Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1894-05-24
A "REMINISCENCES OF SHILOH.
Story of q Famous Battle by a Private Who
Was There.

Owl Va dbtph ~ W " h~
Was There.
would you like to have a private's
opinion of the battle of Shiloh?' asked
a veteran of the civil war. Receiving
an affirmative response, he proceeded:
/ was a farmers lad in northern Hi
nois and joined the Fifty-fifth Illinois
in its march south when ! was Is years
old. My experience was that of every
boy under similar circumstances.
Buoyed up by enthusiasm and natural
youthful spirits, l took kindly to the
drill and in a short while considered
myself a model soldier. / was admitted
to be an excellent shot and took great
pride in my target practice.
I'm the spring of 1862, during the
first few days in April, / had all the
chance / desired for target practice and
availed myself of it. AS every one
knows, Grant was in charge of the
Union forces and had landed about 3d.
600 men down below the little Shiloh
chapel at a place called Pittsburg Land
ing. The C~onfederates had been run out
OF Nashville and were concentrating all
their forces at Corinth, a little place
over the line in Mississippi, while
Grant IS object was TO cut off their COM
munications in western Tennessee.
People may say what they please
about General Grants intentions and
plans and knowledge of the enemy at
Shiloh, but | have never yet seen a pri-
waite who did not admit that the attack
by General Albert Sydney Johnston ON
the morning of the 9th was a well plan
ned and complete surprise. | do not see
how the Union army could have been
surprised more perfectly.
Take our own regiment, for example,
We Were, most of us, cleaning our guns
or sitting around talking. A few Were
playing cards, while others were telling
them they had better be going to church
/ was myself practicing at a target
down by the creek, where a large crowd
of the boys We're washing. Wehad heard
continuous musket firing since very
early In the morning, but as this hap
pened every day no attention was paid
to 1t. Some of us were surprised at the
~cannonading we heard, and one man
mentioned it, but that was all. 81
Presently a yolley of musketry opened
up right in cur faces, and not so yards
from us was the front line of the rebels.
Talk of surprises! If you had seen our
men running and lodging through the
woods that morning, some without
boots, some without hats or coats, some
even without shirts and nearly all with
out guns, you would need no further
evidence to convince you as to the COM
pleteness. of the surprise. Why, we
didn't have a single picket or guard out.
Well, at first it vas simply a race,
but as soon as the camp was cleared out,
which was very speedily done, the race
stopped, for the C~onfederates at once
abandoned us in order to plumber our
tents. This gave nearly all our men the
time necessary to escape.
The Fifty-fifth had scattered in every
direction, as had anumber of other regi-
ments. | found myself running along
with a member of some Michigan regi-
ment, and having been down at the creek
washing when the enemy came up he
had on not a thing except a pair of draw
ers. There We're g few of the enemy still
following us, and as a bullet came whiz-
LAAC NiouS I'll SIIiptu Vic IllSllt VI Ills
arm he turned off to one side and ran
off down the ravine, while / cut across
a little open place as fast as / could to
medenser timber. The bullets whizzed
around me in quite q lively manner as
/ was going across the open, but as soon
as / got under cover / determined to turn
the tables.
1t now became almost like squirrel
hunting or a game of hide and seek.
Away off to my right was q bluecoat,
while opposite him as opposite me were
several rebels watching a chance to pick
us of. We were better shots than they
were, however, and they showed their
realization of it, after a few shots, by
keeping behind trees. Presently / saw a
rebel creeping up till he got behind the
front tree in the opposite timber, OBJ
liquely off to my right, and just where he
could get a good shot at the Union SOL
der ON my side. He did not sec me at
all, and for the first time since entered
the army / took deliberate aim at a sim
gle human being.
Firing IS II OF a crowd at another
crowd is a very different thing from
piChlLS Out Ill lluINIuudl human DelOS
and deliberately taking his life away.
This thought flashed through my mind,
and / had no sooner raised my gun and
taken aim than / at once lowered it
again. 1t was too much like plain muir
der. And yet there he was raising his
gun and preparing to kill my ally and
my friend. If he had been close enough
Tor me to be sure of ''winging' him by
breaking his arm, my mind could have
been made up easily, but he was so far
away. What should / do?
All this rushed through my mind
while he was raising his gun to his
shoulder, and my decision was formed
in a fash as / threw my gun up and
fred. He fired an instant after / did,
but my ball had shattered his elbow,
and by destroying his aim had saved the
life of my bluecoat friend. My comrade
took in the situation as the Confederate,
with an oath, leaped into the open space,
hAa avn nopu1uu linn hy hsc eide Wax