Gaylord Nelson 722 Sunset Lane, East Lansing, M1ch.. " \ ~HEN THE INFANTRY MARCHED By Gaylord Nellon He l~ped sl1ghtly when I first knew him - especially in bad weather. It might have been a touch of rheumat1sm, but wasn't. The third finger of his right hand was missing. These were his Visible marks of the Civil War from 1861 to 1865. At that time he was a slender man, slightly stooped, with a, ruddy complexion, ~hite ha1r and beard, a respected merchant in our Kindly, quiet and reserved, he was a most modest and small town. self-effacing man but widely known for his integr1ty and fa1r-dealing 1n business transactions. He affected no martial air and, although. Qe was addressed punctil10usly as "Captain" by oldsters in town wearing bronze G. A. R. buttons, certainly he was far removed from the professional veteran type. Ue possessed a similar button - never w~rn except at funerals of friends of his youth. When my brother and I purl01ned ~he long-tailed, blue, uniform coat with shoulder straps, buckled on his sword and clanked about the yard in martial grandeur, he laughed. He didn I t laugh. wh,en my brother' ly hen the Infantry Marohed -2- during an attack on a snow fort, flourished the weapon too realistically and pinked a neighbor boy. He mildly forbade further play with the sword. Boy-like, we asked him if he had ever cut down an enemy with 1t. He replied that he had once spanked a saucy negro w1th the flat blade but no blood flowed - and sm1led presumably at recollection of a minor episode. On another occas1on, for some youthful dere11cti JIl, he marched us to the kitchen,armed us with brooms, and put us through the manual of arms with a snap that made our teeth rattle. We were left stand1ng rigidly at attent10n unt1l 1;>ed time. {Ihen he barked "present arUle! sb.oulder arms!" the tone was hard, metallic, m1litar1st1c, totally unfam1liar to us. After that we never doubted he bad drilled real soldiers. Years later, early for an appointment with a fuss-budget politician in the state Capitol, I waited in the rotunda where the frayed battle flags of the troops sent by the state to the Civil "liar are displayed 1n glass cases. I noticed only two of the forty-six regiments listed suffered greater battle losses than the 8th Infantry - his regiment. America again fages a crisis with swarming enemies on all the seven seas. The accumulated wealth of generations of peaceful commerce. and industry is being marshalled; millions of young men are overflowing camps, training stations and a1r fields learning the rough war trade. ~pon them, backed by all our moral and physical resouroes, d~;pends the whole shape of the future here in America. Sons, husbands and fathers faoe perils on land and sea and in the air. Casualties have occurred; there will be more anxiety, grief and tragedy in more homes as we pay the price for a chance to live a free life again. So a war year of this unpretentious infantryman in a bygone t {{hen the Infantry ~iarched) -3- nat10nal cr1si. takes on fresh s1gnificance. His diaries and letters of the period ohroniole the daily aotiv1ties of one who had a Job tO ,do - and perforwed the daily tasks without rhetorio, fiag-waving or morbld introspection. He slogged through the mud of Virginia, the heat and dust of Mississippi and Tennessee for four years in a oonfliot out of whioh was forged a un1ted nation of oontinental expanse. And after it was over, returned home to fifty years of peaceful oivil life in the oommunity from whence he started. In after years only the slight limp and the missing finger marked his servioe. ,As the year 1863 opened he was w1 th the Army of the Potoluao in winter quarters on the north side of the Rappahannock r1ver. A few weeki before Lee had Jolted the Northern Army back on 1ts heels with great 10S8 at Fredericksburg. It was now bogged down while the generals and the government at Washington debated what to do and how. The men in the ranks were not occup1ed with debates on high strategy. They were veterans who had learned war tQe hard way - campa1gning. For them winter quarters meant a dull routin.eof picket duty, polioing camp, rain and mud with a few breaks in the monotony noted 1n h1s d1ary: IINew Year'.. Whisky was g1ven out to the boys; some of them got qu1te merry. "S1mon and Wes bought a lot 0 f p1es and sold them out. Got a letter from Theo; h1s reg~ent 1s do1ng Provost Guard duty in Alexandria. He wr1tes new as well as old sold1ers are discouraged. It Had chicken for dinner. Drew dried apples from the quartermaster, the f1rst we have had in the serv1ce. "~'i'es and S1ma had some cider for sale; some of the boys (When the Infantry :'darohed) -4- rolled the barrel through the tent and knocked the head in. "Cramer was absent froll drill selling apples; Hutch set him to digging out a stump as punishment. "Simon got two oans of oysters and we had an oyster supper.1I They were ordered to be ready to maroh with 60 rounds of auununit10n and 3 days ration. but nothing oame of it. One army corps (Frank11n's) moved forward then returned because the roads were 1mpassible and pontoons and artillery could not be moved. So the month of January passed. At the close it was so~ewhat enlivened, possibly, by receipt of a letter f~om a young ~ady a~ home, who wrote: "I wish I , could be a. soldier just to s,ee all the s1ghts and t~e beaut1ful scenery of the sunny south that was, but a a great share beautiful no long,er". February began more ausp1clously for him. "Today I was promoted to 2nd Lieut. of Oo.C, to ra~k from Jan .. 1. T~e chaplain preached an excellent sermon". Th,e promot10n didn't immediately change the course of the war. They rem~1ned in wiQter quarters unt1l the m1ddle of the month, then moved by boat to Newport News the off1cers occupying the ladles' cab In , he notes. And settled down ln new quarters. Slow progress in putting up shant 1es was experlenced "our company care(cid:173) lessly left the1r axes on the nappahannocklt • Soclal l1fe qulckened. "In the evenlng we had an oyster supper at 001. Ely I S tent". Apparently the new oamp was an lmproveillent, for, on March 2, 1863. he wrot>e hls father: uNe have the f1nest camp I ever saw and the boys have to be partlcular and keep themselves, clothes and guns clean, boots blacked etc. ~.1aj. Gen. Dlx revlewed our dlv lslon last week. He is a warlike looklng old Hlan wlth a very large nose and a hlgh collar." The home front was not so plaoid. Antl-War sentlment and (Nhen the Intantry Marched) -5- factional bitterness were rife. ~h11e the troop. were enjoying the feliclt1es of camp 11fe w1th white gloves for the company "as per Gen. Wilcox's order" he recelved a letter from a young lady touohing on home affairs: "M.aple Rap1ds, Mar. 23, 1863. Dear Friend; lie are looking for our frlends home again. They are holdlng War meetlngs allover C11nton County ~or the purpose of suppresslng this 'nlgger' watras the Un10n Democrat is pleased to call it. They are golng to have the Unlon as ~t was and stop thls flow of blood". Spring cawe. The regiment moved, but not homeward. After a lelsurely trlp by steamer up the Chesapeake lt reached Baltimore, , . , took the care for a slow,rough ride over the Allegr~ies to the Ohl0 rlver where they agaln embarked on a steamboat for Louisv111e. "The 0 fflcers have comfortable rooms but we are all troubled wlth NO MONEY". At Lou1svl11e, whlch he terms a very pleasant place "but not muoh enterprlse displayed't, new tents were lssued and, more important, ,the regiment was pald. ItGot i242.20 - went to town in the even.1ng w1th Lt. Smlth and others". And 1mmedlately recelved orders to march. The armies were agaln In , the fleld after the wlnter inactivlty. It was the; flrst of Ap~11. "Took the cars to Lebanon, arrlving there just before sundown and oamped; I bad the s1ck headache. "went to the hotel for breakfast in the morCl1ng. no not like the fare much and they cnarge $1 a day for meals by tt.l.e week. " There ensued three weeks of idleness in camp with 11ttle dlversion. A trlp to town to a negro show whl1ed away a couple of hours. "The performance dldn't amount to mUCh". Camp was tidled with evergreen shade trees in the streets. Then military red tape snarled. "Today the 18th and 22nd Mich. started for Tennessee. They (When tbe Infantry IJarched) -6- had some negrqes with them which Gen .. Manson ordered. them to leave. The Colonel of the18tb refused; Gen • .Manson ordered o~t the 16th Kentucky and the tra~n was stopped to await Burnside's o.rdere." The ·")!utcome o-f the clash 0 f author ity was not noted by the diarist, but it must be as~umed the traln eventually moved with or without. A few days later his brigade broke camp. "Reve,ille at 3 o' clo~k; marohed at f!.ve. We. took the Columbia r .oad a.I).d marched 18 or 20 mlles over a rather hllly, broJ,ten coun try. "Got a letter from Theo; he ls promoted to 2nd Lieut. to rank from Aprll 15, 1863. .In the evening the quartermaster' 8 colored individual prea.ched to the people. "We i1ear that great battles were fought in Virginia Saturday and Sunday; t ,he news from Hooker's army is enco~rag1ng. "The 2nd 111ch. and the 79th N.Y. marched early this morning, we remain to guard this place and finish the bridge." Wh~le engaged 1n prosaic bridge construction mail from a cousin back home reached ~1m. After disposing of mutual acquaintances, she took up mOl'e important matters. "I wou,ld send you SOJle cake if it wasn't so far. As it i8 I will send a paper with the patrlotio speech of Miss Dickerson that the rebels bowl so much at. Miss Dickerson speaks the true feelings of the majority of the ladles at the north. Hoping this may flnd you well and enJoylng all the pleasures of a soldler's llfe." Apparently the war didn't miss the cake. tlWe hear tbat the rebel General Jaokson is dead; he was undoubtedly a great general. "Lt. Doane and I rode out to Campbellsville. Saw A. N. Harding representative in Congress of this distriot - he (When the Infantry Marched) -7- appears to be a good Un10n man. We had a good d1nner and a pleasant ride. "Gen. Morgan has crossed the Cumberland r1ver and' our foroes at Columb1a are look1ng for an attaok - t~e sutlers are go lng to the rear .. til was on p lcket duty. It was dull. One of the Kentuoky , cavalry pickets kllled nis comrade 1n a quarrel near us. "At noon we marohed for Oobumbia, arrlved after dark. The roads are awful dusty and the teams drew the boys' knap~aoks for them. "Marohed at sundown. "Last n 19ht w~ mar,oiled 13 miles toward Jamesto.n and camped about 4 o' clock this morning. We have a squadron of cava.~ry, 2 pieces of artlllery and 3 reglments of infantry. We met no rebels. "Our oavalry went to the Cumberland r1ver and oaptured one of the rebel pickets from the other slde, there were no rebels on this s1de e~cept horse thieves. "started ba.ck to Columbia about 3 P.~,i. Arr1ved there after a. very rapid mar,on through rain and mUd . .. Heavy baggage 1 s be1,ng sent to the rear and we had to turn over all our wall tents and use shelter tents. "Got march1ng order s and marched at sundown reachlng Green river about 2 o'clock in the morning. ttMarched about 8 o'clock. tI Started at 5 A.M. to Lebanon J took the cars, arrived at Louisville and crossed the river to Jeffersonville (Ind.~ at midnight. II For more than a. month the regiment had marched and countermarched across eastern Kentuck1 without serious fighting or casualties. It (When the Infantry Marched) -8- was now shifted by ra11 on the north side of t.he Ohio river to Cairo, Ill1nois, where it embarked on river boats which for five days splashed down the Mississipp1 ty~ng up at night at woodyards. It joined Grant's forces besieging V1cksburg. "Got to Young's Polnt Just above V icksburg at lOot clock .1 and landed. "Marched at half past four this morning. Opposite . warrentown embarked on the boat to oross but were ordere4, baok. "Embarked on Bte~boat Wm. L. Ewlng and ran up to near Ha1ne's Bluff on the Ya,zoo sQme 10 or 15 miles above the o. W. Fine of our company hurt himself very bad mouth. on his bS.y'Qnet." Here mail oaught up with them. For him was a letter from a patriotio girl doing her bit to keep up t~e sOldlers' morale~ "Lleut: Perhaps you will th1nk this is an advanced step for a maiden to take, especially oqe that claims but a very short aoquaintance, but I feel soared when you are acquainted with my motive you will extend a fr~e forgiveness. "i.e -I was coversing wlth a lady friend on the suoject pertain1ng to our soldiers the rell.iark was made that 1t must be a source of encouragement to them to receive word from their friends at hOme. We promised that we would write to,You. II I have another motive 1n th1s, namely f that of request1ng your photograph. Believing you to be a brave and patriot1c defender of our glorious nag, I· would l1ke the memor1al by whloh. to remember you as Buohu • The diary doesn't disclose whether the requested "memorial" was sent. Other business was afoot. "Heard heavy firing at Vicksburg ln the morning. (When the Infantry Marched) -9- "Left camp at Milldale in the forenoon in light marching order with three days ratiDns. "Vicksburg surrendered this morning. We marched at four o'clock with three days rat1ona, going about 5 miles toward Big Black river. The road was ver,y dusty. "Marched 2 miles an~ stopped 1n the woods a mile and a half from Big B~ack. "I'ell in to march at 4 A.M. but didn't go until 2 P.,d. took the r~ad to Jackson (lUss.) Before sundpwn 1 t was very warm and many of the boys were overcome by tb.e heat but after dark we had a heavy thunder storm and the ra.in came down in torrents. Tue boy.s of the 9th. Corps. I am sorry to say. show a great taste for plundering. niJarched at three P.M. IN,e passed a plantatlon owned by Joe Davia, brother to Jeff Davls. "Marched at seven o',look and went about fourteen miles. Water has been very sO,arce to4ay. "Marched at seven 0' clock and got 1n sight of the 1nsane asylum and w1th1n three m~leB of Jackson at 2 P.M. Her.we formed a line of battle and advanced t,o wit.h1n one and one-half miles of the city, our skirmishers driving the rebels before them. , Halted at dark and slept 10 line of battle. "Fell 1n at four this morning and advanced close to the rebel works; the 2nd Mich. skirmished ~n front ~f our brigade and lost heavily but our regiment was unde~ fire all day and didn't have a man hurt. At night we lay down in line of battle. "This morning were relieved by the 2nd divielon and marched back about a mile ~o rest. Our batteries shelled the town for an hour, then there was skirmishing all day but nothing (When the Infantry Marched) -10- serious. "Nothing going on except picket and artillery firing. ttNothing important t9day. Some skirmishing 6:nd artillery firing. "This afternoon we formed a line of battle with the intention of making an assault but after waiting a hour or so were ordered back to oamp. Considerable firing on our right. n~he rebels evacuated Jackson during the night and we marohed at ten and one-half o'olook andwent to Grant's Mill on the Pearl river. "I took a bath in Pearl river • . "Mar~hed at six 0' ,look and arrived at our old oamp at Jackson at noon. In the evening I visited the capitol. War has sadly desolated the city - many of the buildings are burned. "~arched at four o'clook for ()ur old oamp at Milldale on the Yazoo. ttMarohed at six 0' clock and oamped after dark 1n a large cornfield. The day was very warm and men fell out, some died died by th.9 roadside. ttMarohed back to our old calJlp at Milldale. II Thus he summarizes three weeks under the blazing summer sun of Mississippi on a minor sort1~f ~o slight consequence that it soarcely rates a footnote in an unabridged history of the Civil War. On his return ~o ~he Yazoo he sent his brother in the eastern army a more detailed report of the operation. "Dearest brother; I was very sorry to hear that you were siok and trust tnis will find you restored to health. "lie have just returned after a ted10us expedition to Jackson the capitol of Mississippi. (When the Infantry Ma.rched) -11- "We arrived near Jackson at two o' cloak the aft ernoon of the f loth, formed our line of battle and advanced to within a mile of ' the rebel pickets and skirmishers, sleep1ng on our arms at night. The 11th we again advanoed at daylight and t,ook a sheltered position , , in the woods 100 rods from the rebel works with our skirmishers a few rods advanced. This 11ne was held until the place was evacuated on the night of the 16th, thetroops relieving each other every twenty-four hour s. The rebels were quite strongly fortified and JOhnston's army muet have been in very bad condition or he never would have left without more fight ing. fiOur regiment did not have a man hurt in the operations though we were under f1re a great deal of the time. "I visited the city where many of the finest housea were burned, some by therebels the rest by us. T he night I was there thetoown waa lit up by burning houses. "We commenoed our maroh back the 20th and ree.~hed here after tpe hardest march we ever had, the distance was not great but the heat and dust were oppress1ve, in several cases soldiers aotually fell out and died ~y the side of the road. "I must urge you to take good care of your health and aveld unnece,ssary expo~ures. Affect ionately yours". Apparently then as now-- on the home front and in the servioe - family oorrespondents worried about those remote rather than about themselves. A letter of his lllOther to the brother in the eastern theatre of war, dated July 29. 1863, has been preserved. tlMy own dear Theo~dore: It is three weeks since we had a letter from Wilbur and we are very anxious to h..ear from him. Mr. Harris' told us yesterday there was a W. F. N ____ __ reported slightly wounded in a I Detroit paper. It may be our Wi1bur". (When the Infantry marched) -12- The regiment 1dled In camp for a week. The Vicksburg oampaign, hailed by the north as one of the first oonspicuous m1l1tary successes of the confl1ot, was concluded. A v10lent so~mm blew down many of the tents "ours w1th the rest". Otherwise it was dull and he hoped they would move soon. The next day his w1sh was gratified. "Reveille at two this mornlng; fell in at fo.ur and marched aboard the steamboat Leonora". T.he gallant Leonora ohurned the tortuous Mississippi for several days, avoiding the ha.za.rds Qf night navigation of the unmarked channel. At Napoleon, Arkan,as, they purChased SOllie peaches and really extended themselves upon re8chlng Mmlpb,ls where he sept ashore in the evening for some ice cream and b~er". Early the next morning, like any tripper, he visited the pointe of interest in the c1ty but found 1t a dull place. Ip the park he observed the bust of Andrew Jaokson bearing Old H1ckory's historic declaration 'The Federal Union; it must be preserved'. tts01lle barbarian ha.s defaced the word Federai ll • At Ca1ro, where they disembarked, he heard General John A. Logan in a patriotic address a~d concedea the General's oratorical power "but he indulges considerable 1n blackguarding t1 • Here also mail awaited. A boyhood frlend, serving in tne 4rmy of the Potomac, wrote; "My dear li11bur; Our locallty J strange as 1 t Is, 18 in the great clty of New York. The extensive riots whlch have disturbed the c1ty for several days were the cauae of our being Bent here. I am not sorry. J think a short campa1gn in N.Y. Clty preferable to a tedious march and consequent fatigue and poor ratlons In V1rginia. We tlave plenty of rooIIl. t good Q3l8l'ters, good rations and not much to do 'I • Two days later, Journeylng by rail, h1s un1t was back 1n (When the Infantry ;;iarch6d) -13- Kentucky whero Bmall peddlers were thick in camp and "pies and cakes' cheap" . Almost ~ediately they again took the road. "Lt, Greene, myself and sixty men detailed to guard the train of the First Division through to their camp beyond I Nicholasville. After hav1ng a c1rcus w1th their wild mules we started about ten 1n the morning ~d drove thirteen m1les. "The train drove 27 mile. today. "Drove 27 m1les. Uwent through Lexington at noon. Saw Henry Clay' e monum.ent from the road. but had no opportun1 ty to v.1si t 1t. Lexington is a pretty town. Passed Nicholasville near sundown and went to our regimont. "Ordered t() march tomorrow mor,ning at daybreak. It During the fir·at half of September they were continuously on the move the hard way - afo()t. His diary br~efly records a succession of marching at Bunrise, at daylight, at eight o'clock. They found the road rough and h1l1y, so bad the wagon train stalled. They reached Barbourville where he rested his feet long enough to pen a letter to his brother in the army near Washington. ttMya