Our Whole Line Seemed to be on Fire: McClernand’s Failed Assault at Fort Donelson

Francis Jordan “Frank” Burrows enlisted from Salem, Illinois as a sergeant of Co. D of the 49th Illinois Volunteer Infantry on October 19, 1861. Sergeant Burrows arrived in the western theater when his regiment arrived at Fort Holt, Kentucky on February 4, 1862 and in less than two weeks saw combat at the Battle of Fort Donelson as is described in his letter to the Salem Weekly Advocate. The 49th Illinois formed a part of The Third Brigade (Colonels William R. Morrison and Isham N. Haynie) of General John McClernand’s First Division of the District of Cairo.

 

Burrows’ account describes the regiment’s departure from Illinois, arrival at Fort Henry, and winter march that culminated in the assault on Fort Donelson. The ambitious McClernand, despite orders to avoid a general engagement, ordered Morrison’s brigade to charge the Confederate lines and take a battery on the morning of February 13, 1862. The two regiments of the brigade (the 17th and 49th Illinois) lined up shoulder to shoulder and prepared to pitch in. “Colonel Morrison then addressed us thus: “Boys, march slow and steady for the last hundred you may have to run.” Of course, they all knew that this meant a charge and with fixed bayonets we marched forward. When within a hundred yards of the breastworks our whole line seemed to be on fire. The Rebels had opened upon us a tremendous fire with their muskets, shot guns, rifles, and artillery,” Burrows wrote.   In the see-saw battle which ensued, the 49th Illinois was repulsed with heavy losses, among them Burrow’s company commander Captain John W. Brokaw. Colonel William R. Morrison, brigade commander and commander of the 49th Illinois, was wounded in the hip during this assault which cost 49th Illinois 14 killed and 37 wounded.

 

          Sergeant Burrows traveled with his regiment to Pittsburg Landing and took part in the Battle of Shiloh where the regiment lost 116 men, Burrows being promoted to regimental sergeant major on April 8, 1862. He was later commissioned adjutant and was absent on detached service when the regiment mustered out in September 1865. After the war, Lieutenant Burrows went into the grocery business in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, became a postmaster, and commander of the local G.A.R. post. He died March 9, 1913 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at age 73.

 


Fort Donelson, Tennessee

February 26, 1862[1]

 

We left Camp Butler on the 3rd inst., and after traveling all night arrived at Cairo at 8 o’clock the next morning and immediately transferred ourselves and baggage on board the boats and proceeded across the river to Fort Holt where we remained until the 7th. We again received orders to be ready to march the next morning at 8 o’clock. We accordingly went to work packing knapsacks, cooking rations, striking tents, etc., and at the appointed time we were on the steamers Alps and Lake Erie en route for Fort Henry. Nothing happened to mar the tenor of our way until midnight and we were within four miles of Paducah when the alarm was given that the Lake Erie was in a sinking condition. As many of the boys were awakened out of a sound slumber, a scene of considerable confusion followed but fortunately all were safely transferred to the Alps except a few knapsacks and guns.

 

The Alps then proceeded to Paducah where we remained until daylight Sunday morning when she again cast loose her fastenings and wended her way up the Tennessee River, the banks of which are thickly covered with timber with many hills looming up in the background. We arrived at Fort Henry (now Fort Foote) in the afternoon, marched out into the woods without tents and with a billet of wood for a billow and the broad canopy of heaven for a covering, passing a middling comfortable night. Next morning, we went to work carrying our baggage from the boats to the camping ground and after a hard day’s work succeeded in getting our tents pitched about dark and turned in for the night.

 

We had been at work the next morning for about two hours clearing off the camping ground when orders were issued for us to be ready to march in the afternoon. As the men had only received their arms at Fort Holt, they were immediately formed into line and for two hours were severely drilled in loading and firing. Forty rounds of cartridges were distributed to each man, two days’ rations were prepared, and at 5 p.m. we started for the attack on Fort Donelson. We marched six miles with the bright smiles of fair Cynthia beaming upon us and bivouacked for the night.

 



Early the next morning, we were again on the march. Our route lay over high and partially cleared lands, the weather was just suitable for the occasion and as far as the eye could reach, the glorious star-spangled banner could be seen waving over regiments of infantry, trains of artillery, the red and white banner of cavalry, and trains of provision wagons. It was in fact a noble sight and would have thrilled the hearts of any loyal citizen with pride to have witnessed it. We arrived within two miles of the fort about where for the first time we formed in battle line with fixed bayonets. We kept changing position until the Rebel camp with their tall round tents, heavy earth, and log breastworks extending over the hills, met our view. After marching and countermarching over the hills and through the brush, we at last lay down within hearing of the music of the spade and axe as the Rebels applied them in strengthening their position. Had they known we were there, they could have cut us all to pieces.

Colonel William R. Morrison, 49th Illinois

 

Early on the morning of February 13th, we moved from this position followed by cavalry. The Rebels seeing us sent a morning salute in the shape of shot and shell but doing little injury. By this time our artillery was discoursing music from different points and new ones were constantly being opened and apparently doing good execution. The play by this time was getting exciting and our minds were busily engaged if our hands were not. From this position we again received orders to march. Left all our knapsacks and extra baggage under guard and formed in line of battle on the road opposite a Rebel battery, the 17th Illinois Infantry formed on our left. Colonel Morrison then addressed us thus: “Boys, march slow and steady for the last hundred you may have to run.” Of course, they all knew that this meant a charge and with fixed bayonets we marched forward.

 

When within a hundred yards of the breastworks our whole line seemed to be on fire. The Rebels had opened upon us a tremendous fire with their muskets, shot guns, rifles, and artillery. We rushed up within 30 yards of the entrenchments and opened our fire on them. In a few moments, the battle was raging fiercely and many of our brave boys falling, when we were ordered to fall back, which we did, drawing the Rebels out of their works after us. We charged again and made the Rebels skedaddled double quick behind their works and again the battle raged. As we went forward the second time, our brave and gallant Captain [John W.] Brokaw waved his sword at the head of his men and exclaimed ‘come on boys, over the breastworks!’ Every man of his company who was able came up with a rush, yelling like so many fiends, but as the Captain was going forward, a fatal ball directed by the hands of a Rebel struck him near the heart, killing him almost instantly. As he fell back, he exclaimed, ‘Howard I’m killed,” and called to Oscar [his eldest son who was a sergeant in Co. D][2] who with the assistance of some others carried the dead body off the field.[3]

 

After fighting one hour and 20 minutes our troops fell back. Besides Captain Brokaw, we had eight men disabled. Captain Brokaw was loved and honored by his whole company and many shed bitter tears when they saw him clasped in death’s embrace. After the Captain fell, the enemy’s fire became very severe and our boys were falling thick and fast when we fell back and rested for the night, being exposed to a severe storm of rain and snow. During Friday and Saturday were constantly exposed to the shot and shell from the enemy’s batteries and had several killed and wounded. Saturday evening, we retired out of range of the enemy’s guns and rested for the night.


 

Captain John W. Brokaw, Co. D, 49th Illinois
(Shiloh Discussion Group)


Sunday morning, we were again in the ranks moving forward and had not gone far when we received the news of the surrender; immediately a shot of joy, loud and long, went up from many thousand throats, making the welkin ring again. With colors flying and bands discoursing ‘Dixie,’ we marched into the fort. We have won a great victory although it has cost the lives of many of freedom’s brave sons. Fort Donelson is situated near Dover, the county seat of Steward County and twelve miles from Kentucky. Dover was deserted by its former inhabitants and is now occupied as hospitals and business offices by our troops. Many who entered into the late battle with high hopes and aspirations now fill a soldier’s grave. Peace to their ashes.


[1] Salem Weekly Advocate (Illinois), March 11, 1862, pg. 2

[2] Oscar would not survive the war, dying in the service January 8, 1865 at Paducah, Kentucky.

[3] In an interesting side note, Captain Brokaw’s granddaughter Elizabeth Louise Brokaw was the wife of Nebraska governor Charles Wayland Bryan; Governor Bryan was the younger brother of Congressman William Jennings Bryan who ran for President as a Democrat three times in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.







Comments

Post a Comment

Most Popular Posts

Arming the Buckeyes: Longarms of the Ohio Infantry Regiments

Image
     A common question that comes up in conversation about Civil War Buckeye regiments is "What were they armed with?" We are fortunate in that the state of Ohio kept good records of how the regiments were armed when they went into service, this being especially true for those regiments which went into service in 1861 and 1862. The state adjutant general's reports for 1861 and 1862 have been heavily drawn upon to construct this article, as well as consultation with Phil Spaugy who has done extensive research on how Ohio's troops were armed during the war.      Buckeyes carried a fairly wide variety of weapons into the field, and the below article breaks this down into weapons of both domestic manufacture and imported arms. The early days of the war found the state of Ohio practically bereft of longarms; as an example, when the 1st and 2nd Ohio Volunteer Militia left the state in late April 1861, they left unarmed, being armed at Lancaster, Pennsylvania on t...
Read more

Bullets for the Union: Manufacturing Small Arms Ammunition During the Civil War

Image
       Civil War bullets are perhaps the most common item collected from the era; the two armies expended bullets by the millions during the four years’ conflict and spent or deformed bullets of all shapes and sizes have made fascinating and affordable collectibles since the guns went silent in 1865.       I recently acquired a display piece featuring 35 different types of small arms ammunition used during the Civil War, including everything from a small .28 caliber ball up to a .69 caliber three-ring Minie and it triggered some questions: how did the Federal army obtain its small arms ammunition during the war? Where did the lead come from to make the bullets, and where and how was the ammunition manufactured? This post seeks to answer those questions. A typical .58 caliber 3-ring Minie bullet   “Whenever the blasts of war blow in the ears of men who trade in the implements of destruction, they are apt to experience more joy than the true ...
Read more

Dressing the Rebels: How to Dye Butternut Jeans Cloth

Image
     In the early days of the Civil War,  the Southern states found themselves with an abundance of cotton but a shortage of cloth with which to make army uniforms. The trade in cloth prior to the war had largely been to send raw cotton or wool north to New England (or Great Britain) where it was converted into usable cloth; but now that trade was broken and the Southern states were thrown upon their own resources in their efforts to properly clothe the Confederate army.  This collection of Confederate enlisted men's frock coats and shell jackets gives some indication of the variety of shades of butternut worn during the war. All of them are shades of yellow brown, some heavier on the yellow and some heavier on the brown. The blue used around the collar or as rank insignia indicates that the soldier was in the infantry. Surviving Confederate uniforms are considered rather rare and command quite a healthy price in the collecting market. For an in-depth study of h...
Read more

The Wizard of Oz and the Civil War

Image
T he 1939 film The Wizard of Oz has delighted viewers for 85 years and ranks as a personal favorite, especially during the Halloween season. While watching it with the family the other night, I wondered if there were any connections between the film and the Civil War. Not surprisingly, the answer is yes and those connections touch both the blue and the gray.           Interestingly both “witches” in the film not only had Civil War ancestors but had connections with Civil War soldiers from Ohio. Margaret Hamilton, the “Wicked Witch of the West,” was born in Cleveland, Ohio on December 9, 1902, to attorney Walter Jones Hamilton and his wife Mary Jane Adams; Margaret’s grandfather was Judge Edwin Timothy Hamilton. Judge Hamilton had served as a private in Co. D of the 84 th Ohio Infantry during the summer of 1862. The 84 th Ohio, a three months’ regiment, served nearly the whole of its service attached to the Railroad District in western Ma...
Read more

The Vaunted Enfield Rifle Musket

Image
     The English-made Model 1853 .577 caliber Enfield Rifle Musket was widely regarded as the best infantry arm in the world at the outbreak of the Civil War in April 1861. Favorable international press describing its efficiency in the Crimean War and in suppressing the Indian rebellion led to the widespread desire of American infantrymen (both Federal and Confederate) to be armed with these accurate and well-made arms. The lock plate of this well-worn P1853 Enfield rifle musket produced in 1862 shows the typical markings of a British-made weapon that made it through the Federal blockade.  ( Army of Tennessee Relics ) Enfield-pattern weapons were imported into the states by the tens and hundreds of thousands during the war years; one estimate stated that the Federal government purchased 500,000 while the Confederates purchased another 400,000. The Confederate government dispatched Captain Caleb Huse to Europe in April 1861 to purchase weapons and Huse focused on se...
Read more

In front of Atlanta with the 68th Ohio

Image
  The arrow corps badge of the 17th Army Corps was worn by many members of the 68th Ohio in the latter days of the war.       Private Edward A. Bigelow of Co. F of the 68th Ohio Volunteer Infantry wrote this brief account of the Battle of Atlanta just two days afterwards to his father back home in Henry County, Ohio. The regiment formed a part of Colonel Robert K. Scott's three regiment all-Ohio brigade consisting of the 20th, 68th, and 78th regiments, being designated the Second Brigade of the Third Division of Frank Blair's 17th Army Corps. Bigelow's letter originally appeared in the Napoleon Press newspaper and was copied in the Toledo Daily Commercial which was providential as no known copies exist today of the wartime Napoleon Press.  
Read more

Charging Battery Robinett: An Alabama Soldier Recalls the Vicious Fighting at Corinth

Image
W riting 30 years after the Battle of Corinth, James A. McKinstry of the 42 nd Alabama recalled his experiences storming Battery Robinett with Colonel William P. Rogers of the 2 nd Texas and expressed guilt that it was perhaps his action that brought about the colonel’s demise. “On seeing a line of Federals approaching, and before giving the situation a thought, I immediately raised my gun and fired full into the breast of a Federal sergeant, who was in front of the column, and only a short distance from us.  'Twas then that Captain George Foster shouted, "Cease firing, men! cease firing!" and waved his handkerchief, then I realized the true situation. 'Twas too late! That fatal volley had been turned on our little band from the muzzles of 1,500 muskets. I was still standing just as I was when I fired my last shot, and within a few feet of Colonel Rogers, when a Minie ball went crashing through my left hip and turned me half round; another went tearing through my ...
Read more

Cook & Brother of New Orleans

Image
    The lockplate of a New Orleans-made Cook & Brother Enfield rifle produced in 1862 shows the fine craftsmanship that became the hallmark of the maker throughout the Civil War. Note the stars and bars flag at left, an emblem used on C&B's production throughout the war and the Cook & Brother, N.O. 1862 markings. Earlier production weapons at New Orleans had the flag located just above the maker's name while later weapons produced in Athens, Georgia would have a modified flag and Athens on the plate followed by the serial number.        In the spring of 1861, two English-born businessmen, Ferdinand and Francis Cook of New Orleans, perceived the need for the South to have its own domestic production of firearms and  set out to prove "that rifles could made here as well as in Yankee land or in Europe." The brothers  elected to produce copies of the British Model 1853 .577 caliber Enfield rifle as this was considered the benchmark longarm...
Read more

I Want to See a Battle: A Hoosier at Shiloh

Image
W riting in his diary, Private Manius Buchanan of the 29 th Indiana recalled the eagerness with which his regiment marched towards Savannah, Tennessee with the sounds of the battle of Shiloh ringing in their ears.           “The forced march was kept up until 2 p.m. when we were halted until 4 p.m,” he noted. “The rest was really needed, but the continual question is ‘Why are we stopped here?’ The sound of battle increased in volume and anxiety to be up and doing grows more intense. As I am weak from a late sickness, I am urged to fall to the rear; but no, in common with all, I want to see a battle and fear this will be my only chance.” The regiment would go into action the following afternoon, and of the four neighborhood boys who had enlisted together in Co. B, only Buchanan escaped unscathed. One afternoon's exposure to the horrors of battle was all it took to satisfy this Hoosier's desire to see the elephant. “I wanted to see a battl...
Read more

An Interview with Forrest in May 1864

Image
  “The noise of battle is the only music that ravishes the senses of Forrest.” I t was May 1864. Back east, the Army of Northern Virginia and the Army of the Potomac were locked in the deadly dance of the Overland Campaign while in Georgia, General William Tecumseh Sherman's army squared off against General Joseph E. Johnston and the Army of the Tennessee in the campaign for Atlanta.       Based in relatively quiet northern Mississippi, General Nathan Bedford Forrest bided his time waiting for a Federal advance from Memphis. Earlier in the month, General Samuel Sturgis led a brief campaign into Mississippi but Forrest was sure Sturgis would venture out again. In the meantime, he tried to keep his reorganized command intact despite persistent demands from his superiors that he return the absentees and deserters who inflated his ranks (nearly 1,000 in number) to their original commands.      Around this same time,  an old acquaintance from Me...
Read more