 Chapter 17 of the Story of a Common Soldier of Army Life in the Civil War, 1861, 1865. This is the LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Recording by Sue Anderson. The Story of a Common Soldier of Army Life in the Civil War, 1861, 1865, by Leander Stillwell. Chapter 17. DeValls Bluff, Grand Reviews and Inspections, Surgeon J. P. Anthony, Private Press Allender, June and July, 1864. I have said nothing so far about grand reviews or other functions of that sort. And here is as good a place as any to notice them. From some cause or other we had what seemed to us an undue proportion of grand reviews in Arkansas in the summer of 1864. They were not a bit popular with the common soldiers. It became a saying among us when a grand review was ordered that the reviewing officer had got a new uniform and wanted to show it, but of course that was only soldier talk. On June 10th, while in Camp at Huntersville, all the troops at Little Rock were reviewed by Major General Daniel E. Sickles late of the Army of the Potomac. He lost a leg at the Battle of Gettysburg, which incapacitated him for active service, so President Lincoln gave him a sort of roving commission to visit and inspect all the Western troops. In conducting the review at Little Rock, on account of his maimed condition, he rode along the line in an open carriage. The day was exceedingly hot. The troops on our side of the river were reviewed on low grounds where the air was stifling. We wore our jackets tightly buttoned, and we all suffered fearfully from heat. One man in the line near me went over with a crash all in a pile from Sunstroke, and I heard that there were several other such cases. Nine days later, June 19th, we had Division Grand Review conducted by our Division Commander, General C. C. Andrews, and on July 11th another Grand Review by the same officer, and interspersed with the reviews were several brigade inspections of arms. But as those did not involve any marching they were not as fatiguing as the reviews. I will mention specifically, but one of these inspections, and do so for the reason that there were some things connected with it I have always remembered with interest and pleasure. It was held on July 4th at Deval's Bluff, the inspecting officer being Colonel Randolph B. Marcy, Inspector General U.S. Army. He was a regular Army officer, a graduate of West Point, and at this time was about 52 years of age. He was over six feet tall, straight as an arrow and a splendid looking man in general. We had very short notice of this inspection, and having returned only a few days before from the Clarendon expedition, had not yet had time or opportunity to wash our shirts and were in quite a rough and tough condition. And the fact that this inspection was to be conducted by the Inspector General of the United States Army, an old regular and a West Point graduate, made us nervous, and we apprehended all sorts of trouble. So far as I ever knew, the volunteers had not much love for the regular Army officers. We regarded them as unreasonably strict and technical, and more of the impression that they were inclined to look down on volunteers. Whether this feeling was well-founded or not, I cannot say, but there is no question that it existed. On this occasion we went to work with a will, and soon had our muskets, bayonets, belt plates, and accoutrements in general, bright and shining, and in the very pink of condition. It was to be an inspection of arms only, and did not include knapsacks. About nine o'clock in the morning of July 4th, we fell in on the regimental parade ground, broke into columns of companies right in front in open order, and the greatly feared Inspector General entered on his duty. As already stated, we looked hard. Many of us were barefoot, and our clothes in general were dirty and ragged. But Colonel Marcy knew he had just come off a march. He was a very sensible man, and capable of making some allowances. In accordance with the regulations he passed in front of us, walking slowly and looking at us critically, as he came opposite each soldier the latter brought his piece into the prescribed position for examination, but Colonel Marcy contended himself with a sweeping glance, and did not take the musket in his hands. Then he passed to the rear of the ranks, and walked slowly along behind us, while we stood immovable, with eyes fixed to the front. It was soon all over. He then approached Colonel Orr, said something I did not hear, but which was evidently pleasant, for the Colonel smiled, then turned round facing us, and with a sweep of his arm in our direction said, loud enough for many of us to hear, Good Soldiers, whereupon we all felt much relieved and proud, and the dreaded inspection was a thing of the past. Several years afterwards, when in civil life out in Kansas, I learned that Colonel Marcy was not only a grand old soldier, but also a most interesting writer, I have two of his books in my library now, and have had for many years, one being his official report of the exploration of the Red River of Louisiana in the year 1852, the other thirty years of army life on the border. Both are highly interesting, and I frequently take them from the shelf and look them over, and when I do so there always rises up on about every page the recollection of the tall imposing figure of Colonel Marcy as he stood beneath the oaks at Deval's Bluff, Arkansas, on the morning of July 4, 1864, and waved his arm toward us and said in a kind tone and, with a proving look, Good Soldiers. There was in Company D an original sort of a character, by the name of Ambrose Pressley a lender, for short, generally called Press. He was at this time, 1864, about thirty-five years old. He had been a private in a regiment of Kentucky infantry during the Mexican War, but what the length of his service may have been I do not know. But in his Mexican War experience he had at least learned every possible trick and device that could be resorted to in plain off as the boys called it, that is, avoiding duty on the plea of sickness or any other excuse that would serve. He was not a bad man by any means, but a good-hearted old fellow. He had readenlisted, along with the rest of us, when the regiment veteranized, but his propensity for shirking duty, especially anything severe or unpleasant, seemed inveterate and incurable. He made me lots of trouble for some time after I became First Sergeant. I was only a boy, and he was a man of mature age, about fifteen years my senior, and looking back to those days I can see now where many times he pulled the wool over my eyes completely and induced me to grant him favors in the matter of details that he was not entitled to. But it was not long before I began to understand Press, and then, if he was excused from duty or passed over for a lighter job, the authority had to come from the Regimental Surgeon. Dr. Julius P. Anthony of Brown County, Illinois, was appointed Surgeon of the Regiment in September 1863, and remained with us in that capacity until we were mustered out of the service. He was not a handsome man by any means. He was hawk-nosed, with steel-blue eyes, and had a most peculiar, sort of high-keed nasal-tone voice. But he was an excellent physician, and a shrewd, accurate judge of men. So when Press bucked up against Dr. Anthony, he found a foe-man worthy of his steel, and the keen-eyed old doctor was a different proposition from a boy orderly sergeant. Press would keep close watch of the details as they progressed down the company roll, and when he was next in turn, and the impending duty was one he did not fancy, would then retire to his tent or shack, and when wanted for picket or some laborious fatigue duty, would be found curled up in his bunk and groaning dismal-y. When we were at Deval's Bluff at a time about the last of July 1864, I discovered him in this condition one morning before sick call, when I went to apprise him out of abundant caution, that he was next for duty and not to wander from the camp. He forthwith told me he was very sick, hadn't slept a wink all night, and that I must pass over him for the time being. I replied that if he was sick he must fall in at sick call, and have the surgeon pass on his case. So he climbed out of his bunk, put on his trousers, and made ready. Sick call was sounded pretty soon, and I went with press and two or three of the other boys to the surgeon's tent. Press kept in the background until the other cases were disposed of, and then stepped forward. His breeches were in button down to nearly the last button. He was holding them up with his hands, and his stomach protruded like the belly of a brood-soul. Well, allender, inquired Dr. Anthony, he did, what's the matter with you? Press was careful to put on all the military frills at such time, and he began thus. Major Anthony, first sergeant still well, has several times put me on duty when I was not fitting for duty, and so I am now compelled to come to you, and that'll do, Allender interrupted the doctor. What are your symptoms? Press then began the story of his woes. He had racking pains in his stomach, headache, couldn't sleep, all bloated up, he said. As you can see for yourself, with a comprehensive gesture toward his abdominal region, and numerous other troubles including night sweats, Dr. Anthony heard him patiently and without interruption, but scanned him closely all the time he was talking. Press at last stopped to take breath, and then the doctor, in a rasping voice, spoke as follows. Allender, the trouble with you is simply exercising too little and eating too much, and if you don't quit stuffing yourself and get around more, I shall instruct sergeant still well to put you on fatigue duty every day until you are rid of that mass of fermenting fecal matter in your bowels and your stomach is restored to normal condition. That's all. When addressing me, he said, Allender's able for duty, and Press and I walked out. As soon as we were beyond the hearing of Dr. Anthony, Press turned loose. He was a terribly profane fellow when, in his opinion, ordinary language would not do the subject justice, and had accumulated a stock of the most unique and outrageous expressions that could be invented, and all these he now fired at the doctor, having no desire to put salt on a green wound, I said nothing. In perhaps an hour or so, the first sergeant's call was sounded at the adjutant's tent, which meant a detail. I responded to the call, and the sergeant, major, consulting the regimental detail slip he held in his hand, told me he wanted a corporal and five privates from my company with two days' rations to make up a scouting party going up White River on a steamboat, and for them to report in fifteen minutes. That caught old Press, and I went to his shack, expecting a scene. He was found lying on his bunk in his drawers and shirt, as usual, in such emergencies. I proceeded to detail him as one of the scouting party, and told him to be all ready within fifteen minutes. In the meantime, the weather had changed, and a disagreeable, drizzling rain was falling. Press heaved a deep sigh when informed of his detail, and began to beg and protest. I told him that the doctor had refused to excuse him, that he was the next man on the roll for duty, that I had no discretion in the matter, and that he would have to get ready and go. But if he was feeling worse, I would go with him again to the doctor, and request him to look further into his case. Press sprang out of his bunk with a bound, and grabbed his trousers. Before I'll ever go again, he said to that hawk-nosed old blankety-blank-blank to get excused from duty. I'll see him in hell, further than a pigeon can fly in a leap year. He hasn't got sense enough, anyhow, to doctor an old dominec-er hen that is sick with a sore anus, much less a civilized human being. You could let me off this detail if you wanted to, and let me tell you still well. If this trip kills me, which it probably will, I want you to remember as long as you live that the responsibility for my death lies on your head. This last statement I will confess rather staggered me, and had it been delivered in a weak and pitiful tone, there is no telling what I might have done. But he didn't roar me as gently as a sucking dove by a long shot, for his voice was full and loud and quivering with energy and power, so I made no response to this dire prediction. Press got ready and went. The weather cleared up in a few hours and was bright and pleasant, but nevertheless I became very uneasy about Press. If the old fellow really was sick, and if by any possibility this detail should result in his death, why, then I felt that his last words would haunt me as long as I lived. I waited anxiously for the return of the scouting party, and when the whistle of the bolt was heard on its arrival at the bluff, when it wants the landing to learn the fate of Press, and stood on the bank where the men could be seen as they came ashore, presently here came Press very much alive and looking fine. He bore transfixed on his bayonet a home-cured ham of an Arkansas hog. The tail feathers of a chicken were ostentatiously protruding from the mouth of his haversack, and which receptacle was also stuffed well-nigh to bursting with big toothsome yams, and later the fact was developed that his canteen was full of sorghum molasses. As he trudged up the road cut through the bank, his step was springy and firm, his face was glowing with health, and beaded with perspiration. I felt greatly relieved and happy, and inspired by the joy of the moment called to him, Hello, Press, you seem to be all right. He glanced up at me, and in a sort of sheepish manner responded, Yes, as luck would have it, the trip grieved with me, and from this time on I had no more trouble with Old Press. He turned over a new leaf, cut out completely his old-time malingering practices, and thence forward was a good, faithful soldier. We were in some close places afterwards, and he never flinched, but stood up to the work like a man. He was mustered out with the rest of us in September 1865, and after some going and coming settled down in Peoria County, Illinois, where he died March 15, 1914, at the age of nearly eighty-five years. End of Chapter 17 Chapter 18 of the story of a common soldier of army life in the Civil War, 1861-1865 This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Recording by Sue Anderson The story of a common soldier of army life in the Civil War, 1861-1865 by Leander Stillwell. Chapter 18 The regiment goes home on Veteran furlough. Interview with General W. T. Sherman after the war. A short tour of soldiering at Chester, Illinois, August, September, October, 1864. After our return from the Clarendon Affair, we remained in camp at Deval's Bluff, where nothing more important occurred than drilling, reviews, inspections, and the like. The summer was rapidly passing away, and still the regiment had not received the thirty-day furlough promised us when we veteranized. Nearly all the other regiments in the department that had re-enlisted had received theirs, and it looked as if the poor old sixty-first Illinois had been lost in the shuffle. The boys began to get a little impatient about this, and somewhat disposed to grumble, which was only natural. But on August 8th the paymaster made us a visit, paid us six months' pay and our veteran bounty, and then the prospect for the furlough began to brighten, and we were assured by our officers that we had not much longer to wait. And sure enough, on August 14th we started home. We left the recruits and non-veterans at Deval's Bluff, to which we expected to return on the expiration of our furlough, but the fates will otherwise as will be seen later. When we filed on board the steamboat that August morning, the old regiment, as an organization, was leaving Arkansas forever. I will say here that I have always regretted, and shall regret as long as I live, that after the capture of Vicksburg the regiment happened to get switched off into Arkansas, we thereby were taken away from the big armies and out of the main currents of the war, where great deeds were being done and history made. Of course we couldn't help it, we had no choice, and, as I have remarked before, the common soldier can only do what those in authority direct. As connected with this subject I will here tell the story of a little conversation I had with General W. T. Sherman at his office in Washington in February 1883. I had gone to that city on a business matter, and while there met Colonel P. B. Plum, then one of the Senators from Kansas. In the course of our conversation he asked if there were any of the big bugs in Washington I wanted to see, if so he would be glad to take me round and introduce me. I replied that there were only two, that just as a matter of curiosity I would like to see President Arthur, but I really was very desirous of having a little visit with General Sherman. Plum laughed, said that my desires were modest, and made a date with me when he would take me to see the President and General Sherman. At the time appointed we went first to the White House where we met the President. I shook hands with him and after a few commonplace remarks retired to the background. The President and Plum talked a minute or two about some public matter, and then we left. Now, said Plum, we'll go and see Uncle Billy. Sherman was then the General of the Army, and had his office, as I now remember, in the War Department building, near the White House. On entering his office we found him seated at a desk, writing, I had seen him previously several times, but had no acquaintance with him whatever. Plum introduced me to him, saying, as he gave my name, that I was one of his boys. The General dropped his pen, shook hands with me heartily, and at once began talking. I think he was the most interesting talker I ever have known. He had lived a life of incessant activity, had done great things, and had mingled with great men. Hence, he was never at a loss for an engaging topic. After a while the monologue lulled, and gave me the opportunity for which I had been patiently waiting. General, I began, there is an incident connected with your military career during the Civil War that I had been wanting for some time to speak to you about, and, if agreeable, will do so now. Huh? Said he. What is it? It was interesting and a little amusing to me at the time to see the instantaneous change that came over him. His face darkened, his eyes contracted, and a scowl appeared on his brow. His appearance and manner said almost as plain as words. Now, here's a smart young Alec who never had a greater command than a picket post of three men, who is going to tell me how he thinks I should have fought a battle. Resuming, I said, some years ago I read General Badoe's Life of Grant, and found published therein a letter from General Grant to you, written sometime in the fall of 1863, when you were marching across the country from Memphis to reinforce him at Chantanooga, in which Grant said, in substance, urge on steel the necessity of sending you Kimball's Division of the 16th Corps. Now, my point is, I am afraid that you didn't urge steel strongly enough, for we never got to you, and, I continued in a tone of deep and sincere earnestness, consequently we missed Missionary Ridge, the Campaign of Atlanta, the March to the Sea, and the Campaign of the Caravans. And I shall regret it as long as I live. I noted with interest the change in the old General's countenance as I made my little speech. His face lighted up, his eyes sparkled, the skull disappeared, and when I concluded he laughed heartily. Didn't need you, didn't need you, he said. I said, I don't know, I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. What happened? Because, as I listened to the response of the足, the general instinct to return out and that's when Iove sufferedוא that was kind of when I knew I'm in. detain me and keep talking, and, when finally I did depart, he followed me out into the hall, and laying his hand on my shoulder in a most fatherly way, said, Say, whenever you are in Washington, come and see me. Don't be afraid, I like to see and talk with you boys. And with a hearty shake of the hand he bade me good-bye. He was a grand old man, and we common soldiers of the Western armies loved him. When going home on our veteran furlough, the regiment went by steamer down White River, thence up the Mississippi to Cairo, where we debarked and took the cars and went to Springfield, Illinois, arriving there August 24th. The Mississippi was low, and our progress up the river was very slow. Two or three times our boat grounded on bars, and after trying in vain to spar off, had to wait until some other boat came along and pulled us off by main strength. Near Friar's Point, not far below Helena, where there was a long shallow bar, the captain of the steamer took the precaution to lighten his boat, by landing us all on the west bank of the river, and we walked along the river's margin for two or three miles to the head of the bar, where the boat came to the shore and took us on again. Our officers assured us that our thirty days furlough would not begin until the day we arrived at Springfield, so these delays did not worry us, and we endured them with much composure. On this entire homeward trip, on account of a matter that was purely personal, I was in a state of nervous uneasiness and anxiety nearly all the time. As Here-to-Force stated, just a few days before starting home, we were paid six months' pay, and our veteran bounty, the amount I received being three hundred forty-two dollars and seventy cents. Some of the recruits and non-veterans whose homes were in my neighborhood gave me different amounts that had been paid them with the request that I take this money home and hand it to their fathers or other persons they designated, so when we started I had the most money on my person I ever had had before and even since. The exact amount is now forgotten, but it was something over fifteen hundred dollars. Of nights I slept on the hurricane deck of the boat with the other boys, and in the daytime was mingling constantly with the enlisted men and with all that money in my pocket. Of course I said nothing about it and had cautioned the boys who trusted me with this business also to say nothing, but whether they had all complied with my request I didn't know. I kept the money which, except a little postal currency, was all in greenbacks in my inside jacket pocket during the daytime, didn't take off my trousers at night, and then stowed the bills on my person out of place. Well, if a prowling hand had invaded the locality it would have waked me quick, but I finally got home with all the money intact, duly paid the trust funds over to the proper parties, and then felt greatly relieved. When the regiment arrived at Springfield we stored our muskets and accoutrements in a public building, and then dispersed for our respective homes. I arrived at the Stillwell home the following day, August twenty-fifth, and received a hearty welcome. But the admission must be made that I didn't enjoy this furlough near as much as the individual one of the preceding autumn, for reasons I will state. You see, we were all at home now, that is, the veterans, and there were several hundred of us, and it seemed as if the citizens thought that they must do everything in their power to show how much they appreciated us. So there was something going on nearly all the time—parties, oyster suppers, and gatherings of all sorts. There was a big picnic affair held in the woods at the Samson Spring, which was attended by a crowd of people. A lawyer came down from Jerseyville and made us a long speech on this occasion, in which he refreshed our recollection as to our brave deeds and patriotic services in battle and in camp and field generally, which was doubtless very fine. It is true, I spent several very happy days at home with my own folks, but they were frequently broken in on by the neighbors, coming and going, who wanted to see and talk with Leander, and the girls blessed their hearts. They were fairly ready to just fall down and worship us. But I was young, awkward, and exceedingly bashful, and can now see clearly that I didn't respond to their friendly attentions with the same alacrity and hardiness that would have obtained had I been, say, ten years older. The French have a proverb with a world of meaning in it, something like this, if youth but knew if old age could, but probably it is best as it is. When home on our veteran furlough a sad event occurred which directly affected the regiment, and which you can be truly said every member thereof sincerely deplored. This was the death of Lieutenant Colonel Simon P. Orr. He never was a strong man, physically, and the hardships and exposures incident to army life were really the cause of his death. He died at his home in Carrollton, Illinois, of a bronchial affection on September 14, 1864. He was a man of temperate habits, honest and upright, and a sterling patriot. As an officer he was kind, careful as to the wants and necessities of his men, and, in battle, cool, clear-headed, and brave. In due course of time Major Daniel Grass was appointed to the office of Lieutenant Colonel to fill the vacancy thus created by the lamented death of Colonel Orr. The regiment rendezvoused at Springfield on September 26, and left on the next day on the cars, went to St. Louis and were quartered in the Hickory Street barracks in the city. Another price raid was now on. Only a few days previously General Sterling Price, with a strong force, including, of course, Shelby's cavalry, entered southeast Missouri, and the day we arrived at St. Louis he showed up at Pilot Knob, only about 85 miles south of the city, where some sharp fighting occurred. There was now the biggest kind of a scare prevailing at St. Louis, and judging from all the talk one heard, we were liable to hear the thunder of Price's cannon on the outskirts of St. Louis any day. We had been at Hickory Street barracks only a day or two when my company, and companies B and G, were detached from the regiment, embarked on a steamboat, and went down the Mississippi to the town of Chester, Illinois, which is situated on the Mississippi at the mouth of the Kaskaskia River. We were sent here for the purpose, as we understood at the time, of guarding the crossing of the Mississippi at this place, and to prevent any predatory Confederate raid in that vicinity. We were quartered in some large vacant warehouses near the river, and had no guard duty to perform except a guard at the ferry landing, and a small one over our commissary's doors. Altogether it was the softest piece of soldiering that fell to my lot during all my service. We had roofs over our heads, and slept at night where it was dry and warm. It was ideal autumn weather, and we just idled around, careless, contented, and happy. One lovely October day Bill Banfield and I in some way got a skiff, and early in the morning rode over the river to the Missouri side, and spent the day there strolling about in the woods. The country was wild and rough, and practically in a state of nature. We confined our rambling to the river bottom, which was broad and extensive, and densely covered with a primeval forest. Some of the trees, especially the sycamores and the cottonwoods, were of giant size, and the woods abounded in nuts and wild fruits, hickory nuts, walnuts, pecans, papas, big wild grapes, and persimmons, but the latter were not yet ripe. This locality was in Perry County, Missouri, and it seemed to be destitute of inhabitants. We saw two or three log cabins, but they were old, decayed, and deserted. We had brought some bacon and hardtack with us in our haversacks, and at noon built a fire and had an army dinner with nuts and fruit for dessert. We got back to Chester about sundown, having had a most interesting and delightful time. There was another little incident that happened while we were at Chester, which I have always remembered with pleasure. Between companies D and G of our regiment was a strong bond of friendship. Many of the boys of the two companies had lived in the same neighborhood at home, and were acquainted with each other before enlisting. The first sergeant of G was Presley T. Rice, a grown man and some five or six years my senior. He came to me one day soon after our arrival at Chester, and in his peculiar nasal tone said, still well, some of my boys think that when we are soldiering here in God's country, they ought to have soft bread to eat. If D. feels the same, let's go down to the mill and buy a barrel of flour for each company and give the boys a rest on hardtack. I heartily ascended but asked what should we do about paying for it, as the boys were now pretty generally strapped. Press responded that we'd get the flour on tick and settle for it at our next payday. To my inquiry, if we should take company B in on the deal, the other company with us at Chester, Press dryly responded that B could root for themselves, that this was a kahootnership of D and G only. Without further ceremony, we went to the mill, which was a fair-sized concern, and situated, as I now remember, in the lower part of the town and near the riverbank. We found one of the proprietors, and Press may know to him our business, inward substantially the same as he had used in broaching the matter to me with some little added explanation. He told the miller that the only bread we had was hardtack, that the boys accepted that cheerfully when we were down south, but that here in God's country, in our home state of Illinois, they thought they were entitled to soft bread, so we had come to him to buy two barrels of flour, that the boys had not the money now to pay for it, but at our next payday they would, and we would see to it that the money should be sent him. While thus talking, the miller looked at us with narrowed eyes, and, as it seemed to me, didn't feel a bit delighted with the proposition. But maybe he thought that if he didn't sell us the flour we might take it anyhow, so, making a virtue of necessity, he said he would let us have it. The price of the two barrels being, as I now remember, seven dollars. I produced my little memorandum book and requested him to write the name and address of his firm therein, which he did in pen and ink, and it is there yet in that same little old book, now line open before me, and reads as follows, H. C. Cole and Company, Chester, Illinois. Well, he sent us the flour, and D. and G. had soft bread, the balance of the time we were at Chester. I will now anticipate a few months in order to finish the account of this incident. The spring of 1865 found the regiment at Franklin, Tennessee, and, while there, the paymaster made us a welcome visit. I then went to press Rice and suggested to him that the time had now come for us to pay the Chester miller for his flour, and he said he thought so too. We sat down at the foot of a tree and made out a list of all the boys of our respective companies who, at Chester, helped eat the bread made from the flour and who were yet with us, and then assessed each one with the proper sum he should contribute in order to raise the entire amount required. Of course the boys paid it cheerfully. Press turned over to me the proportionate sum of his company and requested me to attend to the rest of the business, which I did. I wrote a letter to the firm of H. C. Cole and Company, calling their attention to the fact of our purchase from them of two barrels of flour in October of the previous year, and then went on to say that several of the boys who had taken part in eating the bread made from this flour had since been killed in battle, or died of diseases incident to a soldier's life, but there were yet enough of us left to pay them for their flour and that I here enclose the proper sum. I have forgotten in just what manner or form it was sent, but think it was by express. In due course of time I received an answer, acknowledging receipt of the money written in a very kind and complementary vein. After heartily thanking us for the payment, the letter went on to state that in all the business dealings of H. C. Cole and Company, with Union soldiers, the firm had been treated with fairness and remarkable honesty, and they sincerely appreciated it. Many years later out in Kansas I met a man who had lived in Chester during the war and told him the foregoing little story. He said he knew the milling firm of Cole and Company quite well, and that during the war they were the most intense and bitter copperheads and had no use whatever for Lincoln hirelings as Union soldiers were sometimes called by the butternut element. My informant was a respectable, truthful man, so it is probable that his statement was correct. It served to throw some light on the grim conduct of the miller with whom press and I dealt, but they treated us well, and if they were of the type above indicated, it is hoped that the little experience with us may have caused them to have a somewhat kindlier feeling for Union soldiers than the one they may have previously entertained. End of Chapter 18 Chapter 19 of the Story of a Common Soldier of Army Life in the Civil War, 1861-1865 This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Recording by Sue Anderson. The Story of a Common Soldier of Army Life in the Civil War, 1861-1865 by Leander Stillwell Chapter 19 Expedition to North Missouri Back in Tennessee once more Murfreesboro October and November 1864 On October 14th we left Chester on the steamer A. Jacobs and went to St. Louis where we arrived on the 15th and marched out to Le Cleed station about six miles from St. Louis on the Pacific Railroad where we found the balance of the regiment. There was a railroad bridge at this place over a small stream and I suppose that during the scare of St. Louis it was deemed prudent to have a force here to guard the bridge. On October 19th the regiment left Le Cleed and went by rail on the North Missouri Railroad to Mexico in Audreng County, Missouri about 110 miles northwest of St. Louis. Here we reported to Colonel Samuel A. Holmes, Colonel of the 40th Missouri Infantry. We left Mexico October 21st and marched northward 25 miles to Paris, the county seat of Monroe County. There was a body of irregular Confederate cavalry supposed to be about 500 strong under the command of a Colonel McDaniel operating in this region and carrying on a sort of predatory and uncivilized warfare. We learned that it was our business up here to bring this gang to battle and destroy them if possible or failing in that to drive them out of the country. Our force consisted of about 700 infantry, the 40th Missouri and the 61st Illinois and a detachment of about 300 cavalry whose state and regimental number I have forgotten. Our cavalry caught up with the Confederates at Paris and had a little skirmish with them but before the infantry could get on the ground the enemy lit out as fast as their horses could carry them. We lay that night at Paris and the next day the 22nd marched to the little town of Florida where we bivouac for the night. It was a small place situated on a high timbered ridge between the main Salt River and one of its forks. With the exception that it was not a county seat it was practically a counterpart of the little village of Springfield, Arkansas, herein before mentioned. It had only one street of any consequence and all up and down this street in several places right in the middle thereof were grand imposing native trees such as oaks and hickories. But the place was now totally deserted and looked lonesome and desolate. I ascertained several years later that it was the birthplace of Samuel L. Clemens, the author better known under his pen name Mark Twain. It is also an interesting circumstance that the first military operation conducted by General U.S. Grant was a movement in the summer of 1861 on this little village of Florida with the intention and expectation of giving battle to a Confederate force in camp near the town. Grant's memoirs first edition volume one pages 248 and following. The next day the 23rd we turned south and marched to the little town of Santa Fe and the next day thereafter back to Paris where we remained a day. On the 26th we went to Middle Grove and on the following day again reached the railroad at Allen some distance northwest of Mexico where we first started out. It would seem that this little station of Allen has since the war disappeared from the map at least I can't find it. On this expedition the infantry never caught a glimpse of an armed Confederate but the object of the movement was accomplished. We kept after our foes so persistently that they left that locality crossed the Missouri River joined Price's army and with it left the state. At this time the section of country over which we marched in the pursuit of McDaniel's command is now all gridironed with railroads but in 1864 there were only two the north Missouri running northwest from St. Louis to Macon and the Hannibal and St. Joe connecting those two places and extending from the Mississippi River on the east to the Missouri River on the west. We always remembered this scout up in north Missouri with feelings of comfort and satisfaction compared with some of our Arkansas marches it was just a pleasure excursion the roads were in good condition and the weather was fine ideal Indian summer days and in the fruit and vegetable line we lived high the country through which we passed abounded in the finest of winter apples little Romanites and genitines being the chief varieties the farmers had gathered and piled them in the orchards in conical heaps and covered them with straw and earth sufficient to keep them from freezing we soon learned what those little earth mounds signified and as a matter of course confiscated the apples instantor and the country was full of potatoes caviages and turnips on which we foraged with great liberality if any apology for this conduct should be thought proper it may be said that many of the farms were at this time abandoned the owners having fled to the garrison towns to escape the confederate raiders further if we hadn't taken this stuff our adversaries would if by chance they happened again to infest that locality anyhow a hungry soldier is not troubled in such matters by nice ethical distinctions we remained at allen on the 28th and until the evening of the following day when we left there on the cars for st louis but sometime near midnight the train stopped at Montgomery City about midway between allen and st louis we were roused up and ordered to get off and form in line which we did our officers then proceeded to give us careful instructions to the effect that a band of confederate cavalry was believed to be at danville out in the country a few miles south and that we were going there to surprise and capture this party if possible we were strictly enjoying to refrain from talking and singing and to remain absolutely silent in ranks we then fell into column and marched for danville where we arrived an hour or so before dawn but our birds if there when we started from Montgomery had flown there were no confederates there a party of gorillas had been in the town about two weeks before who had murdered five or six unarmed citizens including one little boy about eight or ten years old and it was believed when we started to march out here that this gang or some of them had returned the party that had previously raided danville were under the command of one bill anderson of bloodthirsty desperado with no more humanity about him than an apache indian he was finally killed in battle with some union troops about the last of october 1864 when killed there was found on his person a commission as colonel in the confederate army signed by jefferson davis and the brow band of his horse's bridle was decorated with two human scalps c the civil war on the border by wily britain volume 2 page 546 he was of that class of men of which quantrell and the james and the younger brothers were fitting types and who were a disgrace to mankind sometime during the day october 30th we marched back to montgomery city got on the cars and again started for st louis where we arrived the next day and marched out to old benton barracks where we took up our quarters for the time being so we were once more tenting on the old campground after an absence of nearly three years but the place did not look as it did before it seemed old and dilapidated and there were only a few troops there as compared with the active stirring conditions that obtained there in february and march 1862 it now looked indescribably dejected and forlorn but our stay here this time was short we left on november 5th marched in the st louis and down to the wharf where we embarked on the steamer david tatum and started up the mississippi we were puzzled for a while as to what this meant but soon found out we were told that the regiment was being sent home to vote at the ensuing presidential election which would occur on november 8th that we would take the cars at alton and go to springfield and from there to our respective homes we surely were glad that we were going to be granted this favor the most of the states had enacted laws authorizing their soldiers to vote in the field but the illinois legislature since 1862 had been democratic in politics and that party at that time in our state was not favorably disposed to such a measure consequently the legislature in office had failed to pass any law authorizing their soldier constituents to vote one away from home we arrived at alton about nine o'clock on the evening of the fifth and found a train waiting for us boxcars which we had once climbed on we had just got our guns and other things stowed away in corners and were proceeding to make ourselves comfortable for a night ride to springfield when lieutenant walis came down from the officer's caboose and stopped at the company d car boys he called out get out and fall in line here by the track the order to go to springfield has been countermanded by telegraphic dispatch and we are ordered back to st louis what what's that we exclaimed in astonishment it's so said walis in a tone of deep regret get out well don't that beat hell was the next remark of about a dozen of us but orders are orders and there was nothing to do but obey the curses of the disappointed soldiers in thus having this cup of satisfaction dashed from their lips were not loud but deep but we all swung down from the cars fell in and marched back to and on board the david tatum and were back at the wharf in st louis the next morning we stacked arms on the levy and the next morning november seventh left st louis on the steamer jenny brown headed downstream so here we were again on the broad mississippi duplicating our beginning of march 1862 and once more bound for dixie's land by this time we had become philosophical and indifferent in regard to the ups and downs of our career if we had been ordered some night to be ready the next morning to start to california or main the order would have been treated with absolute composure and after a few careless or sarcastic remarks we would have turned over and been asleep again in about a minute we had made up our minds that we were going to see the war through and were determined in our conviction that we were going to win in the end election day november 8th was densely foggy so much so that the captain of our steamboat thought it not prudent to proceed so the boat tied up that day and night at the little town of wittenberg on the missouri shore mainly to pass away the time the officers concluded to hold a mock regimental presidential election the most of the line officers were democrats and were supporting general mclellan for president in opposition to mr lincoln and they were quite confident that a majority of the regiment favored mclellan so they were much in favor of holding an election an election board was chosen fairly divided between the supporters of the respective candidates and the voting began as our votes wouldn't count in the official result every soldier regardless of age was allowed to vote but at this time i was a sure enough legal voter having attained my 21st year on the 16th of the preceding september you may rest assured that i voted for uncle aid good and strong when the votes were counted to the astonishment of nearly all of us mr lincoln was found to have 16 majority as the regiment was largely democratic when it left illinois in february 1862 this vote showed that the political opinions of the rank and file had in the meantime undergone a decided change we left wittenberg on the forenoon of the ninth but owing to the foggy conditions our progress was very slow we reached chiral on the 10th and from there proceeded up the ohio and on the 11th arrived at peduca kentucky where we debarked and went into camp we remained there nearly two weeks doing nothing but the ordinary routine of camp duty so life here was quite uneventful peduca was then an old sleepy dilapidated and badly decayed river town with a population at the outbreak of the war of about four thousand after our brief stay here terminated i never was at the place again until in october 1914 when i was there for about a day which was devoted to rambling about the town the flight of 50 years had made great changes in peduca it now had a population of about 25 000 four different lines of railroad street cars electric lights and a full supply generally of all the other so-called modern conveniences on this occasion i hunted faithfully and persistently for the old campground of the regiment in 1864 but couldn't find it nor even any locality that looked like it on the evening of november 24th the regiment left peduca on the little sternwheel steamboat rosa d which steamed up the ohio river as far as the mouth of the cumberland there turned to the right and proceeded to ascend that stream that move told the story of our probable destination and indicated to us that we were doubtless on our way to nashville to join the army of general thomas there was another boat that left peduca the same time we did the masonic gem a sternwheeler about the same size of our boat it was also transporting a regiment of soldiers whose state and regimental number i do not now remember the captains of the two boats for some reason or other lashed their vessels together side by side and in this manner we made the greater part of the trip in going up the cumberland the regiment lost two men by drowning henry minor of company d and perry crotchet of company g there was something of a mystery in regard to the death of minor he was last seen about nine o'clock one evening on the lower deck of the boat close to where the two boats were lashed together it was supposed that in some manner he missed his footing and fell between the boats and was it once sucked under by the current and drowned his cap was discovered the next morning on the deck near the place where he was last observed but no other vestige of him was ever found the other soldier perry crotchet stumbled and fell into the river in the daytime from the after part of the hurricane deck of the boat he was perhaps stunned by the fall for he just sank like a stone the boat stopped and the skiff was at once lowered and manned and rode out to the spot where he disappeared and which lingered around there a short time in the hope that he might come to the surface his little old wool hat was floating around on the tops of the waves but poor perry was never seen again there was nothing that could be done so the skiff came back to the boat was hoisted aboard the bells rang the signal go ahead and we went on minor and crotchet were both young men about my own age and had been good and brave soldiers somehow it looked hard and cruel that after three years faithful service they were fated at last to lose their lives by drowning in the cold waters of the cumberland and be devoured by catfish and snapping turtles but such are among the chances in the life of a soldier on our way up the cumberland we passed the historic fort donelson where general grant in february 1862 gained his first great victory there was at that time desperate and bloody fighting at and near the gray earthen walls of the old fort now there was only a small garrison of union troops here and with that exception the place looked about as quiet and peaceful as some obscure country graveyard we arrived at nashville after dark on the evening of the 27th remained on the boat that night debarked the next morning and in the course of that day the 28th took the cars on what was then known as the nashville and shantanuga railroad and went to murphys burrow about 30 miles southeast of nashville here we went into camp inside of fortress rosecrance a strong and extensive earthwork built under the direction of general rosecrance soon after the battle of murphys burrow in january 1863 end of chapter 19 chapter 20 of the story of a common soldier of army life in the civil war 1861 1865 this is a leber vox recording all leber vox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit leber vox.org recording by sue anderson the story of a common soldier of army life in the civil war 1861 1865 by leander stillwell chapter 20 the affair at overalls creek murphys burrow december 1864 the invasion of tennessee by the confederate army under the command of general j b hood was now on and only a day or two after our arrival at murphys burrow we began to hear the sullen deep toned booming of artillery towards the west and later northwest in the direction of nashville and this continued with more or less frequency until the termination on december 16th of the battle of nashville which resulted in the defeat of the confederates and the retreat from the state about december 3rd the confederate cavalry under the command of our old acquaintance general n b forest swung in between nashville and murphys burrow tore up the railroad and cut us off from nashville for about two weeks the union forces at murphys burrow at this time consisted of about 6 000 men infantry cavalry and artillery but principally infantry under the command of general l h russell december 4th 1864 was a pleasant beautiful day at old murphys burrow the sun was shining bright and warm the air was still and the weather conditions were like those at home during indian summer in october along about the middle of the afternoon without a single note of preliminary warning suddenly came the heavy boom of cannon closed at hand in a northwesterly direction we at once ran up on the ramparts and looking up the railroad towards nashville could plainly see the blue rings of powder smoke curling upwards about the trees but we didn't look long directly after we heard the first report the bugles in our camp and others began sounding fall in we hastily formed in line and in a very short time the 61st illinois and two other regiments of infantry the 8th minnesota and the 174th ohio with a section of artillery all under the command of general r h millroy filed out of fortress rosin crance and proceeded in the direction of this cannonating about four miles out from murphys burrow we came to the scene of the trouble the confederates had opened with their artillery on one of our railroad blockhouses and were trying to demolish or capture it the 13th indiana cavalry had preceded us to the spot and were skirmishing with the enemy our regiment formed in line on the right of the pike the minnesota regiment to our right and the ohio regiment on the left while our artillery took a position on some higher ground near the pike and began exchanging shots with that of the enemy the position of our regiment was on the hither slope of a somewhat high ridge in the woods with a small stream called overalls creek running parallel to our front we were standing here at ease doing nothing and i slipped up on the crest of the ridge to see what i could see the ground on the opposite side of the creek was lower than ours and was open except a growth of ranked grass and weeds and i could plainly see the skirmishers of the enemy in butternut clothing skulking in the grass and weeds and occasionally firing in our direction they looked real tempting so i hurried back to the regiment and going to captain kealy told him the confederate skirmishes were just across the creek in plain sight and asked him if i couldn't slip down the brow of the ridge and take a few shots at them he looked at me kind of clearly and said you stay right where you are and tend to your own business you'll have plenty of shooting before long i felt a little bit hurt at his remark but made no reply and resumed my place in the ranks but he afterwards made me a sort of apology for his brusque reproof saying he had no desire to see me perhaps throw my life away in a performance knot within the scope of my proper and necessary duty and he was right too in his prediction that there would soon be plenty of shooting i had just taken my place in the ranks when a mounted staff officer came galloping up and accosting a little group of our line officers asked with a strong german accent is this the 61st illinois and i'm being told that it was next inquired for colonel grass who was pointed out to him he wrote to the colonel who was near at hand saluted him and said colonel grass the general sends his compliments was the order that you immediately deploy your regiment as skirmishers and forthwith advance on the enemy right in your front the recruits and non veterans of the regiment being yet in arkansas its present effective strength hardly exceeded 300 men so there was just about enough of us to make a sufficient skirmish line on this occasion for the balance of the command in obedience to the aforesaid order the regiment was promptly deployed as skirmishers and the line advanced over the crest of the ridge in our front and down the slope on the opposite side at the bank of the creek a little incident befell me which serves to show how a very trifling thing may play an important part in one's fate i happened to reach the creek at a point opposite a somewhat deep pool the water was clear and cold and i disliked the idea of having wet feet on the skirmish line and looked around for a place where it was possible to cross dry shod a water to above me the stream was narrow and where it could be jumped so i started in a run for that place the creek bank on my side was of yellow clay high and perpendicular while on the other margin the bank was quite low and the ground adjacent sloped upward gently and gradually while running along the edge of the stream to the fording place one of my feet caught on the end of a dead root projecting from the lower edge of the bank and i pitched forward and nearly fell at the very instant of my stumble thud into the clay bank right opposite where i would have been if standing went a bullet fired by a confederate skirmisher he probably had taken deliberate aim at me and unseen me almost fall headlong doubtless gave himself credit for another yankee sent to the happy hunting grounds it is quite likely that owing to the existence of that old dead root and my lucky stumble there on i am now here telling the story of this skirmish by this time it was sunset and darkness was approaching but we went on the confederate skirmishers retired but we soon developed their main line on some high ground near the edge of the woods and then we had to stop we lay down loaded and fired in that position and nearly all of the enemy's balls passed over our heads presently it grew quite dark and all we had to aim at was the long horizontal sheet of red flame that streamed from the muskets of the confederates in the meantime the artillery of both parties was still engaged in their dual and their balls and shells went screaming over our heads occasionally a confederate shell would explode right over us and looked interesting but did no harm while all this firing was at its live list i heard close by the heavy thud that a bullet makes in striking a human body followed immediately by a sharp cry of oh which meant that someone had been hit it proved to be lieutenant elijah correnton of company f he was struck by the ball in the region of the heart and expired almost instantly he was a good man and a brave soldier and his death was sincerely mourned the affair was terminated by the 174th ohio on our left getting around on the enemy's right flank where it poured in a destructive volley and the confederates retired we followed a short distance but neither saw nor heard anything more of the enemy so we finally retired also we recrossed the creek built some big fires out of dry chestnut rails which we left burning in order i supposed to make our foals believe we were still there and then march to murphy's burrow where we arrived about midnight on the two following days december 5th and 6th the confederates showed themselves to the west of us and demonstrated most ostentatiously against murphy's burrow from where we stood on the ramparts of fortress rose and cramps we could plainly see their columns in motion with flags flying circling around as if looking for a good opening they were beyond the range of musketry but our big guns in the fortress opened on them and gave them a most noisy cannonating but what the effect was i don't know probably not much in the battles of the civil war artillery playing on infantry at short range with grape and canister did frightful execution of which i saw plenty of evidence at shiloh but at a distance and firing with solid shot or shell it simply made a big noise and if it killed anybody it was more an accident than otherwise beginning about december 5th and continuing for several days thereafter we turned out at four o'clock every morning fully armed and manned the trenches in the rear of the breastworks and remained there till after sunrise it was a cold chili business standing two or three hours in those damp trenches with an empty stomach waiting for an apprehended attack which however was never made for my part i felt like i did when behind our big works in the rear vicksburg and sincerely hope that the other fellows would make an attempt to storm our defenses and i think the other boys felt the same way we would have shot them down just like pigeons and the artillery in the corner bastions charged with grape and canister would have played its part too but the confederates had no intention of making any attempt of this nature the official records of the rebellion herein before mentioned contained the correspondence between hood and force concerning this movement on murphy's burrow and which clearly discloses their schemes the plan was simply to scare who sow out of murphy's burrow and cause him to retreat in a northerly direction towards the town of lebanon and then having gotten him out of his hole to surround him in the open with their large force of cavalry well supported by infantry and capture all his command but who so didn't scare worth a cent as will appear later end of chapter 20 chapter 21 of the story of a common soldier of army life in the civil war 1861 1865 this is a libra vox recording all libra vox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit libra vox.org recording by sue anderson the story of a common soldier of army life in the civil war 1861 1865 by leander stillwell chapter 21 the battle of wilkinson's pike december 7 1864 early in the morning of december 7 general rousseau started out general milroy with seven regiments of infantry which included our regiment a battery of artillery and a small detachment of cavalry to find out what general forest wanted our entire force consisted of a trifle over 3300 men we first marched south from murphy's borough on the salem pike but gradually executed a right wheel crossed stone river and worked to the northwest we soon jumped up the confederate cavalry the debts and a portion of the 61st was thrown out as skirmishers and acted with our cavalry in driving back the scattered outposts of the enemy finally about noon we ran up against the main line of the confederates on the wilkinson pike protected by slight and hastily constructed breastworks made of dirt rails and logs their artillery opened on us before we came in musket range and we halted and formed in line of battle in some tall woods with an open field in front we were standing here in line when general milroy with some of his staff wrote up right in front of our regiment and stopped on a little elevated piece of ground then the old man took out his field glass and proceeded carefully and deliberately to scrutinize the country before him my place in the line was only two or three rods from him and i watched his proceedings with the deepest interest he would look a while at the front then sweep his glass to the right and scan that locality then to the left and examine that region while he was thus engaged we all remained profoundly silent his staff sat near him on their horses also saying nothing his survey of the country before him could not have lasted more than five minutes but to me it seemed terribly long at last he shut up his glass returned it to its case gave his horse a sort of haw pull and said something in a low tone to the different members of his staff who forthwith dispersed in a gallop up and down our line now thought i something is going to happen one of the staff stopped and said something to colonel rass and then came the command attention battalion shoulder arms face to the rear battalion about face right shoulder shift arms forward guide center march and that i thought told the story the other fellows were too many for us and we were going to back out they probably had someone up a tree watching us for we had hardly begun our rearward movement before their artillery opened on us furiously and the cannonballs went crashing through the treetops and bringing down the limbs in profusion but as usual the artillery hurt nobody and we went on quietly and in perfect order after retiring through the woods for some distance we gradually changed the direction of our march to the left the result being that we executed an extensive left wheel and pivoted towards the left flank of the enemy here our entire regiment was deployed as skirmishers and we again advanced we later learned that the enemy had made all their preparations to meet us at the point where we first encountered their line so they were not fully prepared for this new movement general millroy in his official report of the battle in describing this advance says the 61st illinois was deployed as skirmishers in front of the first line and the line advanced upon the enemy through the brush cedars rocks and logs under a heavy fire of artillery skirmishing with small arms began soon after commencing my advance but my skirmish line advanced rapidly bravely and in splendid order considering the nature of the ground driving the rebels before them for about a mile when their main line was struck see serial number 93 official records of the war of the rebellion page 618 as we were advancing in this skirmish line across an old cotton field the confederates ran forward a section of artillery placed it on some rising ground and open on us a rapid fire the shot and shell fell all around us throwing up showers of red dirt but doing no harm while these guns were thus engaged i noticed a large fine-looking man mounted on an iron gray horse near one of the pieces and who was intently watching our advance across the field he evidently was a confederate officer and i thought possibly of high rank so taking careful aim each time i gave him two shots from trim thicket the pet name of my old musket but without effect so far as was perceivable after each shot he remained impassive in his saddle and soon after galloped away after the battle i talked about the incident with some of the confederates we captured and they told me that this officer was general forest himself he was probably too far away when i fired at him for effective work but he doubtless heard the bullets and perhaps concluded that he had better not expose himself unnecessarily our skirmish line continued to advance across the cotton field before mentioned in our front was a dense thicket of small cedars occupied by the confederate skirmishers and as we approached these woods our progress was somewhat slow i happened to notice in the edge of the thicket and only a few rods in my front a big heavy log which was lying parallel to our line and would afford splendid protection thereupon i made a rush and dropped behind this log it was apparently a rail cut and had been left lying on the ground a little fellow of company h named john fox a year or two my junior saw me rush for this log he followed me and dropped down behind it also he had hardly done this when he quickly called to me look out still well you'll get shot i hardly understood just what caused his remark but instinctively ducked behind the log and at that instant whoosh when a bullet from the front through the upper bark of the log right opposite where my breast was a second or two before scattering worm dust and fragments of bark over my neck and shoulders i seed him a taken aim dryly remarked little fox where is he i quickly inquired right yander answered fox indicating the place by pointing i looked and saw the fellow he was a grown man in a faded gray uniform but before i could complete my hasty preparations to return his compliment he disappeared in the jungle of cedar an incident will now be described the result of which was very mortifying to me at the time and which to this day i have never been able to understand or account for we had passed through the cedar woods before mentioned and entered another old cotton field and right on the hither edge of that field we came plump on a confederate cavalry vedette seated on his horse the man had possibly been on duty all the previous night and perhaps was now dozing in his saddle or he never would have stayed for us to slip up on him as we did but if asleep he waked up promptly at this stage of the proceedings all along our line the boys began firing at him yelling as they did so the moment i saw him i said to myself with an exultant thrill you're my game he was a big fellow broad across the back wearing a wool hat a gray jacket and butternut trousers my gun was loaded i was already and what followed didn't consume much more than two seconds of time i threw my gun to my shoulder let the muzzle sink until i saw through the front and rear sights the center of that broad back and then pulled the trigger porting my musket i looked eagerly to the front absolutely confident that my vision would rest on the horse flying riderless across the field and the soldier lying dead upon the ground but to my utter amazement there was the fellow yet on his horse and like john gilpin of old going like an arrow swift shot by an archer strong he had a small gad or switch in his right hand with which he was belaboring his horse every jump and the upshot of the matter was he reached and disappeared in the woods beyond without a scratch so far as any of us on our side ever knew how my shot happened to miss that man is just one of the most unaccountable things that ever happened to me in my life i was perfectly cool and collected at the time and my nerves were steady as iron he was a splendid mark at close range and i took a deadly aim and then to think that all our other fellows missed him too it was certainly a thing that surpasses all comprehension at the time i am now writing these lines a little over half a century has passed away since this incident occurred and it will here be recorded that now i am sincerely thankful that i failed to kill that man considering his marvelous escape on this occasion the presumption is strong that he lived through the war married some good woman and became the father of a family of interesting children and likely someone of his boys fought under the old flag in the spanish-american war so it is probably all for the best but how in the world did i happen to miss him only a few minutes after this incident i experienced the closest call so far as can be stated with certainty that befell me during my service on this day it so happened that company d was assigned a position on the extreme right of the skirmish line this was not the regulation place for the company in the regimental line and just how this came about i don't know but so it was as the first sergeant of company d my position was on the extreme right of the company consequently i was the right hand man of the whole skirmish line we were continuing our advance across the field when we came on the vedette just mentioned and all in high spirits i had on a broad brim felt hat my overcoat and beneath that what we call a dress coat with the ends of my trouser legs tucked in my socks was carrying my gun at a ready and eagerly looking for something to shoot at there was a little bunch of confederates in the woods on our right that were sort of pot shooting at us as we were moving across the field but we paid no attention to them as the main force of the enemy was in our front suddenly i was whirled around on my feet like a top and a sensation went through me similar i suppose to that which one feels when he receives an electric shock i noticed that the breast of my overcoat was torn but saw no blood nor felt any pain so it was manifest that i wasn't hurt it was clear that the ball which struck me had come from the right so some of us paid attention to those fellows at once and they soon disappeared at the first opportunity after the battle was over i examined my clothes to find out what this bullet had done as stated it came from the right and first went through the cape of my overcoat then through the right arm sleeves of my overcoat and dress coat thence through the right breast of both these coats and then through the left breast thereof and from thence went on its way all told it made nine holes in my clothes but never touched my flesh but it was a fine line shot and had it been two inches further back all would have been over with me just after this episode as we approached a rise in the field we came in sight of the main line of the enemy in the edge of the woods on the opposite side of the field the right wing of our skirmish line then took ground to the right and the other wing to the left in order to uncover our main line it then marched up and the action became general the musketry firing on both sides was heavy and incessant and in addition the enemy had a battery of artillery which kept roaring most furiously we also had a battery but it was not now an evidence the reason being as we afterwards learned that it had exhausted its ammunition during the previous course of the day and had returned to fortress rosin crance very through the supply but before it got back the fight was over the engagement had lasted only a short time when the command was given to charge and our whole line went forward and thereupon I witnessed the bravest act that I ever saw performed by an officer of the rank of general the regiment immediately on the left of the right wing of our regiment was the 174th Ohio it was a new regiment and had never been under fire but once before that occasion being the affair at overalls creek three days previous so when we started on this charge I anxiously watched this big new Ohio regiment for it was perfectly plain that if it faltered and went back our little right wing of the 61st Illinois would have to do likewise and presently that Ohio regiment stopped and then we stopped too I looked at those Ohio fellows there was that peculiar trembling wave emotion along their line which precedes a general going to pieces and it seemed like the game was up but just at that supreme moment old general millroy appeared on his horse right in front of that Ohio regiment at a point opposite the colors he was bareheaded holding his hat in his right hand his long heavy iron gray hair was streaming in the wind and he was a most conspicuous mark the Confederates were blazing away along their whole line yelling like devils and I fairly held my breath expecting to see the old general forthwith pitch headlong from his horse riddled with bullets but he gave the enemy very little time to practice on him I was not close enough to hear what he said but he called to those Ohio men in a ringing tone and waved his hat towards the enemy the effect was instantaneous and sublime the whole line went forward with a furious yell and surged over the confederate works like a big blue wave and the day was ours the Confederates retreated on a double quick but in good order we captured two pieces of their artillery a stand of colors and about 200 prisoners we followed them a short distance but saw them no more and about sundown we marched back to Fortress Rosencrantz but before finally passing from this affair a few other things connected therewith will be mentioned as we went over the confederate works on our charge I saw lying on the ground inside a dead confederate lieutenant colonel he was on his back his broad brimmed hat pulled over his face and a pair of large gauntlet gloves tucked in his belt his sword was detached from the belt in the scabbard and was lying transversely across his body as I ran by him I stooped down and with my left hand picked up the sword and carried it along I brought it to camp with me kept it until we were mustered out and then brought it home later a masonic lodge was organized in otterville and some of the officers thereof borrowed from me this sword for the use of the tyler of the lodge in his official duties in 1868 I came to Kansas leaving the sword with the lodge after the lapse of some years there came a time when I desired to resume possession of this relic of the war but on taking action to obtain it it was ascertained that in the meantime the lodge building with all its furniture and paraphernalia including the sword in question had been accidentally destroyed by fire and thus passed away the only trophy that I ever carried off a battlefield many years later I met here in Kansas the late confederate general John B. Gordon of Georgia and had a long and interesting conversation with him I told him the facts connected with my obtaining this sword and of its subsequent loss as above stated he listened to me with deep attention and at the close of my story said he was satisfied from my general description of the dead confederate officer that the body on which I found the sword was that of W. W. billop lieutenant colonel of the 29th Georgia who was killed in this action general Gordon also said that he was well acquainted with colonel billop in his lifetime and that he was a splendid gentleman and a brave soldier it has always been a matter of regret with me that the sword was destroyed for I intended at the time I sought to reclaim it from the masonic lodge to take steps to restore it to the family of the deceased officer in the event that it could be done when the confederates retired from this battlefield on December 7th they left their dead and severely wounded on the field as it was impossible for them to do otherwise I walked around among these unfortunate and looked at them and saw some things that made me feel sorrowful indeed I looked in the haversacks of some of the dead to see what they had to eat and what do you suppose was found nothing but raw shelled corn and many of them were barefooted and judging from appearances had been so indefinitely their feet were almost as black as those of a negro with the skin wrinkled and corrugated to that extent that it looked like the hide of an alligator these things inspired in me a respect for the confederate soldiers that I never had felt before the political leaders of the davis and tombs type who unnecessarily brought about the war are in my opinion deserving of the severest condemnation but there can be no question that the common soldiers of the confederate army acted from the most deep seated convictions of the justice and the righteousness of their cause and the fortitude and bravery they displayed in support of it are worthy of the highest admiration after the engagement of december 7th the confederate still remained in our vicinity and showed themselves at intervals but made no aggressive movement cold weather set in about this time the ground was covered with sleet and our situation cooped up in fortress rosin crance was unpleasant and disagreeable we had long ago turned in our big sibley tents and drawn in place of them what we called pup tents they were little squatty things composed of different sections of canvas that could be unbuttoned and taken apart and carried by the men when on a march they were large enough for only two occupants and there were no facilities for building fires in them as in the case of the siblings owing to the fact that the confederates were all around us we were short of firewood too stone river ran through the fortress and there were some big logs in the river which i suppose had been there ever since the work was constructed and we dragged them out and used them to eke out our fires they were all water soaked and hardly did more than smolder but they helped some at night we would crowd into those little pup tents lie down with all our clothes on wrap up in our blankets and try to sleep but with poor success i remember that usually about midnight i would freeze out and get up and stand around those sobbing smoldering logs and shiver to make matters worse we were put on half rations soon after we came to murphy's burl and full rations were not issued again until the confederates retreated from nashville after the battle of december 15th and 16th end of chapter 21 chapter 22 of the story of a common soldier of army life in the civil war 1861 1865 this is a liber vox recording all liber vox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit liber vox.org recording by sue anderson the story of a common soldier of army life in the civil war 1861 1865 by liander stillwell chapter 22 the fight on the railroad near murphy's burl december 15th 1864 on the afternoon of december 12th the regiment fell in and we marched to the railroad depot at murphy's burl climbed on a train of box cars and started for stevensson alabama about 80 miles southeast of murphy's burl the number of the regiment who participated in this movement according to the official report of major nullton was 150 men and we were accompanied by a detachment of about 40 of the first michigan engineers see serial number 93 official records of the war of the rebellion page 620 we soon learned that the train was going to stevensson to obtain rations for the troops at murphy's burl and that our province was to serve as guards for the train to stevensson and on its return we had not gone more than eight or ten miles from murphy's burl before we ran into the confederate cavalry vedettes who were scattered along at numerous points of observation near the railroad however on our approach they scurried away like quails but in many places the track had been torn up and culverts destroyed and when we came to one of these breaks the train had to stop until our engineers could repair it and then we went on right here i will say that those michigan engineers were splendid fellows there was a flat car on our train and on this car was a supply of extra rails spikes and other railroad appliances with all the tools that the engineers used in their work and it was remarkable to see how quick those men would repair a break in the road they also were provided with muskets and accoutrements the same as ordinary soldiers and when the necessity arose as it did before we got back to murphy's burl they would drop their sledges and crowbars buckle on their cartridge boxes and grab their muskets and fight like tigers it was all the same to joe with them after getting about 35 miles from murphy's burl we saw no more of the enemy the railroad from there on was intact and we arrived at stevensson about 10 o'clock on the morning of the 13th the train was loaded with rations and early on the morning of the 14th we started back to murphy's burl having in addition to the force with which we left there a squad of about 30 dismounted men of the 12th indiana cavalry who joined us at stevensson the grade up the eastern slope of the cumberland mountains was steep a drizzling rain had fallen the night before making the rails wet and slippery and the train had much difficulty in ascending the grade and our progress was tedious and slow this delay probably was the cause of our undoing as will be revealed later we didn't get over the mountains until sometime in the afternoon and went along slowly but all right and about dark reached bell buckle 32 miles from murphy's burl here trouble began on a small scale a confederate cavalry vedette was on the alert and fired at us the first shot of the night the bullet went over us near where i was sitting on top of a car with a sharp ping that told it came from a rifle but we went on proceeding slowly and cautiously for the night was pitch dark and we were liable to find the railroad track destroyed at almost any place at two o'clock in the morning just after leaving christiana about 15 miles from murphy's burl our troubles broke loose in good earnest we encountered the confederate cavalry in force and also found the track in front badly torn up we got off the cars formed in line on both sides of the road and slowly advanced halting whenever we came to a break in the road until our michigan engineers could repair it as above stated they were bully boys and understood their business thoroughly and very soon would patch up the brakes so that the train could proceed but it went only about as fast as a man could walk and during the balance of that cold dark night we marched along by the side of the track skirmishing with the enemy on one occasion we ran right up against their line they being on their horses and evidently awaiting our approach luckily for us their guns must have been wet they nearly all missed fire with no result save a lively snapping of caps along substantially their entire line but our guns went off and we gave the fellows they volleyed that at least wake up all the owls in the neighborhood it was so intensely dark that accurate shooting was out of the question and whether we heard anybody or not i don't know but our foes galloped off in great haste and disappeared for a while shortly before daybreak when we were within about six miles of murphy's burl we came to the worst break in the track we had yet encountered it was at the end of a short cut in the road that was perhaps four or five feet deep in front of this cut the track was demolished for several rods and a deep little culvert was also destroyed we sat down on the ground near the track and our engineers went to work the situation was like this in our front towards murphy's burl and on our right and left rear were cornfields with the stocks yet standing and on our left front was a high rocky ridge heavily timbered with a dense growth of small cedars and which ridge sloped abruptly down to the railroad track a small affluent of stone river with a belt of willow along its banks flowed in a winding course along our right in the general direction of murphy's burl while we were sitting here on the ground half asleep waiting for the engineers to call all right there came a volley of musketry from the woods of the rocky ridge i have mentioned we sprang to our feet formed in the cut facing the ridge and began returning the fire after this had continued for some time a party of the enemy moved to our rear beyond gunshot and began tearing up the track there while another party took up a position on the opposite side of the little stream on our right and open fire on us from that direction a portion of our force was shifted to the right of the train to meet the attack from this quarter and the firing waxed hot and lively our engineers had seized their guns and were blazing away with the rest of us and our bunch of dismounted cavalrymen were also busy with their carbines this state of things continued for fully an hour and i think some longer when suddenly coming from our left rear a cannonball screamed over our heads followed by the roar of the gun the commanding officer of company d in this affair and the only officer of our company present was lieutenant Wallace and he was standing near me when the cannonball went over us what's that he exclaimed it means they have opened on us with artillery i answered well he responded let him bang away with their pop guns and i think we all felt equally indifferent we had become familiar with artillery and knew that at long range it was not very dangerous but the enemy's cannon kept pounding away and pretty soon a shot struck somewhere on the engine with a resounding crash about this time colonel grass gave the order to retreat there was only one way of escape open and that was down the track towards murphy's burrow we hastily formed in two ranks and started down the right side of the track in a double quick as we passed out of the cut a body of dismounted cavalry came out of the woods on the ridge to our left and gave us a volley of musketry but being on higher ground than we were they overshot us badly and did but little harm we answered their fire and their line halted the command quickly went along our column to load and fire as we went and keep firing and we did so we kept up a rattling scattering fire on those fellows on our left which had the effect of standing them off at any rate and in the meantime we all did some of the fastest running down the side of the railroad track that I have ever seen speaking for myself I am satisfied that I never before surpassed it and have never since equaled it but we had all heard of Andersonville and wanted no Confederate prison in ours to add to our troubles an irregular line of Confederate cavalry charged on us through the cornfield in our rear firing and yelling at the top of their voices halt halt you g dash d dash Yankee sons of dash their remarks closed with an epithet concerning our maternal ancestors which in the words of colonel Carter of Cartersville was very galling sir but as said by the French soldier old Peter in the chronicles of the drum cheer up tis no use to be glum boys tis written since fighting begun that sometimes we fight and we conquer and sometimes we fight and we run occasionally we would send a bullet back at these discourteous pursuers and possibly on account of that or maybe some other reason they refrain from closing in on us about half a mile from where we left the train the railroad crossed on a high trestle the little stream I have mentioned which here turned to the left and we had deforted it was only about knee deep but awful cold the Confederates did not attempt to pursue us further after we crossed the creek and from there we continued our retirement unmolested I fired one shot soon after we forwarded the stream and I have always claimed and in my opinion rightfully that it was the last shot fired in action by the regiment during the war I will briefly state the circumstances connected with the incident in crossing the creek in some manner I fell behind which it may be said was no disgrace as the rear right then was the place of danger but to be entirely frank about it this action was not voluntary on my part but because I was just about completely played out firing had now ceased and I took my time and soon was the tail end man of what was left of us presently the creek made a bend to the right and circled around a small elevated point of land on the opposite side and on this little rise I saw a group of Confederate cavalrymen four or five in number seated on their horses and quietly looking at us they maybe thought there was no more fight left in us and that they could gaze on our retreat with impunity they probably were officers as they had no muskets or carbines and were apparently wearing better clothes than private soldiers I noted especially that they had on black coats of which the tails came down to their saddle skirts they were an easy shooting distance and my gun was loaded I dropped on one knee behind a sapling rested my gun against the left side of the tree took aim at the center of the bunch and pulled the trigger fizz curb bang ward old trim thicket with a deafening explosion and a kick that sent me a sprawling on my back there were two loads in my gun my last preceding charge had missed fire and in the excitement of the moment and the confusion and uproar around me I had failed to notice it and rammed home another load but I regained my feet instantly and eagerly looked to see the effect of my shot nobody was lying on the ground but that entire party was leaving the spot in a gallop with their heads bent forward and their coattails flying behind them their curiosity was evidently satisfied there is no mistake that I sent two bullets through the center of that squad but whether they hit anybody or not I don't know at a point about a mile or so from where we left the train we reached one of our railroad blockhouses held by a small garrison here we halted and reformed as I came slowly trudging up to company D bill Banfield was talking to lieutenant Wallace and said I guess still well's gone up haven't seen him since we crossed that creek I stepped forward and in a brief remark containing some language not fitting for a Sunday school superintendent informed bill that he was laboring under a mistake soon after we arrived at the blockhouse a strong force of our troops having marched out that morning from Murfreesboro also appeared on the ground general Russo had learned that we were attacked and had sent these troops to our assistance but they were too late he had also sent a detachment to this point the evening before to meet us but on account of our being delayed as before stated we did not appear so this party after waiting till sometime after sunset marched back to Murfreesboro in this affair we lost in killed wounded and prisoners about half the regiment including colonel grass who was captured he was a heavy set man somewhat fleshy and at this time a little over 40 years old he became completely exhausted on our retreat being on foot tumbled over and the confederates got him many years later when we were both living in Kansas I had an interesting conversation with him about this affair he told me that his sole reason for ordering the retreat was that he had ascertained shortly before the artillery opened on us that our cartridges were almost exhausted then when our assailants brought their artillery into play he realized he said that the train was doomed that it would soon be knocked to pieces and also set on fire by the balls and shells of the enemy and that we were powerless to prevent it under these circumstances he deemed it his duty to give up the train and save his men if possible colonel grass was a good and brave man and I have no doubt that he acted in this matter according to his sincere convictions of duty the confederate commander in this action was general LS Ross of Texas who after the war served two terms as governor of that state all his men were Texans with the possible exception of the artillery and according to the official reports were more than three times our number I think it is permissible to hear quote a small portion of the official report made by general Ross of this engagement as found on page 771 serial number 93 official records of the war of the rebellion speaking of our defense of the train he says the men guarding it fought desperately for over an hour having a strong position in a cut of the railroad but were finally routed by a most gallant charge of the sixth Texas supported by the third Texas end of quote father tribute thus paid by general Ross to the manner of our defense is appreciated nevertheless I will say that he is absolutely wrong in saying that we were routed by the charge he mentions we retreated simply and solely in obedience to the orders of colonel grass our commander and neither the sixth Texas nor the third Texas had a thing to do in bringing that about I don't deny that they followed us pretty closely after we got started among our casualties in this affair was lieutenant Lorenzo J. Minor of company B originally of company C a splendid young man and a most excellent officer in addition to his other efficient soldierly qualities he deservedly had the reputation of being the best drill master in the regiment I happened to see him on our retreat shortly before we arrived at the blockhouse he was being helped off the field by sergeant Amos Davis of company C and another soldier one on each side supporting him they were walking slowly minors eyes were fixed on the ground and he was deathly pale I saw from his manner that he was badly hurt but did not learn the extent of it till later he was shot somewhere through the body the wound proved mortal and he died a few days after the fight and so it was that after more than three years of brave and faithful service he was faded to lose his life in the last action the regiment was in a small obscure affair among the rocks and bushes and which one mentioned in the general histories at all is disposed of in a paragraph of about four lines but a soldier in time of war has no control over his fate and no option in the selection of the time when nor the place where it may be his lot to stack arms forever I will now resume the account of what happened after we reached the blockhouse it will be brief we formed in line with the reinforcements that had come from Murfreesboro and advanced toward the train we encountered no opposition the enemy had set fire to the cars and then had hastily and entirely disappeared I have recently discovered in a modern edition of the reports of the adjutant general of Illinois the date on the title page being 1901 that in the revised sketch of our regiment a recital has crept in stating that in our subsequent advance we recaptured the train in time to prevent its destruction how that statement got into the sketch I do not know and I am sorry to be under the necessity of saying that it is not true when we got back to the scene of the fight the train was a mass of roaring flame the resulting consequence being that every car was finally consumed no matter how much it may hurt it is always best to be fair and tell the truth in the course of the day our troops all returned to Murfreesboro major nullton who was now our regimental commander gave us of the 61st permission to march back at will that is we could start when we got ready singly orange squads and not in regimental formation so bill banfield and I started out to get something to eat as we were very hungry since leaving stevensson on the morning of the 14th we had had no opportunity to cook anything and had eaten nothing but some hard tack and raw bacon then that night we had left our haversacks on top of the cars when we got off the train to skirmish with the enemy and never saw them again and this was a special grievance for bill and me we each had a little money and on the morning we left stevensson had gone to a subtler's and made some purchases to ensure us an extra good meal when we got back to Murfreesboro I bought a little can of condensed milk having always had a weakness for milk and coffee while bill with a kind of queer taste invested in a can of lobsters one time that night while sitting on the ground in the cold and dark tired hungry and sleepy waiting while our engineers patched to break in the railroad bill with a view I reckon to cheering us both up delivered himself in this wise this is a little tough still will but just think of that bully dinner we'll have when we get back to Murfreesboro you've got your can of condensed milk and I've mine of lobsters we'll have coffee with milk in it and then with some hard tack we'll have a spread that will make up for this all right but alas the best laid schemes of mice and min go off to stray my precious condensed milk and the crustaceans of four set of bills doubtless when glimmering down the elementary canal of some long haired Texan to his great satisfaction my wish at the time was that the darn lobsters might make the fellow sick which they probably did so bill and I were now at the burning train looking for something to take the place of our captured bell Charzar banquet we found a car that was loaded with pickled pork and barrels and getting a fence rail we finally succeeded after some peril and much difficulty implying off one of the barrels and it fell to the ground bursting open as it did so and scattering the blazing pieces of pork all around we each got a portion and then sat down on a big rock and proceeded to devour our respective chunks without further ceremony the outside of the meat was burned to a coal but we were hungry all of it tasted mighty sweet and we nodded just like dogs at the close of the repast I took a look at bill his face was as black as tar from contact with the burnt pork and in other respects his tooth ensemble left much to be desired I thought if I looked as depraved as bill certainly did it would be advisable to avoid any pocket looking glass until after a thorough facial ablution with soft water and plenty of soap dinner over we were soon ready for the march to camp there being no dishes to wash and started down the railroad track for Murfreesboro we took our time and didn't reach camp until about sundown we were the last arrivals of company D and as there were all sorts of rumors afloat we afterwards learned that Captain Keely had become quite anxious about us as we turned down our company street I saw the captain standing in front of his tent looking in our direction after the affairs of the fourth and the seventh I had taken much satisfaction in speaking to him of those events in adopting the phraseology of the old chaplain and had expressed myself several times in language like this and we smote them hip and thigh even as Joe Ash smote boheal but it was now necessary to amend my boastful statement so as I approached Captain Keely and before anything else had been spoken I made to him this announcement and they smote us hip and thigh even as Joe Ash smote boheal Keely laughed but it was a rather dry laugh and he answered well I'm glad they didn't smite you boys anyhow but great god go wash your faces and clean up generally you both look like the very devil himself we passed on complied with the captain's directions and then I curled up in my dog tent and slept without a break until next morning in concluding my account of this affair it will be stated that most of our boys who were captured in the fight and I think all the line officers who had the same bad luck made their escape singly or in little parties not long thereafter their Confederate captors on or about the day after our encounter had hurriedly joined the army of general hood taking their prisoners with them in their retreat from Tennessee on this occasion the Confederates had a hard and perilous time the guards of the captured Yankees were probably well nigh worn out and it is likely that on account of their crushing defeat at Nashville they had also become discouraged and careless anyhow the most of our fellows got away while hood was yet on the north side of the Tennessee river he crossed that stream with the wreck of his army on the 26th and 27th of December and fell back into Mississippi end of chapter 22