Reminiscences of the Chattanooga campaign A paper read at the reunion of Company B, Fortieth Ohio volunteer infantry, at Xenia, O., August 22, 1894 — Story, Setting & Ideas

A Lone Soldier Behind Enemy Lines

One of the most striking passages in the early part of the speech occurs when Doan, after lying by a stump for hours, discovers that his fellow skirmishers have been silently withdrawn. He writes, "I had been missed in the darkness, and was out in the enemy’s country all alone." This moment of isolation is rendered with understated humor and tension. Doan's attempt to return to his lines is nearly thwarted by a German-accented sentry who challenges him with "Haldt, who gooms dere." The episode reveals Doan's willingness to include small, humanizing details—the mispronunciation, the fear of "mistaken identity"—that distinguish his account from a dry tactical report. It also shows how the narrative shifts between the collective experience of the company and the individual soldier's perspective, a pattern that recurs throughout the speech.

The Cave: A Geological Digression

After the battle of Chickamauga, Doan's narrative takes an unexpected turn. He describes a visit to Lookout Mountain Cave, spending six hours underground. This section is remarkable for its shift in tone and subject matter. Doan writes of stalactites "creeping down slowly and surely" and stalagmites "as slowly and surely creeping up," personifying the geological formations. He collects a stalactite "about the size and length of an ordinary lead pencil," but notes it "did not survive the fortunes of war." The cave visit culminates in a philosophical reflection on humanity's place in nature, with Doan declaring that "this warm-hearted mother earth... crowns us King." This digression—complete with bat-catching and a pun about "canning of meats"—demonstrates Doan's range as a writer, moving from military action to natural history to moral reflection, all within a single speech.

The Assault on Lookout Mountain

Returning to the campaign, Doan describes the morning of November 24, 1863, when his unit again faced Lookout Mountain. He opens with a wry question: "I wonder if you are as tired of it as I was." The description of the ascent is vivid and physical: soldiers cross a makeshift bridge of logs and fence rails, then climb the rugged slope, "holding in one hand the trusty musket and with the other grasping bush, tree, rock, anything that will assist the almost impossible ascent." Doan emphasizes the contrast between the "cloud-capped fortress" above and the climbing army below, using parallel structure to underscore the danger: "Undismayed by the herculean task before them, undaunted by rebel yells above them, unappalled by the messengers of death." This section shows Doan's ability to convey the scale and peril of the assault while maintaining a personal, almost conversational tone.

Voice and Structure: A Reunion Address

Throughout the speech, Doan addresses his audience directly—fellow veterans of Company B—creating an intimate, shared experience. He uses colloquial language ("Johnnies," "gave them every encouragement to go") and occasional humor, as when he describes the bats as "living witnesses of our visit to their home." The structure is episodic rather than strictly chronological, moving from the skirmish at Chickamauga to the cave interlude to the assault on Lookout Mountain. This reflects the oral nature of the piece: it was read aloud at a reunion, and Doan likely selected moments that would resonate with his comrades. The shifts in tone—from tense action to reflective digression to wry commentary—keep the narrative engaging and suggest a speaker who is both a participant and a storyteller, shaping his material for a specific audience.

Doan's speech is best approached as a veteran's personal recollection, not a comprehensive history. Readers should note how he balances the collective experience of his company with his own individual perspective, and how he uses digressions—like the cave visit—to reflect on broader themes. The direct address to his fellow soldiers reminds us that this was a live performance, and the conversational tone invites modern readers to imagine themselves among the audience. Pay attention to the small details: the stalactite that didn't survive, the German-accented sentry, the wry asides. These are the elements that make Doan's account a distinctive window into a soldier's experience.

In Doan’s war memoir, the cave beneath Lookout Mountain offers a moment of stillness inside chaos, a dark hollow where a soldier’s thoughts could turn inward. That same quiet lingers in The Outlaws of Cave-in-Rock Historical Accounts of the Famous Highwaymen and River Pirates — A Reader’s Guide, though here the shadows hide a different breed of restless soul. Both feel like old whispers from the earth’s secret places.