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GEORGE FREDERICK DICK.
THE
EIGHTY-SIXTH REGIMENT,
INDIANA
VOLUNTEER INFANTRY.
A NARRATIVE OF ITS SERVICES
IN THE
CIVIL WAR OF 1861 - 1865.
Written by a Committee consisting of James A. Barnes
,James R. Carnahan
andThomas H. B. McCain
.CRAWFORDSVILLE, IND.:
THE JOURNAL COMPANY,
PRINTERS,
1895.
TO THE VOLUNTEERS
OF THE
EIGHTY-SIXTH INDIANA REGIMENT,
UPON WHOSE
VALOR, FIDELITY, CONSTANCY AND TRIUMPH,
AROSE
THE STANDARD OF
FREE GOVERNMENT AND UNIVERSAL LIBERTY.
AND TO THEIR
SONS AND DAUGHTERS. THEIR
WIVES, SISTERS AND MOTHERS,
THIS VOLUME
IS AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED,
IN THE HOPE
THAT IT MAY REMAIN A
TESTIMONIAL TO THEIR HEROIC ENDURANCE
PATRIOTIC SACRIFICES, AND A TRIBUTE TO THEIR
HALLOWED MEMORY.
CONTENTS.
- INTRODUCTORY 1
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CHAPTER I.
BURSTING OF THE STORM CLOUD.
The Secession of the Southern States—Firing on Sumter—President Lincoln's Proclamation—Governor Morton's Call for Six Regiments—The President's Call for Three Years' Men—The Response of Indiana 3
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CHAPTER II.
THE ORGANIZATION.The Eighty-sixth Recruited in Response to the Call for 300,000 More—The Material Furnished by the Eighth Congressional District—Rendezvoused at Camp Tippecanoe—Line, Field and Staff Officers 15
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CHAPTER III.
THE INITIATION.
Camp Tippecanoe—Its Fine Location—Hard Beds—Trials for Hoosier Stomachs—Edible Blankets—Electing Officers—Physical Examinations—First Efforts at Drill—Raiding the Sutler 21
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CHAPTER IV.
CAMP CARRINGTON.From LaFayette to Indianapolis—Camp Carrington—The Eighty-sixth Mustered In—The Blue Uniform Donned—Camp Equipage Drawn—The First "Hard Tack"—Furnished With Arms and Equipments—An Irishman on Guard—One Month's Pay—Orders to March 30
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CHAPTER V.
"GRUMBLE HILL."From Indianapolis to Cincinnati—Breakfast at Fifth Street Market—Across the River—Covington—Ludlow—Camp Mitchell—Newport—The First Bivouac—Camp Wallace—"Grumble Hill"—Company H on Picket—Wallowing in the Ditches 37
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CHAPTER VI.
DOWN THE OHIO.The "Forest Rose" and the "Dunleith"—The Beautiful Scenery—How the Boys Whiled Away the Time—Land at Jeffersonville—Camp Gilbert—Cross the River to Louisville—A Tedious Night March—Arrival of Buell's Army—The Clamor Against Buell—The Eighty-sixth's Assignment—General Nelson Killed 45
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CHAPTER VII.
IN PURSUIT OF BRAGG.A Real March—Its Trials and Its Lessons—Bardstown—The Dusty Limestone Pikes of Kentucky—River Water—Parched Corn—Raw Goose—Springfield—On to Perryville—The Detour for Water—A Forced Night March 53
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CHAPTER VIII.
PERRYVILLE.The Battle—The Field and the Dead—"The Gilded Puddle Which Beasts Would Cough At"—The Onward March—Bivouac in Fodder Houses—On the Skirmish Line All Day—A Reconnoissance—Danville—Stanford—Thundering at the Rebel Rear—Crab Orchard—Mt. Vernon—A Broken Country—"Hungry Hollow." 62
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CHAPTER IX.
THE WILD CAT HILLS.A Rough Country—A Toe Shot Off—Buell Denounced—Turned Back—Buell Removed—Rosecrans Assigned to the Command—Somerset—A Deep Snowfall—Apple Jack—Columbia—Overcoats and Dress Coats Drawn—Stolen Cheese—Glasgow 72
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CHAPTER X.
SILVER SPRINGS AND RURAL HILL.A Forty Days' March Reviewed—Death of William Rose and Archibald Coats—A March to Rural Hill—Skirmish With John Morgan's Men—In Camp Near Nashville—Detail of Twenty Men for the Pioneer Corps—Drill and Picket Duty 83
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CHAPTER XI.
THE BATTLE OF STONE'S RIVER.The Army of the Cumberland—Its Organization—The Eighty-sixth's Assignment—Moving Out From Nashville—Its Position—Plan of the Battle—Colonel Hamilton Relieved—The Movement on the Left Suspended—The Regiment Ordered to the Right—In the Vortex of Death—List of the Regiment's Killed and Mortally Wounded—The Second Day's Fight—Bragg Lost and Rosecrans Won 93
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CHAPTER XII.
WITHIN CONFEDERATE LINES.A Trip Through Dixie—From Murfreesboro to Chattanooga—To Atlanta and Montgomery—From There to Richmond—In Libby Prison—How the Days Were Spent—Released on Parole and Finally Exchanged 117
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CHAPTER XIII.
STONE'S RIVER TO CHICKAMAUGA.Six Months at Murfreesboro—Camp Life—How the Time Was Employed—The Long Stay An Absolute Necessity—The Eighty-sixth Receives Really Its First Military Instruction—Punishment of a Deserter—A Piece of Somber Romance—Other Incidents—March to McMinnville 122
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CHAPTER XIV.
THE CHICKAMAUGA CAMPAIGN.General Rosecrans Moves from Murfreesboro—Bragg is Driven from Tullahoma Over the Mountains and Out of Tennessee—A Most Skillful and Almost Bloodless Movement—The Eighty-sixth Leaves McMinnville—With the Brigade It Makes a Forced March—Down the Sequatchie Valley—Crosses the Tennessee—Rejoins the Division Near Ringgold—A Series of Confederate Blunders—A Narrow Escape for the Union Army—Playing for Position 146
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CHAPTER XV.
THE BATTLE OF CHICKAMAUGA.The Opening Ball—The Eighty-sixth in at the Beginning—Dick's Brigade in Support of Wilder—Important Points on the Field Described—Position of Rosecrans' Troops—Waiting in Suspense—The Orders Arrive—The Regiment Goes In—A Vivid Portrayal of the First Day's Contest—The Lines Reformed for the Second Day—The Bloody Contest Rages With Unabated Fury—The Various Movements of the Regiment, Brigade and Division—The Charges at the Kelly and Poe Fields—The Break in the Lines—Longstreet in the Charge—On Snodgrass Hill and Harker Hill—Steedman's Troops Come Up—Confederates Gain Possession of the LaFayette Road on the Left—Final Repulse of Longstreet at Snodgrass Hill-Withdrawal of Union Troops—Strength of the Armies and Losses at Chickamauga—Estimates of the Battle by Confederate Officers—Indiana at Chickamauga. 170
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CHAPTER XVI.
BELEAGUERED IN CHATTANOOGA.The Objective Point of the Campaign Held—Arrival of the Eighty-sixth from Chickamauga—Entered Upon Its Duties to Defend the Town—The Scarcity of Supplies—The Sufferings Endured by the Men—Starvation Staring Them in the Face—Provisions Brought Over the Mountains from Bridgeport—Foraging—Consolidation of the Twentieth and Twenty-first Corps—The Fourth Corps Formed—General Rosecrans Relieved—General Thomas Assumes Command—Arrival of General Grant—The Eleventh and Twelfth Corps—Battle of Wauhatchie—The Army of the Tennessee Arrives—Preparations for the Approaching Battle—Did General Rosecrans Contemplate at Any Time the Evacuation of Chattanooga? 210
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CHAPTER XVII.
THE BATTLE OF CHATTANOOGA.A Great Battle With a Picturesque Setting—An Unlooked for Crisis Precipitates It—Wood Makes a Reconnoissance—Ground Gained, Held, and Fortified—Hooker's Battle on Lookout Mountain—Sherman at the North End of Missionary Ridge—Thomas Ordered to Take First Line of Enemy's Works at Foot of Ridge and Make a Diversion in Favor of Sherman—The Order Promptly Obeyed—The Lines Captured in Hurricane Style—The Unordered Assault on Missionary Ridge—A Private's Victory—A Battle Fought More Successfully Than Planned, But Not as Planned—A Victory that Astounded Grant in the Manner of Its Coming as Much as It Did Bragg in Its Results—General Cist's Account—Fullerton's Version—Bragg and Bate's Statements—Captain Reilly's Account of the Assault—Taylor's Brilliant Description of the Battle 230
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CHAPTER XVIII.
ON TO KNOXVILLE.After the Battle the Rescue—Through Mud and Through Stream—Over Hill and Down Dale—The Fourth Corps Marched to Succor the Army of the Ohio and the Gallant Burnside—An Attenuated Diet—Parched Corn and Government Bacon—An Exciting Though Amusing Incident—The Arrival at Knoxville—A "Sick Flour" Experience 283
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CHAPTER XIX.
KNOXVILLE AND BEYOND.Blain's Cross Roads—House Mountain—Lye Hominy—Parched Corn—A Bleak December—Gaunt Hunger, Rags and Icy Winter Go Hand and Hand—Christmas Thoughts—That Cold New Years—A Mail From Home—Strawberry Plains—To Dandridge and Back—A Second Valley Forge 297
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CHAPTER XX.
EAST TENNESSEE.The Bivouac in the Snow—Back to Maryville—A Laughable Incident—General Willich in Temporary Command of the Division—Again on the Move—Smoky Hollow—At Knoxville—On to Morristown—Back to New Market—Again at Morristown—Strawberry Plains—Off to Rutledge—The Clinch Mountains—A Scouting Expedition—Bound for Chattanooga—The Campaign Ended—At McDonald's Station 313
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CHAPTER XXI.
SHERMAN'S CAMPAIGN IN GEORGIA.General Howard in Command of the Fourth Corps—The Eleventh and Twelfth Corps Consolidated and Designated the Twentieth—Sherman's Preparation for the Atlanta Campaign—The Importance of the Grand Movement—Tunnel Hill—Rocky Face Ridge—Dalton—The Battle of Resaca 329
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CHAPTER XXII.
RESACA TO PICKETT'S MILLS.Across the Oostanaula—Calhoun—Adairsville—Oothcaloga Valley—Kingston—Cassville—A Three Days' Rest—Across the Etowah—Where the Different Commands Crossed—A Wild Wilderness—Burnt Hick ry—New Hope Church—The Battle of Pickett's Mills—The Eighty-sixth's Part in this Engagement—Colonel Dick Wounded—The Regiment's Loss 349
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CHAPTER XXIII.
PICKETT'S MILLS TO KENESAW.The Eighty-sixth on the Skirmish Line—Constant Fighting—Rainy and Hot Weather—A Perfect Hell Hole—Pine Mountain—Lost Mountain—Kenesaw Mountain—General Polk Killed on Pine Mountain—Captain L. V. Ream Wounded—Luke Cronkhite Fatally Wounded—The Assault on June 27—A Frightful Loss of Life—Kenesaw Mountain Abandoned by the Enemy—A Forward Movement 369
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CHAPTER XXIV.
KENESAW TO PEACH TREE CREEK.The Fourth of July—How it Was Celebrated—Smyrna Camp Ground—McIvor's Station—McRae's Hill—Chattahoochee River—Pace's Ferry—Powers' Ferry—Across the Chattahoochee—Down the River—Over to Buck Head—The Battle of Peach Tree Creek 400
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CHAPTER XXV.
PEACH TREE CREEK TO LOVEJOY'S STATION.Closing in On Atlanta—Clear Creek—A Hot Time—The Eighty-sixth in Front of the Gate City—The Battle of the 22d of July—Skirmishing and Making Demonstrations—The Battle of Ezra Church—The Great Move Around Atlanta-Destroying Railroads-Hood's Flight From Atlanta—His Stores Destroyed and Magazines Blown Up—The Battle of Jonesboro—The Battle of Lovejoy's Station—Sherman Withdraws to Atlanta—The Losses of the Campaign—Congratulations From President Lincoln 420
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CHAPTER XXVI.
REST IN CAMP—AFTER HOOD.In Camp Near Atlanta—Three Weeks of Daily Routine Duties—A Bold Movement by Hood—Sherman's Army In Pursuit—The Eighty-sixth Again on March—Smyrna Camp Ground—Pine Mountain—The Signals Between Sherman and Corse—The Fight at Allatoona Pass—Kenesaw Mountain—Cartersville and Kingston—Calhoun—Rome—Resaca—Snake Creek Gap—Chattooga Valley—Fresh Pork and Sweet Potatoes—Summerville—Gaylesville, Alabama—The Fourth Corps Bids a Silent Farewell to General Sherman—Sherman's Letter to the Eighty-sixth 445
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CHAPTER XXVII.
THE TABLES TURNED.Hood Marching North—A Race for the Lead—Wood's Division Gets There First—Elk River and "The Irishman's Pontoons"—Hood After Schofield and Thomas—Pulaski—Columbia-Duck River—Spring Hill, or Running the Gauntlet—The Battle of Franklin—Fort Granger—Thomas' Army Organization and Strength 464
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CHAPTER XXVIII.
THE BATTLE OF NASHVILLE.Two Days' Hard Fighting—The Plan of the Battle—Montgomery Hill Captured by the Fourth Corps—The Second Days' Battle—Overton's Hill Assaulted—"The Colored Troops Fought Nobly"—The Gallant Second Brigade Repulsed with Heavy Loss —Colonel Post Wounded—The Third Brigade Assaults and Captures Overton's Hill—Union Success—Hood Makes a Hasty Flight—Pursuit of the Enemy—A Frightful March—In Camp at Huntsville—General Wood's Congratulatory Order 486
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CHAPTER XXIX.
THE CLOSING YEAR.—1865.In Winter Quarters at Huntsville, Alabama—A Three Days' Scout—Living on the Fat of the Land—Trip to Nashville and Return—Up the Tennessee River—To East Tennessee by Rail—The Last Days of the Rebellion—Richmond Evacuated—Lee Surrenders—Great Joy at the Supposed Approach of The White Winged Angel of Peace—Treason Dies Hard—In the Death Struggle Its Infernal Spirit Finds a Willing Tool to Do a Hellish Deed—President Lincoln Assassinated—A Gloomy, Joyless Day—The Heart of America Wounded—Return to Nashville—Johnston Surrenders—The Dawn of Peace—Grand Review—"Mustered Out"—Return to Hoosierdom—Disbanded—The Boys Return to Their Homes 518
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CHAPTER XXX.
THE TWO COLONELS.George Frederick Dick—A Sketch of His Early Life—Captain of a Boy's Military Company in Cincinnati—His Fire Company—In Business—Answers the First Call of the President—A Captain in the Twentieth Indiana—His Services in That Regiment—Made Lieutenant Colonel in the Eighty-sixth—His Career with That Regiment to the Close of the War—Orville S. Hamilton—A Brave Man, but Wanting in Military Genius—A Bit of Secret History Never Before Told or Written—A Tribute to His Memory 545
- Roster of Officers 572
- Roster of Enlisted Men 577
- Eighty-sixth's Roll of Honor 596
- Appendix 600
INTRODUCTORY.
In the presentation of the history of the Eighty-Sixth Regiment, Indiana Volunteers, the authors seek not their own glorification. The work of writing the part taken by this regiment is undertaken at the request of the members of the regiment who survived the hardships and dangers of the years from 1862-1865 in active campaign life. The desire of these comrades is to preserve for their children, the history of the service they rendered to the Nation in the days of her peril, and that the name and deeds of their regiment may not be entirely forgotten.
It is not intended to write a history of the entire war of the Rebellion, but in narrating the manner by which this regiment was organized, and then formed a part of the great Union Army, or Federal Army as it was called by the people of the South, and then in chronicling the deeds of the men of the Eighty-Sixth, it will be necessary to write to some extent of the opening year of the war, and of the events of the years that followed. We must write somewhat of the organization of the entire Army of the Union, and briefly recount the necessity for the formation of the Eighty-Sixth Regiment, Indiana Volunteers.
After writing of the formation and muster-in of the regiment, it will be necessary to relate something of the general history of the campaigns in which it participated, and the battles in which it bore an important and conspicuous part. The surviving members of this regiment feel a just and honorable pride in the military record of this special body of troops in which they performed their service, and page: 2[View Page 2] they have no less pride in the glorious achievements of every regiment and battery that was mustered into the United States service, and entering the field bore its part in the suppression of the rebellion and the preservation of the American Republic. It is felt that each and all, officers and enlisted men, have "a vested right" in the great glory and renown that so justly belongs to all.
Notwithstanding the fact that the wonderful achievements of the American citizen soldiery merits the highest encomiums from all and for all, yet we as Indiana men will certainly be pardoned if we should in this work, claim for the Indiana soldier, and for those particularly who were active participants in the campaigns and battles of the war through which we passed, as much valor, and as many thoroughly soldierly qualities, included in the terms bravery, courage, daring and prowess, on the battle-field, as can be shown by any other State that took part in that deadly struggle from 1861-1865 inclusive.
On every battle-field during the entire war for the preservation of the Union, Indiana regiments and Indiana batteries were found, and the banners borne by her sons were ever in the thickest and hottest of the fray.
The pages which follow will be simply a recital of the part which the Eighty-Sixth Regiment, Indiana Volunteers, performed in the great drama on the theater of the most bloody war of modern times. It will not be claimed that this regiment did more than any other similar body of men in the field, but the aim is to give a plain, unvarnished story of the marches, the bivouacs, the skirmishes, the battles of this organization, and recount its hardships, its exposures, its privations and its severe trials, —this and nothing more.
JAMES A. BARNES,
JAMES R. CARNAHAN,
THOMAS H. B. MCCAIN.