Pentecostal Possibilities or "The Story of My Life"
by Milton Lorenzo (M. L.) Haney
CHAPTER 33
On to Corinth
The two armies of Grant, and Buell, were under the command of General Halleck, and had been brought by his order to Pittsburg Landing, in view of the capture of Corinth. General Halleck was a very deliberate individual, like his friend Buell, especially when danger was on hand. The woods of Pittsburg Landing had been strewn with the dead bodies of both horses and men and no army should have been kept on those grounds ten days after the battle, only in case of extreme necessity. The Confederates buried their dead very superficially and seemed reckless as to the consequences, especially when they expected to leave the field in our hands. The destruction of animals, horses and mules, in a battle, furnishes a painful spectacle, and their burial to a sufficient depth for safety is a difficult task. For nearly a whole month, men, who fought at Shiloh, were detained on the field of death, till hardly one healthy man remained.
In that month's unnecessary delay the base was laid for suffering in after years which God only knows. Our chances there, and in the whole thirty days' march to Corinth, only seventeen miles away, were bad to secure even necessaries for the sick, though for a time after the battle of Shiloh, Illinois and other troops were gladdened with delicacies brought by Governor Yates, and others. The majority in control of the Illinois Legislature at the time refused to send supplies to the suffering army, and Governor Yates imperiled all he had to bring a boat load of home comforts to our suffering boys. It was an hour never to be forgotten, as I stood on the hill at Pittsburg Landing and saw the flag of "Dick Yates'" boat heave in sight, and I knew relief was at hand for many of our sufferers. Not long afterwards I went on board the vessel and found her laden with comforts. My old Captain's suit was bloody from handling the wounded, and I was a very rough looking preacher, but I fearlessly mingled with that elegant company, and they gladly gave me a sumptuous dinner! Dear Dick Yates! I could see his name inscribed in letters of gold, and would have his manly soul remembered till the world is on fire.
In these months of suffering I had the opportunity of my life of bring courage, and strength, and hope, to sick and dying men. God kept me strong to endure, and my heart revelled in its chances to help the body and the soul of numbers, concerning whom there is a record on high. Blessed be God.
General Halleck had one hundred thousand men, and ought to have gone into Corinth and capture the rebel army in three days, but he put in a month piling up breastworks day after day, and mile after mile, and let the whole rebel army slip out of Corinth with their arms, and largely with their supplies at last. We lost more by sickness and delays, than we would have lost in the two or three sharp battles which would have sufficed to capture the city. General Pope was down on the left Wing and would insist on opening battle with the enemy here and there, when a ball from Halleck's head-quarters would silence his guns. Pope would have captured a large proportion of the enemy if Halleck had allowed him to go through. It was apparent to many that they were retreating, and the soldiers, many of them, were wild to get at them. I went myself and begged of subordinate officers to move the generals to move Halleck, but Halleck was looking here and there till the bird had flown. It would seem from a Union standpoint, that the war was, probably, prolonged two years beyond where it would have gone, by this failure.
At last we were in the open country of Tennessee and headed for Memphis. The country was enchanting to us, and while other vegetables were scarce, it abounded in onions. Our men devoured those onions, tops and all! We now had plenty of money equal to gold, and seeing a company gathering at an onion patch where a middle aged woman as standing, I resolved to make the boys pay for the onions. Riding up with somewhat of assumed dignity as the boys were gathering, I addressed the lady as courteously as I could, and asked her what she would take for those onions. Her eyes fairly flashed when she responded with a haughty voice: "I raised these onions for myself, sir, and I don't propose to sell them." I suggested that these men had plenty of money and it was equal to gold, and they would give her fabulous prices for her onions in small quantities if she would sell them. She then gave me a fiery glance of her eye, saying in a loud, defiant tone: "I reckon I understand my own business, sir, and am not in need of any help!" I touched my hat and responded: "Very well, madam," and turned old Prince and rode away! Not a boy had moved a hand or shown the least disrespect, but I knew well the onions were doomed. In about thirty minutes I came by the patch and the lady was gone, and the boys had retired; but the onions had also disappeared. I doubt whether there was left even one green onion top in the enclosure. Southern women were like our own in those days--fearfully spunky. I was surprised in a few days to find the men coming up like magic, and would not wonder if the onions of that country saved the lives of a thousand men.