1863 (Part I)
 
 

GENERAL MCCLERNAND ASSUMES COMMAND

        In his book Major General John Alexander McClernand: Politician in Uniform, Richard Kiper suggested that the principal Union commanders in the western theater -- General Henry Wager Halleck, General Grant, General Sherman, and Admiral David Dixon Porter -- employed a series of delaying tactics in the last two months of 1862 to keep Illinois' "political general" McClernand from assuming command of an army to capture Vicksburg.  By the time McClernand finally received his orders (on December 23, 1862) and arrived in Memphis (on December 30th), the entire force he had recruited had gone ahead to attack Vicksburg without him.1-A  A frustrated and angry McClernand wrote his friend Abraham Lincoln,

Either accident or intention has so conspired to thwart the authority of yourself and the Secretary of War and to betry me, but with your support I shall not despair overcoming both.1-B
        The subsequent defeat at Chickasaw Bayou forced the Union army to retreat north along the Mississippi River and regroup.  On January 2, 1863, Union boats began transporting the army upriver, where they procured wood from a number of sources,1-C with one such "procurement" described by Daniel Allen:
We landed about sundown to get wood, they tied up near a splendid plantation, and loaded all the rails for wood, one whole company was detailed to bring the rails on board, and while they were tearing down the fence, others were pillaging the buildings close by, and after stealing everything they could carry off they set fire to a large cotton building with considerable cotton in it, and burned it down.1-D
        Such procurements, which Private Allen described as barbaric in his journal, were quite common in the Union army.  In the regimental history of the 48th Ohio, John Bering and Thomas Montgomery describe a typical "foraging party:"
. . . Foraging parties, or perhaps better known as "bummers," were sent out daily to procure all the provisions and forage that was required for the army. They left camp every morning, in advance of the infantry, and a curious sight they were to behold, as they galloped by at full speed, mounted on such "critters" as they could gather up on their expeditions. They were dressed in such clothes as suited their fancy -- the Union blue, the rebel gray and butternut, with a considerable number in citizens' attire.
        They were a jolly, mischievous set, eager and ready for any adventure. No sooner were they beyond the lines than they began their work. They slaughtered the pigs in the pens; the cattle and horses were driven from the fields; smokehouses and cellars were ransacked for flour, meal and bacon; the chickens and turkeys were captured in the yard; the mules were hitched to the family carriage, and the provisions stowed away in it, when it was driven to the next plantation, where the same ceremony was repeated. Toward evening the foragers returned to camp, driving the cattle before them, followed by a long line of vehicles of every description, loaded with all kinds of provisions, which was equally distributed among the different regiments.1-E
        With the end of the offensive campaign against Vicksburg, Union generals could no longer ignore the War Department's October 21st orders giving McClernand command of these same forces.  On January 4, 1863, General John McClernand assumed command of what he now called the Army of the Mississippi.2
        General McClernand organized his Army of the Mississippi into two Corps -- the 1st and 2nd. Brigadier General George Washington Morgan commanded the 1st Corps (which contained the 77th Illinois) and Major General William Tecumseh Sherman commanded the 2nd Corps.3
 
 

SAMUEL KIRKMAN AND THE BATTLE OF ARKANSAS POST

Company K -- 77th Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment (Colonel David Perkins Grier) -- 2nd Brigade (Colonel William Jennings Landram) -- 1st Division (Brigadier General Andrew Jackson Smith) -- 1st Army Corps (Brigadier General George Washington Morgan) -- Army of the Mississippi (Brigadier General John Alexander McClernand).4

        Fort Hindman, or Arkansas Post, was built as a trading post in 1686 by the French, ceded to the Spanish in 1765, was the site of a minor battle in the American Revolutionary War in 1783, and was a frontier settlement in the early 1800's. Arkansas Post was already a historic place when the Confederates, realizing its strategic location, built Fort Hindman there in 1862.5
        In late December of 1862, the Confederate commander of Fort Hindman, Thomas Churchill, began to station pickets at the junction of the Arkansas and White Rivers and (just a few miles downstream) at the junction of the Arkansas and Mississippi Rivers.  Now armed with "eyes and ears," he received continuous reports of Union traffic along these strategic waterways.  On December 29th, the very day of the main assault at Chickasaw Bayou, an unarmed Union transport towing two coal barges laden with ammunition was forced to beach and surrender to rebel guerrillas near the mouth of the White River.6  Clearly, Fort Hindman was becoming more of a threat to Union interests.
       On January 3, 1863, McClernand met with General Sherman and Admiral Porter in a meeting that Richard Kiper described "as stormy as the weather."  In an atmosphere ripe with disharmony, the three men discussed the possibility of an offensive strike upon the fort at Arkansas Post.7-A  In his memoirs, General Sherman recalled the discussion:

Knowing full well that we could not carry on operations against Vicksburg as long as the rebels held the Post of Arkansas, [from which] they could attack our boats coming and going [in] convoy, [I suggested] that we go up and clear out the Post.7-B
        McClernand, anxious to achieve a quick victory to raise the spirits of the troops and obtain glory for himself, agreed to the idea.   Admiral Porter, who, like Sherman, personally disliked General McClernand, agreed to assist in the operation.7-C
        On Monday, January 5, 1863, McClernand's Army of the Mississippi left Milliken's Bend, Louisiana, and sailed up the Mississippi and White Rivers to the Arkansas River.  McClernand's army consisted of 30,000 men, 50 transports and 13 gunboats commanded by Admiral David Porter.8
        Historian Victor Hicken describes their objective (Fort Hindman or Arkansas Post) as follows:
[It was] a square solid establishment, somewhat on the order of Fort Donelson, and stood at the bend of the Arkansas River about 50 miles from its juncture with the Mississippi River. High enough to command the surrounding countryside, it dominated the river with two 9-inch guns, an 8-inch gun, plus eight smaller guns. Trenches, more than a mile in length, defended the landward side. Inside the fort were a substantial number of defenders and a large collection of supplies.9
        On Saturday, January 10th, the army landed about three miles below Arkansas Post. The soldiers disembarked that afternoon and formed their lines for the inevitable battle the following day.  Musician Daniel Allen of the 77th Illinois described these preparations in a letter to his wife:
We landed about 2 miles below the fort, landed in the afternoon and marched through the swamp towards the fort, some of the time nearly up to our knees in mud and water, and got within about a mile of the fort, was ordered to halt and lie down and was not permitted to build a fire, and as it was a cold, chilly night I came very near to freezing.10-A
        Private William Bentley also recalled the night before battle: "We slept on our arms and waited for the dawn, expecting to wake the echoes of the morning with the roar of battle." 10-B
        "[The next day] was the Sabbath," Private Bentley remembered, "clear, calm and beautiful. It was a day made for rest and the worship of God, and not for human slaughter ... The morning wore away -- the sun rose high and passed the meridian." 11  The soldiers of Colonel William Jennings Landram's 2nd Brigade -- his own 19th Kentucky, the 97th Illinois, the 77th Illinois, the 108th Illinois and the 48th Ohio -- waited in a large cleared field north of the fort.11B [See Troop Movement Map].
        At about 1:30 p.m., cannons and gunboats began firing upon the fort.12 The Battle of Arkansas Post had begun. As Private Bentley observed:
Union artillery joined the [gunboat] cannonade with a brilliantly aimed barrage, and Sherman, who commanded the ground forces, moved the infantry to within 100 yards of the enemy works. The coordination of the entire movement was extremely smooth.13
        Fighting alongside Private Bentley's Company I was Private Samuel Kirkman's Company K. With the rest of their 77th Illinois regiment, they were positioned on the left wing of the Union Army, the side nearest the Arkansas River and Fort Hindman.14 Had Job Benjamin not deserted five months earlier, he would have been positioned on the opposite flank of the Union army, in Major General Frederick Steele's 1st Division of the 15th Army Corps.15
        Shortly after 3 p.m., General McClernand ordered the land assault of Arkansas Post to begin.16-A At the beginning of the battle, the 77th Illinois was held in reserve about 200 yards behind the 19th Kentucky, with orders to maintain that distance as the line of troops moved forward.  Musician Daniel Allen described the uneasy wait they endured:
Every few minutes the shells would come whistling over our heads among the tree tops, and the cannon makes my hand snap while I write.  Just this moment heard a sharp volley of musketry.16-B
       Shortly thereafter, the 77th Illinois was ordered to move to the right and take position behind the 83rd Ohio. Private Bentley remembered:
We had been there but a short time when an order came from our brigade commander to go in. And then we heard the well-known, clear, ringing voice of Colonel Grier commanding, "Seventy-seventh, forward, guide center, march." Every man sprang to his feet and with loud cheers and yells of defiance, rushed forward. The 83rd [Ohio] refused to advance, and we were compelled to charge over them in the face of a terrible fire from the fort... We took position about eighty yards in advance of them. Here we fired about 20 rounds, when Colonel Grier ordered another advance. We moved forward about fifty yards further, when we were considerably in advance of any other regiment in the division, and within easy pistol range of the works. It was here that we sustained our heaviest loss.17-A
       Musician Daniel Allen describes what happended to him during this stage of battle:
Our regiment was ordered to advance.  They started off on a double quick.  I jumped up to follow, and was just going to jump across a small stream when a shell struck on the bank about 3 feet ahead of me, throwing the dirt in my eyes making me entirely blind for a moment and turning me completely around.  It was some little time before I could tell which way the regiment had gone.  After I got over the shock a little I inquired the direction of our regiment, had proceeded a short distance when I met 2 men bringing in a wounded man on a litter, and as they were about tired out I put him on board.  Turned around and went back and soon came to Captain Irvin, a Capt. of our regiment, he was wounded in the neck and shot through the knee.  He begged for some brandy I went to a doctor close up and got a little.17-B
        It was probably during this same interval of heavy enemy fire that Samuel Kirkman received his proverbial "red badge of courage" -- a gunshot wound to the arm. According to him, the ball passed through his right arm about half way between his elbow and shoulder. He was not immediately treated, probably because of the difficulty in getting him to an army hospital. This situation was not uncommon in the early years of the war, as described by Historian Bell Irvin Wiley:
In early engagements, the wounded often had to get to hospitals under their own power or lie for long periods without [relief] ... During the war's first years, hospitals were crowded, poorly run, ill equipped, dirty dens of butchery and horror.18
        Regimental records indicate that Samuel Kirkman was "wounded slightly in the arm." It also reported that he was absent from the January 20th roll call, having been on the hospital boat since shortly after the battle.19 Years later, Samuel Kirkman maintained that his war injury prevented him from doing heavy farm work.
        By 4 p.m., the 77th Illinois was positioned with three other regiments (the 67th Indiana, the 97th Illinois and the 118th Illinois) in a line directly in front of Fort Hindman.  [See Troop Movement Map].  Behind entrenched rifle pits extending from the fort away from the river, enemy regiments fought to stop or slow the Union advance. The 6th Texas Infantry was positioned directly across from the 77th Illinois and was likely the source of the minie ball that struck Samuel Kirkman.20
        There was never any question about the outcome of the battle. McClernand's troops numbered over 30,000. Confederate forces, under the command of General Thomas James Churchill, numbered only 5,000.21-A  William Wiley, who was gravely ill with malaria and therefore missed the battle, described the final stages of the battle from accounts given to him by his comrades in arms:
Our color bearer, John Hornbaker being knocked down by a piece of a rebel shell, Lieutentant Jenkins of Co C grabbed up the flag and ran for the rebel fort and planted it upon their works just as the rebs ran up the white flag and the 77 scaled the rebel fort and was the first to enter the fort and was given the post of honor to guard the fort and prisoners.21-B
        Despite a valiant struggle, Fort Hindman surrendered to Union troops at about 5 p.m.21-C  Credit was bestowed upon a number of Union regiments, particularly the 16th Indiana and 83rd Ohio regiments. The 77th Illinois, positioned adjacent to these two regiments in General William J. Landram's Brigade, was also given a great deal of credit by General Landram after the battle, as follows:
It is with pride that I mention the names of Colonel John Warner of the 108th [Illinois] Colonel D.P. Grier of the 77th [Illinois], and Colonel F.S. Rutherford of the 97th [Illinois] ... The loss sustained by the 108th and 97th was not very great considering the destructive fire of the enemy's artillery and infantry. The chief loss was in that of the 77th (Col. Grier), the killed and wounded in that Regiment numbering 45 men.22
        The valor of the 77th Illinois was also noticed by their division commander, General A.J. Smith, who, in the words of Private Bentley, "could have conferred no greater compliment on the 77th [Illinois] when he placed Colonel Grier and his regiment in charge of the captured works."  Private Bentley continued:
When the white flag went up, the 77th went down the ditch and over into the fortifications with a rush. We claim to have been the first Regiment that entered the fort, and the first to raise our flag over the captured works.23-A
       As explained by Terrence Winschel, editor of The Civil War Diary of a Common Soldier, this was an important point:
Several regiments claim the honor of being the first to scale the parapets and plant their colors on the fort.  The fact that the 77th was given the post of honor to guard the fort and prisoners lends credence to the claim made here by Wiley on behalf of the regiment.23-B
        During the Battle of Arkansas Post, the Union army sustained casualties of 1,061, of which 161 were dead and 900 were wounded.24 The six regiments making up Colonel Landram's Brigade suffered 9 dead and 76 wounded. The 77th Illinois suffered 6 killed and 39 wounded, or more than half of the brigade's losses.25 Upon entering the fort, Union soldiers came upon a terrible site, as described by William Wiley:
The ground was literally covered with dead men and horses all cut to pieces and strewn in every direction where our gun boats and batteries ahd done their deadly work.26-A
       The men of the 77th Illinois Volunteer Infantry had at last "seen the elephant," an expression of the day that meant actual combat experience.  Private William Bentley recalled the aftermath of battle:
Having fought and won the battle, the next thing in order was to secure the fruits of the victory. This was done by securing the arms and munitions of war which fell into our hands, by sending the prisoners north for safe keeping, and destroying the works so that they could be of no further use to the rebels.26-B
        Rebel prisoners, including General Churchill, were loaded onto boats the same night as the battle and left for St. Louis on January 12th.27
        After January 12, 1863, McClernand's Army of the Mississippi ceased to exist, General Morgan's 1st Corps (including the 77th Illinois) became known as the 13th Corps and General Sherman's 2nd Corps became known as the 15th Corps.28 On Wednesday, January 14th, most regiments that had fought at Arkansas Post (including Samuel Kirkman's) boarded boats and proceeded downriver to Young's Point, Louisiana, arriving there on January 22nd.29-A As Terrence Winschel noted in his book The Civil War Diary of a Common Soldier,
The camps in Louisiana were situated along the levees to escape the flood water of the Mississippi River.  Cleanliness and sanitation were impossible; the men lived in a vast sea of mud.  Freezing rains added to the sufferings of the troops, who sickened and died by the hundreds.29-B
        Private William Bentley remembered there encampment there:
We were a short distance above, and in full view of the rebel stronghold -- Vicksburg. Our encampment was in a beautiful mudhole just inside the levee, protected from the rising waters of the Mississippi by that expensive but necessary work of art.30
        Soon after the troops landed at Young's Point, General Grant made his appearance there and assumed command. His first orders were to resume work on a canal that had been attempted one time before -- a canal that would divert the flow of the Mississippi River around Vicksburg so Union gunboats could travel unmolested around the Confederate stronghold. The 77th Illinois was engaged in this activity, which took a tremendous toll in sickness and morale. At one point, over half of the regiment was unable to report for duty because of illness.31-A Some progress was initially made in building the Williams-Grant Canal (as it was officially known), but a sudden rise in the river caused the canal to fill with backwater and sediment.  At one point, two large, steam-driven dredges were brought in, but Confederate artillery fire turned them away.31-B  In the end, the canal project proved once again to be unsuccessful.
        The Company K Muster Roll for January/February, 1863 showed Samuel Kirkman to be present.32 On March 7th, the paymaster made an appearance at the 77th Illinois, paying each soldier up to October 31, 1862. As a private, Samuel Kirkman received about 20 dollars. Fellow private William Bentley commented, "as Uncle Sam's liabilities were greater than his resources at that time, we put up with what we could get without grumbling." 33
        On Monday, March 9th, Samuel Kirkman and the 77th Illinois boarded the steamer "Hiawatha" and left for Milliken's Bend, about 20 miles upriver.34-A Musician Daniel Allen described the short trip:
The boat started up the river about one o'clock, landed again about 3 p.m. at Milliken's Bend.  The regiment formed on the levee and marched out to the camping ground, about a mile. . . Heard a heavy cannonading towards Vicksburg, did not know what it was for.  Had a prospect of a rainy night, went to bed, soon after came a thunder storm and rained nearly all night.34-B
        The following day, Daniel Allen continued the description in his journal:
Did not get up till after daylight, still raining hard.  Heard another soldier of our regiment died last night, was brought up with the regiment yesterday, and died before morning.35-A
        In a letter to home, Daniel Allen was even more candid about the death that surrounded him::
The more [additional soldiers] we have, the worse we are off.  The more there is to die and be buried like brutes in the wet swampy ground, there are but very few men killed by the rebels to what there is that died by disease.  Two men were buried yesterday, and one today out of our regiment.  Some are buried without even a rough box to put them in but put in the ground and covered up like a beast.35-B
         In the same letter to his wife, Daniel Allen mentioned that Capt. Stevens [probably Edwin Stevens of his own Company E] "told me he had been trying to get me discharged, I have been expecting to hear of some such thing as that."  Shortly thereafter -- sometime in late March of 1863 -- his longstanding desire to be relieved from the anguish of war was granted.  After seven months of deprivation and ill health, Daniel Allen was discharged from the Union army and sent home to Peoria.35-C
 
 

SAMUEL KIRKMAN ASSUMES NEW DUTIES AT MILLIKEN'S BEND

Company K -- 77th Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment (Colonel David Perkins Grier) -- 2nd Brigade (Colonel William Jennings Landram) -- 1st Division (Brigadier General Andrew Jackson Smith) -- 13th Army Corps (Brigadier General George Washington Morgan) -- Army of the Mississippi (Brigadier General John Alexander McClernand).36

        On March 29th, almost three weeks after their arrival, Samuel Kirkman was detailed to the Regimental Quartermaster, David McKinney of Peoria.37 Since the Quartermaster is responsible for providing troops with quarters, clothing, and equipment, it can be assumed that Samuel Kirkman was involved with one or more of these duties.38
        On Easter Sunday (April 5th), the paymaster made another appearance and paid the regiment for four additional months. Private Samuel Kirkman received 52 dollars.39 Records show that he was present for roll call five days later, on April 10, 1863.40
        On three consecutive days, General A.J. Smith's Division (including the 77th Illinois) was reviewed, first by General Smith, then by General McClernand and finally in a grand review before General Grant on April 9th. Private William Bentley could guess what these reviews meant:

By this time we knew that these reviews meant active service, and we hailed the prospect of an advance as a harbinger of deliverance from our monotonous camp inside the levee. We began to think that before long we would conquer, or be conquered, on the other side of Vicksburg.41
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© 2002 by Bart Benjamin
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1863 (Part l) FOOTNOTES

1-A.  Kiper, pp. 146-155.
1-B.  Ibid., p. 155.
1-C.  Winschel, pp. 31-32.
1-D.  Daniel Allen journal entry, Jan. 5, 1863, courtesy Peoria Historical Society Collection, Bradley University Library.
1-E.  Bering and Montgomery, from the website created by Don D. Worth and Stephen E. Williams at
http://www.48ovvi.org/index.html, Chapter X.
2.  Ibid., pp. 161.
3.  Bentley, p. 113.
4.  Johnson and Buel, III, 460; Boatner, p. 554.
5.  from an Arkansas Post National Memorial brochure written by Sandra L. Myres and published by the National Park Service.
6.  Kiper, p. 157.
7-A.  Ibid., pp. 158-159.
7-B.  Sherman, p. 319.
7-C.  Ibid., p. 320.
8.  Boatner, p. 25.
9.  Hicken, pp. 144-145.
10-A. Daniel Allen letter, Jan. 13, 1863, courtesy Peoria Historical Society Collection, Bradley University Library.
10-B.  Bentley, p. 114.
11.  Ibid., p. 115.
11B.  Edwin C. Bearss and Lenard E. Brown, "Troop Movement Map -- Battle of Arkansas Post, Forenoon, January 11, 1863,"  Arkansas Post National Memorial: Structural History Post of Arkansas, 1804-1863 and "Civil War Troop Movement Maps January, 1863."  (Washington, D.C.: United States Department of the Interior, National Park Service, 1971).
12.  Bentley, p. 115.
13.  Hicken, p. 146.
14.  from Troop Movement Map obtained from Eddie Wells, Chief of Interpretation and Resource Management, Arkansas Post National Memorial.
15.  from Troop Movement Map; Johnson and Buel, III, p. 460.
16-A.  Boatner, p. 25.
16-B.  Daniel Allen journal entry, Jan. 11, 1863, courtesy Peoria Historical Society Collection, Bradley University Library.
17-A.  Bentley, p. 116.
17-B.  Daniel Allen journal entry, Jan. 11, 1863.  Consulting Bentley's regimental history, it appears that Allen is referring to Captain Robert Irwin of Company B, who died shortly thereafter from the wounds he received.
18.  Wiley, p. 141.
19.  These facts were excerpted from 1) an affidavit filed by Samuel Kirkman on September 14, 1888 and witnessed by Harry Lamboley and John Buckley and 2) the report from the Adjutant General's Office dated October 12, 1880.
20.  from Troop Movement Map.
21-A.  Bentley, p. 118; Boatner, p. 25.
21-B.  Winschel, p. 33.
21-C.  Bentley, p. 118; Boatner, p. 25.
22.  Bentley, pp. 122-123.
23-A.  Ibid., pp. 117-118.
23-B.  Winschel, p. 33 (footnote 12).
24.  Hicken, p. 147.
25.  Bentley, p. 118.
26-A.  Winschel, p. 33.
26-B.  Bentley, p. 123.
27.  Elisha C. Matteson, "Dear Sister -- They Fight to Whip," ed. Edward Eckert, Civil War Times Illustrated, May/June, 1991, p. 17.
28.  Boatner, p. 554.
29-A.  from Adjutant General's Report, page 682; Illinois at Vicksburg. p. 239.
29-B.  Winschel, pp. 34-35.
30.  Bentley, p. 124.
31-A.  Reid, p. 441; Bentley, p. 126.
31-B.  Winschel, p. 38 (footnote 4).
32.  from Co. K Muster Roll, from the National Archives.
33.  Bentley, p. 128.
34-A.  Ibid.
34-B.  Daniel Allen journal entry, Mar. 9, 1863, courtesy Peoria Historical Society Collection, Bradley University Library.
35-A.  Daniel Allen journal entry, Mar. 10, 1863, courtesy Peoria Historical Society Collection, Bradley University Library.
35-B.  Daniel Allen letter, Mar. 4, 1863, courtesy Peoria Historical Society Collection, Bradley University Library.
35-C.  Daniel Allen letter, Mar. 4, 1863; Korn, p. 70; Bentley, p. 57.
36.  Johnson and Buel, III, 460.
37.  from Co. K Muster Roll, from the National Archives. Name of Quartermaster was given in Bentley, p. 32.
38.  definition is from Webster's New World Dictionary.
39.  Bentley, p. 129.
40.  from Co. K Muster Roll, from the National Archives.
41.  Bentley, p. 130.

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Last Updated: September 17, 2002