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 partSeCheverell, J. Hamp (John Hamilton)
History
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
SeCheverell, J. Hamp (John Hamilton)
Ohio -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Regimental histories; United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Regimental histories; United States. Army. Ohio Infantry Regiment, 29th (1861-1865)
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.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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