Ozaukee County's
War History
by Daniel E. McGinley

as extracted from THE PORT WASHINGTON STAR
December 12, 1896



The Ozaukee Rifles
Chapter 24

Our division remained in camp on March 2nd, but the leading division of our corps routed the Johnnies in our front, and captured the old town of Cheraw, on the Great Pedee river, and on the line of railroad leading directly north from Charleston. The capture included 500 prisoners, 27 cannon, a large store of ammunition, and an immense quantity of public and private stores, which had been sent there from Charleston when that city had been evacuated some two weeks earlier. On the 3rd, our division marched into the town and bivouacked in its outskirts, while a pontoon bridge was being laid, which was successfully accomplished after a sharp fight with the enemy, who held the opposite bank. The Great Pedee is a large navigable stream at Cheraw, and our generals breathed much easier when a crossing had been secured.

The ammunition and all depots and supplies that might be of service to the enemy were destroyed, together with many miles of the railroad. In the meantime, Gen. Sherman, with the 15th and 20th corps, joined us at Cheraw, and a steady stream of men and teams kept pouring across the bridge, day and night. On the evening of the 5th, several wagon loads of old bottled Maderia wine, which had been found secreted in the negro cabins on a plantation near Cheraw, whither it had been shipped from Charleston for safe keeping, were brought to the bivouac of our corps and distributed among the officers and men. There was just enough of it to make those who indulged very happy, and there was a high old time among the boys that night, fun and frolic taking possession of all hands, even the teetotalers being forced to join in many of the pranks.

On the 6th the rear guard crossed the river, and the bridge being taken up and reloaded upon wagons the whole army started for its next objective, Fayetteville, on the Cape Fear river, the 14th corps having crossed the river farther up stream. Our corps keeping well to the right of the main line of march, reached Bennettsville, a prosperous little town in a very fertile region that night, and the next day crossed the state line into North Carolina, passing numerous fine plantations and living on the ìfat of the land.î But on the 8th, we encountered bad roads and worse weather. Entering a low region of country where flooded swamps were numerous, the rain fell steadily and heavily day and night. Being the rear division that day, we did not succeed in reaching the bivouac of the other divisions that night, but wallowed through the mud and water until daylight the next morning, when after a short halt for coffee, we continued the dismal march. The 9th and 10th and the intervening night were spent on the road -- or rather IN the road, as we were often nearly up to our waists in it, as we struggled onward or lifted our cannon or wagons out of the seemingly bottomless quagmires. The other two divisions being still in the lead, ours being unable to reach the camping places in time to take its turn at the head of the column, their trains cut up the soft roads and left them in a most wretched condition. Those were three of the most trying days and nights of the march, and the poor boys were so exhausted and worn out for want of rest or sleep that they lost nerve, heart and patience, and it was no uncommon thing to see a soldier up to his hips in water and mire, tugging at the wagons, while he cursed the mules, his commanders, his comrades and himself.

Were it not for the pitch pine that covered the higher part of the country through which we were passing, it is doubtful if we would have succeeded. We never were in want of a fire or light while there were any pitch pine knots within reach. The boys would pick a knot out of the water which covered the ground to the depth of several inches on the highlands and from three to four feet in the swamps, and light them easily. Then they would stick the burning knots in the muzzle of their guns and march on, thus forming a continuous torch light procession of fifteen miles or more in length. One of those torches would burn two hours at times, and was not easily blown out. The pine trees being all tapped, the ìtapsî in those nearest the road were lighted at night, and with the aid of the torches, made the road as light as day.

The only sleep or rest we had was while leaning on our guns or against trees, during the short halts while the teams were being helped over bad places. The ground was so well covered with water in most places that there was but very little chance to lie down. As might be expected, very little forage could be found in that region and the boys were soon very hungry as well as tired. The sufferings from cold, hunger and weariness were often intense and sometimes almost unbearable. Of course the mules and horses suffered as much if not more than the soldiers did, and the mournful braying of the latter was pitiful to hear. But ìforward!î ìforward!î and ìclose up; close up, boys!î were the commands. Struggling on we finally struck higher land and better roads on the evening of the 10th and spurring on our jaded teams, we reached the bivouac of the other divisions late that night, after an unceasing march or rather struggle of nearly seventy hours.

It is needless to say that we were nearly exhausted, men and beasts, but not wanting to be again in the rear, we were up to take our place at the head of the column at 5 o'clock the next morning, and with not overfull stomachs, and with aching muscles but lighter hearts, we pressed onward at a better gait. The rain had ceased and as the sun struggled to get through the clouds, we passed through Rockfish, a little hamlet on a stream of that name some ten miles from Fayetteville. Here we found a factory in which 300 women and girls were employed in making cloth for the rebel army. Of course the torch was quickly applied to that building.

At noon, cannonading was heard in front, the troops were hurried forward at a quick route step, and about the middle of the afternoon we encamped near Fayetteville, a town of some importance and containing an arsenal that had been built there some years prior to the war. We found the place in possession of our foragers. The first squad of our ìbummersî had arrived in sight of the city early in the day, but finding it defended by Wade Hampton's cavalry, which had thrown up light earthworks, our boys waited until five or six hundred foragers appeared, when they dismounted, deployed as infantry skirmishers, and under the command of one of their officers, assaulted and carried the breastworks with a rush. The rebs retreated into the city, and our ìbummersî hastily remounting rode boldly after them, followed them through the town, and charged the rear of the rebel column as it was in the act of crossing the bridge which spanned the river on the east side of the place.

Hampton thought that his earthworks had been carried by Shermanís infantry, but when he saw that it was our foragers, he ordered his rear brigade to turn on our boys and drive them out of the town. But Shermanís daring ìbummersî were not so easily driven as he supposed, and although the sabres of the rebel cavalry gave them a great advantage over our boys armed only with guns and revolvers, the latter made the best fight possible and a melee ensued which had not equal during the war. Back and forth and up and down through the streets the wild fight raged for nearly an hour, at the end of which the rebel rear guard hurried across the bridge under the protection of their artillery, posted on the farther shore. Our ìbummersî tried to save the bridge but it was on fire before the last of the enemy had crossed, and his artillery kept our boys away from it until the fire was beyond control.

Sergt. John P. McGinley, Stewart Daniels and Tom Murphy of the Ozaukee Rifles participated in this unique and heroic fight, and all escaped injury, but some of the boys from other companies in our regiment were wounded, one of whom was taken prisoner and retaken twice, and was finally knocked from his horse by a sabre blow and left for dead in the street.

During that day and the next, Sunday, March 12th, Shermanís whole army reached and encamped around Fayetteville. Our ìbummersî found an abundance of forage in and around town, and the dry, warm air, plenty of good food, and the day's rest soon put the weary soldiers in trim once more. To add to the pleasure of the occasion, we were treated to a most welcome surprise that afternoon. Shortly after noon the whistle of a steamer was wafted to our ears from far down the river. At first our boys did not know what to think of the matter, but soon the truth dawned upon us: Fort Fisher and Wilmington, at the mouth of the river, had been captured and a vessel from the fleet was coming up to meet our army. The steamer whistled again, this time quite near, and a joyous cheer went up from the 60,000 blue coats in and around Fayetteville, while thousands ran down to the bank of the river to welcome ìthe messenger from God's countryî as the boys expressed it.

Never shall I forget that scene as the crowd of blue coats swarmed down to the bank of the river, yelling, cheering, laughing, singing and dancing for joy -- acting for all the world like a lot of school boys. Presently the black hull of a gun boat swept around a timber covered bend a mile below us, and was closely followed by a small steamer, both floating our grand Old Glory, and the crowd on the bank went wild. Both vessels kept answering our cheers with their whistles and as they came abreast of us, their neatly dressed crews swarmed upon deck and sent back cheer for cheer until the landing was reached, where a strong guard was immediately placed to prevent the soldiers crowding on board hugging all hands.

The steamer brought us a fresh supply of coffee, and, best of all, it brought us a mail and latest New York papers. And the ìlatestî papers were just two weeks old, but they were very late to the boys who had been shut out from the world since the 1st of February. Those who were fortunate enough to get letters from home were overjoyed and those who were not so fortunate were sincerely pitied. Word was passed around that the steamers would take a mail back to Wilmington for us. Old portfolios, bearing the water marks and other marks of the present and past campaigns were fished out of knapsacks and nearly everyone wrote from one to a dozen letters that afternoon. One of those letters, written there that day by a good and gallant comrade who marched to the Eternal Encampment but a few weeks ago, lies before me as I write and its time-stained, closely written pages brings a flood of memories surging to my brain. But I have not space to write about that eventful, joyous day, and will only add that the closing sentence of the letter referred to found an echo in at least 50,000 hearts in that camp. It is: ìWe are all in good health and spirits, and feel invincible.î

During the 12th, our army secured a footing on the farther bank of the river, and two pontoon bridges were thrown across. On the 13th, the troops and trains poured over the two bridges all day, but the strong current of the river broke the bridges once or twice, and in one of the breaks we lost a team of six mules together with a load of hardtack, and another division lost a wagon loaded with coffee. These accidents, together with the fact that both banks of the river were high, wet and precipitous made the work of getting our trains across rather slow, but by the evening of the 14th, the rear guard had crossed after destroying the arsenal and workshops and on the 15th, the whole army started for its next objective, Goldsboro on the Neuse river.

Gen. Schofield who was at Newberne with the 23rd corps and a large number of convalescents and recruits for our army, and Gen. Ferry, who was at Wilmington with another large force, were ordered by Sherman to make a junction with his army at Goldsboro, and the three armies were now in motion for that point. But Shermanís old time adversary, Gen. Jos. Johnston, was now in his front with an army of 30,000 men, which was daily receiving large reinforcements and Sherman was anxious to form a junction with Schofield and Ferry, and to reach a base of supplies before he had to fight a great battle.

We found the roads were very bad on the east side of Cape Fear river, and to make them worse, it began to rain about the time we left the river and continued three or four days, giving us another taste of long nights toiling onward through mud and quicksands. On the 16th was fought the battle of Averysboro, the 14th corps being the only part of our army engaged. It was a short, sharp and decisive fight resulting in the rout of the Johnnies, with a loss of 500 on our side. We marched on steadily, and on the 19th we heard the booming of the cannon that opened the battle of Bentonville far away to our left front. Soon orders came for our corps to hurry to the field, and leaving our train at Falling Creek Church, we traveled at a rapid rate, our steps being quickened as we neared the scene of conflict by the roar of the artillery and the crashing vollies of musketry, which told us plainly that a great battle was being fought.