GEORGExJTRRISON STANNARD. BVT. MAJOR GENERAL, U.S.V 
 
 Engraved ezsresslr foi B icleliai s History- of 
 
 ng f by EHalpin vw a Plwh. tj~ Sty les . 
 
 Published by JD.O. B. Bactelder. 
 ITEW TO at . 
 
VERMONT 
 
 GREAT REBELLION 
 
 CONTAINING 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES, ETC. 
 
 BY 
 
 :MLA.J. OTIS in. 
 
 CLAREMONT, N.H.: 
 TRACY, CHASE AND COMPANY. 
 
 18G9. 
 
Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 18G9, by 
 
 OTIS F. R. WAITE, 
 In the Clerk s Office of the District Court of the District of Vermont. 
 
 Stereotyped at the Boston Stereotype Foundry, 
 19 Spring Lane. 
 
 PRINTED AND BOUND BY 
 CLAREMONT MANUFACTURING COMPANY. 
 
TO THE 
 
 WIVES, MOTHERS AND SISTERS 
 
 OF THE 
 
 BRAVE OFFICERS AND MEN 
 WHO WERE IN THE WAR OF THE REBELLION 
 
 FKOM THE 
 
 STATE OF VERMONT 
 
 THIS BOOK IS REVERENTLY INSCRIBED, 
 BY THE AUTHOR. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 A POPULAR writer has said, " Not a day passes over the earth 
 but men and women of no note do great deeds, speak great 
 words, and suffer noble sorrows. Of these obscure heroes, phi 
 losophers and martyrs, the greater part will never be known till 
 the hour when many that were great shall be small, and the 
 small great; but of others, the world s knowledge maybe said 
 to sleep ; their lives and characters lie hidden from nations in 
 the annals that record them." 
 
 In presenting to the public a book of this size, it would be 
 but folly to claim that it gives anything like a full history of 
 the noble and self-sacrificing acts and gallant conduct of the 
 Vermont troops, during the four years that they were engaged 
 in the War of the Eebellion. Many of their most noteworthy 
 deeds will never have a public record. They must forever re 
 main the sacred property of those who enacted them. Hundreds 
 of noble men, entitled to the highest meed of praise, and the 
 greatest gratitude of their fellow-statesmen, will be counted with 
 the unnumbered host whose unnoticed sufferings and toils, in 
 field and camp, form always the material out of which military 
 glory comes to the few. 
 
 The author, in preparing this work, has aimed to convey an 
 idea of the camp, garrison and picket duty performed, and the 
 
 (v) 
 
6 PREFACE. 
 
 battles fought, by the several regiments and companies which 
 went to the field from Vermont. To do this he has availed 
 himself freely of the Adjutant and Inspector General s records 
 and reports, covering the period of the war, without which 
 an attempt to prepare a book like this must have, proved abor 
 tive. 
 
 Biographical notices are given of a few only of the many de 
 serving men who took prominent parts in the great tragic drama 
 put upon the stage by the deluded people of a section of the 
 country ; while there remain hundreds, and perhaps thousands, 
 entitled to the same especial consideration, whose record could 
 not be obtained by ordinary means. 
 
 The book is submitted with the hope that the veil of charity 
 will be thrown over its short-comings and imperfections. 
 
 O. P. E. W. 
 June, 1869. * 
 
INDEX. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 THE REBELLION, . . 9 
 
 ACTION OF VERMONT, 56 
 
 VERMONT TROOPS, 94 
 
 VERMONT BRIGADE, 116 
 
 SECOND VERMONT BRIGADE, 216 
 
 REGIMENTS. First, 58, 106 
 
 Second, 61, 117 
 
 Third, 62, 118 
 
 Fourth, 64, 118 
 
 Fifth, 65, 118 
 
 Sixth, 67, 119 
 
 Seventh, 68, 196 
 
 Eighth, \ . . 70, 203 
 
 Ninth, 75, 205 
 
 Tenth, 77, 210 
 
 Eleventh, 77, 215 
 
 Twelfth, 86, 216 
 
 Thirteenth, 87, 216 
 
 Fourteenth, 88, 216 
 
 Fifteenth, 89, 216 
 
 Sixteenth, 90, 216 
 
 Seventeenth, 230 
 
 SHARPSHOOTERS. First Company, 72, 235 
 
 Second do., 72, 235 
 
 Third do., 73, 235 
 
 BATTERIES. First, 71, 238 
 
 Second, 72, 239 
 
 Third, 240 
 
 (7) 
 
INDEX. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 CAVALRY. First Regiment, 73, 242 
 
 BATTLES. Antietam, 142 
 
 Cedar Creek, 185 
 
 Crampton s Gap, 139 
 
 Fredericksburg, 146, 149 
 
 Gettysburg, 164, 217 
 
 Goulding s Farm, 128, 130 
 
 Lee s Mills, 120 
 
 Petersburg, 179 
 
 Rappahannock Station 167 
 
 Savage s Station, 131 
 
 White Oak Swamp, 133 
 
 Wilderness, 168 
 
 Williamsburg, 126 
 
 BIOGRAPHICAL. Brown, Lieut. Col. Addison, Jr. . . 269 
 Cummings, Lieut. Col. Charles, . . 261 
 Farr, Captain Dennie W., .... 271 
 
 Jarvis, Major Charles, 265 
 
 Phelps, General John Wolcott, . . 259 
 Stannard, General George J., . . . 251 
 Tyler, Colonel John Steele, . . .263 
 Wales, Brevet Major Elijah, . . .267 
 Washburn, General Peter T., . . . 256 
 
 INCIDENTS. Before the Battle of Bethel, 273 
 
 Bravery at Lee s Mills, 278 
 
 Dying Soldier s Prayer for Pres t Lincoln, 281 
 
 Escaped Prisoners, 280 
 
 Last Words of Colonel Stone, .... 277 
 A Slave s Prayer, 279 
 
 ANECDOTES. Don t See It, 288 
 
 Drummer Boy, 287 
 
 Heroism at Fredericksburg, 287 
 
THE REBELLION. 
 
 FEOM the day of the adoption of the Constitution 
 of the United States there has been an antagonism 
 between the Northern and the Southern portions of 
 the Union. That Constitution contains not one word 
 hostile to liberty and humanity. In it, however, is 
 a single phrase which has been interpreted differently 
 by the different sections of the country "held to 
 labor." At the North, these simple, harmless words 
 mean a hired man, an apprentice. At the South, they 
 mean a slave, feudal bondage, the right of property 
 in man, and all the attendant oppressions and cruel 
 ties. From these different constructions of the spirit 
 of the organic law of the country, and the widely- 
 different modes of life and of thought, the antago 
 nism between the North and the South has grown 
 with the growth and strengthened with the strength 
 
 (9) 
 
10 VEKMONT IN THE 
 
 of the nation. Mr. Iverson, of Georgia, in speaking 
 on this subject in the United States Senate, on the 
 5th of December, 1860, said, " Sir, disguise the fact 
 as you will, there is an enmity between the Northern 
 and the Southern people, which is deep and enduring, 
 and you never can eradicate it never. . . . We are 
 enemies as much as if we were hostile States. We 
 have not lived in peace. We are not now living in 
 peace. It is not expected that we shall ever live in 
 peace." 
 
 Mr. Mason, of Virginia, in the same debate, said, 
 " This is a war of sentiment and opinion, by one form 
 of society against another form of society." 
 
 Garrett Davis, senator from Kentucky, said, "The 
 Cotton States, by their slave labor, have become 
 wealthy, and many of their planters have princely 
 revenues from fifty thousand to one hundred thou 
 sand dollars a year. This wealth has begot pride, 
 and insolence, and ambition ; and those points of the 
 Southern character have been displayed most insult 
 ingly in the halls of Congress. As a class, the 
 wealthy cotton growers are insolent, they are proud, 
 they are domineering, they are ambitious. They have 
 monopolized the government in its honors for forty or 
 fifty years, with few interruptions. When they saw 
 the scepter about to depart from them, in the election 
 of Abraham Lincoln, sooner than give up office, and 
 
GEE AT REBELLION. 11 
 
 the spoils of office, in their inad and wicked ambition, 
 they determined to disrupt the old Confederation, and 
 erect a new one, wherein they would have undisputed 
 power. Nine out of ten of the Northern people were 
 sound upon the subject. They were opposed to the 
 extension of slavery ; and I do not condemn them for 
 that : but they were willing to accord to the slave 
 holders all their constitutional rights." 
 
 The slaveholders had become arrogant in their de 
 mands upon Congress, claiming that the Constitution 
 favored freedom, free labor, and free schools, and that 
 it should be so far changed as to maintain the exclu 
 sive claims of an aristocratic class, and to strengthen 
 their hold upon their slaves. They insisted that the 
 domestic slave trade should be nurtured, and the for 
 eign slave trade opened. They demanded the right 
 to extend slavery over all the Territories of the United 
 States ; the right to hold their slaves in all the States 
 of the Union temporarily ; that speaking or writing 
 against slavery in any State of the Union should be a 
 penal offence ; that the North should catch their fugi 
 tive slaves, and send them back to bondage ; and that 
 the administration of the General Government should 
 be placed in the hands of those only whom the South 
 could trust, as the pledged enemies of republican 
 equality, and the friends of slavery. These were the 
 demands of the South, which, they said, must be 
 
12 VERMONT IN THE 
 
 acceded to, or they would dash the Union to pieces 
 and from the fragments construct a Confederacy, with 
 slavery for its corner-stone. 
 
 In the election of Abraham Lincoln to the Presi 
 dency, in 1860, the people of the United States said, 
 most emphatically, " We will not accede to these arro 
 gant and wicked demands. We will not thus change 
 the Constitution of our fathers. We will abide by it 
 as it is." In an appeal to the ballot-box the slave 
 holders were fairly and overwhelmingly defeated, and 
 they determined to secede and break up the Union. 
 
 As long ago as 1856, Hon. Preston Brooks, of South 
 Carolina, said, in a speech in Charleston, at an ovation 
 given in his honor, for his brutal assault upon Senator 
 Sumner, of Massachusetts, for words spoken in debate 
 in his place in the Senate, "I tell you, fellow-citizens, 
 from the bottom of my heart, that the only mode 
 which I think available for meeting it [the issue], is 
 just to tear the Constitution of the United States, 
 trample it under foot, and form a Southern Confed 
 eracy, every State of which shall be a Slaveholding 
 State." 
 
 Mr. Hunter, of Virginia, detailed in the Senate of 
 the United States the changes in the Constitution 
 with which alone the Slaveholders would be satisfied. 
 His demands were, 
 
 1. Congress shall have no power to abolish slavery 
 
GREAT REBELLION. 
 
 13 
 
 in the States, or the District of Columbia, or the 
 dockyards, forts, and arsenals of the United States. 
 
 2. Congress shall not abolish, tax, or obstruct the 
 slave trade between the States. 
 
 3. It shall be the duty of each of the States to 
 suppress combination, within its jurisdiction, for the 
 armed invasion of any other State. 
 
 4. States shall be admitted with or without slavery, 
 according to the election of the people. 
 
 5. It shall be the duty of the States to restore fugi 
 tive slaves, or pay the value of the same. 
 
 6. Fugitives from justice shall be deemed those 
 who have offended the laws of the State within its 
 jurisdiction, and shall have escaped therefrom. 
 
 7. Congress shall recognize and protect as property, 
 what is held to be such by the laws of any State, in 
 the Territories, dockyards, arsenals, forts, and wherever 
 the United States have exclusive jurisdiction. 
 
 Mr. Hunter also demanded that there should always 
 be two Presidents chosen, one by the Slaveholding 
 States, and the other by the North, and that no act 
 should be valid unless approved by both Presidents. 
 Thus giving to not more than three hundred thousand 
 slaveholders as much power in the government as to 
 the other thirty millions of population. He also 
 demanded that the United States Supreme Court 
 should consist of ten members, five to be chosen 
 
14 VERMONT IN THE 
 
 by the little handful of slaveholders, and the other 
 five by the millions of freemen. 
 
 To accomplish their purpose, every man at the South 
 was to be compelled, by the reign of terror, to support 
 the cause of the slaveholders. Vigilance committees 
 were organized, the mails were searched, and a system 
 of espionage introduced, such as no despotism on 
 earth ever before equalled. A gentleman from Hinds 
 County, Mississippi, wrote to the editor of the New 
 York Tribune, under date of February 7, 1861, 
 
 " I have lived in this State twenty-five years. Yet 
 if I should say, not openly upon the housetop, but at 
 my own table, among my family and friends congre 
 gated there, that I do not consider that the South has 
 any real grievance to complain of, and totally oppose 
 the secession of this or any other State from the Union, 
 my property, rny life even, would not be safe an hour. 
 It is very certain that those who are in favor of seces 
 sion have no more than a bare majority in any of the 
 Southern States. We, the Union men of the South, 
 call on you of the North not to desert us." 
 
 The slaveholders demanded further, in addition to the 
 right of the general extension of slavery, that the 
 laws of the Free States should be so changed as> to 
 enable them to hold their enslaved servants at the 
 North temporarily, while, at the same time, they re 
 fused to allow a Northern gentleman even to enter 
 their States with a free hired colored servant. 
 
GREAT REBELLION. 15 
 
 The candidates for President in 1860 were Abraham 
 Lincoln, of Illinois, nominated by the Republican party, 
 who was openly pledged to resist the extension of 
 slavery, while he avowed that Congress had no con 
 stitutional right to interfere with slavery in those 
 States where it existed, but that it was both the right 
 and the duty of Congress to prohibit slavery in all the 
 United States Territories. John C. Breckinridge was 
 the candidate of the slaveholders, pledged to admin 
 ister the government in the most effectual way to 
 nurture, and to give increasing political power to the 
 institution of slavery. Stephen A. Douglas and John 
 Bell were supported by those who wished to effect 
 some compromise, and who were ready, for the sake 
 of avoiding civil war, to make very great concessions 
 to the South. 
 
 The election took place on the 6th of November, 
 and the result of the popular vote was, for electors : 
 Lincoln, 1,857,610 ; Douglas, 1,365,976 ; Breckinridge, 
 847,953 ; Bell, 591,613 ; giving Lincoln the electoral 
 votes of seventeen out of the thirty-three States ; 
 eleven for Breckinridge; three for Bell, and one 
 Missouri with three-sevenths of ISTew Jersey, for 
 Douglas. 
 
 Mr. Lincoln received the electoral votes of Califor 
 nia, 4 ; Connecticut, 6 ; Illinois, 11 ; Indiana, 13 ; Iowa, 
 4; Maine, 8; Massachusetts, 13; Michigan, 6; Min- 
 
16 VERMONT IN THE 
 
 nesota, 4 ; New Hampshire, 5 ; New Jersey, 4 ; New 
 York, 35; Ohio, 23; Oregon, 3; Pennsylvania, 27; 
 Rhode Island, 4 ; Vermont, 5 ; Wisconsin, 5 180. 
 John C. Breckinridge received the votes of Alabama, 
 9 ; Arkansas, 4 ; Delaware, 3 ; Florida, 3 ; Georgia, 10 ; 
 Louisiana, 6 ; Maryland, 8 ; Mississippi, 7 ; North Car 
 olina, 10 ; South Carolina, 8 ; Texas, 4 72. Stephen 
 A. Douglas received the votes of Missouri, 9, and 3 
 of the 7 votes of New Jersey 12. John Bell re 
 ceived the votes of Kentucky, 12 ; Tennessee, 12; Vir 
 ginia, 15 39. Hannibal Hamlin, of Maine, was 
 elected Vice-President, receiving 180 electoral votes, 
 while Joseph Lane received 72, Edward Everett 39, 
 and Herschel Johnson 12. The electors chosen in 
 Vermont were, William Henry, Henry G. Root, Jo 
 seph Warner, Edward A. Cahoon, and D. W. C. 
 Clark. 
 
 On the fifteenth of February, in the presence of the 
 two Houses of Congress, the Electoral votes were 
 officially counted and declared by John C. Breckin 
 ridge, the slaveholders candidate for President, who 
 was at that time Vice-President and the President of 
 the Senate. Amid deadly silence, the result was an 
 nounced as follows: One hundred and eighty votes 
 were cast for Abraham Lincoln ; seventy-two for John 
 C. Breckinridge; thirty-nine for John Bell; twelve 
 for Stephen A. Douglas. This gave to Abraham 
 
GREAT REBELLION. 17 
 
 Lincoln a majority of fifty-seven votes over all the 
 other candidates. Whereupon the Vice-President 
 rising, said, " Abraham Lincoln, of Illinois, having re 
 ceived a majority of the whole number of electoral 
 votes, is duly elected President of the United States 
 for the four years commencing on the 4th of March, 
 1861. And Hannibal Hamlin, of Maine, having re 
 ceived a majority of the whole number of electoral 
 votes, is duly elected Vice-President for the same 
 term." 
 
 This was a day of great excitement in Washington. 
 It was a slaveholding city, in the midst of slavehold- 
 ing States, and fire-eaters from the South were there 
 in great numbers, and had boldly threatened that the 
 announcement of the vote for President should not be 
 made, and that the government should be broken up 
 in a row. James Buchanan was then President ; had 
 been intimidated by the slaveholders, and, if he had 
 not been made their tool, had not the courage to pre 
 pare to meet and thwart their threats of violence. In 
 that crisis the nation could place but little reliance 
 upon his efficiency, and reposed but little confidence 
 in his patriotism. General Winfield Scott had pre 
 pared to meet any emergency that might arise, by 
 drawing to the city a military force so planting their 
 guns as to sweep the streets at the first outbreak, thus 
 overawing the conspirators ; and the day passed quiet- 
 2 
 
18 VERMONT IN THE 
 
 ly, and everything was done with decency and in 
 order. 
 
 On the 20th of December, 1860, a convention of a 
 few score of slaveholders in South Carolina led off in 
 the rebellion, and passed the following resolution : 
 
 "We, the people of the State of South Carolina, in 
 convention assembled, do declare and ordain, and it 
 is hereby declared and ordained, that the ordinance 
 adopted by us in convention, on the 23d of May, in 
 the year of our Lord 1788, whereby the Constitution 
 of the United States of America was ratified, and also 
 all acts, and parts of acts, of the General Assembly of 
 this State ratifying the amendments of said Constitu 
 tion, are hereby repealed, and that the Union now 
 subsisting between South Carolina and other States, 
 under the name of the United States of America, is 
 hereby dissolved." 
 
 In the course of the month of January, 1861, the 
 States of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mis 
 sissippi, and North Carolina" followed, and adopted 
 similar acts of secession to that adopted by South 
 Carolina ; and, on the 4th of February, forty-two del 
 egates, representing these seven seceded States, met at 
 Montgomery, Alabama, and proceeded to organize a 
 Southern Confederacy of these, with such others as 
 might subsequently be added, and elected Jeffer 
 son Davis, President, and Alexander H. Stephens, 
 
GEE AT REBELLION. 19 
 
 Vice-President. On the 18th of the same month, 
 Jefferson Davis was inaugurated President at Mont 
 gomery. 
 
 President Buchanan s cabinet was composed of 
 slaveholders, and Northern men with Southern prin 
 ciples. In November, as soon as the result of 
 the presidential election was known, these men set 
 at work to embarrass and cripple the government, 
 that its capital, forts, arsenals, public property, and 
 munitions of war might easily fall into the hands 
 of the wicked conspirators against the Union. Lewis 
 Cass, of Michigan, was Secretary of State, and tried 
 to persuade the President to take steps to avert the 
 impending calamity, and protect the public property ; 
 failing in which, he resigned in December, and was suc 
 ceeded by Jeremiah S. Black, of Pennsylvania. How- 
 ell Cobb, a slaveholder from Georgia, was Secretary 
 of the Treasurv. When he entered upon office, the 
 national treasury was in a healthy and prosperous 
 condition. He resigned, and took an office under the 
 conspirators. More than six millions of dollars had 
 been stolen, and, when his successor went into office, 
 the treasury was on the verge of bankruptcy. Jacob 
 Thompson, a Mississippi slaveholder, was Secretary of 
 the Interior, and did all in his power to aid the con 
 spirators. John B. Floyd, a Virginia slaveholder, was 
 Secretary of War. 
 
20 VERMONT IN THE 
 
 There was a plan on foot which, thank God, was 
 discovered in season to thwart it to assassinate the 
 President elect when on his way to Washington to 
 take his seat. In the panic, which it was supposed 
 would ensue, troops from the adjacent Slave States of 
 Maryland and Virginia were to seize upon Washing 
 ton and all its treasures, and make it the capital of the 
 new Confederacy. To this end the United States 
 army but a few thousands in number was so dis 
 posed that the soldiers could not rally to the support 
 of the government, while the arsenals at the North 
 were despoiled, the arms sent to the Slave States, and 
 the fortifications in those States seized and garrisoned 
 by the conspirators. Having accomplished all this, 
 Flpyd sent in his resignation, joined the rebels, and 
 was appointed a general in their army. Most of the 
 clerks and employees in the different departments of 
 the government at Washington were in sympathy 
 with the conspirators, and many were actively aiding 
 them in their damnable plots to overthrow the best 
 government that the sun ever shone upon. 
 
 Isaac Toucey, of Connecticut, a Northern man 
 with Southern principles, was Secretary of the 
 Navy. According to the report of his successor to 
 Congress, July 4, 1861, our fleet in February, 1861, 
 consisted of ninety vessels of all classes, carrying two 
 thousand four hundred and fifteen guns; and was 
 
GEEAT REBELLION. 21 
 
 manned by a complement of about seven thousand 
 six hundred men, exclusive of officers and marines. 
 Notwithstanding the necessity for the presence of 
 this fleet in our own waters to aid the government 
 in this trying hour, it was dispersed, for no good 
 excuse ; the Brooklyn, twenty-five guns, and the store- 
 ship Relief, two guns, only remaining, to defend the 
 entire Atlantic coast. 
 
 On the 21st of February, 1861, a select committee 
 of five, appointed by the House of Representatives, 
 in a report upon the conduct of the Secretary of the 
 Navy, after stating what disposition had been made 
 of our naval force, say, 
 
 " The committee cannot fail to call attention to 
 this extraordinary disposition of the entire naval force 
 of the country, and especially in connection with the 
 present no less extraordinary and critical juncture of 
 our political affairs. They cannot call to mind any 
 period in the past history of the country, of such pro 
 found peace and internal repose, as would justify so 
 entire an abandonment of the coast of the country 
 to the chance of fortune. Certainly since the nation 
 possessed a navy, it has never before sent its entire 
 available force into distant seas, and exposed the im 
 mense interests at home, of which it is the especial 
 guardian, to the dangers from which, even in times 
 of the utmost quiet, prudence and forecast do not 
 always shelter them. 
 
22 VEKMONT IN THE 
 
 " To the committee this disposition of the naval 
 force, at this most critical period, seems extraordinary. 
 The permitting of vessels to depart for distant seas 
 after these unhappy , difficulties had broken out at 
 home, the omission to put in repair and commission, 
 ready for orders, a single one of the twenty-eight 
 ships dismantled and unfit for service, in our own 
 ports, and that, too, while $646,639.79 of the appro 
 priation for repairs in the navy, the present year, 
 remained unexpended, were, in the opinion of the 
 committee, grave errors, without justification or ex 
 cuse." 
 
 All these, and many other like wicked acts, were 
 being committed under the eye and with the knowl 
 edge of President Buchanan, and by officers whom 
 he had the power to displace at any moment, and 
 yet he never raised his hand to prevent or check 
 them. 
 
 There were a few leading and influential men in 
 the slave States, slaveholders themselves, who, wiser 
 than the rest, were opposed to secession and the 
 disruption of the old Union, but were soon forced to 
 acquiesce in the schemes and movements of the con 
 spirators. They were whipped into the ranks of the 
 rebellion. It was not sufficient for them to remain 
 silent or neutral, but they must be active for treason, 
 or their property and lives were at the mercy of a set 
 of fiends who showed no mercy. 
 
GREAT REBELLION. 23 
 
 Alexander H. Stephens, for many years a member 
 of the United States House of Representatives from 
 Georgia, and one of the most influential men in 
 that State, opposed secession. In a speech to an 
 immense gathering of his constituents at Milledge- 
 ville, on the 14th of November, 1860, he said, 
 
 " The first question that presents itself is, Shall the 
 people of the South secede from the Union in con 
 sequence of the election of Mr. Lincoln to the Presi 
 dency of the United States ? My countrymen, I tell 
 you frankly, candidly, and earnestly, that I do not 
 think that they ought. In my judgment, the election 
 of no man, constitutionally chosen to that high office, 
 is sufficient cause for any State to separate from the 
 Union. It ought to stand by, and aid still in main 
 taining the Constitution of the country. To make a 
 point of resistance to the government, to withdraw 
 from it, because a man has been constitutionally 
 elected, puts us in the wrong. We are pledged to 
 maintain the Constitution. Many of us have sworn 
 to support it. Can we, therefore, for the mere elec 
 tion of a man to the Presidency, and that, too, in 
 accordance with the prescribed forms of the Consti 
 tution, make a point of resistance to the government, 
 without becoming the breakers of that sacred instru 
 ment ourselves? 
 
 "But that this government of our fathers, with 
 
24 VERMONT IN THE 
 
 all its defects, comes nearer the objects of all good 
 governments than any other on the face of the earth, 
 is my settled conviction. Contrast it now with any 
 other on the face of the earth. (England, said Mr. 
 Toombs.) England, my friend says. Well, that is 
 the next best, I grant ; but I think we have improved 
 upon England. Statesmen tried their apprentice hand 
 on the government of England, and then ours was 
 made. Ours sprung from that, avoiding many of its 
 defects, taking most of the good, and leaving out 
 many of its errors, and, from the whole, constructing 
 and building up this model republic the best which 
 the history of the world gives any account of. Where 
 will you go, following the sun in its circuit around 
 our globe, to find a government that better protects 
 the liberties of its people, and secures to them the 
 blessings we enjoy? I think that one of the evils 
 that beset us is a surfeit of liberty, an exuber 
 ance of the priceless blessings for which we are 
 ungrateful. 
 
 "I look upon this country, with our institutions, 
 as the Eden of the world the paradise of the uni 
 verse. It may be that out of it we may become 
 greater and more prosperous ; but I am candid and 
 sincere in telling you that I fear, if we rashly evince 
 passion, and without sufficient cause shall take that 
 step, that, instead of becoming greater and more 
 
GREAT REBELLION. 25 
 
 powerful, prosperous, and happy, instead of becom 
 ing gods, we will become demons, and at no distant 
 day commence cutting one another s throats." 
 
 Early in January, 1861, Georgia passed an act of 
 secession, and joined the other States that had with 
 drawn from the Union; and in February, Mr. Stephens 
 accepted the office of Vice-President of the new 
 Confederacy, and traversed the Slave States, and ex 
 erted all his powers to rouse the people to war against 
 the government of the United States. 
 
 The first plan of the rebels was to break up the 
 government of the United States, take possession of 
 its capital, navy yards, armories, arsenals, and forti 
 fications, preparatory for the outbreak. When all 
 this was done it was supposed there would be but 
 a feeble resistance on the part of the people of the 
 North. The government was to be reorganized, with 
 slavery established in all the States and Territories, 
 and Jefferson Davis as its head. All arrangements 
 for carrying out this scheme had been deliberately 
 and carefully made, and were apparently near con 
 summation, before the people of the North could be 
 made to comprehend the possibility of such a move 
 ment by any considerable portion of the people of 
 the Slave States. 
 
 One part of this most wicked and damnable plot 
 was to assassinate President Lincoln as he passed 
 
26 VERMONT IN THE 
 
 through Baltimore, on his way to Washington, to be 
 inaugurated. It was discovered in season, however, 
 to prevent such a great calamity to the country. At 
 all the cities and large towns on his route the people 
 assembled and gave him most enthusiastic receptions. 
 The loyal people of Baltimore had made preparations 
 to testify their respect by a large gathering, proces 
 sion, &c., while the conspirators had arranged to get 
 up a riot at the depot, on his arrival, during which 
 the President, unarmed and unprotected, was to be 
 stabbed or shot. This plan was discovered by the 
 police, who informed General Scott and senator 
 Seward, and Frederick W. Seward, son of the senator, 
 was immediately despatched to meet the President, 
 and inform him of the danger to his life. He had a 
 public reception at Harrisburg, after which, with a 
 few of his friends, he retired to his private apartments 
 at the hotel about six o clock in the evening, and as 
 he was known to be weary, was not interrupted. As 
 soon as it was dark, he, in company with Colonel 
 Lamon, unobserved, entered a hack and drove to the 
 Pennsylvania railroad, where a special train was wait 
 ing for him. The telegraph wires were in the mean 
 time cut, so that the knowledge of his departure, if 
 discovered or suspected, could not be sent abroad. 
 The train reached Philadelphia at half past ten o clock 
 that night. They drove immediately across the city 
 
GREAT REBELLION. 27 
 
 to the Baltimore and Washington depot. The regu 
 lar night train was just leaving, at a quarter past 
 eleven. They took berths in a sleeping-car, and, 
 without any change, passed directly through Balti 
 more, and arrived at Washington safely and unexpect 
 edly, at half past six o clock next morning, being the 
 23d of February. Thus was an important part of the 
 scheme of the rebels frustrated, and the proposed at 
 tempt to seize the capital was prevented by the 
 energy and watchfulness of the friends of the incoming 
 administration. 
 
 The conspirators had counted on a divided North, 
 believing there were many friends of their cherished 
 institution here who would join them in their rebellion 
 against the government. Here, again, they made a 
 great mistake ; for, when the people of the Free 
 States were aware of the wicked plot to break up 
 the Union, and the extent of it, they arose as one 
 man to meet the emergency ; and the Northern men, 
 with Southern sympathies, found themselves in a most 
 disgraceful and hopeless minority. And the plan to 
 invade the Northern States had to be abandoned, 
 while General Scott, contrary to the wish of President 
 Buchanan, who was completely under control of the 
 slave power, had gathered about three hundred troops 
 in and about the capital for its protection. 
 
 On the retirement of the traitor Floyd from the 
 
28 VERMONT IN THE 
 
 War Department, Hon. Joseph Holt, of Kentucky, was 
 appointed to fill the place. He cooperated with Gen 
 eral Scott in the adoption of vigorous measures for 
 the protection of Washington from the menaced cap 
 ture by the rebels, which greatly alarmed them. On 
 the 18th of February, Mr. Holt addressed a letter to 
 President Buchanan, in reply to a resolution of the 
 House of Representatives, inquiring into the state of 
 the defenses of Washington, from which the following 
 extracts are made : 
 
 " The scope of the question submitted by the House 
 will be sufficiently met by dealing with tbe facts as 
 they exist, irrespective of the cause from which they 
 have proceeded. That revolution has been distin 
 guished by a boldness and completeness of success 
 rarely equalled in the history of civil commotions. 
 Its overthrow of the Federal authority has not only 
 been sudden and widespread, but has been marked by 
 excesses which have alarmed all, and been sources of 
 profound humiliation to a large portion of the Ameri 
 can people. Its history is a history of surprises and 
 treacheries, and ruthless spoliations. The forts of the 
 United States have been captured and garrisoned, and 
 hostile flags unfurled upon their ramparts. Its arsenals 
 have been seized, and the vast amount of public arms 
 they contained appropriated to the use of the captors ; 
 while more than half a million of dollars, found in the 
 
GREAT REBELLION. 29 
 
 mint at New Orleans, have been unscrupulously ap 
 plied to replenish the coffers of Louisiana. Officers in 
 command of revenue cutters of the United States 
 have been prevailed on to violate their trusts, and 
 surrender the property in their charge ; and instead 
 of being branded for their crimes, they and the vessels 
 they betrayed have been cordially received into the 
 service of the seceded States." 
 
 After reiterating the acts of the conspirators, the 
 information that had reached his department upon the 
 subject, the necessity for immediate and decided action, 
 and telling the President what steps he had taken to 
 save the government from humiliation and disgrace, 
 Secretary Holt closes his letter as follows : 
 
 " Already this display of life and loyalty on the part 
 of your administration has produced the happiest ef 
 fects. Public confidence has been restored, and the 
 feverish apprehension, which it was so mortifying to 
 contemplate, has been banished. Whatever may 
 have been the machinations of deluded, lawless men, 
 the execution of their purposes has been suspended, 
 if not altogether abandoned, in view of preparations, 
 which announce more impressively than words, that 
 this administration is alike able and resolved to trans 
 fer in peace to the President elect the authority that, 
 under the Constitution, belongs to him. To those, if 
 such there be, who desire the destruction of the re- 
 
30 VERMONT IN THE 
 
 public, the presence of these troops is necessarily of 
 fensive. But those who sincerely love our institutions, 
 cannot fail to rejoice that, by this timely precaution, 
 they have probably escaped the deep dishonor which 
 they must have suffered had the capital, like the forts 
 and .arsenals of the South, fallen into the hands of 
 revolutionists, who have found this great government 
 weak, only because, in the exhaustless beneficence of 
 its spirit, it has refused to strike, even in its own 
 defence, lest it should wound the aggressors." 
 
 One Breshwood, a Virginian, who was in command 
 of the revenue-cutter McLelland, infamously surren 
 dered his vessel to the rebels at New Orleans ; and 
 Captain Morrison surrendered the revenue cutter Cass 
 to the rebels at Mobile. The rebels seized Fort Mor 
 gan at Mobile, and called upon Lieutenant John N. 
 Maffit , who was in command of the Crusader, which 
 was exposed to the fire of the fort, to surrender his 
 vessel to the " Alabama Navy." The noble lieutenant 
 replied, " I may be overpowered ; but in that event, 
 what will be left of the Crusader will not be worth 
 taking." He saved his vessel, which afterwards ren 
 dered signal service in the Gulf. 
 
 On the 3d of February, 1861, Lieutenant J. H. 
 Hamilton, of South Carolina, ordered Captain Porter 
 to surrender his ship to the rebels. The following is 
 Captain Porter s noble reply : " You, sir, have called 
 
GREAT REBELLION. 31 
 
 upon your brother officers, not only to become traitors 
 to their country, but to betray their sacred trust, and 
 deliver up the ships under their command. This infa 
 mous appeal would, in ordinary times, be treated with 
 the contempt it deserves. But I feel it a duty I owe 
 myself, and brother officers with whom I am associated, 
 to reply, and state, that all under my command are 
 true and loyal to the Stars and Stripes, and to the 
 Constitution. My duty is plain before me. The con 
 stitutional government of the United States has en 
 trusted me with the command of this beautiful ship, 
 and before I will permit any other flag than the Stars 
 and Stripes to fly at her peak, I will fire a pistol into 
 her magazine, and blow her up. This is my answer to 
 your infamous letter." 
 
 For a few days before the inauguration, Washington 
 was full of rumors of plots to prevent by violence its 
 consummation. General Scott and Secretary Holt had 
 been bending all their energies to gather a military force 
 sufficient to keep in check, or suppress, if it should show 
 itself, any lawless demonstration, and to insure peace 
 and quiet. An imposing military escort was provided 
 to attend the President to the Capitol, and, after the 
 ceremonies of inauguration, to the White House. 
 
 The procession, consisting of civilians, about one 
 thousand regulars, and a considerable force of uni 
 formed militia, escorted the retiring and incoming 
 
32 VERMONT IN THE 
 
 Presidents, who were in the same carriage, to the 
 Capitol. On the spacious eastern portico of the Capitol 
 a platform had been erected, the space in front of 
 which was occupied by the military. The platform 
 was occupied by the Supreme Court, members of the 
 Senate and House of Representatives, foreign minis 
 ters, and an immense crowd of privileged persons. 
 The President elect was introduced by Colonel Ed 
 ward D. Baker, senator from Oregon, and was re 
 ceived with cheers from but a small share of the thirty 
 thousand persons assembled. Mr. Lincoln, in a clear, 
 firm, penetrating voice, delivered his inaugural address, 
 which closed with the following paragraphs : 
 
 "In your hands, my dissatisfied fellow-countrymen, 
 and not in mine, is the momentous issue of civil war. 
 The government will not assail you. 
 
 "You can have no conflict without being yourselves 
 the aggressors. You can have no oath registered in 
 heaven to destroy the government, while I shall have the 
 most solemn one to preserve, protect, and defend it. 
 
 "I am loath to close. We are not enemies, but 
 friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion 
 may have strained, it must not break our bonds of 
 affection. 
 
 "The mystic chords of memory, stretching from 
 every battle-field and patriot grave to every living 
 heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet 
 
GEEAT REBELLION. 33 
 
 swell the chorus of the Union when again touched, 
 as surely they will be, by the better angels of our 
 nature." 
 
 The oath of office was administered by Chief Justice 
 Taney; the procession was re-formed, and escorted 
 President Lincoln to the White House. Although 
 there were many low mutterings and threats, open 
 and implied, the arrangements were so admirably 
 made and carried out by the loyal men at the capital, 
 that everything connected with the ceremonies of 
 inauguration passed off without interruption or dis 
 turbance. 
 
 The next day after his inauguration, President Lin 
 coln submitted to the Senate the names of the gentle 
 men whom he had appointed as his Cabinet officers, 
 as follows : William H. Seward, of New York, Sec 
 retary of State ; Salmon P. Chase, of Ohio, Secretary 
 of the Treasury ; Simon Cameron, of Pennsylvania, 
 Secretary of War; Gideon Welles, of Connecticut, 
 Secretary of the Navy ; Caleb B. Smith, of Indiana, 
 Secretary of the Interior; Edward Bates, of Mis 
 souri, Attorney General ; Montgomery Blair, of Mary 
 land, Postmaster General. 
 
 The rebel capital was established at Montgomery, 
 Alabama. Jefferson Davis had already appointed his 
 Cabinet, as follows : Robert Toombs, of Georgia, Sec 
 retary of State; Charles G. Memminger, of South 
 
34 VERMONT IN THE 
 
 Carolina, Secretary of the Treasury; Leroy Pope 
 Walker, of Alabama, Secretary of War ; Stephen R. 
 Mallory, of Florida, Secretary of the Navy ; John H. 
 Reagan, of Texas, Postmaster General. 
 
 Thus were the two governments organized. Presi 
 dent Lincoln and a majority of his Cabinet hoped 
 that all differences between the self-styled Confed 
 erate government and the government of the United 
 States would be adjusted without a resort to arms ; 
 while Jefferson Davis s government, which by this 
 time had relinquished the idea of a revolution, and 
 set themselves up as independent States, asked only 
 to be let alone, to be allowed to possess all the prop 
 erty of the United States that they had stolen, and 
 to be acknowledged as independent States. While 
 the Confederate States claimed the right to secede 
 from the Union, and set up a government of their 
 own, the government of the United States denied 
 that right, and claimed that they were still part of 
 the Union, and subject to its Constitution and 
 laws. 
 
 Major Robert Anderson, with a mere handful of 
 men, not more than eighty in all, was placed in 
 charge of the fortifications in Charleston harbor. 
 They mainly tenanted Fort Moultrie, the older 
 and weaker of them, being the most convenient 
 to the city ; but it could not have been held twenty- 
 
GREAT KEBELLICKN". 35 
 
 four hours against a serious assault. Its garrison was 
 surrounded by a numerous and frowning foe. During 
 the night of the 26th of December, 1860, Major An 
 derson prudently transferred his entire force to Fort 
 Sumter, the most impregnable of all the forts in 
 the harbor, taking such munitions and provisions 
 as he could, destroying the rest, and spiking the guns, 
 so that they could not be used by the rebels against 
 Sumter. This was a great surprise to the rebels, and 
 they complained of it as a breach of faith, as it was 
 alleged that President Buchanan had promised that 
 the military status should not be changed without due 
 notice. On the 27th, the next day after the evac 
 uation by Major Anderson, the rebels seized Forts 
 Moultrie and Pickens; and about the same time the 
 Federal arsenal at Charleston, containing many thou 
 sand stands of arms and a large quantity of military 
 stores, was seized by the volunteers flocking to that 
 city, by direction of the State authorities. Castle 
 Pinckney, Fort Moultrie, and Sullivan s Island were 
 now occupied by the rebels, and their defenses en 
 larged and improved, while the custom-house, post- 
 office, and other government buildings were likewise 
 appropriated, without resistance, the Federal officers 
 there all being secessionists, and the palmetto flag 
 raised over them. Iron-clad batteries had been erect 
 ed in such number as to command all the entrances 
 
36 VERMONT IN THE 
 
 | 
 
 to Charleston harbor, so that no wooden frigate could 
 pass them, and precluded the possibility of sending 
 reinforcements or supplies to Fort Sumter. The Star 
 of the West was sent from New York with reenforce- 
 ments and supplies on the 5th of January, which fact 
 was telegraphed by conspirators to their friends in 
 Charleston. She appeared off the bar at Charleston 
 on the 9th, and, when nearing Fort Sumter, was fired 
 upon from Fort Moultrie and Morris s Island, and was 
 struck by one shot. Without communicating with 
 Major Anderson, she put about, and steered for New 
 York. This was the last attempt made to relieve 
 Major Anderson in his most embarrassed condition, 
 until early in April, after the inauguration of the new 
 government, when vessels laden with provisions Were 
 sent from New York, and arrived off the bar on 
 the 12tb, the day on which fire was opened upon 
 Sumter. The fleet also returned to New York with 
 out fulfilling its mission, only having communicated 
 with Major Anderson by signals. 
 
 Such was the situation of affairs on the 12th day 
 of April, 1861, when the rebels of South Carolina 
 opened the most wicked and causeless war upon their 
 government ever recorded in history. In the four 
 succeeding years events of immense magnitude and 
 importance have transpired, affecting more or less 
 seriously every nook and corner of our widely ex- 
 
GREAT REBELLION. 37 
 
 tended country, and carrying sadness and mourning 
 to almost every fireside in the land. 
 
 On the llth, General Beauregard demanded the 
 surrender of Fort Sumter to the Confederate Gov 
 ernment, which Major Anderson declined to do, but 
 suggested that he would very soon be starved out, 
 if supplies were not sent him. General Beauregard 
 then asked of Major Anderson to state at what time 
 he would evacuate Fort Sumter, if unmolested ; and 
 was answered that he would do so at noon on the 
 15th, "should I not receive, prior to that time, con 
 trolling instructions from my government, or addi 
 tional supplies." This reply was not satisfactory ; and, 
 at 3.20, A. M., on the 12th, Major Anderson was 
 notified that fire would be opened on Fort Sumter 
 in one hour. 
 
 At the appointed moment the bombardment com 
 menced. Fire was almost simultaneously opened from 
 Fort Moultrie, an iron-clad floating battery in the har 
 bor, Cummings Point, and Mount Pleasant. Fifty 
 breaching cannon playing upon the fort, followed by 
 the crashing and crumbling of brick, stone, and mor 
 tar, admonished Major Anderson and his small force 
 of seventy true men, that their stay in the fort must 
 be short, unless relieved by a more powerful fleet 
 than our government then possessed. At seven 
 o clock, after breakfast, the principal part of which 
 
38 VERMONT IN THE 
 
 was salt pork, the command was divided into three 
 reliefs, each in succession to man the guns for four 
 hours. Captain Arthur Doubleday was in command 
 of the first squad, and fired the first gun, which was 
 directed upon Fort Moultrie. Major Anderson had 
 determined to make the best resistance in his power, 
 though fully aware that the fort must soon succumb 
 to the greatly superior force with which he had to 
 contend, while he took the greatest care that his men 
 should be exposed as little as possible to the shot 
 and shells of the enemy, which were falling in every 
 direction around them. 
 
 Red-hot shot and bursting shells soon set the 
 wooden barracks on fire, and nearly the whole interior 
 of the fort blazed like a furnace. For thirty-six hours 
 the terrific bombardment continued, with but occa 
 sional lulls. The garrison in Sumter soon became so 
 exhausted that they could make but a feeble response. 
 The scene inside the fort is described by an eye 
 witness, as follows : 
 
 " The fire surrounded us on all sides. Fearful that 
 the walls might crack, and the shells pierce and pros 
 trate them, we commenced taking the powder out 
 of the magazine before the fire had fully enveloped 
 it. We took ninety-six barrels of powder out, and 
 threw them into the sea, leaving two hundred barrels 
 in it. Owing to a lack of cartridges, we kept five 
 
GREAT REBELLION. 39 
 
 men inside .the magazine, serving as we wanted them, 
 thus using up our shirts, sheets, blankets, and all the 
 available material in the fort. When we were finally 
 obliged to close the magazine, and our material for 
 cartridges was exhausted, we were left destitute of 
 any means to continue the contest. We had eaten 
 our last biscuit thirty-six hours before. We came 
 very near being stifled with the dense, livid smoke 
 from the burning buildings. Many of the men lay 
 prostrate on the ground, with wet handkerchiefs over 
 their mouths and eyes, gasping for breath. It was 
 a moment of imminent peril. If an eddy of wind 
 had not ensued, we all probably should have been 
 suffocated. The crashing of the shot, the bursting 
 of the shells, the falling of the walls, and the roar 
 of the flames, made a Pandemonium of the fort. We, 
 nevertheless, kept up a steady fire." 
 
 On the afternoon of the second day of the bom 
 bardment, Louis T. Wigfall, late a United States 
 senator from Texas, made his appearance in a small 
 boat, with a white flag, and was admitted ; and in a 
 conference with Major Anderson and his officers, in 
 sisted that further resistance was useless. The fort 
 was on fire, the garrison exhausted, with the Stars 
 and Stripes floating defiantly over the ruins. Another 
 deputation soon arrived, Wigfall having failed to 
 agree with Major Anderson on the terms for a sur- 
 
40 VEKMONT IN THE 
 
 render. After some conference, it was agreed that 
 the garrison should surrender the fort, taking with 
 them, as they retired at their leisure, and in their 
 own way, all their individual and company property, 
 their side arms, and their tattered flag, which they 
 were to salute with a hundred guns, before they 
 hauled it down. 
 
 The battle ceased ; the fire was extinguished, after 
 destroying almost everything combustible in the fort. 
 Next morning, about nine o clock, the evacuation took 
 place, while the guns of the fort boomed a salute to 
 the lowering flag, which had been so bravely defended 
 against the unequal foe. The garrison marched out 
 of the main gate, preceded by the band playing 
 "Yankee Doodle" and "Hail Columbia," with the 
 Stars -and Stripes floating over them. They embarked 
 on board the United States ship Baltic, and were 
 carried to New York, where they met with an enthu 
 siastic reception. 
 
 That seven thousand well drilled men, with all the 
 needed appliances, could overcome seventy, out of 
 provisions, for they had eaten their last biscuit, 
 and nearly destitute of ammunition, and with no hope 
 of succor, was regarded by the chivalry of South 
 Carolina as a most wonderful and glorious victory, 
 and as establishing beyond dispute the independence 
 of the Confederacy. 
 
GREAT REBELLION. 41 
 
 Arrived at New York, Major Anderson despatched 
 to his government the following report : 
 
 "STEAMSHIP BALTIC, OFF SANDY HOOK, 
 
 April 18, 1861, 
 "THE HON. S. CAMERON, 
 
 " Secretary of War, Washington, D. C. 
 " Sir : Having defended Fort Sumter for thirty-four 
 hours, until the quarters were entirely burned, the 
 main gates destroyed, the gorge wall seriously injured, 
 the magazine surrounded by flames, and its door 
 closed from the effects of the heat, four barrels and 
 three cartridges of powder only being available, and 
 no provisions but pork remaining, I accepted terms 
 of evacuation offered by General Beauregard (being 
 the same offered by him on the llth instant, prior 
 to the commencement of hostilities), and marched out 
 of the fort on Sunday afternoon, the 14th instant, 
 with colors flying and drums beating, bringing away 
 company and private property, and saluting my flag 
 with fifty guns. 
 
 "ROBERT ANDERSON, 
 
 "Major First Artillery? 
 
 On the next day after the evacuation of Fort 
 Sumter, April 15, President Lincoln issued a call for 
 seventy-five thousand -volunteers for three months 
 service, and called an extra session of Congress to 
 
42 VERMONT IN THE 
 
 meet on the ensuing 4th of July. The uprising of 
 the freemen of the North was such as the world never 
 witnessed before. The insult to the old honored flag 
 created a feeling of the most intense indignation, and 
 all party lines seemed for the time obliterated, and 
 two parties only had an existence, those who would 
 destroy the Union, on the one hand, and those who 
 would defend and preserve it, at any cost, on the 
 other. 
 
 There were many who believed that the state of 
 feeling which had resulted in an open rebellion of the 
 slaveholders against the government, had been pro 
 duced by extremists both at the North and the South, 
 instead of attributing the difficulty to its true cause, 
 the wide difference between a society of educated 
 freemen and a society of slaveholders and slaves, 
 where only the few were educated ; but there were 
 none in the free States who openly justified the assault 
 upon Fort Sumter. 
 
 On the 15th of April the President promulgated 
 the following 
 
 " PEOCLAMATION. 
 
 " Whereas, the laws of the United States have been 
 for some time past, and now are, opposed, and the 
 execution thereof obstructed, in the States of South 
 Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, Lou- 
 
GREAT REBEXJJON. 43 
 
 isiana, and Texas, by combinations, too powerful to be 
 suppressed by the ordinary course of judicial proceed 
 ings, or by the powers vested in the marshals by law : 
 Now, therefore, I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the 
 United States, in virtue of the power in me vested by 
 the Constitution and the laws, have thought fit to call 
 forth the militia of the several States of the Union, to 
 the aggregate number of seventy- five thousand, in 
 order to suppress said combinations, and to cause the 
 laws to be duly executed. 
 
 " The details of this object will be immediately 
 communicated to the State authorities, through the 
 War Department. I appeal to all loyal citizens to 
 favor, facilitate, and aid this effort to maintain the 
 honor, the integrity, and existence of our national 
 Union, and the perpetuity of popular government, 
 and to redress wrongs already long enough endured. 
 I deem it proper to say, that the first service assigned to 
 the forces hereby called forth, will probably be to repos 
 sess the forts, places, and property which have been 
 seized from the Union. And, in every event, the utmost 
 care will be observed, consistently with the objects 
 aforesaid, to avoid any devastation, any destruction of, 
 or interference with, property, or any disturbance of 
 peaceful citizens of any part of the country. And I 
 hereby command the persons comprising the combina 
 tions aforesaid to disperse, and retire peaceably to 
 
44 VERMONT IN THE 
 
 their respective abodes, within twenty days from this 
 date. 
 
 " Deeming that the present condition of public af 
 fairs presents an extraordinary occasion, I do hereby, 
 by virtue of the power in me vested by the Constitu 
 tion, convene both Houses of Congress. The Senators 
 and Representatives are, therefore, summoned to as 
 semble at their respective chambers, at twelve o clock, 
 noon, on Thursday, the fourth day of July next, then 
 and there to consider and determine such measures as, 
 in their wisdom, the public safety and interest may 
 seem to demand. 
 
 " In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand, 
 and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed. 
 
 " Done at the city of Washington, the fifteenth day 
 of April, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight 
 hundred and sixty-one, and of the independence of the 
 United States the eighty-fifth. 
 
 "ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 
 
 "By the President: 
 
 " WILLIAM H. SEWARD, Secretary of State" 
 
 With this proclamation, was sent from the War 
 Department, to the Governors of the several States, a 
 circular, explaining that the call was for regiments of 
 infantry, or riflemen only, each regiment to be com 
 posed of seven hundred and eighty men. They were 
 apportioned to the several States as follows: Maine, 
 
GEEAT KEBELLION. 45 
 
 New Hampshire, Vermont, Rhode Island, Connecticut, 
 Delaware, Arkansas, Michigan, Iowa, Minnesota, and 
 Wisconsin, one each; Massachusetts, Tennessee, and 
 North Carolina, two each ; New Jersey, Maryland, and 
 Kentucky, four each; Indiana and Illinois, six each; 
 New York, seventeen; Pennsylvania, sixteen; and 
 Ohio, thirteen. These ninety-four regiments would 
 make a total of seventy-three thousand three hun 
 dred and twenty men. The residue of the seventy- 
 five thousand was to be furnished by the District 
 of Columbia. 
 
 The Governors of the States of Virginia, North 
 Carolina, Tennessee, and Kentucky utterly refused to 
 furnish any men for the purpose named in the procla 
 mation. The response of Governor Harris, of Ten 
 nessee, was as follows, and may be taken as a fair 
 sample of the replies from the Governors of all the 
 above-named States : 
 
 "Tennessee will not furnish a single man for co 
 ercion ; but fifty thousand, if necessary for the defense 
 of our rights, and those of our brethren" 
 
 Governor Jackson, of Missouri, in reply to the call, 
 said, 
 
 "It is illegal, unconstitutional, revolutionary, inhu 
 man, diabolical, and cannot be complied with. Not 
 one man will the State of Missouri furnish to carry on 
 so unholy a crusade." 
 
46 VERMONT IN THE 
 
 Governor Burton, of Delaware, took until the 26th 
 of April to consider the matter, and then replied, that 
 "The laws of this State do not confer upon the Exec 
 utive any authority allowing him to comply with such 
 requisition." 
 
 Governor Hicks, of Maryland, though claiming to be 
 a Unionist himself, and that his State was still in the 
 Union, gave the Union cause but a very cold support 
 when called upon for troops to uphold it. On the 18th 
 of April he issued a proclamation to the people of 
 Maryland, assuring them that he should do all in his 
 power to preserve "the honor and integrity of the 
 State, and to maintain within her limits that peace so 
 earnestly desired by all good citizens." And adding, 
 " No troops will be sent from Maryland, unless it may 
 be for the defense of the national capital." 
 
 On the 17th of April, Jefferson Davis, the head of a 
 band of conspirators and rebels, issued a proclamation, 
 authorizing privateers to be fitted out .from all parts 
 of the South, to prey upon the commerce of the 
 United States, and this, too, when the North had 
 been robbed by these conspirators of its entire naval 
 force, and had not half a dozen vessels which could be 
 called into our waters to protect our merchant marine. 
 
 As a protection against this piratical proclamation, 
 President Lincoln, on the 19th of April, announced 
 the blockade of all the ports of the seceded States. 
 
GEEAT REBELLION. 47 
 
 As if by magic a naval force sprang into existence, and 
 in less than ninety days over three hundred armed ves 
 sels of war were sailing beneath the Stars and Stripes, 
 with brave men upon their decks, ready to avenge any 
 insult to their honored flag. 
 
 About this time there was a determination on the 
 part of leading rebels to capture the City of Washing 
 ton at all hazards. The Richmond Examiner, of 
 April 23d, said, " The capture of Washington City is 
 perfectly within the power of Virginia and Maryland, 
 if Virginia will only make the effort by her constituted 
 authorities. The entire population pant for the onset. 
 Our people can take it; they will take it; and Scott, 
 the arch-traitor, and Lincoln, the beast, combined, can 
 not prevent it." 
 
 It has been conclusively proved that the following 
 was the plot for the capture of the capital of the 
 nation, with all the public property. A conspiracy was 
 formed by leading Virginians, with prominent seces 
 sionists in Washington, and a band of traitors of 
 influence and wealth in Baltimore, to accomplish the 
 infamous and cowardly act in the following manner : 
 Virginia did not then pretend to be out of the Union, 
 and was fully represented in both branches of Congress. 
 The Virginians, at the head of between two and three 
 thousand desperate men, were to make a descent upon 
 Harper s Ferry, seize the arsenal there, which contained 
 
48 VERMONT IN THE 
 
 twenty-five thousand stand of arms, and thus supply 
 themselves with an abundance of weapons and ammu 
 nition. They were then to descend the Potomac to 
 Washington, and make a fierce onset in the streets of 
 the city. Traitors there, in strong bands, armed to 
 the teeth, were prepared to receive them. Incendiaries 
 were designated to fire the city at several points 
 Amid the terror and confusion of this sudden assault, 
 the conspirators were to seize the most important gov 
 ernment buildings, and convert them into fortresses, 
 where they could defy any immediate attack from the 
 bewildered government, and whence they could com 
 mand the city. 
 
 While all this was being done, the conspirators in 
 Baltimore were to cut off all communication with the 
 North, by burning bridges, tearing up railways, and 
 seizing the post-office and telegraph stations. Should 
 troops attempt to reach Washington from the North, 
 a mob was to destroy them in the streets of Baltimore. 
 Troops were to rush from the South to the captured 
 city, and occupy all important military stations. Vir 
 ginia and Maryland were thus to be dragged into 
 secession, and Washington w,s to be the capital of the 
 Southern Confederacy. 
 
 When this" damnable plot was discovered, just on 
 the eve of its execution, it seemed almost impossible 
 for the government to thwart it. Washington was 
 
GEEAT REBELLION. 49 
 
 filled with traitors and rebels ; no reliance could be 
 placed upon the militia ; Southern traitors were occu 
 pying the most important posts in the army, and the 
 government did not know who could be trusted. The 
 government seemed surrounded with difficulties, from 
 which there seemed to be no way of extrication ; and 
 the North, though burning to avenge the insult upon 
 the flag in the unprovoked attack upon Sumter, had 
 not begun to comprehend the extent of the danger to 
 the national capital, and it is doubtful if they do now, 
 or ever will, since the government passed the crisis 
 more easily than the most sanguine had reason to hope 
 it would. 
 
 This plot was made known on the 18th of April, 
 confidentially, to the loyal people of Washington, and 
 gentlemen temporarily there, who were known to be 
 friends of the Union. A gentleman who was there, 
 and took part in the transactions, says, 
 
 " A few trusty friends of the government, visitors in 
 Washington, immediately commenced vigorous, but 
 secret measures, to assist the administration in this 
 fearful crisis. They hastened, by committees, to all 
 the hotels, and sought out those known to be true to 
 the Union, informed them of the peril, and appointed 
 a meeting that very evening, in the church in the rear 
 of Willard s Hotel, where they would not attract at 
 tention. Solemnly, and with intense emotion, they 
 4 
 
50 VERMONT IN THE 
 
 administered the oath anew, of fidelity to the national 
 flag, to every one to whom they confided the secret, 
 and then gave to each the pass which would admit 
 him to the church. This work was speedily accom 
 plished, for there was not a moment to be lost, and 
 soon about two hundred men were assembled in the 
 church. 
 
 " After listening to a few words of eloquence, which 
 yet burn in the souls of some of the volunteers in that 
 dark night of the nation s peril, the company formed 
 themselves into the noted CASSIUS M. CLAY BAT 
 TALION. These noble men, many of whom were 
 among the most distinguished for wealth and posi 
 tion to be found in our land, were enrolled under ef 
 ficient officers into small patrol parties, and marched 
 all night long through the streets of the city, to guard 
 against incendiaries, and to. prevent the assembling of 
 conspirators. They had orders to shoot down prompt 
 ly any who should resist their authority." 
 
 Another party of three hundred men were also ap 
 pointed, under General Lane, to go unobserved to the 
 White House, and bivouac in the East Room, ready to 
 give a warm reception to any parties who might make 
 a sudden attack upon the Presidential Mansion. For 
 three weeks the East Room was thus occupied. Gen 
 eral Scott promptly took unobserved possession of the 
 Capitol, with a sufficient number of men to maintain a 
 
GREAT REBELLION. 61 
 
 desperate defense, where were deposited great quanti 
 ties of military stores and provisions. Thus was the 
 White House and the Capitol to be held until troops 
 from the North could fight their way through Mary 
 land for their rescue if besieged. The greatest care 
 was exercised by the government to guard against 
 surprise. 
 
 At ten o clock, on the night of the 19th, Lieuten 
 ant Jones, of the United States army, who was in 
 command at Harper s Ferry, with but forty-three 
 men, received reliable information that Governor 
 Letcher, of Virginia, had sent three thousand State 
 troops, via Winchester, and that they would reach 
 Harper s Ferry in two hours; and that three hundred 
 troops, from Hallstown, were within twenty minutes 
 march of the arsenal. Combustibles had been pre 
 viously prepared, and everything in readiness to blow 
 up the arsenal and other buildings of the armory, 
 should he find the enemy coming upon him in over 
 whelming numbers. In a trice the torch was applied, 
 and the buildings were all in a blaze, and Lieutenant 
 Jones, with his forty-three men, retreated across the 
 bridge into Maryland, and, after marching all night, 
 reached Carlisle, Pennsylvania, where they were safe 
 from attack from the traitors. The secessionists at the 
 Ferry rushed to the arsenal, and vainly attempted to 
 extinguish the flames. In their rage, they pursued the 
 
52 VERMONT IN THE 
 
 heroic band, and, firing upon them, killed two of their 
 number. Before morning nearly five thousand Vir 
 ginia troops were in possession of the ruins at Harper s 
 Ferry. 
 
 On the 17th of April, a convention in Virginia 
 secretly passed an ordinance of secession, which was 
 for a time kept from the knowledge of the community, 
 that more effectual measures might be adopted for 
 seizing the government property and fortifications in 
 that State, though a private messenger was sent to 
 inform the Confederate government of the action of 
 the convention. 
 
 Government property, to the amount of many mil 
 lions of dollars, was accumulated at Norfolk Navy 
 Yard, including machine-shops, founderies, store 
 houses, together with immense amounts of naval and 
 military stores, the whole estimated as worth over nine 
 millions of dollars. The new steam-frigate Merrimac, 
 the Pennsylvania, the largest line-of-battle ship in the 
 world, the Germantown, v the Dolphin, and other war 
 vessels, were floating in the harbor. By order of Gov 
 ernor Letcher, on the night of the 16th of April, a 
 large number of boats, laden with stone, were sunk in 
 the channel, so that these large vessels could not pass 
 out, and arrangements were made for seizing the yard. 
 Captain McCaulay was in command of the yard, and 
 most of the sub-officers were traitors. 
 
GREAT REBELLION. 53 
 
 It became evident that the yard could not be held, 
 but that it must fall into the hands of the rebels, and 
 it was determined to destroy it; and the steamship 
 Pawnee was sent from Fortress Monroe to aid in the 
 work. When she appeared at Norfolk, she met with 
 a most enthusiastic welcome from the crews of the 
 Pennsylvania, and other war vessels lying there. The 
 Pawnee arrived, and made fast to the dock at Norfolk 
 about nine o clock on the evening of the 21st of April, 
 immediately landed her troops, and seized the gates of 
 the yard, so that no traitors could enter. Everything 
 of value was removed from the Pennsylvania. What 
 could not be removed was thrown overboard, and 
 every preparation made for a great conflagration. At 
 four o clock next morning, all the men from the yard, 
 except a few left to fire the trains, which had been 
 carefully laid, were taken on board the Cumber 
 land and Pawnee, and the former took the latter vessel 
 in tow. At a given signal the torch was applied, and 
 everything combustible, including the Pennsylvania 
 and several other war vessels, was destroyed. 
 
 To put down this well-planned and most wicked 
 rebellion, the North, as one man, nobly responded to 
 the call of President Lincoln for troops. On the even 
 ing of the eighteenth, four hundred Pennsylvania vol 
 unteers reached Washington. On the same day the 
 Sixth Regiment of Massachusetts volunteers left Bos- 
 
54 VERMONT IN THE 
 
 ton for Washington, and arrived at Baltimore on the 
 19th, where they were joined by a regiment from 
 Philadelphia. The Philadelphia regiment was without 
 arms, and the Sixth Massachusetts was but partially 
 armed. 
 
 In passing from one railroad station to another in 
 Baltimore, a distance of two arid a half miles, the cars 
 had to be drawn by horses. The Massachusetts and 
 Philadelphia troops occupied seventeen cars. The five 
 foremost cars, containing a portion of the Massachusetts 
 troops, were sent forward. There being no horses for 
 the other cars, the residue of the regiment, of whom 
 but a small portion were armed, left the cars and 
 formed in the street, waiting the arrival of horses. 
 None came, for a secession mob which filled the streets 
 had covered the track, immediately behind the cars 
 which had been sent forward, with heavy timbers, 
 anchors, stones, and other obstructions, to prevent the 
 passage of the other cars. The residue of the regiment 
 were assailed by the mob with showers of stones and 
 other missiles, hurled from the streets and house-tops, 
 and several soldiers were knocked down and badly 
 injured. In the confusion, one of the rioters stepped 
 up behind a young soldier, seized his gun, and shot him 
 dead. At this the soldiers were ordered to fire, and 
 those who had loaded muskets obeyed the order, with 
 some effect, which caused the mob to recoil. The 
 
GREAT REBELLION. 55 
 
 soldiers, learning that the track had been obstructed, 
 commenced their march from the Camden to the 
 Washington depot, surrounded and followed by the 
 mob, preceded by Mayor Brown and a strong de 
 tachment of police. The mob closed in, and attempt 
 ed to cut off a portion of the rear, which being hardly 
 pressed was ordered to fire, which they did. Several 
 volleys were fired by a small portion of the regiment, 
 killing eleven and wounding four of the rioters. 
 Three soldiers were killed and eight seriously injured. 
 The Massachusetts regiment finally reached the Wash 
 ington depot, and were sent forward to Washington. 
 The train was repeatedly fired at from the hills and 
 woods along the route, but no one was injured. The 
 Philadelphia regiment having no arms, after a hand- 
 to-hand fight with the mob, returned to that city. 
 
 The telegraph wires connecting Baltimore and the 
 free States were cut, and the railroad bridges north 
 ward and north-westward from Baltimore, on the 
 railroads to Philadelphia and Harrisburg, were burned, 
 thus shutting off Washington from all communication 
 with the Northern States. In the mean time, how 
 ever, the North was making all possible haste in 
 enlisting, arming, equipping, and making ready for 
 the field her noble and patriotic sons. 
 
56 VERMONT IN THE 
 
 ACTION OF VERMONT. 
 
 THE breaking out of the slaveholders rebellion, 
 found the militia of Vermont, as in most of the 
 other Northern States, in a disorganized and ineffi 
 cient condition. The enrollment required by law 
 was imperfect, many towns having neglected to 
 make returns, and there were no records from which 
 the number of men required by statute to perform 
 military duty in case of insurrection or invasion 
 could be ascertained with any degree of accuracy. 
 In the adjutant-general s office were the names of 
 twenty-two organized uniformed companies, all of 
 which were deficient in numbers, and some were 
 without arms. 
 
 Such was the state of things on the 15th of April, 
 when President Lincoln called for seventy-five thou 
 sand volunteers for three months, to suppress an 
 insurrection against the government of the United 
 States, which had broken out in the States of South 
 Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, 
 
GREAT REBELLION. 57 
 
 Louisiana, and Texas. On that day Governor Eras- 
 tus Fairbanks received a copy of the call for troops, 
 the quota of Vermont being one regiment, 
 and immediately issued the proper orders to H. H. 
 Baxter, of Rutland, Adjutant and Inspector Gen 
 eral, and called an extra session of the Legisla 
 ture, to commence on the 23d of the same month, 
 to adopt measures for the State to do promptly 
 its share toward meeting the exigencies of the 
 country, by organizing, uniforming, arming, and 
 equipping the militia within her borders. 
 
 The members of the Legislature responded with 
 alacrity to the call of the Governor. They enacted 
 a law, giving to each member of a uniformed mili 
 tary company who should be called into the ser 
 vice of the United States, under the requisition 
 of the President, seven dollars per month in 
 addition to the pay allowed by the United States 
 government, which was afterwards construed so as 
 to include all troops from the State ; and that 
 each member of a uniformed company, held in 
 readiness for active service, should be paid eighteen 
 dollars per month by the State of Vermont. They 
 also enacted another law for the relief of families 
 of volunteers; and another, making an appropria 
 tion of one million dollars for the purpose of more 
 perfectly organizing, arming, equipping, drilling, and 
 
58 VERMONT IN THE 
 
 providing for the militia of the State, and for 
 other purposes connected with the suppression of 
 the rebellion. Also another "act to provide for 
 raising six special regiments for immediate service, for 
 defending and protecting the Constitution and the 
 Union." 
 
 George J. Stannard of St. Albans, then Colonel 
 of the Fourth regiment, Vermont militia, and second 
 ranking colonel in the State, was the first man 
 who offered his services to put down the rebellion. 
 Immediately on the assault upon Fort Surnter, he 
 corresponded with commanders of companies in his 
 regiment, and having obtained their approval, ten 
 dered his services, with his regiment, in any place 
 that they might be required to defend the flag. The 
 tender was made by telegraph to Governor Fairbanks, 
 and also to General Jackman, who was commander 
 of all the Vermont militia. The regiment was for 
 mally accepted, but it was subsequently decided 
 that the first regiment called for should be made 
 up from all the volunteer militia of the State, and 
 the Adjutant General selected the companies to com 
 pose it, as follows : 
 
 FIRST REGIMENT. 
 
 Colonel, J. Wolcott Phelps of Brattleboro ; Lieut.- 
 Colonel, Peter T. Washburn of Woodstock; Major, 
 Hurry N. Worthen of Bradford. 
 
GREAT REBELLION. 59 
 
 Co. A, Green Mountain Guards, Swanton. Captain, 
 Lawrence D. Clark; First Lieut., Albert B. Jewett; 
 Second Lieut., John D. Sheriden. 
 
 Co. B, Woodstock Light Infantry, Woodstock. 
 Captain, William W. Pelton ; First Lieut., Andrew 
 J. Dike; Second Lieut., Solomon E. Woodward. 
 
 Co. C, Ransom Guards, St. Albans. Captain, 
 Charles G. Chandler ; First Lieut., Hiram E. Perkins ; 
 Second Lieut., Freeborn E. Bell. 
 
 Co. D, Bradford Guards, Bradford. Captain, Dud 
 ley K. Andros; First Lieut., John B. Pickett; 
 Second Lieut., Roswell Farnham. 
 
 Co. E, Cavendish Light Infantry, Cavendish. 
 Captain, Oscar S. Tuttle ; First Lieut., Asaph Clark ; 
 Second Lieut., Salmon Dutton. 
 
 Co. F, New England Guards, Northfield. Cap 
 tain, William H. Boynton ; First Lieut., Charles 
 Webb; Second Lieut., Francis B. Gove. 
 
 Co. G, Allen Guards, Brandon. Captain, Joseph 
 Bush; First Lieut., William Cronan ; Second Lieut., 
 Ebenezer J. Ormsbee. 
 
 Co. H, Howard Guards, Burlington. Captain, 
 David B. Peck; First Lieut., Oscar G. Mower; 
 Second Lieut., George J. Hagar. 
 
 Co. I, Union Guards, Middlebury. Captain, Ebeii 
 S. Hayward ; First Lieut., Charles W. Rose ; Second 
 Lieut., Orville W. Heath. 
 
 9- I 
 
 0. 
 
60 VEBMONT IN THE 
 
 Co. K, Rutland Light Infantry, Rutland. Cap 
 tain, William Y. W. Ripley ; First Lieut., George 
 T. Roberts ; Second Lieut., Levi G. Kingsley. 
 
 The companies rendezvoused at Rutland on the 
 2d of May, were mustered into the United States ser 
 vice on the 9th, and left the State for the seat of war 
 on the same day. The regiment arrived at Fortress 
 Monroe on the 13th, and on the 27th removed to 
 Newport News, Va., where it remained until the 
 5th of August. On the 10th of June, companies 
 B, D, F, H, and K, under command of Lieut.-Col. 
 Washburn, were engaged in the battle of Big 
 Bethel, and did good service. On the arrival of 
 the regiment at Newport News, Colonel Phelps 
 was made commander of the post, and remained 
 there after the regiment returned home, and was 
 subsequently appointed Brigadier General. On the 
 5th of August, the regiment, under command of 
 Lieut.-Colonel Washburn, left Newport News for 
 Brattleboro , where it went into camp, and was 
 mustered out of service on the loth. Most of the 
 officers and men of this regiment afterwards entered 
 other organizations, and served with distinction 
 during the war. 
 
 On the 3d of May, the President called for 
 twenty thousand volunteers for three years. Under 
 this call, orders were issued for raising by enlist- 
 
GREAT REBELLION". 61 
 
 ment, the Second and Third Regiments, to serve 
 for three years or during the war. 
 
 SECOND REGIMENT. 
 
 The following were the field and line officers, 
 the companies and their locations, which composed 
 this regiment : 
 
 Colonel Henry Whiting ; Lieut. Colonel, George 
 J. Stannard ; Major, Charles H. Joyce. 
 
 Co. A, Bennington. Captain, James H. Wai- 
 bridge ; First Lieut., Newton Stone ; Second Lieut., 
 William H. Cady. 
 
 Co. B, Castleton. Captain, James Hope; First 
 Lieut., John Howe ; Second Lieut., Enoch Johnson. 
 
 Co. C, Brattleboro . Captain, Edward A. Todd ; 
 First Lieut., John S. Tyler; Second Lieut., Henry 
 C. Campbell. 
 
 Co. D, Waterbury. Captain, Charles Dillingham; 
 First Lieut., William W. Henry; Second Lieut., 
 Charles C. Gregg. 
 
 Co. E, Tunbridge. Captain, Richard Smith; 
 First Lieut., Lucius C. Whitney; Second Lieut., 
 Orville Bixby. 
 
 Co. F, Montpelier. Captain, Francis V. Randall; 
 First Lieut., Walter A. Phillips; Second Lieut., 
 Horace F. Grossman. 
 
 Co. G, Burlington. Captain, John T. Drew; First 
 
62 VERMONT IN THE 
 
 Lieut., David L. Sharplcy; Second Lieut., Anson 
 II. Weed. 
 
 Co. H., Fletcher. Captain, William T. Burn- 
 ham; First Lieut., Jerome B. Case; Second Lieut., 
 Charles K. Leach. 
 
 Co. L, Ludlow, Captain, Volney S. Fullam; First 
 Lieut., Sherman W. Parkhurst; Second Lieut., Isaac 
 N. Wadleigh. 
 
 Co. K., Vergennes. Captain, Solon Eaton; First 
 Lieut., Amasa S. Tracy; Second Lieut., Jonathan 
 M. Hoyt. 
 
 This regiment rendezvoused at Burlington, was 
 mustered into the United States service on the 
 20th of June, 1861, and consisted of eight hun 
 dred and sixty-eight officers and men. It left the 
 State for the seat of war on the 24th of June, 
 and was engaged in the first battle of Bull Run 
 on the 21st of July, 1861. This, together with the 
 Third, Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Regiments, consti 
 tuted the "Vermont Brigade," a more particular 
 account of the operations of which is given in 
 another place. 
 
 THIRD REGIMENT. 
 
 The following were the field and line officers, 
 the companies and their locations, which composed 
 this regiment : 
 
GREAT REBELLION. 63 
 
 Colonel, William F. Smith; Lieut. Colonel, Breed 
 N. Hyde; Major, Walter W. Cochran. 
 
 Co. A, Springfield. Captain, Wheelock G. Veazey; 
 First Lieut., Frederick Grain; Second Lieut., Horace 
 W. Floyd. 
 
 Co. B, Coventry. Captain, Augustine C. West; 
 First Lieut., Enoch H. Bartlett ; Second Lieut., 
 John H. Coburn. 
 
 Co. C, Wells River. Captain, David T. Corbin; 
 First Lieut., Danford C. Haviland; Second Lieut., 
 Edwin M. Noyes. 
 
 Co. D, Charleston. Captain, Fernando C. Har 
 rington ; First Lieut., Daniel J. Kenneson ; Second 
 Lieut., Charles Bishop. 
 
 Co. E, Johnson. Captain, Andrew J. Blanchard ; 
 First Lieut., Robert D. Whittemore; Second Lieut., 
 Burr J. Austin. 
 
 Co. F, Hartford. Captain, Thomas O. Seaver; First 
 Lieut, Samuel E. Pingree ; Second Lieut., Edward A. 
 Chandler. 
 
 Co. G, St. Johnsbury. Captain, Lorenzo D. Allen ; 
 First Lieut., John H. Hutchinson ; Second Lieut., Moses 
 F. Brown. 
 
 Co. H, St. Albans. Captain, Thomas F. House ; First 
 Lieut., Waterman F. Corey ; Second Lieut., Romeo H. 
 Start; 
 
 Co. I, Guildhall. Captain, Thomas Nelson; First 
 
64 VERMONT IN THE 
 
 Lieut., James Powers ; Second Lieut., Alexander W. 
 Beattie. 
 
 Co. K, Calais. Captain, Elon O. Hammond; First 
 Lieut., Amasa T. Smith ; Second Lieut., Alonzo E. 
 Pierce. 
 
 This regiment rendezvoused at St. Johnsbury, was 
 mustered into the United States service on the 15th of 
 July, 1861, and consisted of eight hundred and eighty- 
 two officers and men. It left the State for the seat of 
 war on the 26th of July, and formed a part of the 
 "Vermont Brigade." 
 
 FOURTH REGIMENT. 
 
 The field and line officers of the Fourth Regiment 
 were as follows : 
 
 Colonel, Edwin H. Stoughton ; Lieut. Colonel, Harry 
 N. Worthen ; Major, John C. Tyler. 
 
 Co. A. Captain, John E. Pratt ; First Lieut., Albert 
 K. Parsons; Second Lieut, Gideon H. Benton. 
 
 Co. B. Captain, James H. Platt, Jr. ; First Lieut., 
 Albert K. Nichols ; Second Lieut., Samuel II. Cham- 
 berlin. 
 
 Co. C. Captain, Henry B. Atherton ; First Lieut., 
 George B. French ; Second Lieut., Daniel D. Wheeler. 
 
 Co. D. Captain, George Tucker ; First Lieut., Geo. 
 W. Quimby ; Second Lieut., John H. Bishop. 
 
 Co. E. Captain, Henry L. Terry ; First Lieut., 
 Stephen M. Pingree ; Second Lieut., Daniel Lillie. 
 
GREAT REBELLION. 65 
 
 Co. F. Captain, Addis on Brown, Jr. ; First Lieut., 
 William C. Holbrook ; Second Lieut., Daniel W. Farr. 
 
 Co. G. - Captain, George P. Foster; First Lieut., 
 Henry H. Hill; Second Lieut., Joseph W. D. Car 
 penter. 
 
 Co. H. Captain, Robert W. Laird ; First Lieut., 
 Albert W. Fisher ; Second Lieut., J. Byron Brooks. 
 
 Co. I. Captain, Leonard A. Stearns; First Lieut., 
 Levi M. Tucker ; Second Lieut., Albert A. Allard. 
 
 Co. K. Captain, Frank B. Gove ; First Lieut., 
 Charles W. Boutin ; Second Lieut., William C. Tracy. 
 
 The Fourth Regiment rendezvoused at Brattleboro , 
 was mustered into the United States service on the 
 21st of September, 1861, numbering ten hundred and 
 forty-two men, and left the State for the seat of war 
 the same day. This regiment was also joined to the 
 "Vermont Brigade." 
 
 FIFTH REGIMENT. 
 
 The following were the field and line officers, and 
 the companies and their locations, which formed the 
 Fifth Regiment : 
 
 Colonel, Henry A. Smalley ; Lieut. Colonel, Nathan 
 Lord, Jr. ; Major, Lewis A. Grant. 
 
 Co. A, St. Albans. Captain, Charles G. Chandler ; 
 First Lieut., Alonzo E-. Hurlburt ; Second Lieut., Lu 
 cius M. D. Smith. 
 5 
 
66 VERMONT IN THE 
 
 Co. B, Middlebury. Captain, Charles W. Rose; 
 First Lieut., Wilson D. Wright ; Second Lieut., Olney 
 A. Comstock. 
 
 Co. C, Swanton. Captain, John D. Sheridan ; First 
 Lieut., Friend H. Barney; Second Lieut., Jesse A. 
 Jewett. 
 
 Co. D, Hydepark. Captain, Reuben C. Benton ; 
 First Lieut., James W. Stiles ; Second Lieut., Samuel 
 Sumner, Jr. 
 
 Co. E, Manchester. Captain, Charles P. Dudley ; 
 First Lieut., William H. H. Peck; Second Lieut., Sam 
 uel E. Burnham. 
 
 Co. F, Cornwall. Captain, Edwin S. Stowcll ; First 
 Lieut., Cyrus R. Crane ; Second Lieut., Eugene A. 
 Hamilton. 
 
 Co. G, Rutland. Captain, Benjamin R. Jenne ; First, 
 Lieut., Charles T. Allchinn ; Second Lieut., Martin J. 
 McManus. 
 
 Co. H, Brandon. Captain, Charles W. Seagar ; First 
 Lieut., Cornelius H. Forbes; Second Lieut., Charles J. 
 Ormsbee. 
 
 Co. I, Burlington. Captain, John R. Lewis; First 
 Lieut., William P. Spalding; Second Lieut., Henry 
 Ballard. 
 
 Co. K, Richmond. Captain, Frederick F. Gleason ; 
 First Lieut., William Symons ; Second Lieut., George 
 J. Hatch. 
 
GREAT REBELLION. 67 
 
 This regiment rendezvoused at St. Albans, was 
 mustered into the United States service on the 16th 
 of September, 1861, left the State for the seat of war 
 on the same day, and consisted of ten hundred and 
 six officers and men. It also formed a part of the 
 " Vermont Brigade." 
 
 SIXTH REGIMENT. 
 
 The following were the field and line officers, and 
 the companies constituting the Sixth Regiment : 
 
 Colonel, Nathaniel Lord, Jr. ; Lieut. Colonel, Asa P. 
 Blunt ; Major, Oscar S. Tuttle. 
 
 Co. A. Captain, George Parker, Jr.; First Lieut., 
 Riley O. Bird ; Second Lieut., Frank G. Butterfield. 
 
 Co. B. Captain, Alonzo B. Hutchinson ; First 
 Lieut., La Marquis Tubbs ; Second Lieut., Bernard D. 
 Fabyan. 
 
 Co. C. Captain, Jesse C. Spaulding; First Lieut., 
 George C. Randall ; Second Lieut., Hiram A. Kimball. 
 
 Co. D. Captain, Oscar A. Hale ; First Lieut., George 
 II. Phelps ; Second Lieut., Carlos W. Dwinnell. 
 
 Co. E. Captain, Edward W. Barker ; First Lieut., 
 Thomas R. Clark ; Second Lieut., Frank B. Bradbury. 
 
 Co. F. Captain, Edwin F. Reynolds ; First Lieut., 
 Elijah Whitney; Second Lieut., Denison A. Raxford. 
 
 Co. G. Captain, William H. H. Hall ; First Lieut, 
 Alfred M. Nevins ; Second Lieut., Edwin C. Lewis. 
 
68 
 
 VERMONT IN THE 
 
 Co. H. Captain, David B. Davenport ; First Lieut., 
 Robinson Templeton ; Second Lieut., Luther Ains- 
 worth. 
 
 Co. I. Captain, Wesley Hazelton ; First Lieut., Wil 
 liam B. Reynolds ; Second Lieut., Edwin R. Kinney. 
 
 Co. K. Captain, Elisha L. Barney; First Lieut., 
 Lucius Green; Second Lieut., Alfred H. Keith. 
 
 The Sixth Regiment rendezvoused at Montpelier, 
 was mustered into the United States service on the 
 15th of October, 1861, left for the seat of war on the 
 20th of the same month, consisted of nine hundred 
 and seventy-one officers and men, and formed a part 
 of the "Vermont Brigade." 
 
 SEVENTH REGIMENT. 
 
 The following were the field and line officers, and 
 the companies, and their locations, which composed 
 the Seventh Regiment : 
 
 Colonel, George T. Roberts ; Lieut. Colonel, Yolney 
 S. Fullam; Major, William C. Holbrook. 
 
 Co. A, Burlington. Captain, David B. Peck ; First 
 Lieut., Heman Austin ; Second Lieut., Hiram B. Fish. 
 
 Co. B, Brandon. Captain, William Cronan ; First 
 Lieut., Darwin A. Smalley ; Second Lieut., Jackson V. 
 Parker. 
 
 Co. C, Middlebury. Captain, Henry M. Porter ; 
 First Lieut., Erwin V. N. Hitchcock ; Second Lieut., 
 John G. Dickinson. 
 
GEEAT REBELLION. 69 
 
 Co. D, Rutland. Captain, John B. Kilburn ; First 
 Lieut., William B. Thrall ; Second Lieut., George E. 
 Cross. 
 
 Co. E, Johnson. Captain, Daniel Landon; First 
 Lieut., George W. Sheldon; Second Lieut., Richard 
 T. Cull. 
 
 Co. F, Swanton. Captain, Lorenzo D. Brooks ; 
 First Lieut., Edgar N. Ballard ; Second Lieut., Rod 
 ney C. Gates. 
 
 Co. G, Cavendish. Captain, Salmon Dutton ; First 
 Lieut., George M. R. Howard ; Second Lieut., Leon 
 ard P. Bingham. 
 
 Co. H, Woodstock. Captain, Mahlon M. Young; 
 First Lieut., Henry II. French; Second Lieut., George 
 H. Kelley. 
 
 Co. I, Poultney. Captain, Charles C. Ruggles; 
 First Lieut., Charles Clark ; Second Lieut., Austin E. 
 Woodman. 
 
 Co. K, Northfield. Captain, Nathan P. Barber; 
 First Lieut., John L. Moseley ; Second Lieut., Allen 
 Spaldiug. 
 
 This regiment rendezvoused at Rutland, was mus 
 tered into the United States service on the 12th of 
 February, 1862, consisted of ten hundred and fourteen 
 officers and men, and left the State for the seat of war 
 on the 10th of March. 
 
70 VERMONT IN THE 
 
 EIGHTH REGIMENT. 
 
 The field and line officers, and the companies com 
 posing this regiment, with their locations, were as 
 follows : 
 
 Colonel, Stephen Thomas ; Lieut. Colonel, Edward 
 M. Brown; Major, Charles Dillingham. 
 
 Co. A, Hydepark. Captain, Luman A. Grout; 
 First Lieut., Moses McFarland ; Second Lieut., Gilman 
 S. Rand. 
 
 Co. B, Derby Line. Captain, Charles B. Child; 
 First Lieut., Stephen T. Spalding ; Second Lieut., 
 Frederick D. Butterfield. 
 
 Co. C, St. Johnsbury. Captain, Henry E. Foster; 
 First Lieut., Edward B. Wright ; Second Lieut, Fred 
 erick J. Fuller. 
 
 Co. D, Bradford. Captain, Cyrus B. Leach ; First 
 Lieut., Alfred E. Getehell; Second Lieut., Darius C. 
 Child. 
 
 Co. E, Worcester. Captain, Edward Hall; First 
 Lieut,, Kilburn Day; Second Lieut., Truman Kel 
 logg. 
 
 Co. F, St. Albans. Captain, Hiram E. Perkins; 
 First Lieut., Daniel S. Foster ; Second Lieut., Carter 
 II. Nason. 
 
 Co. G, West Randolph. Captain, Samuel G. P. 
 Craig; First Lieut., Job W. Green; Second Lieut., 
 John B. Mead. 
 
GREAT REBELLION. 71 
 
 Co. H, Townshend. Captain, Henry F. Dutton; 
 First Lieut., Alvin B. Franklin ; Second Lieut., Wil 
 liam H. H. Holton. 
 
 Co. I, Marlboro . Captain, William W. Lynde; 
 First Lieut., George N. Holland ; Second Lieut., Josh 
 ua C. Morse. 
 
 Co. K, Lunenburg. Captain, John S. Clarke ; First 
 Lieut., Adoniram J. Howard ; Second Lieut, George 
 F. French. 
 
 The Eighth Regiment was raised under a special Act 
 of the Legislature, for General Benjamin F. Butler s 
 expedition. It rendezvoused at Brattleboro , was mus 
 tered into the United States servive on the 18th of 
 February, 1862 ; consisted of ten hundred and fifteen 
 officers and men, and left the State to join the expedi 
 tion on the 6th of the following March. 
 
 FIRST VERMONT BATTERY. 
 
 The officers of this organization were, Captain, 
 George W. Duncan ; Senior First Lieut., George T. 
 Hebard; Junior First Lieut., Edward Rice; Senior 
 Second Lieut., Henry N. Colburn ; Junior Second 
 Lieut., Salmon B. Hebard. This battery rendezvoused 
 at Brattleboro , consisted of one hundred and fifty-six 
 officers and men, and was attached to the Eighth Regi 
 ment. It was mustered into the United States ser 
 vice, and left the State to join General Butler s ex 
 pedition at the same time as that regiment. 
 
72 VERMONT IN THE 
 
 SECOND VERMONT BATTERY. 
 
 The Second Vermont Battery rendezvoused at Bran 
 don, was mustered into the United States service on 
 the 24th of December, 1861, and consisted of one hun 
 dred and nine officers and men, commanded by Captain 
 Lensie R. Sayles. On the next day after its muster, 
 the battery went into camp at Lowell, Mass., and the 
 following February left that place, and was stationed 
 at Ship Island, New Orleans, and other places, where 
 it performed good service. 
 
 SHARPSHOOTERS. 
 
 Early in August, 1861, Edmund Weston, Jr., of 
 West Randolph, was authorized to raise a company 
 of Sharpshooters for Colonel Berdan s regiment, and 
 went vigorously about the work. The company ren 
 dezvoused at West Randolph, and consisted of one 
 hundred and twenty-five men. The officers were, 
 Captain, Edmund Weston, Jr.; First Lieut., Charles 
 W. Seaton; Second Lieut., Martin V. Brown. The 
 company left for Washington on the 4th of September, 
 and was mustered into the United States service on 
 the 31st of October, 1861. It was attached to the 
 First Regiment Berdan s Sharpshooters as Co. F. 
 
 The Second Company of Sharpshooters rendezvoused 
 at West Randolph on the 1st of November, 1861, and 
 
GREAT REBELLION. 73 
 
 was mustered into the United States service on the 
 9th, with ninety-one officers and men. The officers 
 were, Captain, Homer R. Stoughton; First Lieut., 
 Frederick Spaulding; Second Lieut., Henry M. Hall. 
 It was attached to the Second Regiment Berdan s 
 Sharpshooters as Co. E. 
 
 The Third Company of Sharpshooters was recruited 
 at Brattleboro. The officers were, Captain, Gilbert 
 Hart; First Lieut., Henry Herbert; Second Lieut., 
 Albert Baxter. It was mustered into the United 
 States service on the 31st of December, 1861, with 
 ninety-four officers and men. Early in February fol 
 lowing twelve recruits were sent forward to this com 
 pany, which had been attached as Co. II to the Sec 
 ond Regiment Berdan s Sharpshooters. 
 
 Captain William Y. W. Ripley, of Rutland, was 
 appointed Lieut. Colonel of the First Regiment Sharp 
 shooters, and commissioned by the Governor of Ver 
 mont. 
 
 FIRST REGIMENT OP CAVALRY. 
 
 In October, 1861, Samuel B. Platt was authorized 
 by the War Department to recruit and put into the 
 field a full regiment of cavalry from the State of Ver 
 mont. The following were the locations of the com 
 panies and the names of their officers : 
 
 Co. A, Chittenden County. Captain, Frank A. 
 Platt; First Lieut, Joel B. Erhardt; Second Lieut., 
 Ellis B. Edwards. 
 
74 VERMONT IN THE 
 
 Co. B, Franklin County. Captain, George P. Con 
 ger ; First Lieut., William M. Braman ; Second Lieut., 
 Joel P. Clark. 
 
 Co. C, Washington County. Captain, William 
 Wells ; First Lieut., Henry M. Paige ; Second Lieut., 
 Eli Holden. 
 
 Co. D, Orange County. Captain, Addison W. Pres 
 ton; First Lieut, John W.Bennett; Second Lieut., 
 William G. Cummings. 
 
 Co. E, Windsor County. Captain, Samuel P. Rund- 
 lett ; First Lieut., Andrew J. Grover ; Second Lieut., 
 John C. Holmes. 
 
 Co. F, Windham County. Captain, Josiah Hall ; 
 First Lieut., Robert Schofield, Jr.; Second Lieut., 
 Nathaniel E. Hayward. 
 
 Co. G, Bennington County. Captain, James A. 
 Sheldon ; First Lieut., George H. Bean ; Second Lieut., 
 Dennis M. Blackmer. 
 
 Co. H, Rutland County. Captain, Selah G. Per 
 kins; First Lieut., Franklin T. Huntoon; Second 
 Lieut., Charles A. Adams. 
 
 Co. I, Lamoille and Orleans Counties. Captain, Ed 
 ward B. Sawyer ; First Lieut., Henry C. Flint ; Second 
 Lieut., Josiah Grout, Jr. 
 
 Co. K, Addison County. Captain, Franklin Moore ; 
 First Lieut., John S. Ward ; Second Lieut., John Wil 
 liamson. 
 
GREAT REBELLION. 75 
 
 The field officers of the regiment were, Colonel, Lem 
 uel B. Platt; Lieut. Colonel, George B. Kellogg; Ma 
 jor, William D. Collins. This regiment rendezvoused 
 at Burlington, and was mustered into the United 
 States service on the 19th of November, with nine 
 hundred and sixty-six officers and men, and left the 
 State for the seat of war on the 14th of December, 
 
 1861. 
 
 NINTH REGIMENT. 
 
 The field officers of this regiment, and the location 
 of the companies, and the names of their commanders, 
 were as follows : 
 
 Colonel, George J. Stannard; Lieut. Colonel, Dud 
 ley K. Andross ; Major, E. S. Stowell. 
 
 Co. A, Swanton. Captain, Valentine G. Barney. 
 
 Co. B, Rutland. Captain, Edward H. Ripley. 
 
 Co. C, Middlebury. Captain, Albert R. Sabin. 
 
 Co. D, Weathersfield. Captain, Charles Jarvis. 
 
 Co. E, Irasburg. Captain, Amasa Bartlett. 
 
 Co. F. Burlington. Captain, George A. Bebee. 
 
 Co. G, Bradford. Captain, William J. Henderson. 
 
 Co. H, Hydepark. Captain, Abel II. Slayton. 
 
 Co. I, Plainfield. Captain, Albion J. Mower. 
 
 Co. K, Brattleboro . Captain, David W. Lewis. 
 
 The Ninth Regiment rendezvoused at Brattleboro , 
 and was mustered into the United States service on 
 the 9th of July, 1862, with nine hundred and twenty 
 
76 VERMONT IN THE 
 
 officers and men, and left the State for the seat of war 
 on the 15th of the same month. 
 
 This regiment was a part of the eleven thousand and 
 five hundred men disgracefully, and, it was feared, 
 treacherously, surrendered by Colonel Miles an expe 
 rienced regular army officer to Stonewall Jackson, 
 at Harper s Ferry, on the 15th of September, 1862. 
 * They were paroled and sent to Chicago, but not ex 
 changed until the following December. 
 
 On the 18th of June, 1862, the Secretary of War 
 telegraphed Governor Holbrook that the Government 
 was in pressing need of troops, and inquired how 
 many could be forwarded immediately. On the 26th 
 he requested the Governor to raise and organize the 
 Tenth Regiment. On the 1st of July President Lin 
 coln issued a call for three hundred thousand volun 
 teers, to serve for three years. The officers of the 
 State of Vermont earnestly desired to comply as 
 speedily as possible with the call of the President, 
 and they were heartily seconded by her patriotic peo 
 ple. The work of recruiting was commenced at once, 
 and was pressed with great energy. The Governor 
 issued an address calling upon the people for their 
 earnest and active co-operation in raising the Tenth and 
 Eleventh Regiments. Eighteen recruiting offices were 
 opened in the State; and on the 15th of August more 
 than the number of men required for these two regi 
 ments were in camp at Brattleboro . 
 
GEEAT REBELLION. 77 
 
 The companies composing the Tenth Regiment were 
 as follows : 
 
 Co. A, St. Johnsbury. Captain, Edwin B. Frost. 
 
 Co. B, Waterbury. Captain, Edwin Dillingham. 
 
 Co. C, Rutland. Captain, John A. Sheldon. 
 
 Co. D, Burlington. Captain, Giles F. Appleton. 
 
 Co. E, Bennington. Captain, Madison E. Winslow. 
 
 Co. F, Swanton. Captain, Hiram Platt. 
 
 Co. G, Bradford. Captain, George B. Damon. 
 
 Co. H, Ludlow. Captain, Levi T. Hunt. 
 
 Co. I, St. Albans. Captain, Charles G. Chandler. 
 
 Co. K, Derby Line. Captain, Hiram R. Steele. 
 
 The field officers of this regiment were, Colonel, 
 Albert Jewett ; Lieut. Colonel, John H. Edson ; Ma 
 jor, William W. Henry. 
 
 The companies of the Eleventh Regiment were as 
 follows : 
 
 Co. A, St. Johnsbury. Captain, George E. Cham- 
 berlin. 
 
 Co. B, Stoneham. Captain, Charles Hunsden. 
 
 Co. O, Fairhaven. Captain, James T. Hyde. 
 
 Co. D, Hydepark. Captain, Urban A. Woodbury. 
 
 Co. E, Brattleboro . Captain, John Hunt. 
 
 Co. F, Irasburg. Captain, James Rice. 
 
 Co. G, Bellows Falls. Captain, Charles Buxton. 
 
 Co. H, Royalton. Captain, James D. Rice. 
 
 Co. I, Worcester. Captain, Robinson Templeton. 
 
78 VERMONT IN THE 
 
 Co. K, Alburg. Captain, George D. Sowles. 
 
 The field officers of this regiment were James M. 
 Warner, Colonel ; Reuben C. Benton, Lieut. Colonel ; 
 George E. Chamberlin, Major. 
 
 Both of these regiments were mustered into the 
 United States service on the 1st of September; the 
 Tenth numbering ten hundred and sixteen officers and 
 men, and the Eleventh ten hundred and eighteen. The 
 Tenth left the State for the seat of war on the 6th, 
 and the Eleventh on the 7th, of September. 
 
 While the Tenth and Eleventh Regiments were 
 being raised, urgent calls were made by the Secretary 
 of War and the General-in-Chief of the army for re 
 cruits to fill the ranks of the regiments in the service 
 decimated by the privations, toils, and hardships of 
 the Peninsular Campaign. To this end each town 
 in the State was assigned its quota, estimated on its 
 population at the rate of thirty recruits to each thou 
 sand of population. The Adjutant General s Report 
 of November 1, 1862, says, "For the purpose of fill 
 ing the regiments in service, four thousand two hun 
 dred men were assessed upon the several towns in the 
 State, allowing three thousand for the Ninth, Tenth, 
 and Eleventh Regiments, and one thousand two hun 
 dred for the old regiments; and in determining the 
 quota of each town, those towns that were deficient 
 in their due proportion of men raised under the first 
 
GREAT REBELLION. 79 
 
 call for five hundred thousand men, were charged with 
 the deficiency, as shown by the lister s returns in April, 
 and the sum of the deficiencies deducted from the four 
 thousand two hundred men required, and the residue 
 only assessed upon all the towns ; thus reducing the 
 quota of the towns not deficient from fourteen upon 
 each thousand of population to eight upon each thou 
 sand." By an order from the Governor, the- Select 
 men of each town were authorized to act as recruiting 
 
 O - 
 
 officers for the purpose of raising the required number 
 of men. Most of the towns furnished the full number 
 required of them, while some furnished an excess be 
 yond their quota. By an order of the War Depart 
 ment, the men thus enlisted were allowed to select the 
 regiment in which they desired to serve. This re 
 sulted in raising eleven hundred and three recruits, 
 who entered old regiments. 
 
 Under an act of Congress of July 17, 1862, allowing 
 one additional squadron to each regiment of cavalry, 
 two companies were raised. Co. L, consisting of one 
 hundred and four officers and men, was mustered into 
 the United States service on the 29th of September, 
 1862. Co. M consisted of one hundred and one offi- 
 ers and men, and was mustered into the service on the 
 30th of December, 1862. Both companies left the 
 State to join the First Vermont Cavalry Regiment, at 
 the front, soon after being mustered. 
 
80 VERMONT IN THE 
 
 On the 4th of August, 1862, the President made a 
 requisition for three hundred thousand militia to serve 
 for nine months, the quota of Vermont being assessed 
 at four thousand eight hundred and ninety-eight men. 
 At the same time, the Secretary of War announced 
 that if any State should not furnish its quota of three 
 hundred thousand volunteers before the 15th of that 
 month, the deficiency in such State would be made 
 up by a special draft from the milita. On the 16th the 
 Secretary of War ordered that volunteers to fill up 
 the old regiments should be received and paid the 
 bounty and advance pay offered by the Government 
 until the first day of September, and for want of vol 
 unteers, a special draft would be ordered to make up 
 the deficiency. 
 
 The publication of these orders resulted in a sudden 
 and unexampled increase in the number of daily enlist 
 ments. The Tenth and Eleventh Regiments were 
 rapidly filled up, and recruiting for the old regiments 
 progressed with much credit to the patriotism of the 
 young men of the State, who showed great determina 
 tion and zeal, from first to last, to sustain the Govern 
 ment. 
 
 On the llth of August, a new enrollment of all 
 able-bodied male citizens between the ages of eighteen 
 and forty-five years was ordered by the Adjutant 
 General, to be made by the listers of the several 
 
GEEAT REBELLION. 81 
 
 towns, the rolls to be completed and returned, one 
 copy to the town clerk, and another to the adjutant- 
 general s office, on or before the 25th day of that 
 month. 
 
 On the 12th of August an order was issued calling 
 into actual service all the companies of active militia 
 then in the State. There were upon the adjutant-gen 
 eral s books twenty-two of these companies, ten of 
 which had been in the service three months, compos 
 ing the first regiment, many of whom, with members 
 of other companies, had already enlisted, and were in 
 the service for three years ; so that but six companies 
 remained in the State, which had preserved their full 
 and perfect organizations, and these with reduced 
 ranks. Such was the law of the State that no legal 
 draft could be made from enrolled militia that had 
 been called into the service. 
 
 Fourteen uniform companies of the active militia 
 responded to the call, with full ranks, and were mus 
 tered into the service of the United States. They 
 were as follows : 
 
 Allen Grays, of Brandon. 
 
 Saxton s River Light Infantry, of Rockingham. 
 
 West Windsor Guards, of West Windsor. 
 
 Woodstock Light Infantry, of Woodstock. 
 
 Bradford Guards, of Bradford. 
 
 Rutland Light Guard, of Rutland. 
 6 
 
82 VERMONT IN THE 
 
 Howard Guards, of Burlington. 
 
 Tunbridge Light Infantry, of Tunbridge. 
 
 Ransom Guards, of St. Albans. 
 
 New England Guards, of Northfield. 
 
 Ernmett Guards, of Burlington. 
 
 Frontier Guards, of Coventry. 
 
 Lafayette Artillery, of Calais. 
 
 The remaining companies of the uniform militia had 
 either been disbanded by general orders or practically 
 ceased to exist as organized companies previous to the 
 order calling them into active service, so that the 
 entire uniform militia of the State had been placed at 
 the disposal of the government. 
 
 In compliance with an order issued on the 13th of 
 August, providing for the enlistment of the enrolled 
 militia by companies, through the efforts of the select 
 men of the several towns in the State, and the co 
 operation of patriotic citizens, thirty-seven companies 
 were enlisted, organized, offered themselves, and were 
 accepted for nine months service, as follows : 
 
 Montpelier Company, from Montpelier, Waterbury, 
 Barre, Berlin, Middlesex, and other towns. 
 
 Moretown Company, from Waitsfield, Warren, Fays- 
 ton, Duxbury, Moretown, and Middlesex. 
 
 Bethel Company, from Bethel, Stockbridge, Roches 
 ter, Royal ton, and Pittsfield. 
 
 Bennington Company, from Bennington, Pownal, 
 and Woodford. 
 
GREAT REBELLION. 83 
 
 Wallingford Company, from Danby, Pawlet, Middle- 
 ton, Clarendon, Wallingford, Shrewsbury, Tinmouth, 
 and other towns. 
 
 Brattleboro Company, from Brattleboro , Marlboro , 
 Putney, Dummerston, Guilford, and Westminster. 
 
 Manchester Company, from Manchester, Rupert, 
 Winhall, Sunderland, Arlington, and Dorset. 
 
 St. Johnsbury Company, from St. Johnsbury, Water- 
 bury, Barnet, Kirby, Concord, and Ryegate. 
 
 East Montpelier Company, from East Montpelier, 
 Berlin, Calais, Marshfield, Worcester, Plainfield, and 
 Orange. 
 
 Ludlow Company, from Ludlow, Plymouth, Ando- 
 ver, Weston, Landgrove, Cavendish, and other towns. 
 
 Shoreham Company, from Shoreham, Cornwall, Brid- 
 port, Benson, Orwell, and other towns. 
 
 Townshend Company, from Wardsboro , London 
 derry, Windham, Grafton, Townshend, and Jamaica. 
 
 Middlebury Company, from Middlebury, Salisbury, 
 Addison, Cornwall, Whiting, Shoreham, Weybridge, 
 Kipton, and other towns. 
 
 West Fairlee Company, from Vershire, Thetford, 
 Strafford, West Fairlee, and Washington. 
 
 Springfield Company, from Springfield, Chester, 
 Weathersfield, and Reading. 
 
 Barton Company, from Barton, Irasburg, Sutton, Al 
 bany, Craftsbury, Greensboro , Brownington, Westmore, 
 and Glover, 
 

 84 VEBMONT IN THE 
 
 
 
 Castleton Company, from Castleton, Hubbardton, 
 Fairhaven, Poultney, and West Haven. 
 
 Wilmington Company, from Wilmington, Whiting- 
 ham, Dover, Scarsboro , and Halifax. 
 
 Barnard Company, from Barnard, Pomfret, Sharon, 
 Bridge water, and Hartford. 
 
 Colchester Company, from Colchester, Milton, and 
 other towns. 
 
 Bristol Company, from Bristol, Starksboro , Monk- 
 ton, New Haven, Hinesburg, and other towns. 
 
 Danville Company, from Danville, Hardwick, and 
 Walden. 
 
 Morristown Company, from Morristown, Stowe, 
 Cambridge, Eden, Wolcott, Johnson, and Westford. 
 
 Richmond Company, from Richmond, Jericho, Un- 
 derhill, Essex, St. George, Bolton, Williston, Hunting- 
 ton, and Starksboro . 
 
 Rutland Company, from Rutland, Sherburne, Men- 
 don, Chittenden, Pittsfield, Mount Holly, Ira, and 
 other towns. 
 
 West Randolph Company, from Northfield, Brook- 
 field, and Randolph. 
 
 Highgate Company, from Swanton, Highgate, Frank 
 lin, Grand Isle, Alburg, North Hero, South Hero, and 
 other towns. 
 
 Bakersfield Company, from Berkshire, Bakersfield, 
 Enosboro , Richford, Montgomery, and other towns. 
 
GREAT REBELLION. 85 
 
 Chester Company, from Springfield, Baltimore, 
 Weathersfield, Grafton, Cavendish, Norwich, and 
 Chester. 
 
 Wait s River Company, from Barre, Orange, Tops- 
 ham, Newbury, Groton, Corinth, Washington, Brad 
 ford, and other towns. 
 
 Islanrf Pond Company, raised in Brighton, Holland, 
 Morgan, Newark, Burke, Lunenburg, Canaan, East 
 Haven, Lemington, Charleston, Brunswick, and Maid- 
 stone. 
 
 Vergennes Company, raised in Charlotte, Addison, 
 Vergennes, Ferrisburg, New Haven, Huntington, Go- 
 shen, Panton, and Granville. 
 
 Mclndoe s Falls Company, raised in Barnet, Peach- 
 am, Ryegate, Danville, Coventry, Greensboro , Barton, 
 Waterford, and St. Johnsbury. 
 
 Lyndon Company, raised in Sheffield, Wheelock, 
 Lyndon, Sutton, Glover, Guildhall, Kirby, and Victory. 
 
 Danby Company, raised in Danby, Ppwnal, Rupert, 
 Sandgate, Shaftsbury, Stamford, Wallingford, Wells, 
 Poultney, and other towns. 
 
 Felchville Company, raised in Reading, Hartford, 
 Hartland, Weston, Royalton, Barnard, Sharon, Stock- 
 bridge, Windsor, and other towns. 
 
 Williamstown Company, raised in Newfane, Putney, 
 Guilford, Peru, Stratton, Readsboro , Dummerston, 
 Brookline, Searsburg, Windham, Wardsboro , Marl 
 boro , Jamaica, and other towns. 
 
86 VERMONT IN THE 
 
 A draft was ordered to make up deficiencies in the 
 quotas of the several towns in the State, to take place 
 on the 10th of September, 1862. Before that time the 
 quotas had been so far filled that but fifty men were 
 drafted in all. Many of these enlisted, others were 
 thrown out by the medical inspector, and the balance 
 furnished substitutes. The ultimate result was, that 
 the State furnished five full regiments under the call 
 of the President. 
 
 These several companies were organized into regi 
 ments, as follows : 
 
 TWELFTH REGIMENT. 
 
 Co. A, West Windsor Guards. Captain, Charles L. 
 Savage. 
 
 Co. B, Woodstock Light Infantry. Captain, Ora 
 Paul, Jr. 
 
 Co. C, Howard Guards. Captain, Leonard W. Page. 
 
 Co. D, Tunbridge Light Infantry. Captain, David 
 F. Cole. 
 
 Co. E, Ransom Guards. Captain, Hamilton S. Gil 
 bert. 
 
 Co. F, New England Guards. Captain, Darius 
 Thomas. 
 
 Co. G, Allen Grays. Captain, Ebenezer J. Ormsbee. 
 
 Co. H, Bradford Guards. Captain, Preston S. 
 Chamberlin. 
 
GREAT REBELLION. 87 
 
 Co. I, Saxton s River Light Infantry. Captain, Carl- 
 ton H. Roundy. 
 
 Co. K, Rutland Light Guard. Captain, Walter C. 
 Landon. 
 
 The field officers of this regiment were, Asa P. 
 Blunt, Colonel ; Roswell Farnham, Lieut. Colonel ; 
 Levi G. Kingsley, Major. It was mustered into the 
 United States service at Brattleboro , with nine hun 
 dred and eighty-eight officers and men, on the 4th, and 
 left the State on the 7th of October. 
 
 THIRTEENTH REGIMENT. 
 
 Co. A, Emmett Guards. Captain, John Lanergan. 
 
 Co. B, Moretown Company. Captain, Oscar C. 
 Wilder. 
 
 Co. C, East Montpelier Company. Captain, Lewis 
 L. Colburn. 
 
 Co. D, Colchester Company. Captain, William D. 
 Munson. 
 
 Co. E, Morristown Company. Captain, Joseph J. 
 Boynton. 
 
 Co. F, Richmond Company. Captain, John L. Yale. 
 
 Co. G, Bakersfield Company. Captain, Marvin 
 White. 
 
 Co. H, Lafayette Artillery. Captain, William V. 
 Peck. 
 
 Co. I, Montpelier Company. Captain, John M. 
 Thacher. 
 
00 VERMONT IN THE 
 
 Co. K, Highgate Company. Captain, George S. 
 Blake. 
 
 The field officers of this regiment were Francis V. 
 Randall, Colonel; Andrew C. Brown, Lieutenant Col 
 onel ; Lawrence D. Clark, Major. It was mustered 
 into the United States service at Brattleboro , with 
 nine hundred and fifty-three officers and men, on the 
 10th, and left the State on the llth of October. 
 
 FOURTEENTH REGIMENT. 
 
 Co. A, Bennington Company. Captain, Ransom O. 
 Gore. 
 
 Co. B, Wallingford Company. Captain, John C. 
 Thompson. 
 
 Co. C, Manchester Company. Captain, Josiah B. 
 Munson. 
 
 Co. D, Shoreham Company. Captain, Charles E. 
 Abell. 
 
 Co. E, Middlebury Company. Captain, Edwin Rich 
 
 Co. F, Castleton Company. Captain, Joseph Jen 
 nings. 
 
 Co. G, Bristol Company. Captain, Noble F. Dun- 
 shee. 
 
 Co. H, Rutland Company. Captain, Walter C. 
 Dunton. 
 
 Co. I, Yergennes Company. Captain, Solomon T. 
 Allen. 
 
GREAT REBELLION. 89 
 
 Co. K, Danby Company. Captain, Alonzo N. 
 Colvin. 
 
 The field officers were, William T. Nichols, Colonel ; 
 Charles W. Rose, Lieut. Colonel ; Nathaniel B. Hall, 
 Major. It was mustered into the United States ser 
 vice at Brattleboro , with nine hundred and fifty-two 
 officers and men, on the 21st, and left the State on the 
 22d of October. 
 
 FIFTEENTH REGIMENT. 
 
 Co. A, West Fairlee Company. Captain, Horace E. 
 Brown. 
 
 Co. B, Danville Company. Captain, James M. Ayer. 
 
 Co. C, West Randolph Company. Captain, C. N. 
 Carpenter. 
 
 Co. D, Wait s River Company. Captain, Charles G. 
 French. 
 
 Co. E, Island Pond Company. Captain, Warren 
 N~oyes. 
 
 Co. F, Mclndoe s Falls Company. Captain, Xerxes 
 C. Stevens. 
 
 Co. G, Lyndon Company. Captain, Stephen Mc- 
 Gafley. 
 
 Co. H, Frontier Guards. Captain, Riley E. Wright. 
 
 Co. I, Barton Company. Captain, William H. 
 Johnson. 
 
 Co. K, St. Johnsbury Company. Captain, George 
 B. Woodward. 
 
90 VERMONT IN THE 
 
 The field officers were, Redfield Proctor, Colonel ; 
 William W. Grout, Lieut. Colonel ; Charles F. Spal- 
 ding, Major. It was mustered into the United States 
 service at Brattleboro , with nine hundred and thirty- 
 five officers and men, on the 22d, and left the State on 
 the 23d of October. 
 
 SIXTEENTH REGIMENT. 
 
 Co. A, Bethel Company. Captain, Henry A. Eaton. 
 
 Co. B, Brattleboro Company. Captain, Robert B. 
 Arms. 
 
 Co. C, Ludlow Company. Captain, Asa G. Foster. 
 
 Co. D, Townshend Company. Captain, David Ball. 
 
 Co. E, Springfield Company. Captain, Alvin C. 
 Mason. 
 
 Co. F, Wilmington Company. Captain, Henry F. 
 Dix. 
 
 Co. G, Barnard Company. Captain, Harvey N. 
 Bruce. 
 
 Co. H, Felchville Company. Captain, Joseph C. 
 Sawyer. 
 
 Co. I, Williamsville Company. Captain, Lyrnan E. 
 Knapp. 
 
 Co. K, Chester Company. Captain, Samuel Hutch- 
 inson. 
 
 The field officers were, Wheelock G. Veazey, Col 
 onel; Charles Cummings, Lieut. Colonel; William 
 
GKEAT EEBELLON. 91 
 
 Rounds, Major. It was mustered into the United 
 States service at Brattleboro , with nine hundred arid 
 forty-nine officers and men, on the 23d, and left the 
 State on the 24th of October. 
 
 When the muster of the foregoing five regiments 
 was completed, there were in the service from Vermont 
 fifteen regiments of Infantry, one regiment of Cavalry, 
 two batteries of Light Artillery, and three companies of 
 Sharpshooters. According to the Adjutant General s 
 Report, the account stood with the State as follows : 
 
 Men furnished on first requisition for 500,000 men, . 9,283 
 
 " " " second " " 300.000 " . 4,164 
 
 " " third " 300,000 " . 4,777 
 
 Total, 18,224 
 
 On the 1st of November, 1862, there were in the 
 field from the State of Vermont fifteen regiments of 
 Infantry, one regiment of Cavalry, two batteries of 
 Light Artillery, and three companies of Sharpshooters, 
 then numbering over sixteen thousand officers and 
 men. Of these, five regiments of infantry were enlisted 
 for nine months, and the residue for three years or 
 during the war. 
 
 In December, 1862, the Eleventh Infantry Regiment 
 was, by order of the War Department, changed to 
 Heavy Artillery, and an additional company was raised 
 for it and mustered into the United States service July 
 
92 VERMONT IN THE 
 
 11, 1863,with one hundred and fifty-one officers and men. 
 Subsequently another company was enlisted, organized, 
 and added to this regiment. An additional company 
 was raised, consisting of one hundred and one officers 
 and men, mustered into the United States service 
 December 30, 1862, and added to the First Regiment 
 of Cavalry. A brigade band, of fifteen men, for the 
 brigade composed of the old regiments from the State, 
 was enlisted and mustered into the service May 26, 
 1863. 
 
 In October, 1863, the State stood credited by the 
 War Department with one hundred and twenty-eight 
 men in excess of her quota under all calls for troops 
 which had then been made. 
 
 The term of service of the Twelfth, Thirteenth, 
 Fourteenth, Fifteenth, and Sixteenth Regiments, en 
 listed for nine months, having expired, they were 
 mustered out from the 14th of July to the 10th of 
 August, 1863. 
 
 Under an order of the War Department, drafts were 
 made from the enrolled militia of the State by Con 
 gressional districts. That in the Third District took 
 place on the 26th of September; Second District, 30th 
 of September; and First District, 1st of October, 1863. 
 The quota assigned to the State, to be raised by draft, 
 was 4715. The whole number of men drafted was 
 7071; accepted, 2781; entered the service, 318;. pro- 
 
GREAT REBELLION. 93 
 
 cured substitutes, 630 ; paid commutation, 1833 ; mak 
 ing a total of men who entered the service, furnished 
 substitutes, and paid commutation, of 2781, leaving a de 
 ficiency of 1934 men, to be raised by supplemental draft, 
 or otherwise furnished by the State. The men obtained 
 by the draft were most of them sent to fill up the old 
 regiments, depleted by casualties of field and camp. 
 The deficiency was made up by enlistments induced 
 by the spirit of patriotism which pervaded the State 
 from the beginning to the close of the war, and by the 
 large bounties and pay offered by towns, State, and 
 United States. 
 
 During the year from October 1, 1863, to October 
 1, 1864, under a general order of the War Depart 
 ment authorizing the re-enlistment of men in the ser 
 vice who had less than one year of their original term 
 of enlistment to serve, and offering a bounty and pre 
 mium of four hundred and two dollars to all who 
 should thus re-enlist, one thousand nine hundred and 
 forty-three men re-enlisted in regiments and detached 
 companies from Vermont. 
 
 The term of service of the Second Regiment expired 
 June 19, 1864, and on the 22d it was mustered out 
 of service at Brattleboro , with two hundred and nine 
 teen officers and men. The term of the Third expired 
 July 15, 1864, and it was mustered out at Burlington 
 on the 27th, with one hundred and sixty officers and 
 
94 VEEMONT IN THE 
 
 men. The term of the Fourth expired September 
 20, 1864, and it was mustered out at Brattleboro on 
 the 30th, with one hundred and forty-six officers and 
 men. The term of the Fifth expired September 15, 
 1864, but its organization was preserved by the re-en 
 listment of the requisite number of men. Such as had 
 not re-enlisted were mustered out as a detachment in 
 the field, and returned to Burlington to be paid. The 
 term of the Sixth expired October 14, 1864, but pre 
 served its organization by re-enlistments, and was 
 mustered out June 26, 1865. The term of the 
 Seventh expired February 12, 1865, but it was not 
 mustered out until March 14th, 1866. The other in 
 fantry served until after the close of the war. The 
 First Company of Sharpshooters was mustered out 
 September 13, 1864; the Second, November 9, 1864; 
 the Third, December 30, 1861. The First Light 
 Battery was mustered out August 10, 1864; the 
 Second, September 20, 1864; the Third served to 
 the end of the war. The First Regiment of Cavalry 
 was mustered out of service November 18, 1864. 
 
 VERMONT TROOPS. 
 
 During the four years existence of the War of 
 the Rebellion from the first assault upon Fort 
 Sumter, April 12, 1861, to the surrender of Lee s 
 
GREAT REBELLION. 95 
 
 army at Appomattox Court House, April 9, 1865 
 all the Free States acted well their parts, New Eng 
 land, whose sentiments with regard to the peculiar 
 institution, and the great interest of the South, had 
 been for years misunderstood, and persistently misrep 
 resented by senators and representatives in Congress, 
 by the newspaper press, and by the influential men 
 generally in and from the Slave States, was especially 
 hated for her thrift, enterprise, and intelligence. Her 
 senators and representatives had been insulted, bullied, 
 and assaulted upon the floor of Congress. She had 
 been defied, and the patriotism and bravery of her 
 sons had been called in question ; and when the flag 
 of the common country was fired upon by South Caro 
 lina, every New England man felt insulted, and called 
 upon to protect and defend it, if need be with his life, 
 his property, and his sacred honor. 
 
 Vermont participated largely in this feeling, and im 
 mediately on the reception of the call of President 
 Lincoln for seventy-five thousand volunteers for three 
 months, Governor Fairbanks called the Legislature to 
 assemble, and take all needed measures to put into 
 the field her quota of men. On the 23d of April the 
 Legislature assembled at Montpelier, and Governor 
 Fairbanks delivered before the joint assembly the 
 following practical and patriotic address: 
 
96 VERMONT IN THE 
 
 " Gentlemen of the Senate and House of Representa 
 tives : 
 
 " We are convened to-day in view of events of an 
 extraordinary and very alarming character. The ele 
 ment of disunion, which, in a portion of the United 
 States, for many years, vented itself in threats and 
 menaces, has culminated in open rebellion ; and an 
 unnatural and causeless civil war has been precipitated 
 against the general government. 
 
 "Unprincipled and ambitious men have organized 
 a despotism and an armed force for the purpose of 
 overthrowing that government which the American 
 people have formed for themselves, and of destroying 
 that constitutional framework under which we have 
 enjoyed peace and prosperity, and from a small and 
 feeble people grown and expanded to a rank among 
 the first nations of the earth. 
 
 " The enormity of this rebellion is heightened by 
 the consideration that no valid cause exists for it. 
 The history of the civilized world does not furnish an 
 instance where a revolution was attempted for such 
 slight causes. No act of oppression, no attempted or 
 threatened invasion of the rights of the revolting 
 States, has existed, either on the part of the general 
 government or of the loyal States ; but the principle 
 has been recognized and observed, that the right of 
 
GREAT REBELLION. 97 
 
 each and every State to regulate its domestic institu 
 tions should remain inviolate. 
 
 " The inception and progress of this rebellion have 
 been remarkable, and characterized at every stage by 
 a total absence of any high honorable principle or 
 motive in its leaders. 
 
 " Its master spirits are composed, essentially, of men 
 who have been in high official position in the general 
 government ; and it has transpired that members of 
 the late Cabinet at Washington, while in the exercise 
 of their official functions, were engaged in treasonable 
 plots for seizing the public property and subverting the 
 United States government. 
 
 " Conventions of delegates in the revolting States, 
 chosen, in some instances, by a minority of the legal 
 voters of those States, have, with indecent haste, 
 adopted ordinances of secession, which ordinances 
 have in no instance been submitted to the people for 
 their ratification. 
 
 " These proceedings have been followed by a con 
 vention of delegates from the several revolting States, 
 which convention has organized a confederate govern 
 ment, adopted a constitution, elected its executive 
 officers and subordinate functionaries, constituted it 
 self into a legislative body, and enacted a code of laws, 
 all which proceedings have been independent of any 
 action of the people of those States. 
 
98 VERMONT IN THE 
 
 " The authorities of the revolting States, and sub 
 sequently that of their confederacy, have proceeded to 
 acts of robbery and theft upon the property of the 
 United States within their limits. Forts, arsenals, 
 arras, military stores, and other public property, have 
 been seized and appropriated for use against the power 
 of the general government; and custom-houses and 
 mints in Southern cities, with large amounts of treas 
 ure, have been feloniously robbed. 
 
 " These acts have been followed by military demon 
 strations and strategetical operations against the Unit 
 ed States forts at Pensacola and Charleston, the lat 
 ter of which, under its gallant commander, Major 
 Anderson, after a bombardment of thirty-four hours, 
 from beleaguering batteries of the insurgents, was 
 evacuated on the 13th instant, and the flag of the 
 Union withdrawn. But the crowning act of perfidy, 
 on the part of the conspirators, is the proclamation of 
 Jefferson Davis, styling himself the President of the 
 Southern Confederacy, inviting all those who may 
 desire, by service in private-armed vessels on the high 
 seas, to aid his government, to make application for 
 commissions, or letters of marque or reprisal ; thus 
 instituting a grand scheme of piracy on the high seas 
 against the lives and private property of peaceful 
 citizens. 
 
 "These acts of outrage and daring rebellion have 
 
GKEAT REBELLION. 99 
 
 been equaled only by the forbearance of the general 
 government. Unwilling to precipitate a conflict which 
 must involve the country in all the calamities of civil 
 war, the present government of the United States has 
 exhausted every effort for peace, and every measure 
 for bringing back to their allegiance these disaffected 
 and misguided States. 
 
 " The duty of protecting the forts and government 
 property, not possessed by the insurgents, was impera 
 tive upon the administration; but further than this, 
 no measures for coercing the revolting States into obe 
 dience to the constitution and the laws were adopted, 
 and in the matter of the beleaguered forts, the gov 
 ernment acted only on the defensive, until the conflict 
 was commenced by the insurgents. 
 
 " Such forbearance on the part of the government, 
 while it has served to place the conspirators in a moral 
 wrong, is no longer justifiable; and the country hails 
 with entire unanimity and with ardent enthusiasm the 
 decision of the President to call into requisition the 
 whole power of the nation for suppressing the rebel 
 lion, and repelling threatened aggressions. 
 
 " From every part of the country, in all the loyal 
 States, there is one united voice for sustaining the 
 Union, the Constitution, and the integrity of the 
 United States government. All partisan differences are 
 ignored and lost in the higher principles of patriotism. 
 
100 VEEMONT IN THE; 
 
 "In this patriotic enthusiasm Vermont eminently 
 participates. Her citizens, always loyal to the Union, 
 will, in this hour of peril, nobly rally for the protection 
 of the government and the constitution. 
 
 " On the fifteenth instant, the President of the 
 United States issued his proclamation, calling forth 
 the militia of the several States of the Union, to the 
 aggregate number of seventy-five thousand, in order 
 to suppress treasonable combinations, and cause the 
 laws to be duly executed. 
 
 "The quota required of Vermont, for immediate ser 
 vice, is one regiment of seven hundred and eighty offi 
 cers and privates. 
 
 " On receiving the requisition from the Secretary of 
 War for this regiment, I ordered the adjutant and in 
 spector general to adopt the proper measures for call 
 ing into service such of the volunteer companies as 
 are necessary to make up the complement ; and the 
 quartermaster general was directed to procure, with 
 the least possible delay, the requisite outfit of knap 
 sacks, overcoats, blankets, and other equipments ; which 
 duty he has performed. 
 
 "Having adopted the foregoing preliminary measures 
 for responding to the call of the President, I availed 
 myself of the constitutional provision for convening 
 the general assembly of an extra session, not doubting 
 that you, gentlemen, representing the universally ex- 
 
GEE AT REBELLION. 101 
 
 pressed patriotism of the citizens of this State, will 
 make all necessary appropriations and provisions for 
 defraying the expenses already incurred, and carrying 
 into execution further measures for placing our military 
 quota at the service of the general government. 
 
 " Conceiving it imminently probable that, at an early 
 day, further calls may be made upon this State for 
 troops, I respectfully call your attention to the impor 
 tance of adopting immediate measures for a more 
 efficient organization of the military arm of the State. 
 
 " During the long interval of peace which we have 
 enjoyed, while our citizens have been uninterrupted in 
 their lawful industrial pursuits, the importance of a 
 military organization and discipline has been lost sight 
 of. Our laws in relation to the militia have been sub 
 jected, during nearly a quarter of a century, to numer 
 ous isolated amendments and alterations, until, as a 
 code, they are disjointed, complicated, and altogether 
 too cumbrous for the basis of a regular and effective 
 organization. I therefore recommend that the Legis 
 lature should promptly remedy these defects, and adopt 
 such enactments as shall provide effectively for organ 
 izing, arming, and equipping the militia of the State, 
 and for reasonably compensating the officers and pri 
 vates when required to meet for exercise and drill. 
 
 "I desire also to urge upon you the duty of making 
 contingent appropriations of money, to be expended, 
 
102 VEEMONT IN THE 
 
 under the direction of the Executive, for the outfit of 
 any additional military forces which may be called for 
 by the general government. 
 
 " The occasion is an extraordinary one. Intelligence 
 reaches us that the Virginia convention of delegates, 
 elected under the express provision that any ordinance 
 adopted by them should be submitted to the people 
 for their approval or rejection, has, in secret session, 
 passed an ordinance of secession, and that the Governor 
 of the State has assumed to order the seizure of the 
 United States forts, arsenals, and vessels within the 
 limits of that State. 
 
 " The Federal capital is menaced by an imposing 
 and well-armed military force, and the government it 
 self, and the national archives, are in imminent peril. 
 
 " Such is the emergency, in view of which Ijnvoke 
 your immediate action. The Legislatures of other 
 States have made liberal appropriations and extensive 
 military arrangements for aiding the government, and 
 their citizens are hastening to the rescue of our coun 
 try s flag. We shall discredit our past history should 
 we, in this crisis, suffer Vermont to be behind her 
 sister States in her patriotic sacrifices for the preserva 
 tion of the Union and the constitution. 
 
 " I feel assured, gentlemen, that you will best reflect 
 the sentiments and wishes of your constituents, by 
 emulating in your legislative action the patriotism and 
 
GEEAT REBELLION. 103 
 
 liberality of the noble States which have already re 
 sponded, to the call of the government. 
 
 " It is devoutly to be hoped that the mad ambition 
 of the secession leaders may be restrained, and the im 
 pending sanguinary conflict averted. But a hesitating, 
 half-way policy on the part of the administration of the 
 loyal States will not avail to produce such a result. 
 
 " The United States government must be sustained, 
 and the rebellion suppressed, at whatever cost of men 
 and treasure ; and it remains to be seen whether the 
 vigorous preparations that are being made, and the im 
 mense military force called into service by the Presi 
 dent, are not the most probable and certain measures 
 for a speedy and successful solution of the question. 
 
 " May the Divine Being, who rules among the na 
 tions, and directs the affairs of men, interpose by his 
 merciful providence, and restore to us again the blessing 
 of peace, under the aegis of our national constitution." 
 
 This call of the Governor for prompt and efficient 
 action by the Legislature of Vermont was not made in 
 vain. He did not misjudge the patriotism of the peo 
 ple, or the willingness of their representatives, to ren 
 der all needed aid to the government for the protec 
 tion of her beloved flag and the upholding of the laws. 
 No time was spent in useless discussion as to the pre 
 cise way that succor should be given to the Executive 
 
104 VERMONT IN THE 
 
 of the nation, but acts were immediately passed appro 
 priating one million dollars fqi- arming, equipping, and 
 holding, subject to orders from the War Department, 
 the militia of the State, and doing other things to send 
 promptly to the field any required troops, pay them 
 a fair equivalent for their services while fighting the 
 battles of the country, and taking care of the dear 
 ones they should leave behind them. The Legislature 
 placed the responsibility of raising, organizing, uni 
 forming, arming, equipping, and subsisting the regi 
 ments in the hands of the Governor, giving him au 
 thority to draw his warrants on the State Treasurer for 
 all expenditures. 
 
 All this was done, and the Legislature adjourned on 
 the 27th of April, four days after assembling. The 
 promptness and decisive energy of that body of law 
 givers was an example for every young man in the 
 State to imitate, by enrolling himself " for the war ; " 
 and most nobly and patriotically did they do it. Al 
 most every farm, workshop, mill, counting-room, and 
 office in the State sent forth to the field its representa 
 tive ; and many of them, alas ! never returned. 
 
 During the whole four years continuance of the war, 
 Vermont was ever ready with her men and her treas 
 ure to aid the government whenever and however 
 called upon. Such was the character of her popula 
 tion that a greater percentage of native-born citizens 
 
GREAT REBELLION. 105 
 
 was sent than from any other State, and the reputation 
 of her troops for bravery, endurance, and intelligence 
 was deservedly very high. 
 
 When the war first broke out, it was presumed that 
 other troops than those required to fill her share of the 
 seventy-five thousand first called for by the President 
 might be needed from Vermont before the rebellion, 
 the proportions of which were very little understood, 
 should be suppressed ; and it was supposed that should 
 she send three full regiments, and keep their constantly 
 decimating ranks filled by new enlistments, she would 
 be taxed to the extent of her capacity. In the four 
 years, however, she furnished eighteen regiments, three 
 batteries, and three detached companies. The original 
 enlistments, and the recruits sent forward to the sev 
 eral organizations to fill their decimated ranks, from 
 time to time, made an aggregate of 34,238 men, at an 
 expense to the State of $9,087,353.40, of which the 
 sum of $5,215,787.70 was expended by the several 
 towns, in their municipal capacity, without expectation 
 of repayment. 
 
 Of these 34,238 men enlisted, 5124 were killed, and 
 died of wounds, and disease contracted in the service, 
 and 5022 were discharged from the service before the 
 expiration of their term of enlistment, by reason of 
 disability. The late adjutant general, in his report, 
 gives the total loss in all the various forms of casualty, 
 at 13,724 officers and men. 
 
106 VERMONT IN THE 
 
 When we have these facts of the number of troops 
 furnished, the lives lost, physical constitutions broken 
 down, and money expended by the small State of Ver 
 mont, and remember that other States did their share 
 as well, we can make some sort of a just estimate of 
 the total cost in life and treasure to the loyal States of 
 the four years of the Great Rebellion. And yet such 
 are the resources and the recuperative powers of the 
 loyal States that after four years of peace we have but 
 few reminders of the sanguinary struggle left, except 
 here and there a vacant place by the family hearth 
 stone ; an occasional empty sleeve ; a missing leg, left 
 upon the battle-field; innumerable scarred veterans 
 halting by us, carrying about with them unmistakable 
 evidence of many well-fought battles ; and a small in 
 crease of public rates. 
 
 The history of the services of the Vermont regi 
 ments in the field the battles in which they engaged 
 and the sieges they passed is yet to be written. 
 Here they can have but a passing notice. They can 
 be rewarded for their hardships and sacrifices only by 
 the consciousness of duty to their country well and 
 nobly performed. 
 
 FIKST REGIMENT. 
 
 This regiment was enlisted for three months, but in 
 that time did just the service that was required at that 
 
GREAT REBELLION. 107 
 
 stage of the war. They were engaged in several re- 
 connoissances, and one severe battle, that of Big 
 Bethel, in which they behaved bravely. The follow 
 ing is the report of the commanding officer of the 
 regiment in that engagement: 
 
 " CAMP BUTLER, AT NEWPORT NEWS, VA., > 
 June 11, 1861. \ 
 
 " To J. W. PHEL^S, Colonel First Regiment Ver 
 mont Volunteers, commanding the Post. 
 
 " SIR : Pursuant to your order, I left camp between 
 twelve and one o clock on the morning of the 10th, 
 with five companies of the Vermont Regiment, being 
 the 2d Co., Captain Pelton ; the 4th Co., Captain An- 
 dros ; the 6th Co., Captain Boynton ; the 8th Co., Cap 
 tain Peck; and the 10th Co., Captain Ripley; and five 
 companies of the Fourth Massachusetts Regiment, 
 being Co. F, Captain Shepard ; Co. G-, Captain Gor 
 don ; Co. H, Captain . Curtis ; Co. K, Captain Barnes, 
 and Co. M (rifles), Captain Clark. The strength of 
 the command was, Vermont Regiment, 13 officers and 
 262 men ; Massachusetts Regiment, 15 officers and 248 
 men, making a total of 28 officers and 510 men. 
 
 " Colonel Benedix, with a detachment of the Sev 
 enth New York Volunteers, followed my detachment, 
 with two field-pieces and eleven artillerists, under the 
 command of Lieutenant Greble, of the Second Artil 
 lery. The march proceeded quietly, and with great 
 
108 VERMONT IN THE 
 
 dispatch, until we were within about -half a mile of 
 Little Bethel, our place of designation, Colonel 
 Benedix having halted with his detachment and one 
 field-piece, at the junction of the road from Newport 
 News with the road from Hampton, and Lieutenant 
 Greble having followed in the rear of my detachment 
 with one gun. While continuing the march, heavy 
 firing of small arms was heard in our rear, in the direc 
 tion of Colonel Benedix s detachment. When it had 
 continued so long and sharply that it appeared to me 
 that it was a serious attack, I countermarched my 
 troops and returned to the place where Colonel Bene 
 dix was stationed, and found that he was opposed by a 
 large body of troops, coming from the direction of 
 Hampton, a portion of whom I could then see upon a 
 rise of land in front. I immediately formed my com 
 mand in order of battle, and then, fearing that they 
 were our friends, I caused my whole line to shout 
 4 Boston ! together, four times. Receiving no response, 
 I advanced my line, and was fired upon from a how 
 itzer, the fire doing us no injury. The enemy, as I 
 then supposed them to be, then disappeared, and I 
 went forward to a house near by, where I found a num 
 ber of wounded men, who stated that they belonged 
 to Colonel Townshend s New York Regiment. At this 
 time Colonel Duryea, with his regiment, who had also 
 heard the firing, and who had reached Little Bethel at 
 
GREAT REBELLION. 109 
 
 about the same time that I should have reached that 
 place if my march had not been interrupted, came to 
 the same place, and General Pierce, who had been with 
 Colonel Townshend s regiment, also came up. Gen 
 eral Pierce then assumed command of all the troops, 
 and by his order I moved my detachment on to Great 
 Bethel. The enemy we found there, intrenched in 
 force. Pursuant to the orders of the general, I formed 
 my troops in line of battle, in rear of Colonel Towns 
 hend s regiment. Previous to this, General Pierce had 
 taken from my command one half of Captain Shepard s 
 Company F, of the Fourth Massachusetts Volunteers, 
 to guard certain stores at Little Bethel, taking three 
 non-commissioned officers and twenty-one privates. 
 After forming line of battle, General Pierce directed 
 that two of my companies be detached as skirmishers, 
 to hold the woods upon our left, and prevent a flank 
 attack. The eighth and tenth Companies of the First 
 Vermont Regiment were detached for that service, and 
 were thus entirely separated from my command. Im 
 mediately afterwards, Captain Clark s rifles (Co. M), of 
 the Fourth Massachusetts Regiment, and the residue of 
 Captain Shepard s Company, were also detached by 
 General Pierce and sent into the woods, to act as 
 skirmishers in connection with Colonel Duryea s Regi 
 ment, and were thus separated from my command. I 
 then received an order from General Pierce to move 
 
110 VERMONT IN THE 
 
 through the woods, beyond the right of the Zouaves, 
 and attack the left flank of the enemy s battery. No 
 other direction as to location was given, and no guide 
 was sent with me. I moved through the woods, 
 which were very close and tangled, and, after consider 
 able difficulty, succeeded in placing my men in the 
 proper position, and opened fire. 
 
 " The attack by my men was very spirited, and the 
 firing from both sides very warm. Soon after I com 
 menced the attack, the firing ceased upon every other 
 part of the work, and the enemy s fire appeared to be 
 concentrated upon us. While making the attack, I 
 was joined by Colonel Benedix with a body of his 
 men, probably sixty in all. After the firing had con 
 tinued about twenty minutes, the enemy brought their 
 artillery to bear upon us with grape shot ; and finding 
 that I was not supported by any fire or attack elsewhere, 
 except an occasional fire from Lieutenant Greble s 
 guns, I ceased firing, and withdrew my men, in good 
 order, under cover of the woods. There the compa 
 nies became separated, so that, in forming line, I found 
 with me only Captain Pelton s Company of the First 
 Vermont Regiment, and Captain Barnes and Captain 
 Curtis Companies of the Fourth Massachusetts Regi 
 ment, and a few men from the Fourth and Sixth Com 
 panies of the Vermont Regiment. After remaining 
 in line until all the men had come in from the point 
 
GEE AT REBELLION. Ill 
 
 of attack, I returned with those men to the place 
 where I had first formed. I then found that Colonel 
 Duryea s Regiment had retired, and were then out of 
 sight, and Colonel Townshend s Regiment were also 
 retiring. All of my detachment assembled quietly, 
 and I formed line of battle again upon the ground I 
 had first occupied, and reported to General Pierce for 
 further orders, and was told by him that he had or 
 dered a retreat, and was directed to retire with my 
 command. I retired about fifty rods, and then halted 
 until the wounded had been got ready for transporta 
 tion, and the two field-pieces had been brought off. 
 One I left with General Pierce, and the other I moved 
 off to the rear, when General Pierce informed me that 
 the one left had been disabled, and directed me to leave 
 the other for Colonel Allen s Regiment, to cover the 
 retreat; and I did so. Both were taken by General 
 Pierce to Fort Monroe. I then commenced the return 
 march, arriving in camp toward night. 
 
 " The expedition was a most exhausting one for all 
 under my command. In eighteen hours the men 
 marched some thirty-five miles, and were engaged in 
 battle with very slight rest, and no food except a little 
 hard bread. Before commencing the battle they had 
 been under arms nine hours without refreshment. 
 The strength of the companies with which I made the 
 assault upon the works was, at that time, Vermont 
 
112 VERMONT IN THE 
 
 companies, 5 officers and 148 men ; Massachusetts 
 companies, 9 officers and 127 men: total, 289. The 
 killed, wounded, and missing were 7 : viz., Vermont, 
 3 wounded, 1 missing; Massachusetts, 2 killed, 1 mor 
 tally wounded. Captain Andros, of Vermont, was 
 among the wounded. 
 
 " The officers and men who were left under my im 
 mediate command behaved with perfect coolness, and 
 kept perfect order, both in the advance through the 
 woods and in the attack upon the works. Every one 
 went into the engagement, and fought manfully, and 
 without flinching. "Where all behaved so well, I can 
 not particularize any of those under my immediate 
 eye. It would be invidious to do so. I particularly 
 noticed the coolness and bravery of Major Whitte- 
 more, of the Fourth Massachusetts Regiment, who was 
 my second in command ; of Captains Pelton and An 
 dros, and Lieutenant Webb, of the Vermont Regi 
 ment; and of Captains Barnes, Curtis, and Gordon, 
 of the Fourth Massachusetts Regiment. Captain Pel- 
 ton was the first man who mounted the bank in face 
 of the enemy, and he retained his exposed situation 
 during most of the attack. Captain Andros reports 
 privates A. H. Stover, George W. Flanders, Burnham 
 Caverly, and A. J. Going, of the Fourth Company of 
 the Vermont Regiment as entitled to commendation. 
 The other captains report that all their men behaved 
 
GREAT REBELLION. 113 
 
 with so much resolution and courage that they cannot 
 particularize any. To Major Whittemore I am much 
 indebted for the compact order and effective position 
 upon the march in which the men were kept. In the 
 attack he was in the foremost lines. 
 
 "I return herewith the reports of Captains Ripley 
 and Peck, of the Vermont Regiment, and Captains 
 Shepard and Clark, of the Fourth Massachusetts Regi 
 ment, who were taken from under my command by 
 General Pierce, and who were not afterward with 
 me until the action had closed. 
 
 " I regret to be compelled to report also the death 
 of Lieutenant Greble. He occupied, with his guns, 
 the most exposed position in the attack, and worked 
 them with most perfect coolness and bravery during 
 the action. He was killed by the last discharge but 
 one which was fired by the enemy. The men under 
 his command are justly entitled to great credit. They 
 fought bravely, brought off all their guns, and also 
 the body of Lieutenant Greble. From information 
 received by me, I particularly mention Corporal Pee- 
 ples, and also private Bisgard of Company F, of the 
 Third United States Artillery. 
 
 "From my personal observation, I believe Major 
 Winthrop, of Major General Butler s staff, to have 
 been killed during my attack. He came to me dur 
 ing the midst of the attack, and rushed forward, and 
 8 
 
114 VERMONT IN THE 
 
 one of my men, describing his uniform, appearance, 
 and arms accurately, states that he fell by his side. 
 " I have the honor to remain, 
 
 " Your most obedient servant, 
 
 "PETER T. WASHBURN, 
 "Lieutenant Colonel First Vermont Volunteers" 
 
 The following, in reference to this First Vermont 
 Regiment, is an extract from an oration before the Re 
 union Society of Vermont Officers, at Montpelier, in Oc 
 tober, 1868, by General P. T. Washburn, who was lieu 
 tenant colonel and much of the time its commander : 
 
 " Of the First Regiment of Vermont Volunteers I 
 must be allowed to speak with pride. They were the 
 first to volunteer from the State. The order for their 
 organization was issued on the 23d of April; they 
 were in camp on the 3d of May ; left the State on the 
 9th ; bore proudly through the streets of New York 
 the little sprig of evergreen, which designated each 
 man as one of the noble race of Green Mountain Boys, 
 whose fathers had fought and won at Bennington, and 
 whose sons had maintained the integrity of their sires, 
 until they had gained for their State the proud title of 
 the Star that never sets. They were in Fortress 
 Monroe on the 13th, too late to save Norfolk, with 
 its immense armament, which treachery had surren 
 dered to treason only a few days preceding their 
 

GEE AT REBELLION. 115 
 
 arrival, but seasonably to preserve the fortress from 
 capture by the rebel bands which then swarmed under 
 its very walls, and effectually blockaded every approach 
 by land. They served faithfully their term. The 
 name of the first battle of the war is inscribed upon 
 their record ; and when they returned to be disbanded, 
 it was but to tender service again in other organiza 
 tions, again to maintain the honor of the State and the 
 integrity of the nation in field and camp. The history 
 of every subsequent organization, the history of Ver 
 mont in the war, is in part their history." 
 
 The men composing this regiment were all esteemed 
 citizens at home, and most of them left profitable busi 
 ness and took up arms when their country called. As 
 the cars were leaving Rutland, one of the privates, 
 in response to the cheers of the people, said, 
 
 " The Vermont Regiment, citizens in peace, soldiers 
 in war, give you the sentiment embodied in the charge 
 of the Grecian matron to her son, * We will bring back 
 our shields, or be brought back upon them, " 
 
 More than six hundred of the men who composed 
 the First Regiment subsequently joined other organiza 
 tions, and served through the war. More than two 
 hundred and fifty of them held commissions of every 
 grade, from second lieutenant to brigadier general. 
 Selden Conner, who was a private in the Woodstock 
 Company, was appointed lieutenant colonel in the 
 
116 VERMONT IN THE 
 
 Seventh Maine Regiment, and rose to the rank of 
 brigadier general. He was wounded in the battles of 
 the Wilderness. Samuel H. Lincoln, private in the 
 Woodstock Company, was afterwards colonel of the 
 Sixth Vermont Regiment. Captain Oscar S. Tuttle, 
 of the First, was afterward colonel of the Sixth Ver 
 mont. Lieutenant George T. Roberts, of the Rutland 
 Company, was afterwards colonel of the Seventh Ver 
 mont Regiment. He was killed at Baton Rouge. Cap 
 tain David B. Peck, of the Burlington Company, was 
 lieutenant colonel and then colonel of the Seventh Regi 
 ment. The regiment was so much reduced in numbers 
 that he was not mustered as colonel. Captain Dudley 
 K. Andros, of the Bradford Company, was afterward 
 colonel of the Ninth Regiment. Lieutenant Albert B. 
 Jewett, of the Swanton Company, was afterward 
 colonel of the Tenth Regiment. Private William T. 
 Nichols, of the Rutland Company, was afterward 
 colonel of the Fourteenth Regiment. 
 
 So much room would not be devoted to the record 
 of this regiment but for its very remarkable history, 
 and the fact that its period of service was a most 
 interesting one in the great war. 
 
 VERMONT BRIGADE. 
 
 The history of the " Vermont Brigade " is honorable 
 alike to itself and the State from which it went, whose 
 
GREAT REBELLION. 117 
 
 name it bore upon its banner. In the autumn of 1862, 
 the Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Regiments, 
 of Vermont Infantry, were brigaded together, and con 
 stituted the Second Brigade, Second Division, Sixth 
 Corps, of the Army of the Potomac. On the 10th of 
 May, 1864, the Eleventh Regiment was added. It 
 acquired the distinctive name of the "Vermont Bri 
 gade," and as such did the State and whose young men 
 composed it great honor on many hard-fought fields. 
 It was successively commanded by Brigadier Generals 
 W. F. Smith, W. T. II. Brooks, Colonel Henry Whi 
 ting, and Brigadier General L. A. Grant. It partici 
 pated in nearly every battle in which the army of the 
 Potomac was engaged, and always with bravery and 
 distinction. 
 
 The Second Regiment was successively commanded 
 by Colonel Henry Whiting, of Michigan, a graduate 
 of West Point, who resigned in February, 1863 ; 
 James II. Walbridge, of Bennington, who resigned in 
 April, 1864; Newton Stone, of Bennington, who was 
 killed at the Wilderness, Virginia, May 5, 1864 ; John 
 S. Tyler, of Brattleboro , who died May 23 , 1864, of 
 wounds received in the Wilderness; and Amasa S. 
 Tracy, who was, mustered out with the regiment, July 
 15, 1865. Before being brigaded with the other 
 Vermont regiments, the Second took part in the 
 battle of Bull Run, July 21, 1861. 
 
118 VEEMONT IN THE 
 
 The Third Regiment was successively commanded 
 by Colonels William F. Smith, a native of Vermont, 
 graduate of West Point, who was promoted brigadier 
 general of volunteers August 13, 1861; Breed N. 
 Hyde, of Hydepark, who resigned January 15, 1863; 
 Thomas O. Seaver, of Pomfret, who was mus 
 tered out of service July 27, 1864; and Horace W. 
 Floyd, who was mustered out with his regiment July 
 11, 1865. Before the formation of the Vermont Bri 
 gade, the Third Regiment participated in the battle at 
 Lewinsville, September 11, 1861. 
 
 The Fourth Regiment was commanded by Colonels 
 Edwin H. Stoughton, of Rockingham, a graduate of 
 West Point, who was promoted brigadier general of 
 volunteers November 5, 1862 ; Charles B. Stoughton, 
 of Rockingham, who resigned by reason of wounds, 
 February 2, 1864; George P. Foster, of Walden, who 
 was breveted brigadier general August 1, 1864, for 
 gallant and meritorious service before Richmond and 
 in the Shenandoah Valley, and was mustered out of 
 service with his regiment, July 13, 1865. 
 
 The Fifth Regiment was commanded by Colonels 
 Henry A. Smalley, a native of Vermont, graduate of 
 West Point, and captain Second United States Artil 
 lery (his leave of absence from his company was revoked 
 September 10, 1862) ; Lewis A. Grant, of Rocking 
 ham, promoted brigadier general of volunteers April 
 
GEE AT EEBELLION. 119 
 
 27, 1864; John R. Lewis, of Burlington, wounded 
 severely, May 5, 1864, appointed colonel of Veteran 
 Reserve Corps breveted brigadier general of volun 
 teers for gallant service in the battle of the Wilderness, 
 Virginia, to date from March 13, 1865; Roland A. 
 Kennedy, of Concord, who entered Company I, Third 
 Regiment, as a private, in June, 1861, was wounded 
 May 4, 1863, and was mustered out with the Fifth 
 Regiment, June 29, 1865. 
 
 The Sixth Regiment was commanded by Nathan 
 Lord, Jr., of Montpelier, who resigned December 18, 
 1862; Oscar S. Tuttle, of Cavendish, who resigned 
 March 18, 1863 ; Elisha L. Barney, of S wanton, who 
 died May 10, 1864, of wounds received in action at 
 the Wilderness, Virginia, May 5, 1864; Sumner H. 
 Lincoln, who was a private in Company B, was wound 
 ed May 5, 1864; mustered out with his regiment June 
 26, 1865. 
 
 These five regiments composed the Vermont Bri 
 gade, and they were together and participated in the 
 same marches and battles during nearly their whole 
 term of service. The following are the battles in 
 which they were engaged: 
 
 Lee s Mills, April 16, 1862. 
 
 Williamsburg, May 5, 1862. 
 
 Golding s Farm, June 26, 1862. 
 
 Savage Station, June 30 to July 2, 1862. 
 
120 
 
 VERMONT IN THE 
 
 Crampton s Gap, 
 
 Antietam, 
 
 Fredericksburg, 
 
 Mayre s Heights, 
 
 Salem Heights, 
 
 Fredericksburg, 
 
 Gettysburg, 
 
 Funkstown, 
 
 Rappahannock Station, 
 
 Wilderness, 
 
 Spottsylvania, 
 
 Cold Harbor, 
 
 Petersburg, 
 
 Weldon Railroad, 
 
 Charlestown, 
 
 Opequan, 
 
 Winchester, 
 
 Fisher s Hill, 
 
 Cedar Creek, 
 
 Petersburg, 
 
 Petersburg, 
 
 September 14, 1862. 
 September 17, 1862. 
 December 13, 1862. 
 May 3, 1863. 
 May 4, 1863. 
 June 5, 1863. 
 July 3, 1863. 
 July 10, 1863. 
 November 7, 1863. 
 May 5 to 10, 1864. 
 May 10 to 18, 1864. 
 June 1 to 12, 1864. 
 June 18, 1864. 
 June 53, 1864. 
 August 21, 1864. 
 September 13, 1864. 
 September 19, 1864. 
 September 21 and 22, 1864. 
 October 19, 1864. 
 March 25 and 27, 1865. 
 April 2, 1865. 
 
 BATTLE OF LEE 7 S MILLS. 
 
 The battle of Lee s Mills occurred during the siege 
 of Yorktown, and in it the Vermont Brigade per 
 formed a conspicuous and important part. The rebels 
 were strongly intrenched on the opposite side of the 
 
GREAT REBELLION. 121 
 
 creek, and made frequent attacks upon our troops at 
 night. They were several times kept under arms 
 through the night, expecting a general assault by the 
 enemy. Snapshooting and skirmishing continued 
 almost without intermission, and men were at no time 
 safe from rebel bullets. Rebel gunboats approached 
 the mouth of Warwick Creek, and with their assist 
 ance the rebel infantry attempted to turn our left flank, 
 but were repulsed and driven back. 
 
 Lee s Mills are about two miles from the James River, 
 and six from Yorktown. On the morning of the 16th 
 of April, 1862, the Second Division of the Sixth Corps 
 was ordered to move, and it was understood that they 
 were to make an assault upon the enemy s works. 
 The troops were massed near some ruins, known as 
 "The Chimneys," the Second, or Vermont Brigade, 
 holding the front line, supported by the First and Third 
 Brigades. Warwick Creek here makes up from the 
 James River, in places narrow and deep, with abrupt 
 banks, the land generally spreading out into marshes 
 or swamps. On the west side were two rebel forts, 
 with extensive rifle-pits. In front of them was an open 
 space of some two or three hundred rods, and in the 
 rear a dense wood, while thick wood also fringed the 
 forts on each side. On the enemy s right the ravine 
 through which the waters of the creek flowed ex 
 panded into a wet swamp, and the stream was so 
 
122 VERMONT IN THE 
 
 dammed up below as to flood it, thus rendering a 
 flank movement in that direction almost impossible. 
 
 A little farther down the creek the rebels had 
 another fort, with rifle-pits, commanding the road to 
 Lee s Mills, which passed by these works at a distance 
 of between two and three hundred rods. It was 
 resolved to drive the rebels from this commanding 
 position. At about nine o clock in the morning, a 
 portion of the Third Vermont, supported by Mott s 
 Battery, advanced, as skirmishers, toward the eastern 
 bank of the creek. The first shell they fired exploded 
 directly over the rebel fort. With a well-manned 
 battery of six guns our troops opened upon the rebels, 
 with great rapidity and precision, a deadly fire of shot 
 and shell, which was replied to with equal vigor. 
 Their first shell exploded in front of one of our guns, 
 killing or wounding every man but one. 
 
 An incessant fire was kept up on both sides for 
 three hours, the marshy creek alone separating the 
 contending forces. Soon one half the guns in the 
 rebel forts were silenced by the fire from our batteries. 
 The rebels then ceased to reply, and evacuated the fort. 
 Sharpshooters were sent forward to reconnoiter, but 
 could not ascertain what had become of the garrison. 
 We had thus far lost seven men, and no enemy was to 
 be seen, when our troops had three or four hours 
 for rest. 
 
GREAT REBELLION. 123 
 
 At about four o clock in the afternoon the rebels 
 again appeared in possession of another breastwork, 
 upon which they had mounted several guns. They 
 were seen swarming through the woods in the vicinity 
 of the fort in large numbers. Mott s Battery had been 
 reenforced by Ayer s and Wheeler s Batteries, num 
 bering, in all, twenty-two guns. They were brought 
 up to within five hundred yards of the fort, to cover 
 the charge of the Vermonters. Two companies from 
 the Third Vermont were ordered forward, and down 
 from the woods they came in most gallant style, rushed 
 into the creek, where the water and mud were waist 
 deep, and through it to the rifle-pits of the enemy, 
 amid a shower of bullets from a long line of rifle-pits 
 upon the opposite banks. The Vermonters pressed 
 forward, loading and firing as they advanced. Their 
 killed and many of their wounded sank in the stream. 
 "But," says Abbott, in his History of the Civil War, 
 "their comrades, instead of turning back with the 
 wounded, seized them by the arm or the collar of the 
 coat, and pushed resolutely on to meet the intrenched 
 foe. As soon as they got foothold on the western 
 bank, with a cheer, which rang like the clarion of 
 victory, they made a dash at the enemy, concealed in 
 the long line of rifle-pits. The rebels, in panic, fled, 
 and sought protection behind the redoubts. The vic 
 tors found, to their dismay, that many of their car- 
 
124 VEBMONT IN THE 
 
 tridges were soaked with water and utterly useless. 
 Still for an hour they fought against superior numbers. 
 The rebels were behind their ramparts. The patriots, 
 dividing with each other the few dry cartridges they 
 possessed, soon found their ammunition expended, 
 while, for some unexplained reason, no reinforcements 
 were sent to support them. Why the men should 
 have been sent across the creek to meet a vastly out 
 numbering force, and then be left there to be massa 
 cred, no one has yet revealed. It is a mystery which 
 c<m, perhaps, be explained, but unfortunately it has 
 not been, and we leave it, as another of the long list 
 of inexplicable events which have occurred during the 
 progress of the war." 
 
 Being unsupported and out of ammunition, the 
 brave Green Mountain Boys were forced to fall back 
 and recross the stream under a terrible fire of the 
 enemy. Before they could reach a place of safety, sad 
 havoc had been made in their noble ranks. Many of 
 the killed sank in the creek, and their bodies were 
 never recovered. The casualties to the Vermont 
 Brigade, in this engagement, were as follows : 
 
 Second Regiment, 1 killed; Third Regiment, 24 
 killed, 7 mortally wounded, 56 wounded, 1 missing; 
 Fourth Regiment, 3 killed, 30 wounded ; Fifth Regi 
 ment, 2 killed, 6 wounded ; Sixth Regiment, 11 killed, 
 77 wounded. Total loss to the Brigade, 218. 
 
GEEAT REBELLION. 125 
 
 There were many thrilling instances of undaunted 
 courage connected with this battle, scores of which 
 have never been placed upon record. The Vermont- 
 ers retreated in good order, carrying with them their 
 wounded comrades. Many were shot in the water. A 
 boy of sixteen, who was in the midst of the carnage, 
 described the storm of lead which fell upon them by 
 saying, " Why, sir, it was just like sap-boiling, in that 
 stream, the bullets fell so thick." 
 
 As soon as the Vermonters reached the eastern 
 bank, they rallied and commenced the fight again. 
 Many of them, amidst the murderous fire of the rebels, 
 dashed back again into the stream to help out the 
 wounded, who were clinging to any object that pre 
 sented, to save themselves. Julian A. Scott, of the 
 Third Regiment, under sixteen years old, went back 
 again and again, seemingly to almost certain death, and 
 saved nine of his companions. John Harrington, but 
 seventeen years old, having returned across the stream, 
 through the terrific fire of the rebels, saw a wounded 
 comrade left in one of the rifle-pits. He immediately 
 went back and brought him away in safety. Lieuten 
 ant Whittemore watched his movements, and saved 
 his life by shooting several rebels who were taking 
 deliberate aim at him. 
 
 The troops were saved from almost total destruction 
 mainly through the watchfulness and skill of Captain 
 
126 VEEMONT IN THE 
 
 Ayre, who selected just the right position for his bat 
 teries ; and the moment he saw the rebels form to 
 charge, he opened upon them from his twenty-two 
 guns so terrible a fire that they did not dare leave 
 their intrenchments. The fire was so accurate that 
 every rebel cannon was silenced. One ball swept a 
 whole file of rebels to the ground. 
 
 Private William Scott, of Co. K, Third Vermont, 
 who, in the autumn of 1861, was found asleep at his 
 post on the picket line, and was tried and sentenced by 
 court martial to be shot, but was pardoned by Presi 
 dent Lincoln, was among the mortally wounded. 
 When his pardon was announced to him, he said, 
 with streaming eyes, " I will show President Lincoln 
 that I am not afraid to die for ray country." He died 
 with a prayer upon his lips for the Martyr President. 
 
 Since the battle of Lee s Mills, when General Smith s 
 division were only waiting for an order to cross the 
 stream and support the Vermonters, it has been ascer 
 tained that the reason why the order was not given by 
 General McClellan, who was in command, was because 
 he did not wish to bring on a general engagement at 
 that time. 
 
 BATTLE OF WILLIAMSBtJEG. 
 
 The following account of the battle of Williams- 
 burg, which occurred on the 5th of May, 1862, is 
 from an officer in the Vermont Brigade : 
 
GKEAT REBELLION. 127 
 
 " CAMP NEAR WlLLIAMSBUKG, VA., > 
 
 May 7, 1862. S 
 
 "The fight commenced at daylight, and was car 
 ried on with great vigor with musketry most of the 
 day. General Smith s division was on the right, Gen 
 eral Hooker s on the left, with some others on his 
 left. 
 
 " Our brigade was not directly engaged at all, and 
 was moved toward the right, and then to the left, 
 wherever the commanding general deemed the rebels 
 were gaining ground. But at near night our brigade 
 turned the left of the enemy s line, immediately under 
 General Smith s command, where General Sumner held 
 us to support the left, where he feared the enemy would 
 drive our troops. 
 
 " The rebels seemed to fight with desperation ; but 
 they were completely whipped, and had to skedaddle 
 with all possible speed. 
 
 " On our left the havoc on both sides was immense, 
 especially in Hooker s division, which will prove to be 
 1500 or more killed, wounded, and missing. The loss 
 in our brigade was 12 killed and 46 wounded, and the 
 enemy s loss opposed to us is some 300 to 350 killed 
 and wounded. 
 
 " We have taken a great number of prisoners, and 
 still continue to bring them in. Our surgeons, and 
 some of theirs, who remained, have been continually at 
 
128 VERMONT IN THE 
 
 work up to this time, and have not yet finished dressing 
 the wounded; neither are the dead all buried. 
 
 " I think this battle will settle all doubts about Gen 
 eral Smith, as I think that he showed himself the 
 greatest general on the field, either old or young, 
 and our successes ought to be credited to him and his 
 brave troops ; and we have no doubt, if he could have 
 had his way, we should have had a more complete vic 
 tory ; but it is, at all events, a great one, and we are 
 satisfied. 
 
 "Where the rebels will make another stand is more 
 than I can tell, as they have now no strong place left. 
 Their men, all I have seen, which is a good many, 
 are the dirtiest looking human beings I have ever met. 
 I should think six months in such condition would kill 
 any class of men. The roads and fields are strewn 
 with guns and equipments, and remind me of Bull 
 Run, only it has changed sides." 
 
 The general dejection that followed the retirement 
 of our troops across the Chickahominy was particu 
 larly relieved by the good news of two considerable 
 successes by the division of General Smith, who held a 
 position on the extreme right, consisting of a line of 
 breastworks and two redoubts. The left of these re 
 doubts was strongly constructed, and had much an- 
 
GEE AT REBELLION. 129 
 
 noyed the enemy, who had reason to believe that if 
 heavy artillery were placed on it, they might be com 
 pelled to evacuate the high grounds at both New 
 Bridge and Old Tavern. Indeed, it commanded these 
 and other points. 
 
 Accordingly, when assured of the successes of the 
 left wing of their army, the rebels determined to seize 
 the opportunity of advancing upon Smith s redoubt. 
 This duty was assigned to Toombs Georgia Brigade, 
 one of the best organizations in the Confederate ser 
 vice. They drove in our pickets about seven o clock 
 on Friday evening, June 28, and advanced, with 
 close volleys of musketry, in two lines of battle. 
 Hancock s Brigade, consisting of the Fifth Wisconsin, 
 Sixth Maine, Forty-Third New York, and Forty- 
 Ninth Pennsylvania Regiments, were immediately 
 under arms, as indeed they had been all day, expecting 
 to join in the contest on the other side. They ad 
 vanced over a piece of corduroy road, passed the re 
 doubt to the right, and, after traversing a bottom or 
 declivity, formed in line of battle about a third of a 
 mile from the redoubt, and on the ascending slope of 
 a hill. Here they threw themselves upon their bellies, 
 so that they could just peep over a crest by rising to 
 their knees, and waited the onslaught of the enemy. 
 
 The pickets skirmished right into the main body, 
 the rebels coming pell-mell after them, hoping to cap- 
 
130 VERMONT IN THE 
 
 ture the whole force, when, just as they turned the 
 crest of the hill, Hancock s Brigade and Brooks Fifth 
 Vermont Regiment gave them a staggering fire. At 
 the same moment, the artillery from the redoubt and 
 below opened upon them, and they fell, right and left, 
 in heaps and files, until the desperation of the Georgi 
 ans changed to doubt, and then to panic. As they 
 attempted to fall back, our men rose to their feet, 
 rushed some distance, and lay down again, pouring in, 
 as before, murderous volleys. The whole fight lasted 
 half an hour, and ended in one hundred dead Georgi 
 ans being left on the field. Our loss was exceedingly 
 slight, as our men were not only properly generaled, 
 but the regimental officers of this brigade were some 
 of the most effective in the service. 
 
 The next morning, Saturday, the infuriated Georgi 
 ans, who had, in the mean time, heard of their success 
 of Friday across the Chickahominy, determined to at 
 tack our lines before General Smith s division a second 
 time, and make another effort to occupy the i*edoubt 
 near Golding s house. Their dead still lay in the bot 
 tom of the meadow where they had fallen the night 
 before, and our troops had stolen around in the night 
 to a strip of wood near a picket station, where they 
 dug and masked a rifle-pit. 
 
GREAT REBELLION. 
 
 At eight o clock the Georgians formed in line of 
 battle, headed by Colonel Lamar, of the Seventh Geor 
 gia, known in connection with the celebrated slave 
 ..case of the yacht Wanderer the first regiment, by 
 repute, to enter the rebel service. They did not seem 
 dispirited by their ill success of the day before, but 
 inarched boldly up to the same inevitable fate, terri 
 ble volleys, that cut them to pieces, literally butchering 
 them, and their enemy, though so obvious to feel 
 ing, was nowhere plain to the sight. 
 
 BATTLE OF SAVAGE S STATION. 
 
 Our troops fell back leisurely to Savage s Station, 
 and there awaited the enemy. The battle took place 
 here on Sunday, the 29th of June, and was more san 
 guinary than that of the day before. It commenced 
 about five o clock in the afternoon, and lasted till seven 
 o clock at night. In the course of it, some of the 
 sharpest infantry fighting of the war took place, in 
 which parts of Sedgwick s, Richardson s, Hooker s, 
 Smith s, and Kearney s forces engaged with various 
 success* The rebels came determinedly across the field, 
 firing as they advanced, until General Sumner ordered 
 our troops up, at double-quick, to a charge. About 
 four thousand of them went off" at once, with a roar 
 that might have drowned the musketry. The rebels 
 kept their position for a moment, and then fell back to 
 
132 VERMONT IN THE 
 
 the rear of their batteries. Meagher s Brigade, how 
 ever, succeeded in charging right up to the guns of a 
 Virginia battery, two of which they had hauled off 
 spiked, and chopped the carriages to pieces. 
 
 The Vermont Brigade had the advance of the divis 
 ion, and General Brooks at once threw his regiments 
 to the front. The Fifth and Sixth as skirmishers, sup 
 ported 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. As 
 the line of skirmishers emerged from the woods, they 
 suddenly received the fire of a battery and of a strong 
 line of battle. The Fifth at once charged upon the 
 rebels in front, who scattered in great confusion. 
 They were beaten back, but only to re-form and press 
 forward again from the cover of the woods to which 
 they had retreated. Three rebel regiments advanced 
 against the Vermont Fifth ; but they had a good posi 
 tion, and held it in spite of the greatly superior force. 
 The contest was a very hot one, in which the Fifth lost 
 about two hundred of her men in killed, wounded, and 
 missing. Many of their dead were left upon tle field. 
 The other Vermont regiments were not so hotly en 
 gaged, and their loss was comparatively small. The 
 Confederate loss in this engagement was about four 
 
 thousand. 
 
 The weary but still resolute soldiers received orders 
 
GREAT REBELLION. 133 
 
 at midnight to fall back rapidly from Savage s Station 
 across White Oak Swamp. The enemy was making 
 furtive attempts to overreach them in this respect, and 
 it was likely to become a tight race between the rebels 
 and the Unionists as to which should first cross the 
 creek and gain the high grounds on the other side. 
 If they should be more speedy, and succeed in placing 
 the swamp between ourselves and them, our retreat 
 would be almost inevitably cut off, and almost the 
 whole army butchered or surrendered. 
 
 BATTLE OF WHITE OAK SWAMP. 
 
 Towards morning our troops crossed White Oak 
 Creek to an elevated position, where they remained 
 undisturbed by the enemy. They were very much 
 exhausted by the preceding battles, and the worn-out 
 soldiers made the most of their opportunity for rest. 
 It did not continue long, however. 
 
 Jackson had crossed the river, and, with great se 
 crecy, made his way to the borders of White Oak 
 Creek, where, concealed by trees and underbrush, he 
 had massed his batteries, and about two o clock in the 
 afternoon, with seventy-five pieces of artillery, opened 
 a terrible fire upon our troops, taking them entirely by 
 surprise. Several of Mott s caissons were blown up, 
 and his pieces dismounted, and general confusion was 
 created. 
 
134 VERMONT IN THE 
 
 Very soon our light batteries recovered from the 
 surprise, and vigorously responded to the enemy, who 
 was soon at a perceptible disadvantage, so far as accu 
 racy and effect were concerned. Our infantry, too, fell 
 in line ready to support the batteries, or meet half way 
 any attempt of the rebel infantry to push across the 
 creek. Thus the battle progressed late in the after 
 noon, with serious loss on both sides more wounds 
 from cannon shell, perhaps, resulting than at any other 
 time in any battle. The rebels made some desperate 
 efforts to cross the creek, but General Smith brought 
 his men up to close quarters with them whenever they 
 dared the contest ; and although in each case some of 
 our best and beloved soldiers bit the dust, there were 
 no signs of holding off. The cannon firing was inces 
 sant here, some of the deepest and closest of the war, 
 and the infantry fire extended along whole columns. 
 
 At five o clock they engaged the enemy, hidden by 
 woods and the swelling of hills, and the firing from 
 musketry and field batteries was soon intense. The 
 rebels did fatal execution among us, and some of our 
 most valuable officers fell here, wounded and dying. 
 The reports of ordnance had now been heard so many 
 days that chaos seemed the normal condition of nature, 
 and painfully the battle went on. It was scarcely an 
 enthusiastic fight, for all the romance of battle had 
 worn off by reason of its monotony. The men fought 
 
GREAT REBELLION. 135 
 
 well, however, though half dead with heat, thirst, and 
 weariness. Some broke for the river, and plunged into 
 the cool water for an instant, then emerging, rushed 
 back to the fray, and fought like lions. 
 
 Fresh troops and superior numbers seemed bearing 
 the tide of battle against us at five o clock, and the 
 fate of the army hung trembling in the sunset, when a 
 new advocate half of God, half of man came to 
 our relief. 
 
 The gunboats Galena, Aroostook, and Jacob Bell 
 opened from Turkey Island Bend, in the James River, 
 with shot and shell from their immense rifle guns. 
 The previous roar of field artillery seemed as faint as 
 the rattle of musketry in comparison with these pieces 
 of ordnance, that literally shook the water and strained 
 the air. Thus was the tide of battle turned in our 
 favor. 
 
 At this stage General Heintzelman ordered a charge 
 by his corps. The gunboats were signaled to cease 
 their fire. Rushing steadily ahead, defying all efforts 
 of the enemy to break or turn its line, the corps had 
 at last the satisfaction of seeing the enemy break and 
 fly in confusion to the swamp, totally dispirited and 
 repulsed. We took in this engagement over two thou 
 sand prisoners. 
 
 The battle at White Oak Swamp was scarcely sec 
 ond to that of Games Hill in point of losses of life, 
 
136 VERMONT IN THE 
 
 wounded, and prisoners. We suffered less than the 
 enemy, who was literally butchered, but our own loss 
 was very large. We lost all of Mott s battery but a 
 single gun, the whole of Randall s battery, one gun of 
 Captain Ayres , and several others in various parts of 
 the field. Our loss in killed, wounded, and prisoners 
 was put down at twenty-five hundred. 
 
 General Brooks was seriously wounded. His Ver 
 mont Brigade behaved like veterans in the several 
 engagements between Games Hill and White Oak 
 Swamp. The same indomitable pluck that instigated 
 the charge across the dam at Warwick River, marked 
 their course in the fight of Golding s "Farm, Savage s, 
 and White Oaks. The loss of this brigade was, per 
 haps, less than that of any of the brigades of Smith s 
 division. 
 
 The battle was again renewed early on Tuesday 
 morning by the enemy, who evidently expected to 
 crush our army. It lasted about three hours, resulting 
 in considerable loss to both parties. The enemy then 
 retired, leaving the field to our troops. They again 
 advanced about three o clock in the afternoon, in con 
 siderable force, but retired after being shelled by the 
 gunboats and artillery for about two hours, without 
 coming near enough for the use of musketry. 
 
 The loss of our army during these seven days en 
 gagement is not positively known, but could not be 
 
GREAT REBELLION. 137 
 
 less than twenty thousand, in killed, wounded, and 
 missing. The loss of the enemy was very heavy, far 
 exceeding our own. 
 
 The loss to the "Vermont Brigade "was reported 
 as follows : 
 
 Killed. Wounded. Missing. Total. 
 
 Second Regiment, 43 39 .82 
 
 Third Regiment, 4 18 00 22 
 
 Fourth Regiment, 16 00 16 
 
 Fifth Regiment, 29 143 10 182 
 
 Sixth Regiment, 7 51 29 87 
 
 Totals, \ . . 40 271 78 389 
 
 On the Fourth of July, General McClellan issued 
 the following proclamation to his troops : 
 
 " Soldiers of the Army of the Potomac : 
 
 "Your achievements of the past ten days have illus 
 trated the valor and endurance of the American sol 
 dier. Attacked by superior forces, and without hopes 
 of reinforcements, you have succeeded in changing 
 your base of operations by a flank movement, al 
 ways regarded as the most hazardous of military 
 operations. You have saved all your guns, except a 
 few lost in battle, taking in return guns and colors 
 from the enemy. 
 
 " Upon your march you have been assailed, day after 
 day, with desperate fury, by men of the same race and 
 nation, skilfully massed and led. Under every dis- 
 
138 VERMONT IN THE 
 
 advantage of number, and necessarily of position, also, 
 you have, in every conflict, beaten back your foes with 
 enormous slaughter. 
 
 "Your conduct ranks you among the celebrated 
 armies of history. None will now question that each 
 of you may always with pride say, I belong to the 
 army of the Potomac. You have reached this new 
 base complete in organization and unimpaired in spirit. 
 The enemy may at any time attack you ; we are pre 
 pared to meet them. I have personally established 
 your lines. Let them come, and we will convert their 
 repulse into a final defeat. Your government is 
 strengthening you with the resources of a great peo 
 ple. On this, our nation s birthday, we declare to our 
 foes, who are rebels against the best interests of man 
 kind, that this army shall enter the capital of the so- 
 called Confederacy; that our national Constitution 
 shall prevail ; and that the Union, which can alone 
 insure internal peace and external security to each 
 State, must and shall be preserved, cost what it may, 
 in time, treasure, and blood." 
 
 Two days before issuing this proclamation, General 
 McClellan had given an order for the army to retreat 
 to Harrison s Landing, six miles down the James 
 River, as he said to be nearer his base of supplies. 
 This order was received by many of the generals of 
 
GEEAT EEBELLION. 139 
 
 his array with amazement, and even with indignation. 
 They retreated from an enemy utterly broken, scat 
 tered, and panic-stricken, and when there was not a 
 foe within miles of them. The brave Kearney said, 
 in the presence of many officers, 
 
 " I, Philip Kearney, an old soldier, enter my solemn 
 protest against this order for retreat. We ought, in 
 stead of retreating, to follow up the enemy and take 
 Richmond ; and, in full view of the responsibility of 
 such a declaration, I say to you all, such an order can 
 only be prompted by cowardice or treason." 
 
 The army, humiliated by disaster, and yet ennobled 
 by heroism, remained inactive, in comfortable encamp 
 ment on the river banks, during the months of July 
 and August. In the mean time the government was 
 anxiously deliberating respecting future movements. 
 General McClellan plead earnestly for reenforcements, 
 that he might again march upon Richmond. 
 
 BATTLE OF CEAMPTON s GAP. 
 
 The next engagement in which the Vermont Bri 
 gade took a part was that at Crampton s Gap, Sep 
 tember 14, 1862. On the 5th, General Lee with his 
 army crossed the Potomac into Maryland, and occupied 
 Frederick City. General McClellan was ordered to 
 push forward at once and meet him. The army left 
 camp on the morning of the 7th, marched through 
 
140 VERMONT IN THE 
 
 Alexandria, crossed Long Bridge to Washington, 
 thence through Georgetown, Rockville, Johnstown, 
 and on to Jefferson, 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 in the afternoon our 
 troops were near the South Mountain range, about fifty 
 miles from Harrison s Landing. The rebels had fallen 
 back, taking two roads which crossed the South 
 Mountain, through deep gorges, the northern called 
 Turner s Pass, and the other, six miles south of it, 
 called Crampton Pass. These passes the rebels had 
 strongly fortified, and arranged their batteries on the 
 crests of adjacent hills. 
 
 General Franklin approached the Crampton Pass, 
 and when within about a mile and a half of it, formed 
 the Sixth Corps in line of battle, while the other troops 
 were to proceed to the South Mountain Pass, and 
 drive the rebels through it. Between Franklin s Corps 
 and Crampton Pass .was the village of Burkettsville, 
 beyond was the South Mountains, their summits 
 crowned with rebel batteries and infantry, protected 
 by heavy timber. 
 
 Late in the afternoon an attack was ordered by 
 General Franklin s Corps, and their advance was the 
 signal for the rebels to open fire from their well posted 
 and protected batteries. Our troops, however, ad- 
 
GREAT REBELLION. 
 
 141 
 
 vanced steadily in the face of a storm of cannon and 
 musket balls. After severe fighting, Slocum s troops 
 succeeded in gaining the pass, while the Second Divis 
 ion pressed up the thickly wooded sides of the moun 
 tain, charging a battery at the left of the Pass, and 
 capturing two of its guns. The Confederates fled 
 precipitately down the west side of the mountain, and 
 our troops were in full possession of the ground, 
 strewed with dead rebels. The loss on our side, 
 though large, bore no comparison with that of the 
 rebels. The rebels made their way into Pleasant 
 Valley, leaving on our hands their dead and wounded, 
 three stand of colors, two pieces of artillery, and a 
 great many prisoners. 
 
 At the South Mountain Pass, a still more desperate 
 battle took place. With their advantage in position, it 
 seemed almost hopeless to attempt a battle ; but Gen 
 eral Hooker brought his Corps to the assistance of the 
 Ninth, and a terrible battle ensued, which resulted in 
 a complete Union victory, and the possession of the 
 ground lately occupied by the rebels. In this engage 
 ment General Reno was killed by a minie ball, which 
 was mourned by the whole army. 
 
 While these battles were in progress another took 
 place at Harper s Ferry, which resulted in the surren 
 der of that place to the enemy : a severe blow to our 
 cause, by which we lost over eleven thousand men, 
 
142 VERMONT IN THE 
 
 and a vast amount of munitions of war. The sur 
 render of this important position has been attributed 
 to the cowardice or treachery, or both, of Colonel 
 Miles, a regular army officer. 
 
 BATTLE OF ANTIETAM. 
 
 Immediately following the foregoing, occurred the 
 battle of Antietam, which took place on the seven 
 teenth of September, 1862, where the "Vermont Bri 
 gade" also performed an important part. The follow 
 ing circumstantial account of this battle is given by a 
 correspondent of the Bennington Banner: 
 
 "As we passed through Burke ttsville we were cheered 
 on by the ladies of the place, who, for some reason 
 unknown to me, had not been removed from the town 
 before the battle commenced. We passed through the 
 entire length of the village, the shot and shell from 
 the enemy flying like Satan s angels over our heads. 
 Skirmishers were thrown out as we neared the enemy s 
 line, and hardly had they been deployed before they 
 were engaged. By this time the bullets began to 
 whistle around our heads in rather too close proximity 
 to be safe. In consequence, General Brooks ordered 
 us to take up our position behind a large barn which 
 stood near us, not wishing needlessly to expose his 
 men. As we entered the yard, one of our men was 
 shot through the neck, and fell dead without a groan. 
 
GEE AT REBELLION. 143 
 
 A few moments after, a gallant charge was made by a 
 brigade of Slocum s division on our right, they driving 
 the enemy before them like sheep. It was a noble 
 sight. The time had now come ; it became necessary 
 for us to go in ; we filed from behind the barn, pass 
 ing to the left into a smooth meadow, halted and came 
 to front as coolly as if on drill. Next came the order 
 to charge, and forward we went, at a double-quick, 
 our lieutenant colonel who is in command of the 
 regiment leading us a yard or two in front of the 
 colors, which were flung out to the breeze, showing 
 that the Stars and Stripes were once more moving on 
 ward proudly to victory. The position which we were 
 ordered to charge upon was one of great strength, and 
 if the enemy had held it with half the courage with 
 which it was stormed, we should all have went under 
 before we could have taken it; but as we gave our 
 battle-cry they fled in every direction, hardly waiting 
 to fire a shot. We halted a moment as we came to 
 the stone wall bounding the field across which we had 
 charged ; but not long after, the order came to move 
 on, and onward we moved, over the wall, through the 
 woods, up the mountain sides, sweeping with irresistible 
 fury every thing before us. The top of the mountain 
 was gained, and every man was thankful that he was 
 alive, and realizing that it was indeed a miracle that 
 one of us was left to tell the tale. We halted a mo- 
 
144 VERMONT IN THE 
 
 raent to take breath, and then started along the ridge 
 of the mountain, determined to take a battery -which 
 had been throwing all kinds of deadly missiles at us 
 during our charge. Our progress was necessarily very 
 slow, being through tangled brush and over rocks, 
 equal to any found on the Green Mountains. Onward 
 we went, however, deterred by nothing that obstructed 
 our route ; yet the rebels got the start of us, and had 
 their battery removed before we reached the spot 
 where it was posted. 
 
 " In our charge we captured the battle-flag of the 
 ninteenth Virginia, one major, three lieutenants, and 
 sixty prisoners. I am unable to give you a list of them, 
 owing to the hurry in which they were sent to the 
 rear, their names not being taken at brigade head 
 quarters. The major and lieutenants were from the 
 sixteenth Virginia, as were also the greater part of the 
 prisoners. The major states that we utterly annihi 
 lated the sixteenth, and that now it is classed among 
 the things that were. The Vermont Brigade also cap 
 tured twenty-eight other prisoners from the fifteenth 
 North Carolina, twenty-fourth Georgia, seventh Vir 
 ginia cavalry, sixth Virginia infantry, tenth Georgia, 
 Cobb s first Georgia Legion, and a lieutenant from the 
 Troop artillery. 
 
 "This was one of the most hardly-contested and 
 terrific battles of the entire war. Half the officers of 
 
GREAT REBELLION. 145 
 
 the thirty-fourth New York were disabled, their colors 
 were shot to pieces, every one of their color-guard 
 wounded, and but a handful of men left. Only thirty- 
 four of the whole regiment could be brought together 
 after the fight. The fifteenth Massachusetts went into 
 the battle with seventeen officers and six hundred 
 men. They came out with nine officers and one hun 
 dred and thirty-four men. All the efforts of Howard 
 and Sumner were unavailing to reorganize the troops, 
 or to check the impetuous advance of the foe. Our 
 troops were withdrawn to the rear, and again the 
 trampled cornfield, strewn with our dead and dying, 
 was in the hands of the rebels. Their farther advance 
 was, however, checked by the well-directed fire of our 
 artillery. 
 
 " It was one o clock. The prospect looked gloomy. 
 Hooker was carried from the field wounded ; his Corps 
 greatly exhausted ; the ammunition of several of the 
 batteries was expended, and they had been compelled 
 to retire. All that had been gained had been lost. 
 We could now only hope to hold our own. Advance 
 was impossible. At this crisis Franklin appeared with 
 fresh troops, and formed sublimely on the left. Gen 
 eral Smith, with his Maine and Vermont troops, was 
 ordered to retake the cornfield. Magnificently it was 
 done. His troops, on the double-quick, swept the field 
 like a cloud-shadow, penetrated the forest, and in ten 
 
146 VERMONT IN THE 
 
 minutes had gained them both. So sudden are the 
 changes in the kaleidoscope of battle! Now for a 
 couple of hours there was a slight lull in this tempest 
 of death, though the thunders of artillery were inces 
 santly echoing over the hills. 
 
 " The battle continued until night, when it ceased, 
 and it was supposed would be resumed next morning. 
 Toward morning it was known that the rebels were 
 moving back. Next day the rebels buried their dead 
 under a truce, during which they were making prepa 
 rations for their escape. On the night of the 18th the 
 whole rebel army disappeared. Thus ended one of 
 the most sanguinary and bloody battles of the war." 
 
 BATTLE OF FREDERICKSBURG. 
 
 The battle of Fredericksburg occurred on the 13th 
 of December, 1862. Between the time of the battle 
 of Antietam and that of Fredericksburg, General 
 McClellan was relieved of the command of the Army 
 of the Potomac, and was succeeded by Major General 
 A. E. Burnside. General Brooks, who had commanded 
 the "Vermont Brigade" through many hard-fought 
 battles, was assigned to the command of the Sixth 
 Division, to succeed General Slocum, who took com 
 mand of the Twelfth Corps. General Brooks, though 
 of abrupt and stern manners, was one of the bravest 
 and most energetic brigade commanders in the army, 
 
GREAT REBELLION. 147 
 
 and had greatly endeared himself to his brigade. On 
 surrendering the command, he was presented by the 
 officers of the ^Vermont Brigade " with a magnificent 
 silver service. It is said that, forgetting his rough 
 manners, he received the beautiful gift of his loved 
 brigade with tears standing on his brown cheeks. He 
 was succeeded in the command of the brigade by Col 
 onel Henry Whiting, of the Second Vermont Regi 
 ment. 
 
 The army remained comparatively inactive from the 
 last of September until November, when it moved 
 to the Rappahannock, opposite Fredericksburg, for 
 merly the most important town in Spottsylvania 
 County, Virginia. It is on the south bank of the 
 Rappahannock River, at the head of tide-water, about 
 sixty miles north of Richmond, and in connection with 
 it both by railroad and turnpike road. It had been a 
 very prosperous town; but some years before the 
 breaking out of the rebellion the tide of its success 
 had been receding, so that in 1861 it had a population 
 of only about four thousand. 
 
 General- Burnside s plan was to cross the Rappahan 
 nock by forced marches, and so on to Richmond before 
 General Lee could concentrate his army so as success 
 fully to oppose him. On arrival at Falmouth it was 
 found that the pontoon bridges, which were to have 
 been sent from Washington, had not arrived. The 
 
148 VERMONT IN THE 
 
 delay in their arrival, and the time required to put 
 them across the river, annoyed as our men were, day 
 and night, by the fire of the enemy on the opposite 
 side of the river, gave ample time to bring the rebel 
 army together at Fredericksburg, and strongly to for 
 tify themselves for a defense, and to dispute the cross 
 ing of our troops at any point for twenty miles up and 
 down the river. The rebel army was so distributed 
 that General Burnside believed that by throwing his 
 whole army across the river at one point he could 
 break through the extended line of the enemy before a 
 sufficient force could be concentrated to successfully 
 oppose his movements. After throwing his forces 
 across the river, one of the severest battles of the war 
 took place, resulting in no victory to either army, 
 though the loss on our side was much the greatest in 
 killed and wounded, the enemy having greatly the 
 advantage in position. Our army returned across the 
 river during the night of the - 13th, in good order, 
 without the loss of a man or a gun. 
 
 In this battle the " Vermont Brigade," under com 
 mand, of Colonel Henry Whiting, behaved well, as 
 usual, and was distinguished for its bravery and cool 
 ness throughout the fight. The casualties in the bri 
 gade were as follows : 
 
 Second Regiment, killed, 2; wounded, 59. Third 
 Regiment, killed, 2 ; wounded, 8. Fourth Regiment, 
 
GEEAT REBELLION. 149 
 
 killed, 11 ; wounded 43 ; missing, 2. Fifth Regiment, 
 killed, 10; wounded, 30. Sixth Regiment, killed 1; 
 wounded, 1. Totals, Tkilled, 26 ; wounded, 141 ; miss.- 
 ing, 2. 
 
 General Burnside, m his preliminary report of this 
 engagement to President Lincoln, said, " For the fail 
 ure of the attack, I am responsible, as the extreme 
 gallantry, courage, and endurance showed by them (the 
 patriotic soldiers) was never excelled, and would have 
 carried the point had it been possible. But for the 
 fog, and the unexpected and unavoidable delay in build 
 ing the bridges, which gave the enemy twenty-four 
 hours more to concentrate his forces in his strong 
 positions, we should almost certainly have succeeded." 
 
 SECOND BATTLE OF FKEDERICKSBUKG. 
 
 The second battle of Fredericksburg occurred on 
 the 3d and 4th of May, 1863. Colonel Whiting hav 
 ing resigned, the " Vermont Brigade " was commanded 
 by Colonel L. A. Grant, of the Fifth Regiment. Ad 
 jutant General Washburn, in his apnual report to the 
 Legislature in 1863, says, " The coolness and bravery 
 with which the brigade fought at the second battle of 
 Fredericksburg, on the 3d of May, and at Banks 
 Ford on the 4th of May, have never been excelled by 
 any troops. They stormed and carried the heights of 
 Fredericksburg on the 3d of May, in the face of a 
 
150 VERMONT IN THE 
 
 terrific fire ; and when, on the 4th, they protected the 
 rear of the Sixth Corps, and enabled it to cross the 
 Rappahannock in safety, the masses of the enemy, 
 greatly outnumbering them, was persistently hurled 
 against them in vain. They were attacked by, and 
 repulsed three rebel brigades, of four regiments each, 
 and saved the Sixth Corps. The following is Colonel 
 Grant s report, dated May 4, 1863 : 
 
 "Peter T. Washburn, Adjutant and Inspector Gen 
 eral : 
 
 " SIK : I have the honor to report the most brilliant 
 conduct of the Vermont troops at the storming of the 
 heights of Fredericksburg yesterday. The Second 
 Vermont was the first regiment in the principal works 
 on the highest range of hills, and the Sixth Vermont 
 was the second regiment in the works on the lower 
 range of hills commanding Fredericksburg. 
 
 " The heights were carried by storm, at the point of 
 the bayonet, under a terrific fire from the enemy. The 
 Second Vermont led the charge, and covered itself 
 with .glory. It could not have been done better. 
 
 " Colonel Walbridge and Major Tyler are deserving 
 of special praise for the great coolness and gallantry 
 displayed on the occasion. 
 
 " The Sixth Regiment, Colonel Barney, did splen 
 didly. The Third Regiment, Colonel Seaver, the 
 
GEEAT REBELLION. 151 
 
 Fourth Regiment, Colonel Stoughton, and the Fifth 
 Regiment, Lieutenant Colonel Lewis, constituted a 
 reserve force, and came to the support of the ad 
 vance in splendid style. 
 
 " Three pieces of artillery and many prisoners were 
 taken. Further particulars shall be given. The 
 Second lost 12 killed and 94 wounded ; the Third lost 
 1 killed and 6 wounded ; the Fourth lost 1 wounded ; 
 the Fifth none; the Sixth lost 8 wounded. Total, 
 122." 
 
 The following is a portion of Colonel Grant s report 
 in regard to the second day s engagement : 
 
 - -Peter T. Waskburn, Adjutant and Inspector Gen 
 eral : 
 
 " SIR : The First Vermont Brigade has again met the 
 enemy, and done honor to the State. 
 
 " After the storming of the heights of Fredericks- 
 burg, on the 3d instant, we were ordered forward 
 upon the plank road to join the main army. About 
 three miles from Fredericksburg the advance met, and 
 became hotly engaged with reinforcements marching 
 to the support of the force just driven from the 
 heights. 
 
 " The Vermont Brigade arrived in the midst of the 
 battle, and was immediately ordered to take position 
 
152 VERMONT IN THE 
 
 on the left, to repel any flank attack in that direction. 
 With skirmishers well in front, four regiments of the 
 brigade were deployed in line, the Second Vermont 
 being held in reserve. In that position we remained 
 during the night. 
 
 " In the morning it was found that other reenforce- 
 ments had come up from the left, taken possession of 
 the heights, and passed to our rear, completely cutting 
 us off from Fredericksburg. We immediately changed 
 direction to the rear, facing toward Fredericksburg. 
 
 " The disposition of troops at this time was as foU 
 lows : There was one brigade in our front, a large 
 portion of which was deployed upon the skirmish line, 
 which occupied a crest overlooking a ravine between 
 us and the rebel forces. Just in the rear of the bri 
 gade thus deployed was another small ravine, in which 
 was a thin skirt of woods. Just in the rear of this 
 ravine, behind a crest or slight swell of ground, the 
 Vermont Brigade took its position, and constituted a 
 second and strong line of defense. The Fifth Ver 
 mont, Lieutenant Colonel Lewis, was posted on the 
 extreme right, and considerably in front, to support a 
 section of artillery. That position being to the right 
 of the brigade in our front, two companies were 
 thrown out as skirmishers. The Third Vermont, 
 Colonel Seaver, was on the right of the main line, 
 and the Sixth Vermont, Colonel Barney, was on the 
 
GEE AT EEBELLION. 153 
 
 left of the Third. Between the Third and the Sixth 
 was a battery. The Second Vermont, Colonel Wai- 
 bridge, occupied the left of the Sixth, and the Twenty- 
 sixth New Jersey, Lieutenant Colonel Martindale, was 
 on the left of the Second. The Fourth Vermont, 
 Colonel Stoughton, was posted on the extreme left, 
 and considerably to the front, in the edge of the thick 
 pine woods, in position commanding a ravine and open 
 space in front. In this position we awaited the attack. 
 
 "The attack commenced a few minutes past five, 
 P. M., upon General Brooks skirmishers at our right. 
 This proved a feint, as the main attack was soon made 
 in strong force directly upon our front. Long lines of 
 rebel infantry, one after another, charged down the 
 slope into the ravine in front of our pickets. One 
 rebel battery after another unmasked and opened fire. 
 The left of the main attack bore directly down toward 
 the Fifth Vermont, and its skirmishers retired, fight 
 ing inch by inch. 
 
 " The pickets or skirmishers of the other brigade 
 were driven in. As soon, however, as the enemy s 
 lines had gained the crest from which the pickets had 
 been driven, they bore to the left to gain the woods, 
 and to separate us from the river. The section of 
 artillery, near the Fifth Vermont, retired, having ex 
 hausted their ammunition. 
 
 " Lieutenant Colonel Lewis immediately threw for- 
 
154 VEBMONT IN THE 
 
 ward the right of his regiment upon the crest, and 
 poured into the advancing lines a terrible cross and 
 enfilading fire, causing great havoc in their ranks. 
 Still they went on, yelling like demons. The Fifth 
 Vermont continued its fire, with great rapidity, upon 
 their flank and rear, until another column, further to 
 the right, came bearing down to the rear of the Fifth, 
 threatening to cut it off. Seeing this, Lieutenant Col 
 onel Lewis, agreeably to previous instructions, drew 
 off his regiment by the flank, passing round, through a 
 depression, to the right of the Third Vermont. 
 
 " While this was being done, and the lines in our 
 front were giving away, the Twenty-Sixth New Jersey 
 was ordered to the front and right, and the Second 
 Vermont was moved to the left, so as to occupy the 
 place left by the Twenty-Sixth. The Third Vermont 
 was also moved up to take the former position of the 
 Second, thus leaving the Sixth Vermont and the bat 
 tery on the right. The Twenty-Sixth broke and gave 
 way, and the enemy gained the woods in front of the 
 Second, and were advancing directly upon them, when 
 the Second rose, and poured upon them a well- 
 directed fire, and continued it with such rapidity as 
 to resemble volley immediately upon volley. The 
 Twenty-Sixth passed away from the front, so that the 
 Third opened, and, with the Second, poured its leaden 
 hail full upon the already confused masses of the ad- 
 
i 
 
 GREAT REBELLION. 155 
 
 vancing hosts. The enemy were here checked, broken, 
 and held at buy. Still further to the left, as the enemy 
 advanced, the Fourth Vermont became engaged. As 
 the enemy advanced obliquely, the Fourth would have 
 been exposed to a cross fire, but Colonel Stoughton, 
 with great coolness, threw back his right wing, pre 
 senting a bold front, and poured into them a terrible 
 fire. Still on they went, gaining the ravine in front of 
 the Fourth ; and at the same time a force further to the 
 left came up, driving in our front lines, threatening to 
 cut us off from the river. 
 
 " Colonel Stoughton now changed front forward to 
 his original position, and poured in fresh volleys, hold 
 ing the enemy s lines in check. In the meantime the 
 Fifth Vermont had arrived from the right, and been 
 posted behind a crest, to support the Second. 
 
 "Seeing that Colonels Walbridge and Seaver were 
 able to hold their front, and that the enemy were 
 pressing to turn our left, I ordered the Fifth further 
 to the left, and to a position completely commanding 
 the ravine, should the enemy succeed in flanking the 
 Fourth. At this time the roar of battle was terrible. 
 The roar of cannon and the rattle of musketry sur 
 passed all description. The enemy had three times our 
 number in front ; but the Vermont regiments stood 
 firm and unbroken, hugging closely to the crest, and 
 literally presenting a wall of fire. Baffled in their 
 
156 VEKMONT IN THE 
 
 efforts to break through our lines, and perceiving that 
 the battery on our right had left its position, the ene 
 my rallied, and made an attempt to turn our right ; 
 but the Sixth Vermont were there. 
 
 " The rebels, not knowing what awaited them, 
 rushed desperately forward, and nearly gained the 
 crest, when the Sixth rose, and poured a terrible volley 
 into their quivering ranks, and then immediately 
 charged upon them, down the slope, through the ra 
 vine, on to the crest in front, from which our front line 
 had been driven. In the meantime Lieutenant Col 
 onel Martindale had rallied the Twenty-Sixth, and 
 charged down with the Sixth. 
 
 " The enemy were utterly routed. They gave way 
 in great confusion, and many of them were taken 
 prisoners. The ground in front of the Second, Third, 
 and Sixth was literally covered with the rebel dead 
 and wounded. So far . as this point was concerned, 
 a complete victory was gained ; but on the left the 
 enemy was still pressing to cut us off from the river. 
 
 "I ordered the Second, Third, and Sixth Vermont, 
 and the Twenty-sixth New Jersey from the positions 
 they held, and the ground they had so nobly won, to 
 form a new line to the left, and nearer the river. Not 
 knowing what danger was on the left, and being con 
 scious of having gained a splendid victory, the colonels 
 commanding these regiments at first questioned the 
 
GREAT REBELLION. 157 
 
 authenticity of the order ; but being informed that the 
 order was imperative, they quickly changed position as 
 directed. At this point of time the enemy was mak 
 ing a desperate attempt to force our left. He had 
 gained the woods to the left of the Fourth and Fifth, 
 and fearing for the safety of the Fourth, which was 
 now almost unsupported, I withdrew that regiment, 
 and it was placed in support of Butler s Battery, from 
 Newton s Division, whose timely arrival and deadly 
 fire assisted in checking the enemy s advance at that 
 point. Darkness now came on, and the battle ceased, 
 the enemy having been completely foiled in his attempt 
 by the remarkable coolness and brilliant conduct of the 
 Vermont troops. 
 
 " Not knowing the strength of the force between 
 our left and the river, I formed a new line in a strong 
 position, prepared to repel any attack. The regiments 
 in this new line were formed from left to right, in the 
 following order, to wit, the Fifth, Sixth, Twenty-sixth, 
 Third, Second, and Fourth. The Fifth was deployed 
 as skirmishers, its left resting on the river. In this 
 position the brigade held the front, while the balance 
 of the corps fell back to Banks Ford, where bridges 
 had been constructed to cross the river. The brigade 
 then slowly retired, its skirmishers following in the 
 rear. Upon arriving near the Ford, the brigade formed 
 a new line of battle, and sent skirmishers far to the 
 front (which had now become our rear). 
 
158 VERMONT IN THE 
 
 " The skirmish line being attacked, the Second, 
 Third, and Sixth Vermont regiments were sent out to 
 support the skirmish line. The balance of the corps 
 crossed the river, then these regiments and the skir 
 mish line followed. To Colonel T. O. Seaver, Third 
 Vermont, acting as general officer of the day, is due 
 the credit of bringing off these three regiments. To 
 Major C. P. Dudley, Fifth Vermont, under the direc 
 tion of Colonel Seaver, is due the credit of safely 
 bringing off the skirmish line, the last squads crossing 
 the river in boats, after the bridges were partially re 
 moved. 
 
 " So far as space will admit, this is a faithful account 
 of the part taken by the Vermont troops in the battle 
 of Banks Ford. It was a terrible struggle. If we 
 believe what intelligent prisoners informed us, the 
 rebel General Lee was present, directing the attack. 
 He skillfully massed and hurled against us a terrible 
 force, fully expecting to annihilate or capture the whole 
 corps. No less than three corps of the rebel army 
 were engaged, and no less than three brigades fought 
 the Green Mountain Boys, to wit, a Louisiana, a 
 North Carolina, and a Mississippi brigade, each con 
 sisting of four regiments. 
 
 "The Louisiana and North Carolina brigades must 
 have been nearly annihilated. The colonel command 
 ing the Louisiana brigade, whom we captured, ad- 
 
GEE AT REBELLION. 159 
 
 mitted that we had taken, and killed and wounded, the 
 most of his brigade. The number of prisoners actually 
 captured must have been over one thousand, but owing 
 to the imperative order withdrawing the Second, Third, 
 and Sixth Vermont, and Twenty-sixth New Jersey, 
 only about four hundred were brought away, among 
 whom were one brigadier-general, one colonel, com 
 manding brigade, several lieutenant colonels, majors, 
 and line officers. 
 
 " Too much praise cannot be awarded to the officers 
 and men for their excellent conduct. They could not 
 have done better. Vermont may well be proud of 
 them all. The men did their duty, and the officers 
 were there to direct and encourage. Not an officer 
 failed to come to time. Not a man straggled from the 
 ranks. And when a regiment moved, it did it with 
 almost the precision of an ordinary drill. It would be 
 impossible, and almost invidious, to particularize, but I 
 cannot fail to speak in the highest terms of praise of 
 Colonel Walbridge, Second Vermont, Colonel Seaver, 
 Third Vermont, Colonel Stoughton, Fourth Vermont, 
 Colonel Barney, Sixth, and Lieut. Colonel Lewis, of 
 the Fifth Vermont. Nor can I fail to mention in the 
 same strain, of gallant services performed by the officers 
 of my staff, Captain A. Brown, Fourth Vermont Vol 
 unteers, Acting Assistant Inspector General ; Lieuten 
 ant C. H. Forbes, Fifth Vermont Volunteers, Acting 
 
 
160 VERMONT IN THE 
 
 Assistant Adjutant General; Lieutenant J. J. Bain, 
 Second Vermont, and F. J. Butterfield, Sixth Vermont, 
 Acting Aids-de-Camp, and Lieutenant Horace French, 
 Third Vermont, Acting Provost Marshal, all of whom 
 rendered the most efficient aid. They were every 
 where in the thickest of the fight, wherever needed, 
 faithfully delivering and carrying out my orders. This 
 was also true of them at the battle of Fredericksburg. 
 
 " Lieutenant A. Austin, Fifth Vermont Volunteers, 
 Acting Quartermaster of the Brigade, is also entitled 
 to great credit for supplying the command with rations 
 and other necessaries, and for safely keeping charge of 
 the baggage of the brigade. 
 
 " Nor ought I to fail to speak of the gallant dead. 
 Captain Ainsworth, of the Sixth Vermont, fell while 
 gallantly leading on his men. 
 
 " The loss to the Vermont troops was, considering 
 all the circumstances, very slight indeed. There were 
 17 killed, 118 wounded, and 44 missing, in all 179. 
 The loss inflicted upon the enemy was probably five 
 times that number. Let not the mothers, wives, and 
 sisters of Vermont weep for the fallen. Their graves 
 are on the fields of battle, while their spirits find con 
 genial joys in the fields of the blessed. " 
 
 The "Vermont Brigade" was again engaged at 
 Fredericksburg on the 5th of June, 1863. The fol- 
 
GEN. LEWIS A. GRANT. 
 
GEE AT REBELLION. 161 
 
 lowing is Colonel L. A. Grant s report to Adjutant 
 General P. T. Washbum, dated the 6th : 
 
 " SIR : The Vermont Brigade has again crossed the 
 Rappahannock at the old point, about one and a half 
 miles below Fredericksburg. It is the first brigade 
 across, and so far as my knowledge extends, it is the 
 only one yet over. 
 
 "We left camp yesterday, soon after noon, and 
 marched to the river, a distance of about five miles. 
 The pontoons were on the ground, ready to be taken 
 down the bank and thrown across the river. The 
 rebels had constructed rifle-pits in front ofj and com 
 manding the point where the bridges were to be 
 placed. These rifle-pits were occupied by rebel in 
 fantry. As soon as the artillery could be got into posi 
 tion, it opened a terrible fire upon the rifle-pits. It 
 had but little effect, however, except to keep back re- 
 enforcements that were coming to the assistance of 
 those already in the rifle-pits. But very few of those 
 in the rifle-pits were injured by the artillery fire. They 
 managed to keep up a galling musketry fire upon the 
 engineers that attempted to construct the bridges. It 
 was determined to drive the rebels from the rifle-pits, 
 The Fifth Vermont, Lieut. Colonel Lewis, and Twenty 
 sixth New Jersey, Lieut. Colonel Martindale, were 
 ordered forward for that purpose. They rushed gal- 
 
162 
 
 VERMONT IN THE 
 
 lantly down the bank, and, with the assistance of the 
 engineers, and under a galling fire from the rifle-pits, 
 they launched the pontoon boats into the stream, 
 jumped into them, and rowed across and landed 
 upon the south bank. 
 
 ."But a few companies of the Fifth had crossed, 
 when they sprang upon the bank, and with shouts 
 charged the rifle-pits, driving the enemy from them in 
 great confusion, taking many of them prisoners. The 
 Twenty-sixth New Jersey came gallantly to the sup 
 port of the Fifth, and did well, but it is believed that 
 the Fifth cleared the rifle-pits. The Third Vermont, 
 Colonel Seaver, the Fourth Vermont, Colonel Stough- 
 ton, and the Second Vermont, Colonel Walbridge, also 
 crossed in boats, a nd gallantly supported the regiments 
 already across. 
 
 " The rebels were driven across the plain into the 
 woods. One bridge was soon completed, and the 
 Sixth Vermont, Colonel Barney, also crossed. Our 
 positions were taken, and are still held. 
 
 " It is impossible, at this time, to give particular in 
 stances of dashing gallantry, though there were many. 
 It was quick work, and splendidly executed. The 
 number of prisoners taken is not at this time known, 
 but it is believed to be between one and two hundred. 
 Captain Davenport sent in two officers and thirty-four 
 enlisted men, who surrendered to him after dark, and 
 
GREAT REBELLION. 163 
 
 over Deep Creek, where Captain Davenport, of the 
 Fifth, and Captain Benton, of the Fourth, had been 
 sent on picket. 
 
 "The casualties in the Fifth Vermont are seven 
 wounded. No casualties in either of the other Ver 
 mont regiments." 
 
 On the 8th of June Colonel Grant further reports 
 to General "\Vashburn, and says : 
 
 " It was an exciting and brilliant affair, and no ac 
 count can do ample justice to the brave officers and 
 men engaged. Impetuous enthusiasm, when displayed 
 in the face of the enemy, beggars description. The 
 two companies first in the works were the Rutland 
 Company, Captain B. R. Jenne, Fifth, and the Swanton 
 Company, Captain Friend H. Barney, Fifth. The first 
 man in the rifle-pits was private Henry Moren, Com 
 pany G. 
 
 "On Saturday, the 6th, the Sixth Vermont was 
 skirmishing nearly all day. They occupied a position 
 from the river on the left, by the Bernard House, 
 round across the Bowling Green road to Deep Creek. 
 The Sixth lost in the skirmish of that day four killed 
 and thirteen wounded. Among the wounded was 
 Lieutenant Raistrick. There were no casualties in the 
 Second, Third, and Fourth Regiments. The loss of 
 the Fifth and Sixth Regiments was four killed and 
 twenty wounded. The loss of the Twenty-sixth New 
 
164 
 
 VEEMONT IN THE 
 
 Jersey Regiment was two killed and seventeen 
 wounded, making a total loss of forty-three in the 
 brigade. 
 
 "The brigade was the only force upon the south 
 side of the river for nearly twenty-four hours. On the 
 afternoon of the 6th another brigade came over to our 
 support, and on the morning of the 7th we were re 
 lieved from the skirmish line, but continued to hold 
 the front line of battle until the evening of the 7th, 
 when we were relieved by another division, and 
 marched back to the north side of the river, having 
 held the front, in face of the enemy, about fifty hours. 
 During a portion of the time the enemy developed a 
 very large force in our front. Officers and men be 
 haved as become Vermonters during the entire 
 action." 
 
 BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG. 
 
 Under date of July 11, 1863, Colonel Grant, com 
 manding "Vermont Brigade," reports to Adjutant 
 General Washburn, that "this brigade was not hot 
 ly engaged at the battle of Gettysburg. We ar 
 rived on the battle-field at about five o clock, P. M., of 
 the second day s battle, having marched thirty miles 
 that day. The position taken by the brigade was on 
 the extreme left of the army, where it was held in 
 reserve and to guard against any flank attack. On the 
 
GEE AT REBELLION. 165 
 
 4th instant the Fourth Regiment was sent forward to 
 feel of the enemy s right, and quite a smart skirmish 
 followed, in which our men showed their usual gallant 
 ry. Our loss was one man, John F. Marshall, wound 
 ed in the arm and knee severely. 
 
 " Yesterday, the 10th instant, at an early hour, we 
 advanced from Boonsboro , on the Hagerstown pike. 
 The brigade had the advance of the infantry force, 
 but General Buford s cavalry was in advance of this 
 brigade. The enemy was met about three miles from 
 Boonsboro , and driven by the cavalry about three 
 miles, to near Funkstown. Here the cavalry met the 
 enemy s infantry, and, after skirmishing a while, fell 
 back, leaving the brigade in front. At the time the 
 cavalry fell back, this brigade was about one and a 
 half miles in advance of any support except one 
 battery. 
 
 " The enemy, seeing the cavalry fall back, immedi 
 ately advanced their skirmishers to gain a crest and 
 some woods previously occupied by our cavalry ; but 
 the Fifth and Sixth Regiments immediately advanced 
 their skirmishers, and took possession of the woods 
 and crest before the enemy could do so. The enemy 
 then opened a terrible artillery fire upon our skirmish 
 line and the woods, and continued it for several min 
 utes, from batteries near Funkstown, beyond the range 
 of our artillery. 
 
 
166 
 
 VERMONT IN THE 
 
 "It was evident at a glance that the position was an 
 important one, and that the enemy would be likely to 
 follow up their artillery fire by an infantry attack. To 
 repel this, Colonel Stoughton, of the Fourth, was sent 
 to support the Fifth, and Colonel Seaver, of the Third, 
 was sent to support the Sixth, and the Second, Colonel 
 Walbridge, was brought forward to support the bat 
 tery. Colonels Stoughton and Seaver had instructions 
 to deploy so much of their respective regiments as 
 might be found necessary to hold the line at all haz 
 ards. Their arrival was opportune, for the enemy not 
 only threw forward his skirmishers, but advanced 
 strong lines of infantry, and charged upon our skir 
 mish line. The advance was nobly met and severely 
 repulsed. A considerable portion of the Fourth, and 
 three companies of the Third, were deployed, to 
 strengthen such portions of the line of the Fifth and 
 Sixth as were attacked by the enemy s main force. 
 The enemy repeatedly charged upon our line, and 
 were as often met and driven back. 
 
 " While this was going on in the front, it was found 
 that the enemy had advanced a force to our left, and 
 were crossing the Antietam, to get in the rear of the 
 left of our skirmish line. Colonel Walbridge was im 
 mediately dispatched, with five companies of the Sec 
 ond, *to repel their advance and drive them back, which 
 was most effectually done. At this point of time the 
 
GREAT REBELLION. 167 
 
 brigade was nearly all employed upon the skirmish 
 line, which extended a distance of two or three miles, 
 with no support within one and a half miles, except 
 the three companies of the Second, which were left in 
 support of the battery. 
 
 " It is believed that another instance of a skirmish 
 line, necessarily extending over so great a distance, re 
 peatedly repelling the assaults of strong lines of in 
 fantry at different points, cannot be found in the his 
 tory of any war. It is said that as the enemy s lines 
 went back in confusion, some of our men jumped upon 
 a fence, and, tauntingly calling them cowards, told 
 them to come back ; that there was nothing there but 
 militia. 
 
 " Our loss was nine killed and fifty-nine Wounded, in 
 all sixty-eight. The enemy s loss could not have been 
 less than two hundred or three hundred, for at every 
 point they were terribly slaughtered. Among our 
 wounded, I regret to name such gallant officers as 
 Colonel Stoughton, of the Fourth Vermont, Lieuten 
 ant Drury, of the Second Vermont, Lieutenant Mar 
 tin, of the Fourth Vermont, and Lieutenant Kimball, 
 of the Sixth Vermont." 
 
 BATTLE OF RAPPAHANNOCK STATION. 
 
 Our army met the enemy in force at Rappahannock 
 Station, on the 7th of November, 1863. The Vermont 
 
168 VEKMONT IN THE 
 
 Brigade was not act vely engaged, but was under a 
 heavy artillery fire all the afternoon, without casualties. 
 
 On the 8th of November the brigade crossed the 
 Rappahannock, and went into camp near Brandy Sta 
 tion. On the 27th they moved about four miles, in 
 support of the Third Corps at the battle of Locust 
 Grove. The brigade was not engaged, but was under 
 heavy artillery fire, causing a few casualties. 
 
 On the 28th of November they joined the right of 
 the main army at Robertson s Tavern, and were in line 
 of battle on the east bank of Mine River until Decem 
 ber 2d, when they re-crossed the Rapidan, and again 
 went into camp near Brandy Station, where they re 
 mained most of the time inactive, until the 4th of May, 
 1864, when they crossed the Rapidan at Gcrmania 
 Ford,^and went into camp two miles south of it. 
 
 BATTLES OF THE WILDERNESS. 
 
 On the 12th of March, 1864, General U. S. Grant 
 was appointed Lieutenant General, and constituted 
 Commander-in-Chief of all the armies of the United 
 States. President Lincoln is said to have asked Gen 
 eral Grant what was next to be done, and he replied, 
 " Destroy Lee s army, and take Richmond." 
 
 The battles of the Wilderness took place from the 
 5th to the 10th of May, 1864, and were among the 
 most sanguinary of the war. The "Vermont Brigade" 
 
GREAT REBELLION. 169 
 
 was engaged in most of them, and suffered severely in 
 killed, wounded, and missing. Colonel Lewis A. 
 Grant was promoted to brigadier general on the 27th 
 of April, 1864, and was in command of the brigade. 
 The following concise account of the participation of 
 this brigade in those engagements, is from Adjutant 
 General Washburn s report for 1864 : 
 
 " On the 4th of May the Brigade crossed the Rapi- 
 dan at Germania Ford, and encamped for the night 
 two miles south of the Ford. The next two days 
 they were engaged in the battle of the Wilderness, 
 one of the most important and sanguinary of the war. 
 On the morning of the 5th they were moved up the 
 Brock road, across the old pike to where the Brock 
 road crosses the plank road. The rebels were moving, 
 in heavy columns, down the old pike and the plank 
 road, which run nearly parallel from Orange Court 
 House to Chancellorsville, about two miles apart, and 
 in the general direction of the river intending to 
 pierce the Union lines, and sever from the main army 
 Hancock s Corps, which had crossed the river at a ford 
 below the Germania Ford, and was coming into posi 
 tion from the direction of Cbancellorsville, upon the 
 Brock road, beyond the point where that road crosses 
 the plank road. The Vermont Brigade, and two other 
 brigades of the same division, the First and Fourth, 
 were detached for this occasion from the Sixth 
 
170 VERMONT IN THE 
 
 Corps. As the brigade came to the place where the 
 roads crossed, they found the rebel advance driving 
 before them the Union cavalry down the plank road, 
 and within a short distance of the crossing, which was 
 the key of the position. Here the brigade was formed, 
 and hastily threw up slight intrenchments upon the 
 right of the road and in its direction. They were 
 then ordered to advance and attack, and it would seem 
 that the enemy were advancing to attack at the same 
 time. The two lines met in the compact woods, 
 where neither could see the other at any distance, and 
 the sanguinary battle of the Wilderness commenced. 
 Probably no more fearfully destructive fire of musketry 
 was ever maintained. The rebels had the advantage 
 of being protected by a slight swell of ground, and 
 rained their showers of bullets upon the unprotected 
 ranks of the < Old Brigade. And their fire was un 
 flinchingly met and returned. Officers of rank and 
 men were falling every moment ; the ranks were be 
 coming fearfully thinned, but no man thought of re 
 treating. They held the very key of the position of 
 the whole army. If they faltered, Hancock s Corps, 
 which was then coming into position upon their left, 
 would be cut off from the residue of the army, and 
 perhaps be destroyed by the simultaneous attack, on 
 front and flank, of overwhelming masses of the enemy. 
 But the brave men of Vermont held their position, 
 
GREAT REBELLION. 171 
 
 and repulsed gloriously every attempt to dislodge 
 them, and notwithstanding every regimental com 
 mander in the brigade, except one, was either killed or 
 wounded. They slept that night amid the horrors of 
 the battle-field, with the dead bodies of their com 
 rades about them, and the groans of the wounded and 
 dying filling the air. One thousand brave officers and 
 men of the Vermont Brigade fell on that bloody field. 
 " On the morning of the 6th, the brigade again ad 
 vanced to the attack, moving up the plank road, with 
 four lines of battle in their front. The enemy had 
 fallen back, but were met about a mile from the cross 
 roads, and the fierce conflict again commenced. The 
 brigade occupied a slightly elevated position, where the 
 enemy had thrown together two irregular lines of old 
 logs and decayed timber. The four lines in front of 
 them were swept away by the tide of battle, and the 
 advancing enemy came upon the Vermont Brigade 
 with great force, but were checked by the fierce fire 
 that met them, and thrown back in confusion. Again 
 and again they advanced to the attack, and -were as 
 often repulsed, until the Union forces upon the right 
 and left had given way or fallen back. Then the ene- 
 erny closed round upon the left and rear, and at the 
 same time again attacked in front. The position was 
 most critical; but the brave old brigade remained 
 sufficiently long to signally repulse the attack in front, 
 
172 VERMONT IN THE 
 
 and then, taking advantage of the confusion caused 
 in the rebel ranks, fell back safely to the intrenchments 
 which they had constructed upon the Brock road. 
 Here, again, late in the afternoon, the enemy made 
 another vigorous, determined, and desperate attack, 
 but were driven back, repulsed, and defeated. 
 
 " On the morning of the 7th, a strong skirmish line 
 was sent out, under command of Major Crandall, of 
 the Sixth Regiment, who was entirely successful, driv 
 ing back the enemy s skirmishers sufficiently to ascer 
 tain that their main body had retired, and capturing a 
 large number of muskets, which the enemy had col 
 lected from the battle-field of the previous days. In 
 the afternoon the brigade joined the Sixth Corps, and 
 soon after dark commenced the flank movement to 
 ward Spottsylvania. 
 
 " The brigade crossed the Rapidan on the 4th of 
 May, with about twenty-eight hundred effective men. 
 The losses in the battles of the Wilderness, May 5th 
 and 6th, were twelve hundred and thirty-two, as fol 
 lows : 
 
 Killed. Wounded. Missing. Total. 
 
 Brigade Staff, Oil 2 
 
 Second Regiment, 45 220 32 297 
 
 Third Regiment, 34 184 21 239 
 
 Fourth Regiment, 39 189 29 257 
 
 Fifth Regiment, 28 179 31 238 
 
 Sixth Regiment, 30 152 17 199 
 
 Totals, 176 925 131 1232 
 
GEEAT REBELLION. 173 
 
 " The unusual proportion of casualties is the best 
 evidence both of the severity of the fight and the 
 bravery of the officers and men engaged. 
 
 " The casualties among the officers were particularly 
 severe. Of the Second Regiment, Colonel Newton 
 Stone, Lieutenant Colonel John S. Tyler, and Captain 
 Orville Bixby ; of the Third Regiment, Captain Enoch 
 H. Bartlett, Captain Erastus Buck, and Adjutant Abel 
 Morrill ; of the Fourth Regiment, Captain Daniel W. 
 Farr, Captain Daniel Lillie, and Lieutenants Isaac A. 
 Putnam, Thomas Ensworth, Winfield S. Wooster, 
 and William H. Martin ; of the Fifth Regiment, Cap 
 tains Alonzo R. Hurlburt, George D. Davenport, and 
 Charles J. Ormsbee, and Lieutenants Orvis H. Sweet 
 and Watson O. Beach ; and of the Sixth Regiment, 
 Colonel Elisha L. Barney, and Captains Riley A. Bird 
 and George C. Randall, and Lieutenant Albert A. 
 Crane, were either killed or died of the wounds re 
 ceived. They were of Vermont s bravest sons, and 
 such as she could ill afford to spare. Colonel George 
 P. Foster, of the Fourth Regiment, and Lieutenant 
 Colonel John R. Lewis, commanding Fifth Regiment, 
 were both severely wounded." 
 
 On the 5th of May the brigade marched for Chan- 
 cellorsville, and arrived there on the morning of the 
 8th. On the morning of the 9th, the Fourth Regi 
 ment, under command of Major Pratt, was sent out 
 
174 VERMONT IN THE 
 
 to skirmish with the enemy in front, and the residue 
 of the brigade fortified their position under a fire of 
 artillery and musketry at long range. The Fourth 
 Regiment lost several men upon the skirmish line. 
 
 On the 10th of May the Fourth Regiment drove 
 the enemy s skirmishers back to their line of works, 
 behaving with great coolness and courage, and received 
 high commendation. 
 
 The Second Regiment, under command of Lieu 
 tenant Colonel S. E. Pingree, the Fifth, Major C. P. 
 Dudley, the Sixth, Colonel O. A. Hale, the whole un 
 der command of Colonel Thomas O. Seaver, of the 
 Third Regiment, composed a part of the column com 
 manded by Colonel Upton, w T hich charged the enemy s 
 works. The charging column was disposed in three 
 lines, the Vermont regiments forming the rear lines. 
 Says Adjutant General Washburn, in his annual report 
 for 1864, "The front lines were at first successful, cap 
 turing the works and many prisoners, but were driven 
 back by the enemy. The three Vermont regiments, 
 under Colonel Seaver, then advanced, and under n 
 most galling fire, occupied the rebel works, while the 
 other regiments fell back. Orders were given for all 
 to fall back ; but they failed to reach the Second Regi 
 ment and some of each of the others, who remained 
 in the works, obstinately defending them against all 
 attacks of the enemy, and refusing to fall back, pro- 
 
GREAT REBELLION. 175 
 
 testing that they could hold the works for six months, 
 if supplied with rations and ammunition, until they 
 received positive orders to do so. In this charge, the 
 gallant Major Dudley, of the Fifth Regiment, fell of 
 wounds, of which he subsequently died. His loss was 
 severely felt in the brigade and at home. The four 
 companies of the Third Regiment, on the skirmish line, 
 advanced with the attacking column, and a portion of 
 them remained in the rebel works until the last." 
 
 On the llth of May the brigade held its position, and 
 was constantly under fire, and on the morning of the 12th 
 moved with the Corps to the left, to cooperate with the 
 Second Corps, under General Hancock, who had made 
 his celebrated charge, capturing two general officers, 
 several guns, and many prisoners, and was vigorously 
 defending the works he had captured against a superior 
 force of the enemy. The brigade marched into position 
 under a terrific fire from the rebel batteries, and lost a 
 number of men. The brigade was formed in two lines 
 on the extreme left. Brigadier General Grant, with 
 the regiments of the second line, was ordered to the 
 right, to assist General Wheaton, and Colonel Seaver 
 was left in command of the front line. General Whea 
 ton was endeavoring to advance with his brigade, in 
 the face of a deadly fire from the enemy s rifle-pits, 
 when the Vermont regiments moved briskly up to his 
 support, the Fourth regiment, under Major Pratt, 
 
176 VERMONT IN THE 
 
 taking and holding the front line. The Fourth regi 
 ment remaining in its position, General Grant returned 
 to the center, where he was joined by the residue of 
 the brigade, under Colonel Seaver, and the whole, 
 except the Sixth Regiment, which was held in reserve, 
 were put into the engagement. 
 
 " This was the important point for both armies, and 
 the fighting here, upon both sides, was of the most 
 desperate character. It was a hand-to-hand fight. 
 The combatants were separated only by a breastwork 
 of logs and rails, and they fired into each other s faces, 
 and frequently clubbed their muskets to make or repel 
 assault. In this way the brigade was engaged for 
 about eight hours, when they were relieved and marched 
 to the rear. The loss of the brigade was heavy, but 
 the works w r ere held." 
 
 On the 13th a portion of the brigade was engaged 
 in skirmishing. On the 15th the Eleventh Vermont 
 Regiment, with about fifteen hundred effective men, 
 joined the brigade, and two companies of drafted men, 
 who had been on duty at Brattleboro for several mouths, 
 were added to the Sixth Regiment. 
 
 On the 16th, Colonel Seaver, with his own and a 
 Massachusetts regiment, made a reconnoissance in the 
 direction of Spottsylvania Court House, driving the 
 enemy s skirmishers into the main line of their works 
 in a most gallant manner. 
 
GEE AT EEBELLION. 177 
 
 On the morning of the 18th, the Second and Sixth 
 Corps charged the enemy s works, advancing about 
 half a mile under heavy artillery fire. The Vermont 
 Brigade had the front for some time, when the whole 
 were ordered to retire. Colonel Warner, of the Elev 
 enth, was severely wounded in this charge. 
 
 On the 19th, 20th, and 21st there was some heavy 
 skirmishing, in which the Vermont Brigade participated, 
 taking several prisoners. On the evening of the 21st, 
 the Sixth Corps marched towards Guinea s Station. 
 
 The total loss of the Brigade, from the 4th of May, 
 when they crossed the Rapidan, to the 21st, was six 
 teen hundred and fifty, as follows : 
 
 Regiments. Killed. Wounded. Missing. Total. 
 
 Second, 
 
 80 
 
 340 
 
 34 
 
 454 
 
 Third, 
 
 48 
 
 243 
 
 33 
 
 324 
 
 Fourth, 
 
 46 
 
 229 
 
 33 
 
 308 
 
 Fifth, 
 
 38 
 
 229 
 
 51 
 
 318 
 
 Sixth, 
 
 35 
 
 176 
 
 19 
 
 230 
 
 Eleventh, 
 
 2 
 
 14 
 
 00 
 
 16 
 
 Totals, 249 1231 170 1650 
 
 When the original regiments of the Brigade crossed 
 the Rapidan, on the 4th of May, it numbered twenty- 
 eight hundred men, out of which they lost sixteen 
 hundred and thirty-four more than half its entire 
 number in seventeen days. 
 
178 VERMONT IN THE 
 
 On the 1st of June the Brigade participated in the 
 battle of Cold Harbor, holding the extreme left of the 
 line of the Sixth and -Eighteenth Corps. Major 
 Fleming s Battalion, and Captain Sears Company, 
 of the Eleventh Regiment, made a gallant charge 
 upon the enemy s works, under a destructive fire. 
 They were unsupported, and did not carry the works, 
 but held the ground they had gained. On the 2d the 
 Brigade changed its position, and was for a time under 
 a heavy fire from the enemy. 
 
 "Early on the morning of the 3d a general but 
 unsuccessful attack was made upon the enemy s works. 
 In front of the Vermont Brigade were two regiments, 
 in line of battle, under General Wheaton, and as these 
 regiments advanced, the Brigade moved up promptly 
 to their support. Colonel Seaver advanced his Third 
 Regiment to the front line, and relieved one of Gen 
 eral Wheaton s regiments, and soon after the Fifth 
 Regiment was advanced, and relieved the other regi 
 ment in the front line. The Third and Fifth Regi 
 ments were greatly exposed, having no protection 
 except the trees in the edge of the woods, and suffered 
 very severely. They were subsequently withdrawn, 
 and a skirmish line left in their place, which held the 
 position the remainder of the day." 
 
 The casualties of the Brigade, from the 21st of May 
 to the 4th of June, were two hundred and eighty, in 
 
GREAT EEBELLION. 179 
 
 which the Eleventh Regiment suffered most, its killed, 
 wounded, and missing being one hundred and thirty- 
 four. Captain Merrill T. Samson, of the Fifth Regi 
 ment, Lieutenant Hiram C. Bailey, of the Second, and 
 Lieutenant Henry C. Miller, of the Third, all valued 
 and brave officers, fell in the engagement of the 3d 
 of June. 
 
 The Brigade held the front line from the 3d to the 
 llth of June. On the night of the 12ththey started 
 on the march for Petersburg. It had been under an 
 incessant fire of musketry and artillery for twelve 
 days. The front line was constantly engaged, the 
 regiments occupying the front line by turns, a change 
 being made every night. They engaged the enemy 
 by day, and advanced by parallels, and strengthened 
 their works by night. 
 
 The casualties in the Brigade, from the 4th to the 
 10th of June, were, in killed, wounded, and missing, 
 forty-eight. Those in the Eleventh Regiment were 
 nineteen. Major Richard B. Crandall, of the Sixth 
 Regiment, a brave young officer, fell in front of the 
 enemy s works on the 7th of June. 
 
 BATTLE OF PETERSBURG. 
 
 The Vermont Brigade crossed the Chickahominy on 
 the 13th of June, 1864, the James River on the 16th, 
 and arrived near Petersburg on the afternoon of the 
 
180 VERMONT IN THE 
 
 17th, and that night occupied the rebel works, which 
 had been carried that day. On the morning of the 
 18th there was a general attack upon the rebel lines, 
 when it was found that they had fallen back to a new 
 position during the night. In the afternoon our troops 
 made an attack, and drove the enemy still further 
 back. The Vermont Brigade, except the Second and 
 Fifth Regiments, which held the skirmish line, were 
 held in reserve, and did not participate in the engage 
 ment until night, when it was placed in the front line, 
 and held it during the next day, skirmishing with the 
 enemy, and under a heavy artillery fire. On the 20th 
 the Brigade relieved General Gibbon s Division of the 
 Second Corps, and held the position during the day, 
 the front lines being engaged. The casualties from 
 the llth to the 20th of June were, in killed, wounded, 
 and missing, thirteen. 
 
 On the 23d Captain Beattie, of the Third Regiment, 
 with about ninety picked men, pushed forward to the 
 Weldon Railroad, and a portion of the pioneers of the 
 Brigade went on to the road and commenced its de 
 struction. The Fourth, and Major Fleming s Battalion, 
 of the Eleventh Regiment, occupied an advanced posi 
 tion as skirmishers. The enemy attacked the party 
 upon the railroad, and drove them back, closed in from 
 both sides upon the rear of the Fourth Regiment 
 and Major Fleming s Battalion, making their escape 
 
GREAT REBELLION. 181 
 
 impossible. Though the men fought with despera 
 tion to the last moment, and until their ammuni 
 tion was exhausted, they were finally compelled 
 to surrender. 
 
 In this encounter, Captain William C. Tracy, of the 
 Fourth Regiment, was killed, and his body found upon 
 the field the next day. Lieutenant Merritt IT. Sher 
 man, of the Eleventh Regiment, was killed during the 
 day. He was a brave and worthy young officer. The 
 Fourth Regiment lost in prisoners one hundred and 
 thirty-nine officers and men, and the Eleventh, two 
 hundred and sixty-three. 
 
 On the 29th of June the Vermont Brigade led the 
 advance of the Sixth Corps to Ream s Station, on the 
 Weldon Railroad, met the enemy, and drove them 
 from the field. They marched to City Point on the 
 8th of July, and on the 9th embarked for Washing 
 ton. On the llth they participated in the engage 
 ment near Fort Stevens, with the rebels who made 
 a demonstration upon Maryland and the City of 
 Washington. 
 
 The Brigade remained in and near Washington until 
 the 26th of July, when they inarched to Harper s Fer 
 ry, and encamped on Bolivar Heights the night of the 
 29th. They were engaged in a slight skirmish on the 
 14th of August, near Strasburg, in which two men of 
 the Second Regiment were wounded. 
 
182 VERMONT IN THE 
 
 On the 21st of August the Brigade was engaged 
 hotly with the enemy at Charlestown, Va., from nine 
 o clock in the morning until night. Lieutenant Colo 
 nel George E. Chamberlain, of the Eleventh Regiment, 
 was wounded early in the day, while gallantly lead 
 ing his men, and died soon after. He had recently 
 been promoted, and was a young officer of great 
 promise, much respected by his command and at 
 home. Lieutenant Colonel Oscar A. Hale, and 
 Major Carlos W. Dwinnell, of the Sixth Regiment, 
 were severely wounded. Major Dwinnell, a valued 
 young officer, died of his wounds on the 24th. The 
 whole number of killed, wounded, and missing in 
 the Brigade in this engagement was one hundred and 
 twenty-three, the Sixth and Eleventh Regiments suf 
 fering most severely. 
 
 On the 13th of September the Brigade had a skir 
 mish with the enemy at Opequan River, in which they 
 lost one man killed, and seven wounded. 
 
 On the 19th, near Winchester, Va., the Vermont 
 Brigade was again hotly engaged, under command of 
 Colonel James N. Warner, of the Eleventh Regiment. 
 In this engagement, as on all other occasions, the Bri 
 gade distinguished itself for coolness and bravery. It 
 was in the thickest of the fight most of the day, 
 which resulted in a signal victory to our arms. Colonel 
 Warner, in his report of the engagement, says, " Were 
 
GREAT KEBELLION. 183 
 
 I to report by name all the officers who distinguished 
 themselves on this day, I should accompany this report 
 by a roster of the commissioned officers of the Brigade. 
 I cannot omit, however, the following commanding 
 officers of regiments: Major E. E. Johnson, Second 
 Vermont; Major Aldace Walker, Eleventh ; Major H. 
 W. Floyd, commanding Third and Fourth ; Captains 
 A. Brown, Jr., Fifth, and M. W. Davis, Sixth Regi 
 ments, all of whom did their duty nobly. Lieutenant 
 Colonel A. S. Tracy, Second Vermont, who superin 
 tended a portion of the line, is entitled to great 
 credit for being on the field on this occasion, as he 
 was suffering from a severe disability. Captain A. H. 
 Newt, A. A. A. G., Adjutant S. H. Lincoln, A. A. J. 
 G., who was wounded early in the day, and Lieutenant 
 H. C. Baxter, A. D. C., are deserving of special men 
 tion for their gallantry and coolness under fire. The 
 accompanying list of casualties, which includes many 
 of our best officers and men, is evidence of the stub 
 bornness of the fighting in our front." 
 
 The casualties to the Brigade in this engagement, in 
 killed, wounded, and missing, were two hundred and 
 fifty-six. Captain Charles Buxton and Lieutenant 
 Dennis Duhigg, of the Eleventh Regiment, were 
 killed. Both these officers had recently been pro 
 moted, the former to major, and the latter to captain ; 
 
184 VERMONT IN THE 
 
 but their commissions, though forwarded, had not been 
 received at the time of their death. 
 
 The term of service of the Second Regiment ex 
 pired on the 19th of June, 1864, and on the 22d it was 
 mustered out of service at Brattleboro , with two hun 
 dred and nineteen officers and men. The term of the 
 Third expired July 15, 1864, and on the 27th of that 
 month it was mustered out at Burlington, with one 
 hundred and sixty officers and men. The term of the 
 Fourth expired September 20, 1864, and on the 27th 
 it was mustered out of service, at Brattleboro , with 
 one hundred and forty-six officers and men. The or 
 ganization of the Fifth Regiment was preserved by 
 the re-enlistment of the requisite number of men. The 
 term of service of the original members expired on the 
 15th of September, 1864, and such of the men as 
 had not re-enlisted were mustered out of the ser 
 vice as a detachment, in the field, on that day, and 
 returned to Burlington for final payment. The Sec 
 ond, Third, and Fourth, thojtgh mustered out as regi 
 ments, were each represented in the field by a large 
 number of men who had joined the regiments at differ 
 ent times after its organization, and preserved their 
 organization and numeric designations. 
 
 The following table shows the losses of the original 
 regiments of the "Vermont Brigade," from September 
 30, 1863, to October 1, 1864: 
 
GREAT REBELLICrtST. 
 
 Mustered Transf.to 
 
 Regiments. out of ser- Veteran IJisch d. Deserted. Died, 
 vice. Res. Corps. 
 
 185 
 
 Total. 
 
 Second, 
 
 219 
 
 35 
 
 50 
 
 39 
 
 133 
 
 476 
 
 Third, 
 
 160 
 
 29 
 
 44 
 
 66 
 
 127 
 
 426 
 
 Fourth, 
 
 146 
 
 25 
 
 33 
 
 50 
 
 123 
 
 377 
 
 Fifth, 
 
 00 
 
 22 
 
 21 
 
 30 
 
 89 
 
 162 
 
 Sixth, 
 
 00 
 
 51 
 
 38 
 
 35 
 
 94 
 
 218 
 
 Totals, 525 162 186 220 566 1659 
 
 BATTLE OP CEDAR CREEK. 
 
 On the 19th of October, 1864, just before daybreak, 
 the enemy, in great force upon the easterly side of 
 Cedar Creek, under Early, made a sudden and unex 
 pected attack upon our forces, routing and driving 
 them back in great confusion, and capturing a large 
 number of guns and prisoners. The Union troops 
 rallied, however, the Vermont Brigade advancing with 
 the Sixth Corps, which became engaged in a desperate 
 conflict, checking for a time the impetuous advance of 
 the enemy. The troops on the right gave way, and 
 the Division fell back a short distance to a crest, and 
 formed a new line, the Vermont Brigade holding the 
 center of its Division. 
 
 The enemy advanced in heavy force, drove in the 
 skirmishers, and attacked the line of battle, but met 
 
186 VERMONT IN THE 
 
 with a severe repulse. The attack fell mainly upon 
 the Vermont Brigade. General Ricketts, who com 
 manded the Sixth Corps, was severely wounded, and 
 General Getty, who commanded the Second Division, 
 assumed the command of the Corps ; General L. A. 
 Grant took command of the Division ; and Lieutenant 
 Colonel Tracy, of the Second Regiment, took com 
 mand of the Brigade. 
 
 The enemy made another attack, and were again 
 severely repulsed, losing many men. A portion of 
 the Union line finally gave way, and the enemy 
 rushed through a piece of woods and opened a heavy 
 fire upon our forces, driving back some of them, when 
 the residue of the Division was ordered to retire. 
 They retreated about half a mile, and took up a new 
 position. The enemy followed, keeping up an inces 
 sant fire of artillery. The tide of battle seemed to 
 be against the Union troops; the loss of men and 
 guns had been very heavy, and a portion of our 
 army had retreated in great confusion. The Sixth 
 Corps had steadily and gallantly resisted the advance 
 of the enemy, giving an opportunity to reform the 
 line, which was done, with the Eighth Corps upon the 
 left, the Sixth in the center, and the Nineteenth 
 upon the right. The rebels made a vigorous attack, 
 mostly upon the left and center of the Union line. 
 The Sixth Corps held its ground ; but the whole line 
 
GREAT REBELLION. 187 
 
 was giving way, and the enemy pressed them back 
 towards Newtown. 
 
 The Adjutant General s report, for 1865, says, "At 
 this crisis, General Sheridan, who was at Winchester 
 at the commencement of the battle, arrived upon the 
 field. He rode rapidly down the pike and between 
 the Third and Second Brigades, and, halting in front 
 of the Second, inquired what troops they were. 
 The Sixth Corps! The Vermont Brigade! was 
 shouted almost simultaneously from the ranks. We 
 are all right ! he exclaimed ; and, swinging his hat 
 over his head, he rode rapidly to the right, arnid the 
 exultant shouts of the men." 
 
 After a short cessation of firing, the Union troops 
 were ordered to attack the enemy, and the Vermont 
 Brigade moved forward under a heavy fire. The First 
 and Third Brigades advanced at the same time the 
 First on the right, and the Third on the left, and both 
 fell back under the severe fire of the enemy, while 
 the Vermont Brigade took position behind a stone 
 wall, refusing to retire, opened a heavy fire upon the 
 rebels in front, and held the position far in advance of 
 the other troops. " The enemy began to give way, 
 and a movement upon the right being apparent, the 
 Brigade sprang over the stone wall, advancing rapidly 
 through an open ravine, and took position behind 
 another stone wall, from which the enemy had been 
 
188 VERMONT IN THE 
 
 driven. The enemy made another stand, and the 
 Brigade poured into their ranks a terrible fire of 
 musketry. The Third Brigade, having reformed, 
 took position upon the left of the Vermont Brigade. 
 The enemy gave way, another advance was ordered, 
 and there was no halt until the enemy had been 
 driven across Cedar Creek, and the cavalry had taken 
 up the pursuit : it was the last victorious charge of 
 the day. The distance from the point of attack to 
 Cedar Creek was about three miles, most of the way 
 through an open country. The enemy s lines were 
 entirely broken, and went back in great confusion. 
 They were rapidly followed, and men rushed forward 
 upon the double-quick, those who could move the most 
 rapidly being found at the front. As the Brigade ap 
 proached Cedar Creek, they were passed by two regi 
 ments of cavalry, one of which was the First Vermont, 
 and the infantry then halted and reorganized. In this 
 organization the Vermont Brigade was found in ad 
 vance of all other troops, except the cavalry, which 
 had just passed. The engagement and pursuit had 
 continued from early morning until dark; and the 
 Vermont Brigade, fatigued, but victorious, marched 
 back, and encamped upon the same ground they had 
 left in the morning." 
 
 The following were the casualties in the Brigade 
 during this engagement: 
 
GEE AT REBELLION. 189 
 
 Regiments. Killed. Wounded. Missing. Total. 
 
 Second, 3 31 4 38 
 
 Third, 3 38 1 42 
 
 Fourth, 6 20 ,3 29 
 
 Fifth, 2 17 3 22 
 
 Sixth, 5 32 11 48 
 
 Eleventh, 9 74 29 112 
 
 Totals, 28 212 51 291 
 
 Later reports increased the number of killed to 33, 
 and reduced the number of wounded to 210, and of 
 missing to 41 ; total, 284. 
 
 Among the killed was Second Lieutenant Oscar R. 
 Lee, of the Eleventh Regiment. He had just been 
 commissioned captain, but had not been mustered on 
 his commission. He was a brave young officer. Gen 
 eral Grant, in his report of the engagement, says, " I 
 desire to commend for their good conduct the regi 
 mental commanders, and the officers and men in their 
 respective commands." 
 
 The Brigade marched to Kearnstown, where they 
 remained doing picket duty until the 9th of Decem 
 ber, when, with the Sixth Corps, they went to Wash 
 ington by railroad, and by water, on the 10th, to City 
 Point, thence by rail to Mead s Station, and on the 
 13th upon the Squirrel Level road, and occupied the 
 works previously held by the Fifth Corps, and went 
 into winter quarters. The near proximity of the two 
 
190 VEEMONT IK THE 
 
 lines made the picket duty, during a portion of the 
 winter, quite arduous, one tenth of the entire command 
 being required to remain in the trenches during the 
 night. ^ 
 
 On the 25th of March, 1865, just before daybreak, 
 the enemy made an attack upon Fort Steadman. The 
 Brigade remained in the works, expecting an attack 
 in their front, and prepared to give the rebels a warm 
 reception, until one o clock, P. M., when they moved 
 to the left and front of Fort Fisher, where the Brigade 
 was formed as an assaulting column, the Sixth Regi 
 ment being upon the left of the front line. " The Bri 
 gade, with other troops, charged over an open field, 
 upon the enemy s strongly-intrenched picket-line, cap 
 turing nearly his whole force. In this affair, both 
 officers and men behaved with their usual gallan 
 try." The casualties in the Brigade were, four killed, 
 thirty-three wounded. The engagement continued un 
 til eight o clock P. M., when the Brigade returned to 
 their quarters. The captured picket line was held by 
 our troops. 
 
 On the 27th of March before daybreak, a small col 
 umn of the enemy made another attack upon our 
 picket line, which was repulsed after a sharp skirmish. 
 The casualties to the Brigade were, wounded, twen 
 ty-three ; missing, twenty-two. Second Lieutenant 
 Charles H. Carleton, of the Fourth Regiment, was 
 among the wounded. 
 
GKEAT REBELLION. 
 
 191 
 
 On the 2d of April the Brigade was again fiercely 
 engaged with the enemy, in what proved to be the 
 final battle of the great war, resulting as it did in the 
 evacuation of Petersburg and Richmond on that day, 
 and the surrender, on the 9th, of Lee s entire army to 
 General Grant. 
 
 Early in this engagement General L. A. Grant was 
 severely wounded in the head, and the command of 
 the Brigade devolved upon Lieutenant Colonel A. S. 
 Tracy, of the Second Regiment. 
 
 The troops having been properly disposed for an 
 attack upon the enemy s works, the initiative having 
 been assigned to the Vermont Brigade, at four 
 o clock, at the appointed signal from Fort Fisher, it 
 moved briskly over the works of the skirmish line, and 
 pressed silently forward. When near the enemy s first 
 line of intrenchments, being discovered, they were met 
 by a confused fire from the rebels, who fled in great 
 disorder. The command then, with their accustomed 
 battle-cry, charged forward for the enemy s main works, 
 about five hundred yards in their front. They had 
 passed about half the distance, when the enemy opened 
 a well-directed fire of musketry from the front, and 
 artillery from forts on either hand, which caused the 
 line to waver for a moment only, when it again pressed 
 forward with unsurpassed gallantry. "Officers and 
 men vied with each other in the race for the works, 
 
192 VERMONT IN THE 
 
 and all organization was lost in the eagerness and en 
 thusiasm of the troops. The abatis were passed, and 
 the men swarmed over the works with exultant shouts, 
 the rebels fleeing in all directions. The earthworks, 
 one to the right of the ravine, containing four guns, 
 and the other to the left, containing two guns, were 
 captured." 
 
 " The honor of being the first to break the enemy s 
 line is claimed by the Vermont Brigade ; and the com 
 manding officers of the Fifth, Sixth, and Eleventh Reg 
 iments each claim that their colors were first planted 
 on the works. And it is claimed that Captain Charles 
 G. Gould, of the Fifth Regiment, was the first man of 
 the Sixth Corps, to mount the works. His regiment was 
 in the first line of the Brigade, and in the charge he was 
 far in advance of his command. Upon mounting the 
 works he received a severe bayonet wound in the face, 
 and was struck several times with clubbed muskets, 
 but bravely held his ground, killing with his saber the 
 man who bayoneted him, and retiring from the works 
 only after his comrades had come to his assistance and 
 routed the enemy from their lines." 
 
 The enemy retreated in hot haste for the woods in 
 the rear, and were pursued by our troops. At the edge 
 of the woods the Brigade was again formed in line, 
 the regiments in their numerical order from right to 
 left. The whole command pushed forward vigorously 
 
GREAT REBELLION. 193 
 
 through thickets, swamps, and dense woods, losing all 
 organization in the eagerness of the men to surpass 
 each other in the pursuit of the rebels, who were so 
 closely followed that they could scarcely fire a shot. 
 They had abandoned all idea of resistance, and seemed 
 only desirous to be taken prisoners. The pursuit con 
 tinued for about four miles to near Hatcher s Run. 
 
 " The conduct of the officers and men in this second 
 charge is represented to have been above all praise; 
 singly, or in squads of three or four, the men would 
 charge upon whatever obstructions came in their way. 
 Brevet Major Elijah Wales, of the Second Regiment, 
 with two men, captured a piece of artillery, turned it 
 upon the enemy, and fired upon them the charge which 
 they had themselves placed in tile gun. Major Wil 
 liam J. Sperry, of the Sixth Regiment, and Lieutenant 
 George A. Bailey, of the Eleventh Regiment, assisted 
 by a few men, captured two pieces, and turned them 
 upon the retreating rebels. Unable to procure primers, 
 the pieces were discharged by firing a musket into the 
 vent. In this manner twelve rounds were fired, when 
 a section of artillery coming up, the guns were turned 
 over to its commander. Captain George G. Tilden, of 
 the Eleventh Regiment, with about a dozen men, 
 captured two pieces of artillery, eleven commissioned 
 ofiicers, and sixty-two enlisted men, of the Forty-second 
 Mississippi Regiment. Sergeant Lester G. Hock, Com- 
 
194 VERMONT IN THE 
 
 pany F, Fifth Regiment, charged a squad of rebels who 
 surrounded a stand of colors, knocked down the color- 
 bearer, and captured the colors. Corporal Charles W. 
 Dolloff, Company K, Eleventh Regiment, also cap 
 tured a stand of colors." 
 
 There are hundreds of instances of gallantry and 
 daring by officers and men of the famous Vermont 
 Brigade, which never have been, and probably never 
 will be, recorded in history. Their deeds of bravery 
 during the four years of the Great Rebellion, would, 
 if written out, make a volume of inconvenient size. 
 Enough is known and recorded, however, to reflect 
 upon it as high a degree of honor for faithfulness, en 
 durance, and gallantry as has been accorded to any 
 similar organization in the great and unsurpassed army 
 engaged in putting down the most gigantic rebellion 
 of the world. 
 
 The Brigade went into camp for the night in in- 
 trenchments which they threw up in Petersburg. The 
 headquarters of the Brigade were established at the 
 Turnbrell House, where General Robert E. Lee, the 
 great rebel general, had had his headquarters for the 
 winter. 
 
 The captures of the Brigade, during the day, com 
 prised two battle-flags, nineteen pieces of artillery, 
 horses, harnesses and equipments, great quantities of 
 quartermasters and medical stores, and several hundred 
 
GREAT REBELLION. 195 
 
 prisoners. The casualties in the Brigade during the 
 day, were twenty-six killed, one hundred and sixty-one 
 wounded, seven missing; making a total of one hun 
 dred and ninety-four. The Second, Fifth, and Eleventh 
 Regiments suffered the most. Among the killed were 
 Captain Charles C. Morey, of the Second Regiment, 
 and Lieutenant George O. French, of the Eleventh 
 Regiment, both excellent officers and worthy men. 
 
 The Brigade, with the Sixth Corps, started in pur 
 suit of the retreating rebel army early on the morning 
 of the 3d of April, and came up with them at Sailor s 
 Creek, about five o clock on the afternoon of the 6th, 
 when an engagement took place, in which the Vermont 
 troops did not participate. The enemy were routed. 
 In the evening of the same day, Colonel Tracy, with 
 the Second, and a regiment from the First Brigade, 
 had an engagement with the enemy, which resulted in 
 completely driving the enemy from the front, and leav 
 ing Colonel Tracy in possession of the ground. He 
 reports that the last shot fired at the enemy by the 
 Sixth Corps was fired by the Second Vermont Regi 
 ment in this engagement. 
 
 After the surrender of the rebel army, on the 9th of 
 April, the Brigade marched to Danville, Va., a dis 
 tance of one hundred and five miles, in a little more 
 than four days. From there they moved to Man 
 chester, Va., and thence to Munson s Hill, Va., near 
 
196 VERMONT IN THE 
 
 Washington, D. C., where they remained until mus 
 tered out of service. 
 
 SEVENTH REGIMENT. 
 
 The Seventh Regiment was successively commanded 
 by Colonels George T. Roberts, of Rutland, who died 
 August 7, 1862, of wounds received in action at Baton 
 Rouge, two days before; William C. Holbrook, of 
 Brattleboro , resigned June 2, 1865 ; David B. Peck, 
 mustered out of service as lieutenant colonel, August 
 26, 1865; Henry M. Porter, of Middlebury, mustered 
 out as lieutenant colonel with the regiment, March 14, 
 1866. The two latter were commissioned as colonels, 
 but for want of a sufficient number of men were not 
 mustered as such. 
 
 This regiment was engaged in the following bat 
 tles : 
 
 Siege of Vicksburg, June and July, 1862. 
 
 Baton Rouge, August 5, 1862. 
 
 Gonzale Station, July 15, 1864. 
 
 Spanish Fort, March 27 to April 11, 1865. 
 
 Whistler, April 13, 1865. 
 
 This Regiment was mustered into the United States 
 service at Brattleboro , on the 12th of February, 1862, 
 and was sent to Ship Island, and subsequently moved 
 to New Orleans. The men suffered severely from ex- 
 
GREAT REBELLION. 197 
 
 posure during the unsuccessful attack upon Vicksburg, 
 and afterward in camp. Two hundred and eighty-five 
 of the men died previous to December 1, 1862. They 
 were moved to Pensacola, and a portion of the com 
 panies garrisoned Fort Pickens. A portion of the 
 regiment was engaged in the battle of Baton Rouge, 
 August 5, 1862, and fought bravely, during which its 
 Colonel, George T. Roberts, was mortally wounded, 
 and died two days afterward. An attempt was made 
 to show that the regiment behaved badly on that occa 
 sion ; but an investigation, demanded by its officers, 
 into the facts, proved the contrary, and that Vermont 
 need not blush for the conduct of her Seventh Regi 
 ment. 
 
 The regiment was stationed in the District of W-est 
 Florida, in the Department of the Gulf, up to August, 
 18G4, performing garrison and picket duty by detach 
 ments. It had very little service as a body. In Jan 
 uary, 1864, Lieutenant Ross, with Company B, was 
 ordered to Point Washington, at the head of Choctaw- 
 hotchie Bay, to protect and forward refugees wishing to 
 enter our lines and enlist in our army. He advanced 
 twenty-five miles into the interior, and captured a 
 company of rebel infantry, of about fifty, that had been 
 stationed there to prevent refugees and deserters 
 escaping to our lines. While returning to Point 
 Washington, he was surprised by a superior force of 
 
198 VERMONT IN THE 
 
 rebel cavalry, and captured, with eleven of his men and 
 all his prisoners. 
 
 In February, 1864, all the original men in this regi 
 ment, except fifty-eight, re-enlisted. The re-enlisted 
 men were given a furlough, and the others were mus 
 tered out at the end of the term of their enlistment. 
 On the departure of the regiment for home, August 10, 
 1864, the re-enlisted men for furlough and the others 
 to be mustered out, General Asboth, commanding of 
 ficer of the West District of Florida, issued a compli 
 mentary order, in which he said, " The Seventh Ver 
 mont Veteran Volunteers, being about to leave this 
 district, the general commanding considers it his pleas 
 ant duty to express his full appreciation of the good 
 order and discipline always maintained, and efficient 
 service constantly rendered by them, not only as in 
 fantry, at their several posts and in the field, but also 
 most conspicuously as artillerists, at the important forts 
 of Pickens and Barrancas." 
 
 On the 27th of September, the furloughs of the re- 
 enlisted men having expired, they assembled at Brattle- 
 boro , and on the 30th departed for New Orleans, 
 where they remained until February, 1865, when they 
 embarked for Mobile Point, Alabama, where they re 
 mained until the 17th of March, and then left for 
 Spanish Fort, before which it arrived on the 27th, and 
 was attached to the Third Division, Thirteenth Army 
 
GREAT REBELLION. 199 
 
 Corps, and was several times engaged in heavy skir 
 mishing, and under severe fire of artillery and mus 
 ketry. 
 
 During the last few days of the siege of Spanish 
 Fort, the regiment assisted in putting the siege guns 
 in position, and making approaches. The officers and 
 men, in every instance, behaved with great gallantry. 
 The casualties in the regiment from March 19 to 
 April 11 were eighteen wounded, and twenty-five 
 captured. 
 
 On the 12th of April the regiment, with its division, 
 marched through Mobile, and thence to Whistler, a 
 station on the Mobile and Ohio Railroad, about six 
 miles from Mobile, where they found a body of rebel 
 cavalry, who retreated after a brisk skirmish. 
 
 The regiment went to Clarksville, Texas, and re 
 mained there, and in other places in that State, doing 
 guard and other duty, until the 14th of March, 1866, 
 when it was mustered out of service with twenty-two 
 commissioned officers and three hundred and twenty- 
 six enlisted men, and returned to Brattleboro , where 
 they arrived on the 5th of April, and were paid and 
 discharged. 
 
 EIGHTH REGIMENT. 
 
 This regiment was mustered into service on the 18th 
 of February, 1862, and was successively commanded 
 
200 VERMONT IN THE 
 
 by Colonels Stephen Thomas, of West Fairlee, who 
 was promoted to brigadier general February 1, 18C5, 
 and John B. Mead, of Randolph, who was mustered 
 out with the regiment. 
 
 This regiment was engaged in the following bat 
 tles: 
 
 Gotten, January 14, 1863. 
 
 Bisland, April 2, 1863. 
 Siege of Port Hudson, May 25 to July 9, 1863. 
 
 Winchester, September 19, 1864. 
 
 Fisher s Hill, September 21 and 22, 1864. 
 
 Cedar Creek, October 19, 1864. 
 
 Newtown, November 11, 1864. 
 
 The Eighth Regiment left the State on the 6th of 
 March, 1862, with one thousand and fifteen officers 
 and men; joined General Butler s expedition, and 
 went to New Orleans, and were stationed at Algiers, 
 opposite that city, during the^ summer of 1862, de 
 tachments being stationed temporarily at different 
 points, and sent out on expeditions as occasion re 
 quired. 
 
 On the 4th of September, 1862, a detachment from 
 this regiment was engaged in a heavy skirmish with 
 the enemy at Bayou des Allemands, where the loss 
 amounted to sixteen killed, twenty wounded, and one 
 hundred and thirty-seven missing. Among the miss- 
 
GEEAT KEBELLION. 201 
 
 ing were Captain Edward Hall and Lieutenant An 
 drew J. Sargent, of Company E, and Lieutenants 
 Greene and Mead, of Company G. Of those who fell 
 into the hands of the enemy, seven were shot by the 
 rebels on the 23d of October as deserters, four died at 
 Vicksburg, two were held as hostages, two were held 
 as deserters, and one hundred and twenty-two, with 
 their officers, were paroled. 
 
 During the siege of Port Hudson the regiment dis 
 tinguished itself for coolness and bravery whenever 
 brought into action. They participated in the assault 
 on the 27th of May, and also on the 14th of June, 
 1863, showing the same gallantry that distinguished 
 Vermont troops everywhere during the war. The 
 casualties in the regiment during the siege were 
 twenty-four killed, one hundred and twenty wounded } 
 and two missing. 
 
 On the 1st of April that portion of the regiment 
 which had re-enlisted was ordered home to receive 
 their furlough, arriving in the State on the 15th. 
 The residue remained at Algiers, under command of 
 Major John L. Barstow, until the 6th of May, when 
 they removed to Thibodeaux, a distance of sixty miles. 
 On the 3d of June they were rejoined by those who 
 had been home on furlough ; and on the 5th, the orig 
 inal members of the regiment, who had not re-enlisted, 
 were ordered to Vermont to be mustered out of service. 
 
202 VERMONT IN THE 
 
 On the 5th of July the regiment left New Orleans, 
 and arrived at Washington, D. C., on the 13th, and 
 marched to Tenallytown, thence to Snicker s Gap, and 
 back to Chain Bridge on the 23d. It was attached to 
 the Nineteenth Corps, constituting a part of the army 
 under Sheridan. 
 
 On the 19th of September the Eighth Regiment was 
 engaged in the battle of Opequan Creek , near Win 
 chester, fighting bravely and nobly, every officer and 
 man doing his whole duty. Co. F were sent forward 
 as skirmishers ; Co. D, Captain Getchell, and Co. K, 
 Captain Ford, were sent to the right, to occupy a 
 space beyond the right of the Brigade. The remain 
 der of the regiment were sent to the front, with the 
 Twelfth Connecticut, and took position in an open 
 field, the enemy occupying the woods in front, from 
 which they had a short time before driven the Second 
 Division, within rifle range. " Their fire of musketry 
 and artillery was very heavy. The position was held 
 for more than three hours, and until the Eighth Corps, 
 under Major General Crook, were seen nearly a mile 
 to the right, charging upon the enemy. Then Colonel 
 Thomas, without waiting for orders, moved forward- 
 with the Eighth, and Twelfth Connecticut, at double- 
 quick, charging and driving the enemy from the 
 woods. After passing through the woods, the regi 
 ment halted, and was rejoined by Companies D, F, 
 
GREAT REBELLION. 203 
 
 and K. The enemy were in force about four hundred 
 yards to the left, behind a rail-fence, and the regiment 
 wheeled to the left, firing deadly volleys upon them, 
 and they soon took to flight. The residue of the Bri 
 gade came up, and the Eighth Regiment, with the One 
 Hundred and Sixtieth New York, charged and drove 
 the enemy from behind a stone wall. The pursuit 
 continued until dark, when the regiment bivouacked, 
 receiving the congratulations of Major General Mc 
 Millan and Colonel Thomas for their gallant conduct. 
 The loss during the day was eight killed and thirty 
 wounded. Among the wounded was Lieutenant Colo 
 nel Henry F. Button, who was wounded early in the 
 action." 
 
 The Eighth was with its brigade, engaged in the pur 
 suit of the enemy, from the 20th to the 25th, and 
 encamped at Harrisburg, having been engaged in 
 charges and skirmishes nearly every day from the 19th 
 to the 26th of September. 
 
 On the 6th of October the regiment moved from 
 Harrisburg, and arrived at Cedar Creek on the 10th, 
 where they encamped and fortified, and on the 19th 
 was again hotly engaged with the enemy in the battle 
 of Cedar Creek. During this engagement Colonel 
 Thomas was in command of the brigade, and the com 
 mand of the regiment devolved upon Major John B. 
 Mead, who was wounded in the early part of the bat- 
 
204 VERMONT IN THE 
 
 tie, and was succeeded by Captain McFarland. The 
 loss during the day was one officer, Lieutenant Cooper, 
 killed, and twelve officers wounded; Captain Hall, 
 of Co. E, and Lieutenant Cheney, of Co. K, mortally ; 
 and fourteen . enlisted men killed, and ninety-five 
 wounded or taken prisoners. 
 
 The regiment returned to Cedar Creek, and on the 
 10th of November marched to Newtown, Va. ; thence 
 to Summit Point, where they remained through the 
 winter, performing heavy guard and picket duty on 
 the line of railroad from Charlestown to Winchester. 
 On the 20th of February, 1865, a detachment of the 
 regiment, while cutting . timber, were attacked by 
 guerrillas, and eleven men captured. They were soon 
 paroled, and rejoined the regiment. 
 
 On the 21st of April the regiment proceeded by 
 railroad to Washington, D. C., and encamped near 
 Fort Stevens, where they remained through the month 
 of May. 
 
 On the 1st of June the regiment was attached to 
 the " Vermont Brigade," in the Sixth Corps, and par 
 ticipated in, the .review of the Vermont troops by the 
 Governor, of the State on the 7th, and also in the re 
 view of the Sixth Corps, by the President, on the 8th 
 of June. 
 
 The regiment was mustered out of service on the 
 28th .of June, and left Washington for Burlington, 
 where they were discharged on the 10th of July. 
 
GREAT REBELLION. 205 
 
 NINTH REGIMENT. 
 
 The Ninth Regiment was mustered into the United 
 States service on the 9th of July, 1862. It was suc 
 cessively commanded by Colonels George J. Stannard, 
 of St. Albans, who was promoted to brigadier gen 
 eral, March 11, 1863; Dudley K. Andros, of Brad 
 ford, resigned May 22, 1863; and Edward H. Ripley, 
 of Rutland, mustered out of service June 13, 1865. 
 Colonel Ripley was breveted brigadier general, Au 
 gust 1, 1864. 
 
 The regiment was in the following engagements : 
 
 Harper s Ferry, September 13 and 16, 1862. 
 
 Newport Barracks, February 2, 1864. 
 
 Chapin s Farm, September 29, 1864. 
 
 Fair Oaks, October 27, 1864. 
 
 The Ninth Regiment left the State on the 15th of 
 July, 1862, with nine hundred and twenty officers and 
 men. It proceeded to Washington, and thence to 
 Winchester, Va., and was engaged in constructing 
 fortifications. The regiment was captured at Harper s 
 Ferry, on the 15th of September, 1862, when that post 
 was surrendered, was paroled, and sent to Chicago, 
 where it remained in parole camp until January 10, 
 1863, when the men were exchanged. They guarded 
 rebel prisoners at that place until the following April, 
 
206 VERMONT IK THE 
 
 when it was removed to Fortress Monroe, thence to 
 Suffolk, Va., West Point, Va., and Yorktown, Va., 
 remaining there until the 24th of October, 1863, when 
 they sailed for Newbern, IN". C. 
 
 The regiment had become very much reduced in 
 numbers by desertions, the men being dispirited for 
 want of active duty, enlistments in the regular army, 
 and malarial diseases. 
 
 They arrived at Newbern on the 29th of October, 
 and were ordered to Newport Barracks, where they 
 performed garrison duty, Colonel Edward H. Ripley, 
 of the Ninth Regiment, commanding the post. 
 
 On the 2d of December the regiment met with a 
 severe loss in the death of Charles Jarvis, of Weathers- 
 field, who had been promoted to major. He died of 
 wounds received in a skirmish, while endeavoring to 
 capture a rebel party. On the 24th, Colonel Ripley, 
 with a portion of his men and the One Hundred and 
 Fifty-eighth New York regiment, went down the coast, 
 destroyed extensive salt works, and brought in a number 
 of negroes. 
 
 On the 31st of January, 1864, the regiment, with 
 other troops, under the command of Colonel Jourdan, 
 of the One Hundred and Fifty-eighth New York regi 
 ment, went on an expedition to Onslow County, N. C., 
 and returned after an arduous march of seventy-five 
 miles, having captured one rebel lieutenant and twenty- 
 seven privates, with much valuable property. 
 
GREAT REBELLION. 207 
 
 On the 2d of February the enemy, with twenty-five 
 hundred infantry, eight to twelve pieces of artillery, 
 and four hundred cavalry, made an attack upon the 
 outposts held by Companies H and B, Ninth Regi 
 ment. At that time the recruits, who had recently 
 joined the regiment, were without arms, and the regi 
 ment numbered less than two hundred muskets. The 
 recruits were soon armed, and hastily instructed how 
 to load, and with pockets filled with cartridges, taken 
 out upon the skirmish line, which was the only line 
 that, from the open nature of the country and the great 
 superiority of the enemy, could be opposed to them. 
 A gallant resistance was made, and the position held 
 until nearly dark, when the regiment fell back over the 
 bridges, and burned them to prevent capture. In this 
 movement the regiment lost two lieutenants and sixty- 
 four men killed, wounded, and missing. Most of the 
 missing were new recruits. The regiment was com 
 manded by Captain Kelley, of Company B, Lieutenant 
 Colonel Barney being in command of the post, and 
 Colonel Kipley having just left for Fortress Monroe 
 with prisoners and dispatches to General Butler. 
 
 On the 16th of March, Major Amasa Bartlett, of 
 Irasburg, who had just received his commission, died. 
 His loss was severely felt in the regiment. On the 
 26th of April, Captain Kelley, with twenty men, cap 
 tured a fishing party of six men, sent out by the rebel 
 
208 VERMONT IN THE 
 
 commissary department, and destroyed valuable prop 
 erty. On the 29th, with forty men, he dashed into 
 Swansboro , capturing a rebel lieutenant and sixteen 
 men, with horses, arms, and a large quantity of gov 
 ernment stores. 
 
 On the llth of July the regiment moved to New- 
 bern, and was assigned to duty at the various out 
 posts. On the 31st of August the regiment was 
 ordered to Bermuda Hundred, arriving there on the 
 15th of September, and was attached to the First Bri 
 gade, Second Division, of the Eighteenth Army Corps. 
 They were joined on the 17th by one hundred and 
 seventy recruits, making the effective strength of the 
 regiment about eight hundred and seventy-five. 
 
 On the 29th of September the regiment left their 
 camp, crossed the James River, and marched to Cha- 
 pin s Farm. The Eighth Maine, and Ninth Vermont 
 Regiments were ordered to charge one of the enemy s 
 works. The Maine regiment became entangled in a 
 swamp, and the Ninth Vermont charged alone, over 
 uneven ground, covered with fallen timber and under 
 brush, carried the works, capturing two guns and over 
 fifty prisoners, and driving the enemy from a line of 
 rifle-pits connecting the captured fort with the works. 
 The regiment was under fire the entire day, and every 
 man behaved with great gallantry. The casualties in 
 the regiment on this occasion were seven killed, thirty- 
 eight wounded, and thirteen missing. 
 
GREAT REBELLION. 209 
 
 Early in November the regiment was sent to New 
 York City, to assist in preserving order during the 
 Presidential election, and were highly complimented 
 for their good discipline amid the temptations of the 
 city. They rejoined their Brigade on the 17th. In 
 December the regiment was attached to the Second 
 Brigade, Third Division, of the Twenty -fourth Corps. 
 
 A general order was issued from Corps Headquarters, 
 dated January 17, 1865, providing for an inspection, at 
 stated times, of the regiments in each brigade, with a 
 view of determining which was the best regiment in 
 the brigade ; and then an inspection of the regiments, 
 thus ascertained to be the best in each brigade, by the 
 General commanding the Division, for the purpose of de 
 termining which was the best regiment in the Division. 
 The Ninth Regiment entered into this competition 
 with great spirit and determination, and by the perfec 
 tion of their drill and discipline gained the post of 
 honor in the Division, and the fact was announced 
 at Division Headquarters. The Divison consisted of 
 twenty regiments. The officers and men were justly 
 proud of the distinction thus attained. When each of 
 these complimentary orders were issued, the regiment 
 was excused from all picket and outside details for one 
 week. Before the period had terminated during which 
 they had been excused from details, the men of the 
 regiment made application to be allowed to go again 
 
210 VERMONT IN THE 
 
 upon duty, to relieve their comrades of the brigade, 
 whose duties were rendered extremely arduous by the 
 excusing of this regiment from details. This noble 
 conduct called forth another complimentary order from 
 Division Headquarters. 
 
 The Ninth Regiment was among the first to enter 
 Richmond after its evacuation by the rebels, and was 
 stationed there until mustered out. The original mem 
 bers of the regiment, and the recruits whose terms of 
 service were to expire previous to the 1st of October, 
 were mustered out on the 13th of June. The remain 
 ing members of the regiment were consolidated into 
 a battalion of four companies, which remained in Vir 
 ginia, performing ordinary camp, guard, and provost 
 duty, until the 1st day of December, 1865, when they 
 were mustered out of service, with twelve commissioned 
 officers and three hundred and two enlisted men. 
 
 TENTH REGIMENT. 
 
 The Tenth Regiment was mustered into the United 
 States service on the 1st day of September, 1862, and 
 left the State on the 6th, with ten hundred and sixteen 
 officers and men. It was successively command by 
 Colonels Albert B. Jewett, of Swanton, who resigned 
 April 25, 1864; William W. Henry, of Waterbury, 
 who was wounded in May, 1864, resigned December 
 17, 1864, brevet brigadier general, March 7, 1865; 
 
GREAT REBELLION. 
 
 211 
 
 George B. Damon, of Newbury, who was mustered 
 out of service after his regiment, as lieutenant colonel, 
 June 28, 1865. 
 
 This regiment participated in the following engage 
 ments, in all of which the officers and men behaved 
 with great gallantry, and fully sustained the credit of 
 Vermont : - 
 
 Orange Grove, 
 Wilderness, 
 Spottsylvania, 
 Tolopotomy, 
 Cold Harbor, 
 Weldon Railroad, 
 Monocacy, 
 Winchester, 
 Fisher s Hill, 
 Cedar Creek, 
 Petersburg, 
 Petersburg, 
 Sailor s Creek, 
 
 November 27, 1863. 
 May 5 to 10, 1864. 
 May 10 to 18, 1864. 
 May 31, 1864. 
 June 1 to 12, 1864. 
 June 22 and 23, 1864. 
 July 9, 1864. 
 September 19, 1864. 
 September 21 and 22, 1864. 
 October 19, 1864. 
 March 25, 1865. 
 April 2, 1865. 
 April 6, 1865. 
 
 This regiment was brigaded with the Thirty-ninth 
 Massachusetts, the Fourteenth New Hampshire, and 
 the Twenty-third Maine regiments, and was, during 
 the first year of its service, stationed on the Upper 
 Potomac, near Poolsville, performing picket duty. 
 During the invasion of Maryland and Pennsylvania 
 
212 VEKMONT IN THE 
 
 by the rebels, the Tenth Regiment was attached to 
 the Array of the Potomac, and formed a part of the 
 Third Army Corps. When that corps was broken up 
 it was attached to the First Brigade, Third Division, 
 of the Sixth Army Corps, and with it participated in 
 the engagement at Orange Grove, on the advance to 
 Mine Run. They charged and drove the enemy in 
 great confusion from a crest which they occupied, and 
 which was held by the Tenth Regiment until after 
 sunset, under a heavy fire from artillery and infantry 
 at short range. The officers and men were highly 
 commended for their good conduct on this occasion. 
 The regiment lost nine killed, fifty-eight wounded, 
 and Captain Dillingham, of Company B, was taken 
 prisoner. 
 
 On the 4th of May, 1864, the regiment crossed the 
 Rapidan with the Sixth Corps, and were under fire 
 nearly every day until the 18th. Its loss during this 
 time was four killed and twenty-three wounded. 
 
 On the 1st and 3d of June the regiment was active 
 ly engaged near Cold Harbor, and suffered severely. 
 Lieutenant Colonel Henry, who was in command, was 
 wounded on the 1st, and was succeeded by Major 
 Charles G. Chandler. Lieutenants Ezra Stetson and 
 Charles G. Newton, both valuable officers, were killed 
 in the same action. On the 3d, Captain Edwin B. 
 Frost was killed. His was a severe loss to the regi- 
 
GEEAT REBELLION. 213 
 
 ment. On the 6th, Captain Samuel Darrah, an intelli 
 gent and highly valued officer, was killed in front of 
 regimental headquarters by a rebel sharpshooter. In 
 all these engagements the officers and men of the 
 Tenth Regiment behaved with great coolness and 
 courage. The casualties were twenty-seven killed, one 
 hundred and forty-seven wounded, and six missing. 
 . On the 9th of July this regiment was in the battle 
 of Monocacy Junction, and lost four men killed, twen 
 ty-six wounded, and thirty-two missing. They subse 
 quently were joined to General Sheridan s army in 
 the Valley of the Shenandoah, and were in the battle 
 of Opequan Creek, near Winchester, on the 19th of 
 September, behaving well, and losing thirteen killed 
 and sixty wounded. Major Edwin Dillingham, a 
 young, patriotic, and brave officer, was among the 
 killed. 
 
 ; On the 19th of October the Tenth Regiment was 
 engaged in the battle of Cedar Creek. The rebels 
 had captured three of our pieces of artillery, and a 
 charge was ordered by this regiment; and, with the 
 colors in front, they advanced with alacrity, charged 
 up to the guns, and recovered them. Sergeant William 
 Mahoney, of Company E, color-bearer of the regiment, 
 was the first to reach the guns, and planted the colors 
 upon one of them. The rebels retired in great con 
 fusion. In this engagement the casualties in the regi- 
 
214 VEKMONT IN THE 
 
 raent were fourteen killed, sixty-six wounded, and 
 five missing, being nearly one third of the entire regi 
 ment. Among the killed were Captain Lucian D. 
 Thompson and Color-Sergeant Mahoney. 
 
 On the 25th of March, 1865, this regiment was en 
 gaged near Fort Fisher, charged upon and captured 
 the works of the enemy. They took one hundred and 
 sixty prisoners, including several commissioned officers. 
 In this action the regiment lost two men killed and 
 four wounded. 
 
 On the 2d of April the Brigade, of which the Tenth 
 Regiment formed a part, made another charge upon the 
 works of the enemy, and succeeded in capturing them, 
 with many prisoners and several guns. The com 
 manding officer of the brigade, in his official report, 
 said, " the first colors inside the works were those of 
 the Tenth Vermont." The casualties in the regiment 
 during the day were three killed, forty-one wounded, 
 and four captured. Adjutant James M. Read was 
 mortally wounded, and died four days after. He was 
 a very promising young officer. 
 
 From Petersburg the regiment marched with the 
 Sixth Corps to Sailor s Creek, where it was again en 
 gaged with the enemy on the 6th of April, taking part 
 in the decisive flank movement which closed the ac 
 tion. The regiment then marched to Appomattox 
 Court House, where the rebel army surrendered on 
 
GEE AT REBELLION. 215 
 
 the 9th of April. On the 23d they started for Dan 
 ville, Va., and marched thence, a distance of over one 
 hundred miles, in four days and four hours. They re 
 mained at Danville about three weeks, and then 
 moved by way of Richmond to Washington, D. C., 
 where they arrived about the 1st of June, went into 
 camp near Ball s Cross Roads, and remained there until 
 mustered out of service, June 22, 1865. 
 
 ELEVENTH REGIMENT. 
 
 The Eleventh Regiment was mustered into the 
 United States service on the 1st day of September, 
 1862, and left the State on the 7th, with ten hundred 
 and eighteen officers and men. The regiment was suc 
 cessively commanded by James M. Warner, who was 
 made Brevet Brigadier General for gallantry at Spott- 
 sylvania Court House, Winchester, Fisher s Hill, and 
 Cedar Creek, Va., to date from August 1, 1864; pro 
 moted to Brigadier General, May 8, 1865 ; and Charles 
 Hunsden, of Stoneham, who was mustered out June 
 24, 1865. 
 
 By an order from the War Department, this regi 
 ment was changed from infantry to heavy artillery, 
 and was stationed at Washington, D. C., occupying 
 Forts Slocum, Totten, and Stevens. On the 15th of 
 May they joined the " Vermont Brigade," after which 
 its history is given with that organization. 
 
216 VERMONT IN THE 
 
 SECOND VERMONT BRIGADE. 
 
 This Brigade was composed of the Twelfth, Thir 
 teenth, Fourteenth, Fifteenth, and Sixteenth Regi 
 ments all enlisted for nine months. 
 
 The Twelfth Regiment was commanded by Asa P. 
 Blunt, of St. Johnsbury; the Thirteenth by Francis 
 V. Randall, of Montpelier ; the Fourteenth by William 
 T. Nichols, of Rutland; the Fifteenth by Redfield 
 Proctor, of Cavendish ; the Sixteenth by Wheelock G. 
 Veazey, of Springfield. 
 
 These regiments were brigaded together during their 
 entire term of service. The Brigade was successively 
 commanded by Brigadier General Edwin H. Stough- 
 ton, who was surprised and captured by the enemy ; 
 Colonel Asa P. Blunt, of the Twelfth Regiment, until 
 April, 1863, when Brigadier General George J. Stan- 
 nard was assigned to its command, and so continued 
 to the end of its term of service. The Brigade was 
 stationed near Washington, performing picket duty, 
 until June 25, 1863, when it was ordered to report to 
 General Reynolds, commanding the First Army Corps, 
 and joined the Corps at Gettysburg on the evening of 
 July 1st, after a march of one hundred and twenty- 
 five miles, in seven days, during much of the time 
 through a heavy rain. 
 
GREAT REBELLION. 217 
 
 BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG. 
 
 In the early part of the summer of 1863, the rebel 
 leaders proclaimed their intention of invading the 
 North, and thus retaliate for the devastation occa 
 sioned by the war in Virginia and other States claimed 
 by them as belonging to the Confederacy. They made 
 no attempt at secrecy. Their plan, as understood, 
 was. to overwhelm Hooker s army, capture Washing 
 ton, and make a grand raid into Pennsylvania, or some 
 other fruitful and inviting section of the North, and 
 carry away such horses, cattle, and supplies of all kinds 
 as they needed, and destroy all else of value that fell 
 in their way. General Hooker was aware of the pro 
 gramme agreed upon by the enemy, and was on the 
 alert to meet him. Under his orders, General Pleasan- 
 ton, with a cavalry force, made an attack upon Gen 
 eral Stewart at Beverly Ford, captured his private 
 papers, and compelled him to fall back and abandon his 
 intention of harassing and diverting Hooker s advance. 
 Among the captured papers was found a General Order 
 for an advance into Pennsylvania. 
 
 To meet the threatened advance, General Hooker 
 put his army in rapid motion. His troops were so dis 
 posed as to protect Washington, and also to give the 
 enemy battle should he invade the Northern States at 
 any point. No one knew precisely where the rebels 
 
218 VEBMONT IN THE 
 
 would strike. Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey, 
 and New York were appealed to, and urged to rally 
 for the protection of their respective borders, and they 
 promptly and nobly answered the call. The last week 
 of June was one of great anxiety and doubt. It was 
 known that the rebel army, ninety-thousand strong, 
 was making an advance upon the North, and must be 
 met by an equal or superior force. It soon became 
 apparent that the enemy was concentrating a very 
 large force near Gettysburg, Pa., and on Monday night, 
 the 29th of June, the troops under the rebel Generals 
 Hill, Longstreet, and Ewell were encamped on the 
 eastern slope of the mountain, in full view of that 
 place. 
 
 On the 28th of June, General Meade assumed com 
 mand of the Union army. He concentrated, as rap 
 idly as possible, the troops under Generals Buford, 
 Reynolds, and Howard, and they took positions on 
 the south side, and near to the town, on the night of 
 the 29th. A desperate battle was imminent. On 
 the morning of Wednesday, July 1, General Buford 
 was ordered to advance with his cavalry and oc 
 cupy the town. He was met by the enemy, who im 
 mediately opened fire upon him ; hearing which, Gen 
 eral Reynolds, with the First Corps, of eight thousand 
 men, weary with marching, dashed into and through 
 the town, and commenced a vigorous attack upon 
 
GREAT REBELLION. 219 
 
 twenty thousand fresh troops, which was met with 
 equal vigor by the enemy. General Reynolds took a 
 position, and not only stubbornly held it, but drove 
 back the foe whenever they made a charge upon his 
 lines. The rebels were re-enforced from time to time, 
 until they numbered full forty thousand, while our 
 own forces on the field were less than half that num 
 ber. The brave General Reynolds was killed in the 
 early part of the day. The contest raged furiously 
 until near night, when it became evident that our 
 troops could not much longer withstand the terrtble 
 fire of a foe- so greatly superior in numbers, and a re 
 treat was ordered. 
 
 Our men were driven back through the town by the 
 howling and excited rebels, who took twenty-two 
 hundred prisoners. Suddenly the artillery opened 
 from a hill at the south, and checked and drove back 
 the enemy. 
 
 The battle throughout the day, in every part of the 
 field, had been among the fiercest and most terrible of 
 the war. .The fire on both sides was more terrific than 
 veterans had ever seen before. One brigade of west 
 ern troops, which, in the morning, numbered eighteen 
 hundred and twenty, reached Cemetery Hill at night 
 with but seven hundred men. Another brigade 
 by its side went in with fifteen hundred men at 
 noon, and came out at night having lost thirteen 
 
220 VERMONT IN THE 
 
 hundred and thirty-three privates, and fifty-four officers. 
 This was carnage such as had not been witnessed upon 
 any other field. The disparity in numbers was too 
 great, and the Unionists were forced to yield the 
 ground. Gettysburg was in the hands of the rebels, 
 and all looked gloomy for the loyalists. The loss on 
 both sides had been terrible, and the instances of bra 
 very and daring by officers and men were almost with 
 out number. 
 
 Both armies passed the night in preparation for 
 ther morrow. Our men must be re-enforced, or they 
 were lost. They went into the battle with less than 
 half the number of the enemy, had suffered much 
 more than he, and what remained were weary and 
 disheartened. The rebels were exultant, and looked 
 for an easy and decisive victory. Before midnight 
 our men were cheered by the arrival of the Twelfth 
 Corps, under General Slocum, and the Third, under 
 General Sickles; and shortly after daylight on the 
 2d, came the Second and Fifth Corps. These acces 
 sions of strong men, and General Meade, with his 
 confident bearing, to command the whole, inspired 
 the men who had fought so nobly the day before, 
 with new life and courage. All our troops were 
 carefully and properly disposed, and ready for ac 
 tion. The rebels were not so exultant as the night 
 before. 
 
GEEAT REBELLION. 221 
 
 It was not until four o clock in the afternoon of 
 Thursday, July 2, that the enemy commenced the 
 attack. Then followed such a battle as had not before 
 been recorded in history. Volley succeeded volley, 
 and charge followed charge. The gallantry displayed 
 by men on both sides was unprecedented, and the 
 slaughter terrible to contemplate or remember. The 
 strife continued until night, without a decisive victory 
 for either army. The rebels left the contest with their 
 confidence considerably shaken, while our army felt 
 strong in the rectitude of their cause. The night was 
 spent by the men in needed rest, and by officers on 
 both sides preparing for a renewal of the contest the 
 next day. 
 
 At early dawn on Friday morning, the 3d of July, 
 our guns opened fire upon the enemy. The battle 
 continued from this time until eleven o clock, when it 
 entirely ceased until half past one. In the afternoon 
 General Lee, who had been in command from the 
 commencement of the battle, determined to make one 
 more desperate attempt upon our left center, which 
 was held by General Hancock. He made the attack 
 with a heavy force, which was nobly met and splendid 
 ly repulsed. In speaking of it, Abbott, in his " History 
 of the Civil War," says, " So fiercely they stormed the 
 hill that the patriot General Gibbons was obliged to 
 order his own men back to make room for the fatal 
 
222 VERMONT IN THE 
 
 grape. Volley after volley he poured into the surging 
 mass ; and, when the smoke cleared away, the brave 
 charging lines were gone, not broken, not retreating, 
 but gone gone like leaves before the wind." 
 
 In this last day s battle our troops completely de 
 feated and routed the enemy, captured six thousand 
 and five hundred prisoners, their battery, and five 
 thousand stand of arms. Before the next morning 
 General Lee and his whole army had made good their 
 retreat. 
 
 During the second day of the battle a battery fell 
 into the hands of the rebels. The gunners had all 
 been killed or fled. General Hancock had been unable 
 to rally its supporters. He rode up to Colonel Randall, 
 of the Thirteenth Vermont Regiment, whose horse had 
 just been shot under him, and who was on foot at the 
 head of his regiment, and asked him if he could retake 
 that battery. " We can. Forward, boys ! " was Col 
 onel Randall s reply. He retook the battery, sent the 
 guns to the rear, and advanced half a mile further to 
 the front, and captured two twelve-pound brass guns. 
 
 The great feature of the battle of Gettysburg was 
 the charge of Pickett s Division, so called. It was 
 made, according to the best authority, with two whole 
 divisions, and parts of others in all about seventeen 
 thousand men. It commenced in the afternoon of the 
 third day, with a cannonade from about one hundred 
 
GEEAT REBELLION. 223 
 
 field-pieces, which were replied to by eighty guns 
 from the Union forces. So heavy was the firing that 
 it was heard distinctly at Greensjboro , Pa., a distance, 
 in a direct line, of one hundred and forty-three miles. 
 The cannonading ceased, and then followed the grand 
 charge. 
 
 The main body of the rebels were formed in two 
 lines, with a front of about three hundred rods. The 
 ground selected was an open meadow at the left of 
 Cemetery Hill, on either side of which, on slightly 
 elevated ground, were posted the opposing armies. 
 The enemy advanced steadily, preceded by their skir 
 mishers. The Vermont Brigade occupied an advanced 
 position, and were ordered by General Stannard into 
 line. The enemy s right seemed to be aiming directly 
 upon the Fourteenth Regiment. Seeing which, Gen 
 eral Stannard sent an order to Colonel Nichols to hold 
 his fire until the rebels were close upon him, then to 
 pour in a volley, and after that give them the bayonet. 
 The rebel force suddenly charged, and marched across 
 the front of the Brigade, about sixty rods, and again 
 came upon the line of the Second Corps, at about 
 eighty rods distance. The Fourteenth Regiment 
 opened fire by battalion, and continued by files, and 
 was soon joined by the Thirteenth, and, as a writer 
 who was upon the ground says, "A line of dead rebels 
 at the close showed distinctly where they marched 
 across the front of the Vermont Second Brigade." 
 
224 VERMONT IN THE 
 
 As the enemy pressed forward, General Stannard 
 ordered the Thirteenth and Sixteenth Regiments to 
 attack his flank. They moved up promptly to within 
 half pistol range, and opened fire upon the column of 
 the enemy, advancing after every volley. At this short 
 range, the same writer says, " The Thirteenth fired ten 
 or fifteen rounds, and the Sixteenth probably half that 
 number, into a mass of men on which every bullet took 
 effect, and many doubtless found two or three victims. 
 The effect upon the rebel lines was instantaneous. 
 Their progress ceased close upon the low breastworks 
 of the Second Corps. For a moment they crowded 
 together in bewilderment, falling like wheat before the 
 reaper ; then, breaking into a disorderly mob, they fled 
 in all directions. The larger portion, on their right 
 arid center, dropped their arms, and rushed within 
 our lines as prisoners." 
 
 The rebel brigade which formed the support of Pick- 
 ett s division on his right, was now advancing across 
 the open field directly upon the position of the Four 
 teenth Regiment. The batteries and the Fourteenth 
 gave them a hot fire in front, while the Sixteenth 
 was ordered to attack the flank. The rebel force was 
 brought nearly to a halt by the fire in front. At this 
 stage Colonel Veazey, of the Sixteenth, requested per 
 mission of General Stannard to make a charge, which 
 was granted, and the Sixteenth, without firing a gun, 
 
GEEAT EEBELLION. 225 
 
 rushed upon the enemy s flanks with bayonets. " The 
 movement was so sudden that the rebel commander 
 could effect no change of front to meet it, and the Six 
 teenth swept down the line of three regiments, taking 
 their colors, and scooping them in a body into our lines." 
 
 The following is a portion of the report of Briga 
 dier General Stannard, commanding the Second Ver 
 mont Brigade, dated "In front of Gettysburg, July 
 4, 1863": 
 
 "We reached the battle-ground too late in the day 
 to take part in the severely contested battle of July 1, 
 and my tired troops upon their arrival took position in 
 rear of the line of battle of the First Corps. 
 
 " Before reaching the ground, the Twelfth and Fif 
 teenth Regiments were detached, by order of General 
 Reynolds, as a guard to the Corps wagon train in the 
 rear. The Fifteenth rejoined the Brigade next morn 
 ing, but was again ordered back for the same duty, 
 about noon of that day. After the opening* of the 
 battle on the 2d, the left wing of the Thirteenth Regi 
 ment, under Lieutenant Colonel Munson, was ordered 
 forward, as support to a battery, and a company of the 
 Sixteenth was sent out as support to the skirmishers 
 in our front. While stationing them, Captain A. G. 
 Foster, Assistant Inspector General of my staff, was 
 seriously wounded by a ball through both legs, de 
 priving me of his valuable services for the remainder 
 
226 VERMONT IN THE 
 
 of the battle. Just before dark of the same day, our 
 army line on the left of the center having become 
 broken, under a desperate charge of the enemy, my 
 Brigade was ordered up. The right wing of the Thir 
 teenth Regiment, under command of Colonel Randall, 
 was in the advance, and upon reaching the breach in 
 the line, was granted by General Hancock, commanding 
 upon the spot, the privilege of making an effort to re 
 take the guns of Company C, Regular Battery, which 
 had just been captured by the enemy. 
 
 " This they performed in a gallant charge, in which 
 Colonel Randall s horse was shot under him. Four 
 guns of the battery were retaken, and two rebel field- 
 pieces, with about eighty prisoners, were captured by 
 five companies of the Thirteenth, in this single charge. 
 The front line, thus reestablished, was held by this 
 Brigade for twenty-six hours. At about two o clock 
 of the 3d instant the enemy commenced a vigorous 
 attack upon our position. After subjecting us, for an 
 hour and a half, to the severest cannonade of the whole 
 battle, from nearly one hundred guns, the enemy 
 charged with a heavy column of infantry. The charge 
 was aimed directly upon my command, but owing 
 apparently to the firm front shown them, the enemy 
 diverged midway, and came upon the line on my right. 
 But they did not thus escape the warm reception pre 
 pared for them by the Vermonters. As soon as the 
 
GREAT REBELLION. 227 
 
 change of the point of attack became evident, I ordered 
 a flank attack upon the enemy s column. Forming in 
 the open meadow in front of my line, the Thirteenth 
 and Sixteeth Regiments marched down in column, by 
 the flank, changed front forward, at right angles to the 
 main line of battle of the army, bringing them in line 
 of battle upon the flank of the charging column of the 
 enemy, and opened a destructive fire at short range, 
 which the enemy sustained but a very few minutes 
 before the larger portion of them surrendered and 
 marched in, not as conquerors, but as captives. They 
 had hardly dropped their arms before another rebel 
 column appeared, charging upon our left. Colonel 
 Veazey, of the Sixteenth, was at once ordered back to 
 take it, in its turn, upon the flank. This was done, as 
 successfully as before. The rebel force already deci 
 mated by the fire of the Fourteenth Regiment, was 
 scooped, almost en masse, into our lines. The Six 
 teenth took, in this charge, the regimental colors of the 
 Second Florida and Eighth Virginia regiments, and 
 the battle-flag of another rebel regiment. 
 
 " The Sixteenth was supported for a time, in the 
 now advanced position it occupied after the charge, by 
 four companies of the Fourteenth, under command of 
 Lieutenant Colonel Rose. 
 
 "The movements I have described were executed 
 in the open field, under a heavy fire of shell, grape, 
 
228 VEEMONT IN THE 
 
 and musketry, and they were performed with the 
 promptness and precision of battalion drill. They 
 ended the contest on the center, and substantially 
 closed the battle. 
 
 " Officers and men behaved like veterans, although 
 it was, for most of them, their first battle, and I am 
 content to leave it to the witnesses of the fight, whether 
 or no they sustained the credit of the service, and the 
 honor of our Green Mountain State. 
 
 " That their efforts were approved by the Division 
 General, is shown by the General Order appended to 
 this report. 
 
 "The members of my staff, Captain William H. 
 Hill, Assistant Adjutant General; Lieutenant G. W. 
 Hooker, and Lieutenant G. G. Benedict, Aid-de-Camp; 
 Lieutenant Clark, Provost Marshal, and Lieutenant S. 
 F. Prentiss, Ordnance Officer, executed all orders with 
 the utmost promptness, and their coolness under fire, 
 and good example, contributed essentially to the suc 
 cess of the day." 
 
 On the 4th of July Major General Doubleday issued 
 the following General Order : 
 
 " The Major General commanding the Division de 
 sires to return his thanks to the Vermont Second 
 Brigade, the One Hundred and Fifty-first regiment 
 Pennsylvania Volunteers, and the Twentieth regiment 
 New York State Militia, for their gallant conduct in 
 
GREAT REBELLION. 229 
 
 resisting, in the front line, the main attack of the enemy 
 upon this position, after sustaining a terrific fire from 
 seventy-five to one hundred pieces of artillery. He 
 congratulates them upon contributing so essentially to 
 the glorious, and it is to be hoped, decisive victory of 
 yesterday." 
 
 The losses in the Brigade during this battle were as 
 follows : 
 
 Killed. Wounded. Missing. Total. 
 
 Thirteenth Regiment, 8 89 26 123 
 Fourteenth Regiment, 17 68 22 107 
 Sixteenth Regiment, 14 89 15 118 
 
 Totals, 39 246 63 348 
 
 General Stannard was among the wounded in this 
 engagement. One of his staff officers, in an article 
 entitled " Vermont at Gettysburg," says, " During the 
 last sharp shower of grape and shell with which the 
 enemy strove to cover his repulse, General Stannard 
 was wounded in the leg by an iron shrapnel ball, which 
 passed down for three inches into the muscles on the 
 inside of the thigh. His wound was very painful until 
 a surgeon came which was not for an hour and 
 removed the ball ; but, though strongly urged, he re 
 fused to leave the field. He remained in front with 
 his men till his command was relieved from duty in 
 the front line, his wounded had been removed, and 
 
230 VERMONT IN THE 
 
 arrangements made for burying the dead, and then 
 sank almost lifeless to the ground. To his perfect 
 coolness, close and constant presence with his men, 
 and to the promptness almost that of inspiration 
 with which he seized the great opportunity of the 
 battle, was very greatly owing the glorious success of 
 the day." 
 
 The term of service of the Twelfth Regiment ex 
 pired on the 4th of July, and it was mustered out of 
 service on the 14th of July, 1863 ; the Thirteenth was 
 mustered out on the 21st of July, 1863 ; the Fourteenth 
 on the 30th of July, 1863; the Fifteenth on the 5th of 
 August, 1863 ; and the Sixteenth on the 10th of Au 
 gust, 1863. 
 
 SEVEN TEETH REGIMENT. 
 
 This Regiment was mustered into the United States 
 service, by companies, in 1864, and was mustered out 
 on the 14th of July, 1865. It was commanded by 
 Colonel Francis V. Randall, of Montpelier. It was 
 engaged in the following battles: 
 
 Wilderness, May 6 to 9, 1864. 
 
 Spottsylvania, May 12 to 15, 1864. 
 
 Spottsylvania, May 18, 1864. 
 
 North Anna, May 25 and 26, 1864. 
 
 Tolopotomy, May 31, 1864. 
 
 Bethesda Church, June 3, 1864. 
 
GREAT REBELLION. 231 
 
 Cold Harbor, June 7 and 8, 1864. 
 
 Petersburg, June 17, 1864. 
 
 Petersburg Mine, July 30, 1864. 
 
 Weldon Railroad, August 26, 1864. 
 Poplar Grove Church, September 30, 1864. 
 
 Hatcher s Run, October 27 and 28, 1864. 
 
 Petersburg, April 2, 1865. 
 
 Companies A, B, C, D, E, F, and G, under com 
 mand of Lieutenant Colonel Charles Cummings, of 
 Brattleboro , left the State on the 18th of April, 1864. 
 Company H joined the regiment on the 8th of June; 
 Company I on the 13th of August, and was soon after 
 followed by Company K. They joined the Second 
 Brigade, Second Division, Ninth Army Corps, at Alex 
 andria, Va., on the 22d of April. They were in the 
 battle of the Wilderness from the 6th to the 9th of 
 May. On the 6th the regiment was- under a heavy 
 fire, during which Lieutenant Colonel Cummings was 
 wounded in the head, and the command devolved upon 
 Major William B. Reynolds. The officers and men 
 behaved with remarkable coolness and gallantry in this 
 and all the subsequent battles of the Wilderness, adding 
 its share to the honor reflected upon Vermont by her 
 troops in the field. The men were suffering from 
 measles, and mustered but three hundred and thirteen 
 muskets on the morning of the battle. The regiment 
 
232 VERMONT IN THE 
 
 lost nine men killed, sixty-four wounded, and seven 
 missing. 
 
 At Spottsylvania, from the 12th to the 18th of May, 
 the regiment fought with great bravery, losing ten 
 men killed, and three officers and fifty-seven enlisted 
 men wounded. On the 3d of June the regiment was 
 again under heavy fire at Bethesda Church, during 
 which Captain A. J. Davis, of Company B, a noble 
 officer, was mortally wounded, and soon died. The 
 casualties in the regiment from the 20th of May to the 
 6th of June, being under fire nearly every day, were 
 two killed, and thirty- two wounded, three of whom died 
 of their wounds. On the 16th of June they arrived 
 near Petersburg, and on the 17th greatly distinguished 
 themselves by a gallant charge upon the works of the 
 enemy, which were carried. The regiment was highly 
 complimented by General Burnside for the part it per 
 formed in the charge. It was in advanced works until 
 the 20th, much of the time under fire. Casualties from 
 the 8th to the 20th of June, ten killed and twenty-five 
 wounded. Among the killed was Lieutenant Guy H. 
 Guyer, a gallant officer. It was in constant active ser 
 vice from the 20th of June to the 29th of July, losing 
 five men killed, and twenty-seven wounded. 
 
 The regiment, under Major Reynolds, was in the 
 famous charge at Petersburg, on the 30th of July, 
 after the blowing up of the enemy s forts by means of 
 
GEEAT REBELLION. 233 
 
 "mines," behaved gallantly, and lost every one of 
 its commissioned officers three killed, one wounded, 
 four missing ; enlisted men, three killed, twenty-three 
 wounded, seventeen missing aggregate loss, fifty-one. 
 Among the killed were the gallant Major Reynolds, 
 and Lieutenants William F. Martin and John R. Con 
 verse, all brave officers. 
 
 On the 30th of September the regiment was in 
 another severe engagement, opposite Petersburg, the 
 officers and men sustaining their well-earned reputation 
 for bravery. The casualties were, officers, three 
 wounded and missing ; enlisted men, three killed, and 
 forty-one wounded, and twenty-nine missing. Among 
 the wounded and missing was Lieutenant Colonel 
 Cummings. He fell into the hands of the enemy, and 
 died of his wounds soon after. 
 
 In October, Company K joined the regiment, making 
 the full complement of ten companies, and on the 27th 
 Colonel Francis V. Randall assumed the command. 
 During the winter Colonel Randall was in command of 
 Fort Davis, on the Jerusalem Plank Road, about two 
 miles from Petersburg, and the Seventeenth was sta 
 tioned there. On the morning of the 2d of April, 1865, 
 it was hotly engaged in the assault upon Petersburg 
 which resulted in its surrender. It was under the 
 immediate command of Lieutenant Colonel Knapp, and 
 all behaved with great bravery. The loss to the regi- 
 
234 VERMONT IN THE 
 
 ment was eight killed, thirty-nine wounded, and two 
 missing. Among the killed was Lieutenant J. Edwin 
 Henry, of Company K, a fine officer. Among the 
 wounded was Lieutenant Colonel Lyman E. Knapp, 
 Captain George S. Robinson, and Lieutenant Hollis O. 
 Claflin. 
 
 The regiment joined in the pursuit of Lee s army, 
 and, after its surrender, returned to Burkesville, where 
 Colonel Randall was placed in command of the town. 
 On being relieved here, the regiment moved to Alex 
 andria, and was mustered out of service on the 14th 
 of July, 1865. 
 
 SHARPSHOOTERS. 
 
 There were three companies of Sharpshooters raised 
 in Vermont, and, with those sent from other States, 
 proved a most valuable arm of the service. Their 
 duties were most arduous, and often in positions of 
 greatest danger. They were performed by individuals, 
 detachments, and companies, where other troops could 
 not be used either safely or effectively. They partici 
 pated in more battles and skirmishes than the average 
 of other troops, and probably sent more rebels into the 
 presence of their Maker than the same number of men 
 in other organizations. They were seldom used in line 
 of battle in dense masses, and consequently suffered 
 less loss in comparison than most other regiments. 
 
SHARPSHOOTER. 
 
GREAT REBELLION. 235 
 
 Such was the nature of their duties, and the manner 
 in which they performed them, that they received but 
 a very small share of the glory of the war which was 
 actually due them. 
 
 The First Company, F, was attached to the First 
 Regiment United States Sharpshooters; the Second, 
 E, and the Third, H, were attached to the Second 
 Regiment United States Sharpshooters. 
 
 Company F was successively commanded by Ed 
 mund Weston, Jr., of Randolph, who resigned August, 
 2, 1862 ; Charles W. Seaton, of Charlotte, resigned 
 May 15, 1863; Ezbon W. Hindes, of Rutland, dis 
 charged for disability, November 7, 1863 ; and Charles 
 
 D. Merriam, of Brattleboro , mustered out with the 
 original members of the company, September 13, 1864. 
 
 Company E was successively commanded by Homer 
 
 E. Stoughton, of Randolph, promoted to Major of his 
 regiment, September 2, 1862 ; Francis D. Sweetzer, dis 
 charged for disability, September 14, 1863; and Sey 
 mour F. Norton, of Burlington, transferred with the 
 veterans of his company to the Fourth Vermont Regi 
 ment, February 25, 1865. 
 
 Company H was successively commanded by Gilbert 
 Hunt, of Dorset, resigned August 13, 1862; Albert 
 Buxton, of Londonderry, killed in action at Wilderness, 
 May 6, 1864 ; William Newell, of Dorset, honorably 
 discharged, October 7, 1864, for wounds received in 
 
236 VERMONT IN THE 
 
 action before Petersburg, June 21, 1864; William H. 
 Churchill, of Londonderry, killed in action before 
 Petersburg, October 27, 1864; and Walter W. Smith, 
 of Wilmington, transferred to Fourth Vermont Regi 
 ment, February 25, J865. 
 
 Company F was in thirty-seven engagements, from 
 Great Bethel, March 28, 1862, to Petersburg, October 
 27, 1864. 
 
 Companies E and H were in twenty-four engage 
 ments, from that at Orange Court House, August 4, 
 1862, to that at Hatcher s Run, December 5, 1864. 
 
 William Y. H. Ripley, of Rutland, was commissioned 
 Lieutenant Colonel of the First Regiment Sharpshoot 
 ers, January 1, 1862, and discharged for promotion, 
 August 6, 1862. Homer R. Stoughton, of Randolph, 
 was successively promoted from Captain of Company 
 E, to Major, Lieutenant Colonel, and Colonel of the 
 Second Regiment. He was wounded May 5, 1864, 
 mustered out after the regiment was disbanded. 
 
 Company F was at Kelley s Ford, November 7, 1863, 
 and with its regiment, numbering less than two hun 
 dred, forded the river, under a severe fire, in pursuit of 
 the retreating enemy, and captured five hundred and 
 six prisoners, of whom more than two hundred surren 
 dered to Company F. At the Wilderness, on the 5th 
 of May, 1864, it went into the fight with two officers 
 and forty-three enlisted men. They were deployed as 
 
GREAT REBELLION. 237 
 
 skirmishers on the left of the "Vermont Brigade." 
 The men fought bravely, but were forced back, losing 
 in five minutes fighting thirteen of its number five 
 killed or mortally wounded, and two taken prisoners. 
 The company was almost constantly engaged in fight 
 ing and skirmishing through the summer, every officer 
 and man doing his duty well. On the 19th of Septem 
 ber, their term of service having expired, those officers 
 and men, twenty in all, who had not re-enlisted, were 
 mustered out of service. 
 
 Companies F and H, attached to the Second Regi 
 ment, distinguished themselves on many occasions, 
 through the summer and fall of 1863. They were en 
 gaged in the battles of the Wilderness, from the 5th to 
 the 8th of May, 1864, both inclusive. Captain Buxton, 
 of Company H, a most brave and worthy officer, was 
 killed on the 6th. That company, also, lost four men 
 killed, nineteen wounded, and two missing. From the 
 5th to the 18th of May the companies were almost 
 constantly fighting and skirmishing. Company E lost 
 three killed and twenty wounded ; Company H, five 
 killed, nineteen w r ounded, and two missing. On the 
 31st of May the regiment charged and carried the 
 enemy s works, capturing nearly as many prisoners as 
 there were men in the regiment. They were actively 
 engaged at Petersburg, and Colonel Stoughton, who 
 was in command of the regiment, was captured. They 
 
238 VERMONT IN THE 
 
 served in the Army of the Potomac until February, 
 1865, when they were transferred to the Fourth Ver 
 mont, and became Companies G and H of that regi 
 ment. 
 
 FIRST BATTERY LIGHT ARTILLERY. 
 
 This Battery was mustered into the United States 
 service February 18, 1862. It was commanded by 
 George H. Duncan, of Shaftsbury, who resigned Feb 
 ruary 11, 1863; and George T. Hebard, of Chelsea, 
 who was mustered out of service August 10, 1864, 
 when the original members were mustered out, and 
 the recruits transferred to the Second Vermont Bat 
 tery. 
 
 The First Battery was in the following engage 
 ments : 
 
 Siege of Port Hudson, May 25 to July 9, 1863. 
 
 Pleasant Hill, April 9, 1864. 
 
 Cane River, April 23, 1864. 
 
 Bayou de Glaze, May 18, 1864. 
 
 This Battery was stationed at Baton Rouge un 
 til the 21st of May, 1863, when it was moved to 
 Port Hudson, and was engaged in the siege of that 
 place, the men distinguishing themselves for their dis 
 cipline, drill, and fighting qualities. During the fol 
 lowing winter, several detachments were sent out from 
 
GREAT EEBELLION. 239 
 
 this Battery on reconnoisances and for other duty. At 
 Pleasant Hill, on the 9th of April, 1864, they were 
 charged upon by the enemy in force, and a severe fire 
 of cannister " was opened upon them at short range, 
 which was gallantly repulsed. Captain Hebard, in 
 his report, says that "even when the enemy were 
 within fifty yards^nd within speaking distance, not 
 an officer or man left his post." The casualties 
 were one man wounded, and five horses killed and 
 wounded. 
 
 The Adjutant General, in his report for 1864, says, 
 "The Battery has been greatly distinguished for its 
 thorough discipline and the effectiveness of its drill, 
 and the officers and men have had large experience 
 in the dangers and vicissitudes of battle, and have on 
 all occasions distinguished themselves for their cool 
 daring and determined courage." Their term of ser 
 vice having expired, the Battery was mustered out of 
 service, at Brattleboro , on the 10th of August, 1864. 
 
 SECOND BATTERY OP LIGHT ARTILLERY. 
 
 This Battery was mustered into the United States 
 service December 24, 1861. It was commanded by 
 Lensie K. Sales, of Leicester, who resigned February 
 20, 1862; Pythagoras E. Holcomb, of the Seventeenth 
 
240 VEEMONT IN THE 
 
 United States Infantry, who was promoted to Major 
 of Texas Cavalry, August 19, 1863 ; and John W. 
 Chase, of Brandon, who was mustered out with the 
 Battery. It was engaged in the following actions : 
 
 Plain s Store, May 21, 1863. 
 
 Siege of Port Hudson, May 25 to July 9, 1863. 
 
 This Battery was stationed at Ship Island and New 
 Orleans, served in the Department of the Gulf, and 
 was in the siege of Port Hudson, the men fighting 
 with coolness and courage. On the 31st of August, 
 1863, it was stationed at Port Hudson, performing 
 garrison duty, and going by detachments on expedi 
 tions into the interior as occasion required, until Sep 
 tember 20, 1864, when twenty of the men who did 
 not re-enlist, whose term had expired, were mustered 
 out of service. The Battery was largely re-enforced 
 by recruits and transfers from the First Battery. It 
 remained at Port Hudson until July, 1865, when it 
 was mustered out of service. 
 
 TRIED BATTEET or LIGHT AETILLEEY. 
 
 This Battery was mustered into the United States 
 service January 1, 1864. It was commanded by Romeo 
 H. Start, of St. Albans, during its whole term of ser 
 vice. It was in four engagements at Petersburg; 
 
GKEAT REBELLION. 241 
 
 July 30, 1864; August 18, 1864; March 25, 1865; 
 and April 2, 1865. This Battery was organized at 
 Burlington, and left for Washington on the 15th of 
 January, 1864, where it remained under drill until the 
 25th of April, and then was attached to the Ninth 
 Army Corps, but was not engaged until they arrived 
 opposite Petersburg, where they became active parti- 
 cipiants in the siege of that place, and Captain Start 
 reported that in the almost daily artillery duels in 
 which they participated, the conduct of the officers 
 and men, amid all the dangers, hardships, and great 
 privations of the campaign, was all that he could 
 desire. 
 
 On the 2d of April, when the general assault was 
 made upon Petersburg, this battery was under fire of 
 artillery and infantry during the whole day, and offi 
 cers and men, without exception, behaved as became 
 Vermonters. Captain Start named "Lieutenants 
 Rowell and Perrin, Sergeants William H. Parker, 
 Parker C. Thomas, and Benjamin M. Clay, Corporals 
 George H. Kelley, Lewis E. Oilman, and Frank F. 
 Libby, and Private William Washburn, as deserving 
 special mention for coolness and conspicuous gallantry 
 during the day." 
 
 On the 3d of April Captain Start was placed in 
 command of the reserve artillery brigade of the Sixth 
 Corps, and directed to take charge of twenty pieces 
 
242 VERMONT IN THE 
 
 of captured artillery, and to move the brigade and 
 captured guns to City Point, which was done, and 
 the brigade remained in camp there until the 3d of 
 May, when they started by way of Richmond and 
 Fredericksburg for Alexandria, Va., where they ar 
 rived on the 18th. On the 5th of June the Battery 
 started for Burlington, where the men were mustered 
 out on the 13th. 
 
 FIKST REGIMENT OF CAVALKY. 
 
 This regiment was mustered into the United States 
 service at Burlington, on the 19th of November, and 
 left the State with nine hundred and sixty-six officers 
 and men on the 14th of December, 1861. It was suc 
 cessively commanded by Lemuel B. Platt, of Colches 
 ter, who resigned February 27, 1862; Jonas P. Holli- 
 day, of the Second United States Cavalry, who com 
 mitted suicide April 5, 1862; Charles H. Tompkins, 
 of the Fifth United States Cavalry, resigned Septem 
 ber 9, 1862; Edward B. Sawyer, of Hydepark, re 
 signed April 28, 1864; Addison W. Preston, of Dan 
 ville, killed in action at Salem Church, Va., June 3, 
 1864; William Wells, of Waterbury, promoted Brig 
 adier General United States Volunteers, May 19, 
 1865 ; and Josiah Hall, of Westminster, mustered out 
 June 21, 1865. 
 
GEEAT EEBELLION. 243 
 
 This regiment was in seventy-three engagements, 
 from Mount Jackson, April 16, 1862, to that at Appo- 
 mattox Court House, April 9, 1865. During the early 
 part of their service they were engaged in picket duty 
 in front of Washington, having detachments quar 
 tered in several different fortifications in the vicinity 
 of that city. On the 1st of April, 1863, they were 
 in a skirmish with Mosby s guerrillas, in which Captain 
 Henry C. Flint, of Company I, and First Lieutenant 
 Charles H. Woodbury, of Company B, both brave 
 and dashing officers, were killed. Several enlisted 
 men were killed and wounded in this engagement. On 
 the 30th of May, Lieutenant Colonel Preston, with one 
 hundred and twenty-five officers and men, and a de 
 tachment of the Fifth "New York Cavalry, were sent 
 out in pursuit of Mosby and one hundred guerrillas, 
 who had attacked and plundered a train of cars near 
 Kettle. Run, Va., Company H, Lieutenant Hazelton, 
 and Company C, Sergeant Hill, charged up a narrow 
 road, in the face of a terrible storm of grape and shell. 
 Lieutenant Colonel Preston, in his report, says, " The 
 rebels fought their piece with desperation, firing their 
 last shot after they were surrounded by our men, 
 which shot passed through a horse not twenty feet 
 from the gun, and wounded several men. Lieutenant 
 Chapman (rebel) never left his gun, but with his re 
 volver wounded several men in hand-to-hand fight. 
 
244 VERMONT IN THE 
 
 He was wounded twice, and captured. Mosby fled 
 through the woods, closely pursued, leaving his artil 
 lery and gunners in our possession. We recaptured 
 the mail taken from the cars, and several other things, 
 with a number of prisoners. As a feat of daring, it 
 has not been exceeded during the war." 
 
 The Adjutant General of Vermont, in his report for 
 1863, says, "During the campaign in Maryland and 
 Pennsylvania, in June and July, the regiment, under 
 the command of Lieutenant Colonel Preston, partici 
 pated in a series of engagements, in which both offi 
 cers and men behaved most gallantly. At Hanover, 
 Huntsville, Gettysburg, Hagerstown, and Boonsboro , 
 they fought with the most reckless bravery, and won 
 a reputation second to none. The casualties," from 
 June 30 to July 8, were, nineteen killed and forty-four 
 wounded." 
 
 Through July and August the regiment was con 
 stantly on the move, and had almost daily skirmishes 
 with the enemy and with guerrillas. On the 1st of 
 September they composed a part of the expedition 
 into King George County, Md., which resulted in the 
 capture of two rebel gun-boats by cavalry, and on the 
 3d returned to their camp near Falmouth, Va., and 
 picketed at the Rappahannock until the 12th, when they 
 went to Culpeper Court House, and charged through 
 the town, driving the enemy, capturing eight prison- 
 
GEEAT REBELLION. 245 
 
 ers and one gun, carriage, and horses. They again 
 met the enemy in force near James City, on the 10th 
 of October, and in the retreat from that place through 
 Culpeper to Brandy Station and across the Rappahan- 
 nock, and the attendant engagement, the regiment 
 again distinguished itself for coolness and daring bra 
 very, repeatedly charging the enemy, and was highly 
 commended by the brigade commander. All through 
 that month and November they were almost contin 
 ually on the move, having frequent skirmishes with 
 the enemy. On the 6th of December they went to 
 Stevensburgh, where they remained until the 28th 
 of February, 1864, picketing the line of the Rapi- 
 dan. 
 
 On the 29th of February this regiment assisted in 
 destroying the depot and railroad at Beaver Dam 
 Station. On the 1st of March they crossed the Chick- 
 ahominy, and halted three miles from Richmond. 
 From thence they moved to Mechanicsville, having 
 destroyed a mile of trestle-work railroad on the way. 
 On the 4th they marched to Yorktown, from whence 
 detachments were sent out on various expeditions of 
 responsibility and danger. They went to Alexandria 
 on the 13th, and from thence to Stevensburgh, 
 where they arrived on the 18th, and remained there 
 until the 3d of May. On the 5th they met the ene 
 my s cavalry at Craig s Church, where a sharp fight 
 
246 VERMONT IN THE 
 
 ensued, lasting several hours, in which they lost four 
 men killed, three officers, and twenty-four men wounded, 
 and fourteen missing. They were again engaged at 
 Yellow Tavern, seven miles from Richmond, five hours, 
 driving the enemy from their position, with the loss 
 of General Stuart, Brigadier General Gordon, and 
 others. This regiment lost two men killed, two 
 officers, eight men wounded, and four missing. 
 
 On the 1st of June the regiment was again engaged 
 at Ashland, losing seven men wounded, and two offi 
 cers and twenty-four men captured. Again, on the 
 3d, at Salem Church, in a fight with the enemy, they 
 lost two officers killed, and five men wounded. At 
 White Oak Swamp, on the 13th, they were engaged 
 during the entire day, losing one killed, twelve wounded, 
 and three missing. At Malvern Hill, on the 15th, they 
 had one officer and two men wounded. On the 22d 
 they went with General Wilson on his celebrated raid 
 into the enemy s country. In a severe fight .with 
 the enemy, on the 28th and 29th, near Strong Creek 
 Station, one officer was wounded and missing, eleven 
 men wounded and seventy-five missing. For eleven 
 days the regiment was marching, fighting, destroying 
 property, and breaking the connection of the enemy. 
 They were almost every day throughout the months 
 of July, August, and September, on the move, fight 
 ing, skirmishing, and destroying rebel property. In 
 
GREAT REBELLION. 247 
 
 September, Colonel William Wells, who had been in 
 command of the regiment from the 3d of June, was 
 placed in command of the Second Brigade, and the 
 command of the regiment devolved upon Lieutenant 
 Colonel John W. Bennett. In February, 1865, Col 
 onel Wells was breveted Brigadier General for gallant 
 and meritorious service, and on the 19th of May was 
 appointed Brigadier General of Volunteers. Colonel 
 Wells reported, that while the regiment was under his 
 command, "the field, staff, and line officers of the 
 regiment rendered most valuable service, and that no 
 regiment in the Division marched more miles, or 
 fought more battles, than the First Vermont." 
 
 On the 19th of October the regiment was again 
 engaged with the Brigade commanded by General 
 Custer, in a desperate fight with the enemy, displaying 
 great coolness and courage. They captured one hun 
 dred and sixty-one prisoners, a large number of horses, 
 wagons, and a large amount of other rebel property. 
 Lieutenant Colonel Bennett reported that " every offi 
 cer and man under his command, who participated in 
 that charge, conducted himself with such gallantry 
 as to merit special mention." 
 
 On the 22d of October, 1864, the original members 
 of the regiment, who had not re-enlisted, returned to 
 Vermont, and were mustered out on the 18th of No 
 vember. They left in the field about four hundred 
 
248 VEEMONT IN THE 
 
 men and three officers, under command of Major 
 William G. Cummings. On* the 20th of December 
 the division to which the Vermont Regiment was at 
 tached, while on a reconnoissance, was attacked in camp 
 just before daylight. The attack was made upon the 
 Eighth New York. The First Vermont, hearing the 
 firing, moved at once in its direction, skirmished for a 
 while with the enemy, and then made a charge, cap 
 turing about thirty prisoners, without losing a man. 
 On the 22d the regiment went into winter quarters 
 near Winchester, Va., where they remained until the 
 opening of the spring campaign. On the 1st of Feb 
 ruary, 1865, Lieutenant Colonel Josiah Hall rejoined 
 the regiment and assumed command. 
 
 On the 27th of February the regiment broke camp, 
 and started on the spring campaign, forming a part of 
 General Ouster s Division of General Sheridan s com 
 mand, the history of the movements of which, during 
 the closing month of the war, is well known, and will 
 be long and gratefully remembered by the loyal peo 
 ple of the country. The conduct of this regiment 
 throughout was such as any Vermonter may well be 
 proud to remember. They were at Appomattox Court 
 House on the 9th of April, and in line of battle while 
 the terms for the surrender of Lee s army to General 
 Grant were being arranged. 
 
 On the 9th of June the regiment left Washington 
 
GREAT REBELLION. 249 
 
 for Vermont, arriving at Burlington on the 13th. 
 Those recruits whose terms of service would expire 
 before the 1st of the next October, were mustered out 
 of service on the 21st, and the remainder of the men 
 were consolidated into six companies, and Lieutenant 
 Colonel William G. Cummings placed in command, 
 Colonel Hall having been mustered out. Two com 
 panies were stationed at St. Albans, and the others at 
 different points in Northern New York, with head 
 quarters at Champlain. The battalion was finally 
 mustered out of service on the 9th of August, 1865. 
 
 The history of the marches, skirmishes, charges, and 
 battles of the Vermont Cavalry alone would make a 
 most thrillingly interesting book, of dimensions much 
 larger than this one. No organization in the army, it 
 is believed, endured more exposure and fatigue, with 
 out a murmur or complaint ; fought more battles with 
 out straggling and flinching; made more desperate 
 and successful charges into the ranks of the enemy, 
 or deserved more honor, than the First Vermont 
 Cavalry. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL. 
 
 GENERAL GEORGE J. STANNARD. 
 
 THE design of this book would not be carried out 
 without a particular notice of Brigadier General George 
 J. Stannard, of St. Albans. He was identified with the 
 Vermont troops from the commencement to the close 
 of the war. He served in several different organiza 
 tions and in many capacities, from Lieutenant Colonel 
 of the Second Vermont Regiment to commander of 
 the First Division of the Eighteenth Army Corps, 
 showing himself in all of them, and on all occasions, a 
 most capable, intelligent, cool, brave, and faithful officer. 
 To him, as much as to any single man, is due the envi 
 able reputation which the Vermont troops obtained 
 and enjoyed for patience, faithfulness, and soldierly 
 conduct in camp, and gallantry on every field, during 
 the whole four years of the great struggle of loyalty 
 with treason. 
 
 General Stannard was born at Georgia, Franklin 
 
 (251) 
 
252 GREAT REBELLION. 
 
 County, Vermont, in 1820. He was educated in the 
 public schools of his native town, and at the academies 
 there and at St. Albans, with a view to a collegiate 
 course, which he finally abandoned, and engaged as 
 clerk in a foundery establishment at St. Albans. He 
 subsequently became a partner in the business, and so 
 continued until the breaking out of the rebellion. 
 
 When the Vermont Volunteer Militia was organized, 
 in 1855, the Third Company afterwards known as 
 the Ransom Guards was enlisted at St. Albans, and 
 General Stannard was chosen First Lieutenant, which 
 position he held until the organization of the Fourth 
 Regiment, in 1858, when he was elected Colonel, and 
 was the second ranking Colonel in the State. 
 
 In April, 1861, immediately after the assault upon 
 Fort Sumter, General Stannard corresponded with the 
 commanders of the several companies composing his 
 regiment, and having obtained the consent of all of 
 them, tendered his services, with his regiment, to the 
 State to defend the flag. He made the tender by tele 
 graph to Governor Fairbanks, and also to Brigadier 
 General Jackman, commander of all the militia of the 
 State. General Stannard was the first man in Vermont 
 to volunteer for the war. His regiment was formally 
 accepted ; but later it was decided by the authorities 
 that the first regiment from Vermont should be made 
 up from all its Volunteer Militia, and the selection, by 
 
GREAT REBELLION. 253 
 
 companies, was left with the Adjutant and Inspector 
 General, H. H. Baxter. 
 
 On the 6th of June, 1861, General Stannard was 
 commissioned Lieutenant Colonel of the Second Resn- 
 
 O 
 
 ment Vermont Volunteers, and had charge of its organ 
 ization at Burlington. Before the Second left the 
 State, he was offered the Colonelcy of the Third Regi 
 ment Vermont Volunteers, but declined it, preferring 
 to remain with the regiment he had been instrumental 
 in recruiting and making ready for the field. 
 
 General Stannard was commissioned Colonel of the 
 Ninth Regiment Vermont Volunteers, on the 21st of 
 May, 1862, and recruited, organized, and went to the 
 field with it. Without solicitation on his part, he 
 was commissioned Brigadier General of United States 
 Volunteers orr the llth of March, 1863, by Abraham 
 Lincoln, and his commission forwarded to him. He 
 asked for the command of the "Vermont Brigade," 
 with which he had been connected as Lieutenant Col 
 onel of the Seventh Regiment, but was refused, and 
 told that that Brigade could fight well under any com 
 mander, or without any ; but that the new Vermont 
 Brigade required an officer of energy, experience, and 
 skill at its head, and that he must take it, which he 
 did. The " Second Vermont Brigade " was composed 
 of the Twelfth, Thirteenth, Fourteenth, Fifteenth, and 
 Sixteenth, all nine months regiments. 
 
254 VERMONT IN THE 
 
 This brigade was in but one battle, that of Gettys 
 burg, on the 1st, 2d, and 3d of July, 1863, an account 
 of which, with the gallant conduct of this brigade and 
 its commander, is given in another place. In this bat 
 tle, near its close, General Stannard was severely 
 wounded in the leg by an iron shrapnel ball, which 
 caused him great suffering until removed by a surgeon 
 an hour afterward. He would not be taken from the 
 field until his command was relieved from their posi 
 tion in the front line, his wounded taken care of, and 
 arrangements made for burying the dead, when he 
 mounted his horse and rode to the rear with his com 
 mand. For gallantry and coolness in action he was" 
 breveted Major General of United States volunteers. 
 
 In about four weeks after the battle of Gettysburg, 
 General Stannard, having recovered from his wounds, 
 reported for light duty. In November, 1863, he was 
 placed in command of all the forces in New York, 
 which position he held until May, 1864. He then 
 joined the Army of the James, under General Butler, 
 and was ordered to the Tenth Corps, where he re 
 mained but a short time, when he was assigned to the 
 command of a brigade in the Eighteenth Corps, and in 
 June took command of the First Division, in which 
 position he continued through the summer. He was 
 in the battles of Drury s Bluov Cold Harbor, Petersburg, 
 
GREAT REBELLION. 255 
 
 and Chapin s Farm, and at the taking of Fort Harri 
 son. At Cold Harbor he lost all his staff officers, two 
 of whom were killed and four wounded. All his 
 orderlies but one were wounded, and he was himself 
 wounded twice, though slightly. During the battle of 
 Chapin s Farm, September 30, he was very severely 
 wounded in the right arm, which was afterwards 
 amputated at the shoulder. As soon as able he came 
 home on leave of absence. 
 
 When General Stannard had sufficiently recovered, 
 he reported to General Dix, commander of the De 
 partment of the East, and was ordered to the northern 
 frontier, which was then being threatened. In Febru 
 ary, 1866, he was assigned to a position in the Freed- 
 man s Bureau, and stationed at Baltimore, where he 
 remained until June of that year, when he was ap 
 pointed United States Collector of Customs for the 
 District of Vermont, which place he now holds, dis 
 charging its important and responsible duties with the 
 same fidelity and energy which characterized him in 
 field and camp. 
 
256 VERMONT IN THE 
 
 GENERAL PETER T. WASHBURN. 
 
 No man in Vermont was more conspicuous or im 
 portant to the troops from that State, during the four 
 years continuance of the War of the Rebellion, than 
 Peter T. Washburn, of Woodstock, which makes a 
 particular notice of him essential to the completeness 
 of this book. He was born at Lynn, Mass., September 
 7, 1814, and when two and a half years old removed 
 with his father to Vermont. He graduated at Dart 
 mouth College in 1835, and was admitted to practice, 
 as an attorney, at the December term, 1838, com 
 menced the practice of his profession at Ludlow in 
 January, 1839, and removed to Woodstock, in 1844, 
 where he has since resided ; and, as a lawyer, has at 
 tained a position second to that of no man now living 
 in Windsor County, and to that of but few in the 
 State. In 1844 he was elected Reporter of the Decis 
 ions of the Supreme Court, for which his great indus 
 try and love of the profession of law admirably fitted 
 him, and held the office eight years. He represented 
 the town of Wdstock m tne General Assembly of 
 Vermont in 1853 and 1854, and took a prominent 
 position as a debater and legislator among the ablest 
 men of the State. 
 
 General Washburn s military career commenced 
 
GREAT REBELLION. 257 
 
 many years ago. In 1837, when but twenty-five 
 years of age, he was elected colonel of a Vermont 
 regiment, and resigned his commission in 1841. At 
 the breaking out of the rebellion, in 1861, but few men 
 in Vermont were supposed to be versed in the science 
 of war, and it was believed to be essential to the ef 
 ficiency of the troops she might send to the field that 
 they should be commanded by men who had been 
 educated at some military institution. To this end, in 
 April, when the first regiment was being organized, 
 under the call of President Lincoln for seventy-five 
 thousand volunteers for three months service, John 
 W. Phelps, a graduate of West Point, and a regular 
 army officer in the Mexican war, was appointed colonel, 
 and Peter T. Washburn, of Woodstock, lieutenant col 
 onel, and commanded the regiment during most of the 
 three months of its term of enlistment. For an ac 
 count of his service in the field reference may be had 
 to the record of that regiment in another part of this 
 book. 
 
 In October, 1861, Mr. Washburn was elected Ad 
 jutant and Inspector General of the State of Vermont, 
 in which position he continued, being re-elected each 
 year until after the close of the war, and the completion 
 of his reports and records, when, in 1866, he declined a 
 further election. It was in this position that General 
 Washburn particularly distinguished himself. His 
 
258 VERMONT IN THE 
 
 untiring industry, and great ability as an organizer, 
 made him of incalculable value in recruiting, arming, 
 and putting into the field the Vermont troops. He 
 gave himself up to the work, and did everything that 
 could be done to add to their efficiency and comfort 
 while there, and to secure to his State its share of the 
 glory of the war. His records were so perfectly kept, 
 and his reports, made to the Governor from year to 
 year, and then published, so carefully and systemati 
 cally made, that not more than a score of the thirty- 
 five thousand men who went from the State of Ver 
 mont to the war remained unaccounted for. He was 
 emphatically the right man in the right place. There 
 may be other men who could perform responsible 
 public duties as well as General Washburn performed 
 those of this position ; but it is lamentably true that 
 they are seldom sought out and called to them. His 
 services are appreciated by officers of every grade, and 
 by the rank and file who served in the field. The 
 State owes him a debt of gratitude for his five years 
 service in time of war in the position of Adjutant and 
 Inspector General. 
 
GREAT REBELLION. 259 
 
 GENEKAL JOHN WOLCOTT PHELPS. 
 
 In consideration of his character as a man, his hav 
 ing been a graduate of the United States Military 
 Academy at West Point, and served as an officer in 
 the regular army in the war with Mexico, John Wol- 
 cott Phelps, of Brattleboro, was commissioned by 
 Governor Fairbanks, on the 2d of May, 1861, Colonel 
 of the First Regiment Vermont Volunteers, sent out 
 under the call of President Lincoln for seventy-five 
 thousand volunteers for three months service. He 
 went to Fortress Monroe with the regiment, and was 
 commander of the post. On the 27th of May, 1861, 
 he was promoted to Brigadier General of United 
 States Volunteers. He went on an expedition to the 
 Gulf of Mexico, in November, 1861, and took mili 
 tary possession of Ship Island, Miss. ; was with Com 
 modore Farragut s fleet in forcing the opening of the 
 Lower Mississippi, in April, 1862, and with the naval 
 force taking possession of Fprts Jackson and St. Philip, 
 La., April 28, 1862, and of New Orleans, La., May 1, 
 1862, and organized the first negro troops. He was 
 stationed at Carrolton, seven miles from New Orleans, 
 and his camp was literally thronged with black fugi 
 tives. General Phelps formed the men of suitable age 
 into " companies, and made a requisition on General 
 
260 VERMONT IN THE 
 
 Butler, who was in command of the Department, for 
 arms for them, saying, that he desired to raise three 
 regiments of Africans for the defense of the point 
 where he was located, which was unhealthy, and his 
 men were dying at the rate of two or three a day. 
 General Butler directed him to employ the contra 
 bands in and about the camp, in cutting down all the 
 trees, &c., for the purpose of defense, and ordered the 
 quartermaster to furnish axes and tents for the contra 
 bands. General Phelps replied that he was willing to 
 organize African regiments for the defense of the 
 Government, but would not become the mere slave- 
 driver, "having no qualification that way," and ten 
 dered his resignation, which General Butler refused to 
 accept. 
 
 In August, 1862, General Phelps, with his reasons 
 therefor, returned his commission to the President. 
 Months afterwards, when circumstances compelled 
 the Administration to adopt the very policy proposed 
 by General Phelps, the President offered him a Major 
 General s cdmmission, which he would accept only on 
 condition that it should bear date upon the day of his 
 resignation. To this the President would not accede, 
 as, while it would be only justice to General Phelps, 
 it would be an implied censure of General Butler, 
 whose conduct in the matter was approved by the 
 Administration, though a change of policy became 
 expedient and necessary afterwards. 
 
GEEAT REBELLION. 261 
 
 By an order of the rebel government, dated Au 
 gust 21, 1862, General Phelps was declared an outlaw, 
 for having " organized and armed negro slaves for 
 military service against their masters, citizens of the 
 Confederacy." 
 
 General Phelps was a most accomplished officer. By 
 his constant thoughtfulness of the comfort of his men, 
 and his peculiar mode of enforcing discipline, he was 
 very much respected and beloved by his whole com 
 mand. On resigning his commission he returned to 
 Brattleboro , where he has since resided, enjoying the 
 confidence and esteem of all who know him. 
 
 LIEUTENANT COLONEL CHARLES CUMMINGS. 
 
 The subject of this notice was well and favorably 
 known throughout the State of Vermont for his many 
 excellent qualities of head and heart. Lieutenant 
 Colonel Cummings was born at Royalston, Mass., in 
 February, 1821. He studied medicine, and in 1847 
 received the degreee of M. D. at Woodstock. He 
 practiced his profession at Fitzwilliam, N". H., three 
 years, but his tastes were for literary pursuits, and he 
 abandoned his profession, and removed to Brattleboro 
 in 1852, connected himself with the Brattleboro 
 Eagle, as associate editor with Hon. B. D. Harris, and 
 
262 VERMONT IN THE 
 
 subsequently, in a similar capacity, with the Vermont 
 Phenix, at that place. After a time he became propri 
 etor of the Phenix, and so continued up to the time 
 of his death. 
 
 In 1858 Lieutenant Colonel Cummings was elected 
 Clerk of the Vermont House of Representatives, and 
 performed the duties of the position so acceptably 
 that he was re-elected at three subsequent sessions. 
 He enlisted for the war as a private in Company E, 
 Eleventh Regiment, and was chosen First Lieutenant. 
 Before that regiment left the State, he was commis 
 sioned by the Governor Major of the Twelfth, a 
 nine months regiment, and subsequently, before 
 leaving the State, was commissioned Lieutenant Colo 
 nel of the Sixteenth, also a nine months regiment. 
 This regiment formed a part of the Second Vermont 
 Brigade, a full account of the movements of which is 
 given elsewhere in this book. For a few months he 
 was Provost Marshal at Fairfax, performing the duties 
 to general acceptance. 
 
 In February, 1864, Lieutenant Colonel Cummings 
 was assigned to the Seventeenth Regiment, and in 
 April, not being full so that a colonel could be mus 
 tered, the regiment left the State for the seat of war 
 under his command. In the battle of the Wilderness, 
 on the 6th of May, 1864, during a hand-to-hand fight, 
 in a thick wood, he was wounded in the scalp by a 
 
GREAT EEBELLON. 263 
 
 
 
 minie ball. His wound, together with subsequent 
 hard service and exposure, so enfeebled him that he 
 came home on leave of absence in August, where he 
 remained about a month, and, before being able to do 
 so, returned and rejoined his regiment at the front. 
 In the engagement at Poplar Grove Church, on the 
 30th of September, 1864, while rallying his men, he 
 was wounded in the thigh, fell into the hands of the 
 enemy, and died upon the field. His last words were, 
 " Save the colors, boys ! " 
 
 From his long connection with the newspaper press 
 as editor, where he had shown more than ordinary 
 ability ; as an officer, for four years, of the General 
 Assembly, and in other ways, Lieutenant Colonel 
 Cummings had become widely known and respected ; 
 and when he lost his life, gallantly battling for the 
 right, his death was sincerely mourned throughout the 
 State. 
 
 COLONEL JOHN STEELE TYLER. 
 
 Colonel Tyler was one of many promising young 
 men who left pleasant and comfortable homes in Ver 
 mont, and went forth to do battle in the war of the 
 great rebellion, and never returned. He was a son 
 of Rev. Thomas P. Tyler, D. D., of Batavia, N. Y., and 
 grandson of the late Hon. Royall Tyler, for sixteen 
 
264 VERMONT IN THE 
 
 years judge of the Supreme Court of Vermont. Lieu 
 tenant Colonel Tyler graduated, at the age of fifteen, 
 at a school in Connecticut, where students were in 
 structed and drilled in military tactics. At sixteen 
 years of age he entered the law office of his uncle, Hon. 
 Royall Tyler, of Brattleboro , as a student, and two 
 years afterward, in April, 1861, enlisted as a private in 
 Company C, Second Regiment Vermont Volunteers, 
 and was elected First Lieutenant ; promoted Captain, 
 January 23, 1862 ; Major, February 9, 1853 ; Lieutenant 
 Colonel, April 2, 1864, and Colonel, May 6, 1864. He 
 died at the Metropolitan Hotel, New York City, on 
 the 23d of May, 1864, of wounds received in the battle 
 of the Wilderness on the 5th. 
 
 Colonel Tyler s military record in the field is identi 
 cal with that of the Second Vermont Regiment, which 
 will be found in this book. Colonel Tyler distinguished 
 himself in his regiment for his gentlemanly and sol 
 dier-like bearing, and in many battles for his gallantry 
 receiving the commendation of his superior officers. 
 He left behind him many friends, who feel that this 
 was a noble sacrifice laid upon the altar of their 
 country. 
 
MAJOR CHARLES JARVIS. 
 
GREAT REBELLION. 265 
 
 MAJOR CHARLES JARVIS. 
 
 Major Jarvis was the only surviving son of Hon. 
 William Jarvis, better known as Consul Jarvis, 
 of Weathersfield. He was born on the 21st of August, 
 1821 ; was mortally wounded in an encounter with the 
 enemy near Cedar Point, N. C., December 1, 1863, and 
 died in a few hours. His remains were brought home, 
 and his funeral attended by a large concourse of rela 
 tives, friends, soldiers, and citizens of his own and 
 neighboring towns, on the 13th of December, 1863. No 
 man from Vermont who lost his life in the war of the 
 rebellion was more generally respected for his many 
 virtues, or more sincerely mourned by all who knew 
 him, than was Major Charles Jarvis. He fitted for 
 college principally at Phillips Academy, Exeter, N. H., 
 and entered the University of Vermont at the age of 
 fourteen, the youngest member of his class. He main 
 tained a high standing for scholarship and deportment 
 in college, and graduated with honor in 1839. He 
 studied law, and graduated at the Law School in 
 Cambridge, Mass., in 1842. 
 
 After obtaining his degree at Cambridge, at the so 
 licitation of his aged father, who needed his assistance 
 in the cares and responsibilities of extensive agricul 
 tural and pecuniary concerns, he decided that duty 
 
266 VEKMONT IN THE 
 
 which he always regarded as paramount dictated 
 that he should remain at home. On the breaking out 
 of the Great Rebellion, in 1861, he again felt that duty 
 called him to the defense of the Constitution and law? 
 of his country. When remonstrated with by his many 
 friends and neighbors, who appreciated his worth as a 
 citizen, and knew his importance as the head" of a large 
 family, bereft of a husband and father by the death of 
 Consul Jarvis, in October, 1859, he replied, "There are 
 things dearer than life," and " I had rather be a martyr 
 to my country than live in ease at home." Soon after 
 the breaking out of the war, he went to Washington, 
 and tendered his services to the Government, in any 
 capacity where he could be most useful in suppressing 
 the rebellion. 
 
 In June, 1862, Major Jarvis recruited a full company, 
 in his own and adjoining towns, for the Ninth Regiment, 
 and was chosen its Captain. After some appropriate 
 remarks, he presented each of his men a handsomely- 
 bound Bible. He was tendered a higher position, but 
 preferred to remain with the men who knew and 
 appreciated him. His regiment left the State for the 
 seat of war in July, 1862. This regiment was a part 
 of the eleven thousand and five hundred troops dis 
 gracefully, and it was feared treacherously, surrendered 
 by Colonel Miles, an experienced regular army officer, 
 to Stonewall Jackson, at Harper s Ferry, on the 15th 
 
GREAT REBELLION. 267 
 
 of September, 1862. They were paroled and sent to 
 Chicago, but not exchanged until December. In June, 
 1863, Captain Jarvis was promoted to Major of his 
 regiment, and was killed as stated. The commander 
 of the regiment, Colonel Edward H. Ripley, in a letter 
 to Major Jarvis family, wrote, "He died gloriously, as 
 could all hope to do, battling in a stern, inflexible vin 
 dication of the right of man to liberty proving in 
 death that his devotion to his country was of no ordi 
 nary intensity, and his faith in the promises of his 
 religion unbounded. Pie passed away, as he had lived, 
 a brave soldier and simple-hearted, devoted Christian, 
 and left an example that has found its way to all our 
 hearts, and whose impression will never fade away." 
 
 Resolutions, complimentary to the head and heart of 
 Major Jarvis, and of condolence and sympathy for his 
 family, were passed by the Ninth Regiment, by the 
 Bar of Windsor County, of which he was a much 
 respected member, and by citizens of Weathersfield. 
 
 BREVET MAJOR ELIJAH WALES. 
 
 But few men who went to the war from Vermont, or 
 any other State, fought more battles, received a greater 
 number of wounds, and had more hair-breadth escapes, 
 
268 VERMONT IN THE 
 
 than Brevet Major Elijah Wales, of Brattleboro , and 
 he still lives to tell his own story. His record is a most 
 creditable, remarkable, and interesting one. He en 
 listed as a private, and was mustered into Company 
 C, Second Regiment, May 1, 1861; appointed First 
 Sergeant, June 20, 1861 ; promoted Second Lieutenant, 
 January 23, 1862; First Lieutenant, October 20, 1862 ; 
 Captain, March 1,1863; and Brevet Major, August 1, 
 1864, for gallantry in the Wilderness and subsequent 
 engagements. 
 
 Major Wales participated in twenty-four battles, and 
 says he was under fire more times than he would under 
 take to count. He was wounded in the battle of the 
 Wilderness, May 5, 1864 a minie ball entering his 
 left shoulder-blade, passing between his heart and spine, 
 and coming out under the right shoulder-blade, near 
 the arm. He was in the field again in less than two 
 months, and was wounded in an engagement at Stras- 
 burg, Ya., August 4, 1864, by a minie ball, in the head, 
 breaking the bone in over the left eye. He did not 
 leave his regiment, but participated in a skirmish at 
 Stony Point the fourth day afterwards, and was twice 
 wounded, once in the wrist and again in the right leg. 
 He served to the end of the war, was mustered out 
 with his regiment, and was honorably discharged. 
 
 During his term of service, Major Wales performed 
 many daring and gallant acts. At Petersburg, on the 
 
GREAT REBELLION. 269 
 
 2d of April, 1865, he, with two men, captured a piece 
 of artillery, turned it upon the enemy, and fired upon 
 them the charge they had themselves placed in the 
 gun. He returned to Brattleboro after "the cruel 
 war was over," still resides there, and may he long live 
 to enjoy the blessings of the good government for 
 which he most nobly fought. 
 
 LIEUTENANT COLONEL ADDISON BROWN, JK. 
 
 Lieutenant Colonel Addison Brown, Jr., was a son 
 of Mr. Addison Brown, of Brattleboro , one of the 
 proprietors and editors of the Vermont Phenix. He 
 was another of the many young men who went from 
 Vermont to the field, and distinguished himself for 
 gallantry in battle, and good conduct on all the trying 
 occasions incident to the life of a soldier in time of 
 war. When the war broke out he was living at 
 Brooklyn, N. Y., and enlisted as a private in the 
 Twelfth New York Regiment, under the call of the 
 President for three months volunteers. This regiment 
 was the first to cross Long Bridge into Virginia, where 
 for some time it was on duty, and afterward returned 
 to Washington. At the end of his three months term 
 of enlistment, Lieutenant Colonel Brown returned to 
 
270 VERMONT IN THE 
 
 his home in Brattleboro , and immediately enlisted in 
 Company F, Fourth Vermont Regiment. He was 
 chosen Captain of that company, and commissioned 
 by the Governor, September 21, 1861, and held the 
 same position until September 18, 1864, when he was 
 promoted to Lieutenant Colonel, and placed in command 
 of the Fifth Vermont Regiment, which position he re 
 signed on account of disability, December 9, 1864. 
 
 During a large share of the three years that he was 
 captain in the Fourth Regiment, he was detailed to 
 duty on the staff of the "Vermont Brigade," and was 
 Assistant Inspector General through the battles of the 
 Wilderness, when the Brigade, consisting of less than 
 three thousand men, held their position against the 
 assault of fourteen thousand rebels. During the first 
 day of this engagement all the officers on the Brigade 
 staff, except Captain Brown, were either wounded or 
 captured, leaving him alone on the staff during the 
 remainder of the battles of the Wilderness. The gen 
 eral commanding the Brigade, in his report of the af 
 fair, said, in speaking of Captain Brown, " Most nobly 
 and gallantly he performed the duties of three officers. 
 It was an occasion which called for unusual abilities, 
 courage, and powers of endurance, and Captain Brown 
 was found equal to the occasion." 
 
 At the battle of Opequan Creek, near Winchester, 
 on the 19th of September, 1864, Lieutenant Colonel 
 
GEEAT REBELLION. 271 
 
 Brown, who was in command of the Fifth Regiment 
 again distinguished himself, and was mentioned in 
 complimentary terms by the officer commanding the 
 " Vermont Brigade." 
 
 After Lieutenant Colonel Brown s discharge from 
 service, he declined in health until the 3d of March, 
 1865, when he died at Harrisburg, Pa. His remains 
 were brought to Brattleboro , where his funeral was 
 attended by a large concourse of soldiers, firemen, and 
 citizens, all seeming anxious to pay their respects to 
 one who, 
 
 " Leaving in battle not blot on his name, 
 Looks proudly to heaven from the death-bed of fame." 
 
 CAPTAIN DENNIE W. FAKE, 
 
 A native of Chesterfield, N. H., and brother-in-law 
 of Lieutenant Colonel Addison Brown, Jr., enlisted at 
 Brattleboro , as a private, in August, 1861; was chosen 
 Second Lieutenant of Company F, Fourth Regiment, 
 and rose to the rank of Captain. He was one of the 
 first men killed in the battle of the Wilderness. He 
 was struck in the head by a minie ball when waving 
 his sword and encouraging on his men. He was 
 twenty-four years old, and gave up his life, which 
 was full of hope, a willing sacrifice to his country. 
 
INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES. 
 
 BEFORE THE BATTLE OF BETHEL. 
 
 % 
 
 " JUST as we halted, to start to the rear, on hearing 
 firing," said Adjutant Stevens, of the First Vermont, 
 "a rebel scoundrel came out of a house, and deliberate 
 ly fired his gun at us. The ball passed so near to me 
 that I heard it whiz on its way, going through the coat 
 and pants, and just grazing the skin of Orderly Ser 
 geant Sweet, of the Woodstock company. The rascal 
 is secured, and is a prisoner; and what was done, by 
 way of stern entertainment, to one of the F. F. V. s, 
 you will hear if I live to return. I then, as the firing 
 to the rear had ceased, with revolver in handy accom 
 panied by Fifer, approached the fellow s house, having 
 some expectation of an ounce of lead being deposited 
 in my tall body without asking my permission. By 
 this time all our troops were out of sight in the woods, 
 by a turn in the road, and I was alone with Fifer, 
 when negroes came from the house, having less fear of 
 18 (273) 
 
274 VERMONT IN THE 
 
 two men than of two thousand. On inquiring, the 
 slaves told us that Adjutant Whiting, whom we had 
 just taken prisoner, was the owner; that he belonged 
 to the secession army, and that no white folks were in 
 the house, all having left. Without the ceremony of 
 ringing, I entered and surveyed the premises, and 
 found a most elegantly furnished house. I took a 
 hasty survey in search of arms ; but finding none, left 
 the house, and started to overtake our column. On 
 reaching the bend in the road, I took a survey of the 
 rear, to see what I might see, and discovered a single 
 soldier coming toward me, and waited for him to 
 come up. I found it was Clark, of the Bradford com 
 pany. Before he reached me, I observed a horseman 
 coming at full speed toward me. On reaching the 
 house, he turned in, which induced me to think him a 
 secessionist. I ordered Clark to cover him with his 
 rifle, and, revolver in hand, ordered him to dismount 
 and surrender. He cried out, Who are you ? An 
 swer, l Vermont. * Then raise your piece, Vermont. 
 I am Colonel Duryea, of the Zouaves; and so it was. 
 His gay-looking red boys just appeared, turning the 
 corner of the road, coming toward us. He asked me 
 the cause of the firing in the rear, and whose premises 
 we were on. I told him he knew the first as well as I 
 did, but as to the last, could give him full information ; 
 that the house belonged to one Adjutant Whiting, who 
 
GREAT REBELLION. 275 
 
 just before had sent a bullet whizzing by me, and shot 
 one of my boys, and that my greatest pleasure would 
 be to burn the rascal s house in payment. Your wish 
 will be gratified at once, said the colonel. I am 
 ordered by General Butler to burn every house whose 
 occupant or owner fires upon our troops. Burn it. 
 He leaped from his horse, and I upon the steps, and by 
 that time three Zouaves were with me. I ordered 
 them to try the doors with the butts of their guas. 
 Down went the door, and in went we. A well-packed 
 traveling-bag lay upon a mahogany table. I tore it 
 open with the hope of finding a revolver, but did not. 
 The first thing I took out was a white linen coat. I 
 laid it on the table, and Colonel Duryea put a lighted 
 match to it. Other clothing was added to the pile, 
 and we soon had a rousing fire. Before leaving, I 
 went into the large parlor in the right wing of the 
 house : it was perfectly splendid ! A large room, with 
 tapestry carpet, a nice piano, a fine library of miscel 
 laneous books, rich sofas, elegant chairs, with superior 
 needle-work wrought bottoms, whatnots in the corners 
 loaded with articles of luxury, taste, and refinement, 
 and upon a mahogany center-table lay a Bible and a 
 lady s portrait. The last two articles I took, and have 
 them now in my possession. I also took a decanter of 
 most excellent old brandy from the sideboard, and 
 left * the burning house. By this time the Zouave 
 
276 VERMONT IN THE 
 
 regiment had come up. I joined them, and in a short 
 time came up with our rear guard, and saw a sight the 
 like of which I wish never to see again, viz. : nine of 
 Colonel Townsend s Albany Regiment stretched on the 
 floor of a house, where they had just been carried, and 
 eight of them mortally wounded by our own men. O, 
 the sight was dreadful ! I cried like a boy, and so did 
 many others. I immediately thought of my decanter 
 of brandy ; took a tin cup from a soldier, and poured 
 into it the brandy, and filled it the cup with water 
 from a canteen, and from one poor boy to another I 
 passed, and poured into their pale and quivering lips 
 the invigorating fluid, and with my hand wiped the 
 sweat-drops of death from their foreheads. O, how 
 gratefully the poor fellows looked at me, as they saw, 
 by my uniform, that the usually stern officer and com 
 mander had become to them the kind and tender 
 hearted woman, by doing for them woman s holy duty ! 
 One strong fellow, wounded in the head, and bloody 
 as a butcher s floor, soon rallied, and was able to con 
 verse with me. I asked him if he knew the poor fel 
 lows around him. He said Yes, and pointing to one, 
 he said, * that man stood at my side ; he was my sec 
 tion-man. I saw his gun fly out of his hands, being 
 struck by a grape-shot, and a moment after we both 
 tumbled to the ground together. I went out and 
 picked up an Enfield rifle, nearly cut in two by a ball. 
 
GREAT REBELLION. 277 
 
 Said he, c That is his gun. I saw its owner die, and 
 brought the gun with me back to my camp, and have 
 it in my possession." 
 
 THE LAST WORDS OF COLONEL STONE. 
 
 Much has been said but not too much in praise 
 of Colonel Newton Stone, late commander of the 
 Second Vermont Regiment, who fell in the second 
 day s fight in the Wilderness. He was first wounded 
 in the leg, and conveyed to the rear ; and after having 
 his wound dressed, requested to be placed upon his 
 horse, which was done, when he immediately rode to 
 the front, and took his position at the head of his 
 regiment, amid the cheers of his men, whom he ad 
 dressed briefly, as follows : 
 
 " Well, boys, this is rough work; but I have done, as 
 I told you I wished you to do, not to leave for a slight 
 wound, but remain just as long as you could do any 
 good : I am here to do as long as I can." He then rode 
 along the line, speaking a word of good cheer to every 
 company, and as he halted to address Company B, a 
 rifle ball pierced his head, and he fell from his horse 
 a corpse. At that moment the regiment was forced 
 back, and the body of their colonel was captured, but 
 was immediately retaken. 
 
278 VERMONT IN THE 
 
 BRAVERY AT LEE S MILLS. 
 
 Among the incidents of the fight at Lee s Mills, Va., 
 on the 16th of April, 1862, was the recovery from a 
 fever of Sergeant Fletcher, of Company E, Third Ver 
 mont, on the sick list, and excused from duty, and the 
 use he made of his temporary health. He crossed the 
 stream and went through the fight ; then, on his return, 
 was among those who went back and rescued the 
 wounded. On his return to camp he went into hos 
 pital, and resumed his fever, with aggravation. 
 
 John Harrington, a beardless orphan boy, of seven 
 teen, unarmed, went over and rescued out of the rifle- 
 pit a disabled comrade. 
 
 Lieutenant Whittemore commanded Company E. 
 This officer, with his revolver, covered Harrington in 
 his hazardous expedition, and killed several rebels who 
 aimed their pieces at the boy. His most intimate 
 friend in the company, private Vance, had been killed 
 in the rifle-pit. Whittemore, enraged with sorrow, 
 burst into tears, and seizing the dead soldier s musket, 
 stood over him, and threatened death to any who 
 should retreat ; and then stooping down, he took car 
 tridge after cartridge from his friend s box, and killed 
 his man with every fire raging with a divine fury 
 the while. 
 
GREAT REBELLION. 279 
 
 Among the phenomena of the fight was the con 
 dition of the uniform of Captain Burnett, of Company 
 K, Third Vermont. It had eight bullet holes in it, 
 one through the collar of his coat, one through the 
 right coat sleeve, one through his pantaloons below 
 the left knee, one through both pantaloons and drawers 
 above the right knee, and four through the skirts of his 
 coat. There was not a scratch upon this man s skin. 
 
 A SLAVE S PRAYER. 
 
 A Virginia slave, who had heard of the President s 
 promise concerning the Proclamation to be issued on 
 the 1st of January, then only a few days in the future, 
 was heard praying with great earnestness and a deeply- 
 affected heart, thus : 
 
 " O, God Almighty ! keep the engine of the rebellion 
 going till New Year s ! Good Lord ! pray don t let off 
 the steam ; Lord, don t reverse the engine ; don t back 
 up ; Lord, don t put on the brakes ! But, pray, good 
 Lord, put on more steam ! Make it go a mile a min 
 ute ! Yes, Lord, pray make it go sixty miles an hour! " 
 "Amen! Do, good Lord!" responded the brethren 
 and sisters. " Lord, don t let the express train of re 
 bellion smash up till the 1st of January ! Don t let the 
 
280 VERMONT IN THE 
 
 rebels back down, but harden their hearts as hard as 
 Pharaoh s, and keep all hands going, till the train 
 reaches the Depot of Emancipation ! " 
 
 ESCAPED PRISONERS. 
 
 A noticeable thing about the war is the fact that the 
 colored people of the South were, without an exception, 
 friendly to the Union cause, and aided and abetted the 
 Union army in every way in their power which, from 
 their intimate knowledge of the country, was much 
 greater than many people suppose. When trusted by 
 our men in distress they never betrayed them. They 
 took tender care of sick and wounded Union soldiers 
 whenever they fell into their hands, and in multitudes 
 of instances aided prisoners in escaping from Anderson- 
 ville, Salisbury, and other hells, where they were con 
 fined to suffer torture, starvation, and death. They 
 concealed them by day in their cabins and other 
 secure places, and piloted them on their way to our 
 lines by night. Many an escaped prisoner owes his 
 life to the men and women of that oppressed race. 
 
GEE AT KEBELLION. 281 
 
 A DYING SOLDIER PRAYS FOR PRESIDENT 
 LINCOLN. 
 
 Never, until we stood by the grave of the Green 
 Mountain boy, did we realize how much stranger is 
 truth than fiction. A private was court-martialed for 
 sleeping on his post, out near Chain Bridge, on the 
 Upper Potomac. He was convicted ; his sentence was 
 death. The finding was approved by the general, and 
 the day fixed for his execution. He was a youth of 
 more than ordinary intelligence. He did not beg for 
 pardon, but was willing to meet his fate. 
 
 The time drew near. The stern necessity of war 
 required that an example should be made of some one. 
 His was an aggravated case. But the case reached the 
 ears of the President ; he resolved to save him ; he 
 signed a pardon and sent it out. The day came. 
 "Suppose," thought the President, "my pardon has 
 not reached him." The telegraph was called into re 
 quisition. An answer did not come promptly. "Bring 
 up my carriage," he ordered. It came, and soon im 
 portant state papers were dropped, and through the 
 hot, broiling sun, and over dusty roads, he made his 
 way to the camp, about ten miles, an<J saw that the 
 soldier was saved. 
 
 He had doubtless forgotten the incident, but the 
 
282 VERMONT IN THE 
 
 soldier had not. When the Third Vermont charged 
 upon the rifle-pits the enemy poured a volley upon 
 them. The first man who fell was William Scott, of 
 Company K, with six bullets in his body. His com 
 rades caught him up, and, as his life-blood ebbed away, 
 he raised to Heaven, amid the din of war, the cries of 
 the dying, and the shouts of the enemy, a prayer for 
 the President ; and, as he died, he remarked to a com 
 rade that he had shown he was no coward, and not 
 afraid to die. 
 
 He was interred in the presence of his regiment, in 
 a little grave about two miles to the rear of the rebel 
 fort, in the center of a group of holly and vines. A 
 few cherry trees, in full bloom, are scattered around 
 the edge. In digging his grave a skull and bones 
 were found, and metal buttons : showing that the iden 
 tical spot had been used, in the Revolutiouary War, for 
 our fathers who fell in the same cause. The chaplain 
 narrated the circumstances to the boys, who stood 
 around with uncovered heads. He prayed for the 
 President, and paid the most glowing tribute to his 
 noble heart that we ever heard. The tears started to 
 their eyes as the clods of earth were thrown upon him 
 in his narrow grave, where he lay shrouded in his coat 
 and blanket. 
 
 The men separated ; in a few minutes all were en 
 gaged in something around the camp, as though noth- 
 
GEEAT REBELLION. 283 
 
 ing unusual had happened ; but that scene will live 
 upon their memories while life lasts. The calm look 
 of Scott s face, the seeming look of satisfaction he felt, 
 still lingered ; and, could the President have seen him, 
 he would have felt that his act of mercy had been 
 wisely bestowed. 
 
ANECDOTES. 
 
 A LIEUTENANT was promenading in full uniform one 
 day, and approached a volunteer on sentry, who chal 
 lenged him with "Halt! Who comes there?" The 
 Lieutenant, with contempt in every lineament of his 
 face, expressed his ire with an indignant " Ass ! " The 
 sentry s reply, apt and quick, came, "Advance, ass, 
 and give the countersign." 
 
 During the march of McClellan s army up the Pen 
 insula from Yorktown, a tall Vermont soldier got 
 separated from his regiment, and was trudging along 
 through the mud endeavoring to overtake it. Finally, 
 coming to a crossing, he was puzzled as to which road 
 he should take; but, on seeing one of the "natives," 
 his countenance lighted up at the prospect of obtaining 
 the desired information, and he inquired, " Where does 
 this road lead to ? " " To h 1," was the surly answer 
 
286 VERMONT IN THE 
 
 of the "native." "Well," drawled the Vermonter, 
 "judging by the lay of the land, and the appearance of 
 the inhabitants, " I kalkerlate I m most thar." 
 
 The day before Grant attacked Fort Donelson, the 
 troops had had a march of twenty miles, part of it 
 during a bitter cold night. Grant called a council of 
 war, to consider whether they should attack the fort at 
 once, or should give the troops a day or two s rest. 
 The officers were in favor of resting. Grant said 
 nothing until they had all given their opinion ; then he 
 said, " There is a deserter coine in this morning. Let 
 us see him, and hear what he has to say." When he 
 came in, Grant looked into his knapsack. " Where are 
 you from?" " Fort Donelson." "Six days rations in 
 your knapsack, have you not, my man ? " " Yes, sir." 
 " When were they served out ? " " Yesterday morn 
 ing." " Were the same rations served out to all the 
 troops? 1 "Yes, sir." "Gentlemen," said Grant, 
 " troops do not have six days rations served out to 
 them in a fort if they mean to stay there. These 
 men mean to retreat, not to fight. We will attack at 
 
GREAT REBELLION. 287 
 
 HEROISM AT FREDERICKSBURG. 
 
 Captain James H. Platt, Jr., of Company B, Fourth 
 Vermont Regiment, having been ordered with his 
 company to the right of the skirmish line, after 
 having once expended nearly all his ammunition and 
 been resupplied, led his men out in front of a battery, 
 within three hundred yards, where they did noble exe 
 cution till a charge of cannister struck down half the 
 company, killing four and wounding fourteen, when he 
 ordered them back to re-form, which they did, and re 
 tired in good order with the regiment just relieved. 
 Yet not all : for, calling some to his side, the humane 
 captain, a skillful physician, bound up the most danger 
 ous wounds, thus prolonging at least several lives, and, 
 with the assistance he had summoned, bore away to 
 the hospital, a mile distant, all who were unable to 
 help themselves. This was done amid bullets flying 
 like hail ; yet, through a kind Providence, no one was 
 harmed. As the gallant captain said, " God would not 
 let us suffer while in discharge of such a duty." 
 
 THE DRUMMER BOY. 
 
 Willie Johnson, thirteen years old, of St. Johnsbury, 
 a drummer boy in Company D, Third Vermont Regi 
 ment, received a medal for his heroic conduct in the 
 
288 VERMONT IN THE GREAT REBELLION. 
 
 seven days fight before Richmond. On the retreat, 
 when strong men threw away their guns, knapsacks, 
 and blankets, that they might have less weight to 
 carry, this little fellow kept his drum, and brought it 
 safely to Harrison s Landing, where he had the honor 
 of drumming for division parade, being the only drum 
 mer who brought his drum from the field. When 
 these facts were reported to the War Department by 
 the division commander, Willie was presented with a 
 star medal of honor by Secretary Stanton in person. 
 
 DON T SEE IT. 
 
 The following instance is given of Vermont pluck : 
 In Kilpatrick s last " On to Richmond " was a soldier- 
 boy by the name of Edwin A. Porter, whose mother 
 lives in Wells, Vt. In one of the skirmishes, he rode 
 up fearlessly to a squad of rebels. The officer de 
 manded of him to surrender. He replied, coolly, 
 "Don t see it;" and, suiting his action to his words, 
 he instantly drew his saber, with which he cleft the 
 head of the officer, at the same instant wheeling his 
 horse to join his company, the rebels firing a volley 
 at him, of which shower the lad carried off in his per 
 son four bullets, joining his company, G. He kept his 
 saddle for more than an hour, and finally recovered 
 from his wounds, and was discharged February 17, 
 1865. 
 

rilRN CIRCULATION DEPARTMENT 
 
 202 Main Library 
 
 PERIOD l" 
 IOME USE 
 
 _ * 
 
 ALL BOOKS MAY BE RECALLED AFTER 7 DAYS 
 
 DUE AS STAMPEDlhLOW. 
 
 
 "UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY 
 
 PV TA 94720 
 

 THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA UBRARY