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

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 t...
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 ...
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 h...
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 Ma...
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 se...
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

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...
Read more

I Want to See a Battle: A Hoosier at Shiloh

Image
W riting in his diary, Private Manius Buchanan of the 29 th Indiana recalled the eagerness with which his regiment marched towards Savannah, Tennessee with the sounds of the battle of Shiloh ringing in their ears.           “The forced march was kept up until 2 p.m. when we were halted until 4 p.m,” he noted. “The rest was really needed, but the continual question is ‘Why are we stopped here?’ The sound of battle increased in volume and anxiety to be up and doing grows more intense. As I am weak from a late sickness, I am urged to fall to the rear; but no, in common with all, I want to see a battle and fear this will be my only chance.” The regiment would go into action the following afternoon, and of the four neighborhood boys who had enlisted together in Co. B, only Buchanan escaped unscathed. One afternoon's exposure to the horrors of battle was all it took to satisfy this Hoosier's desire to see the elephant. “I wanted to see a battl...
Read more

An Interview with Forrest in May 1864

Image
  “The noise of battle is the only music that ravishes the senses of Forrest.” I t was May 1864. Back east, the Army of Northern Virginia and the Army of the Potomac were locked in the deadly dance of the Overland Campaign while in Georgia, General William Tecumseh Sherman's army squared off against General Joseph E. Johnston and the Army of the Tennessee in the campaign for Atlanta.       Based in relatively quiet northern Mississippi, General Nathan Bedford Forrest bided his time waiting for a Federal advance from Memphis. Earlier in the month, General Samuel Sturgis led a brief campaign into Mississippi but Forrest was sure Sturgis would venture out again. In the meantime, he tried to keep his reorganized command intact despite persistent demands from his superiors that he return the absentees and deserters who inflated his ranks (nearly 1,000 in number) to their original commands.      Around this same time,  an old acquaintance from Me...
Read more