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For three months he was stationed at the navy yard in Washington, D. C. A short time before the expiration of his three months enlistment, he was offered and accepted a position as first lieutenant in the Regular Army in May 1861 and he immediately reported for duty at Indianapolis, Indiana at the headquarters of the 19th U.S. Infantry. Lieutenant Millard only performed his duty for a few months with his regiment, when he was called to the staff of Union General Lovell Rousseau, who was commanding the brigade. Millard was with General Rousseau at the battle of Shiloh, Tennessee in April of 1862.
When Confederate General Braxton Bragg left Chattanooga, Tennessee and proceeded in a flank movement to the north with the goal of capturing Louisville, Kentucky and cut off all supplies to Union General Don Carlos Buell’s Army of the Ohio in Huntsville, Alabama, Buell immediately ordered the evacuation of Huntsville, and the abandonment of the entire Union line as far north as Nashville. According to Millard, Buell’s army marched for Louisville, averaging twenty miles a day, through intense heat and dusty roads. The army arrived ahead of Bragg’s army and marched into the city. Millard was assigned to General Rousseau’s headquarters serving as his aide de camp and division inspector. Rousseau was in command of the 3rd Division, of the 1st Corps, under General Alexander McCook. The division comprised the 9th Brigade under Colonel Leonard Harris, the 17th Brigade, under Colonel William Lytle, and the 28th Brigade, under Colonel John Starkweather.
Bragg took Bardstown, Kentucky, just south of Louisville. On October 2, 1862, the Army of the Ohio marched out of Louisville in pursuit of Bragg’s army. The Union army approached Perryville, Kentucky. Perryville had not seen any rain in six weeks and every well and spring was dry. On October 8, Millard was eating lunch, when General Rousseau told Union General James Jackson, who was commander of the 10th Division, who recently received his commission as general: “Well, General, how do you like this kind of life?” Jackson replied: “Oh, it just suits me. This slushing ‘round-this constant excitement of being always on the go.”
All that morning Millard heard firing in the distance ahead of the Union army, and General Rousseau was grumbling about the “stupidity” of Captain Ebenezer Gay, commander of the 3rd Cavalry Brigade, who were “wasting their shot on nothing.” Rousseau moved forward and around noon, Rousseau and his staff dismounted again to rest for a few moments, on the brow of an extensive ravine, where a stream of pure water was flowing and beyond were some thick woods. W. F. G. Shanks, a news correspondent with the New York Herald, who volunteered as an aide asked Millard if he would like to ride with Shanks to the stream to water their horses and make a private reconnaissance into the woods. When Millard and Shanks rode a short distance in the woods, Millard was surprised to see a soldier in Confederate uniform lying near a large tree. Millard asked him what he was doing there. The Confederate soldier replied he was wounded and had been left there by his regiment, when his regiment moved forward. Millard and Shanks had no idea they were so close to the Confederates. Without saying a word, Millard and Shanks wheeled their horses around and galloped back to where Rousseau and his staff were resting.
Millard told Rousseau what they had seen and he replied: “Oh, bosh! It is impossible. There is no one anywhere near here.” Millard looked through his field glasses and said: “Well, please look there. What is that?” Millard pointed to a brigade of soldiers who filed out of the woods where Millard had just been moments ago. The Confederates emerged from the woods in an orderly formation. Millard said: “And see! They are posting a gun. We will get a shot very soon.”
Captain Cyrus Loomis, of the 1st Michigan Light Artillery, who was attached to Rousseau’s division, instantly rode up and placed his battery into position. Within a minute or two, the shot came raining down, and a fierce battle began, which lasted until sundown. General Rousseau went to Colonel John Starkweather’s brigade, which was on the Union extreme left, which was placed into position, facing the Confederates. The Union soldiers cheered Rousseau as he rode up and down in front of them, waving his hat while Colonel Starkweather remained in his place just to the rear of his command. Starkweather said to Millard: “Why don’t you tell the General that he is out of his place? Millard said: “Well, why don’t you? It might be more appropriate for you, and much safer for me, if you do it.”
A short time later, Millard met Colonel William Lytle, commanding a brigade comprised of the 10th Ohio, 42nd Indiana, 88th Indiana, 15th Kentucky, and 3rd Ohio Infantry. Lytle said: “What am I to do? Millard said: “I know of no orders for you.” Lytle told Millard: “Please tell the General I am drawn up in line of battle and am waiting orders.” Millard delivered the message to Rousseau. Rousseau told Millard: “Oh, I have no time, to attend to him now. He must do the best he can.”
Millard stated that the battle was “the hottest day as the hottest fight” he ever saw. The battle lasted from noon until dark. He reported there were about six thousand men from Rousseau’s division. By the end of the battle, there were 2,500 men either killed or wounded. Lieutenant Charles Parsons lost his battery and nearly every man in the battery. General William Terrill, who was in the Regular Artillery before the Civil War, and commanded the 33rd Brigade, under Jackson’s 10th Division, was killed. Millard stated that the “slaughter was terrific and only the left wing of the army, in which our division was incorporated, was engaged.” General Charles Gilbert, who commanded the center, “had an opportunity of distinguishing himself in the new command he then held, but, notwithstanding the repeated requests for help from us and the rear of battle which he must have heard. No help was furnished by him. His after career was probably unprecedented in the army. He was a captain in the regular army and he had received a commission as a major general of volunteers from the President. On coming to Gen. Buell, by some mistake he was assigned to the command of the center of our army, but gradually the other General found that they outranked him by the date of their commissions, and very gradually he stepped down. His appointment as general was not confirmed by the Senate and he found himself back in the Army of the Potomac with the command of only a company of infantry soldiers.”
The battle of Perryville, also known as Chaplin Hills, forced General Bragg to retreat and was able to retreat successfully from General Buell. Buell was slow in his pursuit. During the battle, Rousseau’s Assistant Adjutant General Captain Jones rode back and forth relaying messages and met a gentleman on one of his message relays. He inquired who he had the pleasure of addressing. The gentleman he met said: “I am General (Leonidas) Polk of Tennessee and you may consider yourself my prisoner.” Captain Jones was paroled immediately after the battle, and did not serve in the Union army until formally exchanged.
After the battle, Millard was very tired by the heat and excitement of the day. Millard took his saddle from his horse and had his saddle placed against a fence. He covered himself with his blanket and laid his head comfortably on the saddle and was soon sound asleep. Most of Rousseau’s staff followed Millard’s example, but Shanks rode up and said that all of the staff were sleeping just two hundred yards away from the Confederate pickets. The Confederates had just lighted their campfires and allowed the Union scouts to discover their position. Millard, along with the rest of Rousseau’s staff, got up and the whole division changed their position in order to prepare for an attack in the morning. The fires proved to be a Confederate ruse to fool the Union army into thinking there would be an attack from the Confederates in the morning. The Union army prepared for an attack. Bragg’s army left rapidly during the night and fell back to Harrodsburg.
In the morning, on October 9, General Rousseau and his staff were in line on the brow of a hill which overlooked a broad valley. An artillery shell was seen coming slowly toward Rousseau and his staff. The shell was fired from three miles away. Rousseau and his staff watched the shell as the cannonball came closer. Millard leaned to the left of his horse, in order to dodge the shell and saw the horse of the Sergeant of one of Rousseau’s headquarter orderlies, who was standing within a few feet of Millard, rear and fall backwards. Millard, along with the rest of the staff, scampered away quickly to avoid the bursting shell. The next day, Millard met the orderly, who he thought had been blown to atoms and after expressing his surprise at seeing him again, he asked Millard to come and see his horse, which he said was no more killed than he was himself. Millard went with the orderly and a strip of skin about two inches wide had been taken from the horse’ head all the way down as cleanly as if cut by a knife. The red flesh was exposed, but otherwise the horse appeared to be in as good condition as ever.
General Don Carlos Buell was very unpopular with his troops because of his slow pursuit of Bragg and Millard heard one regiment hiss him readily as he rode by them. The officers found the situation difficult to keep the men from openly denouncing Buell before their officers. Millard believed Buell to have been an able and conscientious officer, who did as well as his nature and circumstances would prompt his to do. On his arrival to Nashville, he was replaced by General William Rosecrans, who took command of what was then for the first time, called The Army of the Cumberland. i.
During the five days battle at Stone River or Murfreesboro, Tennessee, he was constantly near General Rousseau, having his horse killed under him and his overcoat perforated with bullets. An extract from a letter of W.D.B to the Cincinnati Commercial was indicative of the character and traits of Lieutenant Millard:
I desire to call the attention of wives and mothers to an exquisite little song that was composed by a soldier the night before the battle of Stone River. Lieutenant H Millard, 19th USA and aide de camp to Major General Rousseau, is the author. On the night of the 29th of December when the division bivouacked on Stewart's Creek, Lieutenant Millard's wife bade him good bye. We expected to go into battle next morning Lieutenant Millard reclined on a shock of corn looking into the blue skies thinking of his wife for soldiers think of wives and little ones at such periods His comrades were speculating on the chances of battle now and then expressing amiable envy that Millard could sleep so soundly Suddenly he sprang from his couch and calling Lieutenant Pirtle he repeated the result of his fancies to him in verse which he entitled Whisper Good Night Love. Tuesday night 30th of December while the division was bivouacked in front of Murfreesboro he composed and arranged the music for the piano. The next day five hundred and eight of Millard's comrades were bleeding on the field of battle. I don t know what our music loving lady friends may think of our soldier's song but indeed it touches soldier’s hearts.
After serving with Rousseau, he served as aide-de-camp, division commissary, and division inspector, for Generals William S Rosecrans and Innis H. Palmer. While with the Army of the Cumberland, he was wounded at Chickamauga, on September 19, 1863, and soon afterward resigned from the army. He settled in New York City, where he was appointed in 1864 to a custom-house, and remained there until 1885. Meanwhile he devoted his leisure time to musical composition, producing many songs and several masses. He also went onto become a popular composer, and was known for his best-known songs "Waiting," "When the Tide comes in," "Viva L' America,” “Under the Daisies," and "Say not Farewell." He died on September 10, 1895 in New York and is buried in the Mount Auburn Cemetery, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
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