We Generals Must Take Our Chances With the Boys: With General Hurlbut at Shiloh

 Before the battle of Shiloh, General Stephen A. Hurlbut of Illinois earned the reputation among his volunteers as a heavy drinker, someone not to be relied upon in action. His conduct during the first day of Shiloh changed all that as relayed by Captain Smith D. Atkins of Hurlbut’s staff.

 “General Hurlbut, mounted on his gray horse with shabrack, sash, uniform, and trappings, a prominent mark for the enemy’s fire, rode backward and forward along the line, entirely heedless of the storm of bullets that he was drawing about himself, encouraging his men and directing their movements,” Atkins noted. “When cautioned that his prominent appearance was drawing the enemy’s fire, he only remarked, “Oh well, we generals must take our chances with the boys.” Hurlbut’s courage inspired the troops, and even those who disliked the native South Carolinian conceded he had won them over. “General Hurlbut did his duty and stood by us like a man,” one soldier from the 3rd Iowa commented while another said “it is due to Hurlbut to say that for once he was not drunk and that he performed his part well.”

The three brigades of Hurlbut’s division, the First under Colonel Nelson G. Williams, the Second under Colonel James C. Veatch, and the Third under Brigadier General Jacob G. Lauman saw intense action near the Peach Orchard and the Bell Cotton Field on the afternoon of the 6th, with General Hurlbut right up front in the mix with the troops. The following account, written by Captain Atkins who was serving as Hurlbut’s acting assistant adjutant general, was written a week after the battle as Atkins was returning home on leave to recuperate his health. Directed to Hurlbut’s wife Sophronia in Belvidere, Illinois, Atkins assured her that her husband conducted himself heroically and passed through the battle unscathed. The letter first saw publication in the April 22, 1862, edition of the Belvidere Standard.

 

 

Smith D. Atkins was not quite 25 years old when he became the first in Stephenson County, Illinois to enlist to fight in the Civil War. Initially part of the 11th Illinois Volunteer Infantry, the New York native became captain of his company and was later assigned to General Stephen Hurlbut's staff as acting assistant adjutant general. Atkins, already suffering from poor health, survived the battle of Shiloh but left Pittsburg Landing on April 11th to return home to Illinois to recuperate. Promoted to the rank of major, Atkins resigned his commission with the 11th Illinois to accept the colonelcy of the 92nd Illinois, a much stored unit that served in Wilder's Lightning Brigade of the Army of the Cumberland. The end of the war found Atkins commanding the federal occupation forces of Chapel Hill, North Carolina and there he met his future wife Ella Swain, the daughter of the president of the University of North Carolina. Over Ella's mother's strenuous objections (she refused to dine with the Yankee), the two married and settled in Freeport, Illinois where Atkins both edited the local newspaper and served as town postmaster for 24 years.  He died March 27, 1913 at the age of 76. 

Cairo, Illinois

Sunday, April 13, 1862

Mrs. S.A. Hurlbut,

          As I was an aide to General Hurlbut in the fierce battle of Pittsburg, I doubt not a few lines from me stating the part taken by him and his division in that battle will be interesting to you and that you will excuse the liberty I have taken of addressing you on that subject. Mail facilities are not the best at Pittsburg and the General is too busily engaged to write particulars, even to you, at the present time.

          On Sunday morning the 6th instant at about 8:30, it was first known at General Hurlbut’s headquarters that there were any signs of an attack by the enemy upon our lines and in five minutes more a courier came post haste stating that General Prentiss was engaging 300 of the enemy. General Hurlbut immediately ordered the long roll beat in his division and within 10 minutes the whole division was under arms, the General and his staff mounted, and an order to send one brigade to the support of General McClernand. The other two brigades were led in person by General Hurlbut with six companies of cavalry and two batteries to the support of General Prentiss.   

General Stephen A. Hurlbut's impressed his men at Shiloh with both his battlefield courage and tactical smarts. The native Charlestonian narrowly missed being hit several times on Sunday before his gray horse was shot from under him on Monday. Atkins commented that "he was glad of it for the General's sake for the gray seemed to be a special mark." 

The column had not advanced above half a mile on the march out before it met the entire division of General Prentiss drifting in upon us in full retreat. His division, being in the advance and composed almost entirely of new troops, was completely surprised by the enemy while at breakfast and were driven by the enemy almost without resistance. No appeal to these troops was sufficient to cause them to stop and again face the enemy. One battery of General Prentiss’s artillery was turned about by General Hurlbut and given a splendid position to play upon the advancing columns of the enemy, but after one fire the whole battery, cannoneers and postillions, left guns and horses and fled in the wildest confusion. The boys of Mann’s battery in our division [Battery C, 1st Missouri Light Artillery] left their battery and spiked the guns so deserted, cut the horses loose, and broke the coupling to the gun carriages.

Here we met General Prentiss, a brave and good officer who, at the request of General Hurlbut, led up one of his brigades and General Hurlbut the other, forming a line of battle to stop the advancing foe while the staff of General Prentiss tried with only partial success to rally his division in a line behind ours and in our support. Our batteries were soon playing upon the enemy and theirs upon us. Shot and shell flew thick and fast, the enemy playing from superior rifled guns and their cannoneers evidently understanding their business well. Mann’s battery was served with superior skill and did most terrible execution.

Their columns were soon close enough for musket range and the enemy boldly advancing, a terrible fire of small arms was opened along the whole line while the artillery poured grape and canister into their ranks, the enemy stoutly resisting, emboldened by their previous success in driving the division of General Prentiss. General Hurlbut, mounted on his gray horse with shabrack, sash, uniform, and trappings, a prominent mark for the enemy’s fire, rode backward and forward along the line, entirely heedless of the storm of bullets that he was drawing about himself, encouraging his men and directing their movements. When cautioned that his prominent appearance was drawing the enemy’s fire, he only remarked, “Oh well, we generals must take our chances with the boys.”

General Benjamin M. Prentiss

The enemy soon found they had new troops to encounter and, falling back, planned their attack more skillfully, bringing to their assistance more batteries of artillery. Wherever a new battery opened, there rode General Hurlbut, directing the planting of a new battery to meet its fire. Occasionally under the fire of some battery, a terrible assault with musketry would come from the enemy upon some supposed weak point of our lines, to be met by the steady, stern resistance of the brave troops under his command.

For five hours, General Hurlbut with those two light brigades and without support not only stopped the enemy who was flushed with victory, but successfully held him in check, checkmating his generalship, and driving him back wherever he chose to assault our lines. We only fell back at last when the enemy by his superior numbers was enabled to outflank him on either side and place him within the range of three fires, and even in the falling back, he gave him as good as he sent, forming new lines of battle on every position that the ground made favorable and contesting his advance inch by inch.

General Hurlbut formed his last line about 4 p.m. flanking the siege guns which were planted about a half mile from the riverbank and planting his light artillery and all he could pick up in three different positions so as to open a crossfire from three ways upon the enemy. He determined to stand by those as his last hope. Scarcely were his preparations ready when the enemy appeared above the brow of the hill, but was quickly driven back by the concentrated fire of those screaming batteries and each time he advanced, it was only to retire again under that murderous storm of iron missiles. The gunboats getting the range of the enemy’s lines, chimed in with their heavy booming, a music that was joy to our boys and with their massive shells sent havoc into the enemy’s lines.

Night soon closed in upon the scene and by the order of General Grant, General Hurlbut moved forward his line of battle about 300 feet into the ravine in front of the batteries where the order was given to lay upon their arms all night, sending out skirmishers prepared at any moment to resist an attack by the enemy. The gunboats kept up their fire with their heavy guns, throwing shells alternately with 12- and 20-second fuses up the ravine and in front of our lines, effectually keeping the enemy from making any advance. Too much credit cannot be given to these ironclad monsters of the river that sent terror into the ranks of the secesh wherever their heavy voices are heard.

The gunboat U.S.S. Lexington along with the U.S.S. Tyler patrolled the Tennessee River near Pittsburg Landing providing fire support for Grant's army in the final stages of the fighting on April 6th. Both vessels fired shells towards the Confederate lines all night long, a sound that one Ohio colonel said was the "sweetest music he ever heard in his life." 


During the night General Lew Wallace with his entire division reinforced us from Crump’s Landing and General Buell crossed over to our assistance. These new troops took the advance in the morning, General Wallace on the right and General Buell on the left, and steadily drove the enemy before them with the assistance of the troops yet left. General Hurlbut got his division in fighting trim early after breakfast and I rode along in front of the lines with him. Many familiar faces had gone since the morning before: Colonel Ellis and Major Goddard of the 15th Illinois killed dead upon the field and that gallant regiment, led by Captain Kelly, only about 200 strong. The 3rd Iowa had all of its field officers killed or wounded, and all of its captains killed, wounded, or missing, and less than 200 strong were in command a first lieutenant as ranking officer. An order soon came to General Hurlbut to support McClernand’s right and General Hurlbut put his division in motion, himself at its head, and pushing forward was met by an aide of General McClernand and directed to his left where the enemy was flanking McClernand’s division. We arrived just in time to save his left flank from being turned. [McClernand and Hurlbut had a nasty feud develop during the movement to Pittsburg Landing in mid-March.]

The writer was in the engagement at Fort Donelson and supposing that he had passed through as terrible a fire as it was possible to do and escape, but I must confess that the assault of the Rebels upon our lines was the most recklessly desperate of which the imagination can conceive. It seemed as if the inspiration of devils was infused into the ranks of both armies. Some of the ground in this vicinity was fought over as often as six times, so desperately determined were each to maintain it. General Hurlbut, as well as General McClernand, was always to be found where the fire was hottest directing the movements and lending encouragement by his presence. About this time General Hurlbut’s gray horse was shot and he mounted a bay, and the writer confesses he was glad of it for the General’s sake for the gray seemed to be a special mark.



The enemy’s effort seemed specially directed to flanking us, and he was ever attempting it under the cover of the many hills and ravines; and at one time, within one hour, our line of battle changed front three times. So confident were the enemy of victory on the night previous that when in possession of our tents that they did not destroy them, being certain to keep them for his own use and it is a well-ascertained fact that General Beauregard had his headquarters that night in the large office tent of General Hurlbut’s, but save the holes torn by the bullets, it was uninjured and occupied by General Hurlbut on the following night.

Although the enemy stoutly resisted, he was all the time driven back on Monday and 4 p.m. his fire had entirely ceased along our whole line, and our cavalry and artillery pursuing him in his flight. I left Pittsburg Landing on the 11th and everything was then quiet. The reports had not all come in from General Hurlbut’s division, but his estimated loss was over 500 killed and 1,800 wounded and missing. General Hurlbut was struck by a spent musket ball on his left arm but save that received no injury. He had many narrow escapes. The writer saw a rifle shot strike a tree within a few feet of his head, eliciting the remark from him, “They have got our range pretty well.” At another time a shell burst within 10 feet of him but he was not scratched by it. His courage and coolness under fire, and his entire disregard for his personal safety were remarked by all under him, and by his bravery and skill in this engagement he was won the love and confidence of the brave troops he has the honor to command.

I have only to add that this letter is a poor apology and that the health of General Hurlbut on the 11th instant was good. Long may he live to serve his country and add honor to its victories.

 

I am madam, very respectfully,

Smith D. Atkins

 

Captain Atkins would serve throughout the war with great distinction. Appointed colonel of the 92nd Illinois in the summer of 1862, the regiment would go on to great renown as a member of Wilder’s Lightning Brigade in the Army of the Cumberland. Atkins would eventually earn a brevet promotion to major general.

 

Source:

Letter from Captain Smith Dykins Atkins, acting assistant adjutant general of the staff of Brigadier General Stephen A. Hurlbut, Belvidere Standard (Illinois), April 22, 1862, pg. 2

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