You Must Use Your Steel: With the 22nd Michigan on Horseshoe Ridge

Captain John Atkinson of the 22nd Michigan missed the Battle of Chickamauga by two days; it might have saved his life. Writing a week after the engagement, he informed the homefolks of the tragedy that had befallen his regiment on the second day of the battle atop Horseshoe Ridge and especially noted the devastation of the color guard.

          “The color sergeant Philo G. Durkee was shot through the breast and face and fell dead the first round. Corporal Stansell of the color guard from Co. H grasped the colors but had scarcely raised them when a bullet passed through his head, killing him instantly. Corporal Vincent of Co. C lifted the colors and a moment after received a ball in the thigh, wounding him severely. He was carried to the rear. First Sergeant William F. Atkinson took the colors, handing them to Sergeant Kendell of Co. C who carried them the rest of the day and had them when the regiment went into the last charge,” he wrote. Ultimately, the regiment would suffer 389 casualties in this engagement as it was captured almost in its entirety at the end of September 20, 1863.

          The following letter, written to Edward Lefavour of Detroit, first saw publication in the October 18, 1863, edition of the Detroit Free Press.

 


Camp LeFavour, near Chattanooga, Tennessee

September 29, 1863

          Knowing that many of the people of Michigan will look anxiously for news from our regiment, I take the liberty to give you what facts I can gather relating to the part it took in the late battle.

          From Brigadier General [Walter] Whitaker, I learn that on Friday the 18th instant he was ordered to advance his brigade from Rossville towards Ringgold as far as the Chickamauga River, take possession of the bridge, and hold it without bringing on a general engagement. He met the Rebels at 1 p.m. and fought until 5 p.m., driving them though [outnumbered] more than 2 to 1 in numbers. On Saturday morning [September 19] he was reinforced by Mitchell’s and McCook’s brigades and by the 22nd Michigan and 89th Ohio under Colonel Lefavour. Colonel Lefavour, with his command, was attached to General Whitaker’s brigade. That day and night were passed in line of battle.

          Sunday at 9 a.m., the fight commenced on General Thomas’s line which was broken and compelled to fall back. General Whitaker was ordered to advance to the right and reinforce Thomas at a point some 4 miles distant. Moving rapidly, he found the Rebel cavalry in position to stop him but soon drove them off and succeeded in taking up his position near the right of Thomas’s line. General [James B.] Steedman, commanding the first division of the reserve corps, received word from Thomas that the enemy must be driven from the hill to his right. General Whitaker was ordered to the work and advanced in two lines, the first composed of the 96th Illinois on the right, the 115th Illinois in the center, and the 22nd Michigan on the left. The second line consisted of the 40th Ohio on the right, 84th Indiana in the center, and the 89th Ohio on the left and in rear of the 22nd Michigan, both under Colonel Lefavour.

Colonel Walter C. Whitaker

          Charging on the enemy’s lines, they drove them from the hill full half a mile. Here the Rebels rallied and Longstreet’s corps came rushing down in masses 8 lines deep. The gallant brigade received and repulsed them with terrible losses. Lieutenant Colonel Sanborn was wounded while in front of the regiment. The noise made it impossible for him to make himself heard from his place in the rear and desiring to halt the line, he rushed in front and just as he had succeeded in restoring order and halting his regiment, he received the wound.

          The color sergeant Philo G. Durkee was shot through the breast and face and fell dead the first round. Corporal Stansell of the color guard from Co. H grasped the colors but had scarcely raised them when a bullet passed through his head, killing him instantly. Corporal Vincent of Co. C lifted the colors and a moment after received a ball in the thigh, wounding him severely. He was carried to the rear. First Sergeant William F. Atkinson took the colors, handing them to Sergeant Kendell of Co. C who carried them the rest of the day and had them when the regiment went into the last charge.

          The second charge the Rebels drove the brigade to the bottom of the hill. It was reformed, marched up, and again took the crest. Colonel Lefavour sent General Whitaker word that his ammunition was exhausted. “You must use your steel,” was the reply. And now the Rebels advanced a third time. The sun had gone down. In the twilight it was difficult to distinguish friend from foe. The 22nd rushed forward under Colonel LeFavour in person with fixed bayonets and empty muskets under a most terrific fire of grape and musketry, received the charge of the enemy, repulsed them, and drove them at every point. General Steedman send an order to fall back was but too late. Before it arrived, the regiment was closed in upon by Rebel hordes on both flanks and cut off. This brave charge, General Steedman says, saved that portion of the army.

The 22nd Michigan carried .54 caliber Lorenz rifles into their fight atop Horseshoe Ridge. 

          General Whitaker, who fought at Shiloh and Murfreesboro, says he never heard such heavy musketry and never saw such magnificent charges. He had 4 staff officers killed and received himself a slight wound in the side. He, General Steedman, and General Gordon Granger behaved in a manner worthy of the men they led. Each was seen in the advance of his staff and where the danger was the greatest. General Steedman’s horse was shot under him. General Granger received a bullet in his hat. Their bravery is the talk of the army and their gallant conduct will never be forgotten.

          During the entire fight, Colonel Lefavour rode along the line, his hat in one hand and drawn sword in the other cheering on his men. And whose voice could cheer them like his? For not a heart in the brave band but loved him; not a man but would willingly die that his colonel might live. General Whitaker told me personally that he never saw soldiers behave more gallantly. Colonel Sanborn is complimented by everyone for his coolness and bravery. And more than one brave fellow has wept those tears which only brave men weep on hearing that his wound will keep him from us for a long time, perhaps forever. Not merely as an officer did we all respect and honor him. His great heart broke over those distinctions that separate officers and men and made him not only the command but the brother.

          Captain A.M. Keeler is among the missing. He must have been in command of the regiment on the second charge and went into the third and last well. He and Adjutant Matthews, reported wounded and a prisoner, are said to have been everywhere along the line encouraging and urging on their men. Captains Snell, Wands, Galbraith, and Goetz when last seen were severely wounded, probably mortally. Captain Smith had his leg amputated.

Lieutenant Ed G. Spaulding was wounded on the first round through the hip. He went to the rear but finding his wounded less severe than he supposed, he again returned to his company and remained with it during the entire day, he being in command. Sergeant William F. Atkinson, acting second lieutenant, was slightly wounded above the knee but binding his handkerchief around his leg, remained on the field.

The 22nd Michigan monument is located on Snodgrass Hill near the monuments of the 89th Ohio and the 21st Ohio, both of which are dear to me as I had ancestors that fought in both regiments and survived Chickamauga. At the end of September 20, 1863, most of the men of these three regiments were surrounded and captured. 

Captain Kimberk, Lieutenants Robertson, Hamilton, Button, Willets, Drake (aide-de-camp to Colonel Lefavour), Mead, Andrews, and Albertson were uninjured previous to the third and last charge. Only Lieutenant Albertson escaped, Captain Kimberk not going to this charge. Many are undoubtedly prisoners but a number even of these must be wounded. All behaved with the greatest gallantry. Doctors McConnell and Lawrence were on the field to the last, dressing the wounds and giving the necessary directions for the proper care of the disabled. They have the thanks of their comrades. Michigan is again called upon to mourn many a gallant son; but a new glory has been added to her history. We pause in the great work to drop a tear, not for the brave who have fallen, but for the dear ones at home to whose hearts a new sorrow has been brought.

Captain (later colonel) John Atkinson
22nd Michigan Infantry

What remains of the regiment is upon the hills on the north side of the river just opposite Lookout Mountain which is occupied and fortified by the Rebels. Its present strength, not including the band, is 149 enlisted men, 9 lieutenants, and 2 captains. The major and myself were on General R.S. Granger’s staff at Nashville until to the 13th instant when we were relieved at our request for the purpose of reporting to our regiment. We arrived here on the morning of the 22nd. The armies lie in the presence of each other. From the hill where I write, I can see our troops fortifying the plains below and the Rebels on the hills beyond them. Last night the line of each army could be traced by its campfires. Another great battle in which the whole force of the Southern Confederacy will be hurled upon our brave army is expected to open at any hour.

The 22nd Michigan went into action on the afternoon of September 20, 1863, with a strength of 455 officers and men. Reported casualties include 32 killed, 96 wounded, and 261 missing, a casualty total of 389 or 85%.

To learn more about Whitaker’s brigade at the Battle of Chickamauga, check out the posts below or click here for the Battle of Chickamauga page with links to more than 100 articles about this engagement.

 An Ugly Scene at Rossville Before Chickamauga

Guarding the Road to Chattanooga: The 84th Indiana on September 19, 1863

And This Is Glorious War? The 84th Indiana on September 20, 1863

Saving the Army: The 115th Illinois on Horseshoe Ridge

The Galvanized Yankee of Steubenville, Ohio

Atop Snodgrass Hill: The Second Day at Chickamauga with the 89th Ohio        

Source:

Letter from Captain John Atkinson, Co. C, 22nd Michigan Volunteer Infantry, Detroit Free Press (Michigan), October 18, 1863, pg. 3

 

 

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