The National tribune., 1906-09-13
FORT DoNELsoN.
Experiences Of the 10th Ohio In the
Siege.

Experience on battlefield was at Fort
Donelson. My regiment, the 18th Ohio,
ksd left its recruiting camp at Newark,
O., on Feb. 9. 1852, and about the 18th.
I think, we reached Paducah. We went
down the Ohio River from Cincinnati
on transports, and arrived at Paducah
in the evening, but did not go ashore.
was officer of the guard that day and
night, and Just before daylight trans
port came alongside and tied up to our
boat, and a Lieutenant jumped aboard
and greeted me with the first informa-
ton that had reached Paducah of the
capture of Fort Henry. That day sew
eral transports. heavily laden with sol
diers and army supplies, our regiment
included, and also a number of gun
boats went up the Cumberland River
to make an attack on Fort Donelson.
We landed some two or three miles be-
low the fort on Friday afternoon, the
| 18th, and Immediately marched mile
or so to the rear OF it. We halted ire
ouently, so that our progress was slow
We halted once by the cabin of one OF
the natives, and 1 guess they must have
thought there was no doubt about ouf
being genuine Yankees. for we GER
tainly asked them enough questions to
satisfy them on that score, and we had
no doubt about their being genuine
Southerners, for their replies were we'll
supplied with "we-uns" and "yo-uns.
When we reached our position in the
line it was nearly sundown. snow falling
and pretty cold. Men were detailed
from our regiment to go out on the
picket line. / remember how l pitie,i
those poor fellows who had to stand
out in the cold snow storm all night in
| front of the enemy. We had been play
ing soldier at Camp Sherman, Ohio, To-
l L. tx,-~ fIr<n mt he n
now it was coming right down to real
business.
After standing in line fully two hours.
shivering and stamping our feet to keep
| them warm, at last we were ordered to
bivouac q short distance in the rear.
behind hilltop, from the enemy. and
to make as little light as possible. as 1t
might expose our location to the rebels
and enable them to treat us to some
shells. perhaps. What would good
many of the boys have given to have
gone home to supper and to bed that
night?
When we broke ranks we were not
long in getting some fires started, Tor
the cold annoyed us more than the fear
of rebel shells, for we had stood in the
ranks so long that we were pretty badly
chilled. When we came to know more
about the shells. however, we were not
quite so Indifferent. Some, however, did
not try to build fires, but rolled their
blankets around them and lay down
together in groups like a lot of pigs
while others who had picked up dead
branches and made fires got out their
tincups and made coffee before trying
to sleep. For my own part, I was
stockholder in fire with about a dozen
of the boys, and we had our hot coffee
and after sitting and standing around
the fire until after midnight ] wrapped
my blanket about me and lay down as
close to the fire as 1 thought prudent.
and soon fell asleep. Before morning
one Of the boys gave me a jog and
shouted in my ear. Lieut.. Burt, your
blanket is afire." and raising myself,
found hole burned in it large enough
to put my arm through; but fortunately
the fire had not reached my coat. There
was some firing on the picket line
through the night.
By 10 o'clock the next morning or
ders came to be in readiness to march
to the front at a moments notice. Gen.
Lew Wallace, to whose command We
belonged, was on the top of hill near
us, and Aids were galloping their horses
TO and from the position he occupied.
In the afternoon our regiment and the
1st Neb. were ordered to advance on 4
road along a ridge toward the front.
where we had heard considerable fir
ing. We met an Illinois regiment that
had been engaged going to the rea.',
and for the first time saw wounded men
Icing carried off on stretchers and in
remember one Of the Illinois boys
saying to us:
Boys. you'll catch -! We've Just
come out of there, and our regiment is
all cut to pieces"
We had not advanced much over {.
quarter of a mile along the ridge when
the balls began to go zip, zip. through
the branches Of the trees and the un-
cerbrush near US. We Immediately filed
to the right in line of battle across the
end of a hollow, halted. and faced To-
ward the enemy, the 1st Neb. being put
in position about 10 yards in front OF
US and little lower down the hill.
They Immediately opened fire on the
rebels, while our regiment was ordered
to reserve its fire. The rebels. a Mis-
sissippi and q Texas regiment, with a
shot us mostly, but we had 10 or 20
men wounded and our boys could be
restrained no longer, and began to load
and fire as fast as they could, delivering
their fire over the heads of the Nebras-
ka regiment. I'll venture to say that
neither the Nebraska boys nor the reb-
els were in much danger from some of
them fired much as If they were shoot
ing squirrels in the tops Of the trees. AS
the leaves on the underbrush and the
butternut uniforms of the rebels were
nearly the same color, 1t was difficult
to see the latter, but their balls whZ-
ing about US convinced us that they
were there. In less than half an hour
we had driven them from their position
and their firing ceased. What our feel
ngs We're as we were marching to the
front for the first time, and how re-
joiced we were over our first victory
there are few old soldiers here, perhaps,
who do not know better than any of US
can tell.
That was oil Saturday. That evening
we moved n little farther to the front
and bivouacked for the night. The next
norning-Sunday-b we moved
again to the front, I took the oppor-
tunity to look over the ground where
the battle had been going. on the day
before. The underbrush and saplings
were shivered with the balls. Here was
cartridge box, there a broken musket:
a few steps further on n knapsack torn
In shreds. and letters, writing paper and
some articles of clothing scattered
about; here a bayonet and there SOL
dier's hat, a canteen with a bullet hole
through 1t. crumbs of hardtack scat
tered about. etc.
About 9 or 10 o'clock we had orders
to move to the front, for the purpose.
as we understood. to charge on the fort.
AS we went forward among the cut
down saplings that were intended by
the rebels to impede our advance we