CHICKAMAUGA. [Written in commemoration of the desperate charge of the 1st Ky. Brigade, by DR. J. M. LYDINGS, in Chattanooga Prison, 1864. M SADLY is flowing the red tide of 'Tis death without shrift to the das battle, Dark Chickamauga, thy shad ows among, And true to thy legends,* with fierce roar and rattle, The shadows of Death o'er thy bosom are flung. See, up yon hillside a dark line is sweep- Nor stop they till night-blessed night ing, Breasting the thick storm of grapeshot and shell, Shouting like demons o'er abatis leaping, Sons of Kentucky, ye charge them right well! for the foe Her mantle of peace o'er the fallen hath spread. The battle is o'er; but where is thy chief, The Bayard of battle, dauntless and brave? Up to the cannon's mouth, on to the There cold and uncoffined lies chival Think they of far homes once sunny There voiceless forever and dreamless *Chickamauga means death, and its banks were said to be a favorite Indian battle-ground. Ninety Dollars Worth of Comfort, ETC., ETC. BY A MEMBER OF 27th MASS. LTHOUGH the enemy pretended to hate Uncle Sam, yet his promises to pay were highly esteemed by them. Understanding this, a party of prisoners en route to Richmond took advantage of an easy-going Georgia lieutenant one night, and by cautious negotiation induced him to try and get them some apple-jack-for medicine of course. His labor of love was a success (for ninety dollars), and about midnight he returned with ten canteens and himself chuck full of "Southern comfort." There were some twenty patients. It was thought it would be about right to administer the medicine in ten-drop doses, but as no spoon was to be had it was decided to call every swallow a drop. Most of the cases were very desperate and required frequent During the night a heavy thunder storm set in but the drenching rain could hardly have been a matter of discomfort, for by appearances the patients were much wetter inside than doses. outside. Sambo's Idea of Vengeance. As the Union forces were landing at New-Berne, N. C., the navy on the river and a few guns upon the opposite side of the Trent river were engaged in throwing shells over the city to prevent the enemy from farther attempts to burn the place. A man was seen run ning as for dear life across lots in the direction of Kinston, when a shell exploded just in the rear of him, covering him with a cloud of dirt. A darky and his wife were watching him with eager interest, and seeing the shell explode, shouted: "See dar! See dar! Dar's massa runnin' awa, an de wengence of de Lor' arter him!" "They Doubled Up on Me." George W was a comrade of excellent standing upon the field, but he loved his toddy. When brim-full of such comfort he always had "a ten dollar bill in his west pocket to bet he could lick any man in the regiment." One day he was One day he was "chuckin' full” and wandered into a neighboring camp, where he was not backward in referring to the ten dollar bill is his west pocket in his usual way. This time he fell among the Philistines and soon came back to camp minus the bill in his pocket and his face well pounded up. BATTLE OF CHICKAMAUGA. Account of General Steedman's Gallantry on the Bloody Field. SEPTEMBER 20, 1863. J. W. DOVE, Captain Company G, 115th Illinois V. I. INCE the death of Gen. James B. Steedman, I have been a good deal interested in the various accounts published in regard to the general on the field of Chickamauga, the ever memorable 20th day of September, 1863. Taking all the circumstances into consideration, I think it the bloodiest and hardest contested battle of the war, for the Union. General Steedman commanded a division of Granger's reserve corps of the Army of the Cumberland Gen. Walter C. Whitaker commanded a brigade of Steedman's division, known as the Iron Brigade, of which he was very proud, as well he might be. It never turned its back to the enemy. It was composed of the 40th Ohio, 84th Ind., 96th and 115th Ill. I led Co. G of the 115th Ill. into the fight that day, and led out what was left of it at night. Thirty-six of us went in on the right of Pap Thomas; we left nineteen killed and wounded on the field. Out of 368 men, as I remember, that went into the fight of the 115th Ill., 172 were killed or wounded, Lieutenant-Colonel Kinsman being one. A braver soldier never faced an enemy. It has been said that the flag that General Steedman took was that of a regiment that was wavering, which I propose to dispute to the last ditch, and even after we get on the other side. It will be remembered that the reserve corps, on the 18th of September, left its camps at Rossville, Ga., and moved out to what we understood to be the left of the army, not far from Ringgold, Ga., where it had a brush with the enemy. On the 19th we fought the rebs at McAffee Church. Early the morning of the 20th, not finding the enemy, we marched around to what we then understood to be the right-center of the line, passing just in rear of General Thomas's line of battle. We had to run the gantlet of quite a number of rebel batteries, which made it hot work, and we lost some of our boys. As we passed what I thought was the extreme right of Thomas's line, we filed out of an old field and halted just in the edge of a heavy piece of woods covering a high ridge. We had double-quicked for a long distance, and were pretty well blown. We were hardly given time to adjust our lines when I saw General Steedman riding towards us. He passed the left of the regiment and on to the center. The regiment was standing at parade rest in perfect line. We had not been in this position to exceed one minute, when the general came up and asked the color-sergeant for the regimental flag; he took the flag, shook out the folds in a dramatic manner; rode a few paces to the front (the color-bearer by his side) and lifting the flag high in air, rose high in his stirrups, and gave the command, "Attention! Forward, double-quick, march!" and that in the loudest voice I ever heard before or since. At least, so it sounded to me and I think to others; for it appeared to lift the entire brigade bodily. It was one of the grandest dramatic effects that I ever witnessed, enough to make a hero of the most groveling coward. I did not comprehend, nor do I think any of us did at the time, the situation and circumstances that called out such an effort on the part of our gallant commander, but he did, and we were not long in finding out, for up the hill we went as one man, intent only to get there. Just as the line reached the crest of the hill, we comprehended, or could have done so, if there had been time to think, for we met the victorious legions of Longstreet coming up the hill on the other side. We met face to face, but no army could have stopped our advance after so grand a send off, and the enemy reeled, fell back, rallied again, and again was forced to retreat. The fighting here was terrific the remainder of the day. We held the ridge in spite of Longstreet's veterans till night closed in on the bloody scene. General Steedman's front was understood to be the key to the battle field, and, looking back over the scenes of that day and the heroic conduct of Steedman, I can see that he well understood the importance of his position, and no man could have filled it better than he did. No troops that ever lived did nobler work than his division that day. General Steedman exposed his life continually. He was just where most needed, and how he escaped with life the God of battles alone knows. After the sun had set, our regiment was deployed much as a skirmish line, the reason being that we were out of ammunition, and had been for some time using what could be gathered from the cartridge-boxes of the dead and wounded. The boys would find a box of cartridges, and then would hunt a gun of the same caliber as the cartridge. The 115th Ill. was armed with the old Remington muskets (sixty-nine caliber), while most of the army were armed with fifty-eight caliber. The result was that we were fighting Indian fashionwithout regard to tactics or alignment. At this juncture General Steedman rode up and ordered us forward to repel a rebel advance. The cry went up, "We are out of ammunition!" but he dashed to the front, ordered us to fix bayonets and charge double-quick! Royally the boys obeyed that order. The bayonets were fixed quickly, and forward we went with characteristic hurrahs and cleared our front once more, which made it possible for the army to make an orderly retreat to Rossville and Chattanooga that night. General Whitaker lost all but one of his staff that day, and was wounded himself. Col. J. H. Moore had his horse shot in three different places, yet that noble animal kept its feet and carried its rider back to Rossville before it died. Lieutenant-Colonel Kinsman was killed in the first onslaught of the regiment. His horse escaped to the enemy, but was recaptured at the battle of Missionary Ridge by our boys. The 22d Mich. served with Whitaker's brigade that day. The casualties among officers were unusually large-six killed and forty-six wounded. The brigade went into action 2,674 strong, and came out with 1,689, losing 985 in killed, wounded, and missing. |