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THE BUGLE
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February 2004
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Battle of Mill Springs- the 14th Ohio Infantry’s first winter campaign
By Daniel A. Masters
This month I will quote from a letter written by Chaplain Edwin B. Raffensberger of the 14th Ohio to the Toledo Blade (January 28, 1862, pg. 2) who accompanied the regiment on its first winter campaign in January 1862. The 14th Ohio was lightly engaged but Raffensberger’s impressions of the hazards of winter campaigning (mud, mud, mud) and his description of the carnage of the Mill Springs battlefield make his account a significant document. Only man from the 14th Ohio was slightly wounded during this battle.
”On Friday night the 17th inst., our regiment started at half past 11 o’clock to act in conjunction with other regiments in the endeavor to capture 110 wagons of the enemy on a foraging expedition. We were just 24 hours too late. The boys returned on Saturday noon, literally worn out. They had traveled and worked hard all the preceding day and at night were utterly unfit for such a service. Still it was hard for the Colonel to find enough men willing to stay in camp and guard the property.
“In consequence of that night’s expedition, fruitless in results, our regiment was kept back just one day. The design was to start toward the headquarters of General Thomas, some 6 miles distant from our camp, on Sabbath morning. The advance consisted of the 4th Kentucky, 10th Indiana, 9th Ohio, and 2nd Minnesota Infantry regiments and three batteries of 6 guns each.
“On Sabbath we were waiting for the weather to clear up before we started, but while watching the sky, a messenger on horseback, hatless and baptized in mud, rode furiously into our encampment with the intelligence that the enemy had attacked headquarters, and a general fight was going on, and we were requested to come on immediately. The long roll was at once heard and in a very few minutes our brave Colonel was leading us on. The mud was very deep and under the circumstances we would have found it difficult to proceed, but the excitement kept us up. We made a rapid march and as we neared the scene of action, our hearts were cheered by the news that Zollicoffer had been shot by the hand of Colonel Speed Fry.
“We came up just after the battle at that spot. We saw the dead body of the famous rebel chief laid out under an oak, stripped almost entirely of his clothing. All were eager to possess some relic, and his garments were speedily torn into. Small pieces of distributed amongst the men. When I rode up, I found Colonel Steedman, who knew Zollicoffer in Congress, coming away with a sad face. ‘It is the man himself, there can be no mistake about it.’
“As we passed rapidly over the battlefield we saw the awful evidence of its rage and results- the trees were shattered and scarred, and the ground was literally covered with the dead and dying. I saw at least 100 dead and a number of teams, filled with the wounded, who were moaning with pain, passed us on the road. I wanted to tarry and minister to the wants of the poor fellows, but dared not. Our own dear boys of the 14th might soon need my help.
“We pursued the fugitives and shelled them as we proceeded. Every few miles we were compelled to halt and were drawn up in battle order. We had now reached the main body and enjoyed the evidence of the fight and flight of the Rebels, in the shape of blankets, haversacks, guns, ammunition, etc. all along the road. We run them into their fortifications and then peppered them with cannon ball and shell. The music of Standart’s battery and the sunset of that Sabbath evening was truly delightful.”
During the night, the Rebels withdrew by steamer across the Cumberland River and started back into Tennessee. Unaware that the prey had flown, the men of the 14th expected a hard fight the next morning. All they found were deserted fortifications, but a greater prize awaited on the banks: the abandoned camp of Zollicoffer’s Rebel force.
“When we had time to look around and take a sober second thought, a glorious prospect met our eyes. A camp of immense size, covered with tents, and these filled with the property of the Rebels. More than 100 teams with 14 heavy pieces of artillery, among them 2 Parrott guns, 1,500 horses and mules, great quantities of clothing and provisions.”
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