Ozaukee County's
War History
by Daniel E. McGinley

as extracted from THE PORT WASHINGTON STAR
February 13, 1897



Co. H, 24th Wisconsin
Chapter 3

His flank being exposed by the disaster to the two divisions on his right, and the victorious left of the enemy swinging around so as to threaten his rear, Sheridan lost no time in withdrawing his division from its perilous position, and reforming it on commanding ground farther to the rear, where his line was held until the rebel line again doubled around his right, and then Sheridan was again forced to fall back. His division took position in a cedar thicket, and had hardly time to form its line when the enemy attacked it in overwhelming numbers, and here one of the most sanguinary struggles of the battle occurred. For a time, the rebels were on three sides of the division at once and the roar of musketry and artillery was deafening, while bullets, shells, grapeshot and canister filled the air and swept the field in every direction. But the heroic men of Sheridan's division, being told that they must hold that line until the balance of the army could take up a new position farther to the rear, gallantly stood their ground, and although their officers and comrades fell by the score, fought with a determination and devotion almost sublime, and handsomely repulsed three determined assaults. But shortly their supply of ammunition began to grow scarce. The contents of the cartridge-boxes of the fallen were appropriated, but it was soon found that there were but a few pounds left in Roberts' brigade, and scarcely a shot in the other two brigades. Sheridan ordered the regiments that were without ammunition to fix bayonets and hold the line with the cold steel if possible, and then began to withdraw his men to the protection of the new line of defense which the balance of the army was forming some distance to the rear. Sullenly retiring under a galling fire, the division fell back through a cedar thicket in good order. The survivors reaching the new position of the army were massed at a weak place in the line, and although exposed to a terrible artillery fire that constantly added to the list of killed and wounded, patiently awaited the threatened assault of the enemy. It was Sheridan's intention to meet the attack with a grand bayonet charge by his division, but the assault did not materialize, and the division was sent to another part of the line.

It was now the middle of the afternoon, and although there was later some fighting on different parts of the field, the battle had really ended for the day, the Union army having lost considerable ground on its right, and the advantage gained by the enemy having cost him so dearly that his divisions were too badly crippled to renew the struggle that evening. To Sheridan's skill and good judgment as a division commander, and to the heroism and endurance of his gallant men, the Union army in a large measure owed its escape from a crushing defeat that day; and Wisconsin can well be proud of the part taken in the battle of Stone River by the heroic boys of the Twenty-fourth. The battle was ended on the third day (New Year's) by the defeat of the enemy and two days later, January 3, 1863, Bragg evacuated Murfreesboro and retreated southward.

In this battle, Sheridan's division lost 40 per cent of its numbers in killed, wounded and missing. The loss of the Twenty-fourth Wisconsin was 31 killed, 46 wounded and a few missing. Company H lost three killed and three wounded. Of the Ozaukee boys, John Eder, of Port Washington, and Joseph Weiskopf, of Belgium, were killed while heroically fighting for the flag of the free. Charles Bisch, of Port Washington, was wounded and taken prisoner, and Sergt. J. B. Warling and Henry Bichler, of Port Washington, were also captured by the enemy. The Ozaukee boys of Company H did their whole duty and did it well on the bloody field of Stone River, all whether American or foreign born, honoring their county, state and country by displaying a gallantry and devotion seldom surpassed on the field of battle.

In his "Personal Memoirs," Gen. Sheridan says: "On the 6th of January, 1863, my division settled quietly down in its camp south of Murfreesboro. Its exhausted condition after the terrible experiences of the preceding week required attention. It needed recuperation, reinforcement and reorganization, and I set about these matters without delay, in anticipation of active operations early in the spring. No forward movement was made for nearly six months, however, and throughout this period drills, parades, reconnaissances and foraging expeditions filled in the time profitably. In addition to these exercises, the construction of permanent fortifications for the security of Murfreesboro was undertaken by Gen. Rosencrans, and large details from my troops were furnished daily for this work. Much attention was also given to creating a more perfect system of guard and picket duty -- a matter that had hitherto been somewhat neglected in the army."

The Twenty-fourth Wisconsin did its share of the drilling, parading, foraging, etc. About once in four weeks the regiment took its turn at picket duty, marching five miles out on the Salem pike, and remaining on the picket line six days at a time. It also did its share of the labor of building the great earthworks which encircled the town. Its most exciting experiences were had on the foraging expeditions in which it participated. Sometimes the whole regiment, and at others a heavy detail from each regiment of the brigade, took 50 to 100 wagons and marched out through the surrounding country to find food for men and beasts, being gone from camp two to four days at a time. The rebel army, encamped at Tullahoma, Tenn., some forty miles south of Murfreesboro, also scoured the surrounding country for forage. What a happy time of it the planters of that region must have had that winter! Sometimes foraging parties of the opposing armies met, and when they did, there was sure to be a fight over the right of either to carry off certain stacks of hay or corn-fodder, cribs of corn or the contents of some smoke-house. In such tussles, the Yanks generally came off victors, but often only after a sharp fight and some blood spilling.

Many of the planters were provided with two flags, one floating to the breeze and the other hidden away. If blue coats would be seen coming, up would go the "Stars and Stripes," but if the uniform of the approaching party was the grey of the rebel army, up went the "Stars and Bars." They were bound to be on the side of the party in whose power they found themselves for the time being and were either loyal Unionists or rampant rebels, whichever suited their visitors. But the soldiers of both armies helped themselves nevertheless.

In Company H, 2nd Lieut. C. P. Larkin resigned December 14, 1862. He was commissioned a first lieutenant in the 1st Wis. Heavy Artillery Sept. 8, '63, and March 17, '64, was promoted to major of the 38th Wis. He was wounded June 17, '64 at Petersburg, Va., and three months later was mustered out on account of his wounds. Capt. W. H. Gunnison resigned Feb. 25, '63, and Lieut. Goldsmith was promoted to the captaincy of the company. Sergt. John G. Tannatt was commissioned 2nd lieutenant Dec. 14, '62, and 1st lieutenant Feb. 25, '63. Sergt. George Cooke was promoted to 2nd lieutenant Feb. 25, '63. A number of promotions were made to fill the vacant sergeancies of the company, and in this camp south of Murfreesboro, John N. Kiefer, of Port Washington, who had gone to the front with the company as its eighth corporal, was promoted first or orderly sergeant.

The foraging expeditions could not supply the army with sufficient fresh meats and vegetables to ward off the scurvy, a disease which often attacks those who eat salted meats only, and in April, Sergeant Kiefer and some other members were attacked by the disease. Their wrists and ankles became swollen, their teeth loose, and their gums and tongues swollen and sore. The regimental surgeon did not know what to make of it. He gave the afflicted men iodine to use on their limbs, and ordered them to bathe every day. The result was that the limbs of Sergt. Kiefer, who was the worst case, turned as black as a negro's and the other boys used to "jolly" him by asking him if he had not been born that way. Fortunately on or about the 1st of May, Surgeon General Wolcott of Wisconsin visited the camp of the Twenty-fourth, and being told of the strange disease in Company H, went down and visited the sick Sergeant, who was lying in his shelter-tent or "dog tent" as the boys called them. Dr. Wolcott examined the patient carefully, and then asked: ìYou are a German, are you not?î Being answered in the affirmative, he said: "All you need in the line of medicine is sauerkraut and some fresh vegetables. I will send you some to-morrow." The next day, Sergt. Kiefer received a gallon of sauerkraut, with some potatoes, beets, and onions, all of which he divided with the other sick men, and in a week, they had all recovered.

In January, 1863, the Army of the Cumberland was divided into three corps, designated the 14th, 20th and 21st. McCook's command became the 20th corps, and Sheridan's division was designated the Third Division of that corps. The First Brigade of the division in which was the Twenty-fourth Wisconsin, was given a new commander, the Poet General Wm. H. Lytle, of Ohio, who immortalized his name by his good use of both sword and pen, his best known poem being his "ANTHONY AND CLEOPATRA" beginning:

"I am dying, Egypt, dying,
Ebbs the crimson life tide fast,
And the dark, Plutorian shadows
Gather on the evening blast."

By the middle of June, 1863, Rosencrans had his army so well reorganized, recruited, clothed and equipped that he issued orders for an advance. His old adversary, Gen. Bragg, had his army still encamped in the vicinity of Tullahoma, closely watching his opponent, and preparing for a defensive campaign. On June 26th, the movement began. McCook's 20th corps advancing toward Liberty Gap, Sheridan's division marching on the Shelbyville pike. It met scouting parties of rebels soon after leaving camp, but brushed them aside and continued on to Christiana, where there was a lively skirmish and that night the division bivouacked at Millersburg. Continuing the march next day, the vision reached Fairfield where it routed a force of rebel infantry and cavalry; and the next day reached Manchester. Early on the 29th, it marched by the Lynchburg road straight for Tullahoma, and deployed in line of battle about six miles from the town. By the 31st, the whole army was concentrated in front of Tullahoma, but as it closed in on the place, the rebels retreated until, on July 1st, the place was evacuated by Bragg, his rear-guard being driven out of the town on the run by Sheridan's division which was the first to enter the enemy's fortifications.

July 2, the Union army started in pursuit of the retreating Johnnies, and at about 8 o'clock A.M., Sheridan's division reached Elk river, which was found to be so much swollen by recent rains that the division had to march up the river several miles to a ford above Rock Creek, where after forcing a crossing, life lines were strung across the stream for the men to cling to, and the division was soon safely across. At 4 o'clock A.M., on July 3, the division attacked a rear-guard of the enemy at Winchester, and routing it, pressed forward to Cowan, a station on the Nashville and Chattanooga railroad. Bragg's army crossed the Tennessee river and the Tullahoma campaign was at an end.

Wishing to repair the railroad so as to bring forward supplies for his army, Rosencrans ordered Sheridan's division to Stevenson, Ala., the junction of the Memphis and Charleston road with the Nashville and Chattanooga, with instructions to occupy Bridgeport, Ala. also. The orders were promptly obeyed, two brigades occupying Bridgeport and one Stevenson. Bridgeport was to be ultimately a sub-depot for storing army supplies and one of the points at which our army would cross the Tennessee river in its next forward movement. As the army did not have enough of pontoons to build the two bridges required, Sheridan's division was ordered to build one of trestle work. The First Michigan Engineers was sent to assist Sheridan's men. The timber was cut in the neighboring woods, hauled to the river and built into trestles; planks and boards for the flooring were taken from the barns and houses of the surrounding country; five pontoons spanned the main channel, and on the evening of the second day, the bridge was completed. On the 2nd and 3rd of September, Sheridan's division crossed the bridge, and started for Valley Head, crossing Sand Mountain on the 4th, and reaching Trenton on the 5th. On the 10th, the division reached Valley Head, and climbing Lookout Mountain, encamped on the plateau at Indian Falls. The next day it descended the mountain into Broomtown Valley, and marched to Alpine, it being the intention to march McCook's whole corps to Summerville and thus threaten Bragg's communications, Rosencrans supposing that he was in full retreat south, he having evacuated Chattanooga on the 8th. But Rosencrans soon discovered that Bragg was in no hurry to get out of the way, and had interposed part of his army between the scattered corps of the Union army, thus placing it in danger of being defeated in detail. Becoming alarmed at the situation, Rosencrans went hurriedly to work to get his corps within supporting distance of each other, and in the movement, McCook's corps was recalled from Broomtown Valley. By a long and trying night march, Sheridan's division again reached the summit of Lookout Mountain.

One of Sheridan's spies soon brought the information from the enemy's camp that Bragg, expecting to be reinforced by Longstreet's corps from Virginia, intended to fight and it became clear that Bragg had abandoned Chattanooga with the sole design of striking the Union army in detail. To prevent him from doing so, McCook's corps was hurried toward Chattanooga, where Crittenden's corps was and on the evening of Sept. 16, Sheridan's division reached McLamore's Cove, at the base of Lookout Mountain. The hard work of ascending and descending the mountain was very trying on both men and teams. Constantly skirmishing with the enemy, the movement to the left by McCook's corps continued, and on the 19th, Sheridan's division reached Lee and Gordon's Mills on Chickamauga Creek, and after a sharp fight, took possession of the ford.