The 94th Ohio Remembers Perryville

The veterans of the 94th Ohio marked the 35th anniversary of the Battle of Perryville by holding their annual regimental reunion on October 8, 1897, in Dayton, Ohio. The significance of the date prompted a flood of memories from the Buckeyes about their first major engagement, and many of the memories centered around the death of Captain John Drury of Co. B. 

    Private George Crane recalled Captain Drury's discouragement with the poor food and hard life of a soldier. "The comrades will also remember what kind of food we had the morning we started out for Perryville," remembered Crane. "It was flour mixed with water and baked on flat Rebel stones out of the creek where we camped. The men were hungry and worn out with the hot afternoon’s march. Captain Drury was very much worked up over the matter and remarked, “If this is the manner in which the soldier is to be treated, I’m ready to be cashiered.”

          "But a little afterwards we had piled our knapsacks in a fence corner and formed line for the fight. Captain Drury had turned his mule over to someone else and was with drawn sword pushing on to battle. It was not but a short while when a Rebel bullet had done the awful work to our dear Captain Drury. The news of his death soon flashed along the line. I got the word from Captain Fred Walton of Co. C. His company and the one I belonged to adjoined and brought me not far from where he was. I chanced to look at one time to my left and saw Captain Walton kneeling down, one knee on the ground, and the other his elbow resting upon it, his face buried in his hand, weeping aloud. I stepped to him at once, wondering if he was hurt. He said in his weeping, “Captain Drury is killed, Captain Drury is killed.”  

    Crane's reminiscences and several others describing Perryville were originally published in the October 14, 1897, edition of the Miami Helmet. 

Mayor Henry J. Pettit of Troy, Ohio, requested that all businesses in the village be closed on October 23, 1862, in honor of Captain John C. Drury's funeral. The captain, born in Massachusetts in 1820, had been killed in action during the Battle of Perryville and his remains were interred at Rose Hill Cemetery in Troy. 

Sergeant Abraham B. Huston, Co. B read this at the regimental reunion in 1897. He was listed as wounded during the battle and was discharged for disability April 15, 1863 at Columbus, Ohio.

          The men in the ranks are not supposed to know all of the operations of a great army or the locations and work of the different corps and divisions in the time of an engagement as the commanding General knows it, for he must know the whole field if he is to command successfully.

Yet the soldier even while executing the orders of his commanders faithfully in time of battle is not always blind to his surroundings and had experiences that may not be the same as that of his General or of his staff, for no two persons viewing a great painting ever see it exactly the same. The General and his staff have their experiences and the soldier in the ranks has his, and they together make the true history of an engagement and of the campaign.

In the accounts of the operations in the Perryville campaign, some excuse is offered for the scant field service shown by the new regiments of Jackson’s division, and the criticism is made that these regiments have shown but little knowledge of maneuvers and tactics on the field. It is shown that in the fight they were placed by wrong commands at a disadvantage, not being placed as they should have been, with the front rank in front.

I am informed that the disadvantage meant that the 121st Ohio was placed in line for firing with the rear rank in front. This will be understood when you recall the tactics. Marching a column right in front to the north, the first position for a regiment upon halting and fronting would place as here given for the 121st, with their backs to the enemy or to the east. Recall also that the column marched to the battlefield on the old Mackville and Perryville road, the head of the column which was led by Rousseau’s 9th and 17th Brigades and as usual right in front- Colonel Harris and Beatty marching a little south of east. Upon halting and forming the line of battle, all reports show that all of the first corps of General Alexander McCook were deployed north of the Old Mackville and Perryville road. The right of Rousseau’s division rested near the Russell House on the road.

Corporal George S. Dollinger, Co. B, 94th O.V.I.

A little later, the line was moved forward towards the creek about 600 yards, with the right on Beatty’s brigade resting at the point the road crossed Doctor’s Creek. From this point the deployment was made to the left or north on the high hills overlooking the creek. To march by the right flank and face the enemy without a countermarch or “right into line,” would place the rear rank nearest to the enemy and in front in a movement towards the enemy.

The old regiments of Harris’s brigade were placed in line of battle on the left of Beatty’s brigade with the front rank facing the enemy as might be expected with veterans. Then came the order for the 94th Ohio to march north to the support of Terrill’s battery, and again, as would be expected, Colonel Joseph Frizzell gave the command to march by the left flank. Then halting and at the command “front” the front rank was in front, our faces to the enemy and facing east. As such, we learn that the 94th Ohio had none of the trouble spoken of with the 105th and 121st regiments in the matter of tactical position.

During the afternoon in changing places from the woods to the cornfields and when returning to the woods, you will recall that our commander moved us by the right or left flank and at no time did he use such commands as would cause countermarching or movements that upon suddenly halting would place the rear rank toward the enemy. All accounts agree that the fire at Perryville was delivered at short range. Company B was halted nearer the Rebel line than the remainder of this regiment and this is where Captain John C. Drury fell. At any rate, it was found that when the regiment advanced as described in Colonel Frizell’s report that dead men were found at a distance estimated at 20-30 yards from our front.

Fort Smith, Arkansas

September 27, 1897

          I should thoroughly enjoy being with the boys, especially on the 35th anniversary of the battle of Perryville. More than a generation has passed since that day but my recollections of the hurried early morning march to the field, the filing into the woods under the brow of the hill where the leaves and branches from the trees cut down by the balls and shells from the enemy’s guns fell like a shower on our heads. The short rest, the call to attention, the order “forward march,” the charge over the hill into the enemy’s face, their volley in which fell the brave Captain Drury, the gallant Brecount, my friend and other valiant boys. All are vividly before me as I write. How I would like to talk this over with my old comrades but distance and my physical disability prevent. ~ Captain Samuel H. Sherlock, Co. E, 94th Ohio

 Indianapolis, Indiana

October 6, 1897

I shall not forget the Battle of Perryville. Two incidents come to my mind as I write. Just as we were nearing the field of battle, I had dropped back towards Co. B and saw Captain Drury riding on mule back which he had gathered onto because he was completely worn out with the hard march. The comrades will also remember what kind of food we had the morning we started out for Perryville. I remember very well what mine was and I think others fared about the same. It was flour mixed with water and baked on flat Rebel stones out of the creek where we camped. The men were hungry and worn out with the hot afternoon’s march. Captain Drury was very much worked up over the matter and remarked, “If this is the manner in which the soldier is to be treated, I’m ready to be cashiered.”

          But a little afterwards we had piled our knapsacks in a fence corner and formed line for the fight. Captain Drury had turned his mule over to someone else and was with drawn sword pushing on to battle. It was not but a short while when a Rebel bullet had done the awful work to our dear Captain Drury. The news of his death soon flashed along the line. I got the word from Captain Fred Walton of Co. C. His company and the one I belonged to adjoined and brought me not far from where he was. I chanced to look at one time to my left and saw Captain Walton kneeling down, one knee on the ground, and the other his elbow resting upon it, his face buried in his hand, weeping aloud. I stepped to him at once, wondering if he was hurt. He said in his weeping, “Captain Drury is killed, Captain Drury is killed.” The bullets were flying thick at the time.” ~ Private George W. Crane, Co. I, 94th O.V.I.

 Source:

“Twenty-Sixth Reunion of the 94th O.V.I.,” Miami Helmet (Ohio), October 14, 1897, pgs. 5 and 8

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 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

Straw Already Threshed: Sherman on Shiloh

Image
  W illiam Tecumseh Sherman was enjoying retired life in New York City when just before Christmas in 1889 he was presented with an article written by John Cockerill, a former drummer boy in the 24 th Ohio who was visiting his father Colonel Joseph Cockerill of the 70 th Ohio of Sherman’s division when the Battle of Shiloh began. Cockerill’s article, originally published in the New York Journalist and later featured in the January 1893 issue of Blue & Gray Magazine, Sherman later pronounced as “the best war story ever written” and the truest account of Shiloh.           On New Year’s Day 1890, General Sherman composed the following letter to his friend Marshall P. Wilder thanking him for sending along Cockerill’s article and giving his own explanation of Shiloh. “This to me is straw already threshed for we have fought this battle on paper several times, a much more agreeable task than to fight with bullets,” he concluded. “When in England some years ago I was gratified to liste
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

Globules of Adipose Pomposity: Top 11 Worst Buckeye Colonels of the Civil War

Image
Ohio Colonels in the Civil War "They weren't all heroes."      It stands to reason that somewhere in the over 200 regimental-sized organizations that Ohio fielded during the war, a bad apple or two would end up in command. Today's article tackles this admittedly sensitive subject with a top 11 list of Buckeye colonels  who exited the service under less than honorable circumstances during the Civil War. It's a list of cowards, drunks, incompetents, and outright scoundrels whose record adds color (or rather off color) to Ohio's history in the Civil War and is "history that deserves to be remembered."       They are presented in the rough chronological order of their exit from the service. 
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 at the outset of the
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