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IvIAJ.-GEK JOHll SEDGWICK.

THREE YEARS

IN THE

SIXTH COEPS.

A CONCISE NARRATIVE OF EVENTS IN THE ARMY OP THE POTOMAC,
FROM 1861 TO THE CLOSE OF THE REBELLION, APKXL, 1865.

By G-EORG-E T. STEVENS,
SURGEON OF THE 77TH REGIMENT NEW YORK VOLUNTEERS.

ALBANY :
R. G-RA.Y, PTJBLISHKR.
1866.

\H

Entered according to act of Congress, in the year eighteen hundred and sixty-six,
By GEORGE T. STEVENS,
in the Clerk's office of the District Court of the United States for the Northern
District of New York.

SIS

WEED, PAHSONS AND COMPANY,
PRINTERS, STEEEOTYPERS AND BOOKEINDEKS,
ALBANY, N. Y.

PEEFACE.

The following pages are offered to my old comrades of
the Sixth Corps, with the hope that they may pleasantly
recall the many varied experiences of that unparalleled
body of men. If much has been omitted which should
have been written, or if anything has been said which
should have been left out, I rely upon the generosity of
brave men to treat with leniency the failings they may
detect. I have endeavored to present without exaggeration or
embellishment of imagination, a truthful picture of army
life in all its vicissitudes ; its marches, its battles, its camps,
and the sad scenes when the victims of war languish in
hospitals. The story is written mostly from extensive
notes taken by myself amid the scenes described ; but offi
cial reports and letters from officers have been used freely
in correcting these notes, and gathering fresh material.
The narrative commences with the experiences of my own
regiment; then when that regiment became a part of
Smith's division, its incidents and history includes the
whole. From the organization of the Sixth Corps to
the close of the rebellion, I have endeavored without par
tiality to give the story of the Corps. If I have failed to do
justice to any of the noble troops of the Corps, it has been
from no want of desire to give to each regiment the praise
due to it.

IV PEEFACE.
I cannot close without acknowledging my many obli
gations to the numerous friends, oflBcers and soldiers of
the Corps, and others who have favored me with their
assistance. I take especial pleasure in acknowledging the
kindness of Miss Emily Sedgwick, sister of our lamented
commander; Vermont's honored son, Major-General L. A.
Grant, Major-General Thomas H. Neill, Colonel James B.
McKean, Colonel W. B. French, Chaplain Norman Fox,
and Mr. Henry M. Myers. I am also indebted to the friends
of Samuel S. Craig for the use of his diary, extending from
the early history of the Army of the Potomac, to the death
of the talented young soldier in the Wilderness.
The engravings are nearly all from sketches taken by
myself on the ground, the others are from the pencil of the
well known artist, Captain J. Hope, and all have been sub
mitted to his finishing touch. Mr. Ferguson has executed
the wood cuts in a style creditable to his art.
The typographical portion of the work has been done in a
style of beauty and finish for which the work of Weed.
Parsons and Company is so well known.
18 North Pearl Street, Albany, N. Y. September 5, 1866.

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

PAGE.
1. Portrait of General Sedgwick, 
2. Illitstrateb Title P.-ige, 
3. The Olb Church at Hampton  27
4. The Quaibcek at Newport News  31
5. Charge of the Vekjionters at Lee's Mills,  40
6. Ch.irge op Hancock's Brigade at Williamsburgh,  54
7. Charge of the SE^¦:ENTT-SEVENTH New York at Mechan
icsville,  64
8. POKTKAiT op Colonel James B. McKean,  118
9. Charge op THE Sixth Corps AT BURKETTSViLLE,  136
10. White Oak Church, Va.,  174
11. Storming Fredericksburgh Heights by Howe's Division, 196
r2. "What'll Ole Missus do Now?"  275
13. Church Call,  301
14. Battle op Fort Stevens,  376
15. "Why Don't he Come?"  404
16. "Going Norp,"  412
17. Diagram op the Charge op the Sixth Corps, April 2, 1865, 433

CONTENTS.

PAGE.
A New Regiment goes to the "VVak,  „  ^  1-7
Organization of the Seventy-seventh N. Y. V. — Departure from Sara
toga—Greetings by the way— New emotions — The nohle dead— On
board the Knickerbocker— At New York— Presentation of flags-
Beauties of monopoly— Hospitality of Philadelphia — Incidents on
the route— Arrival at Washington— In camp.
Akmy Life ai> "Washington,  8-17
Meridian Hill— Neighboring scenery— First Sunday in camp— Drills
— Sickness — The Hospital — General Casey— "Why don't the army
move ? " — Washington blockaded — Burnside's heroes — Orders to
move— Something of a train— Smith's division— Our first reconnois
sance.
The Manassas Campaign,  18-24
Orders to march— A grand spectacle — Bivouac near Fairfax Court
House — The camps at night— Visits to Manassas and Centreville—
Dissatisfaction in the army- A deserted country— Lawless soldiers-
Fairfax Court House— A representative Southerner— Review by Gen.
McClellan— March to Alexandria—" Camp Misery."
The Army Tkansfereed to the PE2^;rNSULA,  25-32
Embarking for the Peninsula— Mount Vernon— On the Potomac-
Hampton— In camp— Orders to march— A night visit to Fortress
Monroe— The advance— A sifting— A Quaker battery— At Newport
News— Compliments of the Teaser.
YOBKTOTVN,  33-49
The advance to Yorktown— A thunder storm- "Keliahle contra
bands"— Facing the enemy— A strong position— The Union line— A
rebel welcome— Digging— On picket — A dreary country— An enter
prising planter — Active work— Battle of Lee's Mills — Charge ofthe
Vermont brigade— Progress of the siege — Ravages of disease — A
front seat — Short supplies — The rebels withdraw — Entering the
strongholds— Infernal machines — March to Williamsburgh— Victims
of disease.

CONTENTS.

PAGE. 50-57

Williamsburgh, 
Battle of WUliamsburgh — The army not organized — The medical
department— Hooker's gaUant flght— Hancock's charge— McCleUan
at Yorktown— Night on the battle-field.
The March up the Peninsula and the Organization op the
Sixth Corps  58-84
March up the Peninsula — Joy of the contrabands — Cumberland
Landing — The Si.\th Corps organized — At White House — On the
Chickahominy— Pight at Mechanicsville— Battle of Hanover Court
House.
On the Chickahominy,  65-76
Gaines' Farm — The line of battle — Battle of Seven Pines — Sedgwick
and Kearney to tlic ijeseue- Hooker's charge— A lost opportunity —
Golden's Farm— Ditching— Malaria— Chickahominy fevers — A Ger
man regiment — Stuart's raid.
The Seven Days' Battles,  77-98
The army united — Plans and counter plans — Battle of Fair Oaks —
Lee's plan— The situation— Stonewall Jackson on the flank — Bat
tle of Mechanicsville — Joy in camp — Porter's corps retreats— An
astonished army— Battle of Gaines' Farm— Slocum's division at
Gaines' Farm— Retreat to the river — Battle of Golden's Farm— A
young hero — A Union victory — Our right exposed— The sick aban
doned—A night of sorrow — The grand retreat commenced — Sad
scenes at Savage's Station — A meteor railroad train.
The Grand Retreat,  99-110
Lee's army in pursuit— Sumner and Smith at bay —Battle of Savage's
Station — The Vermont brigade — Sick and wounded abandoned —
Retreat to White Oak Swamp— Battle of White Oak Swamp — An
astonished division— A night march — A mystery — In sight of the
James — Battle of Malvern Hill — Departure of the princes — Gloom
and.anxiety — Lee's attack — The rebels demoralized.
Harrison's Landing,  111-119
March to Harrison's bar — A scene of confusion — A beautiful land
scape — Fourth of July In camp — Gloom at the north — Cause of the
disasters — Prevalence of disease— Heview by the President — A night
demonstration by the enemy — Reconnoissance to Malvern Hill —
Departure of General Davidson — A retrospect.
Retreat from the Peninsula, and General Pope's Bull
Run Campaign,  120-133
Premonitions of achange of base — The transfer commenced— March
ing down the Peninsula- On board transports —A contrast — Arrival
at Alexandria — Unaccountable dela.vs — General Pope's campaign —
An obstinate general — Causes of Pope's failure.

CONTENTS. IX
PACK.
THE Makyland Campaign,  134-Ul
General McClellan restored to conimand — March through Washing
ton— Leisurely campaigning— Battle of Crampton Pass — Death of
Mathisou — Battle of South Mountain Pass— Death of Beno — Sur
render of Harper's Ferry — March to Antietam.
The Battle of Antietam,  142-161
The Valley of the Antietam— Gathering of the hosts — The battle
field—The battle commenced — Splendid fighting of Hooker's forces
— Successes and reverses of Sumner's troops — Timely arrival of the
Sixth corps — A gallant charge — Losses of the corps — Burnside's
lUtack— Hours of suspense — The enemy defeated at all points — Re
treat of the rebels — Scenes on thq battle-field — At the hospitals — At
Sharpsburgh- A division of militia — Couch's division joins the Sixth
corps — Visit of the President— Recruits-Energy at the north — At
rest —Want of clothing — Stuai't's raid— Delays — Clear Spring— Gen
eral Brooks.
The Second Advance into Virginia, and the Battle of
Fredericksburgh,  162-173
Marching in Maryland— Arrival at New Baltimore — General McClel
lan superseded by General Burnside— Thanksgiving in camp — The
grand divisions organized — The march resumed — Fatal delays — In
order of battle— The crossing — Predericksburgh bombarded — Situa
tion of Fredericksburgh — Scenes of activity— Tho Bernard house-
Scenes at the hospital— The battle onthe right— Charges of the Penn
sylvania reserves — The river recrossed — Reflections.
The Winter at Falmouth,  174-187
Camp at White Oak Church— "The mud march "—Return to camp —
General Neill— General Hooker supersedes General Burnside— Born-
side's magnanimity— General Hooker as a soldier— Reconstruction —
The cavalry organized — Business departments renovated— The medi-
ctil department— Ambulance sj'stem- Quartermasters' and commis
sary departments— Life in camp — Snowball battles— In the Seventy-
seventh — The Light division — Review by General Hooker — General
John Sedgwick — Scene at head-quarters — Review of the army by
the President — Preparing for the campaign.
The Chancellorsville Campaign,  .'  18S-211
Orders to move— The river crossed— SedgAvick's command — The
First corps withdrawn — Gallant conduct of the Light division — Ad
vancing to the heights— The line of battle— The colunans of attack —
Attack of Howe's columns — Of Newton's column — Of Bumham's —
Misfortune following victory— Fight of Bartlett's brigade— The First
division at work — A critical position — The Sixth corps surrounded —
Savage fight of Neill's brigade — The corps mthdraws to Banks' Ford
— Recrosses the river — Hooker's operations on the right — Position
of the corps— Rout of the Eleventh corps — The rebels repulsed—
Jackson renews the attack— The rebels again repulsed — Hooker
recrosses the river.

X CONTEXTS. PAGE.
Second Encampment at White Oak Church and the Penn
sylvania Campaign,  212-233
The army in its old position -A trip to Dixie -The wounded at the
hospitals-Introduction of army badges-Adornments ofthe camps-
Tlie "Third crossing "—The Barnard mansion — B.xchanging papers
~A brolien lieutenant— The Pennsylvania campaign commenced —
Bestriction of baggage -A severe march -An army bathing -At
Centreville - Bristoe Station - March to Maryland -General Hoolcer
succeeded by General Meade— Position of the army.
The Gettysburgh Campaign,  234-252
The rebels in Pennsylvania— Panic at Harrisburgh — Alarm at Balti
more and "Washington — Sixth corps leaves Bristoe Station — A sur
prise-General Meade takes command— Position of the army —
Marching through Pennsylvania— An unprecedented march — Ex
citing news — Battle of Gettysburgh — Death of Beynolds — First and
Eleventh corps fall back— Second day's battle — The battle-fleld —
Fighting at Kound Top — On the right — The grand onset — The battle
decided — Bebel and Union wounded.
PUR.SUIT OF Lee's Army,  253-269
Scenes of the fleld of Gettysburgh — The rebel hospitals — The sight
less rebel soldier boy— The Sixth cops at Fairfield — "Hurrah for the
Union " — Kilpatrick's handiwork — At "Waynesboro' — On picket— A
division of militia— The "V"ermonters at Funkstown — The army at
Funkstown — Meade's failure to attack — New York riots— Beturn to
"Virginia.
Camps at "Warrenton, the Centreville Campaign and the
Battle or Rappahannock Station,  270-288
Camp at Hart's Mills— A ride to the Sulphur Springs— Contrabands
going north — The "Vermonters go to New York — Jersey brigade at
"Warrenton — The Sixth corps at Cedar Mountain — Retreat to Centre
ville— Battle of Bristoe Station — Advance to "Warrenton — Battle of
Bappahannock Station — Flight of Lee's army.
The Army at Brandy Station  289-301
Encampment at Brandy. Station —The Mine Run campaign — Crossing
the Bapidan— Battle of Locust Grove— The army on Mine Bun — The
order of hattie — The army withdraws — Back at Brandy Station —
Beconnoissance to Madison Court House— Ladies in camp — Chapel
tents.
The Wilderness Campaign,  302-321
Preparing to leave camp— General Grant in command — The last
advance across the Bapidan —The battle-ground— Battle of the "Wil
derness—Noble flght of Getty's division— Hancock's flght on the
left — Bickett's division driven back — The ground retaken— The
wounded— Duties of the surgeons — The noble dead.

CONTENTS. XI
I'AQE.
Spottsylvania,  32l^-3;i8
Moving by tho flank — The wounded abandoned— The Fifth corps at
Spottsylvania— Arrival of tlie Sixth corps — G etting iuto line— Death
of Sedgwick — General Wright in command- Battle of the 10th of
May — Upton's splendid charge — Battle at "the angle " — Another
flank movement.
The Hospitals at Fredericksburgh,  339-346
The journey from the battle-field— Sufferings ofthe wounded— A sur
geon's letters — Rebel hatred — Assistance fromthe north — A father
in search of his boy — The wounded sent to Washington.
Coal Harbor,  347-360
At Hanover Court House — The Eighteenth corps joins the Army of
the Potomac— The armies meet at Coal Harbor— Battle of June 1st —
Battle of June 3d — Terrible exposure — The army strikes for Peters
burgh- Charles City Court Honse— A centenarian — Review of tho
overland campaign.
Petersburgh,  361-368
The march to Petersburgh — Smith's successes — The battle of June
18th— The Sixth and Second corps sent to the left— Rebels penetrate
the line — Progress of the siege — Sixth corps proceeds to Reams' Sta
tion — Kautz's and Wilson's raids.
Sixth Corps Transferred to Washington— Battle of Fort
Ste\'ens,  369-379
The Shenandoah "Valley— Hunter's advance to Lynchburgh— The
retreat— Rebels advance into Maryland— Battle of Monocacy— Sixth
corps goes to Washington— Battle of Fort Stevens.
The Shenandoah Valley,  380-394
The Sixth and Nineteenth corps follow the enemy— Crossing the
Potomac— Averill's fight at Snicker's Gap— Return of the Sixth
corps to Washington — March back to Harper's Ferry— Return to
Maryland— Death of Major Ellis— General Sheridan assigned to com
mand—Back In the Valley— Charlestown— John Mosher — March
to Fisher HiU— Return to Charlestown — Fight at Charlestown.
Battle of Winchester,  39.5-405
Encampment at BerryvUle- Leaving camp— The advance — Taking
position— Advance and retreat— Death of Russell — "I knowthey'll
run ' ' — Reminiscences — At the hospitals — A regunent going home —
" Why don't he come."
Fisher Hill,  406-413
March up the valley— Strasburgh— The army confronting Fisher
Hill — The flank movement— Flight of Early- The pursuit— Guer
rilla warfare— Southern refugees— Starting for Washington— Return
to Cedar creek.

Xll CONTENTS. PAGE.
Battle of Cedar Creek,  414-428
Position of the Union forces on Cedar creek — Demonstrations by
Early — The morning of October 19th — Eighth corps straggling-
Nineteenth corps routed — The Sixth corps to the rescue— Death of
General Bidwell— The Sixth corps holds the enemy— General Wright
prepares for another attack— Arrival of Sheridan- The charge — The
rout — Guns, wagons and prisoners— The victors in camp — the Sev
enty-seventh goes home.
The Final Campaign,  429-436
Sixth corps returns to Petersburgh — Condition ofthe corps- Sheri
dan joins the grand army— Capture of Fort Steadman- The last
grand charge — The pursuit of Lee's army- Tributes to the Sixth
corps — Disbanding.

THREE TEARS IN THE SIXTH CORPS.

CHAPTER I.
A NE'W REGIMENT GOES TO TRE WAR.
Organization of the Seventy-seventh N. "5r.'V.— Departure from Saratoga— Greet
ings by the way — Xew emotions — The noble dead — On board the Knickerbocker
— At New York — Presentation of flags— Beauties of monopoly — Hospitality
of Philadelphia — Incidents on the route — Arrival at Washington — In camp.
Our regiment "was organized at Saratoga Springs, the
historic scene of the battle of Bemis Heights and the sur
render of Burgoyne — hence its name, "The Bemis Heights
Battalion." Hon. Jas. B. McKean, then member of con
gress, a gentleman of well known patriotism, was made our
Colonel. We left our rendezvous on the 26th of Xovem
ber, 1861, Thanksgiving day, having been mustered into
the United States service three days before.
As the long train of cars bore us from the station at
Saratoga Springs, the thousands who had gathered to wit
ness our departure united iu cheer after cheer until all
the groves and vales of that charming resort rang with the
echoes of the tumultuous shouting.
Tlie thousand brave fellows, who were about to try the
stern realities of war, were by no means backward in
replying to these hearty expressions of good wishes.
Long after we had lost sight of the lovely village, the
shouts of the multitude could be heard and the hills rang
1

2 2^EW EMOTIONS  THE NOBLE DEAD.
again with the responding cheers of those in the cars.
At each station, as -^ve passed, crowds of people pressed
to o-reet us, and loud aud long were the cheers that bade
us " God speed."
We were now fairly off for the war. We who had
followed the various peaceful avocations of life, in the
professions or in the workshops, in trade or in husbandry,
had now turned away from the office, the desk, the shop
and the plough, to join the Grand Army upon which the
hopes ofthe nation were staked, and which we confidently
believed was soon to sweep the rebellion to destruction.
Emotions hitherto unknown to us filled our hearts. We
were soldiers, wearing for the first time the army blue, and
perhaps soon to be called out to meet in deadly strife an
enemy whose prestige for valor was already too well
established. Were we to return to the friends from whom we had
just parted, bearing the chaplet of victory, or were we to
find a last resting place on some field of the south, never
again to meet with wife or sister, father or mother ? Four
years have passed and those doubts have been solved.
Many of those brave men have gone to their long rest.
" Tlieir graves are .severed far and "wide."
Some sleep beneath the tall pines of Yorktown ; and the
bright azalia casts its purple blossoms over the graves of
many who lie in the swam23S of the Chickahominy. The
Antietam murmurs a requiem to those who rest on its
banks, and green is the turf above the noble ones who fell
gloriously at Fredericksburgh. Some rest amid the wild
tangles of the Wilderness, and upon the arid plain of Coal
Harbor. Many of their graves are upon the banks of the
ISTy and the Po. The marble monument at Fort Stevens
tells the names of some who gave their lives in the defense
of the Capital, while the simple headboards of pine tell

ON BOAED THB KNICKEKBOCKEE. 3
where repose many in the valley of the Shenandoah, and
before Petersburgh. The remains of some have been
brought back to the peaceful cemetery at home to rest
beside the dust of loved ones.
" 'Tis little ; but it looks in truth
As if the quiet bones "v^^ere blest
Among familiar names to rest,
And in the places of their youth."
Must it be said, many of the strongest yielded to the
grim monster starvation in the rebel prison pens, and
found relief from their tortures in lowly graves at Ander
sonviUe and Salisbury.
A little band, with bronzed faces and manly hearts,
returned home. Their glorious and unspotted record had
preceded them. They needed no song of victory, and
they desired no greater marks of honor than their simple
silver crosses, the badge of their corps.
JSTo incident worthy of note occurred nntil we reached
Albany, where we left the cars and embarked upon the
steamer Knickerbocker, an old dismantled craft, unfit for
any purpose but the transportation of soldiers ; whose
decks were covered with mud an inch in depth, and
whose doors having been thrown overboard, a free circula
tion ofthe rough November air was allowed in every part.
The men had no rations, and some of them became clamor
ous ; but order was soon restored, and rations of bread and
ham with cofiee were distributed. They could not, how
ever, all be brought to a perfect state of quietude. Some
were determined uot to submit, and passed the night in
carousal, while those soberly inclined tried in vain to sleep.
The officers found lodging in the after cabin, where some
in berths and some on the floor, we passed a restless night.
As we approached New York in the morning, the sky
was hung with heavy clouds, and as we left our rickety
old craft for terra firma, the rain poured in fresh torrents

4 PEESENTATION OF FLAGS.
upon US. "VVe marched through 14th street and Broadway
to the Park. "\Ve were to remain in New York until six
o'clock in the evening, and the Sons of Saratoga were to
present us with a stand of colors and guidons. They com
menced by presenting us with an excellent dinner, at which
speeches were made by the committee, and responded to
by Colonel McKean and others on our part.
Dinner over, the regiment was drawn up in front of the
City Hall, where the ceremony of presenting the flags
took j)lace. The banner was an exquisite piece of work,
of the richest fabric ; a blue ground with elegant designs
in oil. On one side was represented an engagement in
which the American soldiers, led by Washington, were
fighting under the old flag — thirteen stripes and the
union jack. On the reverse was pictured the surrender
of Burgoyne, at Saratoga, under the new flag — the stars
and stripes — ¦ first unfurled in the goodly city of Albany,
and first baptized in blood at the decisive battle of Bemis
Heights, which resulted in the surrender of Burgoyne and
the virtual success of the Revolution.
We had already a beautiful national flag, the gift ofthe
patriotic young ladies of Mr. Beecher's seminary, at Sara
toga. The hour for departure arrived, and we crossed to
Amboy by ferry. We were in New Jersey. We had
heard disparaging things of the railroad management of
this State, but we were now to realize the beauties
of monopoly. We learned afterwards to respect New
Jersey's soldiers, many of whom fought shoulder to
shoulder with us, and were among the bravest of the
brave, but we never forgave her railroads. The men were
crowded into a number of shaky old cars, reeking with
filth, and redolent of most noisome odors. It was in vain
that we protested that these vehicles were unfit for trans-
portmg men ; we were oflered by the agent of the road

HOSPITALITY OP PHILADELPHIA. 6
the alternative to take these cars or remain where wo
were. We concluded to go on.
At four o'clock we had passed over the whole of the
Camden and Amboy road. Another ferry crossed, and
we were in Philadelj)hia. Glorious, generous, enlightened
Philadelphia ! Many of our men were sick Avhen we left
Saratoga, and the unaccustomed hardships, with the cold
and rain thus far on the route, had greatly prostrated
them. Many others had also been seized with violent
illness, so that our single medical oflicer had been taxed
beyond his strength in looking after the wants of the sick,
while the little case of medicines with Avhich we started
from Saratoga was exhausted. Among the first acts of
kindness of these excellent people was the care of our sick.
A gentleman, with countenance beaming with benevolence,
said to the doctor, " If you will get your sick together, we
will conduct them to comfortable quarters, and see that
they are well cared for." The heart of the surgeon leaped
with joy at finding some one who could and would help
to care for the poor fellows.
The sick being collected, our friend mounted a barrel
and called to the soldiers to hear him a moment. " You
are welcome," said he, " to Philadelphia, and to show you
that we are glad to see you, it gives us pleasure to invite
every man of you to partake of a warm breakfast which
will be ready for you in a few minutes." This speech was
greeted by three hearty cheers for Philadelphia.
The doctor soon had his sick removed to the Soldiers'
Retreat, a place fitted up by the noble-hearted people of
Philadelphia for the entertainment of soldiers passing
through their city. The upper part of the building was
arranged with exquisite taste and order for a hospital.
Here were many sick men left by the various regiments
which had passed through the city. Our sick boys were
placed in beds, with expressions of gratitude that, not-

6 INCIDENTS ON THE EOUTE.
withstanding their illness, their lot had fallen in pleasant
jylaces. Presentlv the men were inarched into the long saloon,
where all took their places at the well spread tables.
The repast being over. Colonel McKean called upon the
men for three cheers for the Pbiladelphians ; remarking
that there need be no fear of raising the roof, for even
should such au accident occur he doubted not these gen
erous people would willingly replace it. Then came
the cheers ; and such cheers ! only to be surpassed by the
three more and then three more that followed.
The long years of our campaignings never diminished the
lively feelings of gratitude we experienced that morning,
and to this day our veterans never speak of Philadelphia
but with pleasing recollections of the friendly reception
given them by the goodly inhabitants of the Quaker city.
The sun was up when we resumed our journey, and
again we were met with surprises. All along the track
of the railroad, men, women and children, filling the win
dows of the houses and thronging the wayside, cheered us
on our way, shouting and waving flags and handkerchiefs.
Children in the arms of their nurses waved little flags from
the windows in great glee, while gray haired old men
in piping tones cried " God bless our soldiers." This
unlooked for, and to us surprising ovation continued until
we had passed the limits of the city, and indeed did not
cease till we had left the station many miles behind. In
the train, the men kept up a continuous cheering ; tears
stood in the eyes of many, and the most enthusiastic
expressions passed from lip to lip.
The experience of our regiment was only that of others
who passed through this noble city, and often during our
long campaigns, the soldiers of different regiments would
gather round tlieir camp fires, and relate to each other the
kindnesses received by them in the City of Brotherly Love.

AERIVAL AT WASHINGTON  IN CAMP. 7
Wc Avere cordially welcomed in Delaware, the people
waving banners and handkerchiefs, aiul Avhen those Avere
not at hand, newspapers or even articles from the clothes
lines answered to show their good will ; and the negroes in
the fields swung their hats and their hoes with great spirit.
We reached Baltimore in the evening, where we were
kindly received, furnished with supper and sent on our
way. After many delays we reached Washington at four
o'clock Sunday morning, and were assigned to temporary
quarters near the station. Who would have suspected
that it was the Sabbath ? Now we began to see some
thing of the circumstance of war. Horsemen were gallop
ing in every direction ; long trains of army wagons rattled
over the pavements at every turn of the eye; squads of
soldiers marched here and there ; all was hurry, bustle and
confusion. It was night when we reached the ground for our
encampment on Meridian Hill. The men had suffered
much from cold, and what at that time was hardship.
Not less than a hundred of them were sick. It was not
long before tents were up, and for the first time the regi
ment was under canvas.
Our camp was pleasantly located, commanding a fine
view of Washington, the Potomac, Alexandria and other
points of interest. We were surrounded by the camps of
other regiments, some arriving and some departing almost
daily. We had not been two days here when we began
to get a taste of camp rumors. One rumor declared that
we were to have barracks erected, and we were to go into
winter quarters, while another assured us that we were to
have an immediate taste of actual warfare. These proved
quite as reliable as the thousands of rumors which during
all our years of service were afloat throughout the army,
and acquired the expressive appellation of " Camp Yarns."

CHAPTER II.
ARMY LIFE AT WASHINGTON.
Meridian Hill— Neighboring scenery — First Sunday in camp — Drills — Sickness
— The Hospital — General Casey — "Why don't the army move?" — Washington
blockaded — Burnside's heroes — Orders to move — Something of a train — Smith's
division— Our first reconnoissance.
We encamped on Meridian Hill December 1st, 1861,
with 960 men.
Meridian Hill is the most delightful locality in the
vicinity of Washington. The plain on which the city
stands, extends northward from the Potomac about two
miles where it is abruptly terminated by a line of hills.
From the summit of these hills stretches back another
plain, at an elevation of one or two hundred feet above the
first. Along the margin of these eminences were some
fine old suburban mansions. On our right towards
Georgetown, was Kalorama, a charming spot, once the
residence of Joel Barlow, the author of the famous poems
" Hasty Pudding" and " The Columbiad." Now the build
ing was converted by the government into a hospital. In
close neighborhood to us was Columbia College, also used
as a hospital, and to the east was the fine mansion of
Colonel Stone, and other superb places, all of which, like
Kalorama and the college, were full of sick men.
Meridian Hill was in the center of this line of once
beautiful country residences, directly north of the Presi
dent's honse. It had been the residence of Commodore
Porter, and the house still bore the name of " the Porter
Mansion." The grounds had been elegantly laid out with

NEIGHBOEING SCENEEY. 9
box and juniper, while the rich groves of oak and chestnut
surrounding lent additional charms to the locality. The
hill was dotted with the white tents of a dozen regiments,
but none were so pleasantly located as our own, under the
shadow of those grand old trees.
The mansion itself became our hospital, and for a time
also served as our head-quarters. From its broad piazza
we could look upon the busy scenes of the city, and watch
the vessels passing up and down upon the river. A week
had passed before we were fairly established in our
quarters, but we rapidly learned the mysteries of the
soldier's life.
The weather was delightful ; more like September than
what we were accustomed to experience in December.
Although heavy mists hung over us until nine or ten
o'clock in the morning, they were dispelled by the warm
sunshine, and then all was bright as midsummer. This
lovely weather continued until about the first of January.
The country in rear of our encampment was charming.
Fine groves, traversed by streams of pure, sweet water,
and fields surrounded by hedges, stretched far to the
northward. The dark green leaves of the magnolia were
to be seen here and there among trees of larger growth,
and the shining, ever-green laurel forming a dense under
growth, gave the woods a lively and spring-like appearance.
On the open plain might any day be seen a regiment of
Lancers, wheeling and charging in their brilliant evolu
tions, their long lances with bright red pennons adding
greatly to the beauty of the display, and, as we at that
time vainly believed, to the efficacy of the troop.
The first' Sunday came, and we had religious services.
The regiment was formed in front of the mansion, every
man being called out, unless on duty or excused on account
of illness. This became an established rule with us for
all time ; every man was required to attend divine service
2

10 FIEST SUNDAY IN CAMP  DEILLS.
unless especially excused. ChajDlain Tully and the mem
bers of the staff" occupied the piazza. The chaplain ofi'ered
a prayer for the loved ones at home, and then we all sung
" Coronation," and after the sermon, we sung " Cambridge "
and " Old Hundred." The men seemed deeply aflfected by
the simple service, and many a quivering lip betrayed the
emotions of the heart.
Drills became the order of the day. Every morning
the hill rang from one end to the other with the sharp
commands of the company offiqers to " Order arms ! "
" Shoulder arms ! " as the men exercised by squads.
Besides the regular drill in the manual of arms, some of
the companies delighted in that system of military gym
nastics called the bayonet exercise. In the afternoon
Colonel McKean usually trained the regiment in the more
difficult exercises of the battalion drill.
But we began to feel the scourge of new regiments.
Disease became almost universaL We had but a single
medical officer and he was tasked beyond his strength.
One hundred and fifty or two hundred men were pre
scribed for every morning, aside from those so ill as to he
in the hospital.
The large parlors of the old mansion were neatly fitted
up for our hospital, for which they were admirably adapted.
The two principal wards were the large front parlors,
which communicated by folding doors ; the ceilings were
high, and the large open fire places in either apartment
served the double purpose of supplying heat and ventila
tion, so that while about fifty beds were always occupied,
the air was kept fresh and pure. Typhoid fevers, typhoid
pneumonias, diphtheria, and remittent fevers were preva
lent, while now and then the malaria manifested itself in
the form of the terrible spotted fever. Besides, as usually
occurs when the last named disease prevails in camps,
some died suddenly from unknown causes.

SICKNESS IN CAMP  GENERAL CASEY. 11
By the tenth of the month the majority of the men
were unfit for duty. In one coinpany the three commis
sioned officers were in the hospital, and but twelve men
could be mustered for evening parade. The labors of the
medical officer who undertakes single-handed to minister
to the wants of a regiment of recruits can only be known
to those who have tried it. Our doctor was as much worn
out by the perplexities of organizing his department as by
the actual attendance on the sick. New demands came
almost every hour of the day and night, and it was only
when the violence of disease had subsided, and another
officer was added to the medical staff", that our weary son
of Galen found a degree of respite.
We were in the command of General Silas Casey, a
noble specimen of a man and a soldier. His manly
dignity and kindly bearing impressed all with profound
respect for him, and although we were but a few weeks in
his command we never ceased to remember him with
pleasure. The provisional brigade and division to which
we were attached was frequently reviewed and drilled by
the general, and made a fine appearance.
Thus the time passed until the opening of the New Year.
Our men, like most fresh soldiers, were anxious for a fight,
and were heartily tired of what they considered inglorious
inactivity. Many of them expressed great fears that they
would be obliged to return home without ever hearing the
sound of battle. How greatly they were mistaken we
shall see as we trace the bloody campaigns of more than
three years of hard fighting.
Our friends at home were not unmindful of us. Boxes
of clothing and other comforts for the sick were sent in
goodly numbers ; so our sick were well supplied with
bedding and changes of clothing, as well as jellies and
other luxuries. Our friend, McMicheal, of Congress Hall,
Saratoga, thinking we could better celebrate the Ne"w

12 "why don't the army mote?"
Year with a good dinner, sent us one worthy of his fame
as a landlord. Could Mack have heard the cheers of the
boys that made the ground tremble as the four hundred
pounds of cooked chickens and turkeys were distributed
among them, his glory as a caterer would have been com
plete. With the New Year came stormy weather; rain
was the rule, sunshine the exception. The mud became
almost unfathomable and it was not uncommon to see the
six mules attached to an army wagon tugging and striving
with all their power to drag the empty wagon out of a
mud hole. Boys who had plied the trade of bootblack
gave up their profession and with pail and sponge in hand
called to the passer by, " Wash your boots, sir ?" During
the lovely month of December we had been impatient for
action ; but now the oft repeated question, " Why don't the
Army ofthe Potomac move?" became ludicrous to our ears.
Thus passed another month in drills and camp duties.
Some recruits came to us, while many of the men who
came out at first were found unfit for field duty and were
discharged. Distrust arose among officers and enlisted men of our
army about the capital, in regard to the manner in which
the army was managed. A wilderness of men surrounded
Washington, and yet we were blockaded by the rebels on
all sides except one.
Government was paying enormous prices for fuel con
sumed by the army, because the Potomac was closed, and
all wood had to be brought by rail from the sparsely
wooded districts of Maryland. Provisions sold at fabu
lous prices, and Washington was in fact a beleagured city.
Some rays of light from the west penetrated the thick
darkness ; but it cannot be concealed that while the Grand
Army stationed about the capital panted for action and
longed for the glory of the battle-field, a gloom possessed
the spirits of the men, and a feeling, that all this splendid

BURNSIDE S HEEOKS — ORDERS TO MOTE. 13
material was destined to a "masterly inactivity," prevailed.
Our hopes were newly kindled when the alfairs of the
AVar Department passed into the hands of a live man,
and when Mr. Stanton's jii'actical energy began to be
manifested both in the department and in the field. We
heard from Burnside ; first sad news, and then of success ;
and our hearts burned to be with him. Fort Donelson fol
lowed Roanoke ; and Price's army was routed in Missouri.
We envied the men who had been our nearest neighbors,
but who had followed Burnside to the South. Glorious
fellows ! What cared they now for the fury of the waves
or the hardships of short rations? We were afraid of
being left as idle spectators of great things in which we
should not be allowed to participate.
On the 15th of February came an order for us to move
in a few days, and join Smith's division. This division
lay upon the other side of the river, and although we had
been anxious to move we did not wish to get permanently
fixed in the mud, by moving there. We knew little of
General Smith or his division, only that the general had
been trying very hard for some time past to get the regi
ment, and we had little hopes of good from the new
arrangement. How little did we then suppose that the
cross of that old division would be one of the proudest
badges of honor that men could wear !
Sunday night came, and the order to move at once,
came also. What a scene of confusion ! We had never
broken up camp before, and the excitement ran high. The
pounding and tearing of boards, the shouting of men and
braying of mules, combined in a grand uproar. Bonfires
blazed from every part of the camp, and the whole night
was spent in tearing down quarters and loading the stufl^
into army wagons as they presented themselTes in great
numbers. It was a rare sight. The camp glowing with a
hundred fires, and the men and teams moving about among

14 SOMETHING OF A TRAIN.
them like spectres. Morning came, and the teams were
loaded, and the men ready to march. The teams drove
out and formed a line reaching down Uth street from our
camp nearly to the White House ! One hundred and five
six-mule teams constituted the train for our regimental
bao-gage; and so much dissatisfoction prevailed among
certain company officers that we Avere allowed twenty-five
more teams next day ! Rain had fallen nearly all night,
and the prospect looked dreary. As the day advanced
the rain came faster and faster, until it fairly poured. The
men waded through mortar nearly to their knees.
It was three o'clock in the afternoon when we reached
Smith's division and the ground on which we were to make
our camp. The prospect was not cheering, and as two or
three of our staff" officers rode upon the ground, the place
seemed forbidding enough. It had been recently the loca
tion of a thicket of scrub pines, but the trees had been
cut down for fuel, and the stumps and brush remained, so
that the mounted officers found much difficulty in reining
their horses into the midst. Snow covered the ground to
the depth of several inches. Here our men, tired and
wet, cold and hungry, were to pitch their tents, cook their
suppers, and make their beds.
The men fell to work heartily, and by dark they had
cleared off" the snow and brush enough to make room for
their tents, and many cook fires blazed over the camp.
The regiments of the division showed us much hospi
tality, and a very pleasant acquaintance commenced on
that day, which was destined to become earnest friendship.
The next day was spent in putting the camp in order. As
rain continued to fall, the mud in the company streets
became knee-deep. Our sick, those unable to walk, had
been left in our old hospital with a sufficient number of
faithful nurses, under charge of the surgeon of one of the
regiments that remained.

smith's division. 15
Let us for a moment glance at the composition of the
division of which avc now formed a part. We were
assigned to tho Third brigade. It comprised, beside our
own, the Thirty-third Ncav York, Colonel Taylor, a regiment
Avhose gallantry at Yorktown, Williamsburgh and Fred-
ricksburgh fully established its reputation as one of the
best fighting regiments in the army. The Forty-ninth
New York, Colonel Bidwell, a noble regiment with a
noble commander, a regiment which could always be
counted on to do all that men could do : the Seventh
Maine, Colonel Mason, Avliose men were patterned after
the pines of their own forests, tall, straight and powerful
fellows, who never forgot their proclivities for hunting,
and Avho were never so happy as when they could pick off
a few rebel pickets with their rifles. The brigade was
commanded by General Davidson, who afterwards made
himself exceedingly disagreeable to the rebels, and famous
at the north by his daring cavalry raids in the west. The
first brigade included the Forty-third New York, Colonel
Vinton ; the Forty-ninth Pennsylvania, Colonel Irwin ; the
Sixth Maine, Colonel Knowles ; and the Fifth Wisconsin,
Colonel Cobb ; all of them excellent regiments, under com
mand of General Hancock, who has since placed his name
high on the roll of fame as the commander of the old
Second corps.
The Second brigade was composed entirely of Vermont
troops, including the Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth and
Sixth Vermont regiments, commanded respectively by
Colonels Henry Whiting, B. N. Hyde, E. H. Stoughton, L.
A. Grant and N. M. Lord, and known as the " Vermont
Brigade," and nobly did they sustain the traditional repu
tation of the Green Mountain Boys, as stern patriots and
hard fighters. They were commanded by General Brooks,
who afterward commanded the Tenth corps.
General William F. Smith, or, as he was familiarly

16 OUR FIEST RECONNOISSANCE.
known, " Baldy Smith," commanded the division. He is
too Avcll known to all who admire a true soldier to require
more than a mention here, and his great fame has been
well and faithfully earned.
No more splendid material, either for officers or men,
ever entered into the composition of a division, and how
nobly it played its part in the great drama of the war, it
shall be part of our duty to record. Drills, regimental,
brigade and division, were again in order, and picket duty
now became a part of our routine.
This would not be a faithful chronicle of the doings of
the new regiment, were we to forget to relate the history
of our first expedition into the enemy's country.
An order came one evening in February for Colonel
McKean to take his regiment and make a reconnoissance
towards Vienna. His instructions were to pass the picket
line, advance towards Vienna, make a thorough recon
noissance and return.
The news spread through the camp, and the regiment
was ablaze with excitement. Some who had been on the
sick list, and Avere excused from camp duty, sought from
the surgeon permission to accompany the expedition,
while a few Avho had been, up to this time, well, were
earnest in their applications to be excused from the march.
The regiment was formed at ten o'clock at night ; thick
darkness, darkness of the blackest and most intense
degree, prevailed. One could scarcely see his neighbor
whose shoulder touched his .own. We were miles away
from the enemy, but the men were to be instructed in
performing their movements in secresy ; so the commands
were passed along the line, as the companies were form
ing, in whisper. No lights were allowed, and we left our
camp a column of blackness. We were presently joined
by a guide who carried a lantern. We passed a great
many regiments, all the while observing strict silence.

OUE FIRST EECONNOISSANCE. 17
The mud Avas deep, very deep ; some of the men lost their
shoes in the depths of the mire, and some even lost them
selves, and were only discovered Avhen they arrived in
camp some hours earlier than the regiment. Through the
darkness we plodded until we reached our destination, at
daylight on the following morning. Here we found bough
houses which had been used by rebel cavalry; and the
tracks of many horses imprinted only a little while before,
whether by the horses of our own cavalry ; or by those of
the enemy, we never kncAV. The battalion was halted
and scouts were sent to the front and on the flanks. Some
of the boys who had lost their shoes in the mud before
we had advanced the first mile, had made the whole march
in their stockings ; while others, who had been sick, looked
as though they could never get back to camp. The com
panies deployed and marched through the woods, but aa
the enemy was on the other side of Vienna we saw no
rebels. It was noon when we reached our camp, tired
and covered with mud. Those who went laughed at those
who remained behind, and called them " dead beats ! "
The "beats " tauntingly demanded of the others what all
their demonstration had amounted to.
The New York papers heralded the exploit as a grand
advance on the enemy, and we said little about it.

CHAPTER IIL
THE MANASSAS CAMPAIGN.
Oxders to march — A grand spectacle — Bivou.ic near Fairfax Court House — The
camps at night — Visits to Manassas and Centreville — Dissatisfaction in tho
army — A deserted country — Lawless soldiers — Fairfax Court House— A repre
sentative Southerner — Review by Gen. McCleUan— March to Alexandria—
" Camp Misery."
The first week in March brought lovely weather : birds
sang more sweetly, the sun shone more brightly, and
bands played more merrily than usual, and friends passed
from regiment to regiment seeking social pastime with
friends. We had known no such pleasant times in camp ; still we
were waiting for orders to advance. During the night of
Sunday, the Sth of March, the order came : " This division
will move at four o'clock in the morning with two days'
rations in haversacks." Little rest we got that night ; the
hammer and the axe were plied vigorously in tearing
down quarters and packing stores, and as the sun rose in
the morning the whole army was in motion. It Avas a
sublime spectacle : that immense line of troops pouring
along hour after hour, stretching over the hills as far as
the eye could reach; a hundred and twenty thousand
troops on the move ! Just beyond and above them, in the
gray sky of the morning, hung a beautiful rainbow. At
six our division commenced to march. Rain soon began to
fall, and continued all day. We passed through Vienna
and Lewinsville, each a hamlet of a dozen houses, and
reached our camping ground at five o'clock in the after
noon, tired, and drenched, and hungry.

BIVOUAC NEAR FAIRFAX COUET HOUSE. 19
Great numbers of troops had already occupied the fields,
and the AA^hole country seemed alive Avith men and horses,
artillery and Avagons. We Avere in the vicinity of Fairfax
Court House, about a mile to the iiorthAvard, on what was
called Flint Hill.
The army, for the first time, Avas under " tentes d'abri,"
or, as they are uoav called, shelter tents. Until now
the enlisted men had occupied the spacious Sibley, or
the comfortable Avedge tents, and all officers were quar
tered in Avail tents; noAV, line officers and enlisted men
Avere to occupy shelter tents, which they Avere to carry
on their shoulders ; and although a small number of
Avail tents could be carried in the Avagons for field and
staff officers, yet so imperfect Avas the understanding,
in or out of the quartermaster's department, of what
could or ought to be done, that most regimental field
and staff officers were left Avithout any shelter at all.
The men proceeded to make themselves as comfortable
as possible under their novel coverings, and as evening
approached, the hills Avere magnificently illuminated with
thousands of camp fires. Very few men occupied their
new tents that night. They had not been accustomed to
lie upon wet ground, with only a single blanket wrapped
about them, so during all the night groups of soldiers
stood about the camp fires, talking in low tones and Avon
dering what Avas to happen in the morning. The sky Avas
clear and bright when the sun rose, and as we looked out
upon the hill tops, dotted Avith clean white tents, and
bristling with stacks of shining muskets, we exulted in
the thought that we were part of the Grand Army that
was now at work. Soon we knew that we Avere not to
fight here. The cavalry, and some of Porter's division,
were returning from Manassas and Centreville, both places
burned and deserted. Were we to pursue the retreating
army, or were we to return to Washington to take a new

20

VISITS TO MANASSAS AND CENTEETILLE.

Start ? Parties from the division rode to Centreville and
Manassas. The works were indeed formidable and the
barracks extensive; and the old chestnut logs with black
ened ends, that were mounted in some of the embrasures,
had, at a distance, grim visages. The smoking ruins
betokened the destructiveness of war. On the old battle
field lay bleaching the bones of horses and men, and here
and there might be seen portions of human skeletons pro
truding from the shalloAV graves where some pretense had
been made at burial. Fragments of shells, broken mus
kets and solid shot strewed the ground.
Head-quarters of the army were established at Fairfax
Court House, and thither repaired the corps commanders
to hold a council in regard to our future movements. The
country about our camp was rolling and sparsely settled.
Nearly all the houses were deserted, and most of them
destroyed so far as any future usefulness was concerned.
One house, the ruins of which stood not far from our
camp, and which had been the most comfortable place iu
the whole section of country, had been the residence of a
northern farmer. Although the house was completely
stripped, and nothing of the barns and outhouses remained
but the frames, yet there were many evidences of the thrift
and comfort of the former occupant. A northern reaper,
several horse rakes, ploughs of improTed patterns, and
other modern implements of agriculture, betokened a
genuine farmer. We were told that he was driTen from
his home early in the war, and had now found refuge
among his friends in New Hampshire. But the houses of
the southerners had not been exempt from the general
dcTastation, and some who had sought refuge in Rich
mond had left their homes to ruin. The people were
evidently strongly " secesh," although some of them pro
fessed to be glad to see us.
It cannot be said that the presence of our army afforded

LAWLESS SOLDIERS — FAIRFAX COUET HOUSE. 21
them great protection, for the men, unused to the strict
discipline which afterward prevailed, coolly appropriated
whatever articles seemed to them to be of use either for
the present or the future. It was amusing to see the sol
diers of some of the divisions in Avhich less than the usual
discipline prevailed, peering and creeping about wherever
there seemed a prospect of plunder. Now one would pass
with a pair of chickens ; next, one bringing a clothes line ;
then one with part of an old table, and still another with
half a dozen eggs. This system of plunder was at length
checked, in a measure at least. Fowls, eggs and potatoes
could be purchased of the people at fair rates, while rebel
currency could be bought for silver at a very considerable
discount. Twenty-five cent and one cent shinplasters were
brought into camp and laughed at by men who were after
ward glad to get shinplasters from another manufactory.
To Fairfax Court House was but a short distance ; and a
ride to the village afforded a pleasant gallop of a morning.
The place, and the country half a mile on each side, was
occupied by McCall's diTision. The village was pleas
antly located on high ground, surrounded by fine groves.
It contained some pretty residences, which were occupied
by officers as head-quarters : their horses, in some instances,
being picketed on the porticos, and in others in the
kitchens. The village was nearly deserted by its own
people, not more than fifty of the original inhabitants
being left, though the population of the town before the
war was nearly six hundred. Houses which were deserted
were generally stripped of everything. The court house
was a solid old brick building of very limited dimensions,
with a little bell swinging in a comical looking steeple.
The court house was by no means an exception to the
general rule of destruction ; the seats were torn out, and
the judge's bench had been split in pieces, and nearly all
carried away by pockets full, as relics. At one of the

22 A REPRESENTATIVE SOUTHERNER.
houses where the family still remained, a party reined up
and made some inquiries of the ^:iafer familias, a hang
dog looking specimen, with an old slouched hat covered
to the crown with rusty crape, a mark of second-hand
gentility in these parts. He said that "this yer war"
had caused such a famine among the people, that nearly
all of them had been obliged to leave ; some had gone to
Washington and some to Richmond, " a right smart lot
of them had gone to Richmond." He had " reckoned
onct or twict " that he would have to go too, but he
" had succeeded in hanging on so long."
Our division was revicAved by General McClellan, who
Avas received with enthusiasm. Although many of us
Avere familiar with the appearance of the Commander-in-
Chief, this Avas his first appearance to us as a division.
The General appeared a man beloAV the medium height,
Avith broad shoulders, full chest and a round pleasing face
relieved by a heavy moustache. He sat his horse well
and rode with great speed. While his appearance and
address were pleasing, there seemed in his smooth face
and mild eye nothing to indicate a man of brilliant genius
or great purpose.
At length the council of corps commanders had rendered
its decision, and the grand campaign of the Virginian
Peninsula was planned. On the morning of the four
teenth of March, Avith buoyant hopes and exulting antici
pations of a " quick, sharp and decisive," and as we
dcA'Outly believed, a successful campaign, we left our camp
at Flint Hill. It had few charms for us, and we were glad
to leave it. How little Ave yet kncAV of real campaigning.
Although Ave had notice several hours beforehand that
we Avere to move by daylight, yet many, indeed, the
majority of us, marched that morning without breakfast.
No morning sun cheered us as the day began, but the
sky Avas hung Avith heavy clouds. A drizzling rain, now

MARCH TOAVAED ALEXANDEIA. 23
diminishing almost to a heavy mist, and now coming in
fresh shoAvers, made the marching heavy and unpleasant.
Grandly appeared that majestic army as it filed down the
turnpike to Alexandria. At times the elevation of the road
afforded a view of tho mighty column for miles to the front,
and at other times we could see it pouring onward an
endless stream of cavalry, infantry, artillery and wagons,
far from the rear.
So grand a spectacle had never been Avitnessed on this
continent before. Our march Avas rapid and we made no
halt for dinner : those who went without breakfast had
poor chance for coffee that day.
ToAvards evening the rain increased, and as we drcAV off
into a piece of woods five miles out from Alexandria, the
rain came down in sheets. Near our -halting place were
some deserted houses. No sooner had we stopped than
began the work of destruction, afterward so familiar to
us, and in less than an hour there was not a board or
timber left of either building. The ground, although
quite uneven and sloping, soon became so flooded that
tents, even when they could be pitched, were untenable.
The men attempted to build fires, but in most instances
the floods of water quenched the flames. Some, however,
succeeded in starting huge fires, and around these stood
the men during the Avhole night, while the tempest poured
in torrents upon them. A few of the officers of the divi
sion, among whom was one who afterward became noted
for looking out for and providing good things for his regi
ment as quartermaster, sought refuge in a house not far
off, where, for the moderate sum of tAventy-five cents
each, they were allowed by the people sleeping room upon
the floor. Never since the times of Pharaoh was an army
so thoroughly drenched. During more than three years
campaigning in the field our boys never forgot that night ;
and to this day they frequently refer to the disagreeable

24 CAMP MISBEY.
experience in what they not inappropriately term " Camp
Misery." Here, in " Camp Misery," we remained several
days, waiting to embark for Fortress Monroe.
Without doubt, the rebels all this time knew of our des
tination; for the people among whom we were encamped
were by no means our friends or indifferent to the success
of the rebels, and the point of our destination was well
known and freely snoken of among them.

CHAPTER IV.
TEE ARMY TRANSFERRED TO THE PENINSULA.
Embarking for the Peninsula — Mount Vernon — On the Potomac — Hampton — In
camp — Orders to inarch— Anight visit to Fortress Monroe— The advance — A
sifting— A Quaker battery — At Newport News— Compliments of the Teaser.
On Sunday morning, March 23d, we marched to Alex
andria. The whole of our division, and of the other
divisions of Keyes' corps, were there, besides part of
Heintzelman's corps and other troops. In the course
of the afternoon, this great body of men was embarked
npon the transports. The vessels having received their
lading, swung out upon the river and laid at anchor dur
ing the night. Early in the morning the whole fleet was
under way, steaming down the river. We passed Mount
Vernon — the bells of the fleet tolling. The tomb lies in
the midst of a clump of firs just south and a little below
the house; the mansion and the grounds are nearly as
they were left by Washington, and the whole looks down
upon the river, calling upon the passer-by for a thought
upon the great man whose dust lies beneath the flr trees.
After passing Mount Vernon, nothing of special interest
was seen except the broad expanse of waters of this mag
nificent stream. A few large mansions, a few inferior
houses, and now and then a little hamlet, appeared on the
banks; and at Aquia creek could be seen the insignificant
earthworks that had covered the few field pieces which
for so many months had kept up an efficient blockade of
the Potomac.
How different was all this from our Hudson ! The
country bordering on the river is beautiful; nature has
4

26 ON THE POTOMAC.
done everything for it, but a cursed institution has blighted
it. There is not a country in the world where nature has
been more lavish with its blessings, and yet it is forsaken,
Avorn out, almost a wilderness. The magnificent rivers
and unsurpassed harbors of Virginia, its natural fertility
and the mildness of its climate, present natural advantages
scarcely equaled by any country. As we stood upon the
deck of the steamer, watching and admiring the ever-vary
ing beauties of the noble stream, some one repeated these
lines from BarloAv's Columbiad :
" Thy capes, Virginia, to"H'erlng from the tide.
Raise their blue banks, and slope thy barriers "wide,
To future sails unfold a fluvian Avay,
And guard secure thy multifluvian bay.
That drains uncounted realms and here unites
The liquid mass from AUeganian hights.
York leads his "n-ay embanked in flowery pride,
And noble James falls winding by his side ;
Back to the hills, through many a silent vale,
AVild Rappahannock seems to lure the sail ;
Patapsco's bosom courts the hand of toil ;
Dull Susquehanna laves a length of soil ;
But mightier far, in sea-like azure spread,
Potowmac sweeps his earth disparting bed."
At night Ave were on the broad Chesapeake. A stiff
breeze set our fleet rocking, but we slept quietly, leaving
the waves to take care of themselves and the pilots to
take care of the boats Reveille awoke us in the morning
to discover on the one side of us the world-renowned
Fortress Monroe and on the other the equally famous
Monitor. At our bow lay the village of Hampton — or
rather the chimneys and trees of what had been Hampton.
Orders came for us to disembark here, and we were soon
among the debris of the town. A sadder commentary on
war could hardly be found than the ruins of this beautiful
village. A forest of shade trees and chimneys marked the
place where a few months before had stood one of the most
ancient villages in America. Hyacinths and daffodils,

HAMPTON.

27

peach trees and roses, were in bloom in the deserted and
fenceless gardens ; and the dark green leaves of the
japonica and laurel covered many a heap of unsightly
rubbish. The walls of the old church, the most ancient in the
State, stood like silent witnesses against the reckless
spirit of destruction of the rebels. Although not large, the
church had evidently been a fine old structure, having
the form of a Greek cross. About it were the graves of the
forefathers of the village, reposing under the shadow of
those old trees. Many of the tablets were ancient, dating
back as far as 1*706.

THE OLD CHURCH AT HAMPTON.
The whole army Avas pouring out upon this shore, and
at Fortress Monroe. Dense masses of infantry, long-
trains of artillery and thousands of cavalry, with unnum
bered army AA'agons and mules, were mingled in grand
confusion along the shore; the neighing of horses, the
braying of mules, the rattle of wagons and artillery, and

28 A NIGHT VISIT TO FOETEESS MONEOE.
the sound of many voices, mingled in one grand inhar
monious concert.
Our division marched along a pleasant route to a field
about midway between Fortress Monroe and NeAvport
News. We rested until March 26th, when an order came
at midnight for the army to march very early in the mom
ing. We were short of some medical stores and quarter
masters' supplies, and officers at once mounted their horses
to ride through the thick darkness to Fortress Monroe, to
procure the needed articles. Along the road men were
already cooking their breakfasts, and artillery was hurry
ing towards Newport News. At short intervals along
the road, sentinels were posted ; and as the sounds of the
horses' hoofs were heard, the sharp command rung out
through the darkness, " Halt ! who comes there ?" and the
galloping horses would suddenly halt at long distance fi-om
the sentry.
" Friends with the countersign."
" Dismount and advance one ; and give the counter
sign." One of the parties, leaving his horse with the other,
would advance and give the required word, and on we
rode again until suddenly halted by a similar warning.
As we approached the fortress, the sentinels were more
frequent, until, as we came within half a mile of our desti
nation, the guards were posted so frequently that we had
hardly passed one, before the sharp command to " Halt !"
was heard again. We crossed the drawbridge, and at
length found ourselves in the little village in rear of the
fort. Passing here many sentinels who examined us very
carefully, we reached the door of the citadel. Here we
were halted by a sentinel, and each examined for the
countersign. The sentinel called the corporal ofthe guard;
who after satisfying himself that we were Union officers
shouted to the sergeant. The great iron door ground

THE ADVANCE. 29
upon its massive hinges as it SAVung open just far enough
to permit the sergeant to squeeze through, and again it
was closed, and the heavy bolts rung as they flew back to
their places. The sergeant, after asking a few questions,
went back into the fort, and soon returned with the officer
of the guard, who, after receiving the countersign, ques
tioned us closely as to our business, and who we were.
Satisfied, at length he ordered a soldier to take our horses,
the heavy door slowly opened, and we were admitted
within the walls. Such were the precautions in admitting
strangers to the stronghold.
At six o'clock the division was in line and on the road.
The morning was indescribably beautiful. The vapors
that rose from the broad expanse of waters were tinged
with a thousand gorgeous hues as they rolled away, dis
persed by the morning sun ; and the tall yellow pines
were crowned with rich golden coronals of light. The
road was perfectly level and dry, and the country delight
ful. Long rows of locusts and pines lined the sides of the
road, and the rich groves of oak just sending forth their
foliage, were beautifully interspersed with the holly, with
its bright red berries and rich evergreen leaves. Peach
orchards in full bloom added to the beauty of the scene,
and when at times we could see the Unes of troops, two and
three miles in extent, their muskets glittering in the bright
sunlight, the enthusiasm of the men was unbounded.
All the bridges over the route had been destroyed by
the enemy, but pioneers advanced at the head of the
column, and as the bridges were all small they were
quickly repaired. A march of a few iniles brought us in
sight of the James river; a noble stream, at least five
iniles wide at this point. Not far from the shore appeared
the masts of the U. S. frigate Cumberland, sunk in the
memorable fight with the Merrimac. As our march led
us along the banks, the "views were charming. On one

30 A SIFTING.
hand was the noble river, and on the other the orchards
and groves. Deserted houses, and gardens blooming with
hyacinths and other blossoms of early spring, Avere passed.
On the opposite side of the river lay a rebel gunboat,
watching our movements.
Our division, Smith's, had taken the lead on the James
river road, while Porter's division had marched upon Great
Bethel. After a march of fifteen miles, our division was
drawn up in line of battle near WarAvick. Porter's division
had already reached Great Bethel, on our right, and we
could see huge columns of smoke rising in that direction,
and hear the roar of artillery. An aid dashed up and
informed General Davidson that the enemy were in line of
battle ready to receive us. Soon the order came to advance ;
the line swept onward through the woods and over a
cleared field, but found no foe. A few cavalry pickets
only were seen, and a shell from one of our Parrott guns set
them flying towards YorktOAvn. We passed through the
confederate encampments Avhere their flres were still blaz
ing, but soon turned round and bivouacked on ground last
night occupied by rebels.
In this advance or reconnoissance of the whole army,
the qualities of the individual soldiers composing it
were brought out in bold relief. The effect on our own
division was marked. During the months we had been
in winter quarters, many officers and men had established
marvelous reputations for bravery and hardihood, merely
by constantly heralding their own heroism. But from
this time these doughty heroes went back. Officers sud
denly found cause for resigning ; and enlisted men managed
to get sent to the rear, and never shewed their faces at the
front again. On the contrary, some who were really
invalids insisted on dragging themselves along with the
column, fearful that an engagement might take place in
which they would not participate. A sifting process was

A QUAKER.

31

thus commenced throughout the Avhole division, and to
its honor the poltroons Avere very soon sifted out, and from
that time forth. Smith's division never afforded a comfort
able resting place for men of doubtful courage. " They
went out from us, because they were not of us."
Next morning we retired over the road upon which we
had advanced, and encamped near Newport News. As
we passed this place on our outAvard march, Ave saw at a
distance Avhat appeared to be a heavy gun, but as Ave
approached it proved to be a large cart, on which Avas
mounted a great Avooden mortar, which had, perhaps,
been used by negroes for cracking corn. When we returned
a hog's head was fixed in the mouth of the mortar.
" There," remarked an officer, " is the first Quaker we have
seen on the Peninsula." " You must sketch it," said the
colonel of the Seventy-seventh, and the officer obeyed.

THE QUAKEE AT NEWPORT NEWS.
The division encamped upon a low plain covered with
sedges and reeds, a good enough encampment while the

32 AT NEWPORT NEWS.
dry weather lasted, but when the rain came in floods two
nights after we pitched our tents here, the whole division
was inundated, and we moved to higher and better
ground. The masts of the Cumberland greeted our eyes whenever
we turned toward the river, and the rebel gunboats made
short excursions toward our side of the stream. One day
large numbers of men, mostly from the Vermont brigade,
were on the shoals of the river bathing and gathering
oysters. The gunboat Teazer discovering them, steamed
down toward them, and threw some heavy shells, shriek
ing and cracking among them, causing great consternation
among the bathers, and some confusion and much amuse
ment on shore.

CHAPTER V.
YORKTOWN.
The advance to Yorktown— A thunder storm- "Reliable contrabands"— Facing
the enemy — A strong position — The Union line- A rebel welcome — Digging —
On picket— A dreary country— An enterprising planter — Active work — Battle
of Lee's Mills — Charge of the Vermont brigade — Progress ofthe siege — Ravages
of disease — A front seat — Short supplies — The rebels withdraw — Entering the
strongholds — Infernal machines — March to Williamsburgh — Victinas of disease.
At length, on the 4th of April, the army was put in
motion for Yorktown. The General-in-Chief had arrived
at Fortress Monroe the evening before, and at once the
army became the scene of prodigious activity. Keyes'
corps, our own division in advance, took the road along
the banks of the James river. The rest of the army,
headed by Porter's division, advanced on the more direct
road to Yorktown, through Great Bethel, accompanied by
General McClellan.
The day being clear and warm, the men soon began to
realize the difficulty of transporting large amounts of
clothing and camp equipage on their shoulders, and the
roadsides were strewn with blankets and overcoats, dress
coats and pants. The bushes and trees for miles along the
route were thickly hung with articles of clothing, mostly
new, and all good. Soldiers who had put on their march
ing suit would fall out of the ranks, the knapsack would
quickly disgorge a new coat and pants, the wearers
would as quickly divest themselves of the soiled garments
and replace them with the new ones, the others being left
on the ground. Whenever a halt was ordered this shift
ing process became general.
5

34 ADVANCE TO YORKTOAVN.
The roads, which at first were dry and firm, were as Ave
advanced badly cut. up, and great difficulty was. experi
enced in getting the trains along.
An advance of ten miles brought us in front of Young's
Mills, a strongly fortified position five or six miles from
YorktoAvn. The corps was drawn up in line of battle
and cavalry sent to reconnoiter the position. The works
Avere deserted, but camp fires still blazed in them. Here
we rested for the night. At daylight next morning the
advance was renewed. The roads were even worse than
the day before. Infantry could get along well enough,
but artillery and army wagons had a hard time of it.
Each piece of artillery made the road worse, until the
axles dragged in a riA-er of mud. We passed the little
village of Warwick Court House. There were here a
little brick court house, a jail and a clerk's office seven
feet by ten, a store and a taA'ern. There were also two
small dwelling houses.
After a marcli of three miles the diAnsion was drawn
up in line of battle. We had reached the hostile works
before the rest of the army. Skirmishers were sent to the
front and we advanced slowly and cautiously through
the woods. A terrific thunder storm burst upon us and the
roar of the heavenly artillery seemed to mock any efforts
at martial grandeur. Seldom, if cA-er, had we of the
northern states A\T.tnessed such an exhibition of sublimity
and terrible magnificence of the workings of the elements.
The Advid lightning and terrific peals of thunder seemed
to the men the presage of deadly work to come. The
advance was very difficult, the woods being marshy and
filled with tangles and briars. The men were scratched
and bleeding. The long line of battle presently emerged
from the woods and occupied a clearing, in the center of
which was a mansion, the late residence of a rebel officer.
Some scouts brought from the house a couple of negresses

"reliable conteabands. ' 35
whom they led to General Keyes. They communicated
their information Avith an earnestness that proved their
sympathies were not Avith their late master. It was a
picturesque scene; those tall negresses Avith their bright
red turbans and long white Avoolen gowns, telling Avith
earnest gestures what they knew of the position of the
enemy, Avhile the generals and their staffs listened eagerly
to their words. They said that when we passed over the
little hill just in front, we should be under fire from
the batteries of the rebels, who were in large force ; " but
laAvs a massa, noting like all dese yer," said they, pointing
to the troops of our division.
Cautiously the clearing was crossed, the long line of
battle moving in beautiful order — Kennedy's, Ayres' and
Wheeler's batteries each accompanying a brigade.
Again we entered a heavy pine wood in which the
swamp was deeper than ever, and advancing through it
Ave came face to face with the enemy. WarAvick creek, a
marshy stream which had been dammed by the rebels,
raising its Avaters into ponds and deej) morasses, was be
tAveen us and their Avorks, and the accessible points were
guarded by artillery. Two regiments were at once
deployed as skirmishers and sent in advance, and our
batteries were planted along the edge of the wood with
the line of the infantry. Only Smith's division was in
line, the others were waiting on the road for orders to
come up.
Along the road, for more than half the distance back to
Young's Mills, the brigades of Couch's and Kearney's
divisions were resting on their arms, while cannon by
scores waited to be called into action.
The enemy was not slow to acknowledge our presence,
and as a token of greeting sent some twelve-pound shells
crashing among the trees about us. The firing now be
came brisk ou our side, and the rebels replied spiritedly

36 A STRONG POSITION.
with their twelve-pounders. Hundreds of men were now
called up from the rear brigades and detailed to build
corduroy roads. Trees were cut doAvn and trimmed of
their branches, and laid side by side so as to form a kind
of bridge over the swamp to enable more artillery to come
up. The rapidity with which such roads were built was
marvelous. By this time the column on the right had reached the
works in front of the town. The position here was also
strong. Although the WarAvick did not interpose, yet
high bluffs, croAvned with redoubts in Avhich were mounted
heavy guns, froAvned npon the assailants. Thus far it
appears that the leaders of our army had been, totally
ignorant of the position and strength of the enemy, and
had led it up to the works, blindly feeling the way with
out maps or guides.* The defensive Avorks were now
found to consist of a series of redoubts and rifle pits
stretching across the Peninsula, seven miles in extent,
with high bluffs on the right and WarAvick creek in their
front on the left.
The position occujsied by our division was known as
Lee's Mills, and to our right, nearly three miles, was the
village of Yorktown. The line of battle was now arranged
in the following order from right to left : Heintzelman's
corps, consisting of Porter's, Hooker's and Hamilton's
divisions, Avere in front of the town ; Sedgwick's division
of Sumner's corps on the left of them, and Keyes' corps,
comprising Smith's and Couch's division (Casey's division
arrived in a few days), held the position on the Warwick
at Lee's Mills.
The position of the enemy was, without doubt, one of
great strength, and everything had been done to render
it more formidable. Yet they Avere by no means too
='' McClellan's Report.

THE FIEST BATTLE ON THE PENINSULA. 37
strong or sufficiently Avell garrisoned to resist an assault
from such a body of men as now appeared iu their front.
That there Avere weak points in this line of defenses,
stretching seven miles, Avas afterwards demonstrated ; and
that the forces behind the Avorks Avere by no means suffici
ently numerous, at the time of our approach, to afford
formidable resistance at all points in their extensive line,
is noAV well known.
It appears from the official report of the rebel General
Johnston, who then commanded all the rebel forces iu Vir
ginia, that at the time of the appearance of our army
before Yorktown the AVOrks Avere defended by only about
eleven thousand men, and that even after he had reinforced
the garrisons by the troops which he was hurrying from
Manassas, his army amounted to only fifty thousand
men. The artillery duel Avas kept up until night. We had lost
some men during the day, but not so many as Ave had
feared. First a poor fellow from the Seventh Maine, his
heart and left lung torn out by a shell ; then one from the
Forty-ninth Ncav York, shot in the head ; the next Avas
from our own regiment, Frank Jeffords, Avho had to suffer
amputation of a leg ; then a man from the Forty-ninth
was sent to the rear Avith his heel crushed. In all, our loss
did not exceed twenty men. The casualties in the other
brigades were less than in our own.
As night approached, the firing gradually ceased, and
nothino; but the scattering shots of the skirmishers Avas
heard. We lay down in the swamp with no tents, and
many of us without food. Officers and men built plat
forms of logs and bark to keep out of the water where
they Avere not fortunate enough to find a dry place.
General Smith bivouacked near the line of battle, making
his bed at the foot of a pine tree, with nothing but his
overcoat for shelter. It may not be amiss to say here

38 DIGGING — ON PICKET.
that General Smith, unlike most gentlemen with stars on
their shoulders, was always in the habit of sleeping at the
very front.
All the following day, and the next, the firing was kept
up steadily on both sides. At night showers of cannister
and grape Avould fall in our camp, and fortunate was he
who had a good tree or stump between him and the rebel
works against which to lay his head while he slept.
We at length became so accustomed to the continual
skirmishing, that unless the firing was in fierce volleys we
took no notice of it. The boys of the Thirty-third New
York being on the skirmish line on the Sth, charged a rifle
pit with shouts and hurrahs, and drove the rebels from it.
An attempt was made to retake it, but the boys held their
ground. The men performed herculean labors on the roads,
and in throwing up earthworks. No rest was allowed.
When not on picket they were cutting down trees or
throwing up earthworks or building bridges. Such con
stant labor soon began to exhaust the strength of the
stoutest, and hundreds of them yielded to disease who
supposed themselves capable of enduring any amount of
hardships. Yet there was now and then a grimly gay
episode in this hard routine. Here is an incident that
occurred two or three days after we approached the works,
and affords a good sample of picketing between us and
the forts. Our pickets were within sjieaking distance of
those of the enemy ; each party kept, if jiossible, snugly
behind some big stump or tree, out of the reach of his dis
agreeable neighbors. A good deal of hard talk had passed
betAveen one of our pickets and one of the "Johnnies."
Finally the rebel thurst his hand beyond his tree holding
in it a bottle, and shaking it, challenged the Yankee to
come and take it — " crach " went the Yankee's rifle at the
hand. " Ha, ha ! why don't you hit it ? What do you

A DREARY COUNTRY. 39
think of Bull Run ?" " How do you like Fort Donelson ?"
responded the Yankee.
While this colloquy Avas going on, Yankee number two
crept round behind a log, and drawing on the southerner,
blazed aAvay at him. The son of chivalry clapped his
hand to his shoulder and ran off hoAvling. "There, you
fool," shouted Yankee number one, " I told you that blind
man would be shooting you pretty soon."
The country about us was uncultivated and unhealthy.
The lands were low and SAvampy, and mostly covered Avith
a heavy growth of yellow pines. The few remaining
inhabitants Avere mostly women, negresses and children ;
now and then a disabled specimen of poor Avhite trash, or
a farmer too infirm to be of service in the rebel army, Avas
to be met with. All were alike destitute of enterprise,
and the houses upon the " plantations " were of the mean
est order, raised three or four feet above the ground upon
posts Avithout the usual foundation of stone. The " plan
tations " consisted usually of about ten or twenty acres
of cleared land in the midst of the forest, with narrow
roads among the pines leading to neighboring plantations.
The writer inquired of the proprietor of one of these
isolated spots, Avho also had some forty negro women aud
children, how he managed to support so large a family
from the proceeds of so little land. " Well," said he, " I
could not support them from the proceeds of the land
alone, but you see I sell a few negroes every year and buy
corn Avith the money; so with what we raise and what we
get for the sale of the negroes, we get along very well."
" But why do you not cut doAvn some of this forest and
till more land ? You own a large tract of land which is
entirely worthless as it now is."
" There is where you are greatly mistaken, said the
enterprising southerner, my timber land is my best prop
ertv."

40 BATTLE OF LEE'S MILLS.
But of what use do you make it ? " Oh, I sell a great
deal of wood. I take it to Fortress Monroe and Hampton
and get tAVO dollars and a half a cord for it !"
The reader will perhaps understand the profits drawn
from the wood lands, when it is remembered that Fortress
Monroe was twenty miles distant.
Night attacks by the enemy became common ; and it
was not an unfrequent occurrence for the whole division
to be called suddenly to arms at midnight and stand in
line until morning. Skirmishes and sharpshooting con
tinued with little intermission ; bullets of rebel riflemen
whizzing through our camps or unceremoniously entering
our tents at all times. Rebel gunboats approached the
mouth of the Warwick and by their assistance the rebel
infantry attempted to turn our left flank, but the troops
of our division gallantly met their attack and drove them
back. This state of affairs continued until the 16th of April.
That morning, word passed through the division that
Ave were to make an assault. Orders came to move, and
the division was massed near some ruins, known as " The
Chimneys," in front of one of the rebel forts ; the Second
brigade holding the front line, supported by the First and
Third brigades. As Ave moved round to take our posi
tions, an American eagle whirled above our heads in
elegant circles and at length floated away toward the
south, the boys swinging their hats and cheering the bird
with loud huzzahs.
The fort in our front covered the road from Newport
News to Williamsburgh, and could Ave get possession
of it we could turn the flanks of the enemy, obliging
him to abandon his position and enabling us either to
prevent his escape or to harass him in his flight. In
front of the fort the creek had been dammed and a deep
morass interposed between us and the works. General

CHARGE OF THE VER.AIONTERS AT LEE's MILLS.

CHARGE OF THE TEEMONT BEIGADE. 41
McClellan and his immense suite rode to the point from
which the attack Avas to be made, and communicating a
few minutes Avith Generals Keyes and Smith, left the field.
Mott's battery Avas noAV brought into position on the open
plateau and opened a fierce cannonade, to Avhioh the rebels
replied with spirit, dismounting one of our guns and killing
several of the gunners at the A-ery start. Mott Avas rein
forced by Kennedy's and Wheeler's batteries, and the
hostile guns were soon silenced. Our batteries then
advanced within five hundred yards of the fort, and the
gray-coated rebels who Avere seen to fill the Avoods, Avere
soon dispersed. Two companies of troops, from the Third
Vermont, were now ordered forward. DoAvn from the
woods they came, rushed into the water to their waists,
and gallantly made for the rebel rifle pits. The first line
of the works was gained and then the second. The fort
Avas empty, but a ditch to their left Avas filled Avith men.
They poured a volley among them and the gray coats fled.
Thus the fort Avas actually in their possession, and Avas
held for some minutes by the noble fellows, but Avhen they
looked for support, none came. The three brigades stood
upon the opposite bank, ready to plunge through the
stream, and waiting with intense anxiety for the order,
" forward ;" but no order came, and the brave Green Moun
tain boys who had so. nobly performed their part of the
work, were forced to fall back under a galling fire from
the rebels, who rushed back to their pits as soon the Ver
monters had left them, pouring volley after volley into the
retreating forces, Avho, their ammunition spent, could not
reply to the rebel fire. Before they were able to reach the
shelter of the woods, sad havoc Avas made in their ranks.
Skirmishing was kept up for some hours, by other regi
ments, but Avith no result except the loss of men.
The following list of killed and Avounded was obtained
the next day after the battle :
6

42 BATTLE OF LEe's MILLS.
2d Vermont — 1 killed.
3d Vermont — 24 killed, 7 mortally wounded, 56 wounded,
1 missing.
4th Vermont — 3 killed, 30 wounded.
5th Vermont — 2 killed, 6 wounded.
0th Vermont — 11 killed, 77 wounded.
Total loss to the brigade, 218.
Thus ended the fight knoAvn as the "Battle of Lee's
Mills," a battle in which two hundred men gallantly cap
tured an important Avork of the enemy, and thousands of
their companions burning with desire to share in their
glory stood by and saw them abandon it ! Why the
other brigades were not ordered forAvard has never been
explained satisfactorily. That General Smith would gladly
have sent them forward Ave earnestly believe ; but Ave noAV
know that General McClellan desired that a general
engagement should not be brought on at that time.
The wounded men exhibited the same bravery, while their
wounds were being cared for, that characterized their bril
liant charge. Men badly mutilated, with bullets in their
heads, or breasts, or limbs, refused to receive attention
from the surgeon who dressed their wounds, until their
more unfortunate comjDanions Avere cared for. " Don't
mind me, doctor, there are others hurt worse than I am,"
said many a brave fellow, as he lay upon the ground
bleeding from his wounds.
The following incident connected with this noble charge
Avill be remembered by all who Avere at that time members
of Smith's division, and by hundreds Avho saw accounts
of it in the newspapers of the day :
Private William Scott, of Company K, Third Vermont,
was, in the autumn of 1861, found asleep at his post on
the picket line. It was a grave fault; but the weary
soldier, inexperienced in the service, and unaccustomed to
such night vigils, in an evil hour yielded to the demands

THE SLEEPING SENTINEL. 43
of tired nature, little thinking that the lives of hundreds
of his comrades were periled by his unfaithfulness. He
Avas tried by a court-martial and sentenced to be shot.
The sentence was approved, and at the appointed time he
Avas brought forth to execution. General Smith, desiring
to impress upon the minds of his men the terrible conse
quences of such an offense, formed his troops in line.
The culprit was brought out before them, and led to the
place of execution. The guard, Avith loaded muskets,
stood ready to execute the dreadful sentence, which Avas
read before all the troops. All Avaited in breathless
expectation for the order to fire; but instead another
paper was read. It was a pardon from the President !
Then the Avildest shouts of joy ran along the line. Shout
after shout arose from the division, and hundreds blessed
the name of President Lincoln.
There Avere many circumstances to render this a case
of peculiar interest. It was the first sentence of the kind ;
it was at the beginning of the war, when a soldier's life
was regarded of value, and when all eyes Avere riveted
upon the army, and every incident Avas of interest. It was
also the first instance of the kind in which the executive
clemency had been exercised. So near had the hour of
execution arrived when the President signed the pardon,
that, fearing it might not be received in season, he took
his carriage and drove to camp, to assure himself that
the man's life should be sjjared.
" I will show President Lincoln that I am not afraid to
die for my country," said the grateful soldier ; and well
did he fulfill his promise. Among the braA'est of those
two hundred heroes who crossed the swamp at Lee's Mills,
was William Scott, of Company K, Third Vermont. But
he Avas brought back a corpse. He had shown the Presi
dent that he was not afraid to die for his country. He
AS'as one of the foremost in the charge, and one of the first

44 PEOGEESS OF THE SIEGE.
to fall. His comrades made his grave under the shadow
of the tall pines, and as they folded his blanket around
hira, and lowered him to his resting place, tears stood
upon those brown cheeks ; but the tears of sorroAV were
mingled with tears of joy, when they thought of his
glorious death, and his narroAV escape from an ignominious
fate, and again, in their hearts, they blessed the man Avho
was always the soldier's friend.
We resumed our place the next day after the battle, on
the front line, and commenced digging.
Fierce night sorties Avere again made by the enemy
and braA^ely resisted by our boys, Avho continued the work
regardless of these annoyances. Only one fight occurred
on our part of the line after the 16th, in whioh Ave lost
any number of men. On the 28th the First brigade had
a skirmish in which we lost one killed and half a dozen
wounded. Among the latter was Lieutenant, afterward
Colonel Milliken, ofthe Forty-third New York. A recon
noissance on the left about the same time, resulted in find
ing the rebels in considerable force, and a loss of two
good soldiers to the Seventy-seventh New York. In the
meantime earthworks of great strength were being thrown
up on the right of the line before Yorktown, and every
thing was being put in a complete state of preparation
for the grand bombardment. Enormous siege guns of
one hundred and even two hundred pound calibre, and
immense mortars Avere brought up and mounted in the
earthworks, and it Avas thought that with the powerful
means we were using the fall of Yorktown was only a
question of time.
Our losses by the rebels before Yorktown were not great,
but the ravages by disease Avere fearful. Many thousands
of noble fellows Avho would gladly have braved the
dangers of the battle-field, Avere carried to the rear Avith
fevers engendered by the deadly malaria of the SAvamps,

EAA'AGES OP DISEASE — A FRONT SEAT. 45
from Avhich few ever recoA^ered sufficiently to rejoin the
ranks ; and thousands of others Avere laid in humble graves
along the marshy borders of the WarAvick or about the
hospitals at Young's Mills. For a month the men Avere
almost continually under arms ; often called in the middle
of the night to resist the attempts of the enemy to force
our line under cover of the thick darkness, standing in
line of battle day after day and digging at earthworks
night after night.
During the thirty days of the siege we had twenty days
of rain. Thunder storms folloAved each other in quick
succession, with lightnings more vivid than we had ever
seen at the north. Men lay doAvii to rest at night Avith
their equipments buckled about them and wet to their
skins. Men unaccustomed to the hardships of campaign
ing could not endure such exposure.
A fcAV divisions of the army ijerformed by far the greater
part of the labor, either because they had at first reached
positions Avhieh imposed greater toil, or because greater
confidence was reposed in them. Our oAvn division Avas
one of those uijon which the duties imposed Avere too
great for men to perform ; yet the men would have
resented being sent to the rear, and it was said that
General Smith remarked that "he had spoken for a front
seat for his boys and he intended to keep it.
Added to all the exposures and hardships of the siege,
there was a deplorable Avant of proper commissary and
medical supplies. While the men were supplied Avith fair
rations of hard bread, vegetables were unknown among us,
and the supply of fresh meat Avholly inadequate. In the
Medical Department the greatest difficulty was experienced
in obtaining supplies, and indeed it was impossible to get
them. Not that regimental surgeons did not use their
utmost endeavor to procure them, but as brigade and regi
mental commissaries could not obtain supplies of food

46 THE REBELS AVITHDEAAV.
Avhich were not furnished to the army at all, so surgeons
could not procure medicines and other necessaries Avhich
were locked in the storehouses in Washington. This sub
ject will be more fully alluded to in another place, and it
is to be hoped that the responsibility of this criminal neg
ligence to supply the army with medical and hospital
stores may fall where it belongs.
Thus, Avith their minds wrought up to a continual state
of excitement, Avith constant exposure to tempests and
malaria, with excessive and exhausting labors, and with
improper food and scarcity of medicine, sickness and death
swept over us like a pestilence.
At length, after a month of toil and exposure almost
nnprecedented, after losing nearly one-fifth of our mag
nificent army by disease and death, our batteries were
finished, the enormous siege guns were mounted, and the
thirteen inch mortars in position. The army looked
anxiously for the grand finale of all these extensive pre
parations. Men had lost the enthusiasm Avhich prevailed
Avhen we landed upon the Peninsula, and a smile was sel
dom seen ; but a fixed and determined purpose to succeed
still appeared in their faces. Noav at length we were
ready; and the countenances of the soldiers began to
lighten up a little. But as the sun rose on the morning
of the 4th of May, behold, the rebels had vanished, and
with them our hopes of a brilliant victory ! Unfortun
ately for our hopes of a great success at Yorktown, the
rebel generals had shown themselves unwilling to afford
us such an opportunity by waiting for us longer; and
during the night of the 3d and 4th they had evacuated
the place.
They had gained a month of time for strengthening the
defenses about Richmond, and for concentrating their
forces there. Now they were ready to fall back Avithout
testing our magnificent works and huge guns, and lead us

ENTERING THE STRONGHOLDS. 47
into the swamps of Chickahominy ; where they hoped that
the fever Avould complete the ghastly Avork already com
menced at YorktoAvn.
During the night of the evacuation, the roar of artillery
exceeded anything that had been heard before. From ono
end of the line to the other the shells and shot poured into
our camps, and the arches of fire that marked the courses
of the shells, with flame spouting from the mouths of the
guns, created a magnificent pyrotechnic display. But at
daylight, orderlies flew from regiment to regiment Avith
the startling intelligence that the beleagured works Avere
deserted, and Avith orders to occupy them at once. Smith's
division hastened to cross over the dam, and Ave found
ourselves in the strongholds that avo had so long invested.
As the SeA'enty-seventh regiment passed along one of the
roads leading among the intrenchments, a sharp report
like that of a pistol Avas heard at the feet of those in the
center of the column, and directly under the colors. The
men scattered, and a piece of old cloth was seen lying on
the ground at the point from whicli the report emanated.
Colonel McKean, who was very near, lifted the cloth Avith
the point of his sword, and discovered a torpedo carefully
buried in the ground, except a nipple Avhich had been
filled with fulminating powder, which Avas covered by the
old cloth. The fuse only had exploded. Had the machine
itself exploded, it must have destroyed many of our men,
our colonel among them. Other regiments were not so
fortunate as we were. Very many men were killed in the
streets and intrenchments by these torpedoes, which
the enemy had planted in the street at either end of the
bridges, about springs, and near the deserted guns. They
were concealed beneath the ground with great care, the
capped nipple only rising above the surface, and this,
covered by an old rag or piece of bark thrown over it,
exploded at the slightest touch. These infernal machines

48 MAECH TO WILLIAMSBUEGH.
were only one feature of the general plan of our enemies
to carry on a war by brutal, savage and coAvardly means.
The starving of prisoners at AndersonvUle and Salisbury,
and the wholesale butchery at Fort Pillow, Avere other
parts of the same savage plan which was crowned by the
fearful tragedy at Ford's Theatre.
We made little delay among the rebel intrenchments ;
only long enough to glance over the formidable works,
where the enemy had abandoned seventy-two pieces of
artillery, mostly of heaA-y caliber, with immense numbers
of shovels, picks, wheelbarrows and other paraphernalia of
an army.
The division was at nine o'clock sent forward on the
road toAvard Williamsburgh ; encountering, before it had
proceeded far, a portion of the rear-guard of the confed
erate army, Avhich hastily fell back before our advance.
General Smith informed the Commander-in-Chief of the
encounter, Avho ordered Stoneman, Avith a regiment of
cavalry, to give chase to the retiring body, and, if pos
sible, cut it off; but, unfortunately, either from want of
piroper information in regard to the roads, or from other
hindrances, this was not effected. The division pushed on
over the road lately traversed by the rebels, the men
overcoming all obstacles that had been thrown in their
Avay, in their anxiety to overtake the foe.
The scenery, as the troops passed, Avas indeed charming
beyond description. Magnificent forests of oak and pine,
interspersed with clearings, the residences of farmers,
Avith fine fields, covered with the green blades of the
ncAvly springing wheat, met the view along the road;
Avhile the Avoods were adorned with innumer.able flowers.
The tall dogAvood, Avith its clusters of large floAvers like
SAvarms of white butterflies, mingled Avith the Judas tree,
Avhose leafless boughs were densely covered with racemes
of purple blossoms. The azalia and the honeysuckle

"VICTIMS OF DISEASE. 49
beneath formed a delightful contrast with the gorgeous
floral display above.
Thus the division Avas hurried on, until at evening it
came upon the rebel works at Williamsburgh. As our
forces approached Williamsburgh, the cavalry came upon
the enemy, and a sharp skirmish ensued, in which we lost
about fifty in killed and wounded, and the rebels left as
many on the field. The charge was made by the Sixth
cavalry and Gibbon's battery, driving the rebels back.
They, in their turn, being reinforced, forced our troops
back; one of our guns, from which all the horses were
shot, being abandoned. Each party strove hard for the
possession of the gun, but night closed upon the contest,
leaving it in possession of neither. In the meantime, the
men of our division too sick to march were being cared
for by our medical officers. Hundreds of the men of our
division lay sick with typhoid fever and other equally
dangerous maladies. These were all taken to the hospital
which had been commenced a day or two previous, about
a mile and a half from our camp. The whole day was
occupied in removing these men. Of those sent to this
hospital, as of the many previously sent to the hospital at
Young's Mills and Fortress Monroe, few ever returned.

CHAPTER VI.
WILLIAMSBURGH.
Battle of Williamsburgh— The army not organized — The medical department-
Hooker's gallant fight— Hancock's charge — McClellan at Yorktown— Night on
the battle-field.
Eaely on the morning of the 5th skirmishing com
menced. The division of Hooker was posted on the left of
the road from Lee's Mills to Williamsburgh, and our own
division held the road, stretching mostly to the right of it.
Fort Magruder was directly in front of us, commanding
the road. All that part of the army which had advanced
on the right, that is, on the road from Yorktown, were
massed as fast as they arrived, awaiting orders. Great
delay was experienced in getting the troops in position,
as there seemed to be no harmony of action. Every
general of a division seemed to do what pleased him, with
out orders from higher authority.
General Sumner Avas in command of the troops on the
field, but from some cause seemed not to be able to com
bine his forces in such a manner as to bear effectually
upon the lines of the enemy. One of the serious diffi
culties was getting artillery to the front. The roads had
become very muddy from the rain during the night, and
were blocked up with the immense multitude of wagons,
so that artillery could not pass. Here was sadly exempli
fied the grand defect of our army — 'the want of organ
ization. Our army was an enormous heterogenous mass, without
any pretense of a system to centralize and harmonize its

THE ARMY NOT ORGANIZED. 51
movements. An army is not organized by throAving it
into brigades and divisions ; this is but the first and easiest
step. The departments must be so organized that each
performs Avell its part, without interference Avith another.
In this case the quartermaster's department sadly inter
fered Avith the others. Every regimental quartermaster
was for himself, and, as a natural result, the immense
trains Avere thrown into great disorder, impeding the
movements of all the other branches of the service. No
one seemed at liberty to bring order out of this confusion ;
and thus artillery and wagons remained stuck in the mud.
This same confusion prevailed in all the departments.
We shall take the liberty here to quote at some length
from the remarks of the Prince De JoinviUe, Avho was at
that time a member of General McClellan's staff, an able
soldier and an ardent friend of the Commander-in-Chief.
Says the Prince :
" The American system of ' every man for himself,' indi
vidually applied by officers and soldiers of each corps to
one another, is also applied by the corps themselves
to their reciprocal relations. There is no special branch
of the service whose duty it is to regulate, centralize and
direct the movements of the army. In such a case as this
of Avhich we are speaking, we should have seen the general
staff of a French army taking care that nothing should
impede the advance of the troops; stopping a file of
wagons here and ordering it out of the road to clear
the way ; sending on a detail of men there to repair the road
way, or draw a cannon out of the mud in order to com
municate to every corps commander the orders of the
general-in-chief. Here nothing of the sort is done. * *
" The want of a general staff was not less severely felt
in obtaining and transmitting the information necessary,
at the moment of an impending action. No one knew the
country ; the maps were so defective that they were use-

52 THE MEDICAL DEPARTMENT.
less. Little Avas knoAvn about the fortified battle-field on
which the army was about to be engaged. Yet this
battle-field had been seen and reconnoitered by the troops
which had taken part in Stoneman's skirmish. Enough
was surely known of it for us to combine a plan of attack,
and assign to every commander his own part of the AVOrk.
No, this was not so. Every one kept his observations to
himself; not from any ill-will, but because it was nobody's
special duty to do this general work. It was a defect in
the organization, and with the best elements in the world,
an army that is not organized cannot expect great success.
It is fortunate if it escapes disaster."
We may be pardoned for continuing this digression
from the narrative, to sjjeak particularly of the disorder
in the medical department. The surgeons of regiments
were, as a general rule, men of ability, and who were
earnestly devoted to the duties of their position. Of
course, in so large an army, there were some Avho were
not fitted for their position, either by ability or moral
worth ; these were exceptions. Yet, while there was a
general disposition prevailing in the department to make
any sacrifice or submit to any amount of fatigue, in order
to relicA'C the sufferings of those committed to their charge,
they labored under the greatest disadvantage from want
of proper combination and cooperation in the staff. Every
man was for himself. Each regimental surgeon was
expected to look out for the wants of his own men ; to
erect his hospital tents ; to see that the wounded of his
regiment were carried off the field; to administer food,
dress wounds, and attend to the operative surgery. With
all these divers cares, he could hardly be expected to per
form any duties well. When any combination of action
was effected, the organization was voluntary and tem
porary, and, of course, wanting in order and efficiency.
Added to these difficulties, the medical officer found

hooker's gallant fight. 53
himself destitute of supplies, and seemingly without any
prospect of obtaining them.
It is true that the officers of the medical staff were gen
eraily inexperienced in the duties of military surgery, so
different from the labors of the physician in civil life ; yet,
the great trouble was Avithout doubt at head-quarters.
The department was directed by an officer who had done
good service in the Mexican war, but who by long con
nection with the regular army, seemed to have become so
wedded to the formal precision of military routine, that
no contingency was sufficient to move him from his estab
lished habits. Here was occasion for dispensing with
formalities. Responsibilities should have been assumed,
and, if necessary, supplies should have been thrown into
the army broadcast, without thought of requisition or
receipts. Under the direction of the efficient and gentle
manly surgeon of volunteers. Dr. Letterman, order was at
length brought out of the confusion which existed until
the battle of Antietam ; from which time the medical
staff became the most efficient ever knoAvn in any army.
To return to our narrative. By noon the battle raged
furiously; Hooker's division contesting the field nobly
against superior numbers, while our own division held
the position on his right, but without coming to any
direct engagement aside from being subjected to the fire
of artillery. Hooker brought his men gallantly up to the
work and at first forced the enemy back, but in turn was
driA'"en from the ground he had taken, and only by the
most valorous fighting, prevented a rout.
The gallant general and his noble men held the ground
alone until the division was fearfully cut up. At length
General Kearney, at the head of his division, approached
on the Lee's Mills road. General Sumner rode up to him
and said quietly, " General, do you knoAv that Hooker is
badly cut up ?" " No." " He is, and is falling back. Hurry

64 Hancock's chaege.
on your division as fast as possible." " How shall I reach
him ?" said Kearney. " Through yonder strip of woods."
Kearney noAV led his men forAvard at a rapid pace and
very soon came to the relief of the exhausted division.
The troops of Hooker were holding their ground against
the enemy twenty thousand strong. They had fought for
hours with only nine thousand men.
General Hancock of our First brigade, at his own and
General Smith's request, was, at three o'clock, allowed to
take his own and a part of our Third brigade to the right
of the line, where the position of the enemy was very
strong by nature, and which was on that account secured
with less care than the rest of the line.
A steep wooded bluff rose to a great height in our front,
and a mill pond lying at the foot of the bluff and newly
dammed by the rebels, served as a moat. Spanning the
pond near the dam, was a bridge of logs which they had
neglected to destroy. Across this bridge and .up a road
Avinding along the side of the bluff, the general led his
troops, finding the enemy upon the plateau above, occupy
ing strong redoubts. Artillery was brought to bear upon
them and the rebels fled ; our forces advancing and occu
pying the works. The enemy was now reinforced by a
brigade of North Carolina troops and charged upon the
federals. The Union troops allowed them to approach
very near, Avhen they opened a tremendous fire of mus
ketry and artillery upon them. Still the rebels came on
until they were within thirty yards of our men. " Now,
gentlemen, the bayonet!" cried Hancock, as he rode along
the line of battle close to the troops. The men charged
upon the rebels, who fell back before the shock, broke and
fled, leaving the broad, green wheat field strewed with their
dead and wounded.
While the fighting was going on. General Hancock had
sent for the remainder of our Third brigade. The order

tp H
O IIIa >21
O OOP^
HSJoH

^'0

' lie 1

' ¦^. ^i: -^

HANCOCK'S CHARGE. 55
"forward, double quick" Avas received by the men Avith
one of those wild exulting shouts, such as is only heard
on the field of battle ; and they rushed forward through
the liquid mud, each regiment striving which should first
reach the field. But as we reached the scene of conflict,
the rebels had fled ; leaving the victory Avith the men in
blue. The regiments engaged in this brilliant affair were, the
Fortjr-third Ncav York, the Forty-ninth Pennsylvania,
the Sixth Maine and Fifth Wisconsin, of the First brigade,
and the Thirty-third New York and Seventh Maine of the
Third brigade.
The rebels, outflanked by the gallant movement of
Smith's division, were glad to fall back from before Hooker
and Kearney, and seek refuge behind their works. Mean
while the great body of the army had remained entirely
passive; not even having been brought into line of battle.
Why some of these troops were not called to the assist
ance of Hooker, or to render the victory of Hancock more
complete, we do not knoAV.
Thus closed the battle of Williamsburgh ; a battle
fought by tAVO divisions and a joart of a third, Avhile the
mass of the army remained as idle spectators of the ter
rible scene. If less than tAventy thousand men could
drive the rebels from their strong works, what could not
that grand army haA'"e done had it been brought into
action !
General McClellan arrived on the fleld at five o'clock in
the afternoon, and was received with shouts of applause ;
but the fighting was then over. The general had
remained at Yorktown since the morning of the 4th, to
superintend personally the shipment of Franklin's division
of tAvelve thousand men ; one-half of Avhom, in order that
they might be in readiness at any moment to proceed up
the river and head oft' the enemy, had never been allowed

66 m'cLELLAN at YORKTOWN.
to disembark from the transports which brought them to
Yorktown. General McClellan's conduct in spending
nearly two days in overseeing personally the embarkation
of half or even the whole of a division of men, while one
of the most important battles of the war was in progress,
leaving it to others to take care of the " little affair at the
front," has, by some, been severely censured ; while others
have as earnestly claimed that the Commander-in-Chief
had his own views of the necessity of getting those troops
off at once, and the necessity of seeing that supplies of
rations, ammunition and war material, were forwarded,
was imperative ; and that we are to remember that the
advance was intrusted to General Sumner ; a man in
whose ability both he and the army confided. The
general telegraphed that night to the Secretary of War :
" After arranging for movements up the York river, I was
sent for here. I find General Joe Johnston in front of me
in strong force, probably greater a good deal than my
own. * * * ]y[y entire force is undoubtedly consid
erably inferior to that of the rebels, who will fight well ;
but I will do all I can with the force at my disposal."
It was not known that night that we had won such a vic
tory ; but when, in the morning, we found the rebels all
gone, he telegraphed : " Every hour proves our victory
more complete."
In the light of this testimony of the Commander-in-Chief,
what a noble record had those three divisions that day
made for themselves ! They had, according to these dis
patches, fought with a force " greater a good deal " than
our entire army, and had won a complete victory !
Night closed upon the battle-field. Our division
bivouacked around one of the rebel redoubts. It was
filled with rebel wounded, whose groans and cries made
the night hideous. The ground was a bed of liquid mud,
and the rain still poured. No fires were alloAved, and the

NIGHT ON THE BATTLE-FIELD. 57
men stood shivering all night rather than lie down in the
mud. The sun rose clear and bright next morning, and the
whole army filed into the works deserted by the enemy
during the night, and occupied the tOAvn of Williams
burgh, a mile or more from the battle-field. All the pub
lic buildings in toAvn were filled with the rebel wounded ;
and the inhabitants were actively engaged in ministering
to their wants. Here the army remained three days,
waiting for provisions to come up from Yorktown, a dis
tance of fifteen mUes. It is a question, why troops, who
were afterward accustomed to carry four or even six days'
rations, were sent away from Yorktown with one.

CHAPTER vn.
THE MARCH UP THE PENINSULA AND THE ORGAN
IZATION OF THE SIXTH CORPS.
March up the Peninsula — Joy of the contrabands — Cumberland Landing— Tho
Sixth Corps organized— At White House — On the Chickahominy— Fight at
Mechanicsville — Battle of Hanover Court House. '
On the ninth of May, after a delay of three days, the
Army of the Potomac resumed the pursuit of Johnston's
army. The day Avas fair and bright, and the journey of
fifteen miles, to troops as yet little inured to the fatigues
of long marches, bore severely upon them. We rested
till three o'clock next morning ; when orders came to fall
into line, and at five we Avere again toiling over the road.
After a hard day's march we halted near Ncav Kent Court
House ; Avhere General Stoneman, with his cavalry, had a
day or two before overtaken the rear-guard of the enemy,
who gave him battle. Evidences of the engagement Avere
to be seen all about us, and many wounded cavalrymen
were found in the neighboring farm houses. We remained
here over the Sabbath and the next day; glad of rest,
though anxious to be on the trail of the enemy.
General Franklin's division had already landed, and
beaten the rebels at West Point; and the flotilla laden
with supplies had also ascended the river thus far.
It was at Ncav Kent Court House that the news of the
destruction of the Merrimac, and the possession of Norfolk
by General Wool's forces, first reached us, and our hearts
SAvelled Avith joy at our successes. On the 13th we
resumed the march; winding along the banks of the tor-

JOY OF THE CONTRABANDS. 50
tuous Pamunkey, enchanted by the lovely scenery which
constantly met our gaze. The profusion of flowers in the
forests, the bright green meadoAVS, and the broad fields of
iiCAvly springing wheat, offered a perpetual charm ; and as
Ave passed along, the women and negroes watched us with
conflicting sentiments of interest. All the white men
capable of bearmg arms, and every able-bodied negro,
had been SAvept along by the rebel army in its retreat, and
none but Avomen and children and aged negroes were now
left along the route. At every house the alarmed white
people thrcAV out the white flag in token of submission, as
though their protection from injury depended upon this
symbol of peace.
Great numbers of negroes flocked to the roadside, to
welcome the Union army. Their expressions of joy at
seeing us were wild and amusing. All hoped we would
shortly overtake and destroy the rebel army, their own
masters included. Those who had hitherto regarded the
relation of master and slave as one of mutual affection, had
only to witness these unique demonstrations of rejoicing
at our approach, and the seemingly certain destruction of
the slave owners, to be convinced that the hapjsiness and
contentment claimed for those in servitude Avas but a
worthless fiction. The negroes, gathering in croAvds along
the Avayside, would grasp the hands of the Union soldiers,
calling doAvn all manner of blessings upon them, and leap
ing and dancing in their frantic delight.
One gray-haired old patriarch, surrounded by a numer
ous group of younger chattels, who were leaping and
shouting, exclaimed, in a loud voice, " Bress de Lord !
I'se been praying for yous all to come all dis time ; and
now I'se glad yous got so fur ; and I pray de Lord dat
yous may keep on, and conquer def and hell and de
grabe!" All the others, joining in the chorus, cried,
" Bress de Lord ! " The master of the old man sat quietly

60 ORGANIZATION OP THE SIXTH COEPS.
watching the scene, offering no hindrance to these expres
sions of sympathy; but it is doubtful whether this conduct
on the part of his servants was forgotten after the depart
ure of our army. Whatever information the slaves could
give concerning the movements, numbers, or probable
intentions of the enemy, was communicated gladly, and
although this information was not always reliable for
accuracy, it was always given in sincerity, and was very
often of great service.
Our march on the 13th, was an easy one of six
miles. As we reached the brow of a hill overlooking the
plain of Cumberland Landing, a scene of imposing beauty
was spread out before us. Between us and the broad
river, were thousands of troops, parks of artillery, squad
rons of cavalry, divisions of infantry; some already in
camp, others moving about in order, but seeming, from
the distance, to be intermingled in most perfect confusion.
A broad plain stretched far away to the left, beautifully
variegated with green pastures, rich groves and fields of
grain. Beyond was the Pamunkey; here spreading out
into a broad expanse of water, on which was riding the
Union flotilla of gunboats and the transport fleet.
Upon this broad plain the whole army assembled. At
no other time in the history of the j^my of the Potomac,
were all its forces gathered "within a compass that the eye
could take in at a single glance.
Early on the morning of the 14th, the cry, " Fall in !"
resounded through the camps, and we proceeded up the
river about four mUes, and again encamped on its banks.
A field of fresh clover served for our bivouac. In this
pleasant spot we remained for several days; and while
here, an event occurred of no less interest than the organ
ization OF THE Sixth corps.
Just before the Army of the Potomac embarked for the
Peninsula, it was divided, by order of President Lincoln,

the sixth COEPS. 61
into five corps of three divisions each. These corps Avero
placed under command, respectively, of Generals McDoAvell,
Sumner, Heintzelman, Keyes and Banks. On leaving for the
Peninsula, the First and Fifth corps had been left behind.
Noav two neAV corps were to be organized ; the Fifth provi
sional, consisting of the divisions of Porter and Sykes, and
the reserve artillery, under command of General Porter ;
and the Sixth provisional corps, consisting of Franklin's
division of the First and Smith's of the Fourth corps.
General W. B. Franklin Avas assigned to the command of
the corps.
Franklin's division, now the First division. Sixth corps,
under command of H. W. Slocum, had been ordered aAvay
from the First corps, to join the army of the Potomac,
while we were at Yorktown ; and its recent exhibition of
gallantry at West Point, had already established for it a
reputation for valor. The regiments composing this divi
sion were, the First, Second, Third and Fourth Nbav .Jersey ;
regiments trained to the service by the knightly soldier
and ardent patriot, Philip S. Kearney, now under command
of Colonel Taylor, and afterwards so long and so ably led
by General Torbert ; the Sixteenth and TAventy-seventh
New York, Fifth Maine and Niuety-Sixth Pennsylvania ;
General Slocum's OAvn brigade; now commanded by
Colonel Bartlett ; and Newton's brigade ; the Eighteenth,
Thirty-first and Thirty-second New York, and Ninety-
fifth Pennsylvania.
The history of the Second division. General Smith's, we
have already traced. The bravery and extraordinary
endurance of each of its brigades had been exhibited too
often to be questioned.
With such splendid materials for a corps, a brilliant
history of great achievements was to be anticipated, and
nobly has it Avrought out for itself such a history.
No other body of troops has ever made for itself so

62 AT WHITE HOUSE.
proud a record. No corps, either in our own army or any
other, ever met the enemy so frequently in general battle,
and never Avere more glorious deeds accomplished by
troops than were done by these. Never in the course of
all their campaigns were either of these two division3 put
to rout, and in almost all its encounters the corps held the
field as victors.
We Avere now encamped on the old Custis place; at
present owned by General Fitzhugh Lee, of the rebel
cavalry service. On every side of us were immense fields
of Avheat, which, but for the presence of armies, promised
an abundant harvest. Day after day passed, in quiet
repose, and the Sabbath found us still waiting on the
banks of the Pamunkey. It was marvelous that such
silence could exist where a hundred thousand men were
crowded together, yet almost absolute stillness reigned
throughout the vast camp during the whole of this pleas
ant Sabbath. Save that here and there the notes of Old
Hundred or some sacred air was heard from the band
of some regiment whose chaplain had gathered his men
for religious services, no sound disturbed the universal
quiet. Not far from us was the White House, at the head of
navigation, on the Pamunkey. The house was a fine build
ing, once the property of Washington, now in possession
of the Lee family. Here the Richmond and York River
railroad crossed the Pamunkey, and this was made the base
of operations for the army. Here the transports poured
out a vast amount of supplies, and under the protection
of the flotilla of gunboats, the quartermasters and com
missaries commenced their active operations.
Except that a fcAv rails had been torn up, the railroad
was in excellent order, and engines and cars were at once
placed on the track ready to follow the army on its
advance to Richmond.

FIGHT AT MECHANICSVILLE. 63
The Sixtli corps proceeded toward the Chickahominy,
Avhich it reached at a point several miles above the rail
road crossing at Bottom's Bridge, occupying the extrerae
right of the Union line of battle as formed along that
river. The position of the Union army Avas noAV as fol-
loAvs : Keyes' corps had crossed the Chickahominy at
Bottom's Bridge, and Heintzelman had folloAved, taking
a position between Keyes and the bridge. Sumner was on
the railroad, and Franklin on the right near Ncav Bridge ;
Stoneman's cavalry Avas on the right of the Sixth corps,
and Porter's divisions were in the rear, Avithin supporting
distance. On the 23d, General Stoneman Avith his cavalry pushed
forAvard toAvard Mechanicsville, supported by Davidson's
brigade. The brigade halted for the night near Beaver
Dam creek, a marshy stream pouring into the Chicka
hominy. On the following morning the brigade again
pushed forward, the men making their Avay Avith great
difficulty through a swamp, then plunging through the
stream, then forcing their way through brambles and
briars, and again wading through the Avater ; until the men
seemed to have become amphibious. They at length
found the enemy near the little village of Mechanicsville.
The brigade, with Wheeler's battery, formed in line of
battle on some commanding grounds, and quietly rested
for the night. On the morning of the 24th, the Seventy-
seventh and part of the Thirty-third were ordered to
advance toward the village and reconnoiter the position.
Hardly had the advance commenced before the rebels
opened upon the two commands a fierce cannonade, which
forced our men to lie down, that the shells might pass over
them. Wheeler's battery responded nobly to the rebel
artillery, and presently General Davidson ordered Colonel
McKean to charge the village with his regiment. The
men rose to their feet and started forward with a yell.

64 BATTLE OP HANOVEE COUET HOUSE.
Down the hill they rushed impetuously, cheering and
yelling; but the tAVO rebel regiments, the Seventh and
Eighth Georgia, startled by the shouts, seized their
muskets and ran ; firing but one parting salute. Then-
battery also limbered up and beat a hasty retreat ; and as
our men reached the village they were seen lashing their
horses into a run, and in a moment they disappeared
altogether down the road.
In their haste the rebels forgot to carry off their knap
sacks, canteens and haversacks; and our boys gathered
them up to be kept till called for. They had also left a
great many guns and cartridge boxes ; and a flag, which
the Seventy-seventh bore away in triumph.
On the 26th of May, the enemy was discovered in con
siderable force at Hanover Court House, to the right and
rear of our army. A part of Porter's corps was sent to
meet this rebel force, and if possible drive it from its
position. After a fatiguing march through mud and rain.
General Emory, with his own brigade, and other troops
of the corps, came up with the enemy near Hanover Court
House, and at once commenced advancing slowly against
the line of the enemy, when, being reinforced by part of
Martindale's brigade, a charge was ordered and the rebels
were routed. They fled precipitately, leaving one of their
guns in the hands of our troops.
Being reinforced, the rebels turned upon our troops, hut
were gallantly held by Martindale's brigade until General
Porter brought a large force to the field. The rebels were
again attacked and completely routed. They left about
two hundred of their dead on the field to be buried by
our men. Seven hundred prisoners were captured, beside
two railroad trains, a twelve pound gun and many small
arms. Our own loss amounted to about fifty killed and
more than three hundred wounded and missino-.

CHAPTER vm.
ON THE CHICKAHOMINY.
Gaines' Farm- The line of battle— Battle of Seven Pines — Sedgwick and Kearney
to the rescue — Hooker's charge— A lost opportunity — Golden's Farm — Ditch
ing — Malaria — Chickahominy fevers — A German regiment — Stuart's raid.
Davidson's command was withdrawn from its position
on Beaver Dam creek on the 26th of May. Moving down
the river about five miles, it encamped with the rest of the
Sixth corps on the farm of Dr. Gaines, a noted rebel,
where it remained until June 5th. The camps were within
easy range of the enemy's guns, which were planted on
the opposite side of the river, and our pickets could
observe those of the rebels as they walked their beats.
Few more charming places than Gaines' Farm could be
found on the Peninsula. The broad wheat fields, alter
nating with wooded hills, afforded a scene of enchantment
to the weary soldiers. A single wheat field contained
four hundred and fifty acres, and a delightful grove in
rear of the superb old mansion, furnished a cool retreat
during the intense heat of the day. The extensive gar
dens were filled with rare exotics and most beautiful
native plants and trees, and birds of varied and brilliant
plumage sported among the flowering shrubs and charmed
the air with their lively notes. Near the river side stood
a large barn well filled with tobacco, from which the boys
of the corps did not hesitate to lay in a full supply.
In the rear of the corps was Liberty Hall, the birthplace
of Patrick Henry. Now it was used as a hospital, and
hundreds of soldiers, worn out with fatigue or burning
9

66 THE LINE OF BATTLE.
with fevers, occupied the house and hospital tents sur
rounding it.
Our men were employed in doing picket duty, and in
building corduroy roads and bridges. The river, scarcely
restrained by banks, was rising rapidly from the continued
fall of rain, and at one time the pickets of our division,
including the Thirty-third Ncav York, were found in the
morning surrounded by water ; the rain having Avithin
three hours risen so rapidly that many were standing iu
water above their waists, while others Avere clinging
to bushes for support. Boats were procured, and the
drenched pickets were removed from their disagreeable
positions. The army was divided into two wings, one on the south
and one on the north side of the Chickahominy. The line
of battle was in the form of a V : Keyes' and Heintzel
man's corps on a line from Bottom's Bridge to Seven
Pines, forming the left arm of the V, and Franklin's,
Sumner's and Porter's on the north bank of the Chicka
hominy, from Bottom's Bridge to Gaines' Farm, the right
arm. Keyes' corps, now composed of Casey's and Couch's
divisions, had crossed the river at Bottom's Bridge on the
24th, and after considerable skirmishing Avith the enemy,
had established itself on the road from Richmond to
Williamsburgh, about six miles from Richmond, and as
far from the Chickahominy, at a fork in the road called
Seven Pines. Heintzelman's corps had followed, and
occupied a position in the rear near the river. Casey's
division occupied an advance position, and Couch the
second line. One of the roads from this point, called
the nine-mile road to Richmond, crossed the Richmond
and York River railroad north of Seven Pines, at a place
called Pair Oaks. The country was wooded and marshy,
and General Casey was not able to throw his pickets out

BATTLE OF SEVEN PINES. 67
more than a thousand yards in advance of his line of
battle. Both divisions at once intrenched themselves, and
slashed the forests, that any approach of the enemy might
be discovered, and to Aviden the sweep of their guns.
Here the two divisions remained, having occasional skir
mishes with the enemy, until the morning of the 31st of
May. During the night before, the rain had fallen in torrents.
Thunders rolled along the sky, and the heavens blazed
with perpetual flashes of lightning. The morning found
the earth drenched by the floods, and the men of Casey's
division rose from their beds of mud to fight the battle of
Seven Pines. '
It became evident to General Casey early in the day
that the enemy designed to attack him in force. He
accordingly ordered his division under arms, and made
such dispositions of his forces as seemed best calculated
to resist the onset.
At half-past twelve the attack was commenced. Large
bodies of rebels emerged from the cover of the woods,
and at once commenced a brisk fire of musketry and
artillery, driving in the picket line, and pressing forward
against the Union line of intrenchments. The numbers
of the enemy were now seen to be greatly disproportion
ate to those of the single division opposed to them, and
General Casey called for help. Couch's division was
under arms, acting as support, but not yet engaged.
Some of the new troops, thus pressed by overwhelming
numbers broke and retreated in disorder ; but the division
at large nobly withstood the mighty host which assailed
it in front, flank and rear. The forces of the enemy
constantly increased; and the single division was now
fairly invested by the exultant foe, who pressed forward,
unmindful of the losses inflicted by Casey's troops.
Again and again the enemy came on in masses, receiv-

68 HOOKEE AND KEAENEY TO THE EESCUE.
ing the shot and shells, Avhich tore open their ranks,
closing up the gaps, and pushing steadily on to the
assault. Against these repeated attacks of superior num
bers of confident troops, who constantly arrived in fresh
numbers, and, forming under cover of the woods, rushed
against our lines, Casey's division held its ground three
hours, until almost half its number were destroyed. The
execution done on the rebels was great. All means of
transportation at their command, were brought into requi
sition to carry off the wounded to Richmond ; and their
dead lay piled upon the bloody field. The white-haired
veteran. General Casey, was present wherever the danger
seemed greatest. Riding along his lines, encouraging his
troops, and making his dispositions for repelling the over
whelming assaults, his heroism inspired bravery in the
hearts of the men, and prevented defeat from becoraing a
rout. General Keyes Avas directing the movements of the
second line, held by General Couch. Portions of the divi
sion were rallied, and with the aid of Couch's troops and
a brigade of Kearney's division, Avhich that never tiring
general had just led on to the scene of conflict, the
attempt was made to retake the line of works just lost,
but without success.
By this time General Heintzelman had arrived with his
corps ; and orders Avere given to fall back to a third line.
The enemy made one more desperate attempt to crush the
retreating division, but they Avere repulsed with fearful
loss, and here commenced the turning of the tide in the
conflict. The line of battle as now formed was nearly two mileB
in the rear of the position of the morning, at Fair Oaks.
Heintzelman's and Keyes' corps at once proceeded to
strengthen this position, and before dark the brave fel
lows of Sedgwick's division, of Sumner's corps, were on
the ground, ready to assist in repelling the progress of the

hooker's chaege. 69
enemy. Richardson's division, not far behind, arrived at
sunset ; and now the Union army was prepared for any
attempt which the rebels might see fit to make. The efforts
which the enemy were now making to break through our
flank on the left at White Oak Swamp, were, by this
timely arrival of SedgAvick, thAvarted. Had the confeder
ates succeeded in this, the retreat of Keyes' corps and that
part of Heintzelman's on the ground must have Ijgfn cut
off, and our army destroyed. The rebels, not satisfied
Avith a partial victory, and determined to destroy the left
wing of our army, then thrust beyond the river, renewed
their assaults, and again and again pushed forward.
Gathering in masses under eover of the forest, they Avould
dash upon our lines with impetuous fury ; only to be sent
reeling back by a hurricane of leaden and iron hail.
Sedgwick and the intrepid Kearney fought their divisions
Avith greatest skill ; and by their oAvn exaraple animated
and encouraged their men. Night closed upon the scene;
and at eight o'clock the fighting had ceased. The rebels,
so exultant at their success in the early part of the day,
Avere now hopeless of turning their victory to any good
account ; for their last assaults had met with such terrible
repulses, that to rencAV the attack in force in the morning,
would be but a useless waste of life to them. Still, they
held their ground, and on the morning of June 1st, made
some demonstrations against parts of our line, which were
gallantly met.
Finally, General Hooker, who here sustained the enviable
reputation he had so nobly earned at Williamsburgh, led
his command across the open space in front of our line, a
space not more than one-fourth of a mile Avide, beyond
Avhich the ground was interrupted by forests, to attack
the enemy.
With quick and steady step, the Avell trained division
advanced across the field, deploying to the right and left ;

70 A LOST OPPOETUNITY.
and before half crossing the open space their pace was
quickened to a run ; constantly firing as they dashed for
ward on the enemy.
Presently the edge of the forest was reached ; and here
considerable opposition was met with; yet, after a mo
ment's halt, the division again pushed forward into the
Avoods. The din of arms was heard for a few moments,
then the firing ceased, and our troops were in possession
of the ground.
The rebels were, in their turn, now panic-stricken ; and
hundreds of them rushed back to the confederate capital,
spreading the alarm, and declaring that the Yankees were
about to walk into the city.
It was doubtless a sad mistake "that this victory was not
followed up. The rebels, who had greatly outnumbered
us in the fight of the day before, were now themselves
outnumbered. They had suffered severe repulses on the
evening before, and on this day their rear-guard had been
whipped by General Hooker.
A renewal of the attack in force on the part of the
Union army Avould have probably resulted in the capture
of the beleaguered city. As it was, the coramander of
the Union army was on the north side of the Chickahom
iny, many miles from the scene of action, and no order for
a forward movement was given.
Such was the battle of Seven Pines or Fair Oaks.
Fought for the most part, by a single division of less than
six thousand men, against the combined forces of Long-
street, Hill, Smith and Huger ; all under the immediate
coraraand of the Commander-in-Chief of the rebel army,
General Johnston.
General Johnston had become satisfied, from the reports
of his scouts, that only Keyes' corps, of two divisions, was
across the Chickahominy. Believing that the bad state
of the roads and the swollen condition of the Chicka-

Johnston's plans. 71
hominy, Avould effectually prevent reinforcements reaching
this corps before he could fall upon it and crush it, he
had determined to bring an overAvhelming force against
it. Accordingly, the divisions of Longstreet, Hill, Smith
and Huger, were placed iu position to make a sudden and
destructive assault upon the front and flanks of Casey's
exposed division, in the confident expectation of annihilat
ing it. But, instead of giving way before this av.alanche,
as Johnston had contemplated, the regiments of the divi
sion, Avith few exceptions, manfully held their ground for
three hours.
The Commander-in-Chief reported to the Secretary of
War that Casey's division " gave way unaccountably and
discreditably." Five days later he promised to modify
his charge, if he found occasion ; but it was only in his final
report, made many months after leaving the army, he Avas
constrained to acknowledge the good conduct of the divi
sion — an act of tardy justice to deserving men.
NotAvithstanding the great disparity in the numbers of
those engaged on the rebel and Union sides, the losses
Avere nearly equal. The Union army lost four thousand
five hundred and seA'enteen in killed and wounded, and
one thousand tAVO hundred and twenty-two missing.
Nearly one-half of all these losses Avere from Casey's and
Couch's divisions. General Johnston reported the rebel
loss in Longstreet's and HiU's commands at four thousand
two hundred and thirty-six.
Araong the trophies of the enemy, were ten pieces of
artillery and four stands of colors.
With these trophies, they Avere satisfied to boast their
victory ; regardless of the fact that they had been the
assailants in superior numbers, and had been repulsed Avith
fearful slaughter, and that the only fruit of their boasted
A'ictory was a feAV guns and colors, as an offset for the loss
of thousands of their soldiers. General Johnston himself

72 RISE OF THE CHICKAHOMINY.
was among the rebel wounded, and was forced to give
over the command to another.
On the other hand, the Union army might, had the
corps on the north bank of the Chickahominy promptly
followed that of General Sumner across the river, have
easily entered Richmond. But the hesitancy which char
acterized the movements of the army lost to us all the
advantages of success. Early next day the treacherous
river had risen to such an extent as to render crossing
almost impossible ; so the army remained as the battle of
Fair Oaks had left it ; three corps on the south, and two
on the north side of the Chickahominy, separated by an
almost unsurmountable obstacle.
From our camp at Gaines' Farm, the men of the Sixth
corps could see the smoke of battle and hear the roar of
artillery and musketry; but were not able to go to the
assistance of their fellows.
The distance from Gaines' Farm to Fair Oaks was, in a
direct line, scarcely more than four miles, but as all com
munications with the opposite side of the river were by
way of Bottom's Bridge, the distance was about fifteen
miles. The Vermont brigade essayed a crossing in our
own front on the afternoon of the second day of the fight,
with the view of rendering assistance on the other side,
but the attempt was abandoned.
General McClellan, with General Hancock and other
officers, took a position in the line of our Third brigade,
on Sunday, where they remained watching the progress
of the battle from afar until darkness shut out the view.
On the day after the battle, rain poured in a continuous
storm; deluging the roads and swelling what had been
but rivulets the day before, into rivers. In the midst of
this tempest of rain, Casey's division, destitute of tenta
and blankets, weary from fighting and disheartened by
injustice, marehed six mUes to the rear to find a new

golden's farm. 73
encampment. On the 5th of June, Smith's division, of
the Sixth corps, Avas ordered to cross the Chickahominy,
and encamp on " Golden's Farm," nearly opposite. The
Third brigade took the advance, folloAved by the rest of
the division. Owing to the swollen state of the river,
and the impossibility of bridging it, the division Avas
forced to march to Dispatch Station before effecting a
crossing. The march was a long and weary one to gain a
distance less than three miles.
Some of our troops were found skirmishing with the
enemy, and our batteries opened upon the gray coats, who
quickly surrendered the ground and took to flight. Our
Second division encamped in a pleasant locality, yet in
close proximity to the swamp.
The Chickahominy wound its doubtful course among
multitudes of islands scarcely raised above the surface,
yet covered with trees, shrubs and A'ines in profusion,
Avithin a few rods of our camp. Beyond us, in our front,
were forests of luxuriant growths of trees and climbing
shrubs, and the country all about us was interrupted Avith
rank growth of timber. The division at once proceeded,
as did all the other divisions in the army, to throw up
earthworks ; making slow advances at certain points by
pushing these works further toward the front. On the
IStli, we were joined by the other division, Slocum's.
The Sixth corps now formed the right of the new line of
battle on the south of the river. The line reached from
Golden's Farm to Fair Oaks. Day and night the men
worked at the breastAVOrks and bridges. One-third of
the army was employed constantly at these works, and the
immense lines of intrenchments Avere marvels of achieve
ments in engineering. These were all constructed under
the flre of the enemy ; no day passing without its skirmish.
Soldiers Avere daily brought to the hospitals with Avounds,
even in the most quiet times.
10

74 CHICKAHOMINY FEVERS.
Everything combined to exhaust the energies of the
men and produce fevers, diarrheas and scurvy. Day after
day the men worked under a burning sun, throwing up
the imraense walls of earth, or toiled standing to their
Avaists in water, building bridges. Night after night they
Avere called to arms, to resist some threatened attack of
the enemy. Their clothing and tents were drenched with
frequent rains, and they often slept in beds of mud.
With the hot weather, the malaria became more and more
deadly. The whole country was alternately ovei-floAved
and drained; and the swamps were reeking with the
20oisoned air. The hospitals became daily more crowded.
The strongest were constantly falling. Diarrhea, typhoid
fever, and other miasraatic maladies, became almost uni
versal. Men who worked at the breastworks one day
Avould be found in the hospitals on the next, burning Avith
fever, tormented with insatiable thirst, racked Avith pains,
or Avild with delirium ; their parched lips, and teeth black
ened with sordes, the hot breath and sunken eyes, the
sallow skin and trembling pulse, all telling of the violent
workings of these diseases.
Day after day, scores of brave men, who had left their
northern homes to aid in the hour of their country's need,
were borne to lowly graves along the banks of that fatal
river ; and at times one might sit in the door of his tent
and see as many as six or seven funeral parties bearing
comrades to their humble resting places.
Hospital steamers plied constantly from the White
House to Washington, Alexandria and Philadelphia, bear
ing thousands of these victims of disease; and many, with
stoic indifference, lay doAvn in their shelter tents and
gave themseh-es over to death, Avithout oven applying to
comrades or surgeons for assistance.
Everywhere at the north, men were seen on cars and
steamers, on the streets and in the houses, whose salloAV

PROGRESS OF THB SIEGE. 75
countenances, emaciated appearance, and tottering steps,
marked them as the victims of "Chickahominy fever."
Express cars groaned with the Aveight of coffins contain
ing the remains of youths Avho but a few months before
had gone to the Avar in the pride of their strength, and had
noAv yielded, not to the bullets of the enemy, but to the
grim spirit Avhich hoA'cred over that river of death.
Our army seemed on the point of annihilation from
disease ; and matters were constantly groAving worse. At
White House landing, great temporary hosjDitals were
established, where hundreds languished, and waited their
turn to be sent north.
Thus, for nearly a month, the two arraies looked each
other in the face, each engaged in throwing up defenses
against the approach of the other, but neither atterapting
to bring on any general engagement. The pickets of the
tAVO opposing forces were within speaking distance, but
they contented themselves with watching each other, and,
as a general rule, amicable relations existed between them.
But occasionally, Avhen a belligerent regiment Avould be
on picket on one or the other side, some felloAV, who
imagined he had a capital chance to pick off an opposing
picket, Avould blaze aAvay ; Avhen in a raoraent the whole
line on either side Avould flash Avith the discharge of mus
ketry. Night demonstrations on the part of the enemy
were so comraon, that it Avas a rare thing for our troops
not to turn out at midnight, or at two or three o'clock in
the morning, and stand under arras until after daylight.
The men of our Third brigade were a part of the tirae
engaged in building a strong fort, near the river bank,
which, in honor of our dashing brigadier, was naraed Fort
Davidson. A new regiment Avas added to DaA'idson's brigade
during tho month of June, the Twentieth New York.
The regiment Avas composed entirely of German Turners.

76 A GERMAN REGIMENT  STUAET's RAID.
Nearly every man had served his three years in the Prus
sian service.
They had been stationed in the works at NeAvport
News, and their drill excelled anything in the army,
either in the regular or volunteer branch of service.
Their full ranks, and their unsoiled uniforms, were in
striking contrast with the shattered and worn-out regi
ments forming the rest of the brigade.
Among the causes of discouragement and anxiety for
the safety of our army, was the notorious raid of General
Stuart in our rear. This energetic officer, with a body of
about two thousand rebel cavalry, had swept round our
entire rear, causing something of a panic, not only at
White House, where all the shipping dropped down the
river, but in the ranks of the army, where it was feared
that our communications Avere destroyed, and we Avere
liable to be hemmed in and overthrown at any time.

CHAPTER IX.
THE SEVEN DATS' BATTLES.
The army united— Plans and counter plans— Battle of Fair Oaks — Lee's plan—
The situation— Stonewall Jackson on the flank— Battle of Mechanicsville— Joy
In camp— Porter's corps retreats— An astonished army— Battle of Gaines' Farm
— Slocum's di"vlsion at Gaines' Farm— Retreat to the river-Battle of Golden's
Farm— A young hero — A Union victory— Our right exposed- The sick aban
doned—A night of sorrow— The grand retreat commenced— Sad scenes at
Savage's Station— A meteor railroad train.
At length, after great labor, the bridge across the river,
near our own camps, was finished. It Avas an immense
structure, spanning not only the river, but the swampy
banks on either side to a great distance. Sumner's forces
had also rebuilt and enlarged the bridge beloAV, and now
the two wings of the army, after weeks of separation,
were united by means of these bridges. Communications
were now rapid and easy, and there was no difficulty in
reinforcing one wing with troops from the other.
General McClellan now determined to act ; and an
advance of our picket line was ordered on the 25th of
June, preparatory to a general forAvard moveraent.
But General McClellan was not alone in deciding upon
this particular time for commencing offensiA'e operations.
General Lee, who had succeeded to the coraraand of
the rebel army when Johnston was Avounded, aAvare of
McClellan's intentions of approaching the city by regular
approaches, and aware that it was in no condition long to
withstand a siege, determined to act on the offensive.
The tAVO armies Avere noAV about equal in numbers, each
consisting of a little more than one hundred thousand men

78 BATTLE OF PAIR OAKS.
for duty.* Our own army had recently been reinforced
by McCall's division, and five or six thousand troops from
Fortress Monroe ; and the rebel army had been strength
ened by the accession of Jackson's force, of nearly twenty
thousand, from the valley.
McClellan's first move was to advance the left wing,
under Heintzelman, who occupied the ground on which
had been fought the battle of Fair Oaks. General Hooker
was ordered to advance his division about a mile across a
clearing in his front. This the gallant general essayed to do.
In front of his camp, before reaching the clearing, was
a thick entanglement of low pines and bushes, filled with
swamps and ponds. This chaparral was about five hund
red yards wide. Beyond was the clearing, in which were
the rifle pits and strong redoubts of the enemy, and still
farther on a forest. Hooker's brigades, commanded by
Sickles, Grover and Robinson, protected on the left flank
by Kearney's division, and on the right by a Massachu
setts regiment, moved into the tangled forest, about eight
o'clock on the morning of the 25th. Grover's pickets
soon fell in with those of the eneray, and sharp skirmish
ing commenced; but the rebel picket line was steadily
driven back into the clearing, where it Avas strengthened
by their reserve. The fighting noAV became general. The
woods rang with the sharp sounds of musketry and
the deep tones of the artillery, and clouds of smoke
obscured the scene from view. Ambulances were emerg
ing from the woods bearing the Avounded ; and bloody
forms on stretchers, and the less seriously wounded lean
ing on the shoulders of comrades, made up a melancholy
procession. The fire in the edge of the Avoods and in the open fields
increased in intensity, until all of Hooker's and part of
* Our army had 115,000 men for duty.

lee's plan. 79
Kearney's forces were brought into action. The rebels
finally retreated across the field to the cover of their rifle
pits. The retreat Avas sIoav and orderly, every foot of the
way being disputed.
Our men Avere exultingly pushing forAvard, determined
to drive them from their pits also, when an order from
General McClellan directed General Hooker to retire Avith
his division to the original position. Here was evidently
a sad misconception of the state of affairs, for, Avhen the
Commander-in-Chief, an hour later, arrived on the field
and consulted with General Hooker, the men were ordered
forward once more to occupy the ground they had once
taken and surrendered.
This time there was less resistance. The rebels steadily
gave way, giving up their rifle pits and yielding the whole
of the open field. Under cover of the forest beyond the
field they made another stand, and late in the afternoon a
brigade charged upon our lines ; but they were bravely
met by men of Grover's brigade, and driven back, leaving
three hundred of their dead on the field.
By the action of this day, our line was advanced on the
left nearly a mile. The victory, such as it was, cost us six
hundred and forty men in killed and wounded. The men
remained under arms all night, in readiness to meet the
frequent sorties of the enemy, who intended nothing more
serious than preventing reinforcements from being sent to
the right of our line.
Little did General Lee heed these operations on our left.
It Avas all the better for his plan that the attention of our
army should be engaged in this direction. He Avas ready
now to execute his plan of raising the siege of Richraond ;
and a tremendous force had been massed against our right,
ready to advance upon it and our rear, with the hope of
cutting the Union army off from its supplies, and j)lacing
it in the greatest jeopardy.

80 THE SITUATION.
Let us, for a moment, recall the position of our army,
which, since the first battle of Fair Oaks, has been some
what changed. Porter's corps, consisting of McCall's,
Morrell's and Sykes' divisions, still held the right, on the
north bank of the Chickahominy, at Gaines' Farm and
Mechanicsville. The several bridges which had been
constructed since the 1st of June, formed avenues of
coraraunication between the two portions of the army
separated by the river. Next, near the river, and opposite
Porter's corps, was our own Sixth corps, Slocum's and
Smith's divisions. Smith's nearest the stream. Then, on
our left was Sumner's corps, Sedgwick's and Richardson's
divisions ; and finally, on the left of all, was Heintzelman,
with his divisions under Hooker and Kearney, and Couch's
division, of Keyes' corps. Casey's shattered diAdsion was
in the rear, guarding Bottom's Bridge and the road to the
White House.
The line stretched from Mechanicsville across the river
to Golden's Farra, and thence to Fair Oaks.
The whole of this extensive line was protected by
earthworks of marvelous magnitude, and whole forests of
timber slashed in front of some parts of the line formed
almost impenetrable abattis.
On the other hand, Lee's army had been as actively
engaged in ditching and throwing up redoubts, and Rich
mond was surrounded by a cordon of most powerful
works. StoncAvall Jackson had been recalled from the
Shenandoah Valley ; and now, Avith an army of thirty
thousand men, a very large proportion of them being men
of his original array, he hung upon our right and rear,
ready to corae down upon our communications and flank
like an avalanche.
Scarcely had General McClellan finished his dispatch to
the Secretary of War, in which he announced the glad
tidings that he had got his pickets in the right place.

STONEWALL JACKSON ON THE FLANK. 81
preparatory to a general advance, before he was aroused
from his illusion by the intelligence that the pickets on the
right were being driven in. He had already, during
the day, learned something of Jackson's position, and it
was noAV easy to divine the intention of that energetic chief.
During the night. Hill and Longstreet crossed the
upper Chickahominy ; and, by rapid marches, confronted
the pickets of McCall's division at Mechanicsville before
daylight on the morning of the 26th. Jackson, delayed
by our skirmishers, was still behind. Without waiting for
Jackson, Hill ordered an attack by daylight. Our pickets
were forced back upon the main line, and the battle of
Mechanicsville commenced. McCall's division, consist
ing of Reynolds', Meade's and Seymour's brigades, was
strongly posted behind Beaver Dam creek; a stream about
twelve feet wide, wooded on either side, with water waist
deep, and a steep bank on the side held by the Union
forces. Along this bank, timber had been felled, rifle pits
dug, and other careful preparations made for meeting an
attack. The only accessible places for artillery were the
two roads Avhich crossed the stream, one at Ellison's MUls,
and the other a mile above. Against these two points
the rebels directed their principal efforts. Hill's division
made the first assault. Clearing their rifle pits, his men
rushed forward with a yell, gaining the creek, within a
hundred yards of our line. Here the creek and the
almost impenetrable abattis checked their progress, and a
murderous fire of shot, shells, cannister and musketry was
opened upon them, which threw them into confusion, and
repulsed them with fearful loss. Again and again the
charge was renewed ; each time with equal want of suc
cess. More and more grand and terrible the battle
became, as the combatants struggled with each other at
close range. Thus far there had been no such terrific
artUlery firing during the war. The uproar was incessant,
11

82 BATTLE OF MECHANICSVILLE.
and sublime beyond description. Finding the position
too strong to be carried by direct assault, the confederates
fell back to their rifle pits ; leaving their many dead and
Avounded on the ground. The men of McCall's division,
securely posted behind their breastworks, had suffered
comparatively little ; our loss not exceeding three hundred
in kUled and wounded, oat of the six thousand belonging
to the brigades engaged.
On the other hand, the rebels had lost heavUy. From
their own official reports, it is known that of the twelve
thousand engaged, the loss in killed and wounded was
fifteen hundred ; Ripley's single brigade losing five hund
red and seventy-four men.
Both Davis and Lee were present on the field, directing
in person the movements, and exposed to the fire where
the battle was fiercest. General McClellan was at the
head-quarters of General Porter, Avhere he remained until
the close of the battle, when he rode over the field.
From the camp of the Sixth corps, the battle-field Avas
not more than four or five miles distant in a direct line,
though by way of the bridge it was much farther.
We could watch the columns of smoke as they rolled
up from the scene of carnage, and see the flashes of burst
ing shells, like sheets of lightning in dark thunder-clouds,
and hear the treraendous roar of arms. In the afternoon,
as the rebels charged upon a certain part of our lines, we
could watch the movements of both armies. Our only
part in the engagement was to stand to arms, ready to
rush to the assistance of those on the other side of the
river, at a moment's notice. In the evening, the news of
our success spread through the army, creating the wildest
joy. Men who had, by constant hardships, and by con
tinually looking on death, almost forgotten the feelings
of joy, now broke out in loud shouts of gladness ; and for
the first time in many weeks the bands played those heart-

JOY IN CAMP. 83
stirring national airs, which in times past had been AVont
to fill the hearts of the soldiers Avith enthusiasm.
The night passed in constant Avatchfulness, the men
resting upon their arms; for a renewal of the attack
might be expected at any moment. Still, the men of the
whole of the left wing of the army Avere exulting in
the glad hope that in the morning we were to march into
Richmond, almost without opposition ; and that their high
hopes of success were to be speedily realized. The prize
which they had so often been promised, seemed almost
within their grasp. Men shook hands Avith each other,
sung patriotic songs, and shouted in greatest glee.
Bands continued to ring out their notes of gladness
until long after nightfall ; general officers rode about
announcing a grand victory; all was the most intense
excitement ; and the men lay down upon their arms to
dream of reveling in the streets of Richmond before
another night. For weeks, even the drum calls and the
bugle notes had not been heard in our camps. Noav, as
if suddenly waked from a long slumber, the strains of the
bugle and the roll of the drum were added to the general
rejoicing. It was known that the rebel troops engaged Avere not
those of Jackson. He then must be working around to our
rear. He was known to h.ave a very large force ; not less
than thirty thousand. It was evident that our communica
tions were in great danger, and that unless the main force
of our army, now on the right bank of the Chickahominy,
were hastily concentrated on the left bank, we could not
expect to hold the line to the Pamunkey another day. If
this were done, the rebels could easily prevent our retreat to
the James river, and leave us on the banks ofthe Pamunkey.
Accordingly, General McClellan gave up all hope of being
able to maintain the position of that portion of the army
on the north side of the Chickahominy, and at once issued

84 WHITE HOUSE ABANDONED.
orders with a vieAV of preparing for a change of base.
The quartermaster at White House Avas directed to " send
cars to the last moment, and load them Avith provisions
and ammunition." "Load every wagon you have," said
the dispatch, " with subsistence, and send them to Savage's
Station. If you are obliged to abandon White House,
burn everything you cannot get off."
The quartermaster was directed, also, to throw all his
supplies, not burned or sent to the army, up the James
river, and there establish depots of supplies. General
Casey, who was now in command of the guard at White
House, was instructed to see these orders carried out. He
burned immense quantities of stores, consisting of cloth
ing, subsistence, and other war material, and then hastily
marched his force to rejoin the army.
The evening of the 26th was passed in gladness over
our victory; but while the array was rejoicing at this
temporary success, it was losing one of the grandest
opportunities ever presented it for entering the rebel
capital. The whole plan of Lee had been based upon a
false calculation ; and had this mistake been improved by
our comraanders, the history of the war would have been
entirely changed. Both Lee and Davis believed that
the main body of our army was on the north side of the
Chickahominy; whereas, of the five corps constituting
our army, only one, that of Porter, remained on that side.
Under this erroneous impression, Lee had brought nearly
the whole of his army across the river to assail the Union
army on its right. This was known to our generals, for
while positive information had been received that Jackson,
with his large army, was making for our rear, the prisoners
taken during the day were from Hill's command, and from
them it was known that the troops of A. P. Hill, Long-
street and D. H. HUl, were confronting us on the right.
Thus, between our main force, of over seventy-six thou-

RETREAT OF POETER's CORPS. 85
sand men, and Richmond, less than tAventy-five thousand
rebels guarded their extensive line of AVorks. A concen
trated assault of the four corps on the south side of the
river must haA-e resulted in the utter rout of the force
opposed to them, and the road to Richmond Avould have
been opened.
But the error of General Lee was never suspected, and
this grand opportunity was lost.
During the night of the 26th, the heavy artillery and
baggage of Porter's corps was all sent across the river.
McCall's Avhole division, except a line of pickets left as a
blind, also fell back five miles below, to the vicinity of the
bridge at Gaines' Farm, where the three divisions of
the corps united.
The astonishment of the men on the south side of the
river on discovering, in the morning, that Porter's corps
had fallen back, was only equaled by their mortification
and disappointment, as they saw the long lines of rebels
advancing in the gray of the morning against our retreat
ing column.
They had believed, when night came on, that our arms
had achieved the first of a series of victories which was
to give us the rebel capital. Now they saw that our army
was already in retreat, and they gazed at the long train
of artillery and wagons, which had parked near us, Avith
downcast faces. From our catnp. Porter's division could
be distinctly seen, and we could watch the movements of
the rebels as they arrived upon the highlands, formed
their line on the range of hills opposite Porter, and
planted their guns near the large barn on Dr. Gaines' farm.
The position of Porter's corps was a strong one ; and
he was ordered to hold it till night, and then to cross the
bridge and burn it after him; the upper bridge having
been burned during the night. The country between the
two lines Avas rolling, somewhat wooded, but in parts

86 BATTLE OF GAINES' FAEM.
cleared. Both parties went to work to cut down trees in
their front.
The rebel forces, who supposed on the 26th that they
were fighting our main army, were surprised, on the morn
ing of the 27th, to find that only a picket line opposed
them. They were early astir ; and advancing against the
slender line, drove it back. The whole rebel force
advanced cautiously; A. P. Hill and Longstreet bearing
to the right, while D. H. Hill turned to the left, to unite
with Jackson, who was supposed to be coming in from the
rear. Owing to the uneven country over which they were
advancing, their march was slow; for they might fall
upon a Union line of battle behind any rounding swell of
land. It was afternoon before the rebel army had fully formed
its line on Gaines' Farm. The position of that army was
nearly that of the same army when Grant attacked it at
Coal Harbor two years later, only it was faced about.
The battle opened about one o'clock, by skirmishing on
both sides ; but it was not till an hour later that HUl's
division dashed across the open space, rushing through
the swamp, and under a severe fire from our batteries and
musketry, pushed up the slope on which was posted our
line. The confederate troops advanced almost up to
Sykes' line of battle on the right, and in other parts of
the line actually forced back the Union troops ; but they
were able to hold their position only a short time, when
they were forced back with great loss.
Longstreet now advanced against the left of our line,
but he too met with a stern reception, and he withdrew to
rearrange his plan of attack.
By this time Jackson was approaching, and noAV the
overwhelming forces of the enemy proraised to crush
the single corps ; but Slocum's division of our Sixth corps
was ordered to the relief of the Fifth corps, and arrived

slocum's DIVISION AT GAINEs' FARM. 87
at four o'clock. The divisioii Avas sent into the fight at
once, each brigade being ordered separately to strengthen
the Aveak points of the line. Thus, Avhile the division
fought bravely, and suffered equally in proportion with the
Fifth corps, its incorporation with that corps for the time
deprived it of the honors to which it Avas justly entitled.
Bartlett, with his brigade, Avent to the aid of Sykes, who
Avas doubtfully struggling to hold his line ; but Avho noAV,
by the aid of the gallant brigade, was able to hurl the
ass.ailants back frora his front.
The rebel line being completed, Longstreet, A. P. Hill,
and Jackson all up with theu- troops, a general advance
was made.
The charge was raade with great spirit, the rebels
rushing over the open ground and floundering through
the swarap under a most writhing fire, but the position of
our forces was still too strong for thera. At all points
they Avere repulsed with terrible slaughter. First on the
right, where Sykes' regulars, supported by Bartlett's brig
ade, withstood the onset of Hill, the disordered and
disheartened confederates began to scatter in all direc
tions. One of the confederate generals reported that had not
his men fallen back themselves he Avould have ordered it.
" Men were leaving the field," says another general, " in
every direction ; two regiments * * * were actually
marching back under fire. Men were skulking from the
Avoods in a shameful manner. The woods on our left and
rear were full of troops in safe cover, from which they
never stirred." Such Avas the effect of the reception given
by the regulars. On our left they met with no better
success. These, too, fell back in disorder. Now a des
perate attempt was made against our center. The tactics
with Avhich we afterwards became so familiar on the part
of the rebels Avere brought to bear. This Avas in massing

88 A DOUBTFUL STRUGGLE.
troops against certain parts of our line and making
desperate onslaughts Avith a view of breaking the line.
The forces of Jackson, HUl and Longstreet threw them
selves fiercely against our works, but without being able to
drive our men back. Here it was that the First and Third
brigades of Slocum's division saved the wavering line, and
all the fury ofthe rebels was spent in vain. General Porter
directed Newton's brigade to its position in the center ;
Newton leading the Thirty-first New York and Ninety-
iifth Pennsylvania into the Avoods on one side, and the
gallant Colonel Matheson with the Eighteenth and Thirty-
second entering on the other, both in the face of a
destructive fire. The rebels charged upon the brigade
and gallantly the charge was met. Newton, seeing the
rebel line waver before the fire of his men, shouted " For
ward !" and the impetuous regiments cleared the woods
and drove the rebels more than seven hundred yards.
But the confederates, reinforced, pressed hard upon them
Avith overwhelming numbers, and Newton demanded aid.
Regiments from the New Jersey brigade rushed to the
assistance of their brothers of the Third brigade, cheering
as they advanced, and the position was held until the left
wing of Porter's corps gave Avay. For two hours the con
flict on this part of the line raged with terrible violence ;
the columns surging backward and forward, neither party
being able to gain any permanent advantage. Never had
we heard such volleys of musketry as now rolled along the
borders of the swampy Chickahominy. Artillery was less
used ; a strip of pine woods intervening between the posi
tion occupied by some of our batteries and the rebel line
preventing an accurate range. The attempt to break our
center was abandoned, and now immense forces were
brought against the left. The roar of battle became more
loud than before. The thousand continuous volleys of mus
ketry mingled in one grand tumultuous concert of death ;

RETREAT TO THE EIVEE. 89
while the booming of artillery, which Avas now brought
more into action, shook the earth for miles around. Under
the pressure of overwhelming numbers, one brigade gaA'^e
way ; and another on the extreme left, finding itself out
flanked, fought its Avay back to the upper bridge, Avhich
had been partially destroyed during the night, and, cross
ing to the south side of the river, gathered its shattered
regiments behind the breastworks of our Second division.
For two hours and a half the battle had raged fiercely
on this part of the line, and as these brigades on the
right gave way, the confusion spread all along. The
rebels, seeing the disorder, and encouraged by their suc
cess on the left, came on Avith redoubled fury ; and the
Avhole line gave way, and fell back to sorae high grounds
near the bridge. Here two brigades from the Third corps
appeared as reinforcements, and the retreat Avas checked.
The Fifth corps, with Slocum's division and the tAvo
brigades from the Third coi-ps, were able to hold their
position on the north side of the river till after dark.
But we had been beaten, and our losses were very
great. Twenty-two pieces of artillery fell into the hands
of the enemy. We lost two thousand prisoners, among
whom was General Reynolds, commanding one of McCall's
brigades; and our killed and wounded numbered about
four thousand. The rebels had suffered greater losses in
men, nine thousand five hundred having been killed or
wounded. The action, on the part of the rebels, had been
directed by General Lee in person, who was on the field
during the whole action, controlling the movements of his
troops, and attending to the details of the fight. On our
part, the battle had been fought entirely under the direc
tion of General Porter. General McClellan, believing he
could best Avatch the moA^ements at all parts of his line
from a central position, had remained during the day at
the Trent House, five milps from the scene of action.

90 BATTLE OF GOLDEN'S FAEM.
without deeming it necessary even to ride down to the
river by the Woodbury bridge.*
Meantime, Avhile the battle raged with fury on the north
side of the Chickahorainy, there was active work in our
own front. Our Second division, at Golden's Farm, was
joined on the left by Sedgwick's division, of the Third
corps. The two divisions held the key to Richmond ; for,
had the brave men composing thera, under the leadership
of such raen as Smith and Sedgwick, been ordered to
break through the rebel line, there Avas no power in their
front to restrain them. The rebels, aware of this, and
designing to prevent reinforcements from going to Porter,
made frequent feints all along our line. Now with pick
ets, and anon, gathering a considerable force, they would
advance upon some part of our works. From the nature
of the ground, they could appear in large force at one
point, then withdrawing, pass under coA'er of the woods
and reappear at another point ; thus keeping up the idea
of a large force.
These skirmishes and the artillery duels had been kept
up all day, to the annoyance of all.
Just at sunset, Davidson's brigade was ordered to cross
the river, by the Woodbury bridge, to reinforce the Fifth
corps. Preparations for moving were not coraplete, when
the enemy opened a fierce fire of artillery and musketry.
The idea of reinforcing the Fifth corps was at once aban
doned, and we hastily took refuge from the howling
missiles behind our breastworks. The artillery firing
increased, until the scene became in the highest degree
exciting. Our guns were answering the rebels with great spirit,
hurling shells fast and furiously, and clouds of smoke
rolled up from both the opposing lines. At length the
* McClellan's Report.

PEOGEESS OF THE BATTLE. 91
rsbel infantry was brought forward to charge our line.
Hancock's brigade of our Second division, and Burns' of
Sedgwick's division, were farthest in advance. Hancock
had taken up a critical position in front of the line of
Avorks, where his brigade Avas supporting a strong batterj'.
Against these two advance brigades the eneray pounced
Avith the hope of routing them by this sudden onset.
Against Hancock they made the most desperate atterapt,
but with no success further than driving in the picket line.
In return, the rebels were hurried back to the cover of the
woods from whence they came, leaving many dead and
wounded on the field. While the First brigade Avas thus
bravely withstanding the assault of the rebels, the Third
brigade and the Second occupied a second line, acting as
support, but neither were actively engaged ; yet several
of the regiments in the second line lost men by the shells.
During the night our Third brigade relieved Hancock's
regiments and remained in possession of the advanced
position until afternoon next day. We had moved from
our old position while the fight Avas in progress, and had
left everything except arms and ammunition.
We could hear the sound of ambulances in the front
where the rebels were gathering up their wounded, till
after midnight; and tOAvard morning they made a sally
upon a part of the line, but Avere quickly repulsed.
June 28th, the men of Davidson's brigade who had been
ordered the day before to leave haversacks, canteens,
blankets and tents, found in the morning that their carap
was occupied by another division, tired and hungry, who
had lost their blankets in the fights of the tAVO days
before, and who had now appropriated the haversacks
and blankets of our boys to their own use. Some con
fusion occurred upon making this discovery, but our boys
soon helped themselves to substitutes and bore their loss
on the whole very patiently.

92 A YOUTHFUL HERO.
Our picket line was relieved at 9 a. m., but before the
Avhole line Avas changed the rebel batteries opened upon
the moving companies a concentrated fire from twenty
pieces of artillery, putting a stop to the process. Shot
and shell carae tearing through our camps in every direc
tion, crashing through trees, throwing up great clouds of
dust, riddling tents and alarming the cooks and contra
band servants Avho remained in carap.
This artillery practice continued for an hour without
eliciting rauch reply frora our side, as our guns had been
nearly all withdraAvn from the front to join the train
preparatory to the retreat.
The rebels ceased their fire and we inferred that they
had withdrawn to some other point; but .it tAA'O o'clock
the mistake was discovered. A brigade of rebels was
seen to leap over their breastAvorks and rush toward our
line with yells and shouts like so many madmen. Our
picket line Avas forced back before this impetuous charge,
the pickets retreating to the main line.
The Thirty-third Ncav York held the principal part of
the picket line, but two companies frora the Forty-ninth
Pennsylvania of Hancock's brigade, and a detachment
from the Seventy-seventh New York also guarded a part
of the line in front of the Second diAnsion.
A part of the detachment from the Seventy-seventh
held a small advance redoubt or lunette Avhich had been
thrown up by Hancock's men. Over this work the rebels
rushed, unmindful of the bullets sent by the skirmishers,
and the guard Avas compelled to retreat in haste.
But all did not leaA'e that picket line.
• One youth, as brave a boy as ever shouldered a musket,
John Ham, of the Seventy-seventh regiment, had sworn
never to retreat before the enemy. Faithful to his Avord,
Avhen the handful of pickets Avere compelled to retreat
(and this was the first time that any part of his regiment

THE ENEMY REPULSED. 93
had ever fallen back before the enemy), ho stood his
ground, loading and firing as rapidly as possible, alone
defending the redoubt !
The rebels pressed upon him, and he fell riddled with
bullets. When, later in the day, we had driven the con
federates back to their Avorks, we recovered his body,
pierced by bullets and bayonets.
As the rebels neared our main line of battle, they were
met by a withering fire from our men, and, after maintain
ing the contest for a few moments, they broke and fled in
confusion, leaving the ground thickly strewed with dead
and wounded. Not satisfled with this repulse, they
reformed and came on again ; this time with less audacity
than at first. Again a murderous fire compelled them to
fall back, leaving more of their number on the field.
Among their wounded was Colonel Lamar, who Avas in
command of the charging regiments.
He was brought into our lines by Sergeant Bemis and
another soldier of the Seventy-seventh. He had been
formerly a mischievous member of congress from Georgia.
The final repulse of the rebels Avas made more complete
and more fatal to them by the timely aid of a section of
Mott's battery, which had come up and opened an enfilading
fire upon them from the left. Joyous cheers went up from
our men as they saw the rebels fleeing in all directions,
and it was only by the peremptory orders of their com
manders that they were restrained from following the
flying eneray.
A company of about fifteen rebels threw out a white flag
and voluntarily surrendered theraselves. Fifty dead rebels
and one hundred wounded remained in our front, whom
their comrades were allowed to remove, under flag of truce.
The Thirty-third New York had, during this engage
ment, sustained the principal shock ofthe enemy's charge;
and with that gallantry for Avhich they bore during their

94 OUE FLANK EXPOSED.
two years of service an enviable reputation, they met the
charge and repulsed the enemy.
By the retreat of the Fifth corps to the south side of
the Chickahominy, which was accomplished during the
night of the 27th and 28th, the rebel army was allowed
to approach the river at Gaines' Farm. By this movement
the camps of Davidson's brigade, which were upon the
extreme right of our line, near the river, and the two forts
Ave had erected, were rendered untenable ; for the rebel
guns shelled the whole position with ease. Our men
went in squads and brought away the most valuable prop
erty, including regimental papers and the knapsacks and
blankets. A few days before this, our whole corps, as
well as the other corps of the army, had been supplied
Avith an abundance of new tents. Staff and company
officers had their wall tents, and the private soldiers their
shelters. All these were destroyed by cutting them Avith
kniA-es ; as it was known that any attempt to remove
them would be discoA'cred by the rebels, who would at
once open all their batteries upon us.
Now, the feelings of the men underAvent a terrible
revolution. It Avas, for the first time, told them that the
array must retreat in all haste to the Jaraes river ! Our
brave fellows had looked with sad faces at Porter's
retreating column ; but that Avas felicity comj)ared with
Avhat they now experienced. Ea'Cu when the right Aving
was forced across the riA'er, they still had faith that their
braA'ery Avas to be rewarded Avith victory.
Noav, they felt that all was lost. General Davidson
rode through the camps, and announced to the command
ing officers of his regiments the mysterious information,
Avith directions to get off a few valuable articles and
abandon all else.
Already, by Porter's retreat, the brave fellows in Liberty
Hall Hospital, mangled and sick, groaning with wounds.

THE SIEGE OF EICHMOND ABANDONED. 95
and delirious Avith fevers, Avere abandoned, de-wrted, to fall
into the hands of an enemy known to be merciless.
And noAV the siege of Richmond Avas to be abandoned,
and the men Avho but two days before had exulted in the
glad hope of a speedy entrance into the city, which even
now lay just within our grasp, Avere to turn their backs as
fuffitives before their enemies ! It Avas a tme of humilia
tion and sorroAV. Every man was weighed doAvn with a
terrible anxiety. Officers hurried to and fro, silently and
hastily forwarding the preparations for the retreat. The
great caraA"an of army trains was on its way under the
direction of scores of officers, and with it were escorts of
caA-alry and infantry.
At three o'clock Sunday morning the 29th, the Sixth
corps quietly eA'"acuated its works and proceeded in the
direction of Savage's Station. The men slung their knap
sacks and quietly moved off. A scene of desolation met
their A-iew as they passed along. Tents cut to pieces,
commissary stores thrown upon the ground or burning in
heaps, blankets and clothing piled promiscuously about,
not considered worth carrying away; all indicating a
retreat under most disastrous circumstances.
We had been preceded 'by Keyes' corps, which had
started at noon the day before, crossed White Oak creek
and occupied the opposite side, a,cting as advance guard
for our long trains which Avere now making all haste
tOAvard the James riA'cr.
The endless streams of army wagons, artillery trains
and ambulances were all pouring doAvn the roads from
the various camps, and crowding into the narrow paths
that led to the opposite side of the Peninsula. Porter's
infantry mingled with the trains, and thousands of cattle
driA'en along through the AVOods by the roadside made a
strange scene. Franklin's, Sumner's and Heintzelman's
corps Avere to guard the rear, and it was with secrecy

96 THE RETREAT.
that we had left the rifle pits ; for the enemy Avas close
upon us ready to take advantage of every movement. A
picket guard was left to deceive the rebels, while regi
ment after regiment silently disappeared, leaving only the
pickets to hold the long line of earthworks. These brave
men waited hour after hour for the signal to retire. The
gray lights of the morning broke upon them, yet there was
no sign for them to join their commands. At length,
Avhen they had given up all hope of being relieved, they
were signaled to leave the breastAvorks, and under cover
of the morning mists, they quickly joined their comrades.
The Second division moved in the direction of Savage's
Station, Avhile the First kept on to the crossing of White
Oak Swamp, acting as rear-guard to Porter's corps. We
of the Second division kept along the high lands which
skirt the Chickahominy, when, after marching about tAvo
miles, the diA'ision Avas brought to bay by the pursuing
enemy. Facing about we waited in line of battle for our
trains to get out of the way ; when we again resumed
the retreat. While here. General McClellan, with his
iramense staff, rode by us on his way toAvard Harrison's
Landing. He passed White Oak Swamp the sarae day,
and waited the arriA^al of the army; Avhich, hindered by
battles and innumerable difficulties, did not come up Avith
its commander again till the 1st of July.
We arrived at Savage's Station at 4 p. m. Here trains
and troops were croAvded together in wonderful confusion.
Imraense heaps of coraraissary stores, arms and ammunition
were waiting destruction lest they should fall into the
hands of the enemy, and hundreds of sick and Avounded
men were taking sad leave of their friends ; for it had
been determined that these brave unfortunate men must
be left to the tender raercies of the rebels. Again the
division was formed in line of battle to protect our
pioneers and the regiments which Avere engaged in the

SCENES AT savage's STATION. 97
destruction of the stores. The long railroad bridge
across the river at this point had been burned. The
Avork of destruction Avent ou at a marvelous rate. Boxes
of hard bread, hundreds of barrels of flour, rice, sugar,
coffee, salt and pork were throAvn upon the burning piles
and consigned to the flames. One heap of boxes of hard
bread as large as a good sized dAvelling made a part of
the sacrifice. Boxes of clothing and shoes were opened
and every man as he passed helped himself to Avhatever
he thought Avorth carrying away. Notwithstanding thou
sands helped themselves, and huge boxes of clothing were
cast into the flames, Ave found on our return to the Penin
sula two years afterAvards, that the inhabitants for a long
distance around were clothed and shod with articles left
by us at Savage's Station on the grand retreat. The peo
ple had also made large gains by gathering up the coats,
pants, shirts and shoes left on the ground and selling them
in Richmond and elscAvhere.
It was easy thus to dispose of commissary and quarter
master's stores, but to destroy the immense magazines of
cartridges, kegs of powder, and shells, required more care.
These were loaded into cars ; a long train was filled with
these materials, and then, after setting fire to each car, the
train Avas set in motion down the steep grade. With
wildest fury the blazing train rushed ; each revolution of
the wheels adding noAV impetus to the flying monster, and
new volumes to the flames. The distance to the bridge
was tAVO miles. On and on the burning train thundered
like a frightful meteor. Noav, the flaraes being corarauni
cated to the contents of the cars, terrific explosions of
shells and kegs of poAvder lent ncAV excitement to the
scene. The air Avas full of shrieking, howling shells,
the frasrments of Avhich tore throusrh the trees and
branches of the forest ; and huge fragments of cars Avere
seen whirling high in the air.
13

98 A METEOR TEAIN.
At length the train reached the river ; and such was its
momentura, that, notwithstanding the bridge was burned,
the engine and the first car leaped over the first pier
in the streara, and the cars hung suspended. While this
destruction Avas going on. Smith's division moved back
beyond Savage's Station, toward White Oak Swamp,
raarching, with frequent halts, three or four miles, when
we were ordered to retrace our steps with all speed, to
reinforce Sumner's corps, which was engaging the enemy.
The heat of the day was most oppressive. Many of our
men fell with sunstroke. Among those who thus suffered
was General Davidson.

CHAPTER X.
THE GRAND RETREAT.
Lee's army in pursuit— Sumner and Smith at Bay— Battle of Savage's Station—
The A'ermont Brigade — Sick and wounded abandoned — Retreat to AVhite Oak
Swamp— Battle of AVhite Oak Swamp — An astonished division — A night march
— A mj-stery — In sight of the James — Battle of Malvern Hill — Departure ofthe
princes — Gloom and anxiety — Lee's attack — The rebels demoralized.
-Meanwhile the rebel army, finding no force in front of
them, were at first at a loss to determine what course Ave
had taken ; but when it was discovered that we had with-
draAvn from before both Avings of their army and that our
base of supplies at White House had been abandoned, it
was quickly divined that the Union army Avas retreating
to the James river. Stuart, with his cavalry, had dashed
down to White House and found only heaps of smoulder
ing ruins ; and from the absence of all motion in front of
the right of their line, it was clear that no attempt was to
be made on Richmond. Finding himself thus unexpect
edly victorious, Lee at once ordered his forces, now on the
north bank of the Chickahominy, to cross over and pursue
the retreating army.
During the night of the 28th, they had been actively
engaged in rebuilding the bridge destroyed by General
Porter, and early on the moi-ning of the 29th, the main
body of Lee's army was pouring across the river. HUl
and Longstreet moved rapidly so as to interpose between
our army and Richmond, and to be able to strike us on the
flank; two other divisions followed on the Charles City
road, and Jackson, AAdth his corps, moved down the bank
of the Chickahominy, threatening our rear.

100 SUMNEE AND SMITH AT SAVAGE's STATION.
To resist any attack from these approaching columns,
Sumner's and Heintzelman's corps, and our Second division
of the Sixth corps, Avere formed in line of battle before
Savage's Station.
For hours our division, Avith Sumner's corps, stood in
the open field watching the enemy. Heintzelman with
drew his corps and left Sumner and Smith to stem the
tide that was destined to pour upon us. It seems to have
been the impression of General Heintzelman, who had
listened Avith credulity to the stories of the immense supe
riority of the enemy in nurabers, that all hope of resisting
the power of Lee's army Avas gone, and that there remained
nothing for us but to make the best of our way to the
James river Avithout stopping to give the enemy battle.
In the vieAV that there was no safety but in retreat, he
was guided by the opinion of the Commander-in-Chief,
who had no thought of any further resistance than should
suffice to bring the men and as much of the material of
the army as could be brought by the teams across the
Peninsula. Not so the old war horse Sumner. He would
gladly have attempted, a few hours later, to have " pushed
the rebels into the Chickahorainy," had not his application
for help been answered from beyond White Oak SAvamp,
" The rear-guard will folloAV the retreat of the main body of
the army." If there was no hope for the armj but rapid
retreat, then it was right for Heintzelman to leave the
road clear ; for as it was, with only Sumner's corps and
our own division, the road was packed so full that the
men could scarcely march. But if there was an opportu
nity of inflicting great injury upon the rebels, as Sumner
believed there was, then we are not surprised at the amaze
ment of the veteran when he discovered, the battle having
commenced, that one corps had left the line altogether.
We were now as near our new base of supplies as the rebels
were to theirs, and here we had enough to last the army

BATTLE OF SAVAGE's STATION. 101
many days. We were, as they had been, on the defensive ;
and we had the advantage in position. But there Avas
nothing left for those uoav on the line but to make the
best resistance possible under the circurastances, and then
fall back to the banks of the James.
About five o'clock the huge cloud of dust in the direc
tion of the camps we had deserted, gaA'C Avarning of the
approach of that part of the rebel army Avhicli Avas march
ing by the Charles City road ; and at sunset the thunders
of their artillery burst upon us. For an hour, only the
heavy roar of artillery was heard from both sides. Shells
screamed from one side to the other, and the bright flashes
and sharp reports, as they burst in the air, mingled with
the noise and smoke of the battle, as battery responded
to battery. Thus far no discharge of musketry Avas heard ;
but suddenly Magruder's men, Avith yells and shouts, rushed
to the charge. Streams of fire flashed along the two lines,
and the rattle of innumerable muskets told of closer work
than artillery duels. The brave fellows of Sumner, and
of our Vermont brigade, met the assailants with defiant
shouts that rang out above the roar of muskets and
cannon. Leaving Sumner's heroes to contend the ground on their
part of the line, let us glance more in detail at the part
borne by our oAvn division in this battle of Savage's
Station. The Vermont brigade having the advance of the division.
General Brooks at once thrcAV his reginients to the front.
The Fifth and Sixth as skirmishers, supported by the
Third and Second in line of battle, the Fourth being
thrown upon the flank, the brigade advanced rapidly
through a wide strip of woods. Suddenly, as the line of
skirmishers emerged from the woods they received the fire
of a battery and of a strong line of battle. The Fifth at
once charged upon the force in front, which scattered in

102 THE SICK AND WOUNDED ABANDONED.
all directions. The rebels were beaten back both from
our own and from Sumner's front ; but only to reform and
press forward again from the cover of the woods to which
they had retreated, to give battle with new vigor. Again
the flash and roar of musketry mingled with the wild yells
of the rebels and the manly shouts of the Unionists, and
again nothing could be seen but the clouds of smoke, out
of which sprung the Aivid blaze of the cannon, and the
quick flash of the rifles. Every noAV and then, fresh
troops arriA'ing upon the field Avould send up the shout
above all the other noise of battle, and then nothing but
the continuous din of arms could be heard. Three rebel
regiments noAV advanced against the Fifth Vermont ; but
the brave fellows secured a good position and held it,
in spite of every effort of the rebels to dislodge them.
The other regiments were not so hotly engaged as the
Fifth. Tavo hundred of the men of that regiment Avere
killed, wounded or raissing. Fifty of their dead bodies
Avere left on the field. Davidson's and Hancock's brig
ades guarded important positions, but were not actively
engaged. The conflict raged till eight o'clock, Avhen the confed
erates, repulsed at every point, beaten and discouraged,
left the field, and no more Avas seen of them. The whole
loss to the confederates in this engagement was about four-
hundred. Before midnight, the rear-guard had turned toAvard
White Oak Swamp, leaving many hundreds of our brave
wounded and sick men lying upon the green sward, or
collected under- rude shelters. Here, large groups Avere
gathered under the shade of some large tree ; and there,
long lines of staggering invalids, leaning upon their guns
or staffs for support, tottered after the retreating column,
in the hope of being able to reach with it a place of
safety.

AT WHITE OAK SWAMP. 103
Surgeons were left to care for these unfortunate ones
who could not get off; and a small amount out of the
abundance of provisions that Avas condemned to destruc
tion was saved for thera. Of all the sad scenes Avhich
had made the Peninsula swarm with melancholy mem
ories, nothing we had seen could compare Avith this most
sorrowful of all. Twenty-five hundred of our sick and
wounded were left to fall into the hands of the enemy.
At nine or ten in the evening, we withdrcAV from our
position before Savage's Station, and marched rapidly
toward White Oak SAvarap. The road was completely
filled Avith wagons, ambulances and artillery, mingled
with horsemen and infantry, all croAvding forward Avith
utmost speed. Never had our men experienced so severe
a march. They Avere obliged to pick their Avay among
the teams, losing all organization, each man bent upon
making his way forward regardless of others.
At length, toward morning, Ave crossed White Oak
creek, ascended a little elevation on the further side, and
lay down upon the grass completely exhausted and worn
out. The sun was shining brightly when we were roused
from our heavy slumbers. The morning passed in perfect
quiet except the rattle of the trains which had parked
here over night, and now were hurrying along the narroAV
road, wagons and artillery rushing by Avith all speed to
allow room for the immense collection to file out. This
process continued till afternoon, and was the only source
of excitement to us except the distant roar of battle on
the left, where MoCall and Hooker Avere hotly engaged.
Thus matters continued until about two o'clock ; the men
seeking shelter among the pines or resting quietly after
their Aveary night's march. A picket line composed of
men from the various regiments of our Third brigade.
Second division, guarding our extreme right flank. All

104 BATTLE OP WHITE OAK SWAMP.
were listless and little dreaming of the tremendous storm
of iron hail which was gathering to break upon us in a
moment. Suddenly, like a thunderbolt, seventy-five pieces of
artillery belched forth their sheets of flame and howling
shells; and in an instant, our whole division' Avas thrown
into the most perfect confusion by the deadly missiles
Avhich flcAV among us in every direction. Such cannonad
ing had never before been heard by our army, and before
our batteries could reply with any effect, the horses were
killed, the gunners dispersed and the pieces disabled. It
was a most perfect surprise ; no one Avas prepared ; men
ran hither and thither seeking shelter behind any object
which seemed even sufficient to conceal them from the
A'iew of the eneray.
It appeared that Jackson had effected a crossing of the
river, and Avith great secrecy made his Avay to the border
of White Oak creek, Avhere, concealed by trees and under
brush, he had massed his batteries, and Avhen all Avas in
perfect readiness had opened upon us this storm of death.
Unutterable confusion prevailed for a time ; riderless horses
galloped madly to the rear ; men rushed here and there ;
officers wandered about Avithout comraands, and men Avere
left Avithout directions hoAV to act. Generals Smith and
Davidson occupied an old fashioned wooden house Avhich
stood upon the broAV of the elevation above and facing
the bridge. About it Avere many orderlies, holding their
horses, or lounging carelessly, or chatting Avith each other.
The very first volley riddled the house with shells ; order
lies rushed from the place in consternation and the inmates
quickly appeared without, gazing in amazement tOAvard
the source of this unexpected cause of the tumult. The
gray-haired owner of the house was cut in two as he stood
in the door, and several other persons were more or less
injured. General Smith, at the moment the cannonade

THE RETREAT CONTINUED. 105
opened, was engaged at his rude toilette ; his departure
from the house Avas so hasty that he left his Avatch, Avhich
he did not recover. He coolly Avalked off to a less exposed
position and devoted himself to restoring order. One
regiraent, as soon as the shells began to fly, rushed pell-mell
to the rear, none of the men standing upon the order of
their going.
During all this time a few of the regiments held their
ground Avithout moving. By active exertions, on the part
of officers, order Avas restored aud the Avhole division fell
back a short distance, taking up a position at the edge of
a strip of Avoods, which comraanded an open field. General
Smith, with his accustomed fearlessness, Avas to be seen
riding along his lines exhorting his men to coolness, and
by his own composure restoring confidence to them. The
design of Jackson, to cross the stream, was frustrated.
The firing soon ceased, and, as darkness came on, quiet
again reigned, except now and then a little skirmishing.
At nine o'clock in the evening, under coA'er of the dark
ness, Ave silently and hastily Avithdrew. All orders were
given in whispers ; men refi-ained from conversation ; and
everything indicated the most intense anxiety on the part
of our generals for the safety of the army. Thus, in sil
ence, Ave hastened on our way; the weary and exhausted
troops scarcely able to keep awake Avhile they marched.
No better illustration can be given of the intense state of
anxiety, excitement and doubt Avhich prevailed, than
the following little incident, Avhich occurred during this
nicrht march. Our Third brisrade, leading the Second
diA'ision, had halted Avhere the narrow road passed
through a piece of woods, waiting a moment for the road
to clear, or for the guides to report the direction for the
march. Generals Franklin and Davidson, with officei-s of
Davidson's brigade, were grouped together near the head
ofthe column, sitting upon their horses. The weary men,
14

106 JAMBS RIVEE IN SIGHT.
almost overcome by sleep, were leaning upon their muskets
or lying in the road half asleep. Officers nodded and
swung this way and that in their saddles. The stillness of
death prevailed. In an instant, without any perceptible
cause, as though a breath from some evil genius had swept
the narrow track, every man was gone from the road.
They stood in the Avoods looking with breathless wonder
into the road for the unseen danger. After the first
moment of surprise, the word passed along, in low tones,
" Attention ! " Not a living being could be seen in the
road, and all was silence. Recovering from the first sur
prise. General Davidson looked for General Franklin, who,
but a moment before, was dozing by his side. " General
Franklin! General Franklin!" called the general in aloud
Avhisper, but nothing could be found of him, and we saw
no more of him that night. What was the cause of this
sudden alarm we never knew. Possibly, a riderless horse
might have suddenly startled those in front, or, quite as
likely, there Avas no cause Avhatever; but the incident
Ulustrates the state of feeling in the army that night.
At length, just as the gray light of the morning was
streaking the skies, we came in sight of the majestic
James river. Every man took a long breath, as though
relieved of a heavy load of anxiety. Officers clasped
their hands and exclaimed, " Thank God." The worn out
men stepped lighter, for they had arrived at the haven
of their hopes. Again they experienced a feeling of
safety. We filed into a beautiful clover field, and there the
exhausted columns sunk down for a brief rest. Brief it
Avas to be, for scarcely had two hours passed when Ave
were ordered into line of battle. We moved back
through the woods, crossing a little stream, and formed in
a wheat field, where the grain stood in shocks. Here we
remained, Avatching the enemy, who stood in our front,
contenting themselves with occasional sallies of. theii'^

BATTLE OF MALVERN HILL. 107
skirmishers, Avhile the great battle of Malvern Hill was in
progress on our left, Avhere the booming of our field pieces
and the dull roar of the heavy guns from the gunboats
Avas heard for many hours. At length, as night came on,
the sound of battle died aAvay, and all Avas again quiet.
Noav Ave heard cheers on the left, and, looking in that
direction, Ave saAV, approaching at great speed, the com
mander of the Union array. Cheers greeted hira as he
rode along the line, and hats Avere thrown high in the air
in honor of the chief.
As the leading corps of the army had fallen back from
White Oak Swamp, they had occupied a superb position
on the James river, called Malvern Hill. The Avagons
and other impedimentia of the array had also arrived
there, and Avere secured behind the southern slope of the
hill. The place Avas adrairably adapted for a defensive
battle. It Avas a lofty plateau, rising- not less than one
hundred and fifty feet above the plain, sloping gently
tOAvard the north and east, down to the border of the
forest. The approach to this sloping field Avas rendered
difficult by ravines, Avhich ran along the front; and the
eneray, if he approached, must do so by Avay of the roads
Avhich crossed them.
Upon the crest Avas posted the battery of siege guns
Avhich had escaped the hands of the enemy ; and nearly
three hundred field pieces Avere arranged along the heights,
so that the fire might pass over the heads of the infantry,
Avho Avere arranged upon the glacis, up Avhich the enemy
must charge, hidden, for the raost part, by the tall wheat
and corn. Here the main body of the army was posted.
First, nearest the Jaraes, Avas Porter's corps ; then Heintz-
elraan's, Keyes', Suraner's and our Sixth corps, occupying
the right flank, tAvo or three railes from the position where
the rebels must advance Avith their main force. The fleet
of gunboats floated upon the river, on our left flank.

108 A DAY OF GLOOM.
ready to send their screaming monster shells into the
ranks of the advancing enemy.
Against this position, naturally almost impregnable, Lee
hurled his hosts, with the design of giving the final blow
to the Union army, which should insure its destruction
and capture. The rebel array confidently believed that
the army of the north must now be compelled to sur
render or be driven into the Jaraes.
If the rebels were confident and exultant, our own men
were filled with the deepest despondency.
Exhausted by a month of constant labor and watchful
ness, with fighting and marching and digging, now, as
they believed, fleeing from the face of an enemy immensely
superior to them in numbers, it is not to be Avondered at
that they were apprehensive of the worst results.
Paymasters sought refuge Avith their treasures in the
gunboats on the riA'er. The Prince De JoinviUe and his
nephcAvs, the Count De Paris and Count De Chartes, who
had acted as aides de camp to General McClellan, who had
been with us from the beginning, active, brave men, who
were frequently where the danger was greatest, and
who had entered our service with the determination of
seeing it to the end, now departed ; they, too, finding a
respite from their toils upon one of the gunboats. The
young men Avere accompanied on board by the staff and by
the Commander-in-Chief himself From the deck of the
vessel he communicated his orders by the signal flags, to
those left in coraraand on shore. Here, with his young
friends, and in consultation with the commander of the
fleet, he remained until about five o'clock, when he rode
down the lines to the rear of our corps, where he spent
the time till darkness put an end to the fight.
Such was the sad state of feeling in our army. Yet,
exhausted and depressed as they were, our men were as
brave and determined as ever. They had yet a country;

REPULSE OF THE REBELS. 109
and they knew that the fate of that country depended
upon the result of this encounter, and they resolved to
acquit theraselves with heroism and even desperation.
Lee had marshaled his whole force in front of our
strong position. He wrote to each of his division com
manders ordering an assault, and directing, when they
heard the yell of Armistead's troops, to charge also with
yells. The yell was heard, and some of the divisions, but not
all, pressed forAvard to a wild charge.
The rebels came on heroically, but were sent reeling
back down the slope in confusion and disorder. Again
and again they rencAved the charge from under cover of
the woods which skirted the base of the slope. They
would start across the open space, charging our batteries
with Avild yells, but the heavy fire of our guns and the
steady volleys of our infantry sent them back as often to
the shelter of the woods. At times our infantry would
reserve their fire till the rebel columns had run the gaunt
let of shot and shell from our batteries, almost reaching
our lines, when with exultant cheers they would bound
forward to seize the prize now almost within their grasp,
Avhen our men would open upon them a single volley, and,
leaping over the breastworks, pursue the panic-stricken
assailants, capturing prisoners and colors, and driving the
rebels in confusion down the slope. Thus the battle raged
with terrible fury ; CA'ery attempt on the part of the enemy
failing, until darkness set in, and the rebel chiefs were
glad to let the battle subside ; though it was not tUl nine
o'clock the artUlery firing ceased.
The weight of the attacks had been upon our center.
Here Couch, Sumner and Heintzelraan withstood the shock
of battle for hours, only a part of Porter's corps being
engaged, and neither our Sixth corps nor Casey's division
of Keyes' corps being actively in the fight.

110 AN AEMY OF STRAGGLERS.
The rebel General Trimble thus describes the condition
of their army on the morning after the battle:
" The next morning by dawn I went off to ask for orders,
when I found the whole army in the utmost disorder.
Thousands of straggling men were asking every passer-by
for their regiments ; ambulances, wagons and artillery
obstructing every road; and altogether in a drenching rain
presenting a scene of the most woful and heart-rending
confusion." Had but a show of an attack upon such an army been
made, it must have resulted in defeat and utter rout to
the rebels.

CHAPTER XL
AT HARRISON'S LANDING.
March to Harrison's Bar —A scene of confhsion — A beautiful landscape — Fourth
cif July la camp— Gloom at the north — Cause ofthe disasters — Prevalence of
disease— Review by the President— A night demonstration by the enemy —
Reconnoissance to Moivern HiU — Departure of General Da'vidson- A retro
spect. Oue corps remained in line of battle in the wheat field
till early next morning ; changing position during the
night just often enough to deprive us of rest. As we
started out toward Harrison's Landing the rain was pour
ing in sheets; and throughout the day it continued to
deluge the country. The roads were rivers of almost
fathomless mud ; and our tired men could scarcely drag
themselves along. But at four in the afternoon we halted
under cover of our gunboats, and bivouacked for the
night. Such a deplorable scene as was here, was enough
to melt the heart of the stoutest. As Ave debouched from
a piece of woods skirting the plateau at Harrison's Land
ing, officers stood like hotel porters at a steamboat landing,
calling out " This way for the Third corps ;" " This way
for the Fifth corps ;" " This way for Slocum's division."
All was confusion. The Avhole army seemed to be made
of stragglers. Our little Brigadier Davidson rose in his
saddle to an unusual height, as he looked back and saw
with undisguised pride, his brigade marching in, almost
unbroken. The landscape before us was indescribably beautiful.
There lay the James river, and spreading out between us
and the river were the broad fields of wheat; the fine

112 AT uaeeison's landing.
country houses; the long avenues and roads lined Avith
rows of cedar trees ; which last were almost in a moment
stripped of their branches to raake beds for the soldiers.
There, crowded together, were the immense caravans
of Avagons, ambulances, guns and pontoons, hugging the
river, and the multitude of men swaiTning over the plain.
Long processions of sick and wounded men, leaning on
canes and crutches, their heavy steps and sunken faces
now for a moment lighted up at the thought that their
melancholy pilgrimage Avas nearly ended, filed by us ; and
battalions of cooks and special duty men were wandering
about in search of their comraands.
The river was full of transports and gunboats, giving it
the appearance of the harbor of some commercial metro
polis. Many of the hungry men, Avithout waiting for
their rations to be brought by the commissary, plunged
into the stream, swam to the boats and there procured the
coveted food. But the greater number of our men, their
powers completely exhausted, Avithout waiting for food,
or to provide comfortable quarters, lay down in the bed
of mud and were soon in heavy slumbers.
Again, after a poor night's rest, the corps was marched
to a new position on the front line, where we remained to
celebrate the annlAcrsary of the nation's birthday. A
gloomy "Fourth of July" was this to us, though every
effort was made to keep up the spirits of the men.
Early in the morning the enemy opened a fire upon
parts of our line, to which our guns responded. A
national salute had been ordered, and precisely at the
hour appointed, while the fighting was in progress,
the heavy guns were heard booming the salute. Our
boys listened for a moment, and then, as if aU inspired
with ncAV life, they made the welkin ring with their cheers.
The bands, roused from their long inactivity, pealed forth
stirring national airs, and the Commander-in-Chief issued

THE NEWS AT HOME. 113
an address to his army, in Avhicli he praised its gallantry
and firraness, declared that he himself had established the
new line, and that if the eneray Avould corae upon us uoav
AA'e Avould convert his repulse into a final defeat.
At home, a heavy gloom hung over the nation. The
ncAVS of our retreat and of the terrible battles, had been
carried by the magic Avires to the remotest jjarts of the
north ; but few yet kncAV the fate of their friends Avho
were in the great army. It Avas enough that the siege of
Richmond, which had cost so much time and money, and,
above all, so raany thousands of brave men, Avas abandoned,
and the grand army, on Avhich the hopes of the nation
hung, Avas noAV beleaguered, defending itself in an unhealthy
position, which offered little advantage for anything but
defense. Sympathizers Avith the rebellion secretly rejoiced
and openly prophesied the speedy destruction of our army
by the scorching sun and poisoned air, even if left to itself
by the rebels.
The cause of all these disastrous circumstances was by
some attributed to unAvise interference, on the jsart of the
authorities in Washington, Avith the plans of the chief of
our army. They claimed that the President, Secretary of
War and the Major-General coramanding all the armies
ofthe Union, had, in the Avords of General McClellan, " done
Avhat they could to defeat this array." They complained
loudly that reinforcements had been withheld, and that
McDowell, with a large force, had been kept unemployed
in the vicinity of Fredericksburgh, when his corps would
have thrown the balance of strength upon our side. Others
claimed that the whole carapaign had been sadly raisman-
aged by a commander Avho had, as they insisted, never seen
his army fight; «who had invariably found employraent
elsewhere than on the field of battle when fighting was to
to be done, and whose character as a soldier was made up
of doubts and hesitancies. 15

114 PREVALENCE OP DISEASE.
Six weeks of carap life, dreary, sickly and monotonous,
succeeded our arriA'al at Harrison's Bar.
Our corps proceeded to the work of throAving up strong
intrenchments and mounting guns. Our Third brigade.
Second division, constructed an extensive fort, in Avhich
scA'eral A-ery heaA-y guns Avere mounted ; each of the regi
ments taking their turn at the labor. In our front the
forests Avere slashed for a great distance, and thousands of
sturdy wood-cutters plied their heavy blows, SAveltering
under the burning rays of the sun.
Sickness became alraost universal. The men Avere worn
out with the tremendous labors Avhich they had performed
since their arrival on the Peninsula ; they Avere burned by
almost unendurable heat ; they Avere nearly devoured by
the countless myriads of flies and other annoying insects ;
and they were forced to drink impure and unAvholesome
Avater. It Avas not strange that hundreds died in camp,
and that hundreds more, Avith the seeds of death implanted
in their constitutions, went to their homes in the north to
breathe out their lives in the midst of their friends, or
languished in the large government hospitals at Wash
ington, and other cities.
LeaA'es of absence Avere given freely, and thousands
availed themselves of the opportunity of visiting their
homes and recruiting their health. The men, with the
patience Avhich none but soldiers ever exhibit, Avent
quietly to Avork to render their situation as tolerable as
possible. Wells Avere dug in the camps, from which they
procured better water than they Avere able to get at first,
and sraall pines were brought and set araong the tents, by
which some degree of protection Avas aflbrded against the
burning sun. On the morning of the 8rth of July, the
monotony Avas broken by the arrival of President Lincoln.
The booming of artiUery announced his coming, and the
heartfelt cheers of the soldiers assured him of a Avelcome.

REVIEAV BY THE PRESIDENT. 115
The President, after spending a fcAV hours at the head
quarters of the army, proceeded to revicAV the various
corps. He Avas accompanied by General McClellan, and
many officers of note. EveryAvhere he received an enthu
siastic Avelcome from the men, Avho regarded him as their
Avarm friend. He manifested great emotion as he rode
along the lines and saAV that the regiments, Avhicli but a
feAV Aveeks before had left Washington Avith full ranks,
Avere now mere skeletons of regiments. Evening drcAV its
mantle over the scene, aud the revicAV Avas closed by
moonlight. Little occurred to relicA-e the monotony of the si.x Aveeks
of camp life at Harrison's Bar, except the events of Avhicli
we have spoken; a demonstration by the enemy during
the night of the 31st, and an advance to Malvern Hill by
General Hooker's division. On the forraer occasion, the
troops were startled from their slumbers about midnight,
by the sudden discharge of a battery of artillery from the
south side of the Jaraes. The rebels had succeeded in
getting a force in position there, and they now opened a
vigorous fire upon our shipping and our camps. Their
shells flcAV among us in disagreeable proximity, and the
long lines of fire traced upon the midnight sky lent a cer
tain charm to the dangerous business. Our gunboats
answered the fire ; and after two hours of exciting work
drove the rebels from their position. Sorae infantry Avas
taken across the river, Avho hastened the retreat of the
enemy, burned the buildings near the shore, and cut doAvn
the trees, that they might not in future afford concealment
for the rebels.
General Hooker's reconnoissance resulted in his occupy
ing Malvern Hill for a day or two, having a brisk skirmish
Avith the enemy and returning to camp.
Our active and gallant Brigadier-General Davidson
was, early in August, relieved from the command of our

116 DEPARTUEE OF GENEEAL DAVIDSON.
Third brigade, and ordered to the department of Missouri.
Notwithstanding the severity of his discipline, and liis occa
sional forgetfulness that men could not accomplish as much
physical labor as horses — for the general had always been
a cavalry officer — his never-tiriug energy, his undoubted
braA'ery, and his interest and pride in his brigade, had
endeared him to the men. During the seA-ere trials on the
Chickahominy, and on the retreat, the general had taken
an unusual interest in the brigade, and had made himself
personally acquainted Avith nearly all the members of his
command. The general took command of a caA-alry diA'ision in
Missouri ; Avhere his name became a terror to all secession
ists in that part of the countr}-. The coramand devolved
upon Lieutenant-Colonel Corning of the Thirty-third New
York, then senior officer of the brigade, who was soon
succeeded by Colonel W. H. IrAvin, of the Forty-ninth
Pennsyh'ania Volunteers.
Reinforceraents began to arrive from Washington, and
our array, in August, numbered one hundred and twenty
thousand men. With these, and a few thousand more.
General McClellan declared his belief that he could repel
the enemy and advance into Richraond.
Let us for a moment turn to the fortunes of the regiment
with which we left Saratoga, and whose early history
Ave have traced. In all the stirring events Avhich have
transpired in the division and corps, the Seventy-seventh
has acted an important and honorable part. Always
ready to perform the duties demanded of it; always in
its place when danger was greatest; ever cheerfully obey
ing the commands of superiors, it has assumed no honor
above its fellows, but proudly claimed to be the peer of
such noble regiraents as the Sixth Maine, the Fifth Wis
consin, the Thirty-third New York, and other bright
stars in the galaxy of the Sixth corps ; ornaments to it

THE SEVENTY-SEVENTH. 117
and the army. " It is a little regiment," said General
Davidson to a member of Governor Morgan's staff, who
carae to look after the interests of the New York troops,
" but it is ahvays in the right place." The general regarded
the regiment with especial faA-or, and was accustomed to
call it " my little Seventy-seventh." Since the arrival of
the army on the Peninsula the experiences of the regiment
haA-e been A-aried. With the other regiments of Smith's
division, it has spent a month at YorktoAvn, within musket
shot of the eneray. At Williamsburgh it, with other
regiments of its brigade, supported batteries in front of
Fort Magruder, and when, in the afternoon, it received
the order to go with the Forty-ninth to the assistance of
Hancock, it started forward with cheers ; the men going
through the mud at double quick. But Avhen the two
regiments arrived on the field, their gallant brothers of
Hancock's and of their OAvn brigade, had nobly accom
plished the work in which they Avould gladly have assisted.
We haA-e seen how gallantly the regiment routed the
rebels at Mechanicsville ; capturing a flag and other tro
phies ; and when on the Chickahominy Smith's division
held the line closest upon the enemy, it bravely assumed
its part of the labor and danger. A portion of the regi
ment on picket on the 28tli of June, exhibited sterling
heroism, and we need hardly refer to the noble sacrifice
of the brave young soldier John Ham.
Disease and exhaustion had made terrible inroads upon
the Seventy-seventh. Instead of nearly a thousand men
Avith which we came to the Peninsula, inspection in the
middle of June showed only about tAvo hundred and fifty
men present for duty. Although this regiment had from
the very beginning occupied an exposed j)osition in the
very front line ; although it composed a part of Smith's
division, which has already become famous both in the
Union and rebel armies for being always in closest prox-

lis COLONEL M KEAN.
imity to the enemy, yet it had thus far lost very few men
in battle. All the rest of those noAV absent had been
stricken down by fevers, or worn out by the e.xhausting
labors and exposures of the camjjaign.
Among those attacked by typhoid fever was Colonel
McKean. After suffering a few days in the vain hope of
soon being able to place himself again at the head of his
regiraent, he was removed from the poisonous atmosphere
of the swamps to Washington, and thence to his home in
Saratoga. The men looked upon his departure with sin
cere regret, for they not only respected him as an able
comraander, but loved him for his ncA-er failing interest in
their welfare. He had been to the regiment in the capa
city of commander and father. His leave of the regiment
Avas destined to be final ; for except as an occasional visitor
he never returned to it ; and after many months of suffer
ing, his constitution undermined, and his health perma
nently destroyed, he was forced to relinquish the command.
But though forced to leave the field, the men of his
regiment never ceased to cherish feelings of love and
respect for their first commander. They had Avitnessed
his brav-ery on the field, and they noAV knew that he
was contending with disease with the same fortitude
that had marked his course in the army. The departure
of Colonel McKean from the service was not only a great
loss to his regiment but to the Avhole corps ; for he was
not only a brave officer, but a gentleman of superior
intellectual endowments. Another of the sufferers from
typhoid fever was Lieutenant Bowe, a young man of fine
abilities and greatly beloved by his regiment. After
several Aveeks of absence, he returned to camp on the 18th
of July restored to health. On the very next day, while
standing with several officers in a tent, he was fatally
wounded by an accidental shot from a pistol. His father,
hearing of the sad occurrence, came for him and removed

(?ol 77 ti;Rt^rt A-ysv,

CHANGES. 119
him from camp ; but only to see him expire in a few
days. Changes occurred among the officers. The lieutenant-
colonel and major left the service, the first by resignation,
the other by dismissal. Adjutant French Avas made
major, and afterwards lieutenant-colonel, Avhich office he
held during the remainder of the term of the regiment.
He assumed command of the regiment on his return to it
after the battle of Antietam, and continued in command
while it was a regiment. Captains and lieutenants also
resigned. Chaplain Tully and Quartermaster Shurtliff
departed for ther homes, having left the service. Lieu
tenant HayAvard was made quartermaster, a position for
which he was eminently qualified, and which he thencefor
ward held to the great satisfaction of the entire regiment.

CHAPTER XI.
RETREAT FROM THE PENINSULA, AND GENERAL
POPE'S BULL RUN CAMPAIGN.
Premonitions of a change of base — The transfer commenced — Marching down the
Peninsula — On board transports — A contrast— Arrival at Alexandria — Unac
countable delays — General Pope's campaign — An obstinate general — Causes of
Pope's failure.
Eaely in August, rumors were floating about the array,
that General McClellan had receiA-ed positive orders to
transfer the Army of the Potomac to the front of Wash
ington, there to unite the forces of the tAvo armies ; and
that this plan Avas strongly opposed by General McClellan,
who insisted that he Avanted only a fcAV thousand more
men to march into Richmond.
The army had received large reinforcements since arriv
ing at Harrison's Landing, and now numbered raore than
one hundred thousand men ; not by any means an incon
siderable force, yet too small, in General McClellan's
opinion, to Avarrant another advance.
But, OAving to the movements of the enemy in front of
General Pope, the supposed impracticability of the route,
and to some distrust as to the abilities of General McClellan
by the authorities at Washington, peremptory orders had
been sent to him to remove his army as quickly as possible
from the Peninsula.
What the merits of the dispute in high places might be,
the army at large Avas not able to decide ; but the rumors
gave rise to many spirited debates, in which the authorities
at Washington and the authority at Harrison's Bar had

THE TRANSFER COAIMENCED. 121
each earnest adA-ocates. At length it became knoAvn that
the army was to leaA-e the Peninsula, and preparations for
this important moA-ement commenced. The Avork of ship
ping the sick and wounded, numbering twelve thousand
five hundred, began ; but it Avas not carried on with a
degree of alacritj- satisfactory to the War DejJartment or
the President.
The whai-A-es along the rlA-er side became the scene of
imraense activitv. Ambulances crowded along the banks
of the river, laden with sick and Avounded, Avhile those
from the hospitals able to Avalk, tottered along with
trembling steps, their wan faces and sunken eyes telling
their story of sufiering. Transports Avere in Avaiting for
these, and were rapidly filled AvitTi their freight of suffer
ing humanity. Everything not raovable was ordered to
be destroyed. Tents Avere struck and taken to the pickets
who had left them behind, and everything betokened an
important moveraent. Three or four day-f were spent in
momentary expectation of the order to '' fall in," but still
the situation reraained unchanged.
At length, on the 16th of August, all was ready and
the men were ordered to pack their knapsacks ; but the
men of the Sixth corps remained in camp until the sun's
rays became scorching; then the column moved rapidly
eastward. A hard day's march on the 16th and another
on the 17th, brought the corps in sight of the Chicka
hominy. It crossed a pontoon bridge of enormous extent,
in the consti-uction of which ninety boats Avere used,
and the length of which Avas over tAvo thousand feet.
Thoroughly exhausted the men bivouacked on the eastern
bank of the Chickahominy.
The rebels, now aware of the retreat, were following
close at the heels of the Union army, but declined to
make any offensive demonstrations, further than picking
up stragglers and those that fell out by the way from
16

122 MARCHING DOVTN THE PENINSULA.
weakness and fatigue. The main portion of the rebel
army was noAV occupied in important movements in
another direction.
Another rapid march, under a burning sun, brought our
corps to the ancient capital of the Old Dominion — Wil
liamsburgh. Passing through its streets without halting,
taking only time to glance at its noAV dilapidated build
ings, we reached the familiar scenes of the old battle-field,
which, three months before, aa-c little expected to recross
before the downfall of the rebellion. Here Avas the plain
where a portion of our Second division had, by its gal
lantry, decided the fate of the battle ; the scene of our
blAOuac in the rain and mud, and the redoubts where
lay the wounded rebels, whose groans had rendered the
night hideous. In the midst of these scenes we bivouacked
again for the night.
At daAvn the column moved again, and after a fatiguing
march reached Yorktown ; our Second division encamp
ing in the works erected by Porter's division during our
famous thirty days' siege of that place.
Many of the men had by this time become exhausted;
and a long train of ambulances was filled with these and
sent ahead on the morning of the 20th. The well ones
soon followed toward Fortress Monroe, halting on the
field of Big Bethel. This was the first visit of our corps
to this disastrous field, and the raen rarabled about mani
festing great ihterest in the spot rendered sacred by the
blood of Winthrop and Greble.
Plums, peaches and sweet potatoes constituted novel
additions to the diet of the men, and although the tAvo
former were unripe, their good effects were manifested in
arresting multitudes of those troublesome cases of diarrhea
Avhich had resisted all treatment so long as the men Avere
deprived of acid fruits. Another hard march on the 21st
brought the corps again, after five months' absence, to the

ON BOARD THE TEANSPOETS. 123
vicinity of the desolated village of Hampton, and the end
of our march for the present. The Avhole army Avas
crowded along the shores, waiting to embark for Aquia.
Transports of every size and description Avere riding upon
the bay or lashed to the wharves, and infantry, cavalry
and artillery were crowding toward the beach ready to
take their turn to embark. The scene Avas one of unusual
activity, resembling only the one Ave had witnessed on
embarking for the Peninsula months ago.
At length all Avere on board, and the transports SAVung
out upon the bay and steamed up the Potomac. One of
the transports on Avhich a portion of the Second division
Avas embarked, the " Vanderbilt," had been, in other days,
an old friend, as she ploughed up and doAvn the Hudson ;
now her magnificent saloons, Avhich had been of dazzling
beauty, were dismantled and disfigured. No gorgeous
drapery or gilded mirrors adorned them, but desolation
and filth prevailed.
The weather was charming, and, except for the croAvded
condition of the transports, the trip Avould have been a
delightful one. What a contrast was there in the appear^
ance of those sarae men noAV, and when they came down the
river in April ! Then our ranks Avere full ; the men Avere
healthy and in fresh vigor; their uniforms Avere ncAV and
clean, and their muskets and equipments Avere polished
and glistening. Now, Ave looked about Avith sadness when
we remembered how many of our former companions were
absent, and hoAV few present. We could bring to mind
many Avho went to the Peninsula, full of hope, Avho had sunk
as victims ofthe malarial poisons, and now rested in hum
ble graves at Yorktown or along the Chickahominy ; and
many others Avho had nobly fallen upon the field of strife ;
and yet others who now Avere Avearing out tedious days
of sickness in hospitals or at home.
The little band that remained could hardly be recog-

124 A CONTEAST.
nized as the same men who left the defenses of Washing
ton but a few months since ; their faces Avere now bronzed
from constant exposure to the scorching rays of the sun,
and their clothing was worn and soiled. Hats and caps
of every description : hats of straw and of palm leaf, of
brown wool, black wool, and what had been white wool
Caps military and caps not military, all alike in only one
respect, that all were much the worse for wear. It would
hav-e puzzled a stranger to haA-e determined from this
diversity of apparel, what was the regular uniform of our
troops. We carae up the river with feelings far less exultant
and confidant than those experienced in our downward
trip. Indeed a gloom hung over the minds of all. The
army was satisfied that General McClellan would be re
moved from command, and it was said that General Pope
or General Burnside would be his successor. Though they
remembered the brilliant successes of the one in the west
and of the other in the south, many expressed fears that
the command of a large army might be as fatal to either
of these as it had been to General McClellan.
At sunset of the 23d, the transports bearing the two
divisions of the Sixth corps, were anchored just off Alex
andria ; but none of the men were allowed to go ashore.
Spending another night in the crowded vessels, Avhere the
foul air prevailing between decks rendered breathing any
thing but a luxury, the men hailed the appearance of
daylight as the time for their liberation from this close
and unpleasant confinement.
The process of disembarking progressed rapidly, and
the divisions were marched through the city to a field
about a mUe beyond its limits, where we encamped near
Fort EUsworth.
Although this was on Sunday morning, and it was knoAvn
that Pope's army was fighting the enemy even before wf;

GENERAL BANKS AT CEDAE MOUNTAIN. 125
left the Peninsula, and Avas in need of reinforcements ; yet
no signs of marching occurred until Thursday.
Let us iioAV turn back for a moment and hastily glance
at the movements of General Pope and his army, which
had noAV for several days been actively engaged. The
battle of Cedar Mountain Avas fought on Saturday, August
9th. General Banks, pushing his corps tOAvard Cedar
Mountain, and, finding the enemy in his front, had boldly
attacked him. The confederate forces Avere led by General
Jackson, and outnumbered the forces under General Banks.
The field Avas hotly contested for an hour and a half, when
our forces were obliged to fall back; but being reinforced
by Rickett's division, they Avere able to prevent the enemy
from occupying the field. During the night, Jackson with-
drcAV his forces, leaving the ground in our hands, which
was at once occupied by the Union forces.
The Avhole of Sunday was occupied in burying the dead
and bringing off the Avounded of both armies. Our men
had behaved Avith great bravery, and the gallantry and
zeal of General Banks Avas Avhat might haA-e been expected
from that general. The field Avas yet in our hands ; yet
the battle could hardly be called a decided victory for our
arms. Jackson retreated rapidly across the Rapidan, in
the direction of GordonsviUe, leaving many dead and
wounded along the road from Cedar Mountain to Orange
Court House. Excej)t to foUoAV up the enemy with cavalry
as far as Orange Court House, no important move Avas
made for several days by the forces under General Pope.
Reinforcements Avere constantly arriving for Jackson,
and it becarae evident, by the 18th, that nearly the whole
of Lee's army was assembling in front of General Pope,
along the south side of the Rapidan. Among papers
captured from the enemy at this time, was an autograph
letter from General Robert Lee to General Stuart, stating
his determination to overwhelm General Pope's army

126 GENERAL POPE S CAMPAIGN.
before it could be reinforced by any portion of the
array of the Potomac.
The Avhole army was now ordered to fall back and
occupy a stronger position behind the R.appahannock.
The movement was executed on the 18th and 19th of
August, AAdthout loss; the new line extending from
Kelley's Ford to a point three miles above Rappahan
nock Station. The enemy appeared next day at the
various fords, but, finding them strongly guarded, waited
for all their forces to arrive frora the Rapidan.
The Avhole of the 21st and 2 '2d were spent by the enemy
in efforts to cross the river, and a fierce artillery duel pre
vailed along the line for more than seven miles in extent,
but the rebels Avere repulsed at every point, and withdrcAV
with the intention of moving up the river and turning the
flank of the Union army.
General Pope, appreciating the danger of this movement
on the part ofthe rebels, telegraphed to Washington, and,
in reply, Avas assured that, if he could hold out two days
longer, he should be so strongly reinforced as to enable
him, not only to hold his position, but to take the offensive.
It is needless to say that, Avitli the exception of one or
two small divisions, no reinforcements reached him within
that time ; and although General Porter reported to him
by letter frora Bealton on the 25th, it had been better for
General Pope had he not come at all. On the night of
the 26th, Jackson, coming through Thoroughfare Gap, got
in the rear of Pope's array and cut the railroad at Kettle
Run, near Warrenton Junction. Lee Avas still in front, in
the vicinity of Sulphur Springs. General Pope, desiring
at the same time to fall back toAvard Centreville and inter
pose his army between Jackson's and Lee's forces, ordered
a retrogade movement. His troops Avere by this time
fairly exhausted. In his report to the Secretary of War,
he says: "From the 18th of August, until the morning

AN OBSTINATE GENEEAL. 127
of the 27tli, the troops under my command had been con
tinually marching and fighting night and day ; and during
the Avhole of that time there Avas scarcely an interval of
an hour Avithout the roar of artiUery. The men had had
little sleep, and Avere greatly Avorn doAvn Avith fatigue ;
had had little time to get proper food or to eat it ; had
been engaged in constant battles and skirmishes, and had
performed services, laborious, dangerous and excessive,
beyond any previous experience in this country." Jack
son had succeeded in burning flftj^ cars at Bristow Station,
and a hundred more at Manassas Junction, heavily laden
with ammunition and supplies. On the afternoon of
the 27th, a severe engagement occurred between Hook
er's divisioii of Heintzelman's corps, Avhich had arrived
the evening before, and EavbU's divisioii of Longstreet's
corps, near BristoAV Station. Ewell Avas driven back ;
the loss on each side being about three hundred. Dur
ing the night. General McDow-ell Avith his corps, and
Generals Reno and Kearney with their divisions, took such
positions as eft'ectually to interpose between Jackson's
forces and Lee's, and no alternative was left Jackson but
to turn upon Hooker and rout him, or to retreat by way
of Centreville. Hooker's men had exhausted their ammu
nition, so that there Avere but five rounds per man left.
General Pope, fearing that Hooker Avould be attacked, dis
patched an aid to General Porter Avith orders to join
Hooker at once. The aid was instructed to inform Gen
eral Porter of the immediate necessity of moving at once,
and to remain and guide him to the place. But Porter
utterly refused to obey the order. Most fortunately for
our army, Jackson, ignorant of Hooker's weakness, deter
mined to retreat by way of Centreville ; a mistake which
prevented most serious consequences to us. Jackson in
his retreat Avas hotly pursued, and on the 28th a severe
battle took place betAveen McDowell's corps and the

128 SECOND BULL EUN.
retreating column, in Avhich our forces gained decided
advant.iges. On the 29th, Jackson was again near the
old Bull Run battle-ground, and a terrific battle ensued,
Avhich lasted Avith great fury from daylight until dark.
The rebels Avere driven from the field, Avhich Avas occupied
by our men. General Pope sent peremptory orders to
Fitz John Porter to move at once upon Centreville ; Avhich
Avould have cut off Jackson's retreat ; but again this cora
mander refused to obey orders, and Jackson Avas enabled
to unite Avith Lee, Avho had by this tirae reached Thorough
fare Gap, and Avas pushing on toward him. Had the
orders of General Pope been carried out, Jackson must
Avithout doubt have been crushed before Lee's forces could
by any possibUity have reached the field of action.
On the following day the Avhole of both armies Avere
brought face to face Avith each other. General Pope, by
this time hopeless of any aid from the fresh troops he had
expected long before this from Washington, and aAvare of
the disaffection of the largest and freshest corps in his
coraraand, although nearly discouraged, determined to
give battle and inflict as rauch daraage as possible upon the
eneray. His force now, including Porter's corps, was
about forty thousand. The whole of Lee's and Jackson's
forces now pressed upon our lines with terrible effect.
The action raged Avith great fury for several hours ; the
rebels constantly massing heavy columns against our lines,
especially upon the left, Avhere McDowell's and Sigel's
corps resisted the onset with great bravery, but were at
length forced to yield, when an utter rout took place ; the
Avhole array falling back upon Centreville in great disor
der. On this day, for the first time in all these long series
of battles, Porter's corps was brought into action. The
conduct of the corps, in the early part of the day, showed
a determination on the part of its leaders not to fight, and
the men fell back in disorder ; but being rallied later in

UNACCOUNTABLE DELAYS. 129
the day, the pride of the men overcame the obstinacy of
their commanders and the corps did good service. Hooker's
and Kearney's divisions, and Reynolds' Pennsylvania
reserves had rendered most gallant services from the time
they reached General Pope's army.
Returning now to our Sixth corps under General Frank
lin. The corps remained quietly at Alexandria, from the
morning of the 24th until the afternoon of the 29th.
Rations and ammunition Avere as well supplied Avhen we
reached Alexandria as Avhen Ave left. The booming of
cannon was heard on the 26th and 27th, gmd contrabands
and white refugees informed us that terrible fighting was
in progress beyond Manassas. We wondered that we were
not ordered to go to the reUef of the little army which
Ave knew Avas resisting the whole of Lee's and Jackson's
forces. On Thursday afternoon, August 28th, the corps received
marching orders. Tents were struck, knapsacks packed,
rations proA-ided, and many regiments, shouldering their
knapsacks, stood in line ready to move. But sunset came
and no further orders. The men waited impatiently, only
a few venturing to unpack their knapsacks or pitch their
tents, until long after dark.
Friday morning brought fcAV indications of an advance.
Head-quarter tents remained standing, artillery horses stood
unharnessed, and everything showed an intentional delay.
At length the corps moved. Marching quietly and easily,
the old ground of Camp Misery was passed, and the corps
reached Annandale, Avhere it halted and encamped after an
easy march of six miles. Saturday moming the corps
again moved leisurely along, making very frequent halts.
The firing in front indicated a hardly contested battle,
and our men, knowing that Pope must be in need of
reinforcements, were anxious to push forward rapidly.
Every hour the corps halted for at least twenty minutes,
17

130 A DEMORALIZED CAPTAIN.
and sometimes even longer. At this snail pace we passed
Fairfax Court House, the roar of musketry and artillery
becoming constantly louder in front, and arrived at
Centreville. Orders immediately came for the corps to
proceed to Cub Run, about tAVO miles beyond Centreville.
Here, wounded men by hundreds and stragglers in greater
numbers passed across the little bridge over the run, a
dismal crowd, hastening toward Centreville.
As usual at such times, scores of cowardly villains were
attempting to pass to the rear as Avounded men.
An amusing encounter occurred between one of this
class, a coAvard in captain's uniform, and one of our own
officers. Captain Deyoe, as brave a felloAV as ever drew a
sword. The demoralized captain, his sword thrown away
and its sheath after it, came hurriedly upon the bridge,
where Deyoe Avas sitting, coolly filling his pipe. The
fugitive captain turned his face, pale Avith fright, to the
imperturbable Deyoe, and, striking him on the shoulder,
said with as much composure as he could muster, " Cap
tain, we have had hard times of it out there, but don't he
afraid, doii't be afraid.'''' Deyoe, turning his face tOAvard
that of the straggler with a look of unruffled coolness and
unmitigated contempt, replied, "Well, who the d — is
afraid? Oh, yes, I see, you are. Well, you had better
get aAvay from here then ! "
The corps remained at Cub Run until nightfall, when it
was ordered to return to Centreville, where it encamped.
Regiments from our Third brigade were sent to the rear
of Centreville to arrest stragglers, Avho were hurrying
toward Alexandria in great numbers.
The regiments were drawn up in line across the turn
pike, where they remained all night, turning back hundreds
of stragglers at the point of the bayonet.
The scene at Centreville on the next day was one of
the utmost confusion. Thousands of stragglers wandered

AN AEMY OF SKULKERS. 131
about Avithout knowing or caring Avhat had becorae of
their coramands ; long columns of shattered regiments and
batteries filed past to take up ncAV positions, either Avithin
the intrenchments or on the flanks. The appearance of
these skeletons of regiments and batteries gave evidence
of the terrible e.xperiences of this long series of engage
ments. Their ranks, thinned by the fortunes of battle,
and still more by the disgraceful skulking which had
become so universal, the worn and weary appearance of
the men, their flags, each surrounded by only enough raen
to constitute a respectable color-guard, all shoAved that
even the hard experiences of the Array of the Potomac
had ncA^er had so demoralizing an efi'ect as this.
The skulkers were loud-mouthed in their denunciations
of General McDowell. Hundreds of them, who had in all
probability not been' near enough to the front during the
whole retreat to knoAV anything that Avas going on there,
declared that they had seen him waving that mystic white
hat as a signal to the rebels; and all kncAV that it was
through his treachery that the array had been destroyed.
Others declared positively that they had seen, with their
OAvn eyes. General McClellan, with a small body of faith
ful followers, dash against the advancing foe, and arrest
the pursuit ! Such wild and improbable stories filled the
whole atmosphere, and, strangest of all, were believed by
thousands, not only in the army, but throughout the AA'hole
north. Long trains of ambulances were bringing from the
battle-field wounded men, who had been, since Saturday,
exposed to the burning sun and the storm which had pre
vailed during Sunday night.
Temporary hospitals were established, and surgeons
were actiA'ely employed in ministering to the relief of the
unfortunate. Monday evening the battle of Glendale or
Chantilly was fought, in the midst of a terrific thunder

132 END OP pope's CAMPAIGN.
Storm. The eneray, in attempting to turn our right, had
been met by Hooker, Reno, McDowell and Kearney, and
repulsed with heavy loss, from our entire front. But the
victory was a costly one for us. The brave, earnest and
accomplished soldier, Major-General Kearney, and the
gallant Stevens, were both killed while leading their com
mands against the enemy.
The Sixth corps, on Monday evening, was marched back
to Fairfax Court House ; but early next morning returned
within a mile of Centreville, when it took possession of
the heights, and lay in line of battle until three o'clock
p. M., when orders were received to march back to our old
camp at Alexandria, which we reached at ten o'clock the
same night ; thus making in a single evening, a distance
that had required two full days and a part of another, to
march, in going out.
Thus ended General Pope's campaign in Virginia.
Never was a carapaign so misrepresented or so little
understood ; and never were the motives of men so falsely
judged as were those of the generals connected with this
campaign. General Pope had fallen a victim to the foulest treachery
of ambitious rivals, rather than to the strength of his
open foes. Any one who will in candor trace the move
ments and the handling of that little army, when beset
by an enemy now knoAvn to have been double its own
strength, raust concede that his plans were well conceived,
and his generalship in this campaign fully equaled that
Avhich had won him so great renoAvn in the west.
That the defeat of General Pope was brought about by
the rivalry and jealousy of generals of the Union army
cannot noAv be doubted. We know why Porter withheld
the largest and freshest corps in the command from the
fights, while its eleven thousand men were within sight of
the battles; but why was the Sixth corps delayed? Some

AVHO WAS RESPONSIBLE? 133
one was equally culpable Avith Porter. Was it worse
to keep a corps out of the fight, when on the field, than to
keep another corps off from the field altogether without
any good reason ? There can be but one question — who
was responsible for the criminal neglect to send the Sixth
corps to the assistance of Pope's army ?

CHAPTER xm.
THE MARYLAND CAMPAIGN
General McClellan restored to command — March through AVashington — Leisurely
campaigning— Battle of Crampton Pass — Death of Mathison— Battle of South
Mountain Pass— Death of Reno — Surrender of Harper's Ferry — March to
Antietam. General Pope, at his OAvn request, Avas relieved from
the coraraand ofthe army, and General McClellan resumed
the direction. Whatever might have been the real fitness
of General Pope to command, his usefulness with the
army just driven back upon the defenses of Washington,
had departed. The return of General McClellan was
hailed with joy by a large portion of the army.
On the 5th of September, Leo crossed the Potomac into
Maryland, and occupied Frederick City. General McClel
lan was ordered to push forward at once and meet him.
It was on the evening of the 6th that orders were issued
to move. It Avas but short work to pack up our limited
supply of clothing, cooking utensils and the few other
articles Avhich constituted our store of Avorldly goods, and
prepare to march. We left Alexandria, and proceeding
toward Washington, passed Fort Albany and crossed the
Long Bridge, the moon and stars shining Avith a brilliancy
seldom equaled, rendering the night march a pleasant one.
As the steady tramp of the soldiers upon the pavements
was heard by the citizens of Washington, they crowded
upon the walks, eager to get a glance, even by moonlight,
of the veterans who had passed through such untold hard
ships. Many were the questions regarding our destination,

LEISURELY CAMPAIGNING. 135
but we could only answer, "We are going to meet the
rebels." Passing through GeorgetOAvn, Ave reached the
little village of TanleytOAvn, Avhere, Aveary from the short
but rapid march, Ave spent tho remainder of the night in
sleep. The morning passed Avithout orders to move, and
it Avas not until five o'clock in the afternoon that Ave again
commenced the march, Avhen, having proceeded six miles,
we halted. At daybreak on the morning of the 8th, the
corps was moving again, and passing through Rockville
we halted, after an easy stage of six miles.
On the 9th we marched three miles, making our carap at
JohnstoAvn. On the foUoAving morning, at 9 o'clock, Ave
were again on the move, driving before us small bodies of
rebel cavalry, and reaching Barnesville, a small vilLige,
ten miles frora our encampment of the night before. Our
Third brigade, of the Second division, Avas quartered on the
plantation of a noted secessionist, who, on our approach,
had suddenly decamped, leaving at our disposal a very
large orchard, whose trees Avere loaded Avith delicious
fruit, and his poultry yard well stocked with choice fowls.
Our boys were not slow to appropriate to their oAvn use
these luxuries, Avhich, they declared, Avere great improve
ments on pork and hard tack. In the enjoyraent of ease
and abundance, Ave remained here until the morning of the
12th, Avhen we resumed the march, proceeding ten miles
farther, halting near Urbana, at Monocacy bridge, Avhich
had been destroyed by the rebels, but was now rebuilt.
On the "same day General Burnside, having the advance,
entered Frederick, encountering a few skirmishers of the
enemy, which he drove. On the 13th, we arrived at
the lovely village of Jefferson, having made ten miles
more, and having driven a detachment of rebels through
Jefferson Pass.
The advance was sounded at ten o'clock on the morning
of the 14th, and at three we found ourselves near the foot

136 BURKETTSVILLE.
of the South Mountain range, having marched about fifty
raUes in eioht days. Upon the advance of Burnside into
Frederick, the rebel force had fallen back, taking the two
roads Avhich led through Middletown and BurkettsvUle,
and which crossed the South Mountains through deep
gorges, the northern called South Mountain or Turner's
Pass, and the other, six railes south of it, Crampton Pass.
These passes the rebels had strongly fortified, and had
arranged their batteries on the crests of neighboring hills.
The Sixth corps came to a halt when within about a mile
and a half of Crampton Pass, and a reconnoissance was
ordered. General Franklin was now directed to force the pass
with the Sixth corps, while the remaining corps should
push on to the South Mountain Pass and drive the enemy
through it. We formed in line of battle and advanced.
Before us lay the little village of BurkettsvUle, nestling
under the shadow of those rugged mountains, its white
houses gleaming out of the dark green foliage. Beyond
Avere the South Mountains ; their summits croAvned Avith bat
teries of artillery and gray lines of rebels, while the heavily
wooded sides concealed great numbers of the enemy.
A winding road, leading up the mountain side and
through a narrow defile, knoAvn as Crampton's Gap, con
stituted one of the two passages to the other side of the
range ; South Mountain Gap being the other. The enemy
had planted batteries and posted troops behind barricades,
and in such positions as most effectually to dispute our
passage. At the foot of the mountain, was a stone wall, behind
which was the first rebel line of battle, while their skir
mishers held the ground for some distance in front. The
position Avas a strong one; admirably calculated for
defense, and could be held by a small force against a much
larger one.

^!l Jy^''-%t%

CHAPGE OP THL SIATH CORPS AT BURKEITSMLL

BATTLE OF CEAMPTON PASS. 137
The day was far advanced Avhen the attack was ordered.
No sooner had the lines of blue uniforms emerged from the
cover of the woods, than the batteries on the hill tops opened
upon thera. The mountains, like huge volcanoes, belched
forth fire and smoke. The earth trerabled beneath us, and
the air was filled with the howling of shells Avhich flew over
our heads, and ploughed the earth at our feet. At the
same time, the line of battle behind the stone Avail opened
upon us a fierce fire of musketry. In the face of this storm
of shells and bullets, the corps pressed forward at double
quick, over the ploughed grounds and through the corn
fields, halting for a few raoments at the village. The citi
zens, regardless of the shells Avhicli Avere crashing through
their houses, Avelcomed us heartily, bringing water to fill
the canteens, and supplying us liberally from the scanty
store left them by the marauding rebels.
Patriotic ladies cheered the Union boys and brought them
food; and well might they rejoice at the approach of the
Union array, after their recent experience with the rebels,
Avho had robbed thera of almost everything they possessed
in the way of movable property.
After a fcAV minutes, in Avhich our soldiers took breath,
the advance was once more sounded, and again Ave pushed
on in face of a murderous fire, at the same time pouring
into the face of the foe a storm of leaden hail. Slocum's
division, of the Sixth corps, advanced on the right of the
turnpike, while Smith's division pushed directly forward
on the road and on the left of it. After severe fighting
by both divisions, having driven the enemy from point to
point, Slocum's troops, about three o'clock, succeeded in
seizing the pass, while our Second division pressed up
the wooded sides of the mountain, charging a battery
at the left of the pass and capturing two of its guns.
The confederates fled precipitately doAvn the west side
of the mountain, and our flags were waved in triumph
18

138 DEATH OF MATHISON.
from the heights which had so lately thundered destruc
tion upon us. As we advanced, Ave wondered, not that
the foe had offered such stubborn resistance, but that the
position had been yielded at all. Their dead strewed our
path, and great care was required, as we passed along the
road, to avoid treading upon the lifeless remains which
lay thickly upon the ground. On every side the evi
dences of the fearful conflict multiplied. Trees were
literally cut to pieces by shells and bullets ; a continual
procession of rebel wounded and prisoners lined the road
sides, while knapsacks, guns, canteens and haA'ersacks
were scattered in great confusion. The rebel force made
its Avay into Pleasant Valley, leaving in our hands their
dead and Avounded, three stand of colors, two pieces of
artillery and many prisoners. Our troops scoured the
woods until midnight, bringing in large numbers of
stragglers. We had lost quite heavily ; some of our best men had
fallen. Colonel Mathison, who commanded the Third bri
gade of Slocum's division, whose heroism at Gaines' Farm,
and bravery in all our campaign on the Peninsula, had
endeared him to his division, was among the killed.
The corps moved doAvn the road to the western side of
the mountains, our men resting on their arms for the night,
expecting that the battle would be renewed at dawn. But
the morning revealed no eneray in our front ; we Avere in
quiet possession of the valley.
Meanwhile on the right, at South Mountain Pass, a still
more sanguinary battle had been in progress.
On the morning ofthe 14th, the Ninth corps, Burnside's
veterans, the heroes of Roanoke and Newbern, under the
command of the gallant Reno, advanced from Middletown ;
and coming near the base of the mountains, found the
enemy strongly posted on the crests of the hills, thronging
the thickly wooded sides, and crowding in the gap. No

BATTLE OF SOUTH MOUNTAIN. 139
matter what position the brave boys occupied, they Avere
submitted to a murderous fire from the crests and sides
of the mountains. Unaer this galling fire, the First division
ofthe corps formed in line of battle, and advanced toward
the frowning heights. It Avas an undertaking requiring
more than ordinary valor, to attempt to wrest from an
enemy strong in numbers, a position so formidable for
defense ; but the men approaching those rugged mountain
sides had become accustomed to overcome obstacles, and
to regard all things as possible Avhich they Avere com
manded to do. Under cover of a storm of shells, throAvn
upAvard to the heights, the line of battle advanced, with
courage and firmness, in face of terrible resistance, gaining
much ffround and driving the rebels from their first line
of defenses. Now, the corps of Hooker rushed to the
assistance of the Ninth. As the gallant general and his
staff rode along the lines, enthusiastic cheers for "Fighting
Joe Hooker," greeted him everywhere. Forming his
divisions hastily, he pushed them on the enemy's lines at
once. Thus far, the battle had been principally maintained by
artillery ; the rattle of musketry coming occasionally from
one or another part of Reno's line. But noAv, the Avhole
line was pushing against the rebel line, and the continued
roll of musketry told of close Avork for the infantry.
Reno's troops on the left and Hooker's on the right, Avere
doing noble fighting. The advancing line never wavered ;
but pressing steadily forward, pouring volley after volley
into the enemy's ranks, it at last forced the rebels to
break and fly preciijitately to the crests, and, leaving their
splendid position on the summit, to retreat in great haste
down the other slope of the mountain. The engagement
had been of three hours duration ; and the bravery of
the Union troops was rewarded by the possession of the
mountain tops. Darkness put an end to the pursuit.

140 SURRENDER OP HAEPEE'S FEEEY.
Thus the two chief passes through the mountains were in
the possession ofthe Union army.
While his corps was striving to dislodge the enemy from
the stronghold, the gallant Reno was struck by a minie
ball, and expired. The loss of this hero threw a gloom not
only over his own corps, but throughout the army.
In the many battles in which he had taken a brilliant
part, he had won an enviable fame, and his private virtues
and kindly qualities of heart added lustre to the brilliancy
of his military record.
While the fight was in progress in Crampton Pass, the
booming of guns at Harper's Ferry, only seven miles
distant, told us of an attempt, on the part of the rebels,
to capture that important point ; and while we lay upon
our arms on the morning of the 15th, two miles nearer
than we were on the day before, the firing was heard to
be still more fierce. Our Sixth corps was ordered to press
forward to the relief of the beleaguered place ; but before
Ave had started the firing suddenly died away. General
Franklin concluded that the place had been surrendered ;
and his conclusion was verified by reconnoissances. So
the corps remained in Pleasant Valley, at rest, all of the
15th and 16th.
The surrender of Harper's Ferry was a terrible blow to
our cause. Had it continued in our possession it must
have insured, with any respectable energy on the part of
our commanders, the destruction of the rebel army in
its retreat. As it was, our loss was over eleven thousand
men, and a vast amount of war material.
Of course, the surrender of Harper's Ferry, at this
critical period, was owing directly to the imbecility and
cowardice, not to say treachery, of the officers in com
mand at Harper's Ferry and on Maryland Heights. But,
while we condemn the weakness and cowardice of these
commanders, can we relieve from a share in the responsi-

HASTENING TO THE CONFLICT. 141
bility, the general who marched his army in pursuit of the
enemy at a snail pace, traveling but six miles a day upon
an average, when by a few brisk marches this important
point might have been reinforced ?
Early on the morning of the 1 7tli, the Sixth corps was
on its way, hastening to the scene of conflict which had
commenced on the banks of Antietam creek. A part
of the Seventy-seventh had constituted one-third of the
picket line which had extended across the valley between
the corps and Harper's Ferry.
These companies, by a hard march, much of it at double
quick, succeeded in overtaking the division just as the
Third brigade was making a charge over ground already
thrice won and lost by Sumner's troops. Without waiting
to form the companies, the detachment joined the com
mand, and, all out of breath and faint from their forced
march, rushed Avith their companies against the foe.

CHAPTER XIV.
THE BATTLE OF ANTIETAM.
The Valley of the Antietam— Gathering ofthe hosts — The battle-field —The battle
commenced — Splendid fighting of Hooker's forces — Successes and reverses of
Sumner's troops — Timely arrival of the Sixth corps— A gallant charge— Losses
of the corps— Burnside's attack — Hours of suspense- The enemy defeated at all
points — Retreat of the rebels— Scenes on the batlle-field — At the hospitals — At
Sharpsburgh — A division of militia — Couch's division joins the Sixth corps —
Visit of the President — Recruits — Energy at the north — At rest— AVant of
clothing— Stuart's raid — Delays — Clear Spring — General Brooks.
Among the delightful and.fertile valleys Avhich beautify
the State of Maryland, none is more charming than the
one through which the Antietam winds its tortuous course.
Looking from some elevation doAvn uj)on its green fields,
where herds of sleek cattle graze, its yellow harvests
gloAving and rijiening in the September sun; its undulat
ing meadoAvs and richly laden orchards; its comfortable
farm houses, some standing out boldly upon eminences,
which rise here and there, others half hidden by vines or
fruit trees ; the ranges of hills, rising on either side of the
stream, diversified by charming vales or deep gullies ;
the turnpikes Avinding along the sides of the hills and
through the valleys ; the lovely stream itself, noAv flowing
smoothly over its dark bed and anon tumbling noisily in
rapids over a stony bottom, winding here far up to one
range of hills and then turning back to kiss the base of the
other; the whole scene is one of surpassing beauty, upon
which the eye rests with untiring delight. Who would
have selected this lovely valley as the scene of one of the
most bloody struggles ever recorded? Who, looking
down from some height of land on the morni% ofthe 13th

GATHEEING OF THE HOSTS. 143
of September, Avould have dreamed that those stacks of
grain, Avliich dotted the fields here and there, Avould soon
become the only protection from the heat of the sun and
the storm of battle, to thousands of AVOunded, bleeding
men ? or, that from those lovely groves of oak and maple,
iioAV reposing like spots of beauty upon the landscape,
Avere to belch forth fire and smoke, carrying destruction to
thousands ? Yet, here on these smiling fields, and among
these delightful groves, one of the grand battles which
should decide the march of events in the history, not only
of our OAvn country but of the world, was to be fought.
These green pastures were to be stained Avith blood, and
these peaceful groves marred and torn by shot and shell.
Driven from the tOAvns along the Potomac, from
Frederick, frora HagerstOAvn, and from Boonsboro' ; and
forced from the strong passes in the South Mountains, the
detached portions of the rebel array Avere concentrated
along the banks of the Antietara creek, in the vicinity of
the little town of Sharpsburgh. Hither Jackson and Long-
street, Hill and Stuart, with their hosts, had gathered to
offer combined resistance to the Union army ; boastfully
proclaiming that noAV, upon northern soil, they would
hurl our army to final destruction. One hundred thousand
men, flushed Avith recent victories, and eager for one grand
croAvning success, proudly defied the Union army.
Their position Avas well chosen. A line of steep hills,
forming a half circle, Avith the convexity in front, rising at
some distance back from the creek, and nearly parallel AA'ith
it, afforded admirable advantages for posting batteries, in
such a manner as to sweep the plain below, from right to
left. Upon their left, Avooded fields afforded protection
to their infantry ; while upon their right, the undulating
nature of the grounds near the base of the hills, covered
them from the fire of our guns. In their rear was Sharps
burgh ; and two fine roads leading to the Potomac, afforded

144 THE BATTLE-FIELD.
safe lines of retreat in case of disaster. From the crest
of the hills, on which Lee had thus posted his army, the
ground sloped gently back ; conceaUng the movements of
his forces from the view of the army in their front, allowing
them to maneuver unobserved by their opponents. Owing
also to the form of their line of battle, it was an easy matter
to throw troojis frora one part to another. Thus, strongly
posted and confidently anticipating victory, they waited
the approach of the Union army.
Our own forces Avere also gathering toward this point.
Richardson's division of the Second corps, pressing closely
upon the heels of the retreating rebels, had passed
through Boonsboro' and Keedeysville, and had overtaken
thera here.
Porter, Avith his regulars, A\-as close at hand, and took
position. Then carae Burnside, with his favorite Ninth
corps ; and the Avhite-haired veteran, Sumner, with troops
worthy of their leader; fighting Joe Hooker and his
gallant men; and Mansfield, with Banks' corps. The
afternoon and most of the night Avas spent in getting into
position. Brisk skirmishes Avere occurring with sufficient
frequency to excite the men on both sides ; but no gen
eral engagement took place. The morning of the 16th
found our army ready to give battle. On our right was
Hooker; then Suraner with his own and the Twelfth,
Mansfield's corps; and far to the left was Burnside.
Porter's corps, secure behind an elevation in the rear, was
held in reserve.
The night had passed with but now and then a little
picket firing ; but all felt that, before many hours, must
comraence a battle, which must determine the fate at least
of that campaign.
Crossing the Antietam, in front of the line of our army,
were three bridges. The first, on the Hagerstown road ;
the next on the road to Sharpsburgh ; and the third on

THE OEDER OP BATTLE. 145
the left, three miles below, on the road from Harper's
Ferry to Sharpsburgh.
This last bridge, crossed the stream at a point where
steep and high hills crowded closely on every side ; the
summits of those on the western side of the stream,
croAvned with rebel batteries, and their steeply falling
sides covered Avith infantry. Over the first of these
bridges, on the right. Hooker Avas to cross his forces ;
Avhile on the left, Burnside was to attempt to dislodge the
enemy from his comraanding position. Far in the rear, a
prominent hill rose above the surrounding country ; here
was a signal station, and here the commander of the army
established his quarters. Hour after hour of the 16th
passed away, the two armies facing each other, watching
and waiting ; troops moving this way and that, maneuver
ing like two giant wrestlers, each Avilling to try the move
ments and feel the gripe of the other before coming to the
sharp grapple. At four o'clock. Hooker crossed his corps
and occupied a position on the west side of the creek, and
Mansfield soon followed ; a little fighting, but not severe,
and then darkness closed over the scene again. The skir
mishes and artillery practice here, developed, to the quick
eye of General Hooker, the position of the enemy in his
front, and their plan of defense. Satisfied with this know
ledge, he was Avilling to alloAV his corps to rest until
morning. Our lines were now very near those of the
rebels ; so near that the pickets of the opposing forces
could hear conversation from one line to the other.
At an early hour on the morning of the I7th, the great
battle commenced in earnest. Hooker formed his line
with Doubleday on the right, Meade in the center, and
Ricketts on the left. Opposed to him was Stonewall
Jackson's corps. First, Meade's Pennsylvania reserves,
of Hooker's corps, opened upon the enemy, and in a
few moments the firing became rapid and general along
19

146 HOOKEE's DIVISIONS AT WORK.
the line of both Meade's and Rickett's divisions. The
rebel line of battle Avas just beyond the Avoods, in a corn
field. The hostUe lines poured into each other more
and raore deadly volleys; batteries Avere brought up on
each side Avhich did terrible execution. Each line stood
firm and immovable. Although great gaps were raade in
them, they were closed up, and the opposing forces con
tinued to pour fearful destruction into each other's ranks.
General Hooker, riding everywhere along the front line,
knew exactly the position and the work of every regiment
in his coraraand. Cheer after cheer greeted him as he
passed along the line, inspiring the men by his presence.
Thus for half an hour the tAvo lines stood face to face in
deadly conflict ; at length the general directed a battery
to be placed in a comraanding position, and the shells and
shrapnell Avere seen to work fearful havoc in the rebel ranks.
The gray line Avavered ; then back through the cornfield
and over the fences the confederates rushed, seeking shelter
from the terrible storm, under coA-er of the Avoods, on
the other side of the field. "Forward !" shouted General
Hooker, and his divisions pressed rapidly through the
cornfield, ujj to the very edge of the Avood, while the
welkin rang Avith their cheers. Here, the fieeing foe,
reinforced by fresh troops, made a determined stand.
Terrific volleys poured from the AVOods, thinning out the
Union ranks at a fearful rate. Unable to sustain the
deadly fire, they fell back — this time the rebels follow
ing with yells and shouts ; but before the cornfield Avas
crossed, our troops made another stand, and the SAvarthy
foe Avas brought to bay ; yet the thinned line seemed
hardly able to sustain the fearful shock much longer.
Hooker, fearing that his center Avas doomed to destruc
tion, sent to his right for a brigade, although his right
was hard pressed and in danger of being flanked.
The fresh brigade pressed steadily to the front, and the

SUCCESSES AND REVERSES POR SUMNEE. 147
rebel line again fell back to the woods. Mansfield's corps
noAV came to the support of the right wing, and well did
those troops, so lately demoralized at Bull Run, stand their
ground. General Mansfield received here his mortal wound.
It was at this time, Avhen Hooker saw his forces gaining
a decided advantage and felt that their part of the work
Avas well done, that a rifle ball passed through his foot
inflicting a painful Avound. Lamenting that he could not
reraain to see the end of what he hoped Avould prove a
great victory, he left the field. The battle lulled at this
point; but in the center it raged with terrible energy.
There, Sumner the white-haired A'eteran, led his corps into
the A-ery jaws of death. If he seemed reckless of the
lives of his men, he had no more care of his own. Across
the ploughed ground, over ditches and fences, Avith unsur
passed ardor, sweeping over all obstacles, the corps pushed
forAvard, driving the enemy before it ; but the right be
came hard pressed, and a terrible fire on that part of the
line and on the center, forced the corps back. Again
the ground was taken ; and again the enemy, with Avild
yells of triumph, drove our men back. Still determined
to win, the veteran hero ordered a third charge ; and the
third time the field Avas ours, but only to be lost again.
The brave General Sedgwick, who then led one division
of Sumner's corps, whom Ave were afterward proud to call
the commander of the Sixth corps, thrice wounded, was
at length obliged to leave the field. Richardson and
CraAvford were carried wounded to the hospitals.
It was at this critical moment, when Sumner's troops,
weary and almost out of ammunition, were for the third
tirae repulsed; the reranants ofthe shattered regiments no
longer able to resist the overwhelming forces opposed to
them ; the artillery alone, unsupported, holding the enemy
for a moment in check ; that the Sixth corps, our second
division in advance, arrived upon the field.

148 TIMELY AERIVAL OF THE SIXTH CORPS.
The scene before us was awful. On the left, as far as
the eye could reach, the lines of the contending forces,
stretching over hills and through valleys, stood face to face;
in places, not more than thirty yards apart. The roar of
musketry rolled along the whole extent of the battle-field.
The field upon which we had now entered, thrice hotly
contested, was strewed with the bodies of friend and foe.
Without waiting to take breath, each regiment as soon
as it arrives on the field, is ordered to charge independ
ently of the others. The third brigade is first ; and first
of its regiments, the Twentieth New York, with their sabre
bayonets, are ready ; and the shout, " Forward, double
quick !" rings along the line. The Germans waver for a
moment ; but presently with a yell they rush down the
hill, suddenly receiving a volley from a rebel line concealed
behind a fence ; but the Gerraans, regardless of the storm
of bullets, rush forAvard ; the rebels breaking and flying to
the rear in confusion, while the Germans hotly pursue them.
Next, on the left of the Twentieth, the gallant Seventh
Maine charges; rushing forward into the midst of the
cornfield, they, too, are met by concealed foes. Although
they are concealed from our view, the crashing of mus
ketry tells us of the struggle Avhich they maintain.
The gallant regiment makes its way down the slope,
almost to the earthworks of the enemy, when the men
throw themselves upon the ground behind a rail fence.
Here, subjected to the shells from the Union and rebel
batteries, the regiment can neither adA'ance or retreat;
but our batteries, finding that their shots are as fatal to
our men as to the rebels, allow the remaining fragments
of the regiment to retire from the perilous position.
On the right of the Seventh Maine comes the glorious
Forty-ninth and our own Seventy-seventh, Captain Bab
cock in coraraand. On the right of all is the old Thirty-
third, within supporting distance. The men of the

A GALLANT CHAEGE. 149
Seventy-seventh rush forward over their fallen comrades,
making tOAvard a small school house Avhich stands upon
the Sharpsburgh and HagerstOAvn turnpike, behind which
is a grove swarming Avith rebel troops. Our boys are
almost on the road, Avhen, at a distance of less than
thirty yards, they find themselves confronted by OA-er-
Avhclming numbers, who pour a withering fire into their
ranks. The Seventy-seventh receives the fire nobly, and,
although far ahead of all the other regiments, stands its
ground and returns the fire with spirit, although it is
but death to remain thus in the advance. The brave
color-bearer, Joseph Murer, falls, shot through the head;
but the colors scarcely touch the ground when they
are seized and again flaunted in the face of the enemy.
Volley after volley crashes through our ranks ; our com
rades fall on every side ; yet the little band stands firm
as a rock, refusing to yield an inch. At this juncture.
General Smith, riding along the line and discovering
the advanced and unprotected position of the regiment,
exclaims, " There's a regiment gone," and sends an aid
to order it to retire. The order Avas tiraely, for the
rebels Avere planting a battery Avithin twenty yards of
the left of the regiment, which would, in a moment
longer, have swept it to destruction.
The regiment reformed behind the crest, in line with
the other regiments of the brigade, all of Avhich had been
forced to fall back ; but the line held was far in advance
of that held by Sumner's troops when the division
arrived. Thirty-three of the little band had fallen ; they
were less than two hundred men when they came upon
the field. In the Seventh Maine the loss was still greater ;
of the one hundred and seventy men who went into the
fight, one-half were killed or Avounded ; more than eighty
of those noble forms were prostrated like the slashings in
their own forests. The Thirty-third lost fifty in killed

150 LOSSES OF THE CORPS.
and wounded. The total loss to our Third brigade Avas
three hundred and forty-three; of the Second division, three
hundred and seventy-three ; of the corps, four hundred and
thirty-eight. Our men lay doAvn behind the ridge to protect them
selves from the rebel batteries ; yet even here the shells
came, carrying death to many of our number. The Ver
mont brigade was sent to the assistance of French's
division, who, having expended their ammunition, were
making feeble resistance to the enemy. The Vermonters
behaved with their usual gallantry, resisting the advance of
the enemy; and although frequently subjected to the fire
of artillery, they held their ground bravely. The brigade
was composed of men who could always be depended on
to do what they were ordered to do.
The advent of the Sixth corps upon the field had decided
the contest upon the right of the line, and after the first
charge by the Third brigade the battle lulled. Of all the
brUliant charges made in the ai-ray on that memorable day,
none was more gallant or more important in its results
than this noble charge of the Third brigade of Smith's
division. Although the infantry on both sides became
comparatively quiet, artillery thundered from every emi
nence in possession of our own or the enemy's batteries.
Shells and cannister tore through the Union ranks, making
in parts of the line fearful havoc. Thus, for nine long
hours, our Sixth corps endured this fiery ordeal, when
darkness closed over the field of strife.
Meanwhile, on the left, Burnside became hotly engaged.
At nine o'clock in the morning, his troops moved doAvn
toward the stone bridge, over which they hoped to cross.
The hills on either side slope down almost to the water's
edge ; the road leading to the bridge winding through a
ravine, and then on the other side ascending through
another ravine to the highlands. No sooner had the head

151
of the column descended into this amphitheater of hills,
than the rebels opened a destructive fire from behind
defenses Avhich they had throAvn up along the hillsides.
Rifle pits, and breastworks of rails and stones, concealed
thousands of infantry, Avho, from their secure position,
poured volley after volley into the advancing column ;
Avhile batteries, placed upon the heights, brought an enfi
lading fire upon the bridge and its approaches. In the face
of this reception, the Ninth corps formed in line of battle.
One brigade with fixed bayonets charged upon the bridge ;
but the concentrated fire of the enemy forced it back.
Charge after charge Avas ordered and executed by different
portions of the command Avith like success. At length a
battery Avas brought to bear directly upon the enemy's
position at the farthest end of the bridge, and, aided by
these guns, fresh troops charged Avith great enthusiasm,
carrying the bridge and planting their colors on the oppo
site side of the stream. Sturgis' division immediately
adv.anced up the slope, driving the enemy before it.
MeanAvhile Rodman's division had succeeded, after a desper
ate fight, in crossing the stream below, and had also gained
a position along the crest of the hills. The eneray having
the range perfectly, made the position along the crest of
the hills untenable, and the men Avere forced to fall back
a little ; lying close upon the ground to avoid the shells
that burst about them.
At length, at three o'clock. General Burnside ordered a
general adA-ance. The diA-isions moved in fine order, but
Avere soon met by the enemy in overpoAvering nurabers.
The Avhole line became hotly engaged. All the reserves
were brought into action, and still the rebels poured upon
the Union men in increasing nurabers ; pressing their flank
and turning the attack into a doubtful defense. It seeraed
impossible for the corps to hold its position against the
overwhelming force opposed to it. At this juncture Gen-

152 THE ENEMY REPULSED.
eral Burnside sent to General McClellan for aid. Porter's
troops were still in reserA'e ; but McClellan refused to
reUeve the hardly pressed corps. Again Burnside sends
Avord, " I cannot hold my position half an hour longer,
unless I am reinforced ;" and again the appeal is met with
refusal. Contrary to his own expectations, Burnside's
forces held their ground until darkness put an end to the
strife. Thus our own Sixth corps, and Burnside's corps, held
the ground they had each by raost desperate fighting
wrested from the hands of the enemy ; and in spite of the
peril which had threatened the right, when Hooker's braves
Avere forced back, the center, where Sumner's brave men
fell back for the third time with empty cartridge boxes,
and the left, where Burnside was so hardly pressed, the
advantage remained with our army ; and the weary sol
diers lay down in the expectation of renewing the battle
in the moming.
Their valor had saved them from defeat ; they hoped to
make the battle that should come, a complete A-ictory.
But the battle Avas ended. Toward morning, it was
known to officers of our corps that the rebels were moving
back, and the fact was reported ; but no attention was paid
to it. A trace, under pretense of burying the dead, gave
the rebels a quiet day, in which to prepare for their escape,
by sending their trains and much of their artillery to the
rear ; and on the night of the 18th, the whole rebel army
disappeared. So this memorable and sanguinary battle
ended. A defeat for the rebels, but not the decided vic
tory to our arms that could have been hoped for.
The Second division of the Sixth corps was relieved soon
after noon ofthe 18th by Couch's division, which was soon
afterward joined to the Sixth corps. Until now our corps
had consisted of but tAvo divisions, the First and Second.
Our men were glad to fall back enough to allow them to

SCENES ON THB BATTLE-FIELD. 153
cook their coffee once more, and they proceeded to the
AVork of preparing a good meal Avith great spirit.
The scene on the battle-field Avas past description. The
mangled forms of our own comrades lay stretched upon
the ground, side by side Avith those of the rebels. On
almost every rod of ground OA'er one hundred acres, the
dead and AVOunded, some clad in the Union blue and some
in confederate gray, Avere lying. A ghastly sight, present
ing all the horrible features of deatli which are to be seen
on such a field. At one point in our OAvn front, for more
than half a mile, the rebels lay so thickly as alraost to
touch each other. On the field where Hooker's men had
won and lost the field, the dead and dying were scattered
thickly araong the broken cornstalks, their eyes protrud
ing and their faces blackened by the sun. Wherever the
lines of battle had surged too and fro, these vestiges of
the terrible AVork were left. In the edge of the wood,
where the rebels had made a stand against Hooker's
advancing divisions, the bodies lay in perfect line, as
though they had fallen Avhile on dress parade. Further to
the left there was a narrow road, not more than fifteen
feet wide, with high fences on either side. Here a regi
ment of rebels was posted ; Avhen our batteries getting an
enfilading fire upon them, and the infantry at the sarae
tirae opening a murderous fire, the regiment was literally
destroyed ; not more than twenty of their number escap
ing. Their bodies filled the narrow road. Some were
shot Avhile attempting to get over the fence ; and their
remains hung upon the boards. A more fearful picture
than we saw here, could not be conceiA-ed.
Broken caissons, wheels, dismounted guns, thousands of
muskets, blankets, haversacks and canteens, were scattered
thickly over the field ; and hundreds of slain horses, bloated
and Avith feet turned tOAvard the sky, added to the horror
of the scene. 20

154 AT THE HOSPITALS.
WhUe the excitement of battle lasts, and we hear the
roar of artillery, and the shock of contending armies,
the terrible reality of the occasion hardly presents itself
to our minds, and it is only Avhen we survey the bloody
field, strewed with the mangled, lifeless reraains of friend
and foe, or Avalk through the hospitals, where the unfortu
nate victims of battle writhe in the agony of their wounds,
that we realize the terrible nature of a great battle.
Sickening as is the sight of the battle-field, the scenes
about the hospitals are Avorse, except to those Avho are
actually engaged in ministering to the relief of the
wounded. To these the excitement and labor incident to
their duties, crowd out the thoughts of the ghastly sur
roundings. They see only so many demands upon thera
for assistance, and have no tirae to indulge in sentimental
emotions. Here in the rear of the army for miles, was a succession
of hospitals. Every house, and barn, and haystack, formed
the nucleus of a hospital, Avhere men, shot through the
head, through the limbs, through the body ; with every
conceivable A'ariety of Avounds, lay groaning in anguish.
Surgeons toiled day and night with never lagging zeal to
relieve these sufferings, but all their labor could only
afford slight relief The labors of medical officers after a
great battle are imraense, and there is no respite from
their toils so long as a Avounded man remains uncared
for. While others find repose from the fatigues of
battle in sleep, the surgeons are still at AVork ; there is no
sleep for them so long as work remains to be done.
The rebel army had fallen back ; yet a skirmish line had
been left to cover the moveraent. At length even this
suddenly disappeared, and, firing a fcAV solid shots, as a
parting salute, the eneray took a final leave of the field.
Our forces w-ere ordered on. We passed over the scene of
carnage, Avhere hundreds of dead lay still unburied ; and

AT SHAEPSBUEGH. 155
pioneers were on CA-ery part of the field throwing the
mangled, disfigured forms into shalloAV graves. Along
the roadsides, under tlie fences, and Avhere the confederate
hospitals had been, still these gory objects met our vicAV.
We reached Sharpsburgh, and here the evidences of the
terrible conflict Avere to be seen everyAvhere. Houses rid
dled by shells and bullets ; some of them destroyed by fire,
and some battered into shapeless raasses ; the streets filled
Avith dis.abled Avagons ; horses galloping about without
riders ; knapsacks, guns and equipments cast away in the
hasty flight; churches filled Avith rebel wounded; all
helped to make up a scene of destruction such as has
been rarely witnessed. The people of the village wel
comed us as their deliverers, and brought Avater, and such
other refreshments as they had been able to conceal from
the rebels. We passed the village and bivouacked for the
night. On the 20th, we, of the Sixth corps, retraced our steps,
passing again over the battle-field, where the stench was
now unendurable. We reached Williamsport at daylight,
Avhere Couch's division was face to face with the eneray,
Avho were said to be recrossing the river, and who had
last night forced back part of the division.
The rebel force had, however, consisted of about four
thousand cavalry, Avho, finding the Unionists in force,
quickly returned to the south side of the Potomac. Here
we found an immense division of Pennsylvania militia
drawn up in line of battle. Its regiments were larger
than our brigades. They were armed with every variety
of fire-arms, from light sporting shot-guns to Sharpe's
rifles. Their uniforms had quite as little uniformity as
their arms. Some were dressed in gray pants and jackets,
others in light blue ; and still others in the A-arious fash
ions which constituted the wearing apparel at horae.
Grave gentleraan in spectacles, studious young men in

156 THE PEESIDENT's VISIT.
green glasses, pale young raen who Avere evidently more
at home behind the counter than in line of battle, roughs
who had not been tamed by the discipline of military
life, and boys Avho, for the first time, had left the paternal
mansion, made up the heterogeneous division.
Reraaining at Williarasport until the morning of the
23d, we marched on the Hagerstown turnpike to Bakers-
ville, where we remained about three weeks. Here it was
that Couch's division was joined to the Sixth corps.* On
the 3d of October the corps was ordered out for rcAdew
by President Lincoln. The line was formed on a fine
plain, and the booming of cannon announced the approach
of the Commander-in-Chief of the armies of the United
States. The illustrious visitor was accorapanied by Gen
erals McClellan, Franklin, Smith and other notable men,
with an immense retinue. Conscious of the fatigues
already endured by these veterans, the President simply
passed along the line of the divisions, acknowledging
the salutations which greeted him, without requiring the
columns to march in review. The soldiers manifested
their appreciation of the interest taken by the Chief
Magistrate in their welfare, by loud and repeated cheers.
Suraner's, Burnside's and Porter's corps had already been
reviewed by the President.
While at this camp, large accessions Avere made to our
thinned ranks. Before the army left Harrison's Landing,
efforts had been set on foot for filling up the skeleton regi
ments of our army. Recruiting officers had been detailed
from every regiment, to go to the localities from which
their respectiA'e regiments had been raised, and bring in
recruits, to fill the places made vacant by death and
disease. The critical condition of affairs when the army

* The regiments of this division were, the 36th, S-lth, 62d, Goth, 67th and 122d New
York; the 23d, 82d, 93d, 98th and 102d Pennsylvania; the 7th, 10th and 37th Massa
chusetts, and the 2d Ehode Island.

THE AEMY EECEUITED. 157
was Avitlidrawn from the Peninsula, and, afterward, when
Pope Avas so disastrously forced back upon the defenses
of Washington, had roused to most earnest action, many
patriots, who hoped to aA-ert further disaster by forAvard-
ing men to the field. Under these influences, and as the
result of these patriotic efforts, many recruits offered
themselves ; but after the battle of Antietam, ncAV life Avas
added to the recruiting service. Many Avho then supposed
that the Avar Avas nearly ended, gladly accepted the large
bounties, and in the hope of soon being "in at the death"
of the rebellion, enrolled themselves among the soldiers of
the Union. War meetings Avere held in every town, and
the utmost enthusiasm was created. In Saratoga, a large
concourse of people, among whom Avere many of the visit
ors at the Springs, gathered for a Avar meeting. Stirring
speeches were made. Ladies offered their diamond rings,
their Avatch chains, their Avatches and other A-aluables to
those Avho should come forAvard and enter the service.
Under the influence of such enthusiasm, raany came for
ward and enrolled their names, and received the jewels
from the fair hands of the patriotic donors. By such
efforts as these, all OA^er the country, from tAVO to three
hundred recruits were raised for each regiment in our
corps, and large accessions Avere made to the ranks of the
whole array.
The advent of the ncAV comers was hailed Avith joy by
the veterans, who had become sadly discouraged by their
small and constantly decreasing numbers.
Our men Avere enjoying the welcome rest and the abund
ant supply of food obtauied in this delightful country,
and many varieties of diet, well remembered as familiar in
former years, but unknown to them since their campaigns
commenced, adorned their humble mess tables. Among
other luxuries, " hasty pudding " and johnny cake became
common articles of diet. The process of producing these

158 WANT OF CLOTHING.
articles, was after the rude manner of men who must invent
the working materials as they are needed. One-half of
an unserAaceable canteen, or a tin jilate perforated by
means of a nail or the shai-p point of a bayonet, served
the purpose of a grater or mill for grinding the corn. The
neighboring cornfields, although guarded, yielded abund
ance of rich yelloAV ears ; which, without passing through
the process of " shelling," were rubbed across the grater,
yielding a finer meal than is usually ground at the grist
mills. The meal being obtained, it was mixed with a
large or small quantity of water, as mush or cake was
desired, and cooked.
The men complained of want of proper and sufficient
clothing, and many of them Avere absolutely barefooted.
On whora the blame for the long delay in furnishing these
necessary articles should rest, we can only refer to the con
troversy between the Major-General commanding the
armies of the Uirited States and the Major-General com
raanding the Array of the Potomac.
Soon after midnight, October llth, the corps was
ordered to move to Hagerstown. In the midst of a
heavy shower the march was made, and Hagerstown
was reached soon after daylight. Here a new cause of
excitement occurred. Stuart, Avith his cavalry, was in
our rear ; Charabersburgh Avas burned, and other tOAvns
sacked. The Vermont brigade Avas hastily loaded into
cars and sent to Charabersburgh in pursuit of the cavalry,
which was already far on its way to the Potomac. Of
course they could only return, having had an excursion
through the country at government expense. The Third
brigade of Smith's division marched hastily to the Mary
land and Pennsylvania line, to where a stone bridge
crossed the Antietam; a battery of artillery was also
here, and the brigades and battery prepared to defend the
crossing. But no eneray appeared, and the two brigades

ALONG THE POTOMAC. 159
returned to HagerstOAVn ; the Vermonters to occupy the
town as provost guard, the other to encamp in a delight
ful grove a raile beyond.
Thus ended the famous campaign of Antietam ; Avhich
had humbled the pride of the boastful confederates, and
had turned back their hordes to their mountain fastnesses
in Virginia for safety. A campaign Avhich, Avhile con
ducted with great hesitancy and a total want of that
celerity of movement usually considered absolutely neces
sary to brilliant success in military operations, yet had
preserved the north from imminent and immediate danger
which threatened it. Our losses in killed, Avounded and
missing, in this campaign, amounted to fifteen thousand
two hundred and twenty.
The army was posted, two corps, the Second and
TAvelfth, at Harper's Ferry ; the remaining corps along
the Potomac, above and below that point, for twenty
miles. Here, six Aveeks Avere spent in getting ready for
another campaign ; the President, meanAvhile, constantly
ordering an advance across the river ; General McClellan,
constantly offering excuses for delay. It is not our pur
pose to discuss the merits of these excuses, but it may not
be out of place to mention, that although the Sixth corps
was represented as being in worse condition, in regard to
clothing and shoes, than any other corps, that corps finally
crossed the river before it received its clothing, showing
that even the corps least supplied with these important
articles could undertake the campaign even after another
month's wear of the old clothes and the advent of the
cold Aveather. On the 18th of October, that portion of
the Third brigade able to perform duty, was marched to
Clear Spring to perform picket duty, leaving in camp the
recruits, Avho were 'unarmed, and the invalids. Thus
the brigade occupied two distinct camps several miles
apart. The duty on picket was by no means severe, and

160 CHANGES IN COMMAND.
the country was delightful. The boys found little diffi
culty in procuring abundant supplies of luxuries, such as
soft bread, hoe cakes and other articles, from the farmers ;
and as the enemy was at Winchester, they were not in
great alarm from rebel raids.
The HagerstOAvn camp Avas indeed a pleasant one. The
people Avere generally loyal, and seemed glad to furnish the
soldiers Avith all the comforts possible. There was little
duty, and the invalids had time for recovering their
exhausted strength, while the recruits were afforded an
opportunity for drill.
General Slocum, who had coraraanded the First division
of our corps since the corps was organized, was assigned
to the coraraand of the TAvelfth corps, in place of General
Mansfield, who lost his life at Antietam.
In the Vermont brigade an important change occurred,
General Brooks, the old and tried coraraander of the
brigade, was assigned to the coraraand of the first divi
sion of the corps, succeeding General Slocum, who took
command of the TAvelfth corps. General Brooks Avas
one of the most energetic and brave brigade commanders
in our army, and notwithstanding his abrupt and some
times very stern manners, had endeared himself by his
excellent discipline and fighting qualities, not only to
his brigade, but to the whole division.
An amusing incident, well calculated to illustrate the
mingled sentiments of love and fear entertained for the
general by even those in his own command, occurred
at a meeting of the officers of the brigade, immediately
after the order for the transfer. The object of the meet
ing, was to make arrangements for presenting the general
with a suitable testimonial of their regard. Some dis
cussion occurred in regard to the character of the gift.
Some proposed a silver service, sorae a sword. At length
it was proposed, that a fine horse and equipments be pur-

A GIFT FOR GENERAL BROOKS. 161
chased. An officer rose and said that it was all very Avell
to talk about buying a horse for General Brooks, but he
Avould like to knoAV who would be so bold as to undertake
to present it to hira ! Another officer suggested that the
horse might be saddled and bridled and hitched in front
of the general's quarters during the night, with a note
tied to the bridle stating for Avhom it was designed, and
by whom presented.
A magnificent silver service was finally presented to the
general, who, forgetting his rough manners, received
the beautiful gift of his loved brigade Avith tears standing
on his broAvn cheeks.

21

CHAPTER XV.
THE SECOND ADVANCE INTO VIRGINIA, AND THE
BATTLE OF FREDERICKSBURGH.
Marching in Marylaud— Arrival at New Baltimore — General McClellan super
seded by General Burnside— Thanksgiving in camp— The grand divisions organ
ized— The march resumed— Fatal delays— In order of battle — The crossing—
Fredericksburgh bombarded— Situation of Predericksburgh— Scenes of activity
—The Bernard house — Scenes at the hospital— The battle on the right— Charges
of the Pennsylvania reserves —The river recrossed— Reflections.
Thus, for nearly six weeks, the army remained at Hagers
town, and on the line of the Potomac, resting and waiting
for clothing. Ou the 28th of October, orders came to clear
all the camps of sick ; and all from our Sixth corps were
sent to hospitals in Hagerstown. At dark, we set out, and
making a night march of a feAV miles, reached Williams
port, where we bivouacked and remained two days, and
thence went to Boonsboro'.
The march from Williamsport to Boonsboro' led us
through a magnificent country. On either side of the
road, the long lines of corn shocks and the vine-clad houses,
formed a picture of wealth and comfort. We halted at
Boonsboro' in sight of the field of Antietam, and joassed
our bi-raonthly muster. At daybreak in the morning Ave
were again on the road. The first part of our Avay led
through a beautiful open country, but we were soon wind
ing among the hills that form the slopes of "Pleasant
VaUey." The forests on the hillsides, glowing with the brilliant
colors of autumn, the fine old residences, appearing here
and there among the trees, and the plethoric stacks of hay

MARCHING THROUGH MARYLAND. 163
and grain, combined, indeed, to make it a " pleasant val
ley," and, as the lines of troops filed along the roads, the
spectacle was beautifully picturesque. We passed South
Mountain, where the rebels had met with such a bloody
reception from our forces, and not long after we were on
the ground of the battle of BurkettsvUle, where our Sixth
corps had charged up the hill and had driven the enemy
in confusion. Every tree bore lasting marks of a terrible
fight. For more than a mile, the forest was completely
scarred by bullets and shells ; not a tree had escaped, and
many of them were pierced lUie the cover of a pepper-box.
Wo halted near BerUn, in a charming valley, where we
staid over Sunday. Monday morning, we crossed the
Potomac to Virginia, on pontoon bridges, passed through
the little tOAvns of Lovettsville and Purcellville, Union
Town and Upperville, then crossing the valley almost
from west to east, from the Blue Ridge to the Kittoctan
mountains, at length, on Thursday, reached White Plains,
a station on the Front Royal and Manassas railroad, not
far from Thoroughfare Gap. Here we were overtaken by
a cold storm of rain, sleet and snow, gloomy enough, but
not so gloomy as Avas the news that here reached us of
the elections in New York. Whatever the attitude of the
political parties may have been before or since that time
in reference to the war, in our army the result of the New
York elections was regarded, at that time, as a repudiation
of the war.
We reached New Baltimore on the 9th, and the next
morning Ave were notified that, by order of the President,
General McClellan was reUeved from the command of the
army of the Potomac, to be superseded by Major-General
Burnside. No sooner had the farewell order of General McClellan
been read to the troops, than the whole army was ordered
into line for review by corps. The retiring and the incom-

164 GENERAL BURNSIDE TAKES COMMAND.
ing generals, each Avith his long train of foUoAvers, galloped
along the whole of the line of the army, Avhile batteries
fired salutes and bands played " The Star Spangled Ban
ner " and " Hail to the Chief" Many of the regiments
cheered the departing general with great enthusiasm,
Avhile others observed a studied silence.
A Aveek Avas sj^ent at New Baltimore, and then another
Aveek on the banks of Aquia creek, not far from Stafford
Court House.
The 27th of November was Thanksgiving day, in nearly
all the loyal States, and doubtless our friends at horae, as
they gathered in many a family circle that day, to partake
bounteous Thanksgiving dinners, spoke of those who were
aAvay at the war, and thought, that with them. Thanksgiv
ing could only be a hard day's march in the rain or mud,
with rations of hard bread and pork ; and so, many kind
hearts pitied the soldiers as they thought that we were
deprived of the luxuries which they were enjoying.
But we, too, enjoyed a pleasant Thanksgiving. In the
morning, throughout the corps, there was brigade inspec
tion ; we put on our good clothes and presented ourselves
to our generals, looking our best ; then as we marched
back into the various camps, we found dinner smoking in
many a cook-tent, and the odor of roast meats rising
throughout the whole corps like an odor of sweet incense.
Fresh sheep pelts hanging here and there in considerable
profusion, told of good cheer among all the men.
As evening approached, the voice of singing was heard
from all the camps, and groups were gathered under the
shadoAV of the chestnut trees, where many pairs of gov
ernment shoes were shuffiing to the music of violins.
Throughout the limits of the corps, good humor and
mirth prevailed ; the sick forgot their pains, and the home
sick ones, for the time, looked bright, as they yielded to
the general feeling of happiness.

THE GEAND DIVISIONS. 165
General Burnside, immediately upon taking command,
consolidated the array into three grand divisions, of tAvo
corps each. The Right, to consist of the Second corps.
General Couch, and the Ninth, General Wilco.x ; General
Sumner to command the grand division. General Hooker
was placed in command of the Center diA ision, AA'hich con
sisted of the Third corps. General Stoneman, and the Fifth,
General Butterfield. Tho Left grand division consisted of
the Sixth corjjs, under General Smith, and the First corjjs,
under General Reynolds ; General Franklin Avas assigned
to the command.
The command of the Second division. Sixth corps, Avas
giA'^en to Brigadier-General A. P. HoAve.
At length, we resuraed our march, reaching Brooks'
Station the first night ; theu, after a day's delay, we
started again. The weather was intensely cold, and the
mud almost unfathomable. The troops, with much diffi
culty, moved about six miles, reaching the rear of Fal
mouth Station, opposite Fredericksburgh ; but the trains,
at midnight, had only proceeded two miles. In the ambu
lances, the sick suffered beyond description. Six soldiers
from the Third brigade, Second division, died in the ambu
lances that night. Even the well men in camp could
hardly manage to keep warra. Fcav persons in that vast
army slept, and the ring of hundreds of axes and the fall
ing of trees, which were to be piled on the fires, were
heard all night.
The Right and Center grand divisions, had arrived in the
vicinity of Falmouth several days before ; and it had been
the design of General Burnside to cross his army over the
Rappahannock, seize the heights of Fredericksburgh, and
jjush on toward Richmond, before the enemy could throw
a sufficiently strong force in his front, to offer serious
resistance. In this, doubtless, he would have been
successful, but " some one had blundered," and the Com-

166 AVAITING FOE PONTOONS.
mander-in-Chief suflered the mortification of seeing his
plans foiled, and his series of forced marches a failure,
because the pontoons which were to meet him on his
arrival before Fredericksburgh were still at Washington ;
and this through the crirainal neglect of some one. This
carapaign, which promised more than any previous cam
paign of the Army of the Potomac, was now destined to
prove a failure.
From the time that the first troops appeared in front of
Fredericksburgh, nearly three weeks were spent in wait
ing for pontoons ; while General Lee had abundant time to
bring together all his forces and post them in such positions,
as to dispute our passage at any point, for twenty miles up
and down the river. In guarding this extensive front.
General Lee had stretched out his army to such an extent,
that Burnside hoped, by throwing his whole army across
at one point, to pierce the weak line before his enemy
could concentrate his forces.
On the morning of the llth of December, we marched
to a point about two miles below Fredericksburgh. The
whole army was in motion. The ground had become
hardened by frost, and a light coating of snow lay upon
it. The wheels no longer sunk in the mire ; but artillery
rolled easily over the frozen ground.
The Right grand division, Sumner's, had already taken
its position immediately in front and above the city of
Fredericksburgh ; the Center, Hooker's, and the Left divi
sion, Franklin's, now took position below the town.
As we descended from the heights of Stafford, into the
valley of the Rappahannock, dense clouds of fog obscured
the view of the opposite bank, and it was only at noon
that we could distinguish objects on the farther side ofthe
river. Engineers were hard at AVork laying pontoon
bridges, being submitted to a brisk musketry fire from the
rebel skirmishers, Avho at times charged upon them, killing

BOMBARDMENT OF FEEDEEICKSBUEGH. 107
and wounding several of the Avorkmen, and greatly hin
dering the AVork. A tew volleys from our batteries, which
were brought forAvard presently, put these troublesome
parties to flight, and the work went on. Still, during all
the day, the enemy strove with artillery and infantry to
prevent the laying of the bridge, but to no avail.
On the right, where the veteran Sumner commanded,
the task of throwing the bridges across, was far more diffi
cult than at the lower crossing. In the storehouses and
dwellings along the banks of the river, SAvarms of rebel
soldiers were concealed ; - and these, by pouring murderous
volleys into the midst of the pontoniers, compelled them to
desist from the attempt to finish their bridge. Determined
no longer to be thwarted by these concealed foes. General
Burnside, having previously notified the civil authorities
of the town, that if the houses were used as covers for men
who were shooting our soldiers, the town must sufi"er the
consequences, ordered our batteries to concentrate their
fire upon it and batter down the Avails. Soon after noon,
the bombardment commenced. One hundred and seventy
cannon belched forth the huge iron missiles upon the
devoted city. The roar of the artillery was terrific, and as
the winds rolled away the huge columns of smoke, we saAv
that the city was on fire, the flames leaping to the skies.
The spectacle was one of aAvfiil grandeur. The bursting
bombs, shooting forth their flashing coruscations from the
columns of smoke, the great tongues of flame from the
burning buildings, leaping to the heavens, the clamor of
the bursting shells and the shock of the artillery Avhich
shook the earth, made up one of the most terribly magni
ficent of scenes.
In the midst of all this direful tumult, and while the
conflagration of the city drove the confederates out of
their places of concealment, Sumner's forces succeeded in
laying their bridge and crossing troops; not, however.

168 SITUATION OF PREDERICKSBURGH.
until two brave regiments had crossed in boats and cap
tured or dispersed the rebel sharpshooters, who had given
so much trouble. Hooker also effected a crossing at the
sarae tirae. We had now bridges across at three points ;
"Franklin's Crossing" being nearly two miles below the
town. The city of Fredericksburgh is upon the south bank of
the Rappahannock river. Fronting the city, on the north
side of the stream, rises a steep bluff — Stafford Heights —
which approaches near the riA-er above and opposite the
town, and gradually recedes from it below. This was the
side held by our army. Behind the toAvn, on the south,
the ground rises in several successive terraces until it
reaches an elevation called "the mountain." Each ter
race commands all below it, and the whole forms a position
of unsurpassed advantages for defense. Here, betAveen
these high grounds, and stretching on either side of the
river, is the valley of the Rappahannock — almost a leA'cl
plain of six miles in length, and averaging two and a half
miles in breadth, narrowing in front of the town to less
than a mile, and spreading out, at the point where our
lower bridges were thrown across, to at least three miles.
On the crest of the heights, north of the riA-er, were posted
our batteries in great numbers. On the plain and on each
of the terraces south of the river, the enemy was intrenched
in most formidable positions.
The advance of the enemy fell back, as our forces crossed
the river, leaving us in possession of the plain on both
sides, and of the tOAvn. Night came on, and the spectacle
Avas unutterably grand, as the sheets of fire burst from the
mouths of the opposing batteries; but at length the roar
of battle subsided, and except the firing of pickets, all
was quiet. Franklin thrcAV but a small force across the
river; a strong picket line, well supported, holding a
semi-circular tract of the plain. The Eighteenth and

CROSSING THE EIVEE. 169
Thirty-first New York Avere the first of tho Sixth corps to
cross the bridge.
The Sixth corps returned to the heights and bivouacked
for the night, leaving a few regiraents to hold the plain in
front of the bridge. It was the intention of the command
ing general to press the enemy closely in front with the
Right and Center grand divisions, while the Left division
was to make a flank movement on the right of the enemy's
line, seizing the road to Bowling Green, and rendering the
rebel position untenable.
Before dawn on the following morning, we made our Avay
again to the river. Thousands croAvded upon the banks,
or hurriedly dashed across the bridge. The rumble of
wheels upon the frozen ground, the tramp of thousands
of men, the neighing of innumerable horses, mingled with
the roar of musketry. The sun rose in splendor, and the
spires of the city, two miles to our right, shone brightly,
for only the lower part of the town had been destroyed
by the conflagration of the day before, and tens of thou
sands of muskets gleamed in the morning light. The
broad plain, on the south bank, swarmed with the hosts
of Franklin and Hooker. Musketry fire became more and
more brisk, as our forces moved into position, but no gen
eral engagement came on. Shells from the rebel batteries
came bursting in our midst, and in reply, our OAvn guns
on Stafford Heights sent their shells screaming over our
heads, to burst in the midst of the rebel artillerists.
A fine stone mansion of large dimensions, situated on
the south bank of the river, and a little below the bridge,
was taken by the surgeons of our Second division, for a
hospital. The position was exposed to the rebel fire, but
it was the best that could be found. Just in front of it
the gallant General Bayard, of the cavalry, was struck by
a shell, and killed instantly. Others, some of whom had
been previously been wounded, received fatal shots at the
22

170 A " SECESH " BACHELOE.
very doors of the house. The owner of this magnificent
mansion stUl remained in it. He Avas an old secesh
bachelor, very aristocratic in his notions, and highly
incensed at the use his house was put to by the " hireling
Yankees." But he was taken care of by a guard. His
servants cooked for the wounded and our surgeons ; his
fine larder furnished us delicacies and his cellar rich old
wines. Doubtless his feelings on delivering to us the keys of
his wine cellar were not unlike those of Sir Hugh Berkley
in " The Wagoner ; " who
¦' — only knew they drank his wine ;
Would they inight hang, a scareero"W line,
Ou the next lightning blasted tree."
Saturday, the sun appeared, bright and warm as on a
spring morning. The battle now commenced in terrible
earnest. First, on the left, the booming of heavy guns and
the rattle of musketry told of hot work in our own front.
Then gradually the battle rolled on to the right; and
whUe it thundered there, our forces on the left remained
comparatively quiet. Then, back again came the roar of
cannon, the shrieking and cracking of shells and the din
of musketry.
The hills in our front were thickly wooded, and in these
woods " Stonewall " Jackson had concealed his forces.
General Meade, with his division of Pennsylvania reserves,
and Gibbons, with his division, both of Reynolds' First
corps, were sent to take and hold the Bowling Green road,
which lay in the edge of the wood. Gallantly and in
splendid order, the two divisions moved up toward the
edge of the wood. Gibbons' division halted at the railroad,
near the wood, Meade's pressed forward, and presently
disappeared among the trees. Although considerable resist
ance was met with, the gallant division continued to press

meade's gallant assaults. 171
forAvard, the rebels steadily giving way. Suddenly, the
roar of cannon became aAvful, and the fire of musketry
almost deafening. The rebels had opened an enfilading fire
npon the division, which made fearful havoc. The men who
had so gallantly marched into the woods, came hurrying
back in disorder ; not, howcA'er, until they had succeeded
in capturing several hundred prisoners from the enemy. A
flag, one or two mounted officers, and a squad of a dozen
or twenty men were all that could be recognized as a regi
mental organization ; all others had fallen before the deadly
fire that met them, or had lost their commands. The men
quickly rallied about their flags and again charged into the
AVOods, and again they Avere sent back in disorder. They
were now withdrawn, and the rebels charged upon the line
of the Sixth corps. The troops of our Second division
Avere lying doAvn behind a slight elevation of ground,
and, as the rebels charged down furiously upon us, our
men suddenly rose and poured a deadly volley into them.
At the same time the troops of the First division met
their attack with spirit, and sent them reeling back
to their cover in the forest.
The wounded poured into our hospitals, and well did
those surgeons, who had seized the stone mansion, earn
that day, lasting gratitude fi-om their division.
Never had wounded men been so quickly or so well
cared for. It was the beginning of an era of organized
labor in that department. Among the earliest of the
wounded was General Vinton, commanding the Third
brigade, Second division. A ball had passed into the
abdomen, and was cut out from his back. The unfortu
nate men were stowed in every part of the great house,
and in the smaller buUdings surrounding it, and tents
furnished shelter for those unable to find room in the
buildings. After General Vinton was wounded, Brigadier-
General Thomas H. Neill was ordered to assume the

172 THE WOUNDED.
coraraand of our brigade, which he did on the battle
field. Meanwhile, on the right, Sumner's and Hooker's forces
were striving, with herculean efforts, to dislodge the
enemy from his strongholds, but to no avail. His posi
tion Avas impregnable, and the Union forces only advanced
against the works to meet with deadly repulse from the
savage fire of the concealed foe, and to fall back with
fearful losses. Thus the struggle lasted until evening,
when the roar of battle was hushed, and our tired troops
slumbered upon their arms.
On Sunday morning the rattle of rausketry and the
thunder of artillery commenced again, but, as little reply
Avas made by the eneray, the demonstration on our part
soon ceased, and the day Avas spent in comparative quiet.
It was said that General Burnside, unAvilling to give up
the struggle, had ordered an advance of the Ninth corps,
which he Avas personally to lead, against one of the rebel
strongholds, but that he had yielded to the advice of the
grand division commanders to refrain from the attempt.
Monday still found us on the battle-field. The thumping
of artillery was renewed, but not fiercely. Our wounded
Avere removed to the other side of the river. A kind
providence had favored them, for the weather had been
delightful. Had such weather prevailed as we experienced
a few days before, manj"" of the Avounded, faint and
exhausted from the loss of blood, must have perished with
the cold. During the night the whole army was Avith-
drawn, with as much secrecy as possible, across the pon
toon bridges. No sooner had the troops crossed to the
north side of the river than the bridges were taken up, and
the two armies were again separated by the Rappahannock.
As the bridges were being taken up, the rebels rushed to
the bank and fired into the pontoniers, but were repelled
by the men of the Seventy-seventh Ncav York. That regi-

EEFLECTIONS. 1 73
ment formed a picket line along the bank of the river, but
were ordered not to fire unless the enemy did. " A pretty
order," said Terry Gray, of Corapany B, " to Avait tUl a man
is killed before he can fire his gun !" The array went into
camp on a line from Falmouth to BeUe Plain ; the Sixth
corps occupying nearly the center of the line, at a place
called White Oak Church, from a little Avhitewashed meet
ing house, Avithout bell or steeple, in the raidst of a clump
of white oak trees.
The attempt to capture the heights of Fredericksburgh
by a direct assault was indeed a daring undertaking, and
one involving a fearful risk. The only hope of success lay
in the active and hearty cooperation of all the commands
of the army. Such cooperation was not to be had. To
the Left grand division Avas assigned an important Avork
which it failed to accomplish ; not because it was defeated
in the atterapt, but because the atterapt was not made in
earnest. The troops Avere brave and eager to meet the
enemy. None were ever more brave or more desirous to
test their valor. The heroic deeds of those who did
advance against the enemy will ever redound to the glory
of our arms ; and had all the forces of the Left grand divi
sion been brought fairly into action, the result might have
been different. Surely such troops as composed the grand
old Sixth corps were fitted for a nobler work than standing
upon an open plain, exposed to fierce artiUery fire, without
ever being allowed to turn upon the enemy. Our defeat
had cost us more than twelve thousand men, in killed,
wounded and missing.

CHAPTER XVI.

TEE WINTER AT FALMOUTH.

Camp at "WTiite Oak Church— "The mnd march " — Beturn to camp — General
NeiU— General Hooker supersedes General Burnside— Burnside's magnanimity
— General Hooker as a soldier — Reconstruction — The cavalry organized— Busi
ness departments renovated— The medical department — Ambulance sj-stem —
Quartermasters' and commissary departments — Life in camp — Snowball bat
tles—In the Seventy-seventh— The Light division— Review by General Hooker
— General John Sedgwick — Scene at head-quarters —Review of the army by the
President — Preparing for the campaign. The men built huts,
 and made themselves
^^& as comfortable as they
could, in their camp at
White Oak Church, but
disease spread rapidly,
especially among the re
cruits. The regiments
were crowded closely
' together on ground too low and wet for
. good camping ground, and the men,
having never before erected winter quar-
• ters from shelter tents, were not so
expert as they became in the succeeding
winters ; so they suffered from incon
venient quarters, as well as from the low
White Oak Church, Va. ground and crowdcd camps.
Our army Avas now composed in large part, of the recruits
sent from the north during the preceding summer and
autumn, and thousands of these had never had any idea
of fighting or of suffering the privations of army life.

r£Keia^M^

A NEAV CAMPAIGN. 175
They had enlisted for the large bounties Avhicli were paid
at that time, with the determination to leave the service as
soon as their bounties Avere paid, and a favorable oppor
tunity offered itself for escape. Desertions became alarm
ingly frequent ; indeed, Avhen a fcAV weeks later General
Hooker assumed command, there Avere more than eighty-
four thousand absentees, Avith and without authority. The
great number of desertions, Ave think, should be attributed
to the fact that so large a proportion of the ncAV recruits
had enlisted for money, rather than to the demoralization
of the army.
Notwithstanding the inconveniences to which the men
were subjected, and the advance to midwinter, the weather
was in our favor. The sun shone brightly, the days were
warm and the roads dry. It became evident that General
Burnside was determined not to allow the delightful
weather and the excellent roads to pass unimproved.
Indications of a general moveraent crowded upon us, and
on the 20th of January came the order to march.
The whole array broke camp and moved toward Banks'
Ford, tAVO miles up the river from White Oak Church.
On the march, an order from the comraanding general
was read to the troops, announcing to thera that the aus
picious moment had at length arrived when we were to
reap the glorious fruits of our long toils. At five o'clock
we halted in the thick woods at Banks' Ford, the point
selected for crossing the river, and in a few minutes were
quietly and comfortably bivouacked out of sight of rebels
on the opposite side. Scarcely had we settled ourselves
for a comfortable night's rest, when the clouds, which
had been gathering since morning, broke in rain, and the
delightful Indian summer gave way to the rainy winter
of the south. All night long the rain poured, and all the
next day. It was evident we had waited too long. But
the commander was determined not to abandon his effort

176 IN THE MUD.
to outflank the enemy. By morning, the roads were so
softened by the rain, that horses could not haul artillery
or pontoons into position. Men took the place of horses.
The whole Vermont brigade was detailed to drag the pon
toons and guns to the river. All day long, working and
tugging with the mud above their knees ; here a hundred
men pulling at a pontoon boat, there a party prying a
cannon out of the mire with long levers, and still other
parties laying strips of corduroy road. The Vermonters
passed a disagreeable day.
General Burnside Avas not idle all this Avhile. Riding
from one point to another, now personally superintending
the placing of a battery in position on the bank of the
river, now encouraging the men who lugged at the boats
and guns, and now selecting places to cut new roads, he
passed the night and the day in fatiguing and anxious
labor. As he rode through the camp of our division in
the afternoon, with only two staff officers, himself and his
horse completely coA-ered with mud, the rim of his hat
turned doAvn to shed the rain, his face careworn with this
unexpected disarrangement of his plans, we could but
think that the soldier on foot, arm oppressed with the
weight of knapsack, haversack and gun, bore an easy load
compared with that of the commander of the army, who
now saw departing his hopes of redeeming the prestige
he had lost at Fredericksburgh.
Men were detailed from each of the regiments of the
corps to return to Falmouth, a distance of five miles, to
bring on their backs two days' rations ; those brought by
the men being nearly exhausted. But during the night it
Avas determined to abandon the attempt to cross the river.
The enemy, by this time fully aware of our intention,
was prepared for us, and a crossing could only be made at
great sacrifice, perhaps with defeat. So at sunrise in the
morning we were on the road back to our old camp ; this

AN AEMY OF STEAGGLEES. 177
time for permanent winter quarters. All along the road
lay a multitude of dead horses and mules, which had fallen
in the tremendous but unavailing efforts of the day before.
Artillery and wagons still stuck fast in the mud, and
cannoniers and teamsters lifted and tugged with rails
and with poles to raise the piece or the wagon from the
mire. The mud was deep, the day was gloomy and the men
were discouraged. They straggled badly. Regiments
were not to be distinguished. The Avhole column became
an unorganized crowd, pressing toward the old camps.
Tired and discouraged as were the men, they kept up their
lively sallies and jokes, as though all was smooth work.
Toward evening the troops of our corps arrived on their
old ground, now to be our home until the opening of
spring, and at once fell to work to restore to some degree
of comfort that most desolute of scenes, an abandoned
camp. Unfortunately, on leaving the place, little think
ing that they were so soon to return, they had burned
everything combustible, and thus a strip of board or a
piece of timber could hardly be found within the limits of
the corps. Nevertheless, comfortable quarters were soon
erected, and the routine of drills and picket was resumed.
Brigadier-General Neill, who was assigned to the com
mand of the Third brigade, was active in encouraging his
men to provide good quarters, and in furnishing every
facility in his power to make them comfortable. The
general was a portly gentleman, Avith light red hair and
whiskers, and a small blue eye, ceremonious in his style,
and a perfect pattern of courtliness. He had, at West
Point, won the appeUation of " Beau Neill," a title which
never left him. He was a good commander in camp. He
orginated the brigade dress parade that winter, often calling
out the brigade on fine evenings, and substituting the
brigade for the regunental parade. The custom was at
23

178 GENERAL HOOKER IN COMMAND.
length adopted in many brigades iu the army of the Poto
mac ; but feAV gave credit for the iraproved parade to the
originator of it.
The second faUure of General Burnside rendered his
removal from the command of the army a thing to be
expected ; and no one was surprised when the order came
relieving him, and assigning General Hooker to the com
mand. It must be confessed that our faUure at Bank's
Ford had done much to demoralize the army and destroy
the confidence in the commanding general so absolutely
necessary to success. On our Avay back from Bank's Ford,
as Ave passed Fredericksburgh, Ave saAV huge placards posted
up by the rebels Avith taunting inscriptions, such as " Burn
side stuck in the mud," printed in conspicuous letters.
The men caught up the words, and " Burnside stuck in the
mud " passed from one end of the disordered column to
the other. When we had failed at Fredericksburgh, the
men were as wUling as ever to try again under the same
comraander. They believed him to be at least earnest and
brave. They kncAV that he was noble and self-sacrificing.
In the noble letter to General Halleck, in which he assumed
all the responsibility for the failure at Fredericksburgh,
they found renewed assurance that he had all the qualities
of a true soldier — bravery, integrity and true manhood ;
but an army must have success, or it cannot long repose
confidence in the general. So, while the Army of the
Potomac regarded General Burnside with great respect, it
gladly welcomed the advent of " Fighting Joe Hooker "
to the command.
General Hooker had fairly won the title of " Fighting
Joe " at the slaughter of Williamsburgh, where, almost
single-handed with his division, he had stemmed the tide
of battle for hours, until reinforced by Kearney, and then,
with the help of that hero, had held the whole rebel army
until it was outflanked by our Second division.

RECONSTRUCTION. 179
In all the battles of the Peninsula he had been conspic
uous, and at South Mountain and Antietam his fighting
propensities were exhibited in raore than their wonted
splendor. In person he was of large stature, Avith fine
features, brilliant eye, his side whiskers and ruddy counte
nance giving a more youthful appearance than his light
gray hair would indicate. His gleaming eye told of the
spirit which animated the man, and his determined air
betokened the persistent and fearless soldier. In battle
or on revieAV he rode a magnificent milk Avhite steed, a
powerful animal and of extraordinary fieetness. Mounted
on this superb war horse, he was the most conspicuous, as
he Avas always one of the handsomest men in the army.
The energy of the new commander soon began to be
manifested in the reconstruction and reorganization of
the whole army. The first step in the progress of recon
struction, was the revocation of the order making three
grand divisions of the army. By the abolition of the grand
divisions. Generals Sumner and Franklin were relieved
from their commands ; and the corps commanders, no
longer subject to intermediate commanders, were again
directly responsible to the general-in-chief of the army.
Doubtless General Hooker had seen that the creation of
these grand divisions had much to do with the faUures
of General Burnside.
The cavalry next engaged the attention of the general.
The whole force was thoroughly reorganized and put in
an efficient condition, under coraraand of Major-General
Stoneman. Hereafter, men were not to ask, " Who ever
saw a dead cavalryman ?" To General Hooker, the cav
alry of the Army of the Potomac owes its efficiency and
the glorious record it from that time made for itself.
The superiority of the rebel cavalry, in the early part
of the war, was generally attributed to the supposed fact
that the young men of the south were so much better

180 THE DEPARTMENTS SYSTEMATIZED.
horsemen than those of the north. In reality, this had
little, if anything, to do with it. It is even A-ery doubtful
if there was any difference in favor of the superior horse
manship of the southern cavalry. Their strength lay in
their union. The rebel cavalry was organized from the
beginning ; ours was an incoherent mass of men, having
no proper relations or dependencies within itself From
the day that it became organized, the superiority of the
rebel cavalry passed away forever. We had always better
horses, and our men were certainly never inferior to the
rebels. All that was needed was the proper combination
of action ; and, as soon as this was secured, our cavalry
became the finest in the world.
The business departments were also thoroughly renova
ted. The changes in the medical, quartermasters' and
commissary departments were such as to bring each to a
standard of perfection, which had never before been
reached by those departments of any army in the field.
No army had ever been provisioned as was ours that
Avinter. Soft bread, potatoes, beets, carrots, onions, fresh
beef, flour, sugar and coffee, constituted the regular rations
of the men, and facilities were afforded for procuring
luxuries not in the regular supply.
The medical department became so thoroughly system
atized, that wounded and sick men were cared for better
than they had ever been in an army before. This radical
change had commenced under General Burnside ; but Avas
perfected under General Hooker, by the efficient and
earnest medical director of the army, Dr. Letterman ; to
whom belongs the honor of bringing about this most
desirable change.
By the new system, the surgeons were enabled to accom
plish a far greater amount of work, and in much better
order than under the old; and the wounded were bet
ter and more quickly cared for. By this system the

THE MEDICAL DEPARTMENT. 181
hospital of the division was the unit. From the division,
a medical officer of good executive ability Avas selected, to
whom was assigned the general oversight of the hospital.
One or more surgeons of well knoAvn skill and experience
were detailed from the medical force of the division, who
were known as " operating surgeons ; " to each of whom
was assigned three assistants, also knoAvn to be skillful
men, Avho were either surgeons or assistant surgeons. To
the operating surgeons all cases requiring surgical opera
tions Avere brought, and thus the Avounded men had the
benefit of the very best talent and experience in the divi
sion, in the decision of the question whether he should be
submitted to the use of the knife, and in the performance of
the operation in case one Avas required. It was a mistaken
impression araong those at home, that each medical officer
was the operating surgeon for his OAvn men. Only about
one in fifteen of the medical officers was intrusted with
operations. From each brigade an assistant surgeon was detailed to
provide food and shelter for the wounded. His duty was
to superintend the erection of hospital tents as soon as
there was a prospect of an engageraent, and to have hot
coffee and rations of food ready for the wounded as soon as
they came to the hospital ; he was to attend to their cloth
ing, bedding and rations as long as they remained in the
hospital. Another assistant surgeon from each brigade was selected
to keep the records ; to take the narae and character of
wound of every one who was brought to the hospital, with
the operation, if any ; and the list of deaths, the place of
burial, and all other matters necessary to record. An
assistant surgeon was to remain with each regiment,
and attend to getting the wounded from the field into
the ambulances, and to arrest hemorrhage in case of
necessity.

182 THE AMBULANCE SYSTEM.
Thus, all labor was systematized. Every officer and
nurse kncAV exactly what to do : each had his OAvn part of
the work assigned to him, and there Avas no conflicting
of orders or clashing of opinions.
Our ambulance system was also very perfect — so com
plete, indeed, that, after a year of trial in the Army of the
Potoraac, congress adopted it as the ambulance system of
the United States. To Doctor Letterman, also, belongs
the honor of originating this system.
The ambulances of each corps were under coraraand of a
captain, who acted under directions from the medical
director of the corps. A lieutenant coramanded the ambu
lances of a division, and a second lieutenant those of a
brigade. To each ambulance Avas assigned a driver, and
two stretcher-bearers ; and to three ambulances a sergeant,
mounted. The ambulances of a division always went
together, behind the division, and on the march were
attended by a surgeon, an assistant surgeon, a hospital
steward, a cook, and three or more nurses, Avho were to
attend to the wants of the sick in the ambulances, and at
night, if any were unable to return to their regiments, to
erect tents for them, and supply them with food and bed
ding. In an engagement, the stretcher-bearers of each
regiment, with the sergeant, reported to the assistant sur
geon in attendance with the regiment. As soon as a man
was wounded, he was brought to the medical officer, put
into an ambulance, and taken to the division hospital. By
this means, ordinarily, every man was carried to the hos
pital of his own division.
The improvements in the quartermasters' department
were nearly as great ; and we have already alluded to the
abundant supplies furnished by the commissary depart
ment. Great difficulty was experienced by the troops of our
corps in getting wood. The men of our Second division

SNOWBALLING. 183
lugged wood on their backs a mile and a half, with which
to do their cooking and Avarni their tents. But notAvith
standing the hardships they endured, the inclemency of
the Avinter, and their severe picket duty, the men were
gay. In many of tho regiments, the sounds of the guitar
and accordion could be heard every evening ; and on
pleasant afternoons and evenings, parties assembled in the
company streets and danced cotillions, and polkas, and jigs,
to the music of violins. When snow covered the ground,
mimic battles with snow-balls were a frequent amuseraent.
At times, one regiment Avould challenge another, and a
general melee would follow. SnoAvballing was, particu
larly, a favorite amusement Avith our friends of the Twenty-
flrst New Jersey, Avho never let an opportunity pass for
indulging in their favorite sport. Each party carried its
flags and Avas led by officers chosen for the occasion. The
capture of a flag, or of a number of prisoners, from an
opposite party, caused great glee among the victors. A
good deal of interest was excited throughout the Second
division by a snowball battle betAveen one of the Vermont
regiments and the Twenty-sixth New Jersey. Both regi
ments formed in line of battle, each officered by its line
and field officers, the latter mounted. At the signal, the
battle commenced ; charges and counter-charges were
made, prisoners were taken on either side, the air was
filled Avith the Avhite missiles, and stentorian cheers went
up as one or other party gained an advantage. At length
victory rested with the Vermonters, and the Jersey boys
surrendered the field, defeated.
Another favorite amusement in the corps was the game
of base ball. There Avere many excellent players in the
different regiments, and it was common for the ball
players of one regiment or brigade to challenge another
regiraent or brigade. These raatches were Avatched by
great crowds of soldiers with intense interest.

184 IN THE SEATENTY-SEVENTH.
In our Seventy-seventh regiment, matters Avent on much
the same as in other regiments of the corps. We had our
tehare of disease and desertions. We had our ball-players
and our violinists; our singers and our story-tellers, as
every regiment had. At regimental head-quarters, matters
went on gaily. It was the custom of the officers of the
field and staff to collect in one of the tents as evening
came on, and, in company with friends from other regi
ments, pass the hours in lively converse, in singing and
relating amusing stories.
We had a glee book and an old copy of the " Carmina
Sacra," and then our friend. Colonel, now Major-General,
Connor, was never at a loss for a song, and Colonel French
often displayed his genius with the violin, and our friend,
the chaplain, could always tell a good story or pei-petrate
a joke. Chaplain NoiTnan Fox was an accession to our
staff, Avho joined us when we first encamped at White
Oak Church. He was a gentleman of enterprise and
talent, who, soon after his an-ival in camp, instituted a
series of religious meetings on week days, in addition to
the regular services of the Sabbath, and a good deal of
religious interest was awakened among the men.
Araong other changes, we lost one of our most valuable
and beloved officers. Dr. Campbell, who had for weeks
been declining in health, was obliged to resign. The
doctor Avas a most genial and companionable man, and an
excellent officer. We greatly missed his hearty laugh,
his fund of stories and ready wit in our social gatherings.
The doctor was afterward appointed surgeon of the For
tieth New York, but was attacked with spotted fever,
from which he recovered only after a long Ulness, during
which he again resigned.
The First brigade. Second division, which for some timo
past had been under command of General Calvin A. Pratt,
was broken up, and a new brigade, called the " Light

REVIEW BY GENEEAL HOOKEE. 185
division," was formed from the regiraents of the First
brigade, and one regiment from each the First and Third
divisions. The regiments were, tho Fifth Wisconsin, tho
Sixth Maine, the Thirty-first and Forty-third New York,
and the Sixty-first Pennsylvania. Colonel Burnham, of
the Sixth Maine, was placed in coraraand.
Among other reviews in the Sixth corps during the
winter, was one by General Hooker, of our Second divi
sion and the Light division. The troops were formed in
line, and the general and staff were escorted to the ground
by the Twentieth New York, of Neill's brigade, in splendid
style. The regiment was composed entirely of German
Turners. Their drill surpassed that of any regiment of
regulars, and the exquisite neatness they displayed in their
dress and in the care of their equipments, together with
the perfection of their movements, made them the finest
appearing regiment in the service, when on parade. It is
to be regretted that the prestige of the regiment was not
always sustained on the battle-field. As the regiment and
cavalcade appeared on the field, it was a brilliant pageant ;
first came our brigade band, one of the finest in the army,
then the pioneers of the Twentieth, their axes, shovels
and picks polished so that they glistened in the sunlight
like burnished silver ; then the Twentieth regiment, in
column by company, marching with step as perfect as
though all Avere directed by a single avUI ; following the
regiment, rode General Hooker on his superb white horse,
a head and shoulders above all his cavalcade. The
immense suite, consisting of General Hooker's own staff,
and a large number of major-generals and their staffs,
completed the brilliant column. The division Avas draAvn
up in a line, stretching a half a mile across the field,
straight as the flight of an arrow, with artillery on either
flank. The general and his brilliant retinue, rode to the
right of the line, and advanced slowly along the front of
24

186 GENEEAL SEDGWICK.
the whole division, inspecting closely each regiment as he
passed, the bands playing " Hail to the Chief," the colors
dipping, and the bugles pealing notes of welcome.
Having passed the entire front of the line, the chief now
rode at a rapid pace along its rear to the point of begin
ning. He then, Avith his attendants, took a position on a
slight elevation of ground at a distance from the line,
Avhen the Avhole division, in coluran, marching to the
place, passed in rcA-icAV before him, and the pageant Avas
ended. An iraportant change in the coraraand of our corps
occurred about this time. General Sraith, who had so long
comraanded our division, and for sorae time past our Sixth
corps, was relieved of his command, and ordered to the
department of North Carolina. His successor was General
John Sedgwick, then well known as one of our best divi
sion comraanders, and one of the sternest soldiers in the
Army of the Potomac. Bred as a soldier, he had served
Avith great distinction in Mexico, and at the breaking out
of the rebellion he had joined the Union army, and was
soon placed in command of a division in Sumner's corps,
which, under his command, became the best division of
the corps, as the Sixth corps became the best in the array.
Modest and retiring in his ordinary intercourse with his
fellows, he exhibited the most brilliant qualities in time of
battle. The dignity of his bearing fitted hira to coraraand,
and he needed not the insignia of rank to command the
deference of those about hira.
None who witnessed the farewell reception of General
Smith, Avill forget the scene at corps head-quarters. The
two generals, the old and loved leader of the Second divi
sion and of the corps, and the new comraander, stood side
by side. General Sraith, tall, well dressed, his regulation
coat buttoned closely about hira, his easy and graceful
raanner and conversation ; General Sedgwick, of stouter

EEVIEAV BY PRESIDENT LINCOLN. 187
build, wearing a loose blouse and coarse blue pants, such
as are furnished the private soldier, strong and manly in
his appearance, and somewhat abrupt in his manner.
Officers returned to their camps satisfied that although
the corps had lost a favorite commander, it had also
gained a brave leader.
One of the grand events of the winter Avas the review
of the Avhole army by President Lincoln. The review con
tinued tAVO days. The first was occupied in reviewing
the Second, Fifth, Sixth and Third corps ; the second of the
remaining corps. It was a most imposing spectacle, never
to be forgotten by those who were actors or spectators.
The President, in his civilian's dress and tall hat, accom
panied by General Hooker, and followed by an imraense
suite, was welcomed by the thundering of artillery as it
fired the national salute. The different corps were drawn
up in line, each occupying a plain within sight of the
others. Riding in front of the corps, the President and
the immense cavalcade passed along the whole line,
inspecting carefully each regiment, then returned in the
rear. This inspection over, the President and staff sta
tioned themselves in some favorable position, and the
whole corps passed in review before him. The same pro
cess was repeated with each corps.
How one unaccustomed to such physical fatigues could
endure such labor, commencing early in the morning and
only resting at dark, was a Avonder. It seemed as if the
President's physical, like his mental constitution, could
bear up under the most trying and continued labors. As
the warm weather of spring appeared, the men adorned
their camps with evergreen trees and beautiful arches, so
that the camps presented a pleasant appearance ; but we
had little time to enjoy these, for as soon as the roads
began to be passable, preparations were pushed forward
for the spring campaign.

CHAPTER XVn.
THE CHANCELLORSVILLE CAMPAIGN.
Orders to move — The river crossed— Sedgwick's command— The First corps with
drawn-Gallant conduct ofthe Light division— Advancing to the heights— The
line of battle— The columns of attack — Attack of Howe's columns — Of New
ton's column — Of Bumham's — Misfortune following victory — Fight of Bartlett's
brigade — The First division at work— A critical position — The Sixth corps
surrounded — Savage fight of Neill's brigade — The corps withdraws to Banks'
Ford— Recrosses the river — Hooker's operations on the right— Position of the
corps — Rout of the Eleventh corps — The rebels repulsed — Jackson renews
the attack — The rebels again repulsed— Hooker recrosses the river.
On Tuesday, the 28th of April, the Sixth corps received
orders to break up its camp and be ready to march at a
moment's notice. Eight days' rations had been issued to the
men, who were in the highest spirits, having forgotten all
their former discouragements, and were now only anxious
for an encounter with the enemy. A storm of rain of some
violence set in on the morning ofthe 28th, Avhich rendered
marching difficult. At twelve o'clock we received the order
to " fall in," and in five minutes Ave were on our way to
take our place in the line of battle. A march of six miles
through thickets and bogs, brought us to the rear of Fal-
mouth Station, at a short distance from the river. Here we
bivouacked for the night, and were awakened before day
light in the morning by the sound of artillery and
rausketry at the river, where Russell's brigade, of the First
division, was forcing a passage across the stream. The
Second division only had been alloAved to rest qmetly
during the night. The men of the Light brigade had
toiled from dark until nearly dawn, carrying the pontoon
boats on their shoulders to the river side, and launching
them in the stream. So noiselessly had they conducted

THE EIATEE CROSSED. 189
their operations, that the pickets of the enemy took no
alarm until they suddenly saAV the braves of Russell's
brigade approaching in the boats, just as dawn Avas break
ing. The astonished confederates flred a few volleys of
musketry, and our guns threw- among them a fcAV charges
of cannister, and the rebels fled precipitately. A number of
prisoners were captured, among them the officer of the
picket-guard. Colonel Irwin, of the Forty-ninth Pennsyl-
A^ania, who had, at Antietam, commanded the Third
brigade of the Second division, Avas araong the wounded
on our side.
At sunrise the Second division filed doAvn to the river side,
and took position ui line of battle. Our horses cropped
the green blades which had sprung from the grain scat
tered for their food nearly five months before. The division
was upon the A-ery spot where it lay before, at the first
battle of Fredericksburgh. The bridge also was in the
sarae place that Franklin's bridge had been. The point
was known as Franklin's Crossing.
The First diA'ision of our corps (Brook's) was on the
other side of the riA-er, holding the plain for some distance.
The pickets of that divisioii formed the half of a cUele of
about three-fourths of a raile in diaraeter, the center being
at the pontoon bridge, Avhere some earthworks Avere thrown
up. At our left, about a mile down the river, the First
corps had also effected a crossing. The rebels had oflered
strong resistance, but the crossing was gallantly accom
pUshed by Wadsworth's division in boats. Like the First
division of our own corps, Wadsworth's division was
holding a semi-cu-cular portion of the plateau ; but being
able to maintain the position by some fighting.
Sickles' Third coi-ps was upon the high ground in the rear,
ready to come to the assistance of the corps at the river.
The three corps. First, Third and Sixth, were under com
mand of General Sedgwick.

190 GENERAL HOOKERS ORDER.
The rebels spent the day in throwing up intrenchments
and sheUing Reynolds' position. Toward night the artil
lery practice ceased, and the First and Sixth corps
bivouacked where they had stood during the day, but
Sickles and his corps Avere ordered to the assistance of
Hooker, on the right.
The morning of the 30th was lowery, but the clouds
dispersed as the day advanced. About noon the troops
were massed by brigades, and a congratulatory order from
General Hooker was read to them, amid great cheering.
" The enemy," said the order, " must noAV corae out and
fight us on our ground, or retreat ingloriously." Nothing
more of interest occurred that day ; but, in the afternoon
of the following day, the First corps became engaged in a
fierce artillery duel Avith the enemy, in which the corps
lost a large nuraber of its men in killed and wounded. At
sunset an order came from General Hooker, at Chancellors
ville, for General Sedgwick to assurae a threatening atti
tude — to make a severe demonstration — but to make no
attack. There was much marching and getting into
position, and regiments and divisions were marched and
countermarched in such a manner as to convey to the
rebels the impression that a grand attack was to be made
at that point. The enemy was evidently deceived by these
maneuvers, and heavy columns of rebel infantry com
menced to form upon the old battle-field. While we stood
in line of battle, one of our bands near the skirmish line
struck up the air, " Dixie." The rebels, hearing the strains,
set up defiant cheers, which were answered by our army in
the most treraendous shouts imaginable. The contest
seemed for the tirae to depend on strength of lung, and
our boys certainly beat them at shouting.
As the sun disappeared behind the hills, when Hooker's
guns were thundering, we retired to our tents. All day
long the earth had been shaken by tremendous firing

THE FIEST CORPS AVITHDRAAVN. 191
of artillery on the right ; and now, as darkness gathered
over the scones of conflict, the thundering of the guns
and the trembling of the earth seemed like a succession of
earthquakes. The spirit of our boys rose, as the battle on
the right progressed, and there seemed to be indications
of Avork for thei"n. Groups might be seen at any time,
when we were not standing in line of battle, telling yarns,
singing songs, playing ball and pitching quoits, Avhile they
momentarily looked for the order to advance upon the
heights, into the A-ery'jaws of death.
Saturday morning. May 2d, the First corps was with
drawn from its position ; its bridges Avere taken up, and
the corps moved past us up the river to join the main body
of the army under Hooker, on the right. The Seventy-
seventh was sent to do picket duty on the ground occupied
by the First corps the night before. Our reserve Avas
posted a little Avay from the river, in a pleasant field, Avhere
the fresh clover furnished a soft bed for the men, and a
dainty bite for our horses. Just in front of us Avas a lovely
spot — the residence of Doctor Morson, for fifteen years a
surgeon in the United States navy. The place was in
remarkable order ; the gardens in full bloom, the mocking
birds building their nests, and the greenlets warbling
sweetly among the flowering shrubs.
We strolled along the banks of the beautiful river,
gathering flowers and glancing at our " secesh " neigh
bors on the opposite bank, only a few yards distant ;
or we lounged in the shade of our tents, enjoying the
charms of a lovely May day, whUe the terrible din of
battle on the right, where Hooker's forces were contend
ing, shook the ground beneath us, and we knew that ere
the sun set, thousands of our brave comrades must be
sacrificed. As the evening drew near, Ave who were on the north
side of the river saAV our skirmishers, of the " Light divi-

192 GALLANTRY OF THE LIGHT DIATTSION.
sion," drive back the skirmish line of the enemy. It was
a gallant feat, and finely executed. Our hearts leaped
for joy as we watched our brave fellows, their line as per
fect as though on drill, advance, firing rapidly, and pressing
the enemy at " double-quick." They made no halt until
they had crossed the whole breadth of the plain and
reached the base of the hills.
Few who were then in the Sixth corps will ever forget
that scene. The sun, just sinking behind the hills where
Hooker was at work, threw a beautiful golden light over
the plain, and crowned the heights Avith brilliant hues. It
was one of those evenings of surpassing loveliness, such as
gladdened our hearts only at long intervals. Prominent in
the foreground of the beautiful scene was a noble white
steed, with its gallant rider, dashing from one end of the
skirmish line to the other. None who witnessed the spec
tacle will forget the white horse and the fearless rider; and
few of the Second or Light divisions need be reminded that
the horseman was Colonel Baker, of the Forty-third New
York, who Avas then in charge of the skirmish line.
The "Light division" was, as Ave have before stated,
the First brigade of our Second division, with regiments
from the First and Third divisions Avhich had been, a short
time before leaving camp, detached to form an independent
organization. The arrangement Avas broken up immedi
ately after this battle, and the reginients put in the First
and Second divisions again.
Immediately after the brilliant advance of the " Light
division," the Seventy-seventh regiraent was ordered to
leave the picket line and join its brigade. The Second
division crossed the river and took position, the Third bri
gade in front, the Vermont brigade in rear. The Thirty
third and Forty-ninth Ncav York, of the Third brigade,
Avent forward as pickets in front of tfie hills, relieving
pickets of the " Light division," which moved to the right.

ADVANCING TOAVARD THE HEIGHTS. 193
We remained in line all night, sometimes throwing our
selves upon the ground to catch a moment's sleep, then
roused in expectancy of an advance.
At four o'clock iu the morning Ave did advance. Straight
across the plain we Avent, until Ave came nearly to the base
of the heights, where the hosts of the enemy awaited us,
then taking the BoAvling Green road, filed to the right and
proceeded to the rear of Fredericksburgh ; the Seventy-
seventh in front, the Twenty-first New Jersey, the Forty-
ninth New York, Twentieth New York, Seventh Maine
and Thirty-third New York, constituting the Third bri
gade, under coraraand of General Neill, following in
the order mentioned. Then came the Vermont brigade.
Colonel L. A. Grant comraanding; these two brigades
forming the Avhole of HoAve's (Second) division of the
Sixth corps since the First brigade Avas detached.
As we gained the rear of the eastern part of the tOAvn,
the batteries of the enemy opened upon us, and swarms
of infantry rose up in our front and poured volleys of
bullets into our ranks. The " Light division " and New
ton's Third division of our corps had passed through the
streets of the town, and Avere noAV on our right. The
skirmishers from Wheaton's and Shaler's brigades had
struck those of the enemy near a large mansion, where,
each party dodging behind the garden fence, the cherry
trees and the outhouses, they kept up a lively engage
ment for several minutes, but Newton's advance was
forced to yield the ground.
In the meantirae, the long line of rifled cannon which
surraounted Stafford Heights, on the north side of the
river, as at the first battle of Fredericksburgh, were throw
ing huge shells across the wide valley and stream into the
works of the enemy. One or two field batteries near the
head of our own column, and some attached to the other
divisions, got into position and opened a fierce cannonade.
25

194 THE COLUAINS OP ATTACK.
General HoAve quickly forraed his troops in line, as did
the other divisioii commanders.
The line of battle of the corps extended from the pon
toon bridge at Franklin's Crossing to the right of the
town of Fredericksburgh. First, on the left. Brooks'
division held the plain in front of the crossing. Next, on
the right, in front of Marye's Heights, was Howe's Second
division ; then the " Light division," Colonel Burnham ;
and on the extreme right Avas NcAvton's Third division.
Gibbon's division of the Second corps, Avhich, because its
encampment Avas in plain vieAv of the enemy, had been
left behind, also crossed into the town by a bridge Avhich
it thrcAV over, and took position on the right of the corps.
General Sedgwick, finding that the heights could only
be carried by direct assault, directed storming columns to
be formed in the Second and Third diA-isions and the Light
division, Avhich order was at once carried into execution.
In the Second division. General Howe directed General
NeiU to lead the advance. The plan of attack of the
division was in tAvo lines of battle of three regiraents each.
The first line consisted of the Thirty-third Ncav York,
Colonel Taylor, the Seventh Maine, Colonel Connor, and
the Twenty-first Ncav .lersey. Colonel Van Houten, pre
ceded by the Seventy-seventh NeAV York, Colonel French,
as skirmishers. The line Avas commanded by General
Neill* The second line consisted of the Sixth Vermont,
Colonel Barney, the Twenty-si.xth Nbav Jersey, Colonel
Morrison, and the Second Vermont, Colonel Walbridge,
and was under command of Colonel L. A. Grant. Both
lines were arranged from right to left, in the order above
mentioned.

=^ "I was ordered to form three regiments as the advance of a column of assault
against the heights of Marye's Hill, back of Fredericksburgh. I led the Thirty-
third New York, Twenty-first New Jersey and Seventh Maine Volunteers, pre
ceded by the Seventy-seventh New York, who were acting as skirmishers, under
a heavy flre of shot and shell."— iVeWZ's Heport.

ATTACK OF HOAVE's COLUMNS. 195
The Forty-ninth and Twentieth Ncav York formed the
right reserve, and the Third, Fourth and Fifth Vermont,
under Colonel Seavor, the left reserve.
The ne.xt column Avas composed of the Seventh Massa
chusetts, Colonel Jones, and the Thirty-sixth Ncav York,
Colonel Walsh ; both under the command of Colonel
Jones — the Fifth Wisconsin, Colonel Allen, acting as
skirmishers. Supporting the column, in line of battle,
were the Sixth Maine, Colonel Harris, Thirty-first New
York, Colonel Jones, and the Twenty-third Pennsylvania,
Colonel Ely.
The right column of all consisted of the Forty-third Ncav
York, Colonel Baker, and the Sixty-first Pennsylvania,
Colonel Spear — the two regiments under command of
the latter officer, who fell, mortally Avounded, Avhile lead
ing the charge. The Sixty-seventh New York, Colonel
Cross, and the Eighty-second Pennsylvania, Major Bassett,
under command of Colonel Shaler, supported this right
column. At half-past ten, the arrangements for storming the
heights Avere comi^leted, and NcAvton's batteries opened
upon the eneray. At the sound of Newton's first gun.
General Howe ordered his batteries to direct their fire
upon the heights, and then ordered the storming column
forAvard. The division advanced toward the bold bluffs, wliich,
bare of trees as well as the plain below, allowed the
enemy an excellent view of all our movements. A rail
road traA'ersed the plain near the bluffs, and m a deep cut
through which the road passed, Avere rebels. They rose
up as we advanced, and poured shoAvers of leaden hail into
our line ; but one of our batteries, getting an enfilading
fire on the road, sent the gray-coated occupants hurriedly
to the rear. For a moment we halted, the batteries on
either side playing into each other with spirit.

196 A GRAND SPECTACLE.
It was a moment of contending emotions of pride, hope
and sadness, as our gallant boA's stood face to face with
those heights, ready to charge upon them. At double-quick,
and in splendid style, they crossed the plain. Our line Avas
perfect. The men could not have made a more orderly
appearance had they been on drill. Proud of their com
mands. Generals How-e and Neill, and Colonel Grant,
cheered the men onAvard, Avhile Lieutenant-Colonel French,
in charge of the skirmish line, inspired, by his OAvn intrepid
behavior, the utmost confidence and bravery in his men.
They took the matter as coolly as though on parade.
Just in rear ofthe division, three batteries of Parrott guns
were playing into the Avorks of the enemy, while from the
heights above, all the ojiposing batteries poured a terrible
and destructive fire upon the advancing lines. Having
gained the rifle pits at the base of the hills, they pushed
forward to capture the heights.
A more grand spectacle cannot be imagined. There
were the hills, enough to fatigue any man to climb them
without a load and with no one to oppose. At the foot
of the hills were thousands of the enemy, pouring into them
volleys of musketry, and on the heights were their lines
of earthworks, Avith their artillery, from which poured
grape and cannister in a frightful storm. But the boys
pushed nobly, steadily on, the rebels steadily retreating,
the division coming up in splendid style. Generals Howe
and Neill and Colonel Grant directing the moA^ements and
cheering on the men, as they pressed undauntedly against
the murderous storm of iron and lead that met thera from
above. Our men Avere falling in every direction, but the
lines were immediately closed, and on they passed. With
shouts and cheers that droAvned the roar of artillery, the
noble division, with bayonets fixed, mounted the heights,
the rebels retreating in confusion. Of that noble column
the skirmishers of the Seventy-seventh first reached the

INCIDENTS OP THE CHARGE. 197
heights of Jlarye's Hill, the Thirty-third Ncav York, in line
of battle, foUoAved, and then the Sixth Vermont,* the
other regiments of the tAvo brigades being but a moment
beliind. But the AVork Avas not all done yet. On our left
Avas an eartlnvork of strong profile, from Avhicli noAV the
rebels turned their guns upon us. Against this the column
turned, and soon gained possession of it also. A third
stronghold then fell into our hands, and we were in undis
puted possession of the heights. While the troops under
Neill and Grant had thus nobly stormed the Avorks in
front. Colonel SeaA-er, Avith his three regiments, had scaled
the heights further to the left.
With one or tAvo exceptions, every regiment in the divi
sion had behaved Avith great gallantry.
The Seventy-seventh New York captured a stand of
colors belonging to the Eighteenth Mississippi regiment,
two heaA-y guns, a large number of prisoners, among
whom was Colonel Luce of the Eighteenth Mississippi,
and great numbers of sraall arras.
As the regiment reached the heights, and took posses
sion of the guns. General Howe rode up, and, taking off
his hat, exclaimed : " Noble Seventy-seventh ! you have
coA-ered yourselves Avith glory !" The general's words
Avere greeted Avith tumultuous cheers.
In the second work, the Thirty-third New York cap-*
tured a piece of heavy ordnance and a nuraber of j)risoners.
The regiment had exhibited great spirit and bravery. Six
color-bearers had been shot down successiv-ely.
It was at the signal of the first gun in Newton's front that
General HoAve had ordered the charge of the Second divi-

* General L. A. Grant, in his report, does unintentional injustice to a brave regi
ment. He says : " The Sixth A-ermont followed the Thirty-third New A'crk, and
tvas the second to gain the heights of Predericksburgh." The Thirty-third was not
the first to gain the heights on that ^art of the line. The testimony of General Neill,
a.swen asof the members of tlie regiment, and the many trophies it captured, fully
establish the claim of the Seventy-seventh to the honor.

198 CHARGE OP NEWTONS COLUMN.
sion. The Third division and the Light division had not
been idle Avhile the eA'ents Ave have described Avere going
on. It will be remembered that the column on the right
consisted of the Forty-third New York and the Sixty-first
Pennsylvania,- supported by a line of battle; and that the
other column consisted of the Seventh Massachusetts and
Thirty-sixth New York, also supported by other regiments.
The ascent in front of the Third and Light divisions,
though steep, Avas less precipitous than in front of HoAve's
column, and a good road led to the heights. But a stone
wall skirted the base of the hills, behind which the rebels
swarmed in great nurabers.
Under the fire ofthe rebel batteries, NcAvton's and Burn-
ham's regiments lay, some in the outskirts of the toAvn,
sorae in the cemetery, until General SedgAvick gave the
order for the advance. Then, almost at the same time,
both comraands raoved up the glacis towards the heights.
Colonel Jones, Avith his two regiraents, the Seventh Massa
chusetts and Thirty-sixth New York, pushed forward up
the telegraph road, against the stone wall, bearing to the
right of the road ; their knapsacks and haversacks were
left behind that they might be unincumbered Avith need
less burdens. As they approached within three hundred
yards of the wall, a murderous volley checked the advance,
and thrcAV the head of the column into disorder. In two
minutes the men were rallied, and again they approached
the Avail, this time nearer than before ; but again they were
broken. A third time they Avere rallied; this time they
pushed straight forAvard to the works.
The column under Colonel Spear started briskly forw-ard,
divested, like the others, of knapsacks and haversacks.
Sallying from the town at double quick, in column of four
ranks, they crossed the bridge just outside the city, when
the gallant Colonel Spear received his mortal wound, and
fell at the head of his men. The Sixty-first, Avhich led the

CHARGE OP BURNHAm's COLUMN. 199
column, shocked at the death of their beloved leader, broke,
and in confusion turned toAvard tho town. This unfortu
nate confusion spread to the men of the Forty-third, Avho,
checked by the disordered mass in front, and subraitted to
a galling fire, also comnicnced falling back. Finding any
atterapt to get the men through the disordered mass in
front, the gallant Wilson drew his colors to the right and
rallied his regiment around them. Then, bounding for
Avard, the regiraent reached the heights scarcely behind
any of the regiments on the left, capturing a gun and
many prisoners.
The line of battle under Colonel Burnham advanced on
the left of the road ; the Fifth Wisconsin on the skirmish
line, the Si.\;th Blaine, the Thirty-first Ncav York, aud the
Twenty-third Pennsyh-ania in line. Four more gaUant
regiments could not be found in the service. Leaving
CA-erything but guns and ammunition, they started forward,
encountering a shower of bullets, grape and canister,
as soon as they rose above the slight knoll Avhich had
concealed them. We of the Second division looked Avith
admiration upon the advancing line; our fiag — it was the
flag of the Sixth Maine — in advance of the others, its
brave color-guard bounding forward, then halting a moment
while the raen came up, then dashing forward again, and
finaUy gaining the heights before us all ! It Avas a noble
spectacle, and filled our hearts Avith pride for our brave
comr.ades of the Light division. The Light division secured
as trophies about seven hundred prisoners and five cannon.
Thus the heights Avere Avon. It was a glorious day for
the Sixth corps. Never was a charge more gallantly
made. But it was a sad day, for manj- scores of our
br.aA-e comrades lay stretched in death, along the glacis,
and on the steep ascent, in the ravines and along the road.
The Seventh Massachusetts, the Sixth Maine, the Fifth
Wisconsin, the Second Vermont, and the Seventy-seventh,

200 MISFORTUNE FOLLOWING VICTORY.
Thirty-third and Forty-third Ncav York, Avere among the
greatest losers. The Sixth Maine reached the rebel AVorks
Avith the loss of six captains and the major, and a propor
tional nuraber of enlisted men. Two color-bearers and
Lieutenant-Colonel Newman Avere shot in the Thirty-first,
and Colonel Jones, of the Seventh Massachusetts, was
seriously wounded, while one hundred and twelve of his
brave men Avere either killed or wounded.
The Avounded had been taken to the city, where they
were kindly cared for by the surgeons of the corps, Avho
had seized the town for hospital j)urposes. Churches and
private dwellings swarmed Avith the unfortunate men,
Avhose mangled forms told of the fearful Avork of the day.
Surgeons were hard at work ministering relief to the suffer
ing, binding up the Avounds or removing the mangled
limbs which offered no hope of recovery; while nurses
administered food and coffee, and prepared beds, such as
could be exteraporized frora blankets spread upon the floors.
More than three thousand wounded were brought into the
city before nightfall.
Upon the very heels of the brilliant success of the corps
coraraenced disaster. An order from General Hooker had
directed General Sedgwick to advance toward Chancel
lorsville, and form a junction with the main army. So
the corps which had so nobly won the heights pressed on
for further achievements. The heights were left behind.
Brooks' division, which now took the lead, had advanced
as far as Salem Church, on the Chancellorsville pike, when,
instead of meeting any portion of Hooker's army, a few
shells from rebel guns warned the division of the presence
of the enemy.
A dense thicket was in front, and Bartlett's brigade,
which had the advance, was deployed to skirmish and
ascertain the position of the concealed foe. Presently,
having fallen upon a strong line of skirmishers, the bri-

FIGHT OP bartlett's BRIGADE. 201
gade Avas formed in line of battle ; the Twenty-seventh
NeAV York on the right, then the Fifth Maine, then tho
One Hundred and TAventy-first Ncav York, and on the
left the Ninety-sixth Pennsylvania; the Si.xteenth Ncav
York holding the skirmish line in front. General Bartlett
advanced his line to the thicket, the Sixteenth driving the
rebel skirmishers, the brigade foUoAving closely. At
the edge of the thicket General Bartlett halted the line,
but being ordered by General Brooks to advance rapidly,
he pushed on again.
Advancing through the thicket about thirty rods, the
brigade suddenly found itself face to face Avith a rebel
line. The confederates were lying down in a road Avhich
traversed the thicket ; and, Avhen the Union line Avas within
twenty yards, they suddenly discharged a volley, which,
had it been well aimed, must have almost annihilated the
brigade ; but the fire Avas returned Avith effect, and pres
ently, the confederates were glad to leave the road, whioh
Avas almost filled with their dead and Avounded, and seek
shelter behind rifie pits. The rifie pits were but a few
yards in rear of the road, and here a very strong force
was posted. The Union forces occupied the road, and
directed their fire against the Avorks ; but the rebel fire
cut down their unprotected ranks like grass before the
scythe. For fifteen minutes the gallant regiments endured
this murderous fire, and then fell back in good order, hav
ing lost, Avithin twenty rainutes, nearly seven hundred
raen ; of Avhom tAVO hundred and scA-enty-three Avere from
the One Hundred and Twenty-first Nbav York.
The NeAV Jersey brigade, and the Avhole division, had
by this tirae been brought into action, and great slaughter
was raade in almost every regiment. Newton's division
Avas also fiercely engaged on the right, Wheaton's brigade
holding its position only by the most stubborn fighting.
The enemy having forced the First division to retire,
26

202 REBELS ON MARYE S HEIGHTS.
advanced against our line ; but the batteries under Willis
ton, Rigby and Parsons, by splendid practice, repulsed the
onset. The Second division, forraing the rear of the col
umn, had not been brought into the engagement.
Darkness came to the relief of the corps, and the men
slept soundly on their arras after the arduous duties of the
day ; but there Avere many raisgivings among officers in
regard to what to-morroAv might bring forth.
While Ave rested, the enemy Avas bringing up reinforce
ments from the direction of Richraond. Very early in the
morning the siege guns on Stafford Heights, opposite the
toAvn, sent sorae shells screaming across the A'alley to
the heights of Marye's HiU, giving the alarm to those in the
town and to those Avho had so recently left it. Lines of
rebels were seen all along the outskirts of the town and on
the crests above. Fifteen thousand confederate troops
Avere between the Sixth corps and Fredericksburgh Heights.
The surgeons immediately jirepared to send the wounded
across the river, but, supposing that to accomplish the
Avhole before the rebels should take jDossession of the toAvn
Avould be impossible, made CA'ery j)repai-ation for being
themselves taken prisoners. A sraall detachment of Gib
bon's division still guarded the toAvn, but nearly all his
troops had recrossed the river and Avere on Stafford Heights.
But the small force in the tOAvn seemed sufficient to convey
to the rebels the impression that it was well guarded, for
they made no attempt to seize the immense amount of
hospital stores Avhich Avas at their mercy, or to molest the
Avounded or the surgeons.
The Sixth corps Avas now in a critical position ; its com
munications entirely cut off, and surrounded by hosts of
the enemy. The corps Avas sandwiched between the rebels
on the heights and Lee's Avhole array; while on its left was
a strong force, and on its right an impassable river. Dis
positions Avere at once made to meet the emergency.

THE SIXTH CORPS SURROUNDED. 203
Brooks' divisioii Avas draAvn back, and HoAve's, still in the
rear, changed front and quickly extended the line of battle
to the rive*-, so as to include Banks' Ford, six miles above
the city, over which communications Avere at once estab
lished. The Avhole of Early's rebel division occupied the crest
of Marye's and Cemetery Hills ; the divisions of Anderson
and McLaws Avere on our flank ; and the brigades of Hays,
Hoke and LaAvton, supported by Lee's Avhole array, Avere
in our rear. We Avere in the vicinity of Salem Church,
and our only line of retreat Avas upon the road leading to
Banks' Ford.
The first demonstration of the rebels, on the morning of
the 4th, Avas against the position held by Neill's brigade.
A company from the Seventh Maine, and two companies
frora the Forty-ninth New York, in conjunction Avith a
part of Martin's battery, and supported by the reraaining
companies of the Forty-ninth, gallantly repulsed and
routed a Avhole brigade of rebels, capturing tAvo hundred
prisoners, and the colors of the Fifty-eighth Virginia
regiment ; Avhich last trophy was borne off by the men of
the Forty-ninth, and was the second stand of colors taken
by that gallant brigade in this engagement, the Seventy-
seventh having captured the other.
The day wore aAvay Avitli little fighting till five o'clock.
General Howe had so disposed his troops as to occupy two
positions. In front Avas the Third brigade, holding a crest which
overlooked a ravine through which the rebels raust pass.
Behind the brigade Avas another ravine, in which Avas a
thin skirt of woods. In rear of this second raA'ine, and
behind a SAvell of ground, the Vermont brigade Avas
strongly posted, forming the second line of battle. There
were in each of these two brigades about three thousand
men.

204 FIGHTING OP neill's BRIGADE.
Noav came the most fearful struggle of the campaign.
At five o'clock the rebel hordes came, w-ith deafening yells,
upon the division. The divisions of Early, Anderson and
McLaAvs rushed upon the single brigade of less than three
thousand men, massing their troops in the raA-ine, and
charging with impetuous fury. But the noble regiments
heroically withstood the shock, the Germans of the Twen
tieth only going to the rear in confusion. The stubborn
resistance ofthe brigade prcA-eiited the rebels from piercing
our lines, and cutting off our retreat, and thus, by its gal
lantry, enabled the corps to cross at Banks' Ford. But
one thousand raen — raore than one-third of the brigade —
fell on that crest. Colonel Van Houghton, of the Twenty-
first NcAA- Jersey, Avas raortalh- wounded, and raany other
choice spirits were among the fallen. General Neill was
injured by the fall of his horse, A\-hich w-as shot. General
Howe now ordered the brigade to fall back, and the deci
mated regiments left the front line, and fell behind the
strong position held by the Vermonters. The rebels,
thinking this a retreat, followed with yells of exultation,
but were met by the second line of battle, Avhich, frora its
position behind the swell of ground, Avas concealed, wiih
a murderous fire, which sent thera reeling back to the
cover of the first ravine. Their charge had inflicted little
daraage upon the Union line. It was uoav nearly dark, and
the reception which the rebels had received had so cora
plctely routed and broken thera, that they made no further
attempt upon our lines.
About nine o'clock, the division was ordered to fall back
to Banks' Ford, now two miles distant from us. We fell
back quietly, and found that the. other divisions had pre
ceded us, and were snugly behind rifle pits. They had
fallen back as soon as it Avas dark, leaving the Second
division to coA'er the retreat.
Meantime, comparatively little fighting had been done

RECROSSINOl THE RIVER. 205
by the other divisions, though a constant skirmish Avas
kept up, aud in the evening the confederates managed to
get in the rear of a part of the picket of the Light divi
sion, capturing a large number of prisoners from the
Forty-third and Thirty-first Ncav York, and Sixty-first
Pennsylvania. The position at Banks' Ford might have been held until
reinforcements could haA'e reached the corps from Hooker ;
but, unfortunately, that general, receiving from General
Sedgwick first, intelligence that he could not safely hold
the position, then that he could, ordered the corps to be
withdrawn, and aftei-Avard countermanded the order; but
the last order was only received when the raoveraent had
been accoraplished.
ToAvard morning the corps recrossed the Rappahannock
on pontoon bridges ; not Avithout the utmost difficulty ;
one bridge being destroyed by rebel artillery, and the
other barely saA-ed from destruction long enough to alloAV
the troops hurriedly to pass over.
The corps had passed through a fearful ordeal, and had
shoAvn itself to be raade of heroic raaterial. No two more
brilliant feats had been performed during the Avar, than
the storming of the heights of Fredericksburgh, and the
splendid resistance Avhen surrounded and attacked by
overwhelming forces. The men came out of the fight, not
demoralized, but as ready to scale those terrible heights
again, if called upon, as they had been on the 3d of May.
General Sedgwick had manifested- during the fights,
those masterly qualities Avhich raade him one of the
greatest soldiers of the age. His conduct on the retreat
Avas cool and unirapassioned. Personally examining every
part of the ground in front and rear, riding from one end
of the line to the other, noAV ordering a battery placed at
some commanding point, and noAV looking out a ncAV
position to Avhich his troops might fall back in case of

206 THE DEAD AND WOUNDED.
necessity, he was CA-erywhere present, full of energy, as
deterrained to save as he had been to Avin.
Throughout the land the glorious deeds of the Sixth
corps becarae household words ; but its glory had been
dearly purchased. Five thousand of the heroes who
crossed the R.appahannock on the 2d of May, w-ere either
dead or wounded. Colonel Van Houghton, one of New
Jersey's braA-est sons, had received a raortal Avound, from
which he died in the hands ofthe enemy. Captain Luther
M. Wheeler, of the ScA-enty-seA'cnth, Avas shot while Ave
halted at the foot of Marye's Hill. It Avas a sad loss to his
regiment, and the corps. Yew more gifted young men
could be found in the army. He Avas one of our bravest
and most efficient officers. Gentle in his relations Avith his
felloAvs, cool and daring in battle ; his youthful face
beaming with fortitude, Avas a continual joy to his meu in
time of danger. He died as he had lived, a hero.
The Forty-third had lost Captain Knickerbocker and
Lieutenant Koonz. Two young men of brilliant promise,
greatly loved and respected in their regiment and in their
native city, Albany.
The w-ounded men in the hospitals exhibited the same
heroic fortitude in their suflerings that they had mani
fested in the charge and in the retreat. A few instances
are giA-en as illustrations of many : Erskine Branch of
Company D, Seventy-scA-enth Ncav York, when his leg was
torn to shreds by a shell, hobbled ofl" on the sound one and
his gun, singing " The Star Spangled Banner." Corporal
Henry West Avas shot through the thigh, and he was
brought to the rear. " I guess,'' said he " that old Joe
West's son has lost a leg." The corporal died soon after.
While in the hospital, suffering from extrerae anguish, a
wounded raan at his side lamented that he had come to the
war. " I am not sorry that I came," instantly responded
the brave corporal.

hooker's OPERATIONS ON THE RIGHT. 207
Let US noAV turn back and glance hastily at the maneu
vers of the main army at ChanceUorsville. We, of the
Sixth corps, could only see by the balloon which, like
some huge bird, hovered OA-er the army, Avhere it held its
position, and the unceasing roar of artillery told us of a
severe struggle Avith its foe ; Avhile rumor brought, noAV
reports of brilliant success, and anon tales of sad defeat.
We kncAV little of the true state of afliiirs at the right,
and it Avas only when Ave mingled Avith our comrades of
the other corps that we learned the details of the battle
of Chancellorsville. We noAV repeat it as it Avas given to
us. On the day that the army broke ujj its Avinter carap.
General Hooker led the Fifth, Eleventh, TAvelfth and
Second corps, except Gibbon's division of the latter, up
the river, until he reached Kelley's Ford, about twenty
miles above Fredericksburgh. Here he crossed his AA-hole
force, and pushing southward and eastAvard, uncovered
the United States Ford eight miles beloAv, Avhich was
guarded by a brigade of rebels, and struck the intersec
tion of the GordonsviUe plank road Avith the Orange
county turnpike, about five miles from United States
Ford ; having by great exertions crossed tAvo rivers and
marched tAventy railes. At the crossing of the two roads,
west of the turnpike, and south of the plank road, stood
a single large mansion, the Chancellor house. Here Gen
eral Hooker made his head-quarters, and from this point
he disposed the corps of the array so as to forra a line of
battle, Avhich should face south and east, with a single
corps to guard against an advance from the Avest. The
Third and First corps soon joined Hooker's forces, and
the corps Avere posted as foUoAvs : The Eleventh corps,
under General HoAvard, Avas on the right of the line, three
miles southAvest of Chancellorsville, facing AvestAvard ;
next, to the left of HoAvard, but far to the south, and hold
ing the turnpike five miles in front of Chancellorsville, Avas

208 POSITION AT CHANCELLOESVILLE.
Sickles with his Third corps; back almost to the plank
road, and left of the turnpike, was Slocum Avith the
Twelfth corps; and still to the right, and behind the plank
road, the Fifth coi-ps, under General Meade, faced tOAvard
the southAA-est; behind Meade and Slocum, the Second
corps was posted, one division guarding the approach to
the bridge. The country was densely wooded. Except an
open space about the house, it was a tangled wilderness.
The ground Avas Ioav and marshy, and nearly level. Earth
works were thrown up in front of all the corps, and
eA-erything seemed in readiness for the enemy, for whom
General Hooker now waited, hoping, that by fruitless
assaults upon what seemed an irapregnable position, the
eneray would be so exhausted that he might turn upon
him Avith fresh divisions, and rout the retreating forces.
His progrararae Avas to secure a position in the rear of the
¦ rebel positions at the fords, while that portion of the army
left at Fredericksburgh was to diA-ert attention from the
principal moA-ement. Stoneman, with the caA-alry, Avas to
make a grand raid on the communications of the rebel
army, burning the bridges and tearing up railroads. The
main body of the array having secured its position, and
accoraplished its Avork, the Sixth corps was to press
forward and harass them in their retreat toward Rich
mond. Saturday afternoon, almost at dark, the First corps,
Reynolds', Avhich had that morning parted company with
the Sixth corps, crossed the river and took position
near the ford, four miles in rear of Howard.
The rebel army had been on the southeast of ours.
Sickles, on the afternoon of Saturday, discovered a train of
Avagons and ambulances moving across the pike far in his
front. He sent a force to cut it in two, and was success
ful in taking a large number of prisoners and in creating
a panic in the train. He advanced, and Avas met by a

ROUT OP THE ELEVENTH CORPS. 209
strong force of the enemy. He now sent to General
Howard for reinforcements. General Howard led a bri
gade to his assistance in person, and then at full speed
galloped back to his corps. He was just in time. Burst
ing shells on the right of his line told of the presence of
tho enemy. " StoncAvall " Jackson, Avith an immense force,
had passed round our army, and now came like an ava
lanche upon the right division of the Eleventh corps,
General Devins. The men Avere cooking their coffee,
when suddenly the whizzing of innumerable bullets aroused
them from their culinary engagements. The hosts of
Jackson, with yells and shouts, fell like a thunderbolt upon
the astonished division, and it melted away like a snow-
flake in summer. The next division, Shurz, tried to
maintain the ground, and did what men could do, but
could not withstand the shock of fifty thousand men.
General Hooker, fearing that the flying Germans would
stampede the whole array, directed the cavalry which was
with hira, to charge upon the fugitives and arrest their
flight ; but no power could halt them. The commanding
general at once directed General Sickles to attack the
enemy on the flank, and, if possible, check his farther
advance. General Howard, with great presence of mind and per
severance, succeeded in stopping the rout at a stone wall,
behind which he posted his line. Forty pieces of artil
lery were also, by General Hooker's order, concentrated
to oppose the confederates, who again rushed forward with
mad desperation, and were met with terrific fire from this
long line of guns. They staggered back, but soon rallied,
and again charged, and again met with a terrible repulse.
The conflict now ceased for the night. Hooker drew in
his lines, making them more compact, changed the disposi
tion of some of the corps : throwing the Eleventh corps
from the right to the left of the line, and bringing Meade,
27

210 jackson's atiacks.
with the Fifth corps, to the right. Sickles and Slocum, with
the Third and Twelfth corps, were near the Chancellor
house. Artillery was massed to command the approaches
to the turnpike, and earthworks went up in the night as if
by magic. At daylight, Sunday morning, Jackson, with
all his forces, adA-anced on the turnpike, against the Chan
cellor place, not with the thin line of battle, but in soUd
mass. His men poured from the woods like a torrent,
their shouts and yells making a pandemonium of the wil
derness. Suddenly, from the mouths of forty cannon Avas
hurled against them a cruel storm of grape and canister,
which ploughed through the advancing column, carrying
death and .destruction in its course, while the infantry
from the Third corps poured into the faces of the despe
rate foe a terrible hail storm of bullets whieh almost
decimated the heavy coluran. With the desperation of
madness, the rebels rushed against this terrible fire, almost
reaching the muzzles of the guns, only to be hurled back
again by the fearful tornado in front. The Third corps
seeraed hardly able to hold its position, but now General
Hooker sent two divisions of the Second corps to attack
the enemy in the flank. These, with the Fifth coi-ps, came
with great force upon the left of the column. It reeled,
the huge mass wavered to and fro, and then fell back in
flight. The troops at the house, hoAvever, had been forced
back, and General Hooker again shortened his lines,
making his forces still more compact.
Again, in the afternoon, the rebels came on exultingly,
but not with the desperation that marked the attack of
the morning. Hour after hour they strove to drive back
or break in two the Union line, but it Avas immovable.
Artillery poured into the ranks of the assailants the most
deadly fire, until they feU back, long before nightfaU, dis
heartened and defeated. Hooker had at length succeeded
in accompUshing a part of his object. He had allowed his

OUE LOSSES. 211
enemy to fight him until his army was exhausted and dis
pirited, while he himself had half his army fresh and ready
to charge upon the Aveakened foe. Now came the time
for action. If he uoav succeeded in putting the enemy to
flight, the rebel cause was destroyed ; if, on the contrary,
he suffered a repulse, what would be the result ? The
river Avas swelling rapidly ; the pontoons could even now
with difficulty be held together. If, haply, they were to
be swept away, all means of retreat would be cut off, and
a repulse would amount to annihilation. SedgAvick and the
Sixth corps were driven back, and Stoneman, who had gone
with his cavalry toward Richmond, was not heard from.
In the midst of these doubts, he called a council of corps
coramanders, who agreed, not unanimously, that it was
advisable to recross the river. So the army, on Wed
nesday, was withdrawn across the river, when victory
seemed ready to rest on our banners.* Without doubt,
had the general knoAvn of the panic created by the cavalry
in the rear, or had he been sure that his communications
would remain intact, the result would have been far dif
ferent. The loss to the whole army, in this campaign, was over
seventeen thousand in killed and wounded, f Very many
of these were left in the hands of the enemy.

* The author makes no attempt to discuss the merits of the controversy, whicli
grew out of this battle, between two of the best soldiera of our army. The reader
will find, in the Eeport on the Conduct ofthe War, 1865, aU the facts and arguments
on both sides, by those most competent to give them — Generals Hooker and
Sedgwick. t The following statement exhibits the loss to the various corps in killed, wounded
and missing :

1st,  292
2d,  2,025
3d  4,039

6th,  4,925
llth,  2,508
12th,  2,883
Cavalry  145

CHAPTER XVin.
SECOND ENCAMPMENT AT WHITE OAK CHURCH AND
THE PENNSYLVANIA CAMPAIGN.
The army in its old position— Atrip to Dixie— The wounded at the hospitals —
Introduction of army badges— Adornments of the camps— The "Third cross
ing" — The Barnard mansion— Exchanging papers — A broken lieutenant — The
Pennsylvania campaign commenced— Restriction of baggage —A severe march —
An army bathing- At Centreville— Bristow Station— March to Maryland— Gen
eral Hooker succeeded by General Meade— Position ofthe army.
The ai-my now turned back to its old position, encamp
ing in line nearly as before, only all the troops which had
encamped on our left, between the Sixth corps and Belle
Plain, were placed far to the right, leaving the Sixth corps
on the left of the army, instead of being nearly in its
center. The corps occupied a line nearly a mile in rear of
the old camp, where the ground had been unoccupied, and
where a growth of young pines, and, in places, consider
able groves of oak timber, afforded far more attractive
surroundings than the old quarters.
The wounded were taken to an immense field hospital at
Potomac creek, where hospital tents sufficient to accommo
date eight thousand wounded men were erected in a locality
where cool breezes could play freely among the encamp
ments, and where pure water could be obtained. On the
9th, many of our wounded were brought to the side
of the river at Fredericksburgh and sent over to us by
the enemy, in pontoon boats, under flags of truce. On the
moming of the 10th, the surgeon of the Seventy-seventh
was ordered to proceed at once to Banks' Ford to receive
wounded officers who were to be removed from the enemy's

A TRIP TO DIXIE. 213
lines. The doctor was soon at the ford, where he found
a boat and a flag of truce at his disposal. He crossed the
river and met the officer in coraraand, Avho received him
courteously, but declared that he kncAV nothing of any
officers to come there. The surgeon addressed a note to
General Wilcox, coramanding the brigade at Banks' Ford,
but he kncAV as little about it as the officer at the river.
" There are plenty of federal officers here," said he, " and
we shall be glad to send them across to your lines at any
time Avhen General Hooker shall apply to General Lee for
them ; but I knoAV of no arrangement of the kind now."
Believing that some arrangements had been made for the
transfer of the Avounded officers, but that the order had
not yet reached General Wilcox, the surgeon spent the day
among the rebels, conversing with their officers, while his
boatmen, having Avith them a canteen of brandy, soon
made themselves very popular Avith the croAvd of rebel
soldiers who gathered about, dressed in motley colors, buff,
blue, gray, butternut, and colors indescribable. They were
all in good humor and lively, and the hours passed pleas
antly, as the men frora the two opposing arraies chatted in
the shade of some oak trees. Finding little prospect of
executing his peaceful mission, the surgeon obtained per
mission from General Wilcox to get the remains of Colonel
Van Houghten, of the Twenty-first New Jersey regiment,
who Avas shot at Salem Church, and died from his wound
next day. Doctor McNiel, of the Twenty-first, with a
party of men, proceeded to the place where the colonel
was buried, a mile and a half from the ford, and brought
the remains to the river and across to our own lines. On
reporting at General Hooker's head-quarters, the surgeon
found that no agreement had been concluded until late in
the day for the delivery of the wounded officers; so he had
spent the day in rebeldom to little effect, except the resto
ration of the body of the colonel to his friends, and leaving

214 SANITARY COMMISSION.
a company of nurses to assist our surgeons who were
already in attendance upon our prisoners.
Nearly all our wounded were at length returned to us,
and were sent to Potomac Creek, or to Washington. At
Potomac Creek, the cooperation of the Sanitary Coramis
sion was of great assistance to the surgeons ; and many
comforts and luxuries, the gifts of our friends at home,
cheered the hearts of the wounded and suffering heroes.
Sheets, pUlow cases, handkerchiefs, with jeUies and canned
fruits, were distributed in profusion. Here was the place
for manifesting the overfloAving interest and noble gen
erosity of the people of the north, and thousands blessed
them for their munificence.
A mistaken idea prevailed among friends at home, that
the agents of the Sanitary Commission resorted to the
battle-field, ministering to the wants of the wounded,
dressing the wounds, bringing the crippled from the field,
and feeding the hungry. Our iUuslrated papers Avere
filled with flne engravings, representing these acts of
mercy on the battle-field. These were pictures of the
imagination. Nothing of the sort was done. No Sani
tary or Christian Commission agents frequented the battle
field. All wounded were brought from the field by
soldiers, placed in ambulances of the government and
taken to the field hospitals, where all the wounds were
dressed by surgeons or theu- nurses, and where all were
fed by officers selected for this special duty. The Sanitary
and Christian Commissions had a great mission. They
were the representatives of the lively interest felt by the
people of the north, for the army it had sent forth to
maintain the institutions of their country. They found
abundant opportunity for accoraplishuig their mission at
the large hospitals after the roai; of battles had passed
away ; but they had nothing to do with the care of the
wounded on the battle-field.

CORPS BADGES. 215
Just before leaving camp for the campaign just closed,
General Hooker had issued an order assigning to each
corps and division its badge, which was to be worn by
every officer and soldier connected Avith either of the corps.
The men of the Sixth corps noAV regarded their cross with
greater pride than had ever ancient knight looked upon
the heraldry Avhich emblazoned his arms. It had been
baptized in blood, and amid Avonderful achievements of
heroism. Every member of the noble corps felt an exult
ing pride in his relation to it, and regarded his badge
as a mark of great honor.
The introduction of these badges became of great ser
vice to the army. Every man could easily recognize the
corps and division of any other one in the army ; and
each corps learned to feel a pride in its own badge.
We had seven corps in the army ; First, Second, Third,
Fifth, Sixth, Eleventh and Twelfth. The badge of the
First corps was a lozenge, that of the Second a shamrock,
of the Third a diamond, of the Fifth a Maltese cross, of
the Sixth a Greek cross, the Eleventh a lunette, and of the
TAvelfth a star. The badge of the First division of each
corps was red, that of the Second white, and of the Third
blue. All wagons and ambulances were marked with their
appropriate badge, and the sick soldier Avho fell to the rear
with a pass to the ambulances, had no difficulty in finding
his own train ; and quartermasters and others connected
with the trains Avere greatly assisted in their duties by this
ingenious device.
The camps of all the regiments of our divisions were
pleasantly located, and great pains were taken in laying
them out and in decorating thera. When regiments were
not sheltered in groves, pines were transplanted in the
company streets in great profusion ; and arches and bowers
of the most elaborate and elegant designs, formed of the
boughs of the red cedar and pine, exquisitely entwined

2L6 PALACES OF CEDAE.
with the bright green holly, formed a most attractive and
beautiful feature of our second camp at White Oak Church.
At division head-quarters. General Howe had caused to be
erected a most elegant hall of these rural materials, which
was a wonder of architectual beauty as well as exquisite
taste and ingenuity. Its alcoves, its vestibules and its
arches, were marvels of elegance. Here came officers,
high in command, and brilliant dames, and passed a night
in the service of Terpsichore, while bands discoursed stir
ring music.
In the camp of the Seventy-seventh, the adornments
were profuse and beautiful. At head-quarters, a palace of
green arose among the trees near our tents. For days,
mule teams hauled huge loads of cedar boughs, which
were woven into massive pillars or elegantly turned
arches, and the structure rose like one of those fair bowers
we read of in fairy tales. Our surgeon and quartermaster
were preparing the elegant structure for the reception of
their wives. It was almost complete, needing only a few
finishing touches, and the anxiously awaited guests were
expected on the foUoAving day ; when, alas for the expec
tations of men, an order came to be ready to march at
daylight next morning ! The ladies, although too late to
enjoy this rustic palace, arrived in time to find the corps
in line of battle, and witness fierce artillery duels between
the opposing armies. In their eagerness to watch the flight
of the shells, they sometimes manifested greater bravery
than their companions, whose experience had taught them
to regard with suspicion the shrieking missiles.
We had passed a pleasant month at this camp, and the
men were eager, notwithstanding their comfortable quar
ters, for active campaigning. The health and spirits of
the soldiers of the corps had never been better, and in spite
of the failure at Chancellorsville, they felt a great deal of
confidence. So the order to move was received with

THE "third CROSSING." 217
pleasure, and we turned away from our pleasant camps
willingly. We left camp on the morning of June Sth, one of the
loveliest of days, and, taking the road we had already trod
on two occasions, halted in the valley of the Rappahan
nock, on the very spot Avhere we had rested at the first
and second battles of Fredericksburgh, and prepared, for
a third time Avithin six months, to cross the river. A
correspondent of one of the daily journals, Avriting from
head-quarters of the army, says : "Howe's splendid division
of the fighting Sixth corps was selected for the work of
crossing, and the point for laying the bridges was just
below the mouth of Deep Run, at the identical spot where
we had crossed twice before."
Pontoons and batteries of artillery formed long lines
behind the little ridge which runs parallel Avith the river,
and the infantry marched and countermarched to get in
right positions. Here, behind the little ridge, we rested,
until about five o'clock in the afternoon, our men mount
ing the ridge, and gazing across the river, where the eneray
had turned the rifle pits thrown up by our First division,
to their own use ; and, in return, the rebels raised their
heads above the breastAvorks, or ventured to the river side,
wondering what could be the intention of the army, so
recently driven from th^se grounds, in making such prep
arations for another crossing. There seemed but a small
force opposed to us ; a strong picket on the bank, and the
reserve posted behind the breastworks, Avere all that could
be seen, though we well knew that the heights beyond
swarmed with opposing hosts, as they had twice before.
At length the engineers drew the pontoons to the edge of
the river, the Seventy-seventh being detailed to assist in
unloading. The rebels betook themselves to the rifle pits,
and opened a brisk fire ; but presently they were glad to
draw their heads behind the earthworks, for five of our
28

218 the rifle pits stormed.
batteries, Williston's, McCartney's, Cowen's, Haines' and
McCarthey's, were run out upon the plain, and opened a
fierce fire, whole batteries firing by volleys, until the whole
plain, on the further side, was a sheet of flame from the
bursting shells, and huge clouds of dust, plowed up by
the shrieking missiles, rose so as to obscure the heights.
The rebels could only load, and thrust their guns above
the earthworks, firing at random, for no man could raise
his head without coraing in the way of the fiery mes
sengers of death, which filled the air. Still their fire,
although at random, was annoying, and it was evident
that the safest method was to cross men in boats, enough
to drive the rebels frora their pits, or capture thera, and
then build the bridge without opposition.
The Twenty-sixth New Jersey and Fifth Vermont regi
ments leaped into the boats, quickly crossed, and, rushing
from the bank, charged upon the pits. The rebels Avere
now, for the first time offered an opportunity for flight ;
for while the artillery was filling the whole plain with
bursting shells, there remained no alternative but to hug
the earth behind the rifle pits ; noAV that the artillery
ceased, they scattered across the plain in hot haste, before
the rapid charge of our boys. The two regiments pur
sued the fugitives, and raany of thera thrcAV doAvn their
arms ; we captured about seventy-five prisoners ; of these,
thirty-six Avere captured by Captain Davenport, who, Avith
eighteen of his men, Avas marching up the ravine through
which passes the Deep Run, when they came upon the
rebels, whom they obliged to surrender, their captain
delivering his SAVord to Captain Davenport. Five or six
men of the engineers were killed, and sorae wounded.
The Verraonters and New Jerseyraen, also, had a fcAV men
wounded. The Seventy-seventh had one man killed. Sergeant
Rex Haines was shot through the head. He was a brave

WATCHING. 219
man, and one of the best soldiers in the regiment. He
had, until that very day, been confined to the hospital
with severe illness. A feAV of our men, also, received
slight wounds.
The engineers proceeded at once to lay the bridges, and
on the following morning the Avliole division crossed. Our
picket reserve made their rendezvous at the ruins of the fine
mansion which we had used for our Second division hospital
at the first battle. Now nothing but the bare Avails and
heaps of rubbish marked the place where the beautiful
residence had stood. A regiment of Mississippians had
occupied the place, and had ruthlessly and willfully burned
it. Yet the fine chestnuts and broad-spreading oaks
afforded as luxurious a shade as in the palmy days when
the old bachelor proprietor lounged beneath their shadow.
The picket line extended nearly to the railroad, and, as
before, formed a semi-circle, radiating from the pontoon
bridge. The enemy had also formed a strong picket to
oppose us, and the two lines of skirmishers were Avithin a
few yards of each other.
It was a beautiful Sabbath, and all day long the troops
lay upon the plain, wondering what was to be done.
There were the frowning batteries of the enemy on the
hills in front, apparently able to blow the whole division
into the air, and we could, with our glasses, discover
great numbers of infantry at the base of the hills, half
hidden by the low growth of pines. The main body of
our army still remained in camp ; only our Sixth corps had
moved. Evidently the enemy concluded that the advance
was rather one of observation than attack, and quietly
awaited our movements. Some firing was for a time kept
up on the skirmish line, and now and then a shell would
come crashing through some of the houses at the right,
where our pickets Avere concealed; but at length, by
mutual consent, the pickets of each army Avatched the

220 A DIVISION OP COLPORTEURS.
movements of their opponents without molesting them.
During this quasi-truce, a spirit of sociability manifested
itself, and our boys soon struck up an acquaintance with
their dangerous neighbors. At length an exchange of
papers was proposed, and upon mutual agreeraent of tem
porary amity, a Yankee and a Johnnie would step into
the open space between the tAvo lines, shake hands, inquire
each other's regiment, trade papers and retire.
There came at this tirae, to each company of one regi
ment, a copy of the Ncav York Observer, Independent,
Christian Examiner, Evangelist and other papers, and Mr.
Alvord, the agent of the Tract Society, had just been
among the men, distributing copies of the American Mes
senger. These Avere soon collected and carried over to be
exchanged for copies of the Richmond Enquirer, Sentinel,
and Examiner. The trade was not kept wholly within the
limits of literary exchange, but sugar and coffee passed
into the rebels' hands in return for plugs of tobacco. At
length an order came from division head-quarters, stopping
this illicit practice. Our boys declared that they Avere
acting the part of colporteurs to the barbarian rebels, and,
if they had been allowed to continue the distribution of
religious papers among thera, they would soon be con
vinced of the error of their ways, and desist from further
fighting. During the night of the Sth, our division was withdrawn
to the north side of the river, our place being taken by
the Third division. We retired to Stafford Heights and
bivouacked. Our bivouac became our encampment for a
week. There we lay, wondering what was next to be
done, while the artillery on either side exchanged shots.
The 32-pounders on our hills sending their huge shot
across to the opposite heights, and the rebel guns reply
ing, sometimes with shells of raost iraproved pattern, and
at other times throAving over huge pieces of railroad iron.

A DISGRACED OFFICER. 221
An incident of much interest to Neill's brigade occurred
while Ave Avere here. A lieutentant, belonging to the
Twenty-first Ncav Jersey regiment, had been tried by a
court-martial, and convicted of coAvardice at the battle on
May 3d. The whole brigade was brought out at the hour
for evening parade, and formed in a hollow square. To
the center of the inclosure the culprit Avas brought. His
sentence Avas then read to him, which was that he be dis
missed the service in disgrace. The adjutant-general of
the brigade then proceeded to execute the details of the
sentence. The sword of the cowardly officer Avas taken
from him and broken over his head; his shoulder-straps
and buttons were then cut off, and his pistol broken and
thrown away. The sentence, and the manner of its execu
tion, were ordered to be published in the newspapers of the
county where the regiment was raised. A similar sentence
was executed in the Seventy-seventh regiment on the same
evening. Lewis Burke, of Company F, Avas convicted of
cowardice at the same battle. He was brought before the
regiment, which stood in line ; his sentence read, his but
tons and the blue cord on his coat cut off, and a placard
marked " Coward " hung to his back. A guard, with fixed
bayonets pointing at his back, then marched him off, the
band playing "The Rogues' March." Burke went to
serve out his time at the Dry Tortugas at hard labor,
without pay or allowance.
As we looked upon the execution of these humiliating
sentences, we could not help feeling how much better it
would have been to have fallen nobly on that field of
battle, honored and lamented, than to live to be thus
degraded and despised. It had never been so forcibly
impressed upon our minds, how much better it was to die
nobly than to live in disgrace. When we thought of the
noble Wheeler and his brave companions, who had given
their lives for their country on yonder heights, and then

222 OPF FOE PENNSYLVANIA.
turned to the sickening scene before us, we could but
exclaim, " How are the dead to be envied !"
At length, on Saturday night, June 13th, we withdrew
from Fredericksburgh, and commenced the memorable
Pennsylvania campaign. There had been, for several
days, indications that General Lee was throwing his army
to our right, and was crossing the Rappahannock in the
A'icinity of Culpepper. At length this had become a cer
tainty ; and the whole army was quickly moved to come
up with him. All day long the hurrying of trains, the
movements of troops, the intense activity at the railroad
station, where everything was being hastily thrown into
cars, had indicated a sudden leave-taking.
At length the trains were off, and the whole army in
motion. Our own corps being rear-guard, started at ten
o'clock at night. The darkness Avas intense, and a thunder
shoAver prevailed. Our route for a long time lay through a
thick woods, where the branches of the trees, meeting over
our heads, shut out the little light that raight have pene
trated the thunder clouds, and the column was shut in
perfect darkness. The road Avas terribly muddy, and the
batteries which were trying to pass over the same route,
were frequently stuck in the mire. Our men stumbled
over stones and fallen trees, often falling beneath the feet
of the horses. Men fell over logs and stones, breaking
their legs and arms. Thus we continued the hasty
and difficult march, while the rain poured in torrents
upon us. Later in the night the road became more open,
and the rain ceased. The darkness was not so black, stUl
it was difficult to see the road. We were passing over
corduroy; some of the logs were a foot, and others a
foot and a half through. They were slippery from the
rain, and the men, heavily laden with knapsacks, guns and
cartridges, tumbled headlong, many of them going off
at the side, and rolling far down the steep embankments.

THE ARMY TEAIN. 223
A laugh from the comrades of the luckless ones, while
some one AA'ould call out, " HaA-e you a pass to go down
there ?" Avas the only notice taken of such accidents ; and
the dark column hurried on, until at three o'clock in the
morning, Ave halted at Potomac creek, where Ave slept
soundly upon the ground until morning.
The foUoAving day was Sunday. Our corps did not
march until evening ; we lay resting from the fatigues of
the night before, and watching the imraense array trains
hurrying by, the horses and mules lashed to their full
speed, or viewing the destruction of the great hospitals
AA-hich had been established here.
There were here immense quantities of stores ; bedding,
glass and earthenware, instruraents and medicines, Avith
cooking and other utensils Avhich could not, in the haste
of breaking up, be transported ; so they Avere throAvn in
great heaps and burned.
All day long the trains crowded by, four and five wagons
abreast ; the drivers shouting and lashing their beasts to
their greatest speed. No one who has not seen the train
of an array in motion, can form any just conception of its
magnitude, and of the difficulties attending its movements.
It was said that the train of the Army of the Potomac,
including artillery, at the time of which we speak, if
placed in a single line, the teams at the distance necessary
for the march, would extend over seventy railes.
At Fairfax Court House, soon after this, the trains were
greatly reduced, and again at Fairfax Station ; and after
General Meade took command of the army they were still
further reduced. Yet, notwithstanding all these curtail
ments, our trains were said to be between thirty and forty
miles long.
How little did the impatient people, who clamored at
all times, in winter as well as summer, for an immediate
" advance " of the army, consider that this immense body

224 THE TRAINS REDUCED.
must always advance with the army ; that it must always
be protected ; that the army on every march and at every
halt must be so disposed as to prevent the enemy from
reaching it from front, flank or rear ; and that when an
advance Avas commenced, if the trains were to become
blocked up, or stuck fast in mud, the whole army must
Avait for them, no matter Avhether it had reached a favora
ble position for a halt or not. It was no small undertaking
to move an army with such a train ; yet there were many
at home Avho thought the army could move from one place
to another with the greatest ease.
It is true that the eneray got along Avith smaller trains
than ours, and it is true that the rebel army on that
account was more easily moved than our own. It was
one of the disadvantages of too liberal a government that
our movements for two years were weighed down with
these cumbersome trains ; and even after so long an experi
ence of their evil it was with strong feelings of opposition
that the reduction was acquiesced in.
A captain or lieutenant of the line was aUowed a small
valise, in which to carry his company books and his cloth
ing ; and a staff officer was but little better off. Must this
little be reduced ? Surely the ammunition and the com
missary trains could suffer no diminution. The amount
of hospital supplies carried in the wagons Avas already
limited ; could it be reduced ? The people were clamoring
to have wagons of the Sanitary and Christian Commissions
admitted to the hospital trains, to carry articles which,
although they were gratefully received by the sol
diers, yet were not absolutely necessary. The ambulance
train Avas surely not too large, and we could spare no
artillery. Yet the train was reduced. Small as was the valise of
the line officers, it must be still smaller ; little as was the
baggage of the staff officer, it must be less ; and inconven-

AVORSHIP ON THE MARCH. 225
iently contracted as Avas the size of the mess chests, they
must be still further reduced.
Thus, through the day, Ave Avatched the hurrying trains
as they swept by Avitli immense clatter and tumult; and
the files of troops, guards to the trains, pressing forward,
amid the clouds, of dust and the rattle and noise of the
Avagons. As the sun sunk in the Avest, we gathered about
a green knoll, in the shade of a pine grove, and sung old
familiar hymns; then the chaplain made a prayer; thus
was offered the evening sacrifice for the Sabbath. Fcav
who gathered —
*' AA-tiere throtigli the long drawn aisle or fretted vault.
The pealing anthem swells the note of praise,
offered more heartfelt thanksgiving, or more earnest sup
plications for future protection, than the band of veterans
seated on that mossy bank, while about them was the con
fusion of a great army, pressing to meet its foe.
At length, at nine o'clock at night, Ave took the road,
and, joining the raighty column, marched rapidly forAvard.
The night was dark, and the roads uneven, yet the men
pressed forAvard with Avonderful spirit. They had heard
during the day that Lee Avith his army, aA'oiding us on the
right, and moving Avith secrecy, had already eluded us,
and Avas rapidly making his Avay into Maryland, taking
his route through the Shenandoah Valley. This Avas
enough to stimulate men Avhose greatest desire was to
meet their opponents in open fight, even on rebel ground.
But noAV the rebels Avere invading northern soil ; Mary
land, Pennsylvania, and even Ncav York, were threatened,
and the men kncAV no limit to their enthusiasm. " We
can whip them on our own soil," said they. " There is no
man who cannot fight the better AA-hen it is for his own
home." Such expressions passed from lip to lip as the
dark column pushed on during the whole night. At times
29

226 A SEVERE MARCH.
there would be a halt ; not for rest, for the men, expect
ing momentarily to move on, would stand in the ranks ;
then, on again. Here and there Avere the camps of troops
who had occupied the extreme right of the army. Fine
arbors and avenues had been erected from the cedar
boughs ; these Avere set on fire, and the whole heavens
were aglow with the flames. Morning daAvned, the
march was becoming tedious. The men Avere faint, and
wanted rest and coffee ; but there was no halt.
Faint and wearj-, yet AA'"ith determination, the masses of
men toiled along. At length, as the morning advanced,
the heat of the sun Avas almost intolerable, and the dust
suffocating. Not a leaf stirred on the trees. Vegetation
drooped under the scorching rays, and the clouds of dust
was so dense, that one could not see half the length of
a regiment. The men at length began to fall from exhaustion. One
after another, with faces burning Avitli a glow of crimson,
and panting for breath, Avould turn to the surgeons of
their regiments, and receive passes to the ambulances and
a draught from the surgeon's flask ; but at length no more
passes could be given ; the ambulances were croAvded,
and so many were falling on every side, that it became
useless to require or atterapt to give passes, or even for
the surgeons to atterapt to relieve the sufferers.
In every corner of the rail fences, and under every tree
and bush, groups of men, Avith faces gloAving Avith red
ness, sorae with streams of jjerspiration rolling doAvn their
cheeks, and others Avith their red faces dry and feverish,
strewed the wayside and lined the hedges. Here the
color-bearer of a regiraent, his color lying beside hira, lay
gasping for breath ; there a colonel, his horse tied to the
fence, strove to fan the air into a little life with his broad-
brimmed hat. Under one little clurap of cedars might
be seen an exhausted group of line officers, captains and

REST AT DUMFRIES. 227
lieutenants, and under the next, a number of enlisted men
Avlio could no longer keep the road. The spectacle along
the roadside became appalling. Regiments became like
companies, and companies lost their identit)'"; men Avere
dying Avitli sunstroke ; and still the march Avas continued.
This could not last much longer, for the brave men
who still held out Avere fi:ist losing strength, and soon
there would be no troops able to move. At length, at
nearly three o'clock, Ave came in sight of the little, old,
depopulated town of Dumfries. Here, to the joy of all,
we saw men filing into the fields for a halt. There was
no cheer, no expression of gladness; for the tired men,
Avith feet blistered and raAV, worn out by seventeen hours'
constant march, alraost melted and smothered, cared
little for demonstrations. ThroAving themselves upon the
ground, they rested for half an hour, and then, rousing
long enough to cook their coffee, they refreshed themselves
with their hard tack, pork and coffee, and were ready to
sleep. Here the Vermont brigade was drawn up in line,
and scime half a dozen men, skulkers, principally from the
Twenty-sixth New Jersey, Avere drummed out of camp,
the bands of the brigade playing " The Rogues' March."
All who were participants of that day's Avork, remember it
as the most trying march of the Army of the Potomac.
Very grateful to the weary army was sleep that night,
but, at two o'clock in the morning, the shout passed along
the line, " fall in ! fall in ! " And so, Avithout coffee, we
rolled our blankets and fell into line. But, as often hap
pens, Avhen the whole army is to move, some parts must
wait long before the others are out of the Avay. So we of
the Sixth corps waited until four o'clock, and got our
coffee finally before the rest of the column had made way
for us. It Avas another hot, dusty day, but not so intoler
able as the day before, and about tAvo or three o'clock we
arrived at Occoquan creek, crossing at Wolf Run Shoals

228 AN ARMY BATHING.
Here Ave had tAvo or three hours' rest. The men had no
sooner halted than they plunged into the stream, and the
wide creek Avas soon alive with swarms of men splashing
and diA-ina: in the coolins: element.
It was a novel sight. An array bathing. A brigade of
nine months Vermont troops, had been stationed here dur
ing the Avinter. They were full regiments, never thinned
by exhausting labors, hard campaigns or the trying ordeal
of battle. They now bade farcAvell to their comfortable
quarters and picket duty, and joined the Grand Army on
a real campaign. Although we had already made a long
march, at four o'clock Ave Avere again on the road, and
before dark we reached Fairfax Station, six miles from
Wolf Run Shoals. This was a raore cheerful raarch than
the others. The raen, refreshed by their bath, and strength
ened by a good dinner and tAvo hours' rest, noAV Avent
shouting, singing and laughing, as though marching was
but play.
This day we heard that some part of Lee's army was in
Pennsylvania ! The men Avere as anxious to go forward as
were their comraanders. The corps bivouacked in groves
on the turnpike, Avhich led from Fairfax to Manassas, rest
ing for the night and the following day. Here our train
under Avent a process of purging. Needless articles, and
many useful ones, Avhich could be disposed of, were sent to
the rear. The trains were to go with smaller loads, and
many teams were to be taken from thera.
We had marched, since setting out from before Freder
icksburgh, through a country, well enough by nature, but
neglected, barren and depopulated. Hoav large a portion
of this great State Avas in this sad condition ? Its natur
ally rich fields were groAvn up to scrub pines, mugworts
and Avormwood. Its fair valleys desolate of inhabitants,
or inhabited by low white trash, as idle as ignorant. The
groves and fields where Ave now rested Avere pleasant for a

i t

AT FAIRFAX COURT HOUSE. 229
bivouac, but the fields Avero Avaste land, and the oak timber
was all that seeraed of any value, as far as Ave could see.
Yet we Avere uoav Avithin a few miles of Washington, where
articles of food brought fabulous prices, and wood could
scarcely be procured. Why Avere these fine lands desolate ?
Was it because agriculture Avas unprofitable ? Surely, Avitli
Washington and Alexandria so near, and Baltiraore at a
short distance farther, there should be a good raarket for
produce. Was it because the Avar had put a stop to agri
cultural pursuits? The scrub pines and dwarf oaks
growing upon deserted tobacco fields, where the ridges
Avere still plainly visible, shoAved that before the war
indolence prevailed.
At five o'clock on the raorning of June 19th, we were
again on the march, reaching Fairfax Court House before
noon. Again our train Avas overhauled, baggage reduced,
and teams sent to the rear. By this time the train began to
assume more reasonable dimensions. General officers were
strictly forbidden the use of ambulances, henceforth all
ambulances Avere to be used for their legitimate purposes,
and general officers and their staffs Avere to get along Avith
a more reasonable amount of baggage, while regimental
officers were to be alloAved only the most limited amount of
transportation. A single small valise only was the extent
of baggage for each regimental officer, and a mess chest of
the size of a cracker box, was to be the allowance for all
officers of a single company.
About Fairfax Court House was stationed a division of
cavalry and some infantry, under the command of General
Stahl. These troops, like the brigade of Vermont troops,
had been employed in guarding the country against the
inroads of guerilla bands. These were noAV also to join
the Array of the Potoraac, and their gallant conduct at
Falling Waters, a fcAV days after, showed them to be
composed of the best material.

230 AT CENTREVILLE.
General Hooker, unwilling to favor General Lee, by
uncovering the capital, and wisely judging of his wary
enemy's motives, instead of pushing rapidly forward to
Maryland, as Lee desired, threw the different corps into
positions, Avhich should at once be favorable for watching
his movements, and resisting any attack. Accordingly,
our own corps, turning partly back from our line of
march, on the 20th, marched toAvards Bristow Station.
We passed through Centreville, its poAverful forts and
redoubts garrisoned by large regiments of men, who wore
bright new uniforms, and whose officers had red tufts
upon their caps. These new uniforms were soon to be as
grimy and dusty as those of the Ai^eterans, at whom they
now gazed with so much interest, and the full regiments
were soon to find their ranks thinned by the same terrible
process which had made those passing by them only
fragments of regiments.
The works about Centreville Avere of most powerful
character, haA'ing been raade even stronger than at the
last battle of Bull Run. In the forts and redoubts upon
the commanding positions, was mounted heavy artillery,
and the long lines of trenches and breastworks, stretching
far to the flanks, and commanding declivities where
musketry and artillery could sweep an advancing force
with terrible effect, rendered the position impregnable
from any direct assault. The few dilapidated houses
still remaining to mark the site of the village, presented a
forlorn and pitiful appearance. Deserted by their owners,
occupied as stables and storehouses, some of them fall
ing in ruins, and all dirty and dilapidated, they were
a mournful commentary on the ruthless destruction which
follows in the footsteps of war. Still further on, our
route led us along the Manassas Gap railroad. Here were
more sad pictures of the havoc of war. The track was
torn up, the ties burnt. Every now and then, numbers of

BRISTOAV STATION. 231
car wheels and axles, iron bands and braces, couplings
and reaches, shoAved AA'here Avliole trains had been burned.
Here and there, the incombustible materials among the
debris shoAved the lading of jjarticular cars. The remains
of fruit cans, tin plates, blacking boxes and glassware,
told of sutlers Avho had disposed of their Avares at less than
the usual exorbitant prices. Heaps of spikes and handle-
less hammers, and iron bars, reminded us of disconcerted
plans in railroad extension, Avhile numberless solid shot,
bullets and fragments of shells, shoAved Avhere car loads
of araraunition had been consumed in harmless explosions.
At length, after a hard day's march, Ave arrived at Bris
tow Station, where the corps turned into the fields and
bivouacked. The tOAver and Avind-mill which had been used for rais
ing Avater to the tank, reraained alone to show where the
station had been ; all the other buildings being destroyed,
except where still reraained the dismantled ruins of what
had once been a hotel.
Here, as for miles back on the road, were the remains
of ruined cars and their contents.
The surrounding country Avas delightful. A mile or
two south of us was a little church in the midst of an oak
grove. It is an agreeable peculiarity with the southern
people, that they are accustomed to locate their country
churches in the midst of pleasant groves, sometimes at a
distance from any residence. In this respect, they cer
tainly exhibit better taste than the people of most of our
northern States, Avho have such a propensity for setting
the church on the sumrait of some high hill where not a
tree or shrub adorns the grounds, and the aspiring steeple
seems, like Babel, to be striving vainly to reach the
heavens. On the morning after our arrival here, we heard the
sounds of cannonading not far off, and learned that the cav-

232 GENERAL KILPATRICK.
airy under General Pleasanton were hotly engaged at
Aldee and Upperville, with Stuart's rebel cavalry, and
that our forces were getting the best of the desperate
encounter, winning laurels for theraselves and gaining
another of that series of victories which was destined to
remove the derision in which that arm of the service had
been held, not from any previous want of good fighting
qualities on the part of our cavalry. General Pleasanton
had attacked Stuart's forces near Middleburgh, driving
the rebels in confusion through Upperville to Ashby's
Gap, taking some pieces of artillery and a large number
of prisoners. General Kilpatrick, in this engagement, had
exhibited fighting quaUties of the first order, riding in
front of the men and leading the way when they hesitated.
His gallant conduct inspired for him the confidence and
admiration of his men. It was the commencement of a
brilliant career which made him one of the first cavalry
commanders in the army. His dashing ride from the Pen
insula to Fredericksburgh, Avith but a handful of men,
eluding the watchfulness of the wily Stuart, had already
established his talent for bold adventure, and his conduct
on this occasion proved his personal bravery. These are
the two great qualities needed for a cavalry officer, and
Kilpatrick's name at once became a tower of strength
among his men.
In this pleasant locality the corps remained, an outpost
for the army, guarding the passes from the Shenandoah, for
five days. The weather was delightful, and the men
enjoyed, to the utmost, the needed rest. They lounged in
the shade of their tents or in the neighboring groves, or
strolled along the railroad track, examining curiously the
ruined remains of the trains. In a delightful spot at a
distance from the camps, almost surrounded by a grove of
oak trees, the hospital tents of our Second division were
ejected. To this quiet and lovely spot, where cool breezes

LEE THAVARTED. 233
always played, Avere brought the sick and weary, and
carefully nursed.
But General Lee despaired of inducing General Hooker
to uncover the capital, so, leaving Virginia Avith his whole
army, he pushed toward Pennsylvania, determined at least
to draw our array as far aAvay from Washington as possible,
and to reap rich harvests of spoils araong the overflowing
granaries of the Keystone State. No sooner had the
movement of the main body of Lee's army into Maryland
coraraenced, than General Hooker, Avitli his forces, com
menced the pursuit.

30

CHAPTER XIX.
THE GETTYSBURGH CAMPAIGN.
The rebels in Pennsylvania — Panic at Harrisburgh — Alarm at Baltimore and
Washington — SLxth corps leaves Bristow Station — A surprise — General Meade
takes command — Position of the army — Marching through Pennsylvania — An
imprecedented march — Exciting news — Battle of Gettysburgh — Death of Rey
nolds— First and Eleventh corps fall back — Second day's battle — The battle
fleld— Fighting at Bound Top — On the right — The grand onset — The battle
decided— Rebel and Union wounded.
Me.anavhile, great excitement prevailed at the north,
especially in Maryland and Pennsylvania, on account of
the invasion of the rebel army. As early as the 15th
of the month, more than a thousand rebel cavalry had
reached Chambersburgh, Avhich they had sacked. Tavo
days before, the battle of Winchester was closed. EavcU,
AA'ith overAvhelming numbers had fallen upon General Mil
roy's force, which had unwisely been, by order of some
body, thrust far away from its base, and out of the reach
of reinforcements, routing the division, and in its flight
capturing its artillery and a large portion of the infantry.
Nothing now opposed the march of the inv-aders through
the Shenandoah Valley. In Harrisburgh, the excitement
rose almost to a panic. All the paintings, books, papers,
and other valuable articles, were remoA'ed from the capi
tol, packed in boxes and loaded into cars, ready to be sent
off at the first sign of immediate danger. The citizens
formed theraseh-es into railitary companies, and worked
day and night throwing up redoubts and rifle pits about
the city. Men unaccustomed to manual labor vigorously
plied the pick and the spade, and kept up their unwonted
toil with au earnestness worthy of veteran soldiers. To

ALARM AT THE NORTH. 235
add to this confusion and alarm, the trains of MUroy's
division that had escaped capture Avere rattling through
the streets in search of a resting place. Throughout the
State of Pennsylvania business Avas suspended. The gov
ernor was calling loudly for men to rush to arms in defense
of their homes; and General Couch Avas striving to organ
ize the militia which presented itself.
Baltimore and Washington were like besieged cities.
Stuart was threatening the Baltimore and Ohio road, and
bodies of rebel caA-alry had penetrated within half a dozen
miles of Washington. Bells rung out the alarm, and the
affrighted citizens rushed to arms. Loyal leagues were
now of service, forming the nucleus of raany an impro
vised company of defenders. xUl these facts we learned
from the newspapers, a fcAV stray copies of Avhich fell
within the path of the army, and from the highly
colored accounts of citizens, Avho, with expressions of the
utraost alarm and anxiety, related Avhat they had heard
or seen.
On the night of the 26th of June, the Sixth corps left
BristoAV Station. The darkness was intense, and a drizzling
rain rendered marching disagreeable. The march Avas
rapid, and sorae of the men fell behind, and were next day
collected and marched off to Richmond, by the guerilla
parties that constantly hung upon our flanks and rear.
Before daylight we halted at Centreville. The men threw
themseh-es upon the wet ground, and slept for tAVO hours,
while the rain beat upon them. Then, at six o'clock, they
were again roused, by the order to be ready to move at
once. While taking our coffee, and waiting for the final
order to march, some A-illain, belonging to the troops
stationed at Centreville, set fire to the little Episcopal
chapel that stood not far from us, and was the only build
ing remaining in the little village which pretended to any
apipearance of modern architecture. Those A-andals Avho

236 A Sunday's march.
foUoAV an army, bent on nothing but destruction, are
among the unavoidable evils of war, and even the most
severe discipline is insufficient to effectually arrest all mis
chief of the kind.
Our march was a scA'cre one for men who had been
on the road all night, and the men were glad when we
bivouacked a little before dark, in a beautiful oak grove
near Drainsville. Very early next morning, descending
into the lovely valley of the Potomac, we reached EdAvards'
Ferry, where troops were crossing ; after a delay of one
or tAVO hours, waiting for troops of another corps to cross
the pontoon bridge, we foUoAved, and were in Maryland
again. All day long troops were passing over the bridges
and taking their positions upon the neighboring hills,
ready for starting anew in the morning ; for nearly the
whole array was crossing at this point, and as the process
Avas necessarily sIoav, those AA'ho went over first waited for
those behind.
On Sunday, we left Edwards' Ferry ; marched through
Poolesville and Barnstown to Hyattstown. A halt was
made at Barnstown for dinner, and the Sixth corps left
the road and occupied a pleasant valley, AA-here the chest
nut trees afforded a grateful shade for the men. They had
just unslung knapsacks, when we were all startled by
the sound of a church bell, Avhich seemed in our midst.
The boys gazed for a moment in mute astonishment in the
direction from which the sound came, Avhen they dis
covered at a short distance from thera, a little church half
hidden araong the trees, and the parishioners gathering
for service. When the first surprise was over, the word
passed from one to another, " It is Sunday ! " " It is Sun
day ! " and they set up a shout that deraonstrated that
they had not forgotten to love the institutions of civili
zation, even after so long an absence from a civilized
country. Few Avho were present at this time, will ever

GENERAL HOOKER SUPERSEDED. 237
forget the thrill of pleasurable surprise Avhicli Ave all
experienced at hearing once raore the sounds Avhich so
forcibly reminded us of home.
Some of the men attendetl the service. It Avas a Catho
lic church, a small edifice Avliich had once been Avhite,
but, by the action of the Aveather for many years, it had
iiOAV become broAAm. The seats and altar had never
been painted, and the plaster of the inner Avail had, in
places, fallen from the lath. The parishioners seeraed
quite devout people, and the pastor a sincere man. In
his prayers he remembered the President and the govern
ment, and he supplicated for peace. The reverend father
said that, OAving to the confusion in tOAvn, there Avould be
no sermon, but he AA'ished the good people to pray for
sister A., Avho Avas at the point of death, and for the
repose of the soul of brother B., Avho Avas already dead.
Some of our officers engaged in a pleasant conversation
with the pastor after service. He was an agreeable, shrewd
man, and professed to be a good Unionist.
It Avas at HyattstOAvn that Ave first learned that General
Hooker had been superseded, in the coramand of the
army, by General George B. Meade. The announcement
of this unexpected change at such a time, Avas received
with astonishment, and by raany Avith indignation. To
deprive the leader of a gre.at array of his command just
upon the eve of a great battle, when, by the most brUliant
raarches and masterly strategy, he had throAvn this army
face to face with his enemy, thAvarting his designs of
moving upon the capital, without some offense of a graA-e
character, was an act unheard of before in the history of
Avarfare. It seemed, from later inforraation regarding this
extraordinary raeasure, that a difference had arisen between
General Hooker and his superior at Washington in regard
to the disposition of troops at Harper's Ferry, and that,
each refusing to surrender his opinion. General Hooker

238 POSITION OP THE ARMY.
was relieved. His successor demanded the same disposi
tion on the A-ery next day, and it Avas granted !
The army was not dissatisfied with the appointment of
General Meade ; the soldiers would as readily fight under
Meade as under Hooker. They were anxious to retrieve
what had been lost at Chancellorsville, and would have
been glad could General Hooker have shared in the victory
which they believed they Avere about to achieve ; but the
men of the Union army fought for their country and not
for their leaders. So they at once transferred their hopes
and their obedience to the new commander. General
Meade was Avell knoAvn to the army as a good soldier, the
brave general who had, with his single division, dashed
upon the rebels at the first Fredericksburgh, and as the
leader of a corps which behaved gallantly at Chancellors
ville. All Avere willing to. try him, and hoped for the best.
The raovement frora Fredericksburgh had been conducted
with consummate skill and energy, and noAV the army Avas
moving in several columns by roads nearly parallel, with
the twofold object of greater rapidity of movement, and
of SAveeping a greater extent of country.
The Sixth corps was now upon the extreme right, march
ing toward Manchester ; next, on our left, was the Twelfth
corps, at Taneytown, a little haralet naraed in honor of the
chief justice of the United States, Avhose residence was
there. At a point a dozen iniles north and west of us,
Avas the head-quarters of the army, and the Second and
Third Corps. Further to the left, at Emmitsburgh, were
the First, Fifth and Eleventh corps. Upon either flank
of this line, extending twenty miles, was cavalry. Thus
the army was guarding a great extent of country, at the
same time that the different corps Avere Avithin supporting
distance of each other.
The rebel army under General Lee, one hundred thou
sand strong, occupied an equally extended line to the north

AT MANCHESTER. 239
and Avest of us, stretching- from Harrisburgh through
Chambersburgh and CashtOAvn.
At five o'clock, Monday morning, 28th, the corps
marched again, passing through Monroville, Ncav Market,
Ridgeville and Mount Airy Station, halting for the night
at Sam's creek. As the corps passed through Westrainster
Oil the following day, the people Avelcomed us Avith demon
strations of joy, Avhich Avere all the more earnest, as the
rebel caA'alry had, but two hours before, taken a hasty
leave of them. At night we Avere at Manchester, at least
tAventy miles from the left of the army, and betAveen the
line of march of the enemy and Baltimore. We rested
here until evening of the next day. The plot was thick
ening, and the hostile forces Avere moving cautiously, each
watching the movements of the other, and each ready to
seize any opportunity for rushing upon its enemy to destroy
it. Thus far our marches had been of most fatiguing
character. We had, in the last four days, passed over one
hundred miles of road. It is to be remembered that these
marches were made under burning suns, and that each
soldier carried Avitli him his gun, knapsack, haversack,
containing five days' proA'isions, and forty rounds of cart
ridges. The men had kept up AvonderfuUy during this
trying campaign, but the great inarch of all, in which this
magnificent corps was to outdo all that Avas ever recorded
of wonderful marches, was yet in store for it.
We waited at Manchester until evening. The inhabi
tants were well supplied with rye Avhisky, and it must be
confessed that soldiers have a Avay of finding out the
existence of that luxury, and of supplying themselves
with it ; and as the men of the old Sixth corps Avere in no
respect behind their comrades of the other corps, many
of our brave fellows became, long before dark, consider
ably inebriated.
At nine o'clock in the evening- of the 1st of July, we

240 MARCHING TO GETTYSBURGH.
were on the road, but it Avas eleven before Ave Avere fairly
under headway. Those who during the day had indulged
so freely in the rye whisky of the farmers, as to disable
them from marching or even standing in line, were quietly
throAvn into the clumps of bushes by the roadside, and left
to be gathered up by cavalry squads that were scouring
the country for stragglers. Those that Avere left by our
own provost-guards Avere picked up by rebel scouts.
The coluran now pushed rapidly on; all night the
weary march was kept up. A halt of ten minutes for
breakfast, and then on again. Noav we heard that a part
of the army, the First corps, had already engaged the
enemy at Gettysburgh, with doubtful issue, and that its
commander. General Reynolds, was killed.
New ardor was now kindled in the breasts of the men
of the Sixth corps at these tidings, and they pressed
forward at a pace unusual, even for thera. The day Avas
bright, the sun pouring scalding rays from a cloudless sky.
The men strove hard to keep in the ranks, for few in
that corps were willing to be left behind in a fight.
Yet sorae gave out from exhaustion, but even these, at a
sloAver pace, followed the rapidly moving column.
At the houses on the roadsides, the citizens, their wives
and daughters, were bringing water, from which the
soldiers filled their canteens as they passed. At Little-
town Ave saw citizens bringing the wounded from the
field in their carriages, and many wounded soldiers Avho
could Avalk were making their way to the village. The
marching Avas more rapid. Our friends were waiting for
us. Soon we saAv above the valley that lay before us,
clouds of smoke and the Avhite puffs of bursting shells.
As yet Ave could distinguish little of the sound of battle,
but those sraall fleecy clouds which appeared so suddenly,
flashing forked lightning, told us of Avork ahead. It
was five o'clock when the Sixth corps arrived on the

A RETROSPECT. 241
battle-field, having made an unprecedented march of
thirty-four miles ! We halted in reserve, not to rest, but
to wait a few moments until our place should be assigned
us in front. We had more marching to do ! Four miles
more of marching and countermarching that night, made
thirty-eight miles in a single day. Such marching as had
been done by the Sixth corps since leaving Bristow
Station, is unparalleled in the history of armies.
The roar of battle was terrific. On our left, where
rose a hill covered with timber on the top and side,
a fearful struggle seemed in progress, and the roll of
musketry and the rapid discharge of artillery was almost
deafening. Let us now turn back and review the operations of the
First and the Eleventh corps since yesterday morning.
We give it as it was related to us by members of the First
and Eleventh coi-ps. General Buford, commanding the
cavalry on the left flank of the army, had advanced north
of the town of Gettysburgh, and had fallen in Avith large
bodies of cavalry, supported by infantry. He became
hotly engaged with this force, and at once reported the
information to General Meade that he had found the enemy
in large force. General Reynolds, who, with the First
corps had by this tirae reached Marsh creek, within easy
striking distance of Gettysburgh, was directed to urge his
troops forward to Gettysburgh as rapidly as possible.
The corps pushed on, and reaching Gettysburgh, filed
through the town, leaving it to the rear. General Buford
was found fiercely struggling to maintain his position
against the infantry of the enemy. At once. General
Reynolds proceeded to select a position for his line of
battle. Without a moment's hesitation, the corps was
deployed ; the division of Wadsworth, leading the van,
was in position ; a battery which had been brought to the
front was slowly forced back, but the gallant Wadsworth,
81

242 DEATH OF EEYNOLDS.
bringing more infantry into line, arrested the retreat, and
in tum forced back the hostile forces, Avho Avere noAV found
to be in large numbers. It Avas at this time that General
Reynolds, riding forward with a few members of his staff,
to inspect the field with the vieAV of bringing the rest of
his troops into favorable position, was shot through the
neck, the enemy having, at the moment, opened a full
volley of musketry. The noble commander, feeling the
wound, turned to his soldiers and shouted, "Forward
men ! for God's sake, forAvard !" and fell, dying, into the
arms of one of his companions.
This sad loss only fired the hearts of the soldiers to
more desjierate determination, and they rushed into line
upon the run, burning to avenge their beloved leader.
General Doubleday, of the Second division of the corps,
Avas next in rank, and took coraraand. The encounter was
sharp, and the rebels were giving way. Three hundred
prisoners were brought in, and the corps was put into
position to hold its ground. The force of the enemy now
engaged, proved to be the corps of General A. P. Hill,
and the prisoners declared that the rest of the confederate
army was close at hand. A column of the enemy now
moved toward the left of our line, debouching from a
piece of woods, and occupying a close proximity to our
forces. Volley after volley was poured into the advancing
column, without avail, except to stretch many of its men
upon the ground, wounded and dying.
At length the brigades of Doubleday's own division
were ordered to charge upon the obstinate line. They
obeyed with alacrity, their cheers and shouts ringing
above the roar of musketry. The rebels gave way before
this impetuous charge, and several hundred more prisoners
were brought in.
Thus far the First coi-f)s was victorious, but its ranks
were becoruing terribly thinned.

FIRST AND ELEVENTH CORPS ENGAGED. 243
In the meantime. General HoAvard, with the Eleventh
corps, Avas hastening to the assistance of the First. Just
before receiving his fatal Avound, General Reynolds had
sent a messenger to HoAvard, who, Avitli his corps, was ten
miles behind, to hasten forward as rapidly as possible.
The men of that corps Avere burning to Avipe out the
unfortunate record of ChanceUorsville, and the roar of
artillery before them, inspired vigor in their movements
and urged them foi-Avard ; but the noise of the battle was
heard by others.
Ewell, Avith his confederates, was but three miles off; and
while the Unionists looked for the coming of help, a fresh
corps reinforced the rebels. But the opposing forces were,
for the time, willing to allow a lull in the battle. So, from
ten o'clock until half-past two the First corps held the
eneray at bay. By this time a diA'ision of the Eleventh
corps was on the ground and another on the other side of
Gettysburgh. General Howard took command. The
Union reinforcements were just arriving; those of the
rebels had already taken their position, and were ready for
a desperate charge.
Suddenly, rushing from the cover of the Avoods in which
they had debouched from the York road, the old corps of
Stonewall Jackson, now under Ewell, charged, with yells,
down upon the Eleventh. The Gerraans, this time stood
their ground, returning with spirit, the volleys of their old
antagonists. On the left. Hill was also charging fiercely upon the First
corps, and the sturdy divisions of Wadsworth and Cutler
were almost destroyed.
The rebel line now overlapped that of the Union forces
on either flank, and the two corps under Howard were in
danger of being surrounded by the greater numbers of
their adversaries. The lines began to Avaver under the
fearful storm of lead and iron, and the order Avas given to

244 CEMETERY HILL.
fall back. The lines retired in good order until they
reached the town. There, in passing through the streets,
the Germans became confused and alarmed, and the retreat
of the corps becarae a rout. Twelve hundred were taken
prisoners in the streets. The First corps maintained its
line of battle and held its foe at a distance in spite of the
deadly fire which was decimating its ranks. The heroic
Wadsworth cheered and encouraged his men by his own
noble example, while the messengers of death shrieked
thickly about him. On the right of the corps. Hill had
already forced back the line, and now the Eleventh corps
having left him, both flanks of his division were exposed.
It was useless to protract the hopeless struggle, and these
sturdy troops also fell back, retiring slowly and firmly,
whUe the rebels, flushed with victory, were pouring into
front and flank the most deadly fire. It was a moment of
vital importance to our army and our cause. A rout
of these two corps, while the remaining two-thirds of the
army was separated in columns far distant from each other,
must insure the destruction of each column in detail, and
give to the rebels undisputed sway throughout the north.
But the christian hero, whose empty sleeve testified
of hard fought fields before, was still sufficient for the
crisis. Halting the retreating divisions as they reached
the line of hills upon the south side of the town, aud
selecting a ridge called Cemetery Hill for his second line
of battle, he reformed his disordered ranks, and planting
batteries so as to sweep the declivity in front and on right
and left, awaited the onset of the victorious hosts. On
they came, until half through the town, when, from the
whole line of guns on the crest, burst a murderous fire,
from which the assailants staggered in consternation.
The tide was turned ; for now a part of Hancock's Second
corps was coming up, and in half an hour the rebels retired,
and the one-armed general was master of the situation.

THE LINE OF BATTLE ARRANGED. 245
But the day had been a fearful one for the two corps.
The First corps had lost its general, loved and admired
for his bravery. Hundreds from the ranks of the corps,
lay beyond the village stretched in death. Of those Avho
Avent into the fight in the morning, but one-half remained.
The havoc Avas almost as fearful in the Eleventh corps.
Hundreds had been killed and a greater number captured.
Yet there was no faltering among those veterans, and when,
tOAvard evening, the Third and Twelfth corps arrived upon
the field, their confidence and hope rose, and all now
believed that our army Avas yet destined to achieve a
grand victory.
No further demonstrations were raade on either side
that night. Each party was gathering its strength for
the grand conflict. Late in the evening General Meade
arrived on the fleld, and Avith General Howard proceeded
to inspect the ground, and make arrangements for posting
the troops of the army.
The Eleventh corps Avas still to occupy Cemetery Hill,
just opposite the town. Upon a knoll to the right of
the Eleventh corps was the First corps, and still farther,
and forming the extreme right of the army, was the
Twelfth corps. General Slocum. On the left of Cemetery
Hill, occupying the extension of the ridge and a promi
nent hill. Round Top, the Third corps. General Sickles,
was posted, and the Second corps. General Hancock.
The Fifth corps was to be held in reserve until the arrival
of the Sixth corps. Thus through the night, the two
arraies lay upon their arms, each watching the other, to
wake to a contest more fearful than the last.
At daylight Thursday morning, July 2d, the rebel skir
mishers opened fire upon parts of our lines of pickets,
but there Avas little betokening any general engagement.
Occasionally a few of the skirmishers of the enemy, would
make a charge upon parts of our line forcing back the

246 THE SIXTH CORPS ON THE FIELD.
pickets, but a gun from sorae one of our batteries would
hastily send them to the rear again. Doubtless it was for
the purpose of disclosing the positions of our batteries,
that their dashes were made. Thus the day wore on until
four o'clock.
General Sickles, with the Third corps, had moved out
beyond the general line of battle nearly a mile, and had
come upon the advance of the enemy, where Longstreet,
with one-third of the rebel army, Avas concentrating his
forces against the left flank, with the hope of turning it
and seizing the ridge.
The battle opened at once. Seven batteries of artillery
opened upon front and flank of the exposed corps, and
large bodies of infantry in coluran by dlA-ision. The corps
withstood the shock heroically, and Avas soon strengthened
by troops from the Second corps. Our artillery noAV
opened upon the rebels from the ridge, and hurled destruc
tion upon them. The A-alley was filled with bursting
missiles, and the smoke rolled up in huge columns. It
was at this stage of the great battle that the Sixth corps
arrived on the ground, after its unparalleled march, and
the Fifth corps was at once ordered into the fight. For an
hour the Sixth corps was the reserve of the army, but even
this reserve was soon called into action.
The writer, while our corps waited for orders, rode along
the front, from where the Second and Third corps were
engaged in their deadly struggle with the enemy, across
Cemetery Ridge and to the hill where, on the right of the
line, Slocum had established his head-quarters, and he will
attempt to describe the field as he saw it.
To forra a correct idea of the position of the armies, one
should imagine two ranges of hills, between which was the
valley and the village of Gettysburgh.
These ridges are nearly parallel, and are frora a mile to
a mile and a half asunder. Their course is not a direct

CONFIGURATION OF THE BATTLE-GROUND 247
line but curving. The ridge on Avhicli our forces are
posted, bend outAvard and InickAvard, so that the line is in
the form of a half circle, fronting from the center, Avhile
the rebels Avorc forced to occupy an exterior line facing
toAvards the center.
At Gettysburgh several roads converge, first, on the
right is the Baltimore turnpike, next is the road to Taney-
toAvn, and further to the left is the Emmitsburgh road.
These all meet at Cemetery Hill, which is the key to the
Avhole situation.
Cemetery Hill is in the center of a range of hills run
ning south and Avest from Gettysburgh, aud considerably
in front of the others. Standing upon its summit, the spec
tator looks doAvn upon the village, a little to his right and
ujion the long declivity stretching betAveen the crest
and the tOAvn.
The crest of this ridge is bristling Avith batteries, Avhich
are so arranged as to SAveep the declivity, the A'alley beloAv,
and the opposite range of hills. Here, by the side of the
Baltimore pike. General Howard has his head-quarters,
and just in front lie long lines of infantry, avIio Avear the
crescent badge, which distinguishes the Eleventh corps.
Stretching to the left and rear. Cemetery Ridge gradu
ally diminishes in elevation, until it reaches an abrupt
peak Avhich rises considerably above the other hills of the
range. This is Round Top. It is covered Avitli timber at
its summit, its sides are rugged, and, tOAvard the enemy,
quite steep. On the north slope of Round Top, the
Second and Third corps are maintaining the unequal
struggle with one-third of the rebel army. The roar of
musketry is awful beyond description, and the whole val
ley trembles with the thunder of the artillery. On the
right of Cemetery Ridge is another elevation, Slocum's
Hill, Avhere the comraander of the TAvelfth corps sits
among the huge fragments of rock, watching his own and

248 THE FIFTH COEPS TO THE EESCUE.
the enemy's line in his front, and where is another battery,
which from time to time is sending its screaming messen
gers to the hills beyond or across a little stream which
winds along the right of his position.
In rear of Slocum's Hill is a little whitewashed cottage,
surrounded by a picket fence. There are two or three
wall tents in the yard, and many horses are tied to the
fence. This is the head-quarters of the army. From this
point General Meade is directing all the movements of the
Union forces.
It will be seen that our troops could be sent from one
point to another of the line, easily and quickly, while the
rebels, who occupied the exterior of the circle, must make
long circuits in order to reinforce one part ofthe field with
troops from another. For the first time since Malvern
Hill, our forces had the advantage of position.
The rebel lines which had so fiercely attacked the Third
corps, steadily advanced, pouring destruction before them,
while the two corps, unable to resist the weight of the
advancing columns, steadily fell back. At the moment
that the Sixth corps reached the field, the Fifth Avere rush
ing to the assistance of the wavering lines on Round Top.
It was a glorious spectacle, as the veteran wearers of the
St. Andrew's cross rushed along the rear of the peak and
among the rocks, at double-quick, and then suddenly mov
ing by the flank, formed in line of battle. Through the
woods and down the slope they rush, fall upon the advanc
ing columns, and check their progress. The Union line
now advance upon the rebels, who fall back more. Shot
and shells pour in a fearful storm from the rebel batteries,
sweeping the slope of Round Top and the crest of Ceme
tery Hill. Here, near Howard's quarters, a train of
ambulances and army wagons attract thfe fire of the
enemy, and the bursting shells soon send them hurrying
through the narrow defile in the rocks through whioh the

CHARGES AND COUNTER CHARGES. 249
road passes, panic stricken. For more than tAvo hours
the desperate battle rages on the left, Avhile the right,
except that on either side artillery belches forth its thun
ders, is quiet. The Sixth corps, the only reserve of the
army, is also put into the line on the left ; only one brigade,
Neill's, is sent to the right to reinforce Slocum, Avho has
also sent a great portion of his corps to the left, and
against whom the rebels are now charging. The doubtful
contest ceases as darkness gathers over the battle-field,
leaA'ing the rebels still in possession of some of the ground
occupied by Sickles' corps at four o'clock.
Both armies again lay upon their arms, waiting for day
light, by which to rencAV the contest. The losses in the
Second and Third corps had been fearful, and scarcely
less were those of the Fifth. Frora our own Sixth corps,
there Avere many killed and wounded, but corapared with
these others, the loss was slight. General Sickles had
been wounded early in the fight, and suffered amputation
of a leg. The morning of July 3d dawned brightly, and
at once the rattle of musketry told of the rencAval of
strife. On the right, Avhere Slocum Avith a single division
of his own troops and our Third brigade of HoAve's divi
sion. Sixth corps, held the long line, an attempt was made
to retake the rifle pits which the rebels had captured yes
terday. The rebels in turn charged furiously. They had
possession of some of our pits, and noAV they hoped to turn
our flank and rout the army ; but the small force replied
to the desperate charge of the whole of EavcU's corps with
the most stubborn resistance. Charge after charge was
made, but to no avail. At length Neill's brigade passed
far to the right of the rebel line, and poured an enfilading
volley into the gray-coats. They, supposing that a heavy
force had got on their flank withdrew, when our forces
charging in turn, drove thera with great loss from the rifle
pits, which were held during the remainder of the engage-
32

250 THE GRAND CANNONADE.
ment in spite of repeated efforts to dislodge our forces.
By noon quiet prevailed along the whole line, except that
now and then a shot from some of our batteries screamed
across the A-alley, but eliciting no reply. The rebel lines
could be seen moving here and there as if preparing for a
desperate struggle. The men at our batteries declared
that so completely had they got the range of the other
crests that the rebels dare not open a jiiece. Little did
they imagine that more than a hundred guns were concen
trating just behind the little strip of Avoods below them.
This unAvonted silence continued until about one o'clock,
when suddenly, as though jjanderaoniura had broken loose,
the air Avas filled Avith the shrieks, screaras, hoAvls and
clangor of bursting shells. The sky was filled with smoke,
amid which flames darted in every direction, and the val
ley and hills quaked with the thunders of artillery. Never
on this continent had been heard such cannonading as this.
For two hours this storm of shell and shot raged in all its
fury. At the first opening of the storm, parts of our line
were forced back, but they quickly advanced again. Horses
and men fell together, mangled and torn by the screaming
missiles. In some of our batteries every horse Avas des
troyed, and the men drcAV back the j)ieces by hand to save
them from capture. One hundred and tAventy-five guns
were concentrated against our left center, Avhicli continued
for two hours to belch forth death and destruction. At
length, when it Avas supposed that our guns were sUenced,
and our infantry confused by the fearful cannonade, came
the expected charge of infantry. Longstreet's corps,
massed, with Picket's division in front, rushed forAvard with
the well knowii yells, Avhich rang above the clangor of mus
ketry and artillery, and tlircAV theraselves with utmost fury
upon the Union lines. Our men had waited the onset Avith
unflinching courage, and now poured into the assailants a
most murderous fire, which hurled them back and strcAved

THE LAST GE.A.ND ATTACK. 251
the ground with their dead and dying. Again, Avith the
fierceness of desperation, they rush forAvard, and again are
met Avith the same deadly reception. Hundreds from tho
attacking columns, in order to escape the certain doom,
tlircAV doAvn their arms and came in as prisoners. The
tide of battle lulled for a time.
Again artillery did its AVork alone, until about four
o'clock, Avhen the last desperate charge Avas raade, the
grand effort which Avas to sweep the Union lines in con
fusion, or result in the total defeat of the rebel array.
The heaA'y raasses swept up as before, Avith the despera
tion of madness. They advanced until they were fairly
on our lines, and, at some points, actually pushed them
back. Then they Avere met Avitli enfilading fires, from
Avhich the carnage exceeded all that had been before.
Nearly the Avhole of Picket's division, finding itself unable
to retreat through the fiery storm, Avas captured, and the
remaining divisions reeled back in confusion, leaving
the ground literally covered Avitli dead.
This decided the fate of the battle. The enemy had
staked all upon this last desperate charge, and had been
hurled back in confusion and Avith enorraous losses.
No pursuit Avas attempted, but, although the rebels
were not at once driA-en from their position, they had
suffered a terrible defeat, and they must retreat Avith all
speed to their defenses in Virginia, or submit to the
destruction of their array. Our Avounded were collected
in great numbers in and about the field hospitals, Avhich
were composed chiefly of hospital tents, some farra house
with its large barns, serving as a nucleus for each. To
these, thousands of our brave comrades were brought
with mangled limbs, torn bodies or bleeding heads, yet,
notwithstanding their terrible AVOunds, exhibiting their
accustomed heroism. Long trains of ambulances were
bringing in crowds of poor fellows with arms or legs torn

252 UNION AND REBEL WOUNDED.
to shreds, yet who never uttered a word of complaint, and
who, indeed, appeared cheerful, and some CA'en gay.
In this respect there was the greatest contrast between
the wounded of the Union and the rebel armies. A Union
soldier, if so severely Avounded that he could by no possi
bility assume a cheerful countenance, would shut his teeth
close together and say nothing. While a rebel, if he
could boast of only a flesh wound, would whine and cry
like a sick child. One unaccustomed to such scenes as
can only be witnessed about a field hospital in tirae of
battle, would be filled with astonishment at the stoical
bravery manifested by the northern troops. If one had
passed along where our men were lying in rows, he would
only now and then haA-e heard a groan escape from some
poor fellow who had received a bullet through the abdomen
or some such fatal and painful wound. But let a group of
wounded rebels be placed in some part of the hospital, and
their groans were heartrending. This contrast is not over
drawn. Every surgeon who has had opportunities to
observe the difference in the bearing of wounded men of
the two armies, can testify to the greater heroism of the
northern soldier at such times.

CHAPTER XX.
PURSUIT OF LEE'S ARMY.
Scenes ofthe fleld of Gettysburgh — The rebel hospitals— The sightless rebel soldier
boy— The Sixth corps at Fairfield— " Hurrah for the Union"— Kilpatrick's
handiwork— At Waynesboro' — On picket— A division of militia— The A'er-
monters at Funkstown— The army at Funkstown- Meade's failure to attack-
New York riots — Beturn to Virginia.
The battle was OA-er and the invading army which had
suffered such a crushing defeat, had only to gather up
its shattered reranants and hastily retrace its steps south
ward. We were in no condition to renew imraediate
hostilities. Every man and every gun had been brought
into service. Never before had all of our array been
fought at once. At Gettysburgh, every man ofthe infantry
reserve, and every gun of the reserve artillery had been
brought into action. The men were exhausted by their
tedious marches and hard fighting, Avhile our ammunition
was Avell nigh spent.
During the night of the 4th of July, Lee's army
retreated, and on the morning of the 5th, our Sixth corps,
Sedgwick's cavalry as the corps was called, Avas sent in
pursuit on the Fairfield road. The battle-field was hor
rible. Dead men were thickly strewed over the fields
with their faces blackened, and eyes starting from their
sockets; and upturned, swollen horses lay, sometimes in
groups of six or eight, showing- where some battery had
suffered fearfully. As we passed the scene of the confiict
on the left, at the foot of Round Top, was a scene more than
usually hideous. Blackened ruins raarked the spot where,
on the morning of the third, stood a large barn. It had
been used as a hospital. It had taken fire from the shells

254 THE rebel HOSPITALS.
of the hostile batteries, and had quickly burned to the
ground. Those of the Avounded not able to helj) them
selves Avere destroyed by the flames, which in a moment
spread through the straAV and dry material of the building.
The crisfied and blackened limbs, heads and other portions
of bodies lying half consuraed among the heaps of ruins
and ashes, made up one of the most ghastly pictures ever
witnessed, even on the field of battle. But Ave passed these
direful scenes to meet Avith others of less shocking but
still sad character. Every house and barn from Gettys
burgh to Fairfield was a hospital ; and about most of the
large barns, numbers of dilapidated hospital tents served
to increase the accommodations for the wounded.
All of the Avorst cases were left in these hospitals, the
number being estimated, by the rebel surgeons in charge,
at no less than fifteen thousand. Never had we witnessed
such sad scenes as Ave were passing through to-day. The
confederate surgeons Avere doing Avhat they could for their
wounded, but they were destitute of medicines and surgi
cal appliances, and even food sufficient to sujiply those in
their charge. At one of these barns some of our officers
stopj^ed, and as they passed among the gray-clad sufferers
who Avere lying in rows upon the barn floors, one, a boy
apparently not more than sixteen years of age, attracted
the notice of one of the company, a surgeon. The lad
looked more like a delicate girl than a soldier ; his hair
fell from his fair forehead in long flaxen curls upon his
pilloAV of straw, some of them matted with blood ; his cheek
was rosy, and his soft white hand told of a youth spent
amid more tender scenes than those of the camp. A piece
of linen laid across his face covered a ghastly wound
where a ball had passed through his face, and had torn
both his eyes from their sockets.
The surgeon spoke a kind Avord to the youth, Avho
stretched out his hand, saying, " Come near me, I Avant

AN AFFECTING INCIDENT. 255
to touch you." The doctor stooped over him, and the boy,
pressing- his hand in his oavu, said, " You are a friend, are
you not ? " " Yes, I ara a friend to all the unfortunate."
"But are you not a confederate?" "No." The boy
clung to the hand of the surgeon in silence for a moment,
and then said slowly, " I did not think a federal Avould
speak so kindly to me ; your voice sounds like that of a
friend, and your hand feels like one ; Avill you not stay
Avith me ? " When the other told him that he raust follow
his command, he replied : " Oh ! I shall never hear any one
speak so kindly to me again ; my mother lives in North
Carolina, but she Avill not see me. Can you not stay?"
The doctor was far from being a rebel sympathizer, yet he
turned away from the poor boy, Avith a sad face and a
deep draAvn sigh, to join the moving column.
Early next morning Ave passed through the somewhat
dilapidated village of Fairfield. Our advance threw a few
shells doAvn the street, scattering a body of cavalry, which
had been left in town, and killing sorae of the horses
attached to their battery. A mile beyond the town the
South Mountain range rose in our front, the road running
through a narrow pass. Here the rear guard of the rebel
army was strongly j)osted. Neill's and the Jersey brigade
advanced against the rebel skirmishers, but after losing
some six or eight men they were ordered to halt. General
Sedgwick deeming the position too strong to assault Avith
his corps from the front, reported to General Meade that the
pass was very strong, and one in which a small force of
the enemy could hold in check for a considerable time, a
force much larger than its own. The main body of the
army, therefore, Avas moved around their flank by way of
Frederick ; while Neill's brigade, with Colonel Mcintosh's
brigade of cavalry and tAVO light batteries, all under com
mand of General Neill, Avere made to form a flying division
to harass the enemy in the rear.

256 HURRAH FOR THE UNION.
Our march over the mountain that day was by a wild,
romantic route, than which none more charming could be
asked by tourist in search of nature's wildest moods.
Before each little log house by the roadside would stand a
wondering group, astonished at seeing such multitudes of
men in those secluded regions, where scarcely a dozen trav
elers usually passed in a Aveek. At one jjlace, as the column
was jjassing a cottage half hidden by sunflowers and flow
ering beans, those at the head of the column were heard
cheering heartily ; and, as we advanced, other voices took
np the cheer, exciting the curiosity of those behind. In
the midst of the noise, sounded a shrill voice ; and as we
approached, we saAV, sitting upon the fence in front of the
cottage, a little boy, about four years old, his face flushed
with excitement, his flaxen hair flying in the wind, as he
Avas waving his little hat, and Avith childlike indistinctness
shouting in his shrill tones, " Hurrah for 'e Union ! Hurrah
for 'e Union !"
Soon those in the rear of the line heard those ahead
shouting again, and another shrill voice was heard between
the cheers of the men. There by the roadside stood an old
man, over whora raore than eighty years had passed, -with
voice indistinct with the tremor of age, all excited as the
little boy had been, his hair tossed about by the breeze, as
Avith hat swinging he too Avas shouting, " Hurrah for the
Union ! Hurrah for the Union !" And the cheers of
the multitude again rang in response to the old man's shout.
We could but note the similarity and the disparity. One
vaguely dreamed of those blessings which the other had
fully realized, and for which he had struggled ; and the
sarae shout was lifted up by those tAVO children ^ — -the one
of four, and the other of fourscore — the one Avith the flaxen
curls of childhood, and the other with the A\-hite locks of
age — the one voice Avith the shrill treble of infancy, and
the other with the high-keyed tones of decrepitude. Those

257
people, Avho had seen the rebel army pass a few hours
before, noAV felt the value of the Union.
On the summit of the raouutain Ave passed Monterey
Springs, a charming sumraer retreat, Avhere the Pennsyb
vanians resort to indulge in the sports of trout-flshing and
deer-hunting. Passing down the western slope of the
mountain, the handiwork of Kilpatrick was strewed along
the roadside for railes. As the battle of Gettysburgh drcAV
to a close, and General Meade knew that Lee must retreat
toward Virginia, he had sent the dashing Kilpatrick with
his brigade of cavalry to harass the rebels in their flight.
Reaching these mountains, the cavalry had come upon a
long rebel train of wagons and ambulances, hastening with
all speed, with their lading of stolen goods and provisions
and their wounded men, tOAvards the Potomac. With shouts
and cheers the horsemen dashed from the cover ofthe woods,
upon the flying train, shot the leading horses and mules,
captured the driA'"ers and reraaining animals, appropriated
the stolen goods to their own use, and burned the Avagons.
Now, as we marched down the forest road, the wildness
of the scene was heightened by the remains of the ruined
wagons which lined the Avayside, some burned, some with
the wheels disabled by cutting the spokes, others tumbled
off the steep embankment. For more than three railes,
these remnants of the rebel trains met our view.
It was near the middle of the afternoon Avhen the
coluran, the army under General Neill, descended into
the beautiful Cumberland valley, and arrived at the vil
lage of Waynesboro. The people gave our little army a
joyous reception, and we encamped at a little distance
from the village. One regiment, the Seventy-seventh, was
sent on picket on the banks of the Antietam creek, and so
pleasant was the duty that the regiment petitioned to be
allowed to remain until the army moved, to which request
General Neill very graciously assented. Our picketing on
33

258 PICKETING ON THB ANTIETAM.
the Antietam became one of the bright sports in the
history of our campaigning. We Avere a mile in advance
ofthe other troops, and the picket Une was tAvo miles long,
so that we Avere not at all croAvded. The weather Avas fine,
the country delightful, and the people kind and hospitable.
The most friendly relations sprang up at once betAveen
the people and the soldiers, the inhabitants supplying the
boys with luxuries, and taking thera into their houses as
welcome guests, the soldiers on their part guarding the
people against the depredations of stragglers and militia.
The grain A\-as ripe for the harvest, and the farmers
were short of help ; but the boys laid aside their guns,
and swung the cradle and the scythe with a zest that
showed that they worked with a good avUI. Day after
day the boys of the Seventy-seventh reaped and bound in
the fields, while the good ladies worked day and night to
make bread and cakes for the veterans, AA-ho had so lone:
been accustomed to diet on pork and hard tack. Soft
bread, milk, poultry and the staple luxury of Pennsyl
vania, apple butter, Avas a glorious improvement on the
usual bill of camp fare, and kind sympathizing Union
people Avere much better calculated to render our stay
among them agreeable, than the bitter rebels among Avhom
we had so long been.
The left Aving of our extended picket line Avas under
command of Major Babcock, who, Avith the line officers
of his part of the picket, established head-quarters at the
house of a miller, Avhose comfortable rooms and well filled
larder afforded substantial inducements to our friends;
but the great attractions at the miller's house were doubt
less the three charming daughters, whose merry faces and
bewitching eyes rejoiced the hearts of our gay major
and his associates. Word came to the right of the line
that our friends on the left were in the enjoyment of far
more than the usual alloAvance of pleasure for men on

A JOVIAL BAND. 259
picket, and thither started the colonel aud the doctor, and
our friend. Colonel Connor, of the Seventh Maine, to
investigate the matter. Riding through a lovely region,
noAV rising to the summit of some gentle eminence, from
whence they could look aAA'ay upon the surrounding
country, its rich fields of grain ready for the harvest, its
charraing groA'es of oak, and its neat farm houses, making
up a most delightful landscape, now descending into
some green valley where babbling brooks danced over
pebbly beds, and now reining up to listen to the coraplaint
of some cottagers, Avho said that " the militia were robbing
them of their pigs and their poultry, and but for the
old soldiers, Avho were perfect gentlemen, they would be
stripped of everything they had ;" now fording the bright
waters of the Antietara, and anon halting to converse
with some group of raen Avho Avere reclining beneath the
shadoAV of some clump of chestnuts or oaks, doing picket
duty as amateurs, the party at length arrived at the
miller's house, nestled in a pleasant grove by the side
of the beautiful river. Plere Avas the major, and here were
the happy line officers, and here was the main reserA'e
of the left wing of the picket, all exhibiting the most
abundant good humor. Here, also, they found our chap
lain, and Chaplain Osborn, of the Forty-third New York.
It was evident, at a glance, that the reports of gay soldier
ing Avhich had reached the right of the line were in no
way exaggerated. The miller took the horses, and the
party was ushered into the house, when the good lady and
her merry daughters welcomed them heartily. The miller
brought out his best Avines and his biggest apples. The
ladies were smiling, the wines were good, and the apples
deUcious, and the hearts of the soldiers were gladdened.
The ladies retired, leaving the gentleraen in possession of
the airy sitting-room. They sung Old Hundred, and Cor
onation, and Lenox, and Cambridge. Now our friend,

260 AT WAYNESBORO.
Colonel Connor, would lead off in a rollicking soldiers'
song; then our chaplain would follow Avith "Benny
Havens, Oh!" and all Avould join in the chorus. Chap
lain Osborn, of the Forty-third, could tell a good story,
and relish a glass of Avine ; and so they passed a happy
hour, singing and chatting, till called to dinner, Avhere
the long table was loaded from the abundance of the
miller's stores. Dinner over, the company strolled among
the fruit trees and along the banks of the river; but
at length, as an end raust come to all pleasures, our
party, who had left the right of the line in the morning,
galloped back to their quarters, satisfied that picket duty
was not necessarily the most vexatious in the service.
The Forty-ninth was provost guard for the town, and a
merry time the men had of it. Here in the principal
hotel. General Neill established his head-quarters, and in
regal style amid flowers and fruits he received the homage
of the citizens and soldiers. The remaining regiments of
the brigade were stationed in a lovely grove half way
between the town and the picket line. They lounged in
the shade of their beautiful camp, or strolled to the village
or to the jiicket line on the Antietam. They purchased
from the people fruit and bread, apple butter and other
luxuries, enjoying a pleasant respite from labors, Avhile the
Forty-ninth guarded the toAvn and the Seventy-seventh
the river. But notAvithstanding all the pleasures of this
bright episode in our campaign, the boys were not without
a source of annoyance.
Soon after our arrival at Waynesboro, we Avere joined by
a large division of New York and Pennsylvania militia,
under our old commander General W. F. Smith, who still
held a prominent place in the affections of the boys. The
militia Avas composed mostly of young gentlemen who had
left their places behind the counter or at the desk, for the
double purpose of lending their aid to their country

A MILITIA DIVISION. 261
in its hour of need, and of enjoying a month of what
they hoped Avoiild be amateur soldiering.
On the evening of their arrival, they were all complain
ing bitterly of the terrible raarches they had endured, and
swore they Avould shoot the general if they ever got into
a fight. They had raarched all the way frora Harrisburgh,
to which point they had been brought in cars, at the rate
of from eight to fifteen miles a day ! In addition to the
severe marches, they had been subjected to great priva
tions ; many of them had not tasted any butter for more
than a week, and nearly all declared that they had abso
lutely nothing to eat for several days. The writer, who
listened to these grevious complaints from some who had
been his friends in civil life, pointed to their trains of
wagons loaded Avith boxes of hard bread. " What,"
replied the militia-men, " You don't expect us to eat that
hard tack do you ? "
These regiments of militia were undisciplined and unac
customed to the hard fare of the soldier's life, and the
majority of the men took to plundering the inhabitants
of the neighboring country, and perpetrating other depre
dations equally dishonorable in the eyes of the old soldiers.
As the veterans constituted the picket and the guard of
the town, and Avere intrusted to guard many of the houses
of the citizens outside of the village, they found great
annoyance in attempting to resist the incursions of the
militia, and rather frequent collisions resulted, in Avhich
the old soldiers usually got the best of the encounter.
The citizens very soon learned to look upon the veterans
as their friends and their protectors, while they regarded
with dread any squad of soldiers that might approach, if
they were clad in ucaa' uniforms.
But, on the llth of July, we drew in our picket line,
the brigade assembled, and at dark the troops, A'eterans
and militia, were fording the Antietam, the water nearly

262 A THUNDER-STORM.
to their waists. We marched rapidly all night, halting at
a place called Leytirsburgh. At daylight next morning,
we Avere again marching. The day was extremely hot,
and large numbers of the men fell by the wayside from
sun-stroke. At Smithville we fell in Avith the First corps,
which was moving towards Hagerstown, and the hearts of
the men were gladdened by the sight of the old familiar
fiags of the Army of the Potomac. We had been absent
from the main body of the army for a Aveek, and it seeraed
now as though we had fallen in Avith old friends from whom
we had been long separated. Falling in the rear of the
First corps, we marched toward Hagerstown. At 2 o'clock
a most terrific thunder-storm arose, such as had never over
taken our army, even in Virginia. Huge black clouds rose
from the north and from the Avest and south, and meeting
overhead poured down great volumes of water, until the
road through which we were marching, and which was
bordered by high banks on either side, was filled with a
mad torrent which reached to the knees, and in places to
the waists of the men. At sunset Ave reached Funkstown,
where the main body of our corps was in line of battle,
having yesterday met the rebels and driven them more
than a mile. Our friends of the Vermont brigade had,
as usual, given a good account of themselves ; and the
head-boards of pine, here and there among the trees,
showed that the victory had not been gained without a
struggle. In marching from Boonsboro' towards Funkstown, the
Vermont brigade in advance of the corps, the little stream,
Beaver Creek, was passed, and General Howe found
Buford's cavalry in his advance holding a strong position
against the skirmishers of the rebel infantry. At General
Buford's request. General Howe sought and obtained per
mission to send the Vermont brigade to relieve the cavalry.
Colonel Lewis with his Fifth Vermont and part of the

THE VERMONT BEIGADE AT FUNKSTOAVN. 263
Second, and Colonel Barney with the Sixth regiment, at
onee deployed as skirmishers, forming their line two miles
long. The Third and Fourth regiments were supporting
a battery, and the balance of the Second was held in
reserve. They saw the rebel infantry approach a strip of
woods in front, and at once advanced and occupied it
themselves. Against this long thin Une of skirmishers,
the rebels opened a severe fire of artiUery and musketry,
and advanced to drive the skirmishers from their position ;
but the brave mountaineers never drearaing that a Sixtli
corps skirraish line could not hold a rebel line of battle, reso
lutely refused to leave and sent the presuraptious rebel line
of battle to the rear in confusion ; not, however, until Colonel
Stoughton with the Fourth and Colonel Seaver with the
Third, came forward to the support of the Fifth and Sixth.
Again, the rebels, disgusted at being repulsed by a skir
mish line, carae up in several lines of battle and charged'
upon the Vermonters and they again went to the rear in
confusion. A third charge was raade against the obstinate
skirmish line, and a third time the attack was broken.
Meanwhile a strong force attempting to cross the Antietara
and come in on the flank, Avas repelled by the Second
Vermont. The gallant brigade had repelled Anderson's brigade, of
seven large regiments, from its front, and another from its
flank. An instance of a skirmish line, a mile and a half from
any support, resisting repeated attacks of troops in line
of battle, is rarely found in the history of arraies.
The raen used from sixty to eighty rounds of cartridge,
and when the flrst supply was exhausted, a fresh one was
brought to the front on stretchers.
The victory cost the brigade a loss of nine men killed
and fifty-nine wounded, Avhile the enemy lost more than
two hundred men.

264 THE ARMY AT FUNKSTOWN.
The men of Neill's brigade were rejoiced to find them
selves once more with the glorious old corps, and when their
brigade flag, bearing the insignia of the Greek cross, was
once more thrown to the breeze, it was greeted Avith vocifer
ous cheers. Brisk skirmishing was going on along the line,
and frequent charges Avere made by our Union pickets
upon the rebel line, Avhich usually resulted in the capture
of a greater or less number of the enemy's pickets. All
things indicated a great battle on the morroAV. The two
armies Avere facing each other in a line in front of Hagers
tOAvn, near a hamlet called Funkstown, the line of battle
extending several railes. The rebels had occupied the
higher grounds, and had thrown up strong earthAVorks to
dispute our progress. Night carae on with rain, and all
expected to be roused early by the sound of battle. But
morning came and passed, and the day wore on with little
activity on our part. Here and there skirmishers kept up
a rattle of musketry, but no general engagement came on.
Much as the veterans, who knew too well the risks of
battle, usually dreaded a general engagement, this time
there seemed a universal desire, on the part of the men,
now to strike a blow which should destroy their adversaries
before they should be able to cross the river again.
Deserters and prisoners from the rebel army represented
it in a deplorable condition ; and the men of the ranks in
our army believed that this was the grand opportunity for
striking a flnal blow. And notwithstanding the assertion
of general officers that the Potomac was so swollen as to
prevent the crossing of the rebel array, there were few
privates in our ranks who Avere not ready to declare that,
unless we gave battle at once, the prey would surely escape.
Thus, as the day wore on, great dissatisfaction was expressed
all along the ranks- — -men openly and freely cursing the
hesitancy which held them back, as they believed, from a
certain victory. So, when they arose on the morning of

KILPATRICK AT FALLING WATERS. 265
the 14th, to find that there was no enemy in our front,
they were more incensed than surprised. There Avas cer
tainly a very general ill-feeling pervading our army at this
easy escape of the rebel army, Avhich even the glorious
news of Vicksburg and Port Hudson failed to pacify.
Brisk firing in the vicinity of the Potomac, however,
warned us that there were still rebels enough left on the
north side of the river to ofler some resistance. We learned,
late in the day, that the firing was caused by a brilliant
charge of Kilpatrick's cavalry upon the rear guard of the
rebels at Falling Waters, Avhere they captured several
hundreds of prisoners; thus adding one more brilliant
success to their many daring achievements during this
campaign. Marching until nightfall, we reached Williams
port, and encamped very near the spot that had been our
resting-place on a former occasion, nearly a y.ear before.
Why General Lee and his army were alloAved to cross
the Potomac unmolested, we do not attempt to explain ;
nor do we condemn the determination of General Meade
not to give battle. When men of such well-knoAvn mili
tary ability and bravery as General Sedgwick advise against
a raovement, it may be well to hesitate ; yet it will doubt
less be the verdict of history, that the hesitancy of General
Meade at this time was his great mistake.
A hard march on the 15th brought the Sixth corps to
Boonsboro', where our Second division encaraped on pre
cisely the same ground that we had occupied on the 31st
of October last. Neill's brigade made the march at a
breakneck pace,jleaving the Vermonters far to the rear,
who declared that the recent associations ofthe former with
the cavalry had transformed them into a flying brigade.
While resting here, a large body of rebel prisoners was
marched past. They were mostly those Avho had been
captured by Kilpatrick's men at Falling Waters. The
rebels were hungry and destitute of rations. Our men at
34

266 NEW YORK RIOTS.
once divided their rations of hard bread and coffee with
thera, Avho, officers and all, declared that it was the best
meal they had enjoyed for several days, and expressed
themselves greatly pleased with the generosity of their
guardians. Notwithstanding our glorious success at Gettysburgh,
and the good news frora the west, we Avere noAV hearing
news that made our hearts sick, and caused the cheeks of
the New York soldiers to burn for the disgrace of their
native State. It was a source of the deepest mortification
to the brave New Yorkers, to feel that their oavu State
and the great metropolis had been outraged by the most
disgraceful riot that had CAcr stained the annals of any
State or city in the Union, all for the purpose of over
awing the government in its efforts to subdue the rebellion.
Our companions from other States, Avith the generosity
that characterizes soldiers, never derided us with this dis
grace, but alluded to the riot as an uprising of foreigners,
who had for the moment overpoAvered the native element.
Even the fact that the governor of that great State had,
in the midst of these terrible scenes, addressed the mis
creants as his " friends," was alluded to with a delicacy
that won our hearts.
It was one of the pleasant indications of a union of
hearts as well as of States, that the soldiers of our sister
States looked upon these riots in the light of a general
calamity, rather than a disgrace to a particular State.
Crossing the South Mountain range, from Boonsboro' to
Middletown, the Sixth corps reached Petersville, three or
four miles north of Berlin, where the army was to cross
the Potomac. Here, nearly the whole army was croAvded
into a space of not more than three miles, all waiting for
the orders to cross. The men were universally eager to
push forward, and the necessary delay caused by crossing
the men and material of so large an army seemed to them

RETURN TO VIRGINIA. 267
a Avearisome expenditure of time. While Avaiting here,
the Second division Avas honored by the presence of sev
eral ladies, wives of officers of different regiments, who
had been waiting in Washington an opportunity of
visiting their husbands, and had met them here. As a
memento of this brief visit, the Seventy-seventh New York
received from the Avife of the surgeon the gift of a pair
of beautiful guidons, which the regiment boasted were
unequaled in the army. The design Avas a white cross,
the badge of our division, upon a ground of deep blue
silk. In the center of the cross Avere wrought the figures
" 77." These beautiful guidons were carried by the regi
ment until its final discharge from the service, when, with
the old banner, the tattered national flag, and the magni
ficent new flag which Avas presented afterward by the
ladies of Saratoga, they were presented to the State of
New York, on the Fourth of July, 1865, in the presence
of General Grant and a great concourse of illustrious
men. On Sunday, the 19th, the Sixth corps crossed the pon
toon bridge to Virginia, the bands playing " O carry me
back." As usual, while the corps was crossing a bridge
or passing a difficult place. General Sedgwick stood at the
farther end of the bridge preventing confusion and hurry
ing up teams which might obstruct the way. We climbed
the rocky defile, and, at four o'clock, found ourselves well
on the Virginia side of the Potomac. On our march we
passed through the little village of Lovettsville, and, rauch
to the surprise of all, the doors and windows of the dwell
ings were filled with ladies, Avhose hair and dresses were
decked with ribbons of red, white and blue, and scores of
Union flags waved a welcome to our soldiers. Such a
sight had not greeted us before in Dixie, and it was most
refreshing to Avitness such a demonstration of loyalty in
Virsjinia.

268 ALONG THE BLUE RIDGE.
The corps encamped about ten miles from the river, near
a beautiful clear stream of Avater, which was very soon
filled with bathers. Here orders came for each regiment
in the army to send, to the State in which the regi
ment Avas raised, a certain number of commissioned
officers and enlisted men for recruiting duty.
The march on the 20th was slow and through groves
and pleasant meadows. Twelve miles were made, and
we halted for the night and the next day. Wednesday we
passed through Union town and Snickersville, reaching the
base of Cobbler's mountain, a high spur from the Blue
Ridge, not far from Ashby's Gap. Thursday the Sixth
corps proceeded to Ashby's Gap, and, halting there for
a few hours in a most delightful valley, again started
southward. Vines of the trailing blackberry covered the
ground, and the delicious fruit grew in such profusion that
the men enjoyed a continual feast. Never had we, in our
wanderings in the south, found such an abundance of fruit,
and the effect upon the health of the men was marvelous.
By the time that we reached Warrenton the occupation
of the surgeons was alraost gone. At no tirae, perhaps,
in the history of the Army of the Potomac, did the medical
reports exhibit a more general state of health than during
our stay in the vicinity of Warrenton.
Thus, marching along at the foot of Blue Ridge, jiow
turning aside to enter some mountain pass, and again pro
ceeding on the general course, the army, on the 25th of
July, reached the vicinity of Warrenton, our Sixth corps
occupying a line from Warrenton to Waterloo, the scene
of sorae of the early engagements of General Pope's army
at the first rebel invasion. The First division was stationed
in and about Warrenton ; the Jersey brigade being pro
vost guard of the town, where the gentlemanly conduct of
the men, and the strict order preserved in the town, won
for them the good opinions of the town's people, as well

SIXTH COEPS AT WARRENTON. 269
as of army officers. The Third division Avas in the rear
of the other tAvo divisions, and guarding the flank. The
Second division encamped about an old Baptist church,
which, inclosed by a thick growth of trees, large and small,
had been, before the war, the only house of worship for
railes around. No paint had ever stained its seats or
casings, and no steeple from its roof had ever pointed
toward heaven. The pulpit, the Avhite folks' seats and the
black folks' seats, were all in ruins now. The Rappahan
nock river was but a half a mile distant, and the Seventy-
seventh and Fifth Vermont Avere sent to perform picket
duty along its banks. On the following day the camps of
the two regiments Avere raoved to the vicinity of the river,
in front of the remainder of the division, and Ave were
ordered to perform picket duty while the division remained
in its present camp. The carap of the Fifth Verraont was
established a fourth of a mile from that of the Seventy
seventh, its lines joining ours on the left. On the bank of
the river just below our camp, was the residence of Mr.
Hart and a grist-mill ; hence the place was called " Hart's
MiUs."

CHAPTER XXL
CAMPS AT WARRENTON, THE CENTREVILLE CAM
PAIGN AND TEE BATTLE OF RAPPAEANNOCK
STATION.
Camp at Hart's Mills — A ride to tho Sulphur Springs — Contrabands going north—
The Vermonters go to New York— Jersey Brigade at Warrenton— The Sixth
corps at Cedar Mountain— Retreat to Centreville— Battle of Bristoe Station-
Advance to Warrenton— Battle of Rappahannocli Station— Plight of Lee's army.
The carap at Hart's Mills was truly a pleasant one. It
was situated in the midst of a raost delightful oak grove,
on a projecting hill, around Avhose base the Rappahannock
coursed in a beautiful curve. Along its banks Avas our
picket line. WestAvard the vicAV extended over a charm
ing valley to the Blue Ridge, some ten miles away ; and
at evening, when the sun sank behind those fine hills,
tinging them and the clouds Avith gorgeous colors, the
prospect was truly delightful The village of Warrenton
was some four miles distant, and the celebrated Warrenton
Sulphur Springs about three miles down the river.
Under the direction of Chaplain Fox, a place in the
grove was selected, a speaker's stand Avas erected, sur
rounded by rows of log seats, and here services were held
on the Sabbath ; and on other days of the week there were
other regimental gatherings, which the men greatly enjoyed.
At evening, the place would be lighted by Chinese lanterns
of various colors, hung among the boughs of the oak trees,
giving to the grove a most romantic appearance.
On one evening the regiment, with many invited guests
from the division, assembled in this lovely spot and listened
to speeches from several gentlemen of eloquence, the brig-

A PLEASANT CAMP. 271
ade band lending the aid of fine music to the evening's
entertainment. Thus pleasantly passed the time of the tAvo regiments —
the Seventy-seventh and Fifth Vermont — in doing picket
duty for the Second division, along the banks of the Rap
pahannock. Our friends of the Fifth Vermont were, in
addition to the pleasant location of their camp and their
easy picket duty, fiivOrcd with the presence of the wives
of some of their officers. A ride to the Sulphur Springs
was ahvays a pleasant pastime ; and Ave recall Avith pleas
ure one of these excursions. A small party, including one
of these ladies, enjoying a morning's drive, turned their
horses' heads towards the Springs. A merry gallop across
three miles of delightful country, through pleasant groves
and over rolling meadoAvs, fording clear sparkling streams
and leaping fences, brought the party to the former Sara
toga of the south.
The morning had been cool and cloudy, but as our
friends reached the little settleraent the clouds Avere break
ing away, and the sun began to pour blazing rays upon
thera. They secured their horses and walked into the
grounds, in the midst of Avhicli General Birney, command
ing a div-ision of the Third corps, had established his
head-quarters ; and as it was then the dinner hour, the
general and his staff were gathered around the board
under the shade of the chestnut trees, Avhile a band dis
coursed SAveet music for the benefit of those at table.
Oak, chestnut and ailanthus trees form a rich and grateful
shade for the grounds, which dip so as to form a kind of
basin, in the center of Avhich rises the cupola Avhich covers
the spring. As Ave step down into the inclosure of the
cupola, indeed as Ave approach it at a distance, a strong
sulphurous odor is perceived ; but there is a delightful
coolness as Ave sit doAvn upon the benches Avhicli are placed
around the area of the cupola. Several Vermont officers

272 A ride to the sulphur springs.
greeted our friends as they approached, offering the odorous
drink to the lady. There are tAVO springs or vats within
the cupola, each inclosed by marble sides ; and the water
stands so high that we may dip it ourselves, thus dispens
ing with the necessity of the " dippers," sueh as take our
dimes at Saratoga.
A glass of the sparkling fluid was presented to our lady
friend, who raised it to her lips, and then turning her face
away, with an expression of infinite disgust, and saying,
with a good deal of energy, " I don't want any," handed
back the glass. The gentlemen endeaA'ored to convince
her that the water was good ; but even after adding a little
fine brandy, she could not be induced to quaff the liquid,
which she declared carried with it such powerful sugges
tions of unserviceable eggs.
Our friends lingered about the grounds for some hours,
enjoying the cool shade and examining the old buildings,
the principal one of which was originally a fine structure,
but it had been burned the year before by our soldiers.
The massive columns and high walls were still suggestive
of the hilarious old tiraes when the chivalry used to congre
gate here in all its glory. Encircling the grounds was a
row of long one and two story buildings, most of them
painted yellow. These were divided into small apart
ments which had been used as lodging rooms. There were
a dozen or more of these buildings, all dilapidated by age
rather than sufiering from the ruthless usage of war.
They inclosed the grove which occupied ten or twelve
acres of land.
Except the circle of buildings immediately surrounding
the grove and springs, there Avere but very few dwellings
in the neighborhood, those evidently intended for the
purpose of receiving sumraer boarders. It was said that
about flve hundred boarders used to spend the summer
here every year, and double that number of visitors took

REFUGEES. 273
rooms at Warrenton, a mile and a half distant, from which
place they rode to the springs raorning and evening to
quaff the odorous fluid, or to stroll about the groves. The
ncAV White Sulphur Springs in the Shenandoah Valley
had, for sorae years past, diverted the patronage from the
Warrenton springs, and thither, at the foot of the Blue
Ridge mountains, great numbers of fashionable southerners
had resorted.
It Avas evidently a blessing that this resort had been
despoUed by war. It sadly needed renovating and modern
izing, and so long as the old buildings stood, no southerner
had the enterprise to pull thera down and replace them
with better ones. A few thousands of dollars in the hands
of an enterprising Yankee would soon make this one of
the most delightful resorts in the southern states.
One of the characteristic features of our picket duty on
the Rappahannock, was the great number of contrabands
who came through our lines.
Squads of gray-headed old negroes, young negro women
and children, carrying in bundles all their worldly store,
constantly appUed for permission to enter the lines on
their way to the north. The cavalry who scouted in front
on the south side of the river, returned Avith wagons
loaded with little darkies, whose mothers and elder sisters
and grandsires trudged along on foot. All wagons going
to Warrenton Avithout other lading were filled Avith these
refugees from slavery, old and young, sorae black, some
olive and some white ; some with black curly wool,
some with wavy black hair, and some with brown ringlets.
Our northern soldiers had, by this time, begun to look
upon slavery in its true light. They had also learned that
the negroes were their friends. It required a long school
ing to teach them this lesson, but it was thoroughly
learned at last. We heard now no jeering and hooting
when a negro or Avagon load of negroes went by. The
35

274 NEGRO REFUGEES.
soldiers treated them Avith the greatest kindness, and aided
them in every way to get off to the north.
While our boys did not hesitate long to take from the
white inhabitants any articles that they thought they Avere
in need of, it was considered an act of outrageous meanness
to take a chicken or any other property from the negro
people. WhUe passing through Orleans, on our way to the pre
sent camp, a great many slave children were standing
along the streets watching us. Many of these children
were nearly white. The attention of one our captains,
who was one of the last relics among us of that class
of men who were loyal to their country but despised
the negro, was fixed upon a beautiful child of olive com
plexion and wavy hair, Avho stood gazing in innocent
wonder at the passing column. The child was indeed a
picture of unadorned beauty, in her long coarse garment
of "negro cloth." The captain turned to a staff officer
and as a tear stole down his rough cheek at the thought
of the degradation of the beautiful child, he exclaimed,
" Is'nt it horrible."
It is hardly necessary to say that the captain's senti
ments from that moment underwent a radical change, and
ever after there were none more ready to afford assistance
to the needy refugees, than our generous but hitherto pre
judiced captain.
Many of these colored refugees had the greatest faith in
Avhat they deemed the promises of the Bible. There was
an almost universal faith in the ultimate overthrow of
the south by the north, and this belief was founded in
most cases upon their supposed Bible promises.
One of these people, a gray-haired negro, bent with age
and leaning heavily upon his staff, who hoped to spend
the evening of his life in freedom, said to the writer:
" Our massas tell us dat dey goin to Avhip de Yankees and

AVIIAt'lL OLE MISSUS DO NOW ? "

thb two JOHNS. 275
dat Jeff. Davis avUI rule de norf But we knowd it warnt
so cause de Bible don't say so. De Bible says that de
souf shall prevail for a time aud den de norf shall rise
up and obertrow dem."
Where the old man found this strange prophecy he did
not say, but many of the slaves declared this to be Bible
truth and all asserted it in the same Avay.*
Among those Avho Avere thus fleeing from bondage, Avere
two flne boys, each about twelve years of age and from
the same plantation. Each gave his narae as John, and
as they Avere both remarkably bright little fellows, they
Avere at onoe adopted into our head-quarters family.
Their sprightly manners, their ready wit and their
kindly good nature soon brought them into general favor.
We Avere very early one morning startled by an extra
ordinary commotion in front of head-quarters, Avhere
the tAVO Johns stood swinging their hats, leaping and
dancing in most fantastic manner, and screaming at the
top of their voices the Avildest exclamations of delight.
Looking in the direction to which their attention was
turned, we saw a group of eight or ten negro women and
small children accompanied by an aged colored patriarch.
One of the Johns suddenly forgetting his ecstacy of delight,
rolling up the whites of his eyes and holding his hands
above his head, exclairaed with impressive gravity, " Oh
my Lor a massa ! What'l ole missus do uoav ?"
The party consisted of the mothers and younger brothers
and sisters of the two boys with their grandfather. For
getting for a moment their joy at the escape of their
friends frora slavery, the boys were overpowered with the
vision of " ole missus " left desolate, AA'ithout a slave to
minister to her many wants.
* Since the above paragraph was in print, a friend has called my attention to the
passage in Daniel, chap, xl, verses 13-15, as the probable origin of this belief among
the negroes. He further assures me that he is Informed that the negroes in North
Carolina entertained the same belief.

276 VERMONT BRIGADE GOES NORTH.
On the morning of the 6th of August, we were aston
ished to find the camp of our neighbors of the Fifth
Vermont deserted, and their picket line occupied by a
regiraent from the Third division. The surprise was still
greater when we learned that the whole of the Second
brigade had been ordered to New York city to guard
against any resistance which might be offered to the
enforcement of the draft. The order had reached the
brigade after midnight, and at three o'clock it Avas on its
Avay to the north. Thus the Third brigade was now all
that Avas left of the Second division of the Sixth corps.
Up to this time General HoAve had kept the division,
except the two regiments on picket, hard at work at diA'i
sion drills. It is safe to say that no division in the army
perforraed more labor in drills than HoAve's during the time
that it was under command of that officer. The whole
division was encamped in one of those charming localities
which make this part of Virginia more beautiful than
almost any other, and aside from the continual round of
drills, the time passed raost agreeably. The Jersey boys
here spent the time in pleasant alternation of guard duties
and social enjoyments ; a part of the time being dcA'oted to
military affairs, and a much greater part spent in agreeable
attentions to the winning young ladies of Warrenton.
But, like every other brief respite for the army of the
Potomac, this was destined to come to an end. On the
15th of September the army raoved toward Culpepper,
which Avas reached on the 16th; the Sixth corps taking
position at a place called Stonehouse Mountain, three miles
west of Culpepper.
Here we remained three weeks ; the camps Avere by no
means so delightful as those about Warrenton and Water
loo, and the Aveather Avas becoming quite cold, so that our
three Aveeks stay at Stonehouse Mountain had little about
it to make us desire to make it longer. Some pleasing

THE SIXTH CORPS AT CEDAR MOUNTAIN. 277
incidents, however, relieved the monotony of our stay at
this place, the presentation of an elegant sAvord to Colonel
French, by the line officers of the Seventy-seventh, was
the first. The presentation Avas followed by festivity and
merriment, and in the evening our friends of the Seventh
Maine, forming a torchlight procession, raarched to the
carap of the Seventy-seventh to congratulate the colonel
and line officers upon the rautual trust aud confidence
existing betAveen them. The next was the return of the
Vermont brigade from New York. The Third brigade
was draAVii up in line to receive our returning comrades,
and with much ceremony welcomed them back to the
division. It must be acknowledged that both brigades
would have been better pleased with the unrestrained
Avelcome Avhich would have been expressed in cheers than
by the formal military salute.
On Monday, October 5th, the Sixth corps raarched to
Cedar Mountain on the Rapidan, the scene of General
Banks' confiict Avith Jackson. The First corps was already
stationed in the vicinity of Raccoon Ford, and the two
corps noAV occupied a line of flve or six miles along the
bend of the river, holding the roads to Culpepper and
Stevensburgh. The two corps were thus thrown out ten
miles in front of the main array, having little communica
tion with the rear. Fcav wagons were allowed to foUoAV
us, and those were ordered to the rear under a strong
escort. On Friday, the llth, the signal officers stationed
on the summit of Cedar Mountain, Avhile watching the
rebel signals, read the message sent by their flags : " I am
at Janies City. J. E. B. S." Thus it was known that
Stuart was making for our rear, and as long trains of
wagons had also been discovered moving in the direction
of James City, it became evident that Lee was endeavor
ing to throAA' his whole army in the rear of our own.
General Meade determined to draw the rebel army back

278 KILPATRICK AT BRANDY STATION.
if possible ; accordingly the Sixth and First coi-ps were
ordered to build extensive fires and be in readiness to
march at a moment's notice. On the following morning,
Buford, with a division of cavalry, appeared at Germania
Ford, sorae tAvelve miles below us, AA-hile our infantry
advanced as though about to cross at Raccoon Ford and
the fords in front of the Sixth corps. The ruse of threat
ening to cross the river by the tAvo corps, succeeded in
calling the rebel infantry back to check our advance ; and
at night, after building large fires, the two corps hastily
withdrew toward Culpepper, which Ave reached at day
light, after a severe march. After a brief halt for break
fast, the corps, with the whole of the infantry, was on its
way toward Brandy Station, leaving the cavalry force
under Pleasanton to cover the retreat. A rapid march,
in which the array raoved in several parallel columns,
brought the infantry all safe across the Rappahannock
at Rappahannock Station. But the cavalry were not
allowed to retreat Avithout some hard fighting. Their
guns could be heard by us during the afternoon, and
toward evening the firing became more rapid and nearer.
Indeed, the rebels advanced alraost to the banks ofthe river.
Gregg, with a brigade of cav-alry, was overtaken by a
considerable force of the eneray, near Jefferson, early in
the day, and after a severe engagement of two hours, fell
back, crossing the river at Sulphur Springs.
Kilpatrick with his brigade, following the trail of the
infantry, and designing to form a union Avith Gregg,
found, on passing Brandy Station, that his way was
blocked by a whole division of rebel cavalry, which had
slipped in between him and the rear of the infantry.
Halting for a moment to take a single glance at the
situation of affairs, the dashing general shouted to his
men, " Boys, there are the cusses ! " Then, springing
to the head of the column, he led his men to such a

GENERAL MEADE OFFERS BATTLE. 279
charge as has rarely been witnessed even in our caA'alry
serA'ice. The road Avas strongly guarded by three regiments of
caA-alry iu solid column, flanked on either side by a regi
ment in line. Directly upon this strongly posted force,
the gallant general and his brave fellows rushed Avith
shouts and oaths, and sabre thrusts, trampling doAvn
everything in their way. Unable to withstand this impet
uous and unexpected onset, the rebels gave way, aUowing
the Union brigade to pass between their broken ranks.
Dead men and horses lay thickly scattered upon the ground
Avhen the victorious brigade left the field to join the
infantry at the river.
Thus, hotly pursued. General Meade determined to offer
battle to the pursuing army, making the Rappahannock his
imraediate base of operations. Accordingly, early the fol
lowing- morning, a large portion ofthe infantry and artillery
Avas countermarched across the river, where, Avithin a raile
of the stream, the line of battle was formed, and we Avaited
the onset of the enemy until past noon. Then, Buford's
cavalry having engaged the enemy in front, three corps,
the Second, Fifth and Sixth, commenced to advance in
line of battle. It was a grand spectacle. During two
years of service we had not seen its like. Our line of
battle stretched across the A'ast plain, nearly three miles
in length, straight as the flight of an arroAV. At each
flank Avere several battalions in echelon. In the rear of
the center of each Aving of the line, was a heaA'y reserve
in solid square, and, following in the rear of each square,
a large column, stretching back to the river and across the
pontoon bridges to the farther side of the streara.
Thus the line of battle moved forward across the plain,
never for a moment losing its perfect form. Brisk can
nonading and musketry Avere kept up by the cavalry in
front, and the army earnestly hoped that General Lee

280 RETREAT TO CENTREVILLE.
might accept our challenge to an open field fight, but the
rebel general was too wary to accept battle on such equal
terms, and pushed on toAvard Sulphur Springs, hoping to
reach Centreville before us.
Our line of battle halted at dark, at Brandy Station.
But there was no time to be lost; resting there until
eleven o'clock, we were ordered to retrace our steps to
the river ; this time not in line of battle, but in all haste.
The night was dark, and the troops had already made long
marches ; so when they reached and crossed the river at
daylight, they were fairly worn out. An hour for sleep
and breakfast was alloAved, the railroad bridge was blown
up, and again we were on a grand race northward.
It was a great medley; baggage wagons, pontoons,
ambulances, artillery and troops, all thrown together in
splendid confusion. Drivers cursing, cannon rattling, sol
diers singing and shouting, horses racing, and all that
sublime confusion which can never be seen except in a
hasty but well directed retreat of a vast array.
We passed Warrenton Junction and Bealton Station,
and at eight o'clock halted near Kettle Run, having
marched more than thirty miles within twenty-four hours.
We had not long to rest, for at daylight, October 14th,
we . were again on the road, making quick time. We
passed our old camp at Bristoe, and the familiar scenes at
Manassas Junction, and crossed Bull Run at Blackman's
Ford. We reached Centreville at three p. m. The boom
ing of cannon in the rear, the huge clouds of smoke, and
the heavy rattle of musketry, told us there was hot work
on the ground we had lately passed over ; and as we
formed in line of battle in front of Centreville, the soldiers
said, " Here is the third Bull Run, but this time the run
will be on the other side."
To the Second corps had been assigned the duty of
guarding the rear of the army. About twelve o'clock, as

AN ATTACK ON THE PICKET LINE. 281
the rear of that corps was crossing Broad Run, a Avide
and muddy stream at Bristoe Station, the rebel corps of
A. P. Hill suddenly appeared from the cover of the woods
in the vicinity, and, running out a battery, opened a severe
fire of artUlery and rausketry upon the column, Avhich Avas
in a degree of confusion, owing to the difficult crossing of
the stream.
In a moment order Avas restored, and the troops so
placed as to defy the advance of the enemy.
The rebels, finding that their attack upon the advance
Avas fruitless, noAV turned their attention to the rear divi
sion, which was advancing toward the run. Opening
upon the coluran a fierce cannonade and a storm of
bullets, they hoped to throw the division into confusion,
but again they were disappointed. After a severe fight,
the rebels were forced to flee across the run in great dis
order, leaving in the hands of the Second corps five pieces
of artillery, two stands of colors, and four hundred and
fifty prisoners. Such Avas the bdttle of Bristoe Station.
At dark that evening the Sixth corps moved to Chantilly,
where we rested for the night. Next morning we took a
new and stronger position, where we waited, listening to
the roar of cannon where the cavalry was contending
with the advance of the enemy, and Avondering how soon
our own turn would come. Suddenly, at three o'clock, the
doubts seemed to be removed. An officer came dashing
along the line, Avith the order to " Strip for the fray ! the
enemy are coming down upon us !" The raen stood to
arms, and again we Avaited for the attack, but none Avas
made : our cavalry had arrested the advance of the enemy.
At night the firing died away, and we pitched our tents
and slept undisturbed.
Ill the afternoon of the 16th, the Seventy-seventh being
on picket, a horseman suddenly rushed in front of the
head-quarter tents, saying that the left of our picket line
36

282 RETREAT TO WARRENTON.
AA-as attacked. It proved that a body of rebel cavalry
had discovered some wagons outside the picket line, and had
made a dash upon them. Our boys drove them back in
haste, but the line was strengthened in the expectation of
a more important demonstration. This, however, Avas the
last we saw of the rebels on our part of the line.
Lee, finding himself too late to occupy the works around
CentrevUle before us, and hopeless of the success of any
flank movement, turned his army again tOAvards the Rappa
hannock. On the foUoAving morning, October 1 7th, our army started
in pursuit, the rain falling upon us in torrents, rendering
the mud deep and the raarching hard. We halted that
night at Gainesville, marched the next day through Ncav
Baltiraore, and reached Warrenton at night. On our
march we had passed the bodies of many of our cavalry
men, who had been killed in the constant skirmishes Avhich
had been going on since our advance. Near New Balti
more, where Kilpatrick's brigade had been forced back, the
bodies of his men lay sc.ittered along the roadside, nearly
all of thera stripped of their clothing by the rebels.
The army encaraped in the vicinity of Warrenton ; the
Sixth corps occupying a pleasant ridge just in front of
the tOAvn. Here we remained a fortnight.
Our first week at Warrenton Avas anything but agree
able. The cold northAvest Avinds swept through our caraps,
carrying chilly discomfort everyAvhere. The men shivered
over their log fires ; but while the fitful wind drove the
smoke and fire into their faces, it froze their backs. At
our head-quarters, as wc drcAV closely about our fire, dread
ing equally the chilly Avinds and the provoking clouds of
smoke, one of the party, perhaps reading for the amuseraent
of the others from a volume of Saxe's poems, a stranger,
had one chanced to drop in araong us, would haA-e iraagined
that Saxe raust have Avritten most grievous tales of woe,

AN ADVANCE. 283
and that our hearts and eyes Avere all melted by the sad
stories. At length, having suffered these disagreeable
exposures for a Aveek, the raen of the corps fell to Avork
to erect comfortable quarters, and thinking that the pres
ent camp might possibly become winter quarters, they
made for themselves much more comfortable huts than
had served them in their winter's camp at White Oak
Church. Generals Neill and Grant reviewed their bri
gades, and then Generals Howe and Wright reviewed
their divisions, and last of all. General Sedgwick had a
grand review of the whole corps, Avhich was a A'cry splen
did affair.
The weather became aarain mild and ao-rccable. Pon-
toons were arriving and there Avere many indications that
Ave must soon leave our comfortable quarters. At length,
at ten o'clock at night, Noveraber 6th, came the order,
" Reveille at half-past four ; move at daylight." So good
bye, fine quarters and corafortable fire-places, we must
be offi
We were in line and commenced moving frora camp at
daylight, November 7th. We marched rapidly, taking
the road to Rappahannock Station. The Sixth and Fifth
corps only had taken this road, the remaining corps were,
however, either on the move or under orders to move, the
Third corps having taken the road to Ely's Ford, and
the others following. General Sedgwick Avas placed in
command of the Fifth and Sixth corps, while General
Meade accorapanied the left Aving.
At noon Ave halted Avithin a raile of the Station, and the
corps was iramediately thrown into line of battle. The
men were allowed to rest on their arms for an hour or
two, wondering what was to corae.
In front of us was a line of low hills, stretching parallel
Avith our line of battle, and on the slope toward us, and
within pistol shot of us, Avere rebel cavalry pickets, sitting

284 BATTLE OF RAPPAHANNOCK STATION.
upon their horses and facing us with the coolest impu
dence ; but not a shot Avas fired at them. We had not
rested here long before we heard the booming of cannon
on our left, Avhere, three miles down the river, the Third
corps had already engaged the enemy. At length the
order came to moA-e forward. The Second diA-ision, under
General Howe, held the right, the Third brigade constitut
ing its front line, the Verraont brigade its second, the
Forty-third New York as skirmishers. On the left, w-as
the First division, the Sixth Elaine on the skirmish line,
the Second and Third brigades in the adA'ance, the New
Jersey brigade in the reserve ; and in the center the Third
division, under General Terry.
In this order the corps pushed forward up the hills, the
rebel horsemen whirling and flying before our advance.
As our skirmishers gained the summit of the hills, the
rebel infantry deliA'ered their fire upon thera, but the brave
boys of the Forty-third and of the Sixth Maine pushed
on, never halting or Avavering for a raoraent, driving the
enemy before them until they had pushed the rebel skirm
ishers close upon their line of battle.
The First division at once became hotly engaged, the
rebels disputing the adA-ance with unavailing obstinacy.
That noble division bore the brunt of the battle. While
the Second and Third divisions behaved with great gal
lantry, doing all that was required of thera, and doing it
with that fighting joy so characteristic of the whole corps,
the First division, from its position, was called upon to
perform unusual feats of valor. As General SedgAvick was
that day in coraraand of the right Aving of the array. Gen
eral Wright, ofthe First division, commanded the corps, and
General Russell, the brave, unassuming and beloved com
mander of the Third brigade, commanded the division.
The skirmishers of our Second division, the Forty-third
New York, pushed gallantly forward, their brave Colonel

THE REBEL POSITION. 285
Baker riding rapidly from one end of the line to the other,
his Avhite horse making a prorainent mark for the rebels.
The line of battle of the whole corps followed closely
upon the skirmishers. As we reached the summit of the
hills, a grand panorama of the battle opened before us.
The AA'hole battle-field could be seen at a single glance ; a
rare occurrence. On one side were the erainences occu
pied by our own line of battle, and on the other, a line of
hills of equal elevation, covered with SAvarras of rebels.
BetAveen the tAvo ranges of hills, stretched a plain one-
fourth of a mile wide and from one to two miles long,
which was occupied by the skirmishers of the opposing
forces. The rebels were posted in strong positions behind exten
sive earthworks, forts, redoubts and rifle pits ; and their
artillery was posted so as to SAveep the plain and the
sloping grounds confronting them. Their gray lines of
infantry were pouring out frora behind the earthAVorks to
meet us at the edge of the plain.
As our line of battle appeared on the crest of the hills,
the rebel batteries opened a terrific fire upon us. The air
was filled with the shriekings of these fearful projectiles,
which exploded with startling frequency above our heads
and just behind us ; but, fortunately, the rebels aimed
high, and many of the shells ploughed the ground in our
rear or burst about our hospitals. The First division was
pressing toward the rebel works at double quick, under a
terrible fire of musketry and artillery, the boys with the
red crosses pushing everything before them. They neared
the rebel works, and the skirmishers along the whole line
threw themselves upon the ground waiting for the line of
battle to corae up. The rebel skirmishers did the sarae.
Each moment the scene became more exciting. Rebel
infantry crowded the opposite side of the plain, the slopes
of the hills and the rifle pits. The whole Une Avas ablaze

286 GALLANTRY OP THE THIRD BRIGADE.
with the fire of musketry, and the roar of battle constantly
increased. At length, toward evening, the rebels having been
driven back to the cover of their rifle pits, the Third
brigade of the First division, consisting of the Sixth
Maine, the Fifth Wisconsin, the Forty-ninth and One
Hundred and Nineteenth Pennsylvania, regiments whose
farae already stood high in the army, Avas ordered forward.
First the Maine and Wisconsin regiraents rushed for
Avard, the intrepid Russell riding at the A-ery front. At his
order to " charge," the two regiments quickened their pace
to a run, and, Avith bayonets fixed, Avithout ever stopping to
fire a gun, the gallant felloAvs ran forward. They seized
the fort, but the rebels rallied and drove thera out. Again
they charged ; a hand to hand encounter foUoAved. The
boys leaped over into the fort, using their muskets for
clubs, and, AA'hen the Avork was too close for that, dropping
their guns and pommeling their adversaries Avitli their
fists. The general had sent back for the reraaining regi
ments of the brigade, but, in the ten minutes that elapsed
before the Pennsylvanians could come up on a run, half
the men of the Sixth Maine, and nearly as many of the
Wisconsin regiraent, had fallen. The AA-hole brigade leaped
over the embankraents, capturing hundreds ofthe rebels.
Not less gallant Avas the charge of the Second brigade,
led by the young, ambitious Colonel Upton. His regi
ments Avere the One Hundred and Twenty-first New York,
his own, the Fifth Maine, and the Ninety-fifth and Ninety-
sixth Pennsylvania. The brigade occupied the left of the
Sixth corps, joining the Fifth corps. Under cover of
the groAving darkness, the courageous Upton led the One
Hundred and Twenty-first Nbaa' York and Fifth Maine
Avithin a few yards of the rebel rifie pits, Avhen the order
to charge Avas giA'en. Instantly the rifle pits Avere ablaze,
and a destructive volley Avas poured into the two regiments.

THE TROPHIES. 287
Another moment and the Union boys Averc leaping into the
rifle pits, SAveeping everything before them. All this Avhile
not a shot had been fired by Upton's men, but, charging
Avith the bayonet, they carried all before them.
The confederates took to their heels, and attempted to
flee to the other side of the river, but their pontoon bridge
Avas in possession of our troops, and hundreds of panic-
stricken rebels leaped into the rapid stream and attempted
to swim across. Some succeeded, but many were droAvned
in the attempt. Sixteen hundred prisoners, eight pieces of
artillery, four battle-flags, and more than tAvo thousand
stand of sraall arras, Avere the trophies of this splendid
victory. The credit of this brilliant success belongs mainly to
the First division ; yet the Second and Third divisions,
Avhile less actively engaged, performed their part Avith
alacrity and bravery, and the raany dead and wounded
from these two divisions attested the severity of the fight
along their portions of the line. The loss to the corps, in
killed and AVOunded, Avas about three hundred, araong
Avhom Avere many choice spirits. The comraander of the
Fifth Wisconsin, Captain Walker, was killed. Captain
Ordway succeeded to the command. He leaped upon the
parapet, and fell dead inside the rebel fort.
All this time the Third corps Avas activelj' engaged
at Kelly's Ford, three, miles to our left. It had found
the rebels strongly posted on the opposite side of the
river, Avell protected by forts and rifle pits. The artillery
of the corps was taken to the river side and brought to
bear upon the rebel works. At length a storming party
Avas selected and massed on the banks. At the word, the
brave felloAvs plunged into the streara, and rushing across,
charged the strong Avorks of the rebels Avith great fury.
The occupants Avere obliged to flee, but five hundred of
them were left as prisoners.

288 lee's army on the run.
OAving to the depth and force of the stream between
the AVorks the Sixth corps had taken, and those stUl occu
pied by the rebels on the other side, it was irapossible to
push our victory further that night. The confederates,
finding our troops in possession of their pontoon bridge,
had set it on fire at the end still held by them ; thus all
pursuit was for the tirae cut off. But on the following
morning the rebels had retreated, leaving us to rebuUd the
bridge and cross at our leisure.
Without further delay we pushed on toward Brandy
Station, which Ave reached toward evening, the cavalry
having preceded us.
The whole of Lee's army, except the forces stationed
at Rappahannock Station and Kelly's Ford, had been
encaraped in tho vicinity of Brandy Station, and their
recently deserted camps, where they had erected comfort
able huts and made raany other preparations for a winter's
stay, showed that their hasty leave Avas entirely unexpected
to them. In raany instances officers had forgotten to take
their A'alises and trunks Avith them, and Union soldiers
strutted about in the garb of rebel brigadiers and colonels.
It was said, by the rebel prisoners taken by the cavalry,
that while the fights were in progress on the Rappahan
nock, General Lee was holding a grand review of his
army, when suddenly the information reached him that the
Yankees were coming. The revicAV Avas broken off, and
there was hurrying of regiments to their respective camps,
each regiment, independently of its division or brigade,
raaking hot haste for its OAvn quarters. Baggage was
quickly throAvn into wagons, and a general stampede
toward the Rapidan commenced at once.

CHAPTER XXIL
TEE ARMY AT BRANDY STATION
Encampment at Brandy Station— The Mine Bun campaign— Crossing the Bapidan
— Battle of Locust Grove — The army on Mine Run — The order of battle — The
army withdraws— Back at Brandy Station— Reconnoissance to Madison Court
House— Ladies in camp — Chapel tents.
The Sixth corps went into camp on the right of the
army, two miles from Brandy Station. We occupied land
belonging to John Minor Botts. Mr. Botts boasted that
he OAvned six hundred miles of fence when we came upon
his possessions. He could not say that Avhen we had been
there a week ! His fences were burned, and his forests
cut down ; and it was generally known that our chief
quarter-master was paying him imraense sums of money
for the wood used by our army.
At the end of a Aveek it became pretty evident that our
stay at Brandy Station might be of considerable duration,
possibly for the winter. Accordingly, the raen proceeded
once more to build houses for the Avinter ; and never, since
we had been in service, had they constructed so corafort
able quarters as they noAV built. All about us were the
rebel camps, in which they had vainly hoped to spend
the winter; and these furnished timbers already hewn,
fine stones ready for use in raaking chiraneys, and hewn
saplings ready prepared for bunks. The Sixth corps was
encamped in a fine forest, which should have furnished not
only great abundance of timber for use about the quarters,
but for fuel for the Avinter ; but owing to the wasteful man
ner in which the AVOod Avas at first used in building log fires
in the open air, the forest melted aAA'ay before the men had
37

290 DIFFICULTIES OF AN ADVANCE.
fairly concluded that there was any necessity for using it
economically. Preparations were hurried forward for another advance.
The railroad, which had been destroyed by the rebels at
the time of the raid to Centreville, from the Rappahannock
to Bristoe Station, was to be rebuilt, and the bridge across
the Rappahannock, which we had ourselves destroyed,
was to be replaced, before the army could safely under
take another advance. It is one of the mysteries which
people who have never been connected with a great army
have greatest difficulty in comprehending, that an army
advancing into such a country as we were now threaten
ing, raust have ample and easy communications with its
base of supplies. Could such people for a moment realize
the vast amount of material consumed by such an army as
ours, the mystery might be solved. To attempt to advance
into a desert country without first either providing a sup
ply for many days, or opening ready communications with
our base of supplies, would have been suicidal. General
Sherman might lead his army through a fertile country,
where the ravages of war had not appeared, and, by
sweeping across a territory forty mUes wide, collect
abundant supplies for his men ; but our army was now to
march into a wilderness where even a regiment could not
find subsistence. The newspapers at the north that con
demned the delay at Brandy Station, and sneered at the
idea that the army needed a base of supplies, simply
exhibited their profound ignorance of the first principles
of campaigning.
By the 25th the road was completed as far as Brandy
Station, the bridge rebuilt, and a large amount of supplies
brought up; and the army was ordered to move at an
early hour on the 26th.
The hour for moving was assigned each corps, and the
order in which it was to march, that no delay or confusion

THE MINE RUN CAMPAIGN. 291
might occur. The Third corps was to start as soon as
daylight, and the Sixth Avas to folio av it.
Our Sixth corps was moving at sunrise, the hour desig
nated, toAvard Brandy Station. Presently the head of the
column halted in the midst of the camps of the Third
corps, which were yet undisturbed. According to the
order for marching, the Third corps was to precede
the Sixth, and should have been out of camp before Ave
arrived, but as yet not a tent was struck nor a wagon
loaded, and most of the men were asleej) in their quarters.
The Sixth corps was obliged to halt and stand in the mud
for hours, Avaiting for the delinquent corps to get out of
the way. Here Avas the first blunder of the new campaign.
At length at eleven o'clock Ave moved again, taking the
road to the Rapidan. Our march Avas slow and tedious,
and instead of reaching the river at noon as Avas expected,
and as General Meade's orders contemplated, the head ot
the Third corps only reached the river at Jacobs' Ford
long after dark, and here again a delay was occasioned by
a mistake of the engineers, Avho had not brought a suf
ficient number of boats to this point to complete the j>on-
toon bridge; a part of the bridge had therefore to be
extemporized out of poles.
The road for several railes was merely a narroAV passage
cut through the forest ; a dense growth of stunted pines
and tangled bushes, filling up the space between the trees
of larger growth. Our corps moved along very slowly,
halting for a moment, then advancing one or two rods,
then standing still again for perhaps several minutes, and
again moving forward for a few steps. This became very
tedious. The men Avere faint and weary, and withal dis
couraged. They were neither advancing nor resting.
From one end of the column of the Sixth corps to the
other, through the miles of forest the shout, coffee ! coffee !
passed from one regiment to another, until there could be

292 THE THIRD CORPS DELINQUENT.
heard nothing but the vociferous demand for coffee. At
eleven o'clock at night the order "ten minutes rest for
coffee," passed down the Une and was received with shouts
of approval. Instantly the roadside was illuminated with
thousands of little fires, over which the soldiers were cook
ing their favorite beverage.
We crossed the Rapidan at Jacobs' Ford at midnight,
leaving Upton's brigade on the north side as rear-guard,
and in another hour the men had thrown themseh-es upon
the ground without waiting to erect shelter tents, and
were sleeping soundly notwithstanding the severity of the
cold. The Fifth and First corps had crossed at Culpepper
Ford and the Second corps at Germania Ford about noon,
and were in the positions assigned them.
The position assigned to the Third and Sixth corps was
not reached. These corps were ordered to proceed to
Robertson's TaA'ern, a point some seven miles beyond the
ford, but the night was far advanced, the men exhausted
and the country little known, so these two corps did not
seize this very iraportant point as directed. Of course
the responsibility for this delay was not with the Sixth
corps or its commander, who was directed to follow the
Third. Next morning the Third corps commenced the advance,
and we of the Sixth were draAvn out in line of march to
follow ; but it became evident that the advance was not
unobstructed. Sharp picket firing and the occasional
booming of cannon revealed to us the fact that that corps
had fallen in with the eneray. Thus the day passed ; the
Sixth corps resting quietly, while the Third was skirmish
ing with the enemy in front, until about three o'clock,
when the firing increased and there was evidently a severe
engagement in fi-ont.
The First and Second divisions of the Sixth corps were
now hurried along the narroAv and winding path to the

THE THIRD CORPS ENGAGED. 293
support of the Third corps — our Third division being left
near the river to cover the bridges and trains. That corps
was noAV fiercely engaged. The sulphurous smoke filled
the woods, and the roar of musketry became so general,
and the forest echoed and refichoed the sound, so that it
lost the rattling usually heard, and becarae a smooth, uni
form roll. Our corps at once took its position in line of
battle, so as to support the Third corps and protect the
interval betAveen the Third and Second corps, with EUma-
ker's brigade on the right, and Neill's and Upton's on the
left, while the Verraonters and Torbert's Jersey brigade
Avere held in reserve ; but the corps was not called into
action. The dense growth of young tiraber coraplctely
obscured all view of the operations at a little distance,
and, indeed, rebel scouting parties were able to hang close
upon our flanks, and even penetrate our lines, protected
frora view and from pursuit by the tangled forest.
On our right, the Second corps also encountered a force
of the enemy, and became engaged in the vicinity of Rob
ertson's Tavern. They succeeded in driving the rebel force,
Avhich was small, back to the cover of the wilderness.
Gregg, also, with his cavalry, became engaged, but drove
the rebels back.
It now appeared that the fight of the Third corps was
brought on by a blunder. General French, in attempting
to lead his corps to Robertson's Tavern, had mistaken the
road, and, by bearing too far to the west, had encountered
Ewell's corps, which was hastening to intercept our pro
gress. The rebels made repeated charges upon the corps,
but were each time repulsed, and under cover of the night
they fell back, leaving their dead on the ground. The loss
to the Third corps was between three and four hundred ;
that of the rebels, judging from the dead left upon the
ground, must have been greater.
While the fight was in progress. General Sedgwick and

294 A SUDDEN RECOVERY.
his Staff dismounted and were reclining about a large tree,
when the attention of all was directed to two soldiers who
were approaching, bearing between them a stretcher on
which lay a wounded man. As the men approached within
a few rods of the place Avhere the general and his staff
were, a solid cannon shot came shrieking along, striking
both of the stretcher bearers. Both fell to the ground —
the one behind fatally wounded, the other dead. But the
man upon the stretcher leaped up and ran away as fast as
his legs could carry him, never stopping to look behind at
his unfortunate companions. Shocking as was the occur
rence, neither the general nor the members of his staff
could suppress a laugh at the speedy restoration of the man
who was being borne disabled from the field.
The two corps raoA-ed during the night to Robertson's
Tavern, the destination which they should have reached
twenty-four hours before.
The unexpected encounter with the rebels in the Wild
erness had hindered the tAvo corps thus long, and as raight
haA-e been expected tho tirae was not left unimproA-ed by
General Lee. On moving in the morning on the road to
Orange Court House, Lee's whole army was found strongly
posted along the banks of a muddy stream called Mine
Run. Our array Avas brought into position on the north
side of the streara, and arrangements commenced for a
general assault. Sharp picket flring and the occasional
roar of artillery, warned us that Ave were on the eve of a
great battle. A cold storm of rain rendered the situation
cheerless and uncomfortable, but the excitement of getting
into position, regiments and brigades marching from one
part of the line to another, now approaching where the
bullets of the rebel skirmishers whistled about them, and
then Avithdrawing a Uttle to the rear, kept wp the spirits
of the men notwithstanding the tedious storm.
The greater part of the lines of both armies were in the

THE ARMY IN POSITION, 295
midst of forests. BetAveen the two lines and in the midst
of a deep valley, was the little stream Mine Run, bordered
on each side by marshes in which were luxuriant growths
of reed grasses. The marshes and slopes on either side
were thickly set with Ioav pines and scrub oaks, offering
concealment to both parties.
Darkness closed over the two armies, neither of which
Avas yet prepared for battle. The night was spent by both
parties in throAving up earthworks, and the morning
revealed seA'eral strong lines of rifle pits on the rebel side
of the stream, one comraanding another so that in case
they should be driA-en frora one the next would afford an
equally strong or even stronger position.
Thus the tAVO armies remained during Sunday. General
Meade still waiting to perfect his arrangements.
During the day the disposition of the line was com
pleted. General Warren with his Second corps occupied
the extreme left of the line. His position fronted a very
strong position of the enemy, where the hills rose abruptly
to the rear. This being considered by far the strongest
portion of the enemy's line. Warren was supported by
the Fifth corps, two divisions of the Third corps, and the
Third division of the Sixth corps, under General Terry.
In the center Avas the First and Fifth corps, and, forming
the right, were the two remaining divisions of the Sixth
corps and Avhat was left of the Third. Our Second division
constituted the extreme right of the line ; the Third brigade
the right of the division ; and the Seventy-seventh New
York the right of the brigade.
At two, A. M., the Sixth corps and the division of the
Third, covered by the woods, raoved about two miles to a
position on the left flank of the enemy. The dense thicket
and a gentle eminence concealed the corps from the view
of the rebels, Avho Avere but a fcAV yards distant ; and in
order to insure secresy, orders were issued that the men

296 A COLD NIGHT.
should avoid all noise, as far as possible, and refrain from
Ughting fires.
It Avas arranged that the grand attack should be made
on Monday ; and early in the evening the commanders of
corps were summoned to General Meade's head-quarters,
where the plan of the battle was laid before them.
At a given signal, very early in the morning. General
Warren with his strong force was to press forward on the
right of the rebel line. At the same time forces in the
center were to open a fierce fire upon the enemy, while
the Sixth corps, at the same moment, was to rush from
its concealed position and turn the left flank of Lee's army.
The commanders of the divisions of the Sixth corjDs"
sumraoned the commanders of brigades and regiraents,
and coraraunicated to them also the plan of the battle, and
assigned to each his part.
The night was bitter cold, and the men of our corps
were without fires. It was A-ain to attempt to sleep, and
the men spent the night in leaping and running in efforts
to keep warm.
No one doubted that the morning was to bring on one of
the most terrific struggles in the history of warfare. No
man knew what was to be his own fate, but each seemed
braced for the confiict. It was a glorious moonlight, and
the stars looked down in beauty from the cold skies upon
the strange scene. Thus all waited for the day.
The morning dawned ; and soon after daylight the signal
gun for the grand attack was heard near the center of the
line, and an active cannonade commenced there.
In a short time the order came for the comraenceraent
of the movement on the right. The men were ordered to
fall in ; they were faced to the right, to move a little far
ther in that direction before making the direct assault;
they stood, with their muskets on their shoulders, their
hearts beating violently in anticipation of the onset to be

ELABORjVTE PREPARATIONS. 207
made in another moment, when an aid rode hastily to
General HoAve with directions to suspend the movement !
Warren, on advancing his line of skirmishers, and view
ing the strong Avorks thrown up by the enemy during the
night, had sent word that he could not carry the position
before him. And General Meade had ordered the whole
movement to be discontinued for the time.
Never before, in the history of our array, had such
elaborate preparations been raade for an attack. Every
commander and every man kncAV exactly the part he Avas
expected to take in the great encounter, and each had pre
pared himself for it. At the hospitals everything was in
a state of perfect readiness. Hospital tents Avere all up,
beds for the wounded prepared, operating tables were in
readiness, basins and pails stood filled with water, lint
and dressings were laid out upon the tables, and surgical
instruments spread out ready for the grasp of the surgeon.
All day the men remained suffering Avith cold, their
hunger but partially satisfied Avith hard bread without
coffee. It was a day of discomfort and suffering long to
be remembered. It chanced that the hard bread issued
to our division was old and very wormy. It was, in some
cases, difficult for a man to know Avhether his diet was to
be considered principally animal or vegetable. Our Gen
eral, Neill, sat with his staff munching some of these
crackers of doubtful character, Avheii he Avas handed one
unusually animated. The general broke the cracker,
examined it for a moraent, and, handing it back to the
servant, said, " Jira, give us one that hasn't so many worms
in it." Many ofthe raen who were on the picket line that
day and the night before, were found, when the relief carae
arounds, dead at their posts, frozen.
During the night of December 1st and 2d, the array
AvithdrcAV frora Mine Run. The pickets Avere directed to
build fires aud keep up a show of force. Our Seventy-

298 nr WINTER QUARTERS.
seventh being that night on the picket line, formed the
rear of the rear-guard of the army on its retreat. It was
three o'clock in the morning of December 2d when the
picket line was silently withdrawn. After a rapid march,
it crossed the pontoon bridge at Germania Ford at ten
o'clock. Scarcely had the troops crossed the bridge, when
the cavalry of the enemy made its appearance on the
south side of the riA-er. The Seventy-seventh New York,
the Third Vermont and a battery of artillery were directed
to remain and guard the ford, while the remainder of the
army continued the march to the old caraps. Next morn
ing the two regiments and the battery started for Brandy
Station, and that night slept in their old quarters.
It Avas now evident that we Avere in permanent Avinter
quarters. It is not our purpose to discuss the merits of
this fruitless campaign, but it may not be out of place to
recall some of the facts relating to it. The orders for
marching on the 26th, Avere issued to all the corps com
manders on the evening previous, indicating the time for
leaving carap. The Sixth corps was to follow the Third,
yet when the Sixth corps reached the carap of that corps,
there were no signs of moving. Several hours were thus
lost on the start. General French declared that the order
to move did not reach him on the prcA'ious CA-ening, yet
he kncAV that the movement was expected that day. As
the result of this and other delays, two corps did not
reach the position assigned thera on the 26th.
When, on the raorning of the 27th, General French moved
his corps again, he took the Avrong road, and thus brought
on a premature engagement, which caused another delay of
tAventy-four hours. By this time Lee had ample opportunity
to concentrate his whole army in a strong position on Mine
Run. Had General Meade's orders been promptly obeyed,
Lee could have offered no opposition to us .at that point,
and must have accepted battle much nearer Richmond.

RECONNOISSANCE TO MADISON COURT HOUSE. 299
Our campaigns for 1863 Avere noAV finished ; the last two
of these had certainly been remarkable episodes in the for
tunes of our stout-hearted army. In October, the rebel
army had followed us from the Rapidan to the defenses of
Washington, and in turn Ave had pursued the confederates
back to the Rapidan, all without a battle of any magni
tude. Now, in November, our Avhole array had crossed
the river and confronted the rebel array face to face for
days, and again we were back in our old caraps without
an engagement, except the fight of the Third corps, and
some skirmishing on the part of others.
During the month of December, general orders Avere
issued from the Avar department offering to soldiers of the
army, who had already served two years, and who had
still a year or less to serve, large bounties, a release from
the term of their former enlistment and thirty-five days'
furlough, as inducements for thera to reenlist for three
years frora that time. Much excitement Avas created by
the order throughout the array, and thousands accepted it,
nearly all clairaing that they cared little for the large
bounties, but that the thirty-five days' furlough Avas the
great induceraent.
The only military moveraent of the Avinter was Kilpat
rick's great raid upon Richraond, in which the lamented
Dahlgren lost his life.
Simultaneous with this great raid. General Custer, with
a division of cavalry, made a raovement on Charlottesville,
and the Sixth corps Avas ordered to move in that direction
as support to the cavalry. On Saturday, February 27th,
the corps, leaving its camp and sick in charge of a sraall
guard, marched through Culpepper and proceeded to
James City, a Virginia city of two or three houses, where
the bivouac for the night Avas made. Next morning the
corps marched slowly to Robertson's River, within three
miles of Madison Court House, the New Jersey brigade

300 LADIES IN CAMP.
alone crossing the river and proceeding as far as the latter
village. Here the corps lay all the following day, and as
the weather was pleasant, the men passed the time in
sports and games, but at CA'cning a cold storm of rain set
in, continuing all night and the next day, to the great dis
comfort of all. Custer's cavalry returned at evening of
the 1st of 3Iarch, looking in a sorry plight from their long
ride in the mud. Reveille sounded at five o'clock on the
morning of March 2d, and at seven the corps turned
toward the old carap, at which it arrived, after a severe
march through the mud, at sunset the same day.
There were, connected with our carajs near Brandy Sta
tion, many pleasant remerabrances ; and notwithstanding
a feAV severe experiences, this was the most cheerful winter
we had ptassed in camp. One agreeable feature of this
encamjDraent Avas the great number of ladies, wives of
officers, who spent the Avinter with their husbands. On
every fine day great numbers of ladies raight be seen riding
about the camps and over the desolate fields, and their pres
ence added greatly to the brilliancy ofthe frequent reviews.
Great taste Avas displayed by many officers in fitting up
their tents and quarters for the reception of their wives.
The tents were usually inclosed by high walls of ever
greens, woven with much skill, and fine arches and
exquisite designs beautified the entrances to these happy
retreats. The Christian Commission, araong other good
things which it did for the soldiers, and, indeed, this was
among the best, raade arrangeraents by which it loaned to
nearly every brigade in the army, a large canvas, to be used,
as a roof for a brigade chapel. These chapels were buUt of
logs and covered Avith the canvas, and were in many cases
large enough to hold three hundred people. Here religious
services were held, not only on Sunday, but also on week
day evenings. A deep religious interest prevailed in many
of the brigades, and great numbers of soldiers professed to

BEIGADE CHAPELS.

301

have met with a change of heart. In our Third brigade,
this religious interest Avas unusually great ; a religious
organization Avas formed Avithin the Seventy-seventh, and
Chaplain Fox baptized eleven members of the regiment in
Hazel river. A course of literary lectures Avas also deliv
ered in the chapel of our Third brigade, and Washington's
birthday Avas celebrated in it with appropriate ceremonies
and addresses. The chapel tent Avas also a reading room,
where, OAving to the energy of Chaplain Fox, all the princi
pal papers, secular and religious, literary, military, pictorial,
agricdltural and scientific, Avere furnished ; and these were
a great source both of pleasure and profit to the men.
Our corps Avas reviewed by General Grant ; by the
Russian admiral and suite, who for the amuseraent of the
soldiers, performed some most ludicrous feats in horseman
ship ; and by a body of English officers. Never had such
general good health prevailed araong our caraps, and never
Avere the men so well contented or in so good spirits.

CHURCH CALL.

CHAPTER XXHI.
THE WILDERNESS CAMPAIGN.
Preparing to leave camp — General Grant in command— The last advance across
the Rapidan— The battle-ground— Battle of the AA'ilderness- Noble flght of
Getty's division — Hancock's flght on the left— Rickett's division driven back —
The ground retaken— The wounded — Duties of the surgeons— The noble dead.
Many pleasant recollections cluster around the old camp
at Brandy Station, which will never be effaced from the
memory of the soldiers of the Army of the Potsraac.
But at length preisarations Avere coraraenced for opening
the spring campaign, and one of the first orders, looking
toward the breaking up of our camps, Avas one directing
that our lady friends should take their departure, then
another to send all superfluous camp equipage to the rear.
Our army had been reorganized, its five corps being-
consolidated into three. The three divisions of the First
corps were transferred to the Fifth, retaining their corps
badges. Two divisions of the Third were assigned to the
Second, preserA-ing their badges, while the Third division.
Third corps, was transferred permanently to the Sixth
corps, and became the Third division of that corps. Our
old Third division was broken up, the brigades of Wheaton
and Eustis being transferred to the Second division, and
Shaler's brigade to the First. Our corps, as reorganized,
consisted of three divisions, comprising eleven brigades.*
=* The corps, aa reorganized, was commanded as follows ;
Major-General John Sedgwick commanding the corps.
First division, Brigadier-General H. G. AA'right, commanding. First brigade.
Colonel W-.H. Penrose; Second brigade. Colonel E. Upton ; Third brigade, Brigadier-
General D. A. Eussell ; Fourth brigade, Brigadier-General A. Shaler.
Second division. Brigadier-general George W. Getty, commanding. First brigade.
Brigadier-General Frank Wheaton; Second brigade. Colonel L. -A.Grant; Third

GENEEAL GRANT IN COMMAND. 303
During the Avinter, congress, recognizing the great
ability of General Grant, had conferred upon that officer
the rank of Lieutenant-General, giving hira, under the
President, command of all the arraies of the United
States. General Grant at once proceeded to adopt a plan
for harmonious movements of all the armies. General
Sherman, in the west, Avas directed to push vigorously
southward, penetrating the eneray's country as far as pos
sible, and prevent reinforcements being sent to Lee's army
in the cast. General Butler, on the Peuinsula, Avas to
adA'ance on Richmond, taking Petersburgh, and, if pos
sible, Richmond itself, Avhile the Army of the Potomac
was to attack Lee's array in the front, and force it back
upon Richraond or destroy it.
These cooperative raovements having been all arranged,
each commander of an army or department informed not
only of the part which he was expected to perforra him
self, but what all were exjiected to do, the Army of the
Potomac was ready to move. General Grant had estab
lished his head-quarters with that army.
At lena:th the order for movinac came. On the morning
o o o
of the 4th of May, reveille was sounded at half-past tAvo
o'clock, and at half-past four the Sixth corps moved, taking
the road to Germania Ford.
It Avas a loA'ely day, and all nature seemed rejoicing
at the advent of spring. FloAvers strewed the wayside,
and the warble of the blue bird, and the lively song of the
sparrow, were heard in the groves and hedges.
The distance from our camps to Germania Ford was
sixteen miles. This distance we marched rapidly, and
long before sunset we had crossed the ford on pontoon
brigade, Brigadier-General Thomas H. Neill; Pomrth brigade, Brigadier-General
L. A. Eustis.
Third division, Brigadier-General James B. Ricketts, commanding. First bri
gade, Brigadier-General W. H. Morris ; Second brigade, Brigadier-General Truman
Seymour; Third brigade, Colonel Kelft-er.

304 CROSSING THE RAPIDAN.
brido'es and marclied to a point three miles south of the
river, Avhere Ave bivouacked for the night.
The Second corps, at an earlier hour, had crossed at
Ely's Ford, and had reached a position near the old Chan
cellorsville battle-field, and the Fifth corps had led the Avay
across Germania Ford.
The inlantry had been preceded by the cavalry divisions
of Gregg and Wilson, under Sheridan. They had fallen
in with a small picket force which, after exchanging a few
shots, had beat a hasty retreat.
Before night the army and the greater part of our trains
had effected a crossing Avithout opposition ; and, doubt
less, much to the surprise and chagrin of General Lee, we
Avere holding strong jiositions, from which it would hardly
be possible to force us.
Except slight skirmishes in front of Hancock's Second
corps, there Avas no fighting on the fourth of May. At
seven o'clock on the morning of the fifth, the Sixth corps
moved southAvard about two miles on the Wilderness plank
road. Here the corps rested until eleven o'clock, Avhile
artillery and caA-alry passed along the road in a continuous
column. At eleven o'clock the corps faced to the front,
and advanced into the Avoods which skirted the road.
The Sixth corps now occupied the extreme right of the
line. General Warren's Fifth corps the center, and Han
cock's Second corps was on the left, near Chancellorsville.
Between Warren and Hancock Avas an unoccupied space —
a point of vital importance to our line. Thither General
Getty, with the First, Second and Fourth brigades of our
Second division, was sent to hold the ground till Hancock,
who was ordered to come up, should arriA-e. Our Third
brigade being all that Avas left of the Second division, it
Avas assigned to the First division. General Meade's head
quarters were just in rear of the Fifth corps. The wood
through Avhich our line Avas now movincr was a thick afrowth

CHARACTER OF THE WILDERNESS. 305
of oak and walnut, densely filled Avith a smaller groAvth of
pines and other bruslnvood ; and in many places so thickly
Avas this undergroAvth interAvoven among the large trees,
that one could not see five yards in front of the line. Yet,
as we pushed ou, with as good a line as possible, the thick
tangle in a measure disappeared, and the Avoods Avere raore
open. StiU, in the raost favorable places, the thicket was
so close as to make it impossible to manage artillery or
cavalry, and, indeed, infantry found great difficulty in
advancing, and at length Ave Avere again in the midst of
the thick undergrowth.
Warren's corps, on our left, A\-as already fighting, and
forcing the enemy to retire from his front, Avhen our own
corps struck the rebel skirmishers, Avho steadily fell back,
disputing the ground. As our line advanced, it would
suddenly corae upon a line of gray-coated rebels, lying
upon the ground, covered with dried leaves, and concealed
by the chapparal, AA'hen the rebels Avould rise, deliver a
murderous fire, and retire.
We thus advanced through this interminable forest more
than a raile and a half, driving the rebel skirraishers before
us, Avhen we came upon their Une of battle, which refused
to retire.
Neill's brigade and the New Jersey brigade were in the
first line of battle, at the foot of a slope, and in the rear
of these two brigades Avere Russell's, Upton's and Shaler's.
On the left of the First division were Seymour's and
Keiffer's brigades. General Morris with his brigade remain
ing on the right.
The enemy now charged upon our lines, making a desper
ate eflbrt to turn our right flank, but w-ithout avail. Again
and again the rebels in columns rushed with the greatest
fury upon the two brigades in front, without being able to
move them from their position. At half-past three o'clock
our suflerings had been so great that General Sedgwick
39

306 BATTLE OF THE WILDERNESS.
sent a messenger to General Burnside, who had now
crossed his corps at Germania Ford, Avith a request that
he AA'ould send a division to our assistance.
The assistance Avas promised, but an order from General
Grant made other disposition of the division, and Avhat
remained of the noble old Sixth corps was left to hold its
position alone. At four, or a little later, the rebels retired,
leaving many of their dead upon the ground, whora they
Avere unable to remove. In these encounters the Seventh
Maine and Sixty-first Pennsylvania regiments of Neill's
brigade, who Avere on the right fiank, received the heaviest
onsets, and suffered most severely. At one time the
Maine regiment found itself flanked by a brigade of rebels.
Changing front the gallant regiment charged to the rear
and scattered its opponents in confusion. The opposing
lines Avere upon the tAvo slopes of a ravine, through which
ran a strip of level marshy ground, densely wooded like the
rest of the wilderness. The confederates now commenced
to strengthen the position on their side of the ravine, fell
ing tiraber and covering it with earth. The AVOods
resounded with the strokes of their axes, as the busy
workraen plied their labor Avithin three hundred yards,
and in some places less than one hundred yards of our
line, yet so dense Avas the thicket that they were entirely
concealed frora our vicAV.
MeauAvhile the battle had raged furiously along the
whole line. The rattle of musketry would swell into a
full continuous roar as the simultaneous discharge of ten
thousand guns mingled in one grand concert, and then
after a few minutes, become more interrupted, resem
bling the crash of some huge king of the forest Avhen felled
by the stroke of the woodman's axe. Then would be
heard the wild yells which always told of a rebel charge,
and again the volleys would become more terrible and the
broken, crashing tones would SAvell into one continuous

Getty's division detached. 307
roll of sound, which presently would be interrupted by the
A'igorous manly cheers ofthe northern soldiers, so different
from the shrill yell of the rebels, and Avhich indicated a
repulse of their enemies. Noav and then the monotony of
the muskets Avas broken by a fcAV discharges of artillery,
Avhich seeraed to come in as a double b,ass in this concert
of death, but so impenetrable Avas the forest that little
use Avas made of artillery, and the Avork of destruction
Avas carried on with the rifles.
Warren's corps, first engaged, had nobly withstood the
fierce assaults upon the center of the line, and had even
advanced considerably. Hancock's command was also
hotly engaged. In the commencement of the battle, three
brigades of the Second division, the First, Second and
Fourth, Avith our commander. General Getty, Avere taken
from the Sixth corps and sent to the right of Warren's
corps, to seize and hold the intersection of the Brock road
and the Orange county turnpike, a point of vital import
ance, and Avhich, as Hancock's corps Avas still far to the left
near Chancellorsville, Avas entirely exposed. ToAvard this
point Hill Avas hastening his rebel corps doAvn the turnpike,
Avith the design of interposing between Hancock and the
main array. No sooner had the division reached the cross
ing of the two roads than the First brigade. General
Wheaton's, became hotly engaged with Hill's corps, which
Avas coraing doAvn the road driving sorae of our cavalry
before it. The Verraont brigade quickly formed on the
left of the plank road, and the Fourth brigade on the right
of the First. The engageraent became general at once, and
each brigade was suffering heavy losses. The men hugged
the ground closely, firing as rapidly as possible.
Hancock's corps Avas advancing from the left, but thus
far the division Avas holding the ground alone. An attack
by the three brigades was ordered, and the line was con-

308 GALLANTRY OP THE DIVISION.
siderably advanced. Again the raen hugged the ground,
the rebels doing the same.
Thus, holding the ground against vastly superior num
bers, the division sustained the weight of the rebel attacks
until long after noon, Avhen some of Hancock's regiraents
carae to its support. With the heroic valor for which the
division was so well knoAvn throughout the army, it Avith-
stood the force of the rebels until its lines were terribly
thinned. The First brigade had held the ground with
desperate valor, and our friends, the Vermonters, fought
Avith that gallantry which always characterized the sons
of the Green Mountain State. Their noblest men were
falling thickly, yet they held the road.
As Hancock joined his corps on the left of Getty's divi
sion, he ordered a charge along the whole line, and again
the carnage became fearful. For two hours the struggle
continued, and when the sounds of battle became less, and
as darkness finally came over the wilderness, it brought a
season of respite to the hard fought divisions.
A thousand brave men of the Vermont brigade, and
nearly as many of Wheaton's brigade, with hundreds from
the Fourth brigade, had fallen upon that bloody field.
In the e\-ening the contest was renewed, especially
along the line of the Sixth corps, and the dark woods
were lighted with the fiame from the mouths of tens of
thousands of muskets.
Charges and counter-charges followed each other in
quick succession, and the rebel yell and northern cheer
were heard alternately, but no decided advantage was
gained by either party. At tAVO o'clock at night the battle
died away, but there Avas no rest for the weary soldiers
after the fatiguing duties of the day. Each man sat with
musket in hand during the wearisorae hours of the night,
prepared for an onset of the enemy. Skirmishing Avas
kept up during the entire night, and at times the musketry

BATTLE ON THE SIXTH. 309
Avould break out in full volleys, which rolled along the
opposing lines until they seemed vast sheets of flame.
The position of the tAvo armies on the morning of the
6th Avas substantially that of the day before ; the Sixth
corps on the right, its rear on Wilderness Run near the
old Wilderness Tavern, the Fifth corjis next on its left,
and the Second corps Avitli three brigades of the Second
division Sixth corps, on the left ; the line extending about
five miles. Besides these corps. General Burnside was
bringing his troops into the line.
BetAveen the tAvo armies lay hundreds of dead and dying
men whom neither army could remove, and over Avhose
bodies the fight must be rencAved.
The battle was opened at daylight by a fierce charge
of the eneray on the Sixth corps, and soon it raged along
the AA'hole line. The volleys of musketry echoed and
reechoed through the forests like peals of thunder, and the
battle surged to and fro, now one party charging, and
now the other, the interval between the two arraies being
fought over in many places as raany as five times, leaving
the ground covered with dead and Avounded. Those of the
wounded able to crawl, reached one or the other line, but the
groans of others, who could not move, lent an additional
horror to the terrible scene whenever there was a lull in
the battle. At ten o'clock the roar of battle ceased, and
from that time until five p. m., it was comparatively quiet
in front of the Sixth corps, but from the left Avhere Han
cock's corps and Getty's braves were nobly battling, the
war of rausketry was incessant. There, Hancock had
formed his troops in several lines of battle, and advanced
them upon the plank road. Getty's troops, tlieir ranks
having been so terribly shattered the day before, were
allowed to form in the rear. The attack was commenced,
but presently the enemy came down in terrible fury upon
Hancock's lines. One after another was swept away,

310 DEATH OF WADSAVORTH.
leaving no Union troops in front of Getty. Now the
exulting rebels carae with stunning force against the Sixth
corps men. They had prepared breastworks of logs and
decayed wood, and against these light defenses the rebels
charged, but only to meet Avith a deadly repulse. Again and
again the charge was rencAved, and as often the brave men
Avho had seen nearly three thousand of their comrades fall
on the day before, sent the confederates back frora the
road. At length, the divisions on the right and left of
Getty having fallen back to the Brock road, the division
was forced to fall back to the road also, but only after
exhibiting a steadiness and valor rarely equaled by any
troops. The road was held, in spite of every effort of the enemy
to take it; but the noble soldier and patriotic gentleman.
General Wadsworth, lost his life while striving to rally
his division to hold the ground against the confederates.
Although the storm of battle had abated in our front, the
rebels had stationed sharpshooters in the trees and other
advantageous positions, who kept up an incessant and
annoying fire, and now and then a shell from a rebel bat
tery would drop into our ranks. By these, the corps lost
many men.
Until the evening of the 6th, our Third brigade of the
Second division, and the New Jersey brigade of the First
division of the Sixth corps, had occupied the right of the line
of battle along the base of our slope of the ravine. Other
portions ofthe First division, and the Third division, occu
pying a position in our rear, on the summit of the slope,
had been engaged during the day in throAving up earth
works. At 5 p. M., the two advance brigades received
orders to fall back to the cover of these breastworks.
For thirty hours the Sixth corps, stripped of three brig
ades of its veteran troops, weary from fighting and fasting,
had been patiently waiting for the relief proraised it long

THE RIGHT FLANK TURNED. 311
ago, and steadily holding its ground until half of tho
advance brigades and almost half of the corps was
destroyed. Thirty hours before. General SedgAvick had sent AVord
that the rebels Avere trying to turn our flank, and begged
that support might be sent ; but no support had come.
These breastworks had been prepared to give the exhausted
corps a little protection, that they might, by falling back
to their cover, occupy a stronger and less exposed position.
Soon after five o'clock, the brigades commenced falling
back to these Avofks. The rebels discovered the move
ment, and thought it was a retreat. They were evidently
already prepared for a desperate assault upon our flank ; and
now that there seemed a retreat, there Avas no longer any
hesitation. Cheer after cheer arose from the rebel ranks,
and, in fifteen minutes after, their yells Avere mingled
with terrific volleys of musketry, as they poured in over
whelming numbers upon our flanks.
A brief description of the position Avill explain the
nature of the movement, Avhich lost to the Sixth corps
the position it had held for a day and a half
When the brigades Avhich had occupied the base of the
slope fell back to the breastworks, the line of battle was
arranged thus : on the extreme right was the Third division
¦ — ¦ a division but a few days before joined to the corps — a
division composed mostly of new troops who had never
before faced an enemy, and none of them had ever had
any connection with the already historic fame of that
glorious corps. Next on the left was the First division,
and joining this division on the left was our OAvn Third
brigade of the Second division.
The assault of the rebels fell upon the green troops of
the Third division, who, seized with consternation, fled in
confusion without atterapting resistance. General Sey
mour whose gallant conduct up to this time had won for

312 THE THIRD DIVISION BROKEN.
him the adrairation of all, made desperate attempts to
rally his iianic-stricken brigade and refused to go to the
rear with them. While thus striving A'ainly to restore
order to his shattered command, rushing to the front and
attempting by his own manner to inspire courage in his
men, he Avas surrounded by the eneray and captured. He
had but just returned from the rebel prisons where he had
been since the unfortunate battle of Olustee.
The hasty flight of the Third division opened the flank
and rear of the First division to the charge of the rebels,
who noAV rushed on Avith redoubled fury and with demon
iac yells, carrying everything before them. The First
division fell back, but not in the disorder and confusion of
the other. General Shaler, with a large part of his brig
ade, which held that jDart of the line joining the Third
division, Avas captured while vainly striving to resist the
onset of the rebel forces.
The regiments of our Third brigade Avere forced from
the rifle pits, leaving the Seventy-seA-enth regiraent and a
part of the Forty-third alone contending the ground,
exposed to a galling fire on front, flank and rear. The
gallant regiments remained in the breastworks, pouring
their fire into the eneray's ranks until ordered to AvithdraAA-,
to save theraselves from capture.
The right wing, if not the Avhole army, Avas now in dan
ger. It Avas at such times that the great spirit of the
noble Sedgwick rose to the control of events. It seemed
to require adversity to bring out all the gr.and qualities
of his nature. We had witnessed his imperturbable
bravery and determination on the retreat to Banks' Ford,
his unsurpassed heroisra at Antietam, when he kept the
field after he was thrice wounded, was familiar to the
nation, and now Ave Avere to see another manifestation of
his indomitable courage.
Rushing here and there, regardless of personal safety.

GENERAL SEDGWICK. 313
he faced the disordered mass of fugitives of the Third
division, and Avith threats and entreaties previiiled upon
them to halt ; then turning to the veterans of the First
division, he shouted to them to remember the honor of the
old Sixth corps. That was an irresSstible appeal, and
the ranks of the First division and of our Third brigade
Avere formed along the turnpike, Avhich Avas at right angles
to our forraer position. The corps now charged upon
the exultant foe, and forced thera back until our breast
works were recaptured ; but our flank Avas too much
exposed, and again the enemy charged upon our front and
flank, forcing the corps to Avheel back to the turnpike,
Avhere it had first rallied.
General SedgAvick uoav ordered another charge, and
braA'ely the men rushed forAvard, ready to obey any order
frora the revered lips of " Uncle John.'''' The enemy Avas
again forced back, and again the corps occupied the
breastAvorks. It Avas noAA' dark, but the roar of raus
ketry raingled Avith the deep toned artillery shook the
ground, and the dense forest was lighted by the scores of
thousands of flashing rifles which sent death to unseen
foes. The corps had not recovered its line of AVorks Avithout
sacrifice, for the ground in our rear Avas covered Avith our
fallen corarades, Avhile raany raore had been captured by
the enemy. But Ave Avere noAV able to hold the ground.
The temporary disorder had arisen, and had been mostly
confined to the ncAV troops, and even these, when rallied
from their momentary confusion, had fought with heroic
valor. Although, for a time, forced back by the surprise
of the rebel onset, the old troops of the corps had shoAvn
no want of courage. Tlie Sixth corps proper had not lost
its pristine glory. Something of a panic had been created
among the teamsters in the rear, and before dark the trains
were hurrying toAvard Chancellorsville.
40

314 THE FIELD HOSPITALS.
Leaving the excitement of the battle, let us now turn
where the results of this carnage are seen in their sober
reality. While we stand in line of battle Ave see little of
the frightful havoc of war. The wounded drop about
us, but, except those left on disputed ground and unable
to crawl away, they are carried instantly to the rear. The
groans and cries of the wounded and dying, of Avhich we
so often read as filling up the grand discord of sounds on
the battle-field, are things scarcely known in actual war.
Rarely, as in the present battles, wounded men, unable to
get away, are left betAveen the lines in such numbers that,
when the musketry dies away, their groans become heart
rending. But this is not usual.
But at the field hospitals, the work of destruction
is seen in all its horrors. There, wounded men by thou
sands are brought together, filling the tents and stretched
upon every available spot of ground for many rods around.
Surgeons, with never tiring energy, are ministering to their
Avants, giving them food, dressing their AA'Ounds or standing
at the operating table remoA-ing the shattered fragments
of limbs. Men wounded in ev-ery conceiA'able Avay, men
with mutilated bodies, with shattered limbs and broken
heads, men enduring their injuries AA"ith heroic patience,
and men giving Avay to A-iolent grief, men stoically indif
ferent, and men bravely rejoicing that it is only a leg. To
all these the surgeons are to give such relief as lies in their
power, a task the A-ery thoughts of which would overcome
physicians at home, but ujion which the army surgeon
enters Avith as much coolness and confidence as though he
could do it all at once. He has learned to do what he can.
Contenting himself Avith working day and night without
respite, and often without food, until, by unremitting but
quiet toil, the wants of all are relieved. No class of meu
in the array perform so great labors with so little credit as
the surareons.

LABOR OF THE SURGEONS. 315
Lest the author should be accused of undue partiality
for his OAvn staff, he will quote the Avords of an unpreju
diced Avitness, Avho, in speaking of the labor, the anxiety
and the responsibility iraposed upon the surgeons after a
great battle, says :
"The devotion, the solicitude, the unceasing efforts to
remedy the defects of the situation, the untiring attentions
to the AA-ounded, upon their part, Avere so marked as to
be app.arent to all Avho visited the hospitals. It raust be
reraerabered that these same officers had endured the pri-
A-ations and fatigues of the long forced marches AA'ith the
rest of the array ; they had shared its dangers, for one
medical officer from each regiment foUoAA's it into battle,
and is liable to the accidents of war, as has been repeat
edly and fatally the case; that its field hospitals are often,
from the changes of the line of battle, brought under fire
of the eneray, and that while in this situation these sur
geons are called ujion to exercise the calmest judgnient,
to perforra the most critical and serious operations, and
this quickly and continuously. The battle ceasing, their
labors continue. While other officers are sleeping, renew
ing their strength for further efforts, the medical are still
toiling. They liaA-e to improvise hospitals frora the rudest
materials, are obliged to " make bricks without straAV," to
surmount seeming impossibilities. The work is unending
both by day and night, the anxiety is constant, and the
strain upon both the physical and mental faculties unceas-
ino'. Thus, after this battle, operators had to be held up
while performing the operations, and fainted from exhaus
tion the operation finished. One completed his labors to
be seized with partial paralysis, the penalty of his over
exertion. " While his duties are as arduous, his exposure as great,
and the raortality frora disease and injury as large as
amoui;' other staff officers of simUar rank, the surgeon has

316 SIXTH CORPS HOSPITALS.
no prospect of promotion, of a brevet or an honorable
mention, to stimulate him. His duties are performed
quietly, unostentatiously. He does his duty for his coun
try's sake, for the sake of humanity."*
The labors of the medical officers had never been so
great as at these battles. Thousands of wounded men
Avere stretched in and .about the scA'eral field hospitals,
and long trains of ambulances, loaded Avith more bleeding
victims, were constantly bringing in new subjects of care.
The hospitals of the Sixth corps were located, that of
the First division about a large house near the turnpike,
in rear of the position of the di\-ision ; that of the Third
division Avas near by, and the hospital of our Second divi
sion was placed on the banks of Wilderness Run, near the
old gold mine, and within a few rods of General Meade's
head-quarters. The hospitals of the Fifth corps Avere also
Avithin a short distance, on the left.
At the hospital of our Second division, the scene Avas
one of actiA'ity and sadness. Never had so many of our
choice spirits been brought to the rear, and never had
the division been bereft of so many of its brightest orna
ments by death.
All the hospital tents belonging to the division were
filled to overfiowing with the unfortunate victims of the
battle. There, all the space between the different roAvs of
tents, and for many yards in front and rear, was covered
with others, for Avliom there was no roora under the canvas,
and, finally, long rows of them were laid upon the ground
at a little distance from the hospitals as close as they could
lie, covering many rods of ground.
In the operating tents, the surgeons assigned to the duty
of performing operations plied their work without rest
frora the tirae the battle commenced until its close, day
* J. H. Douglass, Assistant Secretary Sanitary Commission.

LEAVING THE AVOUNDED. 317
and night, while dressers, and those whose duty it Avas
to supply the Avounded Avith food, Avero untiring in their
zeal. At midnight of the 6th, the operators Avere directed to
cease their AVork. Ambulances and army Avagons in great
numbers Avere loaded Avith the Avounded, and the Avhole
train, accorapanied by the surgeons, raoved tOAvarcl Chan
cellorsville, taking the turnpike along the rear of the army.
But, with all the ambulances and army Avagons at command,
hundreds of these unfortunate heroes Avere left behind ; and
as it Avas known that our line of battle Avas to fall back
Avithin a few hours, preparations w-ere raade for their care
Avlien they should fall into the hands of the eneray. Four
assistant surgeons from each division, a number of hospital
tents, a supply of hard bread and beef, with dressings and
instruments, Avere left behind ; and Avith sad hearts, their
companions bade them farcAvell. Like preparations Avere
made by the other corps, for those of the Avounded avIio
must be left to their fate. The long train bearing the
wounded reached the left of the old battle-field of Chan
ceUorsville tOAvard morning, and at once the labor of
reestablishing the hospitals coraraenced. Tents were
erected, the ambulances unloaded, and the surgeons,
already Avorn out by forty hours of incessant toil, resumed
their AVork.
When the Sixth corps reoccupied the breastworks at
dark on the 6th, it Avas desirable that the right flank
should be protected by old and reliable troops. Neill's
Third brigade Avas assigned to that position, the Seventy-
seventh being upon the extreme right, the Sixty-first Penn
sylvania throAvn out at right angles to protect the rear.
On the left of the Seventy-seventh was the Forty-ninth
Ncav York, the Seventh Maine was next, then the One
Hundred and TAventy-second, and the Forty-third New
York Avas on the left of the brigade.

318 GALLANTRY OF NEILL's BRIGADE.
All Avas now quiet. No sound Avas heard except now
and then the suppressed tones of officers in command.
The stars shone througli the openings among the trees
ujDon a long line of dusky forms lying close behind the
sheltering breastworks, as silent as death but ready at an
instant to pour out a storm of destruction. A row of
bayonets projected over the breastAvorks ; an abattis
of steel awaiting the momentarily expected onset of the
enemy. At ten o'clock the low tones of command of the rebel
officers were heard as they urged their men against our
rear and flank. Colonel Smith of the Sixty-first Pennsyl-
A-ania, ordered his men to lie doAvn, for they had no
breastworks, and to reserve their fire. Nearer and nearer
came the dark line, until Avithin twenty feet of the recum
bent Pennsylvanians, but not a sound from them. Still
nearer the rebel line approached, to AA-ithin a distance of
ten feet, Avhen the sharp command rang out, " Fire ; " and
rising the Pennsylvanians delivered a withering fire into
the rebel ranks that sent them reeling back into the dark
ness from whence they came ; but a line of prostrate forms
where the fire from our line had met the advancing col
umn, told of its terrible execution. TAventy minutes after
this repulse they advanced silently but in stronger force,
directly in front of our breastAvorks. They advanced
slowly and in silence until within a fcAV feet of the Union
line, Avhen Avitli Avild yells they leaped forAvard, some even
mounting the breastworks. But a sheet of flame inst.antly
flashed along the AA'hole line of our works ; the astonished
rebels wavered for a moment and then beat a hasty retreat,
relinquishing Avith this last desperate effort the attempt to
drive back the old Sixth corps.
Scarcely a man of the Union force Avas injured by
this charge, but the dead and Avounded frora the rebel
ranks literally cov-ered the ground. There Avas no help for

A QUIET, DAY. 319
them. Our men Avcrc unable even to take care of their
OAvn wounded Avhich lay scattered through the AVOods in
the rear. So the rebel Avounded lay betAveen the tAVO
armies, making the night hideous Avitli their groans.
The battle of the 6th Avas noAV at an end, neither party
having gained any decided advantage.
At midnight the Sixth corps fell back upon the plank
road to the vicinity of the old gold mine mill, Avhere our
hospitals had been. Intrenchments Avere throAvn up and the
position was held AA'ithout much annoyance from the rebels
all the next day. ' The Avliole line of the army remained
quiet on the 7th, only a fcAV skirmishes along different parts
of the line, relieving the monotony of the day.
The two days of fighting had told fearfully upon our
ranks. Our regiments Avliich a fcAV hours before were
well filled, were noAV but fragments of regiments ; and our
hearts were weighed clown Avith heavy grief when Ave
thought of the many grand spirits Avho had left us forever
since we crossed the Rapidan.
We thought of the young colonel of the Forty-third,
Wilson, beloved and admired throughout the corps. His
deatli Avas a heavy bloAV to us all. We should miss his
soldierly presence on the parade ; his Avinning pleasantry in
our social circles ; we were no longer to enjoy his beautiful
example of unswerving christian morality. His manly
form was no longer to be our pride, and his heroic valor
would never again be manifest on the field of battle.
Major Fryer had received his mortal hurt. Fryer Avas
young and gallant ; his handsorae form and brilliant eye
were in fine harmony Avith those of his friend and superior.
" In their lives they Avere beautiful, and in their death they
were not divided."
Captain Hickmot, too, of the Forty-ninth was among
the slain. Surely deatli loves a shining mark, and with
what terrible precision had he chosen his victims. Hick-

320 OUR LOSJ? COMRADES.
mot's bright eye Avas glazed in death. His gayety was
hushed foreA-er. We remembered uoav his hearty laugh,
his friendly AVords and his purity of character, and knew
that they were ours only in memory.
Wallace of the Forty-third and Terry of the Forty-
ninth, too, were gone. Colonel Ryerson, the g.all.ant com
mander of the Tenth New Jersey, was mortally Avounded.
In the Seventy-seA-enth Ave had lost Craig ; a youth of
rare qualities and of stern patriotism.
The Vermont brigade had lost many of its brightest
ornaments. Colonel Barney of the Sixth Avas one of Ver
mont's best men. A kind yet faithful comraander in camp,
gallant and fearless on the field. He was the highest tA-pe
of a man ; a christian gentleraan. Colonel Stone had been
killed instantly on the 5th. His urbane manners AA-ere
remembered by all avIio frequented our division head-quar
ters, and his braA-ery had endeared hira to his men.
Colonel Tyler, too, of the Second Avas araong the mor
tally Avounded, and all felt his loss deeply.
Captains Bixby, of the Second, Bartlett and Buck, of
the Third, Carpenter and Fan-, of the Fourth, Ormsbee
and Hurlburt, of the Fifth, and Bird and Randall, of the
Sixth — all men of braA-ery and patriotism, all beloA-ed as
companions and valued as officers — were among the dead
or dying. But araong Vermont's fallen sons was no more
ardent patriot or gallant soldier than Captain George D.
Davenport, of the Fifth. His manly bearing, his brUliant
intellect, his ready wit, his social A'irtues and his well
known br.avery, combined to render him a favorite officer
in his brigade, Avhile to those who Avere bound to him by
the ties of felloAvship, his disinterested love and noble
generosity rendered his friendship of inestimable value.
These were a fcAV among the many noble names of fallen
heroes. NcA'er Avere grander men sacrificed for a noble
cause than they.

AVOUNDED OFFICERS. 321
General Getty and General Morris and Colonel Keiffer
Avere among the Avounded, and we had lost General Shaler
and General Seymour, captured by the enemy.
General Neill succeeded to the command of the Second
division, and Colonel Bidwell assumed the command
vacated by General Neill.
41

CHAPTER XXIV.
SPOTTSYLVANIA.
Moving hy the flank — The wounded abandoned— The Fifth Corps at Spottsylvania
—Arrival of the Sixth Corps — Getting iuto line — Death of Sedgwick — General
Wright in command— Battle of the 10th of May — Upton's splendid charge-
Battle at " the angle " — Another fiank movement.
By this time General Grant, finding the rebel position
too strong to force in front, and finding, by reconnoissance,
that the enemy had fallen back to strong works where he
awaited attack, determined to throw the army between
Lee's army and Richraond, and accordingly ordered the
first of that wonderful series of fiank movements that have
becorae the adrairation of the world. The Fifth and Sixth
corps withdrew Avith secrecy from the line held by them,
and falling into the rear of the rest of the army, marched
rapidly from the right to the left flank tOAvard Spottsyl
vania. The Sixth corps, taking the ChancellorsvUle road,
reached the old battle-field at dayUght, and halted for
breakfast near the ruins of the historic Chancellor House.
The Fifth corps taking a more direct road to Spottsylvania,
and being unincumbered with the train, marched rapidly
and reached Piney Branch Church, a little hamlet in the
midst of the woods, about five miles north of Spottsyl
vania Court House, at nine o'clock in the morning. These
two corps were quickly followed by the Ninth and Second
corps, leaving the old Avilderness field entirely in the hands
of the enemy.
Another of those distressful necessities of war occurred
on AvithdraAving from the Wilderness. Wounded men of
the Fifth and Sixth corps had already been left on the site

ABANDONED TO THB ENEMY. 323
of the hospitals near the old gold mine mills, and now hun
dreds more from every corps Avere abandoned for want of
sufficient transportation. Let it not be thought that the
Army of the Potomac Avas deficient in ambulances. Our
hospital train was immense, yet insufficient for such an
emergency as the present. To have provided a train suffi
cient for such a time, would have been to incumber the
army with an enormous establishment, which would so
interfere with its movements as to defeat the very object
in view. The present Avas one of those terrible but
unavoidable contingencies which must sometimes occur
in Avar.
Trains had returned and brought away some of the
wounded left at the old gold mine, but many were still
there ; and now, again, as we loaded ambulances and array
wagons to their utmost capacity, making a train of many
miles in extent, some two hundred of the wounded of our
Sixth corps were left upon the ground. It was, indeed, a
sickening thought that these noble fellows, who had nobly
fallen in their country's cause, must be abandoned to the
enemy, many of them, perhaps the majority of thera, to
die in their hands. All coramunication with their friends
at home hopelessly cut ofl", and with no expectation of any
but the roughest treatment from their enemies, it was a sad
prospect for the unfortunate ones. Medical officers from
each corps were directed to remain and care for those thus
left behind, and a limited supply of rations and medicines
were also left. Surgeon Phillips, of the Third Verraont,
and Assistant Surgeon Thompson, of the Seventy-seventh
New York, were the detail to remain behind from the
Second division. They stayed with our wounded among
the rebels for several weeks, faithfully rainistering to their
wants, until nearly all had been removed to Richmond,
when, one day, learning that those remaining were to be
sent south on the following day,'they made their escape by

324 FIFTH CORPS AT SPOTTSYLVANIA.
night. By traveling throughout the night and hiding in
the Avoods by day, they raade their way across the Rapidan,
and finally reached Washington in safety.
The Fifth corps, having taken the most direct road to
Spottsylvania, arrived at Piney Branch Church at nine
o'clock on the morning of the 8th, Avhere the infantry skir
mishers of the eneray were encountered. Gregg's division
of cavalry had been for sorae time engaged with the rebel
cavalry ; but the cavalry had not discovered the infantry
of the enemy before the approach of the Fifth corps. Tavo
divisions of the Fifth corps were at once formed in line of
battle, Bartlett's brigade of Griffin's division being sent
ahead as skirmishers. As the corps advanced, the skir
mishers of the enemy steadily AvithdreAV, until they reached
a large clearing, called Alsop's Farm, along the rear of
which ran a small stream, the river Ny, about three miles
north of Spottsylvania. Here the eneray Avas forraed in
force, with a line of strong earthworks. An attack was
ordered, and bravely Warren's men advanced against
the breastAvorks of the enemy ; but their efforts to driA-e the
rebels were unavailing. The field Avas composed of a suc
cession of ridges, dotted here and there with clumps of
pines and oaks, while the country in rear, through Avhich
the corps had already pressed the opposing skirmishers,
was a Av-ilderness of trees. The rebels had their artillery
well posted, and they hurled a fierce storm of shells araong
the advancing lines, arresting their advance. The enemy
in turn charged upon the Fifth corps, but the Union boys
fought Avith desperation, repelling every charge and hold
ing their ground. Our troops behaved magnificently, yet
they were unable to push their advance further.
It was now evident that Lee, anticipating Grant's
strategy, had set about thwarting it. As soon as our
troops were withdrawn frora Wilderness Run, Lee had
hastened Ewell's corps and a part of Longstreet's on an

SIXTH CORPS ARRIVES. 325
inner road to Spottsylvania, and these troops now con
fronted us and disputed our advance.
Such Avas the situation Avhen the Sixth corps arrived on
the field at two o'clock in the afternoon. The day had
been the raost sultry of the season, and raany of the men,
overcome by the intensity of the heat, and exhausted by
the constant fighting and marching since the morning
of the 4th, had fallen by the Avayside. The corps halted
for about two hours, and Avas then ordered to the front to
the assistance of Warren's corps, Avhich Avas again hotly
engaged with the enemy. We pressed forAvard along a
narroAV road leading through a thick groAVth of timber,
until Ave came Avhere the Fifth corps Avas contending the
ground. The corps was draAvn up in line of battle, but
did not at once commence an attack.
Before us the ground was rolling and partially wooded,
admirably adapted for defensive warfare. A wooded
ravine, at a little distance from our front, concealed a
rebel line of battle, and in our rear, were dense woods
extending to the road along which our line Avas formed.
These woods were on fire, and the hot blasts of air Avhich
SAvept over us, together with the burning heat of the sun,
rendered our position a very uncomfortable one. Before
long, hoAvever, the corps Avas ordered to the left, and took
its position in the woods on the left of Warren's corps.
Our Second division Avas formed in three lines Avith the
view of attacking the enemy.
Soon after dark all things being ready, the division
moved forward to the attack, but after some desperate
fighting on the part of both the Fifth corps and our own
division, finding the enemy too strongly posted, the attack
was relinquished.
Toward midnight some changes of position were ordered,
but, in the darkness, regiments lost their brigades, and wan-

326 DEATH OF SEDGWICK.
dered about in the woods until daylight, some narrowly
escaping capture within the lines of the enemy.
There was little hard fighting on Monday the 9th,
though skirmishing was briskly kept up along the whole
Une throughout the day. Our line of battle was noAV
extended from northwest to southeast with Hancock's
Second corps on the right, Warren's Fifth corps on the
right center, Sedgwick's Sixth corps on the left center, and
Burnside's Ninth corps on the extreme left. Our Second
division was formed in a clearing on the side of a hill
which sloped gradually until it reached a swamji, which,
however, turned and passed through our line at our left.
About three hundred yards in front of us was a strip of
woods one-fourth of a mile wide, and beyond the woods
an open field where the rebel forces were posted behind
formidable earthworks. Just in our rear and on the crest
of the hill, our batteries were posted so as to fire over our
heads. On our right was a dense forest where the Fifth
corps were posted, and on our left Burnside's troops occu
pied a more open country.
The whole line of the army was strengthened "with
breastworks of rails and logs, which the men procured in
many cases from alraost under the rebel guns, while the
heavy mist of the morning concealed them from the "view
of their enemies. Over the logs and rails earth was throAvn
in quantity sufficient to protect the men from the shot and
shell of the enemy.
Although there was little fighting on the 9th, it was a
sad day for the Sixth corps and for the army ; for on that
day our corps lost its beloved commander, and the army a
a most distinguished soldier.
General Sedgwick, while standing behind an outer line
of works, personally superintending and directing, as was
his custom, the posting of a battery of artillery at an
augle which he regarded as of great importance, was shot

GENEEAL JOHN SEDGWICK. 327
through the head by a rebel sharpshooter, and died
instantly. The ball had entered his head just below the
left eye, and passed out at the back of the head.
Never had such a gloom rested upon the whole army on
account of the death of one man as came over it when the
heavy tidings passed along the lines that General Sedg
wick was killed.
Major-General John Sedgwick, who had so long been
identified with the Sixth corps, was a native of Connecti
cut. He graduated at West Point on the 30th of June,
1837, and was at once assigned to the Second artillery;
as second-lieutenant. In 1839, he was promoted to first-
lieutenant. He served in Mexico, and was brevetted cap
tain for gallant and meritorious conduct, in the battles
of Contreras and Cherubusco. He was soon afterward
brevetted major for gallant conduct, and greatly distin
guished himself in the attack on Cosino gate, Mexico city.
In 1845 he was made major of the First United States
Cavalry, and served in Texas until the breaking out of the
rebellion. In March, 1861, he was commissioned lieuten
ant-colonel. Second United States Cavalry ; and in April
promoted to the colonelcy of the Fourth Cavalry. He
was made a brigadier-general of volunteers in August,
1861, and assigned to the command of a brigade in the
Army of the Potomac.
He was afterward assigned to the command of the Third
division. Second corps, then under General Sumner. He
participated in the siege of Yorktown, and greatly dis
tinguished himself in many battles on the Peninsula. He
was particularly noted at the battle of Fair Oaks, Savage's
Station, and Glendale. His division was one of the few
divisions of the Army of the Potoraac that rendered any
assistance to General Pojie in his unfortunate campaign.
At Antietam he led his men repeatedly against the
rebels, and Avas as often forced back, until the ground over

328 GENERAL JOHN SEDGWICK.
which his division had fought was covered with dead. He
was thrice wounded, but refused to be carried from the
field until faintness from loss of blood obliged him to
relinquish his coraraand.
In Deceraber, 1862, he was nominated by the President
a major-general of volunteers, and was confirmed in March,
1863, with rank frora the 31st of May, 1862.
In January foUoAA'ing his promotion, he was assigned to
the command of the Ninth corps, and, on the 5th of Feb
ruary, Avas transferred to the coraraand of the Sixth corps,
relieving General Smith, Avho Avas assigned to the Ninth
corps. Soon after taking command of our corps, the famous
charge upon Fredericksburgh Heights was made, in which
both the corps and its coramander acquired lasting renown.
General SedgAvick was especially commended by General
Meade for the manner in Avhich he handled his corps at
Rappahannock Station, and, in General Meade's absence,
he Avas several times in command of the army. He was,
on several occasions, offered the supreme command of the
army, but his excessive modesty forbade him to accept so
important a command.
No soldier was more beloved by the army or honored
by the country than this noble general. His corps
regarded him as a father, and his great military abilities
made his judgment, in all critical emergencies, sought
after by his superior as well as his fellows. The com
mand of the Sixth corps noAV devolved upon General
Wright, who had long been Avell known in the corps as
the commander of our First division, and Avho held the
command of the corps from this time until it was dis
banded in the auturan of 1865.
Monday night passed quietly. An occasional volley on
the picket line would rouse us to arms, but there was no
general assault, and the tired soldiers would throw them-

BATILE OP MAY TENTH. 329
selves again upon the ground to catch a few moments
more of rest.
Our position on Tuesday morning. May 10th, was the
same as it had been the day previous. During the lull of
battle on the 9th, both armies had gathered their strength
and perfected their plans for a renewal of the contest, on
a scale of magnificence seldom if ever witnessed by any
army before. This was destined to be a day of most fear
ful carnage, and desperate attempts on the part of each
antagonist to crush the other by the weight of its terrible
charges. Active skirmishing commenced along different portions of
the line early in the morning, and continued to grow more
and more general until the rattle of the skirmishers' rifles
grcAV into the reverberating roll of battle. From one end
of the long line to the other the tide of battle surged, the
musketry continually increasing in volume, until it seemed
one continuous peal of thunder. During all the battles in
the Wilderness, artillery had been useless, except when
here and there a section could be brought in to coraraand
the roadAvay ; but uoav all the artillery on both sides was
brought into the work. It was the terrible cannonading
of Malvern Hill with the fierce musketry of Gaines' Mills
combined, that seemed fairly to shake the earth and skies.
Never during the war had the two arraies made such
gigantic struggles for the destruction of each other.
At first the heavy assaults were made against the right
wing — Hancock's and Warren's corps sustaining the prin
cipal shock of the enemy's repeated charges. Massing
their forces against particular points of the line held by
these two corps, the rebel generals Avould hurl their gray
legions like an avalanche against our breastAvorks, hoping
by the very momentum of the charge to break through our
lines ; but a most withering storm of leaden and iron hail
would set the mass wavering, and finally send it back to
42

330 CHARGE OF THB TWELVE REGIMENTS.
the cover of the woods and earthworks in confusion, leav
ing the ground covered at each time with an additional
layer of their dead. In turn, the men of the Fifth and
Second corps would charge upon their adversaries, and in
turn they too would be forced to seek shelter behind their
rifle pits. Thus the tide of battle along the right of the
Une rolled to and fro, whUe the horrid din of musketry
and artiUery rose and swelled as the storm grew fiercer.
Meanwhile the Sixth and Ninth corps were quietly
awaiting events, and it was not until six o'clock in the
aftemoon that the Sixth corps Avas called into action.
Then it was to make one of the most notable charges on
record. At five o'clock the men of the corps were ordered to
unsling knapsacks and divest therhselves of every incum
brance preparatory to a charge. Colonel Upton command
ing the Second brigade of the First division, was directed
to take twelve picked regiments from the corps and lead
them in a charge against the right center of the rebel line.
The regunents which shared the dearly purchased honor
of this magnificent charge were, in the first line, the One
Hundred and Twenty-first New York, the Fifth Maine, the
Ninety-sixth and One Hundred and Nineteenth Pennsyl
vania ; in the second line the Seventy-seventh and Forty-
third New York, the Fifth Wisconsin, Sixth Maine and
Forty-ninth Pennsylvania ; and in the third line, the Sec
ond, Fifth and Sixth Vermont. It was indeed an honor to
be selected for this duty, but it was an honor to be paid
for at the cost of fearful peril.
The twelve regiments assembled on the open space in
front of our works, then silently entered the strip of
woods which was between our Une and that of the rebels.
Passing through to the further edge of the woods, the
twelve regiments were formed in columns of three Unes,
each line consisting of four regiments.

GENERAL UPTON LEADS THE CHARGE. 331
The regiments of the Second division, not included in
the charging column, formed in the rear, to act as support,
but did not advance to the charge.
As the regiments took their places, they threw them
selves upon the ground, and all orders were given in
suppressed tones, for the rebels were but a hundred yards
distant, in the open field, and the minies of their skir
mishers were whistling among the trees and brushwood.
The other corps of the army were prepared, in case this
charging party succeeded in breaking the enemy's line, to
rush in and turn the success into a rout of the rebels.
Generals Meade, Hancock, Warren and Burnside stationed
themselves on erainences, from which they could watch
the success of the perilous enterprise.
At six o'clock all things were ready, and the artillery
from the eminences in our rear opened a terrific fire, send
ing the shells howling and shrieking over the heads of
the charging column, and plunging into the works of the
enemy. This was the signal for the attack, and Colonel
Upton's clear voice rang out, "Attention, battalions I
Forward, double-quick/ Charge!" and in an instant
every man was on his feet, and, with tremendous cheers,
which were answered by the wild yells of the rebels, the
column rushed from the cover of the woods. Quick as
lightning, a sheet of flame burst from the rebel line, and
the leaden hail swept the ground over which the column
was advancing, while the canister from the artillery came
crashing through our ranks at every step, and scores and
hundreds of our brave fellows fell, literally covering the
ground. But, nothing daunted, the noble fellows rushed
upon the defenses, leaping over the ditch in front, and
mounting the breastworks. The rebels made a determined
resistance, and a hand to hand fight ensued, until, with
their bayonets, our men had filled the rifle pits with bleed
ing rebels. About two thousand of the survivors of the

332 THE COLUMN RETIRES.
Struggle surrendered, and were immediately marched to
the rear, under guard.
Without halting for breath, the impetuous column rushed
toward the second line of AVorks, which was equally as
strong as the first. The resistance here was less stubborn
than at the first line, yet the gray occupants of the rifie pits
refused to fly, until forced back at the point of the bayonet.
Our ranks were now fearfully thinned, yet the brave
fellows passed on to the third line of defenses Avhich Avas
also captured.
It was but a shattered remnant of that noble column
that rushed from the Avoods against the hostile works, that
reached this advanced point, and noAV, finding that reen-
forceraents Avere reaching the eneray, whUe our column
was every moment melting away, a retreat Avas ordered.
There was not even time to bring away the six pieces
of artillery which we had captured ; they were filled with
sods and abandoned.
What remained of the twelve regiments retreated to
the co\-er of our rifle pits, leaving the dead and most
of the wounded in the enemy's hands.
The corps lost, in this charge, some of its ablest men.
In the First brigade of the Second division Lieutenant-
Colonel Hamilton, of the Sixty-second New York, was
killed. Captain Carpenter, of the Seventy-seventh, one of
its first and best officers, and Lieutenant Lyon, a young
officer of great bravery, were 'killed in the interior line of
works, and many other noble fellows of that regiment
Avere left on that fatal field. The regiraent crossed the
Rapidan six days before Avith over five hundred raen, and
now, after this charge, less than ninety men were left,
and this is but an example of the losses to most of the
regiments in that division.
The noise of the battle gradually died away as night
threw her mantle over the fearful scene of carnage, and

PREPARATIONS FOR AN ATTACK. 333
both arraies Avere glad of a respite from their severe
labors. The llth of May passed in making ncAV arrangements
and in sending the thousands of Avounded to Fredricks-
burgh. Immense trains of ambulances and army Avagons
freighted Avith the mangled forms of Avounded men Avere
running day and night to Fredricksburgh, and returning
Avith supplies.
Skirmishing Avas kept up along the line, but no general
engagement was brought on. During the night the Second
corps. General Hancock, silently AvithdrcAv from the posi
tion it had occupied on the right of the line, and marching
along in the rear of the army occupied a position betAveen
the Sixth and Ninth corps, AA'hich Avas not before occupied.
With great caution and silence preparations Avere made
for a desperate attack upon that part of the enemy's line
fronting this position. This line made here a sharp angle
and by seizing this angle, it was hoped to turn the right
flank of Lee's array. BetAveen the position of the Second
corps and the rebel Avorks, the ground was covered Avith
pines and underbrush, and as it neared the defenses
ascended abruptly to a considerable height.
As soon as the gray light of the morning began to
streak through the mists, all was in readiness for the
charge, and with strictest orders of silence the corps in
mass advanced rapidly across the field, the thick fog con
cealing the movement. As the coluran neared the rifle
pits a storm of bullets met it; but charging impetuously up
the hill and over the AVOrks, the rebels, surprised and over-
poAvered, gave way; those who could escaping to the
second line in the rear, though thousands were obliged to
surrender on the spot, so coraplete had been the surprise.
The victorious column now pushed on tOAvard the second
line of Avorks, but here, the eneray by this time fully pre
pared for the attack, the resistance became more stubborn.

334 the angle.
The battle now raged with greatest fury. The Sixth
corps was withdrawn from its position, leaving a strong
picket line to guard its front, and marching along the
rear of its works joined in the attack with the Second
corps. The works taken by Hancock's corps, were occu
pied by the men of the Sixth corps, and the enemy
commenced the most desperate efforts to retake them.
Forming their troops in heavy columns they hurled
them against our Une with tremendous force. Russell's
division held the center of the line of the corps at a point
known as "the angle." This was the key to the whole
position. Our forces held the rebel works from the left as
far as this " angle," and the rebels still held the rest of
the line. Whoever could hold " the angle " would be the
victors; for with the angle, either party could possess
themselves of the whole line of works. Hence the
desperate efforts to di-ive us from this position. The
First division being unable to maintain the position alone,
the Second division was sent to its aid. And now, as the
boys of the Second division took their places in the front,
the battle became a hand to hand combat. A breastwork
of logs separated the combatants. Our men would reach
over this partition and discharge their muskets in the face
of the enemy, and in return would receive the fire of the
rebels at the same close range. Finally, the men began
to use their muskets as clubs and then rails were used.
The men were wUling thus to fight from behind the
breastworks, but to rise up and attempt a charge in
the face of an enemy so near at hand and so strong in num
bers required unusual bravery. Yet they did charge and
they drove the rebels back and held the angle themselves.
It was in one of these charges that the gallant Major ElUs
of the Forty-ninth New York, was shot Avith a ramrod
through the arm and in the side, from the effects of which
he afterwards died. The trees in front of the position

TREES CUT DOWN BY BULLETS. 335
held by the Sixth corps during this remarkable struggle,
were literally cut to pieces by bullets. Even trees more
than a foot in diameter, Avere cut off by the constant action
of bullets. A section of one of these was, and doubtless
still is, in Washington, with a card attached stating that
the tree Avas cut down in front of the position of tho
Second corps. Our gallant brothers of that corps won
undying honors on that glorious day, but it was the long-
continued, fearful musketry battle between the Sixth corps
and the enemy which cut down those trees. We have no
desire to detract from the well-deserved honors of the
brave men of the Second corps, but this is a simple matter
of justice. The conflict became raore and more bloody,
and soon the Fifth corps Avas also engaged, and at ten
o'clock the battle rolled along the whole line. The ter
rible flghting continued till eleven o'clock, when there
was a lull in the musketry, but the artillery continued
its work of destruction. Thus the second line of works
was taken, but not without fearful loss to both armies.
Our corps had fought at close range for eight hours.
Behind the works the rebel dead were lying literally piled
one upon another, and wounded men were groaning under
the weight of bodies of their dead companions. The loss
to the rebels in prisoners and guns was also great.
Major-General Edward Johnson with his whole division,
General Stewart, a brigade from Early's division and a
whole regiment, including in all between three and four
thousand prisoners and between thirty and forty guns,
were the trophies of this glorious but bloody morning's
work. These captures were nearly all made by the Second
corps in the flrst assault in the morning.
The losses to the Sixth corps were great, but far less than
on the 12th. The Seventy-seventh lost one of its flnest
officers. Captain O. P. Rugg was shot in the breast and
died while being carried to the hospital. The captain was

336 MANEUVERING.
a young raan of great proraise, of genial and lively temper
ament and greatly beloved by his regiment. He had been
married but a few raonths before his death, and had
parted from his bride at Elmka just before the spring cam
paign opened.
The corps remained near the scene of action during
the next day. Reconnoissances were made, and another
atterapt was made on the 14th to turn the right flank
of the enemy. The Sixth corps, at three o'clock on
the morning of that day, moved off to the left of our
line about two miles and encamped about the Anderson
House, but our pickets soon found the enemy in force in
our front, and no atterapt was made to bring on an
engagement. The time passed quietly along the line, only
occasionally the roar of artillery kept up something of
excitement of battle. On the night ofthe I7th, the Sixth
corps moved back to the scene of the battle ofthe 12th.
At daylight three corps moved forward to attack the
enemy's line. The Second corps forming the center of
the line, the Sixth corps the right, and the Ninth corps the
left. The first line of rifle pits were those Avhich had
been abandoned by us on the 12th. These were filled Avith
rebel skirmishers, who readily gave way, leaving the works
in our hands.
Our line of battle advanced till it confronted the second
line of the rebel works. This was a strong line behind a
thick impenetrable abattis and held by a powerful force.
The three corps pressed this formidable line, and a sharp
engagement ensued, but without advantage to our forces,
and it was concluded that an attempt to dislodge the
eneiny could only result in a fearful waste of life. Accord
ingly the troops were quietly withdraAvn, though submitted
to a galling fire, having lost in the morning's work about
eight hundred men.
In the afternoon the enemy attacked the Fifth corps on

ANOTHER FLANK MOVEMENT. 337
the left, but Avas driven back. The same afternoon the
Sixth corps returned to tho yicinity of the Anderson
House, from Avhich it had started on tlie evening previous ;
and orders were issued to be ready to march tOAvard the
North Anna.
General Grant, deeming it impracticable to raake any
further .attempt to carry the rebel position at Spottsylvania
by direct assault, had determined upon another flank move
ment ; and his preparations Avere made for moving around
the left flank of the enemy during the night of the 19th,
and seizing a position on the North Anna. But late in the
after,noon of the 19th, Ewell's rebel corps made a fierce
assault upon the right of our line. Our forces gave the
rebels a warm reception, and forced them back to the cover
of their earthworks.
On the 20th, Aaron B. Quincy, a young soldier, beloved
by all Avho kncAV him, Avas shot through the breast, and
died in a fcAV minutes. His faithful christian character,
his undoubted bravery, and his ardent patriotism, had
endeared him to all.
On the night of the 21st, the flank movement Avas com
menced. WithdraAving in silence, and first throAving the
right corps in rear of the rest of the array and to its left,
as at the Wilderness, the troops marched rapidly all night,
halting for a feAV moments for breath once or tAvice, and
then pressing forAvard again. During the next forenoon a
halt of sorae hours occurred at Quincy Station, near the
house Avhere Stonewall Jackson died the year before. Then
the march Avas renewed and continued till dark.
The Fifth and Sixth corps reached the banks of the
North Anna on the evening of the 23d, and Avas soon fol-
loAved by the Second and Ninth corps. Again the enemy,
aware of our intentions, and having the shortest line,
confronted us, and disputed the crossing ; but, after consid
erable artillery practice, the Fifth corps succeeded in
43

338 ON THE NORTH ANNA.
throwing their pontoon bridges and obtaining a position
on the south bank. The enemy now attacked the corps
with great vigor, but were repulsed Avith equal slaughter.
The Sixth corps followed at four o'clock in the morning,
and a little later the Second and Ninth corps also joined
us. Strong breastworks were thrown up, and parties were
sent to the front to reconnoiter the position.
A further advance of a few mUes was made on the 25th,
but finding the enemy in a stronger position than he had
occupied either in the Wilderness or at Spottsylvania,
General Grant determined again to withdraw and try his
favorite flank moveraent. Accordingly, on the night of
the 26th, the army was withdrawn to the north bank of the
riA-er. The night was very dark, and the mud deep. Sev
eral days' rain had rendered the roads, proverbial for their
mud, alraost irapassable ; but heeding no difficulties, the
army followed without hesitation wherever our great
leader directed. The Sixth corps, with two divisions of
cavalry under Sheridan, Avho had now rejoined the army
from his great raid on which he had started from Spottsyl
vania, took the advance. On Saturday, the 28th, the corps
and the cavalry divisions, after a good deal of hard fight
ing, crossed the Pamunkey river, at Hanovertown. The
caA'alrj-, at once adA-ancing several miles beyond the river,
encountered a large force of rebel cavalry, which was
driven back. The army encamped at Hanovertown, stretch
ing from the river several miles southward.

CHAPTER XXV.
TEE EOSPITALS AT FREDERICKSBURGH.
The journey from the battle-fleld — SuCTerlngs of the wounded— A surgeon's let
ters—Rebel hatred — Assistance from the north — A father In search of his boy—
The wounded sent to Washington.
Let us turn now from the field of battle to Fredericks
burgh, that great depot for Avounded men.
It Avill be recollected that, from Piney Branch church,
the trains, Avitli the Avounded from the Wilderness, Avere
sent to Fredericksburgh. Over a rough road, nearly fifteen
miles, these unfortunate men, Avith shattered or amputated
limbs, with shots through the lungs or head or abdo
men, suffering the most excruciating pain from every jar
or jolt of the ambulance or wagon, croAvded as closely
as they could be packed, Avere to be transported. Already
they had been carted about over many miles of hard road,
most of them having been carried from the old gold mine
to Chancellorsville, and noAV again loaded and brought to
Spottsylvania. They were AVorn out with fatigue and suf
fering, and yet there Avas rauch misery in store ibr them.
SloAvly the immense train labored over the rough road,
UOAV corduroy, noAV the remains of a worn out plank road,
and anon a series of ruts and mud holes, until, at three
o'clock on the morning of the 9th of M.ay, the head of the
traiu arrived in Fredericksburgh.
The train had been preceded by some three hundred
men Avho were wounded but able to Avalk. Mayor Slaugh
ter and other rebel citizens surrounded these unarmed men,
made them prisoners and delivered them to some rebel
cavalry, who took them to Richmond.

340 ARRIVAL OF THE WOUNDED.
The process of unloading the wounded at once com
menced ; all the churches and other public buildings Avere
first seized and filled. Negroes who could be found in
town were pressed into the work, yet, Avith all the help
that could be obtained, it was a slow process. All night
and all the next day the work went on. The churches
were filled first, then warehouses and stores, and then
priA-ate houses, until the town Avas literally one immense
hospital. The surgeons were too much engaged in transferring
the men from the wagons to the houses to find time that
day to dress many AA'ounds, and many an unfortunate
soldier whose stump of an arm or leg had not been dressed
since the first day of the fighting, became the victim of
gangrene, Avhich set in as the result of this unavoidable want
of care. No sooner Avere the raen removed from the ambu
lances than surgeons and nurses addressed themselves with
all the strength that remained to thera to relieve the
immediate wants of the sufferers. Never before had such
herculean labors been thrown upon so small a body of
men, yet nobly did they accomplish the task. All the
buildings in town were full of wounded men, the walks
were covered Avith thera, and long trains of arabulances Avere
filling the streets AA-ith more. Yet to relieve the wants
of all these thousands of suffering men not more than
forty surgeons had been sent from the field.
It was one grand funeral ; men were dropping away on
every side. Large numbers of nurses Avere detailed as
burial parties, and these pilied their work day after day
with hardly time for their needed rest.
Surgeons were completely AVorn out, and raany of them
had to be sent to Washington, fairly broken down AA'ith
their labors.
The foUoAving extract from a letter of a surgeon at
Fredricksburgh to his wife, written on the llth, may con-

A surgeon's letters. 341
vey something of an idea of the experience of the medical
officers during those terrible days. He says : " We are
almost Avorked to death ; my feet are terribly SAVoUen ;
yet AA'e cannot rest for there are so many poor felloAVS Avho
are suffering. All day yesterday I AVorked at the operat
ing table. That was the fourth day that I had Avorked at
those terrible operations since the battle commenced, and
I have also Avorked at the tables tAVo whole nights and part
of another. Oh ! it is aAvful. It does not seera as though
I could take a knife in my hand to-day, yet there are a
hundred cases of amputations waiting for me. Poor fel-
loAVS come and beg .almost on their knees for the first
chance to have an arm taken off. It is a scene of horror
such as I never saAV. God forbid that I should ever see
another." Again, the same officer Avriting a day or tAVO later, says,
" It is fearful. I see so many grand men dropping one
by one. They are my acquaintances and my friends.
They look to me for help, and I liaA'e to turn aAvay heart
sick at my Avant of ability to relieve their sufferings. Cap
tain Walker of the Seventh Maine is dying to-night. He
is a noble good man, and he looks in my face and pleads
for help. Adjutant Hessy and Lieutenant Hooper of the
same regiment died last night. All Avere ray friends, and
all thought that I could save thera. General Sedgwick is
dead, and General Getty and General Torbert are my
patients. * * * '^hs. Lewis has just come; what a
blessing her presence will be to the colonel, Avho bears
the loss of his arm so bravely. Colonel Barney of the
Sixth Vermont died yesterday, and Major Fryer of the
Forty-third is dying. The major says, " Doctor, can noth
ing be done ? " Major Dudley lies in the room where I am
writing, seriously wounded. * * * j Jiaye to-day sent
sixty officers of the Sixth corps to Washington. * * *
Oh! can I ever Avrite anything beside these mournful

342 SUPPLIES FKOAE AVASHINGTON.
detaUs ? Hundreds of arabulances .are coming into town
now, and it is almost midnight. So they come every
night." For a time it was almost impossible to obtain sufficient
supplies either of food or dressings. Everything that
could be spared from the field had been sent, but in the
field they were still fighting terrible battles, and there Avas
little to spare. Food was obtained in very limited quan
tities in town, and men Avent to the houses of citizens and
demanded sheets, which Avere torn into bandages.
But large supplies Avere sent frora Washington by the
government in a fcAV days, so that all necessary articles
were furnished in abundance, Avith a profusion of lemons,
oranges and canned fruit. The Sanitary Coraraission was
also on hand with large supplies of delicacies, which were
joyfully received by the wounded heroes, who not only
relished the luxuries, but reraerabered that they were the
gifts of friends at home, Avho had not forgotten the soldiers.
Many of the people of Fredericksburgh exhibited the
most malignant spite against the " Yankee wounded ; " but
others, while they claimed no sympathy Avith our cause,
showed theraselves friends of humanity, and rendered us all
the assistance in their power. No raen, except negroes and
white men unfit for military duty, were left in town, but
the Avomen were bitter rebels. Some of thera made fierce
opposition to the use of their houses as hospitals, but they
were occupied notwithstanding their remonstrances.
At one fine mansion a surgeon rang the door bell, and
in a raoraent saw the door open just enough to shoAv the
nose and a pair of small twinkling eyes of what was evi
dently a portly women. " What do you Avant ? " snarled
out the female defender of the premises. " We Avant to
corae and see if Ave can place a fcAV Avounded officers in
this house." "You can't come in here!" shouted the
woman slararaing the door together. A ffrAV knocks

THE WOMEN OP FREDERICKSBURGH. 343
induced her again to open the door tAVO or three inches.
" Madam, we must come in here ; Ave shall do you no
harm." " You can't come here ; I am a lone widoAV."
" But I assure you no harm is intended you." Again the
door was closed, and again at the summons Avas opened.
" Madam, it will be much better for you to allow us to
enter than for me to direct these men to force the door ;
but Ave must enter." The woman now tlircAV the door Avide
open and rushing into the yard Avith as much alacrity as
her enormous proportions Avould adrait, threw her arms
out and Avhirled about like a reversed spinning top shout
ing for help. She was again assured that no harm was
intended her, but that unless she chose to show us the
house we should be obliged to go alone. Concluding that
wisdom was the better part of valor, she proceeded to
show us the rooms.
At another mansion, one of the finest in Fredericks
burgh, a red-haired AVoman thrust her head out of the side
o '
Avindow, in answer to the ring of the door bell :
" What do you Avant here ? "
" We wish to place some wounded officers in this house."
" You can't bring any officers nor anybody else to this
house. I'm all alone. I hope you have more honor than
to come and disturb defenseless, unprotected women."
" Have you no husband ? "
"Yes, thank God, he's a colonel in the confederate
service." " Well, if your husband Avas at home, where he ought
to be, you Avould not be a defenseless woman."
The woman refused to unbolt the door, in spite of all
persuasion, but while she railed at the " detestable Yan
kees," a soldier climbed in at a window in the rear, and
unbolted the door. Her splendid rooms and fine mat
tresses furnished lodgings for twenty wounded officers.
Day after day, the gloom of death hung over the to"wn.

344 OUR FALLEN HEROES.
Hundreds of our brave fellows Avere dying. Some of
the finest officers of our army Avere daily yielding to the
destroyer. Among the scA-ere losses to the Sixth corps were.
Colonel Barney, of the Sixth Vermont, who had been
shot through the head. He died on the 10th. He Avas
one of the noblest of the sons of Vermont, a pattern of a
brave soldier and christian gentleman, respected for his
ability as a commander, and loved for his social virtues ;
he Avas lamented by the Avhole corps. M.ajor Fryer, of
the Forty-third NeAV York, one of the most promising-
young officers in the corjss, died on the 12th, from Avounds
through the left arm and lungs. Captain Walker and
Adjutant Hesse, of the Seventh Maine, and Lieutenants
Hooper and Vining, of the same regiraent, all died Avithin
a feAV hours of each other. Lieutenants FoUensbee and
Cook, of the Thirty-seventh Massachusetts, and Captain
Kirkbride, of the One Hundred and Second Pennsylva
nia, were also among those who died. M.ajor Dudley,
of the Fifth Vermont, after suffering untold agony for
many days, finally yielded, and died in the embraces of his
youthful wife, who had arrived in Fredericksburgh just in
time to be present during his last hours. The major had
gone into the fight sick Avith a fever, but his determined
bravery forbade him to remain quiet. Receiving a severe
wound while thus depressed by disease, he gradually
sunk, until his brave spirit took its departure.
These AV-ere a few of the sad, sad scenes, Avhich brought
sorrow to our hearts day after day, of the hospitals at
Fredericksburgh. Physicians and nurses from civil life came to our assist-
•ance in large numbers. Some were earnest men, wholly
devoted to the object of relieving the distress AA'hich
they saw on every side. Others had come for selfish
purposes.

A FATHER IN SEARCH OP HIS BOY. 345
Physicians Avho had never perforraed an iraportant sur
gical operation came armed Avitli amputating cases, and
seemed to think that there Avas but one thing to be done,
to operate as they said.
Distressed fathers and brothers Avandered about the
tOAvn, in search of information regarding sorae son or
friend avIio had been Avouuded, or perhaps, as they feared,
killed. The foUoAving is but an example of many sad incidents
of this kind : H. A. BoAvers, of the Seventy-seventh New
York, a young raan much beloved and respected in his
regiment, Avas wounded through the chest on the 5th of
May, and Avith the other Avounded brought to Fredericks
burgh. His father, Avho resided in Albany, received the
intelligence that his son Avas d.angerously Avounded, and
hastened to Fredericksburgh in search of him. He arrived
at that immense hospital, and at once commenced his
inquiries after his soldier boy. Failing to learn anything
of him, except the assurance that he had been placed in
the ambulances, he sought out the quarterraaster of the
Seventy-seventh, avIio Avas Avith the array train just out
of town. The quartermaster readily lent his aid in the
search, and both at once sought the surgeon of that
regiment for information, but he, having the care of a
multitude, could tell them nothing of the object of their
search. Thousands of wounded men Avere here, fiUing
the city, but, thus far, the important duties of relieving
their iraraediate necessities had occupied the attention of
surgeons and attendants to the exclusion of ev-erything
else ; and no record or register had been raade by Avhich
a particular Avounded man might be found. Unless some
friend or acquaintance could direct to his place, the search
Avas often long. The nurses Avere instructed to afford the
anxious father every assistance in finding his son. Two
more long Aveary days were spent in the fruitless search,
44

346 JOY AND MOURNING.
when word Avas sent to the father that his boy might be
found in a certain church. Overjoyed at the thought
that at last his search was to be croAvned with success,
he hastened to the place. Who shall attempt to tell the
anguish of that father, when, on reaching the hospital, he
found that his son had expired half an hour before !
At length, by the 26th of May, all the Avounded men
were sent by transports to Washington, and the hospitals
¦ broken up. The surgeons, escorted by a squadron of cav
alry, crossed the country by way of Bowling Green, and,
after a three days' journey, rejoined the army at Hanover.

CHAPTER XXVL
COAL EARBOR.
At Hanover Court House — The Eighteenth corps joins the Army of the Potomac —
The armies meet at Coal Harbor —Battle of June 1st — Battle of June 3d — Ter
rible exposure — 'Phe army strikes for Petersburgh — Charles City Court House —
A centenarian — Review of the overland campaign.
Early on the morning of the 30th, the array was again
moving, advancing Avith heavy skirmishing toAvard Han
over Court House. Remaining here some hours the coluran
retraced its steps a short distance, the rebels meauAvhile
opening a severe artillery fire upon our hospital trains.
Toward evening the eneray attacked our left A'igorously
but were repulsed, and an attack Avas in turn made by our
OAvn troops Avhich resulted in forcing the rebels frora a
part of their intrenchments. Except sorae changes of
position and ascertaining that of the enemy, our army
lay quietly confronting the rebels during the 31st, but on
the 1st of June we were again on the road marching
tOAvard Coal Harbor. The march was a hard one. The
day Avas sultry, and the dust, ankle deep, raised in clouds
by the column, was almost suffocating. It filled the air
and hung upon the leaves of the trees like snow. Seldom
had our men experienced so severe a march. As Ave
neared Coal Harbor our Sixth corps in advance, Ave fell in
with the column of General Smith's coraraand, the Eigh
teenth and Tenth corps. It Avas a relief to the old soldiers
of the Army of the Potomac to see these full regiments,
and they felt that with such large reinforcements our
success must noAV be insured. It was also a source of
much gratification to the old Second division to meet

348 smith's command.
again our friends Generals Sraith and Brooks, AA-hose
names were so intimately connected with the diA'ision, and
w-ho still held a large place in the affections of the men.
These two corps Avere a part of General Butler's com
mand, which had advanced up the Peninsula as far as
Bermuda Hundreds, but were unable to make further pro
gress. General Grant had, therefore, directed General
Butler to send them forw-ard by way of transports to
White House Landing, to join the Army of the Potomac.
They reached us tired and alraost discouraged by their
unusual raarch of nearly sixteen miles, their trains and
baggage being left behind.
In the afternoon Ave had fallen in with ambulances
returning with wounded cavalrymen, and learned from
them that Sheridan had engaged the rebel cavalry at Coal
Harbor early in the morning, and th.at he was now. fighting
both infantr}- and cavalry. Toward that point the troops
pushed on rapidly, reaching the cavalry line at about four
o'clock. The men halted a few moments, and then were
ordered to fall in and adA'ance against the enemy. Skir
mishers, as usual, had ach-anced and prepared the way for
the lines of infantry and the artillery. The shots of the
skirmishers had become more and more frequent, till
the sharp rattle of musketry told of the actual presence
of the enemy. The artillery of the Sixth corps Avas at once
run out, and a brisk fire opened upon the rebels, who replied
Avith their guns, but AAdth less vigor than that exhibited by
our OAvn. The commands of Wright and Smith Avere at
once formed in line of battle, our Sixth corps on the left in
line, Rickett's Third division holding the right of the line,
Russell's the center, and Neill's Second division the extrerae
loft of the Avhole line. On our right Avas Sraith's command
in single line.
In front of our line was an open space tAvo-thirds of a
mile in Avidth, beyond which was a strip of pine Avoods.

BATTLE OF COAL HARBOR. 349
In these Avoods tho enemy had intrenched, and Avas hold
ing the position in strong force. Lee, again anticipating
the design of Grant, had sent Longstreet's corps and other
troops to occupy Coal Harbor, and uoav, Avitli their rear
resting upon the Chickahorainy, at this point a shalloAV
and easily forded streara, the rebels occupied a strong
position betAveen our advance and Richraond.
The order for the charge Avas given, and these tAvo cora
mands, Aveary and exhausted, the veterans of the Sixth
corps frora many days and nights of most severe labor,
and both corps by the tedious march of the day, dashed
impetuously across the ploughed field Avith shouts and
cheers, making for the rebel works.
The storm of battle seemed suddenly to have broken
without the usual warning. It was less than an hour
since the Union troops had arrived on the field, and
already a most bloody struggle Avas in jirogress. Volleys
rang out upon the evening air, crashing- louder and still
louder. The First and Third divisions of the Sixth corps,
in heavy columns, rushed across the field, cleared the abat
tis, and seized the rebel AVorks, while the Second division,
on the left, discovering a strong force of the eneray jUant-
ing a battery on our fiank, engaged them and forced thera
back. Smith's command, also, by a desperate charge,
seized nearly the whole line in the front, that on the
extreme right, in front of Brooks' command, alone remain
ing in the hands of the rebels. The Avhole line thundered
Avith the incessant volleys of musketry, and the shot and
shell of the artillery shrieked and hoAvled like spirits of
evil. The sun was sinking, red, in the Avest, and the
clouds of dust and smoke almost obscured the terrible
scene. Hundreds of our brave fellows Avere falling on
every side, and stretcher bearers were actively engaged in
removing the wounded from the field. The First division,
after a stubborn resistance of a fcAV minutes, was forced

350 A sanguinary STRUGGLE.
to give up the line of works it had captured and fall back ;
only the Third division held its ground. The others had
advanced as far, but the ground was unfavorable, and in
spite of most deterrained efforts to hold the line, they were
forced to swing back.
This was the first experience of Smith's command in a
great battle, and well did his men earn the confidence of
the veterans who fought by their side. Their courage
and impetuosity were the subjects of admiration of the
boys of the old Sixth corps, who declared that Baldy Smith
could make any troops fight like v-eterans.
The gallantry shown by our Third division in taking
and holding tho enemy's works, was acknoAA-ledged AA'ith
true soldierly generosity by the other divisions of our
corps, who thus far had not regarded the new division as
their peer.
As darkness carae on, the conflict still raged, and sheets
of flarae rolled frora one end of the line to the other as
the discorafited rebels strove desperately to regain their
lost ground. But as the sound of battle died away at
nine o'clock, the adA'antages gained by us Avere still held,
and our men set to Avork to strengthen the works they
had captured from the enemy and to throAV up new ones.
Again and again the rebels rushed against the Union line
hoping to regain their lost ground, but Avithout success.
The battle, although of brief duration, had been a most
sanguinary one. The loss to the Sixth corps was about
two hundred killed and nine hundred and si.xty Avounded,
AA-hile the Eighteenth corps lost one hundred and tAventy-
five killed and six hundred and fifty wounded.
MeanAvhile the Second, Fifth and Ninth corps were hold
ing the position occupied by them the day before, and
against these corps most desperate assaults were repeatedly
made by the enemy, but they were as often repulsed Avith
great slaughter.

THE NEW LINE OP BATTLE. 351
The movement at Coal Harbor, Avhile it had not suc
ceeded in forcing the enemy across the Chickahominy,
had secured our coraraunications Avith White House Land
ing, which now became, after tAVO years, for the second
tirae, the base of supplies for tho Army of the Potomac.
General Grant now determined to renew the attempt to
dislodge the rebels on the foUoAving day.
Accordingly, after the fashion of all the movements of
the army, the Second corps, Avhich noAV occupied the
extreme right of the line, Avithdrew during the night, and
falling behind the other corps, marched rapidly to the left
and took position in that flank on the road leading from
Dispatch Station to Coal Harbor. The corps did not
secure this position without considerable fighting, and it
was not in condition to take part in the expected advance
until the afternoon. Then a most violent thunder shower
set in, putting a stop to all moveraents for the remainder
der of the day.
The men of the Sixth and Eighteenth corps, tired and
AVorn out from raarching, fighting, and the hard night's
work in throwing up intrenchraents, had spent the early
part of the day in quietly watching the enemy, or lounging
behind the breastworks, glad of an opportunity for rest.
Orders were now given for a simultaneous attack along
the whole Une, to take place at half-past four on the morn
ing of the 3d. Our line of battle extended from Coal
Harbor to Tolopotamy creek, in the foUoAving order, from
left to right : Second, Sixth, Eighteenth, Fifth, and Ninth.
This line Avas nearly parallel with the Chickahominy, and
from a mile and a half to two miles north of it.
The rebels had not left the day unimproved, in concen
trating their troops and strengthening their Avorks. They
now held three lines of breastAvorks, all of great strength ;
the first occupied by their skirmish lines, the others by
strong lines of battle. Between the two armies the

352 BATTLE OF THE THIRD OF JUNE.
ground was Ioav and SAvarapy, Avhile the positions occupied
by both were sandy plains.
At half-past six on the morning of the 3d, our array Avas
astir ; and the skirmishers, leaving the cover of the rifle
pits, were advancing. Presently they fell in with the
skirmishers of the enemy, and the sharp cracking of rifles
betokened the storm of battle.
As soon as the skirmishers Avere engaged, our artillery
opened upon the rebel AVorks, aud the conflict noAV
commenced in earnest. Amid the deafening v-oUeys of
rausketry, the thunders of the artillery, and the Avild yells
of battle, our brave felloAvs pressed rapidly across the
space betAveen the hostile lines of Avorks, and the Avhole
Union force was throAvii against the rebel breastAvorks
alraost siraultaneously. But the works Avere too strong,
the abattis too troublesorae, and the rebel forces too
nuraerous. Their line could not be taken.
The vigorous and gallant assault raade by the Sixth
corps, resulted in carrying the first line, Avhere the rebel
skirraishers had been posted, and our troops got Avithin
tAVO hundred and fifty yards of the main works, but Mar
tindale's division of Sraith's corps, which advanced Avitli
the Sixth corps, and on our right, found the task before it
too great ; the troops of that divisioii becarae disarranged
and Avere repulsed. Although General Smith, Avho was
ahvays up to the front, made several atterapts to relieve
Martindale's division, it failed to take the rifle pits.
The right flank of the Sixth corps, thus exposed, the
whole corps Avas forced to fiiU back.
Thus this grand assault, in Avhicli General Grant hoped
to force his enemy across the Chickahominy, failed Avith
immense loss to us and comparatively little to the confed
erate army, Avhich as usual Avas defended by earthworks,
Avhile our men advancing to the charge Avere unprotected.
But our brave felloAvs Averc to have their revencre.

THE REBELS ATTACK. 353
The battle Avas over, and again the occupants of the
opposing lines of defenses Avatched each other, the quiet
being only disturbed by the occasional shots of sharp
shooters. Darkness closed over the plains of Coal Harbor,
and even the sharpshooters desisted from their work.
The stars shed a mild light upon the tAvo armies Avhich
had so lately been engaged in fierce conflict, each now
securely resting behind its line of earthworks, and the
plain Avhich lay betAveen them, Avhich the hurricane of
battle had so lately sAvept, Avas as still as though the noise
of Avar had never been heard there.
Suddenly, at eight o'clock, the rebels in front of our
Sixth corps and of the Second corps, leaped over their
works and rushed Avith a yell tOAvard our lines. At the
same time their artillery opened upon us. The course of
their shells was marked by long curves of fire upon the
dark sky, Avhile the flashes of the guns and bursting mis
siles made a sublime display of pyrotechnics.
On came the charging coluran, against the left of the
Sixth and the right of the Second corps ; but nothing
pleased our brave boys more than to see their enemies
come out from the cover of their AVOrks to fight.
It had, during all these long days of battles, been ours
to charge well defended earthAvorks almost invariably;
and whenever the rebels chose to assume the oflensive,
our men Avere glad to show thera the difference betAveen
being the assailants and the assailed.
Now the rebels came on with determination, but their
attack was met by volley after volley of musketry aimed
for effect ; and our well directed fire of artillery made
great gaps in the advancing lines. The attack was nobly
repulsed, and many grey-coated soldiers who advanced to
the charge, were left by their retreating comrades, dead
between the two lines, while others Avere ordered in as
prisoners. The rebels returned to their place, and again
45

354 AN ARMY BURROWING.
all was still. From this time we had no more battles at
Coal Harbor, yet we daily lost raany men by the shots of
the sharpshooters who Avere perched in trees, and who
kept up a fire at every moving thing AA'hich showed itself
within our lines.
Never before had our army been in a position where
there was such constant danger as at Coal Harbor. Men
in the front line dared not leave the cover of the breast
works except in the darkness of night, and even then the
movement of a corapany to the rear raight bring on a
storm of shells. High breastAvorks Avere throAvn up at all
angles with the raain line, and deep trenches Avere dug, in
which the men raight pass to and from the front Avithout
being observed. Even with all these extraordinary pre
cautions, no man was safe in venturing to go to the rear
by daylight. If a soldier collected the canteens of his
companions and started to the rear for water, he was
obliged to craAvl along the trenches with the utmost
secrecy, and even then he was liable to be shot. Not a
day passed, even when there was no battle, in which
scores of men were not killed or brought to the hospitals
with severe wounds.
The whole plain occupied by our army was dug over.
Far to the rear the men had intrenched theraselves. Gen
eral officers had their tents erected in deep excavations
surrounded by erabankments of earth, and speci.al duty
men had each prejiared for themselves burrows in the
ground, raany of which were creditable specimens of
engineering. One was reminded, in riding over the plain,
of the colonies of prairie dogs with their burrows and
mounds. Although we had but two days' actual fighting
at Coal Harbor, our losses Avere raore than thirteen thousand
raen, while the rebels suffered comparatively sraall losses.
Thus the army lay upon the burning sands of that
arid plain, the greater part of the line without the

LEAVING COAL HARBOR. 355
friendly shelter of a tree, Avcury, yet not discouraged;
grinimy and dirty, aud choked Avith dust, yet uttering no
Avords of complaint, for tAvolvo days.
Troops commenced moving toward the rear on the
morning of the llth of July, and it became knoAvn that
we were to make no more attempts to force the formidable
position. General Grant had ordered another flank move
ment. This time to the James river. Preparations for
withdraAving Avent on actively on the 10th and llth; all
the Avounded AA'cre sent to the Wliite House, and the long
trains of forage, ammunition and commissary supplies
Avhich had been allowed to corae far toAvard the front,
began to pass to the rear. On the 12th, Smith's corps
Avas ordered to the White House, thence to embark to City
Poiut, Avhile the remainder of the army Avas to cross the
Chickahominy far to the right of the rebel position, and
march to the James river.
At three o'clock in the .afternoon, the long hospital train
of the Sixth corps moved out tOAvard the left a fcAV miles
and halted for the corps, Avhich Avithdrew from the works
.after dark, and marched AA-ith great rapidity tOAvard the
left. The other corps also AvithdrcAV from their positions,
and the Avhole array moved off down the Chickahominy,
the Second corps iu advance. The march was kept up all
night, a short halt only being alloAved in the morning near
Dispatch Station. Then the column pressed on again, the
men almost suffocated Avith the dust, which hung over
the column like a huge cloud ; no halt Avas made at noon,
and the men, deprived of their coffee, choked with dust,
and burned Avitli heat, marched Avearily toward night.
The sun was sinking in the west, tinging- the clouds Avith
purple, and croAvniug the distant hills AA'ith gold, Avhen Ave
crossed the historic Chickahorainy. Two years before
Ave had crossed the same stream not far frora this A-ery
spot. Through how many vicissitudes of army life had

356 CHARLES CITY.
we passed since that time. The stream was not wide, and
its banks were Avell defined where we crossed. Indeed, at
this point, there Avas nothing in the appearance of the
stream that AA'ould convey any idea of the difficulties
which it had once presented to the Union army. The
corps bivouacked on high grounds a mile from the river,
glad to rest from the toiling march.
We were early astir onthe morning ofthe 14th; taking
our line of march through a delightful section of country
where the comfortable farm houses and fine residences
presented a strikmg contrast with the desolations to w-hich
we had becorae accustomed. As we began to descend
from the high lands toward the plain, on which stands the
little cluster of houses called, in southern fashion, Charles
City, Ave beheld, in the distance, the James river, lying in
all its loveliness, spreading widely between its banks. A
magnificent prospect opened before us. The river in the
distance bordered by green fields, one undulating slope
four or five miles wide, and tw-ice as long, presenting a
scene of surpassing beauty. There were large fields of
grain already yellow and nearly ripe for the harvest, green
raeadows lay in the beautiful valleys, the gentle breeze
dallied with the tassels of the long rows of corn, Avhich
gav-e rich promise of an abundant harvest ; fine groves
upon the hillside, in the A-alleys and on the plain, gave a
charming dlA-ersity to the scene, and the old mansions,
embosomed in vines and trees, and surrounded by colonies
of outhouses, reminded us of the ease and comfort which
had reigned here before the ravages of war had desolated
Virginia. To the right was Charles City, alraost hidden
by trees, a little town, in prosperous days, the home of a
few hundred people, now almost deserted.
In the A'icinity of Charles City we halted a little before
noon. The Second corps, which was in the advance, had
already reached the James at Wilcox's Landing, and was

JOHN Tyler's house. 357
preparing to cross. The men of our corps were delighted
with the ojiportunity of once more spreading their tents
over clean grassy turf, and each quickly pitched his shelter
tent preparatory to a refreshing rest.
Within tAVO miles of our camp Avas the residence of the
late ex-president, John Tyler, Avliich Avas visited by many
of our officers. It Avas a charming spot, Avith everything
about it to please the eye of a lover of the beautiful. But
except the grounds iraraediately surrounding the house,
everything Avas in the Avildness of nature.
The house Avas stripped of alraost everything. The cabi
net AA'as carried off. The large library had lost raany of its
choicest A-olumes, Avhile the remainder, with heaps of let
ters, lay thrown in Avild confusion about the floor. The
pile of sheet music which had been left on the piano by
the family, had been culled over and nearly all taken away.
In fact such a sad scene of destruction was rare, even in
the track of a great army.
On the morning of the 15th, the corps moved to the
river side, Avhere it remained Avhile other troops were
crossing by ferry and on an imraensely long pontoon
bridge. The river was full of shipping, the forests of
raasts making strange contrasts with the native forests on
the river banks.
Near the crossing was a superb old mansion, the resi
dence of a rebel general, surrounded by its little village
of negro cabins. Here many officers of the corps resorted,
to spend the time in walking among the grand old trees,
or to stroll through the garden, admiring the elegant and
rare exotics which adorned the grounds. Here was the
magnolia grandiflora in full bloom, its immense cup-like
floAvers filling the whole place with delightful fragrance,
and the American agave, also loaded Avith a profusion of
elegant fioAvers ; roses of the most rare and superb varie
ties, jasmines, honeysuckles, clematis, spice woods, and a

358 A CENTENARIAN.
great variety of other choice plants, Avere also in lavish
abundance. There Avere locust trees of enormous size, and
everything that was inanimate filled us Avitli surprise and
delight. But, within the mansion, avc Avere met Avitli the
accustomed bitterness and Avant of civility. Among
the slaves on the premises Avas a white-haired negro, who
Avas one hundred and eight years old. His Avife, Avho lived
upon a neighboring plantation, Avas oue hundred and four
years of age. When asked his age by the boys, he was
accustomed to ansAver, " Well, massa, I'se going on two
hundred now." The old felloAV manifested no sympathy
for the cause of his master, and even he sighed for freedom.
When asked of what value freedom could be to him noAV,
he ansAvered, impatiently, " Well, massa, isn't a hundred
and eight years long enough to be a slave ?"
The array, Avhich had thus fought its Avay at fearful cost
from the Rapidan to the James, Avas now to change
its base, and threaten the rebel capital from the south.
Petersburgh was now the objective point, and this was
regarded as the door to Richraond.
Our army had, during the period of a little more than
a month, fought the most extraordinary series of battles,
and executed sorae of the most reraarkable movements on
record. Never Avas heroic valor exhibited on a grander
scale than had been manifested by the Army of the Poto
mac throughout this long struggle, in Avhich every raan's
life seeraed dooraed. The stubborn perseverance of the
general Avas equaled by the persistent determination of
his soldiers. Day after day they had been called upon to
assault earthworks of formidable character, defended by
veteran troops ; and it Avas usually the case that they had
seen, as the only fruits of their daring, almost reckless,
charges, the ground in front of the hostile intrenchments
strewed Avith the lifeless bodies of their corarades, Avhile
the enemy still held the coveted line of Avorks.

RETROSPECTIVE. 359
The battle of the Wilderness was a strange, deadly
struggle, Avhicli no raan could see. A battle in which
both armies Avere hidden in thickets and forests, impene
trable to vision, each making gigantic efforts for the
overthroAV and destruction of the other. It had resulted
in no decisive advantage to either party. Lee was as
ready to meet us at Spottsylvania as he had been in the
Wilderness, and Grant was determined in his attack along
the Ny, as though he had met with no repulse on Wilder
ness Run. The soldiers, too, of each army were as ready
at Spottsylvania to test their relative valor as they had
been in the Wilderness.
At Spottsylvania we had lost thousands of our best men,
and hundreds of our ablest officers in futile attempts to
drive our enemy from irapregnable positions ; yet, not
withstanding all our losses, and our hitherto unsuccessful
assaults, our men rushed against the strong defenses at
Coal Harbor with as much resolution and fortitude as
though they had met with no reverses.
Prom the Rapidan to the Chickahominy the advance
had been almost a continuous battle, in Avhich our army
fought at a disadvantage. The men had for more than a
month engaged the eneray in mortal combat by day and
made fatiguing marches by night only to find themselves
again face to face Avith the enemy in the morning. Sixty
thousand of our comrades were either killed, wounded or
missing. Of these more than thirteen thousand had been
lost at Coal Harbor, about thirty-two thousand in the
Wilderness, and nearly fifteen thousand at Spottsylvania
and on the North Anna.
It is true that our enemy had suffered great losses, yet
not half as many rebels as Union men had fallen. At
Coal Harbor the disproportion was much greater than
elscAvhere. There the rebel loss had not been one-
tenth as great as our own. Notwithstanding our frequent

360 DIRECT FOE EICHMOND.
repulses, and despite the fact that our road was continu
ally blocked by an army behind powerful defenses, our
march had been straiglit on toward the goal of our ambi
tion, the rebel capital.
Frora the crossing of the Rapidan to the halt at Coal
Harbor, in all our battles and all our flank moveraents, we
had not SAverved from the direct line to Richraond ; and
now, Avith unimpaired vigor and still relentless determina
tion, the Army of the Potoraac, and the imperturbable
leader of the Union arraies, Avere ready to undertake the
capture of Richmond, by way of Petensburgh, fully
assured that their iUustrious A'alor and never failing cour
age must sooner or later meet Avith their aAvard.

CHAPTER XXVII.
PETERSBURGH
The march to Petersburgh — Smith's successes — The battle of June 18th — The
Sixth and Second corps sent to the left— Rebels penetrate the line — Progress of
theslege — Sixth *rps proceeds to Reams' Station — Kautz's and Wilson's raids.
At sunset on the 16th, the Sixth corps gathered upon
the banks of the James riA-er, and Avhile the First and
Third divisions embarked on steamers for City Point, the
Second division crossed on the pontoon bridge. The
division marched all night toward Petersburgh, from
which direction we had heard cannonading all day. The
column moved rapidly, leaving scores of stragglers, Avho
quietly rolled themselves in their blankets and lay doAvu
behind the hedges to sleep till morning. The foUoAving
day Avas sultry, and the dust was very annoying. The
men were weary from want of sleep, and the march Avas
a scA'ere oue ; but at sunset the division arrived at our
lines before Petersburgh. Smith's corps had preceded us,
and by assaulting the rebel position on the evening of the
16th, had carried the lines northeast of the town for a
distance of over two and a half mUes, captm-ing fifteen
pieces of artillery and three hundred prisoners. General
Smith was then reinforced by Hancock's corps, which had
just arrived by land, but no further advance was made
that night. This neglect to take advantage of the absence
o o o
of any large force of rebels in the works about Peters
burgh was severely censured by General Grant, who could
not understand why General Smith, now reinforced by a
large corps, had not at once taken possession of the town.
The day that the Second division. Sixth corps, arrived in
46

362 BEFORE PETERSBURGH.
front of Petersburgh, the two divisions of that corps
Avhich had taken transports up the river, were ordered to
reinforce General Butler at Bermuda Hundreds, Avhere his
command had gained sorae advantages, which were, how
ever, lost before night. All the corps having got up,
attacks upon the rebel positions were renewed on the 17th
aud 18th. The attack on the I7th was raade by Smith's
command, and resulted in the loss of a fcAV men, when the
lines were withdrawn.
Our Second division now relieved Brooks' division of
the Eighteenth corps on the front line, the Seventy-seventh
taking possession of a powerful redoubt, the other regi
ments taking their places in close proximity. The Ver
mont brigade was placed in rifle pits, as was also the First
brigade. In order to secure unity of action. General Neill,
commanding the division, was directed to receive orders
frora General Martindale of the Eighteenth corps.
Standing in the redoubt occupied by the Seventy-
seventh, Avhich Avas upon a high bluff, and commanded a
fine prospect of the surrounding country, Ave could trace
the line of defenses which had already been captured, and
those yet in the hands of the eneray. The defenses of
Petersburgh consisted of a line of strong earthworks, in
the forra of a semicircle. Immense redoubts, like the one
we now occui^ied, were jilaced at frequent intervals, upon
commanding positions, and these Avere connected by a line
of rifie pits and high breastworks. At all advantageous
points, also, Avere well constructed rifie pits, in front (now
in rear) of the main works. Smith's corps had captured
eleven of these forts and redoubts in the first assault, aud
they were now occupied by our forces, and the strong
AA'orks which were intended for the defense of the tOAvn
noAV bristled with cannon pointing toward it.
The line of poAverful forts and breastworks commenced
about tAVO and a half railes below Petersburgh, on the

VALLEY OF TIIE APPOMATTOX. 363
Appomattox, aud, circling the city, terminated tAvo or
three miles aboA-c.
Before us stretched the v.allcy of the Apporaattox in all
its beauty, the level plain betAveen us and the river clothed
ill the verdure of suraraer, the green fields of corn yet
untrodden bj' the troops of either side. BeloAV the
heights, stretching far to the right and left, Avas tho line
of rifle pits noAV occupied by our men, and beyond these
could be traced the outlines of the new Avorks Avhich
the rebels Avere throAving up. Still beyond all these, the
spires of Petersburgh tOAvered grandly, and by the help
of a glass the streets and houses Avere distinctly A-isible.
On the 18th, another advance was made by the divisions
of Smith's corps, a part of the Second corps, and our
OAVU Second division. Smith's troops advanced spiritedly
across the plain, facing a Avithering fire of grajje and can
ister, but were unable to come up to the rebel AVorks.
They Avere ordered to lie doAvn, and at onoe every raan
coraraenced to throAV up a little mound of earth in front
of him, using his cup or plate, or even his hands or jack-
knife, in place of a spade.
Under this destructlA'e fire the troops Avere forced to
remain for sorae tirae, but they at length retired, having
lost several hundred of their number. Neill's division
was on the left of Sinith's troops, and did not advance as
far. Our losses Avere therefore slight.
OAving to some unfortunate misunderstanding, the sur
geons of the Eighteenth corps were ordered to the right
of the line to establish field hospitals ; consequently, when
the Avounded of that corps began to come in, there were
none of their surgeons at hand. The surgeons of our OAvn
division, however, quickly proceeded to establish a hospital
for thera, in which they were all received and cared for,
their wounds dressed, the shattered lirabs removed, .and all
their wants attended to. The medical officers of the Eight-

364 THE THREE JAMESES.
eenth corps expressed their warmest gratitude for this act
of kindness on the part of the Sixth corps surgeons, this
being the second time that Ave had found an opportunity
of assisting them in an emergency.
Our lines were daUy drawn more closely around Peters
burgh, but no other general action was brought on for
some tirae. There was constant firing of artillery from
both sides, and now and then the rattle of musketry would
pass along the lines.
On the 22d, Colonel Bidwell's brigade occupied the front
line of rifle pits. The sun was shining brightly, and our
men, unprotected by shelter, were striving to pass the time
Avith as little discomfort as possible. A group of men of
the Seventy-seventh were behind the breastAvork, stretched
out upon the sand, resting upon their elbows and amusing
each other Avith jokes, Avhen a shell came shrieking into
their midst. Its explosion threw them in every direction.
One went high in the air and fell tAventy feet from the spot
Avhere he was lying Avhen the shell exploded. Strange to
tell, not a man Avas killed, yet three had each a leg crushed
to jelly, and tAvo others were seriously wounded. The
three whose legs Avere crushed were Sergeant James Barnes,
James Lawrence, and James Allen, all of company A.
The poor fellows were taken to the fleld hospital completely
prostrated from the shock, cold SAveat stood upon their
pallid brows, and life seemed but to flicker before going
out. The surgeons were making haste to load the wounded
and sick into arabulances to send to City Point, for we were
ordered to march at a moment's notice. "You can do
nothing for those men," said the wide aAvake, enterprising
Doctor Hall, who was superintending the loading of the
ambulances, as he saw the surgeon -who had charge of.
the operations prejiare to remove the mangled merabers.
" Better put them into ambulances and let them have a
chance for their lives ! There is no time now to wait for

PETERSBURGH ENVELOPED, 365
operations." " Hoav long will it take you to load your
arabulances, doctor ?" " TAventy rainutes, .at least." " Then
I Avill have the men read)' for you." The surgeon gave to
each of the unfortunate ones a glass of brandy, then admin
istered his chloroform, and in less than thirty minutes had
amputated the limbs, dressed the stumps, and placed the
men in ambulances. They Avere taken at once to City
Point, AA'here they were placed together. Their cases
excited great interest among the attendants in the hospital
and the visitors, for each had lost a leg just above the knee,
the name of each was James, they Avere all frora one com
pany, all wounded bj' a single shell, and all as cheerful as
Avere CA-er wounded men. They Avere afterward reraoved
to Washington and again placed side by side, and here,
also, they were subjects of great interest to visitors. The
writer has frequently heard the case of the three Jameses
related by persons in different States, AA'ho never mistrusted
that they Avere men of his own regiment. The boys are
each well now, each walks with his artificial lirab, and each
is a worthy meraber of society.
General Grant, finding that his expectation of taking
Petersburgh by surprise had failed, prepared for a system
atic investment of the town. Accordingly, the Si-xth and
Second corps were directed to proceed to the left of the
present line, so as to envelop the toAvn, and also Avith
the view of striking the Weldon railroad, and thus cutting
off an important source of supplies for the rebel array.
On the 21st of May, the two corps marching in the rear
of the rest of the array Avent into position on the left flank,
the Second corps on the west of the Jerusalem plank road,
and the Sixth to the left and rear of that corps, its line
nearly at right angles with that of the Second corps.
The cavalry divisions of Wilson and Kautz Avere, at the
same time, ordered to proceed still farther to the left, and,
cutting the Weldon road, continue the march across the

366 REBELS PENETRATE THE LINE.
country, until they should strike the Southside railroad,
which they Avere directed to destroy.
On the morning of the 22d, General Birney, who, during
the temporary absence of General Hancock, was in com
mand of the Second corps, was directed to move his corps
forward, so as to press upon the left flank of the enemy.
This he proceeded to do, without giving notice of his
intention to General Wright. The result of the move
ment Avas to leave a wide gap between the Second and
Sixth corps.
To the great surprise of the Third division of our corps,
which was just getting into position, the rebels advanced
in strong force upon the flank and rear. A sharp skirraish
occurred, in Avhicli that division and a part of the Second
division lost some prisoners ; but the principal loss fell
upon the Second corps, for that corps, having throAvn its
left far in advance, Avas greatly exposed. The principal
attack fell upon Barlow's division, Avhich occupied the left.
That division was driven in confusion upon the other divi
sions of the corps. The Avhole corps Avas forced back, but
after some spirited fighting the rebels Avere forced back,
carrying with them a battery belonging to the Second
corps, and raore than two thousand prisoners. From our
own corps they had captured about six hundred meii and
a stand of colors.
The responsibility for this unfortunate surprise rests
with the commander of the Second corps ; for General
Wright, being entirely ignorant of any design to advance
that corps, had, of course, made no disposition to keep the
line intact. The men of the Third division did all that
men could do under the circumstances, and are entitled to
much credit for the repulse Avhich they gave the eneray.
From that day, except that at times the roar of artillery
shook the earth for mUes about, we remained quiet until
the 29th of June. The light sandy soU soon became

MARCH TO reams' STATION. 367
reduced to powder, and tho continual passing of mules and
army Avagons raised huge clouds of dust, Avhicli completely
enveloped the army. At sunset this cloud would settle
doAvn and becorae so dense that one could not see objects
tAventy yards from him. The heat Avas almost intolerable,
yet the health of the men Avas better than usual for the
summer months.
The surgeons had their hospitals neatly fitted up, and
nurses and attendants took great pride in adorniug the
hospital tents Avitli the boughs of the magnolia and other
beautiful shrubs and floAvers. The government and the
agents of the Sanitary Commission supplied us liberally
Avitli lemons and vegetables, so, notAvithstanding the
intense heat, and the constant Avatchfulness of the men
behind the earthworks, there Avas comparatively little
illness. In the afternoon of the 29th of June orders came for
the Sixth corps to march at once to Reams' Station, far to
the left, where the cavalry of Kautz and Wilson, Avhich
had been on an extensive raid, was expected to arrive.
At four o'clock we left carap, marched all the reraainder
of the day and all night. We found ourselves in the
morning at Reams' Station, on the Weldon Railroad. The
men at once commenced tearing up the track and burning
the ties. Thus they toiled all the morning, but no cavalry
made its appearance.' Late in the day the corps retraced
their steps, and arrived that night within tAvo and a half
miles of the position we had left the clay before. We
made our bivouac on the Jerusalem plank road, and in the
morning rejoined the main army before Petersburgh and
resumed our old position.
The story of the great raid of Kautz and Wilson, which
Ave noAV learned in detail, was one of thrilling interest, full
of Avild adventure, untold hardship and great peril. The
two divisions had penetrated far to the rear of Lee's army,

368 kautz's and Wilson's raid.
had destroyed miles of the Weldon railroad, and then,
reaching the Southside road, the great artery for the sup
ply of the rebel array, had torn up the track and burned
the ties for dozens of miles. In their return they had
fallen in with the cavalry of the enemy, and, when near
Reams' Station, had come upon a strong force of cavalry
and infimtry. An engagement ensued, which resulted in
the Union cavalry being driven, and hundreds from the
immense throng of colored refugees, Avhich was following
the cavalry tOAvards the Union lines, were ridden doAvn
by the rebel cavalry and killed. The cavalry at length
succeeded iu reaching our lines by making a circuit farther
south, and many of the negroes also succeeded in escaping
from rebeldom.

CHAPTER XXVIII.
SIXTE CORPS TRANSFERRED TO WASEINGTON—
BATTLE OF FORT STEVENS.
The Shenandoah Valley— Hunter's advance to Lynchburgh— The retreat — Rebels
advance into Maryland — Battle of Monocacy — Sixth corps goes to Washington —
Battle of Fort Stevens.
The Shenandoah Valley, which had been the scene of
such varied fortunes to our army during the war, again
became a field of great interest.
Simultaneous with the opening of the spring campaign
by the array of the Potomac, General Sigel, who then com
manded in the valley, commenced to move his army. On
the 15th of May he met the eneray at New Market, and
Avas defeated. He withdrew his army to Harper's Ferry,
where, by order of General Grant, who Avas dissatisfied with
his management, he was relieved of his command by Gen
eral Hunter.
General Hunter at once resumed offensive operations,
moved up the valley and encountered the enemy at Pied
mont and routed hira, capturing fifteen hundred prisoners,
three pieces of artillery and three thousand stand of small
arms. He then pursued the routed army to Lynchburgh,
Avhich place he invested. To meet this movement of
Hunter, Lee had sent General Early with his corps to the
assistance of the rebel garrison. This force arrived just
before the Union army came up. General Hunter, finding
that he Avas confronted by a large force, his ammunition
being nearly exhausted, the difficulties of transporting
OA'er so long a march sufficient ordnance stores being very
great, he determined to Avithdraw without risking a bat-
47

370 GENERAL HUN-TER's RETREAT.
tie. His want of ammunition forced him to make his
retreat by that route which would afford most natural
obstacles to pursuit and attack of the enemy. Accord
ingly, instead of retiring directly down the Shenandoah, he
drew his forces off through the Kanawha Valley, leaving
the Shenandoah open to the rebel army. The march of
Hunter's men through the Kanawha, harassed by the
enemy and destitute of food, was one of great severity.
The rebels finding the Shenandoah open to them, at once
pushed northward with a view of ravaging Maryland and
Pennsylvania, and, if possible, entering Washington.
Owing to the great difficulties encountered by General
Hunter's army, in reaching Harper's Ferry in time to
oppose Early, it became necessary to send other troops to
meet the invading force. Accordingly, about the 1st of
July, the Third division of our Sixth corps, under com
mand of General Ricketts, was sent to Baltimore, and
from thence marched toward Frederick, Maryland, where,
on the banks of the Monocacy near the railroad bridge,
the enemy was encountered. The Union forces consisted
of the division from the Sixth corps, and a few thousand
green troops collected about Baltimore, all under command
of General Wallace. The force of Early greatly out
numbered those of the Union general, and after a hard
fought battle our men were driven back. Although Gene
ral Wallace had met with defeat, he had succeeded in
arresting the progress of the invasion for a time, and
enabled the remainder of our corps and a division of the
Nineteenth corps to reach Washington in advance of
the rebels.
Such was the state of affairs in Maryland, when, on the
evening of the 9th July, the First and Second divisions of
the Sixth corps were ordered to march to City Point at
once. The order carae at nine o'clock, and without delay
the troops were in motion. We had become too much

leaving PETERSBURGH. 371
accustomed to sudden movements, to require long prepara
tions for breaking up camp. The march of fourteen miles
to City Point made during the night, Avas far more toler
able than it could have been by day. For although the
roads Avere coraposed of dry beds of dust, in which
the men sank almost ankle deep at every step, and the
cloud Avhich rose as the coluran raoved along filled their
throats and eyes and nostrils, yet they AA-ere not forced to
endure the raisery of a long march under a burning sun,
such as for many days past had scorched these sandy
plains. It was daylight when the Sixth corps reached the James
river at City Point, and the process of embarking com
menced at once. Before noon the two divisions, with the
horses and baggage, were on board transports, which were
in readiness when we arrived. The staff of Bidwell's
brigade, with the Seventy-seA-enth and part of the Forty-
ninth New York, with the brigade band, where on board
the steamer Escort. We had also on board a hundred
horses. Great satisfaction was felt by all at the prospect of
leaving the region whose natural desolation was height
ened by the dcA'astation of war, and going to a country
of plenty, with which so many pleasant remerabrances
were associated. Each man breathed more freely as the
steamer SAVung out upon the river, and our brigade band
sounded a good-bye to the scenes of our recent labors and
privations. Our fleet was soon steaming down the river, passing
scenes of interest, many of which were intimately con
nected with the memories of other campaigns. There was
Harrison's Landing, the camping ground of two years
ago, the last one on the Peninsula, where our Union army
crowded together on the banks of the James, sweltering
beneath the oppressive heat of a southern sun ; Fort Pow-

372 FAMILIAR SCENES.
hattan, where we had crossed the river on pontoons a
month ago ; the iron-clad Atlanta, once a rebel ram, noAV
doing service in the Union cause ; the ancient settleraent
of JamestOAvn ; the three-turreted monitor Roanoke ; Sew
ell's Point ; Hampton, the scene of our earliest Peninsula
experience ; the bay at Newport News, made famous by
the conflict of the Monitor and Merrimac, the masts of the
Cumberland still towering above the waters of the bay as
monuments of the -wonderful contest ; the old haunts of
the Teaser, Avhich had so unceremoniously introduced her
self to our division ; and, as evening came on, Ave passed
Fortress Monroe, where the raany lights of the fleet gave
the harbor the appearance of a city in the waves.
The wind was blowing freshly when we rounded Old
Point Corafort, and our little steamer ploughed the white
caps bravely. We made good time, and found ourselves
the next morning steaming up the Potomac. Aquia creek
Avas passed, recalling to mind the encarapraent at White
Oak Church ; Mount Vernon claimed its tribute of thought,
and at two o'clock we touched the Avharf at the foot of
Sixth street, Washington. The rest of the tAVO divisions
had already reached the wharves, and there, too, were
some immense sea steamers, croAvded Avith troops of the
Nineteenth corps, fortunately just arrived from NeAV
Orleans. The process of disembarking occupied but little time.
President Lincoln stood upon the wharf chatting familiarly
with the veterans, and now and then, as if in compliment
to them, biting at a piece of hard tack which he held in
his hand.
The column was formed and we marched up ScA'enth
street, past the Smithsonian Institute, the Patent Office
and the Post Office, meeting on our way many old friends,
and hearing the people who crowded upon the sidewalks
exclaiming, " It is the old Sixth corps ! " " Those are the

ARRIVE AT AVASHINGTON. 373
men who took Marye's Heights ! " " The danger is over
now ! " We had never before realized the hold which the
corps had upon the affection of the people. Washington,
an hour before was in a panic ; noAV as the people saw the
veterans wearing the badge of the Greek cross marching
through their streets, the. excitement subsided and con
fidence prevailed.
Thus Ave made our way to the north of the city, the
sound of cannonading in our front stimulating and hasten
ing the steps of the raen. Farailies, Avith a few of their
choicest articles of household furniture loaded into wagons,
Avere hastening to the city, reporting that their houses
were burned, or that they had raade their escape leaving
the greater part of their goods to the raercy of the rebels.
We reached a fine grove in rear of Fort De Russey and
made our bivouac for the night.
Noav we learned the true position of affairs. Early,
having defeated the small force under General Wallace,
pushed on toward Washington, carrying destruction in
the path of his army. His cavalry reached Rockville, a
little toAvn tAvelve miles north of Washington, on the
10th, detachments having destroyed portions of the Balti
more and Ohio railroad, seized trains of cars, in one of
which was General Franklin, formerly commander of the
Sixth corps, who was made a prisoner, but who managed
to escape, and now, as we reached Washington, his advance
was knocking at the defenses of that city. The forts were
manned by a small force of heavy artillery, hundred days'
men, and detachments of the Invalid corps ; and, as we
reached the rear of the defenses, regiments coraposed of
clerks and employes of the quartermaster's department,
with convalescents from the hospitals, marched past us to
take their places on the front. These hasty levies were
placed in the forts for the night, to be replaced by veteran
troops in the morning.

374 FORT STEVENS.
July 12th came bright and glorious. The First brigade
of our Second division, and our sharpshooters, Avere on
picket in front of Fort Stevens; the Second and Third
brigades still enjoying the delightful shade of the groves
in rear of Fort De Russey. From tho parapets of Fort
Stevens could be seen the lines of rebel skirmishers, from
whose rifles the white puffs of smoke rose as they dis
charged their pieces at our pickets. The valley beyond
the fort presented a scene of surpassing loveliness, with its
rich green meadows, its fields of Avaving corn, its orchards
and its groves. To the right Avas Fort Slocura, and on
the left Fort De Russey.
The residence of Hon. Montgomery Blair was within
the line occupied by the confederates, and we heard that the
fine mansion had been the scene of plunder and destruc
tion, in revenge, as the rebels declared, for havoc wrought
by our troops in Virginia.
The principal force of the enemy seemed to be in front
of Fort Stevens, and here it was deterrained to give them
battle. The barracks just in rear of the fort were con
verted into a hospital for our Second division, and all
preparations were made for receiving our wounded men.
Four o'clock came, but, except that the rebel skirmish
ers were sending their bullets whizzing over the fort, all
was quiet. President Lincoln and his wife drove up to
the barracks, unattended, except by their coachman, the
superbly mounted squadron of cavalry, whose duty it was
to attend upon his excellency, being left far behind. The
carriage stopped at the door of the hospital, and the Presi
dent and his affable lady entered into familiar conversa
tion with the surgeon in charge, praising the deeds of the
old Sixth corps, complimenting the appearance of its vet
erans, and declaring that they, as well as the people of the
country, appreciated the achievements of the wearers of
the Greek cross.

THE ORDER OP BATTLE. 375
Thus, for nearly an hour, they chatted of various things,
when General Wright and his staff arrived on the ground,
accompanied by several ladies and gentlemen from the city.
All now repaired to the fort, and presently the portly
form of Colonel BidAvell, foUoAved by his Third brigade,
was seen approaching. The brav-e colonel and his brave
brigade marched past the fort into the valley beyond, the
President, the members of his cabinet and the ladies prais
ing the hardy, soldierly bearing of the men as they passed.
They formed in two lines of battle, in rear of the skirmish
line of the first brigade, the Seventy-seventh on the right
of the line, then the Seventh Maine, and then the Forty-
ninth. The Forty-third New York, Sixty-first Pennsyl
vania, and One Hundred and Twenty-second Ncav York
forming the second line. The advance line was in charge
of Colonel French.
According to preconcerted arrangements. Colonel Bid-
well was to signify to General Wright, who remained in
the fort, his readiness for the attack by a signal from the
ncAV flag of the Seventy-seventh, which had not yet been
baptized in battle ; then the great guns in the fort were to
open a storm of shells upon the rebel position, especially
upon a house behind Avhich and in which numbers of
rebels had all day found refuge; then General Wright
was to signal from the fort the command to advance and
the brigade was to rush to the charge.
Thus, Avith a perfect understanding on the part of all
concerned, the brigade took its place.
The flag of the Seventy-seventh waved the signal of
readiness, the heavy ordnance in the fort sent volley after
voUey of thirty-two pound shells howling over the heads
of our men into the midst of the rebels, and through the
house where so many of them had found shelter, and then
at the coraraand of SedgAvick's " raan of iron," the brave
fellows started eagerly forward. They reached and passed

376 THE BATTLE.
the skirraishers, and the white puffs of sraoke and the
sharp crack from their rifles becarae raore and more
frequent, first the rattle of an active skirmish, and then
the continuous roar of a musketry oattle.
In magnificent order and with light steps they ran
forward, up the ascent, through the orchard, through the
little grove on the right, over the rail fence, up to the road,
making straight for the first objective point, the frame
house in front. The rebels at first stood their ground,
then gave way before the impetuous charge.
The President, the merabers of his cabinet and the
ladies, as well as the railitary officers in the fort, and
the crowd of soldiers and citizens, who had gathered
about it to witness the fight, watched with breath
less interest the gallant advance as our boys pushed
forward, keeping their line of battle perfect, except
when now and then sorae regiraent having the advant
age of ground, in its eagerness got a little in advance
of others, until they saAV the rebels take to flight.
Then the crowd at the fort rent the air with exultant
cheers, and as the boys reached the house, the people
were wild with excitement, shouting and clapping their
hands, leaping and dancing with joy.
But the rebels did not yield Avithout resistance. They
met our men bravely, and though forced to seek safety in
flight, turned and poured their volleys into the ranks of
the pursuers.
Lieutenant-Colonel Johnson, commanding the Forty-
ninth, a brave man, avIio had never shrunk from danger,
and who had shared all the varied fortunes of the brigade
since its organization, fell mortally wounded. Colonel
Visscher, of the Forty-third, who had but lately succeeded
the beloved WUson, was kiUed. Major Jones, command
ing the Seventh Maine, was also among the slain ; and
Major Crosby, commanding the Sixty-first Pennsylvania,

TIIE VICTOEY. 377
who had but just recovered from the bad wound ho
received in the Wilderness, Avas taken to tho hospital,
where the surgeon removed his left arm from the shoulder.
Colonel French, of the ScA-enty-sevcnth, Avas injured, but
not seriously. The commanding officer of CA'cry regiment
in the brigade Avas cither killed or Avounded.
The fight had lasted but a fcAV minutes, Avhen the stream
of bleeding, mangled ones, began to come to the rear.
Men, leaning upon the shoulders of corarades, or borne
painfully on stretchers, the pallor of their countenances
rendered more ghastly by the thick dust Avhicli had settled
upon them, were brought into the hospitals by scores,
where the medical officers, ever active in administering
relief to their corafianions, were hard at Avork binding up
ghastly wounds, administering stimulants, coffee and food,
or resorting to the hard necessity of amputation.
At the sumrait of the ascent, the confederates Avere
strengthened by their second line of battle, and here they
made a stout resistance ; but even this position they .were
forced to abandon in haste, and as darkness closed in upon
the scene, our men Avere left as victors in possession of the
ground lately occupied by the rebels, having driven their
adversaries more than a mile.
The Vermont brigade noAv came to the relief of the boys
Avho had so gallantly won the field, and the Third brigade
returned at midnight to the bivouac it had left in the
morning. But not all returned. Many of those brave
fellows Avho went with such alacrity into the battle, had
fallen to rise no more. In the orchard, in the road, about
the frame house and upon the sumrait, Avhere the rebels had
made so determined a resistance, their forms Avere stretched
upon the green sward and in the dusty road, stiff and cold.
Many more had come to the hospital severely injured,
maimed for life or mortally wounded.
The little brigade, numbering only a thousand men

378 OUR FALLEN FRIENDS.
when it went into action, had lost two hundred and fifty
of its nuraber.
During the night the raiders made their escape toward
Rockville. The prisoners left in our hands told us that
they had anticipated an easy A-ictory in front of Washing
ton, believing that the forts were defended only by con
valescents and quartermaster's men, and, when they saw
the w-hite crosses of the old Sixth corps, they Avere seized
with consternation. They now understood that the city
was guarded by veterans who had acquired, in the rebel
army, a disagreeable reputation.
While the battle Avas in progress. President Lincoln
stood upon the parapet of the fort watching, with eager
interest, the scene before hira. Bullets came whistling
around, and one severely Avounded a surgeon who stood
within three feet of the President. Mrs. Lincoln entreated
hira to leaA-e the fort, but he refused ; he, hoAvever, accepted
the advice of General Wright to descend from the parapet
and watch the battle frora a less exposed position.
Cavalry was sent in the raorning to ascertain the direc
tion of the flight of the enemy, but the infantry remained
quietly awaiting events.
We gathered our dead comrades from the field where
they had fallen, and gaA-e them the rude burial of soldiers
on the common near Fort Stevens. None of those high
in authority, who had come out to see them give up their
lives for their country, were present to pay the last honors
to the dead heroes. No officer of state, no lady of wealth,
no citizen of Washington was there; but we laid them in
their graves within sight of the capital, without coffins,
with only their gory garments and their blankets around
them. With the rude tenderness of soldiers, we covered
thera in the earth ; we marked their names Avith our pencils
on the little head-boards of pine, and turned sadly away to
other scenes.

patriots' GRAVES. 379
B'.it though no concourse of citizens foUoAved the patriots
to their humble resting place, though no bands wailed the
solemn dirge, and no casket but the earth inclosed their
remains, their deeds were not forgotten. Their meraory
Avas enshrined in the hearts of the people ; .and after a few
weeks their reraains Avere exhuraed frora their scattered
graves, they were placed together in a little inclosure on
the sunny slope in front of the fort, and a beautiful monu
ment tells the story of their noble sacrifice.

CHAPTER XXIX.
TEE SEENANDOAE VALLEY.
The Sixth and Nineteenth corps follow the enemy— Crossing the Potomac—
Averill's fight at Snicker's Gap— Return of the Sixth corps to Washing
ton—March back to Harpfer's Ferry— Beturn to Maryland — Death of Major
EUis — General Sheridan assigned to command— Back In the Valley— Charles
town — John Mosher — March to Fisher Hill— Return to Charlestown — Fight at
Charlestown. At one o'clock the column of the Sixth corps moved
aAvay from Port Stevens, marching through the little vil
lage of TanleytoAvn, following in pursuit of the rebels.
Yle moved rapidly till ten o'clock, then halted, much
fatigued, at Potomac Cross Roads. At fiA-e o'clock, next
morning, Ave were once more on our way, and after a raarch
of tAvelve hours through a pleasant country, we made our
bivouac at Poolsville, having marched thirty-six miles
since leaving Fort Stevens. Our Sixth corps, with the
tAVO divisions of the Nineteenth corps, now constituted a
ncAV army, under command of General Wright, General
Getty having coraraand of the Sixth corps. At Poolsville
we lay all day, waiting for our sraall cavalry force to find
out the course which Early's array had taken, but on Sat
urday raorning, the 16th, we were moving at daylight.
We marched toAvard the Potomac, Avhich we forded near
the scene of Ball's Bluff slaughter. The spectacle at the
ford was novel and exciting. The stream was wide, but
not more than two or three feet deep. The bottom was
rough and stony, and the current was strong. For nearly
a mile up and doAvii the river the brigades Avere crossing ;
the stream filled Avith infantry wading with difficult steps

CROSSING TIIE RIVER. 381
over the uneven bottoin, mounted oflioers carefully guid
ing their horses lest they should stumble, trains of artillery
and Avagons sloAvly toiling through, and groups of pack
animals scarcely able to keep their footing under their
huge burdens. The laugh of hundreds sounded up and
doAvn the river, as some unfortunate footman, slipping
from a smooth stone, avouM, for a moraent, disappear
beneath the surface of the river, or as some overloaded
mule or pack horse, losing his footing, would precipitate
his load, and peradventure the small negro boy, Avho, in
order to secure a dry pass.age across the ford, had perched
himself on the top of the bags and bundles, into the rush
ing- Avaters.
The troops gathered upon the southern bank of the
river, and the infantry proceeded to empty the Avater from
their boots and shoes, and to wring it from their stockings.
This short task over, the march was resumed.
Passing through a section where some very interesting
conglomerate rocks attracted the attention of those scien
tifically inclined, Ave left the little toAvn of Leesburgh
behind, and at eight o'clock in the morning encaraped in a
ploughed field, tired and hungry, and, it must be confessed,
a little dissatisfied at the idea of sleeping on ploughed
ground while fresh meadows A\-ere on every side of us.
In this bivouac we spent the Sabbath, and services Avere
held by the chaplains in the various brigades.
Early Monday morning the march Avas resumed, our
little army passing through the delightful hill scenery
of Loudon county, and through the diminutive villages of
Hamilton and Purcellville. As the afternoon advanced,
we found ourselves toiling up the ascent of the Blue
Ridge, pleasant farm houses and fine orchards greeting
our sight on either side of the road. Darkness was upon
us before we passed through Snicker's Gap, a deep gorge
in the 'mountains, through Avhich Avinds a rough, unkept

382 AT snicker's GAP.
road; and by the moonlight Ave spread our blankets for
another night's rest.
The raorning revealed the lovely Shenandoah Valley
spread out before us, its river lying at our feet.
The troops of the " Array of Virginia," under Averill,
had engaged the enemj'' Avith doubtful success before our
arrival Indeed, the troop^n both sides seemed to have
becorae demoralized. The rebels were retreating, and
AA-erill's men had made their Avay back to the east side of
the river in such hot haste as to leav-e some of their flags
floating in the stream.
We reraained during the 19th in apparent uncertainty as
to Avhat course to pursue, whether to give chase to the
eneray, Avho it Avas now supposed had made good his retreat
up the A'alley, or to return to Washington. But an order
from General Grant, directing General Wright to get back
to Washington at once Avith the Sixth corps, that the
troops might be at once returned to the Army of the Poto
mac before Early could reinforce Lee, determined our
coiu-se, and at night Ave were again passing through
Snicker's Gap, the infantry and teams croAvded together in
the narroAV defile to the great inconvenience of the foot
men and annoyance of the artillerymen and teamsters.
Marching rapidly all night and the next day, halting
only a short time for coffee in the morning and at noon,
Ave retraced our steps to Leesburgh, then following the
turnpike we reached and passed Drainsville, and halted
near Difficult creek. July 23d, the corps marched through
LeAvinsville and Langley, passed Camp Griffin, the meraory
of Avhich was indissolubly connected Avitli our first Avinter
in the service, crossed Chain bridge and went in camp near
TanleytOAvn, five miles out from Washington.
Transports Avere waiting on the Potomac to conA''ey us
to City Point, but as raatters in the A'alley still seemed
unsettled, the corps reraained at TanleytOAvn, and on the

STRAGGLING. 383
25th, it became certain that Early with his army Avas again
moving doAvn the vaUey, threatening Maryland and Penn
sylvania. The Sixth corps received orders to move at
once tOAvard Harper's Ferry, but by some delay it w-as
noon of the 26th when it turned back from TanleytoAvn
tOAvard the scene of our future brilliant operations.
The day on AA'hich the corps moved had been hot, and
many of the men, weary Avith long raarches, had been
forced to fall out, but, most of all, bad Avhisky from
Washington had demoralized great numbers, and these,
Avith the sick and Aveary, made up a great crowd of
stragglers. The task, which was assigned to the rear
guard, the Seventy-seventh Ncav York, of urging these
inebriated and discouraged ones toward their commands,
was not an easy or agreeable one. The corps made all
haste in the direction of Frederick, which city it reached
on the 28th, crossing the field of General Wallace's battle
with Early.
Without halting at Frederick, except to get our coffee
near Monocacy creek, Ave pushed on to Jefferson, getting
into camp at midnight. The next day Ave raarched through
Knoxville, NeAvton and Sandy Hook, through that Avonder
ful gorge in the mountains at Harper's Ferry, and arrived
at evening footsore and Aveary at HalltOAvn, four miles
south of Harper's Ferry. Then, next day we Avere ordered
back again. The whole command poured into the deep
valley at Harper's Ferry, the day was sultry even for that
locality, not a breath of air seemed to be stirring, and the
high mountains on every side reflected the heat and kept
off the breeze. Into this hot, dusty inclosure among the
hills, the Avhole army poured, and as there was only a
single pontoon bridge to serve as an outlet, there was of
course great delay. Horses stood harnessed to the cannon
or under the saddle, the SAveat literally pouring off their
sides like rain, AA'hile men panted for breath and seemed

384 "played out."
alraost on the point of suflbcation. It Avas late in the
night when our corps Avas all over the bridge, and the march
was continued without rest during the whole night and all
next day till we arrlA-ed again near Frederick City, where
we had a night and a day of rest. We noAV learned that
the cause of our sudden countermarch Avas the raid of
Early's cavalry, Avho had burned the city of Charabers
burgh, and caused much destruction of property elscAvhere.
By this time the Sixth corps was, in .army parlance,
" about jilayed out." Even our famous marches on the
Gettysburgh campaign Avere eclipsed by this perpetual
series of forced marches for nearly a month. The men
Avere very much worn from their campaigns before leaving
Petersburgh, but now we had had a month of traveling,
night and day.
Hardly Avere the troops settled in camp for a night of
rest, before the bugle called them to go again. Noav
when we marched, horses would droji down by dozens
along the road, unable to rise again. Their riders would
strip them of their saddles, and leave the worn out steeds
to their fate. If, by chance, one of these deserted horses,
after a fcAV hours of rest, could muster strength to rise to
his feet, he Avas doomed to be seized by some drummer
boy, or other wight of the " buraraer" tribe, mounted and
rode till his strength again failed. Then the dismounted
bummer Avould coolly remove his hempen bridle, shoulder
his drum, and seek for another steed. For two or three
days past the Aveather had been excessively hot, and men
could be seen lying all along the roadside, as Ave marched,
suffering from sunstroke.
Wednesday, August 3d, the Sixth corps marched to
Buckeystown, a little village on the Monocacy, about flve
miles south of Frederick.
The different brigades of the corps were scattered about
on the hillsides whioh bounded the pleasant valley of the

DEATIl OP ELLIS. 385
Monocacy, where pure fresh air Avas in abundance, and
the men gladly availed themselves of the privilege of
bathing in the delightfully clear Avaters of the river. For
a distance of nearly tAVO miles the river Avas filled with
bathers at all hours, except iii the hottest part of the day
and in the night, and even then some might be seen-enjoy-
ing the luxury of the b.ath.
At Buckeystown Ave remained tAvo days, in the enjoy
ment of a pleasant bivouac ; yet, as though no place was
free from evil, an event occurred here affiictive to our
brigade and to the corps.
Among the most energetic and brave officers of our
Third brigade, was Major Ellis, of the Forty-ninth New
York. He had been wounded at Spottsylvania while lead
ing a charge against the enemy at the terrible "angle."
A ramrod had passed through his left arm, and bruised the
chest near the heart. He was taken to Fredericksburgh,
from whence he went to Washington, and thence horae.
Returning to his coraraand before he had fully recovered,
he was advised by medical officers not to attempt any severe
duty. But being detailed to the staff of General Russell,
commanding the First division, he at once resumed active
mUitary duties. On these recent marches, the major, weary
of inaction, had taken command of a body of men who
acted as additional provost-guard to the division.
In this position he had exhibited his usual energy,
though it was thought by some he executed his duties
Avith too great severity. Ever since receiving his wound,
he had complained of severe neuralgic pains in the region
of the heart. Except that this pain Avas slightly more
acute than usu.al, the raajor retired to his tent on the night
of the 3d, in his accustoraed health.
In the morning he sent his servant frora the tent for a
moment, and Avhen the man returned the major was dead.
An autopsy was made by the writer of these pages, in the
49

386 THE FUNERAL.
presence of about twenty of his professional brethren. A
sharp splinter of bone from one of the ribs Avas found with
its acute point piercing vital oi-gans.
The funeral display was the most imposing ever wit
nessed in any corps of the Army of the Potomac. We
had seen military pageants on a large scale, but nothing
to compare with this in its solemn sublimity.
The remains were laid in state in a large tent near
General Russell's head-quarters, Avrapped in a silken fiag,
and the tent itself was draped with the Stars and Stripes.
Presently the major's regiment, the Forty-ninth New
York, carae as raourners, unarraed, and formed in tAvo
ranks facing each other near the tent. Then the chaplain
of the Forty-ninth, led in a short religious service, very
appropriate and A'cry impressive, while the Avhole of the
First division Avas being formed in tAVO parallel lines
facing each other, and about eighty paces apart. The
service over, a regiment of heavy artillery came to act as
escort. The remains, inclosed in a rude coffin, wrapped
in the fiag under which he had so often fought, were
placed in an ambulance, and the funeral cortege began its
slow march through the long lines of sunbrowned veterans
Avho stood on either side. First in the procession was the
escort, the muskets of the men reversed, preceded by a
band playing a solemn dirge. Then the ambulance with
the remains, the major's hat, coat and SAvord lying upon the
coffin ; then his riderless horse, saddled and bridled, and
led by a servant; then the regiment as mourners;
and finally General Russell and the staff of the First
division Avith the division flag, and the staffs of the three
brigades ofthe division, and our Third brigade. Second divi
sion, each Avith its flag, with a large concourse of officers,
personal friends of him whose remains were thus honored.
As the cortege proceeded with slow steps between the
lines of soldiers, they stood with arms presented, and

SHERIDAN IN COMMAND. 387
the colors of the regiments drooped as the procession
passed. Thus attended the remains Avere conveyed to the
railroad station, three miles distant, Avhere they were
placed on board a train for Washington.
Lieutenant-General Grant visited our army on the 5th
of August, and, in consultation Avitli General Hunter,
deterrained upon a course for our future operations. So
quietly was this visit of the Coraraander-in-Chief of the
armies made, that very foAV in our little army know of
the presence of General Grant.
Among other things determined upon at this time Avas
a change of commanders. General Hunter, Avho had
commanded the " Array of the Shenandoah," with credit
to hiraself and honor to our arras, was to be relieved, and
General Philip S. Sheridan, Avho had, since the commence
ment of the spring campaign, commanded the cavalry
corps of the Army of the Potomac, Avas to take coraraand
of all the forces operating against Early. The depart
ment of West Virginia, Washington, Susquehanna and
the Middle Department, were to constitute the "Middle
MUitary Division," to be under the command of General
Sheridan. To this middle military division the Sixth
corps was temporarily assigned. This was a ncAV era in
the history of that corps. Hitherto it had been, from the
beginning, connected Avith the noble Army of the Potomac.
Its history and its fame were inseparably connected with
the history of that army, and Avhen the corps had come to the
rescue of the capital, it came as a detachment of the Army
of the Potoraac. Noav, for the first time, the corps was to
be identified with another army. But great as was the
fame and honor AA'hich the corps had, by noble deeds, won
for itself, it was now, by heroic achievements in the new
field, to croAvn itself with glories even more dazzling than
those in its proudest days in the old army.
We were ordered, on the evening of the 5th, to march

388 SHERLDAN IN COMMAND.
immediately. The troops of the Sixth corps proceeded at
once to Monocacy Junction, where they took cars for
Harper's Ferry. The quartermasters, and hospital train.s
followed rapidly by the wagon roads.
Troops and trains reached the heights beyond Harper's
Ferry at night, and on the following morning the line of
battle was established at Halltown.
General Sheridan now assumed command. We knew
little of hira except that he had very successfully com
manded the cavalry of the Army of the Potomac for the
last three months, but we were satisfied that General Grant
trusted to his generalship, and we had already learned
enough of General Grant's knowledge of human nature to
place confidence in the general of his choice.
One thing pleased us at the start. Our new general
was visible to the soldiers of his command; wherever we
went he was with the column, inhaling the dust, leaving
the road for the teams, ncA'er a day or tAvo days behind the
rest of the army, but always riding by the side of the men.
His Avatchful care of the details of the march, his interest
in the progress of the trains, and the ready faculty with
which he brought order out of confusion when the roads
became blockaded, reminded us of our lamented Sedgwick.
Another feature of the new adrainistration pleased us.
When the head-quarter tents of the commander of the
Middle Military Division were pitched, there was one
wall tent, one wedge tent and two flies. This modest
array of shelter for the general and his staff was in happy
contrast with the good old times in the Army of the
Potomac, when more than eighty six-mule teams were
required to haul the baggage for head-quarters of the army.
At Halltown we remained for a few days, gaining what
we so much needed, rest. The air was delightfully cool
and refreshing, and it seemed as though each particular
breath was laden with health and strength.

SHERIDANS ARMA-. 389
We were rejoiced to see some of our Army of the
Potomac cavalry joining us, and our army began to assurae
dimensions Avhich filled us Avitli confidence. We had now
the Sixth corps. General Wright, tAvo divisions of the
Nineteenth corps under General Emory, and Hunter's
"Army of Virginia," usually called the Eighth corps,
uiider command of Gener.al Crook. Our cavalry con
sisted of Averill's force Avhich had been in the valley,
and Ave were now receiving tAVO divisions from the Army
of the Potomac, one in command of General Torbert, the
other of General Wilson. The cavalry force was soon
afterward organized, with General Torbert in coraraand
of the Avhole force, aud Generals Custer, Averill and Mer
ritt, each in coraraand of a diA'ision.
On the tenth of the month we commenced our march up
the Shenandoah Valley. No sooner had the sun made its
appearance above the Blue Ridge than we found the clay
to be most intensely hot. Soldiers were falling along the
roadside in great numbers overcorae AA'ith the heat, and
Avhat added to the hardships of the day's journey was the
want of AA'ater. The turnpike along which we marched
was parallel with a fine stream of water on either side,
but the water was so far distant as to be useless to the
soldiers. Yet there were a few springs and wells at some
distance from the road Avhich supplied those Avho could
leave the column.
We passed through Charlestown, the scene of the trial
and execution of John Brown. There was the court
house to which he was brought on his couch to receive his
trial for treason, and there the jail in which he spent
his last days, and frora which he was led to execution.
How had all things changed! The people Avho stood
about the gallows of John Brown, and gnashed their
teeth in their bitter hatred, were now themselves guilty
of treason. The court house was in ruins, and the jaU

390 CHAELESTOAA-N.
was but a shell of tottering Avails. The town also had
suffered fearful ravages frora war, and now a Union army
was marching through its streets, every band and every
drum corps playing the stirring but to southern ears hate
ful air, " John Brown's body lies mouldering in the grave,"
and we may anticipate our narrative to say that Avhenever
our army or any part of it had occasion to pass through
this town, the bands always struck up this air, as if to
taunt the inhabitants with the memory of their victim,
and played it from one limit of the town to the other.
So John Brown was revenged !
The Shenandoah Valley has been often called the
" Garden of Virginia," and truly it is a lovely A-alley, yet
as we marched along we could see but little cultivation.
The groves of oak were delightful. Teams with wagons
raight be driven anywhere araong thera. But the fields
were mostly desolate. Here and there a field of corn pro
mised a medium crop if left to ripen untrodden by our
army, but there was no luxuriance of vegetation. The
mountains, the Blue Ridge on one side and the North
mountains on the other, rose abruptly from the valley in
parallel lines, and looked as though a race of Titans had
been at war, and had thrown up these long ridges as
breastworks for opposing forces.
A little beyond Charlestown was a lovely meadow,
lying between two groves of oak. At the further end of
the meadow was a neat white cottage, where there seemed
more corafort than we had seen elsewhere in the valley.
The place was away from the direct line of march, and
partly concealed by the groves.
Those who left the column were furnished by the family
with pure sweet water from a well, which the family
asserted was sunk by order of General Braddock. Such
places were so rare that our men and animals suffered
from thirst. Few who were on that march will forget a

A SPRING BY THE WAYSIDE. 391
spring Avhich we passed near the close of that day's march.
A large white frame house stood upon an elevation, sur
rounded by trees, and at foot of the elevation, a large
spring, under the shade of a huge wiUoAV, and surrounded
by other trees. The Avater gushed out from a fissure in the
rock, clear as crystal, and in such volurae that a large
brook was forraed at once. Over the spring was the usual
" spring house." Soldiers filled this buUding, covered the
great rocks, crowded the grove, and for raany yards around
a dense mass of men pressed to get near the tempting
fountain, aU eager to fill their cups and canteens, and has
ten on Avith the coluran. No one can know Avith what
delight the soldiers quaffed the sparkling fluid frora their
sooty coffee pots, who has not suffered the torture of
extreme thirst.
We halted near Clifton, and resumed our march on the
following morning, to suffer, if possible, more frora heat
and thirst than ever. At night we bivouacked near
Opequan creek. We threw ourselves upon the grassy
sward, Avith the beautiful canopy of heaven with its raot-
tled clouds and twinkling stars .and flying raeteors, for our
tent. For raany of us, this Avas the only tent Ave had slept
under since leaving Petersburgh, and Ave Avere satisfied
with it. The air was purer and the breeze fresher than
when we were inclosed by canvas.
Again, on the morning of the 12th, we Avere marching.
We passed through the villages of Newtown and Middle-
town, and halted at night on the banks of Cedar creek.
We were startled in the morning by the announceraent
of the death of a good soldier. John Mosher had
marched with the column the day before, but owing
to the overpowering heat was obliged to fall a lit
tle behind. Toward evening, finding himself too much
exhausted to walk further, he applied for and obtained
permission to ride in an ambulance of the First di\dsion.

392 JOHN MOSHER.
During the night he was found to be dying. The kind
hearted surgeon in charge of the hospital of the First
division. Dr. Crehore, and one of his assistants, spent some
hours with hira, using every means to restore him, but
without avail. He died before morning. A letter in his
pocket told his name and regiraent. We raade a grave
near Cedar creek, and a few of his comrades stood around
it AvhUe he Avas lowered to his bed of earth, Avrapped in
his blanket. The chaplain offered a brief prayer ; his fel
lows in arms fired a parting salute, and we left him to
sleep in the valley where, a few weeks later, sorae of his
companions were to rest by his side.
On the 13th all the troops Avere across on the south side
of Cedar creek. The pickets of our Second division occu
pied one end of the village of Strasburgh, while those of
the enemy held the other. We were sure that we must
fight here, and we were not unwilling. Our cavalry was
scouting on the flanks, skirmishing with rebel cavalry and
searching for a way to outflank Early's army. The rebels
held a position of great strength, and to raake a direct
assault Avould be to run a great risk of a repulse. The
walls of the valley, the Blue Ridge and the North Moun
tains, carae close together here, and, to render the position
stronger, Fisher Hill, a commanding eminence, a prorai
nent object in the landscape, to be seen from one end of
the valley to the other, rose directly in our front and
obstructed our passage. Upon the declivities of this hill
the enemy had planted batteries so as to command our
approach from any direction.
We remained gazing at this strong position till night
fall, and then recrossed the riA'er, and made our position
strong for defense. General Sheridan had been instructed
by General Grant not to bring on a general engagement
unless it was forced upon him. General Grant regarded
our army rather as one of defense than for offensive opera-

mosby's raid. 393
tions. Should wc suffer defeat, the capital and the rich
fields of Pennsylvania and ^Maryland Avould again be open
to the rebels. So A\-e Avere to Avatch their movements and
hold them in check, but avc Avere not to risk a battle Avith
them. MeanAA'hile, the ubiquitous Mosby was at AVork in our
rear, at BerryvUle, Avith a band of guerrillas. He had
made a bold dash upon a long train, belonging principally
to the cavalry, and guarded by alraost a brigade of hund
red days' men ; had dispersed the inexperienced guard,
which was scattered along the road for miles ; had cap
tured the mules, and burned the Avagons and supplies.
Seveuty-five wagons had fallen a prey to the adventurous
bandit, Avhile the hundred days' men had raade good their
escape. Old raen, woraen and children, joined in the Avork
of destruction, setting fire to the Avagous, and carrying ofl"
AvhatCA'er articles they could easily reraove frora them.
Prisoners Avhom they captured Avere raurdered, either by
Mosby's band, or by the more merciless citizens, and left
unburied. This raid upon our communications led General Sheridan
to fear a more general advance of the rebels beyond the
mountains, with a A'iew of coraing Avith force upon our rear.
So, on the evening of Tuesday, the 16th, the array
marched northAvard doAvn the valley again. All night
and all the next day the Aveary raarch was kept up. We
went through Winchester, Avhere the rebel women came
out by hundreds to rejoice at our retreat, and halted on
the banks of the Opequan for the night. Then, Avhen the
morning came, we Avere off again, .and, after a severe
march, forraed in line of battle a raile south of Charles
town. The Jersey brigade, under Colonel Penrose, was left as
rear-guard .and support to the cavalry -on the retreat.
At Winchester the brigade, flanked by cavalry, made a
50

394 FIGHT AT CHAELESTOWN.
Stand. The enemy came doAvn upon the brigade in large
force, handled it roughly, and sent the Jersey boys
through the toAvn in confusion. Their resistance had been
all that could have been asked ; but the brigade, staunch as
it was, was not enough for the force that came against it.
Our Sixth corps guarded the turnpike leading from
Harper's Ferry to Winchester. On the left of the pike,
facing southward, was our Second division, and on the
right our First division.
The Eighth corps held the center of the line, and the
Nineteenth corps the left, its flank resting on BerryvUle.
On Sunday morning, the 21st of August, our cavalry
was driven back upon the infantry, and we suddenly dis
covered the enemy coraing down upon the Sixth corps in
three heaA-y columns. With scarcely any Avarning we
found shells pitching into our camp among the standing
tents, and bullets whistling among the trees that afforded
ns shelter frora the sun.
The corps was quickly in line, the tents struck and every
thing in fighting trim. Our boys received the onset ofthe
rebels Avith cool bravery, giving them back volley for
A'oUey. The fight Avas kept up for several hours, the
Eighth corps being but slightly engaged, and the Nine
teenth corps not at all. Our Second division. Sixth corps,
receiving the weight of the attack. Our men threw up
breastworks along the front, and at length the Verraont
brigade was ordered to charge upon the enemy. The
charge was executed with the usual brilliancy and fighting
joy of that brigade and the confederates Avere glad to
leave us in undisputed possession of the ground.

CHAPTER XXX.
BATTLE OF WINCEESTER.
Encampment at BerryvUle — Leaving camp — The advance- Taking position —
Advance and retreat— Death of BusscU— "I know they'll run " — Reminis
cences —At the hospitals — X regiment going home — " AVhy don't he come."
The rebels Avere repulsed ; but as our position at Charles
town was one that might easily be flanked, our army fell
back during the night to the strong position at HalltoAvn,
where defensive AVorks were throAvn up, and again Ave
aAvaited the adA-ance of the enemy ; but except sorae
skirmishing on the left of the line, no attack Avas ventured
by Early; and after tAVO or three days he withdrcAV to
the vicinity of Winchester, and established his line along
the west bank of Opequan creek, so as to cover the three
roads leading from Martinsburgh, from Harper's Ferry
and from BerryvUle to Winchester. We foUoAved and
established our Une on the east side of the creek, and some
iniles from it, at BerryvUle
Our encampraent at BerryvUle was one of the raost
delightful of our resting places, even in the Shenandoah
VaUey. We passed the days pleasantly, strolling or riding
among the groves of black Avalnut, visiting araong the vari
ous regiraents, amusing ourselves with chess and books.
Nothing occurred to interrupt these pleasant pastimes and
the monotony of picket duty until the 13th of September,
when the Second division was directed to make a recon
noissance to the Opequan. We marched to the creek very
early in the morning, found the eneray in force, lost a fcAV
men by the shells from the rebel batteries, and returned to
camp.

396 LEAVING C.«1P.
On the loth our army w.as visited by Lieutenant-General
Grant. The story of his visit we give in his own AVords :
"I left City Point on the 15th to visit him (General
Sheridan), at his head-quarters, to decide, after conference
with him, what should be done. I met him at Charles
town, and he jiointed out so distinctly how each army Lay ;
Avhat he could do the moment he was authorized, and
expressed such confidence of success, that I saw there
were but two words of instruction necessary ¦ — Go in !
* * * I may here add that the result Avas such that I
have never since deemed it necessary to visit General
Sheridan before giving- him orders."
Thus the tAvo armies lay face to face, Avitli the stream
and a narroAV strip of country betAveen them, either able
to bring on an engageraent at any time The quiet was
broken on the morning of the 19th, Avhen we advanced to
win the first of that series of brilliant A'ictories which
startled Europe aud America ; which gave to our little
army an enA-iable renown araong the arraies of the Union,
and established the reputation of our chief as one of the
foremost generals of the age.
Early had taken the initiatiA-e. On Sund.ay the 18th, he
had sent General Gordon's diA-ision toAvard Martinsburgh,
Avith orders to drive out the Union forces, and destroy
the government property. Gordon was met by Averill's
caA-alry and driven back to DrakesA'ille. Sheridan, dis
covering the mistake made by Early in separating his
forces, was quick to avail himself of the advantage of
his eneray's blunder. Orders Avere issued to move at once,
but, for some reason, scA'eral hours elapsed before the army
Avas ready.
We left our pleasant camps at BerryA'ille, at two o'clock
Monday morning, the Sixth corps in advance, moving in
two columns, one on either side of the road, the ammuni
tion wagons, artillery and ambulances taking the pike.

THE ADA'ANCE. 3 9 '7
The Third brigade. Second division, led the infimtry. Tho
Nineteenth corps followed the Sixth, marching in similar
order, its infantry hi the fields and its artUlery and Avagons
on the pike, while Crook's KanaAvha corps mo\-cd further
to the south, with orders to connect Avith the Sixth corps
at Opequan creek. Two divisions of cavalry, under Merritt
and Aa-ci-UI, Avere directed to .amuse the enemy near
Bunker's HUl, and draAV the .attention of the rebel gene
rals in that direction as rauch as possible. It Avas the
design of General Sheridan thus to amuse the enemy on
the left AA'hile he should march his army up the BerryvUle
and Winchester pike, strike the right flank of Early's
army, and by a sudden and unexpected attack, to get in
the rear and cut ofi" the retreat of the rebel forces. By
one of those inexplicable mistakes, Avhich soraetiraes upset
the plans of our generals, this design Avas not fully real
ized, and had General Sheridan been less determined and
less dashing, he might have abandoned the idea of attack
ing Early at all.
At flA-e o'clock Wilson's caA-alry had crossed the creek
before us, haA'ing dispersed the pickets of the eneray,
driving them back to their line of field Avorks, and then,
by a dashing- charge, had leaped their horses OA'er the
breastAA-orks of the first line of defenses, and routed
the rebels, capturing about fifty of their nuraber.
Immediately after this gallant exploit of the cavalry, the
Sixth corps crossed the creek and adA-anced on the turnpike
about a mile, where the enemy was found in force. As we
moved along, through the deep ravine, foUoAving the pike,
we were Avarned of the active work Ave might expect in
front, as we saw ca\-alrymen coming to the rear, some
leading their AVOunded horses, others with their heads
bound in bloody handkerchiefs, some with arms hanging
in slings, others borne on litters. Here by the roadside
might be seen the prostrate, lifeless form of some soldier

398 TAKING POSITION.
of the Union ; there, Avhere a silvery brook babbled along
across the pike, on its grassy banks, and beneath the
shadow of a large tree, was gathered a little group of
boys in blue, performing the last acts of kindness to a
comrade in Avliom the vital spark was almost extinguished,
and a surgeon bending over the dying soldier striving to
render less painful the fcAV lingering raoraents of life.
We raoved up a steep ascent and formed in line of battle
in a cornfield ; the Third brigade on the left, the First in
the center, and the Vermonters on the right ; then on the
left of the Second division the Third division got into posi
tion, and the First division came up in the rear as reserve.
Our artillery was brought into position and a vigorous
shelling commenced on both sides.
The Sixth coi-jjs Avas noAV ready for a charge upon the
enemy, but it Avas discovered that, by some misconception
of orders, the Nineteenth corps, Avhich should have been on
the ground, Avas left far behind. Orders w-ere dispatched
to hasten it to the field of action, but two hours, precious
hours to that army, elapsed before it Avas in position.
Those two hours of delay enabled Early to strengthen
his right ; to throAV up strong earthworks, and bring Gor
don's division on the run, to his assistance. We had been
fortunate only in seizing the position on the Avest side of
the stream, or the battle would, from this delay, have been
AVorse for us.
Merritt and Averill, by skillfully maneuvering their
troops in front of Bunker's Hill, had enabled us to seize
this advantage.
The Nineteenth corps was formed on the right of the
Sixth, in four lines of battle ; Wilson's cavalry was on our
left. It was eleven o'clock when the advance was sounded.
In our front Avere undulating fields, traversed by deep
ravines, almost stripped of tiraber, except Avhere the rebels
had formed their line of battle in a belt of woods that

ADVANCE AND RETREAT. 399
skirted the turnpike. It Avas an iraposing spectacle to
Avatch that line of battle, stretching three miles across the
fields, as it moved tOAvard the rebel lines, the raen as com
posed as though on parade, the line straight .and compact,
the various division, brigade and regimental flags floating
gaily in the sunlight. AAvay in our front we could see
Winchester; its gleaming spires and shining roofs, bright
Avith the warm gloAV of mid-day, and we proudly felt that
before night it Avould be ours. Onward, through the corn
fields and over the grassy knolls, uoav descending into a
ravine and noAV rising upon the open plain, Avhere the
rebel artillery swept Avitli terrible effect, the long line
pressed forward, regardless of the destructive fire that
constantly thinned our ranks. At every step forward,
men were dropping, dropping ; some dead, some mortally
hurt, and some Avith slight wounds. Now on this side,
now on that they fell ; still the line SAvept forward, leaving
the ground behind it covered Avith the victims.
Thus we pushed onward, the rebels falling back, desper
ately disputing every step, Avhen a raurderous fire, from
batteries which the eneray had skillfully placed, suddenly
swept our right Avith fearful slaughter.
Thus far all had gone well. Noav our hearts were sick
as Ave looked far to the right and saAv the Nineteenth
corps and our Third division falling back, back, back, the
grape and canister of the hostile cannon crashing through
the now disordered ranks, and the exulting rebels follow
ing with Avild yells of victory.
The retreat of the troops on the right of the Second
division left its flank, held by the Verraonters, exposed,
and they, too, were forced to faU behind the Third brigade,
which still held its ground, the flre in its front being at
the moment less severe. Our batteries were rushed for
ward, and the gallant First division, the noble Russell at
its head, came bravely up to the rescue.

400 DEATH OP RUSSELL.
As the noble soldier brought his division into position a
cannon ball SAvept him from his horse — dead. A great
spirit had fallen, and in a moment we Avere made an army
of mourners. " I have lost my captain," said Sheridan, as
the work of the day closed.
We all remembered the modest, alraost bashful, demeanor
of the fallen general among his friends, and his glorious
heroism in the presence of his enemies, and raany tears
raoistened the brown cheeks of rough soldiers as they
thought of the loss of one of our best beloA'ed leaders.
But, notwithstanding the loss of their hero, the braA'e
division pushed straight on. Nothing could withstand
thera; and now, joined by the other troops of the corps,
the boys Avith the red crosses press on, and as the peals of
musketry and artillery roll through those valleys, it tells
of victory for the Union. The lost ground is regained,
and now the fire in front of the Sixth corps slackens.
We rested, throwing ourselves on the ground, waiting
for orders. Some of the men, fatigued from the early
march and scA'cre morning's work, slepit ; Avhile others
regaled theraselves from their well filled haversacks ; and
many gathered in groujis to talk over the doings of the
morning, and to speak of those who had been stretched
upon the sod, who had fallen Avith their faces to the foe.
We were AA'aiting for Crook's corps. It had halted on
the eastern bank of the riA-er as reserve for the army.
Now it was brought forward at quick pace and placed, a
part on the right of the Nineteenth corps, Avhere the rebels
could be seen massing troops on their left, with a v-icAV of
turning our right flank, the other part in rear of the Nine
teenth corps. Averill and Merritt, too, Avere with the
army, and our Avhole force Avas together. It Avas nearly
three o'clock when Crook's forces were brought into posi
tion. His right was in a thick forest, and against him
were heaA-y columns of rebels.

"l KNOAV they'll run."

401

At length Ave, of the Sixth corps, heard rapid firing away
on the right of the forest. .\11 Avas attention. Every man
stood to his arras ready to advance Sheridan carae to our
part of the line. His face all agloAV Avith excitement, the
perspiration rolling doAvn his forehead, his famous black
steed spotted AA-ith white foam, a single orderly at his back.
He rode straight to General Getty, exclaiming, "General,
I have put Torbert on the right, and told him to give 'era
h— 1, and he is doing it. Crook, too, is on the right and
giving it to thera. Press thera. General, they'll run!"
and then, using one of those phrases soraetimes employed in
the army to give additional force to language, he shouted
again, " Fress ihein, General, I know they'll run!''' And
then the shout that went up from the men drowned all the
other noise of the battle
We di'd press them, and they did run. Over the long
stretch of open plain, doAvn into the deep hoUoAV, up again
and over the rolling ground, past the white farm house,
on we went.' The rebels would run, then reaching a cora
manding position, they Avould turn their artillery upon us
and SAveep our line Avith iron hail. On our left Avas Wil
son, with the cav-alry charging through the growing corn,
the sabres gleaming in the sunlight, the iron scabbards
clanging against iron spurs, the horses dashing madly
forward in seeming disorder, but all rushing, like an ava
lanche, against the right wing of the enemy. Now the
retreat became a rout. The cheers of the Union boys rose
strong and clear above the roar of artillery and the harsh
rattle of musketry, and Early's scattered and demoralized
divisions were rushing through Winchester in consterna
tion and unutterable confusion. Frightened teamsters were
lashing their animals through the streets in greatest alarm ;
riderless horses were galloping here and there, and pack
mules were on a general stampede. Some streets became
entu-ely blocked up by the disordered mass, and even foot-
51

402 REMINISCENCES.
men could not press through ; a squad of cavalry coming
to one of these obstructions leaped from their horses and
made their escape on foot. Our cavalry, taking advantage
of the confusion, rushed among the panic stricken fugitives
and gathered hundreds of them ; captured fifteen battle-
flags and five guns.
The remnants of the rebel army collected some miles
beyond the town, and reformed; but after a short rest
made haste to get farther up the valley. As we advanced
we found the mountains full of fugitives, and in the town
were thousands of their wounded.
The infantry halted upon the high grounds at the
borders of the town, leaA'ing the cavalry to follow up
the pursuit of the flying foe ; and as Generals Sheridan,
Wright, Emory and Crook rode along our front, we made
the welkin ring with lusty cheers. Glorious leaders of a
victorious army !
At our feet Avas Winchester, the scene of Washington's
early military experience. Here he was stationed during
the French Avar, and shared in the perilous sentinelship
of the frontier. For then the valley was ravaged by
French and Indians, and fearful massacres Avere of fre
quent occurrence ; and when Washington demanded of
Governor Dinwiddie reinforcements, and Avas refused, he
offered to resign ; and when the governor could not allow
him to resign he sent him men.
Here, on the ground occupied by the Seventy-seventh
Ncav York regiraent, near the ruins of .an old church, was '
the grave of General Daniel Morgan, the hero of Quebec
and Saratoga, the friend of Washington. A plain marble
tablet, broken across, now covered the grave, with a simple ¦''
inscription, his name and the date of his death, 1802. '
In the cemetery, still north, we saw, as we passed, the i
resting place of Thomas, Earl of Fairfax ; a great tory in -i'
his day, and the OAvner of immense tracts of land in this '1
-'IS

AT THE HOSPITALS. 403
part of Virginia, and from whom Fairfax county took its
name. The sun had sunk to his golden rest behind the wall
of hills on our left when Ave arrived at the outskirts ol
Winchester ; and, as darkness set in, the infantry of oui
victorious army stretched themselves upon the ground to
sleep. It had been a hard day's work, and the men were
faint. It required no unusual inducements to avoo the angel
of sleep.
If the day had been an active one on the field, it had been
no less so in the hospitals. First, early in the morning, came
ambulance loads of men with white crosses ; they Avere from
the Third brigade. Second division, all from the Seventy-
seventh New York. Then came others from the Forty-ninth
New York, from the Seventh Maine, and from the One
Hundred and TAventy-second and Forty-third New York.
Then carae men from the Vermont brigade, and frora our
First brigade, and soon the hospitals of the Third division
began to be filled. Then, last of all, came the men of the
red crosses, bleeding and mangled. Surgeons Avorked all
day and all night. There was no rest as long as a wounded.
man was uncared for. Yet, Avhen morning came, and the
medical officers were ordered forward with the army, there
was much to do, and faithful men were left to finish the
needful task. Next morning Winchester Avas full of rebel
wounded and rebel prisoners. Five thousand men in gray
were under guard in the court house yard and other public
places, and Colonel EdAvards' brigade of the First division
was left to take care of the prisoners and the town. Many
brave men had fallen. Russell was gone ; the gallant Upton
was wounded ; Colonel Elright, of the Third division, Avas
dead, and many, many brave boys were lying with their
blackened faces to the sun, a slip of paper or a letter
envelope pinned to the breast of each to tell the buriers
his name and regiment.

404

A REGIAIENT GOING HOME.

The terra of service of one of our regiments, the Fourth
Vermont, had expired, and on the day after the battle the
small remnant of the regiment, a corapany of .about forty
men, under command of Colonel Foster, started for Har
per's Ferry, on their return home. They had suffered
heavily, and they left many of their brave corarades dead
upon the battle-field, or suffering in the hospitals. How
had those noble boys, Avhose lives had, at the very expira
tion of their three years of toil, danger and privations, been
given for their country, rejoiced at the prospect of a speedy
reunion with the loved ones at home. How had they
Avritten, even the day before the battle, " we are going
home ! " and then how had the loving ones, aAvay among
the beautiful green hills of Vermont, exulted at the thought
that now, after three long years of susj)ense and anxiety,
the danger and toil were over. And we can picture to
our thoughts the mother who watches with eager interest
the smoking train as it dashes along at the base of the old

" AVIIY don't HE COME ? "

"why don't he come?" 405
liUls, Avondering if her patriot son'Avill not come to-day;
but instead, a letter comes Avith the heavy ncAVS, a great
battle has been fought and her son lies in the Valley ; or,
on the banks of tho sunny Champlain, some young sister
or lover gazes from the window of the cottage among the
trees, at the steamer as it glides OA-er the surface of the beau
tiful lake and touches at the Avharf near by. But her soldier
boy is not on board, and she w.atches in A-ain to see his
famUiar form coming toward the cottage. She sadly leans
her head upon her hand and sighs, " Why don't he corae ? "

CHAPTER XXXL
FISEER EILL.
March up the valley— Strasburgh— The army confronting Fisher Hill— The
flank movement — PUght of Early — The pursuit— GuerrUla warfare— Southern
relhgees— Starting for Washington — Eeturn to Cedar creek.
We started very early in the morning in pursuit of
Early's defeated army, Avhich it was supposed would halt
at the strong position at Strasburgh. On the battle-field
which we left, the lifeless bodies of many of our men
were awaiting the office of the burial parties. They lay,
not in thick clusters, but here and there over a great
extent of ground, showing that they had fallen while the
lines were in motion ; but in places, six or eight mangled
bodies Avould lie in close proximity, showing the fatal
effects of some well directed shell.
In Winchester were nearly five thousand prisoners, and
raore were constantly coming in, and hundreds of rebel
wounded were being cared for by sympathizing friends
and confederate surgeons.
We reached the vicinity of Strasburgh, the Sixth
corps in advance, at three o'clock on the 20th, a-nd, as we
expected, found the rebels awaiting us in a position, which
the citizens of the valley assured us could be held by
Early's army against one hundred thousand men. The
position was indeed a formidable one, but nothing daunted
our spirited leader set about devising a way of taking it.
At Strasburgh the two chains of mountains, the Blue
Ridge and the Alleghanies, approach each other, making
the valley quite narrow. As if to interpose an impassable

THB AEMY BEFORE FISHER HILL. 407
barrier to the advance of an array, a mountain, Fisher
Hill, stretches across from the Blue Ridge to the branch
of the Alleghanies called the North Mountains. At the
foot of this mountain, on the north, is the vUlage of
Strasburgh, and stUl north of Strasburgh Cedar creek
runs almost directly across the valley. We took posses
sion of the northern part of the village of Strasburgh,
the Union pickets occupying one part of the town, and the
rebels the other. The night passed with little of interest.
On the morning of the 21st squads of rebel prisoners
Avere coraing in to army head-quarters, and as brigade
after brigade of cav-alry passed, each carrying a large
number of confederate flags at the head of the column, it
looked as though our cavalry had adopted the confederate
banner and had paraded in gala day splendor.
The mists and fogs raelted away, and we discovered
that our enemy, lately routed and disorganized, noAV with
confidence confronted us and awaited our advance. Dur
ing the night the mountain had been the scene of busy
labors, and noAV, breastAvorks of earth and stones, and
lines of troublesome abattis, rendered the position, so
strong by nature, apparently too formidable for any army
to attempt to force. But, notwithstanding the brilliant
success at Winchester, neither the rebel army nor our own
fully appreciated the fertile resources of our gallant leader.
Starting with his staff early in the day, he rode from one
end of the picket line to the other, carefully noting the
character of the ground.
To attempt to storm those heights, doav strengthened
with earthworks and bristling Avith cannon, Avould be pre>-
sumptuous ; but away on the right seemed the vulnerable
point of the enemy's line. Returning to his quarters,
Sheridan determined at once upon his plan of attack. The
Nineteenth corps was thrown farther to the left, and our
Sixth corps occupied the position in the center, facing now

408 THE PLANK MOVEMENT.
to the south. Crook's corps Avas thrown well to the right,
where the North Mountain forraed a precipitous wall for
the valley. All day the sharp crack of the skirmishers'
rifles, and the ring of the pioneers' axes were heard as the
two lines faced each other, each watching the movements
of the other, and each actively engaged in felling trees
from which breastworks were made.
During the night Crook's corps and our Third division
were toiling along the side of the mount.ain unseen
and unexpected by the rebels. All night and the foUoAA--
ing morning these two coramands labored to drag artillery
along the precipitous raountain side, executing every
moA'ement in sUence and with utraost secrecy. The Nine
teenth corps and the First and Second divisions of the
Sixth were all this tirae keeping up a shoAV of determina
tion to attack in front.
At length, just as the sun was sinking behind the
mountain barrier, a Avild shout was heard from the hill
side where Crook's corps and our Third division Avere
rushing doAvn from the cover of the forest, upon the
flank and rear of the astonished confederates. The shout
Avas taken up by the troops in front, and at the sarae
tirae the two remaining divisions of the Sixth corps and
the Nineteenth corps advanced against the rebel front.
Completely surprised by the movement on the flank, the
rear of the rebel arpiy was quickly thrown into a panic.
Still resistance was kept up along the front. Steadily the
troops of Wright and Emory pressed forward, the rebel
gunners firing their shells over the heads of our men, our
line advancing over ditches and fences, over fallen trees
and stone walls, each man his own coramander and each
pressing eagerly forAvard. In the foremost line rode Phil.
Sheridan, the men cheering him lustily as they pressed
hastily forAvard. " Let us take the guns," shouted the
men ; and forward at double-quick they rushed. The

THE PURSUIT. 409
panic in the rear had by this time reached the front, and
the whole rebel army Avas rushing in unutter.able confusion
and rout, up the y.alley. They left with us sixteen guns,
of which BidAvell's brigade captured six. Wc gathered
up the prisoners, and they numbered eleven hundred.*
The hUl was streAved with small arms, and cannon and
caissons met our view Avherever Ave passed.
We had lost, as the cost of this brilliant victory, less
than forty men in the army ; and the confederate loss in
killed and wounded Avas scarcely greater.
We foUowed the routed army through Mount Jackson,
where were large hospitals, occupied by wounded confed
erates, and attended by confederate surgeons ; then pressed
on to New Market, keeping up a running fight with the
rear-guard of the rebel army.
On the 25tli we reached Harrisonburgh, a village more
than si.xty miles aboA'e Winchester.
Our march had been a grand triumphal pursuit of a
routed enemy. Never had we marched with such light
hearts; and, though each day had found us pursuing
rapidly from dawn till dark, the men seemed to endure
the fatigue with wonderful patience. Our column, as it
swept up the valley, was a spectacle of rare beauty.
Never had we, in all our carapaigns, seen anything to
compare Avith the appearance of this victorious little army.
The smooth, Avide turnpike was occupied by the artillery,
ambulances and baggage wagons moving in double file.
The infantry marched in several parallel columns on either
side of the pike, and a line of cavalry, followed by a skir
raish Une of infantry, led the way. Cavalry, too, hung on

''' The prisoners taken thus far, at Winchester and Fisher Hill, Including the
wounded, numbered more than seven thousand. The absurdity and falsity of
Early's statement, that his effective force at AVinchester amounted to only eight
thousand five hundred men, is readily seen. The rebel surgeons at Mount Jackson,
and the citizens, while claiming that we outnumbered Early's forces, acknowledged
that he retreated from Winchester with more than twenty thousand men.
52

410 HAHEISONBUEGH.
either flank, and scouted the country. It was intensely
exciting to watch the steady progress of the advancing
skirmishers. Now, as they reached the base of some slop
ing eminence, the rebel skirmishers would confront them ;
then, as they advanced, never halting nor slackening their
jiace, the confederates would surrender the ground, to
appear in our front on the next commanding ground. So
Ave marched up the valley — a grand excursion — skirmish
ing only enough to maintain a constant state of pleasant
excitement. At Harrisonburgh we remained until the 29th, then
marched farther up the valley to Mount Crawford, while
the caA'alry penetrated as far as Staunton. The rebel
array was broken up and demoralized, yet considerable
force Avas in the vicinity of Lynchburgh, and Early
devoted himself to reorganizing it.
Guerrilla Avarfare was a favorite resort of the rebels in
the Shenandoah Valley, and many of our men were mur
dered in cold blood by the cowardly villains who lurked
about our camps by day as harmless farmers, and mur
dered our men at night dressed in confederate uniform.
Among those who lost their lives by this cowardly species
of warfare, Avere Surgeon Ochenslayer, Medical Inspector of
our array ; Colonel ToUes, Chief Quartermaster, and Cap
tain Meigs, son of the Quartermaster-General, U. S. A.
We fell back frora Mount Crawford to Harrisonburgh,
burning barns, mills and granaries, driving before us cat
tle and sheep, and bringing white and black refugees
without number. From Harrisonburgh we again fell
back, retracing our steps through New Market, Mount
Jackson and Woodstock, and encamped on the evening of
the Sth of October on the north bank of Cedar creek.
Each day as we raarched, dark columns of smoke rose
frora numberless conflagrations in our rear and on either
flank, where the cavalry was at work carrying out the

DESOL.VTION OP THE VALLEY. 411
edict of destruction of the A-alley. A certain nuraber
of miUs with the grain contained, a specified nuraber of
Avheat-stacks and granaries, and cattle and sheep sufficient
for the Avants of the people of the valley Avere saved ; all
other mills, barns, stacks and granaries Avere burned,
and all other cattle and sheep driven away. Seventy
mills, with the flour and grain, and over tAvo thousand
barns filled with wheat, hay and farming irapleraents
were thus committed to the flames, and seven thousand
cattle and sheep were either driven off or killed and issued
to the men. This destruction, cruel as it seemed, Avas
fully justified as a matter of railitary necessity. For so
long as a rebel army could subsist in the valley, so long
a large force must remain to guard the frontier of
Maryland. Hundreds of refugees accompanied us from St.aunton,
Mount CraAvford and Harrisonburgh : Unionists who had
endured persecution until it was no longer endurable, aud
who now left houses and farms to flnd relief in the north
from their sufferings for loyalty ; and negroes who sought
freedom from their ancient bondage.
Among the latter class was a group which had followed
the cavalry from Staunton, and which now took a place in
our Sixth corps hospital train, which attracted universal
attention. The party rode in one of the huge Virginia
wagons, so familiar to those who have spent much time
in those parts, and consisted of an aged colored woman,
probably more than ninety years old, one or two younger
women, a black man of fifty, who was a cripple, a boy of
twelve or fifteen years, and a very large number of small
chUdren, A-arying in hue from jet black to dark brunette.
The load was drawn by four broken down, spavined
animals, the crippled man riding one of the horses of the
rear span, the boy one of the leaders. The soldiers mani
fested great interest in this curious load of refugees, and

412 AT FRONT ROYAL.
freely divided with them their hard tack and coffee. The
writer of these pages, reining his horse to the side of the
vehicle, addressed the aged negress, " Well, aunty, are all
those your children ? " " Lor, no massa, dey's only eigh
teen ob 'era." Doubtless she designed to say that there
were only eighteen of the children, not that " only
eighteen" were her own.
As our array neared Fisher Hill the cavalry of the
eneray became annoying to our rear-guard. General Sher
idan said to General Torbert, that the annoyance must be
stopped at once. Accordingly Custer and his horsemen
lay in wait for the rebel cavalry, attacked thera, drove
them away beyond Mount Jackson, and took eleven pieces
of artillery and three hundred prisoners from them. They
gave us no more trouble at that time.
Monday, October 10th, the Sixth corps, leaving the
Eighth and Nineteenth guarding the line of Cedar creek,
turned toward the left and proceeded to Front Royal.
The Seventy-seventh was made provost guard of the town,
and the brigades were stationed along the mountain jDasses.
Here, in the enjoyment of lovely weather, pleasant asso
ciations, a bountiful supply of lamb and honey, and untold
quantities of grapes of delicious flavor, the corps reraained
several days, and the men even flattered themselves that in
the enjoyraent of these luxuries they were to pass the winter.
But, as usual with bright anticipations, these were sud
denly dispelled by the order to march, on the morning of
the 13th, toward Ashby's Gap.
From the direction of our march it was evident that
we were on the road to Washington, and rumor had it
that we were to be shipped at once for Petersburgh. We
reached the bank of the Shenandoah, where we expected
to cross to the gap ; the corps was massed by the river
side, and the men looked dismally into the cold, dark
waters, and shivered at the thought of wading through

RETURN TO CEDAE CREEK. 413
the stream Avhose waters would reach nearly to their
necks. But Avhile wo Avaited to get ready for crossing, a
courier came to General Wright Avith a message from
Sheridan to return to his army in haste. We heard that
Longstreet's corps had reinforced Early, and that an
attack had been made, but with no important result. We
turned about, encaraped for the night araong the hills,
started ag.ain at three o'clock in the morning, and joined
the army again on Cedar creek, in the afternoon of the
14th, Avhere we remained in the enjovment of undisturbed
q'liiet for several days.

CHAPTER XXXIL
BATTLE OF CEDAR CREEK.
Position of the Union forces on Cedar creek — Demonstrations by Early — The
morning of October 19th — Eighth corps straggling— Nineteenth corps routed —
The Sixth corps tothe rescue— Death of General Bidwell— The Sixth corps holds
the enemy — General AA'right prepares for another attack — Arrival of Sheridan —
The charge — The royt — Guns, wagons and prisoners — The victors In camp.
Our army Avas thus resting in apparent security along
the banks of Cedar creek. The men were amusing them
selves in A-isiting the numerous caverns in the vicinity,
strolling .among the pleasant groves or wandering by the
shady borders of the stream. Sheridan had left the army
and returned to Washington for a day or two, to make
arrangeraents for his future raoveraents, and General
Wright had temporary command of the army.
Our infantry force was arranged from left to right along
the creek, first, on the left of the turnpike. General Crook's
"Army of Virginia," or as it was more generally known, the
Eighth corps, holding the left flank, facing eastAvard and
southAvard ; then, the Nineteenth corps, holding the pike
and facing toward the south, its line occupying high bluffs
which overhung the creek. On the right of the Nine
teenth corps, and almost at right angles with it, was
the Sixth corps, its line extending far toward the north.
The corps faced the stream, looking directly west. The
divisions of the corps Avere posted, on the right the Second,
in the center the First, and on the left the Third division.
On the flanks of the infantry, cavalry was posted;
Custer on the right of the Sixth corps, and Averill's divi
sion, now under Colonel Powell, on the left of the infantry

DEMONSTRATIONS. 415
line, near Front Roy.al. Our line thus extended from
North Mountain, on the right, alraost to Front Royal, on
the left, following nearly the course of Cedar creek, and
that part of the north branch of the Shenandoah Avhich
crosses the valley at right angles.
The enemy had been trying our line at various points,
during the last tAVO or three days, and in one instance had
captured or dispersed a small squad of cavalry on the
right, and captured some signaling instruments. These
demonstrations were little heeded; our line had been
posted by General Sheridan, and these slight attacks
seemed of little account. In Early's army, hoAvever, they
were considered of more Aveighty import. That army had
recently been reinforced by Longstreet's corps of sixteen
thousand men, and the immediate defeat, and, if possible,
destruction, of Sheridan's army was regarded, by both
General Lee and the authorities at Richmond, as absolutely
necessary to the safety of Lee's army. Hence every prep
aration had been made for a most determined attack, and
these lighter demonstrations had been made to ascertain
the exact position of our troops.
When, at two o'clock, on the morning of the nineteenth
of October, Ave heard rapid firing where Custer, with his
horsemen, held the right, and on the left, where Averill's
cavalry was posted, we turned over in our blankets and
said, " The cavalry is having a brush," and went to sleep
again. And then, at a later hour, at four o'clock in the
morning, when we of the Sixth corps heard brisk picket
firing in front of the Eighth and Nineteenth corps, we
AT'ere scarcely aroused from our slumbers, for we thought
it to be a mere picket skirmish, in which none but those
directly engaged had any particular interest. But when
the firing became general along the whole line of these
two corps, and we saw hundreds of men going with
hasty steps and lengthy strides to the rear, we Avere at

416 REAIARKABLE WALKING.
length aroused to the truth that a battle Avas really in
progress. From a Sixth corps point of vicAV, the scene Avas at first
extremely ludicrous, Ave did not know and could not have
believed at that time that the flank of our army was
turned, and that the enemy Avas actually in pos
session of the caraps of one whole corps ; and when
Ave saw stragglers filling the flelds, taking rapid strides
toAvard the rear, scarce any tAVO of them going
together, some Avithout li.ats, others destitute of coats or
boots, a few with guns, many wearing the shoulder straps
of officers, all bent on getting a good Avay to the rear,
neA-er stopjiing to answer a question or explain what Avas
going on at the front, the spectacle was to us of the Sixth
corps one of infinite amusement. None of these hundreds
and thousands of stragglers were so undignified as to run,
but such Avalking was never seen before. None of them
deigned to look to the right or left, they were bent only
upon getting as far on the road to Winchester as possible.
At length the truth flashed upon us. More than half of
our array was already beaten and routed, while the
reraainder had been in ignorance of the fact that anything
serious Avas transpiring. Noav the rebels Avere pouring
down toward the Winchester and Strasburgh turnpike,
sending a perfect shoAver of bullets Avhistling about the
vicinity of the head-quarters of the array, into the Sixth
corps hospital carap and into the trains, Avhich were by this
tirae joining in the stampede.
Staff officers noAV carae riding furiously through the
caraps of the Sixth corps, with orders to fall in at once,
and proceed at double-quick to the left.
We may now turn back and trace the cause of this
unexpected state of affairs. Early had, Avithout doubt,
assured himself of the exact position of our army through
inforraation conveyed by spies, Avho were able to compre-

THE EIGHTH COEPS SURPRISED. 417
bond the Avholc situation. Ho theu prepared for a bold
and sudden movement, AA'hich should t.ake by surprise one
flank of our army. Kershaw's rebel division advanced
along the sides ofthe mountains, .and, .at midnight, crossed
the north branch of the Shenandoah, still observing the
most complete silence Even the canteens of the soldiers
had been left behind lest the sound of them should betray
the movement.
The whole division over, it Avas massed on the left of
General Crook's command. A dense fog enveloped the
Avhole surrounding country, and so thick was it that no
man could see an object a fcAV feet from hira. Under the
cover of this fog, the rebels succeeded in quietly capturing
a large part of the picket force and nothing noAV inter
posed between the rebels .aud General Crook's camps.
Toward these they hastened, and so complete was the
surprise, that the men of the Eighth corps Avere, for
the most part, quietly sleeping- in their tents. The few
who had got into the breastworks Avere subjected to a
fierce fire in the fiank, and Avere soon forced to abandon
the line. The rebels seized the Union batteries along that
part of the line, and turned them upon the camps of the
Nineteenth corjDS, and at the same time a rebel line of
battle advanced against that corps frora the front. The
confusion became every moment greater. Daylight was
just merging from night, the thick mists hung like an
impenetrable veil over the field, and the men of the Nine
teenth corps were unable to tell Avhence carae all this
storm of raissiles ; but, trailing their guns in the direction
from which the shells seeraed to corae, the gunners Avorked
their pieces at random. A general stampede was com
menced. The men of the Eighth corps Avere mostly
fugitives ; and those who strove to keep in line were forced
back. Both the fugitives and the disordered line of
battle, were rushing through the camps of the Nineteenth
53

418 THE SIXTH CORPS TO THE RESCUE.
corps. The officers of that corps were, with shouts and
wild gesticulations, striving to collect their disordered
comraands, but with little success. Riderless horses Avere
galloping here and there, cows, with which the army was
well supplied, were belloAving, mules were braying, bullets
Avhistling and shells howUng. The Eighth corps having
left the Avay clear, the rebels came down upon the Nine
teenth, which gave way and Avas doubled upon the Sixth
corps, but although thrown into confusion it was not in
the panic with which the Eighth corps yielded the ground.
It was at this critical moraent that the warning was
given to the Sixth corps. General Wright being in com
mand of the army, the corps Avas in charge of General
Ricketts. He at onoe faced the corps to the rear, and
moved it over the plain in face of the advancing hosts of
the enemy. General Ricketts was wounded very early
in the engagement of the corps, and the command fell
upon General Getty.
The Second division held the left of the new line, the
First the center, and the Third the right. Bidwell's
brigade was the left brigade of the Second division, the
Vermonters held the center, and Warner's First brigade
the right. The Second division was posted in the edge
of an open oak grove. General Grant, of the Vermont
brigade, Avas in charge.
We now awaited the onset of the victorious columns,
which were driving the shattered and disorganized frag
ments of the Eighth and Nineteenth corps, beaten and
discouraged, wildly through our well formed ranks to the
rear. The hope of the nation now rested with those heroes of
many bloody fields. Now that peerless band of veterans,
the wearers of the Greek cross, whose fame was already
among the choicest treasures of American history, was to
show to the country and the world, an exhibition of valor

REBELS REPULSED. 419
Avhich should toAver above all tho grand achieveraents of
the Avar.
The corps, numbering less than tAvclve thousand men,
now confronted Early's Avhole array of more than thirty
thousand men, Avho, flushed Avith victory, already bringing
to bear against us the tAventy-one guns Avhich they had
just captured from tho tAVO broken corps, rushed upon our
Unes with those Avild, exultant yells, the terror of which
can never be conceived by those Avho have not heard them
on the field.
With fearless impetuosity the rebel army moved up the
gentle rise of ground in front of the Sixth corps, and
the attack, from one end of the line to the other, Avas
simultaneous. It Avas like the clash of steel to steel.
The astonished columns were checked. They had found
an iramovable obstacle to their march of victory.
The Second division, on the left, nearest the pike, had
received the most severe shock of the attack, Avhile Bid
well's brigade, Avhich held the extreme left, and the key to
the pike, had sustained the attack of the whole of Ker-
shaAv's rebel division, Avhich carae up in compact order to
within very close range. The gallant brigade received
the onset Avith full volleys, which caused the right of the
rebel line to stagger back, and the Avhole line was, alraost
at the same moment, repulsed by the corps. The cavalry
on our fl.ank — and never braver men than the caA'alry of
our little army mounted saddles — Avere doing their
best to protect the pike leading to Winchester, and it was
the great aira of both the cavalry and the single organ
ized corps of infantry to hold this pike; for on this
depended the safety of the whole army, and more, of our
cause. The rebels checked. General Bidwell ordered his brigade
to charge. Rising from their places in the little grave
yard and the grove, the brigade rushed forward, the

420 OUR LOST HEROES.
rebels breaking and running in confusion doAA-n the
declivity which they had but just ascended with such
confidence, and across the little stream. But the rebel
artillery sent our men back to their places, to the shelter
of the roll of ground. The charge cost us dearly. Major
BroAver, of the One hundred and twenty-second New York,
lost his life. Captain Lemion, of the Seventy-seventh,
Avas mortally Avounded, Lieutenant Tabor Avas killed.
Captain Taylor, commanding the Sixty-first Pennsylvania,
was also killed, and many other A-aluable lives were lost,
but the most severe bloAV to the brigade and the corps,
was the loss of our gallant General BidAveU. He fell,
while bravely directing the charge, with a frightful shell
wound. He was at once borne to an ambulance The
general sent one of his staff for the Avriter ,of these pages.
When he reached the general's ambulance, the Avounded
man said : " Doctor, I suppose there is no hope of recov
ery." When told that there Avas none he exclairaed, " Oh,
my poor wife ! " Then after a moment he said, " Doctor,
see that my record is right at home. Tell them I died at
my post doing my duty.'' A few hours of intense suffer
ing and the brave man was relieved by death.
The fall of General BidAvell left Colonel French, of the
Seventy-seventh, in command of the brigade. The line
Avas quickly reformed in the position frora which the
charge was raade, and again the rebels carae on with
cheers and yells. They were as bravely met as before,
and a second counter-charge sent thera again in disorder
across the creek, leaving the ground coA'ered Avith their
dead and Avounded. The greatest shock of the second
charge of the rebels had fallen upon our Third brigade,
and nobly had it been met. A third time Early's forces
came on ; this time with less spirit. His raen noAV knew
the troops they had to contend with. They had been
inforraed that the Sixth corps had been sent to Washing-

THE SIXTH CORPS NOT BEATEN. 421
ton, on its way to Petersburgh. Now they discovered
the mistake, and all of Early's authority was insufficient
to bring thom np to a spirited charge. We had repulsed
them three times Avith terrible daraage to their r.anks, as
AveU as sad loss to our own. But noAV Ave looked toward
the right, and we saw rebels passing around our flank,
and the Third and First divisions falling back. We Avere
but tAvelve thousand. They Avere thirty thousand, and
their line fir overlapped ours. When Eariy could not
drive us he Avent round us. And noAV it Avas necessary
to take another position, which should protect the road to
Winchester, and General Wright directed General Getty
to fall back, with his corps, to a more commanding posi
tion, unless he saAV good reason for desiring to hold his
present position. So the order was given to take the new
position. The Sixth corps icas not driven back. It had thrice
repulsed the most desperate charges of the Avhole rebel
army, and now that the rebels were turning our flank, it
was necessary to interpose an organized force, and
there was no organized troops except the cavalry.
Certain erudite historians, who have sent broadcast over
our land, compilations of ncAvspaper paragrajihs under the
sounding titles of historians ofthe rebelUon, jiowerful gen
tlemen, who, from their , comfortable quarters in northern
homes, watched our battles from aflir, quiet citizens whose
sensibilities were neA-er shocked by the sight of a battle-field,
and whose nerves cau hardly withstand the shock of fire
crackers on the morning of a Fourth of July, have gravely
informed their readers that our whole army, including the
Sixth corps, Avas driven pellmell six miles to the rear ; and
one of these grave historians very quietly assiu-es those
who have leisure to peruse his queer accumulations of
absurdities, that Ave Avere driven all the way to Winches
ter, a distance of more than twenty mUes. For the

422 SHERIDAN ON THE FIELD.
comfort and encouragement of these historians, so prolific
of martial literature, and so barren of any ideas of mUitary
movements, it is conceded that their accounts of this bat
tle are quite as correct as any which they are accustomed
to give to the public.
We took position just north of Middletown, Avhicli Avas
about tAVO miles in the rear of the position held by the
Second division of our corps early in the morning. We
went back quietly and in good order, a single regiment,
the Second Vermont, holding without difficulty the position
we abandoned. We carried AA-ith us all our wounded, all
our shelter tents and all our personal proi^erty of every
description, and the rebels did not dare to attack us.
When Ave had taken our new jjosition in the same order
that we had forraed in the morning, the Second division
on the left, the First in the center, and the Thfrd on the
right, other troops also took position in the line. The cav
alry, which had never for a moment faltered, took position,
Custer on the right, Merritt on the left and the Nineteenth
corps, which had now succeeded in restoring order to its
broken ranks, was massed on the right and rear of the
Sixth. With this new line of battle in the strong position we
now held. General Wright deterrained that not only
should the retreat stop here, but that the rebels should be
driven back across Cedar creek. Their career of victory
was ended. The grand old Sixth corps, directed by our
own loved General Getty, had turned the fortunes of the
day. It Avas noAV ten o'clock ; far away in the rear Avas
heard cheer after cheer. What was the cause? Were
reinforcements coming ? Yes, Phil. Sheridan was coming,
and he was a host. He had ridden from Winchester at
amazing speed, and now, as he passed the long trains of
ambulances in Avhich were the hundreds of bleeding vic
tims of the morning's work, the Avounded men whose

"ave'll avhip them yet." 423
shattered limbs or mangled bodies attested that they had
not run away, raised themselves and cheered with AvUd
enthusiasm the hero of the valley. On he rode ; raost of
his stafl" left fiir to the rear, his fiimous war-horse covered
Avith foam and dirt, cheered at every step by hundreds of
men in whom new courage was now kindled. Dashing
along the pike, he came upon the line of battle. " What
troops are those ? " shouted Sheridan. " The Sixth corps,"
Avas the response from a hundred voices. "We are all
right," said Sheridan, as he swung his old hat and dashed
along the line toward the right. " Never mind, boys,
we'll Avhip them yet ; we'll whip them yet ! We shall
sleep in our old quarters to-night ! " were the encouraging
words of the chief as he rode along, Avhile the men thrcAV
their hats high in air, leaped and danced and cheered in
wildest joy.
Sheridan at once completed the arrangements already
commenced and nearly finished by General Wright. The
men of the Sixth corps meanwhile busied theraselves in
cookino- their mornins; meal.
None but soldiers can realize the contending emotions
we experienced as we waited for the development of the
new arrangements. We had, with the pride which none
but soldiers can feel, regained for northern troops the
prestige for brilliant achievements and open field fighting
in this valley, so often, in times past, the scene of humUia
tion to our arms. Were we now, notwithstanding all our
brilliant successes and our proud consciousness of superi
ority, to see our prestige fade in an hour ? Sheridan said,
" No; " and Ave trusted him. Had Sheridan never reached
the field. General Wright would have led us against the
foe, whose ardor was already lost after the repeated
repulses frora the single corps. But there Avas a charm
about the real coraraander of the army, and his opportune
arrival inspii-ed fresh hope and zeal in the breasts of all

424 THE ADVANCE AT MIDDLETOWN.
Even a considerable portion of the Eighth corps was col
lected and placed on the left of the Sixth, and then, Avith
cavalry on either fiank, Custer ou the right and Merritt on
the left, we were ready to assume the oflensive.
Thus, all things being arranged, we were prepared to
test the question whether our array was to fall back
to Winchester beaten and hurailiated or return to our
old camps.
At one o'clock, the rebels advanced against the right of
our line, but were repulsed. A brisk fire of artillery Avas
for a time kept up, but even this died away aud nothing
but the scattering fire of skirraishers was heard.
Early had, without doubt, noAV relinquished the idea of
any further offensiA'e operations, and he as little thought
that any Avere designed on our part. The rebels quietly
proceed to bring their baggage wagons and ambulances
across the river, and they set themselves about fitting up
our caraps for their own use.
At three o'clock, Sheridan gave the order to move ;
wheeling from right to left, as a gate savings upon its
hinges. The Third division on the right of our corps
becarae for a moment embarrassed in jiassing through a
strip of woods, the First division moved slowly but firmly,
gaining a strong position. The Second division also
advanced, but it Avas ordered to go very sloAvly, and this
was far more difficult than to rush quickly over the
ground. Yet the division obeyed the order and forced
the rebels to fall back. In front of the First and Second
brigades was a stone wall. This they seized and Avere at
once partially sheltered ; but there Avas no such protection
for the Third brigade. In its front was a meadoAV and a
gradually inclined plane, and behind a Avail which skirted
the crest, was the rebel line. Between that line and ours,
in a hollow, stood a brick mill, from the windows of which
the enemy's sharpshooters picked off our men. The gall-

EAELY's army ROUTED. 425
ing fire from the iinc of battle, and the fatal shots of the
sharpshooters in the mill, raade it irapossible to advance
sloAvly, and the Une fell back. Our best men Avere faUiug
fast. The color-scrgeaiit of the Seventy-seventh fell dead;
.another sergeant seized the flag and fell. Adjutant Gil
bert Thomas, a youth of rare beauty .and surpassing
bravery, seized the fallen flag ; he cried, " forAvard, men !"
and fell dead Avith the st.aff grasped in his hand.
" I cannot take iny brigade over that field, slowly," said
Colonel French; "then go quickly," responded General
Getty. The Avord was given, and Avith a bound and a
shout tlie noble brigade Avent across the field, quickly
driving the confederates from their strong jiosition.
By this time the right of the array had started the
rebels, and their Avhole line Avas giA'ing Avay. The three
divisions of the Sixth corjjs bounded forAvard, and cora-
menced the wildest race that had ever been witnessed
even in that A-alley so faraous for the fiight of beaten
armies. The rebel lines wore completely broken, and now
in utmost confusion, CA'ery man Avas going in greatest
haste tOAvard Cedar creek. Our men, Avith wild enthu
siasm, with shouts and cheers, regardless of order or
formation, joined in the hot pursuit. There was our mor-
t.al eneray, Avho had but a few hours since driven us
uncereraoniously from our camps, now beaten, routed,
broken, bent on nothing- but the most rapid flight. We
had not forgotten our hurailiation of the morning, and
the thought of it gave fleetness to the feet of our pur
suers. ^
From the point where we broke the rebel ranks to the
crossing of Cedar creek, was three raUes, an open plain.
Over this plain and down the pike the panic-stricken
army Avas flyino-, Avhile our soldiers, Avithout ever stopping
to load their pieces, were charging tardy batteries Avith
empty muskets, seizing prisoners by scores and hundreds,
54

426 THE C-\.VALRY IN PURSUIT.
every Union soldier his own coraraander, bent on nothing
but the destruction of the flying foe. As we reached
Cedar creek, the pursuit was given over to the cavalry.
The gallant Custer, noAV in his AvUd joy, could be heard
shouting to his impetuous men, " Charge them ! Charge
them !" and then Ave could hear words, hard to print, but
which added startling emphasis to the commands.
Crossing the river, he came upon the pike, crowded
with men and cannon, caissons and ambulances, wagons
and pack aniraals. With one mighty SAveep, forty-five
pieces of artillery, many wagons and ambulances, and
hundreds of prisoners, were t.aken. Merritt, too, captured
seven guns, many battle-flags, and prisoners Avithout num
ber. Indeed, the prisoners could not be numbered, for
there were not enough of the cavalry to guard thera, and
as soon as they had thrown doAvii their arras they Avere
passed to the rear, and in the darkness hundreds of thera
escaped to the raountains. Through the darkness the
cavalry kept up the pursuit until Mount Jackson Avas
passed. The infantry returned to the camps, and as we took our
old places, cheers made the welkin ring- ; and then as Ave
heard constantly of ncAV trophies, the Avild huzzahs rang
frora one end of our army to the other. Such Avild joy
has rarely been felt by an army. What cared the raen of
the Nineteenth corps that they Avere forced to lie ujjon the
ground without tents or blankets ? Our army was victo
rious and our honor saved.
The moon shining brightly over the battle-field revealed
the camps of the living side by side Avith the resting places
of the dead. All the way from MiddletOAVii to Cedar
creek the debris of battle was scattered over the fields.
Here and there were seen the remains of our comrades of
the morning, their lifeless bodies stripped by vandal rebels
of almost every garment. They lay like specters in the

GRAVES IN THE CAMPS. 427
pale moonlight; here, still in death, under a cluster of
bushes, was stretched a group; there, by the side of a
waU, a roAv of inanimate bodies raarked a s]iot Avherc
brave men had fiiUen at their posts; in the ravine Avhere the
little creek wound its Avay, and beneath the boughs of
the chestnut trees of the grove, m.any slept their last
sleep. Among our caraps, the spades of the pioneers
were heard as they hollowed out the shalloAV graves;
and as Ave threw ourseh-es upon the ground to rest, avc
mourned for our comrades, and Ave rejoiced for our
A'ictory. Sad, sad it was to think of the noble ones Avho had left
us. Never again Avere we to see the form of the great
hearted Bidwell at the head of his brigade. We
remembered his heroic bravery in all the terrible fights of
those bloody days, from the Rapidan to Petersburgh ; we
thought of him Avhen, at Winchester and Fisher Hill, he
directed the movements of his brigade with such consum
mate coolness and skill ; we reraerabered his cordial smile
and friendly Avords, and then Ave thought of his heroism in
the moming, and our hearts were heavy to think that he
Avas gone.
Adjutant Thomas, too, had left us ; our noble, beautiful
boy. Could he have died a grander death had he been
spared longer? Could his last words have been better
chosen had he expired in the embrace of loved ones at
horae? "ForAvard, men; forward!" Were they not
grand dying words? Rest, brother; thy death was as
grand as thy life was lovely.
Lennon's bright eye must soon close forever. We
should never again hear his hearty laugh or listen to his
sparkling wit. He had fallen as a hero falls, and his Ufe
had been the life of a hero and patriot. Belding and
Tabor, too, brave captains of brave men, each had fallen
in advance of his friends.

42 S REST AFTER THE BATTLE.
Jlajor Brower of the One Hundred .and TAventA'-second,
Captain TaA'lor, commanding the Sixty-first Peusvlvauia,
Lieutenant-Colonel Kohler of the Ninety-eighth Pennsyl
vania and Major Borman of the Fifteenth Ncav Jersey, all
brave and competent officers, Avere lost to our corps ; Avhile
among the Avounded were General Ricketts, Colonel Pen
rose, commander of the NeAV Jersey brigade. Colonel
Dwight of the One Huudred and TAventy-second, Captain
Orr of Bidwell's staff, and Lieutenant Mitchell of the
ScA'cnth 3Iaine.
Our army remained along Cedar creek for scA-er.al days,
the caA-alry only scouting up the A-alley in search of rera
nants of Early's shattered army. Then, Ave fell liack to
the yicinity of Winchester, where our raen built comforta
ble quarters, and here we reraained until General Grant
called us back to Petersburgh. Many of the regiments in
the meantime were mustered out of the service as regi
ments, the recruits and reenlisted men remaining as
battalions with the name of the original regiraents, except
the substitution of the battalion for the regiraent. Araong
other regiraents whose time expired Avas the one Avhose
early career formed the subject of the first ch.apters of this
narrative, and Avhose honorable and indeed brilliant course
we have neA-er lost sight of The returning veterans left
camp on the 19th of November, leaA'ing tAvo hundred and
fifty raen still to represent the organization. We will not
jiause to sjieak of the parting of those so long corapanions
in arms, of the trip homeward or of the brilliant reception
and magnificent entertainment extended by the patriotic
citizens of Saratoga to the veterans of a hundred battles.
These were fitting testimonials of appreciation of the ser
vice of patriot soldiers.

CHAPTER XXXIIL
TEE FINAL CA2IPAIGN.
Sixth corps returns to Petersburgh — Condition of the corps — Sheridan joins the
grand army— Capture of Fort Steadman- The last grand charge— The pursuit
of Lee's army— Tributes to the Sixth corps — Disbanding.
Ox the 9th of December, the Sixth corps Avas recalled
to Petersburgh. We need not describe the journey to
Washington, nor the steamboat ride to City Point ; the
scenes along this route have already been described.
We took our position on the Weldon railroad, erected
more comfortable huts than we had ever built before, our
sick were placed in hospitals fitted up with great taste,
and eA'erything which the gOA-ernment or our friends at
home, through the agencies of Sanitary and Christian
Commissions, could do for their comfort Avas gladly done.
During our absence in the Shenandoah Valley, the army
under General Grant had been raaking steady progress
in the siege of Petersburgh, and our Avar-Avorn brothers
ofi the other corps shoAved upon their faces the marks of
overwork. We were in fresh A'igor. We had marched
through a blooming valley literally abounding in milk and
honey. The fruits of the vine, the orchard and the fold
had been ours, and our camps had been in green fields
and pleasant groves, Ave had marched over Avide roads, and
through rolling meadows, and Ave had fought in the
open field. We returned to our old comrades, proud of
our OAVU achievements, and of the praise Ave had Avon frora
the nation. We could point to the valley, and to the
memory of Early's army, now no more ; and Ave proudly

430 SHERIDAN JOINS THE GEAND AEMY.
claimed that it had been ours to rid the country of one of
the most troublesome of the rebel columns.
Now that we were again in the trenches, Ave felt a con
fidence in our oavh valor Avhich made our corjis eminently
fitted for the last grand duty, the crowning act in the
glorious history of this superb corps, the breaking asunder
of Lee's lines at Petersburgh, and as the result, the over
throw of the rebellion.
Grant's army had, during our absence, extended the line
much farther to the Avest and south. When we left for
Washington, our line extended only a little beyond the
Jerusalem plank road. Noav, it crossed the Weldon rail
road, and reached Hatcher's Run, nearly eight railes from
the position occupied by us Avhen Ave left the lines. The
military railroad, too, had been constructed, and now .all
supplies were brought from City Point to the rear of our
camps by rail cars.
The famous mine had exploded, and with it the project
of taking Petersburgh by surprise. Events of importance
had transpired on the north of the James, and the Dutch
Gap canal Avas in progress. Yet, Lee's army held us at
arm's length, and Petersburgh was still to be taken.
In the latter part of February, our friend, Sheridan, was
ordered to leave the valley with his superb body of horse
men, and cross the country through Lynchburgh, destroy
Lee's communications with the west, pass through Dan
ville and join Sherman in his grand march to the sea.
But the James river, swollen by heavy rains, forbade a
crossing, and Sheridan, nowise disconcerted, turned the
heads of his horses toward the White House, and after
many adventures, having Avrought much raischief in the
rear of the rebel array, he joined Grant's army before
Petersburgh, on the 26th of March. The result was bet
ter than though he had been able to accomplish the
original design.

FORT STEADMAN. 431
Now, the Army of the Potomac Avas one again. Tho
Sixth corps, aud Sheridan Avith his cavalry, Averc iraportant
elements in th.at grand army; .and now, as the glorious
spring-time Avas drj-ing the depths of the mud, and opening
the Avay for a fresh campaign, avc Avere in most superb
condition to administer the last bloAvs to the already tot
tering tabric of the rebellion.
We need not dAveU long upon tho particulars of this
final campaign.
Lee took the initiative KnoAving that it would be
impossible to hold his present line much longer, he
determined to retreat to Dan\-ille ; but wishing to cover
his retreat by a bold movement in front, he sent a
strong column to attack Fort Steadman, a point tOAvard
the right of the line where the tAvo opposing lines Avere
very close. The fort Avas guarded by troops of the
Ninth corps. The attack Avas made very early on
the morning of the 25th of March, and resulted in the
complete surprise and capture of the fort and of many of
the men of the Ninth corps. It was a short-lived tri
umph; the work taken Avas commanded by the guns of
other forts on either flank, and the enfilading guns with
Strong bodies of infantry soon compelled a retreat of the
enemy. MeanAvhile the opijortunity had not been lost by Gen
eral Meade for advancing his line on the left. The Sixth
corps was to do the work. The Third brigade. Second
diA'ision was sent forAvard to take and hold the rebel
picket line near the Squirrel Level road, for the double
purpose of Avithdrawing the attention of the enemy, and
of advancing our Une for future ojserations. The brigade
gallantly executed the order, and, notAvithstanding the
rebels brought nine pieces of artillery to bear upon it, and
sent reinforcements to the point, the ground was held.
Colonel Dwight of the One Hundred and TAventy-second

432 THE LAST GRAND CHARGE.
was kUled; Captain Oakley and Lieutenant Pierce lost
their liAes, and many others of the brigade were killed or
Avounded. The 29th of March was the d.ay fixed for the opening
of the grand final campaign. The TAventy-fourth corps
relieved the Second and Fifth corps from the intrenchments
in front of Petersburgh, and these two corps Avere loose
to join Sheridan in an expedition on our left AA'ith the view
of turning the enemy's right flank.
Leaving carap early on the raorning of the 29th, the
two corps and the caA'alry proceeded to the southwest,
crossed Hatcher's Run, and marched toAvard Dinwiddie
Court House, the infantry reaching the Quaker road,
the caA'alry continuing the march to Dinwiddie. We had
noAV an unbroken line from the Appomattox to Dinwiddie
Court House. The corps were posted from right to
left, as follows : Ninth, Sixth, TAveuty-fourth, Second,
Fifth, and on the left of all, Sheridan with the cavalry.
On the morning of the 30th, the infantry and caA'alry
on the left were ready for the grand blow upon the flank
and rear of the eneray, but a heavy rain storm set in,
rendering the roads impracticable, and except sorae man-
neuveriug to get nearer the enemy's ]DOsition, no
movements Avere made. On the foUoAving day, the
rebels made a fierce onset upon the corps of Warren, but
failed to dislodge hira. April 1st, Sheridan, with infantry
and cavalry, engaged the rebels at a place called Five
Forks, a position of A-ital importance to the enemy.
While Sheridan Avas thus dealing heavy bloAVS upon
the flank, we in front were preparing for a general
advance. The position occupied by the Sixth corps forraed a sali
ent, the angle approaching- A-ory near the rebel line.
Here, in front of Fort Welch and Fort Fisher, the corps
Avas mas^^od in columns of brigades in echelon, forming a

THE PINAL CHARGE.

433

CHARGE
OF THE SIXTH CORPS,
WHICH BROKE THE BEBEI. LINES,
AprU 2, 1S65.

434 THE PURSUIT OP lee's araiy.
mighty wedge, A\-hich should rive the frame-Avork of the
confederacy. The corps was forraed in the rear of the picket line ;
the Third brigade. Second division, being the poiut of the
wedge. On the right of that brigade was the First brigade
of the same division, and on the left, the Vermont brigade.
The First diA-ision of three brigades Avas in echelon by
brigades on the right of the Second, and the Third of
two large brigades also in echelon. Each brigade was
in column of battalions. Axemen were ready to be sent
forward to remove abattis, and Captain Adams had
twenty cannoneers ready to man captured guns. Every
commanding officer of b.attalions was informed what he
Avas expected to do, and thus all was in readiness.
At half-past four in the morning of April 2d, the signal
gun from Fort Fisher sounded the advance. Without
wavering, through the darkness, the wedge which was to
split the confederacy was driA'cn horae.
The abattis was past, the breastAvorks mounted, the
works were our own. Thousands of prisoners, raany
stands of colors and raany guns Avere our trophies, Avhile
raany of our friends, dead or wounded, was the price of
our glory. The rebel line Avas broken, and now the troops
of Ord, and those of the Ninth corps pressed on after us.
Humijhries, too, of the Second corps, hearing of our splen
did success, stormed the works in his front away on the
left and carried thera. The confederate array gathered
close around Petersburgh, but Ave foUoAved closely. We
will not stop to tell all the splendid achieveraents of that
glorious day.
That night our corps rested on the Appomattox, just
above Petersburgh, and General Grant, of the Vermont
brigade, had his head-quarters in the house which General
Lee had occupied all winter, and had left only a few hours
before. During the night Lee made his escape AA'ith his

TRIBUTES TO THE SIXTH CORPS. 435
army. He had already sent word to Richmond that he
was to retreat, and the fatal message reached Davis Avhile
in church.
We all joined in the pursuit next morning. The Second
and Sixth corps hastening to the help of Sheridan, who
Avas foUoAving hard after the flying army. We confronted
Lee at Jetersville, and on the morning of the 6th Ave
moved up to attack, but there was no army to attack.
Why need we tell of the forced march that foUoAved ; of
the gallant fight at Sailor's creek, where Ave Avhipped Lee's
army ; of the Avild joy of the surrender ? These are all too
Avell kiiOAvn to repeat, and the details would be tiresome.
Tho grand old Sixth corps, the pride of the army and
the delight of the nation, had croAvned all its former
record of glory by breaking the famous " backbone " of
the rebellion, and all that follows is tame.
General Grant did us the credit to say, " General
Wright penetrated the lines with his whole corps, sweep
ing everything before him, and to his left, toward
Hatcher's run, capturing many guns and several thousand
prisoners." General Meade, too, says : " Major-General Wright
attacked at four a. m., carrying everything before him,
taking possession of the enemy's strong line of works,
and capturing many guns and prisoners. After carrying
the enemy's lines in his front, and reaching the Boydtown
plank road, Major-General Wright turned to his left and
swept down the enemy's line of intrenchments till near
Hatcher's run, where, meeting the head of the Twenty-
fourth corps, General Wright retraced his steps and
advanced on the Boydtown plank road toward Peters
burgh, encountering the enemy in an inner line of works
immediately around the city."
The march and halt at Danville, the rapid journey
through Fredericksburgh to Alexandria, the separate

436 DISBANDING.
review of the corps under the scorching rays of one of
the hottest days ever known CA'cii in Washington, when
hundreds of our raen fell down frora sunstroke and
exhaustion, the return to camp and the disbanding, finish
the story of the grandest corps that ever faced a foe.