Fairhaven herald. [volume] (Fairhaven, Wash.) 1890-????, 1891-08-08

lions OF tlOrlda ana Texas every state In
the Confederacy was touched during its
campaigns, and in eight different states it
buried battlefield victims.
The field services of the Fifty-fifth be-
gan in Sherman's brigade, in the St. Louis
rendezvous, in 1861, and ended when he dis
banded his army after the grand review In
1865. The regiment was with Sherman at
Shiloh, in April, 1862, and at Bentonville,
N. c., in March, 1865, having followed his
fortunes closely during the intervening
three years. This record alone would be
proud one, though it could be told in few
sentences, but the regiment has other
claims to notice, having won a place
among the 800 fighting regiments whose
losses in killed and mortally wounded in
action entitle them to special classification.
Its battlefield losses were distributed over
the whole period of its campaigns, and in
fourteen out of the thirty-fve months
of its campaigning it counted its killed in
action, and in the aggregate these amount
ed to l57, nearly Is per cent. of the total
number borne on the regimental rolls
Probably one out of every five who stood
in its ranks in battle was killed.
But the best of all is that the fighting of
the Fifty-fifth meant something. Shiloh,
the Vicksburg assaults, Atlanta, these
were the fields of its hercest 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 mile
distant from other troops. IL so hap
pened that the left flank of the Union line
was Just the point the Confederates de
termined to smash Mt 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 Conied-
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 Oh Ine IeBlllcnti SdNiu Pou"iN
Its fighting strength when brought into
close action was 800 men-5l2 OF thu
Fifty-ffth, the remainder part OF tn
Fifty-fourth Ohio regiment. The Confed
crate reconnoisances developed the left o
Prentiss' line, which was next on thu
right from Stuart as the left Of the Uniol
army, and that lire was the first attacked
But the battle was hardly under way wheI
Stuart's men were seen by the Confeder
ates, and being in motion, shifting thei
positions to receive an expected attack
they were supposed to be maneuyering L
flank the enemy's line. Considerable tim
was lost by the Confederates in preparing
to meet this new emergency Brigade
and regiments changed their places, AM
reserves were brought up to fiji the gap u
the line of battle caused by this extenslo
of front. 1t fell to the lot of Chalmers
Confederate brigade, of Wither's division
to grapple with Stuart, and that comman
moved forward under the personal dlre'
ton Of Gen. Johnston, with orders U
drive the lonely brigade back toward tn
river and isolate it from the rest OF Tn
Union army.