Measles and fever, it is reported, came early to the soldiers of the 13th Regiment and continued with them to the end of service.

In the fall of 1862, the Illinois Central railroad built an iron bridge in place of the wooden truss work across the river. The bridge was constructed on the old piers. This work was completed without stopping a single train.

Mr. Joseph C. Miller, A Baptist minister from Amboy, was appointed chaplain of the 13th Regiment and was described as " a man of fine appearnace and good address."

HOME FOLKS BOOST SOLDIERS' MORALE

(From "The History of the 13th Regiment, IL Volunteer Infantry")

When the thousand men came to camp they brought something more than numbers. Some things that could neither be counted nor weighed - soem things that could either prove a tower of strength, or a source of weakness to them, as they pushed on into the battle line. Back of these men were a thousand homes, more or less. Each of these turned to the camp in Dixon. In these were fathers and mothers, wives, sisters and sweethearts. In these were well-wishers, tears and prayer; from them came many letters filled with inspiration, or as some cases discouragement. We called our regiment, "One thousand strong." But was it not true that one half of our strength was never seen in either the camp or the battlefield? It was found in the homes and hearts left behind."

GREEN TROOPS SOON SEASONED

Soon after the firing on Fort Sumter, a shot which heralded the start of the Civil War, it is recorded by historians that "the prairie was ablaze with patriotism." In less than a month, most of the men who were to make up the 13th Regiment of the Illinois Volunteers Infantry had gathered at Dixon. The date was May 9, 1861. History says that these men were "new, not seasoned and somewhat green; yet that was no fault of the timber." In the long war years ahead of them they were to meet hardships with great valor and courage. One historian of the regiment wrote: "If long marches and sharp fighting be glory, then we got enough to settle the froth on our patriotism of 1861, and cooled to the point of going slow before taking a contract of like size again."

Recollections of those who served in the 13th Regiment indicate that the Civil War armies, like those of modern times, had their "gold-bricks," idlers and others who rebelled against authority. The following account is taken from "This History of the 13th Reg."

"Of course the guard-house was a general resort for malefactors, but by some it was rather enjoyed than otherwise, if the term was not too protracted. This was a common punishment, and yet others were used, soem of which were discontinued, when we got tot he front. I note from memory and a diary, some such as these: "Tied to a tree" - "gaged" - "made to stand on a barrel soem hours for refusing to attend religious services." I suppose the punishment in this case was for disobedience of orders. "While all the men who enlisted pledged themselves to obey allt he commands of their superior officers and, of course, ought to have kept their word, yet it was hardly wise on the part of the officers in volunteer service to absolutely demand attendance upon such service, and later on it was abandoned. The fact is, that many of the officers, to begin with, were not prepared to know what should be insisted upon and what should be left to the good sense and heart of the men.

"I remember one wild, young Irishman, who had never controlled himself nor been controlled, who set out on a general course of wild insubordination. Falling into the hand of drillmaster Brown, for some misdemeanor, he was loaded with a full knapsack and set on a double-quick with a right about face at the end of about ten rods, after this had gone on for half an hour he grew tame, and later I heard him say, he deemed it wise to fall in with the rules."

An historian of the 13th recalls his early days of training - "Drills of all kinds - from "squad" to battalion" was at once instituted and kept up in a most vigorous way. It seemed hard, and was hard work, but it served us well in after months, whether on parade or on the march or in battle line. Our friends had no occasion to feel ashamed of us."

From the 1863 Newspaper - The danger ot life and limb to soldiers were many besides those on the battlefields. In the history of the 13th, is the account of an outfit during a stay in Memphis. One of the batteries was removed from the boat to the levee. The incline from the landing to the city level was steep and paved with heavy cobblestones. One of the guns had been unloaded and was being pulled up the hill. The men mounted the caisson in which the ammunition was packed. The box was full of percussion shells and must not have been properly packed, for as a wheel struck a stone, one of the shells exploded and that set off the rest and four men were killed or wounded. A few months later the same thing occured as a battery was crossing the railroad at Huntsville AL with the same tragic results.

January 14, 1863 - From daylight to dark it continued to rain in perfect torrents; not even holding up long enough for us to cook anything. The new Monitor came up from the Mississippi river. She carries two 13 inch Dahlgren guns and is one of the best gun-boats ever built. Toward night it began to grow cold and we had to leave the decks and hunt places below. Hartman and I laid (not slept) down on some cord-wood near the boiler. About 12 midnight it began to snow and we lay shivering till morning, which brought us no abatement of the storm.

On July 4, 1863 at 10 a.m. the white flag went up on the fortifications of Vicksburg Mississippi - one of the most significant victories in the war. Members of the 13th Dixon Regiment recalled the event as "the best 4th of July since 1776."

Sunday July 5, 1863 - Our division took the road at 2 a.m. to reinforce General Sherman who is after Johnston. The day was excessively hot. Passed through the fortifications that have been erected as our rear line. We came 15 miles and camped just at dark.

July 6, 1863 - Spent most of the day in a very pleasant camp. We found blackberries in great profusion and they were sought after and enjoyed. This kind of fruit was without doubt a great preserver of health during the siege. Much foraging was done during the day. Came two miles ot the Big Black River.

July 7 - Started early, crossed the river on pontoons, came 12 miles and camped near Bolton. The heat and dust as very severe on the army. Many men were sunstruck and some died of the heat. We passed General Tuttle's division. A kind providence gave us a show of rain this evening.

July 8 - Skirmish with the enemy on the part of the cavalry was carried on. Our division started in the afternoon and marched some ten miles in the vicinity of Clinton. We are laying in line of battle. Losses for the day small. The Fourth Iowa skirmished into taking a number of prisoners and killing and wounding some.

In the records of the 13th Dixon Regiment it is recounted how, in 1863, a band of southern prisoners en route north and passing the encampment of the 13th, called out to them: "All fashionable Southern gentlemen took a trip north during the summer months."

During the battle of Lookout Mountain in 1863 - the 13th Dixon Regiment is credited with taking 258 prisoners of war.

Christmas 1863 for the men of the 13th was a dreary day. The dawn came cold and cloudy and the regiment celebrated the holiday with a march of 16 miles over a rough road and put up for the night in the vicinity of the city of Larkinsville, Alabama. One member of the regiment later recalled:

"We rolled up in our blankets and looked up at the twinkling stars until they put us to sleep." After a rainy night and on a morning equally as cold and wet, the outfit moved to the west. Marching along the railroad tracks,the infantry regiment left the more common road to the wagon trains and artillery. They moved in this way for about ten miles and at 3 o'clock in the afternoon went into camp at Woodville, a small railroad station. The regiment remained there for the remaining days of the year, all of which were cold, wet and disagreeable.

In 1864, their term of enlistment finished, the members of the 13th (Dixon) Regiment, IL Volunteer Infantry, were homeward bound. Amos H. Miller, historian, writing in the annals of the 13th Regiment saif of that memorable date: Thursday, May 26th at 9:45 p.m. the train started us homeward. We went by the way of Decatur, Alabama, and Pulaski Tennessee and arrived at Nashville at 11 a.m. on the 27th. As the train rolled up the great open valley from Franklin to Nashville, one of the men standing on the top of the cars said, "What a fine place for a great battle" It was here at Franklin that General Hood dashed his forces so fiercely against General Thomas' ranks and following it up to Nashville was defeated; and it was down this valley that his army went to pieces, never to gather again to do any great service.

On the 28th we went on board the steamer Imperial and started down the Cumberland river. The greatest object that met our gaze was Fort Donelson. It was here that our army on those terrible days and nights of Feb. 1862, fought and suffered and won. It was here that General Grant lifted himself up before the eyes of the public, and from this time his sun of glory never set, nay, was scarcely clouded. Donelson will be memorable in the records of the Civil war, as one of the favorable turning points of our cause and one of the disastrous points of the Confederate army.

At 2 p.m. on the 29th we were out of the Cumberland and in the Ohio river, at 6:30 p.m. on the same day, and were safely l anded at the wharf at Cairo Illinois.

We spent the night on the streets without shelter, waiting for railroad transportation. At 11 a.m. of the 30th we were again moving on the Illinois Central railroad, the same over which we had started out about three years before, now we were northbound, then were going south. Then we were ready for glory and experience and now we had much of experience and some of glory. Then we were mostly boys, now we were men, if severe experience and hard service could bring it about. But the boys were not all on the train this morning, and we did not hear the ringing voice of our gallant Colonel Wyman as on that other morning.

It is hushed. We are all more sober. We have seen sad sights. But the flag we bore is still given to the breeze. It is dearer, it means more, it is not fine silk at so much a yard, it is the baptized emblem of liberty. But it did not even yet float over all our dominion, yet six hundred thousand brave men were in the field and on the rampart to say that it should.

13th Infantry 60th Anniversary

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