BARDEEN
LITTLE
FIFER'S
WAR
DIARY
E
601
B24
B 1,311,670

PROPERTY OF THE
University of
Michigan
Libraries
ARTES
SCIENTIA VERITAS
18 17
A LITTLE FIFER'S
WAR
DIARY
with 17 maps, 60 portraits, and 246 other
illustrations
BY
C. W.
BARDEEN
Editor of the School Bulletin
Formerly of Co. D., 1st Mass. Vol. Inf.
WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY
NICHOLAS MURRAY BUTLER, LL.D.
President of Columbia College
BULLETIN

SCHOOL
1874
QUBLICATIONS
SYRACUSE, N. Y.:
C. W. BARDEEN, PUBLISHER
1910
ད
:
:
.!
!
E
601
COPYRIGHT, 1910, BY C. W. BARDEEN
My dear Bardeen:
INTRODUCTION
You have done a real service, first, in
safeguarding your diary through all these
years, and, second, in making it the basis
for these intensely interesting personal
recollections of the Civil War.
The literature of that war is, as you well
know, already almost limitless in extent,
but I question whether in the years to
come any of the documents that throw
light upon it will have more real value
than the frankly stated personal reminis-
cences and recollections of nien who, like
yourself, fought in the ranks and saw the
ebb and flow of battle from the standpoint
of the private soldier. There is a close-
ness of contact with events which the
private soldier enjoys that in no small
degree compensates for his inability to
see a scheme of campaigning or a plan of
battle as a whole.
It has been peculiarly interesting to
me to read your reminiscences, because
I have often wondered what must have
been the feelings and the reflections of an
American youth who found himself in the
early sixties old enough to appreciate in
some degree the great crisis which faced
3
the nation, and yet not old enough to
participate in the events which accom-
panied it with full adult power. You
have answered this question admirably
and fully. Your reflections upon the
relative capacity of various commanding
officers, your anecdotes, and your sketches
of such battles as those at Chancellors-
ville and Gettysburg have given me keen
pleasure, and they will certainly give a
pleasure just as keen to the many who
will read these recollections in book form.
You have not changed so very much.
since you enlisted in Company D, First
Massachusetts Infantry. Then, as now,
you permitted very little to escape your
vigilant notice; then, as now, you were
furnished with quick wit and keen humor
with which to illumine events as they
happened, and to soften asperities as they
came to your notice; then, as now, you
hated shams and pretence, and had a
pretty sharp lance in hand with which to
make your justifiable hatred effective;
then, as now, you were blessed with the
power of description that your friends
recognize to be most unusual, the results
of which they never fail to enjoy.
216380
4
A Little Fifer's War Diary
--
There must be a second edition of this
book, because none of us will permit that
glorious controversy with the Pension
Office to be cut off in its prime. We
must get the rest of that story. You
have now enlisted in the war against the
noble army of Red Tape, and while I
daresay it will be bloodless, I trust that
it will not on that account fail to be mark-
ed by appropriate casualties. Uncle Sam
has the most wasteful, the most ineffec-
tive, and the worst administrative system
in the world. When Senator Aldrich said
in the Senate a few months ago that he
could save three hundred million dollars
a year if permitted to run the Government
on business principles, people gasped, and
the wiseacres of the newspaper press
scornfully smiled. Personally, I have no
doubt whatever that he spoke with exact-
ness and without exaggeration. Your
little experience is only one illustration
to which thousands might be added.
But I am wandering from the Civil War
and your reminiscences of it.
With sincere regards
NICHOLAS MURRAY BUTLER
Columbia University,
Thanksgiving Day, 1910
1

咖
​ارداری
PREFACE
Y instinct for re-
cording is proba-
bly inherited.
The Corporal
William Nutting
of the Minute-
men at Lexing-
ton whose note-
books during the Revolutionary war are
That was on my father's side. On the
other, the Amos Farnsworth, minute-man
at Lexington, corporal at Bunker Hill, and
lieutenant at Ticonderaga, whose pub-
lished diary is one of the important sources
of history, was a cousin of my grand-
father's great grandfather, and my mother
herself kept a diary for me from my second
birthday till I was eight years old
Connary the 28-178
Jun the 11725
Tyng and whit
Couse from buring
Cap John Louel and
his mess at pigwoket
Daniell woode
Thomas Woode
John Jeft
PAGE FROM JONATHAN NUTTING'S ACCOMPT BOOK
preserved by the Massachusetts Histor-
ical society was my great-grandfather.
His grandfather Jonathan Nutting kept an
"accompt book" that is still carefully pre-
served in the family. Here is a page
from it, written almost two centuries ago.
5
and able to carry it on myself. I
have not only maintained the habit but
preserved the records, so that I have a
nearly unbroken autobiography of more
than sixty years.
Most of the entries have no interest for
A Little Fifer's War Diary

Boston. Georgie
Har
that
1. Doar of the Ho
Rayday. Cheght: 1eb. 1882. Opdry I left Comics Day
ay
for the seat of Mr. Left, Camp about there
velook in the P.M.,
the P.M., Taking the Haye Con for
George went with.
went with one. After get
ting at Bowdon Square, parted with Ewige,
and marched to the Full Raver R.R. Depot
and took the cars for Fall River. Arriving hus
we took the steamer Metropolis for A.G. City. This
very fine steamer, and a number of
was a N
PHOTOENGRAVED FROM THE ORIGINAL DIARY
anyone else: indeed in the early days the
weather predominates, and there are occa-
sional statements (not absent in what I
have here copied) that there is nothing of
interest to record. But during the war
there was often something doing, and the
days' records, though brief, have enough of
detail and frankness to give some picture
of what army life was to a young boy.
Probably most of my readers will won-
der why I have not omitted or modified
some of the entries, but to my mind that
would destroy the value of the whole.
Actual facts carry weight; facts modified
become fiction. I am sure every statement
in these entries was true or believed by me
to be exactly true at the time. I do not
find any indication that I wrote or omitted
anything with reference to the diary's being
read by any one else. It was as accurate
as the items in a cash book. To change
it now, even by omission, would be like
making false entries.
7
But I have no disposition to conceal any-
thing. One can never write about one's
self impersonally, but I can come pretty
near it as I copy the story of this little
friendless boy of fourteen, undergoing an
experience unlike anything that had ever
happened to him before or has ever hap-
pened to him since. All this occurred
forty-five years ago, in the first quarter of
my life. I have heard old soldiers say that
as they talked about the war it seemed in a
way as if they were telling legends that
they had heard rather than experiences
they had undergone, and I have something
of this feeling. On the other hand I have
Preface
been astonished at the way forgotten facts
have come back to me. When I first took
up these reminiscences I read over a roster
of the regiment, and could place hardly
two score names. Now there are more than
a hundred of whom I can recall how they
looked and incidents in which they figured.
Still more true is this of my own experi-
ences. These brief entries bring back so
much that there have been days when I
seemed to be living again at Falmouth or
Brandy station, and nights when my dreams
have been of my old army surroundings.
One thing I have had foremost in mind,
to give a picture of camp life during the
civil war.
Most books of reminiscences
deal with the battles. Of these I have
little to say except as they affected me.
What I seek to show is how a little fifer
ate when he ate and how he sometimes
went hungry; how he slept, when he slept,
and how he sometimes stood by the fire
because his blanket would not keep him
warm; how he marched and drilled and
went on fatigue duty; what special temp-
tations he encountered and what followed
when he yielded to them.
There is nothing here to be especially
proud of, and there is a great deal to be
very much ashamed of, but I have copied
it just as it is, even to the spelling and the
erratic punctuation. It will be noted
from the photo-engraved page that my
penmanship was as full of flourishes and
inconsistencies as my conduct.
As I read over this diary I am sorry
for the little boy who underwent so many
privations and sufferings, but I was not
sorry for myself at the time.
One of my
childhood stories was of some little chil-
dren who had to sleep with only a door to
cover them, and who asked their mother
7
what those poor little children did who did
not have any door. I slept night after night
on the wet ground with nothing under or
over me, and should have looked upon a
door as opulence, but
door as opulence, but I had the habit of
comparing my lot with those worse off
instead of envying those more fortunate,
so I did not waste much time in repining.
In reviewing my army life as a whole the
reader must see that
reader must see that I was remarkably
fortunate.
In the first place, I was lucky to have
been assigned to the 1st Massachuestts.
For one thing I got home earlier, since it
was the first three years regiment mustered
in and of course the first to be mustered
out. But apart from that, the old 1st
was a regiment to be proud of. There
may have been other regiments with as
good a record: there surely was none with
a better. Ask any old army of the Poto-
mac man what it meant to belong to
Hooker's brigade of Sickles's division of
the 3d corps. It was not only that I
shared the honor of these accredited
fighters, but I got my notions of war from
these men. When the silly froth was
knocked out of my little head it was sup-
planted by what I learned from men who
had fought in both Bull Runs and who
had been at the forefront in the Peninsula
campaign.
I should say that ours was a clean-
mouthed regiment. My recollection is
rather of hearing vulgar stories checked
than of listening to them. We had a
large proportion of sensible, mature, solid
men, who enlisted because it seemed a
duty, and when they got back home took
up again the occupations they had relin-
quished. I have attended two reunions
of the regiment, and both times I have been
impressed by the strong and serious pat-
8
A Little Fifer's War Diary
riotism they still manifested. I have
heard veterans belittle the issues at stake
during the civil war, and talk slightingly
of what was accomplished and how and
why it was done. There was not a word
of this at these meetings. The old songs
were sung, the old flag was cheered, the
boys who had dropped out during the
year were remembered first as good sol-
diers in battle. I was as proud in Boston,
half a century later, to belong to such a
regiment, as I had ever been as a boy in
the field.
In the second place I was fortunate.
that at the time I joined it this regiment
was relieved from duty at the front, so
that I had time to be acclimated before
I saw hard service. After two months
in the regiment my first march proved
too much for me. What might have
happened if I had been sent to the front
upon my enlistment, when the army was
retiring from before Richmond?
On the other hand, think what a privi-
lege it was to be present at the battles of
Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettys-
burg, and the Wilderness, not only four of
the great battles of the war, but all differ-
ing so much in commanders and in their
general features.
In the third place I escaped not only
wounds but sickness. I was not seriously
ill during my service, and the outdoor
life so strengthened me that I have never
been seriously ill since. So the minor
fatigues and privations recorded here
were really of little consequence. I did
not always have food, but I always had
the appetite for it, and that is much more.
important. I was sometimes too cold
to sleep, but when I did sleep I slept
soundly. On the whole I had a pretty
good time in the army, and though I was
glad to get my discharge I would not ex-
change my experiences there for anything
else that could be offered me.
I feel that those who do not care for my
story ought to like the pictures. They
were all drawn or photographed at the
time, and the very crudeness of some of
them is evidence of their fidelity. The
great artist of the war was Edwin Forbes,
and besides his pictures in Frank Leslie's
I have reproduced many of his "Life
Studies of the Great Army", a portfolio
of sketches that reach straight to the old
soldier's heart. There were other good
men, too-Winslow Homer, who has died
the week I write these lines; and Homer
Davenport, and Henry Lovie, and H. R.
Ward and A. R. Waud and William Waud
and C. E. F. Hiller, and James O. Guirl
and H. Mosher, and F. H. Schell and A. W.
Warren; you will find their names in the
index with such of their pictures as I
have been able to trace. Of Thomas
Nast's illustrations I have given only two,
on pages 127 and 212. They are in con-
trast with the rest in that they picture
what could not possibly occur. For the
life-like initial sketches I am indebted to
Comrade H. W. Beecher of the Conn.
Light Battery, who drew them for his his-
tory of that regiment and kindly loaned
them to me.
It has proved a great pleasure to get
these pages together. I had not thought
of my diaries as of interest except to my
grandchildren, but when my friend Presi-
dent Nicholas Murray Butler suggested
that a soldier's genuine experiences would
have value, no matter how insignificant
he was, I set to work at once and this
book is the result.
I have remarked several times in the
narrative that this is not a history of the
Preface
war: it is a history of what the war did
to poor little me, and of no general interest
except as it indicates what it did to other
little me's, thousands of them.
I make one exception. I sent the
proofs of the chapter on Gettysburg to
Major Gen. Sickles, to whom victory in
that battle was due, and the only survivor
of the great generals of the war.
He did
me the kindness and the honor to correct
the proofs with his own hand, to send
me additional material and the photograph
I have reproduced on page 223, and to say
that the account as given is absolutely cor-
rect and of interest to military men as well
as to the general public. I do not know of
any other published account except the
story of the battle in the volumes published
by the New York Monument commission,
from which I have quoted freely, that makes
clear the purpose of Gen. Sickles's move-
ment on the afternoon of the second day.
It is commonly referred to as the advance
of the 2nd division of the 3rd corps to the
Emmitsburg road, but that movement
was only a result of the main movement,
9
which was the wheeling to the south of the
1st division, to prevent the confederates
from turning our flank by advancing from
the south. The resemblance of this attack
at Gettysburg to the attack at Chancellors-
ville is as marked as is the contrast be-
tween the defence of Gen. Howard and that
of Gen. Sickles, and between the results of
the two battles.
I should have liked to write a book
like that of Lt. Col. Dwight of the 2d Mass.
He was a Harvard graduate, a high minded
officer, a noble patriot in life and in death,
of whom his family and his college and
his country may be proud. But unfor-
tunately I wasn't that kind of a soldier,
so I have to tell my own poor little story
of a very ordinary little boy. On the other
hand Lt. Col. Dwight does not describe
lob scouse and I do. I suppose there is a
place for lob scouse books as well as for
memorials, and if here and there mine
finds a niche on this humblest shelf, I shall
be content.
Syracuse, N. Y., Oct. 12, 1910
CHAPTER I. ENLISTMENT 17
CONTENTS
Early associations and anti-slavery opinions-
Breaking out of the war-Attempt to enlist in
the 12th Maine. Interview with Gen Butler-
A drummer who could not drum-Why I was
allowed to go-Camp Cameron-Premium on
gold and silver-Havelocks and filters
23
CHAPTER II. GETTING TO THE FRONT
Impatient to join my regiment-Steamer
to New York-Union Relief Saloon in Phila-
delphia-The ferry at Havre de Grace, and
another at New London years afterward—Wash-
ington-Sailing down the Potomac-Alexan-
dria-Fort Lyon
CHAPTER III. BREAKING IN A RE-
CRUIT 30
Record of the 1st Mass.-Demoralization—
The shelter tent-Pillows-Recruits unwelcome
-John Tarbell's story- Pediculus vestimenti—
Gen. Burnside in the field-Confederates and
cleanliness-Washing clothes-Company ket-
tles-A fist-fight with Chapman-Fairfax Semi-
nary Whistling for an orderly - Adjutant
Mudge-Holy Jo - The sutler-Why Johnny
Reb fought so hard
CHAPTER IV. ON PICKET 49
The soldier's romance-Individual responsi-
bility Countersigns- Birman wood-Eggles-
ton's revengeful Virginian girl-Pickets stock
exchange-Friendly feeling between opposite
armies-Confederate kindness to union soldiers
-The soldier's picnic
64
CHAPTER V. GETTING ACCLIMATED
Dress parade-Why Jo Phillips deserted me-
Eight days on three days rations-My first re-
view Sibley tents Munson's hill-Another
Eggleston romance-Four men under one blan-
ket-Prest and Perkins-Overcoats and none
too soon-Corps badges-I buy a fife-Baked
beans-Fifty years later-Virginia hospitality
CHAPTER VI. ON THE MARCH 77
A thirty-five mile walk-I fall out-Waking
in solitude-Reveille-Sleeping on the wet
ground with nothing under or over-Bugle
reveille set to words-Shoes and socks-Break-
ing camp—Baggage is impedimenta-How knap-
sacks lighten-Confederate equipment-Steal-
ing army stores-Knapsacks carried-Building
huts-Gen. McClellan-My first illness-Con-
traband packages--Drum major Hull-Ford-
ing a river-Scramble for rails-Persimmons-
Differences in regiments
90
CHAPTER VII. WITH A WAGON TRAIN
Made at home in a Virginia family-Lowe's
balloons-The telegraph in the field-Rifling
a sutler's wagon-Easy life of the wagoners—
Darkey drivers-Fredericksburg-George Wash-
ington and his mother-Falmouth-The Rap-
pahannock and its fords-Change from drum
to fife
CHAPTER VIII. BATTLE OF FRED-
ERICKSBURG 99
The seat of five battles-Routes to Richmond
Pope forgot what the other fellow might be
doing-Pontoon laying-Sacking a city-Under
fire, and well scared-Charge of the Irish bri-
gade-In action-Esprit de corps-The test
of courage-The dying soldier's last thought—
Was Franklin a traitor?
CHAPTER IX. HOSPITAL WORK 114
Where the drum corps belongs-The sur-
geon's work-How it feels to be wounded-
Carrying men in from the field-Wills made on
the battlefield-A letter home-A gloomy
period
CHAPTER X. REFLECTIONS AFTER THE
BATTLE 127
Drummers on the battle-field-Protection
in battle-The British soldier's stolidity-Fero-
cious fighting accounted for-Officers want
promotion-Regiments have to demonstrate
efficiency-Reckless indifference to danger—
Braggarts sometimes brave-Supreme test of
courage-Bull-fighting in Spain
10
Contents
CHAPTER XI. TENT ARCHITECTURE
139
Trading in camp-Disappearance of timber-
Confederate camps-My Brandy Station hut-
Photographs of huts
CHAPTER XII. BURNSIDE STUCK IN
THE MUD 149
The farce hurt more than the tragedy-The
fords of the Rappahannock-Corduroy road-
building-Marching in the mud-Inextricable
confusion-What it is to be exhausted
CHAPTER XIII. WINTER CAMP AT FAL-
! MOUTH 160
Fighting Jo Hooker-A bow and a faint
smile from Lincoln-Army clothing-Lieutenant
Doherty-Whiskey as rations-Pork and crack-
ers-Officers and men-Straggling vs. marching
in line-Our lieutenant-colonel as an artist-
Drumming out-Guardhouse punishment-A
grand review-Form of enlistment-The com-
missary end
CHAPTER XIV. GAMBLING 176
Playing cards-Cheating a comrade—Becom-
ing an expert-The pleasure of draw-poker-
Its quicksand-The unhappiest day in a young
man's life
CHAPTER XV. BATTLE OF CHANCEL-
LORSVILLE
184
Brilliantly planned-The joy of battle-
Breaking of the 11th corps-Gen. Howard's
responsibility-Stonewall Jackson killed-Why
our left gave way-Heroic defence-Gen. Hook-
er's defeat
CHAPTER XVI. LAST DAYS AT FAL-
MOUTH 196
Six weeks of idleness-Rations; official allow-
ance-Military funerals
CHAPTER XVII. MARCH TO GETTYS-
BURG 204
Twenty-seven miles a day-Suffering for
water-Bull Run battlefield-'Twixt river and
canal-Change of commander-in-chief-Mary-
land hospitality
CHAPTER XVIII. BATTLE OF GETTYS-
BURG 214
Everything at stakc-Carr's brigade-An
- Old Goggle-eyes Crisis
accidental location
11.
Wheel to the south of Birney's division-Was
Gen. Sickles justified?-Testimony of Gen.
Longstreet-A second Chancellorsville avioded—
The fifth corps dilatory-Change of front
Third corps not cut to pieces-Longstreet's
vivid account-Third day's fighting-Pickett's
charge-Sights on the battle-field-Comparison
with Balaklava
CHAPTER XX. BACK TO VIRGINIA 239
Meade fails to follow up his victory-Harper's
Ferry-Stealing a loaf of bread-Foraging on
Sherman's march to the sea-The underestimat-
ed mule-Losing all my luggage-End of my
first year
CHAPTER XXI. BATTLE OF WAPPING
HEIGHTS 252
Meant for a greater than Gettysburg-Thor-
oughfare Gap-Blackberries the saving of the
army-One of Meade's disappointments—A
good-natured battle-Making a Vermont soup
CHAPTER XXII. A NEW YORK EPI-
SODE 258
Draft riots-Our regiment sent north-Gover-
nor's Island Riker's Island Conscripts-
Guard mounting-Soldiers were easy marks—
Trying to be a sport-Not good at grudges-
First experience at the opera
CHAPTER XXIII. AT THE FRONT ONCE
MORE 268
The army had fallen back-Tearing up rail-
ways - Breaking camp-Correspondents for
friendless soldiers-Lost my regiment-Hospi-
tality of the 26th Pa.-Lt. Col. Baldwin-
Struggle with New York toughs
CHAPTER XXIV. BATTLE OF LOCUST
GROVE 276
Mine Run to Meade what the Mud March was
to Burnside-One pontoon short at each ford-
Impossible to be sure of the road-Thanksgiving
as imagined and as it was-Formidable charge
ordered-Letter home-Gen. Warren lacked
nerve-Honest endeavor to be just to Gen.
Meade-If Meade told the truth he was sur-
rounded by attrocious liars
CHAPTER XXV. IN CAMP AT BRANDY
STATION 287
Shot for desertion-Whiskey and the officers
on the second day-Preliminary skirmishing--Jo Phillips-A little skirmish-Gen. Prince—
12
A Little Fifer's War Diary
.
!
Order of companies in the line-Psychogical
effect of skirts-Gen. Grant commander-in-chief
-I lose a tooth-Beards and mustaches—
Culpepper on the sly
CHAPTER XXVI. BATTLE OF THE WIL-
DERNESS 300
Difficult to follow and to understand-Our
division breaks-A change of base
CHAPTER XXVII. BATTLE OF SPOTS-
SLYVANIA 306
A struggle to the death-Regulations begin
to mean something-The charge on the salient-
Rain changes Grant's plans-Ordered home
CHAPTER XXVIII. MUSTERED OUT 312
Uncle Sam kept faith with us—A night march
to Fredericksburg-Stringing the long bow-
A Boston editorial-Ended my army life with
two dollars-Sharp practice of the old Bay
state-I get back pay-Fun with the pension
office-Identity difficult to establish-Soldiers
and affidavits.
ILLUSTRATIONS
Page from Jonathan Nutting's account book 5
Photoengraved page from my diary 6
Inflicting calamities myself 18
A skirmisher 22
The 1st Massachusetts at Williamsburg 22
Barnum's Museum in 1862 23
Union Relief Saloon, Philadelphia 24
Washington, D. C. in 1862 26
Budd's Ferry on the Potomac 26
Town Hall and Market, Alexandria, Va. 27
Marshall House, Alexandria, Va. 27
Stables and negro servants' tent 28
Fort Lyon 28
Fort Albany 29
Knapsack and accoutrements 30
Interior of the tent of a cavalry private 31
Genesis of the shelter tent 32
Shelter tent 32
Summer camp of shelter tents 33
He remembers his shelter tent kindly 34
Every man his own washerwoman 40
His clothes line on the march 41
Drawing rations 42
Boxes from the good women of Boston 43
Fairfax Theological seminary, Va. 44
Sutler's tent 46
Sentry in the rain 49
Antennae of the army 49
"Advance and give the countersign" 50
Looks like trouble ahead 51
On the outpost 51
"O hell, I thought it was the relief” 52
Approach of Birnam Wood 53
Every move is watched intently 54
Awaiting the approaching enemy 55
A view of the enemy 56
Stealthy approach of pickets 56
A skirmish 57
One picket shooting another 58
Pickets stock exchange 59
Capturing a picket 62
Pickets firing near Fairfax 62
Picket bivouac fire 63
A cavalry picket 64
A drummer's sword 65
Camp of Sibley tents 67
Bailey's cross roads 68
Munson's hill in possession of the enemy 69
Another view of Munson's hill 70 ·
Still another view of Munson's hill 71
The little darkey asleep 72
Diamond on the 1st Mass monument at Gettys-
burg 74
Falls Church, Va. 75
Fort and observatory, Upton hill, Va. 76
Knapsacks on the march 77
Reveille in camp 78
Bugle reveille 79
Played out 80
Marching confederate prisoners 82
Temporary quarters 84
All quiet along the Potomac 85
Fording a river in Va. 87
Another view of the same 87
Fording a river by a rope 88
Shaking the persimmon trees 89
An army wagon stuck in the mud 90
Prof. Lowe making a balloon ascension 91
Connecting the army by telegraph during bat-
tle 91
Halt of a wagon train 92
A darkey mule-driver in trouble 92
Around a camp fire 93
Mule drivers watering their teams 94
Attack on a wagon train 94
Fredericksburg from Falmouth station 95
Fredericksburg from Falmouth village 96
Fredericksburg from below 96
Martha Washington's monument 97
The Rappahannock above Fredericksburg 97
Drummer boys 98
An exploded shell 99
Bringing pontoons from Aquia Creek 100
Fredericksburg from Falmouth heights 101
Laying the pontoon bridge 101
Crossing into Fredericksburg 102
Union soldiers in Fredericksburg 103
Negroes desecrating their master's homes 104
Soldiers destroyed as well as misused 104
A thirteen inch mortar 105
Shells and other artillery appliances 106
Charge on Marye's heights 108
Franklin's troops crossing the Rappahannock 110
The dying soldier's last thought 112
-
13
14
A Little Fifer's War Diary
Franklin's troops recrossing 113
Water to the wounded 114
Surgeon at work in the rear 114
The eager surgeon 115
Fortunate enough to be brought in 116
Carrying in the wounded from the field 118
Bringing in the wounded under difficulties 119
Searching for comrades at night 120
Lincoln apologizing for the Army of the Potomac
122
Lincoln's dream of a good time coming 123
Lincoln and Barnum, the showman 124
Congress as seen by a French newspaper 124
Military gymnastics, or the greased pole in
Virginia 125
The bursted drum 127
Regiment in action 127
A battle as it is imagined 129
Capturing a battery 130
In the trenches 131
The fallen horse 139
"John McAbe went down to the river" 139
Building huts 140
The army chimney 141
Native Virginia models 142
Interesting experiments 142
Types of winter quarters 143
Camp of shelter tents in winter 143
Remains of a rebel camp at Manassas 144
My winter home at Falmouth 145
Perkins's tent at Brandy Station 145
Inside of Perkins's tent 146
1st Mass. huts at Camp Hooker 146
Interior of middle hut at Camp Hooker 146
When the snow came 147
A lighted fuse 149
Crossing at United States ford 149
Marching in the rain 150
Building a corduroy road 151
A rougher corduroy road 151
Another photographed page from my diary 152
Gloomy marching 152
Retreating in the rain 152
Mud sticking to the horse's hoof 153
A struggle for existence 154
The struggle of a baggage train 155
Difficulty with a pontoon 156
Inextricable confusion 157
As usual Lincoln got the blame 158
Loafing in front of a tent 160
Another photographed page 161
Delmonico outclassed 164
A twenty-minute halt 166
Drumming a skulker out of camp 169
Another drumming out 170
Mounted infantry 171
Too fond of whiskey 172
Photoengraved enlistment paper 174
The commissary end 175
Playing cards on a log 176
Paying troops at night 176
The day after pay day 177
A bivouac fire 178
A scaly crowd 180
Killed in battle 184
Hooker's army crossing the Rappahannock 185
Howard's 11th corps flying in panic 187
Where Stonewall Jackson was shot 190
Hooker's headquarters at Chancellorsville 192
Berdan's sharpshooters 193
Marching back through Falmouth 194
Idleness in camp 196
At the commissary's 196
Charge of Co. H at Yorktown 198
Cooking coffee on the march 199
When boxes came from home 200
On picket under marching orders 202
Carrying a man on a stretcher 204
A midnight bivouac 204
Catletts Station, O & A. R. R. 205
Marching past Manassas Junction 206
Battlefield of Bull Run 206
Hotel at Centreville, Va. 207
Confederates destroying the C. & O. canal 208
Monocacy Aqueduct of the C. & O. canal 209
Frederick City, Md. 211
A chance to wash up 212
Maryland hospitality to union soldiers 213
A cannon in action 214
The Devil's Den at Gettysburg 220
The Emmitsburg road 224
Monument of the 1st Mass. on this road 229
Scene of Pickett's charge from Little Round
Top 235
Pickett's charge 236
Bodies on the battlefield 237
Scouting 239
Meade's army pursuing Gen. Lee 241
Hagerstown, Md. 241
Sharpsburg, Md. 242
Loudon heights, showing Harper's Ferry 243
Harper's Ferry, Va. 244
Another view of Harper's Ferry 244
Last bivouac in Maryland 245
Illustrations
Returning from a foraging expedition 247
Treasure seekers 248
One of Sherman's bummers 249
A handsome mule team 250
When the mule is refractory 250
Mule shoeing in the army 251
Taking aim 252
Thoroughfare Gap, Va. 252
On the lookout, Wapping Heights, Va. 254
Warrenton, Va. 256
Another view of Warrenton 256
Foraging at a disadvantage 257
On the steamer 258
Drafting in New York city 259
Destruction of Provost Marshel's office 259
Burning the colored orphan asylum 260
Recruits drilling on Governor's island 261
Enlisting bounty men 262
A blind advertisement 265
Tearing up railway ties 268
How the confederates destroyed railroads 269
Kelly's ford on the Rappahannock 272
Another view of Kelly's ford 272
Not the colonel's end 274
When the regiment has been foraging 274
A decoy hat 276
Crossing at Germania ford 277
Building pontoons 278
Thanksgiving day as our friends pictured it 279
Thanksgiving day as it was 279
Advancing as skirmishers 280
Ely's ford 283
Individual cooking 287
Brandy Station, Va. 287
Shooting a deserter 288
The camp barber 297
Culpepper courthouse, Va. 298
Carrying in the wounded 300
Hancock's corps crossing the Rapidan 300
Crossing the Rapidan at Ely's ford 302
Woods on fire during battle 304
Breastworks in the Wilderness 305
The horse and his master 306
Fireproof where Sedgwick fell 307
Batteries on Warren's left 308
Discharged soldiers 312
Fredericksburg with the railway bridge 312
Belle Plain, Va. 313
15
Union Volunteer Refreshment Saloon, Philadel-
phia 313
After the war is over 338
Facsimile of discharge, inside back cover
MAPS
Chancellorsville battlefield 184
First day 185
Second day 188
Third day 191
Fredericksburg battlefield 99
Gettysburg battlefield, front fly leaf
Gettysburg and vicinity 215
First day 218
Second day 221, 232
Harper's Ferry and its surroundings 210
Locust Grove battlefield 276
Spotsylvania battlefield 308
Bloody angle 309
Virginia, inside front cover
Wilderness battlefield 301
Position May 5, 313
Position May 6 313
PORTRAITS
Bardeen, C. W. 19, 162
Ethel 190
Barnum, Phineas T. 124
Beauregard, Gen. 85
Berry, Gen. 191
Birney, Gen. D. B. 227
Burnside, Gen. A. E. 39, 123
Butler, Gen. B. F. 18
Butterfield, Gen. D. 284
Carr, Gen. Joseph H. 252
Chase, Salmon P. 123
Clem, John 18
Cowdin, Col. Robert 38
Cudworth, Rev. W. H. 45
Davis, Jefferson 58, 158
Farnsworth, Helen 25
Franklin, Gen. W. B. 113
Grant, Gen. U. S. 306
Greeley, Horace 125
Hancock, Gen. W. S. 302
Heintzelman, Gen. S. P. 67
Hooker, Gen. Jos. 160
Howard, Gen. O. O. 188
Humphreys, Gen. A. A. 216、
Jackson, Stonewall 190
Lee, Gen, Robert E. 306
16
A Little Fifer's War Diary
Lincoln, Abraham 161
Caricatures 122, 123, 124, 158
Longstreet, Gen. James 223
McClellan, Gen. Geo. B. 84, 85, 123, 125
Meade, Gen. Geo. G. 211, 283
Morgan, Gov. Edwin 258
Patrick, Gen. M. R. 285
Perkins, Charles C. 73
Phillips, Joseph M. 64
Pope, Gen. John 100, 125
Reynolds, Gen. John F. 217
Sedgwick, Gen. John 307
Seward, Wm. H. 123
Seymour, Gov. Horatio 258
Sickles, Gen. Daniel E. 223
Slocum, Gen. H. W. 285
Santon, Edwin M. 123
Stoneman, Gen. Geo. 148
Stuart, Gen. J. E. B. 233
Tarbell, Lt. John E. 36
Thumb, Tom 124
Wadsworth, Gen. J. S. 304
Warren, Gen. G. K. 282
Welles, Gideon 123
A Little Fifer's War Diary
A Little Fifer's War Diary, 1862-4
CHAPTER I.
I was born Aug. 28, 1847, so when Sum-
ter was fired on I was thirteen years old.
My interest in national matters had begun
five years before, when I attended ratifi-
cation-meetings in behalf of Fremont and
Dayton. I remember I felt personally
imperilled with the country when Buchanan
and Breckenridge were elected; which did
not prevent my going up the street to see
an illumination given by one of the few
democrats in Fitchburg. One of the
transparencies read, “John C. has gone up
Salt river". The banner I remember best
on my own side read, "We'll give 'em
Jessie"; but we didn't.
All my associations in Fitchburg, Mass.,
at home, at school, at church, were ultra
abolition; and at Randolph, Vt., where I
lived more than half the time after I was
ten years old in the family of John B.
Mead, afterward candidate for governor, I
read not only the weekly New York
Tribune and the Atlantic Monthly but most
of the anti-slavery pamphlets of the day.
I knew the "Key" to "Uncle Tom's
Cabin" as thoroughly as the book itself, and
its more sombre successor "Dred", a dis-
mal tale of the Great Dismal Swamp.
We had Helper's "Impending Crisis" as
soon as it was published, and I read it with
avidity: to this day I can remember the
definitions of abolish, abolition, and aboli-
tionist, and the financial arguments for
abolition. How queer the author's plan
for abolition would seem now.
I need not say that I was deeply inter-
ested in the John Brown raid. I really
17
ENLISTMENT
hoped he would succeed in his purpose, and
when he was captured and tried and
hanged I read every word about it I could
find. I was less excited over the 1860
campaign than over that of 1856, because
I was so certain Lincoln would win. I
remember that West Randolph was one
of the places through which Stephen A.
Douglas passed on his tour, "in search of
his mother " as his opponents sneered.
I went to the station, as did most of the
country around. I forget whether he
made a speech, but I remember his looks
as he stood on the back platform of the
train, a little man in a dapper light brown
suit.
When rumors of secession arose I became
of course alarmed, and was always ready
to express my political views to any one who
would listen. One of the experiments.
with me was to send me up to live with a
farmer named Sheldon in Peterboro, N. H.,
who came to Fitchburg to drive me home
with him. He was so much impressed by
my political harangues that he stopped one
or two neighbors and set me going so that
they could see what a ready tongue a boy
could have. He either got tired of it or
thought I was not adapted to tending sheep,
for after a few days he got me into his wagon
again and drove me back to Fitchburg.
So when Sumter was fired on April 12,
1861, I was excited. I remember walking
up and down the sitting room, puffing out
my breast as though the responsibility
rested on my poor little shoulders, shaking
my fist at the south, and threatening her

18
[Boston, Mass.
Enlistment
INFLICTING CALAMITIES MYSELF
with dire calamities which I thought some
of inflicting on her myself. I joined the
military company at the Orange country
grammar school and took fencing lessons.
As men began to enlist I wished I were
older. I don't know why I did not happen
to think of getting in as a drummer boy;
perhaps because I didn't know how to
drum or have any means of learning,
though as I afterward discovered, that was
no obstacle.
At last there came a possible chance.
Captain John F. Appleton, of the 12th Maine
in the brigade Gen. Butler was recruiting to
the distress of Gov. Andrew*, was a cousin
of my mother's second husband and
promised to try to enlist me in his company.
So on Dec. 3, 1861, I went to Lowell, and
was taken by the captain to Gen. Butler's
tent. "This boy is rather young," the
captain said, "but he is healthy and strong
and intelligent, and I should like to have
him in my company."
*See Schouler's "A History of Massachusetts in the Civil
War", Boston, 1868, pp. 252-282.
GEN. BENJAMIN FRANKLIN BUTLER, 1818-93
Gen. Butler was writing at a table and
did not look up till just as the captain
finished. One squinting glance was enough.
"Take the damned little snipe away," he
said; "we've got babies enough in this
brigade already."
When I publish my "Men I have known"
I shall have to record this as my only in-
terview with Cock-eyed Ben. After the
war I met him on Broadway in smug
civilian's clothes, but I did not think our
acquaintance warranted me in accosting
him. In 1902 I happened to be in the
Massachusetts legislature with my daughter
when they were discussing whether to
erect a statue to Gen. Butler, and the
opposition had the floor. My daughter
wanted me to get up and tell my experience,
but nobody asked me to speak and I
thought best not to intrude. Thackeray
remarks more than once on the slighting
notice he received when introduced to the
Duke of Marlborough, and speculates on
how different the author might have made
that warrior figure in his stories had he
been thought worthy of notice. With all
of us our judgment of others is affected by
the personal equation; when Gen. Butler
was accused in New Orleans of stealing
spoons I read of it with equanimity.
But six months later I had better luck..
A second cousin of mine was sent home from
the front as a recruiting sergeant, and I

July 21, 1862]
A Disagreeable Boy
went down to Boston to see him. He
arranged the matter for me at once, and said
I could learn to drum after I was enlisted.
He even tried to enter me as a private to be
detailed as a drummer, so that I could
draw thirteen dollars a month instead of
twelve. I had to undergo a medical
undergo a medical
inspection which I thought rather severe,
taking off all my clothes and having among
other tests to jump, to be sure I was sound
in wind and limb; but I passed it, and on
July 21, 1862, I became a Massachusetts
soldier, assigned as musician to Co. D of
the 1st Massachusetts infantry.
By this time my readers are wondering
how my family allowed me to enter the
army at so early an age, while I still would
go off alone and cry if anybody spoke
harshly to me, as may be judged from this
to
FOURTEEN YEARS OLD
picture, reproduced from a tin-type I sent
my mother as soon as I was in uniform.
During the Spanish war I came home rather
late one night, and found my daughters
leaning over the banisters to hear what
reply I would send to this message from my
younger son:
"Telegraph consent to enter company Yale
Light Artillery, great chance. Norman"
19
They were reassured to have me telephone
without delay this telegram:
"Decidedly no: wait for better cause and
better climate.'"
23
we
But circumstances were different:
were fond of Norman and could not have
him with us too much. It was not so at
my home. My father had died when I was
eleven years old, my mother had married
again very happily, and I was always a
disturbing element. I was conceited,
boastful, self-willed, disobedient, saucy,
not lazy but always wanting to do some-
thing else than the duty of the moment,
absurdly scrupulous in some things yet in
others not above what the modern child
psychologist would I suppose define as
haziness in discrimination between the
concepts of the memory and those of the
imagination: in those harsh days folks
called it lying. The adolescent period had
not then become interesting as a subject
of study, so I was wholly disagreeable.
I had been expelled from the Orange
county grammar school because the
principal was impudent to me, and my
last recollection of the Fitchburg high
school is being told by Miss Anna Has-
kell, rather maliciously I thought at the
time, that I had not passed in geometry.
I had even run away from home once,
gone to Boston, bought of William V.
Spencer on credit some portraits of war
generals, and worked my way on foot
to Randolph, Vt., selling these pictures
and a few little Yankee notions and
sleeping at farm houses along the way.
On one occasion my mother had got
ready to take me to the reform school
at Westboro, and I remember standing by
the table in the sitting-room waiting for
her to start with me, fingering a gold
dollar in my pocket and planning how to
20
[Cambridge, Mass.
Enlistment
elude her in Worcester and get to Boston
and go to sea.
She relented and did not
take me, but I can see how it was a relief
to her to have me really in the army, under
authority that could control me, with the
responsibility off her mind.
I was sent first to Camp Cameron, in
North Cambridge, five miles from Boston,
afterward named Camp Day. Here I
drew my first uniform, and uncomfortable
enough the coarse wool was to my unaccus-
tomed skin. The first nights were almost
torture. Still wearing my day's thick
woolen shirt, I slept between coarse woolen
blankets in a bunk filled so closely with
soldiers one could hardly turn over.
I borrowed a drum from the quartermas-
ter, and used to go over to the hill between
the camp and Tufts college to practise. I
had no one to teach me and probably began
wrong, for I think I have never succeeded
in anything less than in learning to drum.
My sense of rhythm was keen and I could
keep time, but I could never get an even
roll. This is done by making a double
stroke with each hand. That double
stroke I never mastered. It was partly
because a drum was so awkward to carry
on the march that I soon sent for a fife and
learned to play that, and in December got
transferred from drummer to fifer, but I
was glad enough to turn in an instrument
that I played so poorly.
I was soon set to carrying the mail, a few
letters coming from Porter station, but
most of them from Cambridge. I used to
buy postage stamps by the hundred, too,
and retail them out to the men. The post-
master at Porter's asked me one day to mail
my letters there and buy these stamps of
him, as his salary depended on the amount
of business he did, while it would make no
difference to the postmaster at Cambridge.
Always ready to oblige, I did so for a time,
but the Cambridge postmaster soon noticed
it and complained to those in authority; so
I was ordered to do my mailing and buy
my postage stamps thereafter at the end
of my route.
I ran into one little speculation at Camp
Cameron. One of the men took his knap-
sack to a painter in Cambridge and had
the company and regiment stencilled in
white on the back, for which he paid
twenty-five cents. I was going to do the
same, when I happened to think a good
many would want it done and I might as
well do it for them. So I went into Boston,
bought a set of stencils and some green
paint (I always had a weakness for colors),
and for some days was kept busy stencilling
knapsacks at a quarter apiece; I even sent
to Fitchburg for my brother, three years
younger, to come down to help me. I
remember that I began to stencil "U. S.
A." for United States Army, but learned
that the letters should be "M. V. M.",
Massachusetts Volunteer Militia.
It was while I was still in camp that there
began to be a premium on gold and silver.
There were two or three days when you
could give a car conductor a dollar-bill,
and take the ninety-five cents he gave you
to a broker and get a dollar-bill for it.
Of course that could not last, and postage
stamps began to come into use for change.
What a sticky, inconvenient currency they
were. It was at Baltimore on my way to
the front that I saw the first postal shin-
plasters, prettier in the beginning when
they had pictures of the postage stamps
they represented than afterwards. I re-
member at the Baltimore station giving a
silver ten-cent piece for a ten-cent shin-
plaster; afterward that ten-cent piece would
have bought a twenty-five cent shinplaster.
August, 1862]
Camp Day
I remember going into Boston one day
to get a present of a havelock and, if I
remember aright, a filter, which Mrs.
Harrison Gray Otis gave to every soldier
who would come for them. The havelock
I never wore and I think I made little use
of the filter. Often while marching I
21
drank water out of the mud of the road
where the troops were treading, and was
glad to get it. If chocolate had been made
of most of the water we drank while march-
ing in Virginia it would not have changed
the color. I don't remember that we ever
examined water very closely if it was wet.
•
سلام
心
​川
​CHAPTER II. GETTING TO THE FRONT
VERY day
that I was
kept in
camp I grew
more and
more impa-
tient. Had
I been sent
immediate -
ly to the
army I should have taken part in the hard-
est campaign my regiment went through.
My enlistment was just a week after Pope
became really commander in fact, and one
of my early recollections of the front is see-
ing McClellan ride through Fairfax station
after his final dismissal. So I just missed.
these unfortunate campaigns, and was car-
rying mail from Camp Day, while my regi-
ment fought at the second Malvern Hill,
Kettle Run, Bristow Station, and the
second Bull Run. My regiment was in the
very thick of the Peninsular compaign. On
page 309 of Harper's Weekly for 1862 there
is this picture of the 1st Massachusetts at
Williamsburg, and busy and brave they
look as they charge. Frank Leslie's for


THE 1ST MASSACHUSETTS AT WILLIAMSBURG
22
Sept. 1, 2, 1862]
By Steamer to New York
May 24, 1862, gives a picture of the suc-
cessful charge of Co. H, 1st Massachusetts
on a rebel redan before Yorktown, pictured
here later. In La Bree's Pictorial Bat-
tles of the Civil War (i. 42-3) you will find a
picture of the 1st Massachusetts at Bull
Run. But it was Sept. 1 before a suffi-
cient number of recruits had been assem-
bled to be sent to the front, and a momen-
tous day it was for me.
A Diary of the War.
Monday, Sept. 1st. 1862. Today I left
Camp Day, for the seat of War. Left Camp
about three o'clock in the P. M., taking the
Horse Cars for Boston. Georgie went with
me. After getting at Bowdoin Square, parted
with Georgie, and marched to the Fall River
R. R. Depot and took the cars for Fall River.
Arriving there, we took the steamer Metro-
polis for N. Y. City. This was a very fine
steamer, and a number of us went down into
the Cabin, and made ourselves comfortably
23
for the night. In the morning went up to the
top, and viewed the scenery. Long Island,
stretched along for a great distance, numerous
Schooners and Ships, and the exhiliariating
effects of the sea bracing air, made it very
pleasant. As we neared N. Y. I saw the
Great Eastern.
This vessel was supposed then to be a fail-
ure on account of her size, but she would be
a tow-boat compared with the steamships
they are building now. She was still there a
year later when we were sent to New York
at the time of the draft riots, and was in
full view for a month when we were
camped at Riker's island.
Arrived in N. Y. about 9 A. M.
and went to the Park Barracks. Not liking
to stay there I ran the Guard, and went
out to see the city. Went into Barnum's
Museum. Went up and down Broadway
and through Wall St-by the Post Office
back on Park Row.
The City Hall park is little like what it

BARINUN
OTOTOJON
CUM
BARNUM'S
BARNUMS
RICAN MU
MUSE
24
[Baltimore, Md.
Getting to the Front
was then. Where the barracks then were
the big ugly post-office now stands, and only
the Astor House and St. Paul's church
remain as they were then. A twenty-odd
story building stands where Barnum's
Museum was, and The World office occupies.
what was then the site of French's hotel.
Left N. Y. at 4 P. M. taking steamer
for Amboy. Then cars for Camden. Thence
Ferry for Philadelphia. Here we went to
the Union Relief Saloon and had a supper.
It is finely fitted up.
How familiar this picture is to old
soldiers, and what pleasant memories

UNION RELIEF SALOON, PHILADELPHIA
it brings up. An ungrateful soldier who
passed through New York said that the
ladies there gave him thin soup and a
pocket Testament. Philadelphia fed us
generously and did not preach.
Then we
marched across the city to the Depot of
the B. & O. R. R. After some trouble
we took the cars but did not start till
morning. Philadelphia makes a curious
appearance, with its three story brick houses
and white blinds. We arrived at Havre de
Grace about noon, but did not get to Balti-
more until about five o'clock.
There was then no bridge at Havre de
Grace and the cars were taken over on a
ferry, three at a time, if I remember.
Then the ferry boat went back for another
three cars, and the train waited till all the
cars had been ferried across.
Years later that cost me something. I
crossed this ferry four times during the war,
and supposed all ferries were run this way.
While I was in college I went with the
Beethoven club to give a concert in Provi-
dence. We crossed the Connecticut on a
ferry at New London, and I of course
hurried to get out of my car and upon the
boat, to see all that was going on. Half of
the cars were taken over, and I waited on
the boat to go back for the rest. The train
rolled away, and I found that passengers in
the rear coaches had been told to go for-
ward and had taken other coaches on the
other side. There was no other train
before midnight, and after getting supper

Sept. 2-5, 1862]
Generalization from Insufficient Data
25
I came back upon the boat, to enjoy the who as it happened had been wounded at
scenery.
Thinking I might have my trousers
pocket picked I put my purse into an inside
vest-pocket. Unfortunately the suit was
a new one and the tailor for some inscru-
table reason had put the inside pocket upon
the left side of my waistcoat instead of the
right. Feeling in the dark and half asleep
I must have slipped the pocket-book
through the arm-hole, for I lost it. I did
not know it, however, for when I told how
I came to be left and that the treasurer of
the club had bought tickets for the party,
the conductor accepted my explanation
instead of a ticket, and at the hotel of
course I had no bills to pay.
Atlanta by one of Sherman's shells, and I
went to walk with her, visiting the univer-
sity and other noteworthy places. When
she suggested that it would be well to take
a car back so as to be in time for dinner I
discovered for the first time that I was ab-
solutely penniless. No doubt she had
money and it should have been easy enough
to explain my predicament, but I was too
bashful, and the mental effort I expended
in making excuses to see this and see that
till we were so near the house we might as
well walk would have solved all the prob-
lems in Puckle's Conic Sections.
Went to the rooms of the Baltimore
Volunteer Relief, and got supper and a place
But I called on a second cousin of mine, to sleep. In the morning I went around the
WOUNDED AT ATLANTA
city some. It is a large
It is a large place. Started
for Washington about 2 P. M. Arriving at
about 7. Went to the building constructed
for the Soldiers and staid over night. In
the A. M. went around the City, Capitol etc.
The view next page shows how little the
overgrown village of 1862 resembled the
Washington of to-day. In Harper's Pic-
torial History of the War a picture is given
of the first inauguration of Lincoln showing
the dome completed, which proves that it
was drawn for a subsequent inuauguration.
As for the Washington monument, few of
us who saw it then believed it would ever
be completed.
Started about nine o'clock, taking the steamer
down the Potomac to Alexandria. Had a
pleasant ride down there and arrived there
about noon.
Rather leisurely traveling, but in those
days everything connected with the army
was leisurely. The confederates were at
this time dangerously near the capital, and
Washington was considered to be in peril.
Gen. Mc Clellan had just been restored to

26
[Alexandria, Va.
Getting to the Front
THE CITY OF WASHINGTON IN 1862
command. The Potomac was fortified
on both sides, as is shown by this picture of
Budd's ferry, where the 1st Massachusetts
had been encamped for a time.
Town hall and market house, and the Mar-
shall house, where Col. Ellsworth was assas-
sinated. We found much to interest us in
the little dwellings and the abounding
As we marched through the city we saw the pickaninnies of that southern town.
BUDD'S FERRY, ON, THE POTOMAC
Sept. 5, 1862]
Alexandria
27

肪
​JOHNI
FARNSHIP
The assassination of Col.
Ellsworth was one of the
early sensations of the war.
On May 24, 1861, he was
marching by the Marshall
House at the head of his
New York regiment of fire.
Zouaves when he saw a
confederate flag flying from
the building. He entered
the hotel and pulled down
the flag, but as he came
down the stairs was shot
by the proprietor, who in
his turn was immediately
killed by a zouave seargent.
Beyond the city the ef-
ects of war began to appear.
Dead horses unburied and
swollen lay by the road,
and strolling negroes and
straggling soldiers elbowed
TOWN HALL AND MARKET AT ALEXANDRIA

026":
MARSHALL HOUSE
THE MARSHALL HOUSE. ALEXANDRIA
28
[Alexandria, Va.
Getting to the Front

J
Stables and Negro Servants' Tent.
one another. Pleasant as the weather was
the red clay made the roads almost unwalk-
able: we could imagine what it would be
after a rain. The roads accounted for the
big clumsy, lumbering canvas-covered army
wagons that we saw, with tool box in front,
feed trough behind, spare pole suspended
at side, and hanging from the rear axle a
wooden bucket for water and an iron buck-
et for grease. We got our first views of
army mules and darkey drivers, and
widened conceptions of snake whips and
language.
Marched up to Fort Ellsworth,
and found that the First Mass. had moved
over by Fort Lyons. So we marched over
there.
Fort Lyon was the strongest earthwork
in the defences of Washington, mounting
26 guns.
On the map given on inside page
of cover, the large fort just under the
word Arlington, opposite Washington, is
Fort Runyon. The two above it, under the
words Chain Bridge, are Fort Albany and
Fort Corcoran, the latter to the east.
The confederate flags show the ground

livi
FORT LYON
Sept. 5, 1862]
Forts about Washington
29

FORT ALBANY, BUILT BY THE 1ST MASSACHUSETTS
held by the confederates Nov. 1, 1861. At
the time I joined the regiment, nobody
knew just where the confederate army
was, and the authorities at Washington
were greatly worried. After the second
Bull Run, just fought, the confederates
might have occupied all the forts west of
the Potomac, but did not consider it for
their interest to do so.
The map, furthermore, shows Fort Ells-
worth, on the road to Munson's Hill, nearer
to Alexandria. Fort Lyon is south of the
railway, and the tent is a sign that we
camped there. There is another tent at
Fairfax Seminary, another at Fitzhugh
House, near Fredericksburg, and another
at Brandy Station. These were my four
principal camps. Small as that map is, it
gives the entire ground I passed over in
the army except the march to Gettysburg
and back north of the Potomac. The
battles of Fredericksburg, Chancellors-
ville, Locust Grove, the Wilderness, and
Spotsylvania were all fought within a
radius of ten miles. I shall give smaller
local maps from time to time, but this
map should be referred to by those who
care to read the remaining chapters of
this diary.
"
CHAPTER III. BREAKING IN A RECRUIT

HE news of the
war had interested
me before I en-
listed, and I be-
came absorbed in
it when the 1st
Mass. became "my
regiment", Gro-
ver's my brigade", Hooker's "my di-
vision", and Heintzelman's "my corps".
I followed my comrades to be as if my con-
nection with them were past instead of
future, and just as I started for the front
I strutted when I read of the charge made
by "my brigade" on Aug. 29 at the Second
Bull Run which Gen. Heintzelman called
"the most gallant and determined bayonet
charge of the war". It was a desperate
affair. Gen. Grover says of it: “About 3
p. m. I received an order to advance.
Pieces were loaded, bayonets fixed, and
instructions given for the line to move
slowly upon the enemy till it felt the fire,
then close upon him rapidly, fire one well-
directed volley, and rely upon the bayonet.
We rapidly and firmly pressed upon the em-
bankment, and here occurred a short, sharp
and obstinate hand-to-hand conflict with
bayonets and clubbed muskets. Many of
the enemy were bayoneted in their tracks,
others struck down with the butts of pieces,
and onward pressed our line. In a few
yards more we met a terrible fire from a
second line, which in its turn broke. The
enemy's third line bore down upon our
thinned line ranks in close order, and swept
back the right centre and a portion of our
left. With the gallant 16th Mass. on our
left I tried to turn his flank, but the break-
ing of our right and centre and the weight
of the enemy's lines caused the necessity
of falling back to our first position, behind
which we rallied our colors. The entire
action took twenty minutes, and in that
third of an hour of the 2,000 men of the
brigade 41 were killed and 327 wounded.”
Gen. Grover added The well-known 1st
Mass. was as usual in the van." No wonder
CC
I was proud to belong to it, even by ac-
cident of assignment. But its gallantry
had been all in vain. When I enlisted it
was at Harrison's Bar, on the Peninsula,
and on Aug. 5 it fought at the second battle
of Malvern Hill. Aug. 15 it began its
change of base from the Peninsula to
Alexandria, where it arrived Aug. 24. The
next day it went by train to Warrenton
Junction, where Pope was just discovering
that Stonewall Jackson had passed through
Thoroughfare Gap and was behind him, so
that he had to turn his army about, making
its rear the front. On Aug. 27 it was en-
gaged in the fight of Bristoe Station, on
Aug. 28 and 29 in the second Bull Run as
just noted, retiring Aug. 30 to near Fairfax
Station, Sept. 2 to Centreville, and Sept. 3
to Fort Lyon, where I joined it Sept. 5.
Nobly as they had fought our men were
discouraged. Their old commander Hooker,
wrote Aug. 31: "It is my duty to report
that my division is in no condition to meet
the enemy. I find their morale to be such
as to warrant me in entertaining the most
serious apprehension of their conduct in
their present state. I ascribe this demor-
alization of the men to the severe losses
they have sustained in battle, both here
and on the Peninsula. They are in no con-
dition to go into battle at this time." It
30
Sept. 6, 1902]
The Shelter Tent
was in consequence of this appeal that
Hooker's division did not take part in the
Antietam campaign but remained to guard
the defences of Washington.
What he says of the demoralization of
the division may possibly have applied to
the Excelsior and Jersey brigades, but I saw
no signs of it in the 1st Massachusetts.
kept my ears and eyes open and I usually
I
31
knew something of what was going on in
the ranks, but never did I hear a breath of
lack of loyalty and obedience. Indeed I
do not think Gen. Hooker's report was fair
to a brigade that had made that bayonet
charge two days before.
Got very much tired out, but arrived
at the Reg. Friday night. Slept with some
boys in Co. K. and in the A. M. was put

།
INTERIOR OF THE TENT OF A PRIVATE IN THE CAVALRY
32
[Alexandria, Va.
Breaking in a Recruit
into Co. D. and I pitched tent with Joe Phil-
lips, the other drummer.
How did our tent look? On p. 31 is a pic-
ture of the interior of a private's tent as
given in Harper's Weeklv for Sept. 21, 1861.
Did our tent look like this? Not so that
you would be specially struck by it.
Here is another picture, of the mounted fly
of a wall tent, that gives the principle on
which our tent was based.

THE GENESIS OF THE SHELTER TENT
This pitching a tent was a simple matter.
We each of us had a piece of white cotton
drill five feet two by four feet eight, with
buttons and button-holes on three sides to
fasten them together and loops on the op-
posite side to fasten to pegs. We cut
stakes about five feet long with a fork on
top, cut a limb a little more than five feet
long for a centre-pole held by the forks,
put the doubled part across the horizontal
pole, and fastened the sides to the ground

USA
A SHELTER TENT
by pegs through the loops. Such a tent
could be put up in twenty minutes and
Sept. 6, 1862]
The Shelter Tent
33

TIN POT-
ALLET COB
H
A SUMMER CAMP OF SHELTER TENTS
taken down in two, and did well enough in
warm and dry weather. It had no floor
and was open at both ends, and if the rain
continued it soon leaked through, but it was
light and convenient and of considerable
service, in every way preferable to the
larger tents in which earlier in the war
groups of men were herded together.
Being only five feet long the tent did
not cover us as we slept unless we curled
up spoon-fashion, and when it rained we
had to double up like a jack-knife. On
the march, especially when it rained, we
used to put down pine branches for a mat-
tress to keep us off the ground, but often.
we had to rely on rubber blankets. This
last was our principal stand-by. When
we threw away our luggage piece by piece
on long marches, the rubber blanket and
the shelter tent, with the haversack and
canteen, were the last to go, and desper-
ate indeed was the weariness of the soldier
who threw them away.
In winter quarters we built quite elabo-
rate huts, as will be shown hereafter, but
the shelter tent was still the roof, and
except when the rain was prolonged it
usually served us fairly well. We soon
learned not to brush our heads against the
tent when it rained, for that would at once
set the cloth to leaking. Snow was some-
thing of a problem, but we always swept
it off the tent as soon as possible.
A camp of shelter tents was not hand-
some, even when they were set in company
streets; they were so irregular in angle
and in spread that they looked sprawly,
for the space covered depended on the
height of the forked sticks, some soldiers
preferring a high tent and some a broad
one. But on the whole the old soldier
remembers his shelter tent kindly. It was

THE SOLDIER REMEMBERS HIS SHELTER TENT KINDLY
Sept. 6, 1862]
A Dictionary for a Pillow
a simple invention but it did the army of
the Potomac good service.
Benton says, "The thought of more
permanent accommodation continually.
haunts, like a mirage, the soldier's life.”
But such luxury was possible only when
we were settled down for the winter, and
even then was liable to be abandoned any
moment on a signal to break camp and fall
in. All we had at Fort Lyon was this
cotton sheeting over us. On the march we
usually put a rubber blanket under us, and
if it was rainy, especially if water was
running through the tent on the ground, we
put branches underneath the rubber blan-
ket, pine if we could get them.
For pillows we used our knapsacks.
Toward the end of my enlistment I used to
have a wooden frame inside my knapsack
which kept it in shape and made a pillow
four inches high and of definite shape.
After I was discharged it was some weeks
before I could sleep in a bed; I used to lie
on the floor, with a dictionary for a pillow.
I can quite appreciate the advantages of
the little wooden stools the Japanese use.
Even now I prefer a hair pillow stuffed
hard and about four inches thick.
Wellington's bedroom at Apsley House
was the plainest room in the mansion.
The bed was the one he used on the field,
and was hardly wide enough to turn in.
He used to say, "When a man begins to
turn in bed it is time to turn out." During
the interval at Talavera he wrapped his
cloak about him and went to sleep.
The old regiments did not take kindly to
us recruits. They had hoped to go home to
fill up, and were by no means pleased to
have their recruits sent to them. The
squad drills in the morning of the new men
were made strenuous, and all sorts of tricks
were played on them, not unlike those soph-
35
omores play on freshmen. One recruit, for
instance, when he had drawn his clothing
from the quartermaster was persuaded to go
back and demand his government umbrella.
Not that umbrellas were unprecedented.
In 1813 during an action near Bayonne
the Grenadier Guards protected themselves
from rain by umbrellas, whereupon Welling-
ton sent word that he would not allow them
to make themselves ridiculous in the eyes
of the army.
But we recruits were certainly unwel-
come. Two or three days before the battle
of Reams station, the 20th Mass. received
200 German recruits who could not under-
stand English.
Wellington declared that his Waterloo
troops were the worst he ever commanded,
and that if it had been composed of his
old Peninsular troops the battle would have
been decided in three hours.
A young officer drilling recruits gave the
order, "Lift the left leg!" By mistake
one of the recruits lifted his right leg so
that it joined closely the left leg of his
neighbor. "Good gracious!" exclaimed the
astonished officer, "that fellow has lifted
both his legs!"
They tell about a drill where the in-
structor grew angry at a recruit. "Now,
Rafferty," he roared, "you're spoiling the
line with those feet. Draw them back
instantly and get them in line.” Raffer-
ty's dignity was hurt. "Plaze, sargint,"
he said, "them's not mine: them's Micky
Doolan's in the back row." On the other
hand, when a sergeant called "About
face!" all the feet turned except one pair.
He seized the owner by the shoulder and
shook him. "Why don't you turn with
the rest?" he asked angrily. "Why I did,
sir," the recruit replied. "You did? Why,
I watched your feet and they never moved."

36
[Alexandria, Va.
Breaking in a Recruit
"It's the boots they gave me, sir," ex-
plained the recruit: "they're so large that
when I turn my feet turn in them."
An Irish recruit refused to answer to his
name at roll-call because he and the ser-
geant were not on speaking terms.
A recruit being drilled in the bayonet
asked, "How do you parry, sergeant?"
"Parry be hanged," was the reply: "let the
enemy do the parrying."
Lord Kitchener found a colonel drilling
his men and declaring nothing was right.
His men sat their horses wrong, moved
awkwardly, and were no better than a
damned rabble, a lot of gutter snipes.
"That is not a way to address men," said
Lord Kitchener. "They are not a damned
rabble, but soldiers, and to be spoken to as
such. No troops can be trained in that
fashion, and the commander who does not
respect his men is unworthy to lead them."
But Phillips was very good to me. He
greeted me cordially, instructed me pa-
tiently in the ways of the camp, and did
not assume superiority because he was a
veteran..
Sunday. Sept 7th. 1862.
Very pleasant. In the P. M. went down
near Alexandria with Phillips and went in
swimming. Rode part of the way back on an
Artillery horse. Monday. John Tarbell
came up to my tent and inquired if I knew
him. I told him no. Whereupon he told me
his name.
He ran away from home five
years ago and had not been heard of since. I
was very glad to see him. He is in the 1st
Conn. Heavy Artillery at Fort Ward.
In our boyish days, John and I had been
nearly of an age, and exactly of a temper-
ament. Many a jack-knife had we traded;
many an apple-tree had we known by its
fruits. But John had not been satisfied at
home. His father was a plain farmer in
LIEUTENANT JOHN E. TARBELL
Wilton, N. H., who thought it better to
have a hundred dollars in the pocket of a
homespun suit, than to wear his money on
his back.
his back. So John chafed and fretted in
clothes that were a better protection from
the cold than from the imagined sneers of
his more stylish companions. Moreover,
John was ambitious, and could not con-
centrate his energies upon hoeing potatoes
and chopping stove-wood. His father did
not understand him, and instead of en-
couraging and directing his ambition,
sought to repress it, and punished him for
surliness and obstinacy, till those faults
actually appeared. The camel's back finally
broke when John asked leave to attend a
private school just started in the neighbor-
hood, and in the end received, instead, a
severe whipping. John concluded that he
Sept. 7, 1862]
John Tarbell
was justified in leaving a vacant chair in
that household; and that night he slipped
out of bed, wrapped in a handkerchief a few
necessary articles, took from his father's
wallet the exact amount his father owed
him, stole out of the house, and the next
morning took the first western bound
train from a station twenty-five miles away.
And that was the last that we heard from
him. All attempts to trace him had failed,
and his father had learned to tell the story
without showing emotion-always ending
with the prophecy: "But I believe the boy
will come back sometime, and he will do
well, for he was honest when he might just
as well have taken a hundred dollars more
than belonged to him."
All this flashed through my mind as I
looked at the ruddy, stalwart young fellow
who grasped my hand, and I easily recog-
nized the matured features which had once
been so familiar. He told me his story-
how at first be had seen hard times, and had
resolved never to write home till he was in
an independent position; how he had begun
to get established and was doing well, when
the war broke out; how he had enlisted in
the 1st Connecticut Heavy Artillery, had
been promoted, and had at last written to
his father; how he had received most cor-
dial letters from all his friends, and had
learned from them that I too, was a soldier;
and how, learning that my regiment was in
the vicinity, he had sought me out at once.
I was, of course, delighted to meet him
again, and we were together much of the
time while my division lay quiet. But
soon the army moved toward Fredericks-
burg, and as his company remained in the
fortifications, I did not meet him again
during the war. We corresponded, how-
ever, and I learned that in the winter of
'63-'64, his regiment re-enlisted, and he
37
spent his month's leave of absence at
home. Here he became acquainted with
a young lady of whom his letters were
thereafter full. She was the loveliest and
the sweetest of her sex, of course, and as
he was a handsome and agreeable young
officer, I was not surprised to learn that
she was also the kindest, and had consented
to be his Lottie as soon as the war was over.
Soon after his return to the army, his regi-
ment was ordered into service under Gen-
eral Grant. He was made a staff officer, and
served with credit and without a scratch or
a day's illness till after the surrender of Lee,
and the flight of Jeff Davis. His regiment
was presently discharged, and he returned
to New England almost as proud and happy
as his family and his Lottie.
In the first year of their marriage my
cousin and his wife were visiting friends
in Charlestown, Mass. They had intended
to leave upon a certain evening, but were
urged and induced to remain till morning.
They retired to a room upon the third story,
and lay down to sleep as tranquilly as you
or I, reader, expect to this night. About
twelve o'clock, the wife was roused by a
shout of "Whoa! Whoa!" She awoke to
see her husband leap through the window,
which she reached in time to see him
crushed into a shapeless mass upon the
pavement. Who can measure her agony
at that sight? The lower half of his body
was paralyzed, and he was left almost help-
less—a mere wreck of what was so lately
a handsome, stalwart man. It seems he
had been dreaming that he was sitting in
the front room of a little house in Virginia,
occupied at one time by the General on
whose staff he had been, and that he saw a
horse running away. As the long windows
opened upon the veranda, he jumped up to
stop the animal, and sprang through the

38
[Alexandria, Va.
Breaking in a Recruit
window-to awaken as he felt himself fall-
ing, and in an instant crushed on the piti-
less stones. Thus he, whom a double term
of active service in the army had left un-
harmed, was instantly maimed for life by a
baneful dream.
I wonder if anybody has noticed any
difference of style in this story of John
Tarbell. It is copied, with some omissions,
from an article published in The Advance of
Chicago, March 2, 1871, and is interesting
to me as the first writing for which I re-
ceived pay. I may add that it filled three
columns of a blanket sheet, and the amount
I got was three dollars. I went right on
with my teaching.
I looked
at my underclothes today and found
them full of lice.
It was a bitter day when I discovered
that I was not exempt from an evil all
marching flesh is heir to.
I happened to be in Col. Cowdin's tent
COL. ROBERT COWDIN
when some people from Boston were visit-
ing him and he was showing them a bullet-
hole in a coat he was not wearing. He
held the coat in one hand and pointed with
the other. "There," he said, "is what
made me the trouble." He was looking,
not at the coat, but, as was fitting enough,
at a very pretty girl in the party, so he did
not see what all the rest of us saw, that just
where he was pointing a big, fat, white ped-
iculus vestimenti was crawling. The visit-
ors laughed, but to me it seemed an awful
thing. When I got back to my tent I told
Phillips about it, and he amazed me by
declaring there wasn't a man in the regi-
ment, officer or private, whose coat would
not exhibit the same sort of inhabitants.
"Count me out of that," I replied indig-
nantly: "my clothes are all fresh and
clean." "You had better examine them,"
he said significantly. I would not let him
know that I did so, but the more I thought
about it the more I became conscious of
certain sensations of the epidermis that I
had ascribed to other causes, and I thought
I should be more comfortable if I assured
myself I was exempt. So I went away
from camp, crawled over a fence, and when
I was sure I was unobserved I pulled my
shirt over my head. The broad blue ex-
panse was uninhabited. "There," I ex-
claimed triumphantly, "I knew it couldn't
be so!"
But the shirt was of thick wool with wide
seams, and when I turned over the first
seam I felt as if I should faint. There
they were, big and little and nits, a garrison
of them. I had had blue days since I en-
listed, but this was the first time I wished
I had staid at home. Must I endure this
sort of thing for three years? I made sure
the present generation were extinct, and
went back to camp a sadder and a wiser
boy. I never got so that I could sit in
front of my tent and do my (k)nitting as
indifferently as a Spanish beggar cleans her
daughter's head at the entrance to a
cathedral, but I made my daily pilgrim-
ages to secluded spots and reduced the in-
fection to a minimum. Afterward when I
tented alone I succeeded in tenting entire-

Sept. 8, 1862]
A Plague of Egypt
39
ly alone except for now and then a straggler
soon disposed of: even then eternal vigil-
ance was the price of solitude; but on the
march they were as impossible to escape as
fleas in Rome. Sometimes even in camp
a man would draw an entirely fresh suit,
go out in the field, strip, burn his old clothes,
put on his new ones, come back to camp,
and find as many as ever upon him the next
morning. John D. Billings says that he
heard the orderly of a company officer tell
of picking 52 graybacks from the shirt of
his chief at one sitting.
Jacob Cole of the 57th N. Y., whose
"Under Five Commanders" (Paterson,
1906) gives recollections that are clean-
outlined, says: "The following incident is
an actual fact. An officer of the 57th was
leading his men into a battle and at a cer-
tain point came under a fire of grape and
canister. A charge was made, and this
gallant officer, for such he was, ran out in
front of his men, raised his sword high in
air with his strong right arm, cheered and
led on his men, but his left hand had un-
consciously gotten under his right arm and
was there digging away with sufficient
energy to divert the attention of his com-
pany he led from the hail of grape and
canister that greeted them.'
Marching in the early dawn from the
Wilderness to Spotsylvania I happened to
see Gen. Burnside just getting up from a
little sleep in an improvised camp near the
road: for under Grant even generals did not
always sleep luxuriously. He was a dis-
tressful looking object. His face was dirty,
the whiskers to which he gave the name were
unkempt, his clothes were bespattered, the
stars on his shoulder-straps were dimmed,
and though I have no statistics I will guar-
antee that if every living thing buttoned
up under his muddy blue coat had been a
GEN. AMBROSE E. BURNSIDE, 1824-81
soldier, Gen. Burnside would have been
pretty nearly a regiment.
I am quite aware that the subject
is a loathsome one, but I am telling my
army experiences as they were, without
rose water, and to every old soldier this is
a crawly remembrance. Of course it
must be remembered that I joined my regi-
ment just as it had finished a long cam-
paign. The quartermaster had not yet
dealt out fresh clothing, and many of the
men possessed only a single ragged shirt.
Chaplain Cudworth says many of them had
not changed or washed their clothing since
they left Harrison's Landing six weeks
before; having been on the move or held
in expectation of a move ever since.
This was no reflection on them. The 1st
Royal Muster Fusiliers were very proud of
the name "Dirty Shirts", because in 1805
during the siege of Bhurtpore they were
complimented by Gen. Lake for working
in the trenches till their linen was any-
thing but clean. "My men," he said,
"your appearance does you honor. You
have sacrificed personal comfort to the
duty you owe your country."
The confederates were much worse off
than we. Carlton McCarthy in his "De-
tailed Minutiae of Soldier Life in the Army
of Northern Virginia" (Richmond, 1882),
a book so frank and accurate that I shall
40
[Alexandria, Va.
Breaking in a Recruit
often quote from it, speaks of "those lively
those lively
creatures which were the constant admirers
and inseparable companians of the Boys
in Gray and Blue", and says coinmon white
cotton shirts and drawers proved better than
woolen because they were easier to wash
and because the vermin did not propagate
so easily in cotton as in wool. But he adds,
"Very little washing was done, as a matter
of course. Clothes once given up were
parted with forever. There were good
reasons for this: cold water would not
cleanse them or destroy the vermin, and
hot water was not always to be had." And
again: "First among the luxuries of settled
life was the opportunity to part forever with
a suit of underwear which had been on con-
stant duty for possibly three months, and
put on the sweet clean clothes from home.
They looked so pure, and the very smell of
them was so sweet." One can imagine
what color "white" cotton underwear would
be after wearing constantly three months
without washing.

EVERY MAN HIS OWN WASHWOMAN
This is one of the pictures where the
pencil has an advantage over the camera.
For the scene is necessarily Bowdlerized.
Laundry work was usually made the oc-
casion of a personal bath. Men would
have thought it absurd to wear trousers
in the middle of a stream to get wet as
they squatted down, when there wasn't
a woman within forty miles.
record of a laundry bill I owed to some one
in the 26th Pennsylvania who did this.
But no one in the 1st Massachusetts under-
took it, so far as I remember, and we were
obliged to be our own washerwomen, going
down to the brook and rubbing our be-
soaped clothes upon rocks.
Cole tells of bathing in the brook at
Manassas, when an old man asked one of
the boys to lend him his soap, and got the
This problem of washing clothes, how- reply, "You go to hell and get your own
ever, was a very serious one. In some
regiments one of the men opened a laundry
and boiled and washed efficiently the
clothes that were brought to him. I find a
soap, you old baggage-master.' He
proved to be Gen. Richardson, in command
of the division, but he did not wear his
uniform while taking a bath.
Sept. 8, 1862]
Laundry Work
41


HIS CLOTHES LINE ON THE MARCH

42
[Alexandria, Va.
Breaking in a Recruit
Sometimes, it is true, a few of the men
would boil their clothes, but what did
they do it in? I shudder to remember:
in the same kettles you see these men
coming up to get their coffee or their
soup or their boiled beef or their baked
吃​燒
​DRAWING RATIONS
beans in, for the company seldom had
more than one pair of kettles even
in camp, and never on the march. On
one of the first days a load of boxes came
from some good ladies in Boston, and I re-
member that among the articles sent was a
lot of white shirts with starched bosoms.
For a joke some of the men put them on
before tearing them up for dish rags, and a
good illustration it was of the inappro-
priateness of much that was done for the
soldiers.
Col. Humphreys tells of a barrel of
pebbles sent to his colonel by a Mrs. Crewe
of Salem, Mass. "I have read," she wrote,
"that a pebble held in the mouth is a splen-
did remedy for thirst. Will you please
accept, my dear colonel, this barrel for the
use of the troops at the front?"
I have said that we recruits were not wel-
come, and one illustration appeared in the
treatment of Chapman, who had come out
as a drummer for Company K. He also
was fourteen years old, though a little older
and considerably larger than I, but there
was something about him that led the old
members of the regiment to pick on him,
especially to try to get him to quarrelling
with me, and he got in the way of making
himself disagreeable.
I was a peaceable boy and would have
preferred not to fight, but matters got to
Sept. 12, 1862
A Yale and Harvard Preliminary Scrap.
43

BOXES FROM THE GOOD WOMEN OF BOSTON
such a pass that I saw I should have no
comfort till he and I had a reckoning.
So
I invited him down by the brook where the
men washed their clothes and told him we
might as well have a good square fight all by
ourselves and find out where we stood. He
was not so quarrelsome with no one around
to egg him on, but I was quite determined
to end the matter once for all and he finally
took off his coat. We fought for some.
time, not very skilfully either of us, and
without any such dramatic finish as I should
like to record. But it served my purpose,
for he had all he wanted of it and was there-
after always respectful. Curiously enough
we were I think the only two in the regi-
ment who afterward went to college; he
was graduated from Harvard in 1880 as I
was from Yale in 1869. In 1902 he visited
me at my home in Syracuse and deplored
the inequality of fortune that made him
so much less distinguished than his class-
mate recently made president of the Unit-
ed States. Yet some of the droppings of
his classmate's greatness fell on him: the
last I heard of him he was employed in
one of the departments at Washington.
-Friday-Went up to the
Sutler's tent and saw Mr. Page of Fitchburg.
Was much pleased to see him. In afternoon

44
[Alexandria, Va.
Breaking in a Recruit
興
​FAIRFAX THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY
had orders to march, and went over to Fairfax
Seminary, about 2 miles where we encamped.
This was my first march with the regi-
ment, but as will be seen from the map,
inside cover, it was a short one, and we re-
mained in this camp more than a month.
There was considerable pillaging of the
abandoned houses in the vicinity and more
Pitched tent with Joe Phillips. Saturday.
Was put on Orderly
When I was put on orderly I supposed
this meant orderly sergeant and was look-
ing around for some light blue cloth to sew
stripes on my sleeves, but I soon learned it
meant only to be errand boy for the ad-
jutant, Charles E. Mudge. I had this de-
tail every week all the time I was in the
regiment, so I got pretty well acquainted
with Lt. Mudge. I can see his swagger now
and his self-satisfied smirk. As I look back
I think he was good-natured, not too ex-
acting, pompous and conceited but mean-
or less of the furniture was appropriated
for camp use, with incongruous effect. The
Theological Seminary itself had been con-
verted into a general hospital. Deaths
were frequent, and as the burying-ground
was near our camp we became familiaring to be kindly and fair. He had to look
with the melancholy strains of fifes wailing
out the Portugese hymn to the accompan-
iment of muffled drums.
so far down at us little drummers, how-
ever, that he sometimes forgot we had
some pride of our own. One day when

Sept. 15, 1862]
Holy Jo
Phillips was orderly, the adjutant whistled
for him but Phillips paid no attention. Lt.
Mudge came to the door of the tent and
saw Phillips near by.
45
would probably have carried me off in
spite of myself.
Sunday Sept 14th 1862-
In the morning went down to a brook in swim-
"Didn't you hear me whistle for you?" ming. In the afternoon, joined a Bible
he asked.
"I heard you whistle, sir," replied Jo
sturdily, "but I am not a dog."
"Do you mean to disobey me?"
"I mean that I will not answer a
whistle."
"We shall see about that," Lt. Mudge
said, and had Phillips tied to a tree. Jo
staid there till he was released at night and
then went to the colonel's tent, and told
what had happened.
"Call Lt. Mudge here," said Lt. Col.
Baldwin, then in command, and when the
adjutant came he said to him, "Lt.
Mudge, when you want dogs, whistle for
them, but when you want men, call them."
Mr.
The last time I saw Lt. Mudge was in
Boston in the 1880's. I had called on my
cousin Walter Eames, formerly of the 15th
Mass., who at the battle of Ball's Bluff had
saved his colonel's life by swimming across
the river with him, and after the war had
been appointed to a place in the custom
house. As I was talking with him he said,
"Why, your old adjutant is just around
here," and he took me over to him.
Mudge had hardly changed a hair. He was
a clerk here at $1200 a year or so, but he was
just as pompous as when he could order me
about, and when talking with me still had
the same old swagger. It was a curious
fact to me that when he invited me to lunch
and insisted on my going I took opportunity
of his being engaged for a moment with
some detail of his daily work to sneak out
and get away: the instinct of obedience
so extended from the old days that he
Class, under the direction of the Chaplain.
This chaplain was the Rev. Warren
H. Cudworth. "Holy Jo" we used to call
REV. WARREN H. CUDWORTH
him, but never disrespectfully. He was a
good man, a patriot and a Christian, ready
to pray with you at the proper time but
never obtruding his piety, and always ready
to help you in any way. There was no
other officer in the regiment who approached
him for genuine manhood of the highest
type. He died as a soldier should, dropping
dead twenty years after the war while as-
sisting in the Thanksgiving services in the
Maverick Congregational church, East
Boston.
He was not a fighting parson, like Chap-
lain Fuller of the 16th Mass., who was
killed in the streets of Fredericksburg
while carrying a gun. But I liked him
quite as well for that. Let the shoemaker
stick to his last or we may run short of
shoes. In the picture belonging to the
British nation of the battle against the
Zulus at Rorke's Drift the gallant chap-
lain Parson Smith with his great red beard
is seen handing cartridges to the defenders
and attending to the wounded. But his-
46
[Alexandria, Va.
Breaking in a Recruit

Pies
SUTLER
A SUTLER'S TENT
tory tells us that as the small body of men,
hungry, thirsty, and weary, struggled
against what seemed certain death. Parson
Smith cried out, "Don't swear at them,
my lads: shoot the." The blank
conservatively represents a reflection upon
their maternity which in a clergyman
seems slightly incongruous.
Monday got an order from the Lieut. for $2.00
at the Sutlers, and took it all up.
This was a common custom. Except
just after pay-day few of us had money,
and we were allowed to anticipate the next
pay-day by these orders, the amount of
which was deducted from the pay due us.
The sutlers were thieves, so far as I re-
member: once Col. McLaughlin cut our
sutler's prices in half; but I suppose they
had to be. Prices were high in those days
anyway. Butter was half a dollar a pound
and sugar thirty cents at home, and the
sutler naturally charged more.
He ran
a good many risks. He sometimes trusted
men without officers' orders, and he did not
always get his pay with the orders. It was
not an uncommon lark, especially on a
march if a sutler dared to appear, to make
a sudden raid, turn his wagon over, grab
his goods and scatter. I saw that happen
more than once; I am not prepared to
swear I was never quorum pars; but I never
saw any possibility of his recovering any
damages. I saw and approved of a similar
raid in this state long after the war. In
the early days of The School Bulletin I
took the eight o'clock train at Buffalo, one
wintry evening, expecting to reach Syra-
cuse at midnight. The winds blew and
the snows came and beat upon that train,
and at ten the next morning we reached
Sept. 15, 1862]
..
The Sutler's Tent
Batavia. There was no dining car, and we
all made a rush for the little eating-place
that used to form the west end of the old
station. The first man grabbed a piece of
pie and asked, How much? ' The pro-
prietor recognized a great opportunity and
rubbed his hands as he replied, "Twenty-
five cents." Almost before he could wink
the greedy restaurant-keeper found him-
self entirely alone, no customers, no money,
and also no pies, no dough-nuts, no sand-
wiches. I don't know how it happened
but I know I got a whole apple pie.
Coffin tells that in the early days when
liquor-selling was still permitted a sutler
broached a barrel of beer and began to sell
it at ten cents a glass. His trade was brisk
for a time, but gradually fell off and even-
tually ceased.
47
Sawyer of Co. H that such a rumor came
in. We both started out in different direc-
tions and we both found sutlers, but in
each case when we found him he had
nothing left but grape jelly. We each of
us came back to the tent with a tumbler of
grape jelly, and we finished those two tum-
blers that evening. It was a long time
before I wanted grape jelly again.
י
If one could strike a sutler when he first
opened up there was some variety. Tobac-
co was of course the first thing called for.
Then came pies, "with a taste resembling
rancid lard and sour apples", "moist and
indigestible below, tough and indestruct-
ible above, with untold horrors between";
yet I still feel surprise that once when I
across a sutler unexpectedly a long way
from camp and bought for a quarter an
ran
"What is the matter, boys?" he asked. apple pie a foot in diameter I could not eat
Aren't you thirsty?"
"We aren't going to pay you ten cents a
glass for beer when we can buy it for five,"
some one replied.
"You can't buy it for five in this camp.”
"Yes, we can."
"Where?"
"Right behind your tent."
The sutler went around and discovered
that some soldier had tapped his barrel
on the other end, put in a spigot, and was
underselling him with his own beer. Was
the crowd sorry for him? Not so far as was
apparent to the naked eye. The only
place where a sutler could find sympathy
was in the dictionary.
On the march a sutler's wagon was sel-
dom seen. After we were settled in camp
a week or two the story would go around
that there was a sutler over in the 3d div-
sion, or perhaps in the 6th corps, and all of
us who had money would go searching for
him. I remember when I was tenting with
the whole of it.
Chaplain Quint says the 2d Mass. bought
650 pies in one day, and it was an off day
with them at that.
Gen. Nelson caught a peddler selling
pies for half a dollar apiece, and made him
swallow every one of them, threatening
him with hanging if he ever showed his
face again.
Even after the war an ex-confederate
could find no more luxurious climax. "At
Appomattox," sighed he, "we had 13,000
poor, ragged, footsore, tired, starved vet-
erans, while you had an army of 300,000
fat, sassy soldiers provided with every
luxury, and every mother's son of 'em
chock full o' pie."
Then there were molasses cakes at six
for a quarter, and self-raising flour, always
a temptation, for we always liked to try
our own hands at cooking. Butter came next
perhaps at a dollar a pound and cheese at
half a dollar, and condensed milk at 75 cts,
48
[Alexandria, Va.
Breaking in a Recruit
7
such as is now sold at four cans for a quar-
ter. Then canned fruits at prices that
would drive the modern housekeeper into
hysterics and of flavors that would bring
her out again if she tasted them. Besides
food the sutler sold playing-cards, station-
ery, underclothes, socks, suspenders, shoes,
boots, needles, thread, and such like con-
veniences, all at prices that made us sing of
his tent as
"The dearest spot on earth to me.'
But we were glad enough to be within
reach of him, whatever he charged. The
confederate army had no sutlers, partly
because the south had no men to spare for
that business, and partly because the sol-
diers had no money to buy with. This was
one reason why the confederates were so
ready to fight: they thought the northern
soldiers were revelling in luxuries, and re-
lied upon despoiling them. Here is Mc-
Carthy's picture of a Johnny's anticipa-
tions; how it resembles the Arab soldier's
dream of a celestial harem awaiting a
follower of the Prophet when he is killed in
battle: "The confederate solider relied
greatly upon the abundant supply of eat-
ables which the enemy was kind enough to
bring him, and he cheerfully risked his life
for the twofold purpose of whipping the
enemy and getting what he called a square
meal. After a battle there was a general
feasting on the confederate side. Good
things, scarcely ever seen at other times,
filled the stomachs and the haversacks of
the Boys in Gray. Imagine the feelings of
men half-famished when they rush into a
camp at one side while the enemy flees from
the other, and find the coffee on the fire,
sugar at hand ready to be dropped into the
coffee, bread in the oven, crackers in the
box, fine beef ready to be cooked, dessi-
cated vegetables by the bushel, canned
peaches, lobsters, tomatoes, milk, barrels
of ground and roasted coffee, soda, salt,
and in short everything a hungry soldier
craves. Then add the liquors, wines, ci-
gars, and tobacco found in the tents of the
officers and the wagons of the sutlers."
No wonder a half-starved gray-back fought
with his mouth watering. I am not sure
Jeff Davis did not have some advantage
over Mahomet in this stimulus to daring:
in appeal to appetites the stomach comes
first. Besides, the mussulman had to die
to get his harem, while Johnny Reb hoped
to get his plunder and fatten on it.
"I can whip any army that is followed
by a drove of cattle," said Stonewall Jack-
son, meaning that hungry soldiers will fight
desperately for food: and he proved it.
CHAPTER IV. ON PICKET

ETTING somewhat
used to camp life
and familiar with
my duties, my
first actual service
is recorded on
Sept. 15, as fol-
lows:
In the af-
ternoon, went off
on Picket about 3
miles & camped out.
The confederate army had retired from
before Washington Sept. 3, but the defences
were not yet considered safe, and there were
rebel cavalry hovering about, so a sharp
lookout was maintained. Our companies.
took turns in keeping up an outpost beyond
our regular lines, that any move or the ene-
my might be discovered.
The
Picket was the soldier's romance.
camp was a noisy place with always the
feeling of a multitude. On picket we were
far from the madding crowd, in the coun-
try by ourselves as it were, always in little
groups and much of the time individually

THE ANTENNAE OF THE ARMY
49
50
[Alexandria, Va.
On Picket
alone. One must have eaten and slept
and passed his days in a crowd to appre-
ciate the relief of this.
Then it was about the only place where
we felt individual responsibility. In a
battle you are one of a company, a regi-
ment, a brigade; all you are asked to do, all
you are allowed to do, is to follow orders.
On picket when you are on guard only your
judgment stands between your army and
the enemy. You are the outpost, one of
the antennae of the army. If danger

“ADVANCE AND GIVE THE COUNTERSIGN
threatens you are to discover it and to give
warning. Once I was allowed to take the
midnight watch of a private suddenly ill.
I put on his ammunition box, I loaded his
rifle, and I peered through the moonlight
across the fields to the opposite woods,
where I knew confederate pickets were
watching like me. There is a thrill in the
responsibility one feels at such a time.
Here are horsemen approaching and
when you see they mean to reach the line
you summon the officer of the guard, who
calls, "Who comes there?" "A friend."
"Advance, friend, and give the counter-
sign." If he has the right word for the
night he is admitted within the lines, but
we must all be wary.
They tell many stories of countersigns.

LOOKS LIKE TROUBLE AHEAD

ON THE OUTPOST
51

"O HELL, I THOUGHT IT WAS THE RELIEF."
52
Sept. 15, 1862]
The Countersign
53

SUS
One recruit challenged,
APPROACH OF BIRNAM WOOD
Who goes
there?" "The Grand Rounds." Instead
of saying, "Halt, Grand Rounds. Advance,
sergeant, and give the countersign," the
recruit exclaimed in disgust, "O hell, I
thought it was the relief."
This conversation might occasionally be
heard:
"Who comes there?"
"A friend."
“Advance, friend, and give the counter-
sign."
"Hang it, man, I have forgotten it.”
"Begorra, so have I."
A general testing the sentries came upon
a young recruit who halted him with.
"Stop! Have you the countersign?”
"No," replied the general.
"What, another one without it?" ex-
claimed the sentry in disgust. "Well, I'll
tell you; it's 'Victory'."
The general gasped for breath. "What
do you mean by giving anyone the
countersign?" he at last roared out: “I'm
the general and I'll have you hanged."
The sentry was amazed. "Why, my or-
ders were not to let anyone pass without
the countersign," he exclained. "Let me
tell you, I am tired of giving it. Such a
lot don't seem to know it."
54
[Alexandria, Va.
On Picket

મન
The alarmed pehot guard
EVERY MOVE IS WATCHED INTENTLY
An officer approaching a sentry was sur-
prised to be greeted with "Hi-tiddle-de-hi-
ti". "What do you mean by challenging
like that?" he inquired. "The last time I
was on duty," was the reply, "I was told to
challenge in a more musical voice, and
that's the only tunc I know."
On the troopship St. Lawrence in 1865 an
officer who had just got up from a convivial
party proceeded to visit the sentries, and
this dialogue was overheard:
"Sentry."
"Yes, sir."
"You're asleep, sentry.”
"O no, I am not, sir."
"But I say you are asleep, sentry."
"Very well, then, sir: I am."
"Then why on earth didn't you say you
were asleep, sentry?"
"Because I didn't know that I was, sir,
until you told me so."
"All right, sentry: don't let it occur
again."
>>
One might know that was a British story;
the following has more the tone of our civil
war. To test a sentry an officer after the
usual salute said, "Let me see your rifle.
The recruit handed it over, whereupon the
officer said in disgust, "You're a fine sol-
dier! You've given up your rifle and now
what are you going to do?" The young
fellow drew out a dangerous knife and ex-
claimed, "Give me that rifle or I'll cut your
heart out." The officer was convinced
Sept. 15, 1862]
Scouting Parties
55

AWAITING THE APPROACHING ENEMY
that he would, and handed back the weapon
hastily.
Sometimes instead of a party boldly
riding up, the picket sees a stealthy op-
proach of men shielding themselves behind
every barrier, perhaps like Birnam Wood
behind branches of trees they are holding
in front of them to seem to be small trees
and thus escape notice. For it is the picket
who must detect the approach of scouting
parties like these. Now there is indeed
alertness and every move is watched in-
tently, as shown on page 53.
Here are pictures showing how scouts
creep upon an enemy and how pickets
await the concealed but detected approach
of the enemy
This scouting duty often involved hero-
ism. Some of you know what it is to stalk
a deer. When what you are stalking is
armed men, and to step on a crackling twig
may cost you your life, it becomes exciting.
If the service was especially dangerous the
commander instead of detailing men some-
times called for volunteers. These were
never lacking, and there were remarkable
instances of valor and endurance.
Somebody remarked that the Boers did
not show their wonderful marksmanship at
Glencoe, to which a hearer replied that the
best marksmen in the world would get a
little rattled if the targets were chasing
them; but our seasoned men shot straight
even under fire.

14

STEALTHY APPROCAH OF PICKETS
Sept. 15, 1862]
No Vendetta in American Character
57

Chinuall
A SKIRMISH
When the enemy are fairly within sight
and disguise is thrown off, pickets fight in
the open and the contest may become a
skirmish. They still protect themselves.
behind trees as they move along, but lose no
chance of a shot at the enemy, whom they
strive to pick off, one by one.
On the next page is a picture of a picket
shooting another; there is another in The
Illustrated London News of July 13, 1861.
Should I have shot a rebel picket if I had had
a good chance? When I entered the army
I should have thought so: I think that was
not an uncommon idea at the beginning of
hostilities. In Harper's Weekly for July
20, 1861, there is an approving account with
illustration of Major Knife at Williamsport
'winging a secessionist" whom he happened
to see riding on the other side of the Po-
tomac. But my regiment had taught me
that would be assassination. When it oc-
curred we called it guerilla warfare, with
the same contempt a man-of-war's man
would have for pirates. We were fighting
the confederate army, not southern men.
When a battle was on we were to shoot to
kill when we could not capture, but when
we were on picket duty, acting only as sen-
tries, we were friendly, guarding our posts
but displaying no individual enmity. All
through the war we sang:
"We'll hang Jeff Davis to a sour apple tree,”
but when we captured him, did we? When
he was no longer dangerous animosity
against him evaporated. There is nothing
of the vendetta in American character.
58
[Alexandria, Va.
On Picket

ONE PICKET SHOOTING ANOTHER
Jefferson Davis's portrait is on the
silver service pre-
sented in 1909
to the United
States battleship
Mississippi, and
in May 22, 1909,
46 years after the
battle of Chan-
cellorsville where
her husband lost his life, Mrs. Stonewall
Jackson greeted President Taft as the
"great harmonizer of all our hearts".
Eggleston, in his Southern Soldier
Stories" tells a fortunately impossible tale
of a Virginia girl--beautiful of course, it
never costs any more to make her so when
you are dreaming, whose lover was killed
in a cavalry contest, and who remarked
vindictively at his grave: "He was just
twenty-one. It will take just twenty-one
to pay for him." Thereupon she joined his
troop, not enlisting but dressing as a man
and eating and living wth the rest, and car-
rying "the finest Whitworth rifle I ever saw,
with its long range, its telescopic sights
and its terrible accuracy of fire". Some-
times when scouting expeditions were slack
she would go off by herself and remain for a
day or two in close proximity to the enemy's
lines, and pick off men, one by one, till the
tag she wore on her breast with a number on
it was marked twenty-one. Then she went
back home contented, having murdered
twenty-one innocent men, not because they
were in the ranks of those opposed to

Sept. 15, 1862]
Pickets in Friendly Relation
59

THEKALD
MY TUKEY
A PICKETS STOCK EXCHANGE
her in battle or even because they were ene-
mies of her country, but to settle a private
grudge against an army that had killed her
lover in a fair conflict. I am glad to be-
lieve that the number of American men
who would perform a series of dastardly
deeds like that is very small, and I should
be sorry to believe any American woman
would do it, north or south.
For weeks our pickets guarded one bank
of the Rappahannock at Fredericksburg
and the confederates the other, but never
was there a thought of shooting one an-
other. On the contrary there was con-
tinual bargaining, our men freighting little
craft with salt and sugar and coffee and
needles and newspapers and thread to ex-
change for tobacco that the confederates
would steer across the river to us. Not
seldom opposing pickets would get together
and traffic as eagerly as if they were on the
Stock Exchange. In fact by the time I
reached the army, so far as I had occasion
to observe, the feeling of the northern for
the southern soldier was friendly. Both
sides recognized that the conflict was ca-
lamitous and regretted the necessity of
fighting. This made the strife no less de-
termined when the battle was on, but it left
us men and brothers when we were not in
action. War is hell, as Gen. Sherman has
epigrammatically defined it, but it by no
60
[Alexandria, Va.
On Picket
means follows that soldiers are devils, or
that either side looks upon the other as
such. At Talavera, as is well known,
French and British bathed together in the
Tagus between the battles, and shook hands.
when the bugles sounded the recall as the
signal for renewing the conflict.
In his account of the Peninsular war
Napier tells of a French sentry twenty
yards from the British line who walked his
beat so unconcernedly that he laid his knap-
sack on the ground. When the order to
advance was given, the British helped him
replace his knapsack.
"So well," says Napier, "do veterans un-
derstand war and its proprieties."
At the siege of Kalunga a Goorkha who
had his lower jaw shattered by a cannon
ball came forward amidst the fire waving
his hand. The guns ceased till he had
reached the British line, when he explained
that he wanted to have his jaw attended to.
He received the best surgical assistance,
was kept in hospital till he recovered, and
was then sent back to his friends.
This comity between pickets sometimes.
extended to the fighting. In the Boer war
a Highlander under cover persisted in
raising and taking a pot shot, immediately
sinking under cover again. One of the
Boers pursued the same tactics and it be-
came a duel between them. But finally
when Sandy arose chuck went a bullet
through his hand, so surprising him that he
gave a startling yell. "Serves you right,
Mac," remarked an officer; "you were told
not to show yourself." "Nae doot, sir,”
replied Sandy, "but hoo did I ken he was
gaun to fire oot o' his turn ?”
In the early days of the war a good deal
was said of rebel cruelties, and in The Il-
lustrated London News for Sept. 14, 1861,
you will find a picture of union soldiers
•
attacking with bayonets unarmed con-
federate soldiers marching under guard
through the streets of Washington. But
that was before they had acquired experi-
ence. In Frank Leslie's Illustrated News-
paper for August 27, 1864, you will find
a picture of confederate soldiers carrying
water to union wounded, holding up their
canteens as flags of truce. In the Wilderness
when the woods were fired by artillery, the
confederate troops as they pushed our troops
back, seeing that the wounded would be
tortured by the flames in the midst of the
battle, raked the dry leaves away from their
prostrate foemen. At the battle of Ken-
nesaw mountain Col. W. H. Martin of the
1st Arkansas, seeing the woods in front of
him on fire and burning the wounded fed-
erals, tied a handkerchief to a ramrod and
amidst the danger of the battle mounted a
parapet and shouted to the enemy, "We
won't fire a gun till you get them away.
Be quick." With his own men he leaped
over the confederate works and helped
remove them. A union major was so im-
pressed by his magnanimity that he pulled
from his belt a brace of pistols and gave
them to Col. Martin, saying, “Accept them
with my appreciation of the nobility of
this deed." Of similar magnanimity to
my own regiment on the left at Freder-
icskburg I shall tell later.
Even as early as Cedar Mountain, Chap-
lain Quint, a rabid hater of everything
southern, admits that the confederates
built shelters of boughs for the union
wounded and brought them water and bis-
cuit and apples.
A straggling Yankee soldier was in a
squad that was captured and passed before
Gen. Semmes. One of the men remarked
that the prisoner was hungry. "Feed
Sept. 15, 1862]
War as Veterans see it
him," said Gen. Semmes. "Shoot 'em on
the line, but feed 'em on this side of it."
At Elandslagate Col. Schiel was lying in
a row of Boers guarded by a Gordon High-
lander, who whenever he came near him
stopped and deliberately spat on the ground.
"Can't you see I'm wounded?" asked the
colonel. Instantly the soldier dropped on
his knees, wrapped his blanket round the
wounded enemy, gave him his water-
bottle, and as he stood up said: "You should
have told me that before. Now I've gi'en
ye ma blanket an' I've gi'en ye ma water-
bottle, but mind, we're no friends.”
Gen. John B. Gordon in telling the story
of the taking of Fort Steadman March 25,
1864, the last confederate assault of the
war, illustrates the relation among pickets
that had developed in four years of conflict.
The affair was a desperate one and the early
movements were overheard by a federal
picket, who called out, "Hullo there, John-
ny Reb, what are you making all that fuss
about over there?
The men were just leaning forward for
the start, and Gen. Gordon was apprehen-
sive, but a rifleman called out, “O never
mind, Yank; lie down and go to sleep. We
are just gathering in a little corn: you know
rations are mighty scarce over here.”
As a matter of fact there was a patch of
corn between the lines, some of it still hang-
ing on the stalks, so the Yankee picket re-
plied, “All right, Johnny, go ahead and get
your corn; I won't shoot at you."
Gen. Gordon gave the command to go
forward, but the rifleman, not to take ad-
vantage of the federal picket's good-
nature, called out, "Look out for yourself
now, Yank: we're going to shell the woods."
"This exhibition of chivalry and of kind-
ly feelings on both sides," says Gen. Gor-
61
don, "touched me as deeply as any minor
incident of the war."
Before the battle of Orthez, Wellington
sent word to Soult that to blow up the
bridge would be a disaster to the people of
Orthez and if the French would not des-
troy it he would promise not to use it.
The bridge was spared and the English
forded the river under severe fire. The
bridge stands to this day, a monument of
good sense and good faith.
We had similar instances of good faith.
Cole tells that at South Mountain he was
on the skirmish line and stumbling along
in the dark when he fell down on top of a
man who proved to be a confederate, who
said, "Well, Yank, there's no use for us to
kill each other: let's make a bargain,'
which was that if the union troops won he
should be Cole's prisoner, and if the con-
federate troops won Cole was to be his
prisoner. He kept his compact, and though
he was six feet tall and Cole was a little
fellow, he marched in a prisoner.
Before the battle of Omdurman Kitchener
gave orders to bayonet all wounded der-
vishes, because they feigned death in order
to murder men who might come within
their reach. Fortunately it is only in
dealing with heathen that such cruelty
becomes imperative. No American, north
or south, showed such treachery.
Washington wrote in his stilted way to
Burgoyne after the surrender: "Viewing
you in the light of a soldier contending
against what I conceive to be the rights
of my country, the reverse of fortune you
experienced in the field cannot be unac-
ceptable to me; but, abstracted from con-
siderations of national advantage, I can
sincerely sympathize with your feelings as
a soldier."
62
[Alexandria, Va.
On Picket

CAPTURING A PICKET À
To
But this was a necessity of war.
"wing" a picket in mere wantonness would
disgrace a soldier.
disgrace a soldier. Here is a picture from
Harper's Weekly of Dec. 21, 1861; the pick-
ets are apparently firing at random into
the opposite woods. I never saw anything
of this sort, and I think it was one of the
Sometimes pickets were captured, of But this was
captured, of
course; this was considered an achievement
and when it was attempted there was likely
to be firing; the picket line had become a
skirmish line. Sometimes when we were
trying to surprise the enemy our men had
to kill a picket to prevent his giving alarm.

PICKETS FIRING NEAR FAIRFAX.
Sept. 15, 1862]
The Soldier's Picnic
63

A PICKET BIVOUAC FIRE
immature practices of raw recruits that
service and reflection proved to be un-
worthy and unwise.
I am dwelling too much on the serious
side of picket duty. Really that was sel-
dom uppermost. The main body of the
picket guard relied on their sentinels and
enjoyed themselves about the bivouac fire.
I remark later in my diary that picket duty
brought officers and men into more social
relation. That was only one of the mani-
festations of the general spirit of freedom
and good fellowship that picket duty afford-
ed. The picket was the soldier's picnic.
Sometimes in winter, when it was cold
and rainy, especially when there was snow,
picket duty was onerous, occasionally the
clothing would freeze upon a sentry; but
such occasions were rare, and even then there
was the joy of getting back to camp. If you
had seen my hut at Brandy station you
would not have thought it luxurious, but to
a man returning from picket duty or from
an expedition that had proved futile, it
was a palace, and it was worth while to go
off on little jaunts to appreciate it when
one got back.
.

CHAPTER V. GETTING ACCLIMATED
less great.
OR three lines of
diary my last chap-
ter was a long one,
"an intolerable
deal of sack," Fal-
staff's prince would
say. The dispro-
portion here will be
Tuesday. Got home to
Camp about noon. Wednesday. Com-
menced having Dress Parades in the P. M.
This is always a sign of being established
in camp, with accoutrements replenished
and decent clothes to wear once more-a
sort of military afternoon tea. Every coat
had to be brushed, every shoe polished,
every belt pipe-clayed. We drummers
came into evidence here, for after the line
was formed we marched up and down in
front, playing our prettiest. In later days
I found the first dress parade after a battle
pathetic. The captains would report,
"Company A all present or accounted for,"
and so on down the line, but we all knew
how some of the poor fellows were account-
ed for.
Dress parade was the time for privates
to get a sight of the visitors to camp, for
they always came out to witness it. Some-
times we were interrupted. I remember
once at Brandy Station being on parade
about five o'clock when a sandstorm was
seen coming, a small simoon, with such
dangerous velocity that we were ordered
to our tents without ceremony, and ran,
each to save his own. Many tents were
blown down, some into tatters, and though
I wrapped a loaf of bread I happened to
have in my blanket so much sand got into
it that I could not eat it.
Friday. Was put on Orderly again. Sat-
urday went on picket again.
Sunday. Sept 21st. 1862-
Returned from picket. Went to the Bible
Class but was not much interested. Had a
cold night. Got my drum -Tuesday.
Went over to see John Tarbell. Went over
Fort Ward with him and saw mortars can-
non etc, in profusion. Saw Light Artillery
Drill. Wednesday. Went out to practise
drumming. Find it no easy thing to learn
to drum. Thursday. Phillips moved out to
go in with Chapman.
JOSEPH M. PHILLIPS
It was fourteen months before I learned
why he had deserted me.
64
Sept. 18-26, 1862]
Why Jo Phillips Deserted me
I have said that in the early days of the
war I took fencing lessons, not many or
very effective, but enough to give me some
of the movements. While we were here
in camp the drummers were provided with
drummers' swords, toad-stickers the boys
called them, though a man could never
stick a toad with one unless the toad were
tied to a very short string, about as clumsy
and awkard and absolutely use-
•
less weapons as could be de-
vised: I would rather have an
Irishman's shillala any day. I
was demonstrative with mine,
flourished it about, swore it
should never be taken from me,
and all that, but I had entered
the army as a boastful patriot
and had not yet had the non-
sense taken out of me by actual
service. I can see now with
what grim humor these veter-
ans of a dozen conflicts used to
listen soberly as I stood before
the fire and told what gore I
should shed as soon as I got to
my first welcome battle, no
doubt remarking among them-
selves like Senator Hill
Georgia that the invincible in
camp were likely to be invisi-
ble in the field. Before one is
tried it is difficult to predict
whether he will be battle-
scarred or battle-scared.
of
But to get back to our toad-stickers.
I used to practise with the other drummers
more or less, and one day I was fencing with
Phillips down by a little brook. It was
all good-natured enough, till of a sudden
he turned his back upon me and returned to
camp alone. When I followed a few min-
utes after I found he had taken away his
•
65
half of our tent, and joined in with Chap-
man.
He was of English birth, proud, of few
words, easily offended and of long resent-
ment. I was also rather proud myself,
disdainful of explanations, thinking that
if people misunderstood me so much the
worse for them. So I said nothing to him
and made no inquiry. For more than four-
teen months from that day Jo Phillips and
I, though drummers in the same company
and sometimes obliged to tent together,
never exchanged one unnecessary word. I
had no resentment against him; on the
whole I liked him for what he was, as well
as because he had been kind and helpful.
But I was satisfied I had given him no
reason to break with me, and as he had
made the quarrel I left him to end it.
On Dec. 2, 1863, Gen. Meade had led us
out on a wild-goose expedition that resulted
in our living eight days on three days' ra-
tions. Everything was gone. That morn-
ing I had followed the path of a cavalry
horse through the woods, picked up from
the ground the southern corn it had nosed
out of its bag and chewed the dry kernels
one by one. The day before a few of us had
found and killed a cow and I still had a few
pounds of the carcass in my haversack,
but none of us had salt, and only those who
have tried it know what it is to eat fresh
beef unsalted. The army was retreating,
as usual, going back to our old camp pro-
bably, and as usual I was straggling along
by myself: I never marched with the regi-
ment by fours if I could help it.
Of a sudden a voice called out, "Halloa,
Bardeen!" I looked up and there was Jo
Phillips, as fat and contented as though he
had just left camp. He was quite given to
escaping long marches, and I was indignant
enough that he should have evaded what

66
[Alexandria, Va.
Getting Acclimated
had been so grievous for the rest of us. So
· when he added, "Got any hard tack?" I
replied surlily, "No, and if I had I wouldn't
give you any."
"Well, I've got a haversack full," he
said; "come on over.'
"
I could hardly believe my ears, but I lost
no time in getting to him. He had not
only crackers but coffee and salt and even
butter: with my beef we could give Del-
monico cards and spades. I was for sitting
down at once, but he advised getting across
the river first; and it was well we did, for as
we came out of the little hollow where we
had built our fire we saw that the bridge
was up, our troops were out of sight, and
the confederate cavalry were trying to
swim their horses across. As we came in
view they shouted to us to halt, but we
were not especially eager for news from
Richmond and did not exactly what you
might call linger. They sent a few
shots after us, but I do not think they
tried very hard to hit us. They could see
Phillips's drum, and they were not blood-
thirsty about boys.
Stopping to cook that meal had made us
two youngsters absolutely the rear guard
of the big army of the Potomac, but no
one who reads this, had he been in my
place and as nearly starved as I was, would
have allowed the chance of capture to hur-
ry that meal. To this day I can smack
my lips over that steaming coffee and that
salted and buttered beefsteak.
When we were out of range I asked Jo,
"What made you desert me so suddenly,
down by the brook?"
"It wasn't fair of you to pink me," he
replied.
"Pink you? What do you mean?" I
asked.
When he was assured I really did not
know, he pulled open his shirt and showed
me a scar in his breast not a great way
from his heart. It seems my clumsy toad-
sticker made it, and he really thought I did
it on purpose.
I do not think we carried our swords faron
our first march, and they were never re-
placed; their absurdity had become mani-
fest.
Friday. Orderly
again. Had quite a talk with Ed. Coudin's
hɩred man, a negro, who came with him from
Boston, about battles etc. In the evening
played on the fife with Geo Allen. Saturday.
The Reg. was paid off today although I got no
pay.
Sunday. Sept. 28th. 1862.
Went around with Chapman, till his money
was about gone, $3.00. Then borrowed a V
of Henry Mingall and spent a good portion
of that.
There were two Mingle brothers, both
drummers. Both were good fellows, not
talkative but never shirking and always
ready to oblige. I would have selected
them from the entire drum corps for trust-
worthiness of the watch-dog type. The
younger one, George, could not see after
dark and had to be led. He called it moon-
blindness, and attributed it to sleeping one
night with his face toward the full moon.
He was in Co. F and when we came home
was transferred to the 11th Mass. Henry
was in Co. A.
Monday. This was a regular feast
day with the Drum Corps. Most all got
drunk, and all eat till they were surfeited.
Tuesday. Lucius Saunders came to see me.
He was at home a week ago & of course I was
glad to see him. Wednesday.
Wednesday. Orderly once
Went over to Div. Headquarters after
tatoo. Thursday. Went to review of
Hooker's Division. Saw Heintzleman,
more.
ፕ

Sept. 26-Oct. 8, 1862]
Sibley Tents
67
Sickles, Patterson. It was quite a sight. the Fort and saw Heavy Artillery Drill.
Went in swimming coming back.
GEN. SAM'L P. HEINTZELMAN, 1805-80
This was my first review, and I got an
idea of what an army looks like when it is
massed. Heintzelman was our corps com-
mander.
Friday.
Went over to see Cousin John. Went into
Saturday. Went in swimming.
Sunday. Oct. 5th. 1862..
Commenced drumming in the morning.
Had divine service. Went in swimming in
afternoon. Monday. Moved into Sibley
Tents. Wednesday. Did not get to sleep
untill about midnight as the boys were so busy
fooling.
Sibley or bell tents were big conical af-
fairs, 18 feet in diameter and 12 feet high,
for 12 men, one to each seam, we used to
calculate. It had grown cold for our little
shelter tents, but the change was for the
worse. Two men can get adjusted to one
another so as to sleep comfortably together,
but there were no dozen men in the world I
A CAMP OF SIBLEY TENTS
68
[Munson's Hill, Va.
Getting Acclimated
wanted to sleep in the same apartment
with. Among so many there were sure to
be some who felt like fooling, some had to
be summoned at all hours of the night for
duty, and somebody was sure to make him-
self conspicuous just as the others were doz-
ing off. Then most of them smoked, some
wanted the tent closed up tight, and showed
that they had not manifested the appre-
ciation they should have had for the op-
portunities to bathe that a steady camp
usually affords. Some soldiers habitually
slept with all their regular day clothes on,
and I have heard of a private so negligent
about changing his underclothes that when
he finally took a bath he peeled off a num-
ber of shirts and socks he supposed he had
lost.
We slept with our feet toward the centre,
and any one who had occasion to go out of
the tent during the night was sure to stum-
ble over his sleeping companions. No one
could stand or sit erect except at the centre,
so there was crowding when we were called
upon to get up and dress.
Thursday. Had inspection &
drill near Fort Ward by Gen. Sickles. Sat-
urday. The boys were noisier than ever at
night.
Sunday Oct 12th 1862.
Still they keep teazing Chapman. I should
think the very Devil himself had got into
some of the boys, by the noises they make.
Tuesday. While fencing with Joe Welch,
cut my finger and was excused 'till Friday.
Welch was drummer in Co. C. I have
lost all track of him.
Saturday. Signs of rain. Saw-
yer came to our tent and asked us to let him
in as it was cold and he had no tent-

BAILEY'S CROSS ROADS, ON THE ROAD TO MUNSON'S HILL
Oct. 8-20, 1862]
Munson's Hill
Sawyer was drummer in Co. H. I after-
ward tented with him for a time.
Sunday. Oct. 19th 1862.
John Tarbell came over to see me, and
showed me a letter from Eldorah. Wrote a
letter to Georgie and to Mr Eames' folks.
Went down to the brook, but could not wash as
it was too cold to go in all over.
This was a deprivation, for a camp is a
dirty place, muddy when it rains and dusty
when it is dry. Virginia mud could change
to dust with remarkable celerity, and clung
in either form.
Monday.
Put up a
Had Reg. Drill at Fort Ward.
stove in our tent and had made prepara-
69
tions for a warm night, when, about dark we
had orders to march, and went to Munson's
Hill, about four miles, where we encamped.
We marched by way of Bailey's Cross
Roads, which looks now very much as it
did then.
Munson's Hill was interesting as being
the most advanced post the confederates
ever held. There is in The London Il-
lustrated News of Oct. 8, 1861, a picture of
it with the confederate flag flying, and
another Oct. 26, 1861, of McClellan riding
proudly up to take possession. It is as will
be seen way inside of Fairfax Court House,
in command of the western roads out of
Alexandria and only six miles from Wash-

MUNSON'S HILL IN POSSESSION OF THE ENEMY
1
70
[Munson's Hill, Va.
Getting Acclimated

ANOTHER VIEW OF MUNSON'S HILL
ington. The confederates had thrown up a
circular redoubt without the usual ditch
but with a strong abatis, which gave the
walls height and impregnability. I give
views both of the confederate fortifications
and of those thrown up by the Garibaldi
regiment. Bailey's Cross Roads is just
below the symbol for the fort in the map
on inside cover.
George Cary Eggleston says that after
the first Bull Run Stuart suddenly occupied
it with a strong force because a woman who
allowed herself to be captured on picket at
Falls Church took out of her long black
hair and gave to Stuart some papers that
he found very interesting. After dining
with him she was sent back to the federal
lines under a flag of truce, with the message
October 20, 1862]
Munson's Hill
71

MUNSON'S
that Gen. Stuart did not make war on
women and children. The next day Stuart
occupied Munson's Hill with a strong force,
and thereafter kept a close watch with a
glass on a certain house in Washington in
easy view. The house had many windows,
each with a dark Holland shade, and these
Holland shades gave information as they
were put up or pulled down. Eggleston
says: "We never knew what three shades
up, two half up, and five down might sig-
nify. But we had to report it, neverthe-
less, and Stuart seemed from that time to
have an almost supernatural advance per-
ception of the enemy's movements.”
I regret to say that to an old soldier
Eggleston's "Southern Stories" seem more
HILL
impressive for their imagination than for
their veracity, "Twenty-one", for instance.
So while what he writes may be true, his
writing it is not proof that it is true.
Was very cold at night and staid by the fire
most of the time.
We had no tents and four of us agreed
to sleep together under our four assembled
blankets.
blankets. This was comfortable enough
for the two men inside, but we drew lots for
places and I got one on the outside. The
blankets would not quite reach the ground,
so I spent most of the night by the fire,
toasting first front and then back and then
one side and then the other. A little dark-
ey a dozen years old slept with his back to
the same fire, barefoot, with only a shirt
72
[Munson's Hill, Va.
Getting Acclimated

ལ
and a ragged pair of trousers, with nothing
over him and only a newspaper under him
and yet seemed perfectly comfortable: I do
not recollect his turning over. He ex-
plained the next morning that he always
slept on the windward side. That kept
the warm flame wafted over him, while if
he had slept on the other side the wind
would have struck him before it did the fire.
The picture above is of a comparative
sybarite.
with Prest.
Tuesday. Pitched tent
John J. Prest was drummer of Co. I, a
green fellow from Maine, long and lank as
the two written J's in his name, who always
seemed a joke to me and yet who proved
companionable. He came out as a recruit
about the same time I did, and when he
In
caught from the old soldiers as I did the
disagreeable household companions I have
shudderingly referred to, he ingenuously
remarked that he had known them at home.
That was for a time an awful blight.
the army, yes: but at home? perish the
thought. I don't know how it happened:
very likely he was brought up in a lumber
camp or among sailors. Certainly I found
him scrupulously neat: in fact he had such
a fresh, rosy complexion that he might have
been an advertisement for Pears's soap; I
could not scrub my face enough to look as
clean as he did when he got out of bed. He
was a thoroughly good fellow. He en-
joyed any amount of badinage that did not
reflect upon his honor. His sense of that
was keen and he was justly jealous of it.
But he never balked at any expedition I

Oct. 22-24, 1862]
Army Overcoats
73
proposed, however wild, and he never
shirked his share of labor or cost or danger.
I had a good deal to do with him; and I have
not one memory of him that is not pleasant.
Yet he is still a joke to me. I have not
heard from him since the war. With his
health and vigor and pleasant disposition
and scrupulous uprightness he ought to
have done something in the world.
Wednesday. In the afternoon
had orders to march with canteens & haver-
sacks and went to Alexandria, about 7 miles,
and then over to a field where we were re-
viewed by the President, Banks, & Heint-
zelman. Then marched to Fairfax Semin-
ary where we had supper and thence back to
Munson's hill making a march of about 13
miles. Thursday. The Reg. got their
overcoats.
It was none too soon. I have a good pic-
ture of one in this photograph of Perkins,
a private of Co. K who became bugler.
I saw Perkins at the 48th annual meeting
of the regiment, May 25, 1909. At first I
could hardly recognize him in the little man
with gray hair and white mustache, but as
I talked with him the Perkins of the old
times came back, alert, cheerful, reliable.
He had been employed for forty years in
the city surveyor's office in Boston.
The coats were of light blue, with cape,
and those our regiment got were of good
material. Some of the pioneers, or wood-
cutters and carpenters of our brigade, big
fellows from Maine, used to wear their over-
coats on the hottest days in summer, de-
claring that what would keep cold out
would keep heat out. Nothing could kill
those giants but bullets, so they survived,
but they had no imitators.
CHARLES C. PERKINS
You
2d division white, 3d corps diamond.
will see that white diamond on top of the
marker erected on the battle-field of Get-
tysburg to show where Gen. Sickles was
wounded, and in granite upon our regi-
ment's monument there. The first division
of our corps had a red diamond, the third
division a blue diamond. The 1st corps
had a circle, the 2d had a clover leaf, the 5th
a Maltese cross, the 6th a St. Andrew
cross (changed in 1864 to a Greek cross),
the 11th a crescent, and the 12th a star.
These badges were compulsory, and made it
easy to see at a glance in what part of the
army a man belonged. They were intro-
duced later than this, in the spring of 1863.
Friday. Sent by Burditt for
You will notice on Perkins's cap, as per-
haps you did on Jo Phillips's, a white dia-
mond. That was the badge of our division: the best fife to be got in Boston.

74
[Munson's Hill, Va.
Getting Acclimated
1ST MASS. MONUMENT, GETTYSBURG
I paid Burditt seven dollars for it. Most
Most
of the drummers afterward bought drums
through him. Some time after we were
discharged I saw him in Boston, and as we
talked over old times he chuckled as he told
how he soaked the boys for those drums.
However, the fife paid me at any price. I
knew something of music, having taken a
few lessons on the melodeon before I was
ten years old, and I made more rapid pro-
gress on the fife than on the drum.
Sunday Oct. 26th 1862.
A rainy day. In the afternoon the wind
rose and it rained like a hurricane. The
tent begins to leak. Monday. Last night
the rain continued and the wind was so strong
that not one tent in ten was left standing-
Ours was however, although we were wet
through. In the morning we went over to a
barn, near, and were calculating on a nice
breakfast of baked beans. So we took them
out of the oven and lo, they were burnt to a
crisp. So here we were, half frozen, and
nothing to eat.
I don't know about the rest of the army,
but ours was a Boston regiment and baked
beans were our great luxury. They were
the real thing, too, brown, individual, with
huge masses of pork, the rind sliced and
crackling, and cooked all night as in a ba-
ker's oven. A hole as deep as the mess ket-
tle was dug the day before like a grave and
kept full of burning wood. Then the coals
were shovelled out, the kettle of beans put
in with hot coals, sticks covered with mat-
ting were put over and covered with earth,
and the next morning the feast was ready
to serve. It was this feast we had been an-
ticipating as we shivered in our wet beds;
we had longed for morning and beans.
Morning came, but no beans: the hole had
been too hot. Unhappily the company
rations had been drawn in pork and beans
so that we had nothing else to eat save our
coffee and what hard tack happened to be
left over in our haversacks. It was a dole-
ful time.
Went up into the loft and
laid down in the hay, but were driven out by
the owner of the barn.
The owner of the barn was quite right to
drive us out. Most of the soldiers smoked,
and a pipe in a haystack is a foe of insur-
ance companies.
Got some Hard
Bread. But it cleared off in the afternoon
and Prest and I went up to Falls Church.
The Church has been used as a stable-Went
view.
up into the belfrey and had a good
What a difference a little sunshine makes.
Oct. 27, 1862]
Sunshine after all
75

FALLS CHURCH
2
Longfellow's "Rainy Day" may be homely shown in the picture on page 68 but giving
philosophy but it is sound.
In the fall of 1909 I hired a carriage in
Alexandria and drove with my daughter
over this entire region. At Fort Lyon
there are still remains of the entrench-
ments.
It
At Fairfax Seminary, the pres-
ident of which was most courteous in point-
ing out the changes that have been made,
the main building is still the same.
was in this theological school that Bishop
Potter and Phillips Brooks were trained.
I could distinguish pretty well where the
tent stood from which Phillips deserted
me, and could see the stream beside which
I fought with Chapman. I had forgotten
what a glorious view there is from the hill.
Then we drove by Bailey's Crossroads,
with buildings not quite the same as those.
the same dilapidated effect; and over
Munson's Hill, on which little has been
done since the war. On Upton's Hill
there was however no trace of the obser-
vatory that used to stand there.
The great surprise was Falls Church.
In place of the straggling little street with
its single church that Prest and I entered
there is now a thriving village of consider-
able extent and quite attractive, with its
communication with Washington both by
stean and by trolley evidently a favorite
suburban residence section.
This seems a new Virginia, a reawakened
and hustling Virginia, but no where else
in the region we drove over was the new
spirit manifest. We started from Fred-
ericksburg an hour before noon, relying
on getting dinner at Chancellorsville, as
ว
76
Munson's Hill, Va.
Getting Acclimated

FORT AND OBSERVATORY ONUPTON HILL Coo
But when
one of my regiment had done.
we were too far to go back our driver as-
sured us the house was in ruins. Was
there no hotel? Not till we got to Spot-
sylvania at four o'clock. Some little
store, surely? He didn't know of any.
But where the road forks before reaching
Chancellorsville we saw what evidently
had been a little store. We finally got a
woman to the door who said the stock
had run down, she had not even crackers
or bread or canned goods; absolutely noth-
ing at all. "But," and she suggested it
as hospitably as though she were an F. F.
V. of the olden time, "I have some potato
soup just ready for my dinner and the child-
ren's. There is plenty, if you will share
it."
We were very glad to, so she brought
out two steaming bowls and was delighted
to see us eat it. She refused pay. "It
isn't much," she said, "and I am sorry
it is all I have, but you are more than
welcome."
That was the true Virginia spirit. We
had dined the night before at Harvey's
on steamed oysters and mallard duck,
but my daughter and I agreed that we
would much rather have missed that meal
than this.
A
CHAPTER VI. ON THE MARCH

TEST now came of
my marching pow-
er, the suddenness
of the call being
well indicated in
the entry. In the
army we never
knew what a day
or an hour would
bring forth.
Tuesday. Fixed our tent up good. Friday.
Had mustering in for our pay. Saturday.
Had marching orders and went back to Fair-
fax Seminary where we got three days rations
and then took the road for Centreville. Found
it impossibte to keep up with the Reg. so fell
out of the ranks, and about 9 o'clock went
out in a field and went to sleep.
This was a humiliation. It was my
first serious march, with all I owned
in the world on my back. I had boasted
so much and so often of the soldier I was
to be that it was shameful to collapse. I
had been tired on the little tramps the regi-
ement had taken but I had managed to
conceal it, and I had hoped if I fell in battle
it could be put on my monument (of course
I was to have one), "He never flinched."
It seemed to me I ought to be able to
march with the best of them. I was a
fairly strong boy. I have said that I
walked from Boston to Randolph, Vt.
The last day I walked thirty-five miles,
from White River Junction to Randolph
Centre. I had not planned to go so far,
but it was a moonlight night, I felt like it,
"I got to going", to describe a condition
that has often carried me a good ways, and
I completed the journey, getting to John
Mead's at two o'clock in the morning and
doing a good day's work on the farm the
next day. Afterward in the army I grew
to march better than the average soldier,
I find it recorded that one day I marched
eight miles in three hours without taking
off my knapsack; and on two of the hardest
marches the regiment made I was one of the
very few who slept with the colors at night;
on the third there were only seventeen that
did it and five of them were mounted.
on this first march I was "all in" before we
had gone ten miles. I would have held out
if I could, for pride's sake if for no other,
but I saw that it was a question of dropping
down in my tracks and so fell out while I
still had strength enough to crawl over
the stone wall and drop down under a tree.
Sunday Nov. 2nd 1862.
Yet
Woke up about 2 o'clock and went on to find
the Reg. Soon found Patterson's Brigade
and was assured that Carr's Brigade was
not far on, so lay down and went to sleep
again.
How well I remember that night. It
was clear and starlight, and as I dropped
down there were the tramp of feet, the mur-
mur of voices, the occasional, "Close up,
men: close up!" When I awoke there was
not a sound. The troops had passed, the
road was empty, there was not a noise; as
I sat up and looked around there was ab-
solute solitude. It gave me a curious feel-
ing after living four months as one of a
crowd to find myself the one animate thing
in sight and hearing. Stuart's cavalry had a
way of circling about our troops at pleas-
ure and there was already talk of guerillas,
so I was not sure what manner of men the
:
77

78
[Fairfax Courthouse, Va.
On the March
REVEILLE IN CAMP
first troops I found would be. It was not
altogether a safe predicament I was in, but
manifestly the thing to do was to go on,
following the road the regiment had taken.
I was soon reassured. Patterson's brigade
was the New Jersey brigade of our division,
and as they had halted no doubt the whole
division had. So as I was still exhausted
I might as well finish my night's sleep here
and I did so.
Was awakened at 4 o'clock by the
Reveilee and went on. I found the Reg.
Made some Coffee and eat breakfast.
Reveille on a march produces an inter-
esting spectacle. Men have been sleeping
about in all sorts of positions, many of
them dropping down in their tracks with-
out even taking off their cartridge boxes.
Few have had enough under them to keep
out the chill of the ground, and as they are
awakened find themselves stiff as with
rheumatism. After the battle of Gettys-
burg I lost all the little equipment I had
left, and lay down two or three successive
nights on wet ground with absolutely noth-
ing under or over me. When I woke up I
had to limber myself out by sections. I
would move the fingers of my left hand till
I could use them; then my left wrist and
arm; then my right fingers and wrist and
arm; then my left leg; then my right leg,
till finally I could get into a sitting posture,
and eventually to my feet. It was liter-
ally a matter of some minutes and of de-
tailed effort to stand.
Nov. 2, 1862]
The Importance of Shoes
The beating of drums for reveille gave
way to the bugle, and this tune became
familiar:
REVEILLE.
D.C.
The boys found many words to it, of which
this was a common version:
I can't get 'em up, I can't get 'em up,
I can't get 'em up. I tell you.
I can't get 'em up, I can't get 'em up,
I can't get 'em up at all.
The corporal's worse than the private,
The sergeant's worse than the corporal,
The lieutenant's worse than the sergeant,
But the captain's worst of all.
I can't get 'em up, I can't get 'em up,
I can't get 'em up this morning;
I can't get 'em up, I can't get 'em up,
I can't get 'em up to-day.
In the infantry the bugle call for taps was
the same as the artillery tattoo. At its
conclusion the drummer beat a few isolated
taps, and the army day was done. All
lights must be put out, all noises must
cease, and every man but the guard must
be in his quarters. But my recollection is
that these regulations were seldom enforced.
At daylight
we started and I soon fell out again. We
got to Fairfax about noon and about a mile
beyond had a long rest. Soon I saw the Reg.
coming back and falling in with them we went
back to Fairfax and encamped near there.
My feet were very sore, but on the whole I got
along very well.
I wore the regular army shoe, and always
the first day of a march after breaking
camp my heels became a mass of blisters.
I grew to expect it, and to know if I
pricked them at night they would begin to
79
harden the next day; but this first experi-
ence gave me only the present pain, and I
had not learned it would not be permanent.
were
Coarse as army shoes were, I am not sure
but with their broad soles and heels they
better than a more fashionable
boct. I tried the home kind once or twice
but was glad to get back to those dealt out
by the government, ungainly as they were.
The Duke of Wellington replied to the
question what was the best requisite for a
soldier, "A good pair of shoes", and when
asked what was the next requisite, answered
"A spare pair of good soles". A confed-
erate soldier who has laid a Yankee low
has been known to rush for him, shouting,
"Them's my shoes!" But the confederate
shoes were poor as well as scarce. I had
no reason to complain of the shoes dealt
out to me.
It is said that Lee had no intention of
fighting at Gettysburg, and Gen. Heth was
sending his soldiers there to get shoes.
Gen. Wadsworth on the march to South
Mountain came to a town where all the
shoe-stores were closed, and made 200 men
take off their shoes and give them to his
soldiers.
Gen. Meade held the army for a day
after Gettysburg because he found 900
men without shoes.
When Sir Harry Smith, after whose wife.
Ladysmith was named, was governor of
Cape Colony his troops returned from a cam-
paign against the Kaffirs in most dilapi-
dated outfit. He inspected them on pa-
rade and made a speech congratulating
them on their gallant conduct, but one of
the men stepped forward from the ranks
and said, "Beggin' your pardon, Sir 'Arry,
We don't want no gammon; we want
boots."


80
[Fairfax Station, Va.
On the March
Whatever else I discarded I always tried
to keep several pairs of socks and when
possible I kept them washed, but there were
many men who owned but one pair at a
time and wore them as long as they held to-
gether, often not taking them off at night.
I do not see how these people endured long
marches. Not seldom their feet would get
so heated and sore and inflamed that they
would take off their shoes and socks and
march barefoot, even in cold weather.
McCarthy, who says that few confederate
soldiers had socks, speaks of this carrying
shoes as a common habit, and says bloody
footprints in the snow were not infrequent.
Besides the inevitable chafing of coarse,
ill-fitting shoes, sand and gravel would work
in, for when marching in line one could not
pick his footsteps; and as there was no
chance to remove these intrusions till the
next long halt, hours on perhaps, the feet
became raw and the gravel was ground
into the open flesh.
At night pitched tent with
Prest, and went to bed, but for some time I
lay thinking over the events of the day &
thinking how different was a Sunday at home
from a Sunday in the Camp. Monday. Cos
D, F, H & G were ordered to Fairfax Sta-
tion on the R. R. and a drummer went with
each Co, but Phillips went with D.
This I regretted, for there was a possi-
bility of a skirmish and I still wanted to get
into a battle.
Went
over to the Camp of the 119th N. Y. which
they were leaving. Got a pair of leggings
and a good deal of other stuff.

Played Out
Nov. 2-3, 1862]
Where Luggage is Impedimenta
It is a pitiful thing to break up camp
and leave behind the comforts one has ac-
cumulated. You know what it is to pack
your kit for the Adirondacks and how hard
it is to throw out this and that which seem
so necessary and yet which you realize you
cannot carry forty miles on your back.
But when you throw them out it is to re-
turn to them; it is only doing without
them for a few days. In the army it was
throwing them away for good, and it came
hard. The old soldier learned to do it
ruthlessly, but even he did not know how
long the march was to be, and he often
started with what he had to scatter along
the road. I saw the most instances of
this the next June 15, when we were march-
ing wearily along the railroad on a very hot
day, with no water. I never saw elsewhere
such a quantity and variety of castaways.
I picked up a beautifully bound prayer-
book; a bawdy book of which the half page
I read before I knew what it was is branded
in my memory to this day; even a letter
from a wife telling her husband how in her
poverty she had finally succumbed to the
landlord who had pressed her for rent and
would not be otherwise appeased. Think
of throwing away a letter like that without
even tearing off the address; even I,
stranger, kept it till I could burn it with the
book. I threw things away, too, on that
march, more and more of them, till when
we got to Gettysburg I had only a haver-
sack, a rubber blanket and a canteen left,
of all the luxuries I had gathered in the
winter camp.
a
The principal mistake I made on this
first march was carrying too heavy a knap-
sack. It is amazing how every ounce
weighs down, till the straps around one's
shoulders seem to cut into the flesh. Mc-
Carthy says the confederates did away with
81
overcoats and knapsacks, and even with
canteens, preferring tin cups. They even
discarded cartridge boxes and carried cart-
ridges and caps in their pockets. It was
amusing to see the men hauling out of their
pockets a mixture of corn, salt, caps, and
cartridges, selecting the material needed
before they loaded or ate. "Reduced to
the minimum," he says, "the private soldier
consisted of one man, one hat, one jacket,
one shirt, one pair of pants, one pair of
drawers, one pair of shoes, and one pair of
socks. His baggage consisted of one blanket,
one rubber blanket, and one haversack."
There were occasional exceptions.
When the 30th Georgia went into its first
fight one man had a violin strapped to his
back declaring, "If I die I want to die to
the sound of Betsy." When the fight was
over he was found under a tree, badly
wounded, but propped up against the trunk
and playing on Betsy.
On the next page is a picture published
about the time of the battle of Antietam,
representing confederate prisoners. I saw
a great many confederate prisoners but I
never saw any who looked like this. They
all have shoes and hats and clothes enough
to cover them. They may have looked that
way when they started out from Richmond
but not when they got into Maryland. The
picture in "Battles and Leaders", iii. 250,
of confederates crossing a ford is most
amusing. There was never a Johnny Reb
north of the Potomac with any such outfit
as these men are carrying.
On the retreat from Moscow Ney had
twelve million francs in gold which he saw
he must abandon, and made the fatal mis-
take of distributing it among the soldiers.
They so overloaded themselves that hun-
dreds of them failed to reach the frontier..
Sir John Moore was wiser. On his retreat
82
[Fairfax Station, Va.
On the March
from Corunna he had the money thrown
down a precipice after the army had
passed.
One of our
boys stole a box of candles out of one of the
wagons and Prest. and I got 71.
If I had been writing for other eyes I
might have modified this entry, but in this
diary a spade is a spade. As a matter of
fact soldiers thought no more of pilfering.
from a commissary or a quartermaster than
a child does of getting at its mother's
cookie jar.
"Weren't you afraid when you went into
that dark closet for the cookies?" asked an
earnest mother, trying to instill what con-
science was.
"Yes, mamma, I was a little afraid.”

MOUNTAINS TO FREDERICK.MD
MARCHING PRISONERS OVER THE
Nov. 3-11, 1862]
The Burden of Knapsacks
"Afraid of what, dearest?"
"Afraid I couldn't find the cookies."
As the darkey proved to have taken one
of his master's shoats explained: "Dat
ain't no stealin', Mahse John; hit's all in
de family; you'se got less shoat but you'se
got mo' niggah."
I traded
off some of them in the village. As I was
buying some stuff in one of the shops a sick
soldier of the 134th N Y. came along &
bought five cts. worth of cakes with all the
money he had. I bought him some cakes &
cheese for which he was very grateful.
When I first read over this diary I
thought I recoginzed here a little intercom-
munication between my right hand and my
left, but it stands so alone in this respect
that I think it was chronicled merely as an
interesting incident.
Wednesday. Had orders to move and so
packed our knapsacks, but had them carried
on the wagon.
This was an unusual concession: perhaps
an echo of an order of Gen. Pope in which,
to prevent straggling, he commanded the
officers to march behind their companies
instead of before, and on the other hand
recommended that knapsacks be carried.
This would have been wholly impracticable
for such campaigning as we did. Wagons
could seldom accompany us in sufficient
number, there would be great delay in
putting our knapsacks on the wagons and
getting them back again, if there was a
skirmish the wagons would get separated,
perhaps captured, and altogether the idea
belonged to militia training rather than to
a fighting army.
Went to Fairfax Station. Prest
& I pitched our tent. Thursday. In the
morning it began to snow, and a wet, cold,
miserable day it was. Saturday. Went
83
about 1½ mile to an old Church which the
soldiers had torn down, and got some boards.
Prest got enraged at my laziness and we sepa-
rated. Laid cold at night.
This is not to conflict with my statement
that I have only pleasant memories of
Prest: I did not say he had only pleasant
memories of me. I have no doubt he was
perfectly justified, only he was a half older
than I and six feet tall, so it was easier for
him than for me to carry a dozen boards
half a mile on his shoulder.
Much ingenuity was shown in the build-
ing of huts, for we had only our shelter tents
and hardly averaged a blanket apiece.
Our own regiment picketed the rail-
road for some distance, and to save march-
ing out and back distributed companies
along the track. They constructed biv-
ouacs, often stretching their rubber blan-
kets over rails or poles as shown on the next
page. Some of them dug holes in the em-
bankment of the railroad to make beds in,
and Bailey of Co. H., who was asleep in
such a cavern, was covered by a cave-in
and died before he could be rescued.
Sunday. Nov. 9th.
Got two papers from home. Sent two letters
in the P. M. Fixed my house, Monday.
Built me a Chimney. Tuesday. Got two
letters, from home. The Reg. was called out
to give a salute to McLellan. Saw both
McLellan & Hooker.
Gen. McClellan had been recalled from
command of the army, and was on his way
from Warrington to Washington.
I have heard a good deal about how the
soldiers idolized Little Mac and resented his
dismissal from command, but I heard noth-
ing of the sort in my regiment. They had
been with him all through his peninsular
campaign, and they were quite ready to try
some one else.

84
[Fairfax Station, Va.
On the March
TEMPORARY QUARTERS
Some man asked Lincoln for a pass to
Richmond. "A pass to Richmond," ex-
claimed the president, "Why, my dear sir,
if I should give you one it would do you no
GEN. GEORGE B. MCCLELLAN, 1826-85
good. You may
You may think it strange, but
there are a lot of fellows between here and
Richmond who either can't read or who are
prejudiced against every man who totes a
pass from me. I have given McClellan
more than 200,000 passes to Richmond,
and not a darned one of them has got there
yet.".
My regiment had been within four miles
of Richmond, and then turned back be-
cause McClellan had not the sand to fight a
battle. They had read his dispatches prom-
ising to die at the head of his troops, and
seen him take refuge on a gunboat. They
knew that this caricature published in
Frank Leslie's for Feb. 1 was unjust in that
it represented his troops and Beauregard's
as equal, while as a matter of fact it was
divisions against brigades. They had no
doubt it was with McClellan's connivance
if not by his command that his pets Fitz
John Porter and Franklin refused to obey
Pope's commands and lost the second
battle of Bull Run. When, afterward
McClellan ran for president on a platform
pronouncing the war a failure, they wagged
their heads at one another and echoed, "I
told you so." I don't know what the army
thought about Little Mac, but that was
what the enlisted men of the 1st Massa-
chusetts thought, and what they said about
the camp fires.
WHITE HOUSE
SOBEES
Nov. 11-22, 1862]
Little Mac
Wednesday. Sick
to day. Got some pills from the Dr. Geo.
Allen gave me a Sedlitz powder which tasted
firstrate. Thursday. Sold my dirk knife
to Prest for $1.25, payday. He got me
checks for 1.00 and I spent part of it. Fri-
day. Still sick & appearances of Jaundice.
Saturday Felt better in P. M.
George H. Allen was fifer in Company
A. I saw him at the fortieth reunion of
the regiment. He is an officer in the sol-
diers home in Maine, I think.
This was my first illness, and I had few
afterward, none serious. The taste of the
powder seems to have been more worthy
of record than whether it cured me. The
spending of the dollar seems to have result-
85
ed in return of the complaint, which was
hardly worthy the dignified name of jaun-
dice.
Sunday. Nov. 16th 1862.
Got some papers of the Chaplain. Monday
Fixed my house more.
Everybody is build-
ing houses. Tuesday. Had orders to pack
knapsacks and get ready for a march. The
11th. N. Y. and 2 N. H. passed us. Wed-
nesday Rainy. My house leaked badly-
Thursday. Still raining. Went over to a
house near and bought three pints of meal,
for which I traded some needles & thread.
Drew Pants, Blouse, Cap, Stockings & Shoes.
Rainy night. Got wet. Friday. Towards
night it cleared up. Saturday. Fixed
my No. 4 Blouse into a coat with Side Pock-

AB
ALL QUIET ALONG THE РОТОМАС
BOURBON
86
[Wolfs Run Shoal, Va.
On the March
ets. Fixed my house with raised bank &
tent overhead-
Sunday Nov. 23d. 1862.
Got knowledge of a box containing liquor
and arranged with the Sentinel to open it as
it is contraband. So opened it and got some
butter, sugar, & tea.
Since this is recorded I suppose it must be
true, but I am more ashamed of it than of
any other deed recorded in these pages. I
wonder who the sentinel was who made me
his cat's-paw; no 1st Massachusetts man,
I hope; my own conduct inflicted disgrace
enough upon it. The sentinel was pro-
bably upon brigade guard, as the regimen-
tal guard would have had no such authority.
I was a Son of Temperance, and as will
be afterward seen I poured my govern-
ment rations of whiskey on the ground,
but I think this is the only time in my
life I ever played informer and got paid
for it. If it had been a characteristic and
not a vagary I don't know how low I
might have sunk; I might even have writ-
ten a text-book on physiology with state-
ments about liquor exaggerated enough
to have the book approved and sell, so
that when a schoolgirl who used it saw a
glorious sunset, the first thing it would
remind her of would be the appearance
of her father's stomach after he had drunk
a glass of claret.
-Monday. Went over
to a house near and traded some tea for a pie
& some flour. Tuesday. Was awakened
about 2 A. M. by Hull who told me to get
ready to march.
Hull was the drum major, and in many
respects a good one. He could beat as even
a roll as I ever heard and his single and
double drags were a pleasure to hear. He
was pretty faithful to his duties, too, in a
subordinate's way. You could depend
upon him to wake us all up and see that we
got in line. His discipline was not what
it should have been. More than once the
drum corps made mortifying blunders on
dress parade that under a better drill mas-
ter would have been impossible. He was
not fond of danger, but he always staid by
the regiment till the drum corps was or-
dered back, which was more than could be
said of Major Hart, the other principal
musician, a fifer. Once when we were or-
dered to the firing line with stretchers Hull
balked, telling us to start with the ambu-
lance but to turn back. Of course it was
not our legitimate work, but it was in the
Wilderness under Grant, when men were
growing scarce and even boys counted.
This was near the end, however, and it was
natural to want to get back to Boston with
a whole skin. Personally he was a pleas-
ant fellow, companionable and always
good-natured. I played a great many
games of chess with him. I am told he
lives now in Laconia, N. H.
So I got up and cooked
some flapjacks etc. and at daylight, took some
sugar and tea and went over to the house
and got 80 cts. in money and two pies. Start-
ed about 8 o'clock for Wolf's Run Shoals,
which we forded and encamped the other side.
Fording a river is no fun. We shall hear
a good deal about fords in this narrative,
for Virginia had forty fords to one bridge.
Usually a pontoon bridge was thrown
across for us, but now and then we had to
wade through, often in the midst of a
march. If marching is difficult in dry
clothes, guess what it must be with all our
heavy woolens dripping, and our shoes
soaking. Often the fords were dangerous,
and cavalrymen were stationed below to
rescue the men carried off their feet.
Nov. 22-4, 1862]
Fording Wolf's Run
87

Three men in the 12th corps were drown-
ed at a single fording.
Sometimes a rope was stretched across to
which the men could cling to keep from
being carried away.
When the march for the day was ended
there was always a rush for fence-rails or
anything else we could get to sleep on.
Any thing would do for a bed that kept
us off the ground.

FORDING A RIVER IN VIRGINIA
88
[Wolfs Run Shoal, Va.
On the March

FORDING BY A ROPE
O. D. Robinson, principal of the Albany
High School and during the war a soldier
in the 9th N. H., wrote, Dec., '62, in his
diary of the battle of Fredericksburg:
"Fires were all extinguished at dark, and
we bivouacked in the muddy streets. I
procured a couple of house doors, one of
which I used as a bed, which though not
soft was dry, and the other I arranged to
break off the wind, and thus with one of
my tentmates slept soundly and sweetly."
Here I saw and ate for the first time
persimmons, which the men are picking in
the trees. When fully ripe they are rather
pleasant to the taste, but if eaten pre-
maturely they are astringent. A confed-
erate who was asked why he ate green per-
simmons replied, "To pucker up my stom-
ach to the size of my rations."
Pitched tent alone. Got letter from home
with receipt from Express Co. for box. Also
for fife. Whole bill for fife $7.00. Wednes-
day. It rained last night but I did not get
wet. Bought a corn-cake at a house near.
Was put on Orderly and bought another at
i
noon. Thursday. Thanksgiving. Co. E.
had boxes come in the morning and had great
dinner in P. M. I went up when they were
through and got some mince pie. At night
my box came. It was in pretty good shape,
and contained Chicken, Cakes, Jelly, etc.
I was doubtless entitled to signs of jaun-
dice again, next day, but apparently es-
caped.
Friday In afternoon went over to see the
14th Vt. but saw none whom I knew.
I was a good deal of a visitor, and never
failed to look up anybody I might have
been acquainted with in Vermont or
Massachusetts regiments. Indeed I used
to visit regiments as regiments, to get a
general impression of them, from their
camps and appearance. The differences
were marked, depending I suppose upon
the original officers as well as upon the
character of the men. Some regiments
were always slouchy, in dress, in gait,
in camp arrangement, while others were
habitually trim. I was usually glad when
I came home from a visit to a new regiment
Nov. 24-30, 1862]
1.
A Rush for Fence Rails
کی است که
•
SHAKING THE PERSIMMON TREES
to congratulate myself upon having been
assigned to a regiment that was trim. As
elsewhere told We received frequent
compliments upon this, and on two occa-
sions were granted substantial recognition.
Sunday. Nov. 30th. 1862
Had divine service. Wrote off my Diary
up to date.
89

i
CHAPTER VII. WITH A WAGON TRAIN

OR a boy who
had started out
in rather hard
luck the rest of
the march to
Fredericksburg
proved very easy,
and afforded
some interesting experiences.
Diary for month of December, 1862.
1st. Left Wolfs Run Shoals at daylight
in the morning and was soon obliged to fall
out, as my shoulder was very lame. Dearing
of Co. G. accompanied me.
Dearing was a drummer of Co. G, who
just before we were discharged re-enlisted
in the 11th Mass., Co. C.
We came within
2 miles of Dumfries and stopped at Thomas
Lamb's over night. Was much pleased with
the Family & felt more at home than ever
before since leaving home-
This was an unparallelled experience in
my army life, so I have always remembered
it. Once on the train to New York I heard
a boy in the opposite seat ask the conductor
how to get to a shipping office in lower
Broadway. The conductor did not mani-
fest much interest in directing him, so I
went over beside him. In the course of
explaining what he wanted to find he told
me he was a school boy from Virginia, and
had spent the summer working in an auto-
mobile garage in Syracuse. I took him in to
breakfast with me and called for both
checks. "O I have money," he said proud-
ly: "I'll pay," and he showed a two-dollar
bill. But the breakfast had cost more than
he would have ordered, and I insisted on
paying and going down Broadway with
him.
"You've been mighty good to me, sir,'
he said as I left him.
"Some of you Virginians have been
mighty good to me," I said, thinking of
Thomas Lamb, “and I am always glad to
have a chance to pay back. You Vir-
ginians are pleasant people to meet."
"Well," he replied, straightening up
proudly, "I think we uns are a pretty
decent lot. Of course there are some mean
Virginians, but you don't meet them often."
And that is true. I have fallen in with
quite a number of Virginia men and
women since the war, and always with gra-
tification. It was worth the price of the
breakfast to hear "we uns" again.
2nd. Started early and were overtaken ere
we had reached D. by a train of wagons car-
rying Lowe's Balloons &c. Stated my case
to the Wagon Master and was surprised to
have him say "Get upon any wagon you
choose." Rode untill night and encamped
a little North of Stafford Courthouse.
This was another unmatched experience;
the wind was being tempered to the lame-
shouldered lamb.
The balloon was used a good deal that
winter: indeed Burnside relied more upon
his balloon than upon his cavalry to discover
the enemy's movements. He was criticised
for neglecting his cavalry: Stuart's con-
federate cavalry raided Dumfries way in
our rear the day before the battle of Fred-
ericksburg. But after the war Gen. Alexan-
der, a confederate officer, expressed his sur-
prise that other generals discontinued Burn-
side's use of balloons, which had put the
{
90

PROF. LOWE MAKING A BALLOON ASCENSION

CONNECTING THE ARMY BY TELEGRAPH DURING BATTLE
92
[Stafford Courthouse, Va.
With a Wagon Train

HALT OF A WAGON TRAIN
enemy at great inconvenience to conceal his
movements.
In the Franco-Prussian war a balloon
was sent up from Metz with 45,000 letters
and a cage with two pigeons in it. A note
was affixed offering a reward of 500 francs.
to anyone who would send back news from
the outer world. But the balloon fell into
the hands of the Prussians, who sent word
to Metz by official dispatch that the birds

WIZY
A DARKEY MULE DRIVER IN TROUBLE
Dec. 2, 1862]
At Night
93

AROUND ANOTHER FIRE
made a meal both welcome and tender.
Another present help in trouble was the
telegraph, which our men learn to lay on
temporary poles even during a battle, so
that the commander could keep in touch
with all his leaders.
It was an easy life these wagoners led,
and the night encampment was a lark to
me.
A sutler's wagon had joined them for
protection, and that night it was rifled. It
contained a large stock of officers' boots,
and each wagoner picked out a pair for
himself. I was above such things: besides,
none of the boots I tried on were as com-
fortable as my army shoes.
The wagoners were a good-natured lot,
94
[Falmouth, Va.
With a Wagon Train

MULE DRIVERS WATERING THEIR TEAMS

ATTACK ONGA WAGON TRAIN
Dec. 2, 1862]
Negro Mule Drivers
and it was fun to sit about the fire and hear
their yarns. They were all white, while
the usual mule driver is colored, and the
stories were amusing enough they told of
those darkey drivers when a wagon went.
off a bridge or the train was attacked by
confederates. Afterwards I now and then
saw these attempted seizures of wagon-
trains, and on one occasion helped a little
in recovering a train the enemy had cap-
tured. I remembered what these men
about the fire had said of the negroes'
terror under fire and found it fully justified.
A darkey driver trying to lash a contrary
95
sextette of mules into running fast enough.
to escape is a sight to make a soldier weep
with laughter even when he is under fire
himself.
Not that the negro is especially a coward.
When he was enlisted as a soldier his brav-
ery made it a slang phrase that the colored
troops fought nobly. There were indi-
vidual instances among colored servants
of indifference to danger, as where it is told
of a darkey whom the frangibility of shells.
filled with disgust, that he exclaimed, "I
'clare, massa, de Yankee shell ain't wort a
cuss some on 'em buss when he hit de

ि
M
FREDERICKSBURG FROM FALMOUTH STATION
96
[Falmonth, Va.
With a Wagon Train

FREDERICKSBURG AS SEEN FROM FALMOUTH
ground, an' some on 'em so no 'count he
buss right in de air."
3d. Started again with them and rode to
Falmouth and hence to near the Phillips
House, the birthplace of Geo. Washington.
I have given the legend generally be-
lieved at the time, though of course Wash-
ington was born in Westmoreland county.
But his father lived here for many of the
years of Washington's boyhood; the can't-
tell-a-lie incident would have occurred
here if it had occurred at all--indeed sol-

FREDERICKSBURG FROM BELOW
Dec. 3, 1863]
The Rappahannock River
MARTHA WASHINGTON'S MONUMENT
97
diers sent home relics made from the cherry
tree he cut down; and his mother's monu-
ment, scarred during the war by many a
bullet, stood in a graveyard in the southwest
of the city. Président Jackson laid the
cornerstone, May 7, 1833. It is now re-
placed by a tall shaft.
Falmouth was on the other side of the
river from Fredericksburg, then in confed-
erate hands, so we could see not only the
city but sections of the opposing army, as
detachments appeared from time to time.
The most distinctive feature of the city was
the old mill with external wheel, near the
railway bridge. That mill played its part in
the battle there, for it was the narrowness of
the bridge over its race that made it so
difficult to mass men for the charge up the
hill.
The name Falmouth on the map on
the inside cover shows Falmouth station


THE RAPPAHANNOCK RIVER ABOVE FREDERICKSBURG
98
[Fredericksburg, Va.
With a Wagon Train

Drummer boys
on the railway. The village is a mile up the
river, on its bank.
The river itself is a rather interesting and
not unattractive stream. Views will be
given from time to time in these pages,
above and below the city, and at United
States ford and Kelly's ford. On the
Rapidan I shall also show Ely's and Ger-
mania fords. The map on inside cover will
make the story of the marching and fight-
ing clear.
Then rode with a 2nd N. H. Wagon to the
Regt and surprised the Drum Corps by my
appearance as they thought I had stopped
somewhere on the road or had been taken
prisoner.
5th. Had Review by Gen. Hooker, and
Hull told me to turn in my Drum & take up
fifing. Had very good review
If
venient thing a drum was to carry.
it was thrown upon the back over the knap-
sack it was always in the way, particularly
when the column stopped for a little and I
sat down to lean my back against a tree or a
wall. If it was carried at the side it was
continually swinging around in front and
hitting my knees, and was again in the way
when I wanted to rest. Heavy as a mus-
ket is, I would rather carry it, cartridges
and all than a drum. As for a fife it
slipped into the knapsack out of the way
and had practically no weight.
6th Pitched Tent with Chipmunks.
This was our commonest name for Chap-
man.
8th
Burditt & Phillips came into our tent
and we all four slept under five blankets.
I do not mention it, so I hope this time
My march had proved what an incon- I drew one of the two inside places.
CHAPTER IX. THE BATTLE OF FREDERICKSBURG

G
ET this map of
the vicinity of
Frederick sburg
well in mind, for
it will serve for
the battles
Fredericksburg,
Chancellorsville,
of
Locust Grove,
the Wilderness, and Spotsylvania. More
than 50,000 union soldiers were killed and
wounded in the triangle between Germania
ford, Spotsylvania, and what is marked
Pontoon bridges.
From Washington to Richmond the nat-
ural route is via Fredericksburg, which is
RAPIDAN
GERMANIA
Fox's Neck
RIVER
US FORD
BANKS FD
FALMOUTH
almost exactly half way. Yet two other
routes were chosen first for the union army.
McClellan originally insisted upon the pen-
insular campaign, going by the Potomac and
Chesapeake bay to Norfolk and thence up
the James. This had the advantage of ·
connection with Washington by water
and the assistance of gunboats, but the
disadvantages of leaving Washington
uncovered and thus dividing the army,
and of a swampy and unhealthful climate.
When this proved a failure and Pope was
put in command he chose a second route by
way of Culpepper and Gordonsville, and
told boastfully how he was going to Rich-
mond from the northwest. "I'm goin' ter

AQUIA CR.R.R.
Belle plain
Fooke
handing
BOYDS NOLE
"WHITE)PLAINS
A
2
ILDERNES
91
CHANCELLORSVILLE
9
$
ང་
૧૧:૩.૧
21
.
N
RIV 2
TODDS
TAVERN
Mary's Brigè
24
Corbyns bridge Block House
SPOTSYLVANIA C.H?
PO RIVER
Carr's bridge
TA RIVER
W. PLEASANT
FREDERIC'S
HALL
Pottiesville
Dave
Roc
ደ ታ
MAT
Соб
sons
Harts
BURG
SONTOON BRIDGES
Wap
Muddy Cr
RAPP
오오오​오오오​.
2
오
​ANNOS
오오오​오오오
​uf qqqq z s
LL Dense Wood
오오오​오오오
​ILL L
오
​2
୧୨
Corte
GEORGE C
COUR
MOU
Skinners Neck
Cherry P
Holland Pt
PORT COMWAY
PORT
Price
Golden Vale
NEWS
VILLEBORO
PUMAN
END R.
Mms houses
Maltacogy
P
Well
BOWLING GREEN,
Villepique
Milford's Bridge
M
verdan
CA
S.
RIVER
Tobacco Plant
Potter
Tcha
WAP OF THE REGION WEAR CHANCELLUMSVILLE. -
99
DorM

100
[Fredericksburg, Va.
The Battle of Fredericksburg
GEN. JOHN POPE, 1823-92
pound the stuffin' out er you," said one
ragamuffin to another; "I'm going ter
paste ye in the eye and bang ye in the nose
and bang ye in the nose
an' swat ye till ye don't know whether ye're
on yer head or yer heels." "So?" retorted
the other scornfully, "an' wot am I doin'
all this while?" Pope had not paused to
ask himself what the confederates would
be doing, and the first he knew Jackson had
interposed between him and Washington.
and made him turn his army right-about-
face. Still, after McClellan had driven the
confederates back into Virginia at Antietam
and was urged to do something, he was
planning to take this same route, and our
first march had been to join the rest of the
army at Thoroughfare Gap. Longstreet
believes that Burnside should have carried
out the plan McClellan was contemplating
in his leisurely way, of going from Warren-
ton to Chester Gap and fighting him and
Jackson separately.
BRINGING THE PONTOONS FROM AQUIA CREEK
Dec. 10, 1862
Pontoon Bridges
!
101

FREDERICKSBURG FROM FALMOUTH HEIGHTS
10th. Had orders to move and prepared
ourselves wtih knapsacks packed but we got
no orders to start. Gen. Sickles rode up and
observing large fires in front of Field Tents
said “No unusual fires, Major." So we
think there must be something up-
There was something up: my first battle
had begun. The pontoons had been
floated down Quantico creek from Dumfries
(see map, inside cover), and carried to Aquia
Creek landing by water, then by train to
Falmouth, and this night were being car-

LAYING THE PONTOON BRIDGE
UorM
102
[Fredericksburg, Va.
The Battle of Fredericksburg
ried to the river for use the next day. We
were supplied with three days rations, and
the privates with 60 cartridges each. It
was an exciting time for me, and I was eager
for action.
11th. Wakened at 3 in the morning by
Rolls of Cannon. Soon had orders to leave
in light marching order, and went about a
mile this side of Fred'g, and halted and staid
till night. Went over by the Phillips House
to see how they were getting along and had
fine sight.
The morning was cold and chilly, but
the men were busy laying pontoons, as
shown on page 101. The big clumsy
boats were placed side by side and joined
by planks that made a solid roadway across
the 140 yards of river. As soon as the
confederates, warned by their signal can-
non, perceived the improvised bridge under
construction they opened so heavy a fire
that the work was interrupted, but de-
tachments from the 19th Mass. and 7th
Mich. crossed the river in boats, dislodged.
the sharpshooters from the houses along
the river, and enabled the engineers to
complete the bridge. The heights on our
complete the bridge.
side were 140 feet, so much above those on
the other side and so covered with artillery
that the confederates had no hope of pre-
venting our men from crossing, and, as
afterward appeared, were glad to have us
do so.
At the time I went to the Phillips
house troops were marching over into the
town unmolested. Some houses. were
burning, and the whole city looked de-
molished by our cannon.

Mol
HY
CROSSING INTO FREDEricksburg
Dec. 11-12, 1862]
Sacking the City
12th Early in the morning had orders to
start and went out near the Phillips House.
Our division had been ordered to follow
Getty's division of the right wing across.
the bridge, but halted in front of Sumner's
headquarters and at 4 received the other
order. Had the first order been unchanged
we should probably have taken part in the
charge on Marye's hill.
I started out alone and went into Fred'g.
Every house was
city was ruined.
Such a sight I never saw.
riddled with balls. The
As we still lay idle, and it was too foggy to
see much from where we were, I undertook
a little expedition of my own, crossing the
pontoon bridge, and walking down the
main street, of which the picture following
accords with my recollections, though at
this time there was no fighting. Some of
the streets were held by our troops and
103
some by the confederates. What inter-
ested me most was the sacking of the city
by our men. Stores and private houses
alike were plundered, and what could not
be carried away was destroyed. Men
plunged their bayonets into mirrors,
smashed piano keys with musket butts,
pitched crockery out of the windows,
shovelled dirt into barrels of flour. Sofas,
arm-chairs, beds, carpets were carried into
the street and put to ridiculous uses. I
saw one man cooking flapjacks in a silver
cake-basket, at great inconvenience. "One
soldier carried off a stuffed monkey, one a
dozen custard cups on a string, one
beaver hat." Much was said of the dese-
cration of their masters' houses by the
emancipated negroes, but our soldiers des-
troyed as well as misused.
a
Cole says that some of the men found a

UNION SOLDIERS IN THE STREETS OF FREDERICKSBURG
104
[FIedericksburg, Va.
The Battle of Fredericksburg

NEGROES DESECRATING THEIR MASTERS HOUSES
BRANCH OFFICE.
BANK OF VIRGINIA
SOLDIERS DESTROYED AS WELL AS MISUSED
.
i

Dec. 12, 1862]
Under Fire for the First Time
barrel of whiskey in a cellar, with results
that could have been expected, but I saw
no signs of this. What I saw was looting,
but it was decorous looting.
When the Imperial Light Horse arrived
at Pretoria, it proceeded to use a front door
for kindling wood. The indignant owner
exclaimed, "Do you know who I am? I
am the commissioner of police." "Think
yourself lucky, my son," replied the ser-
geant in charge; "this corps usually boils
its coffee with pianos.'
Got a few Relics, which I brought back, but
not being satisfied thought I would go again.
I contented myself with a few relics, like
a flattened bullet and a confederate bay-
onet, both of which I threw away on my
first long march. When I got back to the
regiment and told them what I had seen
they asked indignantly, "Where is your
flour?" "Where is your tobacco?" naming
105
the things they would have seized if stores
were being plundered.
So started and got nearly to the river when a
shell came whizzing among us, closely fol-
lowed by others. I thought it time to leave
and ran back to the Regt.
I felt ashamed of my unpracticality, and
started again back, this time Prest accom-
panying me. We had just reached the top
of the bank near the bridge, troops were
passing across, a band was playing at this
end, the sun was shining, there had been
no firing for some time, when as I happened
to look above the city where the confed-
erate batteries were I saw a flash, and I
have always believed that I saw the shell
leave the mortar. At any rate I followed
its flight easily enough, for it was one of
those high circling, slow travelling fellows
such as we used to read about in physics
when the problems were on calculating the

A THIRTEEN-INCH MORTAR
106
[Fredericksburg, Va.
The Battle of Fredericksburg

}
5
12
7
2
--
3
-
1
SHELLS AND OTHER ARTILLERY APPLIANCES
1 Stand of grape, 2 Round shot, 3 Empty canister, 4 Shell, 5 Shell and cabot, 6 Priming
box, 7 Ammunition pouch, 8 Elevating screw, 9 Cartridge, 10 Worm, 11 Sponge, 12 Rammer,
13 Handspike.
path of a projectile. Why does it not oc-
curto somebody in these days of learning to
do by doing to let the class work those
problems under the inspiration of the
real object? It would be an interesting
sight to witness a high school with desks set
out in the open field for a regents examin-
ation in projectiles, the shots to be calcu-
lated being shells fired over their heads.
This particular shell went straight over my
head, exploding behind me among the
troops who were marching toward the river.
No one who has not heard a shell can imag-
ine the sensation it produces as it goes
whiz-z-z-z-Z BANG! The troops that were
crossing halted, the band scattered in more
directions than there were men.
Then occurred one of those psychological
inconsistencies of which life is so full. I
was scared, Prest was scared; I knew he
was scared, he knew I was scared; I knew
he knew I was scared, and he knew I knew
he was scared: yet though either of us
if he had been alone would have lost no
time in getting to a place of safety, rather
than acknowledge to each other we were
scared we pretended to deliberate.
"Do you think we ought to go on?" I
asked, and like the heroes in the Aeneid
who were scared my voice stuck in my
throat.
"P-perhaps they won't let us in," he
replied with similar indistinctness.
"May be the regiment will be moving,"
I added.
"Yes, I think we had better go back to
it," he assented.
By this time the gunners had got the
range and the shells were coming fast.
"Perhaps the regiment may charge these
batteries," I suggested, "and we shouldn't
want to miss that."
Dec. 12, 1862]
ل.
Bomb-Ague
"No, we shouldn't want to miss that,"
Prest agreed, his teeth chattering; "we'd
better start right along;" and his lengthy
strides made back up the hill.
"Hold on,"I cried, “you're right in range.
Come down the river apiece before we start
back."
But if he heard me he did not turn, and he
made a bee line for the regiment. I
went down the river almost to the Lacy
house before I turned up the hill and was
soon out of the line of shells.
But I was certainly scared. One shell had
exploded near enough so that I could realize
its effects, and the one thing I wanted was
to get where no more shells could burst
around me. This patriotic hero who had
declared in front of campfires how he
longed for gore would have liked to be
tucked up once more in his little trun-
dle-bed. Bomb-ague is a real disease and I
had caught it.
There was no question of getting back
to the regiment as soon as possible, for
the firing continued and this reopening of
the battle meant movement for us. I
could see that my division was preparing to
march, and while I did not actually run I
certainly walked fast to get to it. It is
curious how little annoyances will keep
themselves prominent even in time of dan-
ger. I had on thick woolen drawers which
had somehow broken from the fastening
that held them up. It was a warm day
It was a warm day
and as I hurried up the hill those drawers
kept slipping down till they drove me
almost distracted, disturbing my equa-
nimity more than the danger did.
Found them al-
ready for a start and we marched some four
miles to a point down the River where Frank-
lin crossed. Halted on this side.
I did not get back any too soon, and was
107
scolded as usual for being off sight-seeing
when I ought to have been at my post. In
fact the regiment had already begun to
move and I should have lost my knapsack
and other belongings had not the men in
my company carried them along for me.
They were certainly a mighty good-natured
lot of fellows; I wonder to this day at the
kindnesses they used to show to a little
reprobate like me, always skirmishing off
where I didn't belong. They even ac-
cepted without expressing incredulity my
explanation that we had given up our entry
into the city because the provost guard
would not let us in, "just on account of a
few rebel shells". Fortunately Prest, who
had got back before me, had hit on the
same story. But we deceived no one.
Cowardice is like sea-sickness: you may
keep your voice cheerful but the color
shows.
We marched rapidly over poor roads and
ploughed ground to the east along the bank
above the river. The little boy who had
been so eager for battle had just one prayer,
that we should stay on this side, cut of
danger. As a matter of fact after march-
ing some four miles we did halt and re-
main on the north side.
But it was only for the night and there
would be battle for us to-morrow, so we
were a sober regiment. Just before going
into action there is considerable to think of.
There are letters to write that for some will
be the last ones, and injunctions for one's
comrades "if anything happens", as the
men used to say. It was a solemn night
for me.
13th. Soon had orders to move as the heavy
peals of cannon and musketry gave evidence
of the need of our assistance. But we did
not cross the river but remained in a place
108
[Fredericksburg, Va.
The Battle of Fredericksburg

ㄓ​ㄓ
​THE CHARGE ON MARYE'S HEIGHTS
where we had a perfect sight of the whole line
of battle-Saw the Charges on the Batteries.
It happened to few private soldiers dur-
ing the war to witness such a sight as spread
out before us after the thick mist rose in
the morning. We could see not only our
own troops but the confederates, every
movement, every attack, almost every can-
non. The charge of Meagher's brigade
was a pitiful sight. Again and again they
started up the hill in solid platoons. At
the first fire of the confederates they would
be thinned to a fine-tooth comb, at the
next to a coarse comb, at the next to a rake,
and then the remnant would fall back, and
another division would succeed them with
the same result. It was not only slaughter,
but as it seemed to me hopeless slaughter
and I would have given a good deal to be
walking the streets of Fitchburg. This is
the way Conyng Lane tells the story in
"The Irish Brigade" (New York, 1867):
"Early in the morning the Irish brigade.
was drawn up in line of battle, a green sprig
in the cap of every officer and man. At
9.30 they marched to centre of city. At
almost 12 the battle became general.
French made the attack, Zook's followed,
Dec. 13, 1862]
Charge on Marye's Heights
then Meagher's. French's division fires,
falls, lies down, scatters, rallies, but in
vain-already hors du combat. Zook's
advanced in fine style, but rapidly fell.
Thinned but on they went. Then the
Irish brigade forward double quick, guide
centre, and on it dashes through the corn-
field, greeted by grape and canister and
minie balls. Gaps are opened but they
close and press forward. The first fence is
gained and passed. The enemy falls back
to 2d line of breastworks. They gain the
2d fence within 60 yards of the enemy's
batteries, and are met by a disastrous en-
filade and direct fire from enemies' batter-
ies. They had not a single piece of ar-
tillery to support them, and yet they stood
against shot and shell, grape and canister,
minie and conical balls to fight a formid-
able enemy, artillery and infantry posted
behind stone walls and fortifications in an
impregnable position. An oblique flank
fire swept them so that the whole regiment
melted away. The advance was impeded
by bodies piled on top of one another. It
was not a battle but a slaughter." As Gen.
Bosquet said of Balaklava, "It was grand,
it was magnificent; but it was not war."
There was only one other Balaklava in
the war to compare with this, Pickett's
charge at Gettysburg, and I saw that too.
History will condemn both as unpardonable
attempts to achieve the impossible.
When Gen. Longstreet suggested add-
ing another cannon to those that swept the
plain below Marye's hill, Gen. Alexander
replied: "We cover that ground so well
that we will comb it as with a fine tooth
comb.
A chicken couldn't live in that
field when we open on it." There were six
distinct charges, beginning about 11 and
ending about sunset, 7,000 killed and
wounded, some of them piled three deep.
109
Lee said here to Col. Alexander, "It
is well war is so terrible or we would grow
too fond of it."
Cole tells modestly how the 57th N. Y.
carried its colors away. When the colonel
saw that it was impossible to get nearer the
enemy without sacrificing every man in the
regiment, he planned to withdraw without
seeming to retreat, and let the men fall
back two or three at a time till there were
only six men with the colors in line. Then
it was arranged that two of the men should
start back with the colors; if they fell the
next two should seize them, and if they
dropped the last couple should strive to
carry them back. This was accomplished,
and though the fire was fierce only one man
was seriously wounded, and his comrades
carried him off the field.
On Dec. 17 Col. Brooks crossed the river
under a flag of truce to bury the dead. He
buried 913 soldiers, and brought back the
bodies of five officers. Nearly all these
bodies had been stripped of all their
clothes.
About 2 P. M. Had orders to cross the river
and went at once into action.
After some delays, at every one of which
I clutched as a straw, we crossed the river
at the left at the pontoon bridge below
Deep Run to
to take the place as I
learned afterward in the centre of the gen-
eral line of Gibbon's discouraged and re-
tired division; and I knew that when we
had marched up that hill we should be
under fire. Even when we had crossed I
hoped we might be detailed to guard a
wagon train or a hospital; anything to keep
away from battle. But an aide gave us
orders to proceed and we went on and on up
the hill as shown in the picture, except that
what seems to be forming into company
front in the middle did not occur till we had
110
[Fredericksburg, Va.
The Battle of Fredericksburg

+
FRANKLIN's Troops Crossing thE RAPPAHANNOCK
nearly reached the top of the hill. The
picture does not show what is prominent
in my memory, an artilleryman lying on
the left of the line of march a third way up
the hill with the top of his head taken off
by a shell. Some way this man lying dead
made more impression on me than those I
had seen wounded by a bursting shell or
killed on Marye's heights, for I marched
within two feet of him. It happened that
my regiment had the right of the column,
so that we musicians were in the very front
of the troops. Not all of us staid there.
Hart, the principal fifęr, much older than
the rest of us, fell out before he had gone
far, pleading a call of nature. The men
looked at one another significantly: he
always did that before a battle. I would
have done the same had I dared to, but
scared as I was it would have taken more
bravado to sneak out like that than to
walk straight up to a cannon.
Then I began to realize something of
what the French mean by esprit de corps,
the spirit that makes a hundred united men
so much more than a hundred times as
strong as one man because each is not only
held in place but stimulated by his fellows.
Napoleon said, "In war men are nothing:
a man is everything." In a sense that
may be true, but in another sense the
opposite is true. Prest and I had shown a
feeble symptom of the way a body of men
stimulates each man in it when we had
delayed running when we were for the first
time under fire because each was ashamed
to let the other see he was scared. Later
I saw a remarkable instance of the want
of it. If there was in the whole army a
division to be relied upon in any emergency,
it was ours. It saved the army at Chan-
cellorsville when the 11th corps broke;
it held the Emmetsburg road at Gettys-
burg for a time against ten times its number.
But in the Wilderness, in the last fort-
night of our regiment's fighting, the sap-
lings were so thick and close together that
in our first charge there the line could not
Dec. 13, 1862]
Esprit de Corps
be preserved, the men had to make their
way through and around these wretched
little trees as best they could, and the
division of five thousand men became
five thousand individuals. What hap-
pened? When a murderous fire opened
unexpectedly right in front, these five
thousand grizzled veterans, who if they
had been at elbow touch and with officers
in their accustomed places would have
plunged forward and very likely have
captured rifle-pits and men, finding them-
selves disorganized and each man obliged
to act for himself, actually turned and ran
back to the breastworks. Most of us
felt that the division was disgraced.
it was easily accounted for. Fifteen min-
utes later when these same men got to-
gether again in organization they held
those breastworks against the most de-
termined assaults, and five days later
they made a brilliant and most successful
charge. The difference was that when
they were scattered they were no longer
sustained and stimulated by esprit de
corps.
But
Napier tells of the panic that struck
the Light Division just before Busaco, when
no enemy was near, no alarm was given, yet
suddenly the troops as if seized with a
frenzy started from sleep and dispersed in
every direction. This strange terror could
not be allayed till somebody called out the
enemy's cavalry were among them, when
the soldiers mechanically ran together in
masses, the illusion was instantly dis-
pelled, and esprit de corps was restored.
John A. Logan, then a member of con-
gress, walked out to the first Bull Run and
took part in the fight. When he got back
and was telling about it, a fellow-member
asked, "Are the cars running?" "No,"
cars running?" "No,"
said Logan, "the cars ain't running, but as
111
near as I could make out every other
damned thing in the state of Virginia is.'
The army had not yet acquired esprit de
corps.
When we got to the brow of the hill the
column, which had been marching by fours,
halted to wheel into companies. Company
Chad the right and as I stood by the colonel
I was close to Captain Jordan, who had
the reputation of being one of the bravest
officers in the regiment. I watched him
with curiosity to see how this approach to
danger affected him. To my astonishment
he was digging his nails into the palms
of his hands, and his lips were white under
his clenched teeth. Then I knew that he
was more scared than I was; and I realized
that he ought to be, for he had more at
stake. If my poor little candle were
snuffed out nobody would notice that it
had grown any darker, but he was a hus-
hand and a father.
His
At Spotsylvania I saw Captain Moses
Warren brought in from the battle-field
where he had lain all night bleaching in the
rain, and I was with him till he died.
voice grew fainter and fainter but the moan
never varied: "O my poor wife and child!
O my poor wife and child!"
Next page is a picture of a soldier on the
battle-field of Gettysburg, with his little
boy's picture on his breast, his last thought
of the darling he should see no more.
Those were the heroes of the war-the
men who had something to lose. But these
men who had so much to lose were the men
to be depended on. They had counted the
cost and thrown their lives into the balance.
When they went into battle they met dan-
ger not recklessly but unflinchingly.
This knowledge that Captain Jordan was
scared put things in a different light to me.
The great truth became real that the good
112
[Fredericksburg, Va.
The Battle of Fredericksburg

US
THE DYING SOLDIER'S LAST THOUGHT
soldier is not the one who is not scared
but the one who holds his post whether
he is scared Or not. That helped a
good deal, and I saw that I was
going to get through without disgrace,
scared as I was. So when we started again
and came under fire, though I was alert I
was reasonably cool.
Birney's division had crossed at noon
and carried the heights across the railroad,
forcing the confederates beyond them.
We had crossed a swamp to get on the left
of Gen. Howe, as first ordered, and had to
turn back to get to our new position on
Birney's right. The column advanced
double quick down the Bowling Green
road, shown in the map near the spot
marked "pontoon bridges". We crossed
the road and were deployed in two lines,
our brigade on the right of the first line,
which was advancing about half way
between the Bowling Green road and the
railroad.
Skirmishers were thrown out and engaged
the enemy, whose front was concealed by
the railway embankment and heavy timber
covering the ridge where Meade's and
Gibbon's divisions had been repulsed.
Our line crossed the railroad, and a com-
pany of our regiment was sent to the burnt
chimneys on the right, from which its fire
was very effective. Meantime the confed-
erate artillery kept up an active fire till
dusk, our own guns replying at intervals.

Dec. 14, 1862]
My First Retreat
113
FRANKLIN'S DIVISION RECROSSING THE RAPPAHANNOCK
There was no further advance. Our divis-
ion with Birney's now held the center of
the line of battle on the field, and if Frank-
lin's charge expected by Burnside had been
made, we should have been at the
apex of
the advancing troops. As it was, our
regiment lay all night in the damp furrows
of a cornfield, no fires allowed for fear of
drawing the fire of sharpshooters.
The next morning the enemy opened
fire early, but most of the next day our
troops lay quiet. At 9:30 at night Gen.
Stoneman ordered the second line to retire
under the slope that descended toward
the swamp in the rear. An hour later all
our division retired across the river, our
regiment being the last of all Franklin's
grand division to cross. Our part of the
battle, like all the rest, had ended in a
fiasco.
Was Franklin a traitor that he did not
make this charge? Don't ask me. Burn-
side removed him, but Lincoln did not
approve it, and Burnside resigned. I
GEN. WILLIAM BUSH FRANKLIN, 1823-1903
know we privates of the 1st Massachusetts
thought Burnside was justified. But this
is no history of the war, only a record of
a little fifer's experiences as he remembers
them, and those experiences did not qual-
ify him to sit in judgment on his command-
ing officer. He gives his opinions now and
then but only as part of his reminiscences,
without a suggestion of their being history.
CHAPTER IX. HOSPITAL WORK

HEN one has gone
through the strug-
gle of getting to
the front and is
reasonably con-
tented there, one
is entitled to be
left there, for the
hard part is get-
ting nerved up to it. But orders came for
the musicians to retire, and at this carly
period I obeyed orders more zealously than
I did afterward.
The Drum
Corps were ordered back to the Hospital and
Here we lay at
none of us were wounded.
might with the Dead & Dying around us.
14th. Spent the day attending to the sick
and changed our sleeping place out of the
Hospital-
No doubt the place for the drum corps in
battle is at the hospital, and at this battle
when we were ordered there I went. I
staid through, and did everything I was
asked to do as well as I was able. But it
was the only time I did it, for reasons that
will appear. Thereafter whenever it was
possible I kept by my regiment in battle,
not always on the firing line for I had no
musket, but near enough to see what was

THE SURGEON AT WORK IN THE REAR
114
Dec. 14, 1862]
A Hospital Nurse
going on, which when I discovered how prac-
tically useless I was without a musket, suc-
ceeded the ambition to do valiant deeds.
I was always glad to help any of our
wounded to the hospital, where I was willing
to take care of men if they were our
own, but I did no more service as a general
nurse.
I did not object to the work itself. I was
not fond of pathology and unless I was
needed would avoid as zealously as many
others seek the sight of persons or animals
badly injured. But I found that when I
had some part to perform my attention was
so concentrated on doing it well that the
horrible aspect made little impression. The
oretically it would be a difficult thing for
115
me to hold a man's leg while it was being
sawn off. Practically I did it here with-
out shrinking, much more easily than I
could have looked on without holding the leg.
There was a great difference in the atti-
tude of the surgeons. There was a doctor
in the 16th Mass. who revelled in opera-
tions. As soon as firing began he would
roll
up his sleeves and await the first man to
be brought in with positive appetite.
Weird stories are told of operations he per-
formed where there was no possibility of
recovery but unusual chance to experiment:
I remember his taking off a leg out of the
hip joint, for instance, where death was in-
evitable, but he thought it a pretty oper-
ation.

THE EAGER SURGEON
J
116
[Fredericksburg, Va.
Hospital Work
Carl Schurz has well described the
slaughter-house character of an army hos-
pital during battle. "Most of the oper-
ating tables were placed in the open where
the light was best, some of them partially
protected against the rain by tarpaulins
or blankets stretched upon poles. There
stood the surgeons, their sleeves rolled up
to the elbows, their bare arms as well as
their linen aprons smeared with blood,
their knives not seldom held between their
teeth while they were helping a patient on
or off the table, or had their hands other-
wise occupied; around them pools of blood
and amputated arms or legs in heaps some-
times more than man high. Antiseptic
methods were still unknown at that time.
As a wounded man was lifted upon the
table, often shrieking with pain as the at-
tendants handled him, the surgeon quickly
examined the wound and resolved upon
cutting off the wounded limb. Some
ether was administered and the body put
in position in a moment. The surgeon
snatched his knife from between his teeth.
where it had been while his hands were
busy, wiped it rapidly once or twice across
his bloodstained apron, and the cutting
began. The operation accomplished, the
surgeon would look around with a deep
sigh, and then-Next!'"
Some surgeons were arrant cowards. Dr.
Sim, surgeon in charge at Chancellorsville,
reported: "On my return I found that some
of our surgeons had obeyed the directions
in the circular of Oct. 30, 1862 (reminding
them of the impropriety of unnecessary
exposure) so literally that they had disap-
peared, and I have heard since that some of
them did not stop until they were a mile or
two on the other side of the river." On
the other hand there are instances of great

FORTUNATE ENOUGH TO BE BROUGHT IN
Dec. 13, 1862]
How it Feels to be Wounded
heroism. This happens to be English, but
I have no doubt our men could match it.
Surgeon Hugo found Lt. Ford bleeding to
death from a bullet wound in a night attack.
The fire was too hot to permit a light, but
by the spluttering of a match the surgeon
saw the nature of the injury, seized the
bleeding artery and as no ligature was avail-
able remained for three hours under fire
holding the artery between his fingers and
his thumb. As soon as it was possible he
picked up the officer and carried him on
his shoulder to a place of safety, with-
out relinquishing his hold upon the artery.
How does it feel to be wounded? I can-
not tell from experience. I have felt the
wind of a bullet, and I know the thug! of a
minie as it penetrates the breast of a man
at my side, about the most distressful
sound imaginable, but I was never touched.
Here are some experiences of others that
seem to me accurately told.
A soldier wounded at Inkerman said:
“A man fell in the front rank. 'Close in,'
yelled the captain. Another moment and
I felt a dizzy numbness creeping over me,
almost like a man hopelessly drunk. I
sank gradually to the ground. The roar
still rang in my ears but sounded as though
miles off. It became dark slowly, then all
was blank. When I regained conscious-
ness I heard moans and groans all about me.
It seemed like a month before anyone came
to me. I felt as though I was burning up.
How I craved for a drink of water.
At
last some chaps came, pulled a dead man
off my legs, and carried me to the hospital.
I lay there a month. When I came away
this arm was gone."
Major Simmons, who was shot through
the thigh, said: "Being wounded in this
way was quite a new thing to me.
For a
few minutes I could not collect my ideas,
117
and was feeling about my arms and body
for a wound, until my eye caught a stream
of blood rushing through a hole in my
trousers, and my leg and thigh appeared so
heavy that I could not move it.”
There was a remarkable difference in the
way men took their wounds. At this bat-
tle Sergeant Jim Sprague of my company
got a bad wound in the thigh, but he was
the liveliest man in the hospital. I remem-
ber a picture he drew there of a couple on
the beach under an umbrella. A soldier
whose leg had been amputated said to the
surgeon who was throwing it away, "Hold
on! give me the sock, please: it will be as
good as a pair to me now."
In an English hospital a young guards-
man wounded in the arm was making great
adoo, crying "I shall die! I shall die!" "Be
aisy wid yer noise now," cried an Irish
surgeon, "ye're makin' more noise than
that poor chap wid his head cut off." At
Chancellorsville a young fellow with a flesh
wound through the upper arm that would
have healed of itself moaned over it so that
he died; and another man so struck by a
cannon ball that his intestines fell out and
his comrades, thinking his case hopeless,
would not carry him to the hospital, walked
there, holding his intestines in place by his
hands, and got well.
Cole tells of a little fellow on Marye's
hill crawling along on his hands and knees
and dragging behind him by a thread of
flesh his broken leg. He seemed uncon-
cerned till spoken to, and then, yielding
somewhat to the pain, asked the way off
the field. Cheer up, my brave boy,"
replied a soldier: "follow that fence and
you will get off all right." On the boy
crawled, leaving a trail of blood behind
him. Very likely he recovered: pluck is
half the cure.
+
*
118
[Fredericksburg, Va.
Hospital Work
At the battle of Colenso a nurse asked
of one of the men brought in. "Is he a
man or an officer?" "Well," replied the
bearer, "he ain't got no inside, we've car-
ried 'im seven miles, let him drop twice, and
'e ain't squeaked once: if 'e ain't a man I
don't know one when I see 'im."
"You see, begorra," argued an Irish
soldier who lost a leg at Colenso, but wanted
to go to the front again, "if the Boers hit
me where the leg's missing they won't hit
me at all."
A private of the Dublin Fusiliers in the
Moori River hospital was explaining his
wounds. "That bullet," remarked a visit-
or, “must have passed perilously near the
region of the heart." "It did, sorr," was
the reply, "but ye see me heart was in me
mouth for safety.”
An Irishman tells that in one of Gen.
Rundle's battles a Boer ran thirteen yards
after his head was shot clean off, and fell
right on his face.
There are several stories about wounded
men who have had to lose part of the brain
but who have replied, "O never mind, that
won't matter now: I've got a place in the
war office," or elsewhere.
When Gen. Mahone was wounded at the
second Bull Run, the messenger said to his
wife, "Don't worry: it is only a flesh.
wound." "Impossible," she replied, "he
hasn't enough flesh on him for that."

་
CARRYING IN THE WOUNDED FROM THE FIELD
Dec. 14, 1862 ]
Bringing in the Wounded
119

BRINGING IN THE WOUNDED UNDER DIFFICULTIES
One of the hardest duties while the en-
gagement was going on was to determine
whether it was worth while to take a man to
the hospital. Unless there was a fair
chance of his recovery it was considered
not legitimate, as it took a man from the
exclaimed indignantly; "he tould me it was
his lig."
Archibald Forbes says that Major George
Napier was shot in the breach of Ciudad
Rodrigo, and was picked up with his arın
shattered. Lord March bound his sash
about it and bade him go seek the amputa-
ranks when every man was needed. They ting place. After an hour's search he
tell of an Irishman at whose side a com-
rade fell and called to him, "Take me to the
hospital quick; my leg is shot off." Pat
threw the wounded man over his shoulder
and made his way to the rear through shot.
and shell so thick that when a ball took off
the wounded man's head he did not perceive
it. When he got to the hospital the sur-
geon in charge exclaimed, "What do you
mean by bringing in a man with his head
shot off?" Pat dropped his burden and
looked at him. "The desavin' crater," he
found it, but had to wait two hours for
his turn. The operation took twenty-five
minutes, the surgeon's tools being blunted,
and then Napier was directed to go and
find quarters. He walked about most of
the evening before he could find a place,
and then sat by the fireside until the death
of Gen. Crawford provided him a vacant
bed.
The native Indian troops have remark-
able powers of endurance. A Sikh at the
Koragh Defile was shot. He could feel the

120
[Fredericksburg, Va.
Hospital Work
bullet in his body, and so worked away at
it with both hands so that he pushed it out-
ward till he extracted it. Then he shoul-
dered his rifle again and did a march of
twenty miles in spite of the loss of blood.
At Austerlitz Napoleon forbade that the
ranks should be weakened to give assistance
to the wounded.
In some battles wounded men were car-
ried to the rear at once, either by ambulance
men or by their comrades: in others they
had to lie during the battle and perhaps
long afterwards. Sir Colin Campbell said
to his Highlanders at Alma: "Now, men,
you are going into action: remember this,
whoever is wounded-I don't care what his
rank is-must lie where he falls till the
bandsmen attend to him. No soldier must
go carrying off wounded men. If any sol-
dier does such a thing his name shall be
stuck up in the parish church."
At Spotsylvania we were not allowed to
bring in our wounded, and Capt. Warren
lay all night in the field, bleaching in the
rain. But here at Fredericksburg Early's
men, who were opposite us, were delight-
fully humane. Gen. Sickles reports:
"Opportunely the stretcher-men from
my ambulance corps in going to the front
for wounded skirmishers occasionally went
unmolested to the verge of the enemy's
line to get the wounded of Gibbon's divi-
sion who fell on Saturday. Their stretcher-
men were told by the enemy that if our
skirmishers would not fire any more on
them, our ambulance parties might come
anywhere along or within their lines and
get all of our wounded, hundreds of whom
SEARCHING FOR COMRADES AT NIGHT
Dec. 13, 1862]
A Contemporary Letter
were appealing for succor. This was soon
afterward said to be confirmed by Gen.
Ewell, whose division was in my front,
and I directed all firing along my lines to
cease, and by a tacit though informal un-
derstanding no more picket-firing occurred
along my lines."
This truce was carried so far that the
troops on both sides mingled in the most
friendly way, exchanging southern tobacco.
for northern newspapers, and drank together
when anybody on either side had anything
to drink, toasting their respective sides.
Two officers, one union and one confederate,
played a game of cards.
When men died on the field there were
often evidences that their last thoughts
had been of their loved ones at home.
I gave a picture on page 106 of a soldier's
body found at Gettysburg with the
photograph of his little son on his
breast, the last thing that dropped from his
nerveless fingers. After the battle of El
Teb the body of a soldier was found with
this scrawled inside his helmet with a
leaden bullet, "All to my wife." In Af-
ghanistan a soldier's body was found after
it had lain for weeks beside a stone wall on
which he had written with his own blood,
"I want all to go to mother." In both
cases the English war department held the
wills to be valid, and ordered their property
to be distributed accordingly.
During the South African war many vol-
unteer nurses, mostly amateurs, journeyed
there to assist in the hospitals, and often
made themselves a nuisance by their sen-
timental attentions. One soldier pinned
this scrawl above his head: "Too ill to be
nussed to-day, respectfully Jim." An-
other replied to one of those volunteers
who offered to wash his face, "All right,
miss, if you can 'urry hup. Hi've 'ad me
121
face washed sixteen times since breakfast
and there's two more ladies Hi've pro-
mised. But Hi dessay Hi can get some
snooze afore tea."
Perhaps the most melancholy of our
duties was to search the field at night for
the bodies of those of our own company
who had not reported.
Cole says: "For the burial of our dead we
would dig a trench about 20 feet long by 7
feet wide, and then would lay the bodies.
side by side until we had filled its length;
then about a foot of dirt was placed on
them till all were covered: then we would
lay again other bodies in the trench, then
more earth until the trench was covered.
A head board was placed at their head on
which was marked their names and the
number of their regiment and company."
I wrote frequent letters home and three
of them were preserved. I give one writ-
ten this night, still transcribing the spelling,
capitals and punctuation of the original.
Co. D. First Mass. Vol. Inf
Hospital near the Battlefield Dec. 14
Battle of Fredericksburg 5th Day
Dear Mother;
When I closed my last it was Sunday
Morning. I will relate what has passed
since then. I believe I mentioned that there
were several wounded Rebels brought in. As
they were suffering badly, I made a Coffee pot
full of coffee, giving it to all of them who
wished. Most of them were in Georgia
Regts, particularly the 61st & 62d & 60th
One was the Adjutant Gen'l of Erwin's
Brigade, under Jackson, and in the absence
of Erwin he led the Brigade in a charge upon
one of our batteries. Our infantry in front
united to give the batteries a chance to open
with cannister, which, as soon as the enemy
were near enough, they did, with terrible
effect. Our infantry then advanced and took
122
[Fredericksburg, Va.
Hospital Work
many prisoners. This Adj-Gen'l was
wounded in the Groin and was in great pain.
In company with all of them, he expressed
great surprise at the kind treatment he re-
ceived at our hands. He said he was treated
as well as our own boys. All day I staid
there, doing all I could for all of them. At
night we went out a little way from the Hos-
pital to sleep. I saw many legs & arms
taken off, and the sight was awful. The men
say that it is not battle but butchery, as the
rebels well protected by breastworks.
Monday morning we were ordered back
across the river, as the Div. Hospital had
are
been established there. So the drummers
were put in reliefs of six hours each to attend
to the wounded. My relief is on at dark.
The following were the instructions given to
me by the Nurse, in the tent assigned to me.
"The men on the left side will not require
much attention. That man in the corner is
wounded through the temple and is insane.
You will have to hold him down if he at-
tempts to get up, and you must keep close to
him and keep him covered. The one next to
him is crazy also. Every time he wakes up
you must give him some water & look out
that he does not get up.
The one in this cor-

Manager Lincoln.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, I
regret to say that the Tragedy, entitled The
Army of the Potomac, has been withdrawn on
account of Quarrels among the leading perform-
ers, and I have substituted three new and striking
Farces or Burlesques, one, entitled The Repulse
at Vicksburg, by the well-known, popular favor-
ite, E. W. Stanton, Esq., and the others, The
Loss of the Harriet Lane and The Exploits of the
Alabama-a very sweet thing in Farces, I assure
you-by the Veteran Composer, Gideon Welles."
(unbounded applause by the Copperheads)
Dec. 14, 1862]
When Lincoln's Burden was Heavy
It was
123
the Irish Brigade make three charges. They
started with full ranks, and I saw them
in less time than it takes to write this,
exposed to a galling fire of shot and
shell and almost deciminated. I saw gallant
fighting every day for six days. I saw
wounded men brought in by hundreds and
dead men lying stark on the field and then I
saw our army retreat to the very place they
started from, a loss incalculable in men,
horses, cannon, small arms, knapsacks,
and all the implements of war, and I am
discouraged. I came out here sanguine as
any one, but I have seen enough, and I am
satisfied that we never can whip the South.
They have too much the advantage of position
and every thing else, and while I hate to con-
fess it, I must say I am satisfied that sooner or
later we must give up. Let any one go into
the Hospital where I was and see the scenes
that I saw, and see the effect of the enemy's
ner has got the Dysentery and will require
the Bedpan often-You must pay strict at-
tention to them all, and not let the crazy men
get the upper hands of you." So off he went
and left me alone with two crazy men and 6
or eight wounded ones to attend to.
a hard place, but I did my duty as well as I
was able 'till my six hours were up. I never
want to go into a Hospital again. Tuesday
morning as you know by the papers our
Troops all returned to this side of the river
and we joined our Regt, and marched quick
to where our knapsacks were, when we left.
9 A. M. Wednesday Morning. The 15th
crossed the river and entered the city Saturday,
and as the Rebels shelled the city and the
hardest of the fighting was there, Walter
must have been in great danger. I shall go
and see him as soon as possible. My first
battle is over and I saw nearly all of it. Sat-
urday the hardest fighting was done. I saw
CHE BLOC
THE FUTURE
THE
PAS

FREDERICK SHURCH
PENINSULA
CAMPAION
BULL RO.
LINCOLN'S DREAM OF A GOOD TIME COMING
124
[Fredericksburg, Va.
Hospital Work

CH LORD NY
SITUATION
גמג
"
LINCOLN: "I THINK MINE ARE THE SMALLEST.'

UNE SÉANCE DE LA CHAMBRE DES REPRÉSENTANTS à WASHINGTON
Dec. 14, 1862]
When Lincoln's Burden was Heavy
125

TAN.
U. S.
CONSTITUTION
NECAR
INSURRECTION
RICHMOND
TRIBUNE
PASTAGE...SIAMES
MILITARY GYMNASTICS, OR THE GREASED POLE IN VIRGINIA
fire on our ranks as I saw it and they will
agree with me. But I must close as I have
written a long time now. I received soine
papers yesterday-Write at once.
Your Son Charlie
If the prophetic tone is Cassandra like, at
least it reflects the feelings at that time.
Harper's Weekly was a staunch friend of
the Union and usually of the administra-
tion, yet it published on Jan. 31, 1863, the
cartoon on page 122.
On page 123 is another cartoon, published
in Frank Leslie's Feb. 14, showing Lincoln
dreaming of beheading McClellan and Pope
and Burnside, while Seward and Staunton
and Welles tremble as they approach the
126
[Fredericksburg, Va.
Hospital Work
block; while here is still another from
Frank Leslie's of Feb. 28 comparing
Staunton and Welles with Tom Thumb;
and yet another representing the attacks
on Richmond as a greased pole.
At Richmond it was believed that the
war was ended. Gold had gone to 200, and
capitulation was expected in a month or
two.
where.
The government was not in favor any-
Le Monde Illustre, Paris, gave
April 27, 1861, the picture on page 124 of our
House of Representatives, apparently based
on a similar caricature that had appeared
in the London Illustrated News of April 16
preceding.
15th. Crossed the river again in the forenoon
and went to the Div. Hospital. Here we had
to go on duty by Reliefs in taking care of
the sick six hours at a time. In the mean-
while the Regt crossed the river.
The picture on page 107 of recrossing the
Rappahannock represents a scene that be-
came familiar to me. Of all the battles in
which I was engaged we were successful
only at Gettysburg; from all the rest we
went back to camp like this, except that
from the Wilderness and Spotsylvania, as
severe defeats in themselves as Fredericks-
burg and Chancellorsville, the army did not
go back, but kept on going, to try again
some where else.
16th Went back to our old Camp and glad
we were to get there. The Regt lost 1 killed
& 45 wounded. Our company lost one Or-
derly Sargeant wounded (since dead) and
four or five wounded. 18th
mand.
18th Mc took com-
Col. McLaughlin was a regular army
officer, grim and strict, but not without
humor. I remember his telling one wild
Irishman who had blacked the tips of his
shoes but not the heels that he would make
a good soldier because he never looked be-
hind him. He proved a great man for us
when the 11th corps broke at Chancellors-
ville and came flying through our ranks.
He pulled out his revolver and faced man
after man, threatening to shoot them on the
spot if they did not turn in and fight with
us; and he would have done it, too. For
his services in this battle he was
mended by Gen. Carr for brevet promotion.
recom-
CHAPTER X. REFLECTIONS
AFTER THE BATTLE

HERE was the ro-
mance of the drurn-
mer boy's life?
Here is a picture
drawn by Thomas
Nast that makes
him a little hero.
Now I don't say
that no drummer
boy ever marched like that early in the
which the drummers went along playing
for encouragement and comradeship, but
in my experience, charges played a very
small part in fighting. We could seldom see
the enemy, and learned more and more to
protect ourselves as we advanced, keeping
behind trees and displaying ourselves as
little as possible. "Only recruits and fools
neglected the
the smallest
McCarthy.
smallest
RECIMENT
shelter," says

!
-
NACTION
war, or in some other regiment later in the
war: I am telling what I do know, not
what I don't know. What I do know is
that no drummer in my regiment ever
played a drum on the battlefield or could
see any sense in doing it. Fighting isn't
done that way. I can imagine a charge in
An Irish soldier put it this way, "Ye gits
a blade o' grass six inches high an' ye takes
cover behind it an' they nicks it off inch by
inch, an' whin it gits to the last inch, be
jabers look out." A Gordon Highlander,
describing his experiences,said: "We didn't
see a bloomin' Boer, only felt their bloomin'
127
128
[Falmouth, Va.
Reflections after the Battle
bullets, an' when the order was given to get
under cover, the only cover I could find was
a daisy."
The legend is that at Fontenoy the Eng-
list and the French Guards found them-
selves within thirty paces of each other,
when Lord Charles Hay stepped forward
and taking off his hat called out in French,
"Gentlemen of the French Guard, fire."
To which the Marquis d'Auterroche, com-
mander of the French replied, "We never
fire first, gentlemen; fire yourselves." That
is magnificent, but it is not war.
I remember the last month I was at the
front, near Spotsylvania, a heavy artillery
brigade that had come into active service.
for the first time was ordered to recapture
a baggage train. The general actually
The general actually
formed his men in solid front and charged
through the woods.
Colonel Peck once rode up to the con-
federate general Zeb York and cried,
"General, we are ruined: the Yankees com-
pletely surround us." So much the bet-
ter," replied the general, "for we are sure
to hit them whatever way we fire." On
the other hand, at Phillipi a Virginia com-
pany worn out with marching was strag-
gling wearily along when the captain
shouted, "Close up, boys. Hang you,
close up. If the Yankees were to fire on
you when you're straggling along like that
they couldn't hit a blamed one of you."
As this regiment marched every confed-
erate bullet was sure of its man, and the
dead lay thick: I helped bury and mark the
graves of more than a hundred. It even
failed with its five thousand men to capture
the train, and then our poor little brigade,
hardly twelve hundred altogether, was sent
in, and advanced rapidly, every man keep-
ing under cover in the thick woods and
brought in the train, hardly losing a man.
But they did not have the drum corps
beating drums to show where they were.
The only time I remember music in
battle was when Gen. Devens's brigade was
crossing the pontoon bridge at Fredricks-
burg, and then it had to be silenced, for it
led the men to keep step, which would
have destroyed the bridge: and this was
long before the troops came under fire.
Sometimes there were charges, of course,
and my regiment had its share of hand-to-
hand conflicts when even musket-butts
were used. Capturing a battery is an ex-
citing experience. But these formed a
very small share of the fighting that was
done. Oftener the enemy would not be seen
at all for hours, as in the trenches. Under
the artist's brush war is picturesque, but
in the field it is usually commonplace.
When Steel the sculptor was modelling
a bust of Wellington he tried to produce
animation by asking the Duke to tell him
about the battle of Salamanaca. "Were
you not galloping about the field," he asked
"cheering on your men to deeds of valor
by words and action?” "Gah!" was the
reply. "If you really want to model me as
I was on the morning of Salamanaca, do me
crawling along a ditch on my stomach,
with a telescope in my hand."
General Maurice says the secret of suc-
cess to the British army soldier is his stolid-
ity. He looks upon the work at hand as a
thing that has got to be done and not talked
about. This stolidity leads to heroic ac-
tions because they imply entire forgetful-
ness of self at moments when nothing will
be left of him if things go wrong.
A lady said to an invalid from the front
that she was delighted to make the ac-
quaintance of a hero from South Africa.
"I ain't no 'ero, mum," he answered;
"I'm just a bloomin' reg'lar."
1
.
December, 1863]
The Regular Army Point of View
129

A BATTLE AS IT IS IMAGINED
It is amusing to read the comments of
Capt. Vaughn-Sawyer of the English army
on the ferocious fight at the salient at
Spotsylvania in which my division was
engaged, the "bloody angle" as it is com-
monly called. We supposed that it was a
desperate effort for the sake of our country
to win what must be won if there was a
possibility, but he speaks of it as a mania,
to be encouraged as one stings a dancing
girl with a tarantula. He says:
"It is one of those instances of the re-
markable effect produced on men by cer-
tain conditions of battle. These instances

130
[Falmouth, Va.
Reflections after the Battle
CAPTURING A BATTERY
show that under certain influences, not
only individuals but masses of ordinary
civilized persons will exhibit a complete
absence of the sense of fear and will behave
in a manner which is actually insane. This
form of mania is a product of the primitive
aggressive instinct of the stronger animals,
and as it is generally found associated with
victory, is to be encouraged. Any over
discipline amounting to individual repres-
sion tends to make troops less subject to its
recurrence."
This shows how different the feeling is
in the English army from what it was in
ours. With us the motive was a mix-
ture in varying proportions of sense of
duty and love of excitement; with the
English soldier it is opportunity for ad-
vancement. There was the same difference
between our civil war soldiers and the Eng-
lish that there is between a volunteer fire
company and paid firemen. The old vol-
unteer fireman would jump out of bed at
the alarm, work like a Trojan till the fire
was put out, and then go back to bed again
and be an ordinary citizen till the next fire;
while the paid fireman is nothing else. So
our men were farmers and mechanics and
tradesmen and professional men before they
enlisted, and they were farmers and mech-
anics and tradesmen and professional men
after they got back: the war was only an
interlude. But regular soldiers are that
and nothing more. War is their profes-
sion. All their chance of advancement
comes through fighting.
Long after the war I was impressed by this
while spending a day with some officers of
the regular army in garrison near Salt Lake
City. All their talk was of impatience
to get into active service, not for what they
could accomplish for their country but be-
December, 1863]
The Regular Army Point of View
131

IN THE TRENCHES
cause it was the only way they could get
ahead themselves. The lieutenant wanted
to be a captain, the captain to be a major,
the major to be a colonel, and so on, and
this could come only through battles that
would give these men a chance to distin-
guish themselves and would kill off some of
the officers above.
So in the English army the soldier is
eager for danger because it is the only way
he can get ahead. Every Tommy Atkins
of the better class dreams of the V. C.,
the Victoria Cross, that intrinsically value-
less bit of iron that marks him a hero, and
he will seize greedily a chance to obtain it.
Not that this is the only motive. Many a
man has won it and wondered why.
and wondered why.
Lt. Willie M'Bean of the 93d Foot got it
for killing eleven with his own hand at
Lucknow. When the cross was presented
to him at dress parade, Sir R. Garrett re-
ferred to it as a good day's work, whereupon
the hero protested, "Toots, mon, it didna
tak' me twenty meenutes."
Regiments as well as men have to demon-
strate their efficiency. In the famous
charge at Omdurman the 21st Lancers per-
formed prodigies of valor because it was
their first battle. Sergeant Diggs lost two
fingers cut off by a Dervish sword, but
though the surgeon was close by refused
attention. "There's plenty much worse.
off than me," he said. Major Wyndham's
horse was killed, when he was seized from
the ground by Captain Kenna, who lifted
his fellow officer into the saddle behind
him, handed him his own revolver, and
while one urged on the horse the other
fired the revolver on the pressing enemy.
Private Byrne rescued Lt. Byrne and was
twice wounded, but when ordered to fall
out for medical attendance refused, but
132
[Falmouth, Va.
Reflections after the Battle
waving his bent lance shouted, "Never!
Fall in, No. 2 troop!" As one soldier said:
"You see the regiment had to win its name:
we had all made up our minds to do that
and only wanted the chance. You don't
know what it is to go into a canteen and
have every man's finger pointed at you,
and hear thein all say, 'Thou shalt not kill.'
Now there's an end of that. A man of the
21st can go among all the cavalry regiments
of the service now, and look 'em straight
in the face and hold his head up. We meant
to do it all along and we done it."
With this spirit predominant cowardice
is shamed out of sight and indifference to
danger becomes a habit. During the Pen-
insular war one English soldier bet another
that he would light his pipe by the fuse of a
shell that had just landed, and won, after-
ward stamping out the fuse with his foot.
At Sebastopol an Irishman incautiously
raised his head above the trenches when a
Russian bullet whistled by and smashed
the bowl of his pipe, leaving the stem in his
mouth. Hastily dropping under cover
Pat expressed his desire to come into con-
tact with that thafe that stcle his only pipe.
At the siege of Ostend in 1745 a soldier was
holding up a loaf of bread when a shot
carried away the top portion, leaving the
rest in his hand. The man coolly exam-
ined the other half. "I must say they play
fairly," he said; "they have left me the big-
ger half." At Lucknow Johnny Ross of the
93d Highlanders was disputing with a com-
panion over a game of cards when the sig-
nal came to fall in. At that moment a
spent ball struck him in the mouth, knock-
ing out four of his teeth. He thought his
comrade had struck him, and returned the
blow. "You silly ass," his comrade re-
plied, "you've a bullet in your mouth."
Ross spat out the bullet and his four front
aces.
teeth, and looked at them ruefully. "How
shall I manage to bite my cartridges the
noo?" he complained. At the same battle
Sergeant Halliwell, a crack shot of the 32d,
was detailed to prevent the rebels from
mounting the 18-pounders that they had
hauled upon the flat roof of one of the pal-
He took position behind some bat-
tered down masonry which covered him
only when he lay at full length, and could
change position only by rolling over from
back to stomach. Food was taken him at
night by men crawling on hands and knees.
He remained there several days, his unerr-
ing rifle laying low every Sepoy that tried to
mount the guns.
At the siege of Sebastopol a soldier was
groping around in the heap of debris where
a part of the defences had suffered severely.
"What are you hunting for?" an officer
asked. "For my mate's cap, Jack Miles."
"Why doesn't he hunt for it himself?"
"Because his head's in it."
During the siege of Fort Erie a patient
with an amputated forearm laughed and
laughed, which he explained thus: "Ex-
cuse me, but I lost my arm in such a funny
way that I laugh every time I look at it.
Our first sergeant wanted shaving and got
me to attend to it. I had lathered him,
taken him by the nose, and was just about
to apply the razor when a cannon ball
came, and that was the last I saw of his
head or my arm."
This indifference to danger sometimes
reached to recklessness. During the Pen-
insular war Col. Mellish appeared mounted
on so wretched a steed that his fellow-
officers derided him, and one of them de-
clared the horse was not worth five pounds.
"I'll bet you fifty pounds I get forty for
him," cried the colonel. "Done," said the
other. The colonel rode toward the ene-
December, 1863]
The Regular Army Point of View
my, was fired on of course, but kept ad-
vancing till the horse was killed, when he
jumped off and ran back to camp, winning
the wager because the British government
allows £45 for every officer's horse killed in
action.
Our army could not match that care-
lessness of life, I hope, but we could
match that achievement and all the others
I have named, though the motives were
different. For instance, Gen. Sickles says
in his official report of Chancellorsville:
"The rebels advanced up the plank road
rapidly in silence, showing only an Amer-
ican flag. Pleasanton's aide de camp rode
to within 100 yards when they called out,
'We are friends; come closer.' He rode
within 50 yards when the whole line opened
on him with musketry, dropped the Amer-
ican color and displayed eight or ten rebel
flags." Yet he escaped unhurt.
Sentimentality is not encouraged. Dur-
leigh in his "Sirdar and Khalifa" tells of
the night before Atbara, when as he walked
softly among the slumbering men he heard
a Highlander say to a comrade, “Ah, Tam,
how mony thousands there at home across
the sea are thinking o' us the nicht."
"Richt, Sandy," said the other cheerily,
"and how many millions there are that
don't care a damn. Go to sleep, you fool.”
Go to sleep, you fool."
And silence reigned.
During the Ashantee war two soldiers
were communing as to why they ever left
home for that God-forsaken country. One
said, "I have neither wife nor children and
am fond of war." "Just the opposite with
me," said the other, "I have both wife and
children and am fond of peace."
A man who got a letter from his wife
saying she did so wish to see him before the
battle remarked that he would a great deal
rather have her see him after it was over.
133
An alderman sitting next to the Duke of
Marlborough at a Mansion house dinner
remarked patronizingly, "Yours must be a
very laborious profession, I suppose."
"O no," replied the warrior airily, "we
fight for four hours in the morning and two
or three hours after dinner, and then we
have the rest of the day to ourselves."
Marshall Lefebvre said to an envious
visitor, "Come into the court and I will
fire at you thirty times at twenty paces.
If you survive all shall be yours. You
won't? Recollect then that I have been
fired at more than a thousand times and
nearer, before I arrived where you find me."
When the Marquess Townshend was en-
gaged in one of his first battles a drummer
by his side was killed by a cannon ball that
scattered his brains in every direction.
"What puzzles me," he said, "is how any-
body with such a quantity of brains ever
came to enter the army."
It is very hard for a civil war soldier to
believe that the English soldiers used to be
accompanied in war by their wives and
children. It is told of Earl Percy who com-
manded the 5th regiment in the American
Revolution that at his own expense he
provided each company with a large tent so
that the women and children should have
suitable shelter.
"Did you ever go to a military ball?"
asked a lisping maid of an old soldier.
"No," was the grouty reply, “but I once
had a military ball come to me, and it took
my leg off."
At a notable society function in Dublin a
general was admonishing a beggar to go
away from the rounds when she exclaimed,
"It is I that am proud to see your honor
here in the very coat you wore the day ye
saved the life of me boy, me little Mickie."
"Indeed," replied the general, not sorry to
134
[Falmouth, Va.
Reflections after the Battle
have the deed reported with such eminent
people within hearing, "I had forgotten all
about it. How did I save his life?"
"Well, your honor, when the battle was at
its hottest your honor was the first to run,
and when me little Mickie saw the general
run he run too, the lord be praised
Corporal Caithness said he was never
afraid the British would lose the battle of
Waterloo. "Na, na, I did na fear that: I
was only afraid we should be a' killed
before we had time to win it."
The Irish were sometimes jealous of the
Scotch. When a Highlander was boasting
of what his regiment had done, an Irishman
exclaimed, “I'd have you know as true a
heart beats under an Irishman's shirt as
under any Scotchman's kilt."
A soldier of the Black Watch, passing
in a theatre a private of the Rifle Brigade,
stepped on the foot of the latter, who
exclaimed, "You stepped on my foot!"
"Weel," said the Highlander apologetically,
"I did ma best tae leap ower it, but a
Hielan' mon is only human; I'm nae a
kangaroo." Strange to say, a battle
followed.
When Gen. O'Kelly, an Irishman in the
French service, was introduced to Louis
XVI he was annoyed to have the monarch
commend the bravery of another regiment.
"Sire," he broke in, "that regiment behaved
very well, it is true; many of them were
wounded; but my regiment behaved bet-
ter for we were all killed."
Cambrone declared at Waterloo, "The
Imperial Guard die but never surrender."
The speech received honorable mention in
the Assembly at Paris, but this was erased
from the journal when it was discovered
the Cambrone was at that moment himself
a prisoner in Wellington's camp.
It is a mistake to think that a braggart
may not be brave: more than one man has
exposed himself as he would not have done
otherwise to make good his boasts. Wolfe
was such a gasconader that after Pitt had
dined with him and heard him bluster he
exclaimed, “Good heavens! that I should
have trusted the fate of my country to
such hands!" But Wolfe took Quebec and
died a hero.
Benton, of the 150th N. Y., whose "As
Seen from the Ranks" has a literary quality
unexpected in these books of reminiscences,
speaks with discriminating frankness: "I
had no difficulty in finding the regiment,
who were in line of battle on the southern
slope of Culp's Hill, crouched behind a
barricade of logs and branches, and once in
the line I was surprised to find that the fear
which had haunted me so on the way im-
mediately vanished. Yet in each subse-
quent trip to the regiment as I came under
fire I experienced the same shrinking dread
of the bullets which all seemed intended
for me. Their whispering message gives
one the singular feeling of being soul-
naked in their presence, and that neither
clothing nor body would for an instant
check their flight. Yet curiously, whether
from the presence of numbers or whatever
the cause, each time as soon as I reached
the regiment this feeling vanished, and I
felt as much at ease as when in the rear.'
Benton says again: "I think it is com-
monly supposed that men are divided
sharply into two classes-those who are
afraid and those who are not, or, as is more
commonly expressed, 'the brave and the
cowards'. Save for a few abnormal ex-
ceptions it would be much more nearly cor-
rect to say that all men belong to both
classes. When about to take part in an
engagement, and during a little while after
getting well under fire, there enters an un-
!
December, 1863]
Instances of Heroism
pleasant and unwelcome thought that one
may soon be numbered among the dead, or
be one of those whose sufferings were such
a common sight. But in this case as in the
others the mind instinctively adjusts itself
to the prevailing conditions, and without
losing the sense of danger, yet becomes to
a degree indifferent to it. The 'scare
feeling' is soon gone, and thenceforth it is
that dominant sense of duty of which I
have spoken which holds the reins."
Gen. Shoup tells of a private in one of
his regiments who wrote a letter to his
colonel begging not to be forced into the
line of battle. He confessed that he was a
coward and could not stand fire. He
begged to take care of patients in the small
pox hospital, anything to keep to the rear:
he should die if he were forced into fighting
ranks. The colonel compelled him to come
to the front and he was pitiful to see,
crouched, trembling, and dodging. But
when the first fright was over he proved a
first-rate soldier, in fact one of the most
reckless and daring in the ranks.
An excellent example of nerve is the fol-
lowing. Sir Charles Napier saw an Indian
juggler cut in two with a sword a lime held
in the hand of an assistant, and thought
there must be a collusion. To expose it he
offered to hold the lime himself. The jug-
gler examined his hand carefully and then
refused to perform the feat. "I thought I
should find you out," exclaimed Napier
triumphantly. "Stop," said the juggler,
"let me see your other hand." After he had
examined it the juggler said, "If you will
hold this hand steady I will cut the lime.”
"But why the left hand and not the
right?'
"Because the right hand is more hollow in
the centre and there is more danger of cut-
ting off the thumb."
135
Napier was startled. "I got frightened,”
he said, telling the story. "I saw it was an
actual feat of delicate swordmanship, and if
I had not abused the man, as I did before the
trial, I honestly acknowledge I should have
retired, from the encounter. However I
put the lime on my hand and held the arm
out steadily. The juggler balanced him-
self, and with a swift stroke cut the lime in
two pieces. I felt the edge of the sword on
my hand as if a cold thread had been
drawn across it."
I may add that I have seen this feat per-
formed not in India but in Syracuse, and
not by an Indian juggler, but by Col. Ver-
beck, principal of St. John's school, son of
Verbeck of Japan and who learned sword-
manship there. So the danger was less
than Napier supposed, but that does not
lessen his courage in submitting to the test.
To me that would be a much more severe
trial, though so much less would be at stake,
than to ride from one command to another
under heavy fire.
I have always thought the supeme test
of courage thus far evolved is that of the
Spanish matador. He does not kill the
bull: the bull must commit suicide. His
sword is not grasped, but is held with the
hilt against the back of his hand, which is
stretched out palm upward. He must hold
that sword so that when the bull comes rush-
ing upon him the point will penetrate a spot
in the bull's spine not bigger than a silver
dollar. Often the sword will enter the bull
up to the hilt, but unless the exact spot is
reached the wound is not fatal and the
matador must follow up the bull and draw
out the sword for another trial. When the
bull is fierce it requires nerve to await his
onslaught and stand there, sword poised,
so directing it that the bull shall lunge
himself upon it at just that point. How-
136
[Falmouth, Va.
Reflections after the Battle
ever much one may disapprove of bull-
fighting he cannot withold his admiration
of the matador's courage. I was present
at the last fight of the season at Madrid, in
1887, when Frascuelo, then the pride of
Spain, was tossed upon a bull's horns and
supposed to be fatally wounded. It was
the fifth bull of the ten, and showed
unusual spirit from the first, delighting the
audience, who shouted, "El bravo toro!"
Frascuelo played with him longer than is
customary, turning him aside with his red.
shawl as he lunged forward. When at
last Frascuelo was ready he planted him-
self and the bull came on with fire in his
eyes. He made a movement with his
horns just a bit different from what Fras-
cuelo had anticipated and in an instant
he had thrown the matador up into the air.
Yet while supreme unction was being ad-
ministered to Frascuelo, another matador
came into the ring, and, profiting by
the knowledge gained of the beast, de-
spatched him just as Frascuelo had tried
to do it. You may like bull-fighting or
not, but you cannot deny the courage it
shows.
Should a soldier bob his head when bul-
lets are flying? Gordon discusses this mat-
ter in his journal and concludes "Certainly.
I remember on two occasions seeing shells
before my eyes which certainly had I not
bobbed would have taken off my head."
At Taku Fort in 1860 a mounted officer re-
proved the Royal Surrey regiment for bob-
bing when bullets whistled by them saying,
"Whenever you hear the sound of a bullet
it has passed by you and you have nothing
to fear." Just then a bullet whizzed by his
own head and he ducked so violently that
he nearly fell off his horse. Righting him-
self he said to the soldiers with a smile,
"That was a narrow squeak, wasn't it?”
Early in the Ladysmith siege an old
major whose fighting record is beyond
question was lecturing his men on the folly
of ducking to a shell. "When you hear it,
men, it's actually past so that ducking your
heads is quite useless." Just then came a
hissing shell from "Silent Sue" close over
the major's head. He ducked. The men
laughed and he observed, "Ah well, I sup-
pose it's just human nature."
There were jokes even at Balaklava.
Lord Cardigan cried, thinking he was going
to certain death, "Here goes the last of the
Cardigans." Upon which an Irishman
echoed in his rich brogue, "Here goes the
last of the Murphys." After all Cardigan
survived, and while travelling in Scotland
called for a bottle of soda-water. The cork
flew out with a sharp pop and passed close to
his lordship's nose, whereupon Cardigan
dodged to escape it. "Ye wouldna ha'
done to ha' beane in the Crimeen war,"
said the landlord cotemptuously, and Card-
igan smiled without revealing his identity.
There is a good deal of fatalism among
soldiers. "If I am to be shot, they say,
"I shall be shot, and there is no use to try
to escape." Cronje said in the South
African war, when a cornet suggested that
he retire to a less exposed position, "No,
I am in the hands of God. If I am to be
shot I shall be hit just as soon in one place
as in another."
"The finger of God was upon me all day—
nothing else could have saved me," Wel-
lington said of Waterloo. Yet he could
hardly utter a sentence without an oath.
There are two theories of the recurrence
of a shot. One that "Every bullet has its
billet and a place once hit is to be avoided."
The other, "It never hits in the same spot
twice."
December, 1863]
Instances of Heroism
Dr. Dabney, on Stonewall Jackson's
staff, preached one Sunday on war, and
said that every shot and shell and bullet
was directed by the God of battles. At
Malvern Hill the staff was under heavy fire
and Gen. Jackson directed his officers to
dismount and shelter themselves. Dr.
Dabney hid behind a gate-post and Major
Nelson exclaimed, "Why Dr. Dabney, if
the God of battles directs every shot, why
do you want to put a gate-post between
you and a special providence?" Dr. Dab-
ney retorted, "Why just here the gate-
post is the special providence."
A soldier in the Dacoit-infested region of
Burmah was a firm believer in destiny, but
when about to take a stroll one evening was
observed to put a pair of pistols into his
pocket. "Hullo," cried a comrade, "what
are you taking a revolver for? That won't
save you if your time has come.” "No,"
said the other, "but I may happen to meet a
Dacoit whose time has come.'
""
Somebody remarked that the Boers did
not show their wonderful marksmanship at
Glencoe, to which a hearer replied that the
best marksmen in the world would get a
little rattled if the targets were chasing
them.
An old soldier was describing his adven-
tures in battle, the long wait, the nerve
tension, the charge, how the men behind
spat blasphemies at the sight and set their
teeth to win. "And what struck you most
after it was all over?" asked his listener.
"The bullets that missed me," was the reply.
An Australian who wanted to fight the
Boers was rejected on the ground that his
teeth were defective, though he protested
that he didn't want to eat the Boers, only
to fight 'em.
137
before a charge was, "Remember the la-
dies! remember the babies!"
La Rochejacquelin's address to his sol-
diers was, "If I advance, follow; if I fall,
avenge me; if I flinch, kill me.”
Soon after leaving Cambridge Coleridge
enlisted in the 15th Light Dragoons. "Do
you think," asked the general commanding,
"you can run a Frenchman through the
body?" "I don't know,” replied Cole-
ridge, “but I'll let a Frenchman run me
through the body before I'll run away."
It will be remembered that the Prince
Imperial of France met his death at the
hands of the Zulus, against whom he was
serving with the British army to get ex-
perience in war. Lt. Carey, an officer of
the party, rushed into camp crying, “Fly!
fly! The Zulus are after me and the Prince
Imperial is killed!" Sir Redvers Buller
turned upon him and asked sternly, "And
how is it that you are alive?" Carey was
compelled to resign from the army, and
entered the church.
Colonel Lake said at Rolica, "Remember
the bayonet is the only weapon for a Brit-
ish soldier."
When the English army landed in Egypt,
a Highland regiment fixed bayonets to at-
tack a French battery. Then came the
command, "Prime and load," but Donald
Balck cried out, from the ranks, "No prime
and load but charge paignets at once."
The men promptly obeyed and recarried the
ridge.
A Goorkhat trooper serving as guide to
the English who were sheltered from a mur-
derous fire but could not get away to safety
proposed, "Sahib, we mustn't stop here all
day. I will jump on top of the parapet,
they will fire at me and you can rush out on
them before they can reload.". He did it
The watchword of the King's Rifle Corps and the English routed the natives. Cu-
138
[Falmouth, Va.
Reflections after the Battle
riously enough the Goorkhat was absolutely
unharmed.
Lord Roberts tells that he himself saw
a shell pass between a rider and his horse,
tearing the saddle to shreds and knocking
down the horse but not seriously injuring
either man or horse.
A militia colonel who wanted his men to
volunteer for service abroad marched his
regiment in line up to the boundary wall of
the field and kept the men marking time
for a while, literally with their noses to the
wall. Then he read to them the require-
ments of the foreign service and said,
"Those men who do not wish to volunteer,
two paces to the front." As not a man
could advance, the colonel reported that
every member consented had to go abroad.
Soult turned his back on Jaubert, who
had made epigrams about him, whereupon
Jaubert said to him, "I have been told you
were my enemy but am glad to see it is not
so.'
"Why not?" thundered Soult fiercely.
"Because your enemy never sees your
back," was the diplomatic reply, and all
wounds were healed. On the other hand
when Wellington was ambassador to Paris
many of the French marshals turned their
backs upon him. Louis XVIII apologized,
but Wellington replied, "Never mind, your
majesty, they have got into the habit and
can't get out of it."
Most military stories, especially in com-
pany, must be taken with a grain of salt.
L
One had seen a man shot through the
head and he lived. Another had seen a
soldier whose arms and legs had been
carried away, and he lived. A third had
known a man to be shot in the side and
through the head, and he lived. A fourth
remarked that he had seen a man shot
clean through the body with a ten-pound
ball, and then paused. "And he lived?"
inquired one of the bystanders. "No, he
died."
A lady exhibiting family portraits pointed
to an officer in uniform. "He was brave as
a lion," she said, "but the most unfortunate
of men. Why he never took part in an
engagement without losing an arm or a leg.
He was in twenty-four battles."
An overbearing officer was complaining
to his Quaker aunt of the responsibility
placed upon him. "I have to do all the
work of the regiment," he said; “I am my
own major, my own captain, my own
lieutenant, my own sergeant,'
your own trumpeter," interrupted his aunt.
"and
•
CHAPTER XI. TENT ARCHITECTURE

would be safer there.
AMP LIFE in
From this point on
earnest now began my diary is kept in books with printed
forms for each day. It will be observed
that the first entry is always of the weather.
A specimen page is reproduced for Jan. 23.
for us. The sum-
mer camp is tem-
porary, but in
winter soldiers set-
tle down in hopes.
of permanence.
We were at Falmouth six months.
19th. After three days rest we commenced
drilling again—Began to give out Whiskey-
25th. Christmas. Had a fine Christmas
dinner of salt junk & Hard Tack. John
McAbe went down to the river and saw boats
crossing and recrossing and all gay & happy.
Up to this point my diary had been kept
on sheets of writing-paper, which I sent
hoine as they were filled, thinking they
Jan. 1. 1863. Rather cold. Nothing going
on in the Reg't. but went over to Birney's Di-
vision and had a pretty good time although I
got there too late. There was the customary
hurdle-race, rolling wheel, etc.
Jan. 2. Rather cold. Was on Orderly.
Ran regularly between the Adjutant's and
Capt. Jordan's tents.
Geo Harrington, who
from Camp Day.
Had a talk with
has lately arrived
Jan. 3. Pleasant.
with Tobacco at $1.50
Hull came around
lb. payable pay day.

"JOHN MCABE WENT DOWN TO THE RIVER"
139
140
[Falmouth, Va.
Tent Architecture
Took two pounds and got $5.00 pay day for dence. I learned to be glad I had escaped
it.
Trading was one of the methods of re-
lieving the monontony of the camp. It is
told of two Yankees in Libby prison that
the first day they were together they traded
jacknives forty-three times, at the end of
which time one had made a dollar and a
half and the other fourteen shillings,
while each man had the same knife he
started with.
I never formed the tobacco habit myself.
When I first enlisted and went back home
on furlough for a day or two I announced
that I was about to buy a meerschaum pipe.
expecting my mother to try to dissuade
me. But she had some acquaintance with
me and instead offered to go down town
with me and help pick it out. That took
away all the interest, for the principal
charm had been to assert my new indepen-
the habit, however, when I saw how men
suffered who could not get tobacco. There
were periods when there was no opportunity
to buy, and many a man seemed more dis-
tressed without his pipe or his chew than
when his rations of food ran short.
After dinner the Reg't received orders to
get ready to move Camp and we went about
two miles on the Belle Plains road. The
camp made a splendid appearance in the
woods with the dry pine fires.
The woods about our first camp had dis-
appeared at the rate of an acre a week,
and we moved over to the Fitzhugh house,
as shown on the map on inside cover. Here
there was a heavy growth of oak and pine
timber, and a camp was laid out with con-
siderable regularity, the company streets
up and down the hill and the officers' quar-
ters on the ridge.

BUILDING HUTS
Jan. 3-9, 1863]
The Army Chimney
Jan. 4. Pleasant. Established Camp in
the morning. The Drummers were sent to
their respective Companies. Fixed tent
pretty well.
Usually we musicians were permitted to
tent where we chose.
Jan. 5. Pleasant. Marched two miles to
Review by Gen. Burnside. Saw Gen's.
Sickles, Carr, Mott, Sumner, Birney, Fer-
rero, Wadsworth, Doubleday, etc. Left the
Reg't and fell in with Charlie Montjoy of
the 21st Mass. and with him went over to the
36th Mass. and saw Hamilton, Emory,
Thompson and other Fitchburg boys. Saw
the Balloon & with it Prof. Lowe. Got
some Troches etc. by mail.
Jan. 6. Pleasant. Got a letter from Gen.
Schouler in regard to Descriptive list. Drills.
I had thus far been unable to draw pay
because through some error in the red
141
tape department this description of my
person and the facts about my enlistment
had not been forwarded.
Drills
Jan. 7. Pleasant.
Jan. 8. Pleasant. Was on Orderly.
Jan. 9. Pleasant. Put a chimney on
house and fixed it up good.
The confederate camps were much more
elaborate than ours, both because the
southerners were more experienced house-
builders and because they preferred to
sleep a good many together, so that they
could afford more elaborate construction.
We preferred the quiet and independnece
of tenting not more than two together.
We chose camping in open fields; they took
to the woods. Then they did not use tents
as we did, even on the march. McCarthy
says: "Tents were rarely seen. All the
poetry about the 'tented field' died.
Two

THE ARMY CHIMNEY
142
[Falmouth, Va.
Tent Architecture

NATIVE VIRGINIA MODELS

INTERESTING EXPERIMENTS

ஆம்
TYPES OF WINTER QUARTERS

A CAMP OF SHELTER TENTS IN WINTER. Compare page 33
144
[Falmouth, Va.
Tent Architecture

REMAINS OF A REBEL CAMP AT MANASSES
men slept together, each having a blanket
and an oil-cloth: one oil-cloth went next
the ground. The two laid (sic) on this,
covered themselves with two blankets,
protected from the rain with the second
oil-cloth on top, and slept very comfortably
through rain, snow or hail, as it might be."
Hence they had wooden roofs.
As finally modeled my Brandy Station
hut represented a good deal of planning
and experiment. I first put down a log
9 inches thick through the middle of the
square on which the tent was to stand.
Then I excavated the half of the square
in front to the depth of nine inches, and
put the dirt on the half of the square
behind, which gave me a seat eighteen inches.
high, by raising the bed eighteen inches
from the floor. Then I put logs around
something as shown in these huts left by
the confederates at Manassas, except that
I had only three logs high above the
ground, and the door was at the floor cor-
ner: I sacrificed a pair of shoes for
hinges. The chimney was like those here.
shown, built of logs chinked in with clay
and lined with clay inside. The roof,
however, was still my pair of shelter tents
and was not nearly so high as here shown.
The result was about like those shown in
the lower picture on page 141, except that
the chimney was like that on page 145, the
picture in the foreground giving the gen-
eral effect of my Falmouth tent.
Jan. 10. House was fixed in time. It
rained all day but I was dry.
I tented alone this winter, and so did all
the building myself. I laid a foundation

Jan. 9-10, 1863]
Winter Huts
145
MY WINTER HOME AT FALMOUTH
of logs as shown in the picture, and built
the chimney of logs plastered with clay. I
laid a foundation of pine-branches for my
bed, and put a rubber blanket over them.
The chimney was sometimes eked out
by a barrel, as shown in this picture of the
outside of Perkins's tent at Brandy Station.
The reader will remember his portrait on
PERKINS'S TENT AT BRANDY STATION
CAMP AT
BRANDY STATION

Fra
INSIDE OF PERKINS'S TENT
1ST MASSACHUSETTS HUTS AT CAMP HOOKER, 1861-2
INTERIOR OF THE MIDDLE HUT AT CAMP HOOKER
146
TAW WIE
Jan. 10-13, 1863]
In the Snow
page 73. He sends me this and the three
sketches on page 146 made by himself. The
next tent here was Bagley's, another
musician's, and the two were at the end of
the musicians' row, next the parade ground.
Staff tents are shown at the left.
The next picture shows the inside of
the same tent. The door was made of a
cracker box, with hinges of leather, and
the chimney was made of earth sod.
The two next were regimental huts at
Camp Hooker. The one in the centre was
made by Perkins and Burditt of Co. G.
The top was thatched, and leaked some,
but the bunks were placed one over the
other, and a rubber blanket put over them
to shed the water to the floor. As this
was simply the ground, the water drained
off.
147
Directly in front of this shanty and along
the public road was the guard house.
At the right was the bake house, and at
the left, as one went down the hill towards
the spring at the bottom of the ravine,
was another log hut. The ten company
houses here were at right angles to the
road, with parade grounds in front and
staff quarters in the rear.
Jan. 11. Pleasant. Had Sunday In-
spection. Rec'd another letter from Adj't
Gen. Schouler. No signs of the Descriptive
List.
Jan. 12. Pleasant. Got a letter with 30
cts., stamps, etc.
Jan. 13. Pleasant.
Gen. Stoneman.
Had Inspection by

WHEN THE SNOW CAME

148
[Falmouth, Va.
Tent Architecture
GEN. GEORGE STONEMAN, 1822-94
Gen. Stoneman was a brother of Kate
Stoneman, so long a teacher in the Albany
normal.
He honored Dearing by
taking him by the collar and telling him never
to come on Inspection again with a dirty
shirt.
Dearing was the one I started on from
Wolf's Run Shoal with, Dec. 1.
Jan. 14. Pleasant. Our Sutler arrived.
A large crowd soon formed in front of his
tent, and at Tattoo he had nothing left.
Jan. 15. Pleasant. Drills as usual. Am
beginning to play the fife pretty well.
Jan. 16. Pretty cold. Was put on Order-
ly. McLaughlin not liking the Sutler's
prices" razeed" his prices 100 ct. Orders
came for a move.
We privates sometimes razeed a sutler's
prices 100%, but I think Col. McLaughlin
did not cut them below 50.
Jan. 17. Cold. Did not move though
kept in readiness.
Jan. 18. Cold.
not turning out.
put in my place.
Was put on orderly for
Was taken sick and Prest
Z
CHAPTER XI. BURNSIDE STUCK IN THE MUD

REDERICKS-
burg was an awful
disaster, and yet it
hurt Burnside less
than his memora-
ble mud march.
The battle was a
tragedy, the march
was a farce. The country blamed him
for the lives sacrificed, but it laughed
at him for the retreat through the mud.
Here the weather record in my diary is
significant. We had had only one rainy
day since the year opened, but it poured for
the two days of this march, and there was
nothing to do but to go home again. You
people who have not walked in Virginia
roads have no idea what rains meant there,
especially when all movements involved
crossing the Rappahannock, slow and slug-
gish enough in pleasant weather, but when
formidable not fordable.
Jan. 19. Pleasant. Orders were given to
pack knapsacks again but some unaccount-
able reason delayed us and we did not start.
An order was read on line announcing that
we were about to meet the enemy.
Jan. 20. Rainy. Started about 3 o'clock
& marched 2 miles and halted then while
other Corps were passing us.
The troops were of Franklin's grand
division, and the lack of discipline was
appalling. A majority of the men fell out
by the roadside and sought any shelter they
could find, declaring they would not be
marched at such a time, in such a manner,
court-
by such officers, if they were
marshalled for disobedience.
It now began
to rain and back we went to Camp and found
our tent poles stolen. So we slept very cold
and wet.
Jan. 21. Rainy. Were awakened at
daylight out of our uncomfortable sleep by the
order "fall in", so breakfastless and cold and
uncomfortable we waded through the mud
about 7 miles to a place near U. S. ford,
where it was intended to cross.
This is the first of several pictures I shall
show of the fords of the Rappahannock.

CROSSING AT UNITED STATES FORD
149
150
[U. S. Ford, Va.
Burnside Stuck in the Mud

MARCHING IN THE RAIN
The infantry usually crossed them on pon-
toon bridges.
Wagons
and Pontoons stuck in the mud lined the
road. Slept very well at night, the steam
from the blankets and clothes wet through
acting as a narcotic.
That was before the days of Mrs. Julia
Ward Hunt, and I could take a narcotic
with a clear conscience.
Jan. 22. Cloudy. The Reg't were sent
out in the morning to build a Corduroy road
to retreat on.
The pictures show how a corduroy road
was built. Trees were felled and cut into
lengths somewhat wider than an army
wagon, and these logs were laid across string-
ers and fastened as securely as possible.
Many of my readers have complained of
this kind of road in the Adirondacks, but an
Adirondack log road is asphalt compared
with what we used to build in Virginia.
Sometimes we did not stop to lay stringers
but merely laid logs down, as shown in the
second picture on the next page. About
the only advantage of such a road is that
it saves the mud from being absolutely
bottomless.
It is tiring labor to build them. The
logs of green wood are heavy and often
have to be carried long distances. Here
everything was done in rushing haste, so
that there was much stumbling and inter-
ference. The officers hated the work and
took out their dislike for it on the privates,
so that altogether we were an uncomforta-
ble and disagreeable lot.
ble and disagreeable lot. We drummers
did our full share of the work.

BUILDING A CORDUROY ROAD

ROUGHER CORDUROY ROAD
151
152
Burnside Stuck in the Mud
[U. S. Ford, Va.
I reproduce this entry for the next day.
to give an idea of this diary. The size is
the same as that of the original.
U.B. Ford to Falsicourt-

January,
FRIDAY 23,
1883.

The Righ
were sent out again.
but about noon were ver
culled, crud in all mont
ed. buck to Cannes. This
Rebel Packet stuck of bound

AL
thier side
Containing
BURNSID
IN THE MUDI
STUCK
of the
the signif.
wen we komade
Flappy
loap.

RETREATING IN THE RAIN
Jan. 23, 1862]
Retreating in the Rain
153

NOTE HOW THE MUD STICKS TO THE HORSE'S HOOF
I do not know that I can add very much
to the description of this march conveyed
by these pictures. McCarthy says:
"Rain was the greatest discomfort a
soldier could have; it was more uncom-
fortable than the severest cold in clear
weather. Wet clothes, shoes, and blankets;
wet meat and bread; wet feet and wet
ground; wet wood to burn, or rather not to
arms and ammunition; wet
burn; wet
ground to sleep on; mud to wade through;
swollen creeks to ford; muddy springs, a
thousand other discomforts attended the
rain. There was no comfort on a rainy
day or night except in bed-that is under
your blanket and oil cloth.”
•
154
[U. S. Ford, Va.
Burnside Stuck in the Mud

A STRUGGLE FOR EXISTENCE
Cold winds, blowing the rain in the faces
of the men, increased the discomfort.
Mud was often so deep as to submerge
the horses and mules, and at times it was
necessary for one man or more to extricate
another from the mudholes in the road.
Cole says: "Up to our knees in slush we
sought to find our ways to the fords. It
frequently happened that men striking
their feet against the covered stumps
stumbled forward into the slough."
In his "Reminiscences" (N. Y., 1907)
Carl Schurz describes the scene vividly:
"In that part of Virginia north of the Rap-
pahannock, where there had been for a
long period a constant marching and coun-
termarching, the fences had altogether
disappeared, and the woods had in great
Jan. 23, 1863]
Retreating in the Rain
155

THE STRUGGLE OF A BAGGAGE TRAIN
part been cut down, only the stumps left
standing. When the existing roads had
become difficult they were 'corduroyed',
that is, covered with logs laid across close
together, so as to form a sort of loose wood-
en pavement. So long as the weather was
measurably dry such roads, though rough,
were fairly passable. But when heavy
rains set in, the corduroy was soon covered
with a deep slush which hid the roadbed
from sight. Some of the logs of the cor-
duroy under that slush were worn out or
broken through, and thus the corduroy
roads became full of invisible holes, more
or less deep, real pitfalls, offering the most.
startling surprises. Foot soldiers floun-
dering over such roads would unexpect-
edly drop into those pits up to their belts,

156
[U. S. Ford, Va.
Burnside Stuck in the Mud
X
and gun carriages and other vehicles be- of the First Regiment" (Boston, 1866):
come inextricably stuck. Of course march-"Along these roads horses and mules strug-
ing columns and artillery and wagon trains gled and floundered, drawing much lighter
would under these circumstances try their loads than usual, covered with mud and
fortunes in the open fields to the right and perspiration, sending up clouds of vapor
left of the roads, but the fields soon became from their heated and reeking bodies, and
covered with the same sort of liquid slime breathing so violently whenever they
a foot or more deep, with innumerable stopped for rest that the motion shook
invisible holes beneath. Thus the whole them from end to end like a convulsion.
country gradually became 'road', but road Some pieces of light artillery had double
of the most bewildering and depressing and even triple teams attached to them,
kind, taxing the strength of men and horses 12 to 18 animals being sometimes har-
beyond endurance. One would see large nessed to a single gun, which even then
stretches of country fairly covered with they dragged at a snail's pace, requiring.
guns and army wagons and ambulances frequent assistance from the soldiers, who
stalled in a sea of black or yellow mire, and threw rails and branches from the trees
infantry standing up to their knees in mud, across the worst places, and pried up the
shivering and swearing, very hard, as wheels when they sank so low as to be
hard as a thoroughly disgusted soldier utterly immovable.
can swear. I remember having passed by
one of the pontoon trains that were to take
the army across the Rappahannock, stuck
so fast in the soft earth that the utmost
exertions failed to move it. Such was
'Burnside stuck in the mud'."
"At the crossings of the streams, where
bridges had been rendered indispensably
necessary by the depth of the water,
horses and mules were killed in their effort
to get over, or broke their legs and had to be
put out of their misery. Every mile
Chaplain Cudworth says in his "History presented some such scene, and the general
DIFFICULTY WITH A PONTOON
Jan. 23, 1863]
Retreating in the Rain
157

་
INEXTRICABLE CONFUSION
difficulty of the advance greatly discour-
aged the troops. The infantry avoided the
roads as much as possible, and picked their
way over the hills and through the fields.
Although they could get along, their pro-
gress was accomplished with extreme diffi-
culty, as they were perpetually slipping
back, and occasionally getting tripped up,
or lifting their feet entirely out of their
boots, leaving them buried twelve or fif-
teen inches in the mucilaginous ooze.
"Where the slough was particularly soft.
and deep, the men were compelled to pro-
ceed by single file, till some venturesome.
and impatient fellow would start out to find
a better and a shorter track, only to sink up
to his knees in mud, and become the butt
of universal ridicule until he waded back
158
[U. S. Ford, Va.
Burnside Stuck in the Mud

Ah! you may
laugh - but if
it wern't for this
out of.
! Mud I'd soon
fetch you out
that
H
RICHMOND
From Frank Leslie's, Feb. 21, 1863
T
AS USUAL LINCOLN GOT THE BLAME
into line again. Another, thinking he could
leap across a stream across which his com-
rades were plodding on some fallen tree or
single plank, would just fail of reaching the
opposite side, and drop souse into the water,
scrambling out with musket, knapsack,
haversack, and clothes
clothes all dripping,
greeted with roars of laughter for his ex-
ploit, and sundry jibes far from compli-
mentary or soothing."
The pictures show the inextricable con-
fusion of such a march. There is little
effort to hold a regiment together. Every
man pushes along as he may, and finds his
company when he can. Hence there is
little discipline and sometimes severe
measures have to be resorted to. Of this
march I have a recollection I can not swear
to that I saw some altercation between a
mounted officer and a private, probably
under different command. I did not hear
the first of it or learn what the isssue was,
but just as I got there the officer shot the
private dead, and nobody paid much at-
tention to it, so far as I observed.
There is nothing improbable about it.
Jan. 23, 1863]
What it Means to be Exhausted
On the retreat from Chancellorsville an
exhausted soldier jostled against Gen.
Meade. That quick-tempered officer drew
his sword and struck the soldier with all
his might, and though he did not kill him
he might have done so.
I think I saw on this march a fight
between a Frenchman and a negro, in
which each used his own method of fight-
ing. The negro watched his opportunity
and suddenly butted at the Frenchman,
aiming all his weight through his head with
inconceivable velocity at the pit of the
Frenchman's stomach. But the French-
159
man was prepared and drew back in time
to plant his foot in the negro's stomach
with such force that the negro fell gasping
to the ground as if for his last breath. I
did not have interest enough to stay to see
whether he recovered. Do you know what
it is to be so tired that if you were told New
York city was burned to the ground or
Great Britain had slid into the ocean you
wouldn't care whether it was true or not?
I have marched when it seemed to me that
my wishes and my interest were absolutely
limited to a chance to sit down for five
minutes.

CHAPTER XIII. WINTER CAMP AT FALMOUTH
HE winter passed
with no more im-
portant 'move-
ments. There
were some drill,
some fatigue work,
much idleness, but
on the whole con-
siderable comparative comfort.
Jan. 24. Pleasant.
The Reg't received
two months pay but I received nothing.
This was because the Descriptive list
already referred to had not been received.
Jan. 25. Pleasant. Had Brigade In-
spection. Got receipt from home of box, etc.
Jan 26. Rainy. Bought pack of cards.
Jan. 27. Got a fine Bible and Diary
from home.
I have the diary still: the Bible with
hundreds of others, fell by the way on my
first long march.
Jan. 28. Very stormy. The worst rain
we have had since we were at Fairfax Station..
Sold Jack Robbins my shirt for 1.00.
Though the entry would indicate it, I
trust the shirt sold so much below the mar-
ket price was not my only one.
Re-
ceived news of Hooker's taking command of
the Army. Was much pleased.
My pleasure in the appointment of Gen.
Hooker came through my fellow soldiers.
for our brigade looked upon Fighting Joe as
our especial representative. Ours had been
the first brigade he commanded, and it was
to our division and our corps that he was
subsequently promoted. Even now the
survivors of the 1st Massachusetts guard
his memory zealously. Isaac P. Gragg,
GEN. JOSEPH HOOKER, 1814-79
our secretary, published in 1900, "Homes of
the ancestors of Major General Joseph
Hooker", and was secretary of the Hooker
memorial committee under whose charge
the equestrian statue of Hooker was erected
in the State house grounds in 1903.
Jan. 29. Cold. Was put on Orderly.
There was about five inches of snow on the
ground and six of mud under. So I had wet
and cold feet all day.
and cold feet all day. The trees presented a
fine appearance, bowed down by the snow.
Jan. 30. Cold. Got up a fine lot of wood,
and had a gay fire at night. That is one of
the advantages of exposure. If I had been
spending the winter in a steam-heated house
I never could have enjoyed that fire.
Jan. 31. Cold. Got up a good lot of wood
in self defence from the cold. We have to go
about of a mile for wood and then carry it
on our shoulder
It was as I was coming back to camp with
a log of wood about this time that I
met Lincoln riding with a large staff of
officers from one camp to another and it
seemed to me his was the saddest face I ever
looked on. It will always be a pleasant
recollection that when I swung my hat to
him with real admiration I got a faint
little smile and an individual bow all to
myself, little fifer as I was.
160

Jan. 24-Feb. 1, 1863]
Army Clothing
ABRAHAM LINCOLN, 1809-65
Pants Sr. Fair.
Bolence, cach,
Clothing
Caps
161
$3.55
3.14
་
9.50
rach
Overcoats each. I
Shirts. each. !!
Drawers. Sair. 1
Feb. 1. Very Pleasant. Had Company Cucks.
Had Company Bucks.
Inspection again. Drew Blanket, Blouse, Shoes
Grair-!!!!!!!!
Jair. !!
Blankets. Werken sach !!
Blankets. Rubber coh
Sheller Sents.-11
pack uncter. I
Kaupacken
carried out here amount to $34.06. so it Husche euch.11
lentine. much
Pants, etc. Am afraid I have overrun my
clothing bill this year.
I find this page in my diary and have re-
produced it. I do not know how long a
period it covers. We were allowed $42 a
year for clothes. Those of which the prices
are
is manifest my account for the year is over-
drawn even if this represents a whole year,
which I should hardly suppose. The sol-
dier could draw about all the clothing he
wanted when the quartermaster was around,
but he was only allowed a certain amount
and whatever he drew more than that was
deducted from his pay. I always overdrew
my allowance, but there were men in the
regiment who underdrew and had quite
an extra amount coming on payday. My
impression is that the regular allowance
was for most men ample, and that no shod-
dy goods were dealt out to us. Our great-
est extravagance was in throwing clothing
away upon the march.
Grant says in his Memoirs (ii. 190-1)
"I saw scattered along the road from Cul-
pepper to Germania ford wagon loads of new
blankets and overcoats thrown away by
the troops to lighten their knapsacks, an
imprudence I had never witnessed before."
Most of my underclothing, and at least
576
32
2.05
3.53
one pair of shoes and one pair of boots had
been bought outside.
The uniform was anything but becoming.
The trousers were particularly ugly and on
the march were heavy and clogging. In
the old high bicycle days what a difference
it made whether one wore long trousers or
short, and there is that difference in march-
ing. The khaki suits with puttees must
make it enormously easier to move the leg
forward, forward, forward so many times
for hours.
Yet the many local uniforms with which
the troops started out, zouave and all the
rest, finally gave way to this homely cos-
tume. I do not remember seeing any
Highlander regiment. An Englishman in-
sinuated that the reason Highlanders wear
kilts is because their feet are so large they
can't get them into trousers.

162
[Falmouth, Va.
Winter Camp at Falmouth
THE ARMY TROUSERS OF 1863
Gen. Butler wrote to The United States
Service Magazine that it was astonishing
how many necessities a man could do with-
out. "In doing without a pair of breeches
a Highlander is only at the beginning of the
lesson, and it has always appeared strange
to us why he should have begun there.
The Bluecoat boys get on very well without
caps. Bluejackets do remarkably well
without boots, and one of the most active
'irregulars' I ever met on service was a
West African negro, whose kit literally
fulfilled the exact primitive meaning of
the word, for it consisted solely of a large,
empty, square-sided gin bottle, which he
wore suspended from the left shoulder,
after the manner of the old hussar or
Hungarian jacket."
Africa who mended his trousers by making
four holes in a tin from a biscuit can and
tying it on with a string. Dr. Cheyne said
that when marching up the hills he looked
like a heliograph on two legs.
Feb. 2. Very Pleasant. A fine day.
Nothing of importance occurred.
Sounds like the padding in my diaries of
earlier years. However, in winter quar-
ters no news was good news to a degree those
at home can never appreciate.
Feb. 3. Stormy. Cold with snow in the
morning. Very cold and windy at night,
but we were quite comfortable with a thickness
of cloth between us and the wind.
Feb. 4. Very Cold. Was put on Orderly
but had a very easy time. Lieut. Doherty
was in my tent all the evening.
Lt. Doherty had been promoted from
the ranks without being puffed up by it, and
liked to tell us boys of his adventures as a
sailor and a soldier. His stories were
largely of his own courage and yet told
with a sort of modesty. I did not ques-
tion them at the time, and I don't yet; so
far as they occurred in the regiment his
fellow soldiers confirmed them.
On the second day at Gettysburg be-
fore the fighting got to us, our men were
pretty nervous. He ordered his company to
bring their arms to their shoulders and put
them through the manual of arms while
a tornado of missiles was flying over
their heads. He was a reckless fighter
in battle, but he was an old sailor, and
had a sailor's vices. At Baltimore on
our way to New York at the time of the
draft riots he got drunk and tried to kill an
officer in another regiment. Lt. Col. Bald-
win seized a musket from one of the pri-
vates and clubbed Doherty with the butt of
Prof. Cheyne tells of a soldier in South it till his head was a mass of blood. Doher-
Feb. 1-6, 1864]
Army Rations of Whiskey
ty was afterward made major of the 56th
Mass., and was killed before Petersburg.
Feb. 5. Snow. The Reveille was beaten
at 4 o'clock and the order "Fall in for Ra-
tions" admonished us to get up. Hooker
had given orders for our Division to go on an
Expedition for the purpose of destroying a
bridge on the Rappahannock used by
Stuart's Cavalry. We went up near U. S.
Ford and slept at night with everything wet,
and the rain drizzling down. For the first
time I drank my whiskey.
163
officer gave out whiskey I yielded to his
better judgment.
Of course I speak as one who had no in-
herited or acquired fondness for liquor.
Very likely there were men, though I did
not observe any, in whom this gill of
whiskey produced an almost insatiable
thirst for more. I should never offer liquor
to a man with whose habits I was un-
acquainted.
One thing I remember of this bivouac
better than the whiskey was the supper
I cooked myself. It had been unusually
hard to build a fire because the wood was
not only wet but green. Our way was
to split up kindling into small sticks
eight or ten inches long, shave down
four of the sticks in the centre, leaving
the shavings on the stick, and then by
I have spoken of my absurd scrupu-
lousness in some matters. I think it
brought me more dislike than my more sel-
fish faults, unless indeed there is a certain
selfishness, a holier and wiser than thou at-
titude, in adhering to one's personal views.
against the common sense of the multitude.
I had been brought up in a prohibition putting the shaved sides of these four
town. I remember how shocked I was the
first time I went to Boston with my father
to see rum and beer and wines openly ad-
vertised; in Fitchburg they were sold only
on the sly. My views on prohibition were
as strong as upon abolition, so hitherto
when whiskey had been dealt out I had
not only refused to drink it but had poured
it out on the ground, thinking it a sin to
give it to any body else. Imagine how an
old soldier shivering with wet and cold his
own allowance had only alleviated enough
to make him eager for more, looking upon
a little fool boy throwing his whiskey away.
I wonder the men were as decent to me as
they were: they always treated me a lot
better than I deserved.
This night I really felt I needed the whis-
key as medicine, and I have no doubt it did
me lots of good. At any rate it kept me
from pouring it out on the ground again
when there were men who had had only one
drink. Thereafter when the commanding
sticks together and touching them with
a match we could usually start a fire
even from unpromising material. This
night it took more than four sticks for
one trial, but at last we got Our
smoky fires to burning, and I remem-
ber how I cooked my supper. I had salt
pork and hard tack. Cutting a forked
stick I impaled the pork on that, held it in
the blaze, and let the black fat trickle down
on the cracker. I have had dinners at
Delmonico's and at Sherry's that cost more
money, but I have never eaten anything
more appetizing at the time than that pork-
greased cracker.
went across.
Feb. 6. Rain. Started early and waited
close to the river while the Jersey Brigade
They burned the bridge and
took about 40 Prisoners as the result of the
Expedition which proved every way suc-
cessful. Slept very well at night though we
were short of Rations.
164
[Falmouth, Va.
Winter Camp at Falmouth

P. Masty supper.
DELMONICO OUTCLASSED
The confederates had just constructed
the bridge and their cavalry were crossing
upon it, when a volley from our men emp-
tied some of their saddles and compelled
them to retreat. They formed again and
started to cross backed by infantry, but
our fire was too heavy and they retired.
Then our cavalry started across and the
confederates began to destroy their end of
the bridge. Seeing they could not get
across our cavalry came back and started
to burn the bridge on our side, so it was
soon all in flames,
Feb. 7. Very Pleasant. At five o'clock
got up and started for Camp. Went ahead
of the Reg't and got into Camp about 2 P. M.
Found letter awaiting me with 15.00 in it,
with which I paid my debts. The 9th Corps.
including the 21st and 36th Mass. Reg'ts
left today.
Feb. 8.
8. Very Pleasant. Fine day.
Feel well today after leaving four woolen
blankets in the morning.
Meaning, I suppose, that I slept warm the
night before, which I did not always, by any
means.
Feb. 9. Pleasant. Had Regimental In-
spection. Got my washing done at the 26th
Penn.
As a result of this inspection ours was
one of the three Massachusetts regiments.
commended in general orders, and granted
extra furloughs, the others being the 2d
and the 20th. Of all the regiments in the
army only 11 were so commended. Yet
our regiment was singled out of the entire
Feb. 7-16, 1863]
More about Straggling
division for fatigue duty from March 17 to
April 2, building corduroy roads from camp
to camp in mud from two inches to two feet
deep. This was believed to be the result of
envious spite on the part of an officer who
happened to be placed in authority over us.
Feb. 10. Pleasant. Had Regimental
Inspection by Col. Parks of the 2nd N. Y.
Very minute. Capt. Stone received my
Descriptive list.
165
looked down upon me even when they
were trying to be kind. Some young fel-
lows who went into the Spanish war dis-
covered this. Men who had been close
friends found that shoulder straps draw
unexpected barriers.
Feb. 16. Pleasant. Went back to camp
on my own hook. Saw Maj. Stoughton
of West Randolph 1st U. S. S. S.
This traveling "on my own hook" was
Feb. 11. Rainy. Nothing of importance my one great army offence. It was a form
occurred,
Feb. 12. Pleasant. Stewart came today
from Roxbury with his Express. Phillips
got his box.
My Co. D was from Roxbury.
Feb. 13. Marched about 10 miles to a
place 5 miles from Camp which is our Picket
Post.
I don't know how the customary top
line about the weather came to be omitted
to-day.
Feb. 14. Pleasant. Enjoyed myself very
well as I had all the reading I wanted.
Cause and effect closely related. There
were times when we got no fresh reading for
weeks.
Feb. 15. Rainy. Put a Rubber Blanket
over us and got along very well. I rather
like Picket. It brings Officers and men
together and each likes the other better.
Wiggins gave us some flute playing on my
fife.
The capitalization of "Officers and men”
is very appropriate. Hard as some of the
marching was, I think nothing was so diffi-
cult for me to endure as to be so absolutely
subservient to any little popinjay who hap-
pened to wear shoulder-straps. The offi-
cers of my regiment were a pretty good lot,
far above the average, but it did not come
easy for me to recognize how low they
of straggling, and though I seldom failed
to reach my regiment at night and never
failed to be with it when it went into bat-
tle, I marched with it as little as possible.
For this there were two main reasons. In
the first place, it is very tiresome to march
by fours. That means you must move
when the others inove, stop when the others
stop, and start again when they start.
Now I have never been so nearly "all in"
anywhere else as in marching. Over and
over again I have been so exhausted that
it seemed as if to lie down and be left alone
for half an hour would be so great a blessing
that everything else in the world would be
indifferent. While our regiment was in
New York at the time of the draft riots I
went one afternoon to a performance at
Barnum's Museum, and as I sat there what
impressed me most was how often after we
were back at the front again I should wish
as we were marching that I could be sitting
once more in that comfortable chair.
Wants are relative: you become uncon-
scious of the tooth-ache if you are run
over by an automobile. Every old soldier
knows what it is to have the cry for rest
so strong that it seems irresistible. It is
said that men have slept as they marched.
I have marched till it seemed as if it was no
longer by will power but by a sort of dazed
mechanism.
-
166
[Falmouth, Va.
Winter Camp at Falmouth

с
1
A TWENTY MINUTE HALT
Owen Watkins tells of seeing in the
Soudan campaign of 1898 an adjutant and
a major riding side by side, so that if they
fell asleep they could lean on each other
and not fall from their saddles. If men get
as exhausted as that riding, think how far
they may be gone when walking.
a
Now if you are marching by fours the
column occasionally halts. These men that
Edwin Forbes pictures are not dead; they
have thrown themselves down for
twenty minutes rest. You hope the halt
is for a rest, and throw yourself upon the
ground. But it may be only because a
wagon ahead was for a moment stuck in the
mud, and the instant you have stretched
out your legs the column may start forward
again, and you must climb to your feet
more exhausted than ever. The first time
I fell out on the march to Fairfax Court-
house, I simply could not keep up.
I was
green to marching, to carrying a heavy
My feet
load, to such continued exertion.
were blistered, my muscles ached, I should
have fallen in the road if I had kept on.
But I found it so easy after I woke up and
followed on alone to catch up with and find
my regiment that I saw I should save half
the exhaustion of marching if I went as
here "on my own hook”.
But in the second place it enabled me to
see what was going on. A man trudging
along in fours has very little chance to see
anything: he is absorbed in the one great.
task of getting one foot before the other.
But free from my fellows I could make the
day's march in from half to two-thirds the
time it took them, and have the rest to
wander about when anything seemed worth
looking at. If a brigade was sent out to
capture a wagon train I was pretty apt to
follow along; if there was a preliminary
skirmish before crossing a ford I sometimes.
got a glimpse of it. I was the only soldier
looking at.
Feb. 16-28, 1863]
A Straggler's Advantage
in my brigade who went into the city of
Fredericksburg during the battle, or who
saw the magnificent artillery battle on the
right at Gettysburg, or the capture of
Kelly's ford. It seemed to me stupid to
miss all these chances by obeying orders,
when I could do everything required of
me just as well in my own way.
Of course I was disobeying orders, and
I was probably inore sworn at than any
other man in the regiment. But I found
that it never went beyond swearing and I
got used to that; so did the officers: their
profanity became perfunctory. I except
Lt. Col. Baldwin. He never swore at me
more vigorously than twelve hours before.
he was captured in the Wilderness. A
week after, I was tending a wounded con-
federate prisoner and as we exchanged
military gossip he asked, "Why, didn't
your lieutenant colonel get taken after
the first day's fighting?"
"Yes."
"Our boys captured him. Say, can't he
swear? Our boys used to come up to the
tent by detail to hear him cuss."
The fact was, I was the youngest soldier
in the brigade, and I looked it, so however
harshly men talked to me they were really
sorry for me, and I took advantage of it.
There was one thing about my straggling:
after I got my marching legs it was usually
ahead of the regiment, not behind it. Gen.
Pope issued an order for the commanding
officer to march behind his regiment, to
prevent straggling. That would not have
bothered me. I always wanted to march
way at the head of the corps if it was a
corps movement, or of the division, or of
the brigade. So when it was only my regi-
ment moving I used to get so far ahead
that Lt. Col. Baldwin, then in command,
167
once made me carry a log of wood on my
shoulder as a handicap.
Feb. 17. Snow. Snow by the quantity.
Feb. 18. My old chimney tumbled down.
Built it up better than before.
Feb. 19. Rainy. Came near breaking
my back lugging a 200 lb. stick of wood a
mile with mud two feet deep and bushes etc, in
the way. Who wouldn't be a soldier.
Feb. 20. Windy. Nothing to do. I
wrote letters all
That entry seems to have been somehow
interrupted.
Feb. 21. Rainy. Wrote two letters for
Chapman.
As before stated Chapman is now a Har-
vard graduate, but he wasn't then.
Feb. 22. Snow. Found six inches of
snow on the ground and it rapidly increasing.
A Salute was fired from Each Battery of 100
guns for Washington's Birthday.
Feb. 23. Very Pleasant. Rivers was on
Orderly which was the third time since me.
None of us were fond of errand-running,
and we exulted to get less than our share.
. Feb. 24. Very cold. A fearfully cold.
Ink, shoes, & Food frozen stiff. The Reg't
was sent on Fatigue duty, building Corduroy
roads.
Feb. 25. Warm & Pleasant. Beautiful
day. Got an Independent from home.
Reg't still on Fatigue.
Feb. 26. Rainy. The 2nd N. H. went
home today. Was on Orderly but staid in
the tent all day and was almost sorry to have
tattoo beaten.
Pleasant. Played Cribbage
Feb. 27. Pleasant.
untill late in the evening.
Feb. 28. Cloudy. Got a letter signed “a
Visitor of Granite Division and a friend of
Somebody Else", alias Miss Mary Brooks.
She was the sister of the pastor of the
Baptist church in Fitchburg, a woman I
168
[Falmouth, Va.
Winter Camp at Falmouth
"
always very much admired. Granite di-
vision was of the Sons of Temperance,
which I had joined.
March 1. Rainy. Express came today,
but none for me. I don't understand why
my box does not come.
March 2. Pleasant. Went on Sick List.
Cause Costiveness and Orderly Duty!
Bad complaints.
March 3. Pleasant. It rained all last
night but is quite pleasant today. Phillips
got some whiskey and got drunk as a fool.
God grant I may never like whiskey. At
Dress Parade Capt. Johnson was dismissed
from the service.
March 4. Beat 15 straight games of
cribbage. Lincoln's administration is half
over.
Apparently two events of equal moment.
March 5. Cold. Went to the Dr to get ex-
cused from Duty. He gave me some pills as
usual, Pil, Cath, Com, IV. and I put them
in my pocketbook. But Hull discovered
that I was not excused and stopped my fun!
There is an old story of an Irish private
who asked leave of absence. "Me woife
is viry sick," he explained, "an' the childers
is not well." The colonel eyed him. "Pat,
he said, "I had a letter from your wife this
morning saying that she didn't want you at
home; that you raise the devil whenever
you are there, and that she hopes I won't
grant you any more furloughs. What
have you to say to that?" "You won't
get mad, colonel, ef I say it?" "Certainly
not, Pat." "Weell, I was thinkin' there's
two splindid liars in this room, an' I'm one
of thim. Oi nivir was married in me
loife."
An order was read on Dress Parade by
which the 1st 2d & 20th Mass. and other
Regiments get extra furloughs on account of
discipline etc, while the 32d Mass. and other
Reg'ts to get none. Checks are issued for
extra loaves of bread from the Bakehouse.
March 6. Pleasant. Was on Orderly but
had an easy time. My box came all safe
except one or two little things.
March 7. Pleasant. No drill today.
On the evening of March 7, Col. Mosby
with 29 confederate cavalry slipped in be-
tween the camps of regiments about Fair-
fax Courthouse, and went himself to Col.
Stoughton's tent, whom he captured and
carried away, with 35 more prisoners.
Col. Johnson escaped capture by hiding
himself unclothed under a stack of hay.
The whole command became a laughing
stock. Mosby tells the story entertaining-
ly in "Battles and Leaders of the Civil

War' iii. 148, 140.
March 8. Cloudy. Had inspection and
reading of the Army Regulatione.
March 9. Pleasant. Had Drills. Dress
Parade witnessed by Maj. Gen. Berry, who
complimented the Reg't highly.
Poor fellow, he was killed at Chancel-
lorsville a few weeks later.
March 10. Was on Orderly. Heard of
the Raid at Fairfax Courthouse.
March 11. Pleasant. Drills and Dress
Parade.
March 12. Pleasant. Went on Picket.
Took my new dinner pail with me, full of
Baked Beans and Codfish. The Drum
Corps stopped together. Cut a splendid
Black Walnut tree for wood.
March 13. Pleasant. Enjoyed ourselves
first rate. We might call it a Picnic if we
did not get $12 a month for it. Signals at
night.
March 14. Had a good time as usual.
The Picket was aroused about 1 in the morn-
ing in expectation of an attack.
March 15. Pleasant. Came back to
•
!
1
Feb. 28-Mch. 21, 1863]
Drumming out a Coward
Camp. When we got into Camp the weather
changed and we had a cold rain storm.
March 16. Pleasant. A funny rumor is
running around the Army. There is a
spring in Fredericksburg which was never
dry except just 3 months before the 1776 &
1812 wars closed up. It is now getting
It is now getting
dry!!!-some believe it.
We all wanted to. At this time there
was little to indicate an early end of the
war, or indeed to predict any termination.
March 17. Pleasant. Heard heavy
firing in the dirction of Culpepper. Tried to
make some Doughnuts but did not make out.
March 18. Cloudy. A member of the 16th
was drummed out of the Brigade this after-
His head was shaved and a big
board with Skulker, on it. When drummed
noon.
169
around he threw off the board exclaiming
"Who says I ain't a citizen?"
Later in the war this punishment would
hardly have been meted out.
So eager
were men to get out of the army that many
shot off their forefingers so as to be unable
to fire a musket, till this was no longer ac-
cepted as ground for discharge. On pages
171, 2 are other punishments inflicted.
Of an execution I saw I shall speak later.
March 19. Cold. Did not get out of bed
untill Guard Mounting.
March 20. Snow. Got some beans of
Dearing.
The sunny south belied its naine for us.
March 21. Snowy. A Cold, Damp mean
day. Was on Orderly. Dr Whiston re-
ported for Duty.

COWARD
DRUMMING A ŠKULKER OUT OF CAMP
།
170
[Falmouth, Va.
Winter Camp at Falmouth
March 22. Pleasant. Beautiful day. at a similar occasion in an English regiment
The Col. gave orders to cut down all the trees
in Camp for firewood.
We had been going farther and farther
for wood every day, as the trees were used
up. This order showed that we were soon
to break up camp.
March 23. Pleasant. Played ball with
the 26th. in a new way.
This was the 26th Pa. but I have real-
ly forgotten the game of ball.
are on record. "Lieutenant," said the
representative of the company, "here's
your sword." "O is that it?" replied the
officer. And that was all there was of it.
March 27. Pleasant. Was on Orderly.
A big horse-race between Mudge's and Walk-
er's horses. Pack mules arrived for the
Division.
March 28.
March 29.
Drew 2 prs socks.
Was put in the Guardhouse
March 24. Cloudy. Played Checkers for not returning to Guard-mounting when
with Rivers.
sent after Wallace.
March 25. Pleasant. The Corps re-
ceived orders to get ready to move. Co. C
presented Lt. Clarke with a fine sword.
I don't remember the speeches, but those.
The guardhouse was not a severely penal
institution. There is an old story of a
Lancashire regiment where the officer of
the day found only a single sentry, who

COWARD
ANOTHER DRUMMNIG OUT
Mch. 22-April 2, 1863]
In the Guardhouse
simply saluted him. "Don't you know
your duty, sir?" asked the officer indig-
nantly. "Why don't you turn out the
guard?" "Well you see, sir,” the man re-
plied, "I havn't much to do with it."
"Not much to do with it?" thundered the
officer; "what on earth do you mean?"’
"Why you see, sir," the man explained,
"I'm a prisoner, and as the guard wanted
to have a game of nap they asked me to
stand sentry for an hour or two."
March 30. Pleasant. Lucius Saunders
came to see me. Lt. released me from arrest.
Mr. Saunders was an acquaintance of
mine in Fitchburg, and it was rather hard
luck that he should get there just as I was
171
under arrest for the first time. But there
had been lots of times when I ought to have
been under arrest. When Mrs. Thrale de-
clined to marry Dr. Johnson, for one rea-
son that one of her ancestors had been
hanged, the Doctor replied that he did not
know that any of his ancestors actually had
been hanged, but he was sure lots of them
ought to have been.
March 31. Rainy. Reg't still out on
fatigue.
April 1. Pleasant. Played checkers with
Rivers, beating him for once.
April 2. Pleasant. Big Busthead at
night. Carried lantern for Band and got

MOUNTED INFANTRY
172
[Falmouth, Va.
Winter Camp at Falmouth
full Belly and full pockets. 33d Band. Gen.
Carr, Hooker's Staff etc. here.
April 3. Pleasant. Was
Was on Orderly.
Furlough business commenced again.
April 4. Cold. Did not get up untill
about noon. Battalion Drill.
April 5. Snowy. Got up about 10 o'clock
and found it snowing.
It will be observed that on these cold
mornings I found my bunk the warmest
place. Five blankets for one were more
comfortable than four blankets for four
and an outside place, as on our first march.
April 6. Pleasant. Went on Orderly at
night for Bunk by playing Whist.
Bunk was the smaller Mingle who was
moonblind and could not see at night.
April 7. Pleasant. Played Ball. Lin-
coln, Hooker, Butterfield & staff rode
through the camps.
April 8. Pleasant. Grand Review by
Lincoln. Saw enough stars to make a sky.
This is an allusion to the number of gen-
erals present. For a brigadier general the
shoulder straps bore one star; for a major-
general, two stars.
There were more than stars here, for Pres-
ident Lincoln and his wife and Secretary
Seward with many others from Washing-
ton were present.
Cole describes this review at Falmouth
with much vividness, but in a style quite
unlike the rest of the book. He says:
"On our arrival we found the entire com-

How are
you
Moniter!
«{we
"where's the Merrimact
Too FOND OF WHISKEY
Apr. 2-13, 1864]
A Review by Abraham Lincoln
mand on the ground preparing for review.
The plateau selected sloped gradually to
the river with here and there a few slight
dips in the ground. On the right the
cavalry were in front, ranged in solid
masses by regiments and brigades, and as
our regiment took up its allotted position,
I saw that the infantry to the right and
left were rapidly forming in like order.
There were four lines, two corps in each,
the regiments standing like blocks with
their colors in front, while the batteries of
artillery were placed in the spaces between
the divisions. Our brigade happened to be
stationed on the highest point to the left.
I could see the whole army as it stood mar-
shalled in grand array on a plain fully two
miles square. The sun was shining bright
and warm. As orders came for the men to
rest, the slight breeze was just sufficient to
stir the heavy silken folds of the regi-
mental colors as they waved in their tat-
tered elegance. It was a scene for the
genius of a Vernet, with all its martial
glory and wealth of color. The bright
rays of the sun flashing on a hundred
thousand bayonets and sabres as they were
moved on the word of command, the pic-
turesque field batteries, the dashing cavalry
and the long dark lines of infantry, the
parti-colored banners of the corps, di-
vision and brigade commanders bearing the
strange devices of star, crescent, and cross,
were the salient points in this living, ani-
mated picture. It was war in all its pomp
and circumstance, and as I watched the
sunlight play in dalliance on the burnished
steel of gunbarrel and bayonet, or fol-
lowed with curious eye the passage of the
clouds throwing their swift shadows over
the assembled host as the breezes carried
them swiftly over our heads, I began to feel
all that warm delight and enthusiasm that
173
comes so naturally to a soldier at a time of
a holiday or a parade.”
April 9. Pleasant. Went on Picket.
April 10. Pleasant.
tance occurred.
April 11. Pleasant.
15th Mass in P. M.
Nothing of impor-
Went over to the
I had a cousin in this regiment, already
referred to on page 123.
April 12. Pleasant. Went home. Capt.
Stone gave me Sherman's knapsack. Rid-
dell and three other deserters arrived in Camp.
Sherman was discharged for insanity
April 21. I don't remember why his knap-
sack was given to me.
One of Gen. Hooker's reforms was by
more liberality to discourage desertion
and to get back those who had deserted.
Riddell was in Co. I and had deserted
Nov. 13, 1861, at Budd's Ferry. I don't
think he staid long this second time: it
wasn't really pleasant for him.
Had letter from Gen. Schouler saying dis-
tinctly that the Recruits were to be dis-
charged with the Reg't.
There had been much discussion as to how
long the recruits would be held. Our en-
listment read "for three years or during the
war". That would keep me till July 21,
1865. On the other hand I had enlisted in
a particular regiment, and this regiment
was to be discharged May 25, 1864. I
claimed that I could not be transferred
without my own consent, and that I must
be discharged with the regiment. That
was the view that Gen. Schouler here con-
firmed, and it was carried out. Gen.
Schouler's son was a clergyman in Syracuse.
in the 70's, and for a time his family and
mine occupied a double house.
April 13. Pleasant. Had mustering in.
Got diary by mail.
This mustering in was entering of our
174
[Falmouth, Va.
Winter Camp at Falmouth
VOLUNTEER ENLISTMENT.
STATE OF
I,
TOWN OF
in the State of
and by occupation a
volunteered this
born in
aged.
jears,
Do HEREBY ACKNOWLEDGE to have
18,
day of
to serve as a Soldier in the Army of the United States of America, for
the period of THREE YEARS, unless sooner discharged by proper
authority: Do also agree to accept such bounty, pay, rations, and
clothing, as are, or may be, established by law for volunteers. And
I,
do solemnly swear, that I will bear
true faith and allegiance to the United States of America,
and that I will serve them honestly and faithfully against all their
enemies or opposers whomsoever; and that I will observe and
obey the orders of the President of the United States, and the
orders of the officers appointed over me, according to the Rules
and Articles of War.
Sworn and subscribed to, at
this
BEFORE
day of
18
I CERTIFY, ON HONOR, That I have carefully examined the above
named Volunteer, agreeably to the General Regulations of the Army, and
that in my opinion he is free from all bodily defects and mental infirmity.
which would, in any way, disqualify him from performing the duties of a
soldier.
EXAMINING SURGEON.
1 CERTIFY, ON HONOR, That I have minutely inspected the Vol-
unteer,
previously to his eulistment, and that he was
entirely sober when enlisted; that, to the best of my judgment and
belief, he is of lawful age; and that, in accepting him as duly qualified to
perform the duties of an able-bodied soldier, I have strictly observed the
Regulatious which govern the recruiting service. This soldier has
ryes,
hair,
complexion, is
Regiment of
feet
inches high.
Volunteers.
RECRUITING Officer.
names upon the roll for the approaching knapsack. Put in the Guardhouse at night
pay-day.
April 14. Pleasant. Marching Orders
under Hooker. Eight days Rations! Had
Inspection by Carr and one of the drummers
put under arrest for having no salt in his
with Phillips. Found Cards and Crib
Board there and played all night.
I found out months later what it was to
have no salt, when I had to eat fresh beef
without salt after the Mine Run fiasco, the
next December.
April 13, 14, 1863]
The Commissary Department
175

THE COMMISSARY END
Up to this time I had little experience
of what it meant to be short of food, and
like most soldiers I often threw away
half what was given me. In other words
I had never been far from the commissary
department. But I learned what it was
to have my stomach crave vainly for food
and I grew to respect every element of
the rations dealt out to me.
The boy thinks of the brass band as
the important element of the army. The
veteran knows that it is the commissary
end which counts. Stonewall Jackson
despised the commissary end because he
relied on having his troops prey on our
commissary end. But a commissary end
there must be somewhere, and sometimes
it requires as much generalship to main-
tain it as to meet the enemy.
April 15.
CHAPTER XIV. GAMBLING

INTER idleness
This was the first pay I had received,
brought tempta- owing to delay in sending out my "des-
tions, and to one ofcriptive list", as several times referred to.
them I most unex-
pectedly yieldel. It
is my only excuse
Was released from arrest.
that there were
others.
April 17. Pleasant. Played Bluff at
night for the first time, winning 65 cts.
April 18. Pleasant. Still win at Bluff.
April 19. Pleasant.
Lent Baldwin 2.00
and Lydston $1.00. Inspection of Knap-
Paymaster came at night. sacks by Gen. Sickles.
April 20. Pleasant. Still win at Bluff.
April 21. Pleasant. Lost at Bluff as I was
too green to see that the cards were stacked.
I suppose my readers are surprised that
April 16. Cloudy. Pay Day. Was paid
$7.60. Paid all debts. Sent 50. home,
Sent 50. home,
left 25 with the Chaplain and kept the rest.

PAYING TROOPS AT NIGHT
176
April 15-21, 1863]
Facilis Decensus Averni
I do not omit these references to gambling,
but I am telling what did happen, not what
ought to have happened. I had in me
nothing of the gambling spirit. I was fond
of all games, and of cards with the rest.
As appears in the diary I twice sat up all
night playing cribbage. I whittled out a set
of chessmen and played with everybody
who knew the game or would learn it. I
played checkers so much that when the
177
officers had finished their tournament the
winner sent for me to play for the champ-
ionship of the regiment, and won two
games out of twenty.
Cards mean a good deal to the soldier.
They while away many an hour that would
otherwise be tedious, and a pack of cards
will be about the last thing thrown away on
a long march. A soldier who had three
fingers shot off at the battle of Shiloh

W
The day after Payday.
178
[Falmouth, Va.
Gambling

TOU
A BIVOUAC FIRE
held up his mangled hand. "Just my
luck," he exclaimed; "I shall never be able
to hold a full hand again." I was as fond
of cards as any one, but it had always been
motive enough to win without the induce-
ment of gain, and I had hitherto refused to
play bluff. This pay-day everybody was
playing that game and I could find no one
ΟΙ
for checkers or cribbage or seven-up
forty-fives. It is so in all armies, probably
A Colonel Bunbury was once called to
account because there was a good deal of
gambling among the officers of the regi-
ment.
"That may have been the case, sir,
some months ago," he said, "but I can
assure you there is nothing of the kind
Apr. 21, 1863]
In the hands of a Sharper
going on now." "What makes you so con-
fident?" asked the general. “Why, I've
won all the ready money in the regiment,'
he replied "and I don't allow any gam-
bling on credit."
So I was in a way forced to play
bluff, and as the limit was small, and as I
began like all tyros by winning, I found
it not so very bad after all.
This night Nick Dranger* came into my
tent and proposed a game, and I played
with him alone all the evening, losing stead-
ily. During the game Charley Tillson
crawled into the tent, looked on a while,
and went out again without remark. But
the next day he got me off at a distance
from camp and said,
"I was surprised to see you playing cards
with Nick Dranger last night."
"Why?"
"He is a notorious gambler, and was
cheating you out of your eye teeth."
"Cheating me? a boy? in his own com-
pany?"
"Every hand he dealt."
"How could he do it?"
"Easily enough: he stacked the cards."
"What do you mean?”
"He fixed the cards so that he could get
what cards he wanted and know what cards
you had."
'I don't see how."
"Suppose he had two aces and you had
two kings. As he gathered up the cards
to shuffle he arranged them alternately, so
that he gave you a king, himself an ace,
you another king, himself an ace."
"But I cut the cards every time."
"You didn't cut those cards. He has a
big hand, and when he passes the cards over
*Every other name in these reminiscences is real except
this. I have changed it because the man is still living, and
very likely repented long ago, and may have children and
grand-children.
179
for you to cut he keeps the half-dozen top
cards inside his hand, and lays them down
again on top. He is playing now in Jim
Macrea's tent: come over and watch him."
As we played the game the deal did
not pass but staid with the winner, so a
man who once got hold of a pair of aces,
a pretty good hand with two playing,
could keep them indefinitely, showing them
only when he was called, and taking most
of the pots by his bets without exhibiting
his hand.
Nick Dranger was not trying all the trans-
parent cheating on Jim that he had on me
but I saw enough to be convinced my money
had been stolen, and it made me angrier
than I had been since I enlisted. What had
been a pastime, indulged in only because I
could get no other game going, became a
study. I played whenever I could get a
chance, for money if we had it, "on pay
day" if we hadn't. On the march to Get-
tysburg I played at every halt with little
John Turner, who got to owing me more
money then he ever tried to pay or I to
collect.
For I became classed among the expert
players. Every pay day the loose money
in each company would get into the hands.
of one or two of the better players, and then
these men would form little parties and the
winnings would gravitate into the pockets
of half a dozen of the most skillful. The
weaker players would have stopped gam-
bling because their money had given out,
but these regimental survivors of the
fittest always had money or could get it,
and played the year around. Eventually
I got into this crowd, of which Nick Dran-
ger was another. But he did not stack
cards or hold out an ace or deal from the
bottom in this party. It had to be a square
game, for every man knew all the tricks and
180
[Falmouth, Va.
Gambling

A SCALY CROWD
would have made it uncomfortable for any-
body who tried them. The best player in
this crowd was one of the hospital men. His
hand always trembled, so that there was no
guessing at his hand from that indication,
and he never spoke an unnecessary word.
He watched the cards and he watched the
players, and his luck had to run hard to
make him quit a loser.
I watched him and I imitated him. At
first as in everything else I tried to be spec-
tacular. One of the better players was
called one day and said he had three kings.
"The money is yours," said his opponent.
But he threw his hand into the deck.
"I won't show three kings for a little pot
like that," he said.
I thought it was a lordly way to play,
and presently when I had a flush and was
called I threw my hand into the deck. "I
won't show such a hand for three dollars,"
I said.
The man I was imitating sat behind me
and exclaimed, "Why, you really had a
flush."
"Of course I did."
"Then why didn't you show it and take
the money?"
"Show a flush for three dollars? I
guess not."
"Why you damned fool, show it for five
cents if that is all there is in the pot."
"You didn't show your three kings for a
dollar and a half the other day."
April 21, 1863]
The Game of Draw-Poker
"Because I didn't have them: I was
trying to bluff. Are you an absolute idiot?"
Under these gentle ministrations I learned
something of the game, especially to keep
my mouth shut and my eyes open. In those
days there was no drawing of cards. We
bet on the hands originally dealt us and
there was no indication of what they were
except from the manner of the player. The
hands used to grow rich as the game pro-
ceeded, for every man "stacked" his cards
before he threw them in; that is if he had
a pair of aces and there were four playing
he put the aces on the outside of the five
cards so that if the hand were undisturbed
the pair would fall to the same man; if
there were three playing he would make a
pair of aces the first and fourth cards, and
so on. Of course the deck was shuffled,
but it is surprising how little ordinary
shuffling disturbs cards, and by remember-
ing what three cards I put between iny
aces, if one of these cards came to me I
could frequently guess from the betting
that one of the party had the pair of aces.
I made a mathematical study of the
game, too, and did not allow excitement or a
run of luck to lead me to bet more than
what a hand might reasonably be supposed
to be worth. So eventually I came to be
regarded as a cautious player, making it
the easier for me to bluff. It was at first
a great temptation when I got away with a
pot without the cards to show my hand,
but I learned to restrain that inclination,
and to play simply for the cold cash.
The one thing I wanted was to break
Nick Dranger, and at last the time came
when I did it. I even lent him twenty-five
dollars, and should have been gratified if
I could say that he never paid it. But he
used it as a stake in another game and paid
me back within twenty-four hours. After
181
that the game was never quite the same to
me, and I quit it for good long before the
regiment came home.
The stopping was as sudden and as un-
premeditated as was the beginning. Ten
months later than this, pay-day had come
and I had started out intending to play
first as usual in the company. I met John-
ny Turner. "Let's get up a game," I said.
"I believe I won't play this pay day," he
replied.
I thought nothing of it until I saw him
playing in another game. Then I recog-
nized that I was looked upon as a profes-
sional, with whom the ordinary player did
not have a fair show. It set me to thinking
and to comparing these good fellows in my
own company with the disreputable set I
had lately played with mostly. I saw that
I could not belong to both sets, and I rec-
ognized that in my heart I had for a long
time loathed these greedy gamblers. As
usual with me the turn was radical, and I
never bet a dollar on cards or anything else
while I was in the regiment. The great
crises come less often from a change of con-
ditions than from change in the point of
view, and it is often a trifling circumstance
that turns the kaleidoscope.
Only an inexperienced or an incapable
person will deny the pleasure in draw poker
at its best. Given seven men who like one
another, a limit large enough to prevent
reckless betting and small enough so that
no one will remeinber the next morning
whether he won or lost, with a fixed and
early hour of quitting, and it is a very com-
fortable way to spend an occasional even-
ing. But these conditions are hard to
maintain. One or two of the seven are
away and somebody is brought in who is un-
congenial, or who plays the game for the
money in it, or who is a hard loser and in-
182
[Falmouth, Va.
Gambling
sists on increasing the limit and delaying
the wind-up. Then all the pleasure dis-
appears, the line between skill and sharp
practice is obscured, men stay too late,
lose too much, are not unlikely to quarrel or
to feel like it, and go home feeling disrepu-
table. It is a pretty good game to let alone,
for the ideal conditions are seldom attain-
able, and any other are degrading.
The quicksand of poker is unwillingness
to quit loser. Where the same men play
frequently together it makes little odds who
wins to-night: somebody else will win next
time. But it is a matter not of amount of
stakes but of disposition. I came home
from England once with two young fellows
on their way to make their fortunes over
here. They were bright, eager, intelligent,
alive to everything going on, till they got
to playing penny ante together. They
played morning, noon and night all the way
across, and even when we passed Sandy
Hook and sailed up our magnificent harbor
on a bright crisp December day, these boys
sat in the dining saloon playing their
wretched little game till the vessel was
docked. Poker played like this is not a
game, it is a disease, and people prove sus-
ceptible to it most unexpectedly.
I am speaking of poker as a game of
skill, in which money is used only because
the game would be silly without it. When
it is a game of money played to get money
from your fellow-players, it is as vulgar as
any other kind of greed. As I afterward
realized, I felt contaminated when I passed
from the boys in the company with their
five-cent ante and their jokes and their
transparent bluffing and their hilarity into
the companionship of the cold-blooded
professionals, and when the eagerness to
learn the game wore off I realized what a
low business it was. The only relief in
thinking of these fellows is that they are
always sure to go off and lose their winnings
elsewhere, with the odds so much against
them they stand as little show as they have
given their victims. The first book I ever
made was for a man named Goodrich, who
had been a lightning calculator for the Erie
railway, and really was a wonder at figures.
While I was in New York I went with himn
one night to a keno bank and saw him play
the game. As I remember it the players.
bought for a dollar apiece boards contain-
ing numbers, and when the right number
or the right combination of numbers, I
forget which, came out of the wheel, the
man who had it on his board won the money.
If the entire amount had been distributed
the chances would have been even to win or
lose, but the bank always took out fifteen
percent before distributing. Mathema-
tician as he was, I never could get Goodrich
to see that for every dollar he put down he
got back only eighty-five cents. Coming
once from Alexandria to Genoa, I found on
the steamer several young Englishmen on
their way to Monte Carlo to gamble, and
absolutely relying on what they were to win
there to pay their debts and furnish them
spending money. It was a curious study
to me, that reliance on luck against mathe-
matical odds. In all gambling the "kitty",
the dealer's percentage, the stock-broker's
eighth percent must eventually absorb the
stakes. The sound principle was com-
prehensively epitomized by Horace Greeley
when he said, "The unhappiest day in a
young man's life is the day he first thinks
there is an easier way to get a dollar than
to earn it."
But these are later reflections; for
months, as will be seen, I went on gambling.
April 23. Pleasant. At
At night shook
night
props. Am getting to be quite a Gambler.
1
April 21-7, 1863]
Gambling
April 22. Rain. Got broke at night. Am
glad of it.
April 24. Pleasant. Lost about 12.00 at
night.
183
April 25. Pleasant. Won a little today.
April 26. Review by the Gov. of N. J.
April 27. Pleasant. Review again by
William H. Seward and Lord Lyons.
CHAPTER XV. THE BATTLE OF CHANCELLORSVILLE

HANCELLORS-
ville was my first
serious battle tho'
I had been more
than nine months
enlisted. I missed
the second Bull
Run because I was
kept with other recruits in Cambridge, and
Antietam because my division was held
back to guard Washington. At Freder-
icksburg my division was one of the only
two held in reserve, and when we did go
upon the field, though we were put in the
centre of the line that was ordered to make
a most desperate charge, Franklin had re-
RARIDAN
GERMANTA
Fox's Neck
RIVER
CLTS
ITE PLANS
وهو
BANKS FD
3
9
DERNE
CHANCELLORSVILLE
998
US FORD
FORD
༤ན་
20
ciolo to
TODDS
TAVERN Mary's Bridge
Corbyns bridge Block hous
SPOTSYLVANIA C.H8_2
PO RIVER
TA RIVER
M: PLEASANT
Harts
2
fused to obey the order and we had done
only skirmish duty. But Chancellorsville
was for me a real battle; no regiment had
more of it than ours.
Chancellorsville was the most brilliantly
planned of the battles of the civil war, and
of all the failures came closest to success.
Hooker actually surprised the enemy,
which was more than any other commander
of the army of the Potomac had succeeded
in doing. He accomplished what Burnside
failed to accomplish at Fredericksburg,
getting his troops across the river and even
carrying Marye's heights. For his general
plan was not unlike Burnside's. Re-
peating the map, it will be seen that he

FALMOUTH
AQUIA CR.R.R.
૧૧૩.૭
RIV P
BURG
Belle plain Fooke
anding
BOYDS HOLĚ
GEORGE
Cortens
COUR
Skinners Nick
Cherry P
Holand P
PORT CONWAY
AT
17.10.
오
​오오 ​Dense Wood
오오오​오오오
​오오​오오
​CL
ONTOON BRIDGES
RAPPA
오오​오오​오오오​.
오오
​오오​오오​오오오
​오
​오오오​오오오
​Wapp
Muddy Cr
Price
GUINEWS
VILLEBORO
Golden Vale
PUMAN SEND R.
Carr's bridge
FREDERIC'S
НАБЫ
ca
Pottiesville R
Daver
Ro
&
MAT
Собо
Inderson
فسال
Po
erdai
Well
BOWLING GREEN.
Mms houses
Villepique
Milfords Bridge
CAI RIVER
Tobacco Plan
M
Mattarocy
PO
N
Porte
The E
MAT OF TUS REGION NEAR CHANUKLLUKÄVILLE. -
184
April 28, 1863]
A Well-planned Battle
185

Rapt
An
18.222
Plank
GRAHAM
Old
S
THE ARMY OF GEN. HOOKER CROSSING THE RAPPAHANOCK

MOTT
U.S. FORL
11
PPAILAN
RAPI
River
Mott's Run
OW
Road
OCK
BENHAM
OWEN
MEA DE
H
RIVER
Scott's
Dom
Bar's
Mine
Road
Road
SICKLES
Chan
Torsville
Turnpike
HANCOCK
SYKES
6LOCUM
HOWARD
FRENCH
Leria Cr
UNFINISHED
SCALE OF MILES
2
3
LAWS
Falmouth
ㅁㅁㅁㅁ
​EARLY
Hazel
REDE
Road
Plank
SO
Road
Plank
`Tabernacle Ch,
Church
Salem
MARYE
Tun
GIBBON
Telegraph
Road
FREDERICKSBURG
BARKS
Bridges
Pollock's
Mill
SEDGWICK REYNOLDS
Bowling
uny
Green
Road
*
Deep
RAIL ROAD
SCALE OF MILES
Brandy
0 1 2 3 4 5
Sta
ulpeper
E
口
​。
Burton's
Ford
Ford
Raccoon
Madden
Germania Ford
Rapid Ann
Ann Sta.
Operations on the First of May. (A is an extension of the larger Map to the N. W., upon a smaller scale.)
186
[Chancellorsville, Va.
Battle of Chancellorsville
laid the same pontoon bridges below the city
of Fredericksburg, and he marched three.
corps down there to make the enemy think
he was going to attack from below, as
Franklin had been expected to do at Fred-
ericksburg. But in the mean time he got
most of his army across the Rappahannock
at United States ford, and massed them on
the plank road from Chancellorsville to the
city. Then while Sedgwick crossed op-
posite the city and captured it, as he did,
the main army, now augmented by the
three lower corps which had secretly
joined it by marching up the river from the
pontoon bridges on roads hidden behind
the heights opposite the city, was to march
down the plank road and capture the entire
confederate troops.
The place was right. A year later al-
most to a day Grant began his work in the
east almost on the same spot. The whole
region about Chancellorsville is known as
the Wilderness. Gen. Sickles's official re-
port of this battle speaks of this as "the bat-
tle of the Wilderness and Fairview", and
the next year under Grant I picked up
bullets that had fallen twelve months
before under Hooker.
The time was right. The army was real-
ly eager for battle. The spirit was changed
from the habitual expectation of defeat
that had grown up under McClellan and
Pope and Burnside. We believed in
Fighting Jo Hooker, and expected to help
him end the war.
And the execution was right, up to Satur-
day afternoon. The battle was lost be-
cause Gen. Howard was too conceited to
follow suggestions or even to regard orders.
April 28. Pleasant. Had orders to move
and went down to the place we crossed the
river before. Found two other Corps here,
First & Sixth.
This crossing before was under Franklin
at the battle of Fredericksburg. See map
on inside cover. In this map it is marked
"Pontoon Bridges."
We were roused at 5 a. m, and at 9
moved toward the river to act as
support for the 6th corps. The laying of
the bridge was much less obstructed than
from across the city, five months before.
The 23 boats were in the water before day-
break and in a dense mist started from the
bank at 4:30. Soon through the fog we
could hear a volley across the river show-
ing that our men had got over. A charge
captured the rifle-pits, and the bridge was
laid without opposition, though the city
church bells rang angrily to give notice of
this new invasion. Here we remained all
day, and at night made ourselves as com-
fortable as we could in the rain.
April 29. Cloudy. Shook props during
the day winning 3.75.
April 30. Cloudy. An order was read
from Hooker stating that we had got the Re-
bels in a horse-shoe. Started at noon &
marched up nearly half way between Fal-
mouth & U. S. Ford. Threw away my
crackers and lost Bible, etc.
ment.
May 1. Pleasant. Crossed the river.
Halted at noon in an old Rebel Encamp-
We could hear a fight going on &
soon started for the Battle of Chancellors-
ville. Arrived on the field about dusk, but
did not go into action.
Our regiment was detailed as rear guard,
and we were obliged to help along some of
the wagon trains.
The place we took is shown in the map
on page 188 marked "Berry", who was our
division commander. The rest of the
corps was below, marked "Sickles".
This was the only occasion in my ex-
perience when there was anything of the
Apr. 28-May 2, 1863]
The 11th Corps Breaks
187

HOWARD'S 11TH CORPS FLYING IN PANIC
joy of going into battle that we read so
much of. It was sunset as we reached the
field, we were still under the glamor of
Hooker's order, we really believed Fighting
Jo had the rebels on the run, and we came
in on the double-quick: I am not sure we
did not do some singing and shouting. I
think we really should have liked to get into
action at once and finish the thing up, so
much difference it makes whether or no we
expect to win. It was the only large battle
we ever went into while I was in the regi-
ment that we did expect to win.
May 2. Pleasant. Our Reg't was not en-
gaged during the day but at night the 11th
Corps broke and our Corps had to take their
place. The firing was terrific all night.
This was in some respects a harder ex-
perience than our corps had on the left at
Gettysburg the second day, because we had
to contend not only with the enemy but
with the panic-stricken Germans. What
men will do in a panic surpasses belief.
They threw away not only their guns and
knapsacks but their coats and caps. I
have already spoken of Col. McLaughlin's
facing those who came near him with a re-
volver and compelling them to turn about
and fight in our ranks, but these were only
a few of the entire corps running away,
and it was hard to push on through them.
Gen. Sickles reports: "The fugitives
swarmed from the woods and swept fran-
tically over the cleared fields in which my
artillery was posted. The exulting enemy
at their back mingled yells with their vol-
leys, and in the confusion which followed it
seemed as if cannon and caissons, dragoons
cannoneers, and infantry could never be dis-
entangled from the mass in which they were
suddenly thrown." Dr. Sim, surgeon in
1

188
[Chancellorsville, Va.
Battle of Chancellorsville
Jackson's Attack on
Howard, May 1st. 1863.
a.a.a. Jackson's Route
b.b.b. Route of Train when
Driven off the Road."
SCALE OF MILES
K
A. P. HILL
RODES
COLSTON
JACKSON
Culpeper Plank
Road
Orange
Plank
HOW
Road
D
PAXTON
03
FITZ
LEE
Road
DEVENS
Huning Run
SCHURZ
STEINWEHR
BARLOW
Elley's
Ford
Hazel Grove
BERRY
irview
SLOCUM
GEARY
PLEASAN
WHIPPLE WILLIAMS
BIRNEY
U.S.Ford
REYNOLDS
HUMPHREYS
MEADE
Mineral Spring Fun
RAPPAH
FRENCH
COUCH
HANCOCK
Old
Mine
Road
River
Mott
CK
RIVER
Road
Run
Chancellorsvil
1
SIC
THOMAS
KLE
Purnace
ANDERSON
b
MC LA
Plank
Old Turnpike
Road
ARCHER
UNFINISHED
Doubleday's Map; should read May 2, instead of May 1
chief, says: "The fleeing Dutchmen ac-
tually ran over our field hospital."
What had happened? The maneuvre
that routed Howard was Stonewall Jack-
son's last fighting, for that daring gen-
eral lost his life there. Reproducing
Doubleday's excellent map, where the
union troops are shown by black rect-
angles, the confederate by white, it will be
seen that Jackson started on Saturday
from a point near the Furnace, just below
where Sickles's corps was posted, and by a
circuitous route got to the west of Howard.
The date should of course be May 2 instead
of May 1 as on the map. It was a hazard-
ous undertaking, permissible only because
the battle was at the time almost hopeless
for the confederates. It cut off Jackson's
troops from the rest of the confederate
army, and both sections would have been
destroyed if Howard had shown ordinary
R. R.
GEN. OLIVER O HOWARD, 1830-1909
sense and discovered and guarded against
the movement. But it won the battle.
Howard sent back a brigade forwarded
to help him, telling the commander,
"I would send my compliments to the whole
rebel army if it lay in front of me, and
invite them to attack me." What was the
result? A small part of the rebel army did
attack him, at a time when his men were
getting supper and playing cards without
even the usual pickets thrown out, and
May 2, 1863]
Stonewall Jackson's Last Battle
Howard's corps fled in the most disgrace-
ful and disastrous panic of the war.
Carl Schurz says in his "Reminiscences,"
(ii. 417, 8): "To my utter astonishment I
found many years later in a paper on 'The
11th corps at Chancellorsville', written by
Gen. Howard for the Century Magazine,
the following sentence: 'Gen. Hooker's cir-
cular order to “Slocum and Howard" neith-
er reached me, nor, tʊ my knowledge, Col.
Mysenburg, my adjutant general.' How
could he have forgotten that I had read and
delivered to him that identical despatch, es-
pecially as it touched so vital a point, and its
delivery was followed by another animated
discussion between us, in which I most
earnestly although ineffectually-endeav-
ored to convince him that in case of such
an attack from the west, our right, as then
posted, would be hopelessly overwhelmed."
Meade reported after the battle of Get-
tysburg: "Much feeling exists in this army
in regard to the 11th corps. This induces
me to submit the propriety of breaking up
the organization of the corps by sending
Gen. Howard with one division to the 2d
corps, another division to the 12th corps,
and leaving the 3d division under Schurz to
guard my rear."
Having routed Howard the confederates.
swept down the plank road toward Chan-
cellorsville. Ours and the 2d brigade took
position perpendicular to the plank road.
The 1st Mass. was detached from the 1st
brigade and posted on the left of the 2d
brigade, prolonging the line to the plank
road, while the rest of the 1st brigade
formed a line 150 yards to the rear.
Sickles says: "These dispositions were made
without the steadiness of these veteran
troops being in the least disturbed by the
torrents of fugitives." Our line imme-
diately threw up a strong breastwerk of
Gen.
189
logs and abatis. Sickles says again: "The
splendid fire of the artillery and the im-
posing attitude of the iron wall of infan-
try co-operated with our flank attack to
check the enemy's advance, which was
effectually accomplished before dark."
The attacks were repeated during the
night by continual charges more regular
than any other fighting I ever heard. There
would be first the confederate artillery, then
their yell, then their muskets, then our mus-
kets, then our artillery, then our shouts,
repeated over and over. At last I grew
weary, and fell back behind the woods in an
open place and went to sleep. When I
awoke in the early morning there was not
anywhere a sound. I thought at first I
must have grown deaf, so great was the
change from the cannonading in the midst
of which I went to sleep. I sat up and
looked around. There was not a soldier
in sight, and I had no way of knowing
whether our men had gone on and left me
or whether they had retreated. On general
principles I concluded they had probably
gone back, and I started toward Chancel-
lorsville. For once, however, we had held
our own, and when I came upon our sen-
tries I found that I had been sleeping inside
our lines.
It was this night that the confederate gen-
eral Stonewall Jackson was killed. After
he had broken through the eleventh corps
he supposed he held the plank road undis-
puted, and about nine o'clock he rode along
reconnoitering in front of our regiment,
which rested as I have said upon the plank
road. Our men saw the group approach-
ing, not recognizing him of course, and as
soon as the confederates came in range
poured a volley into them. Gen. Jackson
was severely wounded and died a week later.
For some reason the confederates preferred
!

190
[Chancellorsville, Va.
Battle of Chancellorsville
WHERE STONEWALL JACKSON WAS SHOT
to report that he was killed by his own men,
but he was certainly killed directly in front
of our regiment, as the boulder that marks
the place still shows. If he had been
fired on by one of his own regiments why
did his staff turn and flee?
Col. McLaughlin makes this official
statement: "At 9 p. m. a cavalcade of a
dozen or more horsemen drove down the
Plank road, when my men immediately
opened fire upon them; they immediately
turned about and rode furiously back up
the road. From the official report of the
rebel Gen. Lee, I am led to believe that
Gen. Stonewall Jackson formed one of the
cavalcade, and that he was killed by my
men."
★豐
​GEN. THOMAS J. JACKSON, 1824-63
There are other claimants for the credit
of shooting him. Doubleday says:
"Whether the rebels killed him or whether
some of his wounds came from our own
troops, the 1st Mass. or the 73d N. Y., who
were firing heavily in that direction, is a
matter of some doubt." In The Orange
County Press of Dec. 16, 1890, Capt. Wis-
ner of the 124th N. Y. gives circumstantial
account of the firing from his regiment upon
a group of rebel officers among whom he
believes to have been Stonewall Jackson.
Gen. Pleasanton, who in his letter to the
committee on the conduct of the war
kindly explains that every success of the
war was done either directly by him or
through his advice, also claims that his
cavalry fired the fatal shot.
But personally I am quite willing to
have our regiment relieved of responsi-
bility for his death. He was a great loss to
the confederacy, more than a whole division
of rank and file, Jefferson Davis said.
But he was a noble man as well as a great
general. On receipt of news of his death
Captain Weisner declares, though I do not
remember it, our division was assembled,
and the adjutant-general said: "In view of
the fact that he was wounded by our di-
vision and also as mark of respect to a
gallant Christian soldier the division will
receive the announcement with uncovered
heads."

191
May 2, 3, 1863]
Why the 1st Mass. Gave Way
The reply of his body servant to the
question why he was always ready is well
known: "Well, gemmen, whenever I sees
Massa Stonewall get up in the night and go
to kneeling and saying his prayers, I know
dere's a fight on hand shua, an' I makes
preparations accordin'."
Stonewall Jackson once ordered one of
his colonels to make a certain attack.
"General," the officer expostulated, "that
would be madness: my regiment would
be exterminated."
"Colonel," was the reply, "do your duty.
I have made every arrangement to care for
the wounded and bury the dead."
May 3. Pleasant. The battle commenced
again early. The most awful attempts were
made to break our line, and we were driven
back some, but our boys were not to be driven
far, and the attack was repulsed. Baxter
and Badger of my Co. were killed.
Glad they weren't taking us alphabet-
ically: I should have been between them.
Gen. Berry himself gave our regiment
GEN. BERRY, 1824-63
the order to take position at the right of the
plank road and to hold it at all hazards.
Co. I was deployed as skirmishers and our
men threw up such breastworks as they
could of small timber and brush, aided
by four or five spades the 11th corps men
had thrown away in their flight.
A
The confederates advanced in great
force about 5:30 a. m. We held our ground
Ran
Ann R.
U.S.Ford
Hunting
Road to Elley's Ford
EYNOLDS
4444
0
口​の
​0
20 00
20 ปี
Hazel Grove
BERRY WILLIAMS
U.S.Ford Road
YKES
FRENCH
SICKLE
WHIPPLE
Fairs
MEADE
COUCH
0
BIRNEY Chancellorsville
HANC
GEARY
SLOCUM
ANDERSON
0
0
Plank Road
BATTLE OF THE
THIRD OF MAY
Federal Lines Confederate Lines
SCALE OF MILES
Turnpike
R.
for an hour, but had to fall back to the sec-
ond line. Col. McAllister of the 11th N.
J. complains that the left of our regiment
gave way first, while the right stood firm.
But it must be remembered that the left of
our regiment adjoined the 3d Md. of the
12th corps, which was on the left side of
the plank road, in direct line of the enemy,
and which broke and retreated, thus letting
the enemy in down the plank road on our
left flank. The wonder was not that our
regiment's left gave way but that the right
stood. Gen. Carr reports that the division
was finally compelled to fall back about
7:30 by the injudicious retreat of a Mary-
land regiment (the 3d Md.), but says:
"The division held its own for over four
192
[Chancellorsville, Va.
Battle of Chancellorsville

GEN. HOOKER'S HEAD QUARTERS CHANCELLORVILLE MAY 19.
hours against a force of the enemy three
times as great as its own and until its am-
munition was exhausted.”
Gen. Sickles reports: "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 own lines were broken up by
the terrible fire of artillery and musketry
fresh columns were deployed. My last re-
serve, Ward's brigade, had been sent to
support Berry on the right of the plank
road, but that heroic commander had fal-
len in the thickest of the fight, and Ward
failed to get into position before the enemy
had turned Berry's left flank, held by the
3d Maryland of the 12th corps."
:
What was worse, when the enemy got on
our flank and were pouring their shot into
us, enfilading us, the regiment on our
right, the 5th Excelsior gave way, leaving
our right flank open to attack. We were
then compelled to fall back a quarter of a
mile, but formed line again in the road
leading from the ford to the Chancellor
house. The cannonading was terrific and
at ten o'clock the regiment fell back to the
works in the rear, for rest, but at noon
moved forward again and remained at the
front in line of battle till 11:30, when the
men were allowed to go to sleep after 18
hours of almost continuous fighting.
Again Gen. Sickles reports: "The front
line near the plank road early in the morn-
ing comprised, beginning at the left of the
road, the 3d Md., 1st Mass. (on the right
of the plank road), 5th Excelsior (N. Y.),
120th N. Y., 2d, 1st, and 3d Excelsiors
(71st, 70th, and 72d N. Y.), and 26th Pa.
This line gallantly resisted the assaults of
the enemy for more than an hour, when its
left was turned, and Col. Stevens, now in
command, changed front to repel the ad-
vance of the enemy on the flank. There
was nothing like ardor in the advance of
the enemy after occupying our lines at
Fairview. I took 400 prisoners as I re-
tired slowly to Chancellorsville. It would
not have been difficult to regain the lost
ground with the bayonet as I proposed, but
the serior officer in that part of the field
did not deem it wise."
Doubleday says of our division: "They
were true and tried men, and went for-
ward at once to the rescue. Few people
appreciate the steadiness and courage re-
May 3-5, 1863]
A Record of Hard Fighting
193

Berdans Sharpshooters picking off the enemy's gUNNETS./
quired, when all around is flight and con-
fusion, for a force to make its way through
crowds of fugitives, advance steadily to
the post of danger in front, and meet the
exulting enemy, while others are seeking
safety in the rear. Such men are heroes,
and far more worthy of honor than those
who fight in the full blaze of successful
warfare.'
One of our disappointments at Chancel-
lorsville was Berdan's sharpshooters.
They could be effective, but here it was
almost impossible to keep them at the front.
We finally fell back to the rear of the
Chancellorsville house, and later down the
road to the white house, 4½ miles from the
river, which had been used as the general
hospital. Here a new line of entrench-
ments was established, along the skirts of
the woods perpendicular to and on both
sides of the plank road. Our left line con-
nected with the 12th corps.
The map of Doubleday on page 191 shows
the fighting ground of this day. It will be
It will be
seen that our division was on the right of
the army, facing A. P. Hill's troops, and it
will be remembered that the 1st Mass. was
just north of the turnpike. This ended
our part of the fighting. Of the division
as a whole Gen. Carr reported: "The 2d
division fought at Chancellorsville like
veterans, brave soldiers that they are, re-
flecting credit upon themselves, their di-
vision, and their country."
Gen. Sickles's summing up of his report.
of this battle reads: "As long as the his-
tory of this war shall be read, conspicuous
upon its pages will be the record of the
achievements of the 3d army corps in the
battles of the Wilderness and Fairview."
May 4. Rainy. Some slight attempts
were made during the day but no regular
fighting.
We were reordered into line at 7 o'clock,
through an alarm caused by heavy firing
upon a working party. We were formed
in line of battle again at nine in the eve-
ning, but there was no engagement.
May 5. Rainy. An awful thunderstorm
at night. Orders to retreat were received to
our great surprise and the whole army re-
crossed the river.
194
[Falmouth, Va.
Battle of Chancellorsville

MARCHING BACK THROUGH FALMOUTH AFTER THE BATTLE
Our regiment was detached and about
five o'clock ordered to report to Capt.
Randolph, chief f artillery, but we re-
joined the brigade the next day.
(
May. 6. Rainy. Returned to Camp.
Thus ends the first battle of Gen. Hooker.
And his last as commander. We felt
personally concerned, for Hooker had been
with his old brigade a name to conjure with.
What might have happened had Franz
Siegel been left in command of the 11th
ccrps, or if Howard had been mercifully
detained from the battle by illness, will
never be known.
I was once a guest at a Bowdoin dinner in
New York where Gen. Howard was the hero
of the evening and introduced as the peer-
less Christian soldier, and as he bowed his
acknowledgements I reflected upon Chan-
cellorsville. When Von Gilsa galloped to
his headquarters to beg for immediate re-
inforcements, Howard told him he "must
hold his post with the men lie had and trust
in God". This is the sort of piety that
drives the unregenerate to profanity. Per-
sonally I do not know how it is possible to
be more profane.
Curiously enough, in 1909, not long be-
fore his death, while he was president of
Lincoln university, Tennessee, I received
an invitation to become honorary vice-
president of that institution, but he was
the last man I should want to be responsi-
ble for in any degree, and I declined.
There were other mistakes, and at the last
Hooker, who had been injured by a falling
pillar dislodged from the Chancellorsville
house, was in no condition to direct. So
what had been a victory within our grasp
was turned into a crushing defeat. Wel-
lington said, "When other generals commit
an error their army is lost by it; when I get
into a scrape my army gets me out of it.”
He illustrated it when he said again, ex-
plaining how he conquered Napoleon's
marshals one after another: "They planned!
their campaign just as you might make a
splendid set of harness. It looks well and
May 5, 6, 1863]
Hooker and Meade
answers well, till any part gets broken, and
then you are done for. I made my cam-
paign of ropes. If anything went wrong
I tied a knot and went on." Hooker was
lacking in this faculty. It is a pity he no
longer had his comrade Gen. Kearney, killed
eight months before at Chantilly, to con-
sult. He used to say, "Kearney plans and
I do it." But when he resigned three days
before Gettysburg because Grandmother
Halleck interfered with his orders I should
like to know what was gained by substi-
tuting Meade. Hooker planned the de-
fence of Washington, deceived Lee, and
made all the dispositions which resulted
in the fighting at Gettysburg. Meade's
first act was to order a grand review at
Frederick, about as sensible as to put on
evening clothes when your house is on fire.
He was persuaded by Hor ker's old officers
out of that and out of retreating from
Gettysburg, for which he had signed an
order, but Gettysburg was won, as we shall
see because Sickles disobeyed Meade's
orders. I don't see how Hooker could
have made a worse series of blunders than
these. And certainly Fighting Jo Hooker
+
+
195
would never have lain idle three days with-
out finding out that the confederates had
retreated and starting after them.
In all of these opinions, I trust it is no
longer necessary to repeat, I am speaking
not as a historian but as recalling what Jo
Hooker's old brigade thought at the time,
and so far as I know, every man of us still
thinks.
Pleasanton says: "Gen. Hooker was the
first commander of the army of the Po-
tomac to exhibit a correct appreciation of
organization in an army. He consolidated
and increased his cavalry, organized them
into a corps, supplied them with artillery,
and was rewarded by some distinguished
service that made the march of the army a
triumph from Falmouth to Frederick city.
The campaign of Gettysburg which he com-
menced so brilliantly, was afterward con-
ducted by his successor with such results
as to produce the deepest mortification
throughout the country. The doubt,
hesitation, and fear of consequences dis-
played by Gen. Meade were in striking con-
trast to the heroic valor so constantly and
stubbornly displayed by the army.”
4
less confident.
CHAPTER XVI. LAST DAYS AT FALMOUTH

HERE was more
idleness for the
army for six weeks,
and much uncer-
tainty as to the
future. We still
believed in Fight-
ing Joe, but were
May 7. Cloudy. Bought stuff at the
Commissary. The boys are about starved.
The commissary was not the sutler, but
the officer who gave out rations. Some-
times when food was plenty we could draw
extra rations of him and pay extra for
them, as for clothes. Here is a picture of
his storehouse in winter camp.
Much interesting information as to army
rations is given in "The Hero of Medfield.
Journals and Letters of Allen Alonzo
Kingsley" (Boston, 1862). Kingsley was
bugler for Co. II, 1st Mass. His friends

AT THE COMMISSARY'S
196
May 7, 1863]
Army Rations
had the good sense to print these docu-
ments just as he wrote them; they do him
credit and they give details that I have not
found elsewhere.
He was company cook for a time and
afterward chief cook, and he tells much of
his experience in that capacity. In the
early days of the war there was consider-
able variety. On June 21, 1861, he records
that the men growled at coffee and bread
for breakfast, beefsteak for dinner, bread
and corned beef for supper. On June 23
he gave them soup, boiled rice and salt
junk for dinner; the next day fresh beef,
for supper. July 4 they had roast beef
and potatoes and lemonade for dinner,
the last furnished by some of the officers.
July 5 he gave them boiled rice for break-
fast, soup for dinner, bread and coffee for
supper, and yet there was more grumbling.
Some of those grumblers must have gone
like me at Mine Run eight days on three
days rations; wonder if they would have
growled at boiled rice and soup then. Sir
William Olapherts, better known as Hell-
fire Jack, made short work of the demand
a newly-arrived Irish régiment made upon
him in 1902 for potatoes, "If you expect
God Almighty to grow potatoes for you
on the dry plains of India, especially to
please you, you're damnder fools than I
took you for," he said. "Dismiss!" And
the subject was dropped.
July 6 his beans did not get done for
breakfast so the men had to put up with
beefsteak, getting their beans for supper.
On the march the boys were looking for a
fight and had too much else to think of to
grumble about food. July 18 they had
only one cracker apiece, yet they were in
good spirits and eager for a fight. July 26
they had boiled squash for dinner and
blackberries and milk for supper. Aug.
197
3 he records that they are faring as well as
they would at home. These extracts are
from his diary. His letters go more into
detail. June 24 he writes they had beef-
steak for supper and rice for dinner with
sugar sauce. "Some days we don't have
half enough, and that not fit to eat. The
meat is salt and dry, the bread dry as chips,
but we have coffee, 3 lbs. at noon and 3 at
night, and 12 lbs. of sugar a day. I have
got 75 lbs. salt beef and 25 lbs. salt pork
for to-morrow. To-day we had 10 lbs.
rice and 125 lbs. fresh beef."
June 30 he writes that to-morrow they are
to have flour and make their own bread.
July 4, that they had pulverised potatoes.
"The potatoes are ground and dried, we
then boil them in water, but it does not
look much like potatoes."
Sept. 29 he writes: "When we have mon-
ey we buy milk and butter, but milk is 10
cts. a quart and butter 30 cts. a pound."
Dec. 29. "We have soft bread now,
baked in the regimental ovens. Each
man has a loaf a day, about the size of the
five cent baker's loaves at home. This
lasts for three meals. At noon we some-
times have soup, roast beef, or salt horse
(salt beef). Three times a week we have
baked beans for breakfast. On the whole
we live pretty well just now."
April 18. "There is one bugler to each
company. We watch and keep by the side
of the captain during an engagement. It
is our business to sound the advance, halt,
charge, &c, just as the captain or colonel
gives orders." Yet in the Yorktown en-
gagement he carried a musket instead of a
bugle.
"Gen. Hooker says he never saw a better
regiment of regulars during the Mexican
war than the 1st Mass."
Three days after he wrote this he was

198
[Falmouth, Va.
Last Days at Falmouth

killed in a bayonet charge at Yorktown,
of which the picture above is given in
Frank Leslie's for May 24, 1862.
By the time I reached the army the giv-
ing out of rations had become more sys-
tematized. The following was the official
allowance to each man per day in camp,
the second amount when given in bold face
in parenthesis being the allowance on a
march when different. Why we should
have less to eat on a march I never dis-
covered. When marching we did not get
soft bread or vegetables. Vinegar was
never served direct to the men, but only to
the company cooks in camp. Sugar and
coffee we used to carry in little bags, some-
times mixed together. Rice I do not re-
member getting.
Hard tack 16 oz.; or soft bread 22 oz.; or
flour 22 oz.; or corn meal 20 oz;
Potatoes 1-200 bu.
Beans or split pease 1–400 bu.
Rice, 1-10 lb.
Dessicated vegetables, 1 oz.. as a substitute
for the above vegetables.
Coffee 1-10 lb. green or 2-25 lb. roasted.
(3–20)
Sugar 3–20 lb.
Salt 1-50 qt.
Pepper 1-25 oz.
Vinegar 1-25 qt.
Candles 1-5 lb.
Soap, 1-25 lb.
The government furnished to each man
(1) a tin dipper with a handle on the side.
Usually he bored two holes in the sides so as
Salt pork 12 oz.: or fresh beef 20 oz.(16 to put a wire through for a holder on top
oz.); or salt beef 20 oz. (16 oz.)
when he cooked coffee over a fire: often a
May 7, 1863]
Army Rations
199

ادر الا
الزر الأردن
tomato can was used instead. (2) A tin plate,
sometimes used as a frying pan, but a
poor substitute. (3) Knife, fork, and spoon,
all substantial but not elegant.
The dipper was used for both coffee and
soup, and like the plate was usually
cleaned if at all with soft bread if there
was any to spare. The knife and fork were
easily cleaned by running them into the
ground a few times.
The government furnished candles but
not candlesticks. For this purpose a bay-
onet was most convenient, but often a
little grease was poured wherever the can-
dle was wanted from the candle itself, and
the candle, held a moment in the cooling
fat, would soon be firmly fixed. In the ab-
sence of candles we imitated the old
Roman lamp, by filling a sardine box with
grease of some kind, and igniting a rag
floating in it.
The dessicated vegetables were not very
satisfactory: we used to call them dese-
crated vegetables.
Hardtack was a plain flour-and-water
biscuit 3x2x2 inches. The daily ration
was 9 to a man, sometimes 10, but there
were usually a plenty, as not all men
draw all they were entitled to. Some were
so hard they could not be bitten, and when
soaked became like gutta-percha. When
they had been wet they were usually
mouldy, and they sometimes contained
maggots or weevils, a little brown bug
inch long. When a man broke up his
hard tack in his coffee he might find the
weevils squirming around on top.
The beef was usually boiled when served
cooked, but men preferred to have it given
out raw and cook it themselves, oftenest
broiling it. The salt beef was penetrated
with saltpetre, colored like rust on yellow
green. I have had it dealt out to me when
it was rank and smelled to heaven but not
of it, but as a whole our rations were sound
and wholesome. The coffee was especially
good, and was in fact the soldier's main
stay. What we each man drank at every
meal would keep a New England family
day, but in the open air it did not hurt us,
and it was a constant comfort.
The southern soldier stuck to his frying
pan, often carrying it with the handle
stuck into the barrel of his musket. When
200
[Falmouth, Va.
Last Days at Falmouth
meal time came pork was fried into gravy
and the biscuit, fried or soaked in water,
was wiped in it and eaten. Southern sol-
diers also ate "slosh" or "coosh", frying out
the bacon till the frying-pan was half full of
grease boiling, and then pouring into it
flour mixed with water to the consistency
of milk, and stirring till it became a dirty
brown mixture. In its elements this was
not so different from the flapjack, except
that the latter was mixed with less water,
the grease only covered the bottom of the
pan, and the paste when browned on the
under side was by a dexterous twist of the
hand tossed over and browned on the other
side. Slosh did not seem attractive to us,
but the hungry Johnnies would dream of
"the solid slices of streaked lean and fat,
the limpid gravy, the brown pan of slosh
inviting you to sop it".
If
fare pieces of pork and broken crackers
would be put into the tin and stewed to-
gether. This we called lob scouse.
some corn, potatoes, or other vegetables
could be added it was called a son of a
gun."
Little as we cared for the southern fried.
dishes we were always glad to get hold of
their pone, unraised corn bread baked in the
'ashes. But there was probably never any
other army so fond of the frying-pan as
the confederates. The Indian mutiny was
caused by the introduction of the greased
cartridges required by the Enfield rifle.
The men thought they would lose caste if
they bit cartridges covered with the fat of
pigs and cows.
A native cook in an Indian regiment
complained to the colonel. "Sahib, they
tell me everything tough-beef, mutton
Cole says: "Sometimes to vary the bill of tough, chicken tough, now they say butter

WHEN BOXES COME FROM HOME
ur. A
May 7-31, 1863]
Moving Camp
201
tough: how can that be?" A Highlander tent to work with, so I made a rough looking
used to disdain butter. He argued that if
the bread was good it didn't need butter,
and if it was bad it did not deserve it.
We were glad to get back to camp, but
we found that in our absence thieves had
made busy with our quarters, so there had
to be much repairing and rebuilding. Many
of the men had lost their knapsacks in the
battle or on the way, and slept cold for
lack or overcoats and blankets.
May 8. Cloudy. Got a big mail at night.
May 9. Pleasant. Inspection again.
Had
May 10.
Inspection. Cooked
some Doughnuts.
May 11. Very hot. Went down to Poto-
mac Creek in. swimming. The Reg't went
on Review.
The swimming place was not far from
camp, as appears in the map on inside cover.
May 12. Pleasant. Went on picket.
May 13. Played Bluff and won 1.50
May 14. Rainy. Lost at Bluff.
May 15. Returned to Camp.
May 16. Pleasant. Played Bluff all
day. Drew the $3.00 remaining of the
Chaplain.
Holy Jo was very good about it. He
knew what I was drawing all this money
out for, and he made me feel he knew, but
he never said a word about it. He was
merely the custodian of my money, and if
I chose to draw it I was not obliged to give
a reason. Besides, he no doubt thought I
was learning a lesson, and was glad to see
me lose. He did not know the personal
feeling behind it all.
May 17. Pleasant.
Had Inspection.
May 18. Pleasant. Lost $12.00 at Bluff.
May 19. Pleasant. Moved Camp to-
day. Pitched alone and had only one half
concern.
This moving camp was for sanitary
reasons, a winter camp becoming intoler-
able when the warm weather begins. Our
regiment moved about half a mile to the
rear.
May 20. Pleasant. Took a walk down
by Birney's Div. who are still in Winter
Camp. The 16th Mass & 11th Jersey have
got beautiful Camps.
May 21. Pleasant. Was on Orderly.
Our Camp is being fixed up very prettily.
Many bowers were erected in front of the
officers' headquarters, and the rest of us
sheltered our tents as much as we could,
the sun having become oppressive. Major
Walker had a rural chapel built, where ser-
vices were held on Sunday, with nightly
prayer meetings.
May 22. Pleasant. Attended Church &
Singing in the evening.
May 23. Cloudy. Very warm in P. M.
May 24. Warm. Lost $3.00 at Bluff.
May 25. Pleasant.
Pleasant. Pay Day. Re-
ceived $24.00 & of course paid about $11
away in Debts. Won $2.00 at night.
May 26. Pleasant. Lost $7.00 at Bluff.
May 27. Pleasant. Went on picket with
the Jersey Brigade. Played Bluff and won
$9.00 Were in a new place close to the
River. Co. D. stopped in a Barn.
May 48. Pleasant. Won $5.00 at Bluff.
May 29. Lost $20.00 at Bluff. No
comment is needed.
•
May 30. Pleasant.
Pleasant. Came home. Re-
ceived box from home. All in good order.
Hat, Shoes, Shirts, etc.
I thought home-made shoes would be
more comfortable, but I soon discarded
them for the army pattern.
May 31. Warm. Was on Orderly.
202
[Falmouth, Va.
Last Days at Falmouth
June 1. Pleasant.
June 2. Pleasant.
Beautiful day.
Got paper from N. Y.
June 3. Cloudy. Dr. Gunn and Searj't
Bigelow were buried by the Reg't to-day.
8th Regular Band.
A military funeral at the front is a sol-
emn occasion, as Chaplain Quint has well
described in "The Potomac and the Rap-
idan", one of the most real books of rem-
iniscences I have seen:
"A suitable escort (for a private, eight
rank and file, properly commanded) is
formed in two ranks opposite to the tent of
the deceased, with shouldered arms and
bayonets unfixed; on the appearance of
the coffin the soldiers present arms. The
procession then forms, on each side of the
coffin being three bearers, without arms;
immediately preceding are the eight sol-
diers, with arms reversed (the musket under
the left arm, barrel downward, and stead-
ied by the right hand behind the back);
in front is the music, than whose dirge no
sadder sounds ever fell upon my ear, as
they proceed to the place of burial. With
slow and measured step, and muffled drum,
they move. At the grave, the coffin is
placed upon one side, the soldiers resting
upon their arms, the muzzle upon the foot,
the hands clasped upon the butt, and the
head bowed upon the hands. The chaplain.
who has walked in the rear of the coffin,
conducts the burial service; 'earth to earth,
ashes to ashes, dust to dust'. Three vol-
leys are fired over the grave, and the last
kindness to the comrade is over. The
graveyard
graveyard left, immediately the band
strikes up a cheerful air, and all take their
way back to camp and to living duties."
On this occasion on the way back the
band played, "Ain't we glad to get out of
the wilderness?", emphasizing that the
mourning stops when we turn back from
the grave.
June 4. Cloudy. Orders came to march
but were countermanded.

ON PICKET UNDER MARCHING ORDERS
June 1-10, 1863]
An Army Funeral
Went on picket.
June 5. Pleasant.
Were Brig. Reserve. The whole Army re-
ceived marching Orders.
There had been rumors of the gathering
of the confederate army near Culpeper for
a northern invasion, and to-day a division
of the 6th corps crossed the river below
Fredericksburg to see whether the southern
army was there in force. The 26th N. J.
paddled in pontoons, as before the battle
of Chancellorsville, carried the rifle-pits
203
across the river, and captured 80 prisoners,
whereupon Howe's division crossed and in-
trenched themselves south of the river.
June 6. Rainy. Lost $4.00 at Bluff.
June 7. Cloudy. The Quartermaster
came out bringing Marching Orders for the
Reg't. Went back to Camp to look for my
stuff.
June 8. Pleasant. The Reg't came in.
June 9. Pleasant. Drills.
June 10. Pleasant. Drills.
T
CHAPTER XVI. THE MARCH TO GETTYSBURG

HE march to Get-
tysburg was much
the longest and
hardest I had.
My diary tells the
story without
need of many
comments.
June 11. Pleasant. While at dinner or-
ders came to move. In an hour we started.
Hot and dusty roads made it hard travelling
and I put my stuff on one of the teams.
Went to Harwood Church. Slept with
Nosie" of the 16th.
"Pack up and be ready to fall in in half
an hour." So read the order. The 6th
corps had crossed the river below the
city some time before and entrenched
themselves, so we supposed we were to re-
lieve them. As it was only about 8 miles
there we loaded ourselves down pretty
heavily, but when we started up the river
instead of down, away went considerable
superlative luggage. As we passed along
by the encampments of the 2d corps we
saw them taking up ovens and many other
unmistakable indications of a decided
change of base, but we bivouacked at
Hartwood church in quite good humor.
June 12. Hot. Gen. Sickles had orders to
go to Beverly Ford, so we had to march
there, though it was 27 miles and it was a

A MIDNIGHT BIVOUAC
•
204
June 11-15, 1863]
Exhaustion of Summer Marching
hard road and hot dusty day. It was an
awful hot day. Many dropped dead on the
road. Our Reg't was sent out on picket at
the Ford.
This was one of the hardest marches I
made, as the route on the map indicates.
Four men in our own brigade died of ex-
haustion. McCarthy says: "In summer
time the dust combined with the heat
caused great suffering. The nostrils of the
men, filled with dust, became dry and fever-
ish, and even the throat did not escape.
The grit was felt between the teeth, and
the eyes were rendered almost useless.
There was dust in eyes, mouth, ears, and
hair. The shoes were full of sand, and the
dust, penetrating the clothes and getting
in at the neck, wrists, and ancles, mixed
with perspiration produced an irritant
almost as active as cantharides."
June 13. Cloudy. A large lot of men
were detailed at night from the Brigade to
throw up intrenchments. Through the day
we staid looking at the Rebels.
June 14. Pleasant. The Intrenchments
were completed in the morning and the Rebels
looked much surprised. At night had or-
205
ders to march and marched all night down
the R. R. passing Bealton.
McCarthy says: "Night marching was
attended with additional discomforts and
dangers, such as falling off bridges, stumb-
bling into ditches, tearing the face and
injuring the eyes against the bushes and
projecting limbs of trees often sprung
back from a soldier ahead who had passed
them and carried them along with him only
to fly back like a switch."
June 15. Very hot. Had hard work to
keep my eyes open. We did not halt untill
we got to Catlett's Station about 10 A. M.
Here we halted in the hot sun two or three
hours and started again and marched to
Manassas Junction. A hard march too,
with no water hardly. We halted about 10
P. M. having marched some 35 miles and
been 40 hours without sleep.
I did pretty well to stand that march;
a great many grown men didn't.
Never again did I suffer for water as on
this day. I saw men cutting off half a
mile to the right where a spring was said to
be, and I followed. Whatever it may have
been in the beginning, when I got there I

CALLETT'S STATION, Orange and ALEXANDRIA RAILROAD

MARCHING PAST MANASSAS JUNCTION

BATTLEFIELD OF BULL RUN: Thoroughfare Gap and Blue Ridge in the distance
June 15, 16, 1863]
Battlefield of the two Bull Runs
207

THE HOTEL AT CENTREVILLE, VA.
found only mud too thick to drink. So I first and the second Bull Run fights, and
marched an extra mile for nothing.
"People at home don't value water,"
said one soldier. "If they saw the men out
here with cracked and blackened lips and
tongues swollen with the terrible thirst
they would value it more."
June 16. Very hot. Moved about a mile,
The 84th Penn. and 12th N. H. added
to our brigade from the 3rd Div, making 7
regiments.
We were now near the Bull Run battle;
field. The regiment had been in both the
every spot had associations for them.
In "Four Years of Fighting" Coffin
tells us that at Blackburn's Ford, July 21,
the 1st Massachusetts received the hottest
of the fire. One soldier in the thickest
of the fight was shot; he passed his musket
to his comrade, saying, "It's all right,
Bill," and immediately expired. The sol-
dier standing next to Lt. Col. Wells received
two shots in his arm. He handed his gun
to the Colonel, saying, "Here, I can't use
it; take it and use it."
208
[B. & O. Canal
March to Gettysburg

CONFEDERATES DESTROYING THE CHESAPEAKE AND OHIO CANAL
June 17. Hot. Started ahead and went
near Centreville, about six miles.
June 18. Hot. Had thunder Storm in
P. M. and when over moved out of our tents
which we had fixed in good shape, over the
other side of Centreville. Slept with only a
wet shelter tent over me.
June 19. Cloudy. Laid out Brigade
Camp and while aligning the Guides, had or-
ders to march. Went to Gum Springs. All
citizens forced to accompany the column.
June 20. Cloudy. Joined the Brigade.
Played Bluff all day. Give a description of
Gum Springs.
The last is in pencil, to indicate a purpose
that was not carried out. Gum Springs
was formerly a fashionable Virginia resort.
June 21. Pleasant. Moved into a beauti-
ful wood. Col. Baldwin arrived. We are
short of Rations.
June 22. Pleasant.
June 23. Pleasant.
June 24. Pleasant.
and was broken.
Won $7.00 at Bluff.
Won $2.00 at Bluff.
Lost $8.00 at Bluff
June 25. Rainy. Marched to Edwards
Ferry, crossed the Potomac, and marched
up the towpath of the B & O Canal to Mono-
cacy. Only 17 footmen kept up with the
Reg't.
It was some 20 miles to Edwards Ferry
where we crossed on pontoons. All of us
felt glad to shake off Virginia soil, and we
expected to stop, as it was nearly dark and
had begun to rain. But no, we started on
June 17-25, 1863]
A Hard Night's March
209

AQUEDUCT OF THE C. & O. CANAL, AT THE MOUTH OF THE MONOCACY
again and as the Potomac was on one side
and the canal on the other it was not easy
to straggle far. For a while it was good
walking, but soon it became muddy and
slippery and by ten o'clock we could ap-
preciate the old problem of the frog in the
well who jumped up three feet every day
and fell back two.
This picture shows how narrow the path
was, and how difficult it must have been
for an army to march along the towpath at
night. In fact the rain raised the canal so
high that in places it flowed over its banks
into the Potomac, and more than one poor
fellow mistook his path and plunged into
the canal.
I remember that Capt. Cook, on brigade
staff, rode down the lines two or three times
and as he was asked how much farther we
were going invariably replied, "About half
a mile; not far." He was soon after or-
dered off with his regiment, the 27th N. H.,
and the next time I saw him was on Broad-
way. I asked him with a smile, "How
much farther are we going, Captain?" and
the joke must have become familiar, for
though of course he did not know me he
replied with a hearty laugh, "Not much
farther: half a mile.'
But after being told it was half a mil-
three or four times the men became dis-
couraged and falling out became so fre-
quent that when the regiment reached the
Monocacy Chaplain Cudworth says there
were only seven men left, five of whom were
mounted officers. As he was probably one
*

NORTH
MOUNTAIN
NORTH MOUNTAIN
FALLING WATER
RIVER
EARLS GAP
MARTINSBURG
MARTINSBURG
OPEQUAN
OPEQUAN
LES TOWNE
TURN
FORMANS FORD
REDINGTON
CREEK
HARDSCRABBLETOWN"
KEARNEYS VILLE
DAMNG.
ERRY
OUFFIELDS
BRANCH
FLOWING SP
ALLTOWN.
OHIO
R.
SHERHERDTOWN
BRIDGE
LUCAS
CREEK\\
HOURIS FALLS
HEIGHTS
BLUFFS 250FT
PIXE
TOLL GATEL
FERRY
*
WILLIAMSPORT
HAGERSTOWN
POWNS VILLE
POTOMAC
RI
BÄKEÄSVILLE
SMOKETOVING
MAMBING TOWN,
HEICH
SPRINGS
BELINDA
SHARPSBURG
ANTIETAM
CREEK
FUNKSTOWN
BMILL S
BOLIVAR
HARPERS FERRY__
ENANDOAH RIVER
BLUE RIDGE
SHORT KILLAS
HILLSBORO
MORRISONVILLE
YHEATLAND
HOYSVILLE
WATERFORD
TOCTAN MOUNTAINS
LEESBURG
BARRIBANS ISLAND
ALLS
BLUFF
QUICHMANS
CK.
BRIDGE
IRON.
DAM NO
WEAVERVILLE,
いい
​ANDY HOOK
ISRAELSCREEK BROWNSVILLE
AVERTON
KNOXVILLE
FERRY OR RIDGE
BERLIN
30
BOONSBORO
TURNERS GAP
SOUTH
MIDDLETOWN
BURKITTSVILLE
PETERSVILLE
WIKITTOCTAN
CREEK
SCEYLAVILLE
JEFFERSON
MT.
UVETTSVILLE
KITTUOTAN
OREEK
TOLLGATE
BRIDGE
LÁRK
NOLANDS FORD
HAULING FORD
SPINKS EERRY
ELOCK 29
OCK 25
POINT OF ROCKS
ERS
CALICO
ROCK
ADAMSTOWN
CK.
ROAD
BUCKEYSTOWN
PLORERICKSVILLE CY
BARLOAF
FAIR
VIEW
SHOOKS
TOWN;
FREDERICK
VER
ER
MONOCACY
BRIDGE
GEORGE
RUSI
PIKE
BRIDGE
BRIDGE
JAMEVIL
URBANA
BENNETS
MONROVIA
CREEK
A
HYATTSTOWN
CONRADS
FORD
ARDS FERRY
FERRY
AQUEDUCT
BARNESVILLE

June 25-8, 1863]
Change of Commanders
211
3000
FREDERICK CITY, MD.
of the five while I certainly was not one of
the two, I yield my figures to his. A sub-
sequent note in pencil records that this was
one of the three hardest marches. The
other two were June 12 and June 15.
mile on a brick sidewalk, and declared that
we felt quite at home.
ringing
The
June 26. Rainy. Had a hard march and
slippery road and reached Point of Rocks
about five o'clock. Got a hatful of cherries,
which in part compensated for nothing to eat.
Passed Monocacy Aqueduct, a fine structure.
It rained all night and everything got
soaked through. My woolen blanket was
too heavy to carry so I left it. I caught up
with the regiment about ten o'clock. We
got bacon as well as cherries at Point of
Rocks. The cherries we had in plenty in
Maryland if we could get far enough away
from the column, but the officers would not
let men climb the trees.
June 27. Rainy. Started early and
marched to Jefferson, a large and handsome
place. From here we were sent to Burkett-
ville on picket. Here those who had cash
could get bread etc.
June 28. Rainy. While the bells were
ringing for Church, started again. Went
through Middletown and Frederick. A
fine city. We halted about 2 miles the other
side of Frederick, and after resting an hour
went on four miles farther. This is hard
marching. Gen. Meade in command of the
Army. Army doesn't like it.
GEN. GEORGE G. MEADE, 1815-72
This was the fifth change of commander-
in-chief in ten months. Of course I did
not converse with the entire army and
my statement brought down to rock
At Burkettville we marched an eighth of a bottom is based on the fact that my
212
[Emmetsburg, Md.
March to Gettysburg

A CHANCE TO WASH UP
division, especially my brigade, and most
especially my regiment, the dozen men I
talked with, didn't like him. We still felt
that our reputation was bound up with
Hooker's, and we resented his dismissal
from command, so We were prejudiced
against Meade from the start.
dislike grew, and with good reason, as will
appear later. Doubleday says that Meade
might have saved Chancellorsville.
But that
June 29. Rainy. Went on again, start-
ing before we had enough for breakfast.
Passed through Taneytown, a very hospitable
place and halted about 4 o'clock on the farther
side of the town. Here we received our mail.
The fellows had a chance to wash up, which
was needed as they had got rather lousy.
We halted about 10 in the evening, but
started again about four in the morning.
Our mail was very welcome; many a poor
fellow got his last letter here.
We knew we should have a battle some-
where near Gettysburg, but did not know
just where, though we thought between
there and Emmitsburg.
June 30. Rainy. An old man brought
cakes and bread into Camp, to give to the
Soldiers. He would take no pay. The
12th and 11th Corps passed us. Started
about 3 o'clock, and marched half way to
Emettsburg where we halted for the night.
Burditt and I went over to a house and got
supper, for which they would take no pay.
I like to record these instances of Mary-
land hospitality. We got well acquainted
with Maryland bread, huge loaves baked
in ovens outside the house, and tasting to
us like manna in the wilderness.
June 29-30, 1863]
Maryland Hospitality
213

MARYLAND HOSPITALITY TO UNION SOLDIERS
We marched a little beyond Emmets-
burg and halted, so I came back into the
village to get something to eat. A curious
thing happened here: I found a two-
dollar bill lying on the ground. I picked it
up and looked about. There was nobody
who seemed to have dropped it, and I
knew if I asked for the owner every man
within hearing would claim it, so I kept
it and made good use of it, for I was en-
tirely without money. But before long I
saw the signal flags flying vigorously and I
hurried back to the regiment. We marched
at an unusually fast pace, and raised a cheer
as we crossed the Pennsylvania line.
B
CHAPTER XVII. THE BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG

EYOND compari-
son, the battle of
Gettysburg was the
greatest experience
of my life, beside
which everything
else seems common-
place. It was not
only the greatest battle of the war but
one of the great battles of the world.
If Creasy rewrote his book, he would
have to change his
change his title or displace
one of his fifteen for
fifteen for Gettysburg.
I
hesitate to say how much it meant to
our army, but as I am telling everything
else I may as well tell this, that if the bat-
tle had gone against us I should have made
straight for Fitchburg, and I should have
had lots of company. We had lost battle
after battle, by blunder after blunder, of
commander after commander, and we had
lost all confidence. It was common talk in
the ranks, "We'll do our level best here, but
if we can't lick the rebs on Yankee soil
that's the end of it for us."
Gen. Birney meant substantially this
when he testified before the congressional
committee: "To have retreated while the
enemy were in our loyal state of Pennsyl-
vania would have been almost fatal to the
command, if not to the country;" and Gen.
Butterfield, that "It would have resulted
in the destruction of the army."
And our regiment was in the thick of the
battle. I have shown that at Chancellors-
ville it was our division that was sent in to
stay the panic when Howard's 11th corps.
broke and fled like a stampede of horses,
and that our regiment rested on the plank
road and had to endure another stampede
when the 3d Md. broke on one side and the
120th N. Y. on the other. Even more re-
sponsible was the work of the 1st Mass. at
Gettysburg. The battle was won at the end
of the second day, and only through the
throwing forward of our division to the
Emmitsburg road. Of that division our
brigade had the van. The monuments of
the Excelsior brigade all bear the inscrip-
tion that they supported Carr's brigade.
Of that brigade we shall see that two regi.
ments carried off the honors; the 26th Pa-
and the 1st Mass. On the picture of the
map of the battlefield by Bachelder (shown
facing the inside cover), approved by the
corps commanders, the position of the 1st
Mass. is shown as the most advanced in the
entire army, beyond the Peter Rogers
house. Our monument is near that house
on the west of the Emmitsburg road. The
26th's monument is on the east of the road,
as usual in close supporting distance. A
section of this map faces the inside cover.
By the map opposite (I still use Double-
day's, for they leave nothing to be desired)
it will be seen that Gettysburg is the cen-
tre of a large region. Doubleday compares
Gettysburg to the hub of a wheel, with
a railroad and seven great roads leading
out of it, to Hagerstown, Chambersburg,
Carlisle, Harrisburg, York, Frederick, and
Tancytown. With our troops in posses-
sion of Gettysburg we could check the
enemy on any of these roads, as we held the
If the enemy held it he could
shorten and strengthen his line to Williams-
port, from which he got his supplies.
centre.
214
July 1, 1863]
A Battlefield by Chance
20
30
SCALE OF MILES
5
10
Kingston
CARLISLE
HARRISBURG
Columbia
Wrightsville,
Conococheague
Cumberland
Valley
CHAMBERSBURG
Fayetteville
Greenwood.
Greencastle
Leitersburg
Down
Fulling
Waters
Desb
༌། །་་་ང་
Cashtown
Heidlersburg
Mummasburg
Hunterstown
GETTYSBURG
Monterey
Ringold,
Hagerstown
Oxford
Fairfield
Fountaindale
Emmetsburg
Smithsburg
Funkstown
Cavetown
Williansport Gap
HAR
FERRY
་་་་་
Crampto
Boonsboro
er's
Gap
MANG AWITHIANS
SOUT
Middle.
town
POTOMAC
Pipe
Mechanicstown
River
Frederick
Monocac!!
Abbotsford
Hanover
Littlestown
Taneytown
Frizzelburg
Middleburg
YORK
Westminster
New Windsor
Hood's Mill
BALTIMORE
Goose
Leesburg
Cr.
id Run
Herndon
Centreville
Seneca Cr.
RIVER
• Fairfax
Rockville
WASHINGTON
NGTON
LEXANDRIA
Yet it was not chosen by either side.
Lee had no intention of fighting there and
Meade was planning to make Pipe creek his
line of battle.
It is officially on record that at 3 o'clock
on July 2 Meade telegraphed to Halleck,
"If satisfied the enemy is endeavoring to
move to my rear, I shall fall back on my
supplies at Westminster." And they cer-
tainly were trying that very thing.
Pleasanton claims to have tried to im-
press upon Gen. Meade that the result of
the campaign depended upon which army
first gained possession of Gettysburg, but
as Meade failed to realize the situation
Pleasanton ordered Buford to Gettysburg
to hold the place at all hazards. He says:
"While this terrible fight of the first day
was raging.... Gen. Meade was 17 miles off,
at Taneytown, leisurely planning a line of
215


216
[Gettsyburg, Pa.
Battle of Gettysburg
battle on some obscure creek between that well aware that I was not unlikely to be
and Gettysburg."
The confederate troops were stretched
along the Cumberland valley, as if to cover
Meade's plan of a line upon Pipe creek,
while we were keeping between them and
Washington. Our regiment had come up
through Middleburg and Taneytown and
Emmitsburg. The 1st Corps was already
at Gettysburg. The 11th and 12th Corps
had passed us on the way. The other corps
were within thirty miles and could be sum-
moned. As my diary records, we had
known for some time that a battle was im-
pending, and that it must be somewhere
in this region.
July 1. Rainy. An order was read to the
troops from Gen. Mead exhorting the men to
deeds of valor. Marched through Emmits-
burg to the battlefield of Gettysburg, where
we found the 1st & 12th Corps.
GEN. ANDREW A. HUMPHREYS, 1810-83
We were led on this march by Gen.
Humphreys, "Old Goggle-eyes" we used to
call him, another man we did not like
before the battle, but whom after the
battle we were ready to swear by, for he
showed himself a hero and a leader.
About nine in the evening we came to a
stream, which we were to ford waist high.
I was pretty well exhausted anyway, and
when I saw that stream I said to myself,
not for me. So I fell out, lay down under
a tree near the road, and went to sleep,
picked up by guerillas and taken to Libby
prison, of which we had begun to hear
something. When I woke up troops were
marching in the other direction, and as I
thought they might be confederates, I lay
quiet and listened. Presently I recognized
Lt. Col. Baldwin's profanity, whereupon I
sprang up and rejoined my regiment. It
seems they had missed the road, owing to
"Goggle-eye's" stupidity as they put it, and
had forded the stream back again. "Just
his damned luck," they said in disgust,
when they saw me dry and rested.
The first intimation Gen. Humphreys got
that we were on the wrong road was given
by two of our men who came in with a con-
federate sergeant they had captured. They
had straggled off to get something to eat,
and seeing this man ordered him to sur-
render. His first remark was, "How in hell
did you get here?" They concluded all
was not right, and forming themselves into
a scouting party found a confederate bat-
tery within a quarter of a mile of where
our troops were. An aide rode down the
line and commanded the troops to counter-
march without noise, and we got away
without being discovered. We reached
Gettysburg at about 1 o'clock a. m.
We had heard the heavy firing of
the first day's battle, beyond Gettysburg,
but were too exhausted to look about, and
sank down to sleep as soon as we were
halted.
This march from Emmitsburg was un-
dertaken by Gen. Sickles without orders.
After the unfortunate death of Gen. Rey-
nolds, Gen. Howard sent word to him
from Gettysburg, "For God's sake come up
with all speed. They are pressing us hard."
The same appeal was sent to Gen. Slocum,
who moved promptly, although it was not

July 1, 2, 1863]
The Second Day's Fight
217
GEN. JOHN F. REYNOLDS, 1820-63
a command from headquarters, and Sickles
was a born fighter, who had no notion of re-
maining idle within sound of the battle.
So he made a forced march, and though
Howard, who had lost 1500 prisoners, un-
generously declares Sickles got there after
the first day's fighting was over, we may be
sure he was very glad to have his 11th
Corps, which had behaved better than at
Chancellorsville, protected by the same
troops that had filled the gap they left at
Dowdall's tavern. At the time he said,
"Here you are, general, always reliable,
always first." But men forget.
Meade unquestionably disapproved of
this encounter. Doubleday says that
Meade displaced both him and Howard,
putting them under junior officers, to show
his disapproval of the fighting on the first
day, perhaps to hold them as scapegoats if
the battle were finally lost. Doubleday says:
"A charge was ordered about dusk. Gen.
Newton, who had been put over me, or-
dered it stopped, but my front line kept
on, regained Hancock's four guns and two
of the enemy, and brought in prisoners,
apologizing to me for not halting."
July 2. Rainy. The battle was recom-
menced in the morning, but nothing of im-
portance occurred untill afternoon when the
attack was suddenly made upon our left.
and the fight commenced in earnest. Our
men were driven at first, but the 5th Corps
came up and formed on our left, which ended
any doubts as to the result.
At two o'clock in the afternoon I sat in
the limbs of a tree in front of our brigade,
writing in the very green diary from which
all these entries are copied. There was no
fighting just then, but we could see the
confederate wagon trains and artillery
moving to our left. I particularly re-
member an officer on a white horse who
rode up and down far in front of me, ap-
parently close by the confederate woods.
He seemed so needlessly reckless that I
wondered whether he had anybody at
home to care whether he was killed or not.
Two hours later that tree was a centre
for artillery fire, but I had moved.
Wellington said of Waterloo: "People
ask me to describe Waterloo. I tell them
it was hard pounding on both sides and we
pounded the hardest." So of Siborn's
model of Waterloo, he said "It's all a farce,
fudge!
fudge! They went to one officer and said,
what did you do? I did so and so. Then
to another, What did you do? I did such
and such a thing. One did it at ten, an-
other at twelve, and they have mixed it all
up. A battle is like a ball, they keep foot-
ing it all day long."
I am not going to describe all the battle
of Gettysburg. The battlefield covered
25 square miles, but I shall speak only
of what I saw, which ought to simplify
matters. A man in the 1st Corps will
see only the first day and tell how
his regiment fought there, and a man in
the 5th Corps will think his brigade won
the battle. I am going to tell only what
happened to the 1st Mass. But it is-be-
yond dispute that the crisis was on Thurs-
day afternoon and we were in the midst
. of it. So while in this way I keep my
story simple and connected, I am at the
218
[Gettysburg, Pa.
Battle of Gettysburg
of children and tried to make an in-
cident of the war real to them. They
would look back smiling and seem to be in-
terested, but war, battle, shot, shell, minie
bullets, wounds, death, these were all mere
words. Nobody born since the war can
realize what it meant to feel that our nation
was in jeopardy, or even to watch for news
of battle in which a father or a husband was
engaged. We have had a little hybrid
Spanish war, but what a poor, purposeless,
mismanaged, hopeless, helpless affair it was.
Told by some one that he lost a relative in
the civil war, you ask, "In what battle?"
Told that it was in the Spanish war, you
propound the alternative, "Typhoid fever
or dysentery?"
Let us first get the ground clearly in
mind. Taking this map of Doubleday's,
same time telling what decided the battle.
If anybody tells you that the battle of
Gettysburg was won on the third day,
don't you believe him. We did not know
it, but it was already won at sunset of
the second day. Before Gen. Meade rose
from the council on the evening of the
second day, and said angrily, "Have it your
own way, gentlemen, but Gettysburg is no
place to fight a battle in," the battle had
already been fought and won. It was a
defeated army that made the charge on the
third day. The charge was an impossible,
a preposterous attempt, as Gen. Lee after-
ward acknowledged. The troops engaged
were less than half as many as had attacked
us the second day, and the killed and
wounded on the last four hours of the
second day were more than in all the rest of
the three days. Gen. Hancock, who was
in command of the position attacked on the
third day, testifies that Pickett's charge
was repelled mainly by six small brigades.
Suppose the confederates had carried the
hill and even captured and turned the guns,
there was the whole great army of the
Potomac ready to plunge upon what was
left of their poor little 14,300 men.
Of our
own division, severely as it had suffered the
day before, Gen. Humphreys says the only
difficulty he had the third day was to keep
them back from leaping over the breast-
works and fighting Pickett's men hand to
hand. Pickett had no chance.

n
Last Rebel
Cashtown
10:
Fairfield
ELALT OF MILES
Road to
Roads
Evening
2 n d.
12
Jul
Road
Days
E
tack,
July 18t
lummasb:
AHO W
'd
771H
Read
BALK
Co
PENDER
Read to
GETT
BURG
&
110
16
17
BAIL BOLD
York Road
Hook
1
Hanover
GORDOK
E W
Road
HOKE
Road
Road
POWER EC
GEODWICK
UTYLE
Mouno
TOP
ROUND
TOP
Taneytown
ALBEAVE
Baigimo
which, while it gives more fully the details
of the first day, when Doubleday himself
was for a time in command, is yet like all his
maps excellent throughout, it will be seen
that the axis of the field is the Emmitsburg
road. To the west may be seen the con-
federate line of the morning; say rather
of three in the afternoon, for all the morn-
I am going to describe our part in these
four hours, but I recognize the difficulty of
it. The accounts I have given of Fred-
ericksburg and Chancellorsville seem clear
to me, but I am aware that to many of my
readers they have been mere words, so im-
possible is it for me to supply my back-
ground of remembrance. I have felt
my helplessness as I stood before a class
July 2, 1863]
Plan of the Battlefield
ing their troops were moving to this posi-
tion. Midway north and south of this
road is the Peach orchard. Of this the
Comte de Paris says (The Civil War in
America, Philadelphia, 1883): "Lee, con-
vinced of how much the position of the
orchard will be useful for the final attack,
has been under the impression that he
should begin by taking possession of it,
inasmuch as it would be the first point to be
met on the Emmitsburg road." Keep the
location of this Peach orchard in mind,
for a momentous hour it was a central
point of the battle. The government
plans to restore this orchard so far as pos-
sible to just its appearance on this July 2d.
Southeast you see the Round Tops. The
stream west of them is Plum run, and
between the branches of Plum run is the
Devil's Den, well named for the bloody work
done there that afternoon. The ridge from
the Round Top to Cemetery hill is clearly
marked. Compare the map facing left in-
side cover.
Now let us keep in mind that the general
plan of the confederates was to move south
by the Emmitsburg road and attack our
left in flank, that is from the south,
charging up the Emmitsburg road. Let
us also keep in mind that in this they
were foiled, getting at the farthest only
to the points shown by the white rect-
angles, while our troops at night held the
positions shown by the black rectangles.
Next let us divide the struggle of the day
into three periods: (1) the preliminary
skirmishing till 2 o'clock; (2) the wheel
to the south of Birney's division; and the
fighting till Gen. Sickles
Sickles was wounded;
(3) the order to face about, with the
final contest for the ridge.
1.
Preliminary Skirmishing
219
The 3d Corps held the left of the Union
line. Gen. Hancock had posted the 2d
Corps to cover 1300 yards. In accord-
ance with orders Gen. Sickles so formed
his two divisions, Humphreys's and Bir-
ney's, as to extend along a southerly line
from the left of the 2d Corps, on Ceme-
tery ridge, to a point near the base of
Little Round Top. He sent out the 1st
Massachusetts as a picketline beyond the
Emmitsburg road. The 3d Brigade was
detached to support the 1st Division, on
our left. Our regiment was sent forward to
occupy a little log house on the Emmitsburg
road and the famous peach orchard near by.
We could see the enemy in a woods half
a mile to the west, on higher ground.
Capt. Lovell Purdy, jr., 74th N. Y., re-
ports: "Orders were received to deploy on
the road in front, on the right of the 26th
Pa. and in the rear of the 1st Mass.
There being a remnant of a fence in close
proximity-Col. Hale immediately had
breast works erected (using fence rails for
that purpose).
that purpose). The men moved with an
alacrity I have never seen equalled. The
1st Mass. being engaged in the immediate
front, several men in this regiment were
wounded by chance shots."
2. The Wheel to the South of Birney's
Division
As is seen from the map on page 221 our
position at Gettysburg was shaped like a fish
hook. Gen. Meade was most interested in the
bow, and gave orders for an attack on our
right, which Gen. Slocum took the liberty of
not obeying. We were strong there, and it
was wise to remain on the defensive. But
on the left we were weak. You see Little
Round Top and Round Top. A glance
shows that if the confederates captured
220
[Gettysburg, Pa.
Battle of Gettysburg

THE DEVIL'S DEN
those two hills they could enfilade our po-
sition: that is, shoot their cannon balls
and shells through the length of our line,
with the certainty that every volley would
be murderous.
The next day we used this enfilade
against the confederates. Gen. Long-
street says: "The slaughter was terrible,
the enfilade fires of the batteries on Round
Top being very destructive. At times one
shell would knock out five or six men."
Gen. Meade gave orders that our Corps
should be posted between the 2d Corps and
Little Round Top.
To Gen. Sickles the position thus occu-
pied by the 3d Corps proved unsatisfactory.
Cemetery ridge along the 2d Corps front
had considerable elevation, but it did.
not extend all the way to Little Round
Top, the ground sinking to low swale,
with no opportunity to use artillery or
to maneuver troops. As the map shows,
the Emmitsburg road runs close to Ceme-
tery ridge where the 2d Corps was post-
ed, but bears off to the southwest until
it is a mile from Little Round Top. The
triangle between that road and Little Round
Top on the line designated by Gen. Meade
was covered by a wide belt of woods, and
broken up into steep ravines and knolls.
It included the Devil's Den, a wild, rocky,
partly wooded eminence, huge boulders
about its base, some of them large as a
house, its summit 80 feet above Plum
Run, which separated it from Little
Round Top. It was a strong tactical posi-
tion. In its rear lay the wheatfield and
other open ground for maneuvering.
troops. On the front and south its eleva-
tion, crowned with artillery, commanded
the long approaches over which the
July 2, 1863]
REBEL GUNS
WRIGHT
REBEL GUNS
LONGSTREET
KILPATRICK
WILCOX
PICKETT
PENDER
Gettysburg
CEMETERY HILL
WEBB
11TH CORPS
STAN-
NARO
A
2ND CORPS
HALL
DOUBLEDAY
1ST. CORPS
5TH CORPB
WILCOX
2nd Position;
3RD CORPS
LITTLE
ROUND TOP
ROUND TOP
יוון
III
Gen. Sickles saved the Day
18T. CORPA CULP'S
HILL
12TH CORPS
RESERVE
RESERVE
ARTILLERY
The position of troops here is that on night of July 2.
enemy must move to attack either the
Round Tops or the position itself.
During the forenoon the pressure on
his picket-lines convinced Gen. Sickles an
attack would be made on his flank. He
went to headquarters and asked Gen.
Meade to accompany him to the left
and examine the field. Gen. Meade de-
clined, but finally sent Gen. Hunt, chief of
artillery, who refused to assume respon-
sibility for changing the line indicated by
Gen. Meade.
The confederate picket-fire became so
persistent that about 11:30 a. m. Gen.
Sickles ordered a reconnoissance, sending
out Berdan's sharpshooters, supported
by the 3d Me., who entered the woods
west of the Emmitsburg road. They met
part of the Alabama brigade, and drove
them far enough to see that three col-
umns of infantry were in motion on the
other side of the woods.
221

Gen. Sickles was now confronted with
a problem of the gravest character; on
his decision the fate of the battle might
depend. His were the only troops in that
part of the field, and the enemy was
massing against him on his front and
flank. If he occupied the Round Tops he
could not hold the ground between him
and Hancock. If he remained where he
was the Round Tops would be occu-
pied by the enemy, and his position
become immediately untenable. Meade had
withdrawn Buford's cavalry, so that he
could no longer observe properly the
screen of woods on his left. To recall his
skirmish line from the Emmitsburg road
would abandon the route by which half
the army had reached the field, and
lose communication with the
strate-
gic position at Emmitsburg which by di-
rection of Gen. Meade he had with Gen.
Humphreys examined the previous day as
a possible battle-ground. Gen. Meade
would not assist him by a personal exam-
ination of the situation. Apparently the
flank movement that won the battle of
Chancellorsville was to be repeated, by
forces numbering two to his one. He
could not hope to withstand the onset
where he was, but if he could modify hist
position he could depend on his old 3d Corps.
to hold the ground till reserves were sent
to his support.
2. The Wheel to the south of Birney's
Division.
Gen. Sickles resolved to exercise the
discretion of a corp commander, and
occupy the strong line extending from
the base of Little Round Top to the ridge.
at the Peach orchard on the Emmits-
burg road, and await the impending attack
there, instead of on the lower ground
where he had been posted. Shortly after
222
[Gettysburg, Pa.
Battle of Gettysburg
Birney's divi-
and advanced
2: p. m. he gave the order.
sion wheeled to the left
500 yards to the front of Little Round
Top, where they occupied the high
ground from the Devil's Den to the
Peach orchard, the troops facing south.
Humphreys's division advanced to a posi-
tion along the Emmitsburg road, its left
connecting with Graham's brigade of Bir-
ney's division at the Peach orchard, at
which point there was an obtuse angle
in the general line, often referred to in
the reports as a "salient angle".
Now comes the great controversy of the
battle. We were at first placed as ordered,
but Gen. Sickles, whose military instinct
fathomed the enemy's intentions, as the
Comte de Paris says, saw the attack
was to be upon our left and thus pro-
tected his position. Was this wise? Gen.
Halleck reports it was an error which nearly
proved fatal. Pennypacker, Meade's ful-
some panegyrist, says ("Great Commanders,
General Meade," N. Y. 1901) that Sickles
"would not have ventured to occupy this
position on his own responsibility but
for the spirit of insubordination pre-
vailing among certain of the corps com-
manders". But Longstreet, who com-
manded the attack and the calamity of
whose career was failure to succeed in it, says
in "From Manassas to Appomattox" (Phila-
delphia, 1896): "At the opening of the
fight Gen. Meade was with Gen. Sickles dis-
cussing the feasibility of moving the 3d
Corps back to the line originally assigned
for it, but the discussion was cut short by
the opening of the confederate battle. If
that opening had been delayed thirty or
forty minutes the corps would have been
thrown back to the general line, and my
first deployment would have enveloped
Little Round Top and carried it before it
could have been strongly manned, and Gen.
Meade would have drawn off to his line
selected behind Pipe creek.”
In 1903 I met Gen. Sickles in the Bruns-
wick hotel, Boston, and introduced my-
"I have
self as one of his old division.
maintained all these years," I said, "that
the battle of Gettysburg was won by the ad-
vancee position taken by your Corps under
your own orders.
"That is absolutely true and demon-
strated," he replied. "Only last fall I had
a letter from Gen. Longstreet affirming
what he had already published in his his-
tory of the war. I will send you a copy.”
The letter is as follows, the second itali-
cizing being mine:
"Office of the Commissioner of Railroads,
"Washington, September 19, 1902.
"My Dear General Sickles: My plan and
desire was to meet you at Gettysburg on
the interesting ceremony attending the un-
veiling of the Slocum monument; but to-
day I find myself in no condition to keep
the promise made you when last we were
together. I am quite disabled from a se-
vere hurt in one of my feet, so that I am
unable to stand more than a minute or two
at a time. Please present my sincere re-
grets to the noble Army of the Potomac,
and accept them, especially, for yourself.
"On that field you made your mark that
will place you prominently before the world
as one of the leading 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
advanced position at the Peach Orchard,
taken by your corps and under your orders,
saved that battlefield to the Union cause.

July 2, 1863]
Sickles assumed the Responsibility
223
GEN. DANIEL E. SICKLES, 1825-
"It was the sorest and saddest reflection
of my
life for many years; but to-day I can
say, with sincerest emotion, 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 Governor and your fellow comrades of
the Army of the Potomac.
"Always yours sincerely,
JAMES LONGSTREET
(Signed)
Lieutenant General Confederate Army"
Gen. Hunt, chief of the artillery, testi-
fies: "I suppose the occupation of that
advanced position compelled the
enemy to
attack us there, even if they had started to
turn our left flank." This is exactly the
point. They had started to turn our left
flank, and to do it by the Emmitsburg
road. They would have done it, had not
this advance prevented. As the Comte
de Paris points out, the 3d Corps by making
so long a resistance, enabled Meade to
place on his left forces much more numer-
ous than those of his assailants.
Doubleday says: "The movement, dis-
astrous in some respects, was propitious as
regards its general results, for the enemy
GEN. JAMES LONGSTREET, 1821-1904
had wasted all their strength and valor in
gaining the Emmitsburg road, which after
all was of no particular benefit to them."
This movement is commonly referred
to as an advance of the 3d Corps to the
Emmitsburg road, but this advance was
only incidental to the real movement,
which was the left wheel of Birney's di-
vision to the south to meet the flank at-
tack, which soon came from that direc-
tion. Had Howard adopted the same tac-
tics at Chancellorsville the battle would
have been saved.
Let us admit that our troops formed a
"salient angle", and that salient angles are
dangerous; though in this instance the
troops at this angle were fighting long
after those on their left had given way,
and the first break in Graham's brigade
occurred not at the angle but up the Em-
cross-fire and enfilade did not drive one
mitsburg road: indeed the confederate
infantryman from his place.
Let us admit, again, that our lines were
extended till it was impossible to main-
tain the ground without assistance. The
Comte de Paris says: "The left of the fed-
erals, instead of terminating as the south-
ern general in chief had thought, in the
neighborhood of the orchard, was pro-

224
[Gettysburg, Pa.
Battle of Gettsyburg
THE EMMITSBURG ROAD
longed in return from this point as far as
Plum run, thus forming a convex line of
great strength and difficult of access."
Wellington said of Waterloo, "Our army
was drawn up into a good many squares,
with the cavalry riding among them. I
saw it was necessary to present a length of
front to the enemy, so I made them fall into
line, four deep. That maneuvre won the
battle." Besides, why shouldn't Sickles
have assistance? What was the rest of the
army there for? In the morning he had
warned Gen. Meade that the attack would
be on the left, and Meade had replied, "O,
generals are all apt to look for the attack
to be made where they are.
Instead of sending the troops needed
Meade withdrew Buford's cavalry, that
had guarded our left, leaving our flank ex-
posed. The Comte de Paris calls this one
of those blunders that frequently occur on
the battlefield, compromising the safety of
the federal line in just that part which will
be the first to be menaced. So Sickles
sent Ward's brigade to hold the Devil's
Den, and advanced his line of battle on
the right accordingly, to meet the oncom-
ing attack on his left flank. Except for
this movement nothing could have pre-
vented Longstreet from seizing the
Round Tops, and Gettysburg would
have been another confederate victory.
Gen. Sickles describes his line as "from
Round Top on the left, perpendicular to
the Emmitsburg road, but somewhat en
echelon with the line of battle established
on Cemetery ridge," and says, "It was
either a good line or a bad one, and which-
ever it was I took it on my own responsi-
bility because it enabled me to hold com-
July 2, 1863]
A Second Chancellorsville Avoided
manding ground, which, if the enemy had
been allowed to take-as they would have
taken it if I had not occupied it in force-
would have rendered our position on the
left untenable, and in my judgment would
have turned the fortunes of the day hope-
lessly against us."
*
This
Hunt says of the two ridges from the
south and east that met at the Peach
orchard: "They commanded all the ground
behind as well as in front of them.
was one good reason for our taking possess-
ion of it. It would, it is true, present a
salient angle, which generally exposes
both its sides to enfilade fires: but here the
ridges were so high that each would serve
as a 'traverse' for the other, and reduce
the evil to a minimum.
* * * The
salient line proposed by Gen. Sickles al-
though much longer afforded excellent
positions for our artillery; its occupation
would cramp the movements of the enemy,
bring us nearer his lines, and afford us
facilities for taking the offensive. It was
in my judgment tactically the better line
of the two, provided it were strongly occu-
pied, for it was the only one on the field
from which we could have passed from the
defensive to the offensive with a prospect
of decisive results." Yet he advised Gen.
Meade against it on the ground that it
would weaken the reserve to occupy it
strongly, and that discretion was the
better part of valor. Meade assented,
and would have commanded Sickles to
fall back, had it not been already too late,
as the battle had begun.
In a confidential letter afterward pub-
lished Meade says that he ordered Sickles
to post his corps so that his right was to be
Hancock's left, and his left, Round Top.
To which Gen. Sickles replies: "To this I
225
answer, First, that this statement is con-
tradicted by Gen. Meade's official report
of the battle, and by his testimony before
the committee on the conduct of the war;
second, it is contradicted by the report of
his chief of artillery, Gen. Hunt; third,
it is absurd, technically and tactically;
fourth; my testimony before the committee
on the conduct of the war presented the
facts, which are wholly different from Gen.
Meade's statement in the Benedict letter,
and were not denied by him when he
testified in the following month." Gen.
Sickles goes on to point out that the dis-
tance from Hancock's left to Round Top
was a mile and a quarter, through swale,
morass, bowlders, and forest, and tangled
undergrowth, unfit for infantry, imprac-
ticable for artillery, and hopelessly domi-
nated by the ridge in front, "which I would
have surrendered without a blow if I had
attempted to execute the impossible orders
Gen. Meade states that he gave to me.
I would have had no positions at all for my
artillery over half of my line, and would
have surrendered to Lee the positions for
his artillery which he states in his official
report it was the object of his movement
to gain.”
Sickles says: "If the reenforcements
which came up from 5 o'clock to 6:30 had
arrived three hours earlier Longstreet's
assault on the 2d would have been repulsed
as promptly and decisively as on the 3d."
At night there had been gathered 40,000
troops to hold the line that the 3d corps
held alone for two hours. Why did they
not come earlier?
Gen. Walker says of Sickles: "That he
defended the position he had taken with
courage and address, and that his splendid
troops exhibited unsurpassed gallantry and
.
226
[Gettysburg, Pa.
Battle of Gettysburg
i
resolution, must be admitted by even the
severest critic."
In "The 16th Decisive Battle of the
World" (Gettysburg 1906,) Capt. James Long
says-compare plan facing inside cover;
"Gen. Lee's plan for the second day of
July (the reader will understand that the
union army fought at Gettysburg on the
defensive for the first time, Lee's army
being the attacking party) was to attack
both flanks and the centre at one and the
same time. Longstrect's corps being on
Lee's right, and facing our left, was to
move forward and turn the left flank.
Ewell's corps being on Lee's left and fac-
ing our right was to advance and turn
back the Union's right flank, while A. P.
Hill's corp was to advance and strike the
crushing blow on the Union's center.
"But the 3d Corps of the Union army
having advanced out the Emmitsburg
road to the Peach orchard, and throwing
his sharpshooters and skirmishers still
farther in advance, they discovered Long-
street's movement and brought on the
battle. Longstreet at that time was mov-
ing southward with his entire command,
along Willoughby Run, west of Seminary
Ridge, and under cover of the same, on
his way around the south side of Big
Round Top for the purpose of attacking
Gen. Sickles from the east, then being in
the rear of Sickles's corps. Now if Gen.
Sickles had formed on the left of the 2d
Corps, as ordered at the beginning to do,
and had prolonged his line south to Little
Round Top, the greater portion of his
troops would have been on low, swampy
ground which was untenable, with the
enemy occupying the Emmitsburg road
in his front, and the left of his line would
have been on the summit of Little Round
Top in the air' and Longstreet would
have been successful in carrying out his
plans to move around to the south side
of Big Round Top and attack the 3d Corps
from the rear, while a portion of Hill's
corps would have made the attack from
the front. Therefore had Gen. Sickles
not gone out and taken up that advanced
position Longstreet's movement would
not have been discovered, his plans would
have been carried out successfully with
no obstructions in his way, as he had
several hours to execute his move, which
would have been under cover and unseen,
before the 5th and 6th corps of the union
army arrived upon the field.
"Those who study the history of the
battle and visit the field and view the
topography of the ground agree that under
the existing circumstances Gen. Sickles
did the best thing that could have been
done. It is believed by the military crit-
ics who visit the field at this late day
that had Gen. Sickles not fought his bat-
tle in the manner and form which he did,
there would have been no battle fought
at Gettysburg on the Third of July."
Just as the fight was about to open Meade
rode up and asked: ""Are you not too much
extended, general? Can you hold your
front?"
"Yes, until more troops are brought up.
The enemy are attacking in force; I shall
need support.”
Well may Meade say "the 3d corps sup-
ported the shock most heroically," for they
fought like lions against tremendous odds.
for nearly two hours before the 5th corps
came up. Surely Gen. Sykes was not pre-
cipitate; he sent word his men were tired
and must boil their coffee first, and when
they came up more than two hours later
than they should their conduct was not all

July 2, 1863]
The Death Struggle
227
that could be desired. They were put on and by 5:30 became formidable. It was now
the left to relieve our 1st Division.
"Barnes's division of the 5th Corps sud-
denly gave way. Gen. Birney was sent to
order Barnes back into line. 'No,' he said,
'No,' he said,
'it is impossible; it is too hot; my men can-
not stand it.' Gen. Zook volunteered to
take Barnes's place, and found Barnes's
disordered troops in the way. 'If you
can't get out of the way,' said Zook, 'lie
down and I will march over you.' Barnes
ordered his men to lie down and Zook and
his spirited brigade under direction of Bir-
ney did march over them and right into the
breach. Zook was mortally wounded at
about half six, just when Sickles lost his
right leg."
Meade now began to pour in the reen-
forcements that earlier in the day would
have saved thousands of lives. The 6th
and part of the 1st Corps, with Lockwood's
Maryland brigade were ordered forward.
Since this concentration of troops was nec-
essary, it was remarkable that Sickles alone
had held back the enemy for nearly two
hours.
As I have said, our regiment had been
sent forward to a little log house on the
Emmitsburg road.
About three o'clock the battle began on
the left against Birney's division. Our bri-
gade was placed close up to the road, just
under the crest and we joined it. One regi-
ment from the 2d Brigade was put with ours
to lengthen the line. As this movement
was made the enemy's artillery opened
upon us from the left, at first not seriously.
We were now more than half a mile in
front of the main line, the 2d Corps nearest.
The orchards on our right were thick, and
there was danger of skirmishers getting in
there unseen. The artillery fire increased,
a battle for us, and grew hotter every
minute. Somewhat after 6. p. m. the en-
emy began to advance, having broken
through Graham's brigade and crossed
the Emmitsburg road. Gen. Humphreys
was about to advance to meet them
when he learned that Gen. Sickles had
lost a leg and retired, giving the com-
mand to Gen. Birney, and the latter seeing
GEN. DAVID B. BIRNEY, 1825-64
that his own 1st division must withdraw,
and as the Peach orchard had been lost, or-
dered Humphreys to swing back his left so
as to connect with the line at the Wheatfield.
Carr reports: "At 12:30 p.m. I was order-
ed to move forward and form line of battle
on the prolongation of a line composed of
the 1st division, connecting on its right.
"About 11 a. m. I had sent out the 1st
Mass, as skirmishers, and this regiment now
covered my front.
"At 4:00 I advanced my line 300 yards
to the crest of a hill, and detailed 100 men
of the 16th Mass. to occupy an old building
in an orchard to my left. My left first be-
came engaged, and its position was held
until the Collis Zouaves of the 1st division
gave way. The enemy advanced in con-
siderable force on my left flank, which com-
pelled me to change my front. No sooner
was this done than the enemy appeared on
my right pouring in a destructive cross fire.
228
[Gettysburg, Pa.
The Battle of Gettysburg
"I could have held my position, but was
ordered by Gen. Birney to fall back to the
crest of the hill in my rear. At that time
I have no doubt I could have charged the
rebels and driven them in confusion, for my
line was still perfect and unbroken and my
troops in the proper spirit for the perform
ing of such a task. In retiring I suffered
a severe loss in killed and wounded. After
I had reached the position designated by
Gen. Birney, the brigade was rallied and
moved forward, driving the enemy and
capturing many prisoners. I continued
I continued
to advance until I again occupied the field
I had but a few minutes previous vacated.
Here my command remained till morning."
Gen. Humphreys reports: "Just then
Birney sent word he had succeeded Sickles,
that his division was going to fall back,and
form a line extending toward my right
[left] from Round Top ridge, in rear of and
oblique to my present line, and that I must
change front and form on that line. To do
this I had to change front to rear under a
heavy fire of artillery fire as I wanted to
draw forward my troops to the attack.
While doing this, the troops on my left
that were to continue the line to Round
Top ridge did not stop there but passed to
or extended beyond it. I formed my line
and extended it out to the left as far as pos-
sible to close up this aperture, and by that
time was attacked on my flanks as well as in
front. I have never been under a hotter
artillery and musketry fire combined.
a moment I thought the day was lost. I
did not order my troops to fall back rapidly
because the crest in my rear was vacant,
and I knew when troops got to moving
back rapidly it was difficult to stop them
just where you wanted to stop them.
For
"At that moment I received an order to
fall back to the Round Top ridge, which I
did slowly, suffering a very heavy loss. I
rallied my division, or the remnants of it,
on the ridge. As the enemy came up they
received the fire of the 2d Corps on my
right. My troops joined in and we drove
those fellows back. My men brought back
two if not three of the guns we left.
These men of mine did not wait for orders,
but went forward, and as there were so few
of them I went with them to bring them
back before they got too far from our main
line. By that time it was dusk, and the
fighting ceased for the day. I lost 2000
killed and wounded out of 5000.
"My troops behaved very well. It is the
most trying position in which troops can be
placed. I wanted to move forward and
attack, because there is always a great deal
in the spirit of advancing, even though it be
be but a few paces. If I had not received
the order to change my position to the
rear, I do not think I should have suffered
a great deal more than I did, and I should
have punished the enemy very severely.
"My division lost as severely as any di-
vision in the army. It was a fine division,
the men were good soldiers. The spirit of
my men was just as fine after the battle as
at any time. On July 3 the greatest diffi-
culty I had was to keep my men from jump-
ing over the little breastwork in front of
the artillery and advancing against the
enemy without any orders. They were
full of fight and felt angry at the way they
had been cut up the day before.”
3. The change of front
About 6:30 Gen. Sickles received the
wound that resulted in the loss of his leg.
and compelled him to retire from the field.
Had he remained in command one need not
doubt that our division would have been

July 2, 1863]
The Change of Front
229
FIRST
INFANTRY
MONUMENT OF THE 1ST MASS., west of the Emmitsburg road
permitted to advance and meet the on-
coming confederates, as Carr and Hum-
phreys desired. But Gen. Birney, who had
succeeded to the command, knew that his
own 1st Division must withdraw, and gave
orders that ours must go back with them.
Not everybody understood that this
movement was made under orders. Gen.
Tremain said at the dedication of the 73d
N. Y. monument at Gettysburg: "When
the Peach orchard at your left had been oc-
cupied by the enemy, Humphreys's 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
230
[Gettysburg, Pa.
The Battle of Gettsyburg
D
division found themselves assailed both in
front and flank, they broke. Humphreys
could not hold them, but under such a
leader the confusion was only momentary.
I quote from Col. Rafferty of the Excelsior
brigade. He says: 'The men understood
the matter as well as their officers. They
knew that the position could not now be
held and they seemed to have simultane-
ously made up their minds that they were
going back to a position they could hold;
and back they did go, but fighting, not dis-
orderly. 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 deliber-
ately that the enemy kept at a respectful
distance. However, the enemy 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 remarkable. They had delib-
erately 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 reform: that was all. That
was as far as we were going then, and it is a
fact that the enemy never reached the or-
iginal line on which the 2d Division of the
3d Corps had been posted."
Gen. Sharpe said at the dedication of the
Gettysburg monument of the 120th N. Y.:
"Though less than 100 of our men came
unharmed out of that murderous fire, this
regiment held the line till after eleven
o'clock, when another regiment took its
place, enabling the 120th to retire with
Carr's brigade.
"De Trobriand, writing lately, and after
he had been able to examine all the other
authorities, says that Humphreys's division
was gravely compromised after Graham
had been dislodged from the Peach or-
chard. The rebels outflanked his left,
and they were moving to attack his front
at the same time. Then with splendid
coolness and under a terrible fire he effected
a change of front without ceasing to carry
on the combat. His right held out to the
Emmitsburg road (that was Carr's bri-
gade), and his left extended towards Round
Top in the direction where Birney wished
to form a new line, and this undaunted
left was the 120th. And De Trobriand
adds that this dangerous movement could
not have been carried out except with
troops exceptionally firm, and at the cost of
great sacrifice."
Thomas V. Cooper said in his address at
the dedication of the monument of the
26th Pa.: "About 3 p. m. our 3d Corps.
moved to the front, with our brigade at the
celebrated Peach orchard, and our regi-
ment covering the right flank of the di-
vision, separated from Hancock's 2d Corps.
by a gap which proved inviting to the
enemy, for here immediate and repeated
attempts were made to pierce our lines by
bold dashes and charges. All of them
were resisted, and but one came near ac-
complishing its destructive purpose. This
was late in the evening, when a large rebel
force, covered by smoke of the guns,
quickly crossed the Emmitsburg road, and
protected by the depression at the right of
the little and now demolished stone house
which flanked the Peach orchard, with
sudden rush and yell plunged itself upon
our already depleted ranks. Then the
26th, and the 1st Mass., our gallant Yan-
kee companions upon many battlefields,
obeyed the order of Col. Blaisdell and
Major Bodine, and change direction by
the left flank, in the very face of overpow-
July 2, 1863]
The Final Victory
ering numbers. In this way the charge
was checked, and the enemy were kept
closely engaged until a division from the 2d
corps came to our relief and saved the line.
This struggle was the most deadly of the
day, and of the entire battle, and as well of
any battle known to the war....These
frightful losses were largely due to the hero-
ic change of direction made by the two
regiments named while under fire and at
close quarters--the most difficult move-
ment known to military tactics, and the one
above all others calling for quick intelli-
gence and high courage.
"Rothermel's great painting selects the
charge of Pickett's division and the stone
angle guarded by the 2d Corps under Han-
cock as the dramatic point of the struggle,
and it was upon the third day; but neither
this point, nor Little Round Top, nor Culp's
hill, nor Buford's famous dismounted men
stood a shock like that hurled against
Humphrey's division of the 3d Corps, and
especially against our 1st Brigade. Truth-
ful history will show that the valor and
sacrifice at and near the Peach orchard
equalled any ever known to the world upon
any battle-field.”
The Comte de Paris explains the real
situation when he says: "It is near seven
o'clock. Humphreys has only two brigades
with him; his left is turned; his right,
poorly connected with the 2d corps, which
Caldwell's departure has weakened, is only
covered by two regiments of Harrow's
brigade, and three strong brigades are on
the march to attack him. In order to an-
ticipate them, Humphreys, like a true war-
rior, desires to go forward to meet them.
But Birney, foreseeing disaster to his own
division, orders him to fall back, keeping
his left from participating in the movement
and bringing his right back to the 2d.
231
In the midst of the tumultuous sounds of
battle, this is accomplished with wonderful
precision; the battallions are massing in
double column, and execute a backward
march in line; then, making a quarter-wheel
halting at the point indicated to them by
their chief, they resume the line of battle,
and open at once a well sustained fire of
musketry against the assailants, who are
almost upon them. Humphreys also suc-
ceeds in taking position along the line which
it is all-important to preserve. But the
trial was a hard one; he will himself ac-
knowledge here that he thought at one time
all was lost. He has left one half of his
effective force upon the battle-field, and it
is necessary to count the flags that are
floating along his line in order to realize
the fact that it represents ten regiments."
All the flags were there. We saved ours
too. Corporal Nathaniel M. Allen of Co. B
was one of the heroes of the battle.
When the color sergeant was shot down he
turned back under a shower of bullets,
lifted the flag from the ground, and carried
it off in safety. For this he was awarded
the congressional medal of honor.
Here is an incident told by Bachelder in
"Gettysburg. What to see and how to
see it" (Gettysburg, 1873):
"In the thick of the fight, as General
Humphreys and his officers were using
every exertion to hold the troops, the
General saw Captain Chester of his staff
spring with a convulsive start; turning
to his commander, Chester said, 'General,
I'm shot!' General Humphreys, who had
noted his gallantry in sustaining the line,
sprang to his assistance, and clasping him
with his arm, sustained him in the saddle
until Captain Harry Humphreys, his son,
could take him in charge. An orderly
took the horse to lead him from the field,
}
232
[Gettsyburg, Pa.
Battle of Gettsyburg

BATTERIES
B******
Emmittsburg
N
Road
ROB
RIAND
KERSHA
WOFFORD
A
BARKSDALE
GRAHAM
Reach
orchard
E
B
HUMPHREYS
Den
Wheat
Field
Last Line ofthe.
=
Rebels
Union Main Line.
ATLE
ROUND
TOP
when at the instant a round shot killed
the horse and carried away the orderly's
head. At this moment General Humphreys's
horse, bleeding from seven bullet wounds,
was struck by a shell, and springing convul-
sively into the air, threw his rider violently
to the ground, though fortunately not
seriously injuring him. Just then, Cap-
tain Humphreys was shot through the
arm; General Carr had his horse killed
under him, and Captains McClellan and
Cavada both had their horses killed. A
portion of the guns of Turnbull's battery
retired with prolonged firing as they went,
others were drawn off by hand, by the in-
fantry, and others were captured. By
this almost superhuman effort the attack-
ing force was held in check, until portions
of the First, Second, and Twelfth Corps
could be brought up by General Meade,
and a new line formed on Cemetery Ridge;
here the battle ended on the left for the
night."
L
Note:From A to Kis just One Mile
after Birney passed from immediate con-
trol of it to command of the corps, but
there was never a minute that afternoon
when our division was not under complete
control of Gen. Humphreys as a division,
and that is a rare testimony to his gen-
eralship. It was a calamity for us when
he was made chief of staff and succeeded
by Gen. Prince.
Several generals testified that the 3d
Corps was cut to pieces in those last hours,
even that it did not exist as a corps.
That
may have been true of the 1st Division
When the fighting ended on the second
day the Union line included the two Round
Tops and the wheatfield, and ran thence
through the woods in front of the J. Wei-
kert house to Cemetery ridge, with a
strong picket line including our regiment
on the Emmitsburg road. That portion
of the field between the Emmitsburg road
and Cemetery ridge was held as at the
beginning by union troops. The confed-
erate brigades of Anderson's division re-
tired to their original position in the woods
to the west. Some of Longstreet's troops
clung to their lodgment at the Devil's den
and held the Emmitsburg road to the
Peach orchard (xxvii, part 2, reports of
Anderson, Wilcox, and Wright).

July 2, 1863]
Gen. Longstreet's Account
233
the only return I can make for this noble
memorial to the strong right arm of the
confederacy is to send her a copy of these
reminiscences of an insignificant little
fifer.
The Comte de Paris sums up the final re-
sult: "Wilcox taken in flank by McGil-
very's artillery instead of the retreating
soldiers he was pursuing meets Humphreys
in good order on one side and Hancock's
reserves on the other, thus finding himself
within a circle of fire where he leaves 500
men out of the 1600 which composed his
command. Rather forsaken than van-
quished these two brigades strike once
more the Emmitsburg road. The last
effort of the confederates against the fed- battle-field. Directly in front of us, oc-
eral left wing has failed."
GEN. JAMES E. B. STUART, 1833-64
Much of the responsibility for the de-
feat has been attributed to Gen. Stuart,
whose cavalry was not at hand to inform
and protect the confederates, but his
action will always remain a matter of con-
troversy.
Much the most vivid and accurate
account of this day's battle was published
in a newspaper about that time by Gen.
Longstreet, and is reprinted in "Lee and
Longstreet at High Tide" (Gainesville,
Ga., 1905), written and published by his
widow. In reply to my request for per-
mission to copy it, she not only gave
courteous assent but sent me an auto-
graph copy of the book. It is a descent
from the sublime to the ridiculous that
"At half-past three o'clock the order
was given General Hood to advance upon
the enemy, and, hurrying to the head of
McLaws's division, I moved with his line.
Then was fairly commenced what I do not
hesitate to pronounce the best three hours'
fighting ever done by any troops on any
cupying the peach-orchard, on a piece of
elevated ground that General Lee desired
me to take and hold for his artillery, was
the Third Corps of the Federals, com-
manded by General Sickles.
"Prompt to the order the combat open-
ed, followed by artillery of the other corps,
and our artillerists measured up to the
better metal of the enemy by vigilant
work...
"In his usual gallant style Hood led
his troops through the rocky fastnesses
against the strong lines of his earnest ad-
versary, and encountered battle that call-
ed for all of his power and skill. The en-
emy was tenacious of his strong ground;
his skillfully handled batteries swept
through the passes between the rocks;
the more deadly fire of infantry concen-
trated as our men bore upon the angle of
the enemy's line and stemmed the fiercest
onset until it became necessary to shorten
their work by a desperate charge. This
pressing struggle and the cross-fire of our
batteries broke in the salient angle, but
the thickening fire, as the angle was pressed
back, hurt Hood's left and held him in a
steady fight. His right brigade was drawn
steady fight.
It is a descent
towards Round Top by the heavy fire pour-
234
[Gettysburg, Pa.
Battle of Gettysburg
ing from that quarter, Benning's brigade
was pressed to the thickening line of the
angle, and G. T. Anderson's was put in
support of the battle growing against
Hood's right.
"I rode to McLaws, found him ready
for his opportunity, and Barksdale chafing
in his wait for the order to seize the bat-
tery in his front. Kershaw's brigade of
his right first advanced and struck near
the angle of the enemy's line where his
forces were gathering strength. After
additional caution to hold his ranks closed,
McLaws ordered Barksdale in. With
glorious bearing he sprang to his work,
overriding obstacles and dangers. With-
out a pause to deliver a shot, he had the
battery. Kershaw, joined by Semmes's
brigade, responded, and Hood's men, feel-
ing the impulse of relief, resumed their
bold fight, and presently the enemy's line
was broken through its length. But his
well-seasoned troops knew how to utilize
the advantage of their ground and put
back their dreadful fires from rocks, de-
pressions, and stone fences, as they went
for shelter about Little Round Top.
The fighting had become tremendous, and
brave men and officers were stricken by
hundreds. Posey and Wilcox dislodged
the forces about the Brick House.
ed!
"General Sickles was desperately wound-
"General Willard was dead!
"General Semmes, of McLaws's division
was mortally wounded!
•
"I had one brigade-Wofford's-that
had not been engaged in the hottest bat-
tle. To urge the troops to their reserve
power in the precious moments, I rode
with Wofford. The rugged field, the
rough plough of artillery fire, and the pierc-
ing musket-shots delayed somewhat the
march, but Alexander dashed up with his
batteries and gave new spirit to the worn
infantry ranks. . . . While Meade's lines
were growing my men were dropping; we
had no others to call to their aid, and the
weight against us was too heavy to carry.
•
Nothing was heard or felt but the
clear ring of the enemy's fresh metal as
it came against us. No other part of the
army had engaged! My seventeen thou-
sand against the Army of the Potomac!
The sun was down, and with it went down
the severe battle."
July 3. The Battle continued. About 3
P. M. the whole Rebel Artillery was pointed
upon our Centre. The firing was terrific
and said to be the hardest of the war. It
hardly seemed as hard to me though as on
Saturday night at Chancellorsville. where
there seemed to be a regular clockwork move-
ment. But with all their firing our men
held their position and the Battle of Get-
tysburg is a Federal Victory.
Our part in the third day's battle was not
important, though we were under fire, and
were witnesses of Pickett's charge on our
right.
Gen. Carr finally reports: "At 6 a. m.
I was ordered to the rear where the balance
of the corps were in bivouac. After re-
plenishing my supply of ammunition I was
ordered to the front and left of the line to
support a division of the 5th corps which
was in the first line. At 3:22 p. m. I was
ordered to the centre of the line to support
the 2d corps. As I lay in columns of bat-
tallion closed in mass I suffered severely
from the artillery fire of the enemy.
"At dusk I was ordered to my former
position where I remained."
Gen. Humphreys reports: "At daylight
I began moving to the rear and the enemy

July 3, 1863]
Pickett's Charge on the Third Day
235
SCENE OF PICKETT'S CHARGE, from Signal Rock, Little Round Top
commenced shelling me fiercely. I waited
half an hour to see what they meant to do,
and then got together my 1st brigade which
was with the 1st division and put my di-
vision into some shape.
pre-
"I then moved up and formed my di-
vision in masses in rear of the 5th Corps. I
was ordered to move quickly to the right
and form in columns of attack and be
pared to advance. I did so and remained
massed in rear of seven batteries that were
near the ground I had first of all occupied
on the night of July 1. I sustained a loss
there from artillery fire of seven very val-
uable officers and somewhat less than 100
men.
We did not advance and the enemy
did not renew the attack. Towards night
I returned to my position further to the.
left, where I remained until we marched
from Gettysburg
27
Gen. Longstreet's account is as follows:
"Never was I so depressed as upon that
day. I felt that my men were to be sac-
rificed, and that I should have to order
them to make a hopeless charge. I had
instructed General Alexander, being un-
willing to trust myself with the entire
responsibility, to carefully observe the
effect of the fire upon the enemy, and when
it began to tell to notify Pickett to begin
the assault. I was so much impressed
with the hopelessness of the charge that
I wrote the following note to General
Alexander:
"If the artillery fire does not have the
effect to drive off the enemy or greatly
demoralize him, so as to make our efforts
pretty certain, I would prefer that you
should not advise General Pickett to make
the charge. I shall rely a great deal on
your judgment to determine the matter,
and shall expect you to let Pickett know
when the moment offers.'
"To my note the general replied as fol-
lows:
"I will only be able to judge the effect
of our fire upon the enemy by his return
fire, for his infantry is but little exposed
to view, and the smoke will obscure the
whole field. If, as I infer from your note,
there is an alternative to this attack, it
should be carefully considered before open-
ing our fire, for it will take all of the
artillery ammunition we have left to test
this one thoroughly, and if the result is
unfavorable, we will have gone left for
236
[Gettsyburg, Pa.
The Battle of Gettsyburg

PICKETT'S CHARGE
another effort, and even if this is entirely
successful it can only be so at a very
bloody cost.'
"I still desired, to save my men, and
felt that if the artillery did not produce
the desired effect I would be justified in
holding Pickett off. I wrote this note to
Colonel Walton at exactly 1.30 p. m.:
<<
'Let the batteries open. Order great
precision in firing. If the batteries in the
peach-orchard cannot be used against the
point we intend attacking, let them open
on the enemy at Rocky Hill.'
"The cannonading which opened along
both lines was grand. In a few moments
a courier brought a note to General Pick-
ett (who was standing near me) from Alex-
ander, which, after reading, he handed me.
It was as follows:
66
'If you are coming at all you must
come at once, or I cannot give you proper
support; but the enemy's fire has not slack-
ened at all: at least eighteen guns are still
firing from the cemetery itself.'
"After I had read the note Pickett said
to me, 'General, shall I advance?' My
feelings had so overcome me that I would
not speak for fear of betraying my want
of confidence to him. I bowed affirmation
and turned to mount my horse. Pickett
immediately said, 'I shall lead my division
forward, sir.' I spurred my horse to a
wood where Alexander was stationed with
artillery. When I reached him he told
me of the disappearance of the seven guns
which were to have lead the charge with
Pickett, and that his ammunition was so
low that he could not properly support
漩
​July 3-5, 1863]
After the Battle
237

BODIES ON THE BATTLEFIELD
the charge. I at once ordered him to
stop Pickett until the ammunition had
been replenished. He informed me that
he had no ammunition with which to re-
plenish. I then saw that there was no
help for it, and that Pickett must advance
under his orders. He swept past our ar-
tillery in splendid style, and the men
marched steadily and compactly down
the slope. As they started up the ridge
over one hundred cannon from the breast-
works of the Federals hurled a rain of
canister, grape, and shell down upon
them; still they pressed on until half-way
up the slope, when the crest of the hill
was lit with a solid sheet of flame as the
masses of infantry rose and fired. When
the smoke cleared away Pickett's division
was gone. Nearly two-thirds of his men
lay dead on the field, and the survivors
were sullenly retreating down the hill.
Mortal man could not have stood that
fire. In half an hour the contested field
was cleared and the battle of Gettysburg
was over.
"When this charge had failed I expect-
ed that of course the enemy would throw
himself against our shattered ranks and
try to crush us."
July 4. Rainy. Our men went out to
bury the dead. The Battle is over. Got
wet through at night.
July 5. Rainy. Went out on the Battle-
field. An awful sight. Men, horses, all
lying in heaps as far as the eye could reach.
Got plate, etc., and some relics.
I should not dare to print or even to tell
the horrible sights I saw. Bodies had be-
come swollen till they were inconceivably
distorted: I recollect a man whose bladder
protruded and was inflated to‐a foot in
diameter. The picture on page 176 must
238
[Gettysburg, Pa.
Battle of Gettysburg
be drawn from memory, for not a body on
the field looked as natural as that after the
field was open to us. It is a terrible sight
to see on the field the bodies of the freshly
slain, but when they lie twenty-four hours,
they become unnatural and the sight be-
comes distressing.
Benton says: "For the most part the
dead were lying on their backs with wide-
open, expressionless eyes. In a few in-
stances the features were drawn and dis-
torted in a manner which gave an expres-
sion of great pain and horror. I supposed
at the time that these victims suffered very
painful deaths, but after experiences con-
vinced me that the expression of the feat-
ures after death gives no clue whatever to
the presence or absence of pain before
death takes possession. * * *
"All were bloating and blackening in the
July heat, and the air was filled with that
indescribably sickening odor never found
save on a summer battle-field. Trees cut
and mangled in their full leafage; thousands
of camp-fires from which ascended the
smoke and steam of wet burning wood and
blood saturated clothing; the putrefac-
tion of human and animal remains, all
combined and blended to assail, lest the
sense of sight should not be sufficient, the
sense of smell as well."
Carl Schurz says of this field: “There can
be no more hideous sight than that of
corpses on a battlefield, after they have
been exposed a day or more to the sun in
hot weather-the bodies swollen to mon-
strous size, the faces bloated and black,
the eyes bulging out with a dead stare,
all their features puffed out almost beyond
recognition, some lying singly or in rows,
others in heaps, having fallen over one an-
other, some in attitudes of peaceful repose,
.
others with arms raised, others in a sitting
posture, others on their knees, others
clawing the earth, many horribly distorted
by what must have been a frightful death-
struggle."
One thing impressed us all, the universal
confederate skill in self-protection. We
learned something of it afterward, but I
do not think before Gettysburg we had
done much more than to get behind stones
and trees, when possible, and to throw up
company entrenchments. Here we could
see that every soldier had dug his own little
rifle-pit, with knife or spoon or plate or
bayonet, and we realized that even six
inches of dirt in front and a depression of
six inches behind made a breast work that
to many a man lying in line made the
difference between life and death.
We lost at Gettysburg 5291 in killed
and those who died of their wounds, and
the losses on both sides in killed and
wounded were more than Washington
ever had under his command at any onę
time.
At Balaklava the Light Brigade took
637 men and officers into the charge. They
lost 113 killed and 134 wounded, or al-
together 36.7%. At Gettysburg 20 dif-
ferent regiments lost more than 50%.
The charge of the Light Brigade at
Balakalava was a failure in result while the
charge of the Heavy Brigade under Col.
Scarlett was a striking success. It was
equally brave, but no one knows about it
because Tennyson did not write a poem
about it. It was so in the Revolutionary
war, as Dr. Andrew S. Draper has so well
pointed out; New York had the soldiers
but Massachusetts had the historians.
CHAPTER XX. BACK TO VIRGINIA

///
ARCHING back to
Virginia was in
some respects un-
welcome, but at
least we marched
back as
victors.
Why did not Gen.
Meade act more
like a victor? He seemed as afraid after
the battle as before.
July 6. Rainy. An order was read from
Gen Mead stating that French had des-
troyed the Pontoons. Why don't they let us
follow the Rebels. Pennsylvanians are
anxious to avenge their brothers who have
fallen.
I cannot express the impatience of the
army at being held back from snatching
the fruits of victory. Gen. Sickles said at
the dedication of the New York monu-
ments at Gettysburg: "Some time after the
close of the war I asked Gen. Alexander,
who commanded Lee's artillery at Gettys-
burg, what would have been the result if
our reserves of infantry and cavalry had
been thrown on the right flank and rear of
the confederates after their defeat. He
answered, “The war would have ended in
an hour."
Lee ordered a retreat at 2 o'clock on the
morning of the 4th. The wagon train 17
miles long started at 4 o'clock in the after-
noon, in a drenching rain, with peremptory
orders that there should be no halt for any
cause whatever. Nearly the whole train
reached Williamsport on the afternoon of
the 5th, and found the river was 10 feet
above the fording line, an easy prey if we
had followed.
Gen. Hunt, our chief of artillery testi-
fied: "If an immediate and vigorous and
successful attack had been made after the
repulse on the 3d, we should most likely
have captured all the enemy's artillery.
I should have advised an attack as soon as
the troops could be collected. We must
risk to win."
Before the congressional committee all
the witnesses but Gen. Meade state that it
was apparent in the morning of the 7th of
July that the enemy were in full retreat,
and Generals Pleasanton, Warren, Bering
and others state that they counselled im-
mediate pursuit. Gen. Birney says that
he obtained permission to attack that
morning, but just as he commenced the
movement, a staff officer rode up with a
written order not to attack but to let the
enemy go.
Gen. Howe states that his division had
the lead of the 6th corps, after passing
Boonsboro, but he was directed to move care-
fully, and not to come in contact with the
enemy, as a general engagement was not
desired.
Gen. Meade says that even on the 5th of
July he was not satisfied that the enemy
was in full retreat and was not aware of
the injury he had inflicted. He testified
that he believed an engagement would
have resulted disastrously, but no other
general that appeared thought so. Gen.
Hancock dictated a dispatch from his
surgeon's couch to Meade "If the 6th
and 5th corps have passed up, the enemy
will be destroyed. The enemy must be
short of ammunition, as I was shot with a
ten-penny nail." Benton says: "That
239
240
[Emmetsburg, Md.
Back to Virginia
.
heavy cannonading previous to Pickett's
charge must have exhausted the enemy's
store of artillery ammunition, and our
men knew of it and talked of it at the time.
Short sections of railroad iron were among
the curiosities of projectiles that were
hurled among us, and once a large stone
struck a tree directly over my head, the
pieces dropping to the ground about me."
Gen. Hancock testified: "I think the ene-
my, from peculiarity of characteristic and
climate, and possibly other reasons, at-
tack with more vivacity, but I do not think
they continue the fight with the same ener-
gy as our troops do when serious resistance
is made. There is no finer army in the
world than the army of the Potomac.
The troops will do anything if they are
only ordered. If they have not made this
or that attack it is because their command-
ers did not order them to make it. It is
more difficult to stand and receive an at-
tack-see it coming on before you are
called upon to take part in it—than in any
other operation in war. I have always had
troops that were eager to attack, and I
judge it has been owing to the policy or
temperament of the commander that that
has not been our system."
Gen. Howe testified: "I have been 22
years in the army; I graduated in 1841.
I was in what was known as Turks's di-
vision in the war with Mexico, on Gen.
Scott's side and before we left Puebla to go
into the valley of Mexico there was a great
deal of pride and emulation between that
division and another division commanded
by Gen. Worth, as to which should become
the most efficient, and I refer to the con-
dition of things at Puebla as showing per-
haps the highest degree of efficiency in any
light division that we have had since I have
been in the service.
“And when I came to compare the per-
sonel of this army, the degree of efficiency
of which it is capable of rapidly attaining,
with anything I have before seen, I may
say that I do not think the old army can
compare with this one. There is a de-
gree of military efficiency and dis-
cipline, a skill and ability to perform oper-
tions, that I have never seen equalled at all
in the best showing I have ever seen in the
old army. The character and intelligence
of the men is markedly superior; they are
men of far more intelligence, and more
readily acquire efficiency in military mat-
ters. Except for the high character of the
rank and file as men of intelligence and
ability to understand, I cannot acconnt for
the good morals of our army as it stands at
this day, in the face of the failures and dis-
appointments and mortifications which
they have met.”
Thus the fruits of the battle were dis-
carded. As is well known, Lincoln ex-
pressed his disapprobation so strongly that
Meade resigned, but was persuaded to con-
tinue in command. Meade reports: "I
did not fail to attack the enemy at Wil-
liamsport till I could do so safely; I simply
delayed the attack until, by examination.
of his position, I could do so with some
reasonable degree of probability that the
attack would be successful. He withdrew
before this information could be obtained."
If Mark Twain had written that it would
be funnier than anything he has given us in
twenty years.
Gen. Meade reported: "It was not until
late in the evening (23) that the enemy de-
bouched from the pass sufficiently to de-
ploy any larger force than the 3d corps,
though this was followed by the 5th and
6th. During the night the 12th and two
divisions of the 6th were ordered up and it
July 6-7, 1863]
Following the Enemy at Safe Distance
241

Emmeltsburg. Md. Gra.Mendes Arver
was my intention to attack with my whole
force, in the hope of separating the force of
the enemy and capturing such portions as
had not reached the passes. I regret to in-
form you that on advancing this morning at
daylight the enemy had again disappeared,
declining battle, and though an immediate
advance was made and Front Royal oc-
cupied nothing was seen of him but a rear
guard of cavalry with a battery of ar-
tillery."
July 7. Rainy. Started after the Rebels
at last. Passed through Emmetsburg and
near there got splendid dinner of green peas,
etc. At the College of St. Mary, Dinners
and good dinners, too, were furnished at 10
cts each. Halted the other side of Mechan-
icstown. Was wet through at night of course.

HAGERSTOWN. VA.
WASHINGTON HOUSE
242
[Harper's Ferry, Va.
Back to Virginia

A
灣
​SHARPSBURG, VA.
It will be observed from the map that
while the southern army went down the
western side of the mountains straight to
Hagerstown and Williamsport, where they
were to cross, we came down the east side.
For sometime Hagerstown was the con-
federate headquarters. Our march to
Williamsport was more than twice as long
as theirs.
We had an order to move at 3:00 a. m.,
and after marching 7 miles halted for
breakfast. We marched 17 miles farther,
bivouacking at 5 p. m.
July 8. Rainy. Went ahead of the Reg't,
and got into Frederick early, spending all
my money and eating everything I could get
hold of. The 7th N. Y. were there.
We passed through Lewinsville and Kit-
toctan furnaces, and bivouacked three or
four miles beyond Frederick City.
July 9. Pleasant!!! For the first time in
3 weeks we have got a pleasant day. But I
was sick and unable to keep up with the Reg't
so I stopped in a barn with McArty of Co.
G. over night.
Sleeping on the wet ground night after
night proved too much for me for a day or
two. The regiment crossed the Kittock-
tan mountains through Fox gap. At this
place Gen. Carr took command of our
division. Since Gen. Sickles was wounded,
Gen. French had been in command of the
corps.
July 10. Pleasant. Went on to Boons-
boro where I saw George Cripps, and went
back with him to where he left the Div. Ar-
riving there found they had gone to Boons-
boro, so I laid down and went to sleep.
This confounding of the verbs lie and lay
seems my commonest grammatical error,
but I think the distinction was less com-
monly preserved than then now, even.
among educated people. Chaplain Cud-
worth, for instance, says "Only forty
laid down in the rain ", and the last words
written by Lt. Col. Dwight of the 2d
July 7-14, 1863]
The Enemy had Escaped
243

LOUDON HEIGHTS, showing Harper's Ferry, Maryland Heights, etc.
Our
Mass., a Harvard graduate, were
troops have left the part of the field
where I lay, the verb being present."
The weather suddenly changed from cold
to intensely hot, and marching was ex-
hausting. The regiment passed through
Keedysville, crossed the Little Amsterdam
on the stone bridge, and bivouacked at
7:00 p. m. At 10:50 it started again,
proceeded to Brook mill, recrossed the An-
tietam, and bivouacked at 3:00 a. m. in a
wheatfield on the Boonsboro and Williams-
port turnpike.
July 11. Pleasant. Went back to the Reg't,
and got the mail. Moved a little in P. M.
I found it glad of a morning's rest, but at
3:00 p. m. we moved a mile and a half to
Roxbury mills.
July 12. Pleasant. Got some water in
the morning at the best spring I ever saw in
my life. Moved ahead in the afternoon to
within 1/2 mile of the front.
In the morning we received orders to
attack and hoped a blow was at last to be
struck. But we remained inactive till
three in the afternoon, when we advanced
a mile and bivouacked in the woods.
July 13. Rainy. Laid still during the
day. Siege Guns were sent by us to the
front. Hope that isn't a specimen of
Mead's policy. It is too MacLellanish.
The Jack of Spades.
July 14. Rainy. Our skirmishers,
smelling a rat advanced in the morning and
sure enough Johnnie had gone. The Prison-
ers laughed at our Greenness. We went

HARPER'S FERRY, Va.
ANOTHER PICTURE OF HARPER'S FERRY
21

July 14-18, 1863]
A Little Foraging
245

LAST BIVOUAC IN MARYLAND
ahead early to Williamsport & stopped for marched around Maryland heights, through
the night.
We had orders at 7:00 a. m. to move and
advanced four miles, but found the enemy's
works evacuated, and went into bivouac
on the pike, four miles from Williasmport.
They said they had but 7 rounds of am-
munition and hoped for success only by
frightening us by a great show of strength.
July 15. Cloudy. Started back to Har-
per's Ferry. Passed through Sharpsburg
and spent what money I had there.
We marched 17 miles through Fair Play,
Tilgmanton, and the battlefield of An-
tietam, and bivouacked at 11:30 p. m.
three miles beyond Sharpsburg.
July 16. D. D. Started early and went
within three miles of Harper's Ferry. Re-
quisitions for Clothing, and Pay Rolls.
Blackberries in profusion.
We started at a quarter of eight and
Boonsboro. The view was magnificent.
July 17. D. D. Started about 4 P. M.
and went through. Harper's Ferry into Va.
again.
Thomas Jefferson declared Harper's
Ferry one of the most stupendous scenes
in nature, and well worth a voyage across
the Atlantic to witness.
We crossed the Potomac on a pontoon
bridge at Sandy Hook, and crossed the
Shenandoah by a wire bridge. As we
passed through the town we were especially
interested of course in the engine house
where John Brown was captured four years
before. It was close by the water, on the
principal street.
July 18. Pleasant. Got a 75 ct loaf of
Bread on the road and didn't pay for it.
I told that story of the loaf of bread
once in 1871 in The Weston Boarding
246
[Harper's Ferry, Va.
Back to Virginia
School Cadet. There is a feeble attempt at
dialect, but so far as I can remember the
incidents were exactly as stated, so I quote
the article here.
Ye see, stranger, me and Prest was a
stragglin'. Prest, he was a long, lean,
lank, slab-sided Down-earster—not more'n
eighteen-year old; but law! that chap graw
inches faster'n he grew months. His feet
was the wust; why that feller, he'd set out
on a march with shoes he could jump into,
and afore we'd been out a week, that crit-
ter's foot would' a grown bigger'n his shoe,
and he'd go hobble-de-hobble, hobble-de-
hobble, blistered up no end. So he couldn't
keep 'long with the regiment, and he used
to fall out, and travel with me. For I tell
you what, stranger, I never did like to
march in the company-this keep'n in
fours, and haltin' along for an hour while
the front column's gettin' over a brook, and
then makin' up for it the rest o' the day is
wusser'n the travel itself. So I allus used
to kind o' slink out in the mornin' and go my
own gait, and when it cum night, I was up
with 'em, and not half so tired, neither.
Wal! this time me and Prest was a joggin'
along 'twas after Gettysburg, and we was
a goin' up one side o' the Blue Ridge, and
the Johnnies on the t'other-and we tuk a
notion we'd have some soft bread: hard-
tack, and salt junk is better'n nuthin', but
we'd had four weeks of it stiddy, and we
wanted sumthin' fresher. So we stepped
into a little Virginia shanty, and we asked
the old woman if she could bake us a loaf
o' bread. She was a cross-lcokin' old
heifer, and she growled out she'd like to
know where the money was comin' to pay
So I pulled out an old pocketbook
stuffed full o' paper, and I slapped it, 'n
told her we was Kurnel McLaughlin's or-
derly'n cook, and we was gettin' up a dinner
} }
fur him. So she pulled out o' her oven a
loaf of bread-reg'lar Maryland loaf-
big as a milkpan, 'n white'n light as a heap
'o snow, 'n she said we could have that for
a dollar. Now, ye know, stranger, we
hadn't seen a greenback since the last pay-
day, three months gone, but I told the miser-
ly old crone, sez I, “That's what we alluz
pay," sez I "That's all hunk. And now,'
sez I, kind 'o feelin' my way, "the Kurnel,"
sez I, “he wants some biscuit for dinner,
most particularly. Couldn't ye' bake him
a dozen or two?" And the old she-wolf,
she thought we must be flush o' rhino, so
sez she, her greedy old eyes snappin, "Yes.
I can cook a dozen for a dollar'n a half."
So I told her that was dirt cheap, 'n that I
would wait for 'em.
Now, ye' see, stranger, the bother of it
was to get Prest started along with the loaf
o' soft-tack. Wal, I seen the old woman's
oven wouldn't hold but a dozen biscuit at a
time, so while she was mixin' up, sez I,
"Don't ye' know some other lady as could
bake us another dozen while you was a
bakin' these? Our Kurnel's an awful
eater," sez I. So she said her sister lived
about a quarter of a mile on, and she might
bake us some, though she prob'ly wouldn't
do is so cheap. So I told Prest to go on
to that house (winkin' to him), and get
some biscuit started, and wait for me.
Just as he was goin' out o' the door, sez I:
"Hold on thar; you've got a knapsack and
I ain't. Our Kurnel's so particular to have
his bread look smooth, you'd better put it
into your knapsack." He seen the p'int to
wunst, and begun to unstrap the knapsack.
The old woman, she kind o' smelt a rat, and
said she didn't want no vittles to go till
they was paid for, but I pulled out my old
greenback-holder agin, and I slapped it
agin, and asked her wasn't I goin' to stay
July 18, 1863]
Foraging
....
247

RETURNING FROM A Foraging EXPEDITION
till them biscuits was baked? So she let
So she let
him go, kind o' onwillin' like, 'n he started
off his with the soft-tack. After he'd had
time to get a good piece down the road, I
begun to kalkilate how I was goin' to git
away. Ye' see I'd taken off my haversack
'n canteen, 'n I couldn't git 'em on without
wakin' up the old woman. But she had a
little youngster runnin' around, 'n I called
him up 'n asked him how he would like to
be a soldier? He was a impudent little
cus (tomer), and he said as how if he was a
soldier he'd shoot every darn Yankee he
seen. I kind o' flattered him 'n got him
good-natured, 'n then I told him to put on
my fixin's 'n see how he'd like to wear 'em.
So he put the straps around his neck, 'n
tried to walk. But I told him that wasn't
right: 'n I took 'em, and sez I, “You see,"
sez I, "ye' put on this haversack on, so;
'n then ye' put on this canteen on, so; and
then when they say, 'Forward,' ye' start
off, so; left, right; left, right; left, right."
So I went on till I got outside the front
gate, 'n then sez I, "When they say,
'Double quick,' I go so;" 'n the way I cut
down that road would a made greased
lightnin' ashamed of hisself. The wind was
a coinin' toward me, and it fetched along
the old woman's cusses, as she stood in the
door, 'n see her Yankee customer gittin'
down the road. But bymeby I cotched up
with Prest, 'n such a dinner as
was a caution, stranger.
we had
This was, so far as I remember the only
foraging I did in the army, except at Mine
Run to aid in killing a cow we found in a
pasture. The Virginia we marched over
had reached Sheridan's ideal, a country so
devastated that a crow flying over it would
have to carry his rations with him. Some-
times we traded for a pie or a hoecake, but
J
248
[Harper's Ferry, Va.
Back to Virginia

;
TREASURE befkeRS.
the people were so poor we usually made
excuses to give them the best of the bar-
gain. If this old woman had shown a
different spirit we should have left her
something she would have regarded as
more than an equivalent for her loaf of
bread.
I sometimes regretted that I had missed
this element of a soldier's life that is us-
ually so prominent. It was best exem-
plified on Sherman's march to the sea,
where the men were not only permitted
but encouraged to plunder the country in
order to cut off supplies from the confed-
erate army. Major George Ward Nichol's.
"The Story of the Great March" (N. Y.,
1865) is startling in its frank relation of the
spirit there.
We are familiar with the plundering by
European armies. When Blucher was
taken to the dome of St. Paul's his ex-
clamation was "Ach! Vat a zity var to
zack!" Marlborough's advice in Flanders.
was "Always quarter upon the enemy, my
lads, always quarter upon the enemy."
During the Peninsular war the French
frequently wore British uniforms they had
stripped from their dead adversaries.
Thomas Hasker, who fought at Waterloo
said, "I lay bleeding from a dozen wounds.
and was soon covered with blood. I was
plundered by the French soliders of my
watch, money, canteen, haversack, and
trowsers, notwithstanding the balls from
the British were dropping on all sides as
I lay there."
Southey describes the looting by French
soldiers on Massena's retreat from Portugal
as scientific. They were provided with
tools for the work of pillage, and broke
open furniture from behind so that no
valuables could be hidden. They exam-
ined whether there was new masonry or if
any part of the cellar had been disturbed.
They poured water, and if it were absorbed
in one place faster than in another they dug
July 18, 1863]
Foraging
249

THE "BUMMER, "
there for buried treasure. The habit of
living by prey called forth, as in beasts, the
faculty for discovering it.
This very habit is described by Nichols,
who even gives this picture of it, as he does
this other of "The bummer", a type of
creature that Sherman's army found useful,
and of which Nichols speaks not without
respect.
Most of the foraging done by our other
armies was apparently surreptitious. A
drummer captured a couple of geese and
hid them inside his drum. Presently the
colonel observed that the drummer was not
playing, and called out, "Why don't you
beat that drum?" "Colonel, I want to
speak to you," the man said. The colonel
drew close and asked, "Well, what have you
to say?" "Colonel," he
"Colonel," he whispered, "I
have two geese in here."
"Of course if
you are sick you need not play," said the
colonel in a loud voice; and he had roast
goose for supper.
1?"
There was a good deal of good-natured
banter. A picket went to a near-by house
and asked to borrow a frying-pan. The
woman brought it, but the man stood
looking it over. "Well," she said, "is
there anything more I can do for you!
"Could you lend me a piece of meat to fry
in it?" he asked, laughing in spite of
himself: and he got it. One man com-
plained, with a winning smile "I haven't
had a mouthful for three days, to-day, to-
morrow, and next day.”
Sometimes the foraging was above board.
Gen. Paine said to a woman who com-
plained of losing chickens, "We're going
to put down the rebellion if it takes every
chicken in Tennessee."
Saw a lot of Randolph boys in the 10th Vt.
Had a good dinner. Reached Hillsborough.
Got our mail.
We moved to what was called Wood
grove, nearer eight miles than six. We
marched up Sweet Run to Hillsborough,
250
[Upperville, Va.
Back to Virginia


WHEN THE MULE IS REFRACTORY
July 18-20, 1863]
The Army Mule
251

MULE SHOEING IN THE ARMY
which was in the vicinity of Snicker's gap,
on the eastern base of the Blue Ridge
mountains. We were keeping within easy
marching distance of the gaps, so as to
guard them from the confederate army,
which was marching down the Shenandoah
valley on the other side of the mountains.
July 19. Very hot.
went about 6 miles.
Started early and
Started early and
Saw some splendid
mules on the Cavalry Train.
The mule is usually thought of as having
no pride of ancestry or hope of posterity
and therefore despicable, but a team of
mules is much more valuable and effective
than a team of horses of corresponding
grade. Such mules as these were noble
animals.
The braying of the mules was inter-
preted to call "Jo-o-o Hooker, Hooker,
Hooker!"
July 20. Had my things carried in
Carr's Ambulance, and lost haversack, eti,
in P. M.
We started at four in the morning, and
reached Upperville at noon.
I had a way of getting into a wagon train
and putting my things on behind one of the
wagons, for even light articles become
heavy on a march. Usually I walked
behind beside them, but this time I cut
across the field and waited for the ambu-
lance to come around the road. It came,
but on the way somebody had stolen my
rubber blanket, haversack, and canteen,
all I had left of stuff I had started out with
from winter quarters. That meant I must
absolutely go without these things till there
was the next distribution of clothing. All
I had in the world was the clothes on my
back. Curiously enough this was the last
day of my first year in the army: not a
very profitable enterprise so far.

CHAPTER XXI. THE BATTLE OF WAPPING HEIGHTS
BATTLE
that probably
you
never
heard of, yet
Gen. Meade
expected
Wapping
Heights to be
greater than
Gettysburg.
To us it was largely a joke.
July 21. Pleasant. One year ago today
I enlisted. Gen. Carr wouldn't let us go
around when we came to a stream but made
us wade right through.
I have a general feeling that we never
liked Gen. Carr very well, though there was
GEN. JOSEPH H. CARR. 1828-95
no marked expression that I remember.
We compared every one with Fighting Jo
Hooker.
We moved to Piedmont, on the Manas-
sas Gap R. R., starting at 2:30 and biv-
ouacking at 7: p. m.
THOROUGHFARE GAP, VA.
252
#
July 21-3, 1863]
Manassas Gap
The railway had been destroyed by
Jackson during his retreat in 1862 and was
strewn with half-burned sleepers, twisted
rails, car wheels, and tin roofing. We
marched along the road beside the em-
bankment to the entrance to the gap,
passing through Springfield and Barhams-
ville. Chaplain
Chaplain Cudworth
says: "The
land now began gradually to rise, sloping
down from both sides of the mountains,
right and left to the valley between, along
which wound the road to the other side of
the ridge. In some places these moun-
tains where the ascent was gradual and
easy had been cleared of trees and bushes,
and were covered with fields of grass,
clover, and grain. In others they were en-
closed with walls and fences for the pas-
turage of cattle and sheep. The soil was
exceedingly rich, but the surface of the
ground was covered with loose stones,
some of large size, above and around which
the rank grass had grown, making the move-
ment of artillery and the maneuvering of
large bodies of men matters of no little
difficulty. The common roads, likewise,
having been at the same time roads and
beds for the mountain brooks which ran,
one to the east and the other to the west
through the gap, were rougher than any-
thing the army of the Potomac had ever
before experienced in all its marches and
travels. Movable stones of all sizes and
shapes, from the common cobble to blocks
two or three feet high and as many broad,
lay directly in the track over which ar-
tillery must proceed and the artillery be
driven. Army horses and mules usually
have a hard life; but here they were jerked
and twitched about and tripped up so
constantly that not a heart but pitied the
poor brutes. Knowing the nature of Ma-
nassas gap, the rebels had not ventured to
253
bring their forces further than to the west-
ern entrance, and had spread them out
over a series of eminences known as
Wapping heights."
July 22. Pleasant. Started about 2 P.
M. and marched along easily towards Ma-
nassas Gap. Got some splendid Black-
berries when we halted.
Those blackberries must have gone far
to preserve the health of the army after
our scant rations of salt meat. On this
particular afternoon I sat down where we
halted and filled my cap with berries with-
out moving. They were fine, large berries
too. I had never liked blackberries at
home, but after this they always seemed to
me delicious.
July 23. Pleasant.
Gap.
Reached Manassas
We halted for an hour at the entrance to
the gap, and at ten o'clock formed line of
battle and advanced up the gap half a mile.
We came up with the 1st division at Lui-
den. At two, our regiment was sent for-
ward in support of picket line and entered
upon the good-natured exchange of shots
of which I have spoken above. We
made our way in a leisurely manner up the
hill, and bivouacked on the summit. I
take this picture of the view from there
from Chaplain Cudworth's book, regretting
that I cannot name the two men who get so
much more prominence than the landscape.
He describes the view, however, as exquis-
itely beautiful. "Front Royal was in the
foreground, with the swelling ranges of Mas-
sanuten, Great North, Little North,
Branch, and Shenandoah rolling up against
the horizon like mighty billows, and disap-
pearing finally in the distant west; to the
right and left were the abrupt spurs and
towering peaks of the Blue Ridge chain,
254
[Manassas Gap, Va.
Battle of Wapping Heights

и
WWW.ANDHEW.
ON THE LOOKOUT, WAPPING HEIGHTS.
sharply defined in the clear atmosphere of
the region while to the rear stretched
in tranquil loveliness the wide expanse of
valley lying between Bull Run mountains
and the Blue Ridge, or Bull Run and the
Potomac." A view of this same landscape
from the cast is given on page 206.
Now who would imagine that this little
picnic excursion of ours was intended by
Gen. Meade to bring on a battle as impor-
tant as Gettysburg, that should sweep the
confederate army out of existence: It
was one of Gen. Meade's disappointments,
and he had a good many of them, as we
shall see later. Gen. Warren testified:
"We then moved on as rapidly as we could
and got into Manassas gap July 23. Gen.
Meade there intended to attack Gen. Lee's
army, the whole of it or any part of it,
for he knew he had got there before Lee had.
Gen. French then had the advance, and our
troops were first-rate in hand. But Gen.
French made a very feeble attack, with one
brigade only, and wasted the whole day;
and the enemy got off again at night. I
am sure Gen. Meade was more disap-
pointed in that result than in anything
else that had happened. For when the
enemy got away at Williamsport Gen.
Meade fully calculated to attack him at
Manassas gap, or some place similar to it."
In his account of the movements of our
division Gen. Carr makes more of this en-
counter than it seemed to us. He says, as
I
July 23-4, 1863]
An Opera Bouffe Contest
I have condensed it: "Early in the morn-
ing followed the road to Masassas gap. At
Luiden came up with 1st div. Formed in
3 columns in mass, to follow and support
1st div, till it carried the high ridge crossing
our course in which the enemy had made
fight. This was a very high and steep
ridge, and being cleared the whole mechan-
ism of the advance was visible, furnishing
a magnificent scene.
"When my columns arrived at the top I
found the 1st div. deployed along the crest,
occupying it far to right and left. I was
directed to form in column of battalions
closed in mass to support; also to send out
our regiment to support the left of the line
of skirmishers, for which I detailed the 1st
Mass.
"The skirmishers below on the other side,
were stationary and warmly engaged with
others of the enemy, both parties seeking
the cover of the ground from each other
but perfectly in view from the top of the
ridge.
"The 2d brigade was marched by the
flank along the hollow, winding to the front
and centre of the high ridge on which we
stood, keeping on the lowest ground with-
out it, to take the hill which was the key of
the ground occupied by the enemy's skirm-
ishers. The 1st and 3rd brigades were in
position to support their charge by ad-
vancing down the counter-part of the main
ridge, a nearer route to the hill referred to.
"Between 5 and 6 p. m. the 2d brigade
charged up the hill and carried it, taking a
second crest 200 yards beyond. 'I now ad-
vanced the 3d brigade, and brought for-
ward the 1st to support the flanks of the
3d.
"The 2d brigade took the second crest
and held it. The enemy were about to
255
attack my right. I brought the 1st bri-
gade up to the second line and established
it in mass near the road. The enemy
threw solid shot and shell at the brigade
without effect, and the troops slept on
their arms."
Gen. Longstreet speaks of the affair con-
temptuously. He reports: "Gen. Ewell
was detained a little, and found upon ap-
proaching Front Royal that Gen. Wright's
brigade, left there to hold the gaps for him,
was engaged in skirmishing with the
enemy's infantry. He reinforced the bri-
gade, held the enemy back, then changed
his line of march west, crossed the Blue
Ridge at Thornton's gap, and ordered
Early's division, that was not yet up,
through the valley by Strasburg."
The enemy escaped during the night,
leaving us to bring in the wounded and bury
the dead. Altogether there were on both
sides some twenty killed and a hundred
wounded. At five o'clock in the afternoon
we marched to Markham, a hamlet some
twenty miles from Warrenton.
Found the Rebels here in a strong
position but easily drove them out of it.
Spinola's Brigade charged twice.
I find marked across the page, “Skirm-
ish at Wapping Heights", so I suppose
that was the local name of the place. It
was the most remarkable battle I ever
heard of, almost like opera bouffe. Both
sides seemed very good-natured, and fought
in the most leisurely way. Our men would
eat a mouthful of blackberries, load, eat
another mouthful of blackberries, fire, eat
another handful. of blackberries, fire again,
and so on, and the confederates were equal-
ly apathetic about gore.
July 24. Pleasant. Had splendid Soup.
At 5 P. W. had orders to join the Brigade
which we reached about 8 P. M.
1
256
[Warrenton, Va.
Back to Virginia

TXTLICHT
SALOON in འ།
WARRENTON, VA.
Part of the time I went to school in
Vermont I boarded with a crusty, shrewd
old man, not over-fond of me. One day
we had for dinner the old New England
soup, with potatoes and onions and carrots
and soft bread in it. I turned up my nose
at it, and he warned me that I would see the
time I should look back longingly at that
soup. How often in the army I remember-
ed that remark. This day I found up on

ANOTHER VIEW OF WARRENTON
July 24-30, 1863]
End of a Long March
257

Foraging AT A DISADVANTAGE
the side of the hill a little truck garden
where I got some potatoes and one or two
other vegetables, and at the house I bought
a little flour to thicken the soup with. It
came out very well, and was a triumph I
was never after able to repeat.
I was told that at one of the other
farmhouses some of the boys tried to steal
honey, with unfortunate results.
July 25. Pleasant. Started early and
went back to the place where we encamped
Wednesday night. Left here at noon and
went through Salem to within 8 miles of
Warrentown. There is a Revere House in
Salem. Not much like its namesake in
Boston.
July 26. Pleasant. Started early and
reached Warrenton about 10 A. M. A
pretty place, but very secesh.
July 27. Pleasant. Some signs of stop-
ping.
July 28. Pleasant. Clothing was given
out to the Reg't which makes quite a differ-
ence in their appearance.
July 29. Rainy. Nothing occurred.
July 30. Rainy. Had good scouse for
dinner.
Coples,

CHAPTER XXII. A NEW YORK EPISODE
LTHOUGH the
simultaneous vic-
tories of Gettys-
burg and Vicks-
burg had turned
the tide of the
war, the effect of
previous failures
was still disastrous at the north, es-
pecially in New York city. Under Gov.
with volunteers, and drafts were ordered,
to begin in New York city July 11.
Drafting is a serious matter. It is one
thing to go to war voluntarily: it is quite
another to be compelled to go. But men
must be had, and men who had been kept
at home not only by cowardice but by the
obligations of husband and father and son
and brother saw their names put into a big
wheel, and knew that if the blindfolded
man who thrust in his hand brought out
EDWIN MORGAN, 1811-83
Governor 1859-62
Morgan the Empire state had contributed
generously to the war. The president had
asked the state for 13,000 men. In ten
days 10,000 had been sent forward and in
77 days 40,000 more were in camp awaiting
transportation. The legislature voted 3
millions for equipments, and sent an agent
to Europe with half a million more to pur-
chase arms. By the fall of 1862 New York
had sent 219,000 men to the front.
Reaction followed. Our arms met a suc-
cession of defeats, the withdrawal of men
and money began to be felt, and Horatio
Seymour was elected governor in opposition
to continuance of the war. When in April,
1863, 300,000 more men were called for,
New York's quota could no longer be filled
HORATIO SEYMOUR. 1810-86
Governor 1853-4, 1863-4
the slip containing their names, they must
leave everything and go to the front.
The peace journals declared that the draft
was unconstitutional and the act of govern-
ment tyrannical. Handbills were posted
in grogshops urging men to resist the draft.
The militia had been sent to Pennsylvania
to resist Lee's invasion, and the police,
though they fought well when called out,
were individually in sympathy with those
who opposed the war. The draft began
newspapers
Saturday, and the Sunday
gave the names of those drawn. The next
day rioting began. The provost marshal's
office and the Colored orphan asylum were
burned, negroes were hanged in the street,
258

GEN.CANBY S HEADQUARTER S.
MILITARY ENCAMPING III WASHINGTON
DRAFTING IN THE 6TH DISTRICT. NEW YORK CITY. Ang. 19. 1863

DESTRUCTION OF PROVOST MARSHAL'S OFFICE 3 Av
260
[Governor's Island, N. Y.
A New York Episode
and on the other hand a thousand of the
mob were killed.
All this our regiment had read about
without guessing that it immediately con-
cerned us, but on July 30 Gen. Halleck
ordered Gen. Meade to send to New York 4
regiments of infantry, not from New York
or Pennsylvania, saying, "This detach-
ment is all that is proposed at present to
take from your army; but under no cir-
cumstances can we give you any re-en-
forcements. Every place has been
stripped to the bare poles. Keep up a
threatening attitude but do not advance."
Accordingly the 1st and 37th Mass., the
5th Wis., and the 20th Ind. were sent north.
July 31. Cloudy. Were woke up about 1
o'clock by orders to be ready to go to N. Y.
We could not believe it but it was true and we
got to Washington about night and went to
the Relief.
Through a mistake in the paging of my
diary there is an error here. It was July
30 instead of July 31 when we started for
New York, and we arrived in New York
Aug. 1. On this day we marched nine
miles to Warrenton junction, and took the
cars there.
Aug. 1. Pleasant. Left Washington
early going the old route. Reached Balti-
more early and staid there a long while. Do-
herty got drunk, and got into a dangerous
mood, and tried to kill Col. Edwards of the
37th Mass. Col. Baldwin interfered & D.
tried to kill him but Baldwin was too much
for him.
Col. Baldwin seized a musket from a
private and beat Doherty over the head
with it till his skull was laid open and he
fell insensible. It was the only thing to do,
and was well done.
Aug. 2. Pleasant.
Pleasant. When I woke up in
the cars I found myself at Canton. So we
took the boat for N. York where we arrived
about 10 A. M. at the Battery. About 2
P. M. we were taken over to Governor's
Island, a pleasant place containing forts.
Pitched Sibley tents.
Canton should be Camden, of course.
Aug. 3. Pleasant. Spent the day in wan-
dering around the Island. It is a fine place.
There are about 100 Drummer Boys here,
that are kept here untill they can play and
then sent to their Regt's, in the Regular Ar-
my. There is also a fine Band. The Drum
Major who has been in the service 45 years,
is dressed up in gay style.
Aug. 4. Very warm. Was on Orderly.
Saw Regular Guard Mounting. White
gloves and Dress Coats look well but the
Drill was poor. Had a fine Dress Parade
at night considering that we had not had one
since we were at Falmouth.

Aug. 5. Pleasant.
Aug. 6. Pleasant.
letter from home.
Aug. 7. Pleasant.
cards, etc.
Got our mail today.
Received $10.00 in
Went to N. Y. for
Aug. 8. Pleasant. Was on Orderly.
Had a heavy shower in the afternoon.
Aug. 9. Very Hot. Had Sunday In-
spection.
July 31-Aug. 17,1863]
Guarding Conscripts
261

RECRUITS DRILLING ON GOVERNOR'S ISLAND. N. Y.
Aug. 16. Pleasant.
spection. Very warm..
Aug. 10. Pleasant. The Reg't drills at
Heavy Artillery every day.
Aug. 11.
Drills.
Had Sunday In-
Aug. 17. Cloudy. Had orders to leave.
Aug. 12. Had two letters. Heavy Went down the East River to Ricker's Island
shower in P. M.
Aug. 13. Pleasant. We have dug two
springs right on the bank or beach rather, in
which we get beautiful water, though they are
filled with salt water when the tide is in.
Aug. 14. Very hot. Drills as usual;
five of the Drummers were made to stand out
in the sun 4 hours for not turning out.
Aug. 15. Pleasant. It is rather dull here.
O the inconsistency of man.
When we
were marching in the rain up to Gettysburg,
suppose some one had offered to transport
us to Governor's island, with plenty to eat,
a comfortable bed, and little to do, and then
should have told us we would find it mo-
notonous.
to guard conscripts. A bleak homely place.
Riker's island was certainly unattract-
ive. The only thing raised upon it in any
quantity was wharf rats, almost as large
at some of the officers' spaniels that used to
seize them by the neck and kill them with
remarkable skill.
As for the conscripts, they were unspeak-
able. This picture of a New York recruit-
ing station displays the inducements held
out, and there were substitutes who came
to the island with a thousand dollars in
greenbacks. Some of them had never
owned five dollars at once in their lives,
and they were easy marks for all sorts of
swindles. Counterfeit money was common
262
[Riker's Island, N. Y.
A New York Episode

I FALLSE: 25
30,000 VOLUNTEERS WANTED
COUNTY BOUNTY CASH DOWN $300 TOTAL TO NEW RECRUITS $ 677
STATE BOUNTY
U.S. BOUNTY FOR NEW RECRUITS
$ 1500
HAND MONEY
TUS.BOUNTYTO VETERAN SOLDIERS
15 TOTAL TO VETERAN SOLDIERS
"
302
100
777
A FINE WATCH FREE
HUBBEL & COS AVE100 LARGE SIZE PRIZE WARS SE
GOLDEN BITTERS
G. 1863 B
BEST TONIC
IN THE
WORLD
CENTRAL DEPOT
AMERICAN EXPRESS
BUILDINC
NEW YORK
PACKAGES FOR $ 16
GENTS WANTED.
SC
SENT SERVE
RICKARDS&Cola MAIL OR EX
32 NASSAU ST. NY I DE
BAITY IN WATERS APTCHESING $IJS
CHAS. P.MORTON & CO
40 ANN ST. ML
PIONEER BADGE MANUFACTURERS
ALL KINDSOFARMY BADGESUN SOLDCUPS
61 THE SINGLE ONE 100.0 1000 & SENT BY AN
DROWNE & MOORE
408 BROADWAY
Pand may Puly whokanyan
RECRUIT
GEERIG. D'À X 1090 E. Boreau de recrutement de volontaires fedéraux à New-York
I have know a soldier to give a substitute
counterfeit money for a hundred-dollar bill
and deduct ten dollars of the counterfeit
money as a commission for changing it,
which seemed to me to pass into the ar-
tistic.
Aug. 19. Pleasant.
a letter from home.
Got $10.00 more in
Aug. 20. Pleasant.
usual. Came out a little ahead.
Pleasant. Played Bluff as
Aug. 21. Pleasant.
The conscripts and substitutes were kept today. Shower in P. M.
in a camp by themselves, of course, and
were visited freely at first until it was
discovered that their friends brought bot-
tles of whiskey. They were hard to dis-
cipline, and sometimes had to wear a ball
and chain, as if they were still in the prison
from which they seemed to have escaped.
Aug. 18. Pleasant. This island is a
great place for Bluff playing. Have com-
menced to play here a little. I had just five
dollars when I came on the island and have
got no more to lose unless payday comes.
Did not play much
Aug. 22. Pleasant. We were paid off
today. I made considerable playing Bluff.
$27.00 at Draw Poker.
The game changed here. Bluff was
played with the cards first dealt; at draw
poker each player had the privilege of dis-
carding as many as he liked of his original
five cards and having new ones dealt him
in their place. This gave two opportun-
ities to bet, before and after the draw.
There was another difference. At Bluff,
as we played it, the winner of each hand
Aug. 17-Sept. 7, 1863]
Guard Mounting
dealt the next hand; at draw poker the
deal passed around to the left.
Aug. 23. Pleasant. Was on Orderly.
Aug. 24. Played Bluff of course.
pretty well.
Made
Aug. 25. Pleasant. Played Bluff as
usual. Sent $50.00 home, and had 20. left.
Aug. 26. Pleasant. Did not play much
today.
Aug. 27. Pleasant. Made 20.00 at
Bluff. The Band, 1st Brig. 2d Div. 12th
Corps was here and played at Dress Parade.
Sent $50.00 home:
Aug. 28. Cloudy. Sixteen years old today.
Made a bad mistake at Guard Mounting oc-
casioned by Prest. who is too big a fool to do
as he ought.
Guard mounting took place at 8 o'clock.
The guard was divided into three reliefs,
each on duty for two hours and off four,
serving 8 hours in 24. The guard were not
subject to roll calls or fatigue duty. The
assembly or guard call was followed by
other music, as the details marched out to
the color line. The corporal had to
seek out the relief when it was time, and
it was hard luck for him, if he got into the
wrong tent.
I don't know why mistakes of the drum-
mers annoyed me so much: I had no re-
sponsibility beyond my own fife. But
guard mounting and dress parade seemed to
me about the only places we earned our pay,
and I did like to get through them decently
and in order. Prest was a born blunderer.
Lost 5.00 at Sweat in the morn-
ing but won it back again at Bluff. I seem
to have uniform good success at Bluff this
payday.
Aug. 29. Rainy. Was on Orderly.
Sent $5.00 as present to Georgie.
Aug. 30. Pleasant. Had Sunday In-
spection. Lost $10.00 at Bluff & Sweat &
*
263
set up a board winning more than I lost.
Paid $25.00 to Hull for watch.
It did not take a profound mathematical
operation to demonstrate that the dealer
must win at sweat.
It was played on cloth on which the num-
bers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, were painted, and three
dice were shaken. I have forgotten just
how it counted but there was a frequent
contingency under which the dealer beyond
his even chance took half of all the stakes.
Aug. 31. Pleasant. Had Inspection and
Mustering in. Started a sweat table and
won 19 dollars but lost it in the P. M.
Sept. 1. Pleasant. Won $20.00 at Bluff
in A. M. A Full hand, two Flushes. I
held the Full. In P. M. won twenty dollars
at Sweat. Got a $30.00 Draft. ✔
Sept 2. Pleasant. Was on Orderly. At
night one of the Conscripts swam across the
River. The guard fired twice but did not hit
him. Drs. Riddel and Hawkins examined
the patients in the tent at night. Got a Vest
from N. Y.
That must be the one I am wearing in the
picture on page 162.
picture on page 162. It looks not only
ready made but selected vicariously.
Sept. 3. Pleasant. Found a man hidden
in the hollow of a tree when we went down to
practise. He came in with the Drum Corps.
Won a little at Bluff. Lent Chas. Fields
$6.00 to go home with.
Sept. 5. Pleasant.
Sent $30.00 home.
Was
Was on Orderly.
Sept. 6. Pleasant. Made $11.00 at
Sweat in A. M. Lost it in P. M. and quit
the game. My partner won $2.00 when I
left him. Won $27.00 of Charlie Tillson
at Draw Poker and lent him.
Incidentally I find by my account book
that I never got that $27 back.
Sept. 7. Pleasant. Played Bluff coming
out about square. Sent in my pass.
264
[Riker's Island, N. Y.
A Bew York Episode
Sept. 8. Foggy. The boats were late on
account of fog. Went into N. Y. at 10
A. M. Went up to Central Park, Bar-
num's Museum. M. of A. etc and at night to
Niblo's and Wood's. After the Perform-
ance went into a Music Hall but did not stay
long. Slept at Tammany.
Few of our readers will remember that a
hotel used to stand where Tammany Hall
is now.
Sept. 9. Pleasant. Took a Bath, and got
breakfast at the Metropolitan. Had Photo-
graph taken & bought books etc. Ascended
steeple of Trinity Church and had fine view.
Gave Sexton a dollar. Returned at 10 A. M.
Lost $8.00 at Bluff.
The photograph is on page 162. The
sexton must have gasped when he got a
dollar from that boy.
Sept. 10. Pleasant. Was put on Orderly.
Sept. 11. Pleasant. Mayor Lincoln,
Gen's Canby, Cowdin, & others came here
and the Reg't was presented with a City Flag.
A very handsame one. Our Drum Corps
done nothing right as usual. Charles
Fields returned from furlough.
Sept. 12. Pleasant. Won $25.00 payday
Won $25.00 payday
of Chas Tillson & 10.00 of Turner.
I have in my diary two pages of these
"pay day" accounts still unsettled. But
I had the fun of winning, and the money
itself did not count much in my mind.
Sept. 13. Cloudy. Inspection as usual.
Have got an awful cold.
Sept. 14. Cloudy. Was on Orderly.
Sept. 15. Pleasant. Nothing going on
untill Battallion Drill.
Sept. 16. Pleasant. Went to New York
by Harlem. At 5 P. M. met Father at
French's where I put up. He went to Al-
bany in 7 o'clock boat.
I am referring here of course to my
mother's second husband. His experience
with me would discourage anyone else from
becoming a stepfather, but he fulfilled that
relation with wonderful patience and for-
bearance. I never heard him raise his
voice or speak impatiently, and he was
always kind and considerate. Moreover he
gave me two half-sisters of whom I have
always been fond and proud.
Sept. 17. Pleasant. Returned in 11
o'clock boat. Found the Reg't paid off and
received $4.90 for two months pay. Won
$25.00 at Bluff.
The balance of my $24 pay doubtless
was accounted for by exceeding my allow-
ance of clothes, as is elsewhere explained.
Sept. 18. Rainy. Played Bluff all day.
Sept. 19. Rainy. Was on Orderly.
Made 12.00 in a half hour in P. M. Sent
$40.00 home.
Sept. 20. Pleasant. Played no Bluff
today. Sunday Inspection as usual.
Sept. 21. Pleasant. Won about $22.00
counting 29.00 that McRea owes me. Lost
22.00 by careless playing. $10.00 on one
hand.
Sept. 22. Pleasant. Played but very
little and came out about square.
Sept. 23. Pleasant. Was on Orderly.
Sept. 24. Pleasant. Gov. Andrew. Gen.
Sickles, Gen. Canby and others were here
and reviewed the Reg't.
Sept. 25. Cloudy. Sent for Wide World,
True Flag, Am Union, for six months each.
What an insight into my favorite reading
at that time the names of these periodicals
give to those who remember them. None
of them could live now, with their sickly
sentimentalism. But the soldiers were easy
marks for advertisers. Here is an adver-
tisement photoengraved from Frank
Leslie's of Feb. 16, 1863. It reminds me of
the South Sea bubble, when there were
abundant subscribers for a project which
Sept. 8-Oct. 3, 1863]
My only attempt to be a Sport
265
·
66
oỹ 201 BI
HE UNION VOLUNTEER'S SONG
STER"-Containing 100 patriotic Union
Songs, sent postpaid for 10 cts. (coin.) Address Box
708, St. Louis, Mo.
THETERONtaining
Just Out. Just Out.
324
NOW IS THE TIME to get the most beauti-
ful Invention yet. Every Officer or Private
in the Army needs one. Every Gentleman, Lady or
Miss must have oue. Inclose 30 cts, and receive the
article by return mail, with full directions. Address
W. S. SALISBURY, Adams Centre, Jeff. Co., N. Y.
324-27
Dr. Brown's Patent Baby Tender.
HE greatest invention
THE
in the world for the
comfort and convenience of
Mothers a d Children. B-
Caur simple
31:
P
31
Do
the first one I caught, because I had never
before caught anything more than five
inches long. This was a blue fish and
quite a fighter.
When we were ordering drinks some one
ahead of me called for Rhine wine, so as I
already knew the taste of whiskey and had
tried the rum I called for Rhine wine, too,
always eager for a new experience. Shades
of Johannisberger and Steinberg Cabinet,
I wonder what that Rhine wine was made
of: if I should guess I should say water
90%, vinegar 9%, crude alcohol 1%. But
the promoters did not deem it prudent I sniffed the glass, took a swallow, held up
to describe.
my mouth and meditated, took two more
Sept. 26. Cloudy. Played Cribbage all swallows, and then remarked before finish-
day as I had nothing else to do.
Sept. 27. Pleasant. Had church in P. fruity flavor but was not dry enough. I
M. Inspection &c in A. M.
Sept. 28. Pleasant. Was on Orderly.
Jimmie Parker got home from Furlough.
Had sing at night.
ing it that it had a fine bouquet and quite a
had never drank a glass of wine, I had never
seen anybody drink a glass of real wine,
but I had read about wine-drinking and
inferred that this was the proper behavior
Sept. 29. Pleasant. Very foggy in the for a connoisseur.
morning.
Sept. 30. Pleasant. Lost $7.50 at Bluff.
Oct. 1. Pleasant. Got broke playing
Cribbage with Nick Dranger. Wonder if
he stacked the cards at that game.
Oct. 2. Windy. Got a pass to go fishing.
Got a pass to go fishing.
“within sight of the Guards," and went to
Harlem, after fishing a little. I caught the
three largest fish. One of them an enormous
flounder. Played Billiards and drank rum,
etc. in Harlem, and had a good dinner.
Saw Maj. Walker at Port Morris. Spent
a 3 dollar counterfeit Bill. Bought some
fish in Port Morris, so as to make up a good
string. Had a pretty good time altogether.
I was never much of a fisherman and
cannot recall another day entirely given up
to it. But I seem to have got in about all
that goes with it, even the story that I
caught the three biggest fish. I remember
The whole afternoon was as artificial as
that. I was seeking to put myself into the
attitude and spirit of having a high old
time. I probably laughed the loudest of
the party, and I know I was the first to
assent to any proposal, the more reckless
the better. But I could not get into the
abandon of the other men. It was as im-
possible for me to relax my moral sense as
to devitalize my body. I was always at
tension in both: I could not let myself go.
I was quite aware, of course, that while
this was a safeguard, no doubt often nec-
essary, it was a limitation. This was my
only attempt to be one of a fast party.
I tried to be a sport, but my nature would
not enter into it.
Oct. 3. Windy. Was on Orderly. Sent
home for $10.00 as I have not enough to pay
my washing bill. Wrote another letter home
266
[Riker's Island, N. Y.
A New York Episode
:
changing amount from 10 to 50 dollars.
Oct. 4. Pleasant. A conscript died in
Camp last night and was sent to N. Y. today.
Atended meeting.
anywhere, and in some opera-houses there
are trick seats, as at the Manhattan in New
York where the ticket-seller took my five
dollars and urbanely assured me the end
Oct. 5. Pleasant. Reports of going seat in K was excellent: it looked so on
back to the Front.
F₁ Oct. 6. Pleasant. Went down to practise
in the morning.
the Reg't.
Capt. Warren got back to
paper, but when I got there I found the
lower tier of boxes came to the floor and I
could not see the stage.
Then if the opera is new to me I buy a
Poor fellow, I saw him die at Spots yl- libretto and make myself acquainted with
vania.
Was on Orderly.
Oct. 7. Cloudy.
Oct. 8. Cloudy. Got a pass to go to New
York and gave it to Nick Dranger. Harry
Jordan came to see his brother.
I had not yet had my long sought re-
venge on Nick, but the bitterness of my
resentment had worn off. I was never
very good at grudges. Often I have felt
that there was some reason I ought to dis-
like a man, but I couldn't remember what
it was and have let the feeling vanish with
the remembrance.
Oct. 9. Borrowed $20. of Rogers and
went to N. Y. Bought underclothes,
gloves, and valise. Saw Nicole in his
Zampilaestroation feat. Went to the Opera
a little while in the evening.
It may seem strange in one so fond of
music as I was and so hungry for all that
led to culture that I did not stay through
the first opera I attended. Nowadays if
I know I am to be in New York or London
or Paris my first question is whether there
is a season of opera going on, and if so
what the pieces are for the nights I am to
be there. If possible I get seats in advance
choosing according to the opera-house:
in Berlin, for instance, the theatre is so
long that the galleries facing the stage are
too far away, in Paris the raised seats at
the rear of the parquette are better than
can be found in any other opera-house
it, if possible reading it over aloud in the
language in which it is to be sung. Once
in Vienna there was a sudden change of
bill, and I could not get the libretto till just
before dinner. The opera was The Trum-
peter of Sakkingen and wholly new to me,
so I began it with my soup. I grew so
much absorbed in the delightful story that
the waiter could hardly get my attention
to the courses, but the evening proved one
of the memorable enjoyments of my life.
Again in Naples I heard the fourth per-
formance ever given of Pagliacci. I had
landed that afternoon from a steamer
bound for Alexandria, and had not even
heard of the opera. I got away from my
party, bought the libretto, and read it in a
little restaurant where I dined alone, so
when I got to the San Carlos I was prepared
to appreciate what proved so great a suc-
cess.
Even if the opera is familar I like to run
over the libretto beforehand, and if pos-
sible glance over the score, not only to have
it in mind but to recall when and where I
heard it before. Tannhauser, for instance, *
always recalls that delightful Sunday night
in Munich when I heard it for the first
time, and where it was taken so seriously
by the chorus and the audience that it
seemed a religious performance. Lohen-
grin, on the other hand, always recalls the
opera festival in Cincinnati the year
Oct. 3-13, 1863]
Why I did not enjoy the Opera
Grover Cleveland was elected governor of
New York-I remember it that way be-
cause I was introduced to him on the way
there. Albani was the Elsa, and though I
have heard other great singers in that part
I have never been impressed by them as by
her. Traviata is another opera that takes
me back to Cincinnati. Patti was the
soprano, but the baritone Gelassi hit me
deepest with his appeal to his son. I was
newly a father then, and I wondered if I
should ever have to blush for my boy.
The triumph of that week was the duet
of Patti and Scalchi in Semiramide. Poor
Scalchi; I heard her last in vaudeville,
voice and figure and face all gone; and
the last farewell concert for Patti an-
nounced in Syracuse was cancelled be-
cause too few tickets were sold.
I
It is with such background and prepar-
ation as this that I enjoy the opera.
have heard the principal of a New York
normal school say not only that he did not
care for opera himself but that he ques-
tioned the sincerity of anybody who pre-
267
tended to enjoy it. He must have tried it
as I tried it on this occasion. I sat in a
cheap gallery seat, did not buy a libretto,
did not know the language it was sung in,
had no clear idea of what was supposed to
be going on, and was tired and sleepy after
a busy day of sight-seeing. So I really
didn't enjoy it: but I did not question the
sincerity of those who said they did.
Oct. 10. Went down to Brooklyn Navy
Yard. Too much Police. Then saw them
play billiards awhile in French's and went
into Barnum's Museum. Had just time
to jump on the John Romer. Got $20. in
letter from home.
Oct. 11. Pleasant. So cold there was no
church. Inspection as usual. Dress Par-
ade.
Oct. 12. Pleasant. Quite cold.
Quite cold. All the
conscripts sent to New Orleans.
Oct. 13. Was on Orderly. At night
two companies of the 8th U.S. I. relieved us,
and we were ordered to prepare for embarka-
tion.
CHAPTER XXIII. AT THE FRONT ONCE MORE

ET the reader
imagine how, after
the luxuries of
New York city,
we enjoyed going
back to the field.
It was much hard-
er than the first
time we went.
Oct. 14. Pleasant. Started in the after-
noon for Washington. Went to New York
in the John Romer and hence to Jersy City.
and thence on the N. R. R. of N. J. to
Philadelphia.
Oct. 15. Pleasant. Reached Philadel-
phia about 3 A. M. Took breakfast at the
Union Refreshment Saloon and I went into
the City on 12th St to Chestnut and back to
Washington avenue on 13th St. Reached
Havre de Grace about 2 P. M. Baltimore at
8 P. M. Had supper at the Union Relief.
Then were packed like hogs into baggage
cars in which we could not lay down. Rode
all night and
Oct. 16. Rainy. Reached Washington
early in the morning. Did not stop for
breakfast, but had bread and coffee thrown
into the cars. Went on to Union Mills,
now the Front. and reported to our old Bri-
gade. They welcomed us back with much
satisfaction.
Not unmingled with malice, of course.
They had naturally felt envious of us loaf-
ing about New York while they were
marching and fighting.
When we had gone away, ten weeks
before, the army had been at Warrenton.
Now, as will be seen by the map, inside
cover, it was back almost where I first
joined it. How had it lost so much ground?
The answer is simple: Meade had been out-
generalled.
Gen. Sickles said: "The retreat from
Culpepper to Centreville made the army
feel humiliated. To a military man it was
unaccountable."
Went over to the 10th Vt. and saw Edson.
Doten, Finn, and other Randolph Boys.
Edson was a cousin of Andrew W. Edson
associate superintendent in New York
city, and I had known him at school in
Randolph.
Oct. 17. Pleasant. Was put on Orderly
out of turn. It seems quite natural to get
back to the Army. Review by Gen. Sickles.
He was loudly applauded by the whole
Corps. I have got more breath to waste in
cheering him than any other man in this
Army.
Oct. 18. Pleasant. Orders to move, but
did not. Had church in the afternoon.
Oct. 19. Rainy. Started about 7 o'clock
and went towards Bristow Station. Firing
on the right. Moved as though preparing
for battle. At last halted in the Woods.
A damp, unhealthy place. Staid here all
night. Very Cold. The Rebs have torn up
the R. R. in big shape. The bridge is
burned clear down.
This picture shows how railways were
torn up. Benton says: "A regiment
would line up on one side of the track, and
taking hold of the rail and end of the ties
would begin to lift it up. Presently it
would be standing on the ends of the ties,
and as soon as it began to go over at one
point the men would let go, and, running,
behind the others who were still lifting,
268
Oct. 14-20, 1863]
On the O. & A. Railroad
269

HOW THE CONFEDERATES DESTROYED RAILROADS
grasp a new place and continue the raising.
When once started in this way, the track,
rails, and ties together would be slowly
rolling over, like an immense furrow of sod
rolling from some giant plough. Now
surely the railroad is destroyed, the novice
would say. Not at all, for it could easily
be put together again: the ties must be
burned. These, however, could be re-
placed by an army of slaves: the rails
themselves must be made useless. This
was accomplished by piling up the ties
with fence-rails and dry wood, and across
each pile would be laid perhaps a dozen of
the new rails. The burning of the ties
would heat these, and while they were red
hot each rail was twisted by the use of a
peculiar wrench. A bent rail can be
straightened out, but a thoroughly twisted
rail can never be used again, and the con-
federates had no source from which to re-
place them." No wonder they retaliated.
When they were rebuilt the rails were
often so insecurely fastened that as we
rode on the top of a freight car we could
see the end of a rail fly up as we left it.
It was curious to us that when any of our
men were drunk, as sometimes happened,
and rode on the top of freight cars bobbing
about on the insecure rails, they never fell
off, even when asleep.
Oct. 20. Pleasant. Started early and
went in the direction of Warrenton. Passed
through Greenwich and went two or three
miles beyond. Considerable sheepkilling.
It was seldom we had a chance to forage
in Virginia, as I have already said, but our
men found a few stray sheep in this region.
270
[Kelly's Ford, Va.
At the Front once more
A
Oct. 21. Pleasant. Very warm.
Marched
abont 13 miles to Catlett's Station. Went
about 30 miles to go from Bristowen. Halted
for the night at Catlett's. Capt Stone and
the Detailed Men came up here.
That second sentence is unintelligible
to me, and the last word is obscure.
Oct. 22. Pleasant. For a wonder "Re-
veilee" was the first Bugle Call we heard
during the night.
Nichols, in his "Story of the Great
March" (N. Y., 1865), a most interesting
narrative, thus describes breaking camp.
"At three o'clock the watch fires are burn-
ing dimly, and, but for the occasional neigh-
ing of horses, all is so silent that it is diffi-
cult to imagine that 20,000 men are within
a radius of a few miles. The ripple of the
brook can be distinctly heard as it breaks
over the pebbles, or winds petulantly
around the gnarled roots. The wind sweep-
ing gently through the tall pines over head
only serves to lull to deeper repose the
slumbering soldier, who in his tent is dream-
ing of his far-off northern home.
"But in an instant all is changed.
From some commanding elevation the
clear-toned bugle sounds out the reveille,
and another and another resounds, until
the startled echoes double and treble the
clarion calls. Intermingled with this
comes the beating of drums, often rattling
and jarring on unwilling ears. In a few
moments the peaceful quiet is replaced by
noise and tumult, arising from hill and dale;
from hill and forest. Camp-fires, hitherto
extinct or smouldering in dull gray ashes,
awake to new life and brilliance, and send
forth their sparks high into the morning
air. Although no gleam of sunrise blushes
in the east the harmless flames on every
side light up the scene, so that there is no
disorder or confusion.
•
"The aesthetic aspects of this sudden
change do not, however, occupy much of
the soldier's time. He is more practically
engaged in getting his breakfast ready.
The animals are not less busy. An
ample supply of corn and huge piles
of fodder are greedily devoured by
these faithful friends of the boys in blue,
and any neglect is quickly made known by
the pawing of neighing horses and the
fearful braying of the mules. Amid all is
the busy clatter of tongues and tools—a
Babel of sound, forming a contrast to the
quiet of the previous hour as marked as
that between peace and war.
"Then the animals are hitched into the
traces, and the droves of cattle relieved
from the night's confinement in the corral.
Knapsacks are strapped, men seize their
trusty weapons, and as again the bugles
sound the note of command, the soldiers
fall into line and file out up on the road, to
make another stage of their journey-it
may be to win fresh laurels in another vic-
tory, or perhaps to find a rest which shall
only be broken by the reveille of the last
trump."
Oct. 23. Pleasant. Very cold without
Shelter Tents.
Had two letters as
Oct. 24. Pleasant.
answers to the enigma I sent to the Wide
World. One Miss Amy Wilson Boston
Mass & Miss Susie J. Steadman, West
Bolton Mass. Did not expect any reply.
These enigmas were a means of finding
correspondents for soldiers who had few
friends at home. I exchanged letters for
some time
some time with Miss Stedman and still
have her picture. As she kept up the cor-
respondence after she had seen my photo-
graph, shown on page 162, I conlcude that
her supply of friends must also have been
limited.
Oct. 21-Nov. 7, 1863]
Capture of Kelly's Ford
A teachers agency that prided itself on
doing its work by direct application to it
from schools devised what it thought would
prove to be an effective advertisement as
follows: "If you want practice in corres-
pondence, enrol in one of the notification
agencies: if you want a place, write to us.”
It was obliged to discard this form of ad-
vertisement because so many teachers
wrote to it in good faith, "Please give me
the address of one of the notification ag-
encies; I want practice in correspondence.'
That seemed to be the kind of young
woman who solved and replied to my en-
igma. Certainly our correspondence was
of the most formal type, highly respectable
but unexciting.
Oct. 25. Pleasant. Very cold. Church in
P. M. Two more letters. One Miss
Maud F. Hunter, Salem, & Miss Anna T.
Gray, Lewiston, Me.
Oct. 26. Very cold.
the creek. Battery K
lot of Black Walnuts.
Getting interesting.
Moved camp across
in position. Got a
Very cold indeed.
All the Company
Oct. 27. Pleasant.
Could not sleep at night.
oh Detail.
Oct. 28. Pleasant. Went
Rail Road and stole an axe.
ting along very fast.
down on the
They are get-
I think I should still steal an axe from the
government; if it provided no other way to
get wood enough to make a fire I could sleep
by.
Oct. 29. Pleasant. Tried to wash some
clothes but gave in. Baldwin got us drum-
mers to work digging sinks. Saw shelling
W. N. W. at night, a long way off.
Oct. 30. Pleasant. Was on Orderly.
Was on Orderly.
Moved up the R. R. above Warrenton Junc-
tion to a place one mile from Weaverville.
Oct 31. Rainy. Went on Orderly as the
Drum Corps had sinks to dig. But did not
271
make much as I was very busy. Mustered
in for two months pay.
Nov. 1 Pleasant. Played cent ante to-
day. Won a little. 11th Sutler arrived.
Butter, Cheese, etc. Found Crabs. Had
letter from home with money & stamps.
Nov. 2. Pleasant. Sent for two Gold
Pens. Played Bluff coming out square.
Sent eight letters in A. M.
Nov. 3. Pleasant. Played Bluff coming
out a little ahead.
Nov. 4. Pleasant. 8 days rations given
out, and orders to be ready to move. Got
broke at Bluff. Had letter from Susie.
The proper name for this place is Licking
Run Heights & not Weaversville.
Nov. 5. Pleasant. Played Bluff with
silver, losing 10 cts. Dress Parade at
night.
Nov. 6. Windy. Orders to march at
sunrise. The Reg't was to guard the Am-
munition Train so I started ahead. At
1:30 P. M. as we neared Kelly's Ford, Ar-
tillery announced a sharp engagement. Î
went down to where I saw a good part of the
hottest of the fight. Some 300 prisoners
were taken. Could not find the Reg't so I
slept with some sick men.
At two o'clock in the afternoon the regi-
ment had gone back ten miles to Morris-
town via Bealton, to act as train guard,
but I had heard nothing of it, being ab-
sorbed in watching the engagement.
moved up to Kelly's ford next day, where
I found it the day following.
It
Nov. 7, Pleasant. Drills commenced.
Company in A. M. Battalion in P. M.
Hollis of Co. K. received a letter from Sec-
retary Staunton saying that Gov. Andrew
had authority given him by the War Depart-
ment to raise recruits for the term of service
unexpired in 3 years Regt's, and that Re-
cruits enlisted under that order would be

VA
KELLY'S FORD ON THE RAPPAHANNOCK; Confederate Breastworks in the Foreground

ANOTHER VIEW OF KELLY'S FORD
Nov. 7-13, 1863]
A Guest of the 26th Pa.
273
discharged with their Regt's; Soft Bread Letters by mail. Laid near Elk Run all
given out to the Reg't. Also Potatoes.
This letter from Secretary Stanton was
good news to those of us who had enlisted
in old regiments under a three years mus-
tering in.
Saw Frank
Crossed the
Nov. 8. Pleasant. Started pretty early
and went down to the river. The 1st, 2nd,
3d, & 5th Corps were here.
Brown of the 12th Mass.
river and went through Kellyville to Rhap-
pahannock Station where I found the Bri-
gade, but the Reg't was still back with the
night and slept very well. 1st Div. 5th
Corps passed us going back somewhere. It
had Brigade Drill in P. M. for yelling
Hard Tack to the General. I went 8 miles
without taking off my Knapsack, in 3 hours.
I had toughened up quite a bit since my
first weary march.
Nov. 10. Windy. Left the Ford early in
the A. M. for Brandy Station. But had my
Knapsack carried, which made quite a differ-
ence. Rejoined the Brigade, & the Col. made
Wagon Train. So I kept with the Brigade e carry a log of wood for getting ahead.
and marched up to Brandy's Station where
we halted for Camp. Stopped with the 26th
Pioneers and slept warm. Saw Gen.

Meade.
As will be seen, in my eagerness to see the
fight at Kelly's ford, a very interesting
little skirmish, I missed my regiment, the
plans of which were changed by the en-
gagement. So I was for some days without
legitimate rations. I have never forgotten
the hospitality of those pioneers or woods-
men of the 26th Pa. I had no business to
be skylarking around away from my regi-
ment, but they did not consider that. All
they saw was a little fellow with nothing to
eat, and they took me right in as one of
their own, shared their rations and their
beds with me, and would not even let me
do my fair share of the work about camp.
I could not help feeling that no Massa-
chussetts regiment would have treated a
Pennsylvania straggler that way, and I
have always had a warm place in my heart
for the old 26th.
Nov. 9. Snow. Very cold and some snow.
Did not move untill about 3 o'clock when the
Brigade laid out Camp. I went back to
Kelly's ford and found the Reg't. Got 2
A regiment was supposed to begin with a
field officer and end with a mule, and Lt.
Col. Baldwin was jealous of his privileges:
we sometimes thought he had the qualifi-
cations for both ends. But frequent as are
the unpleasant references to him here I
think we boys respected him and rather
liked him.
liked him. He was cross and irritable and
faultfinding, and what was to us. worse,
work-finding; all partly due to his game
leg. But he was a good soldier, prompt in
an emergency, and quite capable of gen-
uine kindness.
Nov. 11. Pleasant. We are encamped
in the Winter Quarters of the Rebels.
They left in great haste, in some cases leaving
the meat boiling in the kettles!
This was the opposite of McCarthy's
expectations quoted on page 48.
Nov. 12. Pleasant. Pay Day. Re-
ceived my 24 dollars. Came out some ahead
on playing. The Paymaster paid off in
new currency.
Nov. 13. Pleasant. Was on Orderly.
Baldwin's leg troubled him and he went all
over the camp finding fault with first one here
and then another. Among other things he
had a fence built around the Camp!
274
[Brandy Station, Va.
At the Front once more

NOT THE COLONEL'S END

WHEN THE REGIMENT HAS BEEN FORAGING
Nov. 13-25, 1863] Trying to beat the Excelsiors at their own game
Nov. 14. Pleasant. Made $25.00 at
Bluff. Held 4 kings, 4 sixes twice, and 4
deuces. In the forenoon a Rain came up at
Dress Parade and it rained very hard all
night.
Nov. 15. Pleasant. The rain cleared off
about 9 A. M. Heavy firing ahead and or-
ders to be ready to move.
275
Props was known among us as a Boston
game. It is played with four shells, two
white and two made red with sealing wax,
and the betting was whether there would
be two whites and two reds, or one of one
color and three of the other.
Nov. 24. Rainy. Lost my night's rest
by eating beans before I went to supper last
Nov. 16. Pleasant. Moving a humbug.night. Orders to move and after we had got
Lost some at Bluff.
Nov. 17. Pleasant. Drills commenced.
Bluff as usual.
Nov. 18. Pleasant.
Was in at a Raffle but did not win.
on line and were wet through, they were coun-
termanded. Lost $20. at Bluff.
Nov. 25. Pleasant. Set up a sweat
Won some at Bluff. board among the Excelsiors, and after getting
about $50. ahead was "cleaned out", having
vest torn and losing all my money. Big
thing.
Nov 19. Pleasant. Won pretty well at
Bluff. Am fifty dollars ahead.
Nov. 20. Pleasant. Made about eleven
dollars at Bluff which I paid for Cady's
chance (42) at a Raffle. I was tied by Lea-
therber and in shaking off got (15) which
beat him and the watch was mine. Worth
$25.00.
Have
Nov. 21. Rainy. Raffled my watch,
getting the twenty-five dollars clear.
got over a hundred now.
My greenness could not have been better
into another brigade, of New York toughs
illustrated than by my venturing off alone
at that, and expecting to get away with any
winnings I might make. I grabbed my
winnings I might make.
money tight between my fingers, and after
I was knocked down I was kicked and beat-
en considerably before I let go my clutch.
They got the money in my waistcoat, but
did not happen to think of an inside shirt
Nov. 22. Pleasant. Was on Orderly. pocket in which I had a hundred dollars
Very muddy.
Nov. 23. Pleasant. Rumors of moving.
Got some butter and cheese. Lost at Bluff
and Props.
or so stowed away. As it was I did not
lose much more than my winnings and was
not seriously bruised, so I learned a good
lesson more cheaply than I deserved to.
CHAPTER XXIV. THE BATTLE OF LOCUST GROVE

ND of his career as
commander, Mine
Run was to Meade
what the Mud
march was to
Burnside-it made
him ridiculous and
led Congress to in-
sist on his dismissal from command.
from command.
Since Gettysburg won itself in spite of
him and he permitted the confederate
army to escape him, he had done noth-
ing except in the last half of October to
let himself be driven back from Warren-
ton to Centreville. He had been very
RARIDAN
GERMANIA
Neck
RIVER
· DERŘE
BANKS FD
US FORD
FALMOTT
much surprised there to find that Lee had
withdrawn of his own accord. He
He had
cautiously followed the southern army back
again, keeping at safe distance, and had es-
tablished his camp beyond the Rappa-
hannock at Brandy Station. While he was
still lying there rebuilding the railroad he
had permitted the Confederates to destroy,
the pressure from Washington became
strong to have him do something. So he
finally planned to cross the Rapidan and
attack Lee. The scheme could hardly
have been worse conceived.
conceived. Pleasanton
says: "Gen. Meade projected the campaign
of Mine Run, the plan of which was based

| AQUIA CR.R.R.
Belle plain
Fooke
anding
BOYDS HOLE
PLAINS
CHANCELLORSVILLE
9
༤༥་
whole to
TODDS
TAVERN
Mary's Bridge
NY
3
ક્
-१
Hart
Corbyns bridge Block
Block house
SPOTSYLVANIA C.HP
Carr's bridge
TA RIVER
M. PLEASANT
FREDERIC'S
HALL
Potties ville d
Daven
RO
29
Lorast NyaSIC
૧૧૬૭
BURG
오오​오오오
​55
RIV 2
SL L
Mud
Muddy Cr
ONTOON BRIDGES
Wappawha
RAPPA
소의 ​오오오​오오오​오오오
​오오​오오​오오오
​오
​I g Zn L z f
L Dense Wood
-오오​오오오
​오오​오오
​S
오
​2
PO RIVER
Price £ 1
VILLEBORO
NEWS
MAT
Cob
Indersons
erdam
Tche E
K
R.
COUR
Skinners Neck
Holland Pt
Cherry P
GEORGE
PORT COMNAY
Corte
Golden Vale
PUMAN
Ams houses
Well
BOWLING GREEN.
Villepique
Milford's Bridge
CA
९--१
RIVER
Tobacco Plan
MAP OF THE REGION NEAR CHANOBLUUKSVILLE, A
M
Maltacocy/
P
END R.
276
Nov. 26, 1863]
Mismanaged from the First
on the supposition that there was a good
road from a mill several miles above Ger-
mania ford to the Orange Court House
road or turnpike, when the fact was, there
was no road at all and the country was ex-
tremely difficult to pass through. I knew
the country well, and I told Gen. Meade
there was no road at that place, and to
attempt to march troops through would
jeopard the campaign, but my report did
not seem to make any impression on him."
So his troops could not concentrate at
Locust Grove on Nov. 26 as he had planned,
and on the 30th, when an attack had been
ordered on the left at 8 o'clock in the morn-
ing and on the right at 9, he permitted the
left attack to be suspended, gave orders to
suspend that on the right, and when Birney
in the centre had crossed the stream and
penetrated the first line, sent word to him
to fall back-that he had attacked by mis-
take. Then next day he marched back to
camp again. It cost the army 1000 men
killed and wounded to let Gen. Meade's
mind wobble. This was the battle of Lo-
cust Grove, of which the reader probably
never heard, and yet which, like Wapping
Heights, Gen. Meade expected to make a
greater than Gettysburg.
277
Νου. 26. Pleasant. Thanksgiving.
Reveille at 4 o'clock. Started early and
went S. E. to Jacob's Ford on the Rapidan.
Here we crossed and sent out skirmishers.
Jacob's mill ford was 3 miles below Ger-
mania ford; why it should have been se-
lected for our crossing is past finding out.
The bank on the other side was so steep
that no wagons could be taken across there:
an officer could not even ride his horse up,
but had to dismount and lead him; all our
artillery and wagons and ambulances had
to be sent to Germania ford to cross. Gen.
Meade afterward named these steep banks
as one of the three reasons why this move-
ment failed, but why should he not have
found out something about the banks
before he planned to cross there?
Our brigade was in advance, and the 26th
Pa. were thrown forward as skirmishers.
The Napoleon battery was placed to the
left of a house on the hill on this side and
the rifled battery to the left, and the pon-
toons descended the hill and were launched,
the crossing party being taken from the
11th N. J. There was little firing from the
enemy's skirmishers on the other side, and
the New Jersey boys were on the other side
by 12:30. Building the bridge had already
jk.
THE REBEL POSITION AT MINE RUN

魔​狀
​CROSSING AT GERMANIA FORD
י
278
[Mine Run, Va.
Battle of Locust Grove

BUILDING PONTOONS
begun, and now another of Meade's blun-
ders was revealed-the bridge was one pon-
toon short, and curiously enough this was
true at the other three crossings the army
was making. Meade gives this fact also as
one of the three reasons for failure, but
what other general would not have been
sure his information as to the width of the
river was accurate? Our bridge was at
length pieced out by a trestle, and we began
to cross. The 6th Corps was behind us,
and both corps were expected to be at
Robertson's tavern by noon of this very
day. No wonder we could not get there,
and this was Meade's third reason for fail-
ure. See map on inside cover.
We went all manner of ways untill about
8 o'clock when we halted for Camp. Had a
very good fire. Quite a Thanksgiving.
Guess we'll have the Ball tomorrow. Quite
cold at night.
When we were across we found only a
blind wood road to follow and when we
came to a fork no one knew which path to
take. It was already sunset, so we halted
for the night. The 26th Pa. were thrown
out as skirmishers, and found some con-
federate cavalry, which they drove back.
Nov. 27. Pleasant. Started early and
went abont 2 miles when we came on the
enemy's pickets. Co. D was sent out ahead
and about noon the whole Reg. went in.
Billy Hull of Co. C was killed and others
wounded. None of our Co. were hurt.
Quite heavy musket firing in P. M. Equal
to Chancellorsville. Slept with Tibbetts at
Division Hospital.
We were roused at daybreak. Our
regiment took the advance of the brigade.
As there was still doubt which of the two
roads to take we were sent up the right
hand road to investigate, and met the
enemy's pickets, skirmishing through dense
woods and pressing on till we got to his line
of battle. After we had become pretty
warmly engaged orders came to cease oper-
ations, as this was the wrong road. After
some waiting another order came to go

THANKSGIVING DAY as our Friends at home pictured it

THANKSGIVING DAY as it Was
280
[Mine Run, Va.
Battle of Locust Grove
ahead, this was the right road. The enemy
were outflanking us and Gen. Prince called
on Gen. Carr, our old brigade commander,
now head of a division of the 6th corps,
to go into line of battle on our left, but he
declined. We were ordered to go on with-
out him, and the skirmishing was becoming
brisk when another order came from head-
quarters to wait for him. Just then the
enemy took the initiative, and gained so
much ground on our left that we seemed
certain to be flanked. So our left reluc-
tantly turned and fell back to support
Battery K, 4th U. S. corps. Ward's bri-
gade came up behind the battery and our
men halted there, restoring our formation.
This turned the tide, and we held our own
in a general engagement that lasted till
dark.
This was for us the battle of Locust
Grove, for we had no more fighting here.
Our division slept on the field, giving three
cheers for the union before they encamped.
In his official report Col. McLaughlin
says: "On the morning of the 27th we
stood to arms from one half hour before
till shortly after daybreak, when we were
ordered to retake the advance of the bri-
gade, retrace our steps about three quar-
ters of a mile, and then to advance upon
a road leading to our left. After advanc-
ing about one mile on the new road we met
the pickets of the enemy and halted. At
10:00) a. m. we again advanced, Company
D being employed as skirmishers. Al-
though the ground was persistently dis-
puted, owing to the admirable management
of Capt. Stone, commanding the company,
in taking advantage of every tree or in-
equality of the ground that would afford
cover for his men, the enemy's skirmishers
were pressed steadily back through a dense
wood until they joined their line of battle,
without the loss of a single man upon our
side. Great credit is due Capt. Stone for

ADVANCING AS SKIRMISHERS
י
Nov. 27-30, 1863]
A Letter from the Field
the skill, courage, and address shown by
him throughout in the performance of this
important duty."
At daylight we marched by the Germania
ford road toward the left in a heavy rain,
reaching Robertson's tavern at 2:30, more
than 48 hours behind the time Meade had
planned. We halted here two hours and
then went on west two miles and halted
for the night, 150 men going on picket.
We were now before the enemy's entrench-
ments at Mine Run, about in the centre of
the line.
281
Rapidan between Racoon and Germania
Ford. Here we stopped (the 3d Corps) and
sent skirmishers out ahead. We worked
Nov. 28. Rainy. Left the Hospital and along slowly untill about dark when we halted
rejoined the Reg't.
for two hours; then moved back a little way
and stopped for the night about 8 P. M.
Thus was passed Thanksgiving. The next
morning we started early & went off two or
three miles when we ran on the enemy's
Pickets. Our Reg't was ahead and Co. D
acting as Skirmishers. They went out and
returned reporting the enemy in force. So
our Reg't was formed and the fight com-
menced. About 2 o'clock the first heavy line
firing began, and the first man brought in was
Billy Evans of Co C. The firing soon
became very heavy; indeed the musket
firing (no Artillery of consequence was
used) almost equalled Chancellorsville. But
the Rebels could not move our line & dark
found us as we commenced. The next
morning we moved down to the left. It
rained hard, and the mud was awful. But
we were not engaged again and have not been
since, though we are at the rear and the Reg-
iment is ahead reconoitering. We have no
rations and have got to live on half rations,
Gen. French says, till this move is over as our
communication is destroyed. The trains
were sent back across the river. Some say
we are going to Dobbs Court House, some to
Fredericksburg but we can't believe anything.
If I get a chance to send this I will but I
think not.
Νου. 29. Pleasant. The Division
started off reconoitering and we were ordered
back. We are very short of Rations and
orders are not to give any out untill tomorrow
night.
At 6 A. M. our division and the 3d were
marched to the left and placed under com-
mand of Warren, of the 5th Corps, in
preparation for the expected charge the
next day.
Nov. 30. Pleasant. This day was fixed
on for the grand charge along the whole line
by the 2nd, 3d & part of the 6th Corps. The
men dreaded it awfully every man expecting
to die but the order was countermanded and
it did not take place. 8 of us killed a Cow
& had her to subsist on in place of Rations.
Fortunately the letter I wrote home
from here was one of the three that were
preserved. I give it in full.
'Dear Folks;
Wilderness, Nov. 29th 1863-
I don't know where we are, what we are
doing, where we are going, what we are going
to have to eat or anything else.
Thanksgiving Reveille was beaten at 8
A. M. and at Daylight we started going S.
E. untill we reached Jacob's Ford on the
Your affectionate Son
Charles W. Bardeen
Co D First Mass. Inf.
P. S. Friday Dec. 4th 1863-
We recrossed the river yesterday and are at
our old Camp. Monday morning prepar-
ation was made for a grand charge of the
whole line upon the Rebel Breastworks. Our
Regiment all had white faces. Never saw

282
[Ely's Ford, Va.
Battle of Locust Grove
them so dreading anything before. It was a
long distance to charge and the muzzles of the
Reb's guns loaded with chain shot & cannister
struck terror into the hearts of all. All the
men put their money in the hands of the
Chaplain or those not forced to go into the
fight. I staid with the Reg't untill the order.
was given to "Fix Bayonets" and was start-
ing for the rear, in a secluded spot far from
shot & shell when the order was counter-
manded. If ever I saw happy faces it was
then.
We staid over the river and recrossed
Wednesday. We have been gone from
Camp 8 days and only took 3 days rations
and had one days issued, and the men were
almost starved. The Army was never so
short before. For 4 days I lived entirely on
Fresh Meat (a Cow some of us killed) with-
out salt, just broiled over the fire. I never
knew hunger before. But I guess our Cam-
paigning is over for the winter. If that
charge had been made it would have taken all
winter to reorganize the Army
Your Aff. Son
Charles W. Bardeen
I enclose some rebel letters, receipts etc. which
please preserve-Charlie-
While this letter expresses what was un-
questionably the feeling of the army, I
doubt if the danger was anything like what
was anticipated. Our army was stronger
than Lee's, these dreaded entrenchments
had most of them been recently constructed,
and badly as the whole campaign had been
planned I think now as I look back that we
should have won out if Gen. Warren had
not wavered and Gen. Meade been glad to
have an excuse to withdraw. As Gen.
Birney of our 1st division very well said,
the trouble with Gen. Warren here was
that he had too much reconnoitering, fire-
GEN. G. K. WARREN, 1830-82
building, and delay.
building, and delay. What we needed in
the army was more fighters like Birney
and Sickles, and less engineering and siege
gunning. Birney himself, expecting the
plans determined on to be carried out,
charged this morning and crossed Mine
run and carried the enemy's first line, only
to be recalled and told it was all a mistake.
It was all a mistake-to have Meade for
commander.
Dec. 1. Pleasant. Very cold. Joined
the Reg't in the morning and about noon
started back (our Brigade) on the plank road
going to Bailey's Store.
This should read Parker's store.
Here we were kept
up with knapsacks on, all night while the
Army passed us.
Dec. 2. Pleasant. Started for Ely's
Ford & crossed about noon. I picked up
little pieces of muddy hardtack along the road
& eat with relish. But at the Ford I met
Phillips who had been loafing at the rear &
he had plenty of H. T. so we had a splendid
dinner. But when we were through the
bridge was up and the Rebels on the opposite
side. They tried to plant a Battery but
could not. Caught up with the Brigade &
when we went in Camp each man got half
rations from the 1st Corps Teams.
This is the incident referred to on page 65.

Nov. 30-Dec. 2, 1863]
Gen. Meade's Record
283
ELY'S FORD
34
Postscript
I have repeatedly kept it in the reader's
mind that this is not a history of the war,
but only a record of the experiences and
impressions of a little fifer who had no more
to do with the ending of the conflict than a
fly on a cannon wheel. But when I came
to read in manuscript my references to Gen.
Meade it occurred to me that I might be
prejudiced, so I went over to the library
and read in full his testimony before the
congressional committee on the conduct of
the war. I found it most interesting, for
no other humor is so entertaining as that
which is unconscious. One's first impres-
sion is that he uses only one vowel, but
closer study reveals a's and e's and o's, with
sometimes w and y, but never a you.
If I lose my memory and forget what it
was that had a thousand I's, the moon but
one,
I shall think it was Gen. Meade.
Take, for instance, this paragraph from
page 329: "Under this existing state of
affairs I determined, and so notified the
general-in-chief, that I should move my
army as promptly as possible on the main
line from Frederick to Harrisburg, extend-
GEN. GEORGE GORDON MEADE, 1815-72
ing my wings on both sides of the line, as
far as I could consistently with the safety
and the rapid concentration of that army,
and should continue that movement until
I either encountered the enemy or had rea-
son to believe that the enemy was about to
advance upon me; my object being at all
hazards to compel him to loose his hold
upon the Susquehanna and meet me in
battle at some point. It was my firm
determination, never for an instant to
deviate from, to give battle whenever and
as soon as I could possibly find the enemy,
modified, of course, by such general con-
siderations as govern every general officer
-that when I came into his immediate
neighborhood some maneouvers might be

284
[Mine Run, Va.
Battle of Locust Grove
made by me with a view to secure advan-
tages on my side in that battle, and not
allow them to be secured by him."
If he had gone more into detail we might
have had this: "After my march of 26
miles I was wearied in my 159,999 feet,*
so I halted for the night, pitched my 39,
468 tents, built my 24,765 fires, put my
80,000 pots of coffee on to boil, stuck my
79,467 pieces of fat pork † on prongs of wood
and held them in the blaze, lit my 79,999
pipes, sat for an hour about my 24,765 fires
and talked about what a solemn old ass I
had for a commander, pulled my 80,000
blankets over me, and went to sleep to dream
of my 33,569 wives and my 46,542 sweet-
hearts."**
Before the congressional committee he
testified he had command of everybody;
he had command of Gen. Schenck, of Gen.
Crouch, of general everybody else. But
when he was questioned he made a poor
showing.
"You did not bring Gen. Scheneck's
forces into the field?"
"I never had any returns from him; I
did not know what force he had."
"What was the force about Washington?"
"I do not know."
"Did not Gen. Heinzelman have a corps
there?"
"I do not know."
He must have been truthful, of course:
he admits himself that he was a christian
gentleman; but he seems to have been sur-
rounded with the worst lot of liars who ever
kept out of jail. There is Gen. Butterfield,
for instance. He lived in Utica, and we
*After the battle of Gettysburg Gen. Sickles had only one
leg left.
†Part of the command were Hebrews.
The little fifer did not smoke.
**These figures ought not to overlap but they sometimes
do. Some men think variety is the spice of wife. It is
difficult to obtain exact statistics.
GEN. DANIEL BUTTERFIELD, 1831-1901
people in central New York used to think
his word was as good as his bond. When his
son Theodore lived in Syracuse as superin-
tendent of the R. W. & O. railway I had
many business relations with him, and al-
ways found him square as a die. But Gen.
Butterfield must have been a whited sepul-
chre. Meade says he never got hold of a
word of Hooker's plans. Butterfield, who
was chief of staff to both, says that at
Meade's request he got Hooker's plans for
him in full, and even tells what they were as
he related them to Meade, whereupon
Meade told Butterfield that these were the
plans Hooker had already communicated to
him, and he followed them.
Meade says, and takes solemn oath on it,
that he never for an instant contemplated
abandoning Gettysburg. Butterfield says
that by Meade's command he prepared an
order to abandon it, and Pleasanton says:
"Gen. Meade had so little assurance in his
own ability to maintain himself, or in the
strength of his position, that when the
rebels partially broke our line in the after-
noon of the 2d, he directed me to collect
what cavalry I could, and prepare to cover
the retreat of the army; and I was thus
engaged until 12 o'clock that night." And
yet they afterward made a man who could
contradict Meade like than subtreasurer of
the United States.

Dec. 2, 1863]
Gen. Meade's Record
285
GEN. HENRY W. SLOCUM, 1827-94
Gen. Slocum, one of the three S's,
Slocum, Sedgwick, and Sumner, held in
honor in central New York, and who was
in command of the right at Gettysburg,
when Gen. Meade's official report of the
battle of Gettysburg was published wrote
an official letter to Gen. Meade saying:
"Yet the facts in the case are very nearly
the reverse of the above in every particular,
and directly in contradiction to the facts
as set forth in the reports of Gen. Geary
and Gen. Williams."
Gen. Williams, who commanded the
12th corps points out four serious mis-
statements in Gen. Meade's official report,
and concludes, "I confess to have read
that part of his report relating to the 12th
corps with a mixed feeling of astonish-
ment and regret."
Gen. Sickles, commanding the 3d corps,
says conservatively: "In other words, Gen.
Meade's statement is difficult to reconcile
with his high position and the ample means
of information always accessible to him,"
and points out that while Meade says in his
letter that Sickles's movement caused a
loss of half of the 5th corps, the entire
loss of the 5th corps during the battle was
2187 out of 12,000, less than one-eighth.
See also what he says on page 225.
GEN. MERSENA R. PATRICE, 1811-88
Then there was Gen. Patrick, provost
master general of the army, a grim old
warrior: I should't have liked the job of
picking up the fragments of anybody who
told him in his prime that his word was not
good. I knew him pretty well after the
war. He lived in Manlius, eight miles from
Syracuse, and I used to visit his family.
We had many conversations about the war,
my part being to direct his reminiscences
toward the events in which I was most
interested. He had kept copies of every
order issued, and he told me there were
reputations he could make or break if he
revealed them. He finally promised to
edit them and let me publish them for him.
Unhappily, just as he was beginning the
work he was called to the command of the
soldiers home in Ohio. The removal delayed
the undertaking and finally he never got
at it. Many of these papers have since
been published in the government history
of the war, but he proposed to turn them
over to me thirty-five years ago, when most
of the prominent generals were still living,
and when the book would have made a
sensation. I should like to quote some
things he told me, but I do not feel at
liberty to do so, not only because they were
told in confidence, but also because I made
no memoranda at the time, expecting soon
to have his manuscript, and it would not be
286
[Mine Run, Va.
Battle of Locust Grove
J
•
fair to hold him responsible for my unaided
recollection after so long a period.
But his tesimony before the congressional
committee is in print. He says that after
the Mine Run fiasco Gen. Meade came to
his tent very much depressed, and said
that he was conscious his head was off.
Unlike Gen. Lee on the third day at
Gettysburg he does not seem to have been
thinking of the lives he had needlessly
sacrificed, but of his own reputation:
which does not correspond with the mag-
nanimity his friends ascribe to him.
As a result of the investigations of the
congressional committee, Senators Wade
and Chandler demanded of the president
and the secretary of war the removal of
Gen. Meade and the appointment of some
one more competent to command, suggest-
ing Hooker. But congress revived the
title of lieutenant general, never held
except by Washington, and appointed
Grant to command of all the armies of the
United States. He retained Meade in
command of the army of the Potomac,
and was satisfied with him, which makes it
impertinent for any one else to express an
opinion as to his service there, though we
may smile at Boswell Pennypacker when he
suggests that if Meade had been left in
supreme command he might have accom-
plished all that Grant did at less sacrifice.
But as I have so often said I am not
writing history. I undertook this little
investigation only to justify my own and
my fellows' dislike of Gen. Meade and dis-
trust of him. Of course I am speaking of
Gen. Meade only as a commander-in-chief:
that was the only way I knew him. He
may have been a good corps com-
mander, though Gen. Doubleday says
he might have won the battle of Chan-
cellorsville with his 5th corps if he
had not held them outside when their
brothers were fighting. Undoubtedly he
had his good points, but they were not
protruding when we were looking.
CHAPTER XXV. IN CAMP AT BRANDY STATION
T
a
HE winter was
long rest. For five
months we lay in
camp at Brandy
Station, a bleak
spot on the Orange
and Alexandria
railway, partly on
ground owned by John Minor Botts.
Dec. 3. Came back to Camp. The mud
was fearful but we were glad to get into Camp
Got plenty to eat and now are all
once more.
right. Was put on Orderly. About 12 at
night an order came around to pack up, but '
at 3 we were allowed to go to bed again.
Dec. 4. Pleasant. Our 8 days mail came
in. Had 5 letters, 14 papers & 3 bundles.
Went over to the 1st Div. & saw a man shot
for desertion. He belonged to Co. B. 124th
N. Y. S. V. He dropped dead as a nail the
first pop.
The 3d Div. changed Camp.
I have seen the statement that only 121
were shot for desertion during the entire
war. This hardly seems possible, for be-


BRANDY STATION, VA.
287
288
[Brandy Station, Va.
In Camp at Brandy Station

EXECUTION OF A DESERTER
sides this man I saw another shot on May 8
near Spotsylvania on short notice: he
happened to be taken prisoner by the com-
pany from which he had deserted. Or-
dinarily men shrink from shooting a fellow-
soldier in cold blood, and usually the mus-
kets were loaded by others and given to the
squad detailed to do the firing. Of the ten
guns one would not be loaded, and as no
one of the ten knew which had the un-
loaded gun, each was at liberty to believe
that he had not fired a real bullet. When a
company of the 71st Indiana captured one
of their own number who had become a
deserter and a spy, however, they all begged
for permission to shoot him. The number
detailed was fifteen, and fifteen bullets
were found in his body.
I found it a serious sight to look upon a
man shot summarily like this. In battle
men fall all around you, but you don't
know who it is going to be or when. To
see a man sitting on his coffin and know
that the instant the word is given he will
pass out of this life into another is solemn.
This man turned black as he fell; death
must have been instantaneous. In his
memoirs Lord Robertson tells of the fa-
mous shooting of Sepoys from the mouths of
cannon. The troops were drawn up so as
to form three sides of a square; on the
fourth side were two guns. It was a ter-
rible sight, likely to haunt the beholder for
a long time, but that was what was in-
tended.
Dec. 5. Pleasant. The weather is getting
to be very cold. Like to have frozen last
night.
Des. 6. Pleasant. Went down to the old
3d Div. Camp & got some logs for a house.
Dec. 4-25, 1863]
Execution of a Deserter
Fixed it up very well as far as it went.
Night very cold.
Phillips and I were now tenting together.
Dec. 7. Pleasant. Continued work on
house. Built the chimney in good shape.
Got my box all in good condition.
Dec. 8. Pleasant. Very cold. Moved
into our house today. Very comfortable
indeed. Had letter from Aunt Susan.
which I answered. All the Drummers have
to go on Orderly henceforth.
289
were going back again sure. But "July
30th 1863" soon soaked our Great Expecta-
tions.
Dec. 16 Pleasant. Got up early by Na-
ture's call and made a fire. Our old Fire-
place goes "Bully."
Dec. 17. Rainy. Very rainv all day.
Our house had about six inches of water on
the floor. Played 38 games of 45's. Score
13 B. 25 P.
Dec. 18. Rainy.
Rather muddy in our
Dec. 9. Pleasant. Cold. Clothing house. Played 48 games of 45's. Score
came at night. About time.
25 B. 23 P. At Dress Parade Corpl
Green of H Co. had stripes taken off.
Dec. 10. Pleasant. Was on Orderly.
Baldwin cross as usual.
very well.
Otherwise got on
Dec. 11. Jones came to the Regiment
with a little stuff and I filled myself so full
of Peaches & Sardines that I had to go to
Bed.
Jones was the sutler. I think that com-
bination would stagger me now.
Dec. 12. Baldwin sent us out to build his
old Stable but it rained so we had to come in.
Signs of moving.
Dec. 13. Splendid!! The best day we
have had since my return to Virginia.
Warm and pleasant, though muddy.
Rather an anti-climax.
Dec. 14. Cloudy. Old Baldwin got us to
work on his mud job again. After finishing
he set us to lugging logs heavy enough for
men, for his stable floor. The d.
Dec. 15. Pleasant. Drills recommenced.
Eat a hearty supper of Beefsteak & eggs
and then a whole loaf of Bread before Tat-
too.
A very funny circumstance occurred.
Joe Wilson sent to Brigade Headquarters
for copy of last July order, to go to N. Y.
He left it laying on the table, and the Col. saw
it without noticing the date. So he gave or-
ders for Recall etc. and we all thought we
Dec. 19. Pleasant. Quite cool. Played
47 games at 45's. Score 25 B. 22 P.
I seem to have been as much interested
in winning these games where there was no
stake as in the heavy games of bluff.
Dec. 20. Pleasant. Very cold but clear
& pleasant. Books came from New York.
Rory O Moore very good. Sent four letters.
Dec. 21. Pleasant. Had Baked Beans
for breakfast. Score at night B. 25. P. 18.
Sent home for two pocketbooks.
Dec. 22. Pleasant. A splendid day, but
indications of snow. 45's very close, 25B.
24P.
I am now one game ahead, out of 325.
Dec. 23. Snow. Snow for the first time.
Was on Orderly. The snow cleared off
about 9 A. M. and we were called out 3
times for Review by the new Inspector Gen-
eral. After playing our regular 45's, the
score standing B. 21. P. 25, we did not feel
like going to bed so we got lots of chips and
sat up till 4 next morning:
The chips were not the chips that pass in
the night but chips of wood for the fire.
Dec. 24. Pleasant. Felt as well after
three hours sleep as thirteen. Had to "do"
Brigade Guard-Mounting, Cold Work.
Dec. 25. Pleasant. Christmas. Very
290
[Brandy Station, Va.
In Camp at Brandy Station

!
nice and warm.
Everybody drunk.
here and his A. A.
miracle how he kept on his horse. Mudge
and others of our Officers were drunk as
usual. We had an axe for Christmas
present. Bully fire at night.
Well it was Christmas.
Gen. Warren rode by
G. so drunk it seemed a
Dec. 26. Very Pleasant as all our officers
were too drunk. Letter from Susie.
These entries, though made in good faith,
are I should say unjust to the regiment.
As I look back I can recall only two offi-
cers who made on me the impression of
being especially fond of liquor. Officers
could draw whiskey at any time, and could
get intoxicated if they cared to, but I sel-
dom saw any of them in that condition.
Dec. 27. Rainy. Got up and found the
bottom of the tent all water, which so angered
me that I went out, cut off and split a walnut
log before breakfast for the floor. Put it
Put it
down, which made great improvement.
Made preparations for raising the house.
Dec. 28. Rainy. Got the logs etc. ready to
raise our hut. A good axe is a great insti-
tution. Am not afraid of any log now.
Dec. 29. Cloudy. Raised our house to-
day, and made great improvement.
we can live here all winter if allowed.
Guess
Dec. 30. Pleasant. Very
muddy.
Should almost be willing to move Camp and
get out of the Slush. News received of the
prize-fight. Some of the men who were so
anxious to bet 100 to 30 on Heenan must feel
rather blue.
The prize fight for the world champion-
ship in 1907, was held within a stone's throw
of my hotel in London, but I never even
thought of going to it. I met the crowd
coming away from it as I came back from
the Covent Garden Opera.
Dec. 31. Rainy. A drizzling rain is-
year out.
year out.
sued in the last day of the year. Mustered
in at 3 P. M. Sat up at night to see the old
Slow pass the hours, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11,
11, 11 and down to seconds. 1863 is a
thing of the past. A Happy new year to all.
The year that has passed was passed by me
in the Army. I bear witness to its contam-
inating effects. Many an evil habit has
sprung up in me since Jan 1st, 1863. God
grant that the year on which we have now en-
Thus ends my true account
tered be not so.
of my doings for 1863. Charles Wm.
Bardeen. His † Seal.
Finis.
So closes my green-covered diary. The
new year was opened with another book,
bound in brown.
Jan. 1. 1864. Cold and Windy. Set up
last night to see the New Year in. 11th
Mass. band struck up at midnight. The
weather cleared up about 9 A. M. and be-
came cold and windy. Froze at 4 P. M.
Bought a pair of Boots of Sutler for $8.00.
Played Checkers in the evening with Rivers.
Score 11-10, he getting the rubber of 21
games.
Jan. 2. Very Cold. Baldwin told us,
(Drum Corps), that if we would cut a load of
wood he would have it hauled for us. So I
went out chopping and got considerable wood
Had a dispute with Phillips in the evening.
Jan. 3. Pleasant. Had Inspection as
usual. Did not speak to P. all day.
Jan. 4. Snow. Considerable Snow. Was
in Orderly. Just the right weather to skate
or slide at home. Searj't Phillips pressed a
lot of Bully Doughnuts on me at night.
Jan. 5. Pleasant. Chopped wood a good
deal. Phillips does not work at all. That's
all right. I am just able to do all the work, if
he is too lazy. Letter from home which I
answered.
Dec.-25 Jan. 15, 1864]
Tentmates as Friends
Jan. 9. Cloudy. Chopped wood in the
morning. Played Checkers in P. M.
Read the best Novelette story I ever saw: the
Gold Fiend. Part of the 6th Corps moved.
Am afraid we will have to, but should hate to
leave present quarters.
Jan. 7. Cloudy. Phillips took it into his
head to go to work, and got up quite a res-
pectable pile of wood. I worked out a table.
Snow in the evening.
Jan. 8. Snow. Very cold and snowing in
the morning. Beat Rivers at Checkers.
Sent $4.00 for books.
Jan. 9. Pleasant. Beat Rivers again.
Jones brought up some nails. Sat up till
about eleven.
Jan. 10. Pleasant. Fixed up the Front
of the house. Rumors of moving. Played
cards at Macomber's in the evening. No
mail.
Jan. 11. Pleasant. Beat Rivers bad at
checkers. Three of the 2d Div. Zouaves
were corrected for being drunk. One was
quite amusing in his patriotic earnestness,
but two swore fatal vengeance on the 1st Mass.
Won a dollar "payday" from Sheppard at
45's.
He never paid it, so like Rip Van Win-
kle's drink this didn't count.
Jan. 12. Pleasant. Played checkers.
Put up some more shelves, and everything is
very convenient now. Had letter from
George and Lizzie.
These were my brother and sister.
Jan. 13. Cloudy. Went down to the
Station in A. M. Wrote letter to Div. Or-
der read on line condemning three men in
this Division to be shot on the 29th inst.
Jan. 14. Cloudy. Got another load of
wood hauled. In P. M. man came around
with bags containing needles, thread, tea, an
apple etc. Found address inside and sent
letter to J. A. Babcock, Lowell, Mass.
291
Jan. 15. Pleasant. Brigade Inspection.
Took advantage of the nice day to fix over
our Chimney Did not get it done. Two
letters. Georgie and Maud. Rec'd books at
night. Phillips came around sociable
again and we sat up till late playing checkers.
Sat up till 3.
Jo certainly was lazy, but it should be
kept in mind that all the improvements in
our hut were of my suggestion and forced
on him, so that when I blamed him it might
be for what he had only tacitly agreed to.
It will be remembered that at Fairfax Sta-
tion Prest called me lazy under like cir-
cumstances. The fact is, the wonder was
not that Phillips and I quarrelled once in a
while but that we endured one another so
well. In winter quarters we were together
twenty-three hours out of the twenty-four,
most of the time in a hut five feet square.
Try that even with somebody you like very
well and see if it does not now and then
get on your nerves. Johnny's idea of a
friend was "a feller wot knowed yer but
liked yer." If tentmates were friends at
all they were that kind of friends, for they
certainly knew each other.
There was this I felt about Phillips, that
he had character. I had already learned
that it was something to say for a man that
there were things he wouldn't do. Phil-
lips was narrow and obstinate, rather mo-
rose, and suspicious of motives; he could be
disagreeable in small matters. But I
never feared that he would say behind my
back what he would not say to my face, or
that he would fail me in any serious matter.
I trusted him absolutely, and never had
reason to regret it.
reason to regret it. He was not so much of
a companion to me as Prest because he
never wanted to do anything he did not
have to. We were both stragglers but
seldom together, for he did not have the
292
[Brandy Station, Va.
In Camp at Brandy Station
pride I had in getting to the regiment at
night, and he would think it rank folly to
go a mile or two out of the way to see a fa-
mous building or a cavalry skirmish. On
the other hand if I had been sick or wounded
I should have looked to Phillips to see to
me, not to Prest. I do not think Phillips
would have failed me. His sharing his food
with me after a long quarrel, as already
narrated, because I was hungry and needed
it, was thoroughly characteristic. I am
not quite sure I should have offered or he
would have accepted it, if our positions.
had been reversed.
Jan. 16. Pleasant. Fixed up the Chim-
ney. Made some chessmen and played with
Phillips at night. Went to Bed at 3 A. M.
Jan. 17. Pleasant. Fixed up a door with
D's blanket. Played chess till 10 1-2.
Jan. 18. Rainy. Rained hard all day.
Played chess, etc.
Jan. 19. Windy. Was on Orderly.
Very muddy. Sutler gave out checks. Got
one for $2.00. Saw a very pretty little girl
of 10 years ride by on a mule-She looked
very pretty.
The iteration is excusable, for the sight
of a little girl had become a very rare ex-
perience.
Jan. 20. Windy. Did Picket Guard
Mounting. Played Chess with Hull.
Baldwin gave us another mud job.
Jan. 21. Pleasant. Played Chess all
day. Had two letters from Geo Liz &
Sarah. Answered.
My diary for this year is three days to a
page, and the influence is shown in these
laconic entries.
Jan. 22. Pleasant. Washington's Birth-
day in one month. Big thing! Had letter
from home with receipt of Box.
from Amanda. Lambs and Goats, 1864.
Also
I do not remember Amanda, or recall the
reference in the last sentence. The trite
reference to Washington's birthday evi-
dently comes from my entering it a month
too soon and not wanting to scratch it out.
Jan. 23. Pleasant. Bought pail of the
Sutler.
Jan. 24. Pleasant. Fixed up floor. At
Inspection Col. Mc said we could enlist in
either Cavalry or Infantry, and great ex-
citement was caused. Think a good many
will reenlist.
Jan. 25. Very Pleasant. 103 Reenlisted
today. Should like to go, but three years.
Don't like that.
Jan. 26. Very Pleasant. Put down my
name on Hull's paper! Went down to the
Station.
Jan. 27. Pleasant. My box came today
all in good shape.
Jan. 28. Very warm.
digging trenches but did
a long & deep job.
Jan. 29. Very warm.
Had a good job at
not finish, as it was
Hot weather for
January. A big sell was got up. All
Corps in the Army were represented by men
who came to see
who came to see a man hung, but “nary
hang."
It was too bad to disappoint the crowd,
when there were so many officers who ought
to have been hanged.
Jan. 30. Cloudy. A little rain towards
night.
night. Had letter from home, with check
for $10.00.
Jan. 31. Cloudy. Sent letter with the
check to the Bank. Childs beat me bad at
checkers in the evening.
Feb. 1. Rainy.
Feb. 2. Cloudy.
Rumors of moving.
Sword Exercise through
the day. Thunder & Lightning at night.
Feb. 3. Very windy. Was on Orderly.
Played Checkers with Wilson. Druary,
The Repromanding Repromanded
Jan. 15-Feb. 19, 1864]
Fletcher and showed them I could play a
pretty good game. Had very good time.
The last two
Wilson.
were officers. I forget
Feb. 4. Windy. Lt. Averill. the Cham-
pion of Officers, invited me down to play,
and I beat him. Score 14 B. 2 A. 4 Drawn.
Drills and Dress Parade. Beat Bill
Childs awfully.
Feb. 5. Pleasant.
noon.
293
Feb. 14. Very Pleasant. Inspection.
Played Ball, jumped, etc. considerably.
Feb. 15, Snows. Review by Gen Prince.
All very well, only it was cold without our
coats.
Besides, we were not fond of Gen. Prince.
It was his grudge against Col. McLaughlin
that gave us all that extra fatigue duty.
He afterward preferred charges against our
Played Ball in after- colonel, with the result that the court de-
Had two letters at night.
clared there had been no occasion for Col.
McLaughlin's arrest, and that it was to be
regretted that one officer should care so
little for the reputation and happiness of a
brother officer as to subject him to such a
needless and annoying experience.
Feb. 6. Orders to move. Started about 4
o'clock and marched till nine. Left Stuff in
Camp under guard. Passed through
Stevensburg. Also by a very handsome
house, fixed up with evergreens as some Gen's
Headquarters. Felt pretty well at night.
We marched six miles in the direction of
Morton's ford, and bivouacked in a swamp
We were then in support of a reconnois-
sance in force, but were not engaged.
Most of the 2d corps forded the ice-
forded the ice-
cold river a little lower down, wading across
under fire. They lost some 200, but drove
the confederates out of their rifle-pits and
captured fifty prisoners.
Feb. 7. Rainy. Saw a dead Cavalryman
with his head out of the ground. Came
back to Camp at 4 P. M. getting here about
seven.
Feb. 8. Pleasant. Grand bull at Guard
Mounting.
Feb. 9. Pleasant. Got load of wood with
Welch and Prest. Had letter from home.
Feb. 10. Pleasant. Quite cold. Played
Chess all day. Sat up late at night.
Feb. 11. Pleasant.
Chess etc.
Cold.
Played
Feb. 12. Very Warm. Had Battallion
Drill (Skirmish) and enjoyed myself very
well as we had a nice road to practise on.
Feb. 13. Very Pleasant. Went down to
the Station. Got a good dinner for 75 cts.
Feb. 16. Very Windy. The wind was
fearful & shook our house like an aspen.
Some houses were blown away. Played
Chess with Hull & got beat.
The comparison seems literary rather
than scientific.
Feb. 17. Very Windy. Still lots of wind
& very cold.
Feb. 18. Cold.
Cold. The wind has at last
gone down. Was on Orderly. Attended
meeting in the evening and formed the ac-
quaintance of one Mally of Co F. 16th Mass
Line Companies changed-D, G, A, E, F,
I, H, K, C, B.
The order of the companies in marching
depended on the date of the commission
of the captain. Capt. Stone of Co. D was
now the senior of the captains, so my com-
pany marched at the head of the regiment.
The captain of Co. B. stood second, and his
company had the left. The captain of
Co. F. stood third, and his company had
the right centre, with the colors.
Feb. 19. Cold. Very cold at night but
warmer toward the middle of the day. Very
excited meeting of the
Methodist Style.
84th. Regular
:
294
[Brandy Station, Va.
In Camp at Brandy Station
Feb. 20. Cold.
meeting in P. M.
pledge.
Feb. 21. Pleasant.
Attended temperance
Phillips signed the
The best meeting I
ever attended in the Army, at Holy Jo's
tent. After meeting Miss Gilson, who was
present, spoke very effectively. She is an
angel on earth. Mayor Lincoln & Ex-Gov.
Washburn came out and were serenaded by
120th Band. Signed the Pay Rolls.
Feb. 22. Washington's Birthday. Pay
Pay
Day. Were paid off. Collected a few
debts. Mock Dress Parade in P. M.
Murphy Adjutant. Got up pretty well.
Singing meeting in the evening.
Feb. 23. Pleasant. Drills in A. M. &
P. M. Was beaten at Checkers by a player
in Co. H.
Feb. 24. Windy. Battallion Drill in
P. M. It is two weeks since I have had a
letter from home.
Feb. 25. Pleasant. Drills. Spelling
School at night. Spelled down on reception.
Cleared out by order of Major Walker-for
two fiddles.
Feb. 26. Windy. Knapsack Drill in
A. M. Temperance meeting at night. No
letter from home for more than two weeks.
Feb. 27. Review by Gen. French. Got
letter with Photo. from Maud.
Feb. 28. Windy. Inspection as usual.
Got a letter from home at last. Miscarried.
Many signs of moving. D. C. put in the
madhouse. Swept Camp all day. Miss
Gilson spoke at church.
March 3. Rainy. Jumped a good deal.
March 4. Pleasant. Was on Orderly.
Order came requiring officers and men to
have a pass to leave their regiments from the
Col. Those found outside without a pass to
be arrested. Love to see that law executed.
It was a general rule that no soldier
should go away from camp without a per-
mit, but we never regarded it.
March 5. Cloudy. Beat Hull the Rubber
at Chess in the evening.
March 6. Pleasant. Inspection. Man
came to take pictures, but it was too clear.
I don't remember the pictures. What-
ever they were, I wish I had bought and
kept one.
March 7. Pleasant. Bought Flute of
Major Hart for $18.00. Five discount.
Paid him the cash.
March 8. Cloudy. Exercised consider-
ably. Played Chess & Checkers.
March 9. Rainy. Some rain, Chess &c.
March 10. Warm. Quite warm
and
pleasant. Hull beat me the Rubber at Chess.
March 11. Rainy. Very heavy Rain.
Chess etc. Thunder & Lightning.
March 12. Cloudy. Football.
Football. Phillips
beat me two games of Chess in the evening.
March 13. Pleasant. Inspection. Church
in P. M. in the new Chapel. Played
Chess in the evening.
•
March 14. Pleasant. Foot Ball as usual. ·
March 15. Cold. Foot Ball. Brig. G.
M. Phillips tied up to a tree for not answer-
Feb. 29. Cloudy. Orders to be ready to ing Mudge's whistle.
move. Cavalry passing.
March 1. Rain. Rainy. Did little but
play Chess. Checkmated Phillips in three
moves.
March 2. Pleasant. Phillips got the
Rubber at Chess and felt gay. Check-
mated him in seven moves once, however.
I have referred to this incident on page
45.
March 16. Cold. Corps Review. First
since Falmouth. Phillips went to the Col.
to see about the "whistling" and the Col. told
the Adjt to "whistle for dogs & call for Or-
derlies."
Feb. 22-Mch. 29, 1864]
Gen. Grant in Command
March 17. Drills &c. Am trying hard
to learn the Lancers Quadrilles on the Flute.
March 18. Windy. Was on Orderly.
Mudge was cross. Orders to move in P.
M. Did not. 212 signed the Temperance
Pledge at night.
March 19.
19. Pleasant. Firing heard
towards the River. Went down to Station.
March 20. Pleasant. Crowded church.
A new minister.
March 21. Cold. Singing Class at night.
March 22. Snow. Cold and windy. Snow
at night. Beat John Woods at checkers.
March 23. Very Pleasant. Cut down a
tree. Snow about six inches deep. nice and
dry.
March 24. Pleasant. Grand Ball.
Went over and staid 'till Supper. Did not
dance. Got up in good style for privates.
What I especially remember of this
evening is the psychological effect of
skirts. When it became known that the
officers were to give us the use of their
building for this ball some of the men
sent home for various articles of women's
finery, including hoop skirts then in
Vogue. The
men who dressed them-
selves in these garments were by no means
the most feminine in the regiment, but
the effect upon the rest of us was to pro-
duce the impulse of protection. The
Excelsior brigade had not been invited,
and toward midnight they attempted to
force an entrance, using long poles as
battering rams against an end door.
As they pushed in and the fight began
Jim McCrae happened to be walking on
my arm, and I put myself in front of
him as inevitably as if he had been a girl
fifteen years old. But only for an instant.
Jim was an Irishman of the Kilkenny type,
red-haired, freckled face, blue eyes, al-
ways good-natured but always spoiling
295
for a row.
He swished his skirts out of
the way, pulled up sleeves showing arms
as remarkable for their whiteness as for
their strength, and sailed into that Ex-
celsior crowd with both fists. Only a
few had got in and they were soon thrust
our again and the door securely fastened.
The dance went on, and I think Jim and
I finished the promenade, but the rest of
the night I had a sort of sub-consciousness
that in spite of his skirts he was quite able
to take care of himself.
March 25. Rainy. Laid abed untill
about 3 P. M.
March 26. Rainy. Gymnastics when it
did not rain.
March 27. Pleasant, Attended church.
Mayor Fay and Miss Gilson spoke in P.
M. Malby and Harris of the 84th came
over in the evening and went to meeting.
March 28. Pleasant. Singing meeting
at night.
March 29. Rainy. Orders for Review.
Went out and stacked Arms & then came in
Beat Sullivan at
again. Heavy Rain.
Chess.
Gen. Grant had been made commander
in chief March 3, and had come to Cul-
pepper. One of his first acts was to re-
organize the army of the Potomac. The
3d corps was broken up, and the 1st and 2d
divisions were put into the 2d corps, as the
3d and 4th divisions, at Spotsylvania con-
solidated into the 3d division; but we were
allowed to retain our red and white dia-
monds, the badges of our old 3d. A week
later our brigade and the 3d were consoli-
dated. The 3d division went into the 6th
corps. Gen. Motte became our brigade.
commander, Gen. Prince went into the 6th
corps, and Gen. French, who had not dis-
tinguished himself since he succeeded
296
[Brandy Station, Va.
In Camp at Brandy Station
Sickles, was relieved and sent to Phila-
delphia.
March 30. Clearing off. The picket
went out & had to return as Mine Run was
swollen so that they could not cross it. Beat
Childs at checkers.
March 31. Cold. Had to go to Gen.
Mott's H. Q. to mount guard. A long ways.
Spelling School changed to Singing School at
night. Chippie called the Staff "Hemi
Demi Semi Quavers" which roused a laugh.
April 1. Rainy. Was on Orderly. Had
to go over to B. H. Q. twice. Beat Hiram
Wright & lost the rubber with the Sutler at
checkers. Temperance
Temperance meeting in the
evening.
April 2. Cold. Cold miserable day.
Cut down trees & I lost my Gymnasium.
April 3. Pleasant. Inspection. At-
tended church forenoon & afternoon & was
very much interested.
April 4. Rain. Cold & unpleasant.
Grand Ball 1st Mass at night. Did not
attend.
April 5. Rain. Quite Cold. Formed
new Resolutions at night which I hope I
shall be enabled to keep.
April 6. Rain. Played Chess & learned
a Waltz. (Affectionate Waltz) from Wallace
and got so far as to accompany him on the
flute. Attended Singing School in the
evening.
Wallace was an Englishman, older than
most of us drummers, and holding himself
rather above us and above his position.
When I heard of him last he had gone back
to England.
April 7. Pleasant. A nice, pleasant
day, a great change from our rainy weather.
Was on extra Orderly. Had talk with Sam
Parker after Tattoo.
April 8. Pleasant.
Had Temperance Lecture at night, by
Rev. Mr. Hayward.
April 9.
church at night.
Uncomfortable. Spoke in
April 10. Pleasant. Attended Church.
April 11. Rain. Singing School at night.
April 12. Pleasant. Gymnastics through
the day. Malby & Harris over at night.
Both with myself spoke in meeting.
April 13. Pleasant. Was on Orderly.
Helped to carry Major Webb's chest to the
84th. The most money I ever lifted. Box-
ing Gloves at night.
April 14. Pleasant. Division Review
by Gen. Hancock. Played 4 handed Casi-
no in Co K.
Gen. Meade was the senior reviewing
officer, but I did not seem to notice him at
all.
April 15. Cloudy. Inspection.
April 16. Pleasant. Rumors of going
home.
April 17. Pleasant.
the 84th in the evening.
Attended church at
Very good.
April 18. Pleasant. Very nice day.
Washed in the P. M. and escaped Battalion
Drill. Attended meeting in the 84th after
Tattoo.
April 19. Windy. At Battallion Drill
Major Walker broke his arm, being thrown
from his horse. The 84th formed a church.
17 members.
April 20. Pleasant. Drills.
April 21. Pleasant. Prayer meetings
commenced again.
April 22. Pleasant. Had Dr Pickard
pull tooth and got cold in it. Aches worse
than ever.
This was the first permanent tooth I lost,
and the cheapest kind of a dentist could
have saved it. I would give back all the
Another nice day. money the government paid me for twenty-
!
i
March 29-Apr. 22, 1864]
Beards in the Army
297

THE CAMP BARBER
one months service to have it once more in
my jaw. This absence of dental care was
one of the minor put annoying depriva-
tions of the army, but I escaped another al-
most more serious, in that I was too young
to shave. A good many men kept smooth
faces and disliked to shave themselves, so
the company barber got in his awful
work, and a distressing sight it was.
most of the men wore full beards.
But
In the English army mustaches are re-
quired. Sir Colin Campbell thundered at an
infantry captain whom he found with a
smooth lip. "You can wear whiskers or not
as you like, but your mustache belongs to
the Queen," he said. "Let it grow or sell
out." Throughout the last century when
the soldier wore a pigtail the face was shav-
en clean. At the time of the Peninsular
war whiskers were worn. Later, mus-
taches began to be worn by the cavalry,
but the infantry scraped the upper lip till
the time of the Crimean war, when they
began to wear them. It was looked upon
as an invasion by the cavalry; a cartoon
of the period represents one cavalryman
298
[Brandy Station, Va.
In Camp at Brandy Station

Culpepper COURTHOUSE, VA,
saying to another, "I see the infantry are
growing mustaches: we shall have to
shave." Side whiskers were discarded in
the 80's. A quartermaster writing from
South Africa said, "We're not allowed to
shave, as the heat of the day and the cold
of the night give everyone sore faces: and
it only comes our turn for a wash every
fourth day."
The custom of wearing mustaches did
not prevail in France until the reign of
Louis Phillippe, when it became obliga-
tory in the whole French army. It was
not until the close of the Crimean war
that English civilians as well as English
soldiers in general wore hair on the lip.
Shortly after the mustache came into
favor among gentlemen Horace Mayhew
was passing through an English country
town and was immediately noted and
followed by a small army of children,
who pointed to his lip and called out de-
risively:
"He's got whiskers under his snout
He's got whiskers under his snout!"
For a long time the mustache was the
subject of raillery, even after it was be-
coming common, and the famous carica-
turist Leech printed in Punch a picture
of two old fashioned women who, when
they were spoken to by bearded railway
guards, fell on their knees and cried out:
"Take all that we have gentlemen, but
spare our lives!"
My tooth was so absorbing that I forgot
to record that we had this day our first re-
·
Apr. 22-May 3, 1864]
A Stolen Visit to Culpepper
view under Gen. Grant. We were inter-
ested to see him, of course, but did not find
him impressive looking. It was a corps.
review, in a field near Mountain Run.
April 23. Cloudy. Tooth aches bad.
Offered Prayer in church and Burditt
followed.
April 24. Rain. Had to leave church on
account of tooth, but spoke at night.
April 25. Very Pleasant. Tooth better.
Beat Hull at chess and Harris (84th) at
checkers.
April 26. Pleasant. Write this on Pony
Mt. Came up on a pass to the 15th with
Prest. Good sight to be seen.
Went to
Culpepper and got off on our pass from the
provost. Rode back in the Cars. Had very
good time.
We had been longing to see Culpepper,
but had not known how to get there, as it
would have been impossible to get a pass to
go so far. Finally I wrote out a pass to visit
the 15th Mass., not far away, but made the
5 in the 15 look much like a 3, and when it
came back we started off on it. We crossed
the fields and at one time got too far south
and were close to the confederate pickets
before we observed their flag. We crept
back along a fence without being observed,
and finally got into the village. We were
arrrested at once by the provost guard, of
299
course, and presented the pass. "This is
only to the 15th Mass." the officer said;
"it doesn't allow you to come over clear
here."
"I wrote it myself," I said: "I ought to
know whether it is the 15th or 13th.”
"But it is endorsed only up to division
headquarters."
"I didn't ask about that," I replied. "I
put it in and it came back approved.”
He was puzzled, but he finally not only
allowed us to stay but gave us a pass back
by the train.
April 27. Pleasant. Spoke in meeting at
night.
April 28. Pleasant. More Rumors. Am
sick of them.
April 29. Pleasant. Went down to the
Station and got dinner.
April 30. Pleasant. Rumors of moving.
May 1. Cold. One year ago today,
reached the
reached the Battlefield of Chancellorsville.
Attended church all day. Dance hall burnt
in evening. Fine sight.
May. 2 Pleasant. A fearful Tornado
swept past at dusk, a perfect cloud of dust
sweeping through the Camp with fearful
speed. Singing meeting at night.
May 3.
Had orders to change Camp and
worked hard all day, when we had orders to
be ready to move.
Uorm
T
CHAPTER XXVI. THE BATTLE OF THE WILDERNESS

HE events that
happened in the
Wilderness and
why they hap-
pened have always
been to me some-
what obscure.
obscure. I
had
been in five
battles, three of them the largest thus
far fought, and the other two, though
they fizzled out, intended by Gen. Meade
to be as important as Gettysburg.
I had seen a good deal more of them than
would have been possible had I been of
consequence enough to be looked after,
so that I felt myself something of an ex-
pert: at least I thought I could tell how
things were going and whether we were
beating or not. But in the Wilderness
I was all at sea.
Longstreet says Grant had no fixed plan
beyond the general idea to avoid the strong
defensive line occupied by Gen. Lee be-
hind Mine Run, and find a way to draw
him out to open battle.
May 4. Pleasant. Started at 12 M. and
reached Ely's Ford about seven.
The pontoons on which we crossed were
made of canvass instead of the usual wood.
Turning to our original map we see where
Grant crossed at Germania and Ely's fords,
and must keep in mind the road lead-

HANCOCK'S CORPS CROSSING THE RAPIDAN AT ELY'S FORD
300
Maol
May 4-5, 1864]
RARIDAN
GERMANIA
Nack
RIVER
CHANCELLORSVILLE
Gen. Hancock in Battle
BANKS FO
US FORD
FALMOUTH
૧૧:૧
오오
​AQUIA CR.R.R.
VBURO
Belle plain
Fooke
Tanding
"BOY OS HULE
ONTOON BRIDGES
RAPP
Wap
Muddy Cr
ĮPLANS
9
9
RIV 2
오오​오오오​오오오
​9
Ꮽ
can 4、
TODDS
TAVERN
$22
오오오​오오오
​Σ
ary's Bridge
ક્
Hart
Corbyns bridge Block house
SPOTSYLVANIA C.HP
Dense Wood
오오​오오오
​LLL L
오
​S
e?
Carr's bridge
FREDERIC'S
HALL
TA RIVER
W. PLEASANT
Pottiesville
Dave
3
9.
પી.
s Loguist Nasio
N
Cortens
R.
GEORGE
COUR HOUS
Skinners Neck
Cherry P
Holand P
PORT CONWAY
PO RIVER
Golden Vale
Price
NEWS
VILLEBORO
AMT
Соб
vdērsons
erdam
Well
11
PUMAN SEND R.
BOWLING GREEN.
Villepique
Milford's Bridge
Alms houses
Mattarocy
M
RIVER
Tobacco Plan
Whe
MAT OF TUE REGION NEAR CHANCELLORSVILLE. -
NO
301

ing from Germania ford to the Wilderness,
and hence to Todd's tavern, this last being
known as the Brock road, and the whole
forming, as Longstreet says, the strategic
line of the military zone. The two roads
from the southwest that meet at the tav-
ern (really a little beyond it) are to Orange
courthouse, the northern known as the
turnpike and the southern as the plank
road. It was by these two roads that the
confederates advanced to meet our army.
It will be noted that Ely's ford is farther
down the Rapidan than Jacob's Mill ford,
three miles below Germania ford, where
we crossed for Locust Grove. At the bat-
tle of Chancellorsville we crossed the Rap-
pahannock at United States ford.
Crossed
and reached Chancellorsville about 4 P. M.
Had a very hard march. The 11th N. J.
had a Prayer Meeting on the Battlefield.
Slept rather cold.
May 5. Warm. Started early and marched
towards Spotsylvania C. H.
The two battles of the Wilderness and
Spotsylvania were closely connected and
are often treated together, but the latter
involved an abandonment of position and
change of base, so I shall keep them sep-
arate.
At 4 P. M.
came on a force of Rebels and the battle com-
menced. Our Regiment advanced in line
of battle on the extreme left and broke.
After going five miles on this Brock
road we changed direction and moved two
miles on the Gordonsville road.
Dor M

302
[Chancellorsville, Va.
Battle of the Wilderness
GEN. WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK, 1824-85
How well I remember this afternoon.
Our regiment was on the extreme left, and
just as our skirmishers began to encounter
those of the enemy Gen. Hancock rode up
and admonished us to keep cool. He was a
superb looking soldier. The New York
Sun afterward tried to defeat him for presi-
dent by saying that he was a good man
and weighed 250 pounds, but on horseback
he was no heavier than was becoming.
We at once began to throw up breast-
works, using fence rails beside the road as
a basis, and piling up the dirt with bay-
onets and knives and plates. We were soon
ordered to advance, and made our way
through the dense thicket of small trees
which we were obliged to go around and
creep under. All of a sudden there came
a double volley of musket balls from an
unseen enemy directly in front and at close
deadly that the first instinct was to run
distance. It was so unexpected and so
back from it, and the troops were so scat-
tered and disorganized by the straggling
way they had got forward that there was no
central discipline to bind the troops to-
gether. See page 110. It was a fact that
our division broke and fell back to the
breastworks. But not all our men got
CROSSING THE RAPIDAN AT ELY'S FORD
May 5, 6, 1864]
Germanna
Ford
Richells
Culpepper
Mine Fa
Lack of Esprit de Corps
WILDERNESS
9.d.m. 5TH MAY 1864.
Griffin
urnpike Rd
Plank Ra
Y
YI
Wright
Wildernes5
Tavern
Robertson
Wadsworth
Chewning
Crawford
Parkers
Store
Gerly
Shady
Grove Church
MILES
Elys Ford
Brock Ra
Furnace
11
Turnpike Rd
Chancellorville
R$
Todds
Tavern
*I
Wilderness
Tavern
Plank Ra
Parkers
Store
Wadsworth
Chewning
Birney
Mott
A
1 Gibber
Steven
WILDERNESS
II a.m. 6TH MAY 1864.
Brock
Shady Grove ·
Church
303


Furnace
Ra
Sheridan
Stuart
Toads
Tavern
Pinney
French
Church
SCALE
there. We were going home soon, our
knapsacks were heavy, the spaces between
the trees were narrow, and many a man
was caught by his knapsack as Absalom
was by his hair, and taken prisoner.
When the confederates advanced and
tried to take the road it was quite another
matter. The fight lasted well into the
night and became general and deadly, but
the confederate effort to turn our left or to
penetrate our centre failed.
The
Drum Corps went on the road to the Hos-
pital.
May 6. Warm. The fight commenced
early. Our boys advanced and drove the
Rebels. Prisoners came in by the quantity.
Changed to the Hospital. Drummers or-
dered to the front with Ambulances. Hull
SCALE
1/2
MILES
told us to go and turn back. Did it. Re-
bels tried very hard for the roads, but didn't
get them.
Our regiment was still on the extreme left,
and Lt. Willey was sent out with 30 men as
skirmishers. He did not succeed very well,
and was relieved by Lt. Drury who showed
more skill and courage. At 10:30 Long-
street's corps attacked our left with ac-
customed vigor, and drove our troops back
to the breast works, even carrying our first
line of entrenchments. However Our
division may have been taken unaware the
day before, it retrieved its good name now,
recapturing the first line, and holding it
till daylight, when it was relieved. In the
fighting Gen. Longstreet himself was
wounded and had to retire from the field.

304
[Chancellorsville, Va..
Battle of the Wilderness
Longstreet says: "As lines of battle
could not be handled through the thick
wood, I ordered the advance of the six
brigades by heavy skirmish lines, to be
followed by stronger supporting lines.
Hancock's lines, thinned by their push
through the wood, and somewhat by the
fire of the disordered divisions, weaker
than my line of fresh and more lively
skirmishers, were checked by our first
steady fire, and after a brisk fusillade
were pushed back to their intrenched line,
when the fight became steady and very
firm, occasionally swinging parts of my
line back and compelling the reserves to
come forward and recover it."
The organization of troops had become
confused. Hancock directed his own 2d
corps, one division of the 5th, a division
of the 6th, and a division of the 9th. He
had to assign his two wings to two of his
division commanders, putting them over
divisions of other corps to which they
were strangers.
But
At 4:15 there was another desperate
attack upon our left, which was aided by
a fire which caught in the woods, driving
smoke and flames in the eyes of our men,
so that we were obliged to fall back.
Hancock threw in his reserves and the
burning parapet was retaken. It was piti-
ful that many wounded were burned in
the flames. A picture of carrying off the
wounded here is shown on page 119, and
it is related on page 60 that the confeder-
ates as they advance raked away the dry
leaves from our tortured wounded.
Gen. Wadsworth was killed to-day while
leading his division.
GEN, JAMES S. WADSWORTH, 1807-64
THE WILDERNESS WOODS ON FIRE DURING BATTLE, May 6, 1864

May 6, 7, 1864]
Grant decides upon a Flank Movement
305
DOUBLE ROW OF BREASTWORKS THROWN UP IN THE WILDERNESS
May 7. Warm. Very little fighting. In
P. M. the Hospital moved and we came to
Chancellorsville. Camped here for the
night. Slept well.
After this it must have seemed to Lee
practically hopeless to turn our position,
but Grant decided to choose another line
of attack. In the two days we had lost
17,600 men, and the confederates perhaps
10,000, which for their weak army was
proportionally more. We had somewhat
more than two men to their one, and they
had been able to hold us back largely on
account of the impenetrable nature of
the woods, which they knew better then
we. Capt. Vaughan-Sawyer attributes
Grant's failure to the lack of co-operation
on the part of the cavalry.
effort in the Wilderness but to move on
southeast to Spotsylvania, and the flank
movement began at night. So far Grant
had been as decisively defeated as any
of his predecessors but what he failed to
gain by fighting he undertook to get by
maneuvering.
Capt. Vaughan-Sawyer in his "Grant's
Campaign in Virginia" (London, 1898)
gives five reasons why the northern army
before Grant's command had been un-
successful, and says that this first of the
five outweighs all the others, that they
made for their objective territories, towns,
and rivers, and did not concentrate their
efforts upon the main army of the enemy.
But we had the main body at the Wilder-
ness; why should we have slipped away at
Grant had decided to make no further night to Spotsylvania?

CHAPTER XXVII. THE BATTLE OF SPOTSYLVANIA
UST what the move
was from the Wil-
derness to Spot-
sylvania we did
not know. In the
old times after a
defeat as at the
Wilderness we
we should probably have crushed Ander-
son's troops.
Passed an ice house in P. M. Skirmishing
at 5 P. M. Went up to the Reg't & got 5
days rations.
The regiment started at four in the morn-
ing for Spotsylvania courthouse, and after
GEN. ULYSSES S. GRANT, 1822-85
should have retreated across the Rapidan.
But Gen. Grant had burned his ships. He
did not exactly fight it out on this line if
it took all summer, for he changed the line
twice more, but he did not go back. Be-
tween him and Lee it was a struggle to the
death.
May 8. Warm. Sent a letter to Atlanta,
Ga., by a private in the 13th Ga. Staid
with the 26th P. V. Moved along with the
26th. A Rebel prisoner was shot for de-
serting our Army. Gen. Grant rode by.
Gen. Grant says: "The greatest enthusi-
asm was manifested by Hancock's men as
he passed by. No doubt it was inspired by
the fact that the movement was south."
He also says that if our corps had led the
attack instead of the dilatory Warren's,
GEN, ROBERT E. LEE, 1807-70
marching seven miles bivouacked at noon.
On report that the enemy were advancing,
about two o'clock it advanced fifty yards
and threw up rifle-pits, but there was no
attack.
May 9. Warm. Went up to the Regiment
again but could not get to the Drum Corps on
account of Provost. Found them when
Division moved and staid with them. Had
liver for supper and never felt much better
than when I went to bed.
The regiment spent the morning in
strengthening its position, but found the
enemy had withdrawn, and at 3:00 moved
to the left and bivouacked near Todd's
tavern, shown in the map on page 308. At
4 the regiment was detailed for picket
duty, Cos. D and E on outpost.
306

May 8-11, 1864]
Grant and Lee
It was in some skirmishing to-day that
Gen. Sedgwick was killed by a sharp-
GEN. JOHN SEDGWICK, 1813-64
shooter. The fire-proof where he fell is
now marked by a monument.
May 10. Warm. Were woke up at 1 3-4
A. M. by a heavy peal which we at first took
for thunder, but found to be musketry. As
it soon stopped we went to sleep again.
This was just the opposite of my ex-
perience at Chancellorsville, where I went
to sleep in the midst of terrific cannonad-
ing, and woke to absolute silence. If I re-
member aright we discovered that some
raw regiment on picket duty had heard a
cow tramping along and mistaken her for
the entire rebel army.
Got
picked up by the Provost attached to the 5th
Corps, and were put to work cleaning up
307
Hospital. But got away to our own Divi-
sion Hospital. Slept first rate.
My habit of wandering about in search
of something going on that was interesting
began to get me into trouble under Grant.
Hitherto officers had glanced at me and
thought it hardly worth while to make a
fuss about so small a boy, but under the
new regulations they looked not at my size
but at my white diamond, and if I was
where white diamonds did not belong they
made it unpleasant for me.
Our
Brigade made a charge. Chamberlain,
Danforth, Baldwin, and Parker wounded
out of our company.
At 3 in the morning the regiment had
rejoined the brigade, and at five had
marched six miles to the extreme left of the
army. At 4 in the afternoon our di-
vision charged the works in its front and
carried the first line, but when the enemy
opened with canister at short range was
obliged to retire to its old position.
night our brigade moved 200 yards for-
ward and did picket duty all night.
At
May 11. Warm. Drew fresh Beef from
Hospital. Very little fighting. Did not do
much of anything. Rain at night.
The point where our division was to
charge was the apex of the salient angle
shown in the map under "Brown's Farm"
that proved so bloody, but we were then
under heavy fire from Johnson's artillery,
and could not form our lines.
Our corps was transferred during the
night, and put into position opposite the
apex of the angle, with orders to attack
at 4 a. m.
May 12. Rainy. Very heavy fighting.
Our folks drove the Johnnies, capturing pris-
oners & cannon. DeCastro had an arm
308
[Spotsylvania, Va.
Battle of Spotsylvania

From Chancellorville
Brock Rd
From
Germanna
SPOTTSYLVANIA.
11TH MAY 1864.
Browns Farm
Moti
u
me
Alsop
Birney.
Rodes
From Shady Grove
PO. RIVER
ง
Anderson
Barlow
Johnson
Gordon
Swell
Early
To
Fredricksburg
Stevenson
Sportsylvania \CHỌ
1/2
SCALE Approx.
1 MILE
IX
NY RIVER
×4+
To
Fredricksburg
་
taken off, and Capt. Warren shot in left leg
by solid shot, is dying in great pain. Died at
3 1-2 P. M. Lettered his head board.
Our 2d corps charged at daylight and
captured the works in front, taking 20
pieces of artillery and 3,000 prisoners, in-
cluding Gens. Johnson and Stewart. The
1st Mass. remained on picket duty till two
in the afternoon. Col. McLaughlin re-
ports: "About 6½ P. M. a strong brigade
moved to my rear, and supposing they were
to relieve me, I ordered my men to move by
the left flank, and left the new comers to
take my position, when, to my surprise,
a staff officer informed me that I had not
been relieved, and that I must be respons-
ible if the enemy broke through our line
at that point. I informed him of the use-
less condition of my guns, and that I had
volunteered my services; that I had re-
mained as long as it was proper I should,
owing to the state of ammunition and arms
but he ordered me to return. I informed
him I would, as soon as I had moved to a
brook near by, and washed my guns and
replenished my ammunition, which I did,
having been absent about three-quarters of
an hour, taking the old position, re-
maining until three o'clock in the morning,
when I was relieved by another brigade;
having been constantly firing during all this

யா
BATTERIES ON GEN. WARREN'S LEFT, NEAR SPOTSYLVANIA
May 12, 13, 1864]
Charge upon the Salient
time. A drizzling rain had continued all
night, and the mud was very deep. My men
were exhausted, and were constantly drop-
ping down to sleep in the mud among their
dead comrades, and many times during the
night did I find myself trying to awake a
dead man, urging him to his post."
Our
Division lay in the 1st line of breastworks &
the Johnnies in the 2d and they fought all
night for a Battery between. We got it.
"The fact is, Hancock crowed too soon.
He sent back word that he 'had finished
up Johnson and was going into Early,'
さい
​·
St
May 108
BROWN
jo
Barlows Dir
May
128
RODES DIV
ANGLE
EWELL'S
GORDON'S DIV
ONGSTREETS, CORPS
3
* Reserve s
HARRISON
"THE SALIENT
SPOTTSYLVANIA
ربيا
Mo
Uj
облеча
NGLE
STUAR
MCCOOL
CORPS
CHILL'
CORP
',
LANDRON
309
when Gordon's and Rodes's confederates
charged into our victorious troops and
drove us back across the breastworks.
They had constructed a line of works
across the gorge of the salient, and when
we came upon this unexpectedly we were
repulsed and the counter-charge followed.
We had charged in a dense line with no
support hehind, and when we started back
there was no reserve to hold us. Two
divisions were sent from the 6th corps,
and all day and far into the night there
was one of the most ferocious contests
"Crowding
in the history of the war."
against either side of the barrier men on
both sides shot and stabbed at each other's
faces across the crest and into each other's
bodies between the logs. Rank after
rank pressed eagerly up and fought sav-
agely until they sank down into the ditch
to make room for more. The dead lay
in places four deep on either side of the
breastwork. Guns were brought up to
the angles and enfiladed the trenches un-
til they were put out of action. Men
leapt upon the parapet and standing fired
with rifles handed to them until they
were shot down and replaced by others.
Some of the logs were entirely disintegrated
into splinters by the bullets, and in places
the forest was literally shot down, and this
continued for hours."
May 13. Rainy. Very little fighting.
One of the Prisoners said they would fight
us "till Hell froze over and then give us
seven hard battles on the ice." Wounded sent
Fredericksburg. Riddell & Turner

to
wounded.
The fighting continued till three in the
morning, and Grant once more decided to
admit himself beaten and give it up. On
the other hand, Lee decided that he had
not strength enough to hold the salient,
310
[Spotsylvania, Va.
Battle of Spotsylvania
..
and the confederates fell back to the works
across the gorge which had proved so
serviceable. Our losses this last day
were counted 6,800, making 30,600 since
May 4.
Our division was this day consolidated
with Birney's, being known as the 3d bri-
gade.
The regiment was relieved and moved.
to the rear for rest, but at noon was moved
to the front again and remained in reserve
till morning.
May 14. Cleared off. Started about 5
o'clock (the Hospital) to Grant's H. Q.
Here we staid till night and then pitched
tents. Bought Tactics and P. O. Stamps of
a Rebel Prisoner.
At daylight the regiment moved to the
right, formed in columns of divisions, and
were much annoyed by sharpshooters,
but at 3:30 p. m. moved forward and
occupied the rifle pits.
May 15. Cloudy. Started early and went
along very slow as the roads were muddy.
Part of the train had to be burned to escape
Guerillas. Camped in the woods. Are
getting short of Rations. Slept rather cold.
though I had big fire in front of our tent.
At daylight the regiment moved a mile
to the left and occupied rifle-pits, where
there was much annoyance from sharp
shooters, with some cannonading.
Had orders to move and went about a hundred
yards and staid till morning.
The right half of our army was trans-
ferred to the left during the night, to make
a general assault to-morrow.
There was to have been an attack at
4 a. m., but heavy rain prevented. In
the afternoon there was fighting on the
Massaponax road, where the 5th corps
took and held a hill. For three days there
was no fighting to speak of, both sides
strengthening their works.
Grant had changed his plans, and moved
our corps with the 6th over to the extreme
right, hoping to take Lee by surprise.
The regiment moved to the rear and
rested during the day. It was inspected
at 4 p.m. At sunset a confederate brigade
charged our lines, but was repulsed. Our
brigade moved to the right and lay in line
all night.
May 18. Cloudy. Heavy fighting in
morning. Got considerable stuff from
Heavy Artillery Regts. After a half hour's
marching we got back to the place we left
last night. At 8 P. M. had orders to pack
up. Did not start as it commenced to rain.
Pitched tent again.
The regiment moved back to its old po-
sition of May 12. After an hour it moved
again to the right and occupied the rifle-
pits. At ten in the evening it moved back
to its position of May 15.
Grant now determined to abandon
May 16. Cloudy. Were put with the 1st
Division Drummers under command of Spotsylvania as he had abandoned the
Capt. Perry. Pitched a kind of Camp.
The regiment lay quiet, so there was
nothing in front to interest me.
May 17. Pleasant. Extensive Flute-
playing in the morning. Made a set of
Chessmen and played with Hull in P. M.
Wilderness.
May 19. Cloudy. Started at 2 1-2 A. M.
Went about 2 miles. Saw Henry McIntire.
Established new Hospital. At night
Guerillas attacked the train of Supplies
and the H. A. had a hard time as they knew
nothing of such fighting. Lost 400 or more.
May 13-20, 1864]
Ordered Home
This is the engagement to which I re-
ferred on page 128.
The regiment moved six miles to the
left, crossing the Po river and bivouacked
on Anderson's plantation, the corps being
now for the first time in reserve. At 6:00
p. m. Ewell's corps attacked our right flank
and the division moved to the right to
repulse it, the 1st Mass being deployed as
skirmishers on the right flank. At nine it
was withdrawn, and lay on arms all night
in line of battle.
May 20. Pleasant. Marked headboards
for dead soldiers all the morning. Fixed
Camp in P. M. Played Euchre in the
311
Had orders to move and packed
evening.
up at 12 M.
At daylight our brigade made a re-
connoissance to the right and advanced
through the woods, but found no enemy
and returned. This was the last active
service of the 1st Mass. for at 11 p. m, we
had orders to report to the superintendent
of the recruiting service at Boston, to be
mustered out. The men whose terms or
service had not expired were transferred to
the 11th Mass., and enviously enough they
looked at us as we marched away.
This is notable as Lee's last offensive
movement against Grant. Thereafter he
acted strictly on the defensive.
で
​Jamell
W
་་་་་་་་་བ
CHAPTER XXVIII. MUSTERED OUT
E had been ha-
rassed by many
doubts whether
the government
would really
lease us when our
re-
three years were
up, men being so
scarce; but Uncle Sam kept faith with us,
and we were really on our way home.
May 21. Pleasant. While we were wait-
ing Lt. Fletcher told Hull to join the Reg't
and we started for home.
It was a night march, but we did not
mind that; the twelve miles were as noth-
ing, and in the gray dawn when we saw the
spires of the city we could hardly contain
ourselves.
Got to Fredericksburg about 6 A. M.
We crossed the river on pontoons and
bivouacked till four o'clock, when we
marched to Belle Plain, eight miles away.
Got to Belle
Plains about dark and went on board the
Utica. Slept well untill we
May 22. Pleasant. Got to Washington
at 6 A. M. Went to Barracks. Did not
go around much. Left about 3 P. M. and
reached Baltimore about 10 1-2 P. M.
May 23. Pleasant. Reached Phila-
delphia about 10 A. M. Marched through to
the Soldiers Rest where we had breakfast.
Then left and reached New York about 5
P. M. in time "to miss the boat." Saw
Father here, however and went with him to
Harlem where I saw Mother and staid over
night.
Under Grant it had not been easy to get
tidings from the front and we found every-
body eager for news: I went into French's
hotel to have my hair cut and the barber
observed a scar on the left side of my head,
about where the part would usually be,
caused in my infancy by my jumping from


*
FREDERICKSBURG WITH THE RAILWAY BRIDGE REBUILDING
312
May 21-3, 1864]
Welcome Travel
313

BELLE PLAIN, VA.

T COFFTE A
WATER
WATER
UNION VOLUNTEER REFRESHMENT SALOON, PHILADELPHIA
--་་་་
314
[Boston, Mass.
Mustered Out
+
•
my mother's arms in a fit of anger and
striking upon the edge of a hot stove.
"Get this in the army?" he queried.
The temptation was too great. "Yes,"
I replied indifferently, "at Chancellors-
ville. Our color-bearer fell, and just as I
seized the flag a rebel cavalry officer cut my
head open with his sword. Fortunately
one of our boys shot him and we got way
with our colors."
The barber was interested and wanted
particulars. I could supply them for I
really had the correct background, and soon
there was a gathering about my chair.
Who could fail to take advantage of a
credulous and sympathetic audience? I
turned my early dreams of valor into the
past tense, and really felt to be the hero I
had represented myself. Alas, as I got
down from my chair and glanced into the
long mirror I caught sight of Holy Jo, who
had been sitting in the chair next but one.
There must have been appeal in my look,
for he gave no sign of recognition and I
hurried away. But I fancied he looked
But I fancied he looked
discouraged, and I have no doubt so far as
he ever thought of me afterward it was as
the boy who told those whoppers in the
French's hotel barber-shop.
May 24. Pleasant. Roamed around the
city after Father and Mother went off.
Visited Academy of Design, had Dress
Parade on City Hall Park. Left in the 4
o'clock boat Metropolis. Had no supper.
May 25. Pleasant. Reached Boston at
10 A. M. Marched to Faneuil Hall and
had dinner. Then left the Co. and went
to town to the Depot with my stuff.
We had a two days furlough, while the
muster rolls were being made out.
Went to sit for Photograph and to Morris,
Pell & Co. Then came home and saw all
the folks.
Morris, Pell & Co. were minstrels of
that day.
This editorial appeared in one of the
Boston newspapers:
THE FIRST MASSACHUSETTS REGIMENT
If any regiment in the public service has
earned an honorable discharge, and a title
to the pride and gratitude of its State, that
regiment is the First Massachusetts, now
on its way home, having fully completed
its three years' term. This was the first
three years' regiment that left the state
and the first in the service of the United
States. In its original composition it was
chiefly made up of the First Regiment
M. V. M., of which Colonel Cowdin was
the commander, who went out in command.
The regiment left camp for the seat of war
on the fifteenth of June, 1861. It marched
through Baltimore on the seventeenth of
June, being the first regiment that had
passed through that city since the attack
made on the 6th Massachusetts, on the
nineteenth of April previous. We know
not how many of the stalwart men who
formed the regiment when it left the State
are now living. Over two thousand men
have been connected with the regiment
since its organization, and we are told that
but three hundred return with the regiment.
These war-worn veterans are the represent-
atives of that long line of untried men
whose glittering muskets, and tidy uni-
forms, and soldierly appearance, excited
the admiration of our citizens when drawn
up on Boston Common three years ago.
Upon them and their comrades who have
been honorably discharged for disability,
rests the honors of the regiment. And
what a roll of honor it is! The first to open
the serious fighting of the war on the day
before Bull Run, it has participated in
?
i
May 23-8, 1864]
Sharp Practice of the Old Bay State
nearly or quite every battle of the Army
of the Potomac. It was at Williamsburg,
Fair Oaks, Glendale, and Malvern Hill on
the peninsula, Kettle Run, Second Bull
Run, Chantilly, and Fredericksburg in the
year 1862, and at Fredericksburg, Chancel-
lorsville, and Gettysburg in 1863. In every
battle the Massachusetts First has ac-
quitted itself creditably, and its colors have
never been touched by a rebel hand. It
has suffered severely in killed and wounded
in almost every battle.
The regiment went out one thousand
and forty-six strong, and has received
nearly twelve hundred recruits. There are
now present for duty twenty-one com-
missioned officers and four hundred and
forty-four enlisted men; present and ab-
sent, thirty officers and five hundred and
sixty-five men, showing a loss of over six-
teen hundred men killed, wounded, missing
and discharged for disability since the
twenty-third of May, 1861.
May 26. Cloudy. Fixed up my things.
Got measured for pants & vest $13.00.
Great carryings on at night.
May 27. Pleasant. Went to Boston at
5 P. M. Georgie with me. Stopped at the
Bromfield House. Went to the Academy
of Music at night. Maggie Mitchell in the
Pearl of Savoy. Very good.
May 28. Pleasant. Were mustered out on
the common. Attended Museum in P. M.
Corsican Brothers, and Buckleys at night.
Have got just two dollars.
And so I ended my army life apropriate-
ly enough with two dollars in my pocket. I
had expected a hundred dollars more.
When I enlisted the state of Massachusetts
paid recruits a hundred dollars bounty and
guaranteed them another hundred dollars
bounty from the United States. To prove
315
its good faith the state adanced twenty-
five dollars of this, promising that the sol-
dier should be paid the other seventy-five
dollars when discharged. But in my case
the United States paid this hundred dollars
bounty only to soldiers who had served two
years, and as I was discharged with my re-
giment after twenty-one months it did not
hold itself responsible for this amount.
Did the state then pay the other twenty
seventy-five dollars it had guaranteed?
On the contrary it deducted from my final
pay the twenty-five dollars it had advanced,
so that I was if I remember aright a little
in debt to the government: at any rate I
had nothing to speak of coming. I have
always felt that was sharp practice on the
part of the old Bay state, and presume if
those of us who were affected had sued the
state we could have recovered a hundred
dollars apiece.
However, we were all glad to get home,
and nobody took the initiative, so the state
saved the money. Anyhow I had my two
dollars, and lots of things can be done with
two dollars.
After I began to write these reminis-
cences, I received a circular from a pension.
agent stating that in 1865 Congress passed
an act paying this hundred dollars to all
who had served eighteen months. So I
sent in an application, got reply from the
War department that the claim was re-
ceived, and presently got some blanks to
fill out swearing that I was the right per-
son, with two witnesses as to my signature.
Evidently the hundred dollars was coming,
and the question was as to the interest for
these forty-five years. On Dec. 12, 1909,
I received an envelope marked "Treasury
Department", and opened it to find this:
"A balance has been found due by this
office, and certificate No. 48171, dated Dec.
316
[Boston, Mass.
Mustered Out
8, 1909, has been forwarded by the Secre-
tary of the Treasury for payment, as fol-
lows: $3.45 to you as soldier.
"The following is a statement of the
account:
For pay and clothing short paid on discharge $3.85
Deduct for amount overpaid Feb. 26, '63.. .40
$3.45
"Having been enrolled for the unexpired
term of the regiment which was less than
two years and discharged for cause other
than wounds received in battle, no bounty
is due, and as you were discharged at place
of enrollment, not entitled to travel allow-
ances."
However the war department was at
least reasonably prompt and business-
like, which is much more than I can say
for the pension office. About the same
time that I wrote for this old bounty
I became sixty-two years old, and hence
entitled to a hundred dollars a year under
the service pension law. In order to
round out my experience as a soldier
I sent an application to the commissioner
of pensions made out in the form pre-
scribed. As all that it was necessary
to ascertain was whether I really served
in the army and whether I was sixty-two
years old, requiring much less search
than to find out whether I was overpaid
40 cts. on Feb. 28, 1863, I had a right to ex-
pect equally prompt attention, but in ten
months, I have not had even an acknowl-
edgment of the application, and I am at a
loss to infer whether in order to get upon
the list I must apply through some favored
pension attorney, or must induce my con-
gressman to go down to the pension office,
seize some official by the throat, and choke
him till he promises to attend to it. How-
ever I am in no hurry. The statute is
mandatory and the pension is based on
facts, not on the judgment of anybody
in the pension office, so eventually I shall
get the money, or my heirs will. Indeed
the matter is more interesting than as
though I had been treated civilly, since
it shows me why so large a proportion
of the appropriations so liberally made
have got into the hands of pension sharks.
Suppose it had been a pension for wounds,
and I had gone back to a farm life, unac-
customed to correspondence and needing
the money for present wants, I should
have felt obliged after such neglect to go
to a pension lawyer and divide up with
him, as so many others have done.
I was going to end the book with the
above paragraph, when it seemed only fair
to see if the pension office had any explana-
tion to offer, so I wrote this letter:
Syracuse, N. Y., July 15, 1910.
"Commissioner of Pensions,
Washington, D. C.
"Dear sir:
"I am just completing the printing of
a book of reminiscences and enclose a
part of the proof of the last chapter that
may interest you. It is now nearly eleven
months since the application was sent
and it might be worth your while to see
whose negligence it is that this has not
been acknowledged.
"Yours truly,
"C. W. Bardeen,
Co D. 1st Mass. Inf."
To which he made this good-natured
reply.
"Office of the Commissioner
Department of the Interior,
Bureau of Pensions,
Washington.
May 28, 1864]
Fun with the Pension Office
July 18, 1910.
"Mr. C. W. Bardeen,
Syracuse, New York.
"My dear Sir:
313-321 East Washington Street,
317
been received and their answers. So far
as I recollect, I have not so far been called
upon to fill out a blank stating whether
my great-grandmother on my father's
side had warts upon her left hand, but I
"I have before me yours of the 15th thought every other fact that could possi-
instant, enclosing a clipping.
"I have had our records carefully search-
ed, and no claim from you has been re-
ceived in this Bureau. When a claim
comes in it goes directly to the Mail Section,
and a receipt card is sent back by return
mail. We are so well up with the work
now that a claim of this kind ought to be
allowed within two weeks after its receipt.
I can not understand where the claim has
gone.
"The attached slip is very amusing,
but I assure you it is not necessary to
seize any official by the throat at this
time in order to hurry him up with a pen-
sion claim.
"May I suggest that you file another
claim immediately, as that will govern
the date of commencement of your pen-
*sion?
"Enclosures."
"Yours very truly,
"J. L. Davenport,
Commissioner.
As I have no access to the records of
the pension office, of course I cannot
prove that the letter was received, but
this I can state, that it was addressed and
mailed by a competent and careful stenog-
rapher, and that it has never come back
to me, as it would have come if by any
chance it had been misdirected.
However, I filled out anew the applica-
tion blank sent and thus started what
promises to be an interminable correspon-
dence. I should have to add a second
volume to print all the inquiries that have
bly bear upon the subject had been de-
manded, when I received a letter asking
me if I could produce two members of the
regiment who could swear that I was the
identical C. W. Bardeen who was in the
1st Massachusetts, and if not, why not.
This last intimation was so threatening
that I regretted the form was not a printed
one.
There happened to lie on my desk a
bill from the regimental treasurer for my
annual dues, so in sending the money I
added that the pension department made
this requirement, and asked him to be
one of my sponsors. He assented by
return mail, saying that he would swear
to anything, anywhere, at any time to
help out an old comrade.
For the second sponsor I wrote to Per-
kins, whose photograph I have reproduced
in the earlier pages of this book. He was
more cautious. Of course he had known
me pretty well for two years in the army,
he said, and he had talked with me within
a year or two, and he had read my printed
diary, and in his own mind he had no
doubt that I was the same person. But
as to swearing that I was the same C. W.
Bardeen who enlisted in the 1st Mass-
achusetts, why that involved so many
considerations that he felt hardly pre-
pared to do so.
Perkins was right. It is the old para-
dox of identity. If I have a knife and
lose the blade and have another blade
put in, it is the same knife, isn't it? Yes.
And if I get tired of the handle and have
318
[Boston, Mass.
Mustered Out
1
it replaced by another, it is the same knife,
isn't it? Yes. But if somebody finds
the old blade and the old handle and puts
them together, what knife is that?
So the cautious Perkins might ask:
Where is the appetite that after the battle
of Locust Grove made you stop in the very
jaws of the enemy to cook a beefsteak?
Lost, I have to reply; I still know whether
it is before a meal or after it, but nowadays
I should get out of range first.
And where, the cautious Perkins might
continue, is the sound sleep that on your
first march when you fell out and crawled
over the wall, while the army marched on
and left you all alone in the wide, wide
world, enabled you to sleep as if your
mother had tucked you up in your
little trundle bed? Lost, I have to reply.
I do not yet find any night so long that I
would to God it were morning, but I don't
sleep any more like that.
And where, once more might enquire the
cautious Perkins, is that elasticity that
after the battle of Gettysburg, when your
blankets had been stolen, enabled you to
lie down night after night in the wet
grass with nothing under you or over you,
and yet to march the next day as if nothing
had happened? Once more I must reply,
lost; I have escaped rheumatism so far,
but I couldn't any longer do that.
Then suppose, the cautious Perkins might
exclaim triumphantly, somebody should
find that appetite and that sound sleep
and that elasticity, and put them together
again, what C. W. Bardeen would that be?
O yes, the cautious Perkins is right; but
I sent on his letter with the regimental
treasurer's.
However they won't do. This letter
comes back.
"Department of the Interior
Bureau of Pensions
Washington
October 5, 1910.
"Civil War Division.
Inv. Orig. No. 1391571,
Charles W. Bardeen,
Co. D, 1 Massachusetts Vol. Inf.
"Mr. Charles W. Bardeen,
"Sir:
1109 East Genseee St.,
Syracuse, N. Y.
"Relative to your above-entitled claim
for pension under the Act of February 6,
1907, you are again advised that further
consideration of said claim requires the
testimony of two members of the above-
named organization who knew you in the
service and who have known you since
discharge, showing that you, the claimant
in this case, are the identical person who
served in said organization under the name.
of Charles W. Bardeen.
"The letters recently filed in your case.
are not satisfactory for the reason that
the statements contained therein do not
show that you are identical with the soldier
of record, and further, for the reason that
such statements are not sworn to.
"Very respectfully,
"J. L. Davenport,
Commissioner.”
To which I made reply as follows:
"Syracuse, N. Y., Oct. 10, 1910
"Commissioner of Pensions,
"Washington, D. C.
"Dear sir, I presume you regretted
through your subordinates the necessity
of writing your letter of the 5th instant
because it would be such a disappoint-
ment to me. On the contrary it is a deep
joy, for it demonstrates with unhoped-for
May 28, 1864]
Fun with the Pension Office
completeness how inevitably the routine
of your office plays into the hands of the
pension-shark. You insist on affidavits.
Affidavits? They are his stock in trade.
He can furnish affidavits by the dozen,
swearing to anything about anybody.
"But without his aid the honest soldier
is at a loss. The letter of Perkins which
I sent you states the case remarkably well.
He knew me in the regiment, he has seen
and talked with me recently, he has read
my printed diary of the events in which
we both participated, and he has no doubt
in his own mind of my identity. But he
can't swear to it. No honest man could.
The man of sixty-three is changed from the
boy of fourteen, and honest men are care-
ful of their oaths. His letter is much
better evidence of my identity than the
ordinary unthinking oath, because his
belief is evidently sincere and firm, and
he is a man of position and character.
"How could any man in the regiment
say more? I enlisted in a Boston regiment,
from Fitchburg, as my enlistment papers
show. I was then fourteen years old and
the regiment had been at the front fifteen
months; it was certainly improbable that
at thirteen years old I had any acquain-
tance with Boston men. After the regi-
ment was discharged, as the biography
which you have extracted in the course
of this correspondence shows, I lived a
year in Groton at school, four years in
Connecticut at college, and have since
resided in this state. At none of the
places where I have lived has there been
any other member of my regiment, and
there was no opportunity to keep up any
acquaintance. I thought I did pretty
well to go seven hundred miles twice to
* attend regimental reunions. Thus nobody
in the regiment could have known me
1
319
continuously since so as to be qualified
to swear to my identity.
"I thought myself lucky to be able to
send you the two letters I did, but if those
are not sufficient I cannot furnish satis-
factory evidence, and I have told you
why not.
"But there is other evidence that might
count. In the last edition of 'Who's
Who in America' a sketch of my biog-
raphy is given on page 92 with this sen-
tence: 'Served in 1st Mass. Vols., 1862-4'.
"As this has been printed in every
edition from the beginning, long before the
law of 1907 was passed, it may be as-
sumed that it was not inserted for the
purpose of getting a pension. If collateral
evidence is demanded, as my surname
is unusual it may perhaps be assumed
that I was the only Charles W. Bardeen
fourteen years old who lived in Fitchburg
in 1862, and who went back to Fitchburg
in 1864. The printed catalogue of Law-
rence academy, Groton, Mass., for 1864-5
shows in the senior class my name from
Fitchburg. The catalogues of Yale col-
lege, 1865-9 print my name in successive
classes from Fitchburg. The 'Directory
of Living Graduates of Yale' contains
no other name like mine, and states that I
was graduated in 1869, and that my present
residence is Syracuse. In the series of
articles in The Educational Review, edited
by President Nicholas Murray Butler of
Columbia university, on 'My Schools
and Schoolmasters', a sketch of my early
education is given (xxii. 28-39) with ex-
planation of the hiatus of two years caused
by my service in the 1st Massachusetts.
In 'Nutting Genealogy' (Syracuse, 1908),
edited by a clergyman who of course
couldn't tell a lie, the same statement is
made. In 'Syracuse and Onondaga coun-
༣
3.
"
320
Mustered Out
some-
ty, New York' (Syracuse, 1908)
thing of a sketch is given of my army life
in the 1st Massachusetts. I am a member
I am a member
of Root post, G. A. R., and entered on its
records as having served in the 1st Mass-
chussetts. Incidentally I may remark
that I have my original discharge from the
army, of which I enclose a facsimile.
"However all this does not make a
pension-shark's affidavits, so I presume
it won't count. I forsee that I shall have
to ask my congressman to call at the
pension office. When you see how every hair
stands out perpendicularly from his scalp
I think you will realize that you might as
well give in. He is just about to be re-
elected and is likely to be re-elected a
good many times more, and he is just as
persistent in getting justice for his con-
stituents as you are in getting affidavits.
Congress meets in December, and I shall
consign you to his tender mercies.
may stand him off for a few years, but
you will have to give in eventually.
You
“I shall be glad if his experience with
you leads him to insist on the floor of Con-
gress that enough shreds of common sense
be interwoven into your routine to make
more pension money go to old soldiers and
less to attorneys for affidavits.
"Yours respectfully,
"C. W. Bardeen"
[Boston, Mass.
And here the matter rests when this
book goes to press. If I were in urgent
need of that money I should still put the
claim in the hands of a pension shark-
one who lived in Washington and could drop
in every year or two, rules or no rules,
and see how that case was getting on.
As it is, I find it much more interesting
than as though there had been some pre-
tence of carrying out the purposes of the
law. It certainly excuses old soldiers.
for dividing up with attorneys. If I, who
have lived in Syracuse for 36 years and
been considered reasonably respectable
and worthy of credence, cannot satisfy
the pension office that I am myself without
hiring a lawyer to secure lying affidavits,
what chance would an old soldier have to
satisfy the office that from a wound in a
certain battle or a disability from a
certain campaign half a century ago he is
now incapacitated to earn a living? As
the labor unions, if they could have their
way, would not permit a man to drive a
nail in the wall of his own house to hang a
picture on, so the pension office declines to
accept any statements which do not bear
the shark label. Should a second edition
of this book ever be called for I shall
append the further history up to that date.
In the mean time I am very glad to
have stumbled upon this modern ap-
pendix to the story of what happened
so long ago.
,
abatis 70
abolition 17, 163
Adirondack roads 150
adolescence 19
advance and give the coun-
tersign 50
advertisements 265
affidavits 317-20
Afghanistan 121
Alabama The 122
brigade 221
alarmed picket guard 54
Albani in opera 267
Alexander, Gen. 234, 235 6
q 90, 109, 239
Alexandria, Egypt 182
-Va. 25-7, 30, 36, 69,73
Marshall house 27
town hall 27
all in 80, 159, 165-6
Allen, Geo. H. 66.
-Nathan M. 231
85
allowance of clothing 161
of rations 198
Alma, battle of 120
Amboy, N. J. 24
ambulance 114, 115
American Union 264
Anderson's (G. T.) brigade
234
division 232, 306
Andrew, Gov. 18, 271
antennae of the army
49
Antietam 31, 100, 184
battlefield 245
creek 243
Appleton, John F. 18
Appomattox, Va. 47
aqueduct, C. & O. canal
209
Aquia Creek 100, 101
Arkansas regiments, 1st, 60
army badges 73
regulations 168
wagons 28, 94
artilleryman dead 110
Atlanta, Ga. 306
"As Seen from the Ranks"
134
Ashantee war 133
assassination
58
at
the front once
more
268-75
Atlanta, Ga.
25
Atlantic Monthly 17
Atkins, Tommy 131
INDEX
Figures in bold face indicate illustrations
Austerlitz 120
Auterroche,Marquis de 128
Averill, Lt. Nathaniel 293
Babcock. J. A. 291
Bachelder. John B. q 231-2
picture of Gettysburg 214
back pay 315
-to Virginia 239-51
bacon 200
Badger, Stephen 140
badges 73
baggage wagons 153
Bagley, Perkins H.. jr.
145, 147
Bailey, Henry S. 83
Bailey's Cross Roads 68,
70, 75
baked beans 74, 168, 197,
Balaklava, battle of, 109,
136, 238
Baldwin, Lt. Col. Clark
162, 208, 260
and drummers 45, 271,
273, 289, 290, 292
profanity 167, 216
-John H. 176, 307
ball, game of
-privates' dance 295, 296
balloons 90, 91, 141
wagon train 91-6
Balls Bluff 45
Baltimore, Md. 20, 24, 25,
162, 260, 312
Volunteer relief 25, 268
and Ohio canal 208-9
Banks, Gen. N. P. 73
-ford 99
barber in camp 297
Bardeen, C. W. 19, 162,
264
letters home 109, 281
-Ethel 75, 190
-George E. 20, 23, 69.
263, 291, 315
-Mary Elizabeth 291
-Norman 19
Barhamsville, Va. 253
Barksdale, Gen. 234
Barnes, Gen. 227
Barnum, Phineas T. 124
Barnum's Museum 23, 24,
165, 264, 267
Batavia, N. Y. 47
bathing 40, 69
battery captured 128, 130
attack on wagon train 94 battle as imagined
129
battle, joy of 186
battlefield 112, 237
at night 120
from the rear 118, 180
on fire 119, 304
wills made on 121
"Battles and Leaders''q 81,
168
Baxter, Geo. R. 191
bayonet in action 30, 192
Bayonne 35
Bealton, Va. 205, 271
beards 297-8
Beauregard, Gen. 85
Becker, J. picture 305
Beecher, H. W. 8
beef 42, 199
Beethoven club, Yale 24
before the battle 107
Belle Plain 99, 312, 313
road 140
Benedict letter 225
Benning's brigade 234
Benton q 35, 134, 238,
239, 268
Berdan's sharpshooters 193,
221
266
Bering, Gen. 239
Berlin opera house
Berry, Gen. 168, 191, 192
Beverly ford 204
Bhurtpore, siege of 39
Bible 160, 186
Bigelow, Joseph H. 202
billiards 265
Billings, John D.
D. q 39
Birney, Gen. q 214, 239,
282
at Gettysburg 227, 228,
229, 230, 231
reviews 141
Birney's division
113, 139,
201, 219, 221, 222, 223,
227, 229, 232, 255
at Fredericksburg 112
at Mine Run 277
consolidated with it 310
Birnam wood 53
bivouac fire 63, 178
last in Maryland
inidnight 204
on picket 72
on the march 173
wagon-train 80, 81
black walnuts 168,
Black Watch 134
245
blackberries 197, 245, 253
in battle 255
Blackburn's ford 207
Blaisdell, Col. 230
blanket 201, 211
rubber 33
blisters 79
Blucher, Gen q 248
Blue Ridge mountains 206,
251, 253, 255
Bluecoat boys 162
Bluejackets 162
bluff 176-183, 201, 203.
208, 275
and draw poker 262-3
boasting 65, 134, 314
bobbing the head 136
bodies on the field 112, 237
Bodine, Major 230
Boer war 55, 60, 61, 118,
121, 127, 128, 136, 137,
162
boiled beef 42, 199
boiling clothes 42
bomb 105-6
ague 107
Boonsboro, Md. 242, 243,
245
Bosquet, Gen. q 109
Boston, Mass. 8, 18, 19, 20,
21, 23, 74, 163, 314-5
boxes from 42, 43
Revere House 257
to Randolph, Vt. 77
Botts, John Minor 287
bounty as a bait 315
Bowdoin college 194
Bowling Green road
112
boxes from home 43, 88, 200
boxing 296
braggarts 65, 134, 314
Brandy station camp 7, 29,
273, 287-99
huts 63, 144, 145-6
sandstorm 64
bread, hard tack 163, 199,
273
Maryland 212
soft 168, 199
Bristow station
22, 30, 268
British regiments, King's
Rifle Corps 137
93d Foot 131
Lancashire 170
21st Lancers 131
271
15th Light Dragoons 137
vs. Americans 54, 128-34
321
322
A Little Fifer's War Diary
Brock road, Va. 301
Bromfield house, Boston,
315
Brooklyn navy yard 267
Brooks, Col. 109
-Kendall 168
-Mary 167
-Phillips 75
Brown, Frank 273
-John 17, 245
--university 25
Buchanan and Breckin-
ridge 17
Budd's ferry 26, 173,
Buford, Gen. 215,
224, 231
Buffalo, N. Y. 46
bugle call 79
bugler 73, 197,
bull-fighting 135
221,
Bull Run, Va. 7, 22, 29, 118.
184, 206, 207, 314
mountains 254
Buller, Sir Redvers 137
bummers 249
Bunbury, Col. 178
Burditt, Geo. W. 73-4,
98, 147, 212, 299
Burgoyne, Gen.
61,
burial of soldiers 44, 121,
202
Burkettville, Md.
Burmah 137
211
Burnside, Gen. A. E. 38
and Meade 276
balloons 90
caricatured 123, 124
Fredericksburg 99-113,
149, 184
mud march 123, 149-59
reviews 141
burying the dead 44, 121,
202
Busaco, battle of 111
busthead 171
Butler, Gen. Benj. F. 18
-Gen. (English) 162
-Nicholas Murray 3, 8, 319
butter 197, 200-1, 275
Butterfield, Gen. Daniel 284
q 214, 284
-Theodore 284
Byrne, Lt. and Private 131
137
calamity inflicter 18
Cambridge, England
Mass. 20, 184
Cambrone, Gen. 134
Camden, N, J. 24, 260
camp barber 297
beds 35, 144
breaking 81
confederate 141, 144
door 88
camp fire 92, 93
huts 28, 31, 51, 84, 139-
47, 196
idleness 180, 196
life 139
moving 201
of shelter tents 32, 33,
142, 206
of Sibley tents 67
of wall tents 171, 177,
178
winter 142, 145, 201
Camp Cameron 20
-Day 20, 139
-Hooker 146
Campbell, Sir Colin 120,
297
Canby, Gen. 264
candles 198, 199
canister 106
cannon 214
canteen 30
capturing a picket
62
a wagon train 94, 166
Cardigan, Lord 136
cards 160, 176, 177-9, 188
stacking 176-8, 181
Carey, Lt. 137
Carlisle, Pa. 214-5
Carr, Gen. Joseph B. 67,
172, 242, 252,
q 227-8, 254
at Chancellorsville
116,
126, 161, 162 191, 193,
229
at Gettysburg 232
at Locust Grove 280
inspections 174.
reviews 141
Carr's brigade 77, 214, 230,
231, 234, 255, 268, 273
carrying off wounded 118,
119
casino
296
Cathness, Corporal 134
Catlett's station 205, 270
Cavada, Capt. 232
cavalry 64, 195
Cedar mountain, battle 60
Centreville,
Va. 30, 77,
207, 208, 268, 276
Century Magazine q 189
Chamberlain, Aretes C. 307
Chambersburg, Pa. 214-5
chance to wash up 212
Chancellorsville 75, 192, 301
and Gettysburg 9, 158, 221,
223, 225
battle 8, 29, 58, 126, 133,
159, 184-95, 203, 212, 214,
218,278, 286, 299, 073, 314
breaking of Howard's 11th
corps 110, 187-9
house 75-6, 192
Chancellorsville like Freder-
icksburg 184
like Wilderness 186
maps 99, 184-91
surgeons at 116
wounded at 117
Chandler, Zachariah
Chantilly, battle of 195, 315
chapel 294
286
Chapman, Charles H. 43-4
64, 65, 66, 68, 75, 167, 295
tenting with 98
charges 129
cold 167
at night 71, 98, 271, 286,
293, 301, 310
Cole, Jacob q 39, 40, 61,
103, 109, 117, 121, 172-3,
200
Colenso, battle of 118
Coleridge, Sam'l C. 137
Collis Zouaves 227
Colored
orphan asylum,
N. Y. 258-60
colors saved 109, 231
commissary 196
end 175
company kettles 42, 143
confederate clothing 81-2
knapsacks 81
prisoners 82
127
congress caricatured
124
282
Connecticut regiments
8,
1st heavy artillery 31, 36
at Fredericksburg 108
at Bull Run 23
at Gettysburg 236
at Williamsburg 22
at Yorktown 198
drummer's part in
expected at Mine Run
gallant, but- 39
Charlestown, Mass 37
Chase, Salmon P. 123
cheating at cards 176-8,
181
checkers 294, 295, 299
championship 177,293
with Rivers 170,171,290,
291, 292
cheese 275
cherries in Maryland 211
Chesapeake and Ohio canal
177, 208, 209
-bay 99
chess 177, 291, 292, 293,
294, 299
on the battlefield 310
Chester, Capt. 231
-Gap, Va. 100
Cheyne, Prof.
Prof. 162
Chicago, Ill. The Advance 38
Childs, Wm. H. 292, 293,
295
chimneys 28, 83, 141-7,
196
tumbled down 167
Christmas 289-90
Cincinnati
opera festival
266
citizens forced to accompany
208
Ciudad Rodrigo 119
Clark, Lt. John S. 170
cleanliness 68
Clem, John 18
clothing 85, 161-2, 316
allowance 161
change of 68
confederate 81, 82
washing 40-1
codfish 168
coffee 197, 198, 199
Coffin, Charles C. q 47, 207
conscripts 258-9, 261-7
escaping 263
contraband 86
Cook, Capt. 209
Cooper, Thos. V. q 230
coosh 200
corduroy roads 150-151,
155, 164, 167
corn-cakes 88, 200
corps mentioned 1st 186,
216, 227, 232, 273, 282,
295
2nd 204, 219, 220, 226,
227, 228, 230, 231, 232.
273, 281, 293, 295, 304,
308
3d 7, 193, 219, 220, 221,
222, 230, 233, 273, 281
4th U. S. 280
5th 217, 226-7, 235, 273,
281, 285, 307
6th 186, 203, 204, 227,
278, 281, 291, 295, 304
9th 164, 304
11th
110, 187-9, 191, 194,
214, 216, 217
12th 191, 216, 232, 263,
285, 286, 304
correspondence practice
271
Corunna, retreat from 81
counterfeit money 262, 265
countersign 50-54
Covent Garden opera 290
cow, killed for beef 65
coward, drummed out 169,
170
cowardice 86, 111, 134,
like seasickness 107
Cowdin, Col. Robert 38,
264, 314
crabs 271
Crawford, Gen. 119
Creasy's "Fifteen Battles"
214
creeping up on the enemy
57
Crewe, Mrs. 42
cribbage 167, 168
all day 264
all night 174, 177
Crimean war 297, 298
Cripps, George 242
crises from turn of kaleido-
scope 181
Cronje, Gen. 136
Crouch, Gen. 284
cruelties 60
Cudworth, Rev. Warren E
45, 85, 314
custodian 176, 201
q 39, 156, 209, 242, 253-4
Culpeper, Va. 99, 161, 169,
203, 268, 295, 298, 299
Culp's hill 134
Cumberland Valley 215,
216
Dabney, Dr. 137
Dacoits 137
dance hall burned 299
Danforth, Robert K. 307
Davenport, J. L. 317-20
Davis, Jefferson 48,57,
58, q 190
caricature 158
flight 37
day after payday 177
Dearing, George T. 90,
148, 169
Deep run, Va. 109
De Castro, Wm. 307
Delmonico's outdone 163,
164
dentistry 296-7
descriptive list 141, 147,
160, 165, 176
desecrated vegetables 198-9
deserters 173, 287-8, 291
dessicated vegetables 198-
9
De Trobriand, Col. q 230
Devens, Gen. 69, 128
devitalizing 265
diary 139, 160
facsimiles 6, 152, 161
green to red 290
padding 162
Diggs, Sergeant 131
dipper 198-9, 202
"Dirty shirts" 39
discharge 314
paper 320, inside back
cover
dodging bullets 136
Doherty, Lt. James 162,
260,
Doubleday, Gen. Abner 218
q 190, 192, 212, 217
223, 286
Index
maps 185, 188, 191, 193,
214-5, 218
reviews 141
doughnuts 169, 201, 290
Douglas, Stephen A. 17
Dowdall's tavern 217
drafting 258-9
Dranger, Nick 179-81, 265,
266
Draper, Andrew S. q 238
draw poker 181-3, 262-3
drawing rations 42, 143,
196
dress parade 64, 168, 260,
275, 314
mock 294 .
Driscoll, Michael E. 320
drummers 86, 133
at reveille 78
inconveniences 98
mistakes 263, 264, 293
not provokers of blood-
shed 66
on Governor's Island 260
place in battle 8, 127
practice 20, 64
sword 65
taps 79
untrained 18, 19
drumming out 170, 171
drunken men 269
drunkenness 66, 172, 290
Drury, Lt. Wm. P. 292,
303
Dublin, Ireland 133
-Fusileers 118
Dumfries, Va. 90, 101
Durleigh, q 133
Dwight, Lt. Col. 9, 243
dying soldier's last thought
112
dysentery 218
Eames, Walter 45, 69, 123,
173
Early, Gen. at Fredericks-
burg 120
at Spotsylvania 309
at Wapping Heights 255
Edwards Ferry 208
Edson, Andrew W. 268
Educational Review 319
Edwards, Col. 260
Eggleston, George Cary, q
58, 70
El Teb 121
Elandslagate, battle 61
Elk Run, Va. 273
Ellsworth, Col. .26, 27
-Fort 28, 29
Ely's ford 98, 277, 282,
283, 300, 301, 302
Emmittsburg, Md. 212,
213, 215, 216, 241
road 9, 110, 214, 218, 219,
221, 223
enfilade at Gettysburg 220,
223, 225
enlistment 17, 173, 174
Erwin, Gen. 121
esprit de corps 106, 110-1,
302
every move is watched '54
Ewell,, Gen. at Fredericks-
burg 121
at Gettysburg 226
at Wapping Heights 255
Excelsior brigade 31, 214,
230, 275, 295
excuses 168
execution of deserter 286
exhausted 80, 159, 166
facilis decensus Averni 177
Fairfax, Va. 79
-courthouse 69, 166, 168
-seminary 29, 44, 73, 75,
77,
-station 22, 30, 80, 83, 291
Fair Oaks battle 315
Fair Play, Md. 245
Fairview, Va. 186, 192
Fall River, Mass. 23
falling in for rations 42,
143
Falls Church, Va. 70, 75
Falmouth, Va. 7, 95, 96-8,
"
101, 139, 144-5, 186,
195, 260
last days at
196-203
review at 172-3
winter camp at 160-75
Farnsworth, Amos 5
-Helen 25
fatalism 136
fatigue 80, 159, 166
duty 160, 167
feet, bare 80
89
sore 79-80
fence rails in demand
fencing 18, 65-6, 68,
Ferrero, Gen. 141
ferry boats 24
Fields, Chas. 263, 264
fifer 20, 66, 74, 88, 98
fighting parsons 45
filters 21
fire, building 163
delights of 160
firemen, paid and volunteer
130
first march 77-89, 318
fishing 265
323
Fitchburg, Mass. 17, 19,
108, 141, 171, 214, 319
prohibition town 163
huts 83, 84, 140-7
Fitzhugh house 29, 140
flapjacks 200
Fletcher, Lt. Wm. H. 292,
312
flour 105
Alute 295
Fontenoy, battle of 128
food 196-201
prices of 47-8
shortage 65, 174, 197,
208, 247, 281
football 294
foraging 247, 274
at a disadvantage 257
forbidden in Maryland
211
in European wars
in Virginia 269
248-9
my single experience 245-
9
on Sherman's march 248-9
Forbes, Archibald q 119
-Edwin, pictures 4, 34, 41,
51, 52, 72, 80, 94, 97, 98,
142, 143, 145, 147, 152,
156, 164, 166, 175, 196,
227, 297
Ford, Lieut.
fording 86, 87, 88, 153,
skirmishing before 166
fords, Banks. 99, 184
Beverly 204
117
Blackburn's 207
Ely's 98, 277, 282, 283,
300, 301, 302
Germania 98, 99, 161,
277, 300, 301
Jacob's Mill 277, 281, 301
Kelly's 98, 271-2. 273
capture of 167
Morton's 293
Raccoon 281
Rappahannock 149
United States 88, 98, 149,
163, 185
Fort Albany 29
Corcoran 28
Ellsworth 28, 29
Erie, siege of 132
Lynn 28, 30, 35, 75
Runyon 28
68,
69
Steadman 61
Taku 136
Ward
36, 64,
fortitude 119-20
forty-fives 178, 289
Fox Gap, Md. 242
Franco-Prussian war 90
324
A Little Fifer's War Diary
Frank Leslie's 8, q 60, 85,
123, 125, 198, 265
Franklin, Gen. 113
at
Bull Run 84
at Fredericksburg 93, 95,
115, 157, 107, 110, 113,
184, 186
Franklin's division 149
Frascuelo 136
Frederick City, Md. 195,
210, 211, 214-5, 242, 283
marching prisoners 82
Fredericksburg, Va. 37, 75,
88, 89, 95, 169, 186, 203,
281, 309, 312
and Chancellorsville 184
battle of 8, 29, 45, 60,
99-113, 120, 126, 128,
148, 167, 184, 186, 218
Fitzhugh house 29, 140
Franklin's crossing
Lacy house 107
map of 99
186
Marye's hill 103, 108-9,
110, 117, 184
miraculous spring 169
mill 97
passage of river 102
Phillips house 96,
103
picketing 59
rebuilding bridge 312
streets of 103
views 95, 96, 101-4, 139
Fremont and Dayton 17
242,
French, Gen. 108,
254, 294, 295
French's division 94
-hotel, N. Y. 264, 267, 314
Frenchman and negro 159
Front Royal, Va. 241, 253
frying pan 199-200
Fuller, Chaplain 45
fun with pension office 316-
20
funerals 41, 121, 202
gambling 176-183
by the camp fire 150
day after pay-day 177
in New York City 262-7
professionals 180
with Excelsior brigade 275
Garibaldi's regiment 70
Garrett, Sir R. 131
Geary, Gen. 285
Genoa, Itzly
182
Georgia regiments, 13th 306
30th 81
60th 121
61st 121
62d 121
Germania ford 98, 99, 161,
277, 300, 301
getting to the front 22-9
Getty's division 103
Gettysburg 79, 212, 276,
277, 284, 300
battle 8, 110, 126, 134, 162,
167, 187, 195, 214-38,
315
and
Chancellorsville 9,
158, 221, 223
Cemetery hill and ridge
219, 224, 232
change of front 228
crisis 217
Culp's hill 231
dead father at 111, 112,
q21, 237-8,
Devil's Den 219, 220, 222,
224, 232
Emmitsburg road 110, 214,
218, 219, 221, 223
224, 226, 227, 230, 232,
233,
Hooker's
284
removal 211,
marching from 78, 318
marching to 81, 204-13,
261
on the right 167, 219
Peach orchard 218, 221,
222, 225, 226, 227, 229,
230, 231, 232
Pickett's charge 109, 218,
231, 234-7, 240
Plum run 219, 224,
regimental monument 73,
74
Rocky hill 236
Rothermel's picture 231
Round Tops 219 222.
225, 226, 228, 232, 233,
234, 235
Seminary ridge 226
Weikert house 232
wheatfield 227, 232
wheel to south 221-8, 285
Gibbons's division 109,
112, 120,
Gibson, Samuel A. 264,
314
-Mrs. Mary A. 5, 19, 117,
140, 314
Gilson, Miss 294, 295
girl a rarity 291
Glencoe 55, 137
Glendale, battle 315
"Goggle-eyes" 216
gold, premium on 20, 126
good faith between enemies
61
Goodrich, David W. 182
Goorkhats 137
Gordon, Gen. q 136
-Gen. John B. 309 q 61
-Highlanders 61, 127
Gordonsville, Va. 99, 301
got to going 77
Governor's island 260-1
Gragg, Isaac P. 160
Graham's brigade 222, 223,
227, 230
Grant,
Gen. Ulysses S.
37, 86, 186, 286, 306 q 161,
306,
Harvard university 9,43, 167
Haskell, Anna 19
Hasker, Thos. q 248
havelocks 21
haversack 30, 81
Havre de Grace, Md. 24,
268
Mr. 296
Hayward, Rev. Mr.
Hawkins, Dr. 263
Hay, Lord Charles 128
Heintzelman, Gen.
284 q 30
Hellfire Jack 197
67, 73,
Helper's Impending Crisis
271
17
159
in command 295, 299
Spotsylvania 306-310
Wilderness 300-305
reviews 285
grape jelly 47
-shot 106
Gray, Anna T.
grease 200
Great Britain
Great Eastern 23
Greeley, Horace 125, 182
Greenwich, Va. 269
Grenadier guards 35
Groton, Mass. 319
Grover, Gen. q 30
Grover's brigade 32
grudges 266
guard house 147, 170, 174
mounting 260, 263
guerillas 77, 216, 310
Guirl, James O., picture 58
Gum Springs, Va. 208
Gunn, Surgeon 202
gymnastics 296
Hagerstown, Md. 210, 214-
5, 241-2,
Hale, Col. 219
Halleck, Gen. 195, 222, 260
Halliwell, Sergeant 132
halt for 20 minutes 166
Hancock, Gen. 296, 302
q 240
at Gettysburg 217, 218,
219, 221, 225, 231, 233,
239
in the Wilderness 302,
304, 306, 309
Hancock's corps 300,
hanging 292
hard tack 163, 199, 273
Harlem 264, 265
Harper's Ferry, Va. 210,
215. 243-5
Harper's Weekly q 32, 57,
62, 122, 125
Harriet Lane, The 122
Harrington, Geo. 139
Harris of the 26th Pa. 295,
296, 299
Harrisburg, Pa.
Harrison's Landing
Harrow's brigade 231
Hart, William N. 86, 110,
294
214-5, 283
39
Hartwood church 204
heroes 193
Heth, Gen. 79
Highlanders 120, 134, 137,
201
uniform 161-2
Gordon 61, 127
93d 132
Hill, Gen. A. P.
Senator q 65
193,
193, 226
Hiller, C. E. F., picture 53
Hillsboro, Md. 210
Hillsborough, Va. 249
Hollis, Wm. L. 271
Holy Jo 39, 45, 85, 156,
176, 201, 209, 242, 253-4,
314
Homer, Winslow, pictures
8, 22, 114, 279
Hood, Gen. 233, 234
Hooker, Gen. Joseph 160,
163, 173, 174, 197, 251,
252 વ્ 30
and Meade 195, 284, 286
at Chancellorsville 184-95
crossing Rappahannock
185
reviews by 98,
supplanted by Meade 212,
284
Hooker's brigade 7, 194
division 30, 31, 66, 110-1,
horses, dead 28, 112, 139,
184
hospitals, amateur nurses
121
amputatlon 115
near the front 114, 118,
119
night after the battle 120
service for a boy of fifteen
122-3
work in 114-26
hospitality, Maryland 211,
212
26th Pa. 273
Virginia 76, 90
Howard, Gen. O. O. at
Chancellorsville 9, 186, 187-
9, 194, 214, 217, 223,
Howard, Gen. O. O. at Get-
tysburg 216, 217
Howe, Gen. 112, 239, 240
Howe's division 203
Hugo, Surgeon 117
Hull, Lorenz. B. 75, 85,
86, 98, 139, 168, 312
299
chess with 292, 293, 294
in the Wilderness 303
trading 117
-William C. 278
Humphreys, Capt. Harry
231-2
-Col. q 42
-Gen. A. A. 216, 218, 221,
229, 230, 231-2, 234-5 q
228
Humphrey's division 219,
222, 227, 223, 229, 230,
231, 232, 233
Hungarian jacket 162
hungry soldiers fight 48
Hunt, Gen. 221, 222, 225,
239
-Mrs. Mary Ward
Hunter, Maud F. 271
identity, paradox of 317
illness 8, 85
150
Illustrated London News q
57, 60
Imperial Guard
-Light Horse
134
105
Indian (Asiatic! troops 119,
200
Indiana regiments, 20th
260
71st 286
Inkerman, battle of 117
Irish and Scotch 134
-brigade at Fredericksburg
108-9, 123
Jack of Spades 243
Jackson, Andrew 97
-Gen. Stonewall 30, 100,
121, 137, 175, 190, q 48
killed at Chancellorsville
188-91
-Mrs. 58
James river
river
99
Japanese stools 35
Jaubert 138
Jefferson, Thos.,
Md. 210
245
Jersey brigade 78, 163-4,
201,
City 268
John Romer 267, 268
Johnson, Col. 168
-Gen. 308, 309
-Samuel
171
Johnson's artillery 307
Index
Johnston, Capt. Wm. C.
168
Jordan, Capt. Charles M.
111, 139,
-Harry 266
just before the battle, moth-
er, 106 7
Kaffirs 79
kaleidoscope produces crises
181
Kalunga, siege of 60
Kearney, Gen. Philip 195
Keedysville, Md. 242
Kelly's Ford 98, 177.
271 3
Kellyville 273
Kenesaw mountain, battle
CO
Kenna, Capt. 131
keno 182
Kershaw's brigade 234
Kettle Run 22, 315
kettles, company 40
King's Rifle Corps 137
Kingsley, Allen Alonzo 196-
8
Kitchener, Lord 36, 61
Kitoctan funace, Md. 242
mountain 242
knapsack 98, 201
carried 83, 273
lightening 81, 161
marking 20
packing 81
pictures 30, 77
Knife, Major 57
Koragh Defile
Defile 119
23
La Bree, q
Ladysmith, Africa 79, 136
Laconia, N. H. 86
La Rouchejacquelin 137
Lake Gen. 39
Lamb, Thomas 90
Lane, Conyng q 108
-Harriet 122
last
days at Falmouth
196-203
Lawrence academy 319
Le Febvre, Marshall 133
Le Monde Illustre a 124,
126
leaking tents 74, 85, 147,
Leatherber. 275
Lee, Gen. Robert E. 190,
276, 306 q 109
Chancellorsville 195
Gettysburg 79, 215, 218,
219, 225, 226, 233, 239,
258, 286
Mine Run 282
surrender 37
Wapping Heights 254
ness
Lee, Gen. Robert E. Wilder-
300, 305, 309, 310
Leech, John 298
letters home 121, 281
Lewinsville, Md. 242
Lexington minute men 5
Libby prison 140, 216
lice 38-40, 63, 180, 212
Licking Run Heights 271
lie and lay 242
Light Division 111
Lincoln, Abraham 160, 161,
168
after Fredericksburg 122-6
after Gettysburg 240
after Mud March 160
and McClellan 84
caricatured 122-4, 158
reviews by 73, 172
-Major 264, 294
-university 194
liquor contraband 86
given out in army 86, 139,
163
Little Amsterdam creek 242
lob scouse 5, 200, 257
Lockwood's brigade 227
Locust Grove 29,99
battle of 276-86, 301, 318
log as a handicap 167
Logan, John A. 111
Lohengrin 266
London Illustrated News
57, 69, 126
Long, Capt. James, q 226
Longfellow, Henry W. 75
Longstreet, Gen. James 109
at Gettysburg 224, 226,
232
325
McCarty, Cornelius 242
McClellan, Capt. 232
Gen. Geo. B. 22, 25, 69,
83-4, 99-100, 186,243
caricatured 85, 123, 125
McDowell, Gen. 123
McGilvery's artllery 233
McIntire, Henry 310
McLaughlin, Col. N. B. 46.
148, 292, 293
at Chancellorsville 126,
187, 190
at Locust Grove 280
at Spotsylvania
McLaws's division
Macrea, James R.
295
308
233
179, 264,
Madrid, Spain 136
magnificent but not war 128
Mahomet 48
118
20
Mahone, Gen.
mail carriers
Maine regiments 3d 221
12th 18
Malby of the 26th Pa.
296
Malvern hill 22, 137
Manassas 40, 144, 315
-Gap 253, 255
-railway 252-3
-Junction 205, 206
295,
Manhattan opera house 266
q
285
Manlius, N. Y.
119
March, Lord
marching 7, 77-8, 166, 273
between canal and river
209
q
in the Wilderness 303
100, 220, 222, 223, 233-4,
235-6, 255, 300, 301, 304
-Mrs. James 233
looting 103-4
Loudon Heights 243
Louis XIV 134
-XVIII 138
-Philippe 298
Lovie. Henry, pictures 89,
100, 101, 102, 104
Lowe's baloons 90, 91, 141
Lowell, Mass. 18
Lucknow, siege of 132
Lunden, Va. 253, 255
Lydston, Edward W. 176
lying 19, 314
Lyons, Lord 183
McAllister, Col. q 191
૧
McBean, Lt. Willie 131
McCabe, John J. 139
McCarthy, Carlton q 39, 48,
80, 81, 127, 141, 153, 205,
273
bivouacs 63, 72, 80, 81,
173, 178, 204
confederate prisoners 82
exhausted 80, 159, 166
in the rain
150-7
log as handicap 167
night 205
packing for 81, 161
straggling 65, 165-7, 291,
307
summer 205
to Gettysburg 204-213
160
throwing away
washing up 8, 212
Markham, Va.
255
Marlborough, Duke of, 18
q 133, 248
Martin, Col.W.H.
Maryland 135,
bread 212
foraging in
211
60
hospitality 211, 212
Lockwood's brigade 227
regiment 3d 191, 214
Mass. regiments 1st. 7, 156,
160
at Blackburn's Ford 207
326
A Little Fifer's War Diary
Mass. regiments 1st.
Budd's Ferry 26
at Bull Run 23, 30
at Camp Hooker 146
at Fort Albany 29
at Fort Lyon 28
at Gettysburg 74-235
at Locust Grove 280
at Malvern Hill 30
at New York city 260-7
at Spotsylvania 308
at
Medfield, hero of
medical inspection 19
Mellish, Col. 132
Metropolis, steamer 23
Metz 90
196-8
at Wapping Heights 255
at Williamstown 22
at Yorktown 198
excellence 7, 164, 197,314-5
extra furloughs 164, 168
flag presented 264
Gettysburg 217-34
good fellows 107, 163, 181
killed Jackson?
McClellan 83-4
morale 7, 31
officers 165
189-90
2d 9, 47, 164, 168
6th 314
11th 90, 290
12th 273
15th 69, 123, 173, 299
16th 30, 45, 115, 201, 227,
293
19th 102
20th 35, 164, 168,
21st 141, 164
32d 168
36th 141, 164,
37th 260
56th 163
-sharp practice 315
M. V. M. 20
Massaponax road, Va. 310
Massena, Gen. 248
Maurice, Gen. q 128
Mayhew, Horace q 298
Mead, John B. 17, 77
Meade, Gen. Geo.
296
at
212
197, 240
Mexican war
Michigan regiments 7th 102
Middleburg, Md. 215, 216
Middletown, Md. 210, 211
military gymnastics 125
milk 197
Mine Run 276-85, 295, 300
short rations 65, 174, 197,
247,
315
Mingle, George W. 66, 172
-Henry H. 66
minie bullet 117
Mitchell, Maggie
money impedimenta 71
Monocacy aqueduct 211
river 208, 209, 210
Monte Carlo 182
Montjoy, Charles
moonblindness 66, 172
Moore, Sir John 81
Moori river 118,
morale 31, 214
Morgan, Gov. Edwin 258
Morris Pell & Co. 314
Morristown, Va. 271
mortar 105-6
Mosby, Col. 168
Mosher, H. picture 151
Moscow, retreat from 81
Motte, Gen. 141, 295, 296
Mountain Run, Va. 299
mounted infantry 171
mud marching 149-59, 276
Mudge, Charles E. 44-5,
170, 290, 294, 295
mules 175, 251
crack team 250
drivers 28, 92, 93
shoeing 250, 251
260, 273,
Munich opera house
66
Munson's hill 29, 69-71,
159,
112
Chancellorsville
at Fredericksburg
at Gettysburg 79, 189,
211, 215-38, 243,
at Mine Run 65, 276-86,
300
at Wapping Heights
7, 300
character 159, 283-6
resigns 240
252-
return to Virginia 239
reviews 296
supplants Hooker 178,
284
veracity 225, 284-6
Meagher's brigade 108-9,
Mechanicstown, Md.
Md. 241
75
music 74, 266-7, 290
musicians 141,
141, 147
place in battle 114
mustaches 297-8
mustering in 173
Mysenburg, Ger. 189
Napier, Lord q 59, 111
-Major George 119
-Sir Charles 135
Napoleon 120, 164,
q 110
narcotics
negroes, desecrating mas-
ters' houses 103, 104
mule drivers 92, 94
not cowards 95
sleeping by the fire
Nelson, Gen. 47, 137,
New Hampshire regiments
2d 85, 98, 167
12th 207
72
27th 209
New Jersey brigade 31, 78.
regiments, 11th 85, 191,
201, 277, 301
26th 203
New London, Ct. 24
New Orleans, La. 18
New York city 23, 159,
165,
draft riots 258-60
episode 258-67, 289
-state contributions 258
regiments 2d 165
7th 242
11th 85
57th 39, 109,
70th 192
71st 192
72d 192
73d 190, 229,
74th 219
119th 70
120th 192, 214, 230, 294
124th 190, 286
134th 83
150th 134
Sun 302
Tribune 17
Newton, Gen. 217,
Ney, Marshal 81
Niblo's theatre 264
Nichols, Geo. W. q 248,
270
night after the battle 120
marching 205
Norfolk, Va. 99,
not the colonel's end 274
Nutting genealogy 319
Jonathan's account book 5
-William 5
officers and men
165
oil-cloth 144
O'Kelly, Gen.
Brandy station 287
Bristow station 22, 30,
268
Catlett's station
205, 270
-county grammar school
18, 19
-court-house road 277, 301
orderly 44, 167
Orthez, battle 61
Ostend, siege of 132
Otis, Mrs. Harrison Gray
21
ovens 204
overcoats 49, 50, 73, 89,
100, 108, 114, 202, 204
thrown away 161
Pagliacci 266
Paine, Gen. 249
paradox of identity 317
Paris, Comte de q 219,
222, 223, 224, 231, 233
opera house 266
Parker, James G. 265, 307
-Samuel 295
Parker s store 282
Patrick, Gen. M. R. 285
Patti in opera 267
payday 66, 273, 294, 296
bets 291
day after 176, 177
paymaster 176, 273, 294,
296
pebbles for thirst 42
Peck, Col. 128
pediculus vestimenti 38-40,
212
Peninsular campaign 7, 22,
30, 315
war, Europe 60, 132, 248,
297
Pennsylvania line 213, 214
regiments 26th 40, 170,
192, 214, 219, 230, 273,
277, 278, 306
84th 207, 293, 296
Pennypacker q 222, 286
pension office, fun with 316-
20
sharks 319-20
118, 158,
pepper 198
134,
197
Olapherts, Sir Wm.
Omdurman, battle of 61,
131
opera 266-7, 290
194
150
on the march 77-89
outpost 51-2
Nast, Thomas pictures
8,
127, 212
negroes, African 162
and Frenchmen
159
bouffe 255
Orange & Alexandria R. R.
205-7, 287
Percy, Earl 133
Perkins, Chas. C. 73, 145–
6, 317-9
Perry, Capt. 310
persimmons 89
Peterboro, N. H. 17
Petersburg, siege of 163
Philadelphia, Pa. 24, 268
Union relief saloon 24,
268, 312, 313
Phillipi, battle of 128
Philips, Joseph M. 64, 168,
cards 171
Phillips, J.M., companion 36
not to be whistled for 45,
294
quarrels 64-6, 174, 290-2
tentmate 32, 38, 64, 98
-Sergeant 290
Pickard, Isaiah L. 296
picket 49-63, 165, 396
"Advance and give the
countersign" 50
assassination 58
bivouac 63
captured 62
firing at random
confederate humor
in the rain 44
126
62
on the outpost 50-51
skirmish 57
59
soldier's picnic 63, 168
stock exchange
suspended 121
trouble ahead 51, 53-7
under marching orders 202
Pickett's charge 109, 218,
231, 234-7
Piedmont, Va.
pies 47, 88
piety 194
pillage 248
pillows 35
pine branches 33
pioneers 100
252
Pipe Creek, Md. 215, 216,
222
Pitt, Sir Wm. 134
playing
cards 160, 176,
188
177-9
at Chancellorsville
Pleasanton, Gen. 133, 190,
q 195, 215, 239, 276, 284
Point of Rocks, Md.
211
poker 176-183
draw 262-3
200
210,
pone
pontoons at
Chancellors-
300
ville 186,
at Ely's ford
at Fredericksburg 101-2,
at Jacob's ford 277-8
in the mud march 150,
156
train 100
Pope,
Gen. 22, 30, 83,
potatoes 197, 273
pulverized 197
Potomac creek 201
river 25, 86, 99,
Index
and C. & O. canal 177
Budd's ferry 26, 173
C. & O. canal 208, 209
Harper's Ferry 244
map 210
Washington 26
Williamsport 210
Potter, Bishop 74
prayer-meetings 201, 293
presentation speech 170
Prest, John J. 72-3, 74,
82, 85, 148, 263, 293, 299
at Fredericksburg 105-7,
110
foraging 246-7
tenting with 72, 80, 83,
291
Pretoria
105
prices of food 47-8
Prince, Gen. 232, 293, 295
at Locust Grove 280
-Imperial of France 137
prisoners 82
prize fighting
290
profanity 167, 216
prohibition 163
props 186
protection in battle 57,
127, 238,
Providence, R. I. 24
provost-marshal's office 259
Puebia, Mexico, 240
Punch, q 298
punishments 169-172
drumming out 169, 170
drunkenness 172
guard house 170, 174
hanging 292
mounted infantry 171
my own 170, 174
shooting for desertion 287-
8, 291
Purdy, Capt. Lovell, jr. q
219
101
Quantico creek
quartermaster 203
Quebec, taking of 134
Quint, Rev. A. H. q 47,
60, 202,
Rafferty, Col.
raffles 275
q
230
railroads destroyed 268-9
rain, marching in 150-7
Randolph, Capt. 194
99, 100, 167, 186
caricatured 125
Port Morris, N. Y.
265
Porter, Gen. Fitz John
84
station 20
Portugal 248
Posey, Gen. 234
Rapidan river 98
postage stamps
20
postal currency 20
Ely's ford 98, 277, 282,
283, 300, 301, 302
-Vt. 17, 19, 77, 16
256, 268
Rapidan river, Germania
ford 98, 99, 161, 277, 300,
301
Jacob's mill ford 277,
281, 301
map 88, 276
Morton's ford 293
Raccoon ford 281
Rappahannock river, 84,
98, 123, 97, 139, 149,
163-4,
Banks ford 99., 184
Beverly ford 204
Franklin's crossing 110,
126, 157
Kelly's ford 98, 271-2
picketing 59
Scott's dam 185
United States ford 98,
149, 163, 185
station 273
rations 196-201
boxes from home 43, 86,
200
drawing 42, 102, 143, 163
eight days 174
scarce 8,65, 163, 174, 197,
208, 247, 281
reading 160, 165, 264, 291
Reams station 35
rear guard 274
recruiting station 262
recruits in 3-year regiments
271-3
re-enlistment 292
regimental differences 88
regular army 267, 280
1st U. S. S. S. 165
vs. volunteers 128-34
relaxing moral sense 26.5
religious services 201, 294,
295, 296, 299
on battlefield 301
retreats 126
reveille in camp
bugle call 79
Revere House 257
reviews by Burnside 141
by Grant 295
78, 270
by Heintzelmann 67
by Meade 296
by Sickles 66, 141, 268
by Stoneman 147
by Sumner 141
Revolutionary war 5, 133,
238
Reynolds, Gen. J. F. 216,
217
Rhine wine 265
rice 197, 198
recruits 35-6
at Riker's Island 261-2
drilling 261
unwelcome 35, 42
327
Richardson, Gen. 40
Richmond, Va. 8, 84, 99, 126,
a nest for Jeff Davis 131,
158
on a greased pole 113
Riker's island, N. Y. 23,
261-7
Riddell, Dr.
-Thos. 173, 309
Rifle Brigade 134
263
Riker's island 23,
island 23, 261-7
Rivers, Anthony C. 167,
290
roads, corduroy 124, 125
Robbins, Jack 160
Roberts, Lord 138
Robertson, Lord, Գ 286
Robertson's tavern 278,
281
Robinson, Oscar D. q 88
Rodes, Gen. 309
Rogers, Peter, house 214
Roosevelt, Theodore 43
Root post, G. A. R. 320
Rorke's Drift 45
Ross, Johnny
Rothermel's
231
132
Gettysburg
165
Roxbury, Mass.
Mills, Md. 242
Royal Munster Fusileers 39
-Surrey regiment 136
rubber blanket 33, 35, 81,
144, 152, 165,
rum 265
Rundle, Gen. 118
sacking a city 103-5
St. Mary, College of 241
Salamanca, battle of 128
Salem, Mass. 42
Va. 257
salient angle at Gettysburg
223
at Spotsylvania 307, 309
salt 171
beef 197
horse 197
pork 164, 198, 200
Salt Lake City 130
San Carlos, Naples 266
sand storm 64
Sandy Hook, Md. .245
-N. Y. 5, 182
Saunders, Lucius 66, 171,
Sawyer, Horace A. 47
Scalchi in opera 267
scaly crowd 180
scared 111-2
or scarred 65
Scarlett, Col 238
Schell, F. H., pictures 213,
313
Schenck, Gen. 284
•
328
A Little Fifer's War Diary
▼
Schiel, Col. 61
Schouler, Gen. 18, 141,
147, 173
Schurz, Carl q 116, 154,
189, 238
Scott, Gen. Winfield
scouse 9, 200, 257
scouts 54-6, 276
240
Sebastopol, siege oi 132
Sedgwick, Gen. 307
at Chancellorsville 186
Semmes, Gen. 60, 234
sensation of wounds 117
sentimentality 133
sentries, stories of 50-5
Sepoys 132, 286
Seward, Wm. H. 123, 172,
183
Seymour, Gov. Horatio 258
sharp shooters 22, 102,
Berdan's 193
Sharpe, Gen. q
Sharpsburg. Md.
245
shaving 132
sheep killing 269
230
210, 242,
Sheldon, Farmer 17
shells 95, 99, 105-6,
shelter in battle 127
tents 164, 206, 270, 297,
305
in winter 143, 145
Shenandoah mountains 253
river 245
Sheperd, Wm. 291
Sheridan, Gen. q 247
valley 251
Sickles, Gen. inspection 68,
176
reviews 66, 141, 268
sickness 85
Siegel, Gen. Franz 194
sick soldiers 119
Silent Sue 136
Sim, Dr.
q 116, 187,
Simmons, Major 117
simoon 64
singing 294, 295, 296
Sirdar and Khalifa 133
skirts, psychological effect
295
skirmish 57, 90, 280
sleeping by the fire 72
cold 8, 68, 71, 98, 164,
172, 271, 286, 293, 301,
310
on the ground 78
warm 162, 172
while marching 165
Slocum, Gen. H. W. 216,
219, 222, 285
slosh
200
Smith, Parson 45
Sir Harry 79
Snicker's gap 251
snow 33, 147, 160, 163, 167,
169, 173, 289, 290, 295
soap 198
socks
68, 80
soft bread 197, 199, 273
soldiers home, Ohio 285
son of a gun 200
Sons of Temperance 168
Soudan campaign 166
Sherman, Gen. Wm. T. q Soult, Marshal 61, 138
59
march to the sea 248
shells at Atlanta 25
-Wm. F. 173
Sherry's surpassed
163, 164
Shiloh, battle of 177
shinplasters 20
shirts 39, 42, 68, 161
shoes 79, 201
on the march 205
shot and shell 106
shoulder straps 165, 172
Shoup, Gen. 135
sibley tents 67-8
sick list 168
Sickles, Gen. 7, 204, 223,
242, 264, 282, 295
q 120, 239,268
at Chancellorsville
133,
158, 159, 161, 186, 187,
189, 192, 193
at Fredericksburg 89, 101,
108
at Gettysburg 9, 73, 164,
195, 216, 217, 219-227,
228, 233, 234, 285
soup 255-7
South African war 55, 60,
61, 118, 121, 127, 128, 136,
137, 162,
-Mountain,battle 61. 79,
Spanish war 19, 165, 218
special Providence 137
spelling school 294
Spencer, Wm. V. 19
Spinola, Gen. 255
sport, effort to be 265
Spotsylvania 76, 286
battle 29, 39, 111, 120,
126, 128, 129, 306-312,
301, 305
charge of heavy artillery 98
fire-proof 307
maps 99
Warren, Capt. Moses 96,
108, 111, 266
Sprague, James M.
James M. 117,126
Springfield, Va. 253
stables and negro tent 28
stacking cards 176-8, 181
Stafford courthouse, Va. 90
Stanton, E. W. 122, 123,
124, 271, 273
Steadman, Fort 61
-Susie J. 270, 290
stealing 82, 201, 271
Steel the sculptor
Stevens, Col. 192
Stewart, Gen. 308
Stewart's express
128
165
among
128
stock exchange
pickets 59
stolidity in battle
Stone, Capt. Ebenezer W,
jr. 165, 173, 270, 280, 293
Stoneman, Gen. 113, 148
reviews 147
-Kate 148
Stoughton, Col. 168
-Major 165
stoves 69
straggling 65. 165-7, 291,
307
Strasburg, Va. 255
stretcher 114-20, 204
Stuart, Gen. J. E. B.
77, 90, 163, 233
substitutes 261-2
sugar 198
70,
Sullivan, L. P. 295
Sumner, Gen. 103
7
reviews 141
Sumter, Fort 17
surgeons at work in the rear
114-16
cowards,
eager 115
surgical aid, operations 122
to enemy 60
Susquehanna river 283
sutler 46-8, 93, 148, 271,
289, 290,
checks 291
checkers
sweatboard 263, 275
Sweet Run, Va. 249
swimming 201
sword, drummer's 65
Sykes, Gen. 226
Syracuse, N. Y. 43, 173,
and Onondaga county 319
sometimes 116
295
58
Taft, William H.
Tagus river 60
Talavera, battle of, 35, 60
Tammany hotel 264
Taneytown, Md. 212, 215,
216
Tannhauser 266
taps 79
tarantula 129
Tarbell, John E. 36 8, 64,
67, 69,
-Mrs. Lottie 37
telegraph in battle 91, 93
temperance
295
meeting
meeting 294.
temperance pledge 294, 295
Tennyson, Alfred 238
tents 139-47, 160,
alone 201
cavalry 31
confederate 141
interior 31, 146
leaky 74, 85, 147
paymaster's 176
poles 149
shelter 32-34, 142, 164, 206
sibley 67
sutler's 46
wall 31, 177
Thackeray q 18
Thanksgiving in camp 278-9,
281
thieves 201
Thornton's Gap 255
Thoroughfare Gap 30, 100,
206, 252,
in the distance 206
thought it was the relief 52
Thrale, Mrs. 171
Tilgmanton, Md. 245
Tillson, Charles O. 179, 263,
264
time of serivce 173, 174
toad-stickers 65
tobacco 105, 139-40
Todd's tavern 301, 306, 307
Tom Thumb 124
Tommy Atkins 131
tooth lost 296
Townsend, Marquess 133
trading 85, 86, 139-40,
treasure seekers 248
-trove 248
Tremain, Gen. q 229
trenches 128, 131
Trinity church, N. Y. 264
trouble ahead 51
trousers 161, 162
truce 121
True Flag 264
Trumpeter of Sakkingen 266
Tufts college 20
Turk's division 240
Turner, John T. 179, 181,
309
Twain, Mark 240
typhoid fever 218
umbrellas 35
Uncle Sam 125
-Tom's Cabin 17
underclothes 38
slipping down 107
uniform 161
officers 57
Union Mills, Va. 268
United Service Magazine 162
United States ford 88, 98.
149, 163, 185
United States troops 128-
34, 165, 267, 280
Upton's hill, Va. 75, 76
valor in past tense
Vaughn-Sawyer,
65
Capt.
q
129-30, 305
Von Gilsa, Col. 194
vegetables 198-9
vendetta not American 57
Verbeck, Col. Wm. 135
Vermont regiments 14th 88
Vicksburg 258
Victoria cross 131
Vienna opera house 266
vinegar 198
violin home-made 143
in battle 81
Virginia chimneys 142
devastated 247, 269
forty fords to one bridge 86
hospitality 76, 90)
mud 69
old and new 75
pretty decent lot 90
roads 28, 150,
soil 208
water 21
vultures 112
Wade, Senator 286
Wadsworth, Gen. J. S. 79,
141, 304
wagon train 90-6
attacked 94
bivouac 92, 93
wagons, army 28, 90, 94
baggage 153
waistcoat pockets 25
Walker, Major Gardner 170,
201, 265, 294, 296
-Gen. g 225
wall tent 31, 177
Wallace, Win. P. 296
Walton, Col. 236
Wapping Heights 252-7
and Mine Run 277
view from 254
War department prompt
315-6
is hell 59
Ward's brigade 192, 224, 280
Warren, A. W., pictures
171, 180
-Capt. Moses 111, 120,
266, 308
-Gen. 239, 281, 282, 290,
306 a 254
Warrenton, V.. 72. 100, 255,
256, 268, 269. 276
-Junction 30, 260, 271
Washburn, Ex-Gov. 294
washing clothes 39, 40, 42
on the line. 41
-up 212
Washington, D. C. 25, 26, 43,
49, 69, 72, 260, 276, 284,
312, q 61,
capitol 25, 26
guarding 184, 195, 216
monument 25
Munson's hill 69
protection of 99, 100
to Richmond 99
-George, 238, 286
birthday 167
birthplace 98
mother's monument 97
water 21
carrying to the enemy 61
color in Virginia 21
craving for 117, 205
filters 21
to wounded 114
washing up 212
Waterloo, battle of 35, 134,
136, 217, 224, 248
Index
Watkins, Owen q 166
Waud, A. R., pictures 95,
103, 115, 150, 187, 280,
308
-Wm. picture 120
weather 149, 165
Webb, Major 296
weevils 199 '
Weaverville, Md. 210
-Va. 271
Welch, Joseph J. 68, 293
Welles, Gideon, 122, 123,
124
Wellington, Duke of 61, 134,
136, 138, q 35, 79, 128,
194, 217, 224,
habits 35, 136
Wells, Lt. Col. 207
Westboro, Mass. 19
Westminister, Md. 215
Western
Boarding
Gazette .245
whiskey 105, 265
School
as an army ration 86, 139
163,
drummers 168
too fond of 172
whist 172
Whiston, Surgein 169
white diamond 73, 74,
White River Junction, Vt.
77
Who's who in America 319
Wide World 264, 270
Wiggins, William H. 165
Wilcox, Gen. 233, 234, q 232
Wilderness ambulance inen
86
and Chancellorsville 186
battle 8, 29, 39, 86, 110,
126, 167, 186, 300-305, 306
fire in the woods 60,
119, 304
Willard, Gen. 234
Willey, Lt. John S.
John S. 303
Williams. Gen. q
329
285
Williamsburg, Va. battle
22, 315
Williamsport, Md. 57, 210,
239, 240, 242, 213, 245,
254
Run 226
121
Willoughby Run
wills on the battlefield
Wilson, Amy 270
-Joseph 289
Wilton, N. H. 36
window shades as signals 71
57
winging a secessionist
Wisconsin regiments 5th 260
190
Wisner, Capt. Lewis S.
with a wagon train 90-98
Wofford's brigade 234
Wolf's
Run Shoal, Va.
86-90, 148
Wolfe, Gen.
134
wood, Birnam 53
black walnut 168,
breaking camp
carrying 167, 170
Woods, John 295
woolen clothes 20
170
271
advantages of cotton 40
Worcester, Mass. 19
wounded 114
at Atlanta 25
bringing in 118-9,
120
wounds, sensation of 117
Wright, Gen. q 232
Wyndham, Major 131
Wright, Hiram 295
Yale college 24, 43, 319
123
York, Gen. Zeb.
Pa. 214-5
Yorktown 197, 198
zampilaestroation 266
Zook, Gen. 108, 227
zouaves 27, 291
Zulus 137
薄
​i
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
g
3 9015 00568 3258
31

T
スージ
​Pending
Preservat
!
DO NOT REMOVE
OR
MUTILATE CARD