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WINTER QUARTERS, 1864:
The 78th Illinois Infantry Around Chattanooga
By Robert Welch
Newspaper research is a tedious process. Whereas a diary, memoir or letter set offers a contiguous story written by one person in one coherent package, newspapers are the catch-all document of a community. Any letters written by soldiers and sent home for publication are at best sporadic and often either anonymous or, in most cases, consist of a series of letters from one person that ends after a short period of time for a number of reasons. While performing research in the newspapers from Macomb, Illinois, I discovered a series of letters from one man in the 78th Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment that was regularly published in the Macomb Weekly Journal between January, 1864, through the summer of 1865. Over the course of eighteen months, the paper carried one letter per week (with exceptions) from James K. Magie, the owner of the Journal and a sergeant in Company C, 78th Illinois. Those letters provide a rare public record of the life of a soldier on campaign and in various camps for the final year and a half of the war in the Western theater. This paper will concentrate on the period of February through April, 1864, and the winter quarters activities of the 78th. Life around Chattanooga during this period was neither stable nor peaceful for the men from western Illinois, and Magie’s letters show numerous aspects about camp life of interest to the living historian who wishes to better understand the western Federal soldier on the brink of his final campaigns.
Following a furlough of five weeks in Macomb, Sergeant Magie reported back to the 78th at Rossville, Georgia, on January 31, 1864. His first letter to the Journal, penned the next day, tells of the changes in the life of the Army of the Cumberland since the end of the siege of Chattanooga.
I arrived in camp yesterday, making the journey from Macomb in just seven days. I discovered that during my absence the regiment had not been idle. Winter quarters, more substantial, roomy and comfortable than we have ever before occupied had been erected. And I have also discovered since my arrival here that is more work and less play than usual with the troops. The regular company and battalion drills have been resumed, and the frequent inspections now made render it necessary for the boys to be industrious in keeping their arms and accoutrements in proper order. When I left there, five weeks since, they were on short rations, but now full rations are issued. The railroad to Chattanooga is completed and cars now run regularly to that place, thus increasing our means of transportation, the insufficiency of which heretofore being sole cause of short rations. (1)
Magie also reported meeting a man very important to the history of the 78th. In December, 1862, while guarding bridges in Kentucky, companies B and C were captured by John Hunt Morgan’s troopers during their “Christmas Raid.” Magie evaded capture at that time as he was assigned to clerical duty with regimental headquarters at another post along the rail line. Just over a year later, the Confederate lieutenant responsible for paroling those companies turned himself in as a deserter, coincidentally surrendering to the regiment he had once helped capture. As Magie recorded, “When he left the rebels he was Acting Commissary or Quartermaster. He was sent out to find a beef for the hungry rebs, and after he started [obscured] he was pretty sure he couldn’t find one short of the Yankee camp, and so he rode in, and for some unexplained reason was not halted until he reached the Major’s tent, where he announced himself a deserter from the enemy, who desired to avail himself of the benefits of the amnesty offered by the President.” (2)
As February progressed, the 78th found that life around Chattanooga would not be a quiet and stable rest for the regiment. On February 16th, Magie reported that the regiment was ordered to move camps. The “roomy and comfortable” huts at Rossville were left behind, as the 2nd Brigade, 2nd Division of the 14th Army Corps marched to Tiner’s Station, Tennessee. “It was with some reluctance that our boys bid farewell to the snug and comfortable cabins they had been so careful in building, to rough it again on the open prairie until new quarters could be built.” (3) The spot assigned to the 78th was “twenty rods” from the railroad station at Tiner’s, and previously unoccupied by other troops. Sergeant Magie reported the work involved in preparing the ground for the construction of a new camp for his readers at home: “As soon as the camp was staked out, each company proceeded to the work of clearing up their respective grounds, and a lively time they had of it all the afternoon. All the trees, bushes and shrubs were cut down and cleared smoothe with the ground. Large bonfires soon reduced to ashes all the rubbish, and before night we had a clean, smooth ground, where but two or three hours before stood tall timber, with a heavy undergrowth of bushes, dead leaves, &c.” (4)
Once the ground was cleared, the men began the process of constructing and furnishing their new huts. While some of the regiment’s officers quartered themselves in “some old mildewed, dilapidated tents,” the enlisted men raised a village of log huts in less than forty-eight hours. Magie claimed that the “shanties, as the most of us call them” were “far superior” to the “dwellings of the ‘poor white trash’ of this country.” The men of the 78th built three sided huts of white oak, split “rails or slabs” and corner notched to hold the walls together in a “log house fashion.” When it came time to roof their new homes, the men had two options available. “A large majority in the regiment have what we call “dorg tents,” which is a piece of heavy muslin about a yard and a half square. Four persons uniting together can put a very good shelter over their cabin. Those who have not yet drawn “dorg tents,” or have lost them, split out clap-boards, which are placed in proper position for shelter and secured to their places by heavy logs laid upon them.” The occupants then built a fireplace of fire-hardened clay, daubed the walls of their cabins and built bunks and furniture as desired. (5)
Life at Tiner’s Station provided Magie a chance to relate to people in Macomb the interactions between Federal enlisted men and Confederate civilians. After constructing quarters, the sergeant pulled duty at the picket line. While stationed at one of four points in the picket line where civilians could pass through, Sergeant Magie had an encounter with “old lady of secesh proclivities” as she passed out of the brigade camp after receiving food relief from the Federal camp.
The old lady was accompanied by her daughter-in-law, and they had been to the commissioner’s, and the large sack of hard tack and bacon which they carried showed that they had not been turned empty away. It appears that the old lady was obliged to travel about a quarter of a mile out of her way in order to pass out at station No. 1, and this she considered shameful treatment of a poor old woman like her. But that treatment was nothing to be compared to the scandalous manner in which she had been treated at the depot of the commissary. She had heard that our officers were issueing rations to the citizens, and she had walked three miles on purpose to get some coffee, sugar and tea, “and would you believe it,” said she addressing me, “not an ounce could I get, and they put me off with these nasty hard crackers, and only five or six pounds of bacon.” They had sugar for she saw it, and also coffee, but they refused her a grain of it, a poor old woman like her needed tea and coffee, -- and so she railed on with a glib tongue about the shameful treatment in refusing her tea, coffee and sugar.
Magie doubted that her misfortune or her “secesh proclivities” would overwhelm her physical needs. “She will probably be back in a day or two for more hard tack and bacon.” (6)
Two weeks passed before another of Magie’s letters appeared in the Journal. The March 18, 1864, edition of the paper brought word to the people of McDonough County that the 78th was again on the move, and this time to a former field of action. Written once again near Rossville, Georgia, the sergeant related the news that the regiment had engaged in a reconnaissance march to Taylor’s Ridge, overlooking the town of Ringgold, Georgia, and the newly renamed “Hooker’s Gap,” site of the rear guard action between Hooker and Cleburne the previous fall. As forces skirmished on the valley floor, the 78th threw up earthworks on Taylor’s Ridge. “We had neither spade, shovel or pickaxe, and but a few axes, but in less than an hour we had good bullet proof breastworks thrown up the entire length of our regiment, built of logs and stones.” That night, the works were challenged by two Confederate soldiers, perhaps scouting the Federal position; the answer is lost to history, as two pickets from the 78th fired on the soldiers and missed, scaring them off. “Those pickets ought to have been courtmartialed for making such poor shots,” a disappointed Magie conjectured. The next morning the regiment took to the road again and marched north, the reconnaissance in force at an end. (7)
A week later, the men of the 78th were still at Rossville, bivouacked in the field and away from their shanties. The weather was warming again, and Magie noted that the trees were already budding out, and the peach trees were beginning to bloom. (8) As time went on, the men must have regarded their chances of a return to their winter huts at Tiner’s Station slim, for a week later the men were still at Rossville, and Magie referred to life in a “rude little cabin.” (9) As it is unknown if the men of the 78th once again inhabited their original winter quarters in the area, there is a good chance that this represented the third set of winter quarters facilities built by the regiment in nearly as many months. The weather varied, much to the soldiers’ discomfort. “But soldiers are called upon to endure all kinds of weather – cold and hot, wet and dry, cloudy and clear, and ever be ready for duty at a moment’s warning.” (10) At the very least, life was much more routine at Rossville. As Magie related,
There it comes! blast from Maynard’s bugle. That is a call for the pickets to fall in. Our company furnishes eight men for picket every morning. They pack their blankets, and provide themselves with rations for 24 hours, and rig themselves as though for a march. Picket duty in good weather is no hardship. Each picket is required to stand as sentinel six hours out of the twenty-four – that is, two hours on duty, and six hours off. As matters are at present arranged a man’s turn [obscured] The pickets usually take with them their writing materials, and a large portion of the letters sent from the army are written while out on picket. At half past nine Maynard blows his bugle again. That will be the call for company drill. Each company then assembles on their respective parade grounds, form in line, and are then marched out to the most convenient places for drilling. At eleven o’clock the re-call is sounded, and we then march to our quarters. At half past two the bugle sounds for battalion drill, which exercise is continued until four o’clock, thus consuming three hours each day in drilling. Saturday and Sunday, however, are excepted. (11)
The regiment also took part in daily target practice in the afternoon. With a target set at one hundred yards, “. . . each man steps out as his number is called – takes aim, and fires.” The results were forwarded to regimental headquarters every evening. (12)
On March 22, the warm weather and comfortable routine gave way to nearly a foot of snow and freezing temperatures. The weather brought military life to a stand still and kept the men not on picket confined to their quarters, save for perhaps the most memorable experience of the entire winter. The day after the snowfall, a clear sky and full sun brought the men out of their huts in the afternoon, and some of the soldiers began to throw snowballs at each other. While the snow ball fight at Dalton is perhaps one of the most famous incidents of its kind, on the very same day, the 2nd Brigade, 2nd Division of the 14th Corps fought their own snow battle.
A little skirmishing commenced immediately after dinner, between some companies of this regiment, when quite a large body snow-ballers were seen moving down from the direction of the 98th O. V. I. which is camped about twenty rods west of us. Hostilities immediately ceased between the companies, and they formed a junction and immediately commenced a vigorous attack on the 98th boys. The contest was quite spirited for a time, both parties contending manfully, when the right wing of the 98th was observed to give way slightly. Our boys saw their advantage and followed it up with much vigor. The 98th could not recover their ground, and the evidence began to gather that they would soon be driven from the field in a total rout. Just then [obscured] forward, which proved to be reinforcement for the 98th from the 113th O. V. I. The 78th not undaunted in the least, but with undomitable perserverance rallied their forces and advanced their lines some two or three rods. A courier was sent back after ammunition. The convalescents were called out and a large wash tub was filled with well-made snow balls and carried to the field. The contest now raged fiercely. The tub of ready-made snow balls came in the niche of time. The enemy began to fall back. Just at this time, Andy Wilson of Co. C, was brought to the rear severely wounded in the right eye with a snow ball. The 78th continued to press forward. The enemy was then reinforced by a detachment from the 121st O. V. I., but they could not recover their lost ground. At 5 o’clock P. M. the 78th was declared the victors, and they cheered and crowed lustily over their triumph. While the contest was raging, a few of our boys had the temerity to cast a few balls in the direction of the camp of the “Hundred-and-Ot,” which is the dutch for ‘108th O. V. I.” but they could not be drawn out from behind their breastworks. I have not received a list of the casualties on the part of the enemy, as they took their wounded from the field. The casualties on our side foot up two severely wounded, three slightly wounded. (13)
The subject of military discipline also comes to light at this time. Though Magie himself was not in trouble, he related a lengthy comical tale involving a member of Company I, also from McDonough County. Though the details are unnecessary, the story does show how punishment and hearings were taken care of within the regiment. An area known as the “bull-pen” was set aside near the Colonel’s quarters where soldiers subject to justice for minor offenses were guarded while their cases were adjudicated. Magie states that men were not quartered there around the clock, but told to report there after morning roll call; at night, the men remained in their regular quarters. (14)
On April 6, a review was held, with Generals Thomas and Palmer the reviewing officers for the division-level review. “The men were all admonished that clean clothes, clean hands and faces, and hair well combed, and shoes well blackened would be expected of every one. Our whole division was marched out to a piece of ground which had been prepared for the occasion about half a mile to the south of camp, and I must say that the display was very grand.” (15) With the onset of spring weather, the membership of the regiment began to fluctuate once again. Officers resigned, new ones were promoted, and new recruits came in. Magie noted that the peach crop in Georgia was probably destroyed for the year due to the cold snap and heavy snow in late March; the return of warmer temperatures also brought a regular return of drill at all levels. While no orders for a forward movement existed at the moment, Magie intimated that the soldiers all knew that they would come soon enough, and that “[t]he day and the hour rapidly approaches when the decisive blow will be struck which will proclaim the nation redeemed and disenthroned from the dark pall of rebellion which has so long hung over it.” On April 10, orders to march arrived, but only for another reconnaissance towards Dalton. (16)
The movement towards Dalton was a short one. On April 16, Magie penned another letter for the Journal. The regiment, along with a cavalry detachment, went on a three day scout towards Dalton to check for Confederate activity. Part of the journey took the 78th back over the Chickamauga battlefield, and Magie noted “[t]he little wounds indicating the resting place of the dead, the stray hats and shoes and bloody garments that lay in profusion about, the shot and shell which were kicked about under our feet, and the broken and mangled trees and bushes every where visible, were all sad reminders of the terrible conflict which had been waged upon that ground.” (17)
Once past the battlefield, the regiment stopped at Crawfish Springs before taking up its route of march toward Pigeon Mountain. The lack of people struck Magie; he commented that they say few farms and fewer signs of life along the road, having passed but three or four farms during the entire time out on the march. “At nearly every house that was occupied could be seen as we passed some ten or a dozen squallid looking children, varying in ages from two to twelve years, with a large sprinkle of darkies of variegated hues, and perhaps two or three matronly looking women, with quids of tobacco in their cheeks or pipes in their mouths.” The men of the 78th envied the presence of livestock on the few farms they did encounter, but there is no mention of foraging or theft. The march itself was eventless, save the temporary interception of a Confederate deserter who had taken the amnesty oath. (18)
Passing over the fields at Chickamauga must have stirred something in the men of the 78th, for shortly after the regiment returned from its reconnaissance, Magie and several others returned and toured the battlefield, which dominated his next letter to the newspaper. They were not the only ones who were drawn there; Magie noted “a number of such parties” wandering the field. The men of the 78th returned to the spot where they stood for three hours, holding the Confederate advance at bay until they were forced from the field. It was here that the regiment’s Major, William Broaddus, was killed, among others. Many still lay a few yards behind the location of the line of battle, waiting under a thin layer of sod to be collected and sent for re-interment at the newly set aside cemetery at Chattanooga.
Magie was deeply moved by the environmental damage that surrounded the 78th’s final position; it was evident that it brought vivid memories of what he and the other members of the regiment lived through that day. “scarcely a bush that does not bear the marks of the hissing bullet or the screaming shell. In one tree near where the head of our regiment laid in the time of the battle one of our party counted fifty-six bullet marks. – There are to be seen in every direction limbs and trees lying about entirely cut down by the enemy’s shells. An oak tree, a foot or two from where Co. C was posted, was cut clean off by a shell about three feet from the ground, and at a point about one foot in diameter. – The shell appears to have exploded just as it struck the tree. One soldier was killed by it and two or three others wounded. The soldier killed was a stranger in the regiment. In the early part of the afternoon Col. Van Vleck had observed this soldier straggling, and upon questioning found that he had left his regiment, and as every man at that time was needed Col. Van Vleck ordered him into the ranks. He did good service in Co. G and that fatal shell severed both his legs and thus cut short his career.” After collecting some souvenirs of the battle, the men departed for camp. Before closing the letter, Magie noted that rumors abounded of a movement soon. (19)
The rumors proved true, and by May 5, the whole of the army began to move. Magie’s final letter before the official start of the Atlanta campaign once again found the 78th near Ringgold. The men packed lightly for the coming campaign. “As a general rule each soldier packed up to carry with him only such articles as were absolutely required, viz. – one blanket, one half shelter tent, and an extra shirt and pair of stocking.” When the soldiers left Rossville for the last time, the local civilians converged on the camps of the departed regiments, scooping up “overcoats, pants, blankets, boots and shoes, and also cooking utensils thrown away or abandoned.” Magie looked kindly on those citizens; many of them were impoverished, and the sergeant felt they would “undoubtedly make good use of all abandoned property.” (20)
The march to Ringgold took about four hours, and when the 78th broke ranks, the officers ordered them to make camp. Here, Magie took the opportunity to describe again the shelter tents issued to the enlisted men, as well as how they were to be properly used. “These tents are made of stout muslin, and each man carries what is termed a half tent, which is about five feet square, and the rule is for two to tent together. These tents are arranged with buttons and button holes at the edges so that they can be readily buttoned together, and two persons with their pocket knives can cut a couple of sticks and have their tent erected in two or three minutes.” (21) The 78th spent one night at Ringgold, before passing again through “Hooker’s Gap” on a short march to the south before stopping early the next morning. The grand army was assembling for its push on Atlanta; the sight was enough for the seasoned veteran to comment upon. “I am not permitted to write about the number of troops or their contemplated movements, but I will say this much, that as far as my eye can reach I can see the blue coats in every direction. I have seen large armies in this war, but I now have an opportunity of seeing a little of the largest army that I ever looked upon.” (22)
This time, they weren’t alone. Within a one mile radius, two other regiments were encamped with men from McDonough County. Men and officers from the 16th, 78th and 84th Illinois Infantry Regiments visited each others’ camps, taking a few chance moments to meet old friends, reminisce about home and old friends, and talk about the campaign ahead. (23)
The letter that appeared in the May 27, 1864, edition of the Macomb Weekly Journal was the last letter James Magie was able to send for almost a month. The winter of 1863-1864 had proved to be an eventful winter for his fellow soldiers in the 78th. Magie dutifully documented it all for the families and readers at home. His letters continued on through the rest of his service in the army, though the gaps between letters at times became longer and longer. Magie marched to the gates of Atlanta, only to miss the final actions while in the hospital and on sick leave. By the time he returned, the 78th was on the March to the Sea; instead, Magie fought at the battle of Nashville with a replacement battalion, ultimately leading a company on the second day of the battle after their officer was wounded. He was transferred to New York City in order to join his regiment after transportation down the coast, only to become so violently ill as to spend several more months in the hospital in South Carolina. Magie finally rejoined his comrades in North Carolina within days of Johnston’s surrender. He chronicled every step of the last eighteen months of the war, and allowed his audience, both then and 150 years later, a better understanding of the life of a soldier in the western theater.
NOTES
(1) “Army Correspondence,” Macomb Weekly Journal, February 12, 1864. Letter dated February 1, 1864. All further references noted as “Army Correspondence” and noted by date of publication.
(2) Ibid.
(3) ”Army Correspondence,” February 26, 1864. Letter dated February 16, 1864.
(4) Ibid.
(5) “Army Correspondence,” March 4, 1864. Letter dated February 17, 1864.
(6) Ibid.
(7) “Army Correspondence,” March 18, 1864.
(8) “Army Correspondence,” March 25, 1864.
(9) “Army Correspondence,” April 1, 1864.
(10) Ibid.
(11) Ibid.
(12) Ibid.
(13) “Army Correspondence,” April 8, 1864.
(14) Ibid.
(15) “Army Correspondence,” April 22, 1864.
(16) Ibid.
(17) “Army Correspondence,” May 6, 1864.
(18) Ibid.
(19) “Army Correspondence,” May 13, 1864.
(20) “Army Correspondence,” May 27, 1864.
(21) Ibid.
(22) Ibid.
(23) Ibid.
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