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--- a/41608-0.txt
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-The Project Gutenberg EBook of Drum Taps in Dixie, by Delavan S. Miller
-
-This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
-almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
-re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
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-
-
-Title: Drum Taps in Dixie
-       Memories of a Drummer Boy, 1861-1865
-
-Author: Delavan S. Miller
-
-Release Date: December 12, 2012 [EBook #41608]
-
-Language: English
-
-Character set encoding: UTF-8
-
-*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DRUM TAPS IN DIXIE ***
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+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 41608 ***
 
 Drum Taps in Dixie
 
@@ -6461,360 +6427,4 @@ the original text:
 
 End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Drum Taps in Dixie, by Delavan S. Miller
 
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+*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 41608 ***
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       Drum Taps in Dixie, by Delavan S. Miller&mdash;A Project Gutenberg eBook
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-The Project Gutenberg EBook of Drum Taps in Dixie, by Delavan S. Miller
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-This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
-almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
-re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
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-
-
-Title: Drum Taps in Dixie
-       Memories of a Drummer Boy, 1861-1865
-
-Author: Delavan S. Miller
-
-Release Date: December 12, 2012 [EBook #41608]
-
-Language: English
-
-Character set encoding: UTF-8
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-*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DRUM TAPS IN DIXIE ***
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+<div>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 41608 ***</div>
 
 <p class="figcenter"><img src="images/cover.jpg" alt="" /></p>
 
@@ -6668,383 +6628,7 @@ the original text:</p>
 <p><span style="margin-left: 2em;">mules of the wagon trains, and after a couple of</span><br />
 <span style="margin-left: 2em;">nowhere else for him to go.</span></p>
 
-
-
-
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-
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-
-<pre>
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-
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-End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Drum Taps in Dixie, by Delavan S. Miller
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-*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DRUM TAPS IN DIXIE ***
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+<div>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 41608 ***</div>
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-The Project Gutenberg EBook of Drum Taps in Dixie, by Delavan S. Miller
-
-This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
-almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
-re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
-with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
-
-
-Title: Drum Taps in Dixie
-       Memories of a Drummer Boy, 1861-1865
-
-Author: Delavan S. Miller
-
-Release Date: December 12, 2012 [EBook #41608]
-
-Language: English
-
-Character set encoding: ASCII
-
-*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DRUM TAPS IN DIXIE ***
-
-
-
-
-Produced by The Online Distributed Proofreading Team at
-http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images
-generously made available by The Internet Archive.)
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-Drum Taps in Dixie
-
-
-
-
-[Illustration: THE AUTHOR--A WAR-TIME PHOTOGRAPH.]
-
-
-
-
-  DRUM TAPS IN DIXIE
-
-  MEMORIES OF A DRUMMER BOY
-
-  1861-1865
-
-
-  BY DELAVAN S. MILLER
-
-
-  Watertown, N. Y.
-  Hungerford-Holbrook Co.
-  1905
-
-
-
-
-  Copyrighted 1905
-  By DELAVAN S. MILLER
-
-  Published December, 1905
-
-  HUNGERFORD-HOLBROOK CO.
-  WATERTOWN, N. Y.
-
-
-
-
-_Affectionately dedicated to my Wife and Children._
-
-
-
-
-Preface
-
-
-A chance meeting with a comrade who was instrumental in saving from
-capture a piece of artillery at the second battle of Bull Run suggested
-one of the several sketches grouped together in this volume.
-
-Memory awakened furnished material for those that followed, each article
-recalling faces, forms, scenes and incidents from out of the misty past.
-
-  "Awake but one, and lo!
-    What myriads rise!"
-
-The writer has enjoyed his reminiscing. It has been a labor of love, so to
-speak, enabling him in a measure to live the old days over again.
-
-The articles have been written at odd times after business hours, and
-should not be scrutenized too closely from a literary standpoint.
-
-The writing of the memories of a drummer boy has been a source of pleasure
-and rest to the writer, who sincerely hopes that the reading of them may
-not weary those who, in _their_ hours of rest, may scan these pages.
-
-DELAVAN S. MILLER.
-
-
-
-
-Prelude--The Drum's Story
-
-
-Yes, I am a drum, and a very old drum at that. My leather ears are twisted
-and brown. My shiny sides are scratched and marred. My once beautiful
-white head is patched and blood-stained. Yet, I am loved and tenderly
-cared for; have my own cosy corner in the attic and am better provided for
-than many of the brave men who fought for the Union. So I am content. I
-have lived my life. Was ever ready for duty. Made lots of noise. Have led
-men on the march and in battle. Now I am laid aside, growing old like all
-the boys of '61.
-
-
-
-
-Drum Taps in Dixie.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER I.
-
-OFF FOR THE WAR.
-
-
-When the news was flashed across the country that Fort Sumter had been
-fired upon the writer was a 12-year-old boy residing in West Carthage. The
-events of those days stand forth in his memory like the hillcrests of a
-landscape.
-
-The shot electrified the north, and the martial current that went from man
-to man was imparted to the boys. Favorite sports and pastimes lost their
-zest. Juvenile military companies paraded the streets every evening and
-mimic battles were fought every Saturday afternoon.
-
-The flag lowered over Fort Sumter was unfurled everywhere. Flags cost
-money in those days, too, but they were flung to the breeze from the tops
-of churches, school houses, business places and the homes of the rich and
-the poor. I used to go up on the roof of my home nearly every day to count
-the new banners.
-
-The rendezvous for the boys of our neighborhood was Jim Corey's blacksmith
-shop. Jim was a typical "village blacksmith" with a hearty greeting for
-every one, old and young. The boys could always count on Jim's sympathy if
-they had a stone bruise, got a licking at home or lacked ten cents of the
-price of a circus ticket.
-
-Corey's shop was also a favorite meeting place for the men. Here they
-would assemble after supper and discuss the all-absorbing topic, the war.
-
-One of the most regular in attendance was "Wash" Hopkins, as he was
-familiarly called. A particular nail keg with a piece of buffalo skin
-thrown over the end was the seat always reserved for him. He usually
-allowed the others to do the talking, but when he had anything to say it
-was right to the point.
-
-Almost everybody was of the opinion that the South was putting up a big
-game of bluff and that the affair would blow over quickly.
-
-On one occasion those gathered in the blacksmith shop had been discussing
-the situation and were pretty unanimous that the rebellion would be
-crushed out in sixty days. "Wash" roused himself and quietly remarked:
-"Guess you'd better make it ninety, boys."
-
-At another time a young man was telling those assembled that he had
-enlisted in a company of sharpshooters; that they were going to pick off
-the rebel officers and artillerymen as fast as they showed themselves,
-which would demoralize the troops and send them flying from the field.
-"That's all right," says "Wash," "but what do you suppose the other
-fellows are going to do while you're shooting at them? Perhaps they may
-have sharpshooters, too."
-
-How little I thought in those early days of the war that Corey and I would
-be soldiering in the same company and regiment a few months later.
-
-I recall the thrilling war meetings that were held in the churches and
-school houses. There was scarcely a place in the county where there was a
-store and postoffice that did not have its war meeting each week. It is
-worthy of mention that the most enthusiastic speakers on such occasions
-were eager to enlist--others. There comes to my mind the names of several
-who were always urging others to enlist, but who stayed at home and coined
-money while others fought, and after the war labored to have refunded to
-them by the taxpayers the money that they had expended for a substitute.
-
-Carthage sent volunteers promptly in response to Lincoln's call, and a few
-days after the fall of Sumter about two dozen young men left to join the
-old 35th New York infantry.
-
-There was no railroad to Carthage in those days, and they rode away in
-wagons drawn by four horses. The scene comes before me as I write. The sad
-partings, the waving banners, the cheers of the multitude who had gathered
-to see them off to the war. Those were anxious, exciting days that the
-present generation know but little about.
-
-Among that party of first volunteers was a favorite cousin of the writer
-who was scarcely seventeen years old. The one thing above all others that
-I wished as I saw him ride away was that I was old enough to go, too.
-
-Patriotism ran high in Carthage, and the town sent more than its share of
-volunteers in the early days of the war before there were any big bounties
-and when the pay was $11 per month.
-
-One bright morning in the fall of 1861 a motherless lad of less than
-thirteen saw his father go away with a company of men that had been
-recruited for the Morgan Flying Artillery, then being organized at Staten
-Island, in New York harbor. He wanted to go with his father, but the
-suggestion was not listened to.
-
-After the regiment was sent to Virginia Capt. Smith of the Carthage
-company returned home after more men. He brought a letter to the little
-lad from his father and, patting the boy on his head, asked him in a
-joking way how he would like to be a soldier. This gave the boy an
-opportunity that he was wanting, and he pleaded with the officer to take
-him back with him. The mother was dead, the home was broken up; the little
-fellow argued that he would be better off with his father.
-
-The tender hearted captain sympathized with the boy, but said he did not
-know what he could do with such a little fellow. The boy would not be put
-off, however. He had inherited persistency from his Scottish ancestors,
-and after much importuning the captain said that he did not know how it
-could be managed, but he would try to take the boy back with him.
-
-In March, 1862, when two months past thirteen years old, the one of whom I
-write started for the war with a squad of recruits in charge of Sergt.
-Wesley Powell. Strange to relate, this same Powell, two years and a half
-later, had charge of a detachment of soldiers carrying rations to their
-comrades on the firing line in front of Petersburg, when a shell burst so
-close to them that several were stunned, although not seriously injured,
-and among them was the boy who went to the war with the sergeant so long
-before.
-
-
-A THIRTEEN-YEAR-OLD SOLDIER.
-
-Forty-two years and over have not dimmed the recollections of the day when
-the start was made for the war. The boy got up bright and early and went
-all around among his neighboring playmates and bade them good-bye. Didn't
-he feel important, though?
-
-The party rode to Watertown in wagons, and after a supper at the old
-American hotel, boarded a train for New York. It was the first ride on the
-cars for our young volunteer.
-
-The boy might live to be one thousand years old, but he could scarcely
-forget Broadway as it appeared to him that spring day in 1862.
-
-He remembers that the next day when they were on a train passing through
-New Jersey, a party of boys from a military school boarded the car. They
-were dressed in natty new uniforms, of which they were evidently very
-proud. Sergt. Powell wore the regulation artillery uniform of that period,
-which was quite stunning with the red facings and brass epaulets, and a
-hat of black felt caught up at the side and ornamented with a black plume.
-Powell got into conversation with the school boys and finally brought them
-over to where his party was seated and said: "I want to have you meet a
-little boy who, although he is not in uniform, is going to be a real
-soldier."
-
-If there are any old veterans reading this, they will have most pleasant
-recollections and ever feel grateful to the good people of Philadelphia
-for the treatment they received whenever they passed through the city
-going to or from the war. No boy in blue was ever allowed to pass through
-the city without being well fed and comfortably cared for, if he remained
-there over night. Our party passed the night there and took an early train
-for Washington.
-
-Baltimore had earned an unenviable reputation by its hostility to the
-northern soldiers and there was always apprehension that a train bearing
-any soldiers might be stoned or fired upon. Sergt. Powell was quite a
-joker and he had worked upon the fears of the party in his charge so much
-that two or three were badly frightened when the train pulled into the
-city. The reception was in marked contrast with that in Philadelphia, but
-the passage through Baltimore was without incident.
-
-From Baltimore to Washington there was abundant evidence that the field of
-operations was not far distant. The railroad was heavily guarded, and
-camps of soldiers were frequently seen. The boy who two days before had
-left a quiet country town had to pinch himself occasionally to see if he
-were really awake and that it was not all a dream.
-
-Washington swarmed with soldiers. Troops were camped right in the heart of
-the city. Heavily laden wagons with the wheels in mud and ruts clear up to
-the hubs were pulled through Pennsylvania avenue by six and eight mule
-teams. The capitol and the Washington monument were then unfinished.
-
-Our party made a short stay in the city and took boat for Alexandria, an
-old-time southern town with hordes of negroes, slave pens and other
-reminders of the ante-bellum days.
-
-It was a three mile walk to the forts occupied by the Second New York
-Heavy Artillery. The regiment that afternoon was practicing firing the big
-cannons in Fort Worth. There were some 32 and 64 and two 100-pounders in
-the fort, and the small boy who had never heard any ordnance except an
-old moss-back cannon at a Fourth of July celebration remembers that the
-cold chills went creeping up his back as the party drew near the fort, for
-the earth fairly trembled when the big "dogs of war" barked. The father
-had not been notified that his son was coming to join him, and
-consequently you may be sure that he was more than surprised when he saw
-an officer leading by the hand a little lad whom he supposed was so far
-away.
-
-The father was a man of few words--"what couldn't be cured must be
-endured," so he brushed two or three tear drops away and went back to the
-command of his gun squad and the boy sat down on a pile of cannon balls,
-smelled burning powder and heard the roar of the big guns until he was not
-sure but that he would prefer to be back in York state.
-
-This was in the early days of the war and there was not much system about
-anything. Probably if it had been a year later and the boy had had to pass
-a regular examination and muster he would have been sent home. But he,
-with the rest of the recruits, was merged into the company without any
-formalities. It did puzzle the captain, though, to know what to do with
-the youngster, and one day when the regiment was out for inspection the
-colonel said to Capt. Smith: "Mein Gott, captain! pe you taking
-soldiers from the cradles?"
-
-[Illustration: SERGT. LOTEN MILLER Father of Author.]
-
-Smith said: "I know I have got a number of quite young soldiers, colonel,
-but you will find that Co. H will keep its end up with any organization in
-the regiment."
-
-The first night in camp the boy did not sleep well. The artillery practice
-in the fort after his arrival and the thunder of the 32 and 64-pounders
-and the smell of the burning powder weakened his boyish enthusiasm
-somewhat. And then the bed he had to sleep on was something different from
-what he had been accustomed to. So after the bugles had sounded "lights
-out" he lay awake a long time, listening to the singing of the
-whippoorwills and thought of the great change that had come into his life
-in so short a time, and wondered if the realities of a soldier's life
-would meet his expectations.
-
-
-A NIGHT ALARM.
-
-Suddenly like a clap of thunder from a clear sky came the report of a
-musket outside the fort. The bugles sounded the alarm, and the drummers in
-the neighboring camps rattled off the "long roll" with a recklessness
-characteristic of youth.
-
-"Turn out! Turn out! Turn out!" the bugles sounded. "Fall in! Fall in!
-Fall in!" yelled the orderly sergeants, and, half dressed, the men were
-marched into the fort and stationed at the guns.
-
-The commotion soon subsided and there was not a sound except for the
-neighing of the horses in the cavalry camps and the whinnering of the
-mules of the wagon train, and after a couple of hours' waiting the men
-were marched back to their company streets. In the morning it was learned
-that the alarm was occasioned by the attempt of a detachment of Mosby's
-men to steal some horses from a cavalry camp.
-
-These midnight excursions of the famous Confederate "Rough Rider" were of
-frequent occurrence during the first two years of the war.
-
-
-THE FIRST UNIFORM.
-
-The young recruit's first uniform was a bad fit. The coat sleeves and
-pants were several inches too long, but a camp tailor fixed them and the
-first day the boy wore the suit he did as every other volunteer before him
-had done, went and posed for a "tintype" before a background representing
-various scenes of military life. Some of the specimens of the
-photographer's art in those days were enough to make a horse laugh.
-
-The Second New York had been organized as a light artillery regiment and
-were then known as the "Morgan Flying Artillery," so called in honor of
-Gov. Morgan, but only one company got their guns and horses when it was
-decided that no more light batteries were wanted. So the balance of the
-regiment was turned into heavy artillery (heavy infantry.)
-
-
-A DRUMMER BOY.
-
-The change called for fifers and drummers instead of buglers, and the
-Jefferson county boy was the first drummer the regiment had, his drum
-being a present from the officers at Fort Worth.
-
-A full regimental drum corps was soon organized, and right here it may be
-proper to say that an old army drum corps in the sixties could make music.
-A boy would not "pass muster" in those days unless he could do the double
-and single drag with variations, execute the "long roll," imitate the
-rattle of musketry, besides various other accomplishments with the sticks.
-And when a dozen or more of the lads, with their caps set saucily on the
-sides of their heads, led a regiment in a review with their
-get-out-of-the-way-Old-Dan-Tuckerish style of music, it made the men in
-the ranks step off as though they were bound for a Donnybrook fair or some
-other pleasure excursion.
-
-
-THE FIRST DRUM.
-
-It is with feelings of real tenderness that I write of my first drum. It
-was none of the common sort such as furnished by Uncle Sam, but was the
-best that money could buy, and was a gift from the officers at Fort Worth
-in the spring of 1862. A requisition for instruments was a long time in
-being filled, owing to the vast amount of red tape in use, so the
-officers at our fort presented me with a drum.
-
-How well I remember the day when I accompanied Capt. Joslin to Washington,
-and he, taking me into a large music store on Pennsylvania avenue, ordered
-the clerk to let me have the best drum in the store.
-
-How anxious I was to get back to our camp in Virginia so I could test it,
-and how my heart went pit-a-pat, as, alone, I marched with my new drum
-down the line at dress parade the next day. Several months later my
-precious drum was put out of action by a piece of a rebel shell at Bull
-Run and was among the trophies gathered up by the confederates in the
-stampede that followed.
-
-Its loss I regretted exceedingly, for its equal in tone and other good
-qualities I never tapped the sticks to again. It was a beauty, too; and
-was my first drum.
-
-
-DRUMMERS' DUTIES.
-
-It is hardly to be wondered at that the drummer boys of the 60s got to be
-very proficient in the handling of the sticks, for when in camp they were
-having practice from early morn until late at night, and many a time they
-had to get out in the night and beat the "long roll" for ten or fifteen
-minutes.
-
-They were the early risers of the camps, too, for at daybreak the fifers
-and drummers of a regiment would all assemble and sound the reveille,
-which was several minutes exercise of the most vigorous kind.
-
-The following verses on the reveille were written by a soldier, Michael
-O'Connor, a sergeant in the 140th New York, and have been pronounced by
-competent critics as among the "finest lyric lines in the language."
-
-  SONG OF THE DRUMS.
-
-  "The morning is cheery, my boys, arouse!
-  The dew shines bright on the chestnut boughs,
-  And the sleepy mist on the river lies,
-  Though the east is flushed with crimson dyes.
-  Awake! Awake! Awake!
-  O'er field and wood and brake,
-  With glories newly born,
-  Comes on the blushing morn,
-  Awake! Awake!"
-
-  "You have dreamed of your homes and friends all night.
-  You have basked in your sweetheart's smiles so bright;
-  Come part with them all for a while again--
-  Be lovers in dreams; when awake be men.
-  Turn out! Turn out! Turn out!
-  The east is all aglow,
-  Turn out! Turn out!"
-
-  "From every valley and hill there come
-  The clamoring voices of fife and drum;
-  And out in the fresh, cool morning air
-  The soldiers are swarming everywhere.
-  Fall in! Fall in! Fall in!
-  Every man in his place.
-  Fall in! Fall in! Fall in!
-  Each with a cheerful face.
-  Fall in! Fall in!"
-
-The next duty of the fifers and drummers was to sound the sick call. The
-boys made up some appropriate verses which I cannot recall except one
-line:
-
-  "Come and get your quinine, quinine, quinine."
-
-The drummers were active participants in the guard mounting exercises
-which took place about 9 o'clock in the morning, and usually there was
-from one to two hours' practice among the musicians in the forenoon, which
-was repeated in the afternoon unless there was a battalion drill, in which
-case they took part in the manoeuvres of the troops.
-
-Their next duty was at dress parade, where they took a prominent part in
-what is the most pleasing and spectacular affair of the day.
-
-At 9 o'clock they assemble again and beat the tattoo for the evening roll
-call, and fifteen minutes later taps are sounded and the day's duties are
-ended.
-
-In a camp there were always some heavy sleepers and it was the business of
-the drummers in beating the morning reveille to make noise enough to awake
-them. Many a time have I seen a fellow rush out of his tent attired in
-nothing but shirt, drawers and cap and take his place in the ranks hardly
-in time to answer "here" when his name was called.
-
-  THE MUSIC OF THE DRUMS.
-
-  Ringing with a siren's song,
-    Throbbing with a country's wrong,
-      Making patriots brave and strong,
-        Foes must die or yield.
-          Calling out the new-born day,
-            Marking each night's gentle sway,
-              Ready whate'er comes.
-                Calls to duty, calls to play,
-                  Calls for rest and calls for fray
-                    Rolling, roaring all the day,
-                      The Music of the Drums.
-
-Fife and drum have been heard in every camp and upon all of the
-battlefields of the world. And for a marching column there is nothing like
-martial music of the good old-fashioned kind, such as inspired the
-continental heroes at Lexington, Yorktown and Bunker Hill, and rallied the
-boys of '61, and later led them in all the marches through the South.
-
-Martial music seems to have gone out of fashion in these up-to-date days,
-and what little there is, is but a poor apology, with the bugle blasts
-interjected between the rub-a-dub-dubs of the drummers who hardly know
-their a b c's about snare drumming.
-
-I have heard but one good drum corps since the war, and that was at the G.
-A. R. gathering at Buffalo a few years ago. An old time drum corps, who
-styled themselves the "Continentals" were present. It was composed of
-veterans over 70 years of age, and, say, they could double discount any
-other organization present.
-
-Many of the crack brass bands of the country were there, but they were not
-in it with the old martial band. Their music--mind the expression,
-"music"--caught on with all the swell people of the city who thronged the
-camp waiting for an opportunity to hear them, and the veterans went wild
-as they heard again the reveille and tattoo and the old familiar strains
-of "Yankee Doodle," "The Girl I Left Behind Me," "Rory O'More," "The
-Campbells Are Coming," "Hail to the Chief," and many other reminders of
-the old days.
-
-
-TWO AMBITIONS.
-
-Two boys when coming home from the war were talking over what they were
-going to do. One whom we will call Joe said he was going to have all of
-the strawberry shortcake he wanted, and then he was going to have mother
-make some of the good old-fashioned flap-jacks that he liked so well. "I
-am going to have her make them the full size of the round griddle, and as
-she bakes them I'm going to spread them with butter and shaved up maple
-sugar until the pile is a foot high and then I'll sit down and have all
-the pancakes I want for once. What are you going to do, Bill?"
-
-"Me? I'm going to go to every dance, minstrel show, singing school and
-revival meeting I can hear of in forty miles, and I'm going home with
-every pretty girl I get a chance to. And another thing I'm going to do,
-I'll sit up nights and burn a light until I get an all fired good ready to
-go to bed. And I'm goin' to hire a fifer and drummer to come and play in
-front of our house every mornin'."
-
-[Illustration: DRUM CORPS OF THE 2ND NEW YORK HEAVY ARTILLERY.]
-
-"Why, Bill, what in thunder you goin' to do that for? I should think that
-you'd had enough of fifin' and drummin' for awhile."
-
-"Well," says Bill, "I'm goin' to do it, and I'm goin' to have them play
-the reveille good and strong for fifteen minutes, and then I'm goin' to
-shove up the chamber window and throw my bootjack at 'em, and yell: 'To
-h--l with your reveille.'"
-
-
-RIVAL DRUM CORPS.
-
-The first two years of the war we were brigaded with a certain
-Massachusetts regiment that was about as fine a body of men as I ever saw
-together. In fact they looked like a picked lot of soldiers so near of a
-height were they all.
-
-Their drum corps was a good one, too, but of course the boys of the Second
-New York thought they were a little better than the Bay State fellows,
-consequently quite a little rivalry existed between the organizations, and
-when the regiments were out for a review or brigade drill the stalwart
-drummers from down East would always try to drown out the lads of the
-Second Heavy. They were all full grown men while our drum corps was made
-up of boys all under eighteen years of age. Their music was always of the
-"When the Springtime Comes, Gentle Annie," and "Chunks of Pudding and
-Pieces of Pie," style, played in 6-8 time, just suited to the stalwart men
-in their ranks; while ours was more of the "Rory O'More," "Garry Owen" and
-"Get-out-of-the-way-Old-Dan-Tucker" sort, which we played 2-4 time, better
-adapted to the quick-stepping New Yorkers behind us. We had some dandy
-uniforms, too, and I know we were a trim-looking lot in our close-fitting
-jackets with plenty of brass buttons and red trimmings, and "McClellan
-caps" setting saucily on the side of our heads. Harry Marshall, our drum
-major, was one of the handsomest young fellows that ever led a drum corps
-down the line on dress parade; and was as good and pure as handsome. He
-handled his baton with a skill and grace of manner that would have
-captivated all the pretty girls of a town if we could have marched through
-its principal street. And when it came to beating a drum he was what the
-small boys of today would call a "corker."
-
-Harry was a dandy and no mistake, and when we led the Second Heavy in a
-review we knew that we were doing it about right.
-
-One day when we were at Arlington the general commanding the brigade
-ordered the troops out for brigade drill, review, etc. His family and
-some friends were visiting him and he wished to show the men off to his
-guests. We went through various brigade evolutions, followed by
-exhibitions in skirmish drill by detachments from the regiments. The
-officer who commanded the detachment from the Second New York was Captain
-Barry, a beau ideal of a soldier, who met his death at Petersburg later in
-the war. (By the way, I never saw Col. James R. Miller out with old "C"
-company but what I was reminded of Capt. Barry, both in his looks and
-soldierly bearing.)
-
-Capt. Barry had the skirmish business down fine and he took Harry Marshall
-with his drum, and walked out in front of the general and put his men
-through the various movements for half an hour or more and his commands
-were not heard only by our drum major, who tapped them out on his drum.
-
-It captivated the general and his guests and when the squad returned to
-their place with the regiment the ladies in the general's party clapped
-their hands and waved their handkerchiefs.
-
-The closing event of the day was the marching in review of the different
-regiments, and again our boys received a recognition from the reviewing
-party that must have made the Massachusetts men's eyes green with envy.
-
-Our regiment was the last to pass, and when we came opposite of the
-general, we wheeled out and played as the men marched by, and then fell in
-at the rear of the column, and just as we were marching off the field the
-general's young daughter, a miss in her teens--came cantering towards us,
-and riding up to Harry handed him a beautiful silk flag about three feet
-long mounted on a dainty light staff such as is used for the headquarters
-guidons. Harry waved a graceful acknowledgement with his baton and the
-blushing girl rode back to the reviewing party.
-
-
-MUFFLED DRUMS.
-
-In the fall of 1862, Jimmie, one of the drummer boys of the Second New
-York, sickened and died. He had been a slender little fellow, and the Bull
-Run campaign was too much for him. He lingered along for weeks in the
-hospital and when he realized that he must answer the last roll call he
-wished the surgeon to send for his comrades of the drum corps. It was his
-wish that we should stand at parade rest in the aisle between the cots.
-From under his pillow he took a little Bible and opening it at the 23d
-Psalm handed it to Harry Marshall, our drum major, and motioned for him to
-read the beautiful words. Need I say that there were no dry eyes? And I
-think from that moment life to most of the boys present had a more serious
-meaning.
-
-The next Sabbath afternoon with muffled drums and slow, measured tread, we
-escorted his remains to a little knoll 'neath a clump of pines near
-Arlington. The chaplain said "Earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to
-dust." A volley was fired over the grave, our drums unmuffled and back to
-camp we went, beating a lively quickstep.
-
-  "Fold him in his country's stars,
-    Roll the drums and fire the volley!
-  What to him are all our wars,
-    What but death be mocking folly!"
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER II.
-
-THE THORNY PATH OF FOREIGN-BORN OFFICERS.
-
-
-The soldiers who enlisted early had some fun that the boys missed who went
-out after things were in good shape and the officers had learned the
-tactics so they did not have to stop in giving an order until they
-consulted a drill-book. It took some little time, however, for the young
-volunteer of '61 to understand that if he was "just as good as them
-fellers with the shoulder straps," that the first word in military tactics
-was "obey."
-
-I heard of a lieutenant drilling a squad of recruits who had been
-neighbors and schoolmates. He put them through with various exercises,
-such as "right and left face," "right about face," "right dress," "mark
-time," etc., and after a while the boys got tired of doing the same things
-over and over. Finally one spoke up to the officer as follows: "I say,
-Tom, let's quit this darn foolin' and go over to the sutler's."
-
-The Second New York Artillery began its career under difficulties. It was
-cursed with some officers in '61-'62 whose qualifications only fitted
-them for service with a mule train.
-
-Men with military training and experience were not plentiful when the war
-began. Any foreigner with the least bit of military knowledge and who had
-a fierce looking moustache could easily obtain a commission.
-
-Our first commander was a Colonel Burtnett, who was commonly called "three
-fingered Jack" by the boys. His command was of brief duration. It was
-understood that he resigned by request. When he was taking his departure
-somebody proposed "three groans for our late lieutenant colonel" and they
-were given with a will.
-
-
-ONE OF KOSSUTH'S OFFICERS.
-
-Early in the spring of 1862 Col. Gustav von Wagner came to our regiment.
-He was a Hungarian refugee and had seen service with Kossuth. He claimed
-to have been chief of artillery under Grant at Fort Donelson, and the
-Second New York regretted that Grant did not keep him.
-
-The colonel awoke one morning and the first thing his eyes looked upon was
-a mule dressed in uniform standing demurely in his tent. It was said that
-he swore in several languages but he never found out who perpetrated the
-huge joke on him.
-
-The officers of our fort arranged to have a little party one evening, the
-principal in the arrangements being Lieut. Stewart. The colonel had taken
-a dislike to Stewart in some way and when he learned what was going on he
-detailed the lieutenant to command the headquarters guard that night. The
-colonel occupied a fine house that had been used by Gen. McClellan for his
-headquarters before he left with his army, and Stewart got even with the
-colonel by firing off a gun after the party was in full blast. This caused
-a fright among the pickets who commenced firing, which caused a general
-alarm that resulted in the breaking up of the party and the regiment had
-to stand by the guns in the forts all night.
-
-The colonel took the regiment on a long march one day in the direction of
-Fairfax court house. We skirmished through swamps and waded in streams
-nearly waist deep. The colonel issued orders that there must not be any
-"shying" at a mud puddle or creek, every man must go straight through
-them.
-
-One of our captains was quite a fleshy man and as the weather was very hot
-the march was hard on him. He was greatly beloved by his men, however, and
-when we came to the first deep creek two of his soldiers carried him
-across dry. The colonel rode along just in time to witness the act and he
-ordered the men to carry the officer back and then the captain was told to
-wade through.
-
-
-OLD "QUICKER NOR THAT."
-
-The most unique character of all was Maj. Roach or old "Quicker-nor-that"
-as he became known. Maj. Roach was a Scotchman and had seen service in the
-British army and when he was drilling the regiment and wanted them to
-close up would yell out, "Quicker-nor-that, there." "Mind your distance;
-18 inches," and soon the boys got to calling him "Maj. Quicker-nor-that."
-A witty Irishman by the name of Mike Lanehan composed some verses, the
-chorus of which ended with:
-
-  "Eighteen inches from belly to back,
-  Quicker nor that, quicker nor that."
-
-The boys learned the words and used to sing them at night for Roach's
-benefit, which made him furious.
-
-One day when Roach was drilling the men in one of the forts he got hurt on
-a heavy gun carriage. The major's tent was just outside the fort and a
-short cut was made for his benefit by running a plank from the top of the
-parapet across the ditch, and the injured officer was carried across the
-plank by two of the men.
-
-A soldier by the name of Pitcher saw them carrying the major across the
-ditch and sang out, "Dump him, boys, dump the old sinner in the ditch."
-
-Roach recognized the voice and called back, "I know you, Pitcher, and I'll
-break your pitcher for you," and true to his word he caused the offender
-to suffer by making a "spread eagle" of him on the wheel of a gun.
-
-Roach's performances on dress parade and battalion drills made him and us
-the laughing stock of Phil Kearney's Jersey brigade and other of
-McClellan's troops who were encamped about us.
-
-The major used to prowl around nights and try to find out if any of the
-sentries were shirking their duties. One night he approached the post of
-one of our own Co. H. boys whose name was Patrick Devereaux. Pat was a
-typical son of Erin and withal a good soldier, and as he expressed it did
-not fear "shoulder straps nor the divil." He halted old "Quicker-nor-that"
-and demanded the countersign. This was given and then the major thought he
-would see if the man knew his duties, and he said, "It's a pleasant
-evening, sentry; let me see your gun a minute." Instantly the point of the
-bayonet on Pat's musket was pressed against the officer's breast, and he
-was told to "mark time." Roach thought the man fooling, but Patsy says to
-him, "Oi'm a bigger man on me post than yersilf, and Oi'l learn ye betther
-than to be playin' tricks on a gintleman who is doin' his duty. Mark time,
-Oi say, and ye betther step off 'quicker nor that' or Oi'l be proddin' ye
-wid me bay'net."
-
-The major swore and threatened, but Pat could not be intimidated and he
-kept Roach marking time until the officer of the guard relieved him.
-
-Strange to say the major took the matter as a good joke and Devereaux
-escaped punishment.
-
-
-A QUIET GAME AFTER TAPS.
-
-I recall another instance when the major got the worst of it. The boys had
-been forbidden to play cards in their tents after "taps," when all lights
-had to be extinguished in the company streets. The cooking shanties were
-quite a little back of the camp and just over the crest of a deep ravine;
-so when the boys wanted a quiet game of "5-cent ante" with sutler
-tickets--for money was pretty scarce then--they would betake themselves to
-the cook houses where a light could not be seen from the officers'
-quarters.
-
-Roach got on to their game, however, and one night planned to surprise
-them from the rear. He had been observed by someone who notified the poker
-players and they prepared a little surprise for him. When the major was
-walking up the back steps Sergt. ---- emptied a kettle of bean soup all
-over him.
-
-The sergeant paid the penalty by losing his chevrons; but I will add that
-after Roach had been dismissed from the service, the man whom he reduced
-to the ranks, became one of the best line officers of the regiment and at
-the assault of Petersburg won a captain's bars for bravery.
-
-Another odd character among the officers was a certain lieutenant whom the
-boys named "Spider."
-
-He was over fond of "commissary" and nearly always wore a pair of rubber
-boots. The men disliked him and never lost a chance to torment him--when
-it could be done without being detected--by calling out "here comes
-'Spider' and his rubber boots."
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER III.
-
-LITTLE MAC AND HIS GRAND ARMY--THE SECOND BULL RUN.
-
-
-Probably the most popular commander of the Union forces in the civil war
-was General George B. McClellan. Whatever his faults, he was idolized by
-his men. Historians may write him up or down according to their bias, but
-the boys who carried the muskets away back in '62, who were with him at
-Yorktown, Williamsburg, Malvern Hill, Fair Oaks and Antietam, believed in
-him and through all the long years since then have had a warm place in
-their hearts for the memory of Little Mac.
-
-We saw McClellan's army start out in the spring of '62 for their
-Peninsular campaign and our boys were hopping mad to think we were left
-behind. The great majority of the men really felt that the war would be
-ended before we had a chance to take a hand in. I may say that the drummer
-boys, full of young red blood, were as eager for the fray as the older
-men, but most of us had got enough of war before we reached Appomattox.
-
-
-THE IDOL OF HIS MEN.
-
-The greatest ovation that the writer ever saw given any general was on the
-occasion of McClellan's return to the army after the second battle of Bull
-Run.
-
-It will be remembered that on his return from the Peninsular campaign he
-had been relieved and his troops had been ordered to join Pope's forces.
-Gen. Pope was the man who, on assuming command a few weeks before, had
-announced with a flourish of trumpets that his headquarters would be "in
-the saddle." But he was no match for "Stonewall" Jackson, who kept him
-running towards Washington, and would have annihilated his army at
-Manassas but for the timely arrival of McClellan's forces. As it was, the
-army had to take refuge in the defenses of Washington and there was
-anxiety for the safety of the capitol.
-
-In the emergency President Lincoln appealed to McClellan to go over into
-Virginia and resume command and reorganize the shattered hosts, and
-McClellan, putting aside his personal feelings, consented to do so. The
-condition of the troops was such that they were not inclined to enthuse
-very much over any officer. They were ragged, nearly shoeless and
-thoroughly worn out, but when one afternoon word was passed among them
-that "Little Mac" was coming they rushed to the roadside, flung their
-caps high in the air and cheered themselves hoarse.
-
-McClellan loved his men and their reception pleased him. He rode the
-entire length of the lines with bared head, smiling and bowing to the
-right and left. Two days later he led 90,000 of them over into Maryland,
-and won a grand victory at Antietam, sending Lee's hosts back to Virginia
-again, but it was the bloodiest battle of the war up to that time, for
-each side had a loss of from 12,000 to 15,000 men.
-
-Lincoln visited the army on the battlefield and personally thanked
-McClellan for the victory, and the soldiers felt that they were to have
-their old commander with them to the end, but political influences were at
-work against him in Washington and he had to retire soon after.
-
-It has always been an open question whether McClellan would not have been
-the great general of the war if he had been given all the troops he wanted
-and been allowed to act on his own judgment without dictation from Stanton
-and Halleck. But it was not until later in the war that those in authority
-at Washington learned that the general with his troops is the one to
-command them.
-
-
-GOING AFTER STONEWALL.
-
-In August, 1862, our regiment received orders to march to join Gen. Pope's
-forces, then operating in the vicinity of Culpeper and Gordonsville, and
-there was great rejoicing among the men, who had begun to fear that the
-rebellion might collapse without their having a smell of powder.
-
-The shades of evening were coming on when the bugles sounded the
-"assembly" and we marched away with light hearts and heavy knapsacks, for
-all green soldiers are bound to overload on their first march.
-
-That night we lay out on the ground alongside of the Orange & Alexandria
-railroad. When morning dawned we found that there were other troops bound
-for somewhere, too. Every man made his own coffee and we ate our first
-meal of "hardtack," and were not long in finding out that the safest way
-was to break them in small pieces and sort the worms out.
-
-After that breakfast I went over to a sutler's tent and filled up my
-haversack with fried pies, cookies, crackers and other trash that a boy
-likes.
-
-Late that afternoon we started out on the "pike" in the direction of
-Fairfax court house and were rushed along at a lively gait until nearly
-midnight. The men were young and light hearted, and as we marched there
-was the rollicking laugh, sharp joke, equally as keen a retort, queer and
-humorous sayings, breaking out from the ranks here and there, and then all
-would sing, "John Brown's Body" and "We'll Hang Jeff Davis to a Sour Apple
-Tree."
-
-We halted that night near a little place called Accotink and bivouacked in
-a large open field, and I recall how quickly the rail fences were
-converted into huge camp fires, for the Virginia nights are nearly always
-chilly.
-
-The march was resumed early the next morning and the day was a hot one.
-
-The most aggravating thing to the soldiers on a march is the unevenness of
-the marching. First you are rushed along so that the short legged ones are
-compelled to double-quick to keep up, and then there will be a halt of
-perhaps fifteen to thirty minutes when you are kept standing in the
-broiling sun; then start again and stop five minutes later.
-
-It struck me as funny that not one person in ten you met in the country
-knew anything about distances. If you met a colored man and asked how far
-it was to Manassas he would reply "'Deed, boss, I don't know, 'spec 'tis a
-right smart distance."
-
-Another would say it was eight miles, and after going a mile or two you
-would ask again and would be told it was ten miles and a "bit."
-
-
-NOTHING LIKE HARDTACK.
-
-I found on the second day's march that the sutler's "goodies" which I had
-stocked up with had absorbed a little too much of the flavor of my
-haversack to be palatable, so I returned to Uncle Sam's ration of
-hardtack, salt junk and coffee, which cannot be beaten for a steady diet
-when campaigning.
-
-We halted for a rest that noon near a beautiful old mansion between
-Fairfax and Centreville. The boys made themselves pretty free with
-whatever they wanted around the premises, notwithstanding the protests of
-the women of the household, one of whom observed that "you'uns think you
-are right smart now, but if Stonewall Jackson catches you he'll lick you
-so you won't be so peart the next time you come this way."
-
-We little thought the prediction would come true in a brief twenty-four
-hours, but such was the case and when hot, tired and choking with thirst
-and dust, we stopped at the same place the next afternoon, thinking to
-refresh ourselves with some sparkling water from the "moss covered bucket
-that hung in the well," we found that it, and in fact all of the
-appliances for drawing water had been removed, and, looking back from this
-distance, I think they served us right.
-
-
-THE SECOND BULL RUN.
-
-The night of Aug. 26, 1862, our regiment was preparing to go into camp at
-Bull Run bridge when an excited horseman rode among us and asked for our
-colonel. The rider proved to be Capt. Von Puttkamer, who with his own
-battery, the 11th New York, and part of Battery C, 1st New York, had
-preceded us by a few hours. He reported that the Confederates had attacked
-Manassas Junction, capturing his battery and all the government stores at
-that point and he implored our colonel to take his regiment and "git him
-pack his pattery."
-
-Col. Von Wagner, after informing him that he "Vas prigadeer sheneral in
-command," ordered the captain to lead the way and he would make short work
-of them "Shonnies."
-
-After marching and counter-marching around in the darkness part of the
-night we lay down and waited for morn. Daylight revealed the enemy in
-force. General Jackson had outwitted Pope completely and had a large part
-of his army between Pope and Washington.
-
-As soon as it was light enough we moved forward and a little later
-encountered the enemy near Manassas.
-
-Our skirmishers fired on the rebel cavalry, who retreated after two or
-three volleys, behind some buildings. Several riderless horses were soon
-galloping around, so we assumed that the shots had been effective.
-
-Soon the enemy commenced to throw shell at us from numerous guns and
-maintained a heavy fire for some time. We were ordered to lie down and
-thus escaped with few casualties. My drum that was on the top of a pile of
-officers' luggage in the rear of the line was ruined by a piece of shell.
-
-About 10 o'clock the Confederates attempted to turn our left flank, but
-our line was changed to intercept the movement, which was unsuccessful.
-The rebel infantry had been brought up to the front line and were firing
-at us at a furious rate. It being apparent that we were outnumbered our
-colonel ordered a retreat, which was conducted in an orderly manner until
-Gen. Stuart sent his cavalry after us and then a panic ensued.
-
-Just before our march to the front the son of an officer of the regiment
-came to make his father a visit, and being there when we got orders to
-take the field, he thought it would be a fine thing to go along and see
-the sights--a sort of picnic. We, being somewhere near the same age, were
-in each other's company a great deal. When the regiment became engaged at
-Bull Run we were the source of much anxiety to our fathers and, not being
-of any particular use on the firing line, were sent to the rear, where the
-baggage wagons and "coffee coolers" were assembled. When the break in the
-lines occurred and the troops rushed pell mell to the rear there were some
-lively movements. Everybody went and stood not on the order of their
-going. Charley Rogers of our company--a former resident of Lorraine--drove
-a four-horse team which drew a wagon loaded with baggage belonging to the
-officers of the regiment. Charley saw us boys and called out to "get
-aboard," and be "damn lively about it, too." It was one of the old style
-government wagons, canvas-covered with a round hole at the rear end. We
-crawled up in front and sat with our backs against Charley's seat and
-facing the rear. Didn't we get a shaking up, though? For Rogers sent the
-horses for all they were worth. Occasionally there would be a jam in the
-road caused by some wagon breaking down. Near Bull Run Bridge a blockade
-occurred, and while we sat there expecting that the rebel cavalry would
-swoop down and demand our surrender we were terrorized by seeing the point
-of a bayonet looking at us through the hole at the rear of the wagon.
-Before we recovered ourselves enough to speak somebody behind that gun and
-bayonet gave it a shove and the glittering piece of cold steel passed
-between us two boys and embedded itself in the back of Charley's seat.
-Then the pale face of a soldier was stuck through the hole and instead of
-a Johnnie reb it was one of our regiment by the name of Hawkins.
-
-When near Bull Run bridge the road became so blocked that we could not
-move.
-
-A section of a light battery came along and the drivers thought they could
-pull out to the roadside and pass. In doing so the wheels of one gun sank
-in the soft ground and, toppling over on the side, became entangled in the
-fence.
-
-Nearly all of the men deserted it and ran for dear life.
-
-One driver stuck to his horses and plied the whip, but the carriage
-refused to move.
-
-The enemy were coming steadily on and the bullets began to whistle
-unpleasantly. We had gotten out of our wagon, intending to go ahead on
-foot.
-
-About this time along came a member of our company by the name of Will
-McNeil, who was serving as a teamster. He had abandoned his wagon and was
-riding one of his big mule team and leading the other.
-
-Hawkins hailed him, saying "See here McNeil, hitch your mules on ahead of
-these artillery horses and let's save this gun from capture."
-
-"All right," says McNeil, and in less time than it takes to tell it Mc's
-mules were made the lead team and McNeil and Hawkins stood at their side
-and plied the whips, and they lifted the gun and saved it from falling
-into the hands of the enemy, for it would surely have been captured, but
-for Hawkins and McNeil.
-
-Between Bull Run and Centreville we met Gen. Taylor and his Jersey brigade
-that had been sent out by rail from Alexandria to try and regain the lost
-fight, but Jackson had pushed forward A. P. Hill's and Bristol's divisions
-and several batteries, and the Jersey troops were quickly routed, Gen.
-Taylor himself losing a leg in the encounter.
-
-The story of the battle, the skeedaddle, etc., is a matter of history. It
-was a contest of several days and both armies became involved.
-
-Thousands of brave men were killed and wounded and among the officers who
-gave up their lives on the Union side was the beloved and dashing Gen.
-Phil Kearney, who made such a record at the battle of Seven Pines.
-
-The story of his conduct that day has been told in verse by the poet,
-Stedman:
-
-  "So that soldierly legend is still on its journey
-    That story of Kearney who knew not to yield!
-  'Twas the day when with Jameson, fierce Berry and Birney,
-    Against twenty thousand he rallied the field.
-  Where the red volleys poured, where the clamor rose highest,
-    Where the dead lay in clumps through the dwarf oak and pine,
-  Where the aim from the thicket was surest and nighest,
-    No charge like Phil Kearney's along the whole line."
-
-         *       *       *       *       *
-
-  "He snuffed like his charger the wind of the powder,
-    His sword waved us on and we answered the sign;
-  Loud our cheer as we rushed, but his laugh rang the louder;
-    There's the devil's own fun, boys, along the whole line!
-  How he strode his brown steed! How we saw his blade brighten
-    In the one hand still left, and the reins in his teeth!
-  He laughed like a boy when the holidays heighten,
-    But a soldier's glance shot from his visor beneath.
-  Up came the reserves to the melee infernal,
-    Asking where to go in--thro' the clearing or pine?
-  'O anywhere! Forward! 'Tis all the same, colonel;
-    You'll find lovely fighting along the whole line!'"
-
-         *       *       *       *       *
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER IV.
-
-INCIDENTAL TO BULL RUN.
-
-
-THE CAPTURE OF UNCLE HAWLEY.
-
-Henry Hawley was his name, but the boys of Company H always called him
-"Uncle," and so he appears on our company record.
-
-Hawley was not cut out for a soldier--in fact he was several sizes too
-large. His corpulency made him appear rather ludicrous when he tried to
-line up with the slender youths of the company on dress parade.
-
-Tom Murphy, the orderly sergeant, was always yelling out "right dress
-there, Hawley."
-
-One Sunday morning the regiment was being inspected by an Irish major and
-as he came to Hawley he looked him over and remarked that he didn't know
-what the h--l anybody was thinking of to enlist a man of his build, and he
-should think the best thing to do with him was to send him home. "All
-right, sir," says Hawley, "I'll go today, if you please."
-
-The man was a natural wit and an adept in the use of sarcasm, and had a
-way of talking back to his superiors that usually put the laugh on them.
-The truth is the boys of '61 didn't stand much "putting on airs" by the
-officers, and if one did make a show of his authority the men made life
-miserable for him.
-
-Hawley was finally made to earn his $11 a month (that was our munificent
-pay then) by doing duty as company cook, a position he filled with credit
-to himself and satisfaction to his boarders. He was not content to serve
-up "salt hoss" and boiled beef in the easy manner of most army cooks, but
-was ever fixing us a nice treat of hash or an "Irish stew" with dumplings,
-and Hawley's dumplings became famous throughout the Second Heavy.
-
-Evenings we used to gather around the cook house and listen to Hawley's
-impersonations of Shakespearean characters, in which he was very clever,
-and from Shakespeare he would turn to the Bible, with which he was
-exceedingly familiar.
-
-When we went to the front Hawley left his camp kettles behind and
-shouldered a musket. On the retreat from Bull Run Hawley became played out
-and he declared he could go no further. The boys urged him to keep along
-with them and not get captured, but Hawley said if they wanted him they
-would have to take him, which they did and got an elephant on their hands
-too. Hawley's account of his experience with the rebels was very funny.
-They found him lying by the roadside and ordered him to get up and go
-along with them. He told them he could not march another step, and if they
-wanted him to go to Libby prison they would have to furnish a conveyance.
-The rebel officer coaxed, swore and threatened, but all to no purpose.
-Hawley would not budge an inch. Finally a horse was brought and he was
-told to mount. Hawley declared he could not and then the officer directed
-some of the men to assist him, and two guards were ordered to walk by the
-side of the horse and hold him on. Hawley's comments about the
-razor-backed horse and other sarcastic remarks made sport for all except
-the officer in charge, who threatened more than once to gag his tormentor.
-The Confederates probably thought the best thing to do was to get Hawley
-off their hands, so after keeping him in captivity a couple of days they
-paroled him and sent him inside our lines instead of to Andersonville
-prison, where so many of his comrades had to go, many never to return.
-
-
-FINISHED HIS SMOKE IN LIBBY.
-
-An incident of the stampede from Manassas illustrates how unconcerned some
-are amidst danger and excitement. Jimmy West, a little Irishman of our
-company, was a character and an inveterate smoker and never lost a chance
-to indulge himself. After the retreat was well under way, Jimmy bethought
-himself of his pipe and tobacco, but a match was lacking and none of his
-nearby comrades had one, so he yelled out to our first sergeant, at the
-head of the company:
-
-"I say there, orderly, hev' you a bit of a match about ye?"
-
-"To thunder with your pipe, Jimmy," responded Sergt. Murphy. "You better
-be using your short legs pretty lively or you'll be smoking in Libby
-prison tomorrow evening," and sure enough Jimmy was among those captured.
-
-The most ludicrous incident connected with the Bull Run affair occurred
-near Fairfax Court House when we supposed we were safe from the
-Confederate cavalry.
-
-Between Centreville and Fairfax we passed the 14th Massachusetts, that had
-formed a line of battle across the turnpike to arrest the pursuing
-Confederates.
-
-We breathed somewhat easier after we had put the troops between us and our
-pursuers.
-
-The day was an intensely hot one, and the hundreds of horses galloping
-over the turnpike, hauling the heavy wagons, raised clouds of dust that
-were nearly suffocating, so when we crossed a little stream of water most
-of the teamsters halted in a large field near by for the purpose of
-refreshing and resting their exhausted steeds.
-
-The two boys got out of the wagon, stretched their legs and with many
-others went over to the creek for a wash up.
-
-Among the bathing party were William McNeil and "Hod" Clair of our
-company, who had made the retreat from Bull Run, one mounted on a mule
-with nothing but a halter and the other on the confiscated horse of some
-officer who had been killed in the battle.
-
-While we were splashing the water and having as much sport as any party of
-youngsters ever did in an old fashioned "swimmin' hole" in their school
-boy days, somebody shouted "The rebs are coming," and sure enough there
-was a squadron of Confederate cavalry coming at a gallop down a cross road
-about a mile away. You may be sure that there was some right-smart
-hustling.
-
-Some grabbed a blouse, cap or shirt while others buckled on their
-equipments in undress uniform.
-
-My partner and I saved our clothing, but deferred dressing until we were
-safely in our wagon with Charley Rogers urging his four horses to their
-utmost speed.
-
-Hod Clair made a most comical figure on the horse, dressed in nothing but
-his cap, blouse and cuticle, and the officer's sword dangling against his
-naked left leg.
-
-
-IN AFTER YEARS.
-
-A quarter of a century had elapsed after the disbandment of our regiment
-before I saw the comrade who rode with me from Bull Run. I sat writing at
-my desk one afternoon when I heard some one asking up in the front part of
-the store if "Del" was in.
-
-The familiarity with which the questioner handled my name excited my
-curiosity and looking up I beheld two rather seedy looking individuals
-with hats in hand elbowing their way down through the store.
-
-The one in advance was apparently a stranger. His companion, however, was
-a resident of the city, a veteran of my regiment, who bore the scars of
-battle on his body.
-
-He returned home from the war to learn that while he was away fighting the
-battles of his country one of the stay-at-homes had been making love to
-his wife. She went west with her paramour, and the veteran laid down under
-the load and let the battle of life go against him. He was no common bum,
-however, if he did try at times to drown his misery in strong drink. He
-kept pretty clear of evil and low-down associations, even if he had
-dropped below the level of respectable people. The veteran was a man of
-intelligence and spent much time with good reading, and it was my pleasure
-for many years to keep him pretty well supplied. Strange to relate, a
-publication that was his especial favorite was the old "Christian Union,"
-now known as the "Outlook." Of course he held me up now and then for the
-loan of a dime or quarter. If I hesitated about going into my pocket, he
-had a way of looking up and reminding me that it was "Just for old
-acquaintance sake." Perhaps it would have been better to have refused him,
-but I had not the heart to say no to one who had blackened his coffee pail
-over the same campfire with me, had carried part of my traps on many weary
-marches and had touched elbows with my father on the fighting line. I
-cannot forget such things and would not if I could.
-
-As the two approached me they halted, saluted, and the old "vet" gave me
-two or three sly winks, as much as to say, I'll bet you a "V" you can't
-tell who I have here.
-
-I was puzzled, but instinctively felt it was one of the old Co. H. The man
-had evidently seen better days. He carried his hat in his hand like a
-well-mannered man, and there were other unmistakable traces of birth and
-good breeding.
-
-We looked hard at each other. A twinkle came into a pair of black eyes
-that had once been the handsomest I ever saw in a man's head. A smile
-hovered around his mouth, and then out of the misty past came my companion
-of that memorable ride of long ago. I reached out my hand and said, "It's
-George," and I believe he was more pleased than as if I had handed him a
-hundred-dollar greenback, which is saying a good deal, for it was plainly
-evident that his finances were low.
-
-It was the old story. A young man, the son of an officer of our regiment
-who had been the leading merchant of--well, a smart town not a hundred
-miles from Watertown, well educated, with prospects in life that were the
-best, and now the follower of a circus. Always going somewhere and never
-getting anywhere was the way he put it. Still, my comrade.
-
-I think he held my hand five minutes, and memories of other days were
-kindled anew. He had forgotten nothing. It was safely stored away in
-memory and the meeting had tapped it.
-
-Graphically he portrayed the incidents of our Bull Run ride to the
-amusement of clerks and customers. All at once he recalled that he was in
-the presence of ladies, and bowing and smiling he gallantly tiptoed his
-way to the front part of the store and apologized for forcing an old
-soldier's story upon them.
-
-No one could have done it with more ease and grace, for, as I have stated,
-George's early associations had been of the best. His family was in the
-swell set of the town in which they lived, and his father was a gentleman
-of the old school and noted for his polished manners.
-
-"You see, ladies," said he, "I haven't been in your beautiful city since
-war times until this morning. Struck town with Barnum & Bailey's greatest
-aggregation on earth."
-
-"Perhaps traveling with a circus does not meet your approval. I like it,
-though. Something like soldiering. Always under marching orders. Plenty of
-fresh air and one never sleeps so good as he does on the ground with only
-a strip of canvas between him and the heavens.
-
-"When the band is playing and them Wild West fellows are galloping around
-the ring with the scabbards of their sabres clanging against the
-stirrup-irons, I just close my eyes and imagine I am with the old second
-corps again and Gen. Hancock is riding down the lines.
-
-"Suppose you have all heard about the general? Handsomest man and greatest
-fighter that ever straddled a horse.
-
-"The general and the second corps never missed a fight. Yes, we were with
-them through it all.
-
-"Gettysburg? Sure! Rube, here, got a couple of bullet holes when we were
-beating back Pickett's men that afternoon. The general went down that day,
-too, and I can shut my eyes and see it all and hear the cheers of the
-Irish brigade boys when they realized that the battle was won.
-
-"Beg pardon, ladies, but I am in something of a reminiscent mood today,
-being as I met an old comrade. We have been holding a little reunion. Yes,
-took a little something in honor of the event.
-
-"'Del'--er Mr. Miller--was with us from start to finish. Wasn't much of
-him but his drum and grit. Legs so short the boys had to carry him across
-all the creeks. He stuck though and tapped 'lights out' down side of
-Lee's 'last ditch' at Appomattox."
-
-       *       *       *       *       *
-
-That evening the two veterans of the old second corps partook of the best
-that the Woodruff house could give and smoked several of Nill & Jess'
-Pinks at the expense of one who was glad to do it, "Just for old
-acquaintance sake."
-
-
-WAR IS HELL.
-
-To fully appreciate Gen. Sherman's definition of war, one needs to be at a
-field hospital on the outskirts of some great battlefield where the
-ghastly surroundings of death and suffering are more terrible than on the
-battlefield itself.
-
-The day after our retreat from Bull Run our regiment was ordered to
-proceed by train to Fairfax station, where all the wounded were sent for
-transportation to Washington. We rode on the top of freight cars, every
-man with a loaded musket ready to shoot any of Mosby's men who might try
-to wreck the train. The cars were filled with cots, stretchers, blankets
-and other supplies for the wounded.
-
-The night was a dark and rainy one, and as we jumped off the cars at the
-station, which was located in some dense woods, we saw the horrors of war
-spread out on every side. Acres of ground were covered with bleeding,
-mangled soldiers, who but a short time before had stood amid the storm of
-shot and shell, now just as bravely enduring suffering.
-
-The surgeons and their assistants at the amputating tables with coats off
-and shirt sleeves rolled up, their hands red with blood, worked swiftly to
-save life, for it is the "first aid" to the wounded that counts.
-
-The spectacular effect was heightened by piles of blazing pitch pine
-knots, torches and lanterns suspended from the limbs of trees, which
-imparted a strange wierdness to the scene.
-
-All night long the interminable trains of ambulances and wagons from the
-battlefield came bringing their loads of sufferers with the smoke of
-battle upon them. Many were so exhausted that it was necessary to give
-them stimulants before they could be lifted from the wagons.
-
-The United States Sanitary and Christian commissions were represented by a
-large number of workers. Women of culture and refinement, from some of the
-best families in the land, were cutting off the blood-drenched clothing,
-bathing and bandaging shattered limbs, giving nourishment to the fainting,
-speaking comforting words and listening to the messages of the dying; and
-all this going on within the sound of rattling musketry and booming
-cannon, for it was the night of the fight at Chantilly, when Gen. Jackson
-attempted to flank Pope's army and reached a point not far from Fairfax
-court house.
-
-Our regiment stood in line in a wheat field, just outside of the woods, a
-good part of the night with the rain falling in torrents and heaven's
-artillery vieing with that of the forces engaged.
-
-A drummer boy of our company who had lost his drum at Manassas, was
-carrying a musket that night and stood in the ranks with his father who
-was a sergeant in the same command. I need hardly say that the events of
-that night are graven as with an iron pen on his memory.
-
-The authorities at Washington were fearful of risking any more fighting so
-near the capital and Gen. Pope was ordered to withdraw his army within the
-defenses of Washington and the wounded were hurried away from Fairfax
-station in every kind of conveyance, even hacks and carriages being sent
-out from Washington.
-
-Our regiment remained until the last wounded man had been sent forward and
-then set fire to the immense quantities of supplies stored there, to
-prevent their falling into the hands of the enemy.
-
-Our casualties in the second Bull Run affair were comparatively small, we
-being engaged only in the first encounter at Manassas Junction, which was
-merely preliminary to the great battle.
-
-Gen. Stuart's cavalry did, however, manage to take as prisoners about two
-hundred of the regiment.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER V.
-
-WASHINGTON IN THE SIXTIES.
-
-
-Washington in the sixties was not the beautiful city that it is today. The
-nation's capital was one vast camp of armed men and the city was circled
-with a cordon of forts and earthworks. Early in the war the Confederate
-flag could be seen from the dome of the capitol, flying on Munson's hill,
-while the exchange of shots by the pickets was heard at the White House
-more than once.
-
-    "'All quiet along the Potomac,' they say,
-    Except now and then a stray picket
-  Is shot, as he walks on his beat to and fro,
-    By a rifleman hid in the thicket."
-
-Pennsylvania avenue, that grand thoroughfare with its wide, long stretch
-of asphalt, was then supposed to be paved with cobblestones, but they had
-nearly been crushed out of sight by the heavy government wagons, cannon
-and artillery caissons, which had cut such deep ruts that the street was
-almost impassable in muddy weather.
-
-Guards patrolled the sidewalks; troops were constantly passing through
-the city on their way to Virginia; officers and their orderlies were
-riding to and fro, and it was said that a boy could not throw a stone at a
-dog without hitting a brigadier general.
-
-Probably few of the present generation are aware how much of the great
-civil war was fought within an easy day's journey of the city. Two of the
-most celebrated battles of the war, in which 25,000 men were killed and
-wounded, were fought but twenty-five miles away, and at Arlington there is
-a monument that marks the resting place of the remains of over 2,100
-unknown dead gathered along the route of the army from the Potomac to the
-Rappahannock.
-
-There is no greater blessing vouchsafed to man than memory, which enables
-one to live over again the past, and so I recall with pleasure the many
-happy days in my early army life, when we were doing duty in the forts
-around Washington, and before the gold plating of a soldier's life had
-been worn off by the stern realities of active service.
-
-The city was then encircled by a chain of forts. But time and the elements
-have nearly obliterated the defenses of Washington, and pretty little
-villas with sweet and romantic names such as: Rosslyn, Ivanwold, Buena
-Vista, Carberry Meadows, etc., have replaced them. The prattle and
-innocent laughter of happy children is heard on the heights or Arlington,
-instead of bugle calls, the music of bands and the booming of cannon.
-
-Looking backward from a distance of forty years one must admit that it was
-much more comfortable soldiering around Washington than at the front with
-such fighters as Grant, Sheridan, Hancock, Warren, Wright, Gibbons and
-others "pushing things." It was monotonous, however, and the men grew
-tired of drills, fancy guard mountings, dress parades, brightening of guns
-and polishing of brass buttons, and were troubled with the thought that
-the war might be brought suddenly to a close before they would have an
-opportunity to win any laurels. But everybody had their ambitions
-gratified before Lee surrendered, for there was fighting enough to go all
-around in that affair.
-
-
-SOME OF THE OLD FORTS.
-
-My first army home was at Fort Worth near Fairfax Seminary, about three
-miles from Alexandria.
-
-The site of old Fort Worth was a beautiful spot, about three hundred feet
-above the Potomac, and from its warlike parapets one could behold an
-entrancing panorama of country. To the south the Fairfax "pike" and the
-Orange and Alexandria railroad wended their way through as beautiful a
-little valley as the sun ever shone upon. Twenty-five years after the war
-I visited the place. The owner of the land on which the fort was built,
-and who served as a colonel in the Confederate army, then had a beautiful
-home on the site and utilized the old bomb-proof for an outside cellar.
-Near his barn was a little of the old parapet remaining and our party
-stood on the earthworks while our old regimental bugler, a man bent with
-the weight of more than three score years, sounded reveille, tattoo, and
-lights out. There were no dry eyes in the party when the last bugle notes
-echoed and re-echoed through the charming Virginia valley leading out
-toward Fairfax.
-
-
-REMORSE REVEALS A CHIVALROUS ACT.
-
-It is hardly necessary to say that we did some pretty deep thinking as we
-met that day on the old camp ground.
-
-Our comrades stood before us again--boys who had been schoolmates, the
-companions of our youth. We could almost hear their familiar voices, their
-songs and sayings, and we thought of where we parted with many of them,
-here and there along the way from Washington to Appomattox. The thoughts
-brought keen pangs of sorrow to us, yet withal there were many pleasant
-recollections revived.
-
-Looking off to the south we saw the same fine old southern mansion that
-was there in war times. We felt remorse for many foraging expeditions in
-which the fruit, sweet potatoes, ducks and chickens had been confiscated
-for the cause of Uncle Sam.
-
-We thought we would go and call on our old neighbors and make the _amende
-honorable_.
-
-The fine old southern lady freely forgave us with a graciousness
-characteristic of the women of the south. An invitation to lunch was
-extended and accepted. George, a colored boy, was told to go down the
-"Run" to the mill and tell her son, the colonel (no rank under a colonelcy
-is recognized in Virginia), to come up to the house and meet some of the
-old Second New York.
-
-We lunched on the broad veranda and exchanged reminiscences of the days
-when we were neighbors and enemies, and as the colonel sipped that
-favorite and refreshing beverage of the south, a mint julep, he told of
-his wounds at Manassas and how friends had helped him through the lines
-and back to his old home right under the guns of our fort, where he was
-secreted until his recovery. His presence there was not unknown to the
-general commanding the Union forces, who, like a chivalric knight of old,
-kept the secret for the sake of the mother, and furnished guards to keep
-intruders away from the house.
-
-The reader must not infer that there was one drop of traitorous blood in
-the officer's veins. His name I am not at liberty to divulge, but it is no
-breach of confidence to say that he was one of the most brilliant generals
-in the army of the Potomac, whose loyalty was proven on many a bloody
-battlefield.
-
-Across the valley to the east from Fort Worth, on the Mount Vernon road,
-was a large fort called Fort Lyon, where the gallant old 94th New York
-Infantry spent the winter and spring of '62. An explosion of ammunition in
-one of the magazines nearly destroyed the fort in 1863, killing and
-wounding many of the garrison and causing the earth to tremble for miles.
-
-Fort Lyon was nearly on the left of the defenses south of the Potomac,
-while Fort Marcy, about four miles west of Georgetown and near the famous
-Chain bridge, guarded the right flank.
-
-Between the two, running parallel with the Potomac, along Arlington
-heights, was a perfect chain of forts and earthworks, the names of which
-many northern New York veterans will recall, such as Forts Ellsworth,
-Ward, Blenkner, Albany, Runyon, Corcoran, Haggerty, Tillinghast, Whipple,
-Woodbury, Greig, Cass, Dekalb (afterwards Fort Smith), Strong and many
-others. The Fifth New York Heavy Artillery assisted in the erection of the
-last named.
-
-The 35th New York, which was the first organization in this section to
-respond to President Lincoln's call for troops, garrisoned Fort
-Tillinghast for a time and assisted considerably in its completion as well
-as the cutting away of timber in front of the forts south of Arlington.
-
-One of the most prominent forts near Arlington was Fort Corcoran, so named
-in honor of Col. Michael Corcoran, who led that famous Irish regiment, the
-69th New York, to the war, and was captured at the first battle of Bull
-Run.
-
-This fort was the headquarters of the Second New York Artillery for more
-than a year and the regiment while there assisted largely in the
-construction of Fort Whipple, which is now known as Fort Myer, and is kept
-as a military post by the government. All visitors to Arlington via the
-Georgetown bridge pass by it.
-
-Fort Stevens, originally called Fort Massachusetts, attained prominence
-during Gen. Early's raid in 1864 by reason of having been the scene of
-some stubborn fighting. It is only about five miles from the capitol and
-but for the timely arrival of the fighting Sixth corps which Grant sent
-back from Petersburg, it is probable that the Confederate forces would
-have entered the city. It was on the ramparts of Fort Stevens that
-President Lincoln exposed himself to the fire of the enemy.
-
-There were some formidable forts east of the capitol across the "East
-Branch" on Boone's Ridge in Prince George's County, Md. The names of Fort
-Mahan, Baker, Stanton, Carroll, Greble, Wagner and others will be recalled
-by all the survivors of that regiment, the pride of Jefferson county, the
-10th New York Heavy Artillery, which garrisoned many of them for a long
-period.
-
-
-LINCOLN'S PETS.
-
-The 10th New York Heavy Artillery has been referred to as the lucky
-regiment from Jefferson county. It was organized in September, 1862, and
-performed garrison duty in the defenses east of Washington until the
-summer of 1864, when it was ordered to the front. It joined the army at
-Cold Harbor at about the time Grant was preparing to transfer operations
-to Petersburg and Bermuda Hundred.
-
-The 10th Heavy was sent around by water from White House Landing, while
-most of the army made a forced march across country.
-
-The regiment participated in the first fighting at Petersburg. Later they
-were returned to the defenses of Washington where they remained until Gen.
-Early's army was driven out of Maryland, when they were ordered to join
-Gen. Sheridan's forces in the Shenandoah valley. They were a fine body of
-men, well officered, well drilled, and under perfect discipline, which
-probably accounted for their being such favorites with President Lincoln
-and Secretary Stanton.
-
-
-DOG BILLY OF THE SECOND HEAVY.
-
-When McClellan's army left for the Peninsula a soldier sold to one of our
-boys his dog. He was just a plain every day sort of dog with chopped off
-tail and clipped ears, but in some respects the most knowing little fellow
-I ever saw, and he soon became a great favorite with everybody in camp.
-
-He learned the bugle and drum calls and took special delight in dress
-parades. When the men were forming for that, Billy would run up and down
-the line barking and cut up all sorts of capers he was so very happy.
-
-He seemed to be fond of brass band music and would lead the musicians up
-and down the line until the colonel ordered the sergeant major to drive
-him away. He charged on Billy with drawn sword and the knowing little
-fellow kept behind the line ever after that.
-
-There was a nice large "swimmin' hole" in "Four Mile Run," not far from
-camp, where we used to go bathing frequently. Billy always went, too, and
-had great sport with the boys. Nothing pleased him more than to have some
-one pick him up and throw him headlong into the water.
-
-Old "Lige" Moyer used to come out in front of his cook tent almost every
-evening and play the fiddle, and, if you will believe it, "Lige" learned
-Billy to waltz, rewarding him with liberal rations after the performance.
-Billy always stood guard with his master, keeping him company in his
-lonely night watches.
-
-The crack of a rifle did not disturb him the least bit, but the booming of
-the heavy guns were too much for his nerves, and he would go and hide in
-his owner's tent.
-
-When we were ordered out to the front for the Bull Run campaign Billy went
-along, too. He used to curl up under the same blanket with Joe, his
-master. The morning that the battle of Manassas opened our regiment was
-subjected to a severe artillery fire for two hours. Billy became a skulker
-and went to the rear. In the skedaddle and panic that occurred later in
-the day, Joe, with many others, was taken prisoner by the Johnnies.
-
-A couple of weeks later our regiment was sent back to the forts. Billy was
-not with us and no one had seen him since the morning at Bull Run. We
-concluded that he must have been taken prisoner, too, but a few days later
-Billy appeared in camp. He was a sorry looking dog, thin as a razor and
-his hair turned toward his head. The distance to Manassas was about
-twenty-five miles, but he had probably tramped much farther in finding his
-way back to camp.
-
-All were glad to see him again, and he seemed pleased enough to see us
-until he found that Joe was not there. No more the bugle calls aroused
-him, and even the music of the band had lost its charm. He would just go
-looking in the different tents and keep up a continual whining.
-
-One day he got tired waiting for Joe to come back and he left us, and
-that was the last we ever heard of dog Billy.
-
-
-THE OLD WAR SONGS.
-
-  "I cannot sing the old songs, I sang long years ago,
-  For heart and voice would fail me and foolish tears would flow;
-  For by-gone hours come o'er my heart with each familiar strain;
-  I cannot sing the old songs, or dream those dreams again."
-
-         *       *       *       *       *
-
-How many of our readers remember the old songs and melodies that were so
-popular in the sixties? People sang them in their homes and the soldiers
-in the camps and on the march, and they furnished inspiration for many a
-tired regiment to go into battle.
-
-As I write there comes to my mind snatches of many of the old favorites
-such as "We'll Rally Round the Flag, Boys," "Tramp, Tramp, Tramp, the Boys
-are Marching."
-
-A story is told of a regiment who went into battle nearly one thousand
-strong and came out with less than half the number, but the survivors with
-their blood-stained banners and smoke-begrimed faces marched to another
-position in the line singing
-
-  "We'll rally round the flag, boys,
-  We'll rally once again, shouting the battle cry of freedom."
-
-"When Johnnie Comes Marching Home Again" was always a favorite in the
-ranks, but in the quiet of camp the songs were a little more sentimental
-and suggestive of home and the loved ones. Some of the old time favorites
-were:
-
-"Sweet Alice Ben Bolt," "Hazel Dell," "Annie Laurie," "Kathleen
-Mavourneen," "Tenting Tonight," "The Faded Coat of Blue," "The Vacant
-Chair," "Just Before the Battle, Mother," "Write Me a Letter from Home,"
-etc., etc., and an evening camp concert, with perhaps a hundred or more
-voices in the choruses would wind up with "The Shining Shore," "Jesus,
-Lover of My Soul," and "Nearer, My God, to Thee."
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER VI.
-
-OUR FIGHTING COLONEL.
-
-
-After the Bull Run campaign our regiment was detailed for garrison duty
-again and sent to some forts near Arlington where we remained for a long
-time.
-
-Our colonel (with a foreign military experience?) was relieved of his
-command immediately after Bull Run and there came to us a commander who
-proceeded to jerk things straight in the regiment. His name was Jeremiah
-N. G. Whistler and he had been in the regular army since he was a day old,
-having been born in camp. He was all military, through and through, and a
-disciplinarian of disciplinarians.
-
-He drilled the regiment six days in the week and then had a Sunday
-inspection, and succeeded in bringing the command to a high state of
-perfection. He was a man of fiery temper and when anything touched it off
-he could let out a string of oaths--of which he had a choice and
-inexhaustible selection--that would produce a sulphurous atmosphere.
-
-One Sunday morning when our company was marching by the colonel's tent to
-go out for inspection he noticed one of the men swinging his left arm, and
-the next thing that the Co. H man knew the colonel had him by the coat
-collar and was shaking him. Then leading him back to his place in the
-ranks admonished him about repeating the arm swinging again.
-
-But taken all in all he was a good officer and when we went to the front
-again, excited the admiration of the men by his bravery under fire.
-
-At Petersburg he was wounded and later was breveted for gallant and
-distinguished service.
-
-He re-entered the regular army after the war and at the time of his death
-was a colonel.
-
-Judging by the experience we had with three or four colonels, I should
-pick out a regular army officer every time for a commander. They expect
-the men to obey orders and do their full duty, and on the other hand a man
-can depend on getting all that belongs to him and justice on all
-occasions.
-
-
-ATE THE COLONEL'S DINNER.
-
-Col. Whistler was fond of good feeding and one day his cook served up his
-dinner about the time that a staff officer from the brigade headquarters
-rode up with a message for him. While he was on the outside reading it one
-of the men happened along back of the tent and noticed the tempting
-eatables waiting for an eater, and, being hungry, he slipped in and
-proceeded to stow food away as only a hungry soldier can. He was so busy
-about it that he did not notice the officer peering in the front of the
-tent. The brazen effrontery of the man had rendered the officer
-speechless. Finally he recovered himself enough to exclaim: "Do you know,
-you d--d rascal, whose food you're eating?" The man looked up as he helped
-himself to another chicken wing, and said: "No, colonel, and I'm jiggered
-if I'm the leastways particular about such things when I'm hungry and
-rations are scarce." The colonel admired the cheek and coolness of the man
-and told him to eat his fill and if he ever heard of his telling of the
-affair he would have him courtmartialed.
-
-
-LOVE AND WAR.
-
-While we were doing duty at Arlington many of the fair sex of Washington
-and Georgetown frequently honored us with their presence at our dress
-parades, and among them was the beautiful and charming daughter of Mrs. E.
-D. E. N. Southworth, the gifted authoress, who resided in a pretty
-rose-embowered cottage that nestled among the trees and shrubbery on
-Georgetown heights, and just across the Potomac from our fort.
-
-Adjt. Lawrence of the Second New York was about as slick a looking officer
-as ever walked out in front of a regiment on dress parade, and it is not
-strange that Miss Southworth fell in love with him, and an intimacy sprang
-up that resulted in the fair young southern girl changing her name to Mrs.
-James V. Lawrence.
-
-During the preliminaries the writer was the bearer of many presumably
-tender missives over to the Georgetown cottage, and as he had to wait for
-the sweet-scented replies he was entertained by Mrs. Southworth, who
-probably knew just how fond a young, growing boy is of lemonade, cakes and
-other sweet things, and the charming lady took it upon herself to make
-life very pleasant to the youngster during the brief visits at her home.
-Soon after the marriage of the young couple Lieut. Lawrence was detailed
-on staff duty and was never returned to our regiment.
-
-
-CHRISTMAS IN CAMP.
-
-How well I remember my first Christmas in camp. Our company was at Fort
-Haggerty on the road leading from the Acqueduct bridge to Arlington. Capt.
-Smith's home had been one of the handsomest in Carthage before the war and
-under his command the fort had been transformed into one of the slickest
-ones in the defences of Washington.
-
-Christmas morning in 1862, after the calling of the roll our company
-formed in line and marched up in front of the captain's quarters. Several
-of the boys had provided themselves with some nice evergreen trees, and
-when the captain appeared the command was given "present arms" and the
-movement was executed with the trees. The fifer and drummer of the company
-then played "Hail to the Chief" and "The Girl I Left Behind Me."
-
-The captain appeared mightily pleased and made us a nice little speech,
-and said that he wished that he could send us all home for the holidays
-but as that was an impossibility he had planned to make us as happy as
-circumstances would permit, and the quartermaster had been furnished money
-to get up a dinner in keeping with the occasion. Cheers and a tiger were
-given for our kind-hearted commander, and then the voice of one who has
-several times been mentioned by the writer spoke out: "Pardon me axin' the
-question, cap'n, but would there be a wee drop for anny so inclined?" The
-captain smiled and nodded affirmatively.
-
-Our camp was near where there had been a brick yard, and with old bricks
-that had been dug out of the ground a tasty little house had been built
-for the captain and a brick oven for the cooks. In this turkeys had been
-roasted and rice puddings and potatoes baked. There was also oyster stew,
-oysters and clams on the half shell and mince pies that some soldier's
-wife had made for us. None of old Co. H will ever forget that Christmas.
-After the feast pipes, tobacco and cigars were passed, and then pails
-of milk punch went round for those "so inclined."
-
-[Illustration: A GROUP OF CO. H. BOYS. Pat Devereaux and Author in
-Foreground.]
-
-Ah, dear, brave old Co. H, what would I not give to see you line up once
-more as you did on that Christmas day in the long ago.
-
-For more than twenty-five years I could, from memory, call the roll of the
-original company, just as I had heard our old orderly, Tom Murphy, call it
-so many times. Poor Tom earned his shoulder straps but sleeps in a
-southern grave.
-
-Of the boys who made merry with us in old Virginia on the Christmas day of
-long ago, many gave up their lives on the battlefields of the south,
-Potter, Williamson, Zeigler, Clapsaddle and Lieut. Roff at Cold Harbor;
-Ed. Roland, Smith, Thurston, Slater, Crowner, Symonds at Petersburg; Billy
-Cook, Frank Farr, Tom Murphy and several others between there and
-Appomattox.
-
-No, old Co. H will never again fall in for roll call on this side of the
-"deadline." The tents are folded, the implements of war are rusting, I
-find that the cords and snares on my drum are fraying with age, "All is
-quiet on the Potomac."
-
-'Tis but a memory.
-
-
-VETERAN VOLUNTEERS.
-
-A grave problem confronted the government in 1863 for within a few months
-it would lose the services of most of its tried and seasoned soldiers by
-reason of expiration of service. A proposition was made to the three
-years men that if they would re-enlist they would receive $402.00 bounty
-and a thirty day furlough. The proposition was accepted by a majority of
-the old soldiers and the old organizations were retained with their
-officers.
-
-The most of our company and regiment re-enlisted. They sent us home in
-squads, and when it came my turn I was laid up with the mumps and could
-not go with my father.
-
-While I was north on my furlough Gen. Grant assumed command of the army
-confronting Gen. Lee and preparations were made for active operations.
-
-My father wrote me that our regiment had received orders to be ready to go
-to the front at an hour's notice.
-
-My furlough had several days to run but I took the first train for
-Washington and in twenty-four hours walked into camp.
-
-I found our regiment all ready and awaiting orders. Field tents, rubber
-blankets and other things were issued to us which indicated that we were
-to take the field.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER VII.
-
-OFF FOR THE FRONT.
-
-
-The next day we assembled at Fort Corcoran. The regiment had been filled
-up with recruits until there were about 1,800 men on the rolls. Probably
-1,500 were present for duty when we left to join the Army of the Potomac.
-
-We were ordered to "fall in" at noon and in a few moments we marched away
-with colors flying and the band playing a lively quickstep.
-
-It was like leaving home to go away from the forts we had learned to love
-so well, the huge walls of which had been cemented with the sweat from the
-brows of most of the men.
-
-The weather was fine when we started but after we had gone about two miles
-one of those drenching Virginia showers overtook us and we were wet to the
-skin.
-
-It does not need to rain over fifteen minutes in Virginia to make the mud
-from six to twelve inches deep, so we had to wade in the red clay mud the
-other seven miles to Alexandria.
-
-Much has been said and written about Virginia mud, but to appreciate its
-sticking qualities one needs to march and lie down and sleep in it.
-
-The boys used to wish that the editors who were writing the "On to
-Richmond" editorials could be compelled to take a twenty-five mile march
-in the mud loaded with a thirty or forty pound knapsack, a musket, forty
-rounds of ammunition, canteen and haversack with five days' rations.
-
-At Alexandria we boarded an old transport and made ourselves as
-comfortable as possible, lying out on the open decks in our rain-soaked
-clothing. I do not know that I ever slept sounder than that night, and
-when I opened my eyes in the morning found that we were at Belle Plain
-landing on the Potomac, the base of supplies for Gen. Grant's army. The
-river was filled with boats of every conceivable kind waiting to discharge
-their loads.
-
-During the forenoon we went ashore and were marched up on some high ground
-overlooking the river. We eyed with as much curiosity as a small boy would
-his first circus two or three thousand rebel prisoners captured at
-Spottsylvania.
-
-The next morning, May 17th, 1864, we fell in bright and early, and at the
-command "fours right" marched in the direction of Fredericksburg.
-
-The day was a fearfully hot one and the dust rising in clouds filled our
-mouths and nostrils, thoroughly impregnated our clothing, hair and skin,
-producing intolerable thirst. At the sight of a house or brook the men
-would make a break from the ranks and run for dear life to get a chance at
-the water.
-
-
-GOOD-BYE KNAPSACK.
-
-My first forenoon's struggle with a knapsack convinced me that I had got
-enough of it. Selecting a shirt, towel, a pair of socks, soap and writing
-portfolio I rolled them up in a blanket which I slung over my shoulder and
-went it more comfortably.
-
-Many others imitated my example and the roadside from Belle Plain to
-Spottsylvania was strewn with blankets, knapsacks, overcoats, etc. We
-passed through Fredericksburg about sunset and assumed that a halt would
-be made near the city, but they did not halt us to even boil coffee, so we
-plodded on in the darkness, nibbled our hard tack and wondered how much
-that they thought we could stand.
-
-At midnight we had caught up with Grant's army after a march of
-thirty-five miles.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER VIII.
-
-IN A BIG FIGHT WITH HANCOCK'S VETERANS.
-
-
-The next morning we were awakened by the booming of cannon and clash of
-musketry. As we got up off the ground we could see smoke curling up from
-the tops of the trees on a hillside a mile or more to the south of us. We
-were foot-sore and covered with dust from our big march of the previous
-day, and few of us had any water in our canteens. Before we had time to
-find any or make coffee we got the command "fall in" and were soon
-advancing toward the firing line.
-
-On every hand there were evidences of the terrific fighting that had been
-going on for several days. The fields were strewn with clothing,
-knapsacks, canteens, muskets, dead horses and broken artillery caissons,
-and the trees were riddled with bullets, shot and shell. The dead had been
-buried but with such haste that in many places the bodies were scarcely
-covered. One time as we came to a halt I was horrified to see a human hand
-protruding from the earth near my foot.
-
-We had not gone far before we began to meet the wounded, some able to
-walk, while others were borne on stretchers and blankets. It surely began
-to look like real warfare. Our men grew silent and their faces took on a
-serious expression. We knew that our time had come and that the regiment
-with its full ranks was to strengthen the thin line in front.
-
-On our march the day before there had been much discussion among the
-musicians as to what we would do in case of a battle. No instructions had
-been given us and we had rather come to the conclusion among ourselves
-that when we got to close quarters we would drop out and keep as much out
-of range as possible.
-
-Our anxiety about the part we were to take in the conflict increased as we
-approached the front. Occasionally some of the boys would suggest to Harry
-Marshall, our drum major, that it was about time for us to fall out. There
-was "no use of us going up to get shot at when we had nothing to shoot
-back with."
-
-Finally when we paused for a few moments Harry approached the colonel and,
-saluting, asked if there was any use of us needlessly exposing ourselves.
-
-"Needless exposure," yelled the colonel. "What in ---- did you enlist for?
-Your place is with the regiment and I'll see that you are instructed as to
-your duties." And, turning to our surgeon, he said: "Major, I want you to
-take charge of the musicians and in case of a fight see that the young
-rascals do their duty."
-
-I have always thought that but for this incident we should have seen less
-of the front line than we did that summer.
-
-Dr. Payne, our surgeon, was a fine fellow and he had seen much service
-before being assigned to our regiment. He immediately told us to fall out
-to one side and proceeded to tear up some red flannel in small strips
-which he tied around our right arms, explaining that this was a badge the
-enemy would respect when we were caring for the wounded.
-
-While the doctor was fixing us up our regiment marched by and there is
-nothing in all my war memories that made a deeper impression on me than
-that scene.
-
-I see them now as I saw them on that bright May morning--father, friends,
-comrades, marching with steady step, shoulder to shoulder, on to meet the
-foe in mortal encounter.
-
-We followed in the rear of the regiment and were halted just under the
-brow of a hill, where we stood in line nearly two hours. Bullets clipped
-small branches from the trees and shells went swishing through the air
-over our heads. A couple burst in front of us and an occasional solid shot
-would go rolling down the hill.
-
-Probably there is no more trying situation for troops to be placed in
-than to be held as a reserve during a battle. The tension on one's nerves
-is something awful. If one is going to be shot it is something of a
-satisfaction to be able to return the compliment.
-
-While the regiment was in line a few of us hunted up a spring and carried
-water to our friends who could not leave the ranks. One of the few times
-that I remember seeing tears in my father's eyes was when I handed him a
-canteen full of water that morning.
-
-The fighting in our front ceased about ten o'clock and we were moved about
-two miles to the left. In the afternoon we settled down in some woods and
-were permitted to take the rest we so much needed, and the next morning we
-were a jolly lot as we sipped our coffee and nibbled hardtack.
-
-Some of the men grumbled, however, because we did not get a chance to take
-a hand in the affair of the day before.
-
-The forces of Grant and Lee, numbering some 200,000, had been hammering
-away at each other for about ten days and the carnage had been great, but
-the forenoon of the day in mind was as quiet and peaceful as if there was
-not an armed man within ten miles.
-
-It was but the calm before a storm, and scores of our regiment who were so
-full of life and hope that bright May morning were weltering in their
-blood before sundown.
-
-About two o'clock in the afternoon an orderly with foam-covered horse rode
-up to our colonel and handed him a message. The men noticed that the color
-came to the officer's face and they held their breath for the command that
-they knew was coming.
-
-Gracey, our little Swiss bugler, who was selected by Gen. Hancock a few
-weeks later to sound the charge for the Second Corps at Cold Harbor
-because his bugle could be heard farther than any other, blew a blast on
-his silver trumpet that brought every man to his feet and in less than
-five minutes the Second Heavy were standing in line at "attention."
-
-The colonel rode out in front of the regiment and said "men of the Second
-New York, the time has come when you will have an opportunity to show your
-mettle. Keep together; don't let your lines be broken; keep cool; obey
-orders and you will be all right."
-
-The men started a cheer for the colonel, but he motioned silence. Then
-came the command "Fours right, march!"
-
-We soon came to a nice smooth road which ran through the woods and then we
-got orders to "double quick."
-
-Then we heard heavy musketry firing which increased in volume continually
-and we thought the whole rebel army were taking a hand in.
-
-The boys in the ranks made sundry comments as we rushed along, such as
-"Guess we'll get initiated this afternoon."
-
-"Wouldn't you like to be back in the forts now?" "Keep step there, Jimmy."
-Jimmy West was a little Irishman who could never keep step.
-
-When we emerged from the woods into a large open field we could see a long
-line of battle on a hillside probably half a mile away.
-
-Our regiment was quickly formed in column by battalions, our colors
-unfurled, and as we double quicked across that field 1,500 strong, with
-perfect alignment as if it were a review, it was thrilling, inspiring and
-to have been there was to have the scene fixed in one's memory forever.
-Other regiments besides our own were hurrying to the front. Batteries of
-artillery went by with the horses on the gallop and the drivers lashing
-them just as you have seen them in pictures.
-
-Generals' aides and orderlies rode like mad to and fro directing the
-troops to positions, for Gen. Ewell had broken through the Union lines in
-a desperate effort to turn the right flank of Grant's army.
-
-
-THE PAGEANTRY OF WAR.
-
-War certainly has its fascinations as well as its horrors, and there is an
-enchantment that thrills in the movements of large bodies of soldiery with
-their bayonets glistening in the sun, the flags and guidons flying, the
-trumpets of the cavalry ringing piercingly and thrillingly, the field
-batteries rattling and rumbling along the road, with a score or more of
-bands playing. Nothing can make so striking or enchanting a picture.
-Artists can portray such a scene on canvas, but they cannot make you feel
-the thrill you experience when you are an active participant, touching
-elbows and keeping step with a thousand comrades whose hearts are young
-and gay.
-
-An officer rode up to our colonel and gave him instructions to report to
-Gen. Tyler off to the right of the open field. We were assigned a position
-behind a low stone fence, where we waited for about fifteen minutes. While
-lying there the order was given to "fix bayonets." If you have "been
-there" yourself you know all about it. If not, let me tell you in all
-sincerity that the clicking of the cold steel will make an impression on
-one that will send the chills down his spine every time he thinks of it in
-after years.
-
-
-HORRIBLY SUGGESTIVE.
-
-From our position behind the wall we could not see the fighting, but the
-din of the battle came rolling and crashing to us through the woods and
-the wounded from the front line kept coming to the rear, covered with
-blood and the smoke of battle.
-
-The sight wasn't pleasant, and moreover it was an object lesson that was
-horribly suggestive. The affair was getting too serious for much joking
-by the merrymakers in the ranks. The men were silent, but I know that they
-were doing a heap of thinking.
-
-The orders to go forward did not come any too soon, for the suspense of
-waiting is ten times more trying to a man's nerves than to charge the
-enemy's lines.
-
-We moved across another open field, where a Jefferson county battery ("C"
-of the 1st Artillery) was in position and shelling a piece of woods.
-
-Gen. Tyler ordered our colonel to detail two companies to support the
-battery and our company was one of them. I had to go with the regiment,
-and my father stay with his company. There was not much time for
-leave-taking. The father drew his boy to his side, pushed his cap back,
-pressed his lips to his forehead. Neither spoke. It was not necessary.
-Each knew the other's thoughts.
-
-Capt. Smith, whose heart was tender as that of any woman,--"The tenderest
-are the bravest"--patted the drummer boy of Co. H on his shoulder as they
-parted and when a few feet had separated them called to him "good-bye,"
-and waved his sword in what might be the last farewell.
-
-Our regiment took an advanced position to the left of the battery where we
-were ordered to lie down and the men loaded their rifles. "Begins to look
-like business, boys," remarked Dave Russell. Little puffs of dust were
-kicked up here and there as the rebel bullets struck the ground in our
-front.
-
-Soon they came nearer and finally began to go over our heads with a
-"zz-p-" or a "c-s-ss-s-" which indicated that the Confederates were
-crowding back the Union lines. "This ain't a fair show," observed one of
-the boys. "Let us lay here and get plugged full of lead and never see a
-reb or get a chance to shoot one."
-
-The surgeon ordered us to leave our knapsacks, drums, etc., in the yard of
-a house near by, and I will mention now that up to this time we have never
-seen that house again.
-
-About the time we had got ourselves in fighting trim Gracey's bugle
-sounded "forward," and our regiment went across the field on a run and
-into the pine woods, the artillery behind us throwing shell over our
-heads. The woods were full of flying missiles and the first the Second New
-York knew they got a volley of musketry from the flank and rear.
-Investigation revealed the fact that the troops who had fired the volley
-were the Seventh New York. The woods were so dense and full of smoke that
-it was hard to discern a body of troops a short distance away. The enemy
-could only be located by the flash of their guns.
-
-Our colonel was ordered by Gen. Tyler to hold a slight elevation near a
-ravine. Our lines were spread out and the men ordered to lie down.
-
-"Steady, men, and don't shoot too high," sang out Col. Whistler. "Better
-order them rear rank fellows to aim higher or they'll blow our brains
-out," says one of the front rank men.
-
-"Shut up; no talking in the ranks!" commanded Adjutant Corwin. All of this
-time men were getting hit by the rebel bullets. "Bill Wright's killed,"
-someone said, and the news was passed along the line.
-
-"If I was in command of this regiment I'd order a charge on the Johnnies
-and I'd drive them or git licked in the attempt," said big Dave Russell.
-
-One of the saddest sights of the day was to see the major of the First
-Massachusetts as he rode back through our lines with a bullet wound in his
-forehead and the blood streaming all over him, and he hardly able to hang
-on to his horse. He died a few moments later.
-
-This regiment had about 350 casualties in the fight. Over one-third of
-that number were killed outright.
-
-The contortions of one of our drum corps boys who was badly demoralized by
-the flying bullets, was so ludicrous that I should have laughed if I had
-been killed for it the next minute. Every time one of those "z-z-ping"
-minies came near him he would leap in the air and then fall flat on the
-ground.
-
-Was I frightened? Hold your head down so that I can whisper in your ear
-and I will admit in strict confidence that I was never so scared in all
-my life. But I felt somewhat as one of our boys expressed it when he said:
-"By the great horn spoons, they'll never know I'm afraid if I can help
-it."
-
-While we were lying there one of the old Pennsylvania Buck Tail regiments
-of the Fifth Corps passed over us to do some skirmish work. There were
-several of these regiments and they were famous fighters. The men all wore
-a buck's tail on their caps.
-
-Late in the afternoon our regiment took part in a charge and had to go
-over a rail fence. Our colonel tried to have his horse jump the fence but
-he would not do it until one of the men took a couple of rails off the
-top, and then he went over. Down in a ravine he got stopped again with a
-vine that caught him across the breast. Col. Whistler swore like a trooper
-and put the spurs to him, but the vine was too strong and men had to
-trample it to the ground. Col. Whistler elevated himself several degrees
-in the estimation of his men that day by going into the battle mounted. He
-had been a martinet when in camp, and was of a peppery disposition. But
-his conduct at Spottsylvania commanded the respect of all. "I tell you,"
-said one of the boys, "Jeremiah N. G. Whistler is an old fighting cock."
-"He can't forget his tactics, though," said another. "Do you mind that
-when we got up to make that dash through the ravine we did not get the
-command 'forward' until he had dressed us to the right."
-
-The fighting continued until well into the night and when the report of
-the last gun died out the troops laid down on their arms until morning.
-
-The surgeons and their helpers worked all night removing the wounded. We
-carried them out of the woods in blankets.
-
-In the rear of our division there were three amputating tables with deep
-trenches dug at the foot. In the morning those trenches were full of
-amputated limbs, hands and fingers, and the piles above the ground were as
-high as the tables. The confederate forces withdrew from our front in the
-night, leaving their dead on the field, which were buried by our men as
-they laid away their comrades.
-
-The clash of arms in which we had had a part was no small affair. Probably
-more than 40,000 men on each side had taken part in the battle, but the
-country was so uneven and densely wooded that a participant saw but little
-of what was going on outside of his own regiment. In fact in almost every
-engagement the rank and file knew but little of the operations away from
-their immediate vicinity.
-
-At our informal dress parade that night an order from Gen. Meade was read,
-complimenting the heavy artillery regiments for their soldierly conduct
-the previous day, and saying he would thereafter rely upon them as upon
-the tried veterans of the Second and Fifth Corps with whom we had fought
-our first great battle.
-
-The day after a battle is always a sad one in a regiment. Men search for
-missing comrades and some are found cold in death who were full of life
-the day before. No jests are spoken. The terribleness of war has been
-forcibly impressed on all participants.
-
-The surgeon said that our colonel praised the boys for their assistance in
-caring for the wounded, but part of us lost our drums, as after we
-followed the regiment into the woods the lines were shifted about so that
-we never again saw the house where we had left them. But drums were little
-used the next few months. Drills, inspections, dress parades, etc., gave
-place to marching, fighting, digging trenches and throwing up breastworks,
-for we were with Gen. Grant, who proposed to "fight it out on that line if
-it took all summer."
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER IX.
-
-"ON TO RICHMOND."
-
-
-Gen. Grant, having decided to change his base of operations, directed Gen.
-Hancock on the 20th to move his corps to the left as soon after dark as
-practicable. Gen. Horace Porter, who was one of Grant's aides, says that
-he purposely detached the Second Corps from the rest of the army, his
-object being to tempt Lee to attack them.
-
-Of course we poor mortals in the ranks knew nothing of the plans. The
-privates, nor even the drummer boys, are seldom consulted in such matters.
-
-Probably if we had been told, in our then used-up condition, that we were
-setting out on a march that was to last all night and through the next day
-we should have felt that we could never endure it.
-
-Before starting on the march our regiment was formally assigned to service
-with General Hancock the "Superb," and his Second Corps, and it has always
-been a pride with me that the fortunes of war cast our lot with such a
-matchless leader.
-
-If in my reminiscences I seem to be partial to this organization, I hope
-my comrades who fought bravely under other standards will forgive me. I
-mean no comparison. I am speaking of my own, and should we not love our
-own the best?
-
-When we started, orders were passed through the different regiments that
-there must not be any talking or any unnecessary noise, and the officers
-took pains to impress upon us that the rebel cavalry might dash among us
-at any moment.
-
-We marched for a long time down a densely wooded road. The night was a
-beautiful one with the moon, low in the sky, shining in our faces as we
-plodded along the road.
-
-
-NAPS ON THE MARCH.
-
-I made the discovery that night that one could sleep walking. Don't you
-believe it? Ask any old soldier. But one would hardly get into a nice nap
-before there would be a halt away up at the head of the column and several
-thousand men would go bumping into each other.
-
-Then everybody would drop right down in the road and try to get a rest
-there, but before we could get two winks it would be "fall in, fall in,
-boys," and away we would go again.
-
-
-A FUNNY PANIC.
-
-A most ludicrous incident occurred during our march that night. A halt of
-perhaps five minutes had permitted nearly all of us to drop off into the
-arms of morpheus when some general's pack horse broke away from the rest
-and came tearing down the lines, his load of camp kettles and other
-culinary equipage making a great clattering and creating something of a
-panic. When I awoke I was running through the woods about three or four
-rods from the road, and everybody else was doing likewise. One of our band
-boys ran into a tree and smashed his horn. Others lost their caps,
-blankets, etc., and we were a very demoralized lot of soldiers for a few
-moments. But order was soon restored and the march was continued the
-balance of the night without any other event worthy of note.
-
-About daybreak we heard musketry, and our brigade, which was then
-commanded by Gen. Nelson A. Miles, was rushed forward to support the
-cavalry, who were having a brisk little skirmish with the enemy at Guinea
-station. The rebels were routed, however, without the infantry firing a
-shot.
-
-We halted long enough to make coffee and then resumed the march, passing
-that day through a part of the state that had not been ravaged by war.
-
-
-IN A BEAUTIFUL LAND.
-
-We marched along beautifully shaded roadways, and the air was fragrant
-with May blossoms. Herds of cattle grazed in luxuriant pastures.
-
-The homes of the people were comfortable and everything looked peaceful
-and inviting to the thousands of poor, tired soldiers as they went
-marching by.
-
-We only made one halt during the day, which was an intensely hot one.
-Strong men fell down by the roadside from sheer exhaustion, but the rear
-guards would drive them on when they came along, for to be left behind was
-certain capture, and there was not ambulance accommodations enough for the
-wounded.
-
-Late in the afternoon we reached Milford and, crossing the Mattapony river
-at that point, intrenched ourselves on the south side, remaining there the
-next day, which gave us a much needed rest and afforded us an opportunity
-to bathe in the river.
-
-It is said the Mattapony was so named because it is made up from four
-small streams which are called respectively, the: Mat-Ta-Po-Ny.
-
-I was feeling quite down in the mouth, so to speak, when we halted that
-night, for when I had been taking a little nap in the shade of a rail
-fence at our midday halt some miscreant had stolen my haversack containing
-five days' rations. But, thanks to my big hearted comrade, I did not
-suffer for food as long as he had a mouthful.
-
-
-A GOOD CHUM.
-
-"Will" Coleman was a comrade worth having. A little older than I, of
-splendid physique and health, brave, jolly and unselfish, and one who
-would stand by you until the last. All through the long marches, hardships
-and battles incident to the campaigns from Spottsylvania to Appomattox we
-shared our rations, drank from the same canteen and slept under the same
-blanket. Words are inadequate to express what such comradeship means. No
-crucible ever tested metal more thoroughly than army life tested human
-character.
-
-Some that much had been expected of, when put to the test, shrunk in our
-estimation. Other modest souls developed into heroes when occasion
-demanded.
-
-It was a grand experience and I believe with few exceptions all the
-survivors have been better men therefor.
-
-
-THREE FAMOUS LEADERS.
-
-On May 23 we resumed our march and Gens. Grant and Meade rode with Gen.
-Hancock at the head of our corps in the forenoon.
-
-We reached the North Anna river in the afternoon and found the enemy in
-force with plenty of batteries in position on the south side. A spirited
-artillery duel took place and about six o'clock in the evening Gen.
-Hancock ordered an assault on the enemy, who had possession of the two
-bridges. They were driven across the river, but held the south end of one
-bridge during the night and made several attempts to burn it, but a heavy
-thunder shower came up and partly frustrated their efforts.
-
-We all got a thorough drenching, for we had no tents and had to lie on the
-ground and take it.
-
-In the morning it was found that the enemy had abandoned their advanced
-works near the river and our division crossed over and prepared to attack
-them, but their intrenchments were found so strong the design was
-abandoned.
-
-
-A FAMINE AND A FEAST.
-
-The supply trains had failed to connect with the army, and we were almost
-destitute of rations. I heard many offers of fifty cents to one dollar for
-a hard tack. The only thing my chum and I had to eat in the forenoon was
-some corn we found scattered on the ground where horses had been fed.
-
-In the afternoon the irrepressible Coleman went on a foraging expedition
-and brought back a small chicken, a piece of veal and a "hoe cake," which
-made us a good meal.
-
-That night the army recrossed the river again and we started out on
-another of our all-night marches with mud in places half way to our knees.
-
-All of our movements that summer took the form of a half circle. We used
-to march twenty or thirty miles to change the front of not more than
-one-fourth of that distance, and the boys very appropriately called the
-movements "Slewing to the left."
-
-The afternoon after leaving the North Anna river we brought up at the
-Pamunky, which we crossed on pontoon bridges. The enemy was strongly
-entrenched not far from the river and fired on our skirmishers. Everything
-indicated hot work. Our regiment was ordered into an advanced position and
-we built breastworks in plain sight of our adversaries, expecting that
-they would open on us with their artillery every moment, but for some
-reason they did not do so.
-
-
-AN ASSAULT.
-
-Early the next day our division, led by Gen. Francis C. Barlow--and a
-braver soldier never lived--assaulted the rebel lines and to do so had to
-cross a swampy ravine fully exposed to the fire of the enemy, who were
-protected by earthworks. The losses of our troops were severe.
-
-
-INVITED TO COME FORWARD.
-
-The musicians of our regiment were back under the cover of some woods and
-while the engagement was at its height we saw big George B.--our sergeant
-major--coming across the field on a run toward us. George explained his
-mission in a few words, which were about as follows:
-
-"Col. Whistler wants you boys to come up on the fighting line and help the
-surgeons take care of our wounded, and you better come p. d. q., too, for
-the old man was pretty mad when he missed you."
-
-It is needless to say we got there lively, but while we were carrying some
-wounded past our brigade commander he remarked that we were endangering
-their lives more by trying to remove them during an engagement than to
-leave them on the ground until the fighting was over.
-
-We thought it the safest, however, to obey our colonel, and after that we
-took good care that he did not have to send an officer to hunt us up.
-
-The casualties of our regiment in this engagement, which was called the
-battle of Totopotomy, were seven killed and seventy-seven wounded.
-
-
-THE REBEL YELL.
-
-It is seldom that one in the ranks has a chance to see much of a battle
-except what may be happening in his own regiment. Such an opportunity came
-to my chum and me at Totopotomy the afternoon of May 31st, 1864, when we
-witnessed the charge in open field of a Confederate division and heard for
-the first time the real Rebel yell, which was so unlike the cheers of the
-Union soldiers.
-
-After the assault of our division in the forenoon, matters settled down
-and there was comparative quiet for a couple of hours. About 2 o'clock we
-heard some lively cannonading over to the right and Coleman, who was one
-of those boys that always wanted to see all that was going on, suggested
-that we walk over that way. We found a battery of artillery in an advanced
-position shelling a piece of woods. The captain sat upon a camp stool
-dressed in a white duck suit and gave directions to his men as though it
-was target practice. We two boys stood on the earthworks and watched the
-effect of the exploding shells as they cut off the limbs of the trees or
-ploughed up the sod in the field in front of the woods. We learned from
-the artillerymen that the Confederates were massing troops preparatory to
-making a charge. Soon the rebel yell broke loose and a long line of gray
-came out of the woods and moved forward in perfect formation. Not a
-soldier wavered. The scene was thrilling and we were quite unmindful of
-the fact that our position was a dangerous one. The Confederate troops
-were supported by a number of pieces of artillery and the gunners had a
-perfect range on our battery and their shells were soon bursting all about
-us. Coleman and I quit our sight-seeing from the top of the breastworks
-and got down behind them, peeping out occasionally to watch the movements
-of the advancing enemy. When they had got within close range our battery
-opened on them with case shot and cannister, cutting swaths in the ranks
-of the advancing forces, but they would close up and come on and it looked
-as though the battery was lost. The captain had received orders to
-withdraw, but it was too late for him to get away with his guns so he
-concluded to stay and do the best he could. Several of his horses were
-killed and disabled and one of the caissons was blown up. Just when it
-looked as though the rebels were going to sweep everything before them we
-heard a loud, long cheer and a division of the gallant old 5th Corps
-double-quicked out to meet them and turned the tide the other way, and
-soon the Johnnies were in full retreat. They left many dead and wounded in
-our front, Gen. Ramsey being among the killed.
-
-This was one of the most spectacular engagements that I ever witnessed and
-was about the only one where I had a good opportunity to watch the effects
-of artillery fire directed against a charging column. Need I say that it
-was not necessary to keep a diary of such experiences. They were indelibly
-impressed on my memory as I doubt not they were on that of all other
-participants.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER X.
-
-BLOODY COLD HARBOR.
-
-
-The next move in the great game of war between Grant and Lee was Cold
-Harbor--a name indelibly impressed upon every survivor of the campaign. It
-recalls two weeks of hunger, thirst, hardships that language is inadequate
-to describe; unsuccessful assaults and losses, that tell the story of most
-desperate fighting. It was Greek against Greek, veteran against veteran.
-
-No one seems to know why the place was so named for, as Pat. Devereaux of
-our company expressed it, "'twas no harbor at all, and divil a drop of
-water to make 'wan wid." Grant considered it an important point, however,
-and tried to get there ahead of Lee, but as a "comrade in gray" expressed
-it, "Uncle Robert wasn't caught napping anywhere."
-
-Our corps reached there at a little past 6 the morning of June 2, after an
-all-night march with the heat and dust oppressive beyond description. An
-attack had been ordered for the morning, but was postponed because of the
-exhausted condition of the troops.
-
-
-A DESPERATE WISH.
-
-If I tell you that I heard many wish that they might receive a wound in
-the impending fight you may think me "yarning," but it is true
-nevertheless, for the men were so utterly worn out that they would have
-willingly risked a wound for the sake of the rest it would give them.
-
-The troops were placed in position during the day and all instructions
-issued to the various commanders preparatory for the assault that was to
-take place at 4.30 the morning of the 3d.
-
-
-A BUGLER'S GRIEF.
-
-Pardon a little digression while I tell you about a bugler who was a
-bugler from "way back." There were hundreds and thousands of buglers in
-the army, but I never heard one who could touch a note to George Gracey of
-our regiment. One blast of his trumpet would indicate the location of the
-2d New York, among a score of regiments. There was music in every sound he
-made, and I have seen officers of other commands stop and listen when the
-little Swiss was trumpeting the calls.
-
-At Cold Harbor he was selected by Gen. Hancock to sound the charge which
-sent 20,000 of his men into action, because his bugle could be heard
-clearer and farther than others. It was a proud moment for our little
-bugler, but the story is not complete without telling you how the
-tender-hearted fellow sat down and wept like a child, when, a few moments
-later, he saw the ghastly procession of mangled and bleeding comrades
-coming back.
-
-He was afterwards bugler for Gen. Nelson A. Miles at division headquarters
-and served until the close of the war. For many years he was bugler at the
-Bath Soldier's Home.
-
-I last saw him at a reunion of our regiment at Frankfort, N. Y., and,
-although he was bent over with the weight of three score years and ten, he
-had not forgotten his cunning with the bugle and when he alighted from an
-early morning train and let off a few blasts from his old war-scarred
-trumpet the citizens of that peaceful Mohawk village must have thought
-that Gabriel had come.
-
-
-TAPS!
-
-George Gracey has long since been "mustered out," and he who had trilled
-that sweet, sad and long farewell at the graves of thousands of his
-comrades has had "taps" sounded for him.
-
-
-THE BATTLE.
-
-When the rays of the rising sun lifted the mists from the Chickahominy
-lowlands on the morning of June 3, 1864, Cold Harbor was scarcely known
-beyond the sound of a rifle shot. When that same sun was dropping behind
-the western horizon in the evening of that day the name was on the tongues
-of millions all over the land.
-
-Promptly at 4.30 a. m. the attack was made by the 2d, 6th and 18th corps.
-Gen. Francis B. Barlow (after the war attorney general of New York) led
-our division and forced the enemy to retreat from a sunken road.
-
-Gen. Nelson A. Miles was our brigade commander at the time.
-
-Beyond the road was a hill from which the enemy's artillery were enabled
-to do frightful execution. Barlow again ordered a charge and led his men
-with a rush, carrying everything before them, capturing several hundred
-prisoners, a stand of colors and three pieces of artillery. Gen. Gibbons'
-second division on the right did some magnificent fighting. Gen. Birney's
-third division were in reserve and not actively engaged.
-
-The vigorousness of the contest may be inferred from the fact that the
-losses of the two divisions were over 2,200 and the assault was over
-inside of one hour.
-
-The casualties of the other commands engaged brought the losses of that
-assault up to nearly 6,000 men.
-
-Think of it! Quite one-fourth of the population of Watertown put out of
-action in less than one hour's time.
-
-The musicians of our regiment were not with the assaulting column this
-day, but the writer had a father with the force and can assure the reader
-that it was a mighty anxious time until he found him unharmed.
-
-
-BRAVERY OF THE WOUNDED.
-
-We had plenty of work to do in assisting the surgeons. Acres of ground
-were covered with bleeding, mangled men with the dust and smoke of battle
-upon them. It was touching to notice how bravely most of them endured
-suffering while needing attention and comforts that could not be given
-them.
-
-I recall how little Will Whitney, one of the "ponies" of our company as
-the boys were called, lay there on the ground shot clear through the body,
-patiently waiting his turn, while a big fellow with a wounded hand was
-dancing around and making a terrible fuss until Whitney, thoroughly
-disgusted, spoke out. "Shut up, there, old man, you're not the only one
-that got scratched in this fight."
-
-I assisted to the rear another of the lads of Co. H, Henry C. Potter, a
-former schoolmate at Carthage, and as bright and promising a young man as
-any who went to the war. His left arm was badly shattered, necessitating
-an amputation. There was not a murmur; not a regret. He was glad it was
-not his right one, for with that saved he could be of some help to his
-father in the store. He made me promise to stay by him during the
-operation, and after it was over I assisted him into an ambulance and bade
-him a last good-bye, for he did not live to see Jefferson county again.
-
-
-IN INTRENCHMENTS.
-
-After the fighting of June 3 Gen. Grant instructed the commanding officers
-to have the troops intrench themselves as best they could.
-
-In many places the lines were only forty or fifty yards apart. The ground
-all about was low and marshy, which caused chills and fever.
-
-Our regiment occupied a sort of angle so that we were exposed to bullets
-from the flank as well as front. The sharpshooters got in lots of their
-deadly work at Cold Harbor, and if a head was shown above the earthworks
-several "minies" would go whizzing past. Just for fun the boys used to
-elevate their caps on a bayonet for the "Johnnies" to shoot at.
-
-The men on the picket line dug holes or trenches to protect themselves and
-could only be relieved at night under the cover of darkness. All day long
-they would lie there in the broiling sun with little food or water, and
-between the lines were dead men and horses which polluted the atmosphere.
-Some of the wounded from the fight of the 3d were on the field up to the
-7th, completely covered by the fire of the enemy's pickets and
-sharpshooters, although the men made heroic efforts every night to bring
-their comrades in.
-
-  A TRUCE.
-
-  "Let us bury our dead:
-  Since we may not of vantage or victory prate;
-    And our army, so grand in the onslaught of late,
-  All crippled has shrunk to its trenches instead,
-    For the carnage was great;
-  Let us bury our dead."
-
-  "Haste and bury our dead!
-  No time for revolving of right and of wrong;
-    We must venture our souls with the rest of the throng;
-  And our God must be judge, as He sits over head,
-    Of the weak and the strong,
-  While we bury our dead."
-
-Gen. Grant made overtures to Lee the 5th for a truce, but no cessation of
-hostilities took place until the evening of the 7th, the hours being from
-6 to 8.
-
-The dead were buried where they fell and, strange as it may seem, quite a
-few men were found alive after lying there about four days without any
-food or water except what they may have had when wounded.
-
-The case of a man I assisted in bringing in our lines who had five wounds
-on his body was a sad one, but the surgeons thought his life could be
-saved.
-
-I wish I might find words to portray to the reader something of the
-impressiveness of the scene at Cold Harbor that night.
-
-Imagine, if you can, two mighty armies--that for weeks had been grappling
-with each other in deadly contest, each doing its utmost to slay and
-destroy the other, laying aside their implements of war as the day draws
-to a close, and with the sun casting its last red glare over all, as out
-from the ranks on either side came the men of war on their errand of
-mercy; the blue and gray intermingling, looking for friends and comrades
-that had fallen; permitted to carry them back into their own ranks to live
-or die among those with whom they served.
-
-The picture will never be effaced from my memory, and all who witnessed
-that or a similar scene, will heartily endorse the saying of the late
-General Sherman that "War is hell."
-
-
-REFUSED TO BE BURIED.
-
-The burial of the dead on the battlefield had to be done so hurriedly many
-times that more than one poor fellow who perhaps had been stunned and left
-on the field had a "close call" to being buried alive. A case in mind was
-that of one at Cold Harbor who had been picked up as dead, and as the men
-dropped their burden by the open trench the shock resuscitated the man and
-he faintly asked:
-
-"What's going on, boys?"
-
-The response was, "We were going to bury you, Shorty."
-
-"Not if I know myself," he replied. "Get me a cup of coffee and I'll be
-all right; I won't be buried by that country clodhopper."
-
-The "clodhopper" referred to was the sergeant in charge of the squad, who
-belonged to a company of our regiment that came from the central part of
-the state, while the man who had been so near the "dark valley" was a
-member of a New York City company.
-
-
-TO ARMS AGAIN.
-
-At 8 o'clock sharp the white flags were furled, and the buglers from
-either side sounded the "recall." The men returned to their commands, the
-swords were unsheathed, the muskets reloaded, the cannon unmuzzled and
-hostilities were resumed--such is war.
-
-    "Hark! the musketry roars, and the rifles reply:
-  Oh, the fight will be close and the carnage be dread;
-    To the ranks let us hie--
-  We have buried our dead."
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER XI.
-
-HANCOCK AND HIS MEN.
-
-
-General Hancock possessed to a remarkable degree the power of exciting to
-enthusiasm the men he so often led to victory. And even a drummer boy may
-be pardoned the pride he feels in the enduring fame of this intrepid
-commander.
-
-During the '64 campaign he was compelled to ride in an ambulance on the
-long marches because of the breaking out afresh of his old Gettysburg
-wound. But he did not ask a leave of absence, and when there was any
-fighting he mounted his horse and was at the head of his troops.
-
-The personnel of his corps was probably the most unique of all the army.
-The most prominent organization and one deserving more than a passing
-notice was the famous "Irish brigade," the representatives of that race
-which distinguished itself on the fields of Fontenoy.
-
-This brigade never lost a flag, although it captured over twenty stands of
-colors from the enemy. The Irish brigade was probably the best known of
-any organization in the army.
-
-It belonged to the first division of Gen. Hancock's corps.
-
-The brigade was in continuous service and lost over 4,000 men in killed
-and wounded, more men than it ever mustered at one time, for the regiments
-composing it were small.
-
-The regiments which properly belonged to the brigade, together with their
-losses, were:
-
-Sixty-third New York, with a loss of 156 killed; 69th New York, 259
-killed; 88th New York, 151 killed; 28th Massachusetts, 250 killed; 116th
-Pennsylvania, 145 killed.
-
-The old 69th New York lost more men in action than any other infantry
-regiment from the Empire State.
-
-At the "Bloody Lane," Antietam, eight color bearers of this regiment were
-successively shot down, and at Fredericksburg the color bearer was found
-dead with his flag wrapped around his body. Another instance illustrating
-the devotion of the brave Irish boys for the flag of their adopted country
-was at the "Bloody Lane," where 16 men of the 63d New York were killed or
-wounded carrying the colors that day.
-
-An incident of the brigade's assault on Marye's Heights was the
-distribution of little sprigs of green to the men as they stood in line
-waiting the order to forward. It is related that their gallant commander,
-Gen. Thomas Francis Meagher, placed one in his cap. The assault failed,
-but not for lack of bravery and dash, as attested by the long,
-well-aligned row of dead within a few yards of the rebel breastworks; and
-by each ashen face was a sprig of Irish green.
-
-There was another Irish brigade under Hancock composed of Pennsylvania
-troops, and commanded by Gen. Joshua Owen. They distinguished themselves
-at Gettysburg and were commonly known as "Paddy Owen's regulars."
-
-Another brigade of the corps was known as "Corcoran's legion."
-
-The second corps was prominent by reason of its long continuous service at
-the front. It inscribed upon its banners a greater number of engagements
-than any corps of the army. Likewise its casualty list was the largest.
-
-It also had to its credit the capture of more men, guns and colors from
-the enemy than the rest of the Army of the Potomac combined.
-
-Many years after the war General Hancock attended a national encampment of
-the G. A. R., and after the veterans had passed in review a distinguished
-U. S. Senator remarked to the general that he saw less of his old corps
-represented than other organizations and asked the reason why, to which
-Hancock replied, "The men of the 2d Corps, Senator, are mostly in
-heaven."
-
-
-THE GENERAL AND THE DRUMMER BOY.
-
-A score or more of years after the war, when General Hancock was in
-command of the Department of the East, with headquarters at Governor's
-Island, the writer happened in New York and the desire came over him to
-get a look at his old commander once more. He remembered that in the army
-there is a great disparity in the rank of a general in command and the
-boys who beat the drums, therefore he had no thought of a personal
-interview with the general. But when he was walking off the landing he saw
-a distinguished looking officer approaching, and recognizing him as the
-leader he had been proud to follow in other days, something of the old
-time enthusiasm of those days was rekindled, and as they met the
-ex-drummer boy saluted and made known his former connection with the
-general's old command. No other introduction was necessary. The hearty
-greeting gave proof that Hancock had a warm place in his heart for the
-least of his "boys," as he called them.
-
-The general was planning a trip to Sandy Hook for that day to inspect some
-new ordnance and an invitation was extended to the ex-drummer boy to be
-one of the party. There were several distinguished officers in the
-company, but none received more attention from the general than his humble
-follower of the Sixties.
-
-Later the writer exchanged two or three letters with the general and in
-one he referred to his former command as follows: "Your references to the
-old 2d Corps bring up many pleasant and sad remembrances. It has always
-been my regret that it was not in my power to reward every man who served
-with me as he deserved."
-
-
-THE SOLDIER'S FARE.
-
-A lady said the other day, "Tell us in your next what the men had to eat
-out at the front, how they managed to do the cooking, washing of clothes,"
-etc.
-
-Well now, the cooking did not bother us one bit, for we did not have
-anything to cook. When at Cold Harbor we had not had a vegetable for
-weeks, and beef only twice, and the flesh was so tainted with wild onions,
-on which the cattle had fed as they were driven through the country, that
-it could hardly be eaten. Coffee, hard tack, sugar, with a small allowance
-of salt pork two or three times during a month was what we had to live on.
-
-Money would not purchase anything because the sutlers were all sent to the
-rear when Gen. Grant crossed the Rapidan.
-
-Each man carried a little tin pail in which he boiled coffee, holding it
-over the fire with a stick. A quartet of boys who were making coffee one
-morning at Cold Harbor had their breakfast spoiled by a piece of a shell
-dropping into the fire.
-
-
-LAUNDERING ON THE MARCH.
-
-When we started out on the campaign our well filled knapsacks made us the
-laughing stock of the veterans of the 2d Corps, but gradually we had
-lightened our loads until we were down to a blanket, half a shelter tent,
-possibly a towel and a piece of soap, and some little keepsakes, all of
-which were twisted up in the blanket and slung over the shoulder. When we
-came to a stream the men would pull off their shirts, rinse them and if no
-halt was made would put them back on wet, or else hang them on their guns
-to dry on the march.
-
-
-IN ANOTHER MAN'S BOOTS.
-
-After a few weeks our shoes were nearly worn out, and in this connection I
-must turn aside to tell you how one of my comrades came into possession of
-a nice pair of boots.
-
-It was the day following a big battle. Our regiment was being moved to the
-left and in doing so we passed several amputating tables where the
-surgeons had performed their operations on the wounded the night before.
-Trenches had been dug at the ends of the tables but were filled to
-overflowing with hands, arms and legs. The boy espied a nice pair of boots
-protruding from one pile and, pulling them out, found that some staff
-officer had amputation performed above the knees. The limbs were drawn
-from the boots and the boy remarked that they were about his fit; so he
-exchanged his old shoes for them. I think I should rather have gone
-barefooted from there to Appomattox than to have done likewise.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER XII.
-
-TO PETERSBURG.
-
-
-On the night of June 12, '64, the withdrawal of the army from the trenches
-at Cold Harbor began. The picket lines were not disturbed until the army
-were several hours under way.
-
-Of course there were all sorts of rumors as to where we were bound for.
-Many were of the opinion that we were going to White House landing and
-take transports for Washington, but Grant was not that kind of a general.
-He had started out to destroy Lee's army and he was going to keep
-hammering away until they were licked.
-
-The march from Cold Harbor was a hard one. It is a great wonder how men
-could bear up under the hardship, considering what they had gone through
-for several weeks.
-
-No halt was made until morning, and after we had made coffee we were
-hurried on again. Would-be stragglers were forced along at the point of
-the bayonet.
-
-Before we left Cold Harbor our colonel had given orders that all of the
-drummer boys who were without drum should be given a gun, but I was
-excused from carrying one on this march because of an injury caused by
-falling in a trench while removing wounded from between the lines one
-night. My father tried in vain to get me a chance to ride in an ambulance
-or wagon; there were not accommodations enough for the badly wounded.
-
-We arrived at Wilcox's Landing; on the James river the night of the 13th,
-where a pontoon bridge 2,000 feet long had been laid across the river.
-
-The next morning the army crossed over, and it was a sight to stir the
-sensibilities of even a weary soldier, to see the thousands marching
-across the river, all in battle array. The water was dotted with tugs,
-gunboats and transports loaded with troops, and what made it more
-impressive to me was the thought that it was a real genuine thing and not
-a mere show.
-
-
-A FORCED MARCH WITHOUT RATIONS.
-
-It was expected that our haversacks would be replenished after we crossed
-the river, but Gen. Hancock received a dispatch from Meade, ordering him
-to march his command without delay to Petersburg. We started between 10
-and 11 o'clock and at 6:30 that evening Hancock reported to Gen. Smith,
-commander of the 18th corps, whose troops had already engaged the enemy
-and captured some of the outer defenses of the city.
-
-We relieved Smith's troops in the front line of works under the cover of
-darkness, and it was nearly midnight before we were in position and could
-lie down.
-
-
-THE BATTLE OPENS.
-
-At daylight Gen. Hancock ordered his brigade and division commanders to
-make reconnoissances in the front and the enemy was forced back all along
-the lines.
-
-Our regiment advanced through a peach orchard, exposed to a scathing fire
-of musketry.
-
-Col. Whistler was struck in the face by a bullet, while superintending the
-deploying of skirmishers, but was not disabled so but that he remained
-with the regiment, but it did make him fighting mad, and as he walked up
-and down the line with the blood dropping all over the front of his
-clothes he indulged in "cuss" words of the most expressive kind.
-
-After the fighting quieted down, Adjt. Brazee persuaded him to go to the
-rear. He was breveted brigadier general for his conduct that day, and
-given command of a brigade after his recovery. (Maj. Whistler of the
-regular army is a son of the officer mentioned.)
-
-Capt. Barry, the favorite officer of the line in our regiment, was killed
-that morning, and the beloved commander of the Irish brigade, Col. Patrick
-Kelly, one of the best officers of the 2d corps, fell with the colors in
-hands while leading his men in a charge on a rebel fort.
-
-The balance of the army not having arrived Gen. Meade ordered Hancock to
-hold his position until evening, when a general attack would be made.
-
-
-A HOT PLACE.
-
-Our regiment had been in some pretty hot places that summer, but the
-position that day was a little nearer the infernal regions than we had
-ever been before. A low stone wall was our only protection from the enemy,
-who were well intrenched in some woods about 75 yards distant across an
-open field.
-
-Behind us the ground sloped down to a little brook which had its waters
-reddened with the blood of thousands of boys in blue a few hours later.
-
-Several batteries were massed in the rear of us and they kept up a furious
-cannonading to detract attention from the movements of the troops
-elsewhere.
-
-The air was full of hissing shells, which passed so close to us that we
-could feel their hot breath, and one would involuntarily clap his hand to
-his head expecting his cap to be swept off. Our position was so near the
-enemy that occasionally a shell would burst over us, wounding some of our
-men. Lieut. Col. Palmer of our regiment was so wounded, a ball from a
-spherical cased shell striking him in the breast and, passing through his
-body, lodged back of the shoulder blade.
-
-Palmer sat down under a tree and told our surgeon to cut it out. The
-doctor suggested that he better take something for the operation. But
-Palmer's grit was of the right sort and taking off his slouch hat he
-slapped the ground with it and said: "Go ahead, doc, and cut the damned
-thing out, and be lively about it, too, for others need your attention."
-
-Finally the casualties became so numerous that Maj. McKay went to the
-artillery officer and told him he was killing off our own men and if he
-did not cut his fuses longer he would order his regiment to take the
-battery, and when a little later a staff officer rode over and ordered the
-major under arrest he found out that a captain of a battery was one not to
-be fooled with when in line of duty.
-
-
-RATIONS AND A CLOSE CALL.
-
-In the afternoon we heard the welcome news that rations were waiting us in
-the rear and details were made from the several companies to go after
-them.
-
-The writer went with Sergt. "West" Powell and the squad from our company.
-In order to get back to the supply trains it was necessary for us to cross
-several open spaces fully exposed to the fire of the confederates.
-
-When we came to such a place we would separate, run a few yards and throw
-ourselves on the ground, while the bullets would go whizzing over our
-heads.
-
-On our return each one carried a rubber blanket slung over his shoulder,
-containing rations for our hungry comrades. While we were creeping along
-close to an abandoned earthwork a shell struck the bank and exploding,
-hurled dirt and gravel over and about us.
-
-Something struck me on the side of my head and thinking I was shot I fell
-on the ground and called to my companions. They gathered around and on
-examination found I was sound except for a discolored spot and a stinging
-sensation probably caused by a small stone striking me.
-
-My nerves were thoroughly shattered, however, and it took some minutes for
-me to muster up courage to get on my feet and face the music again.
-
-
-MEMORIES OF AN IMPRESSIVE SCENE.
-
-The 5th and 9th corps caught up with the army that day and while we were
-back at the wagon train we saw them marching into position on the left of
-our corps preparatory to the assault that was delivered later in the day.
-
-Two-fifths of a century has passed since the roar of the conflict that
-raged before Petersburg was hushed. The commanders of the opposing armies,
-indeed, most of the great actors, are dead, while a large portion of the
-rank and file have answered the last roll-call, but the impressiveness of
-that scene is still fresh in my memory. As I write it all comes back to
-me. The long lines of blue with their glistening bayonets; the gleaming
-sabres of the cavalry; the tattered banners. On a little knoll was Gen.
-Warren the gallant commander of the 5th Corps sitting sidewise on his
-horse with field glass in hand surrounded by staff officers and couriers.
-The artillery was thundering. The rattle and roar of musketry along the
-lines was constant, and when the sun had dropped behind the horizon at the
-close of that day thousands of the blue and the gray were stretched out
-all over the fields.
-
-And the stars in Heaven, that night, looked down on scenes of suffering
-and horror that it is impossible to describe.
-
-June 17 was a day full of stirring events. The fighting was desperate and
-alternated between the different divisions and corps. Gen. Burnside's 9th
-corps had the honors of the day, capturing several redans, a number of
-pieces of artillery and several hundred prisoners with their colors.
-
-June 18, Gen. Grant ordered another general assault, which resulted in
-heavy losses and no success. Ten thousand men were killed and wounded in
-the three days' effort to capture Petersburg by direct assault. I find in
-Fox's statistics of regimental losses that he credits our regiment with
-54 killed and 218 wounded and missing in the three days' conflict, and
-many commands fared worse.
-
-The killed, wounded and missing of our regiment from May 18 to June 23d,
-were according to Fox, 584.
-
-The troops were now thoroughly exhausted, owing to the incessant
-movements, both day and night, for about six weeks. There had not been 24
-hours in which they had not been in close contact with the enemy. The
-confederates acting on the defensive had been spared the long circuitous
-marches as well as the costly experiences of assaulting intrenchments.
-
-Gen. Humphreys, who was chief of staff of the Army of the Potomac in 1864,
-placed the losses of the army from May 4 to June 19 as 61,400, of which
-50,000 were killed and wounded.
-
-
-RESTING WHERE THERE IS NO REST.
-
-We rested three days, if it can be called rest where there is a constant
-interchange of shots so that one was liable to get a bullet through his
-head if it was exposed above the breastworks.
-
-At night the artillery indulged in duels and the shots could be seen
-traveling in the air. The curves of the shells from the mortars reminded
-us of the Fourth of July rockets and the boys called it their display of
-fireworks.
-
-What the men suffered that summer in the trenches before Petersburg none
-will ever know except those who experienced the hardships.
-
-We had no tents except the little shelter tents and probably one-half of
-the men were without those, consequently we had to resort to all kinds of
-contrivances to get shelter. Some dug individual bombproofs which not only
-furnished protection from the sun but were proof against any stray piece
-of shell that might drop among us. Our clothing had been worn for weeks,
-bathing was out of the question and cooking had to be done far in the
-rear.
-
-Life in camp with plenty of well cooked rations, sufficient tent
-accommodations, extra clothing, plenty of water for cooking and bathing
-and life in the trenches in close contact with the enemy is quite another
-story.
-
-
-TESTING THE METAL.
-
-Constant marching, fighting and digging trenches for several weeks is the
-kind of soldiering that weeds the chaff out of a regiment, and it was
-noticeable that many officers who had been conspicuous on dress parades
-and reviews at Washington had failed to toe the mark when put to the test.
-
-
-"SLEWING" TO THE LEFT AGAIN.
-
-On the evening of the 21st our corps was ordered to move to the left and
-the 9th corps took its place in the trenches. The movement was for the
-purpose of extending the lines and getting possession, if possible, of the
-Weldon and South Side railroads, and, as usual, the 2d corps was selected
-to lead.
-
-Gen. Birney was temporarily in command of the corps, Gen. Hancock's wound
-giving him so much trouble that he had to take a few days' rest.
-
-The 6th corps had been ordered to support the 2d, but owing to the thick
-woods in the vicinity of the railroad the corps became separated and the
-confederates under Gen. A. P. Hill slipped in between the two commands and
-the first intimation we had of their presence was a furious firing on the
-flank and rear of our division which caused much confusion. So sudden and
-unexpected was the attack that part of several regiments and their colors
-were captured and Gen. Gibbons' second division lost four cannon.
-
-The next morning the lost ground was regained and in this position we
-remained some time, erecting Forts Davis and Sedgwick, which were about a
-half mile apart south of the old Jerusalem plank road.
-
-
-CELEBRATING THE FOURTH.
-
-The Fourth of July, 1864, our bands played "Yankee Doodle" and other
-national airs, while strains of "Dixie," "My Maryland," etc., floated over
-from the rebel side. In the evening the usual artillery duels furnished
-fireworks for the occasion.
-
-The lines were farther apart where we were at this time than over on the
-right near the Appomattox River, and the pickets used to meet on friendly
-terms under the cover of darkness. Of course there were strict orders
-against it, but they were disobeyed nightly and the men met and swapped
-stories, coffee for tobacco, newspapers, etc., and went back to their
-lines and were shooting at each other again the next day.
-
-
-LINCOLN AT THE FRONT.
-
-President Lincoln made a visit to the front about this time and was
-enthusiastically received.
-
-The men knew by his looks, his kind words to the sick and wounded that he
-was in deep sympathy with them, and I think his presence was of untold
-benefit to the rank and file of the army.
-
-
-DRUMMED OUT OF CAMP.
-
-The only man I ever saw drummed out of camp was down in front of
-Petersburg. He was a coward, and large placards proclaiming the fact were
-suspended from his neck, one on his breast and the other on his back, his
-head was shaved and a fifer and drummer marched him all through the
-division to the tune of the "Rogue's March," and then he was given a
-dishonorable discharge and sent home.
-
-
-CAVALRY VS. HEAVY ARTILLERY.
-
-Among the deserters from our company when we were in the forts, at
-Washington, was one whom we met more than a year later.
-
-One day, on the march as we were taking a few moments rest by the roadside
-a regiment of cavalry came along and halted opposite us. All at once one
-of our boys exclaimed "Well, I'll be blowed if there isn't Sam P----," and
-sure enough there was our long lost Sam sitting astride of a horse.
-
-"Hello, Sam!" was shouted by several of his old comrades, and one ventured
-to ask what he had left his first love for?
-
-Sam's reply was about as follows: "I was willing to serve my country, but
-I'm cussed if I ever liked that heavy infantry business. It was a dirty,
-mean trick for them to enlist us for flying artillery and then change to
-heavy, and I didn't propose to tread mud with a big knapsack on my back, a
-musket and 40 rounds of ammunition, so I just transferred myself to the
-cavalry."
-
-About this time the bugles sounded "forward" and as Sam rode away with the
-dusty troopers he called out; "Good-bye old company H," and that was the
-last we ever saw of him, but I doubt not he rendered good service in the
-cause for he was not a bad fellow, even if he did prefer cavalry to heavy
-artillery.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER XIII.
-
-GRANT'S HEADQUARTERS AT CITY POINT.
-
-
-City Point, a little insignificant wharf town on a point of land at the
-intersection of the Appomattox with the James River, about 25 miles from
-Richmond and seven or eight miles from Petersburg, leaped into world-wide
-importance in 24 hours in June '64.
-
-Gen. Grant made his headquarters there until the surrender of Lee and it
-was the base of supplies for the army of the James, as well as the army of
-the Potomac.
-
-Think if you can what it would mean to Sackets Harbor, if an army of
-75,000 to 100,000 men should make that town the base of its operations
-against Watertown, and over on the Pillar Point shore was another army
-half as large.
-
-Do you know what it means to clothe and feed such an army with the bare
-necessities, to say nothing of what the horses require to live upon or of
-the shiploads of ammunition that was used in the nine months' operations?
-
-All had to be transported there by water, so you can imagine what a vast
-number of transports filled the river.
-
-Admiral Porter's fleet of monitors, gunboats and other warlike craft were
-anchored off Bermuda Hundred in sight of Grant's headquarters, which was a
-modest log house on the bank of the Appomattox.
-
-Gen. Grant was the least pretentious general officer in the army and used
-to walk and ride around with only one orderly with him, and seldom wore
-any insignia of his rank.
-
-About a mile from his headquarters, towards the front, were the great
-field hospitals of the army. Large wall tents were used and they covered a
-vast acreage of ground.
-
-It is not likely that so many sick and wounded were ever gathered together
-in this country before, and it is to be hoped that there may never be a
-repetition of it.
-
-Transports left daily loaded with sick and wounded, for as soon as a
-patient could stand the trip he was sent north to make room for the daily
-arrivals from the front.
-
-President Lincoln and many other distinguished men were Gen. Grant's
-guests at different times, and Mrs. Grant spent most of the fall and
-winter with her husband.
-
-The cannonading along Butler's lines as well as at Petersburg could be
-plainly heard at City Point.
-
-
-A WAR-TIME RAILROAD.
-
-Gen. Grant wanted a railroad for the transportation of supplies and
-ammunition to the front and he had one built.
-
-There was no pretense of grading; they just placed ties on top of the
-ground and laid the rails across them.
-
-After the road reached the front it was run along in the rear of the lines
-and as they were extended the road followed.
-
-The "Johnnies" got a range on the road for a mile or more and they wasted
-a lot of ammunition trying to hit the flying trains, which were partially
-protected by earthworks.
-
-They did not run any parlor cars for the soldiers in those days and one
-day when the writer was the bearer of some dispatches to City Point he
-rode in a box car with Gens. Horace Porter, Forsythe and other officers of
-Grant's staff, and it occurred to him that we were in greater danger than
-when at the front. After we got out of the car I heard the engineer
-talking about the flying run and laughing about the shaking up he gave the
-officers.
-
-
-BEN BUTLER.
-
-Ben Butler was the most unique character of the civil war on the Union
-side and was as full of eccentricities then as in public life in later
-years.
-
-When Gen. Grant started out on his campaign against Richmond in 1864 he
-sent Gen. Butler with a force of 40,000 soldiers around by water to
-operate from the south side.
-
-Butler landed his army on Bermuda Hundred, a peninsula that lies between
-the James and Appomattox rivers and there the confederates hemmed him in,
-or as Gen. Grant expressed it, "bottled him up" until Grant's army arrived
-at Petersburg. Then his intrenched position became of vast importance in
-the operations against the confederate capital.
-
-The 10th artillery boys, who were with that portion of the army on Bermuda
-Hundred, will remember Butler's "Dutch Gap" canal.
-
-The historic James river, from City Point to Richmond, is one of the
-crookedest streams in the country, and the rebel batteries had command of
-a seven-mile bend in the river that Butler thought to get around by
-cutting across lots, so to speak.
-
-The distance across was not much over a half mile, and Butler conceived
-the idea of a canal. The banks were high and it required a vast amount of
-labor to make the excavation.
-
-The position was exposed to the fire of the rebel artillery and they kept
-up an incessant bombardment of the men at work who had holes in the banks
-after the manner of swallows and when things got too hot they would crawl
-into their individual bomb proofs.
-
-Butler did not get his canal finished in time to be of service to the
-gunboats before the fall of Richmond but I understand it was completed
-after the war.
-
-
-A TERRIFIC EXPLOSION.
-
-One day when I happened to be at City Point a terrible explosion occurred.
-It was as though a hundred cannon had belched forth. The shock was almost
-overpowering. The ground trembled and the first thought was that the
-confederates had in some way gotten a position where they could shell
-Grant's headquarters and the hospitals. Looking up we saw a dense column
-of smoke rise to a great height and then spread out like a parachute and
-from it fell death dealing missiles in every direction. Some exploded as
-far away from the landing as the hospitals. Shell flew in all directions.
-It literally rained muskets, sticks, pieces of iron, etc. When the smoke
-cleared away the scene from the bluff overlooking the wharves was
-sickening. Bodies were lying in every direction, blackened and many
-without heads, arms or legs.
-
-The cause of the accident was a mystery until after the war when on the
-trial of Werz at Washington a rebel witness confessed that he had done it,
-making excuse that he had a package for the captain of an ammunition boat
-at the wharf. He knew the captain was away from the boat so he left the
-package containing an infernal machine for him with the fuse adjusted so
-that an explosion would soon follow.
-
-Among the other curiosities at the Point was a stockade where the rebel
-prisoners were corralled until they could be sent north. Another stockade
-was called a "Bull Pen," where all the deserters, bounty jumpers, bummers
-and other freaks were kept until their cases could be disposed of.
-
-
-LEE'S DESPERATE ATTEMPT.
-
-One morning before daylight in March, 1864, when President Lincoln was at
-City Point, Lee made a desperate attempt to break the lines in front of
-Petersburg.
-
-It is said his plan was to capture Fort Stedman and adjacent works, turn
-their guns on our demoralized troops, capture the railroad running to City
-Point and destroy Grant's communication with his army.
-
-Fort Stedman was held by the 14th New York heavy artillery, a regiment
-with many members from northern New York, and the lines at this point were
-very close together.
-
-The confederate troops assigned for the desperate work were commanded by
-Gen. Gordon. Under the cover of darkness they stealthily advanced on the
-pickets, captured them and made a rush and captured the fort without
-hardly firing a shot and took prisoners part of a 9th corps division. The
-guns of the fort were turned on neighboring forts and the confederate
-troops pushed forward as far as the railroad cutting the wires that led to
-Grant's headquarters. But their success was of short duration for our
-troops soon rallied and drove them out of Fort Stedman, and the movement
-proved a failure and a costly one to the confederates.
-
-The next day President Lincoln and Gen. Grant visited the front lines.
-
-
-"HANCOCK'S FOOT CAVALRY."
-
-Campaigning with the 2d corps in 1864 was strenuous enough to satisfy the
-most adventuresome. The frequent detours of the command from the rest of
-the army and the rapidity with which they had been shifted from left to
-right and right to left caused the confederates to style them as
-"Hancock's Foot Cavalry."
-
-After the direct assaults on Petersburg failed the corps was sent to
-extend the lines to the Weldon and South Side railroads. Then Gen. Grant
-sent them north of the James to act in conjunction with Gen. Sheridan's
-cavalry in an attempt to break the rebel lines at Chapin's Bluff on the
-James river, near Deep Bottom, and after some stubborn fighting, they were
-ordered back to Petersburg to support Gen. Burnside's forces at the mine
-explosion.
-
-Then after a few days of comparative quiet Gen. Grant planned another
-moonlight excursion for the wearers of the trefoil.
-
-On August 13, we marched to City Point and embarked on steamers, the
-destination of which we had no idea of. Many surmised we were going to
-Washington to assist in driving Early out of Maryland. Probably it was
-intended to give such an impression to the enemy, for we sailed down the
-river towards Fortress Monroe, but after dark the steamers were turned
-about and under the cover of darkness we were carried up towards Richmond,
-and a landing was effected the next morning at Deep Bottom.
-
-The other troops at that point were the 10th corps and Gen. Gregg's
-cavalry. Several unsuccessful attempts were made to break the rebel lines
-and the second day our troops had to fall back, and in this retreat our
-brave old color bearer was killed, and the national colors were barely
-saved from the hands of the enemy by the daring of a young man whose name
-I cannot recall. The bravery he displayed that day entitled him to a medal
-of honor and a commission, but he did not get either, although he did live
-to carry the flag until Lee's surrender.
-
-
-NO REST FOR THE WEARY.
-
-After this affair we were returned to Petersburg and without any rest were
-hurried off to assist the 5th corps in a demonstration across the Weldon
-railroad. Several miles of the track was torn up. The ties were burned and
-the rails piled on the fires. Rations having failed to connect, we
-subsisted principally on green corn, which was roasted over huge fires.
-
-
-A PATHETIC INCIDENT.
-
-In the movements to extend the left of Grant's lines at Petersburg the
-cavalry always blazed the way, usually preceding the infantry by a few
-hours. I recall a touching incident that illustrates the devotion that a
-cavalryman's horse has for the man who has been its inseparable companion
-for months.
-
-We found one day a dead soldier lying on the ground and near him grazing
-was his faithful horse.
-
-The bloated and discolored features of the dead cavalryman indicated that
-he had lain there for hours. Probably he had been on picket duty when
-"picked off" by some sharpshooter, and by his lifeless body his faithful
-and devoted charger had waited for the boy in blue who to his comrades was
-simply one of the "missing."
-
-
-REAM'S STATION.
-
-The night of August 24, our corps rested at Ream's Station a name of which
-many veterans have keen recollections. In the morning the pickets
-reported that the enemy were in force in the vicinity, and accordingly
-preparations were made to receive them. About 2 p. m. the enemy made an
-attempt to break that part of the line held by our division, which was
-then under command of Gen. Nelson A. Miles, but they were repulsed. Later
-a larger force, backed by 30 or 40 pieces of artillery made a second
-attempt and succeeded in forcing a portion of the line held by some troops
-new to the field. The situation was critical, as the confederates greatly
-outnumbered our troops and the enemy had worked around under the cover of
-the woods until the attacking force was on our flanks and rear. The affair
-would have ended disastrously but for the coolness and bravery of both
-Gens. Hancock and Miles, who rallied the troops and led them in person.
-
-Gen. Hancock's horse was shot under him, but with hat in hand he called on
-the officers and men of his old corps to stand by him and drive the enemy
-off. Ah, but he was indeed a superb officer, and men never desert such a
-leader.
-
-Among the killed of our regiment that day was George Curtin, the popular
-leader of the regimental band. This was a fight in which it was all
-"front" and no chance for the musicians to get to the rear.
-
-After this affair there was a lull in active operations for a while, the
-picket firing and artillery duels along the intrenched front furnishing
-spice enough to relieve monotony.
-
-In the latter part of October we "slewed" around to the left again, the
-object being to get possession of the South Side railroad. The second
-corps encountered a large force of the enemy on the 27th on the Vaughn
-road near Hatcher's Run, and a fiercely contested battle took place.
-Portions of the 5th and 9th corps were also engaged.
-
-Gen. Winslow's regiment, the 186th New York, joined the 9th corps that day
-and were near enough to hear some of the fighting and get a smell of
-powder but I believe did not take a hand in the affair.
-
-In November, Gen. Hancock was called to Washington by the secretary of war
-to organize a new corps for the army, which it was intended should be made
-up principally of veterans who had served their time and been discharged.
-The men of his old command who had served under him so long were greatly
-attached to him and regretted his departure exceedingly.
-
-In a report to Gen. Grant he mentioned among other things the losses of
-his corps as 25 brigade commanders, 125 regimental commanders and over
-20,000 men. Comment is unnecessary.
-
-
-BIG BOUNTY MEN.
-
-The army received large accessions of recruits during the fall of 1864.
-The big bounties had induced all sorts of characters to enlist. A large
-per cent. were professional "bounty jumpers," who were ready to desert to
-the enemy at the first opportunity.
-
-The 5th New Hampshire of our division, a regiment that had an enviable
-record as fighters, had their depleted ranks filled up with conscripts,
-substitutes and bounty takers who deserted in such numbers to the
-"Johnnies" that their pickets used to joke our men about sending over the
-colors of the regiment, and one day a huge placard was hoisted on the
-rebel intrenchments which read something as follows:
-
-"Headquarters 5th New Hampshire vols. Recruits wanted."
-
-A member of our company while on picket one night shot one of the
-attempted deserters and as a reward was granted a 30-day furlough.
-
-If a deserter was caught no mercy was shown him.
-
-The penalty was death by shooting or hanging, usually the latter, as
-shooting was considered too honorable. Scaffolds were erected in the rear
-of the works and almost every Friday there were numerous executions along
-the lines.
-
-
-ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS LOOKED SMALL.
-
-I recall a story told at the expense of one of the big bounty men who
-joined us just before setting out on the last campaign. He had hardly a
-chance to learn to handle a gun when he was sent out on the skirmish line
-and pretty soon the "minies" were coming his way thick and fast. His
-comrade was a son of Erin, and an old "vet" who went before the bounties.
-The nerves of the big bounty man were getting pretty badly shattered,
-which was noticed by Pat, who sang out: "I say, there, me laddy buck! How
-large does your $1,000 look to ye's now?"
-
-"About the size of a silver quarter," was the truthful response.
-
-Another incident illustrates the practical manner with which the officers
-regarded the lives of their men. A veteran captain noticed some of the new
-accessions to his company needlessly exposing themselves, as he thought,
-and this is about what he said to them: "Get down behind the breastworks;
-you cost twelve hundred dollars a piece, and I'll be d--d if I am going to
-have you throw your lives away; you're too expensive!"
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER XIV.
-
-WINTER QUARTERS.
-
-
-How many of our readers who are old enough to remember back so far can
-tell what kind of a winter we had 40 years ago? Probably not more than one
-in a hundred, unless it be some of the survivors of the army of the
-Potomac, or the army of the James, for the winter of 1864-5, was one of
-unusual severity, and there was much suffering among the troops in the
-trenches before Petersburg and Richmond.
-
-Possibly it may interest some of the present generation to know how the
-soldiers, who were only provided with little shelter tents, managed to
-keep warm through the winter months when it was cold enough down there for
-ice to form on all of the streams.
-
-Usually four men would go in together and build a little hut out of logs,
-sticks, pieces of boards or whatever they could pick up, chinking the
-cracks with Virginia mud, which, when hardened, no amount of rain or wind
-would loosen. The roof was usually made from their tents unless enough
-split timber could be got to lap one over the other.
-
-From old barrel staves, small limbs and the same Virginia mud a chimney
-would be built at the end of the hut, connecting with a spacious
-fireplace.
-
-On one side a double bunk made from saplings and covered with grass,
-leaves or hay, over which was spread a blanket with knapsacks for pillows,
-formed the beds.
-
-It was a credit to Yankee ingenuity to see the devices the men had for
-conveniences. Candlesticks were made out of bottles or cans filled with
-sand. Cracker boxes were converted into handy cupboards or tables and
-little cellars were scooped out from under the bunks.
-
-In the drummer boys' quarters, drums were used for writing stands and card
-playing tables, while often a checkerboard would be sketched on the head
-of the drum and for men buttons would be used, and with plenty of rations
-we managed to be quite comfortable except when on picket.
-
-
-LEE'S SOLDIERS COLD AND HUNGRY.
-
-The question of supplies is a vital one to an army, and how to clothe and
-feed the confederate soldiers was a most serious problem to the southern
-leaders in the last year of the war.
-
-The "Johnnies" with their threadbare clothing and scant rations suffered
-everything during the cold winter of '64-5. Of tea and coffee they had
-none except in their hospitals. The only thing they had a superfluity of
-was tobacco, and this they were ready to swap for coffee or anything to
-eat.
-
-In front of our corps was a strip of woods where the blue and the gray
-used to meet on friendly terms, cut wood, swap coffee, tobacco, papers,
-stories, etc.
-
-The reader of this who is of the generation since the war will hardly
-believe, I presume, that men of the two armies, who had fought each other
-so hard for more than three years, could meet between the lines without
-displaying any animosity toward each other, but such occurrences were not
-rare.
-
-I recall a story about how a "Johnnie" helped a "Yank" carry his supply of
-wood into the Union lines. The boys were engaged in cooking and when the
-rebel sniffed the pleasant aroma of Uncle Sam's old Government Java and
-other things that were not being furnished by the C. S. A. commissary
-department, he said: "I'm dog-goned if it don't seem right smart
-comfortable here with you'uns and now that I'm here I guess I'll stay!"
-
-Considering the great privations that they suffered, and the hopelessness
-of the struggle it is a great wonder that the desertions from their side
-were not more frequent than they were.
-
-
-A BOX FROM HOME.
-
-If any of you ever have a father, son or brother in far distant parts,
-don't forget to send him an occasional box of good things from the old
-home. He may have an abundance, but even then he will appreciate the
-loving remembrances; but if he is undergoing the hardships and privations
-of a soldier's life it will touch his heart more than any other act of
-your life.
-
-Two of our mess were remembered with a bounteous box of good things the
-Christmas we were in the trenches before Petersburg. Talk about your
-banquets! Your Delmonico spreads; your nine-course dinner! They cannot
-compare with that Christmas feast of home made mince pies, fruit cake,
-plum pudding, old fashioned twisted doughnuts, raspberry jam and other
-good things from home.
-
-And even those who were without mother or sister at home received through
-the Sanitary or Christian commissions many evidences that their devotion
-to their country's cause was lovingly remembered by the patriotic women of
-the North.
-
-Those were stirring days, and even the little children worked for the
-soldiers. Their little hands were busy rolling bandages, knitting and
-helping the various "Aid societies."
-
-Among my wartime keepsakes is the photograph of a little Pennsylvania
-girl, 10 years old. It came to me in a "Soldier's Companion" containing
-needles, thread, buttons and other articles useful to a soldier. The child
-had made it and tucked a dainty little note inside with her picture,
-requesting the recipient to write to her, which I did from the front of
-Petersburg and received a very beautiful letter in reply.
-
-
-WHERE BOARD WAS HIGH.
-
-I have in my possession a portion of an old copy of the "Macon
-Confederate," which was obtained on the picket line one day, in which it
-is stated that, "board at our hotels is $30 per day, which includes three
-meals and a room."
-
-"If a man is single and wishes to reside here he can obtain board at a
-private house for $150 to $200 per month."
-
-"A family can rent a small house, with a small yard and garden for, from
-$1,500 to $2,500, according to location."
-
-"By close economy, subsistence and clothing for one year can be purchased
-at the market for a family, say of five, for $5,000, so the whole expense
-will be about $8,000, during the 12 months."
-
-
-"RETRIBUTION."
-
-Another item tells of the presentation of a beautiful sword to Gen. John
-McCausland of the confederate army.
-
-"The blade is of the best material, and the scabbard beautifully mounted
-and richly embossed.
-
-On the blade is inscribed: The citizens of Lynchburg to Gen. John
-McCausland, June 18, 1864: Embossed on the scabbard is a chalice, and
-above the word "Retribution," symbolizing the destruction of Chambersburg
-by fire which was putting down the poisoned chalice to Yankee lips for the
-atrocities committed by them in the valley. Below appears the coat of arms
-of Virginia, and in another place is seen the coat of arms of the ancient
-Roman Empire."
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER XV.
-
-LAST STRUGGLE AND DEFEAT OF THE LOST CAUSE.
-
-
-Grant's and Lee's forces occupied intrenchments more than 30 miles in
-length reaching from Richmond around to the left of Petersburg. The
-effective soldiers of Grant's army were about 125,000, including the Army
-of the James, while Lee's forces numbered about one-half, but they were
-veterans, every man of them, for on the southern side there was no
-expiration of service.
-
-The confederacy was in sore straights. The strenuous campaign of 1864 had
-put every man into Lee's army that it was possible to get without robbing
-the cradle and the grave. The losses the confederates suffered that year
-could not be made good while the North sent Grant a fresh man to take the
-place of every one put out of action.
-
-Sherman had marched his army through Georgia, devastating the country,
-thence up the Atlantic coast, and was, in March, 1864, in North Carolina,
-only about 150 miles south of Petersburg. Gen. Thomas had cleaned out
-Hood's army, and fighting Phil Sheridan had laid waste to the Shenandoah
-valley and driven the rebels from out its borders. And then the policy
-adopted by the north of the non-interchange of prisoners--a policy which,
-though effective against the enemy caused thousands of brave men to die
-slowly by starvation in the prisons of the South--kept out of the
-Confederate ranks men enough to make two armies like Lee's. The Union
-forces were well fed and warmly clothed during the winter of '64-5, while
-the men in the southern ranks were in rags and on scant rations. There was
-no hope for the South unless Lee could extricate his army from the
-intrenchments at Richmond and Petersburg and join his forces with Gen.
-Johnston's army and transfer operations farther south.
-
-Gen. Grant learned of Lee's intentions and forced the fighting before his
-plans could be put into execution.
-
-The movement commenced March 29. "Phil" Sheridan and his force of cavalry
-was sent around Lee's right with the 5th and 2d corps following.
-
-The 6th and 9th corps of the Army of the Potomac, with some troops from
-Butler's army, were to hold the lines at Petersburg.
-
-The writer's regiment was then, as in the previous year's campaign, with
-Grant, attached to Hancock's 2d corps, but that superb commander was no
-longer its leader, having been called to Washington to organize a veteran
-corps and Gen. Andrew A. Humphreys, who had long been chief of staff of
-the Army of the Potomac, had taken his place. He was an able commander but
-could never inspire his troops with the enthusiasm of Hancock, yet it is
-understood he was rated by military critics as the most skillful officer
-of the civil war.
-
-The weather had been good for several days, but the day the troops began
-to move a rain set in and it just poured, and as the country was flat and
-swampy, with the soil a mixture of clay and sand, the roads soon became
-nearly knee deep with a stiff batter, making it extremely difficult for
-the men to march, and in places the roads had to be corduroyed to make it
-possible for the artillery to proceed. The boys good-naturedly made the
-best of it, and if a staff officer rode by would inquire if the pontoons
-and gunboats were coming.
-
-
-NOTES FROM AN OLD DIARY.
-
-On March 29 our regiment struck tents at camp near Patrick's Station and
-marched three or four miles, forming a junction with Sheridan's cavalry,
-halted near Hatcher's Run and threw up breastworks; left them late in the
-day and marched through a dense woods; halted on the other side and threw
-up more works; advanced at daybreak the morning of the 30th; heard
-musketry firing about 9; halted and built breastworks again.
-
-About 1 p. m. the enemy opened on us with artillery, throwing both solid
-shot and shell; several wounded.
-
-Was routed out before 5 the next morning and made a forced march to reach
-the 5th corps; halted at dusk and threw up intrenchments. It was truly
-marvelous to see how quickly troops would throw up formidable earthworks
-with nothing to work with except bayonets, tin cups and plates and an
-occasional frying pan, and men did it willingly, too, for although they
-were so tired they could hardly march farther they knew there was no
-safety for an army unless they were behind intrenchments.
-
-Heavy firing that night on both flanks; next morning had a lively skirmish
-about 4; several wounded.
-
-April 2, continued the advance; crossed the South Side railroad; heavy
-skirmishing on the advance lines; built intrenchments near the railroad.
-
-Although there was constant skirmishing by the troops on the flanks, there
-was no serious conflict until the 31st, when Sheridan encountered Fitzhugh
-Lee's cavalry and "Fighting Phil" is reported to have said he had "one of
-the liveliest times of his life."
-
-The same day the confederates delivered one of their furious sallies
-against Gen. Warren's 5th corps out on the White Oak road, hurling back in
-disorder the divisions of Gens. Ayers and Crawford, but Griffin's division
-stood firm and Gen. Miles' division of the 2d corps, with which our
-regiment was serving, went to their support and delivered a counter charge
-on the right flank, causing the enemy to retire to his intrenchments,
-which were so strong and stubbornly defended that repeated attempts to
-dislodge them failed.
-
-In the meantime Lee sent Gen. Pickett, who so gallantly led the charge at
-Gettysburg, along the White Oak road to Five Forks, where he routed a
-division of infantry and some of Sheridan's cavalry.
-
-
-FIVE FORKS.
-
-The next day, April 1, the 5th corps and Sheridan's cavalry moved on the
-enemy at Five Forks. Gen. Sheridan was everywhere on his powerful, coal
-black charger. It is said he even swore a little as he told the brigade
-commanders that "This battle has got to be fought on the double quick."
-When the battle line was forming he is said to have ridden among the men
-and encouraged them with such remarks as, "We've got the twist on 'em,
-boys; there won't be a grease spot left when we get through."
-
-At a critical moment when some of the troops wavered because of the
-hail-storm of bullets, Sheridan grasped his battle flag from the man who
-carried it and rode forward, urging his men to close up and stand firm.
-Such conduct inspired the soldiers to a renewed effort, and they charged
-the enemy and won a splendid victory.
-
-Gen. Grant celebrated Sheridan's victory by opening fire on the city of
-Petersburg with over 100 cannon, and the troops who held the lines in
-front of the city assaulted the works and pressed back the Confederates,
-whose only hope was to get safely away from the city and join Lee's army
-in its race for life. This was accomplished during the night of the 2d,
-and the departure of the Confederate troops was effected so quietly that
-the Union pickets knew not that the enemy were moving till daylight
-revealed the fact that they had folded their tents and slid away in the
-night and were miles distant when the Union forces proudly entered the
-city that had been the bone of contention between the two great armies
-from June, 1864, to April, 1865.
-
-It was well understood that Lee's objective point was Lynchburg or
-Danville, and it was only by ceaselessly marching and hammering away at
-their weakening lines that Lee's plans to unite his forces with Gen.
-Johnston's were foiled. Phil Sheridan, aided by Gens. Custer, Crook and
-Merritt, was just the right man for the job, and his unceasing ardor and
-energy kept things humming and was what contributed largely to the success
-of the campaign. The only blot on his escutcheon was his ungenerous
-treatment of Gen. Warren, after Five Forks, which caused Warren's removal
-from his command, and the life of one of the bravest and most accomplished
-officers of the Army of the Potomac was embittered and he died a few
-years after the war of a broken heart.
-
-His old comrades, although admiring Sheridan's splendid qualities, could
-never quite forgive his treatment of so gallant an officer and gentleman.
-
-The pursuit of Lee was resumed on the 3d. Gen. Sheridan with his cavalry
-and the 5th corps moved westerly, keeping near the Appomattox river, where
-they could keep in touch with Lee's army. Gen. Meade with the 2d and 6th
-corps followed Sheridan with the same object in view. Gen. Ord, with the
-24th corps, Gen. Birney's colored troops and the 9th corps were to move
-parallel with the South Side railroad.
-
-No fighting of importance occurred for two or three days after Five Forks,
-but we did some right smart marching.
-
-The evening of April 5, we were preparing to go into camp for the night
-when the sound of artillery put us in motion again, and we raced it until
-midnight. The morning of the 6th, Gen. Meade concluded that Lee's troops
-had been slipping around to his left during the night; so he sent the 6th
-corps out on the Painesville road and we of the 2d by the Deatonville
-pike.
-
-Couriers had brought word that the enemy was moving in two columns, one
-under the command of Gen. James Longstreet, and the other under Gen. John
-B. Gordon.
-
-Recently, when the death of the two above-named generals occurred so
-closely together, it seemed almost a suggestion of fatality that these two
-great leaders who fought all through the war and were Lee's two arms in
-the last desperate effort for the "Lost Cause" should have outlived all of
-the other great generals of the confederacy and then crossed over the
-river shoulder to shoulder, as it were, to rejoin Lee, Jackson and other
-beloved comrades.
-
-
-THE SAILOR'S CREEK FIGHT.
-
-After going four or five miles, the morning of the 6th, we came out on a
-ridge, in a clearing, and in the distance could be seen a long column of
-rebs, moving in almost an opposite direction.
-
-Our division had the right of line, so we could see them very clearly. The
-boys began to throw their caps in the air and let off a few yells, when
-word was passed along the line to keep quiet and we obliqued to one side
-and got out of sight behind the crest of the ridge.
-
-Gen. Miles ordered up some batteries, and they taking position in our
-front, unlimbered and opened fire on the "Johnnies," who were crossing a
-large open field, and there was a column of about a mile long to be seen.
-
-My blood runs quicker as the memory of that day comes back to me with its
-thrilling incidents.
-
-I see the artillery galloping into position and I recall the excitement
-when the first shots were fired and we watched the shells as they dropped
-among the confederates.
-
-The artillerymen got the range the first time, and there was some right
-smart "gittin' away" to the woods, which were in every direction, and the
-way those greybacks broke for a shelter was a caution, and our men
-couldn't help but give them a cheer.
-
-It was understood that Lee had issued orders to all of the division and
-corps commanders to do as little fighting as possible. The program seemed
-to be to get away, but when they were cornered they fought with the
-desperation of men who are being hunted down.
-
-
-A RUNNING FIGHT.
-
-Our troops got orders to "go for 'em," and it was a running fight until
-night, the race extending over fifteen miles of country.
-
-They were anxious to save some wagon trains that had supplies for Lee's
-army. All day they fought on the defensive, holding the Union forces off
-long enough for the trains to get out of the way, and then they would
-limber up their artillery and go flying to the rear and take up a new
-position a mile or two away, the infantry holding us off until the
-batteries were in position, when the troops would take shelter under their
-guns. When we pressed them too close the artillerymen would give our men
-grape and cannister, and then yield to the infantry.
-
-Our artillery failed to do much execution that day because the Johnnies
-would not stand and take it.
-
-The country was swampy and occasionally a wagon would get stuck in the mud
-and they would have to abandon it.
-
-At one time, when our division was close upon the enemy, we descended a
-hill that led to a little stream, and on the other side was an elevation
-where the Rebs had gotten a battery into position.
-
-Our regiment was in the first line of battle, and when the battery
-commenced firing we had got so far down the hill that the artillerymen
-could not depress their guns enough to reach us; but the reserve line that
-was on higher ground suffered severely.
-
-The creek where we struck it was fringed with a vine that formed a perfect
-network. The vines were tough and would not break, and there was no way to
-crawl under or go over; so the men cut through with jack knives.
-
-It happened that the rest of the brigade did not encounter the obstruction
-and were ready to advance when our regiment was tangled up in the vines.
-Being in the center the delay was noticed. Finally a staff officer, one of
-those slick fellows with red sash, riding gauntlets and plenty of gold
-braid, rode down on the opposite bank and called out, "What in h--ll is
-the matter with the 2d New York, and where is the commanding officer?"
-
-Col. Hulser (he was then a major) looked up from under an old slouch hat,
-the rest of his uniform being no better than the privates, and paid his
-respects to that dude of an officer in language that was highly tinctured
-with brimstone. The regiment formed in line on the south bank exposed to a
-fierce artillery fire, and the boys noticed that the dandy officer from
-the general's staff ducked his head low on his horse's neck quite
-frequently, while the old major, who was always ill at ease on dress
-parades and reviews, sat his horse, amid the screeching shells like a
-bronze figure.
-
-When Hulser had gotten his regiment lined up to suit him he said to the
-officer, "In ten minutes the 2d New York will capture that rebel battery
-unless they limber up and get out of our way." Drawing his sword he gave
-the command, "Forward, guide center, double-quick," and away went the men
-with a rush, for everyone probably felt that they would like to show the
-officious staff officer that they were no cowards. But when the Johnnies
-saw that glistening line of bayonets moving down on them they pulled up
-and ran away.
-
-The enemy had another battery in position about a half a mile away, and
-they did some rapid firing for the "Lost Cause;" but some of our troops
-got after them on the flank and they pulled up and ran again. A comrade
-has told me that he saw a man killed by a shell that day and the shell
-did not touch him. It passed close to his head and the concussion killed
-him instantly.
-
-The troops in our front were Gen. Gordon's and about 4 o'clock they made a
-determined stand, as our troops were pressing them so closely they were in
-danger of losing their train of supplies.
-
-Our regiment was in some second growth pine woods and the rebels behind a
-rail fence on the other edge of the woods, and through the trees the
-moving wagons could be seen.
-
-The order came to "charge," and Gen. Miles' old first division went for
-the enemy with a rush and some cavalry on the flank went after that train.
-
-The fighting was general and things became badly mixed up. The teamsters
-lashed their horses and tried to get away, but many cut the traces and
-abandoned their loads.
-
-The Confederates tried to hold the opposite side of the train and used the
-wagons as a shelter, and the combatants banged at each other through the
-wagons.
-
-
-PAT CAPTURES A GUN.
-
-A comrade of my regiment who was in the immediate ranks that day, says:
-
-"Where we struck the train a rebel brass cannon was stuck in the mud. Two
-rebs were on one side of it tugging away at a wheel trying to turn it on
-our lines. Two of our regiment grabbed the other wheel and tried to turn
-it the other way, but it was so firmly imbedded in the mud that neither
-side could budge it. The blue and the gray glared at each other and
-finally Pat Devereaux of the 2d heavy, spoke out, "Say Johnnie, lave your
-hands off that gun, I tell ye!" and the reb retorted as follows: 'Go soak
-your head, Pat. I wouldn't dirty my hands with you, I'll get my nigger to
-attend to your case.' Just then Pat grabbed the rammer to the gun and went
-for the Johnnie in true Irish style, saying as he brought the rammer down
-upon his enemy: 'I can whip the bist man in your measly gang. You're
-nothing but a dirty lazy lot of slave drivers. Out of this, I say!' and
-the Johnnie went, leaving Pat the victor. And that is how Private
-Devereaux of the 2d helped take one of the four cannon captured by the 2d
-corps that day."
-
-In these days if such an act of heroism were performed, it would be
-heralded all over the continent, but such occurrences were too common in
-those exciting times, besides each regimental commander did not have two
-or three war correspondents at his elbows for the purpose of writing up
-his achievements.
-
-The operations of our corps that day are summarized by Gen. Humphreys as
-follows: Captures of the corps, 13 battleflags, 4 cannon, 1,700 prisoners.
-Killed and wounded of the 1st and 2d divisions (the 3d division not
-reported), 311.
-
-Gen. Mott was among the wounded. The enemy's killed and wounded largely
-exceeded our own and the loss of the wagon train must have caused much
-suffering among the Confederates.
-
-In addition to the battleflags, cannon and prisoners, our brigade captured
-over 200 supply wagons.
-
-
-DIXIE TO THE LAST.
-
-Among the prisoners captured that day was a rebel brass band, and they
-were allowed to retain their instruments. As the column of confederates
-were marched along the roadside, which was lined on either side by the
-Union forces, they were headed by the band, playing their national air of
-Dixie.
-
-The scene was an impressive one. They were prisoners of war, bleeding from
-wounds, faint and famished, ragged and nearly barefoot and their last hope
-gone, but as the familiar strains of the music floated back over the line
-their faces brightened, their steps quickened and they marched as they had
-marched many a time behind their beloved leader, Gen. Lee.
-
-Our men had too much respect for these brave men to jeer at them. The
-brave invariably respect the brave, and as the soldiers of the "Lost
-Cause" passed the veterans of the second corps all were silent and
-respectful, except for an occasional burst of applause which manifested
-itself by the clapping of hands.
-
-It was very evident to the most pessimistic that the confederacy was on
-its last legs and that night when our boys were carrying rails to build
-breastworks, Billy Cook, the first sergeant of our company, who had gone
-all through the war without a scratch, made the remark that the "jig was
-about up with the Johnnies," and the next day Bill fell pierced by a rebel
-bullet in the last fighting of the war.
-
-
-HEAPS OF PLUNDER.
-
-That night the boys had a great time going through the captured wagons.
-There was a "heap" of plunder in them. A paymaster's trunk with upwards of
-$400,000 Confederate money was found and it was divided up among the men.
-One man secured Gen. Mahone's grip with his commission as major general
-and other papers and dressed himself up in the coat, sash, etc., that had
-been worn by the distinguished Confederate. One of our boys secured a
-five-gallon jug of rebel commissary, and he and a comrade stuck a musket
-barrel through the handle and slinging it over their shoulders marched
-around among the exhausted soldiers and told them to "fall in for
-rations." If anybody ever needed a little whiskey it was that very time
-and it was amusing to see them take their turns at the jug. No one was
-allowed to take any away, and in order to draw a ration the jug must be
-pushed up from the bottom and the nozzle tipped downward while a "swig"
-was taken.
-
-The men reveled in broiled ham, beef, bacon, onions, pickles, toasted
-hardtack, and other luxuries that were found in the wagons.
-
-
-LITTLE GRAY.
-
-There was pity mingled with our rejoicing that night for in many of the
-captured wagons were wounded Confederates. Poor fellows! Many of them lay
-with wounds several days old, the bandages dried up and dirty, some too
-weak to raise their heads, hungry and thirsty and needing so much
-nourishment and attention that we could not give them. It is at such a
-time that one is brought face to face with war without any of its gold
-plating.
-
-My sympathies were stirred as they had never been before as a little boy,
-scarcely 16 years old, was lifted out of a wagon. A handsome boy,
-notwithstanding his face was bronzed and dirty, and his cheeks sunken. He
-had beautiful dark, expressive eyes and looked up so appealingly into our
-faces as my comrade and I bent over him and asked what we could do for
-him. He, too, was a drummer boy and had been wounded two or three days
-before. We got our surgeon and had his wound dressed and gave him
-stimulants and a little food, but he was very weak, "all marched out," he
-said, and was afraid that he would not see his old Carolina home again.
-We bathed his face and hands with cool water and his lips quivered and
-tears coursed down his cheeks as he faintly whispered of his widowed
-mother.
-
-We, too, were "marched out" and had to lie down and have rest but before
-leaving "Little Gray," as we called him, two boys knelt by his side and
-repeated the Lord's prayer that had been learned at a mother's knees. In
-the morning the little confederate from the Palmetto state was dead, and
-we buried him on the field with his comrades.
-
-'Twas war--real genuine war.
-
-
-THE LAST BATTLE.
-
-It is understood that Lee's chief officers held a meeting the night of the
-6th and counseled him to surrender, but he had not abandoned all hope and
-the next morning the rebel army began again the desperate race for life.
-They crossed the Appomattox river at High Bridge and set fire to the same
-to prevent pursuit. But the 2d corps were so close after them that our men
-reached one end of the bridge as the rebels were leaving the other.
-
-Gen. Mahone's troops contested the passage for a time, but Gen. Miles
-ordered a battery into position and after a vigorous shelling the rebels
-let go of their end and our troops crossed over and pushed on after the
-enemy.
-
-Lee's army was now on what may be termed a neck of land formed by the
-James and Appomattox rivers.
-
-The Army of the James had come up and were pressing them on one side, the
-Army of the Potomac on the other, while Sheridan and his cavalry had gone
-around south to try and close the outlet.
-
-As soon as our corps got across the river the pursuit of Lee continued out
-along the old Appomattox stage road.
-
-About one o'clock in the afternoon, the First and Third Division came up
-with the enemy near the Appomattox stage road, where they had gone into
-position to oppose our advance. Poague's Battery opened upon us, and made
-things lively for just as we passed an open field the shells began to fly
-through the woods in our front, and as we approached the edge of the woods
-the skirmishers opened upon the head of the old First Brigade.
-
-Just at this moment orders came directing us into line on the left of the
-road, and before we had completed the movement a battery galloped into
-position in the rear of the Second New York, and Bang--bang--bang--whiz--
-hum--buzz--boom--boom--boom--crack--whir--crash, whang--while the old
-Second responded with a cheer and its facetious cry "lay down!"
-
-The 61st New York and 26th Michigan were immediately deployed as
-skirmishers and advanced into the woods driving the Johnnies before them
-over a little ridge of ground. Our line of battle, the 2d New York in the
-center, the 5th New Hampshire and 81st Pennsylvania on our left and the
-183d and 140th Pennsylvania on our right advanced close up to the ridge
-while the skirmishers were pushed well up against the enemy to develop the
-position.
-
-It was soon learned that all that was left of Lee's army was in our front
-well intrenched and provided with plenty of artillery.
-
-Gen. Meade had sent word for the 6th and 24th corps who were near
-Farmville, to cross the river and attack Lee from that side with a view of
-crushing his army. Lee had, however, destroyed the bridges, the Appomattox
-was too deep to ford, the pontoon trains had not got up, consequently the
-two corps mentioned were unable to render the Second any assistance, else
-it is more than likely that Appomattox would not have become famous in
-history.
-
-While waiting for assistance the Second corps did considerable
-maneuvering. About 5 o'clock firing was heard in the direction of
-Farmville which Gen. Humphreys assumed was the 6th corps. He immediately
-contracted his left line and pushed out on the right intending to flank
-the enemy if possible.
-
-The execution of the movement left our division face to face with Gen.
-Mahone's and Gen. Anderson's troops who were formed in close column
-supported by Poague's ten gun battery, who were in a position that enabled
-them to give us (as the boys used to express it), h--ll with grape and
-cannister trimmings thrown in.
-
-Our regiment came to a halt in a dense growth of small pines and waited
-for orders. Some of the officers went out in the edge of the woods to look
-around and as they came back Capt. Mike Foy danced a little jig as he
-said: "Boys there's another wagon train for us over behind the rebel
-lines." Poor, brave Foy, who had fought his way up from the ranks, little
-realized that he and scores of others would go down in less than fifteen
-minutes.
-
-Our brigade had the right of line and were the first to advance across an
-open rolling field in full view of the enemy. The troops came to a halt in
-a little ravine and the bugles sounded "Fix bayonets!" Then an advance was
-made and when about 50 rods from the enemy the bugles sang out
-"Forward--double quick, charge!"
-
-The cheers of our men were answered by the rebel yell, the real old
-genuine "Ki, yi, yi, yi!" that all veterans remember so well. Then a
-tongue of flame leaped from all along their intrenchments, and all other
-sounds were drowned with the roar of cannon, the crash of musketry and the
-whizzing and screeching of grape and cannister.
-
-Some of the troops reached the enemy's works in the face of tremendous
-odds and fought to the death. But they were unsupported by other troops
-as well as artillery, consequently they had to retreat. The 5th New
-Hampshire had all of their color guards killed after reaching the rebel
-intrenchments and lost their colors, but they were recovered by the 81st
-Pennsylvania.
-
-History makes but little mention of the battle of Farmville, as events of
-greater importance followed so closely, but the participants know that
-troops never fought more valiantly than did Lee's soldiers in their last
-effort when they repulsed the assault of the veterans of the 2d corps.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER XVI.
-
-AN ACT OF HEROISM.
-
-
-Sergt. Robert Cline of our company, who carried the New York State colors
-after saving the flag, found that a comrade had been left wounded near the
-enemy's intrenchments and he heroically faced about and amidst the
-whistling bullets went up near the rebel works, found his friend and
-brought him into the lines across his shoulder. This little incident is
-only one of thousands illustrating what one comrade would do for another.
-
-The casualties of our regiment in this affair were: Six killed, 67 wounded
-and 74 missing, and some of the other troops' losses were greater.
-
-It has always seemed very sad to me to think of the many brave men who
-gave up their lives with the surrender of Lee in sight. Among the officers
-killed on our side was the brave Irishman, Gen. Thomas A. Smyth, who had
-long been one of Gen. Hancock's gallant officers.
-
-Those who were taken prisoners were recaptured two days later at
-Appomattox, and a sorry looking lot they were. Every thing of value and
-much of their clothing had been taken from them and they had been hustled
-about pretty severely. Their rations had been appropriated by their hungry
-captors, and they fasted till they got back into their lines.
-
-Comrade Albert V. Rogers, a member of my company, who was a prisoner the
-last two days of the struggle, says, that all the Rebs. gave him to eat
-was some corn he stole from a mule. Rogers was at this time suffering from
-a gunshot wound in his leg.
-
-
-GRANT'S FIRST LETTER TO LEE.
-
-This letter was sent through the lines of the 2d corps that evening while
-we were in contact with the enemy, the troops being but a few hundred
-yards apart. There was a truce of one hour and inside of that time Lee's
-reply came back.
-
-During the night the enemy abandoned the works in front of our corps and
-at 5 the next morning the bugles of the 2d corps again sounded "Forward,"
-and Gen. Humphreys, our commander, was instructed that any negotiations
-pending were not to interfere with the operations of his corps.
-
-Early in the forenoon, Gen. Grant's second letter was brought to Gen.
-Humphreys by Gen. Seth Williams, Grant's adjutant general, and it was sent
-through the lines of Gen. Fitzhugh Lee's cavalry, who were on the rear of
-the confederate columns.
-
-We continued the pursuit all day, covering a distance of over 20 miles,
-and about dusk, as we had halted for a rest, a rebel officer brought Lee's
-reply to Gen. Humphreys, who sent it by a courier to Gen. Meade, then
-several miles in the rear.
-
-The next morning Grant's third letter to Lee was sent through the skirmish
-line of the 2d corps, and all this time Gen. Humphreys, mindful of his
-instructions, kept advancing and pushing back the thin line of wearied
-confederates, which called out a protest from Gen. Lee, who sent an
-officer twice during the forenoon requesting a halt. Gen. Humphreys sent
-back word that his orders were such that he could not comply.
-
-Gen. Longstreet's corps was scarcely 100 yards from our skirmish line and
-Gen. Humphreys issued orders for an advance upon them. Artillery was being
-placed in position. The commanders of the contending forces were watching
-the movements on either side, couriers and staff officers were riding to
-and fro, and just about the time the ball was about to open Gen. Meade
-appeared at the front and after issuing orders to suspend operations sent
-a messenger to Lee granting a truce of an hour, pending the negotiations
-for the surrender.
-
-
-LEE UNDER AN APPLE TREE.
-
-The officers who delivered Grant's last note found the confederate
-chieftain stretched out on a blanket under an apple tree near Appomattox
-court house. The famous tree was removed, bit by bit, and for a long time
-the writer carried a piece of it as well as a splinter from the floor
-where young Ellsworth fell in the Marshall house at Alexandria, Va. It is
-understood that a tablet marks the spot where the tree once stood that
-shaded the vanquished leader.
-
-The officers mounted their horses and rode to the court house, where,
-meeting a Mr. McLean, Gen. Lee told him that they desired the use of a
-room in some house, and Mr. McLean invited the party to his home. Later
-the party was joined by Gen. Grant and other distinguished generals from
-both sides.
-
-The two great leaders exchanged reminiscences of their service under Gen.
-Scott in Mexico, after which the formalities of the surrender were gone
-through with. When Gen. Lee had signed his name to the terms of surrender
-it is said that with tears in his eyes he whispered in Gen. Grant's ear
-"General, my poor men are starving," and Grant, like the great modest man
-and soldier that he was, motioned to his side the general of subsistence
-of the army of the Potomac and quietly told him to "issue, immediately
-rations to the army of Northern Virginia."
-
-Gen. Lee rode back to his troops to tell them what he had done and the
-next day issued his farewell orders.
-
-The parting of Lee with his soldiers at Appomattox was most pathetic.
-Tears were streaming from his eyes as they crowded around him begging for
-a last word and to touch his hand. When he could control himself enough to
-speak, he said, between sobs, "Men, we have fought through the war
-together. I have done the best that I could for you." It is said there was
-not a dry eye among those who witnessed the sad leave-taking.
-
-
-GRANT'S GENEROSITY TO HIS FOES.
-
-Gen. Grant's greatness never shone to better advantage than in the
-generous terms accorded his conquered foes, and his modesty and
-consideration for the feelings of the confederate soldiers was such that
-he never paraded himself among them during the preparations for the formal
-surrender.
-
-When the surrender was announced the Union soldiers, shouted, hurrahed,
-danced and manifested their joy in all sorts of boyish pranks, but it soon
-passed off, and as they beheld the ragged, starved, wearied and sad-eyed
-veterans who had followed Lee into the last ditch their joy was turned to
-pity and sorrow and the blue divided with the gray their rations and they
-drank coffee from the same tin cups and water from the same canteens!
-
-When the papers were all signed and paroles given the confederates and the
-Union forces formed in line and faced each other. The veterans of Lee
-advanced until there was but a few yards of space between the lines.
-
-"Halt! right dress! front!" was the command from their officers.
-
-The Union forces presented arms, the vanquished returned the salute like
-men and soldiers, stacked their guns, unbuckled their battle-scarred
-equipments, furled their tattered flags and laid them tenderly across
-their stacks of muskets, wiped the tears that many of them shed on their
-coat sleeves and went their way to take up life anew, but never to bear
-arms against our glorious Union.
-
-  STACK ARMS.
-
-  "Stack Arms!" In faltering accents slow
-    And sad, it creeps from tongue to tongue,
-  A broken, murmuring wail of woe,
-    From manly hearts by anguish wrung,
-  Like victims of a midnight dream!
-    We move, we know not how or why!
-  For life and hope like phantoms seem,
-    And it would be relief--to die!
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER XVII.
-
-RETRACING THE STEPS.
-
-
-The armies of Grant and Sherman turned their backs on the South and took
-up their line of march for Washington, where they had been ordered to
-report for a general review and muster out. We passed through Richmond and
-retraced our steps over much of the same ground that had been fought over
-the previous year, and all along the route were reminders of the terrible
-struggles between the two great armies.
-
-Earthworks that had swarmed with soldiers were now deserted. Everywhere
-there were bleaching bones of horses and men; grinning skulls, disabled
-artillery caissons, rusty sabres, bayonets, gun-barrels, canteens,
-haversacks, weather-stained clothing and mounds of earth that marked the
-resting places of many whose army record was closed with the single word
-"missing."
-
-We were a jolly lot, however, realizing that our battles, hardships and
-marches were about over.
-
-
-A COURTEOUS ENEMY.
-
-One day on our return march, when the troops had halted for rest, my
-comrade suggested that we make a reconnaissance and see if we could not
-find a little something in the eating line to vary the monotony of coffee,
-hardtack and "salt hoss." Back from the roadside we espied a comfortable
-looking house and we made a "bee line" for it.
-
-In the doorway stood a woman who returned our salutation of "good
-afternoon, madame," with "Go right away from here, Yanks, you've killed my
-boy, Tom, and I don't want to ever look on a blue coat again."
-
-We expressed sympathy and assured her our mission was a peaceful and
-honorable one, we wanted something to eat and had good money to pay for
-it. At this point in the conversation a fine looking man came to the door.
-He was dressed in a faded butternut colored uniform and on the collar of
-his coat we noticed the insignia of a Confederate colonel. He gave us a
-military salute and said: "Come right up here on the veranda, men," and
-turning to the woman said: "These soldiers are not responsible for our
-Tom's death; 'twas the fo'tunes of wah, and my deah wife, you must
-remember that all ovah the nawth mothers are weeping for their boys that
-are sleepin' under Virginia sod. These are some of the 2d corps boys, that
-divided their rations with the 2d corps C. S. A. at Appomattox. These are
-some of Gen. Hancock's men that treated me so chivalrously at
-Gettysburg."
-
-"You see, boys," he continued, "our Tom was a sergeant in my company when
-we went into that fight, and was mortally wounded that day in the
-wheatfield.
-
-"When our line fell back I couldn't go away and leave my poor boy with his
-life fast ebbing out, so I jes' stayed and holding his head on my knee
-listened to his last message for his mother and then laid him away under
-the sod, and of cose was yo'ah prisoner. But no southern bo'n man ever
-performed a more knightly act than did one of yo'ah generals that night
-when he sent me back to our lines under a flag of truce.
-
-"We are comin' out of this war poor, and if you'll excuse the expression,
-d--d poor, but as long as I've got a scrap I'll share it with a man with a
-red clover leaf on his cap."
-
-As the colonel told his story tears coursed their way down his bronzed
-cheeks, and the two boys, whose emotional natures were not easily stirred
-had great, big lumps in their throats. For the first time in many months
-we sat down at a table to eat a meal. If there was scanty fare there was
-abundance of genuine hospitality of a warmth that is so characteristic of
-the southern people.
-
-When we took our leave the colonel called black Joe and told him to "tote"
-our luggage "down the pike," and on the way we suggested to the darkey
-that now he was free we presumed he would be leaving the old place and
-perhaps enlist in some colored regiment and wear fine clothes with brass
-buttons and other fixings. "No, suh, boss, spec I allus stay right yere. I
-lak Massa Lincum soldier mens, and I'se much 'bleeged to 'em, but I lak my
-ole massa an' missus a heap bettah. An' den when Marse Tom went to de
-wah--Tom an' I useter run roun' bare-foot when we's little--I promis him I
-allus stay with his mammy an' as Tom can nevah come back any mo' I reckon
-I'se boun' to stay yere."
-
-At another house we met a sharp-tongue woman who said:
-
-"Yo'uns could nevah have whipped Bob Lee if he'd had half as many men as
-yo'uns. We'uns could outfight and outmarch you bluebellied Yanks every
-time."
-
-She informed us that she had lost two sons by the war and that her husband
-was then in a southern hospital laid up with his third wound, and her eyes
-snapped as she said she wished she could have given a dozen boys to the
-"cause." We admired the grit of this Spartan like mother and regretted in
-our hearts that the war had borne down with such crushing weight on the
-gentle sex of the South.
-
-
-THE BLOODY ANGLE AT SPOTTSYLVANIA.
-
-One night our brigade went into camp near Spottsylvania court house, and
-in the vicinity of the "bloody angle" where the hardest fighting of the
-war occurred. Here 11 months before the 2d corps made a charge more
-desperate than that of the "light brigade," the percentage of killed being
-more than double that in the battle made famous by Tennyson. Here the
-rebel infantry were massed in double lines with the artillery supporting
-them in redans. Hancock's veterans charged them in open field and were
-victorious, capturing about 4,000 prisoners, 20 pieces of artillery,
-thousands of small arms, 30 stands of colors with Gens. Johnson and George
-H. Stuart among the prisoners.
-
-It was here that the celebrated tree was found that was completely severed
-by bullets. Gen. Miles, who had been a brigade commander at the "angle"
-and who was then our division general, caused the stump to be dug up and
-conveyed to Washington where it was exhibited at the grand review and was
-afterwards placed in the war department. The tree measured about 20 inches
-through.
-
-The armies reached Washington about the middle of May, and in most cases
-the organizations were allowed to pitch tents on their old camping
-grounds. It was almost like getting back home again. The only sad feature
-was to think of the many who had been with us there before who had since
-answered the last roll call.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER XVIII.
-
-THE GRAND REVIEW.
-
-
-The assembling of the armies at Washington was for the purpose of marching
-them in review through the nation's capital before mustering them out of
-service.
-
-As Grant's and Sherman's troops numbered too many for a one day review,
-the former were given precedence and May 23 was fixed as the day.
-
-We left our camps in Virginia at an early hour and crossed over the long
-bridge into that part of the city east of the capitol where the troops
-were massed ready to move when the hour should arrive.
-
-The signal gun was fired at 9 a. m., and the victorious hosts took up
-their line of march down the avenue, past the reviewing stand at the White
-House, thence to Georgetown and back to Virginia by the Aqueduct bridge.
-
-The city was thronged with patriotic people from all over the country,
-many coming a thousand miles or more to see a father, brother, son or
-lover in the ranks of that mighty army that was so soon to vanish away.
-
-The 2d corps did not pass the reviewing stand until afternoon and as we
-swung into Pennsylvania avenue a most grand and inspiring sight met our
-eyes. Every house top, balcony, window, tree and telegraph pole were black
-with people, and the street was a seething mass of humanity. Through the
-center, like a silvery stream coursing its way through a landscape, was a
-mile of glistening bayonets, waving flags and prancing steeds who had
-smelled the smoke of many battles. Everybody was thrilled with the sight,
-and as we marched down the avenue the music of the bands was drowned by
-the huzzahs of the throngs. Whenever a tattered battleflag appeared ladies
-rushed forward and strewed flowers before the standard bearers and loaded
-them and the color guards with wreaths and bouquets. Even the drummer boys
-came in for a share, and I felt then, as I do now, that it was a grand
-thing to have earned the right in whatever modest rank, to march with
-100,000 veterans with the scars, smoke and dust of scores of battles upon
-them.
-
-It took nearly all day for the Army of the Potomac to pass the reviewing
-stand which was filled with many of the prominent people of the country.
-
-An incident of the review was the running away of Gen. Custer's horse,
-which became unmanageable in the parade and ran past the reviewing stand
-with the dashing general in the saddle and his red neck tie streaming out
-over his shoulders. After the steed was subdued the general rode back to
-the reviewing stand and saluted the dignitaries and was heartily cheered.
-Every soldier who marched in that parade was impressed with the wording of
-a motto that was stretched across the front of the United States treasury.
-It read, as near as I remember:
-
-"The only debt we can never pay is the one we owe our brave soldiers and
-sailors."
-
-
-SHERMAN'S ARMY.
-
-Sherman and his veterans were reviewed the following day and the
-enthusiasm of the preceding day was repeated. The writer was a spectator
-and noted a marked difference in the appearance of the two armies. The
-Army of the Potomac had been "slicked up" a little for the occasion, and
-their marching was much better. Gen. Sherman expressed contempt for a
-paper collar on a soldier and the multitudes saw Sherman's army go through
-Washington just as they had marched to the sea.
-
-"Sherman's Bummers" were an amusing feature with their trophies gathered
-along the march through Georgia and the Carolinas, consisting of mules,
-donkeys, oxen, cows hitched to plantation carts, and negro contrabands of
-all sizes and ages arrayed in costumes, quaint and ridiculous.
-
-Immediately after the review the work of disbandment of the armies began
-and every day troops were sent north and the sword was laid aside for the
-plowshare.
-
-  SECOND REVIEW OF THE GRAND ARMY.
-
-  I read last night of a Grand Review
-  In Washington's chiefest avenue--
-  Two hundred thousand men in blue,
-    I think they said was the number--
-  Till I seemed to hear their tramping feet
-  The bugle blast and the drum's quick beat,
-  The clatter of hoofs in the stoney street,
-  The cheers of the people who came to greet,
-  And the thousand details that to repeat
-    Would only my verse encumber,--
-  Till I fell in a revery, sad and sweet,
-    And then to a fitful slumber.
-
-  When, lo! in a vision I seemed to stand
-  In the lonely capitol. On each hand
-  Far stretched the portico; dim and grand,
-  Its columns ranged, like a martial band
-  Of sheeted spectres whom some command
-    Had called to a last reviewing.
-  And the streets of the city were white and bare,
-  No footfall echoed across the square;
-  But out of the misty midnight air
-  I heard in the distance a trumpet blare,
-  And the wandering night winds seemed to bear
-    The sound of a far tattooing.
-
-  Then I held my breath with fear and dread;
-  For into the square with a brazen tread,
-  There rode a figure whose stately head
-    O'erlooked the review that morning,
-  That never bowed from its firm-set seat
-  When the living column passed its feet,
-  Yet now rode steadily up the street
-    To the phantom bugle's warning.
-
-  Till it reached the capitol square and wheeled
-  And there in the moonlight stood revealed
-  A well known form that in state and field
-    Had led our patriot sires;
-  Whose face was turned to the sleeping camp,
-  Afar through the river's fog and damp,
-  That showed no flicker, nor waning lamp,
-    Nor wasted bivouac fires.
-
-  And I saw a phantom army come,
-  With never a sound of fife or drum,
-  But keeping time to a throbbing hum
-    Of wailing and lamentation;
-  The martyred heroes of Malvern Hill,
-  Of Gettysburg and Chancellorsville,
-  The men whose wasted figures fill
-    The patriot graves of the nation.
-
-  And there came the nameless dead--the men
-  Who perished in fever-swamp and fen,
-  The slowly-starved of the prison-pen;
-    And marching beside the others,
-  Came the dusky martyrs of Pillow's fight,
-  With limbs enfranchised and bearing bright;
-  I thought, perhaps 'twas the pale moonlight--
-    They looked as white as their brothers!
-
-  And so all night marched the Nation's dead,
-  With never a banner above them spread,
-  Nor a badge, nor a motto brandished;
-  No mark--save the bare uncovered head
-    Of the silent bronze Reviewer;
-  With never an arch save the vaulted sky;
-  With never a flower save those that lie
-  On the distant graves--for love could buy
-    No gift that was purer or truer.
-
-  So all night long swept the strange array;
-  So all night long, till the morning gray,
-  I watched for one who had passed away,
-    With a reverent awe and wonder,
-  Till a blue cap waved in the lengthening line,
-  And I knew that one who was kin of mine
-  Had come; And I spake--and lo! that sign
-    Awakened me from my slumber.
-                                          --Bret Harte.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER XIX.
-
-WHEN JOHNNIE COMES MARCHING HOME.
-
-
-After the grand review, our regiment was ordered back into the forts again
-around Arlington.
-
-It was not until October, 1865, that we marched down Pennsylvania avenue
-for the last time to take the cars for home. Our regiment had gone to the
-front 18 months before, 1500 strong and notwithstanding the fact that the
-9th New York had been consolidated with us we were going home with but 500
-men.
-
-At the Baltimore & Ohio railroad depot, in Washington, a pathetic incident
-occurred. A dozen or more of the regiment who were yet in the hospitals
-came down to see us off. Among them were three or four one-legged men and
-as many minus an arm. What must have been the feelings of these men who
-had to be left behind, maimed and crippled for life?
-
-Our regiment being principally from New York City we were sent there for
-disbandment and were quartered in some barracks at the battery for a
-couple of days.
-
-One afternoon we marched up Broadway as far as the City Hall, where we
-were reviewed by the governor of the state and the mayor of New York.
-
-The city had sent us a new stand of colors the year before and we were
-returning them, battle-scarred and tattered. My blood runs quicker as I
-recall the enthusiastic reception we received that afternoon from the
-crowds that lined Broadway.
-
-Here and there was a group of veterans who had preceded us home. The old
-63d, 69th and 88th New York regiments--Thomas Francis Meagher's Irish
-brigade, with whom we had served in Hancock's corps--and when any of these
-boys recognized us they went wild. There are two characteristics about an
-Irishman that I like. He is never lacking in enthusiasm or bravery.
-
-After the review the regiment was ordered to proceed to Hart's Island,
-where it was to be paid off and disbanded. We went by boat, and an amusing
-episode occurred as the regiment was marching aboard.
-
-Big Ed. ------ of the band, who played one of those old-fashioned big
-brass horns reaching back over his shoulder about three feet, and which
-could be heard to the foot of the line of a brigade, had been out with the
-boys seeing the sights, and it is possible may have been a little unsteady
-of foot. At any rate, he took two or three steps backward when he marched
-on the boat, and in doing so missed the gang plank and dropped into the
-cool waters of the bay. He came up clinging to his horn and called lustily
-for help. The colonel and a couple of deck hands succeeded in landing him,
-horn and all.
-
-The last man was finally aboard. The gang plank had been hauled in. The
-boatmen were casting off the big heavy ropes that held us to the dock,
-when a voice from shore shouted "Hold there!" The voice was that of a big,
-burly policeman. Behind him was a woman holding by one hand a boy of about
-5 years of age, his curly golden locks floating out from under a little
-blue soldier cap. On the other side was a sweet-faced little girl.
-
-"What's wanted?" yelled the captain from the upper deck.
-
-"Is Sergt. Thomas Burke on board?" replied the big policeman.
-
-"Blast my eyes if I know," retorted the captain "And I've no time to find
-out, either. You can settle your little business with him some other day,"
-probably thinking the sergeant had been out on a lark.
-
-Burke's comrades had found him in the meantime and he came to the side of
-the boat, and as he caught sight of the party, he said with a voice choked
-with emotion.
-
-"Kate!"
-
-"Oh, Tom!" responded Kate.
-
-"Let me off the boat!" shouted Tom.
-
-"Too late," replied the captain.
-
-The big wheels of the steamer were churning the water when our colonel,
-who had been attracted by the loud talking, appeared and asked what was
-the matter.
-
-Burke, tall, straight and every inch a soldier, but pale and thin from the
-effects of a wound received in the last fighting, saluted his superior and
-said:
-
-"'Tis my wife and children, colonel, that I have not seen in almost three
-years."
-
-"Tie up your boat again, captain," said the colonel.
-
-The captain ripped and tore and mentioned between oaths that he wasn't
-taking orders from any army officers "not even Gen. Grant himself."
-
-Col. Hulser was furious and pulling his revolver he commanded the captain
-to reverse the engines and run out a gang plank.
-
-The captain muttered between his teeth, touched the engineer's bell and
-the gang plank again bridged the space between boat and dock. Sergt. Burke
-walked off, clasped his wife to his breast in a passionate embrace, then
-took a child on each arm, turned and faced his comrades, who had,
-sympathetically, been looking on, and they sent shoreward a mighty cheer.
-
-"Bring your wife and little ones aboard!" shouted the colonel.
-
-They came and went with us to Hart's Island.
-
-Mrs. Burke explained to the colonel that they had come from Tarrytown, or
-some other town up the Hudson, because "Little Mac" (named after Gen.
-George B. McClellan) had begged so hard to come and see his papa with the
-soldiers he had fought and marched with.
-
-Mrs. Burke, Little Mac, and the sweet little blue-eyed sister saw the last
-dress parade of the 2d Heavy, and Sergt. Thomas Burke stood in line with
-his comrades.
-
-It was certainly a grand privilege to go all through a great war and be
-permitted to come home with one's own comrades. To be present at the last
-roll call. To hear the clatter of the bayonets as the battle-scarred
-muskets are stacked for the last time. To see the furling of the tattered
-colors that one has followed for four years. To hear the last command of
-the officers, the last tattoo and the final "taps."
-
-There never was such another bugler in the whole army of the Potomac as
-our little Gracey. Small of stature, gentle by nature, but a marvel with
-his trumpet. I have told in a former chapter how at Cold Harbor, after
-sounding the charge for Gen. Hancock's troops, he sat down by a tree and
-wept like a child when he saw the lines of mangled, bleeding men
-returning.
-
-Gracey was at our last dress parade at Hart's Island, New York, and after
-the parade the guns were stacked for the last time, and then Gracey
-sounded "taps" or "lights out" as it was always called in the army. The
-call is one of the sweetest, yet saddest of all the army calls and on this
-occasion our old bugler seemed to breathe his very soul into his trumpet,
-for the tears were trickling down his cheeks while strong, bronzed men who
-had walked up to the cannon's mouth on many a famous battlefield were not
-without emotion as they broke the ranks for the last time and bade
-farewell to their old comrades.
-
-My father and I got out of the old stage coach at Carthage two days later,
-and as we alighted he remarked that it was just four years to a day since
-he had left for the war, and I found that my services figured up over
-three years and a half.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER XX.
-
-SCATTERING REMINISCENCES.
-
-
-A COMRADE'S LOVE.
-
-James Tabor and Dennis Garrity were about the last two soldiers that would
-have been taken for chums. Garrity was a great thick-chested Irishman with
-brawny arms and a roistering sort of manner who had served through the
-Crimean war and knew more of tactics in the first year of the Civil war
-than half of our officers.
-
-Tabor was scarce more than a boy, a slender, palefaced youth, mild of
-manner and gentle of speech as a girl.
-
-Tabor's mother had given him a little pocket Bible when she kissed him
-good-bye, and, unmindful of the jeers of his comrades, he read it every
-evening and knelt and offered up a silent prayer before wrapping himself
-in his blanket.
-
-When the first death occurred in our camp we had no chaplain. Tabor was
-called upon to read the burial service and make a prayer. After that some
-of the boys tried to tease him by calling him "parson."
-
-
-AN OLD-FASHIONED GARDEN.
-
-Away up in York state there was an old-fashioned flower garden with roses,
-hollyhocks, sweet-williams, larkspurs, marigolds, lady-slippers, pansies,
-violets and other emblems of purity and the simple life. The boy had loved
-that old garden, so when it came summer he had a little reminder of it
-with a box of pansies by the side of his tent.
-
-One day a soldier who had been drinking just enough of the sutler's beer
-to make him think he was smart came along, and as he passed Tabor's tent
-he gave the box a kick, upsetting it. Garrity saw the act, and he took the
-smart chap by his coat collar and shook him as a terrier would a rat.
-
-A crowd gathered and then Garrity proceeded to read the riot act to those
-assembled.
-
-"Look a'here, my hearties," said he, "I'm going to give you young devils
-some advice, an' you'll be doin' well to mind what I be sayin'. I want you
-young blackguards to be very careful how you thrate this lad hereafter. No
-more pokin' fun at his religion, 'twould be better if all of you had some
-of the same.
-
-"I'm none too good meself an' ought to be counting me beads oftener than I
-do, but I likes fair play, and be that same token I'll see that James
-Tabor has it or me name is not Dennis.
-
-"So now, me laddy bucks, if you don't like what I'm sayin' you can put it
-in your pipes an' smoke it."
-
-This little episode was the beginning of a strange and tender attachment
-between Tabor and Garrity that lasted to the close of the war. They tented
-together, slept under the same blanket and drank from the same
-canteen--except when Garrity's had some of Uncle Sam's commissary in it,
-for Dennis, like many an old campaigner, liked a little whisky.
-
-The boys called Tabor "Jim" or "Jimmie," but it was always James when
-Garrity spoke of him. When Tabor wanted his comrade it was: "Have you seen
-Mr. Garrity?"
-
-
-BIG INJUNS FROM ONONDAGA.
-
-Among the recruits that came to our regiment in the winter of 1862 was a
-squad of 25 or 30 Indians from the Onondaga reservation. Among them was a
-fairly good brass band. The officers had no business to enlist them, and
-they were all discharged in a few months.
-
-They were with us one pay day, however, and managed to get some firewater.
-Then they went on the war path and there was "blood on the moon" and they
-indulged in war dances that were the real thing. One "big Injun" was
-discovered crawling under the back of the colonel's tent. He was armed
-with a sabre bayonet which had been sharpened for the express purpose of
-lifting the hair of that officer.
-
-They dared all the white men to fight them, and, finally, a young buck
-rubbed up against Garrity, who gave him a slap on the side of his head
-that sent him spinning. This led to a challenge to fight and the affair
-was arranged to take place in the fort late in the afternoon.
-
-
-GARRITY WAS STRENUOUS.
-
-A ring was formed, and the men stripped to the waist and turned their
-pants pockets inside out to show that they carried no concealed weapons.
-Garrity whipped the Indian in less than two minutes. Then another red man
-pulled his shirt over his head and strode up in front of Garrity, who gave
-him his medicine in short order. Then another wanted to try his hand and
-was given a chance and was quickly vanquished.
-
-Perhaps you will think me yarning, but it is the truth that our Dennis
-whipped four strapping Onondagas and was ready for more when his little
-guardian angel slid into the ring, and, taking Garrity by the arm, led him
-away as though he had been a child.
-
-It was a wonderful influence this little boy had over his great, strong
-comrade.
-
-Garrity loved a strenuous life and wanted something doing all the time if
-it was nothing more than tossing the colonel's darkey up in a blanket or
-tipping over the cart of a pie peddler.
-
-He could play cards behind the breastworks with the shells screeching over
-his head or joke a comrade on the firing line.
-
-In this connection I am reminded of an incident at the opening of the
-second Bull Run battle. The regiment was in line of battle nearly two
-hours in the morning without firing a shot. The artillery on both sides
-were pounding away at each other, and the strain on the men's nerves was
-something intense. A certain lieutenant who had incurred the dislike of
-his men by his pompousness in camp duties thought that before going into
-battle he would make peace with the boys, so he walked along in front of
-the company and said: "Now, my men, we are about to meet the enemy for the
-first time and it is more than likely that some of us will never see the
-sun rise again. In my position it has become my duty on various occasions
-to criticise and reprove, but I hope you will understand that I meant it
-for your good. I can assure you, that I have a warm place in my heart for
-every one of you, and if any man in the ranks feels the least ill will
-towards me I beg of him to put it away out of his heart as we stand here
-facing our foes.
-
-"I have a further request to make and that is, if I fall in this fight,
-and it is possible for you to do so, that you will have my body embalmed
-and sent home."
-
-There was not a response for a minute or two and then Garrity spoke up:
-"The boys don't mind forgivin' you, leftenant, but if I may be pardoned
-the observation, the facilities for embalming the dead on a battlefield
-are devilish poor."
-
-That same lieutenant covered the distance between Bull Run bridge and the
-outposts near Alexandria before taps were sounded that night, and being a
-large man, he stripped for the race and those who saw him at the finish
-claimed that a shirt, trousers and a pair of socks were all that were left
-of his former showy uniform and equipment.
-
-His name? Well, the boys of the regiment who read this will know and it
-does not matter to the rest whether it was Smith, Jones or Brown.
-
-Gen. Lee surrendered his army to Gen. Grant the 9th day of April, 1865.
-There was skirmishing right up to the last minute, notwithstanding the
-fact that negotiations were in progress for 24 hours, but the last hotly
-contested battle that occurred between the forces was on the afternoon of
-the 7th, when the second corps of the army of the Potomac came in contact
-with the bulk of Lee's army on the old Lynchburg stage road.
-
-They were intrenched on the crest of a long slope of open ground and Gen.
-Miles' division was ordered to attack. The old first division of the
-second corps had been in the habit of sweeping things when they went for
-the enemy, but in this last fight they were repulsed by the desperate
-confederates, who, though they were weary and nearly famished, fought with
-the desperation of a hunted animal brought to bay.
-
-It was in this encounter that the subject of this sketch received the
-wound that nearly cost him his life.
-
-Gen. Miles' troops after reaching the works of the enemy had to retrace
-their steps and leave their dead and wounded under the guns of the enemy.
-
-When our regiment re-formed again every one was looking around to see who
-was missing and it was then that Dennis Garrity discovered that Tabor had
-been left behind.
-
-He would go back and find James, he said, and no entreaties would stop
-him.
-
-"Dennis Garrity will bring that poor boy in or he'll lay out there on the
-field with him," he said, and Dennis went, with the bullets and shells
-flying and brought in his "little James" on his back, fully a half a mile,
-and took him to the field surgeons and had his wound promptly attended to,
-which probably saved his life.
-
-Dennis was with us in the final review when we marched down Pennsylvania
-avenue in the grandest and most impressive pageant that ever took place in
-this country.
-
-Tabor was lying on a cot in a hospital.
-
-We marched back to our Virginia camp that night, and as the men were
-unbuckling their equipments Dennis looked up and said: "'Twas a bloody
-shame that James wasn't with us to-day."
-
-  WOMAN AND WAR.
-
-  Down the picket-guarded lane
-  Rolled the comfort-laden wain,
-  Cheered by shouts that shook the plain,
-    Soldier-like and merry;
-  Phrases such as camps may teach,
-  Sabre cuts of Saxon speech,
-  Such as 'Bully!' "Them's the peach!"
-    'Wade in Sanitary!'
-                                    --Harte.
-
-The names of women do not figure in the official reports of the war. They
-were not gazetted for gallant deeds; thousands were unknown beyond the
-neighborhood where they worked zealously to organize "Soldiers' Aid
-Societies," for no town was too remote from the scene of action not to
-have its relief committee who were constantly collecting comforts and
-necessities to be forwarded to the front.
-
-What each family first started out to do for their own fathers, brothers,
-husbands and lovers soon became general, and many prompted by love and
-patriotism left home and its comforts and went down into the very edge of
-the great battles to help rescue the wounded. They endured hardships and
-proved themselves angels of mercy as only women can.
-
-Tens of thousands of maimed veterans will remember with tenderness the
-noble women who ministered to them on the battlefield, on transports and
-in hospitals.
-
-I am sure that none of Hancock's old corps will ever cease to remember the
-motherly Mrs. Husband, Miss Clara Barton, Mrs. Lee, Mrs. Anna Holstein,
-Miss Cornelia Hancock, a relative of the general; Miss Willetts, or Mrs.
-Barlow, wife of Gen. Francis C. Barlow of the 1st division.
-
-The story of the army life of the last named woman is full of interest and
-romance. She was a true friend of the men in the ranks, and her purse was
-frequently opened to give money to some wounded soldier who was being sent
-to some northern hospital without a cent in his pocket.
-
-She followed her husband's troops through the unequaled and appalling
-scenes of blood and hardship in Grant's campaign of '64, using her
-strength so that she finally sickened and went home to die in a few
-months. If ever there was a pure noble woman it was Mrs. Barlow.
-
-I heard an incident of a lady going among the wounded at Spottsylvania.
-Seeing a pale-faced boy whose helplessness had touched her heart, she
-stopped by his side and said: "Is there anything that can be done for you,
-my poor boy?"
-
-"No, thank you," was the reply, "but there's a fellow at my left that you
-might help," pointing to an ashen-faced man dressed in confederate gray.
-
-"He's a rebel," she said, "and there's thousands of our own boys that need
-attention."
-
-"That's so," the boy in blue said, "but he is far from home, helpless and
-among the enemy, and is somebody's boy and if he is a rebel, he's an
-American."
-
-The reb feigned sleep, but he had heard every word, and when the woman
-kneeled down by his side and commenced to bathe his face and hands with
-bay rum the tears began to steal out from under his eyelashes and he
-finally burst right out crying. This was too much for the tender heart of
-woman and she cried, too, and rough men about them who had marched up in
-front of flaming guns the day before wept like children.
-
-
-THE ARMY SUTLER.
-
-The sutler was a prominent person in war times. He sold everything, from a
-molasses cookie to butter, at 80 or 90 cents a pound.
-
-When the boys did not have the money they would get an order on the sutler
-from their captain, and the amount was charged up against their pay. The
-sutler would issue tickets in various amounts from 5 cents up.
-
-The business was very profitable and many made fortunes. The soldiers used
-to regard the prosperous sutler with envy, but he is never heard of now,
-and I do not know of one who makes claim to having assisted in saving the
-Union in that capacity.
-
-I remember our first pay day in Virginia. Our colonel thought it would be
-a fine thing to give the men a three days' holiday, so after dress parade
-he made a little speech about as follows:
-
-"My poys, I vas browd of you and I vas goin' to gif you a tree day
-holiday. There vill pe no drills, no parades, no notting but fun. Haf a
-good time. Pe good poys and after it vas all ofer we vill go after that
-Sheneral Shackson and lick him like h--l."
-
-As the sutlers all sold beer in the early part of the war, there was
-pretty hilarious times for three days.
-
-Peddlers of all sorts used to infest the camps about pay day and more than
-one "pieman" got his cart upset during Col. Von Wagner's "three days'
-grace."
-
-In the summer of 1862 gold and silver went to a premium and got pretty
-scarce. It was before the "shinplasters" were issued and postage stamps
-were used largely in lieu of small change. I remember one day I was over
-among McClellan's troops, and as I was passing a wagon where ice cream and
-soft drinks were dispensed, I heard some loud words and pretty soon
-someone cried out, "Over with the wagon boys," and over it went. The
-vendor claimed that someone had been treating a large crowd to everything
-he had to sell and then offered in payment stamps that had been once used
-on letters. Of course the boys took offense at an imputation on their
-honesty, hence the capsizing of the cart.
-
-
-OLD LATITUDE AND LONGITUDE.
-
-A lieutenant of our regiment who was captured at the second Bull Run, was
-returned to us some months later. We were then doing garrison duty near
-Arlington. Our company was at a fort named "Haggerty," which had been
-built on a little hill on the road leading from the Georgetown bridge to
-Arlington.
-
-The roadway had been dug through the hill leaving the banks for a long
-distance on each side, from 10 to 40 feet above the road.
-
-An old dry canal ran parallel with the road from the bridge to Alexandria.
-
-The next day after the lieutenant had been returned to the regiment he
-obtained leave to go over to Washington for the purpose of supplying
-himself with a new uniform, and it is more than likely that he celebrated
-his release from captivity by visiting numerous places where liquid as
-well as other refreshments were dispensed. He did not return to camp until
-evening, and the night being dark and the officer not being familiar with
-the lay of the land he started up the bed of the old canal instead of the
-road. When opposite the fort he heard the drummers beating the tattoo and
-he made a sharp turn to the right and headed in the direction of the
-sounds.
-
-After going a few rods he walked off the bank and dropped about 30 feet
-into 15 inches of soft Virginia mud. We heard cries of help interspersed
-with oaths and other remarks that would have done credit to a pirate
-captain. A light was procured, a crowd gathered and one of the men asked
-what was the matter. The voice was recognized and out of the depth came
-the response: "Its me sergeant and for God's sake come and help me out of
-this hole." Three or four of the men went to his rescue and when the party
-came up the pathway they were greeted by a large crowd headed by the
-captain, who inquired of the officer how it happened that he was down
-there in the road.
-
-The lieutenant presented a ludicrous appearance, bare-headed and in his
-mud bedraggled uniform as he saluted and explained: "You see Cap'n," said
-he "I lost me latitude and longitude when I left the bridge." The captain
-laughed. The men shouted and ever after that he was known as "old latitude
-and longitude."
-
-
-FAKING DISABILITY.
-
-In a regiment of 1,000 men it is not to be wondered at that there are some
-few who are deficient in the qualities that make good soldiers.
-
-Perhaps they had enrolled their names because they had been carried away
-by the enthusiasm of a "war meeting" where it was always pictured out as
-being an act of heroism to volunteer. Then the chances of promotion and
-the opportunities to see the country were always depicted in their most
-glowing colors by speakers who in most cases were very careful to not put
-their own names down. After the recruit has become an atom of a thousand
-he realizes that he is not of as much consequence as he expected to be,
-and it is not strange that now and then there was one who had not the
-"sand" to stand up like a man and be just as good a soldier as he could.
-In that case he resorted to all sorts of ingenious devices to procure his
-discharge from the army.
-
-In the summer of 1862 our surgeon--we used to call him "Old Symptoms"--was
-puzzled by the numerous cases of fever sores that he had to treat; finally
-he "got onto" their game by the accidental discovery of a man wearing a
-copper penny bound on his leg for the purpose of producing one. "Weak
-heart" was frequently feigned by a candidate for discharge and all sorts
-of deceptions were attempted on the surgeons, who had to be pretty good
-judges of human nature in order to detect the true from the false.
-
-The case of a man in our regiment, whom we will call Jackson, baffled the
-cunning and skill of "Old Symptoms" when we were in the forts near Fairfax
-seminary. Jackson pretended to be out of his head and the officers got so
-they did not exact any duties of him, not even to answer roll call. He
-came and went and did as he had a mind to. Near the fort was a large farm
-which he pretended he had bought and he used to spend most of his time
-down there working and ordering about the men, who humored him in his
-notions. Finally his case was passed upon by a board of surgeons and his
-discharge ordered. As he was leaving camp for home one of the boys asked
-him what he was going to do with his farm and he winked as he replied,
-that he thought the Watkins family could run it without his help.
-
-I recall the case of another young man who became demented. He would not
-eat or leave his tent unless driven out. His clothes and person became
-filthy and finally the old surgeon ordered two men to take him to a stream
-and give him a good scrubbing in almost ice cold water, for it was in a
-winter month.
-
-The treatment was severe but had the desired effect of arousing his
-manhood and from that day he was a changed person and soon became a model
-soldier, noted for clean gun, equipment, etc., and I am pleased to add was
-finally made a sergeant and served to the end of the war with honor.
-
-
-AN ACT OF HEROISM.
-
-When Frederick Funston swam the little Filipino river in the face of a
-handful of cowardly natives, the act was heralded all over the world as
-one of great heroism and he was rewarded by a general's commission, yet I
-venture to say that there is hardly a civil war veteran, who saw active
-service, but that has knowledge of numerous equally as heroic acts that
-were scarcely known of outside of the man's own company or regiment.
-
-Scarcely a gathering of veterans but has more than one hero among them
-whose fame has been forgotten except but for a few of his comrades, and
-the chances are that the man has had hard work to get the government to
-recognize his claim to a pittance of a pension to keep him out of the poor
-house.
-
-I recall an incident of great bravery by an officer of our regiment who
-went to the war as a bugler in my company. In December, 1864, a part of
-the 5th and 2d corps, and Gen. Gregg's division of cavalry were sent to
-the left again to try and turn Lee's right flank. The weather was
-intensely cold for that country, ice forming on all of the streams.
-
-The enemy were encountered at Hatcher's Run and it was desired to dislodge
-a confederate battery that was masked in some woods on the opposite side
-of the stream. A staff officer rode down in front of our regiment and
-asked Maj. Hulser if he could furnish men to cross the stream and charge
-the battery. The major called for volunteers and the first man to respond
-was Capt. Orlando T. Bliss of Co. F, a former Carthage boy, who with the
-missiles flying thick and fast stepped out in front of his company and
-asked all who were willing to go with him to step ten paces to the front,
-and when every man of the company lined up with their captain the 2nd
-heavy applauded the act with a hearty cheer.
-
-Additional volunteers were called for and Capt. George Armes (now Major
-Armes, retired, of Washington, D. C.), and his company responded.
-
-It seemed a hazardous undertaking but the men did not falter as they waded
-into the icy cold water which was up to the armpits of most of them and in
-many places there were deep holes, so that not a few had to swim, but once
-across the stream they made a rush for the battery and the rebel
-artillerists took to their heels.
-
-The suffering of the soldiers was great that night, as it was bitter cold
-and the clothing of those who forded the stream would have frozen on them
-only that the men built fires and stood around them.
-
-Gen. Miles commended the conduct of the men in general orders and the two
-officers were breveted for their gallantry.
-
-In this connection I cannot refrain from relating a little episode in the
-army experience of Capt. Bliss in which a certain drummer boy was mixed
-up.
-
-It was earlier in the war and our regiment was doing duty at Arlington.
-
-Bliss was a corporal and had charge of our drum corps. One day the acting
-drum major and a certain lad of my acquaintance thought they would go over
-to Washington. When they applied to the adjutant for a pass he told them
-they would have to defer their visit until some other day, as he could not
-issue any more passes that day, but who ever knew a boy that would put off
-a pleasure until to-morrow that he could have today. The two boys had
-friends in the quartermaster's department who had standing passes to go
-after supplies, and it occurred to them that they could borrow a couple,
-which they did, and went to the city, visited the theatre, and had a fine
-time.
-
-Not having the countersign they had to return before dark, and as they
-walked up to the sentry box at the end of the bridge on the Georgetown
-side, who should step out with the sentry but our adjutant.
-
-It is needless to say that the boys were surprised and the officer
-admitted he was also. He inquired if they had passes and when they were
-produced he took them and sent the young volunteers over to the fort under
-arrest.
-
-Shortly after noon the next day the sergeant major took the youngest lad
-over to the colonel's tent where he listened to a severe lecturing, after
-which he was made to do penance by standing on the head of a barrel four
-hours in the sun. Say, but the end of a barrel is a pretty small space to
-stand on for that length of time with the sun up in the nineties! Among
-the orders read on dress parade that night was one reducing Corp. Bliss to
-the ranks.
-
-But a more fearless man never shouldered a musket and shortly after we
-went to the front Bliss had won his stripes again. At Cold Harbor he was
-made a sergeant, at Petersburg a lieutenant, at Reams Station a captain,
-at Hatcher's Run brevet major and if the war had lasted long enough and
-some rebel bullet had not caught him he would have been wearing a star.
-
-
-BRAVE PETE BOYLE A DRUMMER BOY FROM THE BOWERY.
-
-As I passed a man in City Hall park, New York, late one afternoon not many
-years ago I instinctively felt that I had known him. He was sitting on one
-of the park seats and the particular thing that arrested my attention was
-a red clover shaped badge that was fastened on the lapel of his coat. To
-one who was with Hancock at Gettysburg or followed his lead from the
-Rapidan to Appomattox, tender memories are evoked when the old 2d corps'
-badge is seen.
-
-Whenever I see a man with the talismanic emblem on I just feel like taking
-off my hat to him. So after I had passed the New York veteran I thought to
-myself I should like to know something of his history. I wheeled about,
-retraced my steps and approaching him saluted and said, "How are you, old
-2d corps."
-
-It does not take long for two veterans to get acquainted and the exchange
-of a few words revealed the fact that we had been members of the same
-regiment. In fact it was none other than "Pete" Boyle, a member of our old
-2d heavy drum corps.
-
-One of the first things "Pete" said was, "Do you remember that Maryland
-fair?" I certainly did and will try and tell the readers something about
-it.
-
-It was just a town fair and not on a very large scale either, but it was
-held in a beautiful and prosperous settlement a few miles from Washington
-and the people all turned in and made the most of it and had a glorious
-time. The drum corps of the 2d New York was engaged as one of the star
-attractions.
-
-It all came about because our adjutant married a daughter of Mrs. E. D. E.
-N. Southworth, the famous writer of those old-time fascinating Ledger
-stories, such as the "Hidden Hand," "Ishmael," etc., etc. Her home was in
-Georgetown and she, having friends out in the country, where the fair was
-to be held had told marvelous tales of the dandy drum corps of the 2d and
-as a result we were excused from camp duties and allowed to go to the
-fair, drink red lemonade and dance with the pretty country maidens. We
-thoroughly enjoyed the respite from camp life and made the most of our two
-days' stay with the Marylanders.
-
-Did you ever go out into a peach orchard in the early morning and eat the
-luscious fruit that had dropped off in the night? "No?" Well, then you
-have never tasted the true flavor of a peach. The house where we were
-quartered was flanked on three sides by a peach orchard and we got up in
-the morning, went out and sat under the trees and stowed away peaches
-enough to stock a fruit stand.
-
-Pete Boyle was the largest boy of the drum corps and he was a born swell.
-His home was New York. He had been a newsboy in the Bowery district. He
-was a clog and jig dancer equal to many of the professionals and when it
-came to sparring and wrestling he was the champion lightweight of the
-regiment.
-
-After Pete had taken part in one "Virginia reel" which gave him the
-opportunity to show off some of his fancy steps he could have had anything
-he wanted from those Maryland farmers, and the girls, why they were just
-falling over each other to get a chance to dance with him.
-
-As I have stated, Pete was a swell and would never wear government clothes
-without having them cut over and made to fit, and he would not hide his
-shapely No. 5 foot with a government brogan.
-
-The girls were all watching Pete from out of the corners of their eyes,
-but it was noticed that one in particular was his favorite and that he
-danced with her quite frequently, which was not looked upon with favor by
-her Maryland escort who was big enough to eat Pete up.
-
-The morning of the second day while we were out in the peach orchard a
-darkey approached our party and asking for "Mistah Boyle" handed Pete a
-note which after looking over, Pete read to us. It was in substance as
-follows:
-
-"Mr. Peter Boyle:
-
-I thought you might like to know, being as you are a Union soldier, that
-the young lady you have been paying so much attention to is a secesh
-sympathizer and has a brother with Mosby the rebel guerilla. A word to the
-wise is sufficient.
-
-"JOE YARDSLEY."
-
-Of course I am not giving the real name that was signed but it will answer
-for the purpose of this article.
-
-Pete called the darkey, gave him a quarter and said, "You can go and tell
-Joe Yardsley that I said that if he was half a man he would be with Sue's
-brother. Tell him that I think he is a sneak and a coward and if he will
-come over in the grove about 5 o'clock this afternoon I will slap his
-face."
-
-The darkey showed his white teeth, scratched his head and digging his big
-toe in the sand said, "I reckon I bettah not tole dat to Joe. Dem
-Yardsleys got a powerful temper, dey hab, an' dey boss all de young
-fellahs' roun' yere."
-
-"All right, Sam," said Pete, "You tell him just what I told you."
-
-That afternoon Pete and Sue were inseparable. They made themselves
-conspicuous everywhere.
-
-The darkey brought Pete another note during the day and it simply said, "I
-will meet you in the grove. J. Y."
-
-Of course all of us boys went over with Pete and the Marylander brought
-three companions.
-
-The two principals stripped to the waist and I confess I was fearful of
-the result when I saw how much larger Pete's antagonist was than he.
-
-When they got the word Yardsley made a spring at Pete who dropped his head
-and butted the big fellow below the wind and slid him over his back. He
-got up and came furiously at our Pete again. But he knew a lot of Bowery
-tricks and quick as a flash stepped aside, caught him around the neck,
-whirled him around and threw him, slapped his face smartly and then let
-him up. The fellow rushed at Pete again, who now thought it about time to
-quit fooling, and he landed a good hard blow on the fellow's nose and
-mouth which staggered him and made the blood fly.
-
-The spectators on both sides thought that the affair had gone far enough
-and called for a cessation of hostilities. Pete offered to shake hands
-with his antagonist, but he declined and went away muttering threats.
-
-That evening we started for our Virginia camp in a large carry-all
-accompanied by a bevy of young people on horseback. They rode with us a
-couple of miles and then bade us good night and good bye, and as we drove
-away we heard them singing, "Maryland, My Maryland."
-
-When I sat down to write of my old comrade it was to tell of two deeds of
-heroism performed by him and not of his adventures at a country fair, but
-when I unrolled my knapsack of war memories, the incidents narrated came
-tumbling out with the rest so I have jotted them down.
-
-
-A HERO OF WAR AT COLD HARBOR.
-
-A drummer boy of our regiment who was carrying a musket was wounded and
-left between the lines. There were many others of our comrades there, too,
-but somehow to us drummer boys who had beaten the reveille and tattoo
-together and tramped at the head of the regiment so many long and
-wearisome marches, the thought that one of our number was lying out there
-in the blazing June sun suffering not only pain but the terrible agony of
-thirst, stirred our sympathies to the uttermost and we longed to go to his
-relief, but dared not for it was like throwing one's life away to show
-himself over the breastworks.
-
-It was late in the afternoon that Peter Boyle, "our Pete," suggested a
-plan by which our comrade was rescued. Pete cut three or four scrub pine
-trees which abounded there and proposed that he and a couple of others
-should use them as a screen and go out between the lines.
-
-"Why not wait till dark and go?" someone asked. But then it was feared he
-could not be found.
-
-The bushes were set over the breastworks one at a time so as not to
-attract attention and as there were many more growing like them they were
-probably not noticed. When the evening twilight came on Pete and two
-others crawled over the breastworks and got behind the trees. Each had a
-couple of canteens of water for they knew that there would be many to whom
-a mouthful would be so very acceptable.
-
-The three boys crawled and wriggled themselves toward the rebel lines
-shielded by the trees. Their movements necessarily had to be very slow so
-as not to attract the attention of the enemy. The ruse was well planned
-and executed, but fraught with much danger. They found their comrade and
-had to lie behind their shelter until darkness concealed their movements,
-and then the wounded comrade was brought into the lines and his life
-saved.
-
-
-A HERO OF PEACE.
-
-Boyle performed a more heroic act at a New York fire in the Bowery a few
-years ago.
-
-One afternoon a fire broke out in a block, the two upper stories of which
-were used as a "sweat shop." Boyle was playing the drums in the orchestra
-of an adjoining theatre. He, with others, ran up on to the roof and saw
-scores of girls who had been working in the burning building, running
-frantically around the roof. The flames had cut them off from the lower
-part of the building and they had gone to the roof, but as the block was
-higher than all of the adjoining ones except the theatre and that was
-separated by the space of several feet, it seemed that they were lost and
-many flung themselves in despair to the street.
-
-Boyle took in the situation instantly and calling to his aid two men they
-wrested an iron fire escape from its fastenings on the theatre and with it
-bridged the space between the buildings.
-
-Pete then laid a board on top of it and finding that many of the girls
-dare not cross, he took a rope with him, and went over on the burning
-building, threw one end back to his helpers and then compelled the girls
-to walk over the bridge, using the rope as a hand rail. His bravery and
-nerve saved the lives of very many who but for him would have been lost.
-
-He was the last one to leave the roof of the building and was so badly
-burned that he had to go to the hospital, and when I met him that day in
-the park he was just getting around again.
-
-Peter Boyle probably never attended a Sunday school in his life, but I am
-glad that my faith is of the kind that helps me to believe that when the
-Book of Life is opened there will be found a balance to his credit.
-
-
-A COMRADE IN GRAY.
-
-While attending a G. A. R. encampment at Washington not many years ago, a
-party of us thought we would run over to the sleepy old town of Alexandria
-one afternoon.
-
-Grass was growing in the streets and the town had a deserted appearance,
-all so very different from war times, when thousands of soldiers were in
-and about the city. Among other places of interest we visited was the
-little church where Washington used to worship. Sitting on the steps was a
-dusty, grizzly, crippled man of 60, munching a dry crust of bread. He was
-dressed in a threadbare suit of gray, and we knew he was a southerner, but
-as we passed into the church he gave us a military salute.
-
-When we came out he was still nibbling away, trying to find the soft side
-of his bread, and one of our party ventured the remark that "dry bread
-wasn't much of a meal."
-
-"That's so, but when rations are low and the commissary wagons are to the
-rear, you've got to fill up on what you can get. I've camped longside of
-dry bread and water more'n once."
-
-"Going anywhere?"
-
-"Well, I reckon I be if my old legs don't give out. Got a brother over on
-the Eastern Sho' of Maryland and I am marching that way."
-
-"Were you in the war?"
-
-"I reckon I was, boys, but on 'tother side. Ah, but I can shet my eyes and
-see jist how Gineral Pickett looked when he led us agin your 2d corps, (he
-had noticed the red clover leaf pinned on our coats) over at Gettysburg on
-that 3d of July. Say, Yanks, but 'twere bilin' that afternoon. How one of
-us got back alive is more'n I can tell."
-
-The survivor of the "Lost cause" had by this time forgotten all about his
-rations. He was living again in the past. Like a tired old war horse at
-the sound of a bugle, he had risen from the steps and the light of battle
-flamed in his eye as he continued:
-
-"Yes, boys, I was right there with Pickett--not coolin' coffee back under
-the wagons, or I wouldn't hev got two of your bullets in me, nor been
-jabbed with a bay'net trying to get over the stone wall near that clump of
-trees. Lord, but I thought I was a goner sure."
-
-We acknowledged it was a hot place.
-
-"Hot! Well I reckon I got 'bout as near old satan's headquarters that day
-as a live man can. When 37 out of a company of 50 are snuffed out and a
-half a dozen of the others wounded you may reckon we thought you'uns were
-going to wipe we 'uns out."
-
-He now tossed his crust away with a look of contempt and, grasping his
-hickory stick with a firm grip, followed us to a nearby restaurant, where
-we invited him to a good square meal, after which we smoked our cigars
-while the survivor of Pickett's charge continued his narrative as he
-sipped a generous glass of apple brandy.
-
-We held our breath waiting for the signal guns that were to let us know
-when the ball was to open.
-
-The regiments fell in just like clockwork, lots of the boys lookin' white
-round the gills, and not a word was spoken above a whisper except as the
-commands were given. Attention! Forward! and we went down across those
-fields, with Pickett leading on horseback and every company dressed as
-though we were marching in a review.
-
-"Boom! Boom! You'ns let 'em all off on us at once. Say, Yanks, the
-screamin' of the grape and cannister was awful, and they just cut wide
-swaths in our ranks, but we didn't quit--did we--until we were all cut to
-pieces?"
-
-"We were close to your lines when I got a bullet in my leg and as I
-stooped over to see where I was hit my shoulder caught another. That made
-me fighting mad and I tried to go over the stone wall when one of them
-Irish brigade fellers chucked his bay'net into me and that laid me out so
-that I was off duty awhile.
-
-"But dog-goned if I didn't get back just in time to run up against your
-old second corps again at Spottsylvania. Kinder seems we couldn't git
-away from you'ns. But, comrades, I ain't got nuthin' agin you.
-
-"Say, that 'bloody angle,' reminded me of Gettysburg. The bullets made
-basket stuff of the small oaks, and large ones, too."
-
-"And when we charged up against them log breastworks you fellers would
-jest reach over and jab us with your bay'nets."
-
-"My, but your man Grant was no quitter, was he? We thought we were going
-to drive you fellers back 'cross the Rapidan, as we had done many times
-before, but Ulysses jist shut his teeth down tighter on his cigar and kept
-moving by the left flank.
-
-"But our Uncle Robert wasn't caught napping anywhere, was he? When you
-tried us at the Pamunky river, Totopotomy, North Anna and Cold Harbor, you
-found us ready for you every time. Say, old second corps, we got even with
-you fellers at Cold Harbor for the way you had treated us before. Didn't
-we?
-
-"But I'm dog-goned if U. S. G. knew when he was whipped, and, instead of
-going back and restin' up as the others useter do, and come out in the
-spring with new uniforms and guns a-shinin', why he jist tried another
-left flanker on us and brought up at Petersburg, where it was nip and tuck
-for a long time.
-
-"You could get plenty of men and money and we had got the last of the
-boys and their grandfathers months before and were busted in everything
-but grit. We knew the jig was up, but were goin' to die game, and when you
-rounded us up at Appomattox the last ounce of corn meal wer' gone."
-
-The veteran's eyes were moist as he expressed thanks for his entertainment
-and said he must be "marchin' on." We suggested that he would probably
-find his brother in Maryland, settle down and forget his hardships and
-battles.
-
-"Forgit nuthin; why I'd rather lose my arms than to forgit how Gen.
-Pickett looked that day as 5,000 men behind him marched to death. When you
-keep step with a man down to the jaws of death and go back alone, if you
-forgit him ye are not fit to crawl! But, I ain't anything agin ye, Yanks;
-'All is quiet on the Potomac' now and if I git in comfortable quarters
-over in Maryland should like to have you boys come and camp with me a week
-and eat some of them luscious Eastern Sho' oysters, canvas backs and fat
-terrapin."
-
-As we shook his hand we pressed a few silver quarters in the palm and when
-he started away he turned and with a husky voice said:
-
-"Good bye, old second corps; I'm dog-goned if I'll ever forgit you'ns."
-
-
-A PRECIOUS COFFEE POT.
-
-Not many years since I spent a night with a comrade in his home in a city
-of central New York and we sat and smoked and talked, and talked and
-smoked, until long after midnight. The walls of his den were adorned with
-guns, sabres, canteens, cartridge boxes and belts and various other war
-relics. Conspicuously displayed among the other decorations was a battered
-and blackened coffee pot.
-
-"Yes," he replied in answer to my inquiry, "it is the same old coffee pot
-I carried from Washington to Appomattox and is one of my most cherished
-keepsakes."
-
-"About the time we went to the front I was in the city one day and knowing
-that a coffee pot was a very useful utensil to a soldier I invested in the
-best copper bottom one that I could find. There was not another one in the
-company and money could not buy one when we were in the field. Six of us
-regularly made coffee in it, and others used to take turns in borrowing it
-for various purposes, such as cooking rice, beans, meat, boiling shirts
-and the making of those famous old 'Liverpool stews' when we were
-fortunate enough to get an onion, two or three potatoes with hardtack,
-pepper and salt."
-
-"Many a batch of flap jacks have I stirred up in that old coffee pot,
-paying the sutler 25 cents a pound for self-rising flour. The ears and
-handle got melted off after a time, but I punched holes where the ears had
-been, hooked the bale in and so it lasted to the end. My wife wanted to
-scour the black off, but I wouldn't have it.
-
-"Why, it took the smoke of more than a thousand camp fires to put that
-finish on it!
-
-"I thought once I had lost it. You remember the day we had that running
-fight at Sailor's Creek when we were chasing Lee and waded the stream
-waist deep? The banks were steep, you know, and fringed with bushes that
-got tangled with our equipments as we went through them. Well, somehow or
-other my coffee pot got pulled off my haversack, but I did not know it
-until we had got some distance away, when one of the boys who used it
-regularly, exclaimed: 'By thunder, Will, you've lost your coffee pot, and
-what in Sam Hill will we do for coffee now?'"
-
-"I remembered having it when we crossed the creek, for several of us used
-it to fill our canteens, so I told my pardner I was going back after it. I
-found it hanging to a bush and was better pleased than if I had picked up
-a hundred dollar greenback."
-
-
-ARMY CHAPLAINS.
-
-Just why the 2d New York did not have a chaplain I do not know, and it is
-too late now to find out. Probably the officers didn't want one or else
-there were not enough to go around among the 2,000 or more organizations
-in the service, for we were not the only regiment without one.
-
-There were some grand men who served as chaplains and they not only
-ministered to the soldiers in spiritual matters, but looked after the
-welfare of the men in many ways. Particularly were they of service to the
-wounded on the battlefield. I never heard of a cowardly chaplain and
-instances are not few in number where they were wounded or taken prisoner.
-There were also several killed in battle.
-
-Speaking of a regiment not having a chaplain, reminds me of an old camp
-fire story about two New York regiments between which existed great
-rivalry. An earnest and eloquent chaplain was conducting a series of
-meetings among the regiments that were without chaplains and he went to
-the colonel of one of the regiments referred to and asked permission to
-hold divine services. The colonel told him it would do no good. "The truth
-is, chaplain, the boys are the devil's own fighters, but I am afraid you
-would find it a tough job trying to make saints out of them."
-
-The chaplain insisted he should like to hold a service and mentioned
-incidentally that he had preached several times to the ----d New York and
-there had been a number of converts. "Why only last Sunday I baptized a
-dozen of them."
-
-At the mention of his rival the bluff old fighter was interested and
-immediately gave his consent.
-
-The Sunday following the regiment was drawn up in a hollow square and the
-colonel told the men that he had invited chaplain "so-and-so" to preach
-to them and then added: "If one of you dares to make faces, laugh or even
-move I'll order you to the guard house with ball and chain."
-
-The men were all attention during the preaching and when the chaplain had
-finished he was surprised to hear the colonel give the following order to
-the adjutant:
-
-"Officer, detail 24 men for baptism immediately. I'll be d--d if we are
-going to be beaten in anything by that dirty, cowardly --d New York."
-
-
-A SENTINEL'S REVERIE.
-
-The lonely picket on an outpost between two vast contending armies
-occupies an important position. Great responsibilities rest upon him,
-hence the penalty of being found asleep on one's post used to be death.
-
-The situation is conducive to serious meditations. You stand in the shade
-of a tree which screens you from any reb who may be crawling about for a
-shot at some careless Yank.
-
-The moon sends a beam through the leaves right into your eye, and you
-recall that it is the same old moon way down in Virginia that used to
-shine up in York State. You think how you and some one else who is far
-away used to lean across the gate, look at the moon and then at each other
-and sigh.
-
-Then you wonder if some one is thinking of you. You wish you might get a
-slight wound so you could go home where all would be talking of your
-bravery. Perhaps it would touch some one's heart so she would say "yes."
-
-Then you would think of your present condition; you wonder why it is that
-such a fellow as lazy Jim Lee should be "commissioned" instead of you, who
-never "shirked" a guard. You pronounce the war a failure, and would like
-to see the leaders on both sides hung. You wonder if your regiment will
-get into another battle to-day, and say to yourself that you don't care if
-you get killed (you do though), and then you think of your poor comrade
-"Dave," who was killed at your side yesterday morning in a charge on the
-enemy in that clump of "pines" over there at the right. You put your hand
-in your pocket and draw forth the lock of hair you cut from his head when
-his life's blood was ebbing away, and _which_ he told you to send to his
-"dear old mother." You brush the silent tear away that has commenced to
-course its way down your dust covered cheek.
-
-Then from out the half-light sounds a solitary bugle, like the first
-wavering note of the roused bird, chirping good morning to its mate. A
-second bugle answers its _reveille_. Another and another sound along the
-line. The drums take up their morning rattle. Soon the air is filled with
-their deafening jubilee, for they beat with a perfect recklessness at the
-"get up" time of the camp. The hum of voices begin to rise. The roll call
-is gone through with. Mules whinner and horses neigh. The camps are alive.
-The birds sing, and--it is day. There comes the "relief guard."
-
-
-A LETTER FROM THE FRONT.
-
-The following is the copy of an old letter yellow with age, that was sent
-home during wartime.
-
-"In the trenches near Petersburg, Va.
-
-"Sept. 14, 1864."
-
-"My Dear Friend:
-
-Having a little leisure time I thought I would send you a few lines.
-
-You are aware that I am attached to the 2d N. Y. Heavy Artillery, or as
-the infantrymen call it, the "2d Weighty." 1st brigade, 1st division, 2d
-Corps, under the command of Gen. Hancock; one of the finest looking
-soldiers in this or any other army, and what is better the boys all love
-him, and he is proud of his men. If you have kept track of the movements
-of the army of the Potomac I need not tell you the part that Hancock and
-his men have had in them.
-
-We are now in camp about midway between City Point and Ream's Station, and
-the corps is recruiting up very rapidly. The recruits and convalescents
-are pouring in by thousands, and we shall soon have a grand army again,
-and then look out for the splinters. Johnny Reb must talk differently or
-find his last ditch. The impression here seems to gain ground that the
-rebellion is about played out, and that there will be but few more months
-of fighting. Within the past few days the City Point railroad has been
-extended several miles on our left, and where a few days since no signs of
-a track were visible, large trains are running regularly. It is certainly
-very astonishing; but that is a way they have of doing business down here.
-
-Ten or twelve days since, our corps was ordered to the left of where we
-now are. Arrived there after dark, and halted on a flat open space with a
-fine pine wood on our left. In the morning the woods had almost entirely
-disappeared, and in our front a splendid line of breastworks had sprung up
-as if by magic. Those who have never been in the business can have no
-correct conception of how quickly and how quietly an order is executed at
-the front. Our new railroad runs but a few rods in front of our camp, and
-it seems like old times to see the trains moving, and to hear the whistle
-and bell. This forenoon all the bands and drum corps of the division were
-ordered to report to division headquarters, which we did. Numbering in all
-about one hundred and seventy-five, and under the leadership of Mr.
-Higgins, of the division band, played "Hail to the Chief," and "Hail,
-Columbia," after which the brass bands played the "Grand March from
-Belsaria," "Garry Owen," "Larry O'Gaff" and "Yankee Doodle," and if there
-was any lack of harmony there certainly was not of noise. We were then
-dismissed, with an invitation to repeat the thing at some future day.
-
-The weather here is delightful, the days warm and pleasant, and the nights
-cool enough to make blankets necessary. As fast as the new recruits arrive
-they are set to drilling, and you can see them in all directions going
-through the different evolutions, and it will take but a short time to
-have the corps in fine trim for anything that soldiers can do, and so with
-the whole army. So you may look out for stirring news shortly. Speaking of
-news, reminds me of the many complaints of the boys.--They cannot get
-enough to read, and would be very thankful for anything in the way of old
-books, magazines and papers, in fact anything which contains stories would
-be very acceptable, and a few books and magazines would afford reading for
-several hundred, and while away many a tedious hour. If it is not asking
-too much, won't some of the friends of the 2d Heavy do something for the
-boys? They have not been paid off for the last six months, and many of
-them have not seen any money for a still longer time, and there is no
-telling when they will be paid, and there are few who have the means to
-purchase the Washington _Chronicle_, New York _Herald_, or Philadelphia
-_Enquirer_, which are brought to camp daily.
-
-President Lincoln visited the front a short time ago and rode along our
-lines accompanied by Generals Grant and Meade. They were without any staff
-officers with them and only had three orderlies. The President wore a
-black tile that had seen much service and had on a long linen duster, and
-was an awkward looking man on his horse. But the boys love "Uncle Abe" as
-they call him and when the party passed us one of our boys enthusiasm got
-the best of him and he sang out "three cheers for honest Abe," and they
-were given in true army style. The President lifted his hat and looked
-mightily pleased.
-
-If Grant was like some of the new brigadiers he would have had about 25
-staff officers and orderlies following him, but U. S. G. is not much on
-style. He keeps right on sawing wood though all the same.
-
-"Old Spectacles" as Gen. Meade is called, is Grant's right bower, and is
-virtually the commander of the Army of the Potomac. Like Grant he is a
-silent man, too, although they do say that he makes the fur fly when
-things don't go to suit him.
-
-My chum is the cook to-day and has just called out "get ready for grub."
-We are to have an extra dish and you will laugh when I tell you the name.
-It is called "slumgullion" by the boys, and is made by pounding up hard
-tack which with chopped onions fried with salt pork makes an appetizing
-dish fit for a king. My chum has also set up a can of peaches which he
-paid the sutler 75 cents for, so I will cut this short.
-
-
-THE FIGHTING REGIMENTS.
-
-Statistics are considered dry reading and the writer has not bothered the
-readers of his sketches with many, but they do tell the story better than
-pen or tongue.
-
-There were something over 2,000 regiments in the Union Army. Some never
-participated in a battle; others were constantly at the front. Perhaps
-they were no better fighters than those who were exempt from battle, but
-in war blood is what tells, therefore the casualty lists tell plainer than
-words whether a regiment was where the bullets were flying thick and fast
-or not.
-
-Col. Fox, the government statistician found that of the 2,000 there were
-300 whose losses of killed and died of wounds were over 130, and he has
-called these the "300 fighting regiments." A conservative estimate of the
-wounded is six to one, so the reader can easily figure out what the total
-casualties of these regiments probably were.
-
-There were about 50 regiments out of the 300 "fighting regiments" that
-lost in killed or mortally wounded over 200.
-
-The regiment that heads the list, both in the total and percentage was
-the 1st Maine Heavy artillery. Their total was 423. Their loss at
-Spottsylvania was 82 killed and 394 wounded. A month later at Petersburg
-they made the assault with 900 muskets and their casualty list was 632.
-
-The New York regiment that suffered the greatest loss of killed was the
-old 69th, of the Irish brigade. Their total was 259.
-
-
-A LOSS NEVER EQUALED.
-
-In proportion to the number of men engaged, the greatest loss to any one
-regiment during the Civil War was that of the 1st Minnesota at Gettysburg.
-Gen. Hancock was desirous of holding back a column of confederates until
-reinforcements could be brought against them and, turning to the colonel
-of the regiment, he ordered him to capture the enemy's colors. The command
-was obeyed literally, and the enemy was forced back, leaving their banners
-in the hands of the Minnesotians. The regiment took into the fight 262
-officers and men. It lost 50 killed and 174 wounded and none missing.
-Seventeen officers were killed and wounded. Here is a record that has not
-as yet been equalled in military statistics. Gen. Hancock said it was the
-most gallant deed of history. He knew the men must be sacrificed when he
-issued the order, but he needed five minutes time and would have ordered
-the regiment if he had known every man would have been killed.
-
-Probably the most remarkable loss on either side during the Civil War was
-that of the 26th North Carolina at Gettysburg. They took into the fight
-820 men. Of this number 588 were killed and wounded the first day. The
-survivors went into the charge with Pickett the third day, and when the
-roll was called the next day but 80 men were present. All of the rest had
-been either killed or wounded.
-
-Another remarkable case was that of Duryea's Zouaves at Manassas, or Bull
-Run. Out of 490 men who went into action it lost 79 killed, 170 wounded
-and 48 missing; total 297. This is the regiment which closed up its ranks
-and "counted off" anew while exposed to a terrific fire.
-
-The following nine heavy artillery regiments lost over 200 killed and died
-of wounds.
-
-First Maine, 2d corps, 423; 8th New York, 2d corps, 361; 7th New York, 2d
-corps, 291; 2d Connecticut, 6th corps, 254, 1st Massachusetts, 2d corps,
-241, 2d Pennsylvania, 9th corps 233; 14th New York 9th corps, 226; 2d New
-York, 2d corps 214; 9th New York, 6th corps, 204.
-
-Naturally the writer is proud of the fact that his old regiment stands
-high on the honor roll. The record of 214 killed in battle tells the
-story, plainer than words, that the 2d New York Heavy Artillery were where
-the bullets were flying thick and fast.
-
-
-BOUND FOR THE LAND OF FREEDOM.
-
-The negro contrabands that flocked to our lines during the closing days of
-the struggle furnished a great deal of amusement to the soldiers. In their
-hasty flight for freedom they picked up the very articles that were of
-little use to them, even to feather beds, boxes, cotton umbrellas,
-stovepipe hats and of course every musician his banjo. The girls wore huge
-hoop skirts which were then in vogue, and many had on flounced silk
-dresses that had evidently been borrowed from "Missus' wardrobe." There
-was nothing these poor black people would not do for "Massa Lincum soldier
-men," whom they fairly worshiped. An old "Mammy" made my chum and I an old
-fashioned "hoecake" at high bridge, baking it in a skillet which she
-buried in the coals of a campfire, and it was about the most toothsome
-morsel I ever ate. Goodness gracious! what would I give for the appetite
-and digestion of those days.
-
-
-PRAYER FOR THE C. S. A.
-
-We entered a neat looking church one day, and one of the boys opened an
-Episcopal prayer book at the altar, and at the "Prayer for All in
-Authority," found that the words "the president of the United States" had
-been cut out, and, folded in the book, was a manuscript copy of prayers
-for the "Confederate States of America."
-
-
-RICHMOND AFTER THE EVACUATION.
-
-Those who have visited this beautiful Virginia city in recent years have
-no idea of the appearance of the place after it was evacuated by the
-Confederates. Lee's message of April 2, telling Jefferson Davis that "my
-lines are broken in three places, Richmond must be evacuated this
-evening," found Mr. Davis in church. He quietly withdrew, and the fate of
-the city was soon noised about the streets, which became filled with men,
-wagons and negroes carrying trunks and bundles of every description.
-
-After the departure of President Davis and others of the Confederate
-government, Gen. Ewell issued orders for the burning of the large
-warehouses of the city, and thus a great conflagration was started that
-threatened to lay in ashes all of the business structures.
-
-The city council met and decided to destroy every drop of liquor in town,
-and at midnight committees of citizens visited every ward and rolled
-hundreds of barrels of whisky into the streets, and, knocking the heads
-out, the gutters were flooded. The shipping at the wharves was fired and
-pandemonium reigned complete for 24 hours.
-
-The Union forces entered the city the next day and proceeded to restore
-order.
-
-A few days later the writer accompanied a party of officers to the city,
-going by way of City Point and up the James river by boat, past
-formidable forts and earthworks that had swarmed with Confederate soldiers
-ten days before, now deserted. The cannon that had hardly cooled off for
-over nine months were now silent. White tents that had sheltered the enemy
-stood as lonely sentinels for the "Lost Cause."
-
-There were many points of interest, such as the famous Howlett house
-battery, Butler's Dutch Gap canal, the "Crow's Nest," a lookout station,
-Haxall's landing where the exchange of prisoners used to take place. The
-river was full of mines and torpedoes, and the thought that every minute
-might be our last was anything but pleasant.
-
-The defenses of the City of Richmond appeared to have been impregnable, if
-the confederates could have kept a sufficient force there to man them.
-Every elevation about the city had a fort, and there were two lines of
-abatis and three separate lines of rifle pits and earthworks encircling
-the city. No attacking army can ever carry by direct assault a city so
-fortified, if the army within is anywhere equal in numbers to that on the
-outside and has supplies to subsist upon. It used to be reckoned that the
-troops that assaulted a fortified position must lose five or more men to
-one of those defending the works.
-
-
-LIBBY PRISON.
-
-The name of which was quite enough to give a Union soldier the cold
-chills, was filled with Confederates the day we were there. The blue and
-the gray had exchanged places. We being human, were much pleased to see
-the rebels peering out through the grated windows with the Union sentries
-pacing up and down around the building.
-
-The bridges leading out of the city had mostly been destroyed, also the
-great warehouses, the postoffice, the treasury, the leading banks, and, in
-fact, the heart of the city had been burned out and the ruins were
-smoldering when we were there. The street where the treasury and war
-department had been was knee deep with official papers and records that
-had been thrown out.
-
-We wandered through the deserted State house, the capitol of the
-confederacy, and the writer has a piece of the upholstering taken from the
-chair that was presented to the speaker of the Confederate congress by
-English sympathizers.
-
-The home of Jefferson Davis was used as the headquarters of Gen. Weitzel,
-who commanded the forces that entered the city after its evacuation.
-
-President Lincoln, who was at City Point during Grant's final operations
-against Lee, went up to Richmond the next day after the city fell and held
-a levee in the house that had been occupied by Jeff Davis two days before.
-Thousands of black people crowded the streets to welcome and bless their
-emancipator, and it became necessary to use military force to clear the
-streets so that Lincoln could pass. His personal safety was feared for
-when he proposed the visit, but no insult was offered him, and two days
-later he repeated his visit, accompanied by Mrs. Lincoln, several United
-States senators and Vice-President Johnson. Eight days later he was
-assassinated in Washington, and the South lost the best friend they could
-have had in the pacification and reconstruction days that were to come,
-for the heart of the great Lincoln was free from all bitterness and
-resentment towards his erring brothers.
-
-
-BILL'S LAST FIGHT.
-
-William Slater and Eber Ponto were among the best soldiers of our company.
-Neither had ever shirked a duty and, having kept step side by side for
-three years, were the closest of comrades. In fact, I believe either would
-have walked into the jaws of death for the other.
-
-Ponto lived to see the end of the war and came home wearing a sergeant's
-chevrons, while Slater was left sleeping on a hillside at Petersburg.
-
-Ponto was a Frenchman and in after years, at a reunion of the regiment, he
-told us the circumstances of Bill's death in about the following words:
-
-"Remember dat charge at Petersburg, boys? 'Twas a beeg fight, I'll never
-forget dat night when we wer' lyin' behind dat stone wall waitin' for
-mornin' to come."
-
-"I don't lak dat waitin' round' for a fight. Ze Frenchman he lak de word
-an' de blow together.
-
-"Well, Bill and I were smokin' our laurel root pipes and I notis Bill wer'
-keepin' mighty quiet lak he doin' a heap of thinkin'--of course he never
-say much, tain't his way. Fin'ly he look up an he say, Ebe, ole' boy, dere
-goin' to be a hot time in ze mornin' an' 'twill be my las' fight."
-
-"I say 'pshaw, Billee boy, guess you bin soke up too much dat air
-Chickahominy malaria over at Cole Harbor las' week'--cause you know boys
-when you git dat in your bones it mak' everything look blue even to your
-finger nails.
-
-"Bill he say, 'no, I'm all right, but something tell me dat if you're
-alive tomorrow night you'll be smokin' alone.'
-
-"Then I say to Bill, 'You just lay low in de mornin' an' I'll tell them
-you'r sick an' get you excuse from dis scrap.' An' Bill he say, 'Ebe, you
-never knew me to 'flunk' did you? Well, I'm not goin' to do it now. Where
-you an' old Co. H go I'm goin', but promis' me, Ebe, that you'll keep
-close to me and if I'm killed I want you to take my watch an' always carry
-it,' an' I promis', an' we shake hands for I lak Bill and he lak me.
-
-"Well ze next mornin' Col. Whistler he led us up thro' dat peech orchard;
-remember dat, boys? Bill and I we touch elbows and say nuthin'. Dem minies
-go, zip! zip! pretty fas'. I get excited an' all at once I don't feel
-Bill's elbow touchin' mine. I look roun' an' I see him lyin' on his face.
-I turn him over an' there's a red spot on his forehead. I unbutton his
-shirt an' feel for his heart; it was stop, an' mine beat lak a beeg bass
-drum. I take this watch you see. I close his eyes. I press my lips to his,
-an' cover him with my blanket, an' that was the las' of poor Bill."
-
-
-THE COLONEL AND THE PENSION AGENT.
-
-A man whom we will call Jarvis Jenkins was a member of the same company
-and regiment as the writer. He served his country well, was wounded in
-battle and for nearly 25 years has been trying to establish his claim to a
-pension, but, living in the far west away from all of his old comrades, it
-has been a hard matter for him to get the testimony to satisfy the
-department.
-
-One day, some months since there walked into my place of business a
-gentleman who announced himself a special agent of the pension department,
-and, after asking my name, age, and if I was the identical person who
-served as drummer boy in such a company and regiment during the Civil war,
-the answer being in the affirmative, he then desired to know if I recalled
-one Jarvis Jenkins, and, if so, could I tell of any particular thing that
-happened to him. Yes, he received a scalp wound in one of the assaults at
-Petersburg. This did not seem to be the information wanted, for sometimes
-it would seem that the affairs of the pension office are administered
-somewhat after the manner of the "circumlocution office" described by
-Charles Dickens in the charming book of "Little Dorrit." So another tack
-was taken and the following question propounded: "Did you while at Fort
-Haggerty, Va., own a revolver?" I admitted that I had once in my life, and
-only once been the proud possessor of a deadly weapon. Could I tell what
-became of it?
-
-Answer: "Traded with 'Lige' Moyer, our company cook, for a watch, and paid
-him in boot more than the watch was worth."
-
-"Now, sir, can it be that you are mistaken and is it not possible that you
-loaned your revolver to Jarvis Jenkins to hunt rabbits with and that it
-exploded in his hand, lacerating his fingers badly?"
-
-Answer: "No, sir."
-
-"Then," said the government agent, "I must look up another drummer boy of
-the 2d New York, for it is certain that some one loaned him a revolver
-which exploded as stated."
-
-The special agent was a pleasant fellow, and as we smoked a couple of
-cigars he showed me a great mass of testimony that had been taken in the
-case and said that he had traveled more than 1,000 miles to interview
-members of the regiment. "By the way," he said, "I am going to read you
-extracts from the testimony of your old lieutenant colonel which I took
-down in shorthand."
-
-As near as I remember it ran something like this: "I believe you are Col.
-Hulser who commanded the 2d New York in the last months of its service?"
-
-Answer: "The same."
-
-"What was your previous rank, colonel?"
-
-"Major, captain and lieutenant."
-
-"Can you give me the dates of your promotions?"
-
-"No."
-
-"Were you in command of a certain fort in Virginia in 1862?"
-
-"I was."
-
-"Do you remember of a man being injured on one of the heavy guns in the
-fort?"
-
-"No."
-
-"Do you remember a soldier by the name of Jarvis Jenkins?"
-
-"No."
-
-"Now, colonel, look at this paper and tell me if that is your signature."
-
-"Well, I should say it was."
-
-"Now, colonel, will you oblige me by reading the statement you signed many
-years ago and then tell me how you reconcile that statement with the one
-you just made to me?"
-
-The colonel was something of a rough diamond but the soul of honor. He was
-sturdy, honest and blunt. A man who called a spade a spade. He disliked
-subterfuge or deceit. A fighter from way back, and I can imagine something
-of the indignation he felt when he got up out of his chair to make reply.
-
-"Say, young man, I'm no highwayman or perjurer. I was fighting my
-country's battles when you was nursing a bottle. The lapse of time, and my
-infirmities, the result of wounds and hardships, do not permit me to
-remember the names, the color of hair and eyes of several thousand men who
-were on the rolls of my regiment nearly 40 years ago, but I will have you
-to understand, sir, that I am no less a gentleman than a soldier and
-whatever I have put my name to you can bet your bottom dollar is God's
-truth, every word of it, and if you dare to stand up before me and
-intimate otherwise, damn me if I won't knock you down in a jiffy and walk
-all over you."
-
-The government special laughed as he read the interview and rolling the
-papers up put them in his grip as he remarked: "Say, I rather liked the
-old veteran after all."
-
-
-THE COMPANY COOK.
-
-One of the most important personages of a company was the cook. Even the
-officers stood in awe of him. What if he did boil his shirts and greasy
-trousers in the kettle in which he cooked our food, made soup, tea and
-coffee.
-
-As a result the flavor was somewhat mixed at times, but no one dared to
-remonstrate with the "son of a sea cook," for the one that provoked his
-displeasure was sure to suffer in some way. If they punished those whom
-they disliked they bestowed many favors upon those whom they happened to
-take a liking to. The writer always stood in well with "Uncle" Hawley, our
-first cook, who was taken prisoner at Bull Run, and "Lige" Moyer, who
-succeeded him. Hawley was an elocutionist of no mean ability. "Lige" used
-to while away his spare moments with a fiddle.
-
-
-STORY OF THE MUSTER ROLL.
-
-Spread out before me is a copy of the muster-out roll of Co. H, 2d New
-York heavy artillery, organized at Carthage, N. Y., Oct. 14, 1861,
-mustered into United States service at Staten Island, Oct. 18, 1861, and
-disbanded at Hart's Island, New York harbor, Oct. 10, 1865.
-
-When a regiment was mustered out of service each company was required to
-hand in a muster-out roll bearing the names of every man who had served in
-the organization and the particulars of his service were written opposite
-the name.
-
-The names were grouped under various headings of: "Present at Muster-out,"
-"Previously Discharged," "Transferred," "Deserted," "Killed in Action,"
-"Died of Wounds," "Died of Disease," etc., etc.
-
-Almost anybody would be interested in looking over an old muster-out roll,
-but to the man who was a part of the organization, who knew its history
-from beginning to end and can read between the lines, so to speak, the
-story told is doubly interesting and in many respects a sad one. Such a
-reader is carried back to the war and is enabled to vividly recall its
-thrilling scenes.
-
-He knows who were the best soldiers, who stood in the front rank, who led
-in the assaults. Likewise he knows who were the skulkers and cowards, for
-it was an impossibility for a soldier to hide his weaknesses from his
-comrades.
-
-In scanning the remarks opposite of the names one is brought face to face
-with the past as in no other way. For instance: "Lieut. William H. Roff,
-wounded in a charge at Cold Harbor, June 6, 1864, leg amputated, died."
-"Lieut. John Clapsaddle, disabled by wounds at Petersburg and discharged."
-Another reminder of the desperate fighting at Cold Harbor is the name of
-an old schoolmate, "Henry C. Potter," "wounded June 6," "died Aug. 2,
-1864." Under the group of "killed in action," I read "Roscoe Williamson,
-killed at Cold Harbor, June 6," and I recall a bright, rosy cheeked young
-fellow that was a great favorite.
-
-"George H. Ormiston, taken prisoner at Reams Station, Aug. 25, 1864; died
-en route north April 9, 1865." And one shudders as he thinks of the
-thousands that were literally starved to death in Andersonville and other
-southern prison pens.
-
-"Second Lieut. O. T. Bliss promoted to first lieutenant and transferred
-to Co. F," recalls one of the bravest of the brave who enlisted as a
-bugler, exchanged his trumpet for a gun at Bull Run, was captured and
-later passed through all the various grades of rank from corporal to
-brevet major.
-
-"Sergt. Franklin B. Farr, mortally wounded at Round Fort, Va., April 7,
-1865," only two days before the surrender of Lee, and one thinks how sad
-to fall in the last battle of the war with victory and home in sight.
-
-"John Satterly, wounded at Cold Harbor, June 3, 1864," and I see long John
-with his peculiar hook-shaped nose which caused one of the boys who was
-waggishly inclined to suggest that he could make big money picking
-cherries as he could hang to a limb with his nose and gather the fruit in
-with both hands. Ever after that John was called "Cherry Picker."
-
-I pause at the name of "Edwin Smith, mortally wounded at Petersburg, June
-16, 1864," and I recall what he said when being carried to the rear. "Hold
-on, boys, don't carry me off without my grub." Our regiment was lying
-behind a stone wall supporting a battery that was firing over our heads.
-Rations had been brought up to us that morning and "Ed" was eating when
-wounded, and the stretcher bearers were carrying him off without his
-haversack. He never made a murmur about his wound but did not want to
-lose his rations. He was a son of a Watertown tailor and was one of the
-youngest and smallest boys of our company that carried a musket. There
-were a number under 18 years of age in the company and they were called
-the "ponies," but they could outmarch most of the large heavy men. The
-"ponies" made up in grit and enthusiasm what they lacked in size.
-
-"Patrick Devereaux, veteran" and I hear the rollicking laugh of as gallant
-an Irish soldier as ever carried a gun, whose ready wit and cheery
-disposition made him to Co. H what Dickens' "Mark Tapley" was to "Martin
-Chuzzlewit."
-
-It was Patsy who made Major "Quicker nor that" mark time for him, and Pat
-who, when our regiment, with fixed bayonets was lying behind the stone
-wall at Spottsylvania waiting for Ewell's charge, broke the awful
-stillness of those few minutes, that seemed like hours, by remarking:
-"Boys, wouldn't a little 'commissary' taste good about now?"
-
-He was the "Mulvany" of our company and a prime favorite with everybody.
-"Halt who goes there!" was never spoken by a better soldier than Patrick
-Devereaux of the 2nd Heavy.
-
-The following letter from my old comrade is characteristic of the man:
-
-
-PAT'S LETTER.
-
-Troy, N. Y., April 6, 1904.
-
-"Me Little Boy in Blue:"
-
-I see by the papers which somebody has been sendin' me that our little
-'Sheepskin beater' of company H has trun down his drum sticks an tuk up a
-pen an' is riting' war stories. I've hearn tell that the 'pen is mightier
-than the sword' which was probably true of the 'toad-stabbers' carried by
-the drummer boys durin' the war. But say, youse lads were great wid the
-drum sticks, and would make a divil of a racket in the mornin' whin a
-fellah wanted to slape.
-
-Many's the time whin lyin' so comfortable wid me rubber poncho betwix me
-an' the sod, an' dreamin' of me darlin' an' dear ould Ireland, hev you
-disturbed me slumbers wid your batin' of the reveille, and I've bin that
-mad I cud have kicked you an' your drum into the middle of nex' week. But
-whin youse kids led us out on a p'rade to the chune of 'Rory O'More' it
-was like goin' to a Donnybrook fair so aisy was the marchin' behind the
-drum corps of the Second Heavy. If ould Pat does say it you were a foine
-lot of youngsters, and whin it came to drummin' youse cud give odds to any
-drum corps in the 1st division. Say me boy, them were great days, weren't
-they? You were but a small kid but I suppose are growin' grey wid the rest
-of the ould boys.
-
-Your riferince to me tilt wid Major Roach, who was forever yellin' out
-'Quicker nor that,' brings those days back to me mind, an' it does not
-seem 40 years ago. Roach an' some of the other officers we had on the
-go-in were a quare gang. But that Colonel Whistler from the regulars was
-all right. Wasn't he? Jermiah N. G. was a peach an' he made a good
-regiment out of us, an' the Second Heavy made a brigadier out of him by
-the way they wint for them Jonnies the 16th of June at Petersburg. Say, me
-blood runs hot whin I think of the mornin' in the peach orchard whin
-Whistler led us in that charge.
-
-Dan, me oldest son, wint to the Spanish war and it makes me laf to hear
-him tell about the hardships at Tampa and the charge of San Wan. One
-evenin' he was entertainin' some of his friends wid riminescences and one
-of the young ladies said she thought it an outrage for the government to
-send them home from the war in common every-day coaches. 'Palace cars were
-none too good for the soldier boys.' I agreed with her, but said I
-remember thet our regiment who saw four years' service were sint home in
-box cars with divil a seat or whisp of straw to lie on. I tell Dan that if
-he had followed Gen. Hancock's old battle flag with the ace of clubs on
-it, from Bull Run to Appomattox, stopping occasionally to take a hand in
-skirmishes like Antietam, Gettysburg, Cold Harbor, Spottsylvania,
-Petersburg, Reams Station, Five Forks and a few other small affairs, he
-would know more about war.
-
-The boys were all right though. The trouble in the last war, was, that
-there was not enough of it to go around.
-
-By the way I think you galloped over the Appomattox campaign a little too
-lively. It was short and none too sweet, but there was a good bit doin' in
-them ten days, and it seems to me you could have given a few more
-particulars without wearying your readers.
-
-The prisint generation who are wadin' knee deep in clover won't be hurt by
-being reminded of what the old vets suffered for them.
-
-I remember onct that our liftenant Tom Waters said that whin I got to
-talking I did not know whin to stop and I guess you'll think it's the same
-wid me letter rittin', so here's to you and yours. Keep a stiff upper lip.
-Never show the white flag.
-
-  Yours for the Union.
-  P. DEVEREAUX.
-
-
-MY CAPTAIN.
-
-"Capt. Charles L. Smith, prostrated by sunstroke near Cold Harbor." brings
-to mind the long, weary marches of that summer under broiling sun; the
-choking clouds of dust; the intense thirst; the scanty rations and
-consequent weakness which caused countless numbers to fall by the
-roadside. The name also stirs tender memories of a kind hearted
-officer, a gentleman and soldier--"My Captain," who was ever gentle with
-and considerate for the welfare of the little lad whom he took with him to
-a real war.
-
-  "Peace be to his ashes!
-    Soldier, rest! Thy warfare o'er,
-  Sleep the sleep that knows no breaking;
-    Dream of battlefields no more,
-  Days of danger, nights of waking--
-    We would not forget our dead."
-
-[Illustration: CAPT. C. L. SMITH]
-
-In closing my memories of the war I am going to give an extract from an
-old letter written by my captain, who several years since went to join
-those of his command who had been summoned by the Great Captain of All.
-
-"Nov. 8, 1883."
-
-"My Dear Boy: Your welcome letter of the 14th ult. at hand, and was most
-happy to learn over your own signature that you had not in the long years
-that have intervened forgotten me. Your old captain still lives, daily
-praying for and remembering the least under his command.
-
-"Oh, that I could see them pass in review as I did many a time in those
-stirring days. Many years have passed since and probably not one in 50
-would I recognize, still I remember them all, living or dead, who went
-with me to the great war.
-
-"God knows my affection goes out to you all and I am not ashamed to say
-that my eyes fill with tears as I write.
-
-"My great regret is that I could not return every man and boy to their
-homes. But I could not. You remember I said I had no cowards in old Co. H.
-They were a brave, intelligent lot of men who obeyed orders, endured
-hardships and faced the guns of the enemy unflinchingly.
-
-"I recall you as but a child going with me to a real war where you were to
-spend years of your young life with your little drum. But my dear boy, it
-did good service, real genuine war service.
-
-"I remember you were the first drummer boy the 2d New York had, and I am
-proud to know that my own little drummer boy marched at the head of the
-regiment in every campaign down to Appomattox and beat the last tattoo for
-the regiment at Hart's Island, New York Harbor, after nearly four years of
-service.
-
-"God bless you, how could I be other than proud of my little drummer boy?"
-
-
-FINIS.
-
-
-
-
-Transcriber's Note:
-
-Seemingly at random, these two lines were printed at the top of page 18 of
-the original text:
-
-  mules of the wagon trains, and after a couple of
-  nowhere else for him to go.
-
-
-
-
-
-
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