From the Captain's Table:
This past weekend found the 5th coming out of winter quarters. The 22 members of the regiment assembled itself on the lazy banks of the Ohio river. The quaint little village of Carrollton was the area designated to meet, and form a battle strategy for the upcoming season of action. It was the first time we had the opportunity to see
Old faces and meet some new. After a rather pleasant evening of revelry we took
our repose for the night.
The following morning gave hope to another beautiful day. The company mess cook and his assistant were trying out a new stove that he had seen other units using, but because of war time shortages he fabricated one himself. It seemed to work rather well
and breakfast was served. After digesting and cleaning camp it was time for drill. For the most part it went fairly well and yet there was also other business that needed to be taken care of. The company needed to elect new leadership after Capt. Steiner’s promotion over the winter. It was proposed and seconded that the interim staff of Capt. Hocke, Lt. Julian, 1st Sgt. Zacovic, and 2nd Sgt. Foster should remain in their respective positions after which battle plans were discussed.
All however was not sunshine and roses. The weather was portending to be most disagreeable in the evening and reports were received of a group of detached union artillery, infantry and cavalry were in the area probably also trying to assemble with other units. I rallied the troops together and with the assistance of 3 pieces of field cannon, we waited to engage on the field. After a spirited cannonade I decided to break the company into squads under the respective guidance of the 1st and 2nd Sgts.
As “A” squad was trying to surround the dismounted cav. an opportunity was seen to take prisoners and glean intelligence from them. These however must have been seasoned troops, for as we charged after they emptied their weapons, they drew pistols and fired at very close range resulting in casualties. After some maneuvering the company had fronted the enemy and flanked its escape route. To avoid any further needless bloodshed Maj. Steiner and the Union commander called a halt to remove the wounded from the field, but as we were collecting our fallen, a group of local curiosity seekers had gathered and the union troops quietly slipped away. We introduced ourselves as fellow Kentuckians and marched off the field in song and high spirits.
To avoid the possibility of being caught in the open again, and to avoid the coming inclement weather, it was decided to break camp and reform at Sharonville.
Most respectfully,
Capt. Hocke
