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Page 26 ON THE MARCH SOUTHWARD The 26th Missouri Infantry was with the troops who followed the enemy on November 26th and 27th up to midnight, when the order came to march back to Bridgeport. The regiment was out of crackers and the boys were compelled to satisfy their hunger by eating parched corn. There was an abundance of rations at Bridgeport, Ala., twenty-eight miles away, but the roads were full of troops on the move to that point, hence provisions could not be sent to us. On November 29th, orders were received to march to Bridgeport, and on November 30th, I issued orders to the 26th Missouri to parch one day’s rations of corn, and be ready to move at seven o’clock in the morning. The roads were badly cut up by wagons, moving artillery, and crowded with tired troops, and the march was necessarily slow. The 26th commissary sergeant, with a detail and mules, was sent through the woods to Bridgeport on a forced march for the purpose of procuring rations, and to meet the regiment on the way. The next morning the commissary sergeant was seen approaching, with his pack mules winding their way through the woods, close to the road, with a box of Page 27 crackers strapped on either side of each animal, and a quantity of bacon on its back between the cracker boxes. When the men saw the provisions coming they made the woods ring by shouting: "Crackers, sow-belly, sow-belly, crackers, etc." We were very hungry and a halt was ordered, fires built, and the regiment at once commenced cooking breakfast. Coffee was boiled in tin cups, strips of bacon cut and stuck upon sticks and thrust before the fire, and when the grease began to run out, crackers were held under the drip and the savory food quickly eaten. The boys were happy over the abundance of food and the relief from a parched corn diet. Breakfast finished, the march was resumed and Bridgeport reached the same day, where we remained on duty several weeks. The 26th was ordered to Huntsville, Ala. About January 1st, 1864, and remained there on duty until about May 1st, when our brigade was ordered to Decatur, Ala., to strengthen that post, it being very much exposed to the enemy, situated as it was on what was called the enemy’s side of the Tennessee river. Frequent annoyance was experienced by the sudden dashes of the enemy’s cavalry on the 26th Missouri pickets. One of our forts was located on quite an elevated position, and a signal gun was to be fired therefrom whenever the enemy came in sight. This gun let loose its voice quite frequently and the Union force would turn out in response, but on one occasion a very laughable circumstance occurred, but at the time it looked a little ugly. The commanding officer of the post, myself and several others were bathing in the Tennessee river, and the signal gun was fired, and of course all had to hustle into camp. We dressed ourselves, mounted our horses and rode Page 28 up to the fort as soon as possible, but the enemy had disappeared. The commanding officer of the post questioned the officer in charge of the fort about the enemy and his firing the gun. The post commander was a very nervous officer, and was always apprehensive of a surprise and this incident made him suspicious that the officer in charge of the gun had not fired as quick as he ought to have done. The officer, however, assured him that as soon as he sighted the enemy he had fired. The commanding officer excitedly replied, with: "Why in h—l didn’t you fire before you saw them?" From this point reconnoitering parties were often sent out. On one occasion a New York regiment was sent out, and had a little skirmish. On its return they were ambushed and had several wounded. The 26th Missouri with other troops were sent out to assist them, but they had to cut their way through before we reached them. On June 11th, we reconnoitered the Confederate lines, and encountered a few of their cavalry, capturing one of their horses, but had no engagement. We thought that they were watching the road to ambush us as we returned, but the Union troops returned by another route. The stay of the regiment at this post was very pleasant, and one of our pastimes was to rig up a pontoon boat with sales made of a "tent fly" and sail up and down the Tennessee river with our brigade band on board. We feasted on an abundance of fish, which the boys would catch and sell very cheap, but soon our pleasant sojourn came to an end by the regiment being ordered to Huntsville, Ala., on June 15th, 1864, to rejoin its division and take up the line of march for Atlanta, Ga. On the day mentioned, the 26th broke camp and marched about fifteen miles, when it encamped near Page 29 Madison Station. On June 16th, Huntsville twelve miles distant, was reached and a camp established with the balance of our division. June 22nd, 1864, the entire division marched on the Burnsburg road for about eleven miles. June 23rd, moved sixteen miles to Paint Rock creek. June 24th, marched seventeen miles, passing through Larkinsville, Ala., and bivouacked near Scotsburg, where a caisson of the 12th Wisconsin battery exploded, killing seven men; on man of the first brigade was accidentally shot and killed and two men of the second brigade died of sunstroke. On June 28th we marched eighteen miles on the Stephenson road, bivouacking on Crow creek, three miles from Stephenson, Ala., and on the evening of June 27th boarded the cars at Stephenson for Chattanooga, Tenn., arriving thee the next day, June 28th. At this time I received orders from General Stedman to take charge of seventeen hundred head of beef cattle and deliver them to General Sherman’s army at Marietta. It was considered a very risky undertaking for one regiment to protect so many cattle on a several days’ march through the enemy’s country, and I so informed General Stedman, who stated that he was aware of the fact, and made an order for about three hundred men then at Dalton to accompany the expedition. These men belonged to different commands which had been left there on the sick list, but were then able for duty. The same day we marched three miles in the country to where the cattle were in corral, and on June 30th we spent the entire day in getting ready for the march, by arranging wagons, ox teams, tents, camp equipage etc., belonging Page 30 to the cattle drivers. Receipts were given for everything – cattle, oxen, ox yokes, wagons, tents, camp kettles, plates, knives, forks, cups, spoons, etc., and all must be accounted for at the end of the march. The officers and men felt "blue" over the prospect before them, knowing that they would be subjected to the chances of a raid by the enemy’s cavalry, causing the cattle to stampede and in that event they would rush over us and trample many to death. On the morning of July 1st, the regiment moved forward on the journey of seventy-five miles. Part of the 26th Missouri was placed in front of the cattle, a few soldiers marched on either side of the road in the woods, some distance from the road, in order to prevent a surprise, and the remainder of the men were in the rear of the wagons, having the cattle in the middle. So the march commenced, the cattle drivers whooping and halloing with sufficient loudness as to be heard for miles. Many of the cattle were poor and the weather so warm that quite a number of them gave out every day. With great effort these were driven along to a military station and turned over to a quartermaster, taking a receipt therefor, as all government property must be satisfactorily accounted for. The march was so timed that all the cattle were corralled within the lines of some army post every night while on the road. Arriving at Dalton, July 2nd, 1864, we received our reinforcements, but instead of the 300 men promised, there were only 200 fit to undertake the march, and one officer. All had been off duty so long, and under no discipline whatever, that the reinforcements did not create a very favorable impression, but the best use had to be made of them. Two Page 31 or three officers of the 26th Missouri were placed in charge of them. Lieutenant Colonel McFall was instructed to be very strict with these men, and it seems that he was, for the next day some of them wanted to know if the Lieutenant Colonel "did not belong to the regulars." But in spite of our vigilance we had a great many stragglers by night. Next morning before resuming the march the command was reorganized by assigning an equal number of convalescents to each of the companies of the 26th. The officers did not enjoy the new order of things at first, but on being informed that it was for the good of the service they yielded a cheerful obedience, and we proceeded very nicely. When the regiment went into camp for the night, the rear guard did not have a straggler in charge. The 26th marched twelve miles and then went into camp at Resaca, Ga. On July 3rd, on account of the intense heat a six mile march only was made, and on July 4th, marched eleven miles, passing through Calhoun, camping within one mile of Adamsville, Ga. July 5th, an eleven mile march brought the regiment and its charge three miles east of Kingston, Ga., where a camp was made. July 6th, marched nine miles and encamped near Carterville, Ga. On July 7th, the command marched through Allatoona Pass where a great battle had been fought a few days before. A visit was paid to the hospital at that place, where 1000 wounded of the 15th Army Corps and 400 of the 16th were being cared for. On July 7th, the 26th Missouri marched about fifteen miles to Marietta, Ga., which was the end of a very hot journey. The regiment went into camp and turned over the cattle, wagons, etc., and resting until July 11th, the railroad cars were boarded, and the regiment rejoined the Division which was stationed at Cartersville, Ga. Page 32 The following order was received on July 20th:
The 26th Regiment was held in readiness at the depot for a few hours, but Colonel Dean received a dispatch notifying him that his command was not needed. The regiment returned to camp and remained on duty until July 24th, when the following order was received:
Next day the 26th Missouri arrived at Kingston and the regiment, under command of Lieut.-Col. McFall, was sent to the Etawah river and stationed at Gillam’s and Woolridge’s bridges, two miles from Kingston. The planks or floors of these bridges were taken up and piled on our side of the river and big piles of dry stuff laid up against them ready Page 33 to burn at a moment’s notice. The 93rd Illinois and the 10th Iowa were at Kingston, distributed along the railroad. The enemy had frequently dashed in and captured the pickets. Watch was kept day and night both in and outside of the lines. Quite a number of non-combatant rebels, inside the lines, were trying to give information to the enemy, notwithstanding their professed friendship. They were being fed with Union rations, and one "old rebel gent," who professed loyalty, was especially under suspicion. Several of the boys disguised themselves in rebel clothes and called on him at night. The boys inquired how the "Yanks" were fixed, and he replied that they had "stacks of rations at Kingston," and gave the number of Union soldiers at Kingston, the Etawah river, and the different block houses. The disguised Union soldiers then left the "old rebel gent," who evidently believed that he had done the Confederates a great favor, but to his surprise next morning, the same boys dressed in blue, called at his home and escorted him to headquarters. I have him quite a lecture, and sent him outside of the lines across the river, with strict injunctions, that if he was ever caught inside the Union lines, he would be shot as a spy. About July 30th, one of the Union wagon trains was attacked by the Confederate cavalry not far from Kingston. On hearing the firing, a force of cavalry was sent out and the infantry ordered to follow. We met the train guard coming into Kingston, having abandoned the wagons, and the force was able to save the teams, with exception of one or two mules which had to be shot. The enemy saw the approach of Union troops and made good their escape. Page 34 Forage for the horses having become scarce, I decided that an effort should be made to find some over the Etawah river on the enemy’s side, and accordingly a strong detail from the 26th Missouri replaced the planks on the bridge at Gillam’s, and wagons were sent over. They had gone only a short distance when a Confederate lady friend ran up to me and said that the men would surely be captured. The 26th Missouri boys, however, did not believe her, and stated that they "could whip their weight in wild cats" and over into the enemy’s territory they went, and safely returned with several loads of corn. The following Correspondence explains itself:
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On October 12th, 1864, a dispatch was received from Atlanta that General Hood had evacuated that place and was moving north. It was his intention to attack the Post at Kingston, for the purpose of securing the large quantity of commissary stores located there. The troops were set at work building a fort in order to defend themselves and the depot. The work continued night and day until the fort was completed. It was defended by two pieces of artillery, and the earthworks were additionally strengthened by cotton bales. The fort was also surrounded by rifle pits, so arranged that the men could be relieved from the fort without being exposed to the enemy’s fire. A palisade was erected around the entire works, which made everything ready for attack. The following order from General Sherman was received:
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General Hood prepared to attack Allatoona, and dispatched a whole rebel division, under French, to capture it. General Sherman, aware of his designs, sent a signal from the distant Kenesaw mountains to General Corse, who was in command of Rome, to take his brigade, and move with the utmost speed to Allatoona and hold it against all opposition until he himself could arrive with help. Pushing forward by railroad, General Corse reached the place with about two thousand men, arriving a little after midnight on the west side of the fortification. Just as Hood's skirmishers approached on the east, the enemy made an assault but were unsuccessful. The rebel General sent a flag of truce to General Corse and demanded a surrender. Then followed another unsuccessful assault, and another flag of truce with a demand for a surrender. General Corse informed the messenger that if Hood sent another flag of truce on such a mission , the would shoot him. They made another assault and were again repulsed. Maddened by their failure, a rebel officer procured a torch and attempted to fire the depot filled with rations. A negro servant saw him, and grasping a dead soldier's rifle, shot the rebel officer dead. Hood abandoned his efforts of capturing the position Page 38 and marched around, but Sherman, anxious about Allatoona, hastened forward, and reached the top of the Kenesaw, eighteen miles distant. He says, "I could see the smoke of battle and hear the faint sound of artillery." He immediately pushed forward a brigade, and flew his signal, telling Corse to "hold the fort" for he was coming. But General Corse had too much on his hands to be looking out for signals. He knew without them that Sherman was hurrying forward troops to his relief as fast as they could march. Our garrison at Kingston anxiously listened to the roar of the artillery, fully knowing if Hood crushed Corse the rebel horde would appear in our front the next day. Yet we felt confident that we could hold out until Sherman was on to them. We were more anxious about Allatoona than ourselves, as we were well fixed. A writer says: "The fight was kept up, and the smoke of battle wrapped the combatants, while far away on the serene heights of Kenesaw stood Sherman flying his signals and watching through his glass to see if they were answered. For a time they waved unheeded, but at last an answer came, and he knew then that while Corse lived, the rebel force would never have Allatoona. At three o'clock in the afternoon the rebel general gave it up - for, repulsed in every attack he saw he was only increasing his piles of dead, and ordered his bugles to sound retreat." Next day Hood passed by our outposts, and we exchanged a few shots with him. We had large quantities of commissary stores at Kingston, and Hood was well aware of that fact. but he was discreet enough to know that it would cost him too much to capture them. Page 39 Sherman hurrying forward his army passed through Allatoona to Kingston in pursuit of Hood, which he reached on October 6th. GENERAL SHERMAN AND STAFF DINE WITH COL. DEAN. We issued rations to Sherman's army from our commissary stores. General Sherman and staff took dinner with me, and the General remarked that "Hood would be very glad to eat such a good dinner." Sherman had telegraphed me when he would arrive in Kingston, and I ordered my cook to prepare the best dinner possible, and the menu was certainly all the could be desired. Sherman said that he would follow Hood until Thomas got hold of him, and then would return and make ready to march to the sea. He declared that he "would not hunt up anybody to fight with, but whatever came in his way he would knock out." Sherman returned to Kingston after his pursuit of Hood and was my guest for several days. On November 4th, 1864, our brigade, (the 3rd) was consolidated with the 2nd Brigade, in command of General Green B. Raum. Our brigade, consisting of the 26th Missouri, 93rd Illinois, 10th and 5th Iowa, had become very much reduced in numbers by the expiration of terms of enlistment, killed and wounded, about one-half of the latter named regiment being captured at Mission Ridge. |
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