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“We drove the officers from their hot coffee and out of their tents, capturing their camp and tents. Captain Shoup and John Loftin and Clay Lowe each got a sword. In the quartermaster’s tent we found thousands of dollars in crisp, new bills, for they had been paying off the Yankee soldiers.”
Pvt. William E. Bevens, 1st Arkansas

By the time it reached its camps, Peabody’s brigade was nearing the point of disintegration. The colonel, who had already been wounded four times, galloped this way and that, waving his sword and trying to get his men to rally. “The 25th Missouri is disgraced,” he shouted, as the regiment, which he had commanded before rising to brigade command, continued to fall back. Then he toppled to the ground with a bullet through the head. Many of his troops kept on making fairly unorganized efforts to defend the camp, dodging between tents and wagons and squeezing off shots when they could, but within minutes the Confederates had overrun all four of the brigade’s regimental camps. The time was 8:30.

Now began a phenomenon, repeated throughout the day, by which the Confederates’ own success worked against them, disorganizing their army and slowing its advance: hundreds of Southern soldiers dispersed in each of the captured camps, rifling through tents and knapsacks and reveling in their new-found booty. “We drove the officers from their hot coffee and out of their tents, capturing their camp and tents,” crowed Pvt. William E. Bevens of the 1st Arkansas, and continued with a report on his friends’ winnings: “Captain Shoup and John Loftin and Clay Lowe each got a sword. In the quartermaster’s tent we found thousands of dollars in crisp, new bills, for they had been paying off the Yankee soldiers.” Elsewhere on the battlefield, in the dozens of Union camps overrun that day, eager Rebels found more varied plunder. In the camp of the 43rd Illinois they found Col. Adolph Engelman’s larder and ate up “several jars of anchovies, about eight pounds of the best swiss cheese, [and] four pounds of chocolate.” The German-American colonel later wondered why they left his barrel of sauerkraut alone. The Rebels also took the instruments of the 43rd’s band. Throughout the captured camps many Confederates sat reading love letters from the Yankee soldiers’ sweethearts back in the North.

Johnston was appalled at this process that was sapping his army’s combat strength and wasting precious time. It was hard enough trying to stop the enlisted men from ransacking the camps, and then Johnston saw a junior officer engaged in the same activity. “None of that, sir,” Johnston thundered, “We are not here for plunder.” The young officer, who had apparently not realized he was neglecting his duty, looked crushed. Softening, Johnston picked up a Yankee tin cup. “Let this be my share of the spoils today,” and rode off, carrying the cup in his right hand instead of a sword.

Recommended link to learn more about the Battle of Shiloh

Recommended read:

Shiloh: The Battle That Changed the Civil War, by Larry Daniel.

 I stand here on this dusty road,
My rifle by my side.
They say we must surrender
And yet I’m filled with pride.
In knowing deep within my heart,
I gave my Southland all,
Like every man who took up arms
And answered Freedoms’ call.
I’ve worn the gray most proudly
And loved our banners dear.
To give them up and walk away,
The thought brings me to tears.
The worst for our brave men.
At least we’ll all be going home,
To be with Kith and Kin.

Throughout the years that follow,
This tragic fateful day,
We’ll be proud of our fair flag
And how we wore the gray.

Appomattox courthouse

Corporal James Henry Gooding, 54th Massachussetts, was a soldier-reporter who reported events to the citizens of New Bedford, MA.

“Daily we hear the muffled drum, accompanied by the shrill, shrieking tones of the fife, which tells us that the ‘fell destroyer, Death,’ is near.”
CWT, Vol. XLII No5 Dec 2003

According to the Adjutant General’s Regimental history report of the 48th Illinois involvement at Ft. Donelson:

“February 15, was in position by the side of the Eleventh and Twentieth. The rattle of musketry, on the right, was incessant, and gradually approached the left, where the Forty-eighth was stationed, on the brow of the hill, and it was soon fiercely engaged. The enemy were twice repulsed from the front of the Forty-eighth, but they finally succeeded in turning the right of our line, and the Regiment was compelled to retire and form a new line, where the enemy was again repulsed, and he retired within the works. The Regiment lost, this day, forty killed and wounded. Among the killed was the gallant, daring and courteous Lieutenant Colonel Thomas H. Smith.”

Fort Donelson
Dover Tennessee

February 27, 1862

[From an Illinois Union soldier in the Wallace 3rd Brigade],

Editors note: this Union soldier was probably a member of the 20th or 48th Illinois Infantry.

On the 8th, inst we received the news of the surrender of Fort Henry on the Tennessee River, and also received orders to move from (Cape Girardeau?) immediately.

Accordingly we embarked on the Steamer Gladiator at 4 o’clock pm of the 8th, and were soon on our way down the Mississippi arriving at Cairo [ILL] at 2am of the 9th when we took the Cario up to Paducah, Ky where we arrived at 10am and stopped for one hour. Here we found but few soldiers, the rest having gone to Fort Henry, Tenn.

We took the Tennessee River and arrived at Fort Henry at 10pm and disembarked at 9am on the 10th. I took a stroll around the late Rebel fort which was one of the strongest and best armed forts I have seen during the campaign, but it’s occupants could not stand the shot and shell that were thrown with such effect from our gunboats.

They must have lost many more than were reported to have been, for we found some twenty bodies that had been thrown into the water inside of the fort and covered up with sand bags. They had some twenty guns well mounted and plenty of ammunition. One of their guns was a 128 pound Dahlgren, and one a 32 pound rifled cannon the latter of which was burst during the action.

At 4pm of the 11th we started out with two days rations for Fort Donelson on the Cumberland River a distance of 15 miles. After going 4 miles we encamped for the night and at daylight we started again in the direction of the enemy arriving within 2 1/2 miles of the fort, we were drawn up in line of battle when we heard firing in the advance which proved to be skrimmishing between the advance guard and the pickets of the enemy the latter were soon drove in with a total of five killed and several wounded.

We came in sight of their camp outside of the fort at sundown and cast a few shells among them which drove them in confusion into the trenches. We soon surrounded their works at a distance of 1/2 mile and lay on our arms to await the approach of daylight to commence the attack.

At an early hour our guns opened up on the enemy and we were occasionally answered by a shell from their batteries. Our force was some 40,000 thousand strong and hourly increasing.

At eleven am (the 13th) Col. Oglesby [8th Illinois] with his Brigade [1st] was ordered to take a redoubt and batteries which were supposed to be vacated by the enemy but he refused to do so, and Col. [William R.] Morrison [3rd brigade, led the 17th and 49th Illinois at Donelson] with the 2nd Brigade (ours) was assigned the task.

Editors note: The 2nd brigade was led by W.H.L. Wallace (also Colonel of the 11th ILL). Comprised of the following regiments: 11th, 20th, 45th, 48th Illinois Infantries. Battery B & D artillery, and 4th Illinois Cavalry.

We moved forward through the woods to within 100 yards of the works when we received a murderous crossfire of Artillery & musketing and the engagement had commenced. We again moved foward and held our position until ordered three times to fall back, which we did with reluctance after Col. Morrison was carried wounded from the field.

The enemy was within their works, with their front so effectually blockaded that it was impossible for us to approach them in line or we would have taken the redout at the point of the bayonet. But Gen. Grant seeing our situation ordered us to fall back which we did in good order.

The loss of our Regt. in this charge was 15 killed and 80 wounded, & in our Co. 4 killed and 15 wounded, several of whom were mortally. We brought off our dead and wounded many of whom were found within 50 yards of the enemy, but the dead of other companies were left on the field.

*******************************************
Note: In Feb 1862, Grant ordered 30,000 men including Col Oglesby who led the 8th Ill and five other regiments, on to take Fort Donelson. The Federals quickly drove back the Rebel pickets, but the Rebs were now entrenched behind breastworks and ditches. The 8th with its sister regiments with artillery support attacked the redoubts, but were bloodied and repulsed. That night it snowed and the men were without cover and suffered terribly in the weather. But, by Feb 15th the fort was surrounded and it was only a matter of time for the Rebs.

********************************************

Casualties at Donelson:

11th Illinois - Fort Donelson; February 12th, 13th and 14th, occupied in investing that place; 15th, heavily engaged with the enemy about five hours, losing 329 killed, wounded and missing, out of about 500 engaged, of whom 72 were killed and 182 wounded.

20th Illinois, at Donelson in mid February had 19 killed and 4 wounded (at least according to CWD).

45th Illinois, at Fort Donelson it was sent to the relief of the 49th Ill. infantry, which was engaged close up to the enemy’s works and received its “baptism of fire.” The regiment bore its full share of the three days, fight at Donelson, though its loss was small, only 2 killed and 26 wounded.

48th Illinois, At Fort Donelson, in connection with the 17th and 49th Ill., it charged the enemy’s works, but was repulsed with a severe loss, and was under fire during the following day, losing a few men wounded. During the third and last day of the battle it was fiercely engaged and lost 40 in killed and wounded.

According to the Adjutant General’s Regimental history report of the 48th involvement at Donelson:

“February 15, was in position by the side of the Eleventh and Twentieth. The rattle of musketry, on the right, was incessant, and gradually approached the left, where the Forty-eighth was stationed, on the brow of the hill, and it was soon fiercely engaged. The enemy were twice repulsed from the front of the Forty-eighth, but they finally succeeded in turning the right of our line, and the Regiment was compelled to retire and form a new line, where the enemy was again repulsed, and he retired within the works. The Regiment lost, this day, forty killed and wounded. Among the killed was the gallant, daring and courteous Lieutenant Colonel Thomas H. Smith.”

“I did not feel anything strange on first going into battle. We were drawn up in line of battle. I was looking as anxious for the secesh [Rebels] as ever I did for a squirrel but I did not look long before I seen their guns glittering in the brush.”
– Pvt. Edgar Embley, 61st Illinois

“Several times the enemy essayed to move out from the shelter of the woods across the intervening thickets, but each time our guns ”double-shotted with canister” tore great gaps in their ranks and drove them back to cover.”
–Capt. Andrew Hickenlooper, 5th Ohio

“If I brought on the fight, I am to lead the van.”
– Col. Everett Peabody, 25th Missouri

“We were soon dumbfounded by seeing an enormous force of Confederate troops marching directly toward us,”
– Pvt. Charles Morton, 25th Missouri.

By 7:30 a.m. Peabody’s full brigade had taken position along this low ridge overlooking Shiloh Branch to the southwest, prepared to resist the Confederates who were advancing from that direction. Several hundred yards to the right rear (east; see Stop 5) Prentiss’s other brigade, commanded by Col. Madison Miller, was also coming into line. Some 650 yards directly behind Peabody’s men lay their own camps. About half a mile to the left rear, due north, the nearest troops of Sherman’s division peered southward toward this area, glimpsed formations moving through the trees (much less forest intervened in those days), and wondered what it all meant.

Peabody and Prentiss themselves were not quite sure what their new fight meant. They thought it might be merely a very large skirmish, but Prentiss was furious about it just the same. Angrily he berated Peabody for starting a battle without permission. With his reconnaissance patrol being driven back despite reinforcements, Peabody had more pressing business at the moment than making explanations to an obtuse superior. As he turned his horse toward the sound of the firing he snapped a salute and called back, “If I brought on the fight, I am to lead the van,” and galloped off to put his troops on position on this ridge.

A few minutes after 7:30, Peabody’s men here saw a number of rabbits running toward them up the slope. Moments later they saw what had caused the strange behavior of the small animals. “We were soon dumbfounded by seeing an enormous force of Confederate troops marching directly toward us,” recalled the 25th Missouri’s Pvt. Charles Morton. Albert Sidney Johnston’s grand attack was finally underway, and the whole Confederate army was moving forward—haltingly at times, because of their inexperience and the rough ground, but inexorably.

The Confederate troops who attacked Peabody’s men here belonged to the brigades of Brig. Gen. Sterling A. M. Wood and Col. R. G. Shaver, men from Arkansas, Tennessee, Alabama, and Mississippi. They came right up the slope from Shiloh Branch, keeping the best line they could among the trees and underbrush. Heavy fire from Peabody’s line drove them back, but they rallied and came on again, pushed to seventy-five-yard range, and volleyed into the Union ranks. Casualties were heavy on both sides. With other Confederate formations sweeping around both his flanks, Peabody had to order a retreat, and what was left of his brigade headed back toward the camps, gaining speed and losing organization all the way.

Recommended link to learn more about the Battle of Shiloh

Recommended read:

Shiloh: The Battle That Changed the Civil War, by Larry Daniel.

“[Wounded rebels at Shiloh] had fallen in heaps, and the woods had taken fire and burned all the clothing off them and the naked bodies and blackened corpses are still lying there unburied. On the hillside near a deep hollow our men were hauling them down and throwing them in to the deep gully. One hundred and eighty had been thrown in when I was there. Men were on top of the dead, straightening out their legs and arms and tramping them down so as to make the hole contain as many as possible. Other men on the hillside had ropes with a noose on one end, and they would attach this to a man’s foot or his head and haul him down the hollow and roll him in.”

- Cyrus Boyd, 15th Iowa, quoted in Iowa Journal of History, vol. 50, no.1, 1952.

Recommended read:

The Civil War Diary of Cyrus F. Boyd Fifteenth Iowa Infantry 1861-1863 by Cyrus F. Boyd Louisiana State University Press, 1998.

BOYD, Cyrus F.
Residence Indianola, nativity Ohio.
GAR Post 171, Ainsworth, Brown County, Nebraska.
15th Iowa Infantry Co. G.

Recommended link to learn more about the Battle of Shiloh

“At four o’clock in the morning we began the march on the enemy. Each man had forty cartridges, all moving accoutrements and three days’ rations. General Johnston was cheered as he rode by our command and I remember his words as well as if they had been today, ˜Shoot low, boys; it takes two to carry one off the field.”
–Pvt. William E. Bevens, 1st Arkansas

“The battle has opened gentlemen; it is too late to change our dispositions. Tonight we will water our horses in the Tennessee River.”
–Gen. Albert Sidney Johnston

During the two days preceding the battle, Union troops on the outskirts of the encampment made numerous sightings of small groups of Confederates. There were even a couple of skirmishes, but the commanders of the two outlying Union divisions, Brig. Gen. William T. Sherman and Brig. Gen. Benjamin M. Prentiss , dismissed the possibility of serious Confederate action. Colonel Everett Peabody, commanding one of Prentiss’s two brigades, was not so sure. A thirty-one-year-old Harvard graduate and successful railroad engineer, Peabody had already gained combat experience during operations in Missouri the preceding fall. This made him an unusual officer in Prentiss’s green Sixth Division. The newest division in the Army of the Tennessee, the Sixth had never maneuvered as a unit. It was in the process of being assembled in its camps about three quarters of a mile east of here out of raw troops sent straight down from their assembly points in the midwest. The green-as-grass 15th and 16th Iowa regiments, who would soon be loading their rifles for the very first time back at Pittsburg Landing, were slated to join Sixth Division later in the day.

Shortly after midnight on the morning of Sunday, April 6, Col. Peabody, acting on his own authority, ordered Maj. James E. Powell of the 25th Missouri to probe forward with three companies of his own regiment and two of the 12th Michigan—less than 400 men. By the time the column moved out, it was past 4:00 a.m. The first half mile was uneventful, as the troops marched through the darkness along an old wagon road. Then, near the southeast edge of Fraley Field, three shots came from Confederate pickets, who quickly made off in the darkness. Powell formed his detachment in skirmish line and advanced into the field. A few minutes after 5:00 a.m. the advancing Federals drew heavy fire from a line of Confederates about two hundred yards ahead, along the west edge of the field. These were the 280 men of the 3rd Mississippi Battalion, commanded by Maj. Aaron B. Hardcastle. A hot fire fight erupted between Powell’s men and Hardcastle’s and lasted for the next hour and fifteen minutes, with dozens of men hit on each side. The two lines at first were visible only by the muzzle flashes of their guns. Then as the morning light began to rise, Powell realized that more numerous Confederate troops were working around his flanks and ordered his command to fall back to the east, toward Prentiss’s camps.

Prentiss, Peabody, and others at the camps had already heard the firing and were making preparations for further combat. Also listening to the sound of gunfire from Fraley Field was Confederate commanding general Albert Sidney Johnston . As he breakfasted on coffee and hardtack that morning in the pre-dawn darkness, his top generals had approached him and, for the second time in as many days, tried to talk him into giving up and going back to Corinth. While Johnston listened patiently, the sound of heavy firing came from Fraley Field. “The battle has opened gentlemen,” said Johnston decisively, “it is too late to change our dispositions.” Then, mounting his big thoroughbred Fire-eater, he added, “Tonight we will water our horses in the Tennessee River.”

Recommended reads:

Reminiscences of a Private. William E. Bevens of the First Arkansas Infantry, C.S.A.

Edited with an Introduction by Daniel E. Sutherland. The University of Arkansas Press. Fayetteville, Arkansas 1992.

An illustrated history of the Missouri Engineer
and the 25th Infantry Regiments; together with a roster of
both regiments and the last known address of all that could
be obtained … Ed. and comp. by Dr. W. A. Neal. Published: Chicago, Donohue and Henneberry, printers, 1889.

For a full treatment of the Battle of Shiloh visit this web site

This was written by E. H. Buterbaugh for a Union soldier form PA . However, it can obviously apply to any soldier who fought in the Brothers’ War.

Picket Guard

All quiet and calm, lies the broad battle plain,
When heroes by hundreds lay sleeping,
They hear not the wail that has gone over the land,
They heed not the eyes that are weeping,
There’s many afond mother mourns for her boy,
And many a maid for her Lover,
And many a wife sits in sadness and gloom,
Lamenting the days that are over.

When the contest was raging with fury and might,
On that scene now so calm in its beauty,
A soldier was seen in the midst of the fight,
Never flinching from danger, or duty.
Death’s carnival raged, and the shot and the shell,
In the hot air around him were flying,
But he heeded them not, till he sank to the ground,
And the hero and soldier lay dying.

Oh Father! forgive for the sake of thy son,
Receive now my soul in thy Keeping,
Farewell, darling wife, I shall see you no more,
Soon this form in the grave will be sleeping,
He took from his breast, where it lay through the strife,
A picture he looked on with pleasure,
He pressed his pale lips to the form he loved best,
Thanking God for so precious a treasure.

My darlings in vain for my coming you wait,
Your Father, who loves you is dying,
Good Angels are waiting to bear me away,
Not alone on the field am I dying.
Frankie and Alice and dear little Fred,
No more shall I hear your sweet prattle,
Or feel your soft Kisses upon my rough cheek,
Farewell! I have fought my last battle:

Then dear ones be good, and your mother obey,
And grieve not her heart in its sadness,
Remember your father with Kindness and love,
How he died for his country with gladness,
My eyes growing dim and my pulse beating slow,
I feel that my heart strings are riven,
The shadows have passed… dearest Wife I must go
Bring the children and meet me in Heaven.

Bivouac on a Mountain side
Walt Whitman (1819-1892)

I see before me now a traveling army halting,
Below a fertile valley spread,
with barns and the orchards of summer,
Behind, the terraced sides of a mountain,
abrupt, in places rising high,
Broken, with rocks, with clinging cedars,
with tall shapes dingily seen,
The numerous camp-fires scatter’d near and far, some away up on the mountain,
The shadowy forms of men and horses,
looming, large-sized, flickering,
And over all the sky — the sky! far, far out of reach, studded, breaking out, the eternal Stars.

William Thompson, of Mississippi (speaking of James Magnum) talks about the wounded at Shiloh:

I began to see men on the ground and soon realized that they were hurt. At first I couldn’t see their faces. Maybe I didn’t want to see them. The first wounded man I recognized was my Uncle Henry’s eldest son, cousin James Magnum. He had been shot in the face. I wanted to help him . . . Everyone was moving forward . . . . We just had to get at those Federals who were shooting at us.

3.8 million men (and many boys) fought during the American Civil War, from 1861 - 1865.  2.8 million fought to preserve the Union, and just over 1 million fought for the Confederacy.

For every 1,000 Federals (roughly the size of a Regiment), 112 were wounded. 150 of every 1,000 Confederates were wounded.

While a Union soldier stood a 1 in 18 chance of dying in battle, he stood a 1 in 8 chance of dying of disease. Johnny Reb stood a 1 in 5 chance of dying of disease and a 1 in 8 chance of dying in combat.

From 1861-1865 the Union had 275,000 wounded soldiers in battle. 61% were from gunshot or artillery. The South saw 125,000 total wounded. The three major U.S. wars, prior to the Civil War, only saw about 15,000 wounded men and just 8,000 total deaths. At Shiloh, on April 6-7, 1862, there were 16,000 men wounded in a 48 hour period. That is more wounded than in all three previous pre-Civil War battles combined. 3,500 men, on both sides, lost their lives at Shiloh.

These kind of casualty numbers caused an enormous strain on the medical care required for the soldiers. When the War broke out there were just 113 surgeons in the U.S. Army, by the end there would be 12,000 in the Union ranks, and an additional 3,200 in the Confederate Army.

Many men no doubt expired on the field having simply bled to death before proper care could be administered. There may have even been cases of an army bayoneting the wounded after a battle, as was recorded in Harper’s Weekly (August 17, 1861).

William Thompson, of Mississippi (speaking of James Magnum) talks about the wounded at Shiloh:

I began to see men on the ground and soon realized that they were hurt. At first I couldn’t see their faces. Maybe I didn’t want to see them. The first wounded man I recognized was my Uncle Henry’s eldest son, cousin James Magnum. He had been shot in the face. I wanted to help him . . . Everyone was moving forward . . . . We just had to get at those Federals who were shooting at us.

Care for the wounded improved greatly as the War drew on. Mortality rates for surgeries especially improved as doctors improved their understanding of the body, disease, and the application of medical procedures.

Sources: The Civil War Times, October 2004 issue.

Surgeons and amputations during the Civil War

“At the time of the Civil War, ether or chloroform or a mixture of the two was administered by an assistant, who placed a loose cloth over the patient’s face and dripped some anesthetic onto it while the patient breathed deeply. When given this way, the initial effects are a loss of consciousness accompanied by a stage of excitement . . . . The Civil War surgeon went to work immediately, hoping to finish before the drug wore off. Although the excited patient was unaware of what was happening and felt no pain, he would be agitated, moaning or crying out, and thrashing about during the operation. He had to be held still by assistants so the surgeon could continue.” Bollet, (p. 32).

It is commonly believed that most Civil War surgeons were simply butchers, amputating arms and legs unnecessarily oftentimes. This popular misconception is partially due to movies and film depicting gross scenes of amputations performed by rogue surgeons against the screaming wishes of his patient as the doctor amputates a bleeding leg. Though grotesque scenes such as these make for good cinema, it was hardly the typical experience during the Civil War.

Dr. Alfred Bollet dispels several myths about surgery during the Civil War in his fine article (The Truth about Civil War Surgery) in the October 2004 issue of Civil War Times. Bollet explains how surgeons had other procedures they could use besides amputation, how surgery was almost always done with anesthesia, that most wounds were not just to arms and legs, and that not every surgeon had the authority to amputate.

To be sure, there were some isolated incidences of surgery done without anesthesia (for example at Iuka, Mississippi on September 17, 1862) and/or cases where an amputation was not necessary. But medical scholars and historians attest that the surgical care provided by doctors to soldiers during the Civil War was very good for its time. This is all the more remarkable when we realize that little was known about germs, and the spread of infection, and drugs were nearly non-existent in the 1860s. Perhaps a major reason why it was commonly believed, especially by soldiers, is because of how little soldiers knew about anesthesia back then. Bollet writes:

“At the time of the Civil War, ether or chloroform or a mixture of the two was administered by an assistant, who placed a loose cloth over the patient’s face and dripped some anesthetic onto it while the patient breathed deeply. When given this way, the initial effects are a loss of consciousness accompanied by a stage of excitement . . . . The Civil War surgeon went to work imediately, hoping to finish before the drug wore off. Although the excited patient was unaware of what was happening and felt no pain, he would be agitated, moaning or crying out, and thrashing about during the operation. He had to be held still by assistants so the surgeon could continue.” Bollet, (p. 32).

Most amputations performed during the Civil War were necessary to save the life of the soldier. Wounds caused by bullets and artillery normally shattered the bone. The only recourse for most soldiers, if they wanted to live, would be to have the shattered bone or limb removed. The closer the amputation occurred to the trunk of the soldier the more likely it was for a soldier to not survive the operation. The fatality rate for soldiers who received an amputation was around 25% overall. Those who did die after amputation often did so because of infection, complications or because the wound was too severe to be able to survive.

Recommended reads:

Civil War Medicine: Triumphs and Challenges. Alfred J. Bollet.

Gangrene and Glory: Medical Care during the American Civil War. Frank R. Freemon.

This is a poem written by Emily Dickinson in 1862 after viewing Mathew Brady’s haunting visual images of the Civil War:

My Portion is Defeat — today –
A paler luck than Victory –
Less Paeans — fewer Bells –
The Drums don’t follow Me — with tunes –
Defeat — a somewhat slower — means –
More Arduous than Balls –

‘Tis populous with Bone and stain –
And Men too straight to stoop again –,
And Piles of solid Moan –
And Chips of Blank — in Boyish Eyes –
And scraps of Prayer –
And Death’s surprise,
Stamped visible — in Stone –

There’s somewhat prouder, over there –
The Trumpets tell it to the Air –
How different Victory
To Him who has it — and the One
Who to have had it, would have been
Contended — to die –

He has gone, and I have sent him!
Think you I would bid him stay,
Leaving, craven-like, to others
All the burden of the day?
All the burden? nay, the triumph!
Is is hard to understand
All the joy that thrills the hero
Battling for his native land?

Source: Harper’s Weekly, November 1, 1862 [page 696]. Used by permission. This issue can be purchased as a re-print.

This description of a “soldier boy” was written by Chaplain John J. Hight, 58th Indiana.

Oh, the wild, glorious, roving life of a bold soldier boy! With all thy faults, I love thee still. How pleasant the sweet consciousness that God gives him that he fights in a good cause. His soul is unfettered by the trammels of civilized life. Does he desire to worship? Where he is is his church. Does he wish for sleep? He says with Tecumseh, “The earth is my mother; I will repose on her bosum.” No pent up Utica contracts his powers; he travels far and near, seeing many lands. He sails on the ocean, steams on the river, rattles on the cars, trudges on the mud road, and climbs bold mountains. He bares his breast to the storm and says, “Thou art my borther.” The gentle rains fall upon his brow, and he welcomes them as a mother’s kiss. He would not exchange the cooling draught of water from the sparkling fountain for all of the drinks of the most fashionable saloon. His fare is rough, but then his appetite is good, and he is not sickened over dainties. He lives a life of toil, but his muscles are strong and his heart is brave. He exists amid dangers, but he heeds them not, for the smiles of the fair, the prayers of the good, and the hopes of the oppressed cheer him on. When he stands in battle, his soul sinks not in fear, for above him is the flag of the free, and beneath the soil he would lie, rather than yield to tyrants. The canon’s deadly roar, the crash of arms, the shout of the charge are his music. If victory comes, his soul is filled with indescribable joy. If he fails, full well he knows, “Whether on the scaffold high, — Or in the battle’s van, — The noblest places for man to die — Is where he dies for man.”

If he perish, true hearted comrades will dig his grave. “No useless coffin will enclose his form; he will lay like a warrior, taking his rest, with his martial cloak around him.” Why need he dread death? Is not the grave the common receptacle of the young, the beautiful, the beloved? Let not the brave then fear to die. His memory shall be cherished by those who love him. The mighty deeds in “which he bore an humble part shall live in the traditions of a thousand generations - but, hush, my wandering thoughts! Stillness reigns in camp, ’tis time for sleep. Good night.

CAIRO [IL] CITY WEEKLY NEWS, December 5, 1861, p. 1, c. 1

(For the Cairo City Gazette.)

Army Nurses

Band of kind, unselfish women,
Who dar’st to brave the cannon’s peal,
To wound, is stern man’s sterner duty,
‘Tis thine to watch, to soothe and heal.
Shrink not tho’ some may scorn the calling,
Of benefactress of thy race;
Thy God hath formed thee for a helper,
That post of hon’r is thy place.
Thou’st left thy home, and dear home comforts
To witness carnage, blood and death
Thou’lt hear loved names in feeble whisper
Sobbed out with many a dying breath.
But there’s a might in human kindness,
A power reactive to uphold;
That takes thy strength to aid the feeble,
But gives thee back an hundred fold.
Like rays of light thy deeds of goodness,
Out-shining ever from one source;
And ever crossing cast no shadow,
Upon each other’s radiant course.
Strength equal to thy day’ll be given,
And when sweet peace regains control,
Thy deeds will shine like tints of heaven,
Around a dark and bloody scroll.

Excerpts….

we have made another successful attact at Newberne which we done in bold and brave courage.

There they had four large heavy guns bearing upon us but a few shells from our gunboats soon silenced that one which the rebels left and proceeded up the river…

It was a bold attempt but we won the victory driving the rebels in every direction.

8th Connecticut Infantry, Company C., Pvt. Cyrus B. Harrington of Canton, CT., enlisted in September 1861 and mustered in on 9/25/61. He re-enlisted on December 24, 1863. Sadly, Harrington died on the very last day of the war - the day Lee signed surrender papers - on April 9th, 1865.

As part of the 8th CT., Harrington was engaged at New Berne, seige of Ft. Macon, Antietam, Fredricksburg, Walthall Junction, Drewry’s Bluff, Cold Harbor and Fort Harrison.

Read the complete letter

From the diary of Elisha Hunt Rhodes

March 21, 1862

I am twenty years of age today. The past year has been an eventful one to me, and I thank God for all his mercies to me. I trust my life in the future may be spent in his service. When I look back to March 21/61 I am amazed at what has transpired. Then I was a peaceful clerk in Frederick Miller’s office. Today I am a soldier anxious to move. I feel to thank God that he has kept me within his fold while so many have gone astray, and trust that he will give me Grace to continue to serve Him and my country faithfully. I have now been in service ten months and feel like a veteran. Sleeping on the ground is fun, and a bed of pine boughs better than one of feathers. We are still waiting for orders which must come very soon. Many of the men are broken down by the late march, but I am stronger than ever.

Elisha Hunt Rhodes (1842-1917) was a boy when he enlisted as a private in the 2nd Rhode Island Volunteers; he was a man and the colonel in charge of the regiment when it was disbanded in July 1865. His story shows how the war and the Union Army offered opportunities for advancement to able, and lucky, for many an able man died, young men who could face, survive, and grow through adversity. Rhodes’s pluck, intelligence, and sense of responsibility showed at an early age. When his father died, the sixteen-year-old boy left school and became a clerk for a mill supplier so he could support his mother and two brothers. Because his family needed him, he resisted enlisting in the first regiment raised by Rhode Island, but when the call went out to form the second one, he could not contain his desire to join the army. After obtaining his mother’s consent, he marched off to war.

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Irish songster and entertainer to the troops during the Civil War, Barney Williams received the following accolades from his contemporaries:

. . . the genuine Paddy, the true Irish peasant.

When he opened his mouth you could smell the shamrock.

Barney Williams . . . held a dominating place on the American stage as the portrayer of Irish comic roles from the middle 1840’s till the 1870s.

He could make an audience roar by hispantomimc excellence.

Williams possessed the true Irish spirit of the comical . . .

It all started simply enough. I was reading through other parts of the December 2, 1864 issue of The New York Times. I originally purchased the newspaper for its value in recording the story of the Battle of Franklin which was fought on November 30, 1864.

As I was thumbing through the classifieds, more specifically the section labeled “Amusement,” I stumbled upon this particular ad and it caught my eye:

Several things struck me. One, the ad was promoting a husband/wife team. Two, they were comedians. Three, they used song in their routine. Fourth, there appeared to be an Irish connection. The information caught my attention enough to do a quick Google search on Barney Williams. I soon discovered Barney Williams was originally born Bernard O’Flaherty, born in Cork, Ireland, and he performed for President Lincoln as well as for the troops during the Civil War (at least for the 47th NY according to Miles O’Reilly)

Excellent speeches were made by General Daniel E. Sickles, Mr. James T. Brady, John Van Buren, Wm. E. Robinson, Commodore Joseph Hoxie, Judge Charles P. Daly, Daniel Devlin, and others; while Dr. Carmichael, Mr.John Savage, Mr. Stephen C. Massett, Mr. Barney Williams, and several celebrated songsters, amateur and professional, favored the company with patriotic and expressive melodies as the good vessel steamed up the Hudson on a brief pleasure trip.

I then Googled his name to find any extant images of him and/or his wife and I was delighted to find this wonder CDV.

I spent many hours that first evening mining the riches of the Internet and digging up everything I could on Mr. and Mrs. Barney Williams. Here are some quotes about him from his contemporaries:

. . . the genuine Paddy, the true Irish peasant.

When he opened his mouth you could smell the shamrock.

Barney Williams . . . held a dominating place on the American stage as the portrayer of Irish comic roles from the middle 1840’s till the 1870s.

He could make an audience roar by hispantomimc excellence.

Williams possessed the true Irish spirit of the comical . . .

Read a complete bio on Barney Williams

Pittsburg Landing, April 1862

“Before sunrise [I] left the boat and strolled to the top of the hill, which rises precipitously, and to a great height from the Landing. It was a most invigorating, peaceful, quiet Sabbath morning. Not a sound fell upon the ear.”
–Capt. James G. Day, 15th Iowa

“We were all spoiling for a fight, and there was no little amount of grumbling done by members of the Regiment on account of the fear that we would not be there in time to take part in the battle.”
–Sgt. W. P. L. Muir, 15th Iowa

In 1862 Pittsburg Landing amounted to nothing more than a log cabin or two atop a forty to fifty foot high bluff above the Tennessee River. Its significance to the Union forces was that it offered a potential staging area for a planned advance against Corinth, Mississippi, twenty miles to the southwest. The plateau stretching inland from Pittsburg Landing offered dry ground on which an entire army could camp—near the Tennessee River, which was its line of supply, yet safely above the flood waters of what had been a very wet spring.

A small Confederate detachment occupied the landing in early March, but left after Union gunboats shelled them. The first Union troops steamed up the river March 14 and disembarked here. They were two brigades under the command of Brigadier General Stephen A. Hurlbut , sent by Maj. Gen. Charles F. Smith , then temporarily commanding the Army of the Tennessee. Smith sent another division of Union troops—four brigades under Brig. Gen. William T. Sherman — steaming past the landing and on up the river to try to reach and break the strategic Memphis & Charleston Railroad. The ubiquitous floodwaters stopped Sherman from accomplishing his mission, so he turned back and, on orders from Smith joined Hurlbut at Pittsburg Landing on March 15. Smith recognized the value of Pittsburg Landing as a base and ordered Sherman to move out into the countryside and secure an area large enough to encamp the whole army. Over the weeks that followed, steamers swarmed into Pittsburg Landing carrying more and more troops.

By early April Ulysses S. Grant was back in command of the Army of the Tennessee. Five of the army’s divisions, totaling about 35,000 men, were encamped in an area stretching two and a half miles inland from this landing, with another division four miles down river at Crump’s Landing. On the morning of Sunday, April 6 a number of steamboats lay along the bank here. Some of them had just tied up that morning about daylight, bringing the brand-new 15th and 16th Iowa regiments. Fresh from their home state, the Iowa soldiers had never yet loaded their government-issued rifles. On another steamer newly arrived that morning was Anne Wallace, wife of Brig. Gen. William H. L. Wallace . Her husband, who commanded the Second Division, encamped less than half a mile away, was unaware of her surprise visit. All witnesses agree that it was an unusually pleasant, sunny spring morning.

Engraving after an artwork by J.O. Davidson, published in “Battles and Leaders of the Civil War”, Volume I, page 489. It shows six transports at Pittsburg Landing shortly after the Battle of Shiloh, in April 1862

Recommended read:

The Civil War Diary of Cyrus F. Boyd Fifteenth Iowa Infantry 1861-1863 by Cyrus F. Boyd Louisiana State University Press, 1998.

BOYD, Cyrus F.
Residence Indianola, nativity Ohio.
GAR Post 171, Ainsworth, Brown County, Nebraska.
15th Iowa Infantry Co. G.

Recommended link to learn more about the Battle of Shiloh

Harper’s Weekly (A Journal of Civilization) was an American political magazine based in New York City. It was published by Harper & Brothers from 1857 until 1916. It sometimes had long articles on the political intrigues and scandals of the day.

Inception

Harper & Brothers publishing was started in 1825 by James, John, Joseph and Fletcher Harper. Following the successful example of the Illustrated London News, Fletcher began publishing Harper’s Monthly in 1850. The publication was more intent on publishing established authors such as Dickens and Thackeray, but was a great enough success to begin publishing the Harper’s Weekly in 1857.

By 1860 the Weekly’s circulation had reached 200,000. Among its recurring features were the political cartoons of Thomas Nast who was recruited in 1862 and would remain with the Weekly for more than 20 years. Nast was a feared caricaturist, considered by some the father of American political carto oning. He was the originator of the use of animals to represent the political parties—the Democrat’s donkey and the Republican’s elephant—as well as the familiar character of Uncle Sam.

Around the Civil War

So as not to upset its wide rea dership in the South, Harper’s took a moderate editorial position on the issue of slavery. For this it was called by the more hawkish publications “Harper’s Weakly.” The Weekly supported the Stephen A. Douglas presidential campaign against Abraham Lincoln, but as the American Civil War broke out, Lincoln and the Union received full and loyal support of the publication. Arguably, some of the most important articles and illustrations came from the Weekly’s reporting on the war. It published many renderings in woodcut, by artists such as Alfred Waud, which are now important archives.

Presidential maker

After the war Harper’s Weekly became more supportive of the Republican Party, playing an important role in the election of Ulysses Grant in 1868 and 1872. In the 1870s cartoonist Thomas Nast began an aggressive campaign in the journal against the corrupt New York political leader William “Boss” Tweed. Nast turned down a $200,000 bribe to end his attack, and eventually Tweed was arrested in 1876 and convicted of fraud. Nast and the Weekly also played an important part in securing Rutherford B. Hayes’ 1876 presidential election. Later on Hayes remarked that Nast was “the most powerful, single-handed aid [he] had.” However, in 1884 Nast supported the Democratic candidate, Grover Cleveland for president. In doing so, Nast helped Cleveland become the first Democratic president since 1856, and became known as the “presidential maker”.

Illustrations were an important part of the Weekly’s content, and it developed a reputation for employing some of the most renowned illustrators, notably Winslow Homer along with Livingston Hopkins. After 1900, Harper’s Weekly devoted more print to political and social issues, and featured articles by some of the more prominent political figures of the time, such as Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson.

The above text is taken from Wikipedia (article last modified on 24 November 2006)

“On entering [Murfreesboro] . . . what a sight met my eyes! Prisoners entering every street, ambulances bringing in the wounded, every place crowded with the dying, the Federal General [Joshua W.] Sill, lying dead in the courthouse - killed Wednesday (December 31st) - Frank Crosthwait’s (20th TN) lifeless corpse stretched on a counter. . . . The churches were full of wounded, where the doctors were amputating legs and arms.”

- Mrs Bromfield L. Ridley, her husband and sons fought in the battle, whom she found safe later

Citation source: Eyewitnesses at the Battle of Stone’s River, Logsdon, p.84

Let’s let James A. Wright, a sergeant in Company F of the First Minnesota describe what grapevine dispatches are:

“One thing surprised me then – and I have wondered at it since — how some of the boys managed to get so much information as to what was being done and what it was planned to do. Every day had its story of what was to be done on the morrow, but when tomorrow came it failed to materialize. Many fanciful stories were current in camp for the week preceding the march for Bull Run. Of course, they soon failed to pass current and were referred to as ‘grapevine dispatches.’”

Civil War Memories of Abraham Shewmaker, Company D, 11th Indiana Regiment

“We found among them a great many Union men. They treated us as well as circumstances would permit and as there was not much discipline among them, we would talk with the guards while on duty and many of them did not hesitate to tell us that the were there against their will and would rather be on the other side. We amused ourselves by establishing what we called the Grapevine Dispatches which was manufactured and produced every day or so by some of the boys who would call up a crowd and read the Grapevine Dispatch, then we would give three cheers and a cigar. The rebs would come in and want to know what was up. We would read them the Grapevine and tell them that Richmond was taken, or Jeff Davis had been captured, or 3 miles of the Mississippi River had burned up, or Lee had surrendered and various other things, all of which seemed to worry some of them. Whether they did not give credit to the Dispatches, their looks told that it was only a question of time that they might be true and their hopes were not on par with the good open countenance of Colored Man toten a fat possum.”

General Sherman Marching through Georgia - chapter XI

“We were aroused the next morning long before daybreak and ordered to get ready to move.  The weather was very cold, and felt more like November than May.  We left camp at three o’clock in the morning and marched in the direction of Buzzard Roost Gap.  We took our position in front of it and commenced fortifying.  The enemy seemed unusually quiet.  Our batteries shelled them occasionally, but there was no reply.  We remained in position behind our works all day.  Everything appeared to be very quiet except the usual skirmishing. The day was cold and chilly and fires were comfortable. There were rumors among the boys in the evening that the enemy was falling back.  It was set down by the boys as a “grapevine” dispatch, although some firmly believed it.”

The Civil War papers told the story of Richard Battey’s time in the 23rd Regiment of Indiana Volunteers.

“On the 17th, Battey wrote, “heard today that Lincoln had been assassinated. Hope it is only a grapevine dispatch.”

“If the cotton states shall become satisfied that they can do better out of the Union than in it, we insist on letting them go in peace . . . . We hope never to live in a Republic whereof one section is pinned to another by bayonets.”
- Horace Greeley, editorial, December 17, 1860, The New York Tribune

South Carolina became the first southern state to secede three days later.

“If the cotton states wish to form an independent nation, they have a clear moral right to do so.”
- Horace Greeley, editorial, February 23, 1861, The New York Tribune

Five days earlier, Jefferson Davis was elected President of the Confederate States of America.

Suggested read:

The General and the Journalists: Ulysses S. Grant, Horace Greeley, and Charles Dana.

“[Stonewall Jackson] places no value on human life, caring for nothing so much as fighting, unless it be praying.”

George E. Pickett, writing to his wife on October 11, 1862

Citation source: The Oxford Dictionary of Civil War Quotations, p. 330.

Scene screenshot from the movie Gods and Generals.

“At four o’clock in the morning we began the march on the enemy. Each man had forty cartridges, all moving accoutrements and three days’ rations. General Johnston was cheered as he rode by our command and I remember his words as well as if they had been today, Shoot low, boys; it takes two to carry one off the field.“

–Pvt. William E. Bevens, 1st Arkansas

Bevins fought at the Battle of Shiloh, April 6-7, 1862

Suggested reading:

Bevens, William E. Reminiscences of a Private: William E. Bevens of the First Arkansas Infantry, C. S.A., intro. and ed. by Daniel L. Sutherland, Fayetteville: University of Arkansas Press, 1992.

Book description:

Many memoirs of warfare find their way into print and onto bookshelves, but most such accounts tend to range far afield from the events that gave rise to them: fact and fiction blur, drama and grandeur replace the tedium of long marches and endless waiting, and selective memories meld with action to reshape battles. Not so with this diary. Reminiscences of a Private is a faithful and personal chronicle of William Bevens’s participation in such famous Civil War battles as Shiloh, Chickamauga, Atlanta, and Nashville. There is no supernal heroism here, no pretension, no grandiose analyses. Bevens is neither introspective nor philosophical, and he rarely dwells on the larger issues of the war. He concerns himself with what mattered to him as a common foot soldier. There are longer and fuller accounts of the war; there are few as honest or as direct as this rough journal. By confining his contributions as editor to filling gaps in Bevens’s narrative, to correcting some misspellings, and to providing dates and explanatory notes, Daniel Sutherland allows Bevens to tell his story in his own words–a remarkable story of a young Arkansan at war. His unassuming voice will speak to all readers with compelling candor.

Order it from Amazon

Learn more about the Battle of Shiloh

“The position we occupied was just in front of the Carter House, and the 50th Regiment [Ohio] actually tore down the Carter barn to help build our breastworks. It had been built of hewn logs, and we even put on a row of head logs. Our second line of works joined on to the Carter smokehouse, which lay west of the house.”

Lt. Thomas C. Thoburn, 50th Ohio, Strickland’s Brigade
Citation source: Eyewitness at the Battle of Franklin, Logdson, p2.

The Carter house (below) as it looks today.

Larger picture

Flickr folder of Civil War pictures related to Carter House and the Battle of Franklin; Williamson County, TN

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The following letters were written by Asa M. Weston, a member of the 50th Ohio. Weston was a sergeant in Company K.

Source citation: The Civil War Gazette

Franklin, Tenn.
Nov 12th 1864

Dear Sister,

It has been a long time since we have had any thing like regular mail communication and consequently I have not attempted to write to you. I am now on the cars some thirty miles from Nashville. We have stopped to wait for another & then we go on to Pulaski. [John Bell] Hood’s old army is up here some where & part of Shermans army is here to watch him while Sherman himself with the main force is advancing from Atlanta to Savannah or Charleston. He will destroy the entire railroads of the Confederacy and then they will be reduced to still greater straits than before. Old Abe is elected & if Jeff Davis wishes to try his hand for four years longer let him do so. The Southern Confederacy will by that time be effectually destroyed while the North will be flourishing as the rose. If southern traitors wish desolation and destruction of their entire country Abolition of Slavery included let them have it.

Columbia, Tenn.
Nov. 23rd 1864

Dear Sister,

Since I commenced the letter on the other page circumstances prevented my finishing it. We started immediately from Franklin & when we got here I was sent away & in the mean time the cars which had my things on were sent back before they were unloaded. A man was with the whole of the luggage & he just returned to us the other day. So I concluded to write on the same sheet nevertheless. Nearly all I care about writing at present is that I am perfectly well and doing well for a soldier. Cold weather has commenced. Day before yesterday we had a little spotting of snow just enough to be seen on the ground, when it cleared off the ground froze hard so that now we consider ourselves embarked in the winter campaign. Yet winters with the exception of a few days are not so very disagreeable and soon you know almost before we are aware of it spring will come & its heels another summer which will let us out of the service even if the war is not as I hope it will be ended. How I wish a few of the northern democrats or Copperheads for there is very little difference between them were in the place of some of these Rebs so that they could try the effect of our bullets. George writes that his house is burned down. He takes it hard! P Shah! I could whistle over such misfortunes as that. Haven’t I seen thousands of such buildings burned in the South. Black smoking ruins where the house once stood. Every fence burned down, every particle of corn potatoes etc. destroyed & every part of the farm rendered so barren that even a rat would not be secure from starvation. I like to see it done here for the South has sown the wind & they should reap the whirlwind. The worst men that God ever suffered to live are in my mind the Aristocrats of the south. And side by side with them are their sympathizers in the North. Have your heard from Thomas lately. According to my understanding his time will be out in ten or fifteen days. He enlisted on the first of December & I the following August. I have nine months & a few days yet. We have been notified several times since we have been here to look out for Hood & [Nathan Bedford] Forrest. They have not paid us a visit yet & I hope will not attempt to at present. We don’t care about fighting them but can & will if they come this way. Our regt. is in excellent condition though small & we hope may be able to go out without losing many more men. Excuse this letter which was hastily written & though in two parts, may perhaps be as good as any I could write were I to commence anew. Remember me to all the friends. Write the news as soon as possible.

Your Brother

A.M.Weston

Nov 27th We have had quite a battle here I am well & unhurt

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Columbia Tenn
Dec 28th 1864

Dear Sister,

I received a long letter from you today. I reply not because there is anything of importance transpiring just at present, but because when the most happens is the time I am entirely unable to write. Since I was last at Columbia we have had some stirring times. Hood drove us back to Nashville. We had a very severe battle at Franklin during which our Regiment lost in killed wounded & captured some thing over half its men. After that we were in the big fight at Nashville & our company lost its Commanding Officer, a fine man who was shot through the breast & had an arm broken by a musket ball. But the success atoned for all the loss & more. Hood has halted at Columbia again. The rest of the Army has gone down after Hood. How long we shall remain here idle I know not but presume we shall have plenty to do. Sherman has taken Savannah & Hardee has escaped with his 15,000 men & will probably reinforce Hood which will give him a chance to show us considerable fight. But we shall conquer in the end. The right will triumph in the end. Charleston will be taken next and all important Sea ports. Christmas is over & I thought often of the fine times you were having at home. We had rather hard times living on hard tack & sow belly. It is quite cold to night, I have just had an argument on Slavery with the Captain who is for allowing the slaveholders credit for honesty on account of early education and I am not. I would just as — take a horse or hoe from one of these men as not. But I must stop writing. Having passed safely through the Battle of Franklin I expect good times for a while. Let me know if any thing new happening and you hear from Thomas.

Goodbye.

Your Bro. A.M.Weston

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