Showing posts with label 87th IN INF. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 87th IN INF. Show all posts

Monday, February 4, 2019

Captain Charles Wright Wills: June 15, 1864

June 15, 1864.

This has been a star day, and a better feeling lot of men that compose our brigade will be hard to find, for to-night any way. The morning was occupied in cleaning guns, etc. At 11 o'clock the assembly was sounded, and we moved one and one-half miles, which brought us on the left of the whole army. By 1 p. m. we had our line formed running from right to left, 103d Illinois, 6th Iowa, 46th Ohio, 40th Illinois, with the 97th Indiana deployed as skirmishers. We were in about the center of an open lot of plantations, facing a densely-wooded hill of maybe 300 acres. It was a plumb one-third of a mile to it and already the enemy's sharpshooters were reaching our men from it.

One of Company K’s men was shot here, and one of H’s. At precisely 1 p. m. we started, the men having been notified that they would have to get to that woods as quickly as possible. The Rebels opened pretty lively. Right in front of where I am now writing is a house. On the porch I see 11 children, not over nine years old. All belong to one woman. Haven't seen her, but from what I have seen in this country, wouldn't dispute the man who would tell me she was only 20 years old. This is a great stock country. As we started, the boys raised a cheer that was a cheer, and we went down on them regular storm fashion. A hundred yards before we got to the hill we ran into a strong line of rifle pits swarming with Johnnies. They caved and commenced begging. The pit I came to had about 20 in it. They were scared until some of them were blue, and if you ever heard begging for life it was then. Somebody yelled out “Let's take the hill,” and we left the prisoners and broke. At the foot of the hill we came to a muddy rapid stream, from 10 to 15 feet wide and no crossing, so we plunged in. I got wet to my middle, and many did to their breasts.

The banks were steep and slippery and muddy. Though we all expected a serious fight on the hill, up we went every man for himself, and through to an open field, over which some 200 straggling sandy looking Johnnies were trying to get away, which most of them accomplished, as we were too tired to continue the pursuit fast enough to overtake them. However, the boys shot a lot of them. Well, they call it a gallant thing. We took 542 prisoners, and killed and wounded I suppose 100.

The whole loss in our brigade is not 10 killed and 50 wounded. I only had one man wounded in my company, Corp. E. D. Slater. There were three killed and nine wounded in the regiment.

There were three regiments of Rebels—the 31st, 40th and 54th Alabama. They ought to have killed and wounded at least 500 of us, but we scared them out of it. They shot too high all the time. Osterhaus also had a hard fight to-day, was successful in taking a line of rifle pits. Thomas drove them a mile.

SOURCE: Charles Wright Wills, Army Life of an Illinois Soldier, p. 261-2

Thursday, January 22, 2015

87th Indiana Infantry

Organized at South Bend, Ind., and mustered in August 31, 1862. Ordered to Louisville, Ky., August 31. Attached to 3rd Brigade, 1st Division, Army of the Ohio, September, 1862. 3rd Brigade, 1st Division, 3rd Army Corps, Army of the Ohio, to November, 1862. 3rd Brigade, 3rd Division, Center 14th Army Corps, Army of the Cumberland, to January, 1863. 3rd Brigade, 3rd Division, 14th Army Corps, Army of the Cumberland, to October, 1863. 2nd Brigade, 3rd Division, 14th Army Corps, to June, 1865.

SERVICE. – Pursuit of Bragg to Crab Orchard, Ky., October 1-15, 1862. Battle of Perryville, Ky., October 8. March to Nashville, Tenn., October 16-November 7. Duty South Tunnel, Pilot Knob and Gallatin, Tenn., November 8-26, and guarding fords of the Cumberland till January 29, 1863. Duty at Nashville, Tenn., till March 6. Duty at Triune till June. Expedition toward Columbia, Tenn., March 4-14. Franklin June 4-5. Middle Tennessee or Tullahoma Campaign June 23-July 7. Hoover's Gap June 24-26. Occupation of Middle Tennessee till August 16. Passage of the Cumberland Mountains and Tennessee River and Chickamauga (Ga.) Campaign August 16-September 22. Battle of Chickamauga September 19-21. Siege of Chattanooga, Tenn., September 24-November 23. Chattanooga-Ringgold Campaign November 23-27. Orchard Knob November 23-24. Mission Ridge November 25. Demonstration on Dalton, Ga., February 22-27, 1864. Tunnel Hill, Buzzard's Roost Gap and Rocky Faced Ridge February 23-25. Reconnoissance from Ringgold toward Tunnel Hill April 29. Atlanta (Ga.) Campaign May 1 to September 8. Demonstration on Rocky Faced Ridge May 8-11. Battle of Resaca May 14-15. Advance on Dallas May 18-25. Operations on line of Pumpkin Vine Creek and battles about Dallas, New Hope Church and Allatoona Hills May 25-June 5. Operations about Marietta and against Kenesaw Mountain June 10-July 2. Pine Hill June 11-14. Lost Mountain June 15-17.      Assault on Kenesaw June 27. Ruff's or Neal Dow Station July 4. Chattahoochie River July 5-17. Peach Tree Creek July 19-20. Siege of Atlanta July 22-August 25. Utoy Creek August 7. Flank movement on Jonesboro August 25-30. Battle of Jonesboro August 31-September 1. Operations against Hood in North Georgia and North Alabama September 29-November 3. March to the sea November 15-December 10. Siege of Savannah December 10-21. Campaign of the Carolinas January to April, 1865. Fayetteville, N. C., March 11. Averysboro March 16. Battle at Bentonville March 19-21. Occupation of Goldsbore March 24. Advance on Raleigh April 10-14. Occupation of Raleigh April 14. Bennett's House April 26. Surrender of Johnston and his army. March to Washington, D.C., via Richmond, Va., April 29-May 19. Grand Review May 24. Mustered out June 10, 1865.

Regiment lost during service 10 Officers and 81 Enlisted men killed and mortally wounded and 2 Officers and 190 Enlisted men by disease. Total 283.

SOURCE: Frederick H. Dyer, A Compendium of the War of the 3, p. Rebellion, Part 1150

Sunday, August 7, 2011

Benjamin W. Cissel

Name: Benjamin N. or W. Cissel
Age: 22
Date Enrolled: 1863/12/07
Where Enrolled: Rensselaer, Indiana
Regiment: 87
Company: A
Notes: Recruit.  Transferred to 42nd Regiment.  No discharge/muster out information shown.

SOURCE: Civil War Military Records of the Indiana State Digital Archives