Frank Wittenberger
Civil War Diary Excerpts
Frank Wittenberger, a Richfield, WI homestead family member, was
drafted in October 1864, to serve in the Union Army in the Civil War.
He served in Company C, 14th Wisconsin Regiment from December 1864 to
October 1865. Frank kept a diary of his time serving in the Civil War.
Here are some excerpts from his diary which was translated by his daughter from the
original German script:
- March 25, 1865 – “We are to take a Fort. The 16th Army Corps left
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New
Orleans on the 12th of March, and proceeded to Dauphin Island, in
Mobile Bay, in order to take part in the operations against Mobile.
They debarked eight miles up Fish River on the west side of the bay. On
the 25th, the army, under General Edward R.S. Canby, marched from Fish
River.”
- March 26, 1865 – “May God Help Us.”
- March 27, 1865 – “Departed at 6am. Think we are going into combat. Beginning of battle at 10am. A few fell dead and some were wounded. Battle line formed and cannons set up. The fort is well fortified. One cannon exploded and killed 6 men. Horses wounded. Our gunfire is very strong.”
“On the 27th, the Army invested Spanish Fort, the division to which the 14th belonged, having the advance. From this time, the Fourteenth was constantly engaged in skirmishers and sharpshooters, until the surrender of Spanish Fort, and the evacuation of Mobile, sustaining considerable loss.”
- March 28, 1865 - "At 5:00 we had to move forward - much firing on both sides. One bullet went through my knapsack. Five men from our company were wounded. Our cannons are well manned. One Rebel guard was wounded on the leg and gave himself up. We couldn't be released until 9:00 P.M. Very hungry."
- March 29, 1865 - "Great danger. Our cannon boats have not arrived. The Rebels are constantly firing in our lines. One of our company was wounded. One bullet flew between Andrew (Melius) and myself, exploded and nearly covered us with sand. Made trenches all night. God, will this ever end?"
- March 30, 1865 - "There was shooting going on all night. We had to work all day to get the cannons in the right positions. The sharpshooters kept strong shooting all day to protect us. Our Adjutant was wounded in the leg by a piece of shell. God, help!"
- March 31, 1865 – “The firing is still going strong. The 33rd Wisconsin
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Regiment
is closing in on the fort. Fort Spanish is to protect Mobile from
this side. It is built strong and will be besieged regularly. Here is
where one can see the helplessness of man."
- April 1, 1865 – “Much shooting on both sides. Our large cannons will soon show their effect. The Rebels are throwing 60 and 100 pound bombs. We built a new breastworks here in order to get closer to the fort. Tonight we have to go on the front line. There will be a hot time. May God protect us."
- April 2, 1865 - "Last night we had to make runways. They are about 4 feet wide and six feet deep in order to bring our hand weapons closer to the fort - in that way protecting the outposts better. Company K had one dead and several wounded. We are trying to build high mortar walls to fence the Rebels in. Company A lost a man when he was shot through the head. Death every day."
- April 3, 1865 – “Our Company had to work again tonight A new runway had to be built. A man from Company J has his leg shattered. It is early in the morning and many are falling. It is getting worse all the time. One cannon boat got stranded."
- April 4, 1865 – We took 500 Rebel prisoners. They say the fort is full
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of torpedoes,
so it could be blown into the air if we would try to take it. In
the evening our cannons shot on the fort with good results. They shot
back but very weakly.”
- April 5, 1865 – “Last night we had to go on guard duty. They say 48 Rebels deserted and came to us. Also, that 7 of our bombs fell into the fort and killed over 100 men and wounded others. The Rebels shot at our lines in the night but didn’t hit our men. God protect us.”
- April 6, 1865 – “Not three steps from Andrew (Melius) and me a bullet flew by, exploding in the ground so did no damage. Another 45 cannons came from a boat which drifted to shore and sank after hitting a torpedo. The Marines were ordered to help us. Strong shooting by the Rebels."
- April 7, 1865 – “We had to work last night. One of the Rebels killed and several wounded. I was on guard duty from 6:00 until midnight. One man from the 40th Missouri Regiment was shot through the heart. Many small bombs are flying in our runways."
- April 8, 1865 – “They took sharpshooters out of each company - four from ours. One in Company K was hit in the leg while in the tent. From 5:00 until 7:00, there was much heavy cannon shooting on the fort."
- April 9, 1865 – “Last night the Rebels came out of the fort and made a weak attack on our troops. We took the fort at 12:00 in the night. Great joy! Many prisoners and ammunition fell into our hands. I saw some German prisoners who were very ragged but were glad, saying. ‘We are tired of war.’”
- April 10, 1865- 'We were glad we didn’t have to storm the fort which we would have had to do if they had surrendered. The officers deserted their men and fled to Mobile. Nice officers. The Rebels had nothing good to say about their officers. We gained 500 prisoners, many guns and cannon. God helped us.”
- April 11, 1865 - "March orders. We had to go to Fort Blakely, 8 miles from here. The 8th and 11th Wisconsin Regiments were ahead. General Steele stormed it with his Negro troops. The 8th Wisconsin Regiment lost many men. They gained much war material. Now Mobile, not being able to withstand our attack, surrendered.
- April 12, 1865 – “The report is that the Rebels left Mobile. The order read this evening that Mobile is ours. Much cheering.”
- April 13, 1865 – “It is said that General Lee surrendered. Much talk of peace soon."
March 26 to April 9 - Siege of Mobile, Ala. including Spanish Fort and Fort Blakely . Thirteenth and Sixteenth Corps. and U.S. Navy.
Union: 213 killed, 1,211 wounded
Confederate: 500 killed , 2,952 missing and 2 captured
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