The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1905-11-02
THE 9TH MO.
Some Puxzling ThinGs to Member OF
the Reglment.


the Regiment.
Editor National Tribune: In your
edition of Aug. 10. p. b. Williams. of
sketch OF the 9th Mo. In reply you
stated that there were two regiments
which bore that number. Now. 1 was
on scout duty from early in 1851 to
Aug. 10. 1862. I'm Missouri. and during
that time / perambulated over much
territory: into rebel camps and out
again. when 1 could. l was captured
while on one OF my visits to the John
MES, and had quite a lively time in
making my escape. But that is another
story.
I never heard until now that there
were two regiments known as the eth
Mo. This is not in contradiction of
your answer to p. B. Williams, but If
the records are wrong in one particular.
as l shall endeavor to show, why not
ment that to my knowledge bore that
number, from the beginning OF it's SER
vice to the ending thereof.
Your account Of the movements of
the regiment are, in the main, correct.
The 9th Mo. was raised, as you have
stated, in the Fall of 1862. It's first
move after being mustered in was from
Benton Barricks to Chillicothe. Mo,
where we remained until late in the
Fall. From there we were ordered to
Rolla to repel threatened invasion of
the enemy.
Early in the Spring Of 1863 we were
sent to st. Louis, and part Of the regi-
ment placed on provost guard and the
remainder on duty at the Gratiot Street
Prison. The regiment was made up
Of six companies. A, B. c, D. F and G.
of about 100 men each. enlisted in 1852.
The other four companies We're: e, en-
listed in 1861. at st. Louis, and COM
posed Of Irishmen; Cos. H and K were
overfiows from Illinois and all German,
while Co. / was an Independent COM
pany from Arkansas. These last four
companies numbered from Is to 80 men
each.
We were relieved BY the "Graybeard
Regiment from Iowa. and then We
were placed in F. P. Blair's st. Louis
Brigade and sent down the river to
Vicksburg, where we were assigned to
Steele's Division, Thirteenth Corps. We
remained there until after the surren-
der Of Vicksburg and the battle Of
Jackson. when our brigade was trans
ferred to the Fifteenth Corps, Blair be-
ing promoted. Brig. Gen. Fletcher took
command, and retained it until he was
elected Governor of Missouri.
Col. c. r. Wood, Of the 10th Ohio,
succeeded him, and was shortly after
NAMED in command until the end of
the unpleasantness, with the exception
of a few periods, when he was in tenn
porary command of the division, which
was known as the Osterhaus Division of
the Fifteenth Corps.
We lost the four companies &c, II,
and K) after the Atlanta campaign,
but we still retained our original organ
iZation, neither receiving any other
companies nor being consolidated with
any other regiment, and were mustered
out as the 9th Mo. at Washington i'm
TrrrNn da6 t1n fy,,1
we were mustered in until we left the
service by Col. Thos. Curley.
AS to the losses sustained by the regf-
ment, I have no record. I find in my
diary, which was not very well kept,
only three battles in which the losses
were mentioned, namely, Lookout
Mountain, five killed and wounded;
Missionary Ridge, seven; Resaca, As.
But that does not give the total figures,
for we were engaged in over 20 battles,
besides skfrmishes, in which there was
more or less loss
= AS to the number who died from sick
ness there is no reliable record, not
even that of the Government, as ! shall
endeavor to show, and while my state
ment may surprise some, 1t will not be
a surprise to those Of the regiment who
were compelled to go through the
swamps of Black River and the Yazoo
and the pestilentfal lowlands about
Young's Point and Milliken's Bend.
will quote from a letter I sent home
from Young's Point March 81, 1868:
This is an awful sickly place, and
hundreds Of our brave boys are sick
and are dying by scores. They have
made a cemetery Of the levee, and the
distance up and down the river bank
You may have some idea of the condi-
ton of this place when 1 tell you that
out Of IS who came down the river in
one company only about 25 are able to
perform duty
land it continued in that way even
after we had gotten to the highlands
about Vicksburg, for the seed of disease
sOWn in the mems systems in the low
lands caused additional havoc in our
ranks. The hospitals were crowded and
the medical service was poor. The
names Of soldiers taken sick and sent
to the hospitals were not recorded, con-
sequently il they died, which was al
most sure thing, they were never
afterwards heard from officially by the
officers of their companies.
To illustrate the carelessness of the
Surgeons. | was sent in company with
one John Everhart to a smallpox hos
pital at Milliken's Bend but by good
luck there was physician at that place
who knew his business, SO / was treated
for my real complaint, lung fever. I'm
der his treatment l was enabled to re-
turn 10 my command IN comparative
ly short time.
But this is only sort of preface to
the point l wish to make, and that is
that 1t will never be known to any de-
gree Of certainty how many soldiers
died of disease. In making out our last
muster rolls at Washington in June
1865, assisted in performing the work
and to my surprise there was name
after name of men of my company,
known to be dead, carried on the rolls
as sick in hospital at Vicksburg
said to the officer in commands: What
shall we do with these names? The
men are dead" what can we do?"
he replied. '"They have never been Off
cially reported to us as being dead. OF
course. we know as individuals they are
dead. but they have been carried on the
rolls for two years as sick in hospital
and 1t would never do at this late day
to change the rolls"
Other officers Of the regiment who
were perplexed over this same question
were finally convinced it would not do
to change the rolls. 1 believe this was
also the experience of every company
that served in and around Vicksburg
Let us recapitulate: In the beginning
the regiment numbered 919 men, You
say there were two officers and 35 men
killed and 139 died Of disease That
would be 176 divided between 10 COM
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