Chapter 8
Bloody Sunday
Grant believed the defeats at Forts Henry and Donelson and the subsequent retreat out of Tennessee had demoralized the Confederates. There was truth in this, but the Rebels remained a dangerous enemy. The optimism blinded Grant and many of his subordinates to the threat of a Confederate offensive. As a result, the Union army camped at Pittsburg Landing was ill-prepared to meet an attack, and many of Grant’s troops, particularly those under brigadier generals William Sherman and Benjamin Prentiss, had never seen combat.
On April 6, 1862, the Union soldiers bivouacked along the Tennessee River reveled in the beautiful spring weather. “Trees are budding through all the forests and some that bear flowers are an airy cloud of pink and white which truly look beautiful,” wrote Willie Shepherd of the 1st Illinois Light Artillery. Another Illini man would describe the momentous day as “one of those beautiful soft spring mornings that seem to come far too seldom in a lifetime.” For far too many Americans, whether dressed in blue and butternut-gray, that lovely Sunday would be the last morning of their short lives.2
That morning, Prentiss’s men held the center of Grant’s line and were positioned farther south than any others, while Sherman’s division was on his right, west and a bit north of Prentiss. John McClernand’s divisional camps, which included the 17th Illinois, were about 600 yards behind Sherman and Prentiss. Although some Yankee troops had detected Rebels moving in the woods beyond the Federal picket line and reported that fact, few Union commanders believed they comprised anything but advance enemy pickets. In fact, Johnston and Beauregard had marched the Confederate army back into Tennessee and deployed it for an offensive. When it struck that morning on April 6 at Shiloh, the result was one of the greatest surprise attacks in American history. The assault poured out of the woods and caught most of the Union army by complete surprise. The first Union soldiers struck by the surging Rebels were the raw troops under Prentiss and Sherman.3
Colonel Ross had been granted leave because of the death of his wife, so the 17th Illinois was under the command of Lt. Col. Enos Wood when the enemy attacked. The regiment, still in McClernand’s division, was now part of Col. Julius Raith’s 3rd Brigade. Born in Germany in 1819, Raith reached the United States in 1836, fought in the Mexican War, and helped form the 43rd Illinois and became its colonel in 1861. Raith assumed command of the brigade just that morning when Col. James S. Reardon reported that he was too ill to lead it. Josiah’s friend Abraham Ryan, now the brigade adjutant, was explaining some of the new responsibilities of brigade command to Raith when scattered gunfire erupted about dawn beyond Sherman’s camp off to the south. Colonel Wood later admitted that he dismissed these early shots as nothing but inconsequential firing from the pickets.4
A short time later, as the fighting escalated and it became clear a major action was underway, McClernand formed his division into line of battle. Sherman’s officers, meanwhile, desperately attempted to rally their men, one of whom sought assistance from a member of the 17th. Lieutenant Ephraim C. Dawes, the adjutant of the 53rd Ohio, part of Jesse Hildebrand’s brigade, approached Pvt. William Voris of Josiah’s company. Dawes knew Voris from before the war and also knew that Voris was a veteran of the fighting at Fredericktown and Fort Donelson. Dawes pleaded with him to help calm his frightened Buckeyes. Voris readily agreed to do whatever he could. While handing out extra ammunition, Voris instructed the raw Ohio soldiers that all would be well, and they should “keep cool, shoot slow, and aim low.” Before rejoining his own regiment, Voris added one more bit of advice. “Why, it’s just like shooting squirrels,” he claimed, “only these squirrels have guns, that’s all.”5
Capt. William Lorimer Born in Perth, Scotland in 1840, Company I’s captain described some of the retreating troops at Shiloh as a “mob … without organization.” Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum
The 17th Illinois formed on the right side of Raith’s brigade line. About 8:00 a.m., the division was finally ordered to move forward and support the embattled troops fighting under Sherman and Prentiss. They advanced only a short distance when much of Sherman’s shattered division came tumbling back in disorder. One member of the 17th described the onrush of terrified Union men as a “mob [that] passed through our lines without organization.” Voris’s earlier encouragement to the Ohio men failed. The 53rd Ohio fired but two volleys before its colonel panicked and shouted, “Fall back and save yourselves!” The triumphant Confederates surged through the abandoned camps of Sherman and Prentiss and headed for McClernand’s division and Raith’s brigade.6
From the 17th’s line, Wood reported that he could see the enemy advance, but that the fire from the Union line seemed to slowed the Rebel surge. He also watched helplessly as the Rebels almost directly in his front captured a section of Union artillery. Lieutenant Alexander Davis of Company K grabbed a musket from one of the men and fired, downing the color bearer who had planted the Rebel colors on the guns. Outnumbered and outflanked, the 17th and the rest of the brigade received orders to fall back a short distance and align with the remnants of Sherman’s division. After helping support another battery, which allowed the guns to safely withdraw, the 17th fell back with the rest of McClernand’s division. At one point Wood reported that his regiment found itself “20 or 30 yards in advance” of the main line. The 17th continued to slowly retire, but the men were by this time running short of ammunition. Wood, who lost his horse early in the engagement and was now commanding on foot, ordered the regiment to retire and resupply around noon.7
During the withdrawal, Raith took a minié ball through the thigh and was left on the field during the confused withdrawal. Wood, who was in temporary command of the regiment because of Ross’s absence, suddenly found himself commanding the brigade. Major Francis Smith took over for Wood at the head of the 17th Illinois. Unfortunately for Raith, he was left where he fell all night in a steady rain before being recovered the next day when the reinforced Union army advanced and recaptured the area. Surgeons amputated Raith’s leg, but blood loss, exposure, and infection proved too much. Raith, whose wife had died in 1859, would soon follow her to the grave. He left behind two orphaned sons.8
On the left-center of the Union line, soldiers under Generals Prentiss and W. H. L. Wallace fought a hard holding action in an area called the “Hornets Nest,” a testament to the intensity of the fight. Prentiss and a large number of his men were eventually captured when the Confederates surrounded and overwhelmed the position; Wallace fell with a mortal wound. The collapse of the Union right forced McClernand’s division and the remnants of Sherman’s command to fall back from their line around Shiloh Church. Throughout much of that morning McClernand’s men engaged in a back-and-forth battle. According to one eyewitness, “The ground was lost and won more than once, but each ebb and flow of the struggle left the Union side in a worse condition.” McClernand and his men retreated first to the crossroads of the Hamburg-Purdy Road and the Corinth Road, and then back near the Hamburg-Savannah Road. At one point, McClernand was forced to face about one-half his command to the south and the remaining units to the west to counter Confederate attacks. According to McClernand, his division occupied six different battle positions before the fighting ended that night.9
Ambrose Bierce, who would be deeply influenced by the Civil War and go on to become a famous writer of the macabre, fought at Shiloh Monday, April 7, with the 9th Indiana, part of Col. William Hazen’s command of Buell’s Army of the Ohio. His view of the confused nature of battle in general was held by most of those who fought on the first day. “A few inaudible commands from an invisible leader had placed us in order of battle,” recalled Bierce. “But where was the enemy? What protected our right? Who lay upon our left? Was there really anything in front?” Bierce’s insightful observations reflected the perspective of the common soldier in any major engagement. He had no idea of the grand tactical scheme, and his viewpoint was limited to only what he could see to his front. The powder smoke from rifled muskets and artillery often shrunk that distance to a handful of yards. As one soldier put it, a battlefield is “the lonesomest place which men share together.”10
By the end of the day, the roughly 40,000 men of Johnston’s army had pushed Grant’s 36,000 back into a tight arc around Pittsburg Landing on the river. Thousands of tired and dispirited Union troops huddled along the Tennessee banks. Bierce claimed some panicked men stormed transport ships attempting to land reinforcements. “This abominable mob had to be kept off with bayonets,” he wrote. Fortunately for Grant, gunboats on the Tennessee lobbed artillery rounds that helped convince the Confederates to end their attacks that early evening, and Buell arrived with his army later that night. With his left anchored on the river under the protective cover of the gunboats, and his right extended with reinforcements, Grant prepared to renew the fight on April 7 as soon as it was light enough to do so.11
The 17th Illinois would fight on without Enos Wood. At the end of the day, Wood left the field with what he called a severe “ague chill.” William McClanahan of Josiah’s Company F, another Monmouth College student, wrote home that Wood had broken down in tears and exclaimed that he “never expected to see the time when the 17th would be drove to do what she had just done—when he saw the mere fragment of a regiment that he loved as dearly as any man could.” McClanahan blamed the nervous breakdown on Wood’s “feeble state of health.”12
Many Confederates took advantage of the shelter the retreating Yankees had left behind and spent the night in their camps, most thinking they had won a grand victory and that Grant would surely retreat that night. Albert Sidney Johnston was not among them. The general whom President Jefferson Davis described as “the greatest soldier, the ablest man, civil or military, Confederate or Federal,” was dead. A rifle ball had severed an artery in Johnston’s lower leg, and the general bled to death. General Beauregard, who assumed command that afternoon, believed he had won a tremendous victory and spent the night in General Sherman’s captured tent.13
Assigned to picket duty in the regiment’s front, George Smith of Josiah’s company described that Sabbath night as the longest he had ever experienced:
I will never forget the cries of distress of the wounded who lay on the battle-field that night. They called for mother, sister, wife, sweetheart, but the most piteous plea was for water. One would be praying and another singing. Some one started the old hymn ‘Jesus Lover of my Soul,’ singing the first verse. Another sang the second, another the third and still another the fourth. This continued until sometime during the night when it began to rain; then the cries for water ceases. We hoped that many were refreshed. As the wounded lay between the battle lines we could not help them.14
Determined to reverse his fortunes, Grant sent his army into the attack the next morning. Now it was the Confederates’s turn to be surprised. The fighting was fierce, but the thousands of fresh Union soldiers turned the tide and shoved Beauregard’s exhausted army southward. By the afternoon, Grant had pushed the Rebel troops back to roughly their starting position the previous day. Beauregard recognized the futility of further action and ordered the army to retreat toward Corinth.15
Sergeant Robert L. Duncan Duncan enlisted in Company F in April of 1861 and was wounded at Shiloh when shrapnel tore into his hand. As company clerk, Duncan kept an invaluable log of the company’s activities. This photo was taken by E. S. Cleveland’s Art Gallery in Monmouth, Illinois. Author
The 17th Illinois fought again on this second day. According to Josiah, the regiment at one point moved so far in advance of the main line that it was ordered to halt. William McClanahan, “either failing to hear the order, or in his enthusiasm determined to press the enemy to the wall, had charged out two or three rods ahead of the line, singlehanded and alone, till I had to send a comrade to bring him back,” recalled the Illinois captain.16
The Union soldiers regained the ground where they had camped the day before. “I found a Confederate soldier of the 5th Mississippi dead in my bed,” wrote George Smith. “From him I got the big knife that I have.” According to A. J. Vanauken of Company K, “[O]ur tents were completely riddled with balls holes,” while Captain G. W. Robson counted 164 bullet holes in a tent belonging to members of Company E. One of the regiment’s companies reported firing 5,700 rounds during the two days. Considering that a veteran company numbered significantly fewer than 100 men, the number spoke volumes about the intensity of the fighting.17
Despite his second-day success, Grant’s debacle on the first day generated extensive criticism. “There was no more preparation by General Grant for the attack than if he had been on a Fourth of July frolic,” argued Horace Greeley in his New York Tribune. Some accused Grant of being drunk, a charge that would dog Grant throughout the war. In a reminiscence after the war, Josiah defended his commander from those charges. According to Josiah, he was “within a few rods of Grant [on the first day] at about 10 and saw no signs of such.” Grant’s star, which had shone so brightly after the capture of Forts Henry and Donelson, lost some of its luster after the news of his apparent surprise at Shiloh and the subsequent casualties he suffered there.18
The carnage of that single battle was simply staggering. The Union lost about 13,000 men killed, wounded, and captured, while the Confederates lost nearly 11,000. McClernand’s division suffered 285 killed, 1,372 wounded, and 85 missing. Raith’s brigade also suffered heavily, with 96 killed, 392 wounded, and 46 missing. The 17th Illinois, which went into the battle with about 350 men, lost 13 men killed, five officers and 57 men injured, and six men unaccounted for and presumed captured, or nearly 22%. Josiah’s company had two men killed and seven wounded, including Sergeant Duncan, the company clerk, who was wounded in the hand by shrapnel. The 17th lost its regimental flag, along with numerous papers and documents and the official books of Company F. According to Peats, his company alone lost 15 rifled muskets along with other accouterments when the Rebels overran the camp. The enemy also took or destroyed the company’s books and papers.19
Given all there was to do after the massive slaughter, it was more than two weeks before Josiah could find the time to sit down and write Jennie.
Pittsburg Landing Tenn.
April 22nd 1862
Miss Jennie,
Dear Friend,
Again the storm cloud has passed and again the joyous sunshine illuminates the darksome scene.
Dear Jennie your kind favor of the 5th inst came duly to hand several days since and I should have replied sooner but for the consequences of the late battle these I need not enumerate as I presume you have the results long ere this.
This is the first pleasant day that we have had for some time and about the first opportunity that I have had of musing over the past without interruption. I was much pleased to hear from you. it seems Jennie that your dear missives always come at a happy time—Just in time to cheer the drooping spirits and dear lady let me assure you that it is not only pleasant but “interesting” to hear from dear friends on such occasions as it has been our fortune lately to pass through.
You seem Jennie to think that war is far from being consistent with the Institutions of a country like ours and no doubt your imagination can picture a partial reality but dear lady the Battle Field of Pittsburg Tenn, must be seen on the 8th inst the day after the fearful conflict so as to form any real idea of the ghastly horrors of grim visaged war.
As usual the old 17th had the pleasure of sharing in the battle from its commencement till its close and hence have a share of the sorrows of the reverses of Sabbath and the joys of Monday,s sanguine victory.
Oh Jennie Sabbath was a sad day my feelings on that day I can never forget. I still had hope but Oh what a dark cloud hovered round, almost too dark for the eye of faith to pierce—panic stricken our lines fell back and back till all seemed lost—But God was merciful his sabbath was not to be desicrated, he arose in his might and monday, joyous Monday ushered in a new area, at least, in my existence. but tho we came off victorious yet Oh what a sight our camp presented after the battle—our quarters (camp of the 17th) was strewn with friend & foe some wounded and writhing in pain or quietly sleeping in the cold embrace of the King of terrors—but the scene is past—it seems like a dream and Oh forbid that it ever should be reenacted even tho it be a dream.
The casualties of the 17th amount to 14 killed & 120 wounded this was a large proportion considering that our whole number on the field at the opening contact was only 350. Our Regt Jennie is far from being as large now as when it used to parade in “Camp Mather” many of our brave comrads have fallen in the wake of the fell destroyer—the worthy sacrifice of a most worthy cause.
But it is hoped that a merciful God in his good pleasure may soon remove his afflicting hand and that the present lesson may learn us as a nation that there is a God and that he reigns.
But I must close as I have already imposed too much on good nature. It has rained almost all the time since the battle, roads very bad, some talk of a forward move on Corinth. heard today that the rebels were again advancing, also that they were evacuating and going south, only reports.
My health is still very good and for some wise ends known only to my Great Benefactor I have for so far escaped the fury of the foe may it be my happy lot to be equally shielded from the enemy of souls—I believe that my Country will yet be saved even tho it be “by fire.”
Ever hoping to hear from you often and that this may find you in the sweet enjoyment of heaven,s choicest blessings I bid thee esteemed lady good night.
Josiah Moore
Pittsburgh Landing Tenn.
Those tiny leaflets recall some bright days of the past, that are in wide contrast with the present—only for the idea of being a soldier I believe I should feel home—sick—I fear that person to whom you were about to send them will feel jealous on learning the facts, wont I feel bad? J.M.
Josiah spared Jennie many of the details of the Shiloh fight. Many soldiers were careful with what they shared with loved ones back home. In a related example, an officer in another Illinois unit, Maj. James Connolly of the 123rd Illinois, chided his wife when she asked him for details of battle. “In your last letter you seem to think I don’t give you enough description of battles, armies, scenery, etc.,” he wrote. “If you were as tired of battles and armies as I am you wouldn’t care to spend much time on them for they are very unpleasant things to be in and one does not like to reproduce memories of unpleasant things.” Young artilleryman Willie Shepherd struggled with his thoughts after the battle. “I cannot describe the fury of the engagement during the two days—and very much doubt the ability of anyone to do so,” he wrote. Shepherd had a vision of the killing field that was similar to Josiah’s: “The only true idea of this horrible fight could be gained by a sight of the field on which we fought for two days. Dead and wounded soldiers by hundreds, Federals, and rebel, side by side…. The horrible sights we were obliged to behold on every side were enough to chill the blood of the most vile murderer. Fredricktown, Belmont, and Donelson—cannot be compared with it. God grant that we may never be called to see the lightest of it again.”20
Both Josiah and his comrade Abraham Ryan received official recognition for their efforts at Shiloh. As acting assistant adjutant general of the brigade, Ryan prepared the official report. Among those he cited was Capt. Josiah Moore, “who distinguished himself by daring bravery on the battlefield.” General McClernand made a positive note of Ryan’s contributions during the two-day fight.21
What made men remain steadfast in the face of such an onslaught of shot and shell? We know that most joined to save the Union and had gone off to war to protect and represent their various communities. But was ideology enough? The inspiration of the women back home certainly helped. They were the “key to domesticity and its virtues, key to the homes and community,” notes one historian. “Women provided the moral influence.” The words of another historian would have resonated with Josiah and many others who were away from home and loved ones. “A woman’s love,” he wrote, “was a stimulus that, often by admonition, sometimes by inspiration, would propel the soldier’s combat performance, as he might put it, above self,” However, on the battlefield, with death all around, the men in line beside you—the friend, co-worker, fellow student, or even a son or brother—provided the encouragement to move forward. While the desire to preserve the Union and protect the community might have led men into line of battle, the need to prove to themselves and their comrades that they were not cowards was what kept them there. If a man failed the test, word would get back and make for a difficult homecoming.22
Ferdinand Oelert was a member of Josiah’s company killed at Shiloh. Oelert, a native of Germany, had been court-martialed in December of 1861 and found guilty of leaving the company for five days. His sentence was a public reprimand and the loss of one-half of his pay for six months. The sentence was handed down by the court on April 2, 1862, but the regiment did not receive the information until after the battle.23
Another man from Company F, Murry Claycomb, was court-martialed around the same time. Claycomb was the company’s only pugilist, and his fighting nature, fueled by alcohol, landed him in front of the military court. Court-martial records indicate that on November 19, 1861, Claycomb “became grossly intoxicated and while in this condition did become boisterous and use abusive and reproachful words toward General Grant his superior officer.” Claycomb was also charged with being “grossly intoxicated on or about 12/5/61” and failing to accompany his regiment on an expedition to Benton, Missouri. Finally, Claycomb was accused of leveling his rifle and cocking it at an officer of the regiment during an argument over the ownership of an overcoat. Claycomb was found guilty of the charges and forced to “forfeit all his pay and allowances due him from the United States, have half his head shaved, and be drummed out of the service at the point of the bayonet to the tune of the ‘Rogue’s March.’” Claycomb was given a dishonorable discharge dated April 2, 1862. Like Oelert, Claycomb fought at Shiloh without having yet been informed of his sentence. Later, during the war’s final year, Claycomb enlisted in an Illinois cavalry unit, perhaps helped by a letter of recommendation from Josiah.24
The horrors of Shiloh had a lingering effect on Colonel Wood. According to that officer, he was “spitting blood and matter when he mounted his horse on April 6,” and that “he was given up by the army physicians while lying at the point of death from a swamp fever,” but recovered. The breakdown he experienced at the end of the first day had an adverse impact on his reputation, and he was denied leave to recuperate. Wood implored Governor Yates to appoint him colonel of the 17th when Ross received promotion to brigadier general. “My whole heart is in this war,” he wrote to Yates. His entreaty fell on deaf ears, however, and Wood finally resigned.25
Colonel Addison Norton joined as the captain of Company A in 1861, and rose to colonel and command of the 17th Illinois. This image was taken by “Thurlow” in Peoria. Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum
With the colonelcy of the 17th open, Illinois politics came into play. Yates moved to appoint Francis Smith, the regiment’s major. Smith, who had started the war as the captain of Company E, was from the strongly abolitionist town of Galesburg, Illinois. On July 10, Ross sent a letter to Yates asking him to appoint Addison Norton as colonel and Smith as lieutenant colonel. Norton had commanded Company A, but had been serving as assistant adjutant general on McClernand’s staff. Yates replied that he had promised the commission to Smith and “his Galesburg friends.” McClernand joined Ross in urging Yates to appoint Norton. Smith got wind of this maneuvering and complained in a letter to Yates that the crux of the matter was really a “Democrat v. Republican issue,” and “the regiment is democrat from the chief officer on down.” In the end, Yates yielded to the popular Ross and the political strength of the Democrat McClernand. Norton received his coveted appointment.26
The official reports of the battle also demonstrated the growing conflict between McClernand and Grant. McClernand sent his report, dated April 14, 1862, directly to President Lincoln. Without mentioning Grant by name, the report was critical of his commanding officer. “It was a great mistake that we did not pursue him [Beauregard and the Confederate army]” Monday night and Tuesday,” argued McClernand. Grant filed his report ten days later and dismissed McClernand’s as “faulty” because it was incorrectly critical of other combatants and inaccurate in much of its detail. McClernand also made similar statements after Fort Donelson and had disregarded orders in the opening of that battle. If Grant was unsure before, he no longer was: This political general was going to be an ongoing problem.27
Captain George W. Robson Robson served initially as the first lieutenant of Company A, and then as the captain of Company B. He survived the early April carnage and left a graphic description of the 17th’s camp after Shiloh. Author
On May 9, Jennie responded to Josiah’s letter from Pittsburg Landing.
Peoria May 9th 1862
Dear Friend,
I received a message a few days since, which I have likened [illegible] one of those bright and beautiful Sunbeams, breaking in upon the darkness, and gladdening the weary heart—with its warmth and beauty, but like (illegible)all other joys, too few and far between.
Just one year ago last Monday you entered “Camp Mathers happy glories” for the first time I thought perhaps your memory might prove treacherous so I would just remind you of the fact. Alas many a poor soldier boy entered those groves on that day, with heart beating, high with hope and patriotism and casting a lingering thought upon home and kindred. Who would oft look for his coming in vain. For the Good Being had marked him for his own, and he is now “sleeping his last sleep” and the loved ones are left alone to mourn over the dear departed. Yet He doeth all things well and afflicts only for our good, but how hard for the rebellious heart to say, Oh “Father thy will, not mine, be done.” As I traverse the halls of memory and review the past I can scarcely remember a sorrow but what I now see was some good. So It always is, yet a month ago on receiving the news of the late battle and of the great loss of life, and not knowing for a whole week whether you were numbered among the living or dead me heart told me how hard it would be too born beneath the afflicting hand if thy life had been taken, but God in his mercy hath shielded you so far. And I hope if it seemeth good in his sight, he may preserve your life through this rebellion that you may become one of those good workers in his vineyard, and wear an immortal crown of glory for another world where it shall be said unto the “Well done thou good and faithful servant.”
[The next sheet appears to be a continuation of the same letter.]
Did you now feel sorry to loose Col Ross. I never heard who took his place I saw through the paper that Maj Smith was Lieut Col, and Mr. Ryan had command of Co. A so many officers resigning makes quite a change in the Regt. But you still have enough brave men left to man the helm and guide the ship safely into the harber called peace. Which I sincerely hope is not many miles distant. We all feel very proud of our 17th Regt and surely you deserve to be honored for you have acted nobly in every engagement. We knew of so much sickness at Pittsburg. I am so glad you keep well but mind now if you get sick again you must come right home where you will be well taken of. I almost wish you would get just little sick so you would come, even luna seems lonely without you, for she looks not half so smiling as she was want to look in the days of “Auld Lang Syne.”
We are having very pleasant weather. The trees are being clothed anew and all things look so fresh and beautiful. The birds are sending forth their sweet wild warblings in praise to the great Being who called them into life, and putting to shame the indifference of man, to the Creator of all things. I think May the loveliest month of the year I would it were always May.
Well dear friend if I did not know what a dear patient little boy you were I should ask pardon for the length of this non interesting epistle but then you can read it at your leisure, but please dont take your leisure to reply. I know you would not if you knew what pleasure it gives me to hear from you. I now bid you a kind good night with many bright hopes for your future and speedy return to your peaceful home as it were in times gone by.
Ever yours
Jennie
Once again Jennie makes it clear that she was much more concerned with Josiah’s physical and spiritual welfare—specifically her desire that he serve God and become “one of those good workers in his vineyard”—than ultimate victory.
Shiloh triggered a wave of religious reflection across the country, North and South. In the words of one historian, religious faith during the war was both “wind and weathervane—a driving force and a sensitive gauge” that shaped thinking but also reflected attitudes. Civilians and soldiers alike scrutinized every military development for some message from God. Each side sought Biblical passages to support its position. After the Union victories at Forts Henry and Donelson, the U.S. Secretary of War Edwin Stanton remarked, “We owe our recent victories to the Spirit of the Lord, that moved our soldiers to rush into battle, and filled the hearts of our enemies with dismay.” After those same battles, Confederate President Davis proclaimed February 28, 1862, as a day of “fasting, humiliation, and prayer.” This was not because he believed slavery was sinful, but because prayer and humility would compensate for the daily transgressions of individuals. Many people believed God parceled out victories and defeats based on the quality and quantity of prayer and fasting. If Stanton’s comments painted God as a divine field general, Davis made him appear like a Divine Accountant, doling out victories with guidance from some sort of ledger book.28
Josiah took note of the blasphemous nature of the Confederates’ Sabbath attack, and many in the North believed that was a factor in the Confederate defeat. Confederates who fought the battle hoped God would forgive their transgression of attacking on a Sunday, for it was deemed necessary to “achieve our independence and liberty.” One Union soldier claimed that by fighting the battle, he was acting “in the performance of the noblest duty—except the worship of God that a man is ever permitted to perform here upon earth.”29
Grant believed his victory at Fort Donelson would soon bring the war to a close. After Shiloh, he “gave up all idea of saving the Union except by complete conquest.” Corinth was the next obvious Federal target. General Halleck stepped in to command an assembled force of more than 100,000 men that included the armies of Grant, Buell, and John Pope, and moved cautiously toward the vital railroad junction. Beauregard, his Rebel army reinforced and reorganized, faced Halleck’s sloth-like advance with perhaps 65,000 men. Outnumbered, short of supplies, and with thousands of ill soldiers, Beauregard evacuated Corinth on May 29 before Halleck could surround the town.30
The 17th Illinois took part in the advance on Corinth. On May 6, 1862, Josiah was in charge of a detail of 75-80 men corduroying roads and bridges. He later wrote about an incident that occurred during the operation:
An amusing episode here occurred—our men got the poles and logs cut and laid on the road but had not yet put the brush and earth on to complete the work when a Qr. Master came with a large supply train saying he was sent post haste for ammunition, supplies etc. and on attempting to run his six mule teams on to the unfinished road (the bark being loose on the poles it would all peel off and tear the road to pieces if used before ballasted as above) I turned the leaders of the 1st team off into the swamp and the second also. By this time the quartermaster himself came at me with the butt of a “black snake” but I reached up, caught him by the collar pulled him off his horse put my knee on him while I directed my men to keep the teams off the track”31
* * *
After Beauregard withdrew from Corinth, the men of the 17th were sent first to Bethel, Tennessee, and then marched to another camp near Jackson. Not surprisingly, the locals gave their visitors a cold reception. The soldiers showed an equal disdain for the locals. In his brief history of the 17th Illinois Josiah wrote in 1868 for one of the reunions, he quoted another member of the regiment: “We remained [in Jackson] for nearly a month, hugely enjoying the balmy southern climate made thrice congenial by the noble bearing of sneering women and insolent men strutting around with as much sangfroid as a little tad in its first pants.” Words virtually identical to these also appear in Sergeant Duncan’s company log book.
Though the Yankees received a rude reception from the white locals, the slaves in southern Tennessee and northern Mississippi had a very different reaction to the Union advance. As the Yankees moved toward Corinth, slave owners in the area fled. Their former slaves moved in the opposite direction—toward the liberating force. John Eaton, a chaplain in the 27th Ohio, recalled that they “flocked in vast numbers—an army in themselves.” Some came alone, and some with their families. Many were shoeless and their bloody feet fed the soil. As Eaton put it, the exodus was like “the oncoming of cities.” This phenomenon was not new to Tennessee in 1862. “Where the army of the Union goes, there slavery ceases forever,” explained a Wisconsin soldier.32
Josiah to Jennie
Bethel Tenn
June 7th 1862
Miss Jennie E. Lindsay,
Your dear epistle of the 9th ult, came duly to hand after and long and anxious lookout and I need not attempts to describe to you the pleasure it afforded to look back beyond our then trouble and anxious position to where wars and rumors of wars were only known in the abstract in other words to visit the joyous scenes of dear old Camp Mather.
I am now writing on a box in front of my tent and as you are aware the sun shines here in the South I have had a kind of little summer house put up covered with green bushes Oh it is such a pretty place you should just be here to see how nicely men can keep house. However don,t understand that they are superior to the ladies for as Beaureguard says with regard to the falling back of his army, our keeping house “is a military necessity,” and I for one would have no objections to its speedy removal.
Well Jennie I presume ere this reaches you, you will have all the items of the “anticipated Corinth Battle”–for four long weeks we moved forward anxiously and cautiously as tho the destiny of nations rested on a single maneauver and when all is ready, as we thought, to close the net, to our great surprise the bird had flown—gone to its sunny clime–yet as the plumage is reported to be of a rather inferior quality we are rather indisposed to shed many tears over the premature loss; still we have some hopes that even yet we may be able to coy the timid creatures.
I was on picket duty two days & nights previous to the time when the rebels left, and I believed I had one of the most interesting times that I have had since I came to the war. (Camp Mather excepted).
On the 28th ult our forces advanced in front of our works and towards the enemy for the purpose as we understood of making our final attack after marching about one mile we reached our picket lines sharp firing soon opened all along the picket lines 10 or 12 miles in extent several shots from the artillery being exchanged yet no general engagement ensuing—opposite our Division (McClernand Comd,ing) a R.R. formed the line, our guards and those of the rebels being less than 100 yds apart our part of the lines had been rather quiet through the day—toward evening Genr,l Ross took a notion of occupying a house on a hill.33
On the opposite side of the R.R. and held by the Rebel guards—he ordered a cannon to be placed in ambush and bearing on the rebel guard post, and then sent your humble servant with Cos “A” & “F” a very impudent undertaking in ordinary times but war has its peculiarities and its orders must be obeyed. I moved forward to the R.R. halted and sent word to the rebels to leave tho I did not know whether they would obey my orders or not—after a few minutes we crossed over deployed as skirmishers and advanced, up a ridge through brush—wood, across a fence and soon found ourselves close by the house—all was suspense for a few moments for we did not know but 10,000 might be ready to meet us not with outstretched arms of peace but of war, we gained the hight however and took position just in time to see the rebels become invisable on the opposite hill.
After a short while one of them appeared with a white flag I went to ascertain his desire. he proved to be from Louisiana and Capt of the rebel guard he was quite sociable and if it would not seem absurd I would consider him a gentleman—he wished to have some understanding regarding our general duties and we finaly concluded on the following—that our men should not shoot at each other while on duty and if a superior force advanced from either side we should give timely warning so that if either wished to peaceably yield we could do so and retire without firing—when I reported this arrangement to our Com,ders they laughed quite heartily at such an amicable adjustment of war—we passed the night as indifferently as tho no enemy were near.
The morning of the 29th dawned all was calm and serene as tho nature awaited with solemn anxiety the pending struggle–slight skirmishing soon began often extending along the whole line and again entirely ceasing on assuming a sharp contrast at one point thus the day passed still our forces kept closing on the rebel lines, I had several interviews with my rebel friend who like the infidel about his religion, seemed quite anxious about what I thought would be the result of this war &c, &c of course I referred him to their success for the last six months and left him to soliloquize–I think I did not ease his conscience very much, that night Colonel Ross sent me over about 300 men with spades &c to fortify we pulled down the houses and worked all night at intervals through the night we could hear heavy trains moving out from Corinth and a good deal of suspicion was created but no news came till morning when our first intimation of an evacuation was the smoke of the burning Ware Houses and occational explosion of Powder, Pope,s forces soon took up the pursuit joined by other Nyes Division—we remained (i.e. McClernands forces) in camp till the 4th inst. when we marched for this point ((25 miles distant) Bethel) on the R.R. leading to Columbus on the Miss,; and 18 miles West of Savanah Tenn.
We occupy the site of a rebel camp but the folks are not at home—we may remain here a few days and then go to Bolivar on Miss Central R.R. our troops are in fine spirits and this seems to be a fine part of the country the people are tired of the war and deserters pass us every day returning home, they report the C.S.A. played out, well I must stop this prosey stuff as “endurance” sometimes ceases to be a virtue, But Oh Jennie I almost forgot I presume you heard of the 17th having a lady Major.34 Aint that a good joke? A few days since a young man wrote from the East enquiring if it was “really so—that the 17th Ills Regt had a lady major?” The 17th is becoming notorious! Genr,l Ross has gone home again I think my time should soon come. Your plan Jennie was very amusing but I dont like to risk it, it might work too well. We have no Col, yet, some speak of Maj Norton (formerly Capt Norton) but I think that would not be fair for Lt Col, Smith.
Hoping that this may find thee enjoying the dear old scenes of home and its sweet delights, ever the worthy participant of Heavens choicest smiles, and wishing that this may afford even a feeble return for your last dearest letter I bid thee esteemed lady a kind goodnight.
Josiah Moore
P.S. Oh Jennie I almost forgot to tell you of our luxuries—I had Black berries, green peas & new potatoes all for dinner, so we are ahead aint we? I wish you could go help us gather berries in this pretty sunny clime. Inclosed you will find a “rebel paper.” I got it in Corinth, quite a number came into our hands after the rebels left, I have to sent it thus sealed to keep the Post Master from stealing it.
Lieutenant William Reynolds and wife Belle, the “Lady Major,” in an undated image. Author
1 Boatner, Civil War Dictionary, 55; McPherson, Battle Cry of Freedom, 406.
2 Ural, Don’t Hurry Me Down to Hades, 65; Woodworth, Nothing But Victory, 155.
3 McPherson, Battle Cry of Freedom, 408; Woodworth, Nothing But Victory, 168.
4 Cunningham, Shiloh and the Western Campaign of 1862, 174; James Grant Wilson, Biographical Sketches of Illinois Officers Engaged In the War Against the Rebellion of 1861, 43. (As listed on the Civil War Notebook Blogspot.) Woodworth, Nothing But Victory, 166. In addition to the 17th Illinois, Raith’s brigade consisted of the 29th, 43rd, and 49th Illinois regiments and Carmichael’s company of Illinois cavalry.
5 OR 10, pt. 1, 264-265. Both the Official Records and a later recounting of this incident in Catton’s This Hallowed Ground refer to “A. C. Voris of the 17th.” There was only one “Voris” in the entire 17th Illinois, and that was William M. Voris of Josiah Moore’s Company F.
6 OR 10, 141-142; William Lorimer paper, in the collection of the Vicksburg National Military Park; Bruce Catton, Grant Moves South (New York, NY, 1960), 228.
7 OR 10, pt. 141-142.
8 Ibid., 144.
9 Cunningham, Shiloh and the Western Campaign of 1862, 241-242; General Don Carlos Buell, Battles and Leaders of the Civil War, Century Series (New York, 1894) Vol 1, No 4, 58.
10 Ural, Don’t Hurry Me Down to Hades, 69; Guelzo, Gettysburg:The Last Invasion, 276.
11 Michael C.C. Adams, Living Hell: The Dark Side of the Civil War (Baltimore, MD, 2014), 117.
12 Letter from William McClanahan in the April 18, 1862 edition of the Monmouth Atlas.
13 Cunningham, Shiloh and the Western Campaign of 1862, 323; Stacy Allen, “Shiloh!,” Blue and Gray Magazine, Volume XIV, Issue 3 (February 1997), 64; McPherson, Battle Cry of Freedom, 394, 412.
14 Smith, History of the 17th.
15 McPherson, Battle Cry of Freedom, 412-413.
16 Monmouth College, Oracle, 40.
17 AJ Vanauken, To the Beat of the Long Roll: The Diary of A. J. Vanauken, Co. K, 17th Illinois Volunteers, 1861-1863, Abram Vanauken papers in the collection of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library; Diary of George Robson, Captain, Company A, 17th Illinois Infantry, Illinois Archives, Springfield, IL; Abstract of Materials expended or consumed in Company B, Frank Peats collection.
18 John F. Marszalek, Sherman: A Soldier’s Passion for Order (New York, NY, 1993), 183; Woodworth, Nothing But Victory, 198.
19 Report of Maj. Gen. John A. McClernand, in OR 10 113-114, 123. One of the Confederate dead was Sam Todd, Abraham Lincoln’s brother-in-law. Sam was Mary Lincoln’s brother and had joined a Louisiana infantry unit just a handful of weeks earlier. Ural, Don’t Hurry Me Down to Hades, 69; Robert Colville, Jottings from Dixie, Knox College Library; Official regimental records in Illinois Archives; Peats, Official Report of May 4, 1864.
20 Earl J. Hess, “Tell Me What the Sensations Are: The Northern Home Front Learns about Combat,” in Cimbala and Miller, Union Soldiers and the Northern Home Front, 123; Ural, Don’t Hurry Me Down to Hades, 69.
21 OR 10, 140, 121.
22 Mitchell, Vacant Chair, 74; Linderman, Embattled Courage, 80-81, 95; McPherson, Cause and Comrades, 72.
23 Court Martial records of Ferdinand Oelert, NARA.
24 Court Martial records of Murry Claycomb, NARA.
25 Letter from Lt. Col Wood to Gov. Yates, May 14, 1862, 17th Illinois Regimental Papers, Illinois Archives.
26 Letter from Major Francis Smith to Gov. Yates; Letter from Ross to Yates, July 10, 1862; Letter from Yates to Ross, July 18,1862; 17th Illinois Regimental Papers, Illinois Archives.
27 OR, Series I, Volume 10 Chapter XXII, 113-114; Simpson, Ulysses S. Grant—Triumph Over Adversity, 1822-1865, 140.
28 Rable, God’s Almost Chosen Peoples, 7, 148, 153; Manning, What This Cruel War Was Over, 141-143.
29 Woodworth, While God is Marching On, 80, 105.
30 Ulysses S. Grant, Personal Memoirs of U.S. Grant (New York, NY, 1885), 368; McPherson, Battle Cry of Freedom, 414-417.
31 Corduroying a road involved placing branches and tree trunks on the soil to make the road more passable. A blacksnake was a whip. In personal papers of Josiah Moore, now in collection of the author.
32 Bruce Levine, The Fall of the House of Dixie (New York, NY, 2013), 102-103.
33 Sergeant Duncan’s company log book confirmed the encounter with “cooperating Confederates.” Duncan noted, “On May 28th, in conjunction with Company A we crossed the Mobile and Ohio Railroad and took possession of a house occupied as a rebel picket post. Agreed with the rebels that our pickets should not fire on each other while on duty.” According to Duncan’s log, the 17th was “advancing on Corinth” from April 29 through June 4.
34 The “lady Major” was Belle Reynolds, the wife of Lt. William Reynolds of Company A, a druggist from Peoria. Mrs. Reynolds joined her husband in camp in August 1861. At Shiloh, she moved with the demoralized men as they fell back to Pittsburg Landing. She spent the next week tending the wounded there and shared her stories of the battle and its aftermath with passengers aboard a ship returning to Peoria including Illinois governor Richard Yates. When a listener remarked that Belle deserved a commission more than most of the men in field, Yates agreed and asked for a blank commission form. He asked her the rank of her husband and, adding that he believed in “giving the women the best of it,” appointed her a major. She was the only woman commissioned during the war. Lori Tuttle, “Major Belle Reynolds of Peoria,” Illinois History Magazine (February 1994), an online project of the Northern Illinois University Libraries. www.lib.niu.edu.