Arresting a Panic at Chickamauga: A Voice from the 36th Ohio

     On Saturday afternoon September 19, 1863, Jacob Reasoner and his comrades of the 36th Ohio were called upon to salvage a collapsing Union position during the Battle of Chickamauga. The sight that met their eyes upon arriving at the ground would shake the spirits of even veteran troops.

          “On came our retreating brigade and now was to come the test of discipline. A panic once started generally extends throughout the whole division or army and all doubted whether even our regiment would withstand its influence,” he recalled. “On came the routed brigade, battery, and all, rushing through our ranks, almost knocking down our men. Some of the faint hearted wished to go with them, but their officers succeeded in stopping them and getting them back to their places.”

          Reasoner’s account of the Battle of Chickamauga first saw publication in the October 15, 1863, edition of the Jackson Standard.

 


 Chattanooga, Tennessee

September 26, 1863

          Dear Mother: I have an opportunity of dropping you a line and have succeeded in borrowing a sheet of paper and envelope. Since my last, so many things of interest have taken place that I hardly know where or how to begin. But first I thank the Lord that I am thus far safely through. I have not received the slightest wound, while killed and wounded were thickly strewn around.

          On Friday September 18th, the Rebel forces attacked our extreme left, endeavoring to get between us and Chattanooga. Crittenden was driven but his loss was not heavy. Friday night, the center and left moved all night toward the left or Chattanooga and Saturday the battle was renewed with great fury. Almost all the fighting was in the woods which were so thick that little artillery could be used on either side, hence the fighting was with musketry, the most destructive of all warfare.

          On Saturday, two regiments of our brigade, the 92nd O.V.I. and 18th Kentucky, became engaged early in the day and the 11th O.V.I. and 36th O.V.I. were held in reserve until about 3 o’clock. A brigade on our far right had been hotly engaged with the enemy for an hour and from the firing we could tell that our forces were being driven back. We were ordered to their support and went on the double quick, but on reaching the scene of action found our forces in utter rout and hotly pursued by the whooping, cheering Rebels. We ran in some distance before our retreating forces formed our line, the 36th on the right, the 11th on the left, and stood ready for the shock.

Major William Harvey Glenn Adney, 36th Ohio Volunteer Infantry

On came our retreating brigade and now was to come the test of discipline. A panic once started generally extends throughout the whole division or army and all doubted whether even our regiment would withstand its influence. The brave, gallant, much lamented Jones stood in the rex, encouraging the men. Duyell and Adney were at their posts doing their duty, and every officer felt as though the day rested on his own exertions alone. On came the routed brigade, battery, and all, rushing through our ranks, almost knocking down our men. Some of the faint hearted wished to go with them, but their officers succeeded in stopping them and getting them back to their places. On came the exalting Rebels; but they were soon stopped by our destructive fire. The balls flew around us thick as hail but our single line stood firm. Officers were behind their men, cheering and encouraging them. The soldiers stood bravely, dealing destruction on the Rebel ranks.

For only a moment did my mind dwell upon my own situation. I thought that He that noticed the fall of the sparrow would save me if that were His will; and for once at least in my life I felt entirely dependent upon God. I also thought of you during the rest of the time. I was cheering the men and encouraging them, and if the boys tell the truth (for I have no remembrance of it myself), I was damning the Rebels. We stood until we had fired some 10 or 15 rounds, when the Rebels began to waver and lose their confidence. Then we rushed towards them on the charge, whooping, yelling, firing, and cheering. They began falling back faster and faster and we became more and more encouraged, rushing towards them with double fury and in a single minute we had them routed and driven from the field. This ended the fighting on Saturday on our part of the field.

Second Lieutenant William H. Rhodes of Co. G of the 36th Ohio was wounded September 19, 1863 and died of his wounds October 11, 1863 in Chattanooga, Tennessee. 

          On Sunday, the battle raged more desperately along the whole line. We were behind some fortifications erected during the night and were not hard pressed. The lines were everywhere and no one knew just where they were. We were outnumbered at every point by troops that fought most desperately. Towards evening it was apparent that our lines were in the shape of a letter V, and we were in the apex. The musketry was terrific, exceeding anything I ever heard or imagined. At four in the afternoon, our brigade was called up from where it had lay for some hours and wen on the double quick for some distance, about midway between our flanks. We halted, formed line almost instantly, and started on one of the most remarkable charges. McCook had given way Crittenden also, and the Rebels we all around a large portion of the 14th Corps and was closing up rapidly. A way was to be opened and our brigade selected to make that way, and well they did it. The brigade soon became all mixed up and apparently covered a 40-acre field, all making for the Rebels who were in full retreat. We run them for more than a mile, completely disorganizing their line and capturing about 300 prisoners, which we brought through with us. From a distant hill, a Rebel battery rained shell and shot upon us, but it did not kill or wound a great many. The balance of the 14th Army Corps followed our wake. We left the dead and the principal part of Sunday’s wounded on the field, who fell into the hands of the Rebels.

          Our gallant little army fought Bragg, Johnston, Buckner, Longstreet, Ewell, and a host of conscripts. The only wonder is we were not annihilated.

          We are now in Chattanooga, waiting for the Rebels to pitch in. They show enough campfires for 100,000 men. They have escaped all the fight. I am yet with Company I. Mitchell is well. Our entire regiment lost about 110 killed, wounded, and missing. I will write you again soon.

Your son,

Jacob

 

Source:

Letter from Second Lieutenant Jacob Reasoner, Co. E, 36th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, Jackson Standard (Ohio), October 15, 1863, pg. 2

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