Chapter 85

CHAPTER LXXXV

On the following day we advanced a short distance until we reached the top of a hill, here we halted and proceeded to erect a line of breast-works under a terrible fire from the enemy’s infantry.

We succeeded in erecting a good line of works without any great damage inflicted upon us, although a number of the men of our regiment were wounded.

During our stay in this line of works one of the members of our company, Jack Grant, was killed.  He was sent out on the skirmish line and was in a pit with Yankee Garman.  He stood up in the pit, fully exposed to the aim of the Rebel skirmishers.  Poor Jack appeared to lead a charmed life, but after several hours exposure, he was shot in the breast, at the same time a rebel minnie ball plunged itself into the muzzle of his rifle.

When Jack fell, he tore his clothing from his person, and then placing his head upon his arm he expired without a groan.

Word was soon sent up to our company that one of our men had been either killed or badly wounded.  Will Keller with his characteristic bravery made up his mind to see who it was, started out over the breast-works and leisurely proceeded down towards the skirmish line.  The ground over which he was com­pelled to advance was in full view of the rebel skirmishers, and the enemy opened up a lively fire on him.  Keller got down on his knees and crawled down to the pit, where Grant had been killed.

After Keller found Jack was dead, he threw his coat over him and again started out on his dangerous trip back to the works, where he arrived in safety, after making several very narrow escapes.

In the evening, as soon as it was sufficiently dark for their purpose, Will Keller, Freddy Ulrich, and several others whose names we have forgotten started out and succeeded in bringing the dead body of Grant up to our line of works.  We proceeded to dig a grave on the outside of the breastworks.  The Johnnies heard the grubbing and imagining that we were strengthening our line of works, or perhaps supposing we were making arrangements to plant a battery, and accordingly they opened a brisk fire upon us and the minnie balls flew around us like hail.  After making a number of stops we succeeded in digging a grave of about two feet or eighteen inches and when we put him in the shallow grave we found that his arm was crooked and that it stuck out, one of the boys took hold of it and pressed it down to his side, break­ing it off with a snap, and hastily covered him over with a few inches of earth.  We wrapped him up in a shelter tent, as his coat dropped off in the attempt to bring him back to the breast­works.  We never witnessed a more pitiful sight than the burial of poor Jack Grant.

On the 24^th  of June the enemy attacked our first Division about half-a-mile to our left.  We had a fair view of the engagement and became so much interested in it, that we did not notice that the enemy had opened on us with his batteries.  The rebels exposed their flank and General Geary opened fire upon them, and sent a number of shells into their ranks cutting large gaps into the advancing columns and they soon were driven back.

On the 25^th, the enemy opened fire upon the 4^th Corps, with their heavy batteries, on our right.  During the cannonading Lt. Parks got up on the breast-works, and watched the effect of the shells which burst in our lines.

A rebel sharpshooter took advantage of the mark presented by Lt. Parks, and sent a bullet through his head, the ball entered to the right of his right eye and came out behind his left ear.  Levi J. Romig, was standing up in the works searching his shirt for gray-backs, and when the ball struck the Lieu­tenant, his legs slipped out from under him and a number of the boys thought he was wounded, and it was not until James W. Smith, who at the time was standing near Parks gave the alarm that it was the Lieutenant that had been hit.

A number of us went to his assistance and found him curled on a heap, having fallen from the top of our works to the bottom of the ditch, a distance of twelve feet whilst the blood was flowing from both where the bullet entered and escaped as well as from his mouth.  Four of the boys picked him up and carried him behind the works and at once sent for a surgeon.  He had been placed upon his back and the blood gathered in his throat and had we not turned him on his face he would have strangled for us.

He recovered consciousness before the Surgeon arrived, and the first words he spoke was, “who threw that stone?’

The boys had a fashion of taking a small pebble and placing it on the thumb and finger snapping it into the face of some one unexpectedly, for the sole purpose of seeing the person dodge imagining that it was a minnie ball.  This was the impression made on the Lieutenant, he thought, as he has frequently informed us since then, that one of the boys had taken a larger stone than was generally used and in consequence he had been hit much harder than had been intended by the one who threw the stone.

Parks reached up to his head with both hands and forced a finger of each hand into the wound, and it was with great difficulty that his hands could be forced down.

Dr. Longshore, our regimental surgeon soon arrived and the first question that Parks asked, was:

“Doc, will I recover?’

The Doctor replied, “Oh, I hope so, at least.”

“Then I am good for a furlough!” was Parks’ cheerful reply.

The Doctor answered “Yes,” and then turning around to some one standing near, said sotto voice:

“I am afraid that the poor fellow will get a long, long, furlough.”

A stretcher was brought up and the Lieutenant was placed on it but not until we had confiscated the Lieutenant’s canteen which was nearly full of Commissary, and he was then carried back to the Division Hospital.  The members of the company took as they supposed a farewell look at him as none of us expected him to recover.  The next day the writer obtained permission to go to the hospital to see him, where we found him stretched out in one of the hospital cots, his head all bandaged up, whilst it was swollen to almost twice its natural size.  We found him in good spirits and fully confident that he was going to recover and anxiously awaiting the time when he should be allowed to go home on a furlough.

On the following day after the Lieut. was wounded John Mull was wounded while out on the skirmish line, the ball passing through a gum blanket which he had twisted in a roll and slung over his shoulder and cut some forty holes in it and then passed down along his leg cutting eight or ten holes into his pantaloons and finally entered his foot taking off several toes.

When Hofer, Mull’s mess, mate heard that he was wounded he appeared pretty well satisfied since they had just drawn rations, and Peter being a pretty good feeder, got Mull’s rations.  Thus proving the correctness of the old saw, ‘its an ill-wind that blows nobody good.”

On the 27^th of June we advanced in a regular line of battle, the enemy opening upon us with musketry and artillery.  We drove the enemy back fully one-half a mile and put up a new line of works.

During the cannonading a shell or shot struck a rail which Johnny Mark was carrying on his shoulder and sent it flying into the air.  Several other very narrow escapes were made but no one of the members of the company were injured.

Here the gallant Major Simms of the 5^th Ohio was mortally wounded whilst in charge of the skirmish line.  Our Brigade lost a faithful and gallant officer.