Four Years With the Iron Brigade

by Lance Herdegen

  December 21, 1863

  And fine day, but cold. Didnt thaw much today. Jake went on Picket again. I would [have] had to went if they had called on me for a Corporal. But they didnt. I will certainly have to go verry soon. For I havent been yet. Most all of our Co has put their names down to join the Veterans corps. I wrote a letter to Mother today. I done a little more to my shanty today. Just putting on the finish. You will wonder what kind of a finish when I tell you that a hatchet & jackknife was all I had to do it with. But nevertheless you would be surprised to see how comfortable we have it. Shelves & pegs to lay & hang evrything on that we have. And they are quite numerous, more so than I thought they was before I got them all out of the knapsack & haversack & my pockets. Tis amazing what a soldier does carry.

  December 22, 1863

  And fine day. But still as cold as ever. This morning I went out to the Picket line to take Jake some provisions, Beef & loaf of soft bread. He had rather a scant days rations to take with him. I took some rations for John Bradly [John C. Bradley] also. He being the other man from our Co. I found them away down to the mouth of Mountain Run, about 2 miles from camp. They were verry glad to see me come with the rations. I found them in a pretty good place right on the Bank of the River with plenty of wood. When I returned to camp, I built the chimney 20 inches higher which makes it draw better. It don’t smoke now. I [have] Joseph Stonehouse, a man from the next tent to sleep with me.131 His bedmate has gone home on furlough of 15 days. There is a number from the Regt gone home. The Papers today bring the report of the Rebel General [James] Longstreet being dead. Tis a report only, as yet.132

  The Regt was called out this afternoon and the Major read the Articles of War read to us. He also told us that all was progressing well for us going home as Veterans. This evening I feel rather sickly. But I guess tis such as I often have. I will be over it in a day or two.

  December 23, 1863

  And fine day. When I got up and looked out the window I see that has just snowed enough to make the ground white. Joe slept with me last night also. Jake got in from Picket about noon. We intended to wash some after getting dinner. But lo, when we were eating, the Sergt come in, telling us to be ready to march at a minutes notice. But not to take off our tents till further order. We finished dinner and talking over the probabilities of the case, then packed up. Found my knapsack pretty heavy. We having several days since drew a new tent apiece & I got a new pair of pants. I got a pair of shoes, but they being too small, I sold them and my tentmate drew a pair of boots and they were too small for him & just fitted me so I bought them of him. Give him $3.25, that being the price of them & he took my shoes, they being better than his, paying him the money. Nips me rather short but he has plenty, so I will not suffer.

  Well we waited for the order till supper time, got supper and dark come and no march. Now we know we will stay here tonight & the rumor is that we are going to change camp, only we go the other side of Brandy Station, go into quarters of some other corps. But that we don’t march till morning. But if we don’t go, I will wash tomorrow. Tis rather bad that we have to leave our good shanty. I don’t expect to find as good a one if we should go into other quarters. But the Boys don’t grumble much as they expect to go home in a week or ten days. The rumor is that the mustering & paying officer is at Div Headquarters ready to muster & pay us off & that Gen. Mead says he will send us home right away and I don’t care so much about having my shantie if all this transpires. Tis said that none of the other Regts is going into it.

  December 24, 1863

  And fine day but cold. We marched at 6 A.M., come to Culpepper. We marched fast & rested only once. We reached here about 1 P.M. and our Regt was selected to stop in the town to guard it and be quartered in empty houses. So we turned out, come into the town & waited for orders & until the cavelry leaves that are guarding the town. We waited till near night but received no orders. So we wanted our dinners & the Major took us a little ways out of town & we got it & stayed there all night.

  December 25, 1863

  And fine day but cold and the cavelry didnt leave the town today. But we got quarters in an old mill which we cleaned up, making it more comfortable. But there being no fireplace or stoves, we have to have our fires out doors. The teams hauled wood for us. We will have to stay here till the cavelry goes out, then we take their quarters. The officers are working at the Veterans Papers. Today passes off without any of the excitement usual on Christmas Day except the many drunken cavelry men. They are having a great spree. They say they got privilige to stay in the town over Christmas, when they expect to leave. The cars are coming in pretty brisk, heavy laden with army supplies. Our corps is camped near the town & the Brigade just in the edge of it.

  December 26, 1863

  A rainy day, but the team furnishes plenty of wood so we keep large fires. Several Cos has got houses and gone to themselves. The officers are still at work at the Veteran Papers. We have high hopes of going home soon, probably 3 or 4 days.

  December 27, 1863

  And stormy day, mud ankle deep all over town. The officers took fright at an order that Mead sent or misconstrued the meaning and stoped making out the Veteran Papers. Some of them was so vexed that they burned the papers and it caused considerable merriment amongst the Boys. Some were sorry, some were glad & the officers mad & the Boys crack jokes still harder. The cavery don’t leave the town today. Some more of the Cos find quarters to & our Boys find one but when they went to clean it out they found it occupied with some furniture and a woman living in another house claimed it and sent for the Provost Guard. And we thought we had better let it go & give it up for today & sleep in the old mill another night.

  December 28, 1863

  Better weather but cloudy. We were not relieved as we chose to stay here on guard. The Commisary officer offered to get us permanently detailed if we were a mind to stay and get some more men and they promised to make us comfortable. So we consented & there were six more men sent down & they went on & relieved the others. So they will come on evry other day. There had ought to been 2 more non commissioned officers as it is pretty hard duty for us, but we can stand it. The officers has got to understand that order of yesterday & it has no referance to us. So they went to work at the Papers again.

  December 29, 1863

  And fine day. Our guard duty is the same and going all right. The captain of the Commisary is going to get us a nice little house that stands near the Depot to live in. When we get in there we will have a comfortable place. It is occupied by 3 cavelry men. But the captain is going to try to get them out. I signed some of the Papers for enlisting in the Veteran Corps today & [so] did most of the Regt.

  Our Co has got a little warm house. They had to build a chimney in it. It is a verry comfortable place. The cavelry has left the town & the 14th N.Y. have come in to do duty that we was to do if we were not going home.

  December 30, 1863

  And fine day. 200 of the 8th Illinois cavelry who have reenlisted into the Veteran Corps went home this morning. They left the Depot in high spirits & our Regt expects to go soon. We expect to be mustered tomorrow. Mustered out of the service & in again & mustered for pay.

  December 31, 1863

  And stormy day, showers. We were mustered today & are veterans now & expect to get our pay tomorrow. I went up to the quarters to be mustered. I with 23 others in our Co are fast for 3 years or during the war. The Boys seem happy to think of getting home once more. The order is for us to go as soon as the buisness can be done & the officers are working at it day and almost night. They are in as much of a hurry as the Boys for being off. I am still on guard at the Depot. The Sergt runs the guard in the afternoon & fore part of the night, then I run it the other 12 hours of the 24.

  January 1, 1864, New Year’s Day

  And a verry cold day. Last night the ground frooze verry hard. Twas the coldest night I ever experienced in Virginia and the citizens say that it is a rare occurrence.

  The Boys had gr
eat times last night. At least those that could get enough of the creature (Whiskey). Many were the orders that were filled for Whiskey at this depot and many more that were refused. Nothing but an order from the Commisary Captain will get anything here. Today passed off without anything particular.

  January 2, 1864

  And fine day but a cold raw wind blowing. 6 companies of the Regt has been paid off in full, Bounty &c. And our Co will be paid tomorrow & the talk is that we start home on the 4th inst. That all the government property will be turned over on the morrow & suchlike. But time will tell the story and it alone will. Today the 6th N.Y. Cavelry took the cars for home, they having reenlisted. Well I must stop to get some dinner & supper. I only get two meals a day now. Thats as much as I have an appetite for.

  January 3, 1864

  We got our pay today & expect to go to Washington tomorrow on our road home. We thought we would be relieved today but were not.

  January 4, 1864

  And stormy day. We guards were relieved this morning. Went to our Companies & got ready to start home. But we missed the first train so we had to go on the platform cars [on] the next train which came along about 11 A.M. & we came verry slowly to Alexandria which we reached about 7 P.M. & were taken to the Soldiers Retreat, got supper. This Retreat is a verry nice one. Evrything is neat & clean. At 10 P.M. we took the train for Washington, arriving there in due time and were quartered in No. 4 Barracks. There being good fires in the stoves, it was somewhat comfortable. Here we are to stay till we draw clothing &c.

  January 5, 1864

  And fine day. We stay in Barracks all day. Most of the Boys getting Passes & going out & buying clothing such as they want. Most of them are buying fine hats. The Boys are having a good time generally.

  January 6, 1864

  And fine day. We drew clothing today. I drew an overcoat and dress coat in the line of clothing & a knapsack & haversack & I bought a hat & vest & the pants I had before. So now have a new suit. But have got to get the pants altered when I get to Madison. We expect to go tomorrow. The Boys run around the city and were not molested by the Provost Guard. All they needed for a pass was to have the figure 7 on their hats.

  January 7, 1864

  And fine day. And we don’t get off till dark when we start and load into old cars. But there was a stove in each one so they were comfortable. & after sitting till about 11 oclock when they hitched on & took us through to Baltimore which we reached about 4 A.M. Sit in cars till daylight when we were marched. . . .

  January 8, 1864

  . . . to the Retreat, got breakfast. Then were quartered in a large warm room till near noon when we were marched to the North side of the city and took the cars for Pittsburg [Pittsburgh]. It being nearly night when we start, so we come by Harrisburg but didnt stop. But we come to Little York before this & Doctor Palmer [Henry Palmer of Janesville]133 treated us to supper. He is in charge of a large hospital here. Here I met with one of our Boys that was wounded at Gettysburg.

  January 9, 1864

  And fine day. And today we reached Pittsburg just dark and were taken in the Retreat & got good supper. Then we were quartered in an empty building to stay all night most probably. Many of the Boys went to the Theatre, but I made down my bed and went to bed till about 11 oclock when the Boys just returned from the theatre and awoke us to get up and go on the cars for Chicago. Which we done, got started out about 1 A.M.

  January 10, 1864

  And fine day, but tis cold. We are getting so far north that there is a great difference twixt here and Virginia. Many of the boys while they were at the theatre had their knapsacks stole from them. Several had new suits in them, some as much as $50.00 worth of clothes. We come on as far as Lyons where we got breakfast but had to pay for it. And we come on till near noon when the cars run off the track & smashed some of them pretty bad but hurt nobody. The two hind cars were thrown square across the track. The Boys joked the officers pretty hard (they occupied the last car) said that they got the car drunk, as we knew they were having a jolly time over the Black Bottle. About 6 P.M. we get started now for Chicago. Ride all night stopping at the many stations &c.

  January 11, 1864

  And we reach Chicago at just dark after riding all day. We here found out that we could come on right off as soon as we could get our supper, which we were allowed to get as we pleased. The Major gave us leave so we would just get back to Co on the train was all he cared for. We all got around and into the cars about 9 P.M. & the cars started. Now we see snow plenty. Also cold enough. But we kept good fires. Now we will soon see the state line. The Boys are tired. They lop down & go to sleep verry soon after getting on.

  January 12, 1864

  And fine day and [too faded to read] [Arrived in Madison] There we found a fine, good dinner awaited us in the large dining hall near the depot. We partook of & I assure you we done justice to it. We were then formed and marched up to & around the Capital square. The Drum Corps playing Patriotic tunes all the while. And from there to the Capital Hall which were opened for us. Tis a verry nice hall and roomy enough for the whole Regt. But to return, I forgot to tell you about the Govenor [James T. Lewis] giving us the reception speech welcoming us home. His speech was short but to the point.134

  The officers went to work making out our furloughs & the Boys went & come as they pleased all over the city. The figure 7 would pass them through the guards. We boarded at the taverns or got our meals there costing from 30 to 50 cents per meal. I got a tailor to fix my pants. I also bought a comfortable pair of gloves, collars & necktie &c. Evrybody seems to be glad to see us. Although they are not acquainted with many of us.

  January 13, 1864

  And we get our furloughs. Some start home on the freight & accommodation train. But I, with many others, concluded to wait till 4 P.M. & take the Express Train which we did & reached Bridgeport at 8 P.M. There we met with a farmer by the name of Wood [Reuben R. Wood of La Crosse]. He was formerly Captain of Co C, 2nd Cavelry and we rode with him to Patch Grove. Paid him 25 cts apiece. We reached here 11 P.M., went to the [small hole in page] Horse Tavern. Waked them up, got in & got to bed.

  January 14, 1864

  And rather stormy. We got up late, got breakfast & hired the man of the Tavern to bring us to our homes. Cook come to Lafton. There we met with Sam Woodhouse, our old Leiut, he is keeping a grocery. Then Frank Simons [Franklin Simmons, Company K]135 And I came on. The teamster brought me within half a mile of Mothers when I paid him $ 1.60 and come on, reached here 3 P.M. Found Mother and Lucretia at home and also Sarah & her Man & Mary and they are all well. I will leave it to the reader to imagine how happy we were. I have given a verry brief account of my homeward tour. I reach home safe and sound. I am verry thankful for it. I found things quite different in Sarahs family, she having a German for husband. Mother is well situated. Cornelia (Amos child) is with her, she is only a small girl & Lucretia is with her also. She is a great help to Mother. So upon the whole I am well satisfied with things. Mother lives in the room George built for her before I went away.

  Well I must stop till I get another book.

  1864

  The winter of 1863-1864 marked the third year in a grim civil war of unexpected magnitude. To the men of the Seventh Wisconsin and the rest of the Iron Brigade regiments, it seemed there was much yet to be resolved. Ulysses S. Grant, the Union’s most successful general, was promoted to command all the Federal armies. Grant decided to leave the Western Theater for Virginia, attaching himself to the Army of the Potomac to face General Robert E. Lee. The Army of Northern Virginia was just a handful of miles away beyond the Rapidan River, still very able and ready to turn back any Union offensive effort. In the Wisconsin camps there was quiet discussion of a possible Confederate invasion of Kentucky or Ohio—or even another offensive against the Army of the Potomac by Lee’s army.

  The Iron Brigade itself was thinned by its heavy losses at Gettysburg in July 1863, but many of the wounded men were returning to the ranks and
fresh recruits were arriving to flesh out the unit. More troubling to the old hands was the assignment of a series of Eastern regiments to the organization, ending the tradition of an all-Western brigade. Only some 700 remained of the 5,000 volunteers who had left Wisconsin, Indiana, and Michigan during the early weeks of the war. The old brigade was no longer the same unit that had performed such magnificent service at Gainesville, Antietam, and Gettysburg. Although Ray and his comrades could not have known it, the Iron Brigade would never again be the decisive force in battle it had once been.