Theodore Wilder

“ The thundering of musketry and artillery, the hail storm of bullets that continued for an hour and a half, cannot be described.
In the beginning of the musketry, Col. Tyler ordered the Seventh Ohio to deploy to the left, an order which could not then be executed, and which threw the whole column into confusion. That was the end of order until the close of the action. The success was due to the bravery of the men and their dogged determination not to yield. Col. Creighton found himself unable to command, and very wisely seized a musket to do the work of a private soldier. ”

“ Multitudes of young men from the most virtuous families of the various States of the Union gathered into the College to educate themselves for positions of usefulness in every direction,—not all to be temperance lecturers, not all to be honest lawyers, virtuous physicians, radical anti-slavery enthusiasts; but some to fill all the various positions of honor and trust. ”

“ No man had a natural right to any office in the company. If expediency, because of superior qualifications, rendered it right that certain men should occupy certain positions before their [Pg 17] capture, then, certainly, after that capture, which disqualified them for the discharge of official duty, the same cause rendered it right that others who were qualified by their presence, should be promoted.
Gauley Bridge.
The fragments of companies, A, E, F, K, and C, went into camp at Gauley Bridge. Picket duty each alternate day and night, characterized the stay here. ”

“ The veterans of the company proceeded by rail to Nashville, thence by steamer down the Cumberland, up the Ohio to Cincinnati, and arrived at Cleveland, June 26, 1864.
The journey homeward was prosperous with one sad exception. Before the company left Georgia, Sergeant O. C. Trembley had written to his mother that she need have no fears for him—his fighting was through, and he would soon be home. He was one of the most joyous at the prospect before him of soon being with his friends. ”

“ No argument need be made to prove the vast extent of influence for good which the College has exerted through the multitudes of young men who have gone out from her halls, bearing the precious seed with them. ”

“ Once more were the faces of the two grand armies turned towards Richmond. The battles of Geary's brigade in the northern portion of the Confederacy were ended. Its journey before meeting the enemy again, face to face, in deadly conflict, was long enough to reach around a small-sized world. ”

“ The division, consisting of fifteen regiments of infantry, one regiment of cavalry, and four or five batteries, was put in motion towards Winchester, but the sad death of Gen. Lander caused a return to [Pg 24] camp on the next day. On the 3d, all the troops turned out to pay military honors to the departed hero, the Seventh Ohio being detailed to escort his remains to the cars.
Gen. Shields succeeded him, and led the division up and down the Shenandoah Valley until it became a terror to the enemy and was thought almost invincible. ”

“ These prisoners will allow a word of explanation with regard to a measure taken by the company authorities, which, by some, has been thought unjust. When the remnant of the company was gathered, there was no non-commissioned officer present of higher rank than corporal, and only four of that rank were on company duty. Privates were obliged to perform the duties of sergeants and corporals. None seemed willing to take the responsibilities, discharge the duties, and, in case of error, bear the blame of these officers, without the pay and honor which belong to them. ”

“ Early in November, they joined the army of Gen. Grant, to assist in the capture of the strong hold upon Lookout Mountain. The sides of the peak are very steep and full of gorges. The order was given Nov. 24, 1863, to ascend its rocky sides. It seemed impossible. But those veterans did not hesitate to make the necessary effort. Gen. Hooker sent troops to entertain the enemy in front, while others passed up the north and east sides, to capture his camp.
The Seventh was not brought under fire until it arrived at the front of the mountain, and even then, nature turned in to be its ally. ”

“ However, many of them, and perhaps the greater part, were proud to belong to such an organization, and few seemed willing to yield the honor of being a member of Company C.
Re-enlistment.
The question of a three-years enlistment was a very serious one. A college course begun or nearly completed, good prospects of life beginning to open—these must be given up. Many doubted the wisdom of such a course of [Pg 9] action, and returned to their homes or to the college, to do good or to complete their outfit for usefulness in a less belligerent occupation. ”

“ Sherman was ready to enter upon the Atlanta Campaign, the Seventh was ordered to join his forces. Leaving Bridgeport on the 3d of May, it passed by Lookout Mountain, around seven miles to the right of Ringgold, over Taylor's Ridge at Gordon Springs, and came up to Rocky-Faced Ridge on the 8th of May, 1864. A line of battle was immediately formed by Hooker's Corps, to drive the enemy from the Ridge. Geary's brigade moved up. When it had nearly reached the summit, the General halted the Seventh and detailed it for his body guard, in consideration of its hard service and severe losses. ”

“ During the night, Jackson crossed over 10,000 men and thirty pieces of artillery.
The field, destined to be for battle, was a beautiful, level farm one and a half miles long, and one half a mile wide, enclosed by the Shenandoah closely hugging the north-west side, and a ridge of high hills on the south-east side. The bridge was at the west end, and the Federal troops at the east end of the open field. At 61⁄2 A. M. of the 9th of June, 1862, the Union soldiers were startled by heavy volleys of musketry upon Robinson's battery, stationed on a knoll at the south-east corner of the farm. ”

“ Company C entered with thirty-six men. Three were killed, and seven wounded, two of whom died in a few days.
The enemy closely pressed the Union troops with cavalry and artillery. No halt could be made for fourteen miles. Wounded and barefooted men formed no small portion of the retreating column. After an hour's rest, the men pushed on eight miles farther, to a secure camp, for the night. The next work of the division was to make its way to Alexandria. ”

“ We love the society of our friends at home as well as the multitudes of young men who have never spent a day in the service. We will take our turn with them." These thoughts biased the men so that, again, they could not feel it their duty to re-enlist, and [Pg 41] when the glad hour of their release came, they returned to their homes with clear consciences.
Rocky-Faced Ridge and Resaca.
The proper time for their discharge drew near, and the men claimed their right to the promise made them in Camp Dennison, but that promise was utterly disregarded by the government. ”

“ They seemed to be men, "clothed and in their right mind," possessing at least the ordinary balance of moral character, without any design to establish an institution for the purpose of waging war against any particular system of iniquity to the exclusion of all the others. ”

“ One aggressive movement, however, was made to Dogwood Gap, sixteen miles eastward. Nothing of note occurred but the repeated confiscations of native mountain pigs, and a hasty return to camp the next day. The excellent water privileges, boat riding, rafting-in of potatoes, and gathering of paw-paws and persimmons, rendered Gauley Bridge a comparatively pleasant place to do soldier duty.
On the 16th of October, the regiment was ordered to Charleston. It marched down the river ten miles, to Cannelton, and there took a steamer. ”

“ A Freshman in Oberlin College, an earnest worker for Christ, and noted for his success in urging the claims of the Christian Religion upon many men of other companies; appointed Corporal, April 1, 1862; escaped safely at the battle of Cross Lanes, but in the battle of Port Republic, putting himself far out in front, he received a ball through the heart. ”

“ The use of stimulating drinks was rarely indulged in. Men of other companies did not fail to assert frequently that such soldiers could neither be valiant in battle, nor endure the severities of military service, in the camp and on the forced march. ”

“ The Union forces were compelled to follow. They reached Gettysburg on the 1st of July, 1863. The route of the Seventh was via. Aquia Landing, Edward's Ferry, Frederick, and Littletown. Tedious in the extreme was the march a portion of the way. The weather was excessively warm; so that on the route from Dumfries to Fairfax, in one day, nineteen men in one division, died by the road side from heat and exhaustion. [Pg 37] Who can tell the amount of suffering among the survivors? Battles have produced only a fractional portion of the horrors and sufferings of this war. ”

“ The guns of the enemy could not be depressed sufficiently to do much harm, and their greatest efficiency was secured by shooting off the tops of the trees to fall upon the heads of the men. Moving farther on, they were exposed to a severe musketry fire. Here M. C. Stone was severely wounded and taken from the field. A heavy fog soon ended the firing. Night came on, and the fog disappeared. The full moon gave to the Seventh, [Pg 39] while doing picket duty, a scene that was truly grand. The summit of the mountain is 2700 feet above the river. The regiment was up two thirds this distance. ”

“ Monroe, with regard to entering the service for three years. Prominent among the arguments presented was the great moral influence upon the army, which such a company must exert. Ministers of the Gospel, college alumni, and seniors, serving their country as privates, must speak eloquently for the righteous cause they had espoused. It was not there considered, whether a common ploughman could carry a musket as far and as well as one of them, or whether a man of culture might not serve his country quite as profitably in a higher position. ”

“ The enemy, consisting of a brigade of Stewart's cavalry, with two pieces of artillery, finding his shells were ineffectual, divided his force, sending one detachment to the right, to flank the Federal soldiers. It was gallantly repulsed by the 66th Ohio. [Pg 35]
The other detachment moved around to the left and rear to attack the camp. Col. Creighton had drawn in the pickets which he that day commanded, and had concealed them behind a thicket. Putting himself out in full view and range of the rebels, with his loud voice, he dared them on. ”

“ The 7th and 5th Ohio were sent on double-quick to support them. They arrived just in time to save them from a brigade of the enemy who were charging up with fixed bayonets. The heavy volleys of musketry and double charges of grape checked the rebels, and they fell back behind a rail fence. A severe fire was continued half an hour. It was here that a shell passed through the body of R. J. Kingsbury, and severely mangled the thigh of Atwater. ”

“ Men on each side are concealed in every ravine and thicket of bushes. General Geary's brigade was brought out into the west end of a large cultivated farm, one mile long, three fourths of a mile wide, and hemmed in by woods on every side. ”

“ Passing down the railroad to Martinsburg, and taking the stone pike, it reached a point four miles north of Winchester, on the 12th of March. The rebels had evacuated during the previous day, and there was no work to be done until the reconnoissance to Strasburg was made on the 20th. An artillery skirmish took place without loss, and the troops made a hasty return during the drizzling rain of the 21st. ”

“ The men of the 3d brigade supposed the government had decided to let the remnant of them live to enjoy the blessings of the coming peace, which so many of their comrades had sacrificed their lives to secure. ”

“ It was continued until the close of the following day, with no decided result but a skirmish, in which Col. Croghan of the Second Georgia Cavalry, was killed, with a few of his men, and a few prisoners were taken.
Being without blankets and bread, the soldiers gladly heard the sonorous voice of Adjutant DeForest, just after the terrific thunder shower at midnight, commanding them to "fall in," to return. They were then far out in the State towards Raleigh. Floyd has never since been seen in Western Virginia. ”

“ Taken prisoner at the battle of Cross Lanes; spent nine months in the South, at Richmond, New Orleans, and Salisbury; released on parole, and exchanged; returned to the company, March 20, 1863, at Dumfries, Va.; engaged in the battles of Cross Lanes, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Rocky-Faced Ridge, Resaca, and Dallas; wounded at Cross Lanes, Gettysburg, and Dallas; sometimes "glad he was in this army," and again "glad he wasn't"; discharged, July 6, 1864, at Cleveland, Ohio.
He is now married, and agriculturalizing in Illinois. ”

“ Floyd had established himself on Cotton Hill, thus being enabled to shell the camp of the Union Army at Gauley Bridge, and to threaten its communications. Gen. Benham was ordered to march around to the rear to induce him to desist from so rash operations. Two or three regiments hesitated to perform the dangerous movement. Finally he said, "Give me the Seventh and the Tenth Ohio and I can drive the rebels to" ——, a place beyond the confines of this lower world. ”

“ This practice which soldiers fall into, of displaying their officers on every fine occasion, has proved one of the intolerable bores of military service; and it is to be hoped that in the next war, privates will be more economical in the expenditure of their strength.
Cross Lanes.
On the 8th of July the regiment set out for Glenville, a little town 28 miles distant, to relieve 300 of the 17th Ohio, said to be surrounded by 1,500 rebels under O. Jennings Wise. The march to that place was a severe one, and was completed that day only by Co. ”