Journal History of the Twenty-Ninth Ohio Veteran Volunteers, 1861-1865 / Its Victories and its Reverses. And the campaigns and battles of Winchester, Port Republic, Cedar Mountain, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Lookout Mountain, Atlanta, the March to the Sea, and the campaign of the Carolinas, in which it bore an honorable part

by J. Hamp SeCheverell

CHAPTER VI.

1862.

Cedar Mountain—Battle—Severe Loss of Life—Forward to Alexandria.

August 8th, the regiment moved at 2 o’clock, advanced to Culpeper Court House, and went into camp; and at 10:40, on the morning of August 9th, moved forward in the direction of Cedar mountain. Halted a short time, and the Twenty-eighth Pennsylvania regiment was sent to the right on an eminence as signal guard. The remainder of the brigade soon advanced, halting at intervals, as the day was insufferably hot (several men died this day of sunstroke). At last, passing through a piece of timber, we approached the open field with a rolling country in our front, and at 1:30, while making preparations for dinner (near a fine spring of water), skirmishing and artillery firing was heard on our right, which continued at intervals until 3:45, when the rebels appeared in heavy force, ready for battle, and the Union lines were formed without delay. The Twenty-ninth regiment (commanded by Captain W. F. Stevens, of Company B,) was ordered to advance and take position in rear of a battery which had been placed on a ridge. Here the regiment took position, the right resting on the road, and the left extending into the field, covered from the enemy by the hill on which the battery was placed. The Twenty-ninth, with other regiments of the brigade, was about on the right of the left wing of the line in open field, while the right wing extended across the road, and into the timber. The regiment remained in this position, supporting the battery, and receiving a heavy fire from the rebel artillery in our front. Here several men were wounded.

At 5 o’clock P. M., we moved over the crest of the hill, to a cornfield some distance in advance of our previous position. During the advance to this new position a terrific cannonade opened on us, dealing great destruction to our ranks. Apparently every cannon of the enemy was let loose against us, but we never faltered in this march of death, despite the terrible missiles that were tearing through our bleeding ranks. Comrades were falling, and brothers dying. The mangled and bleeding victims of the fury and violence of war were left thick around us, making the ground sacred on which they fell; but we wavered not. Reaching a low piece of ground, we halted, and were ordered to lie down and continue firing. We remained for one hour in the open field, exposed to this furious storm of grape and canister, shot and shell. Comrades gave up their lives so gently that it was scarce possible to tell the living from the dead. The fatal missile struck the victim, leaving the lifeless clay in the same attitude which the living body occupied. During the fatal period death assumed a real character while life seemed but a dream. The engagement had now become general. The brigade of General Prince came up, and formed on the left of our regiment. The Sixty-sixth, Fifth, and Seventh Ohio regiments were formed on our right, in the order named. (The Twenty-eighth Pennsylvania regiment was not with us in this engagement.)

At a given signal the brigade arose and, with defiant yells, rushed forward to the charge. Prince’s brigade on the left moved forward with us. A sheet of flame and smoke burst forth from rebel batteries, musketry replied to musketry, bayonet clashed with bayonet, and cheers rang out against cheers, as one side or the other gained the advantage in this deadly conflict. Daring warmed into rashness, and bravery into recklessness. Hurrah! we force them back, their line is broken, a battery is almost within our grasp; when in this moment of seeming certain victory, fresh columns of rebel infantry rush upon us on the double-quick, masked batteries open on us at the same moment a most furious enfilading fire, causing our brave boys to reel and stagger. An order comes for us to retire, when three-fourths of our regiment have been placed out of the fight—dead or wounded. Slowly and sadly the remaining few obey the order, keeping our faces to the foe until fresh troops arrive to take our places, when we resume our position in the reserve near Telegraph hill. Each regiment of the brigade had done nobly, but all alike had suffered a loss so great that the four regiments together could not show a respectable facing front for one regiment. As night settled over the field of carnage and of death our entire army corps withdrew to the position it held early in the day, but our artillery kept up a desultory firing, with but short intervals during the night.

The casualties of this battle were: Killed, 11; wounded, 26; missing, 12. Total, 49.

Private George Williams, company F, came off the field with his third gun—two having been shot from his hands.

During August 10th and 11th skirmishing continued. In the afternoon of the last-named day the 29th regiment was inspected. Adjutant Storer reported eighty-three men only present for duty.

The Union army remained on the field three days, retiring, on August 12th, to Culpeper Court House, where it encamped. Our pickets, going over the battle field on the 13th, reported that dead horses were piled in promiscuous positions; dismounted cannons, wrecked caissons, and broken firearms were everywhere, while the graves of the fallen, singly and in trenches, were scattered over the entire field, only the freshly heaped up earth marking the spots. In one spot were the unburied bodies of a boy in blue and one in gray, their arms interlocked as their brave souls went out to the God who gave them, the one for the right, the other, it is hoped, forgiven for his misguided championship of the wrong.

Twelfth, marched to Culpeper Court House, and went into camp. 13th, put up tents and prepared to live. 14th, and all is quiet. 15th, another inspection and review. There is one consolation if we do have inspection every other day, there are so few men left that but little time is consumed in doing so. 16th, 17th, and 18th, still in camp; was inspected again, and at 6 o’clock on the evening of the latter day, struck tents under orders to march; slept on our arms that night. 19th, marched at 10 A. M., north to the Rappahannock, a distance of eleven miles, and went into camp. Had only a small quantity of green corn to eat. 20th, all quiet in camp. 21st, at 6 A. M. firing began, and was kept up along the line all day; at 7 in the evening the regiment, under command of Captain Schoonover, marched two miles and halted; company H was sent forward to the picket line, and the regiment moved at 6:30 A. M. along the Rappahannock; halted at 9:30; after a brief rest the regiment again fell in, and marched till 12 at noon without breakfast; sharp firing along the line; halted until 6 o’clock P. M.; moved up the Rappahannock river two miles, halted, stacked arms, and remained up nearly all night; (rainy) no tents or blankets, made our bed of rails. Saturday, August 23d, at 6 o’clock A. M. the artillery opened fire, and continued until 11 o’clock P. M.; remained on our arms all day; at 10 o’clock P. M. moved a short distance up the river, and the Twenty-ninth went on picket. 24th, and all is quiet; at 9:30 A. M. the artillery commenced firing, which was kept up continually during the day. 25th, artillery and musketry firing all along the line; at 8 o’clock P. M. the Twenty-ninth with its brigade moved up the river four miles and camped for the night. 26th, no rations for breakfast, but after a short time some green corn was procured, which filled the bill. At 8 A. M. the artillery dueling again commenced and was kept up the remainder of the day. The Twenty-ninth regiment moved one-half mile for shelter, remained here until 9 P. M., when it marched forward until 3 o’clock A. M., of the 27th; halted, moved forward a distance of three miles, and again halted. At 1 o’clock P. M., moved in the direction of Warrenton Junction, and camped for the night (no rations for supper or breakfast). On the morning of the 28th day of August, the regiment moved at 5 A. M., marched three miles and halted, drew rations and moved on in the direction of Bristow station, and camped for the night. Heavy firing in our advance all day. 29th, remained in camp, about two miles above Bristow station. 30th, marched at 6 o’clock A. M. and halted at Bristow station, and remained till 5 o’clock P. M., when the enemy was reported in our rear. The sick and disabled were moved to Alexandria and other points. August 31st, teams and trains containing camp and garrison equipage and other army supplies, were moved in the direction of Fairfax Court House.

During the campaign under Major-general Pope from August 20th until the regiment reached Alexandria on the 2d day of September, 1862, it was one continuous march and counter-march, by day and night, moving up the Rappahannock as far as White Sulphur Springs. On the 29th and 30th of August near the Bull Run battle ground. A very hard battle was fought, in which the Nationals were forced from the field, and again late in the afternoon on the 1st day of September at Chantilly, a short distance from Fairfax Court House, a sanguinary battle was fought, which continued late in the evening. In this last engagement the Nationals held the field at night, and on the 2d the Union army fell back within the fortifications around Washington city. During the last two or three days of the above campaign the Twenty-ninth regiment was completely cut off from the main army, as it had been ordered to guard the quartermaster stores with other government property on the railroad at and near Bristow station, and when ordered to join its brigade it found the enemy in the rear, so that it was only by a circuitous route in the direction of Brintsville, and a forced march that it reached the Chantilly battlefield during the engagement, on September 1st. Here it bivouacked for the night, and on the following day marched to Arlington heights, via Alexandria, where it went into camp.

During the last twelve days of the campaign the Twenty-ninth suffered severely for rations and rest, it being on the march, under fire, and on the skirmish line the entire time. When we reached Fairfax station, on the platform of the depot we found an immense table upon which our wounded boys were being subjected to the ofttimes bungling butchery of ignorant alleged surgeons, a number of whom were busily engaged in depriving the poor fellows under their charge of wounded legs and arms, and in many cases hastening their death thereby. This worse than murder by men, the majority of whom, when at home, had never even witnessed a capital operation, cannot be too highly condemned. (The writer is personally acquainted with professional men of this sort, who came out of the service first-class carvers, but the number of brave fellows sacrificed to bring about this state of proficiency is unknown.) It was now ascertained that the Confederate army of General Lee was making rapid marches towards Maryland. To checkmate this movement our columns were at once ordered on a retrograde movement in the direction of Washington. Reaching Alexandria, we passed up the Potomac, crossing at the long bridge, and moving forward to Georgetown where a halt of one day was made, the command departing the following morning for Frederick City, Maryland, which was said to be occupied by the rebels. A day’s march brought us beyond Rockville, Maryland, where we encamped for the night. At 2 o’clock, on the afternoon of September 5th, the regiment marched to Monocacy Junction, where the rebels had a short time previous destroyed the railroad bridge.