M’CLERNAND’S DIVISION.
McClernand’s division lay a short distance in the rear, and with one brigade stretching out to the left of Sherman’s line. Properly speaking, merely from the location of the camp, he did not belong to the front line. Two-thirds of his division were entirely behind Sherman. But as the latter fell back, McClernand was compelled to bear the shock of battle.
His division was composed as follows:—First brigade, Colonel Hare commanding, Eighth and Eighteenth Illinois, Eleventh and Thirteenth Iowa; Second brigade, Colonel C. C. Marsh commanding, Eleventh, Twentieth, Forty-eighth and Forty-fifth Illinois, Colonels Ransom, Marsh, Haynie and Smith (the latter was the “Lead Mine regiment”); Third brigade, Colonel Raith commanding, Seventeenth, Twenty-ninth and Forty-ninth Illinois, Lieutenant-Colonels Wood, Farrell and Pease, and Forty-third Illinois, Colonel Marsh. Besides this fine show of experienced troops, they had Schwartz’s, Dresser’s, McAllister’s and Waterhouse’s batteries.
McClernand was at once in the hottest of the fight. As Buckner’s brigade fell back, the protecting woods grew thinner and storms of grape swept over them like the blasts of a tornado. Lieutenant-Colonel Canfield, commanding the Seventy-second Ohio, was mortally wounded, and borne dying from the field. Colonel Sullivan, of the Forty-eighth Ohio, was wounded, but continued at the head of his men. Company officers fell in numbers and were carried away from the field. The rebels, by a sudden dash, had taken part of Waterhouse’s battery, which McClernand had sent over. Behr’s battery, too, was taken, and Taylor’s Chicago Light Artillery was terribly exposed, and compelled to retire with heavy loss. As the troops gave way they came out from the open woods into old fields, completely raked by the enemy’s fire. For them all was lost, and away went Buckner’s and Hildebrand’s brigades, Ohioans and Illinoisans together, to the rear and right.
McDowell’s brigade had fallen back less slowly than its two companions of the same division. It was now left entirely alone. Having formed the extreme right, it had no support there; its supporting brigades on the left had gone; and through the space they had occupied the rebels were pouring furiously. In imminent danger of being entirely cut off, they fell back among the ravines that border Snake creek.
Sherman was indefatigable in collecting and reorganizing his men, and a contest was kept up along portions of his new lines. The General bore with him one token of the danger to which he had so recklessly exposed himself—a musket ball through the hand. It was a miracle that he escaped so slightly, for his courage had been conspicuous. He had dared death fifty times since the attack was made on his raw division that memorable Sunday morning.
Now the great force of the enemy fell on McClernand’s right. As Sherman fell back, McClernand was compelled to bring in his brigades to protect his left against the onset of the rebels, who, seeing how he had weakened himself, hurled themselves against him with tremendous force. A couple of new regiments, the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Iowa, were brought up; but taking utterly raw troops on the field, under heavy fire, was too severe a trial, and they gave way in confusion. Then the whole division made a change of front, and faced along the Corinth road. Here the batteries were placed in position, and till ten o’clock the rebels were foiled in every attempt to gain the road.
But Sherman having now fallen back there was nothing to prevent the enemy from coming in further out on the road, and turning McClernand’s right. Prompt to seize the advantage, a rebel brigade dashed audaciously through the abandoned camp of the division, pushing up the road in order to come in above McClernand. Where Sherman had been, a battery of rifled guns was turned upon them, hurling fearful slaughter in their midst and driving them back.
But the enemy managed his reserves with great skill. A constant advance of fresh regiments proved overwhelming, and the storm of death swept many a brave Union officer away. Death after death was proclaimed, disaster followed disaster with disheartening quickness.
This was about half-past ten A. M., at which time the enemy had made a furious attack on General McClernand’s whole front. He struggled determinedly; but finding him severely pressed, Sherman moved McDowell’s brigade directly against the left flank of the enemy, forced him back some distance, and then directed the men to avail themselves of every cover—trees, fallen timber, and a wooded valley to the right. The brigade held this position for four long hours, sometimes gaining and at others losing ground, Generals McClernand and Sherman acting in perfect concert, and struggling to maintain this line.
By eleven o’clock, many of the commanders of regiments had fallen, and in some cases not a single field officer remained; yet the fighting continued with desperate earnestness—the fearful contest on both sides was for death or victory. The almost deafening sound of artillery, and the rattle of the musketry, were all that could be heard. The men stood and bravely delivered their fire, regardless of the thunders of artillery and the storm of iron missiles that raked through them. Foot by foot the ground was contested. The wounded fell in heaps on the battle field. There was no easy transportation at hand, but such means as the soldiers could invent were adopted, and their wounded comrades carried to the rear. Many who were hurt fell back without help, while others fought in the ranks until they were actually forced back by their company officers.
Major Eaton, commanding the Eighteenth Illinois, was killed; Colonel Haynie was severely wounded; Colonel Raith, commanding a brigade, had his leg so shattered that amputation was necessary; Major Nevins, of the Eleventh Illinois, was wounded; Lieutenant-Colonel Ransom, of the same regiment, was wounded; three of General McClernand’s staff—Major Schwartz, Major Stewart and Lieutenant Freeman—were wounded, and carried from the field. Line officers had suffered heavily. The batteries were broken up—Schwartz had lost half his guns and sixteen horses. Dresser had lost several of his rifled pieces, three caissons and eighteen horses. McAllister had lost half his twenty-four pound howitzers.
DESPERATE HAND-TO-HAND FIGHT OVER SCHWARTZ’S BATTERY.
The soldiers fought bravely to the last—bravely as ever men fought—but they were at a terrible disadvantage. Gradually they began falling back, making a determined resistance; occasionally they rallied and repulsed the enemy for a hundred yards, then were beaten back again, renewing the retreat to some new position for fresh defence.
By eleven o’clock the division was back in a line with Hurlbut’s. It still did some gallant fighting; once its right swept round and drove the enemy before it for a considerable distance, but again fell back; at last it brought up near the position of W. H. L. Wallace’s division.
Now Prentiss, Sherman and McClernand were driven back, and their camps were all in the hands of the enemy. The whole front line, for which Hurlbut and Wallace were but the reserves, was gone.
Sherman’s brigade, on the extreme left, was doubly left alone by the Generals. General Grant did not arrive on the field until each division General had been in action, and the respective Generals had in the best manner they could, carried on the battle; but this brigade was even left by its division General, who was four miles away, doing his utmost to rally his panic-stricken regiments there.
It was commanded by Colonel David Stuart, and was composed of the Fifty-fifth Illinois, Lieutenant-Colonel Malmbourg, commanding; Seventy-first Ohio, Colonel Rodney Mason; the Fifty-fourth Ohio (Zouaves), Colonel T. K. Smith. It was posted along the circuitous road from Pittsburg Landing, up the river to Hamburg, some two miles from the Landing, and near the crossing of Lick Creek, the bluffs on the opposite side of which commanded the position, and stretching on down to join Prentiss’ division on its right.
When the rebels marched out from Corinth, a couple of brigades (rumored to be under the command of Breckinridge), had without molestation reached the bluffs of Lick Creek, commanding Stuart’s position.
During the attack on Prentiss, Stuart’s brigade was formed along the road, the left resting near the Lick Creek ford, the right, Seventy-first Ohio, Colonel Rodney Mason, being nearest Prentiss. The first intimation they had of disaster to their right was the partial cessation of firing. An instant afterwards, muskets were seen glimmering among the leaves, and presently a rebel column emerged from a bend in the road, with banners flying, and moving at double-quick toward them. Their supports to the left were more remote than the rebels, and it was evident that, with but one piece of artillery, a single regiment could do nothing there. They accordingly fell back toward the ford, and were reinforced in an orchard near the other regiments.
The rebel column veered on further to the right, and for a brief space, though utterly isolated, they remained unmolested.
Before ten, however, the brigade, which stood listening to the wild roar of battle on the left, was startled by a shell that hurtled directly over their heads. In an instant the rebel batteries that had gained the commanding bluffs opposite, by approaching on the Corinth and Hamburg road, were in fiery play. The orchards and open fields in which they were posted, looking only for an attack in the opposite direction, were swept with the exploding shells and a hail-storm of grape.
Under cover of this fire from the bluffs, the rebels rushed down, crossed the ford, and in a moment were seen forming on the creek, in open fields, and within close musket range. Their color-bearers stepped defiantly to the front, as the engagement opened. The storm came in sharp and quick volleys of musketry, the batteries above supporting them with a destructive fire. The Union sharpshooters panted to pick off the audacious rebel color-bearers, but Colonel Stuart interposed,—crying out, “No, no, they are too brave fellows to be killed.” Almost at the first fire, Lieutenant-Colonel Barton S. Kyle, of the Seventy-first, was shot through the breast. The brigade stood firmly at least ten minutes, when it became evident that its position was untenable, and it fell rapidly back, perhaps a quarter of a mile, to the next ridge; a few of Stuart’s men, at great personal risk, carrying Lieutenant-Colonel Kyle, in a dying condition, from the field they were abandoning. Ohio lost no braver, truer man that day.
When they reached the next woody ridge, rebel cavalry, that had crossed the creek lower down, were seen coming up on the left; and the line of battle was formed fronting in that direction, to resist this new attack. For three-quarters of an hour the brigade kept this position. The cavalry, finding it prepared, did not come within range. In front they were hard pressed, and the rebels began to come in on their right. Colonel Stuart had sent across to Brigadier-General W. H. L. Wallace, then not engaged, for support. Brigadier-General McArthur’s brigade was promptly started across, but mistaking the way, and bearing too much to the right, found itself in the midst of the rebel forces. He vigorously engaged the rebels to his front and flanks, fell back to a good position and held these troops in bay till the rest of his division came up. General McArthur was himself disabled by a wound in the foot, but he rode to a hospital, had it dressed, and returned to the brigade, which meantime held its position stoutly.
But this brought Stuart’s isolated brigade little assistance. They were soon forced to fall back to another ridge, then to another, and, finally, about twelve o’clock, shattered and broken, they retreated to the right and rear, falling in behind General McArthur’s brigade to reorganize. Colonel Stuart was himself wounded by a ball through his right shoulder, and the loss of field and company officers greatly disheartened the troops.