Zeph Roberts - Story

Date: [unknown] [unknown]
Location: [unknown]
Surname/tag: Roberts

Story contained in the documents from the Finney County Historical society vertical file on Zephaniah Roberts (1841-1925). Printed in The Garden City Telegram, Garden City, Kansas, Thur, July 20, 1922, Page 2^[1]

Story

Zeph Roberts was born on April 8, 1841 in Madison County, Illinois. When Fort Sumpter was fired upon, there was a call for 75,000 men for three months service. There was no recruiting station where Mr. Roberts lived on account of the southern sentiment being too strong and Mr. Robert's people and neighbors were southern sympathizers. Mr. Roberts went into the next county, Jersey to enlist April 21, 1861 for three months service. he expected to be assigned to the 8th Regiment of Col. Dick Ogleby's volunteers, but the 8th was already full. It was necessary for him to wait for several days until the 14th Regiment was organized and he was assigned to his regiment and mustered into service on the 25th of may 1861. The entire regiment was stationed at Jacksonville, Ill. The troops were sent there by rail on flat cars and from there to Quincy, Ill. AT this place, the soldiers issued Old Harper's Ferry muskets, which had been converted from a flint load to a cap lock. Corporal Drew, a member of the old UW. Army and Mr. Roberts were detailed in inspect those muskets as to their fitness for service and much to their surprise, found only two that were rejected.

Each soldier was then issued three rounds of ammunition, ball and buckshot being the cartridges. As soon as these were issued, the regiment was sent to Missouri, where the regiment was broken up and sent to different places along the Hannibal & St. Joe railroad to guard bridges, culverts, round houses and water tanks. This is the railroad that A.A. Barlow ran trains while Mr. Roberts was one of the guards. The summer and fall was taken up with this kind of work. Our regiment was part of the well organized army of John J.C. Fremont. The regiment was then ordered to march south to bring the rebels under General Price to battle. General Freemont was then succeeded by Dave Hunter and the regiment was moved back to Otterville, MO, and his regiment was made a pat of the 2nd Brigade, 4th Division, under Brigadier General Hurlburt.

About February 10, Mr. Robert with his comrades were ordered to St. Louis and at that place, learned their destination was Fort Donaldson. They were placed aboard the steamer Continental and he trip down the river was delayed on account of the ice and they did not reach Fort Donaldson until after the Rebel forces under General Buckner had surrendered. Shortly after that, there was an immense fleet of transports assembled at Fort Henry on the Tennessee River and the army at this place, which had been under General Grant, was given over to General C.F. Smith, commanding the 3rd Division. The transport on which Mr. Roberts was on, passed up the Tennessee River, but he did not know its destination. Col. Veatch was in command of the steamer. It would seem that some of the officers of the Union Army was not very well posted on the geography of the county at that time. As the boat was gliding along the waters of the river, the day before a landing was to be made, General Hurlburt called out to Co. Veatch, "Where are we going to land? " Hurlburt called back: "We are ordered to land at Pittsburg Landing." And Veatch asked, "Where's that?"

The battle of Shiloh soon followed, the Confederate forces being under Johnson and Beauregard and the Union forces under General Grant. The battle of Shiloh was fought on April 6, 1862, Mr. Roberts' regiment, the 14th Illinois, composed the 2nd Brigade, 4th Division under General Steve Hurlburt participated in the fierce hell of fire at that point known as the Hornet's Nest. The Union forces were forced ot retire by reason of superior numbers on the other side and to prevent being flanked by the enemy and captured.

Mr. Roberts tells of an incident, which happened at the time that he has often thought of and regretted. On the falling back of the Union troops from the first defeat, Mr. Roberts passed the Color Sergeant (the man who carries the flag). he was lying down on the ground. The man wore a clean new uniform and beside him lay the flag on the ground. Mr. Roberts looked as he passed by the man and saw no blood on his uniform, but he looked very despairingly at Mr. Roberts. Whether the man was sick or wounded, Mr. Roberts never learned, but his first impulse was to reach down and get the flag and take it off the field and that impulse was almost too strong to be denied. Mr. Roberts did know that color bearers were always very jealous of their post, so he refrained from following his impulse.

The next engagement was to besiege and capture Corinth, Mississippi, twenty miles from Pittsburg Landing, which fell on the 28th day of May into the Union army's hands. The division then moved to Memphis, which was surrendered in June, 1862. The troops stayed at this place about four weeks to recuperate, as they were almot without clothing and needed rest. The next move was to Millken's Bend. There were a number of little battles fought before the troops reached Vicksburg, which required a siege of some forty days before the city surrendered to the Union men. AT this place, the soldiers went thru terrible hardships. Pemberton was in charge of the Rebel soldiers and Grant in charge of the Union men. General Grant cut off every escape for the Rebels and fo forty-six days kept pouring shot and shell into the city. The food of the Rebel army finally gave out and Pemberton was forced to surrender 31,000 men on July 4th, 1863.

Between the two armies was an oak tree and under this tree, general Grant and Pemberton negotiated the terms of surrender. During this time, there was an armistice and not a shot was fired by either side for two hours. The understanding was that if Pemberton surrendered to the Grant's terms, the rebels were to waive a white flag. When the Union men saw the flag, they knew the rebels had surrendered. It happened that Mr. Robert's briade was near the oak tree where the terms were made. After the surrender, the men from both the north and the south rushed forward to get a piece of the tree as a souvenir. The tree was about two feet in diameter and ther was not a piece of it left after those who were lucky enough got a piece of it for souvenirs. Mr. Roberts was one of the successful ones and the piece he got was dropped in a skillet of hot bacon grease and allowed to cook for a long time. This hardened and preserved the piece of oak. mr. Roberts carried the souvenir with him through the war and after he came to Garden City, he had it whittled down and mounted in gold. Across this piece of wood is inscribed: "Co. F., 14th Inf., Vicksburg, 7-4-63."

After the battle of Vicksburg, several other battles took place in which Mr. Roberts participated and during these times, many interesting things happened, some of which will never be recorded in history. One day, a few soldiers were standing on a parapet when the Major came along and told of having sent out a scouting party. He had not heard anything and was very anxious to learn whether or not they had been captured, stating he would like to get a dispatch to Lafayette, six miles from his outpost. First lieutenant Stafford, who was standing with Mr. Roberts, remarked, "here is a boy that will take it," and pointed to Mr. Roberts. it was a treacherous and dangerous job, but Mr. Roberts replied that he would take it. Around the outpost was a dense forest, extending all the way down to Lafayette. The Major told Mr. Roberts to take his, the Major's horse, but Mr. Roberts said, "no, I am going thru the woods on foot." The dispatch, whatever it was, was given to Mr. Roberts and he set out on his perilous journey. Mr. Roberts was not afraid of the woods, being somewhat of a woodsman, inheriting that from his ancestors, so working his way thru the dense forest was not an overly hard task for him. he arrived at his destination safely and delivered the dispatch with the Major's compliments.

Later, the Union forces took possession of Natchez, Mississippi. From that place, the Union men made a forced march to Louisiana, crossed the river and surprised Confederate General and captured Fort Beauregard, one of the strongest and most important post in the west. here the Union men got supplies and then re-crossed the river to Natchez in 1864.

later on, the troops were moved in transports up to the Mississippi River to the mouth of the Tennessee to participate in the Atlanta campaign. At that time in 1864, they were in Huntsville, Alabama. By this time, Mr. Roberts' regiment had become greatly reduced in numbers due to sickness, death promotion. Their enlistment time was up on May 25, 18645 and on June 21, he was discharged from the army at Springfield, Illinois.

From Springfield, Mr. Roberts returned to his home in Hancock County to visit his mother and on September 1st, he was married, In 168, he removed to Kansas and located in Montgomery County, where he engaged in farming and stock raising for seventeen years. He then removed to Haskell County and filed on a homestead on May 15, 1885 and remained there for six years. On April 16, 1891, he came to Garden City, having sold his land interest in Haskell County.

Mr. Roberts has always taken a keen interest in public affairs and was a member of the city council at one time as well as a member of the board of education.