The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1891-08-01
paigns.

IlODS or r iorlca and Texas every state III
the Confederacy was touched during it;
campaigns, and in eight different states il
buried battlefield victims.
The field services of the Fifty fifth be
gan in Shermans brigade, in the St Louis
| rendezvous, in 1861, and ended when he dis
banded his army after the grand review in
1863 The regiment was with Sherman at
Shiloh, in April. 1862, aud at Bentonville
n. c., in March. 1865, having followed his
fortunes closely during the Intervening
three years. This record alone would be 0
proud one. though it could be told in few
sentences. but the regiment has other
claims to notice. having WOO a place
among the 200 fighting regiments whose
losses in killed and mortally wounded in
action entitIe them to special classification.
It's battlefield losses were distributed over
the whole period of its campaigns, and in
fourteen ont of the thirty-fve months
of its campaigning it counted its killed in
action, and in the aggregate these amount
ed TO ISL, nearly Is per cent. of the total
number borne on the regimental rolls.
| Probably one ont of every five who stood
in its ranks in battle was killed.
! But the best of all is that the fighting Of
the Ffty-fifth meant something Shiloh,
the Vicksburg assaults, Atlanta, these
were the fields of its fercest struggles
! Two of them were victories and the third,
! Shiloh, had its triumph for the Fifty fifth
aside from a share in the general result,
which was negatively a victory. In that
battle the regiment was in Sherman's
division. Second brigade, and was detached
from the main line and sent to the extreme
left to hold a position more than q mile
distant from other troops. 1t so hap
pencd that the left flank of the Union line
was just the point the Confederates de-
termined to smash at the outset. This
flank rested very near the Tennessee river,
and across that river help would come to
Grants support If it came at all. The Con-
federate commander wished to fight it out
with Grant alone, and therefore aimed to
force the Union line back from the river
and seize the crossing places before juno
ton could be effected between the Union
troops on the field and the 10000 marching
to their relief or the routed army could es-
cape over the same route, The battle was
fought as planned. Johnston, the Coufed-
crate commander, was wounded while urg-
ing his men forward to break the Union
resistance on the left flank.
The brigade in which the Fifty fifth
served was commanded on that field by
the colonel of the regiment, David Stuart
It's fighting strength when brought iuto
close action was $40 men-5l2 of the
Fifty-ffth, the remainder a part Of tho
Fifty-fourth Ohio regiment. The Confed-
crate reconnoisances developed the left Of
Prentiss' line, which was next on the
right from Stuart. as the left of the Union
army. and that line was the first attacked
But the battle was hardly under way when
Stuart's men were seen by the Confeder-
ates, and being. in motion. shifting their
positions to receive au expected attack,
they were supposed to be maneuvering to
flank the enemy's line. Considerable time
was lost by the Confederates in preparing
to meet this new emergency Brigades
and regiments changed their places, and
reserves were brought up to fill the gap in
the line of battle caused by this extension
of front. 1t fell to the lot of Chalmers
Confederate brigade, of Wither's division,
to grapple with Stuart and that command
moved forward under the personal direc-
ton of Gen. Johnston, with orders to
drive the lonely brigade back toward the
river and isolate it from the rest of the
Union army