steamboat Superior.
From my first enlistment I had possessed a strong desire to have a
first-class rifle of the most modern improvement. The promise of such a
gun was the principal condition on which I enlisted. It was several
months after I enlisted before I received in exchange for my "handspike"
(musket) the Enfield that was promised to me. My company officers,
however, did all they could to furnish me with the promised gun. My long
experience as a bear-hunter in the Western wilderness had made me
expert with the rifle, and my desire to have a piece with which I could
excel at sharp-shooting, if ever an opportunity offered, had become
intense, and the organizing campaign against Vicksburg seemed to promise
the desired opportunity.
I went to General Grant and told him about the gun, and that I wished to
purchase it and carry it. He asked me if I thought I could carry so
valuable a piece without losing it. "I think I can," was my reply.
"You lose mules, don't you?"
"Yes, but I _capture mules_. I am several mules ahead of what the
Government has furnished me now; but I can't capture Henry rifles."
"Very well; tell General McPherson to get you the rifle."
I saw General McPherson about it, and he gave me permission to purchase
and carry it.
It was a most beautiful piece, with steel barrel and chamber. The
Captain who owned it was so much attached to it that he hated to part
with it, but at last he yielded to my importunities, and sold me the
rifle for sixty-five dollars, including what cartridges he had.
My release from duty afforded me a splendid opportunity of practicing
with it. I was perfectly delighted with its execution. Its accuracy and
long range was a marvel compared with the best feats of marksmanship
that I had seen among experienced hunters.
A few days after I purchased the rifle, the grand move of the army
against Vicksburg commenced. Several gun-boats and transports had
already run the blockade of the formidable batteries that commanded the
river. It was on the 25th day of April, 1863, at 6 o'clock, A. M., that
the 2d Brigade of General Logan's Division, to which I belonged, moved
from Milliken's Bend. That night the division bivouacked at Richmond,
and the following night at Smith's plantation.
A heavy rain set in at the commencement of the march, which filled the
ground and water-courses full of water, which made the roads across
those rich alluvial bottoms extremely soft, and easily cut up by the
artillery and supply wagons. From Smith's plantation to Perkins'
plantation, eight miles below New Carthage, was only fifteen miles, but
it took us two days to make the march. That march was really a "_tug of
war_." The horses and mules floundered in the mud. At times, it was with
the greatest difficulty, after doubling the teams, that the artillery
and wagons were extricated from those miry depths. The men, however,
kept up an indomitable good-will and courage, which carried us through.
It was 9 o'clock, P. M., when we halted for the night, and at 12
o'clock, the same night, we started for Hard-Times Landing, situated a
short distance above Grand Gulf, on the opposite side of the river. The
march was made by way of Lake St. Joseph, and it was 4 o'clock, P. M.,
of the 29th, when we reached Hard-Times Landing.
On the 1st of May we crossed the river to Bruinsburg. It was on that day
that General Osterhaus' division and two brigades of General Logan's
division captured Port Gibson. From that time until the 12th of May,
the troops were engaged in following up the enemy and harassing him. Our
general course of march was to the north-east, toward Jackson.
On the 12th, General Logan's division being in the advance, when within
ten miles of Raymond, the enemy, about 5,000 strong, including two
batteries of artillery, under command of General Gregg, was found
advantageously posted, with the artillery so arranged as to sweep the
road and a bridge that it was necessary to pass.
The division was formed in line preparatory to an attack, with the 2d
Brigade, commanded by Brigadier-General Dennis, on the left, occupying
both sides of the road; the 1st Brigade, commanded by Brigadier-General
John E. Smith, in the center, on the right of the 2d Brigade; and the
3rd Brigade, commanded by Brigadier-General J. D. Stephenson, on the
right, and the 8th Michigan Battery, commanded by Captain De Golyer, in
the road near the bridge.
As soon as the troops were in position, an advance was commenced, and
the battle opened with great energy. The roar of musketry was
tremendous. On the left of the 1st Brigade and the right of the 2d
Brigade the contest was dreadful. The line had advanced to the ditch in
which ran the little stream crossed by the bridge. On the side of the
ditch next to the enemy was a dense growth of underbrush; behind that
brush, not fifty yards distant, were the enemy. So heavily did the enemy
press the left of the 1st Brigade, composed of the 23d Indiana and the
20th Illinois, that they were compelled to give back, but immediately
rallied, supported by the 81st Illinois. The giving back of the left of
the 1st Brigade enabled the enemy to occupy a portion of the ditch, and
exposed the 20th Ohio, occupying the right of the 2d Brigade, to a most
galling fire in its flank. At one time the regiment was nearly
surrounded, but it gallantly held its ground, in spite of the terrible
fire to which it was exposed, and not a man of the regiment fell back.
The 23d Indiana and 20th Illinois now made a dashing charge, and drove
the enemy from the ground that they had lost. It was while gallantly
leading his men on to victory that the brave Lieutenant-Colonel
Richards, of the 20th Illinois, was killed. An attempt was made by the
enemy to charge and capture the battery, but they were met by such a
terrible fire of grape and canister, that they broke and fled from the
field. Our troops immediately commenced a pursuit, and by 5 o'clock, P.
M., were in possession of Raymond.
The determined obstinacy with which the 20th Ohio, under the gallant
Colonel Force, held its ground, added much to the brilliancy of the
victory. Our loss was 69 killed, 341 wounded, and 30 missing. The
enemy's was 103 killed, and 720 wounded and prisoners, 2 cannon
disabled, besides the loss of a quantity of small arms.
In the morning of the 12th, after the column had commenced its line of
march, General Grant sent me out to the right of the column, to
ascertain whether a rebel force was coming up from below to intercept
our line of march.
After riding out about three miles, I saw, in the distance, a single
horseman approaching. As I neared him, it proved to be a Mississippi
planter, well advanced in years, armed with a Mississippi Yager, or
rifle.
"Whar be you gwine?" he asked, as we met.
"I'm gwine out to jine our forces and fight the Yankees to-day," I
replied.
"So am I. I'm jist gwine to turn up sixteen Yankee moccasins with this
yer piece o' mine."
"If I can kill six o' them thar Lincoln hirelings, I'll be satisfied."
"Well, I'm gwine to kill _sixteen, now, sure_."
"Well, take care that they don't _git you_. Is any of our forces out on
this yer road?"
"No. I've jist come eight miles without seeing any. They left for
Raymond last night, an' they ar jist a gwine to kill the whole Lincoln
army."
"We had better go this way, then," said I, turning back the way I had
come.
"I reckon we had," said the Mississippian.
As we rode along, he kept up his boasting of how many Yanks he was gwine
to turn up, little dreaming whom he was addressing. Fortunately for me,
the road on which the column was moving passed through a piece of
woodland, so as to hide all movements of troops. When we came to it, the
rear-guard of the 17th Corps had passed along out of sight, and the
advance of the corps next in line of march had not come up. As we turned
into the right, where our troops had been passing, I caught sight of
two Federal soldiers, sitting by the roadside, who had fallen back from
their commands. Dropping a little to the rear, I drew my revolver and
motioned to the soldiers to help me. I was a little afraid the old
fellow would give me battle as soon as he discovered his mistake, and I
wanted to make sure of him. The soldiers comprehended my meaning, and
instantly leveled their pieces at him, which, discovering, he halted,
and inquired, "Is them thar our forces?"
"Never mind whose forces they are," said I, presenting my revolver; "you
go right along."
"I thought it was _our_ forces," said the old man, quite crest-fallen at
his discovery.
"Come in there, old fellow! come in!" shouted the two soldiers.
"Ride along, daddy, or those Yanks will bore you in a minute," said I.
He took my advice, and rode up to the soldiers, where I made him turn
his horse over to one of them and his rifle to the other, and then
marched him on, at a rapid pace, to overtake the command.
We came in sight of our lines just as the first firing commenced in
action at Raymond. As the musket reports became frequent, the old man's
courage failed him, and he began to quiver and grow pale; and when the
action became general, and the messengers of death came thick around us,
his limbs could scarce support him, and he exclaimed, "My God! is that a
fight? Won't we all be killed? If I can only get out of this yer scrape,
I'll go home and behave myself! My God, I will!"
I turned the old man in with the first squad of prisoners that came back
to the rear, and then reported to General Grant, who had a hearty laugh
over the capture of the old Mississippian. I presume the old man often
thinks of his attempt to _turn up sixteen Yankee moccasins_!
On the 13th we resumed our march for Jackson, by way of Clinton. On the
14th, about five miles from Jackson, the enemy's pickets were
encountered, and driven back to within two and a half miles of the city.
The enemy was under command of General W. H. T. Walker, and occupied the
top of a gradually ascending rise of ground, with a large open space in
his front. Many of General Walker's troops were South Carolina and
Georgia regiments, and had only arrived there from the east the night
before.
Preparations were now made to give the enemy battle. General Sherman's
corps had arrived at the same time, on another road, to the right.
General Logan's division was placed in reserve. The 7th Division of
McPherson's corps, commanded by Brigadier-General Crocker, and part of
General Sherman's corps, were formed in close column, by division, to
charge upon the enemy. In our having to cross the open field, in full
view, the enemy had a decided advantage over us. When every thing was
ready, the command was given to charge on a double-quick, and the
columns moved forward.
It was a sight that I shall never forget, when those thousands of brave
boys, in perfect order, swept across that field! The rustle of garments,
and the flapping of scabbards, cartridge-boxes, and canteens, to the
tread of double-quick from that large body of soldiers, moving in close
column, was like the roar of the tornado when it sweeps across the
plain!
Opposed to them was a long line of Rebellion's choicest troops, pouring
into them volley after volley of leaden hail. Still, on they went,
without a waver! It was a terrible spectacle, and awfully grand! Mingled
with the roar of the enemy's musketry was the crash of artillery from
both sides.
The charge swept on. Still the enemy held his ground, as if determined
to withstand the charge, and a dreadful encounter seemed imminent. A
line of fence in front of the enemy was reached, and it vanished like
chaff in the wind before those solid columns of Western braves. With the
crash of that fence went the enemy's lines, and the pride of South
Carolina fled in dismay, followed by the veterans from Georgia, that had
been stationed as reserves. Then went up such shouts of victory as only
Western lungs can accent. Volley after volley was fired at their
retreating ranks, and pursuit kept up until they were driven beyond the
city. In five hours from the time the action commenced, the stars and
stripes were proudly floating over the capitol of the State of
Mississippi.
Our loss was very light compared with that of the enemy--much lighter
than it would have been, if the enemy had not overshot us while crossing
the open field. For the casualties of the battle, the reader is referred
to the official reports of the commanding Generals.
As the troops were going into Jackson, I asked General Grant if I might
steal enough to make up for the field-glasses that the South Carolina
General had taken from me, when I was there as a spy.
"I can't instruct you to steal," said the General, "but I presume you
can find something in Jackson of as much value to you as the
field-glasses."
The city had been so completely ransacked by the soldiers before I got
in, that I failed to get pay for my glasses.
On the 15th of May we marched west, toward Vicksburg, and on the 16th
the enemy was found in large force at Champion Hills, under command of
Lieutenant-General Pemberton. He had moved his army out from Vicksburg
to attack us. The position selected by the enemy was a strong one, on
the summit of an elevation, or ridge of ground, with a line something
like a crescent, the right and left of the line further advanced than
the center. The face of the hill, in front of the enemy, was an open
field, thereby exposing our lines to view as we advanced to the attack.
The enemy's lines were in the skirts of a piece of woods that extended
to his rear.
Early in the day, the battle commenced, opening on our left, and
extending gradually along to our right, until the whole line was
engaged, when it raged with intense fury. General Hovey's division, on
our left, from the much stronger position occupied by the enemy in its
front, suffered terribly; but timely support arrived, and the enemy was
driven back. An attempt was then made to crush our center, but made in
vain. Support having arrived to the assistance of the center, a dashing
charge was made and the enemy routed.
It was a desperate and hard-fought battle, with a heavy loss on both
sides, but that of the enemy was much the heaviest. Here, again, I must
refer the reader to the official reports for the casualties. It will not
be amiss, perhaps, to give the reader some of my personal experience in
that battle.
When the action commenced, I was instructed by General Logan to keep to
the right of each brigade of his division, as they successively arrived
in position and became engaged, and to watch closely for any attempt at
flank movement on the part of the enemy. My first position was with the
line of skirmishers of the 2d Brigade. About the time our skirmishing
commenced, a rebel courier was seen dashing along in a line nearly
parallel to the line of skirmishers from the right, and about one
hundred yards in advance of the line. When up with and in front of the
line, he discovered us and wheeled to the right, and was dashing away at
right angles with our line, when six of us brought our pieces to bear on
him and fired. He fell from his horse, with one foot fastened in the
stirrup. At that instant, the horse gave a leap over a log, and the
dangling body struck the log and bounded into the air higher than the
horse's back, and then struck the ground with a "thug" sufficient, to
all appearances, to have crushed every bone in his body.
A few minutes later, I saw a rebel Major leading his regiment forward to
charge upon one of our batteries. When I saw him he was not more than
fifty yards distant. In an instant I brought my "repeater" to my face,
and while I was looking at the prominent point of his right-cheek bone,
a ball took him in the exact spot that I was looking at, and he tumbled
from his horse.
I now discovered that, instead of a regiment, a whole brigade was
coming, and that our skirmishers had fallen back, and that I was in
range between McAlister's Battery and the rebs. I started on a run, and
fairly _flew_ as I went; but before I could get out of range, the
battery opened on the rebs with double charges of grape and canister,
which came howling and tearing the ground all about me. How I escaped
instant death is a wonder to me. I succeeded in getting out of the way
before another round was fired, quite satisfied with my experience
there.
I then moved round much further to the right, and took with me a
corporal of the 20th Ohio, by the name of Wm. Grinnell, whom I found
engaged in sharp-shooting. After reconnoitering a little, we discovered
a rebel battery of eight guns, that kept up a harassing fire upon our
lines. We succeeded in sheltering ourselves from view, in close rifle
range of the guns, behind a large clump of bushes, and then commenced
paying our respects to the gunners. We were doing "bully" execution, and
had fired ten or twelve shots apiece, when the rebs returned our
compliments with a charge of canister that mowed the bushes all about
us. The charge made such a terrible whizzing and howling, and came so
suddenly and unexpectedly, that I involuntarily dropped to the ground.
"Are you hurt, Bunker?" called out the corporal.
"No; are you?"
"No; but if we had stood anywhere else we should both have been killed."
The ground was literally plowed up all about us.
A few minutes later, the 8th Illinois and 32d Ohio made a charge on the
battery to capture it. As the line advanced, there became a strife
between the two regiments which should reach it first and take
possession. The officers and men of the 32d Ohio had been smarting under
the false accusation of "Harper's Ferry cowards," and had longed for an
opportunity of retrieving their reputation.
"Come on, boys; we are 'Harper's Ferry cowards!'" shouted a Captain; and
the words were instantly repeated by the whole regiment, and with a dash
they outstripped their Illinois rivals. As they raised the hill near the
battery, a round of canister was fired at them, but, fortunately, it was
aimed too high to do much injury. The rebs then broke and run, leaving
six of their guns to fall into the hands of the 32d Ohio. Major-General
Logan complimented the regiment highly for its gallantry, and allowed
Company F to retain the guns and serve them. That company was originally
recruited as an artillery company.
On the 17th of May we resumed our march, and on the 18th we crossed
Black River, and on the 19th our lines extended around Vicksburg, from
the river above to the river below, occupying a line of about seven
miles in length.
Major-General Sherman's corps occupied the right, Major-General
McPherson's the center, and Major-General M'Clernand's the left. Then
began the siege of Vicksburg.
Up to the commencement of the siege, the troops had marched over two
hundred miles and taken part in five distinct battles, and accomplished
it in twenty-five days; and a large portion of that time they had been
without rations, except such as they foraged from the country.