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 are acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated.
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Posted on 03/19/2003 5:35:52 AM PST by SAMWolf
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are acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated.
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| Our Mission: The FReeper Foxhole is dedicated to Veterans of our Nation's military forces and to others who are affected in their relationships with Veterans.
Where the Freeper Foxhole introduces a different veteran each Wednesday. The "ordinary" Soldier, Sailor, Airman or Marine who participated in the events in our Country's history. We hope to present events as seen through their eyes. To give you a glimpse into the life of those who sacrificed for all of us - Our Veterans.
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John Marshall Alley Union Soldier The war was assuming large proportions, and I began to see that the rebellion could not be put down without my help. George had served his time of enlistment, and was at home. Sam was only 18, and was needed at home, but for the fear that we might be drafted and sent to different parts of the country, our parents preferred that we all go together so we could all help each other It was hard to leave them without help, but they could rent the place or hire some help. Hester was with them and was 9 years old, big enough to run on errands and be of some help at home. On the 15th day of August, 1862, we, with a number of neighbor boys, among whom were your mother's brothers William and Andrew, went to Greenfield where the company was to meet, and took the train for Indianapolis.  We arrived at Indianapolis in the afternoon and were marched out to camp. Lumber was brought and we all went to work building a "shebang." Before night we had a board tent built, large enough to hold the 103 men of our company, and furnished with bunks on either side for sleeping. We were then furnished with a blanket and rubber apiece for sleeping. These contrasted sadly with the soft beds of home; and let me say here, that as long as I was at home I don't remember sleeping in an unmade-up bed. Then we were furnished each with a tin plate, tin cup, knife, fork, and spoon. After a while came the grub; hard tack, strong bacon, rice, beans, coffee, sugar, and salt. It looked like hard fare but further on we were mighty glad to get it. Tables were made by driving stakes and laying slats from one to another and laying rough boards on them. The company was divided into messes of 20 men each and cooks appointed who were excused from other duty. Late in the evening we were summoned to our first meal at Uncle Sam's table. It was rough, but some of us had had nothing since early breakfast, and it tasted pretty good. Night came on and we turned in but horror of horrors! A hundred and three men all crowded into one room, some of them drunk, some of them obscene, and nearly all of them noisy, and many of them vying with each other in profanity and obscene songs. They brayed, and howled, and crowed, and squalled, and spit all night long. The army is a good place to bring out a man's character. After drilling about two months, we were provided with guns, knapsacks, canteens, and haversacks, and were ordered to Louisville, KY., which was threatened by the rebels under Gen. Bragg. We ran over the Jeffersonville railroad , crossed the Ohio on a pontoon or floating bridge, and went into camp in the suburbs of Louisville. We were assigned to the 99th regiment of Indiana Volunteers; our company was B.  After scaring Gen. Bragg away from Louisville, encountering the coldest weather I ever say in the month of October, and enduring a scourge of the mumps, we were ordered down the river to Memphis; Nov. 8, 1862. While passing the mouth of the Wabash River which divides Indiana from Illinois, it was remarked that we would never all see Indiana again. We reached Memphis late on the evening of Nov. 16. After a scourge of measles we left Memphis on the 26th of Nov. and went on our first campaign, under Gen. Grant; the objective point being Vicksburg. He had sent Gen. Sherman down the river while he was to march with the main force by land, and meet at Vicksburg, but the plans didn't work. When we had gone a little south of Holly Springs the rebs made a dash on our rear and destroyed our supplies; so the campaign was abandoned. It takes too many men to guard a long line of railroad in an enemy's country, and the railroad was the only means Grant had of supplying his army. We spent the winter and spring guarding the railroad east of Memphis. During the winter we lost a great many man with the typhoid fever, among them your uncle Andrew Curry. He was a noble good man. Everybody liked him; smart, cheerful, agreeable, and a fine singer. He was a fifer in the regimental band. Your uncle Billy was sick at the same time, and I think would have died if the friends at home had not sent a first class doctor down there to bring them through. The regimental doctor wouldn't leave this soft bed at night to see the sick boys. Dr. B. F. Duncan of Greenfield went down and stayed with them till all were recovered. In the spring of 1863 we went on a raid of 170 miles into Mississippi, and Dr. Duncan went with us. We took the train for Holly Springs, but hadn't gone far before we plunged into a sandbank. Not being a big one, we shoveled it out of the way and went on, but soon plunged into another one. This one was a little too big for us so we got off the train and camped till daylight. The next morning we started on foot and hadn't gone but a little way when we came to a deep creek where the railroad bridge had been washed away; so, if we had gone just a little further on the train we might have plunged into something worse than a sandbank. Thanks to a kind Providence. We understood that a party had been sent out to inspect the road as far as Holly Springs and had reported it in good running order. We had not used the road since Grant had abandoned his campaign the winter before. It was plain that the road had not been inspected at all, else the inspectors had reported falsely. We never knew whether the inspectors were afraid to go over the road, and only guessed at its condition, or whether they were basely disloyal and gave a false report with a view to our destruction. We marched through Holly Springs but every door and window was closed, and nobody was to be seen. At night we were visited by a terrific Mississippi thunderstorm, and were most thoroughly drenched.  The next morning was cool and we suffered with cold. I was very sorry for our good Dr. Duncan as he stood shivering over the fire, wet as a muskrat. We marched with our clothes and blankets soaked with water. After catching a number of prisoners and horses we returned to camp. The object of the raid was to hold Gen. Chalmers in our vicinity while Gen. Grierson conducted another big raid further south. On arriving at camp we found a big mail, when I learned of the death of my father. The news was unexpected, and I could hardly realize that I would never see him again in this world. In this hour of bereavement I had but two consolations, and they were strong ones. One was that I could go where I knew he had gone, and there see him again. The other consolation was that I had always been dutiful, and had never given him any trouble. I have had this testimony given me by both of my parents, and it is a great comfort to me when I look back at the long hard lives they lived; but I reproach myself yet that I didn't only give them no trouble, but that I didn't try harder to make their lives more cheerful, and to throw more sunshine on their pathway. Father died in the spring of 1863. He lived a live worthy of anyone's imitation, and I have no doubt but that he has gone to a rich reward. He was honest and upright in all his dealings with men, and charitable with the suffering. Mother wrote to me to select a verse of scripture to be put on his tombstone, and I selected that beautiful passage in the 23rd Psalm; "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me." If we live right we die right. On returning from the raid Dr. Duncan prepared to leave us for his home. We hated to see him go. He had the body of your Uncle Andrew Curry taken up and placed in a metallic coffin and took it home for burial. It was a great satisfaction to the friends at home to have him buried in the cemetery with his own relatives. Grant and Sherman by a series of hard fought battles had succeeded in surrounding Vicksburg, in which was Gen. Pembarton with about 30,000 men, and we were ordered down the river to assist in the siege.  We broke camp on the 6th of June 1863, and marched to Memphis, where we got aboard the steamer Emerald and started for Vicksburg. When a boy I use to read about the great Mississippi River, but I never expected to ride on it, much less on a mission of destruction. I was third in our family to navigate it, and George and Sam would make five. We were getting into the heart of Rebeldom and everything looked warlike. Bales of hay were lashed to each side of the pilot house for fear of sharpshooters on the shore, and where things looked suspicious on the shore a shell was sent out to inquire into matters. Just above Vicksburg we turned up the Yazoo River and landed at a high bluff, where we camped and waited for orders. We were ordered about four miles to the rear of Vicksburg to prevent Gen. Johnston from attacking the siegers from that quarter. We remained here till the evening of July 4, and suddenly the dull roaring of cannon at Vicksburg ceased and soon we received word that the city had surrendered. Grant was summoned to Washington, and Sherman took the army and went after Johnston. We had a spat with them at Big Black River, and then followed on to Jackson, the capital of Mississippi. We had quite a siege to get into the city, but we entered it on the 16th of July, 1863. After destroying some railroad, we took a look at Jackson, took a swim in the clear waters of the Pearl, and returned to Big Black River where we went into camp. From this place a great many soldiers were allowed to go home on furlough. Mother had written for me to come and advise her some abut settling up the estate. I applied for a furlough, stating the case, and was granted one. Two others of our company also attained leave and we started home together. We went to Vicksburg where we obtained passes up the river on the steamer Gen. Anderson. The government paid our way home and back, but deducted the amount from our pay. We arrived at Cairo, Illinois, where we took the train through Illinois and Indiana for Indianapolis and Greenfield.  Southern Illinois was grossly disloyal, and the conductor wanted to put us into a second class car by ourselves, but we couldn't see the necessity. We arrived at Greenfield after dark, and after supper we got liver horses for two (the other had relatives in town) and rode out about five miles to his father-in-law's. They were all in bed, but the women got up and spread a bed on the floor for us. In the morning we got a boy to take the horses back and we struck out on foot for home; he one way and I another. I surprised our folks by landing in from Vicksburg for breakfast. Having sufficiently recovered I set out for the land of magnolias. The other boys had gone and I made the long journey alone. When I reached the river I took the steamer Sultana, for Vicksburg, and arrived at Camp Sherman. While there a man wanted me to go with him and some others to a graveyard across the river, where he though there was money buried. Negroes had reported that a rich planter had at two different times gone to the cemetery and buried, what appeared, from the size of the coffin, to be children, when they knew he had no children. I expect the Negroes were right in their judgment, but I didn't go. We had no business across Big Black River. Some of our boys went over there to get some peaches and didn't come back.  After the terrible battle of Chickamauga, we were ordered to Chattanooga to help Gen. Rosencrans. We broke camp on Big Black River about the first of October, 1863, and marched to Vicksburg. We had to wait awhile until Sherman could get enough boats to move up the river, and so we had a chance to look over the city. It stood on a high bluff, on a great bend of the Mississippi, and the big siege guns of the enemy thoroughly covered the approach by water from above and below. The inhabitants had dug for themselves caves in the hillsides to hide away from the shells of our big guns, during the siege. There was a whole field full of cannon and caisons which Grant had taken with the city. After a short delay we were put aboard the big steamer Glassgow, and started up the river. The crew was not friendly to our cause and I believe they would have sent us to eternity if they could have done it without going with us. The boat was loaded from hull to hurricane deck and from bow to stern with men, horses, mules, cannon, caisons, ammunition, hay bales, and what not. A fire would have meant the destruction of everybody and everything on board. Our officers watched the crew closely, and placed guards in every part of the vessel. We arrived at Memphis after dark, Oct. 9, and slept on the rocky wharf. On the 11th, we started on a long march of 400 miles for Chattanooga.
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I worry about our President who has the world on his shoulders right now. I know he didn't want it to come to this.
Anyhow...Let's roll!
I'm rambling. God bless you.
May God guide and protect our troops, our President, and our nation.
It was in an excellent oval frame, matted, with glass.
I am struck in the account of John Marshall Alley by the phrase the country was tired of war.
And by the very low anticlimax of the murder of Lincoln.
I've since seen a lot of heated criticism of him and his Satanic Federalism and such.
When all is said and done it was the greatest fight on earth and yet did not but strengthen the character of all.
Now as a fist will this nation smash that coward in Baghdad and his brats.
Laurie Mylroie in Wall Street Journal of the 18th indicates both Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (WTC II--9/11) and Ramzi Yousef (WTC I--93) may well have been under direction of Iraqi intel as Pakistani Baluch sheepdipped with altered Kuwaiti passports.
A few well-placed Tomahawks, a BLU-82 or two, a couple of MOABs and a quarter-million pumped USA professionals will reduce the shebang.
Godspeed swift victory and safe return, including Tom.
The highlight of the afternoon was when hundreds of family members of active-duty service personnel stood up to tell us about their loved ones:
Not a dry eye to be found---we love our men and women in uniform!
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