Today in History:

67 Series I Volume X-I Serial 10 - Shiloh Part I

Page 67 Chapter XXII. CUMBERLAND GAP CAMPAIGN.

men and teams were completely exhausted, and men did not take their supper, being too much fatigued to cook it. Both men and horses lay down to rest, and had they been obliged to have moved 2 miles farther many must have perished by the road-side. Lanphere's Michigan battery took up their line of march, with General Carter's brigade, on June 11, and, following a part of the way the same route, had similar difficulties to overcome.

On June 13, crossed the Pine Mountain, and only had the misfortune to break one caisson trail and two caisson wheels and camped at night at Boston. On June 15 passed Big Creek Gap with considerable difficulty, being obliged to halt for three hours to repair a caisson trail which was broken in an impassable part of the road and obliged the brigade to rest. On the 16th reached camp near Rogers' Gap. On going into camp an alarm was given upon supposition that the train was attacked, and the column was reversed and position taken in woods, where we remained until 10 p.m., when we moved forward and went into camp.

At 1.30 o'clock a.m., June 18, Foster's battery and the siege battery took up line of march with the Twenty-sixth Brigade, under command of Colonel De Courcy; Wetmore's battery, with the Twenty-seventh Brigade, under command of Brigadier-General Baird, and Lanphere's battery, with the Twenty-fourth Brigade, under command of Brigadier-General Carter, for the purpose of marching on the enemy,who were encamped about 8 miles up Powell's Valley from Rogers' Gap,where they were said to be in considerable force, but upon our arriving there found they had fled with great rapidity. We then marched to Cumberland Gap (which had been evacuated but a few hours previously) with Colonel De Courcy, and there Foster's battery saluted the Stars and Stripes with thirty-four guns.

I cannot close my report without bringing to your favorable notice as officers of special merit Lieutenant Anderson and C. B. Kimball, of Foster's First Wisconsin Battery, and Lieutenant Webster, of same battery, commanding the siege battery, Lieutenant Barrows, commanding the Ninth Ohio Battery, and Captain Lanphere, of the Michigan battery, without whose valuable services but little of this arduous march of artillery could have been accomplished. Although we all would have gladly entered an encounter with the enemy, we, as officers of the artillery of this division, believe that more good results will be derived from this bloodless victory than with an encounter, and acknowledge that strategy displays more military skill than fields stained with blood.

Hoping we may always be victorious in the support of our country, I am, most respectfully, your obedient servant,

J. T. FOSTER,

Captain, First Wisconsin Battery,

Chief of Artillery, Seventh Division, Army of the Ohio.

Captain CHARLES O. JOLINE,

A. A. G.


No. 4. Report of Brig. General Samuel P. Carter, U. S. Army, commanding Twenty-fourth Brigade, Army of the Ohio, of operations June 8-16.


HEADQUARTERS TWENTY-FOURTH BRIGADE,
Camp Cotterell, East Tenn., June 23, 1862.

CAPTAIN: I embrace this the earliest opportunity of submitting the


Page 67 Chapter XXII. CUMBERLAND GAP CAMPAIGN.