Saving Grant's Army: The 36th Indiana and the March to Shiloh

In the summer of 1936, the Richmond Palladium-Item newspaper serialized the wartime diaries belonging to Corporal Maurice J. Williams of the 36th Indiana Volunteer Infantry.  Williams proved to be a remarkably consistent diarist, his entries covering nearly every day from his enlistment on September 23, 1861 to nearly two years later as his regiment was marching through northern Georgia en route to Williams’ end on the first day of the Battle of Chickamauga. He possessed a good eye for the details of army life that make his diary refreshing and enlightening reading.

          One of the more interesting passages in Williams’ diary discussed the march of his division to Pittsburg Landing and participation in the Battle of Shiloh in April 1862. General William Nelson’s division departed their camp near Nashville, Tennessee on St. Patrick’s Day, March 17, 1862. “Everything looks bright and happy as we are marching on what is called the Old Military Road to the Tennessee River,” Williams wrote in his diary that evening. “It is a splendid turnpike and for about 40 miles through as beautiful a country as ever man laid eyes on.”

          The division marched from Nashville to Franklin on the Harpeth River and on to the north bank of the Duck River near Columbia where they sat for a week waiting for a bridge to be built. Nelson’s men then passed on through the towns of Mount Pleasant, Waynesboro, and eventually Savannah on the Tennessee River. The next morning, “while getting our breakfast the distant booming of cannon and the deep heavy roll of musketry broke upon our ears and it could not be mistaken that Grant’s army was attacked,” Williams wrote. The Battle of Shiloh was on and Williams’ regiment would be the first reinforcements from the Army of Ohio to reach the Shiloh battlefield.

          Corporal Williams was killed in action September 19, 1863, at Chickamauga. The Hoosier died instantly, shot through the head “while fighting bravely for a good cause,” his company commander recalled. “When he fell, I made every exertion to get him from the field but the Rebels were so near us that I had to leave him in order to escape myself. I managed to save his revolver and a few other things he had in his pockets which are of no value other than keepsakes to remember the departed. He had a knapsack with part of his clothing and few things in it here in town somewhere which I will send to you as soon as I can get them collected together.” Among those items that Williams had tucked away in his knapsack was the last of the four volumes of his wartime diary, the final entry being made September 14, 1863, five days before his death.

General Buell's army took more than a week to build a bridge across the Duck River at Columbia, Tennessee, destroyed by the retreating Confederate army mere weeks before. The impetuous General William Nelson, after drilling and inspecting his men for days waiting, finally prevailed upon Buell to allow him to march his division across on March 29, 1862. "We pulled off our clothes and put them and our cartridge boxes on the point of our bayonets and waded in," Corporal Maurice J. Williams of the 36th Indiana recalled. "The water was about waist deep and very swift and most awfully cold, but still it was only sport for us." A few abutments of the bridge still exist today but the bridge itself is long gone. 

 

March 18, 1862: Resumed our march again early this morning. The scenery is beautiful and one never gets tired of looking at the beautiful mansions and the neatly whitewashed cabins of the Negroes which dot the plantations. Everything wears an air of taste and refinement peculiar to this portion of the country. The day is very warm and although we marched very moderately, a great many of the boys gave out and laid by the roadside. We halted about 3 p.m. and camped in a beautiful grove to the left of the road and near to water.

 

March 19, 1862: As it looked like there might be a storm last night, we put up our tents and it was well that we did for about 10 o’clock it began to rain very hard. It continued all night and is still raining this morning. We are not going to march today as the men’s feet are too sore. We had dress parade and this evening an order was read from General Nelson that we should hereafter carry our overcoats, blankets, and clothes as they would not be allowed on the wagons. The consequence was that a great many of the boys threw their coats away and sometimes even their blankets.

 

March 20, 1862: This morning at 8 a.m. we again resumed our march. Passed through the town of Franklin about noon. It is quite a nice little place. Went into camped about 4 p.m.

 

March 21, 1862: Took up our march again this morning. It was a beautiful day; the country is not quite as good as we have passed through. Made a good day’s march and camped about 4 p.m.

 

March 22, 1862: Marched again this morning. About noon we halted and camped near Duck River on account of the bridge not being finished. McCook’s division is ahead of us; he forded the stream and left workmen to construct a bridge. Here we sent teams back to Nashville for rations.

 The division remained in camp for a week waiting for the completion of the bridge across Duck River. Eventually, General Nelson grew tired of waiting and took matters in hand and pushed his men ahead.

 

Second Lieutenant Zene C. Bohrer, Co. C, 36th Indiana
(Excelsior Brigade) 

March 29, 1862: We marched about 8 o’clock this morning. I forgot to state that General McCook’s division had stopped at Duck River about three miles in advance and were building a bridge. General Nelson, who was as restless as ever, went to General Buell and said that if he would give him permission, his soldiers would wade the river and go ahead. Buell gave him permission to do so and that is why we marched. This morning on coming to the river, we found McCook’s men in camp and busy at work on the bridge, but we pulled off our clothes and put them and our cartridge boxes on the point of our bayonets and waded in. The water was about waist deep and very swift and most awfully cold but still it was only sport for us. After getting out and dressing, we marched through the town of Columbia, a most beautiful place. We camped about the middle of the afternoon in a fine grove and put up our tents.

 

March 30, 1862: Details from our regiment were sent out this morning to fix a ford over a small creek. I was one of the number. We finished our job and returned to camp. About noon and to our great indignation the assembly sounded and around 1 o’clock we had to march. I forgot to mention that this camp was on the plantation of General Pillow’s father-in-law. We camped this evening on the farm of Captain Poke of the Rebel army. It is really an enchanting place on the other side of the pike is the beautiful plantation of General Pillow’s with its pretty lawn and gravel walks; a fine stately mansion surrounded with shrubbery and long rows of Negro huts neatly whitewashed. Taken altogether, it is one of the finest plantations that I have seen yet.

 

March 31, 1862: Marched again early this morning, we passed through the town of Mount Pleasant. We made a long march today and camped in the evening in a large stubble field near a creek. This is a rather broken and hilly country. After getting supper, the right wing of our regiment was sent about five miles farther on to guard a bridge near a little village. Our company also went on picket about half a mile from camp. Our post was on top of a high hill from which we had a view of the whole country. About midnight, the boys, being out of rations, made a descent upon a farmhouse in the valley and captured a flock of geese.

 

Colonel William Grose
36th Indiana

April 1, 1862: We went to camp this morning and it was laughable to see how ingenious the boys are in secreting the geese in their blankets to keep Colonel Grose from seeing them. We marched about 8 a.m. and had a hard time for the day is very warm and the country hilly. We made a good march and camped about the middle of the afternoon in a beautiful grove. We got several prisoners today; very warm.

 

April 2, 1862: It began to rain very hard this morning. I am on guard today. We marched at 8 a.m. The guards have to march with the wagons. Besides this, there are two regiments scattered along the train for it is expected the train will be attacked today. Marched about 20 miles today and camped in one of the meanest places that I ever saw. It was so hilly that the general could hardly find level ground enough to camp a regiment on, but we were so tired that we were willing to rest anywhere.

 

April 3, 1862: Marched again early this morning. I feel very bad as I have had no sleep for two nights as the colonel had the guards around the camp last night. But one consolation is we are in front today and our knapsacks are hauled by two wagons furnished for that purpose each day. Hard a hard day’s march today. We passed one of the finest springs today I have seen yet; it gushed out from the hillside near the road and was cold as ice. We camped about 4 p.m. in a large field with a broad belt of timber skirting one side through which ran as fine a little stream as one could wish to see. It is clear as crystal and full of trout. No rations.

 

April 4, 1862: Had a good night’s rest but have nothing to eat for we have no rations. The division teams are far behind and we cannot wait as we are hurrying to reinforce General Grant who is at Savannah with 40,000 men. General Beauregard is at Corinth, Mississippi and General Johnston has left Murfreesboro to reinforce him and it is feared that he will attack Grant before we can get up. We started early this morning and our route was through a wild and broken country. About 10 a.m. our company was sent back to help the teams along and serve as a rear guard. It began to rain about noon and altogether we had a bad time. We camped this evening in a large cornfield and put up our tents and shortly after dark it began to rain in earnest and continued to do so all night. Just before going to bed, however, our quartermaster Philip Wiggins came to us and told us that he was sorry that he could do nothing for us in the way of rations, but said that he had found a crib of corn and that if we could get some and parch it that it would help appease our hunger. So we went with him and each man helped himself and the way we ate corn that night and next would have done credit to any horse.

 

April 5, 1862: Marched early this morning, cracking corn as we went along. It is very muddy and hard to get along. We passed through the town of Waynebow [Waynesboro] about 10 a.m. It is a small village but judging from the numerous Union flags it is loyal. Under difficulties, we arrived at Savannah about noon and camped half a mile from town. As soon as we got our tent up, I could stand it no longer and in spite of the guards I went up town and having a little money I procured something to eat. I thought I never had food taste so sweet and swell and well I might for we have been without for three days. This is a dirty little river town. General Grant’s army had moved about 12 miles upriver to Pittsburg Landing. Drew rations this evening.

 

April 6-7, 1862: This morning at about 6 a.m. while getting our breakfast the distant booming of cannon and the deep heavy roll of musketry broke upon our ears and it could not be mistaken that Grant’s army was attacked. As soon as breakfast was over, we cleaned our arms and at 8 a.m. had an inspection of the same. The firing was still heavy and incessant and all were feverish with excitement. We were now ordered to replenish our cartridge boxes and be ready to march at any moment.

 

About this time Nelson’s bodyguard dashed through the woods with a citizen at their head. This bodyguard is a company of the 3rd Indiana Cavalry, mostly Germans and a fine body of men. About 11 a.m. they came back with 30 prisoners, unarmed Confederate cavalrymen that had only just organized. They were placed in charge of the 14th Michigan regiment which was camped at this place, not yet being assigned to any brigade. We were now ordered to pull down tents and load them in the wagons.

 

At 1 p.m., the battle raged still hotter and we started for the scene of action, leaving Co. H to guard the wagons. Co. I was left near Columbia to put up telegraph wires so it will be seen that we have but eight companies. Our brigade [Ammen’s] was in the advance and our regiment in advance of the brigade. The route we took was through the woods along the river and swamps nearly all the way. After going about six miles, a horseman came dashing up with a dispatch from Nelson who had gone ahead some three hours before. The order bade us to hurry up and never mind the wagons and artillery which had gone another route.

 

For nearly six miles more we double quicked it and arrived at last on the bank of the river opposite the scene of action. Two steamers were lying in the river filled with wounded men and another ready to take us across while above us lay two little gunboats, the Lexington and Tyler. We soon crossed and such a sight! Grant’s men were nearly all cowed behind the hill frightened to death. It was all General Nelson and Colonel Grose could do with drawn swords to keep them away from the boat while we landed.

 

"Now boys, I shall expect a good account of you," General William Nelson told his troops before they went into action at Shiloh. "Remember the Department of the Ohio." 

We marched up the hill at a flank and then fronted and fixed bayonets for the Rebs. They were close. General Nelson and staff now rode along our line. “Now boys,” said he, “I shall expect a good account of you. Remember the Department of the Ohio.” He had hardly finished speaking when a 6-lb ball struck an oak tree close by and glancing took of the head of General Grant’s aide-de-camp Captain Carson and took off the legs of poor George White.

 

Four companies of our regiment were now sent to support a battery [Captain George H. Stone's Battery K, 1st Missouri Light Artillery equipped with four 10-pdr Parrott rifles] which was being worked by two men. The remaining four companies moved forward under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Carey. We did not go far before we encountered them and the battle began. The Rebels soon fell back, however, and as it was getting dark, the fighting ceased for the night and the combatants rested on their arms.

 

The gunboats now began to shell the woods where the Rebels lay. They threw shells every 15 minutes. About 10 o’clock it began to rain with fury and continued until morning. The battle began again this morning and raged with fury until 4 p.m. It is really terrific at this time, however the enemy gave way and fled towards Corinth. The dead and wounded lay thick over the ground and in some places the woods took fire and burnt them up. Bivouacked where we quite fighting.

 

April 8, 1862: Set about burying the dead with details made for this purpose. The loss in our regiment is 47 killed, wounded, and missing. Lieutenant Davis of Co. H is among the killed. He would not stay with us and was killed yesterday, shot through the breast. Our company is on picket tonight about 300 yards from camp in the bushes. It rained again tonight and were relieved about midnight by Co. B. Found a tent in the bushes which had been used as a hospital by the Rebs. Took shelter until morning.

 

Source:

Diary of Corporal Maurice J. Williams, Co. G, 36th Indiana Volunteer Infantry, Richmond Palladium-Item (Indiana), June 27, 1936 (March 14-31, 1862), pg. 3; June 29, 1936 (April 1-6, 1862), pg. 7

The 36th Indiana monument at Shiloh is placed where the regiment did its hardest fighting on Monday, April 7, 1862, but there are also markers at Pittsburg Landing where the regiment first battled the Confederates on the evening of April 6th. (Image by Allen Gathman)



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