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TWO DAYS OF WAR 
 
 A GETTYSBURG, NARRATIVE 
 
 AND 
 
 OTHER EXCURSIONS 
 
 BY 
 
 HENRY EDWIN TREMAIN 
 
 Author ot 
 " Last Hours of Sheridan's Cavalry "; " Ethics of the 
 Tariff"; "A Talk About Money" "Franchises or 
 Monopolies, etc."j "Sketch of Lafayette"; etc. 
 
 1905 
 
 BoNNELL, Silver and Bowers 
 
 FORTY-EIGHT WEST TWENTY 
 SECOND STREET, NEW YORK CITY 
 
 tL 
 
The design appearing on the cover of this volume is 
 an exact reproduction of the membership badge of the 
 Third Army Corps Union, organized September, 1863. 
 
 The white diamond that forms the background on which 
 the insignia is reproduced represents the badge of the 
 Second Division of the Third Army Corps. 
 
 THE PUBLISHERS. 
 
 Copyright, IMS 
 
 By 
 
 BONNEU,, SILVER ASD BOWERS 
 
THIS VOLUME 
 
 RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED 
 
 THE THIRD ARMY CORPS UNION 
 
PREFACE 
 
 The first three chapters of this volume 
 were -written for, and at the request of, 
 members of the " Third Army Corps Union.'' 
 The remaining chapters comprise allied 
 compilations from the various sources they 
 respectively state. This volume is therefore 
 dedicated to that Association, which has 
 thrice honored me with its chief office.' 
 
 The AtfTHOB. 
 
 New York, May the fifth, 1905. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 A GETTYSBURG NARRATIVE 
 
 PAOB 
 
 I. RIDES, JULY 1, 1863 .... 1 
 II. RIDES, JULY 2, 1863 .... 36 
 
 III. AWAY FROM THE BATTLE— ORIGIN 
 
 OF THE "THIRD ARMY CORPS 
 UNION" ,. 92 
 
 IV. SECOND FIRE ZOUAVES, OR SEV- 
 
 ENTY-THIRD REGIMENT N. Y. 
 VOLUNTEERS AT GETTYSBURG . 108 
 V. THE "EXCELSIOR BRIGADE" AT 
 
 GETTYSBURG 139 
 
 VI. THE CAVALRY AT GETTYSBURG, 
 BY CAPTAIN WILLIAM M. HEER- 
 
 MANCE 147 
 
 VII. THE GETTYSBURG POEM, BY GEN- , 
 ERAL HORATIO C. KING . 165 
 
 OTHER EXCURSIONS 
 
 Vin. IN SHERMAN'S ARMY— THE GEORGIA 
 CAMPAIGN OPENS — BATTLES AT 
 TUNNEL HILL, ROCKYFACE RIDGE, 
 DALTON AND RESACA . . .171 
 IX. LETTER "FROM THE MISSISSIPPI;" 
 —COLUMBUS, FORT PILLOW, MEM- 
 PHIS, HELENA— MILITARY AND NA- 
 VAL STATIONS— COLORED TROOPS 
 —GUERILLAS AND REPRISALS— 
 REFUGEES- BENEVOLENCE . . 191 
 
riii CONTENTS 
 
 X. AFFAIRS AT NEW ORLEANS — THE 
 CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION 
 AND VISIT TO IT OP GENERALS 
 CANBY AND SICKLES: SPEECH OF 
 LATTER — A GUNBOAT TRADE 
 FRUSTRATED ..... 200 
 
 XI. A FLORIDA EXCURSION— EXPEDI- 
 TION UNDER GENERAL ASBOTH— 
 ITS DIVERTING EFFECT . . .207 
 XII. IN CHARLESTON HARBOR— RETALI- 
 ATION POLICY — EXCHANGES OF 
 IMPRISONED OFFICERS — THEIR 
 TREATMENT — CEREMONY . .211 
 
 XIII. THE GRAND EXCURSION TO THE 
 
 WEST AND SOUTHWEST AND COAST 
 CONCLUDED — CONDITIONS IN SIX 
 OF THE VISITED STATES SUMMA- 
 RIZED—A STAFF REPORT . . 221 
 
 XIV. INCIDENTS OF THE RECONSTRUC- 
 
 TION PERIOD — NORTH CAROLINA 
 —CONDITION OP THE STATE — 
 SOCIETY AND POLITICS — REAL 
 ESTATE TOPICS — RENTALS— 
 "YANKEES" UNWELCOME, EX- 
 CEPT FOR PROFIT — A GENEROUS 
 GOVERNMENT — NEWSPAPERS — 
 IMMIGRATION 231 
 
 XV. RECONSTRUCTION INCIDENTS (CON- 
 TINUED) — A MURDER TRIAL — 
 THE PREEDMAN'S BUREAU — 
 VISIT OF GENERAL O. O. HOWARD 
 — HIS ADVICE TO BLACKS AND 
 WHITES — RESTORING ABAN- 
 DONED PROPERTY . . . .239 
 
CONTENTS ix 
 
 XVI. RECONSTRUCTION DIFFICULTIES IN 
 SOUTH CAROLINA — MILITARY EM- 
 BARRASSMENTS—A CHAPTER OP 
 HISTORY FROM OFFICIAL PAPERS 
 — PRACTICAL DIFFICULTIES IN 
 RESTORING PEACE AND INDUSTRY 
 IN THE AREA OF HOSTILITIES — 
 EXCURSIONS TO ABANDONED 
 PLANTATIONS ON THE "SEA ISL- 
 ANDS" — THE PROBLEMS— OWN- 
 ERS' PETITION AND REPORTS 
 UPON THEIR CLAIMS— PRESIDENT 
 JOHNSON'S POLICY , . . ,247 
 
 XVn. A SCENE IN CHARLESTON — SIGNIFI- 
 CANT RUINS — REFLECTIONS — 
 NEW YEAR'S DAY, 1866 . . .284 
 
 EXCURSION TO HADLEY, MASSACHUSETTS, 
 
 1895 
 XVIII. MAJOR-GENERAL JOSEPH HOOKER, 
 HIS LIFE AND SERVICES — ANCES- 
 TRY — BOYHOOD — IN MEXICAN 
 WAR — IN 1861 — HIS BRIGADE — 
 HIS DIVISION — ITS FIRST BAT- 
 TLE — WILLIAMSBURG — "MA- 
 CHINE GUNS" FIRST USED IN 
 BATTLE — IN FRONT OF RICH- 
 MOND — ANTIETAM — FREDERICKS- 
 BURG — PROMOTED TO COMMAND 
 THE ARMY — CHANCELLORSVILLE 
 
 — RELINQUISHING THE COMMAND 
 
 — HIS RELATION TO GETTYSBURG 
 —NEW DUTIES — IN TENNESSEE- 
 LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN — PEACH 
 TREE CREEK — ATLANTA — RE- 
 TIRES FROM THE FIELD — HIS 
 PERSONALITY 295 
 
eONTEHTS 
 
 XIX» EXCURSION MAY 2 AND 3, 1863, TO 
 CHANCELLORSVILLE— SOME NEWS- 
 PAPER ARTICLES BY AUTHOR AND 
 BY "DUTTON" [COL. CLIFFORD 
 THOMSON] — COPY OF A WAR DE- 
 PARTMENT MAP — OFFICIAL RE- 
 PORT AND TESTIMONY BEFORE 
 CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEE OF 
 THIRD CORPS COMMANDER — AD- 
 DRESS (1896) OF GENERAL HOOK- 
 ER'S ASSISTANT ADJUTANT-GEN- 
 ERAL (DICKINSON) . . . .355 
 
 XX. A RE-UNION IN 1885 — BATTLE OF 
 LAKE GEORGE, N. Y. — ADDRESS 
 OF H. E. TREMAIN — A FOURTH 
 OP JULY OCCASION — THE DAY, 
 THE PLACE, THE VETERANS — 
 BRADDOCK, WASHINGTON AND 
 THE HORICON — 1755, 1865 AND 1885 
 — NEW YORK — SENTIMENT OF 
 NATIONAL HOLIDAYS ... 443 
 
 SOCIETY OF THE ARMY OF THE POTOMAC: 
 RE-UNIONS 
 
 XXI. 1896 AT BURLINGTON, VERMONT — 
 REMARKS OF H. E. TREMAIN RE- 
 SPONDING TO TOAST "THE ARMY 
 OF THE POTOMAC" — EVOLUTION 
 OF VOLUNTEERS INTO SOLDIERS 
 AND THEIR RETURN TO CIVIC 
 DUTIES — SOME NATIONAL DE- 
 FICIENCIES — HAP-HAZARD VOL- 
 UNTEERING — COMPULSORY SER- 
 VICE — ARBITRATION AND ARMA- 
 MENT .454 
 
CONTENTS 3d 
 
 XXn, 1897 AT TROY, N. Y.— REMARKS OF 
 H. E. TREMAIlSr — RE-UNIONS USE- 
 FUL — WAR AND PEACE — THE 
 NAVY — THE ARMY — THE PEN- 
 SIONS — HONOR TO SOLDIERS — 
 "STRENGTHEN THE REPUBLIC" . 465 
 
 XXm. 1899 AT PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA 
 —REMARKS OF H. E. TREMAIN— 
 "OUR COUNTRY" — THE INCENSE 
 OF PITTSBURGH'S HOSPITALITIES- 
 ITS INDUSTRIES— NATIONAL PROG- 
 RESS—MILITARISM A BUGABOO 
 —NATIONAL DEFENSE REQUIRES 
 POWER TO STRIKE — IMPERIAL- 
 ISM 474 
 
 XXIV. 1900 AT FREDERICKSBURG, VA. — 
 ADDRESS OF H. E. TREMAIN ON 
 "YESTERDAY, TO-DAY AND TO- 
 MORROW " — FREDERICKSBURG 
 AND WILLIAMSBURG— VIRGINIA- 
 ITS EXTENSIVE CLAIMS — TERRI- 
 TORIAL POLICY — A RE-UNITED 
 SOLDIERY FOLLOWING A COMMON 
 FLAG — EXTENDED SOVEREIGNTY 
 —NO INSULAR STATEHOOD . . 486 
 
 INDEX . . .... 503 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 Facing page 
 
 Henry Edwin Tremain Title 
 
 Map accompanying Gleneral Bimey's Official Report . 86 
 Major H. E. Tremain, A. D. C. (1863) . . . . 95 
 The Second Fire Zouaves' Monument at Gettysburg . 108 
 The Excelsior Brigade Monument at Gettysburg . 139 
 Fac-simUe of Letter to Major H. E. Tremain, A. D. C, 
 from Major-General Daniel Butterfield, May 17, 
 
 1864 190 
 
 Major-General Daniel E. Sickles 206 
 
 Major-General Joseph Hooker .... 295 
 
 Photographs of the First Machine Guns ever used in 
 
 Battle; one being found at West Point, N. Y., and 
 
 the other at the Springfield Armory, and used at 
 
 the Battle of Williamsburg . . . .306 and 309 
 
 Major-General Daniel Butterfield, Chief of Staff, in 
 
 his Tent at Headquarters, Army of the Potomac . 320 
 Copy of a War Department Map of the ChancellorsviUe 
 Field. Plate 39 (No. 3), in the Official Atlas ac- 
 companying War Records 360 
 
A GETTYSBURG NARRATIVE. 
 
A GETTYSBUEG NAEEATIVE. 
 
 On the evening of the thirtieth of June, 
 1863, the Third Army Corps, after an after- 
 noon's pleasant march, went into bivouac a 
 few miles east of Emmitsburg. Expecting 
 to resume the march as usual* the next morn- 
 ing, very few tents near Bridgeport repre- 
 
 * The Third Corps had encamped for the night near 
 Frederick on the twenty-eighth of June. It had 
 niarehed from Middletown "through Frederick, 
 crossed the Monocacy three miles ahove, and bivou- 
 acked for the night seven miles from the town, on 
 the Woodsborough road." On the twenty-ninth it 
 " marched to Taneytown, through Woodsborough and 
 Bruceville." On the thirtieth it " made a short 
 march after midday on the road to Emmitsburg," 
 one division bivouacking about midway between the 
 two places. On July first part of the corps 
 " marched through Emmitsburg and halted a mile 
 out of town on the Waynesboro Pike." Report of 
 General Humphreys (Second Division), Official Rec- 
 ords of War of Rebellion, Vol. 47, Part I, page S30. 
 Birney's (the First) Division went into bivouac on 
 the night of June thirtieth about " one and a half 
 miles from the town" (Emmitsburg). See Birney's 
 report, same volume, page 482. As the corps passed 
 through these villages the troops enjoyed with great 
 relish the welcoming conduct of the inhabitants, in 
 marked contrast, as it was, with our experiences la 
 Virginia settlements. 
 
 I 
 
2 A. getttsbvbg narrative. 
 
 Bented the corps headquarters, where I was 
 then serving as senior aide-de-camp to the 
 corps commander, Major-General D. E. 
 Sickles. The latter had been absent for a 
 few weeks, in consequence of an injury re- 
 ceived at ChancellorsviUe, where he was 
 struck in the chest by a piece of shell, and 
 had just reported for duty at Frederick, Md., 
 on the twenty-eighth of June. 
 
 Perhaps just here it should be explained 
 that during his absence, and while I was with 
 Greneral Sickles in New York, the army com- 
 mander, General Hooker, in response to my 
 telegraphic offer, had appointed me as one of 
 his own aides-de-camp. Hence the coinci- 
 dence on the twenty-eighth of his relinquish- 
 ment of command and, with the return of 
 General Sickles on that day, my resuming my 
 former duties at Third Army Corps head- 
 quarters.* To the pleasant associations en- 
 
 * Contemporaneous with this event a letter from 
 the writer to his home said : " Frederick, Md., Head- 
 quarters Army of the Potomac, June 28th, 1863, A. 
 M. • * * I would have written oftener, but we 
 have been movinjof almost constantly, and using spare 
 moments for rest. Some of the troops have been 
 making long and rapid marches, and staif officers 
 have had some fearfully long rides to make. Some- 
 times I have made iifty or sixty miles during a twen- 
 ty-four hours. General Sickles arrived here last 
 night and is going to-day to take command of the 
 Third Corps. I shall be there after to-day. » » » 
 
JULY FIRST, 1863. 3 
 
 joyed in the meantime, wliile serving at Lead- 
 quarters, Army of the Potomac, may in part 
 be due the constant recurrence of my official 
 missions to and from those headquarters that 
 occurred in my subsequent experience. 
 
 Summoned from my tent before daybreak 
 of the first of July I hastily prepared for the 
 saddle and received instructions to " find Gen- 
 eral Reynolds," commanding the Pirst Army 
 Corps, and to say to him that the Third Corps, 
 pursuant to orders from General Meade, 
 commanding the army, Avas marching to Em- 
 mitsburg, and was going " into position " 
 there (to use the customary phrase that sig- 
 nified the end and purpose of the day's 
 march), and to inquire whether he. General 
 
 You have probably read in the papers by this time 
 Hooker is relieved at his own request. The Wash- 
 ington people would not let him have his own way. 
 But more of that some other time. I feel badly now, 
 I expected to fight the next great battle under Hook- 
 er, for certainly there will be one soon. About Gen- 
 eral Meade who succeeds him * » » . He is 
 said to be an able man. 
 
 Just at this moment I took a run into General 
 Hooker's tent to say good morning, as I saw him 
 alone. I made the interview as short as possible, 
 for he was very much affected. I did not appreciate 
 that I was so much attached to him, until it was de- 
 termined that I should serve under him at present no 
 longer. It will not seem natural for me to be in a 
 fight and hot see General Hooker. * * * I would 
 rather the battle would be in Maryland, or Pennsyl- 
 vania, than Virginia. * * *" 
 
4 A. GETTYSBURG JUARRATIYE. 
 
 Keynolds, had any commtmieation for the 
 Third Corps commander. In a general way 
 I then knew that the corps of General Rey- 
 nolds was on our right; but I did not know 
 whether that corps was also " going into posi- 
 tion," or was about to march to another 
 point. 
 
 Anyhow, I was informed that the corps was 
 a short distance " out from Emmitsburg " ; 
 and I hastened with all speed to get among its 
 troops before they should- leave their bivouac. 
 The nomenclature of subordinate places, of 
 streams, roads, farms and settlements was not 
 then known to our officers, as they all subse- 
 quently came to be commonly known ; so that 
 the actual designation of a locality was only 
 
 signified as the " Headquarters of ," 
 
 such or such a corps, division or brigade ; and 
 a search for it implied the discovery of its 
 designating flag always prominently located. 
 So I clattered into and " out " of Emmits- 
 burg seeking the expected bivouac, feeling 
 confident that I was going in the right way; 
 but with no idea that the corps commander 
 I was in search of would not be immediately 
 found on reaching his troops. 
 
 When I espied some of the latter they were 
 evidently preparing to march. I went 
 through the usual dilatory experience of a 
 
JULY FIRST, 186S. 5 
 
 series of successive questions to this or that 
 regimental commander, where his brigade 
 headquarters were, and in turn then to that 
 brigade commander where his division gen- 
 eral was, with a side question always that per- 
 haps he knew where the corps headquarters 
 were, and so on. Experience had taught me 
 that this was the most expeditious method of 
 reaching my destination in such cases, al- 
 though the intervals between interviews were 
 covered by troublesome and obstructed rides, 
 over all sorts of farms and hills, that sorely 
 taxed one's patience when time was a factor. 
 It was rare that regimental officers knew the 
 location of division or corps headquarters, 
 and if they did know, it was by accident. 
 
 So it happened that much ground was 
 traversed and retraversed, and no little time 
 and horseflesh exhausted, in exchanging com- 
 munications between commanders when the 
 army was on the march. This morning of- 
 fered no exception. 
 
 Discovering at last the location ¥or the 
 night of the First Corps headquarters, I 
 "turned up" after a while at a point 
 which, as I afterwards learned, I might 
 quickly have reached by a direct route from 
 my starting point, had there been any scheme, 
 as there was not,, by which I could have been 
 
g A GETTYSBVRG NAEBAl'ITE. 
 
 informed and guided. Here, then, was a 
 wagon or two ready for starting. Yes, the 
 guard said, this had been General Reynolds' 
 headquarters during the night. I afterwards 
 learned that the fated general enjoyed little 
 sleep that night. He remained in the brick 
 house hard by, studying over his maps spread 
 out on the farmer's dinner table, scarcely re- 
 clining on the old-fashioned sofa offered to 
 him, and — as its proprietor in later years 
 stated to me — receiving and dispatching 
 messengers all night. One messenger re- 
 ported, so this farmer narrated, that the 
 enemy were coming, and the general quietly 
 replied : " Well, we will try and make room 
 for them." 
 
 The troops were by this time filing away 
 from their bivouacs ; and obviously were mov- 
 ing on the highway towards the north. There 
 had been a light rain during the night and the 
 ground was still wet and slippery. Riding 
 along with the troops in due time I found a 
 brigade commander, who told me what part of 
 the column he was occupying, and that he had 
 seen General Reynolds and his staff pass him. 
 Who this commander was, or where he was 
 in the column, I cannot say; but I knew 
 then, as I have realized ever since, that his 
 reply foretold a ride either in the fields or at 
 
JULY FIRST, 1863. /jf 
 
 the side of the road — which means often in 
 the ditch — and among soldiers who did not 
 recognize me or my duties. Impatient at the 
 successive and unavoidable delays, I hastened 
 to overtake the head of the First Corps 
 column. 
 
 The head of the column had a long start of 
 me, and the men were swinging along hap- 
 pily at a lively pace. I was conscious that 
 there might be misfortune from the delay, 
 especially if on my return there should be any 
 particular message for the Third Corps com- 
 mander, or anything important going on at 
 Emmitsburg. Chagrined and impatient, I 
 picked my way as fast as possible towards the 
 head of the column, passing the soldiers and 
 batteries with all speed whenever opportunity 
 permitted, pausing occasionally at a brigade 
 flag to offer a word of explanation by courtesy 
 to a brigade commander, and aided fortunate- 
 ly by a stout and alert beast accustomed to 
 this vexatious riding. 
 
 Fortunately one officer was definite enough 
 to say that General Reynolds was riding with 
 General Wadsworth at the head of the col- 
 umn. On reaching General Wadsworth, after 
 some miles of travel, there was no General 
 Reynolds, and I thought it best to explain 
 
8 A OETTTSBUBG NARRATIVE. 
 
 my mission, as in part I did, inquiring for 
 some aid in finding him. 
 
 By this time I knew that my ride had been 
 far enough to string the whole First Corps on 
 the road between myself and my starting 
 point; and this fact did not diminish my im- 
 patience at the delay in accomplishing my 
 mission. 
 
 Graciously the noble Wadsworth explained 
 to me that there were no troops of the First 
 Corps ahead of him, and that General Rey- 
 nolds had gone forward to see General Bu- 
 ford. 
 
 Then I knew it became my duty to find the 
 headquarters of this sturdy cavalry general. 
 With thanks to General Wadsworth I spurred 
 out on a free road towards Gettysburg. How 
 far I was from that village I did not know, 
 and do not yet know. It was not in sight. 
 But I was soon out of sight of any troops, en- 
 couraged that the road was good, the country 
 charming ; and that, delay or no delay, I was 
 now in a fair way of interviewing General 
 Eeynolds and perhaps General Buford; and 
 so could return doubtless with some interest- 
 ing report of what was going on ; and prob- 
 ably also with some intelligence about the 
 enemy, no traces of whom had I seen since 
 crossing the Potomac. 
 
JULY FIRST, 186S. 9 
 
 This part of my ride was in sucli contrast 
 to my unsuccessful and arduous pursuit of 
 the early morning that I was elated, and as 
 occupied as possible with my eye in charting 
 the country upon it. This was my necessary 
 custom. At last I came to a slight elevation 
 that told me where the village nestled. I 
 would have to take the ride many times over 
 again to locate this point now. In passing 
 one road, apparently little used, leading off 
 to the west — I was anxious only about the 
 west — I could not determine whether it was 
 a farm lane or a highway. I thought it 
 pointed towards Cashtown, or Fairfield, or 
 Millerstown, or to roads connecting with those 
 places ; and I did not like the idea of its not 
 being occupied, if the enemy were around, as 
 I supposed they were. But that was not then 
 my immediate business. So when I passed a 
 little group of natives I questioned them has- 
 tily but closely, and learned that though little 
 used it was quite a direct and fair highway 
 leading away from the Emmitsburg road, on 
 which I was riding, to the west ; and thus did 
 connect with the other main roads of that sec- 
 tion of Adams county.* 
 
 * This road is sometimes spoken of in the reports 
 as the " Millerstown " road, and the " Fairfield " road. 
 It is sketched in the map accompanying Birney's bat- 
 
10 -A GETTTSBUBa NARRATIVE. 
 
 Approaching what was then the edge of the 
 village I heard a gun — then another. It 
 was artillery. I could not hear the small 
 arms, but I knew they must be there. Has- 
 tening, I saw a group of horsemen emerge 
 from tbe village. They proved to be General 
 Eeynolds and staff. I wheeled and joined 
 them, introducing myself and stating to the 
 general my errand. 
 
 The firing continued. The general reined 
 up and engaged his eye in a survey of the 
 surrounding land. Buford was opening the 
 three days' battle. I had mentioned to Gen- 
 eral Eeynolds in answer to his inquiry that 
 iGeneral Wadsworth was not very far down 
 the road ; and happily during this halt in our 
 saddles Wadsworth's column appeared in 
 sight on an elevation of the highway. Eager 
 to possess myself of the situation and expect- 
 ing momentarily to be dismissed with a mes- 
 sage, I exclaimed, " There is General Wads- 
 worth now," meaning the head of his column, 
 for the distance was yet too great to recognize 
 individuals. 
 
 I imagined that a gleam of satisfaction 
 lightened up his countenance as General Rey- 
 
 tle report at Vol. 27, Part I, page 486, of Official 
 Records War of Rebellion. This map is reproduced 
 at page 86 of this volume. 
 
JULY FIRST, 1863. n 
 
 nolds looked down the road and continued his 
 survey. We were sitting just outside of the 
 village where the highway skirts a field at the 
 base of the old cemetery. The spot as it then 
 looked is heavily framed among my mental 
 pictures. I have revisited it with intense in- 
 terest; and have often recalled the soliloquy 
 to which I there listened. 
 
 " That would be a good place," softly said 
 the speaker, addressing nobody in particular 
 unless it was himself, and indicating the crest 
 of the hill where the old cemetery could be 
 seen; "but I would like to save the town." 
 Was he speaking to me? Surely not; and 
 yet the others might not have heard him. I 
 had no personal acquaintance with General 
 Reynolds — had never before spoken to him. 
 Of course, he did not know me; and I was 
 ignorant of his habits and characteristics, else 
 I might have trespassed to respond. I re- 
 mained silent. The soliloquy continued : " If 
 I form there it might destroy the town " ; the 
 speaker paused as his eyes swept the horizon 
 to the south and west and northwest. Again 
 a gun sounded, and again a quiet voice at my 
 side continued : " But I doubt if I shall 
 have time to form the other side of the tovm." 
 Should he put the village between the two ar- 
 mies ? was apparently his solicitude. 
 
12 
 
 A 0ETTYSBVB6 NARRATIVE. 
 
 Meanwhile General Wadswortli approached 
 and saluted as if to say, "What are your 
 wishes, General Eeynolds"? The latter 
 pointed with his right arm to the west and 
 said, " You had better turn off here," indicat- 
 ing the field on the western side of the road, 
 " and form your division as soon as you can." 
 
 There was no need for explanations. All 
 were men of experience. The firing in- 
 creased in vigor, and it was obvious that Bu- 
 ford, with his slender cavalry force, weary 
 with their heavy work of previous nights and 
 days, would be obliged to withdraw, even 
 faster it seems than had been obviously 
 counted on at the conference just had between 
 himself and General Eeynolds. 
 
 Thus it happened that I saw the Eirst 
 Corps infantry file away from that highway, 
 and move across that beautiful field towards 
 the famous Seminary Hill and the sturdy 
 grove, where a short time afterwards the 
 worthy Eeynolds met his fate.* 
 
 * It is a notable coincidence that on this first, 
 as well as on the second, day of the battle, the 
 corps commander on the ground (Reynolds on the 
 first and Sickles on the second day) charged with 
 the preliminary responsibility, should have moved 
 his troops to a buileting combat, each engaging 
 in battle at once for the sake of gaining the time 
 necessary for the concentration of the main body 
 of the army, and thus securing it in the final posi- 
 
JULY FIRST, 1863. 13 
 
 At such a juncture in military operations 
 there is something to be done by everybody. 
 Individual idleness is exceptional. Footmen 
 and horsemen are under spur, or awaiting it. 
 I had naturally withdrawn from the general's 
 side, and fell in with his small staff, observing 
 only that I saw no acquaintance. 
 
 Eestless at my own prolonged inactivity, or 
 to be more candid, impatient lest being an 
 outsider I might be forgotten and left to shift 
 for myself, so to speak, which under the cir- 
 cumstances would be no little embarrassing, 
 I watched my opportunity when the general 
 was entirely alone. 
 
 Eiding then quietly to his side and salut- 
 ing, I observed : " I beg your pardon, Gen- 
 eral Reynolds, but I suppose I ought to report 
 to General Sickles unless you direct other- 
 wise. My instructions were to communicate 
 with you and ascertain if you had any com- 
 munication for him." If this be not my 
 exact language it is of no consequence, for it 
 is the precise import. I had sat silently so 
 long reflecting what I should say when my 
 
 tions carefully selected to resist the final assaults 
 that were made on the third and last day. Without 
 those challenging battles, into which the enemy had 
 thus been prematurely forced to his disadvantage 
 on the first and second days at Gettysburg, who shall 
 say that Lee's desperate attempts on the third day 
 might not have brought defeat to the Union forces. 
 
14 A GETTYSBURG THABBATIVE. 
 
 chance came that the tenor of the speech is 
 indelibly fixed in my memory. 
 
 I have often wished I had known General 
 Eeynolds better, as indeed I knew nearly all 
 the corps commanders of that day. But I was 
 accustomed to taking generals at their word ; 
 and I had noticed that the best generals were 
 usually men of the fewest words. So I was 
 not surprised at the simple, though perhaps 
 under all the circumstances a trifle vague, re- 
 ply : " Tell General Sickles / thinh he had 
 better come up." Saluting, I said: "I 
 shall report to him immediately " ; and I rode 
 away filled with chagrin and disappointment. 
 My errand had seemed such a formal one; 
 and it had taken so long, and was so result- 
 less. Might not Reynolds have told me some- 
 thing of the situation beyond what my eyes 
 had seen and ears have heard? The gen- 
 erals who knew me usually did this. But 
 Eeynolds did not know me from any other 
 major; so why should he? Besides, he had 
 his attention more than occupied by the im- 
 mediate essentials. Perhaps, too, there were 
 more of the enemy to be encountered than 
 our chiefs had arranged for. Moreover, what 
 was I more than a messenger? Why could 
 not my simple message have been sent in 
 writing by a couple of couriers, or by some 
 
JULY FIRST, 1863. 
 
 15 
 
 junior officer not needed for posting troops ? 
 But may be I was sent for the sake of eti- 
 quette, which was very right, supposing it to 
 be a brief duty preliminary to the day's work 
 as laid out for the corps. 
 
 Anyhow, here I was, more than ten miles 
 away from my command, which for aught I 
 knew, now that it was approaching midday, 
 might have discovered and engaged the 
 enemy. That was what we expected when 
 we marched out in the morning. Besides, a 
 battle had already begun around Gettysburg ; 
 the infantry would shortly be engaged, and I 
 was hurrying with all my speed away from 
 it, and to the rear, and against a splendid 
 column of veterans, crowding the road, and 
 marching with blithesome steps towards the 
 firing growing more and more distant as I 
 rode away from it. 
 
 In this strain my reflections trotted much 
 faster than my horse. He, however, made 
 good time, notwithstanding my impatience, 
 especially after I had passed the rear guard 
 of the First Corps, and enjoyed a free road. 
 
 Approaching Emmitsburg, I saw new 
 camps being established, and then had to re- 
 peat my morning's experience of inquiries for 
 the location of corps headquarters. But the 
 officers I met knew and aided me, and I wag 
 
16 A. GETTYSBVBG NARRATIVE. 
 
 soon on the porch of an old farm house, where 
 the corps flag was flying, and awaited the gen- 
 eral, whom I was told was momentarily ex- 
 pected there. It would have been idle to have 
 sought him, so scattered were the positions 
 taken up by the various sections of the troops. 
 The corps was under orders to take " posi- 
 tion " at Emmitsburg. It was the extreme 
 left of the army, and this duty implied much 
 exploration and discretion. 
 
 General Sickles shortly appeared as ex- 
 pected, gave me a cordial welcome, said noth- 
 ing about my apparent delay, and naturally 
 was deeply interested in my report. After 
 I had briefly detailed the significant events of 
 my morning's experience, and how it hap- 
 pened that my absence had been so prolonged, 
 he bid me get some refreshment. 
 
 My staff colleagues, understanding that 
 they were located for the nightj had " gone 
 into " camp comforts apparently for the bal- 
 ance of the day ; but I felt they had mistaken 
 the date. So, as soon as possible, I reported 
 again to the general. He showed me the 
 written orders to the Third Corps from Gen- 
 eral Meade. These orders located the various 
 corps of the army, and expressed " the inten- 
 tion to hold " the " positions " described until 
 " the plans of the enemy " should be more 
 
JVLY FIRST, 186S. ^fj 
 
 fully developed. The Third Corps troops 
 were accordingly at that moment posted with 
 a view " to hold " Emmitshurg.* 
 
 I rehearsed my interview with General 
 Reynolds, and asked if he had understood me 
 to report it in the same way. He said he did. 
 The general was not given to discussing his 
 thoughts.t 
 
 On this occasion he was reticent, having 
 asked few questions. I had been his con- 
 fidential staff officer in all his campaigns, and 
 have ever enjoyed his esteem. Still at that 
 time there was only in reality the relation of 
 a trustful chief and loyal subordinate where 
 rank and duty dominated. If I then had any 
 opinion, and I do not know that I had, it 
 found no expression, and the silent moments 
 were swiftly passing. He asked significantly 
 how my horse was. I replied tbat it was for- 
 tunate I had ridden my Old Eeliable ; but he 
 was too much knocked out for further duty 
 to-day. If I had not another one good for a 
 hard ride, said the general, he would order 
 the quartermaster to furnish one, for he 
 
 * See War Records, Vol. 27, Part III, pp. 416-419- 
 422. 
 
 f He had already sent another aide, Captain Moore, 
 to Gettysburg to see General Reynolds. See Moore's 
 report printed at a subsequent page. 
 
■Ig A GETTYSBURG NARBATIVB. 
 
 wished to send me at once back to Gettys- 
 burg. 
 
 While I awaited the horse thus ordered the 
 general was pacing the little piazza, and I 
 was momentarily expecting his oral orders. 
 A cavalry soldier suddenly rode up, himself 
 almost breathless with excitement or effort, 
 and his horse bordering on collapse. There 
 had been a local shower, and both horse and 
 rider were splashed with mud and foam, and 
 wet as if drenched. 
 
 An oral message by such a courier could 
 only be taken with caution; but the man 
 seemed honest and earnest, saying that he was 
 sent by General Howard from Gettysburg to 
 find General Sickles, and to ask him to come 
 up, and that General Reynolds was killed ! 
 
 At this shocking intelligence, and my 
 strange horse appearing ready for me, I was 
 about to depart, and asked for my orders. I 
 was told to find General Howard and report 
 to him where General Sickles was, and that 
 the latter would come up at once. At that 
 moment another cavalryman arrived, appear- 
 ing in very much the same plight. Whether 
 they had started together, or been dispatched 
 separately for better assurance, I never in- 
 quired. The second courier bore a scrap of 
 paper on which was written, obviously in 
 
JVLY FIRST, 1863. -^q 
 
 great haste, the dispatch since become histo- 
 rical : " General Keynolds is killed. 'For 
 God's sake, come up. Howard."* 
 
 I was charged to ride at my utmost speed, 
 and to say to General Howard that General 
 Sickles would reach him as quickly as pos- 
 sible, and with all his corps except a detach- 
 ment to hold the post of Emmitsburg as 
 previously ordered by General Meade. Others 
 of the staff were dispatched to get the troops 
 on the march at once. Knowing the dis- 
 tances and the scattered positions of our men, 
 I started with the discouraging thought that 
 they might reach Howard too late ! But that 
 was not my business. I believed they would 
 march at their best ; and they did. 
 
 I had a free road, but I soon found I had 
 not as fresh or able an animal as one might 
 wish under such circumstances ; and I gauged 
 him for his quickest assured trip for that 
 particular journey. The actual arrival at my 
 destination was the only thing to be consid- 
 ered. The faithful beast, I must pause to 
 say, did arrive in fair condition, except for 
 the loss of some shoes. That night he was 
 
 * This dispatch appears to have been inclosed 
 (probably) by its recipient in one to army headquar- 
 ters and then lost from the official files. See Vol. 27, 
 Part III, page 464 of War Records. 
 
20 ^ GETTTSBURG'NABBATIVE. 
 
 shifted for another, being wounded and too 
 feeble for further saddle use. But enough of 
 the poor quadruped. I never saw him before 
 or since. Give him credit for an accomp- 
 lished task. " He did his best." 
 
 That ride! Retracing my steps of the 
 morning under conditions how different ! A 
 general engagement had begun. The battle 
 might yet be raging. The First Corps and 
 Buford's cavalry I knew were there. The 
 presence of General Howard signified that the 
 Eleventh Corps were there, or were approach- 
 ing. The Third Corps I knew was not there. 
 Where were the other corps of the army ? I 
 did not know. Were our men holding their 
 own or not? I knew only that we did not 
 make the attack; and that help beyond the 
 First and Eleventh Cofps was requisite signi- 
 fied an extensive battle. M.j thoughts flew 
 from one hypothesis to another with every 
 hoof beat. Anxiety was upon me as if I 
 had had the responsibility of the army. I 
 knew I had really no responsibility, except to 
 bear a message of cheer and confidence. But 
 what of that ? The fate of the army depended 
 on something more real than that. Was the 
 new commander surprised ? Had the enemy 
 been invited to attack so that we could assail 
 him somewhere in turn to better advantage ? 
 
JVhY FIRST, 1863. 
 
 21 
 
 Was tiiere any battle going on anywhere else ? 
 If so, who was managing it? Where were 
 Hancock, and Slocum, and Sykes, and Sedg- 
 wick ? I wished I knew ! 
 
 The commander I had left in the morning 
 had fallen. Did his troops falter? It was 
 all very well for me to find Howard and tell 
 him the Third Corps were starting; but how 
 soon could they begin to arrive; and how 
 many could actually reach the field before 
 dark! The afternoon was hot and sultry. 
 The atmosphere was motionless, moist and 
 muggy ; a day severe for man and beast. 
 
 But the physical incidents of the journey 
 cut no figure. Zeal, health and youth gave 
 buoyancy and hope ; and the distant booming 
 of cannon indicated to my willing ear that 
 the area of the battle had not yet been 
 seriously shifted. 
 
 Three natives of an agricultural type were 
 squatting on a fence. " What's going on " ? 
 I shouted. ''Our men's a-getting it, I 
 guess," * * * was all that I could hear 
 in reply, as I hastily passed them. I looked 
 towards the west down the road that in the 
 morning had arrested my attention. !N"o 
 troops of either army were visible there. Ob- 
 viously enough was going on at the front to 
 keep both sides busy. 
 
22 -4- GETTYSBURG NABBATIVE. 
 
 Pretty soon I saw Gettysburg again. The 
 firing had seemed to abate. But as I pro- 
 gressed stragglers appeared. This gave me 
 no anxiety. It was not an unusual sight at 
 the rear of a general engagement It did not 
 become me to linger to stop them. I had no 
 soldiers to detail for that task ; only a single 
 trooper, faithfully following me. Shortly an 
 artillery team with half a caisson, and wheel- 
 less artillery teams, passed me leisurely as 
 they continued to the rear. Their manner 
 was not as if under orders. I became much 
 concerned. The straggling soldiers grew 
 more numerous. There were no officers. I 
 could only shout " Halt," and take the chance 
 of obedience as I ordered men to form and go 
 back to the front. I knew General Sickles 
 and his officers would soon encounter them, 
 and would send them back, as he did, while 
 my own province was simply as ordered to 
 hasten to the front " with all speed." 
 
 It was in one of these groups that a singu- 
 lar scene, as I rode by it, shifted before, then 
 beside, and finally behind me. A lady, grace- 
 fully attired in a riding habit, sat serenely 
 in her saddle as her horse moved slowly to and 
 fro at the roadside. Wielding a riding whip 
 as a sceptre, she was saying gravely but 
 in tones of command, and without apparent 
 
JVL7 FIRST, 1883. £3 
 
 excitement, " Eally here, men ; rally- 
 here." The spectacle and the spirit were 
 exhilarating. Men were obeying; and 
 being veterans were naturally falling into the 
 semblance of a company alignment. Who 
 this lady was, or where she came from, I 
 never knew. I passed swiftly on, simply 
 shouting back, " Yes, rally there." I had no 
 time, no occasion to stop. There was an ap- 
 parent lull in the firing. I knew I was on 
 the right road, must soon strike the battle 
 lines, and so would quickly find the general 
 to whom my mission was directed. I remem- 
 ber a passing impression I had, that the lady 
 might have been a villager driven from home 
 by the stress of battle, and being a zealous 
 novice, had occupied herself with the first 
 task that presented itself.* 
 
 Another incident especially arrested my at- 
 tention. A small battalion of infantry, lined 
 up along the west side of the road but facing 
 east, were engaged in examining their 
 
 * Had this been the ease some trace of the fact, it 
 would seenij would have been disclosed in later years. 
 But after enquiry I never could learn it to_ be the 
 fact. Nor have repeated enquiries of participants 
 from many sections of the army yielded me any light 
 upon the dramatic occurrence. So the incident passes 
 into the mysteries of battle. Certain only is it that 
 the "living picture" was not the creation, of mj 
 imagination. 
 
24 ^ GETTY8BVRG NARRATIVE. 
 
 muskets, and were snapping their caps as if to 
 test their rifles. It comprised the first or- 
 ganization I had encountered since starting; 
 so I reined up and called for their com- 
 mander, thinking he might perhaps know 
 something about the location of some of the 
 field headquarters. I could not imagine for 
 what purpose these men could have been sent 
 to such a spot, unless they had in some ma- 
 neuver become separated from their brigade 
 and lost their way. Such things have often oc- 
 curred. Still that was not then my affair. 
 The men did not wear the Third Corps badge, 
 so I could not, if I would, have ventured to 
 give them orders. The men did not look as 
 though they had been engaged in the battle. 
 Their commanding officer politely named his 
 brigade commander, but confessed ignorance 
 as to where he was, or where Howard, or any 
 other general was to be found. The explana- 
 tion, as I afterwards learned, was that the de- 
 tachment had been detailed for some special 
 service, and was en route to rejoin its com- 
 mand. But for my purpose my short halt 
 was futile ; so I spurred away, confident, how- 
 ever, that when any of the Third Corps troops 
 should come up a general would pick up and 
 bring along this battalion. This is exactly 
 what happened ; for later, as General Sickles 
 
JULY FIRST, 1863. 25 
 
 passed, he ordered these valiant Vermonters, 
 which they were, to follow him forward, 
 which they promptly did, and soon rejoined 
 their brigade. These incidents take longer 
 in the telling than they consumed in occur- 
 ring. 
 
 I needed no guide, no troops. I had al- 
 ready been over this broad highway twice 
 that morning, knew I was shortly to enter the 
 streets of Gettysburg, and I believed that 
 there, or beyond, on the outskirts of the vil- 
 lage, I would be sure to find our soldiers and 
 their generals who would be glad to welcome 
 my message. 
 
 The silence of the hour began to oppress 
 me. What was happening ? Had we driven 
 back the enemy? Were new lines being 
 formed? If so, had the lines been shifted 
 forward or backward? The highway was 
 clear. Not a man was upon it. I could see 
 into the village street ; not far, it is true, but 
 far enough to encourage my proposed final 
 spurt. That was the way I was thinking, as 
 my weary animal was laboriously doing his 
 best. Just then my good orderly quietly rode 
 forward to my side and politely inquired, 
 " Major, do you see those men at the left " ? 
 Eeally, I had not seen them. Looking 
 towards the west I saw in the field at the left 
 
26 ^ GETTYSBURG NARRATIVE. 
 
 of our road a thin line of idle skirmisliers in 
 gray. The sight was at the same time a reve- 
 lation and a shock ! That was the very field 
 I had seen Wadsworth and his veteran divi- 
 sion file into that morning before they had 
 fired a shot! Yet now this field held the 
 enemy's skirmish line ! Besides, that line, as 
 my eye swiftly followed it, curved nearer and 
 nearer to the road on which we were travel- 
 ing. So for me to continue upon it would 
 be fatal. This line swiftly signified to me 
 that even the field of the morning's battle was 
 not in our possession. Where then had our 
 army gone ? 
 
 In a moment I realized also that I was be- 
 tween the two armies, and that I must stop 
 or skirt the town afield. The inactivity, too, 
 of this converging skirmish line astonished 
 me. Two men riding along its front and with- 
 in easy range ! Why did they not fire on us ? 
 Cui bono ? They were veterans. I once heard 
 General Hooker characterize the enemy's in- 
 fantry of that period as the " best infantry in 
 the world." Wasting ammunition without 
 being ordered to do so was not a trait of such 
 soldiers. I was not sure of that just at that 
 moment. We two lone men got out of that 
 road and into the fields towards the " Oeme- 
 
JULY FIRST, 1863. 27 
 
 tery Hill," as quickly as circumstances per- 
 mitted. 
 
 Thus it happened that I did not ride into 
 the village streets. That "Hill" was the 
 place for me to go. Once there I could see 
 things ; and there I shortly found myself in- 
 quiring among some soldiers if they had seen 
 General Howard. He was " right over 
 there " a few minutes ago, said some one ; and 
 " there," a moment afterwards, I found him, 
 riding among the troops and giving his or- 
 ders. 
 
 There was no disorder. There was no fir- 
 ing. Indeed, so far as the " Cemetery Hill " 
 then presented itself to me, it hore no evi- 
 dence of having been a battle ground, as really 
 up to that time it had not been. 
 
 General Howard was, of course, gratified 
 at the message I bore to him, and directed me 
 to restate it to General Hancock. It was the 
 first intimation I had had that the latter was 
 in Pennsylvania. So I inquired if General 
 Hancock was here, and General Howard in- 
 dicated a horseman in another part of the 
 field, saying, " There he is." So ofF I rode 
 and repeated my message to General Han- 
 cock, who had arrived only a short time be- 
 fore. He also was engaged in arranging the 
 lines, inspecting locations, receiving reports 
 
28 ^ GETTYSBURG 'NARRATIVE. 
 
 and giving orders. - The two generals also 
 rode together, and surveyed the situation. As 
 this was just what I vidshed to do, so as to re- 
 port its details to my own general on his ar- 
 rival, I followed them around, after sending 
 my orderly back to conduct General Sickles 
 to Cemetery Hill, lest unawares he should en- 
 counter misfortune at the hands of that same 
 skirmish line from which I had escaped. 
 
 It was obvious that, from the battlefield of 
 the morning on the other side of the village, 
 our forces had withdrawn to this Cemetery 
 Hill. West of one highway was the old bury- 
 ing ground. Troops were posted in it, even 
 among the graves and tombstones. From a 
 fine vantage point east of the highway an ex- 
 tensive view could be had; and while I was 
 studying its features, a column of men in the 
 distance could be discerned moving appar- 
 ently around our extreme right flank. How 
 the ground lay or how the troops, if any, were 
 disposed on our extreme right and rear I was 
 utterly ignorant about ; and, of course, could 
 not ask. So I ventured to go to General Han- 
 cock and report what I had seen. He rode 
 towards the spot and saw the same thing; but 
 apparently without surprise. Hancock was 
 one of the most alert of our generals. Subse- 
 quent history has revealed how the enemy's 
 
JULY FIRST, 1863. 29 
 
 intentions indicated by that movement failed 
 to materialize on that afternoon in any trou- 
 ble to our right. Later in the battle, on sub- 
 sequent days, desperate attacks and combats 
 occurred there, with great losses and results 
 vital to both armies. But that is no part of 
 my story. I^Tor is it to narrate the move- 
 ments and locations of this organization or 
 of that one. All those things are set down 
 in " history," official and unofficial, and I am 
 not a historian.* It is enough for my partic- 
 ular story to recall my reflections, — how that 
 plenty of work remained for me when the 
 Third Corps troops should begin to arrive. 
 Moreover, the sun was yet high enough to 
 leave much daylight to do it in, without con- 
 sidering the night work that was sure to fol- 
 low. 
 
 As to the firing, it seemed to be confined 
 
 *The work entitled "New York at Gettysburg," 
 published by the State of New York, embodies the 
 most reliable and comprehensive military and popular 
 short account of the battles, covering the entire oper- 
 ations about Gettysburg, that has been published. It 
 was prepared by Lieutenant-Colonel William F. Fox 
 (107 N. Y. Vols.), the well known writer and author 
 of the standard authority, " Fox's Eegimental Losses," 
 and cannot be excelled for its statements of salient 
 facts. The chapters on Gettysburg in the " History of 
 the Civil War," etc., by Comte de Paris are also most 
 painstaking and invaluable, as presenting from 
 official reports the detailed operations of both oppos- 
 ing armies. 
 
30 ^ OETTTSBDRa NARRATIVE. 
 
 to the enemy's sharpshooters, who were bemg 
 closely watched by our own skirmishers. 
 JSTevertheless an occasional bullet landed itself 
 in ugly proximity. But rest for my weary 
 horse seemed essential; so dismounting I 
 threw myself on a grave mound, where I 
 could watch for my general, while keeping an 
 eye on the field headquarters. 
 
 How long a time all this consumed I cannot 
 say. I took no note of the hour, except to 
 watch the sun with anxiety. I was sure that 
 a night of peace for our army, would heavily 
 reinforce its lines upon the field. 
 
 In due time a group of horsemen appeared 
 with whom I soon recognized the standard 
 indicating Third Corps headquarters. I rode 
 out to General Sickles, and while guiding him 
 to Generals Howard and Hancock, I briefly 
 reported what facts I had learned; and fell 
 in with such of my stafE comrades as were 
 accompanying him. We were soon dis- 
 mounted and lounging away what was left of 
 the day. Somebody was sent back to help 
 guide General Birney's troops to the battle- 
 field, and the rest of us awaited more or less of 
 a " confab " that seemed to be in progress. 
 
 What was then said between G«nerals 
 Howard, and Hancock, and Slocum, and 
 Sickles I only know about through themselves 
 
nhY FlRBf, 1863. gi 
 
 and tibe " historical " ( ?) testimony, for I 
 was not present; nor -were any staff officers, 
 except as the latter came and went with re- 
 ports or orders. !Nor did I notice what gen- 
 erals remained in the group, as that no longer 
 conoemed me individually. I was quite con- 
 tent to await the appearance of my particular 
 chief; especially as, night coming on, I de- 
 tected the hint of cooking in' the keeper's 
 lodge, or whatever the little dwelling may he 
 termed that still stands at the gateway of the 
 old cemetery.* We suspected the presence of 
 generals was in some vague way related to 
 this fragrance; and in good time some of us 
 realized in pancakes the virtues of compen- 
 sated hospitality. I have often wondered 
 how it was done, "and who cooked them. But 
 I never had time to satisfy my curiosity. 
 
 The arrival near the field was announced 
 of General Birney, the commander of the 
 First (formerly Kearny's) Division of the 
 Third Corps, and our chief rode out to meet 
 and locate that command for the night. It 
 was light enough to select a hivouac, for that 
 was all that could advantageously he done at 
 that moment with arriving troops. A loca- 
 tion was selected for Third Corps headquar- 
 
 ♦ The present building at the entrance gate of the 
 National Cemetery did not then exist. 
 
32 ^ GETTTBBVBG NARRATIVE. 
 
 ters, and the ground designated to General 
 Birney for his troops, with pickets to be 
 thrown out well to the west. 
 
 Then it fell to me again to ride about the 
 adjoining fields to select a suitable place for 
 the rest of the incoming troops, and on their 
 arrival to guide them to it. This duty 
 proved to be difficult and arduous. The 
 night grew very dark, the expected troops 
 (Humphreys') of the Second Division did 
 not follow immediately upon the rear 
 of the First (Birney's) Division,* and I 
 suddenly found myself groping about un- 
 familiar farms, whose high fences ran in all 
 sorts of unknown, and, as it seemed to me, 
 tangled and irregular, directions; so that 
 whichever way I rode, or whatever fence I 
 pulled open, I was each moment less and less 
 sure of my bearings. I became confused 
 enough to be uncertain whether I had or not 
 actually crossed to the west of the Emmits- 
 burg highway; for if I had, then I knew I 
 was more likely to ride into the enemy's than 
 our own troops. My orderly was appealed 
 to ; but he confessed he was " lost," for he had 
 simply followed my lead. 'No picket lines 
 had been established. As far as I knew each 
 
 * A portion of Birney's Division was left at Em- 
 mitaburg. 
 
JULY FIRST, 1863. 33 
 
 command of our army was looking after it- 
 self. We struck a farm lane, or trail, that 
 seemed to lead somewhere^ and tried it only 
 to encounter still another fence, to destroy 
 which would make a tell-tale noise. 
 
 So we sat in silence, watching and listen- 
 ing, vainly trying to take our bearings, and 
 hoping at least for a moon to show us the way. 
 Presently, in the gloom, a column of men 
 were discerned silently passing. I could not 
 see the color of their uniforms, I never had 
 heard troops march in such dreadful silence ; 
 not a canteen rattling, not a spoken word. 
 Were they blues or grays ? If the latter, we 
 must learn and report it instantly. Skirting 
 their line of march I found an opening to get 
 closer and with light heart became satisfied 
 they were blues. It transpired that they were 
 part of Humphreys' (formerly Hooker's) 
 Division, that having gone astray in the dark- 
 ness of their night march, had strayed under 
 the very guns of the enemy; only retracing 
 their steps and saving themselves by their 
 splendid discipline, and the enforced silence 
 that had astonished me.* 
 
 * Extract from the report of Brigadier-General An- 
 drew A. Humphreys, U. S. Army, commanding Second 
 Division. ) " Camp Headquarters, Army of the Poto- 
 mac, August 16, 1863. * * * As we approached 
 the crossing of Marsh Run, I was directed by Greneral 
 
g4 ^ QEfTtSBtJm VAttBATtVM. 
 
 By the time I had found and dismounted 
 at the corps headquarters bivouac, where the 
 sky was the only tent, there were none awake 
 there, apparently, but the sentinel; and I 
 gladly threw myself upon a blanket to snatch 
 a few hours of needed rest, confident that be- 
 
 Siekles, through a staEf officer, to take position on 
 the left of Gettysburg as soon as I came up. For 
 reasons that will be apparent from this statement I 
 concluded that my division should from this point 
 follow the road leading into the main road to Gettys- 
 burg, reaching the latter road in about a mile and a 
 half, and at a distance from Gettysburg of about two 
 miles; but Lieutenant-Colonel Hayden was positive 
 that General Sickles had instructed him to guide the 
 division by way of the Black Horse Tavern, on the 
 road from Fairfield to Gfettysburg. Accordingly, I 
 moved the division in that direction; but, on ap- 
 proaching the Black Horse Tavern, I found myself in 
 the immediate vicinity of the enemy, who occupied 
 that road in strong force. He was not aware of my 
 presence, and I might have attacked him at daylight 
 with the certainty of at least temporary success ; but 
 I was three miles distant from the remainder of the 
 army, and I believed such a course would have been 
 inconsistent with the general plan of operations of 
 the commanding general. I accordingly retraced my 
 steps, and marched by the route I have heretofore 
 indicated, bivouacking at 1 a. m. on July 2 about one 
 mile from Gettysburg and eastward of the Emmits- 
 burg road. 
 
 At an early hour of the morning my division waa 
 massed in the vicinity of its bivouac, facing the Bm- 
 inettsburg road, near the crest of the ridge running 
 from the cemetery of Gettysburg, in a southerly direc- 
 tion, to a rugged, conical-shaped hill, which I find 
 goes by the name of Round Top, about two miles 
 from Gettysburg." * * * (Official War Eecords, 
 Vol. 27, Part I, page 531.) 
 
JULY FIRST, 1863. 35 
 
 fore daylight the noise of battle would rouse 
 any man who was unprepared for that assured 
 ordeaL 
 
11. 
 
 By the earliest dawn I was up and saddled. 
 My fresh horses had arrived during the night, 
 and my last mount was found to have been 
 perforated hy a bullet. He had carried it 
 from Cemetery Hill. 'No wonder the poor 
 animal had been so weary and unsatisfactory 
 during my evening's prowling. 
 
 We momentarily expected that daylight 
 would bring the sounds of firing; at least of 
 skirmishing, if not of battalions assailing us, 
 at some point ; for the army was so compactly 
 located that we believed such sounds could be 
 certainly heard. The anticipated daybreak 
 attack did not come upon us. Had the truth 
 been known it would have discovered the 
 enemy to be as little ready to assail us as we 
 were to assail them. 
 
 Eeally, the generals of 1863 did not, in the 
 estimation of an unprofessional observer, ap- 
 pear to have appreciated the war value of 
 time as it was appreciated in later campaigns. 
 And this, if true at all — and I think it is — 
 
 was as true of the generals of one side as of 
 36 
 
JVm SECOND, 186S. ^1 
 
 the other. It is the swift and skillful han- 
 dling of the troops, without confusion or fric- 
 tion, under the single mind of their master, 
 plus the antecedent hard marchings, all con- 
 summated before the firings begin, that bring 
 dismay to an adversary. On this morning, 
 of Friday, July 2, there was not the slight- 
 est evidence of and, in truth, there was not 
 any disposition on our part to attack the 
 enemy. The Third Corps had simply gone 
 into bivouac, pretty much of it in the gloom 
 of evening, " on the left of the Second 
 Corps." [N^either the batteries nor the infan- 
 try were occupying any special posts selected 
 for defence or offence. That awaited the 
 light, and was now to be done. But first of 
 all, the pickets! Where should they be 
 posted ? What lines should be covered ? My 
 first duty concerned this feature. 
 
 General Humphreys' division had arrived 
 last upon the ground, and its commander be- 
 ing a most careful and experienced general, 
 had doubtless picketed his ovrai front. So he 
 was given the right front, and Bimey the left 
 front and flank. Each division commander 
 at once set about arranging a confirmed line 
 of pickets. Humphreys began his right post 
 " on the left of the Second Corps," and ex- 
 tended it so as to cover the Emmitsburg high- 
 
38 ^ GETTTSBVRa NABBATIVE. 
 
 way as far as appeared necessary for the pro- 
 tection of his troops; Birney taking up tiie 
 posts from that point, and extending them 
 away from that road, so as to cover all the. 
 left flank and left rear of the corps. Bimey's 
 task at this juncture was quite simple. His 
 division, then depleted by the detachment left 
 at Emmitsburg, was rather in reserve. Be- 
 sides there was no enemy on the Union side 
 of the Emmitsburg highway, which ran 
 along our front, and which, at that place and 
 to the southward, was yet under control of 
 the Union troops. 
 
 This early picket work, however, gave both 
 divisions the needed opportunity of familiar- 
 izing themselves with all the ground in their 
 immediate neighborhood — ■ a circumstance 
 that became of inestimable service later in the 
 day. My duty chanced to concern especially 
 the Second Division picket line, which my 
 message to General Humphreys directed him 
 to establish " from the left of the Second 
 Corps " on the right, along the Emmitsburg 
 highway, and to connect on the left with Bir- 
 ney's pickets. 
 
 Eight here I may as well observe, without 
 apology for intruding personality — for this 
 entire narrative is nothing else than a per- 
 sonal one — that among the troops of this 
 
JULY SECOND, 186S. 39 
 
 division were my warmest friends. By long 
 service and familiarity everybody in the divi- 
 sion was able to recognize me at sight, as tiiey 
 did their own generals ; often paying me def- 
 erence beyond my rank. This happened be- 
 cause, for nearly two years, I had been of and 
 with them; serving in the regimental line, 
 and on the staffs of brigade and division, and 
 going in and out of their ranks and camps as 
 one representing this or that commander ; ac- 
 customed to be questioned, if not consulted, 
 by many comrade friends among their officers, 
 as one revisiting, even for a moment, his mili- 
 tary home. I had not been among the picket 
 posts of these men since the Chancellorsville 
 season, and it was with a genuine satisfaction 
 that on returning from General Humphreys 
 I revisited him, as directed, to inspect his 
 picket line. 
 
 Meanwhile, Third Corps staff officers had 
 been dispatched in various directions to look 
 after the supply trains of ammunition and 
 baggage, and to report the location and organ- 
 ization of adjoining troops supposed to be at 
 or near the left rear of the Third Corps. A 
 general officer (C. K. Graham) of the First 
 Division had also been ordered to bring to the 
 field the detachment left the day before at 
 Emmitsburg. 
 
40 ^ GETTYSBURG NARRATIVE. 
 
 Mj survey of Humphreys' picket line 
 proved most interesting and instructive. It 
 was in part commanded by General Joseph B. 
 Carr, of First Brigade, Second Division ; and 
 was located beyond or along the highway I 
 had the day before become quite familiar 
 with ; and I exchanged cordial greetings with 
 many old faces and friends. The mists of 
 the morning had risen, and in the clear light 
 of day it was easy to discern the advantages 
 of defence afforded or denied by the sur- 
 rounding country. The enemy's pickets, too, 
 were discovered to be stronger and nearer to 
 us than had been supposed ; and at times they 
 evinced no little activity, so that at some 
 points our little party were kindly cautioned 
 against undue exposure. 
 
 When I reported my inspection to General 
 Sickles, recalling what the natives had told 
 me the day before, I ventured to express solici- 
 tude about that crossroad* running west to- 
 
 * This is the road by which General Longstreet, 
 during the afternoon battle, rode towards the Union 
 lines when the latter were forced back. Lieutenant 
 Frank E. Moran (of 73d N. Y.), who fell wounded 
 and a prisoner, saw him riding there. The road had 
 oflfered advantages for the enemy's flank movement; 
 but the slight occupation of it early in the day by 
 Birney's reconnoitering party and sharpshooters had 
 delayed and deflected that movement of the enemy to 
 a more southerly direction. See Birney's map 
 (infra) . 
 
JULY SECOND, 1863. '^^ 
 
 wards Fairfield, tliat intersected the Emmits- 
 burg highway near Humphreys' left picket; 
 and I was ordered to tell General Birney to 
 picket that road (already covered by his pick- 
 ets) as far towards the enemy as practicable, 
 and to keep the corps commander fully in- 
 formed. Subsequent developments confirmed 
 the usefulness of this precaution. This road, 
 or byway, was destined to figure as a potent 
 feature in the day's operations. 
 
 Lest it be inferred that some military im- 
 proprieties on my part had been, or some^ 
 where in this narrative may be related, I 
 think it should be explained that from my 
 earliest service in the Peninsula campaign 
 on the immediate staff of General Sickles, he 
 habitually welcomed suggestions, when cou- 
 pled with useful information, from his staff 
 officers, whether those, suggestions were acted 
 upon or not. Beside, if in grave emergencies 
 one of us should take the risk of giving an 
 order in his name, always a dangerous pre- 
 sumption in a military subordinate, he would 
 be generous, if the occasion justified it, in 
 confirming the order. That is how it hap- 
 pened that on this day of all others, as at 
 Chancellorsville, I felt free to affix a sugges- 
 tion, if need be, when reporting facts. So 
 much by way of apology to some military 
 
42 -4 OETTrSBVm NARRATIVE. 
 
 reader who might infer that in reporting my 
 survey I trespassed into suggestions. For 
 such things a martinet of a general might 
 give the staff officer a " frost." I never was 
 " frosted," — by General Sickles. 
 
 It was about this time that one of the aides 
 who had been sent to explore the ground on 
 the left and rear reported that he could dis- 
 cover no troops there, or evidence of their 
 having been there. General Birney con- 
 firmed the fact. I was directed to go to Gen- 
 eral Meade's headquarters and report the lo- 
 cation of the Third Corps picket lines, the 
 fact that General Graham was to bring from 
 Emmitsburg the balance of the corps, and 
 the absence of any adjoining troops at our 
 left and rear. On learning my mission the 
 staff officer in charge at headquarters directed 
 me to make my report to General Mead^ in 
 person. This I did with military brevity, 
 and was told that cavalry would be sent to the 
 left. If there, it was: removed. 
 
 Although these various errands were made 
 as rapidly as possible the morning was ad- 
 vancing; and the Third Corps troops, except 
 as to their picket lines, were yet unposted. 
 They were in large part reclining wKere they 
 had spent the night ; and their location proved 
 to be on low ground, easily commanded by the 
 
JULY SECOyO, 1863. 43 
 
 land in front, and running off to tte left into 
 hill and dell, whose occupants would be at the 
 mercy of occupants of the " high ground " at 
 the rear of the extreme left, as well as of the 
 possessors of the elevated land at the immedi- 
 ate front of the extreme left, i. e., the Peach 
 Orchard. Indeed, this could easily be per- 
 ceived when the morning mists had arisen. 
 So General Sickles, mounting his horse, 
 rode and, leaving his orders to be carried 
 out and reports to be received by his as- 
 sistant adjutant general, directed me to ride 
 with him, to General Meade's headquarters. 
 The interview there between the two generals 
 was brief, and we quickly rode away. Gen- 
 eral Hunt, the chief of artillery, joined us; 
 and being familiar with the land, I was di- 
 rected to conduct the party around the picket 
 lines. 
 
 At that moment there was not, properly 
 speaking, any " front " in the immediate 
 presence of tie enemy, as far as any Third 
 Corps line was concerned, except as to the 
 picket line of its Second (Humphreys') 
 Division. There was no enemy east of the 
 Eromitsburg road. The left of the Third 
 Corps pickets towards the enemy rested on 
 the Peach Orchard. So skirting the Second 
 Corps lines, we proceeded slowly from right 
 
44 ^ GETTTSBVRG NARRATIVE. 
 
 to left along Humphreys' lines. Some of 
 the conversation between Generals Hunt and 
 Sickles, which was not extensive, I neces- 
 sarily overheard, being occasionally called 
 forward. In one such instance, surmising 
 naturally that the ride was primarily to 
 locate batteries, I ventured to point to the 
 " high ground on the left,"* meaning one of 
 the " Eound Tops," with the remark " that 
 would be a good place " for some guns. This 
 ride formed one of the pleasantest and easiest 
 of my experiences on that day ; but I did not 
 then realize its significance. 
 
 When we returned to Third Corps head- 
 quarters the subject of posting the main line 
 became a practical and imminent one. More- 
 over, a lively skirmish fire opened on 
 Humphreys' pickets, and betokened some ac- 
 tivity on the part of the enemy, although in- 
 deed, it might well be without import. How- 
 ever, I was sent in that direction for a report. 
 Some of the men at one picket post took me 
 under the shelter of an old farm building, 
 
 * This hill was variously spoken of at and after 
 the battle. It was not known to us by name. Some 
 commanding oflScers mention it by the designation of 
 " Sugar Loaf." In making up his report, long after 
 the battle, General Humphreys alludes to it as "a 
 rugged, conical-shaped hill, which I find goes by the 
 name of Kound Top, about two miles from CiettyB- 
 burg." 
 
JULY SECOND, 1863. 45 
 
 throiigli the apertures of whicli I could, in 
 concealment, glean an excellent outlook upon 
 the opposing picket line. It was too thick a 
 line to be without significance to my mind. 
 I did not like it, and reported on my return 
 that the enemy were doing something behind 
 their skirmish line ; but what I did not know. 
 Meanwhile word had come that General 
 Graham's column was well along on its 
 march. A message had been sent to him 
 to watch out with great care for his left 
 flank. There was a natural apprehension, 
 under the circumstances, that the skirmish 
 fire mentioned might indicate a movement of 
 the enemy towards us by the cross-road or 
 Cashtown road at our left front. So General 
 Bimey was ordered to reeonnoiter that road 
 with great caution. This he at once proceed- 
 ed to do, using his companies of sharpshooters 
 under Colonel Berdan with proper supports 
 for his purpose.* 
 
 * (Extract from the report of Colonel Hiram Ber- 
 dan, First U. S. Sharpshooters, commanding First and 
 Second U. S. Sharpshooters.) "Headquarters First 
 U. S. Sharpshooters, July 29, 1863. * * * Ahout 
 7.30 a. m. I received orders to send forward a detach- 
 ment of 100 sharpshooters to discover, if possible, 
 -what the enemy was doing. I went out with the de- 
 tail, and posted them on the crest of the hill beyond 
 the Emmftsburg road, and where they kept up a con- 
 stant fire nearly all day upon the enemy in the 
 woods beyond totil they were driven in, about 5 p. m.. 
 
46 A. GETTSBBVRQ NARRATIVE. 
 
 In due time Graham's column arrived after 
 a most expeditious march, and there was no 
 little satisfaction among our headquarters 
 party that the entire corps was assembled and 
 quite ready for any task to which it might 
 be assigned. It comprised at that moment 
 in all about eleven thousand men, in- 
 cluding the two divisions of three brigades 
 
 by a heavy force of the enemy, after having expended 
 all their ammunition. 
 
 As it was impossible with this force to proceed far 
 enough to discover what was being done by the enemy 
 in the rear of this woods, I reported the fact to 
 Major-General Birney, and about 11 a. m. I feceived 
 »n order from him to send out another detachment of 
 100 sharpshooters farther to the left of our lines, and 
 to take the Third Maine Volunteers as support, with 
 directions to feel the enemy, and to discover their 
 movements, if possible. 
 
 I moved down the Emmitsburg road some distance 
 beyond our extreme left and deployed the sharpshoot- 
 ers in a line running nearly east and west, and 
 moved forward in a northerly direction parallel with 
 the Emmettsburg road. We soon (Same upon the 
 enemy, and drove them sufficiently to discover three 
 columns in motion in rear of the woods, changing 
 directions as it were, by the right flank. We attacked 
 them vigorously on the flank, and from our having 
 come upon them very unexpectedly and getting' close 
 upon them, we were enabled to do great execution, 
 and threw them for a time into confusion. They 
 soon rallied, however, and attacked us; when, having 
 accomplished the object of the reconnoissance, I with- 
 drew under cover of the woods, bringing oflf most of 
 our wounded, and reported about 2 o'clock to Major- 
 General Birney the result of our operations and dis- 
 coveries. • • • » (Official War Records, Vol. 
 27, Part I, page 515.) 
 
feacii and its own five batteries of artillery.* 
 Each brigade nominally included several regi- 
 ments, as the roster will show ; but many of 
 the regiments numbered only from three to 
 four hundred men, and some constituted even 
 a smaller battalion, in one case comprising 
 only one hundred men, so depleted had the 
 regiments become by the casualties of the 
 service. Most of them had enlisted early in 
 1861, and had passed through all the cam- 
 paigns of the Army of the Potomac, except 
 McClellan's Antietam campaign. 
 
 So reduced had they become at the conclu- 
 sion of the Peninsula and Pope campaigns 
 that the Third Corps was left to recuperate 
 and refit, in the defences of Washington, 
 when their commander. General Heintzelman, 
 was assigned to that post during McClellan's 
 Maryland campaign — one of their division 
 commanders (Hooker), however, having been 
 detached and assigned to the command of a 
 corps (First), at the head of which he re- 
 mained until wounded at the battle of An- 
 tietam. General Sickles succeeded Hooker 
 in the command of his Division, and con- 
 tinued to command it until promoted to 
 
 • Other batteries from the reserve artillery re- 
 ported to its chief of artillery (Bandolph) during the 
 battle. 
 
48 A GETTYSBURG NARRATIVE. 
 
 the comrQand of the entire Third Army Corps. 
 
 The arrival of Graham left the highway 
 to Emmitsburg unoccupied. Thus the corps 
 trains would be at the enemy's mercy, unless 
 the wagons had already been turned away to 
 the east. They were in charge of most ex- 
 perienced and competent officers of our staff, 
 Lieutenant-Colonel James 'F. Eusling was 
 our chief quartermaster, and his general effi- 
 ciency in the service had so commended itself 
 as to cause him subsequently to be assigned to 
 army headquarters to assist General Ingalls, 
 the renowned quartermaster of the army.* 
 Our ammunition train was in charge of our 
 excellent ordnance officer, Captain H. D. F. 
 Young, of the Second l!Tew Hampshire, a dis- 
 tinguished regiment serving in the First Bri- 
 gade of Humphreys' division — an officer 
 who in times of stress had never failed us for 
 the ammunition supply. Still the situation 
 awakened solicitude. 
 
 I was directed to go to General Meade's 
 headquarters, report the reconnoissance in 
 progress, the arrival of General Graham, and 
 the unoccupied road to the south ; and to ask 
 
 * To General Ingalls, when Gteneral Grant, came east 
 as Lieutenant General, the latter offered the command 
 of the Army of the Potomac in a private letter which 
 for a long time Ingalls kept absolutely secret. 
 
JULY SEOOND, 186S. 49 
 
 if there were any special orders about that 
 road or the trains. On stating my er- 
 rand to the staff officer in charge, as before, I 
 was directed to make my report in person to 
 Greneral Meade. I was ushered into a little 
 room with a low ceiling in a small, old- 
 fashioned farm house, where the only things 
 that impressed themselves on my mind's eye 
 were a table, nearly as large as the room, 
 around which five or six people might com- 
 fortably take porridge, a geography map of 
 Adams county (in which Gettysburg is situ- 
 ated) spread upon the table, over which Gen- 
 eral Meade, spectacled as usual, was studious- 
 ly bending from his seat, at what in courtesy 
 might be styled in fiction the " head of the 
 table." I was sent into the room alone, and 
 expecting one of the staff to follow, I stood at 
 attention at the other side of the table, await- 
 ing, to use a parliamentary term, " recogni- 
 tion by the chair." I did not get it, and my 
 situation was becoming embarrassing, not to 
 mention my ovsm mental speculations as to 
 what was going on in the general's heavily 
 burdened mind. Finally, a " Well, sir," start- 
 ed my tongue. So with all the brevity I could 
 command I stated my message, gravely im- 
 pressed as I was with its importance, and 
 added, as I had been directed to do, all the 
 
50 A GETTYSBURG NARRATIVE. 
 
 information I possessed immediately perti- 
 nent to my errand. In silence again General 
 Meade resumed his study of the map before 
 him. I imagined he was taking the bearings 
 of the two roads I had mentioned, and reflect- 
 ing upon possible orders about them ; as prob- 
 ably he was. I awaited the conclusion. Again 
 the pause became embarrassing, and it oc- 
 curred to me that perhaps the reason was that 
 the Cashtown road or lane I had mentioned 
 was not shown on the map. So I ventured to 
 observe that the results of the reconnoissanee 
 would soon be reported, and added that Gen- 
 eral Sickles requested General Meade's orders 
 about the Emmitsburg road. General 
 Meade replied that he would send cavalry to 
 patrol it, and that orders had been sent to the 
 trains. Interpreting this as my dismissal, I 
 saluted and withdrew. 
 
 Eiding with all speed to General Sickles I 
 detailed the entire occurrence and the lan- 
 guage used as accurately as my fresh memory 
 could then reproduce it. I was in a state of 
 anxiety probably far beyond what I had any 
 right to be, and thought I detected solicitude 
 in the general's expression as he asked if Gen- 
 eral Meade said anything else. I had stated 
 it all. 
 
 It was now obvious that, in the absence of 
 
JVLY SECOND, 1863. 51 
 
 orders to assume the aggressive, the Third 
 Corps was charged with protecting the ex- 
 treme left flank of the army. As to holding 
 or abandoning either or both of those two 
 useful roads I have mentioned, General Sick- 
 les apparently must determine for himself. 
 
 By the Emmitsburg highway running 
 north and south he had approached the field, 
 and had reported his lines as extending up 
 and down that highway. Should disaster 
 come from abandoning it in his front without 
 being ordered to do so (he had no orders to 
 abandon it), he would be seriously at fault, if 
 not, indeed, be -chargeable with a military 
 offence. He must decide at once. He must 
 either withdraw his outer lines, or post his 
 troops in the best position possible to main- 
 tain them. There was no alternative. 
 
 General Birney was ordered to post his 
 division with the right resting on the Em- 
 mitsburg road near the intersection of it by 
 the crossroad mentioned, and to occupy the 
 most favorable points to cover the entire left 
 flank and rear of the corps. 
 
 Apparently anticipating the approaching 
 conditions, for Bimey was of keen and alert 
 intellect, this general had already explored the 
 region ; and without delay had selected the po- 
 sitions for occupation by his infantry and ar- 
 
52 ^ GETTYSBURG VABBATI7E. 
 
 tillery. Serious firing in the direction of the 
 reconnoitering party also renewed attention to 
 the extreme front, and the position at the cor^ 
 ner was promptly strengthened. 
 
 It was better to level the fences before the 
 troops moved than to be annoyed with fence 
 wrecking while maneuvering. Fences had 
 bothered me so much the night before that I 
 had a lively prejudice against them as ob- 
 stacles to regimental expedition ; so I sought 
 and obtained permission to order them to be 
 leveled, a duty which the troops thoroughly 
 relished, while the brigades were being 
 formed to assume their assigned positions. 
 
 The reconnoitering meanwhile had been ac- 
 complished and the firing was explained. I 
 idid not accompany this detachment, probably 
 because I was continuously employed, or 
 about to be employed, upon trips to and 
 from the army headquarters. This reconnois- 
 sance proceeded under the exclusive direction 
 of General Birney, and the officers he dis- 
 patched for the purpose. It developed a con- 
 cealed column of the enemy moving to our 
 left; that is to say, moving parallel to our 
 front and going around to the south of 
 us. Its skirmishers covering the move- 
 ment had been attacked by Bimey's detach- 
 (ment, and had been driven back at the 
 
JULY BEOOND, 1863. 53 
 
 point of contact where our men en- 
 countered them, happily resulting — as it 
 afterwards proved, although the fact was 
 unknown to us at the time — in delaying the 
 enemy's flank movement for a very valuable 
 period. Enough was ascertained, however, to 
 be of incalculable service. The intelligence 
 gleaned was deemed highly important, and I 
 was dispatched with all speed to report the 
 enemy's observed operations to General 
 Meade. 
 
 Meanwhile the brigades and batteries of 
 the corps were moving to their assigned posi- 
 tions. Bimey's division practically changed 
 its front so as to face chiefly towards the 
 south. Some of Humphreys' troops moved 
 forward in regimental line. Many battalions 
 thus moving with colors flying presented for 
 a few moments a picturesque field. 
 
 The " spectacle " that has been described 
 by participants and others — often in exag- 
 gerated language — as attendant upon this 
 " grand advance " of the " Third Corps going 
 into battle " was in reality no " advance " at 
 all. It was simply the movement forward of 
 the infantry battalions to the locations efssen- 
 tial to be held for the support of the skir- 
 mishers at their front, and for the defence of 
 the night's camping ground. Had it been in 
 
54 ^ GETTYSBURG NARRATIVE. 
 
 contemplation to assume the aggressive, all 
 the formations and dispositions would have 
 been made quite differently. What v^as done, 
 as it afterwards developed, emphasized the 
 enemy's delay occasioned by the recon- 
 noissanee, and caused an extended march to be 
 made around our flank before the enemy's 
 attack could be delivered.* Failure to have 
 accepted battle at the place it was fought 
 would have established the fighting ground 
 substantially in the rear of our army. That 
 would surely have been fatal. 
 
 On reaching headquarters I went directly 
 to General Meade. There was order and po- 
 liteness, but an entire absence of ceremony at 
 the headquarters. Officers reporting there 
 were sent at once to tbe commanding general, 
 who was as accessible to all as though a regi- 
 mental colonel. I made my report to him, 
 
 * In Life of General Lee, by General Fitzhugh Lee, 
 the latter says, referring to Sickles' line: "Lee 
 was deceived by it, and gave general orders to attack 
 up the Bmmitsburg road, partially enveloping the 
 enemy's left, which Longstreet 'was to drive in.'" 
 
 According to another (General McLaws) authority 
 (Southern Historical Society Papers, Vol. VII, p. 
 75, 1879), "Longstreet was very much disconcerted 
 and annoyed, principally because it was evident at a 
 glance that the plan of battle could not be carried 
 out. Instead of attacking down the Emmitsburg 
 Road • * * the whole of our front was against 
 the front of the enemy, in position, prepared to re- 
 ceive us." 
 
JULY SECOND, 1863. 55 
 
 adding, as I had been told to do, that in the 
 opinion of General Sickles more artillery 
 than he had could be usefully posted to meet 
 the attack that was expected. General Meade 
 replied that : " Generals were always expect- 
 ing attacks on their own fronts." Then I felt 
 " frosted." But after a moment he added : 
 " If General Sickles needed more artillery in 
 case of attack the reserve artillery could fur- 
 nish it." This was afterwards done. 
 
 At my utmost speed I galloped back to my 
 corps and reported my interview. I was then 
 sent to the extreme comer of our line, that 
 rested at the Peach Orchard where General 
 Graham's brigade and some guns" had been 
 posted. In consequence of a report from that 
 officer I was dispatched to learn further par- 
 ticulars. The attack upon us had not yet been 
 delivered, and the firing at this point was yet 
 limited to sharpshooting, so that horses 
 were kept away from the crest. Even Gra- 
 ham and his battery officers were dismounted. 
 I was led by Graham to a vantage point, 
 where, with intense and justifiable excite- 
 ment, he pointed south along the highway, 
 and showed me an unquestionable column of 
 infantry crossing that highway from the west 
 to the east. He said such a column had been 
 moving across there for some time, and the 
 
66 ^ GETTYSBURG NARRATIVE. 
 
 head of it must now be a good ways to the 
 east of us. 
 
 Although for several hours I had myself 
 expected something of this sort, actually to 
 see it in progress and to realize it filled me 
 with the gravest emotions. We all remem- 
 bered Chancellorsville — how the flank of the 
 army was rolled up there. A lodgment now 
 in our left rear, and an attack simultaneously 
 along the entire front, would throw the army 
 into a confusion well nigh hopeless. Its con- 
 sequences would be deplorable. It did not 
 need a general to tell that to any of those 
 soldiers. It might need a general to avert 
 such a catastrophe. 
 
 As fast as horse could carry me I sped 
 away. If they only had had battlefield wires 
 in those muzzle-loading days the death of 
 horse or man might not involve the whole 
 army. It seemed to me I held its fate. But 
 of course I did not. 
 
 General Sickles was conveniently near. He 
 had planted his headquarters flag near a barn, 
 known by us later as the Trostle bam. He 
 bid me hasten to General Meade and report 
 what I saw, as well as what General Bimey 
 had already reported to the same effect. This 
 I did. General Meade expressed a wish to 
 
JULY SECOND, ISSS. ^ij 
 
 see General Sickles. I did not understand 
 it to be an imperative order. I returned. 
 
 Before this time General Bimey's disposi- 
 tions liad been quite completed. He bad suc- 
 ceeded in getting four guns of Smith's New 
 York battery in position upon an eminence at 
 the left that commanded valuable approaches, 
 defended also by Ward's and DeTrobriand's 
 brfgades. From some of these positions the 
 enemy had also been discerned and reports 
 were made of his tendency. In fact all the 
 Third Corps preparations possible had been 
 made, except that communication had not 
 been satisfactorily established with any 
 troops at the left of the Third Corps. My 
 colleague, Captain Alexander Moore, A. D. 
 C, formerly of Kearny's and later of 
 Hooker's staff, was employed in that relation, 
 and in inspecting the positions on our ex- 
 treme left. 
 
 I am quite sure there will not be found in 
 his official report,* although I believe he in- 
 cluded the expression in his oral report made 
 at the moment in the field, what he then 
 privately told me, that when he first found 
 the Fifth Corps commander, and delivered 
 his errand looking toward co-operation, the 
 
 * See copy of this report at a subsequent page. 
 
58 ^ GETTYSBURG NARRATIVE. 
 
 latter coolly responded: "My men are mak- 
 ing cofEee and -will be up iii time." That is 
 why a little later they had to be rushed with 
 such apparent rashness and mournful losses, 
 to get into the positions that were contended 
 for in the sanguinary struggles at and about 
 the " Little Round Top." 
 
 Our other aide-de-camp was Captain 
 Thomas W. G. Fry, who, although holding a 
 commission as commissary of subsistence, 
 was wounded at Chancellorsville, and volun- 
 teered service as an aide-de-camp instead of 
 securing a re-assignment to his department 
 work. A corps commander, under the 
 President's designation, was entitled un- 
 der the statute to one major and two 
 captains as aides, to be appointed by 
 the President; and General Sickles had 
 asked thus far for one captain only; so 
 the assignment of Captain Fry to the vacant 
 post had been promptly made by the War De- 
 partment. He, too, was a genial and faithful 
 officer whom we all sincerely loved. The re- 
 maining staff officers, representing their re- 
 spective departments, also rendered more or 
 less service as aides when not engaged in the 
 duties of their own department, as they neces- 
 sarily were on that day. But the aides were 
 relied upon for the field messages, and for 
 
JULY SECOND, 1863. 59 
 
 the orders to troops in motion, or in battle. 
 There was plenty of work for all. Indeed, 
 it so happened at times, as it did on this day 
 when General Sickles was actually hit, that 
 the corps general was left entirely alone with 
 his color bearer. 
 
 A small troop of cavalry was also on duty 
 at corps headquarters, and its commander 
 was frequently called upon for staff work, 
 while his men were often riding furiously in 
 doing orderly duty — a most essential service, 
 lest an officer or horse bearing an important 
 message should meet with misfortune and the 
 errand fail without its sender being notified. 
 This detachment, styled an " escort," re- 
 mained dismounted as much as possible to 
 conserve the energy of its horses and men; 
 and when in the saddle was placed, as con- 
 veniently as might be, out of the enemy's 
 sight, but within immediate call. It was in 
 times of battle a thankless type of service 
 that, generally speaking, was not coveted by 
 the cavalry, yet on occasions brought no little 
 comfort and satisfaction to officers and men 
 engaged on such " details." 
 
 At the moment I was last mentioning 
 everybody was busy, and the troops of the 
 corps had practically assumed their assigned 
 
60 ^ QETTYSBVRQ NABRATIVET. 
 
 positions. Except for an occasional shot 
 there was in the air the silence of expectancy. 
 An aide of General Meade rode up and told 
 Greneral Sickles — and this was the second 
 message of the same purport — that General 
 Meade wished to see him at his headquarters. 
 The corps commanders had been summoned 
 there. Nothing was to be done but to com- 
 ply at once. As the best trail thither — I 
 had essayed several ways — was by that time 
 especially familiar to me, the general di- 
 rected me to lead the way and ride fast. 
 
 The farms over which the battle was fought 
 presented a very different aspect from the 
 Gettysburg of to-day. There were clumps 
 of trees and bushes here and there that ob- 
 structed the range of vision or of movement. 
 These, with time and more or less cultivation, 
 have in many instances disappeared; while 
 in other places growths have appeared which 
 were not there in 1863. There were no roads 
 except the ancient highways and here and 
 there a farm lane or wagon trail, which for 
 all military purposes began nowhere and ter- 
 minated anywhere. Old orchards have disap- 
 peared, and new orchards have grown up, 
 usually in different places. The famous 
 " Peach Orchard " of '63, for instance, was, 
 as described in one general's official report, 
 
JVLY SECOND, 1863. Qi 
 
 " a series of peach orchards," and is now 
 entirely obliterated ; and new peach orchards 
 in other spots flourish to deceive the visitor. 
 Buildings are gone and others have been 
 erected. Fields of grain and grass, and 
 under-cleared woodlands, disturb the veteran's 
 recollections, and help to confuse the un- 
 wary. About the only dominant landmarks 
 uneffaced are the depressions and the eleva- 
 tions that nature has commanded shall stand 
 with the eternal hills. Except in this respect 
 the battle topography of the Gettysburg of 
 1863 has (by 1904) disappeared forever. 
 
 By the time we had reached headquarters 
 the sound of musketry from Bimey's front 
 was quite marked, although it had not yet at- 
 tained the volume signifying battalion col- 
 lisions. It was, however, to the experienced 
 ear sufficiently significant of their approach. 
 The interview, therefore, between Generals 
 Sickles and Meade was very brief. The ar- 
 tillery also had announced the commence- 
 ment of the action. The Council of War had 
 dispersed. General Meade met General 
 Sickles in front of his quarters, and informed 
 him he need not dismount; that it was too 
 late ; that his presence was needed at his own 
 front. General Meade said he would meet 
 him there in a few minutes. We were off 
 
'Q2 ^ GETTY SBVRa yARBATIVE. 
 
 again in short order, because of the signifi- 
 cance of the firing; and by the time we 
 reached our starting point it was clear that 
 the battle was thoroughly opened. 
 
 I was wondering why a battery, that I had 
 seen at an earlier hour go into position im- 
 mediately south of us, and where our infan- 
 try lines were very slender and the interven- 
 ing fields untimbered, had not opened upon 
 us. It enfiladed the plain where before that 
 we had been maneuvering. But I know now 
 that the scheme was first to force our extreme 
 left. Besides, there was nothing special just 
 then on that plain affording a useful mark, 
 or specially attractive. I do not know what 
 General Sickles thought about it, for he had 
 made no remark when I had pointed it out to 
 him. But he acted; for, I noticed after- 
 wards, that our skilled corps chief of artil- 
 lery, Captain George E. Kandolph, had 
 posted guns that potently bore upon those 
 glistening barrels. 
 
 Suddenly, a little to the north of where 
 we were standing, a small body of horsemen 
 appeared to my surprise on our open field just 
 described, and at the place of all others most 
 tempting to the enemy's guns thus posted. 
 Eapidly approaching us the group proved to 
 be General Meade and a portion of his staff. 
 
JVL7 SECOND, 186$. gg 
 
 General Sickles rode towards them, and I 
 followed closely, necessarily hearing the brief, 
 because interrupted, colloquy that ensued. 
 
 General Sickles saluted with a polite ob- 
 servation. General Meade said : " General 
 Sickles, I am afraid you are too far out." 
 General Sickles responded : " I will with- 
 draw if you wish, sir." General Meade re- 
 plied : " I think it is too late. The enemy 
 will not allow you. If you need more artil- 
 lery call on the reserve artillery. (Bang ! a 
 single gun sounded.) The Fifth Corps — ■ 
 and a division of Hancock's — will support 
 you." His last sentence was caught with 
 difficulty. It was interrupted. It came out 
 in jerks — ^in sections; between the acts, to 
 speak literally. The conference was not con- 
 cluded.* No more at the moment was possi- 
 ble to be heard, 
 
 * The following is an extract from testimony of 
 Gen'l D. B. Sickles, February 26, 1864, before Con- 
 gressional Committee, relating to this interview: 
 
 " Greneral Meade soon afterwards arrived on the 
 field and made a rapid examination of the disposi- 
 tions which I had made, and of the situation. He 
 ■remarked to me that my line was too extended, and 
 expressed his doubts as to my being able to hold 
 so extended a line, in which I coincided in the main 
 — that is to say, I replied that I could not, with 
 one corps, hold so extended a line against the rebel 
 army; but that, if supported, the line could be held; 
 and, in my judgment, it was a strong line, and the' 
 best one. I stated, however, that if he disapproved. 
 
64 ■A QETTYBBUBQ VARRATIVE. 
 
 The conversation could not be continued. 
 [Neither the noise nor any destruction had ar- 
 rested it. Attracted by the group, it was a 
 shot at them from the battery I have men- 
 tioned. The great ball went high and harm- 
 lessly struck the ground beyond. But the 
 whizzing missile had frightened the charger 
 of General Meade into an uncontrollable 
 frenzy. He reared, he plunged. He could 
 not be quieted. ISTothing was possible to 
 be done with such a beast except to let him 
 run ; and run he would, and run he did. The 
 staff straggled after him; and so General 
 Meade, against his own will, as I then be- 
 lieved and afterwards ascertained to be the 
 fact, was apparently ingloriously and involun- 
 tarily carried temporarily from the front at 
 
 of it it was not yet too late to take any position 
 he might indicate. He said, 'No'; that it would 
 be better to hold that line, and he would send up 
 the 5th Corps to support me. I expressed my be- 
 lief in my ability to hold that line until supports 
 could arrive. He said he would send up the 5th 
 Corps on my left, and that on my right I could 
 look to Greneral Hancock for support of my right 
 flank. I added that I should want considerable ar- 
 tillery; that the enemy were developing a strong 
 force of artillery. He authorized me to send to Gen- 
 eral Hunt, who commanded the reserve of the artil- 
 lery, for as much artillery as I wanted." 
 
 [Prom Beport of Joint Committee on the Conduct 
 of the War, 2d Session, 38th Cong., 1865, Vol. I, 
 p. 299.] 
 
JULY SECOND, 1863. gg 
 
 the formal opening of tlie furious engagement 
 of July 2, 1863. There can be no question 
 that for a time that frenzied horse was run- 
 ning away. But he bore his rider safely, 
 and a sad misfortune under all the circum- 
 stances was happily averted. 
 
 In relating this incident to General Pleas- 
 onton, the cavalry corps commander then tar- 
 rying at the army headquarters, he told 
 me that there was a simple explanation of the 
 horse feature of this affair. General Meade 
 had sent for his own horse and was impatient 
 at the delay in bringing it to him. He had 
 ordered it instantly. Pleasonton, who was 
 standing near, said : " Take my horse, gen- 
 eral. He is right here." With minds pre- 
 occupied in battle neither general stopped to 
 " talk horse." General Pleasonton never 
 thought to caution General Meade not to use 
 his curb rein. The men of the old regular 
 army habitually used the curb. This was 
 General Meade's habit. This animal was 
 bridled with a peculiar curb, which, as Pleas- 
 onton narrates, he seldom, if ever, used on 
 this horse, reining him only by the snaffle. 
 So it was probable that at his initial fright 
 from the passing missile this horse suddenly 
 felt an involuntary twitch of the curb (he 
 was not accustomed to feel a curb bit) as the 
 
66 A GETTT8BVB6 NARRATIVE. 
 
 rider may have carelessly seized his rein, and 
 so the spirited animal made off with him. 
 There was no particular harm done by or to 
 anybody in the whole affair, as far as I ever 
 learned. But it has always remained with, 
 me as a regretful thought that fifteen minutes 
 longer of the presence that afternoon of the 
 army commander near the lines, and upon 
 the topography, which concerned the opera- 
 tions of his Third Corps, might have made a 
 great difference in the performances of that 
 day. 
 
 In good earnest the battle began now to 
 rage in all its fury. I have never attempted 
 to describe it, and shall not now. This is only 
 my own story, — the tale of an individual 
 experience. If the reader is seeking any- 
 thing else he had better drop the book. The 
 exact order, too, in which this or that incident 
 may have occurred is not necessarily followed, 
 being here, of course,, of trifling consequence, 
 as long as nothing is set down except what did 
 occur. Again there were rides to and from 
 the headquarters, and here and there to differ- 
 ent commanders, so that it may be conserva- 
 tively remarked that there was enough " go- 
 ing on " to keep a boy " out of mischief." 
 
 What happened to me soon afterwards was 
 the active culmination of my day's anxiety 
 
JULy SECOND, 1863. 67 
 
 about our " left." Should it be " turned," 
 ■we had no disengaged troops to turn it back. 
 The general was anxious — very anxious. 
 He had sent Captain Hoore in all haste to 
 urge Fifth Corps troops into position; but 
 nobody had yet reported their presence in the 
 battle. At an unoccupied moment I asked 
 the general if I had not better go " off to the 
 left," and see how things were. 
 
 It seems, in the light of history, that the 
 enemy's intentions of beginning the battle 
 with their attack on our extreme left had been 
 fortunately frustrated. The battle really 
 begun before this attack was ready to be de- 
 livered. How or why is no part of my story, 
 although I have always supposed I knew. 
 May be somebody else knows it better than I 
 do ? So let others say it. If you spell it out 
 of this narration it is no part of my affair. 
 At the time Graham and Birney, I am per- 
 fectly sure, knew why.* 
 
 * The following recent letter states a fact per- 
 tinent on this score: 
 
 Department of the Interior, Office of the Commis- 
 sioner of Railroads, Washington, Septemier 19, 
 1902. 
 
 Oeneral D. B. Sickles, Gettyshurg, Pa. My Dear 
 General Sickles: — My plan and desire was to meet 
 you at Gettysburg on the interesting ceremony at- 
 tending the unveiling of the Slocum monument; but 
 to-day I find myself in no condition to keep the prom- 
 
68 ^ GETTYSBVBG TfABBATITE. 
 
 Anyhow, General Sipkles said, "Yes, go 
 and report as quickly as possible." There 
 was a sort of lane or roadway that helped me 
 part of the way (they have some " park " 
 name for it now, I believe), and partly along 
 it I sped until it turned away from the " high 
 ground on our left " that had been beckoning 
 to me all the day. Then I stumbled off 
 southwardly until I began to ascend its slope. 
 This ride had thus far been unexposed to any 
 fire, and I knew that the lines of Bimey's 
 
 ise made you when last we were together. I am quite 
 disabled from a severe hurt in one of my feet, so 
 that I am unable to stand more than a minute or two 
 at a time. Please express my sincere regrets to the 
 noble Army of the Potomac, and to accept them, espe- 
 cially, for yourself. 
 
 On that field you made your mark that will place 
 you prominently before the world as one of the lead- 
 ing figures of the most important battle of the Civil 
 War. As a Northern veteran once remarked to me: 
 " General Sickles can well afford to leave a leg on 
 that field." 
 
 I BELIEVE THAT IT IS NOW CONCEDED THAT THE AD- 
 VANCED POSITION AT THE PEACH OeCHAED, TAKEN BT 
 TOtTB CORPS AND UNDER YOUR ORDERS, SAVED THAT 
 BATTLEFIELD TO THE UnION CAUSE. It WaS the SOreSt 
 
 and saddest reflection of my life for many years ; but, 
 to-day, I can say, with sincerest embtion, that it was 
 and is the best that could have come to us all, 
 North and South; and I hope that the nation, re- 
 united, may always enjoy the honor and glory brought 
 to it by that grand work. 
 
 Please offer my kindest salutations to your Gov- 
 ernor and your fellow-comrades of the Army of the 
 Potomac. Always yours sincerely, (Signed) James 
 Longstreet, Lieutenant-General Confederate Army. 
 
JVLY SECOND, 1863. Qg 
 
 troops formed a sort of arc of a circle ■within 
 which I was describing its chord. As I as- 
 cended the stone-dotted slope my eyes sought 
 in vain for the blue lines I came to survey. 
 
 The firing at the place I had started from 
 had partially subsided, and, although disap- 
 pointed at not finding the expected Fifth 
 Corps troops, I was reassured by learning 
 that the enemy had not yet actually attained 
 the desirable point. Still I did not observe 
 anything to prevent them from getting there ; 
 and I was alarmed lest the troops " to support 
 the left " might have strayed from their true 
 destination. As I labored up the hill — it 
 proved to be the slope of what is called " Lit- 
 tle* Bound Top " — a bullet whistled over 
 my head. Its sound denoted a long distance 
 shot. Still it disturbed me to know that 
 " the high ground on the left," being yet un- 
 occupied by our own troops, was already 
 within range of the enemy's fire. The shot 
 was answered by Ward's skirmishers, and I 
 continued zigzagging my path up the hill. 
 Shortly another shot followed, then another. 
 
 * This is the hill where now stands the statue of 
 General Warren. General Ward refers to it as 
 " Round Top or Sugar Loaf Hill — that being the 
 extreme left of the army." Out of 1,500 Ward lost 
 800; and out of 14 field officers he lost 8. Official 
 War Records, Vol. 27, Part I, page 494. 
 
70 ^ GETTYSBURG NABBATIVB. 
 
 and another plunged into the earth or glanced 
 from the abounding little bowlders. These 
 shots were likewise answered by our men ; but 
 the firings obviously were between skirmish 
 lines, for one of which I had become a mark. 
 The soldiers were concealed as much as pos- 
 sible behind natural obstacles; but the situa- 
 tion clearly indicated an approaching colli- 
 sion of moment at that precise point, which 
 the enemy were too experienced and clever to 
 omit. It would have been for me a compara- 
 tively short ride to report thence to General 
 Meade's headquarters. But that was not my 
 province. My duty was to report the facts 
 promptly to my own general. 
 
 Satisfied that wherever our supporting 
 forces were they were not at this point, as I 
 was sure some of them ought to be ; and that 
 I was wasting valuable time by further ex- 
 ploration, I stumbled down the mountain — a 
 task which, if anybody will try it in the sad- 
 dle he will realize, was only accomplished 
 with impatience. The idea of a single 
 horseman " occupying," much less firmly en- 
 circling " Little Eound Top " is, in the light 
 of history, an amusing lunacy. Anyhow, 
 reaching the base of the hill, I ran away as 
 fast as four legs could carry me. I can im- 
 agine, better than portray, the sensations of 
 
JULY SECOND, 1863. ^1 
 
 General Sickles when I reported to him the 
 actual situation. 
 
 Again I was sent, with special injunctions 
 , to hasten, to report the alarming intelligence 
 to General Meade. There were no more 
 Third Corps troops that could be sent to oc- 
 cupy this pivotal spot. The lines could not 
 possibly be so refused or extended. Bir- 
 ney's left flank had been eligibly posted on 
 the selected series of hills that abound there 
 for defence ; but the enemy was every moment 
 outnumbering and overlapping him, and de- 
 ferring direct assaults.* 
 
 This particular spot of " high ground " 
 was really in our rear, and all day we had 
 been gaining time and holding it by the use- 
 ful method of buffeting the enemy away 
 from it. Little by little the enemy was at 
 last getting around to it. Perhaps, after all, 
 it did not make so much difference respecting 
 what particular piece of ground should be, 
 or should not be, fought over. There had 
 to come the dreadful collisions of organized 
 forces shooting and combating the one to 
 destroy the other. They had to meet and to 
 
 • By riding around the roads now laid out about 
 and upon these hills the observer can perceive the 
 obvious plan of the defenders to delay and to repel, 
 arid the plan of the assailants to encircle and to over- 
 lap their adversaries. 
 
Y2 A GETTYSBURa NARRATIVE. 
 
 become thus engaged. The soldiers' purposes 
 and hopes were to meet at least upon equal 
 terms. One of the elements of the buoyancy 
 among the men and officers of the Union 
 army in this eventful engagement was that on 
 Pennsylvania soil they would not, as in the 
 unknown paths of Virginia, meet the South- 
 em army on unequal terms. 
 
 Hurriedly reaching army headquarters, I 
 found their aspect animated. I rushed into 
 the little cottage without ceremony. But 
 General Meade was not there. Somebody 
 told me he was walking up and down out- 
 side, and another pointed to him standing at 
 the side of the highway hard by. He was 
 watching a column of troops that were 
 marching towards Cemetery Hill. As I be- 
 gun to make my report to him we were well- 
 nigh run over and became separated by the 
 recklessness of artillery drivers, or the acci- 
 dental swerving of an artillery caisson, and a 
 slight loss of time occurred. 
 
 On resuming I was gratified to receive his 
 earnest and fixed attention.* Never in my 
 
 * The final words of his predecessor, General 
 Hooker, when I was taking leave of him three days 
 before, were unconsciously animating me in. the cam- 
 paign. I had gone into his tent on the morning he 
 was relieved, June 28th, to explain that the errand 
 upon which he had sent me from his side while he 
 was going to Harper's Ferry the day before had 
 
JVhY SECOVD, 1863. -^3 
 
 life did I go away from him with larger sen- 
 sations of satisfaction than I did on that oc- 
 casion. It was in contrast to the chill I felt, 
 or imagined I did, when I had reached his 
 side — very unjustly, no doubt, for all men 
 have mannerisms. From that moment ever 
 afterward I had a warm spot in my heart for 
 the good general, and it was emphasized in 
 later months by his considerate treatment of 
 me when, as an unassigned volimteer, he ten- 
 dered me an assignment to any section of the 
 army I might select 
 
 On this my last interview with him at this 
 battle I narrated as concisely and compre- 
 hensively as possible all that I was directed 
 to say, and as much more as was warranted 
 by my information. General Meade did not 
 
 unfortunately separated me from him by so many 
 miles that he had arrived at Frederick and retired 
 before I again reached his headquarters. I had ex- 
 pressed regret that he had ridden alone without any 
 staff ofScer the balance of the day; but that I was 
 unable to express my sorrow at hearing he was to 
 leave us. I had been, from the old McClellan days, 
 much under the immediate eye of the veteran general, 
 and had deep affection for him. We were alone in 
 the privacy of his tent; so I added that he was to me 
 a military father. I had expected we would fight the 
 coming battle under him. With moistened eyes he 
 held my hand as he said in his most impressive man- 
 ner — and the absorbed impression ever remained 
 with me afterwards: "Cfeneral Meade is a good 
 ofScer and a brave man, and will command this army 
 well." 
 
74 ^ GETTYSBURG NABBATIVE. 
 
 discourage my speech. I was sure he was 
 being impressed, and was gratified when he 
 encouragingly responded that he had already 
 ordered the entire Fifth Corps to our support, 
 and also Caldwell's division of Hancock's 
 corps. Then we walked toward the cottage 
 where my horse was standing, and he sum- 
 moned one of his staff,* and I was dismissed. 
 
 * It was my conviction then, and it has ever since 
 remained with me, that the general at once sent staff 
 officers to the place described, and to the Fifth Corps, 
 to hasten the movements which the Third Corps staff 
 had been vainly engaged, for some time in aiding to 
 bring about. That General Warren, of General 
 Meade's staff, was at some time, perhaps had already 
 been, so dispatched, and arrived on the ground none 
 too soon to exert his commanding influence and rank 
 and splendid soldierly qualities, has become famous 
 in history. In a note to page 198 of " Battles and 
 Leaders of the Civil War" (published by Century 
 Co.), there is printed an extract from a letter dated 
 July 13th, 1872, in which General Warren is quoted 
 as having written: 
 
 " Just before the action began in earnest, on July 
 2d, I was with General Meade, near General Sickles, 
 whose troops seemed very badly disposed on that 
 part of the field. At my suggestion, General Meade 
 sent me to the left to examine the condition of affairs, 
 and I continued on till I reached Little Hound Top. 
 There were no troops on it, and it was used as a 
 signal station. I saw that this was the key to the 
 whole position, and that our troops in the woods 
 in front of it could not see the ground in front of 
 them, so that the enemy would come upon them be- 
 fore they would be aware of it. The long line of 
 woods on the west side of the Emmitsburg road 
 (which road was along a ridge) furnished an ex- 
 cellent place for the enemy to form out of sight, 
 
JVLY SECOND, 1863. 75 
 
 so I requested the captain of a rifle-battery just in 
 front of Little Bound Top to fire a shot into these 
 woods. He did so, and as the shot went whistling 
 through the air the sound of it reached the enemy's 
 troops and caused every one to look in the direction 
 of it. This motion revealed to me the glistening of 
 gun-barrels and bayonets of the enemy's line of battle, 
 already formed and far outflanking the position of 
 any of our troops; so that the line of his advance 
 from his right to Little Round Top was unopposed. 
 I have been particular in telling this, as the discovery 
 was intensely thrilling to my feelings, and almost 
 appalling. I immediately sent a hastily written dis- 
 patch to General Meade to send a division at least to 
 me, and General Meade directed the Fifth Army Corps 
 to take position there. The battle was already be- 
 ginning to rage at the Peach Orchard, and before a 
 single man reached Bound Top the whole line of the 
 enemy moved on us in splendid array, shouting in the 
 most eonfldent tones. While I was still all alone 
 with the signal officer, the musket-balls began to fly 
 around us, and he was about to fold up his flags and 
 withdraw, but remained at my request, and kept wav- 
 ing them in defiance. Seeing troops going out on 
 the Peach Orchard road, I rode down the hill, and 
 fortunately met my old brigade. General Weed, com- 
 manding it, had already passed the point, and I took 
 the responsibility to detach Colonel O'Rorke, the head 
 of whose regiment I struck, who, on hearing my few 
 words of explanation about the position, moved at 
 once to the hill-top. About this time First Lieuten- 
 ant Charles E. Hazlett of the Fifth Artillery, with his 
 battery of rifled cannon, arrived. He comprehended 
 the situation instantly, and planted a gun on the 
 summit of the hill. He spoke to the effect that 
 though he could do little execution on the enemy with 
 his guns, he could aid in giving confidence to the in- 
 fancy, and that his battery was of no consequence 
 whatever compared with holding the position. He 
 stayed there till he was killed. I was wounded with 
 a musket-ball while talking with Lieutenant Hazlett 
 on the hill, but not seriously; and, seeing the position 
 saved while the whole line to the right and front of 
 us was yielding and melting away under the enemy's 
 
76 -A GETTYSBURG NARRATIVE. 
 
 As I rode away of one thing I felt as- 
 sured, and that was that our army com- 
 mander was then fully alive to the crisis of 
 the situation, and that he was earnestly 
 minded to do everything in his power to up- 
 hold our tattle lines. My disappointments 
 of the morning were supplanted by exalted 
 hopes. 
 
 While I was making this and other trips 
 my associate aide, Moore, had been actively 
 engaged communicating between Fifth Corps 
 troops and General Sickles; finally bringing 
 to the latter in turn the faithful Weed and 
 iVincent of that corps for directions as to what 
 was needed before each should go to his posi- 
 tion — and each to his death.* 
 
 fire and advance, I left the HU to tejoin General 
 Meade near the center of the field, where a new crisis 
 was at hand." 
 
 * The following report is extracted from the 
 "Official Records of the War," Vol. 51, Part I, pp. 
 200-201 : 
 
 Report of Captain Alexander Moore, aide-de-camp, 
 U. S. Army, of operations July 1-2: 
 
 "Washington, September 8, 1863. General: — I 
 have the honor to submit the following statement of 
 facts connected with the battle of Gettysburg, July 1 
 and 2, as they transpired under my immediate obser- 
 vation, and of the orders intrusted to me for execu- 
 tion. About 2 p. m. July 1 you directed me to pro- 
 ceed from your headquarters at Emmitsburg and 
 communicate with General Reynolds at or near Get- 
 tysburg. Upon reaching Gettysburg I found that Gen- 
 eral Reynolds had been killed, and the troops imder 
 
JULY FIRST, 1863. 77 
 
 command of General Howard, who was anxious to 
 learn when your corps would be up. Returning to 
 report, I met at short distance from Gettysburg the 
 head of your column advancing, under command of 
 General Birney, and learned from him that you had 
 already gone forward to communicate with General 
 Howard. Early on the morning of July 2, after ac- 
 companying you to General Meade's headquarters, I 
 rode with you around our lines. After the formation, 
 of your new line of battle, in accordance with instruc- 
 tions from General Meade empowering you to call 
 upon the Fifth Corps on your left, and upon the Sec- 
 ond Corps on your right, for any needed re-enforce- 
 ments, you directed me, at about 2.10 p. m., to pro- 
 ceed to General Sykes and request him to send a 
 brigade to support General Birney on the road con- 
 necting the Taneytown and Emmitsburg roads. 
 General Sykes informed me, upon delivery of my com- 
 munication, that he would rather not send a brigade 
 at once, but would do so if any necessity arose. Gen- 
 eral Birney, or General Ward, who commanded Bir- 
 ney's left, to notify him of such an event. On my 
 return the artillery fire [probably referring to the 
 firing by Smith's Battery on Ward's line. H. E. T.] 
 had just opened, and I was directed by you to return 
 to General Sykes and bring up a brigade immediate- 
 ly. Upon reaching General Sykes' headquarters I 
 found him absent, but his adjutant had authority 
 to detach a brigade from General Ayres' com- 
 mand, and / conducted General Weed's brigade to 
 General Bimey's line. General Weed accompanying 
 me in person to your headquarters near the 
 wooden bam. Immediately thereafter the signal 
 officer on Eound Top Mountain reported to you in 
 person that the enemy was advancing in great force, 
 with the evident design of carrying that position, 
 thus flanking General Birney's lines, and you again 
 directed me to go for further re-eirforcements froni 
 the Fifth Corps. On my way to where I had last 
 found Gfeneral Sykes I met General Crawford, com- 
 manding the Pennsylvania Reserves, and was in- 
 formed by him that he had hot received any orders 
 at all that day, and although very anxious to take 
 
Y8 '^ GETTYSBURG -NARRATIVE. 
 
 Arriving, and reporting myself again to 
 General Sickles, I was sent to General Hum- 
 phreys for help to Birney, who had called ur- 
 gently for reinforcements. They were sent 
 from the brigade commanded by Colonel Bur- 
 ling,* the so-called " Jersey Brigade " — 
 Third Brigade, Humphreys' division. 
 
 By this time the engagement of infantry 
 
 part in the battle, he did not feel authorized to move 
 ■without orders from General Sykes. 1 proceeded at 
 once to find General Sykes, but failing in that, I 
 found General Slocum, to whom I explained the posi- 
 tion of affairs. General Sloeum immediately author- 
 ized me to use any troops I might meet. Thus, triply 
 armed, with your own, General Meade's, and General 
 Sloeum's authority, I had no hesitation in calling 
 again on General Crawford, who gladly acquiesced; 
 and his column was instantly put in motion, reaching 
 the extreme left of the line in time to defeat the 
 enemy's attack upon Eound Top Mountain. Leav- 
 ing General Crawford to report to you, I met Cap- 
 tain Poland, who informed me of your disablement, 
 which misfortune I at once proceeded to report to 
 General Meade, and upon my return at dark met you 
 as you were being borne from the field. I have the 
 honor to be, general, very respectfully, your obedient 
 servant, Alexander Moore, Captain and Aide-de-Camp, 
 Major-General Sickles, Third Corps." 
 
 • In the ofiicial report of Brigade Commander Bur- 
 ling, the latter describes the fact that his regiments 
 were sent one after another to reinforce various parts 
 of the line, until "no two regiments being together, 
 and being under the command of the different brigade 
 commanders to whom they had reported, I with my 
 staff reported to General Humphreys for instructions, 
 remaining with him for some time." * * • (Of- 
 ficial War Records, Vol. 2, Part I, page 571.) 
 
JVLT SECOND, 186S. ^jg 
 
 and artillery was continuous from the Cash- 
 town road (as I style it for need of a better 
 name), at the point where it intersects the 
 Emmitsburg Pike, thence around our entire 
 south front to the Bound Tops. The enemy's 
 lines were coming forward. From the crest 
 known as the " Peach Orchard " the general 
 movement was promptly discerned. Graham 
 at that point was among the first to appreciate 
 it, and he urgently called for reinforcements. 
 So it seems did other commanders on our left ; 
 while I had been sent, as before, to Hum- 
 phreys with directions to " take a regiment 
 to Graham's support." I^Tothing else could 
 be done. 
 
 Humphreys pointed to the nearest disen- 
 gaged battalion still held in nominal " re- 
 serve," and said, " Take Burns," and directed 
 a staff officer to order Burns to go with me. 
 Now, Major Burns, its commander, was my 
 friend, and the regiment the one in which I 
 had long served. Its officers and men were 
 my friends ; some had enlisted directly under 
 me, and all had seen arduous service. It was 
 then a small battalion, only about three hun- 
 dred effectives being present. It was resting 
 not many rods from where Humphreys was 
 sitting in his saddle, and on the direct route 
 to the point needed. 
 
80 ■A GETTYSBURG NARRATIVE. 
 
 With alacrity the men sprung up and 
 moved off to the left until I got them to 
 where it seemed to me was the place they 
 were needed. They were there partially pro- 
 tected hy a slight slope of the ground in their 
 immediate front, to which they were to ad- 
 vance at the proper signal. Thence I rode a 
 few rods to Graham, reported to him for 
 Bums, and pointed to where they were, say- 
 ing that was all that Humphreys could spare, 
 pnd asked, "Where do you want Bums"? 
 He replied to leave them where they were, 
 and he would give them orders.* 
 
 A regiment! Only a regiment! It was 
 like dropping a peanut in a stone-crusher. 
 Graham's men were falling all around us. 
 His guns were playing, and his infantry load- 
 ing and firing with all their vigor. I ob- 
 served again that nohody was mounted, and 
 my errand was finished. I was a super- 
 numerary. " We're giving them hell," said 
 Graham as I rode away. Poor Graham. The 
 " boot was on the other leg." They gave it to 
 him, after he had once or twice repulsed their 
 advance. He had long been my friend and 
 was to his death. It grieved me that night to 
 
 • At this spot is a monument erected under an act 
 of the New York Legislature, . and appended to this 
 volume is a description of it and a report of some of 
 the dedicatory proceedings when it was erected. 
 
JVLY SECOND, 1863. gl 
 
 learn lie should have fallen, seriously wound- 
 ed, and then become a prisoner, while he was 
 doing all that human soldier could do in the 
 performance of a terrible duty, and perhaps 
 an impossible task. 
 
 On reporting to General Sickles he said 
 that Birney had again called loudly for rein- 
 forcements. I was directed to hasten, there- 
 fore, to General Hancock, and to say to him 
 that if Caldwell's division had not started (I 
 was to tell him what General Meade had 
 said) request it be sent at once, and that I 
 should guide it directly to General Bimey. 
 
 Speeding on my way I encountered a col- 
 umn of infantry moving in a direction which 
 would take them away from the particular 
 point where immediate aid was essential. 
 Some troops of DeTrobriand's brigade were 
 being pressed so hard that their lines were 
 melting away, and would soon be completely 
 pierced unless assistance should come. Under 
 such conditions the appearance of fresh troops 
 advancing to attack the winners usually cre- 
 ated not only a rally, but confusion to the 
 temporary victors. 
 
 There existed a crisis where just such an 
 appearance was vital. The marching soldiers 
 told me that they belonged to Caldwell's divi- 
 sion. That being the case, I thought^ why 
 
g^ A GEl'TtSSVM NAURAlFIVB. 
 
 need I waste time to see Hancock ? He had 
 apparently already received and acted upon 
 his orders. The man, therefore, most needed 
 at that moment was General Caldwell, the 
 division commander. 
 
 Assuming him to be riding near the head 
 of his column, he was already a long way off ; 
 and by the time I could overtake him he 
 would be still farther distant. Then he 
 would have to turn his troops back and to 
 lose time in sending orders to brigade com- 
 manders, and thence to regimental com- 
 manders ; so by the time a regiment was ready 
 to be lined up for work at the firing lines our 
 battle lines might be irretrievably severed. 
 
 I was aching to seize from the column the 
 nearest regiment. But I knew no colonel fit 
 to command it would obey my orders while 
 his brigade commander was present. What 
 should I do ? Overtaking the commander of 
 the regiment marching nearest to me I asked 
 him who his brigade commander was. He 
 said, " General Zook." " Where is he " ? said 
 I. "At the head of the brigade," was the 
 response. I inquired, " How many regiments 
 ahead of you"? He told me. "Thank you," 
 said I. Only a regiment or two to ride 
 against, thought I, and I might find a brigade 
 general who would act. 
 
JVLY SECOND, 1863. 33 
 
 Reaching the head of this marching bri- 
 gade, I saluted and asked, as serenely as with 
 forced suppression of my emotion I could 
 fairly simulate : " Is this General Zook " ? 
 " Yes, sir." The man was a perfect stranger 
 to me and I realized that I might be mistaken 
 for a demoralized straggler. So I adhered to 
 all the formalities and inquired where his di- 
 vision general could be found, at the same 
 time explaining the urgency, which indeed 
 might have been clear to every soldier in the 
 column. It being apparent that before I could 
 ride to Zook's superior officer and have orders 
 regularly conveyed back again to Zook the lat- 
 ter's regiments would have passed beyond the 
 point where fresh troops were instantly re- 
 quired, Zook was asked, if, under the circum- 
 stances, he would not immediately detach his 
 troops from the column and move into action 
 right where we were riding. He replied, po- 
 litely but with soldierly mien, that his orders 
 were to follow the column. Eepeating Ihe 
 request I asked him to assume the responsi- 
 bility of compliance, promising to protect him 
 and to return to him as soon as possible with 
 a formal order from the proper officer. 
 
 It was a critical interview. There was no 
 time to parley. The exhausted lines of Bir- 
 ney's division, although already reinforced by 
 
84 ^ QETTYBBVBa NARRATIVE. 
 
 some troops from Barnes' division of the 
 Fifth Corps, were stuhbornly fighting a corps 
 of the enemy largely their numerical superi- 
 ors. It was obvious, too, that Zook, as well as 
 myself, fully appreciated that neither the re- 
 quest nor instant compliance with it could be 
 deemed within the strict limits of military 
 regularity. " Sir," said General Zook, with a 
 calm, firm look, inspiring me with its signifi- 
 cance, " if you will give me the order of Gen- 
 eral Sickles I will obey it." My response then 
 was : " General Sickles' order, general, is 
 that you file your brigade to the right and 
 move into action here." 
 
 To my delight this sturdy general prompt- 
 ly wheeled his horse out of the column, gave 
 the command, " File right," and gallantly de- 
 tached his brigade from the column. He 
 marched it straight for the firing line, and 
 himself to his death. Few men would have 
 acted as Zook did. Yet had he acted other- 
 wise it might have changed the fate of the 
 day. "Who knows? It was such acts of 
 sagacity and nobleness that won Gettysburg. 
 
 Indeed, history will record that it was the 
 spirit of just such acts in every rank that be- 
 gan, continued, conducted and concluded the 
 battle of Gettysburg, regardless if not in spite 
 of orders. Zook gave little heed to the prom- 
 
JVLY SECOND, 1863. 35 
 
 ise to send hiitn ratified orders; but silently 
 acknowledging the thanks tendered him, 
 busied himself with his work in hand. 
 
 Oh ! what a relief. What a splendid gen- 
 uine soldier was this same Zook leading as 
 he did his superb command straight into the 
 jaws of mortal combat, and in a short time, 
 as it transpired, to his own mortal wound. 
 But his noble act saved many other lives, and 
 averted an unspeakable misfortune. 
 
 To fulfill my promise to him that I would 
 bring him confirmatory orders from General 
 Sickles, I left him moving straight to his 
 goal, while I galloped off to General Sickles, 
 who fortunately was quickly found. With 
 instant approval he bid me hasten back to 
 Zook with thanks for his conduct, directing 
 me to lead his brigade to General Birney. 
 The latter, engaged in rallying his broken 
 lines, was easily found, because Zook kept his 
 column steadily guided to the supreme spot 
 where any soldier could discern that it was 
 needed. 
 
 'No happier moment ever came to an officer 
 in battle than when I had the satisfaction of 
 introducing General Zook to General Birney 
 with the single remark that he had brought a 
 brigade which had been ordered to report to 
 General Birney. 
 
86 A QETTY8BURQ NABBATIVE. 
 
 There was no need — no time — for either 
 general to explain to the other. My short ac- 
 quaintance -with Zook ceased as he occupied 
 himself with his regiments. With soldierly 
 ability he led them in person wherever Bir- 
 ney wished them to fight. The battle lines* 
 
 •Relating to the arrival of this brigade (Zook's) 
 at the firing lines and the situation there at that 
 hour the official report of General Bimey states; 
 "At 4 o'clock the enemy returned the artillery fire 
 on my entire front, and advanced their infantry 
 en masse, covered by a cloud of skirmishers. Major- 
 General Sykes reached my left opportunely, and pro- 
 tected that flank. A portion of his command, under 
 General Barnes, had been placed in rear of the right 
 of De Trobriand's brigade, but during the fight he 
 withdrew his force, and formed some 300 yards 
 farther in the rear. 
 
 "Aa the fight was now furious, and my thin lino 
 reached from Sugar Loaf Hill {i. e., "Eound Top")' 
 to the Emmitsburg road, fully a mile in length, I 
 was obliged to send for more re-enforcements to Ma- 
 jor-General Sickles and Major Tremain, aide-de-camp 
 to the commanding general, soon appeared with a 
 brigade of the Second Corps, which behaved most 
 handsomely, and, leading them forward, it soon re- 
 stored the center of my line, and we drove the 
 enemy from that point, to fall with redoubled force 
 on Ward's brigade. My thin lines swayed to and fro 
 during the fight, and my regiments were moved con- 
 stantly on the double-quick from one part of the line 
 to the other, to re-enforce assailed points. • « » " 
 (Extract from official report of Major-General David 
 B. Birney, commanding First Division of Third Army 
 Corps, dated August 7th, 1863. Vol. 27, Part I, 
 War Records, page 483.) • » * « I annex a map 
 showing the position of my troops and the batteries 
 sujjported by us." See same Vol., pp. 485 and 486, 
 This map is here reproduced. 
 
JVLY SEOOND, 1863. g^ 
 
 at that point and for that moment were hand- 
 somely restored. But Zook did not live to 
 see the full fruition of his gallantry. Thus 
 it was that a soldier of disinterested devotion, 
 patriotic instinct, thoughtful courage and 
 sublime comradeship met his death at Gettys- 
 burg. 
 
 It is no part of my particular story to de- 
 note what occurred there, or how other com- 
 bats waved to and fro, to the right and left 
 of that spot. It is only for me to relate that 
 Zook had promptly sent officers to advise his 
 division commander of the orders he had re- 
 ceived and of the action he was taking. Be- 
 yond hearing him do this, I had nothing to do 
 or say about it. Other officers had meanwhile 
 been sent to General Caldwell. 
 
 My errand was accomplished ; and again I 
 returned as leisurely only as one is apt to do 
 when under the missiles of battle. It was my 
 duty to report to General Sickles, whom I 
 sought at the rendezvous* where I had left 
 him. 
 
 * This place is now denoted by a handsome " mark- 
 er" placed there by the Gettysburg National Park 
 Commissioners. The location was defined by General 
 Sickles and myself, at a visit some years before the 
 title to the ground had been acquired. Afterwards 
 the granite marker was erected withdn a few feet 
 of the spot where his horse was restively standing 
 when the deadly missile {{.ccomplished its mission. 
 
68 ^ QETTYBBVBQ NABBATI7E. 
 
 Approaching the spot, I ohserved him re- 
 dining with apparent suffering against the 
 wall of the barn, while a soldier was engaged 
 under the general's directions in buckling a 
 saddle strap, which had been tightly wound 
 around his leg above the knee — thus form- 
 ing an improvised tourniquet to prevent the 
 flow of blood. 
 
 Throwing myself from the saddle with 
 the exclamation, " General, are you hurt " ? 
 I found myself at his side, instantly realizing, 
 as perhaps he might have realized, the pos- 
 sibly fatal nature of the injury. His voice 
 was clear, and he then responded thus to my 
 inquiry : " Tell Greneral Bimey he must 
 take command." 
 
 Birney was the ranking general officer, and 
 had indeed commanded the corps on its march 
 from Falmouth to Frederick in the absence 
 on sick leave of Sickles. At the same mo- 
 ment of giving this direction the wounded 
 general fortunately produced the tiniest flask 
 ever carried by soldier, and wet his lips with 
 its brandy. Not an officer was near him ; nor 
 was there, as far as I ever could ascertain, 
 when the ball hit him. His horse, though 
 apparently unhurt, had already been shot in 
 the breast by a bullet that afterwards came 
 out near the hip, and was standing close by, — 
 
JVLY SECOND, 1863. gg 
 
 a soldier holding him. The shot — it must 
 have been from a cannon — had evidently 
 passed parallel to the horse, and striking its 
 victim just below the knee had almost severed 
 the leg. 
 
 Saying I would send for an ambulance, I 
 started to find Birney. As I was mounting, 
 General Birney rode up. I exclaimed, " Here 
 is General Birney now, sir." Stepping to 
 the latter's side I said that '' General Sickles 
 was seriously wounded, and directs me to 
 notify you, sir, to assume command of the 
 corps." General Sickles, if he did not hear, 
 inferred what I was saying, and himself sung 
 out in his ringing tones : " General Birney, 
 you will take command, sir." 
 
 With an affirmative response, and an in- 
 quiry softly of myself if I had sent for an 
 ambulance. General Birney at once rode off to 
 his work, for it needed him, and he knew it. 
 
 Thus terminated my field service at Third 
 Corps headquarters. 
 
 The man ,1 had sent after an ambulance 
 surely could not so quickly have found one, 
 except by accident; but an ambulance im- 
 mediately appeared, doubtless sent by some 
 one else. I thought it would be shattered to 
 pieces by shot and shell before the patient 
 could be placed in it. But strange to relate, 
 
90 A GETTYSBURG NARRATIVE. 
 
 not a man or beast concerned with it was in- 
 jured during the process. 
 
 Obviously the general was growing weaker, 
 and I dared not ride away from the jolting 
 ambulance to find a surgeon lest the sufferer 
 expire in utter loneliness. So at a signal 
 from the attendant I dismounted and climbed 
 to the side of the general. Brandy was given 
 as often as possible. I. thought the end had 
 come. Solemn words, not to be written in 
 my story, were softly spoken to me amid the 
 din of cannon. Father O'Hagan, chaplain 
 Fifth Excelsior (Seventy-fourth !N'ew Tork) 
 Eegiment, rode up, and dismounting came 
 into the wagon to the patient's side. The 
 memory of those prayerful moments cannot 
 be eflfaced. 
 
 It seemed to me a long while before a halt 
 was made, and Surgeon Thomas Sim, the 
 corps medical director, took charge of the 
 case. The other aides by this time had come 
 up. It was fast growing dark, and the scene 
 and actors need not be recalled. An impro- 
 vised operating table, candles in bayonets, lan- 
 terns, sponges, the odor of medicines, of chlo- 
 roform, a few idlers who belonged elsewhere 
 — all are vaguely assembled in uncertain 
 memory certain only of the distant sounds of 
 the continuing battle. The artillery could 
 
JVhY SECOND, 1863. qi 
 
 not continue firing effectively after dark ; but 
 the musketry lingered long beyond the shades 
 of evening. 
 
 And here ended the " Two Days of War." 
 
 * See notes at end of chapter III. 
 
III. 
 
 Lest omission to mention the third day of 
 the battle be given unintentional significance, 
 a few words by way of concluding this narra- 
 tion may be added. 
 
 The night was passed in successive watches. 
 The patient, before regaining consciousness, 
 had been removed from the improvised oper- 
 ating table to a stretcher. The watchfulness 
 of the operating surgeon, of his assistant and 
 of the hospital stewards, was supplemented by 
 that of the aides-de-camp. These were Cap- 
 tains Alexander Moore and Thomas W. G. 
 Fry, besides myself. It was the discipline of 
 the army at that time that personal aides ac- 
 companied their general; while department 
 staff officers continued their respective duties 
 on the staff of the general succeeding to the 
 command, who in turn was accompanied by 
 his own aides. Nothing, therefore, remained 
 for us three but to go as ordiered, and thus to 
 follow the fate of our general; and then, 
 should he expire, to report to the War De- 
 partment for further orders. Whether our 
 92 
 
AWAY FROM TEE BATTLE. 93 
 
 general would or would not survive had been 
 the question of the night. We had ceased to 
 have any official concern about the troops. 
 
 In the morning the doctors declared that 
 the patient should be taken away from the 
 field. That course, if pursued at once, af- 
 forded more hopefulness than to await the ap- 
 proach of the usual fever, and possible col- 
 lapse, of which there was grave apprehension. 
 The medical director prohibited the removal 
 of the patient from the stretcher, and would 
 not even permit his transfer to an ambulance. 
 The fate of the battle also was yet open, and 
 continuous attention on the battlefield to the 
 wounded general was impossible. Moreover, 
 all the wounded must, of course, in some way 
 be sent away from the immediate field of 
 military operations, as well as out of possible 
 range of firing. 
 
 The battles of the two previous days had 
 extended over many miles. So, nowhere 
 near the field could a permanent hospital 
 camp yet be set up. Thus it happened that 
 during the forenoon the medical director ar- 
 ranged through the proper authorities for our 
 little party to be ordered to start for the near- 
 est railroad point, whence, by the time we 
 could reach there it was expected that rail- 
 road communication with Baltimore would be 
 
94 A. aETTTSBVBa NARRATIVE. 
 
 opened. Forty infantry soldiers were there- 
 fore detailed from the Third Corps to act as 
 escort and stretcher bearers. These with a 
 small squad of cavalrymen for courier duty, 
 together with a couple of wagons for hospital 
 supplies, rations and baggage, made up a 
 cumbersome party that started on its experi- 
 mental march. 
 
 The soldiers not being accustomed to 
 stretcher work, necessarily moved slowly and 
 awkwardly. Each successive four required 
 instruction, and until the whole ten .fours had 
 served their turn, very little progress was 
 made. Besides, the effect on the patient was 
 purely an experiment. Dr. Sim was watch- 
 ful and courageous, and the patient remained 
 serene. After we had reached the " Balti- 
 more Pike " and swung along it until, as we 
 supposed, we were quite away from the area 
 of probable combats, a message came from 
 the chief of cavalry (General Alfred Pleas- 
 onton) at Army Headquarters that the cav- 
 alry lines (under General D. Macgregor 
 Gregg) were along our left, and that there 
 were no other troops between us and the 
 enemy. Later another message arrived that 
 the cavalry on our left were heavily engaged,* 
 
 * This was the furious and famous cavalry fight at 
 Gettysburg, of which little was said at the time. 
 
Ci/<5^ tf^ iZ^^Sht. 
 
AVAr FROM TRB BATTLE. 95 
 
 and that it would be well for us to keep off tlie 
 main roads, lest some detachment of the 
 enemy should be met. Indeed such an en- 
 counter could have had but one result. We 
 determined to take no risk. What if our 
 patient and ourselves should fall into the 
 hands of the enemy ! The thought itself was 
 horrible to us beyond expression. The sol- 
 diers with us happily did not know the sit- 
 uation, but the officers silently regretted their 
 own absence from the battle lines. It is 
 always more comfortable there than to be 
 roaming about at the rear of them. 
 
 The exceptional artillery battle of that 
 afternoon that waged between the two armies 
 reverberated in our ears. We knew it signi- 
 fied renewal of the battle in all its fury. Wie 
 could hear it, and fill our hearts with sur- 
 mises. The sounds of the cavalry combats 
 so near to us were scarcely audible. 
 
 That I was distant from the scene of action 
 and had absolutely no part to play in relation 
 to it, was altogether a most unsatisfactory 
 reflection. Yet, whatever happened, I would 
 
 BO overshadowing were other features of the battle. 
 Had the Union cavalry under Gregg been defeated the 
 fate of the battle would doubtless have been different. 
 An account by a gallant participant is printed for the 
 first time on subsequent pages of this volume, 
 i. e., the full report of a paper as read by its lament- 
 ed author at a public meeting. of hia "companions." 
 
96 ^ GETTYSBVBQ NARRATIVE. 
 
 be held directly responsible for our little de- 
 tached party. I was for the moment sorry 
 that I had not sought some assignment to 
 another staff. Yet I knew that such a re- 
 quest would have been irregular, if not heart- 
 less, and would have been shirking an im- 
 mediate duty. Besides, new assignments 
 from the War Department could not be ar- 
 ranged in the heat of a great engagement. 
 Altogether, mental perturbances were not 
 without place, while the emergency was upon 
 me of finding a pathway by which I could 
 lead our party southward. 
 
 We walked on, or rather, as it seemed to 
 me, only crept on with our precious burden, 
 along the highway, while our few mounted 
 men were actively occupied in scouting the 
 land for another roadway. Presently a fair 
 lane or roadway was discovered that led to 
 the southward directly away from the high- 
 way; but where it led to we knew not; nor 
 was it prudent to halt until we could ascer- 
 tain. Anywhere over the hills and into the 
 country of quiet and repose was the true des- 
 tination. It was the disagreeable conscious- 
 ness of running away from the battlefield to 
 find a safe place ! Such a sensation can bet- 
 ter be imagined than described. The patient 
 was informed of nothing, and only knew that 
 
AWAY FROM TEE BATTLE. 97 
 
 his stretcher was kept in motion, and that his 
 own officers were in charge of the march. 
 The doctor quietly conveyed to us his great 
 satisfaction over the patient's condition, and 
 the fair progress, slow as it was, of the 
 stretcher bearers. 
 
 Our detour was a success; and after sev- 
 eral rests in secluded spots, assisted by no 
 little scouting, the experiment terminated at 
 a restful farm yard, where was the usual com- 
 modious Pennsylvania barn, and a neat dwell- 
 ing house hard by, that had apparently es- 
 caped the visits of any soldiery. Night was 
 coming on. The .stretcher-bearers could not 
 progress after dark. A stumble might kill 
 the patient. Meanwhile communications had 
 been exchanged with General Pleasonton, 
 whose kind thoughtfulness was more than 
 appreciated. Either the battle had ceased, 
 or we were beyond the reach of its reverber- 
 ations. 
 
 We went into bivouac, and appropriated 
 the first floor of the little farm house, where 
 we placed the stretcher. Our wagons were 
 well supplied. Man and beast were afforded 
 every comfort that a soldier should desire, 
 with plenty to spare for the family of the 
 Pennsylvanian. . Guards were posted, and 
 the usual discipline established for the night. 
 
98 4 &llfTt8BVRG NAURATIVJS. 
 
 At daylight the next morning communica- 
 tion with army headquarters was reopened, 
 and in due time the march was resumed. As 
 we were departing, the thrifty farmer, who 
 had abeady been liberally compensated for 
 our intrusion, ran out of the house and down 
 the lane after us with a moat unexpected if not 
 piteous appeal : " I say, mister, ain't y' going 
 ter pay me for that sheet ? " Somebody si- 
 lenced him with more money; and, when he 
 was put out of possible hearing of the patient, 
 somebody " talked " to that agriculturist in 
 a way that he probably remembered. Our 
 doctor happily was a believer in the curative 
 properties of fresh air; and the clean cover- 
 ing obtained at the house was a grateful ex- 
 change on that sultry morning for the army 
 blanket over the patient. 
 
 Eeturning to the highway by the way we 
 came we continued along it towards the east 
 until at last we reached a place styled " Little- 
 ton," whence there was a railway to York 
 Junction. Our efficient aide. Captain Fry, 
 who had had experience in the complex 
 duties of the quartermaster's and com- 
 missary departments, had arranged to 
 have a car ready. The place was neces- 
 sarily then the railroad terminal. The car 
 was an ordinary passenger coach of that 
 
A.WAY FROM TEE BATTLE. 99 
 
 period. Into it the stretcher was carefully 
 lifted, and made to rest securely upon the 
 tops of the seat backs. The soldiers were 
 sent back to Gettysburg to rejoin their com- 
 mand ; and parting from them and our horses, 
 the little party accompanying the wounded 
 general, — that is, the medical director who 
 had performed the operation (Dr. Thomas 
 Sim) and the three aides, — ■ sped away be- 
 hind a special engine to Baltimore, and 
 thence to Washington. Arriving there sol- 
 diers had been provided to bear the stretcher 
 in the same order as before from the railroad 
 station through the streets of Washington, to 
 the house 248 F street, opposite the Ebbitt 
 House, where the general had maintained his 
 lodgings. This was on the fifth of July. 
 
 It was no slight relief to realize that such 
 a journey had been safely accomplished, and 
 that the patient, apparently in no worse con- 
 dition, was deposited where all the care and 
 appliances of science and skill might contrib- 
 ute to his recovery. E'evertheless the sur- 
 geons had expressed no little solicitude lest 
 within a few days after such an operation 
 the usual fever that they described should 
 fatally prostrate the patient. So it was or- 
 dered that he continue upon the same stretch- 
 
100 ^ GETTYSBVRa NARRATIVE. 
 
 er; and there he remained foE several days 
 before being removed to his bed. 
 
 It was while lying upon this stretcher that 
 President Lincoln was unexpectedly an- 
 nounced at the front door, and immediately 
 conducted to the second floor that constituted 
 the general's apartments. The President's 
 tender and cordial greeting as he seated him- 
 self at the side of the stretcher, was most im- 
 pressive. 
 
 These visits were frequently repeated. At 
 one of them the face of the President was 
 marked with sadness. It was just after 
 Lee's army had crossed the Potomac into Vir- 
 ginia, and the news of it was fresh in all 
 minds. Of course it was spoken of ; and one 
 remark has always remained with me, as I 
 recall the President's expressed lament: "The 
 greatest disaster of the war ! " was his lan- 
 guage, so intense was his disappointment that 
 the Army of the Potomac had not brought an 
 end to the war by the destruction of the army 
 of ISTorthern Virginia. But Providence had 
 decreed otherwise. It was too soon. The 
 great combat had not yet been concluded. 
 
 Another early incident of my experiences 
 in this sick chamber came out of the appre- 
 ciated presents of fruits and delicacies that 
 were received there. The suffering patient 
 
AWAY FROM THE BATTLE. IQl 
 
 touchingly observed : " I wish my wounded 
 soldiers could have some of these good 
 things." Shortly a generous money contri- 
 bution was placed by him at the disposal of 
 the Third Corps medical director for this 
 special purpose. On learning of this fact, 
 the late James T. Brady, of world-wide fame 
 at the bar, went one day into one of the 
 two New York Stock Exchanges then ex- 
 isting, in the midst of busy clamor and 
 financial excitements, intensified as they 
 then were by the current events of the 
 times. He secured permission to speak a 
 few moments. His electric appeal swiftly 
 resulted in a substantial subscription for deli- 
 cacies for the wounded of the Third Army 
 Corps. This fund was promptly placed at 
 the disposal of General Sickles, who in turn 
 sent half of it to the commander of his Eirst 
 Division, General Bimey, and the other half 
 to the then commander of his Second Divi- 
 sion, General Joseph B. Carr ; — General 
 Humphreys, its assigned commander, having 
 meanwhile been appointed chief of staff of 
 the army. 
 
 The circumstance of these donations, and 
 the use of them, emphasized later by the fre- 
 quent occasions for assistance towards em- 
 balming for home transportation the remains 
 
102 ^ OETTYSBVBa NARRATIVE. 
 
 of deceased comrades, resulted in the officers 
 of the Third Army Corps organizing at 
 Brandy Station in September, 1863, an asso- 
 ciation known as the " Third Army Corps 
 Union " ; the first organization of the kind 
 among the Civil War veterans, and existing 
 to-day among the survivors as an active asso- 
 ciation, extending to all soldiers of that corps 
 without regard to rank, instead of being lim- 
 ited, as originally, to officers only. 
 
 That organization immediately after the 
 war selected May the fifth, the anniversary 
 of its first great engagement — ■ the Battle of 
 Williamsburg (1862) — as the day for the 
 annual meeting; and continues (in 1904) to 
 hold reunions on that day. It was at such 
 a reunion in 1895, at Hadley, Massachusetts, 
 the birthplace of General Joseph Hooker, 
 that the initial steps were taken to erect his 
 statue now standing at the State House in 
 Boston.* 
 
 General Sickles reported for duty at Army 
 headquarters near Centreville in October, 
 1863; but General Meade did not think his 
 physical condition was equal (as probably it 
 
 * For part of the literature relating to this beca- 
 sion, see subsequent pages of this volume reprinting 
 the author's remarks on Hooker's Life and Services. 
 
AWAY FROM TBE BATTLE. ][03 
 
 might not have been) to the exigencies of 
 field service. 
 
 The President subsequently sent him upon 
 a special duty, in the course of which various 
 sorts of experiences were had ; some of which 
 relate to affairs described in letters reprint- 
 ed elsewhere in this volume. 
 
 NOTES TO CHAPTEKS H AND HI. 
 
 *A 'boy's letters home after the hattle say im 
 part: "Washington, D. C, July 7th, 1863. * *. 
 * I have not had a chance to write you a line be- 
 fore. I have had a terrible time of it for me. I 
 know nothing about wounded men or sick people, nor 
 how to treat them, and I have had nothing harder 
 to do for a very long time. Poor Sickles ! He is not 
 the man he was. Utterly prostrate, weak and feeble 
 as a child, he still lies on his back on the same 
 stretcher on which he was placed after the amputa- 
 tion of his leg. He has lost his right leg, from above 
 the knee. It was shot away by a cannon-ball Thurs- 
 day afternoon about 6 or 7 P. M. It was a terrible 
 hard fight, although I have seen the general more 
 exposed in other battles. Poor Graham, too. We do 
 not know what has become of him. His wife is 
 here in suspense. We had very hard work getting 
 the general here; he was unable to ride in an ambu- 
 lance, and we had to carry him on a stretcher for 
 many miles. Then we struck a railroad near Han- 
 over and rode all night in a special train, via Balti- 
 more, reaching here early Sunday morning. I wrote 
 home three or four days before the fight, but I think 
 I did not send it until I arrived in Washington. I 
 sent you a telegram, however, soon after my 'arrival 
 here. I will write you a longer letter some other 
 time. I had a horse wounded the day before the 
 
104 ^ GETTYSBURG NARRATIVE. 
 
 3d Corps became engaged. • * • So I have had 
 more narrow escapes, but am all right so far. My 
 turn has yet to come. * * * " 
 
 Washington, July 10th, 1863. * * * General 
 S. is getting along as well as can be expected; he 
 sometimes suffers much from the result of his pre- 
 vious debility, and he is very weak and feeble, al- 
 though the doctor says he is getting on all right. 
 * * * He is the recipient of a great deal of atten- 
 tion. I am kept more than busy replying to letters 
 of sympathy and receiving the visitors who call to 
 enquire. The general by order of the surgeon sees 
 hardly any one. 
 
 In the recent battles at Gettysburg the 3d Corps, 
 as usual, bore the brunt of the fight. When I tell 
 you that out of less than 12,000 it lost 4,400, you can 
 imagine in how hot a place it must have been from 
 4 P. M. until dark. * * * Our corps opened the 
 fight. We knew where the battle would begin. I 
 felt certain, for I told General Sickles on Wednesday 
 night (as I had been over the ground more and had 
 therefore better opportunities for knowing) that if 
 the enemy attacked the a/rmy at all in its present 
 position, it would he in certain localities on the left, 
 which I designated; and Thursday morning he ex- 
 amined the topography and agreed with me. It 
 was then he pressed on General Meade the necessity 
 for changing his lines to meet such an anticipated 
 attack. It was in that very locality, and hy the 
 roads I designated that the enemy did come and hurl 
 upon us their tremendous force. Just previously, 
 however, General Sickles made proper dispositions 
 of his own troops to meet it, and just after the 
 ball opened General Meade agreed with him and 
 promised him support. The supports (5th Corps), 
 however, were not placed under his command and 
 were not handled, therefore, as intelligently as they 
 would have been by one who knew the surround- 
 ings more perfectly. About half past six while the 
 
AWAY FROM TEE BATTLE. 105 
 
 battle was fiercely raging in this part of the field 
 and without as yet any decisive results, although our 
 men were being very severely pressed, simply by over- 
 whelming numbers. General S. was wounded. After 
 we had succeeded with much diflSculty in getting 
 an ambulance and him into it, I thought he was 
 dying. I was riding with him alone, holding his 
 mangled leg, which was tightly bound by a strap. 
 This the general had presence of mind enough to 
 have one of the orderlies do himself, as there hap- 
 pened to be no officers at his side just at that in- 
 stant. I had been away with orders and returned 
 during this operation. While still in the ambulance 
 we met Father O'Hagan, who also got in and as- 
 sisted. He also thought the general dying and we 
 administered stimulants by the wholesale. Doubt- 
 less this was all that kept him alive. After we put 
 him under the treatment of the surgeons, and after 
 the amputation, which was immediately performed 
 (just at dusk) he seemed much easier, although the 
 chloroform administered had a very exciting and 
 nervous effect. General S. thinks he feels the effects 
 of that even now. Our journey from the field to 
 some railroad terminus was excessively tedious and 
 painful. We were constantly alarmed by well-found- 
 ed rumors of roving cavalry bands of the enemy 
 across the road we were travelling, and had contin- 
 ually to halt, and on one occasion we actually left 
 the main road and went to a secluded farm house a 
 mile or so from it where we remained for twenty- 
 four hours; meantime making arrangements for a 
 train of cars to be run from Hanover Junction and 
 over a branch railroad to Littlestown — the first 
 train through after the rebel occupation. Captain 
 Fry, however, attended to all that kind of out-of-door 
 work and finally succeeded in overcoming all ob- 
 stacles, and we are here. » * * We have heard 
 to-day that General Graham is a prisoner and slight- 
 ly wounded. This news quite relieves Mrs. Graham. 
 
106 ^ GETTYSBURG NARRATIVE. 
 
 There must be another great battle on the Poto- 
 mac, I think. If there is not, there ought to be. 
 I could tell you many interesting things about 
 Meade's and Hooker's campaigns until I left, but 
 must postpone it for the present. * * « If Lee's 
 army can retreat as well as the Army of the Poto- 
 mac, they can whip that army yet. You recollect 
 that Porter was thoroughly thrashed on the right 
 while we were before Richmond; yet before the A. of 
 P. reached the James Eiver, the rebels were pretty 
 thoroughly chastised in several battles fought while 
 we were retreating. Lee is attempting apparently 
 the same thing now; only if he wins a victory, very 
 serious consequences will ensue to us. Everybody 
 here wonders what Couch is still doing in Pennsyl- 
 vania, and hopes he is elsewhere. I have written a 
 pretty long, rambling letter, considering the circum- 
 stances. * * * As for me personally I should 
 much prefer being in the field at present, for this is 
 awful work for me. * * * Still my duty is here. 
 
 * * * So I rest in the hope that the general will 
 soon be able to go somewhere or do something. * 
 
 * * I will try and write again in a day or so; still 
 I have to take my chances. • * » 
 
 248 F. Street, Washington, Sunday, July 12th, 
 1863. * * * About the battle I cannot write you. 
 It was much like other battles, only a good deal 
 of fair, open fighting. Providence must have de- 
 termined that the rebels should not succeed, for I 
 saw no evidences of towering military genius dis- 
 played by our commanding general up to the time 
 I left the field. I do not believe the rebel army is 
 half as badly whipped as the press would have us 
 believe. Our army has been defeated in battle, too, 
 and no such terrible results have happened to our 
 cause as we predicted for the rebels, simply because 
 one of their armies was compelled to retire after 
 a great battle. Lee is probably "all right" again 
 taow and I should not wonder if lie were fighting 
 
AWAY FROM THE BATTLE. 107 
 
 to-day J at any rate he will probably fight soon. It 
 is possible I may be assigned somewhere to duty in 
 a few days, as I am included among the officers 
 ordered by General Order No. 200 to report to the 
 War Department, which I have done. * * * To 
 come from active field service, and remain about a 
 sick room is awful to me. * • * i must seek 
 some change somewhere before many weeks. Do not 
 think there will be no more battles; there will be 
 plenty, and I think I shall see at least one — per- 
 haps more. However, I shall try and take things 
 just as they come. * * *" 
 
IV. 
 
 THE SECOND FIEE ZOUAVES AT 
 GETTYSBUEG. 
 
 Dedication, September Cth, 1897, op Its Mon- 
 ument. 
 An Account op the Proceeddjgs peom the 
 Official Volume " New York at Gettys- 
 burg," AND FROM the N. Y. 
 
 Mail and Express. 
 
 [The following is from the New Torh Mail and 
 Express," Sept. 6, 1897.'] 
 
 " The historic field of Gettysburg already 
 bristles with monuments, but none of them com- 
 memorates braver deeds or more desperate cour- 
 age than that which was unveiled to-day by the 
 survivors of the Seventy-third Volunteer Regi- 
 ment, better known as the Second Fire Zouaves. 
 No regiment that was in the sanguinary engage- 
 ments of those three deadly days came out of 
 them with greater credit or with ranks more 
 decimated. It is fitting that the principal ad- 
 dress of the day should be delivered by that gal- 
 lant officer. Gen. Henry E. Tremain, whose serv- 
 ices on that as on other desperate fields have 
 been testified to by the Congressional medal. 
 His address, published in another column, is a 
 graphic picture of the fighting on the bloody 
 second day and an eloquent tribute to the valor 
 of both the dead and the living." — (Editorial 
 Column.) [The same issue prints as follows] 
 108 
 
THE SECOND FIRE ZOUAVES. 109 
 
 FIEE ZOUAVES' WOEK. 
 
 Handsomest Monument Unveiled at Gettys- 
 burg To-day. — Many Veterans Present. 
 Last of the Eegimental Monuments to be 
 Erected by Commands op the Army 
 of the Potomac. 
 
 THE EXERCISES. 
 
 Gettysburg, Pa., Sept. 6 (Special). — On the 
 field of Gettysburg there was dedicated to-day the 
 last of the regimental monuments to be erected 
 by the veterans of the Army of the Potomac. 
 Fittingly enough, this monument commemorates 
 the valor of a New York regiment, the Seventy- 
 third Volunteer Regiment, or, as it is better 
 known, the Second Fire Zouaves. In that des- 
 perate three-days battle, wherein the flower of the 
 armies of the North and South swept back and 
 forth between Seminary and Cemetery ridges in 
 the death-grapple that decided that the Union 
 should endure, the soldiers of nineteen States 
 were engaged upon the Federal side, but of all 
 the States New York led in the number of its 
 regiments, and of all its regiments none more 
 gallantly met a great opportunity than that which 
 assembled its survivors here to-day. 
 
 The story of that sanguinary engagement at 
 Peach Orchard, on the second day of Gettysburg, 
 has gone down into history. It was told again 
 this morning with the graphic eloquence of the 
 veteran who saw a single regiment hold an en- 
 tire brigade at bay, and who helped it do it. _ It 
 will bo told to all generations in the enduring 
 eloquence of bronze. The courage of the sol- 
 diers who faced the leaden death on the Emmits- 
 burg road, at the call of Tremain and Burns, was 
 not different in kind from the courage of the fire- 
 
110 ^ GETTYSBVRQ NARRATIVE. 
 
 men who faced death, in the flame, when the old 
 City Hall bell summoned the volunteer com- 
 panies of New York to the scene of a conflagra- 
 tion. The volunteer firemen and the volunteer 
 soldier are pictured upon the monument standing 
 with clasped hands in the union of purpose that 
 gave to the early enlistment days of the metrop- 
 olis much of their enthusiastic patriotism, and 
 that gave its significance to the ceremonies of 
 to-day. 
 
 THE MONUMENT. 
 
 The monument represents desperate deeds hero- 
 ically performed. When the Seventy-third Regi- 
 ment was detached from the Sickles Brigade and 
 hurried to the support of Gen. Graham's division 
 of the Third Corps, which was being attacked all 
 along the line, it numbered 324 men. When the 
 confederate advance had been repulsed and the 
 night fell, with the Union position secure, the 
 roll call of the Zouaves showed every other man 
 missing. Just one-half of their command had 
 been killed or disabled in that brief engagement. 
 The death list told of courage that did not know 
 how to quail. It is the fortune of war that that 
 courage was not shown in vain. 
 
 The position occupied by this regiment has be- 
 come the site of the monument, and the monu- 
 ment itself typifies the unyielding bravery dis- 
 played by its soldiers. . But, following out the 
 noble custom that has been adhered to by all the 
 more than 200 regiments that fought on this field, 
 it stands also for the deeds and adventures and 
 sufferings of the Second Fire Zouaves in every 
 engagement of the rebellion, from its early biv- 
 ouacs on Staten Island to its first important 
 service at Torktown, and its dashes at the finish 
 in the neighborhood of Appomattox. 
 
 It is a notable record that must be set down 
 
TBE SECOND MRS ZOVAVM. m 
 
 to this regiment. It was organized on the first 
 call to arms, although not until President Lincoln 
 had made his second appeal for troops was it 
 allowed to take the field. When it joined the 
 Army of the Potomac it became, as is supposed, 
 the first regiment to capture a confederate flag. 
 It took an honorable part in the Peninsular cam- 
 paign, fought under McOlellan at Malvern Hill, 
 under Pope at Manassas, under Bumside at Fred- 
 ericksburg, under Hooker at Chancellorsville, un- 
 der Meade at Gettysburg and under Grant in the 
 battles of the Wilderness and the siege of Peters- 
 burg. 
 
 AN HONOKABLE EKCOED. 
 
 In all its period of service — it served continu- 
 ally from the be^nning until the end of the war 
 — it had enrolled 1,350 men. Of these it lost in 
 killed, wounded and missing 711. Such are the 
 large outlines of the history for which the monu- 
 ment stands. The details are filled in below in 
 the addresses of the men who followed the for- 
 tunes of the regiment and shared in its fame. 
 
 The Seventy-third Eegiment, like the Ellsworth 
 Zouaves, was recruited from the ranks of the vol- 
 unteer firemen of New York City, and it was the 
 associations representing the volunteer firemen 
 that originated the movement to erect a monu- 
 ment to its members. The monument is a repre- 
 sentation of a zouave, with his musket in hand, 
 standing beside the volunteer fireman, in whose 
 hand is a trumpet. It exemplifies the idea of the 
 valiant fireman ready to reach the hand of the 
 soldier to do service in the common cause. 
 
 ERECTING THE MEMORIAL. 
 
 The history of the erection of the monument 
 and its inscriptions may be narrated here: 
 In 1895, about the month of June, the Associa- 
 
112 A GETTYSBURG NARRATIVE. 
 
 tion of the Veteran Fire Zouaves selected a Mon- 
 ument Committee for the erection of a monument 
 at Gettysburg, Pa. As erected, the foundation, 
 built of Gettysburg granite, rises six inches out of 
 the ground and has a base nine feet by seven feet. 
 The pedestal proper of the monument is made of 
 the finest Barre granite of Vermont. The bottom 
 base is seven feet by nine feet, and two feet high, 
 and has finely cut margins and fine washes. The 
 balance of finish is rock-faced. The second has a 
 finely cut top, and is rock-faced. 
 
 The die of pedestal has four bronze tablets, 
 giving the record of the regiment, the battles it 
 fought, and giving a record of Gettysburg inci- 
 dents. Hoffman & Prochazka, of New York 
 City, are the sculptors and designers. The weight 
 of the granite pedestal is seventeen tons, the 
 statue weighing three tons. 
 
 The inscriptions of the four panels, as approved 
 by the Secretary of War, are : 
 
 FRONT PANEL. 
 
 Second Mre Zouaves, 
 
 Major Michael W. Burns, Commanding, 
 
 Sickles' Excelsior Brigade, 
 
 Col. William R. Brewster. 
 
 Second Division, 
 
 Brig.-Gen. A. A. Humphreys, 
 
 Third Corps, 
 
 Major-Gen. D. B. Sickles. 
 
 Mustered in July 10, 1861. 
 
 Mustered out June 29, 1865. 
 
 Front Panel — Second Base : 
 73d N. Y. Infantry. 
 
 RIGHT PANEL. 
 
 The Fourth 
 
 Excelsior Regiment 
 
 was conducted to this position by 
 
TEE SECOND FIRE ZOUAVES. Jig 
 
 Major H. E. Tremain, 
 
 of Third Corps Staff, 
 
 about 5.30 P. M. on July 2, 1863. 
 
 Its loss on this field was: 
 
 Killed, 4 officers and 47 enlisted men. 
 
 Wounded, 11 officers and 92 enlisted men. 
 
 Missing, 8; aggregate, 162. 
 
 OBVERSE PANEL. 
 Volunteer Eire Department, 
 New York City. 
 Organized 1658. 
 Disbanded 1865. 
 This monument was erected at the instance of 
 the Volunteer Firemen of the City of New York, rep- 
 resented by the figure on the left, in grateful recog- 
 nition of the services rendered by the Second Fire 
 Zouaves on this field in defense of the Union, July 
 2, 1863. 
 
 Board of Trustees. 
 Under Chapter 397, Laws of New York, 1897. 
 Robert B. Nooney, John Sidell, 
 
 Matthew Stewart, Richard CuUen, 
 
 Thomas Fair, Michael F. Wynn, 
 
 Geo. W. Anderson, Francis McCarthy, 
 
 Peter J. Hickey. 
 
 LEFT PANEL. 
 
 The Second 
 
 Fire Zouaves 
 
 served with 
 
 the Army of the Potomac 
 
 and participated in its campaigns 
 
 from Yorktown, 1862, 
 
 to Appomattox, 1865. 
 
 Total enrollment, 1,350; total casualties, 711. 
 
 Erected 1897. 
 
 Known also as ■ 
 
 the Fourth Regiment of 
 
 Sickles' Excelsior Brigade. 
 
114 ^ GBTTlSSVBa tlAttRATlVB. 
 
 CEEEMONT OE DEDICATION. 
 
 The ceremony of dedication began shortly after 
 10 o'clock this morning. The party from New 
 York City, including the various firemen's organ- 
 izations and the veterans of the Seventy-third, 
 arrived here Saturday night, and a part of yes- 
 terday was spent in going over the scenes of the 
 battle and noting the memorials erected by other 
 States in this great national park. To-days ex- 
 ercises attracted a large crowd. They were of a 
 significant character. 
 
 Miss Ruth Marshall Verry, a grand-niece of the 
 president of the day, Capt. Matthew Stewart, 
 performed the ceremony of unveiling during the 
 oration of Gen. Henry E. Tremain. The invoca- 
 tion was pronounced by Eev. Eugene A. Shine, 
 son of Capt. Shine, who fell upon this field. 
 Among the speakers were Hon. Eobert B. Nooney, 
 president of the Exempt Eireinen's Association, 
 and Hon. Daniel E. Finn, "Battery Dan," the 
 member of the Assembly who introduced the bill 
 for the monument. He enlisted as a drummer 
 boy in this regiment, . but was rejected as too 
 young for service. Other addresses were made 
 by George W. Anderson, president of the Veteran 
 Eiremen's Association, and Richard CuUen, pres- 
 ident of the Volunteer Eiremen's Association. 
 The exercises were accompanied by music of a 
 patriotic nature. 
 
 CAPT. STEWART'S ADDRESS. 
 
 In beginning the exercises. President Stewart 
 spoke as follows : " We are assembled here to-day 
 to dedicate a monument that will perpetuate the 
 courage and the glory of the regiment that fought 
 upon and held this line against an overwhelming 
 force of the enemy. 
 
 "But not alone on this field did it exhibit 
 
TBE 8EG0VD FIRE Z0VATE8. Hg 
 
 that courage imbued into the soldiers by their 
 connection with the old volunteer fire department 
 of New York City and Williamsb-urg. On twen- 
 ty-seven other battlefields, where they were en- 
 gaged, the Second Eire Zouaves, carrying the 
 colors presented to them by the volunteer firemen, 
 won for themselves a record of which we are 
 justly proud. 
 
 " Mustered into the service of the United States 
 in 1861 as the Fourth Regiment of the Excelsior 
 Brigade, United States Volunteers, it was sub- 
 sequently claimed by the State as a portion of 
 its quota, and thereafter was known on the army 
 records as the Seventy-third Regiment, New 
 York Volunteers. 
 
 " It was one of the few regiments that entered 
 the service in 1861, re-enlisted in 1864, and main- 
 tained its regimental organization to the surren- 
 der at Appomattox, and its muster out on June 
 29, 1865. 
 
 " During its term of service it bore upon its 
 rolls the names of 1,352 officers and men, of which 
 17 officers were killed, 25 were wounded, and 2 
 died from disease incident to privations and 
 hardships of the life of a soldier; 136 enlisted 
 men were killed, 378 were wounded, 59 died from 
 disease and 74 were prisoners of war, few of 
 whom returned to grasp the hands of their com- 
 rades. 
 
 " This is the record of the regiment that repre- 
 sented the Volunteer Firemen in the Army of the 
 Potomac during four years of war. And the Vol- 
 nnteer Firemen represented here to-day deter- 
 mined that the glory of the deeds and the lustre 
 of this record, written in the blood of their com- 
 rades upon this field and upon the battlefields of 
 Virginia from Yorktown to Appomattox, should 
 be inscribed upon an endiiring monument that 
 
116, A QETTYBBVRQ NARBATITE. 
 
 will commemorate the devotion to duty of the 
 fireman soldier, and here it will stand that the 
 American people, while the republic endures, can 
 behold this tribute of fidelity, of love and of afEec- 
 tion from the Volunteer Firemen for their fallen 
 comrades. 
 
 " And now let us bow in devotion while Eev. 
 Dr. Eugene A. Shine, an honored son of Capt. Eu- 
 gene Shine, of this regiment, who was killed upon 
 this field, invokes the blessing of our Divine 
 Father." 
 
 ME. NOONEY'S SPEECH. 
 
 After the invocation and the singing of the 
 " Star Spangled Banner," Hon. Kobert B. 
 Nooney spoke in part aa follows: 
 
 " The First Eegiment New York Fire Zou- 
 aves, that became the Eleventh Eegiment New 
 York Volunteers, sprang into existence like a 
 meteor. The Star of the West was fired on in 
 Charleston harbor April 11, 1861. Chief Engi- 
 neer Decker, of the New York Fire Department 
 called a meeting to consider the subject the next 
 night at No. 128 West Broadway, when a com- 
 pany roll was opened, to which Elmer Ellsworth 
 signed his name. 
 
 "The assassination of Ellsworth by Jackson 
 on May 24 at Alexandria aroused a patriotic 
 sentiment throughout the country, and a deter- 
 mination to avenge his unmerited death that was 
 without a parallel during the whole period of the 
 war. 
 
 " The meeting that was the origin of the Sec- 
 ond Fire Zouaves, Seventy-third New York Vol- 
 unteers, was held in the Gotham, No. 296 Bow- 
 ery. It was called by John Decker, chief engi- 
 neer,_ on May 3, 1861. Henry Wilson, then com- 
 missioner of the department, was present, as was 
 also the entire Board of Assistant Engineers 
 
THE SECOND FIRE ZOUAVES. Hf 
 
 and other prominent members of the depart- 
 ment. Patriotic enthusiasm manifested itself 
 throughout the proceedings. John Baulch, then 
 an assistant engineer, was called to the com- 
 mand of the regiment. Headquarters at first 
 was in the old Chatham Theatre, and afterward 
 at Centre Market. The organization at first was 
 only temporary, for when the men were ready to 
 enter the service the quota of New York State 
 was full, and they could not be accepted until 
 the President issued his second call for troops. 
 
 " Gen. Sickles was organizing the Excelsior 
 Brigade on Staten Island, and Col. James Fair- 
 man held the colonelcy of the Poxirth Regiment, 
 and he agreed to accept the companies of the 
 Second Fire Zouaves as they were organized and 
 transfer his then skeleton companies to the other 
 regiments of the brigade. After the brigade had 
 been ordered to Washington for service, in Octo- 
 ber, the Secretary of "War ordered an election 
 for colonel, when William E. Brewster was 
 elected. While in camp the Fire Department or- 
 dered a stand of colors for the regiment, as it 
 had done for the First Eegiment, and Mr. John 
 Decker, the chief engineer, with several promi- 
 nent men of the department, went down to make 
 the formal presentation on behalf of their fellow 
 firemen of New Tork. 
 
 " Commissioner Wilson was of the party, and 
 when it was reported to him that although the 
 men were positively assured that if they would 
 enlist in the regiment their names would still 
 be continued on the rolls of the companies as 
 active firemen — they had already commenced to 
 drop their names from the rolls — he very 
 promptly agreed that all such occurrences 'would 
 be rectified if brought to his attention. And 
 he kept his word. 
 
 "The record of the regiment and its officers 
 
118 A GETTTSBVR& NARBATIVE. 
 
 while in the service is history. And it has 
 achieved a record of which it may be truly proud. 
 You have heard it here to-day, and we all wish 
 to share that delight with you that were of its 
 ranks and strength. 
 
 .THE MUSTEK KOLL. 
 
 " The muster roll of the regiment was as fol- 
 lows: Col. Wm. B. Brewster, Lieut.-Col. Lewis 
 Benedict, Major John D. Moriarty, Adjutant 
 Geo. Le Fort, Chaplain Jos. B. O'Hagan; May 
 3, 1861, Michael W. Burns, Company A, 68 men; 
 May 3, Thomas Smith, Company B, 64 men; 
 August 3, Archibald Gibson, Company C, 56 
 men; Daniel Crowley, Company D, 67 men; 
 August 14, "Wm. M. Fisk, Company E, 64 men; 
 July 20, Alfred A. Donalds, Company F, Y4 
 men; August 20, John Feeney, Company G, 65 
 men; September 29, Wm. McOauley, Company 
 H, 53 men; August 2, Charles B. Elliotts, Com- 
 pany I, 73 men; July 10, Michael D. Purtell, 
 Company K, 71 men. 
 
 " There are times in the life of nations when 
 the energetic actions and daring courage of even 
 a small number of men will arouse in others the 
 highest and noblest sentiments and spur them on 
 to a sense of their duty in a greater degree than 
 chivalrous eloquence from the most gifted ora- 
 tors, and I contend that the example of the vol- 
 unteer firemen of New York City at the breaking 
 out of the war had such effect. For where was 
 the country looking for examples but to our 
 city? What was it that animated our comrades 
 when they so promptly offered their services to 
 their country? Were there any special induce- 
 ments held out to them ? Wealth, social position, 
 honor, glory? No! 
 
 " Their habits of life led them at once to the 
 service of their country. Their sense of duty as 
 
THE SECOND FIRE Z0VAVE8. Hg 
 
 citizens evinced by their being firemen — the 
 highest exhibition of self-sacrifice and patriotism 
 in civil life — made them already soldiers. And 
 it was only a change of service to them, with 
 similar dangers to life and health. Thus, it was 
 not at all singular that when President Lincoln 
 issued his call for 75,000 volunteers that the vol- 
 unteer firemen should at once tender their serv- 
 ices to him for the emergency then threatening 
 their beloved land. 
 
 " They answered his call as they would the 
 call of the City Hall bell when a fire was raging. 
 No pause for considerations that were personal, 
 no delay to be thought of that would mar the 
 value of their service in their different com- 
 panies. And hence the record of their prompt- 
 ness to volunteer to answer the call to duty of a 
 different nature with similar dangers. 
 
 "Let us hope that these brave souls who suf- 
 fered and perished that their country might live 
 to carry forward for the human race the mighty 
 principles of Washington, Jefferson, Jackson and 
 Lincohi may this day be near us and be aware of 
 the devotion we wish to pay to their memory and 
 valor which this beautiful momunent is erected 
 to commemorate." 
 
 GENEEAL TREMAIN'S ADDEESS.* 
 
 The address of unveiling, by General Tre- 
 main, was as follows : 
 
 Mr. President and Comrades: — SHould 
 1 permit myself to indulge reflections sug- 
 
 * These addresses are also printed in Vol. II, pages 
 601-608, of " New York at Gettysburg," published by 
 the State of New York 1900. 
 
120 ^ OETTJSBUBa NARRATIVE. 
 
 gested by your presence on this spot the ex- 
 ercises would be unduly prolonged and your 
 patience exhausted. 
 
 The first thought that comes to the lips 
 of the survivors of the little band who fol- 
 lowed me here on the afternoon of July 2, 
 1863, is one of satisfaction that the associa- 
 tions representing the volunteer firemen of 
 l^ew York City, the great body that inspired 
 the organization of the Second Fire Zouaves, 
 should have inaugurated and brought to suc- 
 cessful culmination this monumental token of 
 aflFeetionate remembrance for their offspring ; 
 and, more than that, should have persuaded 
 the Empire State to unite with them in an 
 enduring tribute to the comrades who fell 
 here, and to the patriotic conduct of the or- 
 ganizing constituency, as well as of the sol- 
 diers and officers, of the Second Fire Zouaves. 
 
 The monument to be dedicated at this 
 time would seem to give out a farewell mes- 
 sage from New York that the Empire State, 
 with all its regimental monuments here, had 
 not yet satisfied itself. It remained for it 
 to place up(^ this field, in harmony with its 
 commanding State monument — than which 
 nothing here erected is more chaste and ap- 
 propriate — an enduring acknowledgment of 
 the patriotism which was evinced by the Vol- 
 
THE SECOND FIRE ZOUAVES. 121 
 
 unteer Firemen of New York City; and of 
 the historic fact that the willingness of those 
 firemen to imperil life to save life was not 
 the impulse of a momentary passion, hut the 
 performance of a self-imposed duty; of a 
 service as ready to he performed for the 
 whole country and for the sake of the coun- 
 try, for an idea — if you please, for a senti- 
 ment of puhlic right against puhlio wrong — ■ 
 as for the rescue of a helpless human being 
 who appeals with beseeching agony from the 
 perils of the flames. 
 
 The volunteer firemen never failed to 
 risk life to save life, or to risk life to save 
 country. That men associated in civic life 
 for such exigencies should make good soldiers 
 does not seem strange. Yet it was no idle 
 task to lead them out into companies and to 
 organize and discipline them for the regular, 
 constant, arduous and often uneventful and 
 unattractive duties of the every-day soldier. 
 The rigor of the camp, the hardships of the 
 march, the burdensome occupations incident 
 to supplying, lodging, moving, policing, arm- 
 ing and instructing uninformed men so that 
 they became elastic factors of a modern army, 
 tested the restive spirit and the finest fibres 
 of the material that composed this regiment. 
 
 When once it was baptized with fire, and 
 
122 ^ GETTYSBVBa NARRATIVE. 
 
 had seen in front and on each side that fierce 
 fighting and firing that are essential to a 
 rounded comradesship, the regiment came to 
 know itself. It became conscious that man 
 for man no regiment of equal size could or 
 should surpass its attainments as soldiers in 
 the field — and none ever did. 
 
 To the credit of its promoters and of ihe 
 regiment itself the record is indisputable. 
 Look now upon this certificate of that rec- 
 ord. 
 
 THE UirVBILIlirG. 
 
 [Here the unveiling occurred.* The speaker 
 
 resumed :] 
 
 Let future generations testify by this im- 
 perial sign. 
 
 The monuments in this National Park 
 have come to be something more than per- 
 sonal tributes to the fallen heroes of this 
 single field. They are accepted, as signify- 
 ing the careers of organizations. They rep- 
 resent men and their constituencies which 
 labored in the cause which was to stand or to 
 fall by the arbitrament of war. The inscrip- 
 tions on the monuments around us, in telling 
 much of what happened here, fortunately 
 
 *See elsewhere in this volume for picture of 
 this monument. 
 
THE SECOND EIRE ZOUAVES. 123 
 
 suggest other facts about the events they 
 speak for. As you read these inscriptions in 
 your strolls yesterday piuch of what happened 
 elsewhere has been brought to your memory. 
 Each survivor has been reminded that there 
 were other experiences of other regiments 
 not exactly the same as his own, but equally 
 exacting in burdens, dangers and excitements 
 as the experiences of this field. Justly, 
 therefore do, the inscriptions recall the whole 
 four years during which the forces that col- 
 lided here were combating for the mastery on 
 hundreds of other fields. 
 
 By common consent this battlefield is to 
 represent the fields of four years of war. 
 These monuments at one battlefield are to 
 represent all battlefields where the several 
 factors assembled in this battle engaged in 
 other battles against a common enemy and 
 upheld a common cause. These monuments 
 typify a world of history, a multitude of 
 lives and a multitude of deaths. 
 
 Who can measure the lives, the joys, the 
 sufferings, the deaths, the sacrifices, the ex- 
 periences, the defeats and the victories cov- 
 ered-even by the few letters on this monu- 
 ment, denoting, for instance, casualties ex- 
 ceeding fifty per cent, of the enrollment? 
 
 These letters record losses equalled by 
 
124 ^ aETTTSBURG NARRATIVE. 
 
 few other regiments in the war. They 
 record a career covering the entire period of 
 Army of Potomac hostilities. In killed : you 
 lost 17 officers killed or died of wounds, 2 
 died of disease; 136 enlisted men were killed 
 or died of wounds, 59 died of disease, and 
 15 in rehel prisons. Total killed 229. 
 
 In wounded: 25 officers were wounded 
 and 5 missing ; 378 enlisted men were wound- 
 ed and 74 missing — 'total wounded, 482; 
 thus making your aggregate casualties 711. 
 
 Colonel Fox in his standard work on 
 " Kegimental Losses " places your total en- 
 rollment at 1,350. Your casualties therefore 
 exceeded fifty per cent, of your force. This 
 means that every other man among you was 
 a voluntary sacrifice to patriotism, a martyr 
 to the self-imposed obligations of a citizen 
 soldiei*. 
 
 If one out of every two able-bodied men 
 in this country shall always be found willing 
 to march to his death for the sake of the 
 country, then this nation will live forever. 
 
 Many reported only " wounded " or 
 " missing " were afterward learned to have 
 perished; and few regimental records are 
 known to be accurate beyond the totals, where 
 the commands have experienced the vicissi- 
 
TEE SECOND FIRE ZOUAVES. 125 
 
 tudes of all the Army of the Potomac cam- 
 paigns. 
 
 This regiment never missed a campaign. 
 That it was organized as early as May 3, 
 1861 — as testified to to-day by Captain 
 Stewart — is further established by the dates 
 on the muster rolls opposite the names of 
 many of its members — like names on this 
 monument of Captain Stewart, Sergeant 
 Thomas Fair and Lieutenant William Glee- 
 son, of your Monument Committee. Its first 
 camp was as a part of the Excelsior (Sickles) 
 Brigade at Staten Island, where by com- 
 panies it was mustered into the United States 
 service in the summer of 1861. In August 
 of that year it went to Washington about 800 
 strong. Its first winter was passed on the 
 Maryland side of the lower Eotomac, where 
 the Excelsior Brigade became the Second 
 (Sickles) Brigade of the Second (Hooker's) 
 Division of the Third (Heintzelman's) 
 Corps. 
 
 In picketing the river shore a small 
 party from this regiment crossed the river 
 and exchanged the first shots received from 
 the enemy by the Excelsior Brigade. The 
 report of this adventure led to an expedition 
 of picked companies from the brigade to 
 Stafford Court House in Virginia. The re- 
 
126 ^ QETTTSBVBO NARRATIVE. 
 
 port of this reconnoissance was a factor in 
 bringing about the transfer of MeClellan's 
 army from Washington to Torktown. At 
 Yorktown you quickly became accustomed 
 to life in the trenches, and reported your abil- 
 ity to move on the enemy's trenches long be- 
 fore their evacuation. You were the first to 
 move into them when finally permitted, and 
 there captured, as far as I can learn, the first 
 flag taken from the enemy by the Army of 
 the Potomac — ■ a relic now in New York 
 and much prized by the survivors. 
 
 At Williamsburg you were lined up to' 
 fight in a slashing where a horse could neither 
 walk ndr jump. The printed report of the 
 Thirteenth Mississippi shows the efficiency 
 of your conduct at that critical moment, and 
 your losses give a slight indication of your 
 gallant struggle there right under the guns of 
 Fort Magruder — •twenty-four enlisted men 
 killed or died of wounds, one officer and sixty- 
 one men wounded and fifteen men missing; 
 total, 104. That was your great baptism of 
 fire. 
 
 Time will not admit of my pausing to 
 mention your losses on the many other fields 
 familiar in the history of the Army of the 
 Potomac. 
 
THE SBCOJfD FIRE ZOUAVES. 127 
 
 IN MANY ENGAGEMEHTTS. 
 
 From thenceforward to the surrender 
 you were sharers of its fortunes. The blood 
 of your men was spilled at Fair Oaks, in 
 many combats about Eichmond in that pe- 
 culiar Peninsular campaign of General 
 McClellan, and again in General Pope's army 
 at Bristoe Station, where for the number of 
 men actually present your losses were extra- 
 ordinary and your conduct superb. Your 
 loss in officers made it necessary near the end 
 of that battle for me to place your remnants 
 on that field temporarily under the command 
 of a sergeant. I wish I knew his name. 
 Then two days later you fought at Manassas, 
 August '29, 1862. That winter you were at 
 the battle of Fredericksburg, and afterward 
 at Ohaneellorsville, and here at Gettysburg, 
 and then at Wapping Heights and Mine Run, 
 the "Wilderness, Spottsylvania, North Anna 
 and Tolopotomy, Cold Harbor, the siege of 
 Petersburg, Strawberry Plains, Deep Bot- 
 tom, the Weldon Eoad, the Boydton Eoad, 
 Hatcher's Eun, Sailor's Creek, High Bridge 
 and Appomattox. 
 
 In January, 1863, it became my duty as 
 a staff officer of the Third Corps commander 
 to arrange the consolidation of the One Hun-^ 
 
128 ^ GETTYSBURG 'NARRATIVE. 
 
 dred and Sixty-third IN'ew York Kegiment 
 ■with the Seventy-third New York, which 
 somewhat increased your ranks, when the 
 One Hundred and Eixty-third was disbanded. 
 It fell to my lot also at that time to be instru- 
 mental in selecting your commander, the 
 colonel being in command of the brigade. 
 Curiously, I had to choose between that duty 
 for myself or to continue the higher responsi- 
 bility I was then exercising on the corps staff. 
 Captain Biirns, your senior captain present, 
 appealed to me and my love for the regiment 
 to place him again in command. There were 
 reasons why I hesitated to assume the re- 
 sponsibility of so recommending. 
 
 But with a solemn pledge from him that I 
 would never regret doing it, and that no man 
 could fight this regiment better than he, while 
 Michael W. Bums lived, I left your camp to 
 write the paper placing him in command, an 
 act I never did regret ; and no man ever lived 
 who could have led this regiment more gal- 
 lantly and efficiently in all its subsequent 
 battles and arduous experiences than this 
 same Colonel Michael W. Burns. After an 
 honorable civic career he has now joined 
 the great majority of our comrades on the 
 bright side of the dark river, where he and 
 ibis comrades are blessing us to-day. 
 
THE SECOND FIRE ZOUAVES. 129 
 
 Here at Gettysburg you came upon this 
 field at near midnight (July 1) with Hum- 
 phreys' division, throwing yourselves silently 
 upon the ground for rest in the fields at the 
 right and rear of where we now stand. 
 
 Knowing we were in the immediate pres- 
 ence of the enemy it was the business of your 
 generals at daylight to get into proper posi- 
 tion. Lest surprise and destruction should 
 reach you it became essential to decide if 
 the Emmitsburg road, by which we had 
 marched, was to be held or abandoned. I was 
 sent to General Meade to ask that question, 
 and I asked it. In the absence of explicit or- 
 ders to abandon it, military necessity and 
 good discipline required it should be held. 
 The picket and skirmish line, therefore, of 
 your division held it, as I rode along the lines 
 at daybreak. To aid in your.division manoeu- 
 vers I soon asked to have the fences levelled. 
 Thus, with an intense consciousness of the 
 approaching struggle, you occupied these 
 fields, on the line of the road at the old log 
 building that stood at our right from here, 
 until the middle of the afternoon of July 2, 
 before which time Humphreys had taken up 
 his position in lines of battle. 
 
130 '^ OETTTSBURO NAkBATIVH. 
 
 A EEMINISCENOE. 
 
 About 5 p. m. you were detached from 
 your brigade and placed in tbe figbting line, 
 under tbe following circumstances, wbicb, at 
 tbe risk of becoming personal, perhaps, it is 
 my duty here to record : 
 
 I had been actively occupied along the 
 Third Corps lines, and, in bearing communi- 
 cations thence to and from General Meade, 
 as well as between Greneral Graham, com- 
 manding near the peach orchard (as it was 
 then), and General Sickles, Third Corps com- 
 mander. About 5 o'clock Graham pointed 
 to the enemy's movements and asked me to 
 take his urgent appeal to Sickles for rein- 
 forcements. It was plain that they were 
 needed if that position was to be held. 
 
 At my utmost speed I reported this to 
 General Sickles, who was then near the place 
 where he afterward was shot. Sickles sent 
 me immediately to General Humphreys, com- 
 manding his second division (Graham's 
 troops were of the first division), with an 
 oral order for a regiment. I found Hum- 
 phreys standing near his main line, not at 
 that moment firing. 
 
 The Seventy-third N'ew York was then 
 resting on Humphreys' left second line, di- 
 
TBE SECOND FIRE ZOUAVES. 131 
 
 rectly in my path in passing from Hum- 
 phreys to Graham. General Humphreys 
 said he would send Bums' regiment with me, 
 and I rode at once to Burns. He swiftly 
 moved his regiment left in front and followed 
 me to this place, where we put it in line of 
 battle facing the highway. 
 
 I continued forward to Graham, whose 
 guns, infantry and artillery were all playing. 
 A struggle for that eminence was portending. 
 It did not seem possible for a horse to live on 
 its crest. Graham was, therefore, dismount- 
 ed, but gallantly directing everything. He 
 approved of Burns' position, and I reported 
 again to General Sickles. With the assist- 
 ance of survivors, who had marched at my 
 horse's tail during this incident, we placed 
 a public marker on this spot in 1886; and 
 the War Department has adopted it as the 
 &ite for this monument. You have bought 
 the ground and conveyed it to the govern- 
 ment. 
 
 The regiment, it seems, was driven from 
 this position shortly after I had posted it. 
 Brave young Lieutenant Moran, who fell 
 here, told me that when he recovered con- 
 sciousness Longstreet slowly passed him, rid- 
 ing alone up the by-road, as it then was, with 
 his eyes anxiously looking toward Round Top 
 
132 ^ GETTYSBURG NARRATIVE. 
 
 Mountain. Poor Moran suffered a long im- 
 prisonment, but survived with a wrecked con- 
 stitution twenty-five years of living hardship. 
 I do not conceal from you my satisfac- 
 tion that, although a stafi officer, disassociated 
 from the regiment for more than a year at 
 brigade, division corps or army headquar- 
 ters, it should have fallen to my lot to con- 
 duct to its position here the regiment of which 
 I was formerly a lieutenant in its line, and 
 to locate its actual line of battle on the fa- 
 mous field of Gettysburg. 
 
 TKYING MOMENTS. 
 
 When the peach orchard at your left had 
 been occupied by the enemy, Humphreys' 
 division became exposed to a close enfilading 
 fire from its left flank. This, when followed 
 up, as it was, by an infantry attack, forced 
 us back. When the men of your division 
 found themselves assailed both in front and 
 flank, they broke. Humphreys could not 
 hold them, but under such a leader the con- 
 fusion was only momentary. I quote from 
 Colonel llafFerty, of the Excelsior Brigade. 
 He says : " The men understood tibe matter 
 as well as their officers. They knew that the 
 position could not now be held, and they 
 seemed to have simultaneously made up their 
 
TEE SECOND FIBE ZOUAVES. I33 
 
 minds that they were going back to a position 
 they could hold; and hack they did go, hut 
 fighting, not disorderly. They would fire at 
 the enemy, walk to the rear, loading as they 
 went, take deliberate aim and fire again, and 
 so on, but slowly and deliberately, and so de- 
 liberately that the enemy kept at a respectful 
 distance. However, they kept up a terrible 
 artillery fire, killing and wounding our poor 
 fellows very rapidly, and yet the coolness and 
 self-possession of our men under it was most 
 remarkable. They had deliberately made up 
 their minds that they were going back to the 
 old line, not as though they were forced to 
 go, but were going there to re-form ; that was 
 all. They went back to the old line and 
 halted there." 
 
 Col. EafFerty adds : " That was as far as 
 we were going then, and it is a fact that the 
 enemy never reached the original line on 
 which the Second Division of the Third Corps 
 had been posted." 
 
 "Then, at the place whence Caldwell's 
 Division of Hancock's Corps had moved when 
 it was sent to support the Third Corps' left, 
 what remained of Humphreys' Division lined 
 itself up, hardly more than an ordinary bat- 
 talion, though with many colors. The six 
 colors of the Excelsior Brigade regiments and 
 
134 A. QETTYBBUBQ NARRATIVE. 
 
 all the colors of the division were there — 
 not one of them lost. After rallying there, 
 it was discovered that owing to heavy losses 
 in horses and men, three guns of Batteries F 
 and K (TurnbuU's), Third United States 
 Artillery, which had held a position on the 
 Emmettsburg road, had been left on the field, 
 and the enemy had not dared to carry them 
 off. Spontaneously the cry was raised, ' Boys, 
 let's go back and get those guns ! ' 
 
 " With a wild cheer the whole mass of 
 officers and men, all mixed up and without 
 any organization, rushed back across the field 
 they had just come over. As they got out of 
 course the officers restored some degree of 
 order, and, the men being veterans, naturally 
 fell into the proper alignment, and, although 
 the regiments were a good deal mixed up, 
 yet a very decent line was formed. The front, 
 on the Emmitsburg road, was again reached 
 and guns secured, and we (Rafferty says) 
 commenced to drag them back, men and of- 
 ficers together. Strange to say, the enemy 
 never fired a shot. Whether they took it for 
 a counter attack and were waiting until we 
 came nearer I don't know. At all events, 
 they remained quiet." 
 
TEE SECOND FIRE ZOVAVES. I35 
 
 THE LIGHTING STOPPED. 
 
 " Some rebel stragglers were gathered in 
 as prisoners as the lines swept out, and a 
 rebel captain and private found in a ditch 
 were compelled to help drag one of the guns 
 to its place of safety. Darkness had then 
 stopped the fighting at this point." 
 
 In this gallant recoup the officers and 
 men of the Excelsior Brigade all distin- 
 guished themselves ; — the regimental field of- 
 ficers — 'Leonard and Rafferty, and Potter 
 and your own Burns — being conspicuous 
 leaders and participants. The majcfr, thirty 
 men and the colors of the Eighth Florida 
 Regiment were among the trophies of the Ex- 
 celsiors. 
 
 That morning the Excelsior Brigade had 
 numbered, all told, only 1,837 men. That 
 night 778 of those men had been struck down 
 by the bullets of the enemy. The Second 
 Fire Zouaves came to this spot with 324 souls 
 — '162 of them fell before night, 5 officers 
 and 46 enlisted men, killed; 10 officers and 
 83 enlisted men wounded and 8 missing. 
 
 If no other service had been rendered 
 by this regiment during the entire war, that 
 day's doings justify this monument. 
 
136 ^ GETTYSBURG NARRATIVE. 
 
 But that was only one of over twenty- 
 five actual battles where the Second Fire 
 Zouaves were present, shooting and being 
 shot at, lest, as was said on yonder Ceme- 
 tery Hill by the immortal Lincoln, lest this 
 "government * * * should perish from 
 the earth." 
 
 In any other country than America an 
 occasion of this kind would resound with 
 plaudits for some acknowledged leader. The 
 rank and file would lapse into a subordinate 
 factor. 
 
 Look upon this monument. This dedi- 
 cation is to the American soldier. The Sec- 
 ond Fire Zouaves is justly proud of its lead- 
 ers. It loved them and obeyed them. Many 
 men born to lead, and who gallantly did lead 
 among them, fell to the earth a veiling sacri- 
 fice to the cause of their soldiership. With 
 what pleasure the few surviving comrades 
 here would love to recall the names of fa- 
 miliar forms and voices ! Time and the oc- 
 casion will not permit. We can only name 
 a few of our commissioned leaders: Our 
 Colonel Brewster, our Lieutenant Colonel 
 Lew Benedict, killed at the head of another 
 command; Michael W. Burns, our last and 
 greatest regimental commander; Lieutenant 
 Benjamin F. Beach, the first man in the regi- 
 
THE BEGOND FIRE ZOUAVES. I37 
 
 ment who was killed in battle; Captain Al- 
 fred A. Donalds, killed at Bristoe, and then 
 the name on yonder New York State Honn- 
 ment of Capt. Eugene Shine, of Engine Com- 
 pany 1^0. 31 ; Lieutenant James Marksman, 
 of Hose Company 'No. 59; Lieutenant Mar- 
 tin Higgins, Engine Company No. 2; Lieu- 
 tenant Thomas Dinon, Engine Company No. 
 47, and Lieutenant William Logan Her- 
 berth, Engine Company No. 53, and others 
 who were killed in battle after having 
 marched and fought with them and with you, 
 like Captain Le Eort, Captain John Eeeney, 
 Captain John L. Glass, Captain Michael Pur- 
 tell, Captain John Phelan, Lieutenant George 
 Dennen, Lieutenant Lewis, Lieutenant Bene- 
 dict, Lieutenant Stack, and a long roll of oth- 
 er departed heroes who carried muskets with 
 them. 
 
 wo GBEATEE HOIirOE. 
 
 I wish that the name of every man on 
 our rolls could be graven on enduring tab- 
 lets to be preserved on this field. 
 
 No honor for us could be greater with 
 our posterity than the record of our names 
 among those who contended here. 
 
 No honor could be greater to the volun- 
 teer firemen of New York than this monu- 
 ment — except the honor of the work done 
 
138 ^ GETTimUBa NARRATIVE. 
 
 by their representative regiment, the Second 
 Kre Zouaves, on this and other battlefields. 
 
 I was too young to be a volunteer fire- 
 man, but not to cany a musket. After I 
 had learned that, it became my high privilege 
 to help teach your men under me how to use 
 a musket. Although not in the immediate 
 ranks of the regiment after Yorktown and 
 Williamsburg, yet, until I fell a prisoner at 
 Manassas, I was daily and nightly at the reg- 
 iment's side with its orders. Even after- 
 wards, when I was serving at division, or 
 corps, or army headquarters, the center of the 
 army to me was always where the Second 
 Fire Zouaves could be found. 
 
 E'ever shall I forget my sensations when 
 it was suddenly given to me to conduct you 
 into this vortex of the Peach Orchard. 
 
 But now your wish is mine that every 
 soul of that 324 who followed me to this spot 
 shall from the other world, and from this 
 presence, send a recognition and a blessing 
 to this memorial of their lives. 
 
 To the living let me voice the sentiment 
 that no nation can long survive that does not 
 preserve an honorable regard for its soldiers. 
 Let a grateful country cherish the spirit and 
 the purpose of the citizen soldiers who volun- 
 teered for death if need be at Gettysburg." 
 
V. 
 
 THE EXCELSIOR BEIGADE, 
 
 ITS MONUMENT AT GETTYSBURG. 
 PEOCEEDIBTGS UPON ITS DEDICATION. 
 
 The foregoing page shows the monument 
 erected in commemoration of the Brigade 
 (Second Brigade, Second Division Third 
 Corps) known as the " Excelsige Brigade." 
 
 In the volumes issued by the State of iNew 
 York (1900) entitled " I(ew York at Gettys- 
 burg" are also reported from pages 572 to 
 597 of Volume IL, the proceedings upon lay- 
 ing the comer stone, July 2, 1888, and upon 
 the dedication, July 2, 1893, of this Monu- 
 ment erected by the State of !N'ew York, on 
 the battlefield of Gettysburg, to the Excelsior 
 Brigade. 
 
 This organization comprised the Seven- 
 tieth, Seventy-first, Seventy-second, Seventy- 
 third and Seventy-fourth. Eegiments New 
 York Volunteers. 
 
 139 
 
140 ^ GETTYSBURG NARRATIVE. 
 
 The inscriptions on this monument are as 
 
 follows : 
 
 (Inscriptions.) 
 
 Sickles' Excelsior Brigade, 
 
 2d Brigade, 2d Division, 3d Corps. 
 
 Col. W. E. Brewster commanding. 
 
 Position July 2d, 1863, 2 to 6 P. M. 
 
 July 3d supported left center. 
 
 E. pluribus unum. 
 
 70th New Yobk Infantet. 
 (1st Excelsior.) 
 On the afternoon of the 2d of July, 1863, the bri- 
 gade of which this regiment formed a part supported 
 Carr's Brigade in resisting the assault of the enemy 
 along the line of the Emmitsburg road. On July 
 3d, supported the left center of the army. 
 Casualties. 
 32 killed; 81 wounded; 4 missing; total, 117. 
 Mustered in June 20, 1861. 
 
 Mustered out, July 1, 1864. 
 
 71ST New Yobk Infantbt. 
 (2d Excelsior). 
 On the afternoon of the 2d of July 1863, the bri- 
 gade of which this regiment formed a part supported 
 Carr's Brigade in resisting the assault of the enemy 
 along the line of the Emmitsburg road. On July 
 3d, supported the left center of the army. 
 Casualties, 
 
 14 killed; 64 wounded; 13 missing; total 91. 
 Mustered in June 20, 1861. 
 
 Mustered out July 30, 1864. 
 
 72nd New Yobk ImrANTBY. 
 (3rd Eicelsior.) 
 On the afternoon- of the 2nd of July, 1863, the 
 brigade of which this regiment formed a part sup- 
 ported Carr's brigade in resisting the assault of the 
 
THE EXCELSIOR BRIGADE, 14^ 
 
 enemy along the line of the Emmitsburg Road. On 
 July Srd supported the left centre of the army. 
 Casualties. 
 7 killed; 94 wounded; 15 missing; total 116. 
 Mustered in June 20, 1861. 
 
 Mustered out July 19, 1864. 
 
 73kd New York Infantry. 
 (4th Excelsior, "2nd Fire Zouaves.") 
 At 5.30 P. M. July 2, 1863, this regiment was de- 
 tached to support General Graham's Brigade at the 
 Peach Orchard, which was heavily attacked by Mc- 
 Law's division of the Confederate army. On July 3 
 supported the left centre of the army. 
 Casualties. 
 51 killed; 103 wounded; 8 missing; total 162. 
 Mustered in July 10, 1861. 
 
 Mustered out June 29, 1865 
 
 74th New York Infantry. 
 {5th Excelsior.) 
 On the afternoon of the 2nd of July, 1863, the 
 brigade of which this regiment formed a part sup- 
 ported Carr's Brigade in resisting the assault of the 
 enemy along the line of the Emmitsburg Eoad. On 
 July 3rd supported the left centre of the army. 
 Casualties. 
 17 killed; 69 wounded; 3 missing; total 89. 
 Mustered in June 20, 1861. 
 
 Mustered out June 26, 1864. 
 
 Upon the dedication July 2d, 1893, of this 
 monument, among the addresses reported in 
 the official volume entitled "New York at 
 Gettysburg," the following is reprinted from 
 pages 584 and 585, as the remarks of General 
 Tremain : 
 
142 ^ CtETTTSBURO NARRATIVE. 
 
 ADDEESS OF GENERAL HEITEY E. 
 
 TEEMAIIST, OF THE FOUETH 
 
 EXOELSIOE. 
 
 Comrades: — It was no part of my expecta- 
 tion to participate except as a listener with 
 you, my comrades, on this interesting occa- 
 sion. 
 
 My heart, like yours, is welling up with 
 memories of the past, emphasized on this 
 spot hy the vivid recollections of events oc- 
 curring here thirty years ago; yes, at this 
 very place and hour of the day on a similar 
 bright and pleasant summer afternoon. I 
 would not trust myself, without due prepa- 
 ration, to speak to or for you, under these 
 circumstances; especially as our comrade, 
 Colonel Coyne, has prepared for our willing 
 ears the historical sketch of the career of our 
 old brigade which the occasion demands. 
 
 And who is there among us better fitted by 
 knowledge and experience for this labor of 
 love ? May I not, however, for myself, thank 
 our honored chief for this opportunity to ex- 
 press the gratification it affords me to join in 
 these exercises of dedication ? 
 
 I am voicing, I am sure, the heart of every 
 survivor of our five regiments, when I bow 
 in gratitude to the Supreme Euler, that at 
 
THE EXCELSIOR BRIGADE. 143 
 
 least the slight tribute of this brigade monu- 
 ment has been raised in honor of the men 
 who followed the fortunes of the Excelsior 
 Brigade. For many of those men who perished 
 in the struggle, or who, crippled and worn, 
 survived the war to linger though suffering 
 years, and to die in lonely misfortune and 
 distress, this monument, erected by their com- 
 rades and the State of New York, stands as 
 the only visible reward for the services those 
 men rendered the nation. 
 
 How we should all like, if time permitted 
 to-day, to recall the names of comrades, of of- 
 ficers and men, who have gone before us across 
 the Great Eiver. Are not their spirits smil- 
 ing upon us from the other land while we 
 dedicate for future centuries this simple struc- 
 ture that suggests a history ? ' To our living 
 eyes, my comrades, that history comprises 
 also a series of realistic pictures, each ani- 
 mated with the figures of men with whom at 
 this moment we commune. 
 
 Before me, before you, as we gaze on this 
 monument, there glides a swift panorama, 
 beginning with the turgid Lower Potomac in 
 that placid winter of 1861 and 1862, and 
 ending only where the fluttering white flag, 
 above the tufts of smoke, on that spring 
 morning of April, 1865, stopped the clashing 
 
144: ^ CtETTYBBVRQ NARRATIVE. 
 
 charges in the Appomattox battle. York- 
 town, Williamshurg, Fair Oaks, Glendale, 
 Malvern Hill, Bristoe Station, Second Bull 
 Run, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, 
 Gettysburg, Wapping Heights, Mine Hun, 
 Wilderness, Spottsylvania, [North Anna, Cold- 
 Harbor, Petersburg, Ream's Station, Farm- 
 ville, Sailor's Creek, Appomattox, are not to 
 you merely names to be rolled off in idle 
 talk, but ineffaceable pictures in your men- 
 tal vision. Nor can I ever forget the pic- 
 ture of my own Seventy-third when, under 
 its orders from General Humphreys to fol- 
 low me, it was lined up, under its gallant 
 Colonel Burns exactly where its yonder 
 marker stands, in the bloody attempt to stem 
 the tide which finally rolled over the wound- 
 ed Graham and his little band at the Peach 
 Orchard corner. With the close of that day 
 the fortune of war separated me from the 
 old brigade into other fields of duty. But on 
 skirmish or march, in camp or battle, my 
 thoughts went back to the scenes, and to the 
 men of the Excelsior Brigade, where you 
 and I were baptized with fire. 
 
 Tour commander had already succeeded 
 to the command of your division, and then of 
 your corps. When your chiefs were honored, 
 you were honored. I would not willingly 
 
THE EXCELSIOR BRIGADE. 145 
 
 let this moment pass without voicing also your 
 gratification at his presence with us here to- 
 day. As history declares, that without the 
 fierce combat he compelled Lee to await and 
 prepare for, and then to wage with the 
 Third Corps at this point, for the possession 
 here of this Emmitsburg Eoad on July 2, 
 1863, yonder Eound Top Mountain might 
 have been gained by the enemy without firing 
 a gun; and then what, my comrades, might 
 Have been the history of the Gettysburg bat- 
 tle ? So we, the comrades of General Sickles, 
 should to-day acknowledge that to his per- 
 sistent efforts are we chiefly indebted for 
 the action of the State of "New York in its 
 grand work of monumenting this field, and 
 for projecting and advancing the con- 
 gressional legislation that will establish here 
 a ]!^ational Park under the permanent authoi^ 
 ity of the United States Government. 
 
 It was in one sense, the misfortune of the 
 Excelsior Brigade at the battle here, that, 
 one after another, its regiments were de- 
 tached to reinforce other commands. This 
 monument, therefore, is necessarily located 
 as representative of a central position, not 
 showing the regimental lines of battle, which 
 were more or less distant. As our five regi- 
 ments were always imited in service, and in 
 
146 ^ &Ei'TT^BtJ&a HAttkATlVM. 
 
 sentiment, it was fitting that their survivors 
 should unite in consolidating their interests 
 in this enduring monument. May it help 
 to perpetuate the memory of the Excelsior 
 Brigade, and of the sturdy soldiers of which 
 it was composed. 
 
 And may the spirit that thirty years ago 
 on this sacred ground animated tiie Excelsior 
 Brigade, the Third Army Corps, — yes, the 
 whole incomparable Army of the Potomac, 
 — that spirit of devotion to duty, forever 
 flow from this hallowed battlefield through- 
 out the length and breadth of our rescued 
 Hepublic ; so that from generation to genera- 
 tion every American, justly proud of hia 
 citizenship, shall continually be inspired to 
 perform his civic duties in an honorable 
 peace, or to sacrifice his life in an honorable 
 war. 
 
VI. 
 THE CAVALRY AT GETTYSBUEO. 
 
 A PAPEE BY THE LATE 
 
 CAPTAIN WILLIAM L. HEBRMANCB, 
 OF THE SIXTH WEW YORK CAVALEY, 
 
 and read by him before the New York 
 Commandery of the Military Order of 
 the Loyal Legion of the United States, at 
 a stated meeting, held at Delmonico's, New 
 York city, December 5th, 1900, and printed 
 here by the kind permission of the Board of 
 Officers, on the application of the author of 
 this volume: 
 
 To write of the cavalry at Gettysburg it will be 
 proper to go back to the early part of June, 1863, 
 when General Pleasonton, who, after the battle 
 of ChanceUorsville, had succeeded General Stone- 
 man in command of the Cavalry Corps, was or- 
 dered by General Hooker to make a reeonnois- 
 sance across the Rappahannock. After Chancel- 
 lorsviUe, General Lee's army had been moved back 
 to the heights about Fredericksburg and reinforced 
 by two divisions of Longstreet's Corps, who were 
 147 
 
148 ^ GETTYSBVBa THARBATIVE. 
 
 in North Carolina at the time that battle wa3 
 fought. General Hooker, being suspicious that 
 some movement was contemplated, ordered this 
 move of the cavalry, and on June 9th the crossing 
 was made at Kelly's and Beverly's Fords : — meet- 
 ing detachments of the Confederate cavalry on 
 the advance to Brandy Station, where they were 
 found in force under the command of General 
 J. E. B. Stuart, who had concentrated his com- 
 mand there for review by General Lee, who by 
 secret marches had transferred the corps of Ewell 
 and Longstreet to Culpeper Court House, leav- 
 ing A. P. Hill at Fredericksburg to confront our 
 army, while he moved by the Shenandoah Valley 
 to invade Maryland and Pennsylvania. The 
 fighting between the two cavalry commands at 
 Brandy Station was protracted and severe ; charge 
 after charge was made by both sides, and at close 
 quarters, our men using sabers and the enemy 
 their pistols. The superiority of our horsemen 
 was there established and remained with us until 
 the close, where, at Five Forks under Phil Sheri- 
 dan, the cavalry carried off the honors of the 
 day. 
 
 The following from a Southern paper is an 
 incident of the engagement : 
 
 "While at home recruiting his command in 
 men and horses, an old farmer friend came to 
 gallant Colonel ' Bill ' Deloney and said : ' Bill, 
 my boy here has got the war fever. His mother 
 and I have tried to get it out of him, but it's 
 no use. He swears he'll run away if I don't let 
 him go, so I've mounted him on the best racing 
 colt I had, and here he is. Take him with you, 
 
TEE CAVALRY : BY EEERMANOE. 149 
 
 but I've this much to say, if he ever shows 
 the dominicker, kill him right then and there; 
 don't let him come home.' The old farmer raised 
 game chickens, and fought them, too. He had 
 a contempt for dominicker roosters, because he 
 didn't think they would fight, and that was his 
 blunt way of describing a coward. Deloney 
 turned and saw a fair-haired country lad of 
 seventeen, standing perfectly erect, his lips com- 
 pressed, but a vivid fire flashing from his steel- 
 blue eyes. The boy never said a word, but parted 
 tenderly from the old man and went to Virginia 
 to join the cavalry. 
 
 "Deloney watched with pride the rapid Im- 
 provement of the young recruit, but had forgotten 
 the incident until the cavalry fight at Brandy 
 Station. When squadrons were charging and 
 counter-charging with the intrepid clash and dash 
 of the Light Brigade, Pierce Young suddenly 
 ordered hrtn to attack a Federal brigade that was 
 forming on the flank. 
 
 "'Get right among them, "Bill," and break 
 them up with cold steel,' was the order; 'don't 
 give them time to form.' 
 
 " The words were hardly spoken when his com- 
 mand, Deloney far in advance, was sweeping down 
 upon the foe, but before he was within a hundred 
 feet of the enemy something went by him like a 
 cyclone's breath ; the Georgia boy was standing on 
 tiptoe in his stirrups, bareheaded, his golden hair 
 streaming, with sabre high in the air, and as he 
 passed, with the light of battle in his face, and 
 eyes flashing defiance, he turned in his saddle 
 and shouted: ' Colonel, here's your dominicker! ' 
 
150 ■^ GETTYSBURG NABBATIVE. 
 
 "A moment more, and he struck the enemy's 
 line like a cannon shot, his sahre flashing on every 
 hand, until he was literally hacked down hy the 
 startled foemen. When the fight was over, 
 Deloney looked for him, and there he lay in the 
 calm of death, his boyish face glorified with the 
 dying thought, ' They'll tell pa I never showed 
 the Dominicker.' " 
 
 General Pleasonton recrossed the river that 
 night, having obtained the information as to 
 General Lee's proposed movement, which General 
 Hooker disposed his army to meet. Our cavalry 
 followed General Stuart, who, with his command, 
 was watching the mountain passes of the Blue 
 Bidge, and at Aldie, Middleburg and Upperville 
 we were successful in severe engagements, re- 
 taining the supremacy we had established at 
 Brandy Station. From its position on the Eappa- 
 hannock our army had been withdrawn to protect 
 Washington and was in the vicinity of Fairfax 
 and Manassas, while the main part of the Con- 
 federates were in the Shenandoah Valley. 
 
 June 27th, General Hooker crossed the 
 Potomac, the cavalry having crossed at Edward's 
 Ferry on June 24:th — ^the three divisions disposed 
 as follows: General Buford with the first 
 division on the left flank; the second division 
 commanded by General Gregg, the right flank; 
 General Kilpatrick, commanding the third 
 division, taking the center. The reserve brigade, 
 commanded by General Merritt, had been de- 
 tached from the first division, leaving with Gen- 
 eral Buford the two brigades commanded by 
 General Gamble and General l)evin. Lee's 
 
THE CAVALRY: BY EEEBMANCE. ±^l 
 
 army had come down, the Shenandoah Valley, 
 ciossing the Potomac at Shepardstown and 
 Williamstown. General Buford with his two 
 brigades kept between the Union and Confederate 
 forces, passing into Pennsylvania by way of 
 Frederick and Boonsboro. To show how strangely 
 circumstances will work together, at the latter 
 place while halted on the march, the Union sen- 
 timent was shown by the young girls giving 
 flowers to our soldiers, and I was favored by 
 receiving a hunch with a small American flag, 
 from a young lady, in front of whose house I had 
 stopped. About ten days later, in an engage- 
 ment there, I was wounded and carried to the 
 same house where this young lady lived; and 
 after the surgeon cut the bullet from my breast 
 she gave me all the care a sister could until I was 
 able to go home, but it did not end as such 
 events should, for I have not seen her since, but 
 often look at the faded flowers and flag given me, 
 with pleasant remembrance of the care and kind- 
 ness of Annie Weckler. 
 
 From June 24th to the 30th we were engaged 
 with small bodies of the enemy, meeting them in 
 considerable force on the 29th at Fairfield. On 
 the 30th we passed the First Corps under General 
 Eeynolds at Emmitsburg, and proceeded to, 
 Gettysburg, my regiment, the Sixth New York 
 Cavalry, being in advance, and I have here a 
 guidon carried that day on entering Gettysburg. 
 About a mile from the town we were met by the 
 young girls of that place, who, dressed in white 
 with red and blue ribbons, formed along the road, 
 and, as we rode by, they gang their patriotic songs 
 
152 A GETTYSBURG NARRATIVE. 
 
 that made the blood flow quicker in our veins, 
 as we thought of those at home, and that we were 
 there to defend Northern soil from the desola- 
 tion that we had seen so much of in the homes 
 of our Southern brothers, who had forced us to 
 fight against them. As each man drew his rein 
 tighter we charged through Gettysburg, the small 
 force of Confederates there retreating before us. 
 General Buford's command was placed to the 
 north and west of the town, all roads being 
 picketed by which the enemy could approach. 
 The two brigades consisted of one battery and 
 eight regiments, in all about 4,000 men. Gamble's 
 brigade on the left, Devin's on the right. 
 
 A little after daylight on the morning of the 
 first, our pickets were fired on, and the two 
 brigades were sent out dismounted as skirmishers 
 to check the enemy's advance, until the First 
 Corps we had passed at Enunitsburg the day 
 before could be brought up. Gamble's left was 
 across Willoughby run, and Devin's right rested 
 on the Mumansburg road. Calif's Battery was 
 placed where the monument to General Buford 
 now stands, and the four guns at the four comers 
 of the stone on which it rests are the same as 
 were used that day; and it was the same battery 
 that played an important part in the Mexican 
 War, and from the first to the last of our Civil 
 War. 
 
 General Buford saw at once the importance of 
 holding the lines of Seminary Eidge for our in- 
 fantry, and sent the cavalry dismounted well to 
 the front to meet the veterans of Hill's division, 
 •whose skirmishers were now feeling their way 
 
THE CAVALRY: BY UEERMATHCE. 153 
 
 towards us, deceived as to what was in front of 
 them by our dismounted cavalrymen, who they 
 mistook for infantry. General Buford's orders 
 were that the Seminary Kidge must be held, and 
 his words to General Devin were, " You will 
 have to fight like the devil to do it." 
 
 Gamble at first pressed back the enemy, but in 
 turn was slowly forced back from his advance 
 line. Devin's brigade, who joined them on the 
 right, held their position until Hill's advance 
 had flanked their right on the Mumansburg road 
 and advanced their batteries, which opened on the 
 skirmish line both from front and fiank. The 
 First Corps having come up and secured the 
 Seminary Bidge we had been fighting to hold for 
 them, we were ordered back. I commanded the 
 extreme right and returned under a severe fire 
 down the Mumansburg road to a clump of woods 
 north of the Seminary, where we had left our 
 horses. Seeing that the enemy had gotten so far 
 in rear of our flank, the men in charge supposed 
 we had been gobbled up, and had gone back to 
 the Seminary grounds with our horses, and, ex- 
 hausted as we were, we had to double quick an- 
 other mile before we reached them. 
 
 In his oration of the dedication of the monu- 
 ment to General Buf ord, Major-General James H. 
 Wilson says: "The cavalry had performed 
 prodigies of valor, and, against overwhelming 
 odds, had held the field for over four hours 
 against the increasing pressure from I«e's vet- 
 erans." 
 
 The Eleventh Corps having come up, Devin's 
 brigade was moved to their right and, connecting 
 
154 ^ GETTYSBURG NARRATIVE. 
 
 with the York road, advanced our pickets on that 
 Toad about a mile. While in this position a bat- 
 tery of the Eleventh Corps, placed in the cem- 
 etery, shelled us so persistently that after sending 
 word to them that we were not the enemy, with 
 no cessation of their firing at us, we were forced 
 to fall back from our position to the town, being 
 shelled all the way back. The enemy having pos- 
 session of the road we had left, advanced their 
 sharpshooters, attacking our flank; they were 
 driven back by dismounted men of the Ninth New 
 York Cavalry. 
 
 Gamble's brigade had been doing gallant work 
 on the left, and were among the last to leave 
 Seminary Bidge, where with the First Corps a 
 gallant fight had been made, to hold that position 
 until the rest of the army could come up and 
 take the second line along Gulp's Hill, the ceme- 
 tery. Little Kound Top and Devil's Den, where 
 on the second and third days Lee met with such 
 a defeat that the high water mark of the rebellion 
 was reached, and continued to recede, until at 
 Appomattox it ceased to flow. 
 
 In all the disputes over the part taken by 
 others in this battle, there has been no one but 
 who has been willing to give to General Buford 
 the highest praise for the gallant work that held 
 Seminary Bidge with his small command against 
 the veterans of Hill's Corps, from daylight until 
 the First Corps came up about ten o'clock. 
 Biding ahead of his troops. General Beynolds 
 meeting General Buford cried out : " What's the 
 matter, John?" The devil's to pay," said 
 Buford. "I hope you can hold on until my 
 
TBE CAVALRY: BY HEERMANCE. 155 
 
 corps comes up," said Eeynolds. "I reckon I 
 can," was the reply. 
 
 General Hancock, the Count de Paris and 
 others give to Buford and his cavaby the highest 
 praise for their work at this first day's fight. 
 Buford alone selected the ground to be held, 
 seeing on his arrival the day previous the advan- 
 tage of its position. That night the division was 
 placed along the Emmitsburg road, on the morn- 
 ing of the 2d it was engaged on the enemy's right 
 and, with Berdan's sharpshooters, felt their ad- 
 vance until relieved by the Third Corps; when 
 we were withdrawn to Tanneytown and West- 
 minster to look after our wagon trains, and as 
 Lee fell back, followed him to and across the 
 Potomac. 
 
 The second and third divisions, under command 
 of Generals Gregg and Kilpatrick, after crossing 
 the Potomac, had been following Stuart's cavalry, 
 who had been raiding on our line of communica- 
 tion, capturing many of our supply wagons, but 
 our cavalry pressed them so hard that they were 
 kept on the defensive and prevented from joining 
 General Lee; and one cause of his disastrous 
 defeat was the want of his cavalry, that had been 
 cut off from all communication with him. On 
 June 30th the third division had met them at 
 Hanover and intercepted their connecting with 
 Lee's army, pressing him over to the right. 
 Until on the 2d of July the Confederate cavalry 
 was in our rear, on the York and Harrisburg 
 roads, confronted by the second division and 
 Custer's brigade from the third division. The 
 rest of the third division was on our left, where 
 
156 ■^ GBTTYSBURa NARRATIVE. 
 
 they were joined by the reserve brigade com- 
 manded by General Merritt, who had been de- 
 tached from the first division for special service 
 in the rear of the army. 
 
 The cavalry of both armies had been in active 
 service for nearly a month, men and horses had 
 about reached the limit of endurance; intense 
 heat and dust, hard fighting, short of food for 
 men and forage for horses, had done its work; 
 hundreds of horses had fallen unable to rise 
 again; officers and men tramped on foot, leading 
 their horses to save the little strength left in 
 them, and no one would think of looking at that 
 column as it passed, that the next day they 
 could take part in the most brilliant cavalry en- 
 gagement that is known to history. 
 
 The morning of July 3d found the commands 
 of Generals Gregg and Custer on our right and 
 in rear of the reserve artillery. General Custer 
 was ordered by General Gregg to a position on the 
 Hanover road, covering the approach to Gettys- 
 burg. 
 
 General Stuart had at last succeeded in making 
 connections with Lee's army, and, on the morn- 
 ing of the 3d, moved forward in advance of 
 Ewell's Corps, which was on Lee's left. This 
 movement was for position to attack our rear and 
 reach the reserve artillery, at the time of Pickett's 
 gallant charge on our front center. Had it not 
 been that our cavalry had been so disposed as 
 to meet and defeat it, this movement of Stuart's 
 might have been successful; and if it had, there is 
 little doubt that Lee's army, waiting for the 
 panic it would cause, would have followed Pick- 
 
THE CAVALRY: BY HEERMANOE. 157 
 
 ett's men, broken through our center, and the 
 story of Gettysburg had a different ending. 
 
 This movement gives a different phase to what 
 seemed such a needless sacrifice of General Pickett 
 and the brave men who followed him, for the two 
 movements working together offered a chance of 
 success that warranted the sacrifice. The Con- 
 federate cavalry numbered about 7,000 ; the second 
 division, including Custer's brigade, about 5,000. 
 
 About noon of the 3d, General Custer was 
 attacked and General Gregg moved his command 
 to the position on the Hanover road, on the left 
 of General Custer's line ; it having been reported 
 that the enemy's cavalry was moving to our 
 right. General Custer was ordered to join his 
 division, who were on the left of the army, and 
 proceeded to do so, but the brigade that relieved 
 him being severely engaged, he was directed by 
 General Gregg to remain. 
 
 Mcintosh's brigade had relieved Custer, and the 
 First New Jersey Cavalry was moved forward; 
 meeting a heavy force of the enemy at Eum- 
 mell's barn, part of the Third Pennsylvania was 
 sent to their support. Having exhausted their 
 ampiunition our regiments on the right fell back. 
 The Fifth Michigan, armed with Spencer repeat- 
 ing rifles, was ordered to relieve them; although 
 short of ammunition this regiment held its 
 ground stubbornly. As the First New Jersey 
 attempted to withdraw the enemy advanced on 
 both flanks ; the right of the First New Jersey and 
 Fifth Michigan remained on their part of the line 
 until the last cartridge was fired and the last 
 revolver emptied, then fell back, having lost 
 
158 ■A GETTT8BUBQ NAMRATlVE. 
 
 heavily. Part of the Fifth Michigan reached 
 their horses and joined the Seventh Michigan in 
 their charge. 
 
 The Fifth Michigan was commanded by Eussell 
 A. Alger, who here, as before and after, rendered 
 distinguished service in that brigade of heroes 
 commanded by General Custer. When Secretary 
 of War his personal and political enemies circu- 
 lated many false statements reflecting on his mil- 
 itary career, which were taken up not only by 
 the yellow journals, but by some which claim to 
 be respectable. When statements showing their 
 untruth were sent them, they refused to make the 
 correction asked. Such journalism is the curse 
 of the country, and it would be a good thing if 
 some editors could be suppressed as they were 
 during the Civil War, when they maligned their 
 country and its leaders. 
 
 At this time the Confederates advanced the 
 First "Virginia, which charged and was met by the 
 Seventh Michigan at a stone and rail fence, and 
 across which, face to face, they fought with car- 
 bines and revolvers. The enemy being reinforced 
 the Seventh Michigan was forced to fall back, 
 and in turn the First Virginia, after crossing the 
 fence, were compelled to retire by the fire from 
 our battery in front and dismounted cavalry on 
 their flanks. 
 
 At this time the brigade of Hampton and 
 Fitz Hugh Lee came from behind a piece of 
 woods that had concealed them from view. I 
 cannot describe the engagement better than to 
 copy from the address of Colonel Wm. Brooke 
 Eawl, delivered upon the occasion of the dediea- 
 
Tn£j CAVALHf: St SStlRMAifCE. 159 
 
 tion of the Cavalry Monument on the field of the 
 engagement. He says : " Every one saw at once 
 that unless the grandest attack of all was checked 
 the fate of the day would be decided against the 
 Army of the Potomac. In close columns of 
 squadrons, advancing as if in review, with sabres 
 drawn and glistening like silver in the bright 
 sunlight, the spectacle called forth a murmur of 
 admiration. Then Gregg rode over to the First 
 Michigan which, as it had come on the field a 
 short time before, had formed close columns of 
 squadrons supporting the batteries, and gave the 
 word to charge. As Town ordered sabres to be 
 drawn and the column to advance. Ouster dashed 
 up with similar orders and placed himself at its 
 head. The two columns drew nearer and nearer, 
 the Confederates outnumbering their opponents 
 three and four to one. The gait increased, first 
 the trot, then the gaUop. Hampton's battle flag 
 floated on the van of his brigade. The orders of 
 the Confederate officer could be heard, " Keep to 
 your sabres, men, keep to your sabres," for the 
 lessons they had learned at Brandy Station 
 and Aldie had been severe. There the cry had 
 been, "Put up your sabres, draw your pistols 
 and fight like gentlemen." 
 
 As the approaching colimins drew nearer and 
 nearer, each with perfect alignment, every man 
 gathered his horse under him and gripped his 
 weapon the tighter. * * * Staggered by the 
 fearful execution of the two batteries, the men in 
 the front of the Confederate column drew in their 
 horses and wavered, some turned, and the column 
 fanned out to the right and left, but those behind 
 
160 ^ 0ETT7SBVRG NABBATITE. 
 
 came pressing on. Custer seeing the men in the 
 front ranks of the enemy hesitate, waved his sabre 
 and shouted : " Come on, you Wolverines," and, 
 with a fearful yell, the First Michigan rushed on, 
 Custer four lengths ahead. 
 
 It is not my purpose to go into detail of the 
 brave deeds done that day, but to show as on the 
 first day the work of the cavalry held Seminary 
 Eidge and gave the advantage of position to our 
 army, so at this crucial moment, the cavalry 
 fought back those who, if successful, would have 
 turned the success of Gettysburg into defeat. 
 
 At this same time Kilpatrick, with Fams- 
 worth's brigade, was on the left flank between Big 
 Round Top and the Emmitsburg road ; he pushed 
 forward; he met the Pirst Texas regiment and 
 ordered General Farnsworth to charge them. 
 This gallant officer knew that he was riding to 
 his death, for Law's brigade was on each side 
 of the valley he was to ride through, and largely 
 protected by stone fences. But placing hiipself 
 at the head of his men, with but a handful of 
 his gallant followers left with him, he rode upon 
 the skirmish line of the Fifteenth Alabama regi- 
 ment, and, pistol in hand, called upon Lieutenant 
 Adrian, who commanded the line, to surrender. 
 The skirmishers in turn fired upon him, killing 
 his horse and wounding General Famsworth in 
 several places. As he fell to the ground Adrian 
 approached him and demanded his surrender, 
 which he curtly refused. In an article written 
 for the Century Magazine by the Confederate 
 general. Law, who held the extreme right of Lee's 
 army, he speaks of the conspicuous gallantry of 
 
TEE CAVALRY: BY HEERMANOE. 161 
 
 General Farnswortli in leading this charge, which 
 was made against his judgment and was as des- 
 perate as that of Bala-klava, where " some one 
 had blundered." 
 
 The total loss of the Army of the Potomac at 
 Gettysburg was 23,000 men, more than half of 
 which was sustained by the First, Second and 
 Third Corps. The loss of the Cavalry Corps in 
 the three days' fighting there was about 900. Add 
 to this the loss from June 9th, when we uncovered 
 this movement of Lee's to invade Maryland and 
 Pennsylvania, up to July 1st, and the percentage 
 of loss to the Cavalry Corps shows their work to 
 have been severe, and their per cent of loss heavy. 
 As I stated in the paper I read before this com- 
 mandery on " The Cavalry at Chancellorsville," 
 the work that was done by the cavalry did not re- 
 ceive the recognition it was entitled to at the 
 time; but since the war closed more attention 
 has been drawn to its achievements, and those of 
 us who served with it feel proud that it was our 
 privilege to follow the guidon and respond to the 
 bugle call as : 
 
 "Our good steeds snuff the evening air. 
 Our pulses with their purpose tingle; 
 The f oeman's fires are twinkling there ; 
 He leaps to hear our sabres jingle! 
 Halt! 
 Each carbine send its whizzing ball. 
 Now, cling! clang! forward all 
 Into the fight ! 
 
 "Dash on beneath the smoking dome ! 
 Through level lightnings gallop nearer 1 
 
162 ^ OETTYSSVRG NARRATIVE. 
 
 One look to heaven I No thoughts of home ; 
 The guidons that we bear are dearer. 
 Charge 1 
 Cling! clang! forward all! 
 Heaven keep those whose horses fall! 
 Cut left and right ! 
 
 " They flee before our fierce attack! 
 
 They fall I they spread in broken surges ! 
 Now, comrades, bear our wounded back, 
 And leave the foeman to his dirges. 
 Wheel! 
 The bugles sound the swift recall; 
 ' Cling! clang! backward all! 
 Home, and good night ! " 
 
VII. 
 
 A GETTYSBURG NARRATIVE. 
 
 POEM 
 
 BY 
 
 Horatio C. King. 
 
VII. 
 
 GETTYSBUEG. 
 By Hoeatio C. Ejitg. 
 
 With the_ permission of their author the follow- 
 ing appropriate lines are copied here from the Brook- 
 lyn Daily Eagle, New York, of Sunday, July 3rd, 
 1904: — General King having read them at the An- 
 nual Reunion of the Third Army Corps Union, held 
 in New York on May 5th, 1904. 
 
 Fair was the sight that peaceful July day 
 And sweet' the air with scent of new-mown 
 
 hay; 
 And Gettysburg's devoted plain serene 
 Resplendent shone with waves of emerald 
 
 green. 
 
 The western heights where close embowered 
 
 stood 
 The sacred shrine, near hidden in the Wood, 
 Eecked not of war, but ecboed with the tread 
 Of God's meek messengers of peace who led 
 The thoughts from earthly things to things 
 
 above 
 
 And taught the wayward heart that God is 
 
 love; 
 
 165 
 
166 ^ GETTTSBVBG NARRATIVE. 
 
 While far across wide fields of golden grain, 
 Another ridge uprose from out the plain; 
 And in its bosom, freed from earthly woes, 
 The dead of ages lay in calm repose. 
 
 Two BLOODY DAYS, across the stricken field, 
 Two angry hordes in ghastly combat reeled; 
 And welcome night its dusky mantel threw 
 In pitying love to hide the scene from view. 
 
 Again the bugle with its piercing call 
 Awoke the soldier from deep slumber's 
 
 thrall ; 
 With anxious waiting, nerved by conscious 
 
 power, 
 All stood impatient through the morning 
 
 hour, 
 Till from the throats of every shotted gun 
 The smoke of hell obscured the blazing sun ; 
 Then silence deep, and every soldier knew 
 The charge was near and tight his buckle 
 
 drew. 
 
 Lo! from their midst a stem command and 
 
 then. 
 The quick advance of twenty thousand men ; 
 A solid line of veterans clad in gray. 
 With iron nerves and earnest for the fray. 
 
GENERAL KING'S POEM. 167 
 
 In thought a new-born nation rose to sight, 
 With " stars and bars " unfurled in glorious 
 
 light 
 On, on they came, nor faltered in their tread, 
 Each man a hero — giants at their head. 
 We stood amazed at courage so sublime, 
 No braver record on the page of time. 
 
 With bristling bayonets glistening in the sun. 
 The stubborn ranks, inspired by victories 
 
 won, 
 Pressed grimly on, unmindful of the storm 
 Of shot and shell that felled full many a 
 
 form; 
 The maddened roar of angry cannon massed 
 Eocked the red field as if an earthquake 
 
 passed. 
 
 StiU on they came; the gaps they quickly 
 close; 
 
 " Now steady, men ! " and from our ranks 
 there rose 
 
 A mighty cry, and thick the leaden hail 
 
 Pell on the wavering lines. See! now they 
 quail ! 
 
 "Strike! strike! for freedom and your na- 
 tive land!" 
 
168 ■^ QETTrSBVRG NARRATIVE. 
 
 And bayonets clashed in conflicts hand to 
 
 hand. 
 Oh, fierce the struggle ; but they break ! they 
 
 fly! 
 And God to Freedom gives the victory. 
 
EXCURSIONS AT THE WEST, 
 SOUTHWEST AND COAST. 
 
VIII. 
 
 THE OPENING MARCHES AND 
 BATTLES OF THE ATLAN- 
 TA CAMPAIGN. 
 
 The following paragraphs from let- 
 ters written by the editor of this 
 volume are extracts from the files of 
 the New York Evening Post, touch- 
 ing the various topics mentioned. 
 
 FROM SHERMAN'S ARMY* 
 
 THE CAMPAIGN IN" GEORGIA. 
 
 HOW THE MOVEMEITT BEGAN THE BATTLE 
 
 OB- KESACA JOHNSTOlir's RETEEAT. 
 
 Resaca, Georgia, May — , 1864. 
 It appears as though on the first of May 
 Grant's bugle sound to advance was heard not 
 only in Virginia, but in Tennessee and Ala- 
 bama. The camps of the troops in this Mili- 
 tary Division, scattered as they were from 
 East Tennessee to Northern Georgia and 
 
 * This chapter is from the files of the New York 
 Evening Post of May 25th, 1865. 
 
172 " OTEEB EXCURSIONS." 
 
 Alabama were active with the preparations 
 for the opening campaign known only to 
 those whose right it was to know. A strong 
 army of veterans under General McPheraon, 
 marched from Huntsville, Alabama, in a 
 southeasterly direction, while a similar col- 
 umn under Schofield was concealed in the 
 valleys marching from East Tennessee south- 
 westerly. The army of Thomas at Chatta- 
 nooga gathered itself together as it moved to- 
 wards Kinggold, Georgia. Hooker's Corps, 
 however, scattered as it was from Lookout 
 Mountain to Nashville made tremendous 
 strides on the extreme right of Thomas' army, 
 passing over the historic field of Chicka- 
 mauga, through Gordon's Mills and Peavine 
 Creek, until about the 6tii inst., it had joined 
 the rest of the Army of the Cumberland along 
 the banks of the " Middle Chiekamauga," and 
 in front of Taylor's Eidge. Sherman's army 
 found itself at this time with its advance 
 through Hooker's Gap in front of Einggold, 
 with his right and right-centre composed of 
 Hooker's Corps, and McPherson's "Army 
 of the Tennessee," stretching along the Base 
 of Taylor's Eidge towards Mckajack and 
 Gordon's Gap, its left centre and left under 
 Palmer and Howard reaching in advance of 
 Einggold and Catoosa Springs, with the 
 
WITB. SHERMAN'S ARMY. 173 
 
 Army of the Ohio under Sehofield marching 
 along the East Tennessee and Georgia Rail- 
 road from Cleveland and with its advance 
 near Varnell's Station. 
 
 THE BEGINWUiTG OF THE CAMPAIGN. 
 
 This was the first position of Sherman's 
 army. The enemy's main body was at Dal- 
 ton, while his advance reached Tnnnell Hill, 
 and the moimtains and gaps immediately in 
 our front. From our position everything 
 looked unfavorable for offensive operations. 
 Between our camps and the enemy stretched 
 two ridges of mountains, passable only by two 
 or three rough roads over their tops, mis- 
 named by the people " Gaps," probably be- 
 cause there were no " Gaps " there. Between 
 these two ridges was a beautiful valley, 
 known as Dogwood Valley, watered by the 
 East Ghickamauga, one of the branches of 
 that tortuous and now to military operations 
 troublesome stream. The enemy's line -of 
 communications appeared perfectly secure; 
 his front impregnable, his flanks admirably 
 protected by impassable natural barriers, and 
 Ms advance at Tunnell Hill well calculated 
 to be maintained. In the face of these ob- 
 stacles, Sherman's army continued its march 
 without a halt. 
 
174 " OTHER EXCUBSIONB." 
 
 THJ! EWEMY DISLODGED. 
 
 On the 7th inst., Howard, with the Fourth 
 Corps, moved from Catoosa Springs, and by 
 successful manoeuvering dislodged the enemy 
 from the commanding hills in his front, while 
 Palmer with the Fourteenth Corps assisted 
 by this movement, after some skirmishing 
 took possession of the famous Tunnell Hill, 
 with a total loss of only ten wounded. Hook- 
 er at the same time threw his corps across 
 Taylor's Kidge in two columns by way of 
 Mckajack and Gordon's Gap, and promptly 
 moved up and joined his left to Palmer's 
 right, encamping along the East Chicka- 
 mauga. Schofield continued his march along 
 the East Tennessee and Georgia railroad, 
 threatening the enemy's right, while Mc- 
 Pherson, his movement thus being quite con- 
 cealed, pressed through Gordon's and Ship's 
 Gaps in. Taylor's Eidge to a place called Vil- 
 lainers. The army in this position was one 
 grand point in advance gained, and the rail- 
 road was at once put in running order to 
 Tunnell Hill. 
 
 THE EEBEL POSITION AT BTTZZABd's BOOST. 
 
 The enemy had retired to his formidable 
 position at Buzzard's Eoost, which, with a 
 
WITH SHERMAN'S ARMT. 1^5 
 
 few thousand men, he could hold against all 
 the army that might choose to attack his 
 front. While Howard and Palmer on the 
 left were learning more completely the posi- 
 tion of the enemy, and occupying his atten- 
 tion by reconoitering. Wood's brigade of But- 
 terfield's division. Hooker's corps, performed 
 a similar duty further to the right, and be- 
 fore night suceeded in establishing our lines 
 partially on the slope of Eockf ace Kidge, and 
 along a commanding range in front of the 
 enemy's position at Buzzard's Eoost. 
 
 There has been much discussion in the 
 army why this place was called " Buzzard's 
 Eoost." Like many other instances of Amer- 
 ican nomenclature it is not because buzzards 
 roost there, but because they do not. There 
 were once a few old groggeries and a railroad 
 station there, where the chivalric gamblers of 
 the South did congregate to drink cheap toddy 
 and cut each other's throats. What they af- 
 terwards did with the carcases the appella- 
 tion of " Buzzard's Eoost " which the people 
 around bestowed on this locality is too sugges- 
 tive to mention. Tou may guess then from 
 the habits of the bird, why the place was 
 called Buzzard's Boost. 
 
176 " OTEEB EXOURBIONS." 
 
 THE FIBST BATTLE. 
 
 Meanwhile MePherson was massing troops 
 in a concealed position at Snake Creek Gap. 
 On the 8th there was more reconnoitering and 
 a closer drawing of otir lines towards the 
 enemy. Geary's division of Hooker's corps 
 on this day had the first actual battle of the 
 campaign, about three miles west of Dalton 
 at Mill Creek Gap, sometimes called Dug 
 Gap. Of the battle itself, you have already 
 had accounts. Geary's loss was about 250. 
 He fought the choicest troops in' Johnston's 
 army under Claiborne and his troops, re- 
 peatedly gaining the crest of the mountain 
 near the road for the possession of which they 
 were fighting only to be hurled back again 
 down the precipice with fearful losses. Col- 
 onel Bushbeck's and Candy's brigades were 
 the troops engaged. Among the reported 
 killed were Captain Bartlett, Thirty-third 
 ISTew Jersey, and Colonel Jones, One Hun- 
 dred and Fifty-fourth New York; Captain 
 Vedden, ditto; Lieutenant Miller, Thirty- 
 third New Jersey, and Lieutenant Smith, 
 ditto, and Captain Forrest, One Hundred and 
 Thirty-fourth New York. The color bearer 
 of the One Hundred and Fifty-fourth New 
 York, George Bishop, was killed in one of the 
 
WITH SHERMAN'S ABUT. 177 
 
 charges, where he planted the colors on the 
 very top of the mountain. 
 
 This battle had the effect of holding the 
 enemy in Geary's front, and not allowing the 
 column which had started for Snake Creek 
 Gap to reach there in time to prevent Mc- 
 Pherson possessing himself of it without a 
 fight 
 
 MANCETJVEES. 
 
 I will not detail the daily movements of 
 the next few days. It will suffice to say that 
 the enemy were kept thoroughly busy at Buz- 
 zard's Eoost by the reeonnoisanees, demo- 
 strations and actual attacks of Schofield on the 
 extreme left in the hills of Eoekyface, and 
 of Howard and Palmer on the right. It was 
 in one of these attacks that Harker's brigade 
 distinguished itself. The enemy were se- 
 riously perplexed by a large force of Me- 
 Pherson's army making its appearance in 
 front of his works at Eesaca on Wednesday, 
 the 11th inst. The bridge wa& not destroyed, 
 however, and our force retired to Snake 
 Creek Gap without molesting the enemy, who 
 was strongly posted and in considerable force. 
 For this retiring movement on our part there 
 may be some criticism, but no intelligent one 
 until we are made aware of the orders under 
 
1Y8 " OTHEk EicvmioifS." 
 
 which the commander of that wing of our 
 army was acting. 
 
 At midnight on Tuesday, the 10th, Wil- 
 liams' division of Hooker's corps, quietly 
 marched for the support of McPherson. The 
 remainder of the corps followed the next 
 night. At the same time there was a general 
 evacuation of our depot and headquarters at 
 Tunnell Hill ; and before another twenty-four 
 hours had passed, Palmer and Schofield fol- 
 lowed to Snake Gap ; and Howard pressed as 
 closely as was prudent to the enemy's works 
 at Buzzard's Koost. 
 
 JOHNSTON OUTGENEEALBD. 
 
 Johnston then began to appreciate his per- 
 ilous position. A large force of his enemy 
 was upon his extreme left flank and rear and 
 a fore© in his front at Buzzard's Boost. As 
 the rebel papers say, the Yankees have their 
 forces in our front so well covered by heavy 
 picket and skirmish lines that we can learn 
 little or nothing of their movements. After 
 discovering his position the rebel general had 
 but a short time to consider. He must either 
 give Sherman battle before he thought it pos- 
 sible for him to concentrate his entire army 
 — • he must assume an offensive campaign by 
 a dash at Chattanooga, a most perilous un- 
 
WITH SEEKMAW8 ARMY. l^g 
 
 dertaking — or he must ignominiously fly to 
 the east among the fastnesses of the moun- 
 tains. Of course, he chose the former. 
 Quickly evacuating his works at Buzzard's 
 Roost Friday morning, the 13th, found him 
 concentrating near Eesaca ; — while Sherman 
 was forming his lines of battle, with his right 
 resting through Eesaca on the Oostenaula 
 (river) and his left extending in a north- 
 westerly direction, and gradually advancing 
 towards Tilton. But Howard at Buzzard's 
 Roost was not to be deceived. No sooner had 
 the enemy disappeared from his front than 
 he was close in pursuit, marching in their im- 
 mediate rear through Dalton and to Tilton, 
 whence he extended his lines to the west and 
 towards Snake Creek Gap and opened com- 
 munications with the extreme left of Sher- 
 man's lines under Palmer. The advance and 
 formation of our lines here referred to com- 
 menced on Friday morning, the principal 
 skirmishing with the enemy being on Mo- 
 Pherson's front; and on Friday afternoon by 
 a gallant charge of a portion of his command 
 he obtained possession of the commanding 
 positions bordering on the west of the small 
 stream known as Camp Creek. 
 
 It was during the movements preceding 
 this charge tiiat General Kilpatrick was 
 
180 " OTHER EXCURSIONS." 
 
 wounded while falling upon a body of the 
 enemy's infantry, after having driven their 
 cavalry for miles before him. 
 
 The advance of McPherson to the position 
 named, enabled Sherman to form his lines 
 along Camp Creek and extend his left wing 
 sufficiently to the north so as to open the com- 
 munication referred to with Howard, who 
 had reached Tilton early that morning. Our 
 position was now one of considerable natural 
 strength, although it was not gained without 
 some loss principally in the Fifteenth and 
 Sixteenth Corps. Betweein our lines aaid 
 those of the enemy ran this little tortuous 
 creek, in a valley an eighth to a quarter of, 
 a mile in width, each army occupying the 
 ridges on each bank, our left, however, cross- 
 ing some of its tributaries and extending 
 nearly directly north and south toward 
 Tilton. 
 
 This was our position on the morning of 
 Saturday, the 14th of May. It was a very long 
 line, over seven miles, and the enemy occu- 
 pied a line equally strong by nature; and one 
 flank of which was protected by the Ooste- 
 naula Eiver and the carefully constructed 
 works at Besaca. 
 
WITE 8HERMA2f'S ARMY. 181 
 
 THE BATTLE OS EESAOA. 
 
 During Friday night, the 13th, the enemy 
 had worked like beavers felling trees, build- 
 ing redoubts, throwing up rifle pits, and mak- 
 ing every possible preparation to resist our 
 advance. In this they were so successful 
 that much of their line was deemed impreg- 
 nable. All the morning of Saturday, there 
 was the constant crackling of heavy skirmish- 
 ing along more than five miles of battle lines. 
 Everybody sedulously minded his own busi- 
 ness with thoughts bent on the approaching 
 fray. The skirmishing and sharp shooting 
 was as usual quite destructive for the number 
 of men engaged. Our lines were now formed 
 from right to left in the order of McPherson 
 on our right, then Butterfield's division of 
 Hooker's corps, (remainder in reserve) Pal- 
 mer's corps, and then Schofield's army with 
 Howard's corps as a support. During Satur- 
 day morning Schofield and Howard continued 
 the advance of the day before, throwing their 
 left across Camp Creek, and considerably 
 shortening our line of battle by extending it 
 in a northeasterly direction towards the rail- 
 road. Shortly after noon, while this move- 
 ment was going on, the eneiny threw himself 
 with great force on the advancing lines of 
 
182 " OTHER EXGUBBI0N8." 
 
 Sdiofield and Howard. The enemy appeared 
 desperate; determined at any cost to break 
 our lines at the points he, with great sagacity, 
 judged to be the weakest. The country being 
 thickly wooded, but little artillery could be 
 used on either side, and the movements of 
 troops of either army were entirely concealed 
 from the other. The lines of fire waved to 
 and fro, as one or the other succeeded in re- 
 pelling an advance; but with the enemy it 
 was his best and perhaps his only chance. He 
 must succeed. 
 
 Just before sunset, the fire slackened for 
 a short time. Suddenly it was renewed with 
 increased fury and for the first time in the 
 battle we heard the roar of artillery and not 
 alone the rattle of musketry. The enemy had 
 drawn troops from other positions of their 
 lines, and had fallen in large force against 
 Stanley's division of Howard's corps. It 
 could not stand too much, and was slowly 
 giving away. The enemy approached a bat- 
 tery, supported by not a single infantry sol- 
 dier ; but the gunners heroically stood at their 
 posts and worked their guns. Just then, after 
 passing wagons, ambulances, wounded men 
 and stragglers, all hurrying to the rear, ap- 
 peared the head of Williams' veteran divi- 
 sion (supported by Geary's division, both of 
 
WITE SHERMAN'S ARMY. ^33 
 
 Hooker's corps,) led by " Fighting Joe " in 
 person. It is the charming hour of sunset, 
 but the battle cannot ■ stop here. Hooker 
 places a new battery in position; advances a 
 brigade against the flushed but exhausted 
 enemy; opens a galling fire of artillery and 
 musketry, repulses his farther advance, starts 
 him marching awaj before him, and with the 
 close of the day the battle ceases. 
 
 On the extreme right, however, the day 
 had not been without its results. While the 
 enemy had been thoroughly occupied in re- 
 pelling Sehofield's advance and afterwards 
 attacking him in force, McPherson boldly as- 
 sailed the enemy's extreme left in front of 
 Eesaca. The artillery opened along the whole 
 line, and under its cover and a heavy skirmish 
 fire Logan's corps crossed Camp Creek, and 
 by a skillful and gallant charge, drove the 
 enemy from the commanding hills in our 
 front, and secured such a position across the 
 creek as subjected a portion of the enemy's 
 works to our destructive enfilading fire. 
 Thus, while at the close of the afternoon ac- 
 tion, the lines of both armies at the left re- 
 mained substantially in the same positions, 
 on the extreme right Logan with his veterans 
 had gained a most decided advantage. 
 
184 " OTBER EXCVBSI0N8." 
 
 SATUEDAT NIGHT. 
 
 Saturday night was again a busy night for 
 both armies. The enemy was at work 
 strengthening his positions and making fur- 
 ther dispositions of troops. Our army was 
 performing similar duties. The new ad- 
 vanced positions were fortified; troops who 
 had been in the front all day were relieved 
 by fresh ones from the rear, and our lines 
 were so strengthened by art as to enable them 
 to be held by a much smaller number of 
 troops. Butterfield's division was taken 
 from the centre and sent to rejoin Hooker 
 on the extreme left ; but even by daylight the 
 dispositions were not entirely completed for 
 the attack. Hooker's corps was to make the 
 assault on the extreme right of the enemy's 
 line. He was to carry the positions, and 
 would be supported by Howard, and by dem- 
 onstrations along our entire lines. The right 
 of the enemy rested near the Kesaca and Dal- 
 ton Pike; and the commanding hills he oc- 
 cupied were strengthened by two redoubts 
 and connected by formidable rifle pits. This, 
 strong as it was, was the most assailable poi^ 
 tion of the enemy's position ; and to Hooker 
 was assigned the important duty of stomling 
 it. 
 
WITH SHERMAN'S ARMY. 185 
 
 THE BATTLE EEITEWED ON SUNDAY. 
 
 Sunday's operations now bid fair to become 
 the key of the campaign. Butterfield's divis- 
 ion was selected as the storming party sup- 
 ported by the well known divisions of Geaiy 
 and Williams. There were two hills to be 
 taken. One was not tenable without the 
 other, and both must therefore be carried at 
 once. Colonel Wood's brigade was selected 
 to take the hill on the left of the road and 
 General Ward's that on the right, on the 
 crest of which was a hastily constructed re^ 
 doubt mounting four guns. Colonel Co- 
 bum's brigade was to act as a support. 
 Ward's brigade, although having been in the 
 service for more than two years, had never 
 been in action; but gallantly did they per- 
 form their work. Formed in column of regi- 
 ments, both brigades moved simultaneously 
 on the hills assigned them. No skirmishers 
 were thrown out, no warning given to the 
 enemy of their approach. Formed under 
 cover of a ravine in the forest, the enemy 
 knew nothing of the move until our men were 
 before them wiiliin the shortest musket range. 
 
 The enemy had scarcely time to reload or 
 to fire more than one round of grape and 
 canister from their guns before Ward's gal- 
 
186 " OTHER EXCURSIONS." 
 
 lant fellows were upon them, beating the gun- 
 ners down with the butts of their muskets. 
 Cobum's brigade — also never before under 
 fire, although old troops — in advancing as 
 supports unfortunately fired into Ward's bri- 
 gade occasioning some loss ; — Cobum's men 
 becoming excited with success, and on ac- 
 count of the dense woods not being able to see 
 far about them. At the same time Colonel 
 Wood's brigade on the left gallantly drove 
 the enemy and occupied the hill it was di- 
 rected to take. The supports coming up, the 
 lines were now reformed at the advanced 
 positions. The enemy had been completely 
 taken by surprise at the suddenness and im- 
 petuosity of the charge. Our men swarmed 
 upon them in overwhelming numbers, and 
 were irresistible. But the rebels still held 
 a position that made it impossible for us to 
 withdraw their captured guns from our 
 front; but they could not reach them either. 
 
 It was evident this state of affairs could 
 not long remain. Williams' division was 
 posted on the left, and Geary as a support 
 on the right; while a strong line from Scho- 
 field's corps was now advanced under cover 
 of the forest around our extreme left and to 
 reach the enemy's rear. 
 
 But heedless of all, about 4 p. m. the enemy 
 
WITH SHERMAWB ARMY. jgY 
 
 advanced. Stevenson's division, and other 
 troops of Hood's corps, in four grand col- 
 umns, assaulted Hooker's lines, and attempt- 
 ed to drive him from his new ground. Col- 
 onel Wood's brigade bore the brunt of the 
 attack supported by Williams' division; and 
 the enemy after a short but desperate struggle 
 were hurled back wiUi terrible slaughter. 
 Williams' division then charged, captured 
 several colors and many prisoners. 
 
 Hooker held the heights he had carried, 
 and no further demonstrations were made 
 during the day. While Hooker's operations 
 were progressing he was assisted by material 
 diversions in his favor of artillery and mus- 
 ketry firing along the whole line of the army. 
 Hooker's loss is about 1,800 in killed and 
 wounded, and will exceed that of any other 
 corps. Butterfield's division alone lost 1,020. 
 Among the officers wounded are General 
 Ward, in arm; General Knipe, commanding 
 brigade under Williams; Colonel Ireland, 
 commanding brigade under Geary. Among 
 the kiUed are Colonel Canby, and the major 
 of the Fifty-fifth Ohio. Captain Taylor, of 
 General Hooker's staff, wounded; General 
 EJnipe's son was killed, and every other mem- 
 ber of his staff wounded. Colonel Ward's A. 
 A. A. Gteneral wounded slightly. The only 
 
188 " OTHER EXCURSIONS." 
 
 other general officer I have heard of as 
 wounded is Greneral Willich of Howard's 
 corps. It is impossible yet to obtain even 
 an approximate list of the names of killed 
 and wounded. The number missing is very 
 small. 
 
 THE EETEEAT 01' THE EEBEL AEMT. 
 
 During Saturday night, the 15th inst., the 
 enemy quietly abandoned his works, and re^ 
 treated hurriedly towards Calhoun. About 11 
 p. m. a force went out to assist the One Hun- 
 dred and Second and One Hundred and 
 Twenty-ninth , Illinois of Ward's brigade, in 
 withdrawing the captured guns. The enemy, 
 evidently fearing a night attack, poured a 
 few volleys into the party; which opened 
 froni us a terrible fusilade of artillery and 
 musketry along a mile of fire, which the 
 morning proved to have been very destructive 
 to. him. 
 
 OCOUPATION OF THE EEBEL WORKS. 
 
 In entering the rebel works at Kesaca four 
 more guns were found abandoned — • old and 
 useless, however — while those taken by But- 
 terfield were fine twelve pounders, complete 
 with limbers and carriages. Enough com 
 meal was also found at Hesaca to give one 
 ration to the entire army. A considerable 
 
WITR SHERMAN'S ARUY. 189 
 
 quantity of com and small arms and ammu- 
 nition were also taken. The railroad bridge 
 at this place is destroyed, the stone abutments, 
 however, excepted. 
 
 Bridges had been prepared by Sherman 
 at other points across the Oostenaula, so 
 that all day yesterday a strong column of 
 cavalry, infantry and artillery were in hot 
 pursuit. To-day the whole army is close 
 upon the heels of Johnston, and already be- 
 yond Calhoun. The enemy will probably 
 make a stand at Altoona. 
 
 Johnston's order for retreat of his army 
 was dated 1 p. m. Sunday, 15th inst. His 
 army is now composed of Hood's and Har- 
 dee's corps, with a portion of Polk's. The 
 remainder of Polk's corps will probably meet 
 him as he retreats. He is also said to have 
 with him some of the Georgian militia re- 
 cently enrolled. This latter force will of 
 course increase as he retreats. 
 
 THE SAWITAEY COMMISSION AT WOEK. 
 
 After the late grand exertions in aid of the 
 Sanitary Fair, you will be interested to know 
 that the agents of the Sanitary Commission 
 were on hand as soon as possible, and their 
 stores arrived here as early as any trains 
 could come through. They visited some of 
 
190 " OTHER EXCURSIONS." 
 
 the field hospitals with a few supplies taken 
 in wagons on the last day of the battle ; and 
 yesterday and to-day, while the wounded 
 are being removed, from hospitals to cars, 
 the few agents here have been very assiduous 
 in providing for their comfort in furnishing 
 cooked coffee and other necessaries of life in 
 cases which it is not always possible for the 
 medical authorities to reach. 
 
 The enemy have only damaged the railroad 
 as far as this place by destroying the water 
 tanks; beyond the bridge here it is said to 
 be in good condition for many miles. 
 
 [H. B. T.] 
 
HEAD-QUARTERS 3d (BUTTERFIELDS) DlVISIOr^. 20th CORPS. 
 
 Time M. 
 
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 i^ M^^i^yot^ ^T^L,^,^^ ^^ii^c{i.,;gi^ 
 
 ' ,^C^ ^*-e^ 'J^ '<^ie^.^^-^ 
 
"Tt^ /9'A.yiZ^'f^ Ox-t^tji^y^ Ar»*>/u^ "P'VH^r-' 
 
 l^u/ ^25^^ /lc>i^ '^^feczr j^j^>t^^s£>t_^^ 
 
 7:^u^t^ci>^ 
 
IX. 
 FROM THE MISSISSIPPI.* 
 
 THE MILITAKY AND NAVAL STATIONS ON THE 
 
 EIVEE CONDITION OP FOET PILLOW ■ 
 
 P?EADE AT MEMPHIS FEEEDMEN AT 
 
 HELENA EEPEISALS FOE GTJEEILLA OUT- 
 
 EAGES. 
 
 Helena, Arkansas, June 5, 1864. 
 In view of the results of lihe recent military 
 operations west of the Mississippi, the im- 
 portance of the various military and naval 
 stations estahlished along its banks daily in- 
 creases. Many of them at various times dur- 
 ing the war have been bases of operations, 
 and any one of them is now liable to be so 
 used again. Cairo has long been the central 
 point for the accumulation of all the military 
 and naval stores for the army of General 
 Steele, for all the forces on the east shore of 
 the Mississippi, and for the Mississippi 
 
 •This chapter is a reprint from the New York 
 Evening Post (1864) of paragraphs from letters 
 written by the editor of this volume. 
 191 
 
192 " OTBER EXCVB8I0N8." 
 
 squadron. Admiral Porter's flagship, how- 
 ever, is now stationed at Mound City, a few 
 miles above Cairo. The naval hospital, the 
 receiving ship, and the general naval depot 
 for the squadron are at Cairo. 
 
 COLtTMBUS. 
 
 Passing down the river the first place of 
 immediate interest is Columbus, Ky., the 
 present headquarters of General Prince, com- 
 manding the district which includes Padu- 
 cah, Cairo, and the country east to the 
 Tennessee Eiver. This is a most important 
 command, including the district usually 
 aimed at by Forrest in making his incursions 
 into Western Tennessee and Kentucky. 
 
 General Prince, previous to his service 
 here, commanded a division in the Army of 
 the Potomac. He was taken prisoner in the 
 battle of Cedar Mountain, Virginia, while 
 under General Banks, in the Pope campaign, 
 and suffered a long incarceration in Libby 
 Prison as one of Pope's officers, and after 
 his release served under General Foster in 
 K'orth Carolina. Joining the Army of the 
 Potomac, he was assigned to the command 
 of Hooker's old division in the Third Corps, 
 shortly after the battle of Gettysburg. He 
 has been on duty in the West for a short time 
 
DOWN THE MISaiSSIPPL 
 
 193 
 
 only, but the administration of affairs in Ms 
 district appears to give general satisfaction. 
 
 I'OET PILLOW. 
 
 The banks of the Mississippi now possess 
 an interest entirely new to old river travellers, 
 who watch its lonesome shores in momentary 
 expectation of a pop-gun salute from the 
 rebels. Each clump of trees, each bend in 
 the river, suggests a biding place for the 
 thieves and murderers who still infest the 
 country even here. Eort Pillow is now en- 
 tirely desolate. Most of the earthworks re- 
 main, but their completeness is in some places 
 destroyed by the number of graves, and large 
 holes (for I can call them little else) where 
 the unfortunate victims of rebel butchery 
 were buried in squads. On the west side of 
 the river, opposite Fort Pillow, an organized 
 band of two or three hundred guerillas occa- 
 sionally show themselves. No troops now 
 permanently garrison the place, for it is in a 
 wilderness, and of no more use to us or the 
 rebels than any other commanding position on 
 the river ; and it would be impossible for the 
 enemy to hold it. 
 
 MEMPHIS TEADE. 
 
 The general military head-quarters for the 
 entire district of West Tennessee, bounded by 
 
;j^94 " 0TB ER EXOVRSIOVS." 
 
 the Mississippi, Ohio and the Tennessee 
 Eivers, are now at Memphis; and the com- 
 mander is Major General Washbume, well 
 known for his services while, under Grant in 
 this department. Besides being a most im- 
 portant military station, Memphis is now a 
 great centre for the trade and commerce of 
 the Mississippi. It is at the same time prob- 
 ably the most rebellious city within the Union 
 lines. Until recently it has been a constant 
 and trustworthy source of supplies to the 
 rebels. It is often remarked that the enemy 
 have not wished to repossess themselves of 
 the place^ as it was of more service to them 
 as a depot of supplies and information while 
 within our lines than if actually held by the 
 South. Soon after the Mississippi was 
 opened to trade and navigation, it became 
 the custom for merchants and others to give 
 in exchange for the cotton, which the holders 
 along the river were very anxious to dispose 
 of, supplies of shoes, provisions and clothing, 
 when this was preferred to money. Groceries 
 and other supplies were disposed of in ex- 
 change at double and treble their cost price, 
 buyers thus obtaining cotton for a mere song. 
 Many instances are known where a bale of 
 cotton was received in exchange for a barrel 
 of salt. The latter cost from $2 to $5, and 
 
DOWN THE MI8SIB8IPPI. ^95 
 
 the cotton sold for $200 to $300. Men witb 
 scarcely any capital have thus realized large 
 fortunes. A new avenue to wealth seemed to 
 have been opened, and every military post 
 on the river was thronged with hungry for- 
 tune-hunters. 
 
 In such a state of things the temptations of 
 oflBcials were of course very strong and nu- 
 merous. The regulations of the Treasury 
 Department were much abused by those for 
 whose benefit they were made. Large 
 amounts of cotton reached northern markets, 
 and great supplies went to rebel soldiers. But 
 for the supplies thus thrown where the enemy 
 could obtain them, this region of country 
 would probably be now nearly rid of gueril- 
 las. The last raid of Forrest upon Padueah 
 is said to have had for one of its chief objects 
 the collection of supplies which our trade 
 had been the means of circulating there. The 
 military authorities of course found this state 
 of things, ill adapted to their success. Some 
 few subordinate local commanders followed 
 the lead of Greneral Buford at Helena, and 
 closed their lines against all commercial inter- 
 course, and General Washburne finally adopt- 
 ed this policy throughout his department. 
 
19g " OTEEB EXCURSIONS." 
 
 COLOEED TEOOPS. 
 
 The most important and interesting place 
 in Arkansas on the Mississippi is Helena. 
 It is the centre of so much of the legitimate 
 cotton trade as is done in Arkansas, and it is 
 liable at any time to be made the depot for 
 the supply of General Steele's army at Little 
 Eock; hence its military importance. The 
 district of which it is headquarters is com- 
 manded by Brigadier General Buford, brother 
 of the late General Buford of the Army of 
 the Potomac. Although there is now no for- 
 midable army here for offensive operations, 
 yet the place is well garrisoned, principally 
 by colored troops. Among the latter is a 
 regiment raised in Northern Missouri and 
 Iowa — the Sixtieth United States colored 
 troops (formerly First Iowa) and command- 
 ed by Colonel Hudson. This regiment is 
 composed principally of free negroes from the 
 states mentioned, and is deservedly noted in 
 the department for its discipline and ef- 
 ficiency. 
 
 General Sickles paid a short visit to this 
 place the other day in the prosecution of his 
 mission, and before leaving reviewed the 
 regiment just spoken of. He afterwards ad- 
 dressed its officers and men, and the citizens 
 
DOWN TBE MISSISSIPPI. 197 
 
 of Helena, ipany of -whom were present. He 
 told the negroes that if this war is for emanci- 
 pation, then they are nobly achieving the fu- 
 ture destiny of their race by taking up arms 
 in the cause, and thus entering what has al- 
 ways been regarded as one of the most honor- 
 able of all professions. If this war is not for 
 emancipation, then theirs is a most generous 
 and practical philanthropy, which gallantly 
 assists the country in a war with which they 
 have no interest But the war is for eman- 
 cipation and the negro is fighting to achieve 
 it. 
 
 BEPEISALS FOK GUEEILLA OUTEAGES. 
 
 Guerillas were formerly very troublesome 
 in the neighborhood of Helena, but have been 
 more quiet since the adoption of a retaliatory 
 programme by our troops. Por every one of 
 their raids General Buford made counter 
 raids, and for every horse, mule or other 
 property taken by the guerillas, an equivalent 
 amount of stock is seized from the surround- 
 ing country, and returned to the loyal people 
 in proportion to what they have lost. This 
 has almost stopped their depredations. Two 
 of their leaders have been closely incarcerated 
 in Helena for over a month, awaiting the dis- 
 position of their cases. In reply to an in- 
 terrogatory of the guerillas, asking if their 
 
198 " OTHER EXCURSIONS." 
 
 captains were treated as prisoners of war, the 
 Union commander sent word that " they were, 
 except that it was impossible for them to 
 escape." The Fifteenth Illinois cavalry- 
 made their section of country unpleasant for 
 guerillas, and a few Tennessee troops here 
 never were known to take any prisoners. It 
 is a singular incident that Helena or its im- 
 mediate vicinity is the residence of five rebel 
 generals — 'Hindman, Tappan, Pillow, Clai- 
 borne and Jenkins. Hindman's house is 
 used as a hospital, and on Pillow's plantation 
 is established a Freedman's village. 
 
 AFFAIES AT HELENA. 
 
 War must be a civilizer; at least it has 
 proved so in one instance. For among the 
 novelties which have astonished the crude 
 people of this town are two charitable institu- 
 tions established during this war, and both 
 for the benefit of the colored race! One is 
 an orphan asylum, in which are collected the 
 houseless, homeless, parentlesa and helpless 
 little darkies of all ages and sexes. It con- 
 tains about fifty inmates, and is in charge o£ 
 a delegation of Quakers, sent by the Indiana 
 yearly meeting. 
 
 From the same source also come occasional- 
 ly some supplies of furniture, clothing, etc. 
 
DOWm THE MIBSI88IPPI. 199 
 
 Groveminent furnishes rations and houses. 
 The other institution is for the benefit of the 
 children of contrabands, and is in the charge 
 of Miss Fox. 
 
 The refugees who are coming into our lines 
 are many of them in quite a destitute and 
 helpless condition. These receive much at- 
 tention from Mrs, Coombs, a most estimable 
 lady of Mississippi, who has always been 
 thoroughly loyal, and who now philanthrop- 
 icaUy devotes all her time towards relieving 
 the wants and giving assistance in various 
 ways to this helpless class. 
 
 Mr. Callicot, of N'ew York, is the agent of 
 the Treasury Department here, and as he 
 works in perfect harmony with the military 
 authorities, the infamous trade so useful to 
 the enemy has in this region been pretty well 
 suppressed. 
 
 The enemy have had some batteries planted 
 on the Mississippi a short distance below the 
 mouth of the Arkansas River, and fired at 
 passing vessels. So far they have done no 
 damage. Our gunboats will probably attend 
 to them. 
 
X. 
 
 FROM NEW OKLEAI^S.* 
 
 CONDITION OP THE CITY MILITARY AND 
 
 CIVIL AEFAIBS. 
 
 New Orleans, June 25, 1864. 
 The levee of New Orleans is not now block- 
 aded for miles witK those immense piles of 
 cotton bales, tiers of sugar barrels and other 
 merchandise that in former times constituted 
 one of the chief features of the city, and a 
 most powerful element of cosmopolitan trade ; 
 nevertheless, commerce is not stagnant, nor 
 the people in a state of helpless torpor. 
 The secessionists are quiet; the Union people 
 are active. Both bestow much attention on 
 their private affairs; the sympathizing rebels 
 to prevent the loss of their private fortunes, 
 and the Unionists to repair damages. The 
 army of northern merchants who have been 
 here since our occupation of the city keep 
 both parties sharply on the watch. 
 
 * This chapter is a reprint of extracts as stated in 
 note to preceding chapter. 
 
 200 
 
VISIT TO NEW ORLEANS. 201 
 
 THE CONSTITTTTIOlirAL CONVEHTIOH", 
 
 The principal topic of daily conversation 
 ia the Constitutional Convention. Probably 
 the most important vote recently taken in the 
 convention, as affecting the future prosperity 
 and interests of Louisiana, is the passage of 
 a section of the constitution which places it in 
 the power of the legislature to allow negroes 
 to vote. The old constitution, in prescribing 
 the qualifications of voters, reads " every 
 white male citizen," etc. 
 
 The new clause incorporated in the consti- 
 tution now being framed reads thus: 
 
 " The legislature shall have power to pass 
 laws extending suffrage to such persons, citi- 
 zens of the United States, as by military ser- 
 vice, by taxation to support the government, 
 or by intellectual fitness, may be deemed en- 
 titled thereto." 
 
 This action will be hailed by the North, 
 and indeed by the world, as a great stride in 
 the right direction. The clause is so framed 
 as to omit the use of the word " negro " or 
 colored, and thus avoids wounding old pre- 
 judices. Instead of fixing the qualifications 
 of voters more definitely and permanently 
 in the constitution, the convention judiciously 
 left the matter with the legislature, that it 
 
202 " OTEEB EXCURSIONS." 
 
 might be arranged as the voice of the people 
 from time to time might indicate. Thus at 
 every popular election the subject comes be- 
 fore them to be arranged and treated as one 
 of the issues to be decided. 
 
 GEWEKAX, CAITBY. 
 
 Major General Canby, commanding the 
 trans-Mississippi Department, is still here, 
 and has established headquarters in this city. 
 He will retain branch headquarters also at 
 Natchez and Vicksburg, where he is repre- 
 sented. His offices are beginning to be full 
 of business; but all hints of approaching 
 military movements I must, for the present) 
 repress. 
 
 AN EPISODE TWO REBEL GUNBOATS. 
 
 An interesting little episode, often spoken 
 of here, I do not remember having ever seen 
 in print. It illustrates the degree of conlG.- 
 dence reposed in the so-called " Confeder- 
 acy " by moneyed men within its lines. Some 
 time ago a very elaborate scheme was planned 
 for the anomalous purposes of " turning an 
 honest penny," " giving a lift " to Uncle 
 Sam, and at the same time to relieve the rebels 
 from the burden of possessing and maintain- 
 ing two gunboats, well-known to have been in 
 the harbor of Mobile. Some merchants of 
 
TWIT TO NEW ORLEANS. 203 
 
 that city had a large amount of cotton and 
 other goods which Uiey were anxious to dis- 
 pose of with credit to themselves, but were 
 unable to do so unless they could run the 
 blockade, which risk they were naturally anx- 
 ious to avoid. These men did not profess 
 any loyalty, but were looking only to pe- 
 cuniary profit. A small number of loyal 
 gentlemen here, some of them northerners, 
 who were also seeking lucrative investments, 
 found themselves in communication with the 
 Mobile operators, who proposed to sell these 
 two gunboats, with as heavy a cargo as they 
 could float, to the Union men here. These 
 secessionist merchants guaranteed to arrange 
 the matter with the rebel authorities, if the 
 Union gentlemen could so manage it with our 
 authorities as to enable these vessels in ques- 
 tion to rim the, blockade successfully and 
 without comment. 
 
 The only benefits that would accrue from 
 the transaction to the rebel parties would be 
 the sale of their merchandise, otherwise in- 
 disposable, for which they were satisfied to 
 have greenbacks, or funds placed to their 
 credit abroad. The Union speculators would 
 have an interest in the sale of this merchan- 
 dise, and the ownership of two good light- 
 draft vessels. For these vessels the stipulated 
 
204 " OTBEB EXCURSIONS." 
 
 sum of one hundred thousand dollars was to 
 be paid in greenbacks, or one million dollars 
 in rebel currencgr. The boats are said to be 
 worth much more. The Union merchants 
 also agreed to sell these vessels to the United 
 States for the same price, if the government 
 wanted them. They would risk their capital 
 in the investment, and the government could 
 ■buy the vessels or not as might be determined 
 after their arrival here. It was a bona fide 
 transaction, and was fully laid before the 
 military, naval and other authorities for 
 sanction. It was believed the government 
 would lend the scheme its assistance, as it 
 deprived the enemy of useful war material 
 without risk of life or property on our part. 
 High authority in this department favored it, 
 but after considerable delay and discussion 
 of the affair at Washington, the authorities 
 there — and the objection is said to have 
 come from Mr. Seward — replied liat the 
 plan was inexpedient, as it might be con- 
 strued as a raising of the blockade. Thus 
 failed not only the bright hopes of the Union 
 and rebel speculators, but the possession by 
 the government of two of the enemy's 
 steamers. 
 
VISIT TO VEW OBLEAUfS. 205 
 
 VISIT OP GENEEALS CAUBT AND SICKLES TO 
 THE CONVENTION'. 
 
 On the 22d instant, Generals Canby and 
 Sickles visited the Constitutional Convention, 
 and -were received with great honor. Both 
 were called out for speeches. General Can- 
 by responded very briefly, and General 
 Sickles more at length, the latter concluding 
 his remarks as follows: 
 
 " To recall the past is impossible ; to im- 
 prove the present is our duty ; and to look to 
 the future is the part of the statesman. The 
 past we are proud of ; but that is consigned to 
 history. The America of the future — a na- 
 tion entirely free from ocean to ocean — ■ will 
 be a greater and better country than even we 
 could boast of before. (Great applause.) 
 
 " Let us, then, in our respective spheres, 
 do all we can to promote this great end. Let 
 us feel impressed by the justice of the cause 
 in which we are engaged, and let us be guilt- 
 less of any act of injustice to others. Let us 
 prove that, in our system of government, we 
 find resources for every trouble — a shield 
 against every danger. Let us prove to the 
 advocates of aristocracy and despotism that 
 free institutions and liberty are self-sustain- 
 ing. Let us prove that no combination of 
 foreign powers, with the wiles and intrigues 
 of their diplomacy; that no internal danger, 
 
206 " OTBER Exovmiosa." 
 
 even though it be in the most stupendous re- 
 bellion of modern and ancient times, is pow- 
 erful enough to overcome that love of free 
 institutions, that intelligence, that patriot- 
 ism, that indomitable will which are charac- 
 teristic of the American name." (Enthus- 
 iastic applause.) 
 
kit Uifi' 
 
XI. 
 FEOM FLORIDA* 
 
 I'TTLL ACCOUITT OF GENEEAL ASBOTh'S EXPE- 
 DITION OUE rOBCES OVEKMATCHED BY 
 
 THE EEBELS. 
 
 Pensacola Navy Yard, Florida, 'July 26, 
 1864. — An expedition returned here yester- 
 day, the objects and results of which it is 
 no longer improper to mention. Well 
 planned, ably commanded, and with good 
 chances of success, it will have an impor- 
 tant bearing on the great campaign of Sher- 
 man, now apparently culminating at Atlanta. 
 
 About forty-five miles from Pensacola, at 
 Pollard Station, on the railroad connecting 
 Mobile with Macon and Atlanta, there is a 
 large trestle-work spanning one of the numer- 
 ous swamps which are the pest of this region. 
 This trestle-work once destroyed, the only line 
 of railroad communication now remaining for 
 
 *This chapter is a reprint of extracts as stated 
 ■in note to preceding chapter. 
 207 
 
208 " OTHER EXCURSIONS." 
 
 the rebels througli tbe Gulf States would be 
 most seriously interrupted, as tbe road east 
 from Montgomery, Alabama, bad already 
 been cut by Sherman's cavalry. It was in- 
 tended that the force from here should co- 
 operate with a flying column from Sherman's 
 army, and seize and destroy, if possible, this 
 vulnerable point on the railroad. The expedi- 
 tion left here four days ago, consisting of por- 
 tions of the Seventh Vermont, Eighty-second 
 and Eighty-sixth colored infantry, a small 
 body of cavalry and some other commands 
 which it is unnecessary to mention — the 
 whole under tbe command of Brigadier-Gen- 
 eral Asboith. Shortly after crossing tbe ba- 
 you, which forms a natural defence to the 
 l^avy Yard and camps here, skirmishing com- 
 menced between our advance guard and small 
 bodies of the enemy's cavalry who did not, 
 however, succeed in delaying our march. 
 
 The roads were good, but on the second 
 day's march, on reaching a point about ten 
 miles from the railroad, the enemy were 
 found posted in some force and commanding 
 the approaches to them by serviceable forti- 
 fications. General Asboth at once attacked 
 and dispersed them, capturing the battle flag 
 of a Florida cavalry regiment and a number 
 of prisoners and horses. The telegraph hav- 
 
A FLORIDA EXPEDITION. 
 
 209 
 
 ing been in full operation along the railroad, 
 and the design of our movement being very 
 apparent to the rebels, they succeeded in de- 
 spatching by rail from Mobile a larger force 
 than Greneral Asboth was prepared for. Learn- 
 ing this fact, and hearing nothing of the ev- 
 pected co-operation from Sherman's cavalry, 
 it was deemed wise to proceed no further at 
 that time. The expedition therefore returned 
 to camp without loss, the troops in the best of 
 spirits, bringing with them their prisoners, 
 about thirty horses, some refugees and the 
 inevitable contrabands. Although by some of 
 those unfortunate circumstances constantly oc- 
 curring in military operations, the expedition 
 did not accomplish the full results hoped for, 
 yet it was a most useful diversion in favor 
 of the raids of Sherman and other movements 
 of our forces in the East Mississippi Valley. 
 Greneral Asboth, commanding the district 
 of West Florida, is one of the few foreign 
 officers of high rank in our army who mani- 
 fest any considerable aptitude for the Ameri- 
 can service. Energetic, wary, skillful, vigi- 
 lant, and educated in the best military schools 
 of Europe, a thorough gentleman and a sol- 
 dier, he gives an earnest hand to the cause 
 which had already engaged his heart. His 
 services in Missouri will always be remem- 
 
210 " OTHER JSlCUBSlOaS." 
 
 bered by the division he commanded, and thd 
 rebels it chastised ; while the General himself 
 will always wear with a soldier's pride the 
 honorable scar of a painful wound. 
 
'XII. 
 EROM CHAELESTOK* 
 
 EESULTS OF THE EETALIATIOIir POLICY THE 
 
 FEDEEAL AST) EEBEL OFPICEES UJSTDEE FIEE 
 
 EXCHANGED HOW THE TJlflOW OFFICEES 
 
 WEEK TBEATED IN CHAELESTON. 
 
 Charleston Harbor, Aug. 3, 186^. — It will 
 be remembered that as soon as it was known 
 that fifty Union officers had been imprisoned 
 in Charleston under the fire of our own guns, 
 General Foster obtained permission to treat 
 in a similar manner'^a like number of officers 
 of the rebel army. General Sam Jones, who 
 commands the rebel forces at Charleston, was 
 thus confronted by a policy of retaliation. 
 Probably he was one of those who had per- 
 suaded himself into believing that " the l^orth 
 will not fight," and now by an easy transition, 
 thought " the North dare not retaliate." But 
 the North did retaliate, and the country has 
 to-day witnessed the good results of one of 
 
 * This eliapter is a reprint of extracts as stated in 
 note to preceding chapter. 
 211 
 
212 " OTEER EXGVB8I0NS." 
 
 those harsh measures which the stern realities 
 of war demand. Ketaliation, so long talked 
 of, is at last adopted ; and in this first remark- 
 able instance has proved completely success- 
 ful. 
 
 THE OFFICIAL COEKESPOHDENCE. 
 
 The correspondence between Generals Fos- 
 ter and Jones at the time our officers were 
 placed under fire at Charleston, was published 
 in June. The rebel commander informed 
 General Foster that our officers would be 
 placed only where the women and children of 
 the city remained, and if he chose to fire 
 upon the helpless non-combatants the Union 
 officers should suffer with them. To this it 
 was cogently replied by General Foster that 
 Charleston had been under bombardment for 
 many months, previous to which formal notice 
 was given to the rebels by General Gillmore 
 and ample time given to remove all women 
 and children ; there could, therefore, be no ex- 
 cuse for this act of barbarism on the part of 
 the rebels, and notice was at once given that 
 an equal number of rebel officers should be 
 similarly treated. 
 
 AN IN-DIGWAITT GEWEEAL. 
 
 While the barracks and suitable accommo- 
 dations were being prepared for the rebel 
 
IN CHARLESTON HARBOR. 313 
 
 officers under their own fire in our works in 
 front of their batteries, the wiser heads of 
 rebeldom relented. Jeff. Thompson — who 
 was among the rebel prisoners sent to General 
 Foster — ■ especially waxed fearfully wroth at 
 what he was compelled to believe to be the 
 poor policy of the Charlestonian authorities. 
 Indeed he was so irate as to indite verses 
 (and one must be very passionate to do that) 
 addressed to tbe same General Sam Jones, 
 whose praises his rhymes were not at all 
 intended to sing. I hope some future his- 
 torian will discover these productions and 
 contribute them to the page of history they 
 illustrate. 
 
 AS EXCHANGE PEOPOSED. 
 
 The rebel chiefs, observing the energy with 
 which our arrangements were going forward, 
 soon began to relent, and overtures were pres- 
 ently made to General Foster for an exchange 
 of prisoners according to rank, upon the estab- 
 lished equivalent, and thus relieving both 
 parties of a number of officers who were likely 
 to become a serious annoyance. Of course 
 our government could have no objection to 
 any just arrangement of this nature, and at 
 once conferred upon General Foster ample 
 powers to conduct the negotiations. That he 
 
214" " OTHER EXCURSIONS." 
 
 has been entirely successful the scene in this 
 harbor to-day attested in a most gratifying 
 way. 
 
 THE CEBEMONY OF EXCHANGING PEISONEES. 
 
 About ten o'clock this morning a small 
 steamboat was observed coming out from the 
 city of Charleston. It passed behind Tort 
 Sumter and anchored as nearly as possible 
 in neutral waters, off Fort Moultrie and in 
 front of Fort Sumter, having on board Gen- 
 erals Shaler, Seymour, Scammon, Wessel and 
 Heckman, and forty-five other Union officers. 
 The steamer carried flags of truce, and was in 
 charge of Major Lay, of General Jones's 
 staff. On board of her were several old citi- 
 zens of Charleston (Mr. Pringle and others), 
 besides several rebel officers, the latter in the 
 full gray uniform. 
 
 While this rebel steamer was approaching 
 us, the steamboat Canonicus, having on board 
 Major-Generals Thompson and Gardner and 
 the other rebel officers, steamed direct for Fort 
 Sumter and anchored alongside the enemy's 
 vessel. The Canonicus was in charge of 
 Major Anderson of General Foster's staff, 
 who superintended the arrangements on our 
 part, as did Major Lay on the part of the 
 rebels. 
 
IN CHARLESTON HARBOR. £15 
 
 As soon as the boats carrying the flags of 
 truce made their appearance in the bay, the 
 regular firing which serves to relieve the mo- 
 notony of duty here, altogether ceased. The 
 Union fleet in the harbor rode quietly at an- 
 chor; our soldiers lined the shore, watching 
 the two steamers oflE Tort Sumter; and the 
 battered walls of that historic fort were lined 
 by two or three hundred rebel soldiers, who 
 are not usually visible there. Admiral Dahl- 
 gren's flagship steamed up to the fleet and 
 dropped anchor, having just arrived from 
 Port Royal ; and the Admiral was soon joined 
 by Generals Foster and Sickles, and a number 
 of staff officers. 
 
 After an hour or two the federal and rebel 
 steamers parted company, each heading to- 
 wards its friends — the exchange having been 
 effected. The rebels promptly disappeared 
 from the irregular parapets of Fort Sumter, 
 the decks of the fleet began to be covered with 
 crowds of " blue jackets," and colors streamed 
 from all the masts. As the Canonicus ap- 
 proached the fleet, a salute of thirteen guns 
 was fired, and the steamer after sailing 
 through the fleet, and receiving hearty cheers 
 from the deck of every vessel hauled up along- 
 side the boat (not the flagship) containing 
 Admiral Dahlgren and Qeneral Foster and 
 
216 " OTHER EZCURBIONB." 
 
 others. As soon as General Foster was de- 
 scried cheer after cheer was uttered by the 
 released prisoners, many of whom hailed him 
 as their old commander, and all as their 
 friend and deliverer. 
 
 The released officers were heartily wel- 
 comed by the Admiral, General Foster, and 
 all the officers present, and were invited by 
 General Sickles and Captain Eaton, of the 
 United States steamer Admiral, to such hos- 
 pitalities as they could enjoy on board that 
 steamer. 
 
 NAMES 01" THE OFPICEES EXCHANGED. 
 
 The following is a complete list of the offi- 
 cers exchanged: Federal officers. — Briga- 
 dier-Generals Seymour, Wessels, Scammon, 
 Shaler, Heckman; Colonels T. G. Grover, E. 
 Hawkins, W. Harriman, J. H. Lehman, O. 
 H. Legrange, W. C. Lee, E. White, H. O. 
 Bolinger, H. L. Brown, E. L, Dant, E, Far- 
 dell; Majors D. A. Carpenter, H. D. Cant, 
 J. !N^. Johnson, O. H. Barnes, J. E. Clarke, 
 W. Crandall, J. Hall, E. W. Bates, W. Y. 
 Baker; Lieutenant-Colonels E. G. Hays, !N". 
 B. Hunter, T. JST. Higginbotham, W. W. 
 Stewart, A. W. Taylor, C. C. Joslin, D. 
 Miles, J. D. Mayhew, J. Potsley, J. H. Bum- 
 ham, W. E. Cook, C. J. Dickerson, N. Glen, 
 
IN CHARLESTON BABBOB. £17 
 
 S. F. SpofEord, B. W. Swift, W. P. Lascelle, 
 W. E. McMakin, W. C. Maxwell, S. Morfit 
 Rebel Officers. — JMajor-Generals Edward 
 Johnson and Frank Gardner ; Brigadier-Gen- 
 erals J. J. Archer, Geo. y7. Stewart, and M. 
 Jeff. Thompson ; Colonels Wesley R Carter, 
 M. Cobb, Basil Duke, M. J. Ferguson, J. M. 
 Hanks, Eiehard C. Morgan, James Pell, W. 
 H. Peebles, A. S. Vanderventer, Wm. W. 
 Ward, Wm. M. Barber, J. K Brown, J. K 
 Jacques, E. B. Oandill, W. H. Forney ; Lieu- 
 tenant-Colonels James F. Brewer, P. E. Du- 
 rant, J. P. Fitzgerald, C. L. Haines, O. A. 
 Patten, W. M. Paisley, A. L. Swingley, Jo- 
 seph T. Tucker, D. H. L. Martz, A. Dru- 
 pree, T. G. Jackson, M. J. Smith, W. L. 
 Davidson, Majors D. W. Anderson, J. H. 
 Coldwell, J. T. Carson, W. T. Emmett, 0. 
 Groce, Horace A. Higley, Charles Henry, E. 
 A. ISTash, L. J. Perkins, Geo. H. Smith, E. J. 
 Sanders, T. Steele, Thomas B. Weber, J. M. 
 Wilson, W. H. Manning, T. E. Upson, F. F. 
 Warley. 
 
 TEBATMENT OF THE TJIiriOIir OFFICEES IN 
 CHAELESTON. 
 
 Some of the returned officers have been in 
 captivity more than a year, and others were 
 captured during the late campaigns of Gen- 
 
218 " OTHER EXCURSIONS." 
 
 eral Grant. Before arriving at Charleston 
 they -were imprisoned at Macon, Georgia, and 
 some of them had previously enjoyed the 
 hospitalities of the " Libby " at Kichmond. 
 When they first arrived in Charleston they 
 were incarcerated in a common jail — a place 
 most filthy and repulsive, where felons and 
 others were kept until they were wanted in 
 the rebel armies — but which actually was 
 not fit for the occupancy of a human being. 
 An earnest but respectful protest against con- 
 finement in such quarters was made by our 
 officers, and shortly afterwards they were 
 removed to an unoccupied house in the city 
 belonging to a rebel officer, where they were 
 accorded all the privileges that a prisoner has 
 a right to expect — including some that he 
 has not, in the shape of missiles from the guns 
 of his friends. An officer, in addition to the 
 regular guard, was detailed to visit the pris- 
 oners daily, to see that their just wants were 
 supplied ; vegetable and market wagons were 
 allowed to visit them every morning; a pint 
 of rice, a slice of bacon, and usually a small 
 loaf of bread, with some salt, were allowed 
 them as a daily ration ; and a plot of ground 
 where they could play ball and exercise them- 
 selves was set apart for their use. Altogether 
 — " barring the shooting " — they felt they 
 
IN CHARLESTON HARBOR. £19 
 
 could not then complain. Among the visitors 
 were persons who clandestinely sold con- 
 federate currency at the rate of from five to 
 ten dollars for one dollar of greenbacks — the 
 prices varying according to the shrewdness 
 of the purchaser. One officer brings home as 
 a trophy a piece of a shell which exploded 
 near their playground. All the prisoners 
 were obliged to give their parole not to at- 
 tempt an escape, or they would have met 
 with very different treatment. 
 
 LATENT UWIOWISM: IN CHAELESTOIir. 
 
 That there is, even in Charleston, a hidden 
 Union sentiment, which though not powerful, 
 will reveal itself in time, is proved by some of 
 these officers on the most indisputable evi- 
 dence. But to publish at this time anything 
 further than this simple statement in the mat- 
 ter would be unjust to the parties interested. 
 
 MOKE PBISOSTEES AT CHARLESTON. 
 
 The majority of our released officers will 
 go North to-morrow by the steamer Fulton. 
 They are not, however, the last of Union 
 prisoners you will hear of at Charleston. 
 Two or three days ago six hundred more offi- 
 cers arrived at Charleston, from Macon, Geor- 
 gia, and are now incarcerated in that city or 
 its vicinity. Another smaller company were 
 
220 " OTUEB EXCURSIONS." 
 
 also on the way to Charleston on the railroad 
 which was temporarily cut during the recent 
 raid of General Stoneman, and were obliged 
 to return. It is hoped that similar negotia- 
 tions may be effected in regard to some, or 
 perhaps all of these prisoners. The limited 
 exchange of prisoners by departmental or 
 local commanders appear of late to have been 
 the only ones effected, and it is not unlikely 
 that General Poster, should he be again 
 intrusted with the power, would be as fortu- 
 nate in this instance. 
 
 It should be known, however, that in this 
 little affair all overtures have emanated from 
 the rebels who have been particularly anxious 
 for the exchange. The truth is, our prisoners 
 are a burden to them, and to get rid of them, 
 without injury to the delicate feelings and 
 peculiar "honor" of rebeldom, is to them 
 a great desideratum; especially if in return 
 they can send to their own armies where they 
 are so much needed, some of the rebel officers 
 now held by us as prisoners. 
 
 So the matter stands now. Some things 
 are of course , yet to be done; but this satis- 
 factorily ends the first chapter in the history 
 of the " retaliation " policy. 
 
XIII. 
 
 THE GEAiQ) EXCUESION CON- 
 CLTJDED. 
 
 some final obsbbvations tjpolsr it a 
 
 staff eepoet qeoegia ; tennessee ; 
 
 aekansas; mississippi j louisiana; and 
 western kentucky. 
 
 New Yoke, September — , 1864. 
 
 General. — According to your directions I 
 submit the following brief notes on afEairs 
 in the insurrectionary states, although they 
 cannot be expected to add any information 
 to that you have already obtained on those 
 subjects which your important mission af- 
 forded you in person special opportunities 
 to study. 
 
 Tennessee. — A state of military posts, 
 each of which is, or may at any future period 
 of the war become, a base of military opera- 
 tions. 
 
 Of these Nashville is the most important, 
 and as a military depot is larger than any 
 other in the Union. Enough subsistence and 
 221 
 
222 " OTHER EXCUBBWns." 
 
 forage were stored there in May to supply 
 the army of General Sherman for six months. 
 The accumulation and forwarding of sup- 
 plies is here most ably conducted under 
 Lieutenant-Colonel Donaldson, of Quarter- 
 master's Department. Immense shops and 
 manufactories are here, to make and to repair 
 engines and railroad stock, wagons and other 
 means of transportation, and all implements 
 and tools included in the ordinary parapher- 
 nalia of an army. Including three colored 
 regiments, in May last there were upwards 
 of 16,000 men employed by the Quarter- 
 master's Department in this one city. (For 
 statistics of !N"ashville depots, see notes of 
 Lieutenant-Colonel O. H. Hart.) Chatta- 
 nooga forms a secondary base, and is well 
 fortified and provisioned. The country 
 south of Nashville is only slightly cultivated. 
 Negroes are seldom seen in the field, but 
 often white men. 
 
 Aside from the military interests of the 
 campaign the trip into NoETHEEiir Geoegia 
 served to show, besides the total absence of 
 able-bodied men, the supreme ignorance and 
 degradation of the few white people remain- 
 ing there — male and female. Most of them 
 are not as intelligent as the negroes, without 
 whom they hardly know how to live. 
 
GRA2fD B1GVR8I0N SUMMAttlZBD. §23 
 
 One of the most important results as now 
 seen of the war in Tennessee is the great rail- 
 road business which the government has been 
 compelled to carry on. It is certainly a new 
 feature in the history of war when, as in 
 Tennessee, a general must repair hundreds 
 of miles of railroad, increase ten fold the 
 capacity of old roads, and at the same time 
 construct new ones. The immense railroad 
 business as now carried on by the government 
 in this region is a study by itself, and in 
 referring to it I wiU only add that it would 
 seem that a more thorough organization in 
 the details of management of roads and sec- 
 tions of roads, so as to fix more surely re- 
 sponsibility, would result in increased con- 
 venience and reliability. The new road from 
 Nashville to the Tennessee River, 74 miles 
 long, projected and 20 miles of it built be- 
 fore the war, and the rest completed by the 
 Quartermaster's Department, under orders 
 from the War Department on the earnest 
 recommendation of Governor Johnson, has al- 
 ready greatly relieved the severe pressure on 
 the single road from IN'ashville north, given 
 Nashville water communication, and will re- 
 sult in many other ways with great benefit 
 to the state and United States. 
 
 Some cotton was brought into Nashville, 
 
224 " OTREB EXCVRSI01S8." 
 
 but. most of the trade here is the concomitant 
 of military occupation ; merchants being lim- 
 ited in their sales to $5,000. Few of the old 
 citizens have funds to indulge in any more 
 purchases than those actually necessary, some 
 not enough for that, so impoverishing is the 
 V7ar to them. 
 
 Trade in Memphis, however, especially in 
 cotton has been vigorous and annoying to the 
 government. Much peculation. 
 
 The grumbling at the strict measures 
 adopted by General Washburne show they 
 were much needed. Memphis enjoys the 
 characteristic of being the most thoroughly 
 " secesh " in sentiment and deeds of any 
 place within our- lines, and more so perhaps 
 than many actually without. 
 
 Aekaitsas. — A state of less than half a 
 dozen posts of military occupation, with un- 
 certain communication between them, — ■ 
 plenty of guerillas, well organized, and ubi- 
 quitous, — life of suspected Union men inse- 
 cure a mile without our picket lines, — recon- 
 struction so far a failure, — state authority a 
 nonentity, — local politics bitter, — the civil 
 inclined to find fault with military powers, 
 military smile, pat them on the back and 
 knowingly whisper "wait a little," — no 
 courts but military — no judges but provosts, 
 
GRAND EXCURSION SUMMARIZED. £25 
 
 — refugees numerous, dirty, troublesome and 
 expensive — and treasury agents and their 
 friends on the watch for the " honest penny." 
 
 The posts of occupation -well fortified, the 
 movable army small but apparently reliable. 
 
 Mississippi. — Not yet sufficiently under 
 military occupation to warrant any attempt 
 at a government other than the sword. Vicks- 
 burg and Natchez notable as pretty towns, 
 fortified, garrisoned, and, with the exception 
 of an occasional loyal man, the population en- 
 gaged in making money and wishing for 
 peace; not particular as to terms. 
 
 Louisiana. — Only state where there is an 
 approximation to " reconstruction," and this 
 may be ascribed to the fact that its most 
 populous sections have for a long time been 
 subject to Union military power, and its 
 government therefore so supreme as to win 
 respect, and so just as to compel confidence. 
 Hence civil government has been day by day 
 more thoroughly restored. Emancipation is 
 un fait accompli; and free negro labor a prac- 
 .tical experiment, proving so far successful. 
 Negro schools — even on plantations — one 
 of the marked features of the new order of 
 things. 
 
 Emancipation. — Of the President's pol- 
 icy with regard to these states, it may be 
 
^26 " OTBER EXCURSIONS." 
 
 said the number of negroes seeking refuge 
 within our military lines, as they -were ad- 
 vanced into the insurrectionary districts, was 
 not materially increased by the emancipation 
 proclamation. Before that edict negroes were 
 accustomed to flock across our lines when 
 possible, feeling that some good fortune 
 awaited them ; — if not freedom, which many 
 believed, at least, absence from the control 
 of their masters. The practical effects of the 
 policy of United States authorities now ap- 
 pears to be the employment of all able bodied 
 men in the service as soldiers, sailors or 
 laborers, and such disposition of their fam- 
 ilies as will scatter them to where they can 
 earn a subsistence and often at the same time 
 place the children at school. They are neces- 
 sarily sometimes a temporary burden to the 
 government; but in Department of Gulf, 
 where they have accumulated in larger num- 
 bers than elsewhere, this burden has hereto- 
 fore been met by a fund created by the sale 
 of the cotton captured from the enemy as a 
 part of- the fortifications of Port Hudson. 
 This is now exhausted. 
 
 The amnesty proclamation does not appear 
 to have resulted in any material diminution 
 of the strength of the rebel armies in the 
 field. I have yet to meet the commander 
 
GRAND EXCURSION SUMMARIZED. £27 
 
 who regards it as an effective -weapon against 
 the rebellion. 
 
 The execution of the confiscation policy 
 has been quite spasmodic. Among the " prac- 
 tical hitches " of the President's policy is 
 the veto which the amnesty oath puts on 
 most of the cases of confiscation which ap- 
 proach a settlement under the law. It usual- 
 ly happens that when a decree of confiscation 
 against the property of a rebel is about to 
 be issued, the interested party appears, often 
 coming across the lines for the special pur- 
 pose, avails himself of the amnesty, takes 
 the prescribed oath of allegiance and saves 
 his property. He is still as bad an enemy 
 as ever, of course, remains within our lines 
 receiving protection, an insiduous and 
 dangerous member of sociely. In Tennessee 
 this is quite notorious. 
 
 A noteworthy fact which forces recogni- 
 tion at every military post is the influx of 
 destitute white refugees with their families. 
 These being burdensome to military opera- 
 tions of any kind, are as soon as possible 
 usually sent north by commanders, thus as- 
 sisting the depopulation of the South which 
 the war seems to have rendered inevitable. 
 
 Of Westeen Kewttjckt and Tennessee, 
 and of Arkansas it may be generally re- 
 
228 " OTBEB EX0UB8I0NS." 
 
 marked that the state authorities at present, 
 although useful in being at hand to assist 
 in guiding the states to their political future, 
 are practically quite troublesome and cum- 
 brous adjuncts to the existing government, 
 which must for some time continue as now 
 purely military in its character. 
 I have the honor to remain 
 Very respectfully. 
 
 Tour obedient servant, 
 H. E. Teemaik, 
 Major and A. D. C. 
 To Major-General D. E. Sickles. 
 
OTHER EXCURSIONS 
 
 (Continued). 
 
 RECONSTRUCTION EPISODES. 
 
XIV. 
 
 INCIDENTS OF THE EECONSTRUC- 
 
 TION PERIOD. 
 
 NORTH CAROLINA.* 
 
 CONDITION OP THE STATE SOCIETY AND 
 
 POLITICS PBOGEESS OF THE "WOEK OF 
 
 EECONSTRtrCTION GOVERNMENT GENEE- 
 
 OTTS IMMIGEATION. 
 
 Wilmington, N. C, October 10, 1865. — 
 It has been the custom in Wilmington for 
 a long time past to rent property by auction, 
 lately only for a year at a time; so that 
 in September there are a large number of 
 house-auctions, — and possession being gen- 
 erally given on the first of October, on that 
 day the city begins to parade its furniture 
 through the streets. This year the spectacle 
 has not exhibited any very elaborate speci- 
 mens of the stock on hand — the war having 
 given everything in this region that air of 
 dilapidation which characterized the late 
 
 * This chapter is a reprint of extracts as stated in 
 note to preceding chapter. 
 231 
 
232 " OTHER EXCURSIONS." 
 
 " Confederacy." It ia curious to note that 
 the leases made this season are principally 
 for one year only, and that the rates are 
 usually made payable in gold, or its equiv- 
 alent in currency. 
 
 HIGH PEICES AND BUSINESS. 
 
 Under these circumstances very ordinary 
 dwelling houses bring from $600 to $1,000 ; 
 and no sort of a house can be hired for less 
 than $450 to $500 in gold. Frame houses 
 that could be built in any country town in the 
 North for $2,500 or $3,000 rent here for 
 $600, $700 and $800. The rent of stores 
 and storehouses has similarly increased. 
 Many of the Northern merchants now here 
 believe that this high rate of rents is ar- 
 ranged by the property holders, not alone for 
 their own aggrandizement, but to assist the 
 old inhabitants in keeping off " Yankees." 
 The latter are not held in the highest esteem 
 at the South, and do not yet receive the im- 
 plicit confidence of the southern people. The 
 habit, too, of making these rent contracts in 
 gold is on a par with the same general dis- 
 position. 
 
 The manner of contracting for rents here 
 is peculiar. Instead of executing a lease, as 
 is usually customary when property is rent- 
 
THE RECONSTRUCTION PERIOD. 233 
 
 ed, the lessee gives to the lessor his note for 
 the total amount of the yearly rent, payable 
 quarterly or monthly, as the case may be, in 
 gold, or its equivalent in currency, the note 
 being guaranteed by two good and sufficient 
 sureties. IsTow and then a house is rented 
 for currency; but then it is specially so 
 stated by the auctioneer, who is particular to 
 make a strong point of such a fact. 
 
 It was thought by many here that the mili- 
 tary authorities would interfere to prevent 
 this gold basis system, on the ground of its 
 disloyal tendency to depreciate the TJnited 
 States currency; but they have not done so. 
 Indeed the military authorities appear to 
 meddle very little with the civil affairs of the 
 citizens. A petition has been made to head- 
 quarters, however, by the wholesale liquor 
 dealers of Wilmington, asking for the inter- 
 ference of military power to prevent the 
 collection of alleged exorbitant taxes. It 
 appears that these dealers are limited in num- 
 ber by the present ordinances to fifteen, and 
 as the price for the licenses which they hold 
 from the municipal and approved by the mil- 
 itary authorities, the city demands of each 
 dealer one hundred dollars per month. All 
 merchants are required to take out such li- 
 cense to do business, and thus a temporary 
 
234 " OTHER EXCURSIONS." 
 
 revenue ia created for the city government. 
 Ordinarily this costs, however, only from ten 
 to fifteen dollars, except in the special case 
 of liquor dealers, as mentioned. Hence the 
 complaints. The matter is now undergoing 
 further investigation pending the decision of 
 the military on the request of the civil offi- 
 cers to enforce the extreme penalty on the 
 delinquents. 
 
 THE YANKEES. 
 
 As about two-thirds of the persons liable 
 to pay this particular tax are " Yankees," it 
 has been cruelly hinted that this was only 
 another evidence of the difficulties intended 
 to be thrown in their way by the members of 
 the ex-Confederacy. " Yankees " are by no 
 means welcome in any association composed 
 entirely of southerners. They are looked 
 upon as outsiders, are regarded with suspi- 
 cion; and are generally given to understand 
 that their presence in the community is only 
 tolerated. They are perfectly legitimate 
 subjects of commercial intercourse, if any- 
 thing is to be made thereby; but in a short 
 time me — the south — shall be prosperous 
 enough to ship them all off. The war is over, 
 and it will not be long before the good old- 
 fashioned times will return to her. So think 
 
THE BECOW STRUCT JON PERIOD. £35 
 
 the southern people. Tou need not believe 
 this is an exaggeration of the sentiment. 
 The Japanese sort of dislike against foreign 
 intrusion is too unquestionable. 
 
 AN IlTCrDEH-T. 
 
 I heard of a case the other day of an old 
 planter, a most violent rebel, who, having re- 
 ceived a pardon, returned to his plantation 
 and found it occupied under a lease from the 
 United States as " abandoned lands." Al- 
 though his properly was ordered to be re- 
 stored to him, yet this could not be done until 
 the expiration of the present lease. At this 
 the rebel waxed exceeding wroth, and heaped 
 many curses on the head of the loyal and in- 
 dustrious lessee. The latter was also a south- 
 ern man, who had not run away from the 
 Union flag. 
 
 Many threats were made, the least of which 
 was the entertaining prospect of "the post 
 and pillory," which was held out by the par- 
 doned individual as one of the treats with 
 which it was intended the lessee (his old 
 overseer) should be entertained. A charge 
 of larceny was therefore trumped up, a will- 
 ing local magistrate soon obtained, and the 
 innocent farmer was thrust into jail to await 
 his trial. 
 
236 " OTEEB EXCURSIONS." 
 
 BUILDINGS FOB GOVEEWMENT USE. 
 
 A result of the general restoration of prop- 
 erty held by the United States is that the 
 government turns so quickly from war to 
 peace that it actually pays money to those 
 that have been in rebellion against it. The 
 government must have for its purposes a cer- 
 tain number of buildings, and most, if not 
 all of them, are the property of rebels. Many 
 of them are now receiving pardon and with it 
 orders for the restoration of their property. 
 Uncle Sam, therefore, vacates the buildings 
 or pays high rents therefor. These rebels 
 innocently demand this as a right, on the 
 ground that whatever the government uses it 
 should pay for. True enough. That, how- 
 ever, this expense and trouble to the United 
 States of keeping troops and stores in tiheir 
 midst is caused solely by their rebellion, is a 
 fact entirely lost sight of by these people. 
 In Ealeigh, with one or two exceptions, the 
 government pays rents for every building or 
 office occupied. The same is becoming the 
 case here, and must continue generally 
 throughout tihe South under the present gen- 
 erous policy at Washington. A' good effect 
 of this practice, however, is to increase in the 
 South the circulation of the TJnited States 
 currency. 
 
THE RECONSTRUCTION PERIOD. 237 
 
 DISOEGANIZATION OF SOCIETY, 
 
 A further reduction of the military es- 
 tablishment in this state, before its civil ma- 
 chinery is in operation, would result in much 
 hardship and suffering among its people. 
 Even with the present organization the pro- 
 tection from lawlessness in the country dis- 
 tricts is very inadequate. Every man relies 
 for his own safety and that of his property 
 on the general disposition of his neighbors to 
 allow peace to take the place of war. Troops 
 cannot be everywhere; and away from the 
 towns there is scarcely any government at all 
 but the inefficient and limited powers of the 
 " local police." Complaints by the white 
 people of the idleness and insulting behavior 
 of the negroes, and by the negroes of unjust 
 treatment by the whites, and by both of the 
 wrongs and depredations committed upon 
 them by unprincipled characters, appear to 
 furnish the principal part of the daily busi- 
 ness of the various military officers. 
 
 ITEWSPAPEES. 
 
 A few days ago the Wilmington Jovrml, 
 an old secession newspaper, resumed its pub- 
 lications under its old management. To-day 
 the Despatch appears, as the third daily now 
 
238 " OTBEB EXCURSIONS." 
 
 issued here. Prom the capture of the city 
 until this time the Wilmington Herald has 
 had the track to itseK. 
 
 IMMIGBATIOW, 
 
 The subject of immigration to the South 
 having received so general attention through- 
 out the country, and so much so as to cause 
 the formation in New England of a society 
 for the purpose of encouraging southern im- 
 migration, with Governor Andrew at its head, 
 it is interesting to record that an association 
 known as the " Green Swamp Company " 
 has recently sold thirty thousand acres of 
 land in this state to an emigration society 
 north, with a proviso to the effect that the 
 land sold must be subdivided into lots of one 
 hundred acres eadi ; and on these tracts fam- 
 ilies are expected to settle. A permanent 
 increase of three hundred families to the pro- 
 ducing population of the state is thus con- 
 tracted for. This is one of the encouraging 
 signs of the times. 
 
XV. 
 
 THE HECONSTEFCTION PEEIOD. 
 
 [CoiTTIBrTrED.] 
 
 N^ORTH CAEOLIIfA.* 
 
 SOCIETY AND THE WOEK OF EEGOITSTETrCTIOlir 
 
 IMPOETAWT MUEDEE TEIAL THE IfTE- 
 
 GEOES SPEECHES OP GENEEAL HOWAED. 
 
 Wilmington, N. O., October 19, 1865. — 
 The important murder trial, recently re- 
 ported in the Evening Post as about to take 
 place here before a military commission is 
 now in progress, and the prosecution has al- 
 ready closed. An unusual degree of impor- 
 tance has been given to this trial within the 
 past few days, by a resolution before the State 
 Convention, requesting President Johnson to 
 j-emand the prisoners to Governor Holden for 
 trial by civil authority. The persons accused 
 are McGill, McMillan and one "Wilkinson; 
 the two former wealthy landowners of Bladen 
 County, and now before the court. Wilkin- 
 
 • This chapter is a reprint of extracts as stated in 
 note to preceding chapter. 
 239 
 
240 " OTHER EXaUBBIOTsIB." 
 
 son has just been arrested, and was probably 
 a tool in the hands of his more influential as- 
 sociates. 
 
 The evidence, as thus far developed, goes 
 to show the perpetration of one of the most 
 brutal and wicked deeds ever committed by 
 men of position in any community. The 
 murdered man was one Sykes, who, although 
 at one time forced to become a soldier in the 
 rebel army, was, nevertheless, well disposed 
 to the Union authorities, and during the war 
 was so reputed among his neighbors. He 
 was so far loyal as to have acted as guide 
 to the United States forces, and his general 
 loyalty was the only crime imputed to him. 
 As may naturally be supposed, he was not 
 a wealthy man, and lived either on the land 
 or adjoining that of his alleged murderers. 
 The men, McMillan and McGill — as it ap- 
 peared in evidence — ■ accompanied by Wil- 
 kinson, visited Sykes's house, armed, and 
 with rope provided for the purpose of taking 
 their victim into the woods to hang him. He 
 was forcibly marched from his home and 
 family; the party was afterwards tracked 
 to a thick wood ; thence away again, and then, 
 after a long search, Sykes's body was found 
 reclining against a tree, with the same rope 
 around his neck, his legs broken, his side 
 
THE BEC0N8TBVCTI0N PERIOD. 241 
 
 punctured with holes, as if by a sharp instru- 
 ment, and his body pounded to a jelly, as if 
 by kicking. 
 
 The defence are trying to prove that these 
 deeds were perpetrated by South Carolina 
 cavalry; but have not yet succeeded. They 
 also object to the jurisdiction of the court, 
 principally on the ground that all the acts 
 alleged were committed previous to the sur- 
 render of Johnston, and before the country 
 was under the authority of the United States 
 forces. They say if there was any crime 
 committed it was by one citizen against an- 
 other, and now, judges having been appointed, 
 the case should lie over for trial until the 
 civil courts are organized. 
 
 The case will doubtless be carried to Wash- 
 ington ; and should the accused be convicted, 
 strong pressure will be made for executive 
 clemency in their behalf. This application 
 bids fair to be assisted by such influence as 
 may be afforded by the leading families of 
 North Carolina. 
 
 SOCIETY IN NORTH CAEOLINA. 
 
 Interesting facts are daily thrown to the 
 surface by the general revolution in affairs 
 throughout the South. The violent shock to 
 its social relations has torn off the mask of 
 
242 " OTHER EiouRarom." 
 
 pride, wealtk and influence, and is exposing 
 scenes of tyranny and corruption. In con- 
 nection with the trial above mentioned, there 
 have been some curious illustrations of the 
 vassalage and serfdom of the South. The 
 prestige of the landowners in the country re- 
 mains the same ; their influence is yet power- 
 ful ; and those known as the " poor whites " 
 are to-day as helpless as ever. 
 
 VISIT OF GEWEBAL HOWAED HIS ADVICE TO 
 
 BLACKS AND WHITES. 
 
 It is perhaps a little imfortunate for the 
 African community that one cannot write 
 from the South without saying something 
 about the " everlasting negro." Yet it is ex- 
 cusable so long as four out of every five per- 
 sons you meet in the street are black. In 
 speaking of the affairs of the people, a very 
 considerable proportion o£ attention must, 
 therefore, be devoted to the freedmen. 
 
 General Howard's visit here has been a 
 matter of general interest. On the morning 
 of his arrival he was waited upon by most of 
 the prominent citizens of Wilmington — 
 white and black. Both requested him to ad- 
 dress them, the mayor of the city speaking 
 for the former. The General consented in 
 both instances, and on the first evening ad- 
 
THE RECONSTBUCTION PERIOD. 243 
 
 dressed the white people upon their duly to 
 the blacks; and the following night spoke 
 to the latter upon their duties. His advice 
 on both, occasions was exceedingly plain and 
 simple; substantially the same as he has giv- 
 en in similar addresses elsewhere. 
 
 THE FKBBDMAlf's BTJEEATJ. 
 
 The General explained fully the purposes 
 and operations of the Treedman's Bureau. 
 He said it was not calculated to encourage 
 idleness among the blacks, nor to uphold 
 all the severe demands of the whites upon 
 the colored people. But until the state 
 should make provision for the mutual protect 
 tion and advantage of each, according to the 
 requirements of the new conditions of society, 
 the bureau would supply the deficiency. He 
 said, ihe purpose of the bureau was to ease 
 the shock of war; explaining that the law 
 which authorizes it limits its operations to 
 wiiliin one year after the close of the rebel- 
 lion. He said that as far as he had been 
 able to learn the officers of the bureau were 
 well received among the better class of south- 
 em people, who in many instances — when 
 the objects of the bureau were correctly ap- 
 preciated — had given his officers signal as- 
 sistance in the discharge of their duties. He 
 
244 " OTHER EXGXJRSWSS." 
 
 had heard of few complaints against his 
 agents, and he should attentively consider any 
 which might be mad© hereafter. 
 
 He added, it was not the intention of the 
 government, so far as he was aware from 
 the personal assurances of those in authority, 
 to maintain the bureau one moment longer 
 than was absolutely necessary. He added, 
 however, that unleiss the South in her public 
 works manifested in good faith the disposi- 
 tion to provide suitable laws for and to pro- 
 tect the negro in his new relations as a freed- 
 man, it was not unlikely that the United 
 States government would refuse to the sullen, 
 negligent states the privileges of the Union. 
 It was, indeed, quite possible th^t unless 
 some guaranties to this effect were given the 
 simple recognition of the fact of the abolition 
 of slavery might not be held sufficient. 
 
 General Howard said that he was no poli- 
 tician; he was simply an officer of the gov- 
 ernment sworn to obey its orders ; but he felt 
 it his duty to speak plainly, and hoped that 
 what he said would be kindly and consider- 
 ately received. During his remarks he in- 
 cidentally mentioned the circumstance that 
 the law which authorizes the organization of 
 a " bureau of refugees, freedmen and aban- 
 doned lands," named salaries for certain 
 
THE RECONSTRUCTION PERIOD. £45 
 
 officers under it, But failed to make any ap- 
 propriation therefor. A dause, however, pro- 
 vided that military officers might be detailed 
 if required in the bureau, hence the neces- 
 sary adoption of the latter method in its or- 
 ganization, in order to secure the payment of 
 salaries to its agents. 
 
 EESTOEATIOW OF PEOPEETT. 
 
 In regard to the restoration of property, he 
 explained that the interest of all parties must 
 be considered. Applications were frequently 
 made by the alleged owners of abandoned 
 lands for the immediate surrender of their 
 property, while on it were hundreds of white 
 or black refugees, who had been thrown there 
 by the vicissitudes of war. What should be 
 done with these people ? They could not be 
 disposed of in a minute. To remove them on 
 the first application would only shift them 
 daily from one place to another. The south- 
 ern people, he thought, do not always think 
 of all these d,ifficulties. They should assist 
 the government to dispose of them properly. 
 
 The General's address to the colored peo- 
 ple took place on Sunday evening, in a large 
 Methodist church, and his sable audience 
 filled the edifice. After briefly explaining 
 to them the nature of their rights as free men 
 
246 " OTBER EX0VR8I0THB." 
 
 and women, and the relations of the Freed- 
 man's Bureau towards them, he went on to 
 advise them. 
 
 The right of suffrage, he told them, came 
 last of all. The law would now give them 
 the right to liberty and property, and educa- 
 tion; and the right of suffrage might come 
 soon and might not. However, this made no 
 difference. There were other matters much 
 more vital to which the colored people espe- 
 cially must first attend, and of high impor- 
 tance to their welfare. 
 
XVI. 
 
 EECONSTRUCTIOl^ DIITICULTIES 
 IE SOUTH CAEOLINA. 
 
 MILITAEY EMBABKASSMEWTS A CHAPTBE 
 
 Ol- OFFICIAL HISTOET BXTEACTS FBOM 
 
 DBPAETMENT PAPERS.* 
 
 The Commander of the Department of 
 South Carolina was asked to assist in the 
 restoration to former owners of agricultural 
 lands utilized during the war for military 
 purposes for the support of refugees. A pe- 
 tition was filed and proceedings were had as 
 indicated by the following papers: 
 
 the petition. 
 
 Charleston, Deoembee 6th, 1865. 
 Maj, Genl. Dan. E. Sickles, Comdg. District of 
 South Carolina, Charleston. General — The 
 
 * By some accident papers were recently discov- 
 ered that were not included in the War Department 
 Published Volumes of OflScial Records. From them 
 the following extracts are made, by way of illus- 
 trating tribulations and duties during the first part 
 of the period of transition from military to civil 
 authority in South Carolina. 
 247 
 
248 " OTHER EXCURSIONS." 
 
 undersigned, representing the landowners of 
 Edisto Island, respectfully ask your considera- 
 tion of the following statement of facts in ref- 
 erence to the existing condition of affairs on 
 that Island, and the action of the Freedmen's 
 Bureau in regard to the same ; upon which you 
 are respectfully requested to take such action as 
 to you may seem fit and proper under the cir- 
 cumstances set forth. 
 
 Genl. Sherman, while in command of the De- 
 partment including this State, by his special 
 Field Order No. 15, set apart the Sea Islands on 
 the coast of South Carolina, Georgia and Florida, 
 south of Charleston, for the use of certain refu- 
 gees and freedmen. A copy of this order is 
 hereto annexed, " A."* 
 
 Fpon application made to the President for 
 the restoration of these lands by the owners, 
 half of whom at least were old men, women and 
 children, who had taken no part in the war, he 
 issued the following order to Genl. Howard, 
 Comissr. of the " Bureau of Eef ugees, Freedmen 
 and Abandoned Lands," a copy of which is 
 hereto appended, " B." 
 
 In pursuance of the said order Genl. Howard 
 visited Edisto Island and, after investigation of 
 the condition of affairs, agreed to restore the 
 lands to the owners upon certain conditions em- 
 bodied in his Special Field Order No. 1, " C," 
 and in the "obligation" and "Instrument of 
 
 * It is also printed in this volume. 
 
THE RECONSTRUCTWN PERIOD. 249 
 
 Eestoration" hereto annexed, "D." He ap- 
 pointed Capt. A. P. Ketchiim, 128 U. S. C. T., 
 to effect the restoration on the conditions therein 
 prescribed. This settlement was perfectly satis- 
 factory to the landowners, who were and still 
 are, not only willing, but anxious, to absorb the 
 labor of the freedmen resident on their estates. 
 The landowners selected at once a representative 
 to sit on the Board of Supervisors constituted 
 by the Special Field Order referred to above, 
 " C." At the first meeting of this board a 
 colored man appeared as the representative of 
 the freedmen, and his claim to sit on the board 
 was allowed and enforced by Capt. Ketchum, in 
 spite of the terms of Genl. Howard's order di- 
 recting that the board should be composed of 
 the Agent of the Bureau and two other citizens. 
 Mr. Whaley, the representative of the land- 
 owners, telegraphed to Genl. Howard for an offi- 
 cial construction of the phrase " two other citi- 
 zens," and he replied that he intended the board 
 to be composed of whites only. Still the colored 
 man continues a member of the board by the 
 order of Capt. Ketchum. 
 
 General Howard's order contemplated the 
 restoration of the lands in question as soon as 
 contracts approved by the board thus constituted 
 should be made ; and the freedmen were required 
 to enter into such contracts before the first of 
 January, 1866, or else to leave the island. Cap- 
 tain Ketchum claims that if the freedmen refuse 
 to contract at all, the entire.plan of settlement is 
 
260 " OTHER EXCVRSIOVS." 
 
 thereby defeated and the whole matter must be 
 referred back to General Howard at Washing- 
 ton for a decision. Time is all important to 
 the landowners. If they do not effect their ar- 
 rangements for labor at once, the crop of the 
 ensuing year must be lost. The delay thus inter- 
 posed was not contemplated by General Howard, 
 and the factious spirit of opposition to accom- 
 modation by which it is dictated would not 
 have been tolerated by him. It gives the freed- 
 men in possession a veto upon all proceedings 
 for adjustment whatsoever. 
 
 The landowners are willing and anxious to 
 enter into fair, liberal and remunerative con- 
 tracts with the freedmen, and have made efforts 
 to this end. A copy of their proposals is hereto 
 annexed, " B." 
 
 Up to the present time the freedmen have 
 refused to contract on any terms whatsoever. 
 They insist upon the absolute possession of the 
 lands. The proposals have been rejected; and 
 the question now is whether the owners who 
 have done all within their power to effect a fair 
 and equitable adjustment shall be restored to 
 their estates or not. Fot more than one-third 
 (1/^) of the freedmen now on the island are 
 of the number of those for whose benefit General 
 Sherman's order was intended. The majority 
 are settlers newly arrived from the interior. 
 
 All access to this island and others on the 
 coast has hitherto been impracticable to the 
 landowners on account of the hostile attitude 
 
THE BEC0N8TBVCTI0N PERIOD. £51 
 
 of the Freedmen. You have corrected this in 
 regard to Edisto. This fact had long been 
 known to the officers of the Freedmen's Bureauj 
 and they have declined to take any steps for its 
 correction. 
 
 In the particular matter referred to in this 
 communication the undersigned are forced to 
 believe that the Just and equitable settlement of 
 Greneral Howard is delayed and is in danger of 
 being altogether defeated, and they therefore in- 
 vite your investigation of the facts and such 
 report or action thereon as you may think 
 proper. 
 
 yery respectfully your Ob'd. Sv's., 
 William Aikeh, 
 Wm. G. Batnaed, 
 Bdvst. M. Baykard, 
 Thomas A. Batnakd, 
 Henry Seabeook, 
 Joseph W. Seabeook, 
 J. Jenkins Mitchell, 
 Wm. M. Mueeay, 
 E. W. Seabeook, 
 E. Mitchell Whaley, 
 I. Edvtaed Seabeook, 
 B. I. Whaley. 
 
 [PAPEK MARKED "a" ACCOMPANYING FOREGO- 
 ING PETITION.] 
 
 Eeadqvarters, Beaufort, 8. C, "AprU 22, 1865. 
 Circulwr No. i. — It having been reported to me 
 
252 '• OTHER EXCURSIONS." 
 
 that tmauthorized persons are now settling on 
 lands which have been reserved and set apart 
 for the Freedmen, the following is published 
 for the information and benefit of all concerned : 
 
 Headquaetees, Militaet Division oe the 
 Mississippi. Iisr the I'ibld, Savannah, Ga., 
 Jan. 16, 1865. 
 
 Special Field Orders^ No. 15. — I. The islands 
 from Charleston South, the abandoned rice fields 
 along the rivers for thirty miles back from the 
 sea, and the country bordering the St. Johns 
 Eiver, Florida, are reserved and set apart for 
 the settlement of the negroes now made free 
 by the acts of war and the Proclamation of the 
 President of the United States. 
 
 II. At Beaufort, Hilton Head, Savannah, 
 Fernandina, St. Augustine and Jacksonville, 
 the blacks may remain in their chosen or ac- 
 customed vocations; but on the islands and in 
 the settlements hereafter to be established, no 
 white person whatever, unless military officers 
 and soldiers detailed for duty, will be permitted 
 to reside; and the sole and exclusive manage- 
 ment of afEairs will be left to the freed people 
 themselves, subject only to the United States 
 military authority and the Acts of Congress. 
 By the laws of war and orders of the President 
 of the United States, the negro is free, and must 
 be dealt with as such. He cannot be subjected 
 to conscription or forced military service, save 
 by the written orders of the highest military 
 
THE BECOIfSTRVGTION PERIOD. 353 
 
 authority of the Department. Under such regu- 
 lations as the President or Congress may pre- 
 scribe, domestic servants, blacksmiths, carpen- 
 ters and other mechanics, will be free to select 
 their own work and residence; but the young 
 and able-bodied negroes must be encouraged to 
 enlist as soldiers in the service of the United 
 States, to contribute their share towards main- 
 taining their own freedom and securing their 
 rights as citizens of the United States. Negroes 
 so enlisted will be organized into companies, 
 battalions and regiments, under the orders of 
 the United States military authorities, and will 
 be paid, fed and clothed according to law. The 
 bounties paid on enlistment may, with the con- 
 sent of the recruit, go to assist his family and 
 settlement in procuring agricultural implements, 
 seeds, tools, boats, clothing and other articles 
 necessary for their livelihood. 
 
 III. Whenever three respectable negroes, 
 heads of families, shall desire to settle on land, 
 and shall have selected for that purpose an 
 island or a locality clearly defined, within the 
 limits above designated, the Inspector of Settle- 
 ments and Plantations will himself, or by such 
 subordinate officer as he may appoint, give 
 them a license to settle such island or district, 
 and afford them such assistance as he can, to 
 enable them to establish a peaceable agricultural 
 settlement. The three parties named will sub- 
 divide the land, under the supervision of the 
 Inspector among themselves, and such others 
 
254: " OTHER EXCURSIONS." 
 
 as may choose to settle near them, so that each 
 family shall have a plot of not more than 
 forty (40) acres of tillable grotmd, and when 
 it borders on some water channel, with not more 
 than eight hundred feet front, in the posses- 
 sion of which land the military authorities will 
 afford them protection until such time as they 
 can protect themselves, or until Congress shall 
 regulate their title. The Quartermaster may, 
 on the requisition of the Inspector of Settle- 
 ments and Plantations, place at the disposal of 
 the Inspector one or more of the captured 
 steamers, to ply between the settlements and one 
 or more of the commercial points heretofore 
 named in Orders, to afford the settlers the op- 
 portunity to supply their necessary wants, and 
 to sell the products of their land and labor. 
 
 IV. Whenever a negro has enlisted in the 
 military service of the United States, he may 
 locate his family in any one of the settlements 
 at pleasure, and acquire a homestead and all 
 other rights and privileges of a settler, as 
 though present in person. In like manner ne- 
 groes may settle their families and engage on 
 board the gun-boats, or in fishing, or in the 
 navigation of the inland waters, vnthout losing 
 any claim to land or other advantages derived 
 from this system. But no one, unless an actual 
 settler as above defined, or unless absent on 
 Government service, will be entitled to claim 
 any right to land or property in any settlement, 
 by virtue of these orders. 
 
me REC0N8TRVCTt0N PERIOD. 255 
 
 v. In order to cairy out this system of 
 settlement, a General Officer will be detailed 
 as Inspector of Settlements and Plantations, 
 whose duty it shall be to visit the settlements, 
 to regulate their police and general manage- 
 ment, and who will furnish personally to each 
 head of a family, subject to the approval of 
 the President of the United States, a posses- 
 sory title in writing, giving as near as possible 
 the description of boundaries, and who shall 
 adjust all claims or conflicts that may arise 
 under the same, subject to the like approval, 
 treating such titles altogether as possessory. 
 The same General Officer will also be charged 
 with the enlistment and organization of the 
 negro recruits, and protecting their interests 
 while so absent from their settlements, and will 
 be governed by the Eules and Eegulations pre- 
 scribed by the War Department for such pur- 
 pose. 
 
 VI. Brigadier-General E. Saxton is hereby 
 appointed Inspector of Settlements and Planta- 
 tions, and will at once enter on the performance 
 of his duties. No change is intended or de- 
 sired in the settlement now on Beaufort Island, 
 nor will any rights to property heretofore ac- 
 quired be affected thereby. 
 
 By order of Maj. Gen. W. T. Sherman. 
 
 L. M. Dayton, Major and Assistant Adjutant 
 General. 
 
256 " OTBER EXGVBSIONS." 
 
 Having been detailed by the proper authority, 
 and being held responsible for the enforcement 
 of this Order, I hereby warn all persons against 
 violating any of its provisions, as all such 
 will be held to the strictest accountability for 
 trespass; their efEects will be seized for the 
 benefit of the freedmen, and themselves sent out 
 of the Department, or otherwise punished by 
 sentence of a Military Commission. All Super- 
 intendents of Plantations, Islands, etc., and all 
 officers or other persons on duty in connection 
 with the freedmen, are required to bring to the 
 immediate notice of the Inspector of Settle- 
 ments any violation of the provisions of this 
 Order. 
 
 Superintendents of Islands and Plantations 
 will cause copies of this circular to be posted 
 up in conspicuous positions, and take every 
 opportunity to inform those concerned in its 
 existence. 
 
 Thirty days will be allowed for the proper 
 circulation of its contents, and all who fail 
 to vacate premises which are occupied by them, 
 contrary to and in violation of the provisions 
 of General Sherman's Order ISTo. 15, will be at 
 once arrested. Should it be necessary to employ 
 military force to carry out the provisions of 
 this circular, application will at once be made 
 to me for such force. E. Saxton, Brevet Major 
 General, Inspector of Settlements and Planta- 
 tions. 
 
THE BEG0N8TRVOTION PERIOD. 257 
 
 [paper marked "b" ACCOMPANTIKa FORE- 
 going petition.] 
 
 War Department. Adjutant-Geneeai's 
 Office, Washington, October 9th, 1865. 
 
 General Orders, No. H5. — ^Whereas, certain 
 tracts of land, situated on the coast of South 
 Carolina, Georgia and Florida, at the time for 
 the most part vacant, were set apart by Major- 
 General W. T. Sherman's Special Field Order, 
 Wo. 15, for the benefit of refugees and freedmen 
 that had been congregated by the operations 
 of war, or had been left to take care of them- 
 selves by their former owners ; and whereas, an 
 expectation was thereby created that they would 
 be able to retain possession of said lands; and 
 whereas, a large number of the former owners 
 are earnestly soliciting the restoration of the 
 same and promising to absorb the labor and 
 care for the freedmen — 
 
 It is Ordered, That Major General Howard, 
 Commissioner of the Bureau of Eefugees, 
 Freedmen and Abandoned Lands, proceed to 
 the several above named States and endeavor 
 to effect an arrangement mutually satisfactory 
 to the freedmen and the landowners, and make 
 report. 
 
 And, in case a mutually satisfactory arrange- 
 ment can be effected, he is duly empowered and 
 directed to issue such orders as may become 
 
258 " OTHER EXOURSIOns." 
 
 necessary, after a full and careful investigation 
 of the interests of the parties concerned. 
 
 By order of the President of the United 
 States. 
 , (Signed) E. D. Townsend, 
 
 Assistant Adjutant General. 
 
 EEPORTSi BY H. E. TEEMAIN, OF IN- 
 VESTIGATIONS MADE UKDER 
 FOREGOING PETITION. 
 
 piest eepobt. 
 
 Headqttaetees Depaetment op South Cae- 
 OLiiirA, Chaelbstow, S. C, Deo. 19th, 
 1865. 
 
 General. — Pursuant to your instructions 
 to investigate and to report upon the petition 
 of certain pardoned owners of land on Edisto 
 Islands presented for your consideration of 
 their claims to their former estates, and their 
 complaints against the factious spirit of op- 
 position to accommodation which it is alleged 
 has dictated the course of the agents of the 
 Freedmen's Bureau towards them, I Bave 
 the honor to submit that in making this in- 
 vestigation it has been my endeavor to act 
 strictly judicially, and not by their antece- 
 dents to be prejudiced against the planters, 
 nor to allow the serious allegations against 
 
THE RECONSTRVCTIOn PERIOD. 259 
 
 the faithfulness of officers commissioned in 
 the United States service to operate to the 
 prejudice of the Freedmen's Bureau. 
 
 A complete investigation required that the 
 subject be considered first as between the 
 planters and the Bureau of Refugees, Ereed- 
 men and Abandoned Lands; and second, as 
 between the planters and the Freedmen resi- 
 dent. 
 
 I. 
 
 I find the petition handed me by yourself 
 to be an abridgment of one previously pre- 
 pared but deemed too lengthy to present to 
 you. It is much fuller and states as the 
 planters believe all the case they can now 
 present. 
 
 Finding at the outset that the allegations 
 of certain agreements between General How- 
 ard and the petitioners were not supported by 
 sufficient evidence, I addressed a letter to 
 Captain Ketchum (copy appended marked 
 "I"), asking to be informed upon points 
 named therein. 
 
 His reply is herewith presented (marked 
 " II ") j and it must be added that Captain 
 Ketchum voluntarily invited my inspection 
 of all the documents on file in his office which 
 I might wish to consult in this investigation, 
 
260 " OTBEB EXCURSIONS." 
 
 and desired me to express to General Sickles 
 his gratification at being able to lay the 
 whole matter fully and frankly before him. 
 He hopes he may be called upon in future 
 whenever he can furnish information, or aid 
 him in the public service. 
 
 All evidence required to support or to con- 
 trovert any doubtful assertions of the peti- 
 tioners I have obtained. 
 
 1. The petitioners claim that under orders 
 from the President, General Howard visited 
 Edisto, and agreed to restore upon conditions 
 embodied in his Field Order and obligation 
 (appended with " petition " marked " D "), 
 . and appointed Captain Ketchum to effect the 
 restoration accordingly. 
 
 This point is cleared up by Captain Ketch- 
 um's reply to my communication (appended 
 marked " II "). The petitioners, however, 
 have not stated the fact that General How- 
 ard's visit and his instructions issued while 
 here regarding restoration, all assumed that 
 an agreement could be made with the Freed- 
 men by their former owners. General How- 
 ard writes (" Letter of instructions to Cap- 
 tain Ketchum ") : " The owners agreed in 
 their petition to the President to absorb the 
 labor so as not to occasion the removal of 
 any of the people." All agreements of the 
 
THE RECOWSTRVCTION PERIOD. £61 
 
 Bureau to restore assume this fact, and wlien 
 it does not appear, under existing orders, 
 General Howard's representatives are power- 
 less to restore. The labor must be absorbed 
 prior to the order of restoration. If not, the 
 agent here is without authority and can only 
 report the case again to his superiors and 
 await further instructions. All action thus 
 far on the subject, I am assured, has been 
 promptly reported to General Howard. 
 
 2. The planters assert their willingness and 
 anxiety to absorb the labor, but thus far they 
 have not succeeded, which fact they allege is 
 due to the " pernicious influence " exerted 
 upon the freedmen to prevent them from 
 making contracts. This allegation is sup- 
 ported only by an original copy of proposi- 
 tions submitted for the consideration of the 
 Board of Supervisors by Captain Ketchum, 
 wherein the board is requested to consider 
 among various questions, the subject of the 
 freedmen's leasing and buying lands, and if 
 so upon what terms. This proposition — ■ 
 specially complained of — at the most was 
 merely presented to the board for considera- 
 tion. Instead of operating to prevent the 
 negroes from contracting, their representative 
 on the board agreed not to consult for the 
 present with his constituencies upon this 
 
262 " OTEER EXOURSIONS." 
 
 point and he lias not yet done so. However, 
 the orders of General Howard, so far from 
 prohibiting in letter or spirit any such ex- 
 pectation on the part of the freedmen, direct 
 Captain Ketchum to make any kind of con- 
 tracts^ and expressly order him to ascertain 
 how leases can be made and — if contracts 
 for service cannot be arranged — to execute 
 if possible, leases for the freedmen from the 
 former owner. The purchase of the lands by 
 the freedmen is also one of the modes of set- 
 tlement in contemplation by General Howard, 
 and comes appropriately before the Board of 
 Supervisors appointed to aid in making con- 
 tracts. 
 
 3. Tour petitioners claim that freedmen 
 are required to enter into " contracts before 
 the first of January, 1866, or else to leave the 
 island." So far from this being the fact, 
 " the orders of the Secretary of War require 
 that the freedmen shall not be disturbed in 
 the possession of their homes for the present " 
 (Letter of instructions from General How- 
 ard). The Secretary of War telegraphed to 
 General Howard when here : " I do not 
 understand that your orders require you to 
 disturb the freedmen in their possession at 
 present, but only to ascertain whether a just 
 and mutual agreement can be made between 
 
TEE REGONSTBUCTION PERIOD. £63 
 
 the pardoned owners and the freedmen, and 
 if it can, then to carry it into effect." Gen- 
 eral Howard left here with the impression 
 that such an agreement can he made; no or- 
 ders have yet been issued to meet the case 
 where mutual agreements are impossible. 
 
 4. A leading item of complaint by the pe- 
 titioners is the appointment to the Board of 
 Supervisors for Edisto of a colored man. 
 Subsequent to this appointment General 
 Howard's telegrams indicated it to be his 
 original intention that the board should be 
 composed of white men. 
 
 At first there was no expression of this 
 character and Captain Ketchum was not 
 aware of this intention of General Howard 
 until after the board was formed. He then 
 applied to know whether he should " direct 
 the freedmen to make another choice." He 
 has not yet been authorized to do so. In 
 boards, however, constituted since the inten- 
 tion of General Howard became known to 
 him. Captain Ketchum has carried out these 
 wishes and white men only have ' comprised 
 the boards. 
 
 In view of these facts I am unable to ob- 
 tain a justification for the serious allegations 
 of the petitioners against the faithfulness and 
 integrity of the oflBcer appointed by General 
 
264 " OTEEB EXOURSWNS." 
 
 Howard to represent him in tMs business of 
 restoration. JS'eitlier have I found ground 
 for asserting, as alleged, that any " just or 
 equitable settlement of General Howard is 
 delayed " by his action. Had Captain Ketch- 
 um done more or less his orders would have 
 rendered him liable to an impeachment of his 
 official character. 
 
 The real trouble is the freedmen will not 
 make agreements with these gentlemen; and 
 believing, as the negroes do, that assistance 
 may possibly be afforded by the United States 
 securing to them in some manner the con- 
 tinued possession of the lands in question, it 
 is not unnatural that they should for, the 
 present refuse to contract with parties, who — 
 as the negroes believe — have no claim 
 against them. Under existing orders, if the 
 freedmen and pardoned owners agree, resto- 
 ration follows ; if they do not agree, restora- 
 tion is in abeyance. The consideration there- 
 fore remaining is: Can an agreement be 
 effected ? 
 
 Submitting these results of my investiga- 
 tion of the case as between the petitioners and 
 the agents of the Freedmen's Bureau, and 
 with your permission delaying a report on 
 the subject as between the planters and the 
 freedmen until after a personal visit to the 
 
TBE BECONSTRUCTIOn PERIOD. 265 
 
 lands in question, I have the honor to remain 
 very respectfully, your obedient servant^ 
 H. Edwibt Teemain, 
 Bvt. Colonel and A. D. C. 
 
 To JIllAJOK-GEIfEEAL DanIEL E. SiOKLES, 
 
 Comdg. Department. 
 
 TEEHAIN'S SECOND EEPOKT. 
 
 Headqitaetees Depaetment OB South 
 Caeoliwa, Deo. 27th, 1865. 
 
 General. — Continuing the report of my 
 investigation — having shown the existing 
 relations between the former owners, and the 
 officers of the Bureau of E. F. and A. L.* — 
 the cause as between the planters and freed- 
 men remains to be considered. 
 
 II. 
 
 The only obstacle impeding an immediate 
 and satisfactory restoration of the lands in 
 question, being suitable provision for the 
 future of the freedmen, I visited Edisto 
 and other islands in company with Captain 
 Ketchum — of General Howard's staff — ■ 
 and a deputation of planters, with a view to 
 
 * Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen and Abandoned 
 Lands. 
 
266 " OTHER EXCURSIONS." 
 
 ascertain why this difficulty could not he 
 removed ; and why some agreement might not 
 be determined upon by which the pardoned 
 owners would receive the services of the resi- 
 dent negroes, and the latter a just and re- 
 munerative compensation. 
 
 For the purposes of restoration under ex- 
 isting instructions, the lands of the sea islands 
 may be considered in three classes : 
 
 1st. Unoccupied plantations. 2nd. Those 
 occupied hy only a few freedmen. 3rd. 
 Estates in which there are now residing a full 
 or more than a full complement of freed 
 laborers. 
 
 1st. In regard to the first class there is, 
 according to orders very recently received, 
 no difficulty in the way of an immediate 
 restoration to the party entitled, except that 
 of obtaining the necessary evidence of title 
 and of unoccupation. 2nd. In regard to the 
 second class (in addition to the requirements 
 of evidence as in the first class) under a late 
 order from General Howard to Captain 
 [Ketchum there is now no further delay in 
 restoration than is necessary in each case to 
 provide the few resident freedmen with 
 " homes or employment " elsewhere. In this 
 work the Supervisory Board is directed to 
 assist. 3rd. As to the third class — *. e.. 
 
TEE RECONSTRUCTION PERIOD. 267 
 
 of lands fully occupied — 1iie serious diffi- 
 culty preventing an immediate restoration, 
 relates to the absorption by the pardoned 
 owners of the labor of freedmen now residing 
 on their estates. 
 
 THE DIFFICULTY CONSIDEEED. 
 
 Having promised the President in their 
 petition to him for restoration that they 
 would absorb this labor, heretofore the own- 
 ers have sought to do so by arranging a con- 
 tract for service by the year in consideration 
 of wages or a share of the crop. Various 
 propositions have been submitted to the board 
 of supervisors, among which are those here- 
 unto appended (Marked " III "), but not 
 deemed fair to the freedmen by their repre- 
 sentative in the board unless the changes were 
 made as indicated in pencil thereon, and to 
 these changes the planters have consented. 
 But these propositions were not favorably 
 received by the freedmen, who absolutely re- 
 fused to make simple contracts for service 
 with their former masters. The colored peo- 
 ple fail to appreciate this style of agreements, 
 finding therein little hope for the future; 
 and they choose to consider the effect of this 
 class of contracts as a practical return to 
 slavery. 
 
26g " OTHER EXCURSIONS." 
 
 General Howard's instructions, however, 
 contemplating leases, or an agreement of any 
 kind in behalf of the freedmen, the pardoned 
 owners were asked if they were willing to 
 lease their lands to the freedmen; if so at 
 what rates; and again if they would sell; 
 if so, on what terms. The representative of 
 the freedmen was also asked if the latter 
 would hire or purchase when an opportunity 
 was offered. The pardoned owners, however, 
 as far as I can learn, in the first instance 
 would consider no proposition looking to hire 
 or purchase. Holding then, the unwilling- 
 ness of the freedmen to contract, the legal 
 adviser of a large numher of Edisto planters 
 (Mr. Wm. Whaley) repaired to Washington, 
 obtained an interview with the President, in 
 company with General Howard; and — as 
 the gentleman informs me — returned with 
 the expressed intention of the President to 
 restore immediately in case the freedmen 
 were unwilling to contract or to lease. On 
 the part of the planters, therefore, the avowed 
 purpose of their visit with me to Edisto, 
 was to embrace the opportunity to learn the 
 sentiment of the negroes, as to whether the 
 latter would contract or lease. I have in- 
 ferred also — justly it is believed ^ from 
 the general tenor of their conversation, that 
 
TSE BEG0N8TRDCTWN PERIOD. 269 
 
 the planters -woiild feel quite satisfied to be 
 able to show the unwillingness of the freed- 
 meh to do either. 
 
 The pardoned owners proposed that a meet- 
 ing of the freedmen should be called, and 
 that the latter should be informed that the 
 government required them to contract before 
 a specified time or else to leave the island. 
 I objected to calling a meeting, on the ground 
 that if any planter wished to learn the dispo- 
 sition towards him of the freedmen then resi- 
 dent on his estate, or their unwillingness to 
 contract, he should converse with them ; that 
 the two parties to the proposed agreement 
 should meet with a fair opportunity to ex- 
 change views. I urged that, with negroes 
 especially, a forceful character might lead a 
 meeting to an expression of sentiment not in 
 consonance with the interests or desires of 
 either freedmen or planters. I advised the 
 latter to visit their individual estates and to 
 attempt an agreement of some kind with the 
 resident negroes there; offering the presence 
 of officers to assist them whenever practicable. 
 The planters were further informed that I 
 was not authorized to tell the freedmen that 
 the government required them to make eon- 
 tracts with the landowners before any speci- 
 fied time, or else to leave the island. 
 
270 " OTHER EXGVRSIOVB." 
 
 That part of Edisto visited the first day 
 afforded evidence of hut little cultivation dur- 
 ing the past year, and few freedmen vsrere 
 seen. Learning, hefore starting for a ride in 
 other directions the next morning (and in all 
 we traversed ahout one-third of the island), 
 that it was customary for the freedmen to 
 hold weekly a public meeting on Saturday, 
 it was deemed advisable for the party to at- 
 tend. The lands visited on this day, however, 
 were more thickly populated, and on some 
 of the plantations fair crops had been raised 
 during the past season. In many places, too, 
 farming utensils and animals had been pro- 
 cured by the freedmen. 
 
 The meetings just spoken of, it appeared, 
 are held for purposes of general interest, be- 
 ing usually attended by adult males. When 
 our party entered, the meeting had been in 
 progress an hour or two, but continued or- 
 derly and attentive two hours longer, presided 
 over by one of their own number. 
 
 Captain Ketchum explained to the freed- 
 men the object of the present visit; that it 
 was their duty to be considerate and respect- 
 ful with all persons having dealings with 
 them ; that the planters present wished to con- 
 fer with them on matters of great interest to 
 both; and while the government demanded 
 
TBE RECONSTRUCTION PERIOD. 271 
 
 that the colored people should be treated like 
 men, they must reciprocate in their treatment 
 of their former masters. He advised them 
 to be business-like and patient in dealing with 
 their old owners ; and in expressions and con- 
 duct not to be carried away by personal preju- 
 dice. He urged each one to be guided by his 
 individual judgment, and not to be led astray 
 by any of their number who might claim to 
 be leaders. 
 
 He presented me, and after a few remarks 
 I advised them that the desire of the gov- 
 ernment, as well apparently as their own 
 interests, indicated that they should make 
 agreements with the planters. At least a mu- 
 tual understanding must be concluded. By 
 taking votes I learned that of those present 
 the number who hold land certificates from 
 Brevet Major-General Saxton was 92; num- 
 ber who held none, 88. (Two or three of 
 these certificates are held by men who never 
 were slaves.) The number of old residents 
 present was 79; number of newcomers 
 (since the beginning of war) 116. The meet- 
 ing was not as well attended as usual, prob- 
 ably on account of the unfavorable weather. 
 I told them that their enemies had said that 
 they did not wish to " earn their bread by 
 the sweat of their brow," and I wanted to 
 
272 " OTHER excursions:' 
 
 know who proposed to work, and who did 
 not ! The count was unanimous ; all expected 
 to work for a living. 
 
 With thanks for their attention I intro- 
 duced Mr. Wm. Whaley of the Charleston 
 bar, and a landowner on Edisto, who spoke 
 in excellent and considerate terms. He waa 
 listened to with deep interest. He told the 
 colored people that the planters wanted labor 
 and were willing to do anything for the f reed- 
 men that was fair and reasonable, either in 
 arranging contracts or leases; all agreements 
 to be for a year. He advised the freedmen 
 for their own interests, to agree upon terms 
 with their former owners, who had unques- 
 tionable titles to the lands, and would soon 
 return. 
 
 I then asked the chairman to allow some 
 of their own leading speakers to give their 
 opinions, or their views in a few brief re- 
 marks. Some half a dozen colored men em- 
 braced the opportunity. Before the meeting 
 closed I asked that a committee be selected 
 to meet the planters with me in the evening. 
 A general committee had previously been or- 
 ganized by advice of Major-General Howard, 
 who had visited Edisto; and before calling 
 upon us in the evening, this committee held 
 a session to listen to any views the freedmen 
 
THE RECONSTRUCTION PERIOD. £73 
 
 present had to suggest. The public meeting 
 was adjourned by singing a hymn. 
 
 The general tenor of the remarks of the 
 colored speakers indicated a desire on the 
 part of their people to secure for themselves 
 a home. They wished to own lands, and to 
 have some security for this result before 
 working again under their former masters. 
 If the government had no lands to sell them 
 on Edisto, it had elsewhere. They wanted 
 to build a home somewhere; then they could 
 work whenever it might be to their best ad- 
 vantage. All concurred in the opposition to 
 the year contract system. 
 
 On the plantations I found the negroes 
 much more tractable than when en masse. I 
 conversed with many, and was present while 
 the planters did the same. To the latter the 
 colored people affected great reserve, and 
 were with difficulty induced to give their 
 sentiments. The interviews, however, led 
 me to believe that on many plantations the 
 freedmen would lease; but at what rates they 
 could not yet suggest, as heretofore the owners 
 had absolutely refused to lease. In other 
 cases some were ready to work for wages. It 
 is more judicious to deal with the freedmen 
 individually in attempting agreements for 
 service. I think it but just to say that in 
 
274 " OTBER ElGtjnSIOifS." 
 
 most instances heretofore the planters have 
 not made fair efforts to effect a mutual un- 
 derstanding with the resident freedmen. 
 Hence the delay in restoration complained of 
 by your petitioners. 
 
 In the evening the general committee al- 
 ready mentioned met the planters at head- 
 quarters. This committee is not purely a 
 representative hody, two of its leading mem- 
 bers never having been slaves ; and the others 
 formerly residents on the neighboring main 
 land or adjacent islands. Nevertheless I feel 
 assured that the sentiments spoken by them 
 are at the present time quite general among 
 the islanders. 
 
 I requested their chairman, after explain- 
 ing the nature of the organization, to reply 
 — at least in the name of the committee — ' 
 to the propositions of the landowners, as made 
 before the public meeting at the church. The 
 planters were present to learn — as far as 
 this interview could show — the purposes of 
 the freedmen now occupying their estates. 
 
 Mr. Bram spoke for the committee (com- 
 prising Henry Bram, F. C. Desvanny, F. 
 Sampson, Ishmael Moultrie, E. Tolbert and 
 IN'ed Murray. The first two named never had 
 been slaves). He said it was the desire of the 
 freedmen to acquire land. The colored peo- 
 
THE RECONSTRUCTION PERIOD. 2Y5 
 
 pie thought no step could better secure their 
 liberty. Their friends had so advised, and 
 anaong them Secretary Stanton in an address 
 at Savannah, Ga. At any rate this was what 
 they wanted. They would rather obtain lands 
 near their old homes, than far away ! Yet, if 
 this was not possible they would try else- 
 where. The government had lands upon 
 which they might settle under the Home- 
 stead Law, and it was thought they could find 
 some in Florida. They did not expect to ac- 
 quire at once large possessions; but each one 
 wished a little plot of ground that he could 
 call his own. He wanted a home for his fam- 
 ily from which no one would have a right to 
 eject him, and in the possession of which he 
 would be secured by the laws of the land. 
 The people or nearly all of them had a little 
 money, and wished to buy. They therefore 
 answered the planters with a proposition, that 
 the latter should sell to the freedmen, or to 
 each head of a family, a plot of ground from 
 one to five acres in size, as might be deter- 
 mined upon by direct agreement or by the 
 decree of the Supervisory Board. For this 
 the freedmen were willing to pay a reason- 
 able price. 
 
 The planters wished to know what was a 
 reasonable price. The committee was not 
 
276 " OTHER 'EXCURSIONS." 
 
 prepared to answer unless the tax valuation 
 was taken as • the estimate. The owners 
 promptly objected to this estimation, which 
 was only for tax purposes, and was not re- 
 garded in a sale. Captain Ketchum re- 
 marked that in the discharge of Ms official 
 duties he had observed that in many instances 
 gentlemen had ascertained the value of their 
 estates not to exceed $20,000, and had ex- 
 cluded themselves from the exceptions of the 
 President's amnesty by evidence taken from 
 tax valuations; and this basis of estimate, 
 therefore, might not be always inappropriate. 
 Summing up the propositions I enquired if 
 the freedmen were willing to make agree- 
 ments for service with their former masters 
 in case the latter would consent to a sale 
 of a small plot of ground, — say from one- 
 half to five acres ? 
 
 It was replied, that if the planters would 
 sell them even one acre, they would then 
 make agreements for service. I presented 
 these views to the planters, and Mr. Whaley, 
 their representative, replied that he was not 
 authorized to consider them. His instruc- 
 tions contemplated only contracts or leases. 
 He had nothing to say on the subject of sales. 
 The other gentlemen when asked if they 
 
THE RECONSTRUCTION PERIOD. £77 
 
 had any reply to oflEer, simply assented to 
 Mr. Whaley's answer. 
 
 In brief, the results of the interview were : 
 on the part of the planters a proposition to 
 contract with or to lease to the freedmen; 
 and on the part of the latter an unwillingness 
 to work for the former owners without a pros- 
 pect of gaining title to a small plot of land, 
 which the planters were asked to sell, and to 
 which request no reply was yet prepared. 
 
 Neither party having any further sugges- 
 tions to ojBFer, the meeting was adjourned. I 
 advised the negroes, however, that in con- 
 sidering the contract system they must not 
 expect employers to hire by the week or 
 month and risk the chance of losing their 
 laborers at a season of the year when most 
 required. They had no right to demand short 
 contracts. Perfect good feeling prevailed 
 during all the interviews, and excellent re- 
 sults must follow from the free interchange 
 of sentiment among all parties during the 
 visit. 
 
 Among the facts of special interest at this 
 time on Edisto, the constant change in its 
 population should be noted. I^egroes are 
 daily arriving and departing. Old residents 
 of the island are returning from the interior, 
 and newcomers wish to remove to their old 
 
278 " OTHER EXCVB8I0N8." 
 
 homes. As long as the feeling of local at- 
 tachment, so strong with the negroes, is thus 
 indulged, the tone of sentiment on the island 
 can never be healthful. The future seems 
 unsettled and uncertain, and the freedmen 
 prefer to avoid binding themselves by con- 
 tracts, and to await opportunities apparently 
 more favorable. The shrewdness, individu- 
 ality, and intelligence of many of the most 
 ordinary plantation negroes was quite sur- 
 prising. 
 
 I am inclined to think, also, that at this 
 time there are not as many freedmen resident 
 on Edisto as the census exhibits. Under the 
 direction of the B. R. F. & A. L.* a census 
 was taken in August last showing the number 
 of families (adults and children), number of 
 acres then under cultivation, and the growing 
 crops. This exhibits the fact that there were 
 then on the island (including Jehessee, Pen- 
 wicks, Baileys, Edisto and Little Edisto isl- 
 ands adjacent) 1,000 families. 
 
 "No. of infirm (both sexes) 125 
 
 No. of children (both sexes) 1,400 
 
 No. of adults (including infirm) . .3,900 
 
 Aggregate population 5,300 
 
 No. of plantations on the islands . . 66 
 
 * " B. R. F. & A. L." is for " Bureau of Refugees, 
 Freedmen and Abandoned Lands." 
 
TBE RECONSTRUCTION PERIOD. £79 
 
 The total number of " forty-acre allot- 
 ments " (made by issue of a certificate, copy 
 appended, marked " IV "), 36Y. ISTo certifi- 
 cates have been issued since General How- 
 ard's visit in October last. 
 
 Since the census was taken, however, it is 
 evident that the population has decreased. 
 The records show that over 500 have arrived, 
 and the resident agent thinks that over 1,000 
 have departed. The number is certainly 
 1,000, probably greater. 
 
 In view of the imsettled status under ex- 
 isting orders of those freedmen now arriving 
 on the island (for the travelling still contin- 
 ues), and the unfortunate state of public 
 feeling among the inhabitants caused thereby, 
 I respectfully recommend that no more freed- 
 men be sent to the islands except under agree- 
 ments with the landowners, or other parties 
 there resident; and that another census be 
 taken. Some measure of this character is 
 necessary to encourage thrift, and to dis- 
 courage vagrancy. 
 
 The amount of commissary stores supplied 
 to Edisto is small, when compared with the 
 number of persons to whom issues are made. 
 Full rations are not distributed, and only 
 staple articles are received from the depart- 
 ment. The dependents on the island, accord- 
 
280 
 
 « OTHER EXOUBBIONS." 
 
 ing to the records of the agent of the Freed- 
 men's Bureau in charge, were as follows : 
 
 October, '65 — 
 
 Men 150 
 
 Women 200 
 
 Children, male 160 
 
 Children, females 150 
 
 Total 660 
 
 Infirm men T5 
 
 Infirm women 50 
 
 Orphans 20 
 
 Total 145 
 
 October, aggregate dependents 805 
 
 During the months of November and De- 
 cember, in about the same proportion, the ag- 
 gregate number of dependents was 810. The 
 average number of rations issued per day, 
 however, has been during this time only about 
 500. 
 
 Recurring to the absorption of the labor 
 of the freedmen, it is to be remarked that a 
 serious obstacle in the arrangement of con- 
 tracts for service rests in the fact that Gen- 
 eral Howard's obligation to be executed con- 
 temporaneously with the order of restoration 
 
 (annexed with petition and marked ) 
 
 contemplates that all agreements shall he for 
 one year. The planters are unwilling to trust 
 
THE REGON8TBnCTI02f PERIOD. £81 
 
 the freedmen on shorter terms, fearful of 
 losing their services at a season when they 
 are most essential. This risk, however, might 
 be lessened by holding back a portion of the 
 wages tmtil the end of the term; which in 
 some instances has been proposed. The freed- 
 men, on the other hand, have no confidence 
 in the promises of their former masters, and 
 they are unwilling to bind themselves for so 
 long a period. If this mutual distrust con- 
 tinues, shorter contracts might be more 
 desirable; risking the further regulation of 
 labor by the ordinary laws of supply and de- 
 mand. This feeling on the part of the freed- 
 men is not so strong against the " Yankees " ; 
 Northern employers experiencing much less 
 difficulty In arranging contracts for service. 
 It should be stated here that a number of 
 capitalists at the Iforth have offered to ad- 
 vance funds for the working of the planta- 
 tions on Edisto as soon as restoration is com- 
 plete, and the planters can show a clean title. 
 The terms of this proposition embrace, as 
 security for the loans, mortgages of the es- 
 tates, not to exceed one-third of their value ; 
 said value to be determined by agents selected 
 by each party, and to pay these agents as. 
 well as other contingent expenses, the cap- 
 italists are also to have one-tenth of the net 
 
282 " OTBEB EXCVRBIOUS." 
 
 proceeds of the crop. It would appear, there- 
 fore, that immediately on restoration, there 
 is money ready to work the mines of wealth, 
 idle as long as the sea islands are unculti- 
 vated. 
 
 I regret that these observations concerning 
 the investigation ordered have appeared at 
 such great length. The purpose was to he 
 thorough. In order to afford the planters 
 every possible facility in taking the steps 
 preliminary to a restoration, and to give 
 them every opportunity to present to the gov- 
 ernment any obstacle which it was claimed 
 stood in their path, the visit was prolonged 
 a day at their request, and this at no little 
 sacrifice of personal and official duties, on 
 the part of the officers of the Freedman's 
 Bureau accompanying us. 
 
 In conclusion I beg to submit that since 
 the permission and protection granted to 
 white men to visit the sea islands, there do 
 not appear to be any causes of delay, or un- 
 necessary difficulties placed before pardoned 
 owners to impede the restoration of their 
 estates. There is no evidence of a continued 
 and persistent effort on the part of the own- 
 ers to comply with the conditions presented. 
 The want of a fair and faithful exertion to 
 arrange agreements, and a pure purpose to 
 
THE BEC0N8TBVCTI0N PERIOD. 283 
 
 arrive at a mutual understanding with the 
 freedmen, must remain the true cause of 
 complaint. The present visit has helped to 
 remove it; and I am unable to refuse the 
 impression that had it been the last instead 
 of the first serious endeavor on the part of 
 the owners to agree with the freedmen, af- 
 fairs on Edisto Island would be this time 
 have assumed a more settled aspect. 
 
 I have the honor to remain, General, very 
 respectfully, your obedient servant, 
 
 H. Edwin Teemain, 
 Brvt. Col. & A. D. 0. 
 To Maj. Gen. D. E. Sickles, 
 Comd'g Dept. of So. Ca. 
 
XVIL 
 
 1866. 
 A SCENE IN CHAELESTOK 
 
 TtPICAI. KeFLECTIONS. SiGWiriCANT 
 
 EUINS. 
 
 Charleston, South Carolina, Feb. — , 1866. 
 
 * * * Complacently enjoying a com- 
 fortable breakfast last New Tear's Day here 
 in Charleston, Soutb Carolina, I was startled 
 by the unusual sound of martial music. Euab- 
 ing to the steps of my hotel I saw marching 
 up the street what appeared to be a civic pa- 
 rade. Enquiring the occasion of it, • an apa- 
 thetic-looking native, who was lounging list- 
 lessly on the porch, sullenly vouchsafed to me 
 the unsatisfactory information that the " nig- 
 gers were getting up something." 
 
 Addressing my enquiries then in a more 
 pointed manner to a jubilant Ethiopian who 
 stood at a respectful distance I learned that 
 the Anniversary of the Emancipation Procla- 
 mation was being celebrated. Then with 
 284 
 
TEE RECONSTRUCTION PERIOD. 285 
 
 deeper interest I observed tlie bearing, man- 
 ners, deportment, countenances, address, ar- 
 rangements, and general appearance of the en- 
 tire procession. 
 
 Except among men of war I bad not seen 
 so large a body of respectability assembled in 
 the South since Lee and his friends at Appo- 
 mattox were politely invited to " go home." 
 Nor yet could I appreciate in this marching 
 congregation of intelligence and manhood — 
 whicb was by no means concealed behind the 
 dark physiognomy of the well-dressed men 
 and boys who composed it, and the faultless 
 demeanor of the colored fair who followed 
 en masse — any such immediate or remote 
 danger to society, or to the state, as to incite 
 the remark which struck my ears from a gen- 
 tle representative of the " F. F." South Caro- 
 linian who was passing, and said: " That no 
 good would come of this, — no good would 
 come of this." 
 
 But if " no good " did come of it, which is 
 a doubtful proposition, certainly no harm was 
 ever known to come out of this innocent dem- 
 onstration. 
 
 More than five thousand persons marched 
 out beyond the city to the " Eace Course " ; 
 — a spot made famous as one of the fields 
 where " Yankee " prisoners had in times gone 
 
286 " OTEER EXCURSIONS." 
 
 by been cruelly confined. There this im- 
 mense crowd partook, or sought to partake, of 
 the feast of one roasted ox, which was the 
 " barbecue," — provided by Uncle Sam. 
 
 Speeches were made, imaginary toasts 
 drank to glowing sentiments of truth and good 
 sense, and the Emancipation Proclamation 
 was for the first time celebrated where once 
 had been the cradle of the rebellion. With- 
 out a single disturbance of any character to 
 mar the harmony of the day these re-animated 
 " chattels " quietly dispersed, and unobtru- 
 sively returned to their humble homes. 
 
 Of course this little occurrence of New 
 Year's Day was merely an episode ; an unim- 
 portant item in the commercial, social or po- 
 litical life of the reviving city. To its people 
 it symbolized no great fact in history ; it be- 
 tokened no good, but rather evil, signifying 
 if anything, indeed, an alarming symptom 
 for the future ; and, judged by the daily pa- 
 pers of the next morning, scarcely worth an 
 honorable mention ; — that is to say, from a 
 Charlestonian point of view. 
 
 In fact, however, more than half the popu- 
 lation of the city were interested; and all 
 these people were celebrating the triumphs of 
 Union armies, and the realization of peace 
 and freedom. 
 
THE RECO^STBVCftOif PERIOD. 287 
 
 It was, too, the beginning of a year of new 
 experiences, new hopes, and new fears; yes, 
 it signified the opening up to millions of a 
 new life ; — a life requiring patience, instruc- 
 tion and guidance, and full of possibilities for 
 good and for evil, for wealth, and power, and 
 for progress or dismay. A stranger could 
 not fail to be impressed. 
 
 Nor was this impression by any means re- 
 moved when chance that same evening led 
 me through the wasted ruins of what was 
 once the busiest and most prosperous portion 
 of the city. There the hand of material fact, 
 and not the wanderings of fancy, pictured in 
 unmistakable outlines a sort of allegorical 
 reality of the beginning and the end, the 
 cause, the progress, and the final results of 
 the great war of the rebellion. 
 
 Not by the successes of Union commanders, 
 but rather in spite of their efforts, quite early 
 in the war, and as if to scourge that people 
 who had first drawn the sword in fratricidal 
 conflict, Providence had afflicted this Sodom 
 with fire, so violently that, uncontrolled and 
 uncontrollable, the elem.ent had swept its de- 
 structive trail across the most populous and 
 wealthy portion of the city. Even now are 
 vague stories afloat of highway crimes com- 
 mitted by desperadoes concealed behind the 
 
288 " OTBEB EXCVRSIOyS." 
 
 tottering -walls of these extensive ruins, 
 through which no stroller would pass without 
 instructive awe. 
 
 But my companion was a " Yankee," and 
 given to the consideration and acceptance of 
 historic facts. He was neither romancing 
 about the past, nor speculating as to the fu- 
 ture. Halting before the lofty walls and 
 stunted "tower" of what appeared to have 
 been once a church, he soliloquized : " I 
 wonder what fine old building that was." 
 
 " This is what is known as the ' Circular 
 Church,' and was once a place of high repute 
 among Charlestonians " ; was scarcely re- 
 plied ere he broke out again with : 
 
 " Heigh-ho ! This next building, wTiat- 
 ever it was, has been p-r-e-t-t-y w-e-1-1 u-s-e-d 
 u-p " ; and then for a moment the moon 
 peeped from behind a cloud, and glimmered 
 through the places where once were windows 
 of the ruined church, and measured its shin- 
 ing rays upon the vacant lot adjoining. 
 " See," continued my friend, " there is only 
 one little piece of a wall left standing. It 
 must have been quite an affair too ; a public 
 building, perhaps? But the grass seems to 
 have flourished this past year in the middle 
 of it — there?" 
 
 " True ; yes, you are right. Not very bad 
 
TBE RECONSTRUCTION PERIOD. £89 
 
 at guessing, either! Here was once the 
 building made famous by ' conventions,' and 
 where, too, was passed without dissenting 
 voice the first so-called ordinance of seces- 
 sion! The place now looks as though seces- 
 sion was played out, eh ? " 
 
 " Stop," he interrupted ; " listen ! What's 
 that ? " As he spoke the wild moaning of 
 the midnight songster ( ?) fell upon our ears 
 as it descended from the ruins of the church 
 tower above. 
 
 A solitary passer-by came stumbling along 
 and disturbed our reflections. Impulsively 
 I enquired of him : " Can you tell me, sir, 
 what ' bird ' that is, singing up there ? " 
 The cry continued, and was now unmistak- 
 able. So the stranger started on vdth a gruff 
 and careless " Don't know." 
 
 It was rather a grim query then and there 
 thus to propound to the chivalry. Neverthe- 
 less my companion was now inclined to be 
 facetious; and he proposed that we should 
 wait for the next wayfarer. He, too, chanced 
 to be of Caucasian blood. As if appreciating 
 " the situation " he listened for a moment 
 at our inquisitive request, and quickly moved 
 on with a rather sullen " Don't stop a man 
 this time of night with silly questions." The 
 
290 " OTBUR EXCVMWns." 
 
 representation of the " lost cause " was too 
 vivid. 
 
 The next comer approached, whistling very 
 much as a boy does in a church-yard. " Ah.! 
 Here comes a man that will tell us more about 
 that ' hird/ " whispers my companion ; and 
 immediately he drawls out : " See here, 
 stranger, what hird, is that up there crowing 
 around here this time of night ? " 
 
 " Ge-hee ! Guess dat ain't no crow ! " 
 
 " Wbat is it, then ? " 
 
 "Don't you know? Ghee-hee-gh! Dat 
 ar — hee! hee!-gh! Dat?-"— Dat's a owl! 
 Hee-he-hee ! ! ! " and thereupon Sambo shuf- 
 fled by, apparently happy with the conscious- 
 ness of having informed some strangers that 
 the night-owl was singing over Secession 
 Hall. The inference was not difficult, that 
 the old hall had " come down " as completely, 
 as the Confederacy had " gone up." 
 
 So we resumed our stroll. In a few mo- 
 ments a chime of voices broke upon us from 
 a distant quarter; and the ruined walls of 
 this " burnt district " (as it is called) were 
 echoing a graceful chorus. Soon a group of 
 hilarious freedmen approached and passed 
 on the opposite sidewalk. Their voices har- 
 moniously blended in the joyful refrain to 
 which their shuffling feet kept step, as inno- 
 
THE BEC0N8TBVCTI0N PERIOD. 291 
 
 cently but oh! haw significantly was sung: 
 " John Brown's body lies mouldering in the 
 ground — 
 
 As we go marching on ! " 
 
 Here a five years' war was typified — in 
 miniature. The little photograph was per- 
 fect. 
 
 The utter annihilation of Secession Hall; 
 the midnight owl, rejoicing over the ruins; 
 the blocks of devastated structures; the old 
 walls up, and the old walls down, looming 
 from street to street across this unhappy city ; 
 the joyous and unrestrained chorus of eman- 
 cipated slaves : — this seemed a picture, not 
 an allegory, typifying cause and effect; the 
 beginning and the end; the devastation, and 
 the irrevocable consequences of a thousand 
 battles. 
 
 Yet this is but an incident. Perhaps his- 
 tory did not after all so aptly photograph it- 
 self. So, repress your imagination, and sup- 
 press your romance, while we take a peep at 
 some South Carolina facts presuming that in 
 due time they vdll assume their proper place 
 in history. * * * 
 
 H. E. T. 
 
i895- 
 
 EXCURSION TO HADLEY, 
 
 MASSACHUSETTS. 
 
 MAJOR GENERAL JOSEPH 
 
 HOOKER, HIS LIFE AND 
 
 SERVICES. 
 
^^^y-^^y^ ^^cr^C^^ 
 
XVIII. 
 MAJOK GENEEAL JOSEPH HOOKEE, 
 
 HIS LIFE AKD SEEVICES. 
 
 There has been erected recently near the 
 State House at Boston, Massachusetts, an 
 equestrian statue of Major General Joseph 
 Hooker, in pursuance of an Act of the Legis- 
 lature of that State, which made a liberal ap- 
 propriation for that purpose. 
 
 The movement for this statue was initiated 
 and carried forward by the surviving military 
 associates of General Hooker, who begun it 
 by presenting on May 7th, 1895, to the town 
 of Hadley, Mass., his birthplace, an oil paint- 
 ing of the general. This ceremony occurred 
 at the annual reunion of the Third Army 
 Corps Union, and was attended with exten- 
 sive literary and other exercises. Many pa- 
 pers were presented * that furnished the lit- 
 
 * These papers included an address of weleome by 
 Mr. O. W. Prouty, chairman of the Hadley Board of 
 Selectmen; the response by Major William Plimley, 
 president of the Third Army Corps Union; an ex- 
 tended address by Major-General Daniel E. Sickles on 
 295 
 
296 " OTHER EXCURSIONS." 
 
 erature by -which the movement for the statue 
 ■was successfully carried to its conclusion. 
 
 The memorable occasion was widely de- 
 scribed in the newspaper press, and reports 
 of the addresses appeared in the Boston and 
 Northampton and Springfield and other New 
 England dailies of May 7th and May 8th, 
 1895. 
 
 The following report of one of these ad- 
 dresses is taken from the Springfield Re- 
 publican of May 8th, 1895 : 
 
 HOOKEE AS A SOLDIER. 
 
 A GEAPHIC DESCKIPTIOW OF HIS PAET IN 
 
 THE GKEAT BATTLES OF THE CIVIL 
 
 WAE BY GENERAL H. E. 
 
 TEEMAIN. 
 
 Ladies and Gentlemen and Comrades: — 
 Lend me, I pray you, your patience and for- 
 bearance while I strive in my feeble way for 
 a few moments to voice the aflfection and es- 
 teem of the veterans present for the great 
 soldier at whose birthplace we are assembled. 
 
 Hooker's life and character; an address upon Hook- 
 er's early career by Dr. Franklin Bonney in accept- 
 ing the portrait; and the paper of Gteneral Tremain 
 here reproduced. All these proceedings were likewise 
 reported in same issue of " The Springfield Kepubli- 
 can." 
 
MAJOR GENERAL JOSEPE HOOKER. 297 
 
 Among the many distinguished names in 
 every walk of life that adorn the historic roll 
 of honor of the noble Bay state, Massachu- 
 setts never furnished the nation with any 
 more honorable and self-sacrificing patriot 
 than Joseph Hooker. 
 
 As no other state may dispute with Massa- 
 chusetts the fortune of his nativity, so may 
 no other state excel this commonwealth in the 
 tribute of her generations to his worthy and 
 brilliant career. 
 
 Bom in this selected haven of religious 
 and intellectual independence, nurtured 
 among all the traditions and historic asso- 
 ciations belonging to the early settlement of 
 this Connecticut valley, coming from a 
 lineage of patriotic service in the American 
 Revolution, what more natural than that Gen- 
 eral Hooker should have been the earnest, 
 sincere and unselfish man that you, my com- 
 rades, better than all others, well knew him to 
 be. 
 
 His father, Joseph Hooker, of Greenwich, 
 of Enfield, and then of Hadley, was a son of 
 Captain Joseph Hooker, of Greenwich, who, 
 as early as April 20, 1775, joined the conti- 
 nental forces at the Lexington alarm as a 
 
298 " OTHER EXCVRSIOTHB." 
 
 militia officer in Colonel Euggles Wood- 
 bridge's regiment. 
 
 Later in the same year this grandfather of 
 our general served at the siege of Boston as 
 first lieutenant in Elijah Dwight's company 
 of the same regiment. 
 
 His name appears again in service for 
 three months in 1Y76 as captain of Second 
 Company of Fourth Hampshire Kegiment, 
 and again for a three-and-a-half months' serv- 
 ice in Lieutenant Colonel Samuel Williams' 
 Regiment, and a few months later (Aug. 13, 
 1777, to 'Eav. 30, 1777), in another similar 
 term of special service in Colonel Euggles 
 Woodbridge's Eegiment; and again in 1780 
 as captain of the Eleventh Company in 
 Fourth Hampshire Regiment (Colonel Por- 
 ter). 
 
 The occasion does not admit of our dwell- 
 ing on the experiences of these commands. 
 Indeed, the histories of our revolutionary 
 period are singularly incomplete in respect 
 to the many arduous and essential services of 
 the militia or local forces from time to time 
 organized and engaged in the exigencies of 
 our fathers' protracted struggles. 
 
 In this venerable town and this venerated 
 house, Mary Seymour Hooker, his father's 
 
MAJOR GENERAL JOSEPH BOOKER. 299 
 
 second wife, became the mother, Hov. 13, 
 1814, of our Major General Hooker. 
 
 BOYHOOD. 
 
 Of his boyhood and school life at Hopkins 
 Academy here, perhaps others can speak. He 
 was graduated at the West Point Military 
 Academy in 1837, in a class of 49, among 
 whom also were Generals Benham, Vogdes, 
 Williams (who fell at Baton Eouge), Gen- 
 erals Frendh, Todd, Bates and Sedgwick and 
 Adjutant General Townsend of the Union 
 Army, and Geilerals Bragg, Wm. H. T. 
 Walker, Early and Pemberton of the rebel 
 army. 
 
 As it was my fortune to assist in compiling 
 the obituary sketch recorded in the proceed- 
 ings (1881) of the Society of the Army of the 
 Cumberland, I may with propriety here ex- 
 tract some pertinent paragraphs, for I can- 
 not state their facts more briefly. Nor may 
 I omit such salient facts in his career. 
 
 Commissioned in 1837 as Second Lieu- 
 tenant in the First Artillery, Hooker passed 
 his first year of service as a subaltern in the 
 Florida war, and the subsequent two years on 
 the northern frontier. 
 
 On Nov. 3, 1838, Hooker was promoted to 
 the rank of first lieutenant. 
 
 In 1841 he was adjutant at the West Point 
 
300 " OTHER EXCURSIONS." 
 
 Military Academy, and for the next five 
 years was adjutant of his regiment. 
 
 IN MEXICAN- WAB. 
 
 In 1846, at the beginning of the war with 
 Mexico, he was assigned to the staff of Brig- 
 adier General Persifor F. Smith, and after- 
 ward transferred to the staff of Brigadier 
 General Hamar. 
 
 In 1847 he was aide-de-camp to Major 
 General Butler. He acquired no little popu- 
 larity and distinction while serving as assist- 
 ant adjutant general in 1847-48 to Major 
 General Pillow, who was commanding a 
 division. 
 
 The army record shows that Hooker, for 
 gallantry at Monterey, was brevetted captain ; 
 at the National bridge, major ; and for brav- 
 ery at Ohapultepec, lieutenant coloneL 
 
 Hooker's services as a staff officer during 
 the Mexican war were notably brilliant and 
 useful. They afforded him an experience 
 and knowledge of men and of campaigns 
 capable of being acquired in no other way; 
 and formed a potent element in educating 
 one of the most unique and conspicuous char- 
 acters of the war of the rebellion. 
 
 After Mexico, he served as assistant ad- 
 jutant general of the Sixth Military Depart- 
 ment, and of the Pacific Division in 1849-51. 
 
MAJOR GENERAL JOSEPH HOOKER. 30I 
 
 With his restless and energetio disposition 
 and habits of activity, it is no wonder that, 
 thro\5Ti into California at this period, he re- 
 signed his commission in the army for pri- 
 vate pursuits. 
 
 IN 1861, 
 
 He abandoned agriculture to aid in sup- 
 pressing the rebellion, and hastened to Wash- 
 ington when the war broke out. It so hap- 
 pened that his offers of services received lit- 
 tle encouragement. He was about to leave 
 the capital unaccepted, and called, before de- 
 parting, upon President Lincoln. 
 
 It has been said on good authority that 
 he told the President, on being introduced 
 to him, by mistake, as Captain Hooker, that 
 he had been Lieutenant Colonel Hooker of 
 the regular army, and that he had come from 
 California to tender his services to the gov- 
 ernment, but that either his relations to Gen- 
 eral Scott, or some other impediment, stood 
 in the way of making his military education 
 useful. 
 
 " I am about to return," he added, " but 
 before going I was anxious to pay my re- 
 spects to you, sir, and to express my wish for 
 your personal welfare, and for your success 
 in putting down the rebellion. 
 
 " And, while I am about it, Mr. President, 
 
302 " OTHER EXCVBSI0N8." 
 
 I want to say one thing more, and that is, that 
 I was at the battle of Bull Run the other day, 
 and it is neither vanity nor boasting in me to 
 declare that I am a better general than you, 
 sir, had on that field." 
 
 Of this interview President Lincoln is said 
 subsequently to have remarked : " Hooker's 
 eye was steady and clear, his manner not half 
 so confident as his words, and altogether he 
 had the air of a man of sense and intelligence, 
 who would at least try to make his words 
 good. I was impressed with him and rising 
 out of my chair I walked up to him, and, 
 putting my hand on his shoulder, said: 
 ' Colonel — not Lieutenant Colonel — ■ 
 Hooker, stay ; I have use for you and a regi- 
 ment for you to command.' " 
 
 HIS BEIGADE. 
 
 The regiment proved to be a brigade, which 
 he established into a camp near Bladensburg, 
 called " Camp Union." His discipline, in- 
 struction and presence quickly turned the 
 volunteer recruit into the ways of a " regu- 
 lar." 
 
 Hooker's commission as brigadier general 
 of volunteers reached him bearing date May 
 17, 1861, and in the autumn of that year he 
 was placed in charge of the troops occupying 
 
MAJOR GENERAL JOSBPM HOOKER. 303 
 
 the approaches to Washington from the west 
 bank of the Potomac and lower Maryland. 
 His command, at first a brigade of New Eng- 
 land regiments (comprising the 1st and llfli 
 Massachusetts, the Second JSTew Hampshire 
 and Twenty-sixth Pennsylvania Volunteers) 
 was subsequently enlarged into the famous 
 Second Division, Third Corps, which in the 
 spring of 1862 he first brought into line at 
 the siege of Yorktowu. 
 
 HIS Division'. 
 
 The two divisions of this corps, then com- 
 manded by Heintzelman (whose chief of 
 staff. General Chauncey McKeever, is with 
 us here to-day), became distinguished as the 
 Eed Diamond, or JFirst Division, educated 
 and led by the lamented Kearny, and the 
 White Diamond, or Second Division, com- 
 manded by Hooker. Impetuous, skilful, and 
 self-reliant, these three commanders, in cam- 
 paign, were more frequently requesting or- 
 ders to advance than reporting imaginary re- 
 sistance. They uniformly sought the enemy. 
 
 WILLIAMSBTTEG BATTLE. 
 
 Thus, although not in the advance, the bat- 
 tle of Williamsburg (May 5, 1862), follow- 
 ing the evacuation of Yorktowu, was opened 
 
304 " OTHER EXCURSIONS." 
 
 by Hooker. This was a long sustained and 
 pitched battle. It was begun, continued, di- 
 rected, and indeed finally might have been 
 lost under Hooker but for the opportune ar- 
 rival of reinforcements in the afternoon. 
 
 " I attacked," said Hooker, in his testi- 
 mony, in March, 1863, before the committee 
 on the conduct of the war, " with my single 
 division, a line of works stronger than the 
 line across the peninsula at Yorktovm." 
 
 A history of the battle of Williamsburg, 
 and the part taken by Gen. Hooker in it, 
 would require more than one chapter. 
 
 It was a sanguinary contest. The losses in 
 Hooker's division were out of all proportion 
 to the casualties of ordinary battle. Of the 
 entire union loss, 2,228 men, 1,5Y5 were from 
 Hooker's division, and the balance chiefly 
 from Kearney's division, which reinforced 
 him in tiie afternoon. 
 
 The Third Corps Commander, General 
 Heintzelman, wrote thus : " I cannot find 
 words to do justice to the gallantry of Gen- 
 eral Hooker's division. The smoke and rain 
 were driven by the wind into the faces of our 
 men. Even the elements were combined 
 against us. ISTotwithstanding the disheart- 
 ening circumstance that our troops knew we 
 had three divisions idle on the right, within 
 
MAJOR GENERAL JOSEPH BOOKER. 305 
 
 hearing of their musketry, they held the 
 ground as long as they had any ammunition, 
 with a fearful loss of life, against great odds 
 in a fortified position, until General Kear- 
 ny's division made a march of nine miles 
 through rain and mud over a road obstructed 
 by troops that were going to the right, where 
 they were not wanted. I cannot find words 
 to express my admiration of their gallantry." 
 
 But there are comrades present who do not 
 need this testimony to recall the handsome 
 Hooker, drenched with rain, dripping and 
 bespattered, sitting impassively in the saddle, 
 almost at the firing line, lest some event 
 might escape him, and sturdily fixed in the 
 middle of the miry road as though he alone 
 could obstruct it against the enemy's ad- 
 vance. 
 
 At their approach he told the exhausted 
 gunners at the pieces by his side where and 
 when to fire. It was scarcely possible for a 
 horse to live there; so in the flow of bullets 
 both horse and rider soon went down. Be- 
 smeared with mud from hat to boot Hooker 
 still commanded, and with a remount await- 
 ed the next onslaught. His last regiment was 
 put in to stay it, and the rebels wilted back. 
 
 Presently again they came; the two little 
 guns welcomed them with a charge of can- 
 
306 " OTHER EXCUMlom." 
 
 nister, and became fouled and useless from 
 the elements. They had to be withdrawn, 
 and it seemed that Hooker was himself the 
 line of battle, so slender was the force about 
 him. 
 
 Indeed, that hour might have terminated 
 his earthly career, but for the timely arrival 
 of Kearny's column to resist this last charge. 
 Hiding up to Hooker, Kearny said : " Hook- 
 er, you know I rank you. I^o matter. Where 
 do you want me ? " " Go in there," said 
 Hooker, as he calmly indicated the place. 
 With that the picture changed ; and you men 
 who saw it need no artist to recall either 
 scene fixed ineffaceably as it is in your 
 
 * It was during this engagement that rapid firing 
 guns, then called machine guns, were first used in 
 battle. There were two such guns under General 
 Hooker's command. They were manned by a small 
 company made up for that purpose by men detailed 
 from the infantry regiments of the Excelsior (Sic- 
 kles') Brigade. This little company had been care- 
 fully instructed and trained. Their guns used the 
 same ammunition distributed for the infantry of 
 that command (.58 calibre) ; and the cartridges were 
 poured in bulk into a sort of hopper, that gave the 
 affair an appearance resembling a large coffee mill on 
 wheels. Indeed the soldiers commonly spoke of them, 
 using also the name of the lieutenant commanding 
 them, as "Bates' Coffee Mills." The gun barrels 
 when mounted and attached for firing were set in a 
 sort of swivel, that was handled by one man, who 
 could deliver a continuous, horizontal fire from an 
 
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MAJOR GENERAL JOSEPH BOOKER. 397 
 
 extreme angle at the left to an extreme angle at the 
 right; and thus arrive at an effect corresponding 
 to the musketry fire that could be delivered by a 
 small battalion of muskets. The confidence of the 
 men and officers familiar with these weapons was 
 only excelled by the disfavor in which they were 
 held by the regular officers of the artillery and 
 ordnance department. In the emergency of the bat- 
 tle at Williamsburg these guns were brought into ac- 
 tion under Hooker's immediate eye, where battalions 
 of infantry that were not at hand were needed to 
 avert a formidable advance of the enemy's reinforce- 
 ments, at a critical hour in the battle, before the ar- 
 rival of Kearny's division. 
 
 Notwithstanding the deadly work delivered by 
 these guns they, being unsupported, were ordered 
 to withdraw, which they slowly did, closely followed 
 by the enemy. There was a heavy rain storm during 
 the battle, and the rapid firing had heated the boxes 
 and barrels, so that the guns had become temporarily 
 useless. One also became stalled in the mud; and 
 the barrel was quickly detached and brought away. 
 The machine in this condition fell into the hands of 
 the enemy. It is probable they did not know its 
 value, for they did not take it away with them. It 
 was found the next morning when our forces reoc- 
 cupied the field of battle. That such excessive use, 
 rapid firing, heated metal, and pouring rain, should 
 render ammunition and guns as constructed in those 
 days, useless in a prolonged combat, is in accord- 
 ance with the experience of life; but, to those famil- 
 iar with these particular weapons, and with this ex- 
 igency which placed them at a most extreme test, 
 there was no ground to condemn these guns as use- 
 less or unserviceable. They really were of great value 
 in this battle; and their defects by no means irreme- 
 diable. Nevertheless before the troops of this divi- 
 sion moved away from the battlefield the survivors 
 of the company that manned these guns were re- 
 turned to their infantry regiments, and the guns 
 themselves, by orders from the army commander, 
 were sent to the rear, never to reappear during the 
 
308 
 
 " OTHER EXCtTRSIONS." 
 
 An extended search recently made through depots 
 and arsenals of the regular army has finally lo- 
 cated two guns that are believed to be the two 
 guns of these unique " coffee mills." One is at West 
 Point, and one is at the Springfield arsenal. Photo- 
 graphs of them are here reproduced. 
 
 These photographs are authenticated by the 
 painstaking investigation of the late Captain Wil- 
 liam C. Manning of the regular army. He was pres- 
 ent as a non-commissioned officer at the battle of 
 Williamsburg, and satisfied himself that these were 
 the first " machine guns " ever used in battle. He 
 procured photographs of them, and sent them to 
 General Tremain with the following note of authen- 
 tication : 
 
 " U. 8. Military Academy, Office of Instri^ctor of 
 Ordnance and Gunnery, West Point, N. Y., FeVy 25, 
 1897. Capt. W. G. Manning, V. S. A. Dear Sir: — 
 In reply to your letter of the 21st,, I have to say, that 
 we have one of the " coffee mill " guns in the museum 
 here. Its history is unknown to me, and we have 
 no record, I am sorry to say, of where it was used, or 
 how it came here. There is one just like it at the 
 Springfield Armory, Springfield, Mass., which is stat- 
 ed by Capt. A. H. Russell, Ord. Dept., to have been 
 used at the siege of Petersburg [mistake probably for 
 'Battle of Williamsburg.' H. E. T.] Its descrip- 
 tion is as follows : ' Short muzzle-loading barrels 
 or chamber pieces, with an axial nipple at the rear, 
 are used to hold the charges. A number of these are 
 loaded and capped and are fed by means of a hopper 
 on a fluted cylinder, which revolves and brings the 
 charges in succession in rear of the long barrel, paus- 
 ing long enough to allow the charges to be fired; a 
 wedge-shaped block moving vertically in rear, forces 
 each small chamber piece in turn, forward, against 
 the rear of the barrel, to prevent escape of gas, and 
 serves to support the recoil. But one lock is used, 
 working through a slot in the block. After firing the 
 chamber pieces are carried around to an opening 
 which allows them to fall out. They can be reloaded 
 and used again, indefinitely. A crank at the side 
 operates the breech mechanism.' The calibre is 0.58 
 
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 H -^ - --S 
 
MAJOR GENERAL JOSEPH HOOKER. 309 
 
 Williamsburg established Hooker as a 
 leader of men. Its events can not here be 
 described or discussed. A word from 
 Hooker himself about it might not be out of 
 place. His report says: 
 
 " History will not be believed when it is 
 told that the noble officers and men of my 
 division were permitted to carry on this un- 
 equal struggle from morning until night un- 
 aided, in the presence of more than 30,000 
 of their comrades with arms in their hands. 
 Nevertheless it is true." Hooker's commis- 
 sion as major general of United States vol- 
 unteers also dates from this desperate day. 
 
 So memorable is the day in the estima- 
 tion of the Third Corps — which was the 
 only corps continuously engaged on the 
 Union side — that each recurring fifth of 
 May is celebrated by the annual reunion of 
 the " Third Corps Union," the association 
 of surviving officers and men of that corps, 
 
 inch. I can't confirm your statement that machine 
 guns were not used in battle prior to May 5th,_ 1862, 
 from any record I have or know of, but think it safe 
 to make that assertion; as I don't think any were 
 used before that time, so far as I am aware. 
 
 I have asked one of the young oflScers to make for 
 you a photograph of the gun, and will take pleasure 
 in forwarding it as soon as I get it. Yours respect- 
 fully, (signed) I;. L. Betjff, Capt. Ord. Dept. 
 
 Here are the photographs of the guns with the 
 certifications written upon their pictures: 
 
310 
 
 " OTHER EXCURSIONS." 
 
 and, chronologically, the first organization of 
 the various army societies of that character. 
 The last of these reunions held during 
 Hooker's life (at Delmonico's, New York, 
 May 5, 1879), was attended by him, where, 
 amidst great enthusiasm, Hooker was called 
 to his feet, and, for the last time, talked 
 in his own fresh and epigrammatic style to 
 the surviving veterans who had followed his 
 fortunes on that eventful day. It is one of 
 the pleasant recollections of my life that I 
 was honored as your presiding officer on that 
 evening. 
 
 Iir FEONT OF EICHMOiro. 
 
 When the army had advanced up the penin- 
 sula, and its left was assailed in front of 
 Richmond and driven from its camps. 
 Hooker, whose troops had been retained in 
 reserve, was brought up, and regained the 
 lost ground in the battles known as Fair 
 Oaks and Seven Pines (June 1). 
 
 Then came in succession the battles of Wil- 
 liamsburg Road of June 25, when seeing the 
 spires of Richmond Hooker asked to ad- 
 vance toward them, an advance that might 
 have shifted the battlefield from the bloody 
 (Gaines Mill of the next day. Afterward 
 came what is now generally termed the 
 
MAJOR GENERAL JOSEPH HOOKER. ^^ 
 
 " Seven days' fight," Hooker's division par- 
 ticipating in the battles of Glendale and 
 Malvern Hills. 
 
 While the army rested at Harrisons Land- 
 ing, Hooker's division made a reconnoissance 
 to Turkey Bend, fighting successfully the 
 second, though light tattle of Malvern Hills, 
 with the situation of the opposing forces rer 
 versed. 
 
 For this operation he was commended by 
 General McClellan, his report stating that 
 " General Hooker's dispositions were admir- 
 able, and his officers and men displayed their 
 usual gallantry." This movement. Hooker 
 maintained, if co-operated in as it had de- 
 veloped itself, could have placed the army 
 of the Potomac at Eichmond before the 
 enemy in Pope's front could have returned to 
 prevent it. 
 
 But Hooker, then a division coromander 
 only, was as loyal, obedient, and earnest in 
 supporting his superior commanders, as he 
 was sagacious and fearless in the leadership 
 of his own men. 
 
 Before the army withdrew from Harrisons 
 Landing, Hooker urged its commander to 
 march again on Eichmond, believing it could 
 be taken. He told General McClellan, " That 
 if we were unsuccessful, it would probably 
 
312 " OTHER EXCURSIONS." 
 
 cost him his head, but that he might as well 
 die for an old sheep as for a lamb. I told 
 him I knew of no better place to put an 
 army than between Johnston, who was at that 
 time in Pope's front, and the defenses at 
 Richmond." 
 
 The peninsula, however, was abandoned. 
 Hooker's division of Heintzelman's Corps 
 was among the first to report to Gen. Pope, 
 commanding the Army of Virginia, who im- 
 mediately thereafter found the enemy be- 
 tween his army and Washington. 
 
 To Hooker and Kearny was assigned the 
 task of restoring communication with the cap- 
 ital. A timid or vacillating march might 
 have destroyed our army. 
 
 Hooker encountered the enemy at Bristoe 
 Station, where ensued, Aug. 27, 1862, and 
 was fought a hotly contested but successful 
 engagement. 
 
 His division again fought intensely at the 
 second Manassas (Aug. 29,) and at Chan- 
 tilly (Sept. 1,) which battle turned Lee's 
 apparently victorious columns away from 
 Washington to the upper Potomac. 
 
 AWTIETAM. 
 
 What more natural than that Hooker 
 should be needed there? Beside, the rem- 
 
MAJOR GENERAL JOSEPH HOOKER. 313 
 
 nants of his old division should recruit some 
 strength, their losses on the peninsula hav- 
 ing been exceptionally severe. 
 
 Assigned to the command of the First 
 Corps, he arrived on the field in time to 
 make the battle of South Mountain a success; 
 and was entrusted two days later, at Antie- 
 tam, with the responsible duty of leading the 
 right wing in the grand flank movement 
 which was the scheme of this engagement — 
 an engagement which, however tenaciously 
 fought, faithfully conducted and honorable 
 in its results for the union arms, neverthe- 
 less, from the fruitless inactivity which fol- 
 lowed it, has degenerated from a decisive his- 
 torical victory into a bloody combat of the 
 Civil War — an episode in its military an- 
 nals. 
 
 Both at South Mountain and Antietam 
 Hooker was incontestably a great leader. 
 Wounded painfully in the foot at the close 
 of the severest fighting in his front, who shall 
 say that, had Hooker not been carried from 
 {he field, greater luster might have fallen to 
 the Union arms ? 
 
 The fact remains that there was no general 
 continuance of the engagement, and no orders 
 were given by the army commander looking 
 to its continuance after Hooker had beeni 
 placed in the hospital. 
 
314; " OTHER EX0UB8I0NB." 
 
 Three days after the battle General Me- 
 Clellan writing to " My dear Hooker," said 
 that had you not been wounded when you 
 were, he believed the result of the battle 
 would have been " the destruction of the en- 
 tire rebel army." 
 
 While recovering from this wound Hooker 
 had no more faithful and sympathizing friend 
 than President Lincoln, who was his fre^ 
 quent visitor. 
 
 In the arrangement by Bumside, on as- 
 suming command of the Army of the Poto- 
 mac, of dividing it into three grand divisr 
 ions of two corps each, Hooker was assigned 
 to command the center grand division, com- 
 posed of the Third Corps, then under Stone- 
 man, and the Eifth Corps, under Butterfield. 
 
 FEEDEEICKSBUEG. 
 
 Fredericksburg (Dec. 13-15) was fought 
 and lost. Why ? Oh ! that is a bitter page 
 in the army's history. It was not because of 
 actual treason in high rank. Certain it is, 
 however, that in the highest ranks there was 
 not unanimous fidelity to Bumside. But if 
 vague suspicion attached itself to Hooker, 
 none know better than you, my comrades, 
 that then, as always. Hooker was faithful. 
 
 True, circumstances had bereft him, of his 
 
MAJOR GENERAL JOSEPH HOOKER. 315 
 
 command, and lie might liave been impatient; 
 one corps (Third) having been sent to the left 
 ■wing at Franklin's crossing, and the other 
 corps (Fifth,) -which had remained with 
 him near Burnside, soon had to be sent into 
 Fredericksburg to reinforce the right wing. 
 
 So Hooker, loyal and true soldier that he 
 was, went over with the Fifth Corps. But 
 it was clear to him as to many others that 
 events had already defeated the reasonable 
 purposes of Burnside's attack. 
 
 Hooker's natural candor could not with- 
 hold from Burnside the opinion that further 
 assault that evening was a sacrifice of life. 
 But the commanding general " demanded 
 that Marye's heights should be carried by 
 storm, or in case of failure he would capture 
 them on the follovring morning by leading 
 in person a charge with 18 regiments of the 
 Ninth Corps." (I quote from an address of 
 ■Colonel Edward Hill, Sept. 21, 1892, to his 
 comrades of the Third Brigade, First Divis- 
 ion, Fifth Corps.) 
 
 Hooker, as usual, had personally inspected 
 his whole front. 
 
 The brave assaults of his troops upon those 
 impregnable heights at Fredericksburg have 
 passed into history as one of the heroic and 
 horrible episodes of the war. Notwithstand- 
 
316 " OTEER EXCUBSIONS." 
 
 ing their difference of opinioil, if Bumside 
 had not posessed the utmost confidence in 
 Hooker's manhood, generalship and personal 
 fidelity he -would not then have confided 
 to Hooker's immediate command the troops of 
 General Sumner's grand division, as well as 
 of his own, in the delicate task of withdraw- 
 ing the army from the right bank of the 
 Rappahannock. 
 
 This duty, the highest post of honor and 
 responsibility, in presence and under the guns 
 of the enemy, was performed with masterful 
 and successful tactics. 
 
 A second Fredericksburg was attempted, 
 but defeated — " the mud campaign of Poto- 
 mac history." Ineffectual service, resultless 
 combats, heavy losses, drafts and large ex- 
 penditures, with political indifference at 
 home and apparent lack of zeal and confiding 
 faithfulness among officers of rank, shifting 
 of commanders, an unfixed military regime, 
 and indeed desertion — sometimes at the rate 
 of 500 a day — were telling upon the morale 
 and strength of the Army of the Potomac. 
 
 HOOKEE, THE COMMANDEE OF THE AEMT. 
 
 It was in danger of destruction -v- but not 
 from the enemy. On assuming its command, 
 Hooker's restoration of the army was swift 
 
MAJOR GETslERAL J08B1PB HOOKER. 211 
 
 and marvelous. Tlie silent achievements of 
 detail, discipline, V esprit de corps, and the 
 renewal of patriotism, of courage and seK- 
 confidence in that army, the difficulties en- 
 countered and the results attained in the 
 first sixty days of Hooker's command of it, 
 although thoroughly well known by all of its 
 high officers, have never received adequate 
 public recognition. 
 
 He was as sagacious in camp and in coun- 
 cil and discreet in judgment as he was fear- 
 less in the conflict of arms. He made him- 
 self, also, personally known throughout the 
 army, and, wherever known, his leadership 
 was acknowledged by every rank. 
 
 Every private soldier who wished it visited 
 his own home; every officer was freshly in- 
 structed in his special duties; the staff was 
 weeded out, improved and strengthened; 
 every man was imbued with new military 
 ardor and patriotic zeal; candor, obedience, 
 honor, fidelity and comradeship were some- 
 how awakened; every soldier saw the Presi- 
 dent, his cabinet and other men of foreign 
 and domestic renown; a personal interest in 
 the success of the war and its conduct was 
 incited; the cavalry was consolidated and 
 organized as a corps, for the first time, on a 
 basis best adapted for its useful service, and 
 
318 " OTSER EXCPBSIONS." 
 
 won its first victory in that great cavalry 
 battle of Brandy Station. 
 
 This organization of the cavalry was fol- 
 lowed in other armies. A system of badges 
 and standards designating corps, divisions 
 and brigades was instituted, which fixed re- 
 sponsibility for stragglers and marauding, 
 aided organization and marvelously increased 
 the efficiency of the army. 
 
 Altogether, from disintegrating sections in 
 January, the army of the Potomac, at 
 the opening of spring, in 1863, became 
 the choicest command that was ever mar- 
 shaled under an American soldier. Hooker 
 never ceased during his life to accord to his 
 efficient chief-of-staflf, Butterfield, who had 
 labored so thoroughly and effectively in at- 
 taining this accomplishment, unstinted praise 
 and commendation.* 
 
 •Regarding this rehabilitation of the army the 
 following letter, extracted from a recent (1904) 
 Butterfield Memorial Volume, is because of its facts 
 sufficiently pertinent to be of interest here: 
 General Butterfield, Chief of Staff to General Booh- 
 
 er. 
 
 " New Yoek, Jan. 28, 1904. 
 
 " My Dear General Wilson : — May I venture to 
 pay a slight token of respect to my departed friend. 
 General Butterfield, by recalling a single incident, 
 or I may say achievement, in his -distinguished ca- 
 reer. That was when I first made his acquaintance. 
 True, as a junior officer, attached to another com- 
 mand, I knew that General Butterfield was successive- 
 
MAJOR GENERAL J08EPE BOOKER. 319 
 
 ly a brilliant and efficient brigiade, division and corps 
 commander in the Fifth Army Corps, while I was 
 serving in the Third Army Corps; but it was as the 
 chief of staff of the Army of the Potomac that I 
 came to know him in person, and to appreciate his 
 generalship. So much so, that in the ensuing year, 
 when the fortune of war threw me temporarily near 
 his command, I was offered and promptly accepted an 
 ad interim service on his staff (3d Division, 20th 
 Corps, Army of the Cumberland). My war-time ac- 
 quaintance with him ripened into an enduring and 
 mutual friendship, that made his demise come to me 
 as a personal loss ; and I wish I could pay a suitable 
 tribute to his memory. Conscious of my inability to 
 do so, may I recall the special and notable service to 
 which I allude, — not always appreciated, perhaps, 
 but only because not known by many of his friends 
 and surviving comrades in arms. 
 
 Although he was not the commander of the Army 
 of the Potomac, yet so far as a chief of staff can 
 be awarded credit that naturally attaches to the com- 
 manding-general of the army, the work of General 
 Butterfield, as chief of staff of the Army of the Poto- 
 mac, while under the command of Major-General Jo- 
 seph Hooker, is entitled to an exceptional place in the 
 history of that famous army. 
 
 The conditions, early in 1863, when General Butter- 
 field was called to that distinguished post, were truly 
 lamentable. At home the enemies of President Lin- 
 coln and of the Union cause were active, and en- 
 couraging the fault-finding and fomenting dissensions. 
 They had carried the November election in New York 
 State against the Union party, although the latter 
 was ticketed and supported by the war Democrats 
 and Republicans. Many persons, even some in the 
 army, believed that in some cases regular officers, 
 holding commissions of high rank in the volunteer 
 service, had no eager personal interest in bringing 
 to a close a war that would reduce them to their 
 regular army rank; and that sometimes untrained 
 volunteer generals cared mor« for their political 
 future than a zealous attention to military duties 
 might permit. 
 
320 " OTBER EXCVRSWSS." 
 
 The last call for troops had brought into the field 
 new and untried regiments while yet the depleted 
 ranks of the regiments that had borne the woes of a 
 year of combats had, against all military protests, 
 remained unrecruited. OfBcers, in many instances, 
 who had gone home under various pretexts, had re- 
 signed because they easily secured commissions of 
 higher rank in the new regiments, otherwise unfortu- 
 nately officered by untrained or inexperienced men. 
 The retreats, countermarches and untold sufferings 
 of the much abused Army of the Potomac had been 
 emphasized by the blunderings, or negligences, almost 
 wilful, of generals high in command, at the san- 
 guinary battle of Fredericksburg, and the unfortu- 
 nate " mud march " the following month (January, 
 1863). Absentees were overstaying their furloughs, 
 so that the reported " deserters " ( for they did not 
 really "desert" their cause) sometimes aggregated 
 one thousand a day! The spirit of the army re- 
 mained undaunted; but its morale and autonomy 
 were — to put it mildly — quite below the necessities 
 of oflFensive warfare against a vigilant, courageous 
 and elated foe. 
 
 It was under these . circumstances that General 
 Butterfield was called to headquarters as chief of 
 staff to the commanding general. True, General 
 Hooker's appointment, by President Lincoln, as com- 
 mander of the army, had awakened an enthusiasm 
 among the troops that needed only to be fanned to 
 run aflame. But this was. not all that was needed to 
 constitute a cohesive, reliable and effective army. 
 Supplies and men and officers might be assembled, 
 but all had to be remoulded into a reunited and force- 
 ful entirety. From the headquarter's staff to wagon 
 drivers, from generals to corporals, duties had to be 
 relearned and rehearsed; and each cog soundly fitted 
 to its exact place in the great machine which was 
 thenceforward to wheel into action as the new Army 
 of the Potomac. 
 
 This was the task assigned to General Butterfield, 
 and in less than three months it was silently and 
 surely ' accomplished. First, the " headquarters " of 
 the army became transformed from an habitual depot 
 
T^^u^l^CiA/ 
 
MAJOR GENERAL JOSEPH BOOKER. 32^ 
 
 of delays to a model of neatness and dispatch in the 
 transaction of public business. The staff itself was 
 reorganized, and each department chief so specially- 
 instructed as to leave no doubt about what he was 
 expected to accomplish, and how much or how little 
 time he had to do it in. Each corps and division 
 commander was charged, with specified particularity, 
 as to the requisites essential to the utmost efficiency 
 of his command. Reports and reports were swiftly 
 called for, exposing necessities to be supplied, and 
 abuses or neglects to be remedied. Generals, for in- 
 stance, were compelled to learn, without guessing, 
 how long it would take their commands or any part 
 of them, marching with or without artillery, or 
 trains, or furnished with supplies of all kinds for a 
 stated period, to pass a given point; how extensive 
 would be the column; what space would be required 
 for its various parts; and innumerable other cor- 
 responding inquiries demanded instructive investiga- 
 tions. Regular officers, specially qualified as experts 
 in their respective arms, were sent through the artil- 
 lery, the cavalry, the infantry, the ordnance, quar- 
 termaster's, commissary and ambulance trains; and 
 all departments and sections of the army were thus 
 subjected to most rigid and frequent inspections. Re- 
 views by batteries, regiments, brigades, divisions and 
 corps, were incessant. The cavalry was reorganized, 
 and for the first time consolidated into a single 
 corps; taught to act independently, and to rely upon 
 itself. An efficient secret service department was or- 
 ganized for the first time in that army. A system 
 of flags and badges was instituted, the designs and 
 colors of which told at a glance the corps, division 
 and brigade to which anybody belonged, — a system 
 fashioned after the red patch devised by the lamented 
 Kearny for his own division, and so developed and 
 applied by the new chief of staff that it was adapted 
 to and adopted in all the Union armies for the rest 
 of the war. 
 
 By a system of furloughs every man was given a 
 chance to visit his home before the spring eampaip. 
 Men absent beyond their leave were given opportu- 
 nities honorably to rejoin their regiments; and will- 
 
g22 " otbeb EicvMsioas." 
 
 ingly they returned by hundreds and by thousands, 
 notwithstanding, in many cases, the discouragements 
 of neighbors at home. It is- a pity that there is no 
 diary of all the patient and exacting labors of those 
 short months, under the vigorous devices of this new 
 chief of staff. He made every individual in the army 
 sensitive to the spirit and the touch of the new com- 
 manding general. 
 
 By the time, at the end of the winter, that Presi- 
 dent Lincoln had separately reviewed every army 
 corps, paraded as each one was for him in their 
 proud rehabilitation, there was no man in the Army 
 of the Potomac who was not as proud of his member- 
 ship in it, as he was loyal to his duty, his President 
 and his general. 
 
 It is in no sense detracting from the well-earned 
 distinction due to General Hooker, the commanding 
 general, for this service, to recognize that it was so 
 successfully achieved under him by the persistent and 
 sagacious efforts of his chief of staff. Nor is it un- 
 just to his predecessors to affirm that hitherto that 
 army had never before had that kind of a chief of 
 staff. If proofs were wanting, it might be said that 
 never before did the Army of the Potomac accom- 
 plish such concealed and extended marches as when 
 in June, 1863, it abandoned the Rappahannock to 
 surprise Lee at Gettysburg. 
 
 It was during a great part of this period of Gen- 
 eral Butterfield's service as chief of staff that I was 
 almost daily at the army headquarters, finally serv- 
 ing there as aide-de-camp to the commanding general, 
 until General Hooker was relieved from command on 
 the eve of that supreme combat and decisive engage- 
 ment, when I returned again to the Third Corps. 
 And so it has happened that I have always felt that 
 inadequate recognition has been historically awarded 
 to our lamented friend for the distinguished and use- 
 ful service he rendered to the army and the country 
 in the comparatively brief period covered by his 
 assignment as chief of staff of the Army of the Po- 
 tomac. Yours very sincerely, 
 
 Hbnbt Edwin Tbemaiht, 
 
MAJOR GENERAL JOSEPH HOOKER. 323 
 
 Hooker's assignment to the commaiid of 
 this army had been accompanied by a letter 
 f rona President lincoln, which, though appar- 
 ently, is not really a reflection upon Hooker, 
 but rather a tribute to his candor, high-mind- 
 ed patriotism, capacity and good sense. 
 
 It is, moreover, an evidence of Lincoln's 
 greatness and could have had but one author. 
 On these accounts it may as well be read 
 here: 
 
 EzECUTIVE MAWSIOlf, 
 
 Washutgton, D. C, Jan. 26, 1863. 
 
 General — I have placed you at the head 
 of the Army of the Potomac. Of course I 
 have done this upon what appears to me to 
 be sufficient reasons ; and yet I think it best 
 for you to know that there are some things 
 in regard to which I am not quite satisfied 
 with you. 
 
 I believe you to be a brave and skilful sol- 
 dier, which, of course, I like. I also believe 
 you do not mix polities with your profession, 
 in which you are right. You have confidence 
 in yourself, which is a valuable, if not an 
 indispensable quality. You are ambitious, 
 which, within reasonable bounds, does good 
 rather than harm; but I think that during 
 General Burnside's command of the army 
 you have taken counsel of your ambition. 
 
324 " OTHER EXCURSIONS." 
 
 and thwarted* him as much as you could, 
 in which you did a great wrong to the coun- 
 try and to a most meritorious and honorable 
 brother officer. 
 
 I have heard, in such a way as to believe it, 
 of your recently saying that both the army 
 and the government needed a dictator. Of 
 course it was not for this, but in spite of it, 
 that I have given you the command. Only 
 those generals who gain success can set up 
 dictators. What I now ask of you is military 
 success, and I will risk the dictatorship. The 
 government will support you to the utmost of 
 its ability, which is neither more nor less than 
 it has done and will do for all commanders. 
 
 I much fear that the spirit which you have 
 aided to infuse into the army, of criticising 
 their commander and withholding confidence 
 from him, will now turn upon you. I shall 
 assist you, as far as I can, to put it down. 
 
 ISTeither you nor Napoleon, if he were alive 
 again, could get any good out of an army 
 while such a spirit prevails in it. And now 
 
 * In this I think the President unconsciously did 
 Hooker an injustice. Hooker had come to love Lin- 
 coln and was ardent to please him. This fatherly 
 letter unquestionably had a marked influence on his 
 career. That some officers high in rank under Burn- 
 side are open to this charge is a matter of common 
 history. But, whatever were Hooker's faults, his 
 opinions, or his expressions, he was by instinct and by 
 education too much of a soldier to injure his cause or 
 his commander by inefficient performances or disloyal 
 deeds. 
 
MAJOR GENERAL JOSEPH HOOKER. 
 
 325 
 
 beware of rashness — beware of rashness ; 
 but, with energy and sleepless vigilance, go 
 forward and give us victories. Yours very 
 truly, 
 
 A. LmcoLiT. 
 
 That Hooker's first campaign as the army's 
 commander should have been a reverse illus- 
 trates the fate of war. Perhaps Hooker took 
 too much at heart Lincoln's admonition re- 
 iterated in this letter to " beware of rash- 
 ness." 
 
 But Third Corps men who survived the 
 field of Chancellorsville know that the blows 
 there received were more than equalled by the 
 blows delivered. 
 
 From that desperate conflict Hooker's 
 army retired no more shattered than Lee's. 
 Except in physical losses, the army of the 
 Potomac resting in its old camp at Falmouth 
 was, in less than a week, as strong and con- 
 fident as when it crossed the Rappahannock 
 and surprised Lee with 50,000 men at Chan- 
 cellorsville. 
 
 CHAirCELLOESVTLLE. 
 
 This is neither the time nor the place to 
 enter upon the military discussion which has 
 grown up concerning Chancellorsville. Let 
 it suffice to say that every adverse criticism 
 
326 " OTHER EXCURSIONS." 
 
 is capable of a sound military response, and 
 that the uninformed or incompetent critic 
 need not be answered. 
 
 I do not believe that any of Hooker's gen- 
 erals intended infidelity to him ; but it is only 
 just to Hooker to say that up to his death 
 he never relinquished the conviction that 
 there was disregard of time and orders, with 
 the consequent fatalities, in the left wing 
 of his army, which Hooker necessarily ceased 
 to direct in person after he had joined the 
 wing he had sent to Chancellorsville. 
 
 When he reached there, also, he found 
 that the right wing had not advanced to the 
 points designated, and it was too late to 
 change the lines. So he suppressed his dis- 
 appointment, and did the best he could by 
 immediately disposing his troops for the bat- 
 tle he had challenged. 
 
 In expectation of being attacked early Sat- 
 urday morning, he rode the lines of his troops 
 amidst their great enthusiasm. But it was 
 a business ride for him, and neither a private 
 nor a general remained in any doubt of what 
 was then expected of him. 
 
 Hooker had forced the enemy to attack 
 him: but why, Saturday afternoon (May 2, 
 1863), when the expected attack came, his 
 
MAJOR GENERAL JOSEPH HOOKER. 32? 
 
 lines there collapsed, will always remain a 
 mystery. 
 
 But Hooker's old division, under the noble 
 Berry, with your Massachusetts brigade, in- 
 cited by his presence, checked the rout with 
 the close of day. Then followed the famous 
 midnight attack of your (Third) corps, the 
 consequent confusion to the enemy's lines and 
 the death of their leader, Jackson. 
 
 Then came the sanguinary battle of Sun- 
 day morning (May 3), during every moment 
 of which Hooker was intently listening for 
 the expected sound of Sedgwick's guns, at 
 Fredericksburg, at the sound of which be was 
 ready, with 20,000 fresh troops, held near 
 his headquarters for that purpose, to pierce 
 Lee's lines and cut his army in twain. 
 
 But no sound of battle came from the left 
 vsdng, and the furious contest before Hooker's 
 eyes made it certain that his fresh troops 
 would soon be required in his immediate 
 front. 
 
 Quiet and dignified in manner, as was his 
 wont amid the crash and din of battle. Hook; 
 er was awaiting the opportune moment to 
 place his disengaged troops in the firing lines. 
 Perhaps an army commander had no busi- 
 ness to be exactly at that place, but if not, 
 
328 " OTHER EXCURSIONS." 
 
 where else could he possibly have been and 
 remain of service? 
 
 At any rate, here and now was the crisis 
 of the day, of the battle, and — as we see it 
 now — of his career. But in less time than 
 I can tell it, all was changed, and his appar- 
 ently lifeless form was carried into the Chan- 
 cellor House. 
 
 We instinctively put our fingers to our lips 
 as a signal that the troops should not be in- 
 formed. He was not mutilated, but stunned, 
 unconscious by contusion from the shattered 
 pillar of the veranda which fell upon him.* 
 
 Knowing, as Hooker did, that every man 
 in the Third Corps was engaged in desperate 
 battle, and entertaining, as Hooker did, the 
 most abundant confidence in General Sickles 
 and all his suggestions, I am sure that the re- 
 quest I was charged at that moment vdth 
 renewing to him in the most forcible way I 
 could would have been favorably acted upon 
 except for this almost fatal missile. 
 
 * Relating to this circumstance a letter from the 
 speaker written to his home May 7th, 1863, says: 
 " * * * I saw Hooker once picked up for dead. 
 I was just about to make a report to him when he 
 fell ; but he was only stunned by a round shot strik- 
 ing the pillar of the porch against which he was lean- 
 ing. He soon recovered, however, and was all right 
 again, although he suffered during the day. • 
 
MAJOR GENERAL JOSEPH HOOKER. 329 
 
 Fortunately he shortly revived, asserted 
 his large constitutional vigor, and rode among 
 the troops on that ghastly plain. 
 
 Appreciating the gravity of all the circum- 
 stances, and of the results to the country 
 should that morning's fight hring about a dis- 
 aster — perhaps recalling Lincoln's " beware 
 of rashness " — and observing the apparent 
 exhaustion of the enemy's onslaughts. Hook- 
 er, lest he should sink again from the contu- 
 sion, as he shortly did, confided the imme- 
 diate disposition of the troops about him to 
 the officer of highest rank among whose troops 
 he was carried. 
 
 But there was no commanding general to 
 renew the battle,* else the two wings of Lee's 
 army could not afterward have united them- 
 selves at the ruins of the very house where 
 Hooker fell. 
 
 Sad, indeed, is the moment in the crisis of 
 a general engagement, vdth the existence of 
 the nation in the balance, when the com- 
 manding general of its army should lie feeble 
 and undone, helpless and prostrate from the 
 shock of hostile missile. But this was Ohan- 
 cellorsville, and such was Hooker's fate. 
 
 Disabled thus, at the crisis — and how 
 
 * See in this volume the chai)ter on " Chancellors- 
 ville." 
 
330 " OTHER EXCURSIONS." 
 
 and why it was the crisis cannot be detailed 
 in this place — •Hooker, strictly speaking, 
 should not be deemed exclusively responsible 
 for the impotent conclusions of the fierce en- 
 counter so auspiciously begun. Chancellors- 
 villa understood is no riddle. The causes 
 which turned it from a union victory to a 
 union retreat are not among those which 
 should dim the luster of our commanding 
 general. 
 
 Hooker's grand physique did not long suc- 
 cumb. Before his army had rested in its 
 camps he was on duty, and little was known 
 of his personal escape. Indeed, he depre- 
 cated its mention. 
 
 THE GtETTYSBTJEG CAMPAIGN. 
 
 Lee couldi not surprise Hooker, as 
 Hooker surprised Lee by his presence at 
 Chancellorsville. Shortly after Lee started 
 for Pennsylvania, Hooker marched his army 
 so that he had a shorter route than Lee, either 
 to Washington or to Kichmond. Had Lee's 
 northern move been a feint he would have 
 had to fight Hooker at the place of the lat- 
 ter's selection. 
 
 As it was not a feint. Hooker planned the 
 concentration of the army at the place of the 
 great Pennsylvania battle. 
 
MAJOR GENERAL JOSEPH HOOKER. 
 
 331 
 
 On one occasion, pointing on a map to 
 Gettysburg, he exclaimed to his chief of staff : 
 " There mil be the battle." 
 
 Without the dispositions and marches of 
 troops, as outlined by Hooker, and executed 
 by his own and his successor's chief-of-staff, 
 Gettysburg would not have been the place of 
 meeting; without the spirit of Hooker, which 
 pervaded the troops who sought the enemy, 
 and drew him there into premature attack, 
 and fought him so quickly that no battle else- 
 where was then possible, who shall say what 
 Gettysburg might have been ? 
 
 Hooker was relieved prior to Gettysburg 
 at his own request. Halleck had prevented 
 the march of a body of troops at Harper's 
 Ferry, which Hooker preferred to utilize in 
 the field by abandoning that post, no longer 
 useful. 
 
 Hooker had obtained from Lincoln, on 
 accepting command, the assurance that Hal- 
 leck should not interfere with his plans. He 
 said he was sure that Halleck would interfere 
 with him at a critical time^ and so he had 
 asked this assurance. 
 
 This interference of Halleck being re- 
 garded, therefore, by Hooker, as a breach of 
 this condition, he promptly responded by a 
 telegraphic request from Harper's Ferry, 
 
332 
 
 " OTBER EXCURBIONS." 
 
 ■where he had gone to make these dispositions, 
 to be relieved; and Greneral Meade the next 
 day assumed the command. A few days 
 afterward Harper's Ferry was abandoned, as 
 Hooker in his day in vain had planned. 
 
 The march to Gettysburg was the carrying 
 out of Hooker's campaign and ideas by the 
 organization inspired and carried forward by 
 his energies. The same staff Hpokeor had 
 selected and advanced, guided and posted 
 the troops, provided them with supplies and 
 ammunition, and administered and nerved 
 them. 
 
 " Everything was in place as he disposed 
 it ; nothing was changed in matter or spirit," 
 is the remark of one who loved and trusted 
 him, " except that in person Hooker was ab- 
 sent, while still present in spirit and inspira- 
 tion — everywhere, from Oak Eidge to 
 Eound Top, from the Granite Spur to Gulp's 
 Hill." 
 
 His march to Pennsylvania was recognized 
 by Congress, in a resolution thanking him 
 for " the skill, energy and endurance which 
 first covered Washington and Baltimore from 
 the meditated blow of the advancing and pow- 
 erful army of rebels, led by General Eobert 
 E. Lee." 
 
 'No one man is the hero of G«t1ysburg. 
 
MAJOR GENERAL JOSEPH HOOKER. 333 
 
 Every soldier present there is a sharer in 
 that honor. Hooker was not present, but he 
 helped to win it. Let Hooker, then, share 
 that honor also. 
 
 Let not Massachusetts cease to monument 
 her stalwart regiments upon that or any other 
 field until she shall accord to Joseph Hooker 
 the enduring monument due to her foremost 
 general in the conflict which Gettysburg rep- 
 resents. 
 
 HOOKEK EELIWQtriSHES THE COMMAITD. 
 
 Silently and sadly, as the army was march- 
 ing to meet its enemy in, the open fields of 
 Pennsylvania, Hooker ceased to belong to 
 the Army of the Potomac that he loved and 
 commanded. Strange fortune of war. 
 
 There was something more than the pro- 
 fessional soldier, the brilliant commander of 
 men, the ambitious general, in this surrender 
 of self and of station to the performance of 
 a conscientious, unwelcome, patriotic duty. 
 
 "Myself and all other generals in the 
 army," said Hooker to one officer, " had bet- 
 ter be sacrificed than that there should be a 
 want of harmony and cordial eo-operation on 
 the part of all concerned." 
 
 To another he voiced the sentiment that 
 " individuals were of no account in this war 
 
334 
 
 " OTBEB EXCVBSWNS." 
 
 — ' each must do what the country calk him 
 to do " ; and with moistened eyes, in the 
 privacy of his tent, he said to me : " General 
 Meade is a good officer and a brave man, and 
 will command this army well." 
 
 If malice, pique, rivalry, ofiended dignity, 
 or ill-nature had been a present motive in 
 that large soul, it would not have expressed 
 itself thus. Lofty patriotism, success of the 
 cause, high conception of duty, and the loyal 
 performance of it conscientiously understood, 
 and by efforts faithfully and fearlessly sus- 
 tained — this was Hooker. 
 
 He was not a man of the mold his enemies 
 asserted of him. At that critical hour a dis- 
 cordant sound from him, and there would 
 have been no Gettysburg. But no sucH 
 theme was possible to his composition. Sol- 
 dierly duty and personal sacrifice sounded 
 his attunement, and the army took it up. 
 
 In the light of the three bloody July days 
 that immediately followed his departure, 
 who shall deny that the Army of the Potomac 
 was not then imbued with his illustrious ex- 
 ample? The spirit infused by Hooker, and 
 the influence of his leadership, never left the 
 Army of the Potomac until it was mustered 
 out of service under the shadow of the capitol. 
 
MAJOR GENERAL JOSEPH BOOKER. 335 
 A NEW COMMAND. 
 
 It is rare that an army commander thus 
 retired into obscurity in the height of hostil- 
 ities, should respond with alacrity when sub- 
 sequently' called by his government for 
 service in a subordinate position. It was 
 Hooker's high nature to serve his country 
 wherever it should require his services. 
 
 In the stress of the Army of the Cumber- 
 land, at Chattanooga, it was necessary that 
 Rosecrans should be succored, and the Elev- 
 enth and Twelfth Corps were detached under 
 Hooker from the Army of the Potomac for 
 that purpose. 
 
 Officers of high rank and acknowledged 
 leadership were essential to the movement. 
 Not only was this body of men to be prompt- 
 ly transferred from the fields of Virginia to 
 the capital of Tennessee, but they were to 
 open up at the south of it a long line of com- 
 munications through a country threatened by 
 equally powerful f orcesi of the enemy. 
 
 Celerity, discretion, boldness, and the 
 highest military sagacity were required for 
 successful co-operation with the besieged and 
 starving army under Eosecrans. 
 
 This was accomplished under Hooker's 
 command. How and by what means, ^and the 
 
336 •' OTHER EXCURSIONS." 
 
 details of an esperienee which forms in itself 
 a separate campaign, must be left to the his- 
 torian. They can not be recited here. The 
 swift movement by rail of this large body of 
 troops from the banks of the Potomac to the 
 Tennessee was one of the marvelous accom- 
 plishments of modem war. 
 
 IN TEIS'WESSEE. 
 
 The battle of Wauhatehie, where the choic- 
 est corps of the enemy precipitated itself, in 
 a night attack, upon Hooker's columns, 
 wearied and exhausted by the day's march- 
 ing and skirmishing, and the dispersement 
 by the assailed command at night in a gen- 
 eral engagement of an enemy which sought 
 its destruction in order to close in upon the 
 last defile by which Rosecrans' Army of the 
 Cumberland could be circuitously ap- 
 proached, added renown to a trusted, but 
 hitherto unfortunate, commander. 
 
 Under less skilful leadership, a failure of 
 this movement, delay in delivering any battle 
 or skirmish during the march from Washville 
 to Chattanooga, or default in accomplishing 
 its plan, might have been unfortunate and 
 disastrous in its results to the Army of the 
 Cumberland and to the country. The Chat- 
 
MAJOR QETflERAL JOSEPH HOOKER. 337 
 
 tanooga of 1863 might have repeated the Val- 
 ley Forge of 1778. 
 
 These operations for Rosecrans' relief were 
 declared by General Thomas in a general 
 order (Nov. 7, 1863) to be " of so brilliant a 
 character as to deserve special notice," and 
 he announces that the column under Major- 
 General Hooker " deserve great credit for 
 their brilliant success in driving the enemy 
 from every position which they attacked," 
 
 " The bayonet charge up a steep and diffi- 
 cult hill, over 200 feet high, completely routr 
 ing the enemy and driving him from his 
 barricades on its top, and the repulse by 
 General Geary's command of greatly superior 
 numbers, who attempted to surprise him 
 (known as the battle of Wauhatchie), will 
 rank among the most distinguished feats of 
 arms of this war." 
 
 On the reorganization of the Army of the 
 Cumberland the Eleventh and Twelfth Corps 
 were consolidated, and with other troops 
 formed the Twentieth Corps to which Hook- 
 er was formally assigned. 
 
 That Thomas and not Hooker was assigned 
 to the command of the Army of the Cumber- 
 land might have been a source of discomfort 
 to some men. Hooker displayed none. He 
 
338 " of am nxcuMtovs;* 
 
 received and oteyed his orders witli his usual 
 spirit of loyalty to his superior officers. 
 
 LOOKOTJT MOUNTAIN. 
 
 Then came the battles of Lookout Moun- 
 tain and Mission Ridge, in the plan of which 
 Hooker again was assigned a suhordinate 
 part. His was the duty of " demonstrate 
 ing " against the impregnable Lookout Moun- 
 tain, while the grand effort should be made 
 by Sherman on the left to " carry " Mission 
 Eidge. 
 
 All of Hooker's command, except one di- 
 vision, under Geary, had been withdrawn 
 from him to participate in the forthcoming 
 battle at Missionary Eidge. 
 
 Hooker felt his isolation and apparent 
 uselessnees in this situation. Eager to par- 
 ticipate in the general engagement about to 
 occur, and saying that he was accustomed to 
 accompany his troops going into battle, Hook- 
 er applied for permission to join the largest 
 part of his command, which had been de- 
 tached from his immediate supervision to 
 participate in the assault on Mission Eidge. 
 This request was refused. 
 
 While the troops were passing through 
 Hooker's camp to engage in the assault, the 
 bridge they were using to cross the river 
 
MAJOR GENERAL JOSEPH HOOKER. 339 
 
 broke down and became useless. In this 
 emergency, it was decided that in case the 
 troops could not get over Hooker should as- 
 sume command of all unable to cross. 
 
 It was expected that Osterhaus' division 
 of the Army of the Tennessee and Oruft'a 
 division of the Army of the Cumberland 
 would have been able to have crossed the pon- 
 toon bridge and so join the assaulting col- 
 umns in fron| of Chattanooga. Indeed, the 
 attack was deferred for that purpose. 
 
 It was under these circumstances that 
 Hooker was directed to take these two divi- 
 sions and his own and make a demonstration 
 on Lookout Mountain, provided the bridge 
 could not be repaired in time to cross for the 
 assault, as contemplated. 
 
 This order reached Hooker about 6 o'clock 
 in the evening beifore the battle. It proved 
 impossible to restore the bridge in season, so 
 between sunset and sunrise Hooker's plans 
 were formed, troops disposed and everything 
 made ready for the " demonstration " he was 
 ordered to institute against Lookout. 
 
 It was not expected that the troops thus 
 under Hooker's command should be able to 
 accomplish anything more than to divert the 
 enemy in favor of the grand assault upon bis 
 right. 
 
340 " OTSER EX0VR8I0N8." 
 
 True, Hooker was, if practicable, to gain 
 tbe " point of Lookout Mountain " ; but it is 
 obvious, from the dispatches, that his win- 
 ning the crest in battle was not in contempla- 
 tion. Hooker's tent, however, had not been 
 facing for weeks that grand old mountaiii in 
 vain. 
 
 Its occupant had not been idle. He had 
 studied the ground, the enemy's forces, de- 
 fenses and their approaches; and when, at 
 last, the opportunity to participate in the 
 grand attack of the Army of the Cumberland 
 was not to come to him, but instead thereof 
 came orders that he should make a demon- 
 stration, a plan was quickly formed by him 
 that contemplated carrying the mountain. 
 
 How a force was swiftly moved around 
 its base and across its brow, under cover of 
 the morning mists, and a heavy iire in front, 
 is a story often told in prose, in verse, in 
 household words and pictured in enduring 
 art for the admiration of generations to come. 
 
 When at last the sun broke through the 
 mists on the mountain sides, it was no figure 
 of words that led a distinguished officer to 
 report that Hooker's colors were " above the 
 clouds." 
 
 His troops were on the summit of Lookout 
 Mountain, and so were the enemy's retreat- 
 
MAJOR GENERAL JOSEPH HOOKER. 341 
 
 ing skirmish lines, -when night closed the 
 battle. 
 
 The troops on the Chattanooga plain below 
 at the break of the next day were unable to 
 discern which side held the sumniit, obscured 
 as it was in the clouds of the early morning; 
 when suddenly the sun's rays parted the mists 
 and cast a pencil of light on the rocky crest. 
 Then a broad beam of sunlight streamed over 
 the mountain, and uplifting the curtain of 
 clouds that rolled away from the summit 
 shone brightly upon two blue-coated standard- 
 bearers waving there the colors of the union. 
 
 A great shout went up from the plains of 
 Chattanooga, every band played, men were 
 hilarious with excitement, officers embraced 
 each other in tears; and surviving partici- 
 pants are unable, to-day, to describe the scene 
 with composura 
 
 Even Hooker's superiors were surprised 
 at the reports during the battle, and required 
 confirmatory dispatches before accepting the 
 first reports. 
 
 General Thomas dispatched him his 
 " hearty congratulations upon your glorious 
 success to-day, and desired that you convey 
 his warmest thanks to the troop under your 
 command for their valo~rous conduct." 
 
 Then at our left and across the valley, 
 
342 " OTEER EXCUR8I0NB." 
 
 but on the next day, as Hooker on our right 
 descended into the valley and assailed the 
 enemy's left, the impetuous soldiers of 
 Thomas and of Sherman were thus able at 
 last to break the rebel center on Mission 
 Ridge, and the Army of the Cumberland then 
 settled down into reposeful winter quarters. 
 
 THE ATLANTA CAMPAIGUST. 
 
 IsText came the campaign of 1864, from 
 Chattanooga to Dalton, Resaca, and on to 
 Atlanta. From May 2 to July 30 it is 
 scarcely an exaggeration to say that there 
 was almost continuous fighting. Mill Creek 
 Gap, Eocky Face Kidge, Resaca, Cassville, 
 Dallas, Pine Mountain, skirmishes on the 
 Chattahoochie, and bloody collisions almost 
 daily, brought the army near Atlanta. At 
 Resaca and Peach Tree Creek the inevitable 
 result of Hooker's actual personal leadership, 
 when in contact with the enemy, was felt 
 throughout the field. 
 
 At Snake Creek Gap, before the battle of 
 Resaca opened, the Twentieth Corps, obedient 
 to orders, was restrained from the attack, 
 which Hooker would have precipitated twelve 
 hours before the battle did actually begin. 
 To the Twentieth Corps was afterward as- 
 
MAJOR GENERAL JOSEPH BOOKER. 343 
 
 signed the task of carrying the two redoubts 
 which were to be stormed. 
 
 The exploits of this attack, conducted 
 under Hooker's personal direction, will ever 
 shine with lustre in the annals of the Army 
 of the Cumberland. 
 
 Indeed, a narrative of Hooker's services 
 in the western army would involve a history 
 of the Army of the Cumberland from the 
 time of Eosecrans to its arrival before At- 
 lanta, ten months replete vsrith that army's 
 most arduous and successful endeavors, and 
 in which his (the Twentieth) corps was 
 always a most potential factor. 
 
 A few days before HcPherson fell, oc- 
 curred the heavy battle of Peach Tree Creek, 
 Hooker's last fight, and in which Hooker's 
 entire corps, as well as other troops were long 
 and hotly engaged, so much so indeed, that at 
 one critical hour in the afternoon some of 
 his men lost heart, and his lines gave way, 
 but fortunately where everything could be 
 seen. 
 
 Hiding slowly into the confusion with his 
 customary quiet and deliberate maimer, he 
 said, with a deprecating gesture to his men : 
 " Shame on you, my men. Why do you let 
 those fello-vrs drive you out. You can whip 
 them — you know you can, and we will"; 
 
344 " OTHER EXCURSIONS." 
 
 and in this strain of imperturbable persua- 
 sion, things were rallied and the day (July 
 20, 1864) became a red letter day in the 
 brilliant history of the Army of the Cumber- 
 land. 
 
 The repulse of the enemy's desperate as^ 
 saults of that day in attempting to forestall 
 further progress towards the siege of Atlanta, 
 witnessed the last general engagement in 
 which all of Hooker's troops participated, 
 and entitles Hooker to be ranked among the 
 great leaders who brought about the fall of 
 that stronghold. 
 
 Two days after Peach Tree Creek McPher- 
 son fell in one of the first battles near At- 
 lanta, and Hooker with a rank as high as any 
 officer under Sherman not already command- 
 ing an army, and who had himself com- 
 manded the Army of the Potomac, with the 
 confidence of that army and acceptability to 
 his superiors, naturally expected his ten 
 months of continuous and brilliant service aa 
 a subordinate and faithful commander in the 
 Army of the Cumberland, should be recog- 
 nized by his assignment to command McPher- 
 son's Army of the Tennessee. 
 
MAJOR GENEBAL JOSEPH BOOKER. 345 
 
 HOOKEE EEQtTESTS TO BE BELIEVED OF HIS 
 COMMAND. 
 
 On learning tliat Howard had been as- 
 signed to the command of the Army of the 
 Tennessee, Hooker asked, July 27, 1864, to 
 be relieved from duty, adding : " Justice and 
 self-respect alike require my removal from 
 an army in v^rhich rank and service are ig- 
 nored." 
 
 On the same day Sherman had written to 
 Washington of Hooker, saying : " He is wel- 
 come to my place, if the president awards it, 
 but I cannot name him to so important a 
 command as the Army of the Tennessee."- 
 
 As long prior to this as December 28, 1863, 
 Hooker had freely expressed himself to Sec- 
 retary Chase in a letter giving the best de- 
 scription ever vsTitten of the Lookout Moim- 
 tain fight and Hooker's relations to it, in this 
 strain: 
 
 " If my services in this rebellion do not 
 merit reward, they certainly have been such 
 as should ' shield me from punishment. 
 Many of my juniors are in the exercise of 
 independent commands, while I am here 
 with more rank piled on top of me than a 
 well man can stand up under, with! a cor- 
 poral's guard comparatively for a command." 
 
 Tet he remained seven months longer in 
 
346 " OTHER EXCURSIONS." 
 
 the performance of as severe and responsible 
 duties as fell to any officer in the western 
 army. 
 
 Before he left tliat army Hooker's friends 
 were all who knew him. Hooker's leader- 
 ship, as one of its honored generals, was uni- 
 versally acknowledged. Why, at last, he 
 asked to be relieved from duty in it will 
 never be imputed to a desire to quit its serv- 
 ice. It was the result of an honest conviction 
 of an honest mind. 
 
 Hooker deliberately concluded that it Was 
 not intended in all quarters that he should 
 be fairly treated. He was willing, he 
 thought, to overlook many intentional of- 
 fenses ; but when the gallant and unfortunate 
 McPherson fell, what more natural for 
 Hooker to expect than that his rank, subor- 
 dination, services and success should entitle 
 him to be named as McPherson's successor. 
 
 Whether, in this respect, Hooker was right 
 need not be discussed here. Let it be d&- 
 bated by men who think they would have 
 acted otherwise. Suffice it to narrate, that 
 General Howard (who had coramanded the 
 Eleventh Corps in Hooker's army at Chan- 
 eellorsville) was placed in command of the 
 Army of the Tennessee, subject to the ap- 
 proval of the president. 
 
MAJOR GENERAL JOBEPH HOOKER. 347 
 
 It has been stated on high authority that 
 Lincoln telegraphed Sherman to appoint 
 Hooker; and that Sherman reiterated his de- 
 sire to have Howard appointed, and made his 
 resignation a condition of General Hooker's 
 appointment. 
 
 There is reason, on the part of Hooker's 
 army associates, to believe that because of 
 Halleck's enmity or other misfortune, some 
 of the official papers that should have ap- 
 peared in the printed series of official war 
 records have disappeared, as significant gaps 
 in the correspondence with Washington af- 
 fecting General Hooker occur in more than 
 in this one instance. 
 
 However, it is clear that Hooker firmly 
 believed that he was no longer wanted in the 
 western army. Had he notwithstanding 
 even been asked to stay there, you and I be- 
 lieve he would have remained in any com- 
 mand to which his rank entitled him. 
 
 A WEW DUTY. 
 
 HooKer was soon afterwaj-d assigned to the 
 command of the IN'orthem Department, with 
 headquarters established at Detroit, and held 
 no further field command during the hostil- 
 ities. 
 
 As General Hooker had loved and trusted 
 
348 " OTHER EZCUBBI0N8." 
 
 the Army of the Potomac, so he had after- 
 ward come to love the Army of the Cumher- 
 land, admiring and respecting that patriot 
 and soldier, George H. Thomas, its com- 
 mander, under whom Hooker served. 
 
 When Hooker's troops appeared in the 
 Wauhatchie Valley and in a brief campaign 
 unexcelled for skill and success relieved the 
 besieged Eosecrans, General Thomas was 
 commanding the Fourteenth Corps. Hooker 
 had two corps (Eleventh and Twelfth) and 
 perhaps he might himself have expected the 
 command should Eosecrans be retired. 
 
 If so none knew it. He gladly served 
 under Thomas, and his fidelity to what was 
 expected of him, and what was accomplished 
 by his own troops, is attested upon almost 
 every page of the ofiicial record of the opera- 
 tions in which he participated with that 
 army. 
 
 On being relieved, at his own request, of 
 command of the Twentieth Corps, he was 
 obliged in departing to ride through the 
 bivouacs and lines of his troops, when a most 
 remarkable spectacle was presented of the 
 men rushing to his side as he passed along, to 
 give him a fond farewell. An officer .who 
 witnessed the scene describes the husky voices 
 
MAJOR GENERAL J08EPB BOOKER. 349 
 
 that said " good-bye " and the big tears that 
 laved the sturdy face of many a -weather- 
 beaten veteran. 
 
 About 1867 Hooker had a paralytic stroke, 
 resulting, as his doctors declared, from his 
 Chancellorsville injury, and was for a long 
 time an invalid. 
 
 He subsequently recovered sufficiently to 
 go about with the aid of a servant, but he 
 never regained the great physical strength 
 and health Which, if not his boast, was uni- 
 versally attributed to him. 
 
 Until the very last years of his life he re- 
 tained the same freshness of complexion and 
 youthful expression which marked his per- 
 sonal appearance. 
 
 A war correspondent (Mr. N^oah Brooks) 
 recently (January, 1895, Century Maga- 
 zine), writing of him as when commanding 
 the army (1863), says: "He was by all 
 odds the handsomest soldier I ever laid my 
 eyes upon. I think I see him now — tall, 
 shapely, - well dressed, though not natty in 
 appearance ; his fair, red and white complex- 
 ion glowing with health, his light blue eyes 
 sparkling with intelligence and animation 
 and his auburn hair tossed back up his well- 
 shaped head. His nose was aquiline, and 
 the expression of his somewhat small mouth 
 
350 " OTBER EXOVBaWNS." 
 
 was one of mucli sweetness, thougli rather 
 irresolute, it seemed to me. He was a gay 
 cavalier, alert and confident, overflowing with 
 animal spirits and as cheery as a boy." 
 You, comrades, have his counterpart in- 
 ''delibly pictured in your memory. Tall, well 
 proportioned, dignified, kind, yet command- 
 ing in demeanor, graceful in motion, firm of 
 step, of engaging manner, affectionate in dis^ 
 position, and with a frank, terse and epi- 
 grammatic style of conversation. Hooker waa 
 altogether, one of the most accomplished offi- 
 cers and imposing soldiers that ever wore 
 the tmiform of the American army. 
 
 TJndouhtedly, Hooker in conversation in- 
 dulged in criticizing military affairs and 
 men. Hut never with ill-nature or with a cap< 
 tious or insubordinate spirit. His patriotic 
 zeal was d£ the most intense type, and in his 
 sincerity of conviction that tHe military 
 strengtK of the enemy was overmatched by 
 the Jorces at the disposal of our own generals 
 or the operations under discussion, he was 
 sometimes impatient for the results he earn- 
 estly hoped for. 
 
 Besides he candidly believed that the ex- 
 pression and discussion of his own views 
 would be of value to our cause, and they gen- 
 erally were. What he would say, too, waa 
 
MAJOR GMERAL JOSEPH BOOKER, ggl 
 
 not said at random, but usually as a conclu- 
 sion of his vigorous intellect and after due 
 consideration. 
 
 To his superiors, as well as with equals in 
 rank, he was ready with useful suggestions, 
 not inconsiderate or impulsive, but carefully 
 thought out. 
 
 But no matter what his own opinions, he 
 was too thoroughly a soldier to let his own 
 views intercept the execution with irre- 
 proachable fidelity and acknowledged skill of 
 any and every instruction confided to him 
 by his superior commander. 
 
 Of this, his conduct under Burnside at 
 Tredericksburg, as just described, is an apt 
 illustration. Speaking of the final attack, 
 which, after previous attacks had failed, he 
 had deprecated, he testified before the com- 
 mittee on the Conduct of the War that : " But 
 if I was ordered to make the attack, I was 
 perfectly willing to make it; for it made no 
 difference what became of me. I made the 
 attack, and such an attack as I believe has 
 never before been made in this war. • . . 
 No campaign in the world ever saw a more 
 gallant advance than Humphreys' men made 
 there. But they were put to do a work that 
 no man could do." 
 
 Strange to narrate. Hooker's most notor^ 
 
352 " OTHER EXOVRSIOm." 
 
 ious criticisms (and they are amply recorded 
 either in oiBcial dispatches or sworn testi- 
 mony taken by the Congi'essional Committee 
 on the Conduct of the War) of battles and 
 campaigns have already come very largely to 
 correspond with the conclusions of subsequent 
 military writers and the trend of military 
 history. 
 
 Public estimates of Hooker's character, it 
 is true, have greatly differed. He has been 
 condemned and praised by military critics. 
 Generally those who have condemned have 
 been without adequate knowledge to warrant 
 sentence of condemnation. 
 
 Generally those who have praised have 
 been those who best knew and understood his 
 career. Allowance, too, must be made of the 
 different attitudes from which his critics 
 looked upon this man. 
 
 Ha undoubtedly had his defects in the 
 strategy of war. It is, however, more of a 
 task to detail them with great effort than it 
 is to point to his accomplishments in his pro- 
 fession. Whether in command of a brigade 
 division, army or corps, he excelled in organ- 
 izing and educating his soldiers to the point 
 of highest military efficiency. 
 
 His bearing and bravery, his leadership of 
 men in battle, if it ever ceases to be history, 
 
MAJOR GEVEBAL JOSEPB ROOKER. 353 
 
 will still repose as a tradition as long as there 
 is an American army. He was instinctively 
 a general and wherever he was upon the line 
 of battle he was instinctively a leader. 
 
 It was impossible for him to remain at the 
 rear in action cool and indifferent to the im- 
 mediate contest, and caring only for the gen- 
 eral result: he was always at the front to see 
 with his own eyes the movements of his 
 troops and of all other troops dependent on 
 them. 
 
 However public estimates may differ, the 
 personal friends of General Hooker never 
 differed in honoring him with a quick, ardent 
 and fiery nature — faithful in friendship, 
 but not bitter in hates : always generous, ever 
 ambitious, but chiefly to end the war, and 
 constantly a sharp critic of his fellow gen- 
 erals — not because of a vain and captious 
 disposition, but in the true spirit of a patri- 
 otic urgency in the service to which he be- 
 longed. 
 
 " I have never fought without good pur- 
 pose," Hooker said on one occasion. " When 
 I have decided to fight, I have done so with 
 all the vigor and strength I could command." 
 
 The name of " Fighting Joe Hooker " is 
 not a comprehensive description of the man, 
 his traits, or his capacities. It was rather 
 
354 " OTHER ElaVBStONB." 
 
 a popular but deserved tribute to a restless 
 nature, serving under orders to antagonize 
 the enemy. 
 
 His sterling courage, bis constant presence 
 under fire, his magnificent personal bearing 
 in the height of his physical strength, his 
 unfailing courtesy to those under him, his 
 genial kindliness to the plainest soldier, will 
 never be forgotten by those who served, vdth 
 him. 
 
 Let Massachusetts with just pride in the 
 name of Joseph Hooker honor her noble son, 
 and present his illustrious and patriotic ca- 
 reer for the emulation of her generations. 
 
XIX. 
 
 EXCURSION MAY 2 AND 3, 1863. 
 
 CHANOELLOESVILLE. 
 
 SOME CTJESOE.Y OBSEBVATIOWS ABOUT CHAN- 
 CELLOESVILLE. 
 
 The following article by the editor of this 
 volume is reprinted here : 
 
 (From the New York Daily Times of June 
 8, 1867.) 
 
 The memory of the thousands whose life- 
 blood ebbed on the sanguinary field of Chan- 
 cellorsvIUe, in May, 1863 ; justice to the liv- 
 ing who recall the carnage of those days as 
 of yesterday; and historic truth, demand 
 that the attempts to write the history of this 
 eventful battle, shall receive every possible 
 assistance. Such considerations induce a 
 few words concerning the articles in the New 
 York "Times" of April 10 and 11, 1867, 
 entitled " ChancellorsvIUe." The same rea- 
 sons give value to the questions of your esti- 
 355 
 
356 " OTHER EXCVRSIO^a." 
 
 matle correspondent, " Yeteran Observer," 
 whose attempts at military criticism, how- 
 ever, tempt one to doubt his polemical abili- 
 ties in distinguishing between fact and fic- 
 tion. 
 
 The writer of the article first referred 
 to seems to be inspired with a commendable 
 faithfulness ; but withal he is in some things 
 quite in error. The studious reader cannot 
 fail to observe that he has drawn largely for 
 his military criticisms of Chancellorsyille 
 from the volume recently published by two 
 rebel engineers (one announcing himself as 
 an ex-staff officer of Jackson), whose work is 
 by no means entirely accurate or complete, 
 while it is valuable for its maps and some 
 other data it essays to supply. Dr. Guern- 
 sey relies too much upon this book when 
 he takes from it the figures of Hooker's 
 effective strength. These figures may be cor- 
 rect as indicating the total present; but the 
 column in the official reports of ' present for 
 duty,' which is usually a very small per cent, 
 above the actual effective strength, would 
 show the numbers there attributed to Hook- 
 er's columns as being slightly in excess of his 
 real strength. However, this is quite an un- 
 important matter. There is no material fact 
 stated by the writer of the articles in ques- 
 
CHANCELLOBSVILLE. 35 ^ 
 
 tion which has not been already more fully 
 discussed in Swinton's "Army of the Po- 
 tomacj" a publication not inappropriately 
 termed by one caustic critic, " A Panegyric 
 on General Lee, or History of the Army of 
 I^orthern Virginia." 
 
 Your correspondent, " Dutton," in the 
 " Times " of May 11, graphically describes 
 in a few words some scenes in this great bat- 
 tle which no unofficial publication has hith- 
 erto touched upon. 
 
 In Dr. Guernsey's first article, the fol- 
 lowing extract deserves special attention, 
 lest its statements — ■ apparently culled from 
 the rebel writer already referred to — shall 
 ever hereafter be received as imquestioned 
 history : 
 
 "Hooker, before daylight on Sunday morn- 
 ing, gave an order which really lost the battle 
 of that day — the main action at Chancellors- 
 viUe. Sickles had occupied a cleared hill, 
 known as Hazel Grove, a little out from the 
 mkin line, and therefore somewhat exposed to 
 assault. But its position was such that from it 
 artillery could enfilade the whole Union centre, 
 held by Slocum, without the possibility of a 
 reply. Sickles was ordered, against his Judg- 
 ment, to abandon this. Stuart appreciated the 
 importance of this position, and occupied it at 
 
358 " OTHER EXCUBSWN8." 
 
 once with thirty guns, afterward increasing the 
 number to forty or fifty. Then, soon after 
 dawn, with his 27,000 men, he attacked Sickles 
 and French, who had about 22,000." 
 
 All of which is a very pretty story as 
 illustrating the unwonted sagacity of a new 
 rebel leader, but which, as a matter of fact, 
 is full of error. 
 
 The writer of the foregoing extract has 
 correctly appreciated that the action of Sun- 
 day was the main battle of Chancellorsville ; 
 and in correcting what are believed to be in- 
 accuracies, it may as well be added' that some 
 important facts — 'proper to be stated in 
 order to arrive at a correct appreciation of 
 the events of that day — ' have been altogether 
 omitted, probably because they were deemed 
 to be mere matters of incident. 
 
 SATUEDAY NIGHT. 
 
 Going back, then, a few hours before 
 Sunday morning — 'for this is necessary by 
 way of explanation — the general position of 
 the Union army is not inaccurately described 
 as with ' the right facing westward held by 
 Sickles' corps and French's division of 
 Couch; the center facing south, by Slocum's 
 corps and Hancock's division of Couch,' with 
 
CHANCELL0R8VILLE. 359 
 
 Meade's and Howard's corps in reserve, and 
 Eeynolds' marching up. 
 
 It should be noted here, that -while this 
 was the general' line assumed, that part of 
 Sickles' corps spoken of was only one divi- 
 sion, commanded by the lamented Berry, who 
 had been acting under the immediate super- 
 vision of General Hooker during Saturday 
 afternoon, in redeeming the rout of the Elev- 
 enth Corps. Sickles' corps, however, com- 
 prised two other large divisions, which, with 
 a brigade from Howard and another from 
 Slocum, had been operating quite independ- 
 ently under Sickles' personal direction, in 
 pushing forward to attack Jackson's flank as 
 he marched toward Hooker's right. It was 
 during these operations that the Eleventh 
 Corps was driven in and night approached. 
 
 The road by which Sickles had left the 
 plank-road was in turn occupied by the 
 enemy, who, pressing straight on toward 
 Hooker's headquarters, were being held in 
 check by Berry, and by Pleasonton with his 
 handful of cavalry, and batteries hastily 
 gathered from a reserve artillery park, as is 
 most truthfully described by your correspon- 
 dent, ' Button,' as well as in the testimony 
 before the Committee on the Conduct of the 
 War (Volume 1). Before any considerable 
 
360 " OTHER EXCURSIONS." 
 
 force of Sickles' divisions, under Birney and 
 Whipple, could be marched back to the posi- 
 tion so handsomely defended by Pleasanton, 
 the evening vras v^ell spent, and the enemy 
 having encountered a solid front, had ceased 
 to press any further their already decided 
 advantage. 
 
 A NIGHT ATTACK. 
 
 Thus matters stood at about 9 or 10 
 o'clock Saturday evening. While the general 
 line assumed by Hooker, ' as taken up during 
 the (Saturday) night,' might have been 
 ' every way stronger than that before held,' 
 certain it is that at least 10,000 men, com- 
 prising the veteran division of 'Kearney 
 (under Birney) and another under Whipple, 
 formed no regular part of such a line, but 
 vyere vyith Sickles crowded in a clearing 
 (called by some writers Hazel Grove), hap- 
 pily preserved from the enemy by the ready 
 presence of Pleasonton. This force, without 
 the advantage of any road by which easy 
 communication might be had with Hooker's 
 headquarters, and with the enemy on three 
 sides of it, projected like an irregularly- 
 shaped arm or wedge beyond the newly-estab- 
 lished line of the army ; and how, under these 
 circumstances, this force should be disposed 
 
CHANGELL0R8VILLE. 361 
 
 and wihat was to become of it wlien daylight 
 should show its helpless attitude to the 
 enemy, was for the commanding general of 
 the army to decide. Should it remain as it 
 was until after daylight, defeat — perhaps 
 destruction — seemed its inevitable portion ; 
 and this, following so closely upon the disas- 
 trous events of Saturday, might entail ever- 
 lasting dishonor upon the Army of the Poto- 
 mac. Should it attempt to retire after dawn, 
 it must do so under a heavy attack of the 
 enemy, already massing, as if for the very- 
 purpose. To withdraw during the night 
 seemed impracticable, for with difficulty did 
 a few cavalry grope their way to the main 
 lines. There was scarcely a bridle path by 
 which to communicate with headquarters, 
 much less any road practicable for the artil- 
 lery. There were runs to be crossed, though 
 the distance was not great, and there were 
 many guns to be withdrawn. 
 
 One mode of relief, however, suggested 
 itself; and that was by a bold, half desperate 
 undertaking to drive back the enemy, and if 
 not, to secure a road to retire upon, at any 
 rate to gain more space in which to manoeu- 
 ver. This plan, on being suggested to General 
 Hooker, was approved, and Sickles was au- 
 thorized to make a night attack, and to re^ 
 
362 " OTHER EXCURSIONS." 
 
 gain, if possible, the plank road. This most 
 hazardous enterprise in its conception and 
 execution challenges admiration. 
 
 While the right of the main army per- 
 pendicularly crossed the plank road facing 
 westward, the center facing south, etc., the 
 detached troops of Sickles were quietly 
 formed for an attack in an independent line 
 as nearly as practicable parallel to the plank 
 road and facing north, massed at the same 
 time as regularly as the limited space would 
 admit-of, with Bimey on the right and Whip- 
 ple on the left and rear. 
 
 The details of opening the attack were 
 entrusted to the gallant Bimey, who formed 
 three lines for one charge, and still others as 
 supports. Bayonets were to do the work, 
 and, lest an accidental discharge should 
 alarm the enemy, the caps were removed 
 from the musket of every soldier in the at- 
 tack. Jackson's men were within a few rods 
 of the Union lines. I^fot a fire had been 
 lighted nor a blanket unrolled; not a loud 
 word could be spoken, nor yet must any eye 
 be closed in sleep. Commands were whis- 
 pered, canteens fastened or cast off, lest they 
 should rattle, and officers watched the kindly 
 obscuring clouds, in fear that the moon might 
 scatter Item and betray the secrets of the 
 
CBANCELL0B8VILLE. 363 
 
 night A distant shot from some stray 
 picket along the main lines of the army, now 
 and then broke through the stillness of the 
 night — a calm betokening a storm. 
 
 By late in the evening, — ^it is difficult 
 to fix the precise hour of night operations, 
 except relatively to each other, — everything 
 was ready, and noiselessly the attacking lines 
 advanced toward the enemy who were resting 
 along the plank road. Gathering up the 
 skirmish lines as reached, the whole body, 
 lost in the woods, continued forward. The 
 rustling of dry leaves, and the cracking of old 
 twigs under the steady feet of thousands, 
 might have aroused a more suspicious foe. 
 Not a shot is fired. The advancing lines 
 meet the enemy's pickets, whose random shots 
 as they retire, fire a note of warning. There 
 is no halt, but the pace is quickened, and in 
 a few short moments the foes have met. 
 " Hurrah ! hurrah ! " of clear and unmistak- 
 able Union tenor, is scarcely heard ere the 
 sounds of cheering are engulfed in powerful 
 volleys of musketry; and now is night made 
 hideous with war. Slocum and Berry from 
 the right pour in lead and shot and shell — 
 Bimey's men in mass are among the enemy, 
 and a second and a third line closes upon the 
 
364: " OTHEB EXGVB8I0N8." 
 
 first. Eesistance was death. The soldiers 
 knew their ground ; many of them had s^lept 
 there the night before. They removed every 
 obstacle until the plank road was seized by 
 their advance and communication thoroughly 
 re-established. A few wild, fruitless attacks 
 of the enemy sought to dislodge them, but in 
 less than half an hour from the firing of the 
 first shot each party rested. 
 
 The night attack — always dangerous — 
 was thus entirely successful, and Jackson's 
 veterans were surprised by troops who bivou- 
 acked, formed and marched to the onset from 
 within speaking distance of their own front. 
 'No published account is inconsistent with the 
 belief that it was during this brief but suc- 
 cessful night attack that Jackson himself re- 
 ceived his mortal wound, and in this connec- 
 tion the writer believes that he has evidence 
 most trustworthy which, already thoroughly 
 sifted, warrants his unconditional refutation 
 of the oft-repeated assertion, and carefully 
 cherished " Confederate " theory, that Jack- 
 son was accidentally killed by his own men. 
 
 Although the movements just described 
 did not give the plank road itself as a secure 
 passage for Sickles' artillery and troops (he 
 had no trains) to rejoin the main lines, yet 
 
CEANCELL0B8VILLB. 
 
 365 
 
 it gave him space and opportunity to cut a 
 road which might answer the same purpose. 
 
 This was soon accomplished; these facts 
 were reported to Hooker's headquarters; and 
 further instructions requested. This report 
 was regularly made in the dead quiet of the 
 night, to the staff officer on duty at that time 
 at Hooker's headquarters, and whose business 
 it was to receive and to attend to such re- 
 ports. This officer did not deem so impor- 
 tant a matter of sufficient moment to disturb 
 General Hooker from the short repose he had 
 sought, and the officer bearing the report was 
 directed by General Van Allen to wait. The 
 night was fast speeding ; hours were precious, 
 and here was a blunder. General Van Allen 
 had but a short time previously arrived at 
 the front, and without experience or quali- 
 fication he had been allowed to assume the 
 duties of acting diief-of-staff in the field to 
 the commanding general, displacing a bril- 
 liant and capable officer — though much 
 junior in rank — who had been Hooker's con- 
 fidential aide-de-camp in all his campaigns.* 
 Of this same brigadier Secretary Stanton on 
 May 2, telegraphed to General Hooker: 
 
 "We cannot control intelligence in relation 
 *Capt. Wm. L. Candler, of Boston, Mass. 
 
366 " OTBER EXCURSION B." 
 
 to your movements while your generals write 
 letters giving details. A letter from General 
 Van Allen to a person not connected with the 
 War Department describes your position as en- 
 trenched at Chancellorsville. . Can't you give 
 his sword something to do, so that he will have 
 less time for the pen? 
 
 (Signed) Edwin M. Stanton." 
 
 " Sent 11 A. M." 
 
 General Van Allen's connection with the 
 Army of the Potomac was shortly termi- 
 nated. 
 
 SUNDAY MOENING. 
 
 Toward morning General Van Allen was 
 finally prevailed upon to carry to Hooker the 
 messenger's report, when Sickles was sent for 
 in person with all speed. After explaining 
 more fully the position of affairs the latter 
 received orders to withdraw his troops and to 
 conform his dispositions to the newly estab- 
 lished lines of the army, where it was evident 
 the battle of the next day must be fought. 
 
 Before this order could be executed the 
 night was gone, and dayhreak showed our re- 
 tiring columns to the enemy. The latter in 
 a short time vigorously attacked them,, and 
 from their rear guard to the main lines the 
 battle soon became general 
 
CBAHJCELLOKSyiLLB!. 337 
 
 By this time, however, Sickles had united 
 the greater part of his three divisions, 
 and had personally assumed command of the 
 entire right of the field of action. The left 
 of his line joined Slocum's, but his right was 
 " in the air." French and Meade, who were 
 still further to the right, and not engaged, 
 were too far at the rear to he of any im- 
 mediate service. 
 
 This was the state of affairs on Sunday 
 morning, at the time of the general and severe 
 engagement properly called ' Ghancellors- 
 ville,' and these are some of the attending 
 circumstances in addition to those contained 
 in the narratives in the ' Times ' of April 
 10 and 11 and May 11. The sturdy Berry 
 and the gallant Whipple, who there fought 
 their last battle, and the lamented BIrney, 
 who soon followed them to peace, might, were 
 they living, supply many important omissions 
 in the written history of the battle of Chan- 
 cellorsville. But the record must be com- 
 pleted by other means. 
 
 The foregoing narrative is not consistent 
 with the assertion that ' Hooker, before day- 
 light on Sunday morning, gave an order 
 which really lost the battle of that day,' etc., 
 etc., etc., as stated in the first paragraph 
 above quoted. 
 
368 " OTBEB EXCVRBIONB." 
 
 I have no intention to attempt a criticism 
 on the able review of the Chancellorsville 
 campaign published in the " Times " of the 
 10th and 11th. To many of the writer's 
 opinions I subscribe. It is refreshing that 
 the subject should be ventilated ; justice could 
 not be done to it in the turmoil of war. If 
 any error is corrected before it becomes writ- 
 ten as undisputed history, or any omission of 
 fact supplied, the purpose of this article will 
 have been accomplished. With this view, 
 while on the subject, permit a few words to 
 be added as to the events in that campaign 
 immediately subsequent to those already de- 
 scribed. 
 
 The testimony taken by the Committee 
 on the Conduct of the War shows that on 
 Sunday morning, during the battle of Chan- 
 cellorsville, after the happening of the acci- 
 dent to General Hooker — which is often 
 justly assigned as one of the two causes of the 
 failure of the Chancellorsville campaign — 
 the active fighting was suspended. The 
 enemy were unable to press the dearly bought 
 advantage which the morning's contest had 
 given them, and their attacks were met by 
 counter charges which cost them lives, prison- 
 ers and colors. This was before the final re- 
 tirement of the troops to the line afterward 
 
CHAN0ELL0B8VILLE. 369 
 
 assumed to the rear of the Chancellorsville 
 plank road, and while the Chancellor House 
 was burning from the effects of shot and 
 shell. So exhausted were the enemy that their 
 main attack had entirely ceased, their lines 
 broken up, and it was with apparent difficulty 
 that any front was preserved to his defiant 
 foes. To be sure the junction of Lee with 
 Jackson's troops, (now commanded by 
 Stuart,) which occurred at about this time, 
 was a military success, but comparatively 
 valueless if the attack could not be success- 
 fully continued. Lee kept up a demonstra- 
 tion in the immediate front which faced 
 south — commanded by Couch and Sloeum ; 
 but the troops of Jackson had lost their vigor, 
 and in their part of the field discontinued the 
 action. Their advance on the plank road had 
 gained only a few hundred yards since the 
 battle began, and that at the cost of thousands 
 of lives. I^ow was the time to turn and to 
 attack them; and .there was not a private 
 soldier on the field who would not have 
 told his general to do so, had he been 
 consulted. 
 
 HOW THE BATTLE CLOSED. 
 
 The troops in position to make any such 
 attack, however, were only those of the Third 
 
370 " OTBER EXOUBSIONa." 
 
 Corps, which had already lost nearly one- 
 third of its numhers; and they having been 
 engaged all day were without a round of am- 
 munition. liTevertheless, they were formed 
 for attack, with the intention on the part of 
 their commander of attacking with tlie bayo- 
 net alone if the ammunition did not speedily 
 arrive, and relying upon the assistance of 
 troops to the right and left, who were com- 
 paratively fresh, and one corps (Meade's) 
 hitherto disengaged. 
 
 Reports of the state of affairs were trans- 
 mitted to General Hooker, and the coopera- 
 tion of these corps requested to be ordered. 
 Unfortunately at this time General Hooker 
 had been obliged to succumb to the effects of 
 the contusion he had received early in the 
 day, and which hitherto he had not believed 
 had disabled him. But he had been obliged to 
 yield to the demands of nature, and when this 
 report and request were brought to him he 
 was about to seek repose in a tent hastily 
 pitched near General Meade's headquarters. 
 The course suggested, however, seemed to him 
 so obviously proper that, suffering from ex- 
 treme physical pain, he merely remarked to 
 the officer who brought the communication to 
 give it to General Meade, presuming it would 
 meet with proper attention. General Hooker 
 
CHANCELLOmVILLE. 37X 
 
 then sent a staff officer to General Couch to 
 say that he desired to confer with him. Were 
 the gallant and chivalric Dahlgren now liv- 
 ing, these details might be further particu- 
 larized. Meanwhile, ' General Couch had 
 heen apprised of the proposed attack and the 
 desired cooperation, but his troops being yet 
 slightly engaged, he did not wish to become 
 seriously involved in other quarters without 
 General Hooker's instructions, suggesting that 
 Meade's troops were more available. Gen- 
 eral Meade, who, being near Hooker's tent, 
 was well informed of his condition, declined 
 to change his dispositions or to assist in any 
 new attack, unless ordered to do so by Gen- 
 eral Hooker. But it was urged upon him that 
 the latter was unable just at present to give 
 any specific orders and that he had already 
 directed the matter to his (Meade's) atten- 
 tion. General Meade then insisted upon or- 
 ders from General Couch, who was his senior, 
 and declined positively to cooperate in any 
 proposed attack unless such orders were given 
 him. It was urged upon General Meade that 
 his troops were fresh, and that before Gen- 
 eral Couch could be communicated with, or 
 could be fully apprised of the general condi- 
 tion of affairs, the opportunity presented 
 might be lost, and new dispositions made by 
 
3Y2 " OTHER EXaUBSIONS." 
 
 the enemy. But General Meade sat quietly 
 on his horse outside of Hooker's tent, and de- 
 clined to renew the fight. The distance be- 
 tween where Hooker and Meade were and 
 where Couch was, might have been about half 
 a mile, and staff officers of Hooker and other 
 generals galloped back and forth with the 
 communications of which the foregoing are 
 the substance. 
 
 Meanwhile, precious time was lost. No 
 attack could be made successfully without 
 thorough cooperation, and by the time Couch 
 was ready to take the formal command, llie 
 battle had quite ceased, and the new second 
 line ordered to be assumed : — ■ as it was after- 
 ward occupied by the army for the two sute- 
 ceeding days. 
 
 The occurrences of the two subsequent 
 days are quite fully described in the testi- 
 mony of different officers examined on the 
 subject before the Committee on the Conduct 
 of the War. 
 
 The foregoing may serve to explain the 
 statement of Dr. Guernsey in the ' Times ' 
 of April 10, 1867, and perhaps also to fix the 
 responsibility for the failure he implies in 
 saying that 'no one could or would assume 
 the responsibility of sending assistance to 
 Sickles, although the two corps of Eeynolds 
 
CBANCELL0R8VILLE. 373 
 
 and Meade were within half an hour's march, 
 and wholly imengaged. Half of either of 
 them sent to Sickles would have defeated 
 Stuart.' 
 
 To this statement and the foregoing nar- 
 rative who will take exception ? 
 
 ISigned hyl 
 
 AN OFFICEE AND AN EYE WITNESS. 
 
 [H. E. T.] 
 
 THE ACTION OF THE CAVALRY. 
 
 In connection with the foregoing reprint 
 another article from the series of articles of 
 which the foregoing is a part, upon the same 
 subject, which were running about lie same 
 period in the New York " Daily Times," is 
 here reprinted ; not only because of its intrin- 
 sic interest, but because its writer, as I dis- 
 covered after its publication, was one of the 
 most reliable, well informed and gallant cav- 
 alry officers in the army, viz., my comrade 
 and friend Colonel Clifford Thomson, who 
 was awardied the Congressional " Medal of 
 Honor " for " distinguished gallantry at this 
 battle." 
 
 The following article is from the New YorK 
 « Daily Times " of May 11th, 1867 : 
 
3^4 " OTHER EX0UR8I0NB." 
 
 THE CAVALRY AT OHANCELLOES- 
 VILLE. 
 
 In the " Times " of April 10 and 11, Mr. 
 A. H. Guernsey, in two well-considered arti- 
 cles, gives a concise account of the battles of 
 Chancellorsville. Like nearly all others, 
 however, who have written of the great bat- 
 tles of the late war, he fails to do justice to 
 the services rendered by the cavalry. While 
 Gen. Hooker, commander of the Army of the 
 Potomac, during the Chancellorsville cam- 
 paign, has honestly admitted that at the crisis 
 of affairs during that week, the cavalry, 
 under Gen. Pleasonton, saved the army from 
 annihilation, Mr. Guernsey sums up their 
 services by saying merely, " the cavalry ren- 
 dered effective service." Mr. Greeley, in his 
 " American Conflict " turns off the cavalry in 
 terms nearly as brief. Considering the im- 
 portant service rendered by the mounted 
 troops in this memorable campaign historians 
 have treated them rather cavilierly, and I beg 
 the privilege, in this article, of making them 
 some amends. 
 
 Immediately before entering upon the 
 Chancellorsville campaign Gen. Hooker de- 
 tached all his cavalry, with the exception of 
 one brigade commanded by Gen. Pleasonton, 
 for a grand raid to be made upon the enemy's 
 lines of communication. This raiding i)arty 
 
CEATHCELLORBVILLB. 375 
 
 was commanded by Gen. Stoneman, and, as 
 has been most truthfully said, failed to pro- 
 duce any effect whatever upon Gen. Lee'a 
 army. To fit out this expedition Gen. Pleas- 
 onton, who was a division commander, had 
 been robbed of one-half his command and left 
 with but three small regiments of cavalry — 
 the Sixth New York and Eighth and Seven- 
 teenth Peimsylvania, and two light batteries 
 of horse artillery — 'Pennington's regular 
 battery and Martin's volunteer. It was ex- 
 pected that the " Stoneman raid " would 
 cover with glory all the officers who partici- 
 pated therein, while those who were left be- 
 hind should ingloriously stagnate in guarding 
 wagon trains and performing orderly duty. 
 The result proved that those who went for 
 wool came back shorn, while those who re- 
 mained behind reaped a full harvest of hon- 
 ors. When the army moved the three regi- 
 ments of Gen. Pleasonton's command were 
 divided, the Sixth New York leading Gen. 
 Slocum's column as advance skirmishers, the 
 Eighth Pennsylvania leading Gren. Meade's 
 column, and the Seventeenth doing similar 
 duty for Gen. Howard. Each of these regi- 
 ments, as the columns advanced by different 
 routes into the enemy's country, did consid- 
 erable skirmishing, and captured a large 
 number of prisoners. The Sixth New York, 
 at Germania Ford, after a fight to secure the 
 
376 " OTBER EXCURSIONS." 
 
 crossing, brought in an engineer officer and 
 125 prisoners. When the three colnmns 
 united at ChaneellorsYille House the cavalry 
 was restored to Gen. Pleasonton, and under 
 his orders reconnoitered the several roads 
 converging to that point. The Sixth New 
 York having been sent in the direction of 
 Spottsylvania Court House, proceeded far- 
 ther than was intended, and in the evening 
 was surrounded by Fitz Hugh Lee's entire 
 brigade, and fearfully cut up. Col. Mc Vicar 
 was killed, and five other officers and fifty 
 men were reported missing. The other regi- 
 ments were skirmishing in front of the army 
 almost constantly, losing heavily in men and 
 horses, and inflicting corresponding damage 
 upon the enemy. 
 
 The brilliant feature of their service, how- 
 ever, was rendered on Saturday afternoon. 
 Gen. Sickles, occupying a position near the 
 right of the line, seeing Stonewall Jackson's 
 flank movement, and being under the impres- 
 sion that it was a retreat of the rebel army, , 
 asked for and received Gen. Pleasonton's cav- 
 alry to aid him in the " pursuit." The 
 cavalry, with its two batteries, arriving upon 
 the ground, halted for a few moments on an 
 elevation in the open flelds in rear of Gen. 
 Sickles. The Sixth 'New York was in the 
 act of deploying as skirmishers into the woods 
 when heavy firing on the right gave the first 
 
CHAHIOELLORSVILLE. 377 
 
 intimation of Stonewall Jackson's attack on 
 the EleYenth (Gen. Howard's) Corps. How 
 this corps broke and fled in utter and com- 
 plete rout is a matter of history. When the 
 stampede commenced an officer, representing 
 himself to be an Aide-de-Oamp to Gen. How- 
 ard, galloped up to Gen. Pleasonton and asked 
 for a regiment of cavalry to arrest the strag- 
 glers and aid in reforming the lines. Gen. 
 Pleasonton dispatched Major Keenan, with 
 the Eighth Pennsylvania Cavalry to perform 
 this duty, instructing him to charge the head 
 of the advancing column of the enemy, and 
 to delay his movements by any and all means, 
 and at any cost. As Major Keenan started 
 upon this hazardous enterprise, panic-stricken 
 fugitives from the Eleventh Corps came fly- 
 ing back through the position occupied by 
 Gen. Pleasonton. Artillery, infantry, am- 
 bulances, caissons, horses, baggage-wagons 
 rushed to the rear in the wildest confusion, in 
 their flight upsetting Gen. Pleasonton's guns, 
 and stampeding his horses. Gen. Pleason- 
 ton forthwith put his batteries in position, 
 facing directly to the rear, double-shotted 
 them with canister, and then while awaiting 
 the appearance of the enemy, devoted his at- 
 tention to arresting the flight of the fugitives. 
 With the assistance of his staff officers, he 
 succeeded in stopping, and placing in position 
 ten pieces of artillery, which, with his own, 
 
378' " OTHER EXCVRBI0N8." 
 
 made twenty-two guns. While lie was doing 
 this, Gen. Sickles had ridden back from his 
 corps to learn the cause of the firing in his 
 rear, and seeing at a glance that his command 
 was in imminent danger, he asked Gen. Pleas- 
 onton to do what he could to check Jackson's 
 advance until he could bring the Third Corps 
 back to hold that point, which, at that mo- 
 ment, was the key to the whole position of 
 the Union army. That little elevation once 
 in Stonewall Jackson's possession, he could 
 not only throw shells into Gen. Hooker's head- 
 quarters in the Chancellorsville House, but 
 from the rear could open an enfilading fire 
 upon the entire army. To hold this impor- 
 tant position, Gen. Pleasonton had the 22 
 guns mentioned, supported by about 100 men 
 of the Seventeenth Pennsylvania Cavalry, 
 who were new to the service, and the rem- 
 nant of the Sixth New York, which had 
 speedily returned from its wild-goose chase 
 in the woods. This little band had not long 
 to wait for the enemy's appearance. Major 
 Eeenan had not time to reach the plank-road 
 by which the cavalry, a short time before, had 
 entered the field, when he found himself con- 
 fronting the advance of Jackson's column. 
 The order to " charge " was scarcely issued 
 by him when his gallant troops were in the 
 midst of the enemy, and a portion had cut 
 their way through to the plank-road in. safety. 
 
CHANCELLOBSTILLE. 3^9 
 
 Major Keenan and several of his officers and 
 men were killed in' this hrilliant charge. The 
 enemy scarcely felt this blow upon its ad- 
 vance, but speedily issued from the woods 
 and commenced to form a line of battle at the 
 edge of the opening, preparatory to charging 
 Gen. Pleasonton's guns. As they swarmed 
 out of the woods, flushed with their easily- 
 acquired victory over the Eleventh Corps, 
 they shouted and yelled like so many devils, 
 while re-forming their ranks scarcely 200 
 yards from our position. Gen. Pleasonton 
 had trained his double-shotted guns low, so as 
 to give the rebels the full benefit of their 
 contents, and was about to give the order to 
 fire when an artilleryman at one of the guns 
 shouted, " General those are our troops, I 
 see our troops ; I see our flag in the line ! " 
 The General turned hastily to a young staff 
 officer and said: "Mr. Thomson, ride out 
 there and see who those people are." The 
 Aide-de-Camp did as directed, galloping out 
 from between our guns, directly toward the 
 dark line of howling rebels, so dimly seen in 
 the closing darkness against the dark back- 
 ground of the woods behind them. Sure 
 enough, the Stars and Stripes were waving 
 from two or three points on the line, and the 
 Aide, unable to distinguish the uniform of the 
 troops, rode to within flfty yards of them, 
 while from all along the rebel line the cry 
 
380 " OTHER EXCURSIONS." 
 
 went forth, " Come on, we're friends." He 
 was soon stopped, however, by a volley from 
 these pretended friends, and Speedily turned 
 his horse in the opposite direction, having 
 received four bullets on his sabre scabbard 
 and saddle. Before he had fairly turned his 
 horse to ride back, Gen. Pleasonton had given 
 the order to fire, and those twenty-two guns 
 belched forth their charges of canister, carry- 
 ing death and destruction to the rebel ranks. 
 Three times those howling troops charged, 
 determined at all hazards to carry that posi- 
 tion ; but no men could withstand that terri- 
 ble hailstorm of shot, concentrated on their 
 lines at so short range. For half an hour 
 this cannonading was kept up, the darkness 
 and the smoke having rendered it impossible 
 to see the effect it created. But as the rebel 
 bullets ceased to fall among the gunners and 
 their supports, the order to cease firing was 
 given and a small detachment of cavalry sent 
 out to reconnoitre. They speedily returned 
 with the report that the only rebels they could 
 find within a half of mile were the dead and 
 wounded. 
 
 It was thus that the Army of the Potomac 
 was saved from destruction on that eventful 
 Saturday evening. The time thus gained 
 had enabled Gen. Sickles to bring his brigades 
 back to hold the position, and as soon as his 
 troops arrived they were sent forward and 
 
CEANGELL0R8VILLE. 381 
 
 occupied the woods whence the rebels had so 
 lately emerged for their attack. Singularly- 
 enough the Aide-de-Camp whom Gen. Pleas- 
 onton had sent out to " see who those people 
 were" had returned in safety through the 
 fire of friend and foe. That night the troops 
 upon that little open space lay upon their 
 arms, the uncertainty of the situation forbid- 
 ding the closing of an eye, or the straggling 
 of a man. Three or four times during the 
 night a brisk firing on the picket line brought 
 every man to a " ready," and once the enemy 
 attempted to edge in between them and the 
 remainder of the army. The speedy repulse 
 they then received from the infantry pre^ 
 vented a second attempt. Before dawn on 
 Sunday morning. Gen. Pleasonton's com- 
 mand, its ammunition exhausted, was ordered 
 to the rear to replenish, and shortly afterward 
 Gen. Sickles fell back to the " second line " 
 which had been marked during the night. 
 
 The subsequent services of the three regi- 
 ments of cavalry during that campaign, if not 
 brilliant, were arduous. They were em- 
 ployed in picketing the various roads, and 
 had numerous small skirmishes. It is re- 
 ported that previous to Chancellorsville Gen. 
 Hooker had said that he had not seen " a dead 
 cavalryman during the war," but afterward 
 he admitted that no troops could do better 
 service than the cavalry when given the op- 
 
332 " OTBUtt MXCVMIOVS." 
 
 portunity. The failure of Gen. Stoneman 
 to fulfill the duty assigned to him resulted in 
 his being superseded in command of the cav- 
 alry corps by G«n. Pleasonton. In addition 
 to this recognition of the tatter's services he 
 ■was appointed a Major-General of Volun- 
 teers. 
 
 The Committee on the Conduct of the 
 iWar, after having taken all the testimony 
 they could gather regarding the Chancellors- 
 ville campaign, in closing their report, step 
 outside the limits of their duty to pay the 
 following compliment to Gen. Pleasonton: 
 
 " The giving way of the right (the Elev- 
 enUi Corps) left Gen. Sickles in a very ex- 
 posed and critical position. The enemy, 
 under Jackson, continued to advance after 
 the panic-stricken troops until checked by 
 Gen. Pleasonton, who had collected and 
 brought into position some artillery for that 
 purpose. Although a cavalry officer, he han- 
 dled the artillery with exceeding great judg- 
 ment and effectiveness. His skill, energy, 
 daring and promptness upon this occasion 
 contributed greatly to arrest the disaster 
 which for a time threatened the whole army. 
 His conduct upon this and many other occa- 
 sions marks him as one of the ablest Generals 
 in our service, and as deserving of far higher 
 consideration than, from some cause, he ap- 
 pears to have received." 
 
CBAnCELLORSVtLLH. 353 
 
 Such praise, from a source more given to 
 fault-finding than to commendation, could 
 only have been awarded upon a full knowl- 
 edge of the facts. I have been induced to 
 vrrite the above from having observed that 
 historians generally, as I before remarked, 
 have either entirely overlooked the cavalry or 
 turned them off in a few words. The truth 
 is, that the mounted troops had harder service 
 and more fighting than any others. I asked 
 one historian, who was a correspondent with 
 the army during the war, why he had not 
 done justice to the cavalry in his book. His 
 reply was, that " they were always so far to 
 the front and so near the enemy, that it was 
 inconvenient and dangerous to be with them 
 long enough to find out what they were 
 doing." " DuTTOiT." * 
 
 * No. 108. JBeport of Maj. Oen. Daniel E. Sickles, 
 V. S. Army, comdruinding Third Army Corps. 
 
 Headquaetebs Thied Army Coeps, 
 May 20, 1863. 
 
 General : — I have the honor to transmit the 
 following report of the operations of this corps dur- 
 ing the recent movements of the army: 
 
 On the afternoon of Tuesday, April 28, five of my 
 batteries (Seeley's, Huntington's, Dimiek's, Ran- 
 dolph's and Lewis's ) were ordered to report to Briga- 
 dier-General Hunt, chief of artillery, and during the 
 night were placed in position as follows: Seeley on 
 the river bank at the bridgehead, covering Sedgwick's 
 crossing; Huntington on the crest to the right and 
 rear of Franklin's crossing; Dimick, Randolph, and 
 Lewis in reserve between the railroad and Lacy house. 
 
 The infantry and remaining artillery broke camp 
 
334 " 0TB ER EXGVRSWNS." 
 
 about 4 P. M., and, marching about four miles down 
 the river, took position between Sedgwick's and Rey- 
 nolds' crossings, and within supporting distance of 
 either. The troops of all arms moved forward with 
 the greatest alacrity and ardor. I reported to Gen- 
 eral Sedgwick about sunset. 
 
 On the morning of the 29th, in obedience to or- 
 ders of Major-General Sedgwick, my command moved 
 nearer the upper bridges, which had meanwhile been 
 successfully laid by the engineers, where I occupied 
 the ground previously held by the Sixth Corps, one 
 division of which (Brooks') had crossed to the south 
 bank, near the mouth of Deep Bun, early in the 
 morning. 
 
 On the morning of the 30th, in compliance vcith 
 General Newton's wishes, sanctioned by Major-Gen- 
 eral Sedgwick, I placed my artillery in battery on 
 the north bank of the river, to protect the bridges 
 and repel any attack upon Brooks, who remained on 
 the south side. 
 
 At 1 P. M. I received orders from the general-in- 
 chief to march my command to the United States 
 JTord, and report to him at or near Chancellorsville, 
 concealing my movement from the enemy and moving 
 expeditiously, so that the heads of my column should 
 pass the bridges not later than 7 o'clock on the fol- 
 lowing morning. May 1. 
 
 Putting my command in three columns, the artil- 
 lery following divisions, I marched on parallel lines 
 through ravines and on roads masked from the ene- 
 my to Hamet's, that is to say, the intersection of 
 the Warrenton pike with the United States Ford road. 
 There we bivouacked, and at 5 A. M. marched to the 
 ford, which Birney crossed at 7 A. M., Whipple and 
 Berry following, well closed up. 
 
 Not observing any force besides the Engineer Bat- 
 talion on the south side, I left one. of Berry's bri- 
 gades (Mott's) and a battery (Seeley's) to cover 
 the bridges and my trains, which were parked near 
 the north bank, and pushed ahead with the rest of 
 my column to the front, where I had the honor to 
 report at 9 A. M. to the commanding general, at 
 Chancellorsville. In compliance with orders then re- 
 
CHANOELLOBSriLLE. 335 
 
 eeived, I massed my forces in the forest, near the 
 junction of the roads leading to Ely's and the United 
 States Fords. 
 
 About noon, my attention was directed by the gen- 
 eral-in-chief to a demonstration of the enemy's cav- 
 alry on our right, in the direction of the United 
 States Ford, and at the same time I was ordered to 
 send a brigade and a battery to Dowdall's Tavern, 
 on the Plank road. Graham's brigade, of Birney's 
 division, and Trumbull's battery were at once moved 
 to that position, with orders to picket well out and 
 to connect with Whipple, toward the United States 
 Ford, who was directed to connect by outposts with 
 Berry, who, in turn, reached the river. Graham soon 
 reported that Iilajor-General Howard occupied the 
 tavern as his headquarters; that General Howard 
 picketed on our right and to the rear, and that, as 
 he had no orders to move and needed no assistance. 
 General Howard suggested there might be some mis- 
 take in Graham's order, and meanwhile directed him 
 to halt near the tavern and wait further orders. 
 Berry and Whipple established a line of outposts, 
 with strong supports, from the Plank road to the 
 United States Ford. 
 
 At 4 P. M. the general-in-ehief directed me to bring 
 forward my whole command, except Mott, who still 
 protected the ford, and get rapidly into position par- 
 allel to the Flank road at Chancellorsville. Graham 
 was recalled at once, Whipple's and Berry's outposts 
 were withdrawn, and, with celerity and precision of 
 movement never surpassed, Birney, with Ward's and 
 Hayman's brigades, formed in two lines, and Berry's 
 and Whipple's were massed in columns of battalions 
 in the open ground north and to the right of Chan- 
 cellorsville, the rear of the column covered by the 
 woods. Graham had barely reported to me when I 
 sent him, under a brisk and well-directed artillery 
 fire, to support Major-General Slocum, who was ap- 
 prehensive about his position at Fairview. Toward 
 sunset, Birney, with Ward's and Hayman's brigades, 
 moved up the Plank road near the junction of the 
 left flank of the Eleventh Corps with the right of the 
 Twelfth Corps, and within supporting distance. Find- 
 
38g " OTEEtt EXGVMIONS." 
 
 ing the right of Major-General Slocum's (Twelfth) 
 weak, Birney, with two brigades, bivouacked in the 
 rear of Slocum's line, throwing out the Twentieth 
 Indiana and Thirty-seventh New York to the front, 
 where they replaced two of the regiments of Wil- 
 liams' division of the Twelfth Corps. In order to 
 gain some advantageous ground, a strong line of 
 skirmishers was advanced, who quickly dislodged 
 the enemy from the cleared fields and houses in 
 front, giving us the high and commanding position 
 he had been holding. Berry's and Whipple's divi- 
 sions bivouacked at Chancellorsville; Berry's artil- 
 lery was held in reserve near the junction of Ely's 
 and the United States Fords roads. 
 
 During the night, with the approval of the gen- 
 eral-in-chief. General Birney was ordered to occupy 
 at daybreak a portion of the front line on the left 
 of Major-General Howard (Eleventh Corps), ex- 
 tending from the Plank road southwesterly through 
 the Wilderness and connecting with the right of 
 Major-Gfeneral Slocum (Twelfth Corps), thereby re- 
 lieving portions of the troops of each of those corps 
 and enabling them to strengthen materially their 
 lines. Accompanying the general-in-chief at sunrise 
 on Saturday in a tour of inspection along our lines 
 on the right flank, I found Gteneral Birney, who 
 had also brought up Graham's brigade and Clark's, 
 Randolph's and TurntuU's batteries, making his dis- 
 positions with admirable discernment and skill, hold- 
 ing the crest along Scott's Hun, from the farm-house 
 on the left toward Dowdall's Tavern. It is impos- 
 sible to pass over without mention the irrepressible 
 enthusiasm of the troops for Major-General Hooker, 
 which was evinced in hearty and prolonged cheers 
 as he rode along the Unes of the' Third, Eleventh, 
 and Twelfth Corps. 
 
 On returning to general headquarters, I was di- 
 rected to make a reconnaissance in front and to the 
 left of Chancellorsville. Major-Greneral Berry was 
 requested to detail for this duty two reliable regi- 
 ments, led by circumspect and intrepid commanders. 
 The Eleventh Massachusetts, Col. William Blaisdell 
 commanding, moving out to the left, toward Taber- 
 
CBAifCELLORSVILLEo 337 
 
 nacle Church, and the Twenty-sixth Pennsylvania, 
 Col. B. C- Tilghman commanding, in front, gallantly 
 pressed back the enemy's pickets and skirmishers 
 until he was discovered in force. A detachment of 
 Berdan's Sharpshooters, from Whipple's division, ac- 
 companied each regiment. A number of prisoners 
 and full reports of the enemy's dispositions were 
 among the satisfactory results of this brilliant rec- 
 onnaissance. Colonel Blaisdell was not withdrawn 
 until night, when he received the emphatic commen- 
 dation of Major-General Hancock, from whose front 
 the advance was made. 
 
 My attention was now withdrawn from Chancel- 
 lorsville, where Berry and Whipple remained in re- 
 serve, by several reports in quick succession from 
 General Birney, that a column of the enemy was 
 moving along his front toward our right. This col- 
 umn I found on going to the spot to be within easy 
 range of Clark's battery (about 1,600 yards), and 
 Clark so effectually annoyed the enemy by his ex- 
 cellent practice that the infantry sought cover in the 
 woods or some other road more to the south, while 
 the artillery and trains hurried past in great con- 
 fusion, vainly endeavoring to escape our well- 
 directed and destructive fire. 
 
 This continuous column — infantry, artillery, 
 trains, and ambulances — was observed for three 
 hours moving apparently in a southerly direction 
 toward Orange Court-House, on the Orange and Al- 
 exandria Railroad, or Louisa Court-House, on the 
 Virginia Central. The movement indicated a retreat 
 on Gordonsville, or an attack upon our right flank 
 — perhaps both, for if the attack failed the retreat 
 could be continued. The unbroken mass of forest 
 on our right favored the concealment of the enemy's 
 real design. I hastened to report these movements 
 through staff officers to the general-in-chief, and 
 communicated the substance of them in the same 
 manner to Major-General Howard, on my right, and 
 also to Major-General Slocum, inviting their co-oper- 
 ation in case the general-in-chief should authorize me 
 to follow up the enemy and attack his columns. 
 
 At noon I received orders to advance cautiously 
 
388 
 
 " OTHER EXCVRSIONS." 
 
 toward the road followed by the enemy, and harass 
 the movement as much as possible. Immediately or- 
 dering Birney to push iorward over Scott's Run and 
 gain the heights in the Wilderness, I brought up two 
 battalions of sharpshooters, under Colonel Berdan, 
 to be deployed as skirmishers and 'as flankers, so 
 as to get all possible knowledge of the enemy's 
 movement and of the approaches to his line of march. 
 At the same time X communicated again with 
 Major-Generals Slocum and Howard, and was assured 
 of their prompt co-operation. 
 
 Two bridges having been rapidly thrown over 
 Scott's Run, Birney's division, the Twentieth In- 
 diana leading, pressed forward briskly, meeting con- 
 siderable opposition from skirmishers thrown out 
 by McLaw's division of the enemy's forces, which 
 was foimd in position to cover the enemy's move- 
 ment. I then directed Whipple to come up within 
 supporting distance. Reaching the iron foundry, 
 about a mile from his first position, Birney's advance 
 was checked by a 12 pounder battery of the enemy, 
 which, at short range from Welford's house, near 
 the road, poured in a destructive fire. Livingston's 
 battery was sent forward and put in position between 
 the foundry and the front, and soon silenced the en- 
 emy's battery. This battery was afterward relieved 
 by Randolph's and effectually held this important 
 point, upon which the success of the movement de- 
 pended. Ascertaining from a careful examination 
 of the position that it was practicable to gain the 
 road and break the enemy's column, I so reported 
 to the general-in-chief, ad^ng that as I must expect 
 to encounter a heavy force and a stubborn resist- 
 ance, and bearing in mind his admonition to move 
 cautiously, I should not advance farther until the 
 supports from the Eleventh and Twelfth Corps closed 
 up on Birney's right and left. 
 
 The considerable interval on the left, between Bir- 
 ney's and Williams' division, of Slocum's corps, yet 
 remaining unoccupied, and, suffering from a galling 
 fire of musketry in that direction, I was compelled 
 reluctantly to draw largely upon my reserves (Whip- 
 ple) to enable me to connect on the left with Slo- 
 
CHANCELLOBSVILLE. ggg 
 
 cum. Barlow's brigade (of the Eleventh Corps) 
 having got into position on the right, I was again 
 in readiness for a farther advance, which was gal- 
 lantly maintained by the sharpshooters, supported 
 by the Twentieth Indiana and Fifth Michigan. 
 
 Prom this advance, 300 prisoners were soon re- 
 ported to me, besides nearly 100 previously cap- 
 tured at the foundry by the sharpshooters. Hay- 
 man's brigade soon gained the road, supported by 
 Graham and Ward, the latter keeping up communi- 
 cation on the right and rear, at the foundry. The 
 road gained, Randolph's battery was advanced and 
 poured a destructive fire on the retreating column 
 of the enemy. The movement was successfully com- 
 pleted. 
 
 Brigadier-General Pleasonton, with three regiments 
 of cavalry (the Sixth New York, and Eighth and 
 Seventeenth Pennsylvania) and Martin's battery of 
 horse artillery, had already reported to me, and was 
 moving over the hill through the woods toward the 
 foundry, but not deeming it quite time for the ef- 
 fective employment of cavalry in the attack, in 
 compliance with my suggestion. General Pleasonton 
 returned to the opening near Scott's Run, formed 
 his command, and waited until the way could be 
 cleared for his operations. 
 
 Returning to the front, I found every indication 
 that looked to a complete success as soon as my 
 advance could be supported. The resistance of Mc- 
 Law's division had almost ceased, and although our 
 scouts reported a considerable force on the right and 
 in front, it was evident that in a few minutes five 
 or six regiments would be cut off and fall into our 
 hands. Regarding the moment opportune for the 
 advance of General Pleasonton with his cavalry 
 and horse battery, I was about to dispatch a staff 
 officer to bring him forward, when it was reported 
 to me that the Eleventh Corps had yielded the right 
 flank of the army to the enemy, who was advancing 
 rapidly, and, indeed, was already in my rear. I 
 confess I did not credit this statement until an 
 aide-de-camp of General Warren, of General Hook- 
 er's staff, confirmed the report, and asked for a reg- 
 
390 " OTHER EXCURSIONS." 
 
 iment of cavalry to check the movement. The Eighth 
 Pennsylvania Cavalry was immediately sent by Gen- 
 eral Pleasonton, and brilliantly was the service per- 
 formed, although with fearful loss. I had only time 
 to dispatch staff oflScers to recall Birney and Whip- 
 ple, when the enemy's scouts and some dragoons dis- 
 closed themselves as I rode toward the bridge across 
 Scott's Run for the purpose of making disposition 
 to meet and arrest this disaster. Meeting General 
 Pleasonton, we hastened to make the best available 
 disposition to attack Jackson's column on their right 
 flank. 
 
 I confided to Pleasonton the direction of the ar- 
 tillery — three batteries of my reserve — Clark's, 
 Lewis's, and TurnbuU's and his own horse battery. 
 The only supports at hand comprised two small regi- 
 ments of cavalry (Sixth New York and Seventeenth 
 Pennsylvania) and one regiment of infantry (One 
 hundred and tenth Pennsylvania, of Whipple's divi- 
 sion). Time was everything. The fugitives of the 
 Eleventh Corps swarmed from the woods and swept 
 frantically over the cleared fields, in which my ar- 
 tillery was parked. The exulting enemy at their 
 heels mingled yells With their volleys, and in the 
 confusion which followed it seemed as if cannon 
 and caissons, dragoons, cannoneers, and infantry 
 could never be disentangled from the mass in which 
 they were suddenly thrown. Fortunately there was 
 only one obvious outlet for these panic-stricken hordes, 
 after rushing between and over our guns, and this 
 was through a ravine crossed in two or three places 
 by the headwaters of Scott's Run. This was soon 
 made impassable by the reckless crowd choking up 
 the way. A few minutes was enough to restore com- 
 parative order and get our artillery in position. The 
 enemy showing himself on the plain, Pleasonton met 
 the shock at short range with the well-directed fire 
 of twenty-two pieces, double-shotted with canister. 
 The rebels pressed up the Plank road rapidly, and, 
 as Greneral Pleasonton justly observes in his report, 
 herewith transmitted; 
 
 They advanced in silence, and with that skill 
 and adroitness they often display to gain their 
 
CEANCELL0B8VILLE. 391 
 
 object. The only color visible was an Ameri- 
 can flag with the center battalion. To clear 
 up this doubt my aide-de-camp. Lieutenant Thom- 
 son, First New York Cavalry, rode to within 
 100 yards of them, when they called out to him, 
 " We are friends; come on! " and he was induced 
 to go 50 yards closer, when the whole line, in 
 a most dastardly manner opened on him with 
 musketry, dropped the American color, and dis- 
 played 8 or 10 rebel battle-flags. 
 Lieutenant Thomson escaped unhurt, and our bat- 
 teries opened on the advancing columns with crush- 
 ing power. The heads of the columns were swept 
 away to the woods, from which they opened a furious 
 but ineffectual fire of musketry. Twice they attempt- 
 ed a flank movement, but the first was checked by our 
 guns, and the second and most formidable was baf- 
 fled by the advance of Whipple and Bimey, who 
 were coming up rapidly, but in perfect order, and 
 forming in lines of brigades in rear of the artillery, 
 and on the flanks. My position was now secure in the 
 adequate infantry support which had arrived; the 
 loud cheers of our men as twilight closed the com- 
 bat vainly challenged the enemy to renew the en- 
 counter. 
 
 While these movements were in progress on the 
 flank, the First and Second Brigades of the Second 
 Division (Berry's), which had been held in reserve 
 at Chancellorsville, were ordered by the general-in- 
 chief to take a position perpendicular to the Plank 
 road and check the enemy's advance. 
 
 Captain Poland, Grcneral Berry's chief of staff, led 
 the Excelsior Brigade into the woods to the right of 
 the road, except the Fourth Excelsior, Major Burns 
 commanding, which was placed on the edge of the 
 timber to the left. 
 
 The First Massachusetts, Colonel McLaughlen, was 
 detached from the First (Carr's) Brigade and posted 
 on the left of the Second (Excelsior) Brigade, pro- 
 longing the line to the Plank road. 
 
 The remaining regiments of Carr's brigade (First) 
 formed a second line 150 paces to the rear. 
 These dispositions were made without the steadi- 
 
392 " OTHER EXCURSIONS." 
 
 ness of these veteran troops being in the least dis- 
 turbed by the torrents of fugitives breaking through 
 their intervals. The regiments of the first line, 
 covered by their skirmishers, immediately threw up 
 a strong breastwork of logs and abatis. 
 
 Prisoners captured (among them an aide of Gen- 
 eral Stuart's, who had come forward with a party 
 to remove a caisson left by the Eleventh Corps) 
 disclosed to us the enemy's lines of battle, about 300 
 yards in front, in the woods. 
 
 Osborn, Berry's chief of artillery, during these 
 dispositions of the infantry, placed Dimick's and 
 Winalow's batteries on the crest of the hill, perpen- 
 dicular to the road and 300 or 400 yards in rear 
 of the line of battle. A section of Dimick's was 
 thrown forward on the Plank road, near the in- 
 fantry. 
 
 These admirable dispositions, promptly made, the 
 splendid fire of the artillery, and the imposing at- 
 titude of an iron wall of infantry co-operated with 
 our flank attack to check the enemy's advance, which 
 was effectually accomplished before dark. 
 
 General Berry, having established his front line, 
 dispatched an aide and patrols to the right of our 
 position, in search of the troops who were supposed 
 to protect that flank or connect with it. These ef- 
 forts were futile. Report was made to the com- 
 manding general of the fact, and information ob- 
 tained that the Second Corps would connect with our 
 right. At 9 P. M. General Hays, of the Second 
 Corps, reported to General Berry with a brigade, 
 which was placed obliquely in rear of the second 
 line (Carr's brigade) and. facing toward the left. 
 
 After dark the enemy's line could only be defined 
 by the flash of his musketry, from which a stream of 
 fire occasionally almost enveloped us. As often as 
 these attacks were renewed, generally with fresh 
 troops, and aided by his artillery, they were repulsed 
 by our guns, now directed by Randolph on the flank 
 and by Osborn in front. Ascertaining the enter- 
 prise of cutting us off from the army to be hope- 
 less, the enemy sullenly withdrew to the line of 
 rifle-pits and breastworks formerly held by the 
 
CEANGELLORSYILLE. 393 
 
 Eleventh Corps. Several of our guns and caissons 
 were immediately recovered from the woods the en- 
 emy had occupied, and, again to quote the felici- 
 tous observations of General Pleasonton: 
 
 " Such was the fight at the head of Scott's 
 Run — artillery against infalntry at 300 yards; 
 the infantry in the forest, the artillery in the 
 clearing. War presents many anomalies, but 
 ^ few so strange in its results as this." 
 I now hastened to open communication with Gen- 
 eral Slocum on my right and with headquarters at 
 Chancellorsville — the last communication which I 
 had received from the general-in-chief having been 
 the order to assail the enemy on his right flank 
 aiid check his advance, which _ was conveyed to me 
 about 5 P. M., adding that I must rely upon the 
 force I had, as Berry's division, of my corps, could 
 not be spared from the front. To open communica- 
 tion, I sent Lieutenant-Colonel Hart, assistant ad- 
 jutant-general, and a small mounted escort, detailed 
 by General Pleasonton, first taking the precaution 
 to be sure that no orders, communications, or mem- 
 orandum of the countersign should compromise us, 
 if capture resulted in the search of his person. Colo- 
 nel Hart, taking the route through the ravine and 
 by Fairview, performed this duty with his usual 
 address and zeal, and brought me orders to hold my 
 position. 
 
 Colonel Hart was instructed to report to the gen- 
 eral-in-chief that a portion of Whipple's ammuni- 
 tion (mule) train, some of the caissons of his bat- 
 teries, and two or three of his cannon were in the 
 woods occupied by the enemy between my line of 
 battle and the road, and that to recover these, as 
 well as the line of the Plank road, I would, with 
 his sanction, make a night attack, if supported by 
 Williams' division, of Slocum's corps, and by Berry's 
 division, of this corps, now forming a connected line. 
 About 11 o'clock I received, through Colonel Hart, 
 permission to make this advance, and immediately 
 confiding the dispositions on the flank to General 
 Birney, and in front of Major-General Berry, di- 
 rected the attack to be made on the flank in two 
 
394 " OTBUR EXCURSIONS." 
 
 lines of battle (with the bayonet), supported by 
 heavy columns. 
 
 Colonel Hart was sent to communicate with Ma- 
 jor-General Berry and General Williams, who inter- 
 vened between Birney's right and Berry's left, Ber- 
 ry's lines crossing the Plank road in the woods in 
 front of Fairview. Colonel Hart having reported 
 to me that Berry and Williams were ready, at mid- 
 night I ordered Birney to advance. 
 
 It is difficult to do justice to the brilliant execu- 
 tion of this movement by Birney and his splendid 
 command. Ward's brigade formed the first line; 
 Hayman's second, about 100 yards in the rear, pieces 
 all uncapped, and strict orders not to fire a musket 
 until the Plank road and earthworks were reached, 
 the movement to be by the right of companies. On 
 the left a wide road led through the woods perpen- 
 dicular to the Plank road, on which the Fortieth 
 New York, Seventeenth Maine, and Sixty-third Penn- 
 sylvania Volunteers were pushed forward by column 
 of companies at full distance. 
 
 The night was very clear and still; the moon, 
 nearly full, threw enough light in, the woods to fa- 
 cilitate the advance, and against a terrific fire of 
 musketry and artillery, some twenty pieces of which 
 the enemy had massed in the opening (Dowdall's) 
 where General Howard's headquarters had been es- 
 tablished, the advance was successfully executed, 
 the line of the Flank road gained, and our breast- 
 works reoccupied. 
 
 I commend to the particular notice of the gen- 
 eral-in-chief the high praise bestowed by General 
 Birney upon Col. Thomas W. Egan, Fortieth New 
 York, for the energy and dash which he threw into 
 this attack. All our guns and caissons and a por- 
 tion of Whipple's mule train were recovered, besides 
 two pieces of the enemy's artillery and three caissons 
 captured. 
 
 Thrown into hopeless confusion upon his right 
 flank, the enemy advanced upon the front of the 
 second division (Berry's) in connected lines on the 
 right and left of the road, but was repulsed in less 
 than thirty minutes by the combined and effective 
 
CHANCELLORSVILLE. 395 
 
 fire~of infantry and Dimick's and Osborn's batteries, 
 excellently posted on and near the road. 
 
 At about 2 A. M. the Third (Mott's) Brigade ar- 
 rived from the ford^ from whence it was ordered 
 before dark, and was placed in reserve in two lines 
 to the left of the Plank road, in the rear of the 
 right of General Williams' division and in front 
 of the division artillery, the right of each line rest- 
 ing on the road. 
 
 At daylight on Sunday morning, I received orders 
 from the general-in-chief in person to withdraw 
 from my position on the flank, and march my com- 
 mand by the most practical route to Fairview, and 
 there occupy the new line of intrenchments along 
 the skirt of the woods perpendicular to and on either 
 side of the plank road, my artillery to occupy the 
 field-works on the crest of the hill, in the rear of 
 the lines of battle. Major-General Berry I found 
 already in position in the front line, with the Second 
 Division, connecting on his left with Williams' divi- 
 sion (Twelfth Corps.) An examination of his dis- 
 positions left me nothing to desire. General Whip- 
 ple commenced the movement from the Wilderness 
 by the left flank, preceded by the artillery of his 
 own and Birney's divisions, except Huntington's bat- 
 tery, which was well posted on the right flank, to 
 cover the withdrawal of the columns. Birney fol- 
 lowed in good order. When the rear of his column 
 (Graham's brigade) had descended the ravine, the 
 enemy assailed Graham fiercely, and charged Hun- 
 tington's battery, but were handsomely repulsed. Dit 
 recting a battery to open Are from the crest of a 
 hill to the left of the Fairview house, and a brigade 
 to be formed in column of regiments within sup- 
 porting distance of Graham, he was withdrawn in 
 good order, although not without considerable loss. 
 Huntington's battery, of Whipple's division, _ swept 
 with a most destructive Are the plain on which the 
 rebels deployed for their attack on Graham. In 
 withdrawing over the branches of Scott's Run, this 
 battery lost some of its horses and material. 
 
 Along the heights in front of Fairview, commenc- 
 ing near the Plank road on the right, were Dim- 
 
396 " OTBER EXCVRBIONS." 
 
 ick's and Osborn's batteries; near the dwelling, Kan- 
 dolph's and Clark's were posted; on the extreme 
 left of the crest, Seeley, Lewis, Livingston, and Putt- 
 kammer in reserve. Huntington was sent to the 
 ford. The Third (Mott's) Brigade, Second Division, 
 after the retreat of the Third Maryland Regiment, 
 moved forward to the breastwork, by command of 
 General Mott, and drove the enemy back upon him- 
 self with incalculable slaughter. The Fifth New Jer- 
 sey advanced into the woods beyond the line of 
 breastworks, capturing many prisoners and colors. 
 The Seventh New Jersey on the left vied with the 
 Kfth in repelling the rebel masses. Graham's bri- 
 gade (the One hundred and fourteenth, Fifty-seventh, 
 Sixty-third, Sixty-eighth, One hundred and fifth, 
 and One hundred and forty-flrst Pennsylvania In- 
 fantry) was almost immediately sent to the front 
 to relieve one of Gteneral Slocum's brigades, which 
 was reported to me to be without ammunition. The 
 First Brigade (Colonel Franklin commanding), of 
 Whipple's division, in two lines (the One himdred 
 and twenty-fourth and Eighty^sixth New York and 
 One hundred and twenty-second Pennsylvania), sup- 
 ported Berry on the right of the Plank road most 
 gallantly. The battery on the left of the road and 
 in rear of the line having been withdrawn, these 
 regiments relieved the front line on the left of the 
 road, and by a brilliant charge drove back the enemy, 
 who were coming down the road and over our breast- 
 works. It was in this charge that the intrepid 
 Lieutenant-Colonel Chapin and Major Higgins were 
 wounded, the former mortally. The Second Brigade, 
 Colonel Bowman commanding (the Twelfth New 
 Hampshire, Colonel Potter; One hundred and tenth 
 Pennsylvania, Lieutenant-Colonel Crowther command- 
 ing, and Eighty-fourth Pennsylvania, Lieutenant- 
 Colonel Opp commanding), formed the third line in 
 front and to the left of the batteries at Fairview. 
 These troops behaved with the utmost gallantry, and 
 were boldly led, maintaining their ground to the last 
 under the most adverse circumstances. Their loss 
 was necessarily severe. Besides Lieutenant-Colonel 
 Crowther, who was killed. Colonel Potter, Lieuten- 
 
GHANGELLOBSVILLE. 397 
 
 ant-Colonel Maisli, and Major Savage, of the Twelfth 
 New Hampshire, and Major Jones, One hundred and 
 tenth Pennsylvania, were all dangerously wounded. 
 
 The sharpshooters, under Colonel Berdan, support- 
 ed the First Brigade on the right, throwing out a 
 strong line of skirmishers to the front in the woods. 
 These splendid light troops rendered the most effec- 
 tive service. Major Hastings was severely wounded 
 while upon this duty with his battalion. 
 
 The vigor and tenacity of the enemy's attack 
 seemed to concentrate more and more upon my lines 
 near the Plank road and on my left flank. As fast 
 as their lines were broken by the terrible fire of ar- 
 tillery and musketry, fresh colunms were deployed. 
 My last reserve (Ward's brigade, of Birney's divi- 
 sion) had been sent to support Berry, on the right 
 of the Plank road, but that heroic commander had 
 fallen in the thickest of the fight, while Ward was 
 on his way, who failed to get into position before 
 the enemy had turned Berry's left flank, which was 
 held by the Third Maryland, of the Twelfth Corps. 
 
 Thirty cannon, in a commanding position and ad- 
 mirably served, inflicted terrible blows upon the 
 enemy. Often repulsed by the concentration of this 
 fire, and by repeated charges of infantry, his unex- 
 hausted reserves enabled him to press forward rather 
 in crowds than in any regular formation. 
 
 My last round of ammunition having been expend- 
 ed, except canister, which could not be used on ac- 
 count of the position of our own troops, the artilleiy 
 retired toward Chancellorsville and took a new posi- 
 tion. The infantry, except that portion of the Second 
 Division which General Revere without authority led 
 to the rear, was then re-formed under my own super- 
 vision, and while being supplied with ammunition 
 took up a second position on the plain in the rear 
 of Fairview, the front line occupying the artillery 
 breastworks. 
 
 It was here that the First Brigade (Franklin's) 
 of the Third Division, vied with the Third Brigade 
 (Mott's), Second Division, in its repeated assaults 
 upon the enemy. Charge after charge was made by 
 this gallant brigade, under Colonel Sewell, Fifth New 
 
398 " otbeh EXovRBions." 
 
 Jersey, upon whom the command devolved (after the 
 loss of General Mott and Colonel .Park, Second New 
 York Volunteers, wounded), before it was with- 
 drawn, terribly reduced and mutilated, from the post 
 assigned it. Its stern resistance to the impulsive 
 assaults of the enemy, and the brilliant charges made 
 in return, were worthy of the " Old Guard." No sol- 
 dier could refuse a tribute of admiration in remem- 
 brance of the last charge made. A small body, for 
 a regiment, drove the enemy out of the rifle-pits near 
 Fairview before withdrawing, and returned with 40 
 men, whose sole reliance in this charge was in the 
 bayonet, every cartridge having been expended mo- 
 ments before. 
 
 Finally, retiring to Chancellorsville, I re-formed 
 in three lines on the right of Major-General Hancock, 
 of Couch's corps; Lewis' battery, four pieces of See- 
 ley's, and a section of Randolph's under Lieutenant 
 Bucklyn, took position about half-way between 
 Chancellorsville and Fairview, and although exposed 
 to a terrible fire, were effectively served until not a 
 round of ammunition was left. The severe loss in 
 men and horses now rendered the withdrawal of my 
 batteries imperative — Seeley, as he fell back, bring- 
 ing with him all the harness from 30 or 40 of his 
 dead and wounded horses, leaving no trophy of his 
 battery on the field, except the memorable loss it had 
 inflicted on the enemy. 
 
 Graham's (Pennsylvania) brigade had gallantly 
 held the left for two hours, driving the enemy with 
 the bayonet out of some barricades he had taken 
 early in the action. The right giving way toward 
 the Plank road. General Birney, in person, led a 
 portion of Hayinan's brigade to the charge, driving 
 the enemy back in confusion, capturing several hun- 
 dred prisoners, and relieving Graham from a flank 
 movement of the enemy, which exposed him to great 
 peril, when he withdrew in good order. 
 
 After the fall of the lamented Berry, some confu- 
 sion occurred in the withdrawal of the Second Di- 
 vision, owing to the assumption of command by 
 Brigadier-General Revere, who, heedless of their mur- 
 murs, shamefuly led to the rear the whole of the 
 
CBAWCELL0R8TILLE. 
 
 399 
 
 Second BrigtCde and portions of two others, thus 
 subjecting these proud soldiers for the first time 
 to the humiliation of being marched to the rear 
 while their comrades were under fire. General Re- 
 vere was promptly recalled with his troops, and at 
 once relieved of command. 
 
 Although^ the stubborn resistance made by the 
 Second Division to the heavy column of the enemy 
 could not, unsupported, have been protracted much 
 longer for the want of ammunition, there is no doubt 
 that part of my line was needlessly exposed by the 
 premature and hasty retirement of the Third Mary- 
 land Regiment, which had at daybreak relieved the 
 Fourth Excelsior, on the left of the Plank road. 
 The enemy seized the advantage instantly, and, pene- 
 trating my line in the center, near the road, exposed 
 the wings to a fearful enfilading fire. If Ward had 
 not unfortunately failed to get into position, this 
 might have been averted for some time, at. least. 
 The claim of Revere to command, added to the hesi- 
 tation of Colonel McAllister, of the Eleventh New 
 Jersey, to recognize the orders of Captain Poland, 
 chief of staff, lost us precious moments of time, and 
 before I could reach that part of the field from the 
 left, where I was then occupied, the position had 
 been yielded by the infantry, the artillery having a 
 few minutes before exhausted its ammunition and 
 retired. 
 
 The front line near the Plank road early in the 
 morning comprised, beginning on the left of the road, 
 the Third Maryland (Twelfth Corps), First Massa- 
 chusetts, Fifth Excelsior, One Hundred and Twen- 
 tieth New York, the Second, First, and Third Ex- 
 celsior, and Twenly-sixth Pennsylvania (Second Di- 
 vision, Third Corps). This line gallantly resisted 
 the assaults of the enemy for more than an hour, 
 when its left was turned, and Colonel Stevens, of 
 the Second Brigade, in the absence of General Revere, 
 changed front to repel the advance of the enemy on 
 the flank. Before the movement was completed, this 
 brilliant oflScer fell, mortally wounded. Captain 
 (H. J.) Bliss and several men who approached to 
 remove him from the field were wounded. Then fol- 
 
400 " OTBER EXCURSIONS." 
 
 lowed a fierce hand-to-hand struggle for the colors 
 of the regiment (the Third Excelsior) ; they were 
 seized by the enemy, but every rebel who touched 
 them was either shot or bayonetted, and the brave 
 Stevens saw his colors proudly borne to the next 
 position assigned to the regiment. 
 
 With the exception of his artillery, which sustained 
 its fire and advanced toward Fairview, there was 
 nothing like ardor — indeed, there was every indi- 
 cation of exhaustion — in the advance of the enemy 
 after occupying our lines at Fairview. 
 
 I took at least 400 prisoners, including many offi- 
 cers, as I retired slowly upon Chancellorsville. There 
 was no serious demonstration by the enemy's infantry 
 on " my artillery or supports after it had taken a 
 second position near the brick mansion which had 
 been occupied as the headquarters of the general-in- 
 eliief until it was set on fire by the enemy's shells. 
 /* would not have been difficult to regain the lost 
 ground with the bayonet, as I proposed to do, but 
 the attempt was not deemed expedient {for the want 
 of supports to hold it) by the senior officer present 
 upon that part of the field, upon whom the direction 
 of operations in front had devolved in the temporary 
 absence of the general-in-chief. 
 
 In conformity with orders, I marched my command 
 in several columns, by the flank, to the junction of 
 Ely's and the United States Fords roads, taking 
 position as supports to General Meade. These dispo- 
 sitions were afterwards changed by order of the 
 general- in-chief, by whose direction I moved to the 
 front of the new lines near the white house, connect- 
 ing with General Meade on the right and General 
 Couch on the left. Here we intrenched, and, after 
 throwing forward strong lines of supports for the 
 artillery in my front (thirty cannon in position, 
 under the direction of Captain Randolph, my chief of 
 artillery), I massed my reserves in the woods in col- 
 umns by divisions, opening dibouchis in all direc- 
 tions. These works were begun under an annoying 
 fire of the enemy's sharpshooters, who were soon 
 handsomely driven by Berdan, to whom the outposts 
 were confided, but not until the brave and accom- 
 
CHANCELLORSVILLE. 401 
 
 plished Brigadier-General A. W. Whipple, command- 
 iiig_ Third Division, had fallen, mortally wounded, 
 while directing in person the construction of field 
 works in his front. 
 
 These dispositions continued until Wednesday morn- 
 ing, a deluging rain-storm intervening, which caused 
 a great and sudden rise in the Kappahannock and its 
 tributaries, endangering our bridges and making the 
 roads impracticable for trains. The supply of ra- 
 tions had become so reduced as to render an advance 
 impossible without our trains. 
 
 During Tuesday afternoon and night, my pioneers, 
 under the energetic direction of Captain Briscoe, 
 aide-de-camp to General Birney, made a road two 
 rods wide, through three miles of forest, to the 
 United States Ford. 
 
 At daylight I was ordered to follow the artillery 
 simultaneously with the Fifth and First Corps, these 
 to be followed by the Second Corps as fast as the 
 covering column closed in on its left, and this corps 
 in turn to be followed by the Eleventh and Twelfth 
 Corps in the same order. This movement was thrown 
 into some confusion and its success imperiled by 
 the premature withdrawal of the pickets of the Fifth 
 Corps and the premature movement of the Second 
 and Eleventh Corps, the former taking my bridge, 
 on the right, and crossing the river in advance of 
 my First Division. 
 
 My command having been withdrawn in good order, 
 Colonel McLaughlen, First Massachusetts Infantry, 
 general officer of outposts, reported to me near the 
 ford with the outpost detail, and my column, after 
 passing without confusion or loss to the north side 
 of the Rappahannock, moved to the old camps at 
 Boacobel and Bellair, which they reached during the 
 afternoon of the 6th. 
 
 Herewith I have the honor to transmit nominal 
 and tabular returns of casualties, together with the 
 reports of division and brigade commanders and the 
 chief of artillery. In none of the sanguinary com- 
 bats in which the troops of this corps have been 
 engaged have they had better opportunities than on 
 Saturday and Sunday, May 2 and 3, to inflict great 
 
402 " OTBER EXCUMStONS." 
 
 injury upon the enemy and to render signal service 
 to this army and the cause. Soldiers and command- 
 ers performed their duties with ardor, alacrity, and 
 devotion. As long as the history of this war shall 
 be read, conspicuous upon its pages will be the record 
 of the achievements and the sacrifices of the Third 
 Army Corps in the battles of the Wilderness and of 
 Fairview. The most diflBcult and painful of duties 
 remains to be performed — an appropriate tribute 
 to the fallen and the just commendation of those 
 most distinguished for good conduct. Such losses 
 as those of Berry, Stevens, McKnight, Lancaster, 
 Crowther, and Dimick, are irreparable. It is a con- 
 solation to know that they and their noble associates 
 among the dead did not fall unrevenged, for in the 
 loss of Jackson and Hill, and the flower of t}ie Kebel 
 Army on Saturday and Sunday, the enemy learned to 
 respect the prowess of the Third Army Corps. 
 
 I shall fail in giving adequate expression to the 
 obligations I feel toward division, brigade, regi- 
 mental, and battery commanders. The gallantry of 
 Whipple was gracefully acknowledged by his promo- 
 tion before his wound proved to be mortal. The 
 dashing leadership of Birney has already received a 
 like recognition. The chivalrous Berry proved but 
 too soon how well he had deserved the highest rank 
 in our service, and I trust that Pleasonton's brilliant 
 conduct on Saturday — calm in the midst of tumult, 
 and full of resources when others yielded to the per- 
 vading dismay — may be the occasion of his deserved 
 advancement. General Carr, commanding Second 
 Division, temporarily; General Graham, command- 
 ing Third Division, temporarily; General Mott, of 
 the New Jersey brigade (who was seriously wound- 
 ed) ; Colonel Sewell, who succeeded to the command; 
 Colonels Bowman and Berdan, commanding brigades 
 in the Third Division; Colonel Potter, Twelfth New 
 Hampshire (dangerously wounded) ; Colonel Blais- 
 dell. Eleventh Massachusetts; Colonel Egan, Fortieth 
 New York; Colonel Ellis, One Hundred and Twenty- 
 fourth New York; and Colonel Tilghman, Twenty- 
 sixth Pennsylvania (dangerously wounded), deserve 
 
CBANCELLOnsTILLS. 403 
 
 especial mention for the gallant and skillful handling 
 of their several commands. 
 
 My artillery was served with such uniform ability 
 and power that to discriminate among the battery 
 commanders is not a little embarrassing. I must 
 refer you on this subject to the report of Captain 
 Randolph, than whom it would be difficult to name a 
 more accomplished, judicious, and energetic chief of 
 artillery. Osborn and Clark, chiefs of the First and 
 Second Divisions, sustained their reputations as cool 
 and reliable officers. Lewis established a high name 
 for his battery; Seeley was pre-eminent as usual; 
 Dimick won the applause of commanders and com- 
 rades by his heroic conduct, and there is nothing 
 in war more splendid than the exploit of Lieutenant 
 Sanderson, of Battery H, First U. S. Artillery, who 
 advanced with a limber through a storm of musketry, 
 disdaining death, and withdrew the last gun of his 
 battery from the grasp of the enemy. 
 
 In compliance with orders, I shall forward at an 
 early day a list of recommendations for brevets and 
 promotions. 
 
 The staff departments, upon which so much de- 
 pends, present no ordinary claim to consideration. 
 The medical director. Dr. Sim, already distinguished 
 for unsurpassed zeal and ability, was ever at his post 
 and always efficient. 
 
 The ambulance corps, under the direction of Lieut. 
 J. R. Moore, deserves the very highest praise. More 
 than 2,000 of my wounded were in the hospitals at 
 Potomac Creek, 15 miles from the front, on Tuesday, 
 May 5. (Lieutenant Webster joined in season to 
 take charge of the removal of the wounded under the 
 flag of truce.) 
 
 The chief commissary of subsistence, Lieutenant- 
 Colonel Woods, discharged all his duties satisfac- 
 torily. Captain (Harrison D. F.) Young, chief ord- 
 nance officer, always prompt and foremost, was re- 
 luctantly compelled by indisposition to remain with 
 his trains in the rear. 
 
 To Lieutenant-Colonel Hayden, inspector-general; 
 Captain Randolph, chief of artillery; Lieutenant- 
 Colonel (Orson H.) Hart, assistant adjutant-general; 
 
404 
 
 « OTBER EXCURSIONS." 
 
 Major Tremain, aide-de-camp; Captain Pry, aide-de- 
 camp (seriously wounded) ; Captains Briscoe and Fas- 
 sitt, of General Birney's staff; Lieutenant W. C. 
 Banks, deputy provost-marshal; Lieutenant Moore, 
 ambulance officer and volunteer aide-de-camp; Lieu- 
 tenant (Jeannotte) Macduff, aide-de-camp, and Mr. 
 T. M:. Cook, a civilian who volunteered his services 
 early on Saturday, I am under the greatest obligations 
 for the gallantry, intelligence, and zeal with which 
 their laborious and important duties were performed. 
 
 Captain George E. Randolph, chief of artillery; 
 Major H. E. Tremain, aide-de-camp; Lieutenant- 
 Colonel Julius Hay den, inspector-general (major 
 Tenth U. S. Infantry), and Captain T. W. G. Fry, 
 commissary of subsistence and aide-de-camp, are 
 earnestly recommended for brevets. 
 
 The fall of Berry and Whipple deprived them of 
 the opportunity of doing justice to the conspicuous 
 merit and gallantry of their respective staffs. I 
 am sure that I only give expression to the feelings 
 of these commanders while they lived when I com- 
 mend to the notice of the general-in-chief the dis- 
 tinguished conduct of Captain (John S. ) Poland, 
 inspector-general and chief of staff of the Second 
 Division, and of Captain Le Grand Benedict, assistant 
 adjutant-general of the Second Division; also of Cap- 
 tain (Henry E.) Dal ton and the other members of 
 General Whipple's accomplished staff. I shall have 
 the honor' again to solicit attention to their claims 
 lyhen forwarding in detail my list of recommenda- 
 tions for promotions and brevets. 
 
 I am. General, very respectfully, your obedient 
 servant, D. E. SICKLES, 
 
 Major-G«neral Commanding. 
 Brig. Gen. S. Williams, 
 
 Asst. Adjt. Gen. Army of the Potomac. 
 
 TESTIMONY OF THIED COKPS COMMANDEE BEFORE CON- 
 GEESSIONAl COMMITTEE. 
 
 The following is an extract from the " Testimony 
 OF Major Genebai, Daniel E. Sickles," delivered 
 " Washington, February 25, 1864," before the " Joint 
 
CEANCELL0R8VILLE. 405 
 
 Committee on The Conduct of the War," "Second 
 Session, Thirty-Eighth Congress," as reported 1865 
 by that committee in its Volume 1, pages 7 toll: 
 
 • ••»•»» 
 
 The next important movement of -which I have 
 personal knowledge was made on that Saturday 
 night. [May 2, 1865.] I had the authority of Gen- 
 eral Hooker for making a night attack updH Jack- 
 son's force. I was ordered by General Hooker gen- 
 erally during the day to avail myself of every op- 
 portunity to attack and harass Jackson's movement, 
 and my position was such as enabled me to attack 
 him on his right flank. I can furnish the committee 
 with a plan of the battle, and a topographical sketch 
 of the field and the position of the troops, which will 
 enable them to understand more clearly all these 
 movements. I have not that with me now. In fur- 
 therance of these instructions of General Hooker, 
 when night came and the efiFects of the stampede had 
 been removed, I did not feel at liberty to make a 
 night attack without getting his special authority to 
 do so. Upon reporting to him the position which I 
 held, and Jackson's position, he ordered me to make 
 a night attack, and directed General Slocum, who 
 was on my right, to support it if necessary. The 
 attack was made precisely at midnight by a bri- 
 gade, or rather more than a brigade; General Ward's 
 brigade, with the remaining part of General Bir- 
 ney's division, in support. It was admirably con- 
 ducted under General Birney, and was in all respects 
 successful. It was made entirely with the bayonet. 
 We drove Jackson back to our original line, and re- 
 occupied General Howard's rifle pits, and recovered 
 some several pieces of artillery, and some caissons, 
 which had been abandoned during the day. It was 
 in that night attack that Jackson fell. _ His force 
 was thrown into great confusion, and his own ar- 
 tillery opened upon his own men. The result of this 
 attack was reported to General Hooker, and I was 
 ordered to hold the advance line which I had recov- 
 ered until further orders. I got up some troops in 
 support, and held the line, expecting an effort upon 
 the part of the enemy to retover it, until about four 
 
406 " OTHER EXOUBBIONB." 
 
 o'clock in the morning, when I was ordered to report 
 in person to General Hooker at Chancellor&ville. 
 Communication in the meanwhile had been estab- 
 lished between General Hooker's headquarters and 
 myself, it having been cut off for some hours during 
 the day. I reported in person to General Hooker, 
 and he ordered me, a little before daybreak, to with- 
 draw my troops and take up a new line. He had de- 
 termined to occupy a line somewhat less extended 
 than he had held on the previous day. The disor- 
 ganization of the eleventh corps had practically left 
 him with one corps less for Sunday's operation than 
 before. 
 
 Question. What was the strength of the eleventh 
 corps, as near as you can recollect? 
 
 Answer. I have no correct information about it. 
 It consisted of three divisions, and I should estimate 
 it at fifteen thousand men. I do not think it was 
 more, and it may have been a thousand or so less; 
 but assuming the strength of the divisions to have 
 been about the average, I should judge it was about 
 fifteen thousand strong. My own divisions were con- 
 siderably stronger, and my own corps was about 
 eighteen thousand. 
 
 Question. Their giving way made a long gap in 
 the line? 
 
 Answer. Yes, sir, a very serious gap. General 
 Hooker consequently felt himself obliged to take a 
 less extended position, and that made it necessary for 
 my troops to be withdrawn. It was a somewhat 
 hazardous movement in the presence of the enemy, 
 as the night was then so far advanced that it would 
 have to be done in the daylight. However, that move- 
 ment was executed with much less loss than I appre- 
 hended. I had had some experience in vrithdrawing 
 troops, under similar circumstances, in the presence 
 of the enemy, in the peninsular campaign, during 
 the seven days' battle. I had supposed that the enemy 
 would be on the watch for movements of that char- 
 acter; and if we were attacked seriously while exe- 
 cuting such a movement, I felt apprehensive of 
 the result. But the enemy did not attack until the 
 whole of my column had been withdrawn, with the 
 
CBAJJCELLORSTILLE. 407 
 
 exception of one brigade and a battery. The rear 
 guard under General Graham was furiously attacked; 
 but being promptly supported, and General Graham 
 manoeuvring his troops with great address, the stead- 
 iness and gallantry of the troops was such that they 
 inflicted upon the enemy about as much damage as 
 they received themselves. The whole force was with- 
 drawn in good order and without loss, except one 
 piece of artillery, I think, which got stalled in cross- 
 ing a swamp, and a caisson, the horses of which were 
 all killed. I suppose the piece of artillery would not 
 have been stalled, had not two or three of the horses 
 been killed. 
 
 We then took up our position in the line of battle 
 assigned us for the combat of Sunday, which opened 
 very soon after my troops had taken their position. 
 The attack of the enemy on Sunday was made on 
 my front in great force. They attacked as they gen 
 erally do — the favorite field tactics of Jackson — 
 in heavy columns. General Hooker, of course, not 
 knowing precisely where the attack would be made, 
 had his forces disposed as usual, in. double line of 
 battle, but of course sufficiently extended to cover all 
 the points of attack available to the enemy. I re- 
 ported to him the great force of the enemy in my 
 front, and my ability, in my judgment, to hold my 
 position as long as my ammunition would last; but 
 that the force of the enemy enabled him to constantly 
 bring fresh troops up to the attack — that my last 
 reserves had been put into position, and it was very 
 important, as that seemed to be the point that the 
 enemy were bent upon attacking, that I should be 
 supported. An aide-de-camp. Major Tremain, took 
 this last and most urgent communication to General 
 Hooker. Of course I had made frequent reports to 
 him of the progress of things in my immediate front. 
 That communication I regarded as of the most im- 
 portant character. It was taken to him at the time 
 when he had been struck down by a piece of the door 
 or pillar of the apartment which he was occupying 
 at Chaneellorsville being knocked against him. He 
 was knocked senseless, and Major Tremain was un- 
 able to make the comnwnjcfttion tg him, gomg o| 
 
408 " OTBER EXCURSIONS." 
 
 General Hooker's staff were present; and from his 
 appearance and the character of the blow, they sup- 
 posed at the time that the injury would result fa- 
 tally. 
 
 I received a report -of this from Major Tremain, and 
 sent him back again. I think I sent the same officer; 
 at all events, I sent a staff officer, for the purpose 
 of making the communication to the next senior of- 
 ficer who would take command. I received no official 
 communication from headquarters, however, and no 
 support came to me. And my artillery ammunition 
 having been exhausted, I withdrew my artillery from 
 the defences thrown up during the night — withdrew 
 it in good order and without loss. I also withdrew 
 my infantry, which had been somewhat in front, to 
 the second line behind the works, expecting to hold 
 them for a time with the bayonet, and looking every 
 moment for support to come up. The enemy seemed 
 to be satisfied with having forced me to withdraw 
 my infantry from their front line to this second po- 
 sition; and the battle paused for half an hour or 
 more. The loss inflicted upon the enemy, especially 
 by my artillery, was most severe. Their formation 
 for the attack was entirely broken up, and from my 
 headquarters they presented to the eye the appear- 
 ance of a mass, a crowd, without definite formation; 
 and if another corps had been available at that mo- 
 ment to have relieved me, or even to have supported 
 me, my judgment was that not only would that at- 
 tack of the enemy have been triumphantly repulsed, 
 but that we could have advanced on them and car- 
 ried the day. And that undoubtedly would have 
 been done in ample season, and before my ammuni- 
 tion gave out and compelled me to withdraw, but 
 for the injury that General Hooker received. 
 
 However, no supports coming up, and the enemy 
 meanwhile having had time to restore order in his 
 own lines and bring up fresh reserves, I was again 
 attacked, and having no means of resistance except 
 the bayonet — having only one battery for which I 
 had been able to obtain a supply of fresh ammunition 
 — after repelling five successive attacks of the enemy 
 with the bayonet, capturing eight of their colors from 
 
CEANCELL0R8VILLE. 409 
 
 their second line, most of which were captured by 
 the New Jersey brigade under General Mott, I again 
 fell back to General Hooker's headquarters, which 
 were then within easy range of the enemy's cannon, 
 and were rapidly becoming a pile of ruins — almost 
 every shot telling upon the building. I had just taken 
 up my third line a little in the rear of his head- 
 quarters, when they were set in. flames by the ene- 
 my's Are and consumed. 
 
 Under the orders of General Couch, who had at 
 this time, I believe, temporarily assumed command 
 during General Hooker's disability, I then again fell 
 back to the line for the army generally, which I 
 believe was marked out by General Couch, three- 
 quarters of a mile or so to the rear. The enemy, how- 
 ever, was so badly punishedy had received such injury 
 from the battle of the morning, that he was not in 
 a condition to follow us up; and, in the execution of 
 these several movements to the rear which I have 
 described, I took prisoners instead of losing any, 
 which is the most conclusive indication that I could 
 give you of the good order in which these movements 
 were executed, and the inability of the eiiemy to fol- 
 low up or take any advantage of them, either in the 
 capture of prisoners or material. 
 
 At the conclusion of the battle of Sunday, Captain 
 Seeley's battery, which was the last battery that fired 
 a shot in the battle of Chancellorsville, had forty-five 
 horses killed, and in the neighborhood of forty men 
 killed and wounded ; but being a soldier of great 
 pride and ambition, and not wishing to leave any 
 of his material in the hands of the enemy, he with- 
 drew so entirely at his leisure that he carried off 
 all the harness from his dead horses, loading his can- 
 noneers with it; he even took a part of a set of har- 
 ness on his own arm, and so moved to the rear. I 
 think this is as significant a fact as I can state to 
 you, indicating the inability of the enemy to follow 
 up ; also the additional fact that I lost no prisoners, 
 but captured a considerable number, several hundred, 
 from the enemy while they were making these last 
 attacks of which I spoke. They were spirited attacks, 
 but not such as indicated the enemy to be in a condi- 
 
410 " OTBEB EXCVS8I0N8." 
 
 tion to follow up any advantage. As I said before, 
 if another corps, or even ten thousand men, had heen 
 available at the close of the battle of Ohatioellors- 
 ville, on that part of the field where I was engaged, 
 I believe the battle would have resulted in owr favor. 
 
 Question. What was the result finally; did the 
 battle then cease? 
 
 Answer. Yes, sir; and we withdrew. General 
 Couch withdrew his corps — what of it was there — 
 two divisions, I think. General Sloeum withdrew his, 
 and my corps was withdrawn to the general position. 
 I do not remember the name of the house, although 
 perhaps it is stated in my report. It was on a farm, 
 and occupied by General Couch as his headquarters. 
 It was about three-quarters of a mile or a mile in the 
 rear, and toward the United States ford, where we 
 took up a new position and intrenched. There we re- 
 mained until we recrossed the river, in consequence 
 of the rains having swollen the Kappahannock and 
 carried away the bridges so as to interrupt our com- 
 munications, our rations having been consumed. 
 
 Question. How long did General Hooker remain 
 in this disabled state, resulting from the blow he re- 
 ceived ? 
 
 Answer. I was constantly present with my troops 
 until we took up our final position in the afternoon, 
 and I did not see General Hooker from the time the 
 battle opened until rather late in the afternoon, when 
 the battle was over. I had received orders in the 
 meantime from General Couch and from Gen- 
 eral Meade, both my seniors. The order from General 
 Meade I understood to be an order from General 
 Couch, communicated to me through General Meade. 
 Of course I obeyed those orders, and put my troops 
 in position in. accordance with them. In the after- 
 noon, I should say about three or four o'clock, I 
 met General Hooker. I think he sent for me to 
 know where my troops were, and I told him. He 
 asked by what orders, and I told him. He said they 
 were not in position as he desired, and told me where 
 he wanted them. I regarded him then, of course, as 
 having resumed his command, and changed my posi- 
 tion from one somewhat to the rear, in support of 
 
CHANCELLOBSYILLE. 411, 
 
 General Meade, and took position in front, parallel 
 with General Meade. General Meade held the front 
 line on the right of the United States ford road, 
 and I held the position on the left. There I pro- 
 ceeded to intrench. 
 
 I cannot speak from any personal knowledge of 
 General Hooker's condition, except as was reported 
 to me by staff officers ; but, as near as I can fix the , 
 time, I suppose he must have received this injury at 
 quite an early hour in the morning — I should say, 
 perhaps, between eight and nine o'clock — and I 
 had no communication from him indicating him to be 
 in command until, perhaps, between three and four 
 o'clock in the afternoon. He was then, I should say, 
 in a condition, from his injury, that forbade his re- 
 assuming command; he was evidently suffering great 
 agony, and I suppose nothing but the highest sense 
 of duty could have prompted him to resume com- 
 mand under such circumstances. He was mounted 
 on his horse, and was perfectly clear in all respects 
 as to orders and everything, but was evidently suf- 
 fering great bodily pain. 
 
 Question. Were his mental faculties impaired in 
 any way when you saw him? 
 
 Answer. No, sir; except that they might be by 
 bodily suffering. 
 
 Question. Do you suppose, if he had ieen well 
 enough to have answered your request for re-enforce- 
 ments, it would have turned the whole tide of battle? 
 
 Answer. Yes, sir; I have no doubt the battle 
 would have been won in thirty minutes; at least, it 
 would ha/oe been won in an hour. It would have been 
 won just as soon as you could have got ten thousand 
 men from the right or left to have repulsed that at- 
 tack. 
 
 Question. What was the reason that request was 
 not complied with by the person who assumed the 
 command after General Hooker's injury? 
 
 Answer. I cannot answer that question, because 
 I do not know at what time the next senior officer 
 did assume command. That would depend entirely 
 upon whether the staff of General Hooker may have 
 
412 " OTHER EXCURSIONS." 
 
 supposed that the general would revive and soon re- 
 cover. 
 
 Question. Were there available troops to have 
 met your request? 
 
 Answer. Yes, sir; because my corps was the only 
 one actively engaged; or, I should say, with the 12th 
 corps. My corps was the one most seriously en- 
 gaged; the 12th corps was partially engaged. My 
 losses would indicate that. I lost two hundred and 
 siccty officers fmd about forty-five himdred men in a 
 couple of hours; which was the prinoipal loss of the 
 day. 
 
 Question. I suppose the reports show nearly what 
 the relative losses were; but do you recollect which 
 was the greatest — our loss or the loss of the enemy? 
 
 Answer. I do not think the enemy has ever pub- 
 lished his loss at Ohancellorsville; I do not remem- 
 ber to have seen anything that I could regard as a 
 reliable official statement of his loss, but it must 
 have greatly exceeded ourSj except that he took a 
 great many prisoners, as I have understood, from the 
 11th corps on Saturday. His losses in killed and 
 wounded, in the operations of Saturday and Sunday, 
 must have greatly exceeded ours. I have never seen 
 a more effective infantry and artillery fire brought 
 to bear upon troops than was delivered from the line 
 of battle under my eye, selected by General Hooker, 
 on Sunday. Our position was a commanding one, 
 and with one-half of the force that was brought to 
 bear against it could have been held. 
 
 Question. It seems obvious tfe me that when you 
 were pressed in this way, and the other part of the 
 army was not engaged, they could hardly have over- 
 looked the necessity of re-enforcing you at once. 
 
 Answer. I cannot say that it was overlooked. It 
 was not done, on account of those accidents which 
 no human foresight could avoid. In the first place the 
 injury to General Hooker, prevented him from doing 
 it. If the senior staff officer present regarded the 
 injury to General Hooker as so serious as to deprive 
 him of the power of command, it was his place to 
 notify General Couch that General Hooker was se- 
 
GBANCELL0R8TILLE. 413 
 
 riously injured, and not able to continue in com- 
 mand; and upon that notification General Couch 
 would undoubtedly have assumed command if he 
 had received it in an official form, and had been 
 within easy communication, which I suppose he was. 
 If he was too far off to take command, the notification 
 ■4ishould have been sent to the next senior ofScer, 
 whoever he was. Why that was not done, or if it 
 was done, when it was done, I have no information. 
 
 Question. Probably if it had been done promptly 
 it would have saved the day? 
 
 Answer. I have no doubt of it. Any means by 
 which we could have received re-enforcements at 
 that point would have saved the day, and turned it 
 in our favor. * * • 
 
XIX — Continued. 
 
 GENERAL HOOKER'S ASSISTANT 
 
 ADJUTANT GENERAL GIVES 
 
 HIS POINT OF VIEW 
 
 ON 
 
 CHANCELLORSVILLE. 
 
 Addbess of the Late General Joseph 
 
 DlCKINSOlir AT THE NiNTH AnNUAL RE- 
 UNION OF THE Second New Jeesey Bei- 
 GABE Society,* Held at Pateeson, New 
 Jeesey, Apeil 9th, 1896. 
 
 In response to the sentiment : " The White 
 Diamond at Chancellorsville," General Dick- 
 inson, heing introduced amid loud applause. 
 
 Comrades of the Old Second Jersey Brigade So- 
 ciety: — I return your very cordial greeting with 
 thanks and best wishes. You have asked me to 
 respond to " The White Diamond of Chancellors- 
 ville." General Sickles has just said that General 
 Eusling has given you all the sweet things and 
 taffy that is good for you on this occasion. As I 
 agree with the general I propose to try your men- 
 tal digestion with a dish of hard, dry facts. 
 
 The campaign of Chancellorsville, it has been 
 repeatedly asserted, "has been involved in more 
 
 * The reprint of this address is taken from the so- 
 ciety's published proceedings of its reunion on the 
 " Thirty-first Anniversary of Lee's Surrender." 
 414 
 
tHAifdELlORSVtLLE. ^15 
 
 tnystery than any other in which the Army of the 
 Potomac was engaged." Yet it ia doubtful if the 
 operations of any of the armies during the war, of 
 equal or approaching magnitude and importance, 
 can be more clearly or effectively shown or thor- 
 oughly understood than by a careful and un- 
 prejudiced reading of the "Official Eecords of 
 the "War of the Eebellion." 
 
 That, as a daring and brilliant offensive demon- 
 stration to turn an enemy's strongly fortified posi- 
 tion by the march of a large army thirty-five to 
 forty miles, with two rapid rivers to cross, it was 
 an unqualified success, cannot well be questioned. 
 That greater results were not reaped from such a 
 masterly movement it is the purpose of the writer 
 to endeavor to show from the printed records 
 above mentioned, and was not due, as so often 
 charged, to any fault or want of ability on the 
 part of the mind that conceived it. 
 
 General Hooker assumed command of the Army 
 of the Potomac on January 26, 1863. The con- 
 dition of the army at that time has been so well 
 stated by General Daniel E. Sickles, in an address 
 delivered by him at the town of Hadley, Mass., 
 the place of General Hooker's birth, on May 5, 
 1895, that I give it in full. 
 
 "When Hooker was assigned to the command 
 of the Army of the Potomac it had fallen to an 
 extreme depth of demoralization. Nearly three 
 thousand officers and more than eighty thousand 
 men were absent without leave. Desertions num- 
 bered at least two hundred a day. Three com- 
 manders had been superseded. Eecruiting had 
 come to a halt. Eeinforcements were not in sight. 
 The Proclamation of Emancipation had placed a 
 
416 " OTBER EX0VB8I0NS." 
 
 new phase on the war. It had gravely divided 
 public opinion in the North, unfortunately 
 spreading dissensions in the army, and discour- 
 aging re-enlistments among the two-year men 
 whose term of service was about to expire. 
 Hooker brought back the absentees and restored 
 the morale of the army, reviving 'its confidence in 
 itself and its leader. He gave the army incessant 
 occupation, the best remedy for demoralization, 
 and in April, 1863, it was ready for another cam- 
 paign, more effective than it had been at any 
 period of the war." 
 
 On April 11th, after almost three months of 
 hard work. General Hooker was ready for the field 
 and sent to the President his plan of campaign. 
 This was, in a few words, to sever the enemy's 
 connection with Richmond with his cavalry force 
 under General Stoneman; then "when the cav- 
 alry had established themselves in the line be- 
 tween him and Richmond," he, with his infantry 
 and artillery, to fall on his rear and turn his 
 position upon the heights of Eredericksburg. 
 
 The President at once approved the plan and 
 two days later, April 13th, the cavalry corps re- 
 ceived its order of march. In the meantime 
 the army awaited its movement. The cavalry 
 move very slowly, however, and are brought to a 
 halt by the mud, and all the streams swimming, 
 caused by heavy rains. April 15 the President 
 telegraphs General Hooker of his uneasiness, and 
 says, " The rain and mud, of course, were to be 
 calculated upon. General S. is not moving rapid- 
 ly enough to make the expedition come to anyr 
 thing. He has now been out three days, two of 
 which were unusually fair weather, and all three 
 
CEAN0ELL0R8VILLE. 4:17 
 
 without hindrance from the enemy, and yet he ia 
 not twenty-five miles from where- he started. To 
 reach his point he still has sixty to go, another 
 river (the Eapidan) to cross, and wiU be hindered 
 by the enemy. By arithmetic, how many days 
 will it take him to do it ? I do not know that any 
 better can be done, but I greatly fear it is another 
 failure already. Write me often. I am very 
 anxious." 
 
 General Stoneman explains that " every rivulet 
 was swimming and the roads next to impassable 
 for horses or pack mules, not to speak of the artil- 
 lery and wagons." That a squadron in attempt- 
 ing to cross a river " lost one officer and two men 
 swept off, and several horses drowned." 
 
 General Hooker, with his usual magnanimity, 
 replies to the President, enclosing General S.'a 
 letter, that "His failure to accomplish speedily 
 the objects of his expedition is a source of deep 
 regret to me, but I can find nothing in his con- 
 duct of it requiring my animadversion or censure. 
 We cannot control the elements." 
 
 April 20th General Stoneman again issued or- 
 ders that " this command will move at once." On 
 the 22nd, General Hooker writes him he "must 
 move quickly and make long marches/' but on the 
 23rd Stoneman replies, " The command is now 
 separated by impassable streams, and I am unable 
 to communicate with the different portions of it, 
 owing to the small streams being swimming. The 
 pickets are cut off by high water." 
 
 On April 26th, after two weeks' of fruitless 
 endeavor to make a success of the cavalry part of 
 his plans. General Hooker gives it up, and con- 
 cludes to use it as a means of obtaining informa- 
 
418 " OTBER EionnaioNs." 
 
 tion, and starts Ms infantry and artillery columns 
 independently. 
 
 On April 27tli the Eleventh and Twelfth Corps 
 began their march at sunrise, followed later the 
 same day by the Fifth Corps. The three corps 
 advanced by way of Hartwood, to avoid discover- 
 ing themselves to the enemy, to Kelly's Ford, on 
 the Eappahannock Eiver, about thirty miles dis- 
 tant from Falmouth. Crossing that river the first 
 two corps moved on to the Rapidan Eiver crossing 
 at Germania Mills, while the Fifth Corps crossed 
 at Ely's Ford, thence as directly as possible to 
 Chancellorsville, where they were to concentrate. 
 Two divisions of the Second Corps had meantime 
 been ordered to encamp as near as possible to 
 Bank's Ford, one brigade and a battety of which 
 was to take position at United States Ford. 
 These movements were to be made quietly, out of 
 sight of the enemy, while the division left in camp 
 was the one whose camps were most exposed to the 
 view of the enemy. Bank's Ford was distant five 
 miles, and United States Ford eleven miles from 
 Falmouth. 
 
 The Sixth, First and Third Corps, under com- 
 mand of Major General Sedgwick, were placed in 
 readiness to cross the Eappahannock below Fred- 
 ericksburg as follows: The Sixth Corps, General 
 Sedgwick, at Franklin's Crossing; First Corps, 
 General Eeynolds, at the crossing below Pollock's 
 Mill Creek and the Third Corps, General Sickles, 
 as a support to cross at either point. These move- 
 ments to be made so that the First and Sixth be 
 in position on or before 3 :30 A. M. of the 29th 
 and the Third Coi-ps on or before 4 :30 A. M. same 
 date. These operations were intended for a 
 
CHANGBLLORSriLLE. 419 
 
 "demonstration only to hold the forces of the 
 enemy while the operations were carried on above, 
 unless the enemy should leave the position or 
 should weaken his forces materially by detach- 
 ments." The division left in camp as well as the 
 division at Bank's and United States Fords were 
 to be held in readiness to follow up any successful 
 movements without delay. 
 
 A great object was to effect the passage o± the 
 Eapidan by the three corps on the 29th, and in so 
 doing uncover the United States Ford and estab- 
 lish communication with the left wing of the 
 army. 
 
 On April 28th General Slocum was directed 
 that when the three corps came together at Chan- 
 cellorsville, he was to assume command of the 
 whole by virtue of his seniority, and if finding the 
 enemy in no considerable force to " endeavor to 
 advance at all hazards, securing a position on the 
 plank road and uncovering Bank's Ford. If he 
 found the enemy had been greatly reinforced he 
 was to select a strong position and compel an at- 
 tack on his own ground." While these move- 
 ments were going on. General Hooker had tem- 
 porary headquarters at Morrisville, Va. While 
 here he found the troops had not advanced as 
 rapidly as he desired or had expected of them, and 
 was therefore, at 3 P. M., on the 28th, compelled 
 to suspend for the time the order for the crossing 
 of the force under Generals Sedgwick and Eey- 
 nolds. 
 
 After serious delay General Slocum reports: 
 " The two corps. Eleventh and Twelfth, arrived at 
 Chaneellorsville at about 2 P. M. on the 30th." 
 The Fifth Corps, which had crossed at Ely's Ford, 
 
420 " OTHER EXOVRSJOTHa." 
 
 arrived at Chancellorsville before either of the 
 others. 
 
 In the meantime, April 30th, the Second and 
 Third Corps had been ordered to proceed to join 
 the right wing, while about the same time General 
 Sedgwick was directed " to make a demonstration 
 on the enemy's lines in the direction of Hamil- 
 ton's Crossing at 1 o'clock, the object being simply 
 to ascertain whether or not the enemy continues 
 to hug his defences in full force, and if he should 
 have abandoned them, to take possession of his 
 works and the commanding ground in the vicin- 
 ity. A corps should be used for this purpose, a 
 portion of it advanced while the balance is held 
 in supporting distance, and your whole force held 
 in readiness to spring to their relief should an 
 effort be made to overpower them or to cut them 
 off. This demonstration will be made for no other 
 purpose than that stated. The enemy must not be 
 attacked behind his defences if held in force. If 
 you are certain that the enemy is in full force in 
 your front * * * the demonstration herein 
 directed will not be made. The General must 
 know the position of affairs and be advised fully; 
 also as to what you do, at once." 
 
 To these instructions General Sedgwick 
 promptly replied: "Headquarters, Left Wing, 
 April 30, 1863. General Eejmolds is satisfied that 
 the enemy have not weakened their force either in 
 infantry or artillery, and that a demonstration 
 will bring on a general engagement on the left. 
 General Brooks thinks the infantry force in his 
 front is undiminished and strong. He can see 
 nothing of their batteries. John Sedgwick, Major 
 General Commanding." 
 
CBANCELL0B8VILLE. 
 
 '421 
 
 Upon receipt of which, the demonstration was 
 suspended until further orders. On the same day, 
 shortly afterwards, the gallant Sedgwick wrote: 
 " The enemy seems to be in heavy force in front 
 of both Eeynolds and Brooks, and to be forming 
 for an attack. We are ready for them. John 
 Sedgwick, Major General, etc." 
 
 About this time the three corps of the right 
 wing had been concentrated at Chancellorsville, 
 and it will be seen that the enemy had not " been 
 greatly reinforced " at that point. In fact it was 
 not until midnight of the 30th of April that Gen- 
 eral Lee seemed to awaken to the fact that Hooker 
 had succeeded in making a grand flanking move- 
 ment and that the left of his strong position had 
 been turned. General Lee's report shows that the 
 only force he had west of Fredericksburg was two 
 brigades of Anderson's division. Mahone's and 
 Posey's, which had been stationed at United States 
 Pord and a third, Wilcox's, guarded Bank's 
 Pord; and Fitzhugh Lee's brigade of cavalry 
 picketing the Rappahannock above the mouth of 
 the Eapidan, and two regiments of W. H. F. Lee, 
 the whole (of the cavalry) under the immediate 
 command of General Stuart. " On the night of 
 the 29th General Anderson was directed to pro- 
 ceed towards Chancellorsville, and dispose 
 Wright's brigade and the troops from the Bark 
 Mill (U. S.) Ford to cover these roads." " Arriv- 
 ing at Chancellorsville about midnight, he found 
 the commands of Generals Mahone and Posey al- 
 ready there, having been withdrawn from the 
 Bark Mill (U. S.) Ford, with the exception of a 
 small guard." 
 
 " Learning that the enemy had crossed the Eap- 
 
422 " OTEEB EXCURSIONS." 
 
 idan, and were approaching in strong force. Gen- 
 eral Anderson retired early on the morning of the 
 30th to the intersection of the Mine and Plank 
 roads, near Tabernacle Church, and began to in- 
 trench himself. * * * Mahone was placed on 
 the old turnpike, Wright and Posey on the plank 
 roads." Such was the position of the two con- 
 tending armies in the afternoon and up to mid- 
 night of the 30th of April. 
 
 The whole of the army of Northern Virginia in 
 their works at Predericksburg (with the excep- 
 tion of the three brigades as above stated, and one 
 brigade at Bank's Pord) confronting Sedgwick 
 and Eeynolds, and Slocum with the Eleventh, 
 Twelfth and Pifth Corps at Ohancellorsville, con- 
 fronted by three brigades near the Tabernacle 
 Church, four miles distant, and one brigade at 
 Bank's Pord, and the Second and Third Corps on 
 the march to join him. 
 
 General Hooker did not reach Chancellorsville 
 until evening, delayed by his anxiety as to the 
 results of Sedgwick's demonstration or a full 
 knowledge of his action and the enemy's position 
 as directed by him in the morning. His instruc- 
 tions, however, to General Slocum were so positive 
 and explicit as to render his presence not abso- 
 lutely necessary. Let me state them fully. 
 
 " MoERisviLLE, Va., -April 28th, 1868. 
 " Major General Slocum, Commanding, etc. — ^If 
 your cavalry is well advanced from Chancellors- 
 ville, you will be able to ascertain whether or not 
 the enemy is detaching forces from behind Fred- 
 ericksburg to resist your advance. If not in any 
 considerable force, the general desires that you 
 
CBANCELL0R8VILLE. !423 
 
 will endeavor to advance at all hazards, securing 
 a position on the plank road and uncovering 
 Bank's Ford, which is also defended by a brigade 
 of rebel infantry and a battery. If the enemy 
 should be greatly reinforced you will then select 
 a strong position and compel him to attack you 
 on your own ground. Tou will have nearly 40,- 
 000 men, which is more than he can spare to send 
 against you. * * * The general desires that 
 not a moment be lost until our troops are estab- 
 lished at or near Chancellorsville. From that 
 moment all wiU be ours. A copy of this will be 
 furnished Major General Meade. (Signed) Wm. 
 L. Candler, Captain and Aide-de-Camp." 
 
 In his " report of the operations of the troops 
 under my command, from April 27th to the 6th 
 instant, dated May 17, 1863," General Slocum 
 says, " The two corps arrived at Chancellorsville, 
 Ya., at about 2 P. M. on the 30th. The Twelfth 
 Corps took position in the woods, on a line nearly 
 parallel to the plank road, with the left resting 
 near Chancellorsville and the right near a church 
 about one and one-half miles therefrom. The 
 Eleventh Corps joined the right of the Twelfth, 
 with its right resting on Hunting Eun. The 
 Fifth Corps, which had crossed at Ely's Ford and 
 arrived at Chancellorsville , before either of the 
 others, extended from Chancellorsville toward the 
 United States Ford. The Major General com- 
 manding the army arrived at Chancellorsville on 
 Thursday evening, the 30th, and I then resumed 
 the command of the Twelfth Corps." That is all. 
 
 General Howard says in his report dated May 
 13, 1863 : " Fourth day, Thursday, the corps fol- 
 lowed the Twelfth, leaving camp at 7 A. M. and 
 
424 " OTHER EXCVBSIOT^S." 
 
 encamped near Dowdall's Tavern at 4 P. M. As 
 soon as the head of my column reached this point 
 I went to Ohancellorsville and received my orders 
 from General Slocum. He told me I was to cover 
 the right,' posting my command near Hunting 
 Creek. General, Slocum gave me to understand 
 that he would take care of the entire front from 
 Ohancellorsville to my position, but afterwards 
 one of his division commanders sent me word that 
 I would have to take about three-fourths of a mile 
 of the front, so as to connect with General Slo- 
 cum's right as ordered. This I did, and located 
 my command with reference to an attack from 
 the front in a direction perpendicular to the plank 
 road; also from the right along the plank and 
 old turnpike roads." Here he specifies in detail 
 the positions of the different commands of his 
 corps. 
 
 General Meade in his report, dated May 12, 
 1863, states that " Before daylight on the 30th two 
 squadrons of cavalry were sent out with instruc- 
 tions for one to push in the direction of Ohan- 
 cellorsville, the other to take the road to the 
 IJnited States Ford, after crossing Hunting 
 Creek; both to drive in the enemy's pickets if en- 
 countered and pursue them as far as they could, 
 reporting results. Just as the column of in- 
 fantry was ready to move, I received a report from 
 Colonel Devin that he had driven the enemy's 
 pickets on the United States Ford road, and had 
 pursued them for several miles until he had en- 
 countered the enemy in force drawn up in line of 
 battle, to the number, I think, of at least a bri- 
 gade. Having no reason at the time to doubt the 
 authenticity of this report, I concluded the enemy 
 
GBANCELLORSyiLLE. 425 
 
 had become apprised of our moTement and were 
 prepared to dispute the opening of the United 
 States Ford, a point of vital importance to our 
 operations. I therefore ordered Sykes' division, in 
 advance, to proceed at once to the United States 
 Ford and halted GrifSn, after passing Hunting 
 Creek, to await the development of Sykes' move- 
 ment. 
 
 " Soon after making these dispositions the cav- 
 alry reported their occupation of Chancellorsville, 
 after a slight skirmish with a small force of the 
 enemy. Being satisfied from this that there could 
 be no enemy at United States Ford, I pushed 
 Griffin on to Chancellorsville, which place he oc- 
 cupied at 11 A. M., and where I was rejoined by 
 Sykes about 1 P. M. As soon as Chancellorsville 
 was occupied, I directed Colonel Devin with his 
 whole cavalry force to send out a strong picket on 
 the plank road and to send another party out on 
 , the Bank's Ford or Eiver road, to feel for the 
 enemy, and ascertain how much of our front was 
 uncovered. 
 
 "About 3 P. M. I received a report from Col. 
 Devin that he had driven in the enemy's pickets 
 at the Bank's Ford road and had pursued them 
 until he could see their line of battle, and from 
 the wagons visible he concluded they were about 
 to evacuate the position. I immediately directed 
 General Griffin to advance a brigade to support 
 the cavalry and if practicable to drive in the in- 
 fantry and uncover Bank's Ford. About an hour 
 afterward Griffin reported to me that he was with 
 his brigade in the presence of a superior force of 
 the enemy and that he would require support if 
 he had to maintain his position. I then ascer- 
 
426 " OTHER EXCURSIONS." 
 
 tained to ray surprise that the cavalry, instead of 
 going down the Bank's Ford road, as they re- 
 ported and led me to believe, had gone down the 
 old Richmond turnpike, which makes a detour at 
 Ohancellorsville, coming in again to the plank 
 road about three and one-half miles from Ohan- 
 cellorsville. Upon referring to General Slocum 
 (who had arrived and assumed command) the 
 question of withdrawing or supporting Griffin, it 
 was determined to withdraw him, which was ac- 
 cordingly done, and both divisions were bivou- 
 acked in line of battle, the right resting on Ohan- 
 cellorsville and the left extending in a northeast 
 direction toward the river." What fatal inaction ! 
 As yet there remained many hours of daylight 
 after the concentration of the corps at Ohancel- 
 lorsville, within four miles of the objective point, 
 the open ground near the Tabernacle Church, and 
 about six miles from Bank's Tord, the uncovering 
 of which was of the utmost strategic importance, 
 and only three brigades at one point and one bri- 
 gade at the other, to oppose their occupancy by a 
 force of 40,000 men ! I have f aUed to read history 
 aright if ever in all the great battles of the world 
 there is shown a more daring or skillful plan of 
 campaign carried to such a brilliant success, and 
 then, at the most decisive moment, to throw away 
 most valuable hours, withdraw from the most im- 
 portant advance and " bivouack in line of battle." 
 What could it mean ? 
 
 At this time well might the accomplished and 
 daring General Warren say " that the grand flank- 
 ing movement has succeeded," for so it has. But 
 why lie there idle ? By the morrow sun the golden 
 
0BAN0ELL0R8VJLLE. '427 
 
 opportunity to reap the fruits of that toilsome 
 march and daring manoeuvre had vanished with 
 the dew from the flowers, and what would have at 
 that time heen but an easy task, presaging bril- 
 liant victory, is inexplicably delayed to be at- 
 tempted at a fearful sacrifice of life the next day. 
 Oh! for General Hooker's presence on that after- 
 noon. But his absence was consistent with his 
 whole previous course in the war, where there was 
 likely to be the greatest danger to his troops, 
 where his presence seemed to him the most impor-^ 
 tant for the cause for which he was fighting, there 
 was he to be found ; therefore he lingered as near 
 as possible to the brave Sedgwick's front, fearing 
 that by some chance his smaller force might be 
 suddenly overwhelmed. The positions of the en- 
 emy, as has been shown, prove conclusively the 
 correctness of his judgment, certainly of his 
 enemy's movements, if not of his own com- 
 manders. 
 
 It was at this time, too, that the absence of the 
 large cavalry force was most seriously felt, when 
 its services might have been utilized to the great- 
 est possible advantage. 
 
 General Hooker reached Chancellorsville in the 
 evening too late for any movement that day, so he 
 immediately set about completing arrangements 
 for the next day. May 1st. 
 
 By this time General Lee had waked up to the 
 real importance of our movements, and to the fact 
 that we were actually in his rear, and so began his 
 movement. He says in his report : " The enemy 
 in our front near PredericksWg continued in- 
 active and it was now apparent that the main at- 
 tach would he made upon our flank and rear. It 
 
428 " OTEER EXGVRSIONB." 
 
 was therefore determined to leave sufficient troops 
 to hold our lines and with the main hody of the 
 army to give battle to the approaching column. 
 Early's division, of Jackson's corps, and Barks- 
 dale's brigade, of McLaw's division, with part of 
 the reserve artillery, under General W. N. Pendle- 
 ton, were intrusted with the defense of our posi- 
 tion at Fredericksburg, and at midnight on the 
 30th General McLaws marched with the rest of 
 his command toward Chancellorsville. General 
 Jachson followed at dawn next morning with the 
 remaining division of his corps. He reached the 
 position occupied hy General Anderson at 8 A. M. 
 and immediately hegan preparations to advance." 
 So the morning sun rose upon an opposing force 
 of, not the three brigades of the night previous, 
 but the main body of the Rebel Army with its re- 
 doubtable commander at its head. 
 
 "At 11 A. M. May 1st (I quote further from 
 General Lee's report) the troops moved forward 
 upon the plank and old turnpike roads, Anderson, 
 with the brigades of Wright and Posey, leading 
 on the former; McLaws, with his three brigades, 
 preceded by Mahone's on the latter. Generals 
 Wilcox and Perry, of Anderson's division, co- 
 operated with McLaws, Jackson's troops followed 
 Anderson on the plank road. Colonel Alexander's 
 battalion of artillery accompanied the advance." 
 
 General Hooker's order for the advance was as 
 follows : 
 
 " Chancellorsville, Va., May 1, '63, 11 A. M. 
 
 "Circular. — The Fifth Corps, including three 
 batteries, will be thrown on to the Eiver road by 
 most direct route, the head of it advanced to near 
 
CBASGELLORSVILLE. 429 
 
 midway between Mott's and Colin Euns, the 
 movement to be completed 2 o'clock. 
 
 " The Twelfth Corps, including its batteries, 
 will be massed below the plank road, the head of 
 it resting near Tabernacle Church, and masked 
 from view of the enemy by small advanced parties, 
 and the movement to he completed at 12 o'clock to 
 enable the Eleventh Corps to take its position. 
 
 " The Eleventh Corps, with its batteries, will be 
 massed on the plank road, about one mile in rear 
 of the Twelfth. This movement to be completed 
 at 2 o'clock. 
 
 " One division of the Second corps, with one 
 battery, will take a position at Todd's Tavern, and 
 will throw out strong detachments on the ap- 
 proaches in the direction of the enemy. 
 
 " The other division, and batteries of the corps 
 will be massed out of the road near Chancellors- 
 ville, these dispositions to be made at once. 
 
 " The Third Corps will be massed as fast as it 
 arrives about one mile from Chancellorsville, on 
 the United States Ford road, excepting one bri- 
 gade, with a battery, which will take position at 
 Dowdall's Tavern. 
 
 "General Pleasonton will hold his command, 
 excepting those otherwise engaged, at Chancellors- 
 ville. 
 
 "After the movement commences headquarters 
 will he at Tabernacle Church. By command of 
 Major General Hooker. Wm. L. Candler, Cap- 
 tain and Aide-de-Camp." 
 
 This was a movement to take up a line of battle 
 about two and one-half miles in front preparatory 
 to a simultaneous advance along the line at 2 
 
430 " OTBER EXCURSIONS." 
 
 P. M. As General Lee's report shows. Ids troops 
 were already in motion. 
 
 General Meade " ordered Sykes' division to ad- 
 vance on the Old Richmond turnpike until after 
 crossing Mott's Hun, when he was to move to the 
 left, deploy and open communication with Griffin 
 on his left and Slocum on his right, and when aU 
 were in position, to advance simultaneously 
 against the enemy, supposed to be in position from 
 the plank road to the river. Griffin was 
 ordered to move down the River or Mott's road 
 until in the presence of the enemy, when he 
 was to deploy, his left resting on the river and 
 his right extending toward Sykes. Humphreys 
 was to follow Griffin, to be held in reserve to re- 
 inforce Griffin or Sykeg as the exigencies might 
 require. These movements were commenced 
 about 11 A. M. Sykes moved out on the old pike, 
 and, after proceeding over a mile, met the enemy's 
 skirmishers. He immediately deployed, and after 
 a spirited engagement, drove the enemy for a con- 
 siderable distance. 
 
 Finding the enemy in force and making disposi- 
 tions to outflank him on both flanks, without any 
 communication either on the right or left with a 
 suporting force. General Sykes reported the 
 condition of affairs to the Major General com- 
 manding the Army, and by him was ordered to 
 withdraw. This he did in good order, returning 
 to .Chaneellorsville." 
 
 General Meade is slightly in error here. Gen- 
 eral Sykes did not report directly to General 
 Hooker. As Sykes states in his report, " Griffin 
 was far to my left, Slocum far to my right, the 
 enemy in front and hetween me and both those 
 
CBANCELLORSVILLE. 431 
 
 officers. In this situation, without support, my 
 position was critical; still I determined to hold it 
 as long as possible. At this period. General War- 
 ren, Chief Engineer Army of the Potomac, who 
 had accompanied me, rode to the Major General 
 commanding the army, to explain the state of 
 afFairs, and, on his return, I was directed to retire 
 in the direction of ChanceUorsville." 
 
 General Warren, who had been reconnoitering 
 and examining all the roads in the vicinity, re- 
 turned to headquarters about 10 A. M., just before 
 the movement conuneneed. After the Fifth Corps 
 had started, he says in his report, " I went back 
 over the route I had examined, which was that 
 given to the second division of the Fifth Corps, 
 under General Sykes. On gaining the ridge 
 about one and one-quarter miles from Chancel- 
 lorsville, we found the enemy advancing and driv- 
 ing back our cavali-y. This small force resisted 
 handsomely, riding up and firing almost in the 
 faces of the Eleventh Virginia Infantry, which 
 formed the enemy's advance. Greneral Sykes 
 moved forward at double quick time, attacked the 
 enemy vigorously, and drove him back with loss 
 till he had gained the position assigned him. 
 This he obtained about 12 o'clock. No sound yet 
 reached us indicating that any of our column had 
 encountered the advance of the enemy. In Gen- 
 eral Sykes' front the enemy deployed to the right 
 and left, in line far outreaching the whole of ours, 
 and I have never seen the steadiness of our troops 
 more tried and proved. Captain Weed brought 
 his battery into the front line in the ridge where 
 it could operate against the enemy, and was able 
 to reply to him within musket range, and used 
 
432 " OTHER EXCURSIONS." 
 
 his guns with great effect. When the division 
 had all been deployed to extend the line of battle, 
 the lack of numbers compelled a regiment to be 
 deployed as skirmishers. No connection, how- 
 ever, could even thus be made with our own 
 troops on the right, and my aide. Lieutenant 
 James, in attempting to eonununieate with the 
 presumed position of General Slocum, run against 
 the enemy's skirmishers, from which he fortu- 
 nately escaped, though many shots were fired 
 after him. A similar effort by one of General 
 Sykes' aides was foiled in the same way. Gen- 
 eral Sykes bravely resolved to hold the position 
 assigned him, which his command had so gallantly 
 won from the enemy, and I set out with all pos- 
 sible speed to report the condition to the com- 
 manding general." 
 
 Just about this time, shortly after 12 o'clock 
 (it will be remembered that the order of the morn- 
 ing required the movement of the Twelfth Corps 
 to he completed at 12 o'clock), General Hooker, 
 who had for some time been pacing to and fro 
 impatiently upon the front porch of the Chancel- 
 lor House, said to the writer : " I do wonder if 
 Slocum. is in position." "I will see, General," I 
 replied, and, mounting my horse, galloped in the 
 direction of the Tabernacle Church, the position 
 I knew had been assigned to the Twelfth Corps. 
 I had ridden but little over a mile, through the 
 woods, when my orderly. Marsh, a very brave, in- 
 telligent cavalryman, remarked that those balls 
 could not well come from our own men. I at 
 once changed my course and came out on the 
 Plank road, where I soon found General Slocum 
 standing by his horse's head surrounded by hia 
 
OHANOELLOBBVILLE. 
 
 433 
 
 staff, about a mile from the Chancellor House. 
 To my inquiries as to why he was not in hia 
 proper position, he replied to the effect that he 
 could not get there on account of the enemy and 
 the thick woods. To the left of the Pl^nk road 
 in an open field facing a piece of woods to the 
 east, I saw General Williams' division standing 
 in line of battle. I immediately concluded to 
 push Williams through the woods and endeavor 
 to form a connection with General Meade's troops, 
 if it were possible. I sent Lieutenant Mackenzie 
 (I think it was), of General Slooum's staff, to 
 inform General Hooker at once of Slocum's posi- 
 tion and whereabouts and of my proposed move- 
 ment of Williams' division, which he, Williams, 
 approved of. As we were about to order the 
 troops forward the same officer that I had sent 
 to General Hooker returned hurriedly and in- 
 formed me that General Hooker did not wish the 
 movement made, as he had determined to with- 
 draw his entire line to Chancellorsville. 
 
 It was this discovery of Slocum's failure to 
 reach his position to which General Warren re- 
 fers in the continuation of his report when he 
 says : " From information received since the ad- 
 vance began, the general decided to countermand 
 it, and receive the enemy in the line occupied the 
 night before. Unfortunately this line had been 
 taken up the day before by tired troops toward 
 the close of the day and without much prospect 
 of fighting a pitched battle upon it. It was a 
 bad line and had several commanding positions in 
 its front for the enemy to occupy. I carried to 
 General Sykes the order to fall back and he then 
 withdrew his command in perfect order, bringing 
 
434: " OfSER ElCUR8tON8." 
 
 off his wounded with the exception of a few who 
 were cut off in the extreme right of his extended 
 skirmish line. All the other columns withdrew 
 to the vicinity of Ohancellorsville without having 
 engaged the enemy." * * * 
 
 Here then the oft repeated question as to why 
 General Hooker so suddenly seemed to change 
 his mind, and his successful movement, up to this 
 point, ceased so abruptly, has I think been an- 
 swered by the preceding reports of his com- 
 manders. 
 
 Let us see what General Slocum has to say of 
 his part in the day's action. He reports that 
 " On Friday (May 1st) at 11 A. M., pursuant to 
 orders, I moved the Twelfth Corps from Ohan- 
 cellorsville toward Fredericksburg on the Plank 
 road. We met the skirmishers of the enemy 
 about a mile from the Ohancellor House; formed 
 in line of battle, and advanced, the enemy falling 
 back toward the heights of Fredericksburg." 
 
 " At about 1 P. M. orders were received to re- 
 turn to our original line. In this movement our 
 loss was only ten killed and wounded." Started at 
 11 A. M.., moved one mile, formed in line of 
 battle and advanced, the enemy falling back 
 towards the heights of Fredericksburg, and out 
 of a corps of 12,000 men the loss was only ten 
 killed and wounded. In seven lines the tale is 
 told! Does the military mind crave more? 
 There is nothing more. Yes, something. Gen- 
 eral Lee is surprised and anxious. 
 
 « May 1, 1863, 4: o'clock. 
 " Major General Stuart, Commanding Cavalry. 
 General. — The captured prisoners agree in stating 
 
CHANCELLORSVILLE. 435 
 
 that this is Meade's corps with which we are now 
 engaged, and that Howard's corps preceded them 
 across the Eapidan, and have taken some other 
 road._ This is the only column that we can find 
 in this direction. What has become of the other 
 two? Meade appears to be falling back. I am, 
 very respectfully yours, etc., 
 
 " E. E. Lee, General." 
 
 He will soon find one of them, with sequence 
 dire to us. Let us look at one of the immediate 
 results of the failure to secure the advanced posi- 
 tion that had so easily been within our grasp. 
 
 Upon a visit to Chancellorsville with a large 
 excursion party in Mayi 1884, General Slocum 
 being present, it was my pleasure to meet the 
 Eev. James P. Smith, who had been General 
 (Stonewall) Jackson's Adjutant General at the 
 battle there in May, 1863, and who kindly on the 
 occasion of our visit, led us to the spot where 
 Generals Lee and Jackson on the night of May 1 
 consulted together and agreed upon the latter's 
 plan of the flank movement and attack on the 
 Eleventh Corps. I, at that time, asked Major . 
 Smith how, in his opinion, the execution of Gen- 
 eral Hooker's plans, i. e., Slocum's position near 
 the Tabernacle Church would have affected the 
 movements of General Lee's army or of General 
 Jackson's command, to which he promptly replied 
 that of course Jackson's flank movement would 
 not have been possible, for the gate that had been 
 left open would have been closed, and his, Jack- 
 son's, opportunity would not so temptingly have 
 presented itself, for, as he further remarked, the 
 general was always on the lookout for just such 
 
436 " OTEER excursions:' 
 
 weak places in the enemy's lines and ever ready 
 to take advantage of them ; so last year when pre- 
 paring a history of the Chancellorsville campaign, 
 I wrote him, asking him to repeat in writing the 
 substance of the statement given above. His very 
 kind reply I here give in full : 
 
 8051/^ E. Leigh Street, Eichmond, Va., March 
 18, 1895. Dear General Dickinson. — I am quite 
 mortified that I should have been so long in reply- 
 ing to your letter' of the 19th ult. The very 
 pressing nature of my occupation as an editor 
 carrying a good deal just now, has deferred an 
 answer which I would have wished to be quite 
 prompt. I remember with pleasure our meeting 
 at Chancellorsville and recall your statement as 
 to the position of Slocum's corps, which it had 
 been arranged in some way should be at or near 
 Tabernacle Church. I am quite ready to repeat 
 to you what I think I said in our conversation 
 at Chancellorsville, that if Slocum had been at 
 the Tabernacle Church and made a determined 
 stand there, it would have precipitated the battle 
 there. It does not seem to me that an oppor- 
 tunity could have been found for such a move- 
 ment as Jackson made to the west of Chancellors- 
 ville. Both the road to Catherine Furnace and 
 the Catharpin road, both leading south and west, 
 would have been closed. The flank movement 
 would not have presented itself as it did to Gen- 
 erals Lee and Jackson. I do not now recall why 
 it was that General Slocum did not take position 
 at Tabernacle Church. I am, general, sincerely, 
 
 James P. Smith. 
 General Joseph Dickinson, Washington, D. 0. 
 
CHANCELL0B8VILLE. i437 
 
 Of the flank movement referred to General Lee 
 says in his report: " It was evident that a direct 
 attack upon the enemy would be attended with 
 great difficulty and loss, in view of the strength 
 of his position and his superiority of numbers. 
 It was, therefore, resolved to endeavor to turn 
 his right flank and gain his rear, leaving a force 
 in front to hold him in cheek and conceal the 
 movement. The execution of this plan was in- 
 trusted to Lieutenant General Jackson with his 
 three divisions. * * * At 6 P. M. the advance 
 was ordered. The enemy was taken by surprise 
 and fled after a brief resistance." 
 
 The condition of the Eleventh Corps when 
 struck by Jackson's troops is thus described by 
 Colonel Long in his "Memoirs of Eobert E. 
 Lee:" 
 
 "Had Hooker possessed a handful of cavalry 
 equal in merit to the ' Virginia horsemen ' under 
 W. H. F. Lee, that neutralized Stoneman's ten 
 thousand, he might have escaped the peril that 
 now awaited him. On the arrival of Jackson on 
 the Plank road, Eitz Lee, who covered his move- 
 ment with his brigade of cavalry, conducted him 
 to a position from which he obtained a view of 
 the enemy, which disclosed the following scene: 
 Below and but a few hundred yards distant ran 
 the Federal line of battle. There was a line of 
 defence, with abatis in front and long lines of 
 stacked arms in rear. The soldiers were in 
 groups in the rear laughing, chatting and smok- 
 ing, probably engaged here and there in games 
 of cards and other amusements indulged in while 
 feeling safe and comfortable, awaiting orders. In 
 
438 
 
 " OTEEB EXCUBSIONB." 
 
 the rear of them were other parties, driving up 
 and butchering beeves." And this in view of the 
 fact, as stated in the report of General "Warren, 
 that "on the assurance of the commander on 
 the right. General Howard, that they were abun- 
 dantly able to hold their position against any 
 force the nature of the ground in their front 
 would enable the enemy to bring against them, 
 and because they thought to fall back would have 
 some of the demoralizing influences of a retreat, it 
 was decided to make no changes in the right 
 wing, but to strengthen it with breastwork and 
 abatis." 
 
 Still the crash came; and you all know the 
 result. Once more the "old guard," your old 
 division, which fortunately was in reserve, was 
 sent for, and responding with its old dashing, 
 but cool courage, soon checked the further ad- 
 vance of Jackson's force; the old Army of the 
 Potomac was safe once more, and the enemy had 
 lost their beloved and truly great and gallant 
 Stonewall Jackson. Then your comrades of the 
 Third Corps were left in a rather tight place, but 
 a night attack by your gallant commander. Gen- 
 eral Sickles, soon brought it out all right as 
 usual. In this sketch I do not intend to con- 
 sume your time in going into the details of the 
 next day's terrible fighting or of the serious in- 
 jury to the commander-in-chief, General Hooker, 
 by which he was rendered unconscious for nearly 
 an hour and from which, in fact, he did not fully 
 recover for some time, and which without doubt 
 eventually caused his death. There are none 
 living who were there who can ever forget that 
 
CHANCELLORSVILLE. 439 
 
 bloody day. It was a day on which the grand old 
 Army of the Potomac showed itself in all of its 
 magnificence, the invincible, unconquerable army 
 that it was. Some one said to me, at the time, 
 when matters were pretty hot near the Chancellor 
 
 House, something about a defeat. Defeat ! 
 
 I could not help replying, a couple of more de- 
 feats like this will wipe out the rebel army. He 
 had probably never heard of Napoleon's axiom 
 that " any force which cannot be recruited must 
 melt away and eventually surrender." 
 
 It would not require many such hot dayS as the 
 3rd of May, 1863, to melt away almost any army. 
 Neither have I time to touch upon the move- 
 ments of the brave, the greatly beloved Sedgwick, 
 whom I esteemed as one of our grandest and 
 ablest soldiers, who was bravely doing his best 
 alone with his splendid corps battling against the 
 enemy's stronghold on the heights of Fredericks- 
 burg, that almost impregnable position from 
 which Bumside's army had been flung back as 
 with a rebound, with such frightful results. It 
 must be remembered that their position was one 
 that could be held by a small number against a 
 very superior force, and yet the brave Sedgwick 
 took it. Consider also that the communications 
 between the two wings of the army were very 
 faulty and that the enemy, operating on interior 
 lines, could re-enforce either of their wings at 
 very short notice. Sedgwick did all that man 
 could do, and that was much, very much, consider- 
 ing all things, God bless him. 
 
FURTHER EXCURSIONS. 
 
 1 885-1 896-1 897-1 899-1900. 
 
 AT ARMY REUNIONS. 
 
XX. 
 
 1885 
 
 A EEUNION AT LAKE GEOEQE, 
 ITEW YOEK. 
 
 Remaeks of H. E. Teemain. 
 
 Upon tbe occasion of a Reunion of the 
 Warren County Veterans' Association, 
 held at Caldwell, Lake George, IsT. Y., July 
 4th, 1885, an address was made that appears 
 in the August, 1885, number of the " Grand 
 Army Gazette and National Gimrdsman," 
 from the report of which is extracted the fol- 
 lowing: 
 
 EoTJETH OF July Reubtion- of Veterans 
 OF Wabeen County, N. Y. 
 
 A notable reunion of veterans from all 
 the Grand Army posts in Warren County 
 took place at Caldwell, on the shore of Lake 
 George, under the auspices of the Warren 
 County Veterans' Association. 
 US 
 
444 " OTBER EXOURBIONB." 
 
 After a parade through the village a large 
 and enthusiastic assemblage followed the 
 Veterans to the appointed grove where the 
 camp-fire was held. 
 
 A poem was read by Dr. E. W. Holden, 
 of Glen's Falls, president of the association, 
 and an address made by Chaplain Gordon, 
 which were enthusiastically received. 
 
 At the opening of the exercises an address 
 of welcome was made by 
 
 Gekt. H. E. Teemaih'. 
 
 He said: The honorable duty has been 
 assigned to me of welcoming the veterans of 
 Warren County to these noble and historic 
 shores. 
 
 May the time never come when the scat- 
 tered survivors of the Union forces shall 
 assemble for any social, personal or civic pur- 
 pose, except amidst the grateful greetings of 
 their fellow citizens and the affectionate trib- 
 ute of American women and American chil- 
 dren. 
 
 Thrice welcome, too, is this Veteran Ee- 
 union on this National Anniversary. 
 
 The occasion portrays a nation successfully 
 defended from foes without and from foes 
 within, a nation in vigorous manhood re- 
 posing in its strength, at peace with the world 
 
AT LAKE GEORGE. 4.4.^ 
 
 and devoted to those prosperous pursuits 
 ■whicli. — ■ in the language of the Constitution 
 — may " form a more perfect union, estab- 
 lish justice, ensure domestic tranquillity, pro- 
 vide for the common defense, promote the 
 general welfare and secure the blessings of 
 liberty to ourselves and our posterity." 
 
 The place — the day — these veterans. 
 What a theme! 
 
 Were I an orator or a poet, I might antici- 
 pate with envy the interest irith which you 
 will listen to the eloquence and poetry to 
 fome from the accomplished gentleman who 
 will shortly be introduced to you and upon 
 whose time I will not intrude. 
 
 The Fourth of July — the Prince of Days 
 in the calendars of nations. 
 
 This shore — itself for a long while a col- 
 onial camp, with yonder marshes for its 
 bloody battle lines. 
 
 These veterans — 'the representatives of 
 the most successful and accomplished sol- 
 diery of modern war. 
 
 These three topics — either by itself, re- 
 plete with suggestions for volumes — in 
 group might outline the symmetrical develop- 
 ment of our country. 
 
446 " OTBEB EXCURSIONS." 
 
 THE PLACE. 
 
 The events that transpired here had a po- 
 tential relation, political and military, to 
 that confederation of the colonies out of 
 ■which grew the Declaration of Independence. 
 
 That instrument was not the decree of 
 enthusiasts; but, like many other things 
 strong and enduring, was a product of evolu- 
 tion. 
 
 The seed sovm to produce it was the neces- 
 sity of the English colonies to unite not only 
 for their own defence against the Indians, 
 but against the French — the traditional en- 
 emy of England. 
 
 The Home Government was regarded as 
 neglectful of its duty in failing to furnish 
 its dependent colonies with adequate military 
 protection of their frontiers. 
 
 So, as early as 1754, colonial delegates had 
 assembled at Albany for concert of action in 
 mutual defence. 
 
 When at last hopeful succor had arrived 
 and Braddock's famous expeditionary corps 
 entered upon its memorable Virginia cam- 
 paign, great expectations were placed upon 
 its results in connection with the military 
 plans for the defence of the frontiers of 
 northern and western New York. 
 
AT LAKE GEOttaH. 44^ 
 
 The fatal defeat of the English general, 
 the remnant of whose army was saved from 
 massacre by the skill of a young colonial 
 Aide-de-Camp named George Washington, 
 threw the colonists into dismay and the plans 
 of the Home Government into confusion. 
 
 Then arose the north star of hope and 
 peace from the sanguinary shores of the 
 sparkling Horicon. 
 
 The ^French general, planning to possess 
 himself of the Valley of the Hudson, sought 
 to capture this post before assailing the post 
 which is now Fort Edward ; and the colonial 
 troops camped on this plain marched out to 
 yonder battle lines. 
 
 Wow many of the battles of those days 
 would scarely have been counted a skirmish 
 by the veterans of this day. One division of 
 the Army of the Potomac might have driven 
 the combined French and English opposing 
 forces into the Lake. Nevertheless it was a 
 brilliant encounter. On one side the French 
 commander was killed and his gallant army 
 routed; while on the other the English gen- 
 eral was wounded early in Ihe action and the 
 field was finally won by his able Lieutenant, 
 a Connecticut volunteer. 
 
 By this defeat the French invasion was 
 suspended, another year of preparation and 
 
448 " OTHER EXCURSIONS." 
 
 confederation secured for the colonies, and 
 many hopes and aspirations satisfied. 
 
 The thanks of Parliament, a baronetcy and 
 a gratuity of £5,000 was the reward of the 
 English commander, who being carried from 
 the field did not command. 
 
 But soldiers in that day were highly es- 
 teemed, and it is just as well in this day 
 we should remember the fact. 
 
 If in 1755 this battle of Lake George had 
 been lost to the colonists, their confederation 
 severed and the Valley of the Hudson laid at 
 the feet of England's enemy, who will say 
 that in the march of events twenty-one years 
 later those .colonists would have declared (in 
 1776) that the " United Colonies are and 
 ought to be free and independent States? " 
 
 So, also, who shall say what in the marcK 
 of events would have been the situation in 
 1885 if 22 years ago — on July 4, 1863,— 
 Vicksburg or Gettysburg had been a Union 
 defeat? Or what if twenty years ago 
 Lee had dictated instead of accepted at Appo- 
 mattox the generous terms of surrender ten- 
 dered by that simple-minded, brave-hearted, 
 duty-loving grand man, who on yonder Mount 
 McGregor, with all the world affectionately 
 watching at his bedside, heroically suffers in 
 preparation for that victory which can come 
 
AT LAKE QEORQE. 449 
 
 only in another life. May Grant's days not 
 yet be numbered. 
 
 Who among the vanquished would now re- 
 verse Appomattox ? 
 
 All who fought are allies in patriotic 
 progress. 
 
 So did those who one hundred and thirty 
 years ago contended for these shores become 
 in less than twenty-five years afterwards allies 
 in the cause of Independence, of Liberty 
 against Wrong : — < an alliance that a few days 
 since evoked the most imposing naval parade 
 ever witnessed in the beautiful Bay of ITew 
 York when the national friendship of a cen- 
 tury was cemented by the gift of France to 
 the United States of that ever-flashing, sym- 
 bolic statue for land and sea of " Liberty 
 Enlightening the World." 
 
 Passing by other vicissitudes of Lake 
 George, why shall we not, my comrades, re- 
 member that the hills and valleys and waters, 
 and plains of our own Empire State have 
 played a critical part in the strifes and tour- 
 naments of our military, political, legal, so- 
 cial and industrial history. 
 
 Of the three States which in the war for 
 Independence furnished the most supplies, 
 New York was one of the three ; of the three 
 
450 " OTBBR EXCVB8I0N8." 
 
 States wMeh furnished the most money, New 
 York was one of the three, and of the three 
 States which furnished the most men, money 
 and supplies New York again was one. 
 
 Yet New York was the last of the thirteen 
 colonies to approve the Declaration of Inde- 
 pendence. It was proposed in June. The 
 Continental Congress long defeated it. By 
 July 1 only nine colonies were committed 
 to it, and on July 4, when the final vote was 
 taken, New York alone declined to vote. A 
 few days afterwards the Provisioiial Assem- 
 bly of New York gave its instructions; but 
 it was not until July 9th that the final sanc- 
 tion of New York was given to what then 
 became the unanimous act of the thirteen 
 United States. 
 
 We celebrate the Fourth because it is the 
 day the authoritative vote was taken and the 
 document itself dated. Perhaps you would 
 like to celebrate its unanimity on the 9th of 
 July? 
 
 As it was not finally engrossed and com- 
 pletely signed until the second day of August, 
 the most patriotic among you may continue 
 the celebration until the second day of next 
 month. 
 
 Lake George can stand it. For the ordi- 
 nary demands of a temperance — patriotism, 
 it has an unfailing supply, — of pure water. 
 
AT LAKE GEORGE. 
 
 451 
 
 OUE OELEBEATIOW IS IN TOKEBT OF A 
 SENTIMENT. 
 
 It is in commemoration not of the act of 
 one day, or the fact that we have seen war, 
 but of a period of great events, events that 
 shaped our destinies as a people. This day, 
 this place, these welcome veterans so remind ^ 
 us. 
 
 We recall on stated red-letter days the po- 
 litical, the social, the military emergencies of 
 the past, and we observe how the leaders of 
 thought, of statesmanship and of arms dealt 
 with those emergencies. 
 
 Our veteran reunions, outside of their per- 
 sonal character, are to the same purport. 
 
 There is a sentiment — a moral principle 
 — • an adherence to the life of devotion to 
 duty — that always prevails. 
 
 We have great national days that link in 
 thought the coming and going generations, 
 and convey to posterity the unwritten^ un- 
 writable experiences of the actors in great 
 events. 
 
 Beginning with Februrary 22, then May 
 30 — for as long as there is a "Fourth of 
 July " to follow it " Decoration Day " will 
 survive — then the anniversary of Independ- 
 
452 " OTHER EXCUB8WNS." 
 
 ence, tJien the instituted day of praise and 
 Thanksgiving. These days at conveniently 
 recurring periods all remind us of some 
 higher, nobler duty — ^privilege — than ex- 
 clusive devotion to one's self. 
 
 What "would the children — aye, many 
 men and women — have inherited of the suf- 
 ferings, of the triumphs, of the failures, of 
 the spirit of the days of 1861-5 were it not 
 for the reunions of the participators' in the 
 struggles and comhats of those stirring days ? 
 Do you ever pass the enflowered grave of 
 the soldier on Decoration Day without some 
 useful thought ? 
 
 Do you ever see the Williams' monument 
 on yonder hill without recalling its lesson of 
 sacrifice of life to voluntary duty, or contem- 
 plating the spirit of a man who on entering 
 the campaign willed his property for an 
 institution of learning that has carried his 
 name wherever the liberal arts are culti- 
 vated ? 
 
 Who can tell the silent teachings of the 
 handsome column that beautifies Glens Falls, 
 and pays enduring tribute to the gallant sons 
 of Warren County who were your noble 
 comrades ? 
 
 Let the memory of the dead be kept green. 
 
AT LAKE GEORGE. 453 
 
 Let the worthy homage to the living be al- 
 ways present with us. 
 
 Let the motive — the sense of duty and of 
 devotion to duty — that inspired dead and 
 living direct us as individuals to the purest 
 purposes taught by the experiences of others, 
 and lead us as a people to the highest aspira- 
 tions of a free and liberal republic 
 
XXL 
 
 1896. 
 
 A EEUNIOIT AT 
 BUKLINGTOIsr, VEKMONT. 
 
 Remaeks of H. E. Teemain. 
 
 At tlie banquet upon the occasion of the 
 Twenty-seventh Annual Reunion of the So- 
 ciety OF THE AeMY of THE PoTOMAC, held 
 
 at BuELHiTGTOKr, Veemoitt, September I7th, 
 1896, there were speeches in response to va- 
 rious sentiments. The following is an ex- 
 tract from the society's volume of published 
 proceedings, page 62, etc. : 
 
 The next toast, " The Aemt of the Po- 
 tomac," was responded to by Geweeal 
 Heitey E. Teemaiw, as follows: 
 
 Mr. President^, Ladies and Oentlemen, and 
 Comrades. — As we descend the shady side 
 of life's mountain, it seems to me that these 
 reunions are colored less by the jubilations 
 and frivolities of war than by the sober reflec- 
 454 
 
AT BUBLINCfTON, VERMONT. 4.5^ 
 
 tions that they incite among those who, in 
 justice to the youthfulness and tender age of 
 our members, I may style our expiring gen- 
 eration. It is said that youth lives in hope ; 
 manhood, like the soldier, enjoys the good 
 things of the present ; and old age dwells with 
 memory. So reminiscence is our indulgence, 
 even at the expense of patience. (Applause.) 
 Indeed, the good people of Burlington could 
 scarcely have endured us as they have, and 
 our reminiscences, for two whole days, were 
 it not for the sake of our gallant comrades 
 from Vermont, than whom none are more 
 highly esteemed, none more worthy. (Ap- 
 plause.) For the continuous enjoyment we 
 have had in this beautiful city we cannot 
 too heartily acknowledge our thanks. Indeed, 
 wherever these reunions have occurred, their 
 success has followed the cordial hospitalities 
 and honors extended by the inviting cities. 
 (Applause.) And yet, there is not conceded 
 to this Society, or to other kindred societies, 
 any special function in the body politic. 
 Tour Governor told us last night that there 
 was a time when this Society was perform- 
 ing an important part in public affairs; but 
 we no longer belong to the wheels of gov- 
 ernment. The only wheels that belong to 
 
456 " OTHER EXCURSIONS." 
 
 most of us are the wheels in our heads. 
 (Laughter and applause.) 
 
 When we come together at these reunions 
 we naturally recall personal experiences, the 
 public conditions attending those experiences, 
 and the civic changes that have since oc- 
 curred. Why, as youths, were we impelled to 
 take up arms? How fitted, or rather how 
 unfitted, we were for that pursuit ! How we 
 thought it was not to become our permanent 
 occupation; how it was that hostilities 
 aroused a peaceful and happy people to a 
 conflict hitherto unparalleled; how difficult 
 it was to keep that conflict going; how the 
 forces in the rear of our army lines became 
 as troublesome as the more valiant enemy in 
 front of our guns. (Applause.) How politi- 
 cal chaos from the Potomac to the Gulf fol- 
 lowed the surrender of the armed forces of 
 the rebellion; how civic battles under mili- 
 tary leaders had to be fought in every State, 
 N'ortii and South, before the written Consti- 
 tutions of the country could be adapted to 
 the changed conditions created by the war 
 (applause) ; and how in the halls of Con- 
 gress, in the courts, on the rostrum, in the 
 press and in every imaginable way those 
 changes had to be separately and assiduously 
 defended against the political assaults that 
 
AT BURLITHGTOT:}, VERMONT. 457 
 
 would, if tliey could, have vitiated the grand 
 fulfillments of national unity and national 
 destiny, v?rought out by that war. (Ap- 
 plause.) 
 
 These things, comrades, are in the minds 
 of our expiring generation. But our succes- 
 sors in the generation now coming upon the 
 stage of our national life, many of them, 
 know little, ,and, perhaps, care less about 
 them, than will the studious statesman or 
 the educated soldier of a future century, who 
 will be glad to recognize in the dramas of 
 those days, the Army of the Potomac days — ■ 
 our days — the brilliant pictures of American 
 heroism and American achievements. (Ap- 
 plause.) In the light of our experiences, sur- 
 vivors of this army, who has any better right 
 to applaud the patriotic efforts of to-day? 
 Or, who than ourselves a better right to chal- 
 lenge attention to our national faults, for 
 surely we have some; or to encourage all 
 things that will promote our national pros- 
 perity; or to defeat, if we can, policifes that 
 will assuredly entail national adversity ; or 
 in any practicable way to blaze the path, 
 if we can, to higher national glory, to perma- 
 nent peace ^nd enduring happiness among 
 our people? (Applause.) 
 
 If there is one weakness, I will not say it 
 
458 " OTHER EXCURSIONS." 
 
 is a fault, which, in a cursory survey of 
 our national conditions, forces itself upon our 
 attention, it is our supreme confidence in our 
 own strength — a confidence largely born, 
 comrades, of your valor, your endurance, 
 your patience and your successes ; and of the 
 military power developed both [N^orth and 
 South during the gigantic confiicts in which 
 you were participants. (Applause.) But 
 may it not be in order now to ask, Is this 
 confidence in all respects justified ? Is there 
 any admonition needed from the experiences 
 of our generation about utilizing American 
 power and American resources for. the pro- 
 motion and preservation of American inter- 
 ests ? (Applause.) You will answer me by 
 pointing to the unrivaled ships of war ma- 
 jestically creeping into our new navy, and 
 to the mighty armament that will soon float 
 the Stars and Stripes in defense of every 
 American harbor, and in resistance of every 
 foreign assault upon American honor. How 
 are we to man that navy ? If ever specially 
 needed, it will be needed suddenly; and so 
 will your armies. How will you raise them ? 
 How will you then keep your ships and forts 
 fully manned with instructed men; and the 
 regiments and batteries of our armies in the 
 
AT BURLINGTON, VERMONT. 459 
 
 field filled to the point of maximum ef- 
 ficiency? (Applause.) 
 
 None know better than those who, upon 
 the battlefield, have placed the decimated 
 remnants of regiments under the command 
 of lieutenants, and sometimes even of ser- 
 geants; than those who have written the 
 papers for the consolidation of regiments, 
 batteries, brigades and corps, and have seen 
 famous commands extinguished from the 
 rolls of the army : None know better, from 
 experience, than you, the survivors around 
 me, that this is no idle question. (Ap- 
 plause.) The popular answer is upon all 
 lips — ■ by volunteers. Yes ; I listened with 
 delight to the tribute paid last night by 
 General Averell to the volunteer, and I shall 
 listen with equal pleasure to a similar trib- 
 ute about to be paid to him this evening by 
 General Lewis. (Applause.) By all means 
 encourage volunteers, and give them prefer- 
 ence and honor in the ranks. But, is hap- 
 hazard volunteering a scientific and reliable 
 resource, and altogether in harmony with 
 modem development? Can the reserved 
 power and unshaped military resources of 
 the nation be promptly arrayed in the face, it 
 may be, of adverse opinion ? That is a ques- 
 tion for our successors to answer. (Ap- 
 
460 " OTBEB EXCURSIONB." 
 
 plause.) I will not stop to discuss it at 
 this time. It is full of suggestions.. 
 
 In a republic scarcely an exigency can be 
 imagined where debate, differences of senti- 
 ment, hesitation, intrigue perhaps, and more 
 or less honest divergence of interest, if not 
 open opposition, will not accompany prepara- 
 tions for war, or the organization of forces in 
 readiness for a military purpose. Intentions 
 and policies must be discussed, public opinion 
 aroused or solidified, legislatures convened, 
 laws enacted, elections, perhaps, must inter- 
 vene, before the essential steps can be taken 
 to utilize, in some concrete form, the men 
 and the resources, outside of the few armed 
 militia, that ought to be at the immediate 
 call of seventy millions of people. (Ap- 
 plause.) 
 
 Modem American society, with a frown, 
 has turned its back upon the possibility and 
 difficulties of war; has discouraged military 
 ardor and quenched military spirit as if it 
 belonged only to a wilder age; and has con- 
 tented itself with a supreme confidence that 
 we will always be ready, and without know- 
 ing exactly how, or by what route, that we 
 will somehow " g^t there every time." (Ap- 
 plause.) I^early a score of years ago, one 
 of the most distinguished divines of his, 
 
AT BURLINaTON, VERMONT. 4.QI 
 
 or of any other generation, admonished this 
 Society that " our young men are becoming 
 engrossed in the arts of peace, and since mili- 
 tary life is not profitable in the market, nor 
 popular just now in politics, it is dying out 
 of our favor and out of public thought." 
 " To prepare for war is often the way to 
 prevent war." These notes of caution, 
 sounded by Mr. Beecher, in his eloquent ora- 
 tion at our reunion in 18Y8, at Springfield, 
 deserve to be sounded and resounded along 
 the lines, until some survivor among us shall 
 see the vast unused, unassorted, uncollected, 
 floating forces of our national power capable 
 of becoming swiftly vitalized at the nation's 
 call. (Applause.) 
 
 If citizenship, native or naturalized, car- 
 ries valuable rights, it should impose cor- 
 relative duties. Individual responsibility to 
 defend the common weal, individual obliga- 
 tion to expose life, if necessary, in support 
 of one's country and its laws, would be a 
 guarantee that individual rights and individ- 
 ual liberty would be conserved, and that pub- 
 lie virtues would be appreciated. (Ap- 
 plause.) 
 
 Until human nature shall change, human 
 collisions will occur; physical commotions 
 will arise, and wars will always be possible, 
 
462 " OTSEB EXCURSIONS." 
 
 often inevitable. Every able-bodied mam, in > 
 a republic should be quicTcly available in de- 
 fense of the state. He should have and know 
 his place. Enjoying as he does the protection 
 of his property, and his liberty, and his po- 
 litical equality, ,he owes not only a voluntary 
 proffer, but one of obligation, which the state 
 should enforce individually upon him, to 
 appear and to respond to his name for some 
 public service from time to time, and so be 
 assigned, and perhaps be somewhat in- 
 structed, for some public duty to be incum- 
 bent upon him. (Applause.) If men of 
 military age were compelled to render some 
 military service, or its equivalent nx)t in 
 money, I venture to say there would be more 
 vacancies in the jails and less work for the 
 public prosecutor. In the crowded cities and 
 towns, for instance, if every registered man 
 should be compelled to report periodically 
 to a company officer, where he was, or what 
 occupation he was pursuing, there might be 
 fewer tramps, less idleness, more homes, and. 
 better safeguards against the current disor- 
 ders of society. (Applause.) 
 
 Comrades, the Army of the Potomac was 
 always in favor of peace (applause) ; but a 
 peace that, at that time, passed all Confed- 
 erate understanding (applause) — a peace 
 
AT BVBLINGTON, VERMONT. 463 
 
 for which all Confederates have since been 
 profoundly grateful. The United States of 
 America has always been in favor of peace; 
 but, as the Army of the Potomac always in- 
 sisted upon peace, only upon Army of Po- 
 tomac terms, so the United States of America 
 always wants its peace upon American terms. 
 (Applause.) As my time is about up, I will 
 just add one further thought. (Cries of " Go 
 on.") 
 
 We are now launched as a- nation, by the 
 vote of Congress, on the laudable mission of 
 urging peace by arbitration as a substitute 
 for settling disputes by war. 'No nation has 
 graver questions approaching the necessity of 
 settlement. In the Northwest, two great pow- 
 ers are exerting or claiming dominion over 
 the same populations, and an issue like that 
 which nine years ago severed diplomatic re- 
 lations between Venezuela and Great Britain, 
 and more recently has threatened our own 
 peace and commerce, may in any month be 
 paralleled in Alaska, and enter into the active 
 politics of England and America. Lord Eus- 
 sell the other day in his admirable address 
 at Saratoga declared that " wisdom and jus- 
 tice in policy are a stronger security than 
 weight of armament," but my friends, men 
 do not always agree as to what is wisdom, and 
 
464 " OTBER EXCVBSIONS."^ 
 
 what is policy. All men know, however, that 
 no international tritunal of arbitration ex- 
 isting only by the sufferance of its creators, 
 and necessarily devoid of actual power be- 
 yond the expression of its own opinions, the 
 personnel of which shall be permanent and 
 continuous, will be potential enough to avert 
 war, if the sentiment or the conditions of 
 either country demand war ; and that the ade- 
 quate and ample readiness of the United 
 States to utilize all the men, and all the re- 
 sources of this great nation, for the swift 
 prosecution of war is, against all other peo- 
 ples, as well as among ourselves, the surest 
 guarantee of our permanent peace. (Con- 
 tinued applause.) 
 
xxn. 
 
 1897. 
 
 A REUNION AT 
 TROT, NEW YORK. 
 
 Remaeks of H. E. Teemain. 
 
 At the banquet upon the occasion of the 
 Twenty-eighth Annual Reunion of the Soci- 
 ety OF THE Aemt of the Potomac, held at 
 Tboy, K Y,, August 21st, 1897, there were 
 speeches in response to various sentiments. 
 
 The following is an extract from the So- 
 ciety's volume of published proceedings, page 
 66, etc.: 
 
 Geneeal KrcTG: We do not forget the 
 magnificent and continued service of the reg- 
 ular Army and Navy of the United States; 
 but the safety in all emergencies of this na- 
 tion must rest, as it depended years ago, upon 
 volunteers. 
 
 Our next toast, 
 
 " The VoLTJiirTEEES of 1861 to 1865," 
 will be responded to by our comrade Gew- 
 EEAL Hewey E. TsEMAiiir. (Appkuss.) 
 
 465 
 
466 " OTttEk ElCVMSlONS." 
 
 ADDRESS OF GBNEKAI. TEEMAIW. 
 
 Ladies cmd Gentlemen, Comrades. — ^When 
 one is accorded the honor of the floor on an 
 occasion like this, the temptation is well nigh 
 irresistible to indulge in army recollections; 
 but I do not dare to trust myself along that 
 line. (Laughter.) I recall the fate of a 
 certain gentleman who was once telling his 
 experiences in connection with the wkr. An 
 acquaintance left his side for more congen- 
 ial company. When he reached her he said, 
 " Julia, don't you wish when old Mr. Smooth- 
 bore begins telling his army experiences, he 
 was dead ? " " E"o," said Julia, who was a 
 little more considerate, " but I do wish some- 
 times that the war' had occurred fifty years 
 earlier." (Laughter and applause.) 
 
 As a iN'ew Yorker who was much alongside 
 of Oarr's famous regiment, I can only say 
 here to-night, especially after the hospitable 
 reception in this city, that I feel myself a 
 semi-Trojan; and I gladly join in welcom- 
 ing the comrades from other States. (Laugh- 
 ter and applause.) New York is still in the 
 Union, and is proud of her Union soldiers. 
 (Applause.) Our Legislative House of As- 
 sembly, last spring, on the Thirty-sixth An- 
 niversary of Fort Sumter, remembered them 
 
AT TROY. 
 
 46T 
 
 in a resolution of gratefulness ; and our hon- 
 ored Governor — who, in our days, our vol- 
 unteer days, would have been one of us, had 
 he not been then the youngster he was — - our 
 honored Governor has come down from his 
 mountain retreat to show his sympathy. (Ap- 
 plause.) I rejoice with you, too, my com- 
 rades, that the nation's chief is in sympathy 
 with this gathering, and has gladdened us by 
 his presence. (Applause.) 
 
 Listening to the eloquent words of our 
 orator last evening, I thought that these re- 
 unions helped to bring before the people the 
 actual life of the soldier; that they helped 
 to bring to the front what war is ; that they 
 helped to make the people of this country 
 appreciate what it means to exercise the mili- 
 tary, and naval power of the nation. (Ap- 
 plause.) To every man, woman and child, 
 to every home in the land, is revealed the 
 significance of war and what war costs, and 
 how, if necessary, the national power shall 
 best be welded and wielded. (Applause.) 
 
 Perhaps we need not agree with the great 
 Von Moltke when he said that "continued 
 peace is a dream," and " war is ordained of 
 God." But as practical Americans we know 
 that war comes suddenly. We know that the 
 United States is, and always h^s been, care- 
 
468 " OTBER EXCURSIONS." 
 
 less about looking after our strength; and 
 that is why our Capitol and White House 
 were burned by the British in 1814. The 
 lesson of ancient peace is always to be pre- 
 pared for war. The lesson of modem peace 
 is that the nation that is not prepared for war 
 invites war. The presence of certain condi- 
 tions on one side, and the absence of certain 
 conditions on the other, assure in a modern 
 war given results — results as capable of being 
 foretold as the square root of an algebraic 
 equation. How swiftly now is war begun and 
 ended! A modern war may be said to be 
 determined before it has been fairly com- 
 menced. You remember how, thirty days 
 after the first hostile shot of last spring, 
 Greece was at the mercy of Turkey's army 
 in Thessaly. Greece in the midst of her 
 campaign needed 100,000 rifles. They ar- 
 rived after her armies were defeated. Her 
 squadron was idle for need of coal, and her 
 ships received the coal after the truce was 
 declared. The lessons of ancient peace and 
 of modern peace are the same. The peace of 
 Europe to-day depends not so much on the 
 good will of good people as upon the arma- 
 ments of Russia, of Germany and of Italy. 
 (Applause.) Except for the armies and 
 navies of the great powers, the sword of the 
 
AT TROT. 469 
 
 Mohammedan would to-day draw the Wood of 
 every Christian in European or Asiatic Tur- 
 key. (Applause.) 
 
 Whatever may be the future policy of the 
 IJnited States, whether it be idly to reject 
 expansion or courageously to advance upon 
 the conservative lines of our historic progress 
 during the past century, one great fact is be- 
 ing accepted by our people; and that is, 
 whether for peace or for war, our armament 
 is too small, our navy is too small. (Great 
 applause.) 
 
 We do not build enough ships, nor train 
 enough sailors. Where is the great volunteer 
 navy of the future to come from ? England 
 can parade for fun 108 ships, as it did at 
 the recent Jubilee, and 38,000 men ; yet this 
 does not represent one-half of her navy. Ifo 
 nation can have a large navy that does not 
 sustain a large mercantile marine. We pay 
 nearly $200,000,000 in gold to foreigners, 
 every year, for carrying in foreign ships what 
 we sell abroad, and what we buy from abroad. 
 This is a great drain upon the resources of 
 this country, and a drain that foreigners are 
 interested in maintaining. How shall we 
 stop it ? It is more than enough to pay the 
 pension roll. How shall we manage our af- 
 fairs so as to keep this great sum at home ? 
 
4Y0 " OTEEB EXCUBBIONS." 
 
 By paying it to Americans and American 
 ships. (Loud applause.) That is a vital 
 question that will surge in and out of our 
 reunions; and until this nation shall solve 
 it, our navy, gallant and worthy as it is, will 
 not fittingly represent 70,000,000 of people 
 having a coast line on the Atlantic and Pa- 
 cific of half a continent. 
 
 I shall not stop to speak of our army. It 
 was hinted last night that it was too small. 
 One fact remains patent to us all; and that 
 is, it is not large enough to man properly 
 even the posts on our Canadian frontier. 
 (Applause.) Our militia scarcely numbers 
 100,000 equipped men. We coddle and nurse 
 a little company of men here and there, and 
 build them luxurious armories, and think 
 we are all fixed up for any trouble. What 
 would all such bric-a-brac amount to in case 
 of war? (Laughter and applause.) Our 
 armories should be the center of military in- 
 struction to all the people; and they should 
 be places of honor for veterans. (Loud ap- 
 plause.) 
 
 Our pension roll is $150,000,000 a year. 
 Its magnitude exceeds the annual expendi- 
 ture of England for England's army. It ex- 
 ceeds the annual revenues of Spain. It is 
 nearly three times as much as the United 
 
A.T TROY. 
 
 '411 
 
 States expends for both its army and navy. 
 We seem to have drifted into the notion that 
 the pension roll, instead of being a source of 
 national vpeakness, is somehow a weapon of 
 national defense. True, it is the fulfillment 
 of national promises made in times of 
 trouble; honest, honorable promises which 
 must and will be kept. But, all the same, 
 it is a debt to the past, rather than a security 
 for the future. It is only a moral collateral, 
 daily reminding this people how much the 
 strength of the Republic depends upon will- 
 ing hands, willing hearts, and the willing 
 arms of its willing citizens. (Loud ap- 
 plause. ) 
 
 If I had my choice, Mr. President, of what 
 sentiment should go forth from this or from 
 any other army reunion, I would put it in 
 three words, " Steewgthew the Republic." 
 (Continued applause.) I would strengthen 
 it in mind, body and estate; I would 
 strengthen it in intellectual vigor; I would 
 strengthen it in all its physical powers; I 
 would strengthen it in all the elements of 
 true national wealth; I would have the flag 
 not an emblem of defiance, but of unity, of 
 concord, of equal and harmonious citizen- 
 ship ; of national wisdom and progressive na- 
 tionality; the flag an emblem of peace, but 
 
472 " OTHER EXCURSIONS." 
 
 potential to inspire fear of war, if peace 
 should be wantonly threatened, and potential 
 for suecessf ul war, if war should be provoked. 
 (Applause.) 
 
 " Virtue in a republic," said the great 
 Montesquieu, — and it is as true to-day as it 
 was a hundred years ago — " virtue in a re- 
 public is a simple thing. It is love of the 
 republic." How do you expect to produce 
 love of country if you do not inculcate patri- 
 otism ? Weeds thrive and multiply faster than 
 flowers. The trees of patriotism are easily 
 reared ; but if you would have them thrifty, 
 and numerous, and shapely, and symmetrical, 
 you must watch them in their growth; you 
 must keep the grubs out of them ; you must 
 see that plenty of new trees are planted in 
 the fertile soil of the nation's orchard. (Ap- 
 plause.) And that they are held up against 
 the winds, so that they neither bend nor 
 break forever before the storms of political 
 seasons. (Applause.) !No nation can long 
 survive that does not preserve an honorable 
 regard for its soldiers. (Applause.) 
 
 But enough of this sober and serious talk. 
 I have used my time up and have talked like 
 an old man ; and when I look around me and 
 see the bright faces, and the clear eyes, and 
 the sparkling countenances of so many hand- 
 
AT TROY. 4Y3 
 
 some women, — why, that makes us all young. 
 We can all feel for a little while as we did 
 those nights in the camp, when we enjoyed 
 an evening heedless of the possible march 
 of to-morrow, of the battle of the next day, 
 and of the sufferings or death of the next 
 night. So, in the spirit of the old camp fire, 
 let me give you a careless sentiment, before 
 I take my seat: 
 
 " Here's to the world, the jolly old world. 
 And the days that are happy, not blue ; 
 Here's to the future, be what it may. 
 And here's to the best — thafs you." 
 
 (Long and continued applause.) 
 
XXIII. 
 
 1899. 
 
 A EEUNION AT 
 PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVAKEA. 
 
 Eemaeks of H. E. Tbemaist. 
 
 At the banquet upon the occasion of the 
 Thirtieth Annual Reunion of the Society 
 OP THE Aemt of the Potomac, held at 
 PiTTSBTjEG, PENiirsYxvAiTiA, Octoher 12th, 
 1899, there were speeches in response to va- 
 rious sentiments. The distinguished officer 
 (General Sickles) assigned to respond to the 
 following toast being absent, the President of 
 the Society, General Orland Smith, in ex- 
 pressing the Society's regrets at this absence, 
 said that one of the absent general's staff was 
 present, and that he had the pleasure of 
 introducing General Henry E. Tremain of 
 E^ew York, who would respond to the toast 
 
 474 
 
AT PITTSBUBa. 475 
 
 OUE COUNTET. 
 
 The following is a further extract from 
 the Society's volume of published proceed- 
 ings, page 52, etc. : 
 
 BESPONSE OF GEWBEAl, HEITEY E. TBEMAIlf. 
 
 Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen amd 
 Comrades.^-lt is not an inaccurate descrip- 
 tion of my feelings just at this time to nar- 
 rate the defense made by an intelligent con- 
 traband who had attached himself to a cap- 
 tain of our 120th New York just before the 
 battle of Fredericksburg. He had promised 
 that captain as faithfully as those colored 
 gentlemen do promise, that under no circum- 
 stances would he be absent from the line of 
 battle, and from the captain's bivouac over 
 night, no matter what should happen. 
 (Laughter.) The first night the captain did 
 not find his haversack; ditto the next night; 
 ditto the next night ; but when the troops had 
 returned to the comfortable camp across the 
 Rappahannock, the colored gentleman turned 
 up, and there was much profanity expressed 
 in his presence by his captain. (Laughter.) 
 In answer to the captain's demand why he 
 was not there, the contraband said : " I 
 runned away, sir." "Why did you run 
 
476 " OTHER EXCVBSrONS." 
 
 away ? " said the captain. " Well, sir," said 
 the contrahand, " for the same reason you 
 stayed. I runned away because I didn't dan- 
 stay ; and you stayed because you didn't darr 
 runned away." (Laughter and applause.) 
 And that is my apology for staying here to 
 answer your President's call in the place of 
 our old Commander of the Third Corps. No 
 one can fill his place. It is with diffidence 
 that I respond, or attempt to respond, to this 
 toast. In doing so, I would not willingly 
 break in upon the comfortable reflections 
 which you are enjoying as the result of the 
 eloquent addresses to which we listened last 
 evening, and of the interesting experience 
 which we have enjoyed to-day. There is a 
 long gap and a great contrast between the 
 smoke of battle and the smoke of Pittsburg. 
 (Laughter.) The smoke of battle, in our 
 recollection is filled with hostile missiles, and 
 with the sounds of strife and woe. The 
 smoke of Pittsburg, in our recollections, will 
 hereafter be filled with the music of good 
 cheer and with the sweet incense of gracious 
 hospitalities. (Applause.) 
 
 Now, a fitting response to this toast " Oue 
 CoTTNTEY," it seems to me, suggests itself 
 by the trip that we have taken to-day. To 
 the stranger who has never visited Pittsburg 
 
AT PITTSBURG. 477 
 
 it is one of the most suggestive experiences 
 that a traveler can enjoy. If there is any- 
 thing that tells of the progress and expansion 
 of our country, it is the progress and ex- 
 pansion of Pittsburg. (Applause.) The 
 gentlemen of this reception committee told 
 us what Pittsburg was, even within their 
 recollection, and they showed us what Pitts- 
 burg is. Here the great production of pig 
 iron, Bessemer ingots, steel rails and cognate 
 products suggests to us the fact that the mar- 
 velous increase in the production of those 
 great staples is a sort of index to the pros- 
 perity of the country. If I am informed 
 correctly, we are producing to-day at the 
 rate of fourteen millions of tons of pig iron 
 per year, while Germany produces only about 
 eight million tons, and Great Britain, with 
 all its facilities, only produces about nine 
 and a half. (Applause.) As we are increas- 
 ing each year in the product of pig iron, 
 while Great Britain is diminishing, so too 
 we are increasing our product of steel rails 
 at the rate of over three hundred thousand 
 tons per year, while England's yearly product 
 is diminishing. A corresponding fact is true 
 as to Bessemer ingots. (Applause.) We are 
 sending locomotives to Europe, Asia and Af- 
 rica ; bridges to Egypt ; and ironware to 
 
4Y8 " OTBER JEXCURSIONS." 
 
 Birmingham; and our annual exports of do- 
 mestic manufactures are tlie largest in our 
 history. Then, -when we look at the agricul- 
 tural products, we find that we are furnishing 
 twenty-five per cent, of the wheat of the 
 world. (Applause.) When we look at our 
 bank statements showing the deposits and 
 bank loans, and at our money circulation, 
 our good money, and the large volume of it, 
 we know that this prosperity is not an infla- 
 tion ; and is not a mere idle, fictitious result ; 
 but that it is an actual and material result, 
 and an exhibition of physical power. (Ap- 
 plause.) 
 
 Now to my mind, these considerations 
 have a relation to a military reunion. I do 
 not think that I can make an appropriate 
 reply to the toast of " Our Country." I 
 might better adopt the answer given by the 
 gentleman who was writing for a magazine. 
 He informed his wife that he was engaged 
 upon an article entitled, " How to Manage a 
 Woman." His wife, with a scornful air, re- 
 plied: "Well, I suppose it will be a very 
 long article." " Oh, no," said he, " it won't 
 be very long, in fact, it will be very short. 
 It will consist of only two words — ' Don't 
 try.' " (Laughter and applause.) So there 
 is just one thought with respect to " Our 
 
AT PITTSBVm. 479 
 
 Oountry " that with your patience I will 
 suggest. 
 
 These reunions help — or ought to help — 
 to direct public attention towards the develop- 
 ment and the utilization of the military 
 power of the country. As was suggested by 
 the Governor last evening, the development 
 and utilization of the military power of the 
 country in this last generation commenced 
 when you and I went out of the service in 
 1865-66. (Applause.) Now, since that 
 time, with the exception of the Spanish war, 
 in 1898, we have been pursuing the avoca- 
 tions of peace. A generation of younger 
 men and some of the old men, and a great 
 many of the women, have been afraid that 
 the military power if encouraged, if devel- 
 oped, and if possibly utilized, would inter- 
 fere in some mysterious way with American 
 liberty, and with the constitutional rights of 
 States and of cities. 
 
 We inherit an Anglo-Saxon and unjustifi- 
 able aversion against military power. But 
 we are dependent, in every great center of 
 population in this country to-day, upon mili- 
 tary organization and military power, the 
 semblance of which is seen in the presence of 
 every policeman upon the comer. In many 
 parts of Chicago and New York there are 
 
480 " OTHER EXCURSIONS." 
 
 thousands and thousands of our population 
 ■who know little or nothing about the civil 
 power in the country, except as they see it 
 personified in the policeman with brass but- 
 tons and blue coat standing on the corner 
 of the street, and whose knowledge of the 
 judicial and of the civic virtues of the coun- 
 try is confined to the visible power of the 
 policeman, and his perceptible functions and 
 duties. Thousands of people know more 
 about policemen than they do about any of 
 the public officials of the State or Nation. 
 (Applause.) 
 
 Well, this is only one Illustration. You 
 see militarism also in your fire department. 
 More and more has every great enterprise 
 that required a great many men been brought 
 in line with the principles of military organ- 
 ization. But let us go deeper than that. 
 
 " Militarism," as sneered at in these days, 
 is an idle bugaboo. It is a vain tradition 
 from another age, when vast armies con- 
 sumed the people's substance while destroy- 
 ing their producing power. Setting an Amer- 
 ican army in the field to-day instead of 
 destroying producing power, puts in motion 
 all the legitimate forces of American indus- 
 try. (Applause.) It enlists a class of men 
 who, for the well-being of the country, should 
 
AT PITT8BVRQ. 
 
 481 
 
 be trained as soldiers or as sailors ; it appeals 
 to the manhood of the country; it arouses 
 sentiments of nobility and personal responsi- 
 bility, and excites exalted aims and ambition 
 for public usefulness. (Applause.) If we 
 except the luxuries, like silks and laces, and 
 much of the worthless bric-a-brac of modern 
 life, there is scarcely a species of trade or 
 industry that is not utilized and paid because 
 of its contributions to the armament and 
 equipment of a modern army and navy. 
 Consider the capital employed in a plant 
 that will produce a battleship or a modern 
 gun ; and the hands that are utilized in man- 
 ufacturing and in transporting and handling 
 the machinery for firing it. Think, if you 
 can, of the endless list of articles that are 
 required for the equipment of a ship, or for 
 an American soldier, subjected as he is to 
 the varied experiences at one time of Arctic 
 Alaska, and in the same season, perhaps, of 
 the climate of the tropics — as happened in 
 one season to an officer who traveling from 
 Alaska reported for duty at General Miles' 
 headquarters in Porto Eico. If statistics 
 could be had, I venture to believe that for 
 every man with the colors at least two are 
 occupied in a wage-earning life at home to 
 sustain the absent soldier. Yes, these wage- 
 
482 " OTBEB EXOUR&IOTHS:' 
 
 earners in turn draw upon the farmer, the 
 skilled laborer, the artisan, the merchant, 
 the manufacturer, the builder, the real estate 
 owner, the capitalist, and every department 
 of American productive industry. (Ap- 
 plause.) Now, you may say, perhaps, that 
 this is a false stimulus, and that the reaction 
 is disadvantageous ; but I reply that if with- 
 out harsh or burdensome taxation the reve- 
 nues of the nation could be made ample — 
 and they always may be in this country with 
 an appropriate and adequate system — I 
 say the reaction is not disadvantageous, and 
 that the processes themselves are materially 
 and sentimentally wholesome. They consti- 
 tute, indeed, a wealth-producing power that 
 is incapable of measurement. You cannot 
 measure every kind of power — as the fond 
 mother who was an enthusiastic cyclist dis- 
 covered when she attempted to put a cyclom- 
 eter on her baby to see how far he crawled. 
 
 An enduring republic must generate power, 
 physical as well as moral power, industrial 
 power, a visible power, a power of unquali- 
 fied defense of its flag wherever it may be 
 lawfully established. There can be no ade- 
 quate defense without power to strike. (Ap- 
 plause.) What would become of this Ee- 
 public without power to command respect 
 
AT PITTSBURG. 483 
 
 for itself among the world's competing pow- 
 ers ? There was a class called up in school, 
 I read of the other day, and they were asked 
 whether any scholar could tell the difference 
 between two English words " sets " and 
 " sits." A little boy put up his hand and 
 said : " I can answer." So he was told to 
 try and answer if he could. He replied 
 that since Admiral Dewey destroyed the 
 Spanish fleet in Manila the sun never " sets " 
 upon the flag of the United States ; and since 
 Admiral Dewey destroyed the Spanish fleet 
 in Manila there is not any country in the 
 world that " sits " upon the United States. 
 (Laughter and applause.) 
 
 It required the double annihilations at 
 Manila and Santiago to convince some of the 
 great powers of the world that America's 
 friendship was more valuable than its en- 
 mity. (Applause.) How different would 
 have been the attitude toward us, — even of 
 Great Britain, with whom we have not yet 
 settled a very serious controversy — ,1 say, 
 how very different would have been the at- 
 titude toward us of the competing powers of 
 the world if the ships of Dewey and of Samp- 
 son and of Schley had been driven from the 
 seas, and our isolated soldiers left sick and 
 dying, or perhaps hopelessly besieged by a 
 
484 " OTHER EXCVB8I0N8." 
 
 foreign foe. WlieTe then -would be your tri- 
 umplis of diplomacy ? Where then would be 
 your quest for international arbitration and 
 the vain abolition of war ? Where then would 
 be your polemics about a " Colonial " policy ? 
 Where then would be the fascinating poem 
 we heard last night about expansion ? (Laugh- 
 ter and applause.) Where then would be 
 your amiable discussions about what taxes 
 should be taken off, when every nerve of the 
 country would be strained to discover what 
 taxes could best be put on? What would 
 become of your vaunted national credit, your 
 best money, your financial and commercial 
 prosperity ? Where then would be your satis- 
 factory national balance sheets, showing that 
 happy excess of exports over imports? 
 Where then would be your whirling factory 
 wheels, your glowing furnaces, your thunder- 
 ing freight trains, carrying as they do to 
 consumers the surplus of every producer, and 
 bringing in return to the farmer, to the mer- 
 chant, to the factory, to every city, hamlet 
 and home in the land that industry, that hap- 
 piness and luxury which by the fancy of ages 
 has always attended " Peace on earth and 
 good will to man?" (Applause.) 
 
 I heard of a preacher the other day who 
 said that the Spanish war had shown the rot- 
 
AT PITTSBURG. 435 
 
 tenness of the body politic. But I venture 
 to say there is not a nation in the world 
 that could have been turned upside down and 
 inside out so completely and so suddenly, and 
 have exposed such — with all due respect to 
 the ladies, what the guides in our Worth 
 Woods describe as — " a clean and healthy set 
 of innards." (Laughter.) We have talkers 
 preaching anti-expansion, anti-militarism, 
 anti-war department, anti-shoulder straps, 
 anti-McKinley, and every other kind of anti ; 
 but there is not an old aunty in the country 
 who does not know to-day that peace is not 
 assured by self-esteem and no powder. (Ap 
 plause.) Good guns and good shooters, and 
 plenty of both. This is my imperialism, and 
 I guess it is yours. (Applause.) 
 
XXIV. 
 
 1900. 
 
 A KEUNION AT 
 TEEDEEICKSBUKG, VIRGINIA. 
 
 Eemaeks OB" H. E. Teemaiw. 
 
 Upon tlie occasion of the Thirty-first An- 
 nual Eeunion of the Society of the Army of 
 the Potoniac, held at Fredericksburg, Vir- 
 ginia, on May 25th, 1900, there were various 
 addresses at the gathering of an audience fill- 
 ing the Opera House. These speeches are re- 
 ported in full in the Society's volume of pub- 
 lished proceedings, from which, at pages 62, 
 etc., is extracted the following : 
 
 ADDEBSS OF GENEEAL HEWET E. TEEMAIW. 
 
 Mr. President.^ — Until last week I had 
 supposed that the duty of an alternate, to 
 which duty I had been ordered, would be 
 fulfilled in the presence of his principal, by 
 remaining silent ; but when the changes were 
 made from one meeting to two meetings in 
 this city, I was suddenly notified that I must 
 486 
 
AT FREDERI0E8BVBG. 48^ 
 
 occupy the platform, and it is only thus in 
 obedience to orders, that I have ventured to 
 prepare and to tax your patience with a few 
 observations upon the topic of 
 
 testeeday; to-day, and to-moeeow. 
 
 (Applause.) The wayfarer strolling through 
 the old church-yard in your historic city, 
 reads from an ancient tombstone the singu- 
 lar inscription : " He was a bearer of the 
 Pall at the funeral of Shakespeare." Then 
 the thought occurs, not so much who was 
 he, as, how and when came he here. There 
 is nothing strange about it, when we recall 
 that the Virginia Chartered Company, under 
 whose auspices Virginia settlement was then 
 being promoted, had for its advocate and 
 treasurer Edwin Sandys, an author and poli- 
 tician, who had assisted the Pilgrims to char- 
 ter the Mayflower ; and for its home governor, 
 the brilliant and versatile Earl of Southamp- 
 ton, a soldier, author and politician, a follow- 
 er of Essex, and the idol of Shakespeare, 
 to whom he dedicated some of his poems ; his 
 "unpolished verses," as Shakespeare in his 
 dedication modestly styled his " Venus and 
 Adonis." 
 
 Men having such suggestive associations 
 drifted into this wilderness; and so it hap- 
 
488 " OTHER EX0UB8I0N8." 
 
 pened that as early as the seventeenth century, 
 the light from Tredericksburg, as well as from 
 Williamsburg and Jamestown, had begun to 
 shine through the wild forests of grand old 
 .Virginia. Its settlements were, the outposts 
 of an English civilization. They stood for 
 a progressive type of commercial enterprise; 
 and for the radiance of learning and of letters. 
 Whatever there was in those brave days of old 
 of educational temptation that did not trail 
 back across the Atlantic Ocean, centered, as 
 far as the Colony of Virginia was concerned, 
 in two or three scattered hamlets, like unto 
 those that since have figured in history as 
 Williamsburg and Fredericksburg. 
 
 It was from the environment of these an- 
 cient centers that the inherited but restless 
 spirit of constitutional liberty found some of 
 its earliest intelligent expressions. Whatever 
 there were of schools or of churches in Vir- 
 ginia were found at their best in these ancient 
 bay and river settlements. Their leaders 
 were the leaders of the Colony, in thought, 
 in statecraft, and in action. 
 
 In the social and political limitations of 
 the seventeenth century it was not every able- 
 bodied man that was permitted to indulge 
 himself in politics. Yet I will venture to say 
 that not only in the seventeenth, but continu- 
 
AT FREDEBICKSBVBO. 
 
 489 
 
 ously down to and through the nineteenth 
 century there averaged as much politics to 
 the square inch in Spottsylvania County, and 
 in The Peninsula, as ever characterized the 
 old Sixth Ward of New York City. Ifow, 
 whatever their philosophic or athletic attain- 
 ments, the sturdy Sixth-Warders, in their own 
 way, were always politicians. Without politi- 
 cians Virginia, like Ohio, would not be recog- 
 nized as a populated territory. 
 
 Looking back upon the early history of 
 Fredericksburg and Williamsburg, and their 
 great men, statecraft seems to have been one 
 of the common accomplishments of their peo- 
 ple ; and a continuing inspiration of their de- 
 velopment. 
 
 Approaching the period of the American 
 Revolution these conditions are emphasized; 
 while through and after the collisions of arms, 
 and into the formative period of Constitu- 
 tional stability, Virginia prowess, Virginia 
 blood, Virginia enterprise, statesmanship and 
 leadership entered powerfully into the nerve 
 and fibre of our common country. 
 
 You may trace it back by direct lineage to 
 the seat of learning at Williamsburg, if not 
 also to Fredericksburg, the home of Wash- 
 ington's mother. 
 
 It seems to be a law of nature that unex- 
 
490 " OTHER excursions:' 
 
 pected convulsions precede great develop- 
 ments. Whatever the causes, direct or re- 
 mote, nothing historically considered could 
 have been more natural, more consonant with 
 this law, and nothing in fact proved more 
 inevitable, than that the grandest human com- 
 bats of modern times should convulse the 
 shores of the Potomac, the Eappahannock 
 and the James. 
 
 And so it comes about that Fredericksburg, 
 like Williamsburg, is a revered link in the 
 great chain of American events, which links 
 together the crudities, the curiosities, the dis- 
 cords and divergences of English life in the 
 seventeenth century, with the struggles and 
 developments in the eighteenth century ; link- 
 ing those again in turn with the strifes of 
 policy, of purpose, and of American necessity, 
 that have characterized the nineteenth cen- 
 tury, and which came together in woeful but 
 inevitable battlings to and fro upon the his- 
 toric fields that we have come to visit. 
 
 I am only in the fashion when I say, it 
 little matters now how we marched, where we 
 stood, or even perhaps in what lines, or on 
 what side we fought in those sanguinary 
 ranks. 
 
 All who survive have survived to share a 
 common glory, — have mourned alike for 
 
AT FBEDERIGKSBUB6. 491 
 
 those who fell at our sides — and have sur- 
 vived to readi a commoii enjoyment of all 
 things accomplished : and no man living now 
 denies that some good things were accom- 
 plished by that war. 
 
 Some of us, too, from both sides, have 
 survived to rejoice also in a common rejoic- 
 ing, that from both armies men with gray 
 hairs and years, soldiers of the '60's and their 
 descendants, have emerged to battle again, 
 and have bravely striven with Shafter and 
 Lee, with Otis and Wheeler, for the upward 
 and onward march of all that is best in 
 Americanism, and for all that is symbolized 
 by American Colors. 
 
 True to inheritance, tradition and duty, the 
 American spirit of all the survivors of our 
 great conflict, and of all their adherents, is: 
 
 AXWATS PBOGEESSIOIT ; IfTEVEE KETEOGBES- 
 SIOH". 
 
 TEKEITOKIAIi POLICY. 
 
 Disguise it as we niay, there is no doubt 
 of the fact that the great battles hereabouts 
 were the culmination of political differences 
 that had their origin in the determination 
 of a final policy concerning our western terri- 
 tories. 
 
 Curiously enough one of the most potent 
 
492 " OTEEB EXCURBIONS." 
 
 factors tliat helped to bring about that " more 
 perfect -union " described by the preamble 
 and realized by the adoption of the United 
 States Constitution, was the coincident agree- 
 ment among the conflicting state interests 
 upon the future government and policy re- 
 specting our unoccupied western domains. 
 The famous Ordinance of 1181, for the gov- 
 ernment of the Northwest Territory, was both 
 a Bill of Eights and a memorable Code of 
 Laws. Its coincidence in point of time of 
 adoption, and in corresponding provisions 
 with the United States Constitution, give 
 significance to many clauses in the latter, par- 
 ticularly to that one which declares that 
 Congress shall have " Power to dispose of and 
 make all needful Rules and Eegulations re- 
 specting the Territory or other Property be- 
 longing to the United States." (Art. IV, sec. 
 
 ^•) . ' . 
 
 At that time there was no Trans-Missis- 
 sippi territory. That came to us later in 
 great sections from France, from Spain, from 
 the Eepublic of Texas, and from Mexico; 
 and easily became subject to the policy insti- 
 tuted at the time of the adoption of the Con- 
 stitution. 
 
Ar FREDERICK8BVR&. 493 
 
 That policy contemplated Statehood ; — 
 settlements, to be followed by Statehood. 
 
 Statehood was easily prepared for and ac- 
 ceptably gained by the settlers in the old 
 Northwest Territory: Ohio, Indiana, Illi- 
 nois^ Michigan and Wisconsin came into the 
 Federal family with a well-nigh perfect 
 political catechism prepared by and inherited 
 directly from the fathers of the Eepublic. 
 
 When it came to Missouri, there was trou- 
 ble ; and like the seed of most national disor- 
 ders the trouble related to commercial ques- 
 tions, — or, to speak more closely, to questions 
 deemed commercial on the one hand, and on 
 the other hand to affect human liberty. But 
 the trouble was patched up — wisely or un- 
 wisely we need not observe. It was patched 
 up; Missouri admitted, and Arkansas, Iowa 
 and Minnesota were afterward added to the 
 family of States. 
 
 When the next tier of Western bricks came 
 to be laid, the mortar flew. Strikers, walking 
 delegates, union men and non-union men, 
 scabs, victims and boycottings, and all the dis- 
 agreeable features of a modern strike, deco- 
 rated life in Kansas. Unhappy Kansas be- 
 came the center of national attention, and oe- 
 
494 " OtVER EXCURSIONS." 
 
 cupied the political stage, until finally what 
 Kansas stood for convulsed the nation. 
 
 The throes of Civil War ensued. The Pa- 
 cific Coast meanwhile had been carved into 
 golden statehood. In due time the entire 
 United States domain was newly peopled and 
 realized that statehood contemplated by the 
 Coijstitution makers. 
 
 Thus was fulfilled their intentions which, 
 in some instances, had been formally an- 
 nounced respecting the first national domain, 
 that it should be regarded as a district held 
 in trust by the government for the special 
 purpose of ultimately forming additional 
 States. This policy, avQwed for the North- 
 west Territory, has been continued unaltered 
 in dealing with the immense Trans-Missis- 
 ' sippi region that came into the direct posses- 
 sion of this government by treaty with for- 
 eign powers. 
 
 VIEGIWIA AS A CLAIMANT. 
 
 I said in some instances this policy, al- 
 though in harmony with the general senti- 
 ment of the times, was specifically formu- 
 lated. Virginia led in such a declaration as 
 early as 1781, when relinquishing her claims 
 to the Northwest Territory. 
 
 She, with her native modesty, had claimed 
 
A.l FREDERICKSBVBQ. 495 
 
 the entire territory! So did 'Seva York. 
 Seven out of the thirteen original States were 
 claimants. The comprehensive character of 
 Virginia's claims were unexcelled. No won- 
 der. One of Virginia's charters had de- 
 scribed a grant to her as along the sea coast 
 for two hundred miles north and south from 
 Cape Comfort, and " up into the land 
 throughout from sea to sea " — embracing the 
 entire Northwest of North America, and all 
 the islands along the coast of the South Sea 
 and Pacific Ocean ! What more natural then 
 than at one time Virginia should annex the 
 " County of Illinois " ; and at another time 
 the " County pf Kentucky ? " So Virginia 
 cultivated modesty in making claims. 
 
 But when the " mother of Presidents " 
 comes to claim her White House laurels, Ohio 
 is more than a good second. Is not this a 
 good season for Virginia to give Ohio a 
 good second? 
 
 Well: the seven States that claimed more 
 or less of that rich Northwest wisely yielded 
 to the political exigencies of our revolutionary 
 period and relinqxiished their claims to the 
 United States. 
 
 It had become absolutely essential to the 
 peace and security of the Confederated States, 
 that had marvelously fought the revolution 
 
496 " OTHER EXCVmWNS." 
 
 through, that there should he no divided au- 
 thority in that great turbulent region west 
 of the AUeghanies; and so State by State 
 slowly renounced jurisdiction over the dis- 
 puted wilderness — Virginia, however, in do- 
 ing so, explicitly declared the general under- 
 standing that " the ceded territory should 
 eventually be formed into additional States." 
 Now Virginia's right to make claims at the 
 present day is not to be disputed. It is a 
 comforting right, and a Constitutional one. 
 The Constitution stipulates that nothing 
 therein shall be construed to prejudice the 
 claims of any particular State. So in this 
 era of revival of American unity, and Amer- 
 ican purpose, I am preparing my political 
 anatomy to listen to the claim of Virginia to 
 the Islands of the Archipelago; and to hear 
 her advocates expound her perfect title to our 
 other insular possessions; because, I know 
 that the argument will be immediately fol- 
 lowed by Virginia's relinquishing to the 
 United States all her claims upon Hawaii, 
 Guam, Puerto Eieo, and the Philippines. 
 
 FOUGHT IN A WAE THET WERE STOT MTTSTEEED 
 POE. 
 
 And why not ? Her claims are as good as, 
 yet no better, than those of New York, of 
 
AT FBEDEBI0K8BUBG. 497 
 
 California, of Tennessee, of Idaho, and of 
 Kansas, whose troops gloriously fought side 
 by side in Luzon, with a common purpose 
 and under a common flag. Yes: on that 
 fateful night of February 4th, of last year, 
 your soldiers, who had enlisted only to fight 
 Spain, were rudely awakened from their 
 dreams of home and loved ones soon to be 
 embraced, and rushed from their camps to 
 fight and to die in the distant jungles. 
 
 Partisans were they? Who will say so? 
 Like your Virginia ancestors they were pro- 
 moters — promoters of Americanism. 
 
 Soldiers in hospitals, eight hundred of 
 them at Manila, left their beds at the sounds 
 of battle, and joined their comrades in the 
 ranks to fight and to die in a war they never 
 mustered for. Why? Because their flag, 
 their nation was assailed. Because at last 
 they had the chance to tell the cunning Ori- 
 ental, — yes, to tell the whole world, — that 
 the American soldier typified an American 
 nation that would not hesitate to discharge 
 any duty, however unexpected, that ever 
 justly came upon its shoulders. 
 
 And so these men from the Worth and 
 from the South, and from the Alleghanies 
 and from the Kockies, stayed and fought, and 
 yielded up their sweet young lives without a 
 
498 " OTBEJtt SlClJIt8I0N&." 
 
 question, without a murmur, until a new 
 army could be voted by Congress, be organ- 
 ized and transported half around the globe 
 to take their places; and to reap in its turn 
 trials and sufferings, and battles and marches, 
 which have brought land victories second 
 only to the greatest of the century — that of 
 Dewey on the sea. 
 
 OTTE EXTENDED SOVEBEIGWTT. 
 
 And so the sovereignty of the United States 
 is once more extended. Wherever it has been 
 assumed it has not been assumed wrongfully. 
 However it has been assumed, it exists; and 
 its rightful existence is not questioned by 
 any nation in the world. 
 
 Is that sovereignty to be surrendered? 
 Never. That question must not be a partisan 
 one. ISTor should its answer depend on plat- 
 forms, or on partisanship. 
 
 AGAIWST IITSULAK STATEHOOD. 
 
 And what about the great new domain? 
 Here we are at the turning of the ways. 
 Because the ancient policy of Virginia, ex- 
 tending as it claimed from " sea to sea " and 
 to the Pacific Islands, declared as we have 
 seen that the incoming territory should even- 
 tually be formed into additional States, is it 
 
AT FREDERICKSBURG. 499 
 
 true that tropical races in every conceivable 
 stage of civilization, and peopling strange 
 islands where nothing is known of the Amer- 
 ican people, or of their customs, or of tiieir 
 government, — is it true that these Oriental, 
 or Tropical, strangers should participate in 
 the making of laws, and choice of rulers, for 
 American States? 
 
 In America, Statehood for the territories 
 was never contemplated except as they should 
 become settled by bone and brain and sinew 
 of a kindred with a common and united peo- 
 ple. The lands were treated politically as 
 " unoccupied territories," although often pop- 
 ulated with savage tribes. Settlements of our 
 own kindred were contemplated, and were al- 
 ways in process. New States were only be- 
 ing created, and only contemplated, by the 
 efforts of new dwellers. I^obody ever dreamed 
 that the American policy of constructing ad- 
 ditional States out of the public domain 
 should apply to any community not directly 
 akin to the existing Statehoods. 'No State 
 was ever construed out of any other material. 
 
 So now, as we stand at the parting of the 
 ways, is there any reason, any propriety, any 
 expediency, or utility, in holding out to for- 
 eign peoples that Statehood is in store for 
 
500 " OTHER EXCUBSIOWS." 
 
 them? Let us bravely nip the weed, ere it 
 gathers woeful seed. Who shall say what 
 may happen in that dim and distant future, 
 when all men shall be lifted up ? But, within 
 the range of human vision, American State- 
 hood, mth us and of us, does not belong to 
 and is not expedient for these foreign peo- 
 ples ; or for ourselves. 
 
 The temptations of partisan exigency may 
 sometimes point otherwise. But veterans of 
 both armies and their descendants, and the 
 statesmen who are allied with both; those 
 who inow what war is, and what it costs to 
 support a government assailed by foes with- 
 out and foes within; those who have some 
 knowledge of Constitutional liberty, and of 
 the rights, and duties, and obligations it Im- 
 poses on every electorate, and on every elector, 
 do not require the Instruction of a partisan 
 platform to assure them that not, at least In 
 this generation or the next, can the policy of 
 future Statehood, that was applied to this con- 
 tinent, be safely contemplated for the insular 
 possessions of our enlarged sovereignty. 
 
 Here In our delightful symposium, se- 
 cluded from party platforms and party temp- 
 tations, why is not this the time ; and the 
 soldiers and their descendants of the grand 
 
AT FREDERICKSBURG. 50I 
 
 conflicting armies that did battle here, why 
 are not they the men; and by the blood of 
 those "who fell here, why is not Virginia of 
 all others the State ; and this the place ; where 
 that which is undoubtedly nom the general 
 sentiment of the whole people of the country, 
 should be explicitly formulated and an-- 
 nounced, — after the fashion of Virginia one 
 hundred and nineteen years ago, — and the 
 formal declaration be now made against any 
 Statehood for our insular possessions? 
 
INDEX 
 
 Affairs at Helena, 198. 
 
 Alger, General Russell A., 168. 
 
 Anderson, Major D. W., 217. 
 
 Appomattox Battle, 144. 
 
 Archer, Brig.-Gen. J. J., 217. 
 
 Arkansas, 224. 
 
 Army of the Potomac, 68, 100, 158, 198, 255. 
 
 Asboth, Brig.-Gen., 208, 209. 
 
 Ayres, General, 77. 
 
 B. 
 
 Baker, Major W. Y., 216. 
 
 Baltimore Pike, 94. 
 
 Banks, General, 192. 
 
 Barber, Colonel William M., 217. 
 
 Barnes, General, 86. 
 
 Barnes, Major O. H., 216. 
 
 Bartlett, Captain, 176. 
 
 Bates, Major E. W., 216. 
 
 Battle of Resaca, The, 181. 
 
 Battle of Williamsburg, 102. 
 
 Berdan, Colonel Hiram, 45. 
 
 Beverley's Ford, 148. 
 
 Bimey, General David B., 30, 31, 32, 38, 41, 42, 45, 51, 52, 
 
 56, 57, 77, 81, 85, 86, 88, 89, 101. 
 Bishop, George (Color bearer), 176. 
 Black Horse Tavern, 34. 
 BoUnger, Colonel H. O., 216. 
 Brady, James T., 101. 
 Brandy Station, 148, 150. 
 
 603 
 
504 INDEX. 
 
 Bre-wer, Lieut.-Col. Jos. F., 217. 
 
 Bridgeport, 1. 
 
 Brown, Colonel H. L., 216. 
 
 Brown, Colonel J. M., 217. 
 
 Buford, General, 8, 10, 150, 153, 154, 195, 196, 197. 
 
 Burling, Colonel, 78. 
 
 Burnham, Lieut.-Col. J. H., 216. 
 
 Bums, Major, 79. 
 
 Bushbeck, Colonel, 176. 
 
 Buzzard's Roost, 178. 
 
 C. 
 
 Caldwell, General, 82, 87. 
 
 Callicot, Mr., 199. 
 
 Campaign in Georgia, 171. 
 
 Camp Creek, 181, 183. 
 
 Canby, Colonel, 187. 
 
 Canby, Maj.-Gen., 202. 
 
 CandiU, Colonel E. B., 217. 
 
 Cant, Major H. D., 216. 
 
 Carpenter, Major D. A., 216. 
 
 Carr, General Joseph B.. 40, 101. 
 
 Carson, Major J. T., 217. 
 
 Carter, Colonel Wesley R., 217. 
 
 Cavalry at Gettysburg, 147. 
 
 Cedar Mountain, 192. 
 
 Cemetery Hill, 27, 28, 36, 72. 
 
 Ceremony of exchanging prisoners, 214. 
 
 Chancellorsville, 2, 39, 41, 56, 58. 
 
 Clarke, Major J. E., 216. 
 
 Cobb, Colonel M., 217. 
 
 Cobum, Colonel, 185. 
 
 ColdweU, Major J. H., 217. 
 
 Columbus, Ky., 192. 
 
 Constitutional Convention, 201. 
 
 Cook, Lieut.-Col. W. R., 216. 
 
 Coombs, Mrs., 199. 
 
 Count de Paris, 155. 
 
 Coyne, Colonel, 142. 
 
 Crandall, Major "W., 216. 
 
 Crawford, General, 77, 78. 
 
 Custer, General, 156, 157, 158. 
 
INDEX. 505 
 
 D. 
 
 Dahlgren, Admiral, 215. 
 
 Dalton Pike, 184. 
 
 Dant, Colonel E. L., 216. 
 
 Davidson, Lieut.-Col. W. L., 217. 
 
 Deloney, Colonel "Bill," 148. 
 
 Devil's Den, 154. 
 
 Devin, General, 150. 
 
 Dickerson, Lieut.-Col. C. J., 216. 
 
 Dickinson, General Joseph, address April 9, 1896, 414. 
 
 Donaldson, Lieut.-Col., 222. 
 
 Drupree, Lieut.-Col. A., 217. 
 
 Duke, Colonel BasQ, 217. 
 
 Durant, Lieut.-Col. P. E., 217. 
 
 E. 
 
 Ebbitt House, 99. 
 
 Eleventh Corps, 20, 153, 154. 
 
 Emancipation, 235. 
 
 Emmett, Major W. T., 217. 
 
 Emmitsburg, 1, 4, 7, 15, 16, 19, 34, 38, 39, 41, 42, 48, 74, 
 
 76, 77, 86. 
 Excelsior Brigade, Inscription, 140. 
 Excelsior Brigade, Monument, 139. 
 Excelsior Brigade, unveiling and address by General Tre- 
 
 main, 142. 
 
 Fairoaks Battle, 144. 
 
 FardeU, Colonel E., 216. 
 
 Famsworth, General, 160. 
 
 Ferguson, Colonel M. J., 217. 
 
 Fifth Armv Corps, 57, 63, 64, 69, 74, 75, 76, 77, 84. 
 
 Fifth Michigan, 157, 158. 
 
 Fifty-fifth Ohio, 187. 
 
 First Army Corps, 3, 5, 6, 7, 15, 20, 153, 154. 
 
 First New Jersey Cavalry, 157. 
 
 First Texas, 160. 
 
 Fitzgerald, Lieut.-Col. J. P., 217. 
 
506 INDEX, 
 
 Forest, Captain, 176. 
 
 Forney, Colonel W. H., 217. 
 
 Fort Moultrie, 214. 
 
 Fort Sumter, 214. 
 
 Foster, General, 192, 211, 212, 213, 215, 220. 
 
 Fox, Lieut.-Col. Wm. F., 29. 
 
 Fox, Miss, '199. 
 
 Fry, Captain Thos. W. G., 58, 92, 98. 
 
 G. 
 
 Gamble, General, 150. 
 
 Gardner, Maj.-Gen. Frank, 217. 
 
 Gettysburg, 8, 15, 17, 18, 22, 25, 29, 34, 60, 61, 67, 76, 77, 
 
 84, 87, 99, 151, 156, 157. 
 GiUmore, General, 212. 
 Glen, Lieut.-Col. N., 216. 
 Graham, General, 42, 45, 48, 55. 
 Grant, General U. S., 218. 
 
 Gregg, General D. Macgregor, 94, 150, 155, 156, 157. 
 Groce, Major C, 217. 
 Grover, Colonel T. G., 216. 
 
 H. 
 
 Haines, Lieut.-Col. C. L., 217. 
 
 Hall, Major J., 216. 
 
 Hancock, General, 21, 27, 28, 30, 64, 81, 155. 
 
 Hanks, Colonel J. M., 217. 
 
 Harpers Ferry, 72. 
 
 Harriman, Colonel W., 216. 
 
 Hart, Lieut.-Col. O. H., 222. 
 
 Hawkins, Colonel R., 216. 
 
 Hays, Lieut.-Col. E. G., 216. 
 
 Hazlett, First Lieutenant Chas. E., 75. 
 
 Heckman, Brig.-Gen., 216. 
 
 Heermance, Captain Wm. L. (paper written by), 147. 
 
 Heintzelman, General, 47. 
 
 Henry, Major Chas., 217. 
 
 Higginbotham, Lieut.-Col. T. M., 216. 
 
 Higley, Major Horace A., 217. 
 
 Holden, Governor, 239. 
 
INDEX. 507 
 
 Hooker, General Joseph, 2, 26, 47, 72, 102, 148, 150, 187. 
 
 Ancestry, 297. 
 
 A New Command, 335.. 
 
 A New Duty, 347. 
 
 A Night Attack, 360. 
 
 Antietam, 312. 
 
 Assignment to Command of the Army by President 
 Lmcoln^ 323. 
 
 Atlanta Cfampaign, 342. 
 
 At Lookout Mountain, 338. 
 
 Boyhood, 299. 
 
 ChanceUorsviUe, 325. 
 
 Fredericksburg, 314. 
 
 His Brigade, 302. 
 
 His Division, 303. 
 
 How the Battle Closed, 369. 
 
 In 1861, 301. 
 
 In front of Richmond, 310. 
 
 In Mexican War, 300. 
 
 In Tennessee, 336. 
 
 Life and Service, 296. 
 
 Personality, 348. 
 
 Relinquishes the Command, 333. 
 
 Requ^ to be relieved of his Command, 345. 
 
 Sunday Morning, 366. 
 
 The Commander of the Army, 316. 
 
 The Gettysburg Campaign, 330. 
 
 Waiiamsburg Battle, 303. 
 Howard, General O. O., 18, 19, 20, 27, 30, 77. 
 Humphreys, General, 1, 33, 37, 38, 39, 41, 44, 78, 101. 
 Hunt, General, 44. 
 Hunter, Lieut.-Col. N. B., 216. 
 
 IngaUs, General, 48. 
 Ireland, Colonel, 187. 
 
 J. 
 
 Jackson, Lieut.-Col. Y. G., 217. 
 Jacques, Colonel J. N., 217. 
 Johnson, Major J. N., 216. 
 Johnson, Maj.-Gen. Edward, 217. 
 
508 INDEX. 
 
 Johnson,, Governor, 223. 
 
 Jones, Colonel, 176. 
 
 Jones, General "Sam," 211, 212, 213. 
 
 Joslin, Lieut.-Col. C. C, 216. 
 
 K. 
 
 KeUy's Ford, 148. 
 
 Ketchum, Captain, 270. 
 
 Kilpatrick, General, 150, 165, 179. 
 
 King, General Horatio C. (poem by), 164. 
 
 Knipe, General, 187. 
 
 Lay, Major, 214. 
 
 LasceUe, Lieut.-Col. W. P., 217. 
 
 Lee, Colonel W. C, 216. 
 
 Lee, General, 148. 
 
 Legrange, Colonel O. H., 216. 
 
 Lehman, Colonel J. H., 216. 
 
 Libby Prison, 192. 
 
 Lincoln, President, 100. 
 
 Little Round Top, 58, 69, 75, 154. 
 
 Longstreet, General, 40, 68. 
 
 Louisiana, 225. 
 
 M. 
 
 Manning, Major W. H., 217. 
 
 Martz, Lieut.-Col. D. H. L., 217. 
 
 MaxweU, Lieut.-Col. W. C, 217. 
 
 Mayhew, Lieut.-Col. J. D., 216. 
 
 Meade, General, 3, 16, 19, 42, 43, 48, 49, 50, 53, 56, 60, 61, 
 
 62, 63, 64, 65, 70, 71, 72, 73, 75, 76, 77, 102. 
 Merritt, General, 150, 156. 
 Miles, Lieut.-Col. D., 216. 
 MiUer, Lieutenant, 176. 
 Mississippi, 225. 
 
 Moore, Captain Alexander, 17, 57, 67, 92. 
 Moore, Captain Alexander (Report by), 76. 
 Moran, Lieutenant Frank E., 40. 
 Morfit, Lieut.-Col. S., 217. 
 Morgan, Colonel Richard C, 217. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 Mc. 
 
 509 
 
 McMakin, Lieut.-Col. W. E., 217 
 McPheraon, General, 172. 
 
 N. 
 
 Names of Officers Exchanged (Federal), 216. 
 Wames of Officers Exchanged (Rebel). 217. 
 Nash, Major E. A., 217. 
 Ninth New York Cavalry, 154. 
 
 O. 
 
 O'Hagan, Father, 90. 
 
 One Hundred and Second Illinois Brigade, 188. 
 
 One Hundred and Twenty-ninth Illinois Brigade, 188. 
 
 O'Rorke, Colonel, 75. 
 
 Paisley, Lieut.-Col. W. M., 217. 
 
 Patten, Lieut.-Col. O. A., 217. 
 
 Peach Orchard, 43, 55, 60, 75, 79. 
 
 Peebles, Colonel W. H., 217. 
 
 Pell, Colonel James, 217. 
 
 Pennsylvania Reserves, 77. 
 
 Perkins, Major L. J., 217. 
 
 Pleasonton, General, 65, 97, 150, 374, 375, 376. 
 
 Prince, General, 192. 
 
 Port Hudson, 226. 
 
 Potsley, Lieut.-Col. J., 216. 
 
 R. 
 
 Randolph, Captain Geo. E., 62. 
 Rawl, Colonel Wm. Brooke, 158. 
 Rebel Position at Buzzard's Roost, 174. 
 
510 INDEX. 
 
 Reconstruction Episodes, 230. 
 
 An Incident, 235. 
 
 Buildings for Government Use, 236. 
 
 Disorganization of Society, 237'. 
 
 Emigration, 238. 
 
 High Prices and Business, 232. 
 
 Newspapers, 237. 
 
 Petition to Maj.-Gen. Sickles, 247. 
 
 Report of Colonel H. E. Tremain, 258, 265. 
 
 Restoration of Property, 245. 
 
 Restoration Period, 247. 
 
 Society in North Carolina, 241. 
 
 The Freedman's Bureau, 243. 
 
 The Yankees, 234. 
 
 Visit of General Howard and his Address to Whites and 
 Blacks, 242. 
 Remarks by General Henry E. Tremain, 444. 
 Reunion of Warren County Veteran Association at Lake 
 
 George, N. Y., July 4, 1885, 443. 
 Reunion of the Society of the Army of the Potomac, Septem- 
 ber 17, 1896, 454. 
 
 Address of General H. E. Tremain, 455. 
 Reunion of the Society of the Army of the Potomac at 
 Fredericksburg, Va., May 25, 1900, 486. 
 
 Address of General H. E. Tremain, 486. 
 Reunion of the Society of the Army of the Potomac at Pitts- 
 burg, Penn., October 12, 1899, 474. 
 
 Address of General H. E. Tremain, 475. 
 Reunion of the Society of the Army of the Potomac at Troy, 
 N. Y., August 21, 1897, 465. 
 
 Address of General H. E. Tremain, 466. 
 Reynolds, General, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 17, 18, 19, 
 
 76, 151, 154. 
 Round Top, 34, 44, 69, 77. 
 Rusling, Lieut.-Col. James F., 48. 
 
 S. 
 
 Sanders, Major E. J., 217. 
 Scammon, Brig.-Gen., 216. 
 Second Corps, 37, 43, 86. 
 Sedgwick, General, 21. 
 Seminary Hill, 12, 152, 154. 
 Seventh Michigan, 158. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 611 
 
 Seward, Mr., 204. 
 
 Seymour, Brig.-Gen., 216. 
 
 Shaler, Brig.-Gen., 216. 
 
 Sheridan, Gieneral Phil, 148. 
 
 Sherman, General, 222. 
 
 Sickles, Maj.-Gen. Daniel E., 2, 13. 14 16 18 IQ 22 24 
 
 ef' i' b'^' ^' r'isf V^'4V0' ^^' '«' ^' ^' ^'- '»; 
 
 Sun, Surgeon Thomas, 90, 94, 99. 
 Slooum, General, 21, 30, 78. 
 Smith, Lieutenant, 176. 
 Smith, Lieut.-Col. M. J., 217. 
 Smith, Major George H., 217. 
 Snake Creek Gap, 177. 
 Spofford, Lieut.-Col. S. F., 217. 
 Steele, General, 191. 
 Steele, Major T., 217. 
 Stewart, Brig.-Gen. Geo. W., 217. 
 Stewart, Lieut.-Col. W. W., 216. 
 Stuart, General J. E. B., 148, 150. 
 Stoneman, General, 220. 
 Swift, Lieut.-Col. B. W., 217. 
 SwingW, Lieut.-Col. A. L., 217. 
 Sugar Loaf, 44. 
 Sykes, General, 21, 77, 78, 86. 
 
 Taylor, Captain, 187. 
 Taylor, Lieut.-Col. A. W., 216. 
 
 '^'""o^^^y ^^' 1' 2. 3, 7, 16, 17, 20, 21, 24, 29, 30, 31, 
 
 37, 42, 44, 48, 51, 53, 66, 71, 74, 89, 94, 102. 
 Third Maine Volunteers, 46. 
 Thompson, Jeff., 213, 217. 
 Thomson, Colonel Clifford, 373. 
 Tremain, General Henry Edwin, 108. 
 Tremain, Major, 86, 228. 
 Tucker, Lieut.-Col. Joseph T., 217. 
 Tunnell HiU, 173. 
 
 U. 
 Upson, Major T. E., 217. 
 
512 INDEX. 
 
 V. 
 
 Vanderventer, Colonel A. S., 217. 
 Vedder, Captain, 176. 
 
 Visit of General Canby and General Sickles to the Constitu- 
 tional Convention, 205. 
 
 W. 
 
 Wadsworth, General, 7, 8, 10, 12. 
 Ward, Colonel Wm. W., 217. 
 Ward, General, 69, 77, 185, 186, 187. 
 Warley, Major F. F., 217. 
 Warren, General, 69, 74. 
 Washbume, Maj.-Gen., 194, 224. 
 Weber, Major Thos. B., 217. 
 Weckler, Anne, 151. 
 Weed, General, 75. 
 Weasels, Brig.-Gen., 216. 
 White, Colonel R., 216. 
 Williamsburg, Battle of, 144. 
 WilUch, General, 188. 
 WUson, Major J. M., 217. 
 Wilson, Maj.-Gen. James H., 153. 
 Wood, Colonel, 185. 
 
 Yorktown, Battle of, 144. 
 Young, Captain H. D. F., 48. 
 
 Zook, General, 82, 83, 84, 85. 
 
 Zouaves, The Second Fire, at Gettysburg, 108, 109. 
 
 Board of Trustees of, 113. 
 
 Captain Stewart's Address, 114. 
 
 Ceremony of Dedication, 114. 
 
 Engagements, 127. 
 
 General H. E. Tremain's Address, 119. 
 
INDEX. 513 
 
 Zouaves, Honorable Record of, 111. 
 Inscriptions on Monument, 112. 
 Monument of, 110. 
 Mr. Nooney's Speech, 116. 
 Reminiscences, 130. 
 The Muster RoU, 118. 
 The Unveiling, 122. 
 Trying Moments, 132. 
 
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