In the Center at Chickamauga

 Gil Stormont of the 58th Indiana numbered himself amongst those “lucky” enough to have a front row seat at the most dramatic moment of the Battle of Chickamauga: Longstreet’s assault upon the Federal center on September 20, 1863.

          It all happened by accident. His company had been sent out as skirmishers that morning and when Longstreet’s attack began, Stormont ran back across Brotherton Field to rejoin the regiment only to find that they were gone. He fell in with the ranks of the nearby 13th Michigan. “The Rebels came on us in columns eight or ten deep and there being only two regiments to contend against them, we poured volley after volley into them, but still they came,” Stormont informed his sister. “They came within 20 yards of us and there they stood loading and firing as impudent as you please; they, however, did not have much effect on us as we were protected somewhat, but we could see them fall in piles from our firing.”

          Then the Confederates charged and forced the 13th Michigan to retreat. In the ensuing chaos, Stormont was lucky to escape with his life. “I went about 20 steps when a cannon ball came so close to my head that it stunned me and knocked me head over heels,” he wrote. “I lay there a short time and when I came to again, the Rebels were nearly right upon me. I got up and started again when a ball struck me on the upper lip and knocked me down again. I would not give up yet, however, so I started again and this time lost my hat and gun and hadn’t time to stop and get them. I finally got away safe but was nearly exhausted from the loss of blood and effect of the shell.”

The 58th Indiana was part of Colonel George P. Buell’s First Brigade of General Thomas Wood’s First Division of the 21st Army Corps, serving alongside the 100th Illinois, 13th Michigan, and 26th Ohio regiments. Corporal Stormont later became Colonel Stormont, going on to a successful business career in newspapers and publishing as well as serving as Department of Indiana commander for the Grand Army of the Republic in 1890-1891. “Gil” Stormont’s letter describing the battle of Chickamauga originally saw publication in the October 31, 1863, edition of the Princeton Clarion.

 

Corporal Gilbert "Gil" R. Stormont served in Co. B of the 58th Indiana throughout the war and tells of his harrowing escape at Chickamauga in this letter written to his sister a few days after the battle. This worn CDV from Gil Stormont's personal album shows the young Indianan prior to his promotion to Corporal in 1862. Gil was just 18 years old when he enlisted in the 58th Indiana in 1861 and was amongst the last survivors of the regiment when he died of injuries sustained in a car accident in 1930. 

Nashville, Tennessee

October 2, 1863

Dear sister,

          This evening I seat myself after a long interval of silence to write you a few lines, thereby giving you some information of my whereabouts, welfare, etc. In the first place I have the welcome intelligence to give you that I although I have been in one of the fiercest and bloodiest battles of the war, I am still alive and in pretty good health. But I suppose you are anxious to hear the full particulars of the fight and I will proceed to give you some of the most particular events within my knowledge.

          On Friday evening September 18th, the Rebels appeared in force in front of General Wood’s division posted at Owen’s Ford on the Chickamauga River. They, however, did not appear to be designing an attack but seemed to be menacing along our lines for the purpose of attracting our attention while at the same time large bodies of troops could be seen moving to our left. About dusk, they fell heavily upon a portion of Wilder’s brigade guarding a ford below us [Alexander’s Bridge] and drove them back and gained possession of the ford. Being reinforced, they afterward charged on the enemy and drove them back to the ford, but the Rebels held the ford and, in the night, they massed a considerable force on this side of the river.

          During the night, our army was nearly all transported from our right to our left at which point the force of the enemy seemed strongest. The fight began on our left about 9 a.m. and raged fearfully all day, Wood’s division still held the same position until about 10 a.m. when we were ordered to move on the double quick to reinforce on the left. We arrived on the scene of conflict about the time it reached the hottest. We found our troops giving back while the Rebels were coming in overwhelming numbers. We quickly formed in line and as soon as our retreating forces were past us, we charged on the Rebels, checking their advance for a time. [The 58th Indiana initially deployed on the west side of the Lafayette Road near Viniard Field around 3:30 p.m.; the Federal troops Stormont describes as retreating past them were from Carlin’s and Barnes’ brigades. Barnes was struck on his right flank by Trigg’s brigade and bolted from the field around 4 o’clock, throwing Carlin’s regiments into disarray and spreading the panic.]


Companies B and G on the left of our regiment were pushed into a little thicket of pines and we run upon the Rebels who poured a deadly volley into our ranks, killing or wounding nearly half our company before we had been in the fight 15 minutes. The Rebels made a charge on our lines and we were forced to give way- the first time the 58th Indiana had to retreat. The order was given to fall back and all the regiment was gone and left our company before we were aware. The Rebels came within ten steps of us as they supposed we had surrendered and their commander ordered them to cease firing- we didn’t surrender but got up and ran! They, however, did get two or three of our company. They came on after us with a yell but we formed in behind some rude works and soon sent them back. [Stormont is describing the attack of General Henry Benning’s brigade which took place between 4:30-5 p.m. Benning’s brigade would cross the Lafayette Road in pursuit of the Federals only to be held in check by Wilder’s Lightning Brigade. Buell’s brigade fell back behind Wilder’s line to reform.]

The rest of the evening was spent in changing from one side of the field to the other and at night we held the same positions as when we first began. The 58th Indiana was in the front that night and as a great many of us lost our knapsacks and blankets, we suffered with cold. I lost my knapsacks and everything I had.

This monument to the 58th Indiana stands in Viniard Field at Chickamauga. (Steven Markos)

Sabbath morning, we found our position somewhat farther around to the left and it was 9 o’clock before we got into position and by that time the Rebels had attacked Thomas and were fighting terribly. Company B was thrown to the front of our line as skirmishers and we kept up a constant firing all the time. A part of our brigade was sent to the left to reinforce that part of the line when the Rebels came upon us. Our company being lost from the regiment, the greater part of them got in with other regiments and awaited the attack by the Rebels. I was with the 13th Michigan who were behind some logs forming a kind of breastwork. [Buell’s brigade had moved into a position on the west side of the ridge overlooking Brotherton Field in the Federal center that morning and thus landed in what would be the epicenter of Longstreet’s assault.]

The Rebels came on us in columns eight or ten deep and there being only two regiments to contend against them, we poured volley after volley into them, but still they came. They came within 20 yards of us and there they stood loading and firing as impudent as you please; they, however, did not have much effect on us as we were protected somewhat, but we could see them fall in piles from our firing. Soon they made a charge on us and the first thing I knew, our men were nearly all gone and the Rebels were climbing over the breastworks on my right. Now I though it was my time to clean up so I got up and started. I went about 20 steps when a cannon ball came so close to my head that it stunned me and knocked me head over heels. [Stormont and the 13th Michigan were struck by Fulton’s brigade of Tennesseans as it charged across Brotherton Field.]

The veterans of the 58th Indiana erected this regimental monument in Princeton, Indiana and dedicated it to their fallen comrades. The monument was built in 1864 and numbers amongst the oldest Civil War monuments in Indiana. 

I lay there a short time and when I came to again, the Rebels were nearly right upon me. I got up and started again when a ball struck me on the upper lip and knocked me down again. I would not give up yet, however, so I started again and this time lost my hat and gun and hadn’t time to stop and get them. I finally got away safe but was nearly exhausted from the loss of blood and effect of the shell. By this time, the retreat had become general and it seemed as if annihilation of the grand old Army of the Cumberland was almost certain. I was sent back with a train to Chattanooga and from personal observation I cannot say much more about the battle, but you have doubtless read it all in the papers.

All the wounded who were able were sent by a train of wagons to Bridgeport and there we were put on the cars and sent to this place where we arrived about a week ago. We were put in the Cumberland Hospital and stayed there a few days and those who were most able were sent to the convalescent camp where we are yet. But I am able for duty now and am going back to the regiment in a few days.

 

Source:

Letter from Corporal Gilbert Riley Stormont, Co. B, 58th Indiana Volunteer Infantry, Princeton Clarion (Indiana), October 31, 1863, pg. 1

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

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

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

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 Maryland, performing provost duty at Cumberlan
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

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

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

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 at the outset of the
Read more

Revisiting Snodgrass Hill: Memories of a 21st Ohio Officer

Image
Captain Isaac Cusac, Co. G, 21st Ohio Volunteer Infantry proudly displaying his rank as captain in an image likely dating from early 1863. One of his shoulder straps was shot off in the final stages of the 21st Ohio's fight atop Snodgrass Hill on September 20, 1863. Cusac brought it back to Chickamauga 50 years later.  I n September 1913, 83-year-old Isaac Cusac, a retired Presbyterian minister from the little town of McComb, Ohio, returned to Chattanooga to attend the national G.A.R. encampment. The former captain of the 21 st Ohio returned to Snodgrass Hill on the old Chickamauga battlefield on the 50 th anniversary of the battle carrying with him a precious relic of his wartime experiences. “He carried with him there an epaulet that was shot from his shoulder at the battle,” it was reported. “The bullet clipped off the epaulet and then struck him on the left hand, injuring two fingers.”           The flood of memories as he walked the grounds must have been overwhelming. The f
Read more