Last month we left off with the Michigan 9th Infantry in the middle of the Atlanta Campaign and marching toward Atlanta. Remember, the 9th was provost guard to General George H. Thomas and his headquarters, a position that was envied by their peers because their general location was away from the front lines. Between August 30 and September 1, 1864 the regiment found themselves in the strategically located town of Jonesboro, Georgia approximately 20 miles south of Atlanta.
Union troops destroying Macon & Western Railroad tracks. (The 9th took an active part in destroying the railroads here).
The Macon & Western Railroad, situated in the town, was an important Confederate supply route into Atlanta and the target of Union troops. The Battle of Jonesboro was a lopsided, two day battle, 70,000 Union troops to 20,000 rebels. Once Jonesboro fell, Atlanta followed. Over 1,600 prisoners were taken and sent north on trains, 500 a day, and guarded by members of the 9th and two other regiments under the command of Colonel Parkhurst(1).
Historians recognize this as one of the decisive turning points in our nation's history which set in motion Abraham Lincoln's re-election two months later.
On September 8, the 9th marched to Atlanta "and went into a very comfortable camp in the north part of the city, and resumed its duties as provost guards which became quite arduous"(2). Frank Lester of Company C wrote "
Atlanta, Monday, October 24. The regiment is still with General Thomas' Headquarters. The boys are interested in the coming election. Every loyal soldier will vote for Lincoln. The rebels want McClellan elected and when our prisoners heard he had been nominated they gave him three cheers"(3).
While General Thomas had previously left for Nashville to organize an army to oppose Confederate General John B. Hood, the Michigan 9th along with the 22nd left for Chattanooga on October 31 with headquarters train (train in this case means a walking procession and not an actual railroad train) and office equipment which included 96 wagons and 6 mule teams and 32 ambulances. The tedious, muddy march lasted six days before arriving in Chattanooga November 6 in time to give all the rank over the age of 21 to "vote for Lincoln"(4) on Tuesday, November 8. It is worth noting here that Christian Hiller was not yet of voting age, he was only 20, which I imagine would have been a huge disappointment for him to not be able to vote. Lincoln won 55% of the popular vote but 90.99% of the electoral college votes(4).
With General Thomas and Colonel Parkhurst both in Nashville (read more about The Battle of Nashville) the 9th was left as part of the encampment to hold Chattanooga throughout the winter. "The guard duty of the never-to-be-forgotten winter campaign at Chattanooga, with Hood's despairing forces preying upon our outskirts, was arduous in the extreme". (5) However, as winter eased, Christian and the 9th arrived in Nashville by rail on March 29, 1865 and assigned to General Thomas' headquarters once again as well as at the military prison there.
On April 9, just 11 days after Christian's arrival in Nashville, Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered to Union General Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Courthouse. Five days later President Lincoln would be shot and one day later he would die.
Frank Lester, a soldier in the 9th and member of Company C, wrote his account of the terrible news:
"Nashville, April 16, 1865
Yesterday morning there was to have been a grand military parade here and at night an illumination of the city. That morning the flags floated from every house and everyone was rejoicing over the good news of Lee's surrender. Just then the news came that the President was dead-that he had been assassinated! Then everything was in turmoil. No one believed it at first and the men rushed to the telegraph office and to Headquarters to learn if it was true. Everyone was dumbfounded and did not know what to say. At noon every flag
Nashville Daily Union newspaper, April 15, 1865, Second Edition.
was at half mast and was tied with black crepe. All the business places in the city were closed and every military headquarters was a place of mourning. There were several men shot by guards because they rejoiced over the death of Lincoln. A strong patrol was kept through the city all night".
Nashville, April 23.
There was a grand display here on Wednesday, the 19th. All the soldiers in the city led the procession, then came Gen. Thomas and his staff and others with their staffs, then the hearse-wagon drawn by twelve horses, one black and one white horse in each span. The wagon had three platforms. On the top one was the Stars and Stripes. The wagon was trimmed with black and white. After this came the fire companies and all the other societies, and then came the citizens. It was estimated that there were 40,000 in the procession, as it took an hour and 40 minutes to pass a given point. The soldiers all mourn the loss of Lincoln, our great martyred leader." (6)
So, there it is, the war is over and their leader dead at the hands of a Confederate sympathizer. Grief, anger, and vengeance felt on the Union side; jubilance on the Confederate side. Many thought it was a hoax or rumor. You have to wonder what both side thought the future would bring.
We've followed Christian from Michigan to Chattanooga, the Siege on Atlanta, back to Chattanooga and on to Nashville where he hears the joyous news of surrender and the fateful news of Lincoln's assassination. I intended for Christian's Civil War story to be a two-part entry however, since I am still waiting on material from the National Archive and would like to chronicle his life from May through his discharge from military service in September, I will be making the third and last post in September on this subject. See you next month!
References & Footnotes
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonesboro,_Georgia
Macon & Railroad, Harper's Weekly, October 1, 1864
(1), (2, 5 page 41) Historical Sketches of the Michigan 9th Infantry
(4) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_election,_1864
(3) Frank Lester, Company C, page 41 9th Michigan 9th Infantry Roster
(6 Frank Lester, Company C page 42 9th