Showing posts with label 71st OH INF. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 71st OH INF. Show all posts

Monday, September 5, 2022

Congressman Rutherford B. Hayes to Lucy Webb Hayes, November 30, 1865

WASHINGTON, November 30, 1865.

DEAREST:— My first writing in my own room at Washington is to you. My surroundings are so-so, viz.: This, the front room is about twenty-four by fifteen, has a new good carpet, a coal stove, coal bucket, and spittoon — stove of good pattern in front of a mantelpiece and fireplace like ours; black haircloth short sofa, one armchair and one large chair without arms, and six good chairs, all black haircloth and black walnut wood; one office armchair like ours in the parlor, a little marble-top table; the [wall-]paper of a large, old-fashioned pattern. The get-up of the house is all old-fashioned. A back room twenty by fifteen [with] cottage furniture and closets [and] one front and one back window. [My rooms are on the] first floor-left side, as you enter the house. Altogether pleasant enough.

Judge James and General Este next above me, and Colonel Rodney Mason, of unhappy military fame, in the third story (but a quiet good fellow they say). The [land] lady is a well-looking and [well-] tempered Secesh widow or grass-widow.

It will do for you, I think, though not the very nicest, but still nice enough.

My travelling companions were Mr. Clark of Batavia and his wife, — they have no family — (one daughter, married); Mr. Eggleston and Sands, and McKee, of Kentucky, with his wife, one sister, and a son. Good company. If you were here I would be all right. Love to all.

Affectionately ever, your
R.
MRS. HAYES.

SOURCE: Charles Richard Williams, editor, Diary and Letters of Rutherford Birchard Hayes, Volume 3, p. 5-6

Thursday, July 28, 2016

Diary of Lieutenant-Colonel Rutherford B. Hayes, Sunday, April 20, 1862

Rained four or five hours, part very violently. I fear we can't cross Piney. Sent to Piney; find it too high to cross teams, but not so high as to preclude the hope that it will run down in a few hours after the rain stops falling.

A cold rain coming; men sing, laugh, and keep mirthful. I poke about from [the] major's tent to my own, listen to yarns, crack jokes, and the like. Avery won a knife and fifty cents of Dr. McCurdy (a cool-head Presbyterian) today at (what is it?) freezing poker! The doctor couldn't play himself and sent for Bottsford to play his game. This, Sunday! Queer antics this life plays with steady habits!

Received by Fitch, Company E, a Commercial of 16th. Pittsburg battle not a decided victory. Beauregard in a note to Grant asks permission to bury his dead; says that in view of the reinforcements received by Grant and the fatigue of his men after two days' hard fighting, “he deemed it his duty to withdraw his army from the scene of the conflict.” This is proof enough that the enemy was repulsed. But that is all. Two or three Ohio regiments were disgraced; [the] Seventy-seventh mustered out of service, [the] Seventy-first has its colors taken from it, etc., etc Lieutenant De Charmes, the brother of Lucy's friend, killed.

What a day this is! Cold rain, deep mud, and “Ned to pay.” Cold and gusty. Will it snow now?

SOURCE: Charles Richard Williams, editor, Diary and Letters of Rutherford Birchard Hayes, Volume 2, p. 231-2

Monday, June 9, 2014

71st Ohio Infantry

Organized at Camp Todd, Troy, Ohio, September, 1861, to January, 1862. Mustered in February 1, 1862. Ordered to Paducah, Ky., February 10. Attached to District of Paducah, Ky., to March, 1862. 2nd Brigade, 5th Division, Army of the Tennessee, to April, 1862. Garrison at Fort Donelson, Tenn., to June, 1863. 1st Brigade, 3rd Division, Reserve Corps, Dept. of the Cumberland, to September, 1863. Post of Gallatin, Tenn., Dept. of the Cumberland, to April, 1864. Unassigned, 4th Division, 20th Army Corps, Dept. of the Cumberland, to August, 1864. 2nd Brigade, 3rd Division, 4th Army Corps, Army of the Cumberland, to June, 1865. 1st Brigade, 3rd Division, 4th Army Corps, to August, 1865. Dept. of Texas to November, 1865.

SERVICE. – Reconnoissance toward Columbus, Ky., February 25-March 3, 1862. Action at and occupation of Columbus March 3. Moved from Paducah, Ky., to Savannah, Tenn., March 6-10. Expedition to Yellow Creek, Miss., and occupation of Pittsburg Landing, Tenn., March 14-17. Battle of Shiloh, Tenn., April 6-7. Ordered to Fort Donelson, Tenn., April 16. Garrison duty at Fort Donelson and Clarksville, Tenn., and operations in Northern and Middle Tennessee till August. Action at Clarksville August 18. Post surrendered by Col. Mason. Fort Donelson August 25 (Cos. "A," "B," "G" and "H"). Cumberland Iron Works August 26 (Cos. "A," "B," "G" and "H"). Expedition to Clarksville September 5-10. Pickett's Hill, Clarksville, September 7. Garrison duty at Forts Donelson and Henry, Tenn., till August, 1863. Guard duty along Louisville & Nashville Railroad (Headquarters at Gallatin, Tenn.) till July, 1864. Expedition from Gallatin to Carthage October 10-14, 1863 (Detachment). Near Hartsville October 10 (Detachment). Expedition from Gallatin to Cumberland Mountains January 28-February 8. Winchester May 10 (Detachment). Relieved from garrison duty July, 1864, and ordered to join Sherman's Army before Atlanta, Ga. Atlanta (Ga.) Campaign July 31-September 8. Siege of Atlanta July 31-August 25. Flank movement on Jonesboro August 25-30. Battle of Jonesboro August 31-September 1. Operations against Hood in North Georgia and North Alabama September 29-November 3. At Athens, Ga., October 31-November 23. March to Columbia, Tenn., November 23-24. Nashville Campaign November-December. Columbia, Duck River, November 24-27. Battle of Franklin November 30. Battle of Nashville December 15-16. Pursuit of Hood to the Tennessee River December 17-28. Moved to Huntsville, Ala., and duty there till March, 1865. Operations in East Tennessee March 15-April 22. Duty at Strawberry Plains and Nashville till June. Ordered to New Orleans, La., June 16, thence moved to Texas. Duty at San Antonio till November. Mustered out November 30, 1865.

Regiment lost during service 3 Officers and 66 Enlisted men killed and mortally wounded and 5 Officers and 132 Enlisted men by disease. Total 206.

SOURCE: Frederick H. Dyer, A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion, Part 3, p. 1530

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Colonel Thomas Kilby Smith to his sister Helen, April 14, 1862

HEADQUARTERS 54TH REG1MENT O. V. I.,
CAMP SHILOH, TENNESSEE, April 14, 1862.
MY DEAR SISTER:

Well, my dear Helen, the great fight has been fought; I have had my part in it, and, save a slight scratch not worth mentioning, have come out safe. The papers, of course, teem with accounts, which you have doubtless read until you are satisfied; but, at the risk of stale news, I will give you my experience of the battle, of which I believe I saw as much as “any other man.”

On the Thursday preceding, my command had been ordered upon a most fatiguing night march, which lay for six miles through a dense swamp to a point near a ford, where we lay for some hours in ambuscade for the purpose of taking a body of rebel cavalry. On Friday we marched back to camp. On Saturday, nearly the whole regiment was turned out on fatigue duty to build some bridges and a road to cross artillery, and on Saturday night I was ordered to hold my command in readiness for an expedition to march as early as eight o'clock on Sunday. All this service was intensely fatiguing to the officers and harassing to the men, but to the last order I probably owe my life, for, having been prompt in its execution and my horse being saddled, no sooner had the long roll sounded, than my men were in line. The attack was very sudden, and within three minutes our tents were literally riddled with the balls of the enemy's skirmishers. We marched the battalion to a kind of peninsula formed by a dense ravine on the one side and a creek on the other, and there formed the line of battle.

From the fatigue duty I have spoken of, and certain camp epidemics prevalent, our forces had been very much weakened, and we took into the field but about fifteen hundred men. To this force were opposed eight thousand of the enemy's infantry, supported by artillery and cavalry. Now, to the better understanding of my account, you must recollect what I have before written you, that the Second Brigade of Sherman's Division occupied the extreme left wing of the army, whose front lines extended many miles; that my regiment occupied the extreme left of the brigade, and observe that the enemy having surprised the centre which was broken, and having routed and captured the greater part of Prentiss’ command, to whom we looked for support, stole down our front and attempted to outflank us, and now at about nine o'clock on Sunday morning we joined battle. Having seen by my glass the vastly superior force of the enemy, I determined to sell our lives as dearly as possible, but never to surrender, and ordered my Zouaves to lie on their bellies, and, waiting the attack, not to fire until the foe was within twenty yards. We were ranged along the brow of the hill, slightly covered with a small growth of timber, and between us and the advancing ranks was an open plain. On they came, steadily, and save the tread of the well-trained soldiers, led by General Hardee in person, not a sound was heard; at last they were upon us, and then commenced the deafening roar of volley after volley; for four hours and a half the deadly hand-to-hand conflict raged. (I took 390 enlisted men into battle, I left 187 upon the field, killed or badly wounded, but from me they took no prisoners. The 71st Ohio . . . abandoned us early in the action, but the 55th Illinois were staunch. The brigade lost 587 killed and wounded, but most of these are from the 54th Ohio and 55th Illinois). At last our ammunition began to fail, and I never shall forget the despairing looks of some of the boys, who would come clustering around my horse and say, “Colonel, what shall I do; my cartridges are all out?” But, fortunately, the enemy's fire began to slack. My men all fired low, every man made his mark, and though our own men could hardly get round among their own killed and wounded, the field was strewn thick with the dead of the foe. By this time I was in command of the brigade, Colonel Stuart having been wounded and compelled to retire. I fell back in good order for better position and until I could be reinforced with ammunition; my forty rounds were all gone. At last an orderly from General Grant came up to promise the required supply and to order us to a position at which we could cover a battery. I forgot to tell you that the enemy had planted a battery upon a height, commanding our first position, and were shelling us all the while the first fight was going on. One of my horses was struck once by a piece of shell and twice by rifle balls. No sooner had we taken position by the batteries than the attack was renewed with greater vigor than ever; but now the heavy guns from the gunboats in our rear began to throw their shells clean over us and into the ranks of the enemy; never was sweeter music to my ears than their thunder; the shades of night drew on, the enemy began to slacken fire, and, as shell after shell dropped and burst in their midst, gradually retired. Our men dropped exhausted on their arms; all day the battle had raged, all day they had suffered privation of food and drink, and now began to fall a copious shower of rain, which lasted steadily till morning; through that shower without a murmur they slept, and the next morning at seven o'clock I, having been formally placed in command of the brigade by order of General Sherman, began the march towards the right wing, where we were to take position. General Nelson, who with General Buell had brought up reinforcements during the night, had commenced manoeuvres at daybreak. As early as eight o'clock my brigade was in the line of battle and under a heavy fire of shell. At about nine o'clock we were ordered into action, which was hotly contested all the day long. About four o'clock I was ordered to the command of another brigade, or, more properly, a concentration of skeleton regiments, which I had got into line, and, leaving my own command with Lieutenant-Colonel Malmborg, carried my new command far into an advanced position, then returning, brought up my own brigade upon the left of Shiloh Chapel. Now the Pelican flag began to waver and droop. All the day long we, that is, my immediate command, were opposed to the “Crescent City Guards,” the pet regiment of Beauregard, to whom in the morning he had made his whole army present arms, and whose flag he had at the same time planted, saying of us, the Northern army, “Thus far, but no farther shalt thou go”; vain boast; at even tide, like a gull upon the crest of the wave in the far-off ocean, it fluttered and went down.

I drew my forces up in good order under the eye of General Sherman, and Monday night again under a most drenching shower, which lasted all the night through, the men even now without food or drink lay upon their arms, and on Tuesday morning were again in line; the enemy had gone, but not their occupation; all day they stood guard upon the outposts, and the next day we marched the whole regiment onward for three miles and a half to bring in the wounded of the enemy. That day I took thirty-two prisoners, and brought in the bodies of an Arkansas colonel and Major Monroe, of Kentucky, the latter one of the most distinguished men of the State, and both of them I had decently interred. Oh, Helen, if you had seen the horrors of that battle, as I saw them when the rage of battle had passed, the heaps of slain, the ghastly wounds, had you heard the groans of the dying, had you seen the contortions of men and horses; but why dwell on the theme which abler writers will so vividly portray? I have given you one hasty sketch of the humble part it was my good fortune to be able to play in one of the greatest dramas of the age. Thank God for me, for in His infinite mercy He alone has preserved me in the shock of battle; pray for me always. One more conflict, and I leave a memory for my children or make a name for myself. My flag is still unstained, my honor still bright.

SOURCE: Walter George Smith, Life and letters of Thomas Kilby Smith, p. 195-8

Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Not Dead Yet

Major Ben. Runkle, in the battle of Pittsburg Landing, was hit seven times.  Though minus seven teeth, a portion of his jaw and tongue, his great toe, a shaving from his heel, a hole through each cheek, and a brush on the shoulder, he is said to be doing well.  There were strong grounds for the report that he was dead.  He saw the 71st on the battle-field on Monday fighting manfully. – Springfield News.

– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Thursday Morning, May 8, 1862, p. 2

Friday, January 13, 2012

Reliable Details of the Fight

Special to the Chicago Tribune.

CAIRO, April 10.

We are just beginning to get some reliable details from the great battle at Pittsburg.  From several gentlemen who were on the field afterwards on in the fight, the following are gathered and sent.  Our informant left the battle field on Wednesday morning at 5 o’clock:

The rebels Attacked Prentiss’s brigade 4 o’clock on Sunday morning, while they were at breakfast.  It consisted of the 61st Illinois, 16th Wisconsin, 24th Indiana and 71st Ohio.  The rebels were said to be 120,000 strong.  Prentiss had no artillery.  His brigade was cut to pieces, and forced to retire, with Prentiss and many other prisoners.  At 12 m. the entire line was fiercely engaged, but in full retreat.

At 4 p. m. the enemy had taken Swartz’s battery – 6 guns, Dresden’s, of 4 guns, Waterhouse’s battery, 2 rifled Ohio 56-guns, and another Ohio battery.  Thousands of our soldiers had taken refuge under the bank of the river, and utterly refused to fight – in fact they could not, for officers and men were in inextricable confusion, and the army seemed utterly demoralized.

Gen. Mitchell’s [sic] division, about this time arrived on the opposite shore with 15,000 men, who were ferried across during the night.

The gunboats Lexington and Tyler opened a tremendous fire of shell upon the enemy, and kept it up every half hour during the night, saving the army from utter ruin. – They set the woods on fire, and many of the rebels were burned.  At 7 the firing generally ceased.  At midnight the rebels attempted to plant a battery within three hundred yards of our siege guns, but they were driven back by the gunboats and siege guns, supported by three regiments of Mitchell’s division.

Our informants persist in estimating our loss on Sunday at 3,000 killed and 5,000 wounded as a low figure.  It was undoubtedly tremendous.  During the night the rebels were reinforced by Price and Van Dorn from Arkansas, with a very large force.

Gen. Lew Wallace came up from Crump’s Landing with the 18th and 23d Ind., 44th Ill., 8th Mo and Willard’s battery, and in the morning fiercely attacked the left wing of the enemy.  They went into the fight on the double quick with tremendous shouts, and did terrible execution.  By 10 o’clock they had driven the rebels back two miles.  The battery performed prodigies of valor.

About 10 o’clock the rebels were reinforced, and for a few minutes our gallant boys were forced to yield.

The other divisions of Buell’s army now appeared and at once became fully engaged, and for two hours all the destructive elements of earth seamed striving for the mastery on that fatal field.  Southern chivalry proved no match for the unflinching courage of the army of freedom, and the rebels fled in all directions with some 12,000 troops.  Gen. Buell followed the fugitives taking thousands of prisoners and smiting without mercy those who would not surrender.  He was reported to have taken Corinth with all the immense stores of arms and ammunition.  Carson, the scout had his head torn off on Monday by a round shot.

The rebel troops were mostly from Louisiana, Texas and Mississippi, with many from Georgia and Alabama.  They fought like tigers.  Our informant could ride through the battle field where our forces were posted, but the dead were so thick in the enemy’s line that they could not do it.  They assure us that the rebels surprised our camps on Sunday night, took care of our sick and wounded, but destroyed nothing, expecting confidently to have our entire army the next day.  They thought the battle already won on Sunday.

Gen. McClernand cut his way through the enemy that had surrounded him.  Most of his troops behaved with great gallantry; but the 53rd Ohio was ordered to the rear in disgrace for refusing to fight.

Capt. Harvy of Bloomington, Illinois is among the killed.

Our informants were assured by those who know the man, that John C. Breckenridge was taken Prisoner.  They saw him pass to the General’s quarters.

It is impossible to get lists of the killed and wounded.

– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Saturday Morning, April 12, 1862, p. 2

Sunday, January 3, 2010

By Telegraph

(Reported expressly for the Gazette.) THE WAR NEWS. Important Movements looked for on the Mississippi. Appropriation for the Steven’s Battery. Increased Efficiency of the Medical Department. The Rebel Force at Yorktown Exaggerated. AN ATTACK SOON TO BE MADE BY McCLELLAN. FEDERAL LOSS BY THE DESTRUCTION OF NORFOLK NAVY YARD. HIGH WATER AT CAIRO.

*~*~*~*~*

From Cairo. Correspondence of the Missouri Republican. CAIRO, April18. A Gentleman just from Pittsburg reports all the wounded taken away from that point. A skirmish took place at Savannah on Wednesday, between a detachment of our cavalry and a rebel picket guard; which were posted uncomfortable near, and very strong. The rebels were driven back, having 5 killed, 65 wounded. Refugees report that the rebels are fortifying at Lick Creek, half way to Corinth and strengthening their works at Corinth. Some state that trains are arriving and bring fresh troops through; while others say they are sending off stores preparatory to evacuation. CAIRO, April 18. The steamers Minnehaha and T. J. Patten were fired into by the rebels yesterday while ascending the Tennessee with troops. Upon the former one man was killed and one severely wounded. The Patten was uninjured. The Troops on the Minnehaha landed and burned a row of wooden buildings near which the firing originated upon the bluff in the rear, rebel guerillas were plainly visible in the interstices of the trees. Matters at Pittsburg drag their slow length along without perceptible change. We are gradually moving into the interior. Slowly, but surely, we advance and hold our positions. No more such Bull Run panics as characterized the fated Sabbath; and let us pray no more such slaughters. Ten Irish residents of Southern Illinois were arrested and brought into Paducah to-day, for preaching rebellion to the Egyptians. The will speedily be mad examples of. Captain Ferris of the 15th Illinois, died to-day at Paducah from the effects of a gunshot wound received at Pittsburg. Gen. Mitchell has burned the bridge across the Tennessee river at Decatur, Alabama, over which the Charleston and Memphis railroad passes, and thus effectually closed a rebel channel of communication eastward, whence the rebels have drawn liberally for troops and supplies. He has also burned the railroad bridge at Florence. He is now at Iuka, Miss. Recent intelligence from Corinth confirms previous reports of the magnitude of the enemy’s force and character of the efforts he has made to resist the onward march of the Federal army. A desperate stand will be made there, and our people must be prepared to hear of a terrible decimation of our troops. Gen. Halleck is cool and cautions, and will achieve success. The fight will commence soon. The steamer Planet arrived at Paducah this morning with the 71st Ohio, en route for Fort Donelson. This is one of the Regiments that ran so disgracefully at Pittsburg. Special to the Chicago Times. River rising very fast and has already attained a very [remarkable] height. It is up to the works of the break which flooded Cairo a few years since. It is over forty feet above low water mark. Great preparations are being made in anticipation of the water breaking through the levee. We have no special news from the Tennessee. Gen. Halleck has sent down an order prohibiting all civilians, including nurses, and the swarm of volunteer philanthropists who are seeking the battle-ground to gratify curiosity merely, from leaving Cairo. The wounded will be down here before the nurses can get up to savannah, and the other class are not wanted at all. What advices we have agree in saying that Gen. Halleck is infusing his masterly spirit of order and discipline into the army, and the belief that his strategic genius and executive ability will constituted a sure guard against future surprises, grows stronger every day. Rebel accounts state that Beauregard and the other leaders have become more cautious and less sanguine as these facts dawn upon them. Their soldiers will not flinch in the coming battle, as they have all been under fire now, which constitutes the hardening process. Those who retreated [in the Federal Army] were raw recruits, who had never been within sound of a gun. There were at one time ten thousand of them huddled on the river bank, whom blows, persuasion or curses would not move. An officer told me that in his excitement and indignation he could have seen the artillery turned on the solid mass of terror-stricken humanity without the least compassion. The movement on the Mississippi is deemed contraband. Important events will be looked for in that direction before long. Island No. 10 is occupied by Col. Buford, who has lately been promoted to a Generalship. Our gunboats had a brief engagement with four rebel gunboats on Sunday. Some dozen or more shots were exchanged and a shell exploded close over the Benton. No damage was done, and the rebel boats lost no time in retiring. Arrival of the pirate Sumter Prisoners. BOSTON, April 18. Thos. T. Tansall, late U. S. Consul at Tangier, and Mr. Myers, purser of the pirate Sumter, arrested at Gesiras, Morocco, arrived here today in the bark Harvest Home, to which they were transferred from the gunboat John. The prisoners were in irons, which were removed by order of Marshal Keyes, and they were sent to Ft. Warren to await instructions from the government. NEW YORK, April 19. The schr. John Roe at this port, reports, March 14th, 5 p.m., off Savannah, passed a propeller showing English colors, and after hauling them down, ran up the rebel flag. She was steering in the direction of Bermuda. – Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Monday Morning, April 21, 1862, p. 1

Saturday, October 24, 2009

Visit To The Battle Field Of Shiloh

A Vindication of the Disgraced Ohio Regiments. – the 53d set Right.

A visit to the battle-field upon which was fought the greatest battle ever seen upon this continent, is no small item about which to write or speak. It will be an important era in the life of every man who fought upon it and who saw it.

Messrs. Twombly, Fred. Ballard and ourself started the morning (Thursday) after receiving the news of the battle for Pittsburgh Landing, with the view of assisting what we could in relieving the suffering of our wounded and sick. On account of the numerous hindrances with which we met, we did not reach our destination until late on Monday evening following.

When we arrived all that could be done had been done for the relief of the wounded and sick. We therefore had little else to do than to go over the battle-field, visit our friends and return home. Descriptions of the field have frequently been given. We will therefore not take up much space in giving anything in regard to it. It was such a sight as we never wish to see again, and we do not wish to dwell long enough upon it to describe it.

We visited the Mound City Hospital, where there are about 1,000 wounded. Here we met many acquaintances. None of them, however, were very seriously wounded. This hospital is conducted in the most admirable manner. The wounded are cared for in the best manner possible. The could not be in better condition, or more kindly provided for were they at home with their friends. The Sisters of Mercy are there in large numbers waiting upon the wounded. They are as angels of Mercy to the wounded soldiers.


THE 53D OHIO REGIMENT.

Much excitement has prevailed in our county on account of reports of cowardice on the part of the 53d regiment in which there is a company of Athens county boys. The Lieut. Colonel and Quartermaster also being from this county. Upon hearing these reports, we took special pains to ascertain the truth, and if possible, to gain such information concerning the Regiment as would enable us to vindicate them at home.

The 53rd is a brave regiment of men as ever marched to the tune of “Yankee Doodle.” The stories about its cowardly conduct are all false without exception, which declaration we will proceed to prove.

The 53d Regiment forms a portion of Col. Hildebrand’s Brigade, attached to Gen. W. T. Sherman’s Division. It occupied the extreme left of Col. Hildebrand’s Brigade, lying directly on the Corinth road, and commanding it.

The following diagram will enable our readers to judge of its position, and the explanations we give below will enable them to judge of the amount of cowardice of which they were guilty:


It is one-half mile from the 53d to Gen. Prentiss’ Division; one-fourth mile from it to General Hildebrand’s headquarters, which is the nearest point to forces upon that side, and one-half mile in the rear of the 53d to any forces. The rebel army lay in force within one mile of the Fifty-Third all Saturday night. They were thrown on in the advance and were the first regiment of Gen. Sherman’s Division attacked.

Early in the morning on Sunday a messenger was sent to Gen. Sherman’s headquarters from the 53d informing him that the rebels were advancing in force upon them. Gen. Sherman made some fun of the messenger, and thought they must be frightened down there. Shortly afterwards he, accompanied by his Staff, rode out to the camp of the 53d, and remarked, upon seeing the woods in front of him full of rebels, that we would probably have a sharp skirmish. In a few moments the rebels, who had advanced within long range, fired a volley upon the General and his staff, killing one of his Orderlies close by his side. Turning round, he exclaimed, “We are attacked,” and immediately rode back towards his headquarters. The 53d in the meantime has been drawn up in line of battle by Col. Appler. They first formed in front of their camp, but as the rebels advanced upon them in overwhelming numbers they, fell back to the rear of it where they lay under cover of the rise of ground upon which their camp was stationed. As soon as the rebels advanced within near range, they rose and fired. They immediately fell and reloaded and then gave the rebels another volley, when Col. Appler gave the order “Retreat!” He then ran for the river and was not seen by his men during that day or Monday.

Lieut. Col. Fulton followed the regiment in its retreat and rallied the men in the rear of the 18th Illinois, and they fought under his command the remainder of that day and Monday.

Col. Hildebrand made a report of his brigade to Gen. Sherman, a copy of which we have in our possession, and which Gen. Sherman will never publish. We therefore, for the purpose of vindicating the noble boys whom he has endeavored to defame, take the liberty of publishing extracts from it. Col. Hildebrand makes the following mention of the action taken by the 53d on Sunday morning:

“The 53d Regiment, after forming in line of battle under my orders, fired two rounds and immediately fell back into the woods. It appears from the report of Col. Appler, that apprehending a flank movement on his left, ordered a retreat, but subsequently rallied in the rear of the 18th Illinois. This regiment became separated from my command, and its movements throughout the day were general.”

It will be seen from this that the 53d did not “run without firing a gun” as has been reported of them. According to a speech which Gen. Sherman made to the 53d on the day after the battle, ten regiments of rebel infantry attacked the position held by the 53d. At the time of the attack the regiment consisted of about 450 effective men – two companies being out at the time of the attack upon picket duty.

Col. Hildebrand, in another part of his report speaks of the 53d and its officers as follows:

“The 53d Regiment I have referred to already. The regiment, under command of Col. J. J. Appler, fell back after two rounds under the order of Col. Appler. Soon afterwards, as I am informed, he left the field, and was not with the Regiment during the day or Monday.

Lieut. Col. Fulton, in command of the Regiment, the Adjutant and company officers generally behaved with becoming bravery.”

In a “Note” to the Report we find the following:

“NOTE. About 6 P.M. Monday, the 77th and 53d Regiments took a position near the heavy guns on the hill, from which the enemy finally fell back. The 53d did good service before this in the afternoon, by operating with other regiments. J. HILDEBRAND.”

Thus is the 53d Ohio Regiment vindicated from the slanderous charges of cowardice made against it by correspondents of mammoth daily papers, who were never over the ground, and who telegraphed and mailed as facts what were merely rumors.

The fact is, Gen. Sherman’s Division, in connection with the whole of Gen. Grant’s army, was surprised, and somebody, aside from the poor privates sought to be disgraced, is to blame for this criminal neglect. On the night previous to the attack, the rebels lay in force within one mile of our lines, and we had not a picket farther out than one-half mile! It is difficult to conceive how an army of 60,000 men could lie within a mile of the lines of a well conditioned camp of forty or fifty thousand men during one whole night, without being discovered. Such a thing probably never occurred before in the history of the world, and we trust no other army may never be so disgraced as was Gen. Grant’s.

But we have it from high authority that neither Gen. Grant nor Gen. Sherman were surprised, that they were aware of the presence of the enemy on Saturday previous to the attack. Below we give an extract from a letter written by an officer in Gen. Sherman’s Division, which will throw some light upon this point. The letter was handed us by a friend on board the “Superior” while on our way home.

The letter is dated

PITTSBURGH LANDING,
April 16, 1862.

T. F. WILDES, ESQ – Dear Sir: In a conversation to-day with Gen. Hildebrand, he said, in response to a remark of mine, that great responsibility rested upon somebody for permitting us to be surprised in our encampment and set upon by a whole division of the enemy without any intimation of their coming whatever; also, that Gen. SHERMAN did know on Saturday of the presence of the enemy, and so did he (Gen. HILDEBRAND) and that he wanted to take his brigade out on Saturday and fight and that Gen. Sherman forbid him doing anything to bring on the action either Saturday or Sunday!”

This conversation was in the presence of several gentlemen – both military and civil. Among the latter was Mr. Bailey, of the Sanitary Commission, Cincinnati. The writer of the letter is a perfectly reliable gentleman in high standing in the Division. But this conversation can be proven by several gentlemen aside from him.

Now, the question arises, what does this mean? Did these men know what is alleged they did know? If they did their conduct admits of no explanation. We hope this matter will undergo investigation. In fact, we think it cannot be allowed to pass without it.

On the other hand, Gen. Sherman Stated in a speech he made to the 53d that he was entirely surprised, that the presence of the enemy was entirely unknown to him. Gen. Grant, in his report, makes no attempt to explain the cause of their surprise. The friends of the soldiers in that army will await the unraveling of this mysterious affair with great anxiety.


THE 77TH REGIMENT.

This Regiment is said to have been mustered out of service on account of its disgraceful conduct on Tuesday after the great victory of Monday was gained. We heard nothing of this while with the regiment, and believe it to be untrue. We were at its camp and conversed with its officers about the fight and about the action on Tuesday, and heard nothing of any such thing as the mustering out of the regiment, and we believe we left there after the dispatches announcing its disgrace had been sent. In fact the regiment was there in camp with its arms, looking bright and cheerful, and Major FEARING thought they, in connection with the whole army were better prepared for a battle then than they were before the last one came off. The following extract from Col. HILDEBRAND’s report will give our readers an idea of the part taken by the 77th on Tuesday:

“On the 8th inst., in compliance with your order, I marched my Brigade, accompanied by a large cavalry force, also by Col. Buckland’s Brigade, on the Corinth road, about four miles from camp. Halting in an open field, skirmishers were thrown forward who discovered rebel cavalry in considerable force, exhibiting a disposition to fight. The skirmishers immediately fired upon them, when the Seventy-Seventh regiment, under command of Lt. Col. DeHass, was ordered up to support them. Soon after forming in line a large body of cavalry made a bold and dashing charge on the skirmishes and the whole regiment. So sudden and rapid was the charge, shooting our men with carbines and revolvers, that they had not time to re-load, and fell back hoping our cavalry would cover the retreat. Unhappily, our cavalry were not sufficiently near to render essential assistance. The rebel cavalry literally rode down the infantry, shooting, sabering, and trampling them under foot. We sustained a loss in killed, wounded and missing of fifty-seven. Nineteen were killed on the spot, thirty wounded, and the balance missing; of the latter two Captains and one second Lieut., Capt. A. W. McCormick, Capt. A. Chandler, and Lieut. Criswell.”

The regiment fought well during Sunday and Monday, from all the information we can gain from those acquainted with its movements. It is a new regiment, one very recently formed, and of very little experience, and it seems to us should never have been sent ahead on such an expedition as that of Tuesday. None but a well drilled regiment would be equal to an impetuous charge of cavalry like that described in the report of Col. Hildebrand. Besides this, neither infantry nor cavalry were in supporting distance of the regiment when it was dashed upon by the rebel cavalry, which looks like extremely bad generalship, even to civilians. We will be able to give a more thorough vindication of the 77th regiment next week.


THE 71ST REGIMENT.

This regiment is said to have been sent to Fort Donelson in disgrace for bad conduct on the battle-field. We presume its conduct was bad, but there are palliating circumstances which should be stated in connection with its bad conduct that we have not yet seen in print.

When we were returning from Pittsburgh Landing we passed the 71st at Paducah, on its way to Fort Donelson. Our boat stopped there some time and we had an opportunity of seeing the men of the regiment with some of whom we were acquainted. From what we could learn from the men and all other sources on the ground at Pittsburgh, Col. Mason of that Regiment displayed the white feather at the very first fire of the enemy, and left the field. He was not again seen by his Regiment during the battle. Lieut. Col. Kyle was a brave, good man, and when the Colonel ingloriously fled, he took command of the Regiment, and in his efforts to rally the men and keep them at the work, he was killed. His death left the Regiment without a commander, and it fell into confusion as a matter of course almost. Lieut. Col. Kyle is perhaps a victim of Col. Mason’s cowardice, as he was compelled to improperly expose himself in order to keep the men at their places after he left therm. A regiment of men should not suffer disgrace because of the cowardice of their commanding officer, and we think the object in sending the regiment to Fort Donelson is not to disgrace it, but for the reason that as Lieut. Col. Kyle is killed, and Col. Mason has shown himself a coward, no one, fit to command the regiment in battle, remains connected with it. The matter will doubtless undergo investigation, and the party to blame for the conduct of the 71st receive his just punishment.

– Published in The Athens Messenger, Athens, Ohio, Thursday Morning, April 24, 1862, p 2