The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1891-01-15
CHICKAMAUGA.
A BattCryman's Testimony 10 the GaIlaulry OF
Turohin's Men


/ gade, and ] wish il distinctly understood that
/ was there, and don't you forget it," ] can
! prove IL by over 30 men now living who were
al the battle as members of Battery J. 2d H.
! L. A. ] wish TO say that until i cOrresp0nded
with and read John T. Booths articles on that
! part Of the battle, had very little idea Of
/ where or how il happened, that about sundoWn
n lot Of running, breathless men should come
| into our battery from the front Of our guns aud
| who proved to be as noble, brave, aud true as
! any that ever wore the Union blue. No sooner
! had they recovered little from their charge
than they were as ready 10 charge back as they
had been 10 fight their way out
God bless them, we always Thought Dan Nc
! Cooks Brigade, 10 which We belonged was the
par excellence Of fighting men and they were,
IS they showed themselves 10 be at Kenesaw
Mountain; but not a man i'm Battery /. after
seeing the grit OF Turchin's heroes but that
would have said our brigade had found its
equal.
IL was not until the last five years that had
any conception Of how important n part Bat
terry took IN the closing scenes OF ChiCka-
manga. IL the charge OF Turchn's Brigade is
famous, we partake OF part of that fame, for
all That portion that did not 60 with Gen. Rey-
noids on the Lafayette road, came into our bat
terry as exhausted as was Gen. Turchin. from
the long run they had made in their charge.
When Gen. Steedman. Of the Reserve CORPS.
i
a position east Of IL 10 that position. Then
came the terrible roar Of the conflict between
Steedman aud L0ugstrect's forces for the pos
| session OF Sn0dgrass's Hill on the extreme
right. Whether we were ordered 20 move 10
the battle-ground or not / cannot say, but we
went Dan McCook's Brigade and the battery
out toward that crashing, Internal roar, moving
direct from the church across the country TO the
lafayette road, which we struck Just a little
north Of a small brook that ran east from the
bill, on which a Union hospital stood, the
ClOud House, as named Oh the map. We moved
south on the lafayette road till the battery
Was in little clump Of woods Of mixed pine
and oak trees, with plenty Of small brush
mixed in, aud about so rods north Of McDan-
ies's house which was almost opposite the road
that leads - Reeds Bridge. The head Of The
column ran into Walkers rebel forces, the first
warning Of which was the hurtling Of three or
four shell over our heads into the open field TO
our right. This open field was covered with
sagegrass, aud descended towards the north
tai it reached the brook at the foot Of Clouds
Hill, There were wounded men scattered here
and there over this field. Soon the order came
10 move 10 the right. The battery wheeled hy
the right flank and moved across the open
ground towards the west till we were over a
sharp rise 20 the depression behind IL, where
we were out OF sight Of the rebels.
Capt, Barnett, accompanied by Lieut.. Plant,
and myself rode back OF top Of the rise 10
see about position for the battery, and were
Immediately greeted with four or five shells as
a compliment 10 our appearance
We bowed our appreciation and retired.
Then, 10 return the compliment. the six guns
were loaded and wheeled By hand 70 the crest,
so their muzzlcs just cleared the ground, aud
six percussion shells were sent screaming our
defiance 10 a battery located in an open field
northwest Of McDanieiss house. / have since
4 Il. 81 =
This was the line OF guns that Turchin's Bri-
gade captured for a few minutes. aud could
have brought away ii they had only known
that McCOok's Brigade WAS near 10 have
helped them, but no doubta bloody fight would
have taken place then aud there, aud what the
result would have been no one can tell. The
fact Of the matter MAS, AS near as ] can find out
40 one knew, either rebel or Union, Just what
was taking place, or what would happen next,
for things were getting somewhat mixed.
sec in J. 4. Booths article that he gives the
report Of the rebel Col. ID. C. Goyan, in which
the said Colonel speaks Of running into two
batteries and being so badly dem0ralized that
he bad 20 retire 300 or 400 yards TO the rear. ]
do not wonder al IL, for the way our boys poured
double-shotted canister into that brigade would
have made anyone think there were two bat.
terics working. ] went over the same ground
in the Spring OF 1864. and IL seemed 10 me then
that mouse could not have lived there long
from the way the bushes aud trees were SCARED
In that little clump Of woods out Of which we
moved 70 our position, and in the west edge Of
which GOvan's Brigade prepared TO charge rs
but did not do not know whether McCook's
Brigade did any firing at that time or not, but
we did, and don't you forget that
il was after this that we received Gen. Tur-
chin aud his brave boys. LietA. Wickham, Of
Canaan Vile, o. wrote me that he thought IL was
a shell from our battery that killed Gen Tur-
chin's horse when he was charging out Of what
was nearly trap for Th0tnass brave corps.
II so we are very sorry, but they did not tell
US they were coming, so we kept on giving the
rebels the best we had in our limbers. Thus.
what with having Union troops taking them in
the rear, and having all they could possibly at
tend 20 IN their front. they became, / think. a
little "discOmfnddled" and concluded they
had better look lecdle oud, f" as the Dutch
man says, aud wait for the morrow 10 see what
would turn up.
J. T. Booth says that that part Of Reynolds
Division that went on 10 Rossyille came back
10 the Cloud House and staid there, with the
idea that there was more work for them 10 DO
aud not 20 surrender. They did not know that
they were defending the left flank Of Battery
]. Many thanks, brave boys for keeping
Forests cavalry from nosing around to our
! discomfort which they certainly would have
done had you not been there. We staid in the
same position till between 8 and 10 o'clock.
then went north on the Lafayette road 10 Ross.
VILE, where most Of the army had gone before,
but before going we shelled many rebel camp
fire without getting any reply from the
Johnnies, and did not know that We were licked
al that time.
Now 70 summarizes: Had not Dan McCook's
/ Brigade moved up just at the time il did
] WalthaiIs aud GOyan's Brigades would have
! kept swinging around the left Of our army
with none 10 resist. Had not Battery en-
gagged those eight guns 10 the northwest Of Ne
! Dauels's those guns would have faced 10 the
/ southwest, and Turchiu's Brigade would not
1 have run through them AS easy as when ID took
/ them In the rear Had not Stccdman's despcr-
ate resistance 10 the death on the right, aud
/ the presence and morale of Battery aud Nc
Cooks brigade on the left, Th0mas's CoTp5
/ would have been captured, or fought almost to
! annihilation to have gotten out Of the trap.
Had not McCO0ks Brigade been where IL was
| Turchin might have been as fain 10 surrender
rs was Gen. Reynolds.
Had not night come on with all Of the circum-
| stances attending, our army would never have
seen Chattanooga, only a demOralizcd rabble
4 OF as prisoners
in the Spring Of 1864 McCook's Brigade was
stationed at Lee & GOrdOu's Mills. SO had tho
4 opportunity Of visiting the battle-ground and
| locating our position, but did not then know
| the positions Of different divisions and corps
| on both sides. Having read many descriptions
| in The NATIONAL TRIBUNE, that peer Of war
1 Literature, aud studied Tho different mans nf
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