From Pittsburg Landing to Corinth is but 19 miles as the "crow would fly." But by the route taken by our division (Thomas) it was 28, and in moving that distance we changed camp just 31 times.
Thomas division of Buell's Army of the Ohio was temporarily transferred to the army of Tennessee in order to place Gen. George H. Thomas in command of that army during General Grant's suspension. The formation was as follows: Right, Army of the Tennessee: center, Army of the Ohio, Gen. D. C. Buell; left, Army of the Mississippi, Gen. John Pope. This grand army of 120,000 men was commanded by Gen. Halleck.
While General Grant had not been relieved from the command yet, according to his own statement, he was ignored completely and consulted about as much as "Captain Jinks, of the horse marines." He says that at one time he made a suggestion and was so completely silenced that he therefore kept silent.
Gen. Halleck came to the landing April 11, and established headquarters in the field with the right wing. Nineteen days were fully occupied in moving the right as far as Monterey, twelve miles from Corinth.
At the magnificent distance of twelve miles the cautious old general began the siege of Corinth on the twenty-ninth of April, 1862.
Just before the grand siege began, the Ninth Ohio (Bob McCook's German regiment) received a large consignment of sauerkraut and lager beer from their friends in Cincinnati. Now the Thirty-fifth always stood in with the Ninth, so far as doing duty, fighting and eating were concerned. But when it came to beer, we were not in the deal. So they gave us a generous share of the kraut, but when it came to the lager, they said "Nein."
Great were the preparations made for the feast of Bacchus, and bucks were made for holding the kegs in place by cutting small saplings, sharpening the ends and driving them cross-wise in the ground, just as a farmer would make a saw-buck at the wood pile. When at last the time had come for the flow, and the boys had licked their lips for the ten-thousandth time in anticipation, the cruel order came from headquarters to move.
What, leave that lager behind?
Again the Dutch said "Nein," and they meant it, too.
Here was a problem to solve, the government already had a good-sized rebellion on hand, and it was quite evident that should an attempt to enforce discipline be made, there would be another.
Gen. McCook, who had already vouched for the conduct of the regiment, again interceded, declaring it would take less time for the boys to put down the beer than it would to put down the rebellion that would result. So he gained his point by guaranteeing that they would be in their place before the sun went down; and sooner if needed. He knew their capacity.
Before the noon hour the gallant Ninth was on the move. As they marched by our camp the entire brigade ceased their camp work long enough to give them three cheers and a tiger.
The only discernible difference in the men was that all the belts were buckled in the last notch, the step a little high, and the time a little fast. Their band was playing the finest we had ever heard. We had at least one full regiment in our brigade.
Roads Through a Swamp
From this time on to the close of the siege enforced idleness was a thing of the past. But the activities which ensued were not to the liking of soldiers who enlisted to fight.
The entire line of the encircling army was about twelve miles.
Our portion of this line ran through a swamp, making it necessary to build a corduroy road. The task would have been sufficient, if only a forward movement had been provided for, but when preparations were also provided for retreat, and cross roads for movements right to left every few hundred yards, the task became a burdensome one.
A soldier in the ranks is supposed by many to be an automation; oblivious to conditions and surroundings. This is never true of an American soldier, and especially the kind that composed the army at the time, when patriotism was the only incentive for enlistment and men of brains rather than of brawn, were the first to volunteer. There were Grants and Shermans serving in the ranks of every regiment, and in a very short time each officer from Colonel to Captain knew just where the brains were to be found. When entrenchments were not necessary the soldiers knew it, and the work was a drag, but when there was real danger, a soldier with nothing more than his bayonet and a tin cup would beat a Rocky Mountain Badger to safety. Twelve miles of entrenchments thrown up each night beside the road building kept every able man on the go.
At that times there were four regiments in a brigade, and three brigades in a division. The army corps were not then in use. A whole brigade went on duty at a time; and time about. While two regiments were on picket, (in fact it was a skirmish line) doing duty in the front, the other two regiments were throwing up entrenchments and building roads.
Bushwackers Indeed
We are told that at the building of the walls of Jerusalem the workmen kept their swords buckled on while they worked. Gen. Halleck adopted the same tactics, for each regiment was required to stack their arms immediately in rear of the trench. On one occasion an Ohio regiment was thrown into confusion by a runaway horse that took an end swipe at their line of stacked muskets. In the tumble that ensued many of the guns were discharged, giving the working party the impression that they were attacked from the rear.
The night was dark, and the brush was so thick that even in daylight one could not see a rod ahead. So in the scramble the men would grasp a bush in each hand to shove them aside for their own passage, only to let them rebound with great force, striking the rear man with a stinging blow to the face, which would bring forth yells of pain and curses of anger. These, together with the officers commands, created a wild din for a few moments, until they reached their arms, and not until the scare was over and the men were picking their arms from the ground did one fellow discover that he had been shot in the hand by one of the stray balls. With a loud cry that put all former efforts to shame, he started for the rear shouting:
"Oh, Lord! What will my poor mother do now? Your boy is a mangled corpse."
On came the scared soldier, yelling louder at each leap, until he ran into the ranks of the regiments formed in the extreme rear. A soldier could not, under any circumstances, escape ridicule from his comrades. This fellow was known as the "Corpse" until the day of his death.
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