The Awfulest Time I Ever Witnessed: An Ohio Private Describes Breckinridge’s Charge at Stones River

The Battle of Stones River entered into its third day and the 99th Ohio, assigned to Colonel Samuel Price’s brigade of Van Cleve’s division, had thus far escaped any serious combat. Tasked with guarding McFadden’s Ford during the fighting of December 31st, the regiment crossed Stones River the following day and took up supporting positions behind the front line of Price’s brigade. That afternoon, Breckinridge’s assault threw the 99th Ohio into some of the hardest fighting of the battle.

          “We were laying flat down on the muddy ground and when the fire opened, the bullets sung around is like bees and the bombshells bursting sounded like reports of heavy thunder all around us,” remembered Private Jacob Early of the 99th Ohio. “The first line stood them a good while but they came up six columns deep. Then we all had orders to retreat back to our reinforcements. We had to retreat across a 15-acre field right in plain view of the enemy, but when we got across the field we met our reinforcements. Then our cannons let loose on them and there was the awfulest time I ever witnessed in my life. It just sounded like constant thunder.”

          After the battle, Jacob composed two letters describing the engagement and its aftermath to his wife Sarah back in Ohio. Robert and Gloria Driver transcribed these letters back in the 1990s and they appear on the blog courtesy of Cory Ring.

 

The 99th Ohio guarded McFadden's Ford during the fighting on December 31st before taking a forward position across Stones River the following day. Rosecrans' intentions were to wait another day or two for additional supplies and reinforcements to arrive from Nashville before utilizing Van Cleve's division (then under the command of Colonel Sam Beatty) to spearhead his attack on the town of Murfreesboro. Breckinridge's assault beat him to the punch by a day but its failure ultimately led to Braxton Bragg deciding to abandon the town on the night of January 3rd. 

Camp at Murfreesboro, Tennessee

January 9, 1863

Dear and loving wife,

          I embrace this opportunity again to drop you a few lines to inform you that I have been spared through a bloody battle and am enjoying good health and I feel very thankful to the Lord for the same. And I hope and trust when these lines come to hand they may find you all enjoying good health.

          Now I will inform you that I received your kind letters last night after dark, one dated the 19th and one the 24th which gave me a great deal of satisfaction. I was very glad to hear that you all were well for there is nothing like good health. Let us always be thankful to the Lord for the same. Now Sarah, I can’t tell you my feelings when I was reading your feelings and what you wrote about Minnie. Oh, how my heart aches to see you both. Hope the time is not far distant when we can meet to shake glad hands to part no more.

          Now I will give you a little sketch of our last move. We left Nashville the next day after Christmas for Murfreesboro. We was four or five days on the road and there was skirmishing going on all the time and when we got within three miles of town the fight began to go strong. This was on Tuesday [December 30] but we escaped very well until Friday [January 2], the next day after New Year’s. Then the Rebels made a desperate charge on our brigade. We were in the second line of battle. We were laying flat down on the muddy ground and when the fire opened, the bullets sung around is like bees and the bombshells bursting sounded like reports of heavy thunder all around us.

Private George W. Mapes
Co. F, 99th O.V.I.
Killed in action at Stones River

          The first line stood them a good while but they came up six columns deep. Then we all had orders to retreat back to our reinforcements. We had to retreat across a 15-acre field right in plain view of the enemy, but when we got across the field we met our reinforcements. Then our cannons let loose on them and there was the awfulest time I ever witnessed in my life. It just sounded like constant thunder. They could not stand us but a little while till they run like whiteheads. We retook all our ground and a mile or so more but how we got across that field I can’t tell but the boys most all got through safe.

          There was about 10 or 15 killed and 40 or 50 wounded. Abe Kopp had three or four holes shot through his overcoat and Noah Early had his gun shot out of his hand. David Miller got through safe. He is well. We most all lost our knapsacks and I lost mine. I had one blanket in it, one pair of drawers, one pair of socks, and my letter packet with all that paper and envelopes you had sent me and the most of all was your picture. I guess the Rebels have got them and that white handkerchief and suspenders is gone, too, but this is nothing to compare with life. I got another knapsack worth as much as mine.

          I will write more when I get time. We are in camp at Murfreesboro. Write soon and often.

Jacob Early to Sarah Early

 

Federal forces occupied the town on Murfreesboro on January 4, 1863, and Jacob Early's 99th Ohio quickly set up camp within a half mile of town. The Army of the Cumberland would spend the next six months at Murfreesboro building up supplies for the next campaign and recovering from the hard fought Battle of Stones River. At the center of the above image from Harper's Weekly is tower of the Rutherford County Courthouse which still exists today; the city, however, had grown up considerably from this wartime view.  

 Camp at Murfreesboro, Tennessee

January 13, 1863

Dear and loving wife,

          I again seat myself to drop you a few lines to inform you that I am well and hearty and I hope these few lines may find you enjoying the same good blessing. Let us always be thankful to the Lord for all the blessings we receive from His bountiful hand.

          Now I will inform you that we have got plenty to eat and drink. We have ham and shoulder sometimes but we have plenty of sowbelly all the time and we have plenty of fresh beef since we have been at this place. And sometimes fresh pork and we have sugar, coffee, beans, hominy, tea, and plenty of hard crackers. We can live well now.

I have not drawn any clothing since Uncle Jake was here but I did not need anything very bad until now. I need a pair of pants but we are looking for our clothing every day. A part of them came today and the boys all got knapsacks and blankets that lost their old ones in the fight. I intend to draw a pair of pants, a blouse, and two pairs of socks as soon as they come. That will be all I need this winter. I have got three good shirts and two pairs of drawers. My cap and boots will last me till I get home. I think my overcoat and blanket are good.

"I was over the battle ground two days after the battle and it was an awful sight" Jacob Early recalled. "Some had their heads shot off and some had both legs shot off, but most of them was shot with the common rifle ball." 

The weather is very warm and nice since the battle but during the battle it was very wet and the battle ground awfully muddy. When the battle was over, I saw dead men almost half buried in the mud. Our men were taken care of immediately but the Rebels laid there until the battle was over; some of them laid for four or five days. I was over the battle ground two days after the battle was over and it was an awful sight. Some had their heads shot off and some had both legs shot off, but the most of them was shot with the common rifle ball. Our men had to bury all the dead. There was two men detailed out of each company; David Lyons was one of them in our company. I never want to witness another such sight. I will say no more about the fight for I could write all night and then could not tell half the sights for it was an awful sight.

Now Sarah, I hope you are getting along fine. I want you to take good care of yourself and live in the fear of the Lord and I will do the same. I have got plenty of stamps. You can send me a sheet of paper in each letter that you send me. I have got no good way of carrying paper. I don’t need anything else at this time. Yes, you may send me some of them powders in your next letter. Seal them in some good strong paper, not writing paper. Still have diarrhea once in a while. I lost them drops in the fight. The powders is about as good.

Now Sarah, I want you to send me your and Minnie’s likenesses as soon as you can. Make it suit for I am lonesome since I lost them other ones. We are camped about half a mile from town in the woods. We have got our tent struck up in good order. Some think we will stay here a good while but I can’t say how long we will stay. It is uncertain.

To learn more about the 99th Ohio at Stones River, please check out this post: 

A Wonderful Conflict of Arms: Skedaddling with the 99th Ohio at Stones River


To learn more about the Stones River campaign, please consider purchasing my latest book Hell by the Acre, winner of the 2025 Richard B. Harwell Award. 




Source:

Letters of Private Jacob Early, Co. E, 99th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, originally published as Letters Home: The Personal Side of the American Civil War by Jacob Early. Compiled & edited by Robert A. Driver & Gloria S. Driver. 1993: Published by the Authors, Roseburg, OR. 1993

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