No. 168. report of Maj. Charles Houghtaling, First Illinois Light artillery, Chief of artillery, Fourteenth Army Corps.
The positions of the batteries at the commencement of the campaign were as follows: Battery C, First Illinois, Capt. M. H. Prescott, and Battery I, First Ohio, Capt. H. Dilger, with the First Division, Capt. L. H. Drury, chief of artillery; Battery I, Second Illinois, Capt. C. M. Barnett, and the Fifth Wisconsin Battery, Capt. G. Q. Gardner, with the Second Division, Capt. C. M. Barnett, chief of artillery; Seventh Indiana Battery, Capt. O. H. Morgan, and the Nineteenth Indiana-Battery, Lieut. William P. Stackhouse, with Third Division, Capt. George Estep, chief of artillery.
The following table exhibits the effective force of the batteries of the Fourteenth Army Corps on the morning of the 5th day of May, at the commencement of the campaign, and on the 5th day of September, at its close:
| Zzz |
[825]
The first gun of the campaign was fired near Tunnel Hill May 7, at 11 a. m., by Battery I, Second Illinois. The batteries of the corps have, with two exceptions, been fought as the corps was fought previous to the 1st of September--that is, by detail, a battery or a battalion at a time-and to give a history of their marches and engagements would be merely to duplicate the reports of the several battery commanders herewith transmitted. The only occasions when the entire artillery force of the Fourteenth Corps was engaged at the same time were in front of Kenesaw Mountain, from the 20th of June to the 2d day of July, and in the bombardment of the enemy's works around Atlanta, from the 23d of July to the 26th of August. On the 30th day of June two guns each from the Seventh Indiana, Nineteenth Indiana, and Battery I, First Ohio, were turned over in obedience to orders from department headquarters, making the three batteries above named 4-gun batteries. On the 15th to 20th of July the Parrott guns of Batteries C, First Illinois; I, Second Illinois, and Seventh Indiana, were exchanged, in obedience of orders from the Ordnance Department, for 3-inch regulation rifles. On the 24th of July, in obedience to orders from department headquarters, the batteries of the Fourteenth Corps were withdrawn from the divisions and made a separate command under the corps chief of artillery, subject to the direction of the corps commander and department chief of artillery. In pursuance to another paragraph of the same order, Captain Drury reported to me for duty, and Captain Estep was appointed ordnance officer, assuming charge of the corps artillery ammunition train.
On the 14th of August Battery I, First Ohio, was relieved from duty in this corps by the Twentieth Indiana Battery, Capt. Milton A. Osborne. It is impossible therefore to obtain the report of Capt. Hubert Dilger, commanding Battery I, First Ohio, to transmit with those of the other battery commanders. I take pleasure in this connection in bearing testimony to the gallantry and spirit of Captain Dilger and to the uniform good conduct and efficiency of his command. On the 27th of August the batteries of the corps were reorganized into three battalions by order of General J. C. Davis. The following is the present organization: First Battalion, Battery C, First Illinois and Nineteenth Indiana, Capt. M. H. Prescott, chief of artillery; Second Battalion, Fifth Wisconsin Battery and Battery I, Second Illinois, Capt. Charles M. Barnett, chief of artillery; Third Battalion, Seventh Indiana Battery and Twentieth Indiana Battery, Capt. M. A. Osborne, chief of artillery. The last shot of the campaign was fired at 4 p. in. September 6, by Battery C, First Illinois. Below find report of ammunition expended from May 7, 11 a. m., to September 5, 4 p. m.:
| 1st Illinois, Battery C | 10, | 451 |
| 19th Indiana Battery | 2,187 | |
| 2d Illinois, Battery I | 6,766 | |
| 5th W isconsin Battery | 4,242 | |
| 7th Indiana Battery | 6,083 | |
| 20th Indiana Battery | 314 | |
| 1st Ohio, Battery I | 2,501 | |
| Total | 32, | 544 |
The conduct of the officers and men of the several batteries of my command has been such as to meet my warmest approbation. Neither of the batteries has failed to silence the guns of the enemy when confronting them at any distance within easy range, and they [826] have repeatedly dismounted guns and blown up limbers and caissons of rebel batteries during the campaign. The practice has been remarkable in every battery for accuracy, and I think I can safely say that no batteries in the service surpass those of the Fourteenth Corps in precision of firing or in rapidity of maneuvering. I cannot close my report without acknowledging the prompt and efficient assistance rendered me by the division chiefs of artillery, Captains Drury, Estep, and Barnett, during the campaign.1
Respectfully submitted.
, Commanding Fourteenth Army Corps.
