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The Outpost 
THE NEWSLETTER OF THE SALT CREEK CIVIL WAR ROUND TABLE 
VOLUME XLII No. 8 April 2005 
380th Regular Meeting 
DATE: 1st April 2005 
PLACE: Lisle Hilton 
TIME: 8:00 P.M. 
SPEAKER: Steve Stewart 
TOPIC: “Soldiering in the Railroad Regiment, the Civil War 
Experiences of George and Thomas Berry, Co. G, 89th IL Volunteers” 
When reviewing the stories of Civil War regiments there is a tendency to concentrate 
on the so-called “fighting regiments”. How many articles and books have been written 
about the regiments of the Iron Brigade, the Stonewall Brigade, Hood’s Texans, the 
Excelsior Brigade? Too often we forget the work of the hundreds of relatively forgotten 
units that were no less a part of the great national drama. Our own Steve Stewart takes 
a small step toward rectifying this oversight in our April presentation. He will tell the 
story of the 89th through the words of two of its members using excerpts from wartime 
letters and diaries. 
Steve Stewart is currently Secretary of the Chicago CWRTand Past Camp 
Commander of Gen. P.H. Sheridan #2 Illinois Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War. 
He is also a 22 -year veteran of the Chicago Police Dept. currently assigned as a 
Sergeant in the Gang Intelligence section, and a graduate of the University of Illinois- 
Chicago with a BS in Accounting. The SCCWRT extends Steve its most cordial 
welcome to the podium.

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MARCH MEETING 
BY 
CINDY 
INTRAVARTOLO 
Last month, our 
speaker, Rob Girardi, portrayed Sgt. 
Joseph Greenhut of the 12th Illinois 
Infantry in “What I Saw at Shiloh…” 
before 35 members and guests at the 
379th regular meeting of the Salt Creek 
Civil War Roundtable. 
Girardi introduced himself as Sgt. 
Greenhut ,of Co. A, on his return from 
being wounded at Shiloh. He 
explained that he was born in Austria in 
1842 and came to the United States in 
1848. He grew up in Chicago while his 
father worked on the Michigan Canal 
and the Illinois Central Railroad. 
When Ft. Sumter was fired upon, 
Greenhut told how he was all fired up 
to fight for his country. On April 14th, 
he attended a meeting in the Armory in 
Downtown Chicago and joined the 
Washington Independent Regiment. On 
April 22nd, the regiment was sent to 
Camp Yates, in Springfield, to be 
mustered in. It was not accepted 
because their officer was from Virginia, 
and his loyalty to the Union was in 
doubt. Some of the boys went home, 
but Greenhut joined Co. A of the 12th 
Illinois. He signed for 90 days and and 
began training at Yates. He described 
the camp as a terrible place, with the 
biggest rats he had ever seen. 
Not long after, the regiment was sent 
by train to Caseyville, near St. Louis, 
and began training at Camp Bissel. It 
was here that they received gray state 
militia uniforms. They took a lot of grief 
for this but, there was not much they 
could do about it. He noted some New 
York regiments had gray uniforms as 
well,(Some Wisconsin too-ED.). They 
had no weapons, at first, and the first 
time they did have a chance to fire was 
during a salute for a soldier who had 
died of measles. 
In June, they were sent to Cairo, IL., 
where their 90 days almost expired 
without any action. At this point, 
however, Pres. Lincoln asked for 
enlistments for an additional three 
years. He re-enlisted on Aug. 1st and the 
men asked him to be their sergeant. 
Grant then became their commander 
and things began to change in the army. 
They moved South, to take control of 
the rivers. The men of the 12th were not 
taken to Paducah and Belmont, and 
were beginning to feel they would never 
get to fight. Finally, they got their 
chance at Forts Henry and Donelson 
where, according to Greenhut, they 
“captured the whole Confederate 
Army”. After Henry and Donelson, 
they felt like they were the heroes of the 
war, particularly since the Eastern 
theatre was not going well. 
From there, they went down the 
Cumberland River to Nashville, then to 
Corinth Miss., and eventually to 
Pittsburg Landing and Shiloh. It was 
here that they finally got their blue 
uniforms. They changed rapidly to the 
sound of gunfire coming from the front 
and Greenhut didn’t have time to put on 
his chevrons. They formed up and 
became the extreme left of the line. He 
said it was all chaos and not like the 
newspapers said. You can hear gunfire, 
but not see much, and the ground 
shakes from artillery fire. Soldiers are 
running but you can’t tell from what. 
The terrain was covered with trees, 
thickets, and ravines, which made 
fighting difficult. After many hours, the 
regiment made its way to a pond, in 
hopes of getting some water. The pond 
was red with blood for 15 to 20 feet out 
but they filled their canteens anyway.

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He was shot in the arm and wanted 
to avoid the field hospitals where the 
surgeons were piling up arms and 
limbs. He came upon Grant and 
Sherman discussing the battle at the end 
of the day and became inspired by 
Grants determination. Reinforced by 
Buell, they counterattacked the next day 
and won the field. 
After the battle, he was on a detail to 
search for the dead and wounded. The 
scene on the battlefield was one of the 
worst things he had witnessed. Two 
thousand Confederates were buried in 
mass graves 
As a result of his wound, he was sent 
to a hospital in Cairo for a few weeks 
and then to Camp Douglas in Chicago 
for discharge. He didn’t care what the 
newspapers said, with men like Grant, 
Sherman , and others, he felt certain the 
Union would be okay. 
PRESERVATION REPORT 
BY 
LEN OVERCASH SR. 
FAUQUIER CO., VA.-Local 
historians only recently realized the 
exact site of the Battle of Rappahannock 
Station-just in time to see the county’s 
planning commission approve a 
housing development right on top of it. 
The commission voted unanimously to 
approve Danforth Homes preliminary 
plan to build 80 single-family homes on 
about 20 acres along the north bank of 
the Rappahannock River. Fauquier 
Senior Planner Chuck Floyd distributed 
a composite plan for the development. 
Local history buff Larry Payne handed 
commissioners copies of a first-hand 
account of the battle. Commissioner 
John Meadows (Lee District) chatted at 
length with Josephine “Jolly” de Give , 
director of planning for Piedmont 
Environmental Council. The non-profit 
organization hopes to purchase 8 to 10 
lots to protect the core of the battlefield 
from development, Mrs. deGive said. 
The PEC staff started making phone 
calls last week, in hopes of raising 
funds, deGive said. It will seek grants 
available through the Civil War Preserv 
ation Trust, she added. The planning 
commission allowed that Mr. 
Leinberger (Danforth Homes) “may 
make revisions suitable to the 
preliminary plat to save sections of the 
battlefield area,” according to 
development conditions. The National 
Park Service ranks Rappahannock 
Station low on its list of preservation 
priorities. The battlefield falls in the 
second to last of nine group rankings. 
FAYETTEVILLE, W.VA.-After an 
aggressive media campaign to shore up 
its public image, WAL_MART is still 
stumbling into scrapes within its 
communities. A state judge in West 
Virginia has reportedly blocked the 
company’s efforts to rezone land that 
some say contains a Civil War 
battlefield and cemetery. Judge Robert 
A. Burnside Jr. ruled that a zoning reclassification, 
earlier approved by 
Fayetteville’s Planning Commission 
should be reversed and the matter sent 
back to the town. Members of the 
United Daughters of the Confederacy 
have expressed concerns that a 
shopping center would disturb a Civil 
War cemetery and part of a farm area 
that they believe to be the site of the 
Battle of Fayetteville. Several people 
claim at least 24 soldiers are buried on 
the property. 
Source: civilwarinteractive.com & the 
Civil War News

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THE VACANT 
CHAIR 
The SCCWRT joins his nearest and 
dearest in offering its deepest 
sympathies and condolences to board 
member Brian Ruxton on the death of 
his father. May he rest in peace and 
may the journey be smooth. 
ALL 
FOR 
THE 
UNION 
The Fall Gettysburg trip is officially 
canceled. 
Welcome to new members Cindy 
Heckler of Lisle and Paula Walker of 
Tinley Park. They undoubtedly make 
us stronger! 
EDITOR’S 
NOTES 
The next board meeting is at the 
home of Jan Rasmussen, 756 Sterling 
CT., Bartlett, on 3/29/05 at 7:30P.M. 
630-830-7614 
Our web-person needs our help. 
Please look at the website. Our goals are 
to help new members find us, service 
current ones, & educate the public. Are 
they being met? Any suggestions? 
What works well? Contact Stephen 
Munier at 630-790-0644 or 
7debates@myway.com 
CALENDAR OF EVENTS 
May 6th-Dan McCarthy-“Irishmen 
Meagher and Mitchel” 
June 3rd-Banquet-Speaker Thomas 
Cartwright-“Humor in the Civil War” 
(see enclosed flyer) 
June17th-97th Regimental Concert- 
Edison Middle School-Wheaton, Il. 
The Salt Creek Civil War Roundtable 
P.O. Box 4873 
Wheaton, Il. 60189-4873 
www.saltcreekcwrt.org. 
President: Rick Zarr 
Vice-President: Gil Mitchell 
Treasurer: Bill Hupp 
Asst, Treasurer: Tony Cichantk 
Secretary: Jan Rasmussen 
Historian: Cindy Intravartolo 
Sgt. At Arms: Ron Kumnick 
Newsletter Editor: Dan McCarthy, 4358 
Lawn Ave., Western Springs, IL,60558. 
708-246-7873, macarthaig@aol.com 
Newsletter Staff: Cindy Intravartolo, Len 
Overcash Sr., Jan Rasmussen