The National tribune., 1885-02-12
THE "YEARLINGS."
A Comrade Defends Them and Tells Of C:ickasaw
tn


| A Comrade Defends Them and Tells Of Chickasaw
Bayou.
To THE EDITOR: Ia your issue of Dec. %
Comrade Lcasure tells what he knows of the
10th Ohio's participation in the battle of Chick
asaw Bluff. Please allow me to make some
statements in reply. l was member of Go. A,
saith Ind. and was with my company in that
bloody and disastrous fight. Our reg iment
landed up the Yazoo Friday, Dec. 20, 1862.
We drove in the Confederate picllets, and then
fell back to the river, where camped with
out tents. The rain poured down all night.
! We built heaps of logs and kept up fires around
! which we stood trying to keep little comfort
able.
Saturday we marched towards the enemy,
and when the day was almost gone our regi-
| ment was in line of battle in q road on the
! levee. A bayou, or swamp was Immediately Ill
| front, with trees and bushes beyond. Our right
| flank rested on a road which intersected our
| line at right angles. just across the road was
| white house. near which was Fosters 1st Wis.
| battery Col Mansfield rode towards our left,
| and pointing with his sword to the front said,
| Keep sharp lookout over there, boys"
soon saw the Johnnies through an open spac
passing up in our front. / raised my Syringe
| field and fired. Gen. Geo. w. Morgan had just
galoped up, and was directing Capt. Foster
where to throw his shells. As fired he turned
to me, with his sword raised, and cursing me,
i
| Fighting soon began. We were ordered to fire
| by file. The command was, "Ready-aim
steady-low, Joys-fre!" By one of the first
shots fired by the enemy William Long, of our
company, was kiled-shot in the head Lieut..
! Thomas ordered me to take the gun from his
hands and discharge it, His stifenDg fingers
held it with convulsive grasp. When night
came OH fighting ceased. Cos. and were
| put on picket without supper. Passed a cold,
| frosty night, with the enemy near we could
| hear them joke and laugh they came to
| branch for water.
| Sunday morning we were formed in line to
| the lett of the battery, / will not attempt to
| describe what has already been described-that
terrible day of blood. Our regiment was under
| fire all day and fought as well as either of the
! Ohio regiments who claim so much glory.
! Mansfield was as good q soldier as any of our
| brigade, and Lieut.. A. Thomas, who commanded
our company, as brave man as commanded
company at Chickasaw. Mason and Fry say
! our regiment broke on Sunday. Leasure say
we were demoraized by the explosion of Il shell,
and that DE Courcey ordered Col. Mansfield to
"get his - 'yearlings' out of the way" l
| have no recollection of either event; and
! letter from a comrade, just received, says
"Lcasure's statements false as Satan" /
was with the regiment all day, and know l
went nowhere without ORDERS nor did any of
! our company Four years ago l saw Gen Nor
gan, and when, in answer to his question,
told him TO what regiment belonged, he said,
THE 54th Ind. was as brave regiment as ever
marched into battle"
Sunday night we lay down in the woods.
| Col. Mansfield was near me, and asked him
| now the battle going. l remember his
answer verbatim: oh bully! Vicksburg will
| be ours before tomorrow night" Had slept
none since Thursday night, and l went to sleep
| glad and thankful that l was one of the num-
| Der to do such service.
| Before daylight Monday morning we were
aroused as noiselessy as possible, and in wills
pers our officers moved us southeast through
the brush, feeling our way in the dark. Do
not know how far we went, but less than Il
mile. Again we lay down and waited for day.
About noon we were called to attention. After
the battery had fired five or six guns the COM
mand was, UnsliHg knapsacks, Fix bayoncts,
! forward at double-quick."
| When we climbed the bank on the other
side of the bayou saw few saber bayones
lodging around the right flank of our regi
ment, which | suppose were of the 10Th Ohio
| they may have been of the 22d Ky. The bank
was steep, and all were eagerly trying to climb
| up. | saw Gen. Blairs horse mire in the
| swamp, and he was obliged to go on on foot.
Some Of our boys got so near the works that
| they were captured before the command to
retreat was given.
That evening, when Col. Mansfield gathered
the remnant of his regiment together, he said,
with tears III his eyes, rs he noted the many
vacant places, " yen have fought bravely, my
| boys" and turned assay, while we invoun-
| tarily broke ranks.
| was one of the detail to 20 on the field TO
| take the names of the dead - hours after the
battle. 1t had ramed all night freezing as it
| fell. The sight Was sickening. Many Of the
boys were stripped. One poor fellow still
breathed when we came to him. We found
q great many of our dead
| From AdJt-Gen Terrill's report of Indiana
regiments | find that Co. /, the smallest in the
regiment, lost IL men killed or mortally
wounded at Chickasaw SO our regiment of
"yearlings" lost at least $50 men killed or
mortally wounded. The Johmies did well to
hit SO many 'yearings" on the run. behind
| two or three lines of three year Odds"
Lieut. Green in his Department of the
Mississippi" says: De Courceys Brigade lost
700 men" Comrade l.. must be in error about
the loss in his regiment.
! l hope some OF the officers of the 5ith who
have the facts will come out. in your columns
soon. Boys, be little more moderate on the
green Hoosiers," as the 42d Ohio used to call
us-EvAN II. MITCHELL, Co. A, 54th Ind,
Sidney, Iowa.