A Huckleberry Frolic at Allatoona Pass with the 15th Illinois

Richard Shatswell joined the 15th Illinois in January 1864 when the regiment was home on veteran’s furlough. He was an unusual recruit- the 47-year-old Massachusetts native was twice the age of the average Union soldier. Leaving behind a farm in Waukegan, Illinois, he joined the 15th Illinois along with his son George and soon was on the road to join Sherman’s army in northern Georgia. The regiment’s first assignment was guarding Allatoona Pass. They could hear the guns of the front in the distance but relative quiet allowed the men to focus on improving the defenses and their living quarters.  

“We are encamped on a very high hill which commands the pass through these hills,” he wrote. “We have little huts built in the side of the mountain about eight- or nine-feet square. Three or four men sleep together. Our huts are made of good, planed boards and if you would like to know where we got our lumber, I would refer you to the frame of a large flouring mill and dwelling house standing at the foot of the mountain. The Rebels destroyed part of the machinery so the Yankees should not use it, but they did use it and in two or three days after we arrived here, every board and every piece of siding was carried 400-500 feet up the mountain and converted into huts for Yankees.”

          Shatswell’s letter describing his interactions with Southern civilians and quiet duty at Allatoona Pass first appeared in the July 9, 1864, edition of the Waukegan Weekly Gazette.

 

Allatoona Pass, Georgia, looking south along the Western & Atlantic Railroad towards Atlanta. "General Sherman considers the place of great importance; so much so that he has ordered it to be held at all hazards," our correspondent noted. His regiment, the 15th Illinois Infantry, was among the three regiments assigned to guard the pass in June 1864. 
(Library of Congress) 


Allatoona Pass, Georgia

June 16, 1864

          We left Paducah about the 12th of May and arrived at Clifton, Tennessee on the 14th; on the 16th we left and took our line of march across the country for nearly 300 miles by way of Pulaski, Tennessee, Decatur, Huntsville, Somerville, Warrinton, and Cedar Bluffs, Alabama. We have at length arrived here at Allatoona Pass which we are now guarding.

The country through which we have passed is mountainous most of the way and poor tillage land but found most excellent water in abundance, a great blessing to soldiers on the march. The inhabitants appear very destitute and are anxious for peace on any terms and they say if our soldiers don’t conquer the Rebels soon and bring provisions into the country, they must soon starve. This appears to be the feeling of the poor class all along the road and I think they mean it as there are families around where we are now camped that do not know where to get their next meal.

When we arrived at Cartersville, Georgia, the inhabitants seemed to be as glad to see us as our own folks would be to see us come home. They cursed Jefferson Davis and the whole Confederate crew and wanted to see the stars and stripes waving over the whole land once more. A good part of the employees on the railroad are citizens of this part of the country. But the Yankees are a great wonder to them; they say they never saw such people and that the Yankees can do anything for what has appeared to them as insurmountable, the Yankees overcome quite easily.

Allatoona Pass looking north towards the hill where the first picture in this blog post was taken. 

For example, when we were coming to Raccoon, Sandy, and Lookout Mountains in Alabama, the inhabitants told us we could not pass the mountains for when they went that way they had to take their light wagons apart and take them down the other side of the mountain in pieces, but we got ours over the three mountains safely with the exception of three or four that capsized after dark. Ours were large six mule wagons, heavily loaded with provisions and ammunition for the 17th Army Corps.

When General Sherman was coming through, the citizens told him he never could pass through Allatoona as Johnston had made it absolutely impregnable, but Sherman went through and if Johnston had not skedaddled, he would have been caught in his own trap and now they say when Sherman gets within 7 miles of Atlanta, he will get whipped but time will tell whether he will or not. To show you how Sherman hurries matters, I will state that most of the timber for the railroad bridge across the Chattahoochee River is already out and ready for framing. It lies now at the foot of this mountain along the railroad and the probability is that three days after Sherman crosses the river, the bridge will be up and the cars across as he keeps his communication open as fast as he goes.

Private George P. Shatswell
Co. I, 15th Illinois Inf.

We are encamped on a very high hill which commands the pass through these hills. Up and down, we have our cannons in position on top of the hill and our rifle pits finished as there has lately been a depot for military stores established here. General Sherman considers the place of great importance; so much so that he has ordered it to be held at all hazards and the 14th Illinois, 15th Illinois, and 53rd Illinois regiments are guarding it and as they are mostly veterans and well known to Sherman, I presume they will do their duty.

The weather is nice and cool in these mountains and we have the best of water, a great blessing in this climate. We have little huts built into the side of the mountain about eight- or nine-feet square. Three or four men sleep together. Our huts are made of good, planed boards and if you would like to know where we got our lumber, I would refer you to the frame of a large flouring mill and dwelling house standing at the foot of the mountain. The Rebels destroyed part of the machinery so the Yankees should not use it, but they did use it and in two or three days after we arrived here, every board and every piece of siding was carried 400-500 feet up the mountain and converted into huts for Yankees.

          We can hear every discharge of Sherman’s cannons and see the smoke and ever since daylight today the discharges have been more frequent than heretofore. My son George was out to the front yesterday to see the 96th Illinois boys. They were in excellent spirits and had full faith in Sherman’s ultimate success and they gain some ground every day. George came back on the cars with 600-700 Rebel prisoners. He knew several as they were the same ones Grant paroled at Vicksburg. They said if we took Atlanta, they though the soldiers would not fight as they had but would become disheartened and give up.

Yours respectfully,

Richard Shatswell, 15th Illinois Infantry

P.S. If any of your friends wish for a huckleberry frolic, by taking a trip down here they can get all they want as the hills are covered with them.

Source:

Letter from Private Richard Shatswell, Co. I, 15th Illinois Volunteer Infantry, Waukegan Weekly Gazette (Illinois), July 9, 1864, pg. 2

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