The Crescent on the Move: The 154th New York and Its Introduction to the Western Theater
In the wake of the Federal defeat at the Battle of Chickamauga, the War Department decided to send two army corps from the Army of the Potomac west to reinforce the Army of the Cumberland. Veterans of Rosecrans' army would later ask why this step wasn't taken a month earlier and its interesting to speculate how different Chickamauga might have turned out with the 11th and 12th Army Corps on the field. But as it was, the two corps set out from Virginia in the waning days of September and arrived in theater during the first weeks of October.
Major Lewis Warner of the 154th New York was among those troops who traveled west. Two letters are featured below courtesy of the New York State Military Museum and Veterans Research Center. His first letter provides a detailed description of the rail journey from Virginia to Bridgeport, Alabama while the second details the march of his regiment into Lookout Valley with a brief description of its first engagement in the west during the Battle of Wauhatchie.
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| The journey of the 11th and 12th Army Corps in the fall of 1863 marked one of the most significant logistical achievements of the war by the Union army. In the span of two weeks, 15,000 men, 5,000 horses, and over 700 wagons were moved from Virginia to Tennessee and Alabama. This ability to rapidly shift reinforcements from one theater to another would turn the tide of war in Tennessee. |
Headquarters, 154th N.Y. Regiment
Bridgeport, Alabama, October 25, 1863
Editor Times,
Six days thumping, jolting,
pounding upon the cars, rough boards, planed boards, cushioned seats, and no
seats at all. Sleeping with body and limbs in every conceivable position and at
every degree of elevation between the horizon and the zenith. Bless me ain't it
pleasant this riding on a rail. On ordinary occasions I think it is, but a
jaunt of twelve hundred miles, with such accommodations as are provided for the
transportation of troops, is quite another thing. Well, all things have an end,
and so has our journey for the present, and we now find ourselves at
Bridgeport, on the Tennessee River, about thirty miles below Chattanooga, in
northern Alabama.
As was shadowed forth in my
last, we embarked on Saturday, September 26th, on the railroad and
started for this region, by way of the Washington and Baltimore road to the
junction of the B. & O. road, thence to Wheeling, where we crossed the Ohio,
thence to Zanesville, Columbus, Xenia and Dayton, Ohio, Richmond, Indianapolis
and Jeffersonville, Indiana, at which last place we recrossed the Ohio to
Louisville, thence by L. & N. railroad to Nashville, Tennessee, thence by
Nashville & Chattanooga road to this place, which is at present the
terminus of railroad travel in this direction, as the bridge over the river
here has been nearly destroyed, and it will take some time to rebuild it.
No accident happened to the 154th
during this long ride, and every man with which we left Alexandria is here with
us. I think that few regiments who have come through here can boast of the same
thing. All regiments of which I know anything, left more or less men on the
road to be picked up and sent along with following troops. I do not know as our
boys were any less ready than others to jump off whenever the cars stopped, but
they always managed to be on board again when we started. The Government had
taken possession of the roads on our line of travel, and arrangements were made
at proper distances for supplying the boys with bread and coffee as they came
along. At several places butter, cheese and meat were added to this bill of
fare. At Centerville, Indiana, the ladies met us with a repast of coffee,
cakes, pies, cold meats, bread, biscuits, butter, cheese, fruits, and
everything that could tempt a hungry man, and to which our buys did full
justice, not forgetting to thank the fair donors of so acceptable a gift. As
the cars moved off, three cheers for the ladies of Centerville were given with
a will. [Centerville was the hometown of then Indiana governor Oliver P. Morton]
In our transit at Louisville we
had about three miles marching through heat and dust, which very forcibly
reminded us of some of our last summer's experience. During our short daylight
ride through Kentucky we were repeatedly cheered as we passed along, but after
we left Nashville, I saw no demonstration of welcome or good feeling along the
road. From what I have seen I am inclined to the belief that the picture of
strong Union sentiment in this region has been considerably overdrawn. At
Murfreesboro I understand there were three Union votes cast at the last
election. The country bears the same marks of the desolating effects of the war
which are so painfully visible in every part of eastern Virginia. Dearly have
these states paid for their foolish policy of joining themselves and casting
their lots with their country's enemies. It will take years of patient toil and
self-denying economy to restore these States to the position they occupied little
more than two short years since.
We are now in camp near the
banks of the Tennessee river, at Bridgeport, where we shall probably remain
until we can get organized and ready for the
field. The Eleventh Corps is here and the Twelfth Corps is now arriving as fast as the
road can bring them in. Then must come the transportation, baggage, and all
that goes to fit and furnish an army for active service. I do not think this
can all be procured and got in running order in less than ten or twelve days. When
all is in readiness I presume there will be work done, as we are not sent here
for nothing. I understand (though I cannot vouch for the truth of the
statement,) that these two Corps are under or to be under the command of General
Hooker. If so, we shall undoubtedly fight, unless one or the other side runs.
The country around here is very rough and mountainous and well adapted to
guerrilla warfare, which the Rebels are reported to be pretty extensively
engaged in hereabouts.
To counteract these desperadoes
requires continual watchfulness and activity. Our distance from the base of
operations is so great that it would cause great inconvenience to have the
single track destroyed between here and Nashville, which is distant from here
126 miles by rail. The river is decidedly too low to be depended on as a source
of supplies. Our Chancellorsville prisoners arrived here this morning, they
having been exchanged just before we left Alexandria. The Gettysburg men are
also exchanged and will probably be here in a few days. If Colonel Jones and
the other officers come with them, I shall feel that we are all right. The
direction to be placed upon letters or packages is the same as before, except
that Army of the Cumberland instead of army of the Potomac, and Nashville is to
be substituted for Washington.
Respectfully yours,
L. D. WARNER.
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| This map from the O.R. depicts the Federal positions during the Battle of Wauhatchie. The 154th New York was aroused from a sound slumber when Longstreet's veterans pitched into General John Geary's camps around Wauhatchie late on the night of the 28th. In a rare night battle, Geary was able to hold his position and fend off the Rebel assault but the battle came at a high personal cost to the Pennsylvanian as his son was killed in the fighting. The 154th New York marched out of camp and ran into a nest of Confederates between the 11th Corps camps and Geary's position. These Confederates were later dislodged by Colonel Orland Smith's and General Hector Tyndale's brigades of the 11th Corps. |
LOOKOUT VALLEY, NOV. 5th, 1863.
FRIEND FAY:—
As you have doubtless, ere this, heard the Crescent has been once more upon the move, and now rests beneath the shadow of Lookout Mountain, whose hoary head, bristling with Rebel cannon, seems to look down in astonishment upon us puny creatures who have thus impudently dared to take up our abode under his very feet. But to my journal.
Oct. 27th.—We broke camp at Bridgeport, and crossing the
river, advanced along the railroad in this direction, the First Brigade taking
the lead. The day was fine, and the roads not having been used during the late
rains, were in good condition. Our first halt was at Shell Mound Station, about
eight miles from Bridgeport. Near here is the entrance to one of the largest of
the saltpeter caves to be found in the country, it having been explored some
nine or ten miles from its mouth. A stream of pure water, sufficient to furnish
the motive powers to quite an extensive grist mill, and which is said to be
navigable for light skiffs some four miles, issues from the mouth of the cave.
The earth in the bottom of the cave is strongly impregnated with saltpetre,
which is obtained by leaching the earth and boiling the ley. The numerous
leaches and remains of arches for boiling, show that the manufacture of this
important ingredient in the manufacture of gunpowder, has been extensively
carried on of late. For the present, however, the manufacture is seriously
interrupted.
After giving the boys a chance
to take a peep into a real live cave and pick up a few shells to send home as
relics, we continued our course. The country, which from Bridgeport here was
comparatively level and productive, now became more rough and sterile, and the
roads much worse. About two miles from Shell Mound, the road enters a narrow
pass between the river and mountain, where, for more than two miles the cliffs towered to a height that caused a dizziness on looking up, and in many places overhung the road. At a height of
about 50 feet above the road, the
railroad winds along the side of the hill, the space for the track being most
of the way obtained by blasting and throwing out the solid rock. The scenery
was impressive, and the most boisterous were awed into silence. Think's I, what
a spot this to cut off and destroy a train of wagons. Let them once get into
this defile, then close up the two ends, and there is no escape for man or
beast, unless by swimming the river, a feat which nothing less than the fear of
a Rebel bullet would cause me to attempt.
At the termination of this
defile, the road leaves the river, and ascending the valley of what is called
Falling Water creek to its head, passes through a gap in the mountain and
descends the Lookout Creek valley, which opens upon the river about three miles
below Chattanooga. I think no railroad was ever engineered through a rougher
region than this. The road winds around the sides of the mountains in many
places, hundreds of feet above the narrow valley, or rather gorge, into which
the train would plunge were it thrown from the track. About 14 miles from
Chattanooga the railroad crosses the creek, the bridge over which has been
burned by the Rebels, who, not satisfied with reducing to ashes all that was
consumable, attempted to blow up the fine stone piers on which the bridge
rested, some of which cannot be less than 150 feet in height. I think Uncle Sam
will hardly incur the expense of rebuilding this costly structure, at least not
while supplies can be taken up by the river.
About two miles from this bridge
and 12 from Chattanooga, we came to a small valley, wide enough for an
encampment, and here we halted for the night, having marched about 20 miles.
After eating our supper, posting picket for the night, &c., we lay down to
rest, and the last thing I remember was the squealing of an unfortunate litter
of eight weeks pigs, who chanced to stray too near our camp for their own
safety. The next morning, the 28th, we were aroused at 4 o'clock,
and at 6 were once more on the move, our brigade leading as yesterday. We now
began to see the evidence of recent Rebel occupation, and consequently moved
with caution. No resistance, however, was met with until about five miles from
the month of Lookout Creek, when our advance begun to encounter the advance
pickets of the Rebels. They, however, fled after firing a few shots, and we
continued to advance along the valley, with Lookout Mountain on our right, from
the summit of which, on the extreme point next the river, rebel cannon were
sending shells in the direction of the river, and Rebel flags were signaling our
approach.
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| The 154th New York was assigned to Colonel Adolphus Buschbeck's First Brigade of General Adolph von Steinwehr's Second Division of the 11th Army Corps during the Tennessee operations. The arrival of the corps in Bridgeport was something of a homecoming for von Steinwehr. After he resigned his commission in the Army of Brunswick in 1847, he emigrated to the U.S. and first settled in Alabama where he worked for the U.S. Coast Survey. He married a Mobile belle and later moved to New York, entering the Civil War as colonel of the German 29th New York Volunteers. |
When about three miles from the
river, our advance encountered the rebels in some force, and a halt being made,
the 73rd Pennsylvania and 154th N. Y. were deployed as
skirmishers to clear the road for the main body of troops. This was the first
time the 154th had been employed in this way, and the first chance
to go in with a rush. And they did go in. The Rebels were in force on the crest
of a hill in front, which was covered with a dense growth of oak and hickory,
which made it impossible to know their strength, or whether they were entrenched.
But our boys did not stop to count noses. With such cheers as would have done
credit to the lungs of three times their numbers, they charged boldly into the
wood and up the hill, many who, a short time previous, were ready to fall out
with fatigue, forgetting everything else in their eagerness to be first at the
top.
The enemy, undoubtedly supposing
from the noise that a large force was advancing to the charge, fled after
firing a few shots, and our boys soon rested on the crest of the hill without
any greater casualty than the loss of the little finger of one man, Hiram
Strait of Co. C. No further resistance was offered by the Rebel infantry, and
we proceeded on our way down the valley. We now were to pass the batteries on
the point of Lookout Mountain, which gave us their undivided attention, as we
passed within easy shelling range.
Owing, however, to the great
height of the mountain or the imperfection of Rebel gunnery and projectiles, or
both, no harm was done. They wasted their ammunition, frightened a few timid
ones, and hurt nobody. It was, however, a grand review and salute, only for
want of blank cartridges they fired loaded shell and solid shot, a great waste
of material. After passing the batteries about one mile, we came in sight of
the Stars and Stripes waving from the summits of a range of small hills along
the river, and such cheers as our boys sent up were anything but lazy. Thus was
our journey ended. We had formed a junction with the army of General Grant, and
opened communication on this side of the river between Bridgeport and
Chattanooga. The sun was just setting behind the western hills when we encamped
at the base of one of the hills, well satisfied with ourselves and our day's
work. After eating our supper we retired early to rest, expecting to enjoy a
good night's sleep. Alas, how uncertain are human calculations, especially in
the army. The night was scarcely half passed when we were aroused by the
booming of cannon and the rattle of musketry, and were soon in line and ready
for a moonlight fight, the cause of which I will explain as well as possible.
As I have before remarked,
Lookout Mountain is on our right as we come down the valley. Between the base
of the mountain and the road is a range of hills, some 400-500 feet in height.
Behind these hills and along the base of the mountain, the enemy, comprising
Hood's Division, Longstreet's Corps, were lying in force. The two divisions of
the 11th corps had passed down the valley, and Geary's Division of the 12th
Corps, was several miles in rear, advancing on the same road. He had encamped
for the night some four or five miles from the river. All this was observed by
the Rebels from their crow’s nest among the clouds, and they at once conceived
the plan of attacking Geary with a strong force, and at the same time occupy
the hills spoken of with such a force as should prevent our moving to his
rescue.
Accordingly, about midnight they
made a fierce attack upon the camp of General Geary, and when our corps was
moved to his support, they found the road covered by Rebel infantry, who were
strongly entrenched upon the aforesaid chain of hills, along the foot of which
our men must pass. There was but one thing to be done, they must be dislodged,
and as we had marched in the advance, our facing about brought the Second
Brigade in front, and they were ordered to clear the hill, which they did in
fine style, driving the Rebels from their rifle pits and down the other side of
the hill, but not without considerable loss to themselves. In the meantime General
Geary gave them a severe whipping, and about 2 a. m., the firing ceased, the
enemy being repulsed at all points with a loss of some 700-800. The First
Brigade was not engaged, but remained in position until daylight, when we moved
to a position between the hills, and directly in front of and under the guns of
Lookout, where we remained two days, when we were relieved and moved into our
present camp.
We are now engaged in picket
duty, making roads, &c., and the indications are that we shall remain for
several days, but we may move any hour. Our achievements of the 28th
and 29th of October are highly complimented at headquarters, and I
think that whatever odium rested upon the crescent, has been removed, and it
now shines with a luster not surpassed by any star in the constellation
military. The opening of communication with our base at Bridgeport, is an
important event to the army of the Cumberland, as has been fully acknowledged
in orders from headquarters. But I have
made this letter too long already.
L. D. Warner
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