History of the Fifty-third regiment Ohio volunteer infantry, during the war of the rebellion, 1861 to 1865. Together with more than thirty personal sketches of officers and men

Front matter

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Prologue

Several attempts have been made since the war to write a correct history of the 53rd Ohio Veteran Volunteer Infantry.

The lamented Captain James R. Percy, of Co. F, who was killed in front of Atlanta, August 18th, 18()4, kept a careful daily account, expecting should the god of battles spare him to return to Ohio, to write the history. He was eminently qualified and equipped for the work, and would doubtless, have given us a literary gem.

Next to follow was Judge R. H. Brewster, Co. C, of Pomeroy, Ohio, who was ably assisted by Major B. C. Dawes. Judge Brewster, by his large-heartedness in caring for those who were sick with smallpox, contracted the dread disease and died.

Major Dawes was then appointed historian, and responded soon thereafter to the roll-call of the Divine Master.

Following the death of the Major, the work was assigned to the writer, who will, to the best of his ability, trace the history of the regiment from its organization to the date of its final discharge.

The aim of the writer, the object of the history, is to recount the services, the sacrifices, and the hardships endured by this particular Ohio regiment. It has been the desire of the writer to give a full, concise, and impartial history, showing no favoritism, but actuated by the sentiment of Mr. Lincoln, " with charity for all, and malice toward none."

In the history of Ohio regiments the record of none is more glorions than that of the 53rd Ohio Vohmteer Infantry, and certainly none performed more arduous duties, as I trust these pages will well authenticate to those who may peruse them. The object is to preserve our identity as a regiment and its history. It will be the aim to have the book go to every surviving ex-soldier of the regiment ; and to every one who lost a dear one in the war by or through this regiment.

Much of history and a considerable amount of personal reminiscence have been published during the past thirty-five years ; but to a large extent it has consisted of accounts of battles or campaigns, and to more than a limited extent the design has been to recount the exploits of some particular army or general. It is the design herein to give the roster by companies and the roll of the regiment in such manner as to make full and honorable mention of all commissioned and non-commissioned officers, and of the rank and file who made it possible for their superior officers to bear the honorable part they did in the great struggle.

Our friends and the world in general, ought to know who the men were who stood as a wall of fire to prevent hostile armies from invading our Northern firesides' War history and incidents are intended to inform all who the men were that marched to the cannon's mouth ; received and withstood the shock of battle ; who the men were " who touched elbows " in the deadly fray and closed ranks as one by one their comrades fell out ; who it was that held aloft the starry banner and carried it to final victory ; who, looking death in the face, charged the enemy ; who sacri- ' ficed life, limbs, and early education, and lay in the improvised hospitals, or worse still, starved in the hell-holes of Southern prisons. .

It is such details that I propose to relate in part for the present and future generations. J. K. D, Portsmouth, Ohio, 1900.

PART ONE. Page

Organization 1

Leaving Ohio for the Front 5

Shiloh, or Pittsburg Landing 10

Shiloh— Fulton's Report 26

Shiloh— Sherman's Report '. 30

Shiloh— Dawes' First Day 39

Shiloh— Basil Duke's Paper 56

From Corinth to Memphis 89

From Memphis to Vicksburg 98

From Vicksburg to Jackson 105

Chattanooga and Knoxville 114

Rest and Recuperation 127

The Atlanta Campaign Begun 131

The Atlanta Campaign 141

Atlanta to the Sea 159

From Savannah to Goldsboro 174

From Goldsboro to the Muster-out 188

The Cost of the Civil War 206

Part Two. Personal Sketches

Page.

John K. Duke 240

General Wells S.Jones 244

Major E. C. Dawes 249

Captain James R. Percy 254

Major James C. Foster 259

William Bradbury ^ 261

Captain Robert A. Starkey 263

Captain Jacob W. Davis 266

Joseph W. Fulton, Quarter-Master 271

Captain David H. Lasley 273

Captain Ru.stace H. Ball 275

Captain David M. Burchfield 277

C!aptain Charles K. Crumit 278

Colonel George N. Gray 280

Lieutenant James D.Roberts 283

Wesley Benson 285

Page.

Robert H. Brewster 285

Lieutenant Calvin D. Brooks 286

Captain George W. Cavitt 287

William Ellison 287

Reverend Frederick J. Griffith 288

J.W.Fulton, Jr 289

Captain David S. Harkins 289

David Lasley 290

Lieutenant Stafford McMillin 291

Frank Smith 292

Lieutenant E. G. Morrison 292

Lieutenant William B. Stephenson 293

Lieutenant William Shay 294

W. A. Steele 294

Captain J. I. Parrill 295

The Buried at Marietta, Ga.,and Chattanooga, Tenn ; 296

Part First, History

OF

THE FIFTY-THIRD REGIMENT, O. V. I.

o.']RD OHIO voluntkf;r infantry.

chaptp:r I.

organization.

The order of Governor Dennison, of Ohio, for the org^anization of the n'Md Ohio Rej^iment v-'as dated September 8th, 1861. He intended said re<;inient to l)e rccrnitcd from tlie sonthern counties of Ohio. Jackson, Ohio, was designated as tlie place of rendezvous.

Up to this period fifty or more regimental organizations from Ohio had responded to the call of the President of the United States, and the Governor of the State.

Another Ohio regiment was in course of formation at Camp Dennison, Ohio, and was known as the r)2nd Ohio, or the "Governor's Guard." Six full companies had been recruited and were in camp.

Patriotism in the fall of '61 had not received an impetus sufficient to perfect both of these organizations at the .same time ; hence, the 53rd lacking but one company, the Governor merged the six companies of the 52nd into the different regiments forming in the State. Two companies were assigned to the 70th Ohio, one to the 48th Ohio, one to the 71st Ohio, one to the 53rd Ohio, and the remaining company of the 52nd (Captain Morrison's) was assigned to some other regiment unknown to the writer.

Captain Preston R. Galloway was in command of the company assigned to the 53rd, and it was known throughout the life of regiment as Company K.

Jesse J. Appier, a business gentleman and honorable citizen of the city of Portsmouth, Ohio, was commissioned Colonel by Governor Dennison. Colonel Appier had served with credit during the three months service as the commander of a company in the 22nd Ohio Infantry, he had also been identified with the Ohio Militia. His experience and qnalifications enabled him to draw a large number of recruits to the regiment. The following field oflficers weye commissioned by Governor Dennison on the same date as Colonel Appier, viz.: Robert A. Fnlton, a leading citizen of Athens county, as Ivieutenant-Colonel ; Harrison S. Cox, of Maysville, Ky., who had also served as an enlisted man in the three months* service, as INIajor ; Dr. Joseph W. Fulton, who did perhaps more toward the organization of the regiment than his brother, the Lieutenant-Colonel, contributing both time and money, as Quartermaster, with the rank of First Lieutenant. On the 26th of September Ephraim C. Dawes, of INIarietta, Ohio, who had but recently graduated from Marietta College, was appointed Adjutant. On the 3rd of October, 1861, Dr. William M. Cake, of Fostoria, Ohio, was commissioned Surgeon, and Dr. James P. Bing, of Pomeroy, Ohio, but recently deceased, was commissiouQd as Assistant Surgeon. On the 18th day of October, 1861, Thomas K. Mclntyre, who held a Second Lieutenant's recruiting commission, was appointed Chaplain. This completed the field officers ; all that was needed was ten organized companies to complete the regiment. There was a circumstance connected with the early history of this regiment, which very many of us have probably forgotten. In those days there was an impression that the government allowed a good deal of suffrage in the organization of its army ; that men could not only elect their officers, but that there was a choice in the arm of the service. In pursuance of this idea Colonel Appier concluded that the 53rd should be a mounted regiment. Whether Governor Dennison was a party to this or not, we have no means of knowing at this late day. At any rate, large posters were printed, and all patriotic citizens were exhorted, in these posters, to enlist in the " 53rd Ohio Mounted Riflemen."

About one mile north of the town of Jackson stood the old Diamond Furnace, where once pig iron had been manufactured.

and this spot was selected as a camp for the expected regiment. A brick building-, formerly the store and warehouse of the Furnace Company, answered for the Colonel's headquarters, and the wareroom became the store room for the Quartermaster's supplies. Smaller buildings, formerly occupied by employes of the furnace, made excellent company quarters.

On the 17th of September, 1S<)1, the first body of. recruits arrived in camp. They had been recruited principally in Athens Count\-, Ohio, by Captain John I. Parrill, but before Captain Parrill obtained a sufficient number of men to complete his company organization. Captain Wells S. Jones of Pike County, Ohio, arrived with a full company, which being the first company organized became Company A., and gave it the honorable position of being on the right or at the head of the regiment. Captain Parrill's company, being the second to complete its organization, became Company R, and was entitled to the left of the regiment.

Kach of the ten companies mustered numbered 100 or more men, the full roll-call of the regiment aggregating about 1,100. The companies were officered and had been recruited as follows:

Co. A — Captain, Wells S. Jones.

First Lieutenant, Robert A. Starkey.

Second Lieutenant, Robert Kearns.

Recruited principally from Pike County, Ohio.

Co. B — Captain, John L Parrill.

F'irst Lieutenant, Joseph W. Fulton.

Second Lieutenant, Spencer McLead.

Recruited principally from Athens County, Ohio.

Co. C — Captain, Frederick J. Griffith.

F^'irst Lieutenant, Jacob W. Davis.

Second Lieutenant, Kendall D. Lindsey.

Recruited principally from Scioto and Lawrence Counties, Ohio.

Co. D-^Captain, Henry C. Messenger.

First Lieutenant, Calvin D. Brooks.

Second Lieutenant, Francis B. Gilbert.

Recruited principally from Jackson and Lawrence

Counties, Ohio.

Co. E — Captain, Samuel W. Baird.

First Lieutenant, Eustace H. Ball.

Second Lieutenant, Robert E. Phillips.

Recruited principally from Scioto, Lawrence, and

Athens Counties, Ohio.

Co. F — Captain, James R. Percy.

First Lieutenant, Charles K. Crumit.

Second Lieutenant, George W. Cavet.

Recruited principally from Pike, Ross, and Jackson

Counties, Ohio.

Co. G — Captain, Lorenzo F'ulton.

First Lieutenant, George K. Hosford.

Second Lieutenant, George E. Cutler.

Recruited principally from Athens, Northern Meigs, and Washington Counties, Ohio.

Co. H — Captain, David H. Lasley.

First Lieutenant, Harvey L. Black.

Second Lieutenant, Jonathan S. Lasley.

Recruited principally from Meigs and Gallia Counties, Ohio.

Co. I — Captain, David K. Harkins.

First Lieutenant, Stiles B. Messenger.

Second Lieutenant, George N. Gray.

Co. K — Captain, Preston R. Galloway.

First Lieutenant, Stafford McMillen.

Second Lieutenant, William Shay.

Recruited principally from Hamilton and Preble Counties,^Ohio.

Chapter II. Leaving Ohio For The Front

From and after the time that the full quota of men had been mustered, as indicated in the preceding chapter, company and regimental .drill was pushed vigorously from day to day, thus inuring the men to fatigue, discipline, and obedience. This discipline was continued until orders were received, sending us to the front.

Near the close of the year 18G1 the measles made their appearance anc^ played havoc with the boys. The ravages of this disease, so frequent among recruits, were largely attributable to the use of straw for beds, as the decaying straw generated the bacteria. Dr. J. P. Bing, the Assistant Surgeon, rendered all the medical assistance possible, and was seconded by the good ladies of Jackson, whose efforts to alleviate suffering were exceedingly praiseworthy. Two deaths resulted from this attack of measles — Austin Crowell of Co. I, on Feb. 17, 18G2, and David Aumiller of Co. h\ Both were buried at the Jackson, Ohio, Cemetery. They were quiet, modest young men, who always did their duty in camp, and no doubt would have made for themselves a creditable record in the field.

Two or three Methodist ministers, serving as officers, and one as chaplain, had by the assistance of the noble-hearted officers, exerted a moral and spiritual influence, and the conduct of the rank and file was far above the average. Card playing and drinking were prohibited, and the boys were satisfied that it was so. Prayer meetings or religious services of some kind were held in most of the regimental quarters at night. Captain Galloway, on being introduced through the regiment to the various officers, by Adjutant Dawes, remarked that the spirituality and Christianity of this regiment, certainly could not be surpassed.

Orders for the field were received the 16th day of February, 1802. The regiment moved immediately, leaving the sick at Jackson in charge of the Assistant Surgeon, Dr. Bing. The parting at Jackson from friends and relatives was extremely pathetic. To many a poor soul it was not only an affectionate farewell, but a tearful adieu for this life. The regiment proceeded by rail to the city of Portsmouth, Ohio, February IGth, and on the following day, the 17th, embarked on transports for Paducah, Kentucky, with orders to report to General Halleck.

We reached Paducah, February 2.'>rd. The evening was cold, and we marched through the mud and camped in almost a swamp; no fires and no way to provide any. Additional colds were contracted and much sickness followed. Our night here, was our first experience of hardship, but ere we had served our country four years, how we laughed at our behaviour and grumblings about our first night's experience.

When the 5;jrd reached Paducah on the 23rd of February, 18(J2, an officer was sent to report its arrival to General Sherman. The General asked, ''How long do you expect to remain in the service?" Not knowing exactly what answer to make, the officer replied : "The regiment has enlisted for three )ears and expects to serve its time." "Well," responded the General, "you have got sense. Most of you fellows come down here intending to go home and go to Congress in about three weeks."

When asked where to camp, he said, "Go anywhere, it's all flat as a pancake and wet as a sponge." And it was.

We were assigned to the Third Brigade of Sherman's Division, March 7th, lS(i2. We received our arms, Austrian rifles. The rifles were not the best, but a make-shift until the arsenals, could turn out a supply sufficient to replace the better ones stolen by President Buchanan's Secretary of War, just prior to the inauguration of Mr. Lincoln as President.

o:3rI) OHIO VOLUNTRER INFANTRY.

Upon the day of the distributing of arms, we were loaded upon the steamer "Anglo-Saxon," and proceeded down the Tennessee River. Owing to the spring rains, the Tennessee was on a "high lonesome," and at several places more than bank full. On account of the muddy condition of the river, the "boys" called it "soup;" and from its use for several days, diarrhoea followed to an alarming extent. The "boys" diagnosed the disease as the "Tennessee quickstep." Almost all of them suffered more or less, some severelv, from that disease. This reduced the strength of the regiment by at least twenty-five per cent. The debilitated condition of the patients made them susceptible to a grave type of typlH)-nialarial fever, which was fatal in many cases. From March •JOth to April 1st, 1.SG2, the sick roll of the regiment aggregated 255. We made but few halts upon the trip ; Fort Henry and Savannah being, perhaps, the most notable. We were aboard the transport about twelve days.

The assembling of troops was for the purpose of forming a part of General Grant's celebrated expedition for the recovery of West Tennessee.

At Yellow Creek, a portion of the regiment, such as were able for duty, disembarked, and made a reconnoissance in the direction of Corinth, ]\Iississii)pi. The roads being impassable, the detour was abandoned, the fragment returned to the boat, and proceeded to Pittsburg Landing, disembarking about March 19th.

On March 20th the regiment went into camp, on what was called the McCulloch farm, afterwards made famous by battle, and marked upon the battle maps as the Rea farm.

Our camp lay about a quarter of a uiile due south of Shiloh Church, and about three miles from the Tennessee River. Near our camp was a gushing spring, and we were congratulating ourselves upon our good fortune, when to our mortification and the agro-ravation of the existing diarrhoea, it was found to contain that which was prejudicial to health. Within a ver)- few days twothirds of the regiment were reported unfit for duty. It was difficult to muster enough well men for squad drill or guard duty.

About the third of April, indications of the advance of the enemy, at the time known to be in great force at Corinth, began to be discovered. The fact became more apparent from day to day, till on the evening of the r,th the enemy was seen in considerable force by the 71st Ohio, which the oord passed coming into camp, as they, the o;3rd, were going out on the Corinth road, for a reconnoi.ssance.

We proceeded but a short distance, when the enemy in force was discovered across an open field. We returned to camp, reported and attended dress parade, the last one for some time.

Notwithstanding the above reports and indications no preparation was made for a battle ; none of the sick were removed to the rear; teams and. army supplies were not ordered back; in fact, the necessary preparations for a conflict were totally ignored.

Thus far the reader has been brought by gradual approaches to the eve of one of the bloodiest conflicts, if not the bloodiest, recorded during any of the subsequent four years of the war. Before entering upon the details and the description of the two days' battle of Shiloh, which followed, it is perhaps necessary or important to say a few words by way of explanation ; not by way of apologv, so far as the regiment is concerned ; but in order that the general reader may better understand wh\' so much space is allotted to this one engagement. It will be made apparent, as the narrative proceeds, that a certain amount of odinm was sought to be cast upon the 5ord Ohio Regiment. Unfortunately, it occupied the front line, received the first onslaught, and its dead were the first to drench the field with blood. This will explain why the narrator (|Uotes so many different official reports and partial accounts of the battle of vShiloh. The reader is invited to read carefully the history of this battle as an entirety prior to passing judgment.

Especially attention is asked for Major Dawes' "My First Day Under F'ire;" to what General Jones says officially and otherwise, and to the reports of Lientenant-Colonel Knlton, and others. Last but not least, we would ask a careful reading; of the statement of General Basil Duke, of the Confederate Army, as to the engagement. General Duke was one of the daring and able generals on the opposite side. He cheerfully and willingly gave his consent to the publication of this admirable war contribution.

It is only another evidence, if it were needed, to convince the reader that sectional lines and the bitterness of the war is obliterated, and that we are thirty-five years removed from the period when the contention was that two flags, and not one, should wave over the United States.

The General is a chivalrous southern gentleman, and not related to the historian, except by the blood of American citizenship in its broadest and most loval sense.

Chapter III. Shiloh, Or Pittsburg Landing

General Halleck's expedition to this section of Tennessee was to shut off the enemy's communication between the Eastern and Southern States through Western Tennessee.

By reference to a map the reader will readily perceive that Pittsburg Landing is about ten miles north of the Alabama line. Two creeks skirt the western side of the Alabama line — Lick Creek and Snake Creek — some four or five miles apart. The old log Shiloh Church was three miles from the landing.

General Albert Sidney Johnston was in command of the Confederate forces. General Johnston's knowledge of the military situation and the importance of maintaining and keeping open the line of communication referred to, emboldened him to concentrate his army, and, if possible, to strike a blow at General Halleck before he had an opportunity to concentrate his forces, erect suitable fortifications, and gain such a foothold that a long and perhaps bloody conflict would be necessary before the Union forces could be dislodged, if at all.

The Union gunboats had already proceeded up the Tennessee River as far as Florence, Alabama. The Tennessee River was to be used by the Union forces as the route to the heart of the so-called " Southern Confederacy."

Fort Donelson had at this time surrendered to General Grant. Generals Johnston and Beauregard were quick to perceive that Pittsburg Landing would most probably be the point for the concentration of the Union forces. They well knew that, with Pittsburg Landing in our possession, it was but twenty miles to Corinth, where two leading and important railroad lines wonld be intercepted. From Corinth, by easy approach, the captnre of Memphis wonld follow, and with that city, and the other points indicated, in onr possession, they wonld be compelled to abandon the Mississippi Ri\'er from Memphis to Cairo.

Oeneral Johnston transported his troops from Mnrfeesboro, (jeneral Bragg from Mobile, and (ieneral Beaiiregard from Richmond. General Johnston concentrated his army along the Mobile & Ohio Railroad, extending from Bethel to Corinth ; also, along the Memphis & Charleston Railroad, from Corinth to luka.

Cicneral Johnston's army was commanded as follows : by Major-General Leonidas K, Polk, commanding 9,1^0 men ; (General Bragg, 18,58.S; General W.J. Hardee. 7,089; General J. C. Breckenridge, (J,4.'U) ; which, with the additional forces of artillery and cavalry, aggregated 40,o.j5. These figures are derived from Confederate reports. Some of the leading and ablest generals on our side say that the Confederate army had at the time of action, April (!th and 7th, at least fifty to fifty-five thousand men.

Our forces were commanded as follows :

First Division, by General John A. INIcClernand. Second Division, by (ieneral W. H. L. Wallace. Third Division, by General Lewis Wallace. Fourth Division, by General Hurlbnrt.

Fifth Division, by General W. T. Sherman. Sixth Division, by General Prentiss.

To this may be added seven or eight regiments of cavalry, and some twenty to twenty-two batteries of artillery. The Union forces numbered the first day about thirty-three thou.sand men ; and were augumented by the reinforcements of General Buell's army and the division of General Lewis Wallace, making a grand total of about sixty thousand men. The reinforcements did not participate in the first day's battle.

The 53rd was assigned to the Fifth Division, commanded by- General Sherman. This division was landed March 19th. Upon i the 20th they marched out along tlie line of railroad leading to Charleston and burned a bridge over Snake Creek, and then re- j turned and made their camp near Shiloh Church.

Much has been said and written is to whether the attack of April Gth was a surprise. Notwithstanding the fact that some of our commanders were West Point graduates and some Regular Army officers, no official report which has fallen under my ob- J servation has claimed that cavalry pickets were on the outposts. > From the best information obtainable, it is but fair to presume that the infantry pickets were not to exceed one mile beyond the camps, and no fortifications of any description had been attempted.

As evidence of the fact that this was a surprise a few quotations may perhaps be necessary. Bear in mind the battle opened Sunday morning, April Gth, and continued until Monday night, April 7th.

On Friday, April 4th, General Ruell writes in a letter addressed to General Grant : "You sent a dispatch to General Nelson, who commanded the advance of my command, telling him not to hasten his march, as he could not, at any rate, commence crossing the river until the following Tuesday."

The following is from the diary of General Jacob Ammen, who commanded the advance brigade of General Nelson's division of Buell's army. It shows that General Grant did not expect an attack as late as -3 o'clock Saturday afternoon:

"April 5th, 1862 : — Marched nine and a half miles over bad roads, and reached Savannah, Tenn., before 12 o'clock at noon. General Grant was not at his headquarters and no one to give orders, (ieneral Nelson ordered me to go into camp. The 10th Brigade encamped on the southwest side of the town about one-half to three-quarters of a mile from the brick house on the river

(headquarters). About 3 o'clock in the afternoon General Grant and General Nelson came to my tent. General Grant declined to dismount, as he had an eng^aj;;^ement. In answer to mv remark that our troops were not fatig^ned and could march on to Pittsburg Landing, if necessary, (icn. Grant said : 'You cannot march through the swanijx Make the troops comfortable. I will send boats for you Monday or Tuesday, or some time early in the week. There will be no fight at Pittsburg Landing. We will have to go to Corinth, where the rebels are fortified. If they come to attack us we can whip them, as I have more than twice as many troops as I had at Fort Donelson. Be sure and call at the brick house on the river to-morrow evening (vSunday) as I have an engagement for this evening.' "

On the same day General Grant wrote to General Buell :

''''Headquarters District West Tennessee^ ''April bth, 1862.

"Maj. Gen. Buell, Waynesboro : Your dispatch just received. I will be here to meet you to-morrow evening. At and near Corinth are probably from 60,000 to 80,000 men. Information is not reliable. (Signed) U. S. Grant, Maj. Gen."

The following notes of Gen. Sherman to Gen. Grant show what the former thought of the situation at Pittsburg Landing on Saturday, the oth of April :

^'Pittsburg Landings Tennessee^ ''April nth, 1862.

"Gen. Grant: Sir: — All is quiet along my lines. We are in the act of exchanging cavalry according to your order. The enemy has cavalry in our front, and I thing there are two regiments of infantry and one battalion of artillery about two miles out. I will send you ten prisoners of war and an account of last night's affair in a few minutes. Yours, W. T. Sherman,

Brigadier General Commanding."

^' Pittsburg Landing, Tcnn., April hth, 1862. "General CTraiit : — Your note is just received. I have no doubt that nothing will occur to-day more than some picket firing. The enemy is saucy, but got the worst of it yesterday, and will not press our pickets far. I will not be drawn out far unless we are certain of an advantage, and I do not apprehend anything like an attack on our position. Yours, W. T. Sherman,

Brigadier General Commanding."

On the 4th of April (Friday) Major Ricker, of the 5th Ohio Cavalrv, made a recounoissance to a point two miles in front of the pickets, and reported to General Sherman :

"When passing the brow of a hill, our advance was opened on by three or four pieces of artillery, at least two regiments of infantry, and a large force of cavalry."

Concerning this recounoissance, Major Ricker wrote further :

"When we got back to the picket lines we found General Sherman there with infantry and artillery in line of battle, caused by heavy firing of the enemy on us. General Sherman asked me what was up. I told him I had met and fought the advance of Beauregard's army ; that he was advancing on us. General Sherman said, it could not be possible, Beauregard was not such a fool as to leave his base of operations and attack ours ; it was a mere reconnoissance in force."

The next morning General Sherman thus reported to General Grant the conclusions he drew from the report of Major Ricker :

'■^Head(jitartcrs htJi Dir'ision, ''Camp S/ii/o/i, Tcnu., April r^tli, 18B2. "Sir : — I infer that the enemy is in some considerable force at Pea Ridge (nine miles distant;) that yesterday morning they cros.sed a bridge with two regiments of infantry, one regiment of cavalry, and one battalion of field artillery, to the ridge on which the Corinth road lays. They halted the infantry and artillery at a point about five miles in my front, and sent a detachment to tbe corps of Gen. Meeks on the north of Owl Creek, and the cavalrv down toward our camp. This cavalry captured a part of our advance pickets, and afterwards engaged two companies of Col. Ruckland's regiment, as described by him in his report herewith enclosed. Our cavalry drove them back upon their artillery and infantry, killing many, and bringing ten prisoners (all of the Lst Alabama Cavalry,) whom I sent to you. I have the honor to be your obedient servant W. T. Sherman,

Brigadier General Commanding."

The three rebel corps commanders, who knew every foot of the ground, thus tell this portion of the story in their official reports :

General Hardee, who commanded the advance corps, says :

"About 10 o'clock on Saturday morning, April 5th, my corps reached the outposts and developed the lines of the enemv. It was immediately deployed in the line of battle, about one mile and a half east of the Shiloh Church, where Lick Creek and Owl Creek approach most nearly. The right was extended toward Lick Creek, and the left rested near Owl Creek, which .streams at that point are rather more than three miles apart. The storm of the preceding night rendered the roads so miry that the diflferent commands were not collected at Shiloh until 4 oj 5 o'clock in the afternoon. This rendered it neces.sary to postpone the attack until the next day."