Army Life of an Illinois Soldier, Charles Wright Wills, (8th Illinois Infantry)

September 6, 1864.

Lay quiet all day. Some Rebel cavalry followed us up and fired a few shots into our regiment’s works from the old Rebel fort, but Osterhaus swung his pickets around and gobbled 25 of them, and the rest troubled us no more.

September 5, 1864.

News of the capture of Fort Morgan. Orders to march at 8 p.m. I was detailed to bring off the pickets, which was accomplished without trouble. Rebels did not know when we left, as we heard them shooting after we got back in our old works at Jonesboro. The whole army moved into the works we built the 30th. I, with my pickets, got back just before day.

September 4, 1864.

Received a half official notification to-day that the campaign and fighting are over. Orders to clean up arms came also, and the boys, showing their contempt of the enemy’s power to do harm, took their guns all to pieces and set to polishing the should-be bright parts, right in view of the enemy’s pickets.

September 3, 1864.

Rebels still here. Congratulatory order from Sherman commences, “Slocum occupied Atlanta yesterday at 11 a.m.” We can see nothing of our position here. I don’t know where the 23d and 14th are. Our line here is very crooked, but generally faces southeast. Commencing at our right our line runs 17th, 15th, 16th and 4th. Kilpatrick is on our right or in the enemy’s rear. Can’t hear a word of Hood’s or Polk’s old corps or the militia. Hardee is in our front, and they are the only Rebel troops I know aught of. Cheatham’s Division faces us, and a S. C. Brigade is opposite our brigade. Captain Wilkinson was wounded in the arm to-day.

Six miles south of Jonesboro, September 2, 1864.

At daylight our skirmish line moved forward and found the Rebels gone. When our boys reached the railroad a train of cars was just loading some wounded; the boys made for it, but it outran them. They left a number of their wounded, and when the 14th broke them on the 1st, we captured several hospitals, in one of which were several officers. I saw in a hole by a hospital two legs and three arms. One can’t help pitying these Rebel soldiers. They have been whipped here until they have lost all spirit. They don’t fight with any spirit when they are attacked and it’s more like a butchery than a battle. Our brigade in advance we started after them. The 100th Indiana and 6th Iowa were deployed as skirmishers, and met the Rebel line almost as soon as they started forward. They drove them finely for four miles, when our skirmishers reported that they had run the Rebel army into fortifications.

The country here is quite open, the fields being from half to a mile or more wide, bordered by a narrow strip of wood. The 46th Ohio and our regiment were now deployed to relieve the skirmishers, and take a close look at the enemy’s position. They were shooting at us from some rail fences within range, and a mile away, over the fields, we could see them digging; seemed to be constructing a line of pits. We pushed forward under a heavy skirmish fire, and took from a S. C. Brigade the line of pits we saw them making, and went on a little way until we drew a fire from their main works, when we retired to the pits we had taken and prepared to hold them. Found tools in them. This was 3 p.m. About dark the Rebels made three little sorties, but only in light force. We easily repulsed them. Captain Post was wounded in the right breast. Loss in the regiment is seven wounded, raising the loss in the regiment to 178. The 103d and 46th Ohio captured 19 prisoners and killed and wounded at least 25.

September 1st, ’64.

A real autumn morning. We were aroused at 3 a.m. and the air was then almost crisp. A breath of cold air is a luxury we can appreciate. A fresh, cool breeze is now stirring and I can almost hear the leaves falling. It is a real yellow fall and does me more good than aught else could, except a letter from home. Haven’t had one from you for ten days. A prisoner says that yesterday’s fight was rougher on them than the 28th of July fight. He said their brigade came up in front of our men, and though they did not stay more than long enough to take one look, when they got back under cover they were 500 men short. They afterwards charged again, and he said he doubted whether any of them got off alive and sound.

This is the 124th day of the campaign, exactly 90 of which we have been under fire. Have also moved 340 miles, though the direct road would be much less. The boys say we just finished the summer campaign in time to commence the fall ditto. I guess the movement surprised Hood. Prisoners all say they understood it to be a raiding party. ‘Tis a rather mighty one.

The country between these two railroads is rather better than any we have seen before in Georgia, but I never saw any in Illinois half as poor. Hardly any of the land has been under cultivation since the war commenced. A little sickly corn and a few patches of sorghum and millet are about all the farming evidence I have seen.

Northern Alabama and a few counties in Mississippi are the only passable parts of the Confederacy that I have seen. Mrs. Lee Henty’s grand plantations, with their “hospitable mansions, whose broad verandas, supported by graceful pillars,” etc., are principally “bosh,” at least as far as northern Georgia is concerned. The health of the regiment is excellent, the men being, if anything, healthier than the officers. The lieutenant colonel and major, though both with us, are not yet reported for duty. Captain Boyd, Lieutenants Fox, A. & J. Smith are quite unwell.

Captains Post, Vorhees, Smith and myself have at different times been all the officers fit for duty. I believe I am the only one who has never been off duty during the campaign, though Post, Smith, Vorhees and Dorrance have lost but a few days each, Smith, I believe only one. I don’t believe these Rebels can be in very good spirits. I am afraid I’d be a little blue if we’d been whipped as often as they have this campaign. Most of the prisoners are great “peace” men, but they all say that their leaders will never give up as long as they can raise a brigade to fight. Every pup of them has hopes that the Chicago Convention will do something for them, they hardly know what. I heard one of the boys say he wished that the Convention could be induced to charge us in these works. There’s talk of our going home to vote.

About 2 p.m. a signal officer in a tree reported that he could see our troops moving in line down the railroad toward us. It was the 23d and 4th Corps. The 14th which held the left of our line, about the same time commenced to swing its left around, and by 4 p.m. a battle opened. The 14th broke the enemy’s line before the 23d got up, and alone rolled the Rebels up in fine style. By dark the 14th had captured from 12 to 20 pieces of artillery and a large number of prisoners. Three hours more of daylight and Hardee would have had no corps left, for the 4th and 23d were swinging further to the left, and would have been in his rear in less than two hours, when our whole line would have closed in on them.

Near Jonesboro, August 31, 1864.

We were afraid we would have no battle this month, but our fears were disappointed in a very summary manner this p.m. Hardee, in command of his own and Hood’s old corps, attacked the Army of the Tennessee again, the weight of the assault being on our corps. The second division, M. L. Smith’s, had the hardest of the fighting. The position our regiment held was unluckily too strong. They did not dare attack us. But we had a splendid view of the fight, both on our right and left.

Six Johnnie lines of battle debouched from the woods on our left, and swept right across our front on open ground, within long musket range, say 600 or 700 yards. This was 2:30 p.m. They were coming over to attack the 16th Corps. A five-gun battery on the right of our regiment and two guns on our left opened on them with spherical case, and threw some canister. They had hardly fired two shots when a Rebel 10-pound Parrott opened on them in front, and a Napoleon battery on our left flank. The Rebels shot admirably and you may imagine our regiment was in a pretty warm position, though our works and traverses made the danger but little.

In ten minutes from the time we first saw the Rebels they struck the 16th Corps, and after a right heavy fight of near an hour they came back flying. Our boys, though not near enough to do much effective shooting, put in 40 or 50 rounds apiece, just to keep our hands in. About the same time they struck Morgan L. they struck our first brigade and the left of our brigade. Our division repulsed them easily and Morgan L. slaughtered them awfully, but he had a hard fight. They charged up close to the left of our regiment, but owing to the direction of our lines not where we could fight them. Our brigade took one colonel, one major, three captains, one lieutenant and 30 men prisoners. The 2d division took several hundred. I can’t guess what their loss is, though it is not as heavy as on the 22d or 28th of July, for they did not fight nearly as well. Besides losing a host of men in this campaign, the Rebel Army has lost a large measure of vim, which counts a good deal in soldiering. Our loss in this fight is comparatively nothing. Say 30 men in our brigade; we have four or five scratched in our regiment, but only one much hurt. A spent 12-pound solid shot rolled on him.

Kilpatrick started for the railroad south this morning. He has had a big fight with Cleyburn’s division, but don’t know much about it.

During our fight to-day Schofield and Stanley, 23d and 4th, took the railroad and are destroying it. Hood, with Polk’s old corps, are above him and cut off from Hardee.

August 29, 1864.

I would much like to know what the Chicago Convention is doing to-day. We hear there is a possibility they may nominate Sherman. How we wish they would. He would hardly accept the nomination from such a party, but I would cheerfully live under Copperhead rule if they would give us such as Sherman. Sherman believes with Logan, “that if we can’t subdue these Rebels and the rebellion, the next best thing we can do is to all go to hell together.”

We have already thrown our army so far to the right that our communications are not safe, but yet we can’t quite reach the Montgomery or Macon railroads. It is determined to leave the 20th Corps at Vinings to guard the railroad bridge, and I think to move all the rest to the right. The army has just moved its length by the right flank. Looks easy and simple enough, but it took three days and nights of the hardest work of the campaign. The whole line lay in sight, and musket range of the enemy, not only our skirmishers, but our main line, and half a dozen men could, at any point, by showing themselves above the works, have drawn the enemy’s fire. A gun, a caisson, or a wagon could hardly move without being shelled. On the night of the 25th, the 20th Corps moved back to the river to guard the railroad bridge seven miles from Atlanta; and the 4th moved toward the right.

Night of the 26th the 15th, 16th and 17th moved back on different roads toward the right. The wheels of the artillery were muffled and most of them moved off very quietly. One gun in our division was not muffled, and its rattling brought on a sharp fire, but I only heard of two men being hurt. Our regiment was deployed on the line our brigade occupied, and remained four hours after everything else had left. At 2:30 a.m. we were ordered to withdraw very quietly. We had fired very little for two hours, and moved out so quietly that, though our lines were only 25 yards apart in one place, the Rebels did not suspect our exit. We moved back three-quarters of a mile and waited an hour, I think, for some 17th Corps skirmishers. We could hear the Johnnies popping away at our old position, and occasionally they would open quite sharply as though angry at not receiving their regular replies. When we were fully two miles away they threw two shells into our deserted works. We did not lose a man, but I give you my word, this covering an evacuation is a delicate, dangerous, and far-from-pleasant duty. There was a Johnnie in the “pit” nearest us that got off a good thing the other day. A newsboy came along in the ditch, crying, “Heer’s your Cincinnati, Louisville and Nashville papers.” Crack! Crack!! went two Rebel guns, and a Johnnie holloed “There is your Atlanta “Appeal!” We caught up with the brigade just at daylight, it was raining, but our watch, the hard march, the wear and tear of such duty, made some sleep a necessity, so we tumbled down in the rank smelling weeds, and I was sleeping equal to Rip Van Winkle in half a minute. In half an hour we were awakened, took breakfast and marched a couple of miles to where the train was. Here somebody got Rebel on the brain, and we were run out a mile to investigate. We stopped in a nice, fine grove, and I didn’t want to hear any more about the Rebels, but went to sleep instanter. That sleep did me a world of good. I woke about 4 p.m., and found the whole regiment with scarce a half-dozen exceptions, sound asleep. Finally the rear of the train started and we followed. At just midnight we came up to the train corral and laid down for the remnant of the night. At 6 a.m., we left the train and rejoined the division. At dark we camped on the Montgomery and Atlanta railroad, where the mile post says 15 miles to Atlanta. The march has been through a miserable rough country.

We have now been more than half-way around Atlanta, and I have not yet seen a country house that would more than compare favorably with the Coleman Mansion, or a farm that would in any respect vie with the stumpiest of Squire Shipley’s stump quarter, or the most barren and scraggiest of Copperas creek barren or brakes. At 12 p.m. they aroused our regiment to tear up railroad track. In one and one-quarter hours we utterly destroyed rails and ties for twice the length of our regiment.

We, by main strength with our hands, turned the track upside down, pried the ties off, stacked them, piled the rails across and fired the piles. Used no tools whatever. On the 29th the 16th Corps moved down and destroyed the railroad to Fairburn. On the 30th the army started for Macon railroad, Kilpatrick’s cavalry in advance. He did splendidly. Had hard skirmishing all the day. Took at least a dozen barricades, and went about as fast as we wanted to. He saved the Flint river bridge, and our corps crossed it, and by 12 p.m., were in good position with works within one-half mile of Jonesboro and the railroad.

Darkness kept us from taking the road that night. The enemy had a strong line of pickets all around us and we built our works under their fire. At daylight the 31st, we found the Rebels in plain sight in front of our regiment. I never saw them so thick. Our regiment is on the extreme right of the division.

August 24, 1864.

The Johnnies in our front are either tired out or short of ammunition or inclination, or else, like the quiet swine, “studying devilment.” Certain it is, that they shoot but little lately.

Five Rebel batteries which have thrown shell into our division line did not on the 20th or 21st fire a shot, on the 22d but two shots, and in response to a more than usually vigorous cannonading on our part yesterday returned not more than a dozen shots. These Rebels just opposite are a very glum set. Won’t say a single word, though the lines are at one point at least, not more than 20 yards apart. Whenever I have seen the line so close, our men invariably get the advantage, and keep the Rebels down. We go on the skirmish line every fourth day, but with ordinary care there is little danger.

The 4th, 20th and 16th Corps are preparing to start for the right. The raids in our rear—on the railroad amount to nothing. We have at least 60 days’ rations accumulated, and could rebuild the entire road in that time.