Dan Masters' Civil War Chronicles

L ooking back on the events of the Battle of Port Republic, Private Elliott Winscott of the 7th Indiana laid the blame for his regiment's misfortunes on one man: Colonel Samuel Sprigg Carroll. In particular, he called into question Carroll's decision making on the Sunday afternoon on June 8, 1862.      " On Sunday, we were within 6 miles of Port Republic and the cavalry under the command of Captain Keughn of Shields’ staff was sent ahead to drive the enemy from the bridge that spans the Shenandoah Rover opposite the town," he noted. "The work was entrusted to a faithful officer and nobly did he discharge his duty, driving the enemy away and firing the bridge. Had he been left to use his own discretion, as he ought to have been, the bridge would have been destroyed and saved our defeat. But no sooner had General Carroll heard what had been done when he ordered the fire put out, and two pieces of short-range brass guns were ordered forward together with our brigade...

A s the Federal army tightened the noose around Vicksburg on May 21, 1863, Captain James R.S. Cox of the 16 th Indiana had an opportunity to observe General Ulysses S. Grant up close and personal.           Cox was atop a ridge with Generals Stephen Burbridge and A.J. Smith when he saw “General Grant, smoking as usual, walking slowly along the ridge, paying no attention to the sharpshooters who are feeling for him,” he wrote. “Some newspapers deem him incompetent to fill the position, but the soldiers of his army swear by him. They know that the campaign, thus far and under great difficulties, has been conducted successfully. I had formed an idea from the description that he was a whiskey barrel on legs but found myself greatly in error. Paying little attention to dress, he usually wears a stand-up collar with cap and coat much the worse for wear. He seems a plain unassuming man, whether studying his maps or as is his custom, smoking, walk...

P rivate James F. Hunt of Co. E, 12 th Michigan Infantry, had the “honor” of firing some of the opening shots of the Battle of Shiloh. What he saw of battle satisfied his desire for combat. “I gave the enemy between 30 and 40 good rounds before they shot me, and I shot at somebody every time,” he explained in a letter to his father. “Whether I killed anyone or not, I do not know nor do I want to. I have seen all I want to of war and would like to get home first best. I have seen men shot dead almost by my side and expected to be the next one myself. Yet I could draw up and fire away just as cool as I could at a flock of pigeons. How I got off so easy I do not know. I had my coat cut all to pieces with shot.” Private Hunt’s account of Shiloh, sent to his father David M. Hunt who lived in Clay Township near South Bend, Indiana, first appeared in the May 1, 1862, edition of the St. Joseph Valley Register .

Stones River Stories T he story of rapid demise of Battery E, 1 st Ohio Light Artillery at the Battle of Stones River has been shared previously on this blog, but I recently discovered this previously unknown account penned by Corporal Oliver P. Clark that provides an intimate view of those fateful opening minutes of Stones River. Oliver Clark’s role with the battery was the No. 2 man as part of Detachment F, the sixth gun in the battery. Clark’s primary duties when the battery was in action included receiving the shell from the No. 5, then inserting it into the muzzle of the cannon. That said, he had an up close view of the action. Once the Confederate assault opened the battle, Clark raced to his piece which was loaded with a double shot of canister. “Dick Gillett says, ‘Let her go!’ and Detachment F was in it,” Clark remembered. “The old gun sent the canister; it struck the Rebel column seven lines deep. The canister cut down every man that was in range, cutting a hole in the col...

Stones River Stories D uring the Battle of Stones River, a total of nine Medals of Honor were awarded to soldiers who displayed valor above and beyond the call of duty. Two of those medals were awarded for actions prior to the main engagement, while the remaining seven were awarded for actions on December 31, 1862. The first of those medals was not awarded until nearly 25 years after the battle, the first recipients being volunteer soldiers who had gone on to serve in the regular army as officers. Six more medals would be awarded during the 1890s with the last medal being awarded to John Farquhar of the 89 th Illinois in 1902.           The first Medal of Honor awarded for action at Stones River went to John Gregory Bourke, formerly of Co. E of the 15 th Pennsylvania Cavalry which was also known as the Anderson Troop. Bourke, born in Philadelphia to Irish immigrant parents in 1846, lied about his age and enlisted in the Anderson Troop on ...

I n the days leading up to the Battle of Chickamauga, Major General Gordon Granger, commanding the Reserve Corps of the Army of the Cumberland, provoked an ugly scene with the men of his command that highlights the differences between volunteer soldiers and the Regular officers who often led them. Major John Corson Smith of the 96 th Illinois, then serving on the staff of General James B. Steedman who commanded one of Granger’s divisions, laid the blame at Granger’s “exacting and overbearing nature.”           The trouble began once the Reserve Corps occupied Rossville on September 14, 1863; the supply wagons trailed days behind and soon the Federals got hungry. “The command at Rossville numbered about 6,000 rank and file,” recalled Major Smith. “Following the forced march over Lookout Mountain, there was a scarcity of food and the men commenced foraging for subsistence- a few nubbins of corn, a bunch of string beans, a piece of smoked mea...