HISTORY

CHAPTER X.

HOMEWARD BOUND.

     General Morgan's division, of the 14th Corps, led out from its camp at Holly Springs at half past five o'clock on the morning of the 29th of April, and marching to the railroad camped near it, eight miles west of Raleigh, at Page's Station, where it procured supplies for its homeward march.
     Remaining at this place until the 1st of May, it took up the march for the city of Richmond, and crossing the Neuse river at Fisher's Dam, camped on the first night four miles north of this dam and twenty miles from Oxford, after a hard march of twenty-two miles.
     The column led out of camp the next morning at five o'clock A. M., and passing through Oxford, camped three miles north, marching twenty-three miles. Led out of camp on the morning of the 3rd, and, being cut off by the 3rd division of the 20th Corps, made a forced march round it, and came in ahead of its advance, but Morgan gave the road; then continuing on, camped on the Roanoke river, four miles into Virginia, having marched about eighteen miles.
     Led out of camp on the 4th at half past three A. M, and crossing the Roanoke river at Faylor's Ferry, six miles above Huskington, on a pontoon bridge, marched through Boydton and camped on the Meherrin river. Marched twenty-three miles. Led out at five o'clock A. M. on the 5th; crossed Little and Big Meherrin rivers, and marching through Lewiston, crossed Nottoway river and camped four miles from Nottoway C. H., having marched twenty-seven miles over bad roads. Resumed the march on the 6th at half past four o'clock, passing through Nottoway C. H. and Dennisville, camped late at night at Good's Bridge on the Appomattox river, having made a hard march of thirty miles under the pressure of a warm day.
     Crossed the Appomattox river on the 7th, and marching camped on Falling creek, five miles from Richmond. Made twenty-five miles. Now ended the march. until the 11th.
     It was a race between the corps commanders of Slocum's wing. Sherman ordered his Generals not to march over fifteen miles per day, but instead, General Davis made from twenty-two to thirty. It was an imposition of the worst feature, for many a good soldier was killed that might not have been, all for a foot race.
     On this march the Eighty-sixth traveled one hundred and sixty-one miles over a beautiful country, in the latter part of spring, everything assuming a lovely aspect; and had the march been conducted as it was ordered to have been, it might have enjoyed the trip. All the inhabitants come out to see the Yankees; the old and young, the white and black, came from far and near to get a view. The regiment now set to work after its usual manner in the erection of comfortable quarters, which it had completed in a short time, and then took the world easy. It was encamped in a vicinity made renowned by the wars of the great rebellion, where the contending forces of the Rebel and Union armies had maneuvered for so long a time for the mastery.
     At this camp, it will be remembered, the commanding officers issued a deal of their surplus whisky to the division, which proved the harbinger of rows, riots, fights of a stirring and noisy kind, too numerous to mention. After four days rest, the division resumed its march for Washington City early on the morning of the 11th of May, and passing through Manchester, crossed the James river and entered the city of Richmond from the south-west. Now, for the first time, it beheld the once great Rebel Capital---the anaconda and boa-constrictor of rebel vengeance. When the command reached the north side of the James, the Libby prison could be seen on the right, where so many of our captured soldiers have languished and died under the cruel care of its keeper. Then, a short distance above the Libby, and on the same side of the street, stood Castle Thunder, also a place of infamous reputation. Passing on, it was met by hundreds of peddlers dealing out their pies, cakes, cheese, and such, by the wholesale. The city did not show the ravages of war as much as was expected; true, a part of it had been burnt on its evacuation, but aside from this there was nothing to show that it had been so long the theatre of war; neither racked nor ruined, but compact, neat and clean.
     All were surprised not to see huge entrenchments, high as the Chinese walls; but alas! there was nothing but an ordinary line of works around it, no stronger than the Eighty-sixth had often made on the Atlanta campaign in one night! “As strong as Richmond” had become a by-word. In front of Kenesaw, the Chattahoochie and Atlanta, may be found stronger works by far, thrown up in just one mortal night, than are to be seen on the south-west and north of Richmond.
     Jeff. Davis, in his Sodom and Gomorrah of the Confederacy, was not as secure as many were wont to think. Sherman would have snaked him out sooner than he did if he had had his “flanking machine” in operating distance. But time progressed, the world moved, and Richmond fell.
     Passing through Richmond, the command marching northward, camped four miles from Hanover C. H., making sixteen miles. Led out of camp at twelve o'clock M. on the 12th, and passing through Hanover C. H., crossed the Pamunky at Little Page's Bridge, and camped four miles above it, making eight miles. The course of march on the 13th was north-west, crossing the railway at Chesterfield, and camped one mile beyond Childsburg, making eighteen miles.
     The march of the 14th was still north-west. The command camped on Plentiful creek by an old mill, having made an easy march of eighteen miles. Resuming the march on the 15th in a north-western direction, the command crossed the Rapidan river at Raccoon Ford, and camped for the night on the north bank, having marched seventeen miles. Led out of camp on the Rapidan at seven A. M. on the 16th, the Eighty-sixth Illinois being train guard and crossing the North Fork of the Rappahanock at Kellie's Ford, marched and camped near Cattlet's Station, making twenty-two miles.
     Marched from Catlett's Station at half past four A M. on the 17th, and following the railway, passed through Manassas Junction and camped on the Bull Run battlefield, having marched twenty-five miles under a hot sun.
     Resumed the march at five A. M. on the 18th, and passing through Fairfax C. H., camped within nine miles of Washington, having marched fifteen miles. Again, at nine A. M. on the 19th, the march was resumed, the command camping at a point equidistant from Washington and Alexandria, and four miles from each, having marched five miles. From its camp at this place the Eighty-sixth Illinois saw the distant dome of the Capitol for the first time.
     Soon again the regiment had comfortable quarters, and enjoyed them hugely after so long and arduous a march. It marched one hundred and forty-four miles on its journey from Richmond to Washington, consuming eight days in doing it. On this march all were surprised not to find the country cut up with all kinds of works incident to war, for such things were not to be seen to any formidable extent. At Manassas Junction there were a few old forts, then in ruins, that may have been at some time quite formidable, but never wonderful. At Bull Run was to be seen the strongest entrenchments on the line of march, which had been built and held by the rebel army.
The following are the casualties of the regiment from the time it left Savannah until its muster out:

     Immediately upon the arrival of Sherman's army at Washington City, General Grant issued orders for the review of the Grand Army of the Potomac to take place on the 23rd, and that known as Sherman's army to take place on the 24th. Thousands of people flocked from all parts of the country to witness the grand pageant. The most ample preparations had been made for the occasion. The President was seated on an elevated stand, surrounded by his Cabinet officers, foreign ministers and distinguished strangers. Pennsylvania Avenue was lined on both sides from end to end with admiring people; every window presented its tableau of fair spectators; and the occasion was such as had never before been witnessed on the American continent. The daily papers all over the land soon flourished lively descriptions of the great and grand review; and according to them and the judgment of most of the spectators, the Army of the West bore off the palm; they described it as more graceful, more stalwart and more intelligent than the Grand Army of the Potomac.
     On the occasion of this grand review of Sherman's army, a certain New York paper, the Independent, paid our division a very high compliment. It said:

“The finest looking set of men in either army---they were also said to be the best drilled---was the 2nd division of the 14th Corp, composed of Western troops, and commanded by General James D. Morgan, of Quincy, Illinois, one or the bravest of the brave, the idol of his soldiers, and called by them “Our Jimmy Morgan.”

     But as for the soldiers themselves, grand pageantry in the line of reviews had “played out.” What was charming to the assembled multitude was no joyous affair to them. Their good time came, however, when the attention of officials was turned to mustering out.
     On the morning of the review of Sherman's army, our division led out of its camp at an early hour, and by a slow and tiresome march it arrived at Washington and passed before the admiring crowd between one and three o'clock P. M., marching back to camp in the evening, where it arrived as much fatigued as if it had been pursuing rebels.
     At twelve o'clock M. on the day after the grand review, General Morgan moved his division across the long bridge over the Potomac into Washington City, and thence three miles north, where he camped it near the President's summer houses.
While encamped here the boys were allowed many privileges in an around the Capitol; all the guards being taken off, they were allowed to run wild, though they did not run riot.
     Here also the Eighty-sixth Illinois, on the evening of the 6th of June, 1865, was mustered out of the United States service, having been engaged in the service of its country as an organized body for three years wanting two months and twenty-two days.
     Immediately after this the boys of the regiment saluted each other as American citizens and not as soldiers, and though the metamorphosis was sudden, it seemed to have the force of a protracted transformation.
     The following are the casualties of the regiment from the time it left Lee and Gordon's Mills until its muster out:
 

     The entire casualties of the Eighty-sixth Regiment, during its term of service, in killed and died, discharged, transferred and deserted, was four hundred and sixty-seven men, the company loss being as follows:

     The regiment lost fifty-one men killed and one hundred and fifty-four wounded in battle, having participated in twenty-two engagements, not mentioning many others in which it rendered assistance by supporting, guarding flanks, or protecting rear. It marched thirty-five hundred and thirty miles, and was transported by railroad about two thousand miles, making a total distance of five thousand five hundred and thirty miles, besides a great deal of traveling about camps, on picket, etc., that is not taken into account.
     There were three hundred and seventy-nine men mustered out with the regiment; besides this number there were many absent at hospitals and on detail who could not be present at the muster-out. Two days after it was mustered out of the service, the regiment boarded the cars, at the depot in Washington City, on its way to Chicago, there to receive its pay, disband and go home.
     From Washington it passed through Baltimore via Harrisburg and Pittsburgh to Chicago, where it arrived at twelve o'clock M., on the 11th of June. Everywhere on its route it received expressions of the most cordial welcome. Every one seemed rejoiced that the soldier boys were coming home from the bloody wars, in every way showing their grateful feeling of warmest sympathy for the services they had rendered to Union and liberty.
     At Pittsburgh it received the kindest welcome of them all. More genuine sympathy was manifested there than the boys had yet experienced. In behalf of this people was engendered a feeling of the most profound regard. The regiment was escorted from the cars to the city hall by a band discoursing delightful music, where was prepared a dainty meal for all. After dinner, it was escorted back to the train, by the same band, amid the waving of handkerchiefs from the crowds that thronged the streets and balconies, and the “God bless you" from a thousand lips. So long as our minds can retrace the past, and so long as our hearts are capable of a generous emotion, will we continue to hold in sacred remembrance, the noble and generous-hearted people of Pittsburgh.
     Every one anticipated a hearty welcome at Chicago, inasmuch as it had been extended elsewhere on the route; but we were cruelly and sadly disappointed. No one met the regiment at the depot even to tell it where to go. Every window presented its tableaux of fair spectators, but no signal was made in token of welcome, no hearty “God bless you” emanated in audible words from a single heart, but they gazed as if upon a menagerie of southern wild beasts. The men were chagrined, and would exclaim, “This is Richmond, not Chicago!”
The regiment finally found its way to Camp Fry and pitched its tents. Here it remained until the 21st, waiting impatiently for its pay and discharge.
     The good folks of Chicago, however, determined not to allow the boys to leave their city until they had assuaged their anger. Accordingly, the Eighty-sixth and 125th Illinois received an invitation to appear at the Sanitary Fair rooms, and partake of the fatted calf, where they received not only a substantial dinner, but also several stirring speeches, among which was one made by General Sherman.
     The General spoke as follows:

     FELLOW SOLDIERS: I regret that it has fallen to my task to speak to you, because, I would rather that others should do what is most common to them, and less so to me. But, my fellow soldiers, it gives me pleasure to assure you that what the President of this Fair has told you just now is true---that a hearty welcome awaits you wherever you go, not only in Chicago but everywhere. Many people think you want bread and meat, but your faces and my knowledge tell me that you prefer the waving of handkerchiefs and the applause of the people to all the bread and meat that fill the warehouses of Chicago. (Cheers. ) Those soldiers who are now before me know where bread and meat can and will be found. (Laughter.) All we ask and all we have ever asked, is a silent and generous acknowledgment of our services when rendered in the cause of our country.
     And, fellow soldiers, when you get home among those who will interest you more than anything I can say, just call to mind where you were twelve months ago. You remember the Kenesaw Peak and Little Kenesaw. It is not a year since you stormed them, and lost my old partner and friend, Dan. McCook. That was on the 27th June, 1864. In June, 1865, you stand in the midst of Chicago, surrounded by bright colors, and ladies, and children. Then you were lying in the mud, the rocks and the dirt, and you knew that there was an enemy we had to fight with and conquer, and we did not exactly know how to do it. (Laughter.) But we were patient; we reconnoitered---we watched their flanks---we studied the ground---and in three days we had Johnston and his whole army pinned; he retired, and we did not give him a chance of stopping until he had put the Chatahoochie between us and him. That is a lesson to you. Temporary defeat is nothing when it man is determined to succeed. You are not conquered---you never can be conquered when the mind is clear and determined in its purpose; you must succeed---no temporary defeat can cause failure.
     You will remember that on the 4th of July we stood close to each other, and we told them then that they would have to go farther than Atlanta, for we should continue to go on. (Cheers.) You will remember how their pickets told us they had reinforcements. Yes, but what? They had one of our Corps---Schofield's. (Laughter.) Before General Johnston knew, or dreamed of it, I had reinforced his side of the Chattahoochie by General Schofield's 23rd Corps.
     From this, my fellow soldiers I want you to learn the lesson, no matter where you are, today or tomorrow, by keeping a purpose close in your mind, in the end you will succeed, whether it be in military, civil, social or family affairs. Let no difficulty appall you---let no check alarm you---let your purpose in life be clear and steadfast---keep in view the object and design of your life, and just as sure as you are now before me in health and strength, you will succeed.
     You are now returned to your homes, and the task now allotted to you is that of the future. The past is disposed of---it may soon be forgotten; but the future is before you, and that future will be more glorious than the past. Look at your own State of Illinois---look at the city of Chicago. It is hardly as old as any of you, for twenty-five years ago a little military garrison was here---a two-company post; and now it is a city of palaces, of streets, railroads, etc. You, the men of a city almost the second in the United States of America, are to assist in directing the affairs or this country. You have the patience and industry, and more than that, you have organization, discipline and drill, and if I have been instrumental in teaching you this---in maintaining discipline, order and good government in the army which I have had the honor to command, I am contented; for on this system, and on the high tone of honor which pervades your minds, must be built the empire of America. (Loud cheers.)
     I did not wish to address you, but I believe that there are no others here who desire to speak, and therefore I ask you to accept what is given in heartiness---a full, joyous, welcome home to Chicago. I know it is genuine, for I myself have experienced it. Feel you are at home---and that there are no more rebels, no more raking fire---no more shot; but that you have done with them all forever. Good morning.

     On the afternoon of the 21st of June, having been in Chicago just ten days, every member of the Eighty-sixth received his pay and final discharge. Soon, the boys scattered to the four winds, bound for home and friends. Suddenly, the Eighty-sixth Illinois passed from existence!

     Here ends the history of the good old Eighty-sixth Regiment of Volunteer Infantry, which had under-gone so many days of hardships, perils and privations for the maintenance of home, union and liberty.
     There is no surviving member of the regiment, but will always pride himself in having belonged to that organization; he will never forget the sad and repulsive scenes of the past, in connection with the merry days of yore; he will ever cherish in lasting remembrance the many noble and heroic comrades who have fallen by his side---men with whom he has passed the most trying hours of his existence---men who knowing the rights of their friends, their country and homes, dared raise the strong right arm in defense. Ay! he will ever invoke a just Heaven to reward them as their merit deserves, and in his hours of sad reflection, he will drop a tear to their memory. 

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