CHAPTER XX.
pg. 64

Union County in the Civil War

     Union County from the  beginning to the end of the Civil War gave about 3000 men to the Union Army.  This county at all times filled their quotas by using enlisted men and not resorting to drafting soldiers.  This county sent five hundred more men than the average county.
     This is a remarkable record for the county since it was definitely shown in the poll of 1824 that one half of the vote3 were for slavery.  There is evidence however that there were many southern sympathizers in the county which is not at all strange since the settlers in the county before 1850 were entirely of southern extraction.  However it was not the wealthy cotton planter but the poor man who came to southern Illinois to make his home.  In looking over the entries it is evident that the average settler came with seldom over $100 in his pocket and settled less than one hundred acres of land.  A study of the population shows that there were comparatively few colored people ever came to the county.
     When it is considered that the population of Union County in 1860 was 11,181, there could not have been many more men in the county available for service.  About three-fifths of the 3000 soldiers or 1800 of them were killed in action or died in hospitals or prison camps.  This means that Union County lost between one-sixth and one-seventh of its total population during the Civil War.  This, of course, was no greater loss than that of other counties.  It was at this time that women appeared in business and professions, largely teaching and millinery.
     The records show that Union County in addition to the full One Hundred and Ninth Regiment furnished Captain Mack's company as well as a number of men to the Eighteenth Regiment, one company, Captain Reese, to the thirty-first Regiment.  A portion of the Sixtieth Regiment was enlisted here.  This regiment rendezvoused in this county and filled its vacancies with Union County men.  The county also furnished a large number of men to the Sixth Calvary, in addition to Captain Warren Stewart's Company.  Many Union County men were enlisted in the Thirty-first Infantry which was organized at Cairo under John A. Logan.
     The battle which was nearest to Union County was the battle of Belmont, Mo.  Many of our citizens were inspired with patriotism and rushed to the defense of their homes when battle came within hearing distance of the residents of Union County.  Following is an account of the part of the Thirty-first Regiment played in the war.
     With less than two month's drill, the Regiment took part in the battle of Belmont, Mo., Nov. 7, 1861, cutting its way into the enemy's camp, and with equal valor, but less hazard, cutting its way out again.  On the 7th of February, 1862, the Regiment

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was at Fort Henry, Tenn., and after emerging from the muddy environments of that stronghold, it traversed the hills of Fort Donelson, and there, amid whiter snows, on the 15th of the same month, it lost 260 men killed and wounded—the Regiment having per- formed, in this engagement the difficult evolution of a change of front to rear on tenth company in the heat of the battle, among tangled brush and on uneven ground. From Donelson, the Regiment was transported by steamer to Shiloh, Tenn., and thence it moved towards Corinth, Miss., with the main body of the army, and reached that place only to find it evacuated by the enemy. From Corinth, the 31st marched to Jackson, Tenn., and the summer of 1362 was spent in guarding railroads, skirmishing in the country of the Forked Deer River, and scouting in the direction of Memphis, to Brownsville and beyond. Ordered to the support of General Ro^ecrans, at Corinth, the Regiment reached that place in time to follow the retreating foe to Ripley, Miss., where the men fed on fresh pork, without salt, or crackers, or coffee. On this expedition it was engaged in the skirmishes of Chewalla and Tuscumbia, ending the 6th of October, 1862. The Regiment was with Grant in the first campaign against Vicksburg, sometimes called the Yokona expedition, and passed through Holly Springs to Coldwater, at which place the men, destitute of rations in consequence of the capture and destruction of supplies at Holly Springs by the enemy, showed their characteristic adaptability by carrying out at once the suggestion of Logan to convert the timber into ashes, and by means of the ashes, the corn of the surrounding country into hominy.

     Upon the termination of this campaign the regiment, with the army under Grant, was transferred to a new field, that of the operations which finally resulted in the downfall of Vicksburg.  On the 15th of January, 1863, it set out for Lagrange, Tenn., and thence went to Memphis, by way of Colliersville.  Leaving Memphis Mar. 10, 1863, it embarked for Lake Providence, La.; and after assisting in the attempts to open a route by water to a point below Vicksburg, in moved, upon the abandonment of these attempts to Milliken's Bend, and thence to Wanesborough.  Having crossed the Mississippi below Grand Gulf, Apr. 30, 1863, the next day the Regiment, without waiting for rations, though hungry and weary enough, hurried forward to the support of the comrades then engaged in battle at Thompson's Hill, near Port Gibson, and quickly forming on McClenand's left, under the eyes of Generals Grant and Logan, it moved up the right wing of the enemy at the charge step, routing him completely, and helping to secure a speedy victory.  Governor Yates, in civilian garb of swallow-tail coat and high shirt collar, and overflowing with enthusiasm and patriotism, witnessed this charge.  After crossing the Bayou Pierre, the 31st again met and dispersed their foes at Ingram Heights, May 3, 1863, and pushed on the Raymond where on the 12th the Regiment hunted from its

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front the fragments of a brigade which the enemy had thrown against the advance of Grant.  Moving onward in almost ceaseless march, it took part in the battle of Jackson, Miss., May 14, 1863, and thence at midnight, on the 15th, through drenching rain, it marched toward Vicksburg, to meet the enemy anew.  About ten o'clock in the morning of the 16th the men spread their catridges to dry in the sun, in an old field about five miles from Champion Hills, from which latter point was soon heard the sound of battle.  The men hastily gathered up their ammunition and seized their muskets, and the Regiment followed the head of the column at double-quick effecting a formation with its brigade on the right of our embattled line where it rested for a moment, the men lying on their faces while the hostile shells whistled and shrieked and exploded above them.  At the command "Attention," the line stood erect, with bayonets fixed; the Brigade Commander, General John E. Smith, gave the word; McPherson said with a smile, "give in Jessie!" and Logan shouted: "remember the blood of your mammies! give 'em hell!" and then the brigade sprang forward, broke and routed the two column formation over which waved the Confederate flag, capturing the opposing battery, turned its guns upon the retreating enemy, and took as many prisoners as there were men in the charging brigade. In this encounter there was crossing of bayonets and fighting hand to hand.  Sergeant Wick of Co. B used his bayonet upon his foe and Sergeant Hendrickson of Company C, clubbed his musket in a duel with one of the men in gray.

     From this point the Regiment, with the main army, followed the retreating enemy to his entrenched lines at Vicksburg, where it took part in the bloody assaults of the 19th and 22nd of May; its gallant Lieut. Colonel Reece, meeting death by the explosion of a hand grenade while planting the Regimental Colors upon the rampants.  Here the flag received 153 bullets and the staff was shot asunder in four places.
     During the siege the Regiment took a prominent part in the operations against Fort Hill; and when the Fort was blown up: on the 25th of June, by the explosion of a mine beneath it, there came a time that tested the stuff the men were made of. Here is the night, in that crater remembered as the "slaughter pen" the soldiers fighting by reliefs, and within an armslength of the enemy - some had their muskets snatched from their hands - under a shower of grenades and of shells lighted by port-holes, while the voices of Pearson, Goddard, Morningham and others rising at times above the terrific din of combat, cheered on their men - were deeds of valor performed which would adorn the heroic page.
     On the morning of July 4, 1863, the place of honor having been assigned to the Brigade, the Thirty-first Regiment marched proudly across the rents and chasms of Fort Sill into Vicksburg.

UNION COUNTY IN THE CIVIL WAR.

     Having made the expedition to Monroe, La., under General Stephenson, the Regiment went into camp at Black River, Miss.,

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the scene of Lawler's splendid victory, and here, on the 5th of January, 1864, three-fourths of the men again enlisted in the service.  That night the men, formed in line, with lighted candles held in the shanks of their bayonets, marched to the quarters of General Force, commanding the Brigade, who appeared before his tent and catching the splendor from the candles full in his face, cried out with enthusiasm,  "Three cheers for the 31st!"  But the "boys" were not going to cheer for themselves and there were no others present to do it, so they stood in their ranks silent and with military air, and cheered not nor stirred; whereupon the General shouted, "Cheer yourselves boys, hip! hip!" and then the cheers were given with a will followed by a "tiger" for the Union, and three groans for the Confederacy.
     The Regiment was with General Sherman in the campaign against Meridian, Miss., after which the re-enlisted men, the "veterans", took their furloughs, starting for home the 19th of March, 1864.  Having returned to the front, by way of Cairo, the Regiment camped from the 6th to the 15th of May at Clinton, on the Tennessee River, and thence marching by way of Rome, Georgia, sometimes collecting, herding and driving beef cattle, and sometimes skirmishing with the enemy, it joined Sherman's army at Ackworth Station.  It was in the skirmish at Big Shanty, and at Brush Mountain, the assault upon Kenesan on June 27, 1864; also in the battles around Atlanta on the 21st, 22nd, and 28th of July, of which that on the 22nd was the most terrible, the men fighting sometimes on one side of the earthworks, sometimes on the other.  The Regiment was also engaged in the battles of Lovejoy Station and Jonesborough, and was with Sherman in the mock pursuit of Hood upon his invasion of Tennessee.  Retracing their steps, the Regiment reached Atlanta on the 13th of November and the 15th it there began with Sherman the triumphant march to the sea, and on it marched with that magnificent army, cutting roads through tangled forests, bridging streams for the passage of troops, tearing up railroad tracks, twisting the rails "as crooked as ram's horns," discovering and devouring sweet potatoes and other provender surging over the country from Atlanta to the sea, "shouting the battle-cry of freedom," and proceeding by way of Millen, it arrived on the 10th day of December, 1864, at Savannah.  Here the regiment went into camp on the rice plantation of Dr. Owen, where the rice was consumed for food, the husks being beaten off by means of wooden mortars and pestles appropriated from the slave quarters nearby.  One of the incidents of the day was the encountering of a battery mounted on a flat car, pushed along the railroad by a locomotive.
     On the 4th of January, 1865, the 31st bade farewell to Savannah, and shipped on the steamer Harvest Moon, and after the novel experience and sights of a sea voyage, disembarked at Beaufort, S. C., where it remained enjoying the luxury of fresh oysters at low prices until the 13th.  To this succeeded some

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skirmishing of Fort Pocotaligo - "Poke-'em-till-they-go'', as the men called it which was evacuated by the enemy.v On the 30th of Jan. the march began thru the Carolinas, by way of Salkahatchie, Orangeburg - which was captured, after some fighting by the Regiment's skirmishings - Columbia - scourged by destroying flames - Wirsborough, Cherau, Fayetteville, captured by foragers - and Bentonville - scenes of the last great struggle of Johnston's army, and the Regiment came out of the swamps, out of the pine forests, "out of the wilderness," the men ragged, dirty, and many of them barefooted, to Goldborough, N. C, where it arrived the 24th of March, 1865, and when letters from home and news from the world were received.  These and the prospects of the nearing of the end were cheering and refreshing to the men who for 54 days had been without communication with home or the world, and were weary with long marching and fighting.
     On the 14th of April, 1865, the Regiment was with the army at Raleigh, N. C.  Signs of the ruin of the Confederacy and the dispersion of its armed forces were apparent on every hand.  Soon came the surrender of Johnson's army, the only force which could oppose the onward march of the Union troops to Richmond, and the Regiment formed a part of the host to which that army surrendered.
     On the 9th of May the Regiment was at Richmond, on the 19th at Alexandria; and on the 24th of May, with faded and tattered uniforms, but with martial step and bearing in column of company, eyes front, it marched through the principal avenues of the capital, in that grand review of the returning armies in presence of the great leaders, civil and military, of the Republic, the most magnificent and imposing spectacle ever witnessed by the city of Washington.  The end had been attained!
     Soon afterwards the Regiment moved to Louisville, Ky., arriving at that place on the 11th of June, when it was assigned to provost-guard duty.  On the 19th of July, 1865, it was mustered out of the service, by Lieut. Aug. P. Noyes, A. C. M., 3rd Div. 17 Corps.  It was then moved to Springfield, Ill., where it arrived on the 23rd of July, 1865; and there on the 31st of the same month, the men received their final discharge and separted for their homes —those who were left of them.
     At the time of the discharge there were present 25 officers, and 677 enlisted men.  When first organized, the Regiment numbered 1,100 men.  It had recruited 700.  The casualties, including men discharged before final muster-out, amounted to 1,128. In the course of its existence the Regiment had been commanded by four Colonels, and had had five Lieut. Colonels and six Majors.  Of the 25 officers discharged at the final muster-out, all save the chaplain had risen from the ranks.
     In the campaigns of Sherman this Regiment had marched 2,076 miles.  This part of its history is included in that of the Brigade to which it belonged - the 1st Brigade, 3rd Division, 17th

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Corps, Army of Tennessee.  The Regiment marched 2000 miles under Grant and on expeditions other than those of Sherman.  It served in the hostile states of Louisiana, Georgia, Alabama, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia.  Before Jan. 1, 1863 the history of the Regiment is comprised in that of the 1st Brigade, 2nd Division, Reserve Army of Tennessee.
     Always efficiently commanded, and evincing soldierly qualities in its first battle, the Regiment became in the days of its veteran existence one of the best drilled in the service.  It was while encamped at Black River, Miss., after the Vicksburg campaigns, that the regiment under the skillful management of Lieut- Colonel Pearson, attained that high degree of discipline and proficiency in drill for which it became known, and toward which it had been directed under Logan and White in the earlier days of the war.  The latter fell at Donelson and deserved the title "the bravest of the brave."
     Col. Pearson had been in service under General Prentiss before the organization of this Regiment, and early showed an aptitude for tactics and drill which made him a favorite with the field and staff, while his soldierly qualities displayed at Henry and Donelson endeared him to the rank and file.  Hence he rapidly rose from the ranks, being promoted to Commissary Sergeant Mar. 1, 1862; to Adjutant, May 16, 1862; to Major Feb. 4, 1863, by the unanimous vote of the officers; to Lieut. Colonel July 1, 1863, and to Colonel Sept. 26, 1864.  On the 13th of March, 1865, he was breveted Brigadier General of Volunteers, for gallantry during the war.
     Many of the soldiers and officers of the Regiment deserve special mention and lasting remembrance, but the space alloted forbids a more extended account.  To some of the men were awarded medals for gallantry; among them Sergeant George C. White of Company C, who, severely wounded in the battle of Atlanta, July 22, 1864, resolutely and persistently refused to be carried to the rear.
     The fighting qualities of this Regiment were displayed in 14 battles and 25 skirmishes of various degrees of importance.  It witnessed the surrender of Buckner and the garrison at Donelson, the capitulation of Pemberton and his army at Vicksburg, the humiliation of Johnson and his force at Bentonville, and their final surrender near Raleigh.  And a brilliant gem in its crown of glory is the fact of its organization as a "veteran" Regiment, at a time when the Union cause stood so much in need of trained and tried soldiers to complete the overthrow of armed rebellion and to establish upon the ruins of anarchy and slavery a "government of the people, by the people and for the people."