Last to Leave the Field: The Life and Letters of First Sergeant Ambrose Henry Hayward, 28th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry

Chapter 9: “If a Battle, Let it Begin with the Riseing of the Sun”

Chapter 9 “If a Battle, Let it Begin with the Riseing of the Sun” THE CHATTANOOGA CAMPAIGN, SEPTEMBER 24, 1863–JANUARY 10, 1864 Hayward and his fellow soldiers traveled aboard railroad cars for ten days, arriving at Duck River Bridge, Tennessee, on October 4, after covering a distance of 1,120 miles. The journey was a harrowing one, taking them through West Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky. Along the route, they encountered multitudes of friendly citizens, especially in Ohio, where a heated gubernatorial campaign was in full swing. This election gained notoriety because it pitted Copperhead Clement Vallandigham against Union candidate John Brough. William Roberts of Company D remembered the election scenes vividly: We reached London [Ohio], about 10 o’clock a.m. Here they were having a Brough meeting, & we got a glorious reception. Little girls beautifully dressed in white with red & blue sashes waved the American flag, & a band of music struck up its enlivening strains. Everybody was for John Brough. I asked a man how many votes Vallandigham would get there. He said “about three.” We regretfully bade this delightful place good-bye, & continued our journey. But at Xenia, the climax of our happiness was reached. No sooner had the train stopped at this beautiful and wealthy town, than crowds of beautiful girls, ladies, children, & gentlemen swarmed around the cars with baskets full to repletion with every luxury. We were loaded down with every delicacy, & the beaming eye, the cordial welcome, the unmistakeable “love of the soldier” were shown. We had an 176 The Life and Letters of First Sergeant Ambrose Henry Hayward hour here, but it seemed a moment. I conversed with two or three very pretty, & very intelligent young ladies, and we all enjoyed ourselves hugely, when the envious whistle called us away. Three rousing cheers for the loyal people of Xenia went up from the train, as we slowly & regretfully rolled away. Bright eyes bade us adieu, & hundreds of white handkerchiefs bade us God-speed. May God bless this noble little City; it was an oasis in the desert of our weary soldier-life, & cheered our hearts for many an hour. Next in this beautiful Ohio Valley, come we to Dayton the home of the Arch traitor. But no whisper of treason was heard. As the train rolled into the depot every man on the train cheered for John Brough & groaned for Vallandigham. The populace acquiesced, and shouted for Brough also. One fool shouted for Vallandigham. Twenty or more soldiers jumped from the train, caught him & beat him so severely that he will be unable to vote for his favorite traitor. The spirit of the troops was so universally against Vallandigham that it will be productive of the greatest good in the coming election.1 Several accidents marred the trek. On September 30, another train collided with the 28th Pennsylvania’s train at Bellton Station. Hayward jumped from the cars in the nick of time to avoid being crushed. “I shudderd to see the wreck,” Hayward wrote, expecting to find all of his company smashed to pieces. Miraculously, no one was killed. Other accidents also disturbed him. Many soldiers in the 7th Ohio became uproariously drunk and recklessly climbed on the outside of the cars. One soldier was struck in the head by a bridge, while another fell from the cars to have his legs crushed. Hayward felt the sickening thud as the car rolled over him. He could not understand why so “many of the brave Soldiers who for 2 years have withstood hardships & escaped the enemys bullets became perfectly reckless for their lives.” Hayward expressed himself much relieved when this “long and fearfull journey” finally came to an end.2 The cause of this tortuous trek stemmed from a Union military disaster in northwest Georgia. On September 19–20 the Union Army of the Cumberland had been defeated by the Confederate Army of Tennessee. In the aftermath, the routed bluecoats withdrew to the vital supply center at Chattanooga, but quick-moving Confederates cut the two Union-controlled railroads that brought supplies into the city. Major General Braxton Bragg positioned his Confederate army on the principal heights surrounding Chat- 177 “If a Battle, Let it Begin with the Riseing of the Sun” tanooga: Missionary Ridge and Lookout Mountain. Now, with forty thousand Union soldiers completely cut off and starving, President Lincoln called on reinforcements from Major General Ulysses S. Grant’s Union Army of the Tennessee and...