Statewide County WI Archives Military Records.....Recollections By E. Beaumont And H. H. G. Bradt Civilwar 3rd WI Light Artillery Battery ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/wi/wifiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com May 13, 2006, 11:47 pm Recollections By E. Beaumont And H. H. G. Bradt RECOLLECTIONS BY E. BEAUMONT. The next day after the destruction of the battery, the only piece saved (a howitzer) was posted on the left near the Tennesee [sic] River facing Missionary Ridge. On Tuesday a line of earthworks were laid out and entrenching began and a lunette was thrown up. This was afterwards Fort Wood; onr [sic] lone howitzer occupied it first; afterward siege guns were placed therein. Here too was a gallows where many a Union man had been hanged for his loyalty. This day the last foraging was done; a load of corn was brought in from ground quickly occupied by the rebels. The men worked like beavers and by Tuesday night a line of works were built, too strong for assult [sic] by the weary men. Immediately our horse feed became scarce and grazing was soon used up; some of the boys would crawl through the lines and pull grass to feed, while they would be in the shelter of anything to screen them from sharpshooters. They would put the grass in corn sacks and drag them in behind themselves to our own lines. The rebels were in a short range but never shot anyone, undoubtedly thinking it was surrender or starvation in a short time. The little corn soon disappeared and the horses in the best condition were sent to Bridgeport to save their lives; many had already died tied to trees or posts, which they knawed as long as they had strength. During the siege 10,000 horses and mules died of starvation. All this time the beseiged were throwing up intrenchments and continually strenghtening the lines, heavier guns were placed in position and we were drawn into the outskirts of the town. The great problem now was on how little a man could subsist; it was really pitiful to see the men scratch over the ground where the mules had been fed to find a kernel of corn that might be trod in the mud (a horse does not look over ground closer or make cleaner work of a dirt pile.) Many of the mules had to be sent to bring crackers over the mountains by packing, others were being used to carry the wounded over the same mountains from the camp across the Tennessee, opposite Chattanooga where the poor fellows were without food. Those who survived the trip, were landed at Stevenson, Ala. only to receive a handful of cracker dust,—not a very satisfying amount of food after riding in an army wagon over sixty miles of all sized stones. We suffered with cold as the weather became severe: all stumps and shade trees to be found were dug up to burn. A large raft of logs was sent down the Tennessee river to destroy our potoon [sic] bridge but our boys captured it, saved the bridge and made firewood of the logs. Our rations kept diminishing, and we received but a pint of corn for three day's rations. We parched the corn, ground it in coffee mills and made a porridge of it; frequently while preparing this dish, children of the miserably poor and destitute natives would drift into our camp and after wistfully gazing upon it would say, "I like cohn." Such pathetic appeals always resulted in receiving a portion of the coarse and scant supply. A corn loaf of unsifted meal, baked in a common sized bake kettle, would be cut into 26 parts, and would sell for 50c a piece. Cow's heads divested of meat would bring $ 1. For soup purposes, animal tripes were eagerly eaten after a homely preparation. All this time the rebel cavalry were raiding the Union lines of communication north of the river and operating in East Tennessee. These operations resulted in our loosing the best quality of our army rations enroute on the backs of mules. Some of the boxes of crackers passed over to the battery had got wet and were spoiled,—a sour, mushy lot of dough utterly unfit for food, yet this stuff was eagerly sorted over, the dry and sound pieces separated from slush while crowds of half starved wretches stood around, and clawed, and almost fought over the sticky mess to get an inch of sound cracker out of it. Comrade Beaumont (the contributor of these recollections) says that years after a member of the 15th Wis., speaking to him of army life, not knowing he had ever "enjoyed it," told him of his fighting for those half inches of crackers. When he laughed at the recital the poor fellow thought that he doubted his story. After the battle of Missionary Ridge came a division of the battery; some were already across the Tennessee from Chattanooga, some were put on the Steamer Missionary, with our howitzer and a detail was made for guards on her trips from Chattanooga to Knoxville. These statements of Comrades Plackett and Beaumont are fully corroborated by other communications received from survivors, all of whom coincide in feeling that this state of siege was the darkest period of their lives. Occasionally gleams of pleasure would occur, two of most noteworthy nature was in the arrival to our command of Comrades Harlan S. Howard and Thomas Boyle, who had been taken prisoners at Chickamauga, and who after most thrilling experiences had successfully escaped, not only from their captors but undoubtedly from death in prison. They were most heartily greeted by the battery and we are pleased to say they still live, Sept. 1st, 1901. Though frequent details were made from our command, the remnant now occupied Ft. Phelps, where the regular service was drilling upon and handling the heavy guns, in which they became as proficient as they were with the field artillery. Gen. Sherman's advance on Atlanta gave an opportunity for our boys to see more campaigning, and many of them volunteered to take a band in the business. -------------------------------- State of Wisconsin. Adjutant General's Office, Madison, Dec. 1,1896. Mr. H. H. G. Bradt, Eureka, Wis. Sir:—Replying to your letter of 29th ult., herewith returned, I have to say, that the records of the 3rd Batt'y, Wis. Lt. Art'y, on file in this oftice, show that the following named members of said battery were detached in Batt'y "M," 1st Ill. Lt. Art'y, April 26, 1864 by S. O. No. 63, Maj. Cotter: Joel B. Bates, George A. Borst, Alfred Brink, Maurice Crimmings, Norman Everson, George W. Griffin, Edward Harroune, Ansel Hayes, Silas S. Herrington, Charles A. Hunt, George J. Jarvis, George Knieram, Orland E. Pattee, William Plackett, Joseph C. Redmore, Thomas Rundle, Michael Scanlan, Andrew Sheffield, Charles Sickles, Henry M. Silsbee, Rasselas R. Stillwell, Ivey W. Tubbs, Albert Turck, Adam W. Uline, Abram VanAernam, Seneca S. Van Ness, Richard Van Slyke, John H. Van Wie. The following named members of the Batt'y were detached at the same time by the same order, but the records do not show what service they were detached in. "Detailed by 8. 0. No. 63, to report to Maj. Reynolds, chief of Ar't 20th A. C, by Maj. Cotter." Battery "M," 1st N. Y. Art.: John Anderson, Esau Beaumont, Russell H. Benedict, Abel H. Bennett, Moses H. Bowen, Alexander Clark, Cassius M. Davis, Francisco H. Davis, Emmett Dunn, Wm, J. K. Bowen, Myron D. Reece, Jeremiah Rode, Alfred S. Weymouth, Alvin H. Weymouth, Wellington White. ------------------------------------ On the 30th of June, all the detail were ready for departure for Cleveland, Tenn., and after many goodbyes, and most sincere wishes for their welfare, by those that remained in Ft. Phelps, they left the next day to engage in one of the most momentous movements of the war, and a campaign that far exceeded in circumstances of great and constant action anything they had ever experienced. At Rocky Face Ridge the enemy was first met, then followed engagements of much magnitude at Rosaca, Calhoun, Adairsville, Picket's Mills, New Hope Church, Pine Top, Hanesaw Mountain, Peach Tree Creek, Atlanta and Jonesboro. During the campaign of five months they were under fire 82 days by actual count from Wm. Plackett's memoranda. In the advance south, the campaign was notable for continuous reconnoissances, skirmishing at all hours, flanking movements, and desperate charging over fearfully precipitous mountains, and discharges of avalanches of ammunition, but nothing could withstand the advance of the Union troops, and when Atlanta was secured our boys returned to Ft. Phelps —after receiving the thanks of the commanders of Battery M. of N. Y., and Battery M. of Ill., who certified to their having done their duty on all occasions to their satisfaction. On this campaign Charles Sickles was killed and Rasellas R. Stilwell, Michael Scanlin and Thomas Rundle were wounded, which comprised all the loss to our detail. Soon after, in October, the men that enlisted at the organization of the battery in 1869,—with the exception of 33, who reenlisted—were mustered out, their time expiring. They returned to their Wisconsin homes. Some reenlisted in other organizations, and some returned to the south to engage in other operations. The 33 men that reenlisted received a furlough and on returning brought a number of recruits, but not enough to complete a full battery and as a strong garrison was still needed at Chattanooga a part of the men were divided among the 6th and 8th Wis. batteries and all of the said batteries done garrison duty, principally at Murfreesboro, Tenn.; ours being in Lunate Palmer, of Fortress Rosecrans, to the extreme right of the battle line we occupied at Stone River. We here held the lunette with field guns and a fort adjacent having siege guns, and drilled frequently on both; it was in this camp we learned of the assasination of President Lincoln, which caused the greatest excitement among the troops here, and brought on several individual encounters in Murfreesboro between our men and the rebel soldiers, who were returning to their homes. I spoke of Revolutionary soldiers' graves, I found on our extreme left. One day a party of us took a trip to the extreme right of our line and there found other Revolutionary soldiers' graves and probably between the two extreme points we fought over others. We will here mention that in our marches we passed by the graves of Presidents Jackson, Taylor and Polk, each having relatives in arms against the Union they fought for, or presided over as chief magistrates. In July we were ordered again to Chattanooga, remaining there long enough to turn over to the goverment [sic] officers all our equipments, and to be mustered out. This date is placed upon our discharges as 3d of July, though in reality it did not occur until the 20th. While enroute for Madison, Wis., an incident occurred that marred our pleasure of the trip very much. Our battery and the 6th were loaded upon freight cars inside and the tops were both filled and while going between Tulllahoma, [sic] Tenn., and Nashville, the engineer of the train, who it was afterwards ascertained was a drunken rebel, tried his best to wreck the train by starting suddenly without warning, and running at the highest rate of speed possible, then as suddenly as he could he would stop, and in that way two of the 6th battery boys were thrown between the cars and killed. Just after leaving Murfreesboro the fellow stopped the train and as the boys rushed to seize and lynch him, he detached the engine going ahead a half a mile, he came back and dashed the engine into the train, then. lit out for Nashville, leaving the boys to nurse their wrath while waiting nearly a day before securing another engine to pull us to Nashville. Now, dear comrades, we present you in rather an imperfect way, what is really but a brief sketch of the battery's service obtainable now, and which many think should be ready for immediate distribution, hence its incompleteness. This work was planned at the organization of the Battery association at St. Paul in 1896, and although the most earnest and assiduous efforts have been put forth to secure its completeness, it will be presented as we now have it and in hopes that at some time in the near future suitable and appropriate illustrations may be added. I must say of this battery, I am proud of its history, and deeply thankful of being one of its members. Many of its best and bravest went down to death, giving their young lives for their country and flag they loved so well. Many more received grievous wounds from which they still suffer, others by the fortune of war were prisoners in the hands of the enemy and after many days and months of alternate hope and fears, suffered to their death in the horrible prison pens, of Andersonville, Richmond and Danville, where starvation and disease were more deadly than the storm of iron and lead upon the battle field, and where death was welcomed as a benefactor. And it is with a feeling of sadness that we recall the names of our patriot dead, the heroic deeds they done, and the ties that bound us together, as we stood side by side on the battlefield and endured the trials of a soldier's life, on the weary march, in camp or bivouac. Your Secretary, H. H. G. BRADT. Additional Comments: Extracted from: History of the Services of the Third Battery Wisconsin Light Artillery In the Civil War of the United States, 1861 -65 Compiled from all sources possible, but principally from members themselves COURANT PRESS, BERLIN DEDICATORY This book is reverently and affectionately dedicated to the Memory of our dead and living Comrades, and to all patriotic relatives of the 3d Battery Wisconsin Light Artillery. PREFACE This book is not expected to cover all the service of the Battery, many facts at this date are lost which will detract from its comprehensiveness. We still have a mass of information in connection with the Battery which for sufficient reasons we cannot at present use. It is of a reminiscent character and very interesting and should be preserved in book form; likewise there should be added several other illustrations, notably one of the Tablet placed upon the ground of our last battle and destruction. I will most gratefully thank in the name of the Association, those who have responded so freely and generously to the request for information. Among the contributors of incidents and essential memoranda I will mention the names of Esau Beaumont, E. D. Case, Wm. Plackett, Harlan S. Howard, E. M. Kanouse, Alf. Lounsbury, Ed. Harroune, Lew D. Williams, E. G. Jackson, Ansel Hayes, Maj. W. J. Colburn, Ira E. Smith and others. H. H. G. BRADT, Secretary. File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/wi/statewide/military/civilwar/other/u3rdwilig56nmt.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.net/wifiles/ File size: 15.0 Kb