A Bitter Pill on Kennesaw Mountain

     In regard to the assault on Kennesaw Mountain, the major thrust of Sherman’s attack was to be performed by the 14th Army Corps at what became known as the Dead Angle, but the assault also took place on several other scattered parts of the line as well with fighting just as bitter if the losses were not as heavy. As remembered by Adjutant William Styles of the 111th Illinois of Giles Smith’s brigade of the 15th Army Corps, it quickly became evident to the troops that the position was simply too strong to be taken by frontal assault.

          “Their entrenchments were very strong, and they extended from the top of a high rocky hill to and over a second and smaller hill, equally rough and broken. Minie balls were now flying thick and fast, but our men marched nobly forward to the works with a yell, such a yell as none but brave men know how to give. Charging up to within a short distance of the works, many falling to rise no more, we then lay down, protecting ourselves as best we could behind logs or anything that would afford cover. After remaining there a short time under a hot and murderous fire, some part of the line gave way on the left and we were compelled to fall back,” he wrote.

The 111th Illinois Infantry mustered into service in September 1862 as part of the state’s response to President Lincoln’s call for 300,000 troops. For their first year of service, they performed guard duty at Columbus and Paducah, Kentucky before traveling south in October 1863 to participate in the occupation of Decatur, Alabama. The regiment smelled its first powder during the Battle of Resaca in May 1864 and by the time of Kennesaw Mountain considered themselves veterans.

As part of General Giles A. Smith’s First Brigade of the Second Division of the 15th Army Corps, the 111th Illinois found themselves in a crossfire of two Confederate brigades, General Francis Cockrell’s all-Missouri brigade near Pigeon Hill and Claudius Sears all-Mississippi brigade entrenched on Little Kennesaw.  The Confederates laid down an exceedingly hot fire that drove the 111th into a ravine in front of the Confederate works; the regiment lost 17 casualties as they hunkered under the Confederate fire, and it quickly became evident that the assault was fruitless. “We were ordered to fall back some 200 yards and form for the second charge which was done by officers and men with a breathless anxiety for the bugle sound to up and at them, feeling, however, that it was a bitter pill and almost an impossibility, but willing to try again,” Adjutant Styles wrote. “In the meantime, our generals consulted and decided that the works could not be taken.”

Adjutant Styles’ account of the assault on Kennesaw Mountain first appeared in the July 28, 1864, edition of the Centralia Sentinel published in Centralia, Illinois.

 

This corps badge of the Second Division of the 15th Army Corps would be worn by some members of the 111th Illinois later in the war. The emblem of the corps was the cartridge box labeled with 40 rounds reflecting back to a story from when troops from the corps met Hooker's troops in November 1863. Noticing all the stars and crescent moons on the hats of the eastern troops, a grizzled veteran asked what they were and when told that they were corps badges, he reportedly patted his cartridge box and replied that the box was his corps badge. 
 

Headquarters, 111th Regt. Illinois Infantry, Camp near Kennesaw Mountain, Georgia

July 1, 1864

         

When leaving home, I have a faint recollection of promising to write to you, but up to the time of starting out on this spring’s campaign, items of interest were scarce and since then, time and opportunities for writing have been few and far between. I don’t propose, now, to give you a history of all our marches, skirmishes, and battles, but give you a short account of 24 hours and one fight.

          On the afternoon of last Sunday June 26th, we were ordered to be in readiness to march at dark. Accordingly, soon after sundown, we were all ready and waiting orders; they soon came, and we silently began to move. We marched until 11 p.m. then halted and stacked arms and were allowed to lay down and get what rest we could until daylight. At 6 a.m. on the morning of the 27th, our colonel and major were summoned to brigade headquarters.  They soon returned, convened the officers of the regiment, and informed us that our division and one brigade [Walcutt’s] of the Fourth Division were to make an assault on the line of the enemy’s works.

          We began to move at 8 a.m. over very broken ground with an occasional swamp covered with a heavy growth of timber and dry, thick, underbrush. Our skirmishers drove the enemy’s pickets before them under a heavy fire of musketry. After marching nearly a mile, we came in sight of the Rebel works and position. Their entrenchments were very strong, and they extended from the top of a high rocky hill to and over a second and smaller hill, equally rough and broken. Minie balls were now flying thick and fast, but our men marched nobly forward to the works with a yell, such a yell as none but brave men know how to give.

This painting of the action at Kennesaw Mountain gives some idea of the rugged terrain and thick forests through which Sherman's men had to cross to contact the Confederate line. 

Charging up to within a short distance of the works, many falling to rise no more, we then lay down, protecting ourselves as best we could behind logs or anything that would afford cover. After remaining there a short time under a hot and murderous fire, some part of the line gave way on the left and we were compelled to fall back. While here, Captain Jacob V. Andrews of Co. A was shot near the Rebel works in advance of his men, but we did not succeed in getting his body off of the field. [Andrews died on the field] Captain William H. Walker of Co. B was severely but not fatally wounded. Seventeen other of our brave boys were wounded and had it not been for the small ravine protecting a portion of our regiment, it must have been very nearly a total loss.

We were ordered to fall back some 200 yards and form for the second charge which was done by officers and men with a breathless anxiety for the bugle sound to up and at them, feeling, however, that it was a bitter pill and almost an impossibility, but willing to try again. In the meantime, our generals consulted and decided that the works could not be taken. Our regiment was then ordered to fortify themselves on a ridge fronting the enemy’s works which the boys went at with a hearty good will.

First Lt. Erastus W. Lapham
Co. G, 111th Illinois

We had just finished our works when the Rebels, concluding that we were not going to charge again, opened upon us with two batteries of six guns each and for more than an hour, the air seemed filled with exploding shells, and it rained grape and canister. Fortunately, our works were completed, and they protected us; but for that, we would have been swept from the face of the earth and the 111th numbered among the things that were. It was awful, yet grand.

Dark finally relieved us and under the cover of night, we were withdrawn out of range, and we were thankful we had a body wherewith to obey the order. Our officers and men acted the part of the brave and noble, having won a reputation in the army second to none.

Johnston’s army is so strongly posted on Kennesaw Mountain that it is difficult to get him started. I think General Sherman will again flank him, and I hope soon to be able to write you from Atlanta. Our army is cheerful and fully confident of success. The 111th is all o.k. and in good health.

Readers are encouraged to visit the 2,965-acre Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park located at 900 Kennesaw Mountain Dr., Kennesaw, Georgia, 30152. The ground over which Giles Smith's brigade charged is partially preserved while the positions held by Sears' and Cockrell's brigades are both located within park boundaries; the closest stop is stop 4 on Pidgeon Hill. You might want to visit the Illinois monument over on Cheatham Hill erected on the 50th anniversary of the battle in 1914. 

Source:

Letter from Adjutant William C. Styles, 111th Illinois Volunteer Infantry, Centralia Sentinel (Illinois), July 28, 1864, pg. 2

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 their way to
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 how Confederate jacke
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 warrior, for then comes the harvest of gain.
Read more

The Cannons are Now Silent: The Field of Death of Tupelo

Image
       The smoke of battle had drifted away from the battlefield at Tupelo, Mississippi on the hot afternoon of July 14, 1864, but the carnage of war lay spread across the open fields. “Scattered at intervals over the field of a few yards are dull gray blotches half shaded by grass,” an officer from the 7 th Minnesota Infantry recorded. “These are the Rebel dead. They have fought their last battle and lie generally in attitudes of rest; some of them look as if they had welcomed death. On the faces of two is imprinted a smile. One is a boy of 16 with delicate features, almost girlish in their beauty. His last gaze seems to have been directed toward his hand on the forefinger of which was a ring. A circle of purer white indicates its place; the ring was carried off as a trophy of the field.” The following account of the Battles of Tupelo and Old Town Creek was written by an unknown officer of the 7 th Minnesota Infantry, his account appearing in the August 5 th 1864 edition of the
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 securing all the Enfi
Read more

Straw Already Threshed: Sherman on Shiloh

Image
  W illiam Tecumseh Sherman was enjoying retired life in New York City when just before Christmas in 1889 he was presented with an article written by John Cockerill, a former drummer boy in the 24 th Ohio who was visiting his father Colonel Joseph Cockerill of the 70 th Ohio of Sherman’s division when the Battle of Shiloh began. Cockerill’s article, originally published in the New York Journalist and later featured in the January 1893 issue of Blue & Gray Magazine, Sherman later pronounced as “the best war story ever written” and the truest account of Shiloh.           On New Year’s Day 1890, General Sherman composed the following letter to his friend Marshall P. Wilder thanking him for sending along Cockerill’s article and giving his own explanation of Shiloh. “This to me is straw already threshed for we have fought this battle on paper several times, a much more agreeable task than to fight with bullets,” he concluded. “When in England some years ago I was gratified to liste
Read more

Federal Arms in the Stones River Campaign

Image
  T he following list, constructed after many years of research, lists unit by unit which type of weapons were carried by the Army of the Cumberland during the Stones River campaign. A number of sources were consulted including state ordnance reports, Federal quarterly ordnance reports (thank you Research Arsenal ), Ken Baumann’s Arming the Suckers, regimental histories and memoirs, captured ordnance reports, and consultation with knowledgeable experts in the field of firearms. Some of this information has been shared on the blog before in “ Rosy’s Heavy Metal: Artillery of the Army of the Cumberland ” or “ Shoulder Arms: How Sheridan’s and Davis’s Divisions Were Armed at Stones River ” but this is the first time the army as a whole has been presented. The overall conclusion I drew from looking at this data is that the Army of the Cumberland in December 1862 was an organization in the midst of transformation as far as arms. Many of the regiments still retained their original issue
Read more

Escape of Captain Henry H. Alban of the 21st Ohio Infantry

Image
Captain Henry H. Alban was among the dozen officers of the 21 st Ohio Volunteer Infantry who were captured on September 20, 1863 at the Battle of Chickamauga. The regiment had held its position atop Snodgrass Hill against repeated Confederate assaults and now battered and without ammunition, with the darkness of evening enveloping the hill, the remainder of that gallant band found themselves at the mercy of the 54 th Virginia. A total of 12 officers and 121 enlisted men surrendered; the regiment’s colors were taken, and the men marched off the field into captivity. Captain Henry Harvey Alban, Co. F, 21st O.V.I. Captain Alban along with the rest went through a series of Confederate prison camps before arriving at Columbia, South Carolina in October 1864. Determined to make an escape, he watched for his chance and one night made his leap for freedom, successfully eluding the local camp guard and setting out along the railroad to head for the mountains of eastern Tennessee and
Read more

Knapsack Compression: Wilbur Hinman recalls the first step of becoming a veteran

Image
L ooking back on his experiences during the war, Captain Wilbur Hinman of the 65 th Ohio (perhaps best known as the author of Si Klegg and His Pard ) recalled that the first road along which his regiment marched was strewn “with debris. A pair of six-mule wagonloads might have been gathered of notions that had been flung aside by a thousand suffering “tenderfeet.” “The average young patriot started for the war with a wheelbarrow load of clothing, a bed quilt or two, books, photograph albums, toilet articles, and gimcracks of every sort,” he wrote. “Neither he nor the good homefolks had the slightest conception of the capacity of a knapsack, nor did they for a moment imagine that before the close of his first day upon the road every pound he carried would seem a hundred.” To the true mark of a veteran soldier was one who “learned to dispense with every unnecessary ounce of weight, and just in the ratio that he did this he increased his efficiency as a soldier. It was of the highest
Read more

Federal Arms in the Chickamauga Campaign

Image
T he ordnance returns of the Army of the Cumberland at the end of September 1863 show the results of a transformational year in weaponry. Since taking command of the army at the end of October 1862, General William S. Rosecrans had repeatedly pestered the War Department to supply his regiments with better firearms both to improve the command’s efficiency as well as expand its striking power. The results speak for themselves: for the infantrymen at the end of September 1863, 90% of them now carried Class I long arms (36,058 out of 39,959), 8.3% carried Class II arms, and a mere 1.5% carried Class III weapons. Most of the foreign-made weapons (except Enfields) were gone, and by and large the army had settled on a single common .58 caliber ammunition, although a few .54 caliber and .69 caliber weapons remained within the ranks. The English-made Enfield rifle musket was by far the most common arm, carried by 56% of the men while the second-most common arm was the .58 caliber M1861 Spring
Read more