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34 chapters
INTRODUCTORY.
INTRODUCTORY.
In the lifetime of all who arrive at mature age, there comes a period when a strong desire is felt to know more of the past, especially to know more of those from whom we claim descent. Many find even their chief pleasure in searching among parish records and local histories for some knowledge of ancestors, who for a hundred or five hundred years have been sleeping in the grave. Long pilgrimages are made to the Old World for this purpose, and when the traveler discovers in the crowded church-yar
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JUNE, 1861.
JUNE, 1861.
22. Arrived at Bellaire at 3 p. m. There is trouble in the neighborhood of Grafton. Have been ordered to that place. The Third is now on the Virginia side, and will in a few minutes take the cars. 23. Reached Grafton at 1 p. m. All avowed secessionists have run away; but there are, doubtless, many persons here still who sympathize with the enemy, and who secretly inform him of all our movements. 24. Colonel Marrow and I dined with Colonel Smith, member of the Virginia Legislature. He professes t
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JULY, 1861.
JULY, 1861.
2. Reached Buckhannon at 5 p. m. , and encamped beside the Fourth Ohio, in a meadow, one mile from town. The country through which we marched is exceedingly hilly; or, perhaps, I might say mountainous. The scenery is delightful. The road for miles is cut around great hills, and is just wide enough for a wagon. A step to the left would send one tumbling a hundred or two hundred feet below, and to the right the hills rise hundreds of feet above. The hills, half way to their summits, are covered wi
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AUGUST, 1861.
AUGUST, 1861.
1. It is said the pickets of the Fourteenth Indiana and the enemy's cavalry came in collision to-day, and that three of the latter were killed. It is now 9 p. m. Sergeants are calling the roll for the last time to-night. In half an hour taps will be sounded and the lights extinguished in every private's tent. The first call in the morning, reveille, is at five; breakfast call, six; surgeon's call, seven; drill, eight; recall, eleven; dinner, twelve; drill again at four; recall, five; guard-mount
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SEPTEMBER 1861.
SEPTEMBER 1861.
19. Reached camp yesterday at noon. My recruits arrived to-day. The enemy was here in my absence in strength and majesty, and repeated, with a slight variation, the grand exploit of the King of France, by There was lively skirmishing for a few days, and hot work expected; but, for reasons unknown to us, the enemy retired precipitately. On Sunday morning last fifty men of the Sixth Ohio, when on picket, were surprised and captured. My friend, Lieutenant Merrill, fell into the hands of the enemy,
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OCTOBER, 1861.
OCTOBER, 1861.
2. Our camp is almost deserted. The tents of eight regiments dot the valley; but those of two regiments and a half only are occupied. The Hoosiers have all gone to Cheat mountain summit. They propose to steal upon the enemy during the night, take him by surprise, and thrash him thoroughly. I pray they may be successful, for since Rich mountain our army has done nothing worthy of a paragraph. Rosecrans' affair at Carnifex was a barren thing; certainly no battle and no victory, and the operations
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NOVEMBER, 1861.
NOVEMBER, 1861.
30. The Third is encamped five miles south of Louisville, on the Seventh-street plank road. As we marched through the city my attention was directed to a sign bearing the inscription, in large black letters, We have known, to be sure, that negroes were bought and sold, like cattle and tobacco, but it, nevertheless, awakened new, and not by any means agreeable, sensations to see the humiliating fact announced on the broad side of a commercial house. These signs must come down. The climate of Kent
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DECEMBER, 1861.
DECEMBER, 1861.
1. Sunday has just slipped away. Parson Strong attempted to get an audience; but a corporal's guard, for numbers, were all who desired to be ministered to in spiritual things. The Colonel spends much of his time in Louisville. He complains bitterly because the company officers do not remain in camp, and yet fails to set them a good example in this regard. We have succeeded poorly in holding our men. Quite a number dodged off while the boat was lying at the landing in Cincinnati, and still more m
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JANUARY, 1862.
JANUARY, 1862.
1. Albert, the cook, was swindled in the purchase of a fowl for our New Year's dinner; he supposed he was getting a young and tender turkey, but we find it to be an ancient Shanghai rooster, with flesh as tough as whitleather. This discovery has cast a shade of melancholy over the Major. The boys, out of pure devilment, set fire to the leaves, and to-night the forest was illuminated. The flames advanced so rapidly that, at one time, we feared they might get beyond control, but the fire was final
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FEBRUARY, 1862.
FEBRUARY, 1862.
1. The Colonel sent in his resignation this morning. It will go to Department head-quarters to-morrow. Saw the new moon over my right shoulder this evening, which I accept as an omen of good luck. Let it come. It will suit me just as well now as at any time. If deceived, I shall never more have faith in the moon; and as for the man in the moon, I shall call him a cheat to his face. 2. The devil is to pay in the regiment. The Colonel is doing his utmost to create a disturbance. His friends are bu
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MARCH, 1862.
MARCH, 1862.
1. Our brigade, in command of General Dumont, started for Lavergne, a village eleven miles out on the Murfreesboro road, to look after a regiment of cavalry said to be in occupation of the place. Arrived there a little before sunset, but found the enemy had disappeared. The troops obtained whisky in the village, and many of the soldiers became noisy and disorderly. A little after nightfall the compliments of a Mrs. Harris were presented to me, with request that I would be kind enough to call. Th
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APRIL, 1862.
APRIL, 1862.
3. Struck our tents and started south, at two o'clock this afternoon; marched fifteen miles and bivouacked for the night. 4. Resumed the march at seven o'clock in the morning, the Third in advance. At one place on the road a young negro, perhaps eighteen years old, broke from his hiding in the woods, and with hat in hand and a broad grin on his face, came running to me. "Massa," said he, "I wants to go wid you." "I am sorry, my boy, that I can not take you. I am not permitted to do it." The ligh
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MAY, 1862.
MAY, 1862.
1. Moved to Bellefonte. 2. Took the cars for Huntsville. At Paint Rock the train was fired upon, and six or eight men wounded. As soon as it could be done, I had the train stopped, and, taking a file of soldiers, returned to the village. The telegraph line had been cut, and the wire was lying in the street. Calling the citizens together, I said to them that this bushwhacking must cease. The Federal troops had tolerated it already too long. Hereafter every time the telegraph wire was cut we would
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JUNE, 1862.
JUNE, 1862.
3. Have requested General Mitchell to relieve me from duty as Provost Marshal; am now wholly unfit to do business. We have heard of the evacuation of Corinth. The simple withdrawal of the enemy amounts to but little, if anything; he still lives, is organized and ready to do battle on some other field. 5. Go home on sick leave. 25. There were three little girls on the Louisville packet, about the age of my own children. They were great romps. I said to one, "what is your name?" She replied "Pudin
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JULY, 1862.
JULY, 1862.
2. We know, or think we know, that a great battle has been fought near Richmond, but the result for some reason is withheld. We speculate, talk, and compare notes, but this makes us only the more eager for definite information. I am almost as well as ever, not quite so strong, but a few days will make me right again. 3. It is exceedingly dull; we are resting as quietly and leisurely as we could at home. There are no drills, and no expeditions. The army is holding its breath in anxiety to hear fr
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AUGUST, 1862.
AUGUST, 1862.
1. The Judge-Advocate, Captain Swayne, was unwell this morning. The court, therefore, took a recess until three o'clock. Captain Edgerton's case was disposed of last evening. Colonel Mihalotzy's will come before us to-day. A court-martial proceeds always with due respect to red tape. The questions to witnesses are written out; the answers are written down; the statement of the accused is in writing, and the defense of the accused's counsel is written; so that the court snaps its fingers at time,
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SEPTEMBER, 1862.
SEPTEMBER, 1862.
4. Army has fallen back to Murfreesboro. 5. At Nashville. 6. To-night we cross the Cumberland. 7. Bivouacked in Edgefield, at the north end of the railroad bridge. Troops pouring over the bridge and pushing North rapidly. One of Loomis' men was shot dead last night while attempting to run by a sentinel. 10. The moving army with its immense transportation train, raises such a cloud of dust that it is impossible to see fifty yards ahead. 11. Arrived at Bowling Green. The two armies are running a r
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OCTOBER, 1862.
OCTOBER, 1862.
3. At Taylorsville, Kentucky. Our first day's march out of Louisville was disagreeable beyond precedent. The boys had been full of whisky for three days, and fell out of the ranks by scores. The road for sixteen miles was lined with stragglers. The new men bore the march badly. Rain fell yesterday afternoon and during the night; I awoke at three o'clock this morning to find myself lying in a puddle of water. A soldier of Captain Rossman's company was wrestling with another, and being thrown, die
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NOVEMBER, 1862.
NOVEMBER, 1862.
9. In camp at Sinking Spring, Kentucky. Thomas commands the Fourteenth Army Corps, consisting of Rousseau's, Palmer's, Dumont's, Negley's, and Fry's divisions; say 40,000 men. McCook has Sill's, Jeff C. Davis', and Granger's; say 24,000. Crittenden has three divisions, say 24,000. A large army, which ought to sweep to Mobile without difficulty. Sinking Spring, as it is called by some, Mill Spring by others, and by still others Lost river, is quite a large stream. It rises from the ground, runs f
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DECEMBER, 1862.
DECEMBER, 1862.
2. We move to-morrow, at six o'clock in the morning, to Nashville. 9. Nashville. Every thing indicates an early movement. Whether a reconnoissance is intended or a permanent advance, I do not even undertake to guess. The capture of a brigade, at Hartsville, by John Morgan, has awakened the army into something like life; before it was idly awaiting the rise of the Cumberland, but this bold dash of the rebels has made it bristle up like an angry boar; and this morning, I am told, it starts out to
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JANUARY, 1863.
JANUARY, 1863.
1. At dawn we are all in line, expecting every moment the re-commencement of the fearful struggle. Occasionally a battery engages a battery opposite, and the skirmishers keep up a continual roar of small arms; but until nearly night there is no heavy fighting. Both armies want rest; both have suffered terribly. Here and there little parties are engaged burying the dead, which lie thick around us. Now the mangled remains of a poor boy of the Third is being deposited in a shallow grave. A whole ch
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FEBRUARY, 1863.
FEBRUARY, 1863.
3. This has been the coldest day of the season in this latitude. The ground is frozen hard. I made the round of the picket line after dinner, and was thoroughly chilled. Visited the hospital this evening. Young Willets, of the Third, whom I thought getting along well before I left for home, died two days before my return. Benedict is dead, and Glenn, poor fellow, will go next. His leg is in a sling, and he is compelled to lie in one position all the time. Mortification has set in, and he can not
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MARCH, 1863.
MARCH, 1863.
1. There is talk of consolidation at Washington. This is a sensible idea, and should be carried into effect at once. There are too many officers and too few men. The regiments should be consolidated, and kept full by conscription, if it can not be done otherwise. The best officers should be retained, and the others sent home to stand their chances of the draft. A major of the Fifteenth Kentucky sent in his resignation a few days ago, assigning as a reason for so doing that the object of the war
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APRIL, 1863.
APRIL, 1863.
1. Adjutant Wilson received a letter to-day, written in a hand that bespoke the writer to be feminine. He looked at the name, but could not recollect having heard it before. The writer assured him, however, that she was an old friend, and said many tender and complimentary things of him. He tried to think; called the roll of his lady friends, but the advantage, as people say, which the writer had of him was entirely too great. If he had ever heard the name, he found it impossible now to recall i
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MAY, 1863.
MAY, 1863.
1. The One Hundred and Thirteenth Ohio is at Franklin. Colonel Wilcox has resigned; Lieutenant-Colonel Mitchell will succeed to the colonelcy. I rode over the battle-field with the latter this afternoon. 4. Two men from Breckenridge's command strayed into our lines to-day. 7. Colonels Hobart, Taylor, Nicholas, and Captain Nevin spent the afternoon with me. The intelligence from Hooker's army is contradictory and unintelligible. We hope it was successful, and yet find little beside the headlines
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JUNE, 1863.
JUNE, 1863.
1. By invitation, the mounted officers of our brigade accompanied General Negley to witness the review of Rousseau's division. There were quite a large number of spectators, including a few ladies. I was introduced to General Wood for the first time, although I have known him by sight, and known of him well, for months. Many officers of Wood's and Negley's divisions were present. After the review, and while the troops were leaving the field, Colonel Ducat, Inspector-General on General Rosecrans'
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JULY, 1863.
JULY, 1863.
1. My brigade, with a battalion of cavalry attached, started from Bobo's Cross-roads in the direction of Winchester. When one mile out we picked up three deserters, who reported that the rebels had evacuated Tullahoma, and were in full retreat. Half a mile further along I overtook the enemy's rear guard, when a sharp fight occurred between the cavalry, resulting, I think, in very little injury to either party. The enemy fell back a mile or more, when he opened on us with artillery, and a sharp a
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AUGUST, 1863.
AUGUST, 1863.
2. Rode with Colonel Taylor to Cowan; dined with Colonel Hobart, and spent the day very agreeably. Returning we called on Colonel Scribner, remained an hour, and reached Decherd after nightfall. My request for leave of absence was lying on the table approved and recommended by Negley and Thomas, but indorsed not granted by Rosecrans. General Rousseau has left, and probably will not return. The best of feeling has not existed between him and the commanding general for some time past. Rousseau has
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SEPTEMBER, 1863.
SEPTEMBER, 1863.
1. Closed up the business of the Board, and at seven o'clock in the evening (Tuesday) left Stevenson to rejoin the brigade. On the way to the river I passed Colonel Stanley's brigade of our division. The air was thick with dust. It was quite dark when I crossed the bridge. The brigade had started on the march hours before, but I thought best to push on and overtake it. After getting on the wrong road and riding considerably out of my way, I finally found the right one, and about ten o'clock over
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OCTOBER, 1863.
OCTOBER, 1863.
1. Have been trying to persuade myself that I am unwell enough to ask for a leave, but it will not work. The moment after I come to the conclusion that I am really sick, and can not stand it longer, I begin to feel better. The very thought of getting home, and seeing wife and children, cures me at once. 3. The two armies are lying face to face. The Federal and Confederate sentinels walk their beats in sight of each other. The quarters of the rebel generals may be seen from our camps with the nak
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NOVEMBER, 1863.
NOVEMBER, 1863.
11. My new brigade consists of the following regiments: One Hundred and Thirteenth Ohio Infantry, Colonel John G. Mitchell. One Hundred and Twenty-first Ohio Infantry, Colonel H. B. Banning. One Hundred and Eighth Ohio Infantry, Lieutenant-Colonel Piepho. Ninety-eighth Ohio Infantry, Major Shane. Third Ohio Infantry, Captain Leroy S. Bell. Seventy-eighth Illinois Infantry, Colonel Van Vleck. Thirty-fourth Illinois Infantry, Colonel Van Tassell. There has been much suffering among the men. They h
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DECEMBER, 1863.
DECEMBER, 1863.
I will not undertake to give a detailed account of our march to Knoxville, for the relief of Burnside, and the return to Chattanooga. We were gone three weeks, and during that time had no change of clothing, and were compelled to obtain our food from the corn-cribs, hen-roosts, sheep-pens, and smoke-houses on the way. The incidents of this trip, through the valleys of East Tennessee, where the waters of the Hiawasse, and the Chetowa, and the Ocoee, and the Estonola ripple through corn-fields and
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JANUARY 1, 1864.
JANUARY 1, 1864.
Standing on a peak of Mission Ridge to-day, we had spread out before us one of the grandest prospects which ever delighted the eye of man. Northward Waldron's Ridge and Lookout mountain rose massive and precipitous, and seemed the boundary wall of the world. Below them was the Tennessee, like a ribbon of silver; Chattanooga, with its thousands of white tents and miles of fortifications. Southward was the Chickamauga, and beyond a succession of ridges, rising higher and higher, until the eye rest
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EXPLANATORY.
EXPLANATORY.
Among the Union officers who escaped from Libby Prison at Richmond, on the night of the 9th of February, 1864, was my esteemed friend, General Harrison C. Hobart, then Colonel of the Twenty-first Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry. His name is mentioned quite frequently in the preceding pages. Ten years after the war closed, he spent a few days at my house, and while there was requested to tell the story of his capture, imprisonment, and escape. My children gathered about him, and listened to his narr
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