Veteran Spotlight: Job Allen

Civil War, Corporal Co. I 114th IL Inf

Job Allen

Job Allen was born on January 1st, 1840 in Wabash County, Indiana to Job and Clarissa Allen. He was the sixth of eight children, having one brother and six sisters. As a young man he moved to Illinois with his parents and siblings and in July of 1862 he enlisted in Company I of the 114th Illinois Volunteer Infantry. He mustered in at Camp Butler on September 18th and on November 8th left with his regiment for Memphis, Tennessee. They arrived on November 16th and remained there on picket duty until November 26th when they embarked on General Grant's Central Mississippi Campaign. While the regiment saw a great deal of countryside in this time, matching from Tennessee to Mississippi to Louisiana, they did not see much battle.

The first real test of their valor came on March 14th, 1863 at the Battle of Jackson. Job and his regiment were part of Sherman's XV corps at this time and they were tasked with advancing on the city from the southwest. They fought a small skirmish with Confederate troops at Mississippi Springs on the 13th then in the morning marched through heavy rain and standing water up to a foot deep. The 114th was part of the division that led the advance and the entire 5 mile march was contested by skirmishes. Their line of approach crossed Lynch Creek but due to the rains the creek could not be forded and they were bottlenecked at a single bridge. A force of 1,000 Confederate men and 4 cannons were sent to hold the bridge against an entire Union corps of 10,000. Battery E, 1st Illinois Light Artillery Regiment and the 2nd Iowa Battery, which combined had a total of 12 cannons, were deployed to counter the Confederate artillery. The Confederate forces withdrew after only 20 minutes of heavy artillery fire, abandoning the only position they could have hoped to hold while so greatly outnumbered. It was soon discovered that Jackson had already been evacuated and only the artillery firing on Sherman's lines was left as a rearguard. A Union flag was raised over the Mississippi State Capitol for the first of two times in the war and the 114th Illinois suffered only 5 casualties in the battle.

A surviving regimental flag of the 114th Illinois Infantry.

Job and the Union forces would not have long to celebrate the victory as it was only one step in Grant's Vicksburg campaign. Vicksburg was the last major Confederate stronghold on the Mississippi River and capturing it would cut the Confederacy in two drastically reducing its ability to wage war. The rebels understood the strategic importance of the city and so it was heavily fortified. Job and the rest of Sherman's XV corps would have the unenviable task of attacking from the northeast along the aptly named Graveyard Road. The road was a major thoroughfare into the city and was especially well defended. Federal soldiers would have to navigate a steep ravine protected by abatis and a six foot deep and eight foot wide ditch before coming to a 17 foot high redan wall topped with enemy cannons and sharpshooters.

Grant wanted to overwhelm the Confederates before they could fully organize their defenses and ordered an assault for May 19th. However the difficult terrain and heavy rifle and artillery fire repulsed the attack easily. Grant ordered an artillery bombardment to soften the defenses and at about 2 pm Sherman's division tried again, but only a small number of men were able to advance even as far as the ditch below the redan. The assault collapsed in an exchange of rifle fire and hand grenades lobbing back and forth. The assaults of May 19th were an abject failure costing the Union 157 killed, 777 wounded, and eight missing, while Confederate losses were only eight killed and 62 wounded. Morale was not completely shattered however, Union troops were in high spirits, now well-fed with provisions they had foraged. On seeing Grant pass by, a soldier commented, “Hardtack.” Soon all Union troops in the vicinity were yelling, "Hardtack! Hardtack!" The Union served hardtack, beans, and coffee the night of May 21st. Everyone expected that Vicksburg would fall in the assault that was planned for the next day.

Union forces bombarded the city all night, from 220 artillery pieces and with naval gunfire from Rear Adm. David D. Porter's fleet in the river. While causing little property damage, they damaged Confederate civilian morale. On the morning of May 22nd, the defenders were bombarded again for four hours before the Union attacked along a three mile front at 10 am. Sherman advanced once again down the Graveyard Road. In the vanguard was the forlorn hope detachment, a squad of 150 volunteers who would advance not with rifles but with lumber. The first fifty would carry heavy timbers to be placed across the ditch, while the second fifty would carry planking to lay across timbers. Thus, instant bridges would be made. The third fifty would carry ladders so invaders could more easily scale the redan’s exterior wall. They would be followed by two divisions arranged in a long column of regiments. Luckily for Job and his regiment they were near the back of the column. Of the 150 men who rushed forward as the forlorn hope, 19 were killed and 34 were wounded. Of the survivors, 78 later received the Medal of Honor for their heroism. The 30th Ohio was the regiment directly behind the forlorn hope and they charged on the heels of the volunteers with equal gallantry but as casualties began to litter the road the regiments following behind them faltered. They found whatever cover they could and would not be urged further. With the road now blocked by the dead, the wounded and the shell shocked, attempts were made to find a different approach. However it was clear by 11 am that a breakthrough was not forthcoming. Sherman ordered two more assaults at 2:15 and 3 pm. Job's division, under Brigadier General James Tuttle, suffered so many casualties in their aborted advance that Sherman told Tuttle, "This is murder; order those troops back." It was clear that Vicksburg would not be breached and so General Grant settled in for a protracted siege.

A depiction of the March 22nd assault on Vicksburg.

After such intense fighting it's likely that Corporal Job and his men were relieved to “do a bit of camping” but once again they would not rest long. Grant feared an attack by Confederate General Johnston as having his army pinned between the fortifications of Vicksburg and an attacking force would be disastrous. Several regiments were ordered on scouting and defensive missions to stall reinforcements bound for Vicksburg and the 114th Illinois was among them. They participated in an expedition to Mechanicsburg from May 26th to June 4th. When the besieged city finally fell on July 4th the 114th was immediately sent on the Jackson Expedition and pursued General Johnston’s retreat until July 19th. The regiment counted 7 casualties in this expedition.

For the next 6 months the unit would travel to various posts and do a lot of guard duty with a few minor incidents along the way. In February of 1864 they participated in an expedition to the Tallahatchie River and fought in some strategic skirmishes. Although the regiment had seen hard fighting and heavy casualties, up to this point they had never been whipped by ol’ Johnny Reb. But that would change on June 10th, 1864. Confederate Major General Nathan Bedford Forrest laid a trap for the Union forces and Job and his comrades would be ordered to walk right into it, double time. The 114th Illinois formed part of the 1st Brigade in Brigadier General Samuel Sturgis' expedition to Guntown, Mississippi. The Union column consisted of 4,800 infantry, 3,300 cavalry, 400 gunners, and 22 cannons. Forrest calculated that his forces could defeat the Union cavalry before it could be supported by the later-arriving infantry. Forrest believed that his cavalry would then beat the Union infantry after it arrived exhausted by a forced march in the summer heat. The Confederate general assumed that the wooded country would hide his inferior numbers from his enemies.

From the Adjunct General's report: “The action commenced early in the afternoon, between the enemy and the advance cavalry. The infantry was immediately hurried forward, at more than double quick, for about 3 miles, and, the day being one of excessive heat, numbers fell from the ranks, from fatigue and sunstroke. Almost completely exhausted the troops were pushed into the fight, and after a severe engagement of 5 or 6 hours the lines were everywhere repulsed, and commenced falling back. The one Hundred and Fourteenth remained as rear guard, assisting in holding the enemy in check, curing the whole of the first night's retreat.” The Battle of Brices Cross Roads unfolded as Forrest had planned and Sturgis' troops were routed. Union casualties numbered 2,612 men, 18 cannons, and 250 wagons while the Confederates counted 493 killed and wounded. The 114th Illinois went into battle with 397 men and lost 205 men killed, wounded, and missing. Three of their officers were wounded and two were captured, and Assistant Surgeon A.S. French was killed while nobly performing the duties of his position.

Monument to the 114th at Brice's Crossroads.

It was at this time that Job and four other men from his company found themselves prisoners of war. They were sent to the infamous Andersonville Prison where nearly a third of the 45,000 inmates would die of disease, exposure and starvation. Newell Burch, a fellow survivor of the prison, recorded in his diary the conditions Job would have been welcomed by, “In June also as the water grew worse and the numbers of prisoners increased almost daily and the fearful lice, maggots, fleas, and almost incessant rain combined, the death rate or mortality increased to a fearful extent… In July and Aug the filth and crowded condition of the prison, excessive heat, and no food that a dog would hardly eat told at a fearful rate, over 100 a day dying regularly. The wagons with the dead would roll out of the south gate heaped up as long as any would stay on, and carted out to the cemetery and of course the Name, Co, Regt, date of death etc if pinned on to any rags that might have been left upon the corpse were generally torn off and so ‘Unknown’ is marked upon the record book opposite the number of the grave in most cases. . . .” Job, like his namesake, suffered greatly. For 11 months and 21 days he endured conditions so horrific that the Commandant of the camp was later hanged for war crimes.

Photo of Andersonville Prison. Conditions were poor and overcrowding was extreme.

Upon his release in May of 1865 Job returned home to Illinois, no doubt a very different man than when he left. On February 28th, 1868 he was married to Mary K. Chenoweth in Pulaski, Illinois. They moved to Nuckolls County in the early 1870s as some of the earliest pioneers of the county. They had a homestead one mile south of Oak where Job was a farmer for many years. Job and Mary had nine children, Taylor, Elizabeth, Samuel, Minnie, Grace, Louise, Job, Anna and Addie. Sadly Job Allen VI died in infancy making him the last of the line to receive the name. Minnie has the distinction of being the “third white child” born in Nuckolls County and went on to marry Harry Washington. She remained in Oak for the rest of her life and likely has descendants still living in this area. Job would eventually retire from farming and move to town. He was a member of the G.A.R and A.O.U.W. for many years and was well regarded in the community. He died January 21st, 1915 at the age of 75 years and 21 days and was laid to rest in the Oak Grove Cemetery. Thank you for your service Corporal, you are not forgotten.