Our Guns Were Burning Hot: The 14th Ohio Battery at Atlanta

     The 14th Ohio Battery had a long history of service with the Army of the Tennessee stretching back to its baptism of fire on the first day of Shiloh. By the time of the Atlanta campaign, the northeastern Ohio battery had become attached to the artillery battalion of the Fourth Division of the 16th Army Corps and fought in innumerable engagements during that campaign, but its tightest spot came on July 22nd, 1864, when it fought in the Battle of Atlanta. Rushed to reinforce the 17th Army Corps line near Bald Hill, the battery galloped into position just as the Confederate debouched from a ravine aiming to strike the flank of the Union army.

“Hardly had these dispositions been made when the detestable gray jackets came pouring up through the ravine, deploying to our left, when they were greeted with a shower of shells from our pieces; a moment later and they came rolling up in our front and to the right in three lines where they received a like reception,” one veteran recalled. “At this moment, a critical moment it was, our right being largely outnumbered and in danger of being turned back, General Fuller’s brigade appeared on our right and gallantly charged the enemy whose ranks had become broken from our shot and shell along with the withering fire of Fuller’s veterans,” he wrote.

          The following account of the July 22nd battle of Atlanta was penned by an unknown soldier of the 14th Ohio Battery writing under the nom-de-plume of “Typo.” It first appeared in the August 24, 1864, edition of the Western Reserve Chronicle published in Warren, Ohio.

 

Detail from the Kurz & Allison print depicting the Battle of Atlanta published around 1890. The Army of the Tennessee fought upon many battlefields but never was in as tight as spot as it found itself on July 22, 1864 outside Atlanta. 


In the field two miles in front of Atlanta, Georgia

August 18, 1864

          In giving you a sketch of the sanguinary conflict of the 22nd of July and the part taken by the 14th Battery, I will state the situation and position of the forces engaged. In closing upon the city by our forces, the 23rd Corps occupied a position which shortened the original line considerably and crowded our Fourth Division out connecting with the left of the 15th Corps which now held both sides of the railroad, the 17th Corps being to the left of the 15th Corps with the Fourth Division of that corps slightly retired to obviate a flank movement and protect its rear. The lines of these three corps were formed on an elevated ridge cut up in the rear by several ravines, dotted here and there with an open field or garden, the majority of the ground, however, being densely covered with second growth timber and thickets of scrub pine, oak, and hickory.

          Early in the morning the First Brigade of our division had been sent to the left of the 17th Corps accompanied by Battery F of the 2nd U.S. Artillery. Rumors were afloat that the enemy was evacuating the city as well as others to the effect that they were moving heavy bodies of troops to our left. It was evident that something was up as staff officers were seen flitting hither and thither in every direction. Skirmishing was brisk along the line while on the opposite side of the city could be heard General Thomas’ cannons thundering away. Ours were not idle at the front.

          It was 10 o’clock when orders came for the battery to report to General John Fuller on the left. Moving from our bivouac of the night before, we had made a short distance when the Second Division of our corps, which was now on its way to the left, crowded us from the road and we followed them, halting in the road for an hour when about one half the distance had been reached. This doubtless was a lucky circumstance for the battery as had it been allowed to proceed unmolested it would have shared the same fate as Battery F of the 2nd U.S. which was captured while in line of march an hour later along the road over which it was necessary for us to pass in reaching General Fuller’s position.

The 14th Ohio Battery was originally equipped with both 6- and 12-pdr Wiard rifles, all of which were captured at Shiloh. The battery was subsequently re-armed with two M1857 12-lb Napoleons and four 3" Ordnance Rifles such as the one depicted above. (Photo courtesy of Phil Spaugy)


          Possibly it was the intention of the authorities to cover this space with the Second Division, but at all events, Major General McPherson lost his valuable life in this same road while viewing the lines and situation from a force of the enemy who were concealed in the thick brush that lined the road within a few rods of the unfortunate Battery F. More or less confusion existed at this time, and the Second Division was hurried forward, taking position somewhat to the rear and left of the 17th Corps, the gap still existing. Our battery formed in line with the Second Division covering a ravine through which the enemy was expected to advance, into a strip of open ground of growing corn fronting to the south supported by the 81st Ohio on our right and the 7th Iowa on the left. Battery H of the 1st Missouri Light Artillery was to our left fronting east covering an open field.

 

“The day was intensely hot. We were in an open field without works of any kind and the sun poured down on us and seemed as if it would bake us. Our boys opened on the advancing Rebels with shells and caused large gaps in their ranks which in a moment would be filled up again. Our infantry poured volley after volley into them, but still they come. We piled their dead around them when they tried to charge our battery, but they were met with a shower of canister. Our boys fought like heroes, and some became exhausted with the heat. Our guns are burning hot, but still we pored the shell and canister into their ranks, every shot tells with awful effect.” ~ Corporal Henry E. Haynes, 14th Ohio Battery

 

          Hardly had these dispositions been made when the detestable gray jackets came pouring up through the ravine, deploying to our left, when they were greeted with a shower of shells from our pieces; a moment later and they came rolling up in our front and to the right in three lines where they received a like reception. At this moment, a critical moment it was, our right being largely outnumbered and in danger of being turned back, General Fuller’s brigade appeared on our right and gallantly charged the enemy whose ranks had become broken from our shot and shell along with the withering fire of Fuller’s veterans. The 27th Ohio, 39th Ohio, and 18th Missouri drove them hurriedly back into the woods. Meanwhile, our front and left were closely pressed, the Rebels charging furiously on our position and coming within 30 yards where canister was freely used from both of our batteries. This had the desired effect, and the Rebel mass went reeling back into the ravine and woods, leaving the ground strewn with their dead and wounded.

          They attempted to rally under cover of the woods and assault our position again, but the repulse had been so bloody to them it only added to their destruction, the artillery still sending them shells at a rapid rate. The battle lasted better than one hour and loss in the three brigades and two batteries reached nearly 700 in killed, wounded, and missing. I doubt if artillery was ever served to a better purpose than in this short but decisive struggle. It was warmly complimented by special orders from Brigadier General Barny, chief of artillery for the Military Division of the Mississippi of General Sherman’s staff.

General John W. Fuller

          Of the losses in the battery, I am sorry to announce the death of two of our brother soldiers, Corporal Jason M. Abbey and Private Joseph Richards who fell at their posts. Both were truly good and ever ready for duty. Abbey was a recruit in 1862 from Lake County and an excellent gunner; I doubt if there was a better shot in the entire army. Richards was a member of the 13th Ohio Battery and was assigned to us immediately after the battle of Shiloh. The wounded were Corporal Aaron P. Cox of Mesopotamia, severely in the foot. Private Seymour P. Jones of Ashtabula County, in the leg severe; Henry B. Lane of Ashtabula County leg amputated, Warren S. Reynolds of Mesopotamia severely wounded in the leg and side. Corporal McCord was scratched on the knee by a passing ball and Private Henry Everingham had a furious cut through his hair from the forehead to the crown which was certainly close enough.

          The enemy lost between 600-700 in killed which were buried by our men the next day besides caring for 300 of their severely wounded. We also captured about 200 prisoners. The force opposed to us were Walker’s, Cleburne’s, and Bate’s divisions of Hardee’s corps, the object of whom the prisoners state was to capture our transportation and turn the left of our army. Had it not been for the 16th Corps’ timely arrival and check of the Rebel column, I think they would have been successful, bringing untold advantages to the enemy and the capture of many of the 17th Corps who were desperately engaged in front as well as the 15th Corps. It was a bloody day with the Army of the Tennessee as the fighting of a desperate nature continued in front of the two latter-named corps after dark.

 

Sources:

Letter from Typo, 14th Ohio Battery, Western Reserve Chronicle (Ohio), August 24, 1864, pg. 1

Letter from Corporal Henry E. Haynes, 14th Ohio Battery, Western Reserve Chronicle (Ohio), August 17, 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