Chapter 73

CHAPTER LXXIII

 After reaching the point designated by the old gentleman the road was discovered and the command filed into the road and commenced to descend the mountain’s side.

General Geary gave the officers very strict orders not to allow the men to straggle, and to keep them well in hand for fear that Colonel Robert’s rebel command might have dismounted and might attack us should a fa­vorable opportunity present itself for doing so.

The marching was difficult and te­dious and by the time the bottom was reached the men had straggled out considerably and among those who had strayed away the farthest was Corporal D. W. Gross, of our company, who had left the ranks in search of water and who unfortunately came where General Geary and his staff were halted awaiting the arrival of the men.  At the sight of the corporal, who had disobeyed orders, the General became very wrathy and drawing one of his pistols,  threatened to shoot him, but fortunately for Dan, change his mind and made him start for his regiment post-haste.

When the men arrived on the flat the General was as mad as a hornet and the advance regiments moved past him as rapidly as possibly, soon causing considerable of a gap between the several companies of our regiment, at the time in the rear.  Company B, under command of Lt. Willett, bringing up the extreme rear, having been held back as a rear guard by orders of Col. Craig, was marching past the General very leisurely when “old John’s” temper could stand it no longer and riding up to the Lieutenant he gave him one of those tongue-lashings which made his name a familiar by-word in his command.

The Lieutenant took the reprimanding very patiently and as soon as it was done, saluted the General which he returned and he moved his company forward on quick time until he overtook the command.

We reached our old quarters by noon on the 18^th, having marched a distance of about 22 miles, aver very heavy roads.

On Thursday the 22^nd, a snow fell to the depth of over a foot, and we had a very fine time snow-balling, but on the following day it all disappeared leaving nothing but mud in its place.

On the 26^th Lieutenant Byers was commissioned Captain and 2^nd Lieut. Parks was promoted to 1^st Lieutenant.  The boys were all glad to see the promotion of our officers as they were certainly worthy of the promotion.

The weather was beginning to get nice, the middle of the day was almost like Pennsylvania April weather, and already preparations for the approaching campaign were being rapidly pushed ahead.  All the convalescents were sent up from the rear, and drill and inspection became the order of the day.  It was while laying here that our company attained its highest state of efficiency.  Our officers, as well as Orderly F. H. Stuck, labored hard to make the company second to none in the regiment.

The number of details made out of our company for Regimental Head-quarters, attested the repute in which the company was held by the regimental officers.  Serg’t Isaac Witmer was appointed Sergeant Major, Serg’t Eby was promoted Regimental Quartermaster Sergeant, C. E. Parks, was selected as regimental Orderly, W. S. Keller was chosen as Regimental Postmaster and Antes Ulrich as Principal Musician.  Thus it will be seen that a majority of the minor officers of the regiment were filled by men from our company.

On Wednesday, April 6^th, a general Order was issued from the War department consolidating the 11^th and the 12^th Corps, and calling it the 20^th Army Corps and retaining the star as the badge, while the troops that originally belonged to the 11^th Corps were designated by the crescent with star underneath the same.

In accordance with the nature of the men, this order created no little amount of grumbling on the part of the troops which had composed the old 12^th, owing principally to the record made by the 11^th at Chancellorsville, but when became knows that the troops were to be under the command of old “Fighting Joe Hooker,” a better feeling soon prevailed and the grumbling soon ceased altogether.

Inspections, drills and reviews now became the regular order of the day, and this taken in connection with the arrival of large trains of recruits from Louisville, Nashville and other eastern cities, was ample evidence that the approaching campaign would be one of the most important ones that had taken place since the outbreak of the rebellion.

On Monday evening, April 11^th, we received orders to be ready to go down the Tennessee river on a reconnaissance.  On the following day we were moved down to the landing, about one hundred yards below the railroad bridge, here we remained from 10 a.m., until 2 p.m., at which time we boarded the transportation boat Chicamagua.  The boat carried 4 pieces of artillery, two of Napp’s ten pound rifled guns, one four inch smooth bore brass piece and a small brass howitzer.  Two large flats were lashed fast to the steamer, one on each side, and a company of the 1^st Alabama Union Cavalry occupied them with their ‘critters.”  The expedition was about 800 strong under command of Major General Geary.

After we got under steam we moved along smoothly until we reached Larken’s Ferry, a distance of about 30 miles where we halted for the night.  Here we came very near getting into a bad scrape.  A regiment of the 15^th Corps was doing guard duty at the ferry, and as soon as the boat stopped a number of men asked:

“What boat is that?”

Then at the same time from at least an hundred throats of those on the boat, burst forth the ill-fated word:

“Chicamagua!” “Chicamagua!”

Then followed a scene which beggars description.  A volley of curses, hoots and groans, supported by a shower of stones, clubs and other missiles greeted us in full force, making it extremely lively.  Our boys stood irresolute for a second the situation becoming more and more critical, whilst the boys on shore made a rush for the boat.  This was too much for our men to stand and seizing their guns prepared to meet the troops on shore.

At his critical moment General Geary, being the superior officer, ordered the Colonel to withdraw his men or he would open on them with his guns.  Quiet was at length restored and when the men discovered that the name of the boat was really “Chicamagua,” they apologized for their conduct.

The key to the trouble was this, in the battle of Chicamagua, the Western Army had been badly repulsed, and it had been a common occurrence that whenever our troops wished to make the western men angry, they would yell “Chicamagua” at them, and it rarely, if ever, failed to accomplish its desired end  Thus it happened that when we yelled out the name “Chicamagua,” to a civil question, and most especially since this regiment had not been in that battle, they felt called on to resent an insult.

Being too much crowded we disem­barked and remained upon shore for the night.  In the morning there was a heavy fog on the river, and not think­ing it prudent to move down the river in it, we did not get started until after 7:20 a.  m., when we again started on our trip down the river.  Nothing of any importance occurred until we came within sight of Guntersville, a fortified town, on the left bank of the river.  Here we stopped and upon landing our Company and B Company were thrown out as skirmishers under command of Lieut. Parks.  Gen. Geary ordered us to pull down several houses which obstructed the range of artillery, a feat which it did not take us long to do, and after the houses were razed we at once advanced the line into the town, and succeeded in capturing a large mill, some tobacco and a few stands of arms and a lot of home guard swords which had been manufactured out of old scythes and all other kind of available material.

At 11 o’clock a. m, we started on our trip and when a short distance south of Guntersville, a number of rebel cavalry were discovered, several shells were thrown towards them, and they put spurs to their horses and soon made themselves scarce.

After starting up again we proceed­ed down the river, at 1 o’clock we stopped 35 minutes to get wood.  After we started out again we were fired into by several bushwhackers and two of the 5^th Ohio, were wounded.  At 4:15 we arrived at Whitesburg, 28 miles from Sundersville, here we threw, a number of shells into the town, after which we advanced until about 5 p. m., when we were about five miles below the last named town.  Here we discovered the command of the rebel General who was moving his command rapidly upon us and who was endeavoring to place his artillery on the banks of the river in our rear, in the bow of the bend of the river, and in order to gain this position they were compelled to make a detour to the right, and in do­ing so they were discovered.  The order was at once given to reverse the engine and we soon began to move up the river slowly.  Then commenced a very exciting race, the rebels bent all their energies to overtake us, but our boat came off victorious and we made our escape very providentially.  We ran all night, passing Sundersville on the morning of the 14^th, at 3 a. m.  At 12:15 a. m., we reached Larkin,s Ferry, here we stopped 55 minutes for dinner.  After we passed the Ferry an old darkey raised his head from behind an old log, and who greeted us with, “How are yu Lincums?”

Some of the boys fired at him as he jumped up and ran like a deer.

At 5:15 we stopped to take wood and after starting up and upon seeing some men working in a field, several of them mounted horses and put out at our approach.  The General ordered the boat to come to a halt and at once made preparation to land the cavalry.  As the flat touched the shore the cavalrymen began to jump out their horses, and mounting them starting in pursuit yelling like Indians, among the horses was one scraggy, mangy little fellow, that looked as though he could not bear his own weight, besides carry a rider, General Geary noticing one of the men trying to get him out of the flat said:

“Keep that old cripple in the flat, it won’t do any good to take him out to overtake any other horse.”

The cavalryman said in reply, “Gen. he is the best critter in the regiment.”

To which the old General replied:

“Trot him out then, trot him out.”

The cavalryman jumped on his horse and the greatest transformation took place that we ever noticed in horse flesh, he sped away like a deer and he was fortunate enough to overtake one of the men and brought him in a prisoner.  We succeeded in capturing 6 men, 1 mule and 1 horse.

Friday 15, we arrived at Bridgeport at 2 a. m., and returned to our old camp, having been about 88 miles, according to Lloyd’s map, down the river with the loss of two wounded.