I did find the following items, which may be of interest to you. They come from the Columbia City, IN "Whitley County Republican" and date from the Atlanta Campaign.

Regards,

Mark Jaeger

ý129th Indiana Volunteer Infantryý

ý8 June 1864:ý

Letter from Colonel Case.ý

The following extract from a letter from Colonel Case to his family, which we find in the ýFort Wayne Daily Gazette, will be read with interest:ý

In the field near Cassville, Georgia,ý
May 21, 1864.ý

We were drawn up in line of battle preparatory to a charge on the rebs if required, our 2d ýdivision being engaged in a skirmish at the time and two batteries sending shells into their lines ýat rapid rate when the ambulance loaded with mail drove up to our rear. Of course it could not ýbe assorted for them [sic]. Well, the rebels fell back leaving about a hundred prisoners in our ýhands. Then the mail was opened and distributed before we moved up to our present camp. ýmany a brave boy was cheered after the excitement and wearisome march of the day, by a line ýfrom some dear one far away.ý

We have had a telling campaign. A great many in my regiment and in all the new ýregiments have given out already, and the worst is before us. Poor fellows, they do not know ýthat we are stopping here for a two day's rest, and to assort and get rid of all feeble soldiers. ýThen comes a campaign terrible beyond conception.ý
Where we are to go, I know not but from the tone of orders already received[,] I know that hard ýmarching and desperate fighting are before us.ý
We are to go without wagons and not even officers are allowed to take change of linen with ýthem.ý

The enemy is in large force directly in our front, in a position as strong as nature could ýmake it. I do not think it can be carried by an attack in front, and so I anticipate a wearisome ýflank movement and an attack on their rear. But this is all conjecture.ý

I will try and send back from here my official report of the fight we had on Sunday last ýý[15 May]. The 129th did its duty most manfully. I was proud of the men. I rode with them day ýafter day (when I was so sick that if I had been at home I should have been in bed,) in order to be ýwith them in their first fight, and I was with them though too feeble to take exclusive command. ýI was up and down the lines several times during the firing, and I did not see a shirk among them ýall. They did most deadly shooting.ý
The 12th Georgia was in our front, and prisoners say it was litterally [sic] cut to pieces. But this ýwill not elate you. Indeed it sickens my heart when I think of what I saw after the dreadful ýcarnage was over. I must tell you one incident which does not fully appear in my official report.ý

When the regiment was playing in the field across which we afterwards charged, I was ýsitting on my horse to the left of the column, on ground considerably higher than that where the ýregiment was, a staff officer rode up to me and said, "Colonel, there is a masked battery of the ýrebels over there to the right. It will open on you soon and your are too prominent a mark, you ýhad better dismount."ý
I looked around as he rode away, just in time to see the flash of the first gun, and soon the shell ýcame whistling over my head so close that I distinctly felt the wind of it. I immediately ýdismounted and sent my horse to the rear; ran down to the regiment and watched for the next ýdischarge. As soon as I saw the flash, I ordered every man to lie down instantly. They all ýdropped but the shell passed very close to them, lying down as they were. The next shell struck ýright in the regiment between two divisions, severely wounding the color bearer and slightly ýwounding two others. The shell did not explode until it passed beyond the regiment. If it had ýexploded when it first struck, it would have killed a great number.ý

I am very thankful that I have such noble field officers as Lieutenant Colonel Zollinger ýand Major DeLong.ý
Better and braver men never went to the field. I do not know how I should have got along but ýfor them, and I wish to acknowledge my indebtedness. Really I have been very sick, and they ýhave done my duties for me and done them well. I am now very much better and hope to be able ýto endure the hardships just ahead.ý

ý6 July 1864:ý

From the 129th Indiana.ý

Correspondence of the Republican.ý

Camp near Marrietta, Georgia,ý
June 11, 1864.ý

FRIEND HOOPER : Since my last letter we have been within the roaring of artillery and ýthe rattling of musketry, for the last forty days, and at the present time the roaring of cannon is to ýbe heard.ý

I will turn back and give, as near as possible, the proceedings of our marching and ýfighting from the date of my last communication. If I remember right, when I wrote last we were ýon the march for East Tennessee, to which place we moved, supposing our destination to be ýKnoxville. But we were stopped at a small town on the Hiawassa river, called Charleston, at ýwhich place we remained about six days, during our stay there the Army of the Ohio began to ýcome down from Knoxville and no sooner had the divisions of Generals Cox and Judah's passed ýus than our (General Alvin P. Hovey's) division was ordered to [be] moved at an hours notice. ýNo sooner were the regiments of our division apprised of the order than the word came to fall in. ýA few minutes and all was ready to join the expedition and all moved Southwards in the ýdirection of Dalton, Georgia. We moved on to the Chattanooga & Knoxville Railroad to ýCleveland, Tennessee, and then changed directions and took the Dalton & Knoxville Railroad, ýwhich was in rather a bad condition. Our division commenced to repair the road as we moved ýalong, in order that we could keep our soldiers supplied with provisions, this being the only road ýthat our army could be supplied from at that time. We repaired the road as far as Red Clay, ýGeorgia. This road had been destroyed by Colonel [John T.] Wilder when he made his raid on ýRinggold last winter. From Red Clay we moved immediately in the direction of Tunnel Hill. ýWhen within six miles of Tunnel Hill we were put in order of battle, and thrown immediately to ýthe front, where we had considerable skirmishing, driving the enemy into their fortifications, ýknown as Buzzard Roost, a place which could not be taken by assault, if properly defended. We ýremained in line of battle under their works and fire from their skirmishers for three days, then ýwe were ordered to move in the direction of Snake Creek Gap. This move put us on the flank of ýthe rebs, which caused them to evacuate their position in the vicinity of Dalton, when they fell ýback to Resaca, a place very well fortified, and there they gave us battle, which battle was fought ýwith considerable obstinacy on both sides, but resulted in a victory for the Federal Army. The ýIndiana Division took a very conspicuous part in the fight, and won immortal honors for the ýproud old State of the Hoosier boys. Our regiment was ordered, during the engagement, to drive ýthe rebs from one of their lines of earth works, which we started for on the double quick, under ýone of the most galling fires of grape and cannister [sic] that was ever poured into any ranks, but ýluckily the men layed [sic] down just when the rebs thought they had the range, and their shot ýflew over the heads of our men, except one shot which wounded one man. The casualties of our ýregiment was [sic] sixteen wounded, and of my Co. two, Alfred Snyder and Adam Kerns.ý
From there we moved after the flying rebs to the Alatoona Mountains, skirmishing with them ýevery day, and in every instance we had the better of the rebs, they leaving their dead and ýwounded on the field.ý

Our boys are in good spirits, and feel sanguine of our ultimate success.ý

Colonel [Charles] Case has tendered his resignation on account of sickness.ý

I have to record the death of Arcil Bloomes, of my company, he died at the Hospital at ýMurfreesboro, Tennessee, on the 2d of May. He was highly esteemed by his comrades in arms, ýand they join their sympathy with his berieved [sic] relations.ý

FRANCIS M. McDONALD,ý
Capt. Company D [129th Indiana Vols.]ý

ý27 July 1864:ý

From the 129th Indiana.ý

Camp Near Chattahoochee River, Georgia,ý
July 12th, 1864.ý

FRIEND HOOPER : I take the opportunity this morning of communicating to you for the ýbenefit of friends who have departed ones in the army, or in my company. We have been ýpassing a series of skirmishing and battles since my last communication, but by some protecting ýpower I have not lost one man, although we have been under as severe fire as any other set of ýmen, and I think that I would not hardly do the boys justice if I did not say so. From the date of ýmy last letter to the 5th of this month, we have been under fire night and day, and during the time ýwe have charged and driven the enemy from some of their strongest works. Our position in this ýcampaign has been of a peculiar kind. While we were in the Alatoona Mountains [sic] we held ýthe right of the army, and as soon as we occupied Alatoona Meeting House, the army ýcommenced to move from the right by corps to the left, and left us on the extreme right of the ýarmy. When we commenced our moving for Alatoona Meeting House the attention of the whole ýarmy was drawn to notice our movement. Generals Sherman, Hooker, Thomas and Schofield ýwere seen in [a] group with anxious looks waiting to see the result of our movement. With little ýfighting we gained the desired point, and as soon as Sherman heard that the movement was a ýsuccess, he said "We have them,"--meaning that they would have to evacuate the mountains. It ýput us on their flanks between the mountains and the railroad. From the time that we took the ýright we have been in the front, until the 5th inst., when we were relieved from that point by the ýý15th army corps. But we were sent to the extreme left of the army, crossing the railroad five ýmiles south of Marrietta and moved to the river, where we drove [Joseph E.] Johnston across, ýand have remained here ever since.ý

We celebrated the 4th of July by a general fight all along the line, and drove the rebs ýfrom the Kenesaw Mountains [sic], and other strong works.ý
Co. D held the advance skirmish line (during the whole day) of our brigade. The brigade ýsuffered considerable, but we came out unhurt.ý

The sanitary condition of my company is not very good. I have but 30 men here with ýguns, the rest are sick in the hospitals, and I have not been well myself for some time, and since ýthe 4th I have not been able to do anything. I am still with the company, although I have to ýfollow it in an ambulance. Orderly [Sergeant] Richey has taken charge of the company and fills ýthe position with satisfaction.ý

I do not wish to complain or find fault; but one thing is certain--the Medical Department ýof our army kills more men than the enemy.ý

I have to record the death of some of my heartiest and most robust men, to-wit : John ýCooper, died June 9th; Charles Hackett, died June 14th; Wm. Devey, died June 18th; John D. ýHarbor, died June 5th, and David Hains, died April 14.ý
CAPT. F. M. McDONALD.ý