Ozaukee County's
War History
by Daniel E. McGinley

as extracted from THE PORT WASHINGTON STAR
July 17, 1897



26th Wisconsin
Chapter 5

On the enemy's side, the first line being checked at the edge of the cornfield on the Hawkins farm, was joined by the second line; but the united force was unable to get further than the edge of that field, so brisk and deadly was the fire from our two gallant regiments. The line of grey in their front was now so crowded that the rebs took their turn at firing, part of them loading their guns in the shelter of the timber while others stepped to the front to shoot. In this manner they poured a terrific storm of lead down upon our devoted line; but it was answered by a fire that was very effective in that mass of grey. It was purely an infantry battle upon this part of the line, and the roar of the musketry was incessant.

Gradually the rebel lines bent around and enveloped both flanks of this short line, and opened a raking cross fire on the two regiments. But they stood without flinching, and had not their commanders ordered a retreat, it is quite probable that every man in that line would have been either killed, wounded or captured. The brigade commander, Col. Kryzanowski, seeing the danger gave the order to retreat, which was repeated to the Twenty-sixth by Col. Jacobs and several of his line officers, but the men, unaware of the great danger that was threatening them, refused to obey the order and kept on firing. Seeing his men falling by the dozen before the storm of lead which struck them from both front and flank, and realizing that they would be annihilated or captured if they remained there a few minutes longer, Col. Jacobs, unable to make himself heard, ran to the colors, seized the bearer of Old Glory by the shoulder, turned him around, and pointing to the rear ordered him to run in that direction as fast as he could. The color-bearer did so, and seeing their colors going, the survivors on either side of it obeyed the Colonel and stuck out for the rear. In much less time than it takes to write it, the two regiments were in full retreat, raked by a murderous fire and followed by the yelling foe, leaving hundreds of their comrades dead or wounded on the field. Had they stayed a few minutes longer the enemy's lines would have enveloped them, and few if any would have escaped. The other regiments, which meanwhile had got into the action further to the left, and the left of the division at the pike, were all outflanked about this time, and the whole Union line retreated through the dense timber to the rear.

A survivor of the Twenty-sixth who used a rifle in the ranks that day, but was subsequently promoted to a lieutenancy, and to whom I am under deep obligations for many facts contained in this sketch, gives a very interesting account of this retreat. He writes: "I did not hear the order to retreat, as the rattle of musketry was deafening, and happening to look around I saw that the regiment was in full retreat. As the rebs were only a few rods from me I concluded that discretion was the better part of valor, so I unslung my knapsack, and with my face to the rear and my back to the foe I doublequicked it in earnest. On the previous day Col. Kryzanowski had made a speech to us, in which he had told us to follow where he led, and as I now saw him ahead of me, riding rapidly towards the rear, I tried to obey orders and follow where he led."

"I caught up with Col. Jacobs under the hill. There were eight or ten of the boys with him. He was slightly wounded and quite weak, and on foot, his horse having acted so wildly during the action that he was forced to dismount. He was lamenting over the fate of those of his gallant men whom he was forced to leave dead or wounded on the field. While in the hollow we were somewhat out of range of the bullets, but as we rose the opposite slope they fell like hail. The --th-- was stationed here, but they broke and ran before we came up to them. A few rods farther in the edge of the woods, we caught up with our colors. Here Colonel Jacobs tried his best to rally the regiment, but most of the boys had gone on ahead, and it was madness for the few that were there to make a stand, so we again went for the rear. A little further and we rallied in the woods with an Ohio regiment. There were not a great many of our regiment there, they having taken different routes and become widely scattered by that time. Not being supported, we were soon ordered to continue the retreat, and kept falling back until we came to a clearing where we found parts of the Second and Twelfth corps in position, and where we rallied and reformed our lines. It was now quite dark and we were marched to the rear of the Second corps, which was soon attacked by the rebs, but they were met with terrible vollies of bullets and shells which quieted them for a while. But instead of giving up the contest, they endeavored to flank the Twelfth Corps. We were now marched a little further to the left. The firing soon commenced again, and for a few minutes the rattle of musketry and roar of cannon was perfectly deafening. It was moonlight and the sight of shells flying and bursting in the air was terribly sublime. The rebs finally had to give way, as the position of our forces was too strong for them."

Let us now return to the Dowall farm where we left the other brigades of Schurz's division, and the remnants of Devens' falling back before the overwhelming force that had attacked them there. On the eastern edge of the clearing Buschbeck's brigade of Steinwehr's division, with some artillery had taken position behind a line of light entrenchments, and here Schurz's and Devensí men again rallied, and formed a line in which some 5,000 blue coats stood and kept Jackson at bay for nearly half an hour. Here Howard exerted himself bravely, and with a flag in his hand he rode along the line and did all he could to rally the men and make some amends for his costly blunders.

But he did not have men enough on hand to long withstand the repeated assaults upon his front and flank by the great waves of grey; and no reinforcements being sent him it was a hopeless fight. It was on the right of this line that the Twenty-sixth rallied with the Ohio regiment, but they being in a dense timber were not so furiously attacked as were the troops on their left in the clearing. Rodesí rebel division was repulsed and driven back, but was soon reinforced by the other two divisions, and together they attacked the Union position in front and flank, and simply overwhelmed it. This was the last position on the line of the Eleventh Corps, and just as darkness spread its pall over the scene, its gallant men were forced to relinquish it and retreat through the forest lying north of Hazel Grove and west of the Chancellor farm.

The heroic Capt. Dilger sent all of his guns but one to the rear when Schurz's left had been driven back to the light riflepits on Buschbeck's line, there being no room for them there, and with his single piece he took a prominent part in the struggle for that line. Here his gun was nobly supported by two companies of an Irish regiment, the Sixty-first Ohio, and when the final retreat began through the forest, the two Irish companies stuck to their German comrades with Dilger's gun, and formed the rear guard of the Union troops retreating along the pike. Slowly and sullenly this gallant handful of men retreated along the pike, cannister from the gun and minies from the infantry keeping the road clear in their rear.

But the rebels had met such a determined resistance and deadly fire in each of their contests in the clearings, that their organizations had been terribly cut up and weakened by heavy losses, and were not able to follow up their dearly bought victory and press the retreating Union troops with much ardor. Several times during the retreat through that dark forest, over a mile in width, Schurz tried to rally enough of men to form a new line, but in the confusion and darkness it was impossible to form much of a line, and the retreat was continued until they reached a line which had been hastily formed by detachments from different corps, and upon which the survivors of the Eleventh corps rallied, as has been stated by the member of the Twenty-sixth above quoted.

Down at Hazel Grove, south of the forest through which the Eleventh Corps retreated, the trains and reserve artillery of the absent Third Corps had been parked that day. There they remained in peaceful ignorance of the battle that was raging within a mile and a half of them, until Howard's men made their last stand on the Buschbeck line. There was something very peculiar about the waves of sound that day at Chancellorsville. The firing was not heard at either Hooke's headquarters or Hazel Grove either less than a mile and a half away to the east and southeast respectively, while it was distinctly heard by the First Corps, nearly five miles to the north!

Just as it was growing dark, a small force of rebels, which had passed Howard's left, appeared suddenly and without warning before the astonished Unionists at Hazel Grove. There was no infantry and but one or two regiments of cavalry to protect the trains, and the quiet scene was quickly changed to one of the wildest confusion. There was "mounting in hot haste," as some of the brave artillerists and teamsters strove to save their guns and wagons, but the rebels were so close upon them that few guns or wagons would have escaped if Gen. Pleasanton, the famous cavalry commander, had not opportunely come upon the scene at that moment, he having just returned from the unfortunate reconnoitering expedition. The General did not have any of his men with him, but quickly seeing the danger he hurriedly unlimbered several of the batteries on a rise of ground, and with them held the enemy in check until nearly all of the wagon and pack trains got safely away.

It was in this affair at Hazel Grove that the famous charge of Major Keenan and his small body of cavalry was said to have occurred, which charge was so graphically described by Pleasanton in his official report, and which was immortalized in the poem entitled "Keenan's Charge;" but now comes Hamlin, the historian of the Eleventh Corps already quoted who says that no such charge was ever made. It is undoubtedly true that Pleasanton in his report exaggerated considerably, and it may be true that Keenan's charge was not made just as Pleasanton and history describe it, but we are not prepared to believe that Pleasanton manufactured the story out of nothing. The facts remain that the enemy was checked and driven back at Hazel Grove that evening by the Union artillery and cavalry under the personal directions of Gen. Pleasanton; and that Major Keenan died at the head of his command while gallantly leading a charge on or near that spot that evening. It matters not whether Pleasanton colors the picture to suit himself or not, nor whether the charge was made by order of Pleasanton, or for the purpose he claimed, Keenan died a most heroic death, and it will not benefit the good name and fame of the Eleventh Corps one iota to belittle the work done by these officers and their men on that memorable evening. Let history hand down the thrilling story of "Keenan's Charge" as it has; it was in all probability none the less heroic if it were not made under Pleasanton's eye or by his order.

But historians do the Eleventh Corps a great injustice when they speak of the the confused mass of wagon trains, pack mules and camp followers that streamed back from Hazel Grove past Hooker's headquarters that night, as "the debris from the demoralized and panic stricken Eleventh Corps!" It does not look reasonable or probable to assert that any of the debris of the Eleventh Corps retreated by way of Hazel Grove, a mile south of the pike which was their direct avenue of escape. The fugitives were without doubt the trains and camp followers of the Third Corps, and were stampeded as above stated.