JOURNAL-HISTORY OF THE SEVEMTY-THIRD OHIO VOLUNTEER BY SAMUEL H HUKST LATE COMMANDER OF THE REGIMENT. CHILLICOTHE, OHIO: 1866. THIS volume has been prepared at the request of the Officers and Men of the Regiment whose history it attempts to record. Doubtless it has many errors and imperfections. The history of a regiment is so completely interwoven with the history of its brigade, division, corps, and army, that a general view of the movements of all is necessary to a just appreciation of the part borne by a single battalion. The writer presents the result of his labors, to the members and friends of the regiment, with the hope that it will be a val­ uable record. CONTENTS. Organization of the Regiment, 9 Ordered to the Field, H Forced Marches on Romney and Moorfield, 12 Return to, and Encampment at, Clarksburg, 14 Change of Position to Weston, 15 March across the Mountains, 15 Battle at McDowell, 17 Position at Franklin, 20 The Army of the Mountains, 21 Battle of Cross Keys, 24 Return to Strasburg, 24 Encampment at Middleton, 25 Crossing the Blue Ridge, 26 Camp Life at Sperryville, 27 Battle of Cedar Mountain, 2t The Rapidan and the Rappahannock, 3Q Battle of Freeman's Ford, 31 Artillery Duels,.., 3t Vi CONTENTS. Movements of the two x\.rmies, 33 Battle of "Second Bull Run," 35 In Front of Washington, 44 On the War Path Again, 46 Fairfax and Grermantown, 47 March to Falmouth, 48 Battle of Fredericksburg, 48 Encampment at Falmouth, 49 " Burnside Stuck in the Mud," 50 Move to Stafford Court House, 52 The Spring Campaign, 53 Battle of Chancellorsville, 55 Back to the Hills of Stafford, 61 The March into Maryland and Pennsylvania, 63 The Battle of Gettysburg, 66 Return to Virginia, 78 From Manassas Junction to Bridgeport, Ala., 81 The Situation, 82 Up the Tennessee River, 84 Midnight Charge at Lookout Valley, 86 a ttle of Mission Ridge, 91 Campaign of East Tennessee, 98 Veteran Re-Enlistment, 106 Homeward Bound, 108 Back to Lookout Valley, 110 CONTENTS. Vii Camp at Raccoon Ridge, 110 The Army Moves, 112 Rocky Faced Ridge, 113 Battle of Rosacea, 116 On to Cassville, 121 Flanking Allatoona, 125 Battle of New Hope ,Church, 125 Engagement near Lost Mountain, 132 Battle Days in Front of Kenesaw, 134 At the Powder Spring Road, 135 Across the Chattahoochee, 138 Battle of Peach Tree Creek, 139 Siege of Atlanta, 142 Sherman's Tactics, 146 Atlanta Ours, 148 Camping at Atlanta, 149 Sherman's Grand March to the Sea, 153 In Front of Savannah, 161 Savannah Surrendered, 164 In the "Palmetto" State, 167 Through the Carolinas, 168 Battle of Averyboro', 171 Battle of Bentonville, 173 At Goldsboro', 177 Advance on Raleigh, 178 Viii CONTENTS. The March to Washington, 180 The Great Review, 181 Transfer to Louisville, Ky., 182 Mustered Out, 182 Military Histories of Officers, 184 Military Histories of Enlisted Men, 199 Summary 254 JOURIS-AL-HISTORY OF THE SETENTY-TlilRD OHIO VOL. WmM. ORGANIZATION OF THE REGIMENT. In September, 1861, a group of young men at Chil- licothe, Ohio, discussed the possibility of raising a new regiment of volunteers, under the first call of the Presi­ dent for three hundred thousand men. After due con­ sideration, they determined to make the attempt, and invited Captain Orland Smith, of the " Chillicothe Greys," to accept the colonelcy, and Jacob Hyer, Esq., of Greenfield, the lieutenant-colonelcy of the regiment. These gentlemen accepted the positions tendered them, and at once gave themselves to the work of recruiting and organization. A" number of conditional commis­ sions were issued by the Governor, and, by the middle of October, the work of recruiting was fairly begun. The new regiment was to be called the Seventy-third Ohio, and was ordered to rendezvous at " Camp Logan," near Chillicothe, Recruiting stations were established in Ross, Highland, Pickaway, Jackson, Pike, Athens an(J Washington counties; and company encampments 2 10 JOURNAL-HISTORY OP THE •were opened at Hallsville, Clarksburg and Massieville, in Ross county. At this period in the history of the war recruiting was very difficult. The first outburst of the people's patriotic indignation had somewhat sub­ sided. The disaster at Bull Run had cast a deep gloom over the country. It was, indeed, a period of darkness and discouragement. More than twice " sixty days " had passed, and the rebellion, instead of being crushed, was growing stronger every day. Our people were not yet aware of the magnitude of the work they had undertaken, in the war for the integrity of the repub­ lic ; and the sympathy of England and France with those who were trying to break up our government, and the encouragement given the insurgents by a very large party in the Northern States, gave prestige to the pretended Confederacy, and, to many minds, in­ sured the ultimate success of treason and secession. The firstj reverses of the war had taught us some­ thing of the spirit and purpose of our enemies; and the loyal nation paused, in grief, to weigh the value of the Union, and count the cost of its salvation. Love of country and of right sat umpire, and fixed in the hearts of all true men the desire—the hope—the determina­ tion, that, at any cost, the union of these States should be preserved—the nation should live. It was this de­ termination that prompted the men who now gave themselves to the country: exchanging the pursuits and associations of peaceful life for the dangers, hard­ ships and privations of the field. On the 12th day of November, the first company ("A" was organized; and, on the 16th, came into camp with SEVENTY-THIRD OHIO VOL. INFANTRY. 11 a full one hundred men. November 20th, companies "B" and "F" were organized; and company "G" on the 13th of December. In the meantime a number of parts of companies were brought into camp by the re­ cruiting officers, and all were being drilled in the school of the soldier, the company and the battalion. On the 30th of December, a consolidation of these detachments was arranged, by which the formation of ten minimum companies was completed, and the regi­ ment organized, and mustered into the 'service of the United States. The work of drilling and of preparing an outfit for the regiment went steadily forward, and, by the time it was ordered to the field, the discipline, drill, and apparent efficiency of the regiment were alike creditable to the officers and the men. ORDERED TO THE FIELD. On the 24th of January, 1862, having orders to report to Gen. Rosecrans (then commanding the de­ partment of West Virginia), the regiment left Chilli­ cothe, and proceeded {via the Marietta and Cincinnati, and Baltimore and Ohio railroads), to Fetterman, a village near Grafton, in Western Yirginia. Here the Seventy-third remained in camp eight days. We met, at Fetterman, the Fifty-fifth, Seventy-fifth and Eighty- second Ohio regiments, like our own, just entering the field. 12 JOURNAL-HISTORY OF THE February 8d, the Seventy-third and Fifty-fifth Ohio were moved by rail to New Creek, and there reported to Gen. Lander for duty. We found, at New Creek, three regiments of Virginia infantry, a battery and a detachment of cavalry. FORCED MARCHES ON ROMNEY AND MOORFIELD. Scarcely had the regiment occupied its new camp on the bank of the North Branch of the Potomac, when all the men able for such duty were ordered out on an expedition to Romney, thirty miles distant. The route lay over a mountainous country, now almost impassable with snow, ice and mud. It was a rough introduction to campaign life, but our eager men entered upon it with hearty enthusiasm. The expedition was under the command of Col. Dunning, of the Fifth Ohio, who was also commandant of the post at New Creek. The en­ emy retired from Romney before Col. Dunning's forces arrived; and, as the river was much swollen, the expe­ dition did not cross, but returned, on the third day, to. camp at New Creek. Another expedition was soon planned; and, on the 12th of February, a force of eighteen hundred men, in­ cluding the Seventy-third Ohio, was sent against Moor­ field, still further up the South Branch of the Potomac than Romney. It was; near midnight of the 13th, when the head of our column reached the river at the ferry, four miles SEVENTY-THIRD OHIO VOL. INFANTRY. 13 below Moorfield, and found that the ferry-boat had been destroyed. The column halted, and the men began to build fires along the road, the night being quite cold. Suddenly a volley of rebel musketry, scarcely three hundred yards to our left front, startled the entire column. The balls came whistling sharply among us, wounding one or two men of our regiment. The de­ tachment of cavalry in advance came tearing back through the column, almost producing a panic; but the infantry stood to arms, and, in a minute, our skirmish­ ers were replying to the enemy's fire, which was promptly silenced. Here was the first gun fired by the Seventy-third Ohio, and the first man of the regiment wounded. The column was now moved to the right; and, just at daylight, approached the river again, opposite and in sight of Moorfield. Col. Harness held the town with a force of militia, numbering from five to eight hundred. We could plainly see them drawn up in line, as if ready to give us battle. Two or three shots from one of Capt. Winan's brass guns conveyed the compliments of the visitors, and Col.