General Rosecrans rallies the Union troops at Stones River; Kurz and Allison 1891 (Image via Wikipedia)

The 272 men of the 35^th Indiana seemed to be spending most of the Battle of Stones River out of harms way. The fighting had been ongoing since 31^st December, when a Confederate force had smashed into the Union army’s right flank, almost winning a stunning victory for the Rebels. The Irishmen were positioned on the Army of the Cumberland’s left, and their only involvement on the 31^st was to help stem the flow of fugitives from the Confederate onslaught and fight off some enemy cavalry. The 1^st January also passed with little action, although there was some sharp skirmishing that night. The third day of battle found the 35^th placed with their brigade on the east side of Stones River, where they were positioned on a strategic hill commanding McFadden’s Ford. As the day wore on it looked like they would once again escape heavy fighting. Then, around 4 p.m., with only 44 minutes of daylight remaining on the 2^nd January 1863, the men of Major-General John C. Breckinridge’s Confederate division surged forward to the attack. Outgunned and outnumbered, the Indiana Irish were in for the fight of their lives.

As the regiment’s skirmishers fell back they described an ‘immense force’ of Rebels advancing en echelon towards their position. Colonel Bernard Mullen, commander of the 35th, promptly ordered his men to lie down and fix bayonets. The 51^st Ohio and 8^th Kentucky regiments to the Hoosier’s right were engaged first, and it was not long before the Confederates were almost on top of the 35^th’s position. The Irish calmly let them advance to within 30 or 40 paces of their line before they rose with a cheer and delivered a devastating volley into the right flank of the Rebels. The Confederate line seemed to stagger, and before it could recover Mullen and his men had reloaded and were firing again. The attackers fell in droves. Despite their initial shock, the Confederate’s responded, and the 35^th began to suffer from artillery fire, particularly solid shot which ploughed through the left of their line. The two sides hammered away at each other from close range for some twenty minutes, but Mullen was aware that the sheer weight of enemy numbers would force him to retreat without support from the second line. He went to the 99^th Ohio positioned behind the Irishmen to request their assistance and attempt a bayonet charge, but they would not come forward to the 35^th’s support. Instead the 99th fell back to the main Federal positions on the west side of the river.

As the bloody exchange continued the entire brigade line was now at risk of collapse; the 79^th Indiana to the Irishmen’s left were also heavily engaged and the 51^st Ohio and 8^th Kentucky to their right were being forced back. Colonel Mullen takes up the story: ‘At the end of forty-three minutes of a desperate and unequal contest, I found the enemy completely around my flanks. To prevent a useless destruction of life, or entire capture of my regiment, I gave the order to retire. I was obliged to repeat it, and even then the brave fellows complied reluctantly-many refused, and they were either killed or captured.’

Part of the ground through which the Confederates attacked on 2nd January 1863 (Photo: Angela Gallagher)

The 35^th fell back to the river some 400 yards to the rear, where Mullen rallied the men. Despite the initial Confederate success, the assault was an ill-advised one due to the nature of the terrain. Breckenridge had been aware of this before the attack, but had been forced to proceed with it on the express orders of General Bragg. Having already sustained heavy casualties as a result of the resistance of the 35^th and their comrades, they had taken the hill which was their objective. Now they not only faced fresh Union regiments, but no less than 45 artillery pieces arranged hub to hub by Captain John Mendenhall on the river’s west bank to fire into their exposed position (1). The maelstrom of shot and shell which ensued devastated the Confederate attack. The reformed remnants of the 35^th contributed to this fire and together with their comrades surged forward with a cheer in pursuit of the retreating Rebels. Along with men of the 51^st Ohio the Irishmen succeeded in capturing one of the Confederate batteries.

Mullen was full of praise for his men after the fight: ‘I feel obliged to call attention to the splendid conduct of my adjutant, John Scully. His escape was a miracle, freely exposing himself, and cheering the men throughout the action to deeds of valor. Serg. Major Robert Stockdale fought desperately, but coolly; he deserves particular mention, not only for his conduct on this field, but for the faithful and cheerful manner he has ever performed his duties. To Dr. Averdick, my surgeon, I must acknowledge valuable services; brave and defiant on the field, he is kind and attentive in the hospital wards. Quartermaster Igoe was on the field, attentive to the wounded, using every effort to have them carefully transported to the rear. By 10 o’clock that night not a wounded man of the Thirty-fifth could be found on the field. To Father Cooney, our chaplain, too much praise cannot be given. Indifferent as to himself, he was deeply solicitous for the temporal comfort and spiritual welfare of us all. On the field he was cool and indifferent to danger, and in the name of the regiment I thank him for his kindness and laborious attention to the dead and dying.’ The regiment left 22 men dead on the field and 115 men wounded, captured or missing, testament to the savage nature of the fighting. Mullen was asked to ascertain if any individuals were conspicuous in their gallantry or if any had disgraced themselves through cowardice. In his report he states that he asked for a list of names from each of the Company commanders, but received but one response, that all in the regiment were ‘a body of heroes.’

The Army of Tennessee retreated from Stones River on the night of 3^rd January, and the Union had won the field. The campaign for Middle Tennessee was not over, but an important step had been taken. Soon the Union would be able to look beyond Tennessee and towards Atlanta and the Deep South. There was to be much hard fighting ahead however, and the Irishmen of the 35^th Indiana would be in the thick of it throughout.

(1)   Cozzens 1991:191

References & Further Reading

Official Records  20 (Part 1). Report of Colonel Bernard F. Mullen, Thirty-Fifth Indiana Infantry

Cozzens, Peter 1991. No Better Place to Die: The Battle of Stones River

McDonough, James Lee 1980. Stones River: Bloody Winter in Tennessee

Civil War Preservation Trust Stones River Page

Stones River National Battlefield

For more on the 35th’s Chaplain Father Cooney see:

Schmidt, James M. 2010. Notre Dame and the Civil War: Marching Onward to Victory and the Notre Dame in the Civil War Blog

The Battle of Lookout Mountain, Kurz & Allison lithograph 1889 (Image via Wikipedia)

Amongst Whitaker’s Brigade were the 168 officers and men of the 35th Indiana Infantry. The unit was also known as the ’1st Irish Regiment’ and was under the command of Irish-American Colonel Bernard F. Mullen. Many of the men would still have worn their distinctive green kepis that they had been issued with to distinguish them as an Irish unit in 1861. The task facing the Irish Hoosier’s was not lost on Colonel Mullen. Having crossed the creek and formed line of battle on the centre-right of the Brigade’s first line he began to realise the challenges he faced: ‘Now for the first time I understood our business to be to sweep the Lookout Valley and carry the enemy’s works on the mountain by storm. The route across the spurs of the mountain was exceedingly rough, deep gorges, rugged ascents, and sharp projecting rocks rendering the march toilsome and tedious’.

The Craven's House, Lookout Mountain, where the 35th Indiana were heavily engaged (Image via Wikimedia Commons)

The Irishmen set off and eventually found themselves advancing along a ledge known as the ‘bench’ which skirted the mountain about two-thirds of the way to the summit. They marched through the mist for almost three miles behind a New York Brigade under Colonel David Ireland, whose troops along with other units cleared much of the western bench of Confederates, before rounding the point of the mountain and stalling at a Rebel position located at a homestead known as the Craven’s House.  As the fighting intensified, the moment of action had arrived for Whitaker’s Brigade and the 35th Indiana. They had been subjected to sporadic fire from skirmishers and Confederate sharpshooters on the summit during their long march, and now the opportunity had come for them to fully engage the enemy. After 1pm Whitaker’s Brigade reached Ireland’s positions at the Craven’s House and yard. After pausing momentarily, Colonel Mullen sent his men in shouting ‘Up bullies with a cheer! Charge at a run! Steady! Steady! Thirty- fifth!’. The troops roared ‘Faugh-a-ballagh!’ (Clear the Way) and sprang forward (2). Mullen ordered the charge as he felt he could not preserve an ordered line under the severe enemy fire. The men entered the first set of enemy works successfully without firing a shot. After a short pause they charged once again and secured the Confederate’s second line. The Irishmen captured a number of prisoner’s and secured two piece’s of enemy artillery, with the latter being turned over to the 40th Ohio (3). General Whitaker then instructed the Irish to hold what they had gained; Mullen ordered Sergeant Jim Somers, the Regimental Color Bearer, to plant the flag on the enemy works. The 41st Ohio passed through the 35th Indiana’s line to keep up the pressure on the Confederates.

The summit of Lookout Mountain in 1864; the difficult terrain is apparent

The foggy conditions on the mountain now reduced visibility to almost nothing, and both sides settled down to trading shots in the mist. As evening approached the 35th again moved forward to the front, relieving troops who had run out of ammunition. The Irishmen in turn expended their ammunition in firing at the invisible foe, and another unit moved up to replace them and hold the line. Their fighting completed for the day, Mullen and his men settled down for the night on the ground they had won.

The Confederates had no wish to renew the fight the next morning, as their position had now become untenable. They pulled their troops out during the night. The following morning the flag of the 8th Kentucky, part of the same Brigade as the 35th, flew from the summit of Lookout Mountain. The Irishmen went on that day to assist in the assault on the main Confederate positions on Missionary Ridge, which completed the defeat of the Army of Tennessee, and opened the door for an advance towards Atlanta.

The 35th Indiana’s part in the ‘Battle Above the Clouds’ was a significant one. They escaped with relatively few losses (they suffered 10 men wounded during the Chattanooga battles), though Captain James Fitzwilliams of Company G was shot through the arm and Private James Kearns of Company A was shot through the lungs. Mullen singled out Major Dufficy, Adjutant Gallagher, First Lieutenant John Maloney and Sergeant-Major John Powers for their conduct during the attack.

(1) Cozzens 1996: 168; (2) Ibid 1996: 184; (3) Ibid 1996: 186

References & Further Reading

Cozzens, Peter 1996. The Shipwreck of Their Hopes: The Battles for Chattanooga

Spruill, Matt & Forbes, Lowell 2003. Storming the Heights: A Guide to the Battle of Chattanooga

Official Records 31, Pt. 2. Report of Brigadier-General Walter C. Whitaker, U.S. Army, commanding Second Brigade

Official Records 31, Pt. 2. Report of Colonel Bernard F. Mullen, Thirty-Fifth Indiana Infantry

Battles for Chattanooga Museum

Chickamauga & Chattanooga National Military Park

Civil War Preservation Trust: Chattanooga

Indiana War Memorial (The 35th Indiana National Flag is preserved here)