The National tribune., 1906-02-22
HEAVY LOSSES IN BATTLE.
e"rhoe Martin Makes Some Caustic
Commsnts in an Effort 10 Settle Dis
pute of Long Standing.a n

tonal Tribune of recent date. in answer
to request of Comrade John r. Pal
mer for brief sketch of The 32d Ill.
you say: at belonged ltos Gresham's
Division of the Seventeenth Corps, and
lost two officers and 56 men killed in
action, and one officer and $50 men
died of disease, accident, in prison, etc;
making total loss of 26S."- According
to my arithmetic this would amount to
800. ut suffered heavily at Shiloh
where it had its Lieutenant-Colonel,a a
! captain, First Lieutenant and two
Second Lieutenants killed. 9
The total loss of the 32d Ill., at Shiloh
was three officers and Sc men killed and
six officers and I0S men wounded and
five men missing" Now, If this is a.
true history of the 32d Ill. l do not
wonder that Comrades Palmer and Ho-
bart cannot agree as to who struck
Billy Patterson" and whether it was at
Arcola or Jackson, Miss. Comrade Ho-
bart says 1.-THE official War Records
give them (the battles of Corinth and
Hatchie) as one and the same" Why
does he not quote the same authority
for the repulse of Lauman at Jackson,
Miss, July 12, 1868, instead of falling
back on J. P. Cannon's Inside of Re-
bellion?" AS far as 1 can learn, the
position of the rebel forces at Jackson
was as follows: Loring on the right,
next Walker, then French, and last, on
the left Breckenridge. This last divi-
sion had three hrigades, commanded
Adams, Stovall. Lauman struck Adams's
Brigade, but it appears that all had
something to do with the repulse, al
though l find nothing positive as to
Stoyall other than what is contained
in Adams's report of the affair. Com
rade Palmer. in reply to Comrade Ho-
barts criticisms. says: "I cannot re-
frain from concluding this article by
saying again that it was
Gen. J. c. Breckinridge's Division that
Col. Pugh charged at Jackson, Miss,
and that l did not in any way confound
that disaster with that of Hovey's en-
counter of the 18th of July. I was one
of Hoyey's kids, and this is the first
ever heard of our having an encounter
with anybody or anything on the date
mentioned. If there was anything of
the kind. won't some comrade who is
thoroughly conversant with the facts
rise up and tell us where it was and
what 1t was about? If Comrade Hobart
will kindly inform me where he found
or where / can find Special Order, No.
191, dated Vicksburg, Miss, July Is,
Ipuos ilC Will tciltI d great
place me under many obligations.
Now, few words with Comrade John |
A. McGregOr regarding his correction
of Comrade A. j. Jacobs, Co. d, 22d |
Ky. Comrade McGregor says: Il would
like to prompt the comrade in regard |
to the formation of the brigade as it |
then existed. ~ would say |
that the brigade was composed of the |
10th Ohio and 42d Ohio, instead of 42d |
Ind, 22d KY. and saith Ind, command |
ed by Col. L. A. Sheldon, of the 42d |
Ohio Wrong, comrade,' on both counts |
The formation of the brigade as it then
existed was: 54th Ind, Col. Mansfield; |
22d KY, Lieut.-Col. Monroe; 18th Ohio, |
Capt. BOtsford; 42d Ohio, Col. Sheldon;
114th Ohio, Col. Cradiebaugh; Col. |
Daniel w. Lindsey commanding brf- !
gade. Col. Sheldon was in command at
Port Gibson, but some time after and |
prior to the battle of Champions Hill |
Col Lindsey succeeded to the command |
and held it all through the Vicksburg |
and Jackson campaigns. In his de- |
scription of Champions Hill the COM
rade says: 1.-THE roads upon which Nc |
Pherson and McClernand respectively |
were advancing met at the summit" |
think the comrade is also mistaken in |
regard to this. My impression Is that |
the Clinton and Raymond roads did |
not join until near or at Edwards De-
pot, and that the one that joined the
Clinton road at the top of Champions |
Hill was a cross-country road, the game,
in fact. followed by Buford's Brigade of
Bowen's Division going to the support
OF Stevenson, and the one on Which
Osterhaus and Carr came onto the field |
Just a little too late to be effectiyeI do
not think Logan got anywhere. near the |
main Raymond road at the time men
toned, but did get possession of the
fLr IN fha. .f tl,T Il
where it crossed Bakers Creek by the
bridge, thus cutting off their retreat by
that route. The main Raymond road
was at least mile farther south. There
was another cross-country road about
one mile vest of the one mentioned
above, and it was over this road that
the rebels made good their retreat to
the Raymond road and thence to Ed
wards Depot. Had Osterhaus and Carr
advanced an hOGr earlier and captured
the position held by TiIghman at the
junction of these two roads our 46-odd
days in the trenches at Vicksburg would
never have materialiZed.
Again, the comrade says: Grant
threw Smiths and Holiness Brigades
of Crocker's Division into the gap on
Hovey's right" 1 don't think the COM
rade intended to put it exactly that
way, as Smith was in command of the
First Brigade, Third Logan's) Division
ana Crockers was the Seventh Division |
The position assigned at least part
of these troops is also wrong / cannot
speak of Smith, but 1 know that the
Third Brigade tBoomer). Seventh d.
vision, and the Second Brigade
(Holmes), same division, or at least
two regiments of this brigade, the 18th
Iowa and 10th Mo, also Co. e, gath
Mo, We're sent to support Hovey's Di-
vision, and fought gallantly, as their
list of casualties amply attests.
/ have always inclined to the opinion
fand give it for what it is worth from
the standpoint of a man In the ranks)
that the cutting off of Loring's Division
from their line of retreat was caused
not so much by the advance of Oster-
haus and Carr as by the desire of Lor-
ing to be cut off. This opinion, think,
is fully carried out by his actions on
the field that day. He was ordered re-
at least half dozen times,
to come to the left to the support of
Stevenson; the last order was for him
to come Immediately and with all dis
patch TO the left to- the support of
Stevenson, whatever may be in your
front" Still he dallied, Again and yet
again We're couriers sent in hot haste
for him to come, and finally Gen. Penn
berton himself went after him, and at
last, when found, like The advance of
our left, 1t was too late 10 retrieve the
day. All this however, did not prevent
him from making good his retreat had
he so desired. If 1 have located him
correctly. he was on-the direct route to
the lower ford on Bakers Creek, on
the main Raymond road The 18th La,
belonging to his division, crossed at