part of a volume entitled History of the Ninety - Third Regiment Illinois Volunteer Infantry: From Organization To Muster Out --Statistics Compiled by Aaron Dunbar Sergeant, Company " B", Revised and Edited by Harvey M. Trimble, Adjutant
Submitted by Jeffrey MacAdam, to whom every reader should be grateful.
| Table of Contents | Previous Page | Next Page |
Part 5 of 5 of Chapter V.
We cannot forget the bold mountains before us,
Nor the camp in the valley, in years long ago,
The blue lines of battle--our flag floating o'er us--
On the heights far above us, a resolute foe.
From the crest of each mountain their cannon are bristling,
And the face of each hillside is grim with the Gray,
Where line above line their bay'nets are glist'ning,
Entrenched and awaiting the bloody affray.
Nor long do they wait, for the columns of Granger,
Out from the center, are sweeping the plain;
Are cheering and charging, regardless of danger,
Where death-dealing missiles are falling like rain.
On the right, the heroes of Hooker are forming:
They charge 'cross the valley; they cheer as they go;
The bold heights of Lookout are gallantly storming;
Are striving, are driving, pursuing the foe.
A sulfurous mantle, the mountain enfolding:
Creeps steadily onward and up the steep way,
Till shouts of the loyal are loud, on beholding
Our flag on the crest, at the close of the day.
The vale is now vacant where Sherman was camping;
They stem the dark flood at the hush of the night;
Along the broad valley their columns are trampling;
Are nearing the tunnel; are climbing the height.
On right, left and center the battle is raging
From brow of the mountain to valley and plain;
And doubtful the contest the Union is waging;
And woeful the sight of our comrades there slain.
The foe in confusion, in darkness retreating,
Encumbered the highways, as southward they flee;
The sound of the bugle and drums loudly beating--
Our army pursuing--well remembered by me.
We cannot forget the dead and the dying
That cumbered the crest, as the smoke cleared away;
When there, side by side like brothers, were lying
In death's calm repose, both the blue and the gray.
Nor can we forget the brave comrades we carried,
And laid, side by side, in the long shallow grave;
Nor the field on the hillside, where those heroes were buried,
To await the reward of the true and the brave.
On November 26th and 27th, the Ninety-Third Illinois constituted part of the force that pursued General Bragg's army after its defeat. The regiment marched to Grayson, Georgia, about fourteen miles from the battlefield, and went into camp there, in the evening, on the 27th; and, on the 28th, returned to the camp occupied on the 23rd inst., north of the Tennessee River, where it remained until the morning of the 3rd day of December. This ended the Chattanooga campaign. From October 1st to this date, the regiment moved by rail one hundred and one miles, and marched two hundred and ninety-nine miles.
| Table of Contents | Previous Page | Next Page |
[93rd Illinois Infantry Home Page]
Contact the webmaster
Web Hosting donated by: Infobahn Outfitters, Inc.
This document: http://illinois.outfitters.com/illinois/history/civil/cw93-hist-ch5e.html
Last update: Wednesday, 10-Jan-1996 22:59:55 CST