their appearance, however, when they found that we had come to stay, and
before very long we had established the most friendly relations with
them. By the time we were ready to leave, almost every family in town
had its friends among the soldiers. They were very sociable, and always
seemed glad to have the Federal officers call on them. The young ladies
would sing and play the piano beautifully, and make things quite
homelike for us after the routine of the day's work. Twenty years later,
while passing through Fayetteville on my way to Atlanta, I received
courtesies from a citizen who only knew me by reputation as one of the
officers of the Third Wisconsin.

It was curious to see what a difference slavery had made in the social
life of these people. Everywhere work was considered disgraceful for
a white man, and as only the occupation of the "nigger." In order
to succeed socially, it was necessary to own slaves. The idea of
hiring labor, or of being rich without negroes, was apparently
incomprehensible. And in fact it was true that all of the people who had
obtained any sort of success, intellectually or otherwise, had owned
slaves.

Most of the men who resided in the vicinity had served in the
Confederate army. Some had been discharged on account of wounds or
sickness, while others, and probably most of them, had deserted when
they became sure that the fight was hopeless.

My office was a common resort for these people after they had taken the
oath of amnesty. They would sit around by the hour, and spin their yarns
about the Confederate service. The recent deserters had to be sent to
headquarters at Tullahoma for examination; and as we could communicate
only with a strong escort, I would sometimes have half a dozen of them
paroled to report to me daily until I could arrange to send on a party.

In all my dealings with these people, I found scarcely any who really
desired the success of the Union cause. There were plenty of them,
probably the majority, who thought the Confederacy a failure, and wished
to get back into the Union on the best possible terms; but they still
clung to their old ideas. However, that did not interfere with our
friendship and the good time that we had while we were there. And when
the day at length came when we were obliged to leave, I think that they
really were, as they professed to be, sorry at our going. And well they
might be, for the regiment of Tennessee Union Cavalry, that occupied the
town after we left, proceeded at once to kill several of the most
prominent men who had not taken the amnesty oath, and at least one who
had.

On the morning of April 28, 1864, we said farewell to our Fayetteville
friends and started out on the campaign which a year later was to end at
Raleigh, North Carolina, with the surrender of Johnston's army and the
end of the war. With us was a company of Tennessee Union Cavalry,
commanded by Captain Brixey, which had been sent to Lincoln County to
hunt bushwhackers. On leaving Fayetteville they had taken a horse
belonging to Judge Chilcote, a prominent citizen, who had been of much
assistance to me in the provost marshal's office in restoring civil
government, and who had at the election been chosen county clerk. The
Judge followed us, and asked to have his horse restored. Colonel Hawley
of our Regiment at once compelled Captain Brixey to give it up. He did
so with apparent reluctance, and then secretly sent a number of his men
over a by-road to intercept the Judge on his return and kill him. This
cowardly deed accomplished, the men rejoined their command. Brixey then
pushed on ahead to Tullahoma, and on the next day left for the
mountains of East Tennessee. The murder was reported to us that night.
The Colonel sent back Captain Gardner with his mounted men to
investigate, but the murderers had fled as soon as their deed became
known, and nothing more could be done. After this outrage, Brixey never
dared to rejoin our army. Some time later he was killed by Confederates
in northwestern Georgia.

During our stay at Fayetteville our Corps and the old Eleventh of the
Army of the Potomac were consolidated, and became known as the Twentieth
Corps of the Army of the Cumberland. The command was given to General
Hooker. Our portion of the army would very much have preferred General
H. W. Slocum, who was sent to Vicksburg. In the reorganization we became
the Second Brigade of the First Division, with General Thomas H. Ruger
commanding the Brigade and General A. S. Williams commanding the
Division. At the suggestion of the officers of the Eleventh Corps, our
old badge, the five-pointed star, was retained as the badge of the new
corps.

_Opening of the Atlanta Campaign_

Our Regiment reached Tullahoma on April 30, to find that the rest of our
Brigade had already gone to the front. We started out on the next day to
join them, and on May 4 crossed the Tennessee River at Bridgeport. On
the 7th we passed over the battle-field of Chickamauga, where signs of
the conflict were still everywhere in evidence. On the night of the 8th
we crossed the mountains by way of Nickajack Pass, and joined our
Brigade at daylight the next morning. This passage over the mountains
was interesting. The night was extremely dark and perfectly quiet. The
men in charge of the wagon train had placed lighted candles on the rocks
along the road, at intervals of about a hundred feet, in order to guide
themselves and those who came after. These were still flickering when we
came along.

Our march to Atlanta was now well under way. The enemy continually fell
back, and in most cases without offering serious resistance. The three
armies of General Sherman, marching in parallel lines, seemed to be able
to carry everything before them. On the 10th we again crossed the
mountains at Snake Creek Gap, going into camp on the other side until
the 13th. On the night of the 10th we were visited by a tremendous wind
and rain storm, which blew down our tents, and raised the water in the
creek so high that we had to move our camp or be drowned. At about this
time, also, an order was read to the troops announcing the great success
of the Army of the Potomac in the opening battles of the final campaign
against Richmond.

On the 14th we were moved to the extreme left to support General Howard,
who was there engaged with the enemy. We arrived at about sundown, just
as the Confederates were driving in a brigade of the Fourth Corps and
threatening to capture a battery of artillery. As we moved forward in
line of battle, ready to receive the advancing enemy, General Williams
called out to the fleeing soldiers of the Fourth Corps to get back out
of the way, for he had a division there from the Army of the Potomac
that would protect them. All of which goes to show that even
major-generals are human, and when they get a chance like to exult over
their rivals. We checked the advance of the enemy without much trouble.

At about noon on the 15th, General Butterfield, with our Third Division,
moved forward to attack an earthwork and a four-gun battery, which the
enemy held in his front. We moved forward on the left to support him;
and encountering little opposition at first, advanced somewhat farther
than the Third Division. We took position in the edge of a woods, where
we made use of a rail fence and some logs to build a breastwork in
anticipation of an attack, which the skirmish firing in front warned us
was coming. We soon had sight of the advancing enemy. A few volleys from
us, however, and they broke and ran. In a short time they again came up,
with a new line. We disposed of that almost as quickly as the first. A
third time they repeated the attempt, and again we beat them back.

Now came the order to pursue. My Company, and the companies on my right,
moved forward about two hundred yards in the woods. Suddenly we found
that we were on the flank of a Brigade that was still stubbornly
fighting with troops of the Twenty-Third Corps and the left companies
of our Regiment. They were in a peach orchard, the nearest of them not
fifty yards away. I hastily wheeled my Company, and Company H to the
left, and opened fire. At such short range, and in such a crowd, every
shot must have counted. The Confederates did not wait for much, but
skedaddled as fast as their legs could carry them.

Just as the last of them were disappearing from sight, I saw a man in
Confederate uniform come running toward my Company, hatless, but with
gun in hand. I supposed that he was coming in to give himself up. He
came within twenty yards of us, then apparently noticed for the first
time that we were Yankees. He immediately started to run back. I called
to him to surrender, but it only increased his speed. Finding that he
did not stop, two of my men fired at him, and both hit him. He fell dead
almost instantly upon the field. I went forward then and examined him.
He was a mere boy, not over twenty years of age. In his pocket we found
his order, not two weeks old, from the conscript officer of his
district, notifying him to join the army. I have seen fields of battle
in front of our Regiment, covered over with the dead, without
experiencing the pang of regret that I felt for this poor lad who,
scarcely out from home, and too frightened and confused to know what to
do, thus sadly met his fate.

The loss of our Regiment in this fight was one killed and thirty-one
wounded. Many of the wounded subsequently died, among them Reverend John
M. Springer, the Chaplain of the Regiment. When drafted in 1863, he had
been a Methodist minister in Monroe, Wisconsin. Believing this to be a
call of duty he had refused to allow his church to secure a substitute,
and had reported at Madison for service. When our Regiment was about to
leave Wisconsin for the front, after the veteran furlough, we officers
had been introduced to him in the Executive Chamber at the Capitol,
where we had assembled on the invitation of the Governor. When sent for,
Springer had been found doing sentinel duty before the gate of Camp
Randall. We had elected him Chaplain, and he had joined us at
Fayetteville as soon as he could secure his discharge as a private. On
the morning of the battle, when the prospects seemed good for a lively
fight, he had come to me and asked for a musket and some ammunition, for
he did not wish to be lurking in the rear while we were in danger at the
front. At my suggestion, he had previously posted himself in the
tactics, so I now told him to take the place of a Lieutenant in my
Company. He was the first man hit, and died in the hospital a few days
later.

By a strange coincidence, our picket found on the field in our front the
dead body of the Chaplain of the Georgia Regiment with which we had been
engaged. We were told by some of the wounded prisoners that he had been
shot in coming up to recover the body of his son, a captain in the
Regiment, who had been killed early in the fight.

In this battle, for the first time in my experience, Confederate
soldiers who might have escaped came in and gave themselves up as
prisoners. I think as many as forty did this. They were all thoroughly
discouraged, and the same feeling seems to have run through their whole
army, for they were more quickly and easily beaten than I had ever seen
them before.

It was understood on our part that in order to give the Army of the
Tennessee time to get below Resaca and cut off their retreat, we were
not to push the attack against the enemy. They were too quick for us,
however; the next morning they had abandoned Resaca, leaving behind them
six heavy guns and large quantities of provisions and ammunition.

On the 19th we came up to them again at Cassville, where we drove them
into their entrenched lines and occupied the town. We expected a fight
in the morning, but once more they were gone, this time across the
Etowah River. After a rest of four days at Cassville, we again went
forward, crossing the Etowah on a pontoon bridge without resistance.

On the 25th we had nearly reached Dallas when we were turned back to
assist General Geary, who had encountered a division of Hood's Corps,
entrenched on the Marietta road to our left, at a place called New Hope
Church. On our arrival we found that Geary's Division had already pushed
back the enemy's skirmishers until the latter were thought to be in
their main line of works, from which position we were ordered to drive
them. The country was heavily timbered, and underbrush so obscured the
view that it was impossible to see in any direction more than a few
rods. When we came within sight of the enemy we found that a six-gun
battery was posted a little in front of their line of infantry. The
latter awaited us behind a breastwork, evidently hastily constructed of
logs and earth, nevertheless affording fairly good shelter. As soon as
we came within range, the battery opened on us with round shot and
shell; then, as we came nearer, with grape and canister. But we pushed
steadily on until we were less than sixty yards from them, when we
halted; for we had lost so many men, and had become so disorganized in
the march through the timber and brush that the impetus of our charge
was gone. The regiments on both sides of us had already done the same.
We sheltered ourselves as well as we could, behind trees and fallen
timber, and opened fire on their battery, receiving a hot fire in return
from their infantry. We succeeded, however, in driving off the
Confederate gunners, and prevented the cannon from being worked for the
remainder of the day.

_Wounded and in Hospital_

When we had first come within range of the grape-shot, my scabbard had
been struck and cut in two at a point just below where I grasped it with
my left hand. Later, when my men had sheltered themselves and had
commenced firing, I was again struck. I was at the time resting on one
knee in a position where I could watch the battery, and direct our fire
upon it, for I was determined that the enemy should not have an
opportunity to take it away so long as we had a chance to capture it. My
attention had just been called to something on the left, when a bullet
struck the front of my cap, cutting the figure "3" out of the bugle, and
glancing from the bone, cut a gash across my forehead. For a time I lost
all interest in that battle. When I regained my feet, Colonel Hawley,
who was standing near, told me to get back to the hospital. I succeeded
in finding my way to a small ravine that we had crossed, thinking as I
got back of the line, that there were a thousand bullets flying, to
every one nearer the front. At the small brook in the ravine, I tried to
wash off the blood which was blinding me, but had such poor success that
I concluded to follow the Colonel's advice and have the wound dressed. I
considered it not much of a clip, and thought that in three days at the
most I would be back with my company. It was about two months before I
rejoined, and a good many years before I entirely recovered.

On my way back to the hospital, I met in succession General Williams who
commanded the Division, General Hooker who commanded the Corps, General
Thomas who commanded the Army of the Cumberland, and General Sherman who
commanded the Department. Each stopped and asked if I was much
hurt--when I told that it was only a scratch, they were eager for
information as to the situation at the front. I explained that we had
driven the artillerymen from their guns, but that the infantry in their
breastworks had been too much for us. Then each kindly told me to go to
the hospital.

At the hospital I found Dr. Conley, our Regimental Surgeon, who dressed
my wound and gave me a blanket to lie down on. I got away to one side
and tried to sleep, but the Doctor disturbed me so often to look at my
wound that this was impossible. I finally lost all patience with him and
ordered him to let me alone; but he afterwards explained that he feared
I would go to sleep and wake up in the next world.

This fight is known in the North as the Battle of Dallas, or the Battle
of Pumpkinvine Creek, and in the South as the Battle of New Hope Church.
In the engagement, our Regiment lost eighteen men killed and ninety-two
wounded. This loss was quite unevenly distributed among the companies.
Mine had sixteen men severely wounded, two of whom subsequently died.
Company A, on my left, had six men killed and twenty-one wounded.
Captain Hunter of Company F was wounded by a canister shot, in one of
his legs near the knee-joint, and died shortly after. Captain Ruger of
the Brigade staff also received a severe wound in the knee, which
incapacitated him for further service during the war.

On the afternoon of the day following the battle, I thought I was
strong enough to go back to my Regiment. So I started out, against the
protests of the surgeons; but after going about a quarter of a mile, my
legs gave out, and I was obliged to return and obey directions. I
remained at the field hospital for about three and a half days. During
most of that time the surgeons were busy at the amputating table. On the
morning of the 29th all of the slightly wounded were sent off with the
wagon train. The more seriously wounded were sent off late in the
afternoon in the ambulances. Captains Hunter, Ruger, and I went in the
same ambulance, I was on the seat with the driver.

At Kingston, where we arrived on the 30th, a long train of freight cars
for the slightly wounded, and hospitals cars for the severely wounded
was waiting, ready to start for Chattanooga. Captain Hunter was,
however, too ill to go, and I would not leave him, so we waited over
together until June 2. The ride to Chattanooga was a very severe one for
poor Hunter, and he appeared to be much the worse for it. He recovered
temporarily under the careful treatment at Chattanooga, of Doctor
Persons of the First Wisconsin Cavalry, but on June 8 began to sink
rapidly, and died on the afternoon of the following day.

My wound was not dangerous, yet it was serious enough to entitle me to a
leave of absence. I took advantage of it to return for a pleasant week
to my Wisconsin home; then rejoined my Regiment near the Chattahoochee
River on July 17. During my absence it had followed the fortunes of the
Twentieth Corps, having had no hard fighting and but few casualties on
the picket line. The term of service of the men who had not reënlisted
had expired on June 29, and they had been mustered out. The officers in
the various regiments, however, who wished to be mustered out, found
themselves conscripted for a longer term. Their applications had been
approved until they had reached General Thomas; but he had forwarded
them to Washington with recommendations for dishonorable discharge.
Discovering this danger, the officers had withdrawn their applications.
A number in the Twenty-Ninth Pennsylvania had, however, been
dishonorably discharged under such circumstances, and at the time this
seemed to us an injustice.

_The Siege of Atlanta_

On the day that I rejoined the Regiment the army moved forward across
the Chattahoochee River. During the next three days a farther advance
was made across Peach Tree Creek, and we were now but a few miles from
the fortifications of Atlanta. On the afternoon of the 20th, General
Hood, the new Confederate commander who had succeeded Johnston, came out
of his entrenchments and made a furious attack on our lines. The brunt
of it fell on our Corps, which was somewhat in advance of the others.
Our Regiment being in the second line was not engaged, for the first
line repulsed the enemy along the entire front. The fighting was very
severe, the Confederates coming up to the attack again and again. The
loss in our Corps was about 2,000 killed and wounded; that of the enemy
must have been double that number.

On the night of the 21st I went on picket duty with instructions to
advance my picket line if possible, for the enemy's pickets were so
close that their stray bullets were causing much annoyance in our camp.
We were not very successful during the night; but in the morning, when
the whole Brigade picket line under Major Smith of the One Hundred
Fiftieth New York, moved forward, the enemy had disappeared. As was now
becoming quite usual, a number of their men remained behind to be taken
prisoners.

Major Smith's orders were to advance until he found the enemy. So we
slowly pushed forward through their strong but abandoned works, and
encountered no serious opposition until within about a mile of their
fortifications immediately surrounding the city. We met their picket
line on a hill, and drove it back a half mile, but they brought out
against us such a strong force that we in turn were obliged to fall
back, taking our stand on the hills where we had first met their
pickets. From this position they did not seriously attempt to dislodge
us.

From our vantage we could see all of their manoeuvers. Apparently there
were not more than 2,000 or 3,000 troops to prevent our entry into the
city. I have always believed that if there had been someone high enough
in command to have used the troops where I was that day, Atlanta could
have been captured much more easily than it was six weeks later. At
about six o'clock our Corps came up, and our picket line, once more
moving forward, drove the Confederate skirmishers to within two hundred
yards of their forts.

The next day a battery of twenty-pound Parrott guns was planted on the
hill and commenced throwing shells into the city over our heads. The
enemy replied with spirit, and we received many of their compliments
that were intended for the battery. Our men protected themselves by
throwing up an earthwork in front of the camp, with a ditch behind it
wide enough and deep enough to shelter all in case of necessity. The
officers all had heavy earth barricades built in front of their tents,
and these furnished fairly good protection.

I remember to have been one night in the Colonel's tent when the shells
were flying pretty lively. We were just discussing whether his
embankment would stop a shell, when one came along and buried itself in
the ground a little in front without exploding. The Colonel went out and
found that it had gone two feet into the ground. One of the other
officers present expressed the opinion that it would have gone through
the breastwork if it had struck properly. The words were scarcely out of
his mouth when another shell struck the work, penetrating about
two-thirds of the way, and exploding without damage.

At another time we were not so fortunate. A shell struck the barricade
of Captain Orton of Company K, passed through, and exploded in the tent,
mortally wounding him and seriously wounding Lieutenants Barager,
Blanchard, and Schweers, who were with him. Lieutenant Barager served
until the end of the war; but a few years after its close, he became, as
a consequence of that shock, a physical and mental wreck.

The enemy's sharpshooters were close enough to us to keep dropping their
bullets incessantly into our camp. It was at first rather annoying to
have them come pattering around whenever anyone moved, but in time we
became so accustomed to the missiles, that we went about our ordinary
business as though there were no Confederates within forty miles. On one
occasion the Thirteenth New Jersey went out in front of the line and
captured thirty-five of the enemy's pickets, and burned the houses where
the marksmen had been stationed.

On July 28 General Hooker was at his own request relieved of the command
of our Corps. He had taken offence at being jumped by General Howard for
the command of the Army of the Tennessee, after the death of General
McPherson in the battle of July 22. I do not believe that the highest
officers generally sympathized with Hooker, but the Corps as a whole
felt that his loss was a serious blow. He had large personal influence
on his troops. During an active campaign, virtually every soldier in his
Corps saw him almost daily. If there was a picket line to be
established, he personally examined it; if an assault was made on the
enemy, he was with the foremost, always brave to the extreme of
recklessness. He was, moreover, careful of the welfare of his men. He
made his commissaries attend strictly to business, and his Corps would
often be furnished with the delicacies of army rations when others were
short or had nothing but hardtack and salt pork. It was a common remark
all through the army that Joe Hooker fed his men the best, and fought
them the best, of any of the corps commanders. Of course his men
worshipped him and under him were invincible; for the same reason the
enemy dreaded him worse than anything else mortal.

The newspapers of the day said that the appointment of General Howard
was the work of President Lincoln. But it was reported in the Corps,
that General Sherman had been the prime mover. It was freely whispered
among us that Sherman, with all his great talents and acknowledged
ability, was affected with the same weakness that was said to have
troubled Napoleon--the not being able to look with complacency on the
great personal popularity of a subordinate. Sherman was reported to have
allowed this feeling to break forth into positive insult of General
Hooker and his Corps in the presence of subordinates. For instance, on
the night after the battle of Peach Tree Creek, before any returns of
casualties had been made, Hooker told Sherman that he had lost that day
nearly 2,000 men. "Oh pshaw!" answered Sherman, "that's nothing; they'll
all be back in the morning." Later it was found that 1,700 members of
the Corps had been killed or wounded, and that they had successfully
repulsed the whole Confederate army with a reported loss to the latter
of 6,000.

Before leaving, General Hooker invited all the colonels in the Corps to
call on him, and told them frankly his reasons for resigning. He said
that during the whole campaign he had been subjected to unbearable
insults and indignities, and his Corps and its performances had been
underrated and disparaged. And now, to have promoted over him a junior
officer from this Department, whose rank and service were far below his,
was the last straw; his reputation as a soldier and his honor as a man
would not, he said, admit of his remaining.

The enemy's picket line had been temporarily quieted by the advance of
the Thirteenth New Jersey, but was now again annoying us. These pickets
were on a ridge about two hundred yards in front of their main line of
works, and not more than four hundred yards from our camp. They had
lines of pits dug all along their position and could at any time
communicate with their main line. Our pickets were also located in pits,
but could only be relieved at night. It was determined to reverse this
order of things. So at daylight on July 30, at a preconcerted signal,
our whole Brigade picket line, under command of Lieutenant-Colonel Morse
of the Second Massachusetts, jumped out of their pits, crossed the
intervening space at a run, and captured the enemy's entire line,
numbering seven officers and ninety-seven men.

A regiment was immediately sent out to reënforce our men, and
breastworks were hastily thrown up. From their forts and main
breastworks, the enemy poured into us a shower of shot and shell; but
our men held their position all day, many of them firing as much as two
hundred rounds of ammunition. At night the position was made impregnable
against anything save a movement in large force; and in the morning the
enemy were compelled to withdraw their artillery and close the
embrasures of their forts.

For some weeks there was not much change in the situation, so far as we
were concerned. There was much hard work for the men in the trenches,
and they were all getting anxious for the capture of Atlanta. I believe
nine-tenths of them would rather have fought the matter out in an open
battle than to have kept on scraping and shoveling to dig them out. It
seemed to us at the time that between our army and that of the
Confederates, there had been enough dirt dug, from Louisville to
Atlanta, to have built all the railroads in the United States.

For a time in our advanced position, firing on the picket line was
constant, and there were many casualties. In a week or two, however, a
sort of truce was established, and firing ceased. Just before I had
rejoined my Regiment on the Chattahoochee, our pickets had been quite
friendly with the pickets of the enemy. They had traded coffee for
tobacco, and had offered to take letters and send them to Union
prisoners in their hands. I should at this time have liked to send a
letter to my brother. But now they would not go as far as that; nothing
would induce them to meet us between the picket lines for trading; to
all our advances they replied that their orders forbade them to do so.

On August 25 important changes were made in the disposition of our
troops. Our Corps was withdrawn from before Atlanta and moved back to
the Chattahoochee River. The rest of the army was moved around to the
south of Atlanta, temporarily abandoning its communications; this was in
order, by threatening his flank, to compel Hood to come out of his works
and fight us in the open.

Throughout that day our heavy guns poured a constant stream of shot and
shell into the city. As soon as darkness had settled down on the camps,
we silently folded our tents and moved back. I had been on picket duty
that night; it was still and clear, and the slightest sound could be
heard at a great distance. As I passed along the picket line, from man
to man, and gave them the word to follow instructions--which were for
each man, as I passed him, to leave his post and go back silently to the
rear--I could hear the Confederates changing their relief just a little
in my front. In one case I heard the old sentinel tell the new one to
"keep a sharp watch on those Yanks over there," for they were up to
something and he believed they were going to attack.

At the railroad bridge over the Chattahoochee, where we took position,
earthworks had already been built. We strengthened them and built new
ones, so that by the night of the 26th we were in condition to fight the
whole of Hood's army. Hood was, however, too busy south of Atlanta,
where Sherman now was, to trouble us; and we had several days of
complete quiet. It was a great relief, after our experiences in the
trenches, to be able to walk around without hearing the bullets whistle
about our ears. Not the least of our enjoyment was, to have a good river
close at hand to bathe in.

During our stay here, General Slocum arrived and took command of the
Corps. When he made his first tour around the camp, he was given a royal
reception by his old command. They had all been anxious to have as their
leader someone who had been identified with them in the Army of the
Potomac. With that army they had won their laurels, and they wished
still to be known as a part of it.

Slocum was a very different type of man from Hooker. The latter was
brilliant and dashing, and in the excitement of battle his ardor and
personal courage carried him where the fire was hottest. Slocum, on the
contrary, reminded one of the descriptions of Marlborough. Cool and
unimpassioned he directed a battle as he would a review. Without
particularly avoiding danger, he would not rush recklessly into it.
Hooker was an inveterate boaster. Slocum usually said nothing. I think
most men would have considered Hooker the better leader, and Slocum the
better man.

Late on the night of September 1, while I was on picket duty, I heard in
the direction of Atlanta what I at first thought was artillery. The
rumbling kept increasing in intensity until it seemed like the heaviest
firing I had ever heard. Finally, a number of terrific explosions lit up
the air. At six miles distance they seemed like bright flashes of
lightning. I knew then that the enemy were blowing up their powder
magazines. I supposed, however, that Sherman was fighting his way into
Atlanta from the south.

At daylight a reconnoitering party was sent out toward the city. They
found it evacuated, except for a small rear guard of cavalry which was
soon driven out. The remainder of the Corps moved up in the afternoon,
our Regiment reaching the city at about dark. Sherman's flanking
movement had been completely successful. He had met Hood on the Macon
Railroad, near Jonesboro, and had beaten him terribly. The Confederate
commander had been obliged to evacuate Atlanta at once, blowing up
eighty cars of ammunition which had been cut off by the capture of the
railroad at Jonesboro. He had been compelled to destroy, also, the large
rolling mill of the city, which was said to have been the only mill in
the South where plating for gunboats could be manufactured.

We found more Union sentiment in Atlanta than anywhere else in the
South. As our Brigade entered the city, at about nine o'clock at night,
many of the women brought out buckets of water for us to drink. They
were very bitter against Hood's army, which they said had robbed them
of everything that could be carried off, with the excuse that the
Yankees would steal it anyway. They were agreeably disappointed to find
that the Yankees did not rob them of a thing.

Immense quantities of tobacco were abandoned by the Secessionist
citizens who left town. This fact ruined the sutlers' trade in that
article. On the day before Atlanta fell, tobacco sold in our camps at a
dollar a plug, and fifteen cents for cigars. On the day after, plug
tobacco passed about for five cents, and cigars were twenty-five cents a
hundred. Our men found tobacco in every conceivable place. One lot of
twenty boxes was dug out from under a big ash-heap. It was, however, the
only plunder obtained, for the most stringent orders were issued against
pillaging occupied houses.

The effects of the Union bombardment could everywhere be seen in the
city. Almost every house had the marks on it of shot and shell. One man
showed me a dozen shells that had struck in his garden. The families
remaining in the city had all built in their yards bombproofs, to which
they had fled for safety whenever the shelling was in progress.

On September 6 Sherman's army came back from Jonesboro, and went into
camp in the vicinity of town. For a time we enjoyed the luxury of
complete rest, after our four months of continuous campaigning. On
September 23 our Regiment received from Wisconsin 200 fresh recruits,
who had just been secured under the draft. Every one was a substitute,
and a splendid lot of men they were physically, representing almost
every nation in Europe--English, Irish, Scotch, Welsh, Germans, French,
Norwegians, and I don't know how many others. Some of them could not
speak a word of English. Over a dozen were full-blooded Chippewa
Indians, who until they put on the uniforms of the United States Army,
had never worn the clothing of civilized people. They were all excellent
raw material, and in the course of time made good soldiers. I recall
only two of the entire 200 who deserted.

About the first of October, Hood set out on his trip to the North, in
the attempt to starve us out of Atlanta. On October 3 Sherman started
after him with all of the army except our Corps, which was left to hold
the town. Our camps were now changed around so as to defend the city on
a shorter line. Our Brigade was moved from the south to the northwest
side, and set to work to build new breastworks, or rather to rebuild the
old ones of the Confederates.

The enemy succeeded in getting upon our railroad to the North, and for
about twenty days we were completely cut off without news or provisions.
However, they had left us the whole of the country southward to forage
in; and this, together with the rice we had captured in the city, and
the "beef dried on the hoof," as the men called the cattle that were
driven in, kept us a long way from starving. Every week our forage
trains would run out into the country to the south, and gather in from
500 to 700 wagon-loads of corn, besides living, while they were out, on
the best that the land afforded. Moreover, we had our provisions all to
ourselves; for on September 10 Sherman had ordered all the citizens of
the town to leave either to the North or to the South.

On October 11 our Regiment went out for the first time on a foraging
expedition. There were 2,500 men in the detachment, and a train of about
500 wagons. About fifteen miles south of Atlanta we found plenty of corn
for the animals; and for the men, abundance of sweet potatoes and other
dainties not laid down in the army menu. In two days we had our wagons
laden with all that could be hauled away. About a fortnight later we
went out again and brought in over 800 wagons of corn.

The forage which we thus gathered was the salvation of our animals and
beef cattle. The mules had been on half rations of grain all summer,
quite without hay, and the whole country in the vicinity of Atlanta had
been grazed over until it was as bare as a city street. The beeves that
had been driven down from Louisville, had for weeks nothing to eat save
the leaves and sprouts on the bushes. It was a standing joke among the
men that the commissary always killed for beef those animals that could
not survive until the next day.

_The March to the Sea_

On October 29 came the first through trains from Chattanooga, after the
movement of Hood to the North. On the same day came orders to reduce
baggage and prepare for marching. Soon, rumors were spreading about the
camp that we were to start on a fifty days' campaign, without
communications. On November 4 we were ready to move. I wrote numerous
letters of good-bye to friends at home, telling them that they would
hear from me next at Charleston or Savannah. I hoped that it would be
Charleston, for I wanted the people of South Carolina who started the
war to feel its effects and to reap their share of the horrors.

On November 5 we started out and marched three miles from town. The next
day, however, we returned in order to wait until the Army of the
Tennessee might be paid off. This gave us a chance to vote in the
Presidential election, which we had come very near missing. Our Regiment
gave Lincoln 304 votes and McClellan 21. For another full week we
remained in Atlanta, our Regiment being occupied the entire time in
tearing up railroad tracks and destroying everything of value in the
city. By the time we were ready to leave, Atlanta was worth little more
to the Confederates than any other piece of ground of similar size. On
November 15 we started out in earnest on the now famous "March to the
Sea." Our last view of Atlanta, the prize for which we had so long
struggled, was a column of dense smoke from its burning buildings; we
had destroyed everything in town except the churches and private
residences.

Our expedition numbered about 50,000 men, under the command of Sherman.
Thomas's army remained behind to look after Hood. We took with us only
about twenty days' rations, for the country through which we passed was
expected to furnish the remainder of our needs. The army proceeded in
two columns--the right wing under Howard making for Macon; the left
under Slocum making for Augusta. Each corps, also, took a different
route in order to be able to subsist more easily on the country.

Our Corps proceeded along the Augusta railroad, which we destroyed as
we went along by burning the ties and twisting the heated rails. Parts
of the country were poor and furnished little forage. Other portions,
however, compensated by giving us an abundance of sweet potatoes and
pork, with occasional lots of corn meal, flour, and sorghum, and, for
the first arrivals on the plantation, chickens and turkeys. On our route
we found plenty of good horses and mules, and all the forage that we
could carry off. Occasionally, also the enterprising forager would
capture some apple-jack or corn whiskey.

At Madison we turned and took the road to Milledgeville, the capital of
Georgia. Geary's Division, however, followed up the railroad to the
Oconee River, and destroyed the Oconee bridge. We entered Milledgeville
on the 22nd without opposition, and camped in the state-house yard.
During our stay, our Regiment and the One Hundred Seventh New York
guarded the city. I took up my quarters with an acquaintance of one of
my Wisconsin friends, and saw to it that his house and family were not
molested. He had several hundred bales of cotton stored near town,
which Sherman had consented to have bonded; but some zealous officer or
officious "bummer," had set fire to it before it could be saved.

Upon our approach to Milledgeville, Governor Brown of Georgia, had
released all of the convicts in the State Prison at that place. In
celebration of their freedom, their first act was to destroy the old
prison. Our first work was to destroy the Milledgeville arsenal, in
which was stored a large quantity of Confederate arms and ammunition. We
carried out and threw into the river, all of the ammunition in the
magazine, and burned up all of the arms and equipment. Besides several
thousand stands of good arms, there were a lot of old-fashioned rifles
and shot-guns, and thousands of pikes and bowie knives that had been
manufactured by the State for the militia, with which to repel Yankees.
In the state-house were millions of dollars of Georgia State money, in
bills of all denominations and to these the men helped themselves
without limit. All of the cotton in the vicinity that could be burned
without endangering good buildings, was destroyed, and that which was
stored in the city was bonded not to be turned over to the Confederate
Government, or used for its benefit. I was sent out with a detachment of
men to search the stores for tobacco, and found enough to load several
wagons, which kept the army supplied with that article until we reached
Savannah.

From Milledgeville we marched eastward toward Sandersville, through a
very poor country. At Buffalo Creek, a swampy stream about eight miles
from Sandersville, we found that the seven bridges crossing it had been
burned--the negroes told us that this had been done by the people of
Sandersville. We were delayed about three hours in repairing the
bridges, so did not arrive at Sandersville until the next morning. For
the last two days we had been on slim rations, and Sandersville was well
supplied. Of course there was a general rush for eatables, and the town
was soon raided. The citizens hurried to Sherman to make complaint and
get protection.

He turned on them and asked, "Which of you was it who set fire to those
bridges yesterday?" They all denied having done it, but admitted that it
had been done by citizens of the town. "Well," said he, "those that make
war must take the consequences," which was all the consolation they
got. Later, we found the man who fired the bridges; he was promptly
arrested and his property burned.

As we entered Sandersville we had a sharp skirmish with Wheeler's
Confederate Cavalry, in which two of them were killed. Our Indians
seemed to think it was not exactly right to leave the dead bodies with
their scalps on. They soon fell into the civilized custom of making war,
however, and did not afterward express any desire to take scalps.

From Sandersville we turned south until we reached the Georgia Central
Railroad at Tennille Station. We burned the railway buildings there, and
proceeded along the line, tearing it up as we went along.

On November 28 we passed near the home of the Honorable Herschel V.
Johnson.[1] By prodding into the ground with their ramrods, some of our
foragers found there a lot of more or less valuable papers and letters,
which had for safe-keeping been buried in his cabbage patch. Some of the
letters from his son, who was an officer on Hood's staff, afforded us
much amusement. Our mess forager found here, also, a stock of flour that
lasted until we reached Savannah.

[1] H. V. Johnson was born in Burke County, Georgia, in 1812. He served
his State as Federal Senator from 1848 to 1849, and as Governor from
1853 to 1857. In 1860 he was nominated for the Vice-Presidency on the
ticket of Stephen A. Douglas. He opposed to the last the secession of
Georgia, but ultimately cast his lot with his State, and was elected to
the Confederate Senate. After the war he was active in securing the
restoration of Georgia to her political rights in the Union. In 1866 he
was again chosen to the Federal Senate, but was unable to serve under
the reconstruction acts of Congress. He died in Jefferson County,
Georgia, in 1880.

Thus far, we had almost always found sufficient provisions along the
line of march to feed the command fairly well. Now, however, we were
obliged to send out strong parties of foragers for long distances on our
flanks, to search the country in order to get enough to eat. Wherever we
went we destroyed everything that might be of value to the enemy. On the
29th, near Bostwick, we burned up millions of feet of bridge timber, all
got out and framed for bridges, that the Confederates expected to build
when the Yankees were driven out. I noticed that some of the timbers
were marked Strawberry Plains and Chattanooga Creek.

On December 3 our column crossed the Millen & Augusta Railroad near
Millen, and destroyed as much of it as we could. We were now in a level,
sandy country, thickly covered with pine timber, and plantations were
few and scattered. On the 4th we heard cannonading in the distance,
which was said by citizens to be at Charleston, South Carolina, seventy
miles away. On the 7th we found our road for a distance obstructed with
felled timber, which, however, so little delayed the march that those in
the rear would not have known of it. On the 8th, after passing
Springfield, the trains and pack-mules were left behind, with the Third
Division as a guard, while the First and Second Divisions pushed on
rapidly toward Savannah.

_In Front of Savannah_

We encountered the enemy in force for the first time fourteen miles from
Savannah, in Monteith Swamp, where they had built an earthwork across
the road and felled trees in front of it. The First Brigade of our
Division was sent around to their left, and our Brigade to their right,
while the Third Brigade moved forward on the center. Our plan was to
hold their attention to the front, while we got around on their rear.
They discovered us in time, however, to escape. Captain Kleven of
Company H, who with his skirmishers, was in advance of our Brigade, made
a rapid movement forward as soon as he saw the enemy falling back, and
succeeded in capturing three prisoners. The First Brigade opened fire at
about the same time, sending a few bullets over our way, and severely
wounding in the foot, Captain Buck of Company B. The Third Brigade also
came up in time to claim a share in the honor of capturing the three
prisoners. Finally, to settle the dispute, the prisoners themselves were
brought to Division headquarters, where they pointed out Captain Kleven
as their captor.

At Monteith Station we captured the post-office and a considerable mail.
The letters, which were mostly written by the soldiers whom we had
tried to capture the day before, afforded the men an abundance of fun.

On the 10th we marched to within about four miles of Savannah, where we
were stopped by the entrenched enemy. While we were getting into line, a
detail of foragers, gathered along the banks of the Savannah River,
spied a small steamer coming up the stream from the city. They hid
themselves along the shore until the boat was directly opposite, when
they opened a musketry fire and compelled the craft to surrender. It
proved to be a Confederate dispatch boat on its way up the river to warn
the fleet that Sherman and his army had arrived. The fleet did not
receive the warning, and interesting developments followed. The men who
had captured the prize did not know its value, and after stripping it of
everything they wanted, set fire to it.

The country between our lines and those of the enemy was a big rice
plantation, which overflowed at every high tide, and which could be kept
under water by closing the flood-gates. The only means of access to the
city were the narrow causeways built through this swamp. At the point
where we were located, the Savannah River is divided by Argyle Island
into two channels, the main or navigable one being near the Georgia
shore. The island is about ten miles long, and at our end something like
a mile wide. It was occupied by a large rice plantation, which naturally
overflowed about two feet at high tide, but which had been ditched and
diked so that the flow was regulated at the flood-gates. If we could
control these, we could keep the island passable. The plantation
buildings were situated on the east side, near the channel, where a
number of acres rose high enough above the general surface to be safe
from overflow.

On the evening of the 11th our Regiment was ordered across to Argyle
Island. There were on hand but two or three skiffs, and only a portion
of the men could be brought over that night. In the morning the crossing
was being continued, when suddenly the discovery was made that three
steamers were coming around the bend of the river on their way to
Savannah. Owing to the vigilance of our foragers on the previous day,
they had received no warning of the presence of Sherman's army.

Captain Winegar of Battery M, First New York Artillery, had his rifled
guns in position on a slight elevation along the shore, where he
commanded the river for a stretch of nearly a mile. As soon as the
steamers, which were a part of Commodore Tattnall's Mosquito Fleet, came
into plain view, he opened on them. They probably had never before been
under fire for their crews seemed confused. The first craft, which was a
gunboat, commenced immediately backing and turning. The second, the
armed tender "Resolute," started to do the same, but was run into by the
third, and so badly crippled that she drifted ashore against Argyle
Island. The other two vessels managed to escape up the river.

While the miniature naval battle was going on, our men who were on the
island, under command of Captain Barager, had hastened to the scene.
When the "Resolute" drifted ashore, they were on hand to prevent the
officers and crew from making their escape in small boats, as they had
started to do. There were twenty prisoners in all. We afterwards had a
fine lot of fun listening to the officers as they accused one another of
being the cause of the disaster. The "Resolute" was towed over to the
Georgia shore, near the battery, but could not be repaired in time to be
of any service in our future operations on the island.

The question of rations was at this time becoming vital. One day's
allowance had been issued to us on the day after our arrival in front of
Savannah. We were, therefore, on the lookout for anything that might
serve to supplement our supplies. As soon as my Company had come across
to the island, we took the shortest route to the plantation buildings on
the east side. Not a thing was left; those who had come before us had
already absorbed everything. But at the landing I found a good six-oared
boat that would carry about ten men besides the rowers. Impressing a
crew of negroes to row the boat, I started for a plantation on the other
side of the river, about half a mile up, thinking that I would be the
first man of Sherman's army to invade South Carolina. On landing,
however, I was told by the blacks that two of our "bummers" had been
there the day before, and in an altercation with the plantation hands
had killed one of them. The funeral was just going on when we arrived.
Subsequent events made me believe that Wheeler's Cavalry, and not our
men were responsible for this tragedy.

I placed a sentinel out on the only road by which a mounted force could
approach, and then began a search for eatables. We soon were rewarded by
a good supply of sweet potatoes and sorghum. In the boat-house we found
a fine lot of boats; as these were especially valuable for our purposes,
we shoved them all out into the river to float down to our landing on
the island. We had just loaded up our supplies, when my sentinel came
running in with the report that a large force of cavalry were coming. We
hastily pulled back to the island and waited for them; but they did not
come to close quarters and soon retired.

Three days later I was sent out with Captain Barager's Company and my
own to take possession of this plantation. We knew that the enemy now
held it in some force, but we did not know how strong they were. I had
secured boats enough on our first raid to be able to take over both of
our companies at one time. We started in the morning, when it was as yet
scarcely light, hoping to come upon the enemy unexpectedly. Their
sentinels discovered us, however, and fired on us while crossing. We
landed about a quarter of a mile from the plantation buildings and
rapidly pushed forward. I sent Barager with his Company to the right,
while I took the direct course to the rice mill, in which the enemy were
sheltered.

The country was broken up into a mass of ditches, dykes, and canals. We
found that our only road was along a narrow dyke, and that we should
either have to return or charge them in single file. We did not retreat.
In less time than it takes to tell this story, we had the mill. They
gave us one volley and hit nobody. We did not fire a shot. They escaped
with their guns and ammunition, but we captured all their provisions,
including their breakfast cooking on the fire. For the first time in
three days we had all that we wanted to eat. Colonel Hawley came over
soon after, with three more companies, but toward night the Confederates
appeared in such force that we again withdrew to the island.

The next morning the enemy brought down a section of artillery to the
Smith Plantation, as it was called, and commenced shelling our island
camp. I was sent with my Company to get as close as possible to them on
our side of the river, and either silence them or drive them off. I got
up within about a hundred and fifty yards of them and opened fire. They
immediately turned their guns on us, and for a few minutes gave it to us
hot. We had good shelter, however, and lost only one man--John Furlong,
a veteran of Company E. It took me about twenty minutes to drive off the
battery, but their infantry held out all day.

On the 19th the whole Brigade crossed over to the Smith Plantation, with
a section of artillery. Entrenchments were built at all commanding
points, and preparation made to hold the position. On the 20th Colonel
Hawley made a reconnoissance in force toward Union Causeway, the only
Confederate outlet from Savannah, but found the enemy in such strength
that he could not reach it. But from our position we could see the lines
of their wagons leaving the city. On the morning of the 21st it was
found that the enemy had evacuated Savannah, and our troops moved in and
took possession.

We now received orders to recross the river to the Georgia side and
march to Savannah. We had nothing but flatboats to cross in, and a
strong wind was against us, so that we made slow progress while our
Regiment covered the crossing. When all the rest had passed over, and we
were about half embarked, the enemy swarmed down upon us by the
thousand. They had us surrounded on three sides, with a river behind;
and our chances for seeing Savannah were not brilliant. Nevertheless, we
faced about and prepared to fight them. Our friends of the Second
Massachusetts came, without orders, back to our assistance, and placed
themselves where they could cover our flanks. We were sheltered behind a
dyke, and the enemy could not get at us save by charging across an open
rice field; this they did not have the nerve to do, so that when
darkness settled down we got off safely to the island. I think there was
not a man in our command, but thanked his lucky stars that it was not
some of Lee's veterans that had us in that fix that night.

_In Savannah_

The next day, we crossed without interruption from the island to the
Georgia shore, which we reached by four o'clock, and then marched toward
Savannah. We went into camp on the bank of the river about two miles
from the city, and this ended on our part the "March to the Sea."

Just twenty-five days had elapsed from the time our army left Atlanta
until it signalled the fleet off the coast. During that time our wing
had marched 300 miles, destroyed over 400 miles of railroad and an
amount of cotton that can hardly be estimated, and most of the time had
lived off the country. Of our immense train of 2,500 wagons not one had
been captured on the route. We had moreover secured an almost entirely
new stock of mules and horses. And to crown all, we had won Savannah
with an immense amount of the spoils of war. It was everywhere the
opinion that Sherman had struck the hardest blow at the Rebellion that
it had yet received, and at the least cost. The troops were in high
spirits over their continued successes. The feeling prevailed that they
had but to start for a place, and it was theirs. The confidence in
Sherman was unlimited. When we left Atlanta, on what was considered the
most perilous movement of the war, I never heard a single expression of
doubt as to our ultimate success. The Confederates whom we encountered
considered him the ablest general that had commanded troops in the war,
and feared him more than any other.

We remained at Savannah until January 17, 1865. Our camp was in a
beautiful grove of live oaks and pine, festooned with Spanish moss, and
the weather was delightful. The work was comparatively light, and the
men were confidently looking forward to the end of the war. We built new
fortifications around the city on nearly the same lines as the old
Revolutionary works. New roads were constructed across Hutchinson Island
and northward into South Carolina. We were also busy, in order that
supplies might be brought in as fast as needed, in clearing out the
Savannah River, which the enemy had closed with obstructions.

The citizens of Savannah seemed well pleased with their change of
rulers. They uniformly treated us with courtesy, and displayed a
sociability that we did not usually encounter in the South. In return,
General Sherman showed them every possible consideration. I was never in
a captured place where private property was respected and protected as
it was here, or where citizens were allowed so many privileges.
Employment was furnished to those who wanted it, and a large amount of
provisions was placed at the disposal of the mayor of the city for
distribution among the destitute.

A good story was told on the Episcopal rector of the town. He had been
deputized by the rest of the clergy to wait on General Sherman, and get
permission to preach. When he stated his business, Sherman at once
replied, "Of course you can preach; that is just what I want you to do."

The preacher then stammered out an enquiry whether he would be compelled
to pray for the President of the United States. "Pray for Jeff. Davis
or the Devil, if you want to," replied Sherman; "I think you had better
pray for them, for they need it more than Lincoln."

_Marching Northward_

On January 17 we crossed the Savannah River on our bridge of flatboats,
and started on our new campaign to the North. We were at the outset met
by such fearful weather that we were virtually brought to a standstill.
Only a portion of our army had yet crossed to the South Carolina side,
when a freshet of unprecedented height raised the river so suddenly that
it swept away the bridge, overflowed Hutchinson Island, and carried off
a lot of wagons and mules that were just about to start. The freshet
came before there had been a drop of rain in our vicinity; but it began
to rain immediately after, and it seemed as though it would never stop.
The country everywhere became a perfect quagmire, and a dry spot was
hard to find.

Slowly we proceeded up the east side of the Savannah River, the
remainder of Sherman's army following on the right side. On the 29th,
at Robertsville, we encountered a strong force of Wheeler's Cavalry,
which delayed our column for a short time. Our Regiment was sent to the
front to drive them off. The two right companies, under command of
Captain Haskins, deployed as skirmishers, and soon swept the enemy away
like chaff before the wind. On the 30th we opened communications with
Sherman at Sister's Ferry, where he had brought the remainder of his
army across into South Carolina.

We now left Savannah River, marching almost directly north. Profiting by
our previous experiences, we early organized a foraging party of four
men from each company. They had permission to mount themselves with
captured animals as soon as possible. In a short time they not only had
mounts, but sufficient pack animals to carry several days' provisions
for the Regiment. The first time they came into camp they presented a
motley appearance, riding horses and mules, and displaying every variety
of saddle and harness known to man. But they were soon as well mounted
as the cavalry, and had transportation and equipment for any service. As
we marched northward, the enemy's cavalry became more and more active
on our flanks, so that our foragers were compelled to unite for
protection. Our detail and that from the Second Massachusetts, under
Lieutenant Thompson, were united almost from the start.

The low ground and the constant rains made marching so difficult that we
rarely covered more than twelve miles in a day. Much of the way we were
obliged to corduroy the roads for the trains. For this purpose we used
fence rails when they were to be had; when there were none, we cut
timber and brush. Reaching the Charleston & Augusta Railroad at Graham
Station on February 7, we spent the next four days in destroying the
tracks toward Augusta.

While we were in camp at Graham Station, Colonel Hawley, who now
commanded our Brigade, and General Slocum, our Corps commander, had an
argument as to the best method of tearing up a railroad track. Hawley
contended that it was best to line up the men along the track, and at
the word of command have them pick it up and turn it over. Slocum
protested that this could not be done. A bet was made of a bottle of
Apollinaris water, or something else, and Hawley sent for his old
Regiment to try the experiment. When the order came to fall in without
arms, our men were cooking their supper. Captain Woodford of Hawley's
staff went along the line, while we were forming, and explained that the
Colonel had made a bet as to what the Regiment could do. We were soon
lined up along the track, and the command was given to take hold and
lift. In the hands of those brawny men, that railroad was a plaything.
It went over so fast, that some of the staff officers who had gathered
to watch the performance, had to move lively to escape the flying rails
and ties.[2]

[2] A detailed description of the manner of destroying railroad track
during Sherman's Campaign is given by Gen. H. W. Slocum, "Sherman's
March from Savannah to Bentonville," in _Century Magazine_ Old Series,
xxxiv, p. 930.

From Graham Station we marched northward through constant rain and mud,
subsisting entirely on the country, without drawing rations except
coffee or sugar, and generally we had plenty to eat; corn meal and bacon
constituted our usual bill of fare. The army was in fine spirits. In
thus picking up a living in such a country, where the only products of
the soil seemed to be tar and rosin, and pitch pines the only visible
vegetation, they felt confident of their ability to find a living
anywhere.

Our Corps did not enter Columbia, but crossed the Saluda River about ten
miles above. The Fifteenth and Seventeenth Corps of the Army of the
Tennessee occupied the city, and destroyed everything in it. They
released about sixty Union officers who were confined there; and between
them and the soldiers and the whiskey that was found Columbia soon
ceased to exist. Scarcely a private residence, even, was left. The only
thing that would not burn was the new state-house, said to have been the
finest in the Union, and this was mined and blown up. South Carolina was
having a bitter taste of the horrors of war.

On February 21 we struck at Winnsboro the railroad running between
Columbia and Charlotteville; and following this northward for a
distance, destroyed it as we went along. Then turning toward the
northeast, by way of Rocky Mount, Hanging Rock, and Chesterfield, we
marched to Fayetteville, North Carolina.

During the entire march from Columbia to Fayetteville we had but three
pleasant days; the rain was almost continuous. Our road, most of the
way, was through swamps and creeks, where bridges had to be built and
roads corduroyed. Frequently, from early morning until midnight, we
worked in rain and mud to get our trains along for six or eight miles.
The rough work soon wore out our clothing--many of the men were
barefooted; many were wearing citizen's dress; the whole army looked
more like Falstaff's ragged regiment than soldiers of the United States.
But we met little opposition from the enemy. The spirit of four years
before seemed to have been beaten out of them. We felt that the only
Confederate troops that would still give us serious fighting, were those
with Lee at Richmond.

Arriving at Fayetteville on March 12, we once more opened communication
with the fleet, by way of Wilmington and Cape Fear River. On the 15th we
set out on our way to Goldsboro, and the first night went early into
camp, about ten miles from Fayetteville. At eight o'clock, however, we
were sent out again into a dark and stormy night to go to the assistance
of General Kilpatrick's Cavalry, which had met the enemy. For five miles
we waded through mud and water to the place of danger, and bivouacked
for the night in line, facing the enemy. In the morning we had some
sharp skirmishing, but in the afternoon the enemy were driven from their
position.

On the 19th General Carlin's Division of the Fourteenth Corps was
attacked and thrown into confusion by General Joe Johnston's army near
Bentonville. Our Brigade was rapidly pushed forward with a number of
others, and formed in line of battle near the left of the Corps. The
enemy made several attacks, the brunt of which fell upon the troops to
the right, and then retreated. This battle, which the Union Army
nicknamed the Battle of Acorn Run, in compliment to the badge of the
Fourteenth Corps, was the last in which our Regiment was engaged during
the war.

On the 22nd, we advanced once more, and found that the enemy was gone.
Two days later we arrived at Goldsboro, and occupied the city without
opposition. On the 27th, for the first time since we had left Savannah,
rations were issued to the troops.

_Peace_

We began the last campaign of the war on April 10, entering Raleigh on
the 13th without resistance. The next day we again began to organize our
foraging parties, and to make preparations for a campaign back through
Georgia. During the day, however, everything was changed. General
Johnston, following Lee's surrender on April 9, had sent in asking for
terms.

On April 20 I wrote home the following letter:

                            CAMP OF THE 3RD WIS. VET. INFTY.
                                 RALEIGH, N. C., APRIL 20, 1864.

    My Dear ----:

    The Angel of Peace has spread his wings over our country once more.
    The glad tidings were announced to the army last night by General
    Sherman in general orders. As soon as the agreement which he had
    made with General Johnston and higher authorities could be ratified
    at Washington, peace would be restored from the Potomac to the Rio
    Grande. It was a glorious day for us who have seen the thing through
    from the beginning to the end. General Sherman also says that he
    expects "soon to have the pleasure of conducting this army to its
    homes," and I believe that within six weeks you will see me in
    Chicago "home from the wars."

    I don't know just exactly what the terms of surrender are, but it is
    the opinion of high officers that no troops will be needed for
    garrison duty in the South. The rebels have been so completely
    whipped that they will never want to try another rebellion. I
    understand that Jeff. made no stipulation for his personal safety,
    but said he was willing to take his trial before the courts, and
    trust to the mercy of the American people. The only difficulty in
    the negotiations was on the question of the confiscation of landed
    property, and I have not learned how that was arranged. But I
    believe that we have been so completely victorious that we can
    afford to be merciful, and that a general amnesty will do more to
    cement the Union than the most rigorous punishment. The punishment
    that the South has already endured is like Cain's "greater than they
    can bear." The destruction of life in this war in the South has been
    terrible.

    The news that Johnston had asked for terms on which to surrender his
    army was published on the 16th. On the morning of the 17th a gloom
    was thrown over the whole army by the announcement of the
    assassination of the President, which was reported to have occurred
    on the 11th. I never saw such a gloomy, sad time since I have been
    in the army as that. I don't think we knew how much we did think of
    him until then. Many expressed the opinion that if it had been Andy
    Johnson and Stanton, it would not have been much of a calamity. The
    next day we had New York papers of the 14th which made no mention of
    the murder, and we all thought we had been hoaxed. Then the
    explanation was made that the operator at Morehead City had made an
    error, and that the assassination had been on the 14th instead of
    the 11th, and now I hardly know what to believe about it. We shall
    probably get more news today.

    We are about to move our camp, and now for the first time comfort
    instead of safety is considered in the selection. Just think of it!
    I can hardly realize it. No more skirmishing, no more digging
    trenches and building breastworks, no more whistling bullets,
    rattling grape-shot, or screaming shells, no more friends and
    comrades to be killed or wounded.

    I don't know what has become of all my letters lately. The mail has
    come in here three times, and I have not had a letter. My last
    letters were dated in February, except one from * * * of March 7. I
    suppose they will all come in a heap one of these days. * * * The
    weather is very fine though almost too warm. We have occasional
    showers, and vegetation is growing fine. This part of North Carolina
    is very fine country and crops look well.

    A great many of Lee's paroled army are coming in here, and they seem
    more pleased at being whipped or at getting home than we do at
    having gained a victory. Some of them say they cheered louder when
    they surrendered than Grant's army when they captured them.

Our camps were now overrun with citizens and paroled Confederate
soldiers, who were hunting for horses that they had lost; some of them
had come as far as sixty or seventy miles. We gave them all the spare
horses that we had, for we knew that the Government would have to help
them in some way to keep them from starvation. We also issued to them
large quantities of rations, for there was nothing eatable left in all
the track of Sherman's army. On the 29th, general orders were issued
announcing the formal surrender of Johnston's army.

_Homeward_

On the next day began the march to Washington. We entered Richmond on
May 11, and on the 15th camped near the old battle-field of
Chancellorsville. On the 24th we marched into Washington, where the
Union army passed in review before all the dignitaries of our Nation,
the representatives of foreign lands, and the immense throngs of people
who had gathered from far and near to see Sherman's veterans. For this
review, we selected from our Regiment, eight companies of thirty-two men
each--the best drilled soldiers that we had. It was my place to ride in
the rear of the Regiment as it marched down Pennsylvania Avenue, and no
command made a better show than ours. From the Capitol to the reviewing
stand, the marching and wheeling were simply perfect.

We now went into camp near Bladensburg, where all of the men whose terms
of service expired before October 1 were mustered out and sent home. On
June 6, General Hawley issued his farewell order to the old Brigade.
When it was broken up on the next day, the officers of the Second
Massachusetts sent to the officers of our regiment the formal expression
of the feeling with which they parted from us. We replied in a similar
letter. Even now, after a lapse of twenty-six years, it stirs the blood
to read these two messages.[3]

[3] This correspondence was as follows:

                            Second Massachusetts Infantry,
                               Camp Slocum, Washington, D. C, June 4,
                                    1865.

    We, the undersigned, officers of the Second Massachusetts Infantry,
    wish to express to the officers of the Third Wisconsin Infantry our
    heartfelt regret that the fortunes of the service are about to
    separate our respective organizations.

    From the campaign of 1862, in the Shenandoah Valley to the present
    glorious close of this bloody war, we have fought and marched side
    by side with you in almost every rebellious state. To have been
    brigaded together for so long a time is in itself remarkable; no less
    so is it that between our two regiments there should always have
    existed such strong feelings of friendship and mutual regard, untinged
    by the slightest shadow of jealousy.

    As we recall now, some of the hard positions we have been in, we
    cannot help remembering how often our anxiety was lessened by the
    knowledge that the old Third Wisconsin was close at hand to support
    us. We know that you have had the same thoughts about us. Nothing in
    this whole war will be pleasanter for us to look back upon than this
    feeling of mutual respect and reliance. It not only elevated the tone
    of both our regiments, but we honestly believe, it went a great way
    toward making our brigade and division what they are now acknowledged
    to be--among the very best organizations of the army.

    We assure you that in our own State, wherever the Second Massachusetts
    is known, its brother regiment is also famous. Whenever any of us
    have been at home, among the first inquiries would be, "How is the
    Third Wisconsin?" It has been with pride that we have answered, "It is
    the same staunch old regiment that fought at Antietam and
    Chancellorsville."

    These are not compliments but expressions of plain, honest feelings.
    We have been knit together by deeds not words; deeds, which, as time
    goes on, we shall look back upon with continually increasing pride.

    Together we have shared dangers and hardships, victories and defeats;
    and it is hard now for us to part; but in the natural order of things,
    the war being over, you go towards your homes in the west, we stay near
    ours in the east. Let us not, however, though separated by thousands of
    miles, forget these old associations. Let us rather cherish them with
    the fondest recollections: let it be a story to hand down to our
    children and children's children, how the Second Massachusetts and
    Third Wisconsin fought shoulder to shoulder through the great
    rebellion, and achieved together glory and renown. We ask you to accept
    this testimonial as a slight evidence of our affection and esteem. We
    bid you farewell, and God bless you, one and all,

    C. F. Morse, Lieutenant Colonel, Com.; James Francis, Major; C. E.
        Munn, Surgeon; John A. Fox, Adjutant; E. A. Hawes, Quartermaster;
        Captains--Daniel Oakey, F. W. Crowninshield, E. A. Phalen, George
        A. Thayer, Theodore K. Parker, Dennis Mehan, Henry N. Comey,
        William E. Perkins; First Lieutenants--George J. Thompson, Jesse
        Richardson, Moses P. Richardson, William T. McAlpine, Jed C.
        Thompson, William D. Toombs.

                                 Third Wisconsin V. V. Infantry,
                                   Camp Slocum, near Washington, D. C.
                                           June 7, 1865.

    To the officers of the Second Massachusetts Veteran Volunteer
        Infantry:

    The undersigned, officers of the Third Wisconsin Veteran Volunteer
    Infantry, tender their heartfelt thanks for your friendly communication
    of the 4th inst. It was with mingled feelings of pride and pleasure,
    not, however, unmixed with pain, that we perused it--pride at being
    thus associated with a regiment, which by patient endurance, good
    discipline, and unflinching bravery, has won for itself so honorable a
    name as the Second Massachusetts; pleasure at the thought that, even
    amid the stirring scenes of active war, the finer attributes of
    humanity are not forgotten, and that friendship, one of the noblest
    sentiments of the soul, still asserts her claims; pain at the
    recollection of the many gallant and brave, whose names have been
    associated with yours in the great struggle now happily terminated,
    but who have given their lives for a country they loved so well.

    That "every rose has its thorn" was never more apparent to us than
    now. While in the toil and suffering of our active campaigns, we have
    looked forward with unmixed joy to the time when the angel of peace
    should once more spread her wings over the land, and we should return
    home to enjoy the sweets of social and civil life, but now that the
    hour is at hand when we must say farewell to those with whom we have
    been associated in the service of our common country, when we must join
    the parting hand with you, our companions and brothers in arms, our joy
    is mingled with sadness and our smiles with tears.

    We accept your communication, not only as a manifestation of personal
    regard, but also as a fraternal greeting from the east to the west,
    which rising superior to local jealousies and factional strife, and
    remembering only the mingled dust of our dead on many battlefields, and
    the common country for which they sacrificed their all, proclaims us,
    in heart and in country, one and inseparable.

    In parting, we assure you that, highly as we prize this expression of
    sentiment toward us, and sacredly as we will preserve it as the highest
    honor yet received, it is not needed to secure remembrance. The
    ineffaceable pictures of the past deeply engraven in our hearts, and
    lit up by the eternal flame of friendship will ever keep the Second
    Massachusetts Veteran Volunteer Infantry prominent among our pleasing
    memories in the future.

    Wishing you all success and happiness and Heaven's best blessing, we
    bid you farewell. We are, brothers, yours fraternally,

    George W. Stevenson, Lieutenant-Colonel; Warham Parks, Major; J. G.
        Conley, Surgeon; T. J. Kopff, Assistant Surgeon; A. C. Taylor,
        Adjutant; J. T. Marvin, Quartermaster; I. E. Springer, Chaplain.
        Captains--Ralph Van Brunt, Julian W. Hinckley, N. Daniels, E.
        Giddings, A. D. Haskins, C. R. Barager, J. Woodford, John M.
        Schweers, John E. Kleven. First Lieutenants--Stephen Lieurance,
        Oliver A. Hegg, J. D. Goodrich, John Agnew, John B. Du Bois, Abner
        Hubbell, J. D. Babcock, W. W. Freeman, George H. Cutter. Second
        Lieutenants--E. V. Moran, Lewis Colby, Edwin F. Proctor, Elon G.
        Biers, David Clark, A. S. Hill.

The Western veteran regiments still had work before them, and were not
mustered out. They were organized as a provisional Brigade under
Hawley's command, and ordered to Louisville, Kentucky. Our Regiment left
the east on June 11, travelling by way of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad
to Parkersburg, and then down the Ohio River to Louisville. Here the
Regiment was filled up with men from other Wisconsin commands, that were
mustered out of service, until we had about 1,500 on our muster rolls.
It was rumored, and in fact intended, that we should go to Mexico to
drive out the French. The programme was entirely changed, however, when
news came of the voluntary withdrawal of the French soldiers, and
orders were issued to muster out our Regiment.

A considerable number of our old veterans did not want to go home. A
company was made up of those who wished to enter the services of the
Juarez government in Mexico--at least they wished to go, if I would go
in command. I was not quite ready, however, to become a soldier of
fortune. When our duty to the Federal Government had been accomplished,
I was as anxious as any to be mustered out of the army of war, and
return to the army of peace.

INDEX

  Agnew, Lieut. John, of Third Wisconsin, 180.

  Alexandria (Va.), 92, 93, 95; Army of Potomac at, 45.

  Ames, Gen. Adelbert, commands expedition, 79.

  ARMIES--
    Cumberland, Third Wisconsin joins, 97;
      reorganized, 115;
      at New Hope Church, 125.
    Hood's, plunders Atlanta, 142.
    Jackson's, at Chancellorsville, 71.
    Johnston's, at Bentonville, 172;
       surrenders, 114, 176.
    Northern Virginia, 39, 81;
      battleflags captured, 91;
      paroled, 176.
    Potomac, 17, 39, 41, 64, 66, 117, 159;
      at Washington, 46;
      consolidated, 115;
      Third Wisconsin leaves, 97.
    Sherman's, 176;
      advance, 116;
      at Atlanta, 143;
      Savannah, 157;
      in South Carolina, 158;
      Georgia, 166.
    Tennessee, 122, 133, 146;
      destroys Columbia, 170.
    Thomas's, opposes Hood, 147.
    Western, successful, 17.
    Western Virginia, 38, 43.

  Atlanta (Ga.), 112, 143, 163, 164;
    exposed, 131;
    march to, 116;
    besieged, 131-141;
    evacuated, 140, 147;
    Union army near, 129, 142, 145;
    destroyed, 146, 147.

  Augur, Gen. Christopher C., at Cedar Mountain, 33.

  Augusta (Ga.), 168;
    Slocum marches toward, 147.

  Augusta Railroad, destroyed, 147, 148.

  Babcock, Lieut. Justin D., of Third Wisconsin, 180.

  Baltimore (Md.), threatened, 93.

  Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, 98, 180.

  Banks, Gen. Nathaniel P., 14, 45;
    commands corps 30, 31;
    retreats, 23, 25, 27, 28;
    protects Winchester, 29;
    at Cedar Mountain, 32, 33, 38;
    criticized, 37.

  Barager, Capt. Charles R., of Third Wisconsin, 180;
    wounded, 132;
    in Sherman's campaign, 157, 160.

  BATTLES--
    Acorn Run, 172.
    Antietam, 51-63, 70, 94, 178.
    Bentonville, 172.
    Bolivar Heights, 13.
    Cassville, 122.
    Catoctin Mountains, 48.
    Chancellorsville, 69-77, 177, 178.
    Chantilly, 44.
    Chickamauga, 100, 116.
    Dallas, 122-126.
    Fort Donelson, 14.
    Fort Henry, 14.
    Fredericksburg, 64, 76.
    Gettysburg, 82-89, 94.
    Jonesboro, 141.
    Kettle Run, 42.
    Lookout Mountain, 102.
    Manassas, 42, 43.
    Missionary Ridge, 102.
    Monteith Swamp, 153, 154.
    Murfreesboro, 99.
    New Hope Church, 122-126.
    Peach Tree Creek, 129, 134.
    Pumpkinvine Creek, 126.
    Resaca, 117-122.
    Roanoke Island, 14.
    Somerset, 14.
    South Mountain, 50, 51.
    Winchester, 18, 19.

  Bealeton Station (Va.), 79, 97.

  Bentonville (N. C.), Sherman at, 169.

  Benwood (W. Va.), 98.

  Bertram, Capt. Henry, at Bolivar Heights, 12, 13.

  Biers, Lieut. Elon G., of Third Wisconsin, 180.

  Birney, Gen. David B., at Chancellorsville, 71, 74.

  Bladensburg (Md.), army encamped near, 177.

  Blanchard, Lieut. Edward L., wounded, 132.

  Bolivar Heights (Va.), 15. See also Battles.

  Boone, ----, Confederate officer, 107, 108.

  Boone, Daniel, grandson captured, 107.

  Boonsborough (Md.), 50, 51.

  Bostwick (Ga.), lumber destroyed, 152.

  Bragg, Gen. Braxton, reënforced, 96.

  Brandy Station (Va.), 79, 97.

  Bridgeport (Ala.), 100, 116.

  Bristoe Station (Va.), cars burned at, 43.

  Brixey, Capt. Calvin, murders citizen, 114;
    killed, 115.

  Broad Run (Va.), 43.

  Brodhead, Col. Thornton F., death, 38.

  Brown, John, at Harpers Ferry, 10;
    hung, 16.

  Brown, Gov. Joseph E., releases convicts, 149.

  Buck, Capt. Wilson S., wounded, 154.

  Buena Vista (Wis.), school at, 1.

  Buffalo (N. Y.), reception at, 8.

  Bull Run (Va.), 44. See also Battles: Manassas.

  Butterfield, Gen. Daniel, in skirmish, 118.

  Burnside, Gen. Ambrose E., at Roanoke Island, 14;
    removed, 64.

  Camp Randall (Wis.), 120.

  Camp Slocum (Washington, D. C.), 178, 179.

  Carlin, Gen. William P., at Bentonville, 172.

  Cassville (Ga.), occupied, 122.

  Cemetery Ridge (Pa.), 83;
    charge on, 87.
    See also Battles: Gettysburg.

  Centerville (Va.), 44, 81.

  _Century Magazine_, 169.

  Chancellor House (Va.), 70, 72, 73, 76.

  Charleston (S. C.), 146, 153.

  Charleston & Augusta Railroad, destroyed, 168.

  Charlestown (Va.), 13, 16.

  Charlotteville (S. C.), railroad destroyed, 170.

  Chattanooga (Tenn.), 101;
    campaign at, 97, 100, 107, 127, 146.

  Chesterfield (S. C.), 171.

  Chicago (Ill.), 7, 174.

  Chilcote, Judge ----, murdered, 114.

  Chippewa Indians, in Wisconsin regiment, 143;
    at Sandersville, 151.

  Clark, Capt. Andrew, commands militia, 3.

  Clark, Lieut. David B., of Third Wisconsin, 180.

  Cleveland (Ohio), 7.

  Colby, Lieut. Lewis, of Third Wisconsin, 180.

  Colgrove, Col. Silas, at Chancellorsville, 75.

  Collins, Joseph, killed, 61.

  Columbia (S. C.), 170, 171.

  Columbus (Ohio), reception at, 98.

  Comey, Capt. Henry N., of Second Massachusetts, 179.

  Conley, Surg. J. Griffin, of Third Wisconsin, 125, 126, 180.

  Connecticut, 97;
    Fifth Regiment, 23.

  Cooper, Judge Henry, appeals to Lincoln, 108.

  CORPS--
    First (Sigel's), 30, at Cedar Mountain, 36;
      (Hooker's), at Antietam, 52;
      Gettysburg, 83, 86.
    Second, at Gettysburg, 87.
    Third (McDowell's), 30;
      at Cedar Mountain, 36;
      (Heintzelman's), 42;
      (Sickles's), at Gettysburg, 84, 85.
    Fourth, defeated, 117.
    Fifth (Banks's), 30;
      (Porter's), 42;
      at Chancellorsville, 66, 71.
    Sixth (Franklin's), 51, 62;
      (Sedgwick's), at Fredericksburg, 76.
    Ninth (Burnside's), at Catoctin Mountains, 48.
    Eleventh, 97, 100, 115;
      at Chancellorsville, 66, 69, 71;
      Gettysburg, 83.
    Twelfth, 78, 81, 91, 115;
      at Chancellorsville, 66, 69, 89;
      Gettysburg, 89.
    Fourteenth, at Bentonville, 172.
    Fifteenth, destroys Columbia, 170.
    Seventeenth, destroys Columbia, 170.
    Twentieth, 115, 128, 133, 134, 135, 139, 147;
      in Atlanta campaign, 131, 138, 141, 144;
      Savannah campaign, 170;
      at New Hope Church, 125;
      Peach Tree Creek, 129, 134, 135.
    Twenty-Third, 119.
    For Confederate Corps, see names of commanders.

  Crane, Lieut. Col. Louis H., at Cedar Mountain, 32;
    killed, 34, 35.

  Crawford, Gen. Samuel W., at Cedar Mountain, 32-34.

  CREEKS--
    Antietam, 51, 63.
    Buffalo, 150.
    Cedar Run, 20, 32, 35.
    Chattanooga, 153.
    Peach Tree, 129.
    Rock, 83, 85, 87.

  Crowninshield, Capt. Francis W., of Second Massachusetts, 179.

  Culpeper (Va.), 37, 38.

  Culpeper Court House (Va.), 32, 46.

  Cumberland (Md.), 82.

  Cutter, Lieut. George H., of Third Wisconsin, 180.

  Dallas, (Ga.), 122. See also Battles.

  Daniels, Capt. Nahum, of Third Wisconsin, 180.

  Darnestown (Md.), 11, 47.

  Davis, Col. ----, killed, 79.

  Davis, Jefferson, 166;
    surrenders, 174.

  Dayton (Ohio), 98.

  Donnelly, Col. Dudley, commands brigade, 24, 26.

  Douglas, Stephen A., presidential candidate, 151.

  Du Bois, Lieut. John B., of Third Wisconsin, 180.

  Edwards Ferry (Md.), crossed, 47.

  Englishmen, in Wisconsin regiment, 143.

  Erie (Pa.), 7.

  Fairfax Station (Va.), winter camp at, 64.

  Falling Waters (Md.), 90.

  Fayetteville (Tenn.), 108, 111, 112, 114, 115, 120;
    county seat, 105.

  Fayetteville (N. C.), 171, 172.

  Fond du Lac (Wis.), 5, 6.

  FORDS--
    Beverly, 40;
      crossed, 79, 80.
    Germanna, skirmish at, 66-69.
    Kelly's, crossed, 66.
    Raccoon, 96.
    United States, 69.

  FORTS--
    Donelson, 14.
    Henry, 14.
    McHenry, 11.
    Sumter, surrenders, 3.

  Fox, Adj. John A., of Second Massachusetts, 179.

  Francis, Maj. James, of Second Massachusetts, 179.

  Franklin, Gen. William B., at Harpers Ferry, 52;
    Antietam, 62.

  Frederick City (Md.), 12, 14, 47-49;
    capital, 11;
    cemetery at, 13.

  Fredericksburg (Va.), skirmish at, 70.

  Freeman, Lieut. William W., of Third Wisconsin, 180.

  Frémont, Gen. John C., 29.

  French, in Wisconsin regiment, 143; in Mexico, 180, 181.

  Fritchie, Barbara, displays flag, 48, 49.

  Front Royal (Va.), 22, 29, 30.

  Furlong, John, killed, 161.

  GAPS--
    Chester, 30.
    Snake Creek, 117.
    Snicker's, 18.

  Gardner, Capt. Silas E., investigates murder, 115.

  Geary, Gen. John W., 148;
    at Bolivar Heights, 12;
    Chancellorsville, 73;
    Gettysburg, 89;
    New Hope Church, 122.

  Georgetown (Md.), 45.

  Georgia, 96, 115, 149;
    secession, 151;
    regiment from, 121;
    campaign in, 173;
    restored, 152.

  Georgia Central Railroad, destroyed, 151.

  Germans, in Wisconsin regiment, 143.

  Giddings, Capt. Ephraim, of Third Wisconsin, 180.

  Goldsboro (N. C.), 171;
    occupied, 173.

  Goodrich, Lieut. John D., of Third Wisconsin, 180.

  Gordon, Col. George H., commands brigade, 18, 24.

  Graham Station (S. C.), 168, 169.

  Grant, Gen. Ulysses S., 14, 176.

  Greene, Gen. George S., at Gettysburg, 86.

  Hagerstown (Md.), 8.

  Hamilton, Gen. Charles S., commands brigade, 18.

  Hanging Rock (S. C.), 171.

  Harpers Ferry (Va.), 9, 10, 62, 63, 91;
    expedition to, 12;
    surrenders, 52.

  Harrisonburg (Va.), 21.

  Haskins, Capt. Alexander D., of Third Wisconsin, 180;
    at Robertsville, 167.

  Hawes, Q. M. Edwin A., of Second Massachusetts, 179.

  Hawley, Gen. William, 115;
    wounded, 34;
    commands brigade, 168, 180;
    at New Hope Church, 124, 125;
    Atlanta, 131;
    Savannah, 160, 161;
    in Carolina campaign, 169;
    farewell order, 177.

  Hazel Grove (Va.), skirmish at, 70, 74.

  Hegg, Lieut. Oliver A., of Third Wisconsin, 180.

  Heintzelman, Gen. Samuel P., commands corps, 42.

  Hill, Lieut. Algie S., of Third Wisconsin, 180.

  Hinckley, Capt. Julian W., 180;
    early life, 1;
    promoted, 5, 16, 64;
    wounded, 124-127.

  Hood, Gen. John B., 152;
    at New Hope Church, 122;
    Peach
    Tree Creek, 129;
    Atlanta, 138, 139, 142;
    Jonesboro, 141;
    in Nashville campaign, 143, 146, 147.

  Hooker, Gen. Joseph, commands army, 64;
    corps, 115;
    superseded, 82;
    at Antietam, 52, 57;
    Chancellorsville, 69, 70, 76;
    Chattanooga, 100;
    New Hope Church, 125;
    resigns, 134, 135;
    characterized, 133-135, 140.

  Howard, Gen. Oliver O., 117;
    commands army wing, 147;
    Army of Tennessee, 133, 134.

  Hubbell, Lieut. Abner, of Third Wisconsin, 180.

  Hunter, Capt. James W., wounded, 126, 127;
    death, 128.

  Ijamsville (Md.), 47.

  Indiana, 98;
    Twenty-Seventh Regiment, 24, 25;
    at Antietam, 55, 57, 61;
    Chancellorsville, 75.

  Indianapolis (Ind.), 98.

  Irish, in Wisconsin regiment, 143.

  ISLANDS--
    Argyle, 157;
      described, 156.
    Hutchinson, 164, 166.
    Johnson's, military prison on, 108.

  Jackson, Gen. Thomas J. (Stonewall), 17, 20-22;
    at Kernstown, 19;
    Chancellorsville, 71, 74;
    killed, 73.

  Jefferson, Thomas, cited, 11.

  Jefferson Rock (Va.), visited, 10.

  Johnson, Andrew, 175.

  Johnson, Hon. Herschel V., sketch, 151, 152.

  Johnston, Gen. Joseph E., superseded, 129;
    at Bentonville, 172;
    surrenders, 114, 173, 174, 176.

  Jonesboro (Ga.), 141, 143.

  Juarez, Benito P., service with, 181.

  Keedysville (Md.), 50.

  Kelly's Ferry (Tenn.), 101.

  Kelly's Ferry (Va.), 92, 96.

  Kernstown (Va.), skirmish at, 19.

  Ketcham, Col. John H., assesses damages, 106.

  Kettle Run (Va.), 43;
    skirmish at, 42.

  Kilpatrick, Gen. Hugh J., at Falling Waters, 90;
    skirmish, 172.

  Kingston (Ga.), 127.

  Kleven, Capt. John E., 180;
    at Monteith Swamp, 154.

  Kopff, Asst. Surg. Thomas, of Third Wisconsin, 180.

  Lee, Gen. Robert E., 96, 97;
    at Rappahannock River, 39;
    Richmond, 171;
    surrenders, 173, 176.

  Leesburg (Va.), executions at, 81.

  Lewis, Gov. James T., 120.

  Libby prison, 29.

  Lieurance, Lieut. Stephen, of Third Wisconsin, 180.

  Limbocker, Capt. George W., 25, 26.

  Lincoln, President Abraham, 166;
    call for troops, 3;
    at Maryland Heights, 63;
    pardons, 109;
    appoints Howard, 134;
    votes for, 146;
    assassinated, 175.

  Lincoln County (Tenn.), 105;
    guerrillas in, 106, 114;
    reorganized, 109-111.

  Little Round Top (Pa.), 84. See also Battles: Gettysburg.

  Little Washington (Va.), 31.

  Losses: at Bolivar Heights, 13;
    Winchester, 19, 20;
    in retreat to Martinsburg, 29;
    Cedar Mountain, 34-36;
    Antietam, 60-63;
    Gettysburg, 89;
    New Hope Church, 126;
    Peach Tree Creek, 129, 134, 135.

  Louisville (Ky.), 98, 145, 180.

  Lynchburg (Tenn.), birthplace of David Crockett, 105.

  McAlpine, Lieut. William T., of Second Massachusetts, 179.

  McClellan, Gen. George B., 15, 47;
    arrests legislature, 11;
    retreats, 39;
    reappointed, 46;
    removed, 64;
    votes for, 146.

  McDowell, Gen. Irvin, commands corps, 30;
    at Cedar Mountain, 36;
    criticized, 38;
    removed, 46.

  McIntyre, Capt. James B., mustering officer, 6.

  Macon (Ga.), march toward, 147.

  Macon Railroad, captured, 141.

  McPherson, Gen. James B., killed, 133.

  Madison (Ga.), 148.

  Madison (Wis.), 4, 104, 120;
    veterans at, 105.

  Maine, Tenth Regiment, at Cedar Mountain, 35.

  Manassas Junction (Va.), 18, 41, 81. See also Battles.

  Mansfield, Gen. Joseph K., commands corps, 47.

  Marietta (Ga.), 122.

  Marvin, Q. M. Joseph T., of Third Wisconsin, 180.

  Martinsburg (W. Va.), retreat to, 27;
    confederates at, 81.

  Maryland, legislature arrested, 11;
    Lee enters, 47;
    plundered, 51.

  Maryland Heights (Md.), 10;
    Lincoln at, 63.

  Massachusetts, Second Regiment, 18, 25, 77, 78;
    letter of, 177-179;
    letter to, 179;
    at Antietam, 55, 61;
    Germanna Ford, 69;
    Raccoon Ford, 96;
    Atlanta, 136;
    in South Carolina, 162, 168;
    Twelfth Regiment, at Bolivar Heights, 12.

  Meade, Gen. George G., commands Army of Potomac, 82.

  Mehan, Capt. Dennis, of Second Massachusetts, 179.

  "Merrimac," Third Wisconsin embarks on, 93.

  Mexico, 180, 181.

  Michigan, First Cavalry, 27.

  Middleton (Md.), 50.

  Miles, Col. Dixon S., surrenders Harpers Ferry, 52.

  Milledgeville (Ga.), 150;
    capital city, 148;
    arsenal destroyed at, 149.

  Millen (Ga.), railroad destroyed, 153.

  Millen & Augusta Railroad, destroyed, 153.

  Miller, ----, captured, 108.

  Miller, Mrs. ----, secures aid, 108.

  "Mississippi," Third Wisconsin embarks on, 95.

  Monroe (Wis.), 120.

  Monteith Station (Ga.), mail captured, at, 154.

  Montgomery (Ala.), confederate capital, 1.

  Moran, Lieut. Edward V., of Third Wisconsin, 180.

  Morehead City (N. C.), 175.

  Morse, Lieut. Col. Charles F., of Second Massachusetts, 179;
    at Atlanta, 136.

  MOUNTAINS--
    Blue Ridge, 18, 30, 92.
    Catoctin, 49;
      skirmish at, 48;
      crossed, 50.
    Cedar, 32.
    Lookout, 101.
    South, crossed, 50.

  Mulberry (Tenn.), 105.

  Munn, Surg. Curtis E., of Second Massachusetts, 179.

  Murfreesboro (Tenn.), 99.

  Nashville (Tenn.), 98, 99;
    military governor at, 109.

  Nashville & Chattanooga Railroad, described, 99.

  New Jersey, Thirteenth Regiment, 96;
    transferred, 47;
    at Chancellorsville, 73;
    Atlanta, 133, 135.

  New Market (Va.), manoeuver at, 21.

  New York (City), 65, 92, 95, 175;
    draft riot, 93.

  New York (State), draft riot, 94;
    regiment, deserters executed, 81;
    First Artillery, at Gettysburg, 87;
      Savannah, 157;
    Ninth Regiment, transferred, 18;
    Twenty-Eighth Regiment, 23;
    One Hundred Seventh Regiment, transferred, 47;
      at Milledgeville, 148;
    One Hundred Forty-Fifth Regiment, 103;
    One Hundred Fiftieth Regiment, 106, 130.

  Nickajack Pass (Ga.), crossed, 116.

  North Carolina, described, 176.

  Norwegians, in Wisconsin regiment, 143.

  Oakey, Capt. Daniel A., of Second Massachusetts, 179.

  O'Brien, Capt. Moses, killed, 35, 36.

  Ohio, trip through, 98.

  Orton, Capt. Thomas E., wounded, 132.

  "Paint Rock", captured steamer, 100.

  Parker, Capt. Theodore K., of Second Massachusetts, 179.

  Parkersburg (W. Va.), 180.

  Parks, Maj. Warham, of Third Wisconsin, 180.

  Pennsylvania, invaded, 81, 91, 93;
    Twenty-Eighth Regiment, at Bolivar Heights, 12;
    Twenty-Ninth Regiment, retreats, 24;
      officers discharged, 128.

  Perkins, Capt. William E., of Second Massachusetts, 179.

  Persons, Surg. Horace T., of First Wisconsin Cavalry, 127.

  Phalen, Capt. Edward A., of Second Massachusetts, 179.

  Pickett, Gen. George E., charge at Gettysburg, 88, 89.

  Pope, Gen. John, commands army, 30;
    criticized, 31, 37, 38;
    retreats, 38;
    at Manassas, 43;
    removed, 46.

  Portage County (Wis.), 1.

  Porter, Gen. Fitz John, commands corps, 42.

  Price, Col. Edward L., court martialed, 103.

  PRISONS--
    Fort McHenry, 11.
    Johnson's Island, 109.
    Libby, 29.

  Proctor, Lieut. Edwin F., of Third Wisconsin, 180.

  Raleigh (N. C.), campaign, 114, 173.

  Rappahannock Station (Va.), 92.

  "Red Star" Division, guards railroad track, 99.

  Resaca (Ga.), enemy abandon, 122.

  "Resolute", armed tender, captured, 157, 158.

  Richardson, Lieut. Moses P., of Second Massachusetts, 179.

  Richardson, Lieut. Jesse, of Second Massachusetts, 179.

  Richmond (Va.), campaign against, 117;
    Lee at, 171;
    Union army, 176.

  RIVERS--
    Cape Fear, 171.
    Chattahoochee, 128, 137-139;
      crossed, 129.
    Elk, 106.
    Etowah, crossed, 122.
    Monocacy, enemy at, 48.
    Oconee, 148.
    Ohio, 180;
      crossed, 98.
    Potomac, 93, 174;
      crossed, 28, 45, 81.
    Rapidan, 37, 66, 96.
    Rappahannock, 92;
      crossed, 38, 40, 41, 66, 69, 79.
    Rio Grande, 174.
    Saluda, crossed, 170.
    Savannah, 167;
      naval battle in, 155-157;
      described, 156;
      cleared, 165;
      crossed, 166.
    Shenandoah, 21.
    Tennessee, 100, 101;
      crossed, 116.

  Robertsville (S. C.), skirmish at, 107.

  Rocky Mount (S. C.), 170.

  Ruger, Gen. Thomas H., West Point graduate, 5;
    at Cedar Mountain, 32;
    Chancellorsville, 75;
    commands expedition, 92;
    brigade, 115.

  Ruger, Capt. William, wounded, 126, 127.

  Sandersville (Ga.), plundered, 150;
    skirmish at, 151.

  Sandy Hook (Md.), 10, 15.

  Savannah (Ga.), 146, 150, 152, 153, 156, 158, 173;
    Sherman at, 155, 163, 169;
    skirmish, 162;
    evacuated, 161, 162, 164-166.

  Schweers, Capt. John M., of Third Wisconsin, 180.

  Scotch, in Wisconsin regiment, 143.

  Scott, Lieut. Col. John W., wounded, 34;
    killed, 70.

  Secession, conventions, 1;
    in Georgia, 151;
    Lincoln County, 106;
    Maryland, 11;
    South Carolina, 2, 146.

  Sedgwick, Gen. John, at Antietam, 58, 59;
    Fredericksburg, 76.

  Seminary Ridge (Pa.), 89. See also Battles: Gettysburg.

  Shelbyville (Tenn.), 99, 108.

  Shenandoah Valley, campaign in, 178.

  Sherman, Gen. William T., 169;
    Georgia campaign, 143, 147, 149, 163;
    Carolina campaign, 176;
    at New Hope Church, 125;
    Atlanta, 116, 139, 143, 144;
    Jonesboro, 141;
    Milledgeville, 150;
    Savannah, 155, 165;
    Sister's Ferry, 167;
    announces peace, 173, 174;
    grand review, 177;
    characterized, 134, 164.

  Shields, Gen. James, 29;
    at Kernstown, 19, 20;
    wounded, 18.

  Sigel, Gen. Franz, commands corps, 30;
    at Cedar Mountain, 36, 37.

  Sister's Ferry (S. C.), Sherman at, 167.

  Slocum, Gen. Henry W., at Germanna Ford, 68;
    Vicksburg, 115;
    Graham Station, 168;
    commands corps, 139;
    army wing, 147;
    on "Sherman's March", 169;
    characterized, 140.

  Smith, Maj. Alfred B., commands brigade picket line, 130.

  Smith Plantation, in South Carolina, 158-161.

  South Carolina, secedes, 2;
    begins war, 146;
    campaign in, 158, 164, 166, 167, 170.

  Springer, Rev. Isaac E., of Third Wisconsin, 180.

  Springer, Rev. John M., killed, 120.

  Springfield (Ga.), 153.

  Spott Tavern (Va.), 79.

  Stafford Court House (Va.), 77, 92;
    winter camp, 64, 66.

  Stanton, Edwin M., 175.

  Stevenson, Lieut. Col. George W., of Third Wisconsin, 180.

  Stevenson (Ala.), 99.

  Strasburg (Va.), 17, 20, 21.

  Strawberry Plains (Tenn.), 153.

  Stuart, Gen. James E. B., headquarters captured, 80.

  Sumner, Gen. Edwin V., at Antietam, 57-59.

  Tattnall, Commodore Josiah, commands fleet, 157.

  Taylor, Adj. Asher C., of Third Wisconsin, 180.

  Tennalleytown (D. C.), Army of Potomac at, 46.

  Tennessee, 115;
    Union Cavalry Regiment, 113, 114.

  Tennille Station (Ga.), railroad buildings destroyed, 151.

  Thayer, Capt. George A., of Second Massachusetts, 179.

  Thomas, Gen. George H., at Somerset, 14;
    New Hope Church, 125;
    disapproves resignations, 128;
    opposes Hood, 147.

  Thompson, Lieut. George J., of Second Massachusetts, 168, 179.

  Thompson, Lieut. Jed C., of Second Massachusetts, 179.

  Toledo (Ohio), 7.

  Toombs, Lieut. William D., of Second Massachusetts, 179.

  Tullahoma (Tenn.), 102, 103, 105, 114, 115;
    corps headquarters, 108, 113.

  Two Taverns (Pa.), 82.

  Van Brunt, Capt. Ralph, of Third Wisconsin, 180.

  Vermont, First Regiment, rear guard, 27.

  Vicksburg (Miss.), 115.

  Virginia, departure for, 7.

  Warrenton Junction (Va.), 41, 42.

  Wartrace (Tenn.), 99, 100.

  Washington (D. C.), 41, 47, 65, 98, 108, 128;
    Army of Potomac in, 46;
    threatened, 93;
    peace ratified at, 174;
    march to, 176;
    grand review, 177.

  Waupun (Wis.), campaign of 1860 at, 1;
    Light Guard, organized, 3-5.

  Welsh, in Wisconsin regiment, 143.

  West Point (N. Y.), Military Academy, graduates, 5.

  Wheeler, Gen. Joseph, 99, 159;
    at Sandersville, 151;
    at Robertsville, 167.

  Whittier, John G., poem, 49.

  Williams, Gen. Alpheus S., 115, 117;
    at Cedar Mountain, 32;
    New Hope Church, 125.

  Williamsport (Md.), 28, 29;
    Confederates at, 81, 89, 90.

  Williamsport (Pa.), reception at, 8.

  Wilkins, Capt. William D., 20;
    at Cedar Mountain, 32, 33, 37.

  Wilmington (N. C.), fleet at, 171.

  Winchester (Va.), 20, 29;
    skirmish at, 16;
    captured, 17;
    retreat to, 22;
    threatened, 30;
    Confederates at, 81.

  Winegar, Capt. Charles E., captures steamer, 157.

  Winnsboro (S. C.), railroad track destroyed, 170.

  Wisconsin, 128;
    quota filled, 4;
    Tenth Regiment, at Chattanooga, 100.

  Woodford, Capt. Jasper, of Third Wisconsin, 169, 180.

  Xenia (Ohio), reception at, 98.

PUBLICATIONS OF WISCONSIN HISTORY COMMISSION

_Series of Original Narratives_

1. A VIEW OF THE VICKSBURG CAMPAIGN. By William Freeman Vilas, LL. D.,
Lieutenant-Colonel of Twenty-Third Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry. With
two appendices: I, Wisconsin Soldiers in the Vicksburg Campaign, by
Colonel Vilas; II, Selected Bibliography of the Vicksburg Campaign
(material thereon in the Wisconsin Historical Library), by Minnie Myrtle
Oakley. Illustrated by a portrait of Colonel Vilas and a map of the
campaign. 8vo., pp. xiii+104. Published August, 1908.

2. CAPTURE AND ESCAPE: A NARRATIVE OF ARMY AND PRISON LIFE. By John Azor
Kellogg, Colonel of Sixth Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry and Brevet
Brigadier-General. Illustrated by a portrait of the author. 8vo., pp.
xvi+201. Published November, 1908.

3. THREE WISCONSIN CUSHINGS: A SKETCH OF THE LIVES OF HOWARD B., ALONZO
H., AND WILLIAM B. CUSHING, CHILDREN OF A PIONEER FAMILY OF WAUKESHA
COUNTY. By Theron Wilber Haight, First-Lieutenant, U. S. V. Illustrated
by a wartime group of officers, three portraits, and three facsimiles.
8vo., pp. xiv+109. Index. Published April, 1910.

4. THE CHATTANOOGA CAMPAIGN: WITH ESPECIAL REFERENCE TO WISCONSIN'S
PARTICIPATION THEREIN. By Michael Hendrick Fitch, Lieutenant-Colonel of
Twenty-first Wisconsin Infantry. Illustrated by six maps. 8vo., pp.
xiii+255. Index. Published March, 1911.

5. A BIBLIOGRAPHY OF WISCONSIN'S PARTICIPATION IN THE WAR BETWEEN THE
STATES: BASED ON MATERIAL IN THE WISCONSIN HISTORICAL LIBRARY. By Isaac
Samuel Bradley, Assistant Superintendent of said Library. 8vo., pp.
ix+42. Index. Published May, 1911.

6. WISCONSIN WOMEN IN THE WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. By Ethel Alice Hurn,
B. A. Illustrated by a portrait and six views. 8vo., pp. xix+190. Index.
Published May, 1911.

7. A NARRATIVE OF SERVICE WITH THE THIRD WISCONSIN INFANTRY. By Julian
Wisner Hinkley, sometime acting Major of said Regiment. Illustrated by a
portrait of the author. 8vo., pp. xiii+197. Index. Published November,
1912.

8. THE DIARY OF AN ARTILLERY PRIVATE. By Rev. Jenkin Lloyd-Jones. _In
preparation._

_Series of Reprints_

1. THE BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG. By Frank Aretas Haskell, Colonel of
Thirty-sixth Wisconsin Infantry. Illustrated by a portrait of the author
and two maps. 8vo. First edition: pp. xxiii+185; published November,
1908. Second edition (with "Tribute to Adjutant Haskell" by Col. J. A.
Watrous): pp. xxviii+192; Index; published April, 1910.

2. CIVIL WAR MESSAGES AND PROCLAMATIONS OF WISCONSIN WAR GOVERNORS. With
explanatory notes by Asa C. Tilton and Frederick Merk, of the staff of
the Wisconsin Historical Library. _In press._

Transcriber's note:

Archaic and variable spellings such as "rendevouz", "reconnoissance"
and "reënforce" were retained.

The book title on page 1 of the original reads "SERVICE IN" but
elsewhere reads "A NARRATIVE OF SERVICE WITH THE THIRD WISCONSIN INFANTRY".

Page 131, "The next day a battery of twenty-pound parrot guns was planted
on the hill ..." Changed to "Parrott guns".

Only Footnote 3 on page 180 and the index give spelling as Hinckley;
elsewhere Hinkley.