Ozaukee County's
War History
by Daniel E. McGinley

as extracted from THE PORT WASHINGTON STAR
July 11, 1896



The Ozaukee Rifles
Chapter 3
The Battle of Shiloh

Easter Sunday, April 6, 1862, will live in history for centuries to come as the day upon which the battle of Shiloh, the first great battle of the Civil War, one of the decisive battles of history, and in many ways the most remarkable battle of modern times, was begun near Pittsburg Landing, Tenn. At first the battle was named after the Landing, but later was given the name by which it is now known and which it derived from "Shiloh Chapel," a little log church which then stood near the Union lines that met the first attack of the enemy.

"The battle of Shiloh," to use Gen. Grant's own words, "is perhaps less understood, or, to state the case more accurately, more persistently misunderstood, than any other engagement between National and so-called Confederate troops, during the entire rebellion." In spite of repeated denials by survivors, from Grant himself down to the men in the ranks, people persist in believing the first report of excited newspaper correspondents, that Gen. Grant was drunk and that the Union troops were completely surprised in the early morn and thousands of them were butchered in their beds. They also continue to believe the assertion that a large majority of the green Union troops were panic stricken at the first volley and sought shelter on the boats in the river and on its banks under the protection of our gunboats. Many believe the assertion that there were 20,000 of these stragglers or coffee-coolers, while the truth is Grant's whole force on the field that morning numbered but 28,000, while his reserves, numbering but 5,000 under Gen. Lew Wallace lay at Crump's Landing, five miles away and which taking a wrong road did not reach the field until the first day's conflict had ended. And this army of 28,000 was attacked by an army that numbered, according to its leaders, over 40,000 well-drilled rebel troops. When we consider the great disparity in numbers and the facts that a majority of Grant's army were green troops who had never heard a hostile gun, and that there was not a foot of entrenchments or other defenses on the whole line, we do not wonder that the Union lines were driven back some distance on that day, but are surprised that they were able to hold their own so well, and that they so readily assumed the offensive on the second day. The fact that of the 28,000 Union troops on the field the first day 1,000 killed, 6,200 wounded, and 2,500 captured by the enemy, while successfully resisting the desperate onsets of the rebel host of 40,000 tells the whole story. It tells a story of a heroism and valor seldom equaled by an organized army, and gives the lie direct to all charges of cowardice or incompetency.

That Easter morning dawned clear and cloudless on the memorable field and found the rebel army advancing in several lines of battled under the skilled guidance of Albert Sidney Johnston, one of the men who, like Robert E. Lee and a host of others, received his education and military training at the expense of the Federal government, and repaid it by breaking his oath of allegiance and taking up arms against it in open rebellion. For several days previous, smart skirmishes between the cavalry of both armies had warned Grant that the enemy was near at hand in considerable force, but it seems that he was ignorant of the enemy's real numbers and intentions. The country thereabouts was heavily timbered, with here and there small clearings. According to good authorities fully five-sixths of the territory was covered with primeval forests, while much of the cleared space was uncultivated and covered with bushes. In such a country sound does not travel far, and as Grant's scouts were incompetent, it was an easy task for the enemy to approach within striking distance of the Union camp without being discovered.

On Saturday, April 5, companies A, B, C and D, of the Sixteenth were detailed for picket duty, and were placed on the picket line, a mile or more from camp, in company with two companies of a Missouri regiment. Here they remained undisturbed until shortly after daylight on Sunday morning when they were attacked by the advancing rebels whom they fought manfully for an hour or more, steadily falling back toward the camp and carrying their dead and wounded with them. Among the killed was Capt. Saxe, of Company A, a worthy brave officer. Strange as it may seem the boys in the camp did not hear the pickets firing, and were busy preparing their morning meal when they were suddenly startled by the drums sounding the "long roll" and every one that was able to do so sprang to arms. The regiment was quickly formed in line of battle on the parade ground in front of the camp, and the stragglers from the picket line soon began to pour in. The regiment was then ordered forward, and advancing about 80 rods into the timber halted and with loaded guns and fixed bayonets awaited the onset as coolly as could be expected. Here the balance of the pickets rejoined the regiment, giving the other companies the startling information that the rebels were advancing in great numbers.

Some of the survivors say that it was nearly if not quite 8 o'clock A.M., when the first grey lines of the enemy was seen in front, and soon other lines were seen in the rear of the first and in close order. Owing to the denseness of the timber and underbrush the rebels were quite near when first seen by the regiment, but Col. Allen rode along the line telling the boys not to fire until they received orders and then to take aim at the belts of their antagonists. Company K (the Ozaukee Rifles), was in its place on the extreme left of the regiment's line with its own left "in air," that is unsupported by other troops. The division, Prentissí, formed the left of the Union line, with the exception of a single brigade, Gen. Stuart's, which was about a mile further to the left. Soon after the rebels had appeared in front, one of the officers of the Rifles, cried, "Boys, they're coming at us from all sides; look there!" Looking to the left our Ozaukee boys saw a sight that was enough to make the stoutest heart quail. There, bearing down upon the flanks of the Sixteenth in magnificent array, marching as if on parade, with flaunting flags and glistening lines of bayonets, were solid lines of grey, and so near that our boys noticed what a beautiful stand of colors one of the rebel regiments carried. Quickly wheeling so as to face this flanking force the Ozaukee boys opened fire, the balance of the regiment opened on the lines in front, other regiments did likewise until there was soon a roar of musketry and artillery all along the line, and the great battle was on in deadly earnest.

On that line and in such close quarters the gallant Badger boys stood up to the music without flinching, and with no protection but the little afforded by intervening trees while they exchanged several volleys with the foe, men falling on both sides by the dozen. But as the position was being outflanked by the enemy on the right, Col. Allen ordered the regiment to change front on the tenth company, and the movement was successfully made with great coolness and precision under a galling fire. In the new position there was hard fighting, the bullets of the enemy crashing through our line in showers, and Company K being exposed to both a front and flank fire suffered severely, the brave Ozaukeeans falling rapidly, but all the while pouring a steady fire into the foe. Again the position was outflanked and the whole line was ordered back to the parade grounds in front of the camps, where the boys of the Sixteenth turned like lions at bay and fought with a valor seldom equaled to hold the line and save the camp. The roar and din of the battle was now deafening. All along the line the Union troops were fighting desperately to stem the tide and check the onward sweep of the great hosts of the enemy, whose leaders threw regiment after regiment, brigade after brigade and division after division against the thin Union lines, like waves rolling against an obstruction which every wave makes them smaller, but which for a time rolls them back again. The Sixteenth was now in the open field without any protection front and flank, and its heroic members fell by the score. Col. Allen had two horses shot under him, Lieut. Col. Fairchild received a severe wound in the thigh and was borne from the field, and several of the line officers also fell. Finding that all their valor and endurance was of no avail against the great odds with which they had to contend, and that it was impossible to hold that line, our boys retreated sullenly through the camp, stubbornly contesting every foot of the ground and leaving the parade and camp strewn with their own and the enemy's dead.

Rallying in the timber some distance in the rear of the camp, the Sixteenth with other regiments of the division formed a fourth line and with greatly decimated ranks again faced the foe with a courage undaunted and a devotion sublime. The enemy again swept forward in great numbers and with great gallantry, and there ensued upon that line a desperate struggle. It was like the grappling of two brave men in a deadly encounter, when one of them is much smaller than the other, and although he can see that the odds are greatly against him determines to sell his life as dearly as possible, but to never surrender.

But now the ammunition begins to grow scarce, and the line on its right having crumbled away before the terrible pounding of the great waves of rebel grey, the Sixteenth finds itself exposed on both flanks around which the enemy is sweeping and it has to get out of that in a hurry to avoid capture. A few of its members are taken prisoners before they can get away, but the regiment goes to the rear in comparatively good order and reforms a new line where it is later relieved by fresh troops, probably a portion of Gen. Hulbert's division, it being in reserve when the battle began. The Sixteenth and some other regiments were sent to the rear where they received a fresh supply of ammunition, and when about 2 P.M. the division reformed its line nearer the Landing, the Sixteenth was placed near a log house by the roadside, where it again became engaged. Here about 3 P.M., Col. Allen was wounded, and the command of the regiment fell to Major Reynolds. For the infraction of some petty military order Major Reynolds had been placed under arrest a day or two previous and had been deprived of his sword, but when the battle began he went into it with a cudgel in his hand and showed such bravery that his sword was quickly returned to him after the battle. About 4 P.M. the regiment was ordered further to the right to a position near the famous "Hornet's Nest," where it held its portion of the line during the remainder of the day. That move to the right probably saved the Sixteenth from being captured with Gen. Prentiss and a large part of his division, who were surrounded and forced to surrender about an hour later.

There was some hard fighting on parts of the line during the afternoon, but the dash and boastful courage had been knocked out of the rebel troops in the desperate fighting at the Union camps in the morning, and although the left of Grant's army had been driven back nearly two miles by overwhelming numbers, it was far from being whipped, and it undoubtedly would, with the assistance of Lew Wallace's division which reached the field Sunday evening, have retrieved its fortunes and swept the rebels from the field on Monday without the assistance of Buell's army, which arrived during that night and next day.

In that terrible harvest of death on the first day, the Sixteenth had lost 80 killed, 152 wounded and a few missing. Of that number the Ozaukee Rifles had lost more than its share: Brave, heroic Ephriam Cooper and William Clark, both of the town of Grafton, had said that they would never turn their backs to the foe in battle, and they both kept their word, dying in the first line. John Hennessey was also killed on that line while bravely doing his whole duty. In those never-to-be-forgotten struggles on the parade ground and in the rear of the camp three more of the Ozaukee boys gave their lives for their starry banner. They were the portly English gentleman and sterling patriot Thomas Manning, of the town of Grafton, and the heroic Americans, William A. and Stoel H. Tousley, father and son, of Port Washington. There were five mortally wounded, the brave, patriotic young German, Samuel Gunther, of Port Washington, and four noble, heroic young Americans, little more than boys in years, Orlando J. Valentine, and Ed. M. O'Neil of Fredonia, John Murphy, of Port Washington, and Elijah D. King of Port Ulao. There were 16 others of the Rifles wounded, Capt. Williams, very slightly; Lieut. David F. Vail severely in leg; Sergeants, John L. Derrickson and Ed. D. Bradford; Corporals, Selby Trumble, Geo. W. Hedding and Thos. E. Wildman, privates, Ben. Walker, James Reeves, John Clark, Anthony Collins, Wm. Cooper, Cornelius Murphy, Lars Nelson, Gregory Janish and Robert H. Ingersoll. Thus we find that the loss of the Rifles was 6 killed and 21 wounded, 5 mortally. These figures speak louder than words and prove with what heroism, devotion and endurance our gallant Ozaukee boys fought on Shiloh's storied field on that memorable Easter Sunday of 1862. The friends of the members of the heroic band have ever been proud of that organization since they eventful day, and every citizen of the county can now point with pride to the record made by its company when it grappled with the foe and helped to turn defeat into a great victory on Shiloh's "dark and bloody ground."

During the second day of the battle, the Sixteen occupied several different positions in the Union line, going promptly wherever ordered, but it did not happen to get into any hard fighting that day, and when the enemy had been driven from the field it took possession of its old camp and proceeded to care for its wounded who had lain there since the previous morning. Although it was their first battle the boys of the Sixteenth fought with the coolness of veterans throughout the battle, often changing front under fire and rallying promptly whenever they reached a new position after having been forced by the overpowering odds of the enemy to give way. The regiment retained its organization from start to finish, was never panic stricken or demoralized, and proudly bore its colors unsullied from the conflict.