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Civil War Interactive Discussion Board > Genealogy > Letters, Diaries and Journals > A letter from Shiloh |
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Civil War Interactive Discussion Board > Genealogy > Letters, Diaries and Journals > A letter from Shiloh |
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| A letter from Shiloh | Rating: 
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| Posted: Tue Jan 9th, 2007 09:14 pm |
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1st Post |
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Johan Steele Life NRA,SUVCW # 48,Legion 352 
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William Pfaender Lt, 1st Battery MN Lt Arty Following letter addresses to Alexander Ramsey after the battle of Shiloh Dear Sir: The people of our state are probably anxious to learn the fate of the Minnesota volunteers who fought at the late battle of Pittsburg, Tenn; and as the First Minnesota Battery was the only representative of our state in the terrible fight, I deem it my duty to send you a short account of the proceedings on the memorable 6th of April. At our arrival here on the 18th of March, we were attached to the Fourth Brigade of General Sherman’s Division but a very few days before the battle alluded to all the artillery and calvary forces were attached as independent commands to the six divisions of General Grants army. Under this new arrangement we were attached to General Prentiss division, and on Saturday the 5th moved to our new camp, immediately on the right of General Prentiss headquarters. The organization of our division was not complete yet. Several new Wisconsin regiments had just arrived from Milwaukee and took their camps a little to the and in front of our camp. Still our line was the advance of the left wing, and although it was generally believed after the skirmish on Friday, the 4th of April, that considerable rebel forces were close to our line. No precautionary measures seem to have been taken, for outpost were only about a mile beyond our camp. Sunday morning came, bright as a Minnesota summer morning; the boys were all busy to get the camp in as good order as possible when, at about half past seven o’clock, we suddenly received orders to get ready immediately and to move to the front of our camp. Up to this time we had no idea of the terrible work before us, and all thought that probably a reconnoitering expedition was intended. In a very short time we were ready and started out, following the Fifth Ohio Battery, whose camp joins ours. Now, we heard a few shots and hurried on as fast as possibly; but scarcely had we reached the camp in front when a lively musket fire was opened on our infantry. Immediately after leaving the first row of tents, we formed battery under most galling fire from the rebel skirmishes, and almost simultaneously with the Fifth Ohio Battery, opened dire artillery fire of the day. At our arrival at the scene of action, our infantry were already retreating in every direction, and very soon, instead of being covered by our infantry, we were left behind alone covering the retreat of our running protectors. The Fifth Ohio Battery had lost some horses and now fell back, leaving several pieces in the hands of the enemy. One of our men and two horses were killed before we commenced firing; another and third one, all belonging to my section, were wounded in quick succession. Now, Captain Munch’s horse was shot in the head and immediately afterwards the captain himself was severally wounded in the leg. My horse was wounded in both fore legs. Several others horses had received severe injuries and our pistion became extremely critical. The enemy had already outflanked us, and only a retreat could save the battery from being taken; consequently, we left our position and under a perfect storm of bullets, reformed close to our camp, where in connection with the remaining forces of the Fifth Ohio Battery, we again opened with spherical case and canister, and continued firing until all of our infantry had again given way and enemy was pressing in upon us on all sides. Our division now fell behind the line coming to support, under General Hurlbut, and after a short rest General Prentiss formed the remainder of the division again on the left centre of our line. Two of our rifled pieces had by this time been rendered unserviceable and were ordered to the rear. The remaining four pieces had by this time been rendered unserviceable and were ordered to the rear. The remaining four pieces took their position under the direct orders of General Prentiss. The terrible work was now progressing rapidly. The rebel made the fierce attacks successively on the centre, the right and left wings ever trying to find the weakest point and always shifting their forces from one another. At the point where I was stationed, on the right of one Cavender’s Missouri Batteries the enemy made several ineffective efforts to break our centre with his artillery, which we silenced three times, and kept his infantry in respectful distance. Lieutenant Peebles maintained his position on our left nobly, and at a charge of the Louisiana regiment, completely mowed them down with canister. The enemy however also took good aim; two of our Cannoneers were here killed and Lieutenant Peebles severely wounded in the jaw, Sergeants Clayton and Connor severally wounded and a number of horses killed. The attack of the enemy now became desperate along the whole line; our left wing gave way the rebel were also gaining on our right and while we kept them continually in check in the centre, the bullets already commenced to come in at our rear, showing that our left wing was thrown entirely and that we would shortly be cut off. At this moment Brigadier General Wallace ordered us to retreat and we commenced to move off in good order. Passing down through a narrow valley we say rebels advancing in large numbers upon our right wing, and coming up a hill which commanded their line, we commenced throwing canister at them, but were soon obliged to fall back and amid a terrible crossfire which treatment to kill every man and horse, which we all here miraculously escaped unhurt. Arriving at the bluffs of the Pittsburg Landing, I tried to get the whole battery in the best possible condition again and succeeded, by dismounting and changing pieces to get five pieces in good shape at least able to open fire again. Our batteries now took their posts in order to repulse the expected attack of the last position; we located our five pieces, together with Marllgrafs Eighth Ohio Battery on a hill commanding a large ravine and subjecting the enemy to a cross fire of eleven pieces in case of an attack. General Buell’s forces had by this time arrived on the opposite side of the river and commenced crossing over. This caused great rejoicing and inspired the men for the coming struggle. The rebels knew that this last attack would decide the day, and at about six o’clock in the evening opened fire on us again. I had just come over to the centre to ascertain the position of our forces, in order to render our fire more effectively. When the enemies shells commenced flying over our heads in the direction of the river and a few moments afterwards the pieces of the First Minnesota Battery joined in such a cannonade as has never been witnessed on this continent. It was really majestic, and no army would have been able to take that position. General Beauregard had found out by this time that he could not water his horse in the Tennessee river that evening and fell back to our camps just after dark. A heavy rain storm had drenched us thoroughly during Sunday night yet the Minnesota Battery was ready for another trial and being without an immediate commander (as General Prentiss had been taken prisoner) I reported to General Grant who learning our position ordered me to keep the same until further orders and as Monday’s fight was mostly done by General Buells forces who had been crossing all night and steadily poured in, we remained there until we were removed to our old camp again. Our boys have behaved nobly and I am satisfied they have shown themselves worthy of their state and people. I add, Minnesota was the first to volunteer its men for service. In most critical moments of that bloody day they exhibited an astonishing coolness and bravery. Even with their numbers diminished they served their guns like old soldier, and while many batteries lost part or all of their pieces, we have satisfaction that we have brought out every piece that was brought into the conflict. As the attack was so unexpected our baggage teams had been lost almost everything in our possession for the whole camp was thoroughly plundered on Sunday night. The newspapers will have so much to say about the battle of Pittsburg that it is unnecessarily for me to add much more. I will only state in regard to the killed and wounded that from what I have seen, the number of killed and wounded on both sides cannot be less than 10000. Yours most respectfully W. Pfaender First Lietenant, Commanding First Minnesota Battery
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| Posted: Tue Jan 9th, 2007 09:18 pm |
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2nd Post |
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Johan Steele Life NRA,SUVCW # 48,Legion 352
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I find this letter particularly poignant... especially after a particular Lost Causer insisted Minnesota didn't have any arty in the ACW and insinuated Minnesota didn't contribute much in his ongoing effort to rewrite history. Minneosta offered the first Regiment to Service to President Lincoln and units like the 1st, 2nd, 4th & 5th MN VI not to mention Cav & LT Arty units were heavily engaged throughout the war. The original letter resides in the MN State Historical Society
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| Posted: Wed Jan 10th, 2007 06:47 am |
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3rd Post |
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ole Member 
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General Beauregard had found out by this time that he could not water his horse in the Tennessee river that evening and fell back to our camps just after dark. Johan: I find this statement either suspicious or miraculously coincidental. Could the writer have known of Johnston's famous statement when he wrote it? Could he have heard it from a prisoner? When was the letter written?. Ole
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| Posted: Wed Jan 10th, 2007 12:43 pm |
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4th Post |
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Johan Steele Life NRA,SUVCW # 48,Legion 352
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I believe the letter was written a couple of days after the battle... many of the Union enlisted men knew of the quote after the battle and joked of it. I suspect POWs might have passed on the statement to their captors but I do not know. It is maybe the fourth or fifth time I have read reference to it in a US letter written about Shiloh. THe museum has some of the man's original kit as well as several bits of official correspondence. The man certainly existed and the concise style is on par w/ that of an After Action report of the day.
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| Posted: Wed Jan 10th, 2007 02:39 pm |
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5th Post |
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calcav Member
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Johan, Isn't that a great letter?! The 1st Minnesota Light Artillery (Munch's Battery) is my favorite monument at Shiloh. Follow the link for a picture of it on the park's website. http://www.shilohbattlefield.org/details.asp?WidePhoto=TN003M111L.jpg The battery opened the Battle of Corinth on the 3rd of October near Alexander's Crossroads about four miles from town. Captain Munch was just recovering from his Shiloh wound and was unable to take command back until the second day of the fighting. As for the Minnesota Infantry, I would have your non-believer associate look at what the 5th Minnesota did in Corinth on October 4th. Their smashing counterattack destroyed the Confederate forces that had managed to penetrate the Union lines and reach the railroad crossing. The 4th Minnesota of Buford's brigade (John's half brother) were in the thick of it turning back the Confederate left. Last edited on Wed Jan 10th, 2007 02:40 pm by calcav |
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| Posted: Wed Jan 10th, 2007 02:46 pm |
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6th Post |
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calcav Member
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Johan, Last year I did a detailed study of the artillery at the Battle of Corinth. Attached is the segment on the 1st Minnesota Light Artillery: Organized: Organized at Fort Snelllng, Minn., November 21, 1861. Assigned to: Artillery Brigade, Sixth Division (McKean), Army of West Tennessee. Previous service: Shiloh, Siege of Corinth. Armament: (2) 12 pounder howitzers and (2) 12 pounder James Rifles. Commanding officer at Corinth: Lieutenant G. F. Cooke, Captain Emil Munch. Section: Sgt. (Acting Lieutenant) William Z. Clayton. Casualties at Corinth: 1 wounded. In his diary Pvt. August Schilling states there were two wounded. Loss of horses and material: One 12 pounder howitzer lost on the 2nd is recovered on the 5th. Remarks: On the 1st of October a section of 12 pounder howitzers under Lieutenant Clayton accompanied the Second brigade (Oliver) to Alexander’s to support the 15th Michigan Infantry. The force spent the night one mile to the southeast of Chewalla. The artillery was not called into service on the 2nd, the section falling back to Alexander’s for the night. “Early the next morning, the enemy pressing us, we opened upon them and the fight became general. At the fifth discharge one of the howitzers was disabled by the breaking of an axle (from recoil) and obliged to retire. It was attached to the limber of the gun carriage and carried about 2 miles; but in crossing Cane Creek the fastenings broke, and being hotly pressed we were obliged to abandon it, spiking and throwing it into Cane Creek.” The axle had been initially damaged at Shiloh and had been banded to strengthen it. When the gun was thrown from the bridge it actually landed on the dry creek bottom and was recovered on the 5th. The second section, under Lt. Cooke, had spent the preceding days at Battery F. When notified of the disabled gun, Major Andrew Hickenlooper, Chief of Artillery, sent Lt. Cooke with a replacement gun to the front. Lt. Cooke posted the two guns on the left side of the Chewalla Road just to the left of the old Confederate earthworks. During the fighting a second gun was disabled and sent to Corinth for repair. The fourth and final gun of the battery was sent up the road to Lt. Cooke. Falling back before the Confederate assault, the battery was sent to the immediate right of Battery F. Noting an enemy infantry force to the front, (Brig. General John C. Moore’s Brigade of Maury’s Division), Clayton is ordered to take the guns forward and engage them. An unidentified Confederate battery (probably Bledsoe’s Missourians) responded and the 1st Minnesota, with the help of the 3rd Ohio Battery, drove it away. Pvt Schilling noted in his diary, “…then all of a sudden a cannon ball wizzed just above our heads from the enemy front (advance unit), now we relieved orders to move our cannon back as we saw the smoke of the second cannon shot and then heard the next ball whizz passed, much closer than the first one. Now came our answer, in the next moment we sent a shell as greetings and their second shell had given us the direction. We hurridley sent another shell, but then recived orders to fall back to the trenches which were prepared for us.” When Colonel Crocker’s Third Brigade was driven back, the 1st Minnesota takes a new position on the Ripley road to the left of the Corona College. Captain Munch reassumed command of the battery and the piece which had been sent into town for repairs was returned. The battery did not see service on the 4th. Sergeant Clayton was highly praised in General McArthur’s and Captain Hickenlooper’s reports and recommended for promotion for his actions during the battle. At Vicksburg, seven months later, he was a captain commanding the battery. Private Thomas D. Christie of the battery wrote home to his father: And now I suppose you would like to hear an account of my second battle. My remembrance of it extends to these items. Country heavily wooded, and intersected by chains of hills, every one of which we defended as long as possible and then fell back to the next, the booming of the guns and bursting of shell, the roar of the rifles and “spat,” “spat,” of the bullets around us, men limping to the rear or carried by comrades, with here and there a skulker hurrying out of the reach of the musical lead. All this I remember and also that when our gun was heated it was mighty hard work to ram down the charge, which was my duty as I was No. 1. Nothing is so exciting as working a gun in real action. The sound of the discharge almost raises us off our feet with delight. Before the smoke lifts from the muzzle I dash in, dip the brush in the sponge bucket and brush out the bore using plenty of water, then seize the sponge stuff and sponge it out dry. No. 2 then inserts the cartridge which I ram home, then the shot, shell or canister, whichever it may be and it is sent home, then I spring out beside the wheel and fall flat, “Ready” shouts the Gunner, No. 3 (who has been serving vent while I loaded) now pricks the cartridge, No. 4 jumps in and inserts a friction primer, to which his lanyard is attached, in the vent, springs outside the wheel and straightens his lanyard. The Gunner gives a turn or two to the elevating screw, taps on the trail and has it carried round a little, and then, “Fire” “Take that,–––– you” says No. 4 as the gun rushes back with the recoil. The other numbers run her forward at the command “By hand to the front” while I load. While you have been reading this description we would fire 3 or 4 shots, so rapidly do we work. The sound of the gun is most exhilerating [sic], it fills us with enthusiasm, and we would die rather than desert her. However, you probably do not understand these feelings, and so think it all foolishness.
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| Posted: Thu Apr 30th, 2009 08:24 pm |
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7th Post |
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chrisfingle Member
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Johan, that IS a great letter. You and calcav may like this book I came across reading another forum. It is a double book with a diary and a collection of letters from Iowa men writing from Donelson and Shiloh. There are several letters from donelson after the battle and a great letter writen from Pittsburg Landing the night before the battle. The book is called "Soldier Life - Many Must Fall", all first hand accounts with great footnotes. The best part though, which first caught my attention, is that it tells the first person story of the Shiloh POWs from the Hornets' Nest. You can't find that stuff in Sword and Daniels and Cunningham. Here's a review from the CIVIL WAR BOOKS AND AUTHORS website: http://cwba.blogspot.com/2009/03/thomas-and-wilson-soldier-lifemany-must.html "Soldier Life—Many Must Fall: Two Civil War Narratives -- True Histories of the 14th Iowa Infantry in Camp and Combat, Told by the Wolf Creek Rangers of Tama County" by B. F. Thomas and Peter Wilson (The Camp Pope Bookshop*, 2008) 288 pages -- 8 3/4 x 11 1/3 -- Hardcover, illustrated dustjacket, maps, photographs, notes, index. " This publication is essentially two books in one, together they shed personal light on the Civil War service of the 14th Iowa (Company G), which saw action in the western and Trans-Mississippi theaters. The writings of the two main authors, in conjunction with a variety of letters and accounts written by other Co. G mates, cover military events in Tennessee (Ft. Donelson, Shiloh), Mississippi (Oxford Raid), Louisiana (Pleasant Hill), and Missouri (Price Raid), as well as the experience of being a POW and paroled soldier. Soldier Life, penned later in life by Benjamin Franklin Thomas (first published in 1907), is a reproduction of the author's Civil War diary, spiced with his reminiscences. The editors altered the text (e.x. corrected spelling, replaced abbreviated text, etc.) and added footnotes. The notes, mostly detailed biographical sketches of individuals mentioned in the text, are bundled together at the end of each section, but curiously not arranged in numbered citation format. They are of both research and genealogical value. A sampling of Thomas's poetry was also inserted. Many Must Fall is the letter collection of Sgt. Peter Wilson (spanning 1861-1865, and previously published piecemeal by the Iowa Journal of History and Politics during the 1940s). The earlier annotation is preserved, with new commentary from the current editors. The Wilson letters (mostly addressed to immediate family) are supplemented with other letters, memoirs, and newspaper accounts written by members of his unit. Between the narratives is a photo gallery and two maps. Soldier Life - Many Must Fall is a valuable compilation of primary source materials for Civil War researchers and genealogists. The Traer Historical Museum Board (editors) and the Camp Pope Bookshop (publisher) deserve our thanks for bringing back into print the personal experiences of the "Wolf Creek Rangers" of Company G, 14th Iowa, all in a single, well produced volume. " Available from: The Traer Historical Museum 514 2nd St. Traer, Iowa 50675 http://www.traermuseum.com Last edited on Fri May 1st, 2009 04:41 pm by chrisfingle |
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