Here's a picture taken of my Great Grandfather with his grandson just before the latter embarked to Europe during the "Great War." The firearms they carry are obviously not indicative of those that were used in Europe at the time, but it provides an interesting continuity.
What follows is a brief account of my Great Grandfather's experience, transcribed by my Great Uncle, in what was called at the time the "War Between the States," because we didn't realize how typical it would become. Just for the sake of recollection and to provide a sense of how easy it isn't. If you'd like to consult an historical review of the events recounted in my Great Grandfather's narrative check out a book by Charles Bracelen Flood entitled, Grant and Sherman: The Friendship That Won the Civil War.
It might be of interest to the readers to get some first-hand experiences of one who was in the Civil War, told in his own words a few months before his death.“I enlisted on President Lincoln’s first call for volunteers, at Key Stone Furnace in Gallia County, Ohio, July 13, 1861. This was in the 27th Ohio Volunteer Infantry. Much of the equipment at the training camp was poor. They had no guns. Very few of the soldiers knew how to shoot a gun and hardly knew which end of the gun was to be used. In training we used sticks for guns
“Our first assignment was to reinforce Mulligan at Lexington, Missouri. Lexington surrendered before we could bring up reinforcements. Our forced march took us 45 miles in two days, one right after the other. At Camden Hill we slept twenty minutes. Then we woke up only to find the Rebels had surrounded us in the dark. There was only one way out. We sneaked out, but it meant another forced march through some awful rain. Evidently we were not heard for we escaped an engagement. We marched on to Kansas City, a pretty miserable lot. You see our company had only two mules and one wagon. We had thrown our tents away during the march and our provisions were so scanty that we almost starved. Finally we went back to Lexington, 200 miles, for rations. All we had was a pint of cornmeal a day. Before the winter was over we were ordered back to Springfield, Missouri. In February we joined in the attack on Fort Donaldson [i.e. Fort Donelson].
“Some of the troops refused to walk to St. Louis. From St. Louis we took boats to Cairo, New Madrid and Island No. 10. We crossed the Mississippi in small boats and captured a bunch of Rebels. Our next move was down to Fort Pillow, and up the Tennessee River to the siege of Corinth and Iuka and Atlanta. [Although he began the Siege of Atlanta he mustered out before the city actually fell.] On October 22 and 23, 1862, we attacked Price and Van Doren [General Sterling Price and General Earl Van Dorn] from Missouri. During the first day of the encounter, our division was not in. We watched the movement of Price.
“On the second day we were put in the line of battle. Shells were thrown in. Price drew off the second day. If we had followed we could have captured the whole bunch. This country was mainly swamp. We buried our dead in a deep well [emphasis added]. The next morning we captured quite a bunch of Rebels. We followed them for two or three days to Mobile. [This may have been a slight exaggeration, since Mobile was very far south, near the Gulf. But since they marched 40 to 50 miles in a day, it's just barely possible.] Nothing to eat, no salt, and no bread, but we killed some cows and that helped. So we returned to Corinth and passed on the way a field of sweet potatoes and many got sick from eating them. We then stayed in Corinth awhile. Our next campaign was at Jackson, Miss.
“The 27th and 39th O.V. Regiments were together throughout the war and with the 43rd and 63rd made up the 4th Brigade. This drive was made against Forest (Nathan Bedford Forrest). Forest evidently retreated through a timbered section and eluded the Ohio Brigade. We finally returned to Corinth.
“The next order was to start for Vicksburg. We had no shoes or clothes worth speaking of. Our regiment was given a three months rest while we guarded Memphis. We were within one day’s march of Lookout Mountain. We then started our march to the Atlantic [emphasis added]. My four years were up and I was mustered out. [Although he indicated four years enlistment in the narrative that was clearly a mistake. Enlistment was for three years, which means he mustered out on July 13, 1864.] If I had known Sherman was starting his march to the sea, I would have reenlisted. [This is about as politically incorrect as it gets, but he clearly meant it. Sherman's "march to the sea" is what really ended the war, even though Appomattox was later.]
“In looking back, one of the strangest things about the war was the small ailments that men died of. A blister, indigestion, or a touch of flu would put a man under, when in ordinary circumstances, or at home, he would have been well in a couple of days. Thirteen of the biggest men in the Company had measles. Of course, there being no wagons, they had to shift along. All were dead in less than twelve months [emphasis added]. Our equipment consisted of an old rifle that would kick you down and kick you after you fell, a saber, a bayonet, and belt.” [It isn't clear whether the muskets in the picture were the weapons referred to, but odds are he's holding his musket and the one held by his grandson was actually his brother's. All three brothers in the family served under Sherman.]
Update: By complete coincidence, or perhaps "brain jazz," Gerard Vanderleun just posted a picture (together with a stunning poem) of what appears to be part of Forrest's cavalry, that eluded my Great Granddad's unit. The picture of the Confederate troopers was taken in 1917, so could have been taken within months of the picture above. Well, they could have been taken on the same day for all I know.