Evening Republican, Volume 16, Number 132, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 1 June 1912 — STORIES of CAMP and WAR [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

STORIES of CAMP and WAR

BLUFFED WITH EMPTY GUNS Company of Sixty-sixth Illinois Puts Up SolUTFront to Enemy, Although Ammunition Was Exhausted. My company had been on picket duty the night before the battle of Atlanta. We were perhaps half a mile east of the rebel' breastworks. Nothing of special interest occurred during the night. Soon after our breakfast of hardtack an order came to us, saying that the rebels had' evacuated the breastworks and, for us to join the regiment at once. My regiment, the Sixty-sixth Illinois (Western Sharpshooters), was in the Second brigade, Second —division, Sixtenth corps, under Gen. G. M. Dodge, writes J. L*. Hayes, captain Company I, Six-ty-sixth Illinois, in the National Tribune. . We joined the regiment about nine o’clock on July 22, 1864. As we moved south we halted occasionally, and finally we could see the rebel army, south of us, marching east to get in our rear. In a few minutes word came that they were advancing on us from the east. On our right was Blair’s Seventeenth corps. The Sixteenth and Seventeenth corps joined between, where we were in a large open field skirted on the south side by heavy woods. The line of battle made a bend between those two points. While we faced east, those of the Seventeenth corps faced south. The first view of the fighting was from the front of the Seventeenth* corps. The rebels made a charge in along, beautiful line of gray, shooting as they marched. Finally a halt wad made', when the Yanks made a rush for the line of gray. They stood a minute and then fell back, followed by the line of blue to near the woods. The rebels were reinforced by their reserves, and they drove our boys back again. By this time the Confederates were appearing in our front, and I told my boys to let them come nearer, as we were armed with Henry Ifr-shooters; but when they wounded some of our men some one cried out: “Shoot, boys,” and they did. In a few minutes our front was cleared, and on our right the the blue coats had been reinforced, and I saw them as they chased the Confederates into the woods, where they were lost to my ' view. Our boys continued to pepper thet woods In our front, and I thought the battle over, when all at once there poured into our front again and on our right a larger body of the enemy than at first. “Captain,” I heard my boys say; “we are out of ammunition. .What shall we do?” “Form a line and make a show; when they come beat them over the head with the butts of your guns,” I yelled. They rallied to the summons, and formed a line quicker than I can tell it. My line put up a solid front. Then we got word that we would be relieved, as Gen. Sweeney noticed our predicament and had men come to our support. We went to the rear and were supplied with ammunition. We sent the

wounded to and laid our dead boys side by side for burial. We had scarcely finished this work when we were ordered on the double-quick to the relief of De Gress’ battery, which was attached to Blair’s Seventeenth corps. But unfortunately we did not arrive in time. Perhaps one hour after the De Gress episode we were ordered to rendesvous at a certain place. iWe bad just got in line, when we saw something unusual was about to occur. Soon we saw mounted men coming along the front. It was the famous ride of Gen. John Logan, and his introduction to the soldiers as the commander of the Army of the Tennessee, to take the place of Gen McPherson, who had been killed earlier in the day. Gen. Logan, mounted upon a large black horse, with his aids and orderlies, carried his hat in his hand, with his long, black hair streaming in the breeze, rode a* fast as his horse could go. His reception was a noisy* one, and the animation of the thousands of soldiers who believed in the valor of Logan was a scene never to be forgotten.

Continued to Pepper the Woods in Our Front.