Tilghman Blazer Notebook, 1864-1892

File — Box: 1, Folder: 1

Staff Only

April 26: departs from Bulls Gap, Tenn.
April 28: arrives at Charleston, Tenn.
May 3: leaves for Cleveland, Tenn.
May 4: marched 10 miles to Red Clay Depot, Ga.
May 5: troops inactive.
May 6: marched 6 miles toward Tunnel Hill and one mile toward Dalton, Ga.
May 7: witnessed brisk skirmishing.
May 8: inactivity.
May 9: marched four miles and involved in a skirmish.
May 10: skirmishing continues.
ay 11: troop inactivity.
May 12: marched through Tunnel Hill.
May 13: marched near Resaca, Ga.; heard skirmishing and formed a line of battle.
May 14: marched to where heavy battle was fought.
May 15: marched another day; unit avoided participating in the victory of the 20 corps.
May 16: marched 10 miles while enemy retreated.
May 17: marched 15 miles and crossed a river at night.
May 18: marched 11 miles.
May 19: marched 10 miles.
May 20: marched 8 miles while skirmishing.
May 21: inactive.
May 22: burnt and foraged a mill on the Castanota River.
May 23: marched 6 miles.
May 24: captured 23 wagons and burned them.
May 25: marched through mud and encamped on the battleground of the 24th.
May 26: marching.
May 27: stayed encamped behind breastworks all day.
May 28: heavy skirmishing and enemy shelling.
May 29: more fighting at the 7 Days Breastworks
May 30: repulses enemy charge, in Paulding County, Georgia.
May 31: repulses two night charges.
June 1-7: night march for one mile; charged and took two enemy breastworks; captured prisoners; barely avoids an artillery shell; rainy marches; engaged bushwacking Rebels and found retreating Rebels dead and wounded; guarded ammunition train.
June 8-15: days of inactivity; writes letters home; receives news of captured rebels in Greenville, Tenn.; rainy weather; claims Confederate Joe Johnson was arrested for retreating; writes of Confederate General Polk's death; cannonading and musketry all night long on the 15th.
June 16-23: writes of enemy's retreat and the advance of Union forces; describes the death of Union soldiers; heavy battle on the 22nd, when Union troops built breastworks afterward and tore down Negro houses; more skirmishing.
June 24-30: expecting attack on 24th; Hooker's men burn 69 dead Rebels; men prepare for another battle with bullets flying all around; soldiers tired from building fortifications all day.
July 1-7: expecting another attack; marching toward Atlanta and finding evacuated entrenchments.
July 8-15: crossed Chattahoochie River; Rebel gun captured; men built a pontoon bridge in two days; served picket duty on a bluff; played in the river.
July 16-23: change of command; night marching; capture of Decatur, Ga.; heavy skirmishing all day (20th); Confederates constantly retreating; can see Atlanta from a tree limb on the 21st; the closer to Atlanta the more bullets fly around Blazer; regiment ordered to recapture Decatur, Ga.
July 24-31: mentions the cavalry raids that destroyed Georgia's crops; estimates damage at $30 million; heavy skirmishing and cannonading near Atlanta for several days.
August 1-7: on the 1st, heard a heavy battle; marched and built more earthworks where he eventually experienced heavy skirmishing and cannonading, approximately 100 shots in four minutes; his regiment, 8th Tenn. Lost 83 men in a charge on the 6th; wounded lied in a field all night during a rainstorm; mentions amputations and deaths of friends.
August 8-15: skirmished on the 8th and 9th; captured Confederate cannon; camped in one place until the 16th.
August 16-23: constant marching and foraging.
August 24-31: sick for a few days; occasional skirmishing; almost captured a train; bought honey, sugar, and corn cakes.
September 1-7: destroyed railroads while marching toward Macon; capture of Atlanta; Battle of Jonesborough; heavy rain fell on the enemy's abandoned dead and wounded; unpleasant marching back to Atlanta in mud and rain; heard of Confederate John Morgan's death.
September 8-15: marched triumphantly through Decatur, Ga.; inactive until the 15th.
September 16-23: marched a little; inactive until the 25th.
September 24-30: does very little in camp; relates news of Union victories in other theaters of war.
October 1-7: saw a horse race; did little until crossing the Chattahoochie on the 4th; while troops waited for a train, Blazer climbed to an overlook and was in awe by the sight of the bending river, marching troops, and rolling wagons; marching while dodging cannon fire.
October 8-15: regrets seeing the horrible sight of amputated limbs on the ground; marching every day; camped near Rome, Ga.; fought Rebels near the Alabama line; comments on the poor condition of Confederate horses.
October 16-23: while Union troops marched, the Rebels harassed them occasionally; band played songs of Alabama when the 8th crossed into the state; did little on the 22nd and 23rd.
October 24-31: marched further into Alabama but turned back to Georgia; mailed letters home and ate Georgia apricots.
November 1-7: marched to and passed Dalton, Ga.; tore down houses for firewood; days of inactivity; took a train to Chattanooga; enjoyed eating pies; took another train to Nashville.
November 8-15: enjoyed himself in Nashville; comments on the selling of goods, the weather, and the ladies of the city; took a train to Franklin; traveled by train to Spring Hill; soldiers had some good turns by a Lady; received letters from home; marched to Columbia; comments on the burnt conditions of Linville; marched to Pulaski.
November 16-23: stayed in Pulaski until the 22nd, when troops marched to Nashville; marched without food to Columbia.
November 24-30: enemy tries to cut off the rear flank as they march to Columbia; prepare for battle on the 25th; crossed a river and made a defense at a ford to prevent Confederates from building a pontoon bridge; shelled Confederates; loss of sleep; under constant shelling from enemy; traveled quickly to Franklin and prepared for battle; good description of the Battle of Duck River; Confederates charged seven times - a most desperate slaughter; the 8th Tenn. captured Confederate prisoners and flags.
December 1-15: scenes after the battle of Franklin; need for rest; describes Hood's attempt to capture Nashville; a detailed description of the capture of a Confederate fort on the 15th; chasing retreating rebels, who formed a line of battle; description of how both sides prepare for another engagement.
December 16-31: a battle on the 16th; both sides firing away at close range; Union artillery was the deciding factor of the battle; Confederates retreat after an impressive Union charge; Union forces capture many Confederates; marched with difficulty in muddy conditions after the battle; stopped at a train on Franklin Pike to get rations; marched to Franklin, then Spring Hill; comments on battlefields; marched to Columbia; reports the number of prisoners in recent battles; camped near Columbia until January 2, 1865.

1865

January 1-7: marching in very cold weather; crossed Tennessee and [Buffalan ? River]; marched near coaling grounds near Tennessee Iron Works; snow made marching difficult.
January 8-15: inactive at camp for days; unloaded a steamboat in the Tennessee River; camped by river until the 16th.
January 16-23: traveled on a steamboat which comprised a flotilla of 14 vessels (one gunboat); traveled by Paduccah, Louisville, and finally unloaded in Cincinnatti, where troops traveled by rail to Columbus, Ohio; snow was everywhere in Ohio; traveled by train through Virginia and arrived at Cumberland City, Pennsylvania on the 23rd.
January 24-Feb 1: traveled by train to Alexandria, Virginia; on the 26th, Blazer was taken to a hospital in Washngton, D.C., where he stayed until Feb. 1.
February: 23rd corps left Alexandria on the 4th. [No more entries for Feb.]
March: list of gold prices.
April: list of gold prices. [Entries are not in chronological order.] Records news of battles and surrender in and near Mobile, Ala, Montgomery, Ala., and Macon, Ga.; General Lee's surrender; President Lincoln's death; capture of John Wilkes Booth; General Johnson's surrender in North Carolina; and the honorable discharge of all wounded soldiers.
May: Records news of more Confederate surrenders, cessation of transportation for refugees, Lincoln's funeral, announcement of reward for the capture of Jefferson Davis, capture of Davis; writes verses of a gospel song; describes journey back home.
June: records cost of traveling back home from Washington, D.C. to Greeneville, Tenn.

1869-1892: [Entries are not in chronological order.] Inventory of crops and fruit trees; record of sowing and harvest dates; record of pension application process; record of receipts; record of doctor visits.

Dates

1864-1892

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