Bll'il;|ii(Hl;iWtii|i!i!iiilill «iill pi!i 'CIS i M *, w) ■ 9i''!itv ' '■ iiJwif'R-Si"' i (5ntneU 3ltiiograttg Sibratrg ..T..he..Kv.^..h».t. 1 me, aaie snows wlien this volume was taken. fcfflqk copy the call ^ f ^Hhe Ubrarian.. To rene* .|His book copy the call jNo. and' give to ! fibrs 1 PMiE USE RULES aS books subject to i^^caltt All borco'^rers must regis- ter in the librairy to borrow books for home use. All books must be re- turned at end of college year for inspe^iom and reiiairs. ' I/ixnited books must be returtifid within the four we^ limit and not renewed. Students must retturn all books before leaving town. Officers ^ould arrange for the, return of books wanted durj^ their absence from towni; Volumes of periodical^ and of pari^hl&ts are held in the libi^Jcy as much as possiblq. For special pur- poses th'ey ar^ given out for a Hmited tinlb. Borrowers should not use their libraxy^.privileges for the benefit of other persons. Books of ^ special value and &£t, hodks, when the giver wishes it, are not allowed to circulate. ReatSers are asked to re- port all cases* of books marked or mutila^pd. Do not deface books by marks and wrilinc. Cornell University Library E601 .M15 Life in tent & field, 1861-1865. Ill olin 3 1924 030 904 308 Cornell University Library The original of tiiis book is in tile Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924030904308 r ' Singhamton BREVET MAJOR EDWARD P. MCKINNEY LIFE IN TENT AND FIELD 1861-1865 BY E. p. McKINNEY Captain and commissaiy of subsistence under PHILLIP H. SHERIDAN BOSTON RICHARD G. BADGER THE GORHAM PRESS 1^ Copyright, 1922, by E. P. McKinnet All Rights . Reserved :,£;.■ 1 -: 'Ksi^-i-G 1 Made in the United States of America Press of J. J. Little & Ives Company New York, U. S. A. TO THE MEMORY OF MY BRAVE MOTHER who Tvith unswerving devotion, gave all she had to the service of her country and fol- lowed her absent sons day and night with her prayers, this little volume is dedicated. Graven on the writer's memory is the in- tense longing on his mother's face as, not knowing she was seen, she stood watching the train which took him back to the army after he had been at home recovering from a wound. INTRODUCTION It is hoped that the reader of this story may share to some extent the interest which the writer found in recalling events of more than half a cen- tury gone. The present generation has been so absorbed in the recent European War that our Civil War seems like ancient history. The feeble old veterans who gather on Decora- tion Day are ghosts of a bygone age. The stories which they rehearse of the mighty events in which they were a part are no longer listened to with interest by the general public. There are some, however, and their number is increasing, who are pleased to recall the privations and the patriotism of those who fought for the preservation of the Union and made it possible for this country to take a deciding part in the World War. I trust that the frequent use of the first personal pronoun may be pardoned, in view of the fact that the events here related consist mostly of personal reminiscences written almost exclusively from memory. CONTENTS lAPTER "OB I. Slavery the Moral Cause of the Civil War, Also the Underlying Cause of the European. Changes in the Art of Warfare. The Under- ground Railroad. Repeal of the Missouri Com- promise. Border Ruffians. Free-soilers. War in Kansas ' . . . ii II. Preparation for College at Phillips Exeter Acad- emy. The Abolition of Slavery. Enter Yale in 1857. Northern Chivalry. Attack in the United States Senate on Charles Sumner by Preston Brooks. Anson Burlingame. John Brown of Ossawatomie and Attack at Harper's Ferry. Wendell Phillips. Connecticut Elec- tion in 1859. Abraham Linco)n 17 III. Cavalry. The Ira Harris Guard. Sixth New York Cavalry. General Thomas C. Devin. Plain Fare of Soldiers. Daniel S. Dickinson. Story of Horatio Seymour 27 IV. Unpreparedness. Regiment Ordered to York, Pennsylvania. Major Carwardine. Captain Hannahs. Incident at Annapolis. Cavalry Equipment 31 V. The Peninsular Campaign. McClellan Made Commander in Chief. His Treatment of the Inhabitants. Unfavorable Reports in Regard to Him. Letter of the Author to His Mother 40 VI. Battle of Williamsburg. "Les Enfants Perdus." Raid to Gloucester Court House. Magruder Evacuates Yorktown. Some Amusing Events 48 VII. The Famous "Seven Days' Fight." Retreat of the Army to Malvern Hills. President Lincoln Visits McClellan — ^Tells a Characteristic Story 54 7 CHAPTER VIII. IX. X. XI. XII. XIII. XIV. XV. XVI. XVII. XVIII. XIX. XX. XXI. XXII. XXIII. XXIV. Contents PAGE Pleasant Life on the Peninsula. Confederates Rout the Fifth Pennsylvania Cavalry. WiUiam and Mary College Burned. Captain Hannahs Assassinated in Williamsburg '• The Destruction of William and Mary College— Not Done by Union Soldiers '" Author Promoted to First Lieutenant. General Burnside and Battle of Fredericksburg. Lay- ing of Pontoon Bridge. Horseback Ride with a Virginia Girl. A Malodorous Story ... 77 Fight of the Sixth New York Cavalry at Todd's Tavern. Hooker's Plans for the Destruction of Lee's Army. General Devin Orders Kee- nan's Charge Which Saved the Army from Destruction. He Says Nothing About the "Noble Smile." Stonewall Jackson Killed . 86 Invasion of Maryland. Pursuit of Lee. Colonel John S. Mosby. Gettysburg 94 Pursuit of Lee 1 101 Veteran Furlough 106 General Grant Made Commander in Chief . . 109 Sheridan's Raid to Richmond iiz Promotion. Explosion of Petersburg Mine. Sher- idan Ordered to the Shenandoah Valley . . . 119 Sheridan in the Shenandoah Valley .....* 123 Attack by.Mosley. The Author Wounded . . 126 Campaign in the Shenandoah Valley. Sheridan's Ride 137 Expedition to Join Grant Before Richmond . . 144 General Warren Relieved. Lee's Surrender . . 150 Our Last March. The Grand Review .... 156 Closing Scenes ijg ILLUSTRATIONS Brevet Major Edward P. McKinney .... Frontispiece PACING PAGE Greneral Thomas C Devin 28 Major-General Phillip H. Sheridan iiz General George A. Custer 144 LIFE IN TENT AND FIELD LIFE IN TENT AND FIELD CHAPTER I SLAVERY THE MORAL CAUSE OF THE CIVIL WAR, ALSO THE UNDERLYING CAUSE OF THE EURO- PEAN. CHANGES IN THE ART OF WARFARE. THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD. REPEAL OF THE MISSOURI COMPROMISE. BORDER RUF- FIANS. FREE-SOILERS. WAR IN KANSAS. In any endeavor to trace the underlying cause of the European or World War, we should not lose sight of the fact that our Civil War was the outcome of a constantly growing sentiment against human slavery, and that Europe imbibed from this country the same spirit, which eventually brought the whole world into conflict. In this country the issue was between the su- premacy of negro slavery and its complete aboli- tion. In Europe it was between the power of the few over the lives of the people and the abolition of the aristocracy. Today there is no one who asserts the "divine right of Kings." If there is a King left in Europe II 12 Life in Tent and Field he is disposed to apologize to the people for the title. "Yet I doubt not through the ages One increasing purpose runs, And the thoughts of men are widened With the progress of the suns." We who are now living cannot measure the ad- vance which the world has made. In fact in some ways it may seem that civilization has gone back- ward. We believe that future historians will give the present era credit for the longest step for- ward of any of the centuries. Almost all the great progressive periods in the World's history have followed an era of bloodshed. Whether universal peace can be brought about by a "League of Nations," and if it can, whether such a peace will contribute to the advance of mankind, is doubt- ful. It takes sweat and blood to break the bonds which have bound mankind for centuries. In the physical aspects of warfare since our Civil War there have been considerable changes, owing to the advance in Science and to new inven- tions. The use of airplanes in the late war en- abled the combatants to make observations of each others' movements to such an extent that the armies of both sides were compelled to con- ceal themselves underground. This, with the The Cause of The Civil War 13 great numbers of men engaged in the European War, and the universal use of telephones, which covered every acre of ground, prevented the use of cavalry, especially on the Eastern front. For this reason the late war lacked much of the romance of the Civil War. The writer of these reminiscences, at the out- break of the Civil War in 1861, entered the Army as a Lieutenant of Cavalry and served with the Cavalry Corps of the Army of the Potomac until the general muster out in 1865. Most writers on the Civil War have written as historians or as military critics. I shall not attempt anything so profound, but I hope to create some interest in the story of events in which I had a part or which came under my personal observation. I will very briefly recall some of the events which led to the Civil War. For many years prior to the election of Lincoln in i860, Negro Slavery had been the ruling ques- tion in the politics of the Nation. The South was determined that the new States which were being opened in the Southwest should be slave States. They also demanded the right to take their slaves into and out of the free States without interfer- ence, and that the laws of the Northern States should compel the return of escaped slaves to their owners. 14 Life in Tent and Field In the North the public conscience was being more and more awakened to the injustice of human slavery. Early in the fifties some of the extreme radicals of the South were threatening secession unless their demands were complied with. In the North a large body of influential citizens led by the most gifted orators were advo- cating the abolition of slavery. In Rochester, New York, Fred Douglas, a runaway slave, pub- lished a newspaper called the North Star, openly advocating the abolition of slavery. Slaves were aided into Canada through Penn- sylvania and New York, via the so-called Under- ground Railroad. This was a series of connect- ing stations extending from Mason and Dixon's line to Canada. The existence and location of these stations were kept absolutely secret except to the very few. At night when all were supposed to be asleep a peculiar knock was heard on the door of a certain house. When the door was opened by the master of the house, two men, one white and the other black, were standing outside. The white man, after a few passwords, disap- peared in the darkness. The black man was drawn into the house and the door locked. If there was no immediate pursuit the slave was fed, a horse harnessed, the slave delivered to the next station, the horse and wagon returned to the stable and the master of the house to his bed The Missouri Compromise 15 before daylight. In some cases where pursuit was hot the slave was kept concealed until danger passed. In 1854, under the leadership of Stephen A. Douglas, the "Missouri Compromise," under which for thirty years slavery had been confined to territory South of latitude 36° 30', was re- pealed, and the Kansas-Nebraska bill passed, authorizing the first settlers of new territory to determine whether it should be slave or free. The direct object of Douglas and the Southern Demo- crats in passing this bill was to make the large territory of Kansas, which was now opened to settlement, a slave State. The Antislavery party of the North were not idle. Before the final passage of the bill, emi- grants from New England were furnished with "Beecher Bibles," as Springfield muskets were called, and rushed into Kansas. A society called the "New England Emigrant Aid Company" was incorporated under the laws of Massachusetts, and the rich lands of Kansas were the coveted prize of the adventurous spirits, who, rifle in hand, poured into Kansas. This movement was fiercely resented by the Southern slave-owners. The Missourians espe- cially, as the new territory adjoined their own State, had not anticipated any difficulty in making Kansas a slave State. Alarmed by the increasing 1 6 Life in Tent and Field numbers of "Free-Soilers," as the Northern set- tlers were called, a body of five thousand Border Ruffians rushed across the border from Missouri at the time of the March election in 1855, took possession of the polls and elected a Legislature and Member of Congress. The Free-Soilers would not recognize this Legislature but pro- ceeded to elect their own Legislature and Member of Congress. For two years there was civil war in Kansas. The entire country was on fire with excitement, but neither the North nor the South was prepared for war, and the most prominent leaders on both sides put forth their best efforts to effect some kind of settlement. CHAPTER II PREPARATION FOR COLLEGE AT PHILLIPS EXETER ACADEMY. THE ABOLITION OF SLAVERY. ENTER YALE IN 1 857. NORTHERN CHIVALRY. ATTACK IN THE UNITED STATES SENATE ON CHARLES SUMNER BY PRESTON BROOKS. ANSON BURLINGAME. JOHN BROWN OF OSSA- WATOMIE AND ATTACK AT HARPER's FERRY. WENDELL PHILLIPS. CONNECTICUT ELEC- TION IN 1859. ABRAHAM LINCOLN. I was prepared for college at Phillips Exeter Academy, Exeter, New Hampshire, in 1855- 185 6- 1857, while blood was running in Kansas. During my Senior year many eloquent speakers, including such men as Wendell Phillips, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Theodore Parker, spoke in Exeter in a new town-hall on the subject of the Abolition of Slavery and the Kansas outrage?. I well remember an address by Emerson, at which a man got up from in front and walked out amid profound silence. Emerson looked at his watch and said that he found that he had been speaking more than an hour and would stop. The entire 17 1 8 Life in Tent and Field audience requested him to go on and he continued nearly an hour longer. Nearly all the students of the Phillips Exeter Academy attended this series of lectures and became deeply interested. Among my classmates was Sam Fessenden, a son of Senator Fessenden from Maine, afterward Secretary of the Treasury under Lincoln. Sam was a small, slight, fair-haired youth of about seventeen years. His sympathy got so wrought up that he ran away from schoolj went to Boston, obtained from the Free-Soil Committee a "Beecher's Bible," and went to Kansas to fight the Border RuiEans. Many of my class in Phillips Exeter, of whom a number were South- erners, were afterward engaged in the Civil War on one side or the other. I entered Yale College in 1857 in the Fresh- man class, and was graduated in 1861. There were several Southerners in my class. If there was any hostile feeling toward them. Northern "chivalary" did not permit its expression. In i860 a Secession flag appeared one morning on the turrets of Linonia Hall. This, however, dis- appeared soon aftei: dawn, and the incident was dropped. Later another Secession flag appeared on Fort Hale, a little fort, relic of colonial days, in New Haven Harbor. This, too, was removed without causing very much excitement. While the question whether Kansas should be The Attack on Senator Sumner 19 slave or free was in hot dispute, the Thirty-fourth Congress assembled. In the Senate Charles Sumner of Massachusetts was a leading member, and held much the same rank among Senators as Senator Lodge holds at the present time, only the Democrats were then in large majority. Like Lodge, he was a cultivated scholar and his repu- tation was not confined to this hemisphere. Al- though Sumner knew his personal danger, in a two-days' speech he denounced the crime against Kansas and all who supported it, in such scathing terms that the Southern members were frantic with anger. Preston Brooks of South Carolina, a member of the House of Representatives, encouraged by his Southern colleagues, took on himself the task of personally chastising Senator Sumner. He made a brutal and cowardly attack from behind on the Senator, who was seated at his desk in the^ Senate Chamber and unable to rise, and beat him over the head and shoulders with a heavy cane, felling him to the floor and inflicting injuries from which Sumner never recovered. This infamous assault was applauded by many Southern people. Women embraced Brooks with kisses in reward for his chivalry. Anson Burlingame, a member from Massachu- setts, in a speech before the House, characterized the deed as the work of a coward in such bitter 20 Life in Tent and Field terms that Brooks was stung to the quick and challenged him to a duel. Burlingame chose rifles for weapons and designated Canada as the dueling ground. Brooks backed down with the excuse that he could not go to Canada. Among the Free-Soilers who were engaged in fighting the Border Ruffians in Kansas, a promi- nent figure was John Brown, or as he became known, "John Brown of Ossawatomie." Brown raised a company of volunteers, in which were his four sons. He called them the "Free-State Regular Volunteers of Kansas," and while he re- ceived some outside aid he spent his own means in their support. John Brown was compelled to leave Ossa- watomie, where he had made his home, and where his experience of the murderous gang of Border Ruffians so embittered him against the institution of slavery that his life was not weighed in the balance. On October 17, 1859, the world was startled by news of an attack by twenty men on the United States Arsenal at Harper's Ferry. Harper's Ferry is a small town on the Virginia side of the Potomac, where the Shenandoah, breaking through the mountains from the South, joins the Potomac. It is one of the most picturesque spots in America and a fit setting for John Brown's wonderful exploit. John Brown 21 John Brown sacrificed his life and that of three sons, and though "his body lies moldering in the grave his soul goes marching on." His professed object was to start a rebeUion of the slaves, In which he failed, and he was promptly hung at Charlestown, Virginia. Brown was a very religious man, of superior mind and absolute devotion to what he consid- ered his duty. By most people he Is called a fanatic. Some, however, consider him a seer who foresaw, In his self-sacrifice and the sacrifice of his three sons, the liberation of his country from the curse of human slavery. Wendell Phillips of Boston was known through- out the country as the most finished orator of the times. In those days every city and every village had Its Lyceum, before which weekly lectures were given, attended by throngs of people. No lecture course was complete without Wendell Phillips, and his engagements were made a year or more in advance. He was one of the most ardent anti- slavery speakers and had a great Influence in arousing the people of the North to an abhor- rence of human slavery. A laughable incident occurred in 1858. Wen- dell Phillips, while delivering one of his char- acteristic lectures In the South Church on College Street in New Haven, to a large and intensely interested audience, was interrupted after one of 22 Life in Tent and Field his bitter sentences, by a loud and emphatic hiss from the gallery. Phillips stopped, and for a moment there was profound silence, until a clear voice rang out from the opposite gallery, — "Go on, Mr. Phillips, it's only a Freshman." After the applause and laughter which followed there was no more hissing. We had in college a student, originally from the South, who was indebted to the North for his education. His father was at that time a minister of one of the New Haven churches, and some of the family had married in the North. The young man had talent, was prominent in scholarship, in debate, and in athletics. At one of Wendell Phillips' lectures he arose in his seat, accused the speaker of rank heresy, and made some rather offensive remarks. Mr. Phillips listened patiently until he had finished; then with perfect courtesy replied in such a smooth and sar- castic way that our young man had to retire in confusion. When the war began, this young man returned to Richmond and became an officer in the Southern Army. After the Battle of Five Forks I met him marching along the road in com- pany with five thousand other prisoners in charge of Brayton Ives, one of my classmates in Yale, then Colonel of a Connecticut Regiment of Cavalry. The State election in Connecticut in 1859 was Lincoln Elected i860 23 considered by the different political parties of the country to have an important bearing on the coming Presidential election. Almost every po- litical orator of note from all quarters — East, West, North and South — gave addresses in New Haven. These were attended by large bodies of students. One of the speakers was Abraham Lincoln, who at that time was comparatively little known. The universal verdict of the students was that Lincoln's speech was the best political speech delivered during the campaign. The , Presidential election was held Tuesday, November 6, i860. Lincoln was elected by an immense majority. His election was the signal for the secession of several of the slave States, South Carolina in the lead. In December, the first shot, the signal for war, was fired on the United States forts in the Har- bor of Charleston, South Carolina. In the winter of 1860-1861, after the act of secession by South Carolina, companies for the purpose of military drill were formed by the Yale students. Officers and drill-masters were chosen from among their own number. No assistance nor encouragement was given by the authorities at Washington — none was to be expected. The Government under President Buchanan was too feeble even to resent the attack on Fort Sumter, and Buchanan was loyal only to the Democratic 24 Life in Tent and Field party, of which the disloyal South formed a majority. The students from the South, who graduated with me in 1861, were aided by the college au- thorities in getting to their homes through the hostile lines. It was my intention, while in college, to take a course in Civil Engineering, and I made arrange- ments with Professor Mahan at West Point for private instruction. My well laid plans, however, were changed by the course of events. On July 25, 1 86 1, E. D. Morgan, Governor of New York, at the request of President Lincoln, issued a proclamation calling for a volunteer force of twenty-five thousand men to serve for three years, or during the war. Regiments of infantry at that time consisted of ten companies of one hundred men each. Twenty-five regiments were soon under way. The country was not then prepared for con- scription and the Government was not strong enough to enforce one. In the Northern States, while there were some Copperheads, as those op- posed to the war were called, the great majority were loyal and ready to fight for the preserva- tion of the Union. The incentives to enlistment in the late war would not have filled the ranks with volunteers as in the Civil War. Every Northern State was called upon to fur- Organization of Regiments 25 nish its quota of volunteer regiments. Men of influence were authorized by the Governors to raise regiments and were appointed Colonels. These newly appointed Colonels were assisted by others of local influence in getting volunteer en- listments. When sufficient men were enlisted to form the nucleus of a Company, an election was; held and a Captain chosen by ballot. In most cases the man who had been active in getting the enlistments was chosen Captain. First and Second Lieutenants were sometimes chosen by ballot and sometimes appointed by the Governor on the recommendation of the Colonel. It would seem that regiments so organized could not prove as efficient as the regiments we sent abroad, who had the benefit of many months' training under experienced officers before sailing for France, and of a second course of drilling on French soil before going to the front. It is, however, remarkable in how short a time both officers and men became well disciplined and well organized troops. The world has never seen better or more heroic regiments than were sent into the field during the Civil War. What was most lacking was a General Staff — generals trained in tactics and capable of handling large bodies of men. In too many cases generals were appointed who had been promi- nent in politics and had no other qualifications. 26 Life in Tent and Field Lincoln is credited with saying at one time when he had kept a general waiting while he gave audience to a private soldier "that he could make plenty of Brigadier Generals but could not make a private soldier." CHAPTER III CAVALRY. THE IRA HARRIS GUARD. SIXTH NEW YORK CAVALRY. GENERAL THOMAS C. DEVIN. PLAIN FARE OF SOLDIERS. DANIEL S. DICKIN- SON. STORY OF HORATIO SEYMOUR. In August, 1 86 1, after my graduation from college, I received letters from a classmate urging me to raise a company for an Artillery Regiment then being formed in Elmira, New York. I started to enlist men, but by the time I had secured the requisite number the Regiment had been completed. I had an offer of a commission in a Cavalry Regiment then being formed on Staten Island, and consented to join it provided the men I had secured were willing. I called them together and every one agreed to stand by me. This Regiment was called the "Ira Harris Guard," so named after Ira Harris, a United States Senator, and organized at his solicitation, under orders from the War Department, to meet the need of Cavalry to oppose the mounted troops of the South. Cavalry Regiments were composed of twelve 27 28 Life in Tent and Field Companies of one hundred men each, besides Regimental and Company officers. One Regi- ment of the Ira Harris Guard was first organized, and Colonel O. DeForest of New York City was assigned to its command. Cavalry was a popular arm of the service, and DeForest continued to accept Company after Company until he had more than enough Companies for one Regiment. He doubtless expected to get enough Companies for a Brigade and to become Brigade Commander with the title of Brigadier General, but was or- dered into the field with the first twelve Com- panies, and his Regiment became the Fifth New York Cavalry. Governor Morgan ordered the completion of another Regiment by adding to the Companies left by DeForest, enough to make up the twelve Companies requisite. This Second Regiment was known throughout the war as the Sixth New York Cavalry, and Thomas C. Devin was appointed to its command. Devin had been Lieutenant Colonel of the First Regiment of New York State Militia in New York City. At the outbreak of the war he had command of a Cavalry Regiment three months in West Virginia. Throughout the war he bore a high reputation among army officers. He rose by sheer merit to be a Brigadier General and GENERAL THOMAS C. DEVIN Soldiers Had No Luxuries 29 Major General by brevet, although men with a political backing, but no established military repu- tation, were at times appointed over his head. Few volunteer officers rendered more meritorious service than General Thomas C. Devin. While on Staten Island the Companies of the Sixth New York Cavalry had daily drill in Com- pany Evolution and in saber exercise, and received clothing, tents, camp equipment and sabers. Each Company was marched three times a day to the cook house for meals, which were eaten standing at long board tables in a rough shed, open at one side. The fare was very plain but sufficient. We had no pies, cakes, jam, nor dainties of any kind. There were no contributions from patriotic citi- zens, no cigarettes, no peanuts — from Red Cross canteens — to help win the war. The Company of which I became Second Lieu- tenant, became Company "G." When it left Bing- hamton we had a farewell dinner, and the men were addressed with kindly advice by Daniel S. Dickinson. Mr. Dickinson had been a prominent United States Senator, widely known as "Scrip- ture Dick" because of the frequent quotations from the Bible in his speeches. He was a War Democrat, a staunch supporter of Lincoln's Ad- ministration, and stood high in the Councils of the Nation. In his native city his memory is 30 Life in Tent and Field held by all in loving remembrance for his kindly disposition and interest in all the affairs of the city, as well as for his recognized ability. Horatio Seymour, ex-Governor, and one of the most prominent Democrats in New York State, was opposed to the war, and openly hostile to the Administration. To escape the storm of obloquy which broke on the heads of all Copper- heads, as those were called who sympathized with the South and opposed the Administration, Sey- mour retired from Utica, his home city, and hid himself from the public. Some of his friends called for him to come out and show himself, without avail. Daniel S. Dickinson, in one of his speeches, said Seymour was like the man who was chased by his wife and hid under the bed. His wife ordered him to come out, and he answered, "No, while I have the spirit of a man I won't come out from under this bed." In 1862 I met Mr. Seymour in a little hotel in Wisconsin where he was looking after some prop- erty. He was a good talker. He spoke very kindly of Mr. Dickinson and related this story on himself. CHAPTER IV UNPREPAREDNESS. REGIMENT ORDERED TO YORK, PENNSYLVANIA. MAJOR CARWARDINE. CAP- TAIN HANNAHS. INCIDENT AT ANNAPOLIS. CAVALRY EQUIPMENT. In the latter part of December, 1861, the Sixth New York Cavalry Regiment was ordered from Camp Scott on Staten Island, to York, Pennsyl- vania. Simon Cameron, then Secretary of War, was a Pennsylvanian and favored his own State. On the morning of December 23, tents were taken down, all regimental paraphernalia packed in wagons, and the Regiment formed in line. There we stood all day in a drizzling rain. The Quartermaster, whose duty it was to provide transportation, had reported that vessels would be at the dock early in the morning to take us to Elizabethport, New Jersey, and urged the greatest| haste in getting on board. It was nearly night when the vessels reached the dock and we were embarked on two barges in tow of a tug. We were out all liight on the decks of the barges, exposed in wet clothes to a piercing wind. This 31 32 Life in Tent and Field engagement with the elements was more fatal than any battle in which the Regiment was en- gaged during the war. Thirty men are reported to have died from the exposure that night. This disaster was due to want of experience, lack of preparation, and bad management on the part of the Quartermaster's Department. From Elizabethport we were taken by rail to York, Pennsylvania, where we spent the rest of the winter in barracks. During our stay in York, Colonel Devin instructed the officers in the move- ments of Company, Battalion, and Regiment, and had daily drills in dismounted movements. In March the Regiment was moved to Perry- ville, Maryland, where some horses were pro- vided, enough to mount Companies "D," "H" and "K." These mounted Companies were sent to the Peninsula under Major Clarkson, with orders to report to General Sumner commanding the Second Corps of McClellan's army. To com- plete the Battalion, Company "F" was ordered to Washington, where it was to be mounted pre- paratory to joining Companies "I)," "H" and "K" on the Peninsula. At my urgent request I was assigned to duty with this Company. Company "F" was first under command of John Carwardine, a young Englishman who was a fine- looking soldier and who became very popular. In How Horses Were Supplied 33 the organization of the Regiment, Carwardine was made Major, and D. C. Hannahs became Captain of Company "F." Some months later Carwardine resigned and went home to England. One of the officers of the Regiment, after the war, visited him in England and found him an Earl of the realm. When he joined the Sixth New York Cavalry he was a second son, but hearing of the death of his father and older brother, he returned home to take possession of his title and estate. Captain Hannahs was a graduate of Yale Col- lege, of winning address and superior refinement of manners. We were acquainted in college and became most intimate friends. At my request I was assigned to duty with his Company. My relations to the officers of Company "G" were not congenial and the assignment to Company "F" gave me an opportunity to get at once into active service. On reaching Washington I was sent by Colonel Devin to Annapolis, Maryland, to draw horses for Company "F." Lieutenant Howell, a profes- sional horseman, was sent with me to make selec- tions. At Annapolis was a large corral or horse camp, containing several thousand horses which had been assembled by the Government from all parts of the country. As was to be expected, many 34 Life in Tent and Field farmers and others took occasion to turn over to Uncle Sam runaways, kickers, cribbers, and horses that had some vicious traits. The officer in charge at Annapolis was a Quar- termaster of the regular army, and like many Regulars had a supreme contempt for volunteer officers. He had magnificent quarters in the Naval Academy buildings. In order to gain ad- mission to his private office, one must enter an anteroom and have his name and business an- nounced in the inner office by an orderly. When I obtained access to his august presence, and humbly presented my order for horses, I was told to make my own selections. Howell was a good judge of horses and selected one hundred of the best the corral contained. As fast as the selections were made they were sent down to the grounds of the Naval, Academy and placed in an enclosure. This took all day. The next morning they had broken the enclosure and were scattered all over the beautiful grounds. I appealed to the Quartermaster for help to coUectJthe horses and to load them on the rail- road cars. He not only refused help, but damned me and all volunteer officers up hill and down, till the air was blue. In despair I wired the situa- tion to Colonel Devin in Washington. In a short time a telegram from Washington, from the War Cavalry Equipment 35 Department, reached the Quartermaster. The atmosphere suddenly changed. His Majesty made many apologies ; sent men to collect the ani- mals and load them on the cars under the super- vision of Howell and myself. From Annapolis they were forwarded to Alexandria for equip- ment. Cavalry equipment consisted of saddles, bridles, etc., for the horses, camp kettles and some other utensils for coqking, shelter tents for the soldiers, wall tents for the officers, and a large tent for hospital. Many of the cooking utensils, and everything which could be dispensed with, which added to the weight, were later abandoned. Even the sad- dles were lightened by taking off the solid leather skirts. Many of the troops reduced the weight by stripping the saddle of both the skirt and the sweat leather under the soldiers' legs, leaving only the wooden saddle tree and a strap from which hung the wooden stirrup. In this shape the saddle had only about one-fourth its original weight. Each soldier had one piece of drilling, about six feet square. This had buttonholes on each edge and buttons four inches in from the edge. By buttoning two together, and stretching them over a pole supported by two crotched sticks set in the ground, two men could sleep on the ground 36 Life in Tent and Field under the shelter afforded. Sometimes four men would each contribute his piece of canvas and all sleep under the one tent. In the early part of the war each Company had a pack mule to carry the extra equipment. Later, every Cavalry man carried, rolled up and strapped to his saddle, his square of shelter tent, blanket and overcoat. Hanging to his saddle was a frying pan, and in his saddle bags, from three to five days' rations of hard tack, coffee and sugar, sometimes a piece of pork. Around his waist was a belt, supporting saber and large army revolver, and from a ring in the saddle, in front of his right knee, hung his carbine. The carbines used in the latter part of the war were the Spencer breech loaders, carrying seven conical balls in the stock, while a further supply was carried in the saddle bags. Thus equipped. Cavalry Regiments were ready, mounted or dismounted, to meet the enemy. Most Cavalry fighting was done dismounted. Each Company, when ordered out of camp, was formed in double rank, front and rear, and each rank counted off by fours. That is, the man on the right of each line began by counting "one"; the next man "two"; the next "three"; the next "four." The fifth man would begin again with "one," and so to the end of the line. The Com- p?iny would then, at the order, wheel by fours, From H^ ashington to the Peninsula 37 forming a column four men abreast. At the order to dismount, Number One would take the bridles of Numbers Two, Three and Four. Numbers Two, Three and Four would advance on foot in open formation, carrying their carbines, and leav- ing their sabers on their horses. The line thus formed made a formidable force, and often were a match for more than their number of infantry. When compelled to fall back, they could reach their horses and make a quick getaway. After obtaining equipment in Washington, Company "G," men and horses, were loaded on two schooners, and in tow of a steam tug started down the Potomac River to join the Army of the Potomac under McClellan, on the Peninsula formed by the York and James Rivers. The Captain of this tug had been employed in Washington on a large steamer, for which he said the Government paid one thousand dollars a day. It was occupied solely by General Mc- Clellan and staff as headquarters. We were more than surprised at the unfavorable opinion he had formed of McClellan. He said that McClellan was without nerve and lacked decision. One example he gave, out of many, was not easi]y forgotten. He said that at one time McClellan had ordered a general review, of the Army for the next day, and in the morning 38 Life in Tent and Field felt indisposed and had a headache, and his wife persuaded him to issue orders postponing the review. Near the head of the Chesapeake Bay our little fleet encountered a violent stomi and we were compelled to lie at anchor more than a day. Cap- tain Hannahs and I, with some men, went ashore in a boat and started toward a house some half mile away. Here I got my first sight of a colored slave. An old negro was setting fence posts — at least he had been, but was sitting beside a small bon- fire. We asked him what wages he got. He said he "done got no wages." The work he had done was not a fourth of what a white man in the North would have done in the same time. We told him he was working too hard, and he said "I guess I is, Massa." He remained, as long as we saw him, seated by the fire. We encountered a flock of sheep, and the sol- diers with us killed one or two, which we took aboard, where they were served, as we were short of meat, for dinner. Next morning an orderly came aboard with a letter to the commanding oflicer, requesting that the party who had been ashore report to the Provost Marshal of the dis- trict. Captain Hannahs and I went ashore and proceeded to a large and elegant farmhouse, where the Provost had his headquarters. We A Lieutenant in Clover 39 found a young man wearing First Lieutenant's shoulder straps, in a large, well furnished room, in which, beside himself were a fine looking woman, and two very pretty young women of eighteen or twenty years. The elder woman was chief inquisitor, but Captain Hannahs' gentle- manly appearance and suavity of manner made a decided impression. He explained that his men were stormbound and without rations and that Uncle Sam would pay for the mutton. We had some light refreshment and were permitted to depart in peace. I think we left some kind of receipt, and it is probable the sheep were after- ward paid for with abundant interest. CHAPTER V THE PENINSULAR CAMPAIGN. MCCLELLAN MADE COMMANDER IN CHIEF. HIS TREATMENT OF THE INHABITANTS. UNFAVORABLE REPORTS IN REGARD TO HIM. LETTER OF THE AUTHOR TO HIS MOTHER. After the Battle of Bull Run, Sunday, July 21, General George B. McClellan, who had gained reputation in the Middle West, was appointed Commander of the Army of the Potomac, by President Lincoln, and November i, Commander in Chief of all the forces of the North. McClellan was of attractive appearance, had been educated at West Point, had served under General Scott in Mexico, and had been engaged in various engineering enterprises. During the War of the Crimea he had gone abroad as one of three commissioners to observe military opera- tions in Europe. In 1857 he resigned his com- mission in the Army to accept the position of Chief Engineer of the Illinois Central Railroad, 40 General McClellan 41 and later became President of the Ohio & Missis- sippi Railroad. At the outbreak of the war he was appointed Governor of Ohio, Major General of the forces of that State, and almost imme- diately afterward was given by the United States Government command of the Department of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Pennsylvania and Vir- ginia, and the troops under his command were successful in some small engagements. His appointment to the command of the Army was hailed with enthusiasm by the people of the North, and he was universally acclaimed a second Napoleon. That he was entitled to great credit for the organization and equipment of our armies is universally conceded. His conduct of the Penin- sular Campaign has been severely criticized, and he was accused of being lukewarm in his loyalty. I heard while on the Peninsula, among officers of various ranks, a great deal of criticism. He was accused by Army officers of unnecessary delays, of having his headquarters always at a safe dis- tance from the battlefields, and of taking pains to protect the inhabitants to the detriment of his troops. At many plantations where the family and servants were at home undisturbed, the wells and springs were guarded by sentinels from our Regiments, while our soldiers had to get drinking water from streams and pools. The transfer of the Army to the Virgi;iia 42 Life in Tent and Field Peninsula was due to McClellan, and was doubt- less a wise strategical move, although it ended in disaster and the removal of McClellan. On April 2, 1862, he moved his headquarters from Washington, to join his army on the Penin- sula. April 4 the Army was put in motion toward Yorktown, but was halted at the strong line of fortifications which Magruder had constructed across the Peninsula from the York River to the James, and which were unknown to McClellan. The next day after the sheep episode. Company "F" arrived on the Peninsula and disembarked between Fortress Monroe and Yorktown. There were no docks and the troops were landed in boats. The horses were hoisted by a canvas under the belly, swung out over the side, and by an ingen- ious contrivance of the sailors, dropped into the water, and permitted to swim ashore. It was toward the middle of April when we landed on the Peninsula, and we remained in camp where we landed until May 5, when the enemy evacuated Yorktown. This short interval was improved by daily instruction of the troops in mounted drill and the care and use of their horses. A Battalion of Cavalry consisted of four Companies, one-third of a Regiment. Company "F" was the Fourth Company of the Sixth New York to arrive on the Peninsula, and completed the Battalion. Fort of Yorktown 43 My college room-mate, John Marshall, was on the staff of General Barry, Chief of Artillery of McClellan's Army, and I had an opportunity with him of inspecting the siege works. Over one hun- dred siege guns had been placed in batteries. Commanding the Fort of Yorktown, parallel trenches had been dug in zigzag lines toward the Fort, and through these trenches we got within easy rifle-shot of the Fort, and were fired on by the men in the parapets if we raised our heads above the trenches. The Fort was reached by the fire of our gunboats and of batteries placed on the banks of the river. Since the above was written I have been handed a letter written by me May 8, 1862, and will give it entire, verbatim. Camp near Yorktown, May 8, 1862. Dear Mother : I have written to you several times since I received a letter from home. You must have writ- ten without my getting your letter, for it is im- possible that you could neglect me so long. Since Company "F" landed here I have been busy enough, drilling horses and helping to set the men up in horseback exercises with Captain Hannahs' Company. Although we have been hard at work I have enjoyed myself very much. When we arrived at Ship Point, on the last day, of April, I found a more lively scene than I had 44 Life in Tent and Field ever before witnessed. Hundreds of vessels of all sizes and descriptions filled the harbor, many of which I had before seen in New York, New Ha- ven and on the Sound. Steam tugs were plying back and forth, towing vessels filled with troops, horses, cannon and ammunition of all descriptions. We came on shore in a small boat, carefully avoiding the countless moving vessels, and found the whole coast lined with troops, tents, camps, piles of cannon, cannon balls and shell, and the same activity as on the water. Almost the first person I met was Joe Twitchell, a classmate of Captain Hannahs', and now Chaplain of the Seventy-first New York. A few minutes later someone hit me a rap on the back which almost knocked me down, and turning round, full of in- dignation, I was almost hugged to death by John Tyler, a classmate of mine and now on General Smith's staff. While we were all talking Bob Fitzhugh walks up and surprises us all. Bob's battery was en- camped just opposite and not a stone's throw from my Battalion. After spending as much time with them as we could spare we came over to camp, found our other Companies busy as could be practising all sorts of mounted maneuvers. We have been at the same kind of work ever since. Last Friday Bob Fitzhugh walked into my tent, and who should follow him but Johnny Marshall. He, you know, is on General Barry's staff, and was here on some business. Barry's headquarters are near McClellan's and as Johnny was in a hurry Through the ParaUeh 45 we, that is Captain Hannahs and I, engaged to visit him the next morning. So on Saturday, Joe Twitchell came over, and all three of us started on horseback, and after riding a mile and three-quarters, following the telegraph wire through a perfect labyrinth of camps, reached a very pleasant grassy spot on a little hill surrounded by deep ravines, on which General McClellan and many other Generals with their staffs had pitched their camps. After we had stopped a few minutes, taken a look at all the distinguished officers, etc., etc., Johnny Mar- shall ordered out his horse and piloted us through the batteries and parallels. We could hear the constant booming of guns and see shells bursting in the air on all sides. It was perfectly amazing to see the amount of work that had been performed by the soldiers. Miles upon miles of good roads have been made through swamps and over hills; and over them have been transported guns, ammunition, forage, provisions, and other things in untold amounts. One battery which we visited contained ten mortars, each weighing over seventeen thousand pounds and capable of throwing missiles of nearly three hundred pounds' weight. Leaving our horses in a ravine we advanced on foot along a trench filled with soldiers, until we came to the James River, within a quarter of a mile of the enemy's batteries, and the nearest point of our lines. Here we left the trench, and mounting a high point of the river bank, took out a glass and began 46 Life in Tent arid Field leisurely to survey the enemy's works. We could see the houses of Yorktown, the different lines of fortifications, and the men stirring around in them, very distinctly. We also had a fine view of Gloucester Point opposite Yorktown, and of the rebel flags flying in both places. Before we had been here long I saw through the glass some men busy with the guns in a shore battery, which was just below us, and presently the smoke rolled out in a quick puff. We cried "Down," and as we dropped to the ground a cannon ball went whizzing over us. This was quickly followed by a shell which also went over us and burst beyond us. We concluded that we had now seen about enough from that point, so we started down the entrenchments and visited Battery No. i. This Battery contained immense Parrott guns and gave the enemy great trouble. They were constantly firing at it, but the day we were there only one man had been hurt, and he slighdy. We returned to camp about noon. On that day there was constant and heavy firing which was continued on the next. Monday our troops marched into Yorktown and four thousand Cavalry and several Batteries followed the re- treating enemy. Yesterday and today there has been constant fighting and many have been killed on each side. We are now doing patrol duty, but expect soon to be at West Point, and perhaps in a week we shall be in Richmond. We caught a rebel deserter tonight who said that the rebels were driven out of Williamsburg. A Letter Home 47 He said that they deserted Yorktown because they had positive information that McClellan had one hundred and fifty thousand troops. He also told of the number and size of his batteries and guns and of his plans for cutting off their retreat. The rebel army is constantly growing smaller and smaller by desertions, and in a fortnight I think Virginia will be cleaned out. Write immediately for I am very anxious to hear. I am in exceedingly good health and spirits, only for my anxiety about you. Direct to Lieu- tenant E. P. McKinney, Sixth N. Y. V. Cavalry, Second Army Corps under General Sumner, Army of the Potomac. I have been writing on a small box improvised for the occasion, while all the rest are sound asleep, so please remember that I have written while I was tired and my mind weary as well as my body. Much love to all, from Your affectionate Son, E. P. McKinney. CHAPTER VI BATTLE OF WILLIAMSBURG. PERDUS." RAID TO GLOUCESTER COURT HOUSE. MAGRUDER EVACUATES YORKTOWN. SOME AMUSING EVENTS. When McClellan's Army went to the Penin- sula, General Magruder was sent by Lee to delay his advance toward Richmond. He had a small force compared with McClellan's, and doubtless if he had been pushed would have got out of Yorktown a month earlier. On the fifth of May, Magruder retired toward Williamsburg, where he had thrown up some earthworks and constructed a fort. Here oc- curred the first real fight of the war. The loss on both sides was severe. In the road leading through Yorktown and toward Williamsburg the enemy had planted bombs with a percussion fuse so exposed as to cause an explosion fatal to the man or horse who stepped on it. I saw a group of soldiers examining what appeared to be a fuse of a shell in the road. One man said he would gamble five dollars that it was no percussion 48 "Les Enfants Perdus" 49 shell. He picked it up and it proved to be a lock with the brass keyhole exposed. The pursuit of Magruder as far as the Chicka- hominy took nearly a month, whereas it should have been accomplished in a few days. Another month was spent in front of Richmond in the Chickahomihy swamps, the men dying like flies. In the meantime Companies "F" and "H" of the Sixth New York, under Captain William P. Hall, were left at Yorktown and remained until the middle of July. While there we were en- camped near a Regiment of Frenchmen named "Les Enfants Perdus." The oiEcers of this Regi- ment were very friendly and visited us a good deal. They liked to borrow a horse and explore the country. We had a large, powerful horse that was a confirmed runaway. We lent him to a French officer and told him if he were not careful the horse would run away with him. He was posi- tive, however, that he could control him. He had not got very far when the horse came tearing back through the center of the French camp, knocking down a whole, street of tents and scattering the "lost children" in all directions. The air was vibrant with French oaths. Early in June our two Companies, "F" and "H," with a battery of artillery, all under Cap- tain Hall, crossed the York River on a large steam ferry to the North side, and made a raid to 50 Life in Tent and Field Gloucester Court House. The country at that time was very beautiful. Gloucester County had experienced none of the ravages of war. The inhabitants had heard of our approach and no whites were to be seen. Negroes, however, lined the road, gazing with curiosity at the Yankee troops. In front of one Virginia mansion, about fifty negroes were seated on the fence. They were of all shades, from deep black to almost pure white. We were nearly as much interested in them as they in us. We encountered no enemy force but chased sev- eral mounted pickets. One of our men who was left at the corner of a crossroad was killed and found dead by us on our return. We got to the Court House about dark. Here was a large store owned by a man named Talafiero, a relative of the rebel General Talafiero. The postoffice was kept in the store. During the night the soldiers entered the store and took all the mail and doubt- less helped themselves to anything they wanted. In the morning Talafiero came down and in- quired who was in command. I introduced him to Captain Hall, who received him with the ut- most politeness. Captain Hall: "I am very pleased to meet you, Mr. Talafiero." Talafiero: "Your men have broken open my store and taken all my goods." Private Property Respected 51 Captain Hall: "Oh, no, my men wouldn't do such a thing." Talafiero : "But they have. Are not these your men ? Look' around and see what they have." Captain Hall: "Why, what have you lost out of your store ?" Talafiero: "One thing, I had forty ounces of quinine and it's all gone. It cost me twenty-five dollars an ounce in gold." Captain Hall: "Why, my dear Mr. Tala- fiero, you paid too much for it. ( Turning to Dr. Clark.) Dr. Clark, what is quinine worth?" Dr. Clark: "It is quoted at five dollars an ounce in Philadelphia." Captain Hall: "There, I told you you paid too much for it." From the reports Talafiero had received of the General orders McClellan had issued in regard to molesting private property, he evidently expected pay for his property. He, however, got scant satisfaction from Captain Hall. Talafiero had a stable of fine horses which I visited. One mare I was told cost him' over a thousand dollars. After McClellan was relieved from command horses were considered contra- band of war. It has always remained a source 52 Life in Tent and Field of regret to me that I did not confiscate that mare. She was certainly a beauty. On our return to Yorktown it was discovered that a number of the soldiers had new mounts. They had quietly ex- changed their horses for better ones. For a week or more while at Yorktown I was engaged scouring the Peninsula with a small body of Cavalry, gathering arms and ammunition that had been left by both armies and picking up an occasional Johnny who was trying to steal a visit home or was scouting about our camp. From a barn at Lee's Mills I removed a large quantity of wheat in which were buried percussion bombs to explode if the cap were struck by a shovel. It was a favorite pastime of the Johnnies bury- ing these shells in hopes of killing some Yankee. One day on a lonely road some miles out of Yorktown toward Richmond, I ran across a car- riage drawn by two horses, containing a lady and a boy about twelve years old. The lady replied' rather unwillingly to my questions. The boy was full of bravado and ruffled up his feathers like a young turkey cock. I assured the lady that we were not making war on women and children, but that if she could not control the youngster a very powerful corporal who was with us would take him across his knee and give him a Yankee lesson in deportment. On one occasion I camped over night on what Some Amusements 53 had been a large plantation on the James River. On this plantation, and belonging to it, besides numbers of negro cabins, were a gristmill, saw- mill, blacksmith shop, and a general repair shop. The main house was not large and had evidently been an overseer's house. More than a hundred darkies had congregated there. In the evening they held a camp-meeting at which a Methodist Corporal of Company "F" presided, and which I attended as a spectator. Those darkles got into such a frenzied religious excitement as I have never seen elsewhere. They were brought back to their normal condition at the sound of taps with a suddenness which was really wonderful. The next morning we chased a party of rebels in a boat across the James and captured one who proved to be a spy of some notoriety. He was sent to Washington and held in confinement. Our camp was outside the fort at Yorktown. One day there was such a rattling of shots inside we thought the fort was attacked by a large body. It proved to be a frolic of the Regiment. Magruder, when he evacuated, left in magazines a considerable quantity of ammunition. The sol- diers brought it out, piled it in heaps, built bonfires around the heaps, and were having a regular "Fourth of July" jubilee. CHAPTER VII THE FAMOUS "SEVEN DAYS' FIGHT." RETREAT OF THE ARMY TO MALVERN HILLS. PRESIDENT LINCOLN VISITS MCCLELLAN — TELLS A CHAR- ACTERISTIC STORY. About the middle of May our squadron, Com- panies "F" and "H," was ordered up the Penin- sula to the Chickahominy to picket the railroad which carried supplies for McClellan's Army from White House to Savage Station. It was the old story of locking the stable after the horse was stolen. Stewart, commanding Lee's Cavalry, had made a raid around the Union Army, had destroyed a quantity of stores, and cut the rail- road by which the army was supplied. While on this picket duty the officers had a hard time to get enough to eat. The enlisted men had their rations issued to them, but the officers could not draw rations. They had to buy their supplies and there was no commissary in reach from whom we could buy. We bought some from the inhabitants. When they wouldn't sell we "borrowed." I have a vivid recollection of 54 The Seven Days' Fight 55 sitting up one night till past midnight trying to cook a tough old guinea hen which I had shot - with my revolver under the eyes of a farmer. In the latter part of May, more than two months after McClellan arrived on the Peninsula, his army was fading away in the Chickahominy swamps in front of Richmond. Many officers have claimed that McClellan could have taken Richmond any time during these two months. When Lee got good and ready he came out of Richmond and attacked our army at Beaver Dam. Our Companies were relieved from picketing the railroad and ordered to report to General Sum- ner on the fighting line. The famous "Seven Days' Fight" was on. We halted in a small piece of woods and were having coffee and hardtack when the enemy began shelling the woods, and a piece of shrapnel struck the tin plate from which I was eating. On leav- ing these woods I saw a wounded man, while being borne off on a stretcher, carried away from be- tween two stretcher bearers by a shell. The stretcher bearers were apparently unhurt. Sumner was falling back and our Squadron was ordered to support a battery on the right of his line. I was mounted on a thoroughbred Kentucky mare, which I purchased in York, Pennsylvania. As the enemy came forward to attack, and our guns opened fire, I expected the mare would take 56 Life in Tent and Field fright but she showed no more excitement than if she had been brought up with batteries. Later the same day on the right of Sumner's line we repelled a small flanking force of the enemy. Men and horses suffered from the intense heat and from lack of water. The only water to be had was from mudholes from which men and horses drank together. Sumner's Corps continued to fall back toward Savage Station with our Squadron in the rear. Savage Station is on the Richmond and York River Railroad, which was the main artery of supply for our Army in front of Richmond. As we crossed the railroad several locomotives were blown up and a pile of hardtack as large as a meeting-house, and other stores, were on fire. Here was also a large camp of hospital tents con- taining twenty-five hundred sick and wounded, all of whom fell into the hands of the Confederates. These tents were left standing under care of the surgeons. One of the surgeons was from the Sixth New York, and he afterward told me that he was well treated, and after the tents and sick were removed to Richmond, he was permitted to return to our lines. The battle of Savage Station, fought by Sumner the afternoon of the twenty-eighth, considering the number of men engaged, was one of the bloodiest of the whole war. About four thousand We Crossed the Chickahominy 57 of the enemy and three thousand of our troops were killed or wounded. The fight continued until after dark. During the night Sumner's Corps followed the rest of the Army to Meadow Bridges. Our squad- ron, Companies "F" and "H," acted as rear guard and were engaged all night in hurrying forward the exhausted soldiers who had fallen asleep by the roadside. I saw one man carrying a heavy load of canteens of water, and when I inquired to what command he belonged, and told him his Regiment was quite a distance in advance and to empty his canteens, he said the Captain had sent him for water and the men were perishing from thirst, and he would carry them till he dropped. When we crossed the Chickahominy bridge the enemy were shelling our troops. We reported to General Sumner, who sent me to General Rich- ardson, one of his Division Commanders, with orders for him to destroy the bridge as quickly as possible. I found a man in his shirt sleeves super- intending some soldiers who were tearing up the bridge under fire. I inquired of him for General Richardson, and he replied, "I am General Richardson." I gave him General Sumner's orders, and he said, "Tell Sumner the bridge is destroyed." Sumner held his position all day against heavy^ odds. The enemy's shells came from three direc- 58 Life in Tent and Field tions but at no point did our troops give way. During this fight our squadron was most of the day in action. The night following we retreated to Malvern Hills. I nodded on my horse, and at every nod had a distinctive dream. A line was formed with the left resting on the James River. Stretching away from the river was a continual park of artillery covering the open ground on the slope of a gentle hill. It looked to me to be the best defensive position I had seen. When the enemy's troops were first seen coming across the open space one hundred guns opened fire and compelled them to get back, and although they repeatedly renewed the attack were driven back again and again. Not at any point did they succeed in breaking our lines. For two days and two nights I had been with- out food, except a little hardtack given me by one of our men out of his haversack. I went aboard a schooner and asked for something to eat. The Captain of the vessel gave me a seat at his dinner table but I had been so long without food I was unable to eat. Some of our gunboats were in the river throw- ing shells at the enemy. McClellan, I understood, was on one of the gunboats. The Malvern Hills fight was the expiring effort of the enemy. They had lifted the siege of Richmond, but at a tre- mendous cost. That night we fell back to Harri- Lincoln Visits McClellan 59 son Landing. I lay down with my bridle reiri attached to my foot, in a field of standing wheat. When I awoke after daylight a man was trying to steal my horse. As may be imagined, he did not get away without vigorous remonstrance being applied to his rear. Every spear of wheat was trampled down — everything was confusion. Thousands of men were roaming about inquiring for their brigades and regiments. About ten o'clock there was a single gun throwing an occa- sional shell among our men. By order of General Richardson, Company "F" went out and brought the gun in. President Lincoln visited McClellan at Harri- son Landing and, at a dinner in McClellan's tent, told one of his characteristic stories, somewhat broad, of a fight between two men in Illinois, illustrating in a very pat way the severe fight in which both sides were chewed up and exhausted. This story was given me the next day by Johnny Marshall, who was at the dinner. From Harrison Landing the Army was re- moved by transports to Alexandria. One Squad- ron of the Sixth New York Cavalry, consisting of Companies "D" and "K," accompanied them and joined the eight Companies whom we had left at Camp Scott. The other Squadron, Companies "F" and "H," had been, after Malvern Hill, sent to Yorktown to report to General E. D. Keyes. 6o Life in Tent and Field Keyes, like General Scott, was an officer of the regular army, too old for service in the field, and for this reason was given the post at Yorktown. Keyes detached Captain Hannahs from his Com- pany to serve on his staff. Lieutenant Crozier and I were left in joint command of Company "F." CHAPTER VIII PLEASANT LIFE ON THE PENINSULA. CONFED- ERATES ROUT THE FIFTH PENNSYLVANIA CAVALRY. WILLIAM AND MARY COLLEGE BURNED. CAPTAIN HANNAHS ASSASSINATED IN WILLIAMSBURG. I remained at Yorktown and vicinity until April, 1863. I have, but for the death of my friend, Captain Hannahs, only very pleasant recollection of my life on the Peninsula. I picked up on the battlefield at Williamsburg, a shotgun, and obtained from Baltimore a supply of bird shot. I took with me one day my colored servant and crossed the Peninsula to the Warwick River, where a negro lived who was accustomed to act as guide to sportsmen from Richmond in peace times, and who was an expert in gunning for wild turkey, quail, and that most delicious of birds, sora. The sora feed on wild rice, and when this is in seed and an extra high tide occurs in the Warwick River, it drives the birds to the tops of the rice which are out of water, and a boat pushed through the rice causes them to rise in 61 62 Life in Tent and Field clouds. I was fortunate in having selected the right day and returned to camp at Yorktown with nearly a bushel of game, including sora, quail, gray squirrels and wild ducks. Oysters and fish were to be had in abundance. Fresh eggs and chickens could be bought from negroes living within a radius of a few miles, so that with plenty of food, a delightful climate, and the most salubrious of domiciles, wall tents, our life on the Peninsula in the vicinity of Yorktown was not the hardship which is generally supposed to be a soldier's lot. Our duties were light, con- sisting mostly of picketing the Peninsula from the York to the James River. This duty had been performed by the Fifth Pennsylvania Cavalry, who were stationed about a mile east of Wil- liamsburg near Fort Magruder to protect York- town from surprise. Williamsburg is a small village twelve miles west of Yorktown, known to the world as the seat of William and Mary College, the oldest col- lege in America, next to Harvard. It was char- tered in 1693 and numbers among its graduates such men as Peyton Randolph, Edmund Ran- dolph, John Marshall, Thomas Jefferson, James Monroe, John Randolph, John Tyler and Win- field Scott. The road from Richmond to Fortress Monroe, the principal thoroughfare of the Penin- sula, runs through Williamsburg and Yorktown. Captain Hannahs Assassinated 63 At dawn on the morning of September 9, 1862, an attack was made on the Fifth Pennsylvania Cavalry, and that Regiment scattered in confusion over the Peninsula as far as Yorktown. Captain Hannahs was ordered by General Keyes to take the Squadron of the Sixth New York, collect the scattered men of the Fifth Pennsylvania, lead them back to their old position, and reform their picket line. Later in the day I was sent by Gen- eral Keyes to follow Captain Hannahs, to ascer- tain the state of affairs, and to return and report to him. I arrived in Williamsburg in the after- noon. As I passed the coUege I saw the smoking ruins — only some parts of the walls were left. I found Captain Hannahs mortally wounded, lying on a bed in a small house, unable to speak. He had been shot from above, the ball entering his neck and passing down through the lung on the other side. A con.stant hemorrhage prevented his uttering the words which spoke in his eyes. Captain Hannahs was the dearest friend I ever had outside my immediate family. We were tent mates and constant companions, sharing what- ever good things came to either. He had a fine literary taste and we spent our evenings some- times till late reading to each other. Our souls were knit together like those of Saul and Jonathan. The lady of the house in which he died was very kind. She said she had a son in the Con- 64 Life in Tent and Field federate Army and hoped if any evil befell him someone would be kind to him. I stayed with Captain Hannahs as long as I dared, into the evening, and then rode back to Yorktown, twelve miles, over a Virginia road. A little east of Fort Magruder I saw a dark object beside the road, and dismounted to find a man stiff and cold. I thought then that he was one of our pickets ambushed on his post, and I did not wait long. On reaching Yorktown I made my report to General Keyes and obtained permission to return to Williamsburg and remain until I could bring Captain Hannahs' body away. I got back after midnight (twelve miles each way) and found Hannahs living but unconscious. He died in my arms about an hour after my return. The following day was Sunday. There was not a coffin in the town, and I waited a day to have one made. The delay gave me opportunity to learn about the murder of Captain Hannahs, the attack on the morning of the ninth on the Sixth Pennsylvania Cavalry, and the destruction of the college building. Captain Hannahs, after establishing a new picket line, stopped at a Httle restaurant kept by a colored man, and left his horse in charge of a negro boy. Some man took the horse from the boy and mounted, and when Captain Hannahs rushed out and seized the reins, shot him with a Assassin Unknown 65 revolver. One or two of the inhabitants of Wil- liamsburg saw the shooting and claimed it was done by a man in Federal uniform. A man of the Fifth Pennsylvania Cavalry was arrested and held for some time, and finally discharged for want of identification and lack of evidence. The murderer may or may not have been a Federal soldier. General Keyes sent an ambulance from York- town for Captain Hannahs, and sent his body, his orderly and horse, under my charge, to his home in Brooklyn, where he was buried with military honors. CHAPTER IX THE DESTRUCTION OF WILLIAM AND MARY COL- LEGE — NOT DONE BY UNION SOLDIERS. William and Mary College was closed at the beginning of the Civil War and not reopened until after the war was over. Since then its students have been taught to believe that the fire which de- stroyed the main college building, September 9, 1862, was willfully set by Northern soldiers and due to Northern vandalism. This has had a potent influence in keeping alive a feeling of ani- mosity toward the North in Virginia, through the influence of its graduates of nearly half a cen- tury. An account of the affair is given at some length in the History of William and Mary Col- lege, published by J. W. Randolph & English, 13 18 Main Street, Richmond, 1874, including the general catalogue from its foundation in i860 to 1874. In various issues of the College Quarterly,, and in communications to the public press, it Is assumed that the fire was the willful act of North- ern soldiers, as though there were no question of the fact. I think it can be shown that the fire was 66 Some Curious Affidavits 67 the result of carelessness or accident on the part of Confederate soldiers, and believe that the col- lege authorities, as a matter of right, should cor- rect the wrong impression, created in an endeavor to get money from the nation to replace the col- lege building. In 1876 a bill was introduced in the Congress of the United States, praying for "indemnity" for the destruction of the main building of William and Mary College by Federal troops in 1862. Congress could not make an appropriation in aid of a private institution, and so the nation was asked to "indemnify" the college. In support of the bill for indemnity two affidavits were fur- nished. That they were regarded by the Con- gressional Committee to which the bill was re- ferred, as very frail evidence, would appear from the fact that the bill was introduced in 1876 and not passed until 1894. The affidavits which fol- low were taken many years after the close of the war. Extract from the "History of the College of William and Mary (including the General Cata- logue), from its Foundation, i860 to 1874." Deposition of Mrs. Maria T. Peyton and Miss Mary T. Southall, both of Williamsburg, in rela- tion to the destruction of the College in Septem- ber, 1862, taken before R. M. Garrett, magis- trate of the town : 68 Life in Tent and Field Miss Southall deposes: "That she resided at the time on the College grounds at the President's house, and that she was alarmed on the evening of the 8th of September by the cry of fire. She went out and found that the College building was on fire, that soon a crowd gathered and extin- guished the flames; and that while carrying a bucket of water she met three United States sol- diers ; one of them told her if the College was not burned that day it would be the next, or words to that effect; that early the next day a detach- ment of the Southern Cavalry entered and after a short contest retired, the last one leaving by ten minutes after ten o'clock A. M. ; that shortly afterward the college yard was crowded with United States soldiers, many of them drunk and boisterous; that she and her sisters were advised, so unruly were they, to leave the premises, which they did ; that about five o'clock P. M. she was told of the College being on fire and advised to return as the house in which she lived was in great dan- ger. This she did, and soon after the college was a smoking ruin; and that there is no doubt of the destruction having been designedly effected by drunken United States soldiers." Mrs. Maria T. Peyton deposes essentially to the same facts respectmg the fire on the ninth of September, resulting in the burning down of the building; and further deposes that she went to Lieutenant Colonel Smith, who, by the capture of Colonel Campbell, became the Commandant of the Post and the Regiment which was its garrison, the Fifth Pennsylvania Cavalry, and told him there was a rumor the town was to be fired. Hq Did Yankees Destroy the College? 69 replied, "No such orders had been or would be given." A short time after, the affiant saw the college on fire, and immediately said to Colonel Smith, "See, sir, the destruction has begun." He replied that it had but that it would be now im- possible to save the building for want of buckets. He said farther he had a set of drunken soldiers, and that it would take two sober men to control one drunken one. The affiant turned again to Colonel Smith and said, "Do, sir, try and save William and Mary College, for it will be a stigma on the page of history if you suffer it to be lost." He replied, "I have no means of putting out the fire; it cannot now be saved." The affiant dis- tinctly understood from Colonel Smith that no order had been given to burn the College, but that it was done by drunken soldiers whom he could not control." These ladies would have been very remarkable if they could have given even after a few hours, an accurate account of what happened in a time of such intense excitement. The affidavits were drawn with the express purpose of getting an indemnity froni Congress, and that Miss Southall was aware of this is evident from her last sen- tence, "There is no doubt of the destruction hav- ing been designedly effected by drunken United States soldiers." This is not evidence. Let us see if it is a fair conclusion from what she swears to. She swears that on the evening of the eighth 70 Life in Tent and Field (the day before the destruction) the college build- ing was on fire — [this is not corroborated by any- one else] that she met three United States sol- diers; one of them told her if the College was not burned that day it would be the next. As a Con- federate force came into Williamsburg that night and occupied the College, it is not reasonable to suppose that United States troops would be on the College grounds, nor does the remark attributed to the soldiers sound at all probable. She swears that early the next day a detach- ment of Southern Cavalry entered, and after a short contest retired, the last of them leaving by ten minutes after ten o'clock A. M. It is possible Miss Southall did not know that the Southern Cavalry entered the town the evening of the, eighth and occupied the college grounds. I was told in Williamsburg of their entry that night, and it appeared to be generally known. The "History of the College of William and Mary" (page 60) says that after the beginning of the war in 1861 the college was seized by the (South- ern) military and used as a barrack. What more probable than that they should go into their old barrack on the college ground, where they could lie concealed and make ready for their early attack. The camp of the Fifth Pennsylvania Cavalry was a mile to the east of Williamsburg toward What Miss Southall Saw in the College Yard 71 Yorktown. The Southern Cavalry attacked be- fore it was fairly light, and took many prisoners and scattered the rest of the Regiment several miles farther east. The inference would be from Miss Southall's testimony that the contest occurred in Williamsburg instead of more than a mile away. Why is she so accurate in regard to the time of the Confederates leaving, "ten min- utes after ten o'clock A. M." ? Because the person who prepared the affidavit knew that the college building was on fire before noon of that day, and wanted to show that the Southern troops got away before the fire occurred. She swears that "shortly afterwards the col- lege yard was crowded with United States sol- diers, many of them drunk and boisterous." As all the United States soldiers, except those who were taken prisoners, were driven several miles to the eastward it was impossible for any of them to be in Williamsburg at that time. What Miss Southall saw in the college yard were prisoners that General Shingler, the Confederate officer, brought in. The crowd of soldiers, Federal and Confederate, would appear to her very boisterous and she would not care to get very near them. Miss Southall doubtless intended to swear to the truth as far as her recollection of events, which must have been very confused, served her. The affidavit for her signature was skillfully drawn 72 Life in Tent and Field with the sole object of getting an appropriation from Congress, Mrs. Maria T. Peyton's deposition must be the product of a dream. She says she went to Colonel Smith and told him there was a rumor the town was to be fired, and a short time after saw the college on fire and appealed to him to save the college, saying, "Do, sir, try and save William and Mary College for it will be a stigma on the page of history if you suffer it to be lost." At the time she made this pathetic appeal and saw the college building on fire, Colonel Smith and his regiment were several miles away toward Yorktown, and not an officer or man of the Fifth Pennsylvania, except those who had been taken prisoners, could have been in or near Williams- burg. If Mrs. Peyton did not dream it, she ceri tainly drew on a vivid imagination. The facts of the case are as follows: — 1st. The detachment of Southern Cavalry oc- cupied the college the night of the eighth and morning of the ninth of June, 1862. At dawn the morning of the ninth they surprised the Fifth Pennsylvania Cavalry at Fort Magruder, a mile distant from Williamsburg, and drove them away from Williamsburg toward Yorktown, taking many prisoners. 2d. The fire must have started about the time the Southern troops left, as when I passed the Fire Result of Accident 73 building the afternoon of the ninth it was entirely consumed. 3d. I was in Williamsburg two days. While there I saw no soldiers of the Fifth Pennsylvania, nor of any other United States Regiment. 4th. It was generally believed in Williams- burg when I was there that the fire was the result of carelessness on the part of the Southern troops. 5th. That there were only two affidavits, and those so improbable, to support a claim for "in- demnity," shows that the inhabitants of Williams- burg at the time of the fire did not believe it was caused by Federal soldiers. The statement by Mr. J. L. Slater, published in the William and Mary College Quarterly in January, 1903, has little importance as bearing on the destruction of the building. From William and Mary College Quarterly, January, 1903. The following statement was made by the late Mr. J. L. Slater, of Williamsburg, in 1895 : "I was ten years old in 1862. I remember dis- tinctly the day the Federal troops burned the Col- lege. In the morning General Shingler, at the head of some Confederates, drove in the Federal pickets, and Colonel Campbell, who commanded the Federals formed a fine of battle at Fort Magruder. Shingler formed his line and charged the Federals, who broke and fled to Yorictown. 74 Life in Tent and Field I remember Shingler returned with so many Fed- erals, including Campbell himself, that we all thought that the Federals had come back bringing Shingler and his men captive. The Confederates left the town early the same day, and the Fifth Pennsylvania Cavalry, reinforced by the Sixth New York, encamped near the College. One of the officers came down town to an eating place near my mother's residence. A soldier, seemingly intoxicated, rode up and asked the boy who was holding a horse whose horse that was. He re- plied, 'Captain Henniss,' I think. The soldier, with an oath, ordered the boy to call the Captain out. 'I'he Captain came out and the soldier or- dered him to mount. He refused, when the sol- dier drew his pistol and shot him. I saw the whole thing. The wounded officer was carried into my mother's house. While he lay in bed the soldier came in again and drew a pistol on him and said, 'D — n you, you shot my horse, and I will shoot you in bed.' He was put out by some soldiers. The Captain said he was not one of his men, the Sixth New York, but the Fifth Pennsylvania. Next morning about daybreak the Captain died in my mother's arms. The troops of the Fifth Pennsylvania threatened me if I told on their comrade, and though the soldier was arrested nothing could be proved on him. "Later in the evening I was at the College gate, searching, at the Captain's request, for the Cap- tain's First Lieutenant, when I saw the College on fire. Going home, I met one of the Fifth Pennsylvania Cavalry, who was cursing and say- Death of Captain Hannahs 75 ing, 'I burned that d — d College, and I intend to burn this d — d town.' I was young then, but I remember these events vividly. "J. L. Slater." There are errors in this affidavit of Mr. Slater, as might be expected. In evidence taken at the time, a citizen of Williamsburg who lived opposite Mrs. Slater, testified that he saw the affair, that a man took Captain Hannahs' horse from the negro boy who was holding him, and started to ride away, when Captain Hannahs came out and seized the bridle. The man drew a pistol from Captain Hannahs' holster and shot him. The location and direction of the wound confirm this man's story. Others in Williamsburg told me the same story. When I reached Captain Hannahs he could not utter a sound. He was shot from above through the lungs, the ball going down from the neck through the left lung into the right lung. The blood welled up into his throat so as to prevent his speaking. If, when he was first taken into the boy's mother's house, before my arrival, he could speak and ask the boy to find his lieutenant, it must have been near noon, and the boy saw the fire then for the first time. This is confirmation of the fact that the College was on fire before any Fed- eral troops got into the town. 76 Life in Tent and Field It is to be hoped that Southern chivalry and regard for the truth will lead to the correction of the history of the College in regard to the fire, and at least give the North the benefit of the doubt. CHAPTER X AUTHOR PROMOTED TO FIRST LIEUTENANT. GEN- ERAL BURNSIDE AND BATTLE OF FREDERICKS- BURG. LAYING OF PONTOON BRIDGE. HORSE- BACK RIDE WITH A VIRGINIA GIRL. A MALODOROUS STORY. I learned indirectly, soon after my return to Yorktown in June, 1878, of my promotion, by Governor Morgan, to First Lieutenant. The offi- cial notice reached me in November with orders to report to Captain Heermance, commanding Company "C," Sixth New York Cavalry, then at Falmouth, Virginia. I reached Washington by boat and at once proceeded by horseback to Fal- mouth. The roads were in horrible condition and I was pretty tired, when I got to the Regimental Camp at Falmouth. The Regiment was all out on picket. Captain Heermance had a tent up with a little stove in it, the pipe going out through the canvas in the back of the tent. He also had for a bed a large box in which rifles had been shipped. It was about six feet long and two feet wide, and in it were one or two blankets. All this looked 77 78 Life in Tent and Field very luxurious to me. I was not deterred by the bed's resemblance to a coffin, but after a supper of coffee and hardtack was soon sound asleep in it. I was awakened in the morning rather sud- denly by a bucket of cold water thrown over me. My servant had started a fire in the stove and the hot pipe had set the back part of the tent on fire. He tried to extinguish it with a bucket of water, most of which landed on me. My disappointment at being without a comfort- able tent was not comparable to Heermance's on his return from picket that night, wet, tired, and covered with mud. His reception of his new Lieu- tenant was not as cordial as it might have been.. His language was the only warm thing about it. We, however, patched up the tent as well as possi- ble and continued to use it on our return from picket duty along the Rappahannock. Before I left Yorktown President Lincoln's long-suffering patience was exhausted, and he had relieved McClellan from command of the Army of the Potomac and had appointed General Burn- side to succeed him. General Ambrose Burnside, up to the time of his appointment to the command of the Army of the Potomac, had been with this Army only about two months, having previously gained reputation by a successful campaign in North Carolina. He was a man of fine character, pure patri- General Burnside 79 otism, and undoubted ability. He selected the route for an advance on Richmond via Fred- ericksburg instead of that via Gordonsville which McClellan had intended. His plans were ap- proved at that time by the best military authori- ties and have not been condemned since by mili- tary critics. He could have occupied Fredericksburg with- out much opposition if the pontoons had been fur- nished at the time they were promised. The delay gave Lee time to perfect his defense. Burnside's direct attack on Fredericksburg as it turned out was a terrible mistake. He was in- fluenced to it by two considerations. One was the opposition and criticism of those West Point officers who were personal friends of McClellan. The other was the state of affairs at the North. The November election had just been held, and resulted in the election of a number of Copper- heads who condemned Lincoln's administration and all his appointments. Fredericksburg occupies a position on a high slope facing the Rappahannock, while between the city and the river is about half a mile of river flats. On the Falmouth side, where our army was lying, the bluffs rise abruptly from the river bank. We could see the enemy camps and the soldiers work- ing on the earthworks about Fredericksburg. Our Army was in a constant state of excitement, 8o Life in Tent and Field expecting every day to make an attack. Rains were frequent, with cold weather and consider- able snow, and the mud was getting deeper and the roads getting worse, if any worse were possible. Our soldiers were imperfectly provided. They were largely without overcoats and blankets, and their shoes and uniforms were worn out by the hard labors of the summer. To add to their dis- comfort they were sometimes short of rations, which were plain enough at the best, consisting of meat, hardtack, beans or rice, and coffee — no luxuries. However, they were not the kind to complain. They did resent the criticisms of the Northern papers, which accused the Army of living in luxurious idleness. On the evening of December tenth, orders were given to the Army to make preparation to move. Early the next morning it was all in motion. Soon after day the En^neer Corps began to lay pon- toons. With other officers, I sat on the high bank overlooking the river, and witnessed a scene of the most intense interest. From the high ground on our side, one hundred and fifty cannon were throwing shells into Fredericksburg and the enemy's earthworks, while the shells from the enemy's guns were bursting among our batteries. On the river flats opposite us the enemy had a line of rifle pits. They were, as I remember them, How Pontoons Are Laid 8i about twelve feet long, three feet wide, and five feet deep. Each one contained from three to five men. On our side, lying prone on the ground, were Berdan's sharpshooters ready to pick ofi any man who exposed himself in the rifle pits. The pontoons arrived each one on a wagon drawn by six horses. Riding in each boat were an officer and several men. The first two boats to arrive were in the water in a few seconds filled with men lying in the bottom, and started from shore, while an officer stood up and directed their course. They continued under fire from the rifle pits, to the other side of the river. When they reached the opposite bank the men who were in the bottom sprang up with fixed bayonets and rushed toward the rifle pits. I saw two or three men fall. The sharpshooters and artillery on our side made it almost sure death for the men in the pits to expose themselves. While the two boats were crossing, the pontoon bridge began to go down, and was laid and ready for use in an incredibly short time. Six or seven men took a boat from a wagon and slid it into the river. These men then took their places in the boat — two at the oars, and the other four, two at the bow and two at the stern, to drop the anchors the minute the boat was in its proper place. When distant from the shore the length of the string- pieces on which the floor of the bridge was to 82 Life in Tent and Field rest, it was swung parallel with the stream and anchored with two anchors at each end. At the same time another was passing, and another and another, and all the same distance apart. String- pieces were held up, one end resting on the shore and dropped onto the first boat. While they were being fastened others were dropped from the first to the second boat, others from the second on to the third, and so on. All the time other men were bringing the floor planks and putting them in place. It seemed that almost while one held his breath the bridge was laid, and the infantry in column of fours, rifles at shoulder, were crossing and forming on the other side. Soon thousands of men were marching steadily in line across the river flats toward the heights of Fredericksburg. The men in the rifle pits had surrendered and were sent to our side of the river. As our troops approached the enemy's entrench- ments we could see them drop, then waver, and when near the entrenchments break in confusion. Sixteen thousand men on our side, and half that number on the other side, fell at the battle of Fredericksburg. In January following. General Burnside was relieved from qommand, and Gen- eral Hooker appointed to succeed him. The winter was very severe, with frequent snows and rains. The cavalry had little chance Picket Duty 83 to make themselves comfortable as they were em- ployed on picket duty and moved from place to place. February 23, we were ordered to a place near Acquia Creek. The snow was a foot deep. Be- fore we had time to form a camp we were ordered out, on a rumor that J. E. B. Stuart, the rebel Cavalry General, was making a raid around our Army. The Regiment moved to a place called Ebenezer Church, where we remained in line all night. At daybreak in the morning we started to find Stuart but failed to overtake him. That night I was detailed in charge of a picket where three roads met. It rained heavily and was so dark I could not see to find my pickets. I stood beside my horse all night in a pouring rain, without moving out of my tracks. In the morn- ing the regiment started to return, and had gone two or three miles before my picket was relieved. We returned to camp on the twenty-seventh, hav- ing traveled seventy to eighty miles through swol- len streams and Virginia mud. During the two days and nights we were on the march I was wet through and absolutely without sleep and without food. Early in March following, I was detailed Com- missary of Subsistence to the Second Brigade of the First Cavalry Division. My duties were to keep my Regiment supplied with rations, that is. 84 Life in Tent and Field with whatever the Subsistence Department fur- nished in the way of food. My first station was at Acquia Creek, where the three Regiments com- prising the Brigade, viz., the Sixth New York, the Eighth New York, and the Seventeenth Pennsyl- vania, came for their supplies. Here I remained about two months, till the battle of Chancellors- ville. While here I had a small, stern wheel, steamboat to bring supplies from Alexandria up the creek. It had a flat bottom and drew so little water the boys used to say it could run anywhere over a heavy dew. A farmer lived near my camp, who drew a seine in the Potomac River and kept me supplied with fresh fish, in return for which I gave him empty barrels and boxes in which to ship his fish to Washington. He had a rather attractive looking daughter who was an expert horsewoman. We went for a ride together one day, she mounted on my thoroughbred mare, and I on a powerful sorrel horse. In crossing a wide field we encountered one of those Virginia ditches in which the (Jirt from the ditch is thrown up on one side and a hedge grown on it. To cross it a horse has to clear both ditch and hedge. Her mare cleared it, but my horse balked and I could not force him to try it, and had to ride nearly a mile around to join my companion. I recall a rather amusing incident at Acquia A Lucky Escape 85 Creek. The commissary tent, from which stores were issued, was near that in which I slept. I heard some lively rattling of boxes and barrels one morning in the commissary tent, and rushed in to see what was going on. Just as I stepped inside a little striped black and white animal ran past my feet. I stooped quickly and picked him up and dropped him into an empty barrel. An odor which I luckily escaped told me what the animal was. We dropped the barrel into the water and let it float out a ways, when a shot from my re- volver ended the little fellow's career. CHAPTER XI FIGHT OF THE SIXTH NEW YORK CAVALRY AT TODD'S TAVERN. HOOKER's PLANS FOR THE DESTRUCTION OF LEE'S ARMY. GENERAL DEVIN ORDERS KEENAN'S CHARGE WHICH SAVED THE ARMY FROM DESTRUCTION. HE SAYS NOTHING ABOUT THE "nOBLE SMILE." STONEWALL JACKSON KILLED. The latter part of April I followed my Brigade to Falmouth and crossed the Rappahannock with General Devin as a mehiber of his staff. Most of the Cavalry (about eight thousand) had gone with General Stoneman to cut the enemy's line of supply South of Fredericksburg. The Second Brigade (Devin's) were the only mounted troops left. Seven Companies of the Sixth New York, under Lieutenant Colonel McVicar, were attached to and furnished orderlies to General Slocum com- manding the Twelfth Corps. McVicar was a Scotchman and, as I am in- formed, had been at one time a gunner's mate in the British Army. He lived some time in Canada. 86 How Troops Were Officered 87 At the outbreak of the Civil War he was livincr in Rochester, N. Y., and was employed by Fred Douglas in getting runaway slaves safe into Can- ada. Douglas was a protege of Horace Greeley, editor and founder of the New York Tribune. Through Douglas' influence with Greeley, Gov- ernor Seymour of New York appointed McVicar Lieutenant Colonel of the Sixth Regiment New York Cavalry. This is a fair illustration of the way in which the Army was officered. Perhaps it was the best that could be done at that time, but it took many months to make good officers out of raw material and to rid the Army of the incapable. McVicar was anxious to do something and be- sieged General Slocum to give him a chance. He was finally sent on a reconnoissance towards Spott- sylvania Court House. McVicar asked Slocum how far he should go, and the General told him to go until he met the enemy. Slocum, like most of the Generals in the Army of the Potomac, thought the Cavalry of little account except to furnish mounted orderlies for the Infantry generals. McVicar started without any definite idea of where he was going or what he was going to do. Toward night, when he had gone several miles, Stuart's Confederate Cavalry were on the road behind, unaware of the Federal force ahead. The Sixth New York Regiment formed in an open space facing the enemy, and when they were within 88 Life in Tent and Field hailing distance the bugle sounded the charge. McVicar, at the first fire, was shot through the head. He was doubtless a brave man. Other qualities besides bravery are, however, essential to a successful commander. In the darkness of the woods many of the men broke through and got back. Many individual encounters occurred that night to be told at the meetings of the G. A. R., as the years rolled on. Lieutenant Bell is said to have run a Confederate through the body with his saber. Captain Heer- mance struck a man across the face and broke his nose. Several years after, at a dinner in Kinder- hook, New York, a stranger sat next him at a table, who proved to be his quarry of that night, and Heermance took great delight in taking him about and relating the incident. This affair, which occurred near a place called Todd's Tavern, forms the principal part of a his- tory of the Sixth New York, prepared under the supervision of Lieutenant Easton acting Adjutant under McVicar. McVicar and Easton were both Scotch. McVicar was killed April 30, 1863. Easton resigned and was mustered out three months later, viz., July 26, 1863. When my Regiment had its encounter at Todd's Tavern I was with General Devin who had with him the Eighth and Seventeenth Pennsylvania Cavalry and a battery of horse artillery. We Lee's Good Fortune 89 crossed the Rappahannock at United States Ford and proceeded to the right of our Anny which had already taken .position on the pike leading from Fredericksburg to Orange Court House. Hooker's plans were ably conceived and as ably- executed up to a certain point. He had placed an Army of sixty thousand men in the rear of Lee's Army and the movement was executed without Lee's knowledge. Forty thousand men were left in Lee's front to make a demonstration and to follow him when he left his entrenchments. Eight thousand cavalry were between Lee and Rich- mond to cut off his supplies and line of retreat. Not a soldier in the whole army doubted that Lee was doomed to destruction and that the war was won. Which one of the gods fought for Lee and caused Hooker to turn back at the critical mo- ment and to relinqjjish his grip, has never been satisfactorily explained to the public. If it' had been another general some might have said it was lack of nerve, but no one has ever accused Hooker of lack of nerve. On the morning of May 3, Devin was ordered to take position at an angle of our line between the Third and Fourth Corps. On our way to this point I met Bob Fitzhugh, of my class, who was in command of a battery. He told us he had been watching a cloud of dust on our front, which was 90 Life in Tent and Field evidently a large force proceeding toward our right flank. I asked him if Hooker had been ad- vised of this, and he said he had. Devin disposed of his little force at right angles to the plank road which leads from Fredericks- burg to Orange Court House, with the Eighth Pennsylvania on the right and the Seventeenth on the left, and the battery covering the road. The dust which Fitzhugh had seen was raised by the Confederate General Stonewall Jackson, who marched past our entire line and attacked our Eleventh Corps which had the right of the line. This Corps was composed of Germans, formerly commanded by Siegel, at that time by Howard. "We fights mit Siegel, we runs mit Howard" be- came a familiar byword. Jackson's sudden attack took Howard by surprise and his corps came tear- ing down the road and through the woods toward the Chancellorsville House, men, batteries and wagons in the utmost confusion. As the enemy came in pursuit, our little battery of four guns stopped their onrush. General Devin ordered Major Keenan, who was in command of the Eighth Pennsylvania, to charge. Keenan was known as one of the bravest offi- cers of the Brigade. He did not hesitate, but led his regiment in a charge, which for pluck and suc- cessful results was unsurpassed during the Civil War. Keenan and all his officers were killed, but 7*00 Much Politics 91 Stonewall's Corps was held in check long enough to enable our Twelfth Corps to change its align- ment and get its guns in position. "Into the jaws of death, Into the mouth of hell Rushed the four hundred." Devin ought to have got another star for his conduct in this affair, but at that time politics had too much to do with promotion. Devin's little force, and the way it was handled, saved the Army of the Potomac from utter destruction. If any officer during the whole war earned promotion Devin did at that time, and should have been made a Major General, but the battle of Chancellors- ville was so disastrous that meritorious work of any officer, however commendable it might be, was overshadowed by the general disaster. Besides, officers higher up claimed the credit of Devin's achievement. In a history of the battle of Chancellorsville, by General Abner Doubleday, published by Scribner & Sons in 1890, he says, "There was but one way to delay Jackson, some force must be sacrificed, and Pleasanton ordered Major Peter Keenan, commanding the Eighth Pennsylvania Cavalry, to charge the ten thousand men in front with his four hundred. Keenan saw in a moment that if he threw his little force into that seething mass of 92 Life in Tent and Field infantry, horses and men would go down on all sides, and few would be left to tell the tale. A sad smile lit up his' noble countenance as he said, 'General, I will do it.' Thus, at thirty-four years of age, he laid down his life, literally impaled on the bayonets of the enemy, saving the army from capture and his country from the unutterable deg- radation of slaveholding rule in the Northern States." If this isn't romancing, I don't know whiat it is. In the first place Pleasanton didn't know Keenan; second, if he had known him he wouldn't be guilty of such a breach of etiquette as to give orders di- rect to one of Devin's officers in Devin's presence ; third, Pleasanton was not in that particular place at that time. Devin knew Keenan and knew that he would charge the devil himself and all his imps, if ordered to do so. Another author says, "Pleasanton, knowing that the Eleventh Corps were retreating in dis- order, rode forward with two Regiments of Cavalry at a gallop, and when he saw the situa- tion, called Major Keenan to him and directed him to charge. 'General, I will do it,' simply replied Major Keenan. It was nearly certain death. He knew it, but the honor of the duty assigned and the importance of the service to be done lighted up his features with a noble smile." Who invented that expression about the "noble smile" ? Several The "Noble Smile" 93 authors use the same words, "General, I will do it, and a noble smile, etc." Devin placed Martin's battery, and Devin ordered Keenan's charge, but no one heard him say anything about the "noble smile." Devin had no political backing, no one in Washington to see that he had his dues. He did his duty and his su- perior officers of the Regular Army got the credit of his achievement. The fight continued till after dark. Jackson forced his way almost to the Chancellorsville House, when he was killed. We lost the battle and Lee lost his ablest General, CHAPTER XII INVASION OF MARYLAND. PURSUIT OF LEE. COLONEL JOHN S. MOSBY. GETTYSBURG. After Chancellorsville the Army had lost half its force, some by desertion, many whose term of service had expired, and more than all, the killed, wounded and missing at Fredericksburg and Chan- cellorsville. The Army itself had lost its morale. The Copperheads at the North were saying, "I told you so," and loyal citizens had the dumps. The President tried to encourage Hooker, and Hooker was discouraged. Lee himself was the only man who could set the North right again, and this he proceeded to do by an invasion of Mary- land, with Washington as an ultimate prize. The Southern Army had got what we would call "swelled heads," which is a fatal disease. The Germans "had it bad." "Whom the gods wish to destroy they first make mad." Lee had got a good start for Maryland through the Shenandoah Valley, when Hooker began pur- suit. Stuart's Cavalry guarded Lee's flank, and our Cavalry pursued with frequent skirmishes. 94 Hard Tack 95 My Brigade had been enlarged by the addition of the Third Virginia, and I found a good deal of difficulty in keeping them supplied with rations. My regular course was, after issuing rations, to start with a wagon train for the nearest depot, draw five days' supplies of coffee, sugar, hardtack, salt and salt pork. As soon as the wagons were loaded 1 would start back to the Brigade. If they were on the march my business was to follow until I found them. On a few occasions I reached them at night sleeping on the ground. In a few minutes they were all awake and the camp was ringing with the cry of "Hardtack," "Hardtack." Each Company would send its Commissary Sergeant to the wagon train, where would be weighed out to him five days' rations for each enlisted man. The officers could get supplies only by paying a fixed price for each article. Each enlisted man received, for five days' ra- tions, three pounds, twelve ounces pork, eight ounces coffee, twelve ounces sugar, five pounds hardtack, and as much salt as needed. There were other articles which he could get if in camp, but which he could not use when on the march for want of means of cooking. A receipt was given by each Commissary Sergeant for the number of rations he received. It usually took all night to finish the issue, and if we were in an exposed position we had to get 96 Life in Tent and Field away at once, as soon as the issue was finished. Sometimes the Commissary force would be two or three days and nights with little if any sleep. At times our train was pursued by enemy troops, but we were mostly fortunate in getting away. It was early in June when the Army of the Potomac started North after Lee. The weather was very hot, and sometimes men and animals were seen drinking together from the same spring. The route of the Cavalry through the Blue Ridge Mountains was full of picturesque situations. I always loved the mountains, and the beauty of the scenery is still impressed on my memory. Some of the Cavalry encounters were almost in the clouds. From a place in the mountains called Aldie, a wagon train under charge of Lieutenant J. B. Wheeler, Quartermaster, was sent to Alexandria for supplies. I rode to Alexandria the same day, drew five days' subsistence stores for my Brigade, and returned to camp in the evening. I was afraid of Mosby and rode so fast that when I got to Alexandria my horse was played out and I turned him in to the Quartermaster Department and se- lected another to carry me back. The new horse was a capable one but had lost his left eye. The next day I was riding with sev- eral ofllcers. An oflicer opposite me called to me and offered to swap horses, and I accepted his challenge. We took off saddles and bridles, and A Guerilla 97 when we came to mount, found we had made an even trade. My horse had his left eye shot away — his had lost his right eye. WHO WAS MOSBY ? At the time of the invasion of Maryland no one had to be told "who was Mosby." His name was known to every one, North and South. When the Civil War began he had a law office in Bristol, Va. Whether he had any clients, no one knows, as he says nothing about clients in his Memoirs. In 1 86 1 he joined the Southern Army as a private, and during his first two years gained reputation as a scout. In 1863 he began his career as a par- tisan, or as he was generally called, a "guerrilla" in the mountainous region South of Washington, and until the close of the war operated with a small force in that country, against the railroads, sup- ply trains and outposts, so successfully that he became a terror to the authorities in Washington. He had under him a force of from fifty to one hundred and fifty young men who lived in the vicinity and were acquainted with the roads and recesses in the mountains, who liked adventure and who, each one, thought that but for himself the Confederacy would not amount to much. After a successful raid these young men retired to their homes in various localities where they were safe 98 Life in Tent and Field from discovery, and waited until called to make an attack in some new direction. These attacks were always surprises and did not usually entail great danger. They were executed with a great deal of yelling and pistol firing — very seldom, if ever, on regularly organized troops. Mosby was not such a bad man as he was con- sidered in the North. He treated his prisoners often with courtesy. After the war he resided for many years in Washington, became a friend of General Grant and held some public office under the Government. Wheeler, on his return from Alexandria, was captured by one of Mosby's men and taken before Colonel Mosby. Wheeler, more than forty years later, wrote a chapter for a history of the Sixth New York Cavalry, and among other incidents told of his trip from Aldie to Alexandria and re- turn, but failed to mention his capture and release by Mosby. On the contrary he tells a curious story of how he captured one of Mosby's men. In relating the matter at the time he was somewhat reticent as to what passed between himself and Mosby. Colonel Mosby was a very inquisitive person, especially in regard to our forces — their number, location, etc., and doubtless asked Wheeler some embarrassing questions so that Wheeler, in after years, had forgotten whether he had captured another man or been captured. A Girls' School in Maryland. 99 After we crossed the Potomac into Maryland there was an entire change in our surroundings. It was like a warm, sunshiny day after a long spell of cloudy, disagreeable, nasty weather. Instead of barren, wasted fields and deserted houses, we found cultivated fields and the houses occupied by men, women and children, who greeted us with a smiling welcome. The soldiers were inspired with fresh courage and their spirits rose. One day Lieutenant Richardson, -of the Sixth New York Cavalry was riding with me, as we passed a girls' seminary. The doors and windows were closed but we could see the girls' faces at the windows. Richardson was a graduate of Yale, had been a school-teacher, and was never abashed in the presence of women. He proposed that we go in and visit the school. We had a good deal of difficulty in gaining admission, but Richardson, with some finesse, finally gained access. The girls were assembled in a large school- room, where Richardson made an address. He told them of the privileges they enjoyed; of what we were doing to protect them from unscrupulous invaders ; and what a pleasure it was to us, who had been only in the company of men, to see so many beautiful girls. He then turned and com- plimented the teachers. He was perhaps too pro- fuse in compliments, as the instructors seemed in doubt as to whether we were in joke or earnest. lOO Life in Tent and Field We were, however, dismissed with a good deal of courtesy. The battle of Gettysburg was fought July i, 2, and 3, 1863. Hooker was relieved from com- mand of the Army three days before the battle, and George E. Meade appointed in his place. I shall not attempt anything in regard to Gettys- burg, further than to say that I believe the ratio of the nupiber of men killed and wounded to those engaged, surpassed anything known in the Euro- pean War. The supply train under my charge was halted five miles from the field of Gettysburg, awaiting orders. We could hear the continuous roll of musketry and booming of cannon. It was an in- tensely anxious time. We did not doubt the ability of the Army of the Potomac to handle Lee's Army, but the change of commanders from Hooker to Meade on the eve of battle was an element of some discouragement, and we could not help recalling Lincoln's oft-quoted saying, "It is no time to swap horses when crossing a stream." It was a great relief when we knew that Lee was in retreat and orders came on the evening of the third day for the supply train to follow the Cavalry on the road leading south from Freder- ick, Maryland. CHAPTER XIII PURSUIT OF LEE I issued rations the next day at a point about twelve miles from Frederick, and at once dis- patched the wagons back to Frederick for a fresh supply. In the evening I started to overtake the wagon train. It got quite dark and as I was rid- ing I was caught by the neck by a telegraph wire which was strung on low poles following Army Headquarters. But for the looseness of the wire, which gave way enough for me to pull up my horse, my neck would have been broken. I at once lay down, fastened my bridle rein to one foot, and slept till daybreak. I often slept in this way. My mare was as good as a sentry, and at the least danger would pull at my foot and wake me. In this way she saved me from capture on at least three occasions. Is it any wonder that we became attached to each other? Before it was fairly morning I passed my wagon train and rode on to Frederick. I had a lot of trouble getting into Frederick. Every little ways I was halted, compelled to dismount and advance lOI I02 Life in Tent and Field under cover of a musket to explain my business. It was the Seventh Regiment from New York who had been sent down to reinforce Meade's Army. It seemed to me at the time that they were more alarmed than necessary at a single harmless Com- missary of Subsistence. When I got back myBrigade was on picket, and I joined General Devin. That night General Devin, his Adjutant General Mahnken, another member of his staff, and I lay on the ground so near the enemy's picket that we could hear them talking. When the guard was changed I had fallen into a sound sleep, with the mare fastened, as usual, by her bridle strap to my foot. I was waked by her giving sharp jerks, and at once mounted and gave her her head. In about an eighth of a mile we overtook General Devin and staff. Mahnken explained that he had tried to find me but in the darkness was unable to do so. Mahnken was a German, which may possibly ex- plain "the milk in the cocoanut." The Army was flushed with victory and eager to attack Lee before he could recross the Potomac. It was generally believed that Lee's Army could have been destroyed at that time. He, however, had a strong position and an attack might have resulted adversely. The Government in Wash- ington felt that there was danger to the City, al- though President Lincoln is said to have expected Death of a Southern Lad 103 and been anxious for an attack. Within a month Lee's Army was twice in position where it doubt- less could and would have been destroyed but for fatal delays. The route of the Cavalry in pursuit of Lee was nearly the same as when we had followed him North. One day we passed a house in the Blue Ridge Mountains and heard wailings and lamenta- tions. Some old women came out and, with shrieks and curses, accused us of murdering their children. We learned that Captain Wade, son of Senator Wade of Ohio, while carrying orders from General Buford, was followed on horseback and fired on by a mere boy. Wade waited until the boy, who continued firing, was quite near, when he turned and shot him. The boy fell di- rectly in front of his moth,er's house. During the summer and fall of 1863 the Cav- alry were engaged in following Lee, keeping Meade advised of his movements, and acting as pickets and escorts for various infantry corps. It was not until General Sheridan was called to com- mand the Cavalry in the East that it was formed into a compact corps and became the most efficient corps in the service. Every General officer, from Meade down, thought he must have an escort of mounted troops, and cavalry for his outlying pickets, so that all the Divisions and Brigades of the Cavalry were more or less broken up. The I04 Life in Tent and Field Second Brigade, which Devin commanded, was sometimes very much weakened in this way. However, in spite of this it did very efficient serv- ice and was constantly on the move on the rear and flank of Lee's Army, having frequent skir- mishes, and at times severe engagements. My duty was to keep the Brigade supplied with subsistence, wherever it might be, and sometimes it was a difficult task and often quite dangerous. Frequently the only source of information in re- gard to the course the Brigade had taken was the negroes. They would tell the truth as far as they knew, whereas the whites in most cases would try to mislead. Whenever the opportunity offered I acted on the field staff of General Devin. The General was somewhat deaf and could not always hear the bullets as they sang past his ears. The only sign of excitement I ever saw him show was to frequently try to light his pipe. The smoke would be pouring out of his mouth, and he would strike a match on the seat of his pantaloons and hold it right to his pipe. Whenever I saw this I knew there was something doing. On the tenth of October, 1863, the First Divi- sion of Cavalry, consisting of three Brigades, crossed the Rapidan River at Germanna Ford, to the south side, and marched ten miles up the river to Raccoon Ford. I was with Devin on this occa- Pursuit of Lee 105 sion as aide. His Brigade had the rear and camped over night at Raccoon Ford. The next morning we moved farther up the river to Morton's Ford, where the Brigade was attacked by a large force. The situation was critical and General Devin had his pipe in full blast. The ford was in bad shape and General Devin ordered me to take charge of the Pioneers and repair the approaches so that the artillery could cross. To do this the bank had to be cut down on both sides and rails brought from the neighboring fences to make a kind of corduroy. Before the Brigade could get across we lost two Captains, some other officers, men and horses, killed and wounded. We kept up a running fight back to Stevensburg, and there had another sharp fight. The enemy were held in check a sufficient time for us to cross the Rappahannock. We fell back to Brandy Station, where the Sixth New York made a very gallant charge, drove the enemy back and opened a way for Kilpatrick's Division to get out of a dangerous place. The two Divi- sions then drove the enemy back across the Rappa- hannock and this ended a bloody day. CHAPTER XIV VETERAN FURLOUGH In December, 1863, the Government sought to retain the service of its veteran troops, and offered a furlough of thirty days, transportation home and return, and a cash bonus to those who, having served three years, would re-enlist. The Sixth New York Cavalry was one of the first Regiments to re-enlist as a Regiment. We broke camp the 1st of January, 1864, to start North. I was relieved from duty as Commissary and appointed Adjutant of the Regiment. In Wash- ington the men were housed in barracks in the cen- ter of the city, and drew their arrears of pay. One morning I was officer of the day, and when I visited the barracks a man was lying dead outside the building. There was no apparent excitement. A corporal told me a pickpocket had been caught robbing some soldiers and they had killed him and thrown him out of a window. He related the affair as though it were nothing of importance. I heard nothing more of it afterward. From Washington the Regiment was taken on 106 Veteran Furlough 107 a regular train as far as Baltimore, where they were compelled to leave the train. After two days' delay a train was made up consisting of one decrepit passenger coach for the officers, and all the rest, box or freight cars. In this train we reached Harrisburg near midnight, and were told by the Pennsylvania Railroad officials that they could not take us to New York that night and that we would have to leave the train. The night was bitterly cold, atid General Devin said that he would not let his men out into the streets to freeze. The railroad managers re- plied that they would have to put us on a side- track to let their express train pass, — whereupon I was ordered to detail a corporal and two men and, place them over the engineer with instruc- tions not to move the engine either way. I told the engineer that the guard had loaded rifles, with instructions to shoot if he moved the train or left his engine. It was so late at night the railroad officials were unable to get in communication with Washington and were compelled to take us into New York that night. I have related this incident at some length to show how differently soldiers were regarded in those days.> There were no Red Cross canteens to furnish light refreshments at the railroad stations. On the contrary there were many persons more interested in getting the sol- diers' money away from them. io8 Life in Tent and Field The men had a good time at home and were all on hand at the expiration of their thirty-days fur- lough. They reported for duty in New York and we left there one afternoon by steamer for Alex- andria. Outside of Sandy Hook the weather was rough and the vessel rolled and pitched. All had got filled up with good things at home, of which most of them were relieved after a few hours. It was about the middle of February when we reached Alexandria, where we waited some time to be remounted, some of us having quarters at the Marshall House where the first officer in the war was killed. Colonel Ellsworth, commanding a Regiment of Zouaves, was sent to Alexandria with other Regiments to protect Washington. He was assassinated while hauling down a rebel flag which had been raised over the Marshall House. His death caused a tremendous sensation in the North. CHAPTER XV GENERAL GRANT MADE COMMANDER IN CHIEF Early in March, 1864, Grant was made Lieu- tenant General, and a little later was given su- preme command of all the armies of the United States. This was hailed with satisfaction by the Army of the East — in fact by the whole country. It took military affairs out of politics and put all the Departments under one supreme head. Here- tofore every General commanding a corps wanted to be at the head, and several had aspirations for the Presidency. Almost all the Brigadier Gen- erals got their appointments through political in- fluence. Colonels who had proved their merit in the field and were recommended for promotion by their superior officers, were subordinated to men who had no experience and nothing but a political pull to recommend them. March 23, 1864, General Sheridan was ordered from the West by General Grant, to Washington, and was given command of the Cavalry of the Army of the Potomac. He reached Washington April 4 and the following morning issued orders 109 I lo Life in Tent and Field assuming command. Next to Grant, Sheridan was the greatest general of the war. Between Sheridan and Meade there was at first some friction. Meade wanted a large retinue and his headquarters looked like a small city, there were so many tents. He wanted the Cavalry to remain with his Army and furnish escorts and pickets, whereas Sheridan wanted the Cavalry to be a distinct and compact corps. General Grant was willing to give Sheridan his head, and the result showed which was right. Without Sheri- dan's Cavalry the war would doubtless have been prolonged, no one can tell how long. Grant was not long in getting his Army in mo- tion. On the third — fourth of May the Army of the Potomac crossed the Rapidan and a battle began which was not to end until the surrender of Lee at Appomattox. On the south side of the Rapidan I was with the Regiment as Adjutant, where they fought dis- mounted and held back quite a large force of Con- federate Infantry. A soldier next me was struck, in the face by a Minie ball and his nose and the flesh between his eyes and mouth carried away. He walked off the field and I never saw him again. He was the most horrible sight I ever beheld. I have always felt that I would rather be killed out- right than be so disfigured. Some days later we were engaged with a force General Grant Made Commander in Chief iii of Infantry in a large wood and got the enemy on the run. My duties as Adjutant were to keep the alignment and to prevent the companies from get- ting separated. I had in my hands a sharp car- bine which was fired by the use of a brass percus- sion cap. While I was endeavoring to close a gap be- tween two companies I saw a big Johnny stop and raise his gun at me. I dodged behind a tree and the ball struck the tree near my head. The man then turned to run and exposed a broad back. I took careful aim with my carbine which failed to go off. The brass percussion cap had dropped off. If the gun had gone off I would have bored the man through the spine for I had a sure bead on him. I felt a sense of disappointment much as I have since felt when hunting partridges and my gun, for some reason, has failed to discharge. CHAPTER XVI SHERIDAN'S RAID TO RICHMOND On the fourth of May my regiment, the Sixth New York Cavalry, Crocker commanding, moved out toward Stevensburg and crossed the Rapidan. The next day we moved to Chancellorsville and encamped on the old battlefield. The point of woods where Jackson's advance had been halted showed what a hot place it must have been. Ev- ery tree and twig the height of a man's head had been cut by shell or rifle balls. There were large piles of human bones over which dirt had been thrown and washed away by the rains. Dr. San- ger claimed to be a phrenologist and the soldiers brought skulls for him to tell their nationality and proclivities. On the morning of the ninth Sheridan started on what he called his Richmond raid. The Sec- ond Brigade (Devin's) of the First Division, had the advance. We passed a long wagon train of wounded from the Wilderness — not a train of ambulances, but regular army wagons, without springs. The groans of the wounded were not a 112 MAJOR-GEN. PHILLIP H. SHERIDAN Sheridan's Raid to Richmond 113 pleasant sound. That night after dark we reached Beaver Dam Station on the Virginia Cen- tral Railroad, where we captured a wagon train and about two hundred Federal soldiers who were being taken as prisoners to Richmond. We also captured two engines and a train of cars, and burned the railroad station which contained about two hundred thousand pounds of bacon. I well remember how it looked, piled up like cordwood — a pile about six feet wide, four feet high, and forty feet long. Two of our men got on to one of the captured engines and tried to signal another engine whose whistles we could hear two or three miles down the road. I was ordered, with a part of my Regi- ment, to destroy the railroad about a mile from the station. This was done pretty thoroughly by starting large fires and turning the rails and ties over on to the fire in a huge pile. The ties were burned and the rails warped. Two days later occurred the fight at Yellow Tavern. General J. E. B. Stuart, Commander of Lee's Cavalry, by forced marches, had got be- tween us and Richmond. In this fight Stuart was killed, and his Cavalry defeated. Stuart's death was a serious blow to the Confederacy and a cause of deep mourning to Lee. During this fight Colonel Crocker, with the Sixth New York, was ordered to clear the Brooks 114 Life in Tent and Field Pike, the principal highway leading from the North into Richmond. The Regiment was formed in column of platoons, and we advanced rapidly with Crocker and myself at the head, to where the road led through a line of earthworks which covered Richmond on the north. Here, with sabers drawn, we charged on a gallop and drove back toward Richmond a company of picket guards. We probably could have charged into Richmond without serious loss in getting in. How to get out was another question. We, however, halted and held the pike until after midnight, when Sheridan at the head of the Cavalry Corps came up. While halted on the pike we could hear all the bells ringing in Richmond. A newsboy came out with papers which told of Stuart's death and the nearness of the Yankee troops. They were print- ed on one side, on coarse brown paper, resembling our cheap wall paper. I gave Sheridan the only copy I secured and have always regretted that I did not keep it. Sheridan led his corps by a road running east inside this line of earthworks, to the Meadow Bridge road, a road leading out of Richmond across the Chickahominy, which we reached about daylight. During the night march I was over- come with drowsiness, dismounted, and lay down beside the road, with instructions to Webster, my Sheridan at Meadow Bridges 115 orderly, to wake me in ten minutes. When he woke me he asked if I heard a torpedo go off. The enemy had planted torpedoes in the road, with wires attached to explode the shell when the horses struck the wires, and one had exploded within a few feet of where I was lying. At Meadow Bridges Sheridan was attacked from all sides by a large force of Infantry from Richmond, and by Gordon's Cavalry from the South, while Fitzhugh Lee's Cavalry were on the other side the Chickahominy to contest our pas- sage. I was sent with the Sixth Regiment to repair the bridge. The planks had been removed but the string-pieces were left. We laid fence rails and such planks as we could find, so that dismounted troops could get across. As soon as the bridge was passable it was crowded with crossing troops. My Regiment was then relieved and I went up on the bluff and sat down by General Sheridan and watched the fight on the other side of the Chickahominy. General Devin crossed with the rest of his Brigade and when Sheridan saw him moving forward he said, with a sigh of relief, "It is all right, there goes Tommy Devin." General Grant, in his "Memoirs," page 155, says of this affair: "Sheridan passed through the outer defenses of ii6 Life in Tent and Field Richmond, and could, no doubt, have passed through the inner ones, but having no supports in near he could not have remained. After caring for his wounded he struck for the James River below the city, to communicate with Butler and to rest his men and horses as well as to get food and forage for them. "He moved first between the Chickahominy and the James, but in the morning (the twelfth) he was stopped by batteries at Mechanicsville. He then turned to cross to the North side of the Chickahominy by Meadow Bridges. He found this barred, and the defeated Confederate Cav- alry, reorganized, occupying the opposite side. The panic created by his first entrance within the outer works of Richmond having subsided troops were sent out to attack his rear. "He was now in a perilous position, one from which but few Generals could have extricated themselves. The defenses of Richmond, manned, were to the right, the Chickahominy was to the left with no bridge remaining and the opposite bank guarded, to the rear was a force from Rich- mond. This force was attacked and beaten by Wilson's and Gregg's Divisions, while Sheridan turned to the left with the remaining Division and hastily built a bridge over the Chickahominy un- der the fire of the enemy, forced a crossing and soon dispersed the Confederates he found there. Sheridan's Raid to Trevillian Station 117 The enemy was held back from the stream by the fire of the troops not engaged in bridge building." In a short time the enemy were driven back and the column resumed its march to Haxall's Landing on the James River where supplies were obtained. Sheridan rejoined Meade's Army May 24th. On the first of June occurred the fight at Cold Harbor, a severe engagement in which Devin's Brigade took a part and in which Devin had a good deal of difficulty in keeping his pipe lighted. Six days later Sheridan started on his Trevillian Station raid. I messed with Colonel Crocker, and the first day we lost our coffee. We had provided six days' supply, but a fresh contraband (negro servant) had boiled the whole lot for the first morning's breakfast. This was a serious loss and can be appreciated only by those who have had a like experience. We relied on coffee more than on solid food. Sheridan's force was away from the main army about two weeks on this raid to Trevillian Station. We had some severe fighting. I remember more clearly than anything else during the expedition, the support of a battery by the Sixth New York. This battery was a little back from the crest of a hill so that the muzzles of the guns just cleared the top of the hill. The enemy had a battery on a similar crest about a mile distant. We remained Il8 Life in Tent and Field dismounted behind the battery, holding our horses, far enough down the hill so that most of the shells passed over us although we had some cas- ualties. Having to lie still for so long a time, and listen to the shells coming close over our heads, was more trying to the nerves than active fighting. CHAPTER XVII PROMOTION. EXPLOSION OF PETERSBURG MINE. SHERIDAN ORDERED TO THE SHENANDOAH VALLEY. I was promoted May 24 to the rank of Captain and Commissary of Subsistence. My commission was signed by Abraham Lincoln, President, and Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary of War. I was as- signed as Commissary of Subsistence to the Re- serve Brigade, composed of three Regiments of United States Regulars, and one New York and one Pennsylvania Regiment, all commanded by General Wesley Merritt. Previous to my assignment a Lieutenant from one of the Regular Regiments had been acting Commissary and had furnished the officers the supplies they needed, taking their "I. O. U." in payment. This was contrary to Army Regula- tions, as commissioned officers had a certain allow- ance for the purchase of their subsistence supplies. After my appointment, the officers, including General Merritt, continued to send orders with- out money to the Commissary, which I was com- 119 I20 Life in Tent and Field pelled to refuse ; whereupon General Merritt gave me a written order through his Adjutant General, to supply his officers until they should get their pay. I was surprised at this, as Merritt was a graduate of West Point and should have known the regulations. I explained to him that if I obeyed his order it would make him personally liable for all the debts his officers might contract with the Commissary and would be collected from his pay. He rescinded his order but it left with him a feeling of resentment toward me. This feeling was shared by the officers of the Regulars, who besides their inability to get supplies, had a feeling of contempt and enmity toward volunteer officers. Merritt shortly after issued an order forbid- ding the slaughter of cattle within a certain dis- tance of any of his Regimental Camps. The Army was supplied with beef by cattle driven on foot under charge of the Commissary, and slaugh- tered as required. A few days later I received an order of arrest signed by the Adjutant Gen- eral of the Brigade, "by order of Brigadier Gen- eral Wesley Merritt, commanding." I was charged with disobedience of orders in having cattle slaughtered within the prescribed limits. I felt quite disturbed, but found on investigation that the offal he had discovered had not been left by my herdsman but by those of another Brigade. Failure of the Mine Explosion 121 When I proved this to Merritt he relieved me from arrest and had the grace to ask my pardon. I was much in favor with the enlisted men as I kept them better supplied than they had been before at any time, but I was afraid General Mer- ritt might make it unpleasant for me, and at my request was transferred to my old Brigade under General Devin. Those whose memories go back to the Civil War cannot fail to remember the explosion of the mine in front of Petersburg on the thirty-first of July, 1864, and the great disappointment through- out the country at the dismal failure of the effort. Everything had been carefully planned and troops and artillery concentrated to follow up and take advantage of the confusion of the enemy. The failure has been ascribed to the incompetence or cowardice of the officers in charge of the forces which were to enter the mine and attack the di- vided lines of the enemy. Some hours elapsed be- tween the explosion, which had opened a deep passage one hundred feet wide, and the attack. General Grant was deeply chagrined at this failure. To add to his troubles word reached him that the Confederate General, Early, had defeated our troops in the Shenandoah Valley, crossed the Potomac, entered Pennsylvania, burned the de- fenseless city of Chambersburg, and was threat- ening Washington. 122 Life in Tent and Field I was on my way to the south of Richmond to supply my Brigade, which had been sent, on the failure of the mine, to destroy the Weldon Rail- road, when I received word to turn back as soon as possible after the issue of rations. This took most of the night, and before noon of the next day I was back at Haxall's Landing, where I received orders to leave my supply train and follow Sheri- dan to Washington, where he had already gone. Two Divisions of Cavalry were on transports when I reached the Landing. Two corps of In- fantry had preceded Sheridan for the defense of Washington, which was in a state of great con- sternation at the near approach of Early who was thundering at its defenses. Sheridan was ordered by General Grant to the Shenandoah Valley and given supreme command of all the forces in that Department. CHAPTER XVIII SHERIDAN IN THE SHENANDOAH VALLEY From the beginning of the war the Shenandoah Valley had been a bone of contention between the North and the South, lying between the Blue Ridge on the east, and the AUeghanies on the west. The Shenandoah River, called by the In- dians "The Daughter of the Stars," pursued its way north for one hundred miles, through a val- ley of the greatest fertility amid scenery unsur- passed in America, entering the Potomac at Harper's Ferry. The mountaineers living in the Blue Ridge from the mountain peaks could discern every movement in the valley and report to Gen- eral Lee, while several passes through the moun- tains enabled Lee to send troops from the Army of Virginia in haste to oppose any movement of the Federal forces or to attack our flank. The Baltimore & Ohio Railroad followed the Potomac west from Harper's Ferry and was sub- ject to frequent raids. Harper's Ferry, a little village at the north of the Shenandoah, became known to all the world when John Brown made it 123 124 Life in Tent and Field the base of his operations in his attempt to free the slaves. Thomas Jefferson had made his home there some of the time in order to gaze upon its superb mountain scenery. It was held by the Southern troops at the beginning of the war, but in 1861 was abandoned as untenable. The most im- portant military operations were further south, principally in the vicinity of Winchester, which is twenty-eight miles south of Harper's Ferry, and which is said to have changed hands over sixty times during the war. The possession of the valley was vital to Lee, not only because of its strategic valpe as a highway between the North and South, but because Lee drew from it largely supplies for his Army. Sheridan was entrusted by Grant with the im- portant task of clearing the enemy out of the val- ley and of rendering it barren as a basis of sup- plies. How well he performed his task history has recorded. July 31 I fed my Brigade near the Weldon River, south of Richmond, and the morning of August 2 I was in Washington. My wagon train with its well trained animals and experienced drivers, I was most reluctantly compelled to leave behind. I had often, with this train, overtaken the Cavalry on a rapid march over difficult roads. In Washington a new train had to be gotten to- gether, untrained animals fitted to harness, new Sheridan in the Shenandoah Valley 125 and inexperienced drivers found, and wagons loaded with supplies. I attended to the loading of the wagons, and as fast as they were loaded they were started out on the road leading up the Potomac toward Harper's Ferry, with orders to halt at a point just outside the city. When the last one was loaded I found that the wagons, instead of being on the road to Harper's Ferry, were scattered all over Washing- ton. The drivers were citizens, not soldiers, were averse to leaving Washington for service in the field, and many of them had abandoned their teams. This caused nearly a day's delay. At last, with the aid of the Provost Guard, the wagon train was got under way, with a soldier on guard over each driver to prevent his running away. Even with this precaution some of them escaped. I reached Harper's Ferry the night of August fourth and halted over night at the base of Point of Rocks. One of the mules belonging to the train got loose and climbed the rocks where it was so steep a man could not follow him. The Potomac was forded August 5 with the loss of one wagon. Halltown, six miles south, was reached late that night and there I found my Brigade (the Second Brigade, First Cavalry Divi- sion). It took the rest of the night to issue ra- tions. In the morning before daylight the Bri- gade were all gone and the empty wagon train was sent back to Harper's Ferry to be reloaded. CHAPTER XIX ATTACK BY MOSBY. THE AUTHOR WOUNDED August 12 the entire wagon train of the Cav- alry Division, consisting of several hundred wagons and at least three miles long, in charge of Captain Mann, Assistant Quartermaster, was on its way south on the pike leading from Har- per's Ferry to Winchester. Winchester is the most important place in the Shenandoah Valley. It is about thirty miles up the Valley, south of Harper's Ferry, and at different times was the headquarters of both the Federal and Rebel Armies. It changed hands sixty-seven times dur- ing the war. The inhabitants when they got up in the morning did not know whether they were in Northern or Southern hands. The wagons of my Brigade had the rear of the train, under the charge of Lieutenant Everts, Quartermaster of the Sixth New York, and my wagons loaded with subsistence stores the extreme rear. About dark we went through Charlestown, where John Brown was tried and executed. Here the train was joined by a brigade of infantry 126 Attack by Mosby 127 which was composed of raw troops enlisted for one hundred days' service. These troops marched in the front and rear of the train with a number of Companies scattered at intervals. About midnight, while passing through some woods, a light spring wagon belonging to a man who was authorized to follow the Army and save the hides of cattle butchered in the field, was cut out from the train of the Second Brigade, and run off through the woods on a cross road, by some boys who were barely out of their teens. Major Sawyer, the paymaster, was with the train, and his trunk containing $112,000 in greenbacks was in one of Lieutenant Event's wagons. The boys were doubtless after the money. Major Beards- ley of the Sixth New York, who had been North and was with the train on his way to rejoin his Regiment, accompanied by the mail carrier of the Sixth, overtook the wagon before it got out of the woods and brought it back to the train with both the young fellows prisoners. At this time I missed one of my wagons, which was loaded with coffee and sugar, and learned that it had broken down near Charlestown. With my orderly, I returned, found the wagon, made some temporary repairs, and started with it to overtake the train. About a mile north of Berryville a man, woman and girl were trying to get a cow into a small enclosure. I stopped and helped them to 128 Life in Tent and Field secure the cow and inquired if Mosby had been seen in the vicinity. Both the women in a very contemptuous manner said we needn't be afraid of Mosby as he was probably a hundred miles away. The man, however, came near me and said in an undertone that Mosby had been in Berryville the night before, and that if we could get beyond Berryville he thought we were safe from an at- tack. At that time Mosby's name was familiar to everybody. He was called by Northerners a guerrilla. He had an independent command com- posed of one or two hundred young men whose homes were in the northern part of Virginia, and who were familiar with every path through the woods and mountains. When too hotly pursued or not actively engaged, they could be concealed, scattered at their various homes. By sudden and unexpected attacks on our wagon trains and on the trains of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad he in- flicted a good deal of damage. I had a presenti- ment that Mosby would be after our train, insuf- ficiently guarded as it was. I then rode forward with the intention of reporting the danger from Mosby to some officer of the Infantry. A short distance ahead I found the wagons of the Reserve and Second Brigades halted to water the animals. They were "parked," i.e., drawn up in lines on the north of a small stream. Only one team could water at a time, and as fast as a team Author Wounded 129 was watered it went on and the next team drove into the stream. This necessarily took a good deal of time. The Infantry Guard were asleep on the ground and not an officer could be found. I rode forward and dismounted to watch my wagons as they came up out of the stream on to the road. To the east of Berryville is Snicker's Gap, through the Blue Ridge. Day was just breaking when from that direction came a few shells fired at the train, followed at once by a charge of Mosby's men yelling like Indians. There was no resistance. The Infantry Guard aroused from their sleep, scattered in all directions with hardly a shot. Those poor drivers who had been so re- luctant to leave Washington, left their teams and tried to escape but most of them were captured. I had tied my horse to a small tree and he had wound the hitching strap around the tree. The Johnnies came on so fast I had to cut the strap, and was trying to mount, when one of them put his pistol against my head and fired, the ball pass- ing through the hat and grazing my head. An- other, as I had my foot in the stirrup, shot me through the thigh and I fell to the ground. Sev- eral as they passed shot at me lying there. They were too excited to shoot straight. One man dismounted, snatched my saber, and rifled my pockets of watch, money and knife. I 130 Life in Tent and Field had quite a sum of money belonging to the Gov- ernment which I saved by thrusting it up my shirt sleeve. From what I saw of Mosby's men I would not consider them very formidable. They were a wild lot of boys and would not have stood up against a good steady troop. As soon as they had charged past me I crawled under a vine which ran over some rocks and became unconscious from loss of blood. My last recollection was of Mosby giving or- ders and of two field guns placed directly over me. While lying under the muzzles of the guns I plainly heard Mosby give orders to his men to cut the animals loose and to set fire to the wagons at once, and not to stop to plunder, , but to get across the river with the captured animals and prisoners as soon as possible. When I regained consciousness a number of Mosby's men were moving about collecting pris- oners. Two of them came to the clump of brush and vines where I was hid, and said, "Come out of there, you damned Yankee son of a b ," and both fired into the clump. I did not respond and they passed on. Others did the same at every little clump and used the same words. (An offi- cer who was a prisoner for some time, told me that the epithet had been applied to him so often he Mosby's Report 131 could not hear it anywhere without turning his head in response.) Mosby, in his "Memoirs," states in regard to this affair as follows: "Through Snicker's Gap we crossed the Blue Ridge Mountains after sundown and passed over the Shenandoah River not far from Berryville. I halted at a bam for a good rest and sent Russell to see what was going on upon the pike. I was asleep when he returned with the news that a very large train was just passing along. There were 325 wagons, guarded by Kenly's Brigade and a large force of Cavalry. They had not stopped to find out our numbers. We set a paymaster's wagon on fire, which contained — this we did not know at the time — $125,000. I deployed skir- mishers as a mask, until my command, the pris- oners, and booty were well across the Shenandoah River. We took between 500 and 600 horses, 200 beeves, and many useful stores; destroyed seventy-five loaded wagons, and carried off two hundred prisoners including seven officers." Mosby was mistaken in regard to a Cavalry Guard. There were no Cavalry guarding the wagon train, and the Infantry Brigade he refers to consisted solely of men who had just enlisted for one hundred days and had never been in the field before. 132 Life in Tent and Field In regard to the Paymaster's wagon which he says they burned, that is also a mistake. Some of his men got into the wagon but were easily driven out. Major Sawyer, Paymaster, the next day paid the Brigade with the money which Mosby says was burned. While I was still hidden under the vine a half dozen of our men, who had been in hiding, came up the road. When I called to them they were at first frightened, but I assured them I was a wounded Yanicee officer, and they helped me out and put me on a horse they had caught. I took charge of the squad and we moved toward Win- chester, but had not gone far when we met the First Rhode Island Cavalry going toward the scene of the disaster. With them was Billy Web- ster, my orderly, riding his own horse and leading mine. I waited while he went to a nearby farm house and got an old Virginia carriage and double harness for our two horses. He put the saddle in the carriage and I rode in state into Winchester. report of captain e. p. mckinney Harper's Ferry, W. Va., August 16, 1864 Capt. W. H. H. Emmons, Assistant Adjutant General, Reserve Brigade, Cavalry Corps. Sir : I have the honor to report that on Friday, the twelfth instant, I started from this place with Attack by Mosby 133 five days' rations for 2,250 men and extra stores for sales to officers, in wagons. The wagon train of this Brigade was composed of a few wagons carrying forage, ten wagons carrying subsistence stores, and the various regimental and headquar- ters wagons, and was in the rear of the entire train, which was commanded by Captain Mann, Assistant Quartermaster. From one mile this side of Charlestown the train was accompanied by a guard of Infantry, said to be a Brigade. About 2 A. M. of the thirteenth instant the rear of the train, i.e., the wagons belonging to my Bri- gade, after much trouble, caused by the inexperi- ence of the drivers and the newness of the mules to harness, went into park with the rest of the train (infantry and cavalry) at the stream this side of Berryville. It was daybreak in the morn- ing before the first part of the train had hauled out of park, and the wagons of the Second Brigade, which immediately preceded those of this Brigade, were beginning to cross the stream, when a few shots were fired by light howitzers from, I should think, a quarter of a mile distant, into the part of the train which was yet in park, which were almost instandy accompanied by a small number of mounted men, charging as for- agers, dressed in gray uniforms and carrying only revolvers, which they used with more noise than precision. The charge and also the howitzer shots came from the side of the road toward Snicker's Gap. The guards who accompanied us, as far as I could see, threw down their arms and ran away without firing a shot. The party that made the attack took away all the mules and fired 134 Life in Tent and Field the wagons which they could not get off, and es- caped without any molestation. AH the wagons of this Brigade were captured or destroyed, as far as I could learn, with the exception of one wagon carrying oiEcers' baggage of the First U. S. Cav- alry. My opinion is that a company of fifty men might have saved the train without loss, if they had made a stand in time. The property lost, for which I am responsible, was five days' rations for the brigade, stores destroyed for officers' supplies, all the quartermasters' and commissary property pertaining to the subsistence department of the brigade, and all my papers and vouchers of last month, this including books, ration returns, in- voices and receipts, receipts for payment of com- mutation of rations, etc. A wound received at the time the train was attacked prevented my making an earlier report. Very respectfully, sir, your obedient servant, E. P. McKlNNEY, Captain and Commissary of Subsistence, Reserve Brigade. In Winchester Dr. Streeter had charge of a little church used as a hospital filled with wounded, both Northerners and Southerners. I was taken into a little room at the right of the entrance and stripped. From my neck to my heels my under- clothing was soaked with blood which had run down my body while hidden under the vine where I lay with head and body down. I was being sponged when a troop of girls came Almost a Romance 135 in with refreshments for the wounded. Bass, the Hospital Steward, threw a blanket over me, and one of the girls sat down beside me. She said to me, "How do you feel?" I was somewhat em- barrassed and replied, "I feel pretty well, how do you do?" Some of the girls advised Dr. Streeter to put the rebel wounded out into the street, saying, "That's what they would do to you." Under Dr. Streeter's advice I asked the girl who sat by me if I might go to her house. Web- ster, my orderly, took me there in the old car- riage. I was given a large apartment, and food and flowers were brought to my room. The girl was bright and attractive. Any further romance was prevented by my departure the next morning. Colonel Scott of the Eighth Pennsylvania, had been wounded through the right shoulder. He came to my room to see me, and when he heard of my horses and carriage proposed that we start for home right away. It was quite risky but we resolved to take the chances. Near Berryville we were chased by a rebel picket and had to run our horses full speed. At Charlestown, where John Brown was tried and hung, we saw a party in rebel uniform but were not molested. Near Halltown at dusk we met quite a large party of Union men on the way back to their Regiments from hospitals in the North, 136 Life in Tent and Field and had a good deal of trouble in getting them to believe we were Yankees, not Johnnies. At Harper's Ferry, Washington Junction, Baltimore, and Havre de Grace, officers came on the train to examine the passes of soldiers going North, On leaving Baltimore the train was crowded. A lady, wife of a Captain in the Navy, gave me part of her seat and persuaded a man in the seat forward to vacate so that I could rest my wounded leg. I mention this because it was so unusual for a soldier, whether wounded or not, to get any sympathy. In New York I went to the house of Dr. Tucker, a cousin, who took great pride in showing off my wound to his patients. I was lying on a couch in the doctor's office and heard a whispering in the hall and the doctor say- ing repeatedly, "Come in, come in!" The door opened and my brother came in. His surprise and delight at finding me there were beyond my power of description. A Captain Shipman in Bingham- ton had seen my name in the New York Tribune among the wounded, and frightened my mother by abruptly telling her. My brother started at once for the Shenandoah Valley to look for me, and was^ overwhelmed with joy at finding me alive in New York. CHAPTER XX campaign in the shenandoah valley. Sheridan's ride My recovery was rapid, and in about three weeks I was well enough to report for duty. My brother accompanied me as Commissary's Clerk. I was ordered to Martinsburg to draw supplies for Sheridan's Army. As soon as they were loaded in wagons furnished by the Quartermaster, we started up the Valley. The wagon train in charge of a Quartermaster and myself, passed through Winchester before daylight in the morn- ing. About two miles south of Winchester we encountered some of our troops, coming back in disorder, who told us that Early had made an attack that morning and that our army was de- feated and in full retreat. We at once sent a man back to Winchester to inform Sheridan, who had stayed there over night, on his way back from Washington. He, however, had already got the news and passed us a few minutes later on his famous black horse, which Buchanan Reed has immortalized. 137 138 Life in Tent and Field Sheridan in his "Memoirs" says: — "We mounted our horses between half-past 8 and 9, and as we were proceeding up the street which leads directly through Winchester, from the Logan residence, where Edwards was quar- tered, to the Valley pike, I noticed that there were many women at the windows and doors of the houses, who kept shaking their skirts at us and who were otherwise markedly insolent in their demeanor, but supposing this conduct to be instigated by their well-known and perhaps natural prejudices, I ascribed to it no unusual significance. On reaching the edge of the town I halted a moment, and there heard quite distinctly the sound of artillery firing in an unceasing roar. Concluding from this that a battle was in prog- ress, I now felt confident that the women along the street had received intelligence from the bat- tle-field by the "grape-vine telegraph," and were in raptures over some good news, while I as yet was utterly ignorant of the actual situation." Shortly after orders came from Sheridan to take the wagon train two miles north of Win- chester and there await further orders. Win- chester was about half and half. Union and Rebel, and the feeling there was very bitter. As we passed through not a Union man was to be seen, but the other element, men and women, were out on the street jeering at us and telling us that Sheridan's Shenandoah Campaign 139 Sheridan had got what was coming to him, and that our Army was thoroughly licked. About dark we got orders to take the train back to join the Army, and as we again passed through Winchester, this time going south, not a Rebel was to be seen, but the Union element was on the street cheering and waving handkerchiefs. They had received the news of Sheridan's victory some time before. We reached the front with the supply train at midnight. Around headquarters, scattered pro- miscuously and covering acres of ground, were all the spoils of war — batteries and caissons, small arms, some stacked and some thrown loose on the ground, horses and mules, wagons and pris- oners. Our troops were asleep on the ground except a few who were on guard over the groups of prisoners. Early had certainly got what was coming to him. The next day we started with the wagon train back to Martinsburg for more supplies. Later the railroad from Harper's Ferry to Winchester was repaired and Winchester became our base of supplies.- Some of our trains had been cap- tured and the railroads torn up by Mosby's men. To stop Mosby's interference with our supplies, Sheridan issued a proclamation to the inhabitants of the Valley, informing them of his intention to destroy houses, bams, and everything which could 140 Life in Tent and Field harbor Mosby, if his means of communication were again interfered with. This had its desired effect. His trains were perfectly safe after that. About this time troops were sent into the Lou- don Valley to destroy the crops of hay and grain and to bring away the animals. The Loudon Val- ley lies east of the Shenandoah, separated by the Blue Ridge, and had been a fertile source of supply for Lee's Army, and also a base of opera- tions for Mosby. The expedition ended after burning barns and mills, and driving thousands of cattle, sheep and hogs across the Shenandoah River. They had to swim the river to get across into our lines. In the latter part of December, my Brigade of Cavalry (the Second) went into Winter Camp at Lovettsville, which lies at the mouth of the Loudon Valley, separated from Maryland by the Potomac. Opposite Lovettsville on the Mary- land side is the small town of Berlin. A rope ferry from Berlin was the only means of com- munication between the two places. Some time previously when I passed through Berlin a ma- chine gun was placed covering the ferry. It stood there unguarded and evidently abandoned. It was constructed something like a revolver. The soldiers called it a coffee-mill gun because it had a hopper, like an old-fashioned coffee-mill, which held the cartridges as they were fed into the gun. Winter Quarters 141 We were at Lovettsville about two months. The inhabitants of the Loudon Valley were gen- erally friendly. Supplies for men and horses w,ere drawn in wagons from Harper's Ferry. I had been one day to Harper's Ferry for sup- plies, and had sent them back by wagon road on the south side of the river, while I returned by rail on the north side, and rode on the engine with the engineer. ' The train was late and I found the ferryman at Berlin asleep in his house. It was imperative for me to get back to camp before morning, ahead of my train. It was only by threats and promise of reward I could get tjie ferryman to take me across. The wire cable was down and the river was swift and full of anchor ice, and the boat had to be poled across. We landed about a half mile down the river. The Regiments of the Brigade were stationed in a semicircle about Lovettsville and had built winter huts. These were made like dog cabins about twelve feet long and ten feet wide, with bunks for two men on each side, a door in one end, and a chimney made of logs with a fireplace, in the other. The cracks between the logs were chinked with mud, and the inside of the chimney plastered with the same substance. Each soldier was provided with a piece of muslin six feet square, out of which he made a shelter to sleep under in the field. These had buttonholes and 142 Life in Tent and Field buttons on all four sides. By buttoning four pieces together a roof for the hut was provided which kept out the rain and let in light. One night the Sixth New York had a surprise party. A company of Mosby's men captured their pickets and rode into camp firing their pistols and yelling. Our men turned out in night uniform and soon had them on the run. The Johnnies killed one officer and wounded a number of men, and lost two men killed and a number wounded and prisoners. CHAPTER XXI EXPEDITION TO JOIN GRANT BEFORE RICEMOND In the latter part of February we broke camp and started South, There was a deep snow on the ground. I was ordered to draw rations of coffee, sugar and salt for Sheridan's entire force and forbidden to take anything else in the wagons, even a small tent for myself. The only tent in the whole command was one used by the Adjutant General. The whole Army slept on the ground in the snow. I, one night, got into a small house with no floor except the ground. It was occupied by an old woman who had a little fire in a fire- place. I had lain down for a night's rest when in came an officer of higher rank who ordered me out. It was his right, I suppose. I slept on the railroad which was near, and lay on the broken stone with which the roadbed was ballasted, where the snow had blown away. In the morning my orderly asked me how I liked my feathers. The column of mounted troops was perhaps ten miles long. One day the column crossed a small stream. Before all had crossed, the water 143 144 Life in Tent and Field had risen so that some horses were carried off and horses and riders drowned. It had rained, and rained hard, for two days and nights. Every- body was wet to the skin. The next morning Devin sent Mahnken, his Adjutant General, to me for some Commissary whiskey. I told him there was nothing doing, that Sheridan's orders were so strict I had not dared to put any whiskey into the wagons. He came back a second time when I told him the same as Before, but that if he would protect me with Sheri- dan I would see the Commissary Sergeant as to what could be done. The third time he returned and said the whiskey was for Sheridan and his staff and for all his officers. In some unaccount- able way a cask of whiskey had got in among the barrels of sugar and salt. When we rode into Staunton I took from a Johnny an old Revolutionary flint-lock horse pistol, which I kept. The old thing was of no value but I still have it. At Waynesboro among the mountains, Custer captured Early's entire force and took seventeen battle flags, which were carried by his escort up to the time of Lee's surrender. Custer was a dashing officer and loved a display. The wagon train consisted solely of an am- munition train and my train of subsistence stores. On the road to Charlottesville the wagons got GENERAL GEORGE A.. CUSTER Expedition to Join Grant Before Richmond 145 stuck in the mud. While waiting for help to move them I went into an elegant Southern house. I found only a lady, who told me that her husband was the English engineer who constructed the Menai Bridge ; that our soldiers had taken several hundred bottles of wine and had destroyed her furniture and pictures, among them a painting by Landseer; and that some of the men were in the basement at that time. I ordered them out and came near being shot for my pains. They were a lot of men whom we called "dog robbers," who on a long march would get away from their com- mand and commit all kinds of depredations. These men were a curse to our Army. On a long march they would drop out of the column and when they again reported for duty claim that their horses were disabled and unable to keep up. By their plundering and robbery they did more than all the rest of the Arniy to embitter the in- habitants against the North. One of them one night stole my horse which was fastened close by where I was sleeping. The command moved at daylight, and after a long search I found the horse in possession of a gang who were having breakfast in picnic style, of bacon and eggs, honey, and various delicacies. The horse had been sheared and smeared so that I would not have known him but for a whinny he gave when he saw the mare on which I was 146 Life in Tent and Field riding. With the help of my orderly, and by covering the gang with my revolver and by threat- ening to shoot the first man that moved, I re- covered the horse. During our halt at Charlottesville, I with some others called on the President of the University of Virginia, who treated us with courtesy and showed us through the building. There were no students there at the time. This University was founded by Thomas Jefferson in 18 19 and is still very flourishing and draws students from the whole country, some from the North. From Charlottesville we moved to the James River above Lynchburg, struck the James River and Kanawha Canal, and began its destruction. The canal was fed from the James River, which was then at a high stage, and when we cut the locks the water rushed through them in a torrent. The wagon train for a long distance followed the tow path which was between the canal and the river, and we were occasionally fired at by a small force of Confederates who kept opposite us on the south side. A crowd of about two thousand negroes fol- lowed the train. When we came to a bridge which was so narrow the mules could not draw the wagons across safely, they would unhitch the ani- mals and draw the wagons by hand. I asked one old darky why he left home to tramp so far. He Expedition to Join Grant Before Richmond 147 said, "Because you all took all we had to eat." I asked him why they didn't hide it, and he replied, "Marse, we done hide it, we done bury it up in the groun', but when you all came along you dug it up jus' as if you know right whar 'twas." A few nules above Lynchburg we re-crossed the canal on an open bridge, i.e., a bridge without any side rails or guard. This was a somewhat wider bridge than some, and we did not have the mules taken from the wagons. One wagon loaded with anununition went overboard into the canal, dragging the six mules ofiF the bridge, and wagon and mules all disappeared. I was told that there were two black babies in the wagon, and this was probably true as a good many women were carry- ing babies, and they got tired and slipped dieir babies into the wagons. At a small place through which we passed I obtained from a citizen some Confederate paper money, amounting, at its face value to over one hundred thousand dollars, in exchange for a small amount of coffee. The man from whom I got it said the Confederacy had gone up and the money was no good. White House is nearly east of Richmond, where the Richmond & Yorktown Railroad connects with the Pamunkey River. It was used as a base of supplies for McClellan's Army while 148 Life in Tent and Field in front of Richmond. It is reached by boat and had a very good landing. At White House a large quantity of subsistence stores were turned over to me. These had been sent there by General Grant to await our coming. General Sheridan had sent some of his scouts through the Rebel lines to General Grant, asking for supplies to meet him at White House. It was reported that each of these scouts was promised several thousand dollars to deliver the message. I was ordered, while at White House, to issue rations to the negroes who followed us. It was very difficult to do this as there was no way to distinguish those who had been supplied from those who had not. To facilitate the business I had them divided into groups of one hundred, and guards placed over each group. They were so hungry that many would break away from the guard when they had got rations and join the next group so as to get a double supply. From White House we proceeded to join Grant's Army south of Richmond. The first day and night behind Grant's lines the bullets whizzed over our heads without intermission, sounding very close. The troops in the camp paid no at- tention and seemed unconcerned. The bullets must have come a long distance as I could not connect the whistle of a bullet with the sound of a gun, and they were higher in the air than the Expedition to Join Grant Before Richmond 149 sound would indicate, as in the morning there were no holes in the canvas tops of the wagons. They doubtless came from the picket line which was probably on lower ground than our camp. CHAPTER XXII GENERAL WARREN RELIEVED. LEE'S SURRENDER The next morning, March 28, 1865, the wagon train started by an inside road in an eastward direction, toward the left of our Army. It had rained most of the time since leaving Winchester, the last of February, and the roads were in a worse condition than could be imagined by one who had never seen a Virginia mud road. There seemed to be no bottom. While struggling in the mud, Custer's Division came back to help the tr^in through, having been sent by General Sheridan. I rode forward to Dinwiddle Court House, where General Sheridan had his headquarters in a little tavern. This tavern and the Court House (both about the same size) and one or two dwellings comprised the County Seat of Dinwiddle County. A cavalryman gave me some papers he had taken from the Court House. I found General Devin engaged in a skirmish with Rebel Cavalry, and remained with him some time. Toward night he was driven back, infantry having reinforced the enemy's cavalry. Custer 150 Dinwiddle Court House 151 was ordered up to help Devin. He arrived at the head of a long escort carrying the seventeen battle flags he had captured from Early's Army at Waynesboro, and followed by two brass bands. Without any delay he charged the enemy, with his bands playing and his men shouting for all they were worth. The enemy, supposing Devin had been largely reinforced, fell back. The next day I was with General Sheridan at Dinwiddle Court House. He seemed full of sup- pressed excitement. His eyes grew narrower and longer. When officers came with reports or for instructions he gave replies and instructions on the moment, without hesitancy or taking time for deliberation. The whole field and the position of every Regiment of his Army, he seemed to know by intuition. He could not brook delays but expected his orders to be executed as prompdy as they were given. Because of General Warren's delays at the battle of Five Forks, Sheridan relieved him of command of the Fifth Corps. This required a, good deal of nerve as Warren had been a popu- lar and successful officer, but Sheridan had been made by Grant responsible for the conduct of his corps and this was justified by the result. During the batde of Five Forics, April i, 1865, I saw a whole Division of Infantry seated on the ground, all gambling. They had been temporarily 152 Life in Tent and Field relieved by another Division and were in rear of the firing line, not out of danger. Such a posi- tion without action is more trying than actual fighting. Gambling under such circumstances is perhaps excusable. In the early evening, after the battle, I met Brayton Ives, Colonel of the First Connecticut Cavalry, escorting to the rear with his Regiment, five thousand prisoners captured that day. Ives was a classmate of mine at Yale College. We had been intimate friends, had belonged to the same boat club, and had pulled together in the same boat in a Yale-Harvard race. I rode with him a way. He told me that he had among the prisoners , a prominent Yale graduate who had re- sided in the North and was indebted to the North for his education, but had joined the Southern Army. Ives said he intended to make him "hump." After the battle of Five Forks, Lee must havf known the certainty of his defeat. If he had sur- rendered without leaving Richmond he would have saved many lives and much loss to the South. Probably his best judgment was overruled by his advisers. He evacuated Richmond in great haste, withdrawing his troops during the night. Gen- eral Grant followed him at once, the cavalry taking the lead, and the supply train, under my charge, followed the cavalry with all speed pos- Expiring Efforts of Lee 153 sible. As we passed along the Weldon Railroad I wondered how Richmond and Lee's Army could have got supplies. In many places where there were curves, fence rails were used on the lower side to prop up the rails and ties to keep them from sliding off. At this time I was joined by Rev. Joseph Twitchell, who wanted to be in at the death and who remained with me until after Lee's surrender. He had previously been chaplain of one of Dan Sickles' Regiments. In college we pulled in the same crew in several races and were quite inti- mate. He was large and athletic and was said to have carried some of the wounded off the bat- tlefield on his back. From his experience in the Army he was enabled to get through the lines. He desired to meet Sheridan, and I introduced him one day while Sheridan was riding along the road at the head of his staff. Joe's hat fell off and at the General's request one of his staff dis- mounted and returned the hat. I arrived at Sailor's Creek with the train while the fight was on. Sailor's Creek was about the last gasp of Lee's expiring Army. Beside the road we halted near a surgeon's tent,, from which arms and legs came flying. The Union troops were wading the stream up to their armpits in water, under fire from the enemy on the other side. When our troops reached the opposite bank the 154 Life in Tent and Field enemy skedaddled. I forded the stream with the wagon train, and as I went up the bank on the opposite side, the line which the enemy had held was plainly marked by dead bodies. One deep cut made by the water beside the road was filled with dead bodies fallen on each other. I issued rations to the troops as I had oppor- tunity, to one brigade here, to another there. The road from Sailor's Creek to Appomattox was strewn with armSj knapsacks, canteens, bake-ket- tles. I was astonished at the number of bake- kettles left by the enemy. They were made of cast iron with a cover and were quite heavy. I did not see how, with their limited transporta- tion, they could carry them all. After the battle of Sailor's Creek, the pursuit of Lee's Army by Sheridan's Cavalry was like the rounding up of a flock of scattered sheep. At Appomattox Station supplies which Lee had or- dered there were captured, and Lee's only alterna- tive was surrender. There was very little pomp or circumstance attending the surrender. Gen- eral Grant and General Lee arranged the whole matter in a room by themselves. Lee's Army quietly broke up and the men returned to their homes. But for Sheridan's Cavalry, Lee might have held out for a considerable time. The mounted troops could move much faster than infantry. News of Lincoln's Death 155 Sheridan gave his own men almost no rest, either night or day, nor did he give the enemy a mo- ment's rest. After the surrender of Appomattox, on our return toward Petersburg, the news of Lincoln's assassination reached the Army. The whole Army went into mourning. Many of the soldiers shed tears. Everyone felt a sense of personal loss. Nowhere throughout the country was more sincere grief than in the Army. Never in my whole intercourse with the Army did I hear a word of adverse criticism of Lincoln. The name "Father Abraham" was a talisman which insti- gated them to many heroic deeds and to patient endurance of privation and hardship. CHAPTER XXIII OUR LAST MARCH. THE GRAND REVIEW After Lee's surrender, on the twenty-fourth of April, Sheridan's Cavalry and the Sixth Corps of Infantry started for Greenville, N. C, to re- inforce General Sherman who was on his march to the sea. When we reached South Boston on the Dan River in North Carolina, we were or- dered back, as Sherman had already completed his victorious march. Our return to Washington was a long, tedious, dusty march, across North Carolina and the whole State of Virginia. It took nearly a month. We reached Washington without incident May i6 and went into camp between Washington and Alexandria. On the twenty-first of May, 1865, we moved to Bladensburg, Md., in preparation for the Grand Review, and on the twenty-third I passed the White House in review with General Devin at the head of his Division. A few blocks beyond we broke ranks and I had a chance to see the other Divisions pass. Just as I got back to the White House one of the generals who was 156 The Grand Review 157 fond of a display caused his horse to cavort, and his hat fell off, and he had to wait for a man to dismount and pick it up. It took all day of, the twenty-third for the Army of the Potomac in column of platoons, ex- tending across Pennsylvania Avenue from curb to curb, in close formation, at quick step, to pass a given point. The following day, the twenty- fourth, was taken up by Sherman's Army in the same way. His men had a long, free and easy stride, eloquent of their long march across the States. Each of his Regiments had some pet or mascot carried by one of the soldiers — eagles, owls, roosters, dogs, opossums. About two hun- dred thousand men passed the White House in review May 23 and 24, 1865. Those who wit- nessed it, even the soldiers who were accustomed to the armies in the field, were overwhelmed with a sense of the power the Nation had put forth in the cause of a free Government. CHAPTER XXIV CLOSING SCENES The next day after the Review the Cavalry Regiments returned to their camps near Alex- andria, where they remained until they were paid off and mustered out. My tent was pitched on a little knoll from which I could see in all direc- tions. In it my clerk lived with me and kept his desk and papers. I had sent him one afternoon to headquarters with some papers. It was grow- ing dusk and a good deal past the time for his re- turn when, as I sat in front of my tent, I distin- guished him a short distance away apparently halted by two men. He was mounted on a black mule and wore no uniform, but had on a linen coat. There seemed to be some trouble and I grabbed a loaded revolver and started toward him on a run, in my stockings, without shoes. As I drew near he spurred the mule to get away. One of the men held him by his linen coat, which he tore in two and the coat tails were left in his hands. As my clerk recognized me he was off his ?nule 158 Closing: Scenes 159 in a second, and planted two blows, one with his right hand and one with his left, in the officer's face; then whirled him about and seizing one coat tail and then the other, ripped his coat up the back to the neck. I recognized in the two men a Captain of the New York Cavalry and his First Lieu- tenant. The Captain was a six-footer but my clerk was a mere stripling. I covered both offi- cers with my revolver while we got away and returned to our tent. But I anticipated trouble. We hid all our weapons and awaited develop- ments. In an hour's time my Commissary Ser- geant came to my tent and reported that the New York, with loaded rifles, surrounded the knoll on which was my tent, and threatened to blow njy whole establishment to hell. I stepped out and could see their rifles on all sides gleaming in the moonlight. To my inquiry, "What troops are there and who is in command?" an Orderly Sergeant whom I knew stepped out and replied : "This is Company of the New York. Our officers have been attacked and in- sulted, our Captain has both eyes blackened, and we propose to take satisfaction." I replied in a loud voice that all could hear : "You ought to be ashamed to bring a whole command armed with rifles to attack two unarmed i6o Life in Tent and Field men. Your Regiment has a high reputation for bravery. Your officers were not attacked. They themselves attacked my clerk, a mere boy." We learned later that the two officers had been to Washington and purchased new uniforms, that they had indulged freely, and on their return, meeting my clerk, had mistaken him for one of the natives. They had taken from him and de- stroyed his pass signed by General Sheridan, and but for my arrival would have given him rough treatment. The Sergeant took his men back, and the next morning both officers came to me, confessed that they had been drunk, and begged me not to prefer charges against them, which they said would be ruinous to their reputation in their home town where they were about going. I assured them that I did not care to carry the matter further. The Captain said that the coat which had been ripped up the back had cost him sixty dollars that day. Sixty dollars was a good deal of money at that time. We kept our tent standing one night, after all the Regiments had left, in order to finish our papers, and my clerk and I remained alone. The solitude seemed intense. The camps had been infested with thieves and robbers, who were like the vultures that hover over a field after a battle. Closing Scenes i6l and we took turns standing guard all night, rifle in hand. In spite of our best precaution some miscreant stole my blooded mare. She had carried me through many dangers and had been my pet and companion. We had eaten together and had drunk from the same bucket. She would follow me like a little dog. She had a pair of light heels and knew how to use them against strangers. I am sure she never became attached to another master as she was to me. She was a faithful friend and I mourned her loss many years. The Government furnished all officers and sol- diers transportation to their homes. It was wonderful how soon so great an army of men were swallowed up and absorbed in peace- ful pursuits. Although more than half a cen- tury has passed, I still dream of marching columns and the rattle of musketry. •p|pl£iHi):!ii|!;