A Most Terrific Roar: With the 88th Illinois at Chickamauga

For James Parsons of the 88th Illinois, the combat he experienced at Chickamauga on noon of September 20, 1863 ranked among the most ferocious and quickest of the war.

     "We went out on the double quick for three-fourths of a mile with the smoke so thick that we could not see our file leader," he wrote to his family back in Massachusetts, "The order came “Company into line, forward,” then “into line of battle,” and all on the double quick and under a heavy fire from the enemy. We succeeded in driving the first line but as soon as they fell back there was another line and they drove us back in a hurry." His brigade commander William H. Lytle dead, the Federal line collapsed under the pressure and Parsons reported his regiment lost 77 casualties, including all three of his company's commissioned officers. 

    Parsons was the last of three brothers still serving in the Union army; his brother Willard had been killed at Second Winchester while serving with the 18th Connecticut while another brother had just been discharged from a Massachusetts regiment. A fourth brother presumably still served in the Confederate army. The editors of the Southbridge Journal in Massachusetts shared Parsons account at the request of his family with the following introduction: 

“We have received from a member of the 88th Illinois regiment in General Rosecrans’ army a letter which is published in another column giving some account of the Battle of Chickamauga and the writer’s participation in it. The writer, Mr. James M. Parsons, was formerly a resident of this place. At the last call for three years’ volunteers, being then living in Illinois, he joined that regiment which took the field of battle at Perryville a year ago and has shared the hardships of General Rosecrans’ victorious march since.” ~ Southbridge Journal

          During the Chickamauga campaign, the 88th Illinois served in the First Brigade (General William H. Lytle) of the Third Division (General Phil Sheridan) of the 20th Army Corps (General Alexander McCook). James Parsons' account of the battle originally saw publication in the October 16, 1863 edition of the Southbridge Journal. 

 

A division of Rosecrans army moves across Lookout Mountain into McLemore Valley in the days leading up to the Battle of Chickamauga. The 88th Illinois as part of Lytle's brigade did not see action on the first day of the battle but was heavily engaged on Sunday the 20th in Dyer Field and suffered heavy casualties trying to halt the General Deas' brigade in their attack on the Federal center. Interestingly, Lytle's brigade under General Joshua Sill had fought a portion of this same Confederate brigade at Stones River. And like Stones River, the 88th Illinois's brigade commander would be killed in action shortly after the onset of battle as Parsons describes below. 

Chattanooga, Tennessee

September 27, 1863

 

          The Army of the Cumberland has had to fight the army of Bragg reinforced by Longstreet, Ewell, and Hill’s corps from Richmond on ground of their own choice. On the 18th, we left Lookout Mountain and descended into McLemore Valley through Stevenson Gap and took up position near the enemy and lay there until dark when we took up the line of march. After marching some eight miles behind a large wagon train, we halted at 3 o’clock in the morning when we improved the rest of the night in sleep.

About 8 a.m. on the 19th we could hear the roar of musketry and artillery in the valley some eight miles distant at a place called Crawfish Springs. We were soon ordered into line and after waiting for the Rebel cavalry for nearly on hour, we started for the battlefield and arrived there about 3 p.m. after double-quicking some two miles and took up our position behind rail breastworks but did not stay long when the order came to forward double quick which we did for a mile and formed another line. Then we were ordered back to prevent the enemy from flanking us.

We went into camp for the night on Chickamauga Creek; we were on the one side and the enemy on the other. There were a few shots exchanged during the night on our line but during the day the fighting was terrific. It was hard to see the wounded going to the rear. However, we drove them on the right. About dusk, the enemy tried to force the left. The roar of artillery and musketry was the most terrific I ever heard. Stones River was nothing to be compared with it. The left succeeded in driving them back. All was then quiet with the exception of an occasional shot and the cries of the wounded on the on the battlefield for water which we were unable to give them as the Rebels would shoot as fast as we showed ourselves and we would do the same. The loss on both sides was heavy but the Rebels suffered most. Some of Longstreet’s men said they found that they had not got Eastern troops to fight.

2nd Lt. Henry L. Bingham
Co. H, 88th Illinois
Killed at Missionary Ridge
(Depicted as Orderly Sgt in fall of 1862)

On the 20th we took up the line of march and went two miles and took position on a rise of ground with an open field in front and lay there some three hours in hopes the enemy would advance, but the order came for us to go and relieve some of the rest of our division that the enemy had massed his forces upon and were driving. We went out on the double quick for three-fourths of a mile with the smoke so thick that we could not see our file leader and the order came “Company into line, forward,” then “into line of battle,” and all on the double quick and under a heavy fire from the enemy. We succeeded in driving the first line but as soon as they fell back there was another line and they drove us back in a hurry. General Lytle was killed in the commencement of the action as he was cheering his men on. There never was a braver officer than he and his loss is mourned by the First Brigade. Some the regiments lost their colonel, lieutenant colonel, major, and a number of line officers. The loss in our regiment was 77 in killed, wounding, and missing; my company had eight or nine casualties. All three of our commissioned officers were wounded slightly. The loss on the other side must have been very heavy.

After we fell back, our cavalry made a dash at the Rebels and drove them from the field with our assistance which enabled us to get off the wounded; then we formed again, drove the Rebels, then rested. At night the report came that the Rebels were advancing on us in force. We went to help the left wing but as all was quiet, then we fell back three miles and went into camp for the night.

On the 21st we built breastworks and lay there until 12:30 at night when the whole army fell back five miles into town. The enemy came up to the deserted breastworks, stacked arms, threw out their skirmishers, then charged with a yell over our deserted breastworks. They then followed us up to within a short distance of town and halted. They are now laying siege to us, but we are determined to go no further. Ever since the 22nd we have worked night and day with spade and pick but what we have done your readers must guess. It would be considered contraband for me to tell. However, the Rebels will have something to do to get us out. Rosy told some of the boys that he should not leave here, and the boys will sustain him. There is not a day but we have artillery and musketry firing but the casualties are small. You may look for another great battle here soon. If the Rebels attack us, they will get badly whipped.

 

Ned

 

          Parsons enlisted as 31 years of age in the 88th Illinois and would survive the war, mustering out of service in May 1865. He returned to his wife Anna and their children in Orland Park, Illinois and lived there the remainder of his life. He would live to the age of 75, passing away December 30, 1906 and is buried at Orland Park Memorial Cemetery.

 

Source:

Letter from Private James Monroe Parsons, Co. D, 88th Illinois Volunteer Infantry, Southbridge Journal (Massachusetts), October 16, 1863, pg. 2

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