Chapter 40 - Crossing the River

CHAPTER XL

RE-COSSING THE RIVER

As soon as it grew dark and all the precautionary measures had been taken to prevent a surprise by the enemy, the boys who were not on duty, stretched their tired limbs upon the ground and were soon asleep.

At about midnight we were roused up and ordered to “fall in” quietly.  This order had the effect of making our teeth chatter, not only from the effect of the cold but from the dread of what might fellow, presuming that we were going to attack the enemy.

As soon as the right of the regiment reached the road and filed to the left we made the discovery that we were moving to the rear, and we soon felt greatly relieved.

After a very tedious march, caused by the numberless halts, which were occasioned by the reformation of the line of the Division, our regiment having been assigned the post of honor in retreat, the rear—we came to a halt, about a mile from where we had started from.  Here we stacked arms in a ravine and were ordered to rest for the night.

The morning of the 4^th dawned soon after we had fallen asleep, and our slumbers were disturbed by the orderly who awakened us by roughly shaking us and ordering us get up and eat our breakfast as the regiment had orders to be ready for fatigue duty at five o’clock.

We soon dispatched our breakfast and were ready at the appointed time for the duties of the day, which we soon found out was to build breast works.  We went to work in good earnest and soon had the satisfaction of seeing a formidable line of works springing up all around us.  While we were working at the entrenchment as we could plainly see large numbers of the enemy who came out in front of their Works to watch us.

During the day we could distinctly hear the report of heavy guns in the direction of Fredericksburg, plainly telling that a battle was being fought.

During the day the woods in the vicinity of the battlefield burned from the effects of the shelling of the previous day, burning up a number of the dead and wounded.  The fire spread until a num­ber of houses or huts were burned down, in one of which was an aged negress, who was rescued from the burning build by several of the Ohio boys but not until she was badly burned.  The boys carried her inside of our lines where they made a bed for her, with a blanket, using pine brush to shield her from the rays of the sun.

We never in our life beheld a more pitiful object than was this old lady, and her groans and cries were most distressing to hear.  Everything that could be done to alleviates her pain and suffering was cheerfully done but without effect.

After the breast-works were finished, we returned to the ravine and made preparations for the night.  It had been threatening rain all day and soon after dark we were visited by a terrible rain storm.  For a while we could hear the piteous cries of the old negress above the noise made by the falling of the rain.  Our position in the ravine was the most trying one we had ever been placed in.  The water came rushing down through it in torrents, and it was with the greatest difficulty that we could manage to keep our ammunition dry, as we were sitting town on our haunches in from six to eight inches of water, while it was coming down from above in a resistless storm, drench­ing us through our clothes in less than no time at all.  That we anxiously waited for the morrow and the cessation of the storm, must be apparent to all.

Morning at length dawned and the sun soon dispelled the clouds and the g1oom, and soldier-1ike the privations of the previous night were soon forgotten.

Upon going to where the poor old colored woman lay we found that the vital spark had fled.  The elements had been too much for her frail body and she died, “the poor old slave was free.”

Our arms truly presented a frightful appearance, owing to their rusty condition caused by being heated in firing in the battle and also on account of the exposure to the terrible rain storm of the previous.

The boys cleaned up their guns and prepared them for use in any emergency that might arise.

The artillery firing had continued to grow fainter and fainter, until it became painfully evident to us that the enemy were driving General Sedgwick back towards Falmouth and that the Chancellorsville campaign had terminated disastrously in every respect to the Union cause.

On the night of the 5^th of May the troops had already commenced to re-cross the Rappahannock river, and by daylight on the morning of the 6^th we were marching toward United States Ford, and by 8 o’clock a m., we found ourselves on the Washington side of the river on a fast skedaddle.

The river was very turbulent, owing to the rains, and fears were entertained that the pontoon bridge would give way before the troops could all get across, this along with the explosion of several shells thrown towards the river by the rebels had the effect of expediting our crossing.

As soon as we crossed the river and ascended the steep banks which led to an eminence about a half-mile from the river, we came in sight of large piles of hard-tack and although well guarded the boys made a rush for it and succeeded in filling their haversacks with crackers, having run short of rations they came in very opportunely.

The march was a very tedious one for us since our Division was in the rear and its movement was in consequence very slow.

We went into camp near Potomac Creek having marched about 14 miles through the toughest kind of Virginia mud, and we were tired accordingly.  Here we heard the first drums beat since the first day of the fight.

Rain began to fall about dark and continued to come down the greater part of the night.  But few of the men had any shelter tents and the few that did have them generously used them to construct a tent to shelter Captain Davis who was ill from the storm.  The best we could do was to take several rails and by raising the one end from the ground for the head end, and letting the other end for the feet to rest on the ground, threw ourselves upon them and the few who had ponchos could cover themselves with them, whilst the rest of us lay down on them, with the rain pelting down on us.

We were fast learning that a soldiers life had its sorrows and privations, and that for every rose there were a dozen thorns.

The night, long as it appeared to us, at last passed away and we were again called on to perform the duties of another day.  Our frugal meal was soon prepared and dispatched and off we started on the march.

The clouds threatened more rain and about 7 o’clock it began to rain again.  We pushed along rapidly and by noon reached Stafford Courthouse.  Here we halted to draw rations and also received a ration of whisky, which all cheerfully accep­ted excepting W. S. Keller and W. E. Fausnacht.

The commissary had the desired effect and soon all had forgotten the sad experien­ce of the past few days and were ready to resume the march again.  In the afternoon about half-past five o’clock on the 7^th of May we arrived at our old camp in the orchard, near Acquia Landing..

Upon arriving in our old camp and on receiving orders to stack arms and to prepare to camp for the night, we experienced the sad realities of war.  Here was the place that the company and regiment had occupied but a very short time ago, and here we stood and marked the many vacant spaces, for scarcely a mess of four persons had escaped without missing one of its number, either killed, wounded or missing, and some even two members, and as that was the history of our company, was equally applicable to the other companies of the regiment.

The first night spent in the old camp was certainly a very sad one for the members of the company, and many an eye was dimmed with tears as we pondered over the probable fate of those absent, and who never more would be known as members of Company G whose names though dropped from the company’s roste­r would be cherished by their surviving comrades.  That afternoon new messes were formed by the members of the company, the vacancies caused by the casualties of the battle, formations which were formed only to be broken by another battle.

The next morning we were allowed to make a list of the articles we were in need of and a requisition was at once made by our officers and we were soon after supplied with-the necessary articles, after which we placed our quarters in fine trim.

In   this camp, a few days after our return ­from Chancellorsvlle the famous battle between Corporals Freddy Ulrich and Harris Bower took place and which might have been a bloody affair had it not been that they stopped fighting before the blood came.

We were soon paid off after our arrival and owing to our close proximity to the landing, where shad and herring could be purchased, we lived tip-top.

Capt. Davis, not being in good health, was granted a leave of absence, which he accepted, leaving the company in command of Lieutenant Byers.  The arrival of the wounded men from the battle-field of Chancellorsville, was a sight to sicken the heart of the bravest beholder.  The men, or many of them had lain upon the field for six days without having their wounds attended to and were full of animal life, and which had to be cleaned out before the wounds could be dressed, and many a brave and noble hearted man lost his life for want of timely attention.

A number of cases of small pox had broken out in the Divis­ion, and the dreaded red flag waved from a number of points, between our camp and the river. Serg’t Stuck of our company had the small-pox but in a mild form and he was soon sufficiently recovered to report to the company and be marked “for duty.”