Category: Biographies

The 125th Regiment, Illinois Volunteer Infantry: Attention Batallion!

Rome. A Confederate Christmas. Bad meat. Public execution at Nashville. Drawing rations. Blue Ridge. Raids on the suttler. John Kirsch and Tom Makemson's rice trip. Mrs. Dr. Mary Walker. The Monkly fox. Roast goose or gander. The rescued negroes. Our trip after Forrest. Person...

Chapters

72. m. The column will cross the upper pontoon bridge, move up 17th street

to Cary street, down Cary to 21st street, up 21st to Main street, up Main to 13th street, up 13th to Capitol street, through Capitol to Grace st., up Grace street to Adams stree...

71. CHAPTER XXXVI.

Here we were mustered out of the service and paid off on the 30th day of June, 1865, this we learn from our old discharge, and we also read on that piece of imitation parchment...

73. m. November 14th, marched by way of Kenesaw Mountain to within four

miles of Chattahoochie river. November 15th, resumed march at 6 o'clock a. m., crossed the river on pontoon bridge and reached Atlanta at 1 o'clock p. m. This may be said to fin...

58. CHAPTER XXIII.

On the 24th day of June, General Sherman ordered that an assault should be made at two points south of Kenesaw Mountain, on the 27th, giving three days notice for preparation an...

38. CHAPTER III.

But in looking back over the time we staid there on those "everlasting hills," memory recalls to us one stormy night, when neither moon nor star gave forth its light, when the h...

54. CHAPTER XIX.

On the evening of the 18th of September rapid cannonading was heard off to our left in the direction of Chickamauga Creek. Dispatches were soon received that Col. Minty, with hi...

62. CHAPTER XXVII.

An armistice of ten days was agreed upon by Gens. Sherman and Hood for the purpose of carrying out this order. All who desired to go south were furnished transportation to Rough...

50. CHAPTER XV.

We were now fairly at work doing garrison duty, furnishing daily details for provost guard, train guard, picket guard, and all manner of guard duty that can be thought of. Our p...

51. CHAPTER XVI.

While at Nashville many incidents happened in camp and we will relate one of them here. Our sutler, Charley Pratt, had found a very neat sutler's store, built of plank, and fitt...

70. CHAPTER XXXV.

The Saturday after we arrived there, we marched down to Union hall about 11 o'clock in the morning, and took up position in front of the orchestra. After the band of the Veteran...

65. CHAPTER XXX.

It was now the 21st of February, and our wing of the army had reached Winnsboro, where we went to work destroying the rail road up to Blackstake's depot, and then turned to Rock...

43. CHAPTER VIII.

The days passed by, and we, with the blissful ignorance of new soldiers, could not see the omens which filled the air, indicating that the battle was not far off; omens which th...

42. CHAPTER VII.

Sheridan's name is one which will be forever linked with the history of our country. He was a brave officer, a dashing leader, but we used to think the possessor of the most abo...

40. CHAPTER V.

Our lessons in the life of a soldier were just commencing. Our new camp was, as we have stated, an old cattle pen or corral, and had at one time been surrounded with a good subs...

45. CHAPTER X.

That was the last we saw of Bragg's army for many a day. He had left Kentucky with what was left of his 60,000 followers who were with him when he entered the state, in disgust...

46. CHAPTER XI.

Well, Bragg had left us, and we were all alone. So one fine morning the bugle sounded the call to fall in to ranks, and we marched out of camp, back on the road we had come. But...

44. CHAPTER IX.

The battle of Perrysville was always a mystery to us, and never, although we have searched for its solution in many histories of the war, have we been able to find an answer to...

61. CHAPTER XXVI.

Our victorious march from Chattanooga to Atlanta, was a military operation, whose successful close would have turned the heads of the French. It was made through a country prese...

48. CHAPTER XIII.

The Saturday after our arrival at Edgefield the regiment received orders to prepare for inspection the next day, Sunday. So at it we went, cleaning up our guns and making their...

66. CHAPTER XXXI.

On Monday the 10th of April all preparations were completed for our further advance. On the 11th we moved out of camp and marched about seven miles, and on the next day the 12th...

64. CHAPTER XXIX.

Here at Savannah we fared sumptuously on oysters and fresh fish. Every evening the negroes would come up to the city from the mouth of the river, with their boat loads of oyster...

53. CHAPTER XVIII.

We firmly believe that the mule and dog tent, were two great levers in aiding to put down the rebellion, for it would have been impossible to have transported, in wagons, tentag...

52. CHAPTER XVII.

While at Nashville the pay master came, and gave us six months pay. This was very welcome, for the regiment was about cleaned out of money. We were, all of us, more or less in d...

37. CHAPTER II.

It was on a Sabbath morning, when our train finally stopped, and we were ordered to disembark, and fall into line. The weather was intensely warm. Now, I want to say right here,...

36. CHAPTER I.

The One Hundred and Twenty-Fifth Regiment, Illinois Volunteer Infantry, was mustered into the service of the United States, on the third day of September, Eighteen Hundred and S...

47. CHAPTER XII.

At last, on the eight of November, 1862, we reached Edgefield, on the Cumberland River directly opposite Nashville, a distance of one hundred and eighty three miles from Louisvi...

41. CHAPTER VI.

The sun arose on the morning of the Thirtieth of September, 1862, bright and clear, and as he climbed into the heavens the heat became intense. At an early hour the Regiment was...

55. CHAPTER XX.

On the 19th of October, 1863, General Rosecrans, in General Orders, No. 242, turned over the command of the Army of the Cumberland, to Major General George H. Thomas, by order o...

56. CHAPTER XXI.

Matters and things moved on smoothly, the old routine of guard duty, dress parade and all the regular business of camp life, including half rations, being faithfully kept. We no...

57. CHAPTER XXII.

We will not undertake to follow every movement of the army made to capture the heights of Missionary ridge, as it would be, perhaps, uninteresting to the reader, and out of plac...

67. CHAPTER XXXII.

On the 17th of April, the same day on which General Sherman was negotiating with Johnston for the surrender of the rebel army then under his command, we received the appalling n...

60. CHAPTER XXV.

Acknowledging the failure of the assault, but acting under the conviction that it would be fatal to rest long under the influence of a defeat, General Sherman determined to agai...

63. CHAPTER XXVIII.

We remained at Savannah nearly a month, refitting and repairing for the next campaign. Christmas day was passed here, but there was no Christmas trees, nor did any Santa Claus a...

39. CHAPTER IV.

The geography of our country tells us, that the Ohio is a broad river; that, we are willing to admit, and rather than be thought narrow minded, we are willing to say that it is...

49. CHAPTER XIV.

Our regiment was finally placed in camp on top of some high hills in the western part of the city, behind fortifications of cotton bales. It brought to our mind what we had read...

59. CHAPTER XXIV.

The assault on Kenesaw, as far as capturing the enemy's works were concerned, was a failure; but this did not prove, by any means, that we were whipped. So on the next day it wa...

69. CHAPTER XXXIV.

The bearer of General Sherman's message was an unwelcome visitor at the headquarters of Gen. Johnston. Johnston was powerless. He could neither fight nor retreat, his army was d...

68. CHAPTER XXXIII.

This memoranda was satisfactory to all present at the conference, as a proposition to be forwarded by special messenger to the President, who called a special meeting of the Cab...

35. CHAPTER XXXV

Rome. A Confederate Christmas. Bad meat. Public execution at Nashville. Drawing rations. Blue Ridge. Raids on the suttler. John Kirsch and Tom Makemson's rice trip. Mrs. Dr. Mar...

5. CHAPTER V

11. CHAPTER XI

33. CHAPTER XXXIII

3. CHAPTER III

9. CHAPTER IX

13. CHAPTER XIII

14. CHAPTER XIV

18. CHAPTER XVIII

4. CHAPTER IV

10. CHAPTER X

23. CHAPTER XXIII

29. CHAPTER XXIX

32. CHAPTER XXXII

16. CHAPTER XVI

25. CHAPTER XXV

31. CHAPTER XXXI

6. CHAPTER VI

2. CHAPTER II

8. CHAPTER VIII

19. CHAPTER XIX

27. CHAPTER XXVII

30. CHAPTER XXX

20. CHAPTER XX

28. CHAPTER XXVIII

1. CHAPTER I

15. CHAPTER XV

17. CHAPTER XVII

22. CHAPTER XXII

24. CHAPTER XXIV

34. CHAPTER XXXIV

26. CHAPTER XXVI

7. CHAPTER VII

12. CHAPTER XII

21. CHAPTER XXI