Status - John Baer - 40th Indiana Regiment - Crittenden's Corps - Wood's Division - Wagner's Brigade
Battle of Stones River (Part 1)
As of the 29th, the 40th Indiana, with the rest of Wagner's brigade, had moved to within about two and a half miles of Murfreesboro, near a small wood known as the Round Forest. The 30th passed quietly as the right and center wings were moving into their final positions before the battle. Both Generals Bragg and Rosecrans had planned for their left wings to attack the other army's right on the morning of the 31st.
The Union right wing, anticipating a slow day as the action was expected to be on the Union left, was unprepared for the Confederate assault on the morning of the 31st. Division after division was routed and fell back toward the Nashville Pike. The Union attack on the left was called off, and several divisions were sent to help stop the collapse. Only a desperate regrouping, and the exhaustion of the Confederate troops, stabilized the right wing.
Early on the 31st, the 40th Indiana could hear the intense fighting on the Union right, and was moved several times due to other divisions being diverted to stop the Confederate advance. The 40th's movements were being executed slowly and sloppily; it was found that the commanding officer of the regiment, Colonel Blake, was intoxicated and in no shape to command. He was relieved and arrested, replaced by Lieutenant-Colonel Neff.
The 40th Indiana was now needed at the front. Here is an excerpt of the regimental report from Major Henry Leaming, who ended up commanding the 40th at the end of the day:
...In a few minutes another order came from Colonel Wagner, directing the regiment to the support of General Hascall's brigade, which was now engaging the enemy and occupying the ground which we had been resting on in the morning.
The regiment was reported to General Hascall, and was by him ordered to take a position, with the right resting at the old house near the toll-gate, and the left extending across the railroad, which struck the line about the colors, and lie down. This ground being elevated several feet above that occupied by the front line, placed the regiment in a position very much exposed to the fire of the enemy, which was at this time very heave, both artillery and musketry. Many of our men were wounded here, 1 mortally, and 3 were killed outright.
It was while lying here that I was advised that Lieutenant-Colonel Neff.was severely wounded in the arm, and had quit the field in consequence thereof. After having laid about three-fourths of an hour on this spot, we were ordered to relieve the Fifty-eighth Indiana, which occupied the advance line in our front. I called up the regiment and advanced at once, notifying the officer commanding the Fifty-eighth of my purpose. The Fifty-eighth was withdrawn, and the Fortieth took their place.
The 40th drove back an attack by one regiment, and remained in position for the evening.
Here is a recent picture of the area where the 40th Indiana was fighting during the 31st. As the battle was at the end of the year, the trees would be mostly bare. The railroad drops down in the distance, showing the higher ground that the Union forces occupied during this engagement. On the right is a monument to Union troops in the Stones River National Battlefield.
More Information:
- Link: War Operations, see Volume XX, Chapter XXXII, Part II, Correspondence, pp. 252-290.
- Link: War Operations, see Volume XX, Chapter XXXII, Part I, Reports, pp. 492-499
- The Civil War Day by Day, John S. Bowman, Ed. p. 91.
- Shelby Foote: The Civil War, A Narrative, Vol 1I, Fredericksburg to Meridian, pp. 84-96.
- Battles and Leaders of the Civil War, Vol 3. The Tide Shifts, pp, 600-607.
- Peter Cozzens, No Better Place to Die: The Battle of Stones River, pp. 61-166.
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