Into the Tornado of War: A History of the Twenty-First Michigan Infantry in the Civil War

Into the Tornado of War: A History of the Twenty-First Michigan Infantry in the Civil War

In the summer of 1862, a group of volunteer soldiers joined the Twenty-First Michigan Volunteer Infantry in western Michigan. For the next two and a half years, these men saw extensive combat against the Confederacy in America's most brutal and bloody war. Drawn from hundreds of letters, diaries, and memoirs, Into the Tornado of War is the complete history of this Union regiment as seen through the soldiers' eyes. James Genco traces their movements from their first major battle at Perryville, Kentucky, through Tennessee, Georgia, and finally, the Carolinas. In addition to Perryville, the regiment was severely tested in the landmark battles of Stones River, Chickamauga, and Bentonville, and participated in Union General William T. Sherman's March to the Sea in November and December of 1864. As the war wound down in 1865, the regiment was part of the Union Army that cut its way through the Carolinas, ultimately finding itself in the forefront of one of the last major battles of the war. In a valuable contribution to the scholarship on the American Civil War, Into the Tornado of War paints a picture of the realities of the war through the words of real soldiers. Into the Tornado of War A History of the Twenty-First Michigan Infantry in the Civil War By JAMES GENCO abbott press Copyright © 2012 James Genco All right reserved. ISBN: 978-1-4582-0181-2 Contents Civilians in Blue: The Battle of Perryville Prologue:..........................11. Dawning of the Regiment "Braver Men Never Took Up Arms".....................112. Rush to the Front...........................................................343. Joining the Army of the Ohio................................................474. Perryville: The Battle for Kentucky.........................................595. Regrouping at Nashville.....................................................696. Rosecrans Forges his Army...................................................837. Stones River: "Courage and Fearlessness in Danger"..........................958. Respite at Murfreesboro.....................................................1209. The Tullahoma Campaign......................................................15310. The Road to Chickamauga....................................................16811. The Battle of Chickamauga: "They Never Saw the Equal"......................17412. Colonel Mccreery's Ordeal..................................................20313. The Battle for Chattanooga.................................................21614. Engineer Duty: Lumberjacks & Carpenters....................................23815. Back into the Fray.........................................................26516. The March to the Sea and Savannah..........................................27317. Punishing the Instigators of Rebellion.....................................30118. Sloshing Across North Carolina.............................................31719 The Battle of Bentonville...................................................32720. "The Wildest Celebration Ever Indulged"....................................346Endnotes.......................................................................363Bibliography...................................................................383Index..........................................................................391 Chapter One Dawning of the Regiment "Braver Men Never Took Up Arms" July to September 12, 1862 The Yankee Volunteer of 1862 Twelve weeks prior to the Battle of Perryville, the Twenty-first Michigan Volunteer Infantry Regiment did not exist. It was the second summer of the Civil War, and all visions of a swift resolution of the conflict had vanished. For the Federal government, these were some of the darkest hours of the war. Despite Union victories west of the Appalachian Mountains, repeated setbacks for the Federals in the east led many to believe the Confederacy could force a peace that recognized its independence. The Confederate armies, fighting on their home ground, had proven themselves tenacious, and there was a sober recognition that a long bloody struggle loomed ahead. The Union volunteers of this second summer were very different from those who rushed to war in the spring of 1861. Unlike their impassioned comrades who had flocked to the colors with bravado and unrealistic expectations following the Rebels' firing on Fort Sumter, the volunteers who enlisted in the summer of 1862 did so with eyes wide open. No longer was there any expectation of a short war. While many of the volunteers of 1861 were members of prewar militia companies, most of the volunteers of 1862 had little military experience or inclination. The volunteer of '62 had learned from newspaper accounts and returning veterans about the harsh reality of the war they were entering, and they knew it would be a long, deadly struggle. Disabled veterans returning home were harbingers of the tragedy of combat, and they were frigh