The National tribune., 1883-10-04
THE FOURTH CORPS.
Graphic Sketch of Its Career, by an Indian
Veteran.

To the Editor NATIONAL TRIBUNE:
want 10 indorse what Comrade Krissinger,
of the fifteenth Ohio has said about the Fourth
Army Corps There appears to be query as
| 10 whether there was corps in. the Army OF
the Cumberland known as the Fourth Corps,
caused, no doubt by the fact that no one who
| belonged to that corps has written TO THE
TRIBUNE. Well, there was a Fourth Corps. Ii
was in the Army of the Cumberland and was
composed of as good officers and enlisted men
as could be found in the army.
do not think that Comrade Doering really
had any doubts about there being Fourth
Corps in the service when he asked THE TRIB-
UNE: "Was there really Fourth Corps in the
Army of the Cumberland, and where did il
/ fgure?" but ! suppose he wanted somebody
who served in the corps to write up some of its
achievements for The TRIBUNE.
/ / am glad that Comrade Krissinger has an
swered our doubling comrade so promptly.
have been watching closely for some one of the
( Fourth Army Corps to write of some of the
/ battles in which it was engaged. /, too, be-
longed to the old Second division, Twentieth
! Army Corps. ! was in the Second brigade, and
/ when the army was reOrganized at Chatta-
/ nooga, the Second brigade was scattered. The
/ Twenty ninth Indiana regiment was assigned
TO General Cruft's brigade OF General Stanleys
/ division OF the Fourth Corps; the Thirtieth
! Indiana and the Seventy seventh Pennsylva-
mia, TO the brigade commanded by Colonel VIM.
! Grose, in the First division, Fourth Army
Corps; the Thiriy-fourth Illinois was trans
ferred to the Fourteenth Army Corps; the Sew
/ enty-niEth Illinois, 10 the brigade commanded
/ by Harker in Sheridan's division, Fourth
/ Army Corps The First and Third brigades of
the old Second division were assigned, intact,
! to the Third division of the Fourth Army
! Corps. When Sherman started from Chatta-
noOga on the Atlanta campaign, the Fourth
and Fourteenth Army Corps moved forward IN
concert upon the rebel CENTER where they al
ways found the rebs in strong Notifications,
while the Sixteenth, Seventeenth Twentieth
and Twcnty-third Corps pushed forward on
the tanks. The Fourth and Fourteenth Corps
would press close up to the rebel works, hold
them there, shell their forts, and sometimes
/, large the Tebs when it was difficult TO flank
them oat. know that often the soldiers in
the Fourth Corps would crowd the rebels into
their main line of forts, and then we, with
picks and shoveis, would burrow into the
ground and soon have line of earthworks
thrown up not more than three hundred feet
from the Johnnies' line. Then we would re-
sort TO sharp-shooting and shelling them and
often 1t did appear as if everything had broken
loose, for the rebels made il fearfully and won
derTully hot in our trenches by blazing at US
with their big guns; sometimes dropping sixty
pound shells III our midst. Prisoners taken
by the Fourth Corps always had something to
say about the shelling they got from our cam
non. The rebs used TO think, when Howard
and Palmer got their artillery planted along
the works Of the Fourth and Fourteenth
Corps, that General Sherman was in COM
mand Of the universe, and that he usu-
ally assembled to the top of the highest
hill and from there shouted the command:
Attention, world by kindoms, right and
left wheel, march!" Then the Fourth and
Fourteenth Corps would open upon them with
their batteries, and the rebs always marched
back out of the range of those guns into other
works. The rebel General Leonidas Polk was
killed at Pine Knob by shell fired by one of
SimOnson's guns SimonSon was chief of artil-
lery in the Fourth Corps. Then, in fanking
Atlanta the Fourth Corps was active in diving
into the flank OF Hood army south Of Atlanta.
Stanley was in command of the Fourth Corps
then, and in trying TO do too much fanking he
| failed 10 get his corps on the ground at Jones'
boro' III time to capture the rebels which con-
frOnted and fought the Fourteenth Corps there
! The corps had some close work with the rebels
farther south OF that, at LoVejoy, before it fell
back 20 Atlanta. Then came that series of
strategic movements which resulted in the
collapse OF the Confederacy. Thomas was sent
10 Nashville to organize new base from which
10 operate against Hoods army, while Sherman
went marching through Georgia, leaving the
Fourth and Twenty-third Corps under the COM
/ and OF Major-Generl Sehofeld to maneuver
in opposition TO Hood and it has always been
my opinion that the rebel General Hood did
completely out-general Schofeld in the Col
umbia maneuver, resulting in the battle at
Franklin, which was fought 10 save artillery
and wagon trains that ought to have been safe
in Nashville twenty-fours hours before the bat
tie was forced. All is well that ends well: vet
| If the two corps which Hood sent out under
! Generals Cheatham and Cieburne to intercept
! the Fourth Corps while marching ON the pike
/ at night had occupied Spring Hill at the time
specified, Tie larger portion Of the Fourth Corps
woad have been made prisoners and then no one
/ could tell what would have happened at Nash
vile. After the battle at Nashville the Fourth
! Corps was sent to Texas by way of New Orleans.
/ Just why the Fourth Corps WAS sent TO Texas I
] Was never able to find out. We were mustered
! out IN Texas and sent homo. where We arrived
] III December, 1865 The above summary is too
! concise 10 give the reader much of an idea of
the achievement Of tae Fourth Corps, but I,
/ Ike other comrades desire TO have the Fourth
Corps stand i4iriy upon its merits in the history
1 Of the Army of the Cumberland ] hope to
/ hear frnIa other comrades; especially those OF
thc First division Fourth Army Corps.
The brigade 10 which my regiment belonged
! was composed, as near as can remember. Of the
/ following regiments: TWENTY third Ohio. Thir-
( tieth Indiana Thirty-sixth Indiana, Seventy
seventh Pennsylvania and Eishty-ninth Hi
nois. The brigade was commanded by General
Vim. Grose-" Billy by Cod" is some of the
men would persist in saying-who was brave
and skiiiful officer Thc army in Flanders,
whom tradition declares could cuss fright
smart" was, ut certain times, outranked by
! Grose's brigade; especially when the rations
were short. when q review WAS to be had. or
when Colonel Bennet took Us out into clay
! Geld for brigade drill.
JASPER Y. OHLwINF,
Co. E, Both Ind. Vet. Vol. Inf.
LIGoEIER, IND.
lComrade Ohlwine is in error as to the regi-
ments composing Grose's brigade. At the re-