previous next

[333] were sent to reenforce us in a very critical moment, and I cannot speak in too high commendation of these gallant officers and their commands. Nobly did they discharge their duty, deserving well the title of Indiana's brave soldiers, and will receive no doubt, at your hands, and of the State, as Indiana men always have, full credit for their hard-earned fame.

Well may Indiana be proud of her noble sons, and they of her.

Very respectfully, your obedient servant,

E. B. Tyler, Col. Commanding Third Brigade, Shields' Division.


Report of Lieut.-Col. Cheek.

headquarters Seventh regiment Indiana Vols., near Strasburg, Va., March 28.
Col. E. B. Tyler, Commanding Third Brigade, S. D.:
sir: I respectfully submit the following report of the part taken by the Seventh regiment Indiana Volunteers in the battle at Winchester, Virginia, on the twenty-third instant. About one o'clock P. M., pursuant to your order, the regiment was formed, took position in the brigade, and by a forced march reached Kernstown (three miles south of Winchester) at half-past 2 P. M.

I was then ordered to the support of Colonel Daum's battery, which was then in position and playing upon the enemy. Soon after the enemy changed the position of his batteries to an elevation to our right, and opened upon us a well-directed fire of shot and shell. At once my command was placed farther to the right of our batteries, under cover of woods. Here we remained until four o'clock P. M., when orders were received from you to take position in column, to charge and take the enemy's pieces.

Your order was promptly obeyed, and the column proceeded under cover of timber to within a short distance of the enemy's left, when the enemy (concealed from us, and sheltered behind a stone fence and other temporary works) opened upon us a destructive and blinding fire of canister and musketry. About this time an order was given to deploy column, (the several regiments being then in column of division,) but amid the din of musketry, and the roar of artillery, no order could be heard by the men. Our forces partly avoided the fire of the enemy by falling down and taking advantage of a ridge between us and the stone fence. The fire of the enemy was returned with telling effect, our men giving deadly aim wherever the enemy could be seen.

The fierceness with which our forces withstood the fire from a vastly superior force, for two hours and forty minutes, demands the greatest praise.

Upon the appearance of the Eighty--fourth Pennsylvania and the Fourteenth Indiana regiments, which were ordered to our support, a rout of the enemy commenced, which soon became complete, many throwing down their arms and retreating in the greatest confusion.

My command was soon in line, and following the Seventh Ohio, pursued the enemy a short distance, when darkness intervened, and we were ordered to halt and bivouac upon the ground so hotly contested by the enemy.

Early in the action, my horse and that of Major B. C. Shaw were shot. The Major was severely hurt by being thrown against a tree, and was taken from the field. Up to that time he rendered me valuable service, exerting himself to perfect the lines as we advanced.

Adjutant Lostutter, although wounded in the early part of the action, remained with me, executing orders, and giving aid in rallying and encouraging the men. Without disparagement to other officers, it is but justice that I should speak of those who were with me and about me at all times-namely, Capts. Will. C. Banta, Sol. Waterman, Merit C. Welch, Jesse Armstrong, and Wilson C. Lemert; and Lieuts. George C. Watson, (commanding company A,) David M. Hamilton, Acting Quartermaster, Comar Chrisman, and Benjamin Abrams, by their brave examples gave cheer to the men, and by untiring exertions contributed greatly to our success.

The result, to my regiment, was nine killed and thirty--five wounded, a list of whom, with name, grade and company, is herewith submitted. Many have slight wounds, which are not reported among the wounded.

Your obedient servant,

John F. Cheek, Lieut.-Col. Commanding Seventh Indiana.


Colonel Foster's official report.

camp Shields, headquarters Thirteenth Indiana, four miles South of Strasburg, Va., March 26, 1862.
Col. J. C. Sullivan, Acting Brig.-Gen. Commanding Second Brigade:
sir: In obedience to your order, I herewith submit the following report of the part taken by the Thirteenth regiment Indiana Volunteers, in the action of the twenty-second and twenty-third of March, near Winchester, Va.

I was ordered by you to withdraw my command, (which was stationed on picket duty on the Front Royal and Cedar Creek road,) and to report to you at the toll-gate on the Strasburg pike. Collecting my command, I proceeded immediately to join you, and reached the toll-gate about ten A. M., and marched forward on the right of your brigade, and took position in front of and on the enemy's right, which position we occupied until five P. M., under a heavy fire of shell and round-shot from his batteries, which were stationed in the edge of a wood. At five P. M., you ordered me to the enemy's left, to support a part of the First and Second brigades. We marched over the hills on the right, exposed to a heavy fire of grape and shell.

We took position on the left of the Fourteenth Indiana, which had been pressed back by the overwhelming numbers brought into action by the enemy, immediately in front and on their left. Here it was that the Thirteenth Indiana suffered most, being exposed to the fire of a whole brigade posted behind a stone fence and in an open wood. Inch by inch the brave and gallant men of my command, the Thirteenth, pressed


Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

An XML version of this text is available for download, with the additional restriction that you offer Perseus any modifications you make. Perseus provides credit for all accepted changes, storing new additions in a versioning system.

hide People (automatically extracted)
hide Dates (automatically extracted)
Sort dates alphabetically, as they appear on the page, by frequency
Click on a date to search for it in this document.
March 26th, 1862 AD (1)
March 28th (1)
March 23rd (1)
March 22nd (1)
23rd (1)
hide Display Preferences
Greek Display:
Arabic Display:
View by Default:
Browse Bar: