Ozaukee County's
War History
by Daniel E. McGinley

as extracted from THE PORT WASHINGTON STAR
April 10, 1897



Co. H, 24th Wisconsin
Chapter 11

In a letter just received, Capt. John N. Kiefer, of Antigo, Wis., who at that time was in command of Company H, with the rank of first sergeant, writes of the retreat from Franklin, mentioned in last week's chapter as follows: "We left Franklin, Tenn., about 1 o'clock A.M., Dec. 1st, crossed the river and marched toward Nashville. The movement of the column was rather slow. Our boys were almost dead for want of sleep, -- some of them, I for one, marched along for five minutes at a time with our eyes closed, and every now and then lying down in a fence corner until the rear-guard drove us up and on again. Early in the forenoon, we reached the outside line of works south of Nashville. The command "halt" never sounded as sweetly as it did then. Our brigade moved inside of the works, where it was visited by Generals Thomas, Wood and Wagner, all of whom gave us the credit of saving the army at Franklin. Gen. Thomas said that we must have a three-day's rest, which we had, and by that time, the works of defence were about completed."

The first day's fighting in the battle of Nashville was partially described in the last chapter. We will now pass on to the second day. The rebel line on the morning of the second day rested upon two high hills, Overton's and Shy's, between which the ground was lower, but rolling, and was broken by the upper branches of Brown's creek. Overton's hill was a broad, rounded elevation, and the works curving southward around its summit, did not present any sharp angle to weaken them. Shy's hill, however, though high, was of less extent, and the works formed a right angle on its summit.

At six o'clock A.M., Wood's Fourth corps, in which was our boys of Opdycke's brigade, threw forward its skirmish line of which the Twenty-fourth formed a part, and pressed up closely to the enemy's main line, feeling for weak spots. The left of the Fourth corps now straddled the Franklin pike opposite Overton's hill, and connected with Gen. Steedman's troops, part of whom were colored. The Union line, instead of being oblique to the enemy's, and far outreaching it on the right, as on the previous day, was now parallel to it from flank to flank, nowhere reaching beyond it, except where Wilson's cavalry was operating beyond the Hillsboro road.

It was afternoon before the battle began in earnest. Thomas did not order an attack upon the intrenchments, but left that to the judgment of his corps commanders. Wood concentrated his artillery fire upon Overton's hill, Smith and Schofield maintained a severe crossfire upon the angle at Shy's hill, and at other places on the line, the opposing batteries were warmly engaged. By noon, or shortly thereafter, Wilson's cavalry skirmishers formed a continuous curved line from Schofield's right around the enemy's flank across the Granny White pike, and were pressing steadily forward, their right doubling around Hood's left and threatening his rear. Hood became uneasy, and withdrawing the best brigade from the angle on Shy's hill, sent it to reinforce Chalmer's cavalry, and try to stop Wilson's advance. This weakened the line on Shy's hill too much, and the works there having been partially leveled by the fire of the Union artillery, the Union generals decided to try to carry the angle on the hill by assault, Thomas approved of the plan, and preparations were made to support the assault, but it was four o'clock before all were ready.

In the meantime, Wood and Steedman had had some sharp fighting on the left. Capt. Kiefer, in the letter referred to above, relates the following incident: "Our regiment was on the skirmish line. Orders came about noon directing one of Steedman's colored brigades to assault a nice little fort in the woods in our front. We laid down, the colored troops took the lead, and charged on the fort. They were greeted by a tremendous fire before which they broke, took to their heels and retreated faster than they advanced. As they passed us, we called them and asked: 'Hello! Sambo, what makes you look so pale?' But they did not pause or answer. This was the only time I saw colored troops in action. As soon as the darkies were out of the way, we charged on the fort and took it easily, with about 200 prisoners. We asked them why they did not give up before, and they answered that they would not surrender to those 'd__n niggers!'"

By three o'clock, Wood and Steedman made an assault on Overton's hill. A cloud of skirmishers ran forward to draw the enemy's fire and to annoy the artillerists in the works, and were followed by the main line which made a gallant charge, rushing on through a terrible fire right up to the intrenchments. Some of our men gained the parapet, but were not properly supported, and were received with such a hot fire that they could not hold their position or advance, and after a sharp struggle, they were forced to retreat. The losses sustained in that unfortunate assault were quite heavy, being fully one half of all the casualties in that wing of the army during the entire battle.

But at the angle on Shy's hill, the result was different, there being a weaker force in the intrenchments attacked, and the position being under a terrible crossfire from the Union artillery. The troops selected to make the assault were formed in a hollow at the foot of the hill, where they were protected from the enemy's fire by a swell in the slope and when all was ready, the signal was given and not only did the assaulting column move forward, but the Union troops on either side of the hill and all along the line, left their intrenchments and rushed toward the opposing line.

The roar of artillery and musketry immediately increased to a deafening volume of sound. The works of the enemy were ablaze with powder flashes, and the smoke rolled over the combatants in great clouds. Presently through a rift in the clouds, Old Glory flashed out all its beauty as it headed the assaulting column near the summit of Shy's hill, and with a cheer that rose above the din, the boys in blue swept over the coveted angle in the rebel works. The gallant colonel of the 37th Georgia did all that man could do to hold the hill, and dying at his post, gave to the hill his name, Shy, the name it still bears.

The arch was broken, there were no reserves to restore it, and from right and left, the rebel troops peeled away from the works in wild confusion. In many places along the line, but a single volley was fired at the assaulting troops, and then when they saw the blue lines pouring over the works, turned and ran for dear life. In other places, the resistance was more stubborn, and whole rebel regiments clung to their works till overrun and captured entirely.

On the left, Wood's troops again charged upon Overton's hill, this time meeting with but a weak resistance, and, sweeping over the works, captured prisoners by the hundred. All along the line, the rebels were now in a confused, precipitate retreat, closely pursued by the victorious boys in blue, and it was lucky for the survivors of Hood's army that darkness was near at hand. Had there been two or three hours more of daylight, it is highly probable that his loss would have been much greater, and the crushing of his organizations more complete.

As it was, the rebels abandoned their artillery, and many of them their small arms and in most cases, losing all semblance of organization, fled through woods, over fields, along pikes and by-ways, through mud and water to the knees, panic-stricken and demoralized. To add to the darkness and confusion, a heavy rain storm set in, drenching the pursuers and pursued, the wounded and dying, the victors and the vanquished alike, and the dense darkness greatly assisted the enemy in making his escape.

Wood's corps was ordered to continue the pursuit that night on the Franklin pike, and Wilson's cavalry by the Granny White pike. The other two corps of infantry were ordered to join the pursuit on the following day. Before his lines went to pieces, Hood had stationed two brigades to cover the passes through the Brentwood hills, thus showing that he was expecting disaster. Being veteran brigades, these troops retained their organizations, and by stubborn and judicious fighting, saved the great masses of fugitives that streamed through those passes that night. By delaying the advance of the pursuing cavalry under Wilson, these two brigades saved the greater part of Hood's army from capture.

The wild retreat and pursuit continued all through that dark, dripping night, the fleeing rebels deserting a large number of their wagons, and threw away everything that could be possibly spared in order to lighten their loads, and thus assist them in making their escape. Almost constant cannonading and skirmishing continued between the rebel rear-guard and the advance of the Union forces, and the night was made more hideous by the din of combat. Four miles north of Franklin, Hood's rear-guard made a stand to give their comrades time to cross the Harpeth. The Union cavalry quickly assaulted and carried the position, capturing over four hundred prisoners and their colors. Hood endeavored to hold the line of the Harpeth at Franklin, but a division of Wilson's cavalry crossed the river some distance below, and compelled Hood to continue the retreat.

The rebel cavalry leader, "Butcher" Forrest, who had been absent on a raid when the battle of Nashville began, rejoined Hood's shattered forces at Columbia, Tenn., with his large body of veteran cavalry, and covered the retreat thence to and across the Tennessee river. Reaching that river at Bainbridge, on the 26th of December, Hood had the good fortune to find a pontoon bridge which had, by some inexcusable blunder, been left in that stream when Gen. Granger's Union force evacuated Decatur in November, and by which Hood was enabled to get the remains of his army safely across. Part of Hood's own pontoons had been lost in the retreat and if the blundering Union officers had not left the bridge floating intact below Decatur, he would have had to surrender or desert a large part of his followers at Bainbridge. The pursuit of Hood which had been almost as trying for the pursuers and the pursued, was abandoned at the Tennessee. The roads all the way from Nashville down had been in a horrible condition, owing to the continuous rains, and after the retreating rebels had drawn their remaining wagons through them, they seemed to be almost bottomless, and it was only by doubling the teams that the Union troops were able to bring forward either artillery or wagons.

Among the results of the battle of Nashville and the pursuit following it, had been the capture of 4,500 prisoners, 53 pieces of artillery, a large number of wagons, and small arms by thousands. Among the prisoners were four generals and a number of colonels. The losses in killed and wounded were small on both sides, compared with material results, but the demoralization of Hood's army followed so soon by the close of the war, leaves us without official or other returns of the casualties on the Confederate side. Hood assembled the shattered remnants of his army at Tupelo, Miss., and having furloughed a part of his men, asked to be relieved of the command. He does not admit losing as many men from all causes as were taken prisoners by Thomasí army on Dec. 15th and 16th. His figures are, therefore, worthless. Gen. Thomas reported that between prisoners and deserters, over 13,000 of Hood's army fell into his hands in the months of November and December, 1864; besides which he reports the capture of 72 cannon and 3000 muskets during that time.

The Union losses in the battle of Nashville were 3,057, of which less than 400 were killed. There were nearly 1000 casualties in the Fourth corps, two-thirds of which occurred in the unsuccessful attack upon Overton's hill. Steedman's losses were over 800, and nearly all of them seemed to have occurred in the same assault, those of his second colored brigade being fifty per cent greater than in any other brigade on the field. Their heavy loss shows that the colored troops had the very best reason for running. The Twenty-fourth Wisconsin is not reported as suffering any loss in this battle, although it was exposed to hot fires, and went wherever ordered doing its duty gallantly and well. In the pursuit, the boys of the Twenty-fourth, in common with their comrades of other organizations, suffered great hardships, but they bore it manfully, and they finished the campaign as they began it -- in a manner which reflected credit upon themselves, their regiment and their state.

When passing through Franklin in pursuit of Hood, the boys of the Twenty-fourth had a chance to take a hasty look at the scene of their heroic struggle on the 30th of November. In the large hospitals, which Hood was forced to abandon at Franklin, our Badgers found a number of their comrades who had been wounded in that battle. Capt. Kiefer thus writes of the appearance of the little battle-field at Franklin, at that date, Dec. 17th: ěThe sight was one I shall never forget. Inside of the works, the bodies of our men laid covered with earth from the works, which the rebels had shoveled down upon them; but outside of the works, their own dead had been buried in graves arranged in neat rows running at right angles with the works, the dead of each organization in a separate row, and nearly every grave marked with a head board. In front of where we fought on that memorable evening and night of November 30th, there were about forty graves in each row. Here there had been an orchard, the trees of which were about six to eight inches in diameter. Most of them had been so riddled with bullets that they had fallen down. The quiet little town was a horrible sight, all the buildings bearing marks of the battle.